February 2016 Issue

Confluence The

YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER

FEBRUARY 2016

FINDING COLLECTIVISM

04

CHINESE NEW YEAR

08

HARD WORK

18

WOMENS’ MEMORIAL MARCH

22

Harman Dandiwal Production Editor, The Confluence Communications Officer, CNCSU

Are you the next

02 THECONFLUENCE

Editor-in-Chief, The Confluence?

Submissions, inquiries and requests can be made to news@cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC V2N1P8.

All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication.

Advertisement rates are available upon request.

Mackenzie, BC Spring Expo May 6 & 7 Smithers, BC Minerals North May 18-20 Mackenzie, BC Mackenzie 50th bday May 19 - 22

To learn more about the Career Fair dates, contact Ken Solonas: kensolonas@hotmail.com

03 THECONFLUENCE

FINDING COLLECTIVISM BETWEEN A SHOVEL AND MUD

04 THECONFLUENCE

by : SHAYLEIGH REA

The first time I truly let the importance of collectivism into my heart was when I travelled to Ecuador in the summer of 2014. During this time collectivist values proliferated within me in, what I consider, the most pure and wholesome way possible: volunteering. Volunteering is something I had done prior, but never to really serve others.

I volunteered because I had to for school, or because it looked good on a resume, but never because I actually wanted to make a difference in another human’s life. That sounds awful and selfish, but that’s the reality that I think many of us live out. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad or intentional, it is more or less a microcosm of our individualist society. Anyways, I began my trip thinking I would explore a South American country and shovel some dirt along the way. Somehow, I managed to finish my trip feeling both the most fulfilled I have ever felt in my life, and motivated to work in service of others.

My trip consisted of lots of fun activities wherein I explored the Amazon Rainforest and the geography and culture that surrounded it. I travelled to Ecuador with eighteen people, most of whom were teenagers (aged thirteen to eighteen) from a variety of settings around North America.

We visited the Equator, selfied with cute jungle frogs, got blessed by a shaman, made chocolate from the bean, and everything in between. Our days were broken down into two parts: one part of the day we would go on guided adventures in the rainforest; the second part of the day we would do the manual labour required to build a communal kitchen for the small village neighbouring our accommodation.

Prior to my trip I had done only a sampling of manual labour. I had painted my room a few times, and planted some trees in my backyard, but I definitely didn’t have experience slinging mud in 98 percent humidity.

When we first arrived, we toured the village (Mondaña) we would be working in to see our worksite. The bulk of our time was to be spent digging out the side of a hill for a communal kitchen. Our entire group looked at the hill we would be digging out; collectively, we agreed it was an easy task and we would be done in a matter of days. We ended up spending close to two weeks chipping away at the hill. Our entire group was shoveling, plus Mondaña supplied us with a few community members, these people, we were told, were

am a product of the society I was raised in) so it was to my surprise that I was easily assimilated into collectivist culture. The true test of my newly found collectivist nature really came to light when I came back to Canada. I experienced crazy reverse culture shock. It was difficult and offputting to me that now I had returned to a society which values “looking out for number one” most and accepts this idea almost ubicuidisly. Despite having settled back into my Western lifestyle, I anticipate the day that I will return to South America to re-assimilate myself into a truly collectivist culture.

05 THECONFLUENCE

called “Mingas”.a few locals; hard work definitely wasn’t in short supply. The humidity made books I had brought soggy.

The concept of Minga encompasses the idea of “collaborative work in which friends and neighbors volunteer their time, effort, and sometimes funds to achieve a shared goal for the betterment of the community (for example, building a home, harvesting food or repairing roads)” (Star-Leonard). “Minga” is just one word, among many, present in Ecuadorian culture that reflects their country’s collectivist values.

Working alongside the Mingas, we managed to finish digging out the hill and pour the cement foundation for the communal kitchen.

