Mars Hill Newspaper Vol 20 Issue 9

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February 24, 2016

THE

TEAM

TREVOR MCMAHAN managing editor

LUCAS KOEHN visual editor

Nine-year old racist Who doesn’t love a good story?

From a young age I have been prone to falling prey to the world of the story with such ferocity that I oftentimes mix fiction with reality. While my skill in discernment has increased with age, my memories of said mixups still plague me from time to time. When brainstorming ideas for this issue on “diversity,” a particularly unfortunate memory came to mind.

In my grade-four class we were studying the Underground Railroad. While I had littleto-no prior knowledge of the plight of African-Americans, I quickly became enraptured by their stories and trials. I felt a personal sense of responsibility for their mistreatment and vowed to myself that I would never allow the racism of black people in my presence. Little did I know that racism is a two-headed beast, rearing both a passive and active head.

Around the time of my Underground Railroad fascination I was put into a Steve Nash

basketball camp. Now, as a person of relative height, people usually assume I play some sort of tallpersoned sport like basketball, or volleyball, or reaching things on high shelves, but let me just say that this is a falsity. I do not play basketball with any iota of skill or precision. Regardless of my skill set, I found myself at the basketball camp on this particular Saturday.

Pulling into the gym parking lot, I couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive about meeting new kids in an athletic capacity. I was homeschooled as a youngster and my parents did not enter me into community sports so I was a bit of an obscurity in the social realm of middle school athletics. To my delight we pulled into the parking lot at the same time as another shiny mini van. And who, to my dismay, stepped out of this mini van? Why, it was a short-statured black girl with glasses, shiny gym shorts, and a pink knapsack. I was thrilled.

Before my eyes I could see centuries of oppression waiting to be reconciled in the interaction between two nine-year old girls.

I bravely introduced myself and we walked into the gym together.

Little did I know that I was in for a rude awakening. In the first practice alone I managed to fall on

EDITORIAL POLICY

CONTRIBUTORS

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DAVID PUNNAMMANNIL

DARBY ARENS

LARISSA TENORIO

HEIDI RENNERT

photo editor

web editor

MATT RUBULIAK

advertising & finance manager

MARS’ HILL

Mars’ Hill is a student publication of Trinity Western University, floated with funds raised by the Student Association. Mars’ Hill seeks to be a professional and relevant student publication, reflecting and challenging the TWU community, while intentionally addressing local, national and international issues.

layout editor

chief copy editor

SIDSEL RICHMOND illustration editor

MISSION TO MARS

The mission of Mars’ Hill, as the official student newspaper of Trinity Western University, is to inform and entertain its readers, cultivate awareness of issues concerning the TWU community and provide a forum for purposeful, constructive discussion among its members in accordance with the Community Covenant, Statement of Faith, and Core Values of the University.

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISOR Loranne Brown

SPECIAL THANKS

mackenzie

cameron

Mars’ Hill encourages submissions and letters to the Editor. Mars’ Hill reserves the right to edit submissions for style, brevity and compatibility with the Mission, Statement of Faith, the Community Community Covenant, and the Core Values of the University.

Anonymous authorship of any material may be granted at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Opinions expressed in Mars’ Hill belong to the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, Trinity Western University, its officials or its Student Association.

Kaitlin Bloemberg Kelsey Tuffin Megan Beyer Sydney Harker Judith Kasiama Graeme Geddes Sebastian Wingfield Jared Barkman Andrew Cotter Leisel Geisbrecht Nicodemus Jancewics Connor Ewert Aaron Boehmer Josiah Corbett Jessica Walters

my butt about four times (basically anytime we had to run backwards for a drill), elbow someone in the nose, and spill water on someone’s shoe during a break.

My ‘oppressed’ friend was quickly joining the ranks of the popular girls with her skill on and off the court while I was finding myself at the bottom of the popularity totem pole. It didn’t help much that I looked like an spastic string bean anytime I attempted a layup.

What I learned from this embarrassing, albeit valuable lesson, was that race has very little to do with character and success.

My friend did not need my help to establish herself in our social scenario. Her personality and skill set spoke louder than the colour of her skin. While I do not want to be quick to disregard the racism that still runs rampant today, I would like to acknowledge the privilege we have living in a country like Canada that values equality.

There is immense value assigned to personality in contemporary society that has been unjustly lacking throughout all of history.

It is my earnest hope that as you dive into this issue on diversity that you might do so with an open heart as we partake in the offered experiences of a diverse set of groups and individuals.

7600 Glover Rd, Langley, BC, V2Y 1Y1 604-513-2109 marshill@gmail.com www.marshillonline.com This issue brought to you by Charlotte’s Carrot Cookies, Steven’s shoulders, Koala’s March, Sweet Chili Sowce, Kanye’s questionable morals, and Sarah Wright.

Kat Grabowski for the team photos

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “I haven’t been getting many assets these days.” - Josh Dauer

February 24, 2016

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MADELINE Gallard

Dr. John Dyck

Making the voice of rare disease heard

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madeline

gallard

If you had $200,000 to spend, what would you do with it?

Invest in the stock market? Make a significant down-payment on a house? Maybe pay off your student loans?

For Dr. John Dyck, a professor in Trinity’s Political Studies department, as well as member of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD) and vice-president of the Canadian Association of Pompe (CAP), it represents much more than a lump sum. It represents a significant obstacle for people in Canada with rare diseases, including his own, Pompe. “The drugs for Pompe are $200,000 to $700,000 a year per patient.

The infusion itself is a biweekly process, which takes approximately four hours, in which the drug is dripped into your body intravenously. There are relatively few side effects, but the consequence is quite a life sentence,” Dyck explained.

Dyck’s work with CORD began after his diagnosis with Pompe, a disease which affects 1 in every 40,000 people and is caused by a lack of an enzyme that breaks down glycogen in the muscles. Diagnosed at 61, Dyck attended his first

meeting of CAP, and “Suddenly, it occurred to me, meeting others with Pompe, that I was remarkably healthy compared to many of the people there.” Seeing the situation others were in caused Dyck to come to a realization. “Here I am a political scientist and have taught about interest and advocacy groups since I first started teaching. And now I was part of a group that really needed to be advocating for better treatment across the c o u n t r y, ” D y c k affir med.

T h a t meeting led to D y c k becoming the vice president of CAP in 2011.

Dyck also met and conversed with the CEO/president of CORD, and was voted onto the board of CORD in 2012, being elected to its executive this past year.

For many with rare disease, they are faced with the inequity of treatment from province to province. “One of the things [CORD is] concerned about is that Canada doesn’t have a national drug policy. Provincial

governments have their own drug policies, but the result of that is that pharmaceutical companies can charge different rates with different provinces,” Dyck noted.

“We’ve had a national rare drug strategy and framework in front

of [the government] for several years, but it didn’t seem to get enough support to bring anything concrete into existence.”

The framework was intended as a pilot project for people with rare diseases, with the inten-

tion of expanding into a general drug strategy.

Dyck’s involvement with CORD has included one major success. “One of the things we were able to get done during my early years with CORD was in 2013. The federal government passed Vanessa’s Law, [otherwise known as the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act,] which required pharmaceutical companies to identify all the possible consequences of the drugs that they were developing.

Up to this point, there had been no way for patients to know what the effects of taking a drug would be long term, or how that might affect other individual maladies that they have. When it came into force in 2014, it finally made pharmaceutical companies more accountable and more transparent.”

In his own life, Dyck has taken much action. “Here on campus, I see my involvement as an opportunity to educate students about

rare disease, about the inequity in treatment that exists across Canada, and about some of the rare diseases that most people will never hear about at all,” he said, reflectively. “One of the things I am doing here is training with a physical trainer at the gym and including a student who is anticipating becoming a physical trainer. In this way, we are hopefully providing an opportunity for these trainers to learn about rare disease and for them to gain the experience needed to be able to treat people with physical rare disease in the future.”

Overall, Dyck has a balanced outlook on his time in working as an advocate for people with rare disease, particularly building up to February 29th, in which World Rare Disease Day is observed, at the end of February, Rare Disease Month. “Progress is a mixed bag. In part, the one thing I have learned in advocacy is that it takes a very long time.” Dyck said. “There are over 7,000 rare diseases, and it is expected that 1/12 people has a rare disease. For me, this has become an overriding burden, to draw attention to the rare disease community, and to hopefully provide incentive to governments and to the general public to become involved, and to allow for the same type of healthcare delivery per patient in the rare disease community that is given to the general disease community.”

The sacrifice of the spiritual life

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geisbrecht

As Christians, we are called to examine critically the teachings of this world and to vet them against the teaching of Scripture. Insofar as they depart from the teachings of God, we must reject the norms of this world. Strong and unfailing in their opposition to abortion and the undermining of traditional marriage, the Catholic Church refuses to lay down, roll over, and agree with the world on many moral issues. Young Catholics from the Greater Vancouver area were reminded of this at the

fifth annual University Mass, held at Holy Rosary Cathedral.

The University Mass, held in collaboration with our own Catholic Pacific College, SFU, UBC, and other educational institutions, has become something of a tradition. This particular year is special, as it has been designated the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. In its most basic explanation, this year has been dedicated to acts of mercy.

The unflappable Winston Churchill is quoted saying, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” While Churchill was a rather ornery gentleman, he makes a good point. In life, it is much simpler, much easier to acquiesce to the

opinion of the majority. It takes great courage to disagree, and to disagree audibly. The term “tyranny of the majority” best describes this attitude of “agree with us on social issues, or else.”

In a sermon regarding the beheading of John the Baptist, Archbishop Michael Miller discussed the sacrifice of martyrdom. What is particularly striking about this biblical narrative is that John plays a small but essential role. He has no dialogue, but he (or his head) plays a central role. The quiet nature of his death harkens back to the words he says about Jesus in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” John’s sacrifice points directly to truth. You may recall that John was first imprisoned

because he criticized Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. He openly spoke of the immorality of their actions. While Archbishop Michael would never suggest that one be imprudent with their words, John’s courage is to be admired and mimicked.

We are not in the same situation as John the Baptist, St. Thomas Moore, Dietrich Boenhoffer, Stephen, or Syrian Christians. Our fight is not so blatant as theirs. In our case, the subliminal is entirety of the battle. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this battle does not have as high stakes as theirs.

