Poetry pg. 3 Chomsky pg. 8
The
Confluence
Bottled Water, pg. 5
July 29th 2013
Royal Baby
Garett Svensen, Editor-in-Chief.
Garett Svensen, Editor-in-Chief.
July 29th 2013
Parking Problems
Parking downtown has become a contentious issue in recent days, as the City Council has become split over a proposed measure to reinstate paid parking downtown. The Downtown Business Improvement Agency is vigorously opposed to the measure, proposing instead a license plate recognition system to identify repeat violators of the current 2hr time limit on parking on downtown streets. The reinstatement of parking meters, plus staff, would cost the city $1.24 million. The license plate solution proposed by the DBIA should run approximately $50,000 plus additional enforcement bylaws for the towing of repeat offenders.
Want $20?
The Confluence is actively seeking submissions for biweekly The long-awaited royal baby has been born in London. In Prince George, publication. Submissions are Canada, the mayor and others celebrated ongoing, so if you have news, the birth of, and the sharing of a name opinion, short stories, poetry, with, the young Prince George Alexander comics, pictures or anything else you Louis of Cambridge. would like to see in the paper, send There will be a crib celebrating the them to us and we will pay you $20 birth of the Royal Baby in city hall and for a published submission. Mayor Green has extended an invitation to the Duke, Duchess and little Prince of Cambridge for the 2015 Prince George Centennial.
Contact us at: news@cncsu.ca
The Confluence - News
The DBIA circulated a petition recently that collected more than 2700 names against the reinstatement of paid parking. The Chamber of Commerce also reports that 65% of its members are not for the reinstatement of paid parking in downtown. At a recent City Council meeting it was decided that they would delay the decision for another two months. The Council will decide on the matter on September 23rd.
The Young Prince George Credit to an unknown Facebook user
Student Editors Wanted The Confluence is looking for editors to take on various facets of the student paper starting in September. Students with an interest in writing, journalism, desktop publishing, design or related fields are encouraged to send their resume to:
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communications@cncsu.ca
Garett Svensen, Editor-in-Chief
The student editor positions are casual, with a stipend predicated on the production of two issues of The Confluence per month. Duties include content creation, content recruitment, copy and substantive editing, photography and design.
Taren Johnson, Web Manager
July 29th 2013
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The Confluence is produced biweekly at the CNCSU office on CNC’s Prince George campus by Garett Svensen. Submissions, inqueries and requests can be made to news@cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU office room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC. V2N 1P8”
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Confluence Submission Date Teaching and Learning Conference
www.free-printable-calendar.net
Volunteers Wanted
The Confluence - News
SUNDAY
There are 5 volunteers wanted for the Teaching and Learning Conference on August 29th. The conference runs from 8am-5pm and volunteers receive a free lunch and t-shirt. Email info@cncsu.ca for more information or to sign up.
Weather Environment Canada 7-Day Weather Forecast: For Prince George, BC. 29 July - 4 August 2013
All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication. Advertisement rates are Monday, July 29: 23°C, Partial cloud, chance of rain. availiable upon request. Tuesday, July 30: 24°C, 8°C, Sun. Wednesday, July 31: 28°C, 10°C, Sun. Thursday, August 1: 28°C, 11°C, Sun. Saturday, August 3: 27°C, 11°C, Sun. Sunday, August 4: 27°C, 12°C, Sun.
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Friday, August 2: 28°C, 11°C, Sun.
July 29th 2013
Part One: The Plot
Kael Walske, Contributor.
if it wasn’t for my being and time, I’d be you extrapolated I yelled to the Tsar Shane he said: Nostrovia* I said: it was freedom of selective supplication.
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The Confluence - Arts
the beer was watered down, I (didn’t mind at first) was thinking of saying it was hot, ideologically on the pavement, constant dripping no one likes to package the pine tree “we only prefer spruce here” upon which being is it selected is it in the asking of in recognition of the thought [does it alone create truth?] the sun quenched that last drop from the air the sound of my sneakers grew the distance and I saw him take one last look at his watch
*To Good Health
We were never honest Journalists, Graphic designers, Photographers, Writers, Artists, Poets. Sure, We performed the tasks we were given, Received a fair compensation, But never let it define our being.
Missing car, no title Penniless, permitless and absent, We wander, Contemplating I. A kinetic void, Defined by dust and rain, Taking form from shadow and reflection: The pulsing electric blue of Satellite stations, Digital tubes, Jumbled pitchforks, Digital xpro, & Semi-genetic cultural units made from white Impact.
The Confluence - Arts
My name is not Brigade, Nor Durden, Not Anonymous, Or Legion, & Neither is ours.
