This report on Simon Fraser University in the news lists the main items of known media coverage from 8:30 a.m. Pacific Friday June 22 to 8:30 a.m. Pacific Monday June 25.
The report is compiled and distributed by SFU Public Affairs & Media Relations.

Flooding | Aboriginal Education | Archaeology | Environment | Egypt | Tribute | Health | Athletics | Also in the News

FLOODING

• As news media watched flood threats on the Fraser River during the weekend, Jeremy Venditti, assistant prof in SFU Geography and an expert on the Fraser River, was in The Province.
  “Simon Fraser University professor Jeremy Vendetti (sic) said communities should be safe barring structural deficiencies in the dikes. But he said there was merit to the Mission Chamber of Commerce’s call for a more integrated approach to management of the river.
  “‘There’s quite a few things need to be done,’ he said. ‘The dikes, where they’re set, are too close from the river. They need to be set back, which would allow it more room to move around and migrate.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/VKukVg
• Venditti was also on News1130 Radio and sister station 660 News in Calgary.
  ‘‘‘The flows are the highest now, and you really have the greatest erosion and deposition in the channel. So, we really are excited about seeing how the river's working at this time of year,’ explains Jeremy Venditti.
  “He says rivers flood, sometimes several times year, out onto the flood plain. So, is everything being done to minimize the damage?
  "‘One of the things we try to encourage people to do is to stop putting infrastructure on the flood plain or the river. If anything should be done, it's that,’ suggests Venditti.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/SmQZJo

ABORIGINAL EDUCATION

• The Vancouver Sun featured the new Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership program—the first of its type in Canada—which starts this fall at the Beedie School of Business.
  “Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell, like other aboriginal leaders across B.C., sees accelerated business opportunities as key to his community's future.
  “To that end, the 39-year-old chief is one of several first nations leaders signing on for a new business degree program offered by Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business. . . .
  “Campbell said aboriginal businesses already span a range of industries, but require more knowledge to build capacity and foster growth. ‘We want to build shopping centres and commercial space so our small businesses have a place to compete. This is a tool to advance our interests.’
  “The new program was developed to provide senior-level management education for aboriginal managers and entrepreneurs, as well as for those collaborating with aboriginal communities.’
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/xkNwen
• The news-and-commentary website of TheTyee.ca told readers about the founding of the Indigenous Research Institute at SFU.
  “Simon Fraser University's (SFU) new Indigenous Research Institute could be the key to promoting traditional Aboriginal knowledge in B.C. Also launched on National Aboriginal Day, it's unlike any indigenous research institute in the country because it doesn't limit itself to just one faculty.
  "‘Our institute is an umbrella one, actually, that covers basically all of the faculties here at SFU, those doing research in indigenous fields,’ explains William Lindsay, director of the University's Office for Aboriginal People.
  "‘The institutions that were existing were basically in those three areas: education, health, or land issues. So we're a little bit different. We're also going to be reaching out to other universities to see if they would like to work along with us in different capacities. That's going to be down the road.’
  “The institute was two years in the making, part of the University's Aboriginal Strategic Plan, Lindsay says it serves the University and government's goal of increasing Aboriginal research in the province. With over 40 SFU faculty and student members already, it's proving to be one of the more popular institutes on campus.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/nhogee
  SFU news release: http://at.sfu.ca/FfTDgO
  Institute constitution: http://at.sfu.ca/IyUWSK
  SFU’s Aboriginal Strategic Plan (PDF): http://at.sfu.ca/HSHHsZ
• TheTyee.ca also ran a guest column from SFU Education student Kathryn Ovenell-Carter on her passion for improving Aboriginal education.
  “As a student, my life changed while studying the Indigenous Perspectives Teacher Education Module (IPTEM) at Simon Fraser University.
  “We dug deep into issues that affected Canada's indigenous peoples and it made me re-examine my understanding of history. I had been taught in school that when B.C. entered into Confederation it was positive for the province and country. But I was not taught about the negative impact on First Nations.”
  Full column: http://at.sfu.ca/BCFRXu
  Earlier guest column in The Vancouver Sun: http://at.sfu.ca/QFTNkF

ARCHAEOLOGY

• SFU archaeologist Rudy Reimer was in a Vancouver Sun story: “The discovery of an ancient stone bowl in Squamish may shed some light on the lives and ceremonies of the Coast Salish peoples who once lived on the banks of the Squamish River.
  “The bowl, carved out of organic rock and revealed to be about 1,600 years old, is similar to those used by early aboriginal cultures in California and the American southwest, said Rudy Reimer, professor of First Nations Studies and Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. In the north, such vessels are often closely tied to ceremony and ritual.
  “Reimer said he suspects the bowl would have been part of ancient ceremonies to predict and pay homage to returning salmon in the Squamish River.  ‘Archeologically speaking, it helps confirm previous interpretations of the role of these bowls as ceremonial implements,’ Reimer said. ‘It validates what we know from Squamish Nation oral history.’"
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/PfJqdo

