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SFU students’ selfless act helps save a life

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EIC
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SFU students and brothers Brian (left) and Graham Haddon at the Certificate of Merit ceremony on January 19, 2016.

It’s not every day that you get thanked by the Vancouver Police Chief for saving a life. On Jan. 19, SFU students and brothers Brian and Graham Haddon each received the Certificate of Merit for their role in saving the life of a young woman in a motor vehicle accident. It is the highest civilian order awarded by the Vancouver Police Board.

The Haddon brothers were on their way to catch a flight to Scotland, where they would compete at the World Pipe Band Championships with the SFU Pipe Band. Their commute was interrupted when they heard a crash under the Knight Street overpass.

“We heard a massive crash, and then screams,” Brian recounted. As they waited to merge onto Marine Drive, the accident became clear. The victim, a motorcyclist, was pinned underneath an SUV.

“It was confusing,” Graham said. “But once we figured out what was going on, I thought, how can I be best used in this situation?”

The instincts to help kicked into high gear. Along with their parents, both first responders, Brian and Graham leapt into action. Lifting the car, the brothers tried to make enough room for the victim to crawl out. Brian, while holding up the vehicle, had sustained a burn on his calf from the motorcycle’s hot exhaust pipe. Despite the pain, Brian knew that they had to keep going. “I knew she would be in a much worse off position if we let any more time pass.”

Once the victim had enough room to get out, the brothers helped move her to safety and stayed with her until paramedics arrived. They made it in time to catch their flight, and upon arrival back home they had learned that the victim was okay.

These were the heroic actions that were recognized at the awarding ceremony. The Haddon brothers were among many other heroes who were also receiving Certificates of Merit.

“We felt almost out of place. . . to be in the company of people that had done more heroic acts [was] truly humbling,” Graham said of the ceremony.

Aside from their passion to help others, the Haddon brothers also find great joy in performing with the SFU pipe band. Being of Scottish descent, they wanted to find a hobby that would help them to learn more about their heritage. “It really has grown on me, 14 years later,” Brian said with a laugh.

When not practicing with the pipe band, the Haddon brothers’ love for service is also reflected in their choice of studies. Brian is currently pursuing a major in Health Sciences with hopes of becoming a municipal police officer, while Graham is studying Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, aspiring to be a respiratory therapist. But wherever their life paths take them, they hope that other people will realize the potential they have to help others in times of need.

In response to all those concerned that they may not be experienced enough when confronted with an emergency situation, both brothers agree that everyone has the capability to help others. They noted that the last thing one should do is take out their phone and film the incident — something the brothers found frustrating when they tried to flag down someone to help them.

“If people had put down their phones and helped, the situation could have been fixed much sooner,” said Brian. “If you aren’t confident with your abilities, don’t film it — call someone who can.” Comparing it to offering up a seat on transit to someone else that needs it more, Graham says that “helping a fellow human” should be “instinctual.”

“Don’t shy away from helping someone – just do it.”

SFU profs call for property surcharge to combat unaffordable housing

By
EIC
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This 86-year-old home is being sold for 2.4 million dollars.

A new study by SFU professors Shih En Lu and Andrey Pavlov, along with UBC colleagues, argues for the creation of a 1.5 percent property surcharge targeting owners of vacant properties that are not contributing enough to the BC economy.

Owners that rent out their properties to non-family members would be able to apply for exemptions, thereby providing an incentive to put more vacant units into the rental market. Revenues from any jurisdiction that adopts this proposal would then be distributed to all Canadian tax-filers in the area in a lump-sum payment to boost economic growth.

The report estimates that in Vancouver alone, this would generate around $90 million annually. On top of that, the surcharge would help slow the flow of foreign investment that puts upward pressure on housing prices.

En Lu, an assistant professor of economics at SFU, says, “If you’re not contributing to the BC economy [. . .] and are driving out someone who would, then you have to pay an amount comparable to the income taxes that this person would have paid.”

The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board reports the benchmark price for a detached residence in the Metro Vancouver region was over $1.2 million in November 2015, increasing by 22.6 percent from the previous year, making Vancouver the most expensive Canadian city in which to buy a house.

A case study by researcher Andy Yan in 2015 found 70 percent of detached residences were sold to Mainland China buyers, with around 36 per cent of owners of homes worth over $3 million listed as housewives or students. This study adds to the concern over Vancouver housing being used as a way for foreign investors to evade taxes, flip properties, and store wealth through relatives tax-free while simultaneously increasing housing prices.

