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skos:note """ Surfing the net for love
o
ne mans
adventures riding
the waves of
Internet dating.
Pages 8-9.
THIS ISSUE:
'15 to: 19 per cent
The tuition increase starts to be
mapped out. Page 3.
This, week, do Greek
Dining out at Talcs Taverna. Page 10.
Getting to tii® top
Alpine skiers prepare for Regionals.
Page 2. -
You can'say we're - ■."':
hard to hold
That's because we hate a whole lot of
things. Page 14.
B Y S S Ei
Volume 85 Issue 37
magazine
^m%w Friday, February 13, 201
Friday, February 13, 2004
taking-shit for the pit since WIS PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
CLASSIFIEDS
*M_M_aM
UBC FOOD COOP. FAIR TRADE &
ORGANIC FOOD FOR THE
STUDENT BUDGEX Open 12-2PM
weekdays in the SUB basement near the
Wellness Centre and Travelcuts.
UBC SAILING CLUB PARTY, FEB 13
@ Jericho Sailing Centre
www.ubcsailing.org/febl3party
POWELL RIVER 3RD ANNUAL
FILM FESTIVAL - "The Corporation"
with special guest, director Jennifer
Abbott on Friday, February 20 + on 21st
the Canadian Premiere of "Kk ah Men".
Special guests, great documentaries,
features films, receptions, book-signing,
art exhibit. February 19-21 at the
Evergreen Theatre. See website for
complete details, including travel
specials: www.prfilm.ca Phone: (604)
485-3892.
.anemic services
STUCK ON A TOUGH ESSAY?
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graduate school applications. We 11 help
you on any subject — visit us 24/7 at
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WORD PROCESSING AND
DICTAPHONE TRANSCRIPTION
services for students and instructors.
Thesis (APA), term papers and tape
interviews. Editing and proofing of
existing papers. Call Diane at 465-5524
or email dikalyk(?lshaw.ca*
DO YOU NEED A MATH TUTOR?
Patient Math tutor with MSc and 6 years
tutoring experience. Small groups
welcome. $30/hour. Satisfaction
guaranteed! Call Dan _• (604)742-1723.
nnfliVfliM
TUTOR WANTED LOOKING FOR A
TUTOR FOR BUSI452. Will pay cash.
Please phone. Bryan at 604.377.8324. or
e-mail me at pacificorca@telus.net
Would like tutor to review written
assignments (weekly) by e-mail.
TEACH ENGLISH OVERSEAS: Jobs
$$ Guaranteed-Great Pay. TESOL
Certified 5 days in-class, online or by
correspondence. Free information
Seminar, every Tuesday @ 6:00pm. #216,
1755 West Broadway (9 Burrard). Free
infopack: 1-888-270-2941 or contact
globaltesol.com
SUMMER CAMP COUNSELORS ON
CAMPUS INTERVIEWS FOR
PREMIER CAMPS IN
MASSACHUSETTS Positions available
for talented, energetic and fun loving
students as counselors in all team sports
including Roller Hockey and Lacrosse,
all individual sports such as Tennis &
Golf, Waterfront and Pool activities and
specialty activities including an, dance,
theatre, gymnastics, newspaper, rocketry
and radio. GREAT SALARIES, room,
board, travel and US summer work visa.
June 17th-August 13th. Enjoy a great
summer that promises to be
unforgettable. For more information and
to apply. MAH_KEE_NAC "
www.campmkn.com: 1-800-753-9118.
Interviewer will be on campus Monday
March 1st-10am -4:00pm In the Student
Union Building (SUB)-Ropm 212.
HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROJECT .
REPRESENTATIVE, North Vancouver
on Lonsdale, 13 or 25 hrs/wk, Weekday
mornings only, $l|.50/hr,
www.transmicro.com/jobs.htm.
GRADUATING? NEED A JOB? The
iCentro Method Job Networking course
teaches you where - and 'how' to find
opportunities in the hidden job market.
Get amazing results! Discount if
registering with a friend. Call for free
brochure. 604.684.2275.
www.icentro.com
DEREGULATION OF PUBLIC
UTILITIES can work from home. Part
time, full time, training provided.
604.783.1901.
usicians
NEW WEST COAST ALTERNATIVE
FOLK ROCK PROJECT seeks young,
solid, energetic positive drummer & bass
player. New CD, local & regional
touring. Paid % of gigs & CD royalties!
Influences include: Pumpkins, Young,
Bowie, Dead, Harper, CSN, PF, Zep,
Beatles, Nirvana. Interested parties
should reply to guitararmy@hotmail.com
or leave a message at 604-807- 4372.
1995 VOLKSWAGEN CABRIO
(CONVERTIBLE) - only 75,000 kms!
One owner, no accidents, all service
records, 5 speed, Dark Green/beige top,
black material seats. New tires, and
includes 4 winter tires. Also includes
CD player, and bike rack. Excellent
condition. Asking $13,900. (604) 250-
2617
KEYBOARD FOR SALE. Yamaha
Portatone PSR-170. 61 keys, built-in
speakers, hundreds of sounds. Excellent
condition. $100. Email
josh@joshmcnorton.com or call 604-
221-6215.
iiafin
SCORE POINTS WITH MOM &
DAD! They will really like this
Kits accommodation for their Vancouver
visit, www.cherubinn.com
ACCOMODATION AVAILABLE IN
THE UBC SINGLE STUDENT
REIDENCES. JANUARY-APRIL.
Room vacancies are available in selected
UBC single residences for qualified male
and female applicants. Available for
immediate occupancy in Gaee, Fairview,
Totem and Ritsumeikan residences.
Applicants who take occupancy of a
residence rooni before Feb.2 2004 are
etigible to participate in the residence
lottery for returning students in 2004-
2005 Winter session. Contact UBC
Housing in Brock Hall (1874 East Mall)
for more information. The Housing
Office is open from 8:30am-4:00pm
weekdays, or call (604) 822-2811 during
, office hours. 'Availability is limited for
some residences and room types.
en/ices
LE PETIT SPA IS PROMOTING
WAXING WEDNESDAYS: book 2
waxing services + jecetye 50% off on the
service of lesser value. Call 604-224-
4314 or visit www.lepetitspa.ca
To place an Ad or Classified,
call 822-1654 or visit
SUB Room 23 (Basement).
tKunderbird radio news
"I independent campus and community news, arts and sports
every friday at 5p.m.
■Jvs Ws.il--
[ c.\\ v Jus-lice gels confused
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Hearing hill's end
Alpine skiers don't let injuries hurt team
by Wilson Wong
SPORTS STAFF
With the Western Regional
Championships in sight, the UBC
.Alpine Ski teams are getting a mental workout to go along with their
physical training. Various injuries
have stricken the team, which
caused UBC to compete in their last
conference race of the year with a
patchwork line-up.
On the weekend, the team was in
Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho to compete in the final United States
Collegiate Ski and Snowboard
Association, Northwest Conference
race of the season. The women's
team looked for some redemption
after struggling the previous week in
Spokane. That was the first race
without injured captain Stephanie
Rodenkirchen, who is out for the
rest of the ski season with a knee
injury.
Without their leader, rookie
Andrea Lutsenberger led the way,
winning the giant slalom race on
Saturday and taking silver in the
Sunday event. Her weekend performance, combined with strong
weekends from Kim Webber and
Joanna Rosenfeld, paced the UBC
women to a first place team finish
on both days. Webber finished
fourth on Saturday and right behind
her was Rosenfeld, giving UBC three
skiers in the top five.
Men's team captain/coach, Paul
Boskovich, was ecstatic about the
women's performance, "The ladies'
team had'made the biggest step last
weekend. They need solid results to
build the confidence and on
Saturday, they took three of the top
five, winning by over ten seconds.'
Boskovich's enthusiasm may
have also been a result of his own
accomplishments over the weekend.
The senior won both giant slalom
races sparking his team to a win on
Sunday. Support came from the
team's youngsters as Josh Anderson
finished amongst the top ten skiers
on both days. Nathan Crompton
gave everyone a scare with a crash
on Saturday but rebounded spectacularly with a second place finish on
Sunday. Matt Woods also finished in
the top 15 in only his second race of
the year.
With injuries keeping Trevor
Bruce and Alex Boedtker out of competition, the strong performances of
the younger skiers made Boskovich
very happy. "Nate Crompton, Josh
Anderson and Matt Woods all
stepped up in the absence of Trevor
and Alex [Norway]. It was great for
the rookies to get a chance to shine
and with the return of the vets at
Regionals, we should be even
stronger.'
The short ski season is quickly
coming to an end with the Western
Regional Championships taking
place February 20-22 at Red Lodge,
Montana. Boedtker and Bruce will
return in time for the Regionals,
increasing the men's chances of
making the Nationals. To make the
National Championships in Maine,
the UBC teams need to finish within
the top four teams. ♦
■V F PJ I IS"'
UBYSSEY
MUSIC
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Sergio Odar Assad, Chan Centre
for the Perfoming Arts, Saturday, Feb. 14,8-10pm.
Looking for something classy for Valentines Day? Take in this guitar
duo at the Chan. Cost ranges from $2 7-$45.
COMEDY
High Noon with Aaron Strate and Ari Lazer, Norm Theatre, Friday
Feb. 13, noon to 1pm.
Combination: Letterman, Jon Stewart and SNL. Join two senior
improv team members for free hilarious satirical news, comedy
sketches and funny interviews. Bring your lunch. Laughs
guaranteed!
DRINKING
Canadian Club Valentine's Bzzr Garden, SUB Ballroom, Friday Feb.
13,7-llpm.
Join the Canadian Club for beer and donuts. Singles welcome. Cheap
booze. Non-Canadians welcome, but please bring passport Cost is $2.
Singles Valentine's Dance, Thea's Lounge (GSS building upstairs),
Friday Feb. 13,8pm.
Don't let your heart be lonely on Valentine's Day. Join the GSS for a
night of freei love, beer and loneliness banishment. It's free before
18pm aid $2;after: '' ■ "■''■ r -' ■ '''' ' r1"". PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
: ilejibf isef iiaiaiiic'
NEWS
3
Tuition may 90 up 15 to 19 per cent
by Jonathan Woodward
NEWS EDITOR
No new unfunded students, an increase in student financial aid and a significant tuition
increase are the main messages as consultation for next year's tuition begins.
"The tuition consultation process has started,' said Brian Sullivan, UBC VP Students.
The proposal would add between $519 and
$657 to a typical undergraduate fee, raising
the cost of education at UBC from $3459 to
$4116. Certain faculties such as Commerce
are looking at larger increases.
Research graduate students may face
between $480 and $608 increase and Law,
Education and some Medicine and Dentistry
students could see between $1000 and $2000
increases. First-year Medicine and Dentistry
students may face an almost $4000 rise in
fees. , ,:,... :.-. .
