THE UBYSSEY MAGAZINE Friday, December 3, 1999 … UBYSSEY MAGAZINE Friday, December 3, ... movie theatres, events & campuses. ... Is rowing just for jocks? The Ubyssey

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what a gas since 1918

pp eTHE UBYSSEY MAGAZINE Friday, December 3, 1999 volume 81 issue 23

runner makes it bigthe search for Guatemala's

"disappeared" continues•UBC art students openAvant Grad

ember 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

nnouncemenANSOC T-SHIRT DESIGN CON-TEST. Any design welcome thatincorporates the two disciplines.Drop off entries in the ANSOOffice or in our Club Office . Dead-line: Dec. 4th, 1999 . You'll win thebest prizes!

AIMS PRESENTS CONFERENCEON ALTERNATIVE & INTEGRA-TIVE MEDICINE . Sat, Jan . 22, 2000.Information at www.ams.ubc .ca/aims oremail [email protected]

o un eer I ppor um 'esVOLUNTEERS NEEDED TOPLAY W/ 14 MONTH OLD TOD-DLER while mom studies at home(on campus) . Sm . honorarium avail-able . Call Cindy @ 827-0014.

ca emit enticesTUTORS, EDITORS, WRITERS.A team of PhD students and certi-fied teachers with over 25 yearsexperience offer their services withlearning and writing. All levels : ele-mentary, secondary, university andESL . Call 228-1336.

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roots lit magCall for submissions. Roots

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for more info call 822-2301or e-mail npbradle@interchange .ubc .ca

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do this . ..• bring in a term one textbookin its original shrink wrap andfour non-perishable food items

• bring in UBC PresidentMartha Piper's business cardand 2 non-perishable fooditems

• bring in five unused exambooklets and 2 non-perishablefood items

• bring in RCMP Staff SergeantLloyde Plante's business cardand 4 non-perishable fooditems

. . .and get this• a gift certificate for "SoLo OneNight Pass" for the 1999-2000season from Mount Seymour.

• vouchers for "Snowshoe Drop-In" from Mount Seymour(includes snowshoe rental,guided tour and hot chocolate).

• a voucher for "Snow Tube 2-hr session" from MountSeymour.

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. . .and get this• one pair of tickets to one of the fol-lowing games:

CANUCKS:Dec. 12 against the RockiesDec. 16 against the SenatorsDec. 18 against the StarsDec. 22 against the CapitalsDec. 26 against the Flames

A person may only win one prize per month . The Ubyssey reserves the right towithhold prizes . Winners must be members in good standing of the UbysseyPublications Society. So there . Also, any submissions may be published.Ubyssey staffers are ineligible to win .

GRIZZLIES:Dec. 3 against the HornetsDec. 15 against the KingsDec. 23 against the NuggetsDec. 27 against the 76ersDec. 30 against the Spurs

lust drop by the Ubyssey business office in Sroom 245 to pick up your stuff.

•

•

•

we ask yd yQUti~ha dyouwant for

teChristmas?

I don't know what I want forChristmas . Christmas doesn'tstart until the 22nd when you'rea student .

Is rowing just forjocks? The Ubyssey

learned how andent from rookie to

rower in just a fewlong weeks

It's clear that peo-ple are going toremember Seattle.But will the criti-cisms of the WTOreally be eard?

For Christmas? Okay, this is hope-lessly academic, but I want an

Oxford English Dictionary.

I want to match all the peo-ple who have lost their wal-lets with the wallets that I

have back here.

—Bambi RoyEducation 1

(works in lost and found)

3/38 MU

MUL'TIPLE' W000 8A'(I.

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North byNorthwestern? A newdocumentary examinesgritty indie filmmaking •

WTO protests, teargas and human rights.Not youraverageweek in

•

Seattle

What would I like? I don't know.Urn . Um okay. I don't know, Ihaven't even thought about it . Ihave no time to think about it.

—Heena AminScience 4

A student ispissed right offHi . My name is Dan, and I am a UBC

student . . .Unfortunately, as yourrecent publication the Ubyssey BuyNothing Day supplement suggests, Iam not a communist-fucking-pinko

moron . I am appalled at how you takemoney from UBC students and printsuch one-sided, socialist bullshit.Especially infuriating is the "open let-ter" on page ten which labels all UBCstudents as opposing the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) . I cannot believethat you could so blatantly take anorganisation such as the Ubysseywhich represents all UBC students(whether directly or indirectly) andmake such blatantly left-wing state-

ments . As well, the ads on page twoare simply insulting . They are childish

and petty, and they blatantly attackthe organisations involved . This type

of misrepresentation is a waste ofpaper, as it accomplishes absolutelynothing—you're only preaching to the

converted . Everyone else realisesthat if a company is successful andmakes money, we don't have a rightto curb their success by any means.

I spent a few hours talking to someof your supporters about how to digmyself out of the proverbial hole youmorons just dug for all UBC students,and frankly, you really fucked every-body who doesn't want to wallow inthe mud and steal from the success-ful people in this world . . .The biggestproblem I have with you shitheads isthat you just happen to steal somepetty amount of cash from every oneof the 36,000 people here . . .hmmm . . .l

know I'm failing math, but that's ashitload of cash for you to spend . . .Butthat's okay. I can go get my 25 bucksback (or however much it is) and I'll befine . ..

FUCK YOU!!!!You tarred every one of us with the

same brush, and there's no way anyof us can possibly issue any sort ofretort on the same level as a univer-sity-subsidised paper. Sure, I can godo something stupid like stand by the

SUB with a megaphone yelling like amadman, but that's just fucking pettyand barbaric . You guys really piss me

off, I just thought I'd let you know . Ohyeah, thanks for your time, and have agreat day!

Dan AllardFirst year Science

EDITORS' NOTE: The Ubysseystudent fee is $5, not $25

ember 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

Well-hidden exhibit well worth findingAVANT GRADDesign Arts Gallery (Basement of the MainLibrary)

by Lisa Denton

I sometimes have trouble with "art ." I am not afraid toadmit it . Art can be a troubling thing, especially whenconstantly faced with the question, "What is art?" orthe debate over what makes some art worth millionsand some worth pennies.

These questions are not simple and tend to pick atyour brain until you aren't really sure of anything any-more . So every time I attend an art showing or visit agallery, I become very suspicious of what I am about towitness and experience.

Walking into Avant Grad, an exhibit of a wide rangeof pieces by UBC students expressing everything fromthe horror in East Timor to North American con-sumerism, I definitely felt a little uneasy . What if I did-n't understand any of the art pieces?

Thankfully, Avant Grad is a nice mixture of subjectmatter, lacking the stuffy, pedantic type of exhibitionsthat are present in big galleries such as the VancouverArt Gallery.

Fourth-year BFA student Hyedie Hashimoto is one ofthe 23 studio students who have their pieces on dis-play. She explains that "all of the works were createdthroughout the first semester, and are originally basedon two assignments given by our instructor ."

One of these assignments was to create a series ofpieces, and the artists use a number of different mate-rials and innovative techniques to create and expresstheir respective statements.

One striking series piece is a number of pho-tographs, titled "Behind the Counter," each one con-taining a picture of a woman with a blurred face in a sit-uation where she is behind a counter, such as a fastfood place or a business office . Although each womanis named at the bottom of the photograph, it is easy tosee the anonymity that the author is trying to convey.

BATMAN:THECOMPLETEHISTORYby Les Daniels[Chronicle Books]

BIFF! BAM! KER-POW! HolyBat-history, Batman!Yes, Les Daniels's Batman: The Complete Historydoes cover the satiric 1966-68 Batman televisionshow, but it also reveals that the Batman mythos con-sist of a lot more than Adam West and Burt Ward stand-ing around in their long underwear and exchangingcheesy dialogue with the celebrity villain of the week.

Starting with the pulp magazines-inspired, gun-totingCaped Crusader that debuted in Detective Comics #27in 1939, Daniels' book covers the evolution of Batman—from his initial clashes with classic villains like the Jokerand Catwoman in the ' 40s, to his colourful sci-fi adven-tures in the '50s and '60s, to his rebirth as a grim, soli-tary crime fighter in the early '70s.

Batman : The Complete History also examinesBatman's numerous appearances in other media, profil-ing the embarassingly low quality movie serials in whichthe Dynamic Duo starred in 1943 and 1949, the afore-mentioned 1960's television show, the big budget

Another interesting piece is "Trespass ." Using door-mats spray-painted with flags from different countries,the series gives a sense of the relatively peaceful glob-al divisions that exist in the modern world.

If I had to pick one work from Avant Grad that reallystood out in my mind it would have to be a piece called"Natural Beauty." Through a series of sketches theartist juxtaposes so-called beauty products (MAC eye-shadow, Clinique face products) with natural flowers infull bloom, encouraging an exploration of the term"beauty" which, of course, is open to personal interpre-tation.

There are, naturally, pieces I like and there arepieces that I think are pointless, but such is the wonderof art. There can be so many personal opinions andideas of what art is, sparking debates and learning . Aninteresting note is that most of the artwork at AvantGrad does not come with an explanation from the artist,allowing the viewer to come up with his or her ownunderstanding and opinions.

However, a major disadvantage to Avant Grad is thelocation . The display is literally buried in the basementof the Main Library, with very limited access and no nat-ural light . Although the venue may be a quiet sanctuaryfor some, finding your way down into this meditativearea can be difficult.

According to Hashimoto "not many people haveattended" due to the discreet venue, but there are somevisitors who are interested and want to support the FineArts students.

In the coming months the BFA studio students will bepreparing for their year-end graduation show, to be heldin the spring, showcasing their art from the second halfof the year.

Until then, the students hope that Fine Arts facultymembers will continue to support and advertise art-work by UBC students and such shows as Avant Grad.Visual arts are an important part of UBC culture, andattending, discussing and debating such shows are anintegral part of the university community.•:

Warner Brothers films of the late 1980s and the1990s, and the incredible Batman animated

series—which, in its most recent incarnation asBatman Beyond, is still going strong.

The book also features interviews with a wide rangeof Bat-luminaries, including Dick Sprang, Denny O'Neil,Frank Miller, and the creator of the Dark Knight himself,the late Bob Kane.

What is really fascinating about Batman : TheComplete History, however, is the incredible collection ofimages that Daniels has assembled.

In addition to showcasing the artistic highlights ofBatman's different incarnations, the book also

includes stills from the television shows and themovies, hand photographs of some of the thou-sands of products spawned by the Bat-merchan-dising phenomenon (my favourite is the "WorkingBatmobile Dashboard" from 1966, which boast-

ed "motorised windshield wipers" and a "realBat Horn").

As an added bonus, Daniels' book alsofeatures two complete Batman stories—illus-trated by fan-favourite Neal Adams and

Batman : The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm,respectively—and a beautiful painted cover by AlexRoss.

So, if you have money left over after buying yourmonthly comics fix, or if you want to re-awaken the innerBat-fan in someone else this Christmas, Batman: TheComplete History is definitely worth a gander . v

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page friday—the ubyssey magazine* friday, decem '

Titi

A film about a film guyUNLIKELY STARS : Mark Borchardt (pictured with his uncle)is the subject of the new documentary, American Movie.

jerks . Take Kids—highly realistic,take Laws of Gravity—highly realis-tic, well they ain't the kindest peo-ple in the world . You never see,you hardly ever see, real peopleportrayed on the screen who arenot jerks.

"I'm trying to capture the nuancesof my culture that I grew up with . . .of

drinking every day, never going toschool, going from job to job, but stillthese people were so colourful in lan-

guage and intelligence and so warmand amicable to other people, butnever really fit into society."

