TRIUMF Lab/flickr

The BC Liberal Party will be returning controversial donations from TRIUMF.

TRIUMF, the Canadian national physics laboratory located at UBC, donated a total of $1950 to the BC Liberal Party in the form of tickets to fundraising events in 2011, as reported last week in The Ubyssey. After these donations came under fire from critics, Elections BC has ruled that the full amount of the donations must be returned, as TRIUMF is a charitable organization.

“The purchase of fundraising function tickets by [TRIUMF] is a political contriubtion by virtue of section 182 of the [BC Elections Act] and such purchases by a charitable organizations are therefore prohibited,” wrote Nola Western, deputy chief electoral officer with Elections BC, in a memo obtained by The Ubyssey.

TRIUMF is a registered charity in Canada, though it is linked to a for-profit technology commercialization arm. According to director Nigel Lockyer, their funding comes from the federal government, not the province, and any donations that were made came from a separate account financed by technology profits.

Chad Pederson, executive director of the BC Liberal Party, said, “Since it came to light that TRIUMF was charity status, we’ve been in the process of issuing a refund to them.”

Tim Meyer, TRIUMF head of strategic planning and communications, said that the laboratory would be updating its policies so that no similar donations could be made in the future. “We’ve learned a lot in the past week, we now realize that we have to interrupt our current practice,” said Meyer. “We suspect we were ignorant of what was really required.”

Dermod Travis, director of IntegrityBC, questioned whether the donations were even necessary in the first place. IntegrityBC is a provincial electoral-finance watchdog group, which initiated criticism of the donations. “In the case of Richard Lee, before he was elected Burnaby-North MLA, he worked at TRIUMF…for 22 years,” said Travis. “It’s astounding that TRIUMF felt that the only way they could talk to Richard was to buy a fundraising ticket to a reception rather than just call him up as an old colleague.”

Meyer indicated that the TRIUMF Board of Directors would be implementing a new policy governing lobbying at their next meeting in July. “We thought we understood, and we thought we were abiding by the rules,” said Meyer.

Geoff Lister/The Ubyssey

UBC has announced that it won’t be returning to Access Copyright.

The Association of Canadian Colleges and Universities (ACCU), of which UBC is a member, agreed to draft a deal with Access Copyright, a publishing organization that centrally controls rights for academic materials such as course packs. Access Copyright had been performing that role for UBC until 2011, but UBC, after reviewing the ACCU deal, has decided they’re not going to sign up.

“We showed that we could live without the interim tariff and things went quite well for the last year since September,” said Allan Bell, UBC director for library digital initiatives.

“[It] went so well, in fact, that we think we can continue on that course, and that’s what we’ve decided to do.”

The decision ends just under two years of uncertainty on the issue. Access Copyright first proposed a $45-per-student flat rate in 2010 before agreeing to a deal with the ACCU that laid out $26 per student as a model rate for individual schools to approve.

The deal in effect prior to 2010 charged $3.38 per student, and 10 cents per printed page. In response to the $45-per-student proposal, UBC decided to leave the service in 2011.

Bell said dealing with licensing in-house hasn’t been negative for UBC. “It actually gets us talking about intellectual property rights, it’s better financially for taxpayers and our students and it hastens our adoption of forward-looking digital technologies for teaching and learning,” he said.

“People actually have a much greater understanding of their obligations under the Copyright Act that maybe they didn’t have before.”

Mark Vessey, chair of the Senate Library Committee, said that effect of the decision wouldn’t be as widely felt as last year’s choice. “Initially, they were dealing with an emergency situation. The rules of the game changed very suddenly last year and everybody was caught a little blindsided,” he said. “What I think the university has managed to do is set up some quite good and robust processes.”

In a broadcast email sent out May 15—the deadline for deciding whether or not to sign onto the deal—UBC criticized Access Copyright for charging too much, as well as providing only a limited repertoire of material.

Bell said UBC already pays over $10 million for electronic licences, which is a cost over and above the amount charged by Access Copyright. The rejected deal also only permitted copying of 10 per cent of a work, or 20 per cent if it was for a course pack.

The university will continue to operate the Copyright Advisory Group, which took questions from the community, reviewed course materials and oversaw material as it went on UBC Vista, the content management system for courses. Bell said the university will be opening a physical copyright office.

According to Vessey, there was no easy road back. “Instructors delivering courses are going to have to carry on working at this, and in some cases that’ll be a lot of extra work. I think everybody recognizes that,” said Vessey. “There’s no quick or easy fix, but then there never actually was before.

“[Copyright] has always been a fairly arduous process, if you’re going to do it right.”

—There will be more coverage this week of this breaking story.

Geoff Lister/The Ubyssey

The Graduate Student Society (GSS) has reached an agreement with the union that represented the former workers at Koerner’s Pub—and it’s possible the pub could reopen as early as this September.

A group of GSS executives and a bargaining unit from CUPE 116, the union representing pub staff, finished off a year of negotiations last week with a new agreement. The GSS is now looking to a third-party operator to run the pub’s day-to-day operations, and they hope to have the place up and running before the start of the fall term.

“My hope is we can open before orientation, but we realize that’s a really, really ambitious goal,” said GSS President Conny Lin. “If nothing goes wrong, it might be possible.”

David Lance, bargaining representative from CUPE 116, said, “We felt good, and we’re looking forward to a productive and ongoing relationship with the GSS.”

The new agreement needs to be ratified by GSS Council as well as CUPE executives, but both parties say they’re extremely confident the agreement will be approved.

When the GSS abruptly voted to close the pub in May 2011, the union was dissatisfied with the way the closure was handled, and a settlement over these actions was reached in December. Most union workers opted to be part of a financial settlement, with just one employee choosing to remain on a recall list if the pub was to reopen.

According to Lance, the new agreement fulfills the union’s original request for regular wage increases. New workers will be hired at wages “in and around $12 an hour,” according to Lance, which Lin said fulfills the union’s hope for a Consumer Price Index-based increase.

The GSS decided to close the pub last year because it was losing money, but Lin says that overstaffing was the main reason for the shortfall. “If you hire one extra person, you’re talking about $10,000 to $20,000 per year. If you hire five, that’s a lot of money,” said Lin. The pub lost nearly $200,000 from the beginning of 2010 until its closure in 2011, but some of the losses may have also been due to a liquor licence suspension in 2010.

As someone who enjoyed visiting the pub prior to its closure, fourth-year Arts student Kate Burtinsky was happy to hear that it might reopen soon. “I actually had my 20th birthday there, which was a lot of fun,” said Burtinsky.

“I was pretty sad to hear that it closed…I would love to see [reopening] happen,” Burtinsky added. “I wouldn’t mind seeing another campus pub.”

Lance felt that reopening the pub would be beneficial to the campus, as it offers a good opportunity for grad students looking for extra money. “On-campus employment is relatively rare for a number of grad students, particularly international ones,” said Lance. “So having that on-campus employment opportunity was something we felt very strongly about.”

