The cascade Vo.l 26 Issue 16

JUNE 13 TO JUNE 26, 2018

VOLUME 26 ISSUE 16

Fully articulated limbs since 1993

British Columbia’s New School Curriculum pg. 8-9

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ufv art uf v cl a s s be au t if ie s c a mp u s.

living without intern et si x mon t hs l i v ing in a s a nc t ua ry.

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In dian Horse A v ery imp or ta n t f il m.

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Editorial //

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca Business Manager Quintin Stamler quintin@ufvcascade.ca

Managing Editor Cat Friesen cat@ufvcascade.ca News Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca

Production Manager Caleb Campbell caleb@ufvcascade.ca

Opinion Editor Jeff Mijo-Burch jeff@ufvcascade.ca

Production Assistant Renée Campbell renee@ufvcascade.ca

Features Editor Jen Klassen jen@ufvcascade.ca

Multimedia Editor Mikaela Collins mikaela@ufvcascade.ca Copy Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca Illustrator Amara Gelaude amara@ufvcascade.ca Illustrator Simer Haer simer@ufvcascade.ca

Saddled with debt

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 Distributor Alena Zheng distributor@ufvcascade.ca

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS Janice Lang Tristin Sward Chloe Redlin Cover: Renée Campbell Back Cover: Renée Campbell

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

@UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/THE.CASCADE Volume 26 · Issue 16 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 second Monday at 2:30 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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JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Canadian students owe $28 billion to all levels of government. It might be time to reevaluate the value of education, or the burden of its costs.

According to Statistics Canada, tuition for undergraduate programs of Canadian full-time students, on average, was $6,571 in 2017/18, which is up 3.1 per cent since the previous academic year.

A petition was started by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) calling for student loan interest charges to be eliminated. “We have a debt crisis on our hands,” the petition states.

The CFS petition claims that the federal government uses interest fees on student loans as a source of revenue — approximately $862.6 million was made in revenue from the Canadian Student Loans Program (CSLP) this year.

Along with their debt, students have an unreliable job market and unstable housing market to look forward to.

The petition notes that the rate charged on Canada Student Loans is prime plus 2.5 per cent. (The prime rate is the interest rate Canada’s major banks set for variable loans and lines of credit — it’s based on how much it costs banks to borrow money.) Yet prime plus 2.5 is higher than many mortgage rates.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. If the federal government can issue interestfree loans to Bombardier, they can also give them to students,” the petition states.

Eliminating debt is a good step forward for students, but it’s bad business. Why not offer tuition-free education for all Canadians instead?

Norway does it. The small northern country, seven times smaller than Canada, offers tuition-free education.

Many European countries offer this service to their citizens.

The current Liberal government has had to write off $200 million in student loans, according to the National Post. It’s the third time in the past four years that the government has had to do so because of bankruptcy, the sixyear legal limit on collection, and debtors who just can’t be found.

That’s millions in losses. But just peanuts considering the way Canada blows money.

Martin Lukacs, writing for the Guardian said: “It would be hard to invent a more destructive ritual of national self-punishment,” referring to Canada’s oil economy. The reality is the tar sands are exploited — not by nature of the industry but entirely because Canada allows it. According to National Resources Canada, the country’s energy sector accounts for seven per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To reuse a comparison, Norweight’s oil and gas accounts for 22 per cent of their GDP. Wikipedia’s “List of countries by proven oil reserves” puts Canada third in world rankings, behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela respectively. Norway ranks 21.

What about the problem of oil use?

Norway already attains 99 per cent of their electricity from renewable

resources; Canada, 66 per cent. The real environmental disaster of the tar sands is the crude attempt to consider profit efficiency.

Not to say that oil is the only way to fund tuition, but Ottawa seems pretty set on seeing it flow from the sands.

No matter how tuition is lowered, national tuition-free education is in the university's favour.

According to a study by Giuseppe Migali, an assistant professor in economics, Lancaster University, tuition raises were linked to dropout rate.

With hikes, more students drop out.

According to the study, “Are Student Employment and Academic Success Linked?” by Carleton University and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, although working a small number of hours didn’t seem to be harmful for students, working “too much” has a negative influence on success.

Most universities create strategic enrollment management plans (SEM) to encourage enrollment increases.

These SEMs should include a major emphasis on lobbying the government to cover tuition. Post-secondary education should be highly subsidized if not entirely paid for. Canada has the ability to do so; not providing this kind of service is ignorance.

Obviously moving towards reducedtuition or tuition-free education isn’t as easy as waving a stick. The point is that it’s doable and it would be nice to see Trudeau’s government do something tangibly good for the next working generation.

NEWS

Jessica Barclay — News Editor news@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Art at UFV //

NEWS BRIEFS

Vancouver Humane Society accused of spamming Chilliwack Fair

Seascape and salmon run showcase local artistic talents UFV students paint three new art features on campus

The Vancouver Humane Society’s (VHS) ongoing campaign against Chilliwack’s rodeo has resulted in the Chilliwack Fair threatening legal action against what they’ve described as threatening emails they and their sponsors have been receiving. They have also accused the email of violating Canada's antispam laws, though the VHS claims those laws do not apply to their organization “in any way.”

The group began with last year’s Chilliwack Fair, trying to end the tie-down roping and steer wrestling at the rodeo. The Fair board agreed to research the topic, and ended up making changes to the event rules, which the VHS deemed to be inadequate to reduce animal stress.

-The Abbotsford News

UFV celebrates graduates at 2018 convocation Over 1,200 of this year’s 2,360 student graduates crossed the stage during the University of the Fraser Valley convocation ceremonies held at the Abbotsford Centre June 5-6. A total of 2,740 credentials have been received by students this year. Student speakers addressed the audience at each of the four ceremonies, discussing the challenges and obstacles they conquered on their paths to graduation.

“There have been challenges and obstacles to overcome, but there have also been discoveries, friendships, laughter, and more than our share of late nights and early morning classes,” Vivienne Beard, bachelor of science graduate, said.

-UFV Today

UFV students hard at work. (Jenny Kingma)

JESSICA BARCLAY NEWS EDITOR

UFV students are bringing colour and a new coat of paint to previously uninspiring locations around campus this semester. As part of the Visual Arts 390, Community Arts Practice course, students have refurbished the Abbotsford campus benches, and are in the process of creating two murals, one at the Abbotsford campus, the other at Chilliwack CEP. Chris Friesen, associate professor in the visual arts department, and former president of the Abbotsford Art Council, has been running the course since 2004. Last year, a pilot project was launched to work with the university, creating an oasis inspired mural on shipping containers on the Abbotsford campus, north of C building, and a mountain landscape on the gunwall at

CEP. “Athletics is beside themselves with the landscape mural,” Friesen said. “They show it off at every opportunity.

They’re thrilled to have it, and that's why we’ve been invited back.”

In the initial half of the course, students conducted a survey of potential locations for their art, considered what is possible for the space, and created a budget for the project. The entire project was then proposed to a panel of UFV representatives for project approval.

“It was a very long process,” Chantelle Trainor-Matties, a UFV student working on the Abbotsford art, said regarding the approval process for their mural. “Even longer than the other ones because of the Indigenous artwork.”

“At the end of the day, we all agreed it was worth the effort and red tape we had to go

through,” Alexandra Johnson, another student working on the mural, said.

The Abbotsford campus mural will be located on the outdoor spiral staircase leading up from the cafeteria and compliments the Indigenous mural at the top of the stairs created by artist Fred Jackson. The work features an underwater scape with salmon swimming upstream.

“The little ones at the bottom are the first-year students just starting out, and the bigger ones are the alumni,” said Cobi Timmermans, who created the original design for the staircase. “When the salmon return to the stream, it's like the alumni coming back to their stomping ground.”

“That's why they’re swimming upstream, too,” Johnson added. “It shows the struggle of trying to get to the top.”

Fred Jackson has been working directly with the students on their mural to connect with his piece and the spindle wheel in front of it. His work features a mountain scape, complimenting the salmon spawning grounds on the spindle, which he said the students tied in nicely with their work.

