Lkle: f-P^ upset UBC's administration fails Sly and cool—some would A real estate marketing tc^meet OCP commitment disagree, though—spy plan tells students who to on time writes a book be, how to act
finding housing since 1982
For man^l!!!^^0"^ mefo kickNl back in a cabin somewhere up the coast. | For Hoang
andhis fifteen housemates, however.
by Todd Silver built approximately 650,000 homes throughout the country. According to Tom Durning of the HOANG LIVES IN A THE BASEMENT SUITE WITH FOUR FRIENDS. HIS Tenants Rights Action Coalition this allowed those bedroom is only a little bigger than a walk-in closet. Hoang's who "fell through the cracks", such as the aged four roomies share the other two bedrooms. and disabled, to find affordable housing. But Hoang isn't complaining. "Its really nice for a basement But the federal government ended all involve suite, that's for sure. There is a kitchen, bathroom, two and a half ment in housing in 1993. bedrooms and we have laundry facilities and bright lights and Approximately 12,000 people have their everything. Like big windows and stuff like that" names on the waiting list to get into BC Housing. ill Like thousands of UBC students who rent around Vancouver, Those within the program pay thirty per cent of Hoang and his roommates pay top dollar for a tiny, and techni their income towards rent with the provincial gov cally illegal apartment They rent in a city where demand far out ernment kicking in the rest *' *•«%* strips supply. And for $ 1100 rent, they get only a few, shaky ten The program, however, is focused only on ants rights. families, the elderly, and disabled who have mod Zoe Stronge, manager ofthe AMS-run Rentsline, is feeling the erate to low incomes. Students are not allowed to pressure of students who need places to live. apply. BRIAN BAKER TRUNC HOANG, AND ANDREW BROOKE (clockwise) on "For every landlord we have listing a place, there are about makeshift bu nkbeds. RICHARD LAM PHOTO one hundred students looking," she says. Many of those students LIKE MANY STUDENTS LIVING IN SECONDARY call the telephone service from out of town and see their new suites, Hoang knows the woes of dealing with unreasonable Fed up with getting the runaround, the roommates decid place when they show up to move in. landlords. ed to take their landlord to arbitration. Most two bedroom suites on Rentsline list between $1000 When they moved out last spring, then former landlord Tenants living in illegal suites do not enjoy the same and $1200 per month. Rooms in shared suites go for between kept $250 of their damage deposit rights as those living in legal suites. Such rights include not $300 and $550. "It was just a random number," said Hoang. "All year he only the maintenance of basic standards, but also written "And even the most expensive listings are usually taken after was screwing us around. During the year our furnace broke notice of any rent increase three months before it is imple a few weeks," says Stronge. down six times. Jane's bedroom, [one of Hoang's room mented. mates], she had fungus growing in it and she had to move out After two hearings, Hoang and his roommates won. "We WHEN LOOKING FOR MORE AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, for a month," Hoang says. "We told him about it in November got reimbursed for eveiything," says Hoang. students can expect lithe help from their elected officials. and in the end he still decided, for some stupid reason, to They were among the lucky ones and one of the few that Following the Second World War the federal government keep $250 of ours." actually seek justice.• Proposed Ontario housing bill concerns students by Christina Varga lot," said Howard Tessler of the Federation of "Presently, fifty percent of units are being Tenant rights advocates say the new legisla The Varsity Metro Tenants' Association. rented at less than the legal maximum. If land tion might also make it harder for students, as TORONTO (CUP)-Student tenants in Ontario "Vacancy decontrol encourages even good lords could get it [now] they would," said lower income earners, to find affordable hous are worried a proposed housing bill will let landlords to be bad landlords. If the landlord Dundas, pointing to Massachusetts as an exam ing because landlords will be able to legally landlords raise rent to any amount they think sees the same apartment down the street go for ple of successful rent decontrol laws. "The state deny a rental unit based on a person's income. the market can bear. $ 150 more per month, they will be tempted to of Massachusetts has phased rigid rent con The Ontario Human Rights Commission is The proposed legislation, Bill 96, is under get rid of [their] tenants so they can raise the trols out., and there is a huge increase in new presently making a ruling on whether this is going public hearings throughout the summer rent" rental units, and rents did not go up." (iiscrirninatory by law. and could become law as early as this fall. But Anne Dundas, an