by Carolynne BurkholderNEWS EDITOR

Science students are wondering why the LadhaScience Student Centre has been delayed forthree months.

According to Science UndergraduateSociety (SUS) President Michael Duncan, thebuilding was supposed to open on August 18.But because of building delays the date waspushed back to September 5 and then toSeptember 22.

“We really haven’t gotten any definitivedates since September 22,” said Duncan.

“Our ultimate goal is to have the buildingopen, but if anything we just want a date ofwhen it’s going to open,” he said. “Studentshave been paying for four years now throughtheir student fees and we haven’t been able todeliver. They think that’s the fault of theScience Undergraduate Society.”

“I don’t know why there’s been such a long delay,” agreed fourth-year biology student Jamieson Anderson. “It would benice to have it open.”

Fourth-year biology student Ruana Singh

also didn’t know why the building has yet toopen. She said she is looking forward to usingthe Student Centre when it opens.

Duncan said he tried to contact UBCProperties Trust on “numerous occasions,” buthas yet to get a response.

But Joe Redmond, UBC Properties Trustvice president, refuted Duncan’s claim thatthey haven’t been communicating with SUS.

“We’ve been in touch with the ScienceUndergraduate Society whenever they’veasked to speak with us,” he said.

Redmond said there are two main reasonswhy the building has been delayed.

First, UBC alumnus Abdul Ladha whodonated over $1 million to the project wantedthe handrails on the inside to be made fromglass.

“They had to be totally reengineeredbecause of the nature of the railing. We had toget a different engineer to do it and then theyhad to be built,” said Redmond.

Second, the patio at the back of the build-ing couldn’t be locked because of fire regula-tions, which wasn’t realised until the finalinspection.

U Rest in peace Marzipan since 1918

THREE AND OUTAmy Bobb on how her third CIS Women’ssoccer title was the best. PAGE 12

AN APPLE AMONG ORANGESAboriginal students get schooled in stigma on reserve. PAGE 5

ILLUMINATING EVERYTHINGJonathan Safran Foer at the Jewish BookFestival. PAGE 6

www.ubyssey.bc.caVOL . LXXXVIII NO22 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006

UBYSSEYTHE

by Colleen Tang NEWS EDITOR

Commerce MBAs voted 76 per cent in favourof the $1,000 proposed building fee onNovember 9.

The vote took place at a town hall meetingattended by 215 MBA students by a show ofhands.

According to the Director of Marketing,Recruiting and Admissions for the MBAProgram Office, Arthur Redillas, they arebehind the project “100 per cent.”

“We were certainly happy at the result. Itwas quite an informal vote.”

MBA students will look forward to a grad-uate business wing if the undergraduate stu-dents also vote in favour of the building proj-ect.

Part of the reason Redillas thinks manystudents supported the motion was becausethey “believe it’s something that will attractstudents in the future and something that willadd value to their own degree.”

MBAs approve building fee

Students upset about building delay“We just want a date of when it’s going to open”:

Science Undergraduate Society President

by Michelle Radley and Samantha Jung

NEWS WRITER AND NEWS STAFF

UBC visual arts students celebrated theunveiling of a new student art display casein the Meekison Arts Students Space(MASS) lounge last week.

The gallery will have monthly exhibi-tions to showcase the work of visual arts classes, the photo society and inde-pendent student and faculty artists. Thepremiere exhibit features a series of colourful thought-provoking silk screensdepicting issues of personal importance to the students in the intermediate printmedia class.

Organisers are hoping that the newgallery will help raise an awareness andappreciation of visual arts on campus.

“We’re just trying to get artwork to thestudents,” explained Brian Fernandes,president of the Visual Arts Student Society(VASS). “[We’re] trying [to] get students toknow about visual arts; the fact that weeven have a visual arts program at UBC.People don’t know that there are classesthey can take in the visual arts, or thatthere’s the VASS, which does a lot of arts-related activities. A lot of students wouldlove to do [art classes] because they’re inthe sciences...they have a creative side butthey don’t expose it.”

The new gallery is also expected to ben-efit student artists in many other ways.

“The Fine Arts Department at UBC [is]vastly underrepresented in the sense thatthere are a lot of talented individuals and[there is] a lot of good work being done thatisn’t seen in the broader campus communi-ty,” said one of the featured artists, RyanCorbett.

“Art cannot exactly exist in a rural vacu-um where only you see it or your class-mates or colleagues see it. It has to beaccessed by a broader audience in order forit to be meaningful or relevant. The natureof creating work and being an artist is toget it out there.”

Maria Anna Parolin, visual arts profes-

Visual artists have anew location todisplay their work

see “MBAs” page 2.

see “Ladha” page 2.see “Visual” page 2.

Bringing attention to anlittle-known department

IT’S LEAKING: Ricardo Estrada thinks the graduate lounge needs some renovations. MBA students voted in favour of a building fee increase November 9. OKER CHEN PHOTO

GOOD LUCK ON ALL PAPERS AND EXAMS!

“THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT

AT UBC [IS] VASTLY UNDER-REPRESENTED IN THE SENSE

THAT [THERE IS] A LOT

OF GOOD WORK BEING

DONE THAT ISN’T SEEN IN

THE BROADER CAMPUS

COMMUNITY.”–Ryan Corbett

MASS featured artist

ALMOST READY: Construction delays the opening of the Ladha Science StudentCentre. The building should be finished by the end of the month. OKER CHEN PHOTO

“STUDENTS HAVE BEEN PAYING

FOR FOUR YEARS NOW

THROUGH THEIR STUDENT

FEES AND WE HAVEN’TBEEN ABLE TO DELIVER.

–Michael DuncanPresident

Science Undergraduate Society

NEWS2 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY

Canada Post Sales AgreementNumber 0040878022

TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006VOL . LXXXVIII NO22

The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous,democratically run student organisation, and all students areencouraged to participate.

Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarilyreflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or theUniversity of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing inThe Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society.Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permissionof The Ubyssey Publications Society.

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Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please includeyour phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions.ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be doneby phone. “Perspectives” are opinion pieces over 300 words butunder 750 words and are run according to space.“Freestyles” areopinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will begiven to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter istime sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity ofthe writer has been verified. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by12 noon the day before intended publication.Letters received afterthis point will be published in the following issue unless there is anurgent time restriciton or other matter deemed relevant by theUbyssey staff.

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UTHE UBYSSEY

‘tweens

“It will help. People, I wouldsay, they’re attracted to usbecause of the program and thecity of Vancouver. A new buildingwould certainly be a nice bonus...Iwould say that we’re hoping toattract more students.”

According to Ricardo Estrada,MBA student society president,students were presented with“what the whole building proposalwas going to be and how it wasgoing to affect the students,including the $1,000 fee” in earlyOctober in another town hallmeeting. This gave giving the stu-dents five weeks to consider theproject.

“The referendum question was‘do you agree or do you supportthe construction of the new build-ing including the new fee,’”Estrada said.

He felt that the MBA studentswere very capable of making aninformed decision because oftheir age and experience.

“It’s a $36,000 program andwe have to take into account thatmost of our average ages is 31. Soif we’re working for almost eightyears...We’re all mature and moreexperienced.”

Estrada felt that it is fair that students bear partial costsbecause despite the increase it isstill “a good deal” in terms thatthey are in a facility that they willget “the full benefits.”

“We’re just going to be better stu-dents for being involved,” he added.

“This is an improvement. Thiswill be better for the school over-all and we support it.” UU

“MBAs” continued from page 1.“Ladha” continued from page 1.

“Because of the way thebuilding is situated, peoplecould access the building fromthe back patio without anysecurity,” said Redmond. “Wedidn’t think that was appropri-ate and we didn’t want to closeoff the patio completely.”

The new design uses barsto prevent people from access-ing the building through thebalcony.

Redmond explained thatcode violations are often foundduring the final inspection.

“Often the code items aren’tpicked up in the building per-mit stage,” he said.

But Duncan said this codeviolation has been a point ofcontention for SUS.

“You’d think the people incharge of the project wouldknow about it before the build-ing got built,” Duncan said.“That’s been a bit of a sore spotfor us.”

Redmond said there is agood reason why they haven’tbeen able to give SUS a com-pletion date.

“We haven’t been able topin down the exact datebecause we didn’t know exactlyhow long the contractorswould take,” he said. “We don’thave any control over thesepeople.”