The proposed increase would mean some
real hardship, said Rachel Schmuland, a
fourth-year biology student
Tm getting near my cap on student loans
and once they run out I won't be able to afford
this/ she said. "I'm counting on UBC saying
they would never turn away a student because
of lack of funding, but there aren't many
options left for me."
The discussion comes in a year when funding from the provincial government is to drop
by $10 million, according to previous funding
letters. But UBC's current plan banks on there
being no decrease in BC government funding
and instead, an $8 million increase.
This is to ensure the cost of education is not
borne too heavily by the student, Sullivan said.
"If you don't allow tuition tp go above 30
per cent [of the cost of a degree], then the government is still in this," he said. "We have a historical relationship as being a public university and our stand-in for this is that we expect the
government to pay it" •
The tuition increase will pay for a range of
funding commitments for next year which, if
left unfunded, will bring the university's budgetary shortfall to $31 million, Sullivan said.
$2.5 million of that is slated to go towards
need-based student financial aid. This year
UBC gave out $2.4 million more in aid than
expected.
"This represents the university going at this
as a core financial commitment in keeping the
Board access policy," said Sullivan.
Increases in financial aid because of
increases in tuition will be accommodated by
changes to the student loan program recently
made by the federal and provincial governments, he added.
$ 11 million will go towards accepting about
1200 students beyond what is funded by the
government the amount of extra unfunded
students accepted this year. $2 million of the
university's revenue will come from a good
performance from UBC's investments, said
Sullivan. UBC invests in spin-off companies
that use technology from UBC and capitalises
on their returns.
UBC is also waiting on negotiations with the
Faculty Association for salary increases, he
said. Talks are planned for after the university
receives a funding commitment from the government, but figures quoted by Faculty
Association President Richard Anstee say that
the settlement could be as much as $4 million.
"The faculty salary negotiation really ties
our hands," said Alma Mater Society VP
External Sam Saini. In recent surveys, students
have said faculty is the most important aspect
of a quality education, he added.
"We want to be in a position where we won't
lave to fire faculty or let faculty go," said Saini.
A report that examines whether tuition
increases have had a positive effect on students will be released today, said Saini. Tuition
surveys commissioned by the AMS over e-mail
will also be compiled soon.
Armed with these documents, the AMS will
be able to better engage the university in its
consultation process, said Saini.
Sullivan welcomed the process. Tm confident that student feedback will be shaping this
proposal significantly," he said. ♦
Happy Valentine's Gay!
A couple shows us how it's done during Pride UBC's Kiss-In scheduled in the SUB for Outweek. michelle mayne photo
AMS administrator1! decision overturned, another appeal filed
Candidate appealing the appeal ruling against decision to invalidate original AMS Board of G
overnors race
by Megan Thomas and
Dan Burritt
NEWS EDITOR AND NEWS WRITER
Victory has been fleeting for Alma
Mater Society (AMS) Board of
Governors (BoG) candidate Brian
Duong.
After having his elections win
declared invalid two weeks ago, he
won an appeal of that verdict But
that ruling by the elections committee has been called "grossly misinformed," and competing BoG candidate Olivier Plessis has appealed to
UBC's highest student elections
decision-making body on the
grounds that the ruling was made
improperly.
Three weeks ago, Duong won the
second of two available BoG seats by
a scant 26 votes over Plessis. But
Anthony Waldron, AMS elections
administrator, annulled race results
because of complaints that several
slates, including Doung's Students
for Students party, knew how many
votes had been cast, and could
increase the intensity of their cant
paign because of that knowledge.
Duong, who denied any knowl
edge of race results, appealed that
decision to the AMS elections appeal
committee. He received a judgment
Wednesday overturning Waldron's
decision to re-run the race. But
because Plessis has appealed that
decision again, Duong must wait
until next Wednesday when the
Senate Elections Committee will hear
the case. That is the body that can
make the final decision as to who will
be the student BoG
representatives.
"I am just doing
what I think is right
in this situation,"
said Plessis. Tm
concerned that all
the evidence was _..-„_
not accounted. The
proper reasoning might not have
been elaborated...at this point I
would just like to see due process
happen."
While Duong said he is not surprised by Plessis's counter-appeal,
he thinks the judgement by the
Student Court Chief Justice was credible and he hopes,that the Senate
committee will take it into consider
ation when they hear the next
appeal
"It was fair, he covered all the
bases and he made his judgement,"
said Duong.
Chief Justice for the Student Court
William Pak gave several reasons for
overturning Waldron's decision to
re-run the election, including concerns about AMS council suspending
a section of AMS Code, that Waldron
did not follow the rules of the appeal
procedure and that there was a lack
of evidence that race results were
leaked.
"It was indeterminate whether
there really was a leak of information and whether there was a leak in
information that was pertinent to the
election," wrote Pak in his ruling. "I
am appalled that the AMS council
suspended a section of the AMS Code
of Procedure, and I find no authority
before me that allows council to set
aside an important section of an
important code."
On January 28, AMS council
decided to suspend a section of the
Code concerning elections committee decisions, allowing Waldron to
independently invalidate the BoG
elections.
But Spencer Keys, chair of the
AMS Code and Policies committee,
said it is well within council's authority to suspend sections of the code
with a 2/3 majority vote. Much of the
code was ignored in the ruling, said
Keys, adding that he is not satisfied
with Pak's judgment
"It was painful to read," said Keys.
"I'm not convinced by this document
that due process was followed."
Keys, who ran as an independent
candidate fpi* VP External, said he
received a phone call during the election telling him how many votes
he had.
"There was, I believe, ample evidence that there was a leak," said
Keys.
Waldron called the ruling
"grossly misinformed" and said
that due to the structure of the
appeal process and the confidential
nature of his investigation into the
leak, he was unable to present his
entire case.
Waldron also said that repeated
attempts to reach Pak to discuss his
concerns over presenting his case
were unsuccessful. Given that
much of his decision was based on
confidential information, he said
he was unable to appoint the
required representative to present
his case.
"How could I possibly send a representative for information that I
couldn't tell my representative
because it was confidential?" said
Waldron.
Waldron also said that he did
present his side of the case in writing
and is not satisfied that the ruling
took all his evidence into account
"If you read the judgement, it is
actually crystal, clear that the chief
justice cannot possibly have read the
entire submission," he said, adding
that he had concerns about Pak's job
competence.
Waldron said he will not file his
own counter appeal against Pak's
decision, but he does recommend
that the AMS elections appeal
process be reformed in the future.
The Senate Elections Committee will decide between the two
remaining options: either to re-run
the BoG election or uphold
Duong's appeal, making Duong a,
BoG representative. ♦ .„''"' tie jbfiief; pasailifft
PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
?§^ ^uj^ piill malt ^it^lta'^^^^Si^£SM^S
'fftSftfe^ftft^ UBYSo£rr^r;drsince:i^i8^
Explore YOUR Explorezde
Field of nouveaux
Dreams. Horizons.
Looking to further a research career in the
fields of natural sciences or engineering?
You could be eligible for a research
scholarship or fellowship.
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promotes, supports and invests in university
research. From undergraduate to postdoctoral
levels, scholarships and fellowships can help
expand your career and give you the
resources you need to succeed.
Tn find out more, including competition
dates and deadlines, contact the:
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NSERC
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Telephone: (613) 995-5521
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Une carriere en sciences naturelles ou en
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une bourse pour faire de la recherche.
Le CRSNG (Conseil de recherches en
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CLYUb OAM5
CONDOMS AND DAMS AND SNUGGLING CARTOONS. OH MY!
Students' sexual safety mores are as bad as they were during the
seventies, michelle mayne photo
Students losing
out on safe sex
Protection, risk of disease not
important to a seneration that
is less informed about AIDS
By Tyler Hopson
NEWS WRITER
As Valentine's Day nears, some students may be tMnMng of roses and
chocolates; others, intimacy and sex.
What students might not be
thinking of, warns Wellness Centre
Coordinator Judith Pratt, is having
safer sex.
Most universiiy-aged students
have been exposed to safer sex campaigns since their preteen years or
earlier. But there is evidence that
those messages haven't been getting
through as well as they could.
"We're still seeing the same rates
of unprotected sex among students
compared to ten or 20 years ago,*
Pratt said.
A 1999 UBC Student Health
Survey found that 46 per cent of
undergraduate students were having unprotected se;x, nieaning they
' never used protection or used it
irregularly. That number is nothing
new, said Pratt
Various health agencies across
Canada say this lack of protected
sex is a major factor in the rise of
sexually transmitted infections
(STI)—a term now considered more
favourable than sexually transmitted diseases.
In 2002, the Canadian Council
on Social Development said chlamydia rates for youth aged 15 to 24
have risen since 1997. At the time,
young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for almost 70 per cent of all
reported cases of chlamydia.
Rates of HIV transmission are
also on the rise for young gay men
in BC, according to the BC Centre for
Disease Control (CDC).
Among other findings in the UBC
survey was that only 22 per cent of
females and 29 per cent males
always use some form of protection.
Eighteen per cent of females and 19
of males said they have had unprotected sex more than six times and
ten per cent of females and seven
per cent of males said they had been
diagnosed with an STI.
"The biggest reason for this
[unprotected sex]/ said, Pratt, "is
that people don't think they're putting themselves at risk.*
Dr Mike Rekart of the BC CDC
says youth often ignore safer sex
guidelines because they feel they are
incapable of catching an STI or causing pregnancy in themselves or
others.
"It's always said that young people feel they can't get sick and they
don't have to worry about getting
pregnant,* he said.
Another reason, says Rekart, is
that today's youth were not likely
sexually active five to ten years ago
when there was more awareness
campaigns about the prevention of
HTV and AIDS. As a result, they may
not feel the same need to be as cautious as those older than them.
Pratt says students need to talk
with their sexual partners about having safer sex and about STIs, something she says many students fail
to do.
"If they're not talking about those
issues, then they are putting themselves at greater risk,* she said.
Both Rekart and Prat say con-.
doms and dental dams are an effective, although not foolproof, method
of protection for almost all STIs. The
message is not a new one, but they
say it is worth reinforcing.
The Wellness Centre sells condoms at low prices to students on
the Lower Level of the SUB.
"We want people to get over the
embarrassment of buying [condoms],' said Pratt She calls the
Wellness Centre a "comfortable"
environment in which matters of
sexual health can be talked about
openly.
The Wellness Centre will also
host several workshops on sexual
health from February 9 to 13 as part
of Intimacy Week.
"It is up to people to protect
themselves if they are at all unsure,"
said Rekart. "Young people should
not rely on their sexual partners to
do it for them."