adviser to Al Leach, But research compiled by the Still, landlord advocacy groups say the gov Tenant advocacy groups say the new legis Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing minis Massachusetts Tenants' Organization shows ernment has not gone far enough "I think the lation could mean students will have to pay ter, says the new legislation is designed to cre that evictions in the Boston Housing Court government should get out of rent control alto much higher rents with every move. ate more rental housing by giving landlords increased from 5,000 to 7,500 the year after gether," said Philip Dewan of the Fair Rental "Students are royally screwed under the more incentives to invest in rental buildings. rent control was eliminated and the average Policy Organization. "[But] we see this as a big new legislation because they move around a She says it will not result in sty-rocketing rents. rent in the city rose by fourteen percent. improvement "• 2 THE SUMMER UBYSSEY* TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1997 ^j^gmww orren Changesfor SU B clubs FURNISHED ROOM room for by Sarah Galashan will be enlarged and the Varsity one. Private entrance and bath Outdoors Club has moved into room, refrigerator, large closet, At a cost of $35,000 the AMS is making renova a new office in the SUB base 2-burner hotplate. Very quiet, tions to the SUB basement to make more space ment near Arbutus & 25th. for AMS clubs. "We're jazzing (the club 733-2395. Banging hammers and the hum of electric area] up a little bit and provid saws are music to the ears ofthe Aquasoc and the ing some functional things for Varsity Outdoors club, which will benefit from the the club. A little larger club GAIN EXPERIENCE in all renovations. meeting room and a better stor aspects of journalism. Join the "[The clubs] are like 'wow this is the most age area for their wetsuits and Ubyssey, SUB Building, room amazing thing', they can't wait for clubs days. washdown area," said Michael 241 K. If you're too shy to come They're like totally psyched about it," said Jennie Kingsmill, AMS designer. in, phone 822-2301. Chen, AMS director of adniinistration. According to Kingsmill the IHM--MI-.1II-1 "Aquasoc brought forward these proposals renovations are still within bud and they were willing to put in money," said get, are almost on schedule and PLACE aAN AD with The Chen, who noted the club put about $ 15,000 into should finish without any prob Ubyssey, UBC's official student lhe renovations. "All the parties involved thought lems. He added the work is newspaper. Reach the biggest it was a really positive way to go to promote the being done with as little incon TAPE JOB: Cordie Slade topes up the drywall in the new Aquasoc concentration of 18-22 year club and also the Varsity Outdoor Club which is venience to others as possible. office. RICHARD LAM PHOTO olds in the lower mainland. being moved into a bigger and better location." The noise level and disturbance has been min first two days there was dust It's just something Phone 822-1654 or 822-6681. The area actually being renovated will be used imal, said Robbie Bousadda, the manager of you have to deal with." only for Aquasoc, a scuba diving and marine biol Snack Attack, an AMS food outlet next to the con "There's no other areas that we're thinking of ogy club. The room formerly shared by both clubs struction area. "The only bad thing was that in the doing major renovations to soon," Davies said.* Lack of funding forces one-week closure of VPL's by Sarah Galashan ees] they had the choice of taking wrestied between a one-week clo Robinson added that while no vacation as part of it...or they could sure for all libraries or the com one is happy about the closure, the Forget about hitting a Vancouver choose to take leave without pay, plete closure of one branch. The last week in August is traditionally Public Library for some back to and the majority are certainly tak Fraserview branch in East the slowest for Vancouver lib school studying this week. ing vacation," said Capes. "Part- Vancouver was originally a target raries. All 21 Vancouver Public Library time employees were laid off for for the penny pmching, but it got a It is unknown whether the clos- (VPL) branches will close the last that week so they in fact are not new lease on life after the board sure will direcdy affect UBC week of August to help make up for being paid." opted to make smaller cuts else libraries, but according to the Ann a $500,000 cut to the library sys In addition to the closure, high where. Turner, the acting head director for tem's budget this year. er library fines and cuts to admin "It would have really hurt to the month of August it is unlikely. "For a number of people it's a istration expenses will make up for have this library closed. Cuts are Capes said she could not be major inconvenience," said Judy the lack of funds. And according to really difficult and it's hard for me sure if the closure would be annu Capes, deputy director of libraries, Marsha Robinson, head librarian to say what's the right thing, but al. "Certainly the cut to the budget referring not only to the public, but at the Fraserview branch, these are certainly the community here is is permanent... we don't know if to library employees as well. more "reasonable measures." very happy that this library has not the closure is permanent, we have i__ J "For all full-time [VPL employ Capes said the library board closed," said Robinson. to decide that later."* $M TIRED OF 7\ M Q*-, BFWG k4lf