Although Lin said that renovations for the space would be likely, there’s one thing she hopes won’t change much: the prices. “We really don’t want to charge students so much money, right? You look at the Pit Pub, I love to go there because it’s so cheap.”

One of the most talked-about films of the DOXA season details the lives of doe-eyed ingenues plucked from obscurity and thrust into the world of modeling. The melancholic, drawn-out soundtrack accompanying a montage of scantily-clad Siberian teenagers at a casting call perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the film. The filmmakers tell the stories of Nadya, who at the tender age of 13 is sent from Siberia to Japan to model as a way of providing for her family; and of the disillusioned and slightly disturbed Ashley, the model scout who picked Nadya.

Girl Model exposes the warped mentality that is fostered by a youth-hungry industry: for instance, one head of a model agency takes disobedient models to morgues to shock them into submission, and another fails to explain why he hires new models despite the huge losses incurred by the agency, hinting at a deeper carnal vein. The personalities of the exploiters and the exploited are set against the lonely and alienating backdrop of Tokyo, a combination that is sure to leave filmgoers quietly unsettled.
—Gavin Yeung

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

“Why is this art?” Marina Abramovic claims she hasn’t heard this question in a long time. After 40 years of pushing the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, this “Yugoslavian provocateur” has become a worldwide artistic sensation. Using her own body and presence as a tool to convey powerful, goading messages, Abramovic has impacted millions around the globe.

Circling around her latest exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, director Matthew Akers brings viewers on the journey of Abramovic’s most challenging piece yet: a three-month retrospective of her work, which involved Abramovic sitting in a chair every day the Museum was open between March 14 and May 31, 2010, staring into every audience member’s eyes. Raw, present and vulnerable, Abramovic was slowed her audience down from their bustling modern life and gave them the time to look into her eyes and allow themselves to connect with another human being.

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present is an incredible display of a committed artist who leaves viewers quite aware, even if they can’t explain why, that this is art—brilliant art.
—Nina Kiri

Get Your Groove On! Shorts

Get Your Groove On! is a compilation of four short documentaries, all related in some way to getting down and jiggy with it. Whether it’s yodelling or punk rock, this perfect little mosaic will stimulate the musical and cultural mind.

Extase
Gurre-Lieder, composer Arnold Schoenberg’s famous cantata, is tackled by conductor Reinbert Leeuw in this eloquent film about music, passion and power.

Honky Tonk Ben
Ridiculously gaudy yet somehow adorable “art pianos” are at the centre of this documentary, which tells the story of one Canadian’s quirky passion through a series of interviews with family and friends.

Smoke Songs
Blackfire, a Native American punk rock band, communicates the reality of indigenous youth identity through their raw and honest passion for music.

The Yodeling Farmer
Yodeling and stop-motion—what more could you possibly want? While surprisingly brief at six minutes long, this documentary enthusiastically tells the story of yodeling legend Stew Clayton.
—Nessa Aref

Slice of Life: Shorts Program

Yuban (Live Earth)
Focusing on a Zapotecan community in southern Mexico, this short documentary digs into what it means to have true reverence, or “yelebam,” meaning that everything in the universe is alive. The film attempts to express this fundamental message through vivid, compelling imagery, but this dreamy visual quality seems to drag, at times leaving the audience without a full sense of direction.

Mistura: The Power of Food
Warning: do not view on an empty stomach. Mistura, a yearly food festival in Lima, Peru, is the focus of this upbeat feast for the eyes. This documentary has caused many a mouth to water and a stomach to growl. While the variety of delectable meals are basically porn for your stomach, the film also shows that Mistura unites the people of Peru in a way that nothing else ever has. Peruvian food has built a proud, multifaceted identity in a country suffering from emotional colonization.
—Nessa Aref

Yara De Jong/The Ubyssey

Come September, the prospect of a peaceful, open campus centre will be difficult to imagine.

Orange cones, rusty blue fences and the drone of heavy machinery—none of these are unusual on an evolving campus like UBC. But for the class of 2016, these sights may come to define their degree like never before.

“There’s no more signature thing to a current student, this cohort of students, than construction on campus,” said AMS President Matt Parson.

He isn’t being hyperbolic. Last February, the ground-breaking for the new SUB marked the first of six major construction projects planned to span at least the next four years—all in the heart of campus.

This means that this September’s incoming students will find it especially hard to escape construction during their degree.

The new SUB won’t be finished until August 2014. During this time, the Bookstore will be expanded and fully renovated. And located between these two sites, construction on a new Alumni Centre is also projected to span two years.

Joe Stott, director of Campus and Community Planning, said incoming UBC students would acquire a very different impression of campus. “Someone starting their undergraduate years here in September will witness quite a transformation on campus, and it will be ongoing throughout their four years.”

A few metres east of the SUB, three additional development projects are set to begin in 2013.

Work on the new Aquatic Centre is slated for the following 20 months. Then just a month after its completion, further construction will begin on a diesel bus terminal and new MacInnes Field, spanning a further year. Finally, student housing is planned at the current bus loop after 2016.

According to Stott, campus construction has stayed fairly consistent in recent years. Buildings with the most capital investment—big-dollar projects like the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, the Beatty Biodiversity Museum and the Henry Angus building—were for the most part completed three years ago.

“[Construction has] been fairly consistent over the last six years, it just depends on what part of campus you’re familiar with,” explained Stott.

However, construction has mainly stayed outside the campus centre—the area around Gage, the bus loop and the SUB.

“It tends to be on the periphery, and unless you go to that part of campus, people may not be that aware.”

***

SUCH BLISSFUL IGNORANCE will soon be a thing of the past. Aside from work on the University Boulevard bus loop, the core of campus has been mostly quiet since the completion of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre in 2002.

“It will be more disruptive than it has been,” said Stott.

“Now we’re going to be right in everyone’s face because everyone comes to the hub of campus. That’s why most people will perceive there’s more activity.”

Opinions on the construction process aren’t always positive.

In the two weeks since fences were put up around the new SUB construction site, AMS President Matt Parson has heard a number of complaints. “I’ve gotten a few emails already of, ‘I’m having difficulties getting into the SUB.’ Just frustrations from people.”

The prospect of reduced traffic in the SUB is concerning for a society that relies on its businesses for revenue. In an effort to secure business in the SUB, Parson explained that the AMS has hired a consultant who will be managing its “disruptive marketing campaign.”

Starting in September, the campaign will focus on wayfinding into and around the SUB.  “It’s more to help people navigate their way around the current SUB, making sure that they’re still able to come in and find their way to the Gallery or the Pit.”

“It might be a more annoying time to navigate around the centre of campus, but…through our messaging efforts, people won’t be lost among the fences.”

***

AS UBC’S LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, Dean Gregory makes his living re-imagining campus and navigating construction. Gregory said even he initially had trouble navigating around the SUB construction site.

