The Cascade Vol. 26 Issue 3

JANUARY 24 TO FEBRUARY 7, 2018

VOLUME 26 ISSUE 3

Publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull since 1993

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CHANCELLOR Q&A with UFV’s next chancellor.

THE REACH Six new exhibits launched.

15 BALDUR’S GATE

It’s now a board game.

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

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

Managing Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca News Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca Opinion Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Feature Editor Laurel Logan laurel@ufvcascade.ca Culture & Events Editor Cassie de Jong cassie@ufvcascade.ca

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR

Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca

Perhaps you’ll take interest in millions of dollars.

Maybe proposed changes to the student union society (SUS) bylaws and election policy, or the SUS 2017/18 budget? It’ll all be presented at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), Thursday, February 1.

What’s an EGM? A meeting of the society’s membership (in our case, UFV students) held at an irregular time. More simply put, when there are items that can’t wait until the Annual General Meeting (AGM), an EGM is held to discuss business, and ask for input from the membership. Items include financial reports, bylaw/policy revisions, an open question period, society executive reports, and sometimes more. Supplementary to the monthly board meetings that SUS holds, these General Meetings see large, membership-concerning items addressed. SUS bylaws require an AGM each year between January 15 and March 30, but an EGM is called at any point a nonannual General Meeting must be held.

The EGM concerns each UFV student. It concerns me that all the SUS General Meetings I’ve attended struggled to pull in enough members to legally hold the meeting.

Last year, at the AGM, the same SUS bylaw revisions to be presented next week were addressed, and a vote to pass or not pass them was called. For reasons to be explained in a moment, a vote couldn’t be cast.

As for the agenda for the Feb. 1 EGM (available on the SUS website), it includes the following: The aforementioned presentation of society bylaw changes, which will be followed by a motion for approval, and a vote of yea or nay. The student union said these changes are an update to stay in compliance with changes to the B.C. Societies Act. Additional bylaw changes that were not presented at last year’s AGM will also be voted on at next week’s EGM. Changes to the SUS election policy will also be presented, then voted on by the membership. The agenda says that these policy changes are to allow for “more convenient scheduling for incoming executives, and more consistent electoral processes over multiple years.”

Staff Writer Aleister Gwynne aleister@ufvcascade.ca

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS Steven Sprott Beth Maenpaa Paul Okano Sara Hamilton Liam Meehan Mike Friesen Jen Klassen

Cover: Renée Campbell Back Cover: Joel Robertson-Taylor

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@UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/THE.CASCADE Volume 26 · Issue 3 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. Pitch 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 400 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

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The league of extraordinary general meetings EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Picture unrelated.

And last of the three special presentations, the 2017/18 budget will be discussed. Its approval will be voted on by student union membership in attendance.

Perhaps for the first time in years, this is expected to be a comprehensive, as well as corrective, budget. It took many months for the budget to be completed. The presentation date for the 2017/18 budget was actually last March, but because of the state of disarray past budgets were in, it took as long as it has for the current team to draft a thoroughly representative budget, they said.

After these three items, the meeting will be opened up to a question period.

Any member can ask a question. Curious about where millions in student fees are going, when past revenue lines only list six figures? Wondering about the fate and profits of the Canoe, which switched to a cafeteria-style service over a year ago to shed expenditures?

Do you know how much your representatives spend on conferences and travel? Don’t be a chump; find out how your money is spent. In straight talk, this is when we get to ask “Hey, what the heck is going on here?”

A contributing reason for why the EGM is being held now, with the AGM right around the corner, is because last year’s AGM lost quorum in the middle of its session.

Quorum is the minimum number of members required for the meeting to

proceed. This EGM’s quorum is one per cent of the voting members, to a maximum of 100. This means there needs to be somewhere around 95 students in attendance. It’ll depend on how many students — fee-paying members — are currently enrolled at UFV. If not enough students attend, the meeting will be postponed to the following week, at the same time and place, for a second attempt. The rules for quorum change at the second attempt: quorum is set at half a per cent of voting members to a maximum of 50. This means fewer people can make decisions for the same membership.

That’s what happened at the AGM. Though enough members signed in to commence with business, at some point during the meeting, a member requested a member count, which revealed a loss of quorum. As per SUS bylaws, the meeting was suspended.

This is all to say, mark Feb. 1, 12:00 noon, Evered Hall in the Student Union Building, in your calendar.

Note: The accompanying picture is related.

NEWS

Jessica Barclay — News Editor news@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

UFV Chancellor //

NEWS BRIEFS

Fraser Health asking taxpayers for millions more in health care capital funding Fraser Health is requesting an increase in funding from the current $1.8 million to $5.75 million to pay for hospital capital and infrastructure projects over the next four years.

The Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District (FVRHD) funds around 40 per cent of Fraser Health’s infrastructure projects with money raised for resident’s property taxes. The proposed funding increase would triple local resident’s contributions.

Fraser Health’s budget includes over $67 million in infrastructure improvements from 2017 to 2022, including a “multipurpose angio/ interventional suite” at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, and additional patient monitoring equipment for Chilliwack General Hospital.

-Abbotsford News

Location eyed for possible collector well The construction of a collector well has been proposed to provide an additional long-term source of water for Abbotsford and Mission. The well, which would cost around $81 million, would be built along the Fraser River near the Matsqui Trail Regional Park.

The site is considered ideal for a collector well due to its water-saturated, rocky bottom, and water-filtering sand and gravel.

The project is not considered urgent; a study last year found that Abbotsford and Mission will need to increase their water supply to account for their growth over the next 25 years.

-Abbotsford News

UFV’s chancellor speaks of inclusiveness and diversity Andy Sidhu has been chosen as UFV’s next chancellor JESSICA BARCLAY NEWS EDITOR

Andy Sidhu has been chosen as UFV’s next chancellor. Andy grew up in Malaysia, and immigrated to Canada in 1974. He has seen the many changes that the Fraser Valley has undergone over the years; he’s been a part of quite a few himself, including starting the first ESL class at the temple, the milker training program at the Fraser Valley College, and creating North America's first Punjabi-English newspaper, the Patrika.

Last summer, Andy received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from UFV for his extensive community service.

There will be an installation ceremony at UFV on April 19, where he will take over the duties of chancellor from Dr. Gwen Point.

His list of responsibilities as the ceremonial head of UFV will include attending board and senate meetings, and smiling broadly as he presides over the convocation ceremony.

How does it feel to be chosen as chancellor of UFV? It's going to be a learning process initially.

But I’m excited, and first and foremost very humbled and honoured at the fact that they picked me to be the next chancellor.

I’ve been associated with the university for a long, long time now, but never in my dreams did I think that I would end up being a chancellor.

What will your goals be while you are the chancellor?

I’m going to be interacting more with the student population, of course. You see, my motive here has always been to bridge the gap between communities, right from day one.

