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turmOIL

By
EIC
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Photo of a protestor from a rally against Kinder Morgan and the oil pipeline.

Editor’s note: The Peak recognizes Burnaby Mountain as unceded Coast Salish territory. However for simplicity we will refer to the land as Burnaby Mountain throughout this article.

 

On top of Burnaby Mountain, SFU could have been a shining example of the white tower of academia, looking down on the masses. It is physically separated from the world around it, and if it chose, it could keep to itself.

But over the past 50 years is the university has been a magnet for protests and controversy. Faculty and students have weighed in on issues that they care about, and regularly lend their voices to the causes that they believe in. For better or worse, SFU has become a place of engagement — but not necessarily in the sense that SFU marketing has pushed for.

The university can’t afford to remain quiet, no matter how much it wants to.

In November 2014, that kind of engagement reached a boiling point when SFU students, faculty, and concerned members of the public protested the work being done by Kinder Morgan crews on Burnaby Mountain. Kinder Morgan Canada owns the TransMountain pipeline system, which has pumped crude oil from Edmonton to Burnaby since 1953 and stores oil in a tank farm at the base of Burnaby Mountain.

The work was being done to assess a route for a new expansion to the pipeline that would add 980 km of new pipeline and almost triple its capacity to 890,000 barrels a day. Kinder Morgan claims that the project would bring in significant economic benefits to the province, but various groups have opposed its construction due to safety and environmental concerns.

Among those against are the City of Burnaby, the SFSS, the SFU Faculty Association, and SFU itself. Final arguments about the project were submitted to the National Energy Board earlier this year, and the National Energy Board (NEB) has until May 20 to make a recommendation to Governor in Council.

This story of SFU and the pipeline has taken many twists and turns, and has drawn an incredible breadth of communities into the controversy. But among all of the disagreement, posturing, and media frenzies, a theme separate from the pipeline itself has become clear: this issue is testing how SFU supports its community, and the rest of the province is watching.

The university can’t afford to remain quiet, no matter how much it wants to.

The Mountain

Even atop Burnaby Mountain, there wasn’t any real way that SFU could have ignored the pipeline completely. The original route of the new pipeline would have taken it through Burnaby streets, much like the existing one between the Burnaby Tank Farm and the Westridge Marine Terminal.

Neil Abramson of the SFU Faculty Association explained in an interview with The Peak that, as he understood it, Trans Mountain was “going to have to close one of the three major entrances to the university for a long period of time.”

Perhaps understating the situation slightly, TransMountain spokesperson Ali Hounsell explained that “one of the things we heard from community members who live in that area is that they would like us to consider alternatives.”

Whether Trans Mountain will be able to handle any potential spills remains a huge issue in approving the project.

Which is understandable, considering the damage that a spill in 2007 did when construction crews ruptured a relatively small pipeline buried under the street. The spill released 234,000 litres of oil onto houses, the street, and the Burrard Inlet. There has since been another spill at the Westridge terminal in 2009, but the oil didn’t make it directly into the Inlet.

Whether Trans Mountain will be able to handle any potential spills remains a huge issue in approving the project. The Province of British Columbia has called on Trans Mountain to have a “world-leading marine oil spill response,” in addition to four other conditions in order for it to consider the pipeline.

Hounsell acknowledged that Trans Mountain hasn’t yet met the conditions that the province has put forward, but that they are “confident and hopeful that we can do that in time to move forward with the project.” She offered that Trans Mountain has already received an award for working in “environmentally sensitive areas” when they completed an expansion in Jasper National Park in 2008.

The award was bestowed by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, an organization that boasts that it has “created a legacy of elevating the environmental achievements of our province, setting an example for all to follow.” Among its sponsors are the oil companies Enbridge, Shell, Syncrude, ConocoPhillips, ATCO Gas, Cenovus, and Suncor.

The specific route and environmental damage aside, there are still serious implications for SFU if the pipeline is built. The fact that there would be increased oil transport and an expansion to the Burnaby Tank Farm means that a spill or fire there would be more difficult to control, something that SFU has taken great issue with.

In an official statement to The Peak, SFU said that it is “concerned about the ability of Trans Mountain to respond to and resolve a major fire given the evidence provided by Burnaby’s Fire Department that they have neither the resources nor mandate to respond to a fire event at the Burnaby Mountain facility.” The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) has voiced similar concerns, leading both organizations to become intervenors in the National Energy Board hearing process. So far, SFU states that it requires a more comprehensive risk assessment on the tank farm and it “is not willing to accept an increased risk to its community.”

