The Cascade Vol. 25 Issue 32

NOVEMBER 29 TO DECEMBER 5, 2017

VOLUME 25 ISSUE 32

Putting things into containers since 1993

Wasted Pg. 8-9 Gwynne Dyer Missed his talk?

Read our Q&A.

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Tackling corruption

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In light of the paradise papers, what can you even do?

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

Simon Bridgefoot 15 He just dropped a new record, and he’s feeling good.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Editorial // STAFF Editor-in-Chief Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca Business Manager Quintin Stamler quintin@ufvcascade.ca Production Manager Caleb Campbell caleb@ufvcascade.ca Production Assistant Satinder Dhillon satinder@ufvcascade.ca Copy Editor Cat Friesen cat@ufvcascade.ca Illustrator Amara Gelaude amara@ufvcascade.ca Online Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Staff Writer Aleister Gwynne aleister@ufvcascade.ca Distributor Alena Zheng distributor@ufvcascade.ca

Managing Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca

Almost there...

News Editor Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca Junior News Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca Opinion Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Feature Editor Laurel Logan laurel@ufvcascade.ca Culture & Events Editor Cassie de Jong cassie@ufvcascade.ca Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca Varsity Writer Rachelle Strelezki rachelle@ufvcascade.ca Staff Writer Panku Sharma panku@ufvcascade.ca

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS Kayla BWD

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cover: Caleb Campbell Back Cover: Caleb Campbell

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

@UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/THE.CASCADE Volume 25 · Issue 32 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It originated under its current name in 1993, and achieved autonomy from the university and the Student Union Society in 2002. This means that The Cascade is a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published in an entirely student-run setting. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley.

The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds, and is overseen by the Cascade Journalism Society Board, a body run by a student majority. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a print circulation of 1,250 and is distributed at Abbotsford, Chilliwack (CEP), Clearbrook, and Mission UFV campuses and throughout the surrounding communities.

The Cascade is open to written, photo, and design work from all students; these can come in the form of a pitch to an editor, or an assignment from an editor. Writers meetings are held every second Monday at 12:00 p.m. in The Cascade’s office on the Abbotsford campus.

In order to be published in the newspaper, all work must first be approved

by The Cascade’s editor-in-chief, copy editor, and corresponding section editor. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. Letters to the editor, while held to the same standard, are unedited, and should be under 400 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

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By now, my friends and family know not to report me missing or legally dead: it’s just the end of the semester.

The bears have crawled into their dens for the winter’s rest, and I’ve crawled into a whole lot of regret. “Oh, I was supposed to keep up with the weekly readings?”

“The most wonderful time of the year,” the radio starts chanting tauntingly. You know, the point when you’re actually glad to have failed to meet a commitment because it’s one less thing to stress about. Or when you factor the hours you hope to be awake against how much sleep you need to not die, to try and calculate available work time per project you have to meet deadlines. Of course you do, you’re a student.

Time management is a funny thing.

Somehow I still haven’t figured out that if I want to use the full three hours of my allotted reading time, I need to actually start reading. I tend to think instead: great, three hours. I’ll just rearrange my kitchen utensils, organize the fridge, dust the light fixtures; I should make sauerkraut; I haven’t tried knitting before, maybe that’ll bring my mind into alignment with Bourdieu’s. Then I realize that I need at least a five (read: fifteen) minute break between activities if I’m to shift gears, and knuckle down with some

essaying. Speaking of gears, I don’t know if I’ve ever changed the oil in my little VW’s gearbox. I should Google what type of oil is recommended, so the next time I’m out and about, I can quickly swing by Crappy Tire and pick some up — for an efficient use of time, of course. Wouldn’t want to stand around the auto parts isle wasting my time searching oil specifications on my phone. I’m no amature.

But then, with absolutely no explanation, it’s 3 a.m. on Sunday. (I thought I started dusting on Friday?)

They say procrastination can actually be a useful tool. It allows the mind to process information, make creative jumps, before labouring away. I’m going with that.

There was this study done (by me) where all participants (just me) were asked to perform multiple time management tasks. The results were that within a 24-hour time period, I successfully finished 24 hours worth of what I set out to do. Impressive, eh?

Except I only set out to do what my pathetic little self desired, rather than all the activities crucial to my success.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. I should just get focused, right?

I wish it was that simple. Between two jobs and full-time school, I’m finding it harder and harder to keep my ship afloat. Appearances and reality differs greatly. It would appear that I’ve exhausted all my time procrastinating hammering out papers; the re-

ality is I’m exhausted from trying to maintain a lifestyle that permits me to go to school and get out sans debt.

Weekly readings seem less important than, you know, food, on most days.

Even while eating, I can’t stop thinking: I better get back tsu arbetn before I run into a kappore. (I’ve been unnecessarily reading up on Yiddish, too.)

I know I’m not alone with this one.

Seems like most of the conversations I have around campus are laments about the tension between getting work done in time and hitting their GPA goals. You’ll notice a few laments in this edition of The Cascade too.

Again, the most wonderful time of year.

I know profs feel it too, when labouring through marking papers and final projects. At least their futures aren’t dependent on the grades.

So, I’ve started this knew meditation technique to help cope, actually. I sit still and imagine myself in late December. The grades I got weren’t what I feared they might be, I start to grow back the hair I lost (though the grey might stay), and I’m comforted by the dry warmth from the fireplace I lie beside, while chugging eggnog.

An alternative fantasy sees a similar scene, except I place my head, with resolve, in the fire. Either way, mid December is near.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Q&A //

The future of nationalism

NEWS BRIEFS

Gwynne Dyer on Trump, the media, and what our collective future holds wrong in an amazingly bad way, it was right down to the New York Times’ headline on election day, claiming that Clinton’s in the lead. I mean, that is going to follow you around for a long time.

Actually, what’s really gone wrong is that the opinion polls have consistently got it wrong, and that is probably a technical function. Because the things is, they only phone people with landlines.

And to be truthful, the younger you are, the less likely you are to have a landline, so they were getting a seriously skewed response, and they are still trying to rebuild their models to get around that problem. Cause it’s very hard. I mean, when you had a phone book that everyone's number was in it, it was easy! And you could sort of balance it in income, spread it through the income groups with everybody knowing which parts of town and which exchange numbers match those parts of town; that’s a working class district, and the rich over here, and the middle class — make enough phone calls, and there’s your poll. Not anymore.

Opioid crisis panel discussion to happen at UFV On Wednesday, Nov. 29, UFV’s Abbotsford campus will host a panel discussion regarding the opioid crisis that the Fraser Valley is currently struggling with.

The panel will include a spokesperson from the Abbotsford police department, Lesley Braithwaite, supervisor of the addictions centre at Abbotsford community services; Bethany Jeal, assistant professor for UFV’s nursing department; Jon Heidt, assistant professor for UFV’s criminology and criminal justice department; and Michele Giordano, career development coordinator for UFV’s criminology and criminal justice department.

The panel will be held at UFV Abbotsford campus in B101 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Students, staff, faculty, and the public are all welcome to attend.

Is there danger in an uninformed resistance to Trump?

- UFV Today

Challenge to UFV students and faculty For her retirement, Eleanor Busse Klassen, assistant to the dean, faculty of health sciences, wants to leave UFV with a challenge: she wants to see how many people she can get to donate to the Student Emergency Fund.

To be exact, for every donation of $23 (to mirror her 23 years at UFV), Eleanor will match with her own donation. She’s hoping that 100 people will donate, bringing the total donation to $2,300.

Eleanor hopes to “create a ripple” through this challenge, so that she and others may be a “lifeboat for students” who are in need of emergency financial aid.

As of Nov. 24, Eleanor’s challenge has raised $1,400, and she hopes to reach her goal of $2,300 before the semester is over.

- UFV Today

Gwynne Dyer presents on Trump, and the rise of nationalism, at UFV. (The Cascade)

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist, speaker, and author. He served in the navy, held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University, and now runs a twice-weekly column on international affairs, published by over 175 papers around the world.

Dyer’s recent book titles include, “Don't Panic: ISIS, Terror and Today's Middle East” (2015), “Crawling from the Wreckage” (2010), and “Customers who viewed Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats” (2011).

After presenting on the rise of nationalism, and the deeper issue of Trump’s presidency, we joined Dyer for a refreshment.

What do you drink?

Wine in the day and the early evening, starting usually with a glass of white and then to red, and whiskey late at night — scotch.

Do you find yourself drinking more now that Trump’s in office?

No, I don’t, because I drink quite a lot all the time. You know, there’s a limit after

which you are not functional; I work just below that.

What’s the worst thing to come out of Trump’s election?

Racism. I mean, worse things could come out, like North Korea, that sort of thing, but those are only potential. It’s not that there’s more racists in the States than there used to be, but they are much bolder. And that’s what he’s done, is he has legitimized their rants.

And if you know non-white Americans, they’ll talk your ear off about it, they really feel it in the street.

The media was horribly wrong about both Brexit and Trump, does this suggests they’re out of touch with reality?

Well, certainly they got it wrong. First of all, in Britain there’s a very clearly defined political position most papers take.

And so the papers on the right did actually predict a Brexit victory. So the Telegraph, and the Times, and the Daily Mail all said “Brexit victory coming, wait for it, here it comes — Look! Cheer now!”

Whereas the Guardian, the Independent, thought it was a really shitty idea.

But in America where you’ve got the pretense at least that the papers are more neutral, they got it wrong. They got it

There’s danger in being uniformed always, but yeah, in the sense that violence or even extreme language used against Trump reinforces the base’s support for Trump, you know, they circle the wagons, and “it’s us against the world.” Making fun of them has essentially the same effect, it confirms all their prejudices.

There’s a lot of stuff that they don't want to hear that the mainstream press will actually mention to them, mainstream media, so they've already retreated into an echo chamber where all they hear or see is their own media. And I think they’ll stay with Trump till the end, but they’re a dwindling group of people in demographic terms. They don’t have a lot of kids.

Have you uncovered evidence in any world history of how this may play out?

Well, demagogues — populists, if you like — do tend to run aground eventually because they never even mean their promises to be kept. Trump has no game plan, for not just bringing back the coal mines but bringing back jobs in general.

I mean, if he is telling the truth and not concealing some greater knowledge, he is operating as though building the wall on the Mexican border will solve the trade problem, and that the American jobs had been stolen by foreigners.

If he doesn’t believe that, and does understand the real rust belt problem and the real manufacturing problem generally, which is the jobs going, there’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

UFV courses //

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

New course brings Abbotsford community into the classroom

Civic Engagement and Participation course brings more opportunities for experiential learning to UFV JESSICA BARCLAY JR. NEWS EDITOR

In January, several UFV courses will take on a new community focus.

These hands-on courses will engage students with the issues of motivating the public to participate in local government and elections, an emphasis on community-based research. Students will research and provide solutions to ongoing community problems.

The five experiential learning courses that will be a part of this new pilot program are VA 390, Community Arts Practice; IDS 400F, Civic Engagement and Participation; GEOG 257/CMNS 257, Environment: Science and Communication; BUS 478, Workspaces and Built Places; and CYC 402, Community and Interdisciplinary Relationships.

These courses will look to enhance experiential learning and community engagement, with opportunities to work directly with the Abbotsford community.

“We want our students to know the community they study and live in, so that they create a meaningful connection, and build their careers in the Fraser Valley,” said Larissa Horne, experiential education coordinator, and history instructor, over email.

The courses align with UFV’s goals of expanding its out-ofclassroom opportunities, and fostering a sense of local citizenship. Students in these courses have the opportunity to engage in community-based research, and bring their own perspective and ideas to community projects.

“Post-secondary institutions across B.C. get engaged in community-based research and experiential learning activities more and more extensively, and UFV is no exception,” Horne said. “We serve the Fraser Valley, and have traditionally aspired to cultivate close ties with all municipalities, and have a record of such collaboration.”

Some recent work from the Community Arts Practice course can be seen on the walls of the

UFV campuses. Students designed and painted two large art murals, a mountain scene in Chilliwack, and a hidden oasis in Abbotsford.

Many of the courses, while having upper level requirements, are not required for the completion of a degree.

“These courses are introduced for the sake of introducing more students to hands-on learning. It expands the experiential learning opportunities to students, who do not have a mandatory ‘hands-on’ part of program, such as practicums,” said Horne.

Horne believes there are a variety of reasons students might be drawn to these courses. Some may be interested in making a difference in the community, pursuing a passion, growing their employability skills, or prefer a more project-based learning style. She also notes that the courses are a great way of networking within the Abbotsford community.

bugger-all he can do about it in terms of replacing the jobs.

I mean, what you’ve got to do is turn it around and look at it from the opposite side, and say, “Okay, the jobs are going, what do we do about the people's incomes, and their satisfaction levels?” I mean, it was pathetic during the election campaign. Hillary Clinton, who deserved to lose, she was so much the establishment candidate; some of the things she’d say were just incredible, the “basket of deplorables” comment — things she was talking about, not off the record, this was a meeting, a crowd, and she said, well you know there are some people you just can’t deal with: the rednecks, and the white racists, and so on, and all of these people are going to vote for Trump, they’re just a basket of deplorables. Lady! They’re not going to vote for you if you talk like that!

So what happens to demagogues in the end?

They generally come to a fairly sticky end, but it can take a long time. I mean, if you think about it, Hitler didn’t last very long, he lasted 12 years. Mussolini, because he wasn’t stupid enough to stumble into a war he was bound to lose, lasted from ‘22 to ‘45, he was in power for about 23 years.

So it could be a long time before he runs out of rope, but I

think generally he does in the end: demagogues do.

But you know this is not really relevant to a good discussion about the United States, because there’s a constitutional structure there that says eight years and no more, and you got to get re-elected in four. Would he get re-elected in three years’ time? I have no idea.

Harold Macmillan, the British prime minister in the early ‘60s, somebody said to him, “Once you got your power you can just put your policies through,” and Macmillan said, “No, it’s not that simple.

Events, dear boy, events.”

Events knock you off course, events take up all the energy and oxygen available, and you can’t do what you planned to do. And events will hit Trump, I mean, there’s always events coming down the track. You didn’t plan for them, you didn’t foresee them, but when they arrive you’ve got to deal with them, you’ve got to be the guy to sit in the chair. And he’s not going to perform well in that sort of thing I don’t think, look at him and Puerto Rico.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Stories worth paying attention to

#HousingNow

# ABitExcessive

Housing crisis can't wait 10 years for national strategy to unfold, say protesters at Vancouver rally Increased frustration over the federal government’s recently announced national housing strategy saw dozens of protesters marching down Vancouver’s east side last Saturday.

The plan looks to spend $40–billion over the next 10 years, with the goal of reducing national homelessness by 50 per cent. The plan will kick in after the next federal election, which many across the country believe is just not soon enough.

"Most of the money needs to be spent right away. This is a crisis, this is not something you can wait 10 years to solve," said Sara Sigaii, housing activist and organizer of the nationwide protests.

-CBC News

#HouseTheHomeless

Dubai security chief calls for bombing of Al Jazeera

City of Vancouver approves Marpole modular housing project for the homeless

Dubai Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan, a senior security official in the United Arab Emirates, called for the bombing of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based media network, accusing the media network of tampering with Egyptian security.

In a series of tweets, Khalfan claimed that Al Jazeera was to blame for provoking the most recent attack on an Egyptian mosque that left over 235 people dead. Khalfan has been known for his vocal and controversial opinions in the past.

"The UAE needs to respond [to Khalfan's comments]. He is using a moment of anger and grief over the terrible attack in Sinai to fuel his hatred against Al Jazeera,” said Yaser Abuhilalah, managing director of Al Jazeera Arabic. “What Dhahi Khalfan is doing is incitement to terrorism."

Vancouver has approved the construction of a modular housing development, which looks to house 78 individuals currently living on the street or in shelters, after a lengthy protest with residents.

The development will be constructed across from two schools, one of which is an elementary school. Local residents protested the project, expressing concern over the lack of consultation with the school board and the community.

Director of planning, Gil Kelley, said that the conditions placed on the approval of the project address the concerns of local residents. He added that when handling future projects, he plans to start conversations with neighbourhood residents and community officials earlier.

-Al Jazeera

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-CBC News

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Activism //

Seasons greetings //

How do we tackle Breaking the corruption? holiday mould MARTIN CASTRO ARTS IN REVIEW EDITOR

I’m sure this has been on the minds of everyone in the community in one form or another throughout 2017, and as the year comes to an end, the publication of The Paradise Papers, another Panama Papers-style data leak regarding the prevalence of offshore tax havens, has got me thinking. I find myself wondering just how I can function within an increasingly global community while many of my friends are scrambling for jobs, and stores are being closed. Meanwhile, on the global stage, all efforts point to cutting cost and maximizing profit, which in many cases amounts to outsourcing, downsizing, and can often lead to the kind of corruption underlined in The Paradise and Panama Papers.

It’s overwhelming, to say the least.

Where do I fit in, in relation to globalscale corruption and tax evasion? What can I do in the face of what can seem like an inevitable tide of shady backdoor deals between foreign nationals financed through shell corporations?

Do these revelations even have an impact on us?

The first thing we can do, I suppose, is acknowledge that there is a thriving market for offshore tax havens, which in turn points to the existence of an equally pervasive corporate mindset that is globally corrupt. This corruption isn’t local. We’re not talking about a shady businessman skimming 10 per cent off the top, and sneaking out the back door after-hours. We’re talking about multi-million, even billion-dollar companies hiding millions of dollars of profits, loans, acquisitions, and debt. Tax-payers (“regular people”) are left with cleanup duty when things go south, and economies take a hit.

Despite some public outrage (and

let’s face it, the outrage could be considerably more committed), it’s not farfetched to assume that we’ll be hearing about this kind of corruption well into the next decade. It’s unreasonable to expect us all to be sufficiently outraged for corporations to notice, and even if they did, would they care enough to alter their behaviour?

I get it, people are tired. You’re tired.

There are, after all, only so many things we can be angry about every week. Having understood the pervasiveness of tax havens and the doors they open in terms of illegal laundering options (it was reported by the ICIJ — the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists — that sanctioned Syria was able to purchase weapons from G20 powers through offshore shell companies just last year), what can you do?

Start locally. Nobody’s saying you have money to throw around, but when it comes to whom you support, and where your money goes, shop local. That money is oftentimes going to families that are living essentially hand-to-mouth. Buy locally-sourced products, evade big corporate purchases when you can find independent alternatives. If you can hand $20 over, and be sure that you’re looking at the end-user of that $20, then you’re taking a step forward. If your money is going into your own community, then you’re taking a step forward. Yes, shopping at DIYs might be more expensive, but that’s because these people have to make the money to live, on top of competing with Walmart.

Corruption sucks, but corruption is alive and thriving in the Western world as much as anywhere else. Want to change it? Take baby steps, and the rest will fall in line.

JEFF MIJO OPINION EDITOR

Traditions are a funny thing. Some have been around for far longer than anyone alive can remember, and new ones are born every day, but once they take root, they can be hard to shake.

But even the most deeply-rooted traditions are worth digging up and examining once in a while, to see if they’re truly as important as they seem.

For many people, holidays are the most important traditions of all — times to gather family, perform rituals, and eat special delicacies.

For my family, that was always Christmas, or rather the three day stretch of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. None of my close family on either parents’ side are at all religious, but if you go back a few generations, those religious influences are certainly there, and there’s no denying our culture at large pushes Christmas as the “default” winter holiday.

A few years ago, however, my family stopped to examine the way we handled Christmas. It didn’t start off as a plan to reinvent anything, just an idea to make those three days easier to schedule. With grandparents, aunts, and uncles on both sides, combined with the fact that my parents realized my brother and I might soon have significant others and their families to visit, the scheduling of that short span of time was always crowded, and made it difficult to also have a relaxing Christmas day at home, like we all enjoyed.

So, we decided to upend our tradition, and build a new one.

We kept the parts we like — the tree, the baking, the presents — and got rid of parts that were a lot of work, and less beloved — the turkey dinner was replaced with appetizers to snack on while watching a movie. But the biggest change was the date. My immediate family picks a date that everyone can get off

of work, usually the weekend before Christmas, to celebrate “solstice” (because it fell on the winter solstice the first year). We spend the night before playing games, we get up in the morning and unwrap presents, we eat too much chocolate, and it’s all over with before December 20.

We’ve been doing that for a few years now, and it’s taken some getting used to. Once our solstice is over, it feels like Christmas should be over, even if we do still visit family closer to the actual date. There were a couple years where we didn’t account for the fact that we needed to finish our shopping a week earlier, and sometimes schedules conflict a little. (This year, I have an exam that runs until 5:00 p.m. on solstice eve.) But when we review the new tradition afterwards every year, my family has always been completely satisfied with it. It’s more peaceful, gives us the flexibility to relax, and spend time together, when in the past, the rush to see everybody during Christmas was just stressful. And now, I’m in a relationship with someone who lives a few hundred kilometres away, and the ability to just spend Christmas with her family without needing to make negotiations, or alternate whose family we see each year, has avoided a massive amount of potential tension and planning.

It’s not for everyone — maybe your traditions are particularly tied to the day itself, and that’s fine. But these things that it seems have always been the same were created by someone, for some reason, and they are not set in stone. As you gear up for whatever sort of festivities you may have planned for the coming month, I encourage you to take a minute and consider which parts are truly valuable to you, and which are vestigial remnants of a past generation. Traditions are mutable, and quicker than you think, they become the new tradition, and all the more personal and important because they’re your traditions.

e d a c s a C The

is hiring an Arts Writer

Improve your critiques, your mindfulness, your perceptions.

And get paid to do it!

To find out more, email kat@ufvcascade.ca 5

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Warcrafting a new identity

It’s not a race

I’m the type of person that has a character on most major MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games).

I haven’t played more than a day on some of them, but I have sunk endless hours of my life into the massively popular World of Warcraft. Call Warcraft a waste of time and money if you will, but online games provide something special for people who just need to escape reality for an evening.

Whenever I feel like life is getting to me, and I just can’t win, what better way to deal with the stress than to pop into an alternate universe where you can accomplish great deeds, and lead epic adventures? In online games, I learn things about myself, and have the opportunity to exercise my imagination. I set some of my most challenging goals in-game, and reaching them provides the confidence boost I often need to get through the week. Overall, all online games have the potential to be a waste of time and money, but then that’s what most hobbies are, aren’t they? What’s the harm if you find enjoyment in it, and it provides a healthy escape from the stress of student and adult life?

Why do we applaud students who take five to six courses a semester, overwork themselves, and get a low-to-average GPA? Then, when we hear of a student taking two to three courses, our response is “So, you work?” like that’s the only acceptable reason to not take a full course load. University is not a race to the finish. I think it’s ridiculous that students have the mindset that just passing is worth getting their degree done sooner. Is a 2.0 GPA and no hope of a decent graduate program worth the couple thousand you save from finishing faster?

Yes, school is expensive and stressful, and by year three we all want to leave, just so we can sleep. But students have accepted five courses as the norm, yet continue to complain about the stress, disappointing grades, and lack of sleep. I get tired of my friends complaining about how much work they have, while questioning why I only take three courses a semester. I want to have a high GPA so I have a better chance of getting into graduate school, and getting a great job. And, if it is a race, like the tortoise versus the hare, slow and steady wins.

Brief bits of bite sized brevity

Cassie de Jong

SNAPSHOTS

Jingle Hells And so it begins. The Christmas music has started playing on the radio. Despite being a child of the age of mindless consumerism, even I am mightily sick of the holiday jingles by now. I’m not alone in this. Just the other night, someone sitting in front of me on the shuttle to Chilliwack begged for the radio station to be changed.

He just couldn’t bear one more saccharine note of the stuff. He apparently works in retail, the poor man.

Speaking of retail, that wasn’t nearly as horrifying as what I heard on a different shuttle earlier that week. I am speaking of a certain McDonald’s radio commercial. If you’ve heard it before, you will know of what I speak, and if so, you have my heartfelt condolences. If you haven’t heard it, then I pray you never do. It uses the most grossly inappropriate bastardization of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that I have ever heard. Listening to that travesty made me furious. I hope I never hear it again, because if I do, I will spontaneously combust from the pure apocalyptic rage that will fill every fibre of my being.

And it’s still only November.

Illustrations: Amara Gelaude

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Kayla BWD

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Tweetering on the edge of exhaustion

Aleister Gwynne

Twitter recently informed me that it was my eighth anniversary of signing up for the site. It’s been a regular part of my day pretty well non-stop that entire time, and has definitely integrated itself into my life in a major way. Recently, there’s been a lot of pushback against Twitter — people saying it’s grown more serious and political, and become an emotional drain.

And I get that. I’ve had to force myself to step away from it during crises where there’s a nonstop flood of information.

Some people are leaving the platform, or at least muting any terms that are at all political, and I think there’s value in that, especially when social media can sap our mental well-being with a constant barrage of bad news. But I don’t think I can entirely leave, or even hide the conversations I don’t like. Twitter has always been political — just like nearly every conversation is if you boil it down — and while current world events certainly highlight that more, for myself, it’s worth the effort of wading through all of that to stay in the loop.

Jeff Mijo

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Student Woes //

Give us a break, would ya?

Specifically, a fall semester reading break LAUREL LOGAN FEATURE EDITOR

Well folks, we’re nearing the end of another fall semester. It’s been a good run, I’ve had a pretty great time, but man, do I ever feel more exhausted than usual. Perhaps it’s from the lack of sleep I’ve been getting, or maybe it’s the backlash from taking 16 credits; but that’s not really anything too out-of-theordinary. No, it must be the result of something else.

It must be from the lack of a fall reading break.

Honestly, if there’s any semester that needs a reading break, it’s the fall. (Not that the winter doesn’t; please, please, don’t think that’s what I’m implying.) The fall semester welcomes the greatest number of new students to UFV compared to any other semester, and often, the first semester can be the most difficult for new students to adjust to. Adding a fall reading break would give new students a chance to catch their breath, ease into their transition to UFV, and catch up on homework.

Of course, a fall break would be valuable for returning students, too. This semester, I don’t think I’ve felt calm for more than a day or so, and I would’ve given an arm and a leg to have had a week off sometime in October. (Okay, maybe just a leg. I would’ve wanted to keep both arms in order to efficiently type up some papers during this hypothetical reading break.)

UFV isn’t the only school who structures their semesters like this; other Canadian universities like Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University don’t get a fall break either.

However, schools like the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Ottawa, and Western University do.

A week off would grant the opportunity to work on existing homework, while not having to worry about receiving any more until a week later. And, when all the catching up is done, we could do things that regular school weeks don’t generally allow time for; like relaxing, hanging out with friends, or maybe even going

on a short trip somewhere.

Now, if we were to get a reading break during the fall, the break between the end of the fall semester and the beginning of the winter would have to be shorter as a result, but I think it would be worth it. Working and learning non-stop every single week without a significant break is tiring, and giving students a bit of time off in the middle would help relieve a lot of stress.

A recent study from McMaster University measured how the fall break affects stress levels and mental health of undergraduate students. They found that “69.1% of respondents indicated that the fall break decreased their stress,” and that “53.6% of respondents judged that the fall break improved their academic performance relative to the previous fall semester, while only 9.8% judged that it decreased their academic performance.” I don’t know about you, but these results sound pretty promising to me.

Remember last winter, when “snowmageddon” hit, and UFV was closed for most of the week prior to reading break? Yeah, double-reading break was the bomb. I got to catch up on studying, write a couple of papers, write some poems, and play a generous amount of Pokémon Moon, all while laying in bed for days on end. When reading break was over, I came back to school feeling a lot more calm, and more importantly, wellrested and prepared enough to absorb new lecture material. In previous years (when snow wasn’t a problem), the regular reading break period has always made me feel just as relaxed as that one did. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that calm at any point during the fall or summer semesters.

Adding a mid-semester break to the fall term would make UFV even more appealing to those trying to decide which university they should attend. And, for those of us already attending UFV, it would make the semester feel a lot less overwhelming.

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Auditing

our mess

UFV’s new four-bin waste system, and the waste audit By: Joel Robertson-Taylor

O

n Oct. 18, the UFV Centre for Sustainability, along with volunteers, conducted the third annual waste audit. Each year, the centre collects more data, and uses it to inform UFV’s waste disposal system.

“What we would do is take one day’s worth of garbage waste from A and B buildings, pile it up on the Green, then rummage through it and put it in different piles,” UFV Energy Manager, Blaire McFarlane, said. “[Then we] look at what was found in the landfill bin, how many items and in what percentage should be in recyclables, what should be in compost, which was miscellaneous glass or styrofoam.”

Travis Gingerich, a UFV geography student and sustainability coordinator assistant, also participated in the audit. His work has been instrumental in the development of the waste collection system.

“Basically, the goal of the waste audit is to assess the effectiveness of our waste collections systems on campus,” said Gingerich. “With the rollout of our sustainable waste stations this year, it was especially important to do the audit and assess the success, as well as find the areas we still need to tweak and find tune.”

Results from the 2015 audit found that a lot of plastics ended up in the garbage, rather than recycling. Using that data, the UFV Centre for Sustainability started a new recycling program. The impact was tangible, it reduced mixed recycling previously going into the garbage by 25 per cent.

In 2016, the audit found that the amount of organic compostables in the garbage actually increased. This came as somewhat of a surprise.

“We recognized as a department that we needed fundamental

change, and those results spurred on this project of the sustainable waste stations,” said McFarlane.

That project led to September’s implementation of the four-bin system: Landfill, refundable beverage containers, mixed recycling, and organics.

This year, the auditors examined all four of the new waste streams. While it’s the first audit for the new system, which means there isn’t directly comparable data from previous years, what was found showed an improvement in proper waste disposal.

What led up to the new system?

The UFV Centre for Sustainability conducts research, collects data, and works to make UFV a more environmentally sustainable institution. Over the years, the centre has led multiple initiatives that focus on reducing negative environmental impact. In September, the four-bin waste system was employed across campus.

“We’ve been trying to implement a decent recycling program for the last decade,” said David Shayler, associate director of operations.

Several years ago, facilities decided to take garbage cans out of singleoccupant offices. Shortly after that, they created the “bin-be-gone” program, which continued to remove bins, placing an emphasis on centralized waste bin locations.

“There was some resistance, but we pioneered through that, and the majority of faculty and staff adhere to our new policies.”

Shayler said they had janitorial staff going into offices every second day to pull out garbage bags. It resulted in thousands of bags each week heading to the landfill. Most times, the garbage containers only had a few pieces of paper in them. The change meant far fewer plastic bags alone would end up in the landfill.

“Now that the towns and cities are doing the same things, where you have to separate your garbage at home, it makes it easier for us to pass on that educational message to people,” said Shayler. “We say, ‘Come on, you’re responsible at home, be responsible at work and separate your waste

accordingly, and we’ll give you all options that you need.’” efore the four-bin system, mixed recycling and refundable beverage container bins were available, but their placement was somewhat sporadic, according to Gingerich. Not as much thought went into their placement as with the new system, which is actually quite comprehensive.

In fact, far more work went into the placement of the bins than you might think. Gingerich, for his GIS certificate capstone project, built a program that used different spatial indicators to optimize waste bin placement.

“Some of those indicators we looked at were proximity to classrooms, for one thing, [and] the size of those classrooms too, so a large classroom is going to have more people coming out of it,” he said. “The whole concept that we worked with was waste production potential. How much waste is a specific space going to produce?”

The first step in optimizing bin placement was to identify key spaces for waste production potential (WPP).

Classrooms have a high WPP; common seating areas have a high WPP. Once they collected that data, the team developed a map of UFV that showed clustered hotspots for waste production.

From there, Gingerich said they looked to optimize placement in terms of line of sight and buffer creation. You’ll find that you never need to walk more than 20 metres to get to a waste station, anywhere within a corridor.

“So, if you walk out of the classroom, you should have a waste station within sight,” said Gingerich.

B

Where does the waste go?

U

FV has a general landfill dumpster, organics bin, and multiple recycling bins. But most waste isn’t processed at UFV, so it’s important that each type of waste ends up in its proper stream, ie. the right bin.

Garbage waste first gets compacted here in Abbotsford, then sent across the border to the U.S., where it likely ends up at the Roosevelt Landfill. Roosevelt does run an electricity generation plant off of the emitted methane gas, but this is still the least efficient way to dispose of waste — especially waste that could serve a better purpose, like cans sent to a bottle depot, or food waste to a composter.

Refundable beverage containers are collected by Pacific Pathways, an organization that provides support for intellectually disabled persons.

The proceeds earned through returns goes to the Pathways participants, who collect refundables bi-weekly.

Mixed recycling (cardboard, paper, glass) is bailed and shipped to China — hardly the most environmentally friendly option.

And finally, compostable organics are transported to The Answer or Enviro-Smart, in Abbotsford and Delta, respectively. Once processed, these organics are repurposed as topsoil. This is by far the best option for waste. Transport costs are minimal, and it becomes reusable. This means that absolutely everything that can be composted should be composted.

While there is a compost system at CEP, it’s relatively small, and better suited for paper towel or the food scraps produced by the CEP’s culinary program — things that break down easily. Actually, most composting systems like that of a backyard compost aren’t capable of composting a lot of UFV’s organics. You’ll see “PLA” on the bottom of a lot of the cold beverage cups coming out of any food service establishment on campus.

PLA, polylactic acid (fermented plant starch), which looks and feels like plastic, is what all the utensils and cups at UFV’s food services are made up of. It’s compostable, but only under certain circumstances.

According to Scientific America, PLA is technically “carbon neutral” because it’s made from renewable, carbon-absorbing plants rather than petroleum-based plastics. It also doesn’t emit toxic fumes when incinerated, another plus.

The trouble with PLA is, in order for it to break down, it requires a heat that can’t be generated in a backyard bin. For PLA to break back down to its constituent parts (carbon dioxide and water), it needs to reach temperatures in excess of 60°C. If the compost doesn’t reach that temperature, those forks and cups won’t break down.

“Analysts estimate that a PLA bottle could take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill,” according to Scientific America.

Though it’s far friendlier than traditional petroleum-based plastics, it still needs to find its way to an industrial compost facility, where higher temperatures are reached.

“They do decompose, but for one thing we’re not getting the benefit of being able to reuse those substances for soil formation to get it back into the food cycle,” Gingerich said. “Secondly, they will decompose in a different way. They’ll decompose anaerobically as opposed to aerobically.”

Aerobic decomposition produces carbon dioxide, anaerobic decomposition produce the far more harmful greenhouse gas, methane.

This is why, Gingerich said, the Centre for Sustainability is stressing the importance of placing waste in the right bin. PLA may not be as bad as petroleum-based plastics in the landfill, but it certainly won’t reach its full potential there.

‘The Audit Results’ In the past, success was gauged based on how much true waste ended up in the landfill bin.

Although there are now four waste streams to audit, comparing previous years’ results to this year’s brings a focus to the landfill stream.

In terms of landfill waste, this year actually saw a decrease in compliance. Since last year, true waste in garbage bins dropped 40 per cent.

Why? Likely paper towel, which is technically an organic compostable. Some garbage bags found in the waste audit contained almost exclusively paper towel.

Since the audit, signs have been placed in bathrooms to inform users that these bins are for paper towels only. But even if the paper towel is factored out of the results, 50 per cent of garbage was made up of organics.

Refundable beverage containers, mixed recycling, and organics, saw a 70 per cent, 79 per cent, and 98 per cent compliance with proper disposal, respectively.

In the refundable beverage container waste stream, the biggest issue is the inclusion of coffee cups. Perhaps people see the round hole and associate it with their cylindrical cups. The problem with this is cups from Tim Hortons or Starbucks are considered mixed recycling; cups from UFV food services are PLA compostables.

Either way, too many of them end up in the refundables bin.

The mixed recycling bins saw fairly good results. Still, organics composed a majority of the non-mixed recycling waste in the stream. Again, probably because of a lack of education regarding which types of containers are compostable, and which are recyclables.

Organics saw an incredible, nearly perfect, compliance. Gingerich said they were surprised at how successful this stream has proven to be.

Making sense of the data: Though it’s difficult to compare the multi-year data directly, each audited waste stream provides insight into how UFV’s waste is disposed.

“We can draw some comparisons between landfill streams of years passed and this landfill stream,” said Gingerich. “But if you’re looking at, for example, total amount going to the landfill, that sort of thing, it’s really tough to compare apples to apples here, just because there has been such a drastic change.”

What can be determined, more or less, is how much the additional three bins contribute to the reduction of non-garbage waste in the landfill stream. And, as indicated by the audit, 50 per cent of non-true waste was diverted to other waste streams — this is a massive improvement.

“What we did see in this waste audit is a lot of the organics are going into the landfill container, rather than going into our organics container,” said Gingerich. “It was probably the biggest surprise, and also the largest area that we recognize. There either needs to be greater education, more effective signage, or some other method of getting that point across.”

“There’s a few questions there around what it could be. It could be an education component,” said Gingerich. “We have decided to put lids on the organic containers just to reduce the smell, but that could deter people from opening it up to throw their organic waste out.”

M

oving forward with the sustainable waste program, Gingerich said the centre will continue to refine the system. Though the four-bin system has proven to be beneficial for sustainable waste disposal, improvements can be made. The data collected during the audit doesn’t necessarily show why people choose to put waste in the wrong bins, but it does suggest that more can be done. With more education and signage, Gingerich hopes to see an improvement each year.

“Everyone interacts with waste, there’s no one on campus who won’t approach these bins at some point in their day, most likely,” McFarlane said. “So, it affects everyone in some capacity, and everyone is capable of making a significant change for the university.”

Key: Mixed recycling

Organics

Refundable beverage container

True waste

STUDY BREAK Crossword //

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Made by Cassie de Jong

ACROSS

DOWN

2: A scientist who studies the physical and biological properties of the ocean.

1: Brand of unisex foam clog.

4: A period of human history also known as the “Old Stone Age.” 5: The farthest planet from Earth in our solar system.

4: A smooth, often iridescent, rounded stone, formed within the shells of clams.

6: The second highest pitch in a musical piece, also a vocal range.

5: A foot of a quadruped that has claws.

8: A curved, pointed, often sharp appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger.

6: A hand tool used to cut wood.

9: Video chatting software that operates on computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

11: A healthcare professional specialized in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders by manipulation of the spine.

12: A healthcare professional specialized in treating children and their diseases.

Horoscope //

Astrological mysteries rudely interpreted by Lady May

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 An Aries only gets dressed every morning because society dictates they have to, so their fashion choices often seem bizarre and inconsistent. I wouldn’t put it past them to leave the house wearing a toga and bunny slippers.

7: A classic type of male singing voice, whose vocal range is between baritone and countertenor.

10: A unit of fineness for gold.

11: A long, sleeveless garment which hangs on the back, and is often worn by superheroes.

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS: Across: 3: Wheat 5: Zebra 7: Atom 8: Noun 9: Traffic Light 12: Newfoundland 14: Plum 16: Bomb 17: Nerds 18: Neigh

1: Seam 2: Ebon 3: Water 4: Territories 5: Zooplankton 6: Adult 10: Few 11: Gel 12: Nylon 13: Nymph 15: Mare 16: Bait

Illustration by: Amara Gelaude

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 Leos don’t seem to have a good memory. We all know that you can be coaxed out from under anything with the promise of fresh pie, but you always forget that we never follow through.

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 At some point this week you will be talking to a friend, and they will seem to zone out. At this point, consider the conversation hopeless.

You’ll have forgotten what you two were talking about, anyway.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 You are easily gullible. Also, go find a mirror, you have something in your teeth.

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 When fighting for your freedom, never wear your best clothes. Your best bathrobes, though, those are okay.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 Geminis always seem to feel second best.

However, rest assured you are certainly the best at feeling like second best.

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 You lounge around naked in your home when no one is around. You think this is a secret, but they know. (You know who “they” are.)

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 You often mistake temptation for opportunity. Aquarians make life decisions like a toddler, and their plans usually involve rollerblades.

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 Cancers love a good party. “Anytime, anywhere” is their motto. However, this does not mean that they are the life of said party, as they can often be found eating cereal in a corner during the event.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 Error: horoscope not found. Bring me cookies for better luck next week. (The Cascade office, SUB room S2111. See you there.)

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 You will become hungry one hour after reading this. Please don’t eat the paper.

While full of fibre, it’s not all that tasty.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 A Taurus’ car always seems to be plastered with buttons and bumper stickers with rude and/or inappropriate sayings on them. You claim these are “tasteful,” but the word you’re looking for is actually “tacky.”

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3: The soul of a dead person, that often haunts people or things.

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Exhibit //

Fraser Valley Biennale 2017 hosts Artist Meet & Greet at the Reach Gallery Museum Local artists give an insider perspective on their work and practice

CASSIE DE JONG CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR

The Fraser Valley Biennale serves to represent the extraordinary artwork produced by artists in the Fraser Valley region in the period of the past two years. The Biennale has been a recurring event every two years since 2011, and has connected the art being produced in our local community to the broader contemporary art community in Canada. The 2017 Biennale included over 20 artists from around the region, and has been shown all year, across the valley. The series of exhibitions began in January with the Abbotsford Arts Council at the Kariton Art Gallery, then in Chilliwack with the Chilliwack Visual Artists Association, then in Mission with the Mission Arts Council, then finally at the Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford.

On Thursday, November 16, the Reach Gallery Museum invited the public to meet the talented artists involved in this year’s Fraser Valley Biennale. The purpose of the event was to give an insider’s look at the massive amount of talent present in the Fraser Valley region. Executive director and curator at the Reach, Laura Schneider, presented the event, and spoke about the importance of getting to know the artist’s work through their own perception of it.

Five artists present at the event had pre-

Photo: Cassie de Jong

viously volunteered to stand in front of their work, and speak about their practice and the concept behind their work. The list included Marguerite MacIntosh, Sylvie Roussel-Janssens, Amy J. Dyck, Pierre Tremblay, and UFV’s own BFA program advisor, Paula Funk.

MacIntosh presented her piece “Threshold 1.” The artist has a background in architectural design, and presented a piece that started as one of her architectural layouts. Organic free-form lines present in what would have been the negative space in the painting. MacIntosh stated that these lines represent the unpredictability of life, and the journeys and trips made by people around the structure.

MacIntosh was followed by RousselJanssens, who gave us an explanation behind her installation, “Lac Ste-Marie,” a piece built out of wire and re-purposed cloth cutouts, which depict the image of a lake from Quebec on one half, and a treeline from the west coast presented on the other. Roussel-Janssens’ work has traditionally been about environmentalism, however, she has recently begun to incorporate some of her personal life into it. Having grown up in Quebec and moved

to B.C., she has chosen to represent both provinces within this particular piece.

“Embracing the Maelstrom,” an oil painting featuring four symmetrical figures on a circular panel by Amy J. Dyck, was the next work to be presented. Dyck stated that the circular structure is used as a metaphor for the self in many cultures.

This design choice, in tandem with her themes of gesture and posture, convey her sense of fascination with the human form.

She also states that the lighter figures represent what is known, and the dark figures represent what is unknown.

Next up was Paula Funk, who, in addition to being a recognized local artists, is the BFA program advisor at UFV. Her piece, “Woods,” a mixed media piece on wood panel, is about the transition from being a primary caregiving parent, to the parent of adult children. Two sets of trees are present in the painting, which are taken from photos from a family trip of Funk’s. Her work speaks about binary relationships between individuals or things.

These are represented in the various recurring motifs in her work, including geometric lines versus organic lines, and black and white elements versus colour.

“What’s He Building in There?” is an oil portrait on canvas, presented by Pierre Tremblay. Tremblay stated that his work always starts with a photograph, but as he is very against the idea of painting photorealistically, he will only sometimes look at the photo for accuracy or reference. Most of the time, he will put it out of his mind entirely, as he wants the painting to become its own piece, and stand apart from the original.

After the various presentations, attendees were encouraged to speak with the artists, who were identifiable by wearing nametags, and ask them questions to get to know both their personal life and work better.

The next biennale will take place in 2019, with call for submissions likely being sent out in late September, or early December of 2018. Aspiring artists from all corners of the Fraser Valley are encouraged to submit work, as all forms of art are accepted.

The current body of work will remain on display at the Reach Gallery Museum until December 31, and an anthology composed of the pieces shown this year at all four venues is available at front desk for $5.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Political Talks //

Interesting times

Gwynne Dyer reveals the root of Donald Trump’s success

ALEISTER GWYNNE STAFF WRITER

Last Thursday, noted author, historian, and political columnist Gwynne Dyer held a lecture in UFV’s Evered Hall, entitled “Surviving Trump.” The main subject of the lecture was not so much about Donald Trump himself (who has been discussed more than enough already), but rather the forces that allowed “a man I wouldn’t even let into my house,” in Dyer’s words, into not just any house, but the White House of all places. Dyer’s scope is not limited to the United States either, but seeks to explain how and why right-wing populist movements have been gaining traction all over the globe.

The answer, according to Dyer, is unemployment on a mass scale. It is noteworthy that in the 2016 federal election, Trump won the key states in the Great Lakes region, a region today known as the “Rust Belt.” In the old days, the Mid-Atlantic and eastern Midwest were America’s manufacturing heartland. Nowadays, this region has fallen far from its former status as the economic heart of the nation.

“Every time I go to Detroit, they’re tearing down a new skyscraper,” said Dyer. The question is, what happened here, and why did the people of the Rust Belt see Donald Trump as their best option?

As for what happened, the simple answer is that the jobs disappeared. Outsourcing played a part, but the greatest job-killer is automation. Assembly line jobs are the easiest to automate, and they were the first to go. This is why this part

of the United States was so heavily hit, due to their economy’s heavy reliance on manufacturing. Since the process began, seven million manufacturing jobs in the United States have been lost to automation. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. With self-driving cars on the brink of going public, the 4.5 million driving jobs in the U.S. are expected to be cut down to half a million over the next 10 years; and 47 per cent of jobs are “vulnerable to automation,” according to Dyer.

This still doesn’t explain why people are turning to right-wing populist candidates. According to Dyer, people in regions affected by mass unemployment feel “cheated, betrayed, abandoned” by the establishment. Trump’s hard line on immigration and “America first” foreign policy appealed to many working-class people in the Rust Belt and other hard hit areas, who feel that their jobs are being “stolen” by outsourcing and competition from immigrants. When Trump was touring the West Virginia coal country during his presidential campaign, he said “I will be your voice.”

But according to Dyer, the people of West Virginia were under no illusions that Trump would save the ailing coal industry. While automation has surely taken its toll in the mining industry as anywhere else, the truth is that as renewable energy like wind and solar become more powerful and efficient, there is less demand for coal, which was once primarily used to generate electricity.

There is nothing Trump or anyone else

can do to change this, even if they wanted to. Even so, mere recognition of their struggles goes a long way; and even if it will not solve their problems, the working-class people of middle America saw an opportunity to attack a political establishment that was at best ignored, and at worst worked against their interests. Dyer noted that the filmmaker Michael Moore, who was one of the few who predicted that Trump would win in 2016, described it as “the biggest ‘fuck you’ vote in history.”

It should be said that this is not limited to the United States. The greatest support for Brexit in the U.K., and for Marine le Pen (President of the National Front) in France’s 2017 election, correspond to regions that used to be those countries’ industrial heartlands. Across the world, people who are increasingly unable to make a living are lashing out at the political establishment and other “undesirable” groups whom they perceive as having caused their current crisis, or have allowed it to continue.

In order to curb the rise of dangerous nationalist movements, the root cause of the people’s dissatisfaction must be addressed, and Dyer spoke of some solutions to the issue.

Universal basic income (UBI) was the most discussed option, but mainly because it is the most discussed option everywhere else. UBI has come a long way in public discourse. Ten years ago it was practically unthinkable, but in another 10 years it may be non-negotiable, assuming things continue as they have been over the

past few decades. UBI may be closer than you think. Six countries are running pilot programs to assess the impact of UBI. One of these is Canada, with Ontario currently running a three-year pilot program. The B.C. government is currently considering a program of its own.

Other possibilities such as a “machine tax” to help offset the losses by automation, or the so-called “Tobin tax,” which would put a 0.5 per cent tax on conversions between currencies, were suggested.

Dyer stressed that it is not about whether or not we have the resources to implement programs such as these. “We’re rich,” he said, mentioning that despite downsizing and outsourcing, American industrial production has doubled. We certainly have the resources at our disposal, they are just not evenly distributed.

In order for UBI or anything similar to succeed, it must “tick two boxes.” The first is that nobody will be left to starve. The second is that nobody should be made to feel ashamed or lesser for receiving guaranteed basic income.

Dyer is optimistic that programs like these will be adopted in the near future, claiming that there is support even among the political right. He predicts that the United States will lag behind in this area, but not for long. As for whether this will prevent a more violent and intolerant future, Dyer is uncertain, but he does say that we are in for some interesting times in the years ahead.

Profile //

Club spotlight: Computer Student Association (CSA)

Talented computer students are here to help you with your semester by playing games, among other means of support

CASSIE DE JONG CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR

The Computer Student Association (CSA) was founded in 2006 as the UFV Computer Information Systems Student Association (CISSA). They exist to represent and support the computing students of UFV. They strive to provide a safe and pleasant space for students to hang out, make friends, get the tutoring they need, or get assistance with assignments from like-minded students in the computer science community. The Student Computing Centre is in room D224 on the Abbotsford campus, where students can find support in these areas, and also regarding computing courses, printing, 3D printing, and also a place to hang out between classes. In addition, they offer advice if you have an event you wish to organize, or an idea for a project. If you stop by their office and ask, they will be more than willing to work with you to help make your vision a success.

Last Monday, November 20, the CSA held a games day in Evered Hall. The purpose of this event was to bring students together outside of a learning environment, and to build connections and friendships, especially with

12

exam season fast approaching.

Attendees of this recurring event are encouraged to bring their favourite board games, video games, card games, and more. Group members recognize a myriad of different games that are brought every month. Everything from classics like Settlers of Catan and Coup, to newer games such as Sub Terra and Snake Oil, have been seen on their tabletop.

The next games day will likely take place in late January or early February, but you don’t have to wait that long to experience more of their games-focused events: Winter FUNderland, a 24-hour gaming marathon, is scheduled to begin on December 1 in Evered Hall in the SUB from 10:00 a.m. on Friday, to 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

This collaborative annual event is made possible in part

by E-Sports Valley, and the Pen & Paper Tabletop club.

All funds raised will be donated to the UFV SUS Angel Tree program. CSA claims it will be one “funderful” experience.

During Monday’s event, we were able to sit down with Dennis Semeniuk, vice-president of the CSA, and ask about what the CSA stands for. Semeniuk said, “We represent all computer information systems and computer

science students at UFV. We are responsible for helping and guiding students, from student to student. We are also there to give help on assignments, if they need it.”

Semeniuk would like to see more students taking advantage of the services CSA has to offer.

“If they are a student in the computer science or computer information systems departments, they can approach us in our room [The Student Computing Centre] or on Discord.” Links to the group’s Steam and Discord accounts are available via their Facebook page.

The CSA also invites students to join them in their online gaming community. Their Discord channel offers voice and text chats to both members of the group and the public. In addition to weekly meetups hosted every Friday night on their channel, there is most always someone online on other nights of the week, if you find yourself in need of someone to game with.

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

UFV Event //

Sailing to Byzantium Event showcases work of student artists ALEISTER GWYNNE STAFF WRITER

Last Friday, an exhibition of student art was held in Evered Hall. The event, entitled “Sailing to Byzantium,” was a unique collaboration between the faculties of English, theatre, and visual arts, and combined the aspects of poetry, performing arts, and visual arts under one banner.

The two-hour exhibition began with a reading of the poem Sailing to Byzantium

by William Butler Yeats, after which the event is named. The reading was done by professor Andrew Gutteridge, who read the poem twice, so that listeners could take in the imagery of the poem more fully. Gut-

teridge then shared his analysis of Sailing to Byzantium with the audience. Afterward, each of the three department heads involved in the exhibition shared their own interpretations of Yeats’ famous poem.

While each of the professors had their own take, a common theme was emphasis on the spiritual side of existence, that which exists beyond the realm of rational perception, and for which many of us have a nameless yearning that nothing material can truly satisfy.

Following the professor’s presentations, students did readings of their own work before the audience. These readings not only reflected the literary art, but also the art of performance, which was as unique to

each presenter as apparent by their written work. Each of the four presenters had a particular style of reading and writing, and if one listened closely, one could tease out the various themes and perspectives of each person, ranging from the lighthearted and sunny, to the dark and bloody. Each one gave an intense and gripping performance. Any notion that poetry is dull was put to rest by these performances.

The final component of the arts trio, visual arts, came last. After the readings, presenters and visitors were free to mingle, and to admire and study the artworks displayed around the room on easels and pedestals. Most of them were paintings, but there were examples of drawing and

Cascade Events Calendar 3 November - December

Note: Some of these events require tickets, most are on Facebook. If something catches your eye, take to the internet for more details.

29

Writing for Film + Television Info Session @ The Reach (Abbotsford), 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

UFV Holiday Bargain Book Sale @ OReg Abbotsford Campus & CEP Bookstore, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

UFV Theatre Presents ‘The Bear’ @ Room D105 (Abbotsford Campus), 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Action on Violence Against Women Panel Discussion @ Room B121 (Abbotsford Campus), 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Visual Arts Open Studios and ‘Multiples’ Exhibition Opening @ Room C1401 and Room C1403 (Abbotsford Campus), 5:00 -7:00 p.m.

30

Colour Mixology: Acrylic Paints @ Chilliwack Community Arts Council, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Reflections of Art: A Staged Hair Show @ Abbotsford Arts Centre, 6:15 p.m.

Starbucks Reserve Brew Method Comparison Workshop @ McCallum Starbucks (Abbotsford), 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Bluegrass Night with Jackson Hollow @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

1

Winter FUNderland: a 24-Hour Gaming Marathon for SUS Angel Tree @ Evered Hall (Abbotsford Campus), 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. the following day Body, Wine, Jewels! Workshop @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Candlelight Parade @ Lougheed Highway (Mission), 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Jerry Seinfeld @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Malk, The Eleven Twelves, Super Distorter, Nice @ Captain’s Cabin Pub (Mission), 8:00 p.m.

Fraser Valley Filth @ The Vineyard (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 10:30 p.m.

2

Winter Jubilee & Christmas Tree Lighting @ Essendene Ave and Gladys Ave (Abbotsford Downtown), 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Christmas Open House @ Trethewey House (Abbotsford), 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

An evening of Holiday Season metal with Downshifter @ Triple Play Pub (Chilliwack), 8:00 p.m. - Midnight

And therefore I have sailed the seas and come To the holy city of Byzantium.

InkAddict Holiday Pop Up Shop @ Memento Mori Studios (Abbotsford), 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

5

Abbotsford Education & Career Fair @ Tradex (Abbotsford), 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

6

National Day of Remembrance, and Action on Violence Against Women All Day

7

December Corks & Canvas @ Chilliwack Community Arts Council, 7:00 9:00 p.m.

8

O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, doors 7:00 p.m.

9

Rockabilly Jay & the Cadillac Bones @ Captain’s Cabin Pub (Mission), 8:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

People Photography @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, doors 7:00 p.m.

All Ages Punk Show: Cloaca, CDP, Like Bears, The Schatzis, and Rain Penner @ The Vineyard (Chilliwack), 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.

UFV International Holiday Party @ the Rancho (Abbotsford), 5:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Christmas Celebration @ The Indigenous Student Centre, SUB Room S1113 (Abbotsford Campus), 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

sculpture as well.

In all, Sailing to Byzantium was a fairly basic, and rough and ready affair, largely due to delays in setting up, and because only about a dozen artists in total presented work. Even so, it was a highly enjoyable experience. The three academic departments intend for this to be the first of many such events at UFV, and we can hope to look forward to more presentations by our university’s writers, actors, and artists.

The Nutcracker @ The Clarke Theatre (Mission), 1:00 p.m.

10

Canada 150 Skating Party @ Twin Rinks (Chilliwack), 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

13

Hillary Clinton Live @ Vancouver Convention Centre 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

14

Hanging Terrarium Workshop @ Meadowland Flowers (Chilliwack), 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

15

Abbotsford Children’s Theatre: Anne of Green Gables @ Matsqui Centennial Auditorium (Abbotsford), 3:30 p.m.

16

Ugly Christmas Sweater DJ Dance Party @ The Stage in Mission, 10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

13

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Album Review //

CHARTS

SHUFFLE

1

GORD DOWNIE Introduce Yerself

AARON LEVY

2

DESTROYER ken

3

SHROUDED AMPS World Well Lost

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy was requested/challenged

by The Cascade editors to rise to this week’s challenge, and he kinda 50/50’s it.

4

FAITH HEALER try ;-)

5

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR Luciferian Towers

6 7 8 9

COMMUNITY CRUSADER

Jeremy Allingham — “Bring Those Presents To Me”

The most CBC of all Fraser Valley Music Awards applicants OR nominees, possibly because he KYLER PIERCE actually works for the CBC, where The Withdrawal Vol. 2 he publishes salient and meaningful articles on a variety of topics, NASHLYN he also recorded this ChristmasWork It Out themed millennial ditty to remind you of what the holiday season is ALVVAYS for.

Antisocialites

THE MIGHTY DUCKS BLUES BANDS Duck Soup

Truman Proudfoot and David Kandal — “Vampire Christmas” David and Truman, Truman and David: they’re a sweet, lovable pair of local Abbotsfordians, one of whom used to play in the Replacements-fashioned The Hot Moonbeams, as well as the much louder and more Vancouver-based Owl Skowl, both of whom have played at Jam in Jubilee’s After Dark series.

10

YAEJI EP2

11

THE SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA Under Burning Skies

12

BUFFY SAINTEMARIE Medicine Songs

13

BJORK Utopia

14

ENERGY SLIME It’s Cold

15

BOOGIE PATROL Man On Fire

16

HUBBO True Say

17

BENJI KAPLAN Adam Chorando Sete Cores Song”

18

XCEPHASX Tears of Endearment

19

LA FETE/LAPS La Fete/Laps/Laps/ La Fete

20 14

Tove Lo tries sexy ballads

SHABAZZ PALACES Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star // Quazarz Vs The Jealous Machines

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings — “8 Days of Hanukkah” Already shuffled, methinks, which doesn’t preclude my interest in talking about it again, because it’s NOT a Christmas tune; something The Cascade editor Martin Castro is hoping can be developed further to chronicle ALL of the nonChristmas related holiday songs, like those for Kwanzaa, Tet, AND Hanukkah as well!

Sandler

—

“Hanukkah

Adam Sandler loves singing about farts, trying to pick up women, and a buttload of other identifiable or otherwise disagreeable traits, activities, past times, or circumstances that some, none, or all of us may or may not connect with at any given time. Hanukkah was another of them.

KAYLA BWD CONTRIBUTOR

Swedish singer Tove Lo is known for her raw, brutally honest lyrics, and she stays on-brand throughout her latest album Blue Lips. The breakout pop star’s lyrics openly discuss sex, drugs, love, and heartbreak. Tove Lo’s 2016 release Lady Wood explored female sexuality, and broke with the expectation of female sexual repression. Released in November of 2017, Blue Lips continues the narrative and common themes explored in Lady Wood.

Despite the continuing theme, Blue Lips boasts more polished production than the dance beats of its predecessor. The most notable difference is that Blue Lips emphasizes Tove Lo’s first attempt at ballads. The ballads give the album a calmer and more sophisticated tone, but with still very primal lyrics.

Though the ballads were successfully integrated into Tove Lo’s pop aesthetic, the lack of tonal variation between them makes it hard to differentiate from one another. This muddles the album a bit, though it does add a certain flow when listening from beginning to end.

A break from the EDM-influenced pop/rock of her two previous albums, Blue Lips explores a more alternative sound. The softer melody shows off the singer’s vocal abilities and puts the focus on the lyrics. The steady, pulsing beat from the drums and

synthesizers gives the songs dark sensual tones that underlay the provocative lyrics, amplifying the sexuality of the album.

