Over The Edge Volume 25 Issue 3

Over The Edge

UNBC’s Independent Student Newspaper est. 1994

Prince George Votes October 20 pg 3 - 4

Cafeteria Workers Strike, pg 5 Proportional Representation, pg 9 Counselling Services Failing Students, pg 12 Volume 25, Issue 3

Free overtheedgenewspaper.ca

Kelly Bergman | Bergmedia

October 16, 2018 over.the.edge.unbc@gmail.com

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Next deadline: October 31, 2018

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and your body fat distribution.

Though new devices are being developed, and law enforcement is set for more training on the signs of impairment, there is still no way to accurately and reliably measure marijuana intoxication, meaning the application of law could be left up to a best guess. Many still have concerns about legalizing marijuana in the first place, but perhaps what we truly need to fear is vague legislation which could get some people into trouble.

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Over The Edge is the University of Northern British Columbia’s independent student newspaper. Our office is located on the third 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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Over The Edge

Along the same lines as drinking and driving, drugging and driving will also be prohibited. One of the new regulations included in the policy framework would see drivers suspected of driving under the influence receive a 90-day driving ban, based on a test of bodily substances or evaluation by a drug recognition expert. Unfortunately this creates challenges, as marijuana intoxication cannot be measured the same way as alcohol; it stays in one’s system much longer after use than alcohol does, up to weeks or months depending on how much you use and how frequently,

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acts, licensing to sell, government distribution, health risks of use, and regulations around use while driving or working.

Cannabis sits in a strange place in terms of legislation, as it does not quite fit within existing tobacco or alcohol regulations.

The Province appears to have combined approaches, as smoking or vaping marijuana will have be prohibited in all the same places tobacco is consumed, with an added prohibition on cannabis consumption in vehicles and anywhere children commonly gather.

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There are many resources now available from both the federal and provincial government to help one understand what legalization of marijuana on October 17 will look like in British Columbia, including relevant legislative changes and additions to various

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Who Cares About City Council Melanie Bellwood News Editor

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erhaps you laughed at the title at first read, but how many students at UNBC feel that they could confidently define “City Council” or its relationship to us kids high up on the hill?

Before looking into it, I know that I certainly could not. The thing is, as of October 10, 2018, voting opens to elect Prince George’s own city council, and the question arises once again: will the students and youth of Prince George participate in the vote? I know what runs through my mind when asked this question: I’ve got other things to do. It’s not like it will affect anything with the university. I don’t know anything about any of the people running, so it doesn’t matter, right? Wrong.

The election of city council can hit closer to home than many would expect. It is up to the voter to feel informed about the economic, political, and social status of our city, and one of the best places to learn is on the City of Prince George website. Let’s start by defining exactly what the city council does. In the last issue of Over The Edge, Sam Wall provided a summary of the candidates for mayor and city council, but it can be difficult to know where that information fits in.

Looking at princegeorge.ca tells us some important things about our Mayor and City Council. On the “Mayor and Council Member” page of the website, Prince George’s city council declares the following: Mission: To provide high-quality services and good governance for the City of Prince George within available resources.

Vision: To be a highly functioning,

focused, effective, efficient, responsive, productive, and accountable Council.

Priorities: Council’s focus areas and priorities are described in the Annual Report and Corporate Plan (followed by a link to the aforementioned documents).

This is followed by several pages documenting the histories and community involvements of the current council, and the reasons they have chosen to be involved. While you might not think that those biographies are important, reading them could enlighten you to what our city council thinks about UNBC as a part of the Prince George community. Out of the eight council members and one mayor, four of them choose to mention how either themselves or their children attended UNBC, among other ways they are connected to the school. At least half of our council has placed an invested value in us as a university.

Okay, great. So, we know why they care, but what can city council do for us as students? Well, an article on howstuffworks.com about government and local politics actually provides a simplified version of their role quite well. “[City councils] generally act as the legislative branch of the city government, as well as its policy-making body. The council also looks to the city’s goals, major projects and infrastructure improvements ranging from community growth to land use to finances and strategic planning.”