The Ladha Science StudentCentre is projected to opensometime before the end of themonth. The building is fundedthrough Ladha’s donation, alevy from science students, andfunding from the University. UU

sor, also recognised the need for astudent gallery for the culturalbenefit of the student body.

“I think any artist needs a placeto show their work and have apublic to communicate to,” shesaid. “The role of an artist nowa-days is to uncover things that nor-mal people don’t usually payattention to. It’s our job to high-light things, our job to make peo-ple aware of certain aspects in oursociety.”

Visual arts students previouslyhad a gallery in the old library, but it was torn down due to construction. This new displaycase in the MASS lounge is a tem-porary solution because it onlyhas the capacity to display two-

dimensional artwork.Visual arts students are looking

to UBC to fulfill its promise of pro-viding a new gallery space dedicat-ed exclusively to student art.

“We haven’t had [a space] forawhile now and as far as we know, the University has said theyare going to give us something,”said Fernandes. “It’s just theyhaven’t been very definite aboutit, we don’t know when it’s goingto happen. I think the Universitywants to give [the space] to us, it’s just [that] they’ve been kind oflagging a lot.”

“We just want people to [be ableto] enjoy art and take a look at it...it’s something that is around us andsometimes we take for granted, butwhen it’s not there, then we’re like‘Where’s the art?’” UU

“Visual” continued from page 1.

Social Welfare Then andNowNovember 27, 12-1pmAlumni Reading Room, JackBell Social Work Bldg (2080West Mall)Dave Barett, former Premierof BC and MP, reflects onhow culture and approachto social welfare haschanged over the past thirty years in BC. A freeevent.

Museum ofAnthropology LunchEvery Tuesday in November11:30am-3:30pmMuseum of AnthropologyTake a break every Tuesdayfor a breath of fresh air afabulous lunch: one samosa,three pakoras, tamarindsauce and a cup of chai teafor $4.50. All proceeds go toUnited Way.

Tango ParadisoNovember 29, 12-1pmRecital Hall, School of MusicFor just $4, you can appreci-ate this vibrant dance form,a “heartfelt and dynamictake on the tango.” Thisevent is open to the public.

League-a-paloozaNovember 30, 7pm-12amPit Pub, UBCEnjoy the Canucks vs.Anaheim Ducks PPV GameTen, and pay no cover.Enjoy a dance party anddoor prizes drawn through-out the night. Sponsored byUBC REC.

Shaun Verreault & WilNovember 23, 8pmPit Pub, UBCTwo incredibly talented gui-tarists on the same stage, foronly $12. Both artists will beperforming full solo sets andthen taking the stage togeth-er for a few more.

Congress and theElection: What Next?November 21, noon-1pmLiu Institute for Global Issues,6476 NW Marine DrivePanelists include David E.Skaggs and Denny Smith,both of whom worked in theUS House of Representatives.They will respond to a num-ber of questions: How did theDemocrats win? How will theUS deal with Iraq and withissues affecting Canada?

VISUALISE THIS: Artist Hwan Jahng created “Bloody Landscape”a print of his experience in North Korea. OKER CHEN PHOTO

MBA students andadministration are

looking forward to agraduate student wing

Students studying visual arts finally havean avenue to show others their vision

Opening of the socialspace unclear due to

contractors: UBCProperties Trust

THE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 NEWS 3

by Colleen Tang NEWS EDITOR

The west atrium doors of the UBCLife Sciences Centre fell back into the building and shattered atapproximately 9:30pm onNovember 6.

According to the Director ofHealth Safety and EnvironmentDavid Zajdlik, “it was a negativepressure situation that caused thedoors to swing inward.”

He explained that there was afailure in the air supply control sys-tem. “Because of that the buildingsupply system wasn’t workingproperly at the time.”

Zajdlik added that fortunatelyno one was injured during this incident.

“The mechanical systems inthat building are very, very com-plex and it’s a pretty new buildingwith a high degree of automation,”he added. “They’re not simple sys-tems so it certainly wasn’t antici-pated.”

However, there are still uncer-tainties as to the root cause of thisincident.

There is a continuous flow ofair going in and out of the build-ing, said Zajdlik. However, theintake and output of air becameunbalanced.

“What I understand happenedwas that for some reason themakeup air supply failed and itcaused a vacuum effect as air wastrying to get into the building andultimately this caused the doors to

fail.”UBC Properties Trust Vice

President Joe Redmond believesthat a UBC worker from PlantOperations may have accidentallycaused a chain reaction.

According to Redmond, some-how the equipment short-circuitedand managed to bypass the moni-toring system and thus shut downtheir total area intake of air.

How this happened is still unre-solved, he added.

This is not the first incident tooccurr at the Life Sciences Centre.There was a previous situation in which “a worker accidentallyturned off a switch and sucked inone of the big doors as well,” saidRedmond.

“Now that time the door didn’tbreak and nothing happened sowhen that happened we did makesome changes to the system sothat the engineers said if one ofthe switches was turned off [the

intake switch] the exhaust wouldalso be turned off so the buildingwouldn’t experience that negativepressure.”

He added, “this was a one in amillion accident no one could havepredicted” because “it was a kind offluke thing that happened...it [had]nothing to do with the materials [ofthe building].”

Redmond said that luckily noone was injured in that incidenteither.

Zajdlik said that precautions arecurrently being taken “to preventthat situation from arising in thefirst place.”

“The short term [solution] isthe temporarily wood frame andplywood barriers with the inwardfacing doors which would be inplace until longer term measuresare complete.”

Tim Morgan, operations manag-er of the Life Sciences Centre,declined to comment. UU

Fluke incident at Life Sciences Centre Uncertainties remain among officials as to the root causes of this situation

by Amanda StuttNEWS WRITER

UBC professor Judy Segal warnedstudents about the persuasive tac-tics used by drug companies to selltheir products at Robson Square onNovember 15.

Drug company advertisementsare characterised by catchy slogansand tragic ‘before’ pictures and jubi-lant ‘after’ pictures, Segal explained.

“If you’re seeing drug ads on tel-evision, either you’re seeing themimported from the United Stateswhere they’ve been legal since1985 or you’re seeing less explicitads that are currently legal inCanada,” she said.

This is known as Direct ToConsumer Advertising (DTCA), andaccording to Segal, it’s a strategyused by to pharmaceutical compa-nies that appeals directly to the pub-lic and is used to increase sales.

“There are good reasons to try tokeep control on DTCA in Canada—itdrives up the numbers of prescrip-tions filled, it increases the cost ofhealth care, in some cases advertis-ing leads people to take drugs forwhat might be the rest of their lives,these are all important concernsgiven an ageing population,” saidSegal.

“Drug companies encourage usto believe...that the fastest, mosteffective way to make things betteris drugs.”

Segal explained that an advertis-ing strategy common in the industryis not to advertise a drug, butinstead to advertise a disorder ordisease that you ‘may have.’ The

drug companies then urge people to see their doctors, suggestingthrough advertising that it “wouldbe irresponsible not to.”

The result is that many peoplevisit their doctors, concerned thatthey may have a disorder or a dis-ease that they are not aware of andhaving been exposed to drug adver-tisements, often will ask for drugsby name, said Segal. “Ritalin,Prozac, Atavin, Vicodin...they are allhousehold names.”

“The strategy is called conditionbranding and works in part by providing a diagnostic checklists.The reader completes the checklist,identifies himself or herself assomeone who may have the condi-tion in question and then carries thechecklist to a physician, often with aspecific request for the advertiseddrug.”

“The goal of pharmaceuticaladvertising is to increase the pool ofconsumers for the advertised drug,”said Segal, noting that pharmaceuti-cal companies put most of theirresearch and development and

advertising dollars into drugs thatappeal to a large population wealthyenough to take the drugs often for along period of time.

Segal cited cholesterol-loweringdrugs as an example. She added thatthe revenues from the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor totaled over $2billion in the US in 2000.

Drug companies also appeal tofear of illnesses that we may or maynot have.

“The message is be afraid...it’sa form of body terrorism...goodcitizens take drugs for illnessesthey don’t they have yet...the ill-ness that can sneak up in thenight,” Segal said.

Segal explained that another tac-tic used by drug companies is to“make connections between prod-ucts and values,” explaining thatdrug companies take our own ideasof who we are and who we want tobe and use these ideas to sell theirproducts.

“They establish connectionsbetween taking drugs and beingyour best self...Zoloft can make usbetter mothers, Paxil reveals the‘real you,’ Cialis makes us betterpartners...What is being called forthin us is guilt,” said Segal.

