Over The Edge
UNBC’s Independent Student Newspaper est. 1994
Robin Sui | OTE
NUGSS Board Reform, pg 9
BC Election Reform, pg 3
Columnist, pg 12
Volume 24, Issue 3
Marijuana Legalization, pg 7
Free overtheedgenewspaper.ca
October 17, 2017 over.the.edge.unbc@gmail.com
promoting Neo-Nazi ideals. Luckily, the posters were quickly removed from both campuses, but photos of the posters still remain in circulation online. This has already been an issue for both campuses in the past, as similar posters have been appearing this semester. According to CKPG local news, the RCMP has launched an investigation into the incidents on both campuses, but they are not currently considered a hate crime. Global News reported that whoever is responsible for the
Over The Edge
As concerning as this situation is, it is important to remember that UNBC and Prince George are diverse communities, with a variety of different supports, and some fantastic, caring people.
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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.
As I write this, a counter protest is being formed at UNBC by concerned students; they have created an event on Facebook called “Diversity Rally at UNBC.” The date is set for Monday, October 16, at 11 am in the Wintergarden. By the time this issue prints, the rally will have already occurred, and I’m sure it will be a very powerful event. It is the strength of my peers that inspires me endlessly in moments of despair, and I hope that is something we can all hold onto as we work to create a safer society for everyone, especially the most vulnerable people.
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t was shocking, to say the least, to wake up on Friday the 13th to find that the two postsecondary campuses in Prince George, UNBC and the College of New Caledonia, had been plastered with racist posters
plastering the campuses may face mischief charges. Whether or not the responsible parties are charged, it is very concerning to think about the underlying ideology driving this behaviour. As we see Neo-Nazis promoting their ideology worldwide, we must realize that this can happen anywhere, and we must not stand for it.
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BC Government Announces Proportional Representation Referendum Trevor Ritchie Contributor
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n October 4, Attorney General David Eby announced that the province of British Columbia would he holding a referendum in 2018 on whether to change the voting system used for provincial elections. Under the terms of reference for the referendum, ballots will be mailed to all registered voters prior to the referendum date, and voters may return those ballots to be counted at any time prior to the final date of the referendum. Individuals can continue to register to vote until the date the referendum ends, and newly registered voters will be allowed to vote in the referendum.
that do not match the voters’ preferences. An example of this would be the 1996 provincial election, where the incumbent New Democrats won a majority of the seats in the Legislature, even though the BC Liberal Party won more provincewide votes. One of the main effects of a change to a proportional system is that it will reduce the likelihood of majority governments forming
order to pass legislation, which should improve the quality of the legislation and prevent political parties from pandering solely to their base of supporters. A key consideration for the proponents of proportional representation is that a proportional system does not guarantee that each of the regions of British Columbia are
Under the current single member plurality system, otherwise known as first-past-the-post, citizens elect Members of the Legislative Assembly to represent them based on predetermined geographical areas. These geographical areas are called ridings, and each riding has a single representative. This allows for local representation in the Legislature, which is of particular importance for Northern and more rural communities. In a proportional representation system, the percentage of seats a party wins is the same as the party’s percentage of the provincewide vote. This would have the effect of increasing the political representation of smaller political parties that do not have the concentrated levels of support needed to win any of the ridings that are used in the current system. This system is seen as more fairly representative of the wishes of the votes when compared to the current system, which can create results
Vancouver Sun, 2015 where a single political party wins more than half the seats in the Legislature. The last election in British Columbia where a single party won a majority of the vote was in 2001, where the BC Liberals won 58% of the votes and won 77 of 79 seats in the Legislature. Preventing single party majorities from forming will create a political system where the political parties must compromise with each other in
accurately represented by the legislators chosen by the system. Candidates for election are placed on list by the party, and thus it is the parties that determine who is elected from among their slate of potential legislators. Most proportional representation systems do not have a requirement for any kind of regional representation or representation for minority groups, though the parties in
countries with proportional representation systems will often voluntarily enact diversity and regional representation policies to create a more balanced Legislature. Without a legislated requirement, however, Northern British Columbia could lose representation in the Legislature under a proportional system, as most of the votes are from Southern British Columbia and the parties may choose to select most of their candidates from that region. However, a proportional system would also ensure that each region has a diverse set of opinions from among their legislators. After the 2017 election, the BC Liberals won seventy-five percent of the seats in Northern British Columbia while obtaining only fifty-six percent of the vote. The BC New Democrats won twentyfive percent of the seats with thirty-two percent of the vote, and no other parties received seats in the North. In this particular region, the elected representatives overrepresent Liberals and completely exclude Greens and other minor parties, which would no longer happen under a proportional system. The BC Government will be accepting feedback over the coming months about the referendum, including what kind of proportional representation system to use, as well as the exact wording of the question to be put onto the ballot.
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TEDxUNBC 2017: Dispelling Misconceptions Tierney Watkinson News Director
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91 and cofounder of Fireweed Canada; Shobha Sharma, founder of Our Satya; Seth Shelley, Associate Pastor at Timbers Community Church in Prince George; Cori Ramsay, who works with Living Wage for Families; Penny Jones, a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Practitioner and outreach clinician with Northern Health; and Nadine Caron, a General and Endocrine Surgeon at the University Hospital of Northern BC among other notable achievements.