The politics and the money

It’s clear that having a new pipeline installed near Burnaby Mountain is not without its hazards, but the process in of itself has another completely different kind of influence on SFU and the surrounding area. For one thing, Trans Mountain claims on its website that it will “maximize Aboriginal, local, and regional employment opportunities” for the project. Over the coming two years, it says that it will hire the equivalent of “37,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs per year” the pipeline is operational.

Trans Mountain has also taken other approaches to conferring a financial benefit to whichever communities participate in their project. The company has been giving money to cities like Hope, Kamloops, Merritt, and Abbotsford in order to “compensate for the disruption caused” by the construction of the pipeline. They’ve also offered money to post secondary institutions, with Kwantlen Polytechnic University accepting an offer in June 2015 for $300,000 to be given over 20 years, only if the pipeline is approved. In short order, KPU students vowed to refuse the scholarships that would be funded by that donation, and the Kwantlen First Nation’s opposition to the project eventually pushed KPU to withdraw from the agreement just months after signing it.

Thomson River University accepted an even bigger offer of $500,000 over 20 years, though some faculty are calling the move embarrassing.

Kinder Morgan has also been named in a list of oil companies that have given donations to the BC Liberal Party.

SFU hasn’t received money from TransMountain, but its faculty have given the project a lot of academic attention. In the earliest example, Kinder Morgan hired SFU’s John Clague and Doug Stead in 2014 to conduct a study on the route the pipeline may take through Burnaby Mountain or the streets. At around the same time, SFU’s School of Public Policy published a report on the economic costs and benefits of the pipeline expansion project, finding that  the pipeline might only provide a third of the jobs that it promises. The document concludes that “the pipeline project is not in the economic or public interests of the citizens of BC” and recommends that the decision-makers of BC “reject this pipeline.”

The next year, another study was published by SFU and the Living Oceans Society that found that Canada would incur a net cost of $4.1 to $22.1 billion if the new pipeline is built. The authors argue that the persistently low price of oil and the failure of the project to “provide any estimates of many of the potential economic, environmental, and social costs” causes the project to not meet the NEB criteria of being “clearly demonstrated to be needed” and “clearly found to be in the public interest.”

The vocal opposition

Throughout this development, there have also been intensely emotional moments. Concerned community members have endured personal risk to communicate just how seriously they oppose the project.

SFSS VP External Relations Kathleen Yang recalls that in November 2014, “there were so many SFU students that were camping on the mountain, [who] were actively taking a role in opposing the pipeline.” SFU faculty stepped up to the bar as well, with several members doing enough to get onto Kinder Morgan’s radar. Professors Steven Collis, Lynne Quarmby, and former professor Alan Dutton and others were the target of a multi-million dollar lawsuit for delaying the Trans Mountain pipeline. Quarmby was also later arrested with over 100 others for continuing to protest on the mountain after Kinder Morgan was granted an injunction.

In an official capacity, the SFU community has also been participating in the NEB hearings. The SFSS and GSS presented their final arguments in late January this year, with the SFSS later holding a rally outside. That Saturday, SFU students Mia Nissen and Amy Widmer were arrested along with UBC student Destiny Sharp for trying to enter the NEB hearing room. Hounsell said that she was unsure whether TransMountain knew students were arrested at the hearings.

SFU also continues to host events with an unapologetic anti-pipeline message. Only in the past month, a climate parade started at SFU Woodwards, Naomi Klein came to speak to the issues of climate change as part of the SFU Vancouver Public Speaker series, and the university hosted a “Carbon Talks” event in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation and the Centre for International Governance.

Working together as a community?

Over the past two years, the SFU community has struggled with the pipeline expansion project. In that time, it has become clear that many different groups have a variety of reasons for opposing the pipeline. They claim the economics are unsound, there are huge questions about safety, and the environment stands to lose big time if there is ever a spill, not to mention from the increased emissions from the tar sands. So with all of this put together, wouldn’t it make sense for SFU to engage with the SFSS, GSS, SFUFA, and other groups and students who want to get more involved?

