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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
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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
■ ^