Mark's movie-to-be,

Northwestern, seems to be areflection of where he is personal-ly, a celluloid mirror of his own life."It's about this guy working in ajunkyard, drinking every day andhe's wasting his life, and he'sgotta break out of this culture andhe's gotta get somewhere with his

life, and he writes a book . He liter-ally writes his way out of it, andthat sounds crazy and insane, tobe drinking everyday at a junkyardand actually write your way out ofit, . but he does ."

Mark has been working at agraveyard, not a junkyard, and it isa more profound symbol of decaythan its cinematic counterpart. Iwas hesitant to ask him if herealised how much Northwesternreflected his life, how much theprotagonist (who he plays in thefilm) resembles himself. How Markis filming his way out of it.

And Chris is filming Mark filminghis way out of it . "The crew forAmerican Movie was just me andSarah . We were constantly under-staffed ourselves and we were justkilling ourselves to keep up with Mark,'cos with Mark, there's always some-thing going on, like a runaway train orsomething ." His previous film wascalled American Job . I asked Chris ifhe was going to do an American trilo-gy, an American series?

"If it fits the movie that's fine,but I have no intention of makinganother movie with the wordAmerican in the title . . . I wannamake something different—maybesomething with Canadian in thetitle?" v

FROM PSYCHO TO STRAVINSKY, VSO PUTS OUT

You are wasting your life! You'rewasting it with drink, with drugs,with a lack of self discipline . Itsucks, and it's not going to get bet-ter. So what are you going to doabout it? The only thing you can:make a movie . It's groovy, it's fun,but most of all it's insightful.

Mark Borchardt and Chris Smithare no budget and low budget film-makers respectively. Mark is cur-

rently selling his latest short horrorfilm Coven, by direct order. Chris'second feature film has just comeout . It's called American Movie and

it's about Mark.Mark is a struggling filmmaker

from Milwaukee's northwest side,a man who lives, it seems, with aconstant sense of the tickingclock . Like Captain Hook's croco-dile, it plagues him, and, at 33,he's feeling the pressure of the

clock to finally do something withhis life . His dream is a film calledNorthwestern, named for the cor-

ner of Milwaukee that he callshome . It will be a testament to thecrushing pall of futility and the feel-ing of inconsequentiality thatplagues life there.

I recently talked to both ChrisSmith and Mark Borchard about theirfilms, their lives, and their futures . Itseemed natural enough talking toChris, but there was this strange-dreamlike quality to my interview with

Mark . It's odd talking to someoneyou've only seen on TV, yet whom youknow so much about; through whomyou've vicariously lived your life.

After years of delay—some ofthem the very means that will even-tually make the film possible—Mark's film is finally on track. Inorder to fund it, he has spent thelast few years making Coven, ashort and inventive horror filmabout a cultlike "support group ."The sales of Coven, will be the

▪ source of funding for the Ober-pro-ject Northwestern.

Mark's doing it all himself too.

"It's not like there's an assemblyline or anything like that . I cut the

▪ covers, sign them, do all the paperwork, the receipts, the inventory,

•

by Graeme Worthy the packaging, the labeling, etc .,

etc ." He needs to sell three thou-sand copies to fund his feature . Is

he there yet? "Are you kidding? I'mright around the six, seven hundred

mark or so ."For American Movie, Chris spent

four and a half years as a parasitefilmmaker, no pejorative intended.He met Mark while editing anotherproject . "I saw him working onCoven one day with this group ofpeople . It was this kind of con-trolled chaos where people weredrinking and getting high and otherpeople were being very serious andtrying to get the scene done ." Chrisand his co-filmmaker Sarah Pricewere caught up by Mark's infectiousenergy, they decided just to tagalong for a while, and soon theywere in the midst of a four year pro-ject . Though scrambling for fundingand constantly out of film stock,they committed to following Mark'sdynamic flow.

American Movie's charm lies inthe kind but troubled reality of thecharacters . Mark Borchardt is a realfilmmaker, Coven a real film, theloveably immobile Mike a realreformed stoner who has been dryfor a very real 1583 days (at thetime of this publication).

As a result of our privileged win-dow into their world, Mark and

Mike have become public com-modities . Mark updates his onlinejournal daily and Mike is consider-ing hosting online guitar lessons.Chris sees the web venue as anexciting continuation of his film."Narrative film is confined to the90, 100 page script, [but with doc-umentaries] there's a great poten-tial for updating people on whathappens to the people [after thedocumentary is over] ."

Mark's ideal of film is realism . "Ilike film . . I also like real life, and reallife is rarely represented in film what-soever." His plans for Northwesterninvolve scouring bars for "actors ."

"Real people, as opposed toKen and Barbie looking actors,have a certain beauty that can't becaptured by plastic looking people.Anytime you involve levels of real-ism, the characters end up being

GOTH ORCHESTRAL COLLECTION

CBC Vancouver Orchestraat the Chan Centre

Nov. 28

by Maureen Evans

Last Sunday, CBC Radio Two and the

Vancouver Orchestra presented a medley ofeerie modern works, artfully conducted by

Gary Kulesha . The concert literally embraced

the emotional spectrum.Acclaimed by audience members as "som-

bre, yet wonderful," the curtains rose on the

Canadian premiere of Paul Dresher's tonetextured Cornucopia . In it, Dresher investi-gates "how many different contrapuntal lay-

ers we can keep distinct in our hearing and,

at what point . . . the individual layers of coun-

terpoint merge into a single fused texture ."

The orchestra wove notes in careful layers,playing about the ears like an autumn storm.A powerful string performance added sus-pense to the work, until the buildup of soundstratum finally collapsed in a breathtaking,unified finish.

The afternoon went from abstract to exot-ic with the follow-up piece Nocturne. Inspired

by Balinese music, composer Colin McPheetried to capture similar tones with his piece.Travelling into mystery, the musicians per-formed with an aqueous movement and a for-eign zest . The altogether smooth perfor-mance of Nocturne took you straight to Bali,then left you there on a moonless night .

Next was the familiar, but unsettling

Psycho: A Suite for Strings, by Bernard

Herrmann . Composed for the film almost 40years ago, Psycho continues to terrify. This

strings-only piece plays like a panic attack,and the Vancouver Orchestra left the audi-ence shivering with a spectacularly sinisterplaying.

The performers of Sean Varah's fervidBurning rose to the challenge of the first threepieces with a descriptive playing . Sometimesthe slow burn of ember fire, at other timesBurning would rise up in an inferno of sound.Burning was written to conjure up images oferratically shifting infernos, and the VancouverOrchestra pulled this off with admirable skill.Constantly in construction and deconstruction,the supernatural sparkle and dreadful avarice of

flames were expertly captured then capped offin an explosive finish.

The tempestuousness of the orchestralset tapered to a careful finish with IgorStravinsky's Orpheus. A narrative of the myth,each note urged the listener to close theireyes and let the music paint pictures in theirminds . As biographer Michael Oliver wrote,Orpheus never "even raises its voice," butthe subtlety of the work offered audiencemembers the opportunity to calm theirnerves . The orchestra performed the workwith superb delicacy, still succeeding toexpress the drastic climactic shift of Orpheus'demise . At once sweet and violent, Orpheus'moving performance completed an altogetheremotionally colossal afternoon at the ChanCentre .

6

Member 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

A sea,~ changeis a mayor transfor-mation, often for thebetter." And what hap-pened in Seattle thisweek may have beenjust that

by Nicholas Bradley

The journalist called her editor to tellhim that she couldn't leave . Thepolice had faced off against a mob

of people filling the streets, and, quiteaside from her professional interest in thesituation, it was physically impossible forher to get away . It'll either end, she saidinto her phone as she eyed the restlesscrowd, in a whimper or in a bang.

Between the emotionAnd the response . ..Between the desireAnd the spasm . ..

There was tension and foreboding.And on the streets of Seattle, then fell

the shadow. Then came the bang. To thehandful of journalists who first came, run-ning, to the corner of Fourth and PineTuesday night, there was little hope thatthe protest would end peacefully. Thetens of thousands of people who hadgathered in Seattle to protest the thirdMinisterial Conference of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) had been engagedsince the morning in a shifting, back-and-forth series of skirmishes with police.

Ten minutes earlier, the police hadcleared the occupied streets a few blocksup the road, and the acrid smell of teargas still lingered . The reporters had heardrumours that the mayor had just called inthe National Guard, that a curfew hadbeen declared . The police helicopter hov-ered, casting its searchlight back andforth as the riot police marched down thestreet. When the crack of broken glass inthe distance became the smash ofshards being hurled at the police, therewas little chance that the demonstratorswould go home without resistance.

And, predictably, the violence contin-ued. The police lobbed concussiongrenades and fired tear gas into thecrowd repeatedly, pushing them out of thecity in a forced march, driving them fromintersection to intersection with gas, fill-ing the air with explosions and screams.The massive protests had overturned thecity's normal order. This much was clear.

The next morning, Wednesday, thehaze of tear gas had dissipated, but what-ever had been clear the previous night

was lost. Overnight, Seattle's downtowncore had been boarded up and sealed off.The Seattle Police Department's decisionto close a large -area around theWashington State Convention and TradeCentre—home to the official proceedings

of the WTO during the week-long confer-ence—had turned the city into a ghosttown . This is the dead land, this is cactusland . Only conference delegates andaccredited members of the media werepermitted to enter the police perimeter.The thousands of delegates from aroundthe world were well-shielded from theprotests that flared elsewhere in the city.The eyes are not here, there are no eyeshere.

Outside the perimeter,there was perhaps lesstraffic than usual, but thecity appeared to be set-tling blindly into its normalroutine . The display inTower Records advertisedthe new Rage Against theMachine album, but theBattle of Los Angeles ban-ners seemed no more rel-evant than any other dayof the year. The sound ofpowerwashers blastingthe graffiti off storefronts

had replaced the whirring of the heli-copters . There was no sign of the previ-

ous day's disruption as Seattle's citizenswent back to work . The whimper, perhaps.

By today, Friday, the protests thatbegan four days ago have been widelypublicised . But Wednesday, one day afterthe sit-ins, lockdowns, arrests, gassing,and looting, the real danger lay not in thethreat of more violence, but in the possi-bility that the protesters' message—ormessages, for there were many—hadalready been forgotten, and would be lostin the commotion . Demonstrators couldnot come within several blocks of theConvention Centre, and the televisionimages showed only the ransacked Gapand burning dumpsters . What happenedTuesday, and what has been happeningall week in placid Seattle, was a massivedisplay of popular dissatisfaction with theWTO, its policies, and its structure . Butthe translation of this idea into a realityhas been, to put it mildly, difficult.

Chris Shaw is an assistant professorof opthamology at UBC . As the sun

sets Tuesday, he strides uphilltowards a growing bunch of protesterswho are promising not to move from theirintersection until they are forced to. Hewalks towards the crowd, family in tow,holding a large Canadian flag, an anti-WTO slogan written across the maple leaf.His day of protesting is almost over, andhe is happy with the way the demonstra-tions have gone.

"I think they went extremely well . I'mreally impressed with how many peoplecame out . . .The city has been shut downand people really made a point . . .This isprobably the first time it's been done onsuch a scale and I think that's awesome,"he says enthusiastically.

In many ways, Shaw is like the vastmajority of the other protesters . He is,judging from appearances, not a radical.Far from it . He looks how you mightexpect a young university professor tolook, complete with a "Think About It"baseball cap . Sure, among the thousandsof people in the streets there are ahealthy contingent of hippie kids, whomay or may not be stoned, and there area good number of professional protesters,the kind you'd see on the front lines of

any given demonstration . And there's alsothe occasional Jesus freak, and under theplacard with the old Ramones slogan"Gabba Gabba Hey" is a dead ringer forJoey. But the busloads of Teamsters andSteelworkers and other union membersmarching under the AFL-CIO banner givethe crowd a decidedly, well, normal feel.These are ordinary people, for the mostpart, and they are participating in some-thing quite unusual.