On the other side, Trans Mountain certainly feels it has been doing its part to engage the public. Hounsell explained that SFU students “were certainly included in our invitations to the open houses and the various activities that we held since 2012.” As part of the decision-making process, Hounsell said that “sitting down with people and really trying to understand their concerns and questions is the best way to approach these things.” They also note that the “offer continues to be open to sit down and meet with” the public. To address the concerns with spill response, TransMountain held an emergency response exercise at the Westridge terminal which SFU participated in.

So it’s perplexing to see that while Trans Mountain has been spending a lot of energy meeting with people who violently disagree with them, SFU has remained relatively silent; it didn’t even present an oral argument to the NEB about the pipeline. SFU could be using its influence to help community members get over the challenges of becoming more involved.

SFU Faculty Association’s Neil Abramson told The Peak  that even though his association made a public statement and have asked SFU to divest from fossil fuels, he considers those to be “symbolic gestures that, in a way, are [a] very very low commitment” because they “don’t really impact the lives of the people.” For the most part, in his experience, people at SFU are averse to taking action that changes their livelihood, even when presented with an opportunity.

But students are also affected by the mountain of new responsibilities they have when they are studying. SFSS VP External Relations Kathleen Yang spoke to the fact that even though students do care, she feels “it’s been a longstanding systemic issue, where it can be really difficult to be ‘engaged’ at SFU because of all the things that students have to deal with in their lives.” In order to change that, Yang says “we need to look at starting to dismantle the structural barriers that are preventing students from getting involved and taking action on campus.”

When asked if they were contacted by SFU or TransMountain about their organization’s position against the pipeline, Yang and Abramson didn’t mince words.

Yang answered that the SFSS has not “received any correspondence from Trans Mountain or from the university.” Similarly, Abramson said that they haven’t been contacted by Trans Mountain and he “didn’t think [SFU] noticed” when the SFUFA made their statement. He also conceded that he doesn’t “think there’s ever been a gathering of the university organizations that are opposed to this pipeline.”

The role we need to play

This pipeline is about so much more than the oil it is going to carry. The controversy around it has found a way to impact institutions and cities across the Lower Mainland, and it’s clear that SFU will be inconvenienced and put at risk if it is built. All of this evidence and outcry, and SFU has not really helped its community take action.

Although the communities at SFU are incredibly diverse, and may disagree about which is the most important aspect of the pipeline project, the common themes binding them together are their opposition and their home institution. We have these various groups on campus, all pushing back against something they don’t want.

SFU has an opportunity to set an example to the rest of Canada.

But it seems like there is a vacuous gap left by SFU. It is spelled out in its strategic vision to be engaging students about civil understanding, and to develop healthier and more vibrant communities — where was that engagement? SFU has provided the infrastructure and academic freedom in order for students and faculty to express themselves, for sure, but it is reasonable to expect just a little bit more.

The university has a tremendous opportunity to set an example to the rest of Canada in the kind of engagement that it talks so much about. The West Coast has been demonized as pipeline-hating hippies who don’t care about the well-being of other provinces, but SFU could lend its voice and credibility to Burnaby’s side of the story. Whatever it does next, SFU needs to realize that so far, it’s been incredibly distant from its community. It has made some statements that might be genuine, but until it actively supports the group of people that is looking out for Burnaby Mountain, it won’t really influence what will happen next.

SFU alum broke fast after protesting BC Hydro’s Site C dam for three weeks

By
EIC
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SFU alum Kristin Henry (right) sat with Sage Birley as she protested the Site C dam.

SFU alum Kristin Henry, a driving force behind a hunger strike in the wake of BC Hydro’s Site C Dam project, has broken her fast at the insistence of family and doctors according to a Facebook post. She was hospitalized on March 31, which was day 19 of her hunger strike.

Henry is still currently at the hospital, where she might stay until the end of the weekend while she recovers. According to Facebook, she stopped her hunger strike once “she was told that she was at risk of cardiac arrest, and moving forward without food would for sure start doing long term damage to her heart, kidneys and other vital organs.”

She was transferred to St. Paul’s Hospital by ambulance on Wednesday, where medical professionals are urging her to eat something so as to regain her strength. But Birley said that Henry had continued refusing to eat, saying that she is “waiting for test results to come back before she decides to eat or not”. She was also “visibly stressed and frustrated” at the lack of action that has been taken by the Trudeau government as well as BC Hydro.

