Never been done before midnight since 1918Friday, 6 October, 2006www.ubyssey.bc.caVOL . LXXXVIII NO10

UTHE UBYSSEY

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2 FRIDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEYCULTURE

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UTHE UBYSSEY

‘tweensLunch with BeckettOctober 6-7, 12:10pmFrederic Wood TheatreTheatre at UBC is presenting aseries of events exhibiting thework of the absurdist play-wright.This Friday will show APiece of Monologue and Play.Call (604) 822-2678 for moreinformation.

Cirque du Soleil: DeliriumOctober 6-7, 8pmGeneral Motors Place$39.50 - $125.00Cirque du Soleil returns withDelirium, a traveling spectaclethat temporarily turns GM Placeinto the Big Top. Driven by a trib-al beat and visuals, musicians,and dancers that transform thearena into a frenzy. Call (604)280-4444 for tickets.

THE DEPARTEDnow playing

by Jesse FerrerasCULTURE EDITOR

Since 2002, Martin Scorsese’s quest for anOscar has proven more elusive than he initiallyhoped. Gangs of New York went zero-for-tennominations, while 2004’s The Aviator,lost outto Million Dollar Baby in many of the mostimportant categories. As Jon Stewart remarkedat last year’s ceremony, “Three 6 Mafia one,Martin Scorsese zero.” It’s refreshing, at thevery least, to see the veteran filmmaker returnto the genre that made his name—crime drama.From an adaptation of the Hong Kong actionclassic Infernal Affairs comes The Departed, astory of greed and betrayal transferred toBoston’s criminal underground. The film isalmost certain to upset some purists whoadored the original, but for anyone looking forone of the best films of the year, they need notlook much further.

Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has grown upwith a father figure in Frank Costello (JackNicholson), a mafia boss who has his hand innearly every business in town. As an adult, herises up quickly through the ranks of thepolice academy and lands a lucrative job asdetective in a department midway between thepolice and the FBI. Billy Costigan (LeonardoDiCaprio), meanwhile, is a smart but hothead-ed police recruit who comes from a long lineof criminals and refuses to tread the path him-self. Kicked out of the academy, he is recruitedby Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) andhis mouthy assistant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg)to serve a light sentence in prison and infil-trate Costello’s gang as their rat. WhileCostigan finds himself at Costello’s right handfrom the inside, Sullivan plays mole forCostello in the police, tipping him off at everypoint that he may get caught. With two policeofficers playing a cat-and-mouse game oneither side of him, Costello becomes the focalpoint of a chase in which loyalties are compro-mised and resolve is tested to the brink as

both parties work diligently to conceal theirallegiances.

The Departed is a film loaded with great tal-ent that shows incredible chemistry on screen.A big-name cast starring Damon, DiCaprio,Nicholson, Wahlberg and Sheen would normal-ly be a formula for clashing egos. Here, theactors find the right balance in a film with anenergetic director who manages to keep a com-plex script compelling and intelligent to theend. One of the film’s biggest highlights is itssnappy, foul-mouthed dialogue, communicatedthrough only marginally convincing, but alwaysentertaining, Boston accents. Wahlberg has thelion’s share of great lines as the trash-talkingDignam, getting a rise out of DiCaprio and

Damon as often as he chooses. Jack Nicholsonas a mafia boss is a huge draw as well, as heshould be. Slimy, intimidating, yet strangelycharming, Frank Costello is the Devil himself.

Every member of the cast shines, thanks inparticular to a snappy script directed to abreakneck pace. Although at certain points thefilm becomes so complex that it is difficult tofollow the plot (some audience members com-plained that Wahlberg’s character was anunnecessary complication) it never lags and isalways entertaining. Quite simply, this isScorsese’s best film since GoodFellas. He mayhave had to do it at the expense of originality,but it is very encouraging to see the master ofAmerican crime drama return to form. uu

Scorsese Departs futile Oscar race

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THE UBYSSEY FRIDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 CULTURE 3

by Jesse FerrerasCULTURE EDITOR

Many documentaries are notable becausethey provide a view into grim social reali-ties and project strong political messages—not so much the case for Ron Mann’s work.

The documentarist, recognised as one ofthe country’s best, has made his name aftertaking on such eclectic subjects as marijuanaprohibition, free jazz and environmentalactivism. He is currently screening Tales ofthe Rat Fink as part of the Canadian Imagesprogram at the Vancouver InternationalFilm Festival. His latest is a film combininganimation and archival footage to tell thestory of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, who helpedmake famous the “Hot Rod” and created theanti-Mickey Mouse character “Rat Fink.”

Discussing his sophomore film Poetry inMotion, a film about performance poetryfeaturing luminaries such as AllenGinsberg and William Burroughs, Manndescribes himself as less a filmmaker thana proponent of a movement to bring alter-native and counterculture into the histori-cal record.