And it may be that this something isbeing heard . Even US President BillClinton seemed to have paid attention . "Ihear the voices outside . I disagree with alot of what they say, but I'm still gladthey're here," he said in an address tothe WTO on Wednesday . He condemnedthe violence that some people displayed,but praised the peaceful protesters,because they were the ones asking ques-tions.

"This is a sea change in the reality thatexisted just a few years ago," he said.

Clinton was speaking to the officialdelegation about the progress of develop-ing countries, and explaining that theyneed not burn more fossil fuels to indus-trialise . But his words could also apply tothe protests themselves . The mobilisa-tion on Tuesday was not the work of afringe.

And their dedication cannot be ques-tioned. One group tries to block the down-town entrance to Interstate 5, lockingthemselves in a circle in the middle of theintersection.

"Our wrists are chained and thenthere's carabiners that are locked up inrebar that is sautered into the metal,"one woman explains.

"The cops can cut through the one on

my right . . .There's the concrete one on myleft . . .I don't know if they've ever cracked

that ."The usually roaring on-ramp to the 1-5

remains silent.

Such dedication infuriated delegatesand journalists earlier that day as ahuman chain blocked them from

entering the Sheraton Hotel, where manyof them were staying.

"I'm not a politician, I am a journalist,my job is to go there," one Frenchreporter yells to no avail . "You are fas-cists," he screams over the pounding

drums as he is turned back . SeveralAfrican delegates are repeatedly pushedback . Jean Faltz, a grey-haired represen-tative from Luxembourg, stands helpless-ly in the middle of the street.

All this takes place, of course, beforethe first volley of tear gas is fired . When itis, the protesters' determination falters.But that takes time.

"I have to inform you that this demon-stration blocking Sixth Avenue is unlawful.Your presence is in violation of city andstate ordinances," the police loudspeakerblares . It comes on again, warning thecrowd that if they do not move, they willbe subject to "chemical irritants ."

But no one moves . Instead, the frontlines of the crowd sits down . There isanother warning, and then the tear gas isreleased . The crowd scatters, only to set-tle into a stalemate with the police a blockdown the road. This deadlock will lastuntil the end of the day.

Some protesters who are arrestedshow a sense of humour that relievessome of the thick tension downtown. Agallows humour, perhaps, but at leastsomeone is laughing . A man who callshimself Sprout Beard has legitimate rea-sons for making the trip from HumboldtCounty to protest.

"I feel it's important for the people ofthe United States to tell the world that wedon't put up with corporate fascism. Weneed to spark some consciousnessaround the world . . .The WTO serves theelites," he says.

But he jokes with the police as theyhandcuff him and wash the pepper spray

from his eyes . He laughs as he explainsthat he wants to have his photo takenwith the officer who just sprayed him, but

he can't figure out who it is because theyall look the same. One officer answers

back."We couldn't see who we were spray-

ing, either."Not everyone finds this as funny as

Sprout Beard. Katie Crawley, a girl fromMontana, is in tears as she sits, hand-cuffed, on the ground, her shouders trem-bling . Another officer isn't amused either.

"If you're going to be a pain in the ass,this is what happens to you," he says tothe protester he is dragging away.

But despite the tears, and the teargas, the crowd is energised.

THE WEEK IN SEATTLE. The riot squad (top) saw plenty of action during this week's WTO conference in Seattle.Protesters are arrested after being pepper-sprayed (below) Tuesday afternoon . Another group of protesters set-tles down on the street in one of many blockades that paralysed the downtown core for the entire day (right).TARA WESTOVER PHOTO (TOP AND RIGHT) CYNTHIA LEE PHOTO (BELOW)

page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, deceml

There was the same sense of excitementthe day before, at a teach-in on envi-

ronmental issues at the First UnitedMethodist Church . The Steelworkers werethere in numbers to hear organiser MikeDolan declare that "We're here to do some-thing very important this week ."

All week long, various groups hosted

workshops and seminars about the issuesthey believed the official WTO conferencewas ignoring.

"I think it's a mistake to think that themajority of WTO members actively impactWTO policies," said Canadian SteveShrybman of the West Coast EnvironmentalLaw Centre . He and a panel of other repre-sentatives from various non-governmentalorganisations offered their criticisms of theWTO, bolstering opposition to the WTO.

But by Wednesday morning, the protest-ers seemed to have lost their steam, andthey were more disorganised than militant . Asizeable crowd worked its way along thewaterfront in the early afternoon . But therewas none of the urgency of the day before . Inthe doorways of the old warehouse convert-ed into the Dealernet offices stood formerindie kids now working for the online car-shopping service—it's the Key to FindingYour Next Car—and smiling, bemused, at theparade . Gawkers took photos of the eightteenage girls marching topless with slogansscrawled on their bellies.

One man implored the crowd to organisethemselves, and launched into the samerhetoric it seemed everyone had tired of."The mayor needs to remember we did not

vote for him," he yelled, but he was drownedout by other marchers complaining that hiswindbreaker was made by Nike . There was abrief moment of excitement when the speak-er looked poised to set fire to his jacket, buthe changed his mind, and that spark van-ished . The crowd ambled past some clappingLatino construction workers and stopped infront of the International Brotherhood ofElectrical Workers building, then arguedabout whether to stay, or whether to head towhere Clinton was speaking . There was littleinterest on either side . Protesting had degen-erated into loitering.

Our dried voices, whenWe whisper togetherAre quiet and meaninglessAs wind in dry grass

But as the afternoon faded, and thepolice moved in on another small protest,the fury of their response galvanised thecrowd, and the anger and outrage of the daybefore was recaptured . And, if anything, itwas stronger the second time around.

In this last of meeting placesWe grope togetherAnd avoid speech

The two conference delegates leavingthe Pike Place Bar and Grill are laughingand look confused when they step onto

the cobbled drive that leads into the PikePlace Farmers' Market . They probably don't

realise that some ten minutes before, withoutwarning, the Seattle police fired tear gas into alarge group of union supporters, sending themrunning blindly into the market in search of

refuge and water. Organisers run along the fishstalls, yelling at the market workers in orange

rubber coveralls to get out of the way . About

one hundred people settle down under the roofof the market, where a security guard explainsto them that they can stay, but that he can also

lead them out the back way.it had been a union march—Teamsters

and electrical workers and others—andpolice decided that they needed the roads

cleared . None of the protesters saidthat they had received any warningbefore the police gassed them . Whichmeant that none of them had waterready. Breathing through a wet ragmakes it easier to stand the burningsensation . And pouring water in theeyes reduces the stinging . But no onehad any water ready, and people werescreaming as they ran away, stumbling

into one another. One girl tripped andfell, and then sat on the ground, bleed-ing from her mouth and chin, hysterical,as two other marchers tried to calm herdown . She gulped frantically for air andburst into sobs.

After they leave the entrance to themarket, the demonstrators gatheragain outside the Showbox. Seattlefavourite Built to Spill is playing therenext week, but no one is interested inthe names on the marquee. Instead,everyone squares off against thepolice, not taunting them, but indig-nantly demanding to know how thepolice could have done this to them.There are no opportunists here, nohigh school kids looking for trouble.These are people opposed to the WTO,and they're in shock at the policeresponse . And then it becomes routine.After the police put their gas masksback on, the officers on horsebackmove the crowd into position, the riotsquad moves into the street . And bothsides wait . And then the police lob teargas grenades into the crowd . And thenit all happens again . The crowd runs,the police chase them up the street.The c7•ld wind has picked up, and thestreets are filled with tear gas billowingfrom a canister that has rolled to a haltin the gutter.

This incident launches another nightof protests and violent responses . Andit appears as though the police havehad enough . One officer snaps . Hethrows a demonstrator namedJonathan MacKinnon to the ground,pepper-sprays him in the face, anddrags him across the street beforebeing forcibly restrained by fellow offi-

cers . By the time it gets dark, there havebeen hundreds of arrests made that day. Thecurfew is still in effect, and as the sirens ofdozens of police cars wail angrily, downtownSeattle is shut down again . Yesterday, therewere more protests, and more arrests . Theywill, no doubt, continue.

Seattle Mayor Paul Schell said Thursdaythat the city was still in a state ofemergency. He apologised for the use

of rubber bullets and any minor injuriescaused by the police.

The day before, Schell expressed sad-ness at the vandalism and graffiti . PoliceChief Norm Stamper echoed the mayor, andadded that the police had acted withrestraint.

"We did not want to send a message thatSeattle was a police state," he said.

And Schell remained optimistic yesterdaythat the peaceful protests were happening with-out significant disruption to the city. "I'mpleased . We made free speech work," he said.

Whether or not the Seattle PoliceDepartment is responsible for making freespeech work during the WTO is debatable.But that it did work—at least for a time—issignificant . Huge numbers of people fromacross North America showed up to displaytheir displeasure with an organisation and aneconomic system that they believe is unfairand undemocratic . Tuesday's protest was an

event of international significance . It was thelargest in Seattle since the General Strike in1919. It was the first time Seattle has seentear gas . The protesters got the attentionthey wanted . That's undeniable . Whethertheir message was lost is less clear. Judgingfrom responses such as Clinton's, it wasn't.

Physical places often become markers intime—Tiananmen Square, I'EcolePolytechnique . Events that mark a distinctdifference between before and after. Whathas happened in Seattle this week could still

be forgotten . As the police response to the

continued protests remains swift and force-ful, there is the danger that police action willbecome what is remembered, and not the

vibrant opposition to the WTO.But there is another threat—this one to

the WTO itself. There is the threat that oppo-sition to the WTO will reach a critical mass,and pose a threat to the organisation's exis-tence, at least in its current state . The factthat vocal protests continued all weekdespite the police response is a good sign

that criticism of the WTO won't be ignored.But the question still remains of what, intime, Seattle will signify.

Sightless, unlessThe eyes reappearAs the perpetual star. . .

ember 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

FIVE WEEKS, THREE INSTRUCTORS, AND A FEW CRABS LATER, Pete's crew is ready for its first regatta, shown dur-ing practice at False Creek. After learning the basic of rowing, they have something to smile about .NAOMI KIM PHOTO

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"7 pm and I'm joggingthrough Pacific Spirit park.A big, scary owl comesswooping down and grabsonto my HEAD! I run . I hideunder a tree . I am bleeding.The owl waits . I wait . Itgets darker. I am scared . Idecide to run for it . I grab astick and run to anothertree, yelling:AAAAAAAAAh! The owlswoops again . I sprint,swinging the stick over myhead. I CAN FEEL ITBEHIND ME, CLOSING IN!Then, my stick makes con-tact with the owl's legs,and it is gone . Runninghome, I almost get sprayedby a skunk."

In the woodssince 1918.

Diary of a rookie rowerFrom "blades" to blood blisters, being a first-time roweris about exactly as much fun as it looks.

by Naomi Kim

Do you have what it takes to be arower?

I'm five-foot four and three-quar-ter inches tall, and I'm certainly nota lightweight . As a result, I am notyour typical West Coast Xena-likerower, but i thought I'd give rowinga shot . The Undergrad RowingClassic, a new learn-to-row programavailable at UBC, seemed like toogood of an opportunity to pass up.I'd heard of Silken Laumann, andknew the meaning of "sculling" and"coxswain" from watching theOlympics . So, fortified with my lim-ited vocabulary, I picked a spotamongst an eight-person crew oftotal strangers and hoped for thebest. I had five weeks to find outhow to row.