“Pharmaceuticals can make ourlives better some of the time...andcan save lives...some pharmaceuti-cals are very effective,” said Segal,explaining that her goal was notsolely to criticise drugs, but to callattention to how pharmaceuticaladvertising works and the persua-sive tactics used by drug compa-nies to encourage people to buytheir drugs. UU

Art of persuasion, pharmaceutical style UBC professor warns about the persuasive tactics used by drug companies

NOT THE PRETTIEST: But the plywood put in place temporarily will help prevent a repeat occurence. OKER CHEN PHOTO

“DRUG COMPANIES

ENCOURAGE US TO

BELIEVE...THAT THE

FASTEST, MOST EFFEC-TIVE WAY TO MAKE

THINGS BETTER IS

DRUGS.”–Judy Segal

UBC English professor

Rowyn Devito and Kelsey Patton from the Gender Continuumand Womyn’s Centre show their support at UBC’s TransgenderDay of Remembrance on Monday. The event is part of Trans-Awareness Week 2006. Organisers hope to create a trans-inclusive environment on campus. OKER CHEN PHOTO

Transgender Day of Remembrance

4 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEYNATIONAL

Foreign workers receive unfairpay, local union chapter says

by Joanne PenhaleLANGARA VOICE (LANGARA COLLEGE)

VANCOUVER (CUP)—Complaints ofunfair labour practices are mount-ing against an employer who hiredforeign workers to dig undergroundtunnels for Vancouver’s rapid tran-sit rail system.

Kevin Blakely, lawyer for theConstruction and Specialised Work-ers Union Local 1611, said helaunched a complaint to the BCLabour Relations Board last Tuesday.

He said he filed the complaintbecause the foreign workers, whovoted to join the union in June, werethreatened with losing their jobsunless they voted the way theiremployer, SELI—an Italian tunnellingcompany and subcontractor on theCanada Line—wanted them to in thetwo most recent union votes.

SELI is part of a joint venturewith construction firm SNC Lavalinto tunnel beneath False Creek,Yaletown and parts of Cambie Streetby August 2008.

This is the third active complaintfiled with the Labour Relations Boardregarding approximately 50 workerswho were hired from countries inLatin America, mainly Costa Rica, towork on tunnelling for the newCanada Line.

Mike Olsen, union local’s busi-ness manager, said before the work-ers were unionised they were makingas low as $4 an hour.

He said the company began pay-ing the workers $14 to $15 an hour

immediately after the vote tounionise without negotiating with theunion. Olsen said the new rate is stillless than half the industry-rate for thework they are doing.

He said other workers on thesame job site are earning more thandouble that amount. “We have to getthese guys Canadian rates,” saidBlakely. “Otherwise, they’re under-mining Canadian labour.”

A receptionist for the joint ven-ture refused an interview with anyexecutive of the company and at onepoint denied that Latin Americanworkers worked for the company.

Steve Crombie, the vice-presidentof public affairs for In-TransitBC, thepublic-private partnership responsi-ble for the Canada Line construction,was unavailable for comment.

The BC Human Rights Tribunalhas accepted a complaint from theunion over the wage differentialbetween workers based on theirpoint of origin.

Olsen said the tribunal’s hear-ing is planned for July 2007. If it’ssuccessful, the workers will beawarded industry-standard wagesretroactively.

Olsen did not want the workers tospeak about the issue.

“We have a lot of legal issues goingon,” he said, adding the workerscould be sent home if the companydidn’t like something they said.

Blakely said the workers areunder a lot of pressure.

“They would rather just see thiswhole thing go away.” UU

Canada’s climate plan illegal, says lawyerby Kelly Ebbels

THE MCGILL DAILY (MCGILL UNIVERSITY)

MONTREAL (CUP)—The Canadiangovernment is in breach of its inter-national climate change contractsand is legally obligated to act,according to a legal opinion com-missioned by an international envi-ronmental group.

The government is in violation ofthe Kyoto Protocol and the UNFramework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC), Roda Verheyen,an environmental lawyer wrote in aletter to Environment MinisterRona Ambrose.

The letter, sent October 31 byFriends of the Earth Canada andFriends of the Earth International,also suggested that Canada wouldlikely violate the reduction targetsmandated by the protocol unless itacts now to curtail greenhouse gasemissions.

“There’s just no excuse for notcomplying [with the Kyoto Protocol],”said Christine Elwell, senior cam-paigner for Friends of the EarthCanada. “Rational countries shouldget with the program.”

Although the Canadian govern-ment has not formally backed out ofthe Kyoto Protocol, it has publiclyannounced its intention to contra-vene the regulations.

The letter is unprecedented in itsuse of Section 166 of the CanadianEnvironmental Protections ActSection 166 stipulates that the gov-ernment can be forced to act if it isproven that Canadian pollution con-tributes to international air pollution,or that Canada is in breach of inter-national agreements designed to con-trol that pollution.

Under the government’s CleanAir Act, released in October, Canadais obliged to cut greenhouse gasemissions to 2001 levels by 2050,

instead of a cutback to 1990 levelsby 2012 as mandated by the KyotoProtocol.

According to the letter, theHarper government has alreadybroken the Kyoto agreement by fail-ing to make “demonstrableprogress” toward lowering emis-sions and by not reporting onprogress.

The Kyoto Protocol’s UN Compli-ance Committee was also sent a copyof the allegations.

The warning came one day afterthe release of a report by Britisheconomist Sir Nicholas Stern argu-ing that governments must act toreduce greenhouse gas emissions toavoid massive economic costs.

If countries do not spend aboutone per cent of their annual GDP oncutting greenhouse emissions, fiveto 20 per cent of global per capitaconsumption could be lost, Stern’sreport said.

The report also points out that if the international community con-ducts “business as usual,” up to200 million people worldwidecould become refugees due todrought and flood.

Elwell agreed that the economiccosts of climate change are convinc-ing. “Think about it—floating cities,a melting Arctic, beetle infestations,people dying from heat stroke—allthose things cost money,” she said.

Environmentalists in Canada areoptimistic that Stern’s report, aswell as public backlash against thenew environmental plan, will forcethe government to act.

“There’s public pressure that [theConservatives] need to do better,”said Claire Stockwell, a co-founder ofCanadian Youth Climate Coalition. “Ithink it’s going to motivate them.”

Bob Craiger, spokesman for theEnvironment Ministry, was not avail-able for comment. UU

Find out what’s happening on campus. Read the Ubyssey.

THE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 FEATURE 5

REGINA (CUP)—Cassandra Opikokewconsiders herself blessed. This pastyear, the 20-year-old has helped cre-ate an Aboriginal student centre atthe University of Regina, got hername on the Dean’s List, madeinroads into her career as a journal-ist by working as a CTV reporter atthe Indigenous Games in Denver,Colorado and became the firstAboriginal students’ representativefor her university students’ union.

At a time when drop-out rates,poverty, suicide and incarcerationare still staggering among Canada’sAboriginal population, there is nodoubt that Opikokew is a role modelin her community.

But she faces a problem manyAboriginals have encountered intheir pursuit of a higher educationand economic security: along withracism from non-Aboriginal peopleand a sense of separateness fromthe university community,Opikokew also faces isolation whenshe goes home.

APPLE SYNDROME

When Opikokew goes back to hercommunity, her education and expe-rience draw a sharp line between herand nearly everyone else, many ofwhom haven’t gone to school. On thereserve, her education setsher apart.

She’s a minority and doesn’t fit inanymore. One might say she’s anapple among oranges.

“I’m not authentically Indian, notIndian enough, or I ‘sold out,’”Opikokew said.

“Being called an apple...means‘red on the outside, white on theinside.’”

Though she’s actively campaign-ing for Aboriginal rights, she still haspeople within her community whosecond-guess her motives for gettingan education.

“Why are you selling out andwhy are you up there?” is a ques-tion she said she’s had to answer tonumerous times.

While it hurts, she feels likewhat she’s doing now will helpmore than if she succumbed to crit-icism and stopped.

Supporting students strugglingwith this isolation is key to suc-

ceeding in universityand she uses her

own expe-rience

t o

help others.“I know when I graduate I don’t

plan on abandoning my First Nationscommunity.”

SIXTY IN 60In 1960, only 60 First Nations

people in Canada had a high schooldiploma.

It’s an easy number to remember,said Eric Howe, an economist at theUniversity of Saskatchewan whostudies Aboriginal economic develop-ment and Aboriginal populations.