“I felt I had a certain responsibility,” hesaid. “Because I don’t consider myself adocumentary filmmaker, I consider myselfa cultural historian...It was about preserv-ing the record of post-beat poetry. So, 100years from now we would still have a record

of these poets.”“A history of the 20th century is basically

an audiovisual history, and so if it’s notrecorded it simply didn’t happen. And ofcourse it did,” he continued, “and there isdissent and there is alternative viewpoints ...a lot happens outside the mainstream whichI think actually has a great impact on therealm of art.”

A particular feature of Mann’s work ishis attempt to have his films’ styles mirrorthose of his subjects. A case in point is hisdocumentary Grass, about marijuana prohi-bition. The film, screened at VIFF 99, com-bined archival newsreel footage with ani-mations that satirised the hyperbolic toneof anti-drug propaganda aimed at impres-sionable youth.

Tales of the Rat Fink is no different. For

this film, Mann employed the services ofMike Roberts, a car fanatic and graduate ofSheridan College, to help capture the “zany”style of Roth’s artwork. He describes theoutcome on film as a “Devil on Wheelsmeets Fantasia.”

“This film is kind of a collage of many dif-ferent artifacts that were left over after Edpassed away,” he said. “I met him inReno...at Hot August Nights, and we’re goingfrom air-conditioned room to air-condi-tioned room, and Reno was really hot. AndRoth pulled up in some contraption and hehad told me that he had slept under his carthat night driving from Los Angeles.

“And I thought, oh my God, this is a per-fect character. I mean he’s like WolfmanJack...He was a rockin’ tour and he kepttelling me story after story and I thought itwas important to capture on film.”

Already working on “Fungi Film,” a proj-ect about mushrooms, Mann’s attempts tobring alternative culture into the historicalrecord have given him a fan base that hasdeveloped into a kind of cult following. Heexplains that the imminent disappearanceof a countercultural artist is something thatdrives his work.

“That’s why I make these movies,” Mannsaid, “so there’s a record of theseartists...otherwise there’s history in the airand it disappears. Especially alternativehistory, which doesn’t get recorded.” UU

STILL LIFEVancouver International Film FestivalOctober 4

by Kian Mintz-WooCULTURE WRITER

Still Life depicts a town that is washed away.The people on the banks of the Yangtze arebeing evicted as a result of the Three GorgesDam. In this film, Jia Zhangke examines thecity of Fengjie as it is demolished to makespace for diverted water and its citizens tryto cope with the loss of their homes.

That theme is clear in the stories of thecentral protagonists, both of whom are look-ing for their partners and, by extension,some sense of completion in their lives. Awoman (Zhao Tao) comes from Shanghai tolook for her husband who has left forFengjie and whom she has not seen for twoyears. Meanwhile, a man (Han Sanming)comes from Shanxi to find his wife andeventually connect with his daughter.

Cinematographer Yu Likwai utilises incredi-ble camerawork—his medium shots pull theaudience in and the handheld camera height-ens this effect. His color saturation also lends

itself to a hyperrealistic feel as the city isdestroyed. Most of the film revolves, literally orfiguratively, around the destruction of the cityas people are evicted and young men hammerat the shells of buildings until they burst.

Zhangke’s script has a brilliance that isgrounded in the minutiae of life. One of the

most wonderful, truthful and hilariousmoments in the movie comes as a boy in hisunderwear wanders into a man’s room,takes a cigarette, lights it, begins to smokeand walks away. Zhangke’s script is full ofsuch vivid details that elevate it far beyondthe central stories. UU

OPEN SEASONnow playing

by Cody Burdett CULTURE WRITER

Hunting season is only three days awaywhen we meet Boog, a 900-pound perform-ing grizzly (voiced by Martin Lawrence),who has everything a bear could wish for.Fully domesticated in the garage of theranger who raised him from a cub (a playfulDebra Messing of Will and Grace fame), hiscomfortable life of flush toilets and salmoncookies is transformed after an encounterwith a wiry, one-antlered mule deer namedElliot (Ashton Kutcher).

Strapped to the hood of a truck belonging tothe crazed local hunter Shaw (Gary Sinise),Boog’s claw saves the young buck from aninescapable fate to become another creatureadorning the walls of the hunter’s cabin.Feeling indebted to his saviour, Elliot prodsBoog to join him in a late night junk food buffetthat awaits the pair behind the locked doors ofa convenience store. This meal is one of theirlast in civilisation, as the animal odd couplesoon awake in the wild just days before openseason. As shots echo through the forest, Boogfinds himself leading a motley crew of forestdwellers determined to outwit the Heston-likeintruders and survive another summer.

With the success of animated featureslike Toy Story and Shrek, it was only a mat-ter of time before Dreamworks and Pixarhad more competition. Friday’s release ofOpen Season is the first attempt by SonyAnimation Studios to deliver a feature-length animated film. A predictable story-line combined with amazing visual effects,particularly in Imax 3D, allow it fit snuglywith the other CGI films, which seem toopen every other weekend.

