Over The Edge
UNBC’s Independent Student Newspaper est. 1994
January Magic
How to Enjoy Winter, pg 12 NUGSS and Senate Elections, pg 3
Robin Ohia| Flickr
Volume 24, Issue 6
Free overtheedgenewspaper.ca
February 6, 2018 over.the.edge.unbc@gmail.com
impossibly slippery ice only builds the urge to keep oneself tucked away, hibernating through dark days and dark feelings in an ever demanding world. I’ve been living in Prince George my entire life; an entire life of winters and January’s. I keep thinking it will get easier but it never does.
changed the course of the planet with our behaviour. I’m astounded, and I feel it in my own personal geography. Even the most empathetic person will forget about our rapidly acidifying oceans and melting ice caps, but it seems to have a bigger impact when you can see it in your own part of the world.
My mind wanders forever to the land, and how we have changed it. How we are in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, due to the actions of humans. We are the only creatures to have
As I write this, the snow keeps coming down and we hold onto hope that the busses will arrive on time. This is what we are known for: deep snow and helping others get unstuck from it. But I
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can feel the changes in my bones; my body knows it is not moving through the same world as five, ten, twenty years ago. I remember school ski trips planned far into February, and playing in the snow on my brother’s birthday in early March. I remember worrying about snow as I planned my Halloween costume, and canceling my birthday party in December when it snowed too hard for anyone to come. I keep calling this home, even though the definition constantly shifts.
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Over The Edge Over The Edge is the University of Northern British Columbia’s independent student newspaper. Our office is located on the 2nd floor of the NUSC building in room 6-350. We are an equal opportunity publication which represents students in the UNBC and Prince George community. Our publication supports student writing by welcoming news, arts, sports, culture and opinion articles, as well as photography, comics, and creative writing submissions.
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’ve been feeling exhausted, I don’t know about you. We have been firmly encapsulated in January, moving into February with dreams of longer days and sunlight. The constant rotation between heavy snow, freezing rain, and
Letter from the
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Tim Hill
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NUGSS Elections T
January 30 – Feb 19th
Board of Directors: President, Vice President, Three (3) Directors at Large
SPEECHES: February 21st @ noon in the Wintergarden MAXIMUM 2 MINUTE SPEECH FOR EACH CANDIDATE
he Northern Undergraduate student society is seeking nominees for the following positions:
Equity Council: The NUGSS President, One (1) Aboriginal representative, One (1) LGBTQ representative, One (1) Women’s representative, One (1) Accessibility representative, One (1) International Student representative, One (1) Sustainability representative, One (1) Lay-person NOMINATION PERIOD:
CAMPAIGN PERIOD: February 20th – February 26th
VOTING: February 27th – February 28th 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Online
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Senate Elections S
enate elections will be conducted electronically. An email invitation will be sent to students’ UNBC email accounts by 12:00 p.m. on February 21st directing them to the Fluidsurveys voting poll to elect candidates to Senate. Each email will include an individualized link, which means if you forward your email onto anyone you will void your vote. Students will only be able to vote once. The candidates’ letters of interest will be posted there as well. The voting poll will remain open from 12:00 p.m. on February 21st until 12:00 p.m. on February 23rd.
The following candidates will be running for election to Senate: Corey Bonnar, Emilio Caputo, Helgo Holler-Busch, Abass Adebayo Idris, Gabrielle Jacob, Austin Lyons, Haliey Masingham, Matthew Allan Nielson, and Erik Searle
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Archival Connections Speaker Series: Dr Jonathan Swainger Tierney Watkinson News Director
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re you interested in learning more about the history of this university? On January 31, History Professor Dr. Jonathan Swainger spoke about his recent book Aspiration: A History of the University of Northern British Columbia to 2015. Dr. Swainger conducted approximately 80 interviews and investigated the archives for about four years before compiling his research into one, nearly 300-page collection. The Archival Connections Speaker Series event, also live streamed by UNBC, was held in the Canfor Theatre at 4:30pm. For the time being, if you follow the link in the UNBC Events page for this event (https://www. unbc.ca/livestream2), you can still watch the recorded video. Ramona Rose, Head of Archives and Special Collections at UNBC, opened the event. She spoke a little about the Archival Connections Speaker Series, explaining, “These talks demonstrate the connections between archival research and the connection to contemporary issues of society.” Dr. Swainger’s speech is the third in the series so far. Dr. Geoffrey Payne, Physiology Professor as well as Interim Vice President of Research and Graduate Programs, followed. He announced a new joint scholarship, between his office and an external funder, for the Northern BC Archives Graduate Research scholarship. This scholarship is worth $5000 and will be awarded up to two times per year, he
said, to graduate students pursuing archival research at Northern BC archives for their graduate thesis or project. Dr. Swainger opened with the revelation that we are coming up on the 30th anniversary of the first, informal chat between Charles McCaffrey (then principal of CNC) and friends Bryson Stone and Tom Steadman about the possibilities of students taking and completing their degrees in Northern BC. His dry humour, a staple to his lectures as students would surely agree, was not absent and was woven into his passionate words about the story of UNBC and his search for information. This was not the first time Dr. Swainger has spoken publicly about Aspiration; first, he spoke after the book was launched in November 2016, and again at the Prince George Public Library in March 2017. Dr. Swainger said that his research began roughly in the spring of 2012. He noted that it feels as though he has been talking about this project forever. “Far too long,” as surely his colleagues, Dr. Swainger dryly attested, would agree. The Archives, on the 4th floor of the university library, were the central place for research for this book, and Dr. Swainger spoke extensively about the benefits and even drawbacks of working from such a treasure chest. He also spoke of how the history as recorded in the archives would sometimes not align with what people recalled when interviewed; their views had changed based on the positive outcome of
the bid for the university.