Anytime a student has remarked upon the positive or negative aspects of major projects such as development of new

infrastructure in our downtown area (like Prince George’s new Marriott Hotel or Wood Innovation Center), or the refinement of the city’s budget to contribute more or less to university funding, they have discussed something that city council deals with on a direct basis. The opportunity to have UNBC in Prince George at all?

That was a city council decision.

These council members are residents of our city with a vested interest in the community, and election season is a prime time to begin a conversation with them about what needs to change.

But, these are just the basics.

What matters to you? There is a bounty of information to be found about what our city council has been doing over the years on the City of Prince George website, and if the important topics have been ignored, it might just be because they are not hearing about them. Luckily, there is good news for those of us who have not yet registered to vote, or are just realizing their empowered potential as a citizen of Prince George. Wednesday, October 17, advanced voting comes to the Bentley Centre of UNBC, allowing all university students the opportunity to participate without having to go down the hill. Because, let’s face it, that’s a deal breaker for some of us. Let’s get ourselves educated and I hope to see you there. We will show the rest of our community that we are a mindful student community, and we care about city council.

Tierney Watkinson | OTE

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Municipal Elections and Why They Matter Trevor Ritchie Contributor

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t feels like every year, there’s an election happening. It can be tiring to keep track of which level of government is being voted on and why that matters, but with the City of Prince George municipal election only days away, this is a last attempt to try and make people pay attention to the least public level of government, which is closest to the people and most important in our day to day lives.

The local government elections are broken down into three major categories of people who we will be voting on next week; the mayor and council, school board trustees, and regional district representatives.

Each group is responsible for different priorities and issues.

The mayor and council are the local officials involved in the creation and implementation of bylaws. These are the local laws that affect everything from parking meter rates, to when and how garbage is picked up. Municipal governments are responsible for things like ensuring the sewage system is operational, and that local road repairs are completed in a timely manner. The local mayor and council are also responsible for zoning laws, which determine what kind of properties can be built in a given area and which can have direct impacts on the availability of housing and other needed amenities in a city.

Our school board trustees are the local and regionally elected officials that work to improve the school system. There are sixty school districts in British

Columbia, with the Prince George school district encompassing many of the surrounding smaller communities in the region. These trustees engage in negotiations with the local school based unions to keep schools open and safe, and work on changing or creating policies to better support students and staff. The school trustees also have a role to play in the construction of new schools in the area, and work with the community to determine the best placement of schools.

The regional district representatives are a bit further removed from the municipal elected officials, and therefore they have to take a wider view of what their responsibilities are.

Rather than being responsible for any one city or town, the regional directors are responsible for the concerns of an entire region of the province. The regional district representatives provide many local services, such as fire protection, waste management, and land use planning for the whole region.

The Cariboo regional district in particular also ensures resident access to libraries and other regional recreational facilities.

Municipal elections almost always occur without political parties being part of the system, so you won’t be voting for any of the parties that you may know about. Instead, most municipal candidates are independents with no party affiliation, though they may be supporters of one party or another. This lack of party affiliation usually means that municipal candidates spend far less money on elections, so

it is often harder to learn about the candidates or even to know that an election is going on.

Voter turnout for municipal elections is always very low, so your voice matters that much more and can affect real change.

Take the time to look around town, most candidates will have lawn signs or other means of identifying themselves. Do what you can to learn about the candidates, who they are, and why they deserve your support. As residents of Prince George, you will be entitled to vote in the municipal elections as long as you’re registered

to vote with Elections BC and have indicated that you are a resident of Prince George.

There’s only a few days left until general voting day on October 20, please don’t forget to do your civic duty and vote in this year’s elections.