My goals will basically be to open up the corridors for the benefit of the students that we have from other countries, to make them feel more at home. To respect each other’s religion, beliefs, and attire.

I will have to go and maybe sit down with all people, and find out for myself how exactly I can be of help, or how I can play a part in the day-to-day running of the university, and try to see if there is a role for me to play in the bigger picture.

Your newspaper’s mission statement was to bridge gaps in the Fraser Valley community. Do you feel it was successful?

Yes, to quite an extent I should say. In the sense that, when I first came into this community, back in 1974, things were different.

Being of Indo-Canadian ancestry, I could sense a difference in the way both communities for that matter, the Indo-Canadian

UFV's next chancellor Andy Sidhu. (Darren McDonald/UFV)

as well as the Caucasian community, were not that open with each other. You know, the Indo-Canadian community would cluster in their own little world here, and the Caucasian people would ask, “Who are these people? Why are they wearing turbans? Why are their lady-folks wearing clothes that look like pajamas?”

I felt that we needed a tool to try to get closer to each other. And what better way than a newspaper, where they could express their individual views, and read about the different communities?

How did that inf luence the way you viewed the community here?

I started off as the assistant manager of Agricultural Employment Services with the federal government. I had opportunities of visiting farms, and talking to farmers. Most of the farmers those days were Caucasian. For them to see a brown-skinned person speak English, and communicate with them so freely, was something that they held in awe, simply because most of the Indo-Canadians here could not speak English fluently.

Because I was bilingual, just about every one of the government offices would use my services as an interpreter. In a week, I would be out of my office at least three days, if not four: in immigration, at the police, at the community services, employment services, because of my ability to translate. I saw then that there was a dire need for us to have people educated to a certain extent, so that they could at least communicate. So, when I was approached,

and asked if I could help him with that program, I was only too glad to be of assistance. We hired a tutor from Langley, and I went to the local temple and spoke to the people, and managed to get a class going where some people started to learn how to speak English.

So that kind of made me feel if I was going to start a newspaper, that I would like to start a bilingual newspaper. And 22 years later, we’re still around! That speaks for itself, I think.

What has been the biggest change in the Fraser Valley community since you came to Canada?

I mean, look at the schools, the universities. You’re going to the university.

How often do you stop to take a second look at a south Asian person? Not often.

They’re just a student, or a classmate.

That’s it. That’s the difference: acceptance of people from other communities.

I am not saying that we don’t have racism. There is racism. Racism is not a very nice word. But racism has been practiced by everybody. You, me, we all do to a certain extent, consciously or subconsciously. Within your own house, within your own community.

But it's slowly and surely diminishing.

You can go into a store at the mall, and not feel like you’re being looked at, or stared at, when you do your shopping, rubbing shoulders with people from different communities.

This interview has been edited for style and clarity.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

UFV Transit //

Shuttle riders won’t be left out in the cold A new shuttle bus shelter is planned for Abbotsford ALEISTER GWYNNE STAFF WRITER

The shuttle bus connector stop in front of the Student Union Building (SUB) on the Abbotsford campus will undergo an infrastructure upgrade, with a shelter to be constructed over the existing concrete pad. Completion is estimated to be in mid-March.

Last summer, the shuttle bus stop was relocated to the front of the SUB from the public bus stop between G and A buildings. Since the location change, a sidewalk to the SUB was built, and a Langley-Abbotsford shuttle route schedule was posted “The shelter will have LED lighting in it for night time,” David Shayler, UFV’s associate director of operations, said.

“We also want to put pathway lighting for that walkway that goes out to it.”

The pad itself will be extended by 25 ft to accommodate additional shuttles at the stop.

“What we’re finding is that two shuttles are coming in at one time,” said

Shayler. “We’ll have one shuttle having students and staff disembarking, and we have one shuttle sitting behind it, and waiting to disembark.”

Additional shuttle runs were added last October, according to the Campus Connector’s Twitter feed, allowing for more frequent service, and taking pressure off the existing runs, particularly the Langley route.

“It's becoming quite popular, and quite busy,” said Shayler. “I think, down the line, we’re going to see quite an expansion of the fleet.”

Shayler estimated the entire project will cost around $20,000, though a full quote will not be completed until the end of January.

“We’re all here for the students,” said Shayler. “We want to make this a safe and a comfortable working and learning environment for them, and this is one of those things that helps that.”

Lucid Management Group, which provides shelter for B.C. Transit, has been contracted to build the new shelter.

One of UFV's campus connecting shuttle busses. (UFV Flickr)

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OPINION

Jeff Mijo — Opinion Editor opinion@ufvcascade.ca

The monotony of winter fruit

Gratuitous grimaces Why do we smile for photos? Picture your latest family reunion or gathering. Your estranged aunt whom you haven’t spoken to in years has just assembled you and a handful of your cousins, and is demanding you all “smile for the camera!” so she can capture the memory of you all together. You are trying your best to smile, as that is what social norms suggest is customary in family photos, yet the expression on your face is the farthest thing from a smile as you could possibly get. A sneering goat more accurately describes you. The same goes for the rest of your cousins, and together you all look like the bleakest kind of happy.

In old family photographs from the 19th century, rarely do you see anyone smiling, yet we prize these as the beautiful and classy images of our past. Similarly, high fashion models in magazines are still considered dazzling when sporting disinterested pouts.

So, why do our great-great-grandmother and Kate Moss get to remain emotionless in portraits, but we are forced to produce the most embarrassing of images? I move to make comfortable and natural expressions in photos a thing again in 2018. Who seconds my motion?

Brief bits of bite sized brevity

Cassie de Jong

Winter fruit is my least favourite. The monotony of apples and oranges, apples and oranges, blah blah blah. Give me melons, give me peaches, give me strawberries.

Living in the grey coastal region of B.C., you’d think we would be able to find a way to grow something more interesting in the everlasting winter, so that we wouldn’t get stuck eating apples and oranges for 10 months of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I love these two pieces of fruit, but I’m over eating them for every single snack of every single day until Mr. Sun decides to peak his pretty face out from behind the clouds.

If I could only have a nice piece of pineapple that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg, I could pretend that life wasn’t so grey.

Or consume a larger amount of raspberries than fit in that tiny little “clamshell” package that they sell. But I guess buying a $5 pineapple is a less expensive vacation than buying a plane ticket to California.

So don’t mind me, I’ll be turning up the thermostat in my apartment, eating pineapple in my bathing suit, and pretending I’m somewhere sunny.

SNAPSHOTS

COMING OUT OF MY CAGE AND I’VE BEEN DOING JUST FINE Do you ever hear a song that gives you such a strong outflow of emotion that you want to yell along to the lyrics and dance with all the energy you’ve got? A song that tugs at your heart, and unearths memories you thought were long buried? For me, that song is “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

I first heard the song at the ripe age of 11, probably at a school dance or something. Ever since then, that song has accompanied me through years of heartbreaks, achievements, infatuation, love.