According to Statistics Canada, in2001 there were over 100,000Registered Indians with a high-schoolcertificate. Seventy-five per cent ofaboriginal youth do not graduatefrom high school, however, Howesaid numbers are improving.

His most recent study, publishedby the Saskatchewan Institute ofPublic Policy, details how Aboriginalpeople in Saskatchewan are liftingthemselves out of poverty througheducation and entrepreneurship,much like Eastern European immi-grants did in the 20th Century.

“The increase and extent to whichAboriginal people are seeking aneducation is truly extraordinary,”said Howe.

A generation ago, Opikokew’sfather was the first person in hisentire family to receive a high-schooldiploma and after that, a universitydegree. He was the only First Nationsperson in his high school graduatingclass. Cassandra Opikokew was oneof several.

At the U of R today, Aboriginalstudents make up an estimated

12.5 per cent of total enroll-ment, or approximately

1,500 students.The numbers are

improving, thanks inpart to an increased

push from universi-ties across Canada

to provide pro-grams tailoredspecifically tothe needs ofAbor ig ina lstudents.

At theUof S, forexample,studentscan enrolli n t h eN a t i v eA c c e s sProgramt o N u r -s i n g ,w h i c hincludesa c c e s s t o b o t he l d e r sand cul-tural coun-

s e l l i n g ,among other

supports. Aboriginal

b u s i n e s s e d u c a t i o n ,

u r b a n n a t i v eteacher education

and programs onindigenous people

and justice are just asampling of the options

geared specifically to under-standing indigenous issues at

the U of S, which recentlyteamed up with the U of R to pro-

vide Aboriginal-focused health-care

studies. In Saskatchewan, the reasons for

such programs are evident. Howe’sstudy predicts that by the year 2050,the province’s population will be 50per cent Aboriginal.

While non-Aboriginal youth con-tinue to leave Saskatchewan at afaster pace, First Nations youth arestaying in the province and havingchildren at a higher rate than the restof the population.

Sabrina Sparvier is the co-ordina-tor of the newly formed AboriginalStudent Centre at the U of R. She’sbeen a key figure in the creation ofmany initiatives at the university,including on-reserve recruitmentand the Aboriginal Career Centre.

It was through her work thatmany of the current programs werecreated and the student centre wasformed. Through the centre,Sparvier hopes to provide academic,emotional and cultural support, con-nect students with scholarships andfunding to continue their educationand create a mentorship programthat pairs high school students withuniversity students.

As a first-generation universitystudent, Sparvier’s set of strugglesare counterpoint to Opikokew’s,although they have shared that samefeeling of isolation from the non-edu-cated Aboriginal community.

“I came from a background simi-lar to most Aboriginal people,” saidSparvier. She was raised in residen-tial schools, struggled with povertyand was the first person on bothsides of her family to get a degree.

The lack of support for Aboriginalstudents while she was in school hasallowed Sparvier to relate to thestruggles Aboriginal students face inpost-secondary education.

While other people in her pro-gram were still living at home withtheir parents, she was already a par-ent herself and worrying about pay-ing the bills.

“I found that when I came here itwas a totally different environment. Ifelt like it didn’t matter that I washere,” she said.

It’s important that studentsunderstand that they’re acceptedhere. It’s important they know thatthere are people working to build acommunity for them at the universi-ty, she said.

The University of Regina is trying.In 2004, they opened the Aboriginalstudent floor in the newly built resi-dence buildings. Hoping for thesense of community that was prom-ised, Opikokew moved there duringher first year.

“It was supposed to help us feelincluded,” said Opikokew. “That’swhy I wanted to live there.”

But she was one of only threeother Aboriginal students there thatfirst semester. It was a far cry fromthe close-knit communities and largefamilies that many Aboriginal stu-dents leave when they go to school,

something she had a hard timeadjusting to.

‘NO HIGHER SOCIAL PRIORITY’With trial does come error, but

that isn’t hindering what Howecalls an “unfolding feast of pro-grams” available to supportAboriginal students.

At the University of Manitoba, anew Aboriginal student centre isunder construction and there hasbeen an Aboriginal student officethere since the 1970s.

At the University ofSaskatchewan, there are more pro-grams for Aboriginals than at anyother university in Canada, and the Uof R has also placed these initiativesat the top of their list.

“Saskatchewan, as it’s been point-ed out by other people, has no highersocial priority than furthering eco-nomic integration of Aboriginal peo-ple into the economic mainstream.Education is part of that,” said Howe.

Countering many of the mythsthat surround educational incentivesfor Aboriginal people is also animportant hurdle to overcome.

One such myth is that allAboriginal people receive fundingfrom the government.

Aboriginal is a homogenous term,explained Opikokew. She herself isFirst Nations, and while First Nationspeople receive funding from the gov-ernment, Métis and non-statusIndians do not.

Only Registered, or “Status”Indians are funded by the federalgovernment. These funds werecapped at “nominal dollars” underthe Mulroney government, andhaven’t changed with the increasingcosts of education, said Howe.

The notion of a bottomless barrelof funds for First Nations studentsneeds to be re-thought, saidOpikokew. “It’s not just free moneythat we get and we go nuts.”

Currently, the money given bythe federal government is designedto cover the cost of tuition fees andbooks. Money may also be adminis-tered for the cost of living, depend-ing on circumstance. Daycare andrent subsidies, on the other hand,were removed from the program in1988, and eligibility criteria weretightened.

These dollars have notincreased with the cost of living orcost of education.

Band funding is also an option,but is often limited, as there aremany requests for it.

Unfortunately, scholarships andgrants for Aboriginal students are notoften accessed, said Sparvier,because students think they are onlyawarded for high marks, when theyare often awarded based on need.

Sparvier estimates that about 30per cent of non-status Aboriginals atthe U of R access student loans.

Funding and programmingaside, one of the biggest barriers forFirst Nations students is simplystaying in school, where manyaren’t prepared to face the sense ofisolation they feel in their own com-munity when they get a degree, andothers just don’t find the supportthey need to make it through.

“They feel alienated by education,they feel alienated by higher learn-ing, alienated by the non-Aboriginalcommunity,” said Opikokew.

“That’s why the ones who areblessed, in the same position as me,need to get up there to speak.” UU

Lonely at the topPursuing higher education can be a lesson in isolation for First Nations students

text by Jeanette Stewart (CUP Central Bureau Chief)apple by Oker Chen

IN 1960, ONLY 60 FIRST

NATIONS PEOPLE IN

CANADA HAD A HIGH

SCHOOL DIPLOMA. NOW,NUMBERS STEADILY

IMPROVING.

WHILE OTHER STUDENTS

WERE STILL LIVING WITH

THEIR PARENTS, FIRST

NATIONS STUDENT

SABRINA SPARVIER WAS

ALREADY A PARENT,WORRYING ABOUT PAY-ING THE BILLS.

CULTURE6 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY

www.kestralbooks.ca

THE BEDROOM SECRETS OF THEMASTER CHEFSby Irvine WelshRandom House

by Jesse MarchandCULTURE STAFF

Fans of Irvine Welsh will need littleconvincing before reading his latestnovel The Bedroom Secrets of theMaster Chefs. One of Scotland’smost infamous authors, Welshsecured his place in popular andintellectual circles with works likeTrainspotting, The Acid House andmost recently, Porno. His writing isknown for its mix of realistic emo-tions with surreal and supernaturalelements, and in that regard TheBedroom Secrets is no exception.

Set in Scotland with a brief trip toSan Francisco, Bedroom Secrets fol-lows the life of the alcoholic healthinspector Danny Skinner in hisquest to find his birth father; a manhe suspects is one of the infamouschefs in a cookbook entitled, TheBedroom Secrets of the MasterChefs. When the story begins,Skinner’s life is going along magical-ly. He has a beautiful girlfriend, aclose relationship with his punkrock mother, a steady job as a healthinspector and regular drinkingnights with his buddies.

Things go downhill when thehealth office hires a new inspectorby the name of Brian Kibby.Though Skinner’s troubles areclearly caused by alcoholism andan obsession with finding hisfather, he pours all of his blameand anger onto the straightlacedand geeky Kibby.

But a book by Irvine Welsh isnever complete without some typeof surrealism and Skinner soonfinds that he has godlike powerover Kibby—whatever Skinner doesto his body will not hurt him, butwill hurt Kibby instead.

