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 FIRST PEEK
February 7, 2011 • Volume 137 Issue 6

2
THIS WEEK
THE PEAK
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4 9 18
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PEAK CONTRIBUTORS
Lauren Alston (CUP), Jennifer Bednard, Aleks Besan, Kim Bloom-
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Emma Godmere(CUP), Kevin Harding, Matt Hill (CUP), Kody Huard,
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Fingers “Thumbs” McGee, Dan McPeake, Jennifer Overington, Ja-
cob Pacey (CUP), Michael Penney (CUP), Dev Saini, Travis Sandulo,
Al Theuri, Lisa Thomson, Esther Tung, Rexter Vosper, The Riddler,

NEWS OPINIONS FEATURES

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PEAK ASSOCIATES
Chris Apps, Mark Burnham, Adam Cristobal, Adam
Ovenell-Carter, Julia Kozlov, Andrew MacLachlan, John
Morrison III, Ljudmila Petrovic, Sam Reynolds, Shahanah Highland Pub renovations won’t finish Fair trade is more than just marketing Certifiably uncertifiable: universities
Shivji, Cedric Tsan, Lucas Westhaver, Meaghan Wilson,
Bai Yin, Giovanni Zenone until reading break teach us nothing but how to get hired
Cynicism doesn’t help anyone, and it
COPY EDITOR Erika Zell Organizational and logistical difficulties Instead of providing a transformative
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NEWS EDITOR David Proctor

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news@the-peak.ca DAN MCPEAKE, ALEKS BESAN
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25 27 34
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The big, comfy couch The losing streak is over Conflict between Crips and Bloods set-
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DISTRIBUTION & ARCHIVES COORDINATOR back into playoff contention. of colour theory.
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ELECTED COLUMNISTS
Rachel Hughes & Gary Lim

TXT 33 36
THIS WEEK’S COVER ARTWORK
Andy Fang and Mark Burnham

ETC LAST WORD

WWW.THE-PEAK.CA
HOW THE PEAK WORKS
The Peak is the official student newspaper of Simon Fraser
University and is published every Monday. The Peak is a
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registered non-profit society under the Society Act of British » Guy looking for Nerdfighters is » Accept the 10 million. Beggars » Joey! Earth to Joey! Hey are » To the girl in res with the suit-
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a board of directors. Editors are elected on week 10 of each
semester to hold a position for the following semester. Any SFU ers are mostly soc majors. on it, where were you going and
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anyone who appears in the masthead. Notice of the time and
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published in The Peak will be published online at www.the-
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the peak
 First Peek
PHOTO OF THE WEEK COMICS 2.0
27 The continuum of
webcomics decency
From American Elf to
Electric Retard, the Internet
can produce comics
appealing to literally any
demographic
Rachel Hughes
Elected Columnist
The Internet is a land of many
contrasts. In one part you can
find delightful images of baby
animals or learn something
fascinating about volcanoes.
Guard Ricky Berry is introduced before the men’s basketball game. Andy Fang/ The Peak Take the wrong bend, though,
and you may find yourself in
dark and depraved back-alleys
PEAK SPEAK lined with of shock sites and
child pornography (this place is
Q: Do you actively seek
also known as 4chan). In order
to navigate this mysterious and
5
occasionally unnerving info-
out fair trade products? tainment superhighway I pres-
ent to you The Continuum of
Decency. This spectrum pro-
vides a range of the debauchery
Halima Elmi you may discover tailored spe-
1st-year health sciences cifically to webcomics.
“It’s not really something I always think about. When you’re This spectrum
on the run and you’re just trying to get some coffee, it’s not
something you think about. I don’t seek it out.” provides a range
of debauchery
you may dis-
Ilhan Abdulla cover tailored
1st-year health sciences
specifically to
“If the choice was in front of me, but it’s not something webcomics.
that I’m very educated about.”
As with any good contin-
uum, there are two drastically
different extremes, which are
Ashley LeBourpeau represented with the webcom-
5th-year English ics American Elf and Electric
Retard. I feel confident that the
“If I had the option I would, but I wouldn’t change where I was names alone will let you deter-
shopping just to find it.” mine which of these extremes
is the principled, and which is
the debauched. The webcomic
I most associate with having a
code of ethics and a sense of
Andrew Poelstra common human decency is
3rd-year mathematics American Elf.
American Elf is a daily diary
“I feel like everything around here is fair trade anyway. So comic which chronicles the
I don’t really make a big effort or think about it too much. I precious moments of James
couldn’t really avoid it if I tried.”
Kochalka’s life and family. The
majority of Kochalka’s com-
ics revolve around his family’s
own dynamics, and are often
Ryan Lledo
cherry-picked quotations or
Campus employee
situations that contain a cer-
tain “Aaaw” factor. As of late
“I don’t actively seek it out, but if I have the option in front of
me, I’ll go for it. It’s nice if it’s there, though”
WANT TO WRITE IN THIS SPACE?
Two columnists are elected in week 11 of each semester. Keep your eyes on the ETC
section of the newspaper for election dates and times. Anyone can run!
the peak
February 7, 2011 3
(i.e. since Kochalka and his wife
have procreated) American Elf
has become a contemporary
and more ridiculous Kids Say
the Darndest Things.
This is not necessarily an
insult, since the content is in-
deed enjoyable, and kids, espe-
cially Kochalka’s, really do say
some hilarious things on occa-
sion. With his comic, Kochalka
manages to portray a childlike
sense of whimsy and apprecia-
tion of a fairly jaded and cyni-
cal world. Although there is the
sporadic depiction of nudity,
swears, and other adult con-
tent, Kochalka upholds many
valued social conventions,
such as respect for others, pa-
tience with raising children,
and the nuclear family unit.
Thus, American Elf represents
the so-called ‘decent’ extreme
of the continuum.
On the opposite end of the
spectrum we find ourselves at
Electric Retard, a webcomic
that’s sole reason for existing
is to shock and offend every-
one at the same time. To sum
up the comic’s content from its
very own About page, “Electric
Retard is an entrancing comic
strip suitable for children. Set
in the atypical American sub-
urb of Sunny Hills in the town
of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Elec-
tric Retard depicts the perfectly
ordinary lives of freedom lov-
ing Americans in their jour-
neys to find wealth, love, and
happiness.”
The actual content often
portrays scenes excessive vio-
lence, sexual perversions, rac-
ism, sexism, ableism, and
naked Hitler, all of which are
often combined into one strip.
Oh yes, and these offences are
usually against children too.
At least audiences may take
comfort in the idea that Elec-
tric Retard is a satirical venture
and is meant to be taken with a
grain of salt. Due the grotesque
nature of this particular comic
(it is also entirely drawn and
coloured in MS Paint, which is
grotesque enough in and of it-
self ), I make Electric Retard the
contrasted extreme to Ameri-
can Elf.
All in all, the Internet is a
strange place, which makes it
a perfect breeding ground for
great, albeit bizarre content.
However if you keep your bear-
ings and a sense of humour you
are sure to be delighted.
 NEWS
February 7, 2011
4 email
CAMPUS NEWS
Highland Pub renovations
won’t finish until reading break
Currently, the bottom half of the Highland Pub is blocked off for renovations, and has remained that way since mid-November.
Difficulties with old
concrete and construction
permits have delayed
completion until as late as
February 18
Clinton
Hallahan
Arts Editor
Unforeseen demolition chal-
lenges and municipal red tape
have delayed the completion of
renovations to the Highland Pub
on SFU’s Burnaby Campus.
As the completion slid past
the slated January 1 date, project
supervisors at the Simon Fraser
Student Society, which owns and
operates the pub, and at SFU Fa-
cilities Management laid blame on
permit holdups from the City of
Burnaby and renovating a nearly
40-year-old building as the key cul-
prits in the delay. The new targeted
completion date is February 18.
“Initial mismanagement of
the project and the building per-
mit were the main hold ups,” said
SFSS president Ali Godson. The
project has straddled two SFSS
boards and the initial designs
submitted under former presi-
dent Ada Nadison lacked suffi-
cient consultation.
“Having heard the concerns of
students at the single consulta-
tion after the space was designed,
we stopped the project until the
designs could be reworked with
proper consultation,” explained
Godson.
Miscommunications with
campus services on the part of
the 2009 SFSS board was also a
culprit. Facilities Management
has jurisdiction over the project
but was not part of the renovation
process until design work had
started. “Instead of being able
to set the project plan out from
start to finish they had to come
in somewhere in the middle and
try to figure out what had already
been done and where we needed
to go next,” said Godson.
Permits were also delayed at
the municipal level. Applications
were submitted shortly before
the holiday break and generally
take a few weeks to be approved.
“We’re much more
involved in the
process. We’re
meeting once a
week to make
refinements and
changes.”
Bill Nelson, Facilities Managemment
project services manager
Godson notes that the applica-
tions “had a few concerns over
the proper capacity of the space,
and also due to people being
on vacations our permits were
delayed.”
Godson maintains that coop-
eration between supervising par-
ties has been exemplary. “There
the peak
news editor
associate news editor
phone
have been several cases where
there was miscommunication be-
tween Facilities Management and
the contractors. All have been
quickly resolved mainly due to
the help of [Facilities technolo-
gist] Marcos Olindan getting ev-
eryone back on the same page.”
SFU Facilities Management
project services manager Bill Nel-
son concurs, lauding the hands-
on nature of the collaboration.
“We’re much more involved in
the process. We’re meeting once
a week to make refinements and
changes,” he said.
Despite the delays, Nelson
says the project is still on budget,
and sees the delays as the conse-
quence of working in a building
that is made of concrete and al-
most 40 years old.
“When you go into a building
built in the ‘60s or early ‘70s with
countless wires going back and
forth, and once you tear the ceil-
ings out there is more than you
assumed,” he said. One unfore-
seen feature of the north High-
land Pub was a defunct fireplace,
David Proctor
Kendra Wong
news@the-peak.ca
778.782.3597
Mark Burnham / The Peak
with demolition revealing prob-
lematic holes in the floor and
ceiling.
“You have to deal with exist-
ing conditions. Renovations are
harder,” said Nelson.
The budget for the project
has been kept in check by a time
consuming process of bids on all
trade work. Facilities Manage-
ment holds the contracts for the
project and seeks outside sub-
contractors. “The contractors
that Facilities has procured have
all been fantastic,” says Godson.
“I check on the site daily and all
of their work is top notch. It has
been a pleasure working with
them.”
As a cost cutting measure, old
pub furniture has been sent out
for re-upholstering and refur-
bishing. “All of these pieces take
time,” Godson explained.
Despite the difficulties, God-
son is confident in the new com-
pletion date, though not without
reservation. “There is always a
chance that something can hap-
pen,” she cautioned.

LOCAL NEWS
SFU prof in NDP nomination race
Kennedy Stewart is calling for an emphasis on the economy, education, health care, and immigration in the
Burnaby-Douglas riding.
Kennedy Stewart intends
to stop the Conservative
agenda and focus on the
economy and education
Kendra Wong
Associate
News Editor
SFU’s own assistant professor
Kennedy Stewart announced
last Wednesday that he is seek-
ing the New Democratic Party
nomination for the federal rid-
ing of Burnaby-Douglas to re-
place the outgoing MP Bill
Siksay.
Stewart, a tenured profes-
sor at SFU’s School of Public
Policy, has spent the majority
of his life either as a student or
around them. He completed his
undergraduate degree in his-
tory at Acadia University before
pursuing a master’s degree in
political science at SFU; he also
went on to finish the Ph.D gov-
ernment program at the Lon-
don School of Economics and
Political Science.
His presence in classrooms,
which spans over 20 years, has
influenced the issues he intends
on prioritizing: the economy
and education, of which he ar-
gues have profound effects on
each other.
“The first priority for any
[member of Parliament] these
days has to be the economy . . .
not just in Canada, but around
the world,” explained the Nova
Scotia native. “Right now, the
Conservatives are saying they
want to deal with this through
tax cuts, and if you ask any
economist, [they’ll say] it’s the
wrong thing to do. We should
be focusing on research and de-
velopment [which] ties directly
to education.”
“Being a prof, everyday I see
there’s been research and de-
velopment cuts; for example,
there’s been tuition hikes, cut
backs in scholarships, and gen-
eral defunding of universities
that really hurts research and
development.”
Stewart further explained
how family relations remain a
prominent factor when priori-
tizing health care.
“My mom is a senior . . . and
there are lots of concerns about
health, especially as the baby
boomers move to retire. We’re
going to [face] a lot of pres-
sure to privatize our health care
system and I think we’ve got to
stand against that and protect
[our] world-renowned health
care system.”
NEWS
He also noted the failure by
the federal government to pro-
vide the riding’s growing im-
migrant population with inte-
gration opportunities such as
help with language skills, jobs,
training, and recognizing for-
eign credentials — something
he hopes to change.
“I put all my money
into my education,
and I think, ‘Will
I ever stop being
a student?’ And
the answer is that
nobody lets you
anymore.”
Kennedy Stewart,
prospective NDP candidate
His opponent, former North
Vancouver councillor and
Vancouver Community Col-
lege teacher Sam Schechter,
said he will focus on sustain-
ability, housing, and child-care
policies.
While both candidates have
been busy talking to current
NDP members, Stewart prefers
to take a more hands-on ap-
proach to stimulating change in
the riding.
the peak
Image courtesy of Kennedy Stewart
“I see the pressures every-
day and how it’s driving stu-
dents to take second and third
jobs. One thing that you can
do when you’re in opposition
is help students organize,” he
said. “I think that’s key. I think
the MP can facilitate organiza-
tions so you can actively get
students together to talk about
issues, and use that to build
networks across Canada and
raise these issues in the House
of Commons.”
He also emphasized facilitat-
ing community growth through
fostering a connection between
SFU, UniverCity and the City of
Burnaby to “make [Burnaby] a
better place to live.”
He concluded by returning
to the importance of restoring
proper student funding within
the country. “I have a student
loan myself,” he explained. “I
don’t own a car, I take the bus
every day, I don’t own a house, I
put all my money into my edu-
cation, and I think, ‘Will I ever
stop being a student?’ And the
answer is that nobody lets you
anymore.”
Stewart previously ran for
the federal NDP in the 2004
election campaign in Vancou-
ver Centre. The riding asso-
ciation will hold a nomination
convention to select a new can-
didate on February 25.
February 7, 2011 5
» University news
briefs
Simon Fraser University — The
first monthly Highland Pub trivia
night was a resounding success,
attracting 20 teams and 120
people, nearly reaching the Pub’s
capacity. Organizer Mark Brad-
shaw told The Peak that he and
Stefan Krecsy were “inspired by
the love of trivia and trying to in-
ject some culture into the pub on
a usually quiet Monday night.”
Ryerson University — Ryer-
son’s campus radio station,
CKLN, plans to appeal a CRTC
decision to revoke their broad-
casting license. The station had
failed to meet several broadcast-
ing standards, and is scheduled
to go off the air on February 12.
University of British Colum-
bia — A January 30 protest
outside the Vancouver Art
Gallery called on UBC to stop
Parkinson’s research on rhesus
monkeys. The university has
announced that it has no in-
tention of halting the research.
Saskatchewan — The Uni-
versities of Winnipeg and Sas-
katchewan will recieve fund-
ing to develop new methods
of producing medical isotopes.
Though Canada is a major ex-
porter of medical isotopes, the
country’s only production fa-
cility has repeatedly shut down
due to age in recent years.
New Brunswick — Student as-
sociations in New Brunswick
are protesting possible cuts on
top of last year’s $3 million cut
to student aid. The province has
justified the cuts by pointing to
low uptake among students.
Compiled using files from the
Canadian University Press.
— David Proctor
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OXFORD SEMINARS
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1-800-269-6719
www.oxfordseminars.ca
 6 February 7, 2011 NEWS
CAMPUS NEWS

Students live in library for fundraiser

Two volunteer students
living in Bennett Library
surpass fundraising goal
Kendra Wong
Associate News Editor
Twenty students, seven days, 10
universities, and one goal. Last
week, post-secondary students
across Canada spent 168 hours liv-
ing in their campus libraries in a
nation-wide effort to raise money
for educational opportunities in de-
veloping countries.
Second-year psychology and
criminology student Kymberly
McGarvie and third-year anthro-
pology major Laura Baird dedi-
cated the past week from January
27 until last Thursday to eating,
sleeping, and studying in SFU’s
Bennett Library.
The volunteer pair were two out
of 20 students across 10 Canadian
university campuses participating
in the Live-in for Literacy event,
which aims to collectively raise
Kymberly McGarvie and Laura Baird ate, slept, and studied in the library for
seven days.
$27,000 to donate to Room to Read,
a program which will then donate
the funds to the construction of six
libraries in rural India.
Participant universities in-
cluded Queen’s, Laurentian, Mc-
Master, Memorial, and York, as well
as the University of British Colum-
bia, Ottawa, and Toronto (Missis-
sauga and St.George).
During the seven consecu-
tive days that students lived in
libraries, they were still expected
to attend classes and go to work;
however, they were restricted to
having two people at the desig-
nated living area to promote the
cause; all of their time spent in
the living areas were documented
live online.
Andy Fang / The Peak
They used the library’s wash-
rooms, took showers in the gym
locker rooms, and received food
from friends and staff members.
Chartwells also sponsored SFU’s
event, contributing $500 for the pair
to purchase food.
Despite the fact that this is SFU’s
first year participating in the event,
by day six, McGarvie and Baird
managed to surpass their personal
goal of $2,500.
“We tried to ask every single per-
son who came in,” said McGarvie of
the success of the event. “If you ask
someone, ‘Do you have any spare
change?’ they might come by and
drop it off. It definitely adds up at
the end of the day.”
She also attributed their success
to the outrageous spectacle of living
in a tent on campus. “It’s a matter of
getting people’s attention.”
While living in the library had
its restrictions, McGarvie noted that
the media room provided some
after hours entertainment. “We
could do whatever we wanted at
night,” she laughed.
After the seven-day challenge,
with the help of 20 student volun-
teers, the pair managed to raise
­­$4,098.14, nearly double their origi-
nal goal. The nationwide Live-in for
Literacy event ultimately fell short
of its fundraising goal.
Live-in for Literary originated in
2005 at Queen’s University with the
student club, Discover the Reality of
Educating All Minds (DREAM).