“It was very well done on their part,” Jackson said over email. “I like their enthusiasm and enjoyed answering any questions they had.”

The nearby refurbished benches were painted in a rainbow, with each bench along the path being a spectrum of one of the colours. Friesen said the design was inspired by wayfinding and wellness, encouraging those on campus to walk the length of the path to view the entire piece. It also tied in with the rainbow crosswalk outside of A building.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 In Chilliwack, the mural will be located on the other side of the mountain scape created last year to cover the large concrete wall on the old RCMP gun range

in the Quonset hut building. Because the area is used by health sciences, the students chose a calming seascape at dusk, with rich purples and pinks of the sky reflecting off the ocean. The

design was based off of working with the formal relationship of the space.

“It’s taking the cement wall that is the gun range — let’s call it the pitted gun range at that

because there's bullet holes all over the place, including the tent above — and trying to create a tranquil place,” Friesen said.

In regards to what they get out of the course, Friesen hopes the

Chilliwack mural. (Jenny Kingma)

students, in addition to learning the ins and outs of getting your work in a public place, will leave with a sense of pride in their accomplishment.

Chanetelle Trainor- Matties working on the Abbotsford mural. (Erin Caskey)

Tech support //

No personal device support for summer students New SUS IT partnership leaves empty transition period between services JESSICA BARCLAY NEWS EDITOR

The UFV Student Union Society (SUS) will be entering into a new partnership this fall with the university’s technical services to offer students a larger range of IT support for their personal devices. The new UFV Information Technology desk will begin supporting student personal devices at the start of this year’s fall semester, and will move into G building after the completion of renovations in mid-October.

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SUS’s contract with Geeks Are Us, the previous IT support service funded by student fees paid each semester, ended April 30 of this spring. During the transition period, UFV’s Information Technology Service (ITS) will not be providing support for students personal devices until September 4 of this fall.

“Depending on the year, SUS has typically, at the least, reduced staffing by two-thirds and hours of operation including a period where the operation is shut down,” Gurvir Gill, SUS president, said over email

regarding the transition. “This year, it has been necessary to shut down the operation as the contract with the service provider terminated at the end of April and it was necessary to ready the space for renovation by UFV.” In 2016, 32 requests were submitted between May and August, though Gill notes students may have submitted multiple tickets and thus not been included in this figure.

The agreement will not cost students more, and will add improved technical support services, according to the SUS press re-

lease. Both Apple and Windows operating systems will be supported for hardware assistance, software installation, backups and information recovery, and UFV’s ITS will be expanded to include general technical support inquiries.

The new ITS desk will also see expanded hours, operating 40 per cent more than the previous service. Expansion of the team from one full-time staff member to two will also allow for “a suite of services not previously possibly at UFV,” according to the SUS press release.

“With this partnership, we can look into co-ops, and as technology advances, we would confirm with IT additional services to be offered,” Gill said.

SUS’s choice to partner with UFV after the ending of a contract has parallels to the ending of their contract with the Cheam Leisure Centre last year.

UFV and SUS partners to provide some of the fitness services available now at the Chilliwack CEP campus.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Professor Profile //

From rock ‘n’ roll to the Renaissance An Q&A with art history associate professor, Jill Bain on Earth. The educational and aesthetic riches of these European cities also includes their food. When I first started travelling and studying in Europe (back in the ‘80s), the Lower Mainland wasn’t exactly a food mecca, so I really learned a lot about how to eat well, and began to appreciate that this is also an important part of one’s physical and emotional wellbeing.

What places in Europe do you recommend that students go to experience Renaissance art?

That really depends on one’s interests as there is such a wealth of material, but the “biggies” of Florence, Venice, and Rome really shouldn’t be missed. (Although I would recommend going in the off-season to avoid the mobs if at all possible.)

Smaller cities like Arezzo, Ferrara, Urbino, and Mantua are less packed with tourists but chock-full of dazzling examples of Renaissance art and architecture. But I’m showing my Italian bias — there are many places in Northern Europe that are equally wonderful. It becomes difficult to make blanket recommendations as there is just so much to see. Just go; anywhere!

Travelling is one of the greatest forms of education, and UFV has all sorts of opportunities for study abroad.

Jill Bain with a theramin and some cool art. (Jill Bain)

JANICE LANG CONTRIBUTOR

Jill Bain teaches art history at UFV and has done so since the early-’90s. Before teaching at UFV, Jill studied in Rome, London, and New York. After graduating from the University of Victoria, she went on to teach courses there on early medieval art and women and art. Running parallel to Jill’s passion for art history is her love of music. She began playing the piano when she was quite young and later became a guitarist in a rock band.

What led you to choose art history as a profession?

I fell in love with the discipline of art history after taking my very first course in it.

For me, much of its appeal is that it is so interdisciplinary. I’ve always been interested in many areas of the humanities; art

history seemed to me to be a way of combining those many interests in a study of art, architecture, and visual culture that connected in a meaningful way with every branch of the humanities (and beyond, of course, to engineering, math, the sciences — but those weren’t exactly my strengths in academia).

Your background in art history is extensive. Are you equally educated as a musician?

No! Well, at least not in the traditional sense. Other than Royal Conservatory piano, my musical education has been more or less self-taught, which went along with my old-school punk ethic of DIY. But I’ve had a fair bit of experience as a musician (gigging, writing, recording, etc.), which I think also counts as education.

But in addition to playing music, I should also mention that I’m a huge fan of many

genres; one of my favourite undergraduate courses was a historical survey of classical music, and I incorporate a number of examples of 20th century musical genres (experimental, pop, rock, jazz, etc.) in our Art Practices and Popular Culture course.

What was the best part of living and studying in Europe?

Pretty much everything. For an art historian interested in medieval and early modern European culture, it has been a dream come true to spend so much time in places like London, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere in Italy, where it is possible to have first-hand and daily encounters with the art and architecture that is the focus of my studies. The libraries are also fantastic — it is a thrill to work in places like the British Library in London, and the Vatican Library in Rome, repositories of some of the most famous manuscripts

How do you unwind when you’re not teaching?

I love hanging out with my family (my partner and our two teens). Fortunately, we share a number of interests, primarily in music, movies, and food, so we go to as many concerts as possible (from the VSO and new “classical” music to Jack White, Flaming Lips, etc.) and prefer movies on the big screen. We also like cooking and eating good food, usually of the Italian persuasion, and going out for things we don’t make well ourselves, like dim sum and sushi. And I must confess that I love my one-hour commute to and from work for unwinding on my own, accompanied either by CBC Radio or some really loud music.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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OPINION

Jeff Mijo-Burch — Opinion Editor opinion@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

A (graphic) novel idea An art teacher named Meghan Parker will soon be receiving her MA in education from Simon Fraser University with a final thesis done in comic book format, a Canadian first. Art Teacher in Process is a 236-page autobiographical comic that took two years to complete, detailing her thoughts and experiences as a new teacher, why art matters, and how it can connect us.

Despite successful public defence of the thesis and it already winning an award, sadly some people still scoff at the idea, be it out of jealousy or the ignorance of those who haven’t explored much outside of their specific field of study. A thesis doesn’t always have to be text-only, nor incoherent to all but experts, and she did a beautiful job utilizing a medium completely appropriate for her subject.

I adore graphic novels and think it’s wonderful that their value as an important form of literature is becoming more widely recognized and accepted; UFV even offers courses that specifically focus on the subject. For anyone interested, I highly recommend checking out ENGL 170 and ENGL 270, both of which will be offered this fall.

Brief bits of bite-sized brevity

SOS I can’t wait to live on my own. I’m a bit of a neat freak — to me, an uncluttered mind comes from an uncluttered house, and unfortunately, I live in a place where stray papers line the countertops and loose shoes are landmines in the front hall. Sometimes dishes are cleaned and then left all over the countertops, when they could be put in the cupboards right above where they sit.

(Why? I don’t know.) I can’t walk into any room without being assaulted by someone else’s mess, and it’s starting to drive me batty.

