The confluence issue 42

POSTNORTH

GIRLS

The

Official CNCSU Publication

Confluence

MARCH 17, 2014

CNC FILM FESTIVAL

HOLI ADD COLOURS TO YOUR LIFE

14 ST. PATRICK’S DAY

March 15

Firstly I would like to thank Robert and Garett for giving me this opportunity and it’s my pleasure to introduce myself.

A national day of action where bottled water awareness is examined and scrutinized all over Canada and Canadian campuses, including the College of New Caledonia.

Why is bottled water so bad?

There are numerous factors in the claims against the use of bottled water. For one, the extraction of the water and the creation of the bottles are a devastating hit towards the environment. Toxins and chemicals enter water sources

Harman Dandiwal Production Editor

My name is Harman Dandiwal and I am the new Production Editor for The Confluence magazine. This is my second publication here at CNC and I am hoping to carry on the legacy with my teammate Ryan that Garett and Andy started years ago.

I am an International Student here and fairly new to Canadian culture and snow! My experiences so far have been amazing; luckily I encountered some of the nicest people in the city.

I am currently in my first semester of Business Management and Marketing Diploma at CNC. I finished the Bachelor of Dental Surgery last summer. I believe there are still plenty of things to learn in life in order to broaden my thought process. Business always fascinated me and I am glad I took this program; it would definitely be worth it in the long run.

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I’ve been working in the publishing industry along with other things for quite some time which turned out to be one of my favourite hobbies. The Confluence has indeed given me a great medium to showcase my work and creativity.

I am always looking forward to learning new things and to fix my shortcomings. If you have any suggestion or there’s something that you think would improve my work, you are more than welcome to discuss it over a cup of coffee.

Don’t forget, you can always submit an article for publication in The Confluence. Feel free to visit the CNCSU office to learn more about it. Check out the back cover of this issue for quick info.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone at CNC for all the little things that make my day.

EVENTS AT A GLANCE

Bottle Water Free Day

and land bases, and excessive amounts of fossil fuels are necessary for bottle creation and bottle shipping.

Why purchase and drink from a tap? Prince George water quality isn’t always perfect, but it’s not bad or unhealthy by any respect. If you want to learn more about the bottle water initiative or want to sign the petition, visit www. bottledwaterfreeday.ca/ and take a stand against the greed and environmental disaster.

Squash The Squeeze Campaign Launch

CNCSU Elections Day 1

CNCSU Elections Day 2

Vote Count Farmers’ Market

EDCO

By-Election for International Students’ Representative

Gathering Place

The Confluence is produced biweekly at the CNCSU office on CNC’s Prince George campus by Ryan White and Harman Dandiwal.

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.

Ryan Urban White

Harman Dandiwal

Editor-in-Chief, The Confluence

Production Editor, The Confluence

3rd Annual SKI TRIP

St. Patrick’s Day Party

March 19

We have experienced what may be a first at the College of New Caledonia. I am of course referring to the results of the International Students’ Representative position which resulted in a two-way tie between candidates Muhammad Rujman Hussain and Aditi Kaushik.

The International Students’ Representative position cannot remain vacant. Again, it is up to the students to decide who should fill the position on March 19th. Partake in a round 2 event that is rare for democracy and remember this day as a humble reminder that one vote can make all the difference regardless of the positions being campaigned for.

Int’l Women’s Day Breakfast

NWCC By-Election for International World Water Day Panel Rep.

Bowling In Quesnel 7-9PM

Gathering Place

HCAP Bake Sale

Gathering Place

World Water Day

March 27 Post North: Girls

Come on down to the Twisted Cork for the main-event put on

by College of New Caledonia English Instructor, Graham Pearce. The night features an all-female poetry reading with a mix of new and experienced poets so it is sure to be a great time had by all as. Join in with the rowdiness of the crowd

and have your understandings of gender dynamics turned on its head and kicked out into the street. Did I forget to mention that you can purchase beer, wine, and spirits at this particular venue? Nothing quite makes a poetry reading like a snifter of brandy and a mug filled with Canterbury.

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Solid Production

Article by : Kenechukwu Obi International Student Leader

ON CNC 2014 BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION

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T

he month of February came and passed with the celebration of the annual Black History Month at the College of New Caledonia with significant contributions from the Prince George Africa Heritage Society 17th. George Kaweesi, a CNC instructor and Black History Month organizer, explains that “Black History Month celebrates the diverse roots of the nation and country we call Canada. These events remind everyone that our community is made up of those from near and far and they share a common goal of trying to make it better.”