August 26, 1997 " volume 14 issue 5 Editorial Board
Coordinating Editor Joe Clark News Suite For Rent. Sarah Galashan and Chris Nuttall-Smith Culture Richelle Rae Sports Wolf Depner ^ UBC campus. Two -»*oon»£ ,aundry. Access to National/Features Jamie Woods and games ,J^^SSTwKed. Ceiling m.rror. Photo Richard Lam patio andtobeg.vv .^.^ Production i Federico Barahona The Summer Ubyssey is the official student to cover a dreary wall. Add a lit newspaper of the University of British ^oSSf'srSa.-nal. Columbia. It is published every Tuesday by Now wipe that saliva off your tle paint. Put up a plastic tarp if ToS-enpeoptethatyou The Ubyssey Publications Society. you want to keep out the rain, We are an autonomous, democratically run chin, take a few deep breaths student organisation, and all students are and get ready for some tough wind or that kindly wino who encouraged to participate. times. Finding a good place to has taken a liking to the dog. And ^r^pxauu ; Editorials are chosen and written by the r2 Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opin live is not easy. But for those stu never underestimate the effect a ion of the staff, and do not necessarily dents brave enough to keep try good fern will have on your life. reflect the views of The Ubyssey hS5 bo»d right here on Publications Society or the University of ing here are some hints to 3.Always keep your landlord hous British Columbia. remember when looking for a happy. Help out with the lawn. ™f „„ fcem. H that tails. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Keep the noise down to a mini ^^«somBone,hS Canadian University Press (CUP) and firmly place to live. adheres to CUP's guiding principles. l.Keep your standards low. mum. Humour him if he wants All editorial content appearing in The you to paint his toenails. Don't Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Don't expect to find a place with Publications Society. Stories, opinions, pho a dishwasher, microwave or give him a reason to throw your "XySfo^ may want tographs and artwork contained herein ass out into the cold. cannot be reproduced without the heating. A landlord may want his expressed, written permission of The prize German Shepherd to share 4.Choose your roommates Ubyssey Publications Society. your bed. Live with it. You might carefully. If a prospective room Letters to the editor must be under mate shows up wearing a hat 300 words. Please include your phone need the heat come January. be any utilities to pay.v number, student number and signature made out of tinfoil, keep looking. (not for publication) as well as your year 2.Never be afraid to fix the and faculty with all submissions. ID will be place up a bit. Buy some posters checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey, oth erwise verification will be done by phone. "Perspectives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. "Freestyles" are opinion pieces writ ten by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspec tives over freestyles unless the latter is time senstitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified. Editorial Office Room 241K, Student Union Building, 6138 Student Union Boulevard, Vancouver, BC. V6T 1Z1 tel: (604) 822-2301 fax:822-9279
Business Office Room 245, Student Union Building advertising: (604) 822-1654 business office: (604) 822-6681 Strangway was always keen to fax: (604) 822-1658 APEC hosting a remind us in university publica tions of UBC's motto, tu um est, UBC reality rites poor decision or 'it is yours'. Business Manager by Dan Gibbons established ofthe private schools), As a graduate of UBC, and a Fernie Pereira athletic, charming, seemingly Before he left office, David current employee, I intend to do Advertising As my first term at UBC begins, super-confident male whose Scott Perry Strangway invited the leaders of what I can to stop this confer I'm struck by a creeping sense of female equivalent is the glossy, APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic ence from coming to UBC. I deja vu. ultra-beautiful Sloane-ranger Cooperation) to our campus on urge your readers to do the With the sudden closure of the Ubyssey, due to I enter as a grad student, hav whose dulcet tones ring across col the monopoly granted the Tangent, the gang was November 24th and 25th. This same. forced to find other ways to get their rent and kill lege bars accompanied by beau- was one of his last decisions, ing completed my BA