PG Free Press

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Feeding the Hungry Melanie Bellwood News Editor

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he relationship between a university student and their food is a tenuous one, full of cravings and crashes as one eats too much or too little of their favorite study-time snack.

Whether you enjoy the food that the University of Northern British Columbia provides for you or not, it is fair to say that having the option to drop by the Agora Dining Hall at 10:30 pm on any day of the week is a blessing for someone living on the quintessential student schedule. Imagine the horror as students arrive at the cafeteria doorstep, only to find that it has been closed down due to a strike.

Now, for anyone that has not been following the recent, tumultuous news regarding UNBC’s cafeteria workers, the next step might be to drop by the Tim Horton’s that is nestled quietly within the Wintergarden. Unfortunately, this might also be closed due to the strike. How terribly inconvenient.

Now, this is only the perspective of the student, who might crave their Tim Horton’s coffee once a week (or day), and could rectify their situation by paying the extra gas money to travel downhill to the nearest grocery store or coffeehouse. Try to imagine how this works for the employees of these institutions.

Workers of both the Agora Dining Hall Cafeteria and the Wintergarden Tim Horton’s are employed by a company named Chartwells (subcontractor of the international company, Compass Group) that has been contracted at UNBC in various forms for quite some time. If you have been following the headlines, you might know that these workers have been negotiating with Chartwells, with the help

of the BC union for hospitality and hotel workers, UNITE HERE! Local 40, for fair living wages, benefits, and job security, for over a year and a half. After months of negotiating against persistently low poverty-level wages, job insecurity, and lack of basic benefits for Chartwells employees, workers took a stand and voted to strike on October 5. A 72 hour strike notice was given, though his does not guarantee an actual strike, however, as the union chose to allot another round of negotiations for the morning of Tuesday, October 9. Following thirteen hours of negotiations

Sydney Philpott | OTE

with Chartwells, the union has stated the company’s last proposal was still not sufficient, lacking job security or wage increases from May 2016 to now. Unless something changes soon, students will find their campus food services behind the picket line.

A media advisory released by the union states that “Cafeteria workers are committed to transforming food service industry jobs at UNBC into stable, living wage jobs” and that “[the issues of poor benefits and low wage] must be resolved in order to avoid a strike.” The current contract Chartwells has with

UNBC is up for renewal this year, meaning current workers would likely lose their jobs, and negotiation gains with Chartwells could be lost with a new contractor; the cafeteria workers are looking for a commitment from UNBC to protect their jobs, regardless of the contractor.

Looking beyond the inconvenience of having to get our student meals elsewhere, it is important to be empathetic to the difficulties that these workers have undergone over the last year. A strike might mean that the hard working individuals that have served the students of UNBC (some for many years) might be going hungry themselves. Thus, it is within all of our interests to keep an eye on the strike situation and offer support wherever possible. Look for more information on what you can do as a student or community member on the UNBC Cafeteria Workers United! Facebook page, attend rallies and sit-ins, email questions or comments to unbcjustice@gmail.com, or simply talk to one of the people serving you your daily double-double.

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Public Pedagogy: What does it have to do with IWAU and our time at UNBC? Laura Pyke Contributor

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n 2015, I began taking undergraduate classes at UNBC. As a returning mature student and single mother, I carried a lot of doubt with me through that first year of classes. What could I possibly contribute to academia? Intellectuals, experts, and specialists surrounded me, and I felt myself to be an outsider and a fake (I later learned the term “imposter syndrome” that is used to label such feelings).

My plan was to get a degree, and then apply to the teaching college to become a high school teacher. In my second year, my confidence grew and I began to attend campus talks, panels and discussions, IWAU and to learn from and connect more with the academic community.

In my third year, I took the time to get involved in clubs, and volunteer with the amazing series Inspiring Women Among Us (IWAU). It was then that I realised I had so much more to experience at UNBC than just classes, and that my life experiences had taken on different meanings and value, in terms of what I could contribute to campus life.

