• Celebrating 90 years!
THE UBYSSEY U ONE YEAR AWAY
Brace yourself for the 2010 Olympics
by Samantha Jung
Senior News Staff
In less than a year’s time, ath-
letes and spectators from all
over the world will flock to UBC
for the 2010 Olympics. Thunder-
bird Arena will be hosting men’s,
women’s, and Paralympic hock-
ey. Yet despite the international
scale of the event, and the degree
it will affect students, most are
in the dark over what it will
entail.
Michelle Aucoin, the current
Olympic Secretariat, is working
on a community engagement pro-
gram aimed at educating students
about the impacts the Games will
have. “In some regards there’s
been no info shared,” Aucoin
said, adding “we want to ensure
that students are aware of the
opportunities.”
The most direct impact the
Games will have on students is
the extension of reading week to
two weeks over the fortnight the
Games are taking place. Decided
by the Senate in 2007, the change
was made to spare students a
busier commute to campus dur-
ing the games, and according to
VP Students Brian Sullivan, to
“free up interested students’ time
to become Olympic volunteers,
participants and spectators.”
Critics of the switch have
focused on the fact that due to
the extended break, the exam
period will stretch into the first
day of May, which could pose
significant problems for rent-
ers off-campus. However, Anne
DeWolfe, executive coordina-
tor of the office of VP students,
says that while May 1 is set as
the last official day of the exam
period, exams will finish prior
to this date. She cites increasing
the number of evening exams,
special Sunday exams, and ad-
ditional spaces opened for ex-
ams as solutions to the potential
conflict.
As the entry point to Thunder-
bird Arena, Wesbrook Mall will
be busy before, during, and after
the games, with VANOC having
control of the street for security
purposes. DeWolfe admitted that
there will be limited access along
Wesbrook for the entire second
semester of the 2009-2010
Motorbikes,
Mao and a Yak
Two UBC students’ journey
through Tibet
school year, but alternate access
routes and parking will be of-
fered to all residents affected.
Another concern has been
the impact of security at UBC.
The government recently ad-
mitted that the overall cost of
security for the Olympics will
be approximately $900 million.
Keith Baulk, the VANOC venue
manager for UBC, said that while
security around the arena has
yet to be finalized, there will be
fenced security perimeters. He
added that while there will be
no significant changes to the
Page 5
Glorious junk
The story of thrift stores
balance of the university, there
will be some implications with
respect to road closures and
transportation times.
Tony Mahon, Director of UBC
Security, says that while security
in and around the Thunderbird
Arena is under VANOC’s jurisdic-
tion, they, along with campus
RCMP, will still police the rest
of campus. Mahon says that the
numbers of officers will increase,
and that an operational plan is in
the works.
The AMS has recently pub-
lished a report that is critical of the
March 6, 2009 | www.ubyssey.ca
frizzing like a little poodle since 1918 | volume xc, number 42
UBC’s official student newspaper is published Tuesdays and Fridays
GOH IROMOTO COMIC
Olympics’ impact on issues such
as security and civil liberties, the
environment, and how the games
will have a direct impact on UBC
students.
Former VP External Stefanie
Ratjen, who worked with AMS
President Blake Frederick on
the report, believes that there
has been a lack of transparency
and student representation in
the planning process. “It’s quite
obvious that Olympics planning
and activities have been going on
for some time, but it was only in
October last year that students had
The recession
and you
Find out at www.ubyssey.ca
Page 3
any form of representation within
the Olympics planning process
or were even consulted by any
means,” she said.
She feels that it will be us
students who will be paying for
the games. “Generally speaking,
students at UBC haven’t quite
entered the workforce. There
are significant financial obsta-
cles already,” Ratjen said. “The
costing for the Olympics is in a
state of crisis right now.…I think
that has a very significant im-
pact on sort of this generation of
people because we’re ultimately
the people that are going to be
paying for that. And that’s going
to have a huge impact on any
kinds of social programs in the
future.”
Aucoin and UBC are aware of
the mixed feelings students have.
“There are those who are very
keen and want to participate…and
those who aren’t supportive, and
who are questioning why we’re
hosting the Games and the cost
that’s associated.”
Will UBC be little more than
an uncritical sideline cheerleader
come February 2010? Aucoin
pledges that won’t be the case.
“It’s not about delivering a
program of ‘rah, rah!’ It’s about
delivering a program that is intel-
lectual inquiry and curiosity and
engaging these questions in a very
respectful, consistent way.” U
UBC THUNDERBIRD
WINTER SPORTS CENTRE
COMPLETION DATE June 2008
LOCATION Wesbrook Mall and
Thunderbird Boulevard
CAPACITY 7200
ELEVATION 90 metres
ARENA Main arena NHL-Standard,
17,000 square feet of ice, 200 feet
by 85 feet, two smaller arenas
EVENTS Men and Women’s ice
hockey (Olympic games), men’s
ice sledge hockey (Paralympic
games)
EXTRAS Was redeveloped from
an existing facility, meets LEED
silver standards
Index
Events
Feature
Culture
2
3
5
Editorial
Streeters
6
6
Letters 6
Games 7
Sports 8
2 | events
Events
Ongoing
Action—Camera: Beijing Perfor-
mance Photography • Examines
the trajectory from the discreet
underground performance art
community centered in Beijing’s
“East Village” in the early 1990s,
to a current internationally recog-
nized practice. • January 16, 2009
10am–Monday, April 20, 2009
11am. For further information
please contact Naomi Sawada at
naomi.sawada@ubc.ca, tel: (604)
822-3640, or fax: (604) 822-6689,
or take a look at belkinartgallery.
com/_email/_main_belkin/Ac-
tion_Camera •
UBC Greek Week • The Panhellen-
ic Council and the Inter-Fraternity
Council are putting on a week
long event for Greeks and UBC
students alike. Events include, Del-
ta Gamma Anchor Splash, Greek
Letter Check & Guest Speaker,
Staff Appreciation & Greek
Jepoardy, Greek BBQ Fundraiser,
Greek Olympics, Can-Struction
& Greek Olympic Finals, Awards
Presentation Ceremony will take