ED Talks, “Ideas worth spreading,” have long had a reputation for engaging audiences with thought provoking, grounded presentations of ideas that are novel, intelligent, and inspiring. TED Talks began as Technology, Entertainment, and Design talks in 1984, and has gradually transformed into the sensation that it is today. TEDx is a branch of the original TED network, one that allows TED talks to occur as independently organized events in communities (the “x” signifies the event as being independently organized.) On September 30, a full day of TED Talks was hosted in Prince George, at UNBC in the Canfor Theatre.
The event was opened by Grant Bachand. UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks, Theatre Northwest Artistic Director Jack Grinhaus, and L’heidli T’enneh Elder Darlene Macintosh took to the stage for a few moments each to greet the audience and welcome them to the Traditional territory.
Grant Bachand, Newsroom Director of CFURadio, was Lead Organizer for the event. Seth Jex, Director of Internal Affairs and Over The Edge Chairperson, was Executive Producer. They and a group of dedicated people ensured the success of TEDxUNBC. Tickets sold out long before the event, and there is no doubt that the chosen speakers inspired everyone in attendance.
After each speaker presented their topic, the stage would be opened for a question period, led by Mr. Bachand or Dr. Ross Hoffman (Associate Professor of First Nations Studies at UNBC).
A trade show, free to the general public, was open from 11:30am to 3:00pm in the NUSC space, with many booths featuring interesting things and city groups. The TEDx event lunch, and wine and cheese after-party, was catered by the Thirsty Moose. TEDxUNBC: Dispelling Misconceptions featured seven local, incredibly wise speakers: Dahne Harding, mental health clinician at a maximum security provincial correctional facility; Leona Prince, District Vice Principal of Aboriginal Education for School District
Tierney Watkinson | OTE
First up was Dahne Harding, a UNBC Alumni. Harding’s Talk, “Spaces Matter—Even in Prisons,” was incredibly inspiring and encouraged the audience to think of criminal reformation in a different light. “I believe human beings have a fundamental need to connect and belong,” Harding said. If you think people cannot change, she stressed, you yourself become a barrier to that change. Harding told the beautiful story of a young man she worked with who, over the course of three years, went from being under full restraint at all times to raising over two hundred dollars for cancer by running 72 laps of the
prison field; from being denied anything but paper utensils to eating doughnuts and drinking tea from china cups; from withholding personal stories to laughing openly over anecdotes with Harding. All Harding had to do was change the space around the young man, to create an environment for him in which he was encouraged to be his best self. During the question period with Bachand, Harding stressed that everybody has the capability to change, and we as human beings have the responsibility to help others to achieve that change. It is all about the space you inhabit, the spaces made for you or that you make yourself, that guarantee success or failure. Leona Prince followed Dahne Harding with her speech, “How I Came to Know My Privilege.” She spoke of her own cultural privilege; how people raised within a community with the knowledge of linguistics and tradition of that culture also enjoy the privilege that comes with knowing exactly who you are and where you are from. Prince spoke about how many of the cultural gaps we see in our community are within our own minds. One of the toughest things to do is to reconcile with who we truly are. We must tell our stories freely, and respect the stories of others. “We all come to that place of understanding in our own time, and in our own way,” Prince said; we cannot force it. Misunderstandings between people comes from a lack of understanding about oneself. Questioned about the meaning of change and Truth and Reconciliation by Dr. Hoffman,
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Robin Sui | OTE
Prince explained that a series of small actions or steps that create change on a meaningful level are much more significant that the governmental broad, sweeping gesture. We are all searching for understanding, she told the audience, and we must find “our own place, in this nation, in this country, in this world.” Prince explained how she feels that people ebb and flow—in some situations, we are but an infant in regards to our knowledge. In others, we are an elder or adult; our knowledge is situational, and we must recognize this. Whatever our colour or culture, we all belong to this community. No one culture is superior or worth more than another. We all have things to give, to share. “Let’s truly be together and be proud of our oneness,” Prince told the audience. Let us get rid of “there’s the rez, and there’s the town”—the separation between cultures. “It’s going to take a lot of truths before we reconcile,” Prince said, “and those truths are our own.” Shobha Sharma also spoke about gaps in cultures. She began her speech, “I Wanted to Change the World, but the World Changed Me,” by beautifully singing the first lines of “Amazing Grace.” Her organization, Our Satya, aims to provide global support in empowerment, education, and health for impoverished women. Sharma explained how, through her work, she has discovered that “we are all inherently connected,” but, “while we are all connected… we are not.” She told the story of how she returned to Canada with
her husband in anticipation of the birth of their son, and how she experienced a blood clot in her brain that would have killed her had she not had access to the advanced healthcare we often take for granted here in Canada. Impoverished communities in India, she stressed, do not feel the same safety in childbirth that we in Canada have come to expect. Sharma urged the audience to respond to the plight of those less fortunate, by embracing their individual roles as local and global citizens; to respond, “by allowing the world to change you. We only have each other.” Speaking with Bachand after her presentation, Sharma noted the similarities between Canada and India regarding the caste system and Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations. The caste system exists here, too, she said—we just call it something else. Growing up in Prince George labelled as an immigrant, Sharma knows what it is like to feel unwelcome, like an outsider. Luckily, she said, Canada has changed since she was a little girl. The community of Prince George is becoming more and more open-minded but we still overlook many global issues and, Sharma concluded, “If we don’t start caring, the chasm will only grow.” Seth Shelley was honest and open in his talk, “Men Need to Talk About Their Sexual Abuse.” “Are you a man, or a mouse?” he remembered his grandfather asking the boys in his family when they were upset. When Shelley was sexually abused by