IWAU is a series of events developed and hosted by a dedicated team of organisers

and volunteers trying to change the ways we experience gender relations. IWAU draws attention to forms of oppression related to gender, class, and racial discrimination, and encourages participants to work towards better alternatives. One original, and still core goal of IWAU, is to raise awareness of the Montreal massacre, and to encourage attendance at the

annual ceremony held at UNBC in remembrance of that day, in conjunction with the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

IWAU works to disrupt patriarchal and Western narratives and worldviews by highlighting contributions of women and those of others who are often overlooked or under appreciated.

IWAU organisers utilise feminist theories and activism to inform the series of events, and try to keep it accessible,

inclusive, and affordable.

After volunteering with IWAU, I was inspired (pun intended!) to seek funding with IWAU organisers Drs. Zoë Meletis and Annie Booth, and student Ashley Riceman, through the Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) award. We were successful, and with a small grant each, we continued working

with IWAU and analysing data from feedback forms collected during the 2017 series. This led to an ongoing relationship of mentoring, extra-classroom learning, and thinking about roles IWAU plays. I wanted to know more about the effects that IWAU might be having on UNBC and Prince George as a community.

As part of my explorations, I even got to travel to and present at a national conference in Montreal!

As part of the URE, I had entered a new rabbit hole of research unfamiliar to me - the literature

on public pedagogy. Public pedagogy has a broad definition, that acts as an umbrella term to encompass any format or process of teaching and/or learning outside of formal education sites such as schools and universities.

According to Sandlin, O’Malley, and Burdick’s article in the third issue of 2011 in Review of Educational Systems, public pedagogy can occur at formal sites such as museums, memorials, and historic sites, and can also occur via arts and cultural presentations and performances.

Public pedagogy has a long history, with the term first appearing in the literature in 1894. Since then, the term has been used frequently yet ambiguously, all too often without clear context or description. Helpfully, Sandlin et al. break the concept of public pedagogy into the following five areas: citizenship within and beyond schools, popular culture and everyday life, informal institutions and public spaces, dominant cultural discourses, and public intellectualism and social activism. This helps to clarify where and how public pedagogy can take place.

The reason I became interested

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IWAU in public pedagogy, once I came to know the term, was that participating in IWAU events had led me to think about IWAU’s role as an informal institution.

I was wondering if or how it disrupts dominant cultural discourses, and also thinking about how it facilitates social activism - particularly feminism.

In the course of my research, I encountered several powerful articles that describe public pedagogy type processes and applications that I see in IWAU programming. For example, in their 2016 article from issue three of International Journal of Inclusive Education, Quayle, Sonn, and Kasat discuss “counter storytelling” as a means to disrupt residual coloniality, which “is maintained alive in books, in the criteria for academic performance, in cultural patterns, in common sense, in the selfimage of peoples, in aspirations of self, and so many other aspects of our modern experience.” This brought to mind Dr. Maydianne Andrade’s presentation on unconscious bias and career progression during IWAU 2017.

She combined data with personal storytelling and admissions, and

delivered powerful messages about the biases we may harbour, in a non-judgemental way.

Andrade’s approach moved beyond critiquing existing practices, and focused attention on personal and professional change, societal betterment, and improved social citizenship.

When we seek out educational opportunities, push beyond our comfort zones, and allow our traditional mindsets (often unconsciously controlled though “residual coloniality”) we can affect change within our personal and professional social spheres, not just here at UNBC, but both within and beyond Prince George.

While I suspected it at first, my research explorations further lead me to believe that IWAU is a vehicle for positive change, and we have easy roles to play in this - all we need to do is show up! So, please consider selecting IWAU events that interest you or better yet challenge you (our complete schedule will be out soon!). Alternatively, speak with your professors and ask them to acknowledge a powerful and inspiring woman in their field that could be included in a class lecture during IWAU celebrations!