Friday, September 17

Day one . It's a beautiful sunnyVancouver day. There are about 26 ofus gathered at the Burrard CivicMarina, eyeing the boats, patientlywaiting for the instruction to start.Some groups of friends chat aboutschool, while the rest of us are asignorant of each other as we areabout rowing . Nevertheless, the gen-eral feeling is congenial . We sit onthe warm cement in a loose circle.

Finally, we're divided into boats :

co-rec, women's recreational,men's competitive, and women'scompetitive . I sit waiting for myname to be called, but like a badthird grade gym-class nightmare,only two people are left sitting onthe ground and one of them is me.Turns out I wasn't on the list. Theother 'leftover' and I are placedwith the women's competitive crew.

Our instructor's name is Chadand he leads us through thebasics . He tells us about the partsof the boat, the rowing machine(the "ergometer" or "erg"), untilfinally we get to the water. We'reeach given oars (also known as"blades") and instructed to sit onthe dock, and row ("stroke") away.We're all wishing that the dockwould take off into the Burrard Inletto join the other recreational boatson the water. No such luck . Thedock stays put.

Saturday, September 18

Like a powerful machine, we glidethrough the water. Well, not quite.But after much effort, we finally getin the water. After eight blades arebrought down, getting the boat fromthe racks to the water becomes atask in itself . The length of the boatmakes maneuvering it difficult—like trying to drive a trailer . Andalthough the weight is ideally die-

tributed by people standing oneither side of the boat, the varyingheights in our crew—ranging fromDana's "5'2" on a good day" toNatasha's 5'11"—places moreweight on some than others, evi-denced by the occasional winces ofpain . Finally, we make it to thewater. Our coxswain (the personwho sits at the back of the boat,who yells orders and steers), a girlwho specifically wanted to cox,relays what Chad in the coach boattells us to do . But I'm a little dis-oriented.

First off, we are facing back-wards in the boat . Only the cox isfacing the direction in which we'removing. Also, rowing is not onlydone with the arms ; the legs play alarge part as well . They're coordi-nated with the arms by slidingseats.

We're all numbered one to eightto make instructions easier—thenumber one seat is at the bow ofthe boat, the furthest from the cox,and the number eight seat is alsocalled the 'stroke position' sincethat person sets the pace thateveryone follows . 'Bow pair/four'and 'stern pair/four' are simpleenough, but my previous boatingknowledge only gets me so far.

In rowing, 'port' and 'starboard'are according to the cox's position,

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Home for the holidays . ..Thunderbird non-conferencematches and tournaments

The Birds will p lay the Sydney (Australia) Bruins at warMemorial Gym Friday December

MEN'S HOCKEYhosts this year's Valour Cup tournament.

Partipating schools are Yale University, the University ofAlberta, Mount Royal College, and UBC. The tourna-nsa run

son Monday, DececnbeC :27 and Tuesday,

Decemb r 28 at e Thunderbird Winter 8#x~rts Centre :Monday, .December 27 : Alberta ;vs . Mount Royal at4 :00pm, Yale vs. 080 at 7.30pm

Tuesday, December 28 : bronze medal game at4 OUpm, gold medal game at 7 :30pm.

The Birds also play against ' Yale University onlednesday, December 29 at Bill Copeland Arena,7 :30pm .

MEN'S VOLLEYBALLThe Rucanor Thunderball XIV tournament takes place atWar Memorial Gym from Tuesday, December 28 toThursday, December 30 . The tournament featuresUCLA, the Universite de Montreal, the University ofAlber to and UBC.

Tuesday, December 28 : UCLA vs. Alberta5:30pnm, UBC vs . Montreal at 7:30pm.

Wednesday, December 29 : UCLA vs . Montreal andUBC vs . Alberta at 12:00pm (dual court), Alberta vs.Montreal at 5 :30pm, UBC vs . UCLA at 7 .-30pnl,

Thursday, December 30 : bronze medal match at5 qr <gtrld math at

?pm +:

T9page friday—the ubyssey magazine • friday, decembe :: ri

continued from previous pagenot the rower's, so what was previ-ously my 'port' side, now becomesmy 'starboard' side . And I am notthe only one confused . Someonehad a starboard blade on the portside . Good thing we had six daysbefore the next session so my braincould digest.

Friday, September 24

It's raining . Our crew is scattered—some come late, others haveswitched to the co-rec boat . Five ofus are left standing, in shorts, inthe rain, and Chad, our instructor isnowhere in sight . So John, anothervarsity rower, decides to take us inthe quad (a four-person boat) . Andthat meant no cox and two bladeseach.

I can feel my toes freezing as wewade into the water. The boat ismore tippy than the eight, and weonly row two at a time . The com-bined stresses of straining to hearJohn's instructions across thewater, the rain, the waves, notbeing able to feel my toes, and the'challenge' of trying to balance andcoordinate both arms and the slideleads me to only one conclusion.The quad sucks.

Saturday, September 25

I decide to bike to the Marina today,but after struggling through the fallenbranches and trees resulting fromthe strong wind, I arrive at the Mannato find that practice is cancelled . Ihead back towards campus, past thewhitecaps, through the branches andup the hill after Alma . I spit into thewind ; it whips back and hits me inthe face . I can remember varsity row-ing coach Mike Pearce saying at the,nformation meeting, We row all thetime, rain or shine—except for in thefog." I don't see any fog . What about

wind? I should have asked.

Saturday, October 2

Our original crew has changed onceagain . Several people no longershow up and there is no sight of ourcoxswain anymore . The co-rec crewhas somehow been taken up by themen's and women's competitivecrews. The few remaining peoplefrom the . original competitive creware now the minority . I am a littleconfused . Our third instructor isPete, a quiet sort of guy whoalways seems to be runningaround.

We row about three kilometres,all the way to Science World, thefurthest east we can go in FalseCreek . As we rest, Pete demon-strates some techniques with acanoe paddle in the coach boat.Then we're on our way back . Focus,I think to myself. We sit at the'catch' (the ready position witharms forward and knees bent) andwe stroke . Push with the legs untilthe arms pass the knees, thenbring the hands right back to thestomach, move it down and aroundlike a bicycle chain, and recover—arms, back, knees, then legs . Andagain and again.

But as we're moving, my bladehits the water at the wrong angle,whips past my head and ends upbehind me . I stop breathing forwhat seems like a minute and myhead spins . Yes, that's what'scalled 'catching a crab .' Everyonestops rowing as I contort myself toget out of that position and regainmy composure . I caught my firstcrab, and unfortunately, it was fol-lowed by another one . Arrrrgh.

Thursday, October 7

A 5:30am practice . An extra prac-tice was rescheduled to make up

for the one we missed, and wedecided to do it the real way—earlyin the morning . Before the citywakes up, we're in the water . Onceyou get past the early morning drymouth and light but aching head,it's a pretty nice time of day . Thewater is very calm . Today, we aregoing to race against another crew.Half of us are still kind of dazed butBryn, another keen rookie crew-mate, is wide awake and doing a jigThe combined stress-es of straining to hear

John's instructionsacross the water, therain, the waves, notbeing able to feel mytoes, and the 'chal-lenge' of trying to

balance and coordi-nate both arms andthe slide lead me toonly one conclusion.

The quad sucks.

to keep warm.Our boats line up under the twin-

kling lights of Science World andthe excitement builds . We hear theword "go ." Our strategy : halfstroke, half stroke, full stroke, andwe're off.

We row side by side as the sunstarts to warm the sky. Eventually,our boat pulls ahead as we coastunder the sounds of ambulancesgoing across the Granville StreetBridge . We cheer for our first win.

Friday, October 8

I have succumbed to Spandex . Noteven aerobics had made me give inbefore, but rowing, I figured, was agood enough cause to venture intothe world of second-skin clothing.Men and women rowers alike dressin tight clothing without a second

thought (partly because loose cloth-ing could get caught in the bladehandles) . Besides, I already had cal-luses and blood blisters on myhands—by the way, 'waterproof'bandages are never really water-proof—and bruises on my shouldersfrom carrying the boat at the bow.

We race the women's recre-ational crew again . Halfway throughthe race, they veer off sharply tothe left . This time, we beat them byseveral boat lengths . Yeah, we'regood, we all think . And only onemore week until the regatta.

Saturday, October 16

It's race day. We drive over to DeepCove, North Vancouver . Most of ushad nightmares of catching a crabduring the race and fear thatembarassment more than anything.Over 500 participants from variousschools throughout BC sit inclumps on the hill overlooking thewater, waiting for their turn to race.

Our crew, regrettably namedConstructive Interference (somelame science term), sits under atree, sipping complimentary HappyPlanets (organic drinks) and watch-ing the races . Unlike any rowingrace that I've ever seen, there aresome difficulties with the 500metre course . Boats cut unbeliev-ably off-course, with several near-collisions.

After lunch, the women's com-petitive race is called and we headdown to the water. We take ourboat to the starting position andline up at the far end with four otherboats in our race.

We chatter excitedly and wonderwhy we've been aligned facing thefar corner of the finish line . Thestarter assures us that we'restraight, but later people will tell uswe weren't . We wait for the otherboats to be aligned until Kristin, our

cox, frantically waves her armsabout and stutters, "Okay, 'kay,'kay, 'kay! . . ."

Finally, we understand that therace has started . We're like sittingducks . Although behind by a fewstrokes, we catch up to the boat toone side of us . But as we reach thehalfway point, a boat comes cuttingacross our path from beyond thebuoys that mark the course, forcingus to slow down . Our boat finishessecond last in the heat.

We didn't make it into thewomen's A final, but there is stillthe women's B final to race in . Thistime we're ready for the startingsignal . We row like we did in prac-tice . Half, half, full stroke, and theadrenaline starts pumping . Sincewe're not facing the finish line, weare oblivious to what is going on infront of our boat.

We row like hell, but our effortsto gain the lead are wasted whenanother crew ends up too close toours . Our blades get pushed togeth-er and someone gets hit in thehead . When both crews finally sep-arate, we continue harder thanever. We pass the crew that slowedus down and we gain on the nextcrew . Heading into the final metre,we pass another boat and finish inthird place.

Exhausted but energised, myarms are shaking as we dock theboat. Our teammates on shore arecheering like mad for us . This is it,I think . This is rowing.

But is this the end?Five weeks may not be enough

to teach all the basics of rowing,but it is just enough time to instill inyou a serious passion for the sport.Bryn ended up making the final cutfor the varsity development crewand as for the rest of us, we're talk-ing about forming a recreationalcrew. After all, we can now call our-selves rowers .*

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Nominations for all of the following positions are now openand will close January 7, 2000 at 4 :00 pm.

General Duties of the AMS Executive:Executives are elected by the student body andare responsible for ensuring that the goals andobligations of the AMS are carried out . EachExecutive officer has specific duties and roles,that fall under their specific portfolio.

President:is responsible for over-seeing the AMS andits activities. Consequently the Presidenthas a broad mandate to deal with anyissues or business .

VP Administration:is responsible for looking after matters,which deal with the Student Union Building(SUB), and with AMS sub-groups.

VP Finance:is responsible for all monetary andbudgetary matters of the AMS.

VP External Affairs:this is a very broad portfolio ; the coord . isresponsible for affairs with organizationsoutside the AMS.

VP Academic & University Affairs:formally responsible for Student Council.The VP looks after all matters concerningacademic and campus issues.

Senate & Board of Governors Nominationsare also open

Nomination forms and further informationregarding only UBC Board of Governorsand Senate Elections are available from theRegistrar's Office in Brock Hall .

Student Legal Fund Society Nominationsare open

6 Directors Responsible for : the overalloperations of the society whichadministers the AMS Student Legal Fund.

Nomination forms & candidate information are available in SUB room 238.