I acknowledge that I could tone down my neat-freak tendencies, but it’s more a matter of principle at this point. I’ve lived in this house for the majority of my life, and not once have my pleas for a cleaner space been answered.

Thankfully, this won’t be a problem come September. I just have to make sure I don’t fall into the front hall shoe trap before then.

Kat Marusiak

SNAPSHOTS

Managing stress Everybody knows what stress is.

Whether it’s over work, school, or our social lives, we’ve all experienced stress, and, generally, it’s a natural, healthy response. It’s the body’s way of telling us, This interaction is important and/or has strong consequences for you! Stress keeps us on our toes.

But — and this is the important part — when we’re beset by stress, despite our own efforts towards dealing with stressors, it becomes a problem. I wasn’t aware that stress was taking a toll on me until I realized, quite simply, that the reason my body was sore from sunup to sundown was that tension was making its way from my thoughts and reactions to my body itself. By any rate, the first thing I think any of us can do when dealing with a similar situation is to be honest with ourselves. Attempt to practice mindfulness and get to the bottom of: 1. What is it we’re feeling? 2.

Why are we feeling it? This said, don’t be discouraged from seeking help or guidance through your circle of friends.

More often than you’d think people are unflinching in their support for you.

Illustrations: Amara Gelaude

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Cat Friesen

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Term Paper Two-Step

Martin Castro

I’m lying in my bed. It’s late. I can tell because no more light comes through the poorly curtained windows in my room. My cat is sitting with her back to me, just out of reach of my hand, like a dancer at a strip club. You can look, but you can’t touch. She turns her face towards me. She yawns. I echo the sentiment, and yawn right back. Both of our eye teeth flashing in the dim light of the yellow lamp on my bedside table. I look at the cursor flashing on an empty page of the too bright, backlit laptop screen.

It taunts me with its eagerness to move across the page. I glare at it, waiting it out, like a staring contest with a child.

Blink. I win. Blink. I win. Blank… it wins. The cat jumps off the bed. I don’t blame her. I’d rather be somewhere else too. My feet tap out a rhythm under the comforter that only I can hear. Anxiety is the tune, and sleeplessness the melody. I get up, close the finger-smudged laptop, collapsing it in on itself like a fat man punched forcibly, and go get a snack.

Jen Klassen

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Social Justice //

RE: Social equity vs. social equality

Helping historically (and currently) oppressed groups is not the same as oppressing white men JEFF MIJO-BURCH OPINION EDITOR

In the previous issue of The Cascade, an argument was made that we as a society need to be cautious about providing too many “handouts” to members of historically oppressed groups, with the warning that such decisions tip the scales too far in their favour, leading to “excessive guilt and future mandated inequalities.” I believe this argument comes itself from a place of privilege, however, and doesn’t acknowledge the severity of past and continued oppression against the groups it seems to vaguely refer to.

One recurring point in the article’s subtext is the idea that oppression is over, or at least lessened to the point of being insignificant.

The phrase “finding victimhood over historical wrongdoings that either don’t exist in the present to the same extent or not at all” illustrates this, as does the assumption that “the straight white men in the West no longer have certain backwards social ideals.”

Ignoring the implication of some kind of “Western enlightenment,” downplaying the oppression of a whole range of groups as something in the distant past is harmful and erases generations of abuse. Residential schools operated into the 1990s. Victims of sexual assault have to fight to be taken seriously. Wage gaps are real, easily researchable, and significant.

Police disproportionately target people of colour. Aboriginal communities are shockingly under-supported by the government. And that’s just a handful of examples, without even getting into what’s boiled up to the surface in the States recently.

These are not problems that just ruin a day for the victims. They can drastically alter (or in some cases end) lives, and while the idealized world of “Anyone can be whatever they want!” sounds great, we aren’t there yet. It’s hard to accumulate the wealth that a capitalist society demands for social mobility when it takes money to make money — you won’t get a high-paying job in most industries without a university or college education, and that costs money that’s hard to come by when you are working multiple jobs and still barely managing to put food on the table most weeks, for

example.

And that’s part of why the idea that any kind of affirmative action is a terrible injustice so drastic that it’ll lead to oppression of straight, white, cisgender men is so overblown. The systems in place right now are a first step, but they don’t do even close to enough to undo the harm our society has done to oppressed groups throughout its entire existence. Sure, there may be some scholarships specifically for minorities, but does that offset the fact that, according to American census data from 2017, 63.9 per cent of all Americans owned homes but only 46.8 per cent of minorities did? When the topic of inherited and intergenerational wealth comes up, that is what it means: not trust funds and millionaires, but having a stable home to grow up in, and a likely real estate inheritance in the future.

We live in a society built by white men that privileges white men while colonizing, oppressing, or exterminating everyone else.

And we’re making steps in the right direction, but it’ll take generations to undo those deeprooted systemic biases, and the ways they’ve permeated into countless aspects of our culture at large (social roles, language, art, etc.).

Straight, white, cisgender men worrying about being oppressed after literally thousands of years of oppressing others is absurd.

The referenced article says that accepting not just one historically oppressed group, but rather all of them at once, may be “the hardest exercise of tolerance the human race has ever attempted.” That may be true, but it implies that tolerance is something that requires massive effort. On a personal level, it’s as simple as treating other people well. And on a societal level, now that we’re recognizing these injustices more openly, the only option is to try to repair the damages we’ve caused all at once. Is it a lot of work? Yes. Are there groups that society has been unfair to and isn’t acknowledging yet? Almost definitely. But to attempt to slow this progress is just a fear of change. And if your only argument against an equal society is that the Soviet Union committed atrocities, I’d like to direct your attention to all other atrocity-committing societies, which did not value total equality as a primary ideology. One failed attempt does not mean that striving for equality will inevitably lead to atrocity, and not striving for it seems far more likely to have that outcome. Also, the Soviet Union had a bit more going on than just trying to help people who had been previously held back.

The article says that “past hardships don’t grant moral license to impose hardships as retribution . . . it’s best to go forward with your scars and never sink down to the level of those who wronged you,” and I agree with that. If people like me start being torn from our families, enslaved, assaulted, and murdered en masse, all while being told it’s legal and for our own good, then I’ll be all for calling it unjust. But if we’re just trying to make sure people from all walks of life can succeed and be happy? I’d be selfish to say no.

I do want to address that I’m writing from a position of privilege, and understand that I’m not the ideal voice to be taking up space in this conversation — however, I felt it important to publish a response to this article. Speaking as the Opinion Editor, I also want it to be known that this conversation does not need to be over, and input from others is welcome and encouraged.

Roughing it //

Six months without internet How I adapted, what I learned

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

This undertaking was both an experiment of personality and economics, and a protest against high internet rates. Before December I stated that if everyone stopped paying for internet, the racketeering providers would have no choice but to reduce their fees.

A group of just myself carried through with the commitment.

I expected six months without internet would cause me to float ever so slightly above the ground and glow with enlightenment. At the end of it all, the financial savings were the best return on my investment into internetlessness. That, and learning about inhibitory control.

Heading into the experiment, my hypothesis was that I’d uncover another dimension of time, maybe two. I hoped that I’d feel like there was more time because I’d waste less on the internet.

A large part of this all was to establish my home as a sanctuary. No internet or TV helped build the model I imagined. In many ways, I achieved this. The emotional connection I developed with home was rest and leisure; the place I go when I’m done. Unfortunately uncoupling my home brought on other stressors.

Going on without internet, my biggest concern was studying and writing.

Once I get home, work’s done. But what if I forgot something? Late night café runs did increase. I spend about five to 10 per cent more per month on cappuccinos because of this — a significant figure. It should be said that I have an adequate data plan. Not enough for browsing, but suitable for emergencies and staying connected with emails.

I really wanted to feel like I had healed myself from some soul-sucking demon. That’s not what happened.

To be completely honest, I don’t really use the internet for recreation. Very little falls outside the realm of reading, researching, or studying. But what I realized was I still spent too much time using it because I had no limits.

The problem wasn’t the internet, the problem was my personal boundaries with myself. Prior to internetlessness,

I’d read articles deep into the morning, unsure of when I’d saturated my mind.