Most importantly, be open, show up and listen responsibly, and carry IWAU experiences with you, to see where they’ll take you next.

IWAU’s theme this year is “Women, Leadership & Power,” and events run from November 14 to 21, culminating in the memorial service that acknowledges genderbased violence, the Montreal Massacre, and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (11:30 am, Nov. 21, in the Wintergarden).

Watch our webpage, unbc.ca/ inspiring-women, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@ IWAU_Events), and keep some space open in your calendar to stretch your learning sphere from textbooks and lectures to the public pedagogy of community, stories, mentorship, art, and culture. Come and celebrate some of our inspiring women! All genders welcome!

Learn differently #IWAU2018

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News

Bringing in the Bystander Comes to UNBC Press Release

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he University of Northern British Columbia’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee is excited to be offering Bringing in the Bystander to our campus community this year. Bringing in the Bystander is a sexual violence prevention program that teaches participants how to safely intervene in situations where violence may be occurring.

It takes a “community of responsibility” approach, which seeks to build a culture where

everyone has a role to play in violence prevention.

Participating students, staff, and faculty will be provided with a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop, which they can then include in resumes and job applications in the future.

Bringing in the Bystander is a widely recognized and well respected program. So far the Residence Assistants, Thirsty Moose Staff, Pride members, and several student athletes, as well as various staff and

faculty, have been trained.

For more information, you can look at the Bringing in the Bystander website here: https:// cola.unh.edu/preventioninnovations/bystander-overview and the Government of Canada’s page recognizing the program as a best practice here: http://cbpppcpe.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ppractice/ bringing-in-the-bystander/​ There are three remaining opportunities to complete the program:

-Thursday, October 25, 2018 9:00 am - 12:00 pm in Rm 5-173 -Thursday, November 8, 2018 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm in Rm 5-159 ​ -Wednesday, November 14, 2018 9:00 am - 12:00 pm in Rm 1079, Senate Chambers Please e-mail Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator, Meg Labron, at labron@unbc.ca or call the UNBC Wellness Centre to register for a session.

Opinion

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If Youth Under 35 don’t Vote for Proportional Representation Canada’s Future is Grim Jerome Irwin Contributor

T

he swing towards fascist politics in Canada, the United States, and Europe in the twenty-first century has an unmistakably eerie similarity to what politically began to happen in Germany, Japan, Italy, and the rest of the corporate world in the early 1930’s. Now as then, violent, ruthless “strong men” leaders continue to emerge upon the scene, like the dreaded pandemic scourge that became known as the “Black Death” when it first began as a plague in the fourteenth century, and then repeatedly returned until it seemed to disappear by the eighteenth century. Just as that pandemic changed the entire world’s social structure and led to the widespread persecution of minorities, so, too, does the current fascist political-corporate climate threaten a similar host of peoples.

One way to possibly offset or reverse what is happening in the modern world’s different kind of political-social-economic plague, is for the people to demand a voting system like Proportional Representation (PR) that at least is somewhat more representative of the will of all the people. Then, if this new-old historical human plague continues to emerge, it will at least be carried more on the backs of all the people for historians of the future to better judge.

But for the current PR Referendum ballot vote to succeed in Canada’s upcoming election, it is essential that those under the age of 35 vote, since, when polled,

seven in ten want to change the voting system to make it more egalitarian and democratic. The same applies to voters in the forthcoming midterm politics in the United States, who hope to change its now functionally

fascist political climate.

But if left to the over 55 generation in either Canada or the US, then any significant change is doomed because older voters always favour the status quo by a strong margin. Yet while those over 55 in Canada only

make up one third of its voters, they account for more than half of all the votes cast because the majority of voters, under 35 in particular, never vote.

Yet the mainstream political parties of both Canada and the

them ignorant and in the dark about the many advantages that voting systems such as Proportional Representation offer to the citizenry to create a truly democratic process of government and governance.