The album is strategically organized with a few slightly upbeat songs sprinkled among the slower, more heartfelt production. The album starts off with single “Disco Tits,” which sticks to more conventional electronic production than the rest of the album. “Disco Tits” is reminiscent of Tove Lo’s previous hit singles “Habits,” “Talking Body,” and “Cool Girl,” and bridges the gap between her new ballads. Also included in the latest album is the song “Bitches,” which not-too-subtly throws shade at all-girl band Fifth Harmony with the repeated line “dripping in harmony like fifth.” Overall, the lyrics on Blue Lips express a wide range of emotions (though always in keeping with the sexual theme of the album).

Though well known for her vivid lyrics and synth pop hits, this album shows Tove Lo’s openness to incorporate new genres into her sound. While Lady Wood was a full-course meal of songs to dance to, Blue Lips is a smooth dessert for the senses.

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Local Artist Interview //

Simon Bridgefoot’s back with his own name and new material MARTIN CASTRO ARTS EDITOR

Abbotsford local Simon Bridgefoot (who until now has released music as The Parish of Little Clifton) released his third album, Ghosts Was Here, on Tuesday November 28.

Ghosts marks the first time Bridgefoot has released music under his own name.

“I stopped making music under that name a few years ago, but didn’t really show anybody what I was doing,” says Bridgefoot. “With this batch of songs, I wanted to actually share them.”

For the most part, the eight tracks on Ghosts Was Here lean towards folk, and highlight Bridgefoot’s duality when it comes to genre. The shift in genre convinced Bridgefoot to drop The Parish of Little Clifton moniker for the time being.

“If it’s under my own name,” he says, “it’ll probably be more on the singer-songwriter tip. If it’s under the Parish of Little Clifton, it’ll probably be more electronic and instrumental. For me, the singersongwriter stuff is more dominant right now, with these batches of songs.”

You might be forgiven for thinking that Ghosts Was Here was more ambient than lyrical. Its opening track (if it can be called that at scarcely a minute) sets a minimalist, somewhat electronic mood. For the most part, however, most tracks on Ghosts Was Here toe the line between acoustic ballads, and a kind of shoegaze-ambient blend that is most impressive in that Bridgefoot manages to harness its lack of sharp definition and direct it at the listener, as opposed to getting lost in it.

Of course, there are more conventional pop tracks on the record. “In the Picture” (which features rising Valley staple Kristin Witko) boasts the most dance-worthy hook on the record, and while it may seem counterintuitive given Bridgefoot’s selflabelling as singer-songwriter, it might come to epitomize the record in the same way that singles which garner inordinate

amounts of airtime do.

ing on stuff that’s exclusively electronic, no vocals,” he says. “Really minimal and ‘Taking A Break’ repetitive. I’m sure it’ll come out nothing like it, but taking after Nils Frahm and “At this point, I feel like kind of a master these really minimal German composers. of none. I’ve spread myself a bit thin over I’ll probably release that music under The my twenties. I don’t have one thing. That Parish of Little Clifton.” makes me feel a little nervous.”

Even more tantalizing than the posHowever, resibility of a new cording Ghosts Parish record Was Here isn’t is the fact that the only thing Bridgefoot set Bridgefoot got up his sights on furto this past year. ther collaboraHe’s spent his tion with local time recording talent, some of other local artwhich found its ists as well. beginnings in his “I finished residency at the three records this year,” he says. “This Kariton Art Gallery alongside Kristin Witone, Kristin’s, and there’s a new Warm ko and Blessed’s Drew Riekman.

Amps album that we’re going to print to “Drew ended up playing on six of the vinyl. We just need to clear a sample first.” nine songs on Kristin’s forthcoming alBridgefoot tells me that while recording bum,” says Bridgefoot. “We drank a bunch this latest record was an intense experi- of tequila. Jake [Holmes from Blessed] ence, his work came out and recording other Nick [Mendonartists has also ca] from Loans, come to define and Cheap High him. The music came out, and studio, he says, we all recorded is now explicitly stuff.” familiar.

“Probably in “It feels like a January, Kirstfamily member en, Drew and now, actually.

Matt [McKeen It’ll always be from Blessed], there. There’s and I are goalways things ing to try to sit on the horizon.” down and reOne of those cord an album,” projects might says Bridgefoot. materialize it“I don’t know self as a new what that’ll be Parish of Little like.”

Clifton record, In the meanbut Bridgefoot time, Bridgecan’t say when foot is turning for sure. his attention to “I’m workthe mundane,

“I want to be paying attention to what’s happening here, I’m very intentionally trying to be active in the community.”

what he calls “regular life stuff.”

“I want to watch TV and movies, and not always have a project on the go,” he says. “I want to start writing letters to my grandma again.”

“Regular life stuff” boils down to staying put.

“I don’t leave the city very often,” he says, “I want to be paying attention to what’s happening here, I’m very intentionally trying to be active in the community.

Before, I really wanted to be on the move all the time, I [felt] tons of anxiety. When I’d come home, I’d be really depressed.”

“I decided to stay home and see what happens here,” Bridgefoot tells me. “It seemed funkier to me, to just hang out, and sit in the same place you’re always in.”

Bridgefoot pauses for a moment, and then looks at me.

“I read this book by an author named Wendell Berry,” he says, “about a guy who grows up in the end of World War II, and leaves his hometown. A pre-industrialized farming town, basically. He goes to a big city, and tries to do this kind of metropolis lone-wolf thing. He doesn’t have a miserable time, but he eventually makes his way back home, and becomes the town barber.

It’s about how he grows old in this small town, observing small town life. I grew up in Agassiz, so it was very affecting.”

It was the theme of escapism that resonated with Bridgefoot, a theme he tells me he could see in his own life at the time.

“By touring and being active outside of my home, I was also running from things,” he says. “Not that that’s bad, I think there’s a lot of good in travelling. I didn’t do a significant amount of it, but I did enough for it to feel like a maturation to stay put.”

Looking sheepishly up at me, Bridgefoot smiles.

“I feel like I belong more than I ever have, which makes sense.”

Ghosts Was Here will be available to stream and download on Bridgefoot’s bandcamp (theparishoflittleclifton), and most major streaming platforms on November 28.

Podcast Review //

Open Heaven’s Gate without crossing it

could have very easily been a boring history lesson, if it weren’t for two reasons.

The first reason is Heaven’s Gate’s host, Most podcasts focus around a topic that Glynn Washington, a surviving member of many people can relate to. They’re either the Worldwide Church of God, an evangelicomedic in nature (because who doesn’t cal Christian organization that he himself like to laugh?), or we’re presented with a refers to as a cult. Washington starts off specific interaction between several people. by describing what is at first a friendship Maybe they’re playing a game, or there’s a between two unlikely outcasts: Nettles, a middle-aged nurse with a penchant for thecommon theme.

The theme that holds Heaven’s Gate to- ology and interpreting the mysteries of life gether is its focus on one organization: through occultist readings of biblical scripHeaven’s Gate. Heaven’s Gate was run by ture, and Applewhite, a former university two people, Marshall Applewhite, and Bon- professor and science fiction fan. The secnie Lou Nettles, who would later come to be ond reason is the incredible result of Applewhite and Nettles’ friendship. known as Do and Ti. Here’s the long and short of it, Nettles There’s a lot of information given to us throughout episodes, so much so that this and Applewhite met in a psychiatric hospi-

MARTIN CASTRO ARTS EDITOR

tal and immediately bonded, felt innately drawn to each other. Nettles had a story: she could see the future, and the skill was given to her by the real deity of the world: aliens. The two drew followers in with a story blending religion and science fiction, explaining to their followers that their bodies were, in reality, “vehicles” which limited their true ascension to a higher plane of existence. At some point, argued Ti and Do, aliens would come to the world in a flying saucer, and free the cultists from their bodies, allowing them access to “the next level.”

On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the cult were found dead. They’d been convinced to commit suicide.

Heaven’s Gate features interviews with surviving members of the cult, as well as

archival audio recordings of Applewhite (attempting to find leadership in himself after an early departure of a major figure in the cult shakes his faith), as well as interviews with relatives of the deceased, and members of the San Diego community left rocked by the apparently senseless mass suicide in their hometown.

If it doesn’t sound straightforward, it’s because the story behind the rise and fall of Heaven’s Gate is a complicated, but deeply engaging one. Washington’s storytelling abilities are uniquely suited to making this grim, grisly tale stand out as one of the best examples of documentary storytelling in the podcast format I’ve come across to date.

15

Landfill

• Chip bags • Candy wrappers • Styrofoam • Useless heirloom keepsakes • Crinkly rubbish

Refundable

Mixed REcycling

Organics

• Empty plastic bottles • Empty pop cans • Empty juice boxes • Empty emptiness • Empty dempty

• Empty Tim Hortons/ Starbucks cups • Plastics #1, 2, 4, 5 • Paper, newspaper & cardboard • Glass and tin cans • The Cascade

• Food waste • Paper towels/ Napkins • Compostable material containers (more info. on the side of the bin) • Unnaffiliated severed limbs of any sort • Banana peels are also O.K.