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2 July 14, 2014 · Volume 147, Issue 11FIRST PEEK

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C A N A D I A NCOMMUNITYNEWSPAPERAWARD 2013

C A N A D I A NCOMMUNITYNEWSPAPERAWARD 2014

In January 2014, SFU launched its comprehensive Zero Waste program on all campuses as an-other step to achieve the goal of “diverting 70 per cent of landfill waste into recycling and com-posting by the end of 2015,” ac-cording to the SFU Sustainabil-ity Office. The Zero Waste Program was designed to help reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfills, and consists of four containers for different types of materials. By differentiating recy-clable materials from non-recy-clable waste, it aims to increase the percentage of recycling and reuse of misplaced resources.

However, as a fourth-year design and media arts student at SFU Surrey, years of studying user behaviour and product de-sign have led me to notice some of the design flaws of garbage containers, specifically at Sur-rey campus.

During the spring semes-ter, I saw a pile of coffee cups and food containers over-filling

the corresponding containers in some high traffic areas. The de-sign of these recycle bins did not meet the demand of garbage dis-posal from students.

The first problem with these garbage bins is that each sepa-rate container is of identical size, and, in order to not take up much space, each is very narrow. Their small openings also make them hard to use.

Garbage comes in various sizes and shapes, not all of which can easily fit these narrow open-ing: a flattened box fits in the opening pretty well, but a plastic fruit container does not. When it comes to throwing away garbage, people aren’t prepared for such a difficult process.

The size of each garbage bin does not meet the volume and size factor of particular garbage disposal. It is easy to understand that a thin piece of paper takes less space than an empty plas-tic bottle — the mixed paper bin is more than roomy enough for paper, but will not hold as many recyclable bottles. This means some bins require more frequent empties otherwise they will eas-ily overfill.

These problems indicate that the design of the receptacles has failed to accommodate students’ garbage disposal demands, and this is where user design plays a vital role to ensure that a product works as expected. Sustainable innovation does not automati-cally lead to sustainable user behaviour; it is the design that influences users to more sustain-able behaviour.

If a designer designs a prod-uct in such a way — i.e. different sized bins to accommodate differ-ent sized waste — it increases the likelihood that students dispose of garbage in environmentally con-scious ways, following the instruc-tions and acting greenly.

When students see an over-filled Zero Waste collection sta-tion with all kinds of misplaced garbage, they aren’t likely to follow any instruction, and simply toss their trash anywhere.

Designing bins that make un-sustainable behaviour difficult or even impossible, while sustain-able behaviour is easy to achieve or even automatic, would boost the effectiveness of the Zero Waste idea: students would not have a hard time disposing of garbage, instead their sense of approval with the Zero Waste program would increase.

As a first step, can we at least start by making the recy-clable and landfill bins larger on satellite campuses, like they are in Burnaby?

And if we have time, let’s con-sult a new designer.

3FIRST PEEK July 14, 2014

4 news editor Leah Bjornson associate news editor Melissa Roachemail / phone news@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560NEWS July 14, 2014

Board voted to transfer $1 mil-lion from the General Fund to the Space Expansion Fund as a partial repayment of the out-standing $2.44 million inter-fund loan. The money will later be transferred to Build SFU.

VP finance Adam Potvin explained that the decision would help Build SFU to obtain loans because hav-ing a larger amount of funds would strengthen their eq-uity position.

At large representative Re-becca Langmead was tasked to work with Build SFU gen-eral manager on a prelimi-nary stadium investigation.

Fellow at large represen-tative Jeremy Pearce was previously tasked to work on the same investigation. Both Langmead and Pearce have been involved with SFU ath-letics as varsity athletes.

Build SFU general manager Marc Fontaine brought for-ward the option of includ-ing a napping room in the new Student Union Build-ing (SUB). He said, “There are positive implications in terms of mental health and creating spaces that are com-fortable for people.”

The change in the floor plan would result in a de-crease in the number of stu-dent organization suites from eight to seven; the number of larger suites would remain the same, while the number of smaller suites would de-crease from four to three.

At large representative Pearce spoke in favour of the motion, citing student responses to the Build SFU survey that ranked nap-ping space 5th in student preferences.

The board approved the modification to the SUB space program.

Three SFU scientists have made Thomson Reuter’s list of The World’s Most Influential Scien-tific Minds: 2014 (WMISM).

The three honourees — Marco Marra, Fiona Brinkman, and Ste-ven Jones — are among 90 Cana-dians on the list of 3,215 research-ers from around the world.

This list drew from 21 fields in the sciences and the social sciences, from space to psy-chology, and was created based on the number of citations each researcher’s papers received in their first year of publication. When a paper is cited, this means that another scientist is using it as a reference.

One of the three on the list, Fiona Brinkman, an SFU profes-sor in the Department of Molec-ular Biology and Biochemistry, with cross appointments in the School of Computer Science and Faculty of Health Science, has been recognized for her contri-butions to computer science.

A self-proclaimed “com-puter-geek,” growing up Brink-man felt that combining her interest in learning about life and using computers was the natural thing to do.

Her research focuses on developing more holistic and sustainable approaches to in-fectious disease control. This means that instead of only

focusing on the disease-causing agent, her lab also looks at the host and disease causing factors in society and the environment.

Brinkman’s research sup-ports a trend of more specific treatment in medicine; instead of relying on the ‘shotgun ap-proach’ to treating bacterial in-fections, which often results in antibiotic resistance, Brinkman wants to “put selective pressure on [bacteria] so that we can co-exist without them being able to make us ill.”

Her research also hopes to make the tracking and control of infections more efficient. This can have important implications not only for human disease, but also agriculture and aquaculture, and prevent negative economic impacts on affected areas.

Another recognized scientist, Steven Jones, is an SFU profes-sor as well as a member of the bioinformatics group at Can-ada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. Jones works alongside the third member of

the trio, Marco Marra, research-ing malignancy in tumors using DNA sequencing and bioinfor-matics approaches.

Marra is an adjunct professor in SFU’s Department of Molecu-lar Biology and Biochemistry; he was the second most cited re-searcher in Canada in 2014.

Using next-generation DNA sequencing technology, their re-search focuses on unraveling the mutational landscape of cancer. This is accomplished by analyz-ing the genetic code of tumors to understand the mutations that accumulate over time and result in the formation of cancer.

Jones explained that “colon cancers from two different peo-ple might look identical under the microscope,” however they

may not respond the same way to a treatment. By looking at the genetic code of the tumor he in-tends to learn why this may occur.

Marra added, “We are not going to sequence a cancer and know everything there is to know about all [of them].”

With better understand-ing of the genetic profile of a patient’s tumor, one can also avoid unnecessary treatments and ensure that the patient re-ceives only the treatment they need, Jones explained.