place at Pride of Order of Omega.
If you’ve ever wondering what
the Greeks are all about come out
and check out this events. • March
1–7, events all over campus. For
more information check out the
“UBC GREEK WEEK 2009!” Face-
book group •
March 6
Imagine Your Arts Major Go
Global: Taking Your Major Global
• Imagine waking up for class in
Australia or Denmark, or going on
a volunteer placement to Africa or
a co-op placement in Singapore.
Come to this session to learn
about Go Global opportunities and
how you can participate. • March
6, 12pm–1pm. Location: Irving
K Barber, Lillooet Room, register
online at secure.students.ubc.ca/
workshops/careers.cfm •
Imagine Your Arts Major: Arts Co-
op Info Session • Learn how Arts
Co-op can enrich your academic
learning with paid work experi-
ence. Participants in this session
will also learn about the require-
ments for joining the Arts Co-op
program, the types of jobs and
employers that hire Arts students,
and will also have the opportunity
Correction
On Tuesday’s Issue of The Ubyssey, The Ubyssey noted that the person
flying through the air was a Phi Gamma Delta (or FIJI); it was actually a
Phi Delta Theta brother. The Ubyssey regrets this error especially since
one of our editors is in the Greek system.
COME DOWN TO THE
UBYSSEY TODAY TO
LEARN HOW TO BE A
JOURNALIST. SUB 24.
to hear from current Arts Co-op
students. • March 6, 5pm–6pm.
Location: Irving K Barber, Lillooet
Room, register online at secure.
students.ubc.ca/workshops/
careers.cfm •
24 For Hunger • This is a voluntary
24 hour fast organized by the
Meal Exchange club and the
UBC Food Bank. Participants will
fast for 24 hours to raise money
for the Strathcona Healthy Food
Choices program, which provides
underprivileged families in Van-
couver with a means for accessing
nutritious meals. All students are
encouraged to participate in this
event and raise at least $15. On
Friday night meet in SUB 212
for activities (a scavenger hunt
through downtown Vancouver
and/or other activities). On Sat-
urday morning join us for a free
breakfast and presentation in SUB
212 from 10am-12pm. Come and
help fight local hunger! • March
6, 10am – March 7, 10am, Friday
night at 5:30pm-9:30pm and Sat
morning at 10am-12pm. Sub
212. Register online at: www.
mealexchange.com/ubc •
March 10
Fix - The Story of An Addicted
City • Presented by the Canadian
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
(CSSDP) Club. This documentary
deals with Vancouver’s drug issues.
All are welcome and light refresh-
ments will be provided. • March
10, 2009, 4:30pm, Woodward
Lecture Hall 5, Inquiries contact
us via email cssdp@club.ams.ubc.
ca. •
March 11
A NUMBER by Caryl Churchill •
What makes you who you are?
Your genes or . . .? What if you
found out you were one of a
number of clones? Science fact, or
science fiction? These are some of
the provocative questions posed
by this startling play about a son
who confronts his father with the
fact that he has genetically identi-
cal counterparts and is merely
one of “a number.” This critically
acclaimed professional production
of Caryl Churchill’s award winning
play is something that you will
want to discuss and debate long
after you have left the theatre. •
the ubyssey | www.ubyssey.ca
If you have an event, e-mail us at events@ubyssey.ca
March 11 - 14, 2009, Dorothy
Somerset Studio Theatre, 7:30pm
To: 8:30pm and 1 Matinee, Cost:
$5 to book call: 604.822.2678 or
Email: theatre@interchange.ubc.
ca, for more info www.theatre.
ubc.ca •
March 12
Silent No More Awareness Cam-
paign • Presented by AMS club
Lifeline. There will be testimonies
from women and men about
their experience with abortion
and how they have healed from
the pain. There will be time for
questions afterwards. Everyone is
encouraged to attend, particularly
those who are interested in the
after effects of abortion or who
has experienced one. • March 12,
2009, 5-7pm, Macmillian Building
Room 160. For more information
visit http://www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/
lifeline/ •
March 15
Feminism’s Discontents: Fireside
Chats • From a social movement’s
perspective, feminism has repre-
sented one of the more profound
challenges to dominant culture of
the modern era. Andrew Butz in-
vites discussion of how we should
consider the reality of anti-feminist
trends or countermovement
-- from religious fundamentalisms
and right wing talk shows, to
feminization of low-wage global
production, and perhaps even the
‘extreme makeover’ entertainment
genre. Tiffany Johnstone will share
her own experiences of how femi-
nist scholarship has shaped and
contributed to literary studies and
will also explore how such scholar-
ship has been critiqued (both fairly
and unfairly) over the years. •
March 15, 2009, 8-10pm, Piano
Lounge, Green College, 6201 Cecil
Green Park Road, UBC. For more
information contact intwomans-
day@gmail.com •
March 16
TATAU: Samoan Tattooing and
Global Culture • The contempo-
rary significance of Samoan tattoo
traditions is the focus of this
insightful and provocative exhibit
opening in Gallery 3 (adjacent to
the Great Hall). Curated by Peter
Brunt, Senior Lecturer in Art His-
tory at Victoria University of Wel-
lington, the show features over
40 photographs by distinguished
New Zealand artist Mark Adams.
Thanks to the Adam Art Gallery,
Victoria University of Wellington,
and Cambridge Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology,
University of Cambridge, for
organizing this touring exhibition.
• March 16, 2009, 10am, Museum
of Anthropology. For more infor-
mation visit www.moa.ubc.ca •
March 19
2nd Annual Leadership Summit •
It’s ELU’s biggest event. Each year,
ELU invites some top guest speak-
ers from a range of professions
from student to CEO, to come and
speak for ELU Summit invitees.
Guest and VIPs have a chance to
listen to speeches from four differ-
ent quest speakers about leader-
ship and their life experience in
it, and then to mingle with them
afterwards in a ‘bites and pieces’
networking session where food
and drinks are provided • March
19, 7-9pm, in the Irving K. Barber
room 182. Admission $2 for non-
members, free for members •
March 26
Lola Dance: Provincial Essays •
Presented by the Dance Centre.
A stunning ensemble work that
takes inspiration from the natural
world and our relationship to it,
Provincial Essays will be featured
in the next edition of the popular