period following the speech.
“At its best, these active comparisons between what the individual did, thought, or believed at one particular point in time and how the passage of time gave rise to differing notions provided splendid moments through which we see that history is always a dynamic conversation between past and present.”
Aspiration: A History of the University of Northern British Columbia to 2015 is a recipient of the 2017 Jeanne Clark Memorial Local History Award. It is available in the Geoffrey R. Weller Library in both the Special Collections and Stacks; it is also for sale in the UNBC Bookstore.
In 1992, Dr. Swainger was one of the first 8 people hired to teach the new university’s students in Prince George. During his speech, he admitted to a few instances of ignorance on his part--he thought his prospective job would be in Prince Rupert, not Prince George and subsequently decided that a job on the West Coast of BC would be nice. Dr. Swainger had never been to Northern BC before his interview in Terrace. The professor had planned to move on after 4 years. Not only is he still here at UNBC a quarter-century later, but he has written an entire book about the school he had once mistaken to be in Prince Rupert. Dr. Swainger ended his talk with a poignant statement: “We need to produce students with sharp minds and critical skills, so that they possess the means to speak truth to power. I would suggest that such a result represents a fitting legacy to those workaday Northern British Columbians who, in the latter half of 1987, wondered what it would take to reimagine the future of an entire region.” UNBC History Department Chair and Professor Dr. Ted Binnema managed a question
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PG PIRG’s Radical Poetry Night Tierney Watkinson News Director
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he Radical Voices Poetry Night showcased a number of local, extremely talented poets. The event was hosted by PG PIRG (Prince George Public Interest Research Group) at the Thirsty Moose Pub on January 30, from 7pm to 10pm. PG PIRG is led, funded, and maintained by student leadership. It is an independent, non-profit society that aims to promote political and social change for the better, including healthy and more sustainable living. Sam Wall, PG PIRG board member, opened the poetry night. They
were joined by Executive Director Arctica Cunningham, and fellow Board Members Christine Reid, Katie Kramer, and Katie Timms at the event. CFUR organized the music that played during breaks.
registered for the event, it was an open-mic night and audience members were encouraged to take to the podium and share their own pieces or to recite their favourite works.
Poets read or performed their work to an audience that proved to be extremely respectful and entranced. The poetry night featured multiple works of free verse poetry, a rap music performance, a couple of haikus, covers of well-known songs and some amazing, heartwrenching slam poetry.
Many of the topics involved the environment, the earth, what we owe to it and what we as humans should do better. The artists also spoke about love, gender fluidity, and mental health.
While many of the poets pre-
avenue for very important social commentary to be shared. Follow PGPIRG’s Facebook page or check out www.pgpirg.com/ events for future events. Want to learn more about the group? Contact pgpirg@unbc.ca.