Loss of physical life is inconsequential when compared to the loss of spiritual life.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “If it’s gold I’m all in” - Sam Ravensberg

4

February 24, 2016

Honesty, tragedy, and struggle

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andrew

cotter

“As soon as I started reading the review, I was literally bawling my eyes out,” says SAMC Communications professor and video game scholar, Dr. Kevin Schut.

The article he is referring to is Jenn Frank’s 2013 review of the video game That Dragon, Cancer for the website Unwinnable.

That Dragon, Cancer is an independently produced video game released by the close-knit development team at Numinous Games. The game, released in January of 2016, follows Ryan and Amy Green’s tragic loss of their young son to cancer. Development of the game was lead by Ryan and fellow game designer, Josh Larson. Amy contributed her skills as a writer.

The game portrays the Greens’ faith in Christ and gives an honest look at the difficulties associated with believing in God in the midst of tragic circumstances. “In many ways, this game

is the perfect antidote to the triumphalist portrayal of Christians in the media,” Schut says.

“It’s a vivid and compelling representation of what it means to have faith in Christ. It’s a story told with complete integrity. It’s not preachy. There are no false platitudes. It’s just an accurate and real retelling of their experience.”

Critics, too, have been quick to laud the game, seen by some as a landmark achievement in the developing genre of empathy gaming. “The game deals with real human suffering and grief in a way that is unlike any other game I’ve played,” Schut explained. “The game is a significant achievement, and the fact that it doesn’t apologize for being a Christian game makes its positive reception from secular sources even more impressive.”

Schut identified two primary accomplishments of the game.

“Firstly, this game breaks new ground on the capacity of games to show emotion and deal with real human struggles,” Schut said. “And secondly, the game is an achievement for Christians as artists. It’s great, and it’s receiving

tons of attention.”

Despite the critical success, the game has struggled economically, and due to Numinous Games’ shoestring budget, neither Ryan nor Josh are able to attend the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), held in San Francisco. Their game is nominated for two Independent Gaming Festival (IGF) awards in the categories of sound design and narrative and has already received an honourable mention in the category for best game. The IGF awards will be presented in March at GDC. After learning of That Dragon, Cancer’s financial difficulties, Schut started an online crowdfunding campaign with the goal of sending Ryan and Josh to the conference. For the past six years, Schut has maintained a professional relationship with the two developers. “I first met Ryan and Josh at a Christian gaming conference in 2010, and I connected with them again at GDC in 2014,” Schut explained. “I didn’t plan it that way, but I spent most of my time at the conference hanging out with the Green family and

the That Dragon, Cancer development team.”

“Winning an IGF award is like winning an Oscar—at least in the world of indie gaming,” Schut says. “For them to be nominated and not even be able to attend just doesn’t seem right.”

The goal is set for $1,500— enough to buy plane tickets and arrange for hotel accommodations. Schut hopes that funds will be raised through a number of small donations. “Having significant donors is helpful,” Schut said, “but it would be really cool if we got a critical mass of people, even if the donations are for relatively small amounts.” Any additional funds raised will be used to send more team members to the conference.

In closing, Schut said, “As Christians, it’s important that we recognize when some of our own are making real, significant contributions in their field. Too often, great Christian artists are forced to work in relative obscurity. Let’s do what we can to make sure these guys get the recognition they deserve.”

immediate needs, and he instilled a sense of pride in the ability of Canadians to respond quickly and effectively to any disaster setting.

In our technological age where global communication has resulted in a constant intake of discouraging news stories of tragedy and despair, we can become completely numb to natural disasters and 4-figure death tolls.

However, this same interconnectedness of the global community can also make these stories so much more personal. While I was frantically trying to communicate with my friends in Kathmandu to ensure that they were safe, the Canadian government was looking for ways to assist practically in meeting the needs of a nation in turmoil. Stories such as Colonel Ed Izatt’s are a great reminder that the values of this nation extend far beyond our

borders. It is reassuring to know that there are fellow Canadians who care about the small, mountainous nation that I love so much, and are willing to sacrifice their own safety and comfort to fight for a people in need.

Nepal in safety and security

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jared

barkman

After an exhausting thirty-five hours of turbulent flights and dilapidated airports, I finally set foot on Nepali soil on December 19, 2013. I was overwhelmed with exhaustion and experiencing sensory overload as the sights, sounds, and smells of Kathmandu hit me. In that moment of incoherent jetlag, I had no idea how deeply attached I would become to Nepal and its beautiful people over three short months.

I could have never predicted the lasting friendships that would be created, the experiences that would be made, and the breathtaking sights that would be seen. I

also could never have anticipated the devastation that the country was soon to experience and the way that so many of the people that I loved would have their livelihood destroyed within two short years.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ed Izatt, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was one of the first international responders to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal on April 25, 2015. He recently came to campus to share about his experience in Nepal and the Canadian response to the disaster that took the lives of thousands and destroyed the homes of millions.

The DART team is an emergency response unit which sends a team of 200-500 members to conflict zones, aiding in peace

efforts, improving infrastructure, and providing support to other relief organizations. The team is generally composed of engineers, Army members, and medics who enter a country immediately after a disaster and stay for thirty to sixty days. DART strongly encourages non-governmental organizations, domestic government workers, and military teams to co-exist in providing comprehensive relief. Izatt stressed the importance of holistic integration in responding to disasters, as different groups bring different skills to the table. While some nations are known for forcing their way into relief work and upsetting the local systems that are in place, the Canadian team wishes to complement the work that is already being done. Izatt succinctly summarized the value of empowering locals while still meeting

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” - Steven Simpson

February 24, 2016

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In conversation: Dr. Allyson Jule

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heidi

rennert

Dr. Allyson Jule, a professor of Education at TWU who is currently on sabbatical at Oxford University, was recently awarded Maclean’s prestigious 3M National Fellowship Award for outstanding university professors in Canada. Mars’ Hill interviewed Dr. Jule by email to get her thoughts on faith, feminism, and innovative teaching.

MH: What prompted you to set up the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western University?

AJ: There was a faculty women’s association at Trinity before I arrived in 2008.

They were ready to move forward with something more central to campus life. There are three other directors of the Institute and we share a lot of the load, since no one of us is paid or given course relief for our efforts. Sharing the leadership makes the GSI possible. There were about thirty-five faculty (both men and women) who supported the establishment of the Gender Studies

Institute back in 2008, and that number has only grown. We took our proposal to the Board of Governors, and they were in full support of it! TWU is a wonderful place to do gender studies because of the many intersections gender/sexuality have with so many other fields. We also have a robust Gender Studies Minor program that aligns with any degree TWU offers.

How do you understand the interaction between faith and feminism?

Why is it important, especially for a faith-based academic institution such as TWU, to participate in these issues?

AJ: Gender issues and feminism are central issues today. That feminism emerged from evangelical Christianity is something worth noting. It was Christians (again, both men and women) who fought for the full inclusion of women in public and political life. They did so on the basis of scripture. The concern for women goes back to the Middle Ages, at least. Christianity is a religion that supports the full humanity of women. It’s right in the book of Genesis; we are created in God’s image. That includes women! I am proud of the role Christianity has had in the world in relation to the empowerment of women and the recognition of full inclusion of all persons in the community of faith.

Maclean’s particularly commended you for your unique travel study program which allows TWU students to teach in a classroom in Cameroon for three weeks. Can you explain a little about the vision behind this program and its success?

AJ: There are other excellent travel studies possible for TWU students, but the Cameroon Travel Study is unique for Education students because it provides practicum experience alongside a compulsory course (EDUC 365) in a unique sub-Saharan African country. The Cameroonian schools are incredibly underfunded: no electricity, no running water/no toilets, only blackboard paint painted on a cement wall with some white chalk (if they are lucky) and very few books are available. To teach without resources, like computers, text sets, etc. is unheard of in Canada ­­­—and this travel study is a terrific opportunity to learn how to teach when it’s just you! Because teaching is a very relational thing, this experience is incredibly powerful, and the students who have taken it over the years have all mentioned its l i n g e r i n g power in their own teaching careers. The students get a chance to learn from African teachers who

Let’s talk about love

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jancewicz

Love, as an aspect of life, has always been something that simply just ‘is’ without need of analysis, and I believed that analysis could quite possibly dispel some of the meaning that love holds for me.

On February 10th, four days before Valentine’s day, Alfried Längle, clinical psychologist working on the forefront of Existential Psychotherapy, gave a talk on the topic of love.

The talk was something that I was only interested in as a means of getting a group of my friends

into the heart of downtown Vancouver for food, drinks and people watching. However, I was already going, so after stumbling around Vancouver searching for the venue, then finding the lecture hall, scrambling to my seat, and unceremoniously chugging a large hot coffee, I began to perk up and pay attention. To be completely honest, I prepared myself for the worst. A seminar on love sounded absolutely dull, as if an analysis on love was to be any more interesting than explaining the obvious.

But then, Dr. Alfried Längle spoke about love, and he spoke about love in a way that I could understand. He spoke about how love could be between two people, as an open, direct appreciation of one towards another. That loving

another person is realizing and appreciating their place in the world, their place in your world.

That loving someone is to say “I am happy that you ‘are’, that you have made my life better by simply ‘being’. Längle emphasized the importance of appreciation without adverse alteration, that to have self control over our own expectations of another and to ‘See the other not just as who they are, but as the person they can be’.

That there is gentle kindness and steady comfort that we can provide one another in love, to encourage the ones we love to strive towards a wholeness of being.

I was struck by what Dr. Längle said, and although I felt a certain familiarity with everything he spoke of, I had not heard

manage their classrooms and the material in ways that are very different from how things are done here in Canada. And this is what the School of Education wanted: to create an opportunity to get out of some comfort zones and see how teaching and learning are done in a dramatically different culture in the developing world.

What is your role as President-Elect of Women’s and Gender Studies et Recherches Féministes (WGSRF)?

AJ: There are about seventy women’s/gender studies programs in universities across Canada.