Though at first revelling in hisnewfound power, Skinner soonrealises that having someoneelse’s life in your hands is more acurse than a blessing. Before

killing Kibby, Skinner realises thathe must find out why there exists astrange, cosmic connectionbetween them, or risk murderingthe young dork.

Though it is certainly not themost shocking or disturbing ofWelsh’s works, there is still theanecdotal sexual perversions—gross obesity, incestual attractionand feces. They are not, however,the meat and bones of the work. Inthis respect, the sex scenes seemalmost tacked on, as if they weretiny boosts for ratings or throw-backs to a previous Welsh work.

Nevertheless, the book is a quickand entertaining read. NorthAmerican readers will likely notrelate too much to the charactersbut the emotions of love and hatredinstill a sense of reflection on ourown perceptions of others. ButBedroom Secrets isn’t really aboutpersonal reflection or complexemotions. It has none of the rawrealism of Trainspotting and notnearly as much of the shocking sex-uality found in his short stories; itis a piece designed purely for enter-tainment and in this respect it isnot disappointing. UU

Toned-down Welsh makesno secret of human desires

Potter Ekta Nadeau shows off some of her wares at the UBC Pottery Club’s Annual Show andSale on Monday. The event runs until Friday at the SUB Art Gallery. For more informationabout the Pottery Club and the exhibition visit www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/pottery. OKER CHEN PHOTO

Artifacts from Clayland

www.ubyssey.bc.caCheck out the debate

over Lyme disease.

Get Cultured

culture@ubyssey.bc.ca

CULTURETHE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 7

THE NOODLE BOX867 West 4th Avenue

by Chantaie AllickCULTURE WRITER

The already saturated Vancouver dining scene has a new addition and unlike most, this one offerssomething outside of the realm of Japanese or fusion food. The Noodle Box opened up a fewmonths ago and has already amasseda loyal following for its stylish diningexperience.

For such a small menu, thisnoodle house from Victoria is foranyone who appreciates afford-able and delectable food options.From the 11-grade spice metre(very mild to suicide hot) to achoice of protein, noodle type andsauce, the sky is the limit withwhat even the pickiest dining afi-cionado can order. What one getsupon ordering is a saucy and satis-fying bowl of Asian-inspired com-fort food, a choice of thick noodles,deep, rich flavours and some leftover for later.

Other than being the provincialcapital, Victoria doesn’t really havemuch on Vancouver. With theopening of The Noodle Box theyhave one less thing to brag about.This island import started out as asmall cart in China Town andquickly grew into two locations.This place has got buzz and with

good reason—the atmosphere iscool yet unpretentious, veryKitsilano.

The understated, contemporaryAsian design with burnt yellowand cayenne red walls, smalltables and banquet seating createsthe perfect vibe.

The food itself, savoury and

primed to induce many a craving,comes in large ceramic takeout-shaped bowls. This kitschy detailnot only looks nice but also pro-vides enough food for two meals—my prawn dish included bonusbaby shrimp—and tastes delicious.

From location to concept, thisplace defines convenience. Taxesare included in all the menuprices—which means no compli-cated math for arts students.There is a self-serve water foun-tain right where you pick up yourfood (very necessary if you’regutsy enough to try suicide hot),the option of liquor with your food,and anyone who wants to canphone ahead and order their foodfor pick-up.

The Noodle Box is bound tobecome a staple for the area. Thisplace has gotten a lot of attentionover the past few weeks, hence itssingle setback: long lines. But thefood and experience is definitelyworth the wait. In fact—it is waypast time for me to finish the left-overs waiting for me in the fridge.Bon Appetit! UU

Noodle Box a savoury genius

JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER: IN CONVERSATION WITH HALWAKEat the Jewish Book FestivalNorman Rothstein TheatreNovember 18

by Mara Kardas-Nelson CULTURE WRITER

I must admit that I was absolutelythrilled to have the opportunity tohear Jonathan Safran Foer speak.Foer—author of the novel-turned-film Everything is Illuminated andthe recent Extremely Loud andIncredibly Close—was in Vancouverto mark the opening night of the22nd annual Jewish CommunityCentre Jewish Book Festival.

Safran Foer spent nearly anhour chatting candidly with CBCRadio veteran Hal Wake about sub-jects ranging from his career andwriting process to his family’s per-sonal history with the Holocaust,and left nearly every member ofthe audience further enrapturedwith this young author.

After reading Illuminated thispast summer, I was among the mil-lions who jumped on the SafranFoer bandwagon.

Although he was only 25 whenthe book was published, his abilityto both spin a humorous yarnwhile writing an incredibly humanstory engages readers in a way thatfew other authors can. Yet withinthe first few minutes of the talk, it became obvious that Foer—although wise beyond his years—isjust beginning what is sure to be apassionate and full literary career.

Like his beautifully poetic andenergetic writing style, the youngauthor is still a work in progresshimself. After reading a passagefrom Illuminated, he confessed thathe “wouldn’t write like that any-more,” and that his writing was amedium through which he couldunderstand changes within himself.

Without writing “everythingwould move through me,” he said.

For Safran Foer, writing became away to understand the most pri-vate and personal “silences” in hislife, particularly concerning loveand loss.

Foer seemed both awkwardand confident, candid and shy.And like his novels, he showed notonly an incredible maturity, depthand perception, but also a person-able and quiet humour. In hiswriting, every sentence seems tobe a living and breathing entity,and it is not difficult to see why:throughout the interview, Foertold numerous stories about hisfamily and personal life, each ofwhich could have easily stemmedinto yet another brilliant and

engaging novel. His stories about his Yiddish

grandmother’s confusing interac-tion with the “mouse” of a comput-er and his family’s reaction to hisfictional grandfather’s numeroussexual encounters in Illuminatedmade the audience fall in love withhim all over again.

Indeed, he was so open with aroom of 300 that it seemed likeeach one of us was in a coffee shopwith him talking about the odd mus-ings of daily life or the great philo-sophical questions of the universe.

I left Saturday wanting to imme-diately delve into another one of hisworks: his words affected both myreading of his novels and my per-

spective on personal growth andsuccess. His ability to subtly andpersonally impact nearly everyonein the full theatre was profound.

As I left the Centre, I felt arenewed enthusiasm to pursue thethings I love, to realise my true pas-sions in life, and to try to under-stand Safran Foer’s question of“how do we make life meaningful?”

Safran Foer’s latest book Joe is onsale now. The Jewish Book Festivalcontinues through November 23 at the Jewish Community Centre at 905 41st Avenue West. Jewishmusic, theatre, literature and foodwill be celebrated throughout theweek. Go to www.jccgv.com for moreinformation. UU

Illuminated through Foer UBC studentschallenged byclimate change

by Sunny Freeman CULTURE WRITER

UBC students will have a chance thisThursday to see An InconvenientTruth for free.

The event, sponsored by the Tyee,will showcase two screenings of theinfluential documentary about AlGore’s struggle to educate peopleabout the climate change crisis.

Jessica Pautsch was inspired toorganise the event after MichaelByers’s graduate seminar on cli-mate change.

“I think the film is a really great basic introduction to climatechange,” she said. “It’s aimed at peo-ple who aren’t aware of climatechange and it’s really informative.”

Byers has witnessed the effectsof climate change first hand in theArctic. He is passionate about theissue because he realises that cli-mate change poses a serious chal-lenge in the 21st century.

The conversations about climatechange that Byers’s students havefacilitated will continue on Friday.UBC journalism student RaphaelLopoukhine will host a panel dis-cussion entitled “Climate Changeand the Media: Connecting theScience with the Reporting” at1:30pm at the Liu Institute.

“The panel discussion is impor-tant because the media is the pub-lic’s primary source for informationon scientific issues,” Lopoukhinesaid. “This panel will help connectthe public with the media, who askour leaders what they’re doing or inthis case not doing.”

Byers said he celebrates hisgraduate students’ initiative toteach their peers about climatechange.

“Climate change is a quintessen-tial example of what political scien-tists call a collective action prob-lem, meaning we can’t solve itunless we all do something,” hesaid. “Here’s an opportunity to seeAn Inconvenient Truth while it’sstill relatively recent while you cando something about the crisis andsee it for free. How can it get anybetter than that?”

“Hopefully people will realisehow important climate change willbe to their future as the worldchanges around them and theyincreasingly acquire the ability toinfluence the course of politicalevents,” he added.

Al Gore has spent the last 40years learning about climatechange. An Inconvenient Truth cul-minates his attempts to explain thescience and politics of climatechange to non-specialists and pres-ents opportunities to do somethingabout the impending crisis.