an older brother’s friend, Shelley said, “I felt like a mouse.” As one of “the Shelley Boys,” known in his community as tough hockey players, he had been raised in his society to believe that real men don’t get raped. Shelley’s abuser would tell him things that were not true, such as, “This is your fault;” one-liners, Shelley said, that forced a new narrative on the story of himself, a narrative that threatened Shelley’s entire self-worth. “I lost the very idea of me.” When it was revealed that a female relative of his had also been sexually abused, the community’s treatment of her made the young Shelley hide his own story all the more furtively. Not including unreported cases, 1 in 6 men will experience sexual violence, Shelley reminded the audience. He told those in attendance that stories are the oldest human artifacts we have. Without stories, without the sharing of ideas, a community experiences a slow death. Likewise, a singular identity given to a diverse group of people generates only harm and loss. Our stories are important, not just for the teller, but for the listener. “What is your story?” Shelley asked, encouraging the audience to share their personal experiences for the benefit of others, to prevent those with similar experiences from feeling alone. As he told Bachand during the question period, the first person Shelley tried to tell his experiences to made him feel as though his story was definitely abnormal. We need
to listen, and we need to generate understanding, Shelley insisted. Experiencing any kind of abuse does not make anyone a “mouse”. Next up, Cori Ramsay wowed the audience with her talk, “Poverty and the Power of the Living Wage.” Ramsay was open about the fact that she grew up so poor, she and her mother would dumpsterdive for treats. She had wealthy grandparents, but they did not offer her mother help. “It is always someone else’s problem,” Ramsay said about poverty. Meanwhile, 1.4 million Canadian children and 1 in 4 single parents live below the poverty line. “Poverty belongs to all of us,” Ramsay asserted—people who cannot afford a healthy lifestyle inevitably become supported by the taxes we pay. Minimum wage and Living Wage are not synonymous, Ramsay explained. She urged everyone to care for and about the impoverished: “We don’t need a suit to be a hero… Together, we can put an end to poverty.” As she told Bachand, the Living Wage is $16.39/h in Prince George; minimum wage in BC is $11.35/h. The concept of Living Wage has grey areas and is controversial, she admitted as the questions from the TEDx audience kept coming. However, minimum wage is the lowest a person can be paid without an employer committing an illegal act, Ramsay clarified, and to make things worse it was
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frozen for 10 years; inflation was not. In addition, if you provide a benefits package to your employees, the amount you need to pay to be Living Wage certified becomes lower in relation to the value of that package. If you pay your employees less than $16.39/hour in PG, then you are not paying them enough to live, Ramsay insisted. BC is the only province without a poverty reduction plan. Despite the onslaught of skeptical questions and comments about her points, Ramsay said that open dialogue is her goal. This is an issue that still needs plenty of discussion and development to be successful. “What is the value of a life?” she asked the audience. Penny Jones lightened the mood with “Perils of a Fat Woman,” using her abundant humour to get her points across. “I am fat, blue-haired, and beautiful. Just ask me,” she said to the crowd. Jones showed the audience a chart depicting body health based on one’s body size. She pointed out where she was, somewhere off to the right in the “obese” section. However, she posed the question to the audience: Is health not more about mind, body, and spirit? Rather than what is on a chart? When people look at her, Jones said, they seem to think she needs to be taught about how to eat healthy. What they do not assume is that she is healthier than she has ever been in her life. Change your own selfimage, Jones said, and you will change your life. The shaming of people who are not in the “normal” spectrum of those body charts needs to stop. “I am 50. I am fat. And I am fabulous.” Self-acceptance is key, Jones explained, saying she was happy not because she is fat, nor despite being fat. Her happiness in life, in fact, had nothing to do with the way she looked. Struggles are usually based on a lack of skills, knowledge, and
resources, Jones told Bachand during the question period. She told everyone how she used to be thin and healthy-looking—and she smoked, did not eat properly, drank all of the time, and had multiple “gym partners.” She was the farthest from “healthy” that she could have possibly been. “I think we need to embrace who we are,” Jones said. Of those who talked down to her because she was heavier than they, she said “I will no longer accommodate this attitude towards me.” Speak positively to yourself in the mirror, leave encouraging post-it notes for yourself, have mental chats with yourself to move past negative thinking, proclaim the fact that you love yourself out loud— “Strive to who you want to be, but love who you are today.” Dr. Nadine Caron was the final speaker of the day. As the first female First Nations university student to graduate from a school of medicine, Dr. Caron presented “The other side of being “First”” to speak about the negative undertones this title had. She remembered an absence of voices on a chosen path, and coming to understand the silence. Her goal had not been to be “the first”—it was to be her best. She asked if being the first Indigenous student to graduate in 1997 was really a positive. After a call from her school’s president after she graduated medical school, who congratulated her for being the “first,” she said being the “first” became a part of who she was, despite
having nothing to do with her. “What if the first hasn’t happened yet?” Dr. Caron asked the audience. She spoke of chasms that crush aspirations. She urged the audience to celebrate the individual for the achievement of their goal, for their work, and “not for the void they fill.” She urged people to not confuse “the first” with “the only.” Grass in a field does not become a path when one person walks on it, Dr. Caron explained. It takes many people to make the path permanent. Speaking with Dr. Hoffman, Dr. Caron emphasized that the fact that no one came before her in her field had nothing to do with her. In fact, it is a failure of our society that it took so long. We don’t need to integrate cultures, she said. We need parallels. We need to be comfortable in our space as Canadians, she said, stating that she is Canadian first, and First Nations second. Her university president only called one student after she graduated, Dr. Caron reminded the audience—and it was simply because she was a “first.”