Discover Dance! noon series. Cre-
ated by Artistic Director Lola Ma-
cLaughlin, who is regarded as one
of Canada’s finest contemporary
dance choreographers, Provincial
Essays is an eclectic collection
of choreographic landscapes
informed by nature, and full of
delicious humour and ravishing
visuals. It looks at modern society’s
relationship with the natural
world – our dominance and com-
modification of the environment
contrasted with nature’s great
power and beauty. • March 26,
2009, 12pm, Scotiabank Dance
Centre, 677 Davie St (at Granville),
Inquiries contact 604 606 6400 or
www.thedancecentre.ca •
march 6, 2009
THE UBYSSEY U
March 6th, 2009
volume xc, no 42
Editorial Board
coordinating editor
Kellan Higgins : coordinating@ubyssey.ca
news editors
Stephanie Findlay & Justin McElroy :
news@ubyssey.ca
culture editor
Trevor Melanson : culture@ubyssey.ca
sports editor
Shun Endo : sports@ubyssey.ca
features & perspectives editor
Joe Rayment : features@ubyssey.ca
photo editor
Goh Iromoto : photos@ubyssey.ca
production manager
Paul Bucci : production@ubyssey.ca
copy editor
Celestian Rince : copy@ubyssey.ca
volunteer coordinator
Kalyeena Makortoff : volunteers@ubyssey.ca
webmaster
Adam Leggett : webmaster@ubyssey.ca
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Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca
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Legal
The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the Uni-
versity of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday
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Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff.
They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not
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Contributors
Lightning cracked overhead, and the thunder rolled over
the village. Kellan Higgins knew how to read the signs - the
wind carried a dark omen. Filled with foreboding, Katarina
Grgic warned the townsfolk, hurrying to find shelter. Sa-
mantha Jung made sure all the children were indoors, safe
from the doom looming over the horizon. Paul Bucci made
sure all the doors were shut tight, before hunkering down
for the coming storm. Stephanie Findlay could hear it ap-
proaching. Justin McElroy rode into the village on the thun-
der with his hordes, Shun Endo and Tara Martellaro riding at
his sides, blood dried on their flashing blades. The heads of
villagers less prepared hung from their saddles; Shun Endo’s
head gazing blankly at the destruction left in their wake.
Sarah Eden’s was barely recognizable anymore. But Goh
Iromoto knew the rites, and had prepared a surprise for the
marauders bearing down upon their village. With the mag-
ic of Caroline Chuang, and the sacrifice made by Ken Dodge,
he had awoken powers more ancient, and more terrifying.
Olivia Fellows and Joe Rayment chanted quietly in their hut,
privately dreading the carnage that would follow if they
were unsuccessful, if they failed to repeat the lines Celes-
tian Rince had laid out for them. All Matt Hildebrand could
hear, cowering with his wife under the bed of their hut, was
a rushing sound, as Trevor Melanson, that ancient beast,
rose from the lake, larger than any tree, and far more ter-
rible. When the noise passed and the sun rose, Kyrstin Bain
emerged from her hut: it was a peaceful spring morning.
Canada Post Sales
Agreement
Number 0040878022
printed on 100%
recycled paper
FFeatures
Glorious Junk
The Business of Cast Off Clothing
BY CAROLINE CHUANG
SCARF: $5
SHIRTS: $12
VEST: $7
A
fter almost six years at
UBC, and two changes
of majors, I find myself
in different company.
The social milieu has changed.
Now UBC is a flutter of hipsters
of different kinds—some mimic
the whiff of an aristocracy gone
by, whereas others wear a style
of feigned poverty like perfume.
Their looks come off as slick as
the glossy pages of Nylon and i-D.
You see one after the other like
polished diamonds making their
pilgrimage through Buchanan D’s
hallways up to Lasserre. When I
see them, I wonder if they smell
as nice as they look. I wonder how
they wear the badge of counter
culture and look so immaculately
fashionable at the same time.
But, don’t get too close or stare
too intently; nothing that spot on
can hold up so flawlessly under
inspection.
Behind the pretension there
usually is a lack of substance. It’s
emboldening to feel like you’re
not buying into mass retail
market labels. Until recently, I
thought shopping at thrift stores
was a symbol of democratized
shopping, that thrift existed
solely for the masses and anyone
could purchase name brands or
quality vintage for low cost. Ac-
cessibility was universal. What
I’ve learned is that the thrift
industry is part of a global econ-
omy that feeds off places like
Value Village. It claims to cater to
the poor, and it does, but it also
feeds the rich.
To find the source of the used
clothing business look to a profes-
sion called “ragpicking.” Sascha
Garrey, an honours economics
graduate at UBC, was a ragpicker.
It required her to spend her time
digging through dirty piles of
clothing in a smelly warehouse. It
was a love of old clothes that got
her working as a picker at a rag
yard. Sascha describes her experi-
SUNGLASSES: $8
SHOES: $8
ence using visceral images: “rats,
rubber gloves, bright yellow.”
She spent an entire summer in
a “gross, lonely warehouse.” Iso-
lated from the rest of humanity,
she worked hard to stock a vintage
store.
Ragpickers were among the
demi monde of personality types
that existed in 19th century Paris,
along with such representatives as
the vagabond, absinthe drinker,
and the prostitute. Baudelaire
had an affinity for the ragpickers
in particular. He liked to compare
them to poets. One of the reasons
was symbolic—the poet picked
up the detritus of the city in the
form of discarded words and bits
and pieces found here and there
for inspiration. Imagine the rag-
picker as low-class archivist and
cataloguer of the city. They’d sort
through all the personal items
people threw away as Paris took
on modernity.
You’d wonder who’d be in this
business today. Garrey says the
person who interviewed her for
the job lived with a few other peo-
ple in a huge house. The house had
so much stuff that you wouldn’t be
Editor: Joe Rayment | E-mail: features@ubyssey.ca
MITTENS: $4
SKIRT: $6
JEANS: $10
JEANS: $10
SHOES: $5
able to sort through it in years.