Other than Vancouverites losing the dream of owning a single-family home, there are substantial risks to the local economy. These risks include labour shortages and stifled business innovation, as skilled workers prefer to locate in other regions where they can afford a single-family home instead of only a condo.

Vancouver may also lose new firms and the accompanying jobs they create if they are not able to find workers.

En Lu suggests, “Vancouver could become dominated by low-skill workers serving millionaires that make their money elsewhere — bad for growth, and bad for our ability to pay for public services.” He points to SFU as an example of this already happening — almost all of the job offers made by the Department of Economics to candidates for faculty positions with children were turned down, says En Lu.

Additionally, Canadian homeowners in Vancouver are exposed to a substantial amount of risk from a downturn in the real estate market or an increase in interest rates if they have invested most of their wealth into their home. A recent TD Economics report stresses the increasing risk of correction “with every month of double-digit home price growth.”

Pressure has been growing to address the housing issue with the #IDontHave1Million social media campaign that arose the past year and the provincial government promising to address housing affordability in the next budget.

However, they have no specific plans. Premier Christy Clark has mentioned in the past that she worries that “moving foreign investors out of the market [will make] housing prices [. . .] drop,” negatively affecting those who have already invested in a home. “We are open to new ideas,” the premier said of the issue.

Both professors agree that using first-time home buyer incentives would be like using “gas to douse a fire,” as En Lu put it himself, and would either end up in the hands of sellers or become obsolete as housing prices are bid up further.

Sports Briefs

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EIC
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Softball

SFU has been picked to finish seventh in the annual GNAC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll. The yearly poll is voted on by all the coaches of the teams in the conference. Last year, SFU finished with a 17–30 record, and have four seniors returning for the season which begins Friday, February 5.

Wrestling

Sean Molle and Tyler McLean won in their weight classes at the Clackamas Open in Oregon City, Oregon. Molle won the 285lb weight class over Nishan Randhawa and McLean won the 165lb weight class over Dajour Reece of North Idaho. Morgan Smith finished third in the 185lb weight class.

Football

Former SFU offensive line coach Adam Blasetti has been hired by the BC Lions. Blasetti was at SFU for one season under former head coach Jacques Chapdelaine. He will now coach the team’s running backs for the BC Lions.

Men’s basketball blown out on home floor

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EIC
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Michael Harper (right) in action for SFU.

The SFU Men’s Basketball team suffered a 104–60 defeat to the Western Washington Vikings Tuesday evening. The loss dropped the Clan to 1–16 in the season, 0–11 in the conference, and the losers of 15 straight games.

The first half saw SFU compete and hang with the now 13–7 Vikings. After falling down 22–11 early, the team played almost even basketball the rest of the half, entering the break with a 43–31 deficit after a thrilling buzzer-beating isolation basket by Clan Guard Michael Harper. Celebrating Australia Day, the Aussie native provided several highlight reel finishes at the rim throughout the game.

First half Clan-highlights included several Oshea Gairey gritty drives to the rim to draw fouls and shoot free throws, an athletic drive and finish at the rim by JJ Pankratz followed later by an emphatic blocked shot on defence, and a nifty fast break bucket after a timeout where the Clan employed a full court press.

The closest SFU got was a 25–18 deficit after another Australian player, Andrew Williamson, scored on a runner in the lane. Graham Smith provided a spark off the bench for SFU with a tough offensive rebound where he drew a foul and then calmly sank both free throws. The best example of offensive teamwork in the half was when Gairey drove to the rim and dished to Tyrell Lewin who sunk the basket, was fouled and knocked down the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play.

The second half saw Western Washington click on all cylinders and essentially run SFU out of its own gym. Six-foot-nine Viking centre Blake Bowen was a force at both ends of the court. Defensively he blocked two shots, altered several more, and even had a steal which led to an easy transition basket. Bowen demonstrated outstanding post skills, scoring easily down low, and also stepped outside and sunk five of seven three-point attempts. In just 21 minutes of action, Bowen scored 24 points on an efficient 12 field goal attempts.

For most of the last 10 minutes of game time, the Vikings had their reserves on the court and continued to score at will on the Clan. Reserve Viking guard Brad Wallace made some dazzling plays later on to keep  the lopsided game entertaining.

SFU kept fighting throughout the game and showed no signs of quitting. Four Clan players scored in double figures: Oshea Gairey with 13, Michael Harper with 12, and Tyrell Lewin with 11. However, their offence devolved in the second half to a lot of one-on-one basketball with little ball movement. Defensively, they do not have a centre on the roster and as such they struggle guarding opposing centre and effectively have no rim protector. 

The Clan will look to avoid the same fate as the football team for the rest of the season, as they have yet to win a game in conference play.