It is only after the close of nominations that campaigning may begin . For more information, pleasecontact, the Elections Administrator, Sukhwinder S . Sangha, SUB Room 224 or call 822 .0109 .

ecember 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

•

strurr1e In the streelThe WTO Ministerial Conference creates anarchy, chaos and mass arrests in Seattle

AS NIGHT FELL : Riot squads faced-offagainst groups demonstrators (above).An officer stands on top of anarmoured personnel carrier–a blockaway from the Washington StateConvention and Trade Center–and sur-veys the crowd, tear gas rifle in hand(right) . Police drag away a protester(left) . An anarchist protester blocks theentrance to the Seattle Sheraton Hotelwhere many WTO delegates werestaying (below) . TARA WESTOVER PHOTOS

page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, decemb

1

LONG ARM OF THE LAW : Police used teargas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, andconcussion grenades against protesters(above) . An arrested protester recoversafter being tear-gassed (left) . A protesterburns a one-dollar bill to show her oppo-sition to the capitalist economy (below).TARA WESTOVER PHOTOS

."f df, december 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazineb`S.

Community criticises

vision of UBC in 2920

Cops and moms agree,the Llbyssey, SUB 241K

by Alex Dimson

Plans to dramatically increase the

future population at UBC came

under fire by members of the cam-

pus community at a recent public

meeting on the Comprehensive

Community Plan (CCP).

The CCP, an offshoot of the uni-

versity's Official Community Plan

(OCP)—which sets the guidelines

for university development over the

next 30 years—provides a glimpse

of what UBC will look like in 2020.

But while the OCP sets the

goals, the CCP specifies the details

of development of the eight univer-

sity-owned regions.

According to UBC

Governors chair Harold

university needs a

larger population in

order to support

other future devel-

opments, including

a proposed

60,000-square

foot commercial

centre behind the

Village.

The CCP has

planned to add

housing develop-

ments for seven of

the eight regions of

campus, which would nearly double

the number of residents living on

campus to 18,000-compared to

the current 9500.

Kalke believes these develop-

ments are necessary for the uni-versity to achieve its aim of becom-

ing a "university city—a self-sus-

tained, integrated learning environ-

ment."

But when Kalke, who is also a

real estate developer, opened the

floor to public comments housing

was the most frequently men-

tioned concern.

"How useful is it to put 10,000

residents on an academic institu-

tion's land?" asked one resident.

Kalke called UBC "one of the

best campus sites in the world,"

and said he believes it is neces-

sary to "look in the long term . Not

just to the years after 2000, but to

3000 and beyond ."

However, most residents seemed

worried about matters closer to the

present.

While some expressed concerns

about noise and traffic levels, oth-

ers pointed to proposed develop-

ments south of 16th Avenue.

Several Agricultural Sciences

students spoke angrily against the

plans, which would see the faculty's

animal science buildings replacedby a public school.

But Kalke defended the deci-

sion, explaining that the UniversityHill Public School—in which 90 per

cent of students are children of

UBC faculty, staff and students—is

filled to capacity. He also said that

the plans are tenta-

tive and that con-

struction on the

buildings cannot

begin until 2013.

Later, Leona

Sparrow, a UBC

graduate and former

Musqueam First

Nations band coun-

cil member, said the

"band does not sup-

port any develop-

ment south of 16th

Avenue ."

Sparrow also stated that

although she was not at the meet-

ing in an official capacity, proper

consultation with the Musqueam

band had not occurred . She firmly

stated that the band has "not been

directly involved ."

Others attending the meeting

also questioned the impact that the

meeting will have in the develop-

ment process.

But Kalke insisted that publicfeedback would have a direct and

noticeable impact on the CCP.

The feedback received, he

explained, will be taken into consid-

eration as the CCP goes under

review until early next year.

Following the revision, the uni-

versity will hold another public

meeting, expected to take place

next February. v

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page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, december 3, ums

Canadian reaction to protest mixed

THAT POOR GUY: Protesters opposed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) confrontedCanadian WTO Ambassador Sergio Marchi outside of the Sheraton Hotel in downtownSeattle Tuesday . Marchi and a protester argued over the merits–and demerits–of the WTO.TARA WESTOVER PHOTO

by Daliah Merzaban

SEATTLE—During and after Tuesday's massive protest againstthe World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the streets of downtownSeattle, Canadian officials offered mixed responses to the mes-sages presented by protesters, and the manner in which theyconveyed them.

Tens of thousands of protesters from across North Americawere in Seattle Tuesday to protest the launch of the third min-isterial conference of the WTO, a 135-country organisation dis-cussing trade issues . .

Carefully-organised peaceful protests about human rights,environmental and labour issues, among others, successfullyclosed down the conference's opening ceremonies, and can-celled much of Tuesday's ministerial negotiations.

They also managed to gain the attention and support of topCanadian officials.

Canada's Minister of International Trade Pierre Pettigrewexpressed sympathy for the protesters and their messages.

"A lot of it was also trying to put a certain point of view thatis important . I believe that Canada and the Canadian govern-ment is open to hearing different points of view . . .We want toreflect Canadian society as well as possible . So when it is notviolent, I actually welcome the possibility of dialogue," Pettigrewtold the Ubyssey on Wednesday.

Former BC Premier Glen Clark, who marched in a morningrally, also supported the protesters' cause . Clark, who was hav-ing trouble trying to pass a barricade of protesters seated infront of the Sheraton Hotel Tuesday afternoon, said he hopesthat the WTO will take protesters' concerns to heart, particular-ly for Canada's benefit.

"We're really concerned about the implications of the WTOon our environmental policy and on our social policies," saidClark, who was in Seattle to sit on a committee discussing pri-vate sector issues.

Throughout the day, large organisations, small groups, andindividuals staged peaceful rallies and put up displays to conveysome very clear, strong, and often unique messages.

"This is our own personal resistance in direct relationship toart and voice," said Jennica, an organiser of a roadblock in themiddle of a downtown intersection.

Surrounding a protesters' mural portraying abstract imagesof environmental degradation was a circle of individuals who hadlocked their arms with metal pipes wrapped in thick duct tape.

Handing out poetry and spoken word pieces, these demon-strators had a clear message to send.

"The idea of this entire action is that we're resisting againstthe commodification of art and the commodification of voices,

which is something that wefeel like the WTO does bygoing one step further andputting prices and values onpeople's lives," said Jennica.

She added that the aim ofthe road block was to preventdelegates from meeting tonegotiate trade issues . Roadblocks conveying a series ofmessages went up at otherintersections as well.

"We're using human bod-ies along with technology to lit-erally prevent any cars fromcoming through," she said.

But as the day progressed,random acts of violence andlooting began to overshadowthe protesters' messages.

A group calling itself the"Black Block" took to thestreets, smashing windowsand spraying graffiti on wallsof businesses throughoutdowntown Seattle—includingStarbucks, Banana Republic,and the Bank of America.

Black Block member Joshdefended his group's actions.He called the police "traitorsto democracy," and urged pee-pie to "take back what is right-fully yours ."

"All the people on the WTO meeting, they play on how to hurtworking people, and the vast majority of people, and how todamage our living so that they can increase their profits . That isthe violence . That's what's causing the violence," said Josh,who lives in Seattle.

"Breaking windows, it's just a window, and I haven't seenanybody getting hurt. The violence is the police shooting rubberbullets and using tear gas on people . That is the violence," headded.

But these actions drew criticism from other officials."I don't think [the protest] does anything for anybody, quite

frankly," Canada's WTO ambassador Sergio Marchi told theUbyssey after escaping a mob of protesters Tuesday evening.

Protesters gathered in front of the entrance to the Sheraton

Hotel blocked Marchi, as he tried to return to his hotel room."Come on, this is America," Marchi told the protesters who

had locked arms around him."Shame on you, Sergio," one protester called out, followed

by dozens of people chanting "shame" repeatedly. Marchiescaped the crowd after some protesters urged the others to lethim go peacefully.

"We just want [the WTO] to work, and I think the NGOs aregoing to get an extremist perception as the cameras around theworld will see . It's a double loss, so no one wins," said Marchi,who doubted that the protests will have an impact on negotia-tions.

"The show will go on," he added.Although protests died down Wednesday, demonstrators

gathered yesterday in front of the Sand Point jail to protest thearrests of at least 450 people . v. ...... .. ............................

TearPanelists want rights on agenda

gas effective inbyDaliah Merzaban ing the WTO and its member gov- countries to expand their crowd control situations

ernments more accountable to economies without regard tointernational human rights law.

human rights."Those who should drive [the Pagrotsky responded that the

WTO] are not economic, commer- WTO is only the sum of its mem-cial or financial interests, corpo- ber states and can provide anrate interests, but governments adequate forum for discussion ofwhich under democratic circum- human rights, which he saidstances should be accountable . "must be created by public opin-WTO itself must be made ion in [WTO] member countries ."accountable," said Leuprecht .

Leuprecht agreed, saying gov-And Swedish Minister of Trade ernments are often inconsistent

and Foreign Affairs Leif Pagrotsky in their human rights policies.agreed that free trade can be a

"Governments

can

besufficient instrument for promot- extremely schizophrenic," heing human rights .

said.Particularly, he said the WTO

"As far as the WTO is con-could be used as a "tool to influ- cerned, I do not believe it's real-ence human rights conditions in istic to think that we can turn itChina," and other countries that into a human rights organisation.support gross human rights viola- But, at least, it must respecttions .

human rights . It must accept theChina is currently seeking primacy of international human

membership into the WTO, but rights law," added Leuprecht.Pagrotsky believes changes to

Many speakers addressed thethe WTO should be made before difficulty of bringing human rightsChina is granted membership .

logic into an essentially economicIt's dangerous to allow "busi- institution, but Leuprecht is opti-

ness interests to weigh far heav- mistic about the possible effec-ier than human rights interests," tiveness of educating governmentsaid Pagrotsky.

officials who, he said, are largelySome members of the audi- ignorant of human rights law.

ence were sceptical of whether

The seminar was one of athe WTO could be reformed number this week aimed atenough to adequately address addressing contentious issues,human rights . One individual said including labour, environment,the WTO is "beyond reform," and and issues relating to developingis an instrument by powerful countries . +

SEATTLE—The importance ofincluding human rights on theWorld Trade Organisation (WTO)'sagenda was addressed by a num-ber of governmental and non-gov-ernmental officials in downtownSeattle Wednesday.

While much of the protest out-side centred on criticising theWTO for its focus on economicand financial issues at theexpense of other sensitiveissues—including human rights—Peter Leuprecht, dean of law atMcGill University, and other pan-elists criticised some of the mes-sages these protesters were try-ing to convey.

Although Leuprecht who pre-viously served as the director ofhuman rights at the Council ofEurope—is extremely critical ofthe WTO's policy of excludinghuman rights issues from its eco-nomic considerations, he saidmany of the protesters were mis-guided.

"The WTO exists . It's probablythere to last," he said . "In spite ofmy strong sympathy with thepeaceful demonstrators, I wouldsay that the slogan 'kill the WTO'is probably not realistic."

Rather, Leuprecht believeshuman rights can be includedwithin free trade policies by mak-

by Cynthia Lee

l :he stroke cleared, the<s€=y>It

Seattle PoliceIbis week left the

ace i d.

s of hundreds of'brad Trade tMarathon (WT0) pro-

testers stinging painfully for up to twen-ty minutes after exposure.

CS, or ortho-chlorobenzylidene-mal-ononitriie, is the most common form oftear gas used by law enforcenientagenuies as a teeth; for crowd contrvi.It is a sub-micron level chemical com-pound, that dissipates into crowds car-rt# d on smoke particles.