in the UK, some time. Jamie Woods, Craig Reynolds and Joe and it's interesting to see the same coup de air kissing, darling. Clark were the first to find employment, deciding and easily the worst. Even SFU's Yours sincerely, to become independent garbage 'contractors*. accident-prone prez must be angst and hope-ridden mini-dra The same aura of confidence Unfortunately, their bullet-riddled bodies were J. Boucher mas enacted in two places, nearly found weeks later by police-trainees Wolf Depner shaking his head about this one. and social dominance surrounds and Rachelle Rae. Federico Barahona and 10,000 kilometres apart. UBC's resident football players Our distinguished seat of Richard Lam decided to take advantage of their My experience of "freshers'" and beautiful people whose gar god-given talents and took their live-action ver learning, supposedly dedicated B-Lot...B-Free sion of Beavis and Butthead on the road. Soon, week at Oxford and my early gantuan presence I have glimpsed to all the best values of our civil though, Chris Nuttall-Smith, annoyed at his role impressions of this on campus. I don't think as Stewart, was forced to donate his talents tqihe isation, is planning to welcome, Just a short note on the new B- place, I imagined to be I'm alone in the feeling of new "LIVE BLOODY DEATH" FOX magazine among others, General Suharto show, featuring Sarah Galashan in the Mary Hart lot parking system. some embodiment of role, Todd Silver in the "other guy" role, and Dan from Indonesia and Jiang It is good that we saved a hyper-cool, suggest that, Gibbons in the bait role. Paul Kamon and Daniel Zemin from China. While we're Silverman were, soon absorbed into the AMS, buck on the new sytem. deep down, we all seek to offering. these two statesmen erspective where they worked under chief hack Dale Lum as However, we may be faced with please; we all need to be the new PR men. Training them in their PR cocktails and smoked salmon, less parking space because of duties was Dave Jobson, who'd decided that it liked. intimidation (and per wasn't what you said, but how you said it. Allison their regimes will be torturing, the possibility of people not buy Cole was left to cry frenetically in the office, while murdering, and stealing from ing tickets for their parking Of course, this need haps jealousy?) I feel Alec Macneill-Richardson never even knew any ordinary citizens back home. space. does manifest itself in radically when faced with these figures I thing was wrong. John Zaozirny had really want different ways, essentially divided, find myself iMnking of as some ed pizza anyway. Two more ironies come to Just a minor suggestion to to steal from the self-conscious kind of college master race. mind: One of the groups that our fellow students. We should hip-speak of 90s management phi For you see, I fall on the other has suffered most at the hands set up a recycling box to recycle losophy, into the pro-active and the side of this artificial divide; I am of these thugs has been univer to daily tickets since it is a pay- re-active. reactive and will not speak until sity students. And the decision once for all day and night OJrmw.iMy spoken to. Once activated by the to invite them to UBC was made usage. Everybody knows the pro-active approach of someone with whom I Br-SS with zero consultation from the ones. At Oxford, their caricature is the braying, public school-educat Canada Post Publications Sales Agreement Number 0732141 university community—and yet Wilson Mok ed (by public, I mean the most ...continued on page 7 THE SUMMER UBYSSEY * TUESDAY, AUGUST »,
...continued from page 6 sense I might feel comfortable, then I begin to exercise my own 501 reasons not to believe the hype charm, wit and intelligence (all by J. Clark of which I have—in small quan tities—underneath the surface). Looking for style, not substance? Look My need to please is. then, no further than The 501. more obvious than that of my The 501 bills itself as the "next gen more visible peers. Carefiil not to eration of condo for the new genera hopes to attract. In a offend with a presence I fear tion." But what it is really selling is the "demographic snapshot might be unwanted, I allow oth- Friends myth—that even though twenty- of The 501 buyer" we are ers to take the metaphorical dive somethings are faced with fewer job treated to a crash course into the social limelight It's not a prospects than ever before, we can still cool that includes good strategy, of course, and I live an affluent lifestyle, have good look find myself here now deter ing friends and be hip. With the profundity of mined to approach people with a Spice Girls song, the slick marketing pack honesty, not to be intimidated by age, sent to The Ubyssey by the fine people at my perception of myself . The 501, presents a 90s utopia of young, hip The other extreme of surface urbanites living together in "affordable" con super-confidence is perhaps dos right downtown—"tell me what I want, also not as