The only thing that sets Open Season apartis excellent casting. Who better to play theenormous thieving bear than MartinLawrence (think Blue Streak meets BigMomma’s House). He seems rather familiarwith the fear and panic involved with a loadedgun being wielded in public, only this time thestory doesn’t take place on an LA freeway.Real life cougar-bait Ashton Kutcher, mean-while, is perfectly believable as a fast-talking,scrawny deer, and considering that GarySinise signed onto CSI: New York, it’s notmuch of a stretch to see him play a lunatic.

Overall the film accomplishes what itsets out to do. The audience of ten-year-oldswill laugh for 90 minutes and whoeverdrove them there might chuckle justenough to forget how bad traffic will be onthe way home. UU

Mann brings Rat Fink into history

Hyperreal camerawork is highlight of Still Life

Kutcher believableprey in Open Season

“WHO BETTER TO PLAY THE

ENORMOUS THIEVING BEAR

THAN MARTIN

LAWRENCE...HE SEEMS

RATHER FAMILIAR AND

SENSITIVE TO THE FEAR AND

PANIC INDUCED WHEN

LOADED GUNS ARE WIELDED

IN PUBLIC.”

“ROTH PULLED UP IN SOME

CONTRAPTION AND HE HAD

TOLD ME THAT HE HAD SLEPT

UNDER HIS CAR THAT NIGHT

DRIVING TO LOS ANGELES.”

–Ron MannDirector, Tales of the Rat Fink

4 5FEATURETUESDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY THE UBYSSEY TUESDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006

MONTREAL (CUP)—One week before I left for Beirut, my family had dinner with an uncle visiting fromBeersheva, Israel. Halfway through the evening, he turned to look at me. He put down his fork.“So. You’re leaving in a week.” I nodded. He asked if I was excited. I told him, excitedly, that I was. Heexploded.“You’re insane and naive and you’re going to get killed! The Syrian secret police are going tofollow you. Hezbollah is going to kill you. I’m not e-mailing you there because your Internet usage willsurely be tapped. My God, Ariana, why are you doing this?”For months, I had heard the same argument against my decision to go to Lebanon: You are female,American and above all, Jewish. According to people like my uncle, I was gazing dreamily into the mouthof a volcano. But I thought my belief that Lebanon would be safe was well-founded. I had read countless books and arti-cles,talked to professors, Lebanese people and others who had lived in Lebanon to work or study. Thecountry is far and away the most “westernised” in the Arab world, resulting from when Lebanon was con-sidered the “Switzerland of the Middle East” and much of the country’s revenue came from tourism. By the time I left in late January, I had concluded that, while Lebanon is inherently unstable, the likeli-hood of conflict in the near future would be low, particularly since Syria had withdrawn from the coun-try. The precarious security situation in Beirut was, as the president of my Lebanese university explainedto me, “a nasty game being played out by politicians” far above my head.

Beirut by nightThe first night I was in Beirut, I was on the verge of sleep when my new suitemate walked out of her roomin sheer, black patterned stockings and a loose-fitting, deep-plunging green blouse that I immediatelywished I owned.“I’m so sorry I’m not dressed,” she apologised in flawless English. “I’m Sara. It’s wonderful to meet you.”Sara proceeded to offer me all of the food in her refrigerator and invited me to bar-hop with her in Monot.I had no idea what Monot was, but it was clearly a posh place: Sara had put on a short skirt that flaredout, huge earrings and high heels.When we got out of the cab in Monot—a hub of Beirut’s legendary nightlife—I felt like I was in a movie.Palm trees lined the sidewalks, every light seemed like it was a different colour, and music emanatedfrom all of the open doorways around me. Hundreds of people, talking, smoking, and dressed to thenines, promenaded by. I had never been anywhere so glamorous.A uniformed soldier passed by us with a rifle slung over his shoulder. I asked Sara why he was there.“You know, the security situation,” she answered, referring to the spate of bombings and assassinationsthroughout 2005 that began with the death of the former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.“Has anything happened here?” I asked nervously.“Yeah, about 100 metres that way.” She indicated the direction we had just come from. “But it was noth-ing big, really.”Lying in bed that night, I half-expected to hear an explosion. There was one within the week, but I did nothear it. In fact, I didn’t even know it happened. There was minimal damage and no casualties, so peopleeither didn’t know it happened or ignored it if they did. It was the exact mentality a Lebanese friend ofmine once described when I asked him how people respond after a bombing.“You look around and then you keep driving to a different place. There’s no bomb at the other place.”