For this year’s event, the likes of Kenechukwu Obi and Bah Ibrahim A., International Student Leaders, joined the organizing committee with

the aim of contributing their perspectives and assisting in making the events more appealing to the students. Other members of the organizing committee were Leanne Yearley, Jacob Madjitey, Cliff Raphael, Lori-Ann Ryser, Inban Reddy, Jim Windsor, Francis Garwe, George Kaweesi, and others.

The events were as follows: February 1: First Annual Black History soccer match between CNC and UNBC at the UNBC Indoor Sport Centre. The match was reminiscent of a clash between two titans; at the end, team UNBC won by a score of 3 to 1. After the match, George Kaweesi congratulated both teams for participating and presented to them silver and gold trophies.

The second event on the first of February was the Kickoff Dance Party at the CNC Trades Building. It lasted from 9pm until 1am. DJ Kaykay Obi thrilled the audience with variety of songs from all over the world. The dance was fun and there were free drinks and munchies for everyone.

February 8: Night of Song at First Baptist Church. The event was fantastic and there were many performances. The Master of Ceremony was Cliff Raphael. Exit Glow opened the night with their thrilling performance. Afterwards, Dr. Moh thrilled the audience with his piano skills. The next performance was by Cliff and Jacob, who entertained the audience with their guitar, drumming, and trumpeting skills. The Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG) Choir was next to perform; their performance was followed by the final act of the night, The Transfiguration Good News Band, who electrified the audience with their awesome show.

February 15: Family Day at CNC. The Black History Family Day at CNC was very exciting for kids and parents who attended the program.

There were many fun activities such as face painting, drumming lessons, storytelling, dancing lessons, games and more.

February 18: Caribbean Cooking Demonstration at First Baptist Church.

February 22: Main Event at the CNC Cafeteria MC’d by Rujman Mohammed. The evening started with a dinner, while DJ Kaykay Obi entertained the audience with Caribbean Steeldrum and South African Root Music tunes.

The dinner was followed by a tribute to Nelson

Mandela, where the mayor of Prince George and other dignitaries gave speeches. Inban Reddy acted out a script of Mandela’s lifetime, and there were additional Mandela speeches by Bah Ibrahim, George Kaweesi, Jacob Madjitey, Cliff Raphael, and Kenechukwu Obi. Afterwards, the soccer players were presented with Certificates of Participation. Also, Bah Ibrahim A. and Kenechukwu Obi were presented with Certificates of Recognition for their outstanding contribution to the success of the 2014 CNC Black History Month. The event ended with a dance as DJ Kaykay Obi kept the audience dancing just as he usually does.

February 25: South African Cooking Demonstration at First Baptist Church.

February 28: Cultural Show at the CNC Gathering Place which was MC’d by Rujman Mohammed and deejayed by Kaykay Obi. This event saw cross-cultural performances by various Aboriginal groups, Cliff and Jacob, and Shambira. The performances were followed

by a game of Musical Chairs by participants among the spectators. The winner and first runner up each got a $50 and $25 gift card respectively. Of course, there was food and good music for every spectator.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who participated in and attended the Black History Month events. As an International Student Leader and a member of the Black History Month organizing committee, I learnt a lot during this year’s Black History Month. I have never had so much fun deejaying and watching people dance to my music. I would also like to thank Jasdeep Singh Lal, our photo guy, for the awesome photos. Thanks to the International Student Office for sponsoring 15 tickets to the Main Event, and thanks to Sabrenna MacElheron for this opportunity to coordinate the college events.

I look forward to next year’s Black History Month; it’ll definitely come with the better packages. Hurrah!

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Photos by : Bah Ibrahim A. International Student Leader

Alberta’s Destination University. Make it yours.

Make

YOUR MOVE Your next move will set your career in motion College transfer student Courtney Lockhart always knew she wanted to pursue a career in politics. What she didn’t know was that a degree from the University of Lethbridge would take her from Lethbridge all the way to Capitol Hill.

Courtney secured a co-op position at Global Centurion in Washington, D.C., an organization focused on the abolition of modern slavery. Not only did Courtney see former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton give a speech at the Department of State, but her work allowed her to see the impact of human rights advocacy first-hand.

Recognized on the national stage as one of Canada’s top-three undergraduate institutions (2014 Maclean’s University Rankings) and one of Canada’s top-three undergraduate research universities (RE$EARCH Infosource, 2013), uLethbridge provides students opportunities to take

Campuses in Lethbridge | Calgary | Edmonton

their education outside the classroom – something that Courtney says gave her insight into future jobs.

while gaining practical experience that will give you the skills and experience to shape your career.