This research supports a change in the way medical prac-titioners approach the treatment of cancer since there is now clear genetic evidence to suggest that no single treatment can serve as a cure for the disease.

Jones noted, “It’s nice that [Thomson Reuter’s list] is based on metric and not on opinions.” He added, “Many of the works that are being cited took many years of hard work.”

While Marra does not work specifically in drug develop-ment, some of his research has influenced the potential use of therapies that are currently being developed and tested.

Marra commented on what it means for him to be acknowl-edged on the Thomson Reuter’s list: “In some respects, it’s better than an award. It indicates that there is a general appreciation for the work my group publishes.

“It means we’ve had an im-pact, we’ve helped move sci-ence in some direction, and that’s to me really what science is all about. Sharing results, sharing information, and stim-ulating other work elsewhere, so I feel good about that.”

   

   

   

 

   

   

5NEWS July 14, 2014

 

FALL  2014  Course  Offerings            

Board voted to approve the 2014 Fall Kickoff budget as recommended by Financial and Administrative Services Committee (FASC).

The motion moved to in-crease the large scale events line item by $25,000 in order to cover expenses such as art-ists, production, and market-ing. The motion also allowed the disbursement of up to $80,000 for the 2014 Fall Kick-off Concert, which will act as a sort of price cap.

The budget provided $500 for child care funding, as well as $100 for the net loss of the event. VP finance Adam Pot-vin was also tasked with dis-bursement authority for re-quests under $500.

Concerns regarding the dump-ing of unwanted pet fish into Burnaby lakes and ponds has been brought to public atten-tion in a recent article pub-lished by Burnaby Now.

The article stated that a local pet shop has been misinform-ing customers, claiming that SFU’s Burnaby campus wel-comes any unwanted koi fish in the university’s reflection pond.

Recalling the release of a predatory snakehead fish into Burnaby Lake in 2012, it is not news that invasive species may pose a detrimental threat to Burnaby’s natural habitat. How-ever, many people still believe they are doing the ‘right thing’ by releasing their unwanted fish into the wild.

Stephanie Green, an SFU PhD graduate from the Depart-ment of Biological Sciences, told The Peak that although people believe they are doing the right thing, it only takes a few individuals to release

invasive species into the wild before they can “spread out of control.”

Green explained that be-cause of the interconnectivity of ponds, lakes and rivers, “once an introduced species takes hold, it is very difficult to eradi-cate completely because of how quickly they can spread.”

Green emphasized how im-portant it is for pet owners to be conscious of the needs of a fish, as well as how large it gets and its dietary needs, before buying it in order to avoid the problem of individuals purchasing a fish that they are unable to care for.

The article in Burnaby Now revealed that staff at a Petsmart in Vancouver were implying that it was acceptable to dump unwanted fish into Coquitlam ponds as well as SFU’s reflection pond. In an attempt to clarify this issue, Keith Horne, superin-tendent for SFU Mechanical Ser-vices, informed The Peak that, “it is NOT permitted to dump fish in any pond at SFU.”

Not only is this illegal, with fines ranging from $2,500 to $250,000, but the introduction of new fish may alter a pond’s frag-ile ecosystem, leading to issues such as overpopulation or illness among the fish population.

During routine draining and cleaning of the reflection pool, the fish are captured and housed at SFU’s Alcan Aquatic Research Cen-tre until the cleaning is complete.

Although it is unclear as to whether the fish population has altered due to the dumping of unwanted fish into the reflection pond or by naturally occurring reproduction, one thing is sure: the dumping of unfamiliar fish into the reflection pond poses a detrimental threat to the fish al-ready living there.

Bruce Leighton, an associate member of SFU’s Department of Biological Sciences, said, “[The] dumping of fish in the pond at SFU brings a disease risk to the fish that live in the pond.” Leighton added that the reflection pond is “already at capacity [for fish]”, thus adding more could lead to overpopu-lation, resulting in death for some of its piscine residents.

So, if you find yourself devel-oping animosity towards your fishy companion, think twice be-fore discarding it in a local pond. Instead, “find a pet store that will take it in,” as Green suggests.

6 NEWS July 14, 2014

A joint consensus recently released by the New York Health Depart-ment (NYHD) and the American Heart Association (AHA) brought together SFU health science pro-fessor Michel Joffres along with 33 of the world’s leading scientists in the field to affirm the benefits and

importance of reducing sodium in-take to combat one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Sodium is an important reg-ulator for the body, necessary for proper nerve conduction, muscle activation, and control in blood pressure and blood vol-ume. However, sodium is also a major contributor to heart dis-ease, because it elevates blood pressure, which is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular dis-ease and stroke.

The news release indicated that many studies and controlled trials have shown that a decrease in sodium intake levels has a pos-itive impact on improving health,

sustaining lives, and reducing healthcare costs.

The Centre for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC) reports heart disease as the leading cause of death in the US, while a Statis-tics Canada report had it down as the second leading cause of death in Canada, after cancer.

The CDC currently recom-mends that individuals under the age of 50 consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day—for those over 50, that number drops to less than 1,500 mg.

Nevertheless, Joffres told The Peak that humans require as little as 200 mg of sodium per day for their basic physiological needs. However, he said, “We are consuming about 3,400 mg [of sodium] per day, and young people consume even more.”

Joffres explained that, “We have an appetite for sodium as we did not have high sources of sodium in our evolution. [. . .] Now this ap-petite has been exploited by indus-tries that make low quality food and use salt to enhance taste.”

Sodium occurs naturally in most foods — milk, beets, cel-ery, and even water, according to the National Institute of Health. Sodium chloride, or table salt, is the most common derivative of sodium and makes up a large per-centage of sodium consumed.

However, “[about] 80 per cent of sodium we eat comes from

processed food,” said Joffres. Ex-amples include breads, cold meats cuts, pizza slices, and canned soups and vegetables. Other lesser known products that contain so-dium are laxatives, aspirin, mouth-wash, and toothpaste, according to the Household Products Database.

The best way to avoid unex-pected sodium intake is to cook meals at home, emphasizing low sodium, and consuming more fruits and vegetables, advised Jof-fres. Care should also be taken when reading labels and choosing what is to be eaten.

While Joffres acknowledges that the reduction of sodium intake levels is important, he says that the regulation of so-dium usage within food indus-tries and distribution locations is just as integral to the health of the world’s populations.

For now, Joffres hopes to raise awareness of the deadli-ness of sodium. “You may see the negative effects of high so-dium diets much later,” Joffres told The Peak. “It is like a very slow acting poison and is a si-lent killer.”

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(and the occasional Tuesday following holidays). Contact DAVID@THE-PEAK.CA for more information!

