@prefix edm: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ; dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1211252"@en ; dcterms:isPartOf "University Publications"@en ; dcterms:issued "2015-08-27"@en, "2008-01-22"@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/Ubysseynews/items/1.0127115/source.json"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note """ ITRI™'« r»FFTI"T4T «TTTr»FNTT NTFWSP4PF1} Vh BYSSEY UBC'S OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER Vol. LXXXIXNo. 33 I www.ubyssey.ca I January 22nd, 2008 I since 1918 VP External hopeful may enlist GFS for lobbying By Jesse Ferreras News Staff The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) could soon hold some sway in UBC's provincial lobbying if a candidate for VP External has anything to say about it. Stefanie Ratjen, a fourth-year political science major, is looking into involving the CFS at UBC as part of her candidacy for VP External, the AMS position in charge of lobbying municipal, provincial and federal governments about issues related to post-secondary education. Part of her platform says that the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), an organization that brings student interests to the federal government, does not lobby provincial governments and that issues must be addressed provincially rather than at the federal level. Her platform then states that "This is where the CFS comes in," though she does not make clear what role the group would play in lobbying on behalf of UBC students. Ratjen said in an interview that she does not want to bring the CFS to UBC as its sole lobby group, but said she has not thought about what role the CFS would play in lobbying activities with British Columbia's government. Students need to have a stronger voice at the provincial level. Stefanie Ratjen, AMS VP External Candidate She added that she wants to see a "well-organized" coalition advocate on behalf of BC students. "Students need to have a stronger voice at the provincial level, this is the level where shit gets done," she said. "This is where tuition funding programs are allocated, this is where the decision-making structures at the university take place." "People realize that CASA is not effective on a provincial level. The CFS as a union does lobby on a provincial level. That being said, in recent years, a lot of student unions in Canada and in BC in particular have not been happy with the CFS." The CFS was founded in 1981 and is Canada's largest see "VFX" | page 03 KELLAN HIGGINS PHOTO / THE UBYSSEY 2 Girls, 1 TentRicha Misra and Anita Bernardo hope to raise $10,000 in order to build a library to help educate children in Nepal. Live-in week at the library Students camp out with tent in UBC library by Colleen Tang News Writer Two UBC students are living in Koerner Library for ten days in an effort to raise awareness and money for literacy efforts in third world countries. Anita Bernardo and Richa Misra hope that in combination with other students from the charity DREAM (Discover the Reality of Educating All Minds) at Queens, Memorial, and Laurentian universities, they can exceed their $20,000 target, which will go towards building five libraries in Nepal. "It takes about $4000 to build a library in Nepal. So we're each hoping to raise $5000 at least," said Bernardo, who along with Misra pitched her tent in Koerner last Friday. Bernardo and Misra said they found out about DREAM on Facebook. "The head of Queen's DREAM, John MacDonald, made a group request to UBC, Memorial...and the people who responded are basically the volunteers at those universities," explained Bernardo. Videos were shown as well to demonstrate how students could do "live-in" events at their universities. MacDonald then spoke to staff at Koerner Library to explain how the process would work and arrange a spot for Bernardo and Misra to camp out. The other eight members of UBC's "DREAM team" have been We feel really connected, all libraries do, by our mission around literacy. Leonora Crema, Head of Borrower Services bringing the girls meals, said Misra, and are starting a bottle drive for additional funding. The library staff at UBC has also shown their support. "All the librarian staff has been really supportive. They just love this idea," said Bernardo. "The first morning [Leonora Crema, head of borrower services at Koerner Library] woke us up with coffee and cookies. It was so nice," said Misra. "We were really excited to hear about the project," said Crema. "First of all, full credit to the students for taking this on and having this idea," she said. "I think we feel really connected, all libraries do, by our mission around literacy. We just feel it's really important to... see "Live-in" | page 03 Critic calls on AG to review UBC's investment policies by Joe Rayment News Staff Bruce Ralston, BC's NDP finance critic, is calling on the Auditor General to review UBC's investing policies following an $ 18 million on-paper loss connected to the subprime mortgage market. The loss is tied to a $ 122 million investment in "asset-backed commercial paper" (ABCP) which is a type of fund that makes money by collecting interest on many debts collected into one entity. The entire $122 million investment is currently frozen. "What is the obligation of UBC...when investing public money to follow directives, guidelines, or the considered investment advice of the BC Investment