RESEARCH NEWS

EA to use SFU psychologist to improve game design

Veronica Zammitto says has been done on the first person problems or develop new game-
shooter genre, where quick reac- play systems.
cognitive psychology can tions are necessary and a cum- Zammitto has also observed
bersome or confusing system that many things that affect player
be used to make video can lead to frustration. However, experience are not present on the
games better for players Zammitto holds that there is a screen. “It has been found that
benefit to psychological research there are different affective re-
Open Mon. To Fri. 11 am - 1 am Jennifer Bednard in any game genre. “I consider sponses for different platforms,”
Weekly Features SFU Student that methods for data collection she explained. “In general, input
can be applied to multiple genres, devices . . . have significant con-
INSALATA ARANCIA
Blood orange and honey mandarin segments, braised ciopollini onions Cognitive psychologist Veronica but the findings are very differ- siderations on interacting with the
on artisan greens with out balsamic reduction and our lemon Zammitto is breaking new ground ent,” she said. “The idiosyncrasy game, each of them have strengths
vinaigrette. in the relationship between psy- of each type of game shapes the and weaknesses. They indeed
$10.99 chology and game design by emotional reactions.” change the way that players inter-
CAPICOLLI SANDWICH using emotional and physiologi- act with the game.”
Grilled capicolli, house roasted garlic marinara and melted mozzarella
on a toasted ciabatta served with fries or salad. cal reactions to determine player Combining research “It’s not the same playing a
$11.99 response to games. Through the game sitting at your desk with
B.C. government’s MITACS pro-
methods allows the computer than laying on the
PESTO PENNE
Penne rigate tossed in our creamy basil pesto served with garlic toast. gram, which connects academic researchers couch with a controller, than wav-
$10.99 research with the businesses that to figure out ing your hand in front of the TV.”
depend on it, Zammitto has been In spite of the fact that re-
Daily Drink Specials
able to apply psychology to im- participants’ search in game design is becom-
$3.75 Sleeves prove popular games such as EA’s reactions to games. ing ever broader, it is still difficult
$9.99 Jugs of Highland Pub Lager Every Day NBA series. to pinpoint what exactly creates a
Zammitto believes that psy- Reactions to a game are mea- well-designed game. The industry
*For information on booking events, both small or large, chology is extremely applicable sured in many different ways, acknowledges that it is impossible
contact Brandon Chalmers at pubevents@sfss.ca
to gameplay. “Games are primar- from quantitative techniques such to create a gameplay system that
MON TUE WED THURS FRI ily a form of entertainment, which as measurements of galvanic skin will appeal to everyone; rather,
Moon OPEN MIC WINGS PCC LUST & involves emotional and cognitive response and heart rate, to quali- they aim for “demographic game
Pants $0.25 presents... LOVE activity,” she said. “Psychology is tative methods such as interviews design”, which is when a game is
NIGHT Ground
Improv DJ Joe Valentines the discipline that understands with participants. Combining dif- tailored to the needs of a specific
Shaker 3
Bars Day Party these human characteristics.” Re- ferent methods allows research- group of players.
7 PM 7 PM 5 PM 9 PM 8 PM search on games from a psycho- ers to figure out not only what a “It’s necessary to understand
logical perspective allows game participant’s reaction to the game the gamers that you’re targeting,”
developers to create games with is, but why and how that reaction Zammitto explained. “You have
a smoother logical and visual flow. comes about. The game developer to know who they are and what
The Peak proof of purchase Most of the existing research can then react accordingly to fix they want.”

the peak

CAMPUS NEWS
SFU business
competition attracts
international talent
CaseIT competition,
organized by SFU
undergrads, attracts
competitors from all over
the world
David Proctor
News Editor
Business students from as far
away as Europe and Asia con-
vened at SFU’s Harbour Centre
campus and the Segal Graduate
School of Business last week to
participate in the CaseIT busi-
ness case competition.
“CaseIT is an international
undergraduate management in-
formation system business case
competition,” explained CaseIT
chair Brian Luong. “We’re trying
to attract the best and bright-
est in strategic case analysis to
come and converge in Vancou-
ver, share ideas, and promote
the knowledge of management
information systems.”
“Everything is completely
student-run,” explained vice-
chair Ryan Torio. “It’s organized
by undergraduate students at
Simon Fraser University — ev-
erything from the venue search-
ing to the sponsorship to all the
marketing materials is all done
by students.”
Sixteen teams were involved
in the two-round competition.
Each team is presented with
a business case and locked in
a room for 24 hours to delib-
erate on it and prepare a pre-
sentation. “We basically strip
them of all the technology that
they brought and give them a
deliberation kit made up of the
essentials — paper, pens, and
pencils,” explained Torio. “We
give them a laptop that is closely
monitored for security reasons,
and they build their whole case
from scratch throughout that 24
hours.”
All 16 teams then present
their cases at Harbour Centre,
where four teams are promoted
to a second round to present
again at the Segal School. The
winner of the competition is an-
nounced on Saturday, the final
day of the competition (after
The Peak goes to press).
Although teams are not al-
lowed to leave their rooms dur-
ing the 24-hour deliberation
period, they are well cared for:
participants stay in the luxuri-
ous Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada
Place, thanks to sponsors in-
cluding SFU Business, the Chief
Information Officer Association,
IBM, and Coast Capital Savings.
“That can all be attributed
to our sponsorship team,” said
Torio. “They worked very hard
. . . We’ve definitely had a lot of
support as far as the business
community goes.”
In addition to the competi-
tion, competitors have the op-
portunity to attend dinners,
social events, discussions with
industry leaders, and tour the
city. This year, participants also
attended a corporate func-
tion that Torio described as “a
unique networking event . . . we
have a lot of company represen-
tatives coming and students and
it provides them the opportu-
nity to mingle with each other
and make connections.”
“When you’re
participating in a
case competition
. . . you have
to apply those
skills and that
knowledge to a
real-life business
scenario, it makes
learning easier and
applicable.”
Brian Luong, CaseIT chair
The competition has had in-
ternational participation since
2007; institutions that sent
teams this year included Carn-
egie Mellon University in Pitts-
burgh, Pforzheim University in
Germany, Universitå Bocconi
in Italy, the National University
of Singapore, and the Universiti
Kuala Lumpur.
“Case competing is always
interesting,” commented Luong.
“It’s just really interesting to
be able to apply your knowl-
edge from school. Students
often grind their noses to the
book and we get tested, but . . .
when you’re participating in a
case competition and you have
to apply those skills and that
knowledge to a real-life business
scenario, it makes learning eas-
ier and more applicable.”
NEWS
NATIONAL NEWS
Young immigrants more likely to
graduate university: StatsCan
Those who immigrate at a young age are more likely to graduate from
university by the age of 25 than their Canadian-born peers.
Family support, flexibility
at young age considered
helpful factors
Emma Godmere
CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief
OTTAWA (CUP) — New findings
from Statistics Canada suggest
young immigrants may be bet-
ter integrating into Canadian
society than normally thought.
When compared to their
Canadian-born counterparts,
immigrant kids are more likely
to get their hands on a univer-
sity degree later on in life. Ac-
cording to the January 25 study,
which used census data from as
far back as 1971 and as recent as
2006, immigrants who arrived
in Canada at age 12 or younger
were more likely to have gradu-
ated university by the age of 25
than their Canadian-born peers.
Miles Corak, a vice-dean
of research at the University
of Ottawa, explained that this
children-specific study is im-
portant, as past research on new
Canadians has normally yielded
more negative conclusions.
“A lot of public policy discus-
sion [concerns] how immigrants
integrate into Canadian society,
and we’ve documented how
poorly they’ve done relative to
their Canadian counterparts,”
said Corak, who is also a profes-
sor of economics.
“What we’re seeing, though,
the peak
here and in several other stud-
ies that focus on the children,
is that when we want to think
about integration and success,
we should be thinking in a little
bit more of a longer term,” he
continued. “And what we’re see-
ing again and again is that the
children of immigrants are mak-
ing a very positive contribution
in society.”
The degree gap proved to
be particularly significant for
young boys in the 1980s — 32
per cent of male childhood im-
migrants who arrived in Canada
around that time had a degree
by the time they were 25 to 34,
compared to 20 per cent of their
Canadian-born counterparts.
The study indicated the pat-
tern was similar among women,
whose university-educated pop-
ulation across both groups also
increased more quickly over
time, compared to their male
peers.
“The increasing educational
stock of the successive immi-
grant cohorts from countries
that value education is echoing
into this generation and is giv-
ing their kids this extra push or
head start that they need,” ex-
plained Corak.
Does this mean immigrants
who arrive in the country later
in life will face a more difficult
situation?
“The very difficult times, as
you can imagine, are when you
come as a teenager,” said Corak.
“It becomes much harder to
February 7, 2011 7
Andy Fang / The Peak
learn a language fluently when
you’re older and the tipping
point for that is around the age
of puberty. But you can imag-
ine all kinds of other challenges
happening in the teen years …
high school is a lot more diffi-
cult to integrate into than pri-
mary school.”
Children who immigrate
at a young age, Corak said, are
able to take advantage of certain
benefits.
“They get the best of both
worlds: they’re getting the heri-
tage and the support from their
parents, and yet they are suf-
ficiently adaptable — and our
schooling system actually has a
lot to do with this as well.”
Corak pointed out that while
this study provides some posi-
tive news, it also provides an op-
portunity to take another look at
how we deal with immigration
policy in Canada — and where
we can improve.
“One of the things we learn
from studies like this is that im-
migration policy is also social
policy, it’s also family policy,
it’s also education policy,” he
explained.
“There really is a need for
broader coordination between
the federal government and the
provinces across this whole area
— so if one department or one
ministry is changing immigra-
tion rules, [it is] going to have an
impact for other governments
and other departments years
down the road.”
 8 February 7, 2011 NEWS
PROVINCIAL NEWS

Court grants CFS referendum to UVic

Society hopes to hold vote declared the petition submitted which was that the counter peti- CFS national executive to take being withdrawn. It is impos-
by society member Jose Bar- tion wasn’t valid and the CFS has the counter petition into ac- sible now to determine if having
by end of semester rios in October 2009 as valid. to give students the opportunity count, and that a petition to the that information would have im-
The CFS had asserted that a to vote on membership.” court should not interfere with a pacted Barrios’ decision to stop
Kailey Willetts counter petition that sought to voluntary organization. seeking more signatures when
The Martlet have names removed from the The UVSS has Macaulay addressed he did,” wrote Macaulay in the
original petition had brought both these arguments in his ruling.
VICTORIA (CUP) — The B.C. Su- the number of signatures below
spent about decision. Macaulay said there was no
preme Court has awarded the
University of Victoria’s students’
the threshold that allowed a
referendum. $45,000 “Individual members like
Barrios seeking to obtain suf-
evidence to suggest that “second
petitions”, as they were referred to
society a referendum on contin- “I’m very happy with the de- on legal costs. ficient valid signatures on a pe- in the ruling, were a long-standing
ued membership in the Cana- cision that came down from the tition in the fall of 2009 would practice of the CFS.
dian Federation of Students. judge,” said society chairperson The CFS’s response was based not reasonably have expected “The CFS submission that it
In a February 1 court rul- James Coccola. “It proved what on two main arguments: that it that otherwise valid signatures was permitted to take the second
ing, Justice Malcolm Macaulay we’ve been saying all along, was within the purview of the on a petition were subject to petition into account must fail,”
he wrote. “The national executive

29
of the CFS invoked a process that
was not contemplated by the by-
laws in effect at the time and, as a
result, applied an irrelevant con-
sideration in determining that the

95
$
petition was not in order.”
Although Macaulay acknowl-
edged that courts are traditionally
hesitant to get involved in disputes
in voluntary organizations, he
elaborated that “in the case at bar,
there is no doubt that the interests
at stake are sufficiently important
to warrant the intervention of the
court. Because individual mem-
bers cannot opt out of member-
ship in the CFS, the petition and
referendum process represent the
only means by which undergradu-
ate students at UVic can partici-
pate in a decision as to their mem-
bership in the CFS.”
The CFS was not available for
comment as of press time.
“The next step is for us to send
a letter to the CFS asking them

$tudent pricing
to put forward their two mem-
bers to the referendum oversight
committee,” said Coccola, who
will be one of the UVSS’s two
representatives.
“Once that’s done we can
begin talking about when a ref-
erendum can be held. Our hope
is that one would be held this se-
mester but the timelines are very
short so we’ll have to get moving
very quickly.”
However, there are still techni-
calities that could cause delays.
For just $29.95, walk in with your taxes, walk out with your refund. Instantly. “There are a couple of issues
You’ll also get a free SPC Card to save big at your favourite retailers.* that are outstanding,” explained
Coccola. “For example, the CFS is
claiming we owe them a fairly sub-

maximum stantial amount of money, which

refund**
we dispute. I would not be sur-
we make taxes easy prised if that came up.”
As of the most recent billing,
free SPC Card the UVSS has spent approximately
$45,000 in legal costs. However, the
judge has awarded the UVSS par-
tial costs, predicted to be around
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook hrblock.ca $10,000.
The SFSS held a referendum
© 2011 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *$29.95 valid for regular student tax preparation only. Cash back service included. To qualify for student pricing, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or similar to the one the UVSS is cur-
more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during 2010 or (ii) a valid high school identification card. Expires December 31, 2011. Valid only at participating H&R Block locations in Canada.
SPC Card offers valid from 08/01/10 to 07/31/11 at participating locations in Canada only. For Cardholder only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. Usage may be restricted when used in conjunction rently planning in 2008, and voted
with any other offer or retailer loyalty card discounts. Cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards or certificates. **If H&R Block makes any error in the preparation of your tax return that costs you
any interest or penalties on additional taxes due, although we do not assume the liability for the additional taxes, we will reimburse you for the interest and penalties.
66 per cent in favor of leaving the
CFS. The two organizations have
been locked in a legal dispute over
the result ever since.

the peak
DOCKET/AD#: 10-HRB-047-BW-SP-E-1 NEWSPAPERS:
 Opinions
February 7, 2011
READER RESPONSE
Fair trade is more than just marketing
Cynicism doesn’t help
anyone, and it ignores all
the good that the ethical
growing movement is doing
Natalie Gan, Dan McPeake,
Aleks Besan
SFU Students
After reading last week’s opin-
ion piece that accuses fair trade
of being “just a clever market-
ing campaign” [Fair trade only
fairly good,” January 31], I felt
compelled to make certain clar-
ifications. It is true that living in
an age of consumerism and ma-
terialism we need to take these
sorts of claims with an eye of
skepticism. We need to be wary
of advertising gimmicks such as
green-washing that capitalize
on what is trendy.
Yes, big businesses and cor-
porations are recognizing that
there is a growing demand for
more ethical products, and yes,
big names such as Starbucks
have profited by deceptively
claiming to be in cahoots with
the fair trade movement.
The fact that Starbucks uses
fair trade as a marketing tac-
tic, though, does not render fair
trade “just a clever marketing
campaign”. Corporations and
companies will always be on
the prowl for consumer fads to
exploit; this is not reasonable
grounds to devalue all the work
and hard-earned achievements
of fair trade advocates.
The objective of the fair trade
movement from the beginning
has been to increase sales for
struggling small-scale farmers in
developing countries. Working
with corporations such as Star-
bucks and Cadbury, who have
overwhelming market power in
their respective industries, may
make some stomachs queasy, but
at the end of the day fair trade is
not fighting to win the hearts and
READER
COMMENTS
»» There is a Peak stand at Surrey
campus that hasn’t been updated
since November. You know, just in
case I want to read the News from
three months ago!»
Put the Peak on all the stands, even
at Surrey! I like The Peak, and would
like to keep reading it, please. Don’t
make me have to work just to find it
each week. »
» but it’s not just a marketing ploy! It’s
- “Slim” Shinji
Palestinian women grind coffee using traditional methods.
minds of corporate CEOs.
Walmart, remember, is not
the organization certifying the
coffee you see in their aisles.
Credible national bodies like
Transfair have this responsibil-
ity, so the fact that Transfair’s
stamp of approval is beginning
to appear in more and more
places just means that buying
ethical products won’t require
that you bike for an hour to get
to that quaint bohemian store
in that far, obscure corner of
town.
Critics are quick to de-
nounce fair trade’s legitimacy
by arguing that fair trade keeps
countries producing what they
have a comparative advantage
in. Thus, the argument goes,
farmers will always be farmers
and therefore will be perpetu-
ally poor. Asking why they don’t
roast their own beans and keep
their coffee for domestic con-
sumption is a weak and dan-
gerous argument for several
reasons.
Without getting into the
economics of it all, ask your-
self this: what poor farmer
Send in your READER COMMENTS to
opinions@the-peak.ca, or tweet them @peakSFU!
»» Corporations and companies will
always be on the prowl for consumer
fads to exploit; this is not reasonable
grounds to devalue all the work and
hard-earned achievements of fair
trade advocates.»
» Western farmers can become very,
- Sarah Childs
»» Fair Trade may not be perfect,
silly to criticize Fair Trade for keeping
could afford to drink steaming
cappuccinos and give up their
one source of income in order
to consume it? Coffee farmers
gain much more from selling
their beans to coffee roasters
than from drinking what they
produce on their own.
Corporations will
always be looking
for fads to exploit;
this isn’t grounds
to devalue all the
achievements
of the fair trade
movement.
Further, if the rest of the
world were to stop drinking
coffee then keeping the toils of
one’s labour could work. Trade
will only be obsolete once Ca-
nadians stop munching on
chocolate and oranges, stop
wearing silk, and stop consum-
ing in the way we have become
accustomed to.
these people generationally employed
as farmers — it’s called having an econ-
omy. You can’t build to a more varied
job market without a solid foundation.»
And it’s even sillier to suggest that
farming is synonymous with poverty.
very wealthy. Fair Trade is working to
bring these sorts of opportunities to
farmers around the world.»
» »
- James Ingrid
the peak
opinions editor Graham Templeton
email
phone
opinions@the-peak.ca
778.782.4560 9
»
»WOOHOO
Charlie Sheen
“Any day I’m not Charlie
Sheen is a good one.” These
are the words I live my life
by. I mean, when I’m having
a terrible day, a day where
the world is just shitting all
over my plans, I just take a
deep breath and put things
in perspective.
Sure, my problems might
be bad, but at least I’m not
a thrice-divorced convicted
wife beater strung out on
blow.
Also it seems that every
time something bad hap-
pens to Mr. Sheen, my own
Image courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress life gets a little cheerier,
a phenomena that I be-
Coffee beans can only be lieve the Germans call
grown between the Tropics of “Scheendenfreude”.
Cancer and Capricorn. The in- The best part is any mis-
herent value of trade is that in fortune that Chuck incurs
the exchange, both sides receive is undeniably his own fault,
something they do not have. wiping away any lingering
The idea is that it is an equal traces of pity.
exchange because we both ben- Keep on shinin’ Charlie,
efit. Except that, in our era of you crazy diamond, you.
so-called free trade, systemic
exploitation leads to unequal
»
and unjust terms of trade. This
is the battle fair trade is fighting. »BOOHOO
Fair trade is not a marketing
ploy. Of course, it needs to be ad-
vertised on the market — what
doesn’t? But to debunk this myth,
go to the very cooperatives and
farms where certified fair trade
coffee, tea, sugar, flowers, quinoa,
et cetera are produced. Speak to
the very farmers who have been
empowered, supported, and
Martin Sheen
given a voice through fair trade. Oh Marty. Marty, marty, marty.
Many fair trade advocates I’m so sorry about your son
have done this and have come Charlie. He’s brought shame to
home with stories re-affirming the family name, and not even
that while the fair trade sys- your real family name, the fake
tem may not be perfect, it is show business-y name that
most definitely and undeniably you had to use because your
strengthening communities and own sounds too, ahem, ethnic.
bettering lives. The question now is how
do you rectify such a situation?
I know what Don Coreleone
would do if someone disgraced
his family’s name. They’d be
sleeping with the fishes faster
than you could say “Two and
a Half Men”. Now I know he’s
your son, but you need to look
»» I think it’s a real shame that
at the bigger picture.
SFU cancelled Robbie Burns Day
Image a world sans Char-
festivities. SFU should be proud of
lie, the advance we’d have
its Scottish roots.»
made in the fields of comedy
As home to one of the most
and human decency. Wait,
celebrated bagpipe bands in the
you’ll do it? Huh, I thought
world, I don’t see how the ad-
it’d take more convincing, but
ministraion couldn’t spring for at
whatever.
least a modest Robbie Burns Day
You grab the rope and I’ll
ceremony.»
get the lye.
- John Morrison III
­­- Gary Lim
10 February 7, 2011
GOLDCORP DONATION
Blood money has no place at SFU
Some estimates put the number of protesters as high as 200.
The SFU board of governors
isn’t being “brave”, it’s
deliberately avoiding debate
on their decisions
Kevin Harding
SFU Alumnus
The recent article on the group
SFU Against Goldcorp and
Gentrification’s protest at the
downtown campus highlights a
very disappointing disconnect
between the board of gover-
nors and the SFU community at
large — the body that this board
is supposed to be representing.
In particular, I’m disap-
pointed by student rep Arry
Dhillon’s naïve regurgitation of
standard lines — that the pro-
testors were scary, that they
were going to hurt people, and
especially his assertion that
ending the meeting and walk-
ing out was the “brave” thing
to do.
Worse still is Dhillon’s argu-
ment that the board was will-
ing to meet with SAGG. Were
this the case, it would have
been clearly communicated
to SAGG — and I don’t think
it was. It’s more likely that the
board internally agreed that it
would be willing to hear from
a representative, but neglected
to tell anyone. One of SAGG’s
reasons for protesting was that
the board had refused to dis-
cuss the issue of dirty corporate
money being used to fill in gaps
in university funding. It’s quite
hard to start a discussion when
one party has been refusing to
talk for a very long time.
Would SFU accept
money made off
blood diamonds?
Judging by its
response to con-
cerns over the
Goldcorp cash, it
seems the answer
might be yes.
When I was an undergrad
at SFU, I served two terms on
the board of governors. What
would likely have happened, if
the board had communicated a
willingness to meet over Gold-
corp’s disgusting gift of bloody
money, is that SAGG would
have presented a very strong
case about the horrible ethics
of accepting Goldcorp’s cash.
They would have argued that
by accepting the donation, the
board has sold out SFU’s claim
to ‘think of the world’, entirely.
OPINIONS
Bai Yin / The Peak
The board would have listened,
and would have pleasantly
told SAGG that the concerned
students and faculty and staff
didn’t understand the situation.
In this case, I think it’s the
board of governors that doesn’t
understand the situation.
There’s a line to be drawn in
accepting corporate money. I
don’t think an allegedly public
university should be accept-
ing any, but it most definitely
shouldn’t be accepting money
from a company that allegedly
destroys indigenous lands, al-
legedly persecutes community
organizers, and then uses its
ill-gotten gains to buy a good
reputation. Would SFU accept
money made off blood dia-
monds? Judging by its response
to concerns over the Goldcorp
cash, it seems the answer might
be yes.
The brave thing for Dhillon
and the board of governors to
have done would have been to
admit that there are some real
problems with this particular
infusion of corporate cash, and
to actually commit to discuss-
ing it. It is not brave to claim to
be afraid of a bunch of nonvio-
lent protestors with a band and
gold glitter.
Remember, SFU: you claim
to think of the world. Let’s work Fraser Nelson / The Peak
Many SAGG protesters came prepared.
on this.
the peak
 We Want YOU
OU On Our Boa
Board
As a director of the SFSS, you could be a leader of a multi-million