This is a clue to his personality
type: he was a hoarder. But, this
is the type of hoarding that’s in-
spired by an instinct for survival
in a materialist world. The vintage
hoarder’s life is in their stockpiles
of vintage clothing or their inven-
tory—it represents money and a
certain kind of greed, especially
if they are blokes without a pas-
sion for clothes. They collect just
to pimp the historicity of dead
women’s clothing.
Garrey picked through a lot of
clothes from Alaska and Virginia,
judging from the tourist tshirts.
How did these clothes end up in a
rag yard in Vancouver? As far as I
can tell, it’s because rag yards buy
and sell clothes from other rag
yards. The vintage item you find at
This is a world of giant semi trucks. Think
conveyor belts with radios being thrown
and women in shower caps.
HAT: $8
SUNGLASSES: $9
SCARF: $5
CARDIGAN: $10
KELLAN HIGGINS PHOTOS
True Value Vintage may have been
picked unwashed from a rag yard
in Alaska that bought its shipment
from a Saver’s (what Value Village
is called in the US) in Wisconsin.
And, this is just North America.
There is a global market for used
rags and clothing. A rag yard in In-
dia may ship their vintage to New
York, where they’ll send the goods
to Japan.
In modern ragpicking, opera-
tions are hush hush. The location
where Garrey picked is nonde-
script. Once she’d open the build-
ing’s garage door, she’d enter
“this crazy, secret world…. To your
left there was a baler”—a machine
for packing clothes like sardines
in a box—“and two men operating
it. All women are stationary and
all men are bringing bales to the
March 6, 2009 | Page 3
SHIRT: $11
next pile. Men are moving, wom-
en are sorting. Things are really
organized; they are separated into
women’s blouses, women’s fancy
blouses.” This is a world of giant
semi trucks. Think conveyor belts
with radios being thrown and
women in shower caps. People are
digging for treasures. Then out of
the remnants of castaway goods,
someone fishes out a Valentino
cape that causes your hands to
leap forth in greed and delight.
All of this is closed to the general
public.
“The prices we pay for vintage
clothing!” Garrey says. “Due to in-
flation and supply and demand—
there is a vintage spillover effect
[from] Value Village and Salvation
Army—the pickers who go there
drive up the prices where the
low-income families shop.” Frus-
trated, Garrey blurts out, “These
places are not for young, stupid
hipsters.” Rag yards service many
proprietors in the used clothing
trade.
Natalie Addington, the owner
of Woo Vintage, isn’t typical of the
thrift scene. She is not the stereo-
typical hoarder, miser or greedy
proprietor. She knows everything
there is to know about the used
clothing business and speaks with
authority on the subject. She also
genuinely loves the clothes. I went
to her store looking to consign
vintage clothes after being turned
down by the husky biker brothers
at Deluxe Junk Co., another vin-
tage in Vancouver.
Addington has great cheek-
bones, is fashionably thin, and
dresses a bit kooky. She was born
to wear clothes. I could see her in
60s minimalist sheaths. She got
interested in vintage clothes after
her mom took her to a swap meet
in Surrey. “I was interested in
sundresses—the colours. That was
more than 20 years ago.”
SEE NEXT PAGE
4 | features the ubyssey | www.ubyssey.ca
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
It’s that time of year, again! The people who come into her
store tend to be fashion con-
The Ubyssey is having editorial board elections. That scious. “The fashionistas and
hipsters are looking for the alter-
means that if you think you’ve got the chops to be part native interpretation to Vogue,”
Addington says. “A version of
of our editorial staff submit your position paper to our whatever came off the catwalk.”
She gets UBC medical students
office by March 19th. coming in for 50s ball gowns be-
cause she offers them a discount.
Email any questions to volunteers@ubyssey.ca. Addington is interested pri-
marily in restoration—it’s almost
an obsession with her. And her
historian’s knowledge of clothes
feeds the fashion lover’s ap-
petite. Near her counter you’ll
find the dresses—every vintage-
lover’s favourite staple. I point to
a beaded dress from the Robert’s
Shop and Natalie tells me about
the 3D beading, known as drop
beading, which I would have
otherwise overlooked. She can
describe a lot of the items in her
shop in similar detail. You can
tell this by how she can describe
the clothes in her store. Of a
dress hanging on the wall: “light
blue 50s ball gown in iridescent
taffeta, glass beading. We clean
it, Valerie does repairs.”
Natalie looks for clues on
an item of clothing like an
archaeologist searching for
fossils—“check fasteners, labels,
colours.” She goes through the
racks of Value Village now with-
out touching anything—it used
to be hand feel, but now she just
“eyeballs.” You’ll find no better
tailoring than 60s Hong Kong
clothing, she tells me.
I ask Addington specifics
about the rag yards, which are
generally secret knowledge
among industry insiders. I do
not publish some of her answers
because it would be disclosing
too much. “Picking is a dirty job.
Not much different from bin-
ners,” Addington confides.
“…Most of the stuff in rag yards
gets sent to Africa. Farmers there
buy it because they have the mon-
ey. When you see African children
on TV they’ve got clothes from 30
years ago.” Most people have seen
it on World Vision commercials,
but they thought this was donated
clothing.
Like other vintage store own-
ers, Addington has amassed a
collection of her own, mostly
from items that don’t sell. Her
penchant is for 40s suits, 50s
sundresses, clothes from the ear-
ly 60s look like they’re from the
50s. Her taste in cars is of the
same period—she’s the owner of
a ’63 Falcon wagon.
On another side of the thrift
spectrum is Value Village. Ac-
cording to their mission state-
ment, their goal is to be the “best
thrift store in the world.” They
are one of the biggest, and their
selection is hard to beat. A lot
of their stock comes from cloth-
ing recyclers who donate their
clothes. In exchange, they give
a very small percentage of their
revenue to charity. Make no mis-
take though, they’re a business
like any other.
A man named William O. El-
lison founded the first Value Vil-
lage (Savers) store. Its expansion
into a thrift store empire was