A study out of SFU shows that kangaroos actually use their tail as a fully functional leg when they are grazing the land.

Max Donelan, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kine-siology, led the study on kanga-roos’ unusual gait. Donelan ex-plained that a kangaroo does “as much mechanical work with their tale as we do when we walk.”

Aided by postdoctoral fel-low Shawn O’Connor, Donelan’s study focused on the awkward gait kangaroos have when they graze the land, which is unlike the “graceful hop” we picture them

having when we think of the Aus-tralian outback.

Kangaroos graze with their tail planted on the ground, acting in combination with their short front legs and long hind legs. This motion is known as “pentapedal gait.” The tail acts as a leg in the sense that it pushes off the ground, rather than the front legs,

in order to create the force that starts the cycle of walking.

Donelan, whose principal field of research revolves around hu-mans and walking, explained to The Peak, “With humans, we have learned in the course of the past 15 years that a key part of the walk-ing cycle is before your right foot comes in contact with the ground,

you have to push off the ground with your left foot. This movement is really important in saving energy that is required for walking.”

Kangaroos’ unique anatomy re-stricts them from using their short front legs as a means to push off the ground; thus, their tail becomes key in this essential push needed to commence the walking cycle.

Donelan believes that study-ing the “pentapedal gait” of kan-garoos, as well as the unusual gaits of other animals, sheds light on the general principles of bio-mechanical motion and offers in-sight into the solutions available to biomechanical problems.

Donelan noted, “A key aspect of covering this is the question: Why are Canadians studying this interesting, yet possibly irrelevant form of locomotion? What this re-ally gets across is that it is help-ful for us to understand the basic principles of locomotion, which works into the bigger picture of understanding humans.”

Donelan has also studied the movements of cats, shrews, croco-diles, elephants, and giraffes. As interesting as these animals are, Donelan’s research is not driven by the type of animal he gets to study; rather, he says, it is driven by the important questions and the in-sights that can be gained in order to better understand the biological movements of humans.

Lily Li / The Peak

7NEWS July 14, 2014

Graduation Photosby Robin Wong

Emind Photo Studio.com3580 East Hastings St, Vancouver

(604) 618-8200www.RobinWongPhotos.com

Vancouver Speaker Series presented David Andolfatto, SFU professor of economics, last Monday, July 7 in a talk entitled, “Cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin & Beyond.”

He discussed the nature of money, payments, and mon-etary policy and how they influence and are influenced by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Following the lecture, Andolfatto joined cryptocur-rency commentators Ste-phen Hui and Michael Yeung, founder of SFU Bitcoin Club, for a moderated discussion.

Communications student Car-oline Brown and her team are researching youth political en-gagement for their CMNS 362: Qualitative Research Methods class, and invited participants out on Wednesday, July 9 to participate in a focus group.

Brown explained that the research seeks to understand the relationship between youth political engagement and social media, specifically in Canada. “Social media is undoubtedly a very powerful force in today’s society, yet it is questionable whether or not Canadian politics, politicians and parties use it to the best extent to engage with youths,” Brown said.

SFU was well represented at a con-ference in Edinburgh from July 4 to 6 that looked at the Scottish di-aspora, and its effects both in the world and in Scotland.

The executive director of SFU’s Harbour Centre campus, Laurie Anderson, was a panelist at a talk titled “The Global Migrations of the Scottish People since c. 1600: Issues, Debates, Controversies,” along with former coordinator of SFU’s Cen-tre for Scottish Studies (CSS), Harry McGrath. Also in attendance was the dean of SFU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, John Craig.

Anderson, a first generation member of the Scottish dias-pora, who moved to Canada from Scotland in his youth, describes

diaspora as being “essentially about the ‘scattering’ or movement of peoples from their original home or country of birth.

“It is studied a lot in Scotland because the Scots have migrated around the globe since medieval times, and is one of the most sig-nificant diasporas in the world,” Anderson explained. One of the main themes of the conference revolved around the ongoing dissemination of Scots over the past 700 years.

As a result, the Scottish dias-pora has had a large influence on our modern world, particularly in North America. However, Mc-Grath pointed out that not all of its effects have been positive.

Over the three days of the conference, participants at-tempted to take a balanced view of the effect the Scottish dias-pora has had on the world, Mc-Grath stated in an email. “So, for instance, while there was some focus on Scottish achievements, there was an equal, perhaps greater, focus on issues like the Scottish connection to the slave trade, which has often been ne-glected or deliberately ignored,” he explained.

According to Anderson, part of the importance of the diaspora aligns with Scotland’s upcoming referendum for independence. “The economy of the country is a very important aspect of being in-dependent,” he said. “[And there are] many, many more people with Scottish connections outside of the country than in the country. If they can promote business ties, cultural ties with the diaspora, it can support the cause of the country becoming independent.”

Among the examined top-ics was whether the number of Scots that have left Scotland was detrimental or beneficial to the country. Anderson said, “When you have a country with so many people leaving all the time [. . .] you’re losing your best and brightest [. . .] However, one of

the things that [was] also talked about was the fact that many people who left the country made a lot of money overseas.

“Some people left by choice for better opportunities, and some people were forced to leave during different political uprisings.”

The three-day conference concluded with the panel, “Scotland Today: Perspectives from the Diaspora,” which was chaired by McGrath and fea-tured Anderson as a panelist.

McGrath said of the CSS, where he worked from 2003 to 2007, “One thing I took away from the conference was the fact that the Centre for Scottish Stud-ies at Simon Fraser University is an unusual and precious re-source. There are very few such centres outside of Scotland and I would like to see it develop into a true international research hub for the Scots in Canada in gen-eral and those of Western Can-ada in particular.”

He concluded, “I would very much like to see the Scottish diaspora find its place in the great upsurge of interest there has been recently in diasporas from all countries.”

Starting in January, students at the Uni-versity of Victoria will be able to study the pop singer Beyonce.

This new music department course will be taught by Melissa Avdeeff, a mu-sicology researcher who has lectured at both the University of Alberta and the University of Edinburgh. Avdeeff has written on how women are portrayed in popular music, specifically focusing on Beyonce, for her MA thesis at Hamilton’s McMaster University.

For the course, Avdeef considered other singers such as Lady Gaga and Jus-tin Bieber, but eventually picked Beyonce since a variety of pop-music studies could be included.

With files from The Globe and Mail

Five university-colleges in Alberta have received provincial permission to name themselves universities.

Recently renamed schools such as Concordia University and The King’s University have already started mak-ing plans to change billboards and let-terhead. Concordia President Gerald Krispin noted that these post-second-ary institutes have been pushing to get their names changed for years.

Bill Diepeveen, chair of King’s board of governors, believes this will help with cam-pus recruitment: “You are coming to a uni-versity. Don’t have any doubt in your mind.”