According to Byers, “AnInconvenient Truth will be one ofthose films that everyone will talkabout over the course of theirlives.”

“If you see An InconvenientTruth now you’re going to be part ofthe conversation rather than sittingquietly in the corner of the roomwondering what everyone else istalking about,” he said.

Show times are at 2pm and4:30pm at the Fredric WoodTheatre and are open to all stu-dents. Following the film screen-ings will be a discussion on climatechange at 6:30pm at the LiuInstitute. UU

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRANT DELIN

JESSE FERRERAS PHOTO

CULTURE8 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY

THE LOST PAINTING: THE QUEST FOR ACARAVAGGIO MASTERPIECEby Jonathan HarrRandom House

by Rowan MellingCULTURE WRITER

What if that old painting in your basementturned out to be a long-lost, multi-million dol-lar masterpiece? In 1990, an art restorer at theNational Gallery of Ireland made just such anincredible and exciting find, uncovering apriceless painting that had been collecting dustunrecognised, just down the street from thegallery in Dublin for more than half a century.

Jonathan Harr (author of A Civil Action)recounts the true story of the discovery of thelong lost Caravaggio painting “The Taking ofthe Christ” in his new book, The LostPainting. In an absorbing and realistic narra-tive of one of the most significant art discov-eries this past last century, Harr traces thestories of Sergio Benedetti, the restorer whoaccidentally discovered the painting inDublin, and two young art history students,

whose unique research helped to authenti-cate Caravaggio’s masterpiece.

The story begins in 1989, when graduatestudents Francesca Cappelletti and LauraTesta’s search for The Taking of the Christreaches a seemingly futile dead end inScotland. The two students lose interest untilthey are contacted by Benedetti, the restorerfrom the National Gallery of Ireland, whoclaims to have found the Caravaggio classic.The three devotees attempt to trace themovement of the painting from 17thCentury Rome to present-day Dublin in aneffort to authenticate the painting as morethan just a good copy.

The Lost Painting is also interspersed withflashbacks to Caravaggio’s life, which formsome of the most compelling parts of the story.Caravaggio evidently “out-Bohemians” hisartistic counterparts of today: a devoteddrinker, womaniser and swashbuckler, paint-ing was usually secondary to pleasure andswordplay for the legendary artist. However,his rowdy lifestyle also precipitated hisdemise. After slaying a man in a brawl over agirl, Caravaggio fled Rome and never returned.

He died a few years later as he wandered Italyseeking pardon for his crime.

Although searching through archives andmuseums seems hardly as exciting as theduels of a Baroque Bohemian, The LostPainting is gripping even in its scholarlyfocus. Harr is able to transform descriptionsof academic research into something thatreads like a detective story. Harr’s sparse dia-logue and terse prose work both ways for thisbook. With little conversation, The LostPainting seems less contrived than many non-fiction narratives that invent excessive dis-course. However, Harr’s characters suffer asa result. Most of what we learn about them isdelivered in deliberately abrupt exposition.When Harr attempts to flesh out his charac-ters, his efforts often seem forced. There arelikewise too many descriptions of Roman sun-sets and “dusty” archives, but these minorpoints are forgivable when viewing Harr’swork as a whole. Whether you’re infected withthe so-called “Caravaggio disease” or you’reinterested in learning about one of history’smost celebrated and roguish artists, The LostPainting is certainly worth a read. UU

Caravaggio tale a masterpiece

Staaff meeting agendor:1) Intro: Where you would grow hair ifyou could2) Fundraiser update3) Satire update4) Non-denominational xmas partae5) Why this beard is gross and NASH6) Applying for a position

CULTURETHE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 9

Haiku betrays no secret

HIPSTER HAIKUby Siobhan AdcockBroadway

by Chantaie AllickCULTURE WRITER

I was sitting in a coffee shop one daytrying to figure out what a hipster is:what do they do, what do they like,and most importantly, what is theirdeal? They’ve definitely got their ownaesthetic: skinny jeans, Conversesneakers, thick glasses, penchantsfor indie music, etc. But what exactlydoes this ensemble represent, andwhat does it all come down to? Thehipster style definitely has a distinctlook and you can spot a poser orwannabe from a mile away. I know,obviously, that it has something to dowith being “hip,” but outside of that,what does it mean to be a hipster?

I recently read Siobhan Adcock’sHipster Haiku, a proud, self-awarehipster writer. Her haikus give vaguehints but no real answer to the afore-mentioned questions. The closest Igot to a definition of hipster is when

Adcock writes in the introduction ofher book:

“Who if not me would writepoems for people who hate posersand care about art and communityand drugs and know Chlöe Sevignyisn’t that cool?”

The book began as a personal col-lection of poems for Adcock andbecame an exegesis/effigy of a sub-culture that will definitely speak tosome, entertain others, and go rightover the heads of most readers.Hipsters seem to have an authorityon cool and while Adcock claims theyare unpretentious, I cannot see howit is possible for them not to be—I canadmit that even if I don’t get it, I thinkthey’re pretty cool.

The book is an easy read andfunny enough to make you laugh outloud a few times. While it gives youan inside look at the thoughts of atrue hipster, I came to the sad conclu-sion that I am really not cool enoughto “get” it all.

I’ve realised after readingAdcock’s book that the only way torecognize a true hipster is to be oneyourself. The book is very sarcasticbut at the same time somewhat seri-ous. “Hipster,” it would seem, is acontradiction in itself, but is still verycool and if you are one yourself, youmight want to give it a read becauseyou’ll probably like it and will be ableto explain it to the rest of us. My con-clusion, based on this book, is that ahipster is cool, and that I wish I couldbe one, but it seems so effortless forthem that it must come naturally andsome of us just weren’t lucky enoughto have spawned from their culturalgeneaology. UU

BREAKS CO-OPThe Sound InsideEMI

by Chelsea TheriaultCULTURE WRITER

The Sound Inside, Breaks Co-op’snew album, is dangerous for any-one who is easily distracted bybeauty. Its smooth beats and lullingguitar invite you to close your eyesand forget about that thing youhave to do, or that person you haveto meet. Add vocalist AndyLovegrove’s hypnotic voice andyou’ve got one really deadly combi-nation.

Breaks Co-op hails from NewZealand, where the group releasedthe electronic Roofers back in1997. It took them almost a decadeto follow up with The Sound Inside,and they have evolved much sincetheir debut. The group used to be aduo, Zane Lowe and Hamish Clark,but their newfound focus on lyricsand live instrumentals requires anadditional band member—enterLovegrove. Although their music canstill be considered electronica (espe-cially with tracks like “Wonder” and“Question of Freedom”), The SoundInside mixes elements of hip-hop(“LMA”), folk rock (“The Otherside”),and ambient lounge music completewith sitars (“Twilight”).

Surprisingly, the disc’s blend ofgenres doesn’t impede on its cohe-siveness since each song embod-ies the mellow spirit of the albumas a whole. The songs are low-

tempo, employing melodic guitar,rhythmic percussion, and whimsi-cal sound bytes of dialogue to create a dreamlike mood. TheSound Inside’s theme can best bedescribed as the escape fromstress, exemplified best in thelyrics of the hymnic “Lay MeDown”: “The earth is old and theworld is getting cold/I’m a lay medown.” Another excellent track is“Last Night,” a seductive numberwith an R&B feel that smoothlycaptures the exquisite agony oflove and longing.

Yet the album’s crowning gloryis “The Otherside,” the lead singlethat reigned supreme on the New

Zealand music charts and won“Song of the Year” at the NZ MusicAwards. The North American ver-sion of The Sound Inside evenincludes an acoustic version of thetrack. It’s a feel-good hit that urgesthe listener to “Hold your head uphigh and don’t rely on anyoneelse/Make it easier on yourself anddon’t ask why.”

Taken from a band that man-aged to pull off the dreaded “come-back” and maintain a shred of dig-nity, this is sound advice. BreaksCo-op is still relatively unknownon our continent but hopefully TheSound Inside will garner them theattention they deserve. UU

A real “chill-out” disc

10 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEYEDITORIAL

—Andrej MarkoFilm grad

—Elliot Lee Rajan BillingsleyEnglish Lit, 2

—Jason ChoEnglish & Psychology, 4

—Cung NguyenDentistry, 1

—Michael WebsterDentistry, 1

“I would beannoyed.”

“I’d feel the govern-ment’s not beingresponsible for keeping our utilitiessupplied.”