Management Corporation?" Ralston asked in his letter to the Auditor General. "What due diligence did [UBC] do? That's basically my question," said Ralston. "Where are they getting their advice from and why didn't they at least pick this up, in terms of their investment choice? I mean, generally, what I've been told is, people who did a little more careful analysis just decided that a little extra return wasn't worth Where are they getting their advice from? Bruce Ralston, NDP Finance Critic the huge extra risk." Many public institutions avoided excess risk by taking the advice ofthe BC Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) to avoid the type of fund UBC invested in, now termed "non- bank backed" (ABCP), in favour of more stable funds backed by see "Critc" | page 02 BRUCE RALSTON Calendar EMAIL US EVENTS AT FEEDBACK@UBYSSEY.BC.CA 22 TUESDAY AMS Candidates' Debate Time: 11:00 am -1:00 pm Where: SUB Conversation Pit 23 WEDNESDAY Writing About War: By People Who Have been There Time: 12:30 pm-2:00 pm Where: Main Lecture Hall, Sing Tao Building,6388 Crescent Road 24|thursday I Commercialization: A I Campus Debate I Time: 12:00 pm-1:00 pm ^ Where: SUB Room 207/209 CO I 25 FRIDAY Bend Sinister Time: 10:00 pm-2:00 am Where: Richards On Richards (1036 Richards St.) $10 Q CO T-bird double crush Vikes I page 6,7 Frankenstein lives! | page 08 Military money and art I page io Giant monster decapitates liberty| page 12 2 . News The Ubyssey i January 22th,2008 UBC took excess risk: NDP critic from "Critc" | page oi major Canadian banks. The bcIMC was set up in the 90s bythe NDP to oversee the finances of public pension plans. It is obligatory for for public pension plans in BC to follow the advice ofthe bcIMC, but not of other public organizations. "A number of other [public institutions] have chosen to use it," said Finance Minister Carole Taylor. "But it is voluntary for UBC and it's board of governors to make that decision about who will manage their funds." If the Finance Department had warned UBC to invest differently the University would have taken the advice, said Peter Smailes, University treasurer. "It wouldn't be typical for the Ministry of Finance to comment on an investment that is rated by a third-party rating agency." The Ministry of Finance did offer advice to the University, but not until after they became aware ofthe problem this fall. UBC is currently in negotiations to restructure its investment to stabilize the fund, vl REMEMBER TO VOTE!! TheU BYSSEY news@ubyssey.bc.ca WRITE FOR EWS Prof. Byers criticizes torture Byers: "[Families] are tortured by having their loved ones returned with the spark torn from their souls." by Amanda Stutt News Staff Professor Michael Byers chokes up at the word "torture." Byers, a UBC political science professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, spoke to an audience Saturday at the UBC Woodward Centre and condemned torture as a "most heinous act." Byers is an active member of the B.C Civil Liberties Association and he is lobbying for a proposed "Prevention of Torture Act" that aims to protect Canadian citizens from torture. He used the example of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who, while attempting to return home to Ottawa from a business trip via JFK International Airport in New York, was arrested by US authorities and extradited to Syria on suspicion of terrorist activities. Arar received no protection from the Canadian government, and was subjected to torture and solitary confinement in a tiny cell while imprisoned in Syria. RCMP commissioner Giu- liano Zaccardelli was forced to resign in the wake of the Arar inquiry, which exonerated Arar completely. Byers said that torture victimizes families as well. "They are tortured by having their loved ones returned with the spark torn from their souls," he said. Byers is concerned about the " c o m p 1 i c i t manner" in which Canada's highest level of government reacts to in response of reports of torture of Canadian citizens when dealing with countries that are known internationally for torture tactics employed against alleged "terrorist suspects." Byers said a major problem is that the laws that govern 'torture' are ill-defined. The scope of torture is unguided, and thus the laws are difficult to enforce because they are rife with MICHAEL BYERS ambiguity. He noted the absurdity of the legal stipulation stating that an act of torture can only be carried out "by an agent of the state." According to Byers, this reveals "trivialities of domestic legal systems." "Torture is not a state-like act, and cannot be manifesting the sovereignty ofthe state," he said. "Torturers are not above the law." He also pointed to the case of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2002 on suspicion of killing a special forces soldier. He was fifteen years old. Instead of being returned to Canada to face charges, Khadr was taken to Guantanamo Bay, the notorious US military prison in Cuba and held without trial. It has been alleged that prisoners have been tortured by US agents while imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. "Every other country has repatriated [their] citizens from Guantanamo Bay, except Canada. We are letting him rot there" said Byers. According to Byers, the U.S is one of the most notorious agents of torture. He pointed to the Abu Ghraib scandal, in which documented footage of Every other country