aided by Ellison’s great uncle
and grandfathers, who built the
Salvation Army thrift organiza-
tion in the 1930s and 40s. Help-
ing the poor was in their genes,
“but then they got greedy,” ac-
cording to Ana Lukic, former as-
sistant of operations supervisor
at a Value Village.
Value Village’s competition
isn’t thrift stores: it’s Superstore
and Wal-Mart, Lukic says. Gone
are the days when shopping at
thrift stores meant sticking it to
the man. “Most managers come
from corporate. Jonathan [Lu-
march 6, 2009
kic’s store’s former manager]
used to manage a Wal-Mart. That
says it all,” admits Lukic.
I met Lukic at originally
when I was working at the same
Value Village. She’s passionate
about purses from the ’30s, an
interest she picked up from her
grandmother. Shopping at Value
Village appeals to Ana on a ro-
mantic level. “Going through the
racks you can escape to a differ-
ent world and time,” she says.
Even some of the shoppers
go to Value Village for business
though. They’ll search the store
just looking for things to bring to
consignment shops. If they can
successfully consign something,
they get a percentage of the sell-
ing price. They are the intrepid
and die hard thrifters who boil
down the practice down to hand-
feel and eyeballing—like Adding-
ton, they don’t flip through every
item painstakingly. They know
what styles and labels to look
for—an art in itself.
Front & Company is arguably
the best and most successful con-
signment shop in Vancouver. Its
storefront displays, which face out
to Main Street, are also the city’s
best. When I went to visit, one of
the mannequins was a lumberjack
shirt, a jean vest with a ribbon
pin. There were two others made
up with looks that were creative
and sophisticated, mixing thrift
store pieces, like a light blue high-
waisted striped skirt coupled with
layers and layers on top. The key
was the layering. It looked busy,
but refined, sort of an artier ver-
sion of what Nicole Ritchie would
wear. It was so current.
I spoke with Allie Sheldan,
Front & Company’s manager.
She wears fancy glasses that
make her look geek chic. “What
the consigners bring in is
amazing,” Sheldan says, which
is what she credits with the
store’s success. The consigners
are primarily in the 25–35 age
range and come from as far as
Richmond and North Van. Oth-
ers are from the Main St. and
downtown area. Front & Com-
pany specializes in clothing of
the last couple of years. But,
they are notoriously picky. I’ve
consigned there myself—they
often only take one item out
of from the huge bag you’ve
brought and reject the rest.
This is good for customers
though. Everything in the store
is filtered through by Sheldan’s
skillful eye. As a result, all the
clothes are in season and in
quality condition.
The clothes that make it through
are typically priced at one-third
the original cost, but if they come
new with tags attached, then half.
The vintage pieces are priced ac-
cording to their “uniqueness.”
Shoes are no lower than $18. This
is unlike Value Village, where
the pricers often affix prices for
unique vintage items at less than
items from middle-of-the-road la-
bels like Gap and Jacob.
Sheldan calls Front “the be-
ginner’s thrift store.” They’re
different from Value Village in
that they have “less stock and
better quality.” “Our fur coats
and leather goods have a good
price point,” she says. Front also
carries local designers. Almost
everyone in the store look like se-
rious shoppers—they have items
in their hands and stare intently
at the clothes before they buy—
unlike most stores where they
are wandering and browsing.
The high class thrifters are even-
ly dispersed amongst the store’s
many categories of racks—they
are separated by a section for de-
signers, consignment, and new.
There is something for everyone,
but everything follows a closely
edited and current attitude. U
CCulture
UBC filmmakers prepare for motorbike adventure
Documenting their 60-day journey from Lhasa to Shanghai
by Sarah Eden
Culture Writer
This summer, UBC students
Liam Bates and Patrick Caracas
embark on what will undoubt-
edly be a journey of a lifetime.
Following the road Chairman
Mao took in the Long March of
1934, they will traverse over
8000km, traveling from Lhasa
to Shanghai by motorbike,
filming along the way. At the
end of this 60-day journey they
hope to have ample footage for
their forthcoming documentary
Motorbikes, Mao and a Yak (ex-
pected to be released in March
2010).
The process began last sum-
mer when the Swiss-born Bates
worked in western China and
Tibet as a Chinese-speaking tour
guide for a Swiss TV producer
and his family. While discuss-
ing the Western perception of
the Tibet-China conflict, the
producer made a suggestion to
Bates: “Hey, why don’t you go
on a trip with a Tibetan and a
Chinese guy? You could ride mo-
torbikes from Lhasa to Beijing.”
Four months later, Bates began
planning.
First, Bates needed a camera-
man. He didn’t have to look far.
As a member of UBC’s film
production program, Caracas
was eager to join in as cin-
ematographer for the project.
Caracas and Bates met in their
first year at UBC as roommates
in Place Vanier. They quickly
became friends, bonding over
their mutual passion for film-
Atoning for dad’s sins, seeking redemption
Recent play East of Berlin is disturbing and unfamiliar
by Caroline Chuang
Culture Writer
Hannah Moscovitch’s play East
of Berlin deals with the theme of
atoning for the sins of the father
in a way that is both disturbing
and novel. The protagonist,
Rudi (Brendan Gall), searches
for absolution and redemption,
but these attempts are as ill-fat-
ed as a Shakespearean tragedy.
Upon discovering his father’s
past as an SS officer, he begins
to rebel intensely, having a ho-
mosexual affair.
Moscovitch really delves into
the psyche of Rudi and uses his
dual role as narrator and ac-
tor to make his psychological
demons more prominent. The
multiple and constant shifts in
real time are demarcated by
lighting and the entry of Sarah
(Diana Donnelly) and Hermann
(Paul Dunn). By the end, you’ll
be used to the schizophrenic
rhythm.
Hermann, Rudi’s former best
friend from childhood, is thor-
oughly sinister, yet provides
making and extreme adven-
turing (just google “Pat Liam
extreme”). Also, as a Brazilian,
Caracas brings another cultural
dimension to the travelogue.
The multi-cultural aspect will
serve as a key element to the
documentary.