“I wouldn’t feel sogood.”

“Annoyed.” “I do not like thewater system. It isinadequate considering it rainsevery single day.Ontario’s water isfluorated.”

If you had to boil water for the next month, how would you feel?

Streeters

—Coordinated by Oker Chen and Xiaoyang Luo

—Sandra ToonForestry Sciences, 2

“I’d be upset. I was inMexico for the sum-mer, it made methankful for the fresh-water we have here.We should be grateful.It’s a wake-up call.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Walkerton,but by the mass hysteria that ensued,you’d think there had been a minorapocalypse. In the past few days,Vancouverites flooded stores in fran-tic droves, snatching up the rapidlydwindling supplies of bottled wateracross the city. Many people seemedto forget that boiling water beforeusing it is a perfectly adequatemethod of sterilisation, so they didwhat they thought was their onlyoption: run out and buy bottled waterin a fit of hysteria.

Last Thursday, the GVRD issueda region-wide boil-water advisorydue to the heavy rain. The raincaused landslides near the reser-voir sites, increasing the drinkingwater’s turbidity above safe levels.The advisory is still in effect for Vancouver, Burnaby, NorthVancouver and West Vancouver.

Although this is been the largestwater advisory in Canadian histo-ry, it certainly isn’t the mosturgent. And advisories like this arenot unknown in other placesacross the country. Many smalltowns and many First Nationsreserves, in fact, experience totalboil-water orders—residents areordered to boil their water to pre-vent the potential spread of infec-tious diseases. For the most part,these warnings are dealt with as amatter of course, and rarely gobeyond regional news reports.

However, this is the first timein recent history that the City ofVancouver has had a boil-wateradvisory and the residents’ pan-icked respons is a dire indicatorof how a real emergency mightplay out throughout the region inthe future.

Saturday morning at theGrandview highway Costco, peoplelined up at 4am for the 10am open-ing. Upon opening, the store wasstormed. Shelves were strippedbare in three minutes. A numberof people were injured—onereported a bloody hand and a few people were literally steppedon. People pulled bottles of wateroff the shelves and tried to shieldthem against greedy hands, result-ing in scuffles. The cops were eventually called in at 10:15am. Itwas a like a bad scene out of JingleAll the Way.

A similar situation happened onFriday at Stong’s a local grocerystore. When the truck that carriedwater arrived and started unpackingits contents, people literally reachedinto the truck and took the water.Apparently the clerks couldn’t get the

water out fast enough for theirneeds. At a nearby Superstore, watersold out just after 9am. When a palletof water was brought in, customerstook water right off the skid. Thestore manager imposed a five-caseper customer limit, which led to out-bursts of anger.

There were stacks of wateravailable from the Safeway onDavie Street at 11pm Wednesdaynight—could finicky shoppers nothave waited until nightfall to stackup for a week? How much waterdo you really need during the day?

There were reports of peoplebecoming angry at the fact thatthey could not get an iced frappfor lack of water—all we can say tothat is “wow.”

Let’s put this in perspective:physical violence and hordes ofhysterical people over a boil water

advisory? Come on. As of yet, there have not even

been reports of illnesses resultingfrom drinking the water—exceptfor one of our volunteers desper-ate to get out of writing a story. Inthis day and age, the threats of ris-ing ocean levels, increasinglyerratic and violent weather pat-terns and infrastructure-debilitat-ing terrorism are very real. This,on the other hand isn’t a realemergency.

Imagine how people wouldreact if we actually were facing areal crisis—instead of the mereinconvenience of cloudy water.

It is times like these that weshould all sit back and reflect onourselves. It’s still water. It justlooks a little different. Listen tothe government. Boil your water,suck it up and gulp it down. uu

Cloudy water and knicker knots

THE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 CULTURE 11

Aquarium a whale of a talePEOPLE, FISH AND WHALESby Dr Murray A NewmanHarbour Publishing

by Chelsea TheriaultCULTURE WRITER

It’s hard not to succumb to thecharm of the Vancouver Aquarium,where underwater secrets arebrought to the surface for our view-ing pleasure. Dr Murray A. Newman,the aquarium’s founding curator,documents its history in People,Fish, and Whales: The VancouverAquarium Story. In addition to achronicle of the facility, he exploresthe unnatural yet fascinating rela-tionships created when marine ani-mals move to terra firma.

Newman’s account reveals howthe world-famous biological institu-tion has come a long way from itsbeginnings in 1956, when it was“started on a shoestring by a groupof enthusiastic amateurs.”

Originally one building and hous-ing nothing larger than sea turtles, ithas grown to include porpoises, belu-gas, sharks, and more than 600 otherspecies. According to Newman, whatmakes the Vancouver Aquariumunique is that it is community-ownedand self-supporting. Its directorscould never “rest on their laurels andlet the endowment pay the rent.” Thispassion for improvement and needfor community involvement is evi-dent in the aquarium’s success overthe years.

However, even a place as comfort-ing as an aquarium can have itsshare of controversy. The Aquariumwas the first to hold an orca in captiv-ity and Newman proudly states that“revolutionizing the public’s attitudetoward these magnificent creatures

is [our]... greatest success.” Until afew decades ago, orcas were widelyknown as “killer whales” but theAquarium’s research with orcas hasdispelled many nasty legends sur-rounding this relatively peacefulcreature. However, Newman neglectsto mention how the aquarium cameunder fire for holding orcas captive-by whale scientist Paul Spong. Heworked extensively with the aquari-um’s most famous orca, Skana. Upondiscovering her level of intelligence,Spong rallied together with other ani-

mal-rights activists in a campaign tofree her. Unfortunately, Newmandoes not mention him or the contro-versy in his history.

The book provides an entertain-ing and moving glimpse into oneof Vancouver’s most prized insti-tutions. Though Newman glossesover some of the unpalatableaspects of the Aquarium’s history,you can’t blame him for wantingto paint a rosy picture of a placethat millions of people have cometo love. UU

HITCHING RIDES WITHBUDDHA: A JOURNEYACROSS JAPANby Will FergusonKnopf Canada

by Gemini ChengCULTURE WRITER

If Will Ferguson knew what he wasgetting himself into when he prom-ised to hitchhike the entire length ofJapan, he probably would haveshown a little more excitement and ahint of sheer panic at the ups anddowns that were to follow. HitchingRides with Buddha is the funny andpoignant memoir of a man whounknowingly begins a journey neverexperienced before by anyone andalong the way discovers a lot morethan cheap hotel rates.

Ferguson, born in Canada’s farnorth, was at a hanami party (cher-ry blossom party) in Japan when heclaimed he would follow theblooming of the cherry blossomsfrom the southernmost tip of Japanto the northernmost tip by hitch-hiking. At least, that’s what he wastold—it’s hard to remember thingswhen you’re drunk. After stallingfor three years, he set out to fulfillhis promise.

The quirky characteristics of allthings Japanese are captured in thismemoir, but the best memories ofhis journey come from the peoplehe encounters. Ranging from warmand inviting to slightly crazy,Ferguson describes each characterhe meets in a way that makes youwant to laugh in disbelief. Some ofthe people he meets offer him theopportunity to see the hidden andpersonal sides of Japanese culture.But no matter how much Japanesehe learns or how well he knows theinside scoop on the locale, Fergusonnotes that he was, and always will

be, labelled a foreigner.This book will be a definite hit

with readers who have even a mar-ginal interest in Japanese culture.Those who know the country willlaugh out loud at Ferguson’sdescriptions of those things you canonly find in that country, like cap-sule hotels and Love Hotels.Newcomers to the culture will mar-vel at the rich pictures he paints ofthe extravagance and barebones ofwhat seems like a remarkable newworld. Littered throughout theentire book are Ferguson’s thought-ful—and hilarious—insights into thehows and whys of Japan’s innerworkings.

Hitching Rides with Buddha willteach you almost everything youwant to know about Japan. It won’ttell you which city has the best foodor which hotel is the cleanest. Itwon’t tell you whether to travel bycar or by plane, but it will tell youFerguson’s view of what “Japanese”really means. Even though becom-ing Japanese is a truly unattainablequest, this book takes you so far intothe culture that you may not comeback again. UU

Buddha ride is enchanting

CULTURE@UBYSSEY.BC.CAMEETINGS WEDNESDAYS @ 1PM IN SUB 24

SPORTS12 TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY

by Cheata NaoSPORTS WRITER

The T-Birds improved to 7-0 after pulling outan 80-70 win against the Winnipeg WesmenFriday night at War Memorial Gym.