Soccer politicsA month later, I went to see Lebanon play Kuwait in a soccer match. Waiting for the gates to open, I hearda group of people to my left begin chanting. I asked someone from my school what they were saying.“They are singing...they are talking about the suburbs of Beirut where Hezbollah is very strong.”I askedhim why. “They love Hezbollah. They do it everywhere, I don’t know.”A moment later, a group of people to my right echoed the same melody, but with different words. Theywere chanting for Hezbollah’s political foe, the Future Bloc, which holds a majority in Lebanon’sParliament. The two groups began going back and forth, the volume escalating with each successiveround. Eventually, riot police and soldiers quelled the impromptu political standoff. I was uneasy.In the stadium, I found myself next to roughly 500 Hezbollah supporters. At some point during thematch, the man sitting closest to me took out his wallet and turned it over to reveal a photo of HassanNasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader.“What do you think of this man?” he asked my American friend. Not knowing whom the man in the pic-ture was and not wanting to offend anyone, my friend said he thought that the man pictured was fantas-tic. The Lebanese man’s face lit up.“My brother! Welcome to Lebanon! Where are you from?”“We’re from America.” “Oh! America is a very good country!” And then, astonishingly, he began chanting, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” Pickingup on the call, his friends joined in. Five hundred supporters of Hezbollah were chanting for the UnitedStates of America. A friend of mine from the US told me how relieved he was that no one taped the sceneand let it fall into the hands of the Republican Party. I never would have guessed that Hezbollah wouldbe erecting furious banners emblazoned “Made in the USA” over fresh mounds of rubble within the next six months.

WelcomeAround the time of the soccer game, I discovered Lebanese hospitality. Lebanese friends of my McGillclassmate invited me for dinner and insisted I stay with them for the weekend. A girl I met in a sharedtaxi, Zahya, gave me her phone number in case I needed anything. The middle-aged couple with whom Ishared a bench on the waterfront one night invited me to their house in the mountains, telling me fromthe moment we met that I was their sister. Fruit vendors regularly sent me home with more than I paid for.For me, being a foreigner in Lebanon was an asset. The Lebanese are both very proud and acutely con-scious of their country’s reputation outside the Middle East. As a result, they go out of their way consid-erably for foreigners in hopes that their actions will counter any negative conceptions of Lebanon. I remember watching the news with a friend. Following a segment about Iraq, she clucked her tongue indisapproval. A moment later, she turned to me anxiously.

“When you go back to America, you will tell them we’re not like that, right? I think many Americansbelieve we are all the same.”The country’s burgeoning tourism industry, which came to an abrupt halt when the war broke out on July12, was an indicator that post-civil war reconstruction had been successful and that people were regain-ing their confidence in Lebanon and Beirut. The summer was projected to bring 1.5 million visitors to acountry of only 3.8 million people.

The limits of wealthSuccessful does not mean perfect, however, and even within Beirut there are glaring instances of inequal-ity. After Lebanon’s devastating civil war (1975-90), the downtown area was literally rebuilt from theground up by the late Prime Minister Hariri, a multi-millionaire owner of a Saudi-based constructioncompany. City planning from scratch with nearly unlimited resources can yield dazzling results and downtown nowlooks as if it were constructed of gold. It is a city within a city, with its own generators, security, and clean-ing and maintenance services.Directly south are Beirut’s southern suburbs. These areas are far more dilapidated than downtown. Thebuildings are close together and mostly monochromatic and the ones that sustained damage during thecivil war were often just refurbished rather than rebuilt, some having been left unfinished. Driving onthe overpass separating downtown from the suburbs, I occasionally saw the city centre in its goldensplendor to my right, while on my left the suburbs sat shrouded in the darkness of a power outage.Lebanon’s biggest problem, as the recent conflict clearly illuminated, is that the Lebanese governmenthas yet to extend its sovereignty over all of Lebanon’s territory. This chronic weakness is the result of anumber of factors. The country suffers from an ever-changing demography due to mass migration andfluctuating birthrates. The political system has not kept up with these changes and has thus led to the dis-enfranchisement of major sectors of the population and the institutionalised dominance of other groups. Unable to accommodate all of this, the government is in a near-constant state of paralysis. As a result,along with the massive debt following the civil war and the cost of reconstruction, the government’sreach is limited and resources do not flow to every part of the country. Exacerbating everything is the factthat other countries and groups have continually exploited Lebanon’s weakness and liberalism, hijackingLebanese territory for use as a base for their activities.Despite all this, the Beirut I left in late June was raucous and celebratory, teeming with life and awarethat it was finally regaining the status of a sophisticated metropolis. There were spontaneous fireworksshows on the beach nearly every night, two major music festivals were slated for July and August and arowdy parade on my street in honor of a Brazilian victory in the World Cup lasted for hours. I wascrushed when I left.