ENVIRONMENT

• Doctoral student Brett Favaro of SFU Biological Sciences continued a series of media interviews after co-writing a letter published in Science, criticizing the federal government for closing labs and planning to weaken the protection of fish habitat.
  Favaro and profs John Reynolds and Isabelle Côté of SFU Biological Sciences say: “The Fisheries Minister argued that current polices go ‘well beyond what is necessary to protect fish’. . . . The continued decline of Canadian fish and other aquatic species due to habitat loss and degradation suggests otherwise. . . .
  “Canada should stand up to its responsibility as first signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity and steward of the world’s longest coastline and largest lakes.”
  Favaro’s latest interviews included CBC Vancouver, CBC Prince George/Prince Rupert and CBC Kelowna. 
  Meanwhile, the Ottawa Citizen and the Whitehorse (YT) Daily Star picked up a Canadian Press story on the letter.
  Ottawa Citizen: http://at.sfu.ca/AjqDiv
  SFU news release (June 21): http://at.sfu.ca/fFECHC
  Full letter in Science (requires subscription or payment): http://at.sfu.ca/deXAJt
• The Globe and Mail quoted the trio’s letter in a story that said: “Four former bureaucrats in the federal Fisheries department have joined scientists, provincial environment ministers, and first nations leaders in a bid to convince the Conservative government to reconsider its decision to cut funding to a research centre that has been studying freshwater ecosystems for half a century.”
  The story noted: “On Thursday, three biologists from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia published an opinion piece in the online journal Science. It decries the closure of the research station, as well as other environmental measures included in a massive budget bill now before the Senate.
  “‘Canada's reputation as a natural wonderland has taken a beating lately from an unlikely foe: its own government,’ the scientists say in the editorial.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/nafJbG
• Africasti.com (“Africa Science Technology & Innovation News”) looked at a paper co-authored by SFU’s Arne Mooers, and wrote:
  “Climate change, population growth and environmental destruction could cause a collapse of the ecosystem just a few generations from now, scientists have warned in the journal Nature. . . .
  “The paper by 22 top researchers said a “tipping point” by which the biosphere goes into swift and irreversible change, with potentially cataclysmic impacts for humans, could occur as early as this century.’
  The story added: “In a nutshell, humans have not done anything really important to stave off the worst because the social structures for doing something just aren’t there,” said Mr Arne Mooers, a professor of biodiversity at Simon Fraser University in Canada’s British Columbia.
  “‘My colleagues who study climate-induced changes through the Earth’s history are more than pretty worried,’ he said in a press release. ‘In fact, some are terrified.’”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/mfbDuD
  SFU news release (June 6): http://at.sfu.ca/wOCNmO

EGYPT

• André Gerolymatos, historian and international affairs commentator, was on News1130 Radio after Egypt announced that Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood has won the Egyptian presidential election.
  "The question remains now, will this new government bring stability to Egypt? SFU International Affairs expert Andre Gerolymatos to do that, this new government needs to focus on bringing tourists back.
  "'It has to if they want to improve their economy,' believes Gerolymatos. 'Egypt's economy is in a mess; it's in tatters. If they really want to do something to help the people of Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood that supports this new president will have to go out of their way to maintain peace and tranquility to make it attractive to tourists.'
  "Tourism is estimated to be close to 11 per cent of the country’s GDP."
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/OBkxrq

TRIBUTE

• The Ottawa Citizen carried a lengthy tribute to the late Liz Elliott, associate professor of criminology and co-founder of the SFU Centre for Restorative Justice. She died last Sept. 9.
  In the tribute, her brother Peter Elliott wrote in part:
  “Liz’s work garnered recognition, including the Outstanding Service Award from the John Howard Society, Exceptional Peoples’ Olympics award from Collins Bay Institution, the Appreciation Award (VP) 2005-2010 John Howard Society of Fraser Valley (2010), and the Corrections Canada Ron Wiebe Restorative Justice Award, B.C. (2010). Liz has also been nominated posthumously for the Governor General of Canada’s Meritorious Service Decoration (December 2011).
  “Just days before Liz died, she visited Ferndale prison to see the totem pole being carved for her. One of the carvers, a prisoner, said the totem pole was to honour Liz, who was respected by everyone who knew her and her work in restorative justice. The weekly dialogue circles she attended were much appreciated. There she made a real impact on the lives of prisoners, community members, and often victims of crimes would also attend these sessions.
  “Liz played a key role in laying the groundwork for today’s restorative practices, and its community development in Canada.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/TxsHeL