Each year this group of scholars from all over the country come together to share research and enter into dialogue regarding emerging issues related to gender and sexuality. I was nominated by the governing committee and was elected while in Ottawa at the national conference in early June. My presidency begins this coming June, and I will hold the position for two years. This position will see me connecting with women’s studies programs across the country and working with the WGSRF committee to respond to gender/women’s issues that emerge across the country. I feel honoured to be part of the leadership of this national body.The scholarship that emerges from this community is second to none.

someone put it so eloquently. And although I had initially thought that the talk was secular in its content, threads of Dr. Längle’s Catholic faith were spun into his final words of the seminar, that to ‘love another person is to see them as God meant them to be’ an ideal I certainly hope to ascribe to those I am called to love and those I currently love.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Always Diversify.” - Jenna Pleadwell

What are your current and upcoming projects?

AJ: I am on sabbatical until August. Until then, I am at the University of Oxford with the International Gender Studies Centre at Lady Margaret Hall.

I’m focusing on some classroom data I recorded when I was in Cameroon last year. I’m looking especially at teacher methods in African contexts and what the West can learn from them. I’m working closely with Africanists and educationalists in Oxford to analyze the transcriptions and locate the material in educational scholarship. I’m going back to Cameroon for further research and to lecture in some teacher education programs in April.

I’m also working on the second edition of one of my books, The Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender, and doing some teaching at Oxford too. I continue to review for academic journals and other publications, so I’m pretty busy!

I am also really enjoying going to the cornucopia of lectures here at Oxford and using the 24 hour libraries. The Bodleian Library has every book ever published in England! It’s a scholar’s dream come true.

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February 24, 2016

CAM THIESSEN

I AM KAIT

Dealing with burnout

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kaitlin

bloemberg

I feel the need to apologize to anyone that I have power-walked past, failed to make eye contact with, or cut off in conversation in order that I may continue on with my daily priorities. In short, I apologize for my false vulnerability,

instances where I needed to use my busyness and exhaustion to justify my lack of energy and commitment, my lack of passion to invest in relationships, my lack of willingness to just slow down.

I apologize for the times when social interactions have turned into competitions, such as who has the fullest schedule, the most coffee dates, the hardest student leadership position, the least amount of sleep, and the toughest course load. I have found that when someone expresses their exhaustion and busyness to me, I feel a competitive impulse to use my own exhaustion and busyness as a reflection of own competency and self-importance.

The other night I momentarily slowed down and gave myself just enough time to process, to rest.

If the result of a few minutes of rest or missing out on something is terrifying, uncomfortable, and somewhat ground-breaking, then rest is all the more necessary. I immediately felt a sense of discontentedness and existential conflict. The automatic reaction

to this dissonance is often to fill my schedule in an all too classic distract-and-avoid approach.

Busyness masks burnout, mental crisis, unhappiness, identity issues, and, ultimately, our true spiritual, physical, and mental states. It manages to convince us that we are valid in our treatment of situations and people, that self-reflection is anything but necessary, and that our to-do lists are of the utmost importance.

We can be terrified by what we discover when exhaustion forces us to retreat back into ourselves. Sometimes this manifests itself in an identity crisis; other t i m e s it can be experienced as emptiness.

Caffeine,

Instagram, to-do lists, shallow conversations, and striving to satisfy the false need of “doing more” distract us from sitting down and wrestling through tears, confusion, hard questions, and challenging conversations. We distract ourselves into comfortability, but we forget why we are uncomfortable in the first place.

A common culture at Trinity Western that I have experienced, and in many ways the culture I have created for myself, is a culture that praises busyness. It praises work until burnout but does not condone or know how adequately to support the consequences. Trinity Western is often a place where the busiest and strongest are praised, but the burnt-out are misunderstood and chastised for not having implemented proper self-care. In fact, many individuals would suggest that the opposite of overextending ourselves is only to do what we enjoy and to implement strong, impenetrable boundaries. In reality, throwing ourselves into burnout and developing unshakeable boundaries are actually two sides of

the same coin-fear. It is the fear of not being enough and the fear of exhaustion.

However, there is a middle ground. After nearly three years here, I have come to believe that the middle ground exists where we are comfortable with who we are and what we have to give.

Rather than producing burntout, perfectionistic, work-driven students, or fearfully bordered and lazy individuals, we can be most effective from a place where we realize that deep care requires deep rest, and hard work requires a strength beyond ourselves.

Hard work and burnout should not scare us, but neither should taking a morning off to rest.

Let me get that for you

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kelsey

tuffin

Is it possible to bring an understanding to feminism and chivalry in 500 words or less sans the raging, semi-radical, negative voice of a woman who will not graciously have a door held open for her by a man out of the presumption that he is doing it because he thinks she isn’t capable of doing it herself ?

Lord only knows such an approach will fall upon deaf ears, or at least upon those who assume that we feminists are “being dramatic” and are thus discouraging men from being “chivalrous.”

But why is it that women fighting for feminism are so angry?

I may be speaking entirely for myself when I say that I question the intention of a man (or boy) who offers to perform a physically demanding task that I otherwise am perfectly willing and capable of performing myself. This rationale is the product of my constructed experience as a woman in the 21st century coupled with the pain and misjudgment of the female sex throughout history.

Feminism can clearly be outlined by one common goal: defining and establishing equality in all realms, from the economy, to the structure of a culture, and back to a woman’s personal experience. Onwards, the definition of feminism seems to be a freefor-all where the definition of

feminism beyond these economic and cultural constructs appears subjective. It is just as easy to get lost in the anger and frustration of being stereotyped according to one’s gender as it is to be aggravated by just about anything else. But my experience encapsulated within secular society and Christian culture subtly provokes me to anger.

So here it is: I am angry. I have been fighting the assigned character of a person who needs physical help because she is a female. I am frustrated with how the lack of critical thought perpetuates a culture of disempowerment. Why yes, I am not a twenty-something-year-old guy, but I am perfectly capable of using my God-given, healthy body for physical labor. When a man

graciously offers to help, I’m hoping it isn’t my skirt that propels him to say, “Oh no, let me grab this table—you can grab the (smaller) one over there.” I am choosing to believe that it is his kind heart that wants to aid those in need, and I hope he is just missing the fact that this is not the appropriate moment for his charity.

What about chivalry? Well, a quick lesson in French shows the word is derived from men who rode horses. These men carried bravery and honour into all of their affairs, undoubtedly influencing their interaction with the “lesser vessels”: the old, the young, and the women. As the English language evolves, so does our understanding and use of this term. Now we see chivalry as

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Consider yourself diversified.” - Bob Kuhn

politeness and kindly behaviour towards women, such as the acts of holding a door or offering to carry something large.

Apparently inoffensive acts, yes?

In fact, quite the opposite.

The cultural education that encourages men to “offer help to women” may have evolved from a secular or Christian approach to masculinity and “caring for those in need.” Yet it seemingly stands in opposition of my lived experience as that perceived weaker vessel. I want to be grateful, not obligated, for a man’s politeness.

Know that I am capable of graciously accepting help and of saying, “I’ve got it,” while not robbing a man of his perceived charitableness.

February 24, 2016

The invisible persecution

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anonymous

I recall the words of the undergraduate admissions counsellor from when I first visited TWU with my senior high school class.

In exchange for library-access, TWU was allowed to treat us to an admissions presentation. Well aware that he was presenting to a class from a secular school, the counsellor emphasized that “we welcome non-Christian students.

In fact, many of our students are not Christians.” These words have stuck so strongly with me that, five years later, I feel confident to quote them now, word for word.

I suppose that these words hold true. Besides the standard requirements, for admission to TWU one needs only to sign (or really, to check-mark) the Community Covenant. As a Christian university that accepts and actively invites nonbelieving students, TWU seems to exemplify the practice of living in the world but not being of it. The Community Covenant implies a promise: nonbelievers can enjoy the same freedoms as Christians at TWU, so long as they adhere to the values outlined in the Community Covenant.

One is left wondering, however, if this is a promise actually fulfilled. Certainly, on campus we encounter no overt inquisitions, no visual segregations or witchhunts to root out the nonbelievers.

Yet the nonbelievers themselves are seemingly absent—invisible. Where are the nonbelieving students at TWU? By what works are they known? It seems that overall there are few nonbelieving students at TWU. TWU is a Christian university, after all. The secular are on the

outside. If there is any persecution in the eyes of the average student, they—the secular other— persecute TWU. TWU indeed perpetuates the impression that it safeguards a persecuted Christian faith. TWU’s “mission to cultivate Christian leaders in the marketplaces of life” is really a facile rendering of a cultural warstrategy—the world must be conquered for Christ. The law school case, it seems, is merely the most recent of many sieges from which Christians knights must rise up to defend their faith from the world.

And so on campus, the Christians arm themselves against the secular world. All students are required to take courses which systematically “refute” every challenge to the Christian worldview, reducing the sincere convictions and beliefs of nonbelievers to childish whimsies that require parental correction.

TWU hosts lectures that defend the existence of God to believers, and facilitates dialogues about (against) abortion for a student body that is overwhelmingly prolife. Guest-speakers are invited to chapel to tell students things that at secular universities would constitute hate-speech. TWU even includes what is basically a statement of faith in studentemployment contracts, effectively barring nonbelievers from student employment at TWU. And if you are not a Christian, do not even think about applying for a leadership position!

This is the world which TWU invites, even encourages, nonbelieving students to attend: a world in which the nonbeliever is ostracized as a member of the secular other. And now, with a dead, hollow echo I repeat the words of that admission counsellor: “we welcome non-Christian students.”

I do not identify as a Christian. Many of my friends attending TWU are nonbelievers—they disagree with Christianity, are sheer heretics, or are indifferent to the religion. Some of us belong to the LGBTQ community. We are “the world” at TWU in hiding.

Hardly any of us publically express our beliefs. In fact, we do quite the opposite—out of necessity. Regretfully, we sign off our emails with “God Bless.” We write articles for the Mars’ Hill but sign them off as “Anonymous.” Some of us attend church to maintain appearances. We fear this university; we fear discrimination from believing students; we fear becoming the victims of alienation and vilification. We fear receiving all the fear and resentment that TWU channels towards the secular world—the world to which we belong. We fear all the doors that any expression of our true identities will close here. And in return, TWU pretends that we do not exist.

That is, until our hidden existence becomes useful to the Evangelical Machine.