WarJust a few weeks later, thousands of people were hastening to leave or relocate. I saw two of my Americanfriends interviewed on CNN as they were being evacuated. Other friends were travelling when hostilitiesbegan and found themselves stranded on holiday, with all of their belongings in Beirut. In a civil war-style move, many of my Lebanese friends retreated from Beirut to their villages of origin. Others movedelsewhere in Beirut and those with dual citizenship left the country.Basic goods like bread, rice, and milk became scarce. The price of gas increased six-fold. A taxi fromBeirut to Damascus went from $50 to well over $500.One week into the war, I received an e-mail from the international students coordinator at my university there.“The Beirut you came to know,” she told me, “no longer exists.”The Beirut lighthouse, where I always began my walks along the beach, is now only half there. Beirut’sport sustained heavy damage, as did the airport. The southern city of Tyre, where I went for a day at thebeach my last weekend in Lebanon, was bombarded for weeks and the road I took to get there is nowimpassable. Oil has washed up on the beaches in the entire northern half of the country because of thebombing of a power plant in Jiyyeh, a bit south of Beirut.“I’m proud of being Lebanese, of being an Arab, and I love my country,” said my friend Nizar. “Yet I can’thelp but think this every minute: Screw being born in the Middle East. You can’t live one second withoutknowing that everything is just transient, temporary. You can’t even make plans for the future becauseyou know that nothing is guaranteed in this region of the world, not even staying alive.”Since the ceasefire on August 14, the Lebanese have attempted to steer their lives towards normality.Those in south will find the task of reconstruction far more arduous than elsewhere in the country.People in these areas tend to be poorer and the conflict has already destroyed thousands upon thousandsof their residences. Some villages in the South essentially no longer exist. As for Beirut, the city I cameto know is “almost back, but not quite,” according to my friend, Reem. “There are no lights in the streetsat night, so it’s very dark. I’m almost afraid of walking back home in the evening. But apart from this,people are back to going out, you know the Lebanese.”Indeed, The New York Times reported that within hours of the ceasefire, thousands of internal Lebaneserefugees began to stream back to their homes. The massive return was indicative of the nationalresilience. As a Lebanese blogger wrote, “Nothing has exploded in a few hours, so I plan to be in my house by dinner.”Ilham and Mazen are currently looking for a house, but “Mazen is worried, like most of the Lebanese peo-ple, that there will be another war,” Ilham told me. “Hopefully things will be much better so that we cansee you again in our country.” UU

‘‘TThhee BBeeiirruutt yyoouu ccaammee ttoo kknnooww nnoo lloonnggeerr eexxiissttss..’’

SSttoorryy bbyy AArriiaannaa MMaarrkkoowwiittzz,, TThhee MMccGGiillll DDaaiillyy ((MMccGGiillll UUnniivveerrssiittyy))

PPhhoottoo bbyy OOkkeerr CChheenn

Hey man, yo’ mamma’s so stupid she took the PepsiChallenge and chose Jif.

Pissed? Bring it. feedback@ubyssey.bc.ca

FRIDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEYOPINION AND EDITORIAL6PERSPECTIVES

—Michael EmrickEducation

—Claude D’SouzaEducation

—Bryce MillerEducation

—Laura KosakoskiScience 4

“I could care less.I’m just not thatinterested.”

“I think they’re definitely going tobe stronger in thedefensive end. I’mjust hoping they’llhave more depth.”

“I think they wereneeded. All in all, Ithink they weregood. I agree withthe changes.”

“Even the thingsthat are still thesame are different.Naslund’s still here,but who’s on hisline?”

“I think they lost alot of their oldboys. It’s a completely different team.”

How do you feel about the changes to the Canucks this year?

Streeters

—Coordinated by Mary Leighton and Kellan Higgins

—Robert TaddeiEducation

by Patrick BruskiewichIt is good to be back at UBC for another term, and itis equally great to read the well-written Ubyssey arti-cles about UBC opting out of the Maclean’s annualsurvey of universities in Canada, as well as the arti-cle about forced early retirement.

Both of these articles remind us students ofhow important it is that the Fourth Estate (theprint media) and our student representatives atthe Alma Mater Society (AMS) and GraduateStudent Society (GSS) keep focused on the impor-tant student issues at our university.

On the flip side, there are some political hacksthat still try to drag students into those murkyrealms that our members of parliament, diplo-mats and peacekeepers find intractable and diffi-cult. The recent Svengali letter on Middle Easternpolitics (Ubyssey continues to be biased,September 29), which did not bear the name of aUBC student and which was obviously scripted, inthe eyes of the knowledgeable scholar calls intoquestion the integrity of the Fourth Estate. A truescholar is never afraid to put their name to theirwork, nor would they stand to script or front forthe thoughts and ambitions of others.

Maclean’s decision prior to the last federal elec-tion to publicly comment on the misbehaviour of aformer member of parliament should be under-stood for what it was: a call for a higher level of con-duct, a greater respect for parliament and mostimportantly a call for greater respect for interna-tional law. This commentary was in the finest tra-dition of the Fourth Estate and was supported bymany editors and scholars across Canada.

I will never forget the sad and bizarre sight of arenegade MP, breaking ranks with his caucus andwith parliament, surfacing in Sarajevo in thespring of 1999 and criticising the actions of theinternational community (in particular the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation) for coming to the aidof the thousands of non-combatants who werebeing systematically murdered by soldiers of theSerbian army. I can never forgive this politician forhis lack of respect for international law and for hisactions, which served to undermine the efforts ofthe international community and of Justice LouiseArbour who was acting on behalf of theInternational Court.