UBC came out firing in the first quarter,jumping to a 31-13 lead by the end of thefirst. Fourth-year guard Erica McGuinnesshad the hot hand scoring 16 points in thefirst and going 3-for-3 beyond the arc.Winnipeg struggled to find any rhythm totheir game turning over the ball six times,each time leading to a UBC basket.

However in the second frame the Wesmenwoke up and picked up their game consider-ably, outscoring the T-birds 21-9. UBC, caughtnapping, turned the ball over 11 times in thequarter leading to 18 of the Winnipeg’s 21points. Continuing with their steady play in thethird the Wesman found themselves in thelead 46-45 with 3:35 remaining in the frame.

“We came out on fire,” said fifth-year for-ward Kelsey Blair, “I think we might’ve gotlulled to sleep a little bit. When you go up by 20it’s hard to build on that intensity. But the sec-ond half was a game.”

UBC showed why they were the defend-ing CIS champions in the fourth, steppingup on both ends of the court to pull awaydown the stretch and come out with the win.Taking charge down low was Kelsey Blairwho dropped 10 of her 20 points in the finalframe, which included going 7-for-9 at thefree throw line.

“I decided I had to step it up. That’s whatmy job is,” said Blair. “And my team, I give[credit] to them. They continued to give methe ball even when I hadn’t scored a lot inthe first little bit.”

Head Coach Deb Huband credited herteam’s strong defensive play as a big reasonwhy the Thunderbirds came out with a winFriday night. “We knew that they would pressus and try to use their athleticism to theiradvantage,” said Huband. “We made someadjustments defensively so that they wouldhave a more difficult time scoring.”

Their veterans led UBC Friday night.Fifth-year Kelsey Blair racked up 12 of UBC’s47 rebounds, fourth-year McGuinness leadall players with 29 points on the night, andfourth-year guard Cait Haggarty had an all-round game chipping in 7 points, 8 assists,and 10 rebounds.

“They have a knack of stepping it up forthe team, particularly at crunch time,” saidHuband of her veteran players. “I thoughtthey did a real good job executing and finish-ing for us tonight.”

UBC continued their winning waysSaturday night against the Manitoba Bison,taking the contest 82-68 to improve to 8-0this season.

Once again it was UBC’s signature defen-sive pressure that helped the T-Birds defeat aManitoba team that came on strong in thethird quarter. UBC saw the lead change handsnine times in the third before finally comingout ahead 59-54.

The usual suspects Blair and McGuinnesscontinued their strong play from the nightbefore with McGuinness leading the way with2 points, and Blair chipping in 17 points and11 rebounds.

UBC looks to keep their undefeated streakalive when they head to Kamloops to playThompson River on November 24 and 25, andfinish off the first half of the season at homeagainst UVic on December 2. uu

by Erik LauderSPORTS WRITER

The UBC women’s hockey team might wantto reconsider moving back to campus fortheir home games once Olympic constructionis completed. Playing out of Minoru Arena inRichmond—their de facto ‘home’ for the sea-son—the Thunderbirds wrapped up a week-end sweep of the Manitoba Bisons.

The T-Birds opened their pair of gamesagainst the Manitoba Bisons with a solid 2-0win on Friday night at Minoru arena inRichmond. The T-Birds got a powerplay goalfrom Emily McGrath-Agg early in the secondperiod, with Haleigh Callison and KimCoates assisting on the play. Rookie MelindaChoy got her first shutout of the season witha 29 save effort. Jenny Mahovolich iced thewin for the T-Birds with an empty net goal inthe final minute. UBC went 1-for-6 on thepowerplay, while killing all eight shorthand-ed situations.

Saturday’s game led to a similar victory.The win marked the second straight shutoutfor first-year goalie Melinda Choy, whostretched her personal shutout streak to 128minutes and 18 seconds. It was the first timein UBC history that the Thunderbirds man-aged a series sweep without surrendering agoal in the process.

The T-Birds opened the scoring at the 12:57mark of the first period, with Alison Koyanakisnapping home her first goal of the season offa well-executed 2-on-1. The goal would proveto be all UBC needed, yet they continued topress the Bisons, moving the puck well in theoffensive zone and drawing a number ofpenalties in the process. On the defensive sideof things, the T-Birds did well to block a num-ber of shots for their goalie. UBC focussed onclogging shooting lanes, and breaking up pass-es, and it paid off by minimising Manitoba’schances. Early in the second, UBC found itselfwith a minute long two-man advantage afterconsecutive Manitoba penalties, yet failed toadd to their lead.

It was all Choy the rest of the period, as shestopped repeated 2-on-1 chances by theBisons, controlling the rebounds each time.

The T-Bird netminder saved her best forthe third period, however. Five minutes in, afreak bounce behind the net resulted in a one-timer from a Bison player in front. Choysqueezed her pad along the ice on the puck,freezing it on the goal line. Shortly afterwards,another 2-on-1 chance saw Choy makinganother solid stop on a high shot. She wouldfinish with 27 saves on the night.

With the Bisons pressing for the equalis-er with less than four minutes left, Choydenied any chance of a Manitoba comeback.After making the initial glove save on a one-timer, Choy came across her crease to makea spectacular glove save on the rebound,bringing the Thunderbird faithful off theircold bench seating and killing any Manitobamomentum.

“I don’t think anybody in the buildingexpected her to make that save,” said UBChead coach Dave Newson. “In fact, I’m notsure if anybody knew how she made that save.It really took the wind out of [the Bisons] sails,and it was probably the turning point.”

UBC forward Jenny Mahovolich addedinsult to injury with less than a minute to go, intercepting a pass at the T-Bird blue line for an unassisted empty netter, her second in as many games. The women’ssquad hopes to improve on their 5-7-0record in Edmonton next weekend againstthe 9-1-0 Alberta Pandas. UBC currently sitstied for third in Canada West standings. uu

by Jessica JiYoung KimSPORTS WRITER

Amy Bobb came to UBC on a whim to furtherpursue her soccer career. Five years later,she will graduate with three CIS women’ssoccer titles.

Bobb capped off her final season as a Thunderbird with a national champi-onship victory over the Queen’s GoldenGaels, her third title with the team. Shemade sure her last season was one toremember, capturing tournament MVP hon-ours in the process.

“This one definitely meant more to me.For the first one, I had a broken leg so I wasn’t playing. But [UBC women’s soccerhead coach] Dick Mosher always makessure everyone goes to the national so I was there. I felt like I was somewhat part of the team, but not so much. And the second year, I was in a position

where I was subbing with another girl. This year, I got to play 90 minutes of almostevery game, and I was given the captain role and it was just amazing,” commentedBobb.

There is no doubt soccer has been a hugepart of her six years at UBC. But beyond thepitch, Bobb credits the sport as a driving forcebehind much of her academic success.

“All through high school, sports reallywas what got me through,” said Bobb. “Ididn’t really enjoy high school. I just lookedforward to playing in a game or practice. [The opportunity to play] soccer at UBC was definitely what brought me here. I don’t know what I would’ve done [other-wise].”

Bobb acknowledged that living off campusmade it difficult to become involved withUBC beyond academics, but her commitmentto soccer encouraged her involvement withextracurricular activities and also strengthened

her relationships within school.“I met my husband on the soccer team...So

that’s been huge in terms of relationshipbuilding. And the 24 girls I met every yearhave been amazing.”

She adds that her academic success wouldnot have been possible without the support ofcoach Mosher, who encourages the players todo their best both on and off the field.

“There are not many coaches like that outthere,” said Bobb.

Now that soccer season has come to an end, Bobb is concentrating on her SocialWork degree, a career path that she wishes topursue later in life. When asked about herfuture plans, she commented that she is notleaving behind the life she began here at UBC.

“I would get a job hopefully, and play somemore soccer. I may try for the Whitecaps orplay premier soccer and get a job workingwith kids in social work. And having kids ofmy own.” uu

T-Birds take two...again

Two big wins has UBC back in playoff hunt

LEAVING ON A HIGH NOTE

Alberta 9 1 0Regina 7 5 0Manitoba 5 5 0Saskatchewan 5 7 0 UBC 5 7 0Lethbridge 3 9 0

Women’s Hockey Standings

Canada West W L T

NO DICE: Forward Julie Little has trouble getting a shot off. KELLAN HIGGINS PHOTO

OKER CHEN PHOTO

OKER CHEN PHOTO