2 THE DAILY VOICE, TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015 EDITOR NICH JOHANSEN Cws > A pieac? REMAIN SEATED-AT ALL TIMES! The wooden roller coaster at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver was built in 1958, yet still thrills guests today. PNE coaster aged but solid Fair spokesperson says 57-year-old wooden roller coaster still secure By TANYA COMMISSO ollowing Coney Island’s Cyclone rollercoaster stalling on Sunday, a spokesperson for The Pacific Na- tional Exhibition (PNE) has said the park’s similar, iconic wooden roller coaster is not a safety risk, despite it’s own experience with stalling in the past. Laura Ballance, spokesperson for the PNE, said their wooden roller coaster’s occasional stalling is an oper- ational feature. Unlike newer coasters, such as the park’s motor-operated Corkscrew, the wooden coaster relies wholly on gravity after its initial drop. “The ride does as it’s designed to do - if there isn’t enough weight on the ride for example, there may not be enough force for the ride to go around the track, which would cause it to stop,” she said. Ye Zhou, president of rollercoaster manufacturer Dynamic Structures Ltd., said every coaster must go through a “failure mode and effects analysis” before be- ing built. However, no coaster is a 100 per cent foolproof, as problems can be attributed to three components: opera- tion, design and manufacturing. With older coast- LAURA BALLANCE ers, such as the PNE 57-year-old PNE’s, spokesperson manufacturers may be hard to contact if something goes awry. “It happens very often that a roller- coaster has been operated for 20 years and by the time something happens, the manufacturer has already disap- peared,” Zhou said. Still, Ballance insisted that the park’s wooden coaster has a dedicated main- tenance and operations team that con- tinues to ensure the ride remains high- ly functional. “It is important to always be cogni- sant that your safety standards are very high, and the regulations in Cana- da are very comprehensive,” she said. Ballance said that although there have been a few rare instances during her time at the PNE that required rid- ers to walk down the track, riders don’t appear to be dissuaded by any poten- tial operational failure. “People love that ride. We ride over seven million people on [it] every year, and it’s definitely considered one of the best in the world.” PNE wooden coaster 1 First ride began in 1958 2 Maximum drop of 20m 3 Maximum speed of 76 km/h 4 90 seconds total ride time 5 865 m total length Source: Roller Coaster DataBase Male sex abuse an issue A B.C. organization is highlighting the seldom- mentioned subject in April By SARA RABEY non-profit society based in British [pesisnvi is observing April as ale Survivors of Sexual Abuse Awareness Month to help eliminate the stigma around men who are abused. Don Wright, founder of the BC Soci- ety for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, said he started the April awareness month approximately 15 years ago. “About 25 per cent of the male popu- lation have experienced some kind of sexual abuse,” Wright said. According to Wright, many people get an arousal response during a rape situation because of strictly biological factors. “If your body gets stimulated you’re going to respond whether you want to or not,” Wright said. He said that in male-to-male sexual assaults, homophobia in survivors keeps them from coming forward. “Men find that their sexual orienta- tion comes into question more than fe- males when they have been abused,” Wright said. “If a man is abused by a woman and he is put off by that experi- ence, [he] finds it distasteful or disgust- ing, he questions his sexuality in think- ing ‘what’s wrong with me, it’s a woman I’m supposed to like it.” Alana Samson, the executive direc- tor of the Men’s Trauma Centre in Vic- toria, said the month of awareness is very important. “Most children who are sexually abused are abused by men, and so with females that doesn’t bring up the issue of homophobia, but with men it really does. It’s a tremendously important is- sue for male survivors,” Samson said. Brennan White, a third term busi- ness student at Langara College, said he feels that having a month of aware- ness is important and would like to see more information brought forward about abuse towards males. “Being male you kind of hold your stuff in, you might have been taught to do that or your dad might have just did that,” White said. “So, maybe if people talk about it, and it’s out, then maybe other people will come forward and it might be easier for other males to talk about it.” People can show their support by wearing a turquoise ribbon for the month of April according to the BC So- ciety for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse website. Contentious liquor laws start April 1 While some are looking forward to new liquor laws, many question them By ETHAN REYES new law allowing some grocery Ae: to sell alcohol beginning pril 1 is being met with mixed responses from customers and inde- pendent liquor vendors. Provincial legislation aimed at re- newing B.C.’s liquor laws will lift the province’s rule requiring five km of separation between licensed retail stores (LRS), but will maintain a one kilometre separation rule. The provin- cial government will also allow a limit- ed number of grocery stores, chosen through a lottery system, to sell wine. Rakesh Handa, owner of Best Foods Grocery, said that being able to sell al- cohol inside of his store would be an incredible benefit to his business. While he doesn’t yet possess a license to sell alcohol, Handa would like one. “Lots of people ask for it,” he said. Handa said that if he were licensed to carry alcohol, the added revenue would allow him to expand his store. Libations Wine & Beer manager Ken Stockley is less excited about the new liquor law’s implementation. The 44 year-old described a general sentiment of animosity that private liquor stores feel towards the provincial govern- ment. “It feels like there’s a hidden agen- da,” said Stockley about the govern- ment’s actions. One example for Stock- ley’s distrust was how the province had promised to release their pricelists to the general public, but instead only re- leased them to the agents of respective liquor companies. Anyone who wanted to find those pricelists would have to contact an agent. While Laurie Cocke, a Vancouver resident, is supportive of his local gro- cery store carrying liquor, he is doubt- ful that the legislation will prove much use to him. “T understand there aren’t many places that would qualify,” said Cocke, who is aware of the legally required distance between vendors. Ma: 35 ae ETHAN REYES photo Bottles of wine line the racks at a BC Liquor store.