A few years ago I was glad to see UBC recogniseJudge Arbour with an honourary degree in law forher courage and dedication in support of interna-tional law and humanitarian relief. Such dedica-tion to international law is a national tradition setdown by such great Canadians as Lester Pearson,Pierre Trudeau and David Suzuki.

I am personally happy to see Dr Suzuki supportthe Green Party and the Kyoto Accord, an interna-tional undertaking that he has dedicated so much ofhis personal and professional life to. My estimationis that in the next provincial and federal electionsthere will be some Green candidates elected to theHouse in Ottawa and to the Legislature in Victoria.By such courageous and conscientious action, DrSuzuki stands true to the longstanding parliamen-tary traditions of our nation.

Here at UBC, one area I think more should besaid about is the lack of Canadian content. I encour-age our new president to dedicate some of his timeand effort to address the need for greater Canadiancontent at UBC and would invite him to start at theFaculty of Education.

I frankly think the University should appoint aBlue Ribbon external review committee to make rec-ommendations to the Board of Governors about howbest to bring that Faculty in line with the scholasticand academic standards of the rest of UBC, and howto bring more Canadian content into that Faculty.

As we go into this fall’s student elections, myview is that issues like UBC opting out of theMaclean’s annual survey of universities in Canada,as well as forced early retirement are worthy of thebest efforts of our student representatives. Were I ina position to advise these bright and talented stu-dent leaders, perhaps a referendum on one or bothof these issues would find favour with your con-stituency here at UBC.

I would like to thank the Ubyssey for your finereporting on these and many issues and encourageyou to keep up your excellent work in support of theCanadian traditions of the Fourth Estate.

—Patrick Bruskiewich is a PhD student in thedepartment of physics and astronomy

The importance ofsticking to student issues

For the past five years, theCanucks have been nothing ifnot electrifying. A year ago,Vancouver was coming off twoconsecutive 100-point seasonsand four straight playoff appear-ances, while possessing whatwas widely considered the bestline in the NHL. For a shorttime, the sky was the limit.

But with one playoff serieswin in four years, the city’spatience was wearing thin ona team that never had more toshow than regular seasonaccolades.

So when the Canucks failedto make the playoffs last sea-son, sweeping changes weremade. Gone were the scorersthat characterised the up-tempo style of play we wereused to being entertained by.

As the new season begins, anew coach—known for hisemphasis on defence—andnew players will put onCanucks sweaters, hoping toturn around the fortunes of afranchise that only has twofinals appearance to show forin 35 years of NHL hockey.

But, in a city that has beenspoiled by offence for the pastsix years, will a defensively ori-ented system cause hockeyfans to scoff at their hometeam? And while we can hearcritics rattling their sabers asthey denounce these changesas sacrilege, it raises an inter-esting question: what do hock-ey fans in Vancouver wantmore? Goals or wins?

Some would argue that wehave become our own worstenemy. After years of criticis-ing the New Jersey Devils,Vancouver management hasdecided to pattern LouLamoriello’s management phi-losophy, now willing to sacrifice scoring for a chanceto win.

Amidst a flurry of playermoves over the summer ouroffence was left diminished.With pickups like WillieMitchell and Marc Chouinard,our beloved-yet-oft-criticisedhome team was beginning toresemble the only teamVancouver fans would not paymoney to see when they came

to town: the Minnesota Wild.The Wild were dreadedbecause they epitomised every-thing that was wrong withhockey and so now too might we.

Even the skeptics agree thatthis new team lacks the fire-power of previous years. Noone can dispute that the depar-ture of Todd Bertuzzi(71points), Ed Jovanovski(33points in only 44 games),Anson Carter(55 points), andNolan Baumgartner(34 points)has left a 193-point void on theCanuck’s scoresheet.

To compensate, Nonis hasadded Taylor Pyatt (12 points),and Jan Bulis (40 points) to goalong with two former Wildplayers Marc Chouinard (30points) and Willie Mitchell (10points)—not exactly householdnames.

But with Roberto Luongo’ssigning, the hope is that theoff-season subtractions won’tbe as detrimental to the club’srecord as anticipated. Luongois undoubtedly one of the bestgoalies in the NHL, but we

have to question whether wealso lost what we loved themost about the Canucks for thepast five years: entertainment.

There’s no doubt that theCanucks will continue to be ahuge draw. But for how long ifsuccess doesn’t quickly follow?Vancouver went from a mar-ginal hockey town into aCanuck-crazed city over thepast six years after their mostrecent transformation.

They went from an unprof-itable team that was losingapproximately $30 million ayear to one that was pocketingmillions a year. GM Place hasseen 127 straight sellouts of18,630 fans. There were hugeTV numbers as well—the city’smedia is now centered almostcompletely around theCanucks.