“You’ve got this immediate impediment as soon as you get off the bus. In fact, the first day all those fences went up, I had no clue. I was very frustrated and I sent a note to the transportation office and said, ‘If I can’t find my way through here, other people aren’t going to be either.’”

“I think [the AMS has] tried to address it…but it’s going to be like that for several years.”

Gregory said anticipating the impact of construction can be difficult, with students with disabilities facing particular hardship. “It’s hard to know all the people who are going to a certain place, and we maybe don’t know until we get the call. Then we try to address it.”

Come its September renovation, the Bookstore will face similar concerns. In an effort to remain accessible, it plans to open additional entrances.

Gregory is responsible for implementing the Public Realm Plan, the project currently focused on reshaping Main Mall and University Boulevard. Both are set to finish by September 2012, but eight additional Public Realm projects are planned for the next few years.

“[There is] lots of development on campus. It’s probably unprecedented. It’s distressing, I think, when people are here and looking around and just seeing all this change. It’s understandably difficult for people to absorb it,” said Gregory.

Gregory is not the only one concerned about the visual impact of the construction sites. Parson and the AMS are also concerned about the unsightliness of construction. To reduce the visual impression on students, the marketing campaign will include beautification, such as scrims on the fences surrounding the site.

***

Ivan Yasterbov/The Ubyssey

THE START OF construction on the new SUB has also raised further controversy.

In addition to the student experience, the natural landscape of any location is necessarily disturbed by construction. In the case of the new SUB, this meant demolishing 60 trees on the site.

“Just watching these trees come down the other day, people were walking by and shaking their heads,” said Chris Sherwood.

A UBC lab manager, Sherwood has been conscious of the environment for the 29 years he has worked on campus. After he witnessed the tree removal for the new SUB, Sherwood spoke out against the university in an article in the Vancouver Courier.

Sherwood believes the planned construction shows UBC’s negligence of the campus environment. “Those trees out there were bird habitat, and you used to get all sorts of exotic birds.”

Gregory said that, as a landscape architect, the decision to save or remove trees is a difficult one.

Though he agreed that the removal of trees was unfortunate, Gregory argued that UBC strived to keep or move as many trees as possible. “We do try. But you cannot move all trees, [some] are just too big.

“The environmental value and the aesthetic value of the trees was really high. The monetary value of the trees was not really that high.” Given the financial estimates from the tree mover, he said it “didn’t seem rational” to keep the trees.

Stott agreed, adding that moving trees posed too much of a gamble. “[There is no] guarantee of success when you replant. There’s too much money at risk.”

For those involved, these problems seem inherent at a time of extensive development and change at UBC.

“We can’t do it all at once, although for some people it will appear to be all at once,” said Stott.

“This is in the heart of the campus, there’s going to be quite a transformation.”

For students, this transformation process will be inescapable for the next few years. Parson hopes efforts by the AMS will relieve the burden.

“Hopefully through some things like phasing, it won’t be too disruptive to a particular cohort in a particular area for a drawn-out period of time,” he said.

But with the ambitious plans set for the heart of campus, Parson admits students will still feel the strain.

“It’s tough. This university is growing and a part of that is the growing pains,” said Parson.

“It’s just one of those unfortunate realities that a current UBC student has had to deal with.”

Comic Bryce Warnes/The Ubyssey

Bizarre scheduling detracts from summer semester sunshine

If your first contact with UBC was through the university’s website or a marketing brochure, you saw the campus in all its verdant summer glory. But now that you’re here, you’ve realized that for most of the school year, the campus is a big pile of rainy, dirty muck.

Taking a summer term class is the only real way to experience the campus as it was originally sold to us; too bad it’s just about impossible to schedule a term’s worth of classes during the summer in a way that makes any sense.

Courses run for odd lengths of time, with start and end dates chosen seemingly at random—a course is listed as running within the “first term” of the summer if it starts in mid-June. There’s no clear way of sorting courses on the SSC by when they actually run, which is probably most students’ first priority when registering for a class.

There are a whole host of reasons for studying during the summer, so you’d think signing up for a summer course at UBC would be an easy process.

We aren’t saying that more than one Ubyssey editor accidentally showed up on May 7 for a course that starts in June (okay, maybe we are),  but we can’t be the only ones frustrated by this system.

It’s summertime in Van-fuckin’-couver!

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, that means you’re privy to one of Vancouver’s greatest secrets: it doesn’t suck in the summer!

It’s that time of year when this city goes from “fuckin’ Vancouver”—the drizzly, anonymous city of glass and depression—to “Van-fuckin’-couver!” In Van-fuckin’-couver!, everyone dresses in loose-fitting silk shirts and drinks on patios and doesn’t care that they’re paying a bajillion dollars in rent. Fact: Van-fuckin’-couver is the only city in the world with a transit system that runs entirely on high-fives!

So put this paper down right now, and get outside. Better yet, bring it to your next clam bake and burn it on a pyre of sustainably harvested forest products while some dude plays Neil Young covers on an acoustic git-box.

It’s summer 2012. Let’s not make good decisions, let’s make great decisions.

UBC wrong to play hardball on student- and alumni-funded spaces

UBC wants veto power over what goes on in student buildings, but students can be trusted to run their own space—especially when they foot the bill.

A byproduct of the tussle between UBC and the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) over the future Engineering Student Centre is a proposed policy that would give deans final authority over everything that happens in a faculty student space—even if students and alumni pay for it.

Essentially, the university doesn’t think it can trust students to run a building long-term, due to turnover and changing levels of engagement. That’s why they wouldn’t sign a lease with the EUS if they were separate from the AMS, and why they now want authority over student spaces.

But there already is an oversight system for the undergraduate societies; the AMS has financial and legal responsibility for them, and Council can change their constitution and bylaws or disband them altogether.

UBC seat on transit council good news, but don’t overblow it

UBC residents finally have a vote at the TransLink table. Maria Harris, the director of Electoral Area A, was recently given a seat on the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation. That means UBC residents have an elected representative who can vote on the future of transit to campus. While students and administration alike have voiced support for increased service along the Broadway corridor and for a UBC rapid transit line, this seat should give the constituents of Electoral Area A real representation to push for UBC-centred transit issues.

Of course, we say “should,” not “will.”

The Electoral Area A director will be only one voice among many diverse concerns on the Council. Harris’s role on the Council will be to advocate for Electoral Area A residents, which doesn’t include UBC students, faculty or staff who live off campus.

For the university, its lack of power in transit planning has been one of the few downsides of having almost complete dominion over its lands. In past years, the AMS and UBC have had little recourse with TransLink’s long-term planning decisions, besides the occasional advocacy campaign. While that changes nominally with this new seat, there are still plenty of obstacles in the way. Until a system of local representation is established, we don’t see this seat as an end to the frustration students, residents and administrators feel about UBC’s governance.