Bates describes presenting
“an accurate view of modern
China for the world to see” as a
primary aim of the documenta-
ry. To achieve this, Bates asked
Wen Xiang, an eastern Chinese
acquaintance, if he would like
to join the trip. He said yes and
found the final member Gesan
Duojie, who has never left his
native Tibet. These final two
members will likely shape the
documentary the most, show-
casing (as Bates states) “the true
feelings of a young Tibetan and
a young Chinese, [representa-
tives of] the two groups actually
involved with the debate.”
Both Bates and Caracas are
insistent that this will not be
your average documentary. “We
don’t want this film to be just
like other documentaries, full of
facts and figures, talking heads,
stock footage,” Caracas explains.
“We want it to be about the peo-
ple we meet along the way and
the relationships we build as
travelers.” The focus will be on
the interactions of the travelers
with the local youth along their
way, hoping to answer ques-
tions such as “what is a 20 year
old in Tibet, southwest China,
Inner Mongolia, or Beijing do-
ing right now?”
some genuine comedic relief
at the start. As teenagers, Her-
mann uses sarcasm and pithy
remarks made in secrecy to
goad his friend into having a
special relationship with him,
that actualizes itself in a brief
interlude of homosexual desire.
He is, after all, the one who
breaks it to Rudi, over a science
experiment, that they are the
sons of prominent SS officers. It
is no wonder they were raised
in Paraguay of all places, where
Rudi’s father fled to Latin Amer-
ican sympathizers. By the last
few scenes, Hermann plays the
part of a lover scorned, as he
meets face to face with Rudi’s
fiancée, also the bearer of his
child. Hermann is so jealous he
reveals Rudi’s secret to her—his
father isn’t dead yet. One won-
ders why Rudi didn’t kill him.
Rudi tells us his father is a
good one, a gentle man who has
sex with his mom once a week
and eats a good dinner. He asks
himself whether he should turn
in his father as a war criminal.
One audience member replied
Editor: Trevor Melanson | E-mail: culture@ubyssey.ca
The path to finding answers
to these questions is certainly
not an easy one. The team will
traverse the Himalayas, des-
erts, the Mongolian grasslands,
coastal regions, and then enter
the treachery of Shanghai traf-
fic. Traveling through all of this
terrain on motorbikes means
other likely difficulties: flat
tires, dead batteries, backfiring,
and more. Caracas, however,
affirmatively.
At 18, Rudi decides to leave
for West Berlin, sponsored by
Project Rhinehart. Ironically,
his journey toward an imagined
independence from his father is
funded by a Nazi organization,
but we get the sense that Rudi
fell back on this default identity
anyway, by not coming clean
about turning his father in. It
is there that Rudi’s tortured
self-identity is made more com-
plicated. He falls in love with
a Jewish girl, Sara Kleinman.
Donnelly stands out in this
role; you can see her tears from
the front row, and she delivers
her lines with earnestness. She
vomits at the site of Auschwitz,
and curses at Rudi for comedic
effect—“fuckin’ German.”
Rudi, on the other hand, has
a staccato voice, perhaps be-
cause there is no real transition
from his boyhood to his adult-
hood. The delivery is sporadic
and Gall seems uneasy.
There is a picture of Hitler in a
gold frame on his father’s desk.
Rudi tells us this. But, we know
sees this as an opportunity: “It
is through all the problems and
all the ‘get arounds’ that the trip
will gain a sense of rawness.”
Before their trip starts, the
Motorbikes, Mao and a Yak
team are working on generating
excitement and raising funds
for the documentary with events
such as the popular “Ménage-à-
Trois” benefit hosted earlier this
month. Bates hopes the other
nothing of his father that would
humanize him—that would be
going too far. We know that
Rudi has thought the matter of
his father over from all possible
perspectives when he says that
his father probably succumbed
to the idea of a bright future and
double salary on his path to SS
officerdom. The secrecy of the
dark confessions are sacred for
us, for we can still maintain our
composure when a suggestion
of evil is offered rather than its
embodiment.
Throughout, we smell the
stench of Rudi’s hand-rolled
cigarettes. It may serve to calm
the actor’s nerves in real life;
he was given this plum role to
explore a cracked psyche, after
all.
It is telling that Rudi never
finds redemption. But he enacts
a solution, which I won’t reveal.
East of Berlin is a Tarragon
Theatre Production brought to
audiences by the Touchstone
Theatre in Vancouver and the
Chutzpah! Festival, and it ran
from February 18–28. U
March 6, 2009 | Page 5
courtesy of liam bates
pre-departure parties will be as
successful. “In the pre-produc-
tion stage, obtaining funding is
one of the hardest parts! It is ex-
pensive to film a documentary,
especially on the other side of
the earth.”
Keep an eye out at www.mo-
torbikesmaoandayak.com for
trip updates and traveler blogs
as their journey begins this
June. U
UNDEROATH
LOST IN THE SOUND OF SEPARATION
Christian metalcore: the label
most often ascribed to Underoath.
One expects music that is both
preachy and really heavy, but Un-
deroath’s latest, Lost in the Sound
of Separation, plays with emotion
and sound rather than trafficking
in bland ideology.
The songs progress uniquely,
each in their own time, creating
distinct soundscapes and an en-
joyable listening experience. The
playing is never fast for the sake
of being fast, though it is much
heavier than their first album,
Define the Great Line.
The haunting rises and falls of
“We Are The Involuntary” breath-
lessly hold my attention. Their
ability to progress in sound and
avoid repetition; the slow building
of drums and static in “Breathing
in a New Mentality” leads perfect-
ly to the rest of this neck-breaking,
headbanging song. The poppy,
emo-kid lyrics in “A Fault Line, A
Fault of Mine” contrast melodi-
ously with the rest of this screamo
dirge, again keeping my attention.
Underoath returns to Vancou-
ver this Saturday at the Vogue
Theatre.
—Ken Dodge
EEditorial
Why the hunger strike?
POINT In Tuesday’s issue we reported that newly elected AMS
President Blake Frederick, former president Michael Duncan,
If you’d like to submit a letter, please contact feedback@ubyssey.ca March 6, 2009 | Page 6