The new approach and newsystem isn’t as glitzy, and itssuccess will definitely deter-mine its future. The MinnesotaWild have managed capacitycrowds for five straight sea-sons with a stale lifeless style.Can Vancouver do the same? uu

The best defence is a good defence

THE UBYSSEY FRIDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 NEWS 7

by Amanda StuttNEWS WRITER

UBC was recently awarded a $1million grant by the J.W McConnellFoundation that will enable stu-dents to expand their educationalhorizons out of the classroom andout into local communities.

The grant supports CommunityService-Learning (CSL)—for stu-dents to participate in projects innon-profit organisations as anaspect of course work.

Professor Margo Fryer of theSchool of Community and Regionalplanning is the director of the UBCCommunity Learning Initiative. Sheexplained that “Community Service-Learning is the integration of stu-dents’ volunteer work in communitysettings with academic course-work...complementing what stu-dents are studying.”

“We want students to be demon-strating learning related to theirexperience in the community,” shesaid, “for example in place of amidterm, students would do theircommunity service and then writea paper based on their reflectionsabout what they have experiencedin the community and how thatconnects with their coursework.”

Students have participated inCSL in non-profit organisationssuch as the Dr Peter Centre inVancouver’s west end for peoplewith HIV, and the YWCA’s“Crabtree Corner,” a facility on theDowntown Eastside for womenand children.

“Community Service-Learningis a really effective way to increasestudents’ sensitivity to communityissues, increase their understand-ing of [what] can...be done in com-munity settings [and] what the

complexities of the issues mightbe,” explained Fryer.

“The initiative is aiming toexpand the territory that we’rebringing students into, not justdowntown, but other parts of theLower Mainland, and potentiallyover time the whole province, aswell, we’re looking to broaden thethematic scope to include issues ofsustainability...potentially...urbanagriculture and projects with FirstNations communities,” she added.“With this funding we’re able toexpand both the geographical ter-ritory that students are working inand the kinds of issues they’reworking in relation to.”

Fryer said that one of the rea-sons UBC is committed to advanc-ing CSL is because, “we see it as aneffective way to develop the quali-ties of global citizenship, which ispart of the University’s strategicplan, Trek Vision 2010.”

The central themes of TrekVision are preparing students to beglobal citizens, promoting the val-ues of a civil and sustainable societyand conducting outstandingresearch to serve the people ofBritish Columbia, Canada and theWorld. Trek Vision was developedwhen Martha Piper was UBC presi-dent, and current president StephenToope is committed to following heriniative, Fryer explained.

“We’re committed to thisbecause we’ve seen students say-ing...it’s transformed my think-ing...about my role in the world, myability to make a difference,” shesaid. “It’s helped students to clarifytheir thinking about their educationgoals and their career goals.”

UBC zoology instructor AliceCassidy implemented CSL as part ofBiology 345, a course in Human

Ecology, and found that the CLS ini-tiative, “works really well. Studentsare motivated...it becomes more todo with something that’s real tothem. They choose it, it’s theirs, theyown it.”

Students in her class worked atthe UBC farm where they “helpedmove greenhouses, and prepared afield for planting.” Students alsoparticipated in a project atUniversity Hill Elementary School,where they “worked with students tomake the school grounds greener.”

Cassidy explained that communi-ty work connects to academic workas a marriage of theory and practice.

According to Cassidy, CSL “isthe right thing to do...for socialjustice reasons, but also to helpstudents learn.”

Former UBC student FrancieHayward completed a degree inwomen’s studies and sociology,and is now coordinator of commu-nity partnerships in the CSLI.

Hayward recounted her experi-ences as a student with CSL as anopportunity “to see how my degreecould be used in a real setting. I feltlike I could practice the theory I wasusing in my coursework,” she said,adding that she then understoodhow to use those theories as well asapplying it to her degree.

Hayward believes learning howto apply theory and research to areal setting is essential, and foundthat she was able to “apply knowl-edge, and contribute successful-ly...to serious social issues.”

Hayward explained the overar-

ching theme for her was learning.“I have a lot to give, and also a lotto learn.” Hayward sees opportuni-ties for “contributing to communi-ties in a meaningful way. I reallybelieve that this way of learning isbeneficial to both students andcommunity organisations.”

Margo Fryer explained the aspi-rations for the future of the initia-tive. “We’re looking at not onlyhow we can integrate [CSL] intoexisting courses, but [also to] workwith faculty to develop some newcourses that integrate CSL in a potentially innovative and differ-ent way.”

“We’re in the process of gettingthe word out that we have this fund-ing and we are able to offer someresources to faculty,” she said. uu

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHLOE LEWIS

Coursework becoming community based

by Jessica JiYoung KimSPORTS WRITER

In university, there are a fewnotable events that highlight one’sundergraduate experience. AtUBC, the first Pit Night, Storm theWall and Arts County Fair areamong the top.