We never golf, in the professional sense. Though tonight we drive, Into the dying moon, You and I, And I. Send our hard little acetate satellites, Our recycled sputniks To join the waning crescent: They fall, And they fall.
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Michael Brigade, Contributor.
July 29th 2013
Negative Space
July 29th 2013
State of the Bottle
Garett Svensen, Editor-in-Chief CNCSU in partnership with CNC, the CNC Faculty Association and CUPE, continues their campaign to create a bottled-water free campus. Beginning with a Memorandum of Understanding in April 23rd 2012, water bottle fill stations have been created around campus and reusable water bottles have been available free of charge from the CNCSU office.
The Confluence - CNCSU
The CFS, CFS members such as CNCSU, schools, municipalities and other public bodies are ending the sale of bottled water. Together, they reject the notion of forprofit commodification of water, the lack of bottled water regulation and the cost, environmental and fiscal, of producing bottled water. They also agree with the United Nations recognition of water as an essential human right. From backthetap.ca: “Fresh water is essential to life and a precious, shared resource that is becoming increasingly scarce around the globe. As the crisis deepens, the needs of people and the planet must take priority. Powerful transnational corporations motivated solely by profit must not make decisions about who gets water and at what price. The management of water should be left to democratic institutions whose only priority is to ensure access to water.” In the year since the Memorandum of Understanding was signed to make the campus bottled-water-free, bottle filling stations have been installed in the following locations: Technical Education Centre Cafeteria Gym Area Third Floor of the Main Campus Second Floor by the Library
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The stations provide cold, clean water for free in a convenient nook for filling common reusable containers. The campus is continuing its goal of offering free-to-the-user water at other campus buildings, such as the Brink building and the Nicholson Building, in its three tier strategy that will gradually include all of the CNC campuses across BC.
Reusable Bottles Available From the CNC Students’ Union office
Canadian Federation of Students-BC www.cfs.bc.ca
July 29th 2013
FACTSHEET
Trades Education in British Columbia Trades and apprenticeship programs in British Columbia train skilled workers in disciplines ranging from welding to hairdressing. They are a vital component to the broader postsecondary education system in BC. In the broader economy, comprehensive trades training contributes to labour mobility, higher wages for skilled workers, and a substantial return to employers who rely on skilled labour to grow their business.1
Trades Education Governance Trades training is overseen by the Industry Training Authority (ITA), a Crown agency with a board appointed by the BC Government and governed by the Industry Training Authority Act. The ITA reports to the BC Government under a Shared Letter of Expectation. The ITA board is responsible for strategic planning, training standards, and curriculum programming. Post-secondary institutions in BC that offer trades programs receive funding directly from the ITA each year. The ITA also oversees sector-specific Industry Training Organizations (ITOs). Sector ITOs (eg. Automotive Training Standards Organization) are employer-established bodies that have responsibility for program changes to the trades programs in their respective disciplines.
Trades Education in 2013 In BC, two kinds of credentials are awarded to students completing trades training: a Certificate of Apprenticeship and a Certificate of Qualification (aka “a ticket”). During apprenticeship, trades students must complete an established number of work-hours with employers under the supervision of a journeyperson. In 2009, BC granted 7,179 Certificates of Qualification.
Current Issues The current trades governance structure, the ITA, was established in 2004. As opposed to being totally controlled by
1. Downing the Tools: Threats to trades training in BC and recommendations for change. Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC
The unbalanced ITA structure put in place by the Gordon Campbell government has distorted policy decisions in ways that—while meeting the short-term priorities of some businesses—ultimately undermine the quality of training.
De-Skilling the Workforce One of the most radical changes to trades training in British Columbia is a process known as “modularization”. Under modularization, full-scope trades are broken down into an array of sub-trades for specific tasks (sometimes even companyspecific). For example, instead of offering a comprehensive trades course for carpentry, the ITA has created short-run courses for students to get a certificate in framing. Reducing the scope of a tradesperson’s skills both enables employers to pay lower wages and makes skilled workers less mobile and more sensitive to changes in the labour market. Workers eligible for training under Employment Insurance only qualify for the most basic training, so as entry level trades become less comprehensive, so does EI re-training.
The Confluence - CNCSU
The Role of the Skilled Trades
employer interests today, the previous incarnation of the ITA (known then as the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission) was considerably more balanced in it’s approach, and recognized trade unions and other stakeholders as equal partners at the highest levels.
Instead of a full complement of skills that leads to a career, job security or at least mobility, and a pension, modularization is more likely to generate qualifications for seasonal or part-time work, or perhaps endlessly returning to training programs to add more task-based skills. Over time, modularization will also erode the supply of qualified journeypersons to mentor the next generation’s apprentices.