New Year’s Eve of 2017, I danced to it amid a sea of friends; I was on top of the world.

It’s funny how a song you first heard nearly 14 years ago can have such an impact on you. To this day, when I hear the opening bars, my heart swells, and I have no choice but to sing along with Brandon Flowers’ smooth voice. And I know that when I’m pushing 70, and it comes on the radio, I’ll still sing it with all my heart.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Jen Klassen

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

The big meltdown Like people, snow has a life cycle. In the beginning, the snow falls: a miracle of birth as the flakes flutter to the ground, and begin to accumulate. One bright morning, we are greeted by a sleek and beautiful blanket of fresh snow, as of yet unmarred by the hand of man. Alas, we humans have jobs to do, and errands to run, and so we forge paths in the snow; thus begins the decay. The snow is plowed and shoveled into piles to get it out of the way, and passing vehicles splatter it with dirt. Eventually, the blanket of snow melts, but the piles remain for days, maybe weeks after, like filthy icebergs floating on the land, a sad reminder of what came before, the twilight years of snow. Soon, even these will melt away, and their accumulated grit will be the bones they leave behind. Then someday, the snow will fall again, and the cycle of life and death will repeat.

Cat Friesen

Aleister Gwynne

Illustrations: Amara Gelaude

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Depressing Days //

“Blue Monday” is a lie... at least for me “Blue Monday” isn’t actually the most depressing day of the year debt (from the recent holiday season), and our already failed New Year’s resolutions (kind of pessimistic, don’t you think?). But what if you enjoy winter weather, like many According to the internet, last Monday, people actually do? What if you didn’t overJanuary 15 was the “most depressing day spend during the holidays, and are sticking of the year,” which sounds like an exaggerato your goals for the new year because you tion and a generalization, but we’ll roll with didn’t overload yourself with too many unatit, even though there’s no actual scientific tainable resolutions? backing behind the claim; it was originally My January 15 was decidedly amazing. invented by the internet, and there’s no sciI did all my errands early on, completed a entific research behind the assertion (and short story for my writing class, finished up it’s funny because, as I’m writing this, an ad important work for UFV’s literary magazine, on the radio is using “Blue Monday” to sell and hung out with some really cool people. travel packages).

There were also brownies and tea involved.

The reasoning behind it makes sense, I So, an overall success. As you can see, my guess. According to Mirror, an online pubday didn’t circle around feelings of sadness lication based in the U.K., “Blue Monday” and low motivation; in fact, quite the opis a day that has been haunting us annually posite. It was a day of accomplishment and since 2005. It’s the third Monday of Janujoy, and with that accomplishment came ary, which apparently causes universal feeldetermination. Determination to get onto ings of low mood through a combination of the next thing, to continue on my path of weather (drab and wet for us B.C. dwellers),

CAT FRIESEN COPY EDITOR

“getting my stuff in order,” which was followed by excitement for new projects and experiences that I’m looking forward to in the next few weeks. In short, I was feeling the exact opposite of how the internet told me I should.

Claiming that a day is universally depressing is detrimental to a society’s mental health. The idea behind “Blue Monday” is that it maintains the idea that you’re supposed to feel “depressed” on this day. There are two problems with this. For one, it’s the internet generalizing the audience’s feelings for them: “It’s Blue Monday, you’d better take a hard look at your life choices and feel bad about them! And what about this weather we’re having? Total garbage!” And, more obviously, it undermines what depression really is; not a day of feeling sorry for yourself for over-spending, and being annoyed with the 23rd straight day of rain, but weeks or months of low mood, loss of sleep

and appetite, lack of motivation, and feelings of hopelessness.

According to the CBC, though most people are only mildly affected by the triggers of debt, weather, and failed goals, these may be huge detriments to people who are clinically depressed, which can prompt them to spiral into a depressive episode. However, there is one benefit of “Blue Monday” that has been overlooked: it creates a dialogue for mental health, and that can only be a good thing.

The more we talk about mental health, the less stigma there is surrounding it, and the more people will seek help when they need it.

So, though “Blue Monday” is based on pseudo-science, and can be harmful to people who suffer from clinical depression, its creation does push us to closely examine mental health, and allows us to open up a dialogue on how to help those who are truly suffering.

Talking About News //

Stop talking about him

how social media users craft a message for optimal retweets and likes means that sometimes news adOPINION EDITOR jacent to that awfulness is highlighted more than it You might have heard that there’s some stuff going would be otherwise. Not every single stupid thing on recently with our neighbours south of the bor- said by someone in the spotlight needs to be a news der, politically speaking. In fact, you’d have to be story. We formed our opinions long ago, so it adds completely ignoring any news, social media, and nothing to the conversation beyond a talking point. conversation to be unaware. It’s everywhere, domiIf we must keep using images of certain key nating what we talk about in a way no political topic people as clickbait, and their names to spark interhas in my memory. But let’s not talk about it right est, we can at least make the most of that interest now. I want to talk about talking about it. and use it to inform about other underreported isOf course the situation down there is dominating sues. For example, why are we in Canada so quick headlines: terrible people with giant personalities to mock another country’s absurd and draconic have gained the power to fundamentally alter, or ideas to stop unwanted (by the government) immieven end, the lives of not just those in the United gration, and criticize them for being so closed off, States, but people all over the world. That’s the hot while largely ignoring the fact that, according to the topic to end all hot topics. Throw in the fact that CBC, over 6,000 Haitians “irregularly” crossed the there’s a new scandal, policy, or horrible comment border claiming refugee status during a nine month every day or two to recoil at, and it’s the perfect period last year, and while a final decision had only media-feeding machine. been made on 298 of them in November, just 29 We’ve come to a point where it can be tough not to were accepted into the country. filter every thought through that lens. If you make a Sure, that story got some news coverage, but when comment or produce some art, will people take it as was the last time a friend incredulously brought it commentary? If you don’t say anything, will it come up out of the blue as a conversation point? We can off as complacency, maybe even support? And if you criticize another country’s immigration policies take that trip, will nuclear war erupt before you can and call them xenophobic and closed off because come back home? it’s easy to accept the idea of Canada as a country For those of us who aren’t on the front lines (and that has solved its problems, or to yell from the my hat is off to those who are, because it is clear- bleachers about how other countries should govern. ly exhausting, endless, and completely necessary But when covering the mistakes of other countries, work), however, why is it that we find ourselves so we should take the time to research and relate their entrenched, even if we live in another country? ongoing issues with ours, which are not that much Part of that blame has to go to traditional me- further beneath the surface. dia, and part to social media. As members of the Talk about the news, yes, but relate it back to your media, it is our responsibility to inform readers of life, and those lives of the people you share a city, a the terrible things in the world, yes, and there is country, or a planet with. Treat the news as news, something particularly awful happening at the mo- not as entertainment. ment. However, the nature of how papers are sold, how 24-hour news keeps viewers transfixed, and

JEFF MIJO

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Not sure who we’re talking about. (Flickr)

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Housing //

Weaver’s ban: a necessary step to recovery?