again to close the event. He highlighted the fact that this was a student-led event, made possible by a host of amazing volunteers and partners. Title Partners for the event were the University of Northern BC and the College of New Caledonia: RAJ Fabricating and Contracting Ltd. and the City of Prince George were Gold Partners; SpeeDee Office Experts Ltd, Settings Event Design & Décor, and the Prince George Chamber of Commerce were Silver Partners; and the Bronze Partners of TEDx were the Northern Undergraduate Student Society of UNBC and CFURadio. Videos of the Talks held at UNBC will be uploaded to the TEDx account on YouTube, which has 9 million subscribers. Follow the TEDxUNBC Facebook page for updates about the upcoming free screening of the TEDxUNBC 2017 event. For more information about the speakers, you can still visit TEDxUNBC.com or check out their Facebook page. News about the availability of YouTube video links for each speaker will appear on the Facebook page as it becomes available.
Grant Bachand took to the stage
Tierney Watkinson | OTE
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BC Government Prepares for Marijuana Legalization Trevor Ritchie Contributor
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s reported in the October 3 edition of The Globe and Mail, BC Premier John Horgan has stated that private dispensaries could play a role in distribution of marijuana once it becomes legal on July 1, 2018. British Columbia, along with the other nine provinces and three territories, have been faced with the challenge of determining what regulations would be put in place regarding the distribution and regulation of marijuana in their provinces because of incoming federal legislation to legalize the sale of marijuana. The proliferation of black market marijuana led the federal government to contemplate legalization of marijuana, but it is unclear if legalization will lead to a reduction in the size of the unregulated market, and whether doing so will help reduce some of the social ills associated with the unregulated sale of marijuana in the community. While other provinces, such as Ontario, have put forward a plan to have the sale of marijuana be regulated by crown corporations,
British Columbia already has an abundance of private dispensaries of medical marijuana throughout the province, and Premier Horgan has indicated that these small businesses could have a role to play in the new regulatory structure being considered by the province.
dispensaries establish themselves, and this will present an issue for the local government and police forces to address. How the municipal government works in partnership with the province to ensure community concerns are addressed will be an important part of the consultation process.
marijuana distributors in the province operate in a legal grey area, and receive their supply through illegal sources. The government has considered, as part of the legalization process, allowing some of these illicit producers to become part of the legal marijuana marketplace.
While the provincial government has said that all options are on the table for determining the distribution process, the Premier’s comments indicate a willingness to allow the current marijuana dispensaries to become part of the legal process, either alongside or in place of government owned dispensaries. In places where there are already many dispensaries, such as the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria area, this will not have as large a detrimental effect on the community, as these locations already exist and the local communities have already begun adjusting to the dispensaries in their communities. Areas such as Prince George, which only has a single marijuana dispensary, are likely to have many new
The province is currently engaged in a consultation process to determine the best means of distributing marijuana. The consultation process will also be looking at the appropriate minimum age for sales, and how to amend the laws to address impaired driving due to marijuana use.
While it is still early in the process, the government is hoping to move quickly to create a legal framework for legalization as soon as possible, to prepare police organizations and municipalities for the changes in law and society that will occur. Many municipalities and police forces have asked the federal government to push back the legalization date from July 1, 2018, but this seems unlikely and the provincial government is operating under the assumption that the legalization date will not be changed.
One of the major concerns to be considered by the government is how to ensure an adequate supply of marijuana, and from there how to ensure that the supply is tracked through the growing and distribution process. This is in part to ensure recalls of potentially hazardous products, and to try and ensure that underage users are prevented from buying from the legal market. Currently,
Interested citizens are encouraged to participate in the online consultation process, which can be found on the BC government website.