The Role of Students, Public Institutions, and Workers As mentioned, the ITA board excludes tradespeople, instructors, and students. The shift towards a singular focus on the shortterm concerns of employers has turned public post-secondary institutions “from a position of stakeholder to one of service provider.” A governance structure that ignores the expertise of teachers has hurt students. Without input from institutions, the ITA and ITOs have made decisions unilaterally and left institutions to accommodate changes in program duration without any consideration of how to do the same training with less time and
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Background
July 29th 2013
4%
Proportion of respondents to the BC Apprenticeship Student Outcomes Survey that were women.
less funding. The ITA model introduced in 2004 is considerably more deregulated and decentralized than previous models. As a result, prospective students receive very little counseling (200 counselors, staff, and administration were laid off in 2002) and are left to navigate a complicated, piecemeal system themselves. Employer self-regulation means apprentices are left to negotiate with employers about support and fulfilling course requirements. The new course charted by the BC government has also increased the role of private training schools. Since 2005, the number of respondents to the BC Apprenticeship Student Outcomes Survey from private colleges has increased 250 percent.
The Confluence - CNCSU
In the 2006 provincial government introduced tax credit for employers who take on apprentices, ensuring that public funding would go to private institutions (or for-profit spin offs of some public colleges). “The Conference Board of Canada projects there will be a skilled labour shortage in British Columbia of approximately 160,000 positions in five years. An aging population, a rapidly growing knowledge economy, and increased global connections will place pressure on B.C.’s ability to get workers with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.” 2010 BC Apprenticeship Student Outcomes Survey
Despite cutbacks to public post-secondary institutions making it more difficult to offer world-class programs, a large share of the $90 million allocated to the tax credit would likely go to employers who would have taken on apprentices regardless of the new incentive. The tax credits and modularization of full-scope trades is also re-shaping public institutions. Northwest Community College, for example, has created small spin-off programs that are essentially publicly-funded training extensions of for-profit companies in the area. The curriculum is not approved by the NWCC Education Council, instructors are not members of the NWCC Faculty Association, students are not members of the students’ union, and tuition fees are cost-recovery (eg. pipeline construction: 15 days for $1,750).
Skills Shortage In the latest BC Apprenticeship Student Outcomes Survey, the ITA has tracked a surprising growth in unemployment among former apprentices, up 8 percent between 2008 and 2010.
modularization is creating a larger pool of underskilled workers who have little ability to utilize their skill set to seek employment, either in BC or elsewhere.
“Pink Trades”: Women in Skilled Trades Historically, the trades have not been a very welcoming place for women. While thousands of men were fighting in World War II, women demonstrated that they were more than capable at filling the role of tradesperson on the factory floor. Yet in 2011, only 4% of the Apprenticeship Student Outcome Survey respondents were women. In addition to a virtually all-male classroom/shop floor in most trades, those trades where women are better represented—the so-called “pink trades”—are often the first to be cut back when funding is short. The pink trades are also correlated with lower wages. Trade-by-trade data is not readily available for British Columbia, but in Saskatchewan, women account for 38% of Cook apprentices; 59% of Electronics Assemblers; 67% of Food and Beverage Person apprentices; 86% of Guest Services Representatives; and 97% of Hairstylists.
Conclusion & Recommendations Restructuring of the Industry Training Authority is needed to ensure continued uptake and value in trades and apprenticeship training in British Columbia. Also, worker and student representation will balance the decision-making and keep full scope trades education a priority. Moving the ITA back under the oversight of the Ministry of Advanced Education will also help make education a key priority for trades program development. Further, proper funding is needed to maintain and enhance the quality of trades programs. Without stable funding BC will face a serious shortage of workers with a comprehensive range of skills.
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The ITA is tasked with addressing a skills shortage yet unemployment is rising and
Trades Education in BC · Canadian Federation of Students-BC www.cfs.bc.ca
July 29th 2013
Hiking With Chomsky Kael Walske, Contributor.