Ivan Yasterbov/The Ubyssey

This past March, we ran an NCAA-style tournament bracket in hopes of teasing out the “Quintessential UBC Experience.” We started with 32 experiences—from taking a class just for the U-Pass to spending 24 hours in Irving K. Barber to getting kicked out of the Pit—and asked students to vote for the experience they thought best defined UBC. In the end, Storm the Wall won the day. But we were surprised by a sleeper that kept advancing round after round.

Construction.

Putting up with construction is part of being a UBC student. We realize that it’s needed—moving out of a Cold War-era student union building will be well worth a few years of headaches. Those who take the long view turn the other cheek, and accept that a university that’s on the up and up is going to need a few renovations.

That said, it’s hard to argue that the never-ending construction isn’t negatively impacting the student experience. Students are ultimately the ones who get woken up by early morning jack hammering, who have classes interrupted by earth movers and who have to navigate mazes of blue fencing.

Next year, the heart of campus is going to be even more difficult to navigate. The Bookstore will be undergoing renovations to bring it up to ground level. In the area around the Knoll, work will be underway on the new SUB, with the new Alumni Centre slated for ground-breaking in spring of 2013. And the “Public Realms” beautification project will likely create delays along University Boulevard and the southern half of Main Mall. And that’s before the utter transformation of the Gage South area begins.

If the administration wants to avoid embittering students—most of whom won’t be around to benefit from the new spaces—it will need to be proactive. That means communicating: informing students when detours arise via social media, or sending blast emails if the delays are expected to be major. And it also means listening. During construction at Totem Park, RAs who raised concerns about cold showers, noise and privacy issues were repeatedly brushed off by administrators.

The university needs to say “We’re in this together,” and take steps to mitigate the impact of construction on the student body. But so far, it seems far more interested in ribbon cuttings and golden shovels.

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

From Coachella to Electric Daisy Carnival to Sasquatch and more, outdoor music festivals are one of the best parts of summer. With non-stop music, parties, camping and drinking (and other, less legal forms of escapism), there is really no better place to see the most fabulous and questionable expressions of personal style. In anticipation of a festival-filled summer with great music and hopefully better fashion, here is a brief list of festival fashion do’s and don’ts.

DO connect with your vintage roots. Music festivals evoke an old-school feeling that can be expressed through a variety of great style choices. Here’s an opportunity to wear that awesome retro band shirt you found at an overpriced vintage store or that hippie fringe vest you stole from your mom’s closet. There is probably no better occasion to let your hair down and express your inner flower child or rock and roll god/goddess. After all, when else will you have the excuse to sport hippie head bands, flower crowns and fanny-packs all at the same time?

DON’T advertise your love of acid trips through your choice of chapeau. For the love of all things aesthetically pleasing, can we please address the SpiritHood?! These handmade, faux-fur hat/scarf combos (available in wild roadkill varieties such as hawk, leopard, wolf…and yes, panda bear) are a fashion choice that cause even the most style-blind individuals to stare in confusion. If the ridiculousness of a stuffed animal resting on your head doesn’t deter you, perhaps the problematic marketing of the “Navajo spirit” should raise some alarms. Not only are these hats offensive to the eyes, they are actually offensive to the cultures they claim to express. You will not embody the spirit of the owl. You are not a wolf. You are just a fool who shelled out $150 to look like a hybrid teddy bear.

DO try something funky in denim. Music festivals are a perfectly appropriate environment to shed your everyday jeans and don a pair of cutoff shorts instead. Denim allows you to express your inner wild child, so channel some Nirvana or Courtney Love. Whether you shred them, embroider them or stud them, you can’t go wrong; 90s grunge, in the form of oversized denim jackets and acid washed jeans, is definitely coming back in style. Paired with flip-flops for the California surfer look, or with combat boots for a more punk-rock twist, denim is a versatile and incredibly comfortable style choice for those long, hazy festival days.

DON’T dress like a glowstick. Avoid the highlighter tees and the sunglasses at night. This is not A Night at the Roxbury and you are not fooling anyone, “bro.” While those who enjoy their hallucinogens might express their inner National Geographic, festival “bros” seeking heavy basslines and techno anthems stick out like a sore…jaw? And ladies, never ever get caught in a photo with a pacifier. The 90s are over, and so is your infancy. Let the raves RIP.

DON’T get a Skrillex haircut. This “techno-mullet” is not only passé, but really quite hideous. The fact that you like the sound of robots copulating with the occasional T. rex shriek followed by a “siiiick bass drop” does not need to be advertised on your head. In fact, all that your patchy scalp brings to mind is the hair-clipper prank in Jackass. Don’t cut it off…Just cut it out.

Armed with these fashion guidelines, you can now go dance your heart out in the sunshine, confident that you look as great as you feel. Let the festival fun begin!

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

For our geographically challenged readers, UBC is located at the tip of Point Grey, right next to the Pacific Ocean. What does that mean for outdoorsy folk? Beaches galore. And with the sun starting to shine and summer right around the corner, those beaches will be great places for UBC students to spend a day. From Wreck Beach to Kits Beach and everything in between, here’s a look at the best sandy and not-so-sandy shorelines near UBC.

Nan Palmero/flickr

Kits Beach

This is the hotspot come sunny summer weekends. If there is a spot along the shorelines of Vancouver where all walks of life are accepted, this is it. Yuppies, students, geezers and bachelors come here regularly to get their beach on. It’s also one of the best locations in terms of accessibility from both downtown and UBC. Along with its perfect view of summer sunsets, Kits Beach is the spot to be.

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

Jericho Beach

Located between the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Jericho Sailing Club, this relatively short beach offers decent views of North Vancouver’s mountains and the sunset. With expansive playing fields and a pond behind the beach, there’s a diverse range of activities for visitors. That being said, it’s not the best beach in Vancouver’s Westside. The best one? That honour goes to…

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks

This double-headed monster of a beach offers beach volleyball courts, low-tide mud flats, burger stands and park tables for weekend barbecues. With a distant view of the high peaks of the Tantalus and Tetrahedron mountain ranges, along with views of downtown and North Vancouver, this beach is legit. There’s even a waterside path for walkers, runners and bikers, meaning there isn’t much that this mega-beach doesn’t offer.

Geoff Lister/The Ubyssey

Wreck Beach

If you haven’t visited Wreck yet, now is the time to go. Just as the sun creeps out from behind winter rainclouds and the temperature rises, Vancouver’s tannest hippies make their way to this clothing-optional beach. Strip down, eliminate tan lines and take in the beauty of the human form. Wreck Beach offers the best swimming waters of any Vancouver beach due to its lack of seaweed, but feel free to walk north along the shorelines, where fermenting blackberries overpower all smells in the late summer. Late-night campfires are also a regular occurrence at Wreck, so be ready to stay late into the evening.

View All the best beaches in a larger map

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

As the prices for Vancouver real estate continue to rise, finding affordable housing on campus is becoming more and more difficult.

Consultation has closed on the Housing Action Plan, which began in 2011 to ensure that more affordable and sustainable housing options are included in UBC’s future building plans.