It became clear that the benefits were not that I stopped wasting time, but that I made better use of it. I was forced to limit myself to a set amount of time I’d spend in the UFV Library research database or Sage Knowledge.

If I needed online references, I’d find several, save them as PDFs, and read them at home.

Now with internet, I actually notice I’m less stressed. I like doing certain kinds of work at home. The trick was to find balance. This internet “fast” rewired whatever sense of pleasure or reward I got from unproductive browsing. Now that I’ve got my internet use heavily controlled, it’s strictly a tool.

With internet once again, it’s not really something I think about anyhow.

Most of the time Wi-Fi is like bacteria.

I know it’s all over my house, but I don’t really think about it. Throughout the day I’ll catch myself wondering something (“Do bees really have knees?”) and mourn not knowing. Then I remember I can find my answer online.

The plus side is now that I’ve got a home network, I can stream music to my stereo, not limited to records or radio; I don’t have to drive five to 10 minutes both ways to download or check something that would take two minutes at home.

I’m not sure if living without internet has much, if any, impact on stress or tension. If you’ve got too much to do, you’ve got too much to do whether you have a Wi-Fi-free fortress or not.

In a perfect world I wouldn’t have internet, for the same reason I wouldn’t have a driveway. I wouldn’t need to work for someone else. As a tool, my internet use needs to be sharpened. I expect I’ll take another, albeit shorter term, fast in the future.

Expecting (and hoping) to feel like I’d have more time was still valuable.

It made me wonder why I didn’t feel much different without internet. When I became aware that I was the common denominator, I made some changes.

Gradually but intentionally, I built a schedule. What that looks like changes, but I try not to enter The Grid (my WiFi) without a plan and goal.

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British Columbia’s

New School Curriculum: An overview and what it means for future generations.

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n a changing world, the method and approach of educating younger generations must evolve with society. In British Columbia, the previous kindergarten to grade 12 curriculum needed to be updated in order to be relevant for today’s students, equipping them with the skills needed to succeed. After three years of trial implementation in schools and feedback from educators, British Columbia’s re-designed curriculum was implemented for grades K–9 in the 2016/17 school year, with the remaining grades to be completed by September of 2018.

Although still in the developmental stage, British Columbia’s new curriculum is centred on the concept of “personalized learning.” That is to say, it is a method of teaching that focuses on the passions of each individual student, with the intention of helping such an interest grow. This method bears a stark resemblance to previous approaches known as “inquiry-based” or “discovery-based” learning. There is still skepticism from some in the field as to whether such an approach reaps any sort of benefit to the student.

In a paper published in Educational Psychologist in 2006, Richard Clark and his associates discussed why minimal guidance in instruction does not work.

“Not only is unguided instruction normally less effective, there is also evidence that it may have negative results when students acquire misconceptions or incomplete or disorganized knowledge,” said Clark.

In the paper “Should There Be a Three Strikes Rule Against Pure Discovery Learning?” published in American Psychologist, author Richard Mayer poses the concern that with too much freedom, students will fail to connect and come into contact with the necessary

By: Chloe Redlin learned material.

“There is nothing magical to ensure that simply working on a problem or simply discussing a problem will lead to discovering its solution,” Mayer wrote. “If the learner fails to come into contact with the to-be-learned material, no amount of activity or discussion will be able to help the learner make sense of it.”

“Personalized learning is at the heart of the changes.”

The main problem is a lack of motivation which prevents students from engaging. This is Daniel Edelson’s thought. He hails from Northwestern University and his paper addresses the challenges involved in inquiry-based learning. That said, personalized learning appears, at least in theory, to address such problems by placing the focus on individualized student interest.

In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, former B.C. education minister Mike Bernier stated: “Personalized learning is at the heart of the changes — and teachers will have the time and ability to help kids dig into what interests them.

We all know how passionate kids can be when they get into something like music, soccer, or dinosaurs. The new curriculum will give teachers the ability to tap into these passions.”

This flexibility is largely due to the new curriculum model composed of three key aspects: content, curricular competencies, and big ideas.

Content refers to what information students will learn, and which

course topics will be addressed. It is pertinent that teachers follow the content learning standards to assure their students know essential concepts specific to each subject.

Curricular competencies are the necessary skills, strategies, and processes of what students will apply on a daily basis. They are divided into “core competencies” which include thinking, communication, and personal and social skills that aim to create awareness and responsibility.

Finally, the element of big ideas consists of generalizations and principles, as well as key concepts in the area of learning. This element represents what students will know by the end of their curriculum in each grade. As a result, emphasis is placed largely on the deeper purpose of why select information is being taught. For example, rather than memorizing precise facts about WWII, students will focus on the larger social and economic impacts war brings to a country. It raises the question: What material is truly essential at each grade level?

Each of the core elements of the curriculum model is applied in conjunction with traditional numeracy and literacy foundations, as well as a more recent focus on Aboriginal perspectives and knowledge. In other words, the ability to write a fluent essay or perform basic math skills will still be a top priority. Additionally, the new adaptations allow teachers increased choice in how they want to address the information, particularly in terms of the classroom environment they wish to create. Units can be adapted to suit the student interest, so long as the big ideas of the course are being delivered.

As a result of the new curriculum flexibility, schools are expe-

“By 2018, every student will experience basic coding between grades six & nine.” riencing a natural redesign of their classroom environments. As Vera Sutton, an English teacher in Langley who received her MA at Simon Fraser University explained, the contents of the courses haven’t changed, just the method of imparting information.

“In grade 10 we’ve offered six choices, and [students] have to take minimum two of them… the delivery is different as opposed to the content.

They still have to write essays, a narrative; they still need to engage with literature… they have to do the same things, but the vehicle they are getting into is a bit different,” Sutton stated.

Justifiably, with the rapid evolution of society, the spotlight has shifted to a greater focus on technology and immersive learning. This redesign assures that the education system remains relevant for future generations, particularly within the booming tech industry.

Yet nothing is without cost. In a recent release on the B.C. government website, the government states it’s dedicating $6 million to professional development days and the purchasing of new technology, such as iPads. Furthermore, in a report by CBC News, it was estimated that the government will be spending $100 million on time [sic] over the multiple years of the curriculum roll-out for teacher training.

Part of this training will be dedicated to showing teachers how to properly implement coding into the classroom.

“By 2018, every student will experience basic coding between grades six and nine,” stated the B.C. Ministry of Education in a news release.

Despite being such a large investment, the influx of technology will open doors for immersive learning to flourish. In a comparison of old to new curricula done by Langley School District 35, the idea of creating a global classroom is evident. Rather than the traditional setup with a teacher lecturing, the chart compares how in the new curriculum, “learning happens anywhere in spaces where surroundings are part of the learning experiences.”

This can arrive in the form of field trips into the community, guest speakers (such as Indigenous educators and elders), and practical applications of projects in society. There are various project outlines available on the “Instructional Samples” section on the ministry website, with a plethora of new focuses such as: mindful breathing and meditation in grades K-3 or organ donation in health sciences.

One such example is the “Watering System for School Garden” for grade 9 students highlighted below: Watering System for School Garden.

Subject: Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies.

This short exercise introduces teachers and students to design thinking. Students are challenged to design a watering system for a school garden that can be sustained with minimal human intervention during summer break.

Students will gain an understanding of the needs of various stakeholder groups through empathic interviewing.

Evidently, the curriculum has adapted to serve as a foundation for basic life skills as well as academic concepts. In an interview with Nadine Luteijn, an Aldergrove high school counsellor and teacher, she explained how career discussion is starting at kindergarten.

“I love the fact that career discussion is starting as early as kindergarten… with starting in elementary years there’s really awareness… I hope that it’s not us putting more pressure… but awareness, explore, see what’s a good fit,” Luteijn stated.

As she described, there are three stages of the inquiry process (awareness, exploration, and experience) that students are encouraged to follow through grades K-12. That said, this is not to suggest that children are expected to know and choose a select career path. Rather, it is an expression of interest that they pursue until graduation.

“We didn’t want students focused on just career. We want it focused on life,” said Luteijn, emphasizing how teachers chose Career Life Education.