The Confluence - Arts
It’s summer in Prince George, and it hasn’t rained that much! I would be apt to make a statement of this kind if I had not recently read something quite intriguing. T.S. Elliot, in the summer of 1921, had written a poem, suspiciously named “The Waste Land,” in a town called Margate in the UK, which incidentally enough, had only received 9.29 inches of rain fall that year. There was a particular line in this poem that struck me while I happened to be walking along a trail, here in Prince George, called the “Heritage Trail.” The line read “and the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief ” which is an accurate statement one could make while walking this “Heritage Trail.” There was a lot of refuse and the stream that ran beside the trail can only be described as toxic green which got me to thinking. What would Chomsky do? I feel this is where someone could interject with a political agenda or statement; however, it is much easier to point to the most recent document home owners have received in the mail showing the salaries for the municipal management in the city. The salaries for the management, MLAs, and councilors who worked for the city last year are… interesting to say the least. It baffles me as to why our hiking trails, especially ones named the “Heritage Trail,” are constantly enveloped in filth and garbage while the one hundred thousand dollars each person employed in a city management position makes each year is “put to good use.”
So, as I came to the end of Heritage Trail, with these thoughts bubbling up into my consciousness I could not help but feel despondent towards the world and towards the worldwide wage slavery I had not, in my youth, realized was there before. I quickly regained my composure as I stepped off of the Heritage trail and into the town of Prince George. I was then reminded of a quote by Dr. Noam Chomsky which says, “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” I am merely offering a starting point for discussion, and even though I may “despise” oligarchs, I welcome any discussion this brings. It seemed fitting given our current political atmosphere, and I felt lucky to at least have a couple inches of rain that day.
Noam Chompsky & Nature
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I personally would like to see the city to plan on hiring a few, even minimum wage at this point, workers to clean up our in-city trails, or create incentives for local businesses and corporations to partake in this kind of volunteerism. What I am trying to say is that if we are going to accept the false concept that less taxes for the rich corporations means more jobs for the poor then some programs should be put in place to actually involve corporations and local enterprises with the community (best case scenario the CEO pledges the volunteer work, HAH!).
July 29th 2013
Cowbo The Confluence - Arts
The Surprises Chris Trampowski, Contributor.
Billy the Kid was not angry. He was not even agitated and yet he took his firearm from the holster and started to play around with it, in one hand. That was not normative, more so, it was breaking the law. But he came from the times when breaking the law was actually the law itself. Besides, he was still a kid with the uncanny gift of travelling through time. It was Pat Gareth who unexpectedly paid him a rather sinister visit. He came to take Billy away, and not because he did not know how to play the piano, though Billy tried hard and took the pain-ridden lessons to learn how to. Learning the piano was a big deal then because it was contrary to the expectations of most citizens of the Wild West. And coincidently but expectantly in this case, Pat Gareth could relate to that because he did not know how to play this large and complicated instrument as well. One reason for this could be that in those days, the pianolas were very popular and not that many wanted to head about pianos, more so to learn it. The pianolas looked exactly like the pianos but instead of fingers’ requirement they also played by themselves when the coin was inserted in a special slot. The pianolas were used in similar fashion as the jukeboxes which are still used well today. Though similar in function, two of them have very different looks. Billy the kid and Pat Gareth travelled from times of pianolas to the times of jukeboxes. Without major machinery problems, Pas has been chasing Billy for some time already, enough to ‘mould’ a legend. So, they were on this ‘chasing roller coaster’ almost for ever and in this respect they felt more timeless than even the pianos.
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More by obligation and less by nature, they confronted each other again. But really, what they wanted was to find some agreement rather than chew again this already very well chewed by now bone of disagreement. They travelled through the two world wars, the cold one as well and they still did not know better. Nevertheless, they wanted to communicate instead of ‘dropping bombs’ on each other if they could.