Fortunately, said Pratt, the
Wellness „ Centre has seen an
increase in the nujhber of partners
coming in to get tegted together. ♦ PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
the ut»fs$ef magatljie-
NEWS
Axworthy leaves to help solve border dispute
NEXT WEEK...AFRICA: UBC's Lloyd Axworthy is the United Nations special envoy to
Ethiopia and Eritrea to settle boarder woes, peter klesken/ubyssey file photo
by Megan Thomas
NEWS EDITOR
A deadly border dispute between Ethiopia
and Eritrea is now officially in the hands of
former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Lloyd Axworthy^current director of UBC's
Liu Centre.
Axworthy left yesterday for New York to
begin United Nations (UN) briefings on a
mission to try and bring long-awaited peace
to a war-torn part of the world that rarely
makes newspaper headlines. Ethiopia and
Eritrea are in a deadlock over the border
laid out by an independent boundary commission. In 2000, both countries signed a
treaty agreeing to abide by the decisions of
the five-member commission. The compromise ended a bloody two-year war between
the neighbours in 2000.
But in 2002, tension erupted again
when Ethiopia rejected the commission's
ruling that Badme, a town at the heart of
the conflict, was part of Eritrea. Currently
the relations between the two are tense but
militarily stable, partly due to the 42,000
UN troops that are maintaining a 25-kilometre buffer between them, called the
Temporary Security Zone.
Axworthy was first appointed to be the
UN special envoy last December, but objections by Eritrea to taking part in the peace
process delayed the mission and official
announcement until next week. Axworthy
will fly to Ethiopia on Tuesday with a group
of UN officials and policy advisors to make
initial contact with the warring governments and to establish opportunities for
dialogue.
"This is really the first round of opportunities to see exactly where the respective
positions are," said Axworthy. "I think this
is just the setup phase."
He added that currently there is no com
munication between the Ethiopian and
Eritrean governments other than at the UN
level and at the military level along the disputed border.
The 1000 kilometre border was set to be
mapped out by the independent commission by November, but the process has
been stalled since the two Horn of Africa
countries locked horns over rights to
Badme.
Badme holds special significance because
it sparked the 1998 hostilities. Ethiopia
accused Eritrea of invading its territory
when the Eritreans entered the town. The
ensuing conflict killed more than 70,000
people and was fought from deadly trenches
like those employed in World War I.
Axworthy will be up against many issues
that have sfymied three years of UN diplomacy in the region and is being realistic
about the scope of this first mission. He
thinks it will take months of negotiation
and discussion to see peaceful results.
"The next time around we can actually
maybe start exploring some of the options
and choices," he said.
One of the key goals of this mission is to
clarify the decisions of the boundary commission that dictate where the border is,
said Axworthy.
"It is really an issue of implementation,"
he said. "We are going to see what we can
do to help and move that along a little bit*
Other considerations for the UN team
are serious economic problems, a refugee
crisis exasperated by drought, and considerable landmine hazards.
Axworthy said he will also be drawing
heavily on much of the African research of
his colleagues at the Liu Centre to help
address the issues of the two countries.
"I have a good base to work from,' he said,
adding that he sees the mission as an example of "academic diplomacy' in action. ♦
S}v Choose from hundreds of day and
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2004 PRESIDENT'S SERVICE AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE NOMINATIONS
The committee is seeking nominations of
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distinguished service to the university.
For a nomination form, please go to
www.external-affairs.ubc.ca/ceremonies/
Please mail nominations to:
President's Service Award
for Excellence Committee
c/o Ceremonies Office
2nd Floor, Ponderosa B
CaMpus Zone 2
Deadline for Nominations It February 27, 2004
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Rutherford M '-iir' PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13, 2004
: the jiflitf: ftafaiiie
NEWS
7
University hails BC throne speech pledge
Worries remain about timeline/ nature of commitment
and privatisation
by Jonathan Woodward
NEWS EDITOR
The BC government's commitment
to add 23,000 student spaces to post-
secondary institutions and reduce
entrance averages for universities to
75 per cent by 2010 was a bold statement unmatched in. any other
province, said university officials.
"This is one of the largest commitments a provincial government
has made to access in higher education for a considerable period of
time," said UBC VP Government
Relations Allan Tupper.
But the devil is in the details, he
said, pointing to the precise funding
commitments in the budget expected
Tuesday.
Minimum entrance- averages at
UBC were 87 per cent for Science
and 85 per cent for Arts last year.
Simon Fraser University and the
University of Victoria had entrances
of 82 per cent or better.
Reducing the entrance averages
to 7 5 per cent would bring in a flood
of new first-year students, doubling
enrolment from about 5000 in first
year to as much as 10,000, said UBC
Registrar Brian Silzer. Proposing to
add what would amount to another
university of student spaces is a
daunting task, he added.
"To think that we would be able
to drop down to [75 per cent] in the
face of increasing demand would
make that a pretty ambitious commitment on the part of this government," he said.
UBC already admits 1200 students beyond what the government
funds to deal with a growing
demand for seats. This costs the university about $10 million a year, the
amount recent funding letters say
will be cut from the UBC's budget
next year. , ■
Waiting until 2010 isn't good
enough in BC's underfunded educational environment, said BC NDP
leader Carole James.
"It almost came across to me that
the university was writing off the
existing generation and saying,
'We're not going lo do anything for
you," she said. "This is two elections
away. They are saying 'trust us,' and
'Wait for the Olympics.'
Twenty-five thousand student
spaces doesn't necessarily mean
25,000 new spaces at a university,
she said. It could mean university-
level courses at a college or distance
education and the government has
not pinned down the nature of its
new spending.
Instead, James was critical of
another part of the Throne Speech
which promised to increase the
options for private institutions in
advanced education.
Tm worried that this will be
where the majority of new spending
will go," she said. She called on the
government to make a commitment
to reducing the barrier of affordabili-
ty as well as reducing the entrance
requirements.
"If you don't recognise that the
cost of an education is a barrier,
then you are still creating a barrier,*
she said.
The government also pledged that
$105 million would go towards
advanced education by the 2006/
2007 academic year, about seven per
cent of the current operating budget
of all funded BC institutions.
While he acknowledged that the
new money was not as important as
the pledge, Silzer credited the government for its priority on education.
"This is a very positive direction
and we're hoping that they have the
wherewithal to put the resources
there to make this happen,*
he said.»>
Pink Book looks to
change lives
by Lori Leiing
NEWS WRITER.
A UBC law student and a growing
team of dedicated individuals are
looking to improve the treatment of
young girls in the BC criminal justice system.
Patricia Cochran, a third-year law
student, has taken on a project
Called The Pink Book in an attempt
to reduce the unusually high rates of
incarceration for Canadian teenage
girls.
"The purpose of the book is to
address some, of the problems in
relation to girls and the crijninal justice system in Canada," said
Cochran.
The idea stems from a larger
project being undertaken by the
Justice for Girls organisation in
Vancouver. This non-profit organization advocates social justice, equality and freedom from violence for
young women living in poverty.
"The Pink Book is going to be a
guide for lawyers, advocates and
young women on what their rights
are in the criminal justice system
under the Youth Criminal Justice
Act, the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms and international law,*
said Joanna Czatsko, a spokesperson
for Justice for Girls. This will enable
lawyers to defend the rights of girls
who are criminalised, she said.
Focusing on not only girls who
face poverty, but also incarceration
and complications with legal procedures. Justice for Girls is providing
research analysis for The Pink Book.
Cochran formed an independent
relationship with Justice for Girls
through the program Pro Bono
Students Canada, a national network
of law schools and community
organisations that pairs law students with non-profit organisations,
tribunals, government agencies and
legal clinics.
'Volunteering has helped me in
attaining a law degree. It creates
concrete realities," said Cochran.
The Pink Book - will provide
resources for girls on individual
legal rights and will inform defense
lawyers.
"What girls have told us about
their experiences has shaped what
kind of information is in the book,*
explained Cochran. The team
also hopes to give lawyers background information on teenage
drug addiction.
"Many girls tell us that they are
incarcerated as a method of forced
detoxification,* said Cochran,
adding that medical research in The
Pink Book will explain how dangerous forced detoxification is.
The book will also provide information on the rights girls have to
medical attention and treatment in
correctional facilities.
- "We point lawyers to the specific
criminal and corrections laws that
they can use to make sure their
clients are not put in danger in this
way," said Cochran.
The Pink Book team consists of
Cochran and another law student
who is providing the legal research
and academic literature aspect for
TICKLED PINK: A UBC law student works for better justice for teenage girls, imic fensom photo
the project
Also involved is a young woman
who has experienced incarceration
first hand.
"We believe it is important that
we have put our team together in
this way, because it reflects the
importance of developing genuine
coalitions between academics and
community groups," said Cochran
Cochran says the problem with
the criminal justice system is shown
by statistics of incarcerated girls. An
overwhelming number are incarcerated for "their own good.* This
means that they are incarcerated
because they are in need, whether
due to homelessness, lack of
income, male violence, exploitation
in the sex trade or drug addiction.
"But under the law these are not
reasons to incarcerate a person,'
said Cochran.
She is also troubled by the difference between adult sentences and
those imposed on young women.
"Girls who commit minor offences
tend to receive much harsher sentences than what is appropriate
under the law," said Cochran.
"Justice fo? Girls often see young
women being set up to fail with
unrealistic probation or bail conditions, being forced into residential
treatment and then being incarcerated if they leave treatment or break
a condition," said Czatska.
What needs to be done, says
Cochran, is to establish resources
outside of jail and the criminal justice system so that the same girls are
not repeatedly incarcerated.
"Such resources can come in the
form of proper housing and drug
treatment," she said. ft
The publication date and the
number of copies of The Pink Book
have yet to be determined, but the
team hopes to make it available
across Canada to lawyers and other
advocates.
And The Pink Book will also be
accompanied by The Little Pink
Book.
"Where The Pink Book is primarily for lawyers. The Little Pink
Book will be made accessible for
girls themselves,* explained
Cochran. The Little Pink Book will
be published with assistance from
the BC Teachers Federation and the
Vancouver School Board. It will
offer young women advice on matters from making official complaints to dealing with correctional
authorities. ♦
NEWS
Assured of insurance
The AJma Mater Society {AMS) has
negotiated an extension to its new
insurance policy to cover licensed
AMS events such as beer gardens
occurring outside of the SUB.
Previously the policy was to
cover only events in the SUB building, leaving beer gardens to find
their own insurance.
The AMS recently agreed to a
deal that saw fourfold increase in
their insurance costs after being
dropped by their insurer of more
than a decade, the Canadian
Universities Reciprocal Insurance
Exchange.
The new policy, provided by the
insurance company Campus
Advantage, will provide comprehensive host liquor liability for
any claims arising from events on
campus. AMS President Oana
Chirila said the increase in insurance rates will not mean an
increase in costs or fees for clubs
or constituencies.