HEALTH

• The website of xojane.com (“where women go when they are being selfish, and where their selfishness is applauded”) wrote about a Vancouver gym that’s “specifically for plus-size women”, and quoted SFU’s Tony Leyland.
  “Tony Leyland, a senior lecturer in Simon Fraser University’s department of biomedical physiology and kinesiology, is adamant that people not downplay the social value of creating safe places for mothballed bodies to get moving. That safety must be physiological as much as psychological, he says.
  “He adds the caution that ‘fitness programs have to address getting a decent amount of volume in without hurting joints because of body weight.’
  “As for weight loss, Leyland says some bodies are naturally resistant to being lean. Even slightly pudgy people can be terrific athletes, he says. ‘Fitness trumps a lot of things,’ he says. ‘The evidence is clear that people are really going to benefit from getting fit whether they lose weight or not.’”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/KmqtsG

SFU ATHLETICS

Basketball

• Boxscore News ran a news release from SFU Athletics on how the Clan women’s basketball program has recruited Meg Wilson of London ON,  a forward who stands 6’1”.
  “Meg is a great competitor as she has grown in a very good environment, having played for the well coached London Ramblers,” said head coach Bruce Langford.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/yOzeqh
  Clan news release (Ben Hodge of SFU Athletics): http://at.sfu.ca/jmsBKT

Volleyball

• Boxscore News also picked up another Clan release, in which SFU Athletics announced that Vancouver’s Tamara Nipp will be attending SFU and its volleyball program this fall.
  The Crofton House School product is a three-time provincial champion at the 18-and-under, 17-and-under and 16-and-under levels. She was named MVP at the BC championship tournament in 2011 and this year was named a first-team all-star at the provincial championships.
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/yVwycM
  Clan news release (Ben Hodge of SFU Athletics): http://at.sfu.ca/otPnvO

Also in sports

• The Delta Optimist featured Sam Clare of Ladner, a star who “did it all” with the SFU Lacrosse club last season.
  “The first-year midfielder established a new school record for freshman by scoring 34 goals. He was named the Pacific North Coast Lacrosse League (PNCLL) Freshman Midfielder of the Year. He was also selected as a PNCLL first team all-star and was a Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) All-American.
  “Later this summer, Clare will be playing for Team B.C. at the Canadian Field Lacrosse Championships in Oshawa, ON.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/FFlkBb

ALSO IN THE NEWS

• The Province looked at some Metro Vancouver sites that have been used for movie locations, and noted:
  “Sci-fi movies and TV series love the Lower Mainland, because the architecture allows for countless futuristic settings, starting with Simon Fraser University's movie close-up in the 1972 speculative thriller The Groundstar Conspiracy, a high-tech look for those times. More recently TV's Battlestar Galactica and the feature Underworld: Awakening have gone to the future there.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/BpWXSb
• The New Westminster NewsLeader reported: “Jonathan Cote's homework has gotten good grades from his fellow New Westminster city councillors. As part of the urban studies program he is taking at Simon Fraser University, Cote produced a report entitled Worth Saving: Changing the Economics of Rental Housing. In it, Cote made five recommendations to encourage the building of rental projects in Metro Vancouver which the rest of council endorsed after he presented his report to them June 18.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/HrdANq
• The New Westminster NewsLeader also reported on the retirement of Barry Forbes, SFU grad (and charter student), as president and CEO of Westminster Savings Credit Union.
  “Although he's been headhunted by other financial institutions, Forbes has remained loyal to Westminster Savings because its board has allowed him to participate in other activities. He's been chair of the Burnaby Hospital and Fraser Health boards, and SFU's business advisory board. He is also currently a member of TransLink's board and other community organizations.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/TLiOcS
• The Toronto Star carried a feature on an SFU grad who is Canada’s most prolific political commentator on Twitter.
  “If you follow Canadian politics on Twitter, chances are you've met Min Reyes, at least virtually.
  “Not just because she has racked up an astonishing 102,000 tweets in only 18 months—after all, anybody can tweet a million banalities—but because, by every metric, she has clout and influence in the Canadian political conversation. . . .
  “‘I'm on Twitter all frickin day,’ she says on the phone from Richmond, B.C., where she and three dozen others have been protesting the Harper government's omnibus budget bill in front of Conservative MP Alice Wong's riding office.”
  Full story: http://at.sfu.ca/gBlQYe
• The Feminista blog on VancouverObserver.com wrote about Miss Representation, “an eye-opening documentary about the state of women in the United States today.” And it noted in part:
  “A look at Vancouver’s biggest universities, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, reveals disparity between the female population and the number of women in student government. At UBC, women make up 56 per cent of the student population but less than a fourth of the UBC Student Council; while women make up 58 per cent of the population at SFU, men compose 81 per cent of the Student Society Governing Board.”
  Full blog: http://at.sfu.ca/ulaJNN
  (Note: We cannot guarantee that links to non-SFU websites above will always work. Some news media archive stories for only seven days.)

EARLIER EDITIONS

• Earlier issues of Media Matters are online at http://at.sfu.ca/GzJvYO

SFU NEWS RELEASES

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