Tristan Markle and a few others are partaking in a hunger

strike. The strike, known as the 2010 Homelessness Hunger
Strike Relay, is a protest against the government’s failure to
reduce homelessness in Vancouver, despite promising in 2002
(when the 2010 Olympics were announced) that it would.
Oh, Michael Byers did it too.
We will not question the integrity of these individuals, nor
their devotion to the cause. The effectiveness of this hunger
strike, however, is suspect. What will it accomplish?
Am Johal, who put the protest into motion, says that they
are “trying to build a broader public support.” We at The Ubys-
sey are unsure how a hunger strike leads to broader public
support. Who exactly are we supposed to be supporting: the
protesters or Vancouver’s homeless? What actual benefits will
result from this hunger strike?
We realize homelessness exists, and we realize it has become
a hotter topic with the upcoming Olympics; but the self-inflict-
ed suffering these protesters incur does not give any tangible
benefit for our city’s homeless population. At the same time,
it’s not for lack of food that these people are suffering—there
are plenty of places where the homeless can get nutrition on a
daily basis.
So, it must be about raising public awareness then. Hands
up: who didn’t realize homelessness was a problem in Vancou-
ver—or in any city for that matter? Granted, perhaps a few of
us forgot that reducing the problem was on the pre-Olympics
agenda. Even still, homelessness is a problem that never
goes away, and also one that is always brought up before any
Olympics. by Katarina Grgic’
If you didn’t know this, it’s very unlikely that you would have

Letters
ever caught wind or been inspired by this hunger strike, which
is of much lower profile than the problem itself.
If this hunger strike accomplishes anything, it’s more street
cred for its participants—a way for them to show everyone how
much they care. And care they certainly do, we’ll credit them IN RESPONSE TO MR PORITZ’S a “moderate...message” I fear a people is at the mercy of two
that much. Unfortunately, while jail time may sell rap albums, LETTER that Mr Poritz wants to see a occupiers: one of which carries a
we’re not convinced starvation time will sell the government castrated display of a people’s gun, and one of which carries a
on this one—especially when budgets are so tight with the I consider Mr Poritz a friend of suffering. From my side, being megaphone. Mr Poritz is in Hon-
recession. mine. However, I cannot stand a Jew does not equate to unques- ours History: he should know
Let’s be clear, we at The Ubyssey are not encouraging apathy. by while his views are printed tioning support of Israel’s ac- well that there exist multiple
We’re just suggesting that there are more practical ways to ad- in this paper without offering tions. The status of Israel is not truths to every debate.
dress this problem. U my dissent. He talks of SPHR an ethno-religious position; it is
offending supporters of Israel; a political one. The SPHR display —Mike Kushnir

Every voice counts

as an ethnically Jewish Cana- simply presents an opposing Human Geography 4
dian, his words have shamed view to the pro-Israel side.
me by rhetorically implying In saying this, I am not sug-
COUNTERPOINT The point of any massive media stunt—as the that all Jews must support Israel gesting that Israel’s actions con-
aforementioned hunger strike unequivocally is­—is to garner as unconditionally. stitute apartheid. Rather, both If you wish to to submit a letter
much media attention as possible. Like this. Right here. This The IAC’s Israel Week display Israeli and Palestinian blood it must be no longer than 350
is not to raise awareness in the strict sense of the word, but to is just as much propaganda as has been spilled, and without words. Your identity will be con-
put the issue front and centre in the public mind, if only for a the SPHR’s display. The IAC good faith from both camps, the firmed by phone or by ID from
few minutes. It also promotes discussion, which is valuable at portrays Israel as the only de- troubles are likely to last. I sup- the office. People may email us at
all levels of a democracy. mocracy in the Middle East, port the existence of the state feedback@ubyssey.ca
Questioning the motives of those involved is irrelevant. Poli- focusing on the culture, music of Israel, but I have questioned
ticians will act like politicians no matter what. The important and food of its people. I do not why I support it. The only thing
part is whether they are part of a cause, which this distinctly recall seeing posters about man- that we can do as students to pur-
labels them. datory military service, illegal sue peace is to foster respectful
The sheer number of people participating in the hunger settlements in the West Bank or dialogues, not shouting matches,
strike, combined with support from the public, can create dis- the overwhelming imbalance in which Mr Poritz has a history of
cussion at a political level, which is where it really counts. So military casualties in the ongo- starting.
this is “actually doing something.” In fact, how else are things ing conflict. Different realities exist for dif-
“actually done?” When he says he hopes to see ferent people, least of all when
If you go to an AMS council meeting, you will find that this
is how motions are made. Someone finds out/participates in
something that they feel is worthwhile to promote and asks
council to pass a motion in support of the principle. If it
garners enough support among the councillors, a committee
Streeters
is often formed along the lines of “Whereas the AMS supports
Cause X, be it resolved that the AMS strike a committee to
What do you think of thrift stores?
figure out how to actively support that cause.” Then money can
be put towards programs, research, lobbying, etc. to help the
cause.
In response to the Olympics specifically, it is a serious con-
cern that VANOC has not kept up its end of the bargain when it
comes to homelessness. Anything that criticizes that issue and
brings it to light is worthwhile. Where is the massive public
outcry for that? A hunger strike shows that some people care.
As for the specifics of the protest, starving oneself for a
week is difficult. It may not be the most productive form of
protest with the problem, but it does show a certain level of
dedication. Monica Kim Danbee Lee Mizz Maha Bobby Taylor Nicole Chiang
Even if it’s Michael Byers. U Art History 2 Arts 3 Human Kinetics 3 Pharmacy 3 Pharmacy 3
“I go in there “First year I “Oh abso- “I do...it sup- “Yup, it goes to