Although TWU effectively persecutes its minorities—nonbelieving, or possibly otherwise in the case of the LGBTQ community—it often justifies itself as an institution to the secular world by noting the presence of these very same “community members.”

In a recent (2016) news update about the law school issue, TWU claims that “[s]everal LGBTQ students attend the university, and TWU does not inquire about sexual orientation during the admissions process.” Yes, TWU is LGBTQ-friendly because it has several LGBTQ students, just as having a black friend proves that you are not racist against black people! Only a university that is profoundly blind and deaf to the presence (and suffering) of its minorities would dare suggest

that, among thousands of students, there are merely “several LGBTQ students.” Perhaps there are only several LGBTQ students atTWU who are willing to endure the alienation and discrimination they would suffer by publically acknowledging their actual sexual orientations.

TWU, for the most part, must sideline these minorities in order to perpetuate the myth of a homogenous, monolithic Christian community. President Kuhn writes in the 2014 issue of TWU Magazine: “what we are, in essence, is a community—founded upon, and grounded in, our belief in Jesus Christ.” Yet in reality, there are plenty of TWU students who do not believe in Jesus Christ, and plenty more students who reject TWU’s prejudices. In order to justify TWU’s defense of evangelical prejudices which, in actuality, many students belonging to the TWU community do not support, TWU perpetuates the myth of a homogenous evangelical Christian community which does support these prejudices. When convenient, TWU seeks concessions from the secular world by acknowledging its nonbelieving and LGBTQ students. But to acknowledge these students in any meaningful way would undermine TWU’s illusion of a unified Christian “community” that supposedly supports such beliefs. Thus, TWU can acknowledge LGBTQ students only several at a time, it seems.

TWU welcomes nonbelieving and other minority students. It knows well how to exploit them in order to defend and perpetuate the very prejudices which lead to their persecution in the first place.

Indeed, they are invited to attend TWU. But an invitation is a far cry from welcoming.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “I should probably look into that” - Robyn Duncan

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February 24, 2016

WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT WHAT FELLOWSHIP FELLOWSHIP HAS HAS LIGHT LIGHT WITHOUT WITHOUT DARKNESS DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELL FELL WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT as I read 2 Cor 6:14 (or more accurately, paraphrases of it) over twenty times. Franklin apparently has no business associating with the likes of Kanye West; one is a believer, the other a blasphemer.

I found myself thinking, surely this is not the doctrine. Surely this is not the final word Christians would have on such a subject as an influential Christian artist being involved in the music of a “sinner.” I realized that this was yet another area of the Bible which, more than anything, confuses its readers, especially those who grew up having this verse read to them by parents, camp counsellors, and youth leaders, and who applied it to their friendships and their romantic relationships.

This apparently exclusivist, elitist passage—which, by the way, has nothing to do with marriage—seems uncharacteristic of Paul and seems to directly contradict the message of Jesus (see the parable of the banquet in Luke 14). Elitism is something neither Jesus nor Paul seem to have perpetuated in their ministries. The verse which confirmed for me the author’s elitism in my

initial reading shortly follows the verse used by our well-meaning Facebook commenters: “As God said, ‘I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you’” (2 Cor 16b-17). Surely without acknowledging the scriptural reference, this does not sound like the merciful, unconditional Gospel to which most Christians subscribe.

However, in context, we see that Paul is speaking to people in an entirely different situation than our own. Paul is making reference to Isaiah 52:11, a passage in which the prophet is declaring God’s words of admonition for Israel as they come home from exile. They no longer need to be “mismatched” or assimilated into another culture. They can come out from there and be themselves, set apart, holy. Paul is saying the same thing of the early Christians, who are constantly battling persecution, encouraging them to not be afraid of who they

are, to be distinguishable from other people.

This is not about staying clear of those whose friendship would be unhealthy due to how unholy they are. This is not about not marrying a non-believer. This is about not needing to lump yourself in with the others, to trust that the persecution will end, and the New Israel will one day be home in the finalized kingdom of heaven. For modern Christians, we cannot fathom the persecution that early Christians experienced. We are privileged, and we have the chance to make the world a better place, to show love to one another, to be accepting of diversity. When our morality hinges on subjective interpretations of single verses taken out of context, we can often miss the point of a scripture. When we miss the point and misinterpret, this misinterpretation can affect how other people feel because of us; it can cause hurt and strife.

“And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.”

- 1 Thes 5:14

WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLO cam WHAT thiessen FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHATFELLOWSHIP FELLOWSHIPHAS HASLIGHT LIGHTWITHOUT WITHOUTDARKNESS DARKNESS WHAT WHAT FELLOWSHIP WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT WHAT FELLOWSHIP FELLOWSHIP HAS HAS LIGHT LIGHT WITHOUT WITHOUT DARKNESS DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNES WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FE WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITH WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS WHAT FELLOWSHIP H WHAT FELLOWSHIP HAS LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS

I

“Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there with light and darkness?”

- 2 Corinthians 6:14 My most recent interaction with this verse was on Facebook—a post from Gospel musician Kirk Franklin. He posted a picture of himself and Kanye West, as the two have collaborated to have Franklin as a featured artist on Kanye’s new album, The Life of Pablo. Franklin, whose music appeals to a diverse crowd spanning from the fundamentalist to the secular, has been “crucified” over his open association with Kanye by a digital mob of conservative Christians who have clearly been offended by Kanye’s song of satirical, egotistical selfnominalization, “I Am A God.” Scrolling through the comments, my head hung in disappointment

By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

You don’t have to sit in school to stand among greatness.

› Thomas Edison: The world’s most extraordinary failure never gave up.

Thank goodness.

open. online. everywhere. go.athabascau.ca/online-courses

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megan

beyer

There have been numerous times in my life where I have thought to myself, “Now, that would make a great novel!” But then the very next day I completely forget my genius plot or, at the most, write one page which never progresses to another. I have probably started a dozen books within these short twenty-one years of my life, but what has become of them? They all have a beginning, but no meat and no end. So what is it then that pushes and inspires a book to its end?

Some might say that one needs determination, loads of spare time, gumption, talent, and so

on. I would agree that all of these contribute to the creation of a book, but I would also argue that something else is more vital. I believe that what one truly needs in order to finish their story is for it to be just that—their story. You need to live it, whether merely parts of it or the full story, and there you will find the passion, the love, and the inspiration which propels the writing. When you can connect to your words on a deep emotional level, you give those words life and breath, the ability to move and work within others.

My stories have all started with something imagined, something fanciful. Now, I have lived a certain fantasy; I have experienced a type of euphoria and a form of despair; I have been loved and broken, and likewise I have loved and broken others. It is as

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “I only buy my own stocks” - Tarun Reddy

if I have lived the beginnings of all my stories, and now I have finally found the words to form the end. So whether these words will be shared or simply for my eyes only, I do not know, and frankly, I do not really care.

Because all that matters is that I now know that I will finish what I have started so many times before. I will write my story.

“From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and you make it alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality.”

- Ernest Hemingway

February 24, 2016

Fall 2016 Courses SECTIONS OF TWU COURSES FOR TWU STUDENTS

ART 215 CP Beauty & the Sacred Arts Dr. Brook Herbert Tues. & Thurs., 2:35 pm to 3:50 pm

ENGL 103 CP Intro to Fiction Vic Cavalli Tues. & Thurs., 9:25 am to 10:40 am

LATIN 211 CP Medieval Ecclesiastical Latin Fr. William Ashley Tues. & Thurs., 4 pm to 5:15 pm

MCOM 152 CP Intro to Interpersonal Communication Loranne Brown Tuesdays, 6 pm to 9 pm

PHIL 305 CP Philosophy of the Human Person Dr. Germain McKenzie Mondays, 6 pm to 9 pm

RELS 399 CP Catholic Spirituality in the Modern World Dr. Germain McKenzie Wednesdays, 6 pm to 9 pm

RELS 101 CP Intro to Old Testament Studies Sr. Gabriella Yi, O.P. Mon. & Wed., 11:40 am to 1 pm

RELS 102 CP Intro to New Testament Studies Sr. Gabriella Yi, O.P. Mon. & Wed., 1:10 pm to 2:25 pm

RELS 160 CP Intro to Theology Dr. Andrew Kaethler Mon. & Wed., 2:35 pm to 3:50 pm

RELS 224 CP New Testament Theology Dr. Brook Herbert Tues. & Thurs., 11:40 am to 1 pm

RELS 366 CP Theology of the Body Dr. Brook Herbert Tues. & Thurs., 4 pm to 5:15 pm

RELS 365 CP Christian Moral Theology Dr. Andrew Kaethler Mon. & Wed., 4 pm to 5:15 pm

◀ PHIL 111 CP, History of Western Philosophy: Ancient & Medieval Fr. David Bellusci, O.P. Tues. & Thurs., 1:10 pm to 2:25 pm

▶ Father David Bellusci, O.P., Joins CPC Faculty Visit catholicpacific.ca for full bio.

PHIL 304 CP, Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas Fr. David Bellusci, O.P. Mon. & Tues., 9:25 am to 10:40 am

CatholicPacific.ca How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “As Kanye Puts it...” - Graeme Geddes

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February 24, 2016

COLOUR ME!

illustration by Sidsel Richmond

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Nope.” - Tobin Voth, TWUSA VP 2016/2017

February 24, 2016

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judith

kasiama

On the subject of diversity on TWU’s campus, I am hesitant to speak. It seems mostly when the issue of race and diversity is brought up, it turns into a political or ideological debate. I am also fearful of the false assumption that, by bringing up the issue of race and diversity, I therefore am attacking all White people; this is not my intention. I simply am highlighting that, as a Black student, I am currently attending what we can all agree is a predominately heterosexual, White campus. With this recognition comes a feeling of isolation and loneliness. There exists a tension between integrating into the dominant culture and still trying to honor my own culture; the lines between integration and integrity easily blur. Within my environment and my social circle, Blackness is seen as an absence of Whiteness rather than Blackness existing beautifully without relying on Whiteness for context.

It is important to acknowledge that “White privilege” exists.

And yes, I’ve said it. But embracing its existence is a topic of its own. While each member of TWU’s community is always a member of one or more races, we are sometimes granted opportunities because we, as individuals, deserve them. Often we are granted them because we, as individuals, belong to one or more of the favoured groups in our society.