But “Hope Springs Eternal,” as the old saying goes! Canada is currently mailing to voters all across the country a referendum ballot that will actually give them the power to choose between whether Canada adopts a Proportional Representation voting system or stays with its first-past-the-post (FPTP) system that will decide whether Canada’s fate leads in the same dysmal direction as elections have gone in the past.

FPTP voting won’t ever tell the whole truth of what needs to be done, because Canada and the United States corporate newspapers and digitized news media (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram) now are part of a tightly-controlled and managed worldwide network of propagandized thought, that carefully manipulates what the public, and voters in particular, should or should not think about PR or any other new progressive political concept, idea, or ideal that is put before the voters.

United States, and corporate press of both countries, continually quash every positive, constructive attempt ever put forward to voters to make their political systems more egalitarian and democratic. All this while constantly keeping

Hence, the result is a constant dumbing-down of the electorate to the point that intelligent, independent, free-thinking human beings eventually become disillusioned and turned off by whatever

Continued on next page

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Opinion

political system, while the low-level thinking it demands and perpetuates among its followers continues to direct life everywhere on earth.

But Canadians and Americans once again are about to undergo yet another unfair, inadequate, if not archaic, first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting cycle, where the majority of voters, especially those under 35, never vote and those elected seldom are represented by the youth, women, First Nations, Native Americans, and other minorities.

Some say that why so many among the citizenry don’t ever vote is because of the same worldwide disdain felt towards so much deceitful, authoritarian, autocratic political-corporate rule. In the United States, during its last presidential election that ushered into office Donald Trump, it’s estimated that over 100 million disgruntled voters didn’t bother to vote, many of them under 35, who avowedly want to see the kind of significant changes they envision could still occur in the world.

When a recent debate.org poll was taken in the United States and the question asked, “Should the US adopt Proportional Representation?” Ninety-one percent of the respondents said yes on the basis that nothing

in the US Constitution states that geographic-based winnertakes-all voting should exist, it’s unconstitutional that a voting system, like FPTP, can make one vote count less than any other vote, a less popular political party under FPTP can only ever act as a spoiler that causes the major party closest to its philosophy and policies to constantly lose an election, and the people need different and more accurate representation than FPTP ever allows.

Yet imagine what would or could potentially happen overnight if the majority of voters in Canada, especially those under 35, begin to start the ball rolling in another direction by making the decision to vote and mark “YES” on their ballot for Proportional Representation that would begin to level the playing field that exists between the politicians and people at all levels of municipal, state, provincial, and federal government? What kind of inspirational example and ripple effect could that begin to create among those Americans who desire a similar democratic form of rule?

However, unless or until that were to happen, Canada’s current voting system, like that of the United States, will continue to fail in its attempts to woo a majority of its people to the polls - whether

they be over 55, youth, women, Indigenous, or other minorities.

This is where the Achilles Heel of the FPTP voting system in Canada and the US, and their style of governance are most glaringly obvious and why every ensuing election continues to look more like trying to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic; while the politicians, blind or indifferent to the sea of grassroot discontent that constantly swirls all around them, forever try to bail out themselves and the gross shortcomings of their voting systems.

But if perchance Canadian and American voters were to opt for their own unique Proportional Representational system, North America and the rest of the world could become a very different place than it is today. If not, the same election results will continue as before, the majority of voters will choose not to vote and, the pandemic plague of human life caused by the same malaise of so much indifference, ignorance, or disdain in society will continue to spread.

Opinion

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The Case Against Clapping Monique Gendron Production Coordinator

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ecently, I heard that the University of Manchester Students’ Union has banned clapping in favour of using the deaf and hard of hearing equivalent, the so-called “jazz hands.” This was, according to the student group, to be more inclusive of people with sensory issues, autism, and deafness.

I am all for this idea. There are some days when even the slightest noises can set off painful ringing in my ears, and the very notion of attending an event where I know there will be lots of loud noises is enough to cause

me a large amount of discomfort.