The uLethbridge Faculty of Arts and Science offers more than 30 transfer and post-diploma programs for you to choose from. After completing your diploma, earn a degree in as little as two years.

Apply by June 1 to be eligible for a free semester of tuition.*

Our co-operative education and internship opportunities let you explore your interests

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14-02-26 4:44 PM

XX

by : Graham Pearce CNC English Instructor

STARVED Paulina Nielson

POSTNORTH

GIRLSxx P

THURSDAY MARCH 27 2014

7PM THE TWISTED CORK

PAULINA NIELSON MARIAH SNIH MEGAN WALL KYLA GARCIA CJAY THUN

ARIANWEN GOROWNY-ROBERTS JOELLE GAGNE SABRINA MANDZIUK MERCEDES MINCK NIKKI MOORHEAD ALEXA DOUGHERTY JENNY SIMPSON SARAH DAVEY JOCELYN COUPLAND

FREE & ALL ARE WELCOME

O S T N O R T H GIRLS is a bell to ring in the spring, a love letter from POSTNORTH to the women writers of the north.

I organized POSTNORTH GIRLS because there’s a lot of girl power in my classes.

Last week, Jocelyn Coupland read from her Starpunch & Cryo stories (soon to be a graphic novel) which features Starpunch, a recent graduate from superhero school and Cryo, the villain Starpunch has claimed as her nemesis.

The writing, no, the reading was underlined with the electric bass line of superhero chutzpa: “Raising her hands in the air like she’s given up on everything, Catseye sighs loudly. “In our business, hesitation can mean death.

Just because he’s never killed anyone before doesn’t mean he couldn’t accidentally shoot you point blank and freeze your chest. Aw woops! Now you’re frozen in the heart!

No act of true love can thaw frozen arteries, Starpunch.”

The next night, Mercedes Minck read from her story about a fictional version of the Future Shop staff room.

She read with her shoes on the desk – Jeff Spicoli shoes.

Sometime in the next 24 hours, I received a Facebook message from Paulina Neilson, an English major, saying that she is nearly finished the poems for The Swallowed Breath, her third chapbook this year (and the foundation for a manuscript to a first book, I think). Consider this poem “Starved by Paulina Nielson”.

Uh huh. After hearing and reading Jocelyn, Mercedes, and Paulina’s work as well as the work of so many talented writers in my classes, it was natural to turn the shivers I felt into a reading list that is, of course, not comprehensive, yet still awesome. So, POSTNORTH GIRLS says “Boo!” Here’s to girl power and the next wave of poets, thinkers, and writers.

Starved by Your tongue fits The crook of my arm, my salt skin your watered face I see wine in your eyes Go long, in your stupid running shoes cross my legs back

over I crave your body moving under thin sheets a cellophane dream and tangerine lipstick makes impressions on a cement heart I’m walking my fingers up your spine Unfinished basements Exposed pipes And bare bone framework There’s more than one way To skin a man

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GIRLS

Democracy Happened:

It Was Beautiful

This year’s electoral race for the various CNCSU Executive Council positions available was full of surprises. Each candidate was featured in the February edition of The Confluence and all provided headshots despite the general consensus that everybody hates having their photo taken. Each candidate also provided biographies and each biography underwent gratuitous changes in form by me, the editing monster. Despite the changes, every candidate shone brightly and was an excellent

example of what a great student union executive member should be.

First and foremost, each candidate should feel proud for their courage to run in an election. Running to represent a large portion of the student body is terrifying, but necessary, and every single candidate did great. The extensive amount of hard-work willingly provided and expressed by each candidate was only rivaled by their on-thefly genius in regards to how they campaigned

I cannot stress enough how extremely close this campaign race was in terms of the friendly competition and voting between the candidates. Believe it or not, democracy can be exciting.

Don’t believe me? One only has to examine the results of the International Students’ Representative position to know democracy is fast-paced and that one vote matters. If you do not believe that one vote matters, you are full of “it” and should feel terrible about making such a claim.

The CNC Electoral Committee will be hosting a by-election for the International Students’ Representative position on March 19th in the Gathering Place outside of the CNCSU Offices. It is at this location that you, the students, will have a chance to elect either Muhammad Rujman Hussain or Aditi Kaushik for the International Students’ Representative position that is currently being contested.