In the recent events south of the border, I’ve begun to see how universities are constantly challenged to define their diversity agenda, speaking to the ever-growing prioritization of exhibiting diversity on university campuses—a prioritization of

building culture and community that both reflect and foster diversity. One thing I truly love about TWU is that we continue to build bridges and dialogue on the issues of gender and faith; however, we often forget race. The world is normalized to be White.

BecauseTWU holds a White majority, sometimes I feel as though some of the issues and challenges students of colour face go unnoticed.

Since we live in Canada, I am often told: a) there is no racism in Canada or; b) people are colour blind. Personally, I don’t trust anyone who says that they’re colour-blind. This means I am invisible to them. It is denying the very core of who I am—a Black woman. I began fostering friendships, mostly with other White women, and as our friendship unfolded it became increasingly clear that often times race was exempt from our discussions.

It feels as if we all shared the same experiences as women.

As a Black student, I feel an immense sense of pressure to police myself on how I speak and how I present myself, but I am a representation of my Black community.

I find among my friends that White people are not conscious enough to the fact that race— their race—is an integral part of everyday conservation. When I attempt to insert the issue of race into the dialogue, often times the reaction I receive is the assumption that I am accusing someone of being “racist.” However, I am simply pointing out that race is present in our everyday conversation. Because I am Black, I see and experience things within the context of my Blackness.

I am beginning to challenge my friends in terms of their own perceived notion of race and diversity on campus, so much so that our discussion surrounding racial issues on TWU campus is promoting racial understand-

ing, as far as what it is like to be Black in an anglicized suburb like Langley.

Interracial interaction is essential to the growth of our campus. Sadly, when I walk into the main cafeteria, there is a clear segregation. Few seem willing to engage in dialogue when it comes to the issue of diversity because it makes us uncomfortable. It is essential for an institution like TWU to learn and challenge what is uncomfortable and confront the issue of race consciousness head on, creating opportunities to dialogue with those students of colour. There is significant importance in socializing across racial lines for the development of cultural knowledge and an understanding that is evident for all students, regardless of the racial diversity in friend groups.

The cultural space defined by students’ close friends may not present the emotional, interpersonal, and intellectual challenges required for change and development.

I truly believe that cultural diversity supercharges our academic community, accelerating knowledge, regeneration, and creativity. Our collective diversity of backgrounds, experiences, cultural mores, value systems, and personal beliefs helps to inspire entirely new thinking. Does TWU need to address the issue of diversity? Yes! We live in a society that is increasingly diverse.

It therefore seems logical that we seek diverse representation within our university campus.

We must embrace diversity not as a set of constraints, but as a strategic priority that has inclusiveness at its core. Doing anything less is not realizing the full potential of the university and therefore not maximizing its impact, as an institution, on our world.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Pretty Good.” - Alex Gust

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February 24, 2016 inspired by

[spaces] WELCOME TO [SPACES] LITERARY JOURNAL

Bell Flies Away After planning my parents’ 25th anniversary celebration, my efforts were rewarded with a cell phone bill of $650. It turns out that calling aunts, uncles and second cousins in every backwater town in Ontario really adds up. And in order to pay my cell phone bill, I was going to have to take out a small loan.

I made one final call; this time it was toll-free. I cancelled my cell phone plan, and suffered the Bell lady’s cooing phone voice, as she tried to entice me to stay with the company.

No thanks.

After doing some research, I made the discovery of the century, or rather, the discovery of last century. I decided to raise homing pigeons at a fraction of the cost of my monthly phone bill. It would cost me $8 per pigeon, and an additional $10 a month for food, including a high protein diet of mealworms.

I went to the local pet store and bought two homing pigeons. My start up fee was $36 for the first month, and each subsequent month would cost a mere $20 (one third of my regular monthly phone bill). I named the first pigeon “iphone -5, “ and I called his understudy “Blackberry.”

Within a week and half I had both birds trained. Iphone -5 flew to Mission, delivering “texts” to my sister, and would then stop in Abbotsford to deliver a “text” to a friend. For two months, I reveled in my great new plan, and used the money I was saving from my canceled phone plan, to invest in a larger cage for my two texting machines.

Unfortunately, when I sent a “text” to my grandmother, asking if she would like to have dinner, she hit iphone –5 out of the sky with a Swiffer Wetjet. Thinking that the bird was after her balcony grown heirloom tomatoes, she broke iphone -5’s beak (I did not factor in veterinarian bills into my overall monthly cost).

The astute understudy, Blackberry, quickly picked up where iphone -5 left off, delivering “texts” both far and near.

I would like to think that it was mating season in Barbados, because after a flight to Chilliwack, Blackberry never returned.

After my failed attempt at raising homing pigeons, I made another discovery of the last century. I switched to the landline, which offers unlimited day time calling, as well as unlimited evenings, weekends, and long distances all for $25 a month. And the best part about it is that I no longer have to clean out a birdcage.

Jessica Walters (Vol. 7)

TWU’s official literary journal, [spaces], is entering its tenth anniversary volume! As part of our celebration, the Mars’ Hill has kindly agreed to dedicate one page from each issue to feature some of the finest pieces that [spaces] has published over the years.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “What assets, the negative ones? ” - Alex Bergendahl

February 24, 2016

Lights, LOTR, Action!

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mackenzie

cameron

Actors, musicians, and dancers jittered backstage in anticipation for the gymnasium doors to open.

Doors swung open to an ensuing stampede, and Hootenanny 2016 commenced with a bang.

Mingling among the evening’s performers were another kind of people altogether—Tolkien folk.

This year’s Hootenanny skit was an homage to Lord of the Rings, complete with the fellowship, their foes, and their follies.

Speaking backstage with Graham Boldt, the playwright for the evening-long skit, I quickly learned that this evening was much more than a competition for the title of best act; it was about showcasing the diversity of talent to be found on this campus.

Boldt’s goal in creating the script was to facilitate the flow of the

evening in a way that predominantly highlighted the performers while taking the audience along for a two-hour ride through Middle Earth. Common consensus would say it was a roaring success!

Like a queen, Esther Owobowale walked onto the stage for the first act of the evening with poise, grace, and an overwhelming aroma of mystery.

Known for her powerful singing voice, the audience was treated to an unexpected spoken word performance charged with drama and hard-hitting truth. At one point, Owobowale fiercely says, “Excuse me if I’m a little bit dramatic,” to which an audience member yelled back, “Yes girl!” Although at this point she successfully had the audience wrapped around her finger, Owobowale continued to amaze by inviting Victoria Adimora to sing a gloriously gospel-infused rendition of “His Eye is On the Sparrow.” Both performers took home a first place win.

The first performance ignited

the audience with fiery anticipation for the acts to come. What followed was an eclectic blend of song, dance, and skit. The largest performance was a surprise flash mob, organized by Brianna Bjorgan, Amy Neilson, and Alice Best. The flash mob had over forty students and incorporated a medley of some of the best songs of 2015. Another mash-up dance crew, Sass Squad, received a second-place finish for their tight choreography, excellent song choices, and exuberant charisma.

Props to Maryo Tony for leading the pack, as well as to Lindsay Ries and Jillian Stuart for their tap-dance contributions. Josh Boldt, who also tied for second, performed a classic “dubstep guy” piece that the audience was guaranteed to love.

For those who attended Hootenanny last year, the 651 Flutes may ring a bell. While last year they treated audiences to a Lord of the Rings medley, this year they delivered a How to Train Your Drag-

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matthew wigmore

on medley, organized by Rebecca Nelson and Elaine Wong. Other notable musicians included beat boxer Brian Boom Yoon, singers Becca Carsience and Teagan Plett, and a TWU band, Bronze Wall.

A standout musical performance was delivered from the multiple hands of the band mates comprising Pi Cake. This band, slapped together in a relatively short amount of time, performed a highly unique cover of Justin Bieber’s, “Where Are You Now?” Pi Cake took this song to a place Bieber has never ventured before: honesty. Between Cam Thiessen’s powerful vocals, David Hampson’s soulful saxophone, and Tunji Taylor-Lewis’ well-paced rap, the band left the audience shouting for more.

While not up for any sort of prize or recognition, the cast of The Lord of the Rings skit did a sensational job, so much so that I would eagerly hand them some awards. The most intrigu-

ing accent goes to Becky Geortzen. The most consistent and lovable accent goes to Cheyanne Makelki—she obviously had her second breakfast this morning.

Best legs were hands down Jared Barkman’s, although Noah Reich deserves an honorable mention.

Best overall performance can go to none other than Evan Snee for his unforgettable Gollum performance, complete with bald cap, cackling laugh, and nimbleness of the calves.

Hootenanny was brought to conclusion, in typical Hootenanny fashion, with the announcement of TWUSA’s 2016/2017 Executive team. The Executive team is comprised of Jenna Kastelein (President), Tobin Voth (Vice President), Cheyanne Makelki (VP of Student Relations), Brandon Bustard (VP of Finance), and Jennah Dohms (VP of Academic Relations). Thanks to TWUSA for putting on such a memorable and sensational event.

CobblestoneCottage: Bringing you back home to Ukraine, even if you’ve never actually been there

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cam

thiessen

Located just off of the Langley Bypass near the infamous Buns Master is a small café called Cobblestone Cottage (formerly Prairie Cottage Perogies). As a staunch Mennonite, there are few things which warm my heart more than a plate of delicious

perogies and sour cream. Last year, when I discovered Prairie Cottage Perogies, a local Langley restaurant featuring perogies, kolbasa (an authentic type of Ukrainian sausage), and cabbage rolls as its main staples, I knew I had found what may be the greatest restaurant in the history of local Langley Ukrainian culture. My first visit did not disappoint. After driving around the location about three times, I finally found the hole-in-the wall establishment, connected to a local deli and decked out with all sorts of

Ukrainian cultural heirlooms.

Although I had never visited the motherland, I immediately knew that I was home. The homemade pan-fried perogies topped with onions and fresh homemade sour cream on a plate with Ukrainian sausage, cabbage rolls, and coleslaw were a dream come true.

Now under new ownership, the space has been renovated to transport guests from industrial Langley to rural Ukraine. Nevertheless, you will find the same delicious perogies along with many other Ukrainian staples such as

Borscht, just like Baba used to make. With affordable, satisfying meals around $10, Cobblestone Cottage is the fresh new location for a cute local date or lunch outing with friends.