With files from Edmonton Journal

The former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and a professor at University of To-ronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, Mi-chael Ignatieff, is leaving the university to pursue another post at Harvard University.

At Harvard, he will teach a variety of topics ranging from human rights, to sov-ereignty and interventions, to political life, to responsibility and representation as the Edward R. Murrow Chair of Press, Politics, and Public Policy.

“[Harvard] is an exciting and dynamic place where our future leaders are engaged in the very real process of gaining a greater understanding of the challenges they will face and the tools they will need to confront them,” said Ignatieff.

With files from The Varsity

8 opinions editor Joel MacKenzieemail / phone opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560July 14, 2014OPINIONS

GSWS  101-­‐3:  Gender  Talk  (B-­‐Soc)Thursdays  17:30  –  19:20

It  seems  that  “gender”  is  more  and  more  knowable  at  our  current  moment:  we  have  viral  campaigns  such  as  “slut  walk”  and  #YesAllWomen;  we  celebrate  transgender  actresses  such  as  Laverne  Cox;  Van-­‐couver  is  very  close  to  requiring  explicitly  transgender-­‐friendly  signage  on  the  locker  room  doors  of  

importantly:  what  are  we  missing?

For  full  course  outlines  and  a  list  of  all  GSWS  courses  available  in  the  Fall  2014  semester,  please  go  to:

www.sfu.ca/gsws

Fall  2014  Courses

Instructor:    Lucas  Crawford

-­‐

challenges  it  faces,  and  residents  and  their  allies  have  re-­‐appropriated  the  neighbourhood  and  re-­‐cre-­‐

-­‐

Instructor:    Willeen  Keough

The Supreme Court has chosen religion over human rights in the case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby. On June 30, the Court ruled that certain for-profit companies cannot be required to pay for specific types of con-traceptives for their employees.

The complaint over the Af-fordable Care Act’s requirement was made by Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma arts and crafts retail store operated by Southern Bap-tists, and Conestoga Wood Spe-cialties of Pennsylvania, which is owned by a Mennonite family. They argued that this require-ment violates their religious freedom as it requires them to pay for two types of morning-after pills and intrauterine de-vices, which they believe are the same as abortion.

The company had also re-jected a compromise made by the government, which would see their insurers, or third party administrators, pay for the con-traceptives; they argued that the insurers and third party admin-istrators are complicit in offend-ing their religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court’s deci-sion promotes the connection between the church and state: it imposes religious beliefs on the companies’ employees who may not share them.

Indeed, many supporters of the ruling have called it a victory for religious freedom, but it is a violation of the First Amend-ment of the American Constitu-tion. In addition to the free exer-cise of religion, the amendment also says that the state is not al-lowed to make laws that respect a religious establishment.

The ruling has also violated the Equal Rights Amendment of the Constitution, which pro-tects women’s rights, as a com-pany has no right to control the reproductive rights of their fe-male employees.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was against the companies’ claims, argues that the ruling would “deny legions of women who do not hold their employ-ers’ beliefs access to contracep-tive coverage,” and noting that the Affordable Care Act require-ment is important to women who work minimum wage jobs, as an IUD without cover-age costs a month’s pay. Eliana Dockertman, writer for Time, also brings up the important point that most women who are economically and geographi-cally restricted cannot choose their place of employment in order to obtain coverage.

Furthermore, if the ex-emption is made on religious grounds for health care cover-age of contraption, then who is to say that it could not extend to objections by companies run by Jehovah’s Witnesses to blood transfusions, Scientolo-gists to antidepressants, Jews to medication derived from non-kosher animals, and various re-ligious groups to vaccines?

A broader consequence is that the Supreme Court’s grant-ing religious freedom rights to companies could affect laws on employment, safety, and civil rights. The most alarming con-sequence is that the Supreme Court’s granting of religious ac-commodation could extend to other laws not related to health care or employment. By then, the union of church and state will have been complete.

In Seneca’s sixth letter to Lu-cilius, he writes that the be-haviour of a teacher could instruct more than any moral lesson they taught, noting that Plato and Aristotle “derived more from Socrates’ character than from his words.’’

Encapsulated in Mandela Day, July 18, is the recogni-tion of Mandela’s life, one that offered the same sort of example. The purpose of the day is twofold: to celebrate Mandela’s life, and to inspire us to try to emulate some of his best efforts. The day asks people to dedicate 67 min-utes of their day to commu-nity service — the number being derived from the years Mandela spent in service of his own.

With his passing hav-ing occurred so recently, it’s likely that this year’s celebra-tion will have more of a pulse around it and will, perhaps, also motivate more people to learn from Mandela’s life and character.

His autobiography can be particularly informative in

this respect. Reading through it, one never encounters the type of solipsism guaranteed to those who are victims of oppression and injustice. If I had to offer the briefest syn-opsis of it, I would try to in-clude some declarative state-ment about the importance of dignity and its relation to freedom. When the prison guards would tell him to run to his jail cell, he would walk; when given shorts to wear, he would ask for pants. These small acts prove that even the smallest acts of rebellion are essentially at-tempts at freedom.

Mandela’s forgiving na-ture is especially highlighted by his actions after his prison release. He was forced to walk and meet with politi-cians, many of whom only wanted to absolve them-selves of their complicit in-volvement in his, and South Africa’s, subjugation.

Seneca’s greatest contri-bution to the Stoic philoso-phy was his definition of it. He saw it as a philosophy

teaching people not how to live life, but how to deal with the sea of troubles that ac-companied it. In life, Man-dela often quoted Shake-speare, one of his favourite sayings being that “the ready is everything.’’ He spent de-cades in prison for trying to oppose an evident injustice. He lost his freedom and was relegated to the company of criminals on a secluded and destitute island.

But, he dealt with these trials in such a way that only inspires the mind, and acts as a perpetual source of in-spiration for those who are facing hardships in their own lives. If Mandela Day can act a catalyst for people to help their own communities, then perhaps it can also en-tice people to study the life of Mandela and learn much from it.

Sincerely, Michael Johnson, SFU Student

9OPINIONS July 14, 2014

Just over two months ago, Na-naimo’s city council made a de-cision, the controversy of which was only matched by the lack of reporting on the issue. This lack was impressive, as in the space of 20 minutes, the council man-aged to deny a group of Nanaimo residents four of their basic rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadian journalist Ezra Levant went so far as to call the act the “most disgraceful act of discrimination I can recall in Canada in my life.”

So what was this act? A church group was planning to simulcaste an American leader-ship conference whose sponsors included Chick-fil-A, a company whose chief operating officer made public statements oppos-ing same-sex marriage two years ago. In response, council mem-ber Fred Pattje proposed a reso-lution banning “any events that are associated with organizations or people that promote or have a history of divisiveness, ho-mophobia, or other expressions of hate” from the Vancouver Is-land Conference Centre.