Australian musician releases Canadian Exclusive EP

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EIC
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Jeff Lang is looking forward to touring Western Canada, in support of Running By The Rock

Jeff Lang, an underground success in his native Australia, is embarking on a Western Canadian tour in support of Running by the Rock.

According to Lang in an interview with The Peak, the EP is composed of “songs from a few different albums that have come out in various places but not previously in North America.” The EP is, in Lang’s words, “a bit of a career overview with enough of the variety of moods in my music represented to give people an idea of where my music travels.” Given that the songs are from past albums, there isn’t a concern that he will be alienating fans who live outside of Canada.

I’ve listened to the EP now a couple of times. It is well-crafted, considering the shorter six song format. The songs flow nicely together to create a cohesive sound that sounds less copied and pasted than Lang made it seem.

His sound is a mix between blues, folk, and roots, creating a sound that is unique, yet familiar. Each song does have a different feel to it making Running By The Rock an EP that doesn’t fall into the trap that early career EPs often do.

Lang has had the ability to develop his sound. He recognizes that songs over time can evolve from where they began. “There’s usually some kind of expansion from when I first write the songs on my own to when I play them with a band, which is often very early in the song’s life when we record them, then from there to performing them live,” he says.

“Even a solo performance will be different after I’ve recorded the songs with other players. It changes the way I arrange them on my own.”

So while fans can listen to Running by the Rock in anticipation of his tour dates, the live show may ultimately sound completely different than the recorded versions.

Lang, too, is looking forward to playing in Canada, for multiple reasons: “Escaping the brutal heat here in Australia at this time of year definitely appeals, but moreover I’m looking forward to playing some places I’ve not been to before on my travels and meeting the people who come to the shows. What can I say? I like Canadians.”

Lang will be performing in Vancouver on February 11 at Rogue Folk Club.

SFU hockey extends their streak to seven

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EIC
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Tyler Basham (#19) extended his personal scoring streak to three games.

Saturday night, the SFU men’s hockey team was up against the University of Victoria, a team they had beaten twice already in the season. At stake was maintaining first place in the BCIHL.

If SFU lost and Selkirk won their game, the Clan would move down to second. Goals from Brandon Tidy and Tyler Basham ensured the victory, as SFU won the game 2–1, pummeling goalie Scott Legault with 47 shots.

“It was one of our better offensive performances, which is bizarre when you only score two goals,” said Head Coach Mark Coletta after the game. “I thought our puck possession was really good in the offensive zone, [our] attacking with speed was good, our dumps were pretty, our forecheck was pretty good [. . .] obviously over 40 shots is always a good thing, but I guess at the end of the day their goalie played well and they limited us to two goals.”

SFU got off to arguably the best start they could, with Brandon Tidy scoring just 32 seconds in, giving his team an early lead. Member of the BCIHL All Name Team Wolfgang Schoenefuhs scored for UVic to tie it at one point after a costly turnover by SFU in their own defensive zone. SFU recorded 26 shots on net in the first period alone — two more than they recorded in the whole game against Selkirk last week.

“It was weird, I just had all this time,” Tidy said afterwards on his goal. “I looked around and there was no one around me. So I skated to the net and just shot it in.”

The second period featured the eventual winning goal by Basham, and more shots by SFU. By the end of the second, the total was 39 for the Clan, compared to just 15 for the visitors. That was the only highlight from the last two periods, as it was a very slow game, despite all the shots. The third period had no goals and only one penalty, with Saylor Preston of SFU going off for slashing.

The victory assured the team would keep their top spot in the league, because Selkirk ended up winning their game 7–3 against Eastern Washington. It was the team’s seventh straight victory.

Coach Coletta spoke on what he believes the team has been doing well during the streak. “I think the guys are working really hard. There’s a good vibe in the room and during the week at practice. And I think we’re keeping it simple [. . . the] guys aren’t trying to do too much.”

Big Smoke Burger beefs up the campus food game

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EIC
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Big Smoke will boost the campus food game with good burgers and great fries.

With a new location on the horizons for the Cornerstone building, I decided to go and check out the Big Smoke Burger on Broadway in anticipation.

The overall feel of the chain is fast-casual — think Chipotle, but for burgers. Aside from that, the options that the menu offers are almost endless. You can add on to any of the pre-existing burger options, select the size of the patty, and sub out the classic beef patty for one of organic beef, lamb, chicken, or veggie.

The classic beef burger itself is not too juicy but also not too dry. It was perfectly cooked. I wouldn’t say that it was the best burger that I’ve ever had, but it was up there. The bun game wasn’t as strong as I would have liked — it reminded me too much of a fast food bun — but I will also admit that I am a bread snob.