Exceptional Leadership Experience

real-world projects are only limited by your imagination and available

self-directed learners with a strong desire to serve their fellow may receive a stipend of up to $1,750 per month.
students and the university community.
Faculty and At-Large directors tend to focus on supporting

the average Co-op job. If you want impressive leadership credentials

on your CV, student society leadership is for you.
40 hours per month and may receive a stipend of $585 to $725 per
Discover Your Leadership Potential month.

provided on the job. Board members have a team of experienced Where do I Apply?

and meetings. Student leaders have the support to challenge by your peers. Visit http://elections.sfss.ca for more information.
themselves and learn new skills through hands-on experience.

Job Description

SFSS Constitution. You can choose to run for an Executive or Faculty/

At-Large position on the Board.

Notice of 2011 General Election

Positions open:
Executive Positions: President; Treasurer; University Relations Officer;
Member Services Officer; Internal Relations Officer; and External Relations Officer.
Faculty Representatives: Arts and Social Sciences; Applied Sciences;
Business Administration; Communication, Art and Technology; Education;
Environment; Science; Health Sciences.
Two (2) At-Large Representatives.
Nominations open Monday, February 21st at 8:00 am.
Nominations close Monday, March 7th at 12:00 pm.
Campaigning begins Monday, March 7th at 12:00 pm.
Campaigning ends Monday, March 21st at 11:59 pm.
Voting takes place online March 22nd, 23rd, 24th.
In accordance with by-law 17, petitions for referenda must be received
by the Independent ELectoral Commission by Wednesday, February 23rd
at 12 pm. All petitions for referenda must first be submitted
to the Board of Directors. To submit a petition, contact Ali Godson,
President: pres@sfss.ca.
Election Rules and Regulations
The general election and referenda is governed by the
Society Constitution, By-Laws, and the Electoral and Referenda
Policy (R-17). These documents are available at http://elections.sfss.ca.
For more information, please contact Chief Electoral Officer
Chen Shen at ceo@sfss.ca or visit http://elections.sfss.ca.

Students who wish to become candidates should pick up and submit

Commission, Maggie Benston Centre 2240. Nomination forms will

also be available online during the nomination period. Campaign
budgets may not exceed $50. Candidates for Treasurer are subject to
criminal record checks.
12 February 7, 2011
LOSING INTEREST
Fence-sitters of
the world, unite
Straddling the fence has a long and storied history.
Those of us who just
don’t have the energy to
get so worked up about
politics have to stick
together to survive
Chris Apps
Peak Associate
When I started my post-secondary
education, I didn’t know much. I
panicked over my first paper that
was 10 pages, and I felt intimidated
in my first class when I heard there
was such thing as a double major.
Even after 6 years, I still feel that
way from time to time. At least I
can take solace in knowing that I
am not the only one.
The thing about university is
that we surround ourselves with
experts in the hopes of becoming
experts, and in almost every case
the endeavour is successful. Our
profs and peers help sculpt our
personalities, minds, and opin-
ions until we have focused our
knowledge like a laser beam. We
become interested in stuff and
passionate about issues, often
very passionate. We take action,
get involved, and feel like citi-
zens. Hooray.
But honestly, I’m getting tired
of that shtick. There are times I find
myself awash in a sea of bullshit
with political currents tearing me
left and right and no facts in sight.
Maybe it’s the people I surround
myself with, but it seems like you
can’t even ask someone about stuff
anymore without them tacking
their opinion into the preface. I
understand that people have their
reasons to feel so passionately
about things and I really do ap-
preciate their enthusiasm, but they
often go to tortuous lengths to em-
phasize that something is bad, and
it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
Let’s illuminate this resent-
ment with a few examples that
serve to highlight my ignorance
across a spectrum of issues, the
first of which is this new UBB
thing. I didn’t really get it, what it
meant, or its implications. I figured
if I have to pay more I don’t like it,
but I have friends who are in the
know with this stuff, so I asked.
Why not, right?
I’m just tired of
it. We become
interested in stuff
and passionate
about issues.
We take action,
get involved, and
feel like citizens.
Hooray.
What I got was a diatribe about
government regulation and the
need for a free market approach
and I think something about in-
novation was thrown in there too.
I had been under the impres-
sion that UBB meant that some-
one — ostensibly the government
— would be regulating my inter-
net. Another friend opposed this,
and I received a similarly styled
rant from him about corporate
greed and everything going to
the shitter. I left the whole affair
OPINIONS
Image courtesy of Paul W.
as I had entered it, not knowing
what UBB is, what it means, or its
implications.
Another example: Egypt. I had
no idea what the hell was going
on over there. It’s on the news 24-
hours a day and I still didn’t get it.
So, during some casual face-creep
time, I noticed a friend posted a
link called “Everything you need
to know about Egypt”. “Perfect!” I
thought, and I clicked. My excite-
ment quickly turned to disdain
as my screen was filled with the
blogged ravings of a self-indulgent
egg shell walker whose attempt to
show the world how ‘aware’ they
were made them read more like
someone who gets offended for
fun. I pressed “back”, no wiser than
I had been before.
I am aware that in these and
other scenarios, I could have just
looked up the info myself, done
some research as I have been
trained to do; I could have figured
it out for myself. But, there are
just some things I don’t really care
about and I take solace in knowing
I am not the only one.
This is not meant to be the
crescendo of apathy. Rather, it’s a
call to arms for all the neutrals out
there. We are those who change
our minds and can have our opin-
ions swayed by argument.
We are those who see things
from both sides and who from
time to time just aren’t sure what
to think. It’s those times we need
our friends the most, to keep us
informed in frank and honest mat-
ter, going light on the bullshit. It’s
embarrassing enough just asking,
so make it quick. That way you
can get on with your seething, and
we’ll smile and nod.
We are still friends, after all.
the peak
READER RESPONSE
To compete, Canada
must be willing to work
If immigration is changing
the standards in our
universities, then it’s our
responsibility to rise to
the occasion
Jennifer Overington
SFU Student
Alexandra Tse’s article [“‘Too
Asian’ is the wrong question,”
January 24] about the Maclean’s
article on Asian students in our
university system is the first
piece of commentary on the
subject that I’ve liked. (I also
liked the Maclean’s apology to
readers who felt upset by their
misinterpretation.)
Alexandra correctly assessed
that most of the responses to
the Maclean’s article missed the
point. Rather than claiming birth-
right entry into a global economic
system and rather than being
jealous of Asian immigrants, we
would do well to remember that
our land is stolen and our cur-
riculum was designed to be infe-
rior when viewed through inter-
national levels of operation.
It is time for
those of us who
have the volition
to respond
to globalization
with our work
ethic, responsibil-
ity, and vision.
I am not saying that Canada
would be better off by import-
ing the entire high school cur-
riculum of France; we can have
a curriculum that supports re-
laxation and leisure, if we want
to. We are also within our rights
to continue to foster a national
disdain for an intellectual elite
that is loyal to the nation. How-
ever, we would do well to re-
member that there are some na-
tions that do see the advantage
in having a happy, productive
intellectual elite. We would do
well to note the methods being
put in place in Shanghai to gen-
erate an intellectual, socially
networked elite. Do you think
educators in Shanghai are say-
ing, “Let’s have a relaxing cur-
riculum with ample playtime
every evening and weekend”?
Some Canadians have been
internationally competitive for
decades. During the mid-‘90s,
Jonathan Borwein announced in
the Center for Experimental and
Constructive Mathematics that he
would take a day off. Everyone in
the lab was shocked. Work ethic
and responsibility are traits that
our international friends respond
well to, and some Canadians do
develop these traits. It is time for
those of us who have the volition
to start responding to globaliza-
tion with our work ethic, respon-
sibility, and vision. It is time for us
to take serious account of the real
world we are living in, see where
we want to be in that real world
by when, and take the steps that
obtain our aim.
Ravi Menon, the permanent
secretary of Singapore’s Ministry
of Trade and Industry once said
that the two “-isms” that best
describe Singapore’s approach
to education are pragmatism,
an emphasis on what works in
practice, and eclecticism, a will-
ingness to adapt to the best prac-
tices from around the world.
My friend recently asked me
whether I thought it was okay
to force unwilling nations to
practice eclecticism and I re-
sponded by referencing the
new infrastructural support for
responsible freedom that the
government of British Colum-
bia is inventing. On the table
is a discussion about giving
students the freedom to learn
their choice of foreign language
based on where they see their
future — obviously those Ca-
nadians who see a future in
Canada will learn French and
English, while other Canadians
who see their futures as being
international will have the free-
dom to learn the additional lan-
guages that interest them, ac-
cording to their abilities.
I agree with Alexandra Tse
that it is time to raise the level
of our conversations about eth-
nicity and multiculturalism by
a few notches. We might also
start to identify best practices
that we have seen in our own
multicultural lives, and share
these with each other while
practicing eclecticism. Let the
uninterested retain their right
to refuse these new practices
together with their responsibil-
ity for accepting the predictable
consequences of freely making
free choice. At the same time, we
must educate the market rather
than marketing education.
I like scenarios in which
the people have more than
a fair chance to adapt to our
new world comfortably and
peacefully.

UNIVERSITY TRANSFERS
Is UBC med school
biased against SFU?
UBC’s med school prioritizes
its own applicants to an
absurd degree
Sebastian Jonas
SFU Student
Years ago, after my first SFU
chemistry midterm, my profes-
sor opened the lecture with a
poll. He asked those planning
to attend medical school to
raise their hands and, of course,
several hundred eager hands
shot into the air. His lesson was
harsh but true: “You are not all
going to make it.” I doubt that
he knew how correct he was
for this batch of SFU students,
especially those with aspira-
tions of attending med school
at UBC.
The UBC-to-SFU
grading scheme
caps us at 90 per
cent, where a
4.33 = 90 per
cent. Most SFU
students find this
insurmountable.
My question to UBC has
never been about the need for
students to meet high stan-
dards; of course we want the
best of the best for our hospitals
and doctor’s offices. My ques-
tion is why there is such a dis-
proportionate number of SFU
students rejected each year.
According to last year’s roster,
there were approximately nine
UBC students for every SFU
student accepted into the UBC
Faculty of Medicine, and yet,
UBC has only an approximate
one-and-a-half times the stu-
dent population of SFU.
Where does this discrepancy
come from? Perhaps it is sim-
ply the case that more UBC stu-
dents apply, or that those UBC
OPINIONS February 7, 2011 13
Come in Dog Fort.
We have Opinions!
students who do apply are that
bit more qualified. Still, per-
haps there is a discriminatory
grading policy that keeps the
Dog Fort, come in!
vast majority of SFU students
out and lets a much larger frac-
tion of UBC students in.
There will always be a natu-
ral tendency for UBC to favor
their own students and there
are two fundamental reasons
for this. One: UBC wants to.
Two: SFU allows it happen.
It would be easier to heap
all the blame onto the UBC ad-
missions board, but where does
SFU fit in this? Where is the
responsibility to support their
students and to promote equal
opportunities for entry into any
graduate program? The truth is
that the difficulty arises with
a single number: 4.33. By not
fitting into a traditional grad-
ing scheme, UBC takes on the
responsibility (or the opportu-
nity, depending on your point
of view) to create a transfer
guide.
The UBC-to-SFU grading
scheme caps an SFU student
at 90 per cent (where 4.33 = 90
per cent), leaving a 10 per cent
gap that proves almost insur-
mountable for most SFU stu-
dents. I suppose what kills me
is not so much that UBC con-
siders an SFU student 90 per
Dog Fort?
cent as competent as his/her
UBC counterpart, but that SFU
seems to as well.
The reality is that medicine
is a competitive program and
the GPA difference between
accepted and rejected often
comes down to mere fractions
of a percentage point. Until SFU
learns to fight in its students’
best interests, each bright-eyed
med-school hopeful is walking
into a four year trap.
UBC medicine is moving
towards a more and more aca- Don’t worry Red Lobster.
demically focused admission
process, and with every step Dog Fort’s got you.
they take in that direction, SFU
students are left further and opinions@the-peak.ca
further behind.
the peak
14 February 7, 2011
USAGE-BASED BILLING
UBB will improve innovation
With the future of UBB
uncertain, it’s in the best
interests of Canadians to
support the CRTC and the
rights of business
Sam Reynolds
Peak Associate
Over the past number of weeks a
populist movement against usage
based billing (UBB) has been
steadily building. Opponents of
UBB, who favor net neutrality —
government regulation that re-
quires all data online to be treated
equally — breathed a collective
sigh of relief when Minister of In-
dustry Tony Clement announced
Tuesday he would review recently
passed laws that would permit
UBB.
A review of UBB resulting in
the reversal of the new statute
is not a certain thing, but using
Clement’s block of the Saskatch-
ewan Potash Corporation take-
over as a case study, it is likely
that we will see a regulatory flip-
flop. In the instance of Potash
Corp, Clement took the populist
side over that of the corporation,
seemingly ignoring any critical ar-
guments for allowing the takeover
to go through. Although this case
is different in many ways, it is safe
to believe that Clement will again
side with this populist movement
without examining the argument
















• 
• 
that perhaps further government
regulation will perhaps stymie in-
ternet innovation.
An argument often put for-
ward by opponents of UBB is
that Canadians lack consumer
choice when it comes to ISPs.
UBB, in their opinion, further
deprives consumers, as ISPs that
buy wholesale bandwidth from
providers such as Bell now have
their supply costs dramatically
increased, which limits their
competitive advantage. Ontario-
based ISP TekSavvy, which is
wholly dependent on wholesale
bandwidth from Bell, is caught in
the middle of this. The anti-UBB
crowd thinks that the solution to
this telecom deficiency is to regu-
late ourselves out of it.
The CRTC is
notorious for
putting up road-
blocks to impede
consumer choice.
The Canadian Radio-televi-
sion Telecommunications Com-
mission (CRTC), which falls
under Clement’s ministerial
portfolio, is notorious for put-
ting up roadblocks to impede
customer choice. An example of
their bureaucratic bullying can
be found in the case of Wind Mo-
bile. Despite having the green
light from Industry Canada, the
byzantine ownership restrictions
imposed by the CRTC delayed
Wind Mobile’s launch by nearly
•
•

•
OPINIONS
half a year. Naguib Sawiris, the
Egyptian technology entrepre-
neur who is backing the project,
went as far as to call Canada a
“telecom backwater” because
of our extensive regulations. In
this case, consumers were worse
off because of hefty government
regulation.
The way to solve Canada’s ISP
insufficiency is not through regu-
latory flip-flopping but to let the
free market work its magic. Cad-
vision, which was once a titan in
the Calgary ISP market, was built
by a recent university graduate
who was fed up with the current
offerings from ISPs in the city.
Cadvision was fuelled by the lack
of innovation in the ISP market,
and despite being built for only
a paltry sum, grew exponentially
and offered ADSL services years
before any other provider could.
Regulation didn’t create this suc-
cess story, the market did.
The market force that is UBB
is causing innovation within the
small ISP sector. Realizing that
they need to be immune from
the whims of government that
allow for potential price gouging
these firms have started to invest
in their own infrastructure that
will allow them to bypass Bell or
other bandwidth wholesalers. It
might be that these independent
ISPs invest in new technology
that would allow them to deliver
a better product than what they
had previously.
What will make any internet
innovation flatline is if providing
this service suddenly becomes
unprofitable. If the CRTC en-
forces a price cap, this will limit
the money there is to be made
in delivering the Internet to con-
sumers and thus limit incentive
to innovate. Just as interest in
fuel-efficient vehicles such as the
Toyota Prius skyrocketed when
the price of gas was high, the
threat of high-priced bandwidth
will create incentives for compa-
nies to try and bypass the big ISP
cartel.
What will stymie this inno-
vation is if Clement decides to
reverse the CRTC’s decision on
UBB. Small ISPs will then lose
the incentive to fight for their
survival — to innovate. Perhaps
in the near future high-density
population centers like down-
town Vancouver or Toronto will
be saturated with a variety of ISP
options from 4G wireless, to fiber
to the premises. If the consumer
demands more options to access
the Internet and the current play-
ers in the market don’t offer this,
someone will step in and inno-
vate. It has happened before and
it will happen again.
the peak
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING
Attack ads just
hurt voters
A print ad attacking former Liberal
candidate Stéphane Dion.
When our electoral
process becomes a
no-holds-barred slug
fest, everybody loses
Michael Penney
University of Newfoundland
ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — As the fed-
eral government prepares to table
its budget for the upcoming fis-
cal year, Canada’s political heavy-
weights have begun throwing
punches over corporate tax cuts
and stealth fighter jets.
While party leaders have
stated they would like to steer
away from an election, new at-
tack ads produced by the Con-
servatives imply the possibility
of a political showdown. The
ads focus on the leadership de-
ficiencies of Michael Ignatieff,
including his time living outside
Canada. This demonstrates the
escalation of negative attack ads,
a technique already perfected
by our neighbours to the south.
Playing dirty seems to be part of
an accepted platform in Ameri-
can politics.
American spin-
doctors like Karl
Rove wrote the
playbook on nega-
tive campaigning
as a cornerstone of
electoral politics.
Republican spin-doctors like
Lee Atwater and Karl Rove wrote
the playbook on negative cam-
paigning as a cornerstone of
electoral politics. The approach
is basic but brutal: use any trick
at a party’s disposal to drag the
reputations of political opponents
through the mud. It revolutionized
the perception of political market-
ing and set a new tone in the com-
petitive process that is at the very
core of Canadian federalism.
Image courtesy of Sachyn
Plenty of examples demon-
strate how Canadian politics have
been influenced by this strategy,
one used with varying degrees of
success.
During the 1993 federal elec-
tion campaign, the Progressive
Conservatives were trailing con-
siderably in public opinion polls.
Worn down by a series of unpop-
ular moves orchestrated under
Mulroney’s watch, the Tories de-
cided to respond by smearing Lib-
eral leader Jean Chrétien.
They decided to highlight
Chrétien’s facial deformity in a
televised ad. The ad got significant
coverage and appeared on a num-
ber of news broadcasts, creating
considerable uproar among Ca-
nadian voters. Leading Tory strat-
egists like Allan Gregg faced harsh
criticism over their Republican-
styled tactics.
In the 2006 federal election, the
Liberals released a series of attack
ads in an attempt to paint Stephen
Harper as a right-wing extremist.
They used a series of question-
able quotes — often taken out of
context — that focused on his de-
sire to increase military presence
in major Canadian cities, and his
personal inclination to rid the
health care system of women’s
abortion rights.
A party’s survival depends on
donated money and subsidies
received from party funding. We
shouldn’t be using taxpayer dollars
from the public purse to squeeze
out negative ads that attempt to
push wedge issues instead of legit-
imate policy discussion. If political
parties want to change public per-
ception and sway voters, it should
be done with some basic decency
and accuracy.
Let’s ensure that political ad-
vertisements focus on the sub-
stance of national concerns and
not the personalities of our po-
litical figures.
Public policy is the frame-
work of our society, and nega-
tive campaigning should be
removed from the political
blueprint.
 COMMUNITY PHOTOS
February 7, 2011

15

A presenter speaks at the 2011 SFU Leadership Summit. Shahanah Shivji / The Peak

A protester from the SFU Against Goldcorp and Gentrification Fraser Nelson / The Peak A masked protester participates in the SAGG protest at Cédric Tsän / The Peak
(SAGG) tries to disrupt the SFU board of directors meeting. SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

Hey shutterbug!