Over the next 20 minutes, all of which can be viewed on the city of Nanaimo’s website, the coun-cil made no effort to debate the issue, and appeared to dedicate the time to how they would im-plement the ban and why it was important. This was done despite the fact that, as mentioned, the conference was not of a religious nature, but a leadership confer-ence, and past speakers have in-cluded renowned social rights ac-tivist Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

One councillor, Jim Kipp, was in favour of the motion because he “[would not] accept if a crimi-nal organization wants to come into our community” and com-pared the strong Christian organi-zation to the terrorist kidnapping of Nigerian girls by Boko Haran. Councillor Bill Bestwick believed that “it would be more effective

to blackout [. . .] because we don’t support it,” essentially moving for a motion of government spon-sored censorship.

One might ask if there were any voices of dissent during this meeting, and indeed a single voice, that of Councillor Bill McKay, stood against the ban and questioned why neither represen-tatives of the conference nor the church were invited to the meet-ing. Pattje responded by claiming that their presence at the meet-ing was irrelevant, but in reality it amounted to nothing more than a trial where the defence was not even present.

Only three days before the conference was scheduled to broadcast, ordinary residents of the city who had paid $60 a per-son to attend were informed that the event would not be taking place. Worse than that, the coun-cil’s decision labelled them as hate-mongers and violated many of their basic human rights as guaranteed by Canadian law.

Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of conscience and reli-gion, freedom of peaceful assem-bly, and freedom of association. All of these rights were violated by the city council’s decision. Even if we accept their premise regarding the Chick-fil-A posi-tion on same-sex marriage as justification for the ban, this ban still violates the freedom of as-sociation of those who wished to attend, as one cannot be pun-ished for the actions or opinions of those they associate with.

In the name of tolerance and inclusiveness, Nanaimo city council has chosen to become in-tolerant and exclusive. One can-not guarantee the rights of one group at the cost of another. To do so undermines the equality that is a necessary prerequisite of our democratic tradition. Perhaps the city council should add itself to the list of groups banned for pro-moting divisiveness, because they have done exactly that.

 

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12 FEATURE July 14, 2014

 

   

   

   

13arts editor Tessa Perkinsemail / phone arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560ARTS July 14, 2014

I think it’s a safe bet to say that electronic R&B duo, Rhye, can be labeled as elusive chan-teurs. Comprised of lead singer Milosh and producer Robin Hannibal, the two have set out to create sensuous sounds with airy, androgynous vocals, laced with groovy beats.

Thus, one’s curiosity is piqued with the dangerous cocktail combination of mys-tery and talent that Rhye pos-sesses. An introduction to their music could be best described as a serendipitous meeting with a sexy stranger.

On tour to promote their 2013 ten-track debut album, Woman, Rhye manages to maintain their enigmatic per-sona and still sound so fo-cused on their musical style.

Performing at the Com-modore Ballroom on July 4, their pared down sets and stage productions were re-freshing in an age of visual inundation in mainstream music. This kept the focus on their sound and craft, creat-ing a metaphysical plane of intimacy with the audience.

The music eased into the atmosphere. Milosh cre-ated a live harmony, building up the layers of his ethereal alto one at a time with Robin Hannibal’s funky synth beats anchoring the arrangement. Then the rest of the band phased in: the plucking of the cello strings welcomed the ca-dence of the percussion, and with a bow’s caress to the vio-lin, “Woman” started playing.

It was sensual sonic fore-play. Rhye kept the pace slow, serving slow jams, “Verse” and “3 Days,” to build up an-ticipation for the climax, as Milosh slightly teased the audience saying, “It always takes three songs to warm up.” Further baiting the

audience, Rhye played “The Fall” to much cheering and applause. The crowd was given a taste of release, and the song was extended with a wild piano solo before tran-sitioning into another slow tempo track, “One of those Summer Days.” It was then that Milosh’s soulful vocals and the smooth bellow of the horn ached for a climax.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the set that the ten-sion of aural eroticism was re-warded. Rhye brought down the house with the nu disco track, “Last Dance” — a song so sensual, gyration is the only autonomous bodily response acceptable upon hearing it. In keeping with the momen-tum of climax, the up-tempo groovy “Hunger” followed, with a surprisingly vampy keyboard solo. The cooldown was equally rewarding, as the strings that accompanied “Major Minor Love” were so lush in their sound.

After an hour of play, Mi-losh apologised to the audi-ence, saying “We don’t have anymore songs . . .” and closed the show with an a capella rendition of “It’s Over” from his 2006 solo album, Meme. It seemed apt as he crooned, “Everything’s so temporary/I should have known.” The lyrics were a thoughtful match to the ephemeral quality of his voice as he sang in the darkness, “It’s over . . .” As Milosh phased out, the band members walked away. Then silence.

That night, Rhye’s musi-cal offerings and performance were sensual and erotic to the core — the aural equivalent of the best one night stand you’ve ever had.

The ethereal beauty of Prospe-ro’s deserted island and Ariel’s spritely magical powers make The Tempest a unique explora-tion of identity and longing. Meg Roe is back to direct this remount of her 2008 produc-tion as it moves from the studio stage to the larger main stage. Some of the actors have also re-turned — most notably Jennifer Lines as Ariel.

Although Prospero (Allan Mor-gan) is our protagonist, his servant Ariel and her sprites control much of the action with their spells. She creates the tempest that ship-wrecks Alonso, King of Naples; Antonio, Duke of Milan; and their entourage. Prospero has asked Ariel to raise the storm in order to seek revenge on his brother, Antonio, who cast him away years earlier. Prospero and his daughter Miranda ended up on the island and managed to survive.

Also on board the ship is the king’s son, Ferdinand (Daniel Doheny), who captures Mi-randa’s affections. Stephana (Naomi Wright) and Trincula (Luisa Jojic), ladies of the court of Naples also find themselves shipwrecked but make the most of it drinking themselves silly. They provide most of the comedy, especially in the scene where they come across Cali-ban, Prospero’s slave. Caliban falls in love with Stephana, lick-ing her feet and submitting to her every whim.

The on-stage band provided the perfect musical accompani-ment to the action in beautiful chairs made of branches, and I was impressed by the grand set design and the contrasting costumes of the islanders and mariners. I thought that the larger theatre demanded some-thing more to fill the space — perhaps some special effects or larger set pieces would have done the trick.

There was one scene that hinted at this: Ariel descended the steps from the back of the stage with massive out-stretched wings. Her presence filled the whole tent, and when Ariel sang her melancholy songs, the whole tent went si-lent in awe.