“The Plan includes options for affordable housing for students, staff and faculty,” said Board of Governors (BoG) student rep Sumedha Sharma. “This plan was developed in great detail over the past year, and included public consultation as a key component.”

UBC has drafted a discussion paper addressing campus housing concerns for students, faculty and staff, ranging from affordability to variety. The Community Planning Task Group will present the results at the next BoG meeting.

One of the main issues for students is the shortage of beds available on campus. Student Housing and Hospitality Services aims to add 2000 student beds on campus by 2016, up from the current 9000, according to the discussion paper.

Sharma said that new student housing could take the form of undergraduate residences like Totem and Vanier, as well as other options for students with families.

Students have also raised concerns about the price of housing in Vancouver. Student loans currenty allocate $573 per month for shelter, causing many students to seek housing off campus. UBC plans to advocate to various levels of government in order to bridge the gap.

Nassif Ghoussoub, chair of the BoG’s Community Planning Task Group, believes that housing reform is long overdue.

“In my opinion, this initiative is urgently needed,” said Ghoussoub, who is currently overseeing the development of the Housing Action Plan.

“Vancouver is an expensive city and the lack of affordable housing on or near campus is significantly impacting our ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest minds.”

Ghoussoub is confident that the Housing Action Plan will bring UBC one step closer to providing appropriate housing options for the UBC community.

“The Plan will support the university’s goals of retaining and recruiting high-calibre faculty, staff and students and building a vibrant, sustainable community on campus,” said Ghoussoub.

At the same time, Ghoussoub believes that resolving Vancouver’s general lack of affordable housing cannot be left entirely up to the university.

“Housing affordability is not something UBC can address on its own. What we can do is find ways to work with governments to better support students with the most need.”

University Neighbourhoods Association chair Prod Laquian said that while the Housing Action Plan will improve the housing situation at UBC, it is not a perfect solution.

“Yes, I think the Housing Action Plan will help,” said Laquian. “However, it cannot really solve the whole problem because the Greater Vancouver housing market encourages very high prices because Vancouver is a very desirable place to live in, especially for immigrants.”

According to Laquian, possible housing solutions include increasing the amount of high-rise and other ground-oriented buildings, designing smaller housing units, and using cross-subsidies to fund the construction of affordable housing from the profits of luxury homes.

Yara De Jong/The Ubyssey

Mercy Years, a band founded on Craigslist and JJ Bean, held a CD release show and kicked off their tour of Western Canada on May 3.

“Adam and I met via Craigslist post. [He] was a lonely Englishman looking for friends in Vancouver,” said Nick Russell, one of the band’s guitarists. “This incarnation of the band has only been around for about a year and a half.”

The band consists of seven members, and five of them work at local café chain JJ Bean.

“Three of us work at the same location, which is hilarious because getting time off for shows and tours is just a nightmare,” said Ben Mott, another guitarist in the band.

Mercy Years’ five-track, self-titled EP was officially released on May 4, but they gave away free copies at their release show.

“Finally today is the day that we can play it for people,” said Mott. “It’s taken a long time to record, to practice, to get songs up to the level where we’re comfortable playing them, because we’re all total perfectionists.”

“I think the sound of this album is definitely a very pop-y sound…We like to keep it eclectic with the guitars and multiple vocalists,” said Russell. “I think at heart, we all love a good melody, and that’s what the band is built around.”

Mott added, “We started releasing song by song, every five days or so, in the lead-up to our full album releasing. A lot of people said that this would be great to drive to in the summer on a road trip.”

An audience member at the show agreed. “They have a very summery tone,” she said. “Easy on the ears.”

Their show took place at The Cobalt, a low-lit, intimate venue. Despite the fact that it was a Thursday night, the place was packed.

With three guitars and seven people up on stage, the instrumentals were occasionally overpowering, but Mercy Years’ catchy riffs and solid harmonies shone through. There is always something charming about Canadian bands and lead singers with British accents.

Before their set, Mott said, “We’re tired, so we’re going to go up onstage with no reservations whatsoever.”

The audience was a split between dancers up in the front and head-bobbers in the back. Regardless, everybody, especially the band, was obviously having a good time.

Aside from being a rock star, Russell studied psychology at UBC.

“The campus is beautiful. I took so many great classes,” he said. “It was a little frustrating, because it was easy to get lost in the crowd. But I feel like you get out of it what you put in.”

Russell also talked about previously playing at SHiNDiG, the annual battle of the bands hosted by CiTR, UBC’s student-run radio station.

“I already knew a few of the bands who were playing with us at the show, because they play at UBC or on the radio,” he said. “UBC is great in terms of promoting the music of students who go there.”

The band is currently on tour, making their way from Vancouver to Regina and back.

“We’re all excited to get on the road,” said Mott. “It’s been a long time coming for this group of people.”

Kai Jacobson/The Ubyssey

Summer is finally upon us and love is in the air! Those of you staying in Vancouver for the summer will know that it’s a haven for summer romances. With the ocean and mountains surrounding the city, Vancouver is a charming place for relationships—new and old. At the same time, most students live on a tight budget. Summer months can entice you into many days and nights of expensive patio drinking and outdoor activities. Not to worry; we’ve compiled a list of cheap summer date ideas so that you and your significant other can maximize your love while minimizing your spending.

EAT

Trattoria Pasta Tuesdays
Are you trying to impress your date with a fancy Italian dinner but don’t have the big bucks? Head to Trattoria Italian Kitchen on Tuesday nights, when you can get a pasta dish for $10. See the stunned look on their face when you order a Kobe meatball spaghetti. Reservations are recommended.
1850 West 4th Avenue

Warehouse
Feeling casual? Try relaxing over a Lazy Boy Lager on tap or select one of Warehouse’s many unique shooters. The best part: any food on the menu is $4.99 every day! Rock out to Mick Jagger or people-watch on their patio on Granville Street.
989 Granville Street

Noodle Box
If you’re a fan of Southeast Asian cuisine, visit the Noodle Box for a wide selection of noodle and rice dishes. Their shrimp sauces and teriyaki beef are to die for. Get more bang for your buck by dining in instead of taking out: you will be served significantly larger portions. Don’t forget to present your student card to receive $1 off your meal.
1867 West 4th Avenue

GET OFF THE COUCH

Bowling at Varsity Ridge
Varsity Ridge in the Arbutus Village offers glow-in-the-dark bowling every Wednesday at 4pm for $8 per person. Should you ever get tired of the summer heat, head indoors and score some strikes.
2120 West 15th Avenue

Free tennis courts
If you’re looking for some one-on-one action with your significant other, grab your tennis rackets and head to one of the 183 free tennis courts in Vancouver. What could be better than indulging in the sun while serving some balls? Don’t worry if the courts are full; the maximum wait time is 30 minutes, according to park rules.