straightforward as it what I really really want..." might seem. Very often, I think, The 501 is the brain child of cousins it is simply another version of Marcello and Rossano De Cotiis. Aged 25 and the defence mechanism inher 24, these guys had the idea that they could ent in us "all. You might find it build condos for the 20-35 year old demo hard to believe that within the graphic. football player/old-Etonian shell "We had a vision to build a there lurks a fragile, sensitive well located, affordable and soul. Maybe not, but I would carefully designed building argue that it is a coping strategy we and our friends would to deal with the difficulties of want to live in," says Mar- the new group experiences we cello. will all share in over the next Coming from a family that few days, weeks, months... "has developed and built over At Oxford, I made tentative 5,000 units throughout DE COTIIS COUSINS attempts to break down these Greater Vancouver," Mar- (above) have a vision that barriers of my own making. cello, Rossano and their everyone will look like these Without doing so, I might never friends must have a very dif people (left)—even the have got to know some great ferent concept of affordability token minority. people, and I'm sure that my than my own. For most of the docile and willing to follow a initial lack of confidence meant students I know—who expect bright light where ever it that I missed out to some to graduate with at least points them. extent My point is, the intimi $20,000 worth of debt-a dation you may feel, the pre The ultimate irony in all $ 150,000 condo is well beyond their means. What is not included in this seemingly judgements you may form, this is the fact that the De Cotiis cousins But the issue of cost is not really what exhaustive list is any reference to race or sex might turn out to be justified. Or seemed to believe their own spin doctors. enraged me when I received The 501 press uality, but the rest of the press kit makes it they might not, and there really "Our marketing team positioned our infor kit last week. What I found more insulting and pretty clear what kind of people The 501 is is nothing to lose by finding out. mation to reflect the straight forward nature profoundly worrying was the way in which looking for. The models featured in the glossy You'll be glad when people of our buyers who want value and features The 501 sought to appeal to my generation. photographs are almost exclusively white and respond to you, and if they don't without typical sales hype," says Marcello. Like a middle aged parent trying to relate to a the couples look as straight as they come. then, so what? Typical or not, The 501 hype sells an apart teenager, the press kit clumsily doles out 90's Most of units offer plenty of closet space, but ment building as sanitised as a Friends 'There's no-one here, and buzz words and retro gimmicks to a genera coming out of them may be tricky. episode and as fresh as Sea-Monkeys. Buying people everywhere' is an easy tion that I hope, perhaps naively, has more The press kit also contains your very own a condo in Vancouver is still more of a farce mindset to let yourself fall into. savvy than they're given credit for.- "Building package of Sea-Monkeys. No doubt the idea is than a sitcom. Try and avoid it with attitude"—I think not. to appear retro-hip to the twenty somethings, In a section of the sales pitch titled "Who but it occurs to me that these freeze dried life —Joe Clark is a 3rd year Arts student —Dan Gibbons is a graduate are the next generation condo buyers," we forms make the perfect metaphor for the and is the Coordinating Editor of student in geography. are told exactly what kind of people The 501 prospective 501 buyers themselves—stale, The Ubyssey in his spare time
Be a M Volunteer Tbtor Notice of Change to and Parking at UBC
Open the World of As of July 2, 1997, parking has no longer been :hapbooks permitted on the divided highway sections of SW Reading to a Child Marine Drive, south of Totem Park Park Boundary and 'zine Residences or, on W. 16th Ave., west of Do you have 2-3 hours a the Pacific Spirit Park boundary, Hampton adjacent to Hampton Place. week during the DAY to Place for reviews help a child learn to read? Enforcement of the Highways Act will be conducted by the RCMP. the I'bvsscv A Children's The Juaior League of Literacy Program Greater Vancouver This is the first phase of a program to sub, 241k Phone:730-0031 eliminate free parking on roads adja cent to UBC in suppport of the univer sity's Transportation Demand Manage ment program (a key component of the staff meetings are fun and invigourating Official Community Plan process) and the Highways Act. Totem Park Wednesday 12:30pm in SUB 241K Alternative parking is I Residences! currently available in the B Lots. we are going to talk about voting for our treasurer, End of office tours, a comic, postering, deadlines divided highway feel the excitement.. ~=F
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