The performances of Wright as Stephana and Jojic as Tr-incula were a huge highlight of the show as they bumbled about the stage, their hair and clothing becoming more and more bedraggled. Prospero was magnanimous in his flow-ing blue and green robe and had a presence befitting his power, but his performance could have used even more gravity and seriousness.

In the end, Prospero must de-cide if he will use his powers for good or evil now that he has his enemies under his control on his island, and he must also decide if he will he give Caliban and Ariel their freedom. Take a trip to this magical island to find out the outcome for yourself.

14 ARTS July 14, 2014

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“There’s always a beautiful ve-neer with a grisly underbelly,” explained director Tariq Leslie. Like the dark side of the moon, The Duchess of Malfi delves into the deepest hollows of human-ity and questions the bare truth of what lies within our souls.

This season, the Ensemble Theatre Company has lined up three plays: The Duchess of Malfi, The Cripple of Inish-maan, and The Normal Heart. “The wonderful thing about this season is that all of these plays are investigating human rights [and] how society treats people,” says Alison Raine who plays the Duchess.

As Leslie explains, the ma-jority of the ensemble within the company are also in one of the other two pieces; it takes tremendous focus to switch be-tween the characters and the different settings of each play.

Raine, for example, plays the Duchess in the historical setting of The Duchess of Malfi and is also performing in The Cripple of In-ishmaan, a play set in the modern world. She states that the important thing is managing both your own energy level and that of other peo-ple. In theatre, unlike film, the cast is able to form a deeper sense of con-nection and community due to the larger number of rehearsal hours.

The Duchess is based on the story of Giovanna d’Aragona, containing a fine mixture of historical facts and fictional embellishments. It follows a young widow who secretly mar-ries her steward, much to the disapproval of her two brothers. In the heat of madness and jeal-ousy they seek their revenge, enacting a macabre tragedy that tears each character apart.

Raine says her character is a strong woman. She is a mother who chooses a man out of love, which was revolutionary at the time. “She was noble, not in the sense of aristocracy, but noble in spirit, honourable, and pas-sionate,” says Raine. For her, the play is about the Duchess’ journey to find grace; she’s a woman who, amidst impris-onment and torture, is able to find meaning in life and accept death gracefully.

The notable distinguish-ing feature of this production is the time period shift from Jacobean to a pseudo-Victo-rian era. Leslie wanted an era that wasn’t terribly forlorn; he also saw that many of the original stations and positions would have made it harder for the modern audience to relate to. He stresses that he did not “change the Webster language” and tries to the best of his abil-ity to match the intentions of the playwright.

The playwright, John Web-ster, was one of the greatest Jacobean dramatists and was

also a contemporary of Shake-speare. T.S. Eliot once wrote, “Webster was much possessed by death, and saw the skull be-neath the skin.”

According to Leslie, both Webster and Shakespeare wrote beautifully poetic plays and often drew attention to political

matters, but Webster’s dialogue is faster and looser than Shake-speare’s. “It is also more concise [and] that is the beauty of it,” says Leslie.

Apart from Shakespeare, those who enjoy the fast-paced drama of Alfred Hitchcock or Quentin Tarantino, or the

complexity found in Game of Thrones, may find The Duchess of Malfi just as enticing.

15ARTS July 14, 2014

When Lana Del Rey sings “Being a mistress on the side / It might not appeal to fools like you / We been around on the side / Wanna be some-thin’ you would do” on “Sad Girl” and “Guns and summer time / Chica, cherry, cola, lime / Prison isn’t nothin’ to me / If you’ll be by my side” on “Florida Kilos,” it’s not immediately obvious what she’s saying, but the lyrics are pretty clear once spelled out.

Listening to lyrics such as these off Del Rey’s new-est album, Ultraviolence, her voice — that doesn’t enunci-ate 98 per cent of the time — shows how she continues to appeal to critics and fans with recycled material in a sultry voice, over slightly dif-ferent melodies. Her third studio album provides the charm needed to win lis-teners over, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard (or could barely hear) from her before.

Ultraviolence is hypnotic. Songs such as “Brooklyn Baby,” “Money Power Glory,” and the title track are sung in a passive voice, asking you to subconsciously tap a finger or start bobbing your head. It’s probably how she does it, actually: sneaks into your ears with that subtly sexy voice, accompanied by rhyth-mic snares and guitars. Yeah, you’re swaying, but you don’t know what the heck to.

That’s what’s problematic about the album. Without paying attention to lyrics, or

knowing which song is on ex-actly, you can’t differentiate when the album is on its next track. It essentially all sounds the same. As moments are repeated throughout the album, you can pick out sec-tions that you could’ve sworn you’d heard before during a previous song.

It’s not just melodies that are cut-and-pasted, but im-ages as well. The image of an innocent girl falling apart appears in multiple forms, and the words “little,” “red,” “party,” and “dress” have been arranged into her past albums. Her repetitiveness shows the limits of her creativity. We get it, Lana, you’re a sad girl in a cute little dress. Can we see another party trick now?

Yet, the album has been positively reviewed with comments such as Del Rey is growing more into her voice. And that’s probably the only thing we can unanimously agree on. Despite how boring and hauntingly monotonous her voice is, the girl’s got a set of golden, old Hollywood pipes on her. It’s a shame she may be getting too comfort-able in this persona, instead of trying out new forms of singing and songwriting.

I like to think the album is a success because it’s con-sistent with Del Rey’s work, which is why I can’t stop lis-tening to it and trying to deci-pher what she’s saying. But I was expecting more from her — perhaps for her to dabble in different genres, or to hear a different vocal style.

Then again, it’s only her third album so there’s not much to differentiate from. Ultravio-lence has me torn, hoping to uncover another “Summertime Sadness” on the album. Maybe Lana just won’t be my summer-time jam this year.

Matt Palmer has never played a character quite like Shrek. “It feels very large, very green, very grumpy,” laughed Palmer. Even just getting into costume is a unique experi-ence. It takes him one and a half to two hours to make the transforma-tion into the lovable ogre, and the process involves prosthetics along with tons of green make-up.

Shrek, playing in repertory with the return of Legally Blonde, should be a popular show for all ages. Just as the animated film cleverly in-cluded many jokes that only adults would understand, the musical will be entertaining for the whole fam-ily. The adaptation follows the story pretty closely, said Palmer, with a few additions of some characters’ backstories. The score, however, is completely original except for the inclusion of “I’m a Believer” during curtain call.

Palmer said that the music is clever and very entertaining, with many standout songs. “I get to sing ‘Who’d I Be,’” said Palmer. “Donkey asks Shrek, ‘Who would you be if you could be anything?’” Donkey gets his moment to shine when he sings “Don’t Let Me Go,” and Fiona also has some great songs, includ-ing “Morning Song.” These songs tell the story in a powerful way and help the audience understand Shrek’s struggle.