Submit your photos to

photos@the-peak.ca
the peak
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 Community Photos
February 7, 2011

17

Devoted fans cheer on the Clan at last Thursday’s game. Bai Yin / The Peak Fans celebrate as the men’s basketball team defeat their opponents. Bai Yin / The Peak

Athletes react to the action during SFU’s game against St. Martin’s University. Andy Fang / The Peak

The SFU men’s basketball team line up for pre-game national anthems. Andy Fang / The Peak

the peak
 FEATURES
February 7, 2011
features editor Kelly Thoreson

18 email
phone
features@the-peak.ca
778.782.4560

Certifiably
Uncertifiable Universities teach us nothing
but how to get hired

WRITTEN BY GRAEME FORD

ILLUSTRATED BY ADAM CRISTOBAL

L
et me just warn you right
now: if you are an educa-
tional romantic, if a high-
school teacher changed your life,
or if you loved Dead Poets Society,
the ideas in this article will prob-
ably offend you.
The jury is in and the verdict
is out: university doesn’t teach
students anything! Yet another re-
search paper was tossed onto the
steaming pile of academic consen-
sus on this issue. A ripple of mild
embarrassment spread through
the tertiary education sector before
being obscured from view in the
Sunday issue of the Vancouver Sun.
But wait! Hold on! Surely this
is a real issue. I mean, a lot of peo-
ple are affected by this. If people
aren’t being educated at univer-
sity, doesn’t this mean thousands
of university students are being
ripped off? Aren’t employers being
deceived? Shouldn’t our public ser-
vice fail, run as it is by mere high
school graduates with meaningless
letters after their names? Where is
the terrible fallout from this?
Strangely, there hasn’t been any
fallout. In fact, on the contrary, uni-
versity seems to be working just
fine and dandy. Typically, students
who receive a university degree go
on to have better paid jobs than
those who do not. What’s more,
employers generally find that grads
are more productive workers. De-
spite the recent research, we know
these things to be true. Certainly
we aren’t likely to see waves of
people dropping out of university,
businesses boycotting students
with university degrees, or the
government withdrawing funding
to undergraduate university pro-
grams. Least likely of all are we to
see universities overhauling their
current teaching methods.
So, we have a paradox. On
the one hand, university typically
doesn’t improve student’s minds.
On the other hand, university
seems to help just about every-
one who has anything to do with
it. How can we reconcile these two
observations?
This seems to suggest
that an undergraduate
degree is essentially a
four-year IQ test/en-
durance trial rather
than an education.
One possible explanation
emerges from the murky depths of
economics.1 Yep, that’s right. You’re
about to read something about
economics. Don’t panic, I’m going
to make it as painless as possible.
The idea with the model below
is to see if we can start with some
fairly reasonable assumptions
about ‘rational’ workers and em-
ployers and then end up with a
model in which universities help
people despite failing to actually
teach them anything. Keeping in
mind it is just a model, this can
give some useful insights into what
might be going on in the real world.
Imagine that there are only two
types of people in the world:
1. Workers who are
high-productivity.
2. Workers who are
low-productivity.2
There are also only two types of
jobs in the world:
1. Skilled jobs. Only high-produc-
tivity workers can do these sorts of
jobs effectively.
2. Unskilled jobs. Anyone can do
these.
Now, let’s just run with a few
other assumptions:
– Skilled jobs are better paid than
unskilled jobs.
– Workers know if they are produc-
tive or not.
– Employers have no way of telling
if workers are productive or not
until after they hire them and pay
them their wages.3
So, skipping the math and the
detail, what ends up happening
in the model? Well, realising that
employers can’t tell the difference,
low-productivity workers all fudge
their resumes and apply for the
better-paid skilled jobs. This turns
out to cause horrible inefficiencies.
The employers end up hiring the
wrong people half of the time and
so the output of the whole econ-
omy drops, wages are lowered, and
society in general ends up being
worse off.4
What do universities have to
do with all this? Well, imagine if

1. Well… the murky depths of second year economics. If you have studied economics, you might be
angered by how imprecise I am with this model. I’m just trying to get the general ideas across in easy-to-
understand terms.
2. Brave New World flashbacks much? It is difficult for a model to take into account the full gambit of
human difference, so we settle for this politically incorrect simplification.
3. This isn’t as ridiculous an assumption as it may sound. Often it is difficult for an employer to know if a
worker is right for a job until after they have been through training and worked for a few months.

the peak
 FEATURES February 7, 2011 19

a university can offer a service
where they can certify high-
productivity workers as ‘skilled’.
They can charge high-produc-
tivity workers a fee, put them
through a whole lot of tests that
they know only high-productiv-
ity workers can pass, and then
give them a gold sticker. Low-
productivity workers know they
can’t pass university, so they
don’t bother to go.
The transformation
core function. What this means
is that students who really wish
to receive a transformative edu-
cational experience are often
frustrated by university and seek
a transformative education else-
where by volunteering or taking
other classes outside of univer-
sity. Some students instead seek
out those rare professors who are
somehow able to find the time
to operate transformative class-
rooms while still fulfilling the re-
quirement to publish or perish.
those preparing the tutorial.
I do not propose that this is a
good approach for all courses. I
am illustrating that better meth-
ods of learning and assessment
do exist, and that we simply aren’t
brave enough to try them. Oral
assessment is another method
If we want our uni-
versity experiences
to be improved, we
need to start by
can figure that out in about 60
seconds.
If we want our university
experience to be improved, we
need to start by recognising that
the change isn’t going to come
from the outside. At the moment,
universities simply do not need
to educate students in order to
appear to operate effectively. The
only way that this will change is if
students demand it. Encourage
your classmates and your pro-
fessors to experiment with their

of students is merely
a secondary goal of
universities. Certifi-
cation is their core
function.
With universities in the
model, all the people who go to
university get better-paid jobs,
graduates are higher produc-
tivity, and universities seem to
be generally useful institutions
working for the public good.
And yet: universities don’t ac-
tually teach anyone anything
in the model. If the real world
works anything like our model,
then this seems to resolve our
paradox! This means good news
and bad news.
Good news: Paradox resolved!
Hooray!
Bad news: This seems to sug-
gest an undergraduate univer-
sity degree is essentially a four-
year IQ test/endurance trial
rather than an education.
The model shows that it is
not necessary for university to
educate students in order to be
providing a valuable service. It
is sufficient for universities to
merely certify students as having
a given level of productivity.
Is this a disturbing idea? I
hope you think it is. To me, the
whole point of going to univer-
sity is that it should be a trans-
formative experience. I hope
to leave university a better sort
of person than when I entered,
both in terms of my character
and my preparedness to enter
the workforce.
However, the educational
transformation of students is
merely a secondary goal of uni-
versities. Certification is their
The other harder and usually recognising that teaching and assessment meth-
fruitless alternative is to fight for ods and encourage the inclusion
change isn’t going to
reform from within the university of interdisciplinary content in
and classroom itself.
come from the your courses. Fill out those stupid
Reforms need to make their outside. course assessment forms and fill
way into classrooms themselves. them with demands for unusual,
Any university student can tell that is not used. This really baf- experimental, and interesting
you that listening to lectures is fles me. You can read a five-page methods of learning and assess-
about the least engaging method essay by someone and really have ment. And while you’re waiting
of education possible. Mild dis- no idea if they read Shakespeare’s for the monstrous university
cussions in tutorials that don’t Measure to Measure or simply bureaucracy and governance to
even require an understanding the Wikipedia article. However, if slowly digest this, be sure you are
of the readings are similarly un- you sit down and have a discus- getting your transformative edu-
inspiring. It seems absurd that sion with someone about it, you cation elsewhere.
little attempt has been made to
experiment with other forms of
education.
Superior methods of assess-
ment, teaching, and learning
do exist. In an (extremely un-
usual) course I recently took at
my home university in Austra-
lia, I was amazed by how much
more can be learned when such
methods are employed. One of
the assessments for the course
required each student (in groups
of two) to prepare and facilitate
a full two-hour tutorial for the
rest of the class. This required
the facilitator to read broadly on
the topic before setting weekly
readings for the class. The ex-
pectations were that this tutorial
would not simply be the stan-
dard ‘directed-discussion’ ap-
proach typically employed by
lecturers and tutors, but instead
it must involve individual, small
group work, and large group
discussion. A great deal of free-
dom was granted, and originality
of method rewarded. The result
was that tutorials throughout the
course were of an excellent stan-
dard and highly engaging. This
also reduced the workload for the
tutors and the professor. Further,
by acting as a teacher, this was an
excellent learning experience for

4. Economics majors may realise that the unskilled workers can

actually be better off. There are good reasons why this may be
true in the model, but not in the real world. (e.g. higher taxes
lead to better social security network) but it isn’t really necessary
to go into that here.

the peak
20 February 7, 2011
Who will win
the web
war?
It lasted only a week and a
half, but the furor that
spread throughout social web
sites with high concentrations
of Canadian users was difficult
to miss. The previously obscure
jargon of UBB (usage-based bill-
ing) became common knowl-
edge to hundreds of thousands
of internet users as posts and
articles predicted Canada’s im-
minent collapse into an online
ghetto with online access more
typical of the Third World than
the First. Outraged internet
users plotted amongst them-
selves with ways to fix the dam-
age that had been done, with
solutions ranging from online
petitions and Facebook status
campaigns to class-action law-
suits and mass rallies in the
streets. Ten days later, however,
the outrage transformed into
celebration in response to a
government message originally
distributed through the prime
minister’s Twitter account.
What started this contro-
versy? Why did so many thou-
sands of people get caught in the
tide of outrage? How did it end
so suddenly? Most importantly,
has the situation that caused the
outrage truly been resolved?
Tuesday, January 25
The mass outrage started
on Tuesday, January 25, after a
long-awaited decision by the
Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commis-
sion (CRTC) — an arm’s-length
government body that is re-
sponsible for regulating and
supervising Canada’s broadcast
and telecommunications sys-
tems — including internet ser-
vice providers (ISPs).
Under the system that the
CRTC had set up as the Internet
was gaining popularity in the
1990s, the four major Canadian
ISPs, which own the vast major-
ity of Canadian internet infra-
structure, are required to lease
use of their networks to smaller,
independent ISPs. In large part,
this arrangement was intended
to ensure that there would be
a sufficient amount of compe-
tition in the ISP market, since
an oligopoly of only four com-
panies would easily be able to
organize into a cartel and artifi-
cially drive up prices.
The major ISPs have been
wanting for years to implement
usage-based billing, in which
heavy internet users are charged
a greater figure for the greater
level of network resources that
they use. However, in order to
do so, they would need the in-
dependents to adopt a similar
scheme — if only the big four
were pricing their services in
this manner, the independents
could easily undercut them by
offering unlimited Internet for
a similar or lower price. Ac-
cordingly, the major ISPs peti-
tioned the CRTC to allow them
to charge the independents in
a usage-based model, which
would allow them to set a mini-
mum price for all ISPs that oper-
ated on their infrastructure.
Many independent ISPs were
alarmed by this proposition; a
large proportion of them based
their business model on pro-
viding cheaper internet access
FEATURES
We may have won the current user-based billing
battle, but there is no telling who will win the war
than the major telecoms. They
asked the CRTC to require the
major ISPs to offer them a 50 per
cent discount on their provider’s
comparable usage-based billing
rates, so that they could have
more flexibility in their pricing.
On January 25, the ruling was
finally returned: independent
ISPs would get a discount, but
it would be much smaller than
requested — only 15 per cent.
The changes were to take effect
on March 1.
Nine days of outrage
Backlash against the decision
was swift and strong. Thousands
of posts protesting the arrange-
ment appeared on forums, mes-
sage boards, and social network-
ing sites. All over the Internet,
Canadian users began planning
ways to register their displeasure
and coordinate their efforts to
get the decision overturned.
One of the central points
in this effort was the Stop The
Meter online petition, created
by Openmedia.ca, which had
41,000 signatures when the
CRTC decision was announced.
By February 3, that figure had
grown to over 279,000.
“The independent internet
service providers were created
to be a check on [the four major
ISPs] so that the pricing struc-
tures would even out in favor
of the consumer,” explained
Openmedia.ca communications
manager Lindsey Pinto. Follow-
ing the CRTC decision, how-
ever, major ISPs are “able to im-
pose this internet metering on
their independent competitors,
the peak
Written by David Proctor
Photos by Andy Fang
which basically means that
these independent competitors
no longer provide a check on
that market and that these big
four telecommunications com-
panies are able to say how much
the Internet is going to cost.”
This ability to unilaterally set
the price of internet access in
Canada was not the only moti-
vation that the big four had for
establishing such a scheme. “We
have internet service providers
that also own content,” point
out Pinto. “For example, Shaw
owns Global, and Bell is in the
process of acquiring CTV. There
are [online] services like You-
Tube that allow people to cre-
ate that same kind of televisual
content. So in addition to want-
ing to generate greater revenues
from the Internet, they’re also
protecting their television inter-
ests and their content interests
from competitors.”
“In addition to [ISPs]
wanting to generate
greater revenues from
the Internet, they’re
also protecting their . . .
content interests from
competitors.”
A particularly striking ex-
ample of this is the case of
Netflix, an American company
that has recently begun to offer
unlimited on-demand stream-
ing of movies and TV shows
to Canadian customers. This
service competes with both
the big four’s television hold-
ings and their own on-demand
video services. Because Netflix
streams its video over the In-
ternet, a usage-based billing
scheme would allow an ISP like
Shaw to charge users for the
bandwidth used to watch a Net-
flix movie, driving the price of
such content up substantially
and pocketing the difference. If
users did not want to pay extra
for this bandwidth, Shaw would
be able to allow its customers
to pay a flat rate for its own on-
demand video service, making
it difficult for new business
models like Netflix to succeed.
Most usage-based billing
schemes charge consumers a
flat rate for a certain amount
of bandwidth per month and
add an extra fee for each giga-
byte by which users exceed that
cap. Most of the online outrage
was directed towards perceived
price-gouging in this arrange-
ment. Partially this was directed
toward caps that were too low:
for instance, Bell’s basic inter-
net package offers 25 gigabytes
of bandwidth per month —
enough to stream only 8.3 two-
hour HD movies from Netflix,
without allowing for any other
internet usage of any kind.
Primarily, however, public
scorn was directed at the in-
flated pricing of bandwidth ex-
ceeding the cap: the same Bell
plan prices extra bandwidth at
$2 per gigabyte. “The compari-
son that we’ve been hearing a
lot from public policy advisors,
et cetera, is that it costs [ISPs]
between $0.01 and $0.15 per gi-
gabyte, and that they’re charg-
ing overages of one to four dol-
lars,” explained Pinto.