But the new policy does not
cover April's Arts County Fair, put
on by the Arts Undergraduate
Society. Arts County Fair is currently in negotiations to find its own
coverage.
We don't "hate babies*
The AMS has passed a motion to
allow a child-care subsidy for
council members who have children for when they are attending
committee and council meetings.
The move will be a "step
towards inclusivity,* said VP
Academic Laura Best.
Council members will be reimbursed for the time they spend volunteering on committees and
committees for the AMS. The
details of how much the reimbursement will be and limitations
on how may hours will be accepted
is now up to the AMS Code and
Policy committee.
While council debated the merits of the motion at length. Arts
representative Spencer Keys
defended his position by saying,
"This doesn't mean that we. all
hate babies."
Community space delayed
Pacific Spirit Family and
Community Services (PSFCS), a community service located on campus
that is facing closure because the
university can no longer offer its
operating space, was given a prom
ise by an AMS committee that if it
came down to it, the service could be
run out of the SUB. But contention
over procedure has put the plan
on hold.
The committee, which is in
charge of allocating club space in the
SUB, had promised a vacant room to
PSFCS, but because the commission
only has the jurisdiction to allocate
space to AMS clubs and initiatives,
the offer could be withdrawn.
N Council was told Wednesday
that the offer to PSFCS was only in
the event that negotiations with the
university did not provide a space.
But because the offer was a breach
of AMS Code, the society will now
decide if it is possible to offer the
space to PSFCS.
PSFCS will lose its current location in the social work building
in April. ♦ 8 \\msm
; tll^^ibi^^y^aj^^^
'^^^B^imtmmiMmtmmmmmaaaa
■Fridayj
IBSMI 9
UjJ'stUgizmtipickecl-jpalflS. ^gP *f ¥l * * C *&***&■ &P *S-*
Come to room
23 SUB to
recieve a
complimentary
double pass to
EUR^TRIP
Wednesday,
February 18,
7:00PM
at Cineplex
Odeon
Granville
OPENS IN
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568 Dunsmuir St.
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1191 Davie St.
(604) 685.4066
TRAVEL
I www.stalravef.com _
Might As Well
\\
A
| veryone is doing it your friends, your relatives, your parents. Hell, even your lifemate is
tsa probably out there, looking for a better deal. If
you have an account with one of the major providers
of web-based e-mail access, you already know what
I'm talking about The revenues from Internet dating are measured in billions, so some of us have to
be doing it
How did I get lured into this giant machine of
love? Time had passed since the last major relationship derailment and the women I had seen in
the meantime—let's just say we didn't occupy the
same karma plane. One fine autumn evening, with
a glass of Cotes du Rhone in my hand, I was embittered by my inabiliiy to find someone to spend time
with. Frustrated, horny, emotionally distraught—
and just a shimmer drunk—I did what most of
us do. I freshened my drink and turned on the
television.
Boobs. Thong bikinis. BowFlex. Lo-carb beer. It
was like that fucked-up boat ride with Gene Wilder in
Willy; Wonka, and the Chocolate Factory. A glut of
images flashed without context, only body parts and
sex. I started thinking about things more and more,
and I really started feeling quite glum about the state
of affairs with our sex lives today. Look at pop culture: Blind Date, Fifth Wheel Temptation Island, all
of our most popular shows are based on the absence
of substance.
However, this is all broken-record material.
There are many people who have stood atop soapboxes and decried the problems of our oversexed
culture. But I wasn't troubled by the amount of sex,
but how we were doing it So much of sexuality had
become an economy. It seemed that if you owned
washboard abs, a large penis and a soul patch, you
had the equity to participate in the market
Finally I don't mind.
Useless tries at finding something Else
-Built to Spill, "Else'
When it comes down to it, a mix of contempt and
desperation pushed me towards Internet dating.
One of the most common themes among people
our age is to complain about how hard it is to simply meet someone outside of the bar. I agree with
this sentiment, and I have been very open to the
idea of meeting someone for a while^ Enough of my
friends had been meeting people through it for me
to give it a spin. On the other hand, believe it or not
I was so inordinately disgusted with the idea of
Internet dating, the only logical thing left for me to
do would be to try it out It is safe and easy to sit on
the sidelines and criticise, but it's a lot more challenging to make your decision when you're knee
deep in it
Lavalife is one of the most popular dating websites, claiming'"over four million unique users in the
USA, Canada and Australia. The service is very simple to use add completely free to begin with. There
are three basic categories to begin with: Dating,
Relationships, and Intimate Encounters. I refer to
them as Dating, Delusion, and Fucking, respectively.
Dating is the only category where people actually
meet each other, and that was my gig.
For each category you can set up a profile with
unique nicknames and pictures in each category.
Pictures are not mandatory, but as you can imagine,
your chances increase drastically with the inclusion
of one. If you're worried about your parents, friends
or partners finding out about your clandestine
encounters, there's always the "Backstage* where
you can post pictures, naughty or nice. Browsers
need a "Backstage Pass* to see these photos, and you
get to choose who receives a pass.
The key to your online identity, however, is your
Profile. The Profile rules all and it is in this space
that you actually have the opportunity to write something yourself. Along with your written profile, you
have a number of limited selections you can make to
describe your interests. You have the ability to
describe yourself about thirty different ways from a
selection of dropdown lists. It's somewhat like trying
to write an autobiography with those Utile fiidge
magnets.
There are a number of ways to contact someone, -
the initial way being to send a "smile.* If you like,
you can select a pre-set message to go along with
your smile, which is free. You can also send e-mails,
instant messages, and now five video footage to help
yourself communicate. This is how Lavalife makes
its money. The only way to have a voice that isn't
pre-recorded is to fork out the cash. The cost is
$14.99 USD for 30 credits, thus an e-mail message
(the cheapest of the bunch at five credits an e-mail)
costs about $1.50 CND a message. After your first
message, the rest are free with that user.
- Lavalife's latest motto advises you to "think outside the bar,* yet its structure is based upon it
Anyone can send a smile (drunken gaze), but the
women never pay for the communication (buying a
drink), and your success in finding a match depends
on the frequency of your visits and personal appearance (bar stars). Sound like an old tune? At least you
don't have to dance to shitty music, I guess.-
I thought of a nickname that had the appropriate
amount of literary obscurity combined with the right
amount of accessibility. I figured that I would follow
the example of today's marketing companies and
create a name that took effort to understand, but not
too much effort I wanted my would-be dates to feel
the same sense of accomplishment I felt when I
recognised the half-assed Biblical references in The
Devil's Advocate. So I picked the alias of a character
in a novel and revelled in all of the ironies of my
screen name. It took a little while to realise that most
of the world doesn't really give a shit about your
clever screen name.
The schtick continued in my first few profiles. I
tried writing something mean and funny (I'm 3'2",
450lbs. It's a gland problem). I tried writing some-
I
by Aman Sharma
FEATURES WRITER
Illustrated by
Paul Carr
Falling in and out of Internet dating
thing sardonic, like I was cooler than the whole business (Check out the profile below mine, ladies. I'm
nothing compared to the guy below me—you know,
the stud with the pack of cigarettes rolled in the
sleeve of his t-shirt leaning against bis sports car?).
Like every clever pickup line in history, the words
were born from insecurity. And much like pickup
lines, these attempts at intelligence yielded no
response. Guess what fellers? Women have heard
this stuff before!
After seeing a total of zero smiles from four very
clever {but contrived) profiles, I changed my tune. I
realised that I was doing this because I wanted to
meet someone. English majors can be cool for a
while, but we sure as hell can't keep it up. So I tried
being as honest as I could while still maintaining
my sceptical sensibilities. Lo and behold, once I
stopped seeing myself as holier than other
Lavalifers, people started to respond to my smiles.
I cannot communicate how hard it is to perform
your personality in 2000 words or less. It's far and
away the toughest part of the whole process, and
incredibly uncomfortable. If you're actually planning on meeting someone this way, there's not
much point in lying. People are not stupid and it
should take a person about five seconds to see that
you're full of shit
I'm gonna try for the kingdom, if I can
Because it makes me feel like I'm a man.
—The Velvet Underground, *Heroin*
My first date started out innocently enough. We
smiled at each other and I dropped the buck fiddy to
say hello. She was 21 and seemed like an intense
and passionate girl—someone who thought about
things. I didn't have a picture of her until she
e-mailed me two days before our date, but when the
picture arrived I was surprised. This girl scored
pretty high on the Objective Scale of Hotness (OSH)—
an attractive girl in the picture, in the conventional
sense. My friends looked back over their shoulders
and screamed that the picture was a fake, as they
sprinted towards their computers. I must admit I
was excited. But it's like the old joke: a funny girl,
smart, attractive, and she likes me! So what's wrong
with her?
We met at a bar in Londsdale Quay, with her
brother coming along to make sure I wasn't wielding anything. Since I had nothing sharp with me
(except my wit). Brother left and we began our date.
She was quite pretty, with long brown hair, glimmering opals for eyes and a fit body. She didn't
seem too discouraged when I plopped my doughy
ass down on the chair across from her so everything
was a go...until we started talking.
Now, I'm no stranger to depression. I think it's_a
part of life and I've had far too intimate of a relationship with feeling down thus far. A lot of people
whom I love have struggled with it and a couple of
people have died as a result I try my best not to
value people based on their relationship with
depression, but I sure passed judgement on this girL
She seemed to have a thin veneer of a smile pasted
over a seething, bubbling mass of blackness. But this
wasn't Sylvia-Plath-meets-Hamlet-niadness-and-lib-
eration depression. It seemed like 15-year-old adolescent depression—when you cry over Metallica's
immortal "Unforgiven." I was forcing myself to have
an open mind, so I tried asking some questions that
might lighten the mood a bit
Me: "So...what's going on, what are you looking at
for the future?" „,._.. _.^,. ,.,-,, ..
Her: "Well, I do start my apprenticeship in nine
months..."
Me: "Apprenticeship?! Sweet! What are you
apprenticing to be?"
Hen (visibly excited) "Ob, it's so cool! I'll be
apprenticing to become a funeral director!*
Now, I was expecting her to say something really
cooL like 'carpenter* or 'plumber.* And I'm pretty
freaked out when someone drops that little gem, but
I straighten my spine and shoulder on
Me: "Funeral director? Wow, that's crazy! I guess
it's one of those jobs that you hear about but never
think of doing.*
Hen (completely serious) "That's right Everyone
dies, so the job security is great*
Me: "Wow. So what's on the horizon? What are
you looking forward to? What do you think is going
to make you happy in the fiiture?*
I can't express the drama of this moment She
looks me dead in the eye and says without any semblance of sarcasm or mirth, "I'm really looking forward to helping people grieve.* ..