“The message at the heart of Shrek is that just because you’re not necessarily beautiful and you may be framed as an outcast or freak,” explained Palmer, “you have beauty on the inside and you’re capable of love and being loved.” The show features many characters that are considered to be freaks, and feeling

like an outcast is something most people can relate to in some way.

Another aspect of the story that is endearing, explained Palmer, is the relationship between Shrek and Donkey. “Shrek has never known friendship or love until Donkey in-sists on being his friend. It’s a com-plete surprise to him.”

Palmer said that Donkey and Farquad will get the most laughs from the audience, although Shrek has his moments as well. “Shrek is the straight man; you would never expect to have a big green ogre as the straight man,” he laughed.

Along with the laughs, “the au-dience will leave feeling uplifted, happy, and touched by the journey of these characters,” said Palmer. “I don’t see how they could leave feel-ing any other way.”

16 July 14, 2014photo editor Anderson Wang email / phone photos@the-peak.caCOMMUNITY PHOTOS

July 14, 2014

17humour editor Brad McLeodemail / phone humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560HUMOUR July 14, 2014

BURNABY — The architects con-tracted by Build SFU to build a new SUB and stadium for SFU released their incredibly ambi-tious plans for a new stadium this week, but according to Build SFU the design is a mistake.

The proposed stadium, which is set to be 10 times larger than an average football field and built on top of four 200 meter high columns, is ap-parently the result of a simple miscommunication.

“When we were presenting the new SUB ideas, we made a scale model of what it would look like to show to students,” explained a representative for Perkins+Will, the project’s archi-tects. “When we got to the Build SFU Think Tank we saw that they had done the same for the stadium so we decided to get a jump start on planning that.”

Not realizing that the scale-model stadium was actually just a foosball table set up to draw students into their offices, the architects got to work on the blueprints for the new sta-dium immediately.

“Sure it seemed infeasible, outrageously expensive, and downright insane, but we didn’t want to offend them,” the archi-tect told The Peak. “It took weeks to come up with a design that was even remotely structurally sound but we got there eventually.”

In a surprise unveiling on Friday, the architects showed

off the new stadium plans to students who were much less excited than they had anticipated.

Instead of being carried out of the room on shoulders and sung praises, the architects were simply met with perplexed reactions and questions about how much the new stadium would cost.

Unfortunately, the archi-tects say they’re too far into the project now to go with a differ-ent, less ridiculous design and that, due to the complex nature of the stadium, they no longer have the funds to complete the SUB building.

“It’s a real shame about the mix-up but even though the SUB isn’t going to happen, I still

think everyone’s going to love the new stadium,” continued the architect. “Yeah, there might not be any room for seating and it’s so high up that no one can even get to the field but still those giant number cubes for keeping score are pretty cool.”

Construction on the sta-dium is supposed to commence in the fall and be completed in

2027. While no sports teams will be able to use the stadium, it is expected to bring tour-ism to SFU with people eager to witness the “world’s biggest waste of money.”

18 HUMOUR July 14, 2014

Fans of the Bible rejoiced this week after God unexpectedly dropped a new story on his website featuring all their fa-vourite characters revealing what they’ve been up to since “Revelations.”

The story, in which everyone from Jesus to Moses and even Judas reunite to watch a leg of the Tour de France in Montpellier, al-most crashed God’s website due to the heavy traffic it caused.

Much like JK Rowling’s new Harry Potter story which was released last Tuesday, the new Bible update satisfies the thirst passionate readers had to find out what has become of the char-acters in the past 200 years.

According to the story, Jesus is still very much a famous figure in the world with cyclists who saw him apparently “falling off their bicycles in disbelief.” Although the writing suggests that Christ is “still the same old prankster,” his turning water into wine routine has been replaced with a “water into grape soda” miracle.

Many fans have interpreted this as a potential hint by God that his own son has had to deal with some problems with alcoholism in the years follow-ing his resurrection, although there is no actual evidence that this is really the case.

Moses also appears to not have changed much since his sea-parting days, but his beard is mentioned to be “even greyer than it once was.”

While the quality of writing of the new story has been ques-tioned, as it does not seem to match the rest of God’s work in terms of its style, message, and language, hardcore Bible fans have eaten up the new entry in the series.

“I’ll read anything Bible-related so I was thrilled when this came out,” explained Ra-chel Henry, a young Canadian Bible fan. “It really gives me hope that maybe he’ll come out with a whole new book at some point. You know, I always thought that Jebediah could’ve used a spin-off, I have so many unanswered questions about that guy.”

Although God has neither confirmed nor denied that he is working on a new Bible ad-venture, sources close to him have said that he has no plans for a new book in the series and that he’s actually really inter-ested in writing non-fiction for a change.

19DIVERSIONS / ETC July 14, 2014

1- “Le Roi d’Ys” com-poser5- Aristotle’s teacher10- Spoken14- On ___ with15- Chopper topper16- Windmill part17- Kidney-shaped seed19- Collar type20- Conclude by21- Highest singing voice in women23- French possessive25- Brown-furred aquat-ic carnivorous mammal26- Hawaiian goose29- Ask for divine guid-ance31- Wood strips35- ___ carte36- 50%37- Gibson of tennis38- Suit makers40- Scoffed41- In danger42- Horn warning43- Samuel’s teacher44- Slightest45- Beach blanket?46- ___ majeste47- Dovetail part

49- Before, once

51- Lacking depth54- Homerun king Hank58- Dole (out)59- Destroy63- Slips up64- Connected series of rooms65- Evening, informally66- Periods67- Discharge68- Type of machine found in Las Vegas

1- Canoeing body2- Neat as ___3- “Shane” star4- Elaborately adorned5- Ask invasive questions6- High hit

7- Chowed down8- Warm and cozy9- Ready ___...10- Hype up11- Pro follower12- Prolific author, briefly13- Carson’s successor18- Hot time in Paris22- Air rifle projectile24- Fire starter25- Bumbler26- Pertaining to birth27- Overjoy28- Monetary unit of Nigeria30- “Treasure Island” monogram32- Trio33- Backs of feet34- Hawkins of Dogpatch

36- Inn37- Cathode’s contrary39- Languid40- Male offspring42- Convert into leather45- Wood louse46- Discovers48- Gallows loop50- ___ Dawn Chong51- Hook’s helper52- German Mister53- Gillette brand55- Racetrack boundary56- Conductor Klemperer57- Depilatory brand60- Falsehood61- Part of TGIF62- Asian holiday

FREE CLASSIFIEDS are available to SFU students for personal use. 30 words maximum. Drop by The Peak offices in MBC 2900 to submit your ad, or go to our website: www.the-peak.ca or email: classifieds@the-peak.ca. One ad per person. All others: $12 + GST per week, prepaid, for 30 words. Each additional 10 words: $1 + GST. Five ads or more for the special price of $8 + GST per ad. Cash or cheque only please.Make cheques payable to: Peak Publications Society, mail with the ad, attn: Business Manager.