In general, South American culture presents an air of community. From what I saw in Ecuador this is especially true. During my trip I became innately akin to being a part of a community. Whether it was exploring the jungle in a group, cleaning dishes from a meal with fellow participants, or making a “Minga line” to carry heavy stones up a hill for our project, everything I did in Ecuador encompassed community living: collectivist living. I’ve always been a person of an independent and individualist nature (perhaps a I

FROM ME

06 THECONFLUENCE

TO WE

by : AMY HOGAN

I came across a documentary a year ago called “Earthlings”. Now, there are many documentaries out there about vegetarianism, cruelty against animals and the economic and environmental impact of agriculture. None of them are quite like this one. From undercover footage of cows being slaughtered in a giant rotating tumbler that slits their throats, to a slow close-up of a fox that has just been skinned alive for its fur, Earthlings was a big turning point in how I viewed the world.

Five or so years ago, I briefly entertained a vegetarian lifestyle. It lasted about a year.

However, a hotdog that appeared in my dreams, which I would crave after waking, was eventually my undoing. It wasn’t that I all of a sudden thought eating meat was okay. It was more that I didn’t feel as strongly about the subject of consuming animals as I do now. I was younger and I didn’t cook for myself. At that time the cons of being a vegetarian outweighed the pros.

Two years ago, I was living in Vancouver attending school for Holistic Bodywork and Massage and I stepped back into a lifestyle without animal byproducts. This time it wasn’t just vegetarianism, but raw veganism. My feelings about animal welfare were much stronger at that point. Not only that, but due to the nature of the work I was doing with people in pain on a constant basis, I started having a hard time separating myself from those around me. What I mean by that is many times I would catch myself feeling intense sadness or pain, only to realize that I was taking on much of it from the people I was interacting with. It was something that I really struggled with. I often tried to find ways of decreasing the amount of suffering in my own life and the lives of those around me as a result of this. Once again though, it didn’t quite seem like

07 THECONFLUENCE

the time for me to confidently pursue veganism. It is important to note though, that by this point in my life I had started to become much more aware of the impact of mass agriculture, both economically and environmentally.

“Earthlings” was the push into my current reality. As humans, we live in a world with so much fear, suffering and violence. But why are those emotions only cared about in our species? Why is one human killing another human, instilling fear and causing suffering in the process, considered any different from doing the same to a creature who shares this planet with us?

How could I be affected by other people’s pain and suffering, then contribute to the feelings of fear and hurt emanated into the world by animals before they die? Not only that, but subsequently consume them as a part of my daily life? Especially when I could live a healthy life, a healthier life in fact, without any contribution to this problem.

The way I live in the aftermath of, what I can only describe as a shift in consciousness, is constantly filled with new realizations about how disconnected much of our Western culture has become from the world we live in. I walk into a grocery store and see the rotisserie chickens turning slowly in their little glass ovens and imagine what panic would ensue if there were human carcasses being displayed the same way. Now I know that some may argue that it’s not quite the same thing. Isn’t it though? We wouldn’t do that to our families, our children, our friends. So why is it okay to do it to other creatures that inhabit the same earth as we do? The more I thought about this, the sillier living any other way seemed. To me, the world is no longer “them and us”; two separate inhabitants of an unconnected planet with no consequential effect on one another. On this earth its them AND us: two halves of a living whole.

08 THECONFLUENCE

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2016

09 THECONFLUENCE

Photos taken by: Huandong Zhu (Michael)

10 THECONFLUENCE

11 THECONFLUENCE

12 THECONFLUENCE

13 THECONFLUENCE

14 THECONFLUENCE

15 THECONFLUENCE

THE DARKNESS

16 THECONFLUENCE

by : JORDI HAMILTON

The darkness sets into the world Born From a simple word or phrase Taking form, And brooding though the light Of every day It walks the city blocks Passes all the bright smiles, Cringing It sees the lovers kiss It growls

17 THECONFLUENCE

It walks along the sidewalk And when it tries to shine It remembers And it shrivels Ever darker