STEVEN SPROTT CONTRIBUTOR

By now, everyone recognizes the so-called housing crisis. According to Demographia’s International Housing Affordability Survey, Vancouver ranks as the world’s third least affordable city, and the effects are becoming more discernable in the Fraser Valley. Often viewed as primarily disadvantaging the young, recent focus has been on the closing of businesses and the struggles of seniors, with reports of them sleeping in their cars or couch-surfing. It feels almost silly to bring up the old argument against cooling the market, because this will damage the equity of current homeowners. Nobody should have the right to exorbitant profits at the expense of the vulnerable.

Our B.C. NDP government appears to be more serious about looking for solutions than the Liberal government that preceded it, but the Green party’s Andrew Weaver doesn’t believe it is enough, calling for a ban on foreign investment into Vancouver real estate. This would follow the path recently taken in New Zealand,

which is facing an even worse situation.

The purpose of the ban is to halt the alleged influx of money from buyers who do not contribute to or live in the community, and instead use the real estate market as a safe investment.

Critics of Weaver’s proposition argue that overseas money is only a small part of the issue. Other problems that are coming into greater focus include tax evasion, money laundering, and an array of loopholes, not to mention the ulterior motives of previous B.C. politicians — hardly surprising considering how lucrative the housing market can be. However, while information can be hard to pin down, there is evidence to support Weaver’s argument that the statistics which claim that non-residents only own five per cent of the homes in Vancouver are inaccurate.

These statistics are skewed by the exclusion of shell companies and partnerships that make it nearly impossible to determine who owns property. Even Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, who historically downplayed such influences, has recently admitted the impact of non-resident buyers.

Unfortunately, the phrase “foreign buyers” is often misleading, and can even arouse allegations of racism. However, the fear of such allegations of racism can itself contribute to the problem. Canada is multicultural and ethnically mixed, and it should remain so. This isn’t an issue of rejecting immigrants — it is about excessive foreign money flooding the market.

It is becoming harder to dispute the fact that wealth distribution, and the power accompanying it, is a major contributor to the problems in our world. It doesn’t make sense, in one of the most expensive places to live in the world, that tax-evasion by the wealthy is widespread. As Weaver recently told the Province, “The problem is not immigrants who come here to live and work . . . it’s about speculators outside of Canada using our real-estate market to park offshore capital.”

The issue raises the question of how we should treat housing in general. Should we consider housing as a basic human right, alongside food? Is it acceptable to let it be treated as an investment opportunity, or a physical manifestation of wealth for safe keeping? In my ideal world, the answer

is no. I am tempted to take it further, and propose treating housing in a more radical light, but an overhaul of our system isn’t going to happen overnight. In order to work towards something which is fairer, Weaver’s proposition may be a necessary starting point. Refinement can come later.

But we do need to carefully define what is meant. In New Zealand, for instance, non-residents cannot buy homes already built, but they can invest in the land, and construction. In Australia, offshore buyers are limited to certain types of housing. Many places — such as the U.K. and Switzerland — have similar regulations in place to try to keep housing affordable.

Weaver has recently been clearer on what he means, but the NDP’s John Horgan seems intent on misunderstanding him.

According to a Yale University report, New Zealand’s rate of homelessness is twice that of Canada — the worst among OECD nations. Canada ranks third. If the government remains too cautious, we may end up going down the same road, and we can only hope that by then they will have sorted out their own problems, and given us a clearer example to follow.

Satire //

Course oddities befuddle students

Some UFV professors are up to new shenanigans, leaving their students confused ALEISTER GWYNNE STAFF WRITER

January tends to lull us into a false sense of security. It behooves the wise student to look ahead in their course syllabus to get an idea of what they are in for. Having done so, however, nothing could have prepared the students of these classes for the strangeness they uncovered.

As of this writing, Professor Wylie Jameson, who teaches Philosophy 222: Applied Postmodernism, has yet to show up for a single one of his classes. He has given no reason for his absence, nor has he cancelled classes, apparently expecting his students to make the journey to campus, and sit in a room for three hours with nothing to do.

Jameson has assigned copious amounts of course readings, and this is where the strangeness intensifies.

None of the assigned readings appear to have anything to do with the course material, and some of the resources are downright inappropriate. One so-called article turned out to be hardcore pornography that infected students’ computers with malware, causing the computer to emit vulgar noises, even when turned off.

Professor Georgia Remmington, who teaches Anthropology 304: Applied Anthropology in the Field, believes in hands-on experience, and “total cultural immersion.”

ANTH 304 gives students a chance to travel abroad, and experience different cultures. This year’s students are excited for the journey they are preparing to take, but one former student is warning people to get out while they can.

According to Chad, who was a student in last semester’s class, Remmington’s teaching strategy is to throw students in the deep end, and pull out the ladder. Af-

ter bringing her students to the small African nation of Uluri, Professor Remmington ditched her students, and grabbed the first flight home, leaving her students to their own devices with no money, no supplies, and no instructions on how to proceed.

Less than half of last year’s students have made it back to Canada, and most of the remainder have dropped out of contact. Those who failed to report in by semester’s end were given a failing grade, although one student got special credit for briefly becoming Uluri’s president.

The fine arts department is a place where risqué content is to be expected sometimes, but Professor Goodfellow raised eyebrows when it was discovered that every single one of her VA 101: Figure Drawing classes would feature a live nude model. This would be controversial enough as it is, but for the even more peculiar fact that there will be only one model used for the entire course, and that model happens to be Goodfellow’s husband.

However, this pales in comparison to what is happening in VA 166: Mixed Media Arts, taught by Professor Eliphas Crowley. The list of art supplies students are expected to acquire contains various tools and ingredients that are obscure, expensive, and/or hard to come by, including rectoscopes, and Marianas cuttlefish ink.

Many of these tools, and the projects they will be used for, are components in dark arcane rituals, according to Hypatia Nightcaller, a student of the class who claims to be knowledgeable about such things. Manipulating students into performing black magic without their knowledge or consent is bad enough, but making them pay for expensive sorcerous reagents out of their own pockets is an atrocious abuse of student resources.

The sciences aren’t any better. The much-anticipated Robotics 200: Intro to Assembly course has some hidden depths that many find disturbing. The fact that the

A class of confused students. (Wikimedia Commons)

teacher of the course, Professor Cecil Merrywhether, insists on being called Doktor Disaster by everyone should be a red flag.

Attentive students of Robotics 200 noticed that what appears at first glance to be a series of simple assembly projects, when taken together will construct a “Giant Killer Death Robot of Doom,” according to the syllabus. The syllabus also contains highly detailed plans to use the robot to obliterate the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. When asked for comment, Doktor Disaster only replied, “They will pay, they will all pay.” In addition to the ethical issues, students and faculty have commented that a project of this magnitude is beyond the realistic scope of a four-month, 200-level course.