Their delicious vittles will make you want to flaunt your Ukrianian heritage loudly and

proudly, even if you’re not really all that Ukrainian (guilty as charged).

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Does that have to do with plastic surgery?” –Anna Benitez Youngberg

February 24, 2016

let’s talk about it

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trevor

mcmahan

When faced with issues of race, the easiest road to travel as a Caucasian is to pretend the issues do not exist. If a person is not overtly racist and does their best to be colour-blind, they should not have to acknowledge such issues, right?

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis disagree, instead electing to speak up for Black lives in their most recent pre-release single, “White Privilege II”.

The nine-minute song is a sequel to Macklemore’s 2005 song “White Privilege” and was released for free on iTunes and whiteprivilege2.com on January 22. As the second single from their new album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, it is an audacious choice for a pre-release record.

This song uses the duo’s foothold in pop music to talk about something uncomfortable yet immensely important—race relations.

Macklemore begins the song by telling a story of his experience at a November 2014 protest in Seattle, organized after officer Ferguson’s Darren Wilson was not indicted in the highly-publicized Michael Brown case. Here, he scrutinizes his motivations for attending the protest, asking questions like “are you marching for freedom or when it’s convenient?” He goes on to self-analyze and critique his involvement in the rap community and his involvement as an ally speaking

up for minorities, and, by doing so, he becomes a foil for White America, addressing White privilege using himself as the example.

When the song dropped, I was encouraged. I thought it was so crucial that this influential pop duo was using their platform to speak up about such an important issue; however, I listened to the song again and realized they themselves are not convinced that they are doing the right thing. So what is wrong with Macklemore speaking up for Black lives?

The problem is that he is a famous White guy. If Black lives only matter when a White guy speaks up for them, the voice of the Black community is therefore stolen.

Hip-hop was founded from a culture of oppression; it originated as a way for people to tell their stories of persecution and exclusion and express their identity within a distinctly nonprivileged subculture. In the last several decades, the art form has been appropriated by pop culture, and though this is not inherently bad, it becomes negative when it is stripped from its roots and repurposed as a primarily White form of music. Macklemore has been criticized constantly for this appropriation, especially when he and Ryan Lewis won Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammys over Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

Many listeners dislike the song because they believe Macklemore is disingenuous. A serious song about race from the guys who did “Thrift Shop”? Give me a break.

It is easy to target this song as a ploy for attention, or, more harm-

fully, a “White messiah” complex.

If Macklemore’s intention with the song is to come out looking like the good guy, he disrespects the people he is speaking up for.

And he is fully aware that people will think this is his intention—in the song, he asks himself, “What’s your intention?”

“White Privilege II” is a mess of a song. It has four separate rap verses that are more like spoken word, four sound-bite interludes, minimal musical consistency throughout, and a hook that is never repeated. Pitchfork’s review of the song rips it to shreds musically but praises its boldness as a provocative piece of art. Musically, it mimics the messiness of the issue itself—if this song were clean and well polished, it might fail to provoke conversation.

The song is a dialogue intended to spark dialogue. Created in collaboration with numerous artists from varying backgrounds, racially and artistically, “White Privilege II” reflects a mixture of voices and a strong collective desire for change. In addition, the song has sparked a desire for further action. On the website for the song, the duo posted, “As a company (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis LLC), we are committed to a long-term investment of our time, resources, finances and creative capacities towards supporting black-led organizing and anti-racist education & discourse.”

The dialogue of the song is intended to extend beyond the fading interest of a pre-release single into something more permanent and culture-impacting.

Has the song been well received? Not entirely. Among oth-

er frustrated messages on Twitter, singer Azealia Banks spoke out, saying, “I don’t need nor do I want Macklemore to speak for me.” Fans have also lashed out in comments sections across the internet, accusing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for poorly addressing important issues, or more commonly, attacking them for trying to be “deep”. However, I believe the song is a success anywhere it is able to plant a seed in the minds of listeners, forcing them to deal with a concept frequently swept under the rug in pop music.

The song is for White people who are unaware of their privilege—those who do not want to believe that the culture is inherently biased in their direction. It is also to reassure those negatively affected by White privilege, who are fully aware of its existence, that there are many who want to reach across the cultural rift and support them in whatever ways they can without making the situation worse.

In the outro of the song, Jamila Woods sings, “Your silence is a luxury. Hip-hop is not a luxury.

What I got for me, it is for me?

What we made, we made to set us free”. The refrain is a call to action and reflection, an idea for listeners to take with them into their lives. As someone whose cultural standing is involuntarily linked to my Caucasian descent, it is my obligation to further the dialogue on this matter. I encourage you, regardless of your background, to have an honest conversation with someone close to you about this uncomfortable and polarizing issue. Let’s stop being silent.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “I don’t want to.” –Nathan Stein

Photo Credit: mtv.com/artists

14

February 24, 2016

15

Black lives matter in formation Photo Credit: Melina Matsoukas (2016)

I

matthew

wigmore

At the beginning of this month, Beyoncé, in her becoming fashion, dropped her latest music video: “Formation”. Three days later, she performed highlights from the video at the Super Bowl, framed as a battle of the sexes with Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk.” Many began to speculate if Coldplay was more the featuring rather than the featured act compared to Bruno Mars and Beyoncé.

Regardless of the sudden Super Bowl fandom and hype around Beyoncé’s surprise-announcement of the “Formation World Tour” this summer, the messages

and ethos underlying “Formation” are far from popular.

The United States has been on the UN’s Human Rights Watch for the past 18 months over police mistreatment of AfricanAmerican citizens. Citing both Ferguson and Chicago, Barack Obama has unleashed several police reforms in the last days of his presidency. In response, African-American culture has now adopted a more militant tone in its presentation. #blacklivesmatter quickly became a social movement after the unjust killing of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson, a White police officer in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, MI. This movement has since gained incredible momentum with allies streaming across racial lines, presenting itself in social media, public protest, and riots, which

resulted in military intervention in Ferguson.

Some have gone as far to compare the militant tone in “Formation” and the #blacklivesmatter movement to that of the Black Panthers during the Civil Rights Movement, a group who enacted violence for social change amongst Martin Luther King Jr.’s practice of non-violence. Comments on how Beyoncé wore gun bullets have sparked alarm among Conservatives, including news anchor Tomi Lahren, to believe that Beyoncé is waging war against America.

Certain critics have claimed the African-American community’s latest stance is self-indulging and Marxist. What underlies Beyoncé’s recent release, and perhaps the myriad of responses, is the movement towards realistic

consciousness that racism is still a problem in the United States.

Many communities, including St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, and Houston, are geographically segregated; certain areas are predominantly inhabited by one race. In many cases, Black, Latino, and immigrant “ghettoes” have higher poverty and crime rates.

But Beyoncé sees this more than an issue of geographical segregation. There are currently un-proportionately higher numbers of Black men in US prisons than any other ethnic group. As much as this is a reflection of the justice system, it is also a reflection of access to education and labor. Moreover, in the “Formation” video, Beyoncé positions herself on a sinking police car in a post-Katrina flooded New Or-

leans neighborhood. According to CNN, an internal document in 2006 found that FEMA failed to respond to residents affected by Hurricane Katrina for 72 hours.

As much as militarism and civil rights activism are pervasive themes in Beyoncé’s latest work, they all serve to bring attention to bureaucratic and social oversight of the lives of Black people.

This covers everything from unfounded police action in Chicago, unnecessary response to protest in Ferguson, lack of access in Compton, and a New Orleans that still struggles to rebuild itself after a hurricane that occurred a decade ago. If we live a society where “Black lives matter” causes controversy, then yes, racism is not dead.

Photo Credit: Melina Matsoukas (2016)

Round two: coming back as a grad student

I

sydney

harker

If you had asked me a year ago after my graduation, “Where do you see yourself ?” I would not have replied, “Trinity Western University.” Although continuing my education has always been part of my plan, returning to start the MAIH program (Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Humanities) was not immediately on my radar. After doing some research into other master’s programs, I realized that Trinity was actually the best place for me to continue my education with the type of opportunities and direction I was looking for.

However, returning to start a

new degree at a place where you have previously spent four years of education is a really strange experience. For the first few weeks (I began my Master’s this January) I felt like I was stuck in a limbo between feeling very over and done with my undergraduate degree and yet being back in the same buildings to start a new program.

I have quickly realized just how different my experience in the MAIH program will be, and I have come to appreciate that I need to treat it differently as well.

For one, my schedule has changed dramatically. I worked hard in my undergrad, but I somehow always had some free time and generally was able to get things done on time. When I was working in between degrees, work ended when I left the office. Since beginning my masters, free time is

significantly rarer. If anything, the sheer amount of necessary reading—reading you cannot adequately skim—keeps you more or less tied to your laptop or desk. I have missed one too many Bachelor viewing nights because those readings do not read themselves.

Beyond this, the way I have to read books has changed too, with skimming becoming the norm and timing out how long each article and chapter needs to take as well.

On a much bigger scale though, these first five weeks or so of grad school have changed everything. I have stopped treating this process as “school” and started treating it like a job. My goals are no longer getting the best grades possible, but producing the best research possible. I can no longer afford to take long mental breaks and put my research on the backburner because it represents my future and

career. Working towards a good GPA is meaningless without r e search and publications to back that up, which is ultimately what will decide how far I am able to go in my academic career.

For those of you considering continuing your education, figure out where your goals and ambition are, and then throw yourself into your program, because the rewards are so worth it.

In the long run, coming to TWU as a grad student is different, and it felt a little weird at first, but it is all about how you approach it.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Life is a box of chocolates” - Tunji Taylor Lewis

16

February 24, 2016

Drive for diversity

I

katie

maryschuk

On first thought, you may not consider stock-car racing to be very culturally diverse. In the recent wake of the first race of the Sprint Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway (Florida), NASCAR racing is slowly trying to support minority and female drivers. While the sport is an all-year round high-calibre, adrenaline pumping marathon, it takes a small break in the month of January after wrapping up final races and awards ceremonies in December.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., son of former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt (The “Intimidator”), managed to grasp the first place

finish on February 18 at the first Can-Am Duel event of the tenmonth-long Sprint Cup Series in Daytona Beach, Florida. This gave him a third-place starting advantage for the February 20 season-opener Daytona 500.