Knowing that there will be a place where quieter appreciation of whatever material is being presented would make it much easier for people who struggle with sensory overload to attend.

Granted, there are still people who will believe that requiring the general population to accommodate the few is an unnecessary step, that it is bending the rights of people and forcing them to do things that are not considered “normal.” Even so, what about the people who do require these accommodations?

DON’T LOSE OUT – SHOW ME THE MONEY!!

The main Award Competition for UNBC Awards will open on October 15, 2018 and close on March 1, 2019.

Current UNBC students can apply for awards in the following categories: • Undergraduate In-Course Awards (Students taking undergraduate courses), • Graduate Awards (Master’s & PhD Students), and • General Awards (open to both undergraduate and graduate students).

These awards will go towards your September 2019 and January 2020 Semesters at UNBC. Apply when you have a bit of downtime over the Christmas Break To apply go to www.unbc.

AwardApplication online awards opportunity to questions, stop Registrar and an Aid staff member your online or email us at

ca/MyUNBC/FinancialAid/ portal and submit your applications to have an cash in! If you have any by the Office of the Awards & Financial can help you with awards application, awards@unbc.ca .

Wouldn’t it be more accepting to allow everyone to attend, than to cling to old traditions?

I think we should consider making these kinds of changes at our own university. What do you think?

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Opinion

UNBC Counselling Services is Failing Students Anonymous Contributor

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n the first day of UNBC’s orientation, they heavily cover consent. There are posters in the hallways and bathrooms, you are surrounded by it all over campus. I always thought it was overkill, as we are university students, we know what consent means. In March 2018 on university residence, I was proven wrong.

Initially, I could not really grasp what had happened to me. I knew I was uncomfortable with the situation. I had said “no” more times than I could keep track of, and I knew that something was very wrong. I had been sexually assaulted and I could not even recognize it. I went to sleep that night feeling numb, replaying what had happened in my head, over and over.

My first reflex was to blame myself. I had too much to drink, I should have fought back, or I should have gotten someone to walk me all of the way to my dorm. I could have done this, or should have done that.

In reality, nothing that could have been done would have prevented this from happening.

I could not have predicted his actions, and I took the path of least resistance. There was no “fight or flight,” only freeze.

Thanks to the encouragement of some friends, I went to the police and spoke with someone who specializes in assault against women. Although she said that we could go forward with my case, there was not enough evidence to prove that it was not consensual.

It would be a long and distressing argument of “he said, she said” and would likely end in the judge dismissing the whole thing. The thought of having to retell my account, reliving the trauma over and over, seemed more like a detrimental ordeal for me, rather than punishment for him.

I left that day feeling hopeless.

I was extremely reluctant to speak with a counsellor, as I was not ready to talk about the experience in depth. Despite me being adamantly against the idea, I went with a friend to Counselling Services to book an appointment.

Unfortunately, it was midterm exam time and they were booked solid for the next couple of weeks. Though they do have a drop-in schedule, all of the times overlapped with my lectures and labs. Again, I left feeling hopeless.

My new plan was to forget about the experience. I had already missed over a week of classes and with midterms quickly approaching, I could not afford to waste another second dwelling on

what had happened. Shockingly, that approach did not work and both midterms ended in disaster.

At this point, I was barely functioning and knew that emotional guidance was needed from a professional if I was going to make it through the semester. I scheduled a drop-in appointment with Counselling Services.

From my experience, UNBC does not have the issue of representatives trying to sweep sexual assault cases under the rug. I was given many options and solutions – but only if I chose to report it. I, like many other students in Canada, have heard the horror stories of those who have reported their cases to campus police. They are faced with more problems than solutions during an already emotionally draining time.

Many do not think it is worth having to relive the trauma and face their perpetrator over again. Though I contemplated reporting it to security, it was not my preferred route. I had gone to counselling for emotional support, searching for ways to cope with what had happened. I did not go craving justice, only wanting to be able to function again and finish the semester.