Free yoga classes at Lululemon
Need to work off that hangover? Get hot and sweaty with your special someone and try downward dog or wide-legged forward bend…with clothes on, for a change. All Lululemon locations in Vancouver offer free yoga classes every Sunday morning at 8:45am.

Burnaby Mountain
If you’re a true romantic, take your lover up to Burnaby Mountain. It offers the best view of Burrard Inlet and it’s the perfect spot for watching the sun rise. Stroll around the totem poles and explore the park’s natural beauty. Not an early riser? Catch a sunset as you look far ahead to the downtown skyline.

EXPLORE THE CITY

Walk the Seawall
Vancouver offers many trails by the water with some spectacular views. Grab your partner’s hand and take a walk along the Seawall at Stanley Park or Ambleside in the North Shore. Or make a day of it and venture out to Crescent Beach and White Rock, where you’ll catch a glimpse of the US across the water.

The Comedy Mix
One of the best ways to bond is through laughter. If you’re not funny, someone else will be at the Comedy Mix. Take your significant other on a weeknight and let out a guffaw together. Tickets range from $7–$12 and shows start at 8:30pm.
1015 Burrard Street

The Backstage Lounge
If live bands and cheap beer are your thing, grab your partner and head to The Backstage Lounge on Granville Island. With a nine-piece live funk band playing all night, you’ll have a hard time leaving the dance floor. The exception may be walking over to the bar to grab their $1.50 beers on tap. Don’t forget to cool off by the windows and enjoy the amazing view of downtown Vancouver.
1585 Johnston Street

Vancouver Art Gallery
Step into the world of art together at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Tuesdays. All year, the VAG puts on renowned exhibitions that will give you and your partner plenty to talk about. Entrance is by donation every Tuesday from 5–9pm.
750 Hornby Street

Film still courtesy of Collective Eye

I sit down in the Ridge Theatre just in time to see the opening scene of Queen of the Sun in full swing. A woman, naked from the waist up, is covered in bees. They form a beard around her face as she dances by herself in the sunshine, flowers in her hair.

While this behaviour might fall victim to hippie jokes, the issue of bees is no laughing matter. Taggart Siegel’s Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?, shown by the UBC Farm as part of an evening of discussions on the issue, is a documentary exploring the recent mass disappearance of bee populations, a phenomena termed “colony collapse disorder.” Siegel’s award-winning film guides viewers through the ecological and philosophical significance of these insects, and what their disappearance would mean for humans.

Back in 2007, headlines in Time magazine and BBC News expressed panic at the large number of bee deaths sweeping across America. Today, an estimated third of world bee populations have disappeared. Even if you are not a fan of these fuzzy winged insects, their absence should seriously concern you: without these pollinators, human food supplies will be substantially compromised. Carlo Petrini, founder and president of the International Slow Food Movement, issues a dire warning: “If we kill all the bees, there will be no agriculture.”

So what exactly is causing colony collapse disorder? Interviewees in the film have different opinions on who the main culprit is, but colony failures can be attributed to three main suspects: the practice of monocultures, pesticide use and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Monocultures do not offer the nutritional variety needed for a bee’s health, and confuse their sense of direction. Pesticides are toxic to bees, and along with the propagation of GMOs, wreak havoc on their immune systems, increasing their susceptibility to parasitic infection.

Amanda Van Haga is a researcher at UBC’s CHiBi lab, working on understanding honey bee pathology and its role in colony collapse. Her research has obtained $6 million in funding from the government’s Genome Canada Grant, demonstrating just how important this issue is. Van Haga believes that natural alternatives to pesticides are more effective in the long run in protecting bee populations, as man-made chemicals designed to kill parasites are instead strengthening parasites’ resistance and survival rates. The wiser approach, Van Haga states, is to allow natural selection to breed bees that are genetically resistant to mites.

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us? argues for natural, local and organic approaches to agriculture. The sweeping disappearance of bee populations is clearly telling us that human disregard for nature is ultimately self-destructive. “You realize bees are a picture of harmony and coherence according to exact and precise environmental situations,” says microbiologist Johannes Wirz. The coherence that bees have with each other and other species is something we should learn from.

The need for sustainable agricultural systems is being recognized around the world, and bee sanctuaries and urban beekeeping are rapidly rising in popularity. Local beekeeping is legal in the city of Vancouver, and the BC Bee Breeders Association holds workshops on how to get started with your own hive. Information and workshops can be found at http://bcbba.bcbeekeepers.com/.
UBC is doing its part as well: the Pollinator Program at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems is restoring and sustaining bee populations at the UBC Farm. If beekeeping isn’t your thing, supporting local and organic farming is as effective as starting your own hive. Visit http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/markets-and-events for ways to show the bees your love.

Geoff Lister/The Ubyssey

If you’ve got running a marathon on your bucket list, you can look up to third-year integrated science student Chris Cochrane for inspiration.

He completed his first marathon at only 17 years of age when he ran the 2008 Okanagan Marathon in Kelowna. That was just the beginning of his career in making the lazy feel inadequate; he continued to do just that at the Vancouver Marathon this month.

Cochrane grew up in Penticton, BC, a town that has hosted the Ironman Canada race every summer since 1986. One of the more gruelling tests of endurance to be devised, the Ironman triathlon begins with a lengthy 3.8 kilometre swim and is followed by 180 kilometres on a bike, which in comparison is a bit longer than the distance between Vancouver and Hope, BC. To cap the race off, the participants run a full 42 kilometres, the equivalent of a marathon.

Cochrane completed the Ironman race for the first time when he was 18, and acknowledges that his father Brad played a big role in helping him.

“My dad is really big into Ironman as well, having done quite a few of them,” said Cochrane. “We trained a lot together for that when I was growing up, and we just enjoyed each other’s company.”

Last summer Cochrane completed the Ironman for a second time, and this time he and his father finished side by side.

“He’s the stronger biker, but I caught him on the run and we ran together for the last 18 miles and finished together for that one. It was quite motivating, really.”

No matter what other exercise a runner might do, Cochrane said that a marathon is still a formidable challenge that requires months of preparation.

“A marathon is different. I think you have to push a lot harder just because it is a single event, versus in a triathlon [where it's three different things]. I feel it hurts more, to be honest. It’s a tough event no matter what.”

Cochrane added that properly pacing yourself during the marathon is the hardest part.

“Holding back in the beginning so that you don’t hurt too much in the end, that’s always a really big challenge. [The beginning] feels really easy, but if you’re going too fast it’ll hurt you in the end.”

After coming to UBC, Cochrane has now competed in more races in the Lower Mainland. He took part in the Dirty Duo race in March, running 50 kilometres through the hills of North Vancouver and finishing fourth out of 36 competitors. Most recently, he ran the Vancouver Marathon on May 6 with his father. Impressed by a course that passed through UBC and that he described as “amazingly beautiful,” he completed it three hours and 24 minutes.

“It was pretty good. It was a little bit difficult because it was right after exams and I didn’t get the chance to train as much as I wanted to.”