Although race wins and spinning cars on the infield can be considered the heartbeat of NASCAR, there is something more that lies just beyond the asphalt. Beyond statistics and scheduled events lies a diverse initiative started in 2004. Conceived around the idea that NASCAR was becoming a dominantly white sport, racers and viewers alike joined together to create the Drive for Diversity program. In a purposeful sports connection, NFL Hall of Fame

player Reggie White got the vehicle running.

The intention for the program was to create events, sponsorships, and ultimately opportunities for a diverse range of drivers, specifically minority and female drivers. People who would not normally receive a second glance when being chosen to step into the driver’s seat of a powerful stock-car. These drivers are selected from all around the world and not limited by age, gender, or experience.

The program is also geared towards increasing viewership of the sport, as many people consider it to be “dry, boring and uninteresting” to watch stock cars race around a track up to 500 times.

While the program started out small and took only baby steps in

KATIE MARYSCHUK

its first decade, it is starting to emerge as a sort of grassroots kick-starter program that supplies NASCAR with everything it needs to continue growing and expanding. It experienced a slight stall in financial support only two years after its decisive installment in 2004, but Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing, was able to take over the program shortly after and attacked its problems from the ground up. He applied personal funds, community connections, and a vast knowledge of racing and joined together with NASCAR to continue the program.

Stressing the

importance of diversification within the stock car racing world, the current class, which boasts five men and one woman, participates in NASCAR’s developmental series—the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Crew members are also part of the program and go through similar stages of learning to that of legitimate drivers. Notable alumni include Kyle Larson, NASCAR’s first Asian driver, Darrell (Bubba) Wallace Jr. from Mobile, Alabama, and Daniel Suarez, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico.

Since its inception, numerous races have also been held outside the continental USA in order to encourage international spread viewership and ties with other countries alongside the Drive for Diversity program. NASCAR is making strides in the right direction in trying to appeal to people who may not fit the typical stereotype role of a driver. The Spring Cup Series continues on Sunday, February 28 with the Folds of Honour Quiktrip 500 out of Atlanta.

Canadian women’s soccer on the rise

I

katie

maryschuk

Twenty-year-old Rebecca Quinn scored a hat trick within a span of seven minutes to bring Team Canada’s score against Guatemala to 7-0. Nichelle Prince, also only twenty-years old, went on to score a sandwiching set of goals around Melissa Tancredi’s ninth goal, bringing the final score to 10-0. Guatemala did not stand a chance. The warm Tuesday night in Houston seemed like a cake-walk for the twenty-woman roster as they took on the number 76 ranked Guatemalan national team like there was no one watching.

Remarkably, the average age of the Team Canada team is under 26. The youngest player, Deanne Rose, is only sixteen. Despite not playing in the match against Guatemala, she logged 129 minutes over the previous two games,

both in Houston, as a starting midfielder. The team’s oldest player is veteran Melissa Tancredi (35), followed by none other than superstar Christine Sinclair (33), who recently scored her 159th international match goal against Trinidad and Tobago.

She now sits only second to Abby Wambach for allt i m e goals scored.

The real question lies in how head coach, John Herdman, is able to recruit these exceptional players. The West Coast and Greater Toronto Area serve as major hubs for soccer activity within Canada. BC Soccer boasts a plethora of options for female players, from grassroots teams for young girls to high performance development

leagues geared at getting girls into programs like Team Canada, to NCAA Division I schools. BC is also host to its own Premier League, with team

representation reaching almost every corner of the province.

Toronto falls under the Ontario Soccer Association, which is comprised of 21 district mem-

bers. These districts can play host to 100 or more teams and serve as the foundation of Toronto-based soccer. Compared to many other countries, Canada has a meatand-potatoes system in which

players are taught the basics and are given a chance to rise to the occasion in higher level leagues.

More notably, two large initiatives have been started within the past two years that aim at giving

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “I don’t understand” - Andrew Peterson

Photo Credit: IQRemix, Flickr.com

all youth a chance to improve on their skills and understand what it means to be an athlete.

The Canada Soccer Pathway was brought in mid-2014 as a strategic plan encouraging players to follow a guided path that leads to soccer excellence. More recently and locally, the BC Women in Soccer Committee has created regional outreach programs that are free to the public and are aimed at getting girls out to play, regardless of ability, knowledge, or funding.

Essentially, John Herdman has a huge pool of players to choose from. As the team gains momentum and continues to put on a good effort, Canadian players may tend to want to stay in Canada. International players are also drawn to the effective and fundamental coaching of Herdman, who has proven to be intentional about garnering support and coaching players to the best of their ability, regardless of age. The team wrapped up a game on Friday, February 19 and hope to continue on to Rio.

February 24, 2016

Spartan update

I

katie

maryschuk

From the court to the track, to the pitch and the rink, each Spartan team has experienced setbacks, major wins, and great victories.

The men’s hockey team currently sits at 11-7-0-2 as of February 18. With a loss to Simon Fraser on February 13, the men seek a win in their two last regular season games against Selkirk (February 27) and Victoria (March 4).

The men sit in the middle of the five-team standings, with Selkirk hovering above by two wins and UVIC below with seven wins.

A win against Selkirk gives the Spartans an edge over any possible wins from UVIC. Both volleyball teams played their last regular season games against UBC this past weekend at the Langley Events Centre.

The men are ranked fifth as of

February 18 and sit with a 13-9 season. The women sit in third place in the CIS (tied for first in CanWest). With a 19-3 season, the women have already earned a playoff spot.

Men’s basketball played their last games of the year in Lethbridge this past weekend. Despite an upsetting 1-17 season, they came within four points of beating a top ranked team (Manitoba) in what was their final home game on February 13. The women also played their last game in Lethbridge and were sitting on the cusp of making CanWest playoffs going into the weekend. The women were able to sweep Manitoba two weekends ago.

The outdoor soccer teams are continually prepping for next fall as well as for exhibition games.

They played the Whitecaps Football Club Team 2 at Burnaby Lake last Thursday evening and play both Quest and Thompson Rivers in the first half of March.

The women are also prepping for the spring season, partaking in

early morning indoor practices to hone their skills. The earliest date that they see gameplay is March 11 against the Fraser Valley.

Cross country season has come and gone, but track and field is in its prime. The team had a weekend off to rest in preparation for the upcoming CanWest Championship in Saskatoon. The team is sending 33 athletes to compete: 18 men and 15 women. The women were able to raise their CanWest banner this past weekend between the second and third sets of the men’s volleyball game.

Complete Champion Approach are at the front of the teams’ minds. For hockey, playoffs begin post February 27 and involve the top four teams. Playoffs for men’s and women’s volleyball begin on February 26, and the top two teams advance to the CIS playoffs in Brandon, Manitoba (women) and at McMaster in Hamilton, Ontario (men) on March 11. Women’s basketball playoffs continue on February

pus Go m a l C

26 as well. CanWest and CIS Championships for the track and field team are two weeks apart, and an athlete qualifies for the CIS championship in one of three ways: coming first or second at CanWest in their respected event, making a CIS standard or ranking in the top twelve of the CIS. These last games and matches are the last for many fifth year and senior athletes.

Congratulations to all who have come this far and are such an integral part of the Spartan Athletics program. Keep your eyes open for the last few upcoming games and chances to cheer your Spartans on!

Campus golf originated on a sunny spring day when Kirk Anderson was struck by a desire to play golf on campus. Having missed the sign-up for the activity credit, he sought a way to play anyway. Security was not too keen on the premise of flying golf balls, so campus golf balls were implemented, and the game developed out of Bocce’s shot mechanic which creates a different game every round.

Eventually, a young group of RAs, led by the hooligan Adriel Carey and his side-kicks Matt Rubuliak and Eric Strom, picked up clubs and implemented a now indispensable part of the game. Dressing in exuberant garments of fabulous colours and

f

t

J

o s with et Aa ia h b er r o C ro n Boeh m

designs, the players began to enjoy the wonderful weather which the Trinity Western campus enjoys (every now and then). This established the sometimes Happy Gilmore style of play displayed by players of a higher calibre. Throughout the years, the campus golf tradition has been passed down from dorm to dorm.

The original campus golf clubs are an indispensable part of the tradition, for the dorm who inherits these clubs also inherits the authority to play a true game of campus golf.

It is important to remember that campus golf is much more than simply a game of golf. There are a few specific requirements which must be adhered to, they are as follows:

2

1 Normal clothes are not permitted. As a general rule, if you are willing to wear your outfit to any kind of social gathering, excluding perhaps a turtleneck-and short-shorts-society meeting, you are not playing correctly.

17

Official campus golf balls look, feel, and act exactly like tennis balls and must be used in any official campus golf game.

3 A true game of campus golf can only be played with the chosen dorm, the dorm that inherits the sacred clubs, or, more accurately, the dorm which the sacred clubs inherit.

4 Under no circumstances is the score allowed to be kept. If a winner is crowned, you have all lost.

To see the rest of Aaron and Josiah’s photo shoot go to:

marshillonline.com

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Accumulate a lot of things.” - Noel Muddamalle

18

February 24, 2016

Canucks at the trade deadline: buyers or sellers?

I

connor

ewert

The Vancouver Canucks are still hemming and hawing about their trade deadline status. With the priority of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden has been charged with the difficult task of becoming younger and faster while trying to remain competitive.

General Manager Jim Benning

has spoken to the media about being a potential buyer at the deadline to propel them into the mix for a playoff berth. With top defenseman Alex Edler, out until April, veteran centre Brandon Sutter, out for even longer, and two teams and six points between them and the final playoff spot, the decision is clear: Benning, Linden, and the Canucks will be sellers on the February 29th NHL trade deadline.

Which players are they going to move? The most intriguing names are Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata. Hamhuis is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and would be

a great top-four defenseman for a contender at the deadline. On the other hand, he is a BC native and signed a hometown discount to stay in Vancouver, not to mention that he has a no-trade clause that Benning has yet to ask for him to waive.

Vrbata is also on a contract that expires at season’s end. After scoring 31 goals and playing with the Sedins last year, Vrbata has struggled to find the scoresheet this season, tallying only 11 points thus far.