What impressed me more than their burger were their french fries. They were beautifully salted, crispy, and even tasted good cold — because let’s face it, unless you are a human vacuum cleaner, your fries will get cold. The dipping sauces that go with the fries are spectacular, but the true stand-out is the rosemary garlic one. It gives the fries a similar taste to roasted potatoes which is a pleasant surprise.

Given the strength of their fries, the other sides that they offer — poutine and onion rings — should prove equally as strong.

Diners at the SFU location will also have the option of pairing their burger with a beer. This is something that the Broadway location doesn’t offer, and given the many flavours, the ability to pair your food with a beer will elevate this from another fast-casual dining establishment to somewhere you could see yourself spending some time hanging out with friends.

All in all, Big Smoke Burgers should prove to be a welcome addition to the dining options on campus.

Don’t be ‘that one’ in the audience

By
EIC
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There is a time and a place to put your tongue in someone’s ear. This is not that time or place.

Mid-January I saw a Dave Brubeck tribute at Anvil centre in New Westminster. I learned two things that night, the first being that I don’t like jazz music, the second being that everyone has forgotten how to be a respectful audience member.

Whether you’re at a movie, play, dance show, or just watching some local artist light all of his belongings on fire outside of a Starbucks in some poetic revolt against capitalism, there are some guidelines you should follow. Let me remind you of a few.

1. Take your feet off the back of my chair.

 

I don’t ask for a lot in this world. But I do ask that you take your four-year-old smelly Converse off the back of my chair so they won’t pull my hair. I get that restless leg syndrome is real, and that it sucks, but if you know you’re the kind of person who presses their legs up against another’s chair and fidget, then go on a run or something before the show, buddy.

2. Turn your fucking phone off for a few hours.

 

If you’re at the high school production of Bye Bye Birdie, there is no way you are getting a call so urgent that interrupting the whole show is justified. I’m sorry, you’re not that important.

3. Hands to yourself guys, seriously.

 

While I was trying to enjoy that same Brubeck tribute I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t help but notice that the woman in front of me had her tongue all over, and in, her partner’s ear. I mean, if jazz gets you all hot and bothered, that’s your prerogative. But don’t make me witness to your weird fetish. Keep hands, and tongues for that matter, to yourselves. There is nothing weirder than being a forced spectator to what can only be described at world longest foreplay scenario.

4 .Avoid two hours of sniffling; just go get a Kleenex.

 

I get it, the hero has just appeared on screen, she is kicking ass, you don’t want to miss a thing, but you’re fighting your own battle. . . with your nose. You are sniffling, using your sleeve, trying to manage the situation without looking like a grotesque, sickly monster. But you are really not doing yourself, or anyone around you, any favours. Either excuse yourself and get something to remedy the situation or just bring some napkins or tissues into the theatre with you.

5. Be conscious of when you’re opening your candy bar.

 

That moment of deafening silence, where it’s unclear whether everyone’s favourite character is dead or not, isn’t the time to play with your noisy wrapper. Same goes for the kiss scene in The Notebook. Or when it’s revealed the murderer is in the house. Or when “My Heart Will Go On” starts playing in Titanic. Honestly, try to avoid noisy wrappers altogether, but if you seriously cannot live without that Twix, time it appropriately.
The takeaway here: you are not the only person trying to enjoy the moment. Don’t be that one person.

Four slam poets you have to check out

By
EIC
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Alex Dang captivates listeners with reality and hilarity.

I fell in love with spoken word poetry two years ago when I stumbled upon YouTube channel Button Poetry. They post videos of spoken word poets performing their original work at the National Poetry Slam (NPS), Individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS), and collegiate slam poetry competitions.

Spoken word poetry in its current form has been around for at least the past five decades. In 1990, the first NPS was held in San Francisco, California, and is now an annual event held in different cities across the United States. IWPS is another large scale event, in which poets from around the world are pitted against each other. There are also countless local and college poetry slams that help to expand the knowledge and appreciation of spoken word.

Here are four poets I love and would recommend that everyone checks out.

Sarah Kay

This woman can make grocery lists sound like profound works of art.

Everything she says will worm their way into your heart. Her TED Talk “If I Should Have A Daughter. . .” will be the most magical poem you’ll ever listen to. She also collaborated with Phil Kaye on a poem called “When Love Arrives” that describes the misconceptions we make when it comes to finding and losing love.

Alex Dang

 If you’re looking to think and laugh at the same time, then Alex is your man.