Holy shit I didn't know whether to jump into
Burrard Inlet or fall to the floor hugging my knees,
murmuring horrible things under my breath.
Instead, conversation politely trailed off and the
dated ended. Neither of us said anything about a
second meeting. .
My next few dates were all bogged down by something. I didn't know what it was then, but something
just seemed to be missing. Then I met someone, a
31-year-old with a Master's degree. We met had
a couple drinks and more than a couple incredible
conversations. She was intelligent, soulful and
lovely.
The evening ended with us having sex and it was
without a doubt one of the worst experiences Tve
ever had with another person. I won't go into the
clinical details, but things fell apart like things do.
Shamefully walking out her door to the cab, I understood what was missing: me.
When the company goes public
You've got to learn to love what you own
—Destroyer, "Hey, Snow White*
After this sordid episode, I realised that I had
been putting a lot of energy into overemphasising
the parts of me that I thought the other person
would find attractive. I was condensing my experience into a caricature of myself, something that
these people would recognise and appreciate. I
thought about quitting the Lavalife entirely, but
instead, I went out with a different attitude.
Before each date I began to focus on myself, trying to concentrate on being me, as open as possible.
I rewrote my profile and I stopped thinkfng about
how I could manipulate other people's perception.
Good, bad or revolting, there wasn't anything I was
willing to bide about myself. There were fewer
responses and fewer dates, but it was a bit more
enjoyable and a lot more interesting. It was a liberating feeling being myself with a potential mate.
Nothing ever came of any of these dates, even
though a couple of times we might have liked to try.
Instead, I've become pretty good friends with some
of these women
My problems with Lavalife are the same now as
when I started. There is an inherent over-commod-
ification built into the structure of the service. You
can do your best to subvert it through the forms
you're given, play with the dropdown menus and
checkboxes. But then you aren't actually participating with other people. You've made your attempts
at happiness into a critical essay or a piece of accidental performance art Does that seem like love
to you?
It is so easy to become overdetermined—a bunch
of pieces instead of the whole human being you are.
Even if you do succeed in creating a gorgeous poem
out of the most demanding rhyme scheme in
human history, the culture of Lavalife decreases the
chances of someone reading and understanding
you. You're a click, a picture, a fraction of the smallest moment in someone's attention span instead of
a lifetime of person. It's fucking scary how instantaneous and proprietised the whole experience is.
There is very little depth in internet dating. The
image of you becomes even flatter on your
flatscreen.
What do I like about Lavalife? The entire experience is unassailably fascinating. You can become
absolutely enraptured when you think about all of
the ways that people try to represent themselves.
There's nothing like finding a genuinely funny profile, sending a smile, and imagining the possibilt
ties. A lot of people become addicted to the process
and I know I was for a not-so-brief period of time.
You can wonder about winning the relationship lottery 30 times an hour if you want You can count
yourself out or above the medium of internet dating,
but then you effectively separate yourself from millions of people. And generally speaking, you don't
resort to Internet dating because you want to feel
even more separate from everyone else.
However, the single most incredible thing about
the whole exercise is seeing how you respond. I
learned that I was capable of really bad things (surprise!) and that I can be really excited by the most
subtle moments. I'd invite you to do the same with
this article. I didn't tell you my height, weight, body
type or colour of skin. There are some inherent
clues in this article, but ask yourself who you think
I am. How did I represent myself? What are these
clues, and did I create them with awareness? We
can only know what we're shown with these things.
The rest are assumptions. And I can't say any of this
with confidence. This is just drawn from the experience of another heterosexual male, and there
are plenty of my sort who have shown they don't
know shit
After my last actual Lavalife date, I was disenchanted with the whole experience. A perfect ten on
the OSH had been totally mean to me and made me
feel like I was an unattractive sack of shit I was
thinking about writing an acerbic feature for this
rag and going on tour thumping a Bible and yelling
out how Lavalife was Satan incarnate. Then I
checked my Lavalife account one evening and took
a look at the people who had sent me a smile. There
was one unsolicited smile from Montreal, and with
enough credits for one e-mail left I decided to go
for broke.
I told this woman I didn't want to communicate
over e-mail but I still wanted to start a conversation
Would she be interested in starting an exchange of
letters? After a couple of fact-finding e-mails she
agreed. It's turned out to be so much more than I
thought it could be. She is warm and funny, with a
graceful sense of humility. She's opinionated and
unbelievably passionate. I think the whole thing has
been helped along by the agonisingly slow performance of Canada Post She lives in Montreal and I will
probably never meet her in person. Like an 80s
power ballad. ♦>. ■ -• II
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PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
Takis'tops all other tave
TAKIS' TAVERNA
1106 Davie Street, Vancouver
by Ania Mafi
CULTURE STAFF
Every city has its landmarks, from architectural
masterpieces to breathtaking outdoor wonders.
A much needed addition to Vancouver's list of
must-see experiences is a visit to Takis'
Taverna, a quaint warm and welcoming Greek
restaurant in the heart of Davie Street in
Downtown, Vancouver.
A combination of great food at a great price,
Takis' offers simple homemade Greek cuisine
in, a charming and authentic setting with
entrees averaging from eight to 12 dollars. The
white stone and blue accents paired with scattered pots of green vines give this Davie Street
treasure a genuine taste of Athens; but of course
the food speaks for itself.
Any of the amazing appetisers will mark the
beginning of an addiction to anything that is
Greek. The complementary fresh and fluffy white
pitas are the perfect teaser to get your taste buds
ready for whatever lies waiting in the kitchen.
The humus or sizzling saganaki are excellent
choices, but if you're looking for a more filling
introduction try the fresh fried calamari.
For a main course, the souvlaM is by far your
best dining choice. Whether you choose chicken, beef or lamb, the meat is always tender,
juicy and perfectly grilled on a skewer; accompanied by a generous portion of soft cooked carrots, baked potatoes, Greek salad and lightly
seasoned rice. This meal would not be complete
without Takis' infamous tzatziM sauce, which
will have you scraping every last morsel out of
the bowl:
Don't worry vegetarians. Tail's'has you covered too! The popular rica-filled grape leaves,
known as dolmathes, are satisfying and perfect
with a sprinkle of fresh lemon.
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What really makes TaMs' such a wonderful
place to dine is the incredibly friendly and gracious staff. On any day or riight of the week, you
can feel comfortable going here in jeans or after
a night on the town. The dim lighting and votive
candles create a complementary glow that is
paired nicely with a bottle of red or white wine
An ideal blend of music and happy chatter, this
Greek Utopia is a terrific spot for a dinner for
two—over Valentine's Day—or just a friendly
feast with friends. You may even be lucky
enough to catch Takis himself waiting to greet
you with a smile.
Even more reason to try Takis', if you
haven't already, is their lunch special going on
now until the end of February offering any
small souvlaM for about seven dollars. So stop
by over the reading break after all your hard
work, and find out for yourself why TaMs' is
one of Vancouver's best kept culinary
treasures. ♦
The Ubyssey 2003 -2004 Readership Survey
We want your feedback!
Fill out this survey and drop it off in SUB Room 24
to win Mt. Seymour lift passes, t-shirts and more!
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What content do you want to see in the newspaper?
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y ¥
PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
the; ybys&y raagiiiitii
CULTURE
11
Memorable
Quirky Sandler-Barrymore chemistry actually charms rather than annoys
50 First Dates
opens just in time for Valentine's day
by Greg Ursic
CULTURE WRITER
Henry Roth is a walking amusement
ride for women,' providing them
with thrills, chills and special memories of their Hawaiian vacation.
For Henry, a devoted commitment-
phobe, things couldn't be better.
Until he meets Lucy—pretty and
blonde, she possesses that certain je
ne sais quoi, which sets her apart
from his typical run of the mill bimbos. Unfortunately, no matter how
funny or suave he is, Henry can't
make a lasting impression on her
; due to her pesky lack of short term
memory. It brings a whole new
meaning to "keeping the love alive.*
Sandler's rageaholic rants and
scatological jokes may play well
with the frat boy set, but those roles
are hit and miss at best. But when
he chooses to tone down the moron
'factor, Sandler can be quite enjoyable. He plays Henry as a lovable
lothario who gets sucker punched
by lady love, making his efforts to
win Lucy, played by Drew
Barrymore, both genuinely funny
and tragic. Drew Barrymore meanwhile has to rely on more than her
infectious smile as she relives the
same moments, and successfully
balances the gamut pf emotions.
More importantly, the portrayal
feqls fresh on each run through,
which makes her bewilderment and'
sadness all the more painful. The
supporting cast is a mixed bag.
I'd normally choose gouging out
my eyes out with shards of broken
glass over patching Rob Schneider
on the big screen. But I have to
admit that he made me laugh
repeatedly as Ula, Henry's hapless
native sidekick. Whether this was
due to the fact that he is virtually
unrecognisable {my friend didn't
even realise that he was in the film
until we were watching the credits)
or simply subdued, I'm not
quite sure.
Alas not the same can be said for
Sean Astin. To go from the saviour
of Middle-Earth to lisping narcissistic steroid-ridden village idiot is a
painful fall indeed. I realise he
wants to get away from hobbithood,
but another role like this, and he'll
earn a one-way ticket to oblivion.
Rounding out the painful performances is Lusia Strus as the frighten-
ingly androgynous Alexa, the butt of
every nasty comment and joke in
the film
The chemistry that Sandler and
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Barrymore shared in the Wedding
Singer is even stronger this time
around, due in part to the nature of
the subject matter: it's not all played
for laughs. .Also, despite the
Groundhog Day-style repetition, it's
not a simple case of deja vu.
Consequently you find yourself rooting for the characters to find a solution and a ride-off-into-the-sunset
ending. What makes it even more
satisfying is that the writers refuse
to take the easy way out 50 First
Dates is perfect for at least one
first date. ♦
above the rest
Barbershop sequel
lives up to its legacy
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS
now playing
by Ania Maf i
CULTURE STAFF
The barbershop is back in business.
Barbershop 2 is the follow-up sequel to
the 2002 hit comedy about a barber trying
to keep his business alive in the unsettled
streets of Chicago. Ice Cube is back playing the barbershop owner, Calvin, whose
business is this time being threatened by
nioney hungry developers trying to fill the
small town with franchises.
Although the plot hasn't changed
much, the original cast brings some new
humour to the sequel, giving audiences a
second serving of homegrown soul.
" Cedric the Entertainer, who plays old-
school loudmouth Eddie, creates even
more controversy in the shop gossiping
about everything from R-Kelly to religion.
His character light-heartedly pokes at
matters that cause quite a stir with his
rowdy coworkers and leave audiences
with a comical twist on heavy issues. "I
like the' fact that the movie showed that
black people don't all have the same opinion,* said Ice Cube in an interview.