The absurdity of this in-
flation was highlighted in an
image that began circulating
on the Internet early last week.
The creator of the image had
calculated that if one were to
purchase a 160 gigabyte solid-
state hard drive (roughly $300,
or $1.88 per gigabyte), fill it
with useful data, and spend $10
on next day shipping to send
it from one part of Canada to
another in 24 hours, they would
pay $1.94 per gigabyte to have
effectively sent themselves that
data at just over 15 megabytes
per second (a common speed
for Canadian internet connec-
tions). In other words, it would
be cheaper to purchase an ex-
pensive hard drive, express-
mail it to yourself, and then
throw away the drive than it
would be to pay Bell’s cover-
age fees for the same amount of
bandwidth.
One of the industry’s pri-
mary arguments in favour of
the new arrangement is that
government intervention in
the operation of such compa-
nies represents an unjustifi-
able compromise of the normal
operation of the free market.
“That is the opposite of what’s
happening,” responds Pinto.
“By allowing big ISPs to con-
trol how smaller ISPs offer their
customers prices and other
metrics, we’re basically stifling
that competition and we’re
eliminating the check that was
once there.”
The major telecoms have
also defended the practice of
high-priced usage-based bill-
ing as necessary to allow for
maintenance and expansion
of Canada’s internet infra-
structure, but Pinto again dif-
fers, stating, “that doesn’t have
much to do with usage. It indi-
cates a general need for more
revenue rather than a need to
introduce a particular system of
pricing.” She added that tele-
communications companies
are “incentivized and partially
publicly subsidized to lay down
the lines.”
Indeed, although modern
internet infrastructure is now
relatively cheaply available to
the major ISPs, they have been
slow to implement it, allowing
Canadian users to continue
using outdated technology,
even as countries like Japan
and Norway are able to offer in-
ternet users 100 megabyte per
second connections at rates
cheaper than those in Canada.
“We are now 23rd out of the
25 OECD countries in terms of
broadband speed and afford-
ability,” observes Pinto. “We’re
falling behind the rest of the
world. It’s not great.”
The end of the
controversy?
With the specter of an elec-
tion looming large before the
federal political parties, it is
not surprising that the NDP
and Liberals seized the oppor-
tunity to align themselves with
the tide of populist outrage that
followed the CRTC’s January 25
announcement. Both the Lib-
erals and the NDP have added
pages to their party web sites
FEATURES
coaching users on ways to as-
sist in the effort to get the CRTC
ruling overturned.
Seven days after the decision
was published, however, some-
thing surprising happened. Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s official
Twitter account was updated with
a post: “We’re very concerned
about CRTC’s decision on usage-
based billing and its impact on
consumers. I’ve asked for a re-
view of the decision.”
“We are now 23rd
out of the 25 OECD
countries in terms of
broadband speed and
affordability.”
Two days later, Minister of
Industry Tony Clement con-
firmed what many Canadians
had been hoping for: also via his
Twitter account, he confirmed
that he would ask the CRTC to
review their decision, and that if
they did not overturn it on their
own, the Conservative govern-
ment would do it for them.
The message boards that had
been teeming with outrage over
usage-based billing mere hours
before quickly shifted to an at-
mosphere of guarded celebra-
tion. “I think it is an excellent
step in the right direction,” said
Pinto, but she also tempered her
enthusiasm: “We’re not sure ex-
actly what this means. We know
that the Harper government is
going to ask the CRTC to over-
rule a decision related to inter-
net metering, but we’re not sure
if that’s going to relate to the
structure of what usage-based
the peak
billing is going to look like, or
whether that’s going to overturn
internet metering and band-
width caps in their entirety.”
“This is the government going
to the CRTC and going, ‘You have
to make a favourable decision on
this or else we’re going to over-
turn it.’ What constitutes a fa-
vourable decision for the govern-
ment is up in the air.”
The following day, CRTC
chairman Konrad von Finck-
enstein appeared before the
House of Commons Standing
Committee on Industry, Sci-
ence, and Technology with a
defiant attitude that surprised
many observers. He stated that
the CRTC would delay the im-
plementation of usage-based
billing for two months, giv-
ing independent ISPs until at
least May 1 before their pric-
ing structures would be altered.
He also stated that “I would like
to reiterate the commission’s
view that usage-based billing is
a legitimate principle for pric-
ing internet services . . . The
Call Steve Anderson 604-736-9791
Personal Injury Lawyer
February 7, 2011 21
vast majority of internet users
should not be asked to subsi-
dize a small minority of heavy
users. For us, it is a question of
fundamental fairness.”
As of this writing, the specif-
ics of the Harper government’s
plans remain unclear; accord-
ingly, those fighting against us-
age-based billing are encourag-
ing the public to persist in their
efforts. A public letter from Mi-
chael Ignatieff has exhorted Ca-
nadians to sign the Openmedia.
ca petition and spread the word
on social media. Additionally,
Openmedia.ca is encouraging
participation in a national day
of action later this month.
Although the anti-usage-
based billing movement has
scored a major victory, a histor-
ically unsympathetic govern-
ment and a defiant CRTC seem
to present a threat that will last
into the future. The story that
will change the face of the In-
ternet in Canada has reached
a dramatic climax, but it is far
from over.
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 Arts
February 7, 2011
22
Arts
NEWS
»» SFU film grads
win $10,000
SFU film grads Kial Natale and
Dylan Innes have taken first
prize for creating a 60 second
version of Edgar Wright’s Scott
Pilgrim vs. The World.
The short, Scott Pilgrim vs.
60 Seconds, was made for the
first Virgin Radio Fake Film
Festival, took the top prize
of $10,000 with their adapta-
tion. It attracted the attention
of the original film’s director,
Edgar Wright.
Natale previously made
waves by creating a trailer for a
fake, gritty Pokemon movie en-
titled Pokemon: Apokelypse.
“We were shocked at how
viral this video went — being
picked up by major global pub-
lications was a huge honour,”
said Natale. The video was fea-
tured on Mashable.com, Col-
lider.com, TheAwesomer.com,
and was heavily tweeted.
Vancouver filmmakers sub-
mitted 197 films to the con-
test. Submissions were voted
on by the public with a short-
list of 20 screened at the award
sceremony. At press time the
YouTube video was just shy of
100,000 views.
­­-Clinton Hallahan
Peak Arts
Cropping out
the good parts
since 1965
ALBUM REVIEW
Violent Cries
Esben and the Witch follow
up a lauded EP with a
worthy full-length debut.
Just don’t call this dark,
layered electro goth
Adam Cristobal
Peak Associate
When New Music Express
critic Ben Hewitt popped this
album’s cherry, he called it
“gothic, but not goth.” Hewitt
is valid to differentiate the two,
seeing as there is a fine line
between the flying buttresses
of a 14th century cathedral
and the near-exclusively black
wardrobe and eye makeup of
the 21st century teenager. One
look at Esben and the Witch’s
debut album’s cover, and it
seems to scream repacked goth
music. That said, if critics dis-
count marketing, it’s clear that
Esben and the Witch do not
seem to be all that concerned
about either aesthetic — but-
tress or bustier. Apart from the
fact that the band’s moniker
is derived from a Danish fairy
tale, they’re about as gothic as
Amanda Seyfried in that new
Red Riding Hood movie.
When I listen to a band
for the first time, I just listen.
ARTS REVIEWS
»»Not Yet
Monotonix
B+
Label / Drag City
Released / 01.25.2011
Clocking in at just 32 min-
utes, Monotonix’s second
full-length album combines
the frenzied, tour-ravaged
vocals of Ami Shalev, the
fuzzed-out chug of Yonatan
Gat, and manic tempos of
Haggai Fershtman into a cy-
clone of screeching rock.
Energy is in no short sup-
ply here: Not Yet careens
wildly, and no track is any-
thing less than fodder for the
Clove cigarettes and Bauhaus just distract from a strong debut.
No album art, no frills: just
music. The result is an hon-
est impression determined by
the music and the music alone
Davies’ voice
weaves between
the instrumentals
effortlessly and
is more ambient
than eerie.
— I hope it is, at least. Think
of it like new criticism in lit-
erary studies, only instead of
fire-starting chaos of their
fabled live shows. Make no
mistake: this is music for wild
parties and spilling beers.
Thankfully, the Israeli trio
rarely lets the chaos interfere
with songwriting. Each track
is a controlled burn, and the
potential for hectic monotony
gives way to an array of strong
riffs and scream-able choruses
(“Before I Pass Away” is one
infectious example). Not Yet is
truth in album-art advertising:
three guys playing raw garage
rock that’s clever enough to
know when to quit, and unpre-
tentious enough to leave their
audience exhausted, spent,
and happy.
-Lucas Westhaver
the peak
arts editor Clinton Hallahan
email arts@the-peak.ca
phone 778.990.3854
doing away with authorship
and biographical tid-bits, you
toss out marketing, a.k.a. ‘what
the band wants you to think
it is’, and you’re left with the
music, a.k.a. ‘what the band
actually is’. This isn’t necessar-
ily a “better” approach, just a
useful one, particularly when it
comes to debut albums. Turns
out Esben and the Witch’s Vio-
let Cries sounds like the ille-
gitimate child of Ladytron and
Explosions in the Sky, but that
isn’t to say this band isn’t on to
something exciting.
Violet Cries is a wonderfully
haunting album, and Rachel
»»Recettear
An Item Shop’s Tale
B+
Studio / EasyGameStation
Released / 01.01.2011
I have a deep love for the
special brand of craziness in
Japanese games. That geo-
graphical area of the indus-
try adheres to relatively tra-
ditional design ideas but
infuses them with innovative
contexts or incredible style.
It is not very often that gam-
ers get to play as the annoying
and greedy shop owners in an
RPG, worrying about noth-
ing other than the almighty
B
Image courtesy of Matador
Davies’s voice weaves between
the instrumentals effortlessly
in a manner that is ambient
rather than eerie. It doesn’t
leave you bored, but it’s noth-
ing new. We’ve all heard similar
voice overlays before, similar
deconstructed yet accessible
melodies, similar soaring gui-
tar lines that bleed into cym-
bals in a weirdly anthem-esque
fashion.
It’s Ladytron, except not
excessive. It’s Explosions in
the Sky, except not drawn-out.
It’s Evanescence, except not
terrible. And there’s no shame
in that.
dollar. So thanks, Japan.
Developers EasyGames-
tation essentially bolted to-
gether a management simula-
tion (e.g. Rollercoaster Tycoon)
and an isometric dungeon
crawler (think: Diablo) to
great effect. The simplicity of
the chibi-style graphics and
dialogue belies the complex-
ity of the gameplay. The player
character, Recette, must jug-
gle buying and selling prod-
ucts to adventurers passing
through town to gain profit,
like any good capitalist. To
gain better items, the player
can accompany warriors into
random dungeons which turn
the experience into a simple
hack and slash. This game
is definitely for a particular
niche. But, if you enjoy anime
styling and capitalism, the ex-
perience will be enjoyable.
-Giovanni Zenone

ALBUM REVIEW
Kiss Each Other Clean
Iron and Wine troubadour
Sam Beam returns with
a jazz-laden, quirky
departure from his norm
»
Sarah Marriott
SFU Student
If you were to have told me five
years ago that 2011 would find me
groovin’ to Iron and Wine’s new
funked-out album, I would have
gently suggested you shut your
“American Mouth” and find some-
thing more profitable to bet on.
And yet Kiss Each Other Clean, the
new release from the always exqui-
site but predictably monotonous
Sam Bean has me eating my hypo-
thetical words.
Building on the success of The
Shepherd’s Dog, Kiss Each Other
Clean displays Beam’s artistic ver-
satility and previously unknown
penchant for risk taking. When I
hit play, the crunchy distortion had
me convinced that somewhere
along the line a CD swap had
occurred.
In this new release, Bean’s
heavily metaphorical, irreverent
musings on love, faith and capi-
talism find a new home with an
unfamiliar ‘70s funk sensibility.
To his credit however, the album
manages to retain the lush, unex-
pected arrangements that have so
ARTS REVIEWS
»»Seeds
Hey Rosetta!
C+
Label / Sonic Records
Release Date / 02.15.2011
In the big wide world of medio-
cre Canadian indie bands, one
name reigns supreme. However
hard they try, Hey Rosetta! still
lacks the spunk of Stars and the
sing-a-long-a-bility of Said the
Whale. And the similar punc-
tuation doesn’t make up for the
fact that they’re just not as tal-
ented as Hey Ocean!.
Seeds, the third effort from
the east coasters, sits smack
dab between unmemorable
Sam Beam is talkin’ ‘bout the funk (and fuzz) in his latest release.
deservedly earned Beam his repu-
tation as a thoughtful craftsman.
Kiss Each Other
Clean displays
Bean’s previously
unknown
penchant for risk
taking.
Regrettably, Kiss Each Other
Clean relies on the same atmo-
spheric coherence of Iron and
Wine’s previous releases. Thinking
and forgettable (but you know,
like, in a good way). I popped
the CD in at work last week,
and it provided some pleasant
enough background noise, but
I can’t think of a single standout
track today.
–- Wait! I just found the liner
notes, and on top of the usual
drivel, they kindly included a
piece of organic paper (is that
even a thing?), with seeds in it!
Which I can use to grow “car-
rots or rapeseed” (now, that
definitely can’t be a thing…)! I
can bring life to the dark base-
ment that we call the Peak of-
fices! Well, this just changes ev-
erything. ‘A+’ for greatest liner
notes ever. Seems fair.
Sorry, what was I saying
about the music again? Oh
yeah — unmemorable. That
was it.
-Erika Zell
ARTS
particularly of the filler tracks “Half
Moon” and “Run Rabbit Run”,
Beam still hasn’t quite got the care-
ful editing bit down.
By the eighth cut, “Big Burned
Hand”, the wailing sax and puls-
ing bass have indisputably entered
boogie territory. The final track,
“Your Fake Name is Good Enough
For Me” just about howls to be
compared to “Split Feelin’s” off the
great hard bop saxophonist, Hank
Mobley’s ‘60s album, Soul Sta-
tion. The downright jazz-infected
riffs are both unashamedly joyful
and a contrast to the clever mel-
ancholy and religious iconography
»»The Green Hornet
D Hornet is reduced to a thinly-
Director / Michel Gondry
Release Date / 01.14.2011
While political incorrectness
is a spoke of the entertain-
ment wheel, the juxtaposition
of Britt, a frustratingly useless
asshat with underdog sidekick
Kato, a supercool, Chinese
karate-fu and mechanic god
exaggerates their personas so
much they become unlikeable.
Their interactions are beyond
painful to watch, particularly
when they’re vying for the
attentions of token hot girl
the peak
A-
Image courtesy of FX
that more obviously preoccupies
this particular release. The album
is however a weaker vehicle for
Beam’s raw honesty and storytell-
ing gifts which were showcased so
perfectly by his previous musically
sparser offerings.
It will be interesting to see how
well this more electronic effort
stands up to the stripped down
acoustic shows Beam so favours.
Kiss Each Other Clean’s soulful
sound and jazz and funk references
have me charmed, but the pop has
me concerned about a possible hit-
seeking trajectory for the decidedly
un-establishment Iron and Wine.
Lenore. Even Christoph Waltz
falls flat in portraying Chud-
nofsky, a boss villain that nei-
ther rivals nor subordinates
take seriously, and makes him
look lamer than intended.
The premise of The Green
veiled excuse to exploit the
dude appeal of the Black
Beauty, their souped up su-
percar, boosted even more in
3D. The story reeks of cliché
as it progresses choppily, and
all opportunities to develop
any kind of theme in the story
gives way to squeezing as
much badassery as possible.
With character and plot de-
velopment at an all-time low,
the only redeeming feature of
the movie is the constant on-
slaught of explosive action and
awesome fight scenes. A true
dick flick.
-Esther Tung
February 7, 2011 23
STUFF WE
LIKE
»» Bayonetta
Hey faithful Peak readers, do
you like crazy, nonsensical sto-
rylines? Do you want to fight an-
gels on the side of a clock tower
that is careening down the side
of a mountain? Would you like to
play a character that has guns in
her stiletto-heeled boots, which
are completely unnecessary be-
cause she is already has two in
her hands, and is 6”5? Then you
need to look into Bayonetta, a
product from the insane minds
at Platinum Games.
Everything about this styl-
ish action game oozes flair and
sexuality, with a concept that is
all its own. Throw in an amaz-
ing fighting system overseen by
Hideki Kamiya (Creator of the
Devil May Cry series) and there
is no question as to the game’s
awesome quotient. Finally, if
you were a fan of Sega during
the late ‘80s and ‘90s, then be
prepared to become nostalgic.
­­-Ljudmilla Petrovic
»» Garden State
Andrew, an emotionally stunted
and troubled young man who re-
turns to his hometown after nine
years, then meets and falls in love
with an eccentric girl, Sam, who
is both an epileptic and a patho-
logical liar. If you get right into it,
Garden State is a mediocre movie
at best, one big Hollywood cliché
masquerading as an offbeat inde-
pendent film, and choking on its
own quirkiness. But this is more
than made up for by the impec-
cable acting and the powerful
themes that are conveyed in the
most charming and honest way.
You’re drawn into the story
from the very first scene and
taken through the protagonist’s
coming-of-age from his perspec-
tive in a slow buildup to the poi-
gnant final moments of the film.
It’s easy to see how this came to be
a generation-defining movie. And
don’t forget the killer soundtrack!
-Dan McPeake
24 February 7, 2011 ARTS

»»MUSIC »»MOVIES »»GAMES

The Eagle

»»EVENTS »»TV Starring Channing Tatum

»» ON CAMPUS
Latin American Film
Festival
February 8 to 9
Burnaby Campus
The Latin American Stud-
ies Student Union (yes, that
exists) will be screening films
from the fabled land of Mex-
ico. The first day features
Viaje Redondo (Round Trip) in
AQ 3005 at 12:30 p.m. and La
Mitad del Mundo (Half of the
World) in the Undergrounds at
7:00 p.m. Second day festiv-
ities include La Sangre Ilumin-
ada (Enlightened Blood) and
Partes Usadas (Used Parts)
respectively in the same
The Chicago Code
Airs Monday
Rebounding quickly from the
heartbreaking cancellation of
2010’s best new show, Ter-
riers co-creator and The Shield
mastermind Shawn Ryan re-
turns to television with a new
cop drama. Starring Austral-
ian newcomer Jason Clarke
and featuring a creative team
rounded out by Tim Minear
(Firefly, Angel, Wonderfalls)
and Charles McDougall (Sex
and the City, The Tudors, Big
Love), The Chicago Code aims
to bring some intelligence to
Zonoscope
By Cut Copy
Like The Killers without
the giant mouths that
never shut, Cut Copy made
a name for themselves in
the early part of the mil-
lennium by listening to
far too much New Order
and deciding dance rock
needed to be at least a
little sad. In that sense
they’re standard, but their
quality is at least above
par. That and they don’t go
around calling Radiohead
a bunch of nimrods. Way
to alienate people who buy
records, The Killers.
After all the movies I’ve
seen, I was downright sur-
prised the first time I saw
an Italian person. I thought
Romans all looked like
Russell Crowe. The Eagle
refers to a fabled standard
that was lost in a swamp
somewhere with Channing
Tatum’s dad. Will Tatum’s
pectorals find his father
and the golden bird so idol-
ized by flagging empires?
Will an Italian ever play a
Roman general? Will Don-
ald Sutherland shave off
that beard he’s sporting
that makes him look like
homeless Santa? We can
only hope.
Test Drive Unlimited 2
(Xbox 360/PS3/PC)
January 25
Does the very act of releas-
ing a sequel to Test Drive
Unlimited imply that it was
limited? There are jokes I
could make here about The
Neverending Story, but I’m
a professional and wouldn’t
do that to my audience. I
have class. The Test Drive
franchise has been the
perennial driving/sandbox
stepchild, and for a world
coming off Red Dead Re-
demption and Just Cause 2,
it has major shoes to fill.

t i s
a ue?
time slots. Part of SFU Inter- Fox’s brainless winter schedule.
national Week.
New episodes this week: h
W log
Dia
Monday
-House
-How I Met Your Mother
-The Bachelor
-The Chicago Code