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Elizabeth May: Lone Green Woman in Parliament Ann Duong Contributor
When I was younger the only political parties I had ever heard of were the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties. Or at that age, they were mostly referred to as the red, blue, or orange parties. But wait, there was the Green party too. That was different; not because of the colour but because for the first time in 2011, there was a green party seat on Federal Parliament, led by an extraordinarily accomplished author, environmentalist, activist, lawyer, and Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Elizabeth May. On Friday, October 13, a notoriously inauspicious day turned into the opposite when May came to Prince George and UNBC to speak to students and members of the community about environmental issues and her experience as a parliamentarian. A figure that had captivated me since my early youth came to life and it was an incredibly inspiring encounter, one that I will likely never forget. The first talk was at UNBC, organized by Inspiring Women Among Us. The topic was the Paris Agreement, Canada’s contributions towards becoming a “climate leader,” and the implications of President Trump’s intention for withdrawal from the agreement. She began with a brief history of COP (Conference of the Parties), which was created using the international treaty of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 1992. Ratified by more than 170 countries, it was one of the largest and most ambitious worldwide endeavours to curb global climate change. Targets are assessed yearly for successful execution and new targets are
ratified every few years. But whether the targets and goals could be met would be a different story. Traditionally, if a country had failed to meet its climate targets, then the ramifications would be in the form of trade sanctions – a very effective financial penalty. This led to the former Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, a reprehensible move that made Canada the only country to pull out of an agreement while previously ratifying it. But since the Paris Agreement, there is no welldefined punishment if a country falls short of its promise. It soon became clear that reducing climate change required more than just commitment, it required cooperation and accountability from countries on a scale never seen before. The United States is one of the highest contributors to carbon emissions second only to China. President Trump emphatically announced recently that the US was withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Fortunately, it was an empty threat, as the legal mechanisms require one year written notice and a commitment of three years before withdrawal, by which time a US re-election would already be in place. Addressing a bad-faith bargaining dilemma, we cannot achieve the target goals of the Paris Accord if a country decides to increase emissions on the basis that another will reduce by the
same factor. Developed and developing, rich or poor, climate change affects all, and the only possibility of saving the planet is to help one another achieve the lofty goals set forward responsibly.
divisions – what is colloquially referred to as a “wedge issue.” Together all these attributes contribute to the extremely polarized and partisan politics that make up the current political climate in Canada. Compounded with Canada’s first-past-the-post system, this generates as May says, “a voting culture that is based on what people are against rather than what people actually want.”
The second event at the ArtSpace was about a topic that was more personal; it concerned her experience as a lone woman party leader and only green party member elected to Parliament. May had identified many major flaws in Canada’s Westminster Parliamentary Democratic system, and it was shocking to see how undemocratic many of the practices were. In fact, Canada’s Prime Minister has more power than the President of the United States in determining the fate of bills and their passing in a majority government. Though provincial MPs have autonomy over how they interpret a bill, once elected to the Federal level, any semblance of independence from partisan dogma is frowned upon. This demotes constituent’s needs and concerns with which these MPs had been elected for. Furthermore, members are instructed on what to vote on a bill, are discouraged from acquainting themselves with the bill itself, and a leader’s efficacy is dependent on how well they can hegemonize their party members. Sometimes bills that are presented do not address current problems but raise an irrelevant issue designed to create redundant cultural and social
So, what to do about all these problems? Well, one can do many things as an “employer” of the government, such as writing letters to the editors of newspapers or your MP, voting, and attending demonstrations. Because as May quite wonderfully put it, “If you decide to put your mind to something and be dogged about it, you will change everything.” Though a lone Parliamentarian leader of the Green party, her ideas are shared by the many people who attended, and confirmed with a unanimous standing ovation at the end of each talk. There is, after all, a reason to be hopeful for the future. At the end of the day, as May mentioned, politicians are just human, and while their actions seem at times to be antithetical to their initial values and promises, they make mistakes too. It is often easy to find the politics that humans engage in everyday as divisive and filled with conflict, but it is harder to find the humanity in politics, and that should be what we all strive for.
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NUGSS Board Reform Sam Wall Editor in Chief
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n the last couple of weeks, members of the NUGSS Board of Directors have been tabling in the Wintergarden, and held an Open House on October 12, in anticipation of their Annual General Meeting. Their goal is to consult with and get feedback from students on proposed changes to the Board structure. NUGSS is planning to reform their current Board to one more typical of most not-for-profit organizations, consisting of several proposed changes: The Board would be reduced from eight members to five: President, Vice-President, and three Directors-at-Large Decreasing wages of all Board members: President’s wage would go from $780/month to $500/month, Vice-President’s wage would go from $650/ month to $250/month, and Director’s wages would go from $650/month to $200/month This would save NUGSS $42,
800 each year, which would be partially allocated to hiring more staff to take on SLO administration, event organization, volunteer management, and other work to support the Society Since this reform would remove the Board Representatives (Aboriginal Rep, Women’s Rep, Sustainability Rep), an Equity Commission would be created to represent the diverse needs of Undergraduate students, liaising between the Board and student groups they represent The Equity Commission would consist of two Representatives appointed by the Women’s Centre, two Representatives appointed by the First Nations Centre, two Representatives appointed by the Northern Pride Centre, two Representatives appointed by the Access Resource Centre, two Representatives appointed by the International Education Centre, one layperson appointed
by the NUGSS Board, one NUGSS Director appointed by the NUGSS Board, and the NUGSS President The overall goal is to make the roles of Board Members more efficient and focussed, with staff taking on some of the Board’s previous duties. Since staff would be hired and managed by the General Manager of NUGSS, there will be greater consistency year to year, as the Board changes based on students’ votes at an annual election. There are also three bylaw reforms that NUGSS has proposed: Add a rule to the bylaws stating that any increase in Board member wages will not come into effect until after the next general election Transfer rules governing elections from the policy manual to the bylaws Lower the recall petition threshold from 51% to 25% of eligible voters, and allow
votes to be collected over a three-week period. These are some pretty big proposed changes that all undergraduate students should be aware of. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please contact Erik Searle at nugss-president@ unbc.ca. A document from NUGSS outlining these changes is available here: http://bit. ly/2ydNG8y, and your feedback on the proposed reform can be given here: http://bit.ly/2yfaUbP. For the most up to date information on NUGSS happenings, check out their page on Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/nugss.unbc/. If there any changes you would like to see to the proposed reform, get your thoughts in now! The bylaw changes and Board reform will be voted on as a package (ie. “yes” or “no” vote to all changes) by the student body at NUGSS’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, November 22, at 11:30 am in the NUSC Space.
Robin Sui | OTE
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2017 Mini Maker Faire
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Instagram: Social Media Saviour and Authenticity Assassin Jade Szymanski Contributor
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ocial media is fake. Social media is not real. Social media distorts the truth. I don’t know how else to get that message across to you little baby sheep out there, but I hope you possess some ounce of self-awareness in that thick skull of yours because it seems like the majority of millennials right now are prisoners to social media. With Instagram being the most popular jail cell at the moment, I am making a call to action for anyone and everyone willing to hear me out; remove the dependency and emotional attachment to your carefully crafted image, persona, and presence on social media. Now I’ll be the first to admit my love for Instagram; I’m a social media slut and I’ll own that title and all of the judgement that comes with it. I love the whole process of the social media experience; it sings your name as it beckons you to decide what type of image and aesthetic you want to portray to the world. You can choose your best qualities and moments, and project them for everyone to drool over as you stash away your flaws and imperfections, only to be seen by your therapist on the third Monday of every month. You get to edit your pictures with groovy filters and accompany them with wholesome captions.
You have the authority to tag all your friends’ beaming faces to show everyone how happy and popular you are, and tag your location as well so you can put on display how cultured and diverse you are. After these steps, the rest of the experience is in the hands of your followers. They dictate how many likes and comments you receive; each one validating how amazing your life is, and each missed one leaving you to question where in the editing process you went wrong. And when you decide to click on your own profile to admire the collection of pictures you have accumulated over the past couple of years, you can only hope that the pride you are currently feeling translates into jealousy and awe from your followers who are looking at the exact same thread of images. Just as you create content for your followers, you too are indeed a follower for someone else who is posting their life and you constantly are comparing yourself to them. The emotional attachment tethered to how much user interaction and validation you receive is my first reason as to why Instagram should be burned at the stake. Instagram has created an experience for its users that keep them coming back 10, 20, 30 times a day; constantly refreshing
their page to feel connected to the people around them. If the experience I just described seems so fun and rewarding, what could be the downside of sharing your life with the rest of the world? The next reason Instagram is the antichrist, is that it creates unrealistic expectations and realities for the people you are sharing your photos with. When people only see note-worthy events from your life, they don’t get to know the real you. The real you that was shaped by the time you slept through your ecology midterm. The real you that was shaped by the time you ate some grapes off the kitchen floor because no one was looking. The real you that was shaped by the time you cried because you spent too much time on WebMD and thought you were dying. Nobody is perfect or glamourous to the point that Instagram depicts, and that’s the beef that I have with social media. Exposure. The final reason as to why the Instagram obsession needs to be put out with a firehose. Personally, my carefully crafted Instagram aesthetic is based around the outdoors and all of the amazing adventures available in BC. However, as much as I try to go to new places that aren’t too popular, I recognize that I still add to the movement
of people that bring exposure to remote areas and make them a target area for mass tourism. Hikes and campsites that are normally sacred to a select amount of people gets put on blast on Instagram to the point where these places are no longer being visited for its beauty but for its likeability factor on Instagram. It may seem quite hypocritical for some trying-to-be-trendy teenage girl to be writing about the faults in the social media and Instagram brainwash currently guiding our society, but it just takes some unmasking of the harsh reality to start your journey to self-awareness. The three E’s of despair; emotional attachment, expectations, and exposure will always be looming in the depths of social media and it’s up to you to be led by blissful ignorance or break free from your societal shackles. It takes tiny little steps, and as proof that it can be done, I’ll lead by example by not leaving my Instagram handle at the end of this article even though the followers I’d gain would be huge. Like massive. I’m truly an American hero.
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Column
For the Love of Sex: Trustworthy, Ethical Sexual Life Advice Polyanne Marie Columnist
M
y journey into polyamory has taught me a lot, but don’t get me wrong, I still struggle like everyone else. I think society has us convinced that in the case of love, if we meet the right person all of a sudden everything will be easy and there will be no feelings of jealousy, hurt, or dissatisfaction. The truth is that marrying for love is actually a fairly new concept in the grand scheme of things. It used to be that a man would marry a woman to keep track of his bloodline and who got the cows after he died, as author and psychotherapist Esther Perel explains: “Despite a 50 percent divorce rate for first marriages and 65 percent the second time around; despite the staggering frequency of affairs; despite the fact that monogamy is a ship sinking faster than anyone can bail it out, we continue to cling to the wreckage with absolute faith in its structural soundness.”