has repatriated [their] citizens from Guantanamo Bay, except Canada. We are letting [Khadr] rot there. Micheal Byers, UBC Professor Iraqi prisoners being taunted and tortured by American soldiers was released to the public. "Everyone knows the risk of torture in U.S hands", said Byers. There is currently a controversy in Ottawa over a federal government manual that named the US as a possible site of torture, with specific mention of Guantanamo Bay. The Canadian government is now calling this a "mistake," and Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier publicly denounced the report as "mistaken." "One of the most hurtful things [Prime Minister] Stephen Harper ever said was when he accused people like me of caring more about about the prisoners than we care about Canadian soldiers. And anyone saying that is unfit to govern my country," Byers declared. \\j Classifieds announcements DINE OUT VANCOUVER with the UBC Food Society Club @ Romano's Macaroni Grill Tuesday, January 29th, 7pm. Our 3-course meal reservation will include oodles of noodles, splashes of tomato sauce, and a hint of chocolate. Members won't have to pay taxes and tips. Non- members welcome too! foodsociety@gmail.com announcements THE REVOLUTION BETRAYED: Trotskyism vs. Stalinism. Defend the workers' states of China, North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam. Part 1 of a 5 part Spartacus Youth Club class series. Wed. Jan 23 at 6pm, SUB room 212. DINE OUT VANCOUVER with the UBC Food Society Club @ Chilli House Thai Bistro Friday, Febraury 1st, 7pm. Our 3-course meal reservation will tantalize your taste buds with spice, sweetness, and saltiness in between! Members won't have to pay taxes and tips. Non-members welcome too! foodsociety@gmail. com. accommodation CLASSIC, COMFORTABLE BED AND BREAKFAST. 5 minute drive from UBC. www.HouseOn- DunbarBandB.com. Call Joanne Renwick, 604-224-6355. help wanted SYLVAN LEARNING CENTRE IN VANCOUVER SEEKS dynamic individuals with teaching/tutoring experience. Requirements: Bachelor degree. Teacher certification preferred. Proficiency in teaching reading, writing and/or math. Able to develop rapport with students in all grades. Enthusiastic and positive approach. Exceptional learning and teaching environment. P/T hrs. afternoons and evenings (3:30- 8:00 M-F). Also, Sat afternoons and Sun mornings. To apply, email sarah@ sylvanvancouver.ca or fax to 604-738-7328. services ADULT BALLET WITH HELEN EVANS. Beginner to Intermediate levels. 7th Avenue Dance Studio. 1555W.7th at Fir, room 227. Phone Helen at 604- 732-5429 or email evansgerry@yahoo.ca. Free classifieds for students: For more information, visit Room 23 in the sub or call: 604-822-1654 TheIj BYSSEY January 22nd, 2008 Vol. LXXXIX N°33 Editorial Board coordinating editor Champagne Choquer COORDINATING@UBYSSEY.BC.CA news editors brandon adams & Boris Korby NEWS@UBYSSEY.BC.CA CULTURE EDITOR PAUL BUCCI CULTURE@UBYSSEY.BC.CA sports euitor Jordan Chittley SPORTS@UBYSSEY.BC.CA features/national editor Matthew Jewkes FEATURES@UBYSSEY.BC.CA PHOTO EDITOR OKER CHEN PHOTOS@UBYSSEY.BC.CA production manager Kellan Higgins PRODUCTION@UBYSSEY.BC.CA copy/letters/research Levi Barnett FEEDBACK@UBYSSEY.BC.CA volunteer coordinator Stephanie Findlay VOLUNTEERS@UBYSSEY.BC.CA WEBMASTER JOE RAYMENT WEBMASTER@UBYSSEY.BC.CA The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper ofthe University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organisation, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written bythe Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP's guiding principles. Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone number,student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone."Perspec- tives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space."Freestyles"areopinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives overfreestyles unless the latter istimesensitive.Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity ofthe writer has been verified. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by 12 noon the day before intended publication. Letters received after this point will be published in the following issue unless there is an urgent time restriction or other matterdeemed relevant bythe Ubyssey staff. It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occursthe liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad.The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes ortypographicalerrorsthat do not lessen the value orthe impact ofthe ad. EDITORIAL OFFICE Room 24, Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Boulevard Vancouver, BCV6T lZl tel: 604-822-2301 fax: 604-822-9279 web: www.ubyssey.bc.ca e-mail: feedback@ubysseybc.ca BUSINESS OFFICE Room 23, Student Union Building advertising: 604-822-1654 business office: 604-822-6681 fax:604-822-1658 e-mail: advertising@ubysseybc.ca business manager Fernie Pereira ad traffic Jesse Marchand ad design Michael Bround This is a story about Gerald Deo Sort of. It actually has more to do with Jesse Ferreras and Boris Korby, but bear with me for a bit like Brandon Adams did and it'll all be okay. You might even enjoy yourself as much Levi Barnett did. Does. Whatever. No need to be a Matthew Jewkes about it. Or is that Matthew Hayles? I just can't remember. Alright, so maybe Jordan Chittley is the real hero here. I mean, that's how I told the story to Kellan Higgins. And