Then there is the Shrum Bowl;the monumental event betweenSFU and UBC that decides who willhave bragging rights for theupcoming football season.

But the Shrum Bowl isn’t justabout football or cross-town rival-ry. It is also the celebration of DrGordon Shrum, the founder of thecompetition.

“A lot of people don’t realisewho Shrum was. Gordon Shrum isno longer with us, but he was aphysics professor here at UBC. Hewasn’t an athlete but was verymuch an academic. But he hadinterests in sports, football particu-larly. [He was interested in] ways toprofile a fairly young university likeUBC,” said UBC athletics historianFred Hume. “He tried his hardest topromote football and to hire high

profile coaches, all in the quest of trying to

achieve this highprofile for UBC.”

B u t U B C ’ svision didn’t

quite matcht h a t o f

Shrum’s

and eventually he moved on. Afterretiring from teaching, he spent afew years as the CEO of BC Hydrobefore becoming the first chancel-lor of SFU at the request of the BCPremier.

“He was the catalyst of begin-ning of Simon Fraser University.[There] he created a football pro-gram that featured athletic schol-arships, the only one in Canada.And they had to play in the American league because the Canadian league did not allow this.”

And in the midst of SFU andShrum’s quest to build a high pro-file university, Shrum created acompetition between the two localuniversities.

The first match between SFUand UBC was celebrated in 1967,with SFU taking the first win by32-13. And since the first game,SFU and UBC took turns takinghome the win; SFU triumphedwhile playing under the Americanrules, and UBC dominated underthe Canadian rules. The rules inwhich they played under alternat-ed every year until SFU joined theCIS in 2002.

Going into the 29th ShrumBowl, Simon Fraser leads the all-time series by one game, 14-13-1.

“It’s nice to meet your cross-town rival. Everyone knows thereare two universities in BC playingfootball, one of them SFU and theother UBC. Meeting a cross-townrival means a lot in terms of ithelps with our recruiting, it helpsestablish what team is on top incommunity, and gives sense ofpride to those who played in thepast,” said Thunderbirds headcoach Ted Goveia.

This Saturday, the Thunderbirdswill host the Clansmen on theirhome turf to not only defend theirtitle, but also to honour Shrum’svision to bring the school commu-nities together through athletics. UU

SPORTS8 FRIDAY, 6 OCTOBER, 2006 THE UBYSSEY

by Boris KorbySPORTS EDITOR

There will be more than city brag-ging rights up for grabs Saturdayafternoon as UBC and SFU squareoff in Shrum Bowl XXIX. The T-Birds’ playoff dreams will be onthe line as they face off againsttheir cross-town rivals in thehome and home series that finish-es Wednesday night at SwangardStadium.

“The rivalry is huge. It’d benice to get that trophy...but it’s aplayoff game for us, too, becausewe’ve got to keep winning,” saidfifth-year quarterback BlakeSmelser.

UBC has entered the halfwaypoint of the season at 2-2, holdingdown the fourth and final playoffspot in Canada West. Last week-end’s shootout win against Reginaput UBC in control of their ownplayoff destiny as the secondhalf of the season gets underway, butthat will quicklyc h a n g e if the T-Birds

can’t take advantage of the strug-gling SFU Clan.

“We’re hoping to get better andbetter every week, and that’s whatthis game is about for us, to con-tinue to improve, despite theopponent,” said Thunderbirdshead coach Ted Goveia.

Meanwhile, the Clan are bat-tling through a rebuilding yearunder rookie head coach FrankBoehres. SFU has dropped 13games in a row dating back to2004, but a victory in the ShrumBowl would erase a lot of the pain of the last two years, which includes last year’s 40-33overtime defeat in Shrum BowlXXVIII.

“Any game we play, it’s a criti-cal game…but because this is[against our] cross town rivalsthere’s an added interest,” saidBoehres. “Then when you factor inthat this is the 29th Shrum Bowl,

[you realise] thisgame has a lot

of signifi-c a n c e ,

[ s o ]i t ’ s

important to show well.“When I first came to UBC, we

were 0-8, and one of the firstthings the alumni said to us was‘just win the Shrum Bowl,’” addedGoveia, speaking on the impor-tance of the game.

Though UBC is clearly favouredgoing into the weekend matchup,the Thunderbirds will not be takingtheir opposition for granted comeSaturday, according to Goveia.

“This game is going to be a goodchallenge for us. And there’s some-thing about the Shrum Bowl, younever know what’s going to hap-pen,” said Goveia. “Last year wewere favoured to beat SFU prettygood and they gave us all we couldhandle, and if they hadn’t missed afield goal at the end of the game,they would’ve won. So I expect thatthey’ll play [a] great game.”

“We’ve got to win all the wayout if we want to make the play-offs, and that’s the goal for us,”said Smelser. “It’s not just theShrum Bowl to us; it’s the seasonon the line.” UU

More than pride on the line at Shrum Bowl

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Birds gear up for XXIX game against SFU Clan