At last, Billy the Kid opened his mouth and the tune came out unexpectedly: “Tu was a morir” Pat. As much as Pat was perplexed; Billy was too. It was the ‘old’ tune but Billy did not know it existed also in French. To both of them, this surprising rendering sounded quite dramatic and full of feelings. Pat Gareth did not know exactly his French too. But Billy’s communication gave Pat enough motivation that he was eventually able to connect Billy’s unusual tune with his hard piece of evidence, held in his right hand. And Pat, though reluctantly, got the message across. Billy stopped singing the tune. This tune was originally delivered in the fifties(?) by the sparrow of Paris and Zanzi-bar, Edit Piaffe. This was done even with more feelings and drama than came out from Billy’s mouth. To this day the original tune has its devout listeners and it is still possible to find it on CDs, as a vintage song. The fact happened already, Billy sang the tune, but the surprise did not want to wear out quickly and nothing could take it back, except that if Billy could travel back and not to the future but back to the back. But it was difficult. For this reason he would have to include in the time trave equation Edit Piaffe’s tune, sang by him, but at this instance, he did not
came out from Pat’s head as he was passing the door on his way out. But another assertion much more forceful and very deep had been hanging over them since suddenly and unexpectedly they were faced with the pink flag. This assertion was: “We need to talk to our wives.” Both of them were happily married for few years already and they knew that their wives sometimes see each other in private but to what degree these meetings are intimate, they did not know exactly though the answer had been forming in their minds for some time already, trying to move up to the level of their consciousness. They had to inquire tactfully about the surprises although they were already quite sure…
“Cowboy Up” Digital Image, Michael Brigade
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his gun but misguided it on purpose and pointed it above Billy’s head though Billy was sure he was the target. Pat pulled the trigger but instead of a bullet something else came out. That was the second and even bigger surprise than Billy’s French tune which both of them already faced that night. Instead of a bullet, a flag rapidly came out from the gun’s barrel and when it was completely cleared, stopped there When Billy was preoccupied with his and unfolded itself. It was entirely and problems, Pat took his time too and he uniformly pink! They could not believe repositioned his still hanging jaw to the what happened. It was too much for both expected ‘normal ‘ position. After this of them: one surprise after another, in was done, he took a sip of beer, hoping only minutes apart. The intensity was that it will clear his mind. Not a word very high. They were so lucky that the came from him yet, except some text-ing, heart attack did not strike them both. done under the table which both of them They looked at the pink flag then switched were sitting at. This texting, Pat directed looking at each other, then at the flag to Billy’s smart phone. The text looked again, and again at each other. Thy were like: “No way amigo” but not exactly. Pat’s speechless. Still being under heavy spell, hand was still trembling and typing this they made quickly to the door. Pat did not text was hard for him. Am I really his have a chance to offer Billy the delicious “amigo” or is this just another figure of cupcakes that he brought with him (just in speech? Billy wandered. What do I have case) as an alternative to more ‘indigestible to do to check this out and find out for ‘ and ‘hard’ arguments. This very nice sure which one is which? He pondered girl, leaving in Pat’s little basement made quickly and the solution came to him these delicious cupcakes. “I will have to rapidly, almost like a lightning. decrease her rent and even buy her some ingredients if she continues make those By this time Pat’s famous speed was at great things.” This momentarily assertion work as well and he presented Billy with know how to. This tough but theoretically possible problem required effort and time of practical application. So he decided that it is better just to kepp his cool after the tune was done and take the time to sort of let this fact ‘pass’ the minds of both of them by becoming more and more distant and hopefully disappearing somewhere. It did not work.
The Confluence - Arts
July 29th 2013
oy Up!
U-Pass FAQ
Lockers FAQ
The Universal Transit Pass gives you unlimited use of Prince George Transit as well as full use of both the Aquatic Center and Four Seasons pool in Prince George.
You may rent your locker at the Students’ Union office, Room 1-303, near the Gathering Place in the main building on the Prince George campus.
What is the U-pass?
What do I need to get a U-pass?
You need to bring your CNC Student Card which can be obtained from the Admissions office.
When can I get my U-pass?
You can get the U-pass up to two weeks prior to your program start date. For example, if your program starts on September 3, 2013, the soonest you can get your U-pass would be August 19, 2013.
Health & Dental FAQ Am I covered?
All full time students enrolled in the Fall semester taking three or more courses or enrolled in a vocational and trades programs that are 14 weeks or longer are automatically included in the plan.
If I already have coverage can I Opt-Out?
Yes, if you already have extended health and dental benefits you are able to be exempted from the plan. Just bring proof of existing coverage to the CNCSU Office room 1-303 before Friday September 27, 2013.
Where do I rent my locker?
When can I rent my locker?
Locker rentals begin two weeks before the start of your program; For example, if your first day of classes is September 3, 2013, you may rent your locker starting on August 19, 2013.
How long may I rent my locker?
Per program term to a maximum three terms (1 full year). You must be registered in a least one course in the term to be eligible to rent a locker.
What do I need to bring to rent a locker?
CNC Student Card or CNC registration statement and Photo ID.
What is the cost to rent a locker? - Half size lockers are $5 per term - Full size lockers are $10 per term - $5 lock deposit fee - Payment method: Cash Only
If I’m a part time student can I Opt-In?
Yes, if are enrolled in atleast one class at CNC Prince George or Quesnel campus you can Opt-In at the CNCSU Office room 1-303 before Friday September 27, 2013.
MEET THE 2013-14 CNCSU EXECUTIVE & STAFF
Roxanne Quock Chairperson
Joshuah Balsom PG Campus Representative
Arnold Yellowman Secretary
Patricia Obasi International Students’ Representative
Leila-Soila Abubakar Womens’ Representative
Mick Frazier Treasurer
Teleah Old (Staff) Services Coordinator
Robert Chavarie (Staff) Executive Director