Indeed, the movie shows more than
one side to any and every argument, and
feisty female coiffeur Terri, played by
Eve, is still holding her ground in the
middle of the testosterone-infested shop.
Trying hard to establish her character as
a strong self-sufficient woman, Terri fails
to fight temptation heating up in the staff
room in a scene that will have any woman
drooling with envy. Of course, you'll have
to see the movie to find out who the lucky
barber is. Developing the role of Terri in
the sequel was a well-received change for
this female rap star-turned-actress.
On a somewhat disappointing note
was the addition to the cast, Queen
Latifah, who fooled many into believing
she has a notable appearance in the
sequel, but actually only appears in a
few insignificant comedic interludes.
Working at the beauty salon next door to
Calvin's, her character Gina is to be further developed in a spin-off sequel of
Barbershop called Beauty Shop, expected
to hit theatres this spring.
But before Queen Latifah gets ahead of
herself, she may heed to get a few pointers
from Ice Cube, who gives another straight-
up and solid performance. His character
faces a few of the same cliche dilemmas
centred on money and integrity, which by
the end of the film are solved with a predictable solution: realising that staying
true to yourself is priceless. Giving his
clippers a rest, Calvin's problems take a
; backseat to some fresh and heated subplots, which unfortunately means less Ice
Cube, but more dimension.
This film may not be the movie of the
year, or the next great epic film of all
time. But, despite the lack of plot.
Barbershop 2 proves to be entertaining
and charming. So if you're expecting to
be blown away, lower your expectations
right down to 'just wanting a good laugh'
and you'll surely be satisfied with this
film. ♦
Let me clear my f hroaf, a-huh a-huh
Huun Huur Tu, Tuvan Throat Singers
at Chan Centre
Feb. 7
by Shireen Nabatian
CULTURE WRITER
Across the ocean and into the land is a place
where mountains sing.
At least, this is what I have been led to believe
after seeing Huun Huur Tu perform for the second time in my life. This group of four throat
singers from Tuva, which is an autonomous
republic within Russia, bordering on Mongolia,
has been sharing the secrets of the Tuvan landscape and folk music tradition with North
American and European audiences since the
early nineties, when the group was formed.
This time around, they were not the only ones
on the stage. Alcvin Ramos, a master of the
Japanese shakuhachi flute, opened the evening
with a diverse show of his various talents.
Ramos also played a powerful didgeridoo and
other wind instruments, including one that he
designed himself in his search for the perfect
combination of overtones and melodies. As a
soloist, he did a very impressive job of filling the
whole concert hall with soulful harmonics,
including a number where the audience sang a
continuous D while he played over our drone.
That particular number was dedicated to the victims of the earthquake earlier this year in Bam,
Iran, where many thousands were killed, injured
or displaced.
Ramos remained on the stage for Huun Huur
Tu's first number, which made for a very cool
collaboration. After that, Huun Huur Tu did their
thing; leaving me, like last time, completely
filled up with optimism and a sense of deep connection with the Earth, even though my heritage
is from nowhere near Tuva. Many of the sounds
that make up Tuvan music are direct inspirations from nature: the call of a caribou, bird
songs and the continuous percussion of horses
galloping across the Asian highlands. These all
blend into some slow and beautiful songs that
seem to be a message of sorrow directly from the
belly of the planet and some that are so fast and
upbeat that it is difficult not to start giggling or
bouncing around in one's seat
Kira Van Dusen, a Canadian storyteller specialising in Siberian oral traditions, made a brief
but welcome appearance on the stage. While the
band played, she told a story about the origin of
one of the instruments—discovered in the cave
of a mountain and brought to the people by a
young man who came back to bis village only to
find that three generations had passed in his
absence. Kira's performance was a wonderful
touch because through language, she was able to
give some context and articulacy to the sounds
the audience had been enjoying throughout the
evening.
The Chan Centre, while formal, proved to be
a good setting for this concert in particular
because of the complexities of throat-singing.
There are about four different techniques, and
each was clearly heard in the cavernous concert
hall whose acoustics definitely lend itself to the
subtleties of overtone music. All in all, it was a
great night, and I already look forward to seeing
them again. ♦ ^
years
THE UBYSSEY
Still getting picked up at 85.
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'♦Hi
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Hi, my name is Emergene. Tm a
4th Year student, studying
Sociology & Women's Studies
at UBC. I like performing,
writing poems and
reading the news at
Fairchild radio.
I'm the treasurer for
Colour Connected
and hope to be
a social worker
when I graduate.
I like .African,
hip hop and
Caribbean music.
I like to hang out at
the SUB. And yes.t.
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.-+ PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
tK aif siif jfiagailii#:
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13
Sweet dreams in The Den
Upcoming release from Vancouver's own P:ano is lulling and lovely
P-.AN0
The Den
[Hive-Fi Recordings]
on shelves Mar. 9
by Michelle Mayne
CULTURE STAFF
"A lullaby will send me to sleep tonight,"
sings Nick Krgovich in the opening track of
The Den, Piano's sophomore album of sleepy
bedtime rock. Yet, just as you are sure to drift
off to the soft sustained trumpet, the last bars
of the song erupt in a cacophony of brawling
brass. So begin the surprises of this
Vancouver quartet's latest creation.
Thanks to- support from the Canada
Council for the Arts, the follow-up to last
year's When it's Dark and It's Summer showcases the band's wealth of imagination and
artistic growth since their debut.
Complete with woodwinds, strings and
sighing brass, P;ano takes us on a leisurely
trip through soundscapes Uttered with incidental noise, to places one wouldn't have
thought possible from a disc adorned with
photos of Lower Mainland suburbia.
The first few songs of The Den come from
all angles, introducing quirky melodies and
unusual instrumentation. Equal-parts resignation and hope, Rrgovich's sad and thoughtful vocals pair with Larissa Loyva in random
musings on restlessness, mystery and
change, and though the chamber choir on the
second track is somewhat jarring, it somehow manages to gel with the larger scope of
the album.
On we trudge at a slow pace through the
album, through "lightly falling snow" on a
moonlit night, each song like a snowflake:
original and unique and wholly intricate in
its design. It may take a few listens before
you've really heard the songs in entirety, but
not to be missed is the charming introductory track "Fucking Ugly Bouffant," the occasionally almost upbeat "Arguing* and the
ethereal melodica-soaked "New Son."
Tracks on The Den follow the recipe of
short equals sweet, but aside from this they
never quite stick to the same formula, using
simple but explorative melodies while pushing the borders of song-formation. Yet
despite its elaborate orchestration using a
long string of guest players and a variety
of unconventional instrumentation, the
album ultimately comes across as simple
and genuine.
To be contradictory, the only shortcoming
of the album is that there is too much of it.
The unhurried pace of the disc makes it an
excellent accompaniment to" those downtimes, but with 13 slow songs, two-thirds
through the album downtime can turn to simple depression. Unless, you approach The
Den as your own lullaby to send you to sleep,
in which case by now you are probably
dreaming your sweet dreams, set to a colourful soundtrack. ♦
Kiddie Korner krap
Warning! Music not suitable for children above 12 years old
SEKIDEN
Junior Fiction
[Boompa! Records]
By Momoko Price
CULTURE WRITER
I don't want to sound close-minded,
but if a three-chord band wants to
have an audience, it has to have two
things. Keeping in mind that by definition technical skill is not one of
them, these two elements would be:
attitude and great edgy lyrics. Sekiden
lacks both to such a degree that it is
difficult for a person with a post-secondary education to maintain interest
long enough to hear their whole
album. Junior Fiction, through. By the
time I heard the second song, "1+1=
Heartache," I had a pretty good idea
what kind of sqngwriting gifts these
guys had to offer.
I will admit, their guitar riffs are
catchy in a vapid, mass-produced
kind of way, but the thing about
three-chord bands is that the successful ones get you pumped with biting
truisms about the life of a twenty-
something—the music being either
funny, angry, sympathetic or seriously drug-influenced. In any case, they
strike a chord (no pun intended) in a
young person's heart. Without this
angle, the repetitive 4/4 guitar licks
run out of gas—fast.
That being said, I think lyrics like
"It's truuuuue/I love yoooooooou
(repeated ad nauseam)" and "It was
the best day of my life/You were in
my eyes/Smile and hold your
hand/You will understand" speak for
themselves, surprisingly, considering they say so little. These lyrics
sound like something Written in the
journal of a nine-year old, and could
only be appreciated by a kid of
twelve, or some pre-adolescent floating in the warm fuz2y dreams of
puppy love. There just isn't anything
worth getting excited about in the
verses of these songs.
, Perhaps you might think I'm being
unfair, putting too much emphasis on
the importance of lyrics. But the lyrics
of a three-chord band have to be original enough that you feel cool when
you're lip-synching them with your
friends at a party. You know what I'm
talking about that point around two in
the morning when you're too trashed
to muster up real conversation, so you
succumb to head-banging along with
the coolness that the Ramdnes created
years ago with universal songs like "I
Want to be Sedated." Unfortunately for
Sekiden, songs that croon "She's my
number one/And she's my number
two" (words which, incidentally, I
couldn't listen to without giggling like
a schoolboy with his mind in the gutter) just don't cut it.
Until the members of Sekiden go
out and have some seriously dysfunctional, sarcasm-inspiring life experiences and learn how to transcribe
them into their music, their days as a
band for a post-secondary audience
are numbered. But never fear
Sekiden, somewhere out there,
there's a 12-year old girl rocking out
in her bedroom to Junior Fiction, who
couldn't be happier. ♦
This Rose stinks
KATYROSE
Because I Can
[V2 Records]
by Ania Mafi
CULTURE STAFF
With the overnight successes
of fresh female artists such as
Avril Lavigne and the defiantly
edgy Fefe Dobson, many new
teen queen up-axtd-comers are
putting their own daily diaries
to music in hopes of becoming
the next confused and misunderstood girl to hit the music
charts. Unfortunately, not
every girl with the ability to
write a journal entry should be
making an album.
Katy Rose's debut album. Because I Can, is definitely not as sweet
as a rose and tries too hard to expose the thornier side of being a
teenage girl. Although the album cover features a very angry Rose
pulling on her blonde locks while fronting the pouty-lips and evil
stare that was trademarked by Lavigne, don't be fooled into believing what's inside holds anything remotely comparable.
Rose's lead single, "Overdrive," is an awful combination of flat
vocals, random, nonsensical lyrics and an overpowering beating
guitar that unfortunately remains static and unchanging throughout the entire album. Thankfully, the guitar is put to rest in
"Watching the Rain," which starts off by flowing a mellow and sexy
house beat with a lot of potential until disaster strikes: Rose takes
a stab at rapping. Maybe it's poetry to music, I'm not really sure,
but either way it isn't helping Rose carve out her own niche in the
music world.