Somehow we have had it programmed into us that monogamy is the one right way to express our feelings of romantic love, not to mention, gain a sense of self. As Meg-John Barker expressed, quoting the Buddhist writer Martine Batchelor: Let’s imagine that I am holding an object made of gold. It is so precious and it is mine – I feel I must hold onto it. I grasp it, curling my fingers so as not to drop it, so that nobody can take it away from me. What happens after a while? Not only do my hand and arm get cramp but I cannot use my hand for anything else. When you grip something, you create tension and limit yourself. Dropping the golden object is not the solution. Non-attachment means learning to relax to uncurl the fingers and gently
open the hand. When my hand is wide open and there is no tension, the precious object can rest lightly on my palm. I can still value the object and take care of it; I can put it down and pick it up; I can use my hand for doing something else. Something a lot of people don’t realize is that jealousy is something we feel often, and not just in romantic relationships. We feel jealousy towards coworkers, celebrities, family, and friends, and when this happens what do we do? A lot of the time we actually work through it. We (hopefully) deal with it calmly and rationally, possibly even by communicating with the person we are feeling jealousy towards. However, when it comes to romance, we have been taught to deal with our feelings in extremes. Either we are explosive, slamming doors with violent expressions of our “love” or we bottle
everything up and deny that anything is bothering us at all. Usually the latter leads to the former, as resentment builds and a volcano of jealousy and frustration erupts, most likely at the most inappropriate times. Thanksgiving dinner, anyone? Now, something you won’t hear about nearly as often, especially in monogamous circles, is compersion. Poly people often explain compersion as the happiness they feel knowing that their partner is happy with someone else. It is seen as the opposite and lesser known relative of jealousy. I know that when I am seeing a new partner it in no way changes how I feel about anyone I am already with and when I am feeling jealous in my relationships, I try to remind myself of what Meg-John Barker and Martine Batchelor said and strive to open my heart and feel joy for the new love my partner is receiving.
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I have read countless books and articles on all of these subjects, but my favorite way to gain new understanding is still through personal interactions with people who are currently living the lifestyle I am seeking to emulate. In order for those of you who are interested in moving into a poly or open relationship to find better understanding yourselves, I interviewed a few of my close friends and lovers who have lived it, learned it, and are still doing it, feelings of jealousy and all. Andrew, age 38, has been practicing polyamory for about three years. He has two romantic partners, one play partner and goes on dates. 25 year old Danny has been actively practicing for two and half years, has one committed partner who they live with and a few people they see or play with regularly. Alice, age 27, and Paul, age 29, have been together for over 7 years, and have been poly/open for over a month. They are currently only seeing each other. Halo, age 38, has three romantic partners and has been open for over two years, poly for about a year. Pollyanne - Can you describe what jealousy feels like to you? Andrew - I’d say sadness and insecurity. If I don’t feel secure in a relationship it’s easier to have feelings of jealousy; there needs to be a healthy foundation. Danny - I always feel my stomach drop first and fiery emotions curl around it. But at its core is a fear of being hurt in some way by someone you care about. Alice and Paul - Like I’m not good enough, but then it’s like I’m not really interested in the
same kind of things so I’m glad she has someone to do it with. Halo - I mostly felt my own insecurities biting at me; how I compare myself to others, the way most of us are taught to. Wondering if I was “good enough.” After I dealt with that and found security within myself and since we were so open and honest about what/who we were doing, I realized I was actually feeling protective. I was protective over my partner like he would get hurt by whoever he chose. Pollyanne - Have you experienced much jealousy since you began practicing poly? Has it gotten easier to deal with over time? Andrew - I do a lot of self reflection when I have feelings of jealousy but I don’t get jealous as often as I used to. Laura, my longest term partner and I, talk a lot about our feelings, especially when jealousy pops up, and it’s never become too big of an issue. We always work it out. Danny - Mostly in the first year but it has subsided over time. I trust my partner more and I’m less personally insecure as well. Alice and Paul - At the start we did, but it has gotten easier. We are dealing with it in different ways but I’d say we are about even in where we are at now. Halo - Eventually I figured out that I am not responsible for his actions or life experiences. So no, I’m no longer “jealous,” but sometimes those old feelings still bubble up and I deal with them when they do. Pollyanne - Have you experienced many feelings of compersion? What does that feel like for you? Andrew - Oh yeah, while I was away all summer Laura had a
new lover. It made me so happy for her. I was worried she would be lonely. Compersion to me is happiness, joy. It’s a reminder that things are going well and we are in healthy relationships. Things must be good if I’m happy my partners are getting some of their needs met with multiple people. Danny - It feels like warm fuzzy butterflies in my stomach because someone I care about is happy. I remember meeting my partner’s first boyfriend and it was so sweet to see them together. Alice and Paul - I would be happy for my partner to find someone else they can relate to. Halo - Yes, for the most part I do feel good about my partners being with others. First, it’s kind of a kink of mine. But it’s also that I feel good that they are able to get something from someone else that I can’t fulfill for them. Like when Marc comes home and he’s happy with a certain glow, it makes me feel happy. Pollyanne - Do you have any words of advice for people who are looking to try polyamory or are struggling with jealousy in their current relationships? Andrew - Talking to your partner is always the way to go. If poly is going to work you and your partner need to create a safe space between the two of you where you can openly discuss concerns. I find my jealousy goes away after a talk. So sometimes I just need to say “this kinda makes me jealous” or “angry” or “sad.” I also think time can help jealousy as well. Time with a partner. Time to trust them. Some people also do well with rules. I think my first poly relationships had lots of rules but I don’t have many or any rules that I can think of right now.