Every vote matters.

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RYAN WHITE Editor-in-chief

FESTIVAL OF COLORS

HOLI

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by : Jaspreet Singh

‘Holi’ comes from the word ‘hola’ which means sacrifice. And the festival is a reminder that we must live our lives in a spirit of service and sacrifice.

Holi symbolises victory of our higher aspirations over our lower, base desires. It is the burning of our petty, material desires at the altar of our goal of self-development. It stands for the victory of good over evil, a theme that runs through every Indian festival. For it is impossible that those who live their

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STUDENT VIEWPOINTS:

lives by truth will ever be overcome by the corrupt.

People from across India celebrated the festival of colours, Holi, with gulal (coloured powder) and pichkaaris (water guns) on Monday (17 March).

On the occasion of Holi, people greeted each other with sweets, especially the traditional gujiya, in North India.

Apart from sweets, revellers also consume tradition thandai, which is also called as bhang.

Thandai is a popular drink made during Holi with buds and leaves of the cannabis plant.

Holi - the festival of colors - is undoubtedly the most fun-filled and boisterous of Hindu festival.

It’s an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun and play, music and dance, and, of course, lots of bright colors! Dry Holi colors known as ‘Gulal’ and wet colors or ‘Rang’ were originally prepared naturally from the flowers and other products that had dyeing properties. However with time, in the quest of more long-lasting and strong colors, chemically enhanced and artificial colors have come in vogue. The harmful effects of these chemicals on our body and eyes have forced us to do a turn-about to the natural colors.

These natural holi colors are perfectly safe and do not cause any harm to skin or to the face. Also there is no trouble if these colors go into the eye and are also easy to take off after playing a good spirited Holi festival.

Holi is one of the major festivals of India and is celebrated in most of the states of India. However, each region has its own local variations of Holi.

by : Ryan White Editor-in-Chief

Let’s face it, March 17th is coming fast and the large majority of us are going to be spending this green-themed holiday shit-faced in some pub or basement party around Prince George. We all enjoy green beer and portraying a stereotypical depiction of the Irish. To be fair, they’re pretty good sports about their cultural appropriation.

However, the traditional Saint Patrick’s Day was not unlike the celebrations of today.

The story of Saint Patrick begins with rather unfortunate beginnings. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was kidnapped from the British Isles by Irish raider where he was taken as a slave for the purposes of labor in the emerald isles. While in slavery, Patrick claimed to experience the words of god. He then managed to mysteriously escape captivity and board a ship back to Britain.

It was not until years later when Patrick returned to Christianize Ireland that his legend would thrive. For example, Patrick has been accredited in legend and folklore to be the man responsible for banishing all snakes from Ireland when they attacked him following a 40-day fast… or so the story goes. Ever been curious about the shamrock and its relation as a symbol to St. Patrick’s Day? Apparently Patrick used

WISH CHIP

Ahh my thin potato piece Covered in salt and spiced just right What gives you power is a mystery But something must fuel the wishes you bring We know the joy of eating you But not much else is known Of the reasons that you do these things Or the secret magical power you hold We know of wishes brought to those who seek But first into the bag they peek Scanning for that lone chip Inverted like the mouth of a sock puppet

the shamrock to explain the holy trinity to the pagans of Ireland.

Upon Patrick’s supposed death on March 17th, the people of Ireland celebrated his namesake and pseudo-sainthood with a day of remembrance and feast. Even though St. Patrick has never been officially canonized by a pope, various members of the Catholic Church continue to declare the man a saint.

Flash-forward, in recent times, St. Patrick’s Day is mostly celebrated by excessive alcohol consumption and the wearing of green, but why is that?

It is not because the Irish are alcoholics. That is a stereotype the Irish have been spending years to debunk.

Rather, people drink on St. Patrick’s Day because it is the celebration of a wake and a feast day. It is traditionally acceptable to drink for both occasions in Irish culture. The feast is rather selfexplanatory. For those of you who have never been to a traditional wake, having a little whiskey helps emotions when you have a dead relative lying on the same table as the bowl of chips and bottle of whiskey.

When they finally find you Joy glows in their heart They open their maws and chew Wishing with all their might on you Then they gulp the mash Looking up and left and right Hoping their wish will come to sight But that’s for you to decide Oh, my thin potato piece Grant my wish if you please I know the power resides within the folds Of salty, crispy, crunchy potatoes.