Hip Hop Poetics with

Los Migrantes
February 9, Burnaby
Campus
MBC2205
DJ Su-Comandante and Stahz
Grandson hit the turntables
after the SFPIRG annual gen-
eral meeting to bring some
socially conscious hip-hop to
SFU. Admission is free with
snacks and refreshments avail-
able. Space is limited, first
come first serve!
SFU Model UN
Feburary 11-13
Harbour Centre
A three-day conference about
global issues and international
relations by students and for
students. Defend your coun-
try’s policies and oppose any-
thing that goes against them.
Tuesday
-Southland
The Semester in Dialogue offers a different
-Glee approach to learning:
-The Good Wife Explore pressing public issues through interdisciplinary
-Lights Out
approaches
Thursday
Engage in active, discussion-based learning
-Community
-30 Rock
-The Office Interact with a network of experienced and accomplished
-Parks and Recreation leaders from a variety of sectors
-Archer
Focus on improving communication skills
Sunday
-Big Love Collaborate with students from diverse backgrounds in a
-Bob’s Burgers small class setting
-Californication
This program is open to all SFU students.
Applications are now being accepted for:
Summer 2011: Wilding Vancouver
Fall 2011: Religion, Spirituality, Contemplative Inquiry, and
Social Action
Apply by February 21, 2011.
Justified UNDERGRADUATE SEMESTER IN
2010’s second best new show
returns to FX this week. Tim-
othy Olyphant is back in a cow-
boy hat chasing bad guys, and
DIALOGUE
For more details, find us on facebook, or visit:
it is as sweet as it sounds. http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/undergrad

the peak

PLUSH PERFORMANCES
The big, comfy couch
Matthew Nagler, Michelle Allen, and Jonathan Krauth want you to sit on their couch. Bring fertilizer.
Green Couch Sessions aims
to inject a little honesty and
comfort into the Vancouver
indie rock scene. Just come
over, grab a guitar, and pull
up a chair
Ricardo Khayatte
SFU Student
These days we hear a lot of talk
about buying local produce
and the many organic and free-
range products that we should
be putting into our bodies, yet
rarely do we hear about the local
music we should be putting into
our ears.
In August 2010, Vancouver
production company Green
Couch Productions opened
up its living room to emerging
talent. They’ve come up with
a very unique way of captur-
ing music at its most raw, by
plunking artists down on a
green couch with, as producer
and host for Green Couch Ses-
sions Matthew Nagler puts it,
“just one camera and one shot”.
That’s it. No hiding behind
production or editing on these
sessions. What you see is what
you get.
It seems that the Vancouver
music scene is developing noto-
riety for its integrity. Jonathan
Krauth, producer/director for
Green Couch Sessions, admits that
music in Vancouver is “not seen
as a business, it’s seen as an art
these days.” And that’s exactly the
experience that one takes away
from watching videos on the
Green Couch Sessions website.
“It didn’t feel like
a scene before.
There’s something
in the air that feels
like something is
happening.”
Adrian Glynn
“When we showed up…
there were like eight people
helping out and I couldn’t quite
put together exactly who was
officially part of the team. They
were just so gung-ho. It’s like
a gift,” said lead singer and
guitarist Bob Sumner of local
Vancouver band The Sum-
ner Brothers about their latest
ARTS
experience at The Green Couch
Sessions.
When asked about the local
music scene in Vancouver, Sum-
ner says, “We’ve been playing
for six years now and there’s this
community feel that seems to be
coming together. I don’t know if
that’s just me and the fact that
I’ve just become aware of it or
that it’s something that’s actually
starting to happen.”
“Everyone kind of knows each
other,” says Krauth. Vancouver
seems to be breeding a new type
of artist; its performers are a tight
knit community distinctively true
to itself with the Green Couch staff
as its biggest fan. “We watch the
videos all the time,” art director
Michelle Allan says laughing, “and
with that in mind, we’ve seen how
the sessions have really developed
since the first shoot in August.”
Their latest video recording
that is coming soon from the
surprisingly mobile Green Couch
Sessions website is by local art-
ist and Peak Performance Project
finalist, Adrian Glynn. Glynn per-
formed a few songs off his soon to
be released full-length album at a
“submarine-looking metal tunnel
thing” somewhere in the Vancou-
ver Olympic village.
“They like to work off the cuff
the peak
February 7, 2011 25
Image courtesy of Green Couch Productions
to a certain degree which I like,”
said Glynn when asked about
» Best of
the rather large camera crew that Green Couch
came to film his Green Couch
Session. “I was surprised at how
many people there were. There
were more than seven people
there and everyone seemed to
have their own camera.”
Although Glynn has been busy
touring in the U.K. and through-
out Canada as a solo performer
and as part of the spoken word The Zolas feat. Ashleigh
collective The Fugitives, his Ball and Ben Worcester
hometown Vancouver seems bit.ly/f8PdF9
to be showing signs of musical The Vancouver prog rock-
growth thanks to local initiatives ers strip down to the basics
like Green Couch. and bring together friends
“I’m from Vancouver,” Glynn from Hey Ocean! and Said
elaborates. “I can’t say I chose to the Whale.
come here for the music scene
but that being said, it actu-
ally feels like a scene. It didn’t
feel like a scene before. There’s
something in the air that feels
like something is happening.
You talk to people who aren’t
in the music industry in Van-
couver and they’re listening to Henry & The Nightcrawlers
local acts and that’s exciting. I bit.ly/gfasz2
think that’s when you know you Local buzz band with stay-
have some kind of music scene ing power hit the couch and
on your hands. They’re talking play quietly for once.
about The Zolas or they’re talk-
ing about Bend Sinister. Our @PeakSFU
little Vancouver’s growing up.”
26 February 7, 2011
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
THE PEAKS OF 2010
The Peak waxes poetic on our favourite art of 2010. We do this in February because we are punk rock.
»»THEATRE »»MOVIES
Antony & Cleopatra
Bard on the Beach
For those that enjoy classi-
cal theatre, Shakespeare’s
tragedy Antony & Cleopa-
tra really hit the spot. The
venue (performance tents
by the beach) gave the stage
an intimate feel, and the
sunset in the background
provided the powerful his-
torical drama with a certain
atmosphere that could not
be accomplished in an en-
closed theatre.
The director chose to con-
centrate a bit more on the
relationship between Marc
Antony and Cleopatra, with
the bigger concept of po-
litical turmoil serving more
as a backdrop than a focus.
While this wasa huge gam-
ble to take on a historical
piece, it managed to work,
again in part due to the sim-
ple setting.
Having said this, however,
the play was by no means
ignorant of the histori-
cal background, nor was it
badly researched; the details
were a little unclear, but the
toll of the war occurring in
the play was explicit, so this
did not take away from the
play as a whole. Cleopatra
was portrayed as a power-
ful, sensual, and emotional
woman, while Antony was
much more passive, almost
serving as a character foil
for the neurotic Cleopatra.
While the ending, with
a misunderstanding that
leads to the suicide of both
Antony and Cleopatra, came
off a tad melodramatic, the
general mood was success-
fully conveyed and stayed
pretty true to Shakespeare’s
classic play. Runners up:
Singing in the Rain ( The-
atre Under The Stars), It’s A
Wonderful Life (Arts Club).
-Ljudmila Petrovic
Winter’s Bone
Just when the cynicism over
mini-majors calling their films
“indie” was threatening to
overshadow some outstanding
small productions, along comes
the home run second feature
from director Debra Granik to
put the term back on every-
body’s lips. With the newly re-
expanded best picture category
at the Academy Awards seem-
ingly throwing nominations at
major Hollywood productions,
it’s comforting to know that
quality is being recognized once
again, no matter the budget.
Winter’s Bone has already
been anointed as one of the
year’s best films by collecting
most of the awards thrown
its way, but it’s one of those
strange instances where
the awards it earns not only
satisfy onlookers, but buoy
them. Jennifer Lawrence and
John Hawkes (Eastbound &
Down, Deadwood ) anchor
a gritty story of poverty, loss,
and parental failure that bal-
ances all the emotion of Cop-
pola with the quiet thrills and
action of Scorsese.
When Ree Dolly’s (Law-
rence) father goes missing and
can’t show up to a court date,
a bail bondsman comes knock-
ing, informing her it’s up for
repossession if she can’t find
him. With two siblings and a
mentally vacant mother to pro-
vide for, Ree embarks on a noir
journey into the underworld of
America’s rust belt in decline.
Taut, gripping, and memo-
rable, Winter’s Bone is uniquely
American in that its merits
are entirely evident and being
rewarded for them. Ree is the
hardened female Daishell Ham-
met should have written and
her existence elevated Ameri-
can film in 2010. Runners up:
Black Swan, Four Lions, The So-
cial Network, The American.
-Clinton Hallahan
ARTS
»»TV
Terriers
The single season club is a rari-
fied place for dead TV shows
to go. Many shows never get a
sophomore round, and many
don’t even get to finish their
first season. But for a show to
reach cult status in 13 episodes
and be mourned as loudly as,
say, Arrested Development or
Firefly is an accomplishment in
itself. That Terriers, the buddy
detective dramedy love child of
Ted Griffin (Matchstick Men,
Ocean’s Eleven) and Shawn
Ryan (The Shield, Angel) man-
aged to do so in a cable land-
scape overpopulated with
worthwhile dramas, makes it
one worth remembering.
Starring a familiar face in
Donal Logue (Grounded For
Life, Blade) and relative new-
comer Michael Raymond-
James (True Blood, Black
Snake Moan), Terriers was
the smart, edgy counterpoint
to the mostly frivolous Bored
To Death. It was a show that
nailed the balance between
being laugh out loud funny
and heart wrenchingly emo-
tional while never making
each beat so defined as to
be jarring. It was everything
Weeds once was and what
True Blood tries so hard to be.
Arguments as to the awful
name aside, Terriers was in
a class of it’s own. Fans of the
Robert Downey Jr. comeback
vehicle Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
who clamored for the snappy
dialogue and Boston Legal
style man-love finally had
their prayers answered with
a pilot and subsequent se-
ries that begged for attention
that never came. In the grave-
yard of shows cut down be-
fore their prime, the Terriers
mausoleum looms large and
is mourned. Runners up: Jus-
tified, Archer, Sherlock, Louie.
-Clinton Hallahan
the peak
»»MUSIC
My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy
by Kanye West
With the year at an end, we’re
left to look back and figure out
not only which artists and al-
bums were the most entertain-
ing, but which had the most
to say. In 2010 that figure was
undoubtedly Kanye West. From
the egotistical optimism of his
College trilogy, to the bizarre
(and ingenious) synthetic pop
of the self-destructive 808s and
Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy gives us the
bravado of early Kanye drawn
through the lens of the guilt and
anger established in 808s. Fan-
tasy sees him perched upon his
Mount Olympus, glorious in his
debauchery and excess.
Gone is the upbeat, self-
conscious wit of “All Falls
Down”, and in its place we’re
given “All of the Lights”, “Run-
away”, “Hell of a Life”: all fic-
tional stories, but heavily pes-
simistic, claustrophobic, and
allegorical. While the spotlight
always follows Kanye, he gener-
alizes, unafraid to toss around
narratives and political com-
mentary. When he announces
his inadequacies he isn’t just
talking about himself anymore:
the images are grandiose, the
metaphors more universal.
Fantasy is a contradictory story
of excess and perversion, and
of the guilt and isolation that
accompany modern success.
Giving his final word to the po-
etry of Gil Scott-Heron, Kanye’s
intentions are clear: to produce
a work of modern significance,
to capture American excess in
all its downfall and contradic-
tion, and for that he’s earned
album of the year. Runners
up: Cosmogramma by Flying
Lotus, Plastic Beach by Goril-
laz, The Archanoid by Janelle
Monae, Marrow of the Spirit by
Allagoch.
-Lucas Westhaver
»»GAMES
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar seems to do no
wrong. The developer that
brought the depraved, mur-
der simulator Grand Theft Auto
has evolved into some of the
best storytellers in the busi-
ness. So, what happens when
a world-class developer tunes
their engine and moves their
writing style to a potent and
untapped genre? The answer
is 2010’s game of the year, Red
Dead Redemption.
Every aspect of Rockstar’s
wild west revenge tale bleeds
atmosphere. The first time
I guided John Marsten along
a dusty trail and the sun rose
over the mountains, I real-
ized how much care went into
crafting this world. The char-
acters represent archetypes
of the genre, but each is ren-
dered with flair and personal-
ity that makes them instantly
memorable. One of the de-
fining features of the game is
its soundtrack. Every track is
driving, brooding, and incred-
ibly well crafted. The presenta-
tion is top notch, and conveys
a Western experience on par
with a Sergio Leone film.
It would be easy to write
the game off as “GTA 4 on a
horse”. To do so would be a
disservice to its developers.
Rockstar San Diego realized
many of the problems from
GTA 4 and tuned the mechan-
ics for smoother combat and
travel mechanics. The story
missions are varied and the
numerous ‘Stranger’ side
missions will steal hours of
your time. The gameplay is
solid from beginning to its
transcendent ending. Rock-
star proves that the Western
is alive and well, and delivers
the best gaming experience of
2010. Runners up: Mass Effect
2, Starcraft 2, Super Meat Boy,
Darksiders.
-Giovanni Zenone
 SPORTS
February 7, 2011
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Clan strike down the Saints
Clan guard Justin Brown (35) provided the overtime heroics, draining a three-pointer with 18
seconds left to play, powering SFU to a 95–92 win over St. Martin’s University.
Brown and Berry help the
Clan end lengthy losing
skid by stumping the
Saints in overtime
Adam
Ovenell-Carter
Peak Associate
Playing a team with only three more
GNAC wins than themselves, the
Clan had arguably as good a game
as any to pick up their second con-
ference victory.
Of course, another way of look-
ing at it is that they were playing a
team with four times as many victo-
ries. That was evident early on, and
the Clan did themselves no favours
to start the game — they couldn’t
shoot, they couldn’t cover, and they
couldn’t (and it seemed like at times
just wouldn’t) rebound. Entering
the game, SFU had the worst point
differential in the GNAC and their
play early on was indicative of that
stat, as the Clan found themselves
down by as much as 11 before the
first stanza was halfway done.
But how quickly things can
change. As quickly as the Clan lost
control of the game early, they
seemed to get it back as fast as you
can say “Ricky Berry”. Down 20–10
midway through the half, some sort
of switch was flicked on, and that
switch wears number 34. Berry, the
Clan’s, and arguably the GNAC’s
best player, spearheaded a 19–7
run, actually putting the Clan ahead
briefly. The small, but appreciative
crowd, had hope. As the first half
buzzer sounded, SFU found them-
selves down only 45–39.
As good as Berry was in the first
half though, and as close as SFU
had kept the game heading into
the half, it was quickly becoming
clear the rest of the Clan would have
to step it up if they were going to
keep themselves in it. As the teams
headed to the dressing room, the
Saints had three players in double-
digit scoring; the Clan with just one,
that being Berry. But as more and
more fans came spilling into SFU’s
West Gym to start the second half,
so did the baskets for the Clan’s
other superstar, Justin Brown.
In the first two and a half
minutes of the second frame,
Brown scored six points to lead
the Clan on an 8–2 run, and back
into a tie ball game. But the prob-
lems that plagued the Clan early,
and got them trailing in the first
place, reared their ugly head again,
as turnovers and an inability to re-
bound put the Clan in yet another
hole. At this point, you wouldn’t be
wrong thinking there are only so
many the boys in white could dig
themselves out of.
Hopefully you’re not the betting
type though, as this time, SFU beat
the odds.
An 11-point deficit, and an im-
pressive 28 points (through regu-
lation) from St. Martin’s big man
Blake Poole weren’t enough to keep
the Clan from storming back to tie
the game. Naturally, it was Ricky
Berry capping off the comeback
with an electrifying three-point
basket with less than 10 seconds
to play, tying the game at 82 apiece
and sending the game to overtime.
Not to be overlooked, however, was
the play of freshman Ibrahim Ap-
piah. He was his usual rebounding-
machine-self, but he also posted
a season-best 13 points, before
the peak
sports editor
email
phone
Bai Yin / The Peak
fouling out late in the game.
Head coach James Blake had
high praise for the Montreal native,
but did note he still needs time be-
fore he’ll meet his potential.
“He’s going to be real special in
this league,” said Blake. “It’s going to
be really hard to stop him.”
Here in the present though, not
enough can be said for the play of
Berry and Brown.
“Unbelievable,” said Blake in
reference to his team’s two super-
stars. “I wish the school knew that,
and the community knew how
lucky we are to have them.”
The 13 points the dynamic
duo posted in overtime would be
enough to lead the Clan to a nail-
biting 95–92 victory over a team
they’re chasing for the final playoff
spot.
It was unquestionably the most
exciting game of the season for the
fans, but more importantly, the
win over a team they’re chasing
vaulted the Clan back into playoff
contention.
“We’ve got to show that we can
beat those teams, and we have,”
noted Blake. “We’ve got something
to play for now.”
Matt Lee
sports@the-peak.ca
778.782.4560 27
SCORE
BOARD
95
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
CLAN
92
ST. MARTIN’S UNIVERSITY
SAINTS
» GAME IN A FLASH
The losing streak is over and
now the Clan are right back in
the thick of the playoff hunt in
the GNAC.
Ricky Berry’s trey with six
seconds left in the game forced
overtime, and the Clan’s 13
points in the extra frame was
enough to defeat the visiting
St. Martin’s Saints, moving the
Clan to 2–9 in GNAC play.
Brown and Berry combined
for 71 points, while freshman
swingman Ibrahim Appiah reg-
istered a season-high 13.
The three Clan players, as
well as junior forward Zach
Frehlick, all played over 36 min-
utes each.
SFU also hosted Western Or-
egon on Saturday.
» SFU MAN OF THE
MATCH
G
#35 — JUSTIN BROWN
The Vallejo, California na-
tive led all players on the court
in points with 36, finishing 12-
for-21 from the field and 4-for-9
at the three-point line. He was
also made a team-high eight
free throws. More importantly,
Brown’s electric three-pointer
in overtime to secure the vic-
tory lifted the SFU crowd at the
West Gym out of their seats.
28 February 7, 2011 SPORTS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Short stature, big competitor

Clan freshman Kia Van Laare has exuded a competitive fire
which has helped her adapt to the NCAA remarkably quickly.
Andy Fang, Mark Burnham, and Bai Yin / The Peak
Freshman guard Kia Van
Laare is proving that youth
doesn’t mean a thing in
GNAC basketball
Matt Lee
Sports Editor
If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
SFU women’s basketball head
coach Bruce Langford admits that
when the Clan were recruiting new
players two years ago, New West-
minster’s Kia Van Laare wasn’t ex-
actly high on his priority list.
“Kia contacted me in grade
11 about coming here,” recalled
Langford. “She was a little girl then
— well, she still is — but she was
younger. I didn’t see Kia’s skillset
matching our philosophy at the
time; she’d dribble the ball an
awful lot and she was tiny. I told
her if she’d needed help getting to
a school we’d give her advice.”
Langford continued: “In grade
12, we had several coaches con-
tact us and I told them she was the
most improved player in the prov-
ince and she grew as well, physi-
cally and in games. Well, I told peo-
ple so many good things about her
they asked me, ‘Well why don’t you
just talk to her?’”
In the end, Van Laare did make
that call to Langford; it worked out
well for both sides, too, as Lang-
ford had lost several players in the
NCAA eligibility abyss and needed
as many players as he could get.
For Van Laare, she had wanted
to go to SFU for quite some time.
“Playing for SFU has been a dream
for me; I came to camps and went
to women’s basketball games since
I was a kid and they were always
role models to me.”
The freshman guard enter-
tained offers from UBC, University
of Regina, and the University of To-
ronto, among others, but SFU was
her goal from the get go. The pres-
tige of playing for a storied pro-
gram like SFU women’s basketball
was too tantalizing an offer for Van
Laare to pass up.
It’s safe to say Langford’s thank-
ful that she’s wearing red and
white. Despite being a fresh-faced
rookie only a year removed from
high school basketball, Van Laare
has improved remarkably fast in
the last couple of weeks, especially
from the three-point line.
Following the Clan’s disap-
pointing Barbara Rae Cup loss to
UBC back in December, Van Laare
was just 3-for-16 in the four GNAC
games which followed, leaving a
dismal 18.7 per cent on her stat
line.
In practice, Langford encour-
aged the young guard to shoot
more. He knew there was nothing
lacking in competitiveness; the
head coach says Van Laare has a
burning competitiveness that few
possess. All that was needed to
get her game going was a vote of
confidence.
After that, the New Westminster
product’s game began to take off.
It started in the January 15 game
against Western Washington where
Van Laare posted a career-high 17
points, going 3-for-6 from beyond
the arc. A week later, in the Clan’s
first-ever GNAC win versus Alaska
Fairbanks, it was Van Laare who
led the team in scoring with a 21-
point performance, this time going
5-for-9 at the three point line. In
her last five games, Van Laare is
shooting more and doing it all with
a swagger to her game, connect-
ing on 19 of her 37 three-point at-
tempts, which is just better than 50
per cent.
To be as effective as she has
been this season was a bit of a sur-
prise for Van Laare, who admits
she didn’t know what to expect
when she entered her first training
camp. Perhaps the rash of injuries
that have limited the team to just
seven players and forced Langford
to up Van Laare’s minutes from the
20–25 range to 25–30 has been a
reason she’s played with this much
confidence, but Van Laare is happy
to contribute nonetheless.
“When my shots start falling,
I get more confidence,” Van Laare
said. “It might be luck, but I just
feel like I can drive to the hoop and
play well.”
Added Van Laare: “I know I’m
a rookie and it’s a learning process
and I’m going to make my mis-
takes but the good thing is I can get
right back out there and improve
right away.”
That’s a pretty mature playing
attitude for someone who isn’t yet
legal to drink.
Van Laare hopes to eventually
grow into a leadership role as she
continues to contribute on the
scoreboard in her team’s inaugu-
ral season in the NCAA, and if she
does, it’ll be because her competi-
tive drive fuels her.
“The reason Kia has this suc-
cess is because of who she is,” said
Langford. “She’s such a fiery and
competitive player, and she doesn’t
let anything get in the way of her
goals and desires.”
Not bad for a player who nearly
got away. Maybe it was all just
meant to be.