With an album full of predictable tracks about growing up as a
dreamer and trying to achieve a sense of belonging, one can't help
but get the feeling that Rose isn't quite sure where her voice really
belongs. Because I Can is a disastrous mixture of Avril Lavigne,
Fefe Dobson, PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Morcheeba and Slash from
Guns and Roses; and all together the result is musical mayhem
with an anonymous sound and total lack of originality.
Although "Teaching Myself to Dream" has a fairly promising chorus that would sound perfect in the trailer for the next Mandy Moore
film, the verses are sung without any emotion or lyrical content.
Although a hard choice, the worst track would probably be
"Vacation," which features Rose's final shot at being as wicked and
controversial as she possibly can with lyrics like: "If I miss my
graduation, I'll take a fucking long vacation."
An eternal yaca^tion from singing sounds like a' better plan for
this artificial flower. ♦ 1M
EDTGRAyft-ft;
THEUBYSSEY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2004
VOLUME 85 ISSUE 37
EDITORIAL BOARD
COORDINATING EDITOR
Hywel Tuscano
NEWS EDITORS
Megan Thomas
Jonathan Woodward
CULTURE EDITOR
John Hua
SPORTS EDITOR
Jesse Marchand
FEATURES/NATIONAL EDITOR
Heather Pauls
V Photo editor
ft < Michelle Mayne
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Paul Carr
Iva Cheung
GOOtoESfATORS
VOLUNTEERS
Sarah Bourdon
RESEARCH/LETTERS
Bryan Zandberg
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British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The
Ubyssey Publications Society- -.
We are an autonomous, democratically run student organisation,
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Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the
expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the
views erf The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of
BriSsh Columbia., - '
; The Obysseyjsya founding member of Canadian University Press
(CUP), and adheres toCUP^s guiding principles,
/ill editorial content' appearing in The Ubyssey\\s the property of The
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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.
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room 24, Student Union Building
6138 Student Union Boulevard '
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
tel: 604-822-2301
fax: 604-822-9279
web: www.ubyssey.bc.ca
e-mail: feedback@ubyssey.bc.ca
BUSINESS OFFICE
Room 23, Student Union Building
advertising: 604-822-1654
business office: 604-822-6681
fax: 604-822-1658
e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.be.ca
BUSINESS MANAGER
Fernie Pereira
AD SALES
Dave Gaertner
.AD DESIGN
Shalene Takara
Neil Braun stormed into the Ubyssey offices, his red beard glistening anger lite an immense, constipated sea dragon. "Who
forgot me in the masthead on Tuesday?!* he screamed. 'I'm
gonna whip their cracka' assl* Hywel Tuscann, enjoying his fifth
danlsh of the day, said, "ask the Boggle players." Indeed, Ania
Mafi, Greg Ursic, Peter Klesken, Shireen Nabatian and Melissa
Rohde were playing that game, but none answered. Aman
Sharma and Jesse Marchand were reading "My Pet Rock* and
Wilson Wong yras making peppermint tea, so they ignored Neil
bo. Michelle Mayne was cleaning her large antique hooka pipe
while Heather Pauls burnt an issue of Maclean's, chanting "rise
from the ashes...np_* Iva Cheung said, "The culprit is obviously
a terrible person," and John-Bob Woodward mumbled his agreement in between bites of oysters. Megan Thomas and Alex
Leslie were bowling with empty water jugs so they didn't hear
the complaint, andjohnny Hua was busy with his newly adorned
wig. Paul Carf, Bryan Zandberg and Sarah Bourdon were dis-
cusing the health benefits of Elestra, toobu^y to notice. Finally,
Momoko PiiceyeHed, "He's in the dark room!" Neil strode in,
finding Dan Burritt about to enjoy a site hath.
COVER DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION
Paul Carr
Canadian
ft University
Canada Post Salat Agreement Number 40S7BK2
Sunshine,
lollipops...
; tie; ubf si€f Jttagaiinc:
PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
It is the season of gift chocolate! Or
of lonely, lonely nights. In the spirit
of the annual cornucopia of consumer love, the Ubyssey presents
our annual list of things we hate:
O small dogs . '
OSUVs
□ small dogs in SUVs with the driver talking on a cell phone and holding a Starbucks coffee
□ cell phones on the bus
O sleeping people on the bus who
lean on you
□ people who refuse to fix their U-
passes
OBeepI
O people who text message in class
O post office lineups
O student loans that come after
tuition is due
CJ tuition
O small puddles in the bathroom
O stepping in them
O tapered pants
O trucker hats, (UBC makes them
now, so over)
O the smell of editors at lam
O loneliness
O loinlmess
Q the smell of loins while lonely
O digging out other people's hair
from the bathtub drain
O showering
□ other people's hair on the soap
O amputation
O Shark Club cleavage
□ Cactus Club cleavage
□ cleavage
□ chest hair
□ back hair
□ trimming
O waxing
□ plucking
O makeover shows
O comb-over shows
O hair dub for men ads
O salons
O personal stylists
O personal trainers
O personal shoppers
O personal pan pizzas
O sharing
O anagrams
O anagrams of shitty newspapers
likeeiTtoinF
O lima beans
O couscous
O waiting for food to boil
O talking about Janet Jackson's
breasts
O ad nauseam spelt ad nauseum
O having your butt continue up your
back
O the pain of jogging
O clingy swimming trunks
O having no exercise that suits you
O e-mail SPAM
O limited Hotmail space
O Friendster
O People who still use Asian Avenue
O getting rejected on Friendster
O People who have 150+ friends on
Friendster
D dustbunnies
O fruit flies
O artsy prima donna snobs
O rebels
□ conformists
O people who sign letters with "in
solidarity' ....'•*.._
□ unoriginal people
O original people
O people
O the music we liked in high school
_J Chinese symbols that used to look
cool.
O lower back tattoos
□ Chinese symbols on lower backs
O barbed wire armband tattoos
O people with huge arm muscles
O Chinese symbol tattoos on huge
arm muscles
O people who ride the bus from the
gym to the loop
O people who tuck T-shirts into
jeans
O people who tuck sweatshirts into
jeans
□ souped-up Neons, Cavaliers and
Sunfires
O rows upon rows of little figurines
on dashboards
H people who wear their sunglasses
on their forehead, or backwards on
their head -ft
O parking attendants
O advertisements that say "made
you look"
□ people who refuse to move to the
back of the bus
LgtaagaipKsaaag wm |*% #%
i___ I I itsmI %■_*#
Feature sparks debate
PERSPECTIVE
Aiter reading the article "It's the Pit,"
We are compelled, as advocates of
campus safety and as members of
this campus, to express our indignation and disapproval of this article.
This article portrayed sexism, drug-
induced sexual assault and violence
as inevitable and acceptable and
represents a step back in our attitudes towards these issues.
The article has a distasteful gender bias. One of the most obvious
examples is the editorial photo cap:
lion, "Girls only go to the Pit for the
great tunes...cough," and the
author's cynical remarks that the
"lipstick-loaded sorority girls' will
want to pick up after "they've had a
few." The message of these statements and the article is that women
go to the Pit, regardless of what they
say, to find someone to have sex
with. This negative gender stereotyping delegitimises women and
promotes behaviour that ignores a
woman's stated wishes.
The correlation of drunkenness
with sexual relations is incredibly
problematic and directly tied to sex-
ualised violence. .An extremely intoxicated individual cannot give legal
consent On campus, safety
providers have identified that alcohol is the most common substance
used to facilitate sexual assault This
article assumes that this behavior is
normal, acceptable and to be expected. It reports that the Pit is a place
where you don't have to worry about
sexual assault laws or personal
respect with quotes such as "you just
kind of go up and grab a girl.
Sometimes you get slapped, other
times it's good to go." Actions such
as these are illegal and represent
willful invasions of someone's
agency and personal space.
This article also details violence
perpetrated on the physical premises of the Pit Pub and patrons. The
nonchalant approach to vandalism
and aggravated assault portrayed in
the article does not condemn the violence but normalises it
The AMS, the Pit Pub and safety
providers have worked to address
these dangerous assumptions and
attitudes towards drinking and gender relations. Staff at the Pit have
been trained on issues such as drink
spiking and sexual assault and there
is a zero tolerance policy for sexual
harassment. Committed campus
groups have worked hard to raise
awareness and reduce the incidents
of sexual assaults and vandalism at
UBC. However, in this article, sexual
assault and violence are portrayed
as acceptable and inevitable;
women's voices are silenced and
aggressive sexual behaviour is highlighted as ordinary. When students
believe that the happenings at the
Pit mentioned in the article are typical, then the vision of having a safe
and accepting campus for all people
is compromised. The Ubyssey must
have some maturity and consider
the impact that articles like this, as
well as the newspaper itself, has on
the campus community.
—Laura Best
Vice President Academic
and University Affairs
Representatives from AMS
Executive and Council, Safewalk,
Speakeasy, Womyn's Centre,
Sexual Assault Support Centre,
Panhellenic Council, UBC Equity
Office, UBC Counseling Services,
UBC Access and Diversity Unit,
Campus Security, SUB Security
U-town makes birdies
hobos
Has anyone made note of the fact
that with the recent clearcut for the
new National Research Centre
building (south west and across
from TRIUMF) the resident owl has
been displaced? I know in the
Vancouver Sun it was reported that
the grey owl has been seen near
16th and Wesbrook. But this is
because the owl used to live in that
area recently logged.
My partner and I would often
encounter the owl near UBC farm,
usually close to the TRIUMF traffic
circle or in the trails just beside the
recycling area. We always figured
his home was in behind the plant
Ops storage area. With his ringra-
□ pretentious little indie twerps
□ ads inside Translink buses
n uninformed TAs
O people who try to make you sign
petitions on street corners
CJ people who are way too mean to
people on street corners
O double-bagging groceries
O pictures of yourself when you're
drunk
O keychains with more cutesy toys
on them than keys
O the fake nails booth on SUB market days
O AMS elections
O car alarms
O people who says they're going to
be journalists after they graduate,
but never ever write for any campus
paper
D Engineers
O rollerblades ft-. ,
O hamsters or any rodent pets
O people who can twirl their pens or
jewelery in fancy \\vays. ,,. ,,.-,,,',
O people who close the blinds in
class on sunny days ♦
tion to 16th avenue, this confirms
his residence has been demolished.
This is upsetting because it is the
thin edge of. the wedge and is transpiring unnoticed.
Martha Piper's University Town
doesn't take into account the owls,
hawks, eagles and other birds that
live around the UBC farm and
depend upon the field mice and field
insects for food. From what I gather,
first will come a ring of industrial
research buildings along Marine
Drive (across from TRIUMF, heading west). These will meet up with
the new parking area at 16th and
Wesbrook. Eventually surrounded,
the UBC Farm is scheduled for
"future housing."