Finally, this unique sensitivity for student mindsets raises questions of how traditional assessment methods will be evolving as well.

With this new approach, the name “Career Life Education” has been given to what was previously the Planning 10 course. The goal is that they will find an area of interest and then explore this subject through the grade 10, 11, and 12 years of study.

“The hope is that students come up with some sort of inquiry question, something they’re interested in and want to learn more in each of their courses...so it could be a research project, a volunteer project, or exploring

and interviewing people in a career field,” Luteijn stated.

According to the Globe and Mail, Bernier said, “[R]egular report cards with letter grades assessing student achievement will remain integral parts of the new curriculum.”

Despite major changes of perspective among many teachers with the arrival of the curriculum, the issue of assessment methods remains controversial. The big questions remain: Is a percentage grade truly an accurate reflection of a student’s skill? Are standardized tests beneficial or harmful to the learning environment? And should post-secondary entry requirements be dictated by such tests?

As reported by CBC News, the province has included hundreds of teachers and parents in consultation over the past three years, asking for their ideas. As a result, the majority opinion seems clear; with failing numeracy and literacy skills on the rise, something needs to change. These developments have begun to arrive in steps, albeit slowly.

“We just don’t want to be in a situation where with all the changes to the curriculum at the same time, we don’t add another layer of complexity,” said Glen Hansman, the president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.

“It’s important to have a growth mindset.”

Thus far, B.C. has seen an elimination of the grades 10 and 11 provincial examinations, and percentage-based grades on report cards for grade 9 students. In their places, the arrival of two new numeracy and literacy examinations have been introduced and are available for viewing on the B.C. Ministry of Education website.

Luteijn explained that the new literacy and numeracy tests are not meant to be tied to a course percentage. Instead, she described them as an evaluation of practical skills that every student should be equipped with.

Curious about their applicability, I took the sample numeracy exam provided online and experienced firsthand the types of questions students would be presented with. I found the questions to be relevant and interesting; they are presented in a word problem format with a large inclusion of Aboriginal principles and traditions.

For example, the questions ranged from calculating water consumption in a household, financing a small company, calculating the burn rate and probability of a wildfire, to even drafting and measuring the dimen-

sions of an Indigenous pit-house.

The renewal of this form of standardized testing not only relieves anxiety for students but allows courses that were previously tied to a provincial exam more time and freedom to expand, particularly in the subject area of social studies. That said, with these changes in evaluation, concerns of time and post-secondary entrance requirements have risen.

One of the major concerns for teachers during the roll-out period is the inaccuracy of the implementation dates, which results in little course preparation time and ill-prepared classroom funding. In a recent letter from current B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming addressed to the public, he stated that the schedule for the grades 11 and 12 curriculum will be pushed an additional year to September of 2019.

Stephen Kaita is a student teacher, completing his practicum through SFU. He sees the benefits for new teachers entering the field.

“It’s important to have a growth mindset,” he said. “There is always going to be a need for more preparation, to articulate what the new curriculum can become.”

A secondary benefit of the schedule push is the finalization of what effect new courses will have on postsecondary admittance. In the example of the English First Peoples 12 course, the First Nations Education Steering Committee has already established that the course fulfills the language arts graduation requirement, and a large list of Canadian universities which have recognized the course are available for viewing on their website.

Not only will this time allow more universities to join that list, but it will also let them address the new credentials the literacy and numeracy exams will bring; hopefully with positive outcomes.

With the roll-out period expected to continue well into 2021, B.C. will experience many new changes and challenges through the implementation process. As Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser point out in a study published in the European Journal of Education, in which multiple schools were observed in response to the new curriculum, “The staff is now much more able to focus on improving the literacy and numeracy levels of their learners. The school is now a place of joy and learning, instead of stress and worry.”

If the new curriculum is to succeed, careful observation and adjustment will be required throughout the rollout period and beyond to assure its quality. Although unforeseen challenges linger on the horizon, British Columbia’s K-12 curriculum will undoubtedly play a positive role in shaping future generations of Canadians.

STUDY BREAK Crossword //

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Made by Cassie de Jong

ACROSS

DOWN

1: Black and white bear native to South Central China.

1: The blood vessel that carries blood from the lungs to the heart.

3: A two-player strategy board game played on a checkerboard.

2: A device that increases the volume and distorts the sound of guitars or other instruments.

6: A one-handed shot that rebounds off the backboard in basketball.

3: Stiff paper glued together to make a handy material used for boxes and many other things.

7: The world’s largest art museum, located in Paris.

9: The first piece played in chess.

4: To wrap up, cover, or surround something completely.

11: A platform supported by pillars that extends from the shore over a body of water.

5: A loud fire-protection device that usually goes off when you’re cooking.

12: A house that is separated into two apartments.

8: A hormone that inhibits pain and produces a sense of euphoria in humans.

13: A call for people to raise their glasses and drink to honour a person or thing.

10: A small arctic whale with a long, pointed tusk.

14: A tough, lightweight, elastic synthetic material often used for stockings or tights.

13: A dark, thick, flammable liquid produced from wood or coal and used to make roads.

15: A system that detects aircrafts, ships, and other objects, by sending out pulses of electromagnetic waves that reflect off the object and return to the source.

Horoscopes // Astrological mysteries rudely interpreted by Lady May Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 Stop being so awesome. I mean it. You’re inching dangerously close to running out of your allotted awesome points for this month and making a fool out of yourself at the worst possible moment. Just put your superior skills on the backburner for a while. You’ll thank me later.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 Taureans are known for being so stubborn they can’t be bothered to die, which is why you generally outlive the rest of us. However, a near-death experience will present itself to you this month. Be on the lookout, and only venture out of your house for necessary supplies.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 Geminis are known for being kind of spacey.

You’d rather spend time a mile high into a daydream than actually keep track of your life.

Tie up some loose ends soon, or someone to whom you owe money is likely to beat you out of the solar system.

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Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 This month is not a good time to start a new hobby, especially one that requires high amounts of skill or exhibits higher than usual amounts of danger. The stars have doomed you to fail and lose a limb trying. Better to try again next month.

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS: Across 1: Paul McCartney 3: Cinema 6: Gelato 7: Aloe 9: Hem 10: Acre

11: Galileo 12: Brie 13: Dew 15: Acai 16: Stroke 17: Xavier 18: Arachnophobia

Down 2: Exterminate 4: Illustrator 5: Ash 6: Gum 8: Eagle 10: Aloha 13: Doe 14: Wax

Illustration by: Amara Gelaude

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 It seems your distant nature is beginning to get the better of you. If you don’t step up your game soon, you are likely to spend the rest of your days holed up in the darkest corners of your basement scrolling through Reddit and devouring Cheetos. More so than you do now.

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 Sagittarians are a rather shady bunch of individuals. The people around you seem to be involved in more freak accidents than most. I don’t know how you do it, but you manage to avoid the chaos summoned by said accidents as well. Stay on your toes, but try to behave a bit better.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 With summer comes open schedules and extra time, but you’ve been spending your free moments plotting. You’ve got a spiderweb of handy student hacks, cheats, and loopholes saved for when you return to your busy life in the fall. All I can say to you is… Please share. Help your fellow starving students out.

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 Your ability to procrastinate continues to astound your friends. You’ve been avoiding your laundry for almost a month. Now would be the time to catch up on all those tiny tasks you haven’t gotten to yet before they reach a breaking point.

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Libras love conflict. You pick fights with professors and get on the last nerve of your fellow students during group projects. An opportunity to redeem yourself in the eyes of your peers is fast approaching. I suggest you take it. That is, if you enjoy having friends.

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 This week you may be volunteered as leader for a creative group project. This is more of a curse than a blessing I’m afraid. Your peers will most definitely find something to royally screw up and leave you to deal with the aftermath. It may be time to find some new friends.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 You’ve been an extrovert since the day you were born. In fact, you practically danced out of your mother’s womb, catching the attention of every present doctor or nurse.

Speaking of those friendly faces, you’ll be seeing a few of them rather soon. Just try to stay out of the emergency room.