the peak

CLAN COMMENTARY
Where have all the Clan fans gone?
It’s not uncommon to see a far-below-capacity crowd in attendance at Clan athletic events.
There are ways to establish
a dedicated fan base for
SFU Clan events; it just
takes a little creativity
Ramesh Ranjan
Peak Associate
Everyone loves to support a win-
ning team and students have had
their fair share of winning teams
at SFU. However, it’s hard to get
student-athletes to compete even
harder than they already do. With
attendance at most Clan games
slumping, SFU Athletics needs to
create a draw for fans to come to
their games and to do that, the
in-game product needs to be
cleaned up a bit.
To their credit, SFU Athletics has
done a solid job. They give out prod-
ucts from sponsors to fans during
the game, have merchandise and
refreshments for purchase, and play
decent music during breaks in play.
However, certain things need to
be taken to the next level. The in-
game promotions that are executed
include a free-throw shooting con-
test (basketball), a shoot-from-your-
seat contest (basketball), a field goal
kicking contest (football), and a
make-as-much-noise-as-you-can
contest, amongst others. The win-
ning fan usually gets a prize from a
sponsor. That’s great and all, but ul-
timately the fan is going to consume
that good and not think twice about
the SFU Clan.
What’s needed is a product that
the fan can take home as a souvenir
and can bring back with them to
a game. Normally, when you go on
vacation, you buy a souvenir in re-
What’s needed is
a product that the
fans can take home
as a souvenir and
can bring back with
them to a game.
membrance of that trip. With these
games, a product that the fan can
take home, place on their table and
say, “Man, I had a great time there.
Maybe I will go back again!”
SFU Athletics partially hit the
mark by giving out thundersticks
with “Simon Fraser University Clan”
labelled on it at major events. Now,
they need to take it a step further by
giving out other items such as tow-
els or foam fingers at every game.
Another step further would be
to give out t-shirts to every fan in
attendance. Clothing is not only
tangible, but can be continuously
consumed as opposed to a bottle
of Powerade. A fan will take a t-shirt
SPORTS
home and likely wear it at some
point. At worst, the next time they
wear it will be at a Clan event, when-
ever they choose to attend one next.
At best, they wear it around campus
on occasion and to games. It’s easy
marketing that helps promote stu-
dent support for a team and shows
a little team spirit.
Branding this line of clothing
from SFU Athletics and supplying it
for sale at the SFU bookstore, where
all other SFU apparel is sold, would
be another good option. Moreover,
having a sea of red in the crowd with
everyone wearing red Clan shirts
would be a pretty nice sight to see.
Music is played at Clan events
and while NCAA rules prohibit
music or noise being played over
gym speakers during play, contrary
to what is done in the National
Basketball Association, it shouldn’t
stop organizers from playing ap-
propriate music. What I consider
appropriate would be music more
catered to sporting events instead of
to house-warming parties. Don’t get
me wrong, I think “Jessie’s Girl” is a
decent song, but it should probably
be replaced by traditional jock jams
such as “Rock and Roll II” by Gary
Glitter, “Start Me Up” by the Rolling
Stones, or even a more contempo-
rary choice like “All I Do Is Win” by
DJ Khaled.
The Clan hit the mark by playing
one certain song, “Shipping up to
Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys
the peak
for player introductions and they
kept that song consistent. Now they
need a song to play at the end when
SFU wins and keep that consistent.
Other figures that add to the fan
experience include the presence
of alumni and more importantly,
the presence of cheerleaders and a
mascot. After a seemingly long hia-
tus, the SFU cheerleading team is
back and has been at work for re-
Jokes aside,
students are more
willing to come out
and support their
team if there’s
liquor around.
cent Clan events. However, prior to
this season, I only recall them mak-
ing it out to some football games
and SFU women’s basketball’s
“Breast Game Ever”. A cheerlead-
ing team is an asset to any college
sports organization.
Furthermore, the presence of
a mascot can turn games into ex-
periences. Whether it’s a photo op
with groups of first-year fans or the
unfortunately fortunate accident of
being the victim of some hilarious
mascot bloopers, a mascot can en-
hance the entertainment value for
most fans. Considering that SFU
cheerleading doesn’t get funding
and SFU’s mascot, McFogg the Dog
February 7, 2011 29
Andy Fang / The Peak
may or may not get a paycheque for
his (or is it her?) effort, these are tiny
costs that can have a big impact.
Lastly, any event is better when
liquor is involved. Jokes aside, stu-
dents are more willing to come out
and support their team if there is li-
quor around. What brings students
to Highland Pub? It’s certainly not
the atmosphere. Serving alcohol at
Clan events gives students an al-
ternative to hanging out at the Pub.
Not only will they get their weekly
dosage of alcohol but the entertain-
ment of being at a Clan event. Many
of SFU’s new foes in the NCAA often
have beer gardens at their football
games; is it too much to get some-
thing like that? Of course, the pri-
mary draw should be the athletes in
action and that should be the main
focus, but as an added attraction for
fans, alcohol served at events, likely
in the VIP area where fans can still
watch the game from the windows.
A higher charge would be paid to be
in the VIP area and the organizers
could simply restrict alcohol con-
sumption to within that area.
In any case, improving the in-
game product and making sure that
fans feel like the game was more
than worth attending will ensure
long term success in growing some
kind of a fan base. I think if you ask
any of our athletes, they will say that
fans make a big difference and giv-
ing every effort to make games as
enjoyable as possible is worth it.
30 February 7, 2011
ACTIVE SFU
What constitutes a
healthy student diet?
The traditional belief that
healthy foods can’t taste
as good as unhealthy
foods just simply isn’t true
Meaghan Wilson
Peak Associate
“Now Meaghan, have you fin-
ished your vegetables yet?”
My parents would utter that
phrase to me almost reflexively
throughout much of my childhood.
I can remember spending hours sit-
ting at the kitchen table alone, just
my vegetables and I. One of the
many house rules established dur-
ing my youth was that no one was
to leave the kitchen table until they
had finished their entire dinner. In
my house, what that actually trans-
lated to was, “Meaghan, until you
have licked that plate clean there
will be no Family Channel for you.”
Last week, I had the chance to
speak with SFU’s own registered
dietitian Rosie Dhaliwal. My main
objective was to determine what
exactly constitutes eating healthy.
From what I’d learned through
home and school was that to eat
healthy you must eat all of your
vegetables and refer to Canada’s
Food Guide. At first glance, it seems
straightforward enough.
However, when you’re dining out
on campus, what are the odds that
you’re going to whip out a handy
dandy Food Guide from your back
pocket? Regardless of that, how will
you even know if what you’re order-
ing constitutes one or two servings
of meat and alternatives?
“When you’re eating at home,
try to familiarize yourself with what
half a cup of rice or half a cup of
pasta even looks like,” said Dhali-
wal. “You’ll soon realize that it’s
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten on
campus? Send your stories to:
sports@the-peak.ca
(It’ll be anonymous, we promise. Maybe.)
quite a lot smaller than what we
are generally getting when we are
served out at a restaurant.”
Continued Dhaliwal: “Another
thing that I recommend is eating
according to a plate model. It’s a
visual which comes from the Ca-
nadian Diabetes Association. Basi-
cally, if you imagine your plate, half
of it should be vegetables, a quar-
ter should be your protein source
(fish, meat, beans, or tofu), and the
other quarter your starchy foods
(rice, pasta, or other noodles). So
when you’re dining out at, let’s say,
the Dining Hall, I would encourage
that you ask for portions that you
think are appropriate. You can al-
ways share some with a roommate
or save some for later.”
We see
advertisements
everyday that
cause us to think
that food is only
healthy if it tastes
like cardboard.
Should we be looking at foods
based on their calories? Dhaliwal
was quick to tackle this long-stand-
ing question. “When you look at the
Food Guide, you’ll notice that there
are no calories listed anywhere.
When you pair eating healthy with
being active you’ll see that there
are numerous benefits. You can
improve your concentration, sleep
patterns, immunities, and reduce
the risk of chronic disease. There are
many studies out there that have
proven that by simply eating break-
fast it improves both concentration
and memory.”
We see advertisements everyday
that cause us to think that food is
only healthy if it tastes like card-
board. Is it possible to have the best
of both worlds?
SPORTS
“Healthy does taste good. If
there are foods out there that you
don’t enjoy eating, then don’t eat
them just because you consider
them healthy,” explained Dhaliwal.
“I will often meet people who will
begrudgingly eat a bowl of oatmeal
and hate it the whole time. To me
that doesn’t make sense.”
So does this mean that the ma-
jority of my childhood was wasted
away sitting at a kitchen table? Not
necessarily. What Dhaliwal is get-
ting at is that we still need to be eat-
ing out of the four main food groups
from Canada’s Food Guide.
“If we use the guide to eat the
recommended servings, we can Organic fruits and vegetables are not a Image courtesy of students.sfu.ca
easily satisfy all our micro and common purchase for SFU students.
macro nutrient needs,” said SFU’s
registered dietician. “Basically, you
don’t just need to eat spinach be-
cause some cartoon about a sailor
with amazing muscles used to eat
LOVE YOUR SMILE
it. You can make up your own mind
about what you want to be eating
and only eat those foods that bring
you satisfaction.”
We accept SFU student plans
Does it matter when we eat our
meals? Dhaliwal was quick to an- Please bring in this ad
swer this oft-asked question.
“We should be eating every three for your free whitening with new
to four hours. Starting with breakfast
two hours after we’ve woken up. We patient exam and cleaning
should continue with that pattern
for no matter how long. Even if that
means you’re eating at 10:00 p.m.”
Continued Dhaliwal: “Many
people are obsessed with the image
of either slimming down or bulk-
ing up. But the trick is to just think
healthy and not necessarily thin.”
If you are interested in getting
to know more about nutrition and
healthy eating, then one of the best
sources found here on campus is
SFU’s The Dish, a nutrition blog that
is hosted by Rosie Dhalial with the
goal of spreading awareness about
nutrition. “The Dish is trying to de-
bunk a lot of the myths out there
about dieting and muscle building.
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the peak

NHL COMMENTARY
All-Star Game still an all-star snore
Give the NHL an ‘A’ for
effort, but the overall
execution of the All-Star
Game leaves something to
be desired
Adam Ovenell-Carter
Peak Associate
One and a half million Canadians
watched the coverage of the All-
Star Draft two weekends ago. One
and a half million! That’s a pretty
staggering number, especially
considering how little the all-star
festivities mean.
CBC also noted an outstanding
56 per cent increase in viewership
of the All-Star Game itself, with a
whopping average of 2.4 million
viewers. It’s safe to call the event a
success, and you can bet your be-
hind the format will return next
year. But was the on-ice product re-
ally that much better?
Adding another
aspect (the draft)
to a weekend
dedicated to
making money —
and adding one that
attracts as many
viewers as the draft
did — is a stroke of
genius.
It’s not often you’d call an 11–10
hockey game a snoozefest, but like
prior all-star games, this one was
indeed a snore. It’s only a matter
of time before the new format be-
comes old, and the fans lose interest
in it all over again.
Brendan Shanahan and the NHL
deserve credit for their attempts to
better the experience. The draft was
fun, the skills competition is always
enjoyable for both fans and play-
ers alike, and at least the game had
some worthwhile storylines, such as
the Sedin twins playing on opposite
teams for the first time in their lives
(insert dramatic gasp here).
And in a world where cash is
king, adding another aspect (the
draft) to a weekend dedicated to
making money — and adding one
that attracts as many viewers as the
draft did — is a stroke of genius. Yet,
while all-star weekend was indeed a
fiscal success, it’s hard to say the rest
of it was, too.
The issues with all-star weekend
clearly do not lie in its star power.
Unlike other best-on-best tourna-
ments, it’s hard to call what those
SPORTS February 7, 2011 31
stars play “hockey”. It is hockey
in the sense that there are hockey
players with hockey sticks pushing a
hockey puck up and down a hockey
rink, but it’s not the game we’ve
come to love.
There’s little on the line aside
from pride, and as a result no player
is going to risk injury to himself or
someone else by blocking a shot or
laying a body check of any kind.
The end result is something
you’d likely find in one of Gary Bett-
man’s fantasies — a wide-open con-
test with little-to-no defense (and
little-to-no emotion), and a score
reminiscent of a basketball game.
Everything about the event
screams gimmick, and this year’s
NHL “Guardian” project didn’t help
one bit in that regard.
Until the event actually means
something beyond pride and comic
books, it will continue to go down
that path.
In football, every player who
makes it to the Pro Bowl — the NFL’s
version of the All-Star Game — is
guaranteed $22,500. The prize for
the winning team? A whopping
$45,000 per player.
In baseball, where the Sum-
mer Classic is played between the
National League all-stars and the
American League all-stars, the win-
ning conference is granted home
field advantage in the World Se-
ries. The NHL could adopt such a
policy, because in a game with as
much ebb and flow as hockey, play-
ing at home makes a monumental
difference.
And so it goes for the NHL, stuck
with a game completely void of any
meaning without having any avail-
able resources to give it some. So Daniel Briere’s goal on Cam Ward during the All-Star Game was one of the Image courtesy of NHL.com
what to do? few entertaining moments of the night.
At the end of the went first and, perhaps more so,
day, the league who went last. But, as Spider-Man Pro sports all-star game ratings of 2010-2011
3 taught us, not even big names and 14
has little it can big marketing — not even Stan Lee
do to make the — can save a questionable product. 13
Admittedly, it seems a bit silly to
all-star festivities 12
be making such a fuss over some-
meaningful, but thing so trivial. If only the NHL saw 11
it that way, maybe we wouldn’t have
they have done a to be subjected to such rubbish
10
respectable job. (and by rubbish I mean a thinly- 9
Viewers (Millions)
veiled attempt at squeezing as
8
The NHL, and TSN in particu- much money out of us as possible).
lar, did their best marketing the At the end of the day, the league has 7
event, going so far as to feature a little it can do to make the all-star
6
mock draft featuring Twitter all-star festivities meaningful, but they have
and Phoenix Coyote tough guy Paul done a respectable job (for the time 5
Bissonnette. TSN went wall-to-wall being) at making it worthwhile,
4
with their coverage, even creating a both in terms of our entertainment
brand new set for the All-Star Draft. and their profit. 3
That said, this space would be For now, the NHL can reap the
2
well-wasted elaborating on the ri- benefits of its novel format, but as
diculous half-hour preview show to always it’s just a matter of time be- 1 1.48 6.9 13.4 12.1
the most frivolous draft in NHL his- fore our shiny new toys grow old NHL ASG NBA ASG NFL Pro Bowl MLB ASG
tory, but the network did well in get- and dull; before we want something
ting people to legitimately care who new, again.
the peak
32 SPORTS

THE PEAK’S
February 7, 2011

CANUCKS
TICKETS
GIVEAWAY
CONTEST
The Peak is giving away TWO TICKETS to the Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars game on February 19!
Enter to win by completing our CANUCKS CROSSWORD CONTEST below and dropping it off in our purple mailbox at MBC 2901
(Located just below Higher Grounds Coffee Shop at the Maggie Benston Centre). The winner will be randomly selected Thursday.
Make sure you put your name and e-mail on the back! Limit one entry per person. GOOD LUCK!

1 2 3 4 5 ACROSS
1. This former Canucks GM (last name) acquired Roberto Luongo in 2006.
7 3. Mason Raymond played for the Camrose ________ in his junior days.
6. Canuck players Smyl, Linden, and Naslund all had this done to their jersey numbers.
8. This player (last name) is often referred to as the first Sedin “triplet”; played from ‘98 to ‘03
6 9 with the Canucks.
11. Scott _______ was taken by the Predators from the Canucks in the 1998 Expansion Draft.
8 10 13. OHL team where Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson played.
16. In the 2007 playoffs, the Canucks defeated the Dallas Stars in ______ games.
18. Affable former Canucks backup from Latvia; he’s currently the goalie coach for Washington
12 Capitals.
20. Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler are often good choices to get one of these in a game.
11 13 14 15 22. This former Canucks goaltender was nicknamed ‘Backup Bob’ (last name).
23. The number worn by Kirk McLean, Peter Skudra, Johan Hedberg, and’Bobby Lu’.
12 24. He wore number 12 for the Canucks and is now a member of the club’s front office.
26. An alternate captain for Vancouver; also played for USA during the 2010 Olympics.
28. Last name of former player and front office member Steve and current player Jeff.
16 17 20
DOWN
18 19 1. The Canucks compete in the __________ Division.
2. Luongo and Schneider both tend this.
21 23 4. Current Canucks winger Jannik Hansen is from this country.
5. The first name of the player whom the Canucks traded to acquire Markus Naslund back in
1996.
22 7. Don ______ is a former Canuck captain who played with the team from 1972 to 1980.
9. Henrik Sedin became the first Canuck to claim the _____ Trophy for league MVP.
24 25 10. Electric winger Pavel Bure wore this number for the Canucks for many years.
12. Protective equipment which is worn on a player’s hand.
27 29 14. He became just the second Canuck to score 50 goals in one season in 1995-96 (last name).
15. Stalwart Canuck blueliner (last name) who leads the franchise in points by a defenceman.
17. Naslund and Kovalchuk chased a puck out of the arena in an ad for this company.
26 19. ____ Tikkanen played 100 games for the Canucks from 1995 to 1997.
21. Ryan Kesler is a favourite to win the _____ Trophy this season.
28 25. Some Canucks players call Mason Raymond this nickname.
27. Henrik Sedin won this award last year, too.
29. Name of the Vancouver Canucks’ mascot.

the peak
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ad, or go to our website: www.the-peak.ca or email: classifieds @the-peak.ca. One ad per person. All others: $12+GST per week, prepaid, for 30
February 7, 2011 33
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Make cheques payable to: Peak Publications Society, mail it with the ad, attn: Business Manager. For paid ad inquiries, phone 778-782-3598.