The night was well worth the $10 cover charge. It was an amazing opportunity for local artists to showcase their work, not to mention a perfect
Tierney Watkinson | OTE BC Hydro | bchydro.com
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Premier Horgan Leads Trade Delegation to Asia, Focus on Liquefied Natural Gas Trevor Ritchie Contributor
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etween January 21 and 27, Premier John Horgan met with trade officials from three of British Columbia’s major trade partners in China, Japan, and South Korea. This is the first international trade delegation being led by the new Premier, and he is accompanied by Jobs Minister, Bruce Ralston, and Minister of State for Trade, George Chow, while Tourism Minister, Lisa Beare, is joining for the China leg of the trip to prepare for the Canada-China year of tourism, which seeks to highlight Canadian tourism locations to Chinese residents. The Premier has stated that the goal of the trip is to focus on investment in multiple sectors of the BC economy, but there’s only one question on everyone’s mind. What will Asian investors do about BC liquefied natural gas? Prior to the 2013 election, the BC Liberals staked their campaign on the promise of creating a liquefied natural gas industry in Northeast BC to export cleaner forms of carbon energy to Asia, which is actively seeking to transition to less carbon intensive forms of energy. At the time of the election and in the following years, a number of companies from Asia began exploring the possibility of creating the infrastructure needed for a liquefied natural gas industry, including the pipelines and expanded port facilities needed to ship the gas from the Peace River district across to Asia. Thus far, no plants have been constructed and the dreams of creating an LNG industry in BC seem to be fading as other markets become better positioned to take advantage
of Asia’s energy needs. Leading up to the 2013 election, the NDP was critical of the idea of creating an LNG industry in the province and predicted that it would not come to fruition because of the low price for natural gas on the world market. Now that they are in government, New Democrats must contend with the fact that a natural gas industry would provide a significant number of well paid jobs in Northern British Columbia and could provide a boost to the regional economy. Up against that is the concern the New Democrats have with the BC Green Party, whose support is necessary to continue governing under the confidence and supply agreement that was used to defeat the BC Liberals last year. BC Green Party Leader, Andrew Weaver, has stated that any attempt to create a liquefied natural gas industry in British Columbia by the New Democrats would be sufficient reason for he and his party to revoke support for the New Democrats, likely plunging the province into an unexpected and early election. Press releases made by Premier Horgan during the trip appear to indicate that there was a positive exchange of ideas between the British Columbia delegation and their Asian hosts. The main piece of news came from South Korea, where the Premier announced a renewal of a three-year action plan promoting greater collaboration and integration of multiple sectors of the economy, including communications technology and agrifoods. This will increase the value and amount of exports from British Columbia and
should provide additional relief for export companies in the wake of continued concerns over the NAFTA negotiations.
and other Pacific Rim countries, there remains ample opportunity for expanding trade with other international partners.
In following past practices of the BC Liberal government, the Premier took time during the trip to emphasize the importance of the province’s forestry industry. Recent years have shown an increasing willingness by Chinese firms to use wood products for building construction, and it is important to see the government continue its predecessor’s policy of expanding BC wood shipments to China for construction purposes. The lack of significant progress towards investment in Northern BC industries was a disappointment, but with the new trans-pacific trade agreement being approved between Canada
Times Colonist
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UNBC Senate Update for January 24, 2018 Trevor Ritchie Contributor
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n Wednesday, January 24, UNBC Senate came together for the first meeting of the calendar year. Students planning to enroll in the graduate program in First Nation Studies should note that several changes were presented to Senate for consideration. A few questions arose from Senate regarding the changes, and the program has been sent to the Senate Committee on Academic Affairs for further consideration. These changes are likely to be brought back to Senate before the end of the academic year to ensure the changes are applied to the 2018 enrollment year. The Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management has been changed. Rather than having three separate majors that prospective students can choose from, each of the majors has become its own Bachelor of Science degree; BSc Forest Ecology and Management, BSc Wildlife and Fisheries, and BSc in Conservation Science and Practice are the three new degrees that students can apply for. Due to the changes in the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management and the shift to have three separate
degree pathways, Senate also approved new courses to integrate into these new programs. NREM 209-3 The Practice of Conservation, NREM 409-3 Conservation Planning, and BIOL 409-3 Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems have been approved as additional coursework for the degree programs being created. Unrelated to the new Bachelor of Science courses, PHYS 298 (3-6) was also approved by Senate. This course is a Special Topics course, where the topic and content of the course will differ from year to year depending on the instructor and topic requests from students taking the course. The course can be repeated once for credit, allowing a student to obtain six credits from the course, as long as the material within each course offering differs from the previous iteration the student participated in. The prerequisites for Physics course PHYS 404-3 have been changed to increase the ease in which students may access the class. The change was to remove PHYS 302-3 from the list of prerequisite courses because PHYS 302-3 is only offered on a two-year rotation, making it more difficult for students to take the
course and complete their degrees in a traditional four year pattern. Instructors and students in the course also noted that the course material covered in the other two prerequisite courses, PHYS 202-4 and PHYS 206-4 provide enough information to adequately prepare students for PHYS 404-3. This same rationale was provided for removing PHYS 302-3 from the prerequisite list for both PHYS 406-3 and PHYS 407-3. Both of these physics courses retain their other prerequisites. The Senate Committee on Scholarships and Bursaries brought a number of items to the attention of Senate. Revisions were made to the Doctoral Dissertation Completion Award to clarify the meaning of different points within the scholarship information package. These changes were approved and will be made part of the upcoming year’s award disbursement. The committee also approved and brought to the attention of Senate four new scholarships, and made changes to two previously existing scholarships. The changes to the William Dow Ferry Graduate Fellowship in Political Science and the Northern Society of Oilfield Contractors and Service
Firms Bursary focused on changes to the terms and conditions for acceptance. Among the newly approved scholarships, an additional award has been created for students graduating from the Northern Transitions Program. All of the changes to the scholarships will be in effect for the 2018/2019 scholarship disbursement period. A discussion was held about the importance of maximizing usage out of the classrooms available to the university. To that end, Senators offered comments about making changes to the classrooms to be more effective for different teaching methods. Among the suggestions made were to ensure that overhead projector screens were placed in more effective locations within classrooms to allow for blackboard or whiteboards to be used while using the projector, and also changing the desks to be more economical and useful for students who have laptops or larger notebooks. Senators also noted that some rooms have issues with insufficient power plugs for computers and other electronic devices and that this can present a safety hazard for individuals in the room.