The wise student should always read their entire syllabus and class schedule. Those who don’t may well end up caught off guard by surprises like these.

7

The

flip side flip side

an interview with Allen Ginsberg

Written by:

Beth Maenpaa Design & illustration by: Renée Campbell

Miles Davis’ “So What” plays in the background as the search continues for last remnants of inspiration for piecing together this document. A bit frantic now as the sax solo wails, free to improvise, I’m faced with the reality that my interview subject, the complex and infinite Ginsberg, sees no end.

This exercise involves piecing together a mosaic of reflections, in part representing real life statements and quotes from literary works, including interview responses from his living years. This particular interview is of course contrived; Ginsberg passed away on April 5, 1997. In the spirit of his writing, this study brings improvisation, rhythm changes, and an open approach. Direct quotes are taken from Ginsberg’s poems and essays on the Beat ggeneration. In an effort to understand, one has to dig deep, and it’s best not to stand on the outside of that. I hope that in my endeavor to take creative license with this document it will be both entertaining, as well as worthy of Ginsberg’s recommendation to “follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.”

As Miles Davis brings the tempo down, I welcome Ginsberg. He takes a seat. It’s January 19, 2018; I invited Ginsberg to sit with me to explore his evolution as a writer, his relationships with fellow artists, and to have a look at the world as he sees it.

The intention of this interview is to form a better understanding of who Ginsberg was, what influenced his work, and why his work was meaningful alongside

the work of others during this poignant time in history. Perhaps in our conversation, a deeper understanding of the Beat ggeneration will emerge, and further revelation on the impact of his work toward creating a culture of change will come.

It’s a personal belief of mine that who we are has been shaped largely by the influences of our past. I’d like to start with you on that note.

There has been quite a great deal of documentation regarding the experiences you had as a young child with your mother’s mental health challenges and how these did in fact set in motion much of your drive to explore writing as a way to work through that difficulty.

You were “frequently frightened by fearsome shadows and dark hedges, by ghosts in the alleys and the shrouded stranger that would later appear in poems.” What would you say with regards to this assumption?

Well, I would agree that my mother’s condition was difficult; it did compel me to journal my thoughts. When I was fourteenfourteen, I wrote that I was “writing to satisfy my egotism.” One would think I might have become lost in the powerlessness of my mother’s condition. Quite the opposite, I found the power in words, power over how traumatic all of it was. The poetry of

my life’s work speaks to that.

This must have drawn you to other artists who were as compelled to write for their own reasons. Who would you name as being the most influential to your work overall?

Whitman and Blake of course were inspiring, and “the interesting thing is I’m an imitator of Kerouac, really, turned on by him, as many are…” His method was raw, it greatly impacted my style. I learned from him that I could write my “thoughts without examining them for literary merit.” The karmic universe thankfully brought us together “in the spring of 1944, while Kerouac was in the middle of a late breakfast of eggs and bacon.” Both of us were at Columbia together. We were introduced to Burroughs during our time there also. Back then, Burroughs seemed the wise elder. He was twenty-ninetwenty-nine, so about a decade my senior. When I first met Burroughs, I asked him, “wwhat is art?” He replied, “aart is a three letter word” (Watson 35).

How’s that for an iconic statement?

So you would say of all the writers you’ve had relationships with, these two are your most profound?

Sure. And as far as writers of the Beat ggeneration, I’d say we “were like a slow burning fuse in a silent vacuum. The postwar era was a time of extraordinary insecurity, of profound powerlessness as far as individual effort was concerned, when personal responsibility was being abdicated in favour of corporate largeness, when the catchwords were coordination and adjustment…” This time was ripe for us, as far as artistry found within the power of our words. I mean, Naked Lunch? Fantastic. “A dystopia where technology strangles all vestiges of freedom…”

Oh, is that your cell phone ringing?

Yes, sorry about that! I’ll turn it off. Thanks. So what you’re saying leads me to conclude that “probably no other literary group has had such enthusiasm for placing intimate matters on the public record as a matter of spiritual and social duty.”

In consideration of this statement, if you could point to one particular piece of your literary work that speaks to this, what would it be?

I would guess that most would expect me to say “Howl,” due to the fact that it came under such scrutiny, and was hit by censorship. You’re aware there was an obscenity trial in 1957?

Yes, your publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti was arrested. Copies of “Howl” were seized.

Hard to imagine a free country where one cannot publicly make reference to what exists in reality, isn’t it? The take down happened in late May of 1957, at Lawrence’s bookstore, City Lights.

Why do you think your work was targeted?

Somehow, my work was linked to a rise in juvenile delinquency. The attorney prosecuting Ferlinghetti was convinced that delinquent juveniles were stimulated by cultural materials and considered the content in “Howl” representative of those materials. I think the prosecutor’s favourite line was “wwho let themselves be fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy.”

You’re smiling. This was surely an amusing side show for you as an artist, but didn’t this change your life significantly after the trial?

Of course. And the irony of the court decision to sanction freedom! How about that? An artist free to be of his own authority, and the public free to choose. Most importantly, perhaps it “shocked the sensibilities,” a recording of “refusing to accept standard American values as permanent.”

Bob Dylan, bless him, remarked on my work that it was “for him the first sign of a new consciousness, of an awareness of regenerative possibilities in America.” I am so humbled.

And what would you say to those who continue to criticize your work?

I would dub them “creeps who wouldn’t know poetry if it came up and buggered them in broad daylight.”

Let’s talk about those who do know poetry.

Whom would you say surprised you the most

as a writer of your generation, and why?

I never said directly how much I admired Diane di Prima for her courage at the time. She didn’t need to push off from the fist of authority as an artist, she simply just engaged in it; — lived the art. She set her own rules. Let’s face it, there she was in a male -dominated arena, just being the artist.

Yes, you were an artist during an era “where men were called on to do important things and women were expected to support them in those endeavors. Many of the Beats saw women only as sex objects, providers, and mothers, and rarely did they believe that they could write as well as their male counterparts.” Do you agree?

Absolutely. At the time there was “missed opportunity to discover some remarkable talent… only strong women who were extremely selfconfident and self-assured, like Diane di Prima, could break out of the little-woman mold…” In my case, I just simply sought out the company of men more so than women. But she was a respected friend. A strong writer.

You say she lived the art. Her book, “Memoirs of a Beatnik,” is quite something. She writes about an explicit orgy, involving yourself, Kerouac, and others. Then she retells the story as “boredom, cold noses, a cheap phonograph playing a Stan Getz record…” So, what’s the truth?

Exciting hot orgy, or boring cold evening? We are presented with a story and a reality. Which scenario you take as reality will depend on you. That’s your freedom. Question everything.

That’s your truth.