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Danny - Only try poly if it’s something you truly want. Don’t do it for someone else because that will never make you happy. Be ready to be open and honest with yours and other’s feelings. And be ready to learn a lot about communication. Alice and Paul - Take it slow and. let things happen naturally. Research lots and be honest with yourself and your partner. Halo - Personally, I talk about them with my partner, but I also understand that they are my feelings to deal with. If my partner can do something to help me work through my feelings, all the better but it’s not expected. If you aren’t interested in self growth and self discovery, don’t get into polyamory because it will push and test every boundary and comfort zone you have. If you are into growing as a person, though... the rewards are much greater than the struggles. Hopefully this has shed a little light on how some of the poly people next door are making space in their lives for a greater sense of love and fulfilment. If you would like more information on these subjects or if you have any questions you can always email me at askpollyannemarie@ gmail.com. You can ask questions anonymously, check out past articles, and a list of suggested reading material through my website http:// pollyannemarie.tumblr.com As always, keep it kinky and keep it consensual! ~Pollyanne Marie
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Culture
6 Halloween Movies to Scare Stress Away Warner Bros.
Alexandra Tuttosi Team Member
H
alloween is the best time of year because you can scare the stress right out of your mind. Movies are a great way to do that. Though there are many other scary movies that could be added to this list, these ones have a Halloween theme to them that not all scary movies provide. So, whether you like to trick those around you or treat yourself to something sweet, here are some great movies to get you in the Halloween spirit. 1) Stephen King’s IT (1990 or 2017). In this terrifying movie, an unexpected danger lurks in the town known as Derry. The town’s parents try to protect their kids by enforcing a 7pm curfew; little do they know the real danger their kids are in. The story follows a group of kids who piece together what has been going on in their town. What they discover is more terrifying then they ever imagined. A clown named Pennywise. 2) Casper (1995). In this feel good film Kat realizes the importance of friendship; even if that friend is a ghost named Casper. Kat and her father travel around the country to help spirits find peace, before heading to the other side. Their job was easy compared to the three ghosts, Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, who love scaring humans for fun. While Kat’s father works with Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, Kat and Casper begin a friendship, which leads to a noble sacrifice by Casper. 3) Beetlejuice (1988). After the death of a couple, a family moves into their house
-- little do they know the dead couple are still living there. To get the living out of their house, Barb and Adam call upon a ghost with an unusual gift: the ability to scare anyone. This ghost’s name is Beetlejuice. During his efforts, Adam and Barb realize what a horrible mistake they’ve made calling upon Beetlejuice. With the help of a human companion, Lydia, Barb and Adam get to ‘live’ in peace. 4) Stephen King’s The Shining (1980). After staying at a secluded hotel, Stephen King got the idea to write this mind twisting thriller. In this film Jack Nicholson plays a writer named Jack, who agrees to look after the Stanley Hotel during the winter months. Little does he know what isolation does to the human mind. During his time at the Hotel Jack isolates himself from his family to write his novel; however, the longer he is alone, the more he loses his mind. Jack’s son Danny has a secret of his own; his friend Tony. Though Tony cannot be seen, he still manages to help Danny when he needs him the most.
Halloween list. During this period movie, Ichabod Crane is sent to a town called Sleepy Hollow, to piece together murders that have been occurring, unaware of the danger that lurks there. Shortly upon arrival, Ichabod is told the tale of the headless horseman, who chopped off heads of enemies in battle when alive, and now takes heads of the living as revenge for losing his head. During his journey, Ichabod finds the gateways between the living and the dead and must use it to stop the horseman before anyone else dies. 6) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
This classic brings together Halloween and Christmas in a creepy way. The main character, Jack, learns that there is more to a year than just Halloween; thanks to his dog Zero and Sally. The movie opens with other characters singing a song about their town, during which they say, “All hail the pumpkin king” showing Jack’s importance within the town. When three troublemakers kidnap Santa Claus, Jack can finally get the answers he was seeking. The moral of these movies, if you are sent somewhere don’t go without asking questions; or you too might go crazy.
5) Sleepy Hollow (1999). Halloween is not the same without jack-o-lanterns, which is why this movie is on my
Disney
Culture
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Ode to Backyard BBQ Corey Bonnar Contributor
Oh September is here with a joyous return to our grounds,
Until the night of the event when I’m told a beer pass is another $5,
Like spawning salmon in the fall back for another year round,
How could this be? At my age to make such an error?
The BBQ has fired up, time to welcome back old and new,
Unceremoniously refused, told to beat it, they don’t care,
It is said we need a ticket, but from where, from who?
As I sulked back into all ages with no beer, no chair,
NUGSS office of course, our favourite student group,
I wondered if it was my clothes, my smell, or my hair?
All the right people doing time to keep us in the loop,
Oh well, I’ve got live music, I really can’t be that sad,
But what’s this $20 bucks, is this price not too steep?
And a hotdog for a buck, heck that ain’t so bad!
I’ve just paid my tuition and for new books that aren’t cheap!
Sure I’m stuck on the inside of this cage, like a refugee or a rat,
Gone are the days when students came for free,
At least I’ve got a new lanyard and a really snazzy hat!
Must be cursed by financial ghosts, so now there is a fee,
Yet soon the night grows long as I make puppy eyes through the fence,
Oh well, it’s surely worth it, Friday night will be alive,
Not adopted, but I still have 100 bones and can drive without consequence.
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