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 Pisceans love to entertain their friends and family, and even total strangers. You are so friendly you’ll invite anyone and everyone on the street into your home. I caution you to choose your friends a little more wisely this week, or your personal belongings may start to disappear.

CULTURE

Cassie de Jong — Culture Editor culture@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 2018

Visual Art Show //

Raspberry Magazine and Red Press Society bring arts community together

Second annual Raiseberry fundraiser takes place at the Reach CAT FRIESEN MANAGING EDITOR

On Saturday, June 9, Raspberry Magazine, the Fraser Valley’s arts and culture magazine, and Red Press Society, a non-profit organization that oversees Raspberry Magazine, held their now annual Raiseberry fundraiser.

Raiseberry was created in 2017 to celebrate the Fraser Valley’s artists, musicians, writers, and anyone else who can be considered a creative.

“By featuring a range of genres and artists each year, we’re able to offer a snapshot of what’s happening locally.

It becomes another way for the community to connect,” said Katie Stobbart, one of the founders of Raspberry Magazine and Red Press Society’s executive director.

“This year one of our

goals was to offer modest honoraria to the artists and performers who contribute their time and talent to Raiseberry,” she said. “Our team feels strongly about the importance of compensating artists however we can, and wanted to make that a priority this year. Event sponsorship from the UFV Alumni Association helped make that possible.”

Walking into the Reach Gallery and Museum, guests were met with wine and refreshments. Soft music played from overhead, and in the front of the gallery, Shannon Thiesen was live painting what eventually formed into a brightly coloured octopus. In the gallery beyond, a silent auction was set up, and guests could walk around and look at current, dreamlike exhibits by Chris Reid, Davida Kidd, Rebecca Chaperon, and Saskia Jetten.

A little after 7 p.m., the formal kick-off of the event began with acknowledgements from Katie Stobbart, followed by a welcome from Sandy Blue, Abbotsford’s deputy mayor. After Blue’s welcome came a land acknowledgement and traditional welcoming song from Chris Silver of the Sumas Nation, and finally a few words from Jessica Wind, the president of Red Press Society.

Guests were then treated to Jada Klein’s smooth voice, followed by Quinn Sojonky’s catchy guitar riffs. After this were readings from Margret Bollerup, who read gutwrenching poems about her mother’s dementia, Heather Ramsey, who read a touching piece of non-fiction regarding the effects of colonization in Chilliwack, and Seamus Heffernan, who read from his new noir crime novel,

Napalm Hearts. Afterward, guests were again treated to music by TESSA, as well as local favourite Casinos.

“There’s a surreal feeling when the event comes to fruition: when the musicians are playing and people are enjoying the artwork and the atmosphere and each other’s company… when it all comes together and feels like community,” said Stobbart.

Stobbart has big ideas for what Raiseberry will become in the future.

“We have three main priorities: to increase the diversity of the event, to better include more Fraser Valley communities, and to reflect an even wider range of artistic genres.”

All money raised from the sale of event tickets and the silent auction go toward improving Raspberry Magazine.

caption. (source)

Creative Composition of the Month //

Tessa’s Backpack On my Saturday morning walk, I cross the grounds of our neighbourhood high school for a break from the constant traffic. On my usual route around the tennis courts, and across the track, I notice a plaid backpack on a bench near the back entrance of the school.

As I get closer, I can see that it is clean, and almost looks brand new. The plaid pattern is pink and purple.

Some poor girl is probably frantic with worry about where she left it.

There is no one in sight.

The grounds are lifeless, with the exception of two crows who have found a sandwich in a brown bag. Chances are the backpack spent the night here. Sitting down beside it, I scan the area to make sure that the owner isn’t on her way back. I decide to start looking in the pockets to see if there is a name or a number written anywhere.

There is a small book that reads “Today” on the front

cover. It is a daily prayer book with an address and name of a local church stamped on the back. Good. If I can’t find any other information, I can always drop the bag off at the church. The second pocket is more extensive. I unzip it, and peer inside. There is a textbook for Calculus 12 and a math test with the name Tessa at the top. The score is 98 per cent; this girl is smart.

So why would she have forgotten her bag?

The large compartment is filled with clues. There is a binder, which I pull out first to make room. The binder has something written on the inside cover; it’s been scratched out with a pen, and is hard to read. It is a boy’s writing, I can tell because it is messy. It reads,“Tessa and Adam forever,” circled with a heart. With the binder out, I can now see a small boxed product at the bottom of the bag. I recognize it as a pregnancy test. It has been opened, and I feel the weight

of the stick inside. My heart sinks and tears well up in my eyes. I start to understand why Tessa may have forgotten her bag. Now dropping the bag off at the church is out of the question. That could get Tessa into even more trouble, and that’s the last thing I want to do.

I sift through some loose papers: a UFV brochure, a Big Sister Application, and a scholarship form; barely able to see through the blur of my tears, I find a pamphlet for The Women’s Choice Health Centre. As I read, I realize it is for an abortion clinic. My heart skips a beat, and then sinks. I don’t know Tessa, but my empathy for her is all consuming at this point. Does she have parents that she can talk to? From the scratched out heart on her binder, I assume that Adam, if he was her boyfriend, wasn’t supportive. I find a folded note; it reads:

“Dear Adam, When we decided to have sex you knew the consequences. It wasn’t my plan to get pregnant. I accept the consequences, why can’t you? I know you are trying to say that it isn’t yours, but I haven’t been with anyone else. I know your answer is to get rid of it, but it’s my body, and I’m scared. How do I bring a baby into the world that isn’t wanted?

Stop avoiding me! We need to talk…”

This wasn’t what I was expecting on my morning walk.

This was heavy. I feel like a semi-truck has parked on my chest. Tessa needs help. She doesn’t need judgment, or religion, or a boy who walks away from his mistake.

I was meant to find Tessa’s backpack, and I would be open to whatever she needed from me. I don’t believe in chance. I think if we pay close attention at each fork in the road, we are given the

opportunity to gain wisdom.

At the bottom of her bag is a phone number written in permanent marker. I zip up the backpack, sling it on my back, and head home to call Tessa.

by Jenny Graham

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Mental Health //

An open mic for open minds

Two UFV clubs collaborate to break down the stigma surrounding mental health CASSIE DE JONG CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR

Picture a friendly open mic night at a popular neighbourhood coffee shop. It’s a familiar atmosphere, where regulars drop in and make conversation with the owner. Friends meet with friends, and make themselves comfortable in massive chairs with delicious chai tea lattes.

Last Thursday at Sippchai Café in Abbotsford, UFV’s mental health awareness club (MHAC) and the psychology student association (PSA) commandeered the shop’s pre-existing open mic night and gave it their own spin. The two associations announced that the evening would operate under the theme of mental health and healing, and invited performers to share their stories via poetry, song, and other creative outlets.

Jessica Reist, the president of the MHAC, was present at the event to oversee the club’s takeover of the otherwise regular event at Sippchai. In an interview she stated “The goal of the mental health awareness club in regards to this event, is directly

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related to our mandate of reducing stigma and creating conversation about mental health. So, we thought this was the perfect platform. At an open mic, people can talk directly about mental health.”

At the door MHAC collected a small cover fee. The proceeds of the event go towards club fees of MHAC and PSA. MHAC also plans to donate some of their proceeds to a local mental health initiative which will be determined at their next meeting.

In the past, Sippchai Café’s open mics have presented a wide range of talent. Reist hoped for a mix of performances including stories, poetry, songs, and attendees opening their hearts to share personal stories. The event turned out to be a massive success, and Reist was met with overwhelming audience participation and appreciation.

This is the first event of its kind, though MHAC hopes to make their open mic a regular occurrence in the future. They are hoping to kickstart a yearly, grand-scale version of the event on campus.

In addition to the high hopes

Local presenting at MHAC and PSA open mic. (Cassie de Jong/The Cascade)

MHAC has for the future of their open mic night, they have a large variety of other events they are currently organizing.