Like pepper spray, tea: gas irri-

tates areas of the body with mucousmembranes such as the eyes, thethroat and the nose . But rt alsoaffects any moist area of the body,creating a burning sensations accord-ing to RCMP spokesperson CorporalGrant Lerned.

"If you are sweating around yourcollar, if you are sweating under yourarmpits and in your groin, or in yourfeet. . .it will permeate through yourclothes and eventually you will feel theeffects on the areas of your body thatmay well be protected,' said Lerned.

Tear gas can be used effectively inwd situations because it has a far-r range than pepper spray, which is

mere useful in one-on-one confronta-pns .

distances because you can launchthose cannisters as projectiles," saidLerned.

Lerned said the RCMP se EmergencyResponse Team—the equivalent tuAmerican Spec ons and Tactiefi "(SWAT) Team . uses tear gas,most recently in the Vancouver areaduring the Stanley Cup Riots.

CS gas can be inactivated by watersolution, but for complete decontarnination, the exposed skin must

be

washed thoroughly with soap andwater.

According to theFOA Briefing Bookors Ctiemica! Weapons, developedunder the Swedish Minist€y ofDefense, unless concentrations of roargas are high, it cannot cause seriousn}ury or

di(

dThe SPD said it was not tracking the

amount of te

......

as being used by officars during week to quell theprotests.

"There's just too many officers outthere, [The SPD] cannot determinehow many rounds are on hend or whatwas used," said police spokespersonClem Benton.

Lerned said it weed not be appro-priate for the RCMP to comment or' theuse of tear gas in the SPD's WTO opts'ethane, but did say, `Seattle was facedwith a crisis and they dealt with iteffectively as they could with the mea-sures, the law and the means at' h idisposal ."* C

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WTO to aid thepoor countries

by Daliah Merzaban

In an effort to assist developing countries to become more integrated intothe World Trade Organisation (WTO), Canada committed $1 million (US)Wednesday to increase legal assistance for them.

Thirty members of the WTO, a multinational trade organisation repre-senting 135 countries, formally agreed to the establishment of an indepen-dent advisory centre on WTO law, which will provide services for WTO'spoorer member countries.

One of the stated objectives of the WTO Millennium Round held thisweek in Seattle is to further integrate developing countries into the tradeorganisation . WTO Director-General Michael Moore said the WTO currentlydoes not provide sufficient legal support for all member states.

The WTO secretariat does provide some assistance, but it's neverenough," Moore told an audience of delegates and journalists at theWashington State Convention and Trade Centre.

"The launch of this advisory centre speaks of the volumes of commit-ment [by member countries] to help developing countries to exist . . .) wantto pay tribute to those governments that have been involved," he added.

According to the official text, "the purpose of the centre is to providelegal training, support and advice on WTO law and dispute settlement pro-cedures to developing countries, inparticular to the least developedamong them, and to countries witheconomies in transition ."

The centre will work indepen-dently from the WTO, and willinclude a separate general assem-bly, management board, and exec-utive director.

Canada's

Minister

ofInternational Trade, PierrePettigrew, who is also the head ofthe Canadian delegation at theWTO, told the Ubyssey that thecentre will help to shift the focus ofthe WTO away from liberalisation oftrade and market rule.

"I think it's important to realisethat the WTO is first of all a rules-based system. It is about estab-lishing rules in order to help small-er and medium economies to be able to confront bigger economies," saidPettigrew.

He explained that developing countries haven't been able to afford legalfees and have trouble understanding their rights and obligations under thecomplex WTO system.

Pettigrew believes that the centre, of which Canada is a founding mem-ber, will help to solve this problem as it is mandated to organise seminarsand provide legal advice to poor countries which lack the expertise in areasof international law.

Colombia, a developing country that committed $100,000 (US) to thefund, stated that it supported the initiative . Marta Lucia Ramirez de RincOn,Colombia's minister of foreign trade, said that the centre is an importantinstrument which will provide developing countries with permanent legalassistance at reasonable costs.

Gerrit Ybema, Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands, was presentat the pre-launching of the project in Geneva last June . He said the centrewill succeed because it deals directly with the needs of developing coun-tries, focuses on human resources development, and enhances the formalequality of WTO member states before the law.

He also pointed out that many developing countries, like Colombia, havecontributed to funding the project.

"I do recognise that much more needs to be done to ensure further par-ticipation of developing countries in the WTO and world trade . However, thisconclusion can never be an excuse for not taking small and completesteps," said Ybema.

Signatories also contend that the centre will legitimatise the WTO byincreasing access to its dispute settlement mechanism.

Former WTO Director-General Renato Ruggiero said the centre will notonly help the developing countries, but will also enhance the credibility ofthe multilateral trading system.

"The credibility of such rules-based system is dependent on its univer-sality," said Ruggiero.

Thirty-seven of the world's poorest countries—including Bangladesh,Chad, Madagascar, and Rwanda—will be beneficiaries in the system.Countries can contribute to funding the centre until March 31, 2000 . Thecentre is expected to be opened in Geneva by the end of 2000 . :•

"I think it's importantto realise that the WTO

is first of all a rules-based system. It is

about establishing rulesin order to help smallerand medium economies

to be able to confrontbigger economies ."

—Pierre PettigrewCanada's Minister of Trade

and Head of Canada'sWTO delegation

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page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, december 3, urns

What happened to our parents?Wendy Mendez returns to Guatemala to find out

by Andrea Winkler

In 1984, 10-year-old Wendy Mendez watched as her mother wastaken away by a death squad working for the Guatemalan militaryregime . Mendez herself was tortured then let go. She eventuallyfled with family members to Canada, and has not seen her moth-er since that fateful day.

Mendez does not know what happened to her mother, and canonly assume that she is dead.

Her mother, Luz Haydee Mendez, had been a leader of theGuatemalan Workers' Party. Labour parties are one of the manygroups targeted by death squads, along with journalists, tradeunionists, and human rights workers.

In June this year, Mendez returned to Guatemala to start aGuatemalan chapter of HIJOS (Children of the Disappeared).Their goal is simple : to find out from the government what hap-pened to their parents . Up until recently, the group has notshied away from going public with their message; they haveattended rallies and protest marches and have given educa-tional talks in schools . They also carry out street perfor-mances in front of the houses of former known torturers, inorder to denounce them in front of their communities.

These activities have not gone unnoticed . This summer,Mendez and a few other fellow members of the organisation wereforced into hiding.

Eva Urmitia, who first founded HIJOS in Argentina in 1993,lives in Vancouver and has remained in contact with Mendez'sgroup in Guatemala . "Two men got into the place where the groupmet," she explained, "and told two members [of HIJOS] theywould kill them if they continued working ."

Urmitia described other fear tactics being used against thegroup, "[They would] stand in front of the house and watch them,"she said . "Or follow them in cars and take pictures ."

Some of the members quit out of fright, and others went intohiding, she said.

In 1954, the CIA collaborated in the overthrow of the democ-ratically elected government of Guatemala . Then, in 1963, a coupd'etat brought in a military government, marking a reign of terrtorthat may claim exists even under today's democratic government .

Death squads, composed of policeand army personnel organised into

elite special forces, are responsible formany of the thousands of "disap-peared and murdered." And peopleare still disappearing.

Since Mendez is a Canadian citi-zen, Urmitia believes she is relativelysafe . However, the same cannot besaid for the other members of HIJOS.

Last year, Mendez brought her trau-matic experiences to the stage in theLatino Theatre groups production of "QUE PASA with LA RAZA, eh?" atVancouver's Firehall Arts Centre . TheLatino Theatre Group was created—according to their director, CarmenAguirre—in order to bring togetheryoung people like Mendez who hadshared similar experiences . ForMendez, it was the first time that she

was able to go public with the story ofwhat happened to her mother.

When the performance closed inApril, Mendez was on a plane toGuatemala.

When asked if Mendez would everlive in Canada again, Urmitia thoughtnot . "She is not coming back to livehere because the purpose of thegroup is to find out what happened toour parents . She must be inside thecountry to work ." Mendez was ableto come out of hiding recently and didexpress interest in returning toVancouver for a visit next year.

Urmitia holds little hope for the upcoming elections inGuatemala on December 26. "The man who will probably get inworked under the military dictatorship," she said.

DISAPPEARED : A family snapshot shows the infant Wendy Mendez with her mother LuzHaydee Mendez —missing since 1984 . PHOTO COURTESY OF WENDY MENDEZ

If you would like to learn more about the organisation

or find out how to help, you can e-mail WendyMendez from The Latino Theatre Group's web site:"http ://www.livet .bc .ca/wendy.html".

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Fueled b•

assionDavid Milne is not your typical 20 year-ofd guy-Fes sponsored by .PowerBar andNike, has practically no off-season, and loves every minute of it.

SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT : David Milne's five-year cross

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Thiry-eight minutes and 50 seconds is enough towatch a TV show and then some. It's enough time

to chat on the phone with a good friend or even towhip off a quick essay. For David Milne, 38 :50 wasenough time to run 12 kilometres and earn a spoton Canada's team to the World Cross CountryChampionships in Portugal next March . Time is a

sparse commodity for many people, but Milne hasdecided to devote his time to one cause despitethe luxury of his alternatives.

"If there was any extra time, I guess I'd like tosit down and just watch TV or just hang out . . .lt'd

be nice for a change to sit down and do nothing . . .If

I wanted to I could . I'd just quit running. . .but no . I'd

rather be financially strapped—if that's what it is—just to do what I love, and that's running ."

But over the five-year commitment to running-one-quarter of his life—it's an investment that hasreaped its rewards . So far, Milne has developedinto being the sixth-ranked cross country runner inCanada this year.

That Milne excels at distance running isunquestionable . He was the national junior cross

country champion in 1998, and his transition intothe senior division has not slowed the pace of his

success . His first year in the NAIA led to a first-place finish at the regional championships, andthen a sixth-place finish at the NAIA Championships in a

personal best time of 24 :19 in the eight-kilometre racewith the added distinction of being the first NorthAmerican finisher, which was part of his only race plan.

Since Milne finished in first place at regionals, it gavehim an automatic spot at the NAIA Championships, but

since the UBC team did not qualify for the race, and sinceMilne didn't know his competition, he just did what hedoes best.

"I was just running for the sake of seeing how hard I

could go. Turned out really well ."And if it seems that Milne's career has gone from

good to great, it's no mistake."[Coach Marek Jedrzejek] and I have put together a

plan where I peak at the very end of the season . . .youbuild up gradually and then at the end, have your bestrace as your last race ."

But for someone who started out successfully at the

beginning, there's nowhere to go but better, and faster.As a four year-old in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it was not

running shoes that Milne first laced up . Like most youngCanadian children, he started with skates on the hockey

rink . He played hockey on local teams until he moved to

BC when he was ten . In high school he played centre forthe Hollyburn hockey club in West Vancouver . But ingrade 11, at the age of 16, Milne had to decide if he wasgoing to make a junior A team and play hockey at a com-petitive level or quit and move on . He started running toimprove his endurance on the ice, but as it turned out,he was talented in more than just hockey.

His first race was the Richmond Labour DayClassic, a 10-kilometre race that he entered with hisdad and his dad's friend. He finished in first place forthe 19-and-under group—he was 16 . After some races

and little training, Milne continued to play hockey and

continued on next page

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page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, december

continued from previous pagerun on the side.

But at the end of grade 12, Milne made thedecision to quit hockey and take up cross coun-try running.

"In hockey, I'm only as good as my team. Inrunning, I'm as good as I make myself. . .and Iknow I'm not going to let myself down ."