Cochrane is in his third year of a integrated science program in physiology, physics and biomechanics, and hopes to apply to medical school and study to become an orthopedic surgeon.

As for running, he plans to once again run the Okanagan Marathon in October with his girlfriend. There is no slowing down Chris Cochrane.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, Chris Cochrane’s time in the Vancouver Marathon was listed at over three and a half hours. In fact, he managed it in 3:24. The article has been updated to reflect this fact.

The trail camera for Bear 71. Bill Stilwell/flickr

I literally can’t remember the last time I was in a church; ho would have guessed that the reason I would be entering one now would be to see a film? To be more precise, I was at St Andrew’s Wesley United Church to take in Bear 71, the opening night gala for DOXA 2012, Vancouver’s own documentary film festival, now in its tenth year.

Having made it through the front door without bursting into flames, I was immediately struck by the contrast between the solid wood, ornate stained glass windows and the high-tech motion-triggered camera—resembling a metal octopus—set up in the lobby. No doubt it was meant to demonstrate the incongruity of such a device in pristine wilderness, where a similar camera was used to capture footage of a tagged grizzly bear along with other denizens of the forest over many years.

The screening, a National Film Board (NFB) Digital Studios project that is arguably more art installation than traditional doc, included a voiceover by Mia Kirshner as the bear, an abundance of computer imagery to track the “star”’s movements and live musicians performing the score. This daring experiment wasn’t lost on programming director Dorothy Woodend. “I’m still a bit shaky today, and [I] wonder, was this a good idea?” she said, chucking.

But she said that it wasn’t a snap decision, having reached out to Loc Dao at the NFB. “I spoke with Loc back in September about the possibility of having an installation for DOXA,” she said. “He mentioned he was working on one, but couldn’t say what it was.”

When the piece premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, it created a stir among moviegoers and Woodend knew it was what she was looking for. “It’s Vancouver born, bred and created,” she said. “[It] was a way to showcase what’s going on here, as Vancouver is at the vanguard of filmmaking.” And there is no denying that it is unique.

Securing funding for festivals is always challenging—without sponsors, each ticket would cost about $30—but few people outside DOXA’s inner circle were aware that the festival almost didn’t happen this year. Kenji Maeda, the festival’s executive director, explained that the festival had their Canadian Heritage funding cut late in the game, putting the brakes on the planning process.

As they worked through the labyrinthine process to contact the minister of Canadian Heritage to find out the reason for the decision, the clock was ticking down, so they opted for a bold strategy.

“We wrote an open letter to the minister, and launched it.” Maeda smiles. “I received a call from the minister the next day and he said the festival is in his backyard and he’s been to DOXA and we’d get the funding.”

You can take in some amazing docs at the festival that almost wasn’t until May 13. Just remember to buy your tickets early, as the shows can sell out fast. The schedule, showtimes and venue information can be found at http://www.doxafestival.ca/.

Alternatively, Bear 71 will be on interactive display at the Roundhouse Community Centre until Saturday, May 12.

Yara De Jong/The Ubyssey

Incorporation may be off the table, but the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) still wants control of their student space.

The EUS had planned to incorporate as a separate society from the AMS in order to have more control over the new student centre they plan to build as a replacement to their decrepit “Cheeze” building. Facing mounting costs and a university unwilling to sign a building agreement, they’ve gone back to the drawing board—but it might not stop a policy that would give deans final say on activities in faculty student spaces.

“It became pretty evident from talks with the university that they wouldn’t be willing to sign with an incorporated party, as opposed to signing with the AMS on behalf of the EUS,” said EUS President Ian Campbell.

Hubert Lai, university counsel for UBC, confirmed this. “If you’ve got a brand new student society with no track record, with no assets, the university would have to look at that very carefully and see if it was still an appropriate and prudent decision to enter into an agreement with them,” he said.

The new Engineering Student Centre, a $5.2 million project, was set to be finished by spring 2013. Its funding comes primarily through student fees and alumni donations. Through incorporation, the EUS hoped to be able to hire their own building staff, reimburse students faster for EUS-related purchases and make sure that the students and alumni who funded the building would have control over what happened there.

The engineers now fear that their new student space will be the first to entrench a formal policy in which final authority for what goes on there rests not with students and alumni donors, but with UBC.

A new policy called “Key Concepts for the Governance of Faculty Student Social Spaces” was drafted in the wake of the EUS’s decision against incorporation. According to Campbell, UBC wants to make the policy mandatory for any undergraduate society that wants to operate its own building—like the Abdul Ladha Science Student Centre, operated by the Science Undergraduate Society.

The policy stipulates that “no activities take place in the buildings without the university’s approval through the Dean,” and Campbell is worried that this blanket rule will cause alumni donations toward the new building to dry up.

“I think that if the alumni don’t feel that they and students have a reasonable degree of control over projects that they’re donating to, then it will strongly dissuade them from donating,” said Campbell.

“We don’t want students to have full control of the building, because then there’s no checks and balances,” Campbell explained, “but we also don’t want the faculty to have full control because we’d have the same problem, just on the other end.”

Campbell said that the EUS hoped that, rather than handing the faculty full control over the space, a management committee composed of students, alumni and faculty could hold authority over the building.

In Lai’s opinion, although student engagement in running student spaces is important, having the ultimate control rest with faculty allows for continuity. “Students, as you know, they come and they go, and alumni become engaged or less engaged [at] various times,” said Lai. “I think if you look at any of the existing situations where the dean does have final decision-making power, you’ll see that it has never been an issue, that the students’ voice has been heard, and that unless there are unwise recommendations coming out of the group, the dean has never had to intervene.”

However, Campbell urged for a balance of power. “We want to actually see the stakeholders fully taking part in deciding what goes on in the building,” he said. “We don’t think that any one party should have absolute control of it.”

A sharply edited and insightful piece, Salaam Dunk follows the many trials and tribulations of the women’s basketball team at the American University of Iraq in their second season. This coming-of-age film focuses on women coming to terms with their femininity in a society that has traditionally been very regressive in terms of women’s rights. We see the sense of purpose and identity that the team gives the characters. Led by the charismatic Coach Ryan, who the women adore for his brotherly charm, yet respect for his no-nonsense approach, the team members are bubbly and zestful despite the challenges of growing up in Iraq. The film thoughtfully fleshes out their personal stories through interviews and video diaries; by the end, the audience is invested to the extent that they hold their breath with every penalty shot, and breathe a collective sigh of relief with every scoring point. Ultimately, Salaam Dunk is touching, uplifting and relevant, and it sets the bar high for other documentaries to follow in the DOXA lineup.
—Gavin Yeung

Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

When Swedish documentarian Fredrik Gertten began chronicling the plight of Nicaraguan plantation workers suing agri-giant Dole over injuries from pesticides, he had no idea that he was donning a target. It didn’t take long: before his film’s debut at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, Dole launched a relentless smear campaign against Gertten and threatened to sue everyone connected to the project. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* follows Gertten through labyrinthine legal wrangling, exposes the insidious nature of spin doctoring and reveals how corporate interests endanger the freedom of the press. Bananas! is an aggravating, inspiring testament to what documentary filmmaking is all about.
—Greg Ursic