Hmmm… okay… I would not doubt the reality that there was a deep and intense relationship amongst the group of you. What are your thoughts on di Prima’s relationship with Amiri Baraka?

That’s an interesting question to ask of me. I’m not sure my opinion on this, or if it is relevant in any way. I’m curious as to why you’re asking.

I would assume your friendship saw intimate conversations. Her relationship seemed a bit precarious? He was married, and she was having his child.

Well, I know she certainly didn’t see herself as the mistress. They created art together, and from this also came a child. We don’t choose whom we get to fall in love with, do we? No. But then Baraka was called to the black arts, and Diane just wasn’t a part of that identity. None of us were.

But we understood.

What did you think of his poem, “Somebody Blew Up America?”

When I saw him in 2014, we laughed that it caused so much controversy…“his post as the official state poet laureate of New Jersey was dissolved… he had no regrets about writing the poem. Because the poem was true.” Imagine!

Censorship alive and well. So, tell me, how did our howling change anything?

I’d say it stirred conversation, made people question their reality, their freedom, their identity. Question authority. It woke them up.

Yes. Art is a reflection of the struggle. You know, when I returned from India in the 1960s, we were into a “new era of personal freedom, idealism, and experimentation…the interests of this new youth culture happened to coincide with [my] own ideas about the liberation of society… [we were] intent upon questioning authority in all forms, and believed that equal rights should be available finally to all people.” I was fortunate here, this was the progress, my love army for political protest. Yeah it was good, that collective movement. Our Beat wave hitting the shore.

Have you seen the film they made about you?

(Laughs) James Franco, I mean come on! It’s a bit distracting! “With the best will in the world is it ever possible for actors blessed with incomparable beauty to get under the skin of the homely characters they play?” No, I haven’t seen it, I couldn’t bear it.

So you don’t think an actor could represent you or your work in a film?

I am a man “with three thousand years of poetic history behind him… [the] enterprise was not simply to be about Allen Ginsberg, or English and North American literature, but about poetry itself, as history and lineage, as an identifying signature of our human engagement with civilization.”

But you can’t have art without the artist. Bill Morgan compares “the story of the Beats to a freight train, with [you] as the locomotive that pulled the others along like so many boxcars.

The Transcendentalist movement wouldn’t have been as tasty without Emerson, but the Beat ggeneration would never have existed without Ginsberg.”

Well, to counter that, “as Ferlinghetti put it succinctly, the Beat ggeneration was just Allen Ginsberg’s friends.” And, of course, you can have art without the artist. Art is life. Life is art. Write about it. You’ll see.

The Miles Davis album playing in the background, Kind of Blue, ends on its last note, and Charlie Parker’s Anthropology begins to be-bop around the dining room table. I feel an overwhelming sense of appreciation for having the luxury of time to meet with Ginsberg and touch on some of his reflections, to imagine conversation, to ask these hypothetical questions.

Anthropology seems fitting, as the quick study of this particular culture of artistry and human connection presents so much more to reflect on than can possibly be packed up into one document. Ginsberg is at most an influential and timeless literary figure, and was at the very least an interesting bird.

STUDY BREAK Crossword //

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Made by Cassie de Jong

ACROSS

DOWN

1: A person who is out to cause trouble on the internet.

1: Hot beverage made by pouring hot water over various leaves, herbs, and spices.

3: A piece of heavy machinery that is steam-powered, and used to move large amounts of soil or rock.

8: English pop-disco duo from the ‘80s featuring George Michael.

10: A place in which a corpse is buried.

12: Winter sport in which people slide down hills on two long narrow strips of wood, plastic, or metal.

13: 2009 film by James Cameron featuring blue aliens.

14: A small bed, meant for a baby or young child.

16: Organized military force.

17: A national park located in a desert in eastern California.

10

4: A deciduous tree whose oval-shaped leaves have jagged edges, and a point at the end.

5: A specialist work of writing on a single subject.

6: A species of flower that grow in bunches at the ends of their stems. They are most often white, but grow blue, red, pink, or purple, depending on the soil they are grown in.

7: A large container used for storing or holding liquids such as oil, wine, or toxic waste.

20: Form of currency from the Legend of Zelda video game series

9: The evidence or absence of an accused person at the time of an alleged offense.

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS:

11: Small, cute, furry, carnivorous mammals that are semiaquatic and highly social.

Across: 3: Barnacle 5: Soot 6: Sawdust 8: Flea 9: Neptune 10: Alps 11: Acetone 13: Deli 14: Ice Cream

Horoscope //

2: The fifth astrological sign of the zodiac.

Down: 1: Peru 2: Onomatopoeia 4: Achilles’ Heel 5: Stone Age 6: Shanghai 7: Dentist 12: Epic

Astrological mysteries rudely interpreted by Lady May

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 In a debate, you would rather change the subject than change your mind. Newsflash!

Unless you’re a vending machine, change is inevitable.

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 Leos are 73 per cent more likely to have to retake a course. But who’s counting? Don’t let statistics do a number on you.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 Your attention to detail is indeed a blessing, but sometimes you simply see things that aren’t there. You seem convinced that at some point in your life, you have been either abducted by aliens, or been the target of some government conspiracy.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 You have the cosmic ability of always knowing things about other people. This would be more helpful if your ability wasn’t exclusive to inconsequential details, like their favourite fast food place, or whether or not they sort their trash.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 Word on the street is Geminis are crazy good at keeping secrets, so I’ll share one of mine with you. All horoscopes are wrong except this one. Shhh, don’t tell!

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 You love astronomy, because you’ve visited most of the planets. You know what the locals are like on Venus, and how the food tastes on Pluto. No one ever seems to believe your tales though. Strange.

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 You are destined to accumulate untold amounts of wealth and fortune. Though this would be much better news if the road to riches wasn’t paved with homework.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 It might be best to avoid taking unnecessary gambles this week. That being said, your lucky numbers are 11, 17, 36, 41, and 62.

15: Large snakes that kill by constricting their prey.

16: A pointed tool used to punch small holes in surfaces.

18: A dark-coloured, viscous material created by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as coal or wood.

19: A highly alkaline solution used for washing, cleaning, and in the making of soap.

Illustrated by Amara Gelaude Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 Someone will invite you to a karaoke party this week. But be warned, if the party features Britney Spears CDs, and/or pecan pie, it’s a trap!

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 A foolish person listens to their heart. A wise person listens to their horoscope interpreter.

Bring me cookies.

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 Your future is hard to determine, but it would be easier if you brought me cookies. Monday, 12 noon, Cascade office, SUB room S2111. See you there. (White chocolate macadamia is my favourite.)

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 You love to be the life of the party.

Unfortunately, this means you sometimes find yourself making jokes at other people’s expense. Just remember that the person who laughs last is laughing at you.