He was offered a full scholarship to MiddleTennessee State University, went, trained andran there for a year. But he tired of the SunBelt, and transferred to UBC.

"The problem with the US is they push youall the time . They want you to run at your topthe whole season and it's impossible for a dis-tance runner to do that ."

Milne's first year at UBC resulted in a third-place finish at the CIAU's under Jedrzejek . Butthey had met earlier at Milne's first race.

"Marek kind of grabbed me from the start.I've always been his athlete ever since . He wasthe one that got me into running."

Jedrzejek has told Milne where he can gowith running and what the big picture is, and

Milne has listened to his coach, the headcoach for UBC cross country for 13 years, andalso the coach for top Canadian distance run-ner Jeff Schleiber, whom Milne admires.

Even during a race, Jedrzejek's voice can beheard from the crowd . Although Milne's par-ents make it out to what races they can, only

Jedrzejek could make it out to Wisconsin forthe NAIA Championship and to Toronto for thenationals.

After Milne crossed the finish line at nation-als, his biggest race of the year, Jedrzejek wasstanding at the exit with a camera . Milne knewhe had made the national team and was grin-ning from ear to ear. Jedrzejek met Milne witha heartfelt hug.

Milne had reached his peak for this season.But for all his success, he wants people toknow that he's worked hard for everything hehas .

During the season, he trains every day, alter-nating workouts with one-hour runs, and then alonger run on Sunday. And after the cross coun-try season, he runs the 1500 metre and 3000metre in indoor and outdoor track.

Although Milne focuses solely on the raceand his current surroundings during a race, hespends a lot of time thinking during his longerruns that he takes alone in the UniversityEndowment Lands.

"I picture myself in races, beating guys whoright now are unbeatable—the top guys[Schleiber, Graham Hood, and Kevin Sullivan].And sometimes . . .l have to slow myself downbecause I start racing myself ."

Despite being one of the top Canadian crosscountry runners, Milne is no different than theaverage dreamer, except that he's worked hard

to get closer to achieving his goals in a shortamount of time . He is also not some superhu-man running machine, which his results mayindicate . He admits to having trouble sleepingthe night before big races, such as before thenationals, but he hopes this will change withmore experience.

Milne is confident in his choice to commit torunning because, for him, if he works hard, heknows that success will come . And he has afeeling that success will really come in the nextfew years . But the 2000 Olympics would bejumping the gun.

"This year's just too soon for me . I'm just20 . I can't compete with those guys yet."

So Milne has his eyes set a little further—the 2004 Olympics . He'd like to make a careerout of running and make money at it if he could,but he uses the words of Schlieber as his own.

"I'll keep running until I can't win anymore .""Or until I don't enjoy it anymore," Milne

adds.But success has its trade-offs, and his con-

centration on running certainly has put lessemphasis on other areas of his life, namelyschool . Milne is currently taking four coursesand has felt the pressure, especially after hav-ing been out of the country five times in thepast two months for races . For the amount ofeffort Milne, a third-year sociology major, putsinto his studies, his C-average is okay. Although

many students, even student-athletes putschool ahead of other priorities, includingsports, Milne is a rarity.

"I'm here for running first, school second ."There is a fine line between Milne the per-

son and Milne the runner. He admits that"every aspect of [his] life is tied to running," buthe still maintains that he's a "pretty normalguy."

Like many others, he gets a "kick out ofWWF," stresses about girls and school . Hewore Nike clothing and shoes, and atePowerBars before he was sponsored by them.And, coffee is essential for him—but for him,it's a prerace thing.

He has big plans to ring in the new millen-nium—he just has to choose . He can eitherspend the week relaxing on the sandy beachesof Hawaii, or he can train in San Diego.

"It would probably be a good change," hesays, contemplating the decision. "It wouldhold me back so I'd peak at the right time,

which is at the [World Championships] inMarch ."

He has still has not come to a decisionabout his holidays as we end our interview. Butthe next day, he tells me his roommate con-vinced him to go to Hawaii with some friends.

A chance to rest his injured foot, he tellsme. But yes, he will also pack his runningshoes.

Tnst ServicemprovemenStarting December13

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NEW TIMETABLES : Available at City & Municipal Halls,Chambers of Commerce, Libraries & Travel InfoCentres

TALKING YELLOW PAGES : 299-9000 #2233

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all tuber 3, 1999 *page friday—the ubyssey magazine

Change for the betterIt's easy to get lost in the details of what happened in

Seattle this week. But forget it for a second . Forget whetherthe protesters became too violent or not, or whether thepolice overreacted, or which side was right or wrong. Thatwill take care of itself. Just for a second, zoom out.

When history happens, right in front of our eyes, we'reusually lucky enough to be able to realise why what we'reseeing is important . When the Berlin Wall fell, or when thetanks rolled into Tiananmen Square—when you watchedthese events, you knew what they meant . And this week inSeattle, history—genuine history—was made . But for a lotof reasons, its significance was hard to see.

Part of the problem, of course, was all the tear gas . Itwas the first US civil emergency declared since the SecondWorld War . Rubber bullets . Shards of glass from smashedstorefront windows . Busloads of arrested protesters . In thisimage of Seattle, the city is anarchic and chaotic, and pullingthe bigger picture from the confusion is almost impossible.

Still, what happened during the World Trade Organisation(WTO) Ministerial Conference in Seattle this week was morethan just protest, and it was more than just police brutality

it was more than any sum of its parts.What we saw in Seattle this week was, in the most basic

terms, a reclaiming . People looked at those tens of thousandsof protesters and saw what they wanted to see—they werethugs, they were hippies, they were whiners, they were peace-ful, they were right, they were wrong. But across the rainbowof beliefs that dragged those people into the streets of Seattleand into the line of fire, there was a common thread.

All those environmentalists, those steelworkers, thoseprotesters—they were united . Why? It wasn't just a left-wingconvention . It wasn't just alarmism . It was real concern overthe WTO and the far-reaching implications of its policies onthe everyday lives of virtually everybody on the planet . Andthis concern is growing.

People are slowly realising that they have no real say in howthe world runs, and that those making decisions on a globallevel don't have ordinary people's interests at heart . It's frus-trating to realise that money is easily the most influential forcein the world, and that most of the world's wealth is distributedamongst a shrinking sliver of the population . Ordinary people,regardless of political affiliation, are beginning to realise the

glaring disparities . They're chafing under the restraints.In Seattle, they reclaimed the right to be heard . They

reclaimed the right to demand that people be put at the fore-front of everyone's political agenda.

In the future, when the so-called Battle of Seattle isweighed, it will be as more than an isolated event . It will beseen as the first step towards the shifting of some amountof power back towards ordinary citizens . When theMultilateral Agreement on Investment collapsed in the faceof public pressure, that too was a step . Processes thatbefore were unhindered by public input, or even public knowl-edge, are now being dragged into the international spotlight.

This week, people may not have crushed the WTO, or bro-ken the chain of power, or toppled the world . But they tooka step, and it will make a difference . The anger that wasthere, the fervour, the urgent desire to change things, breakthings—it was a signal light that flashed a simple message:people care enough to change things.

When history looks back at the past week's events inSeattle, it will see a monumental event . And it will see abeginning . +

PAGE FRIDAYCOORDINATING

NATIONAIJCOPYBruce Arthur

Cynthia Lee

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The Ubyssey is the official studentnewspaper of the University of BritishColumbia . It is published everyTuesday and Friday by The UbysseyPublications Society.We are an autonomous, democratical-ly run student organisation, and allstudents are encouraged to partici-pate.Editorials are chosen and written bythe Ubyssey staff . They are theexpressed opinion of the staff, and donot necessarily reflect the views of TheUbyssey Publications Society or theUniversity of British Columbia.The Ubyssey is a founding member ofCanadian University Press (CUP) andfirmly adheres to CUP's guiding princi-ples.All editorial content appearing in TheUbyssey is the property of The UbysseyPublications Society. Stories, opinions,photographs and artwork containedherein cannot be reproduced withoutthe expressed, written permission ofThe Ubyssey Publications Society.Letters to the editor must be under

300 words . Please include your phonenumber, student number and signa-ture (not for publication) as well asyour year and faculty with all submis-sions . ID will be checked when submis-sions are dropped off at the editorialoffice of The Ubyssey, otherwise verifi-cation will be done by phone."Perspectives" are opinion pieces over300 words but under 750 words andare run according to space."Freestyles" are opinion pieces written byUbyssey staff members. Priority will begiven to letters and perspectives overfreestyles unless the latter is time sensitive.Opinion pieces will not be run until theidentity of the writer has been verified.It is agreed by all persons placing displayor classified advertising that if theUbyssey Publications Society fails to pub-lish an advertisement or if an error in thead occurs the liability of the UPS will notbe greater than the price paid for the ad.The UPS shall not be responsible forslight changes or typographical errorsthat do not lessen the value or theimpact of the ad.

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letters Lisa Denton1111.11111111.1

page friday—the ubyssey magazine•friday, december 3, 1

Violence not Free speechneeded on

for all at UBCthis campus

With regards to the letters in the

November 30 edition—well, it'sabout time! ["Voices censored by theAMS," "Are we in Nazi Germany?",and "UBC—is it an open forum?".Having just transferred to UBC fromLangara College this September, Ithought I was just about the only per-son on campus who had noticed theinherent hypocrisy of the AMS . Lookon just about any poster on campusand what do you see? FREE SPEECH!FREE SPEECH! FREE SPEECH! Thenthe Genocide Awareness Project(GAP) comes to town and what's thereaction? Ban it! Chase it away!Knock over the display, and spreadpamphlets to the four winds! I'msorry, maybe this concept is just toosimple for university kids to figureout, but I'll try.

Free speech means no excep-tions . No, I don't agree with GAP.Obviously a lot of students don'tagree with either one, for one reasonor another. But here's a key pointthat the AMS considers disposablewhen confronted with an unpopularview the same right that all of ourvery own on-campus nutballs invokewhen they set off to protest whatev-er the government decision of theday they don't like is THE EXACTSAME RIGHT that GAP has to presenttheir views . Look at all of the rantingabout APEC and the WTO . Just readthe incensed diatribes about theyand all the other demonic, evil, horri-ble things our awful leaders get awaywith . Is the rhetoric really that differ-ent? Surely, if simple extremity ofviews was the reason for the banningof GAP, then half of the AMS groupswith access to a photocopier wouldhave been thrown to the wolvesyears ago . No, I'm just glad thatsomebody else around here hasn'tfooled themselves into thinking that

GAP was banned for any other rea-son that it doesn't fit the prevailingpolitical norm of UBC .

Ian GoldiePsychology 3

AMS shouldpenalise execs

As a previous officer of the AlmaMater Society (AMS) (25 yearsago), I was horrified to read thatthe AMS decided not to take actionagainst several of its own officersfor actively destroying freedom ofexpression.

Freedom of expression is themost important function of a uni-versity. Universities are supposedto create discussion, and examinecontroversial opinions . Anyone whoprevents this is degrading the pri-mary function of a university. For anofficer of the AMS, destroying freeexpression should result in immedi-ate resignation and suitable penal-ties from Student Court.

When I was a member of theAMS executive, abortion was ille-gal . We defended the rights of pro-abortion groups, even though itwas unpopular at the time . I waseven physically assaulted defend-ing the rights of the Marxist-Leninist party to put up posters onSUB bulletin boards, although I hadno sympathy for their views.

Pay attention . The first steptowards fascism is that peoplethemselves impose restrictions onfreedom of expression.

The Alma Mater Society shouldbe a bastion for free expression . Ithas a proud history of this .TheUbyssey newspaper is one exam-ple .

