ssues & ideas

EDITOR AMY JONES

THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 7

By JEREMY MATTHEWS

tudents at UBC are taking a car
they built and designed to re-
duce fuel usage to Texas this
month to compete against other
designs in the Shell Eco-marathon.

The prototype weighs less than 200
pounds and every component has been
optimized for maximum fuel conserva-
tion.

Engineering student Ryan Gibson is
one of the students in the UBC Super-
mileage Team, which has prepared
cars for the fuel-efficiency competition
since 2001.

“Everything’s designed and_ built
from scratch. [The car] is at the bottom
end of size restrictions,” said Gibson.

The car will be competing in Hous-

ton, Texas starting April 24. The team
came in second last year, but Gibson
thinks they have a strong chance of
taking home a victory.

“We're well positioned to come in
first,” he said.

The car is running in the urban con-
cept category, which puts strict limits
on design by requiring the use of regu-
lar gasoline, windshield wipers and
other road car staples.

“It’s meant to simulate a commuter
car. We’re not doing anything to the
fuel,” said Gibson.

A group of 16 will be travelling to
Houston, but more than 60 engineering
students are part of the club.

“When youre at the competition, ev-
eryone does everything,” Gibson add-
ed.

Mest

=

wera
° SUPERMILEAsE TEAM

e

JEREMY MATTHEWS photo
The UBC Supermileage Team worked together to design the prototype car that will compete in the Shell Eco-marathon in Texas this month.

UBC race supermileage car

Engineering students to compete in fuel-efficiency car competition

Nancy Peng will be driving the car.
She says it isn’t as difficult to drive as it
may appear.

“It’s surprisingly similar to a regular
car,” she said.

Gibson said the hands-on experience
is great for engineering students and
has a positive effect on the future of the
participating students.

cy in their careers.”

by about fuel efficiency.

RYAN GIBSON

Engineering

“All 60 engineers [on the team] are student
going to be thinking about fuel efficien- 4 r4

Gibson said public demonstrations ;
of the car have helped to teach passers- It’s meant

However, members of the team to simulate
downplayed the car’s place in the fu- a commuter
ture of automotive design, stating that car

it is mainly useful as an educational
tool.

Smoked
salmon has
researchers
concerned

Traditional fish smoking
method carries more risk
of carcinogens, say two

food scientists from UBC

By EDRICK DUDANG

and cancer led two UBC profes-
sors to investigate a potential
health risk to First Nations communi-
ties and how they smoke salmon.
Many Aboriginal communities have
been smoking salmon for generations.
They would hang salmon above a smol-
dering fire and the fish fat would drip
down causing clouds of smoke. The
smoke then gives the dehydrated fish
an appetizing aroma.
However, since
the temperature of
the fire is not con-
trolled, unlike
modern smoke-
houses, more car-
cinogens can be
created, said David
Kitts, one of the in-

R= studies linking barbeque

vestigating UBC
food scientists rae. oud
Smoking prac- scientist

tices used by First

Nations communi-

ties have never been evaluated for safe-
ty,” said Kitts in a press release.
“There’s a potential that pollutants are
getting into the meats they eat.”

While there is little evidence to link
cancer to smoked fish, Kitts believes
that this concern should still be investi-
gated.

“We just want to do a screening,”
said Kitts. “If there are any higher-
than-acceptable [levels of carcinogens
in the fish], we look to reduce expo-
sure.”

Kitts said that many cultures have
been eating smoked salmon for genera-
tions and it is the oldest preservation
method for many communities.

Ken Wilson, a Musqueam band
member who cooks and smokes salm-
on for his community, said that he has
been eating smoked salmon for as long
as he can remember.

“All my life, my father’s life, my
grandfather did it,” said Wilson. “Ev-
erybody loves it.”

Even though there may be carcino-
gens in his smoked salmon, Wilson
said that he will stick to tradition.

Ding-dong} Is Stephen Colbert's show dead?

Comedian Colbert blamed for out-of-context tweet by
Comedy Central that led to #CancelColbert campaign

account set the Internet on fire last
Thursday after tweeting, “I am

Who would

have

thought a By LESLIE KAM

means of Ihe Colbert Report’s official Twitter

commu- I

nicaiton willing to show #Asian community I

limited to care by introducing the Ching-Chong
_ Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity

140 charac to Orientals or Whatever.”

ters would While Colbert was not responsible

for issuing the tweet, it was a direct

ever create quote from his March 26 show.

misunder- Colbert’s joke was a play on the irony

standings? of Washington Redskins owner Dan

STEPHEN COLBERT

Snyder’s creating a charity for Native
Americans under the NFL team’s
name, which some consider racist.

But the tweet, posted without con-

text, sent people up in arms and many
took to Twitter to vent their rage.

Twitter user Suey Park started a
#CancelColbert campaign which
trended within hours.

“It is pretty offensive. Even though
he tweeted this with the intent of point-
ing out or even making a joke of the
Redskins’ offensive team name, people
who aren’t aware of this, like myself,
can easily misinterpret this,” said Lan-
gara science student Ron Mapue.

Vancouver social media expert Matt
Astifan said people overreacted.

“T recently took a standup comedy
class [at Langara] and I found that a lot
of comedy is based on being offensive,”
he said.

Colbert addressed the issue on his
show Monday night.

“When I saw the tweet with no con-
text, I understood how people were of-
fended,” Colbert said. “Who would
have thought that a means of commu-
nication limited to 140 characters
would ever create misunderstand-
ings?”

At the end of the show, he welcomed
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, who

went on to shut down the show’s offi-
cial account in an attempt to end the-
controversy.

“I think he handled it well,” said The
Province’s digital news editor Erik
Rolfsen.

“We have seen simple miscommuni-
cations between people on Twitter and
in text messages, simply because they
are short and you don’t hear the emo-
tions behind someone’s voice.”

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The Colbert Report ©ColberiReport - ih
| arm willing to show #Asian Gormmunity | care by introducing the Ching-Chong

Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.

BOBORRO

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