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ST. PATRICK’S DAY

JORDI HAMILTON

MARCH 16 THECONFLUENCE

MADNESS

To say last month was exciting would be an immense understatement.

The election period saw some serious campaigning by student representatives around Prince George and Quesnel. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to last month’s magazine. It was the first publication with me and Harman at the helm, and I think it did great. I would also like to say that this year’s Black History Month was absolutely phenomenal in regards to the participation and events.

All thanks aside; this month certainly earned the title of, “March Madness.”

The first few days can only be described as exciting as the electoral results were nothing short of a surprise. I am of course referring to the tie which resulted in the voting for the International S t u d e n t s ’ Representative position between Muhammad Rujman Hussain and Aditi Kaushik.

International Women’s Day

continued to be an immense success.

There was a breakfast on March 7th as well as the post-secret event where all students and faculty had the opportunity to anonymously share their experiences as a woman or their experiences with women.

The College of New Caledonia Film Festival, put on by Peter Maedis, was also a great success with a large crowd.

We received a great article by your new

Secretary for the CNCSU Executive Committee, Shannon Williams. Be sure to read it.

The school is currently ready in anticipation for the holiest of holidays, St. Patrick’s Day. To this I say, don’t drink and drive, and be sure to wear suitable protection if you consensually find yourself in a stranger’s bed. Kids are great, but not having to extract bologna from your computers disc drive is even better.

Also, be sure to check out this month’s main event, Post North: Girls, an all-female poetry reading at the Twisted Cork.

Graham Pearce has written a great article and you can read more about the event in this publication.

As per usually, happy reading and submit all submissions to: the.confluence. mag@gmail.com

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by : Ryan White Editor-in-Chief

The 18th Annual CinemaCNC Film Festival was a wonderful success once again! Peter Maides’ endearing guffaws were audible through the din in the lobby and there were only a couple of skips during the films. Bergman the dog, Peter’s best friend, was about, doing tricks and delighting the crowd All in all, it was a great weekend.

The second movie on Friday was my reason for coming to the festival, because Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) is my Canadian actor crush. He was a simple sidekick in the film, but his comedic relief was as adorable as ever. Starring Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon as brothers and master art thieves, The Art of the Steal was filled with clever and insightful jokes, a multitude of plot twists and an extremely gratifying ending.

Reviews among the audience were mixed, but if you ask this girl, it was a great movie.

Sunday was a much quieter day for the festival, with lower attendance, but that simply meant there were more chances to win door prizes!

The only film I saw was Our Man in Tehran, a documentary about the daring escape of US government employees from Iran during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis. The story has also been made into the film Argo (directed by and starring Ben Affleck). Personally I am a fan of documentaries and this one was particularly interesting because it showcases the heroism of some seemingly ordinary Canadian politicians.

All in all, the 18th Annual CinemaCNC Film Festival was one of my favorite weekends so far this semester. Any chance to create community, watch inspiring movies, and buy candy for a dollar is a good time in my books.

CinemaCNC is always showing movies in room 1-306, check out their bulletin board next to the CNCSU and follow them on Twitter @cinemacnc.

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CNC FILM FESTIVAL

18th ANNUAL 18 THECONFLUENCE

by : Shannon Williams

In my opinion, Friday night is always the most exciting night of the festival. The lobby was bursting with contributors, volunteers, seasoned festivalgoers and first timers. Friday was the busiest night of the festival this year, filling almost all of the Prince George Playhouse’s 297 seats. After all the door prizes had been given out and Peter had introduced the film, Bergman did one of his famous roll-overs and the lights went down.

The first film of the weekend was Cas & Dylan, the story of a terminally ill doctor travelling with a quirky writer who wrangles him into letting her come on what may be his last journey. The film showcased some of Canada’s greatest landscapes as the journey takes place between Winnipeg and Vancouver Island; it was comforting seeing the prairies and Rockies as the background.

The acting was fantastic, of course one should expect no less from an Oscar winner like Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws); the audience’s attachment to the characters was obvious from the sound of quiet weeping during the end of the film.

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Wish to get your articles published and paid?

Here is a golden oppurtunity for you to get your articles published in THE CONFLUENCE. If you think you have a great idea or an awesome article that may benefit the life of CNC students somewhere somehow, feel free to share it with us and get paid $20 upon approval.

Send us your IDEA/ARTICLE/POEM/INTERVIEW/RECENT ADVENTURE/BOOK REVIEW/PRODUCT REVIEW etc. alongwith your name and photograph to NEWS@CNCSU.COM or stop by the Students’ Union for more info.