CULTURE

Cassie de Jong — Culture Editor culture@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

The Reach Gallery //

Massive exhibition opening takes local art community by storm The Reach Gallery Museum kicks off its 10th anniversary year with its most ambitious collection of exhibitions yet CASSIE DE JONG CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR

The Reach Gallery Museum held the opening reception for its six new winter and spring exhibitions last Thursday, Jan. 18.

As they are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, it is fitting that this could be one of their most ambitious and diverse series of exhibitions yet. Mediums presented include sculpture, audio, video, painting, and much more.

The six projects introduced at last Thursday’s event were: Touch by Marjatta Itkonen, The Projectionist by Mark Neufeld, Salt Water Skin Boats by Erica Grimm, and Search by Image by UFV visual arts professor Christopher Friesen. Additionally, The Reach hosted the first Art on Demand exhibition of the year, curated by Kendra Anderson, and the introduction of The Reach’s new Community Art Space studio, which currently features an exhibition by the Abbotsford Photo Arts Club (APAC).

Each of the exhibit’s artists are connected to the Fraser Valley, yet each artist’s work is inherently different. Laura Schneider, executive director and curator at The Reach, feels that despite this, “When taken together, [the artwork] makes us more aware of what it means to visit an art gallery, and consider how that experience differs from other aesthetic experiences that we might have in our lives.”

Schneider introduced the artists one by one, and asked them to come forward and speak about their respective exhibitions.

The first artist to speak was Abbotsfordbased artist and associate professor in the School of Arts, Media, and Culture at Trinity Western University, Erica Grimm.

For the past several years, she has worked on a body of work that discusses the connection humans have with the ocean. Salt Water Skin Boats uses sensory experience to convey the seriousness of the current crisis regarding our oceans. With the help of fellow artists Tracie Stewart and Sheena Anderson, Grimm transformed the gallery space into a wondrous and spellbinding environment that inspires a reflection on ocean changes.

Grimm commented on how much human activity has chemically altered the ocean. “If we were talking about our bodies chemically changing, or our children’s bodies, we would be taking them to the

emergency room.”

She added that humanity has a responsibility to take action: “Our global response will be the biggest thing the global community has ever had to achieve.”

Schneider encouraged reception attendees to return to the gallery at a quieter time. Though the large crowd was appreciated, the audible aspect of Salt Water Skin Boats was lost in all the voices and excitement. The audio truly completes the piece, so attendees could not experience the full effect of the installation at the reception.

The second artist was Mark Neufeld, who is originally from the Fraser Valley but currently teaches at the University of Manitoba School of Art. The Projectionist is part of his ongoing series of exhibitions which includes paintings and found objects within the same space. Both are connected through performance pieces, which will take place several times at The Reach during this exhibition.

Neufeld’s project considers how objects relate to one another. Neufeld spent the week before the opening tailoring his project to be specific to Abbotsford. With the assistance of the curator of historical collections at The Reach, he incorporated objects from the city’s past into the installation.

The third artist to speak was Chris Friesen. Friesen is an artist from Langley and teaches at the University of the Fraser Valley in the visual arts department. Search

by Image is a body of work in which Friesen connects the viewer’s experience of the paintings to the images encountered daily, online and through social media. The series is based off of paintings by 19th-century artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who is known for his landscape paintings which have unfortunately been copied and forged numerous times. Electronic devices and digital manipulation have had a huge impact on the authenticity and ownership of art. It’s now easier than ever to create a forgery.

One of the goals in Friesen’s project was to see if, during a Google search, his work would come up alongside Corot’s. “I want my audience to be engaged enough to take pictures and share them on different social media platforms.” Online, the Google algorithm may see the two artists’ paintings as similar. But viewers of this series will understand differences between the physical painting and how it exists online, especial-

Art lovers mingle at The Reach’s latest gallery exhibition. (Cassie de Jong/The Cascade)

ly if they stand in front of the piece.

Next, Schneider introduced Marjatta Itkonen, a Finnish-Canadian artist from Mission, B.C. Itkonen’s project Touch consists of figurative sculptures made out of brown paper. Schneider was drawn to her work partially due to Itkonen’s acute level of proficiency in this unusual medium.

Her simple materials create a representation of the human form. It resonated well with her subject matter as she spoke about gender, familial relationships, immigration, memory, and loss.

The Reach was also celebrating the first Art on Demand exhibition of 2018. Curated by Kendra Anderson, it displays works

by Joy Kinna in the atrium gallery. Art on Demand is part of the Emerge program at the gallery. The program is designed to support artists and professionals in the Fraser Valley between the ages of 18 and 35.

Anderson said she thoroughly enjoyed her experience working with the Emerge program.

“This experience has taught me how to not only be a better curatorial writer, but also how to put together a show from start to finish,” she said. “It is something I could not have learned simply from reading a book, or attending a lecture.”

This year, The Reach launched a community art space in one of its studio rooms.

Through an application-based program, community arts groups now have the opportunity to show their work all year round in their own space. The APAC holds the honour of being the first to produce such an exhibition, which opened alongside the aforementioned projects.

The Winter/Spring Exhibitions Opening Reception was one of the most well-attended events The Reach has seen. During the opening speech, Mayor Henry Braun mentioned that it was good to see so many young faces at the exhibition.

The current exhibitions will be on display until May 7, 2018.

Not all is what it seems… a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Drama

By

Abbotsford Community Arts Addition

JAN 26 – FEB 10

John Patrick Shanley

“An eloquent and provocative investigation of truth and consequences. A gripping mystery, tightly written.” ~ Time Out NY

WWW.GALLERY7THEATRE.COM Produced by special arrangements with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

11

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Lecture //

Valley tech talk The local tech industry may be bigger than you think, and they’re hiring PAUL OKANO CONTRIBUTOR

It’s a Tuesday afternoon, 30 odd students, staff, and faculty sit in a classroom. After a brief introduction, a man walks to the front of the room and begins speaking. “Does anybody know what that is?” A slide with a picture of the Yellow Pages appears on the screen. “Put your hand up if you know what that is; how many of you have used it in the last six months?” All the raised hands are lowered. “How many people know what that is?” A picture of the Google search bar is displayed. “How many of you have used it in the last 24 hours?” All hands go up.

Emerging technologies are changing the world. Every day, you seem to hear about another tech startup set on disrupting the status quo. Established companies, if they don’t already have a strong IT sector, are for the most part trying to keep up the pace.

On January 16 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in room B121 on the Abbotsford campus, UFV hosted a tech panel featuring local tech businesses, and UFV’s chief information officer (CIO), Darin Lee. The panelists of the afternoon included Colin Schmidt of Chilliwack-based business Cnawlece Incorporated, Cary Blackburn of Coronation Internet Marketing Ltd, and Greg Dyck, CIO of Prospera Credit Union. The panel was organized to allow local businesses to talk to UFV students about what they’re looking for in potential hires, as well as to facilitate further cooperation and partnership with faculty, administration, and staff.