I'm not sure mat anyone would
want to live on "Owl Crescent" or
"Eagle Ridge Drive" once they knew
how many owls and eagles were displaced to create that home.
UBC has always been a community that sets an example. What kind
of an example is set by clear-cutting
an owl's habitat?
aAs you can tell, I'm,not in love
with the concept of University Town.
Just the opposite. From Hope to
Vancouver, lovely and seductive Utile arts-and-crafts condo complexes
are replacing the wild—replacing the
last unique West Coast wildlands.
University Town brochures depict
glossy, happy lives lived in picturesque surroundings.
How long until all the new
University Town residents decide a
seawall around Wreck Beach would
be a great idea?
—Barry Warne
; Department Secretary
"*'■' ' UBC School of Journalism PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
'ijtife ;ibf siff p^iiiii^ft;
LIWEiS
15
Underachievement can bear fruit
by Lisa Stark
When I was still in high school, a
friend told me about a girl he knew
who dropped out of university just a
few credits short of graduation I was
in awe. She had read James Gleick's
book Chaos and it changed her
whole perspective. Classes in her
major suddenly seemed trivial, and
the so-called experts in the field,
many of whom were her professors,
started to look like frauds. She had
what pompous grad students might
call a "post-modem epiphany." I'm
not too sure what became of her
after that
Though I have never read the
book, over the years I have often
taken solace, in that story. In
moments of panic before exams I
have whispered "chaos" under my
breath to remind myself that I too
can turn on my heels and walk away.
As I approach the end pf my own
undergraduate education, I think
about doing just that I think about
not graduating and visiting my
friend Julia in Uzbekistan or not
graduating and sailing around the
Indian Ocean aimlessly, with no
return date scheduled.
There is something appealing
about walking away from university
with nothing but opinions; that is,
leaving without the actual degree.
It's like brandishing a big middle
finger at the bourgeoisie, the establishment, the man, whatever you
call the powers that be. Rejecting
their highly-prized piece of parchment paper—just a few credits shy
of finishing—is pretty punk-rock,
romantic even. But chances are I'm
not going to do any of that I've
already got my application in for an
MA program.
I suppose I came to UBC expect
ing to have a post-modern epiphany
of my own. I imagined some Dead
Poet Society-style awakening. I
thought campus would be like a
smaller, more contemporary version
of a 1968 Paris, but none of this
turned out to be the case. In the past
four years here I didn't join any
clubs. I didn't attend any rallies. I
didn't even vote, not once, not even
in the referendum on health care
coverage. I didn't 'write any* prize-
winning essays. I didn't get any perfect scores. In fact I did very little
besides the obligatory course assignments and exams. If these few paragraphs get published, they will be my
first at UBC.
The fact that my convocation is
coming up has got me thinking
about all this stuff and maybe feeling
a little down about it Admittedly, it
took coming to university for me to
really appreciate what it means to be
a bad ass, and I can say with confidence that I wouldn't have volunteered to read Foucault for example,
just for the pleasure of learning; yet
his stuff is pretty radical and upon
reflection it has changed me, I think.
It's just hard to explain how.
PERSPECTIVE
i f I : * i' V < >! :
I guess what I'm trying to say is
that university is not what I expected. I thought I would have my sensibilities assaulted but they were
only gently prodded. I thought I
would achieve some kind of existential denouement—and forgive the
pompous grad student speak here
before my application has even been
processed—but I was only left with
more questions. Nevertheless, something good has come out of all this
and I suppose I should end on
that note.
Some people are motivated, naturally curious, self-starters. They don't
need a reason to think long and hard
about philosophy or whatever; I am
NOT one pf those people. Left to my
own devices I'd be unemployed, living in a bachelor pad with nothing
but a TV and an endless supply of
The Simpsons. So for all the times
I've ranted about the evils of standardised tests and breadth requirements, and even though I haven't
had my own moment on the road to
Damascus, or the road to Buchanan
as it were, life is way more interesting as a result of university, and I'm
pretty sure that I am too.
—Lisa Stark is a fourth-year
Arts student at UBC
A young apatharian speaks
FREESTYLE
by Alex Leslie
Ha hal Excuse me while I laugh, dou-
bled-over, and grab at the nearestban-
ister for support Recount? New elections? Bring it on you competent people, youl I'll make the popcorn.
Why do students not vote, you ask?
Obviously not due to a lack of active
student concern
over issues, as evidenced by the
incredible turnout
at last week's tuition * ■' j ■ • -
rally. Thousands of
students demon-
strated downtown while a disappointing fraction pressed a button to vote
in AMS elections. Then why? Because
students invest their time and respect
in efforts that they feel make a difference for them! The AMS elections are
a hoax—with tabloid-style posters and
endless bungling—and are duly treated as a hoax by students. No one votes
for a hoax. Or at least not since
Reagan.
A couple of Fridays ago, I saw my
newly elected AMS President interviewed on High Noon, the campus
variety and talk show. I watched as
she talked about her fat salary—hey.
thanks! I can only afford a car that
looks like a convict attacked it with a
can opener, but how's your bank
account doin'? That's good—and then
discussed her free laptop, comfy executive office and all the other great
pluses of working in the AMS. Really?
I thought the pluses of student government were voicing student
thoughts and practising democracy to its
fullest. But, hey, if
there's a free laptop
'. - «■ ■ ' involved, well then
The tuition rally
presented an event in
which students could actively participate, for their own benefit When it
comes to AMS elections, I just can't
buy into people who say they're working for my interests and then bring up
their free laptop and extravagant
salary. I'm tired of being cheaply
accused of apathy by people with the
personal convictions of an agnostic
jellyfish.
" Get these jokers outta my White
House! Shiznat
—Alex Leslie is a2nd-year
Arts student and Ubyssey
staff member
T-Bird stadium part of
community life
I am not surprised when reading
Jim Taylor's opinion ("T-Bird concerts too loud, say residents,"the
Ubyssey, February 10, 2004). He has
obviously lived in Hampton Place
longer than UBC Campus and
Thunderbird Stadium have been
places where large numbers of people gather. Thunderbird Stadium is
the Lower Mainland's premier outdoor venue for large touring concerts. Every summer it hosts acts
that could not appear if not for this
venue. It is also integral to the
Department of Athletics and other
sports associations such as the
British Columbia Rugby Union. Mr
Taylor should have known this fact
when he moved Onto campus, especially since he attended UBC himself. This is like buying a house near
an elementary school and then complaining about the noise of children
during the day. However, his complaint is a natural 'not in my backyard' reaction. Rather than telling
Mr Taylor to change his opinion, I
would like to know what UBC
Administration's policy will be once
even more people are living on campus, especially when they are living
only lOOmetres away in what used
to be the B-Lots. In an attempt to
sound firm on the issue, Linda
Moore does not actually rebut Mr
Taylor's point Summer concerts are
not just a student affair. As has
already been seen in the controversy surrounding future ice rink developments, this university plays an
important role in the Lower
Mainland that should not be jeopardised. Will she be as assertive when
the number of complaints rise? Are
future concerts and sporting events
at risk?
—Jackson Hall
Arts 2
Wayward grad student,
read on
I'm writing to remind graduate
students—who occasionally read
your publication, as I understand-
to vote in this week's Graduate
Student Society (GSS) elections.
While it's true that several candidates are running against the spectre of "Re-Open Nominations,"
there is a really important issue on
the ballot.
It's a referendum question
regarding the Graduate, which
since 1977 has been an in-house
GSS publication. The referendum
asks if students want the magazine
to be independent of the GSS, supported by a $4 annual fee from each
graduate student. It's a good deal,
and it will allow the creation of a
governance structure in which people who are involved with, the magazine—as writers, producers and
even readers—get to have a voting
say in its management and mandate. Ayes vote means that the magazine will be constituted as a nonprofit society, of which all grads will
be members. I would advise a visit
to www.gss.ubc.ca/elections to read
a full argument in sparkling prose.
There's a link there to an external
website with more details, and
there's a link to the actual voting
page from either page.
Today's the last day, so vote. If
we get quorum and a yes vote, I
promise to engage in some girl-on-
girl action at Koerner's when the
results are announced. In the interests of democracy, you may
vote via the magazine website
www.gss.ubc.ca/services/graduate
as to with whom, although suggestions will of course be edited.
—Karen Ward
Editor, The Graduate Magazine
?*'!»£•*
S__atS3S",^l^^£^ J?
UPCOMING FILMS
Screenings @ Norm Theatre in SU8
Admission: $3 and Membership: $20
Film Society Hotline: (604) 822-3697
http://www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/fiimsoc
Fri. Feb 13-Sun. Feb 15
6:45PM - Love Actually
9:45PM - Matrix Revolutions
Fri. Feb 20-Sun. Feb 22
7:00PM - Brother Bear
9:30PM - the Missing
Wed. Feb 25 ~ Thurs. Feb 26
7:00PM - Shattered Glass
9:30PM - Swimming Pool
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PAGE FRIDAY
Friday, February 13,2004
"It doesn't mean much to me. It's supposed to mean love,
I guess, for everyone. But love can be expressed every day
and not just specifically on one day, I think it's more
about the commercial."
—Anita Yuen
Biology 4
"Just another day, but...you get to buy stuff, I guess. It's
a day you get to show love for the people that you don't
normally."
--Kevin Louden
Music 2
S*
V
'^^a
^f\\
I
r ,n l in 1 I'm \\i m l|
ir Mil'
—Ivin Dionne
Fine Arts 4
WImc does Valentine's
Ov/ me.hi to you?
photos In Mil In.11 lo Mayne
\\
'™*^a!
A£3
LV
I I'll 1 \\ M riUMl -. |i|\\ I-. llll 'II I inn III II >
I i i ,i ir I i '■ i'i'\\ ilii 'I iv In Ii ii \\ i1 lnii' — I • jv
■-■liii I i i i'i'k i v ii In i ir ' | Mi ' i
I ii lit ip i r |• i ili>' i i>'
—David Eso
Arts 4
Wil.
fr\\\\ il'OD
(en .11 five)
"Crushing self-doubt."
—Naben Ruthnum
Arts4
"It doesn't mean too much, but it makes me ^ t
want to make little cards and give them to all a/L
my friends. It does make me a little bit of a && \\^
romantic." **' *■ '
—Charlotte Humphries
Human Geography 4
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-r"""@en ;
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dcterms:language "English"@en ;
edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ;
dcterms:publisher "Vancouver : The Ubyssey Publications Society"@en ;
dcterms:rights "Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from The Ubyssey: http://ubyssey.ca/"@en ;
dcterms:source "Original Format: University of British Columbia. Archives"@en ;
dcterms:subject "University of British Columbia"@en ;
dcterms:title "The Ubyssey"@en ;
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