The Peak spoke with Sage Birley, a farmer from the North Peace Region who has been welcome at the site where Henry set up camp. Throughout the time that Birley has spent on the site, he has become a “media spokesperson”, speaking on behalf of Henry who is still at St. Paul’s Hospital.  

On March 31, Henry was on the 19th day of her hunger strike when her heart rate dropped to 35 bpm. She eventually fainted and was attended to by nurses and other medical personnel that were present at the site.

“[Kristin] is frustrated that Trudeau and BC Hydro are unwilling to sit down and have a serious conversation with all the impacted groups regarding this issue,” Birley said. “She is facing a lot of stress right now.”

Despite the inaction from the federal government and BC Hydro, Birley says that the amount of support that has come about from this hunger strike is “incredible”. Birley, whose family has a long history of farming in the North Peace Region, has great concern for the issue of food security especially in that region. The construction of the dam, Birley says, will have a serious impact on accessibility of food.

To date, the Birley and other members of the camp have collected signatures and have written thousands of letters to the Trudeau government, asking for construction to be discontinued.

At the time of the interview, Birley noted that other movements were taking place, and that earlier on Friday, Green Party leader Elizabeth May had visited the site. With growing support and seeing new faces every day, Birley has hope that this fight for food security is not over.

“[Henry’s efforts] have definitely revitalized the dialogue on this issue,” Birley said. “People have been fighting this issue for 30 years, so it is great to see that all of that effort was not done in vain.”

Even though Henry’s strike is over, the group involved in the hunger strike, who have dubbed themselves “tent city” plan to continue the protest. According to their Facebook post, they “continue to grow and have no intention of ending this campaign. The hunger strike was the start of a beautiful grassroots movement, but it’s certainly not the end.”

SFU 100 encourages students to fight for fossil fuel divestment

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EIC
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Wednesday's event took place in the AQ.

In the AQ hallway, SFU 350 and Embark’s Divest SFU campaign invited students to help their university decide where to keep its money.

The campaign, which calls for SFU to divest within five years from fossil fuel companies, is part of a movement that has had growing support. Many universities, colleges, and other organizations have pledged to divest, including Stanford University and Glasgow University. In a shocking development, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund also declared that it would divest its $860 million fortune that famously originated from the fossil fuel industry.

Closer to home, this “SFU 100” event encouraged SFU students to think of the future of their institution, and how it should use its financial weight.

SFU 350 president Raaj Chatterjee told The Peak that “divestment is a sizeable impact that the university can make in terms of the fight against climate change and holding companies accountable to their actions.”

Chatterjee explained that so far, the Divest SFU campaign’s petition has collected almost 2,000 signatures, and that SFU has been “responding in [an] appropriate way” to pressure from Divest SFU.

In the past, the university has announced that it has signed onto the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and the Paris Pledge for Climate Action, which both call for signatories to consider building resilience and social responsibility with their investments. Chatterjee was cautiously optimistic that SFU has agreed to create a divestment policy of some sort, but at this stage the idea is still “pretty vague.”

However, three Canadian universities have recently rejected divestment despite student pressure. McGill, the University of Toronto, and the University of British Columbia have all cited the limited effectiveness of divestment from influencing fossil fuel companies, as well as the responsibility to maintain financial returns as their reasons for not divesting.

If SFU decides not to divest, SFU 350 has also been circulating another petition that will become relevant. Chatterjee said that the group has collected over 300 signatures of students that have pledged to take some form of “direct action” in the case SFU does not divest. He explained that this might include “some sort of rally or sit-in.” Earlier this week, McGill students, dissatisfied with their university’s decision, staged a sit-in in the administration building and camped outside, catching the attention of the university’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor.

Rather than just gathering signatures, the event was a way for the Divest SFU to have a conversation with students. Said Chatterjee, “I think all students know about climate change, they all know about global warming [. . .] but students often feel that they don’t have a voice where they are.”

There is currently no timeline for the Board of Governors to elaborate on their divestment policy. However, after lobbying the Board for three years to get to this stage, the Divest SFU campaign has certainly proved that its members think of it as a responsible investment of their time.

The Peep Challenge

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EIC
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Happy Easter from The Peak! Created by Paige Smith & Eric Smith.

Why Students Don’t Vote

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EIC
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We asked SFU students if they vote in the SFSS elections. Turns out most SFU students don’t vote. Get out and vote!