During the meeting, they heavily

emphasized that if I did not report it, it would be partially my fault if he assaulted someone else. I was treated as if I was responsible for his future actions.

Their concern for any other potential victims seemed to overshadow any interest they had in my wellbeing. As for academic assistance, they recommended I withdraw and try again the following semester. With less than a month left before finals, this was not an option I was willing to consider. The pressure put on me during that meeting left me apprehensive and unstable.

Sadly, I am not alone. According to the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario, one in five women will experience sexual assault while attending a post-secondary institution, but only 700 sexual assaults were reported between 2009 and 2013 at Canadian colleges and universities.

Sexual assault has a lasting impact on victims for years after it occurs. Without proper counselling and support, the effects can be life threatening.

UNBC has many options for the victims that are willing to report their assaults.

Unfortunately, there is not enough support for those who feel that it is impossible.

Boksburg Advertiser

Sports

13

Sports Update Abduallah Al Nahhas Advertising Coordinator

Ultimate Champion’s League Saturday, Oct 6: Irish Conor McGregor submitted in front of Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, after verbal arguments sparked a great media reaction.

Soccer Sunday, Oct 7: One of the wildest finishes we have ever heard, from a classic clash between UNBC Timberwolves Men’s Soccer and the TRU WolfPack, in Kamloops! 3-2 for the TRU WolfPack up until 94 minutes, then at the last second, Emmanuel Devako snatched the equalizer goal for the UNBC Timberwolves.

Tennis Croatia’s Borna Ćorić produced a masterful display of power-hitting to stun holder Roger Federer in the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, October 13, and will face Novak Djokovic in the final.

Cycling The Tour de France trophy won by Geraint Thomas this summer has been stolen from a display at the NEC in Birmingham, Team Sky have confirmed.

Anonymous | OTE

14

Culture

Cloudbreak Ace Schotel Contributor

I missed so much, Under the gloomy touch Depression cast upon my life Every moment dealing with strife

Anxiety Ace Schotel Contributor

Fears that clouded my mind, Were no match for you Your love combats my anxiety Your love sets me free

Left me blind to the world I wished for a dreamworld

I never thought there was a way out Until you saved me

When the clouds began to part I almost fell apart

There is not a moment

The beauty my surroundings possessed

Where how lucky I am

Sent hope through my chest, After every storm After every swarm Life shows us a way to see the world In a way previously untold

Faded from my mind, I never thought, My heart would be pulled To another country But, I’m glad it has Your voice sets a fire in my soul, Your laughter melts my heart Your words envelope my senses As my soul Hopes that we will never part Your smile makes my worries fly You never fail to bring a smile Anxiety met its match, The moment I met you.

Campus Events

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Check Out These Events!

Tuesday, October 16

Saturday, October 20

MBA Online Info Session 9:00 - 10:00 am Contact mba@unbc.ca to reserve

UNBC Discovery Day 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Location: Prince George Campus

Wednesday, October 17

Tuesday, October 23

Scientific Writing Workshop 1:30 pm Location: 5-122

UNBC Food Services Open House 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Location: Bentley Centre

Friday, October 19

Friday, October 26

The Familiar/Familial Filipina & #BringBackOurGirls: Terrorism, Political Production of PhilipinoTourism Toxicity and Human Rights Advocacy 12:00 - 1:30 pm 12:00 - 1:30 pm Location: 5-175 Location: 5-175 NRESi Colloquium: Small Streams and Big Dreams October 27 - 28 3:30 - 4:30 pm 2018 Artisans of the North Fair Location: 8-164 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Prince George Campus

The Last Word

Looking to get involved on campus?

Consider running for a position with NUGSS! The nomination period is coming to a close on October 18, so be sure to visit the NUGSS Facebook page or office to fill out a nomination form.

Campaign period begins October 19!

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