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Labour Transitions in the Natural Resource Sector: Mining Eric Depenau Contributor
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s human beings, we are planners. We set goals, make choices and generally try to structure our lives in a way that makes sense. Some of us do a better job of this than others. but generally the further away something is. the worse we are about really getting down to business and making a plan. This avoidance is even more common when it is a big and possibly daunting decision. For many in BC, a plan might be lacking and tough decisions are getting closer day by day. Slowly but surely workers in the nonrenewable resource industries, specifically mining, will have to ask themselves “does my job site have a closer retirement date than I do?” Mining in BC is a long-practiced tradition and an enormous source of provincial revenue and it will remain so well into the future. The “number of people working in direct jobs . . . [at sites surveyed by the Mining Association of BC] increased to 9,329 in 2016, compared to 9,221 in 2015 and 9,954 in 2014” (Mining Association of British Columbia, 2017). This makes the mining industry a massive employer, with entire communities, in some cases, reliant if not dependent on their operations. There is certainly a partial reliance in the case of
the Cariboo Region with one of North America’s largest mines, Gibraltar, in our own backyard. The region has long derived benefits from mineral extraction at this site, but in the not so distant future that may come to an end. Without sounding alarmist or suggesting that anyone will be out of work in the next few days, a future date has been set. In the early months of 2008, a two-phase expansion was completed at the project, bumping the estimated mine life to 17 years. At this time, in 2018, that expiry date is a decade away and well before many will be able to enjoy their pensions and look back fondly at working life. Gibraltar is not the only mine with a looming due date, and eventually workers will have to look at their plans and make a choice. Some will ignore this cause for concern. They will say that new mines are opening or that internal transfers are possible and this is true, they are. However, moves are expensive and often straining. More daunting, in
any industry where hundreds or thousands of employees reenter the job market in quick succession, there could be challenging times for those whose skills don’t line up just right with new opportunities or who are right for the job but low in line. There is a personal responsibility to prepare for whatever may come in one’s life, but the size and scope of these decisions demand business and governments to get involved as well. Since closures are not a new phenomenon we can ask, “how has planning for these shifts gone so far?” Researchers with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives claim, “provincial and federal levels of government . . . [are] unable or unwilling to provide the types of training and transition opportunities” necessary for labor market shifts. Instead, governments have been slow to act and are accused of peddling “hyper specialization” in trades training, leaving many without the skills to survive in boom and bust industries (Cooling et al, 2015). Those workers who are a
little more seasoned might be able to escape the whole mess by pensioning out early if a closure occurs. Of course, it is likely they will lose a portion of their monthly earnings for tapping out, a poor deal for someone who has worked for decades towards their retirement. But there is hope, with the exception of accidents and disasters, closures are generally well known or at least somewhat predictable. Predictability means we can plan to get folks working, resources to market, and the government whole whenever closures happen. These are big questions, but ones that can be answered if all the players, workers, unions, employers, and policy makers start planning for the economies and the workforce of tomorrow. Investigating the creation of internal relocation funds in case of closure or reorganization could help some. While finding ways to guarantee full pensions for those who decide to retire early may be another. Many more people may need to look at their skills and training during these moves, and here is the opportunity to look at post-secondary curriculums to make sure that education is as friendly for people moving in their careers as those just starting them. These are only ideas but the challenges are real and the time we have to answer them is ticking. bitcoinfad.com
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Professional Reliance Eric Depenau Contributor
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his week we ask, “has the public’s trust in professionals been eroded?” A massive question and one that has been top of mind for some as the provincial government, under fresh NDP leadership, has announced a review of the professional reliance model (PRM) used in BC’s natural resource industries. The current Environment Minister, George Heyman, says the government is undergoing a review to ensure “the public interest is protected when it comes to resource management in B.C.” No one questions that the proper stewardship of provincial resources is important. However, what is really being questioned in this review is the ability of private industry experts to apply regulations in an honest and accountable way. It comes down to a crisis of confidence. If we can’t trust the professionals to look out for our collective interests then who are we supposed to trust? The government seems to believe that people do not trust the private sector to uphold regulations due to the perception that companies can be bought with favorable tax policies, permits, and so on. While a clear solution to this perceived mistrust has not been presented by the NDP, the approach being taken has received dual criticism for helping to support a growing wave of anti-intellectualism and for what is expected to be a wave of new regulations and public sector hiring.