Men’s basketball coach Virgil Hill resigns amidst allegations of misconduct

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EIC
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A number of former players who are departing SFU’s Men’s Basketball team have come forward with allegations against former Head Coach Virgil Hill. Hill resigned from his position earlier today.

SFU Athletics announced Hill’s resignation in a press release written by Steve Frost, Sports Information Director, less than a year after he was officially announced as SFU’s men’s basketball coach. He took over on April 15, 2015 after the resignation of former Head Coach James Blake.

Athletics Director Theresa Hanson said in a press release, “Virgil and I met to review and evaluate the basketball season and at that time he informed me that he has decided to resign his position as men’s basketball coach to spend more time with his young family.” Hill’s decision comes on the heels of several allegations against him, originating from several players who left the team this semester.

One of the players who left the team with four games remaining in the season spoke to The Peak about why he left. “It’s just such a horrible atmosphere. Losing never helps, but the coaching staff just does not look out for us.” The player asked to remain anonymous.

The “losing” to which the player refers is likely SFU’s results on the court. The team went 2–24 on the season, and 1–19 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The team went through a 18-game losing streak, and got its first and only conference win on February 11 against Concordia University.

The player alleged that in one instance, the coaching staff did not provide the team with meals while on an away game. According to him, “Before Sonoma State, we passed around a XL bag of peanut M&M’s before we played, and that was the only thing we had eaten before a 2 p.m. game.”

A second player who wished to remain anonymous corroborated the first’s account. “It’s true,” the second player said. “We [were] told we would stop somewhere and then we just went straight to Sonoma. They told us to go to the locker room and just put a bag of M&M’s on the desk.”

Denver Sparks-Guest, one of the seven players who departed this season, said his reason for leaving was “100 percent coaching,” saying that “there was no other reason.”

The first anonymous put particular emphasis on Hill’s behaviour towards Pape Seck, a player from Senegal, recounting comments made about Seck’s language ability and religious beliefs.

“Losing never helps, but the coaching staff just does not look out for us.”

According to the player, those comments included, “‘Virgil countless times said things such as ‘this isn’t a language barrier, it’s a stupidity barrier,’ ‘my 10-year-old son is smarter than you,’ ‘you didn’t play in junior college, you haven’t played here, you’ll never play anywhere.’ He called him an idiot and retarded plenty of times.”

The second anonymous player also corroborated the first’s allegations of “[Pape] being called out in that manner” by Hill.

The first player added: “Ultimately the worst incident was when Virgil said to me in his office when it was just him and I [. . .] ‘Pape can pray eight times a day but he can’t make it to practice. . . His Muslim faith doesn’t fit in here in this culture.’”

The Peak reached out to coach Hill for his comments on the amount of players leaving the team. He provided the following statement: “Players and programs part ways for various reasons and we are no different. I wish the departed players the best of luck with the remainder of their collegiate careers.”

When asked to comment on specific allegations, Hill declined.

Seck said that he was “not comfortable” in practice and stopped practicing with coach Hill as a result. “It was more of the way he acted, [he was] not respectful,” he said. “You can’t take a high school coach [and bring him] to the NCAA. He’s not a good coach, he has to learn to talk to men.”

The first anonymous player also stated that people within SFU Athletics were aware of allegations against Hill. “Kelly Weber, Laura Reid, [and] the athletic director Theresa Hanson all know.”

Sparks-Guest stated that he talked to an unspecified Athletics Director before his departure, and Seck said that he “talked to Laura [Reid]” within SFU Athletics.

Athletics Director Theresa Hanson said that “I am aware of some challenges within our men’s basketball program. I was not aware of all of the allegations that you have brought forward. I am disturbed by them. It is unfortunate that student athletes from our men’s basketball program have had a negative experience.”

The announcement came after The Peak contacted SFU Athletics to provide comment on the allegations made against him the day before. It is unclear if these allegations factored into his resignation.

Frost in the press release added that, “The search for a new head coach of the SFU men’s basketball program will begin immediately.”

“I would like to thank Simon Fraser University for the opportunity to come back and coach at my alma mater,” said Hill in an official press release by SFU Athletics.

“At this time I am tendering my resignation. This decision was a difficult one as I wanted to bring this program back to a level of competitiveness that we know is possible. My decision is based on the needs of my young family and my need to support my wife in raising our children.”