it's not like any of the Trevor Melansons in the audience objected. Or, [mean hell, Colleen Tang and David Zhang told me that they thought it was the best thing I'd ever done. Better even than that time Justin McElroy and Joe Rayment ended up in Arkansas back in September. Turns out,Amanda Stutt was responsible for that little disaster, and if I ve said it once I've said it athousand times, those boys oughta be thankful that Charlotte Nobles showed up when she did. Cause I heard it straight from Marie Burgoyne who heard it from Celestian Rince that they were gonna be run outta town. And that aint nojoke now. Even James Johnson agrees with me. So anyway,Tracy Fuller was talking to me the other weekend, and she said that, getting back to that whole Gerlad Deo thing, she said that Isabel Ferreras was with him when it happened. And that's gods own truth. Kasha Chang couldn't have said it with more truthfulness. V Canadian Canada Post Sales Agreen University Number 0o40878022 Press January 22th,2008 i ThSJubyssey Live-iii V& 'e re going to live in Koerner library. For ten days. You may ask why? How? When? Wiat? Did we run out of student loan money? Are we bribing the librarians? It all started with a nefarious little website called Facebook. Once upon a time, two girls, Anita and Richa, two lovely maidens from UBC, were invited to join a little group called Live in for Literacy. The duke of Queens University sent out a message across the kingdom of Canada, seeking volunteers to live in libraries to raise funds to build more school libraries elsewhere. Specifically, libraries in the faraway land of mystical Nepal. A land where nearly three quarters ofthe citizens are illiterate. Both of us have always nurtured the dream of living in a library ever since we set L eyes upon the magical library scene in that epic motion picture Beauty and the Beast. You know which one we're talking about. So when we received the message, our hearts leapt with joy, not only because it fulfilled our wildest dreams, but also because little I kids in Nepal would gain the literacy that has so strongly moulded our own lives. This noble self-exile to the land of books commenced at 10am on the eighteenth I of January and will end exactly ten days later. In conjunction with three other universities—Laurentian, Queen's, and Memorial—we hope to raise more than $25,000 for By Room-to-Read, the organization that has taken it upon themselves to build the school i^^g libraries. The noble proprietors and librarians of UBC Library have generously contributed i $ 1000 to our honourable enterprise. As we embark upon this mission, we feel excited I but a little nervous about potential book monsters and other nighttime residents ofthe I library. Do visit us often during our sojourn in the library, bringing us and the children ! of Nepal spare and not spare change. And cookies. —Anita Bernardo and Richa Misra * 4£3 KELLAN HIGGINS PHOTOS / THE UBYSSEY Students hope to fight illiteracy in Nepal with Koerner camp-out from "Live-in" | page oi promote people's ability to read and get access to information," Crema added. Crema said literacy has always been an issue that many librarians across Canada aim to promote. "Our library and the librarians in Canada are very connected to improve the level of literacy. It's something that affects the lives of people very directly, the inability to read, the inability to find information that helps them in many areas of their lives All the librarian staff has been really supportive. They just love this idea. Anita Bernardo, Student camper so it's absolutely a world-wide problem, even here in Canada." She added that she hopes Bernardo and Mirsa's efforts at UBC will raise student awareness of literacy problems around the world. "We're at a very high level of education and we may not realize all those people who don't have that level of knowledge and that access to those tools that they need, so I'd say the awareness on campus isn't quite that strong, and that's what's good about this effort right? It's bringing that effort here on campus." \\a For those who want to donate to DREAM but can't make it to the library to see Bernardo and Misra in person, you can chip in at liveinforliteracy.com. 'They [the CFS] are severely restricted in their success provincially..." Taking a STAND against Darfur from "VFX" | page oi student organization. It was formed in order to give student unions a voice at both national and provincial levels. It counts among its membership the University of Toronto Students' Union, the Concordia Students' Union, and the union at the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan. The organization is well- known for campaigns including the "National Day of Action" against tuition fees, but more recently has drawn fire for allegations of corruption and elections meddling in various student unions. A forensic audit into the Students' Union at New Westminster's Douglas College reported that the BC branch of the CFS made three loans to the union totaling $200,000 between 2005 and 2006. This is alleged to have occurred while the college refused to remit payments to the union due to allegations of financial mismanagement. The audit said none of the loans were approved by the union and were not properly authorized. In 2007, the Simon Fraser Students' Society (SFSS) held a referendum in which students voted to leave the CFS. A preced- ft ^S ■ ^