Robert AngusUBC alumnus

Defense forMarshallI would like to defend the actions ofthe Alma Mater Society (AMS)President Ryan Marshall followingthe destruction of the Students forLife display on Tuesday, November23, 1999.

Ryan Marshall, regardless of thefact that he is pro-choice, had theability to recognise that a horribleinjustice against students on thiscampus occurred. Ryan's state-ment that he "had no choice but toallow the [Students for Life] presen-tation to council" was justified . Thesituation was urgent because thenext council meeting is not sched-uled until January 2000 ; the situa-tion involved members and council-lors of the AMS and there could belegal ramifications against theSociety. Regardless, council votedwith a two-thirds majority to allowthis presentation . These councillorswere acting in defense of freedomof speech.

[Board of Governors representa-tive and AMS Councillor Jesse]Guscott said, "My concern lies inthe absence of responsible leader-ship shown by our AMS president inthe aftermath of the GenocideAwareness Project" ["BoG rep dis-appointed in Marshall," Nov 30] Myconcern is that Guscott is criticisingRyan Marshall for being a fair anddemocratic leader willing to listen tothe students' voice . According toGuscott, Erin Kaiser and JonChandler's actions were of privatecitizens outside of AMS circles,while Ryan Marshall's commentswere made as the AMS president . Itappears that an association withthe AMS council is only used whenconvenient.

I support Ryan Marshall forbringing the Students for Life pre-sentation to the council meeting.

Leaders like Marshall create anatmosphere that will " . . .encourage

free and open debate, as well asrespect for differing views" (AMSMission Statement).

Elena MiddelkampAMS councillor

Disdain forsupplement

II note with equal amounts ofincredulity and amusement thatyour Buy Nothing Day special issueis full of ads . How do you reconcileyour disdain for 'consumerism' withyour desire to sell your readersbeer, movies, and snowboards? Notto mention the interest piece/adver-tising supplement crossover (veryElm Street) for Black Sheep Books.

If your reply is that you cannotproduce your paper without revenuegenerated by selling advertisingspace, then perhaps you shouldtake a good long look at BuyNothing Day, and at your position on'consumerism' more generally.

S. Zachary GreenLaw 1

—EDITORS' NOTE: The four-page Buy Nothing Day supplementdid not actually contain any realads.

I am disgusted by the immatureactions of the three students fromthe Alma Mater Society (AMS) : ErinKaiser, Jon Chandler, and LesleyWashington, on Tuesday, November23. There was no need for them totear down the display of theStudents for Life group. TheStudents for Life were there to pro-vide information to those who knowlittle about GAP, and in no way werethey hurting anyone . For those whoare familiar with GAP and did notwish to see it, they could have eas-ily avoided it because there weresigns warning students of the dis-play. And for those students whosaw the display and did not agreewith the message, could make theiropinion heard by not taking a pam-phlet . And that's what freedom ofspeech is.

In regards to Jesse Guscott'sletter ["BoG rep disappointed withMarshall," Nov 30] : "I am not will-ing to accept that the spokesper-son for our student society can

speak with such a blatant disre-gard for the feelings of others ."What about the three students whodisplayed such a blatant disregardfor the feelings of others onTuesday, November 23? Studentsfor Life put in a lot of work, timeand money into the display andseeing these people destroy it hurtmy feelings . And I was just passingby . Jesse Guscott wants a publicapology from Mr. Marshall, and Iwant to hear a public apology fromthese three students.

Danielle DoranEngineering 2

Kaiser responds to GAP display controversyby Erin Kaiser

On Tuesday, November 23, I was responsible for destroying

some posters at an anti-choice display put on by a groupcalled Students for Life at the Goddess of Democracy. A lothas been said about the issue . For the record, I want to givemy side of the story.

In late October I had an abortion . This is an intensely per-sonal thing for me to disclose and I am not entirely happy withfeeling forced to disclose this fact . Having an abortion is oneof the hardest decisions I have ever had tomake. No woman comes to this decisioneasily.

The display was brought to campus lastTuesday, and it had a certain tactic : it com-pared women who have had abortions tothe Nazis, to the KKK, et cetera . As aJewish woman who has family who survived(and did not survive) the Holocaust, thisoffends greatly. The exploitation of the realsufferings of people is a crime in and ofitself . I believe that the Genocide Awareness Project's (GAP)tactical aim in using these images is to provoke students toconfrontation . This gives them a soapbox from which to pro-mote their cause . Unfortunately, I fell right into their trap.

As an organiser for Students For Choice, I sent out anemail that stated, "for many people there will be a feeling ofwanting to prevent the sign or display [GAP] from being seen.Avoid acting on these feelings ." I think my words show clearlythat I never had the intention of ripping down those postersuntil that day and that I never would have encouraged othersto do so . As a rule, I believe in the principle of mass peacefulprotest.

That day, however, I could not avoid acting on my hurt and

anger. I was completely overcome by the display . Also, I foundthat I could not avoid the images as the display was set upprecisely between my workplace, my classes, and my home . Icouldn't bear the thought of other women in similar situationsbeing forced to walk by that display and to be called murder-ers and to be made to feel as I did.

The university administration has a lot of questions toanswer around this incident . In September, the universitydemanded a number of conditions to the GAP display to pro-tect students . Why was the display, after all that debate,

allowed to be in an area where students could not avoid see-ing it? Why was there no security? Why were the WomenStudents' Office, Counseling Services, and AMS Speakeasynot informed beforehand? Why were students not given warn-ing? I feel that I was put in a situation that any reasonable per-son could have predicted would be upsetting and offensive tome . The university and GAP knew, from GAP's track record,that some students could be provoked into confrontationalaction . While I am willing to apologise for letting my emotionstake control over me, I think that I must demand the samefrom the other parties . I feel that the university administrationand Students For Life acted irresponsibly.

Since last week my life has been completely changed . I

have received harassing phone calls that have forced me tochange to an unlisted phone number. As well, the police areinvestigating an incident involving some unidentified personsshowing up at my home and yelling "Hey baby killer! Now weknow where you live!" Never in my life have I been so afraid formy personal safety.

Finally, I feel that I am the victim of personal defamation . Iam grossly offended by the comments Alma Mater Society(AMS) President Ryan Marshall made about me last week inthe Ubyssey. Marshall was quoted as saying, "Those guys are

no better than Nazis ." Does he have anyidea what the Holocaust is? Words like"Nazi" can't be tossed around . It insultsthe memory of too many people . Thepresident of the AMS is the spokesper-

son for the entire student society and heneeds to be held accountable for hisactions.

I'd like to ask all students not be soquick to judge on this issue . Imagine, ifyou can, what it would be to be in my sit-

uation—a young Jewish woman having recently just gonethrough the trauma of having an abortion finding yourself faceto face with a display that compares what the Nazis did to yourancestors to a difficult personal choice that you made onlyjust recently. I felt attacked and violated . The debate aroundfree speech has neglected to take into account women'srights to feel safe and secure at their school, workplace, andhome . I may have not reacted in the best of all possible waysbut I was defending myself and others from what I perceive tobe not merely an "unpopular" viewpoint, but as hatred and asan attack on my rights as a woman.

—Edn Kaiser is a second-year Arts student.

PERSPECTIVEOPINION

y, december 3, 1999 • page friday—the ubyssey magazine

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by Nathan Allen

As we approach the end of this century, and indeed thedawn of a new millennium, we are given the opportuni-ty to examine the progress of human civilisation, learnfrom this rich history, and look to the future and choosewhat path we should take . Closer to home, and in thepages of this paper, age-old debates are taking place.Healthy discussions around freedom—reproductivefreedom, economic freedom, free speech, and democ-racy—are being bantered back and forth . And with allthe excitement and romance of Alma Mater Society(AMS) power politics added between the lines, therhetorical battlefield in our proud, independent, Ipress is simply be ,itiful.

But through the APEC pepper spray, .vTu gas, G,-/Fholocaust image :-,, and everything else, we are forg, t-ting the most blatantly disgusting irifririgement of free-dom ever to grace this fine campus . The fact that on theday we begin a new era of history, I will no longer beable to smoke in the Gallery Lounge!

On January 1, 2000, the Workers CompensationBoard (WCB) will unleash its new law on the public tomake every workplace in BC a smoke-free environment.As a socialist, and therefore someone who believes inthe safety and rights of workers everywhere, I think theWCB's concern for the well-being of working people isfantastic . But is the WCB ruling calling for strict smok-ing sections or high-tech ventilation systems, puttingthe onus on the employer to provide a safe workingenvironment? No! They are placing the blame on us, theconsumers, the people! And by blaming us, they arerobbing us of our fundamental right to have a beer andcigarette at the same time, and in the process, suckingthe soul out of our society.

First of all, the utter hypocrisy of the WCB ruling isas obvious as tarred mucous hacked up and spat in ourfaces . Although workers' rights and safety are veryimportant, what workers want most is to be able to

work, and to get paid for that work . How much work willservers in bars have when there is no one there toserve? When the Gallery Lounge went non-smoking afew years ago the drop in business was so significantthat the AMS had to deal with the choice of either goingsmoking again, or shutting the place down . Further, ifthe WCB does care about workers safety, why do theynot care about the safety of workers who get placed inthe situation of having to ask our fine drunk patrons tobutt out? The AMS employs waiters, not police officers.And even with our bouncers, I can't imagine the hellthey will have to go through when people have to leaveThe Pit Pub to have a much-needed smoke, and thenFive to stand in line to come back in.

But even if by some slim chance none of this hap-pr ns . AMS student run businesses don't suffer, andBust ine.rs are happy, there is still the important issueof the state of our Sc'seiety. imagine this dystopian uni-verse we will soon experience . Jazz concerts withoutthe smoky air mixed with the mellow grooves . Men sit-ting in bars denied the right to light a beautiful woman'scigarette . Heated discussions around the state of civilsociety that have to be interrupted for a smoke break.And me, sitting in the Gallery Lounge pondering my lifeover a Canterbury, without a smooth, smoldering ciga-rette calming my thoughts . BC will indeed become aprovince without a soul.

What I can't understand though is why gmokers aretaking this lying down . Have our throats become sorough that we can't cry out for justice? In other parts ofthe world this kind of oppression would be grounds forrevolution . Are we going to let the granola-crunchinghealth freaks run roughshod over our freedoms? I sayno! It's time for action, sisters and brothers . It's time towage a holy war against the WCB, not only for us, butalso for the future, for the human spirit itself!

—Nathan Allen is the Coordinator of ExternalAffairs for the Alma Mater Society

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1227 GRANVILLE Sr. DDWNTOIVI • JUST AI R T1 1WWt¢E

LOW PRrCEU SNACKSANID APPETIZERS

TO MEET

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HOT WINGSJUST 294 EACHFOR THE BEST IN THE WORLD

"All Day", "Every Day" and "Nite"(orders by the dozens)

LIVE ENTERTAINERS

N I T E YFROM 9PM TILL CLOSING

G~(iTIF,ONow FEATURING"CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF "

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Gi?rAT

STrAIOLJTAT THE KING'S I1EAo

100Z NEW YORKSTEAK DINNER

only $10.95

12 oz T-BONESTEAK DINNER

only $12.95

°1 -ott yet the BESTfor LESS at thehing es Bend:"

THE KING'S HEAD PUB STYLE RESTAURANT • 1618 YEW STREET • PHONE : 733-3933 • FAX: 731-3486THE KING'S HEAD IS THE OLDEST REAL ENGLISH PUB IN BC (OPERATING SINCE 1973)

NEW ITEM!

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N'ON W[ AR[ S[RVWG

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Reserve for 6:00pm Seatingsfor parties of 6-8-10-12 or

Up to 20 of Your

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