The Light Bulb Conspiracy

You’ve no doubt heard the saying “They don’t make them like they used to.” And the dirty little secret—as illuminated in The Light Bulb Conspiracy—is that things are now designed to break down prematurely. Director Cosima Dannoritzer contrasts the story of a 100-year-old working lightbulb in a California firehouse with the efforts of an international cartel struck in 1924 to reduce the lifespan of lightbulbs. The doc highlights the now ubiquitous concept of planned obsolescence with stories of easy-run nylons and printers with pre-set lifespans. Dannoritzer refuses to let consumers off the hook, noting that it is their obsession with having the latest, greatest and up-to-datest widget that drives the throw-away lifestyle—which threatens not only our credit scores but the planet itself. The Light Bulb Conspiracy might even make you reconsider that next cellphone upgrade.
—Greg Ursic

The Strawberry Tree

In the tiny northern Cuban village of Juan Antonio, life is slow, humble and easygoing. Wind blows, goats graze and children play as the sun rises and sets. Locals throw around witty, indiscreet humour to director Simone Rapisarda Casanova, usually without knowing they’re being filmed. The Strawberry Tree depicts the deterioration of Juan Antonio following a hurricane that spared nothing; the town was one of the few self-sustaining, isolated communities left in Cuba and the world. This slowly unfolding film takes viewers back to the root of what it means to be human.
—Nina Kiri

Courtesy Rich Lam/UBC Athletics

The UBC women’s golf team feels that they are physically ready to succeed at the upcoming NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships; if they can mentally prepare themselves as well, expect big things from them next week.

An impressive win at the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) Women’s Golf Championships in April earned them a berth in the upcoming NAIA National Championships. The tournament runs from May 15–19 at the Link Hills Country Club in Greeneville, Tennessee.

It will be the biggest tournament of the year for the team, but the ‘Birds aren’t scared of strong competition.

“I don’t think they’ll feel more pressure than they’ve felt all year,” said head coach Chris MacDonald. “They’ve played against teams that are some of the best teams in the NAIA. We know what we’re up against.”

The success of the team is due to the completeness of their five-player roster. It is a tough process to qualify for the team, and this competition has created a well-rounded squad.

Third-year Kylie Barros is the only golfer who has played Link Hills before, winning the 2011 NAIA individual title there, but she is not the only one with national experience. Fifth-year Alyssa Human was with UBC when the T-Birds won NAIA Nationals in 2010.

Along with first-year Stephanie Wong, Human and Barros have played key leadership roles on the team.

“All year [they] have kind of carried us, or at least been very consistent,” said MacDonald. “We’re fairly dependent on those players.”

The rest of the team still plays important roles, though. Reagan Wilson and Casara Hong both complement their teammates in different ways and help bolster the squad.

“Casara brings some distance to us, and she’s shot some under-par scores for us this year, so she’s another valuable player for us,” MacDonald said. “Reagan has been steady; she shot a couple of 77′s at the AII Tournament, and she’s really committed to playing well. She’s a really good competitor.”

It’s been a long year of preparation leading up to the nationals, with the team putting in many hours of work not only on the course, but also in the gym and in sports psychology appointments.

In the past few weeks, though, they are slightly changing their approach in hopes of becoming as mentally prepared as possible.

“We’re trying to create more scenario-type practices,” said MacDonald. “It’s less hitting balls and more hitting one specific ball at a target with a specific focus on that shot.

“We just keep working to be ready for being calm in that moment.”

The Vancouver area has also helped prepare the team for that moment. The Pacific Northwest may not be a haven for golfers, but it has prepared the ‘Birds for any conditions that a course throws at them.

“We play in good weather, and then we also play in soft conditions, so I think that [the weather] is actually more of a benefit than it is a negative,” MacDonald said. “We have a 12-month season here; we really can’t make any excuses for the weather.”

Women’s golf has been a strong team at UBC as of late, having already won two national championships as a team and finishing as runner-up twice since 2001. But the amount of current practice proves that past successes haven’t dulled their drive to win another team title.

With focused preparation, a well-rounded roster and a vast amount of experience, UBC will be a tough team to stop as they vie for their second NAIA Women’s Golf Championship in the past three years.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said that Alyssa Human won an individual NAIA national title in 2010. In fact, she was on the UBC team when it won the team title in the same year. The article has been updated to reflect that fact.

Mary Kitagawa of the Greater Vancouver Japanese-Canadian Citizens Association led the push to award the honorary degrees. Photo courtesy Don Erhardt.

After the conclusion of a drawn-out dispute between the UBC Senate and the Japanese-Canadian community, the honorary degrees UBC agreed to grant to the 76 Japanese-Canadian students interned during World War II will be awarded in a ceremony on May 30.

The degrees are a newly created type of honorary designation, based on similar degrees granted by the University of California in 2010. They are intended to recognize the historic injustice of forcing these UBC students to abandon their studies in 1942, and finally welcome them into the UBC alumni community.

Alden Habacon, director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development at UBC, said the May 30 ceremony will proceed much like the usual honorary degree ceremonies UBC performs every year, but this one will have many more recipients. Twenty-three of the students are still alive, while family representatives will collect the degrees on behalf of the deceased.

The ceremony itself will avoid dwelling too much on the tragic history of internment or the honorees’ ethnicity, and has been put together in consultation with members of the Japanese-Canadian community.

“The students felt very Canadian and very mainstream…The whole problem is that the reason these students were removed and exiled is because they were Japanese and what everyone seems to keep forgetting is that they’re also just Canadian,” said Habacon. “We’ve tried very hard to keep the focus entirely on the students.”

It will be the circumstances that are special, rather than the ceremony itself, Habacon said.

“It’ll be such a once in-a-lifetime moment of healing, that I don’t know if we’ll get the chance to see this again.”

Mary Kitagawa, a member of the Greater Vancouver Japanese-Canadian Citizens Association who led the campaign for the honorary degrees, said the reaction of the former students was overwhelmingly positive.

“They never, ever dreamt that this would happen in their lifetime and when they realized that it was true, they were so happy.”

Kitagawa gave an example of a former student who will be travelling from Okinawa and calls her often to tell her how excited he is to attend the ceremony.

It was hard work to reach this point, said Kitagawa. “At one point, I thought that I was yelling in an empty room where no one was listening.”

However, Kitagawa said she is grateful that UBC has finally decided to do the right thing.

“They made 23 people very happy, and those who are deceased, their families are very happy. I haven’t had any negative comment from any of them.

“This was not about me, but everything to do with finding justice for the students of 1942,” she said.

The ceremony takes place at the Chan Centre at 4pm on May 30. Tickets are available for the general public.