18 THECONFLUENCE

The whole week busy on work; Morning shifts, sleep gives a jerk; Then a deep thought sticks in the mind; Man don’t believe in thoughts and be blind; If you want money; you need to work hard honey; Wanna be on top, Won’t work out with a hope, you need wings, not feathers tied with strings and those wings won’t come with a jerk; the only thing you need is hard work

HARD WORK! by : Harpreet Geh lo

19 THECONFLUENCE

n

WINTER

HOLIDAYS 20 THECONFLUENCE

by : Valeriy Voronin

8:00 P.M. On this quiet evening, Voronin’s family was chaotically running around the apartment packing some stuff prior to departure. It was the 23rd of December, and they were ready to leave Russia and celebrate the New Year somewhere in Canada, in Vancouver to be precise. There were only three of them there: Ludmila, Yury and Tamara (while Vlad and Valeriy were in Vancouver already). Ludmila, the mother, was preparing some food, such as sandwiches and pies with meat inside, for the trip by putting them in colorful zip-lock bags. Yury, the father, was choosing the seats for the upcoming flight which he apparently almost forgot to do. Tamara, their daughter, was chilling on a sofa and checking the latest Facebook news as if there would be no WiFi in Canada. Tamara also knew that she didn’t have to do anything with packing, because her mum would do that for her.

In an hour, everything was set and ready to go. They decided to leave the house at 7 A.M. tomorrow morning, which means they had to wake up an hour in advance. The family went to bed at 10 p.m. in order to feel fresh in the morning.

6:59 A.M. Surprisingly, only Tamara was waiting at the front door, because usually the whole family waits for her to get ready.

7:07 A.M. and 45 seconds They are finally on their way to airport.

7:50 A.M. The flight got cancelled due to “adverse weather conditions. What the hell are those?

The plane from Helsinki, Finland, refused to land and after circling around the airport for 30 minutes decided to fly back. Even though the planes from other places landed fine, the pilot of Finnair decided that it was dangerous to land. The plane couldn’t land probably because of the smoke in the cockpit or because the pilot forgot his glasses back in Finland.

The crowd in front of the registration desk was indignant. Nobody expected such a thing. For Voronin’s family, it meant that they would miss every single connecting flight which was terrible. Then, Yury got his shit together, left the luggage with Ludmila and Tamara, and, with words “I got this,” went to the registration desk of another company called Aeroflot. He asked if there were any tickets available for the new flight to London from where they were supposed to take a direct flight to Vancouver. The lady at the desk said that there were no seats available when she last checked, but she said that she would check again.

This lady was amazed that there were exactly 3 seats left, but they were near the washroom. Yury happily gave her his passport to get registered. When she got his passport, she looked shocked, but didn’t say a thing. Then, she asked for Tamara’s and Ludmila’s passports. When she opened Tamara’s passport her eyes seemed to jump out.

Finally, she said: “In my whole life working in this industry, I have never seen something like that before.”

Then she explained: “Yuri’s birthday date is the same as mine, and Tamara’s birthday date is the same as my daughter’s.”

Yury responded: “Cool.”

7:55 A.M. of the same day.

Voronin’s family was already in Vancouver felling that nothing that happened to them in Russian even took place.

21 THECONFLUENCE

6:45 A.M. Ludmila hollers: “Yury, wake up! You forgot to set the alarm clock; it’s already 6:45!”

“God dammit!” – Yury responded as he literally jumped from their bed into the shower.

Tamara was already on her iPhone checking Facebook even before Ludmila came to wake her up.

Everyone was panicking to some degree, but on the bright side they had 15 minutes get ready. Screw breakfast! Screw morning coffee! Screw dry plants! Oh, wait!

Ludmila actually took time to water them!

22 THECONFLUENCE

WOMENS’ MEMORIAL MARCH

23 THECONFLUENCE

24 THECONFLUENCE

25 THECONFLUENCE

26 THECONFLUENCE

27 THECONFLUENCE