Are you Gay, Bi-sexual or just not sure? Need a safe place to talk? HOMINUM is an informal discussion and support group to help gay, bi-sexual and questioning men with the challenges of being married, sepa-rated or single. We meet every Mon-day Evening in locations around the Metro-Vancouver Area. For informa-tion and meeting location, call Don: 604-329-9760 or Art 604-462-9813.SFU taxi service to and from airport — only 10 minutes from the univer-sity. Call 604-808-8655. f13

MATH GOT YOU SCARED? NEED TO PASS THAT NEXT MIDTERM? Contact Scott Cowan for your Math/MACM tutoring needs. Competitive rates, extensive experience and great past reviews! scottc@alumni.sfu.ca f10

-ship (LOL and DOTA2): 5v5 ($3/person), 3v3 ($2/person), and 1v1 ($1/person) battles will begin on July 21. Top competitors receive a cash reward. For more information, visit www.ciea-sfu.ca. f11That Wolfenstein game was pretty good but why was Jimi Hendrix in it?

Do  you  want  to  hear  your  voice  on  the  radio?  To  attend  various  music  events?  To  have  fun?  Then  CJSF  radio  is  for  you!

Join  CJSF  90.1  FM  as  a  volunteer  and  take  a  45-­minute  orientation  tour  

can  do  and  learn  at  your  campus  radio.  (We’re  in  TC216  right  over  the  

Burnaby  campus  main  entrance.)

1st  Friday  of  the  month  at  3pm2nd  Tuesday  at  4pm3rd  Thursday  at  3  pm4th  Wednesday  at  6:15  pm Hope  to  see  you  there!

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

CLASSIFIEDS@THE-PEAK.CA

20 LAST WORD features editor Max Hillemail / phone features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560 July 14, 2014

     hough most of us think of fascism as a relic of the past, right wing extrem-ist movements in Europe and North

America have seen a steady surge in popu-larity over the last few years. This may be due many current global conditions simi-lar to those that gave birth to Hitler’s Third Reich, including unemployment, global financial crises, and massive government debt and inflation. The recent European Union elections illustrate just how much support these radical parties have gained in the face of these issues.

Though they may seem like fringe parties, it’s nonetheless crucial to recog-nize them and be aware of their ascent to power on the world stage. Here are five of the most prominent parties in the growing fascist movement.

In the recent European Parliament elec-tions, the National Front took over 25 per cent of the popular vote in the country, beating out both the ruling Socialists and the oppos-ing Union for a Popular Movement. They also came in second in the 2002 presidential elec-tion, which became the first presidential run-off without a leftist candidate in the second round in French history.

The man who ran in that election, founder of the party and father of current leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, referred to the Nazi gas cham-bers as “a point of detail of the history of the Second World War,” hinting at the problematic views of the party.

Among the party’s other beliefs are sup-port for harsher sentencing for criminals and the deportation of certain groups of im-migrants, along with halting the migration of Muslim peoples. They are highly protectionist, and have criticized the European Union as a “puppet of the New World Order.”

Another shock to come out of the recent European Parliamentary election was the performance of Nigel Farage’s United King-dom Independence Party, which took 27 per cent of the nation’s votes, marking the first time in over a hundred years that neither Labour nor the Conservatives won the most votes in a nationwide election.

Like the National Front, the UKIP are very strongly anti-EU, believing that money spent on EU membership would be better spent at home. Furthermore, they believe that the massive waves of immigrants from the Union — most recently from Bulgaria and Romania — are responsible for Britain’s debt, and have expressed an intention to reintroduce border controls which the EU forced the nation to abandon.

While they have distanced themselves from the far more extreme and openly fascist British National Party, the group’s far right views don’t exactly inspire confidence. It re-mains to be seen how they will fare in Brit-ain’s upcoming general election next year.

Of all the groups on this watchlist, Gold-en Dawn is likely the best known. The Greek nationalist party, known for its xenopho-bic and racist tendencies, has been mak-ing headlines in Europe for several years. Despite rejecting labels such as neo-Nazi and fascist, this group has made use of Nazi symbolism and praised the figures of Nazi Germany in the past.

The party has also been accused of carry-ing out acts of violence against immigrants, political opponents, and ethnic minorities. Clashes in the streets between anarchists and Golden Dawn members have become commonplace in Greece, and investigations proved that many police have aided the latter party by providing weapons and ammunition. Citizens have also joined in, as many native Greeks view the Golden Dawn party as heroes.

Unlike other parties on this list, Golden Dawn is also spreading outside of their native country. The party has now set out to establish cells wherever there are Greeks, opening of-fices in Germany, Australia, the United States, and even here in Canada.

Though they only managed to win one per cent of the German vote in the European Parliamentary elections, that one per cent was enough to earn the National Democratic Party of Germany one seat in that assembly. Unlike Golden Dawn, which attempts to deny its neo-Nazi traits, this group is openly neo-Nazi, and were labelled by Chancellor Merkel as an “anti-democratic, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-constitutional party.”

Given that the party is the spiritual suc-cessor to the actual Nazi Party, having been founded by former party mevvmbers in 1964, their far right views should come as no surprise. They have announced their belief that “Europe is a continent of white people,” and that it should stay that way. They’ve backed up this belief by calling for the expulsion of Jews, Turks, and immi-grants in general from Germany.

Udo Voigt, the party’s former leader, will represent them in their new European par-liament seat. Voigt is well known within Ger-man political circles for inciting violence in 1998 after he called for voters to engage in “armed combat,” and was found guilty in 2004 of promoting Nazism after he referred to Hitler as “a great man.”

Potentially the most prominent party on this list, the Tea Party has managed to infil-trate and hijack the United States’ Republi-can Party, moving the already conservative group even further towards the right. They may not be as radical as Golden Dawn or the National Front, but trust me when I say they are just as dangerous.

The Tea Party has also managed to take control of the United States House of Repre-sentatives, which has given them an incred-ible amount of influence on American poli-tics; after all, it was the Tea Party Republicans who were responsible for the shutdown of the United States government last year, in protest of the passage of Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act — and of Obama in general.

Support for the party continues to grow as America’s debt continues to skyrocket, as the Tea Party promises cuts to spending and low-ered taxes for citizens. These are noble goals, but the party’s tendency to blame America’s problems on immigrants (legal and illegal) and the social policies of liberal governments undermine their value as a political faction.