Other notable names that could be on the move are Yannick Weber, Brandon Prust, and Chris Higgins, all of whom would likely

bring in a small return in a trade.

Veteran Alex Burrows is also rumored to be on his way out, but with one year left on his $4.5 million contract and a no-trade clause, it is unlikely the Canucks will be able to trade him without retaining some salary.

The Canucks still have a week or so of games to determine their status at the deadline, but with no-trade clauses and hefty contracts needing to be moved in order to become younger and faster, it will be no easy task for management to become sellers on February 29.

Five predictions for the NHL trade deadline

I

connor

ewert

New York Islanders trade Kyle Okposo and Marek Zidlicky to New York Rangers for Keith Yandle and a 2016 4th Round Pick.

Carolina Hurricanes trade Eric Staal to Washingon Capitals in exchange for 2016 1st and 3rd Round Picks.

St. Louis Blues trade Kevin Shattenkirk to Montreal Canadiens for Alex Galchenyuk.

Winnipeg Jets trade Andrew Ladd to Florida Panthers for 2016 1st, 4th and 2017 3rd Round Picks.

Tampa Bay Lightning do not trade Jonathan Drouin.

Keith Yandle and Kyle Okposo are two high profile UFA’s at the end of the season and both are set to hit the open market in the summer and will not sign extensions with their respective clubs. Both teams are heading to the postseason and are prepping for a deep run in the playoffs, so this trade makes sense for both teams. The fourth round pick offsets the 38 year old Zidlicky.

Staal is the player most likely to be traded in the NHL. The Canes could potentially get away with dealing Staal at the deadline for picks and then perhaps convincing him to return to Carolina at free agency for next season in a move similar to what Antoine Vermette did last season. Washington has dominated the NHL this season and they are primed for a long run in the playoffs this season. It wouldn’t hurt them to give up a late 1st round pick and acquire a top-6 talent in Staal.

Speculation has been swirling of the Blues shopping Shattenkirk for weeks.

The Blues have an already steady blueline and are looking for younger and inexpensive assets in return, enter Galchenyuk. The Canadiens’ free fall continues and it is likely they make a deal before making a coaching change. Shattenkirk gives them another defenseman to provide offense along P.K. Subban and gives the Blues their younger asset.

Ladd is yet another player to hit the open market as a UFA at the end of the season. The Jets have tried to sign their captain to an extension but it is becoming grim at that possibility and a deal is more likely.

The Panthers sit at the top of the Atlantic division and will be looking to add playoff experience to help their younger team. Ladd has 2 cups to his resume, so it seems like a natural fit.

Drouin demanded a trade from the Lightning and has refused to play since, but GM Steve Yzerman does not need to give in to Drouin’s commands. The Lightnings are playing well as of late and there is no urgency to get a deal done.

My prediction is that Yzerman will wait until the summer to deal with the situation. Yzerman will have a greater idea of Drouin’s future once they resolve the Steven Stamkos situation. Potentially a trade at the draft in June or a sign and trade scenario for a free agent in the Summer before July 1st.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “If you want to be part of the capitalist machine…” - Anonymous

February 24, 2016

19

KREG LONNEBERG

How to deal with your friend’s idiot boyfriend

by Madeline Gallard

I really, really, really dislike my friend’s boyfriend. There is no real reason for this, since my hatred of this guy started with one, and only one, interaction. As a 16-year-old, I was sitting on the steps of my church, texting away in a typically moody and emotive fashion. He wandered up to me, glanced at my phone, and uttered the horrendous phrase: “Texting at church? What a heathen.”

I cannot possibly be alone in the situation of dealing with a so-called Idiot Boyfriend. So, I have presented you with a handy set of tips, in which to process your intense dislike.

1. Become a Rational Being.

Take a few, deep, cleansing breaths. Become one with the universe— unfortunately, the same universe that stuck this idiot in your plane of vision. Recognize that you are bigger than this.

Drink some water. Punch a wall.

Redefining diversity

by Graeme Geddes &

Sebastian Wingfield

The dictionary definition of the word “diversity” is “the state of being diverse” (Webster, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1977). However, after scouring many peer-reviewed journal articles to find another foundational definition of the concept, we came across the song “Swagga Like Us” by popular culture icon/word-definer T.I. His unquestioned scholastic repute gives us confidence that his research on diversity will hold weight and cogency: “ Yeah hah, you think?

That’s right; aye You can go see Weezy for the wordplay Jeezy for the bird play Kanyeezy for diversity And me for controversy” (T.I., Kanye West, Jay-Z, “Swagga Like Us”, 2008) When one examines the lyrics of this cultural pillar of music, it is clear that diversity can be accurately defined as “Kanye West”.

2. Plan Your Escape Strategy.

Find a method to avoid being stuck in conversation purgatory with the Idiot Boyfriend. Maybe that means you hang out by an open window every time you see him, in case you have to jump out of it. Maybe that means keeping a tampon in your back pocket (no guy wants to hang around when one of those things comes out). Maybe that means locking yourself in the bathroom at every party you attend and crying like a baby with colic.

Now that we have established the unequivocal definition of the word “diversity”, we can more closely examine some of Kanye’s actions and statements in order to understand the concept further: “I am Shakespeare in the flesh. Walt Disney, Nike, Google…” (CelebBuzz, “Kanye’s Most Outrageous Quotes”, 2013). With this simple sentence, Kanye reveals that diversity is able to not only bridge the gap between races (over hundreds of years and continents), but also to join personhood with corporation in an inextricable dance of physical and social construct. And he doesn’t stop there. With the proclamation that “I’m my favorite rapper” (ibid), he subtly paints a portrait of diversity through the beautiful re-unification of the self with self-concept—the ultimate meta-re-definition of the word diversity.

3. Focus on the Good So, this guy can’t possibly be the worst on the planet, right? Try to phrase all your negative thoughts in a positive way.

“Wow, he really has a talent for bringing sports into every conversation.

What a gift?”

“That Macaroni Crayola crayon-coloured hair of his really glimmers in the sun.”

“He called his girlfriend tantalizing in front of all her friends. How sweet.”

Considering this substantial evidence, it is inarguable that diversity is a “major key to success” (Khaled, DJ. Snapchat. Keys to Success).

Once you recognize the pure and beautiful being within, perhaps the Idiot Boyfriend will become the Less Idiotic Boyfriend.

Or maybe not.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “My brain is empty.” - Jared Barkman

20

February 10, 2016

Submit your declassifIeds at:

www.marshillonline.com/de-classifIed Mars’ Hill editors reserve the right to edit or reject submissions based on content and/or length. A printed submission does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of any kind, nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of Mars’ Hill staff , the student association, or that of the University. In fact probably not.

Do caterpillars know they are going to be butterflies or do they just build a cocoon and think “what the heck am I doing”.

I love making small spelling mistakes in my sentences.

Do you ever look at your eyes in the mirror and think... I’m looking at my eyes with MY eyes

Why does M&M’s have an apostrophe in it? Like, what do M&Ms possess?

In the past 24 hours I have seen 3 people knock down chairs in the caf while getting up abruptly.

Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.

When I say I’m a student to old people they immediately think they need to feed me #nevergraduating

Friend: what are you doing for lent?

Me: giving up on girls…

I did it.

“I understand Joel Friesen,” said the deceitful young man.

I hear it was the girls in 2/3 low who were responsible for that popcorn prank a few weeks ago.

They pranked themselves to make it look like it wasn’t them.

6 Mid, you should destroy them.

Sincerely, A concerned CF They told me I can be anyone I want... this is why when I grow up, I will become a potato.

The worst time to have a heart attack is in a game of charades *People chasing eachother on campus* Can’t tell if it’s Gotcha or an attempt at ring by sping You’re welcome Steven.

Dear @sotrinitybarbie, please come back.

I love that our president makes the time for things like 11:07!

THE HIMNAL

Ash Wednesday: That magical day when you know exactly who the Catholics are.

I have a lot of growing up to do.

I realized that the other day inside my fort my boyfriend is the square root of -100. a solid 10, but also imaginary

I cannot unsee Mitch Hemerling with boobs #fraserlipsync The bookstore’s 5cent candies really is one of the best kept secrets of trinity What is Gotcha?

I have been tricked. Hawaiian pizza is actually created in Canada.

The pond is looking pretty brown these days.

We need a border wall ready just in case Trump gets elected.

I never knew I needed JaredLegolas in my life until Hootenanny #thoselegs #thathair Can February March? No, but April May. I think it’s wrong that only one company makes Monopoly.

Nanananana BATMAN My train of thought didn’t just derail. It flew off the tracks, down a ravine, and exploded into a black hole.

What is Gotcha?

Alec Gloanec, it was a privilege to sing Fix You under our breaths together when we were alone in TWUSA #ilikeyourplaylists My current thoughts: how do mermaids have babies?

It seems like a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget kinda day The real question is, did anyone spot a rainbow in Douglas after the great flood?

Cal’s own low cal calzone zone To you who plays the beginning of Sorry on repeat out your window in Robson at 10 pm-it’s not too late to say sorry

Ryan

year: 4th robertshaw shuttleworth Domingo

age: 25

major:Philosophy

Best place for a first kiss? The lips, I would

Hometown: Abbotsford, BC Denomination: Anabaptist.

Favourite way to worship God? Thinking. (No seriously, don’t you ever just think about God?) Favourite man/woman in the Bible? Hosea.

think.

height: 5’10”

Best pick up line? “Mark but this flea, and mark in this, How little that which thou deniest me is…”

Domestic talent? Yes. I have that.

How would you win her parents over? “Look,

Biggest deal-breaker? She wants to live the rest of her life in Abbotsford, BC.

How long before you propose? If we’re not

Lived the most insane life to make a point about God’s character.

Good age to get married? The age of cheap artsy weddings.

How many kids do you want? No less than two.

Skill that makes you “the one”? Getting on

Six is kind of pushing it.

Is mucho burrito healthy?

the list at concerts.

we all know mixed-race kids are cuter…”

sick of each other within a year, it must be pretty special.

Idea of a perfect date? McDonald’s coffee at

3 AM, because we don’t want the conversation to end.

How do you feel about diversifying your assets? “Same.” - Mat Kim