EVERY TIME YOU YELL, MY SOUL DIES A LITTLE SINCE I918 The Ubyssey's annual literary contest has come around again! Read the winning entries in our special pull-out supplement. Pages 5-8 UBYSSEY BUS LOOP*? ^eunder^oundbusloopis^ oiTJBC'spl^to^ o versitytown °n'rZ'UBlvd' I^Soriy^^ project and to rep* brook Vary" bus loop on &^eA to go under a shoppn & ity S°* °^rtoS accessible Boulevard to Pr0™eding to for- transpo^on AccordJ^ mer h uJle the university Tristan Ma*L condo plan but ^rSt^adwitbPtbe$40 ^nCloopproiect ■TSi.l HURSDAY • VOLUME 91, NUMBER X • ROOM 24, S 1 2. STUDENTS: NO BUS LOOP The AMS has been vocal about their opposition, lobbying the Board of Governors to halt construction. Studenfeat-large have also |, voiced their opinions: in April 2007 a petition was signed m opposition to the entire U-Blvd project. A protest space called Trek Park was created, which caused a number of confrontations between police and students In April 2008, 20 students were arrested after a peaceful protest" turned ugly in an incident that is now known as "Knoll-Aid 2 0" Included m those arrests was Stefanie Ratjen who was the AMS VP external at the time ' Today, the AMS still maintains their opposition to the cost of the J project, lack of capac- 'ity and inability for trolleybuses to access the bus loop. p«c»S 3. HOW THE NEW SUB FTTS INTO FT AMS President Blake Frederick told The Ubyssey that the AMS has started planning for the underground bus loop in their plans for the $ 110 million SUB Renew project. How exactly the two plans will fit I together, Frederick said, is yet to be determined. SAMANTHA JUNG news@ubyssey.ca ™YoUW«rK<*<0,'wmn M The project has exp ^uon I delays, in January 2W^udgeting/ Fboom, combmed withP0 constrUC. i^fcepr£^ed its start One Hon in phases, ™taf* Zfled out ol the ^ walkway by bnopp ^^^^ .restored. 5. TWO PART PROJECT "BC NOT WORRIED tv,o Rnard of Governors decided to I lv when they announced the sepa^ r^'TttoShasgoneonfor hef?Zmnbr0 years; really at tins ff wS inVl implementation process." |Ej m 6. LOOKING AHEAD The university is still committed to the project, and are waiting for TransLink to get back to them with design details and a construction schedule. They are expecting a decision from TransLink by the end of October. Despite concerns that the bus loop is too small, John Metras, managing director of infrastructure development for UBC's Land and Building Services, said that the university is comfortable that the facility at its current size will meet the needs of commuters, and that TrSnk" °n ^ technicaI exPertise of m '"We've heard all of the concerns," he said and I think there's been efforts to try to address some;of those concerns, but ultimately...the project will go ahead." ^J 2009-10 >o8 PROFILES AT UBYSSEY.CA/SPORTS > ■■news briefs LATE PROFESSOR HONOURED WITH UN AWARD Late professor Peter Oberlander (1922- 2008) was given the United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honour award on Monday, in spirit of World Habitat Day. Oberlander was given the award for his dedication to issues surrounding global community planning. The award recognizes those who play a key role in improving living conditions in urban centres around the world. In 1952, Oberlander founded UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP). The school has produced over 1000 graduates who work in communities around the globe. He also established the Centre for Human Settlements at UBC in 1975, where students research global planning and community development. RESEARCHERS DISCOVER DEFENCE MECHANISM AGAINST LISTERIA A group of UBC microbiologists have come to discover a defence mechanism ofthe body's immune system against the food- borne infection Listeria. "We know a great deal about how our body's adaptive immune system reacts to viruses but generally very little about immune response against bacterial infections," said UBC professor Wilfred Jefferies. The study highlights the role of dendritic cells, which are gatekeepers in activating the immune system. Jefferies boasts that the study establishes the vital role of dendritic cells in fighting bacterial infections and sheds light on how we can manipulate and engage immune responses. "This knowledge will ultimately aid in the design of vaccines against bacteria and other pathogens," he added. Dr Bhagirath Singh, scientific director at CIHR's Institute of Infection and Immunity, said that "Dr Jefferies' work advances our collective effort to prevent listerosis by focusing on the way our immune defences are wired and triggered upon initial infection by invading pathogens." MRI INVENTOR DIES AT 71 UBC chemistry Professor Laurance Hall, inventor of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, has died at age 71. MRI provides the outside world with images ofthe internal conditions of our organs. In UBC's Chemistry department, he built Canada's first ever MRl machine from the bottom up. Later, he fitted the MRI scanner to look at the organs ofthe entire human body. Apart from medicine, Hall also used the MRI to locate the sugar molecules dissolved in our body fluids. He was also involved with the advances in nucleur magnetic resonance (NMR) that detects the weak radio signals emitted by the nucleus of the atom, which are now crucial in today's medical science. REPORT CRITICIZES FEDERAL PRISON REFORMS A report released last week by UBC law professor Michael Jackson and Graham Stewart, the retired head of the John Howard Society of Canada, outlining suggestions of federal prison reform, has come back with a less-fhan-positive response from Ottawa. The report discusses how "get-tough" reforms aren't proven by any evidence to be effective and, in fact, only exacerbate the problems they are trying to address. It also states that Harper's 2007 penal reform is shocking for its various recommendations that would conflict with prisoners' human rights, and increase costs without doing anything to improve public safety. The Conservative government's dismissive response was reflected in Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan's comment to Saskatoon's StarPhoenix, "The professor has a different philosophy than us. We think the protection of society has to come first." tl —Katarina Grgid 2/UBYSSEY.CA/EVENTS/2009.10.08 OCTOBER ii, 2009 VOLUME XCI, N°X EDITORIAL COORDINATING EDITOR Paul Bucci: coordinating@ubyssey.ca NEWS EDITOR Samantha Jung: news@ubyssey.ca CULTURE EDITORS Kate Barbaria & Trevor Record: culture@ubyssey. ca SPORTS EDITOR Justin McElroy : sports@ubyssey.ca IDEAS EDITOR Trevor Melanson : features@ubyssey.ca PHOTO EDITOR GeraldDeo :photos@ubyssey.ca PRODUCTION MANAGER Kyrstin Bain :production@ubyssey.ca COPY EDITOR Katarina Grgic: copy@ubyssey.ca MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Tara Martellaro : 7nulti7nedia@ubyssey.ca Room 24, Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Boulevard Vancouver, BCV6T lZl tel: 604.822.2301 fax: 604.822.9279 web: www.ubyssey.ca e-mail: feedback @ubyssey. ca BUSINESS Room 23, Student Union Building advertising: 604.822.1654 business office: 604.822.6681 fax: 604.822.1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey ca BUSINESS MANAGER : Fernie Pereira AD TRAFFIC : Sabrina Marchand AD DESIGN : Isabel Ferreras LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP's guiding principles. Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office ol The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone. "Perspectives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. "Freestyles" are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter is time sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by 12 noon the day before intended publication. Letters received after this point will be published in the following issue unless there is an urgent time restriction or other matter deemed relevant by the Ubyssey staff. It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad CONTRIBUTORS Tara Martellaro looked long and hard at Chibwe Mweene The knife in his hand glistened with Michael Thibeaulfs blood. Katarina Grgic looked on in mild amusment and Steven Chua laughed out loud. Charlize Gordon seemed bored, but that was okay because Bryce Warnes and Maria Cirstea were there to keep her company. It was the Ubyssey's 25* Annual knife-fight. Gerald Deo was taking photos and Keegan Bursaw was filming. Anthony Goertz and Jason Yi were placing bets with Trevor Melanson's cash. The upset Kasha Chang was appalled at the amount of debauchery and decadence displayed Austin Holm shrugged his shoulders and Justin McElroy looked on with a beer in his hand, Wilson Wong cackled with evil laughter while Morgan Tien giggled with excitement. Ashley Whillams brought party food and Eunice Hii brought the smiles. First round of the fight's over, second round starts in five. Samantha Jung gets the audience pumped up for the next round of knife-fighting fun, and in their excitement Fabiola Carletti, Sarah Ling, Stefanie Ratjen, and Tristan Markle start throwing chairs and going ape-shit. Meanwhile, Trevor Record's been playing with matches and sets fire to Kate Barabaria's hair. As she runs around the room, flames leap onto the laps of Dax Sorrenti and Bryce Warnes. They try to play it cool, 'cause they're too busy talking to Cristina Kwon. Carson Pfahl shrieks with laughter; Greg Ursic's also ungulfed in flames. Kyrstin Bain tries to settle the mess, but Kathy Yan Li wants the chaos to continue. Vinne Yuen sounds the second round bell, and Paul Bucci and Kai Green are up next. WHO WILL WIN? V Canada Post Sales Agreement Number 0040878022 Canadian printed on^lOOZo University 'reeydedpaper Press \!_\Q EVENTS ONGOING EVENTS Tonel: Las partes que mas me sudan cuando me pongo nervhso • " Tne Parts of Me that Sweat the Most When I Get Nervous" evokes graphic humour while dealing with marginal aspects of sexuality and the physical nature of human bodies. Connotations of a day-to-day physicality come through in the image of a sweating, nervous man, whose placement leaves him open to inspection and scrutiny. • Unti October 12, BC Gas Confeience Room (Rm 742) Walter C Koerner Lbrary, naomisawada(?> ubcca, free. Journal Writing: A Voice of One's Own • Keeping a journal is a powerful way to enhance creativity and increase self-awareness. This course, led by Marlene Schiwy PhD, encourages your inner voice to speak out. Whether you are seeking creative inspiration and a stimulating atmosphere in which to write, or working on the great Canadian novel, this course will get your creative juices flowing. Please bring a blank notebook or journal to class. • Saturdays, Oct 10-Nov 14, 930am-1230pm, Rm TBA, $375, more info 604 822 9564. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen • UBC Film Society presents the latest Transformers movie. Deception forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. • Oct 7-/7, 9pm, Norm Theatre, SUB, members: $2, general $4. Bruno • LBC Rm Society presents a flick about flamboyant Austrian fashionista Bruno who takes his fashion-based television show to America. Bruno goes through one reinvention of himself after another, ultimately straying to areas far removed Iran his own self. • Oct 7-/7, 9pm, Norm Theatre, SLB, members $2, general $4. THURSDAY, OCT. 8 Hip Hop • Hip hop dance originated in New York among young Hispanic and African-American men during the late 60's as part of the hip hop culture of rap, scratch music and graffiti art. The dance is always changing but essentially embraces the two styles of break dance and body popping. Loose baggy clothes and runners recommended no jeans/ skirts as they constrict movement. Al levels welcome! • 4pm-5pm, SUB 214/216, ubcdancehcrizons.com, $8. The Live Sessions: Jets Overhead • Victoria-based rock band Jets Overhead headlines the third and final performance of The Live Sessions at the Chan Centre, an intimate concert series featuring three Thursday evening performances with some of BC's hottest musical talent. • 5pm, Tebs Studb Theatre, $15 at Tcket- master, students: $K). I'm Already Good—Why Do I Need God? • That's a question many people ask Our speaker, Dr Rikk V\fetts, is Associate Professor of New Testament at Regent College. Dr V\fetts has worked with IBM as well as being engaged in projects in public schools that provide crisis accommodation and various rehabilitation programs for the urban poor • 7pm-8pm, Woodward Bbmedical Buiding, Lecture Hal 6 FRIDAY, OCT 9 UBC Symphony Orchestra • Glinka Russian and Ludmilla Overture, Tchia- kovsky Romeo and Juliet, and Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, Op. 93. • 8pm The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road, free. MONDAY, OCT 12 Go Global Info Session • This session will cover the nuts and bolts of Go Global programs: Exchange and Study Abroad, International Service Learning, Group Study programs, and Research Abroad. • I2am-lpm, IBLC, more info at students.ubcca/globat THURSDAY, OCT 15 UBC Photography Society Presents: Lincoln Clarkes • Meeting and guest lecture: open to members and the public Complimentary food and drink • 6pm, Uooet Room IKBLC, for more info e-mail photosocubc@gmai.com or see worldwi- degreeneyes.com. If you have an event you want listed here, e-mail us at events(?>ubyssey. ca. This means you, campus dubs. CLASSIFIED Adult Ballet with Helen Evans fall classes starting now beginner-intermedate, studio at 7th and Fir Call 604732.5429 OR EvansGerrycayahooca CORRECTIONS In the online article titled "Annual TEDx Terry talks challenge how we think," the name of the conference is officially "TEDx Terry Talks" or "TEDxTt." As well, there were eight student speakers and one alumnus, not seven speakers. The ubyssey regrets this error In the editorial titled "AMS spends frivolously" in the October 1 issue, instead of "The renovations will increase the number of spaces for clubs from 70 out of 350 clubs to 77 A whopping two per cent," the sentence should read "The renovations will increase the number of spaces from 70 out of 350 clubs to 91. A whopping six per cent." The Ubyssey regrets this error 6 5 1 9 7 1 5 8 7 9 7 2 4 3 9 6 3 1 4 9 3 4 5 3 8 6 HARD solution, tips and computer programs at www.sudoku.com #67 su|do|ku © Puzzles by Pappocom Exploring your post-secondary options? Include AU too. ^^^_ Teach English Abroad sl\. \ \ \Vi W rf#"'" vV\W\ v W \ ^x\\ • » \ / / Make your academic future more flexible with Athabasca University. ■ At Athabasca University, our large selection of courses and programs can be a big ptus to your academic career. ■ So be sure to keep us in mind like Sarah did. Sarah is attending university full-time in Calgary, Alberta. But in order to maximize her schedule, she needed to take some courses that weren't available during the times she wanted. The solution? Sarah is taking some AU courses and will transfer the credits over towards her degree. AU offers over 700 courses and 90 undergraduate and graduate degree, diploma and certificate programs to select from. If you're 16 or older, and are eager to learn, you can study at AU. Academic choice. Another reason whyAU stands out as a global leader in distance learning excellence. standout www.athabascau.ca/standout 1-800-788-9041 Athabasca University iH TESOL/TESL Teacher Training Certification Courses * Intensive 60-Hour Program * Classroom Management Techniques • Detailed Lesson Planning • ESL Skills Development * Comprehensive Teaching Materials • Interactive Teaching Practicum * Internationally Recognized Certificate • Teacher Placement Service * Money-Back Guarantee Included • Thousands of Satisfied Students OXFORD SEMINARS 604-683-3430/1-800-269-6719 www.oxfordseminars.ca Are you passionate about campus events? Want to be in the know and help your fellow students be in the know as well? Know anything about RSS feeds? E-mail feedback@ubyssey.ca to see what we can do with your expertise and passion. Seriously. 2009.1 0.08/UBYSSEY.CA/NEWS/3 FACTS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH From the Canadian Mental Health Association • 10-20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental disorder or illness • 8% of adults will experience major depression at some point in their lifetime • 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds in Canada are due to suicide • 49% of those who have felt like they have suffered from anxiety or depression have not gone to the doctor about their problem • Schizophrenia most commonly strikes those who fall under the 16-30 year-old age group, affecting 1 in 100 people News A took back at the controversial bus loop SAMANTHA JUNG news@ubyssey.ca April 2003 Former UBC VP External and University Affairs Dennis Pavlich announces that draft plans for U-Blvd will create a "university town" on campus. January 2004 A competition is announced for the design ofthe proposed buildings on U-Blvd. April 2008 19 students are arrested after a "peaceful protest" turns ugly. A student-organized demonstration called "Knoll-Aid 2.0" is interrupted by policemen and firefighters, and a fallout takes place between authorities and students. Protesters allege police brutality. January 2008 Trek Park is bulldozed by the university, apparently without warning students beforehand. Around the same time, a group calling themselves the "Wreath Underground" vandalize the Ponderosa Complex and the Old Administration building declaring war on the university. "We will push these fuckers until they concede every inch. This is our declaration of war," they said in a letter to The Ubyssey. October 2009 Despite opposition, UBC is still going ahead with the U-Blvd project. They are currently waiting on TransLink to approve a construction schedule and design details. They are scheduled to have this by the end ofthe month. NOW November 2007 Results of the September consultations show that students favour green, open and social spaces over buildings. October 2007 Darren Peets, who was involved in the first protests against the U-Blvd project, tells The Ubyssey, "University Boulevard stands out to me as an example of how [consultation] was done wrong." April 2005 "Team A" wins the U-Blvd architect competition. Made up of California and Vancouver architects, Team A say their design "weaves the campus together." The AMS fears increased competition from commercial businesses that U-Blvd will bring. January 2006 Construction and poor budgeting result in UBC scheduling the U-Blvd project in phases. This delays the project's start. Summer 2006 The California architectural firm pulls out of the project, and are replaced by a Toronto-based group. April 2007 A student petition calls for a stop to the U-Blvd project Petitioners say that student space and needs should have priority over retail space. September 2007 The AMS finally gets a seat in the consultation process for U-Blvd. Protesters set up a protest space between the Grassy Knoll and the proposed University Square site. It is called Trek Park, after UBC's Trek 2010 plan. Police and students clash over the protest space. Group confronts social UBC agrees to more stigma with humour FABIOLA CARLETTI Contributor Nearly 500 people attended the two Stand Up for Mental Health comedy shows on Monday at Frederick Wood Theatre and the Totem Park Ballroom. The campus comedy day coincided with National Mental Illness Awareness Week, a campaign that aims to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness. Karine Stjean stood before the microphone clutching her cue cards. Most of the audience wasn't much older than her, and many without seats sat close by and cross-legged on the floor. The 16-year-old comic wore heart-shaped earrings, which framed her cherub cheeks, and a bright yellow shirt. "I took this anger management class and they told us to do the square-breathing technique when we get angry," she said. "That really pissed me off." The crowd erupted in laughter, showing support for Stjean and the other comedians that highlighted the humour in a diverse list of mental illnesses. Mental illness directly affects 20 per cent of Canadians and indirectly affects all Canadians at some point through a family member, colleague or friend, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association. Depression, seasonal affective disorder and anxiety all rank within the top seven most common health conditions on UBC campus, according to 2008 data from the UBC Wellness Centre. Stand Up for Mental Health aims to encourage dialogue around such numbers. David Granirer launched the program to demonstrate that humour can be a powerful form of therapy for the participants and a taboo-buster for the general public. Since 2004 he has taught other people with mental illness how to get behind a microphone, speak their truths and inspire laughter in themselves and others. "It just opens up a whole conversation for people," said Granirer. "If we can get [students] talking about it now, that's a huge step forward." Granirer copes with his own depression through medication, comedy and community service. His ten- year-old son, Jonathan Granirer, was a favoured performer at the event. "When I first heard my dad had a mental illness, I thought liow could someone so weird get any weirder?'" said the young Granirer, who ended his cheeky routine with a "but seriously folks," asking that people stop fearing those with mental illness and instead give them the support they need. The problem is often invisible. One grad student that attended the show—who asked not to be identified—privately deals with generalized anxiety disorder. "Though I was accepted, it was impossible for me to go to Oxford," she said softly. "And even now I want to be able to tell my supervisor things like 'I didn't do the reading last night because I had a panic attack.'" The student said that she admired the comedians for their bravery. "It's refreshing that others could get up there without shame and self-pity." In 2010, the comedy group will be contributing to the second-year curriculum for UBC medical students, explaining to future physicians the importance of empathy and of respectfully asking the questions that identify and help treat mental illness. vtT student housing Totem Park to get 550 new beds SARAH LING Contributor With waiting lists for housing ranging in the thousands each year, the demand for more beds has been echoed for years. Now, that plea is transforming into an active plan: UBC has launched the initiative to create more housing on campus, especially for first-year students. The first phase of the project is called the "Totem hi-fill Project." By August 2011, the target is to add 550 beds to Totem Park residence by attaching 6-7 storey buildings designed to fit with the existing complex. Andrew Parr, managing director of Student Housing and Hospitality services, recognized students as the sole inspiration ofthe project. "For quite some time now, despite the recent growth of 1600 beds at Marine Drive Residence, there has been a long wait list and a strong demand for more housing at UBC," he said. "Couple this with the increased engagement and improved learning opportunities for students who live in residence and it is clear more beds are needed." Board of Governors student representative Bijan Ahmadian expressed his optimism for the direction UBC Housing is taking. "I am excited about the project, especially about UBC's future ability to offer more first-year students guaranteed housing," he said. "This will make UBC even more attractive to prospective students, and will significantly enhance the engagement opportunities for those first-year students." Parr, who had a major role in shaping the approved project, shared Ahmadian's remarks. "I strongly support this growth. Our plan is to grow the number of beds by 2500 in the next five years, taking the percentage of full- time students living on campus from 28 per cent to 35 per cent," he said. The new buildings to appear in Totem Park and subsequent residences will be more sustainable than most of the current complexes. For the in-fill project, UBC housing has committed to REAP Gold standards—the residential equivalent to LEED Gold. These standards include the management of water and energy, building materials and building function. The future phases Parr mentioned include incorporating new neighbourhoods, or "hubs," in strategic locations around campus. The locations specifically under consideration are the Ponderosa Hub at West Mall, University Boulevard and the Law Hub, just south of the not-yet- built new Law building. These hubs will include services such as student housing food services, child care, recreational facilities and possibly academic classrooms. "In addition to these hubs we are also looking at higher-density student family housing opportunities in the Acadia Park area," Parr said. Students can contribute their thoughts to housing developments on campus and other aspects of campus construction in the Campus Plan consultations, which run from October 5 to 22.'(I VANTAGE POINT Take back your campus STEFANIE RATJEN S> TRISTAN MARKLE Contributors The UBC underground bus terminal has always been a bad idea. Over the last few years, students have utilized a variety of avenues to express their concerns: some delivered petitions, some reclaimed public space, some pointed out design flaws. Collectively students have stepped forward with the vision, and the funds, to create a better plan. From 2003-2005, former UBC VP Administration Dennis Pavlich devised a plan to have the centre of campus dominated by retail space. Initial estimates showed that retail rents would have to be extremely high for the project to be financially viable. So, UBC decided on an underground bus terminal to funnel people directly into the shopping- condo complex. UBC Properties Trust was given control ofthe project. In the spring of 2007, without having consulted students, Properties Trust moved to have their project approved by the UBC Board of Governors (BoG). Students mobilized and in two weeks got 4000 signatures to stop the plan. On May 2, 2007, the AMS unanimously approved a motion opposing the entire project. At this time, UBC's new president Stephen Toope held a private meeting with Poettcker and reprimanded him for not consulting with students. At the same time, a new retail analysis prepared for UBC by BTA consultants showed that the shopping mall plan was not feasible. At the May 2007 BoG meeting, UBC cancelled the shopping mall and condo components of the plan. However, despite the fact that a main point of the bus terminal was to maximize retail space rent, the BoG stayed committed to the $40 million underground bus loop. Toope's compromise was well- intentioned, but illogical. In November 2008, Poettcker told BoG members that the terminal plan was $ 10 million short and that they should try to take that money from students. TransLink conducted a circulation study of the bus terminal plan and implicitly found what students had been saying all along—the terminal plan was inadequate to meet rising student demand and had a number of technical issues. Students have long stated that the project is expensive and unnecessary. This funding could go a long way toward improving financial assistance for students, class availability, and childcare support. It is disconcerting that UBC remains committed to this illogical project, and it is disgraceful how the university administration continues to bully, intimidate, and manipulate students to get it done. Students have the power to influence how their campus is run. Please support student-driven processes and take back your campus, tl Editor's Note: Ratjen was the AMS VP External and Markle was the VPAd- minstrationfor the 2008/2009 year. 4/UBYSSEY.CA/CULTURE/2009.10.08 Got a hot date on Friday night? Culture Pretend you're classy, and take them to the Vancouver International Film Festival. Check out ubyssey.ca/ culture for new VIFF reviews (including biting commentary and glowing accolades). We all come from somewhere An interview with Cole director Carl Bessai DAX SORRENTI Contributor Award-winning and critically acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Carl Bessai returns to the Vancouver International Film Festival this year with his new film Cole. Shot primarily on location in Lytton, BC—with some location shooting at UBC—the film deals with the idealized, dying small-town lifestyle, the allure of city life and all that comes with it, and the question of loyalty to one's self and one's family. There is so much more going on in the film than what can be simplified by a tagline, including powerfully raw performances from the cast. The Ubyssey sat down with Bessai to discuss his film and some of the issues facing Canadian cinema as a whole. The film utilized the town of Lytton to tap into an authentic rural atmosphere. Cast and crew stayed at local motels, and explored the town to connect with their surroundings. "To me, the movie really started to become interesting when we got to Lytton," he said. "That's when it became not just a movie anymore, it became something more. And I think it shows in the relationships that people have to one another, and to the town itself.... "I think what I responded to positively was this idea that we all come from somewhere," Bessai said. "I came from Edmonton, Alberta, which is not a small town, but compared to Vancouver or Toronto it's kind of a little place. It was certainly a place I wanted to get the hell out of, sort of 'go and find your life somewhere.' And on one hand you feel trapped by the place, but on the other hand you realize you kind of love the place. There's a sort of weird 'that's what made you' [feeling], so you're a little drawn to it and inspired by it, and that tension is in all of us a little bit and I thought it was quite universal." Cole was shot with a budget under one million, but easily holds its own amongst productions with larger budgets. Unlike many Canadian films, its funding came through private sources rather than government funding. Even with the future of government film funding in Canada still unclear due to recent budget cuts, Jets Overhead unplugged Last of the Live Sessions at the Chan Just some small town boys, living in the lonely world of Bessai's Cole, courtesy of viff Bessai feels the outlook for Canadian small-budget productions is positive if they aim for a route similar to his. "[It's] not the future, but a future for a lot of people," he said. "There's a price point for every movie, and it's unsustainable to make two or three million dollar movies that don't sell; no one's ever going to recoup their money. Certainly, when you have a subsidy system where the recouping of money isn't the number one priority, then those kinds of films will continue to get made. But when you're talking about private investors and you're talking about people risking money on your movies, you'vegot to pay attention to the math." v3T Cole plays at the Granville Cinemas as part ofthe Vancouver International Film Festival, Thursday at 6:30pm in I G3 and Friday at 4:15pm in G7. BRYCE WARNES bwarnes@ubyssey.ca Since their formation in 2003, Victoria's Jets Overhead have two studio albums, a Juno nomination and international radio play under their collective belts. The Ubyssey caught up with singer Adam Kittredge in advance of their October 8 show at the Chan Centre, where they will be closing the Live Sessions series. UBYSSEY: You've said in the past that you were going for more of a psychedelic sound on your new record [No Nations]. Are you highlighting that aspect of your music? ADAM KFTTREDGE: We wanted to expand in multiple directions at the same time....Maybe not necessarily [a] psychedelic so much as atmospheric sound, and in the more emotional, present, up close way as well. So you'll hear more reverb and more sonic textures within each song but you'll also notice, if you compare Bridges to No Nations, that the vocals are single track, and closer and mixed louder, as opposed to Bridges where a lot of the vocals were buried and double tracked. There's more personality [now] and you can really make out the words better. U: Your first album, Bridges, was released as "pay-whatyou-want," you've released the first single from No Nations under Creative Commons, and you'll also be releasing instrumentals under the same licence. What are your opinions on the industry's moves towards a more open model? AK: We've always found it a bit ridiculous to fight the pirating of music. It's a losing battle. We might liken it to the war on drugs, in a way. When we originally did the pay-whatyou-want model on our Bridges campaign, it wasn't as common a concept as it is now. A year and a half later Radio- head did it, and blew the whole concept wide open in the media. Today it's not as interesting and perhaps not as original. We know people can get our album for free anyway, so we thought we'd embrace a more contemporary movement—the Creative Commons. U: You'll be at UBC on October 8, playing at the Chan Centre. AK: Yeah, that'll be an interesting experience. We've been told we have to play quietly. So we're going to be turned down a bit, but that's good. We're [also] playing Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit Concert just south of San Francisco in late October. Neil has two kids who have cerebral palsy, so every year he puts on a benefit concert and invites his friends to perform for free at a big amphitheatre to raise money for the Bridge School. The artists that will be billed are some of the biggest artists today. The interesting thing about Bridge is every artist has to play unplugged, or at least totally acoustic. We're going to use this as a bit of a warm-up to that and try and do some different arrangements in more of an unplugged way. tl it DREW BARRYMORE HAS DIRECTED A WORK OF PURE GENIUS." AIN'T IT COOL NEWS OPENS EVERYWHERE OCTOBER 2 LSAT MCAT GMAT GRE Preparation Seminars FILM THEATRE VISUAL ARTS CONCERTS DINING SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE SOCIAL CLUBS ADVENTURES TECHNOLOGY BARS • Complete 30-Hour Seminars • Convenient Weekend Schedule • Proven Test-Taking Strategies • Experienced Course Instructors • Comprehensive Study Materials • Simulated Practice Exams • Limited Class Size • Free Repeat Policy • Personal Tutoring Available • Thousands of Satisfied Students OXFORD SEMINARS 604-683-3430 1-800-269-6719 www.oxfordserainars.ca Write for the gl that covers a students care c meetings at noo CULTURE© I orious section II the things ibout! Section m on Mondays. JBYSSEY.CA Literary Supplement- October 8, 2009 \/ Literary Supplement Coordinator: Vinnie Yuen Graphics: Anthony Goertz GERALD DEO PHOTO THE UBYSSEY Letter from the coordinator Dear Readers, In light of the coming Olympics, we decided that the theme of this year's literary supplement would be "Our City: Vancouver," to showcase the unique features of our hometown. Although depictions of our beautiful landscape were common, the issues of poverty and the Downtown Eastside were reoccurring themes. Almost a third of all submissions referred to "a bad side of town" or a homeless person. The problem of poverty is not invisible, it's all around us. University is a place for learning, and some call it a place where well-off youngsters hang out for four years, having a rocking good time. However, our campus is not immune to poverty. How many people have you seen collecting cans around campus? How many (seemingly) homeless people do you seen hanging out in the SUB? Poverty is ever-present, even at UBC. It's amazing that students are so perceptive and sensitive to issues of poverty in their submissions to The Ubyssey Literary Contest. No matter how hard the government tries to clean up our streets for the Olympics, the students of UBC will not forget our issues of poverty and homelessness. We won't let the glamour of the Olympics get inside our heads. I would like to extend a big thank you to our two wonderful judges, both professors from the Creative Writing Department and the English Department. I would also like to thank everyone who sent in a submission. I truly enjoyed reading all of your pieces, and I am sure our readers too. Enjoy! % —Vinnie Yuen Ubyssey Literary Supplement Coordinator Vancouver's Cobalt Bar: More than a run-down eyesore STEVEN CHUA 1st Place Author's Note: For those of you who don't know, Vancouver's one and only Hardcore/Punk/ Metal bar, The Cobalt, was just shut down this Wednesday. With this piece I want to pay tribute to one of the most overlooked and misunderstood places in our city, Vancouver. An old dilapidated building, probably the worst kept in the block, certainly among the worst kept in Vancouver. A weathered structure, it's almost a century old. Its original functions have left a legacy; a broken neon sign glaring "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS" flickers its original purpose with what little conviction it has left. Bums and crack-heads drift around aimlessly like clouds; they have no particular destination in mind. It's a hotel that is home to Vancouver's issues. Addiction, domestic violence, murder. However, tonight we're not interested in looking for a place to stay. We want to listen to some music. You enter a dimly lit bar and see a tall fellow, probably of Turkish descent with a pony tail and leather jacket. He grunts out the fee and you hand him the ten bucks. The bands must be reasonably good tonight. Past the door, a dark room filled with concert posters and graffiti comes into view. The room is no bigger than a large basement. To your left is the bar with a refrigerator stocked with cheap beer. It doesn't work either, the beer is warm half the time. The well-known manager of the bar, Wendy, gives you a dubious stare and nods her head in acknowledgement. She's in a good mood tonight. Hashing red and white lights pepper the stage on the right. They are perpetually on and blink in a haphazard fashion. The stage is about four feet tall, covered in a carpet wielding stains that tell all sorts of stories. Puke—crazy show a few days ago when Ricky from Luciferian Conquest threw up all over the carpet. Beer—technical difficulties when someone spilled beer onstage and soaked the front man of Malice Plagued's pedal board. Blood—some guy must've been wearing spikes and hit someone onstage. Ash—looks like Anatolian Wisdom brought out the Pentagram and lit it on fire again. An old fellow with a skullet goes on stage and slowly but surely goes about micing the amplifiers and drums onstage. His flashlight is the brightest thing in the bar. From a distance he looks like an investigator, combing around a crime scene for clues, his little mag-lite the eye sweeping the area, trying to discern what's what among the mass of cables and switch pedals devoid of any organization. Amazingly enough, the man manages to piece together the clues, and within ten minutes he hops down the stage and goes into a hidden area in the back. "KICK DRUM PLEASE!" Soundcheck has begun, and the old technician works his way through each instrument. The show finally starts. Two people on the floor, probably buddies of the band start thrashing their heads. A few more people go right in front of the stage with beers in their right hands and nod their heads, seem ingly captured in a trance. Others continue standing far away from the stage with their hands crossed and a look on their face that says 'that's why they're openers.' Others are content to hang out in the back sitting on the half-broken furniture making small talk and sucking on beers. Others still don't like the band at all and go out and pass the time with a nicotine or THC buzz. The first act ends and we go through the cycle once more. People shuffle out, the old sound tech roams back on stage and mics the incoming gear. Sound-check, then everyone's good to go again. This band's a bit better. More people at the front. A small mosh-pit ensues, and the expressions on the faces ofthe onlookers are softer. The crowd's getting larger. We continue on until the third act. The third act is usually a well known band in the scene. Tonight's no exception. A large crowd has gathered, and on the opening note, the front of the stage explodes. A large mosh-pit is almost instantly carved out, with people running at breakneck speeds charging straight into one another. Those who aren't in the pit immediately start head-banging, and from a certain viewpoint it looks like an ocean that has come alive with the approach of a storm. The thrashing heads are waves and the mosh- pit a tsunami. The band onstage seems to pop out like a collection of cartoon figures. Offstage they're just random people you passed by hardly noticing. But now they are larger than life. It's hard to explain what happens when a good band goes onstage. They just seem to just become bigger, greater than anything you'd see offstage. It's not the lighting; the lighting sucks. It's not the height of the stage; a midget could climb up on it if he wanted to. It sure as hell isn't the production value; stage production doesn't get much fancier than a hand-drawn banner around here. I think it's a special kind of energy, an aura that this place gives off. Try to figure it out and it's gone. It just is. You can't find it in the external details ofthe place, but there's just something about it that gives people a kind of energy when they're on stage. Maybe the band is just really good. To a certain extent, that is true. But you've seen these guys in other places, and while they did play well, it just wasn't the same as when you saw them here in the Cobalt. It felt different. It sounded different. It looked different. And you just don't know why. And that's the magic of this place. It is often just looked upon as some old ugly building, but until you've experienced that certain something in it, you won't know its true value. % w**mm VI Literary Supplement-October 8, 2009 Sleepin' Bo MARIA BELIAEVA 2nd Place A sound of beating drums, foreign yet familiar, mixed with the urgent wailing of something exploding in halos of red and blue and flooded the urine-drenched side street, right off Hastings and Princess. Still annoying as hell, the primal symphony washed through the dumpsters, past the church, came to a screeching halt before making a sharp turn, right up Main, where it reached light speed (still red and blue), before bursting into whimpering gasps of silence against the quiet phosphor of hospital windows. The boy who would soon come to be known as Joe Handsome or Sleeping Bo' to the resident staff of ICU, VGH, from the cutest of bespectacled interns to the most hardened of head nurses, had indeed made quite an entrance. Lucky! Didn't even know how lucky. Had the junior officer not been in such a hurry to relieve himself of the three grande lattes he'd had that morning had the patrol car not happened to randomly stop at just that intersection, Lucky Louie there would now be colder than Christmas Day in Yellowknife. The head nurse smiled down on the pale, youthful face, cherub lips gathered in a pout under their fluff of yellow down, and hardly a blemish anywhere except one small pimple below the left nostril. Interns gathered in awe as the nurse lifted one rose petal eyelid revealing a hole that floated black and dilated in pools of blue iris-water, no doubt unconscious still. Lucky Lou Prom King, Sleepy McCharming just lying there like a half- defrosted vegetable vacantly staring up at their multicolored faces in shrub-colored scrubs... Faces that floated in and out of focus like so many flowers, just like those in the UBC Rose Garden Dad had once taken him to see, on his fifth birthday, after a party at the golf club. That had been some party: one five-year-old and not a guest under forty! It was Dad's idea, naturally. Mom had been against it from the start, but he had managed to convince her that five-year-olds don't really care for birthdays anyway, while he could always use another networking opportunity. After the luncheon— because the boy has started to act out, as children that age must—Dad had taken him out for a walk. That's when the Rose Garden had come into the picture, beautiful at that time of year, early July, and all the roses in bloom. The boy sped down the stairs, tugging Dad along with him. Smiles all around. Happy birthday The rattling shopping cart, with its load of glittering bottles, came out of nowhere. "Reggie. Fancy seeing you here." Dad froze with the little boy still tugging on his sleeve. The man ofthe shopping cart, ofthe sunburnt face and matted yellow beard, stood in their way. "Reg. Reggie-Reg. Nice suit you got on," chuckled the man, and looked down at the boy, "Ahoy, what's that! Glad to see you still got balls inside that penguin suit. Hey little man! It's your Uncle Jamie! D'you know your Uncle Jamie?" The boy frowned. Dad's eyes jolted up and down the man's body, slowing down to a buzz of hungry flies around the crook of the elbow where purple skin stood out in between rusty needle-holes. "Get away from him James," grunted Dad, and pulled the child closer. "You don't know about Uncle Jamie, do you," pursued the man, now looking at Dad, "That's funny 'cos I know all about you. Was just on my way up from Wreck when I heard of your big party, little man. Didn't invite me, did you? Too big of an embarrassment for Penguin Papa? Never was good enough a brother, was I, Reg?" But Dad was already walking away, dragging the boy along. 'Justyou watch, Reg!" There was a loud crash as an empty beer bottle flew past his ear, exploding a few steps ahead, 'Just you watch! The bad blood I got's no better than yours or your brat's. It's all in the family, Reg. Just you watch!" That was the first and last the boy ever saw of Uncle Jamie. Dad was determined he would not just watch. Not after he'd stood and watched what needles had done to J. He would never let that happen to no child of his, he told Mom that day. That's why the blue liquid eyes, now floating unfocused, had gone all seventeen years without seeing so much as a vaccination needle. No child of his, he'd said. No, sir. Wake up, Sleeping Bo', wake up! A cute bespectacled intern drummed on his arm. She drummed just below the crook of the elbow, where little rusty holes, like silly vampire bites, stood out among bruises that might have been from Softball or any other normal thing. Normal. Whatever that was, Dad had hoped his son would find it in St George's school for boys where striped ties and golden cuffs were deemed enough protection from such things as sharp needles. Ha! The blue eyes rolled under their rose petal eyelids. Sure enough, fifteen had found him just as it had Uncle Jamie, lonely and angry and craving the sting of something sharp and self-inflicted to make sense of.. .stuff. That's when the needles found him, and along with them, the Downtown Eastside which must have been waiting there along, hidden in the vaporous torpor of fast-consuming roaches, and the thorns of half-injected heavens. And cold. Always cold. But nothing like that stupid Keats poem Mr. Jennings had made them learn. No, the cold hill's side had turned out colder and the pale kings and princes paler, and the beldame enthralling him, much more merciless since she had elected residence in his bloodstream rather than on his valiant steed. A steed he'd sold long ago, anyhow: the beldame of the million needles was heavy on the wallet. As soon as Dad realized what had happened, he kicked the knight-at-arms out. Mom cried but Dad had said no child of his, no sir. The body in the bed didn't move. Hadn't moved since they'd hoisted him up on the stretcher, careful not to prick themselves on the millions of thorns around. Not since they'd carried him out of the alley, stepping gingerly over hundreds of his zoned out buddies, had Sleeping Bo' moved a muscle. Not even when, in a fresh explosion of light particles, the doors ofthe intensive care unit burst open, stifling for a minute the mute stillness of phosphor. Away sped the head nurse and her armada of interns, scattering through the room like so many multicolored blooms in a rose garden, somewhere early July. "Son! Son!" Out reached the trembling hand as the eyes scaled the shapeless cordillera, with its hospital-sheet cliffs and crevices extending in tubes to the neighboring IV drip. Up, up, flying over, collecting spare parts. Feet! There. Legs! Present. Stomach! Here. Fleeting up and over, without even so much as a stumble, the bruised arms, the crook of the elbow, past the little holes, invisible now, up, up, to the pale forehead. A kiss. A first true kiss. Peering primly out from behind Dad's shoulder, notepad clasped to her breast, the intern registered: foreign body contact triggering nervous response: momentary flicker of eyelid, rose petal: patient awake. % Without Words DAVID JOL 3rd Place I stood in the Downtown Eastside at the crossroads of Hastings and Main Street. I had my hood up and my headphones on, attempting to project an aura of ^difference, and blend in as another anonymous figure. A repetitive swirl of heavy mist danced through the open air, twisting and spinning violently as vehicles rushed by. An indignant mass of grey enveloped the sky. The faded silhouettes of the surrounding mountains cowered behind the gang of clouds like scared children behind a curtain. But in this part of Vancouver, nothing was more captivating than the people roaming the streets. They were the homeless, the discarded, the constant reminder of human failings; kicked to their knees by drug abuse and mental illness. They survived in the Downtown Eastside. Like the majority of the people near me, I was there to catch a bus. We all crept in from the affluence surrounding the neighbourhood, crowded together and awaited our departure. All around us, the disenchanted members of our society chaotically functioned. Across the street I watched a hollow-looking man empty cigarette buds into a rolling paper. His black calloused hands moved with visible purpose, his sunken grey eyes darted back and forth like an animal eating its prey. A skeleton of a woman was pushing a shopping cart full of cans, bottles, and old clothing across the street, ignoring the oncoming traffic. Her jacket hung on her Hke it would a coat hanger, every one of her laboured steps a minor miracle. A vehicle came to a stop in front of me, blocking my view. I saw my reflection in the strong tint of its window. I looked at myself. But my gaze was pulled to a man sitting behind me. He was slumped against the brick wall. His knees were pulled into his chest, his head rested on his crossed arms. The jeans he wore were a shit brown, the flannel jacket covering his torso was drooling soggy cotton out of several seams. A paper cup was placed a couple inches in front of his large rubber boots. The bright yellow toque he wore gave him the resemblance of a disfigured streetlamp. I waited for him to raise his head and sink his stare into my eyes, making me feel guilty for looking at him. But he never did. The traffic light turned, causing a pedestrian migration across the street. I glanced over at a woman. She noticed and locked eyes with me, just for an instant. Her path continued towards me. She was middle-aged, and appeared to be a resident ofthe neighbourhood. Her hair looked over-bleached and was pulled back tightly. She wore a men's denim jacket that draped nicely on top of a navy Club Monaco sweater. Her blue jeans were tucked into a pair of brown steel- toes. Something about her seemed familiar. Her face had deep, dark wrinkles that outlined the bone structure it once displayed. There was an intelligence that sparked with life behind the sadness that layered her eyes. I still could not figure out what I recognized about her. The woman stood right across from me, facing my direction without looking at me. I knew she would see me, but I could not stop glancing over at her. I needed to know what about her was triggering my memory. She reached inside the worn out leather purse casually placed on her shoulder and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. With an unlit cigarette suspended on her lower lip, she struck up a conversation with a man next to her. He extended his arm and lit her cigarette while they continued to talk. I turned off my music sol could hear them. I caught the punch line of a joke. Her laugh coughed out of her mouth as she exhaled the long, first drag of her cigarette. I saw it then. It was her smile. That was it, I realized. She smiled just long enough to realize she was smiling and no longer. It was my mom's smile. It was the smile of someone who had life sweep them away, had lost control somehow. And still being dragged along by the current, she reached out, hoping someone might grab her and hold on. I could see it all in that fleeting smile. "How's it goin' son?" Her voice caught me off-guard. I realized I was staring at her. Embarrassed, I scrambled to take my headphones off. "Good. I'm good thanks," I said with an over- friendly tone. "How Tjoutyou?" 'Just fine. I mean this rain is really fucking shit, but what canya do?" I nodded my head in agreement. She took another long drag and gracefully blew the smoke between her parted lips in a manner that made her seem classy and feminine, despite her attire. Hearing her swear reminded me of the vast difference there was between herself and my mom. I could only imagine the twists and turns this woman's life had taken to land her in the position she was now. She had a confident vertical stance, like someone who had once been beautiful. Maybe she had been the arm candy for a wealthy man, escorting him to parties and living the easy life that only someone with beauty can live. He could handle the drugs, she couldn't. She became addicted; he started sticking his dick in someone else. Maybe she was raised in dysfunction or poverty. Maybe she just made some poor choices. "So what d'ya do sweetheart?" She said. "I'm a student." "Well good for you. I really loved school when I was younger." I did not respond. I was not really sure what to say. This woman made me feel uneasy and comfortable at the same time. But I only felt uneasy because ofthe comfort she gave me. She seemed genuine. "Hey Patti!" A scruffy man walking past called. The woman I was speaking to turned towards him. "Patti, baby, when are ya gonna marry me?" She smiled for a second time. "The day I win the lottery sweetheart!" I watched the smile linger on her face as it created creases in her cheeks. She turned back towards me, the lines from the smile disappeared into the more serious positions her face was accustomed to. She pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with the ember of the one she just finished. I could tell she wanted to say something more to me, to anyone. I felt like a snob for not saying something back to her, but I did not know what to say. All I could think about was that smile on her face and how if things had gone differently that it could be my mom standing here and not some lady named Patti. And for that instant, I felt love for this woman. Not because of who she was but because she could have been anyone. The bus came roaring through the intersection with a trail of mist followed close behind. I gave Patti a subtle nod and started to take my place in line. "Hey son, d'ya got some change for the bus?" "No," I lied. "I'm sorry." %. Literary Supplement-October 8, 2009 VII How to get high in Vancouver- MICHAEL COOK Runner Up There is a sequoia tree in Vancouver whose branches are like the arms and legs of all my friends. About thirty feet up, it has a huge hammock and a pair of swings. These replaced a previous pair of swings made by kids from Van Tech, which were removed for reasons that I won't get into. The hammock and swings are not even halfway up the tree. For people like us, the tree is perfect for everything from first dates, to watching the fireworks, to drinking beer with a bunch of friends. It's not just my favourite tree. It is my favourite spot in my very favourite city in the whole wide world. That's why my friends and I just call it the tree. Climbing the tree is so easy thatyou forget how high you're going until the trunk gets narrow, and the branches get thin and short, and finally your head is poking out into the open air. You and the tree are swaying madly in the wind, and the city slaps you in the face—the Georgia Strait, Cypress Mountain, English Bay, Stanley Park, Downtown, the Creek, the Burrard Inlet, the Lions, Capitol Hill, Burnaby Mountain... If you can figure out which tree is the tree, and you climb it up to that point, look up another five feet, and you'll be staring at the site of my first acid trip. I was in my friend Chris's apartment on a warm summer night, with his girlfriend, and my girl, Audrey. We were drinking beer and passing around a little sheet of blue card stock with funny astrological symbols all over it. Chris had just picked it up, and he had tried it earlier that week. I'd been waiting for a chance to drop acid since I was sixteen. "Shits pretty crazy. But it's already midnight," said Chris. "You don't want to do it now, or you'll be up till tomorrow afternoon." Audrey agreed. She looked nervous. She had done enough acid already in her life and wasn't looking forward to doing more. But she didn't want me doing it alone. "I don't care," I said. "I've been waiting for this for years, and I don't have shit to do tomorrow." So I bought four hits—some for that night and some for another night. Audrey and I took one each and started walking. I was still straight when Audrey started losing it. The city lights reflecting off the clouds cast a purple shade over the trees and flowers in the Queen E quarry garden. And as I looked into her eyes dilating into the waterfall, my jealous heart sank. "What's it like?" I asked. "You're not high yet?" "No, and it's been forever. I feel like this isn't gonna work." "I'm so high," she giggled. "I'm gonna climb up on that big, glass dome." "You're not doing that. People fall through that thing all the time. Imagine breaking your leg on acid." I took the last two hits before I went after her. After I dragged her off the conservatory, I tried to fool around with her, and she wrenched away. "No way. Too weird," she said. "Alright," I sighed, "let's have a change of scenery." We were going to pass the tree on the way home, and Audrey suggested we climb it. When we got to the base of it, we heard a rustling and grabbed each other's hands as we stepped back. Oh my God, what the fuck is that? I thought. The needles and branches became a swirling mass, and out ran a skunk the size of a bear across the street and into another bush. That's when I realized I was higher than a moon man in a hot air balloon. I know people always exaggerate the size of animals they see, and I know acid plays hide and seek with the accuracy of a person's perceptions. But that skunk really was twice the size of the biggest skunk I ever saw before that. And I've seen big skunks. I like the smell of skunks. It reminds me of Vancouver in the summertime. But I like it in the distance. That fleeing skunk scared the shit out of me. The nice thing about fled skunks is they don't leave raccoons or people behind them. So into the tree we went. Audrey felt satisfied about fifteen feet up, but she encouraged me to keep going if I wanted. After another ten feet, I wrapped both my arms around a soft, curved branch, and it was my friend's leg. "Greg?" I whispered. I looked down. The branches were twisting, swaying, spindling around and about one another. India ink flowing down a page. Spider's legs repairing a web. "Holy shit." I climbed back down to Audrey. "How high did you go?" she asked. "Not very. It got weird." "Quit being such a baby," she giggled. So up I went again, ready this time to deal bravely with whatever happened. Ready to climb as high as I could get. And I got so, so, so high. As the sun rose on our twinkling skyline, the city really came to life. There are giant monsters everywhere, I thought. Maybe I said it out loud. City ALYSSA E. ARBUCKLE Runner Up I am surrounded by the salty embrace ofthe Pacific- tempestuous lover. Swaying; mimicking my own rivers and streams. Vein-housed rusty oceans pulsing up and down, coursing shoulder to fingertips- rushing; roaring. Unrelenting. A beautiful pilgrimage- Vancouver words have found a welcome home nestled in the light bones and tendons threading my narrow and creased wrists. City of quiet requests memorized and repeated in throaty half-whispers. We want health, warmth. And clean parks to stretch out our tired bodies in, City, your voice is welcome in my bones. % BC Place inched along like a caterpillar; the Wall Centre stepped teeteringly down Burrard Street; the Harbour Centre twirled around before popping off its revolving-restaurant-head like a wind-up helicopter; Science World waddled. And they were all covered in climbing tree demons who came down from the North Shore mountains to join the party. Holy fucking shit! Is this real? About eighty feet up, my arms and legs were wrapped around the tree's trunk—skinnier at this height than Audrey's waist. It swayed and swayed me. Oh Christ, are you coming to life? When I finally started climbing down, it was broad daylight. The branches were still moving more than they should have been. And it started to seem like I was going down a different way than I'd come up. How did I get lost in the tree? I had to stop in the hammock for a minute to remember that climbing down a tree will always lead you to the same place. Trees are unlike mountains that way. These branches can slither around as much as they like. This tree: I'm gonna get to the bottom of it like Sherlock Holmes. And Audrey's gonna be there waiting for me, and we're gonna go back to our apartment where our records are waiting for us. So chill out, Mike. When I got to the bottom, Audrey was crying because she thought I'd disappeared. For a little while, I guess I kind of did. Part of me will always be disappeared into that tree. If I die, scatter my ashes from the highest branch you can climb to, "* Literary Supplement-October 8, 2009 @ Roa' eight terms in one RoadsidePlus is the easiest course load you'll get this year. Your one plan holds eight useful coverages. See us on campus for your auto insurance. eight coverages \ autoplan University Insurance Brokers 5727 Dalhousie Road Vancouver (University Village) 604-221-7080 WE'RE LOOKING FOR GREAT IDEAS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY. The Emission Coffer. AN EXHAUST PLUG ISN'T ONE. The issues of sustainability, climate change and energy conservation affect us all. And at BC Hydro, we believe the agents of change for tomorrow are the youth of today. So, ifyou're between 13 and 24 and have ideas about energy sustainability, we want to hear them in an essay or video. You could win one of four $2,500 prizes! Tell your friends about it and they can vote for you online! VISIT INVENTTHEFUTURE.CA $. _t -■hif raiwto *RCfOND BC hydro R! powersmart Are you interested in learning more about the job of an editor? volunteer to coordinate one of our upcoming supplements! Examples of regular Ubyssey supplements include Media/Democracy, First Nations/Aboriginal, Satire Rant, Pride, Colours and the Women s Issue. Contact feedback@ubyssey.ca for more info Your City: Vancouver KRISTY DINDORF HARYANTO Runner Up The Lonely Planet Guide has two pictures of Vancouver city on its cover. One is a flaming orange sunset, the likes of which would shame any fake cowboy-riding-into-fake-sun- set-whOe-loving-life (and not dying of lung cancer because that would defeat the purpose) cigarette ad. The other, to provide artistic contrast, is a pure shot of the city in blue light with majestic mountains behind it. Both pictures embrace the image of VANCOUVER-THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD! It also laughs in the face of the idea that there are such things as rain clouds. And cue my first picture of Vancouver—taken from the plane as we slowly descended after a very, very long plane ride from Indonesia. It is said that pictures can convey a thousand words, but I'm pretty sure that my picture would convey about nine. I Thought You Said There Was A City Here. Well, I was pretty sure there had to be one somewhere because through the rain and the grey clouds the pilot was (hopefully) being told where to land. On the other hand, where was my orange sunset?? I WANT MY ORANGE SUNSET! This was not part of the plan when I accepted the offer to move from a bright, tropical island to North America for university. If you've ever tried to navigate around Vancouver Airport whilst jetlagged and dragging half your wardrobe in a suitcase, you'll realize a profound life truth: airport authorities hate you. It only took about half an hour to figure out where the rental cars were. Luckily the nice Canadian man behind the counter offered for only 12 dollars a handy GPS for finding the inn in Kitsilano. "Please continue down West Broadway." "Where is West Broadway? We're on East 12 Avenue!" "Take a right on upcoming turn- Waterloo Street." We took a right. "Continue for 12 meters. DING DONG! You have ARRIVED!" We were at a gas station. From all this perhaps it's easy to tell that once I was inside my room, all I could do was curl into a tired ball and watch a new reality show about Canadian lumberjacks and their daily lives and dramas (what weird culture had I stumbled into???) which included having to pick up their five year old from school even though they had to cut down 30 trees before tonight! At first I shook my head in bewilderment, but then slowly I started to appreciate the struggle ofthe lumberjack, and the sweetness of Canadian television compared to the regular shoot-em-up stuff. So I stepped outside to give it a second chance. I learned a lot that day. The animals here, by some strange twist of nature, seem to obey the traffic laws. I saw a raccoon cross on the pedestrian walkway, and a squirrel scurrying along decorously on the sidewalk. Also, a pigeon (I'm not kidding) got onto the bus and got off at the next stop. I also learnt that you should never try to eat later than 9pm— most restaurants will be closed. Tim Hortons is open all night...but is also so cold that by the time you get your chili, you're too cold to do more than shiver and spill it. Also, Tim Hortons sandwiches are the bomb. And no, they didn't pay me to write that. Vancouver, I discovered, is more than rain. Well, it's partially about rain. In fact I'd say rain is pretty important. But so is friendliness—stepping on a stranger's foot and him apologizing. Going into a tiny restaurant at 11pm when you get lost and discovering a little Vietnamese family restaurant where a tiny Asian boy translates your orders from English to Vietnamese to his mother, who then tells you '15 minutes'...and an hour later, when you get your food, it really tastes like Asia. Driving past a hippy getting arrested and laughing about it, smoke curling round his happy head. Writing and telling your parents happily that Vancouver is sunny after all (oh ignorant innocence). And finally, when I stepped onto the beach at Stanley Park, I saw my first orange sunset. If anything, the Lonely Planet pictures don't do this city justice. % Flight DANIEL SWENSON Runner Up Born with double-sided, double-vision, I had always seen the streets differently. Stretched and heaving concrete spread, headlong, gaping towards ocean. The same ocean that marches murky water, sits now, occluding full-browed horizon. I can see it all from the turning sky. Faces always appeared to me glass-paned, truncated and skewed. I was diagnosed late-in-life by pale-faced doctors with what they called face blindness. And when I asked politely what this meant (Proso-pag-nosia). They said, You will see eye, nose, mouth, jaw, bent-doubled in Lockstep, but never the whole of it. Faces are Inorganic to you. They're simply not there. I walked away. I walked northward, down narrow bridges, under sibylline screens, down Cambie, Broadway, Granville. I looked and saw person, streetcar, building. And the tall ones, the skyscraping, glass-cased human ones shook me. I looked away. I turned sordid eye to unburnt sphere, stared tragically at the yellow, spread shaking against bluesky. And I gazed back, focused fiercely on my walk. Surf-silt rippled along, in that white absence That lingers After staring at the sun. As I breathed in calloused wind, lost sight of taxicabs, cyclists, and storefront glass cases, I saw each as each, People as skyscrapers Skyscrapers as people. And looked back down to sidewalk, caught heaving pavement on my tongue, and felt it melt languidly Because my city remains a fragmented memory, caught in the same restraint that ceases my mind, When I think of face, see face, beckon face. My city remains a memory, still filthy at 3am, perched placidly hours before the street cleaners come in morning. And so it remains. -September, 2009: 2009.10.08/UBYSSEY.CA/CULTURE/9 Poets go animal at Cafe Deux Soleils Animal suits at the Cafe Deux Soleils poetry slam, anthony goertz graphic/the ubyssey STEVEN CHUA Contributor It's just another Monday night poetry slam at Cafe Deux Soleils on Commercial Drive. Our Master of Ceremonies for the night is RC Weslowski, a jovial fellow clad in a gorilla suit. He goes on stage and begins whipping the passive audience into an excited frenzy. In tonight's slam, three poets compete, each taking turns to recite their poetry in segments lasting just over three minutes long. Five groups in the crowd are randomly selected to judge, giving each poem a score out of ten. An un-judged feature performance is given by a seasoned veteran of the poetry scene, which is then followed by the final rounds of the slam. A SACRIFICE TO APPEASE THE GOD OF NUMBERS Our gorilla suit-clad host insists that the judges need practice to effectively use cold numbers to evaluate the raw expression of the human soul. "But first, we need a sacrifice!" he says. To this end John McCrae—a good natured fellow with plans to start a poetry slam club at UBC—performs a hilarious tribute to Lower Mainland public transportation. The whole crowd is caught up in laughter. The scores are high, and the sacrifice has served his purpose well. "But first, we need a sacrifice!" —RC Weslowski POURING THEIR HEARTS OUT This night is youth night at the Cafe Deux Soleils, and the three young contestants, Yeda, Zandra and Ka- trina, are there to strut their stuff. What they lack in stage presence, they make up with the honesty of their performances. Yeda's strongest performances are about the love life of a lesbian, and the plight of the local sex trade workers. Zandra's performance, on the other hand, is characterized by stunning imagery. Sadly she has only written one poem for the slam, and is ruled out of the contest. The crowd encourages her to be more confident in her interest and tells her to write more. It's Katrina that wins the poetry slam. Her strongest poetry encompasses themes of inner struggle, much of it focusing on nurturing her better nature. COMMANDING THE STAGE Morris Stegosaurus, who unassumingly creeps up onstage wearing a ridiculous bunny costume, is the feature performance of the night. His presence is felt by everyone as he strikes an odd pose. Silence. Suddenly he erupts into striking narratives that amuse, shock and challenge the audience. Some of his material is uproariously funny in its vulgarity and wit: what to do in a plane crash, expressions of love to a disfigured prostitute, and spiraling penises, among other things. His gestures, vocal inflections and presence pull the audience into his world for the time he is on stage. DEFINING THE SCENE During the breaks I catch up with several regulars and ask them to give their thoughts on poetry slams. These folks include the beloved gorilla-suit wearing host, who introduced himself as RC Weslowski, the sacrifice, John McCrae, and feature act Morris Stegosaurus. RC Weslowski says that a good slam is defined by the fact that "the poets and audience members are meeting on equal territory." Morris Stegosaurus says that slams "make people excited [about poetry] in a way they otherwise wouldn't be," and provide an occasion for expanding one's perceptions. The underlying theme surrounding this culture is the sense of community that arises when people are allowed to express themselves with total freedom." vii Catch the Poetry Slam every Monday at Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. Open Mic at 8pm, Slam at 9pm Also, be on the lookout for "Speak Up" (working name), John McCrae's Poetry Slam Club coming to UBC. "The underlying theme surrounding this culture is the sense of community that arises when people are allowed to express themselves with total freedom." —Morris Stegosaurus ubyssey shameless giveaway Pick up FREE passes to Fright Nights in sub 23 ALL NEW HAUMD HOUSES THIS MR! FRIGHT NI6HK EXPEDIENCE THE SCALIEST HALLOWEEN EVENT W VANCOUVER! www.FRIGHTWGHTS.ca 3*^ m^m \ > SAVE $3 m PASSES AT \ ww^iGHTNiGHTSxa '"(savings abe only available cs«Tassesapwt II AVAILABLE FOP(SALE \l NIGHTS I K?3i J mm * Due to the overwhelming demand, tickets must be purchased for a specific date. Tickets are valid for one single night's admission. Event nights have limited availability and may sell out. So pick your ghoulish date and buy your tickets today! plA% BEST WORK" workplaces VlUDA.- 2008 Day onef and you're giving back Day one and your job is more than a job. It's an opportunity to do your part. That's why Ernst & Young opens up lots of ways to make a difference. So you can feel good about our green workplace, tutor grade school students or get involved with our entrepreneur network. You can even find a cause on our company volunteer match site. And that makes coming to work even better. Explore your career options in assurance, tax, transaction o. advisory services. What's next for your future? To learn more, visit ey.com/ca/careers and find us on Facebook. =U Ernst &Young Quality In Everything We Do i Want to interview people moderately more famous than you and expose them as the empty, detestable shills that they really are? Write for CULTURE® UBYSSEY.CA 10/UBYSSEY.CA/IDEAS/2009.10.08 WATCH STREETERS VIDEOS ONLINE ubyssey.ca ISEX COLUMN TOO SEXY Erudite Readership, Too Sexy here, hoping that you're making the most of these longer and longer nights. We've got two big, sexy holidays coming up this month. Of course, there's Halloween, most debauched of all holidays, even though it's not technically a holiday at all. But just as significant is a holiday some of you may not be aware of: the Turkey Dump. The Turkey Dump is an annual time of celebration across campus (and especially in Res) as first-years go home and dump their high school sweethearts in hopes of freeing themselves up for that special boy/girl/TA. So, on that note, we'd like to wish you all a happy Turkey Dump. Now, onto this week's letter. THERE'S A GUY WHO HAS CLASS with me five days a week. One day, he invited me to a party at his place. Even though I had only just learned his name, I dropped by after work that night. He proceeded to get me ridiculously wasted, and throughout the night, when talking to his friends, they mentioned something about him having a girlfriend. Near the end of the night, he kicked out all his friends and we slept together. Before we did so, I asked him whether he had a girlfriend. He said no. So we had fantastic sex. At the end of our romp, I asked him to confirm that he didn't have a girlfriend. He replied with, "Well, I would call girlfriend and life partner different things." I was too drunk to get properly upset with him. For the next few weeks, he and I conversed in class like normal. I decided that the sex was so fantastic and that he was making such an effort to talk to me all the time that maybe, somehow, he had broken up with his girlfriend. He and I decided to get a hotel room to get it on again, and at the end, I casually asked him whether he would be having another party soon. He replied with, "No! Absolutely not." Of course, I was curious as to why, at which point he said, "You didn't know the reason why I was having the party in the first place?" No, I replied. "Well," he said, "it was to celebrate the fact that my girlfriend just got pregnant with our first child." I will be in class with this douchebag until April, and he's trying to pretend like nothing is wrong. What to do? I know how to contact his girlfriend. —Accidentally Slutty Student Wow, ASS, sounds like you've landed yourself in quite the pickle. We'll unpack the situation in a bit, but first we want to ask a question: Are you sure his girlfriend doesn't already know that he's sleeping around? It's possible you may have stumbled into an open relationship without realizing it. For the rest of the article, we'll assume he's a cheating shit, but before you take any leaps, make sure you look, eh? First off, let's recognize thatyou are (through barely any fault of your own) playing with matches in a pool of gasoline. The first thing on your To-Do list should be to stop sleeping with this guy. Fantastic sex comes in many shapes, sizes and levels of douchiness. You can find ways to have the great KASHA CHANG S> AUSTIN HOLM toosexy(?>ubyssey.ca sex without the big loser. If worse comes to worst, there's always Wednesdays at the Pit. Secondary concerns include whether or not this guy might freak out at you for telling on him. If you're stuck with him five days a week until April, then having him burst a boy-bubble over this could have a serious effect on your year. We barely make it to classes five days a week as it is. Will dealing with a jerk-turkey like this guy make you less likely to show up? Then, of course, there's the kid issue. Since buddy here seems to have made an unwise withdrawal from the baby bank, you're left with the knowledge that blowing his infidelities to the girlfriend might result in this kid not being close to, or even knowing, his father. You may also feel like this doesn't have to be your business, and be tempted to walk away. In the end however, it's important to realize that, no matter what you do, you're not the cause of negativity in this situation. But you do have an obligation to do the right thing. If you hadn't been around, he would have cheated with someone else. The guy you slept with was a slime ball. In the future, he will continue to be a slime ball. The girlfriend needs to know before she ends up getting slimed again. By letting her know now, you're saving her a greater pain later. Well, luminous readership, that's it for this week. Send your sexy questions, comments, rants, and other word-type things to toosexy@ubyssevxa. In the mean time, stay sexy. tit ISTREETERS Have you seen any of the VIFF films? Kelly Mulder HUNU Msc "I am going on Sundaylo Yield.... It's a series of shorts made by Canadian directors. So there are a whole bunch of them and they're all between 5 and 20 minutes." Yuhan Cheng Education 1 "I have not yet been to any of the fims....[l'd go] if there is one that I want to see." Molly Mew Artsl "I've not been to any.J think I'd be interested if I saw a flier or preview maybe." Jorge Amigo Poli Sd MA "I saw a fantastic documentary called Encirclement about neo-liberalism and democracy—very, very good. And I saw a film called Fac^terrible, the costumes are great.but everything else was terrible. And I saw a really good one yesterday called BreatNess by a South Korean film director." -Coordinated by Tara Martellaro with photos by Chibwe Mweene Laurie Tritschler History 3 "I don't remember what it's called....As far as I know, it's about some guy in the SS who sets up shop in the part of China that the Japanese had occupied during World War ll.Jt was suggested to me by a student.... It sounds like it may be a bit of a downer." THE TEAR IS 2 1 l_2. J=lte TREVOR MELANSON GRAPHIC/THE UBYSSEY EDITORIAL Make us care, AUS Last week, the biggest student group on campus that isn'tyour student union had an election. Didn't notice? Neither did anyone else. The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) election results, as far as we can tell, have thus far only been posted as a thread topic on the "Arts UBC" Facebook group. Apparently putting the information on their website would be too much to ask. And out of more than 11,000 students, only 440 voted. Only one person ran for social coordinator, only one person ran for promotions coordinator, and by the end of the election, there were only two people running for the two AMS Council seats. Whether this is due to poor advertising or apathetic students, we're not quite sure, but a lack of competition for important positions is never a good thing. Especially because ever since the much-loved Arts County Fair (ACF) day-long concert was cancelled two years ago, the AUS hasn't gotten up to much of anything. Ordinarily, if a student group isn't doing their job, we'd be inclined to say, "tough luck." Some groups are well-run, some aren't. But it's different with the AUS. For one thing, they're the biggest undergraduate group on campus. More importantly, this spring AMS Council gave $3 5,000 of your student fees to the AUS to relieve them of the debt they had accumulated from running ACF. They claimed that the debt had made it impossible for them to provide much of anything to Arts students, and that the money would allow them to start pulling their weight on campus again. Well, it's been five months since that decision, and we're still waiting. They may be loud, proud and taking up half the crowd, but when it actually comes to having their presence seen on campus, Arts definitely does not kick ass. And maybe we just remember the days of ACF, or maybe it's just because the majority of Ubyssey editors are Arts students. But regardless, a 11,000 strong student organization that gets $ 13 from each member should be able to do a little bit more than the AUS is doing right now. tl '' Help campus develop In the last few years, we've seen endless fighting over development on campus. There have been protests where people have been arrested, endless demonstrations and marches, and plenty of pontification over what this campus should be. Amid all of this, a coherent discussion between students and administration seems to have gone missing. The consultation processes have been hidden. We get nothing but double talk from both the university and the AMS. There's a senior-oriented housing development on the southern edge of campus. So now is the time to do something. If you remember Trek 2010, well, forget about it. That's done. UBC is now a "place of mind." Whatever that means. What will that place look like? UBC is officially in "Stage 5" of the "Campus Plan," as you might know if you've gazed at the clock tower recently. You've got until October 22 to "get in on the plan." But what to say? Do you care about the farm? Although the university states that the farm will not be developed if the campus' needs are met, why not try to solidify that? Do you care about student housing? The guide states that they plan on accommodating 50 per cent of full-time students on campus, increasing the number of beds by 8000. Is that enough? Do you care about campus demographics? They say explicitly that they plan to increase the number of full-time equivalent students by 300 in the next seven years while adding 7500 graduate students. Does this mean there is going to be less of a focus on undergrads in planning? The point is, students can have an impact on development on this campus. The uproar from students—and the subsequent about-face by the university—over the proposed hospice next to Place Vanier showed that. But it requires you to actually show up. fill out a form, and develop a coherent opinion. So get your voice heard, vl w^ .^fZZlv McGill GOLDEN HAWKS UM GUELPH GRYPHONS m TORONTO VARSITY BLUES 1*1 CD >^ I^J >^v CZ3 >^ I—II H I AfP*^ ^ ' a J PCrL Tirez le maximum de votre argent Des problemes a etirer votre argent? Nos outils gratuits et nos publications peuvent vous aider a economises Consultez S'informer, c'est payant. 1*1