Colin Schmidt talked about the developments in the Fraser Valley’s tech sector in the last two years, citing the Sumas Regional Consortium for High Tech, a local non-profit offering many resources for tech startups. Additionally, in March,

Chilliwack’s first Hackathon was hosted.

“Compared to a couple of years ago, today is a really good time to start a tech company in the Fraser Valley,” Schmidt said. “We have really good support for you, and there are a lot of mentors who have really good experience who are just itching to help you.”

Panelists noted that in tandem with technical ability, many soft skills are still needed in order to be a good hire.

“Understand it’s one thing to be able to type the code, it’s quite another to be able to wrap your head around the customer’s requirements, [and] being able to understand their business,” Schmidt said. “[Get] your business education up a notch, instead of just being a coder.”

Dyke stated how Prospera had hired quite a few of the UFV students who worked in the IT department via the Coding Bridging program.

“What are the key attributes of a tech employee? Customer focus,” said Dyke.

“Just because you’re in a back office writing code, doesn’t mean you’re not still there for the customer. It’s such a critical part of any tech job.”

Whether simply troubleshooting a computer, or preventing future breaches of UFV’s security information, CIO Lee noted particular skills he looks for in potential employees.

“Problem solving — increasingly we’re relying on our staff to take a problem from ticket creation all the way to solution,” he said. “We’re starting to hire co-ops. So we’ve hired two co-ops this last year, and we’re looking to continue that. We’re [also] working on hiring students for auxiliary positions, and part time positions. There’s opportunities.”

Cascade Events Calendar January - February

Note: Some of these events require tickets, most are on Facebook.

If something catches your eye, take to the internet for more details.

24 25

The Holocaust, Memory & Canada Today: Panel Discussion @ Room B121 (Abbotsford Campus), 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

The Holocaust, Memory & Canada Today: Photo Exhibition @ UFV International Global Lounge, Room B223 (Abbotsford Campus), 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

TEDx Chilliwack @ Cottonwood 4 Cinemas (Chilliwack), 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Trevor McDonald: Piano & Vocals @ The Wellington Social House (Chilliwack), 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Tiger Moon @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 6:00 - 11:30 p.m.

26

2018 Fraser Valley Distillery Festival @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 7:00 10:00 p.m.

Loans, Dead Soft, Ian Fildes, and Guests @ Captains Cabin Pub (Mission), 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Casinos with The Sylvia Platters and The Whiskeyjays @ The Stage in Mission, 7:00 - 11:59 p.m.

Opening Night: Doubt @ Abbotsford Arts Centre, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

27

Roots and Blues Night with Blue Moon Marquee @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

31

President’s Leadership Lecture Series @ UFV Abbotsford Student Union Building, Evered Hall, 4:30

01

Stand Up Comedy Night @ The Stage in Mission, 8:00 - 11:59 p.m.

TEDx Chilliwack @ Cottonwood 4 Cinemas (Chilliwack), 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Trevor McDonald: Piano & Vocals @ The Wellington Social House (Chilliwack), 6:30- 9:30 p.m.

Logan and Nathan @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

02 12

Switchcraft @ Captains Cabin Pub (Mission), 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Byrd Dawg and the Vintage Electric Band @ G.W. Graham Theatre (Chilliwack), 7:30 - 10:00 p.m.

03

Chicken-Like Birds @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

50s Sock Hop Dance Party @ The Stage in Mission, 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

The Jupiter Rebellion: A Zach Zultana Adventure @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.

05

06

Listen Write Now @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 p.m.

Play: Misery @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.

10

Whisky and the Wailin’ Witch @ Replay Boardshop (Abbotsford), 7:00 10:00 p.m.

11

Rock, Paper & Scissor Tournament @ Townhall Public House (Abbotsford),10:00 - 11:00 p.m.

12 14 15 16

Old Dominion @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Play: Cinderella @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Play: Anastasia @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 7:30 - 10:00 p.m.

Just For You: A Never-ending Storybook of Love @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Brian O’Brien @ Tractorgrease Cafe (Chilliwack), 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

At The Movies: The Bergmann Duo @ Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018 If we parked our relatively measly snowball in a low Earth orbit of 300 kilometers, it would lie right on the border of being a pinpoint and having some visible size, appearing slightly larger than Venus. Bummer — I want something big. If we grabbed all those glaciers off of Greenland, and balled them up, we could do much better. In fact, nearly 3,000,000 cubic kilometres of ice on the poorly named Greenland, if balled up and thrown into orbit, would briefly appear as a sphere 50 times wider than the moon! It would take up about as much of your vision as a piece of paper does, held at arm’s length, except it’s round and way

Use your photo voice to give your opinion

Column //

about UFV! Come join us at the orientation!

Tuesday, February 6th, 2018 1 to 2 pm, room B121

Pizza and pop will be provided!

RSVP or for more info contact Tracy at (604) 504-7441 local 4744 OR email institutional.research@ufv.ca

Kin Korner

The psychological and physiological benefits of being exposed to nature SARA HAMILTON & LIAM MEEHAN CONTRIBUTORS

UFV Institutional Research and Planning is looking for YOU to participate in a research study! The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of your perception of UFV’s campus environment and campus life.

https://ufv.ca/irp

Column //

Physics and Folly

Snowmageddon MIKE FRIESEN CONTRIBUTOR

Physics and Folly applies real world science to familiar and fantastic situations.

Discover the answers no one has heard, to the questions no one ever asked.

I think everyone here in the Fraser Valley has already had enough of this winter, but according to my calendar, we’re still less than a third of the way in. It’s not the actual snow I mind — it’s the unfortunate fact that it happens to be on the roadways I need to use.

So, let’s talk about snow removal. According to a 2008 Chilliwack transportation report, the city of Chilliwack has about 1000 lane-kilometres of road. A lane-kilometre is one lane of one road for one kilometer. (If there were awards for straightforward but boring names for things, highway engineers would take the cake.)

Why not look at Abbotsford, you may ask?

The answer is twofold. One, I live in Chilliwack. Two, Chilliwack seems to be eternally cursed with twice as much winter as Abbotsford, despite sitting right next to it.

If Chilliwack receives a foot of snow (which, I will pointedly point out, we’ve already had — twice) the pure volume of snow on our roads comes to a staggering 27,000,000 cubic feet. Now I can shovel snow with the best of them, but thank goodness for snow plows.

If the plows were to collect all that snow, and make a nice big snowball out of it, it would stand a mighty 110 metres tall and weigh 150,000 tonnes. The weight of the top of the snowball would certainly crush the bottom into a dense, icy snow called firn — which, as Wikipedia tells me, is not to be confused with fern, the type of plant.

I think I would be confused indeed if our giant ball of snow, crushing itself under its immense weight, transmogrified into a hundred thousand tonnes of spore-producing vascular plants.

But I think all things considered, having a snow sphere 110 metres in diