Three out of eleven SINCE 1918 November 14,20111 vol. XCIII iss. XXI Thunderbirds lose 62-13 in Calgary ending their best season since 1999 WP^m x / /.y ffARRIS HUNGER ^ps?*" «B kIQ*33 %Ui2? Mj™ T ^:?rs 152* 1199 w fy nkffi ^ TOM Jr aj. f. *=»* j7 ^mvv v^ 1 Zi-I i MIKE JOHNSTON SLAMS « yg iapman Learning Commons Help De 21 Page 2111.14.2011 What's on This week, may we suggest.. Kung Fu class: 4:30pm @ the SUB Want to get fit and learn how to kick some ass? The UBC Kung Fu Association is holding a free class for beginners. The club also organizes numerous social activites for its members. More info at ubckungfublogspot TUE OCCUPY» Occupy what? An open discussion: 4:30pm @ the Global Lounge Itching to make your thoughts heard on the Occupy movement? The Global Lounge is hosting a civil forum to discuss the past week's events. talks: Bill McKibben: Notes on the climate fight: 12:30pm @ the Chan Centre McKibben has been dubbed "the world's best green journalist" by Time magazine. In this Terry Talk, McKibben will discuss climate change and global inequality. Flow yoga: 3pm @ the SUB $2 yoga! For less than a bucket of fries you can get stretched out and calmed down between classes. Membership for the UBC Yoga Club costs $7 for students, and a limited number of mats are provided. Gingerbread man decorating & candy apples: 10am-5pm @ SUB Concourse Student group Organizing Support for Charity is selling gingerbread men and candy apples to raise money for the Harvest Project. Stop by for some seasonal noms. Got an event you'd like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca. THEUBYSSEY November 14,2011, Volume XCIII, Issue XX EDITORIAL Coordinating Editor Justin McElroy 03ordinating@u bysseyca Managing Editor, Print Jonny Wakefield orinteditor@ubys:eyca Managing Editor, Web Arshy Mann webeditor@ubysseyca News Editors Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan news@u bysseyca Art Director Geoff Lister a rt@u bysseyca Culture Editor 4 Ginny Monaco culture@u bysseyca Senior Culture Writers Taylor Loren & Will Johnson 1 tloren@ubysseyca wjohnson@u bysseyca Sports Editor Drake Fenton sports@u bysseyca Features Editor Brian Piatt featu res@u bysseyca Copy Editor Karina Palmitesta copy@ubysseyca Video Editor David Marino video@ubysseyca Senior Web Writer Andrew Bates abates@ubysseyca Graphics Assistant Indiana Joel ijoel@u bysseyca Webmaster Jeff Blake webmaster@u bysseyca BUSINESS Business Manager Fernie Pereira business@ubysseyca Ad Sales Ben Chen advertising@ubysseyca STAFF Andrew Hood, Bryce Warnes. Catherine Guan, David Elop, Jon Chiang Josh Curran, Will McDonald, Tara Martellaro, Virginie Menard,Scott MacDonald, Anna Zoria, Deter Wojnar, Tanner Bokor, Dominic Lai, Mark-Andre Gessaroli, Natalya Kautz, Kai Jacobson CONTACT Business Office: Room 23 Editorial Office: Room 24 Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Blvd Vancouver, BCV6T1Z1 tel: 604.822.2301 web: www.ubyssey.ca feedback@ubyssey.ca Print Advertising: 604.822.1654 Business Office: 604.822.6681 advertising @ubyssey.ca LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper ofthe University of British Columbia. It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Jbyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous democratically "un student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chcsen and written oy 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 n 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 afounding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUPs guiding principles. Letters to the editor must be under 300 wc : :,,t:-:t - dudeyour phone number, student number anc signature (nctfor publication) as wel asyouryear and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked wher submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey. otherwise verification will be done by phone. 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 bythe 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 (IPS will not be greater than the prOe 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 Our Campus One on one with the people who make UBC >J CHRIS BORCHET^HE UBYSSEY Wayne Maddison, director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, and the moustachioed little guy he discovered in Ecuador. Wayne Maddison's spider love Asher Ishbrucker Contributor It's hard to describe Dr Wayne Maddison's career in only a few words. Just a little background research on Maddison came up with a daunting list of accomplishments—a list that includes a PhD from Harvard University and his current position as Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity, along with UBC professor and director ofthe Beaty Biodiversity Museum. His CV may be awe-inspiring, but his true fascination lies with one small creature: the jumping spider. "When I was 13 I found a spider that I just got entranced with," Maddison recalled. The initial spark of his passion came from a youthful curiosity about wildlife and the outdoors. "This jumping spider just looked up at me, and there was almost a sense of empathy there." His long-lasting fascination with jumping spiders has led him many places, from elite universities to tropical rainforests in Gabon, the Dominican Republic, and most recently Ecuador in the fall of 2010. Itwas in Ecuador that he made one of his most notable discoveries. "The Ecuadorian trip of last fall was really special," he said. "We found this amazingjumping spider [in a cloud forest west of the Andes]... I was just so excited. I knew within about two or three seconds after I saw it that it was something completely new." Maddison described the moment he found the new species. "You see this [jumping spider], and you realize there's a whole world here that we can explore, and it's opened up to you just like that. That feeling goes through you in five seconds. Suddenly your world has changed." Upon further DNA research, it was confirmed that the little guy was a new species, and like all new discoveries, it needed a name. Maddison and his colleagues decided to hold a naming contest for the new species, which was under the genus Lapsias. They asked people around the nation for a name for the spider. "We pointed out [in our contest] that the face of this spider was unusual in that on the top part of its jaws there were a couple of little yellow bands of hairs. So the name that ended up showing up was 'Lorax,' so the name ofthe new species will be Lapsias lorax. The Lorax is Dr Seuss's environmentalist character who spoke for the trees, so not only is there a resemblance, but it really fits the museum's message." As director ofthe Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Maddison enthusiastically noted that students and faculty can access the museum for free and get a firsthand look at organisms from a blue whale to jumping spiders. Now that's biodiversity. tH SHAMELESS GIVEAWAY DO YOU WANT TO SEE ©THE CHAM ( VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR REQUIEM FOR PEACE ■i KNOCK ON , ROOM 23 ^| IN THE SUB FOR FREE TICKETS! """»""i inmamrnir __^_% rancouver 'Chamber Choir REQUIEM FOR PEACE Reflections of Hiroshima 8 pm | Saturday, November 19,2011 Onm C«il>* Ut «• fttfennkg M» (UBO ttintMM CMKtaf (Mk I MMM* CMfftN &M Jiiyui M* r» trta-t PTH Q*< k VMt Ai iwtogci ****• nM<&4 H*V h '2787) ticketmaster.ca com A Bfe -teMOft »_i_T — News» Editors: Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan 11.14.20111 3 AMS» AMS too broke to pay for UBC Ombudsperson Office for Students WeUiaQin Contributor This year UBC's Ombudsperson Office may not be receiving funding from the AMS, despite a previous verbal agreement. But now the student union is worried that without their financial contribution, the organization will be too closely linked to the university. "The AMS has advised the university that they do not have the funds to provide the transfer that was expected this year," said Janet Teasdale, senior director of Student Development and Services. The Ombuds Office was created in 2009 in partnership between the AMS, the Graduate Student Society and the university, and the costs of running the office have previously been shared between the three organizations. Last year the AMS contributed $42,000. Despite the current inability to provide funds, the AMS wants to keep the Ombuds service at arm's length from the university. "We get a seat on the oversight committee, and we don't want just UBC paying. The Ombuds Office is supposed to be a neutral space where people can bring any issues they may have and be treated in a fair and unbiased manner," AMS President Justin McElroy said. Teasdale and UBC President Stephen Toope have met with the AMS to negotiate their partnership on behalf of UBC students, but Teasdale doesn't expect the office to face financial difficulty without AMS funding. Regardingthe service in its entirety, McElroy emphasized that it is important that the Ombuds Office be funded, even if it means funding independent ofthe AMS. Since its inception, the office has grown from a single person staff to multiple staff members. UBC ombudsperson Shirley Nakata said that services provided bythe Ombuds Office range from investigating student complaints to facilitating conferences that lead to student service excellence. "We definitely do not want to see a reduction in these services," McElroy said. The AMS plans to take Ombuds fundingto referendum next January, which coincides with executive elections, accordingto meeting minutes. The plan is to ask for a $1.25 or $1.50 increase in the AMS fee to go specifically to the Ombuds. If the fee does not pass in January, McElroy said it might be added to the U-Pass referendum in October 2012. "This would mean that at least a portion ofthe office costs are paid by students, to ensure that there is still that accountability to students," said McElroy. 13 SUSTAINABILITY » CIRS paves the way for green campus Micki Cowan News Editor On November 3, UBC opened its most sustainable building—a project 11 years in the making. But what makes the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) especially unique is that it also happens to be the most sustainable building in North America. "The general idea of a lot ofthe sustainability agenda has been about doing less damage, being less bad, cutting back," said John Robinson, director ofthe CIRS. "We're interested in a slightly different approach we call regenerative sustainability. Can human activity actually make the environment better—not just less damaged but actually better—and human life better as well?" Renowned biologist and environmentalist David Suzuki kicked off the CIRS opening as the keynote speaker for the associated conference, "Celebrating CIRS: Accelerating Sustainability." In his presentation, Suzuki focused on the effects of climate change, as well as Canadian politics. "The impact of climate change is goingto become more severe from year to year. Economists discount the cost of climate change on subsequent generations. They discount the future generations," said Suzuki. "You're only one person but you can amplify your impact ifyou get involved." Suzuki's presentation spoke to the nature ofthe CIRS building, encouraging change to happen now. Robinson explained that the CIRS is net-positive on a number of fronts, which means the building actually improves—rather than harms—its surroundings. News briefs Occupy movement comes to UBC A new group called Occupy UBC has started meeting on campus in an attempt to create a campus group in solidarity with the Occupy movements in cities across the globe. According to a tweet sent out by the @OccupyUBC Twitter account Tuesday afternoon, the group hopes to "use our academic perspective to bring attention to facts regarding social, economic and environmenta injustice." Organizers have been holding daily 4pm meetings since November 7 in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and the SUB. They also have a Facebook account. David Suzuki was the keynote speaker for the associated conference following the opening of the CIRS building V 9 9 L s 8 L 9 8 £ t> z 9 I 6 9 i 6 V Z i 8 9 £ V e 9 L 5 8 i 6 z 8 Z I 6 S 9 V 9 L WANT BETTER GRADES? Essays, term papers, and theses will be improved by experienced editors. Ensure your work is free of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Reasonable rates from professional editors. Go to AccuEditor.com 'Ask about our Student Discounts! BCIT works. Wherever you are, a BCIT grad is making an impact. With one of the highest graduate job placement records in BC, the proof is right in front of you. Look around. bcit.ca/works It's your career. Get it right.