These events include pub nights and “little table” events such as “Coffee and Compliments.” Over the summer, MHAC

plans to host a special version of Coffee and Compliments titled “You Meme Something to Me,” where the coffee will be replaced by tea and the compliments will be swapped for memes.

They also plan on doing some movie nights and

other smaller similar events later in the year.

The mandate of the MHAC is to reduce stigma of mental illness and create conversation surrounding it. By the end of the night they had certainly achieved that goal. Overall, the open

mic night proved a successful way to bring people together to help battle mental illness. The crowd at this event surely demonstrated that art and music are valuable weapons in that fight.

ARTS

Martin Castro — Arts Editor

arts@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Film Review //

Indian Horse, its weakness becomes its strength CHARTS

SHUFFLE

1

NEKO CASE HELL-ON

AARON LEVY

2

FROG EYES VIOLET PSALMS

3

ADRIAN TEACHER AND THE SUBS ANXIOUS LOVE

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy is excited for this Thursdays’ shmorgasboard of local music excitement, and encourages you to read ALL THE WAY TO THE END of this shuffle to find out about it all!

4

FUTURE STAR I WENT HOME AND ALL I GOT PART 1

5

BRUTAL POODLE LONG TIME NO SEE

6

BISON EARTHBOUND

7

PALE RED HEAVY PETTING

8

DADWEED HEAVY BLANKETS/ ANXIOUS

9

ROB LUTES WALK IN THE DARK

10

THE PLODES HAVE ONE OF OUR NICE YELLOW BOXES

11

MONSOON MOON THE END (SINGLE)

12

DECATUR BADDER THAN BROOKLYN

13

DANA SIPOS BLUE RIDGE

14

COURTNEY BARNETT TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL

15

BEACH HOUSE 7

16

PARQUET COURTS WIDE AWAKE!

17

SUUNS FELT

18

BURN THE PRIEST LEGION: XX

19

WEAVES WIDE OPEN

20

PALM OIL PALM OIL

FREDERICTONIAN

Dennis Leary — Asshole Am I the first one to relate this classic 1990’s originally-satirebut-ultimately-just-an-amazingand-classic-piece-of-modernsongwriting-genius, in the same breath as the newly and constantly either revered or reviled President of the United States of America, or is this old hat?

Saves the Day — Through Being Cool At the millenium’s turn, in a time I like to refer to as Y2K, as did the rest of everyone at the time, a cutesily named and vocalized band called Saves the Day released this record, and this title track with the line “Nick, why are you such a prick?”.

Casinos — Bad Decisions The title of Casino’s brand new single, immortalized in video thanks to Cassiar Film Co, and in particular, former Cascade Managing Editor and current CIVL Board of Directors President, Mitch Huttema and co., this song, and it’s visual accompaniment, ponders the consequences of poorly thought through actions taken with little concern.

The Sylvia Platters — Daphne This may have been previously shuffled, but the evening that Casinos releases their new video at the Kariton Art Gallery, Vicinity Lounge downtown hosts the Platters with Lethbridge’s Body Lens, and more local Abbotsford heros in a packed evening of music and celebration throughout the land/town of beautiful Shabbatsford!

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The story needed to be told. Though it develops as a dimensionless, very typical sports underdog hero story, Indian Horse reveals itself to be an impactful, even if simple, telling of the residential school experience.

With Clint Eastwood as executive producer and Stephen Campanelli (who has operated cameras for some of Eastwood’s films) directing, the story was adapted from the 2012 Richard Wagamese novel of the same name. It follows Saul Indian Horse, who was stolen from his parents in the late ‘50s and held in a residential school, tracking him into adulthood and reporting on the choices he makes following his time at the school.

When Saul arrives at the school, he’s already fluent in English. He notes that he learnt it from his parents. It seems to give him favor as one who’s already been introduced to God’s way. The first part of the film asks the viewer to consider the trials of residential school children before it progresses into the sports genre. At the school, a young priest, Father Gaston, who establishes himself an advocate for the children, builds a hockey rink and coaches a team.

Saul’s too young to play, but he sets his mind on it anyway. He offers to clean the rink, just to get on it, and Gaston concedes. Saul practices early each morning in secrete. Several montages later he’s the best player.

Though the subject matter weighs heavily because of its nearness to home, sixty minutes into the film and the viewer is still asking, “Is this a just sports film with a dark subplot?” Being that the Catholic indoctrination elements, which should convey a sense of horror, are showcased as not much more than the adversity which must be overcome to be the best hockey player on the team.

The issue is that for most of the film, Saul is presented as a disadvantaged kid who finds solace in the game. Other than implying the obvious about the residential schools and 1960/70s racism, the film seems to be more interested in Saul the hockey player than Saul the Indian. The viewer never gets into his head.

For most of the film, the story isn’t acted out onscreen but is, rather, implied. Though it lames the story, it does keep the pace brisk. A success of the film is that it present itself as a Disney-esque movie — it is very watchable.

Periodically, Saul from the future speaks through voiceover narration. This could have been a potential in into Saul’s mind, and though it occasionally gives a little context for the situation, this voice never reveals anything about who Saul is or how he feels about the incredibly strange world he now finds himself in.

As an expressionless youth throughout most of the film, Saul seems to allow life to happen to him without much drive when not on the ice. Even on it, he meets illegal body-checks with the same expression he scores a game-winning goal. The characters are propelled through the story without much in the way of their own self motivation. There’s no reflection, things just happen. Saul is more of an image of what happened to residential school children than an individual personality.

Between Saul’s semi-pro success and his time at the residential school, he’s adopted by a family who manages an indigenous hockey team. The son of his adopted parents is team captain, and when Saul arrives, rivalry is implied. Several game wins later, and without explanation, they’re now “brothers.”

This sloppiness softens the quality of the film.

And yet, the film turns on its predictability when Saul leaves a conversation with his Toronto coach in frustration. A long shot of him walking towards the camera fading in and out implies time passing. Now he’s an old alcoholic, wandering aimlessly.

The voiceover narration kicks back in, but speaks mystically. In the final act, another montage of Saul’s lived pain, much of the subtleties of his residential school experiences are revealed to be far more complex and sickening. It seems to reflect back on itself, perhaps even topple itself, asking the viewer to scrape their memory of what they thought they knew about the residential schools in light of the new information. It’s easy viewing charm accomplishes, for the sake of the final act, a comfortable build up to an unsettling closure.

Just before the credits roll, facts appear on screen. This positions audience to consider what they just saw in the context outside of the theatre.

Though the film’s development is weak, it’s an immensely important film. It’s simplicity, and traditionally Hollywood style, actually works for it, making Indian Horse an accessible film that broaches the subject matter without proselytizing.

It accomplishes what it needs to.

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ARTS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

TV Show Review //

Album Review //

Reviving a Meek’s full length debut is Canadian classic anything but

JEFF MIJO-BURCH OPINION EDITOR

MARTIN CASTRO ARTS EDITOR

Having gained at least some recognition as part of breakout New York foursome Big Thief, guitarist (and, evidently, singer-songwriter) Buck Meek released his debut selftitled record in the months before Big Thief is set to tour around North America. Although Meek had previously released a spate of tracks with Big Thief Adrianne Lenker, his fulllength debut strikes a more nuanced balance between the muted electric folk of his early releases and the more ephemeral rock Big Thief has been putting out.

For his part, Meek delivers 10 solid present-day folk tracks. I hesitate to call it modern folk, because here, we must draw a line between the brand of folk that’s peddled by singer-songwriters in the top 40 charts, and what is a more grounded, ambulatory record.

“Cannonball!” for example, makes use of slide guitars and relaxed (but not lazy) drumming that is consistently almost (but never) late getting to the beat. The result is an unfailingly summary ditty that packs one of the catchiest pre-chorus melodies included in any rock record this year.

On the side of the record that’s more folk-leaning, we have “Exit 7 Roses,” wherein Buck mumbles a sweet melancholy narrative, which is almost lost in the lackluster delivery. Here, the case could be made that production on the record intentionally pushes elements together, so that the bass line and the drums sometimes occupy the same space,

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or so that at times, we can’t be quite sure whether we hear a guitar or a piano. Just as on “Cannonball,” “Ruby” is more straightforward, but is punctuated by the measured messiness that characterizes the record. If anything, however, it lends some kind of sonic credence to the stream-of-consciousness narratives Meek weaves in and out of the fairly consistent folk backdrop crafted throughout the record.