Valentine’s Day Prank

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EIC
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Happy Valentine’s Day from The Peak!

Created by Paige Smith & Eric Smith

All hail the iPhone SE

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EIC
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[dropcap]I[/dropcap]’ve heard some comments from people who are dissatisfied with the new iPhone SE release. “Nothing new,” and “can’t tell it apart from the iPhone 5S,” are just a couple of the things I’ve heard since Apple’s keynote event unveiling their new products.

Thirty million smaller format iPhones were sold in 2015. That is not a small number. With a general consensus toward phones with large screens (of which I stubbornly remain unconvinced), a strong segment of Apple’s market seems to prefer their phones being around the range of Steve Jobs’ ideal for screen size; perfect for typing with one hand as well as fitting in most pockets.

With the built-in guts of an iPhone 6S, the iPhone SE is an improvement for those who, like me, have been carrying around their dusty old iPhone 5s. One thing the new phone seems to be missing is the 3D Touch feature — something I honestly think is a functionality most people can live without. It’s sort of the best of both worlds: a much faster version of a legacy form factor. It’s a bold move, and I think it will resonate really well with the consumers Apple is attempting to target.

Critiques of Apple’s latest don’t understand that this is not, in fact, a step backwards for the brand. For price-conscious consumers, it’s a very solid introduction into the Apple ecosystem, which used to be, and what is now the much slower, iPhone 5S. With the phone geared to be the affordable choice in Apple’s 2016 cell phone lineup, this move is incredibly smart because the phone now provides an enticing option for those who have held on to their old phones, as well as those who prefer the smaller form factor.

Sure, they could have made the SE thinner, or it could have included a brand new feature. But, then again, that’s something Apple can always keep in their back pocket for their next keynote event. This Spring was more about giving the people what they needed rather than they wanted: usability by way of portability, and an improved phone that serves as an introduction to Apple’s other products and services.

Apple has now bought themselves at least a year to improve the phone for their next iteration, which I’m sure will likely have 3D Touch, and a few other bells and whistles, along with new software and security upgrades by the time it is released. And as usual, I will stand at the Apple altar and marvel at their latest offering, slightly improved, and largely imitated from Android offering.

But this time around, I’ll be lining up to acquire the 64 gigabyte edition (no, not the Rose Gold colour — blek!) quite momentarily.

CENTRE STAGE: Inspiring dance, a bold musical, and two upcoming shows

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EIC
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Ballet BC's Natus focused on and explored celebration in different contexts.

Program 2 – Ballet BC

March 17–19; Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Mehdi Walerski’s range and versatility as a choreographer was on display for this evening featuring one remount and one world premiere. Working with Arts Umbrella dancers to grow the company to over 25, Walerski’s extended version of Prelude explores the how to balance order and chaos.

Prelude is full of poetic movement that creates a dynamic spatial landscape on the stage.  The dancers were dressed in black pants and bare chests, and the simple costumes matched Walerski’s simplicity of lines, patterns, and richly textured use of the space. The effect was calming and exemplified Walerski’s layered approach to choreography.

The world premiere, Natus, had a very different tone and explored the idea of celebration in many contexts including births, deaths, historical events, or special occasions. The state of celebration, varied and intense, was expressed through choreography that created a sense of unrest and uncertainty.

Dancer Peter Smida came down the aisle of the theatre to begin the piece, talking about tickets and dancing with an audience member before proposing to her. He talks directly to the audience throughout the piece, asking, “Where the hell is the party” and saying, “Happy Birthday” to numerous objects, people, and abstract concepts. There is a sense of desperation to find celebration and not miss that opportunity to acknowledge the occasion. Both of Walerski’s works were captivating and this evening was a wonderful addition to the Ballet BC season.

Vital Few – Company 605

Vancouver International Dance Festival

March 17–19; Roundhouse Performance Centre

Created over a two year period, this work was previewed at last year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival (when the company called themselves the 605 Collective), and it was back this year in its fully conceived form. The work explores the idea of working together — particularly relevant for the company as they choreograph as a collective — and also works with the idea of a few members of a group having more influence at any given time.

The piece began with one dancer walking on stage and looking directly at the audience. Another dancer joined her and they hugged. Then one by one the others joined them, their group hug growing, until they were all connected and moving as one. One dancer’s head would be coordinated with the arms of two others, emphasizing their collectivity and ability to work together as one being.  