Under the PRM, industries hire qualified professionals, contracting companies, consultants, and inspectors who review and certify various construction codes, environmental regulations, and other standards. Examples of these professionals include foresters, biologists, engineers and scientists to name only a few of the professions in question. Under the PRM,
resource companies are the ones responsible for hiring and paying experts to do the specialized work they require and the companies are in the end responsible for compliance with the provincial laws. The flaw in the PRM that has been identified by the NDP is that the public’s trust has been eroded by industry disasters such as train derailments, oil spills, pollution, and in a recent and infamous case, a mine tailing pond failure. It is important to note that this review seems to be based on addressing public perception rather than a
legal grounding in negligence or criminal activity. Since the public perceives the private sector as having failed to maintain a high enough standard this review will likely see government justify a higher level of intervention in the natural resource industry. This intervention might result in an increase in regulation or the re-regulation of various industry practices, the removal of the entrepreneurial companies
government intervention and the subsequent hiring spree of civil servants to pick up the private sectors tasks will only serve to harm business, inflate the costs of a government already mired in questions of fiscal responsibility, and quash entrepreneurial spirit. Moreover, this intervention is likely to have a negligible effect on the occurrence of environmental disasters. The bottom line is simple, the private sector is not inherently corrupt and the public sector is not free of bias. Accidents, as horrible as they are, happen despite the best efforts of all involved.
Interestingly the review of PRM is contained in both Minister Heyman’s mandate letter, as well as the Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Green Caucus leading some to wonder if this review would have happened at all had West Coast Environmental Law the confidence and supply agreement not been struck between that fulfil the regulatory the two parties. Nevertheless compliance role currently, and Minister Heyman says the review the introduction of publicly hired will include recommendations civil servants to fill these roles. with feedback from a variety of Shifting away from the public stakeholders including industry, reliance model would serve as an Indigenous groups, business, and attack on industry. Essentially, the the public, and that the review powers that be would be affirming is expected to be completed by the judgement that the private the spring of 2018. Only time sector is too ripe for corruption, will tell if a responsible solution too hungry for development, and to the public’s distrust will be too influenced by partisanship to presented by the government, be allowed to play such an active or if BC’s natural resource role in the regulation of British professionals are about to face the Columbia’s natural resources. The effects of a trial by the masses. expected solution, an infusion of
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Columns
Professors A to Z Talk: Meal Plan P
rofs A to Z received a question on that controversy of controversies: why students in residences have to go on the meal plan at the cafeteria. This was a controversial move at its start, with angry comments about the university simply looking to making money off of students. The cafeteria in general remains a not-wholly loved institution, and some question whether food is indeed available. Others raise issues about the high cost of cafeteria food and meal plans when many students are struggling financially, and when there are almost no food alternatives readily available on campus (Go to: http://www. cupe3799.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2016/03/Food-Securityat-UNBC-Final-2016-Report-2. pdf for the results of studentled research on food insecurity at UNBC, and Chartwells’ perceptions of that insecurity). And, in case you were wondering, the numbers of students on the mandatory meal plan is on the rise. Chartwells reports the following statistics on subscriptions:
UNBC Business Services, which oversees the cafeteria, writes: “An integrated Food Services and Residence operations model is common in post-secondary institutions across Canada. At UNBC, students, staff, and faculty at the Prince George campus have the opportunity to be on the All-You-Care-to-Eat meal plan, which was introduced in September 2014. The mandatory Residence Meal Plan applies to all students living in Residence that have less than 60 UNBC credit hours. This plan is designed to support students in their first years on campus at UNBC through the provision of stable food services, nutritious options, and a welcoming social environment.” Many of us old folks remember student days of surviving on Kraft Dinner and ramen (and beer?), because we did not really know how, or care to cook and/ or because we lived on tight budgets. Things are the same but also different now-- while students are making the critical
2014/2015: Roughly (~) 219 students per semester (mandatory for 1st year residence students with less than 30 credit hours) 2015/2016: ~ 309 per semester (mandatory for 1st year & 2nd year residence students with less than 60 credit hours) 2016/2017: ~ 380 per semester 2017/2018: ~ 423 for the Fall semester So an increasing number of you are trekking your way to the “all you care to eat” cafeteria. But why? In a quest for a version of truth, Professors A to Z spoke to UNBC administrators for their explanation of the mandatory meal plan. We note that this is their statement, and that we take no responsibility for its content
durwest.com
first adjustments to being away from home while studying endlessly (that is what you are doing, right?), the cafeteria and the meal plan can act as a culinary/survival safety net for those struggling to adjust to university life and/or just feeling overwhelmed with tasks. Professors A to Z leave it to you to determine what the best option is. For those who wonder about the amount of revenues that Chartwells generates from students (or their parents), via meal plans or even single meals, we leave you with this. Robert Knight, UNBC’s Vice-President Finance and Business Operations says that: “One thing to note is that a portion of food sales revenue comes back to the university to support university operations. That’s also the case for all sales for UNBC business services (bookstore, student housing, conference services, sports centre) on our campus. After subtracting actual costs for salaries and supplies, UNBC
Business Services contributes $1.5 million back to the campus.” We note that the exclusive contract for food services provision on campus will be up for bid soon. If there is anything here that students want to have a voice on (corporate ethics, food provision, on campus food pricing, mandatory meal plans), Professors A to Z suggest that it is time to step up, and get involved in making the changes that you want to see in the world, and in your cafeteria. Professors A to Z wish you the very best this semester! Don’t forget to send us some WTF questions care of OTE, and we’ll do our best to get answers!!!