3 Bedroom Condo, Avail immed.

Perfect for students, bottom of the
hill on bus route. $1350. Please call
for details 780-238-6988. f6
Researchers at the Behavioural
Neuroendocrinology Lab are look-
ing for participants who are cur-
rently trying to conceive. If you
are interested or would like more
information, please contact us at
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Looking for first year math help? I
have tons of experience tutoring/
TAing various math courses! con-
tact: caa14@sfu.ca f7
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expert with 14 years experience.
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& Technical Writer. Call 1-250-317-
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classified ad! What have you got to
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roommate. Sell your Pokemon collec-
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SFU CAMPUS EVENTS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 7
Highland Pub: Moon Pants Improv at 6 PM
Ancestral Leaves: A Family Journey through Chinese History. 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Con-
tact: Edith Lo: lo@sfu.ca. Additional Information: www.cic.sfu.ca. Free and Open to the
Public. Please reserve online at: www.sfu.ca/reserve
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 8
Highland Pub: Open Mic Night at 7 PM
Latin American Studies Student Union – Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
**FREE**. AQ 3005 @ 12.30pm – “Viaje Redondo”, Undergrounds @ 7pm – “La Mitad
del Mundo”
MEd Information Session. 5:30pm - 6:30 pm. SFU Surrey Campus, Room 5140. http://
www.edd.sfu.ca. Fall 2011 MeD Programs. Free Admission. RSVP to: cgp-rsvp@sfu.ca
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9
Highland Pub: Wicked Wings Wed’s 5 PM
Latin American Studies Student Union – Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
**FREE**.AQ 3005 @ 12.30pm – “La Sangre Iluminada”, Undergrounds @ 7pm – “Par-
tes Usadas”
CAC’s 8th Annual Dating Auction for Charity 2011. 11:30 AM- 2:00 PM. SFU CONVO
MALL. Cost: Bid for your favourite auctionee! All proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer
Society. Organizing club: CAC (Canadianized Asian Club) For more information: http://
auction.caconline.ca
Archeology Student Union Annual Meet and Greet. 6:00pm - 11:30pm. Saywell Hall
room 9152
SFPIRG AGM. With Hip Hop performances by Los Migrantes. Agenda: Annual Report,
Financial Statements, Bylaw amendments. Find out about your student-run social
justice centre. Wed Feb 9th, 3-5:30pm. Grad Lounge, MBC. More info: www.sfpirg.ca
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10
Highland Pub: Punjabi Culture Club Presents... Ground Shaker 3. 9 PM
Canada Research Chairs Seminar Series. 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Burnaby Campus, IR-
MACS Centre, Applied Sciences Building, rm 10900. http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/events/
crc-seminar-series. The Canada Research Chairs Seminar Series. Speaker: Dr. Eldon
Emberly, Canada Research Chair in Materials and Structural Biology, Department of
Physics, SFU. Admission is free.
SFU Outstanding Alumni Awards. 6:00pm - 10:00pm. www.sfu.ca/alumni/outstanding.
Join members of the Alumni Association and the SFU community for a special dinner
event at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver in celebration of the 2010 Outstanding
Alumni Award recipients. 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients: Mr. Norman Ar-
mour, BA ‘87 - Arts and Culture, Ms. Mae Burrows, BA ‘72, MA ‘96 - Service to the Com-
munity, Mr. Jim Chu, BBA ‘86 - Public Service, Dr. Alan Rugman, PhD ‘75 - Academic
Achievement. Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver,
BC. Dress: Business AttireTickets (includes two bottles of BC wine per table): $125 per
person I $900 per table of eight. Master of Ceremonies: Sheryl MacKay, Host of North
by Northwest, CBC Radio One. For more information and to register, please visit: www.
sfu.ca/alumni/outstanding
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 11
Highland Pub: Lust & Love Valentines Day Party 8 PM
CAC’s 8th Annual Dating Auction for Charity 2011 AFTERPARTY. 10:00PM - 3:00AM.
BARNONE NIGHTCLUB. Cost: $15 TICKETS EXPIRE AT 11:30PM (email: external@cacon-
line.ca) Organizing club: CAC (Canadianized Asian Club). For more information, visit
http://auction.caconline.ca
IMC Colloquium Series. 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Burnaby campus, IRMACS Centre, Ap-
plied Sciences Building, rm 10900. http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/events/IMC_Colloquium.
Speaker: Dr. Steve DiPaola, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, SFU. Admission
is free.
SFU Model United Nations. Friday February 11, 2011 through Sunday February 13. 1:00
PM - 3:00 PM. www.sfumun.org. This is an annual event that happens every early
Spring. The annual student-run SFU UN simulation will take place at the SFU Harbour
Centre. It is open to all university students, also from outside SFU. Prices vary, but go
from $50 - $70 per person. Find detailed information about prices on our
(Brought to you by The Peak & SFSS)
our present, and our expected and shared decisions about how to live. Do we
choose short-term pain for long-term gain? Or rather, do we indulge in fleeting
but much needed pleasures? In this forum, we will discuss new insights from
the emerging field of health psychology about what influences our everyday
decisions about how to stay healthy, and how our health depends on our life
pursuits, goals and happiness. Georgia Pomaki, PhD, is a research scientist spe-
cializing in Health Psychology. There are no reservations for this forum; seating
is available on a first-come-first-served basis.
SFU Men’s Hockey vs. Thompson Rivers University. 8:00 PM. www.sfuhockey.
com. Come out and cheer on the SFU Men’s Hockey team continue their de-
fence of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League championship when they take
on Thompson Rivers University on Saturday, February 19th. All SFU students
and staff can receive $2.00 admission at the door with their University ID. All
SFU home games are played at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, located at 3676
Kensington Avenue in Burnaby. The arena is a quick 15-minute ride from cam-
pus on the #144 bus.
SFU Women’s basketball vs Alaska Anchorage. 5:15 PM - 7:15 PM. athletics.sfu.
ca. At SFU’s West Gym.
SFU Men’s basketball vs Central Washington. 19:30 - 19:30. athletics.sfu.ca.
SFU’s West Gym
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22
Co-operation, negotiation and cheating in human reproductive interactions.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM. Burnaby campus, Halpern Centre, rm 126. Speaker: Charles
Crawford. The talk is free and no registration is required. Info: 604.926.5186.
Reflections on a World Without Islam- Graham E. Fuller. 7:00 PM. SFU Vancou-
ver Campus, Joseph and Rosalie Segal Rooms 1400-1410, 515 West Hastings
Street. www.sfu.ca/ccsmsc. The Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim
Societies and Cultures present Graham E. Fuller, Simon Fraser University ‘Re-
flections on a World Without Islam’. CO-HOSTED BY HELLENIC STUDIES (SFU)
Book signing to follow.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24
Canada Research Chairs Seminar Series. 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Burnaby campus,
IRMACS Centre, Applied Sciences Building, rm 10900. http://www.irmacs.sfu.
ca/events/crc-seminar-series. The Canada Research Chairs Seminar Series.
Speaker: Dr. Nilima Nigam, Canada Research Chair in Applied Mathematics,
Department of Mathematics, SFU. Admission is free.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25
Black Box Series. 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26
Black Box Series. 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
SFU Men’s Hockey vs. the University of Victoria. 8:00 PM. Come out and cheer
on the SFU Men’s Hockey team continue their defence of the B.C. Intercol-
legiate Hockey League championship when they take on the University of
Victoria on Saturday, February 26th. All SFU students and staff can receive
$2.00 admission at the door with their University ID. All SFU home games are
played at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, located at 3676 Kensington Avenue
in Burnaby. The arena is a quick 15-minute ride from campus on the #144 bus.
Peak Collective Meetings every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., MBC 2900 underneath
Higher Grounds. Come and get involved, yell at us, praise us, and sit on our new
leather couches
SFU Students: Submit your campus event to www.the-peak.ca/submit_classi-
fied. It’s FREE!
GET YOUR EVENT NOTICED!
SUBMIT IT TO:
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OXFORD SEMINARS
604-683-3430/1-800-269-6719
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website www.sfumun.org. sg@sfumun.org
UPCOMING VEGGIE LUNCH!
Try something new!
READING BREAK - MONDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2011 - FRIDAY FEBRUARY
18, 2011 - No classes.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 14
FENV Dean’s lecture series, spring 2011: KarenKohfeld. 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM.
Come relax and eat a warm, healthy, delicious
http://www.fenv.sfu.ca/upcoming-events/. Burnaby campus, Halpern Centre,
rm 126. “Iron, Ice, Salt, and Carbon: The Great Reorganization of the North vegetarian lunch, in a cozy elegant surrounding.
Pacific Ocean since the Last Ice Age”. This lecture is free. Light refreshments
will be served. It would be greatly appreciated if you could please bring your For only $5 you can enjoy a full 5 course meal!
own coffee mug.
Join us every Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:30 A.M to 2:30 P.M,
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 15
EdD Information Session. 5:30pm - 6:30 pm. http://www.edd.sfu.ca. Fall 2011 at the Forum Chambers in the Maggie-Benson Building.
EdD Information Session. Free Admission (one story under the Higher Ground Café)
Information Session: EdD Leadership K-12 & EdD Environmental Learning.
5:30pm - 6:30 pm. http://www.edd.sfu.ca. Fall 2011 EdD Program. Free Ad-
mission. Location: SFU Surrey, Room 5360. RSVP to: cgp-rsvp@sfu.ca
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16
Information Session: EdD Transformational Change. 5:30pm - 6:30 pm.
http://www.edd.sfu.ca Fall 2011 EdD Programs. Free Admission. Location: SFU
Vancouver, Room 1505 RSVP to: cgp-rsvp@sfu.ca
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17
SFU Women’s basketball vsAlaska Fairbanks. 5:15 PM - 7:15 PM. athletics.sfu.
ca. At SFU’s West Gym.
SFU Men’s basketball vs Northwest Nazarene. 19:30 - 19:30. athletics.sfu.ca.
SFU’s West Gym
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19
Staying Healthy: Bad Habits, Goals and Happiness. 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM. www.
sfu.ca/seniors. Vancouver campus, Harbour Centre, Fletcher Challenge The-
atre, rm 1900. Staying healthy is a complicated process, defined by our past,

the peak
 HUMOUR
February 7, 2011
34
6.5 / Jacob Pacey and Matt Hill (MacMedia)
This week’s
Peak Humour
Steven Rubix hopes to parlay this accomplishment into a full-time job.
Conflict between Crips and Bloods
settled by UCLA arts instructor
Feat accomplished without
busting a cap in a single ass
Cost-cutting measures Al Theuri and
Colin Sharp
for SFU’s 2011 budget One of us is black
Usage-based billing on degrees, resulting in tens Reports out of the fine arts depart-
of dollars of cash inflow ment at the University of Califor-
nia, Los Angeles (UCLA), are sug-
Clan athletics staff to be replaced by Hal Johnson
gesting that long-warring gangs the
and Joanne McLeod with tracksuits as payment
Crips and the Bloods may have put
Replace bagpipe band with spoon band their issues behind them, and it is
all thanks to art.
Demand all tuition payment be made with
Goldcorp brand gold bricks™ It was early on Thursday morn-
ing when the leaders of the infa-
Introduce Battlestar Galactia tourism mous Los Angeles-based gangs
Creation of 1,000 new work study positions at were tricked into attending a
SFU’s new license plate plant seminar held by Steven Rubix, a
sessional instructor for UCLA’s
Grades distributed by auction fine arts program, after being told
Rebrand school as “Pepsi Presents SFU” they could win a timeshare at Lake
Tahoe. It was at this meeting that
Discontinue washroom cleaning and maintenance Rubix shared his eye-opening re-
E
ALREADYDON search on the nature of colour.
Finance committee: Kim Bloomfield, Garrett Brezsnyak, Keenan Federico,
Key to Rubix’s lecture was a
Kody Huard, Jordan Kohn, John Morrison III, David Proctor, Travis Sandulo, section devoted to the mixing of
Lisa Thomson, Graham Templeton, Dexter Vosper, Lorenz Yeung colours. It was then that he men-
tioned that blue and red combine
to form violet, commonly known
Children’s Stories / Andrew MacLachlan (SFU)
the peak
humour editor
email
phone
has been analyzing this for a long time, and after countless
taste tests, can finally believe that it is in fact not butter.
as “purple”. Representatives of the
gang were shocked, as they had
been led to believe that blue and
red, the respective identifying co-
lours of the Crips and the Bloods,
combined to form “violent”. In
fact, this had been the basis of
their long feud.
“To be honest, I was shocked
that they had yet to figure some
of this stuff out,” said a bewil-
dered Rubix. “All these years, all
the crime, all the annoying-as-hell
suburban kids pretending to be
hard-asses, and it was all because
of one typo. One fucking typo.”
The Los Angeles Police De-
partment initiated the seminar
after coming across an odd se-
lection of evidence during a drug
raid last October.
“After entering the premises we
came across a page torn out of a
children’s textbook in which the
unfortunate typo had been cir-
cled,” said Detective Miguel San-
tos. “Our team began an in-depth
investigation into the colour theory
and immediately found more and
more examples of the misspelling
throughout notebooks, computers,
Colin Sharp
humour@the-peak.ca
778.782.4560
Andy Fang / The Peak
and Facebook status updates.”
The forensics department was
able to determine that the page
was the oldest artifact showcasing
the misspelling. It was then traced
to a first grade arts and crafts book
that was used throughout South-
Central LA. This was a stroke of
luck however, as the only reason
they caught this was that it hap-
pened to be ‘Take Your Daughter to
Work Day’, and the daughter of one
scientist happened to recognize
the textbook she used at school.
The textbook, which was first
published in in the late ‘60s, has
faced increased controversy since
the news came out. An anonymous
source at the publishing company
told The Peak, “Look, that book
has sold millions of copies, and
they went all around the world.
That typo was in every single one
of them. I’m not trying to say that
a specific racial group is dumb or
anything . . . I’m just saying . . . why
didn’t any of the white kids start
fighting? I’m just saying . . .”
The Los Angeles School Board is
looking at updating their textbooks
for the first time since 1967.
 HUMOUR
CAMPUS COMICS VILLAIN’S VOICE
Tall Awkward Brown Guy / Dev Saini (SFU)
I should be a villain in
The Dark Knight Rises
The Peak found a letter that
was sent to Christopher Nolan
The Riddler
Professional Nemesis
What can make you doubt reality,
change your perception of time,
and fuck up a superhero? The an-
swer is you, Christopher Nolan.
You have done those things.
After months of speculation
that Batman would be pitted
against my intellectual prowess
in the upcoming film The Dark
Knight Rises, you went ahead and
carelessly threw Catwoman in the
mix. Are you truly insane?
Just think about this for even
a second. I mean, the appeal
of your last film, Inception, was
that it forced the audience to
think. Surely you want the same
thing from your Batman films,
and yet you haven’t contacted
me. Are you kidding me? You
do realize that there is no one
that can match the scale of my
intellect. I continually test the
limits of Batman’s capacity for
logic and reason. What does he
have to do when Catwoman is
involved? Try and suppress his
Single Panel Comic Seeking Partner / Andrew MacLachlan (SFU)
Ski Ninjas / Fingers “Thumbs” McGee (The Argus)
Id and Ego / Lauren Alston (The Gateway)
the peak
February 7, 2011 35
leather fetish? Re-fill a prescrip-
tion for allergy medication? Get
her spayed by Bob Barker? The
film will be over before the end
of the first act.
I just ask that you realize that
involving me in this film is a logi-
cal decision. Forget about my un-
paralleled mental abilities for a
minute, and you will see that this
even makes financial sense. The
last time audience’s were submit-
ted to Catwoman it was despised.
What convinced you that Cat-
woman would be a good idea? I’m
of the firm belief that you simply
must be pussy whipped.
What does he
have to do when
Catwoman is
involved? Try
and suppress his
leather fetish?
Nolan, you’ve forced my hand.
I’ve done something to ensure the
failure of your film. Should you
unravel the puzzle I’ve laid before
you, perhaps it can be salvaged,
but I doubt it. All I can tell you is
that I will waste Catwoman if you
stoop to this level.
I took a shit on Anne Hatha-
way’s porch. Riddle me that.
36 February 7, 2011
E gypt and Tunisia are
practically on fire with
protests, Jordan has a
new prime minister, and South
Sudan has voted to become an
independent state. People all
over the world are exercising
their right to citizenship and
political choice. All of this
crazy political upheaval in the
rest of the world certainly had
me thinking lately about our
own situation in Canada: what
are we doing right? Where can
we improve?
The answer to the latter
came to me rather quickly:
our foreign policy. In the past
decade Canada has lagged in
our upholding of international
human rights and well being.
Because of this lag in policy,
Canada actually lost our seat
on the United Nations Security
Council this last fall. While the
reasoning behind the loss are
far too complicated to get into,
there is one case that stands
out in my mind as a particular
violation against human wel-
fare. Canada still exports the
toxic carcinogen asbestos to
Third World countries, seem-
ingly without any remorse for
the cancer and deaths caused
by the substance.
Asbestos is a crystalline
mineral mined mostly in Que-
bec that was once used in fire
retardant suits and gloves, as
well as building insulation and
even household items such
A dark spot on Canada’s international image
as lawnmowers and hairdry-
ers. When it was discovered in
the 1960s that yellow and blue
asbestos contributed to in-
creased cancer rates, bans and
restrictions were placed on
its use in First World nations,
drying up the billion-dollar
industry in a few short years.
Research has since concluded
that there is no known “safe”
exposure to asbestos fibers of
any kind, including the white
asbestos currently mined in
Canada.
However, instead of follow-
ing the international call for an
outright ban of the carcino-
gen, Canada chose to seek new
markets in the Third World.
Industrializing nations such
as India and Brazil started to
import asbestos from Canada
at alarmingly high rates. The
government of Canada rec-
ognizes the tremendous risks
associated with mining, use
and exposure to all forms of
asbestos — risks such as lung
cancer, asbestosis, and meso-
thelioma — yet for decades
the Canadian government has
resisted the prohibition of, or
even standardized regulation
on, white asbestos exports.
When France imposed a
ban on white asbestos in 1998,
Canada took them to inter-
national trade court to argue
that asbestos was safe in “con-
trolled use” situations and that
the ban was wholly unfair to
LAST WORD
international trade of the min-
eral. Canada lost the battle,
but has continued to wage
war against the prohibition
of asbestos as an outright in-
ternational ban has ever been
reached.
Canada still
exports the
toxic car-
cinogen as-
bestos to
Third World
countries,
seemingly
without any
remorse for
the cancer
and deaths
that it
causes.
When it was proposed that
asbestos be placed on the list
of Prior Informed Consent
substances as per the Rotter-
dam Convention, which would
require importing countries
to give consent to the accep-
tance of dangerous goods like
asbestos before receipt, Can-
ada fought tooth and nail to
make sure it was not put on
the peak
Written by Ariane Madden
the list. And this strong posi-
tion has not gone unnoticed
by other developed nations. In
fact, while the USA and United
Kingdom have worked to-
wards asbestos bans, Canada
has been forced to ally itself
with nations that have been
known for tremendous human
rights abuses such as Israel.
When confronted with the
issue, the Canadian govern-
ment continually purports
what they call “controlled use”
of the product, whereby spe-
cific safety regulations can
be enacted to prevent the in-
creased risk of cancer associ-
ated with exposure to asbestos.
However, what the government
fails to recognize is that many
of the developing nations we
export to often do not have
many of the basic workplace
safety standards or workers
compensation benefits en-
joyed in First World nations.
Workers are even often oblivi-
ous to the harmful effects of
the substance. India, for ex-
ample, recognizes asbestosis
as a work-related disease but
does not recognize lung cancer
or mesothelioma as they are
related to asbestos in the work
place.
On top of poor worker
rights in these nations, inaccu-
rate or shoddy record-keeping
often keeps work-related ill-
nesses swept under the rug,
making illness tracking near
impossible for doctors and re-
searchers. Additionally there
are often huge shortages of
properly trained safety inspec-
tors in industry who would
be able to work to prevent in-
creased unnecessary exposure
to asbestos — if they really
must use it in the first place.
So why are we still exporting
this highly dangerous mineral
if the risks are known and we
are hesitant to use it ourselves?
The answer is disappointingly
simple: money. The asbestos
industry of Quebec has some
very powerful lobby groups
working in their name who are
easily able to sway the govern-
ment in their favor. While the
market for asbestos in Canada
is nearly nil, the money that
can be made in the Third World
is apparently worth more than
the lives that will be lost as a
result of the use of such a carci-
nogenic material.
Canada’s reputation as
a country that looks out for
the little guy and stands up
for human welfare is being
tarnished as the government
continually undermines scien-
tific, legislative, and interna-
tional consensus that places
asbestos as one of the world’s
most carcinogenic occupa-
tional substances. It’s time
to call an end to this, and to
demand that our government
stand up for what’s right in-
stead of what’s easy.