OCTOBER 24 TO OCTOBER 31, 2018
VOLUME 26 ISSUE 26
Not really a fan of racketeering since 1993
By-elections cancelled
only candidate pg. 3 retracts nomination
Vote referendum
Vote on b.c.’s pg. 9 electoral system
WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA
Business Insight
Q&A with finance pg. 15 graduate
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
Production Assistant Renée Campbell renee@ufvcascade.ca
Opinion Editor Jeff Mijo-Burch jeff@ufvcascade.ca
Copy Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca
Features Editor Jen Klassen jen@ufvcascade.ca
Multimedia Editor Mikaela Collins mikaela@ufvcascade.ca Social Media Writer Laurel Logan laurel@ufvcascade.ca Social Media Coordinator Anjuman Grewal anjuman@ufvcascade.ca
Culture & Events Editor Cassie de Jong cassie@ufvcascade.ca Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca Online Editor Jeff Mijo-Burch jeff@ufvcascade.ca
Illustrator Kayt Hine kayt@ufvcascade.ca
Sports Writer Alexander Jesus alexander@ufvcascade.ca
Illustrator Simer Haer simer@ufvcascade.ca
Staff Writer Emmaline Spencer emmaline@ufvcascade.ca
Illustrator Cory Jensen cory@ufvcascade.ca
Staff Writer Nadia Tudhope nadia@ufvcascade.ca
THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS Uyen Ngyuen Carissa Wiens Cover Artwork: Kayt Hine Back Cover: Mikaela Collins
WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA
@UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/UFVCASCADE Volume 26 · Issue 26 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 1,000 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 Monday at 2:00 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 200 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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OPINION
Jr. News Editor Edina Balint edina@ufvcascade.ca
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9 9-12 ARTS
Production Manager Caleb Campbell caleb@ufvcascade.ca
NEWS
News Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca
CONTENTS
FEATURE
Business Manager Quintin Stamler quintin@ufvcascade.ca
Managing Editor Cat Friesen cat@ufvcascade.ca
CULTURE
Editor-in-Chief Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca
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16 Snapshots.......10
16.......Study Break
Events Calendar.......13
18.......CIVL Shuffle
NEWS SUS by-elections cancelled.......3
4.......Why world peace is possible
Let's Talk Science at UFV.......5
5.......Banner 9 upgrade in progress
OPINION
UFV Pride Centre.......6
7.......Time to hit the road
Is it really helping, or just hurting?.......7
8.......Chicken soup for the mind
Editorial.......9
CULTURE
Crafts for a cause.......14 Business insights, Q&A.......15
14.......Autumn's craft beer arrivals 15.......Getting artsy at the arts expo
SPORTS Coach profile.......17 Phideaux’s Infernal takes time.......18
Around Town is a corn-fed cure.......19
17.......Men's soccer recap
ARTS
19.......It's a feature, not a bug
news@ufvcascade.ca Jessica Barclay — News Editor
OCTOBER 24, 2018
NEWS
SUS elections //
NEWS BRIEFS
SUS by-elections cancelled
White House memo attacks transgender Americans A memo circulated by the Department of Health and Human Services indicated the Trump administration could consider defining gender as either male or female. Sex would be classified as an “immutable biological condition determined by a person’s sex organs at birth,” with disputes over sex being determined by a genetic test. LGBT leaders across the U.S. expressed outrage at the idea, slating this as another attack by Trump on transgender Americans. “We will stand up and be resilient, and we will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Rights, said at a news conference. -The Globe and Mail
Federal project launched to monitor ship noise impact on resident killer whales The B.C. federal government has launched a four-year program that will monitor underwater ship noise to determine its effects on the recently endangered southern resident killer whales. The project announcement came after a court ruling found that the National Energy Board failed to adequately assess the Trans Mountain pipeline expansions effects on the marine environment. The project would see a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet, which is part of the killer whale’s home range. “The new measures, totalling $1.6 million, are part of a previously announced $167.4-million Whales Initiative aimed at improving prey availability and reducing disturbance of the whales,” North Shore News reported. -The Canadian Press
A quiet SUS office. Abbotsford, B.C. (The Cascade)
Board of directors to remain with one student representative, four executives JESSICA BARCLAY NEWS EDITOR
The upcoming Student Union Society (SUS) by-elections were cancelled this week after the only candidate to come forward retracted their nomination. Five of the 14 available positions will continue to be filled on the SUS board of directors, four by executives. Brianna Worthington, a first-year Bachelor of Social Work student, would have ran uncontested for the faculty of professional studies representative position on the SUS board of directors. The board of directors is the governing body of the SUS. In addition to other responsibilities, members of the board oversee the work and performance of the executives, and give final approval for the annual operating budgets, changes to policies, executive goal plans, and project initiatives. The current SUS board consists of the four executives: president Gurvir (G) Gill, vice president external Rajdeep (Raj) Dhaliwal, vice
president internal Jaleen Mackay, and vice president students Sharnpreet (Sunny) Cheema. Of the 10 available student representative positions, only one is filled by Andrew Stahl, College of Arts representative. Gill believes that the SUS
and you know, we're doing the best with our skills and our knowledge and of our intention for the students.” In the most recent SUS election, both Gill and MacKay ran uncontested for re-election to their respective positions. Two students ran for each of the VP internal and the newly-created VP student positions, which resulted in the election of Dhaliwal and Cheema re-
“In a sense, the executives and our other board representative are overseeing one another, we're overseeing the organization.” executives are capable of holding themselves accountable on the board — without additional student representative oversight — to their rolls and to the society, adding that it was the society members that voted the executives into power. “In a sense, the executives and our other board representative are overseeing one another, we're overseeing the organization,” Gill said. “The students selected these executives and board rep to run the organization
spectively. The number of student representatives on the board has been steadily decreasing since last year. Board member count dropped from a total of eight voting members in January of 2017 to six in January 2018. Numbers again dropped in May to the current board members; a total of five voting members. Gill was unsure of why there was a lack of interest in applying for the positions, but believed students’ busy schedules or lack of interest
in politics may have played a part. “We let students know the options are there,” Gill said. “I mean, I think we do a fair amount in our marketing and just reminding students to get involved and get on the Board and there's no interest.” Advertisement for the byelections took the form of posters, word of mouth, several social media posts, and three newsletters sent out by email. According to SUS policy, there is no minimum number of student representatives needing to hold seats on the Board to allow the Board to fulfill its functions. Gill believes this is in order to allow the organization to continue running in the case there’s no student interest to fill student representative positions. Plans for when the next by-election will be held will be discussed at the SUS’s upcoming Board Meeting, but Gill was not able to speculate on when the by-election might occur. By-elections take around two months to organize and run. “It may or may not happen because I'm pretty sure the elections for the next executive will be hopefully called early June,” Gill said.
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NEWS
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
UFV event //
Why world peace is possible Peace talks with Paul K. Chappell NADIA TUDHOPE STAFF WRITER
Peace activist Paul K. Chappell kicked off this year’s President Leadership Lecture Series on Wednesday, Oct. 17 in UFV’s lecture theatre. In his lecture, A New Peace Paradigm: Our Human Needs and the Tangles of Trauma, Chappell outlined the non-physical needs that he believes must be met to create peace, and the necessity of peace literary education. His current initiative is promoting peace literacy education and making it accessible. Chappell has an unusual background for a peace activist, having been a soldier in the U.S. army and growing up in a violent household. This background has informed his own conception of peace and the human condition. In Chappell’s lecture, he argued that in order to understand peace and how to achieve it, one must first understand the human condition. Chappell invited the audience to question what human needs are, and challenged Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — a pyramid in which basic physiological needs must be met before one can move up the hierarchy toward more complex needs — with a model of his own. Humans have nine non-physical needs in Chappell’s model: purpose and meaning, nurturing relationships, explanations,
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Paul Chappell presents at the UFV President Lecture Series. Oct. 17 2018. Abbotsford, B.C. (UFV Flickr)
expression, inspiration, belonging, self-worth, challenge, and transcendence. “What is more important for humans, food or purpose and meaning?” Chappell asked his audience in the lecture. Chappell argued that without purpose and meaning, humans lack the will to live. He cited experiences in Uganda where each person he asked this question chose purpose and meaning over food. Maslow’s hierarchy does not take into account, according to Chappell, that a person with purpose will overcome adversity to get their physical needs met. The other side of the coin is that people will give up food, safety, and even their lives for a cause
they consider worthy. Another primary non-physical need in Chappell’s hierarchy is explanations. He pointed out that humans are the only species that rationalize the world around them with explanations of science, religion, and philosophy. This need for explanations is so powerful that humans will come up with an irrational explanation if they do not have a rational one. Chapelle argued that worldviews are dependent on explanations. Similarly, a person’s worldview can function like a forcefield, deflecting contradictory facts. “If you threaten someone’s worldview, they often react like
you’re threatening their physical body,” Chappell said. The foundation of nurturing relationships, Chappell stated, is trust. Every person wants to be around people they feel they can trust, and when they do not have safety, their need for trust increases. Expression consists of the ability to express emotions and, as evidenced in babies, can be understood as the first human need to activate. Without food and safety, need for expression increases, and can manifest in riots and protests — in this way, the human need for expression gets physical needs met. According to Chappell, when trauma becomes tangled in one’s
non-physical needs, it distorts them. He referred to this as “the tangles of trauma.” Each need on his hierarchy can become corrupted by trauma and turned into its antithesis: belonging becomes alienation, self-worth becomes self-loathing, purpose and meaning become meaninglessness and nihilism, explanations become disillusionment and a ruthless worldview. Through Chappell’s model, peace conflicts come down to a lacking in one or more areas of non-physical needs. The commonality of all serial killers and mass shooters, Chappell believes, is a lack of belonging and subsequent feelings of alienation. “If you could get rid of feelings of alienation, there would be no more mass shooters,” Chappell said. Chappell believes peace must be viewed as a competency like math or reading, something to be taught and practiced regularly. He views peace literacy as a human right which “empowers us to protect our other human rights.” Without peace education, stated Chappell, humanity has been set up for failure in a world with the technology to destroy humankind, and therefore, peace literacy must be viewed as survival literacy.
NEWS
OCTOBER 24, 2018
UFV programming //
Let’s Talk Science at UFV
Scientific outreach volunteer opportunities for UFV students EMMALINE SPENCER STAFF WRITER
UFV began a partnership between the Faculty of Science and the organization Let’s Talk Science (LTS) this year to bring volunteer opportunities to UFV students. The LTS and UFV partnership outreach program focuses on education and outreach to children and youth in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM). Educators work with the LTS organization to bring its programs to schools across Canada. The organization advocates STEM literacy by visiting schools and engaging students in creative and challenging ways. “UFV students that volunteer with LTS will play a role in a national effort to empower youth to fulfill their potential and prepare for their future careers and roles as citizens,” David Morea
Perea, UFV site coordinator for LTS, said in an email. “[UFV students] will also gain important communication skills and will be exposed to networking opportunities for their professional development.” At this time, volunteer work does not go towards UFVs cocurricular record program, but Perea said it is being looked into. There are no requirements to volunteer outside of enthusiasm, according to Perea. Students can
volunteer as many hours as they wish, and don’t need to be directly studying in STEM. New volunteers go through a training session that takes about one and a half hours. Leading this initiative are site coordinator Perea and coordinators Jason Thomas and Greg Schlitt from UFV’s Faculty of Science. LTS also provides support to educators that seek to teach a more unique learning program
that sparks the kinesthetic learning style, where students learning by doing rather than reading or receiving a lecture. Some of the programs offered by LTS are Tomatosphere, Indigenous Initiatives, CurioCity, and Idea Park. LTS mainly offers programs oriented towards children, however they also host engaging events for high school students.
IT upgrade //
Banner 9 Upgrade in Progress
UFV transitions to a new information system EDINA BALINT JR NEWS EDITOR
The information system used by UFV staff and students is undergoing an update that is expected to take into 2019-2020 to complete. The upgrade is currently in its first phase. Since October, UFV has been on both the old Banner 8 and the new Banner 9 systems as the IT staff work on completing the transition. The system update is being carried out in multiple phases. The first phase encompasses technology and payroll department upgrades, which are scheduled to be completed before the end of this year. After the first phase, the Banner database upgrade will become available to students, faculty, academic administration, Office of the Registrar, and human resources. During 2019 and possibly through 2020, Banner 9 will become available for use to the entire UFV community. According to Darin Lee, chief information officer at UFV, the reason for the change to Banner 9 is because Ellucian, the company that develops and markets Banner, is withdrawing support for outdated versions of Banner at the end of 2018. UFV must
comply with the new regulations since the university relies on Banner for many important operations. “Since the operations of UFV depend on Banner to manage finance, human resources, payroll, student admissions, registration, course scheduling, graduation, and many other critical functions, it is essential for UFV to
have full vendor support to reduce risk and avoid disruptions,” Lee said over email. The goal with the new system is to provide a more modern information system experience for students, staff, and faculty. Lee noted that the most significant change Banner users will notice is the new user interface. Administrative departments will
see an upgrade from the older web page to a more modern and user-friendly website, which will incorporate a simpler way to navigate the site using Application Navigator. Banner 9 is expected to operate more effectively within multiple web browsers and it will also provide a better mobile device experience. The new system will stream-
line UFV’s operations by reducing the amount of labour needed for manual processing, and will consequently provide more opportunities for self-service. “Self-service features, such as those used by students to view their course registrations, timetable, and grades will get a facelift too,” Lee said in an email.
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OPINION OPINION
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
opinion@ufvcascade.ca Jeff Mijo-Burch — Opinion Editor
On Campus //
UFV Pride Centre operational, but a work in progress JARED KIMBER CONTRIBUTOR
Before dissolving in 2016 due to a large number of its members graduating, the UFV Pride Collective served as a advocacy and social group for LGBT+ (referred to herein as queer) students. A central goal of the Collective was to establish an on-campus centre for queer and other marginalized students. By July 2016, that goal was more or less achieved with the creation of the Pride Centre and the Gender Equality Centre. I write this article as an active member of the Collective, both currently and before its dissolution. The centres were opened by the Student Union Society (SUS) after months of discussions with the Pride Collective, and came after two previous attempts for spaces — a women’s centre and an equality resource centre for marginalized students — did not succeed. The two current spaces have remained open for students to use (Or request to use if the doors are found to be locked) since they opened, however coordinators for the spaces have not been present for the entirety of their existence. Plans to revitalize both spaces are underway, but new coordinators for these spaces have yet to be re-hired. In a meeting held by SUS on Monday Sept.17th it was mentioned that there have been applications sent in for the position, and at the time of this writing on Oct. 13th the job postings have been removed from the Student Union’s website. Attendees of the aforementioned meeting that was scheduled on Sept. 17th included SUS staff, Student Life staff, and various students and Pride Collective members, and was held to discuss what
should be done with the Pride Centre space and what services should be offered there. Attendees of this meeting were encouraged to state their hopes and expectations. The full, unedited minutes for the meeting can be found on the UFV Pride Collective Facebook group. The main points of discussion were: • Furnishings and decorations need to be updated in order to provide a welcoming space. I have observed that the flags that currently adorn the walls are in poor condition and should be replaced. Affirmative posters will also be a necessity, as are other flags which also represent the queer community. After some communication with the SUS president, Gurvir Gill, I have learned that decorations for the outside and inside of the Pride Centre are in talks. • A variety of events, such as potlucks and crafting events, should be held in this space or in the Student Life lounge on the first floor when needed. Events of this nature have been held before in similarly-sized rooms without much complication. The SUS and Student Life staff were invited to attend hosted events as a way to show support for queer students. • Educational resources should be added to what is already present in the centre. These resources need not be costintensive. Collections of articles and nonfiction paperbacks can be used as a suitable starting point. • A greater online presence was requested. At the time of writing this the only online presence of queer resources for UFV students is the Pride Collective Facebook group. The first instinct for many students, as was the case for my-
Correction // In our previous issue, the article “Clubs fending for themselves” erroneously stated that under the Student Union Society’s new policies, clubs and associations were eligible for up to two $500 grants per semester. However, the policy actually allows clubs and associations that amount of funding per fiscal year.
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self when I first became involved in the Pride Collective back in 2014, would be to look on the UFV or the SUS websites. Dedicated pages there would greatly assist in accessing resources. • Expanding Pride Centre services to the Chilliwack campus was highly recommended. • Information on events and services have been difficult to discover, as have been access to queer activism. The Pride coordinator, once one is hired, and the SUS event manager can act as direct contacts for such matters. SUS is in talks with various groups to expand the services provided. I myself have personally passed on contact information for an outside group to these individuals. • Transgender inclusive services were stressed, including physical resources and greater access to gender neutral washrooms. A list of gender-neutral washrooms and where they currently exist on campus has been drafted by Student Life, and is available on the Pride Collective Facebook page. A total of 19 gender-neutral washrooms exist on campus in buildings A–H and S, with a small majority having only one such washroom. • A safe method of distributing sexual health and menstruation products was discussed, with an acknowledgement of the difficulties in setting up such resources. This item will be investigated to ensure cost-effective options. A handful of harder to quantify discussion points were also brought up. Whom should this space be reserved for? It was suggested that the room should be reserved for queer students and allies, and be “used
to educate and empower students about queer issues” (page 2 of posted minutes). I have observed that the room has often been used as a quiet study space, with many of those present being queer. What are the responsibilities of students to ensure that the atmosphere is welcoming and enthusiastic to new members, as oppose to cliques being formed? Concerns were raised about the existing queer community and the Pride Collective being difficult to enter for those who do not already know current members. What worked effectively during the previous iteration of the Pride Collective was having selected students act as ambassadors of sorts for new members, which can easily be done again in the current space. There is a duty on ordinary students as well as university and partner staff to ensure the Pride Centre is a safe environment for all who wish to use it. I have great faith that the Pride Centre will be put to excellent use. I have spoken with students who have sought out the space just to see what is there, which would mean that word of the space is getting out. A gaming event that was met with a large turnout took place Oct. 12 and another has already been scheduled for Nov. 2, proving more so than before that a queer-friendly space on campus is an essential service. I would encourage further communication between program staff and students to progress the set-up of the Pride Centre. During this planning phase a second meeting with staff and students may be appropriate in the coming months, perhaps after a pride coordinator is officially hired.
OPINION
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
Maturing //
Time to hit the road ICBC road tests are more difficult than ever
EMMALINE SPENCER STAFF WRITER
I’m a very patient person, as seen through how long I have waited to drive a car. I had to wait until I was 16 to take my road knowledge test. I waited another year to try and take a road test, only to find that I have to schedule at least two months in advance. In June, I had the chance to take my first try at the road test, only to fail because of miniscule issues. The test was originally booked two months in advance for the end of March. Unfortunately, I was in a vehicle accident shortly before the test and wasn’t able to make it to the testing location. Immediately after, I rescheduled for a new date and ended up taking my test in late June, nearly four months from the initial test date. I will be going in for my second testing in November. I scheduled my second test in mid-July, meaning I will have waited three-and-a-half months alone for this second test. My dad likes to tell me about how easy it was for him to get a license as a kid. When he went in for testing, the instructor didn’t have much time, so he didn’t even get fully tested and was given a license anyway. Years later and the road tests are more difficult than ever. Yes, we are producing safer drivers, but to what extent? Withholding licenses from kids who don’t know about parking on hills or the rules for parking breaks? The road tests are flooded with people who are re-taking the test because they couldn’t get by the first time. Currently,
about 57 per cent of people taking the road tests pass on their first try. In 2016, ICBC upped the difficulty of road tests to improve driver safety, and just last June they increased the minimum amount of wait time before taking another road test. The difficulty level of road tests wouldn’t be an issue if the people taking the tests were to come in more prepared. However, having a wait time of two or three weeks between testing doesn’t mean much when you need to schedule two months in advance. Maybe a better focus would be on making a requirement of practice hours on the road before taking a test at all. In the wake of the influx of testees, there are also those who choose not to schedule due to the test dates they get being so far away, and instead wait on standby at the testing locations. Some people show up at 4 or 5 a.m., and still may not be first in line. These drivers are confident they will pass, but are unsure whether they will even get the chance to prove that. So what should we really be doing to improve the amount of safe drivers on the road? Wait times are out of control and there is just an increasing backlog of drivers trying to get test dates. Should professional driving lessons be more easily accessible? Should there be a specific amount of practice hours on the road before taking a test to ensure confident driving? The difficulty of the tests are fine, but what are we as drivers doing to prepare ourselves for the tests? A girl adjusts her rear view mirror. State Farm Flickr.
Identity //
Is it really helping, or just hurting? Conversion therapy a cover for homophobia
CAT FRIESEN MANAGING EDITOR
Recently, an online petition was created to push for a national ban on conversion therapy. At present, the petition has been signed by more than 2,500 individuals. The petition will be presented to the House of Commons in hopes of banning conversion therapy across Canada, as well as banning the option of taking minors out of the country for the same purpose. Conversion therapy is rooted in the belief that anyone within the LGBTQ community is abnormal or wrong, and in need of “fixing.” The intention of conversion therapy is to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of the person receiving it, often adolescents. This process is sometimes provided by licensed health care officials. Other times it’s performed by clergy or spiritual leaders. The most glaring issue with conversion therapy (other than the fact that it attempts to fundamentally change a person’s sexual or gender identity), is that
its practice is linked to mental health issues — especially suicide. Historically, the Christian community has been a substantial part of promoting conversion therapy. According to The Atlantic, when the American Psychiatric Association voted in 1974 to eliminate homosexuality as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, many conservatives — and a large part of the Christian community — were outraged. Christian pastors shared anti-gay messages in their churches, stating AIDS and HIV were God’s wrath, and in 1998, Christian political groups spent $600,000 on anti-gay and conversion therapy advertising in several significant newspapers, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. At present, conversion therapy is somewhat more tame than it was at its peak in the ‘90s, but it’s still harmful. Talk therapy is the most used tactic in conversion therapy, but in the past, aversion therapy — forcing the patient to
associate their current sexual or gender identity with nausea, vomiting, or paralysis — as well as electroshock therapy were used. And, according to Psychology Today, there are no reputable counseling associations that condone conversion therapy. There are two glaring problems with conversion therapy. One: conversion therapy focuses on the therapist and often the parents; the client has no say — and the first thing therapists learn in masters programs is that therapy is client-centred. Two: conversion therapy has a fixed outcome — to make sure the patient leaves therapy as a heterosexual, cisgender individual. This is a problem because therapy is never intended to have such a rigid outcome; the therapist and patient are intended to work together to discover exactly what it is that the patient needs from therapy. Not only that, but effective research needs to be evidence-based and empirically verified — conversion therapy is neither. Now let me break this down: it’s 2018, and there are still peo-
ple out there who think it’s okay to force someone to change who they are as a person. They’re willing to risk the psychological health of the minors in their lives in order to fulfill a need of their own: making sure the minor lives an entirely sin-free life as a heterosexual, completely overlooking other sins the minor may be committing, such as anger, lust, or dishonesty (things all human beings will encounter at some point in their lives). Why are these sins overlooked, while homosexuality is dragged to the forefront and more or less forced out of them? Now, what I’ve done above — mentioning specific sins to suit my needs — is out of context. I know it is. But I also know that, fundamentally, it’s wrong to judge others or to try and change them. As a rational, wellbalanced human being, I know it’s not my place to tell someone what to do with their life. What if I went up to someone and said, “Your religion is wrong, and that makes you wrong, and you’re a bad person. You’re an abomina-
tion. I’m going to force you into this, I’m going to take away a part of who you are so you fit my idea of what is ‘right’ and ‘good.’” Having said this, I know not all Christians support conversion therapy. Of course they don’t; you can’t lump an entire community together and judge them on the judgements of some. But there’s a large enough group of people who do that it’s still something we need to discuss. I have no problems with Christians. I have problems with people who think it’s okay to use their religion to justify their shitty behaviour and discriminatory views — especially homophobia. A lot of the time, it seems that the Bible is used as a sort of shield: “But it says in the Bible … ” Yes, I know what it says. It also says “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” So, those of you who judge others, bash them, tell them who they are as a person is wrong: what are you doing?
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OPINION
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
Midterm Season //
Chicken soup for the mind
A stressed student. UBC Learning Commons/Flickr
UYEN NGUYEN CONTRIBUTOR
Midterm season is upon us. For some folks it’s already here, more intense than ever. Imagine all the lectures and notes you have to catch up on, the long hours of work, and your other obligations. The seasonal flu does not help at all. You realize it is exhausting to be a well-rounded individual. But it is A-OK to be vulnerable. That’s why the counselling centre on campus is available to help you through this. However, they are
often fully booked during this time. If you have not had the opportunity to see them, worry no more because we are here to help. First of all, take a deep breath. What I like to do whenever I feel overwhelmed or stressed is to make some space for myself. Despite how busy you are, take a 10– 15 minute break to write down all of your thoughts in a journal, a diary, or on a piece of paper. Don’t worry about grammar, sentence structure, or spelling, because it is only by you and for you. No one is there to judge you.
If you don’t like writing, take a short stroll around campus or your neighbourhood and put on your favourite music. It can be Disney music, orchestra, rock, indie, country music, ‘90s Britney Spears, or even old Justin Bieber. Again, this space is only for you and no one is there to judge you. Allow yourself to cry and do not hold back. In fact, Stephen Sideroff, clinical psychologist at UCLA showed that having a good cry activates your body in a healthy way and restores it to a healthy state of balance.
After you have yourself a good cry, sit back, reflect, and be honest with yourself. Ask yourself what you are stressed or feeling anxious about. What I do during this phase is determine whether the problems I am facing are my own faults or due to some other forces. In the play The Cocktail Party by the American poet T.S. Eliot, one of the characters, Celia Coplestone, was having a very hard time of it. She goes to her psychiatrist to talk about her profound unhappiness. Celia tells him she wishes all of her sufferings are her own fault. Taken aback, the psychiatrist asks her why. She says if it’s her fault, at least she can do something about it. But if it’s in the nature of the world, she is doomed. She can’t change everything else. But she can change herself. If you feel like you’re failing in class or have not received the grades you desire, ask yourself if you have worked to your fullest capacity or if you have talked to your professor about it. Have you been constantly running to meet deadlines? Ask yourself if you have managed your time effectively. Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of lectures and notes you have to cram in the night before your midterm? Ask yourself if you have put enough effort into the class. Most importantly, be honest with yourself. I must stress that still no one is judging you. So don’t be ashamed; instead, truthfully evaluate yourself.
Once you’re done reflecting, the next step is to plan. Do yourself a good deed by making a schedule and setting a routine. Pick a time to go to sleep and get up, and stick to it. In order to have good mental health, you need good physical health. A good sleep and an adequate and healthy diet will help you psychologically thrive. Most importantly, stop doing what you know is wrong. Cut down on what is mentally and physically unhealthy for you. If you struggle to balance your mental health and your life on your own, it is highly advisable to seek professional help from the UFV counselling centre or a therapist in the community. You know yourself best, so be honest and be responsible for your own well-being. Now you are ready to bounce back and seize control of your own life. At this point, you should be ready to open up to others with a clear head. There are so many opportunities awaiting for those who never stop trying. It’s never too late to fix something. Well technically you can’t fix your grade on a test that was already graded. But you can definitely prepare better next time. Just give yourself some time, take baby steps, be peaceful, be patient, and be productive. I know it’s cliché to say this, but everything will be fine in the end. If it’s not fine yet, then it is not the end. It may take days, weeks, months of attentive effort to make yourself feel peaceful and mentally balanced. But at least you are on your way there.
Tickets at CENTRE BOX OFFICE
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SHOWTIME
OPINION
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
Editorial //
Representation, but proportionally
JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Réal Lavergne, president of Fair Vote Canada, told the Globe and Mail: “If you can order a coffee at Tim Hortons, you can vote.” That’s very accurate. It looks like this: Do you want a coffee or not? If yes, do you you want cream and sugar, just cream, or just sugar? Do you want a new electoral system or not? If yes, do you want dual-member proportional representation (DMP), mixed-member proportional representation (MMP), or rural-urban proportional representation (RUP)? British Columbians are being asked to vote on the provincial electoral system. The referendum will be held via mail-in ballot, taking place between Oct. 22 and Nov. 9. B.C. is hurting for a different voting system. According to the Province, 17 of the last 18 B.C. elections using first-past-the-post have resulted in a party holding the majority power, and holding
less than 50 per cent of the vote. Had the 2017 provincial election been based on the popular vote, the B.C. Liberals and B.C. NDP would have about 36 seats each, while the B.C. Green party would have been around 15, rather than what was determined, with Liberals taking 43 seats, NDP 41, and Green 3. The idea of proportional representation is to award a party the number of seats relative to the popular vote. PR isn’t one system; there are many ways to achieve proportional representation. And although PR seems to be a better system for a province of B.C.’s size and makeup, two of the three proposed PR options have never been tried anywhere, and the other’s parameters haven’t been fully defined. Dual-member proportional representation was developed in 2013 by Sean Graham, a student at the University of Alberta. Under DMP, most electoral districts would be merged with a neighbouring district to create two-member ridings. Some larger
rural districts might remain single-member. You would cast one vote, but two candidates would be elected. The candidate with the most votes in a district (primary candidate) will fill one seat. The second seat would be filled by whichever party needs it to get the same percentage of seats as votes across the province, maintaining proportionality. According to the CBC, this system favours parties with the second most amount of votes for the secondary seat. MMP is used in a number of countries including Germany and New Zealand. If implemented in B.C., ridings would increase by 50–100 per cent and voters would vote for one candidate. Regions would then allocate seats to candidates from a party list based on the popular vote across B.C. This is the only system out of the three that has been used elsewhere and is the simplest to explain; however, the proposal, outlined by the province, leaves out important details. Do voters vote once, or twice (a vote for a local candidate and a vote for a party)? Can candidates run in a riding and be on the party list? Under RUP, MLAs in urban and semi-urban areas are elected through a single transferable vote method (STV) where voters rank their preferred candidates from a much larger list. These ridings
would have several MLAs and ballots could have dozens of candidates. Rural areas would use an MMP system with both direct representatives and proportional representatives. The STV method attempts proportional representation by having voters rank multiple candidates. Seats within a region are allocated based on the popular vote, to reflect the vote of the region. British Columbia attempted two vote referendums in the recent past, in 2005 and 2009. Both were held in conjunction with the general election. Voters were asked whether the province should stay with the first-pastthe-post electoral system or re-
place it with the BC-STV, a B.C.specific STV system. Over half, 57.7 per cent, voted in favour but the threshold was set at 60 per cent. In 2009, the BC-STV lost more support, with only 30.1 per cent voting in favour. Both the Green and NDP parties campaigned for proportional representation in the 2017 provincial election. Both would probably gain from it. Registered voters will be mailed a voting package. You can register and request to vote online through elections.bc.ca. You can also find more information there.
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S S S N S N N S A h A A h P o P P o t t s Simer Haer s Illustrations by:
The grinning guy We all know his face. He greets us with his smile every time we log onto the UFV homepage, grinning at his unseen colleague, and by extension, all of us. I can’t help but wonder who he is. His face is iconic, yet mysterious, much like the Afghan woman with the piercing blue eyes on the cover of National Geographic. Who is he? Does he still go to UFV? If not, where is he now? When was that picture taken, and by whom? Would I recog-
nize him if we passed each other in the halls? Was he told that his image would be used on the university’s homepage banner? How does he feel about being the literal face of UFV? Perhaps someday I or someone else will track him down and find the answers. Until then, the grinning guy must remain a mystery; a man who all of us know, and none of us knows.
Aleister Gwynne
Get better sinks, SUB There are very few things all UFV students can agree on. Very few things. But I believe we are all united under one flag in protest over the sinks in the second floor bathroom in the Student Union Building. I will say, without exaggeration, that they are by far the worst sinks I have experienced in my hand washing career. First of all, the water pressure is what I’ve always dreamed my shower would be. It’s like a tiny fire hose, blasting cold water at your hands at pressures previously unheard of. Cupping your hands
is like placing a spoon under a running faucet. Every time, I’m not expecting it. And every time I stumble out of the bathrooms, drenched and confused, with my glasses covered in water droplets. Plus, the water never gets warm. (Not that you can stand the pressure long enough to even notice.) One day, I hope to be able to use the upstairs bathrooms not only because I’m too lazy to walk down the stairs, but because I want to. I hope to wash my hands without fear.
Jessica Barclay
Silence is golden — sort of After hours of packing too many cardboard boxes and several blisters later, I’m moved into my new place, and let me tell you, it’s lovely. I have more space than I know what to do with, everything is always tidy, and I can work at my kitchen table without fear of someone interrupting me, or a cat rudely depositing themselves on my keyboard. And everything is so quiet — no one frantically searching for keys, no cats yowling at each other, no babies screaming for blueberries. (Sorry, Alizah.) It’s perfect — almost. The one complaint I have is that, some-
times, things go bump in the night. A jar shifts here, a door sighs there, and suddenly my body is on high alert. I’m the only one here — so who’s making noise in my kitchen at 2 a.m.? If it’s ghosts (and really, what else could it be?), I’d like it if they made their presence known in another way, and perhaps not in the middle of the night. I’m all for invisible house guests, but not if they’re interrupting my much needed sleep.
Cat Friesen
Sneeze-ons greetings Brrrr! When did that summer breeze turn into a winter chill? The leaves crunch under my step in the afterglow colours of red and amber. Raindrops hit my head and suddenly I regret not taking my umbrella. The next thing I know I’m at home cozied up in a blanket. My head feels like it’s spinning. My nose is red as I sit in bed and wait for the holidays to come. Season’s greetings is what I hear, but my sneeze has other things to say. My imagination is so strong that I can almost feel the warm sun. Bring back
that summer sun and rolling clouds. I want to fall asleep on the grassy hill by my home. I sneeze again and remember that I’m still sitting in bed and that grassy hill is a muddy mess now, covered in leaves. Later, when I sit in class, I know it from the sound of sniffles and stifled coughs, the season of sneezes is upon us. All I can say to cheer myself up is sneeze-ons greetings to my dear friends. Take care of yourselves this season. Rest well and take your vitamins.
Emmaline Spencer
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The Glorification Of Plus:
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The Top 7
Best Places to Sleep on Campus By: Jen Klassen
It’s the middle of the semester, and most stationary objects on campus can now be found with a member of the student body utilizing them as a crutch against the heady combo of gravity and sleep deprivation. Because of that, The Cascade has compiled a list of the best places to catch a few z’s, and hope that knowledge really can be gained through osmosis.
O range Ch a This retro, tr ir: affic-cone -c departmen oloured co u t. gives this c The Cascade’s Cultu ch is a staple in the d esign re and Eve ouch 4.5 d nt’ roo pool lost fo r availability l pools out of 5 for sl s Editor, Cassie, ee can be fou , as it is oft en fought o pability. Half a n ver. Art stu devise Wile d using what remain de so themselves. E. Coyote -esque pla f their creative energ nts ns to captu y re the cha to ir for
The current trend is “busy is better.” People have side hustles, and glorify the god of the colour-coded schedule. The competition is steep when it comes to a conversation comparing the density of one’s daily docket. But that competition isn’t worth winning. Busy can come like a season, akin to falling leaves, or walls of rain. But busy is a toxic long-term lifestyle choice. Busy means increased stress, and stress over a long period of time leads to a variety of health problems with symptoms including fatigue, chest pain, heart palpitations, change in eating patterns, and sleep deprivation. So if even the land needs seasons to heal, then we should take note from nature. A survey conducted by Harvard Business School found that of 1,000 professionals interviewed, 94 per cent worked over 50 hours per week. Across the border, University of Waterloo studied the distribution of time for Canadians, and found that there was an increase in work, and a decrease in time spent taking care of ourselves. There are three stages the body endures during prolonged stress: the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage. The body goes into a state of shock as a reaction to the stress, thus harkening in the second stage, in which the body attempts to adapt in order to stave off illness. Finally the body, weary from overexertion, collapses in exhaustion and ultimately burnout.
Jeff’s Car: My mother always said to stay out of cars with boys, because they’re basically hotel rooms on wheels. However, in university this statement went from warning to welcoming. Back seats are perfect places to take naps between classes, despite the 10 cars lined up waiting to take your spot.
As a staff, we know what your stomach does after the fourth cup of coffee. We know that the brownies from Fairgrounds constitutes an adequate dinner. We know the delicate touch it takes to balance life, school and work. But we are also advocates of sleep, even if it is at weird times, and in even weirder places.
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Library Chair: As mentioned a few weeks back in a snapshot by this same fiery-haired individual — The Cascade’s Multimedia Editor, Mikaela — these chairs are the perfect spaceship to Slumbertown. Good luck snagging one of these spheroid sleepshacks, though; their desirability level is out of this world.
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Jess’ Tree: News Editor Jessica spends her spare time doing cool surgeries on salamanders for science, and loves all manners of plants and animals. So it is no surprise that her addition to this list is amongst the foliage and trees on campus. The birds and bugs sing sweet lullabies to her. She must be part Disney princess.
g Nest Chair in Archive Room: There is an old broken chair in our office. It’s moved from one room to another, and now lives in the archive room, among water bottles, old editions of the paper, and passed over holiday decorations. It’s teal. It’s furry. It’s an eyesore. But it is a nest that makes me feel like a little baby bird.
All of us on The Cascade couches, asleep: This mismatched menagerie of crappy couches sits in the front of our office. Most times we are hunched over backlit laptops, but once in a while we catch a catnap.
LEGEND
The Cascade -ARY
Community Events are in UFV Events are in Music Events are in Art Events are in Cultural Events are in
Blue Green Red Purple Yellow
Note:
Some of these events require tickets, most are on Facebook. If something catches your eye, take to the internet for more details.
Nov 1
Oct 24
Oct 27
Citizenship 101 Workshop (Active Bystander Intervention) @ Room A2203 (Chilliwack Campus), 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Artisan Craft Market Pop Up @ 45855 Promontory Road (Chilliwack), 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
UBC PharmD Info Session @ Room B132 (Abbotsford Campus), 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Making Sketchbooks w/Glenn Tait @ House of Fine Art (Abbotsford), 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Celtic Night with Murphy’s Lagh @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Brandon Isaak @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Nov 2
UFV History Department Film Series: Rulers and Rebels @ Room B121 (Abbotsford Campus), 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Life Writing Workshop @ The Reach Gallery Museum (Abbotsford), 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. 2018 Chilliwack International Fall Film Series @ Cottonwood 4 Cinemas (Chilliwack) 3:30 - 9:00 p.m. Wildlife in the Fraser Valley: Bees @ Fraser Valley Regional Library (Mission), 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Oct 25 Pumpkin Carving @ Room S1111 (Abbotsford Campus), 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. Paint N’ Take w/Nan Newman @ House of Fine Art (Abbotsford), 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Mike McKenna Jr. @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Oct 26 CreWri`s Hallo-week Hauntings @ Room S1111 (Abbotsford Campus), 3:00 - 5:30 p.m. En Route October Corny Event @ Chilliwack Corn Maze, 3:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Heavy Metal Halloween With Coastal Assault @ Friendly Mike’s Pub (Chilliwack), 7:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. Oktoberfest @ St. Alice Hall (Harrison Hot Springs), 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. LGBTQ Halloween Dance @ Chilliwack Lions Club, 8:00 p.m. - Midnight Halloween Bash w’ Random Dander/ the Eleven Twelves/ Amadis+ @ Captains Cabin Pub (Mission), 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Oct 29
Paint N’ Take Watercolours w/ Nan Newman @ House of Fine Art (Abbotsford), 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Support 101 Workshop @ Room B121 (Abbotsford Campus), 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Oct 30
Learn to Draw @ The Reach Gallery Museum (Abbotsford), 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The Vintage Barn Market at Christmas @ 44140 Luckakuck Way (Chilliwack), 4:00 - 10:00 p.m.
2018 Stó:lō Comedy Night @ Tzeachten Hall (Chilliwack), 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Nov 3
The Vintage Barn Market at Christmas @ 44140 Luckakuck Way (Chilliwack), 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Defeating Anxiety: A Meditation Course @ FLOW Yoga and Fitness (Mission), 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. La Dolce Vita: Opera Recital @ The Reach Gallery Museum (Abbotsford), 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Murder Mystery: Murder At Whittington Hall @ The Stage in Mission, 5:30 - 11:30 p.m. Blue Moon Marque @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Nov 5
Support 101 Workshop @ Room B121 (Abbotsford Campus), 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Glass Tiger @ Clarke Theatre (Mission), 7:30 p.m.
Downfall of Lord Voldemort 1981 Celebration Reenactment @ Townhall Public House (Abbotsford), 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Oct 31
Nov 6
Meditation Class @ Two Dragons Tai Chi Academy (Abbotsford), 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
MOO or BOO 2018 @ EcoDairy (Abbotsford), 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Songwriters Unite @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Compassion Gorilla @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 9:00 p.m. - Midnight
Trick Or Treat @ Downtown Abbotsford Businesses, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
2018 Chilliwack International Fall Film Series @ Cottonwood 4 Cinemas (Chilliwack) 3:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Learn to Draw @ The Reach Gallery Museum (Abbotsford), 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Nov 7 2018 Chilliwack International Fall Film Series @ Cottonwood 4 Cinemas (Chilliwack) 3:30 - 9:00 p.m.
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CULTURE CULTURE
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
culture@ufvcascade.ca Cassie de Jong — Culture Editor
Campus Event //
Crafts for a cause
UFV’s Chilliwack Library takes initiative towards reconciliation
CASSIE DE JONG
CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR
To participate in conversations regarding efforts of reconciliation made by UFV, the Chilliwack UFV library has started a project to complete 1000 origami ravens and put them on display as a show of acknowledgment for the history and reality of residential schools. Last Wednesday from 2–3 p.m. a ravenmaking workshop was held just inside the Chilliwack library. The event started with education librarian Heather Compeau and library technician Lisa Morry describing what the staff there has been working on. The raven making started off as an idea of Shirley Hardman, the senior advisor on Indigenous affairs at the UFV Indigenous affairs office, as a means of bolstering UFV’s efforts surrounding reconciliation. She had done some research, and came across the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr, which became an inspiration for her initiative. From there, the plan was to also base the event off the story Legend of Sugar Girl by Joseph Boyden. The story is currently on course reserve, and is a quick 10-page read for those who may be interested. Students are also allowed to photocopy the story and take it home with them. While it is a fictional story, Morry reminded attendees that there is truth in fiction, and the story is based off real-life events. There is also a libguide available for the story online. To quickly summarize the events of Legend of Sugar Girl, a girl is taken from her
family and she is sent to a residential school where she is not allowed to speak her language, her hair is cut, and she’s not allowed to practice her culture or see her family. At the school, they feed her new foods such as bland oatmeal. She adds sugar to her oatmeal since it tastes so strange, and she gathers sugar candies from the nuns to help soothe herself. Eventually, her fixation on sugar as a means of coping with her environment coins her the name “Sugar Girl.” She loses her connection to her traditions, her land, and who she is. Because of her lack of personal connections and outlets, after she leaves the school she ends up in a place pretty similar to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. There, she develops alcohol issues, and encounters many more hardships over the course of her life. Before she dies, she has a son. As the story ends, there is a sense of hope as she leaves him behind to have a better life without residential school. The campus library in Chilliwack currently has a display set up at their entrance which represents the imagery of the Legend of Sugar Girl. The raven holds a lot of symbolism for Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, and its white-and-black garb somewhat resembles the nun’s habit. Morrey found this piece of information particularly moving as she set up the display. The display also includes a number of other symbols, including a Hudson’s Bay blanket due to their involvement in the oppression of Indigenous culture, and a backdrop of Mount Slesse since it is regarded as a transformation site. The hat and blanket that Sugar Girl is wearing in the display belong to Mark Evered. The Indigenous Stu-
Raven making workshop. Chilliwack, B.C. (Cassie de Jong/The Cascade) dent Centre made the regalia for Mark, and they are on loan to the Chilliwack library from him. The raven-making process is meant to acknowledge the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples during the residential school era which are still being felt today, and to inspire acts of decolonization and reconciliation. While this event was likely the last of the workshops before the library plans to display the ravens, a small table remains set up at the front of the Chilliwack library, complete with origami paper and an instructional video played on repeat to encourage more students to participate over the course of
the fall term. According to Morrey, there have so far been approximately 550 ravens completed, so there is still a fair amount to finish. A wrap-up celebration is currently in the midst of being planned and is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 20. There, the final installation of all the origami ravens will be presented. The original idea for the installation was to hang a large mobile in the CEP building atrium; however, it is now more likely that a stringed display in the windows will be erected. The story Legend of Sugar Girl may also be read aloud at this event.
Seasonal //
Autumn’s craft beer arrivals CARISSA WIENS
STAFF WRITER
As autumn falls upon us, local craft breweries present us with their finest autumn-inspired brews. To provide you with a comprehensible guide to select your go-to beer for the season, I’ve evaluated five seasonals by their aroma, colour, taste, and mouthfeel then assigned each with an overall score out of five so you can decide what will work best for your tastebuds. First we have Russell Brewing’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale. (Spoiler alert: many of these beers include pumpkin.) The dark ambercoloured beer provides us with a mainly nutty aroma with a spritz of pumpkin. Surprisingly there wasn’t much pumpkin in the taste, but the beer was quite malty and finished with a fair amount of spice. The mouthfeel was a good middle ground between rich and light, but still had a slight velvety slide down my throat. Overall this beer was decent. It didn’t live up to the pumpkin promise in the title but still granted a fall-like feeling. 3/5
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Second was Steamworks Brewing’s Pumpkin Ale. It is a simple name for a comfortable beer. It gave off a spicy and inviting aroma, begging me to try it. The beer’s colour was a pale amber, lighter than Russell’s. Tastewise Steamworks did not fail to supply pumpkin flavours, and, to accompany the pumpkin was notes of ginger and molasses. And its mouthfeel was fairly light but well carbonated. I would recommend this beer for a late, sunny afternoon because it is not heavy at all and makes one feel like it will always be warm and cosy sweater weather. 4/5
dessert brew for the fall months. 3/5
The Ghost Rider Pumpkin Brown Ale by Fernie Brewing Co. came next. What first brought me to purchase this beer was the exciting name. And what drew me to it was the slight smoky and spicy aroma. This one was very similar to Russell Brewing’s with its dark amber complexion and mild pumpkin taste, but Fernie gave this one some delightful notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. The mouthfeel was full and velvety without being heavy. This complex concoction is a great
Red Racer’s Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Ale was fourth on the list. Maybe my nose wasn’t working to its full potential at the time but I did not smell much from this beer, but the enticing flavours made up for the lack of smell. This beer was a liquid form of what Thanksgiving and Christmas’ offspring would be like. Imagine you’re in the kitchen making snickerdoodles with grandma. Then make that whole image and atmosphere into a beer and Red Racer’s Snickerdoodle
The beers reviewed. Read about them. (Carissa Wiens/The Cascade) Pumpkin Ale is what you’ve got. There were also hints of warm apple to compliment the snickerdoodle taste; my mouth was full of apple pie and snickerdoodles with this brew. This toasted light brown beer had a crisp mouthfeel and would be great for anytime of the day, during fall or winter. 4/5 Lastly, I experienced Parallel 49’s Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter. This deep brown beer had no specific overpowering scents, just a slightly malty aroma. When first tasted, it was acidic but quickly turned into a deep
chocolate flavour, with a limited pumpkin taste. Even though I’m not one to favour dark beers, this one was so smooth and easy I had to ask for more. 5/5 Even though I only selected five fall-inspired beers, there’s plenty more to be tasted from the Fraser Valley and beyond. And keep in mind, these ratings may not be true to everyone, so kick off your shoes and veg out with a calming autumn brew this season to see what tickles your taste buds.
CULTURE
OCTOBER 24, 2018
Alumni Q&A //
Business insights and major discussions A Q&A with finance graduate Matthew Kidwell QUINTIN STAMLER BUSINESS MANAGER
This first installment in a series of upcoming Alumni Q&A’s gives students insight into the potential outcomes of the majors offered through the university’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree. I interviewed a recent UFV grad who is now in their respective field, discussing studies to job market and what sort of things they experienced. This week I spoke with Matthew Kidwell, a recent UFV graduate who pursued finance, one of the UFV BBA majors, and who is now working in the field at RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel Inc. in Vancouver. What pushed you toward the field of finance?
what you do is submit a formal report, and follow up with a presentation about a month or two later. Both of those are graded and you’re judged based on different components of the report and presentation. Which was a really cool experience because you have to valuate a company. We did Whistler Blackcomb, and we got to present to a bunch of CFAs and it was a really, really good experience going through the full valuation process from beginning to end, presenting, and kind of giving a pitch on why you should buy, hold, or sell this company.
time at Coast Capital as a financial advisor/service rep, so then for me to kind of network and eventually make the jump to Philip Hager & North, I was able to do that given my experience and resume. It’s not easy, but if you keep up with networking and applying and not giving up and really honing in on where you want to work and what you want to do, you can definitely do that.
What sort of challenges did you have in the undergraduate degree at UFV?
Yeah that’s a really good question, that’s one thing I found very hard in finance. At the time when I was at UFV there weren’t too many finance-related events. There was a lot of accounting events, and I guess I could say I was a little bit jealous, because all these accounting kids are getting all these cool networking events — I don’t know if you’d call them cool, but opportunities I should say. It was a challenge for me because I had to create my own networking events and try and get my face in front of as many people as possible. Once I decided I wanted to work in downtown Vancouver (I felt that was the best place for opportunities), that’s when I really started networking and going to other places, trying to meet as many people as I can, using LinkedIn, kind of creating my own job interviews. So it is really making a name for myself and not being afraid to put myself out there in that sense.
Good question, I was working at Coast Capital Savings at the time, and I was deciding between accounting and finance. I always had a passion for numbers and technical work, but I found with finance I was able to work with clients more, and what really then solidified my decision was doing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) undergraduate research project. That was in my fourth year at UFV, and after doing that project I definitely knew I wanted to pursue the CFA and pursue the finance route.
Challenges I would say for the first one to three-ish years, specifically year two, was really trying to figure out what do I do. There are so many options in society nowadays, which is great, right, because you can really do whatever you want, but the problem is what do you want to do? It is really trying to find what I had a passion for learning; at the start I didn’t get that good of grades, because I didn’t care as much about what I was learning, but once I kinda found my niche, really actually enjoyed what I was studying, that’s when things turned the corner for me and it all kind of clicked.
Tell me a little about the CFA undergraduate research project.
What was your experience with finding a job after graduation?
What it is, is CFA Vancouver holds an undergraduate research challenge for all of British Columbia. Each university has the option to put a team together for that, and
It was pretty straight forward for me, I worked in university so I already had about two to three years of somewhat industry-related experience. I worked part-
Are there any specific networking events or networking methods that would apply better to finance students?
What are some aspects of the job you expected when entering the workforce vs. some aspects you didn’t think were going
to be present? I thought perhaps it might be a little bit more technical-based in terms of research and what not, but most of our research is third party, through Global Asset Management which is part of RBC. A lot of our research is relayed on to them, so I am not doing as much technical research as I thought I would be. Which is okay; on the flip side of things I did realize how important other areas that I learned in university would be, such as taxes. Taxes is a big thing in my area: tax planning, tax returns, everything like that. A lot of the times I have questions about that. That’s probably one of the things I took for granted in university, was taking tax class and not thinking I would have to apply it, but here I am using it even today for example. So there you go. Why should a student pursue finance? Oh, that’s the million-dollar question. I think for finance, if they really like that background, that technical background, that research, you have that ability to do that research. Also if you like working with the public, if you like giving presentations, finance also has that ability too. The other aspect is if you like programming you can go into finance too, right. There are so many different paths that choose finance, that it really fits any kind of personality and what that person really enjoys. Whereas me, I enjoy giving presentations and I enjoy research so those kind of co-merit together. I guess I really wanted to do accounting, I liked it, but I thought finance offered me more, more opportunities, so that’s why I went down that road.
Campus Event //
Getting artsy at the Arts Expo
NADIA TUDHOPE STAFF WRITER
On Wednesday, Oct. 13, UFV held an Arts Expo in the Envision Athletic Centre to offer students the chance to explore the different departments and programs offered by the College of Arts. “The Arts Expo is designed to help all students see the variety of different majors and minors we offer in arts here at UFV. We hope this is an opportunity for students to meet faculty and staff and learn about programs in a fun environment,” said Samantha Pattridge, associate dean of
students, college of arts, and the organizer behind this event. With the midday sunlight streaming in through the Envision Centre’s big front windows and students revitalized by the lure of free pizza, the Arts Expo kicked off to a lively start. The expo drew students in even further with freebies, prize draws, and games like life-size Jenga and Giant Yard Pong. Some booths had their own minigames to bring their department to life and give students a chance to win prizes, such as the communications department’s game of Scrabble and the history de-
partment’s “name this person from history” challenge. Many students participated in games, bolstering the involved and dynamic atmosphere with the crash of falling Jenga blocks. Featuring booths showcasing departments such as theatre, psychology, graphic design, English, history, modern languages, visual arts, geography, and communications, the Arts Expo demonstrated the breadth of disciplines in the BA program. If you came to the expo for a better understanding of the different avenues departments in the arts program have to offer,
there were plenty of resources to help you. Each booth provided pamphlets on different careers stemming from their department and information on whom to contact to learn more. Additionally, each department had representative faculty members eager to offer their expertise and guidance — an invaluable resource if you are not sure what to do with your major, or even what your major is going to be. Not only that, it offered an opportunity to learn about different departments you would not normally cross paths with or would like to learn more about. (Did you
know that geography is offered as both a Bachelor of Arts and Science? Me either.) The Arts Expo was also a wonderful opportunity to talk to people in your department and remind yourself why you love your major. Whether that means geeking out with the English department over Chaucer, talking costumes with the theatre department, or finding the perfect Scrabble word with the communications department, there is a lot to love in the arts.
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STUDY BREAK Crossword //
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26 Made by Cassie de Jong ACROSS
DOWN
1: A set amount of expenditure for a project or period. 3: A colourless, odourless, yet highly flammable gas with the atomic number one. 5: A person who would prefer to be naked whenever and wherever possible. 7: Monetary unit in Mexico. 9: A dying Celtic language in Scotland. 11: A candy made from a sugar, nuts, and egg whites. 12: An item which add sugars and flavour in the brewing of (generally darker) beer. 14: To expose the falseness of a myth. 16: An establishment where prescribed drugs are sold. 18: An imitation of the likeness of someone or something with exaggeration for comic effect.
1: Chewing candy that can be blown into a globule of air. 2: A dark, thick, flammable liquid distilled from wood or coal, often used in road making. 3: A female chicken, often associated with a mother. 4: A short period of sleep or rest. 6: The darkening of skin by spending time in the sun or by the use of certain skin products. 8: The practice of examining eyes for defects and prescribing corrective lenses. 10: Most popular type of fish used in battered fish and chips. 13: An extra sum of money added to your bill as a reward for good service. 15: A small piece of metal cut to fit into a particular lock. 17: A tool consisting of a sponge attached to a long handle, that’s used for wiping floors.
LAST ISSUE’S
ANSWERS:
Across: 1: Cosmetologist 4: Spa 6: Ad-Lib 7: Exile 9: Limit 10: Hedge 11: Tea 12: Neural Network
Down: 1: Constellation 2: Oktoberfest 3: Thunderstruck 4: Sitcom 5: Anaesthesia 8: Iguana
BREAD CRUMBS The Boys
Horoscopes //
Astrological mysteries interpreted weekly by Morgana the Mystic.
Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 You might be feeling a little unsure of your place lately. Don’t let insecurity override your natural confidence — you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Rest assured that this falter in your step is only temporary.
Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 A fast-paced life is certainly exciting but it can wear you down if you don’t take a moment for yourself every now and then. These breaks don’t have to be dull; stopping to smell those roses can be an experience in itself.
Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 Started something you can’t seem to finish? Don’t get yourself down over being stuck in a rut. Take a break from your current project before it goes from stale to sour.
Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 You can be quite driven when you want to be, Taurus. Your steady work ethic has been wobbling lately and if you’re not careful you could end up losing all sense of motivation. Keep your eyes on the prize and carry on.
Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 Bottling up your emotions won’t do you any good. Let your frustrations go this week, Virgo. Whether it be through compartmentalization or a good oldfashioned rant, you’ll feel better getting things off your chest.
Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 Change is in the air! This may have you feeling uneasy but remember that it is a part of life. Things that are unfamiliar don’t have to be bad, you’ll just need some time to readjust.
Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 You’re not used to starting off on the wrong foot, but you seem to have given the wrong impression recently. Try to shrug it off and move forward; staying stuck on the past can sometimes leave you floundering even more.
Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Indulging once in a while isn’t a bad thing but your “treat yourself!” lifestyle is about to catch up with you. Try to cut back on spending before you run into some serious financial trouble. Compromise in these situations is key: head for the “Sale” section first.
Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 Can’t seem to focus? You’re not one to give attention to things that don’t intrigue you but you will find it beneficial to feign interest at the very least. You might even end up learning something new!
Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 The start to your season might not be as exciting as you want it to be. It seems responsibility is trailing after you and dragging you down. Try to find the perfect balance between work and play — things will ease up soon and you’ll be celebrating in no time.
Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 Let out that breath you’ve been holding, Pisces. Relaxation is something you might have to relearn as these last few weeks have been quite hectic for you. Force yourself to disconnect from any stress that still lingers. It should be smooth sailing from here.
Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 Some say it takes 21 days to break a habit. This time might seem endless to you but it’s important to set your goals and stick to them. This week will put some obstacles in your way to success; try to work through them rather than around.
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SPORTS
OCTOBER 24, 2018
Women’s Soccer //
Coach Profile: Rob Giesbrecht ALEXANDER JESUS SPORTS WRITER
In his eighth season as head coach of the UFV women’s soccer team, Rob Giesbrecht continues to captain the ship and steer the team as they gear up for the playoffs. “My parents signed me up when I was a young boy, and yeah, nothing more than that; just playing on the school yard at recess and lunch and then playing on a local community team — your typical soccer start.” Being a spectator is a much different position than being a coach, but Giesbrecht also enjoys the game from a fan’s perspective. “As a spectator, I love the fact that it’s nonstop. I mean, there’s always things going on; even if it’s a zeroto-zero game there’s a lot of different things you can see and you appreciate the athletes, the physical demands they have to meet. I find it quite fun to be involved in the sport.” As time went on, Giesbrecht would make the transition from playing to coaching, an experience he enjoyed. “It was fun. I finished my eligibility when I was playing at Trinity and then I had another semester
left to finish my degree and I was kind of brought on as an assistant coach. I was on a coaching staff of a team that a lot of my friends were on, so that was definitely a challenge. After that I moved into coaching women and it was a good fit.” After being an assistant coach at TWU until 2005, coach Giesbrecht took a head coaching job at Concordia University in Nebraska, U.S.A. He would lead the team for five years from 2005–2010 while continuing his education, but as time went on, a combination of life events and timing brought him back to coach in his hometown. “During that time we had, our family expanded. Our three boys were born down there, and we wanted to come home. The coach that was here, he got a job with the Whitecaps, and the job opened up, so I applied. It was actually the second time I had interviewed for the job because I had interviewed two years earlier and was unsuccessful, but the second time I interviewed I got it and moved home and it’s been great.” With any coaching staff of a sports team there are certain things each coach will look for in
players, and for coach Giesbrecht, strong and positive character is important. Add athleticism and a desire to excel, and that rounds out the qualities and characteristics that Giesbrecht looks for in players from a coaching perspective. Speaking on the team this season, the coach was optimistic on their caliber as a team. “We’re definitely young, but really exciting. I’m really proud of them for how much they’ve progressed throughout our season, and the soccer season’s a challenge cause it’s so short and it starts so early in a first-year student’s university journey. They start training with us a month before they even start classes.” The coach also noted that the team has relied on their first-year players who have done “great” and even their second-year players have made big improvements. All very promising things to hear from veteran coach Giesbrecht who now looks to have them ready to take on the Mount Royal Cougars in their first playoff game of the year.
Cascades gets a win and a tie over the weekend in dramatic fashion over UNBC SPORTS WRITER
Last weekend the UFV Cascades took on the UNBC Timberwolves in two back-to-back home games, Friday and Saturday at MRC Sports Complex. Both games had back-and-forth competitive plays, a bit of drama, excellent goaltending, and incredible effort that saw the Cascades pick up two very tough wins against a UNBC team that played almost as well. The first game started with a lot of hustle but no scores. Each side made attempts, but the biggest takeaway was how physical the game was between the two sides, with UNBC picking up a yellow card. Though the score was 0-0 at the half, it didn’t reflect the amount of effort both sides were putting up. The goaltending remained impressive on both sides, with UNBC’s keeper Rob Goodey making an incredible athletic save to keep UFV out, and the battle continued. It came down to extra time, when finally, the Cascades got the shot they wanted. A great cross from Cascades #11 Parman Minhas set up forward #10 Andrew Peat for the header and the crowd went wild.
Fan energy was remarkable, and what better way to get a crowd going than an extra-time goal for the home team after a great defensive showcase. The game even saw players from opposing sides talking smack, and that combined with the close score only made the rematch the next day that much more competitive. The second game was every bit as entertaining, maybe more, as it featured all the intensity and effort that the first game did, but with more scores. In the first half, one of the heroes from the previous game, #10 Andrew Peat shined again as he set up #23 David Parfett for a score to give UFV the lead; something it took them 90 minutes to achieve in the previous game. At this point, with the Cascades able to score so early, it might have appeared that UNBC wasn’t as game as they were in the previous match, but this was quickly proven wrong. A loose ball situation at the Cascades’ net was turned into a Timberwolves score by UNBC’s #12 Anthony Preston. Going into the half 1-1, the game looked similar to the last, with each team recognizing that a big play could see them pull away and win, but it would not come easy.
Sports Scores Oct. 15 – Oct. 21 Men’s Soccer Game/Date: UFV Versus UNBC Oct. 19, 2018 Result: Win (1-0) Game/Date: UFV Versus UNBC Oct. 20, 2018 Result: Tie (2-2)
Women’s Soccer Game/Date: UFV Versus Victoria Oct. 19, 2018
Men’s Soccer //
ALEXANDER JESUS
UFV Cascades
The Timberwolves came out with the first of the big plays, when a foul by the Cascades saw UNBC’s #8 Francesco Bartolillo score on a penalty kick. With UNBC in the lead for the first time in the two games and the going into extra time, it was a longshot to think that the Cascades could rally back and achieve the same feat they did the night before by scoring so late into the contest. A penalty kick opportunity came to the Cascades,with #8 Gurmaan Jhaj stepped up to the challenge, but was stopped by UNBC’s keeper Rob Goodey, who despite allowing a goal in the first half was playing great yet again. However, the moment came when a penalty from a hand ball in the box gave Gurmaan Jhaj another chance to tie, and Goodey couldn’t stop him twice. The score marked 13 goals this season for Jhaj and it secured the tie for UFV. With both games sporting dramatic extra-time goals by UFV, it’s safe to say the games this past weekend were nothing short of a success, both for the players and the fans. Two wins would have been great, but with a tie so exciting it almost felt like a win, you almost can’t complain.
Result: Win (2-1) Game/Date: UFV Versus UBC Oct. 20, 2018 Result: Tie (3-3)
Men’s Volleyball Game/Date: UFV Versus COTR Oct. 19, 2018 Result: Loss (3-2) Game/Date: UFV Versus COTR Oct. 20, 2018 Result: Loss (3-2)
Women’s Volleyball Game/Date: UFV Versus COTR Oct. 19, 2018 Result: Win (3-1) Game/Date: UFV Versus COTR Oct. 20, 2018 Result: Win (3-0)
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ARTS
VOL. 26 // ISSUE 26
arts@ufvcascade.ca Martin Castro — Arts Editor
Album Review //
CHARTS
2
Mitski Be The Cowboy JOYFULTALK Plurality Trip
3
David Gogo Vultures
4
Stephen Carl O’Shea & Sylvia Platters Shadow Steps
5
Frigs Basic Behaviour
6
Dilly Dally Heaven
7
Guerilla Toss Twisted Crystal
8
Low Double Negative
9
Fever Feel Fever Feel
1
Hank Shreve Band
10 Trouble 11
Graham Van Pelt Time Travel
12
Tirzah Devotion
Mockasin 13 Connan Jassbusters
14 Mavey Far Les Louanges
SHUFFLE AARON LEVY
CONSIPRACY THEORIST
CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy exercised his democratic freedom in voting this past weekend, did you?
Radiohead - “2+2=5” A song that leads off the 2003, 6th full length release of the one band you just don’t ever refer to in your bands’ press release, apparently, and an album that’s title, Hail to the Thief, plays on our institutionalized need for leaders above us, and delves into Orwellian rhetoric. Queen “We Are the Champions” Previously shuffled, I’m sure, but a rallying cry for those whose tears bare the sweet taste of victory, rather than the bitter odor of defeat that some Abbotsford council candidates, and all around nice guys, tbh, have been swallowing term after term while the status quo maintains in local politics. Hues Corporation “Rock the Boat” Wanna dance while you make a difference in your community by overcoming voter malaise across the country? Of course you do! Why should anything have to be boring? The least of which making an impact on the social fabric of the community you live in! Rock the vote, baby, yeah!
15 La nuit est une panthere
Elton John - “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”
Sharon Van Etten
I don’t think there’s a more appropriate song for a group of people who’ve just spent the last several months planning and executing their path to victory against teams of others trying to unseat them, if they’re incumbants at least. Imagine this song playing at your election victory party. Vagabonds!