Whether the artist meant for the instrumentals to overshadow the vocals on just about every track at first listen is unclear, but it does take a certain degree of concentration on the part of the listener to follow along with most of the lyrical content of the record. This is due mostly to Meek’s meandering delivery, but the case stands that it precludes any half-caught bar of lyrics from standing out as sharply as the melodic portion of a song. If albums like these relied on radio plays to get off the ground, Meek’s self-titled debut would be dead on arrival, but it might just be the case that, as most listeners turn towards streaming, requiring a closer, more attentive practice of listening from his audience might turn out to Meek’s advantage. On the short of it, one more play on Spotify puts money in his pocket, but in the long term, if listeners do decide to stick around for a while, they might find themselves drawn in by the record’s lazy country magic.

Sometimes, nostalgia can skew our perception.

Films that were tense to us as children can look cheesy as adults, once-beloved characters may turn out to be irritating, and the most hilarious of jokes may fall flat on our aged sense of humour. The thing is, you don’t know until you return to that which you’re nostalgic for — revisiting a childhood favourite can knock a shining beacon down from its pedestal in our memory.

When I heard that Corner Gas was getting an animated reboot this summer, I had a profoundly mixed reaction. I’d been a big fan of the show during its original run, but feared the new episodes, and the new format, wouldn’t live up to my memories.

For those who might’ve missed it back in 2004, Corner Gas was a massive hit: a Canadian sitcom that really felt Canadian but also managed to hook an international audience with endearing characters and clever writing.

The show painted a relatable and charming picture of a small town in Saskatchewan as a simple, laid-back community where nobody had anything better to do than stand around and quip at each other. While the show did start to reflect its popularity as seasons went on (mainly through a wide range of cameos, including two then-sitting prime ministers during its run), it wrapped up after six seasons in 2009, when show creator and star Brent Butt made the choice to end the show while they were “on top of [their] game,” despite being offered more seasons by CTV. In 2014, the team reunited for a movie which failed to capture any of the magic of the original show, and that was the point I began to wonder if the original show wouldn’t be funny anymore either — had it just been a product of its time? Had it just been my age when I first saw it? So I watched the first few episodes of Corner Gas Animated wanting to like it, but fearing I wouldn’t.

Spoiler: I didn’t.

Corner Gas Animated retains all of the original elements you’d expect from the live-action show (save for the replacement of actress Janet Wright, due to her unfortunate passing in 2016), but it feels like a bizzaro version of the show that existed in my memory. The references are playing catch-up to what they missed while off the air, with the first two episodes featuring plotlines built around Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, but somehow the charm is gone. The characters’ sarcasm feels a bit more

biting, the jokes aren’t given space to breathe in scenes that feel like they switch every 30 seconds, and the animation… well, let’s talk about the animation.

The stated reason for switching to animation was logistics, as it allowed cast members based in Toronto to work with those based in Vancouver, without requiring travel. I’m sure cost was a factor, too. But the show doesn’t seem to have figured out how to take advantage of the animation yet. The only difference in terms of actual content is that the show can more easily do visual cutaway gags, which were a staple of the live-action version, but here, it cuts to more absurd things. Namely, Brent’s vivid imagination as he ponders the town in a Mad Max-like dystopia, or who would win in a fight between Bigfoot and a unicorn. But these gags aren’t funny, and don’t fit with the visual and comedic tone and pacing of the rest of the show. (It’s jarring to see blood spewing from Bigfoot’s wounds in an episode of Corner Gas.) Just because they can execute more ambitious visuals doesn’t mean they add anything to the show.

But I didn’t realize the biggest issue with the animation until I rewatched an episode of the original show. I wanted to do my due-diligence and see if the fact that I didn’t laugh once during my time with Corner Gas Animated had more to do with my changing sense of humour than with the show’s quality.

Spoiler: it didn’t.

I had more fun watching half a random episode of the classic show than two full episodes of the new one, and it immediately showed me what was different: yes, the pace was faster and the tone was a little off, but more than that, the animation killed the ability of the actors to emote. The animators didn’t translate the expressions of the characters effectively, and seeing the real humans, especially Fred Ewanuick’s Hank and Eric Peterson’s Oscar, showing so much more comedic prowess through their movements and subtle physical comedy made it clear: animation just isn’t the format for Corner Gas. The slow, dry sarcasm of the show doesn’t translate. The episodes cut faster between scenes, but the 20 minutes drag out as they try desperately to pack in as many jokes as they can, all of which fall flat.

Maybe in a second season they’ll have learned how to better work with the medium, but until then, you’re better off revisiting the original and seeing that it actually was funny, with or without nostalgia.

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Movie Review //

Deadpool 2 ramps everything up to 11

TRISTIN SWARD CONTRIBUTOR

Like any good comedy movie, Deadpool 2 is about more than just laughs. The soul of the film is certainly grounded in humour — from fourth-wall jokes to pop culture gags, bait-and-switch character plotlines, and even a fairly-well-hidden nod to Les Misérables, the entire film is a menagerie of punchlines that never leaves you hanging for more than a minute. But behind all of that, there’s a second story at work. That story is about love and loss, suffering and vengeance, Josh Brolin’s impossibly chiseled physique, and the human spirit’s capacity to endure.

The movie begins with the titular character blowing himself up — literally, not figuratively. I’m delighted to say that Deadpool 2 gets up to highway speeds within the first 20 minutes of the show, and maintains that velocity even into the credits. (Hint: watch them.) Now, like the first movie, the plot isn’t entirely something to write home about — it’s a little cliché, a little forgettable, and at times predictable. However, also like its predecessor, Deadpool 2 doesn’t focus on its plot — this is a movie that wants you to relax, kick back, and enjoy watching it all the way through, and in that respect it absolutely shines. If I could only put the magnifying glass on one attribute of the movie, it would have to be that Deadpool 2 simply has a splendid sense of pacing — no scene is too short or too long, and I can say with confidence the movie will never leave you feeling bored.

Having now successfully denounced the plot, it’s prime time to dip a toe into it.

There is a story under all the madness that constitutes the majority of Deadpool 2’s appeal; the latter half of the film follows the (anti?)heroes racing against time to stop another character from making the choices that will lead him down the path of villainy.

I won’t spoil the specifics, but when that teddy bear finally regains its colours, you should know that you’re at Deadpool 2’s

arc equivalent to the first movie’s “Four or Five Moments” speech, the significance of which might make more sense once you’ve seen both. There is a story about how anger leads to hate and how hate leads to suffering nestled in with the rest of the plot, but you might have to dig a little bit to find it.

While Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, and everyone else that survived the first movie make a return for the sequel, you might not notice (or even believe until you read the credits) the absolute plethora of additional actors on the roster this time around: Alan Tudyk (another star from Firefly) shows up in the early show alongside Matt Damon, Brad Pitt becomes visible (pun intended, you’ll get it later) for an entire eight frames of screentime, Terry Crews (not soliciting for Old Spice) plays the aptly named Bedlam, and Bill Skarsgård, well known for his role as Pennywise the Clown in 2017’s IT, features as a side character. The list goes on from here, but I don’t want to spoil all of it for you. At least, not yet.

With all things accounted for, Deadpool 2 isn’t going to teach you anything compelling about the human condition or challenge the moral pillars that hold up your world — but it isn’t trying to. If that sort of flight is your fancy, catch me outside and we can talk about Apocalypse Now and Watchmen. However, if what you’re looking for is a Triple A movie with exceptional writing and an incomparable pace, then there’s nothing else that I could more highly recommend.

Did I mention that it’s also got a fantastic score, an opening sequence that is absolutely not parodying the 007 franchise, and more celebrity cameos than any selfrespecting love story ought to have?

We’re hiring an Arts in Review Editor.

For more info, email cat@ufvcascade.ca 15