Moving through a few phases and sequences of one dancer starting a wave of movement that was passed to the others in a sort of domino effect, the energy moved from one to the other and they reacted to each other’s movements. The intricate formations and split second coordination required for the choreography are impressive, and it was awe inspiring to watch. Near the end of the piece, the themes seemed to be repeating and searching for a logical conclusion.

In the end, they peeled the reflective covering off of the stage, piling it at the back to create an interesting sculpture. The ending didn’t seem fitting, but it didn’t matter much — the show was impressive nonetheless.

Dogfight – Semper Fi Collective and Renegade Arts Company

March 16–19; Pacific Theatre

The US Marines have a sick tradition called a Dogfight. Each marine puts some money into the pot, and they each try to find the ugliest girl they can and bring her to a party. The marine with the ugliest date wins the pot of money. Based on the 1991 film starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, the musical is full of catchy tunes and emotional moments.

Eddie Birdlace and his friends Bernstein and Boland (known as the three bees) are in San Francisco for a couple of days before they ship out to Vietnam, and they are preparing for a Dogfight. Bernstein meets Rose working at her family’s diner. He decides she will do for his entry. The only problem is that soon after inviting her to the party, he begins to feel bad about it and he starts to like her. Boland’s entry is a prostitute, Marcy, who he arranges to split the prize money with if he wins. Marcy tells Rose about the contest, and she punches Birdlace before fleeing the party.

Birdlace’s emotional dilemma drives the plot, and with the effective choreography and staging in the very small Pacific Theatre space, it was enjoyable to watch their love story unfold. Rose, played by SFU theatre student Amanda Sum, has a beautiful voice and her character is an aspiring musician and avid music fan telling Birdlace (Stuart Barkley) all about Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. They share a hilarious dinner date scene where Rose inserts as many swear words as she can into her order to make a point about how much Birdlace swears.

My only complaints about the production are that it was sometimes hard to hear the actors with the music being so loud right beside them onstage, and ideally the show could have used a larger stage to maximize the choreography and provide a bit more breathing room for the scenes. Other than that this was an enjoyable production with a talented cast.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation touring to Vancouver April 7–9

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet will bring their highly anticipated Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation to Vancouver this April. This original ballet, commissioned by RWB Artistic Director André Lewis, attempts to represent the recent Truth and Reconciliation Report through a human story and follows two main characters: Annie, a young First Nations women from the city, and Gordon, a trickster, a supernatural being, who appears to be a homeless man. This show is being hailed by the CBC as perhaps one of the most important shows in the RWB’s history, and I expect it will be a powerful show that tells an important message in a unique way.

Director Chelsea Haberlin talks Dead Metaphor at the Firehall Arts Centre April 2–23

George F. Walker’s play, Dead Metaphor, follows the story of Dean, a young ex-sniper who has recently returned to Canada from Afghanistan and is struggling to find work. Complicating things further are his aging parents and a pregnant ex-wife. Dean ends up working as an assistant to a politician. As Haberlin explained to The Peak, the show is rooted in three dimensional characters and is very grounded. There is also a lot of humour despite the dark themes. With themes such as the struggle to find work, how to cope with aging family members, and the effect of war on the mind, the story is relatable in many ways and hypothesizes what would happen to a war veteran returning home to these circumstances. A script from a respected playwright produced by a talented cast makes Dead Metaphor a show not to be missed.

Re-vote called to determine Science Representative

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It turns out students aren’t quite done with the 2016 Simon Fraser Student Society election just yet.

One of the biggest stories from the election results was the tied vote for the Science Representative position, with Connected candidate Tomas Rapaport and independent candidate Jimmy Dhesa each receiving 280 votes.

Now students will go back to the polls for a one day-only re-vote, taking place from 12 a.m.–11:59 p.m. on April 7.

As posted on the website for the Independent Electoral Commission, the decision was made because “there is no language in the SFSS Policies, By-Laws, or related regulations” regarding what to do in the case of a tie.

Dhesa and Rapaport will be permitted to continue their campaign starting on April 4 and going until 11:59 p.m. on April 6, after which the vote will start immediately.  

Eligible students will be able to vote for either Rapaport or Dhesa here. Students who are in the Science faculty or took a Science class this semester are the ones who will be able to vote.

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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