16 Comeback Kid Jon Hopkins
17 Singularity 18
Kenny Blues Boss Wayne Inspired by the Blues Merkules
19 Cole
20 Plazas Distant Desires
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Phideaux’s Infernal takes some time
JEFF MIJO-BURCH OPINION EDITOR
There are some albums that, upon first listening, you immediately know will be a favourite. They resonate with you, and the songs are all caught in your head for days following your first listen. Phideaux’s Infernal did not give me that experience, and yet it’s still leading the pack to being my favourite album of 2018. Infernal is an album with a lot of history behind it, so here’s the quick version: Phideaux Xavier is an Emmy award-winning daytime soap opera director who, along with a talented band, produces strange, wonderful, progressive rock music that, while not widely known, is held in very high regard in the online prog rock community. Infernal was announced years and years ago, the third part of what Phideaux calls his “eco terror tale,” which began with The Great Leap in 2006 and was quickly followed with Doomsday Afternoon the following year, which is widely considered his best work. Two unrelated albums followed (that, along with Doomsday Afternoon, represent his modern, more prog-focused era). The most recent was released in 2011, and for the seven years since, there has been nothing but anticipation and the occasional assurance that Infernal was coming to tide fans over. While their work has always been complicated, Phideaux serves as a relatively accessible example of modern prog, with-
out diving head first into some of the eccentricities that many in the genre embrace by always keeping listenability in mind. With those sorts of pressures, it’s no wonder Phideaux wanted to take the time to make a carefully crafted album, and in that regard, Infernal delivers. It certainly doesn’t sound like a hobby project, with elaborate, multi-instrumental tracks, and career-best performances from the whole Phideaux band. The music alternates between moody and upbeat, emotional and bizzare. Pianos take centre stage often, with violins and guitars playing a more secondary role compared to previous albums, and one of Phideaux’s strongest suits has always been its vocalists. Xavier’s vocals have a raspy, almost hollow quality that gives them an appropriately eerie sound, but it’s the four women in the band who provide truly amazing vocal performances — just look to the album’s a capella third track, “Crumble” (the third song with this title in Phideaux’s library) for an example. And when all of those elements come together, such as towards the end of the 14-minute “From Hydrogen To Love,” the result is amongst Phideaux’s best work. However, taken as a whole, the album did at first underwhelm me — while there are definitely good songs, it lacked the cohesion I’d expect from a concept double-album ending a trilogy that tells the story of a dystopian society ravaged by a part-ecological, part-biblical
apocalypse. Unlike concept albums like the work of Ayreon (who Xavier has worked with), the narrative is not spoon-fed to listeners, and songs seem to either set up characters, like the wonderfully foreboding “Inquisitor” or the setting, like the aforementioned “Crumble.” It’s hard to get a sense for what’s “happening” in the narrative. But on relistening, I’ve found more and more buried beneath the surface — musical and lyrical references between songs, and between albums, that provide hints to the truth. A careful, concentrated listening (ideally with the lyrics open in front of you) is rewarding and worth your while, especially after listening to the previous two albums in the trilogy. And the thing is, this is how Phideaux’s always worked — it’s just been so long since their last release that it’s easy to forget there was a time when I wasn’t already very familiar with their music. While perhaps not Phideaux’s most accessible work (which is probably 2009’s Number Seven, or one of their pre-Doomsday Afternoon works), Infernal lives up to the expectation of over a decade, after you take the time to acclimatize to it and sink back into the right headspace. The result is an intricate work of modern prog rock artistry that will absolutely be considered a classic in the genre for decades to come, even if it doesn’t have the same immediate appeal as some of their past work.
ARTS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
Movie Review //
Venom: it’s a feature, not a bug
Finally, the millennial alien buddy cop rom-com we’ve been waiting for MAECYN KLASSEN CONTRIBUTOR
Venom is a garbage fire of a movie, and it is irresistible. Watching the film, one can’t help but wonder exactly what anyone involved with it was thinking: were they proud of their final product, or were they simply hoping to break even by the end, aware that many comic-savvy audiences were going to shun the idea of watching Venom without the possibility of Spider-Man? How did they convince Tom Hardy to do the world’s most bizarre Brooklyn accent? Furthermore, how much did they pay the production assistant who had to keep Mr. Hardy lightly misted for about an hour of runtime? Beyond any of that, what does this movie think it is? A significant amount of publicity has been devoted to the divide between the critical consensus and audience reviews of Venom (currently sitting at 33 per cent [Rotten] and 81 per cent [Fresh] respectively on Rottentomatoes.com). The dichotomy of Venom’s entertainment value begins with the fact that it is, indeed, a shoddily made film. The writing is lackluster and often cliché, the editing tends toward the slapdash, the score is neither interesting nor innovative, the colouring is all in shades of blue and black — fitting for the darker tone of the film, but it does make it difficult to see the allblack hero and dark grey antagonist — and, perhaps most egregious for an action movie, the shaky handheld camera effect makes it nearly impossible to track what is
happening in any given scene. It hearkens back unintentionally to a dark period of superhero film, before Marvel tightened up their quality control. **Venom has more in common with movies like Elektra than it does with Thor: Ragnarok. Thankfully, everything that could annoy a moviegoer about this treasure of a film can be overlooked the moment Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the symbiote (also Tom Hardy, but drippy) become one. From the first time the symbiote speaks to Eddie, demanding food and attention in monosyllabic commands, the movie kicks into a delightful, madcap buddy cop disaster. The film’s hurried plot works both for and against this dynamic; Tom Hardy claimed in an interview with ComicsExplained that 40 minutes were cut out of the film in the final stages of editing, and it’s painfully clear that all of the most important bonding scenes between symbiote and host have been lost. On one hand, that leaves us with a relationship that ostensibly makes no sense in the context of the film. On the other, we are granted a characterization of the symbiote whom, within the span of 36 hours, decides that it completely adores Eddie. By the climactic battle that affection is fully reciprocated: when asked why they’ve changed their mind about invading and devouring Earth, the symbiote tells Eddie it was him that convinced them to stay and coexist, and when symbiote and host are briefly ripped apart, both reach desperately for the other. Venom is the only truly symbiotic pair shown in the film. Riot, another symbiote
that bonds with the antagonist Carlton Drake (played by Riz Ahmed with the energy of a deranged Elon Musk), has to be encouraged to use the term “we” when referring to themselves post-symbiosis; Venom uses the term within about 12 hours of absorbing into Eddie, never fights him for control of his body (after they get him out of a deadly situation), and takes immediate offense to the assumption that they are using Eddie in any way. To say that the symbiote and Eddie love each other is not outlandish — after all, they’ve been using terms like “my darling” to refer to one another in the comics since the ‘90s. This film only brushes up against the potential depths of their relationship, and it features a scene where Eddie and the
symbiote make out, which is something no one thought they were going to have to write in a review. I absolutely do not have enough space to tell you exactly how fun this movie is, and I can only urge you to go and see it for yourself. Simply put, Venom is a mess. It hits all of the beats of a classic superhero origin story, and then immediately forgets about those plot points so it can show you Tom Hardy biting the head off of a lobster. It is a treasure, it demands to be watched and rewatched just from the sheer disbelief of it all, and — most importantly — it has introduced an entirely new generation of comic readers to just how beautiful the bond between a burned-out New Yorker and a goopy, bloodthirsty alien can be.
Podcast Review //
Around Town is a corn-fed cure for valley ennui MIKAELA COLLINS MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
When a customer in my drive-through at Starbucks told me to check out his podcast, I told that him I would with the same sincerity you’d use to tell that pretentious guy from your art history class that you’d love to read his screenplay; it’s not worth the love lost to say “No thank you,” but you know you probably won’t. However, when that customer became a regular who never minded the long wait at the window after a rash of new hires and always chatted with me about movies we’d seen and asked about the classes I was in, I thought that there might be something to it. And after double checking the name with him one Saturday morning, I decided to listen to it: Matthew Hawkins’ Around Town in Chilliwack. On Around Town, Hawkins interviews local business owners, politicians, artists, and entertainers. They tell stories from their lives and endeavours, and share the things they love about, and want for, our
community. The podcast began in 2016 and there are over 20 episodes now listed. These feature fabled figures like the Book Man (of Book Man fame) and outspoken Chilliwack Times reporter Paul Henderson, as well as people that even lifelong residents may not know of, like local archivist Shannon Bettles. A constant character, though, is Hawkins’ and his guests’ touching passion for our overgrown podunk. Around Town’s local focus makes it a change of pace from more popular talk show podcasts one might compare it to. Unlike Around Town, these usually have the luxury of celebrity guests, whose jobs revolve around being charming, witty, or excellent storytellers. The hosts may also be celebrities in their own right. Without star power in the second seat, Around Town does sometimes lag, and I wouldn’t necessarily tune in just to hear from Hawkins like I would from a big media personality like RuPaul or Iliza Shlesinger. However, that’s partially because Hawkins doesn’t talk much; his interview style consists
mainly of letting people talk, telling their stories in their own voices. Hawkin’s personality takes a complementary backseat to those of the community. But this doesn’t mean he isn’t ready to deftly perk up a lulling conversation. Hawkins’ questions always catch on the most interesting aspect of an anecdote or answer, and he often turns to topics like guests’ favourite local eateries and community gripes and in-jokes — for example, the Evans roundabout flowers. On the podcast as in the drive-through, Hawkins is warm and easy to talk to. It’s strange to open the Podcasts app and find close-tohome content flowing through my earbuds as readily as the latest episode of The Adventure Zone, but Hawkins’ earnest demeanour bridges the gap. I highly recommend Around Town to anyone who feels pessimistic or frustrated, or simply out of the loop about Chilliwack, especially if the prospect of a tight-knit community sounds comforting. Chilliwack feels increasingly divided. A growing homeless population and a hous-
ing crunch have called its pastoral identity into question. Nostalgic stagnation and the stirrings of rapid urbanization seem to always be pulling on the fabric of the city with equal strength, and Around Town is a love letter to Chilliwack exactly as it is. Yet Hawkin’s unwavering affection doesn’t want to see today’s Chilliwack preserved. Rather, it wants to watch the city’s future unfurl and put down roots, using today as a foundation. I was born and raised in Chilliwack, and I’ve spent 20 years waiting to leave. Around Town hasn’t scratched that itch, but it has soothed it from beneath the skin — at least a little. Hawkins’ roughly-monthly reminders about the good that people do has opened my eyes to the 100,000 little currents churning under Chilliwack’s dull surface, making waves on the shore sometime in the future — my own included. It’s wholesome, it’s easy to listen to, and it’s important. So the next time you find yourself looking for something to listen to, take a look around town.
“...romantic complications and a rich array of subsidiary characters make the play such a delight” ~The Edmonton Sun
PRIDE PREJUDICE THE JANE AUSTEN CLASSIC
NOV 9 – 17
ABBOTSFORD ARTS CENTRE 2329 CRESCENT WAY, ABBOTSFORD For Tickets & Info
WWW.GALLERY7THEATRE.COM
ADAPTED BY TOM WOOD
Production Presenting Sponsor
19
and g n i t i r w e v i t a e cr t i o t m b k r u o s w rt a l a u s i a v c . e d a c as c v f u @ e zin submissio n guidelin es at ufvcascad e.ca/zine