March 23, 2005 PxHOTO BY DANA SCHWEHR Thomas Knudsen and Jennifer Scammell work at a table sell- ing bunches of daffodils. Knudsen and Scammell hope to raise money for cancer research and the Canadian Cancer Society. When asked how the fundraiser was going, Knudsen, who organized the event replied, “it’s going fabulously.” Writing From Way Up North English Symposium to feature controversial local author Brian Fawcett Br KATHLEEN DE VERE News EDITOR UNBC’s English department is cel- ebrating literature from Prince George and beyond by organizing a sympo- sium on literature from Northern BC. The symposium, entitled The Writing Way Up North, will be hosted by outspoken Prince George writer Brian Fawcett, famous for his book Virtual Clearcut, and will feature panel discussions and presentations on northern literature. A born and raised Prince George author, Fawcett’s most famous book is Virtual Clearcut, a sad, often haunting narrative about the gradual decay of Prince. George’s life, industries, and environment. Often seen as vehement- ly anti-globalization, Virtual Clearcut brought Fawcett national awards and recognition. Fawcett writes mostly non-fiction, but is also know for his poetry, and is an established journalist as well. Dr. Robert Budde, an associate pro- fessor of English, and UNBC archivist Ramona Rose organized the Writing Way up North as a way to thank Fawcett for his recent donation of his personal records. to the UNBC archive. According to UNBC files, Fawcett has donated a significant portion of his personal records to the archives at UNBC, including textual, photo- graphic, electronic and audio record- ings dating from as early as 195]. Highlights of the archive include drafts of Fawcett’s early published works, his early notebooks and person- al journals, unpublished poetry, and extensive correspondence with other well-known Canadian writers over the course of Fawcett’s literary career. “We were in talks with [Fawcett] and we asked what we could do to make him happy and he said he’d love it if we did something to promote writ- ing in Prince George,” explained Budde. “The symposium is partly. inspired by him, and partly out of a desire. to honour writing from Northern BC.” “He’s always been’ an advocate for Prince George,” said Budde. “He talks about Prince George life and Prince George politics and culture, but he talks about both the good and the bad, so he’s, quite controversial that way. He’s always been an advocate for Prince George and the North, and he’s probably the most famous writer to come out of Prince George.” “He’s important because not many people know of him as being from Prince George in Prince George,” said Budde. “The rest of the country may know he’s from Prince George, but we don’t. We don’t celebrate our own very well. Part of this whole thing is to give us a sense of identity and a sense of establishment for the arts community in Prince George.” The symposium will feature a vari- ety of presentations from UNBC fac- ulty, local authors, and UNBC stu- dents on diverse topics, such as poetry, authors, and the creative community in Prince George. Brian Fawcett will be giving public talks on Tuesday, March 29 at 8pm in Agora room 7-150. Fawcett’s talk, entitled The Northern BC Rules, will be a tongue-in-cheek look at what the cultural and political climate in Prince George taught Fawcett about writing and life. The symposium will be held on . Wednesday, March 30, from 9am to 3pm. The symposium is free, and all interested students are encouraged to attend. Hallway sounds and images recorded, played back in an underpass, gathered without student permission By Emity Extas THE CARILLON (UNIVERSITY OF REGINA) REGINA (CUP) — Unknowingly, students at the University of Regina have been participating in an experi- mental art installation over the past few weeks. Kim Morgan, the artist-in-resi- dence for the faculty of fine arts, along with TR Labs and New Media Studio Labs, created the project, which brings together art, science and technology. Set up throughout the hallways of the New Residence, the installation has raised questions of privacy at the university. “No one asked me permission. Right now, it is listening to me, and I never gave permission to be recorded. I am definitely offended.” -Fules Ellis “T wanted to bring up issues about privacy and surveillance in this piece,” said Morgan. “I was hoping people would discuss it, because we have so much technology around us it is ubiquitous in that sense. We have to look at what defines privacy and what does that mean in a public space these. days, with cell phones and monitors, with technology everywhere.” The installation consists of two main mediums. The first is the use of mobile agents and technology from TR Labs, and the second, everyone who passes through the hall. Throughout the hallways, there are four microphones, two in the north tower and two in the south tower. The microphones, dangling from the ceil- ing, record audio from the hallways, which is played back through speakers located in the underpass that links the towers. In addition to this, there are two cameras posted at the entrances of the each tower. Each collects an image from the upper hallway and ‘projects it into the underpass located metres away. “This is a fun piece,” Morgan said. “T haven’t hidden anything, but it does bring up the issue of how much of this goes on outside, where we don’t éven know it exists.” Morgan’s controversial project is. receiving varied reaction. Most stu- dents know little about the project. “I don’t really understand what is going on, J just hear these random noises,” said Leslie Pope, a resident of the New Residence. There has been little publicity, other than a small poster giving the name of. the project and those involved. Morgan said: “I am interested in coughs, sneezes, sounds of foot steps. [Once the experiment is over] we’re going to have. a big erasing party. I have no interest in keeping this infor- mation. [We'll] get rid of it.” The university’s website said other- wise, stating, “the sounds are not recorded.” Regardless, the assurance does not appear to appease most resi- dents. “If it is being deleted. then it shouldn’t be up there in the first place. Ask permission first. It is an invasion privacy legislation,” of privacy,” said resident Jules Ellis. “No one asked me permission. Right now, it is listening to me, and I never gave permission to be recorded. J am definitely offended.” “Privacy doesn’t exist anymore,” said administration student Heana Perez Mozo. “What right do they have to record our conversations?” Morgan said: “It can annoy people, but it doesn’t infringe on public priva- cy per se. It is a public space and there are already cameras in place there that are being monitored 24 hours, as I think people know. I went though. the ethics board so that’s check, and I went through legal advisors, so there are no legal issues.” ; Professor Bill Boriner, a specialist in the field of privacy legislation, coun- ters the artist. Since the only signs posted, which, according to commu- nity advisors in the New Residence, appeared a few days after the installa- tion opened, contain no information pertaining to recording or taping of an individual, privacy becomes an issue. : “There are a handful of principles that guide both provincial and federal said Bonner. “Notice, consent, advice as to what is going to be doné with [the data] should all be visible. You have to let people know why you are collecting the data and the purposes for why it is being collected and none of that seems to be visible. “The public space argument does not work for me,” added Bonner, upon inspecting the project. “If cam- eras such as these were hung in the trees at Regina Beach, they would dis- appear very quickly. People would not think twice about their right to yank the plugs.” The artist did get her wish, howev- er. Regardless of how it started, Morgan has inspired heated conver- sations about privacy in public ASHLEY MARTIN THE CARILLON/CUP Student Jules Ellis shows the camera how he feels about having himself recorded without consent. domain. If there is anything to learn, ‘it is, according to Bonner, “at the end of the day, the only person who can protect your privacy is you.”