His poem “What Kind of Asian Are You?” reprimands those who ask that exact question to Asians, as if we’re some sort of puzzle that needs to be cracked open. His poem reminds you that being Asian doesn’t mean we’re exotic and smarter/cooler/drive worse/etc. than everyone else.

In one of his poems “Everything Must Go,” Alex makes student loans and the struggle of paying them back hilarious. He opens with “so I’m in college, realizing that the Internet meme “forever alone” has two typos in it. There should be a space between a and lone, and lone should be spelled l-o-a-n. Understanding that I need money, I start my Google search.”

Anna Binkovitz

If you don’t like the harsh truth told in an extremely blunt way, then you sure won’t like Anna Binkovitz.

To address the “she asked for it because she’s very skimpily dressed” excuse that is often used to excuse rape, she performs a poem “Asking For It,” which describes a dystopian society where all wants and needs are depicted via clothing. At any moment when a person is partially naked and is seen by someone else, they must have sex.

The entire point of her poem is, in her words, for people to “stop asking people’s clothing to have sex with you, and start asking people!” 

Victoria Morgan

Victoria Morgan’s poem “How to Succeed in Heartbreak” is misleading: she’s not telling you how to succeed in breaking someone’s heart, but how to succeed in healing from a broken heart and come out of the ordeal stronger. She tells you to remind yourself that “you were okay before!” This poem starts off loud and funny, but halfway through, it changes to serious. By the end, you’ll find yourself in a puddle of tears.

CINEPHILIA: Norm of the North’s weak attempt at satire falls flat

By
EIC
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If the film weren’t so dubiously methodical, I would consider it clinically insane.

The ineptly paced, written, and animated Norm of the North is a cinematic defecation left to be flushed in the month of January.

It’s an evil film masquerading as liberal commentary, a cynical, post-modern grotesquery, devoid of any authentic feeling, message, or characters. The derivative narrative beats, the use of pop songs, the randomly inserted dance numbers, the marketable character designs, and the annoying sidekicks that speak only in gibberish, are all meticulously designed to sell action figures, McDonald’s toys, and a couple of sequels, not to make a compelling or good film.

That’s fine. Marketing teams have been making atrocious movies for decades. What makes Norm of the North particularly aggravating and fascinating, though, is that it is about evil marketing, and is that very thing itself; it’s an anti-consumerist film that uses this idea only because it’s now fashionable and also up for sale.

The film’s lazy self-reflexivity stems from a plot where Norm, who, of course, is a fuzzy polar bear from the North, becomes the poster-boy for Mr. Green’s housing complex that will destroy his arctic habitat. Vera is entrusted with raising demand for the pointless project by “using the North to sell the North.”

If the film had any actual interest in considering the effects of human pollution on the environment, or how big business uses images to fuel consumerism, it might pass off as weak satire. But, in its current state, the film plays like a hollow version of The Lego Movie, where pop songs are used earnestly without the subtle subversion of “Everything Is Awesome” and where the narrative openly rips off elements from Madagascar, Despicable Me, Ice Age and The Lion King — music cue and all.

There is deep-rooted irony in a film that indulges in the very thing it pretends to hate, like a telemarketer who doesn’t like being called at home, or an illegally parked police officer who gives you a ticket for being parked illegally.

For example, when Norm arrives to Vera’s office for an audition to be the face of the project, she remarks how the lemmings would make great marketing, winking at the audience as it fully embraces what it’s pretending to criticize. These supporting characters are superfluous to the story and are blatant rip-offs, riding on the success of past films to sell new toys.

This self-loathing has become an epidemic in Hollywood cinema. Jurassic World continually mentioned how the dinosaurs in the park needed bigger teeth to rouse the audience, as the film embraced more hollow spectacle; Steve Jobs has moments where the characters stop to apologize for the Sorkin-isms while indulging in them; and countless horror movies make self-aware jokes about not going into the basement.

Norm of the North takes this to groundbreaking extremes: it’s like an Aaron Sorkin film where the characters never stop talking about how they’re talking, or a horror movie set entirely in a basement that constantly pokes at itself.

In Norm of the North, there are instances where a filmmaker mentions how “everything can be fixed in post,” where Norm explicitly calls the villain “one-note,” and where he mentions how he hates randomly dancing for the human tourists. If the film weren’t so dubiously methodical, I would consider it clinically insane. It says one thing, and does another. It seems to hate itself to the very essence of its genetic makeup.
We’ve become too aware of convention, too conscious of how images are used to encourage consumption, and too skeptical of the entire system. Now the only way left to market is pretend to detest the very thing being embraced: to use the cynical to sell to the cynical, if you will.

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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