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SFU PEOPLE IN THE NEWS - April 20, 2011

April 20, 2011

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Media Matters, a report on Simon Fraser University in the news, is compiled and distributed by SFU Public Affairs & Media Relations. This daily edition lists the main items of known media coverage from 9 a.m. Tuesday April 19 to 9 a.m. today, Wednesday April 20.

ELECTION

  • The Vancouver Sun took a look at the Burnaby-Douglas constituency—“a swing riding that’s too close to call.” And where the NDP candidate is Kennedy Stewart, SFU pubic policy prof.
    The riding has been held for the NDP sine 1996 by Svend Robinson and then Bill Siksay, who is not running again. “‘The thought is we have to hold this riding from the Conservatives,’ Stewart said, but acknowledges he doesn’t have the same name recognition as Siksay or Robinson. ‘It’s a little hard because I’m not an A-list celebrity.’”
    Marketing prof Lindsay Meredith of SFU’s Beedie school of Business said the riding has new candidates for two of the major parties, and new diversity among the voters, many of them students or new immigrants, mostly from Asia.
    “This is the kind of horse race where I keep my money in my jeans and I don’t bet on the ponies. This is one race I’m stepping back from.”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/bUDwwt

  • Meredith was also in a story in the Burnaby NewsLeader on how politicians are beginning to grasp the usefulness of social media in their campaigning.
    “In the future, they will have to tap into social media’s potential if they hope to survive, says Simon Fraser University marketing professor Lindsay Meredith. They may be able to get away with using it minimally in this election, but it will soon become indispensable.
    “‘Looking forward it will be mandatory,’ says Meredith. ‘The younger generation doesn’t look at mass media. It’s a large iceberg coming, maybe not right now, but when it does hit it will run over everything in its path.’”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/ATJWDl

  • In a guest column in the Financial Post section of National Post, public policy prof Jon Kesselman looked at the federal Conservatives’ pledge to double annual contribution limits to Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) to $10,000.
    “Enlarging the TFSA would seem to offer potential benefits to almost everyone. So what do I find objectionable about this proposal?  . . .
    “Many workers are saving via TFSAs expecting that those funds will never be counted against GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits) since that is official policy. Yet, future policy will not likely allow seniors with large savings to receive GIS benefits that were intended for the elderly poor.”
    Kesselman proposed new options, through which “Most individuals would gain more access to TFSAs and greater flexibility than under the proposal to double TFSA limits. This approach would also avoid large windfalls to high earners and the associated large long-run revenue costs.”
    Kesselman was co-author of a 2001 report that led to TFSAs in 2009. “TFSAs now have some five million Canadians participating, with total balances approaching $20-billion. Not a bad payoff for a piece of scholarly research!”
    Full column: http://at.sfu.ca/LWwjnw

  • The Province reported that students are expected to stage flash-mobs, urging youth to vote, at four B.C. campuses. That includes the SFU Burnaby campus, Convocation Mall, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
    “‘Contrary to popular belief, we are engaged,’ said Apathy is Dead SFU vote-mob organizer and student Kyle Acierno. ‘We want to show the government that we’re not apathetic.’
    “Acierno, 25, said many youth don’t vote because they see parties breaking promises and failing to appeal to his generation’s concerns, including rising tuition and living costs, and environmental issues.”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/mgaOLl

NORTH HOUSE

  • CBC News reported that ultra-green North House, co-developed by faculty and graduate students from SFU, has won an award of Excellence for Innovation from Architecture Canada.
    North House placed fourth among 20 North American and European entries in the 2009 Solar Decathlon to create the best house powered by the sun. Profs Rob Woodbury and Lyn Bartram of the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at SFU Surrey led SFU’s team. North House was designed for cold climates. Its features included floor-to-ceiling windows and side-mounted solar panels that capture low-angle sunlight. It also had subfloor salt-hydrate packets that take in heat and release it as the temperature drops. The designers said the house could produce double the energy its occupants consume.
    (North House was followed by West House, an eco-friendly “laneway house” which now is housing two tenants as research subjects in East Vancouver.)
    CBC story: http://at.sfu.ca/VqnBdk
    SFU News story on North House (Oct. 22, 2009): http://at.sfu.ca/MzJgOF
    SFU News story on West House (March 10, 2011): http://at.sfu.ca/SIOJtv

OIL SPILL

  • Dan Esler, adjunct prof and research associate in SFU Biological Sciences, was on CBC Radio’s national newscast giving his assessment of the fallout of the BP oil-rig explosion and massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which hit a year ago today. Esler predicted wildlife will suffer the effects of the catastrophe for decades.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • SFU Communications prof Peter Chow-White was in a Vancouver Sun story about a Vancouver police report saying social media networks used by Vancouver Canucks fans will lead to bigger downtown crowds this spring—and higher policing costs.
    “No measurements have been taken of Canucks tweeters in relation to other NHL teams, but SFU communications Prof. Peter Chow-White thinks Vancouver's are among the most prolific. It was reflected during Sunday's 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, where about 100 tweets per second appeared following Vancouver goals. ‘I was amazed at the sheer number of tweets,’ Chow-White said.”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/qJOrWW

WAGES

  • The Chilliwack Progress looked at BC’s new minimum wage provisions. And quoted SFU associate prof Peter Hall.
    “According to Peter Hall, Simon Fraser University professor of urban studies, by increasing the minimum wage the government has removed the incentive for people to leave the province. It will also improve the quality of life for those working at that level, and will improve quality of employment for employers, by acting as a constant reminder to use their workers more productively, he said.”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/bBiMzC

STUDENTS

  • The Maple Ridge News reported two local SFU students are among those competing for the Miss World Canada title next month: Jessica Ferreira, and Angie Medina Montoya.
    Medina (featured earlier in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times) said: “I feel that becoming a delegate for the Miss World Canada pageant is a great honour, and gives me the chance to represent my country to the world.”
    The paper noted she has also organized a fundraising event for Variety—The Children’s Charity on May 5. (Info: http://at.sfu.ca/NzVWXm)
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/JdUqUZ

ATHLETICS

  • The Clan men’s and women’s golf teams each placed fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in Coeur d'Alene ID. Western Washington University won both sides of the event.
    Women’s story (in the Bellingham Herald): http://at.sfu.ca/QjlCeb
    Men’s story (in the Bellingham Herald): http://at.sfu.ca/WGktWj

  • Burnaby Now caught up to the news that Clan long distance runner Ryan Brockerville and high jumper Rachelle Barnett were named Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes of the week. And that 11 members of the Clan track and field team qualified for the NAIA outdoor national championships.
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/hEDmLZ

  • Coquitlam Now featured Ruki Abdulai, former Clan track star, and her successful defence of her heptathlon title at the Mt. SAC Relays meet at Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut CA. The story noted: “She has five different coaches working with her on her different disciplines, with SFU's Brit Townsend providing support on the 800m, where she is learning a new pace.”
    Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/NmBhMh

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