Toope on: tuition increases but I can’t find

anything I like,
[went] to the
thrift store there
lutely, yes, they
have the best
ports a good
cause Salvation
a good cause,
and it’s not very
and sometimes I really didn’t costumes ever... Army, SPCA... expensive, and
“It’s not something they kind of
smell...I don’t try
buy clothes...I
don’t really
that’s where you
find the most
and usually
they’re just as
you can find a
lot of good buys
we’re considering, and to avoid them
but then I don’t
seem to find the
size just right
unique vintage
things. I mean
good as clothes
you get at new
in there.”

it’s not something I’m go in as much for me, or the you can’t find stores...but
as I use to.” style.” stuff made in then you’re not
prepared to do” the 60s in stores paying the big
—UBC president today.” bucks either.”
Stephen Toope
—Coordinated by Tara Martellaro & Paul Bucci, with photos by Kellan Higgins
march 6, 2009 the ubyssey | www.ubyssey.ca games & comics | 7

SUSCOMIC.COM, BY MICHAEL BROUND

Crossword by Kyrstin Bain

BARNABY, BY BRAD LOCKE

ACROSS 64. Personal teacher 30. Venom antidote

1. Certain brass horn 65. Netherlands’ cur- 31. Superman Christo-
6. Tissue rency pher __
10. Original man 66. Metaphysical poet 32. Fed
14. Easter month, often John __ 35. Lurer
15. Sharp side 67. Small dog’s bark 38. On drugs
16. Coliseum garb 68. Control, as a horse 40. Swiss cereal
17. Climbing aid 69. Get ready for the 43. Russian emperor
19. Ogle day 45. Boxer Cassius Clay’s
20. Lather alias
ECOCOMIC, BY PIERCE NETTLING 21. Field DOWN 48. Bright burning
22. Bordeaux 1. Deepest voice bullets
2020 Washington DC: A new memo- 24. Coil used in fluores- 2. “__ __ no good” 50. Grammar checker
cent lighting 3. Your grandma’s 52. Brother of Moses
rial opens on The Washington Mall. 26. Tight-fisted brother 53. Shrewd
27. Dancer’s workplace 4. Edged 54. Chills of Malaria
29. Eye longer 5. Kay’s follower 55. Black thrush
33. Sn 6. Jason’s murderous 56. A Persian language
34. Overcooked wife variant
36. Ringworm 7. The Old Norse Poetic 58. Roman clan
37. Engrave __ or Prose __ 59. Greek god of war
39. Certain UBC resi- 8. Number of years 62. Quality of colour
dence 9. Three lines of poetry 63. Not even
41. ‘No change’ forming a stanza
42. Divvy 10. Lost island of lore
44. Province in the 11. Go-getter
Veneto region of Italy 12. Biblical
46. Sinatra’s “__ Got a father of
Crush on You” Shammah
47. Maintain pace 13. Wal-__
49. November number 18. Pop ballad
51. Henry VIII’s wife “__ __ of
Catherine __ Love”
Here lie the victims 52. Line spoken to the 23. Ultimate
audience 25. Sis. or
of Neo-Liberalism 53. Photo equipment Bro.
The Human Soul 56. A spicy Indian dish 26. Hushed
The American Dream 57. Female name or a 27. Cut of
Western industrialization
group of indigenous meat
Human Rights | IMF Colombians 28. Headline
The Working Class 60. Preserved, as wine 29. Draught
General Motors, United States 61. Fiery constellation of beer
a driver

Hey! Make a difference.

Come down to SUB 24
now to volunteer for your
student newspaper.
SSports
Athletes of the Week
KYLA RICHEY — WOMEN’S
VOLLEYBALL
This past weekend, rightside
Kyla Richey of the women’s vol-
leyball team led her team to a
national championship victory.
She had a total of 34 kills in
the tournament, including 18
in the final versus the Calgary
Dinos. She was recognized as
the tournament MVP, and also
earned a spot on the tourna-
ment All-Star team. Richey was
Claire Hanna, T-Bird Athletic Council
also recognized this week as
the Canadian Interuniversity
Sports Female Athlete of the
Week, an honour that stands
above all other sports. This is
Richey’s second appearance as
UBC athlete of the week. U
ANDREA BUNDON – WOMEN’S
ROWING
This past weekend, Andrea Bun-
don and the UBC rowing crew
competed in the Spring Granite
Editor: Shun Endo | E-mail: sports@ubyssey.ca
kellan higgins photo/the ubyssey
Regatta. Bundon had an excep-
tional weekend, coming first in
the women’s lightweight singles
and also winning the women’s
pair division. Bundon and the
rest of the crew leave for Amster-
dam next week where they will
be competing in the Heineken
Regatta, a race which involves a
6km race and then a 250m turn-
around sprint, and another 5km
race with a 750m sprint. We
wish Bundon and the crew the
best of luck in Europe! U
The Birds hope to pass through the first round of the playoffs this year. The
T-birds enter the playoffs this weekend. keegan bursaw file photo/the ubyssey
Hockey Preview
by Shun Endo
Sports Editor
As many sports are approaching
the end of the season, the men’s
hockey team will enter the last
stage—the competitive Canada
West playoffs. Starting this week-
end, the teams will compete for
the only spot in the CIS champi-
onships at Lakehead University.
The Birds had a dismal start
this season including seven con-
secutive losses and one of them
being an embarrassing 1–10
defeat against last ranked Cal-
gary. This was a disappointing
result for the squad as they were
successful in recruiting several
WHL and OHL players.
Even with increasing momen-
tum on their side, nationally top-
ranked teams like Alberta and
Saskatchewan stood tall before
March 6, 2009 | Page 8
the Birds to keep the team on
the playoff borderline. But as the
regular season came to a close,
the Birds came out strong win-
ning four out of five of the last
games.
T-Birds will face the Canada
West fourth-ranked Lethbridge
Pronghorns for their first battle
in the playoffs. Though the
Pronghorns have been physical-
ly strong, the Birds have claimed
several victories over them
this season and they do have a
substantial chance of breaking
through the first stage. The only
setback in this situation is that
the Birds will have to travel away.
With no fans behind their back
and a lot of attention focused on
the CIS men’s basketball cham-
pionship, the squad will have
to put everything on the rink to
reach as far as they can. U