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New Year, New U-Pass Corey Bonnar Contributor
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he New Year is here and thank goodness for that! A time to rejuvenate the spirit and revisit all of those well-intended changes and goals to improve our lives. Between planning healthier routines and building smarter habits, every one of us should have at least contemplated and reflected on our lives regardless of the personal commitments made. I, for one, have decided to make a more concerted effort to make proper use of my U-pass. If not for the benefits that the steamsauna, swimming, running, and yoga will have on my personal health, it will also better prepare me for future sea-level rise and the looming zombie apocalypse. By taking city transit and not driving to campus I will also be contributing to the greater good of our community by reducing my carbon footprint and having one less poorly parked car in the musical charade that is our parking lot. I am also making an effort to get more involved in student life and become a more active volunteer in the local community. I recently filled out an application to volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul as well as putting my name forward for a seat on the UNBC Senate. Now I understand not everyone has the time or the desire to be a world-changer but regardless of where you are at in your personal journey, just remember it doesn’t take much time or effort to make a difference. By just showing up to the T-Wolves games and cheering on our varsity teams or coming out to sing a random tune at the Thirsty Moose on karaoke night, you too are making student life at UNBC more enjoyable and engaging. So even if you have a burning hate for New Year
resolutions, it is always a good time to be grateful for all the positives in your life, and to show those around you that you care. The opportunities for meaningful interactions and personal growth at UNBC are endless, don’t let 2018 get away with being just another year.
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Culture
How To Enjoy Winter in Prince George Tierney Watkinson News Director
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ow. It is cold outside.
A few weeks ago, I thought that winter had forgotten about us. And then suddenly it hit—endless cycles of snow and freezing rain, the kind of wind that lovingly rips your face off, and temperatures that dropped faster than my interest in The Office. Don’t give in, UNBC students. Bundle up and venture into the outdoors, because there are still things happening around town that are affordable AND worth mild hypothermia. Public Skating: Skating rinks are still warmer than being outside right now, and the Elksentre Arena provides public skating every Friday from 7:30-9:30pm, and every Sunday from 2:003:30pm. The Rolling Mix Concrete (RMC) Arena is also open to the public on Saturdays from 12:302:00pm. The drop-in price for the average student is $5.25, if you are between 19 and 59 years old, and skates are available for rent at $3.50 a pair. The arenas even provide skate-sharpening services. Season passes are also available—check out http:// www.thenorthedge.co/publicskating.html for more info. Prince George also has many community outdoor ice rinks—a map of their locations can be found on the city website, www.princegeorge.ca, under the tab “Recreation”. The Outdoor Ice Oval, located behind the CN Centre, is a citymaintained, 400m skating track. They also offer speed-skating lessons. A day pass is only $2 and you can rent skates for $5. Season passes are also offered. Although the Oval’s hours and season depend heavily on weather, and certain time slots
are dedicated to speed-skaters only, it is usually open from 11am to 8:30pm daily. Go to http:// www.pgoval.ca for updates. Drop-In Hockey: For those of you who have the equipment and just can’t get enough of the sport, the Kin Centre 2 offers drop-in hockey for everyone aged 16 and older, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12pm to 1:30pm. The season ends March 13 this year. If you are the goalie for the game, you play free; otherwise admission is $8.00 per day. Snowshoeing: Who hasn’t wanted to try snow-shoeing? If you don’t have a backyard full of snow to tromp around in, or maybe want to explore more than ten square feet of snow-covered lawn, the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club offers daily and seasonal passes for access to their snowshoeing trails. Students pay only $3.75 for a day pass; the regular adult rate is $6.50. Plus, if you enjoy your day of snowshoe adventures, you can apply that day-pass fee to a club membership. The club also has an events tab on their website, www. caledonianordic.com; here, you can find dates for group snowshoeing, should you find yourself unable to convince your friends that this is, in fact, a fun activity and don’t want to try snowshoeing alone. Shoe rentals are $8 for a part day and $12 for a full day. Another club, The Caledonia Ramblers (who are also a hiking club), host family and group snowshoe excursions at varying levels of difficulty. Membership with the club only costs $30.00; the price of daily excursions varies from free to around $15 because it depends on the trail location and travel distance. The
club website, caledoniaramblers. ca, contains a list of trails, how long each takes to traverse, and notes difficulty levels. Unfortunately, the website does not mention shoe rentals, but Stride & Glide Sports offers snowshoe rentals for $13 per day. Cross Country Skiing: If snowshoeing isn’t your thing, you can try your hand at crosscountry skiing. A day-pass to maintained ski trails, again offered by the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, is $10 for students and $14.50 for other adults. Ski sets are available to rent for $15 to $20; prices are lower and vary if you only need to rent poles or boots. Dancing: While dancing is not an activity specific to the winter months, it is nonetheless a reason to escape the confines of your house. Dance North offers drop-in Ballroom and Social Dancing, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm. The fee is $5 per drop-in and the dancing is held at the Enchainement Dance Centre. According to their website, dancenorth. ca, they welcome everyone regardless of experience. The Northern Twister Square Dance Club has their own sessions for new dancers Mondays at 7pm, through to April 30. The lessons are held at the Knox United Church. For more information, find their website at www. northerntwisters.ca or call 250964-4851. Dancers of all (or no) experience levels are welcome.
Prince George Free Press
Culture
An Ode To Beets Jade Szymanski Contributor
A
couple of weeks ago, I volunteered with the Good Food Box program, which is run by UNBC’s PGPIRG, and is essentially a box full of local fruits and vegetables for only $15. It definitely gives you a bang for your buck, as the amount of produce you receive is far below the price you would pay at a local supermarket, whose produce is full of chemicals and GMO’s anyway. The taste of these fruits and vegetables are crisp and fresh, as the bites that fill your tastebuds scream ethical consumerism and sustainable living. The next boxes for this semester come out on February 27 and March 20, and can be ordered online at https://www.pgpirg.com/local-foods or at a table in the Wintergarden the week before the pickup dates. However, as we were handing out the boxes, I noticed that many people picking up their boxes weren’t too stoked about the fact that there were beets in their order, as they didn’t know what to do with them. Every new moan and groan was like someone was painfully pulling out my teeth one by one and making my mother watch; not a feeling easily compared to anything except hearing people disrespecting beets. So, to make up for all of the hate that’s been circulating for the past couple decades about the horror that beets are, here’s an ode to beets: Oh little beet, Deep roots fill the blood of enemies and feed the hunger of heroes, With smouldering ferocity, you’ll gasp for air as the intensity narrows; Sweet cream and earthy crunch brings life to the bland and flavour to the fallen. Stunned with the experience, re-evaluate why you’ve been so solemn; Only to realize the absence of this ruby orb has caused you too much grief, Which echoes through the fields of remorse and the seas of disbelief. Flipping through texts and verses, the discovery of variety brings new hope, Sprouting under the winter moon, observations fall under a reflecting telescope. As dreams of borscht, purees, and salads twirl around your kitchen, Mother Earth will float down with one request: that you accept Her mission. The veins of crimson glow through the corpses of those who enter the war To defeat the onus of contempt carried down from nothing but folklore. Refusing to stand alone, bear strong friendships with balsamic and honey. Let citrus and sweet contrast bold tones, or opposingly befriend garlic and rosemary, Which eludes the mood of complements to the earth, rather than to steal the show. Dissect the flesh and it’ll offer you its soul; opening up to reveal its marrow. Roasted beet with feta cheese will engulf you in a trance with ease, Boiled beet and softened carrot take a light that earns its merit. Medallions exhibit rings of character, whereas slivers depict a quiet presence. Boisterous main character or simple supporting actor, you can’t go wrong when it’s in attendance. Surrender all the loathing, the displeasure, the aversion; Relinquish your reluctance, your resentment, and repulsion, For the helpless day will come when you’re haunted in your sleep, Causing you to scream and shout, “Ode to the beet!” LOVE_LIFE | Getty Images
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Culture
Greetings From Across the Pond: Norwegian Exchange Eric Depenau Contributor
I
am writing from a desk on the fifth floor of the Mørkvedlia Student dorms in Bodo, Norway. On a clear day, one can catch a glimpse of the Rockies from the Weller Library, a gorgeous site no doubt, but the view from here is a different caliber. Without leaving their beds, students are treated to views of more than twenty dramatic ice capped peaks, vast avalanche runs, and the jagged Norwegian shore line of Saltfjorden, a fjord, 40-kilometre long starting around the Fleinvær islands and ending at the village of Løding. Minutes of walking will yield all of the amenities one needs: grocery stores, restaurants, hikes, and even the Nord University Campus are all viewable from the steps of the main residence buildings. Even now, in the darkness of January there are plenty of opportunities to take skates, skis, or snowshoes and enjoy the distinctly northern terrain surrounding the city. Outdoor treks are so popular that the university offers inexpensive rentals of most hiking and sports equipment. For myself, the most notable item in the university’s rental roster is its own eightperson lode located in picturesque setting, close to the sea. Over the next few months, I look forward to sharing stories from this exchange and answering questions about the logistics, preparations, and habits that can help make a person successful when pursuing their studies and trying to see a little more of the world. Today, I briefly want to focus on the journey and excitement
of setting out from northern British Columbia to a town in Norway above the arctic circle. Although we, a small cohort of UNBC master’s students, were aware of the opportunity and expected to come to Nord in 2018, the application process did not formally start until mid-September 2017, nearly 9 months later than the yearlong induction to an exchange program that regularly takes place. The rapid progression of applying, being flown to the Danish consulate in Vancouver for immigration interviews, receiving visas, renewing and sending passports and of course, choosing classes at an institution 6,594 kilometers away created, frankly, a great stressor during a normal semester filled with papers, exams and high expectations for graduate student life. It is not an understatement to say that on more than one occasion I was preparing myself to pull out from the program, I still have a draft email sitting in outlook, due to what I interpreted as a lack of clarity. Clarity in the program, around semester and travel dates, course options and so on. To be fair this is a fledgling program, before the two of us who are currently in Norway, only one other UNBC student has undertaken this program – the bumps are still being worked out – even Nord University is new, being incorporated as a state school in 2016. With a great leap of faith, we boarded the first of many planes in early January with little more than an idea of the courses we might like to take and a letter from the Norwegian immigration
services to report to a local police station within seven days of arriving in the country. For some, too many questions remained and our original group of six applicants thinned itself to two. We departed Prince George separately, admittedly I took a peculiar route departing for nearly three weeks to Kenya to soak up some sun, speculate on property and eat some traditional food before plunging into the darkness of the arctic. Flying from Nairobi, Kenya to Frankfurt, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark to Trondheim, Norway and eventually Bodo, Norway on a series of successively smaller aircrafts, I finally arrived late on a Saturday evening, thankfully to the greeting of a fellow exchange student from the Netherlands tasked with rescuing myself and the last late arrival from abroad. Within a few hours I was immersed in the vibrant glow of the northern lights beaming down from heaven and reflecting on the pane of ice that seems to extend from the coast to the mountains. Look into exchanges through UNBC and make sure to follow me here or on social media for picture and stories from Bodo and beyond!
Culture
15
Nineties Kids
Getty Images
Erin J. Bauman Contributor
Here’s to the kids
or too bleached.
regardless of their gender—
who never put down their skateboards.
A far cry
that comes in three colors;
from the poofy bouffant do’s and polo shirts
who still wear short-shorts at 32—
Despite fresh grey in their sideburns they still deem four wheels on a plank— sans helmet and pads, of course—
their own parents put on to be parents. Here’s to the kids
a more than acceptable way to travel;
who run small backwoods farms,
to and from work,
and eat sumptuous concoctions
to the grocery store,
of roots and tubers
or anywhere else most adults
that they have harvested by hand.
would take a car.
The ones who install solar panels on their roofs
Here’s to the kids
in an effort to live sustainably,
who still blast
and as a bonus,
Pantera
wave a finger at big business
to pump themselves up
in the process.
before a big board room meeting. Who hide concert t-shirts
Here’s to “Wayne’s World”
under suits and ties
and “Stuart Smalley,”
like some kind of undercover
“It’s Pat,”
rock n’ roll hero.
“Deep thoughts,” and everything else
Here’s to the kids
that decade of “SNL” churned out
drinking pennyroyal tea
for our entertainment.
on a plane
RIP Chris Farley, forever.
in utero, and here’s to Dave Grohl
Here’s to the nineties,
for carrying on
and to the kids from it
without Kurt.
who aren’t buying into the reality that capitalism has created for us.
Here’s to the kids
The kids who are becoming adults
who are becoming moms and dads
who still don’t believe in nine-to-five,
that are tattooed and pierced, and have hair that is too long
or bottom lines that lack heart, or food that isn’t food; who have long hair,
the kind with front pockets that hang out the bottom because they still have the legs for it. Here’s to the kids who will never put down their skateboards!
The Last Word
Over The Edge IS HOLDING ITS:
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING February 21 12:30 - 1:30 April Price Board Room
COME HAVE A VOICE IN HOW YOU WANT YOUR STUDENT NEWSPAPER TO BE RUN! Date: March 31, 2016 Time: 2:30-4 pm Location: NUSC Event Space Light lunch & snacks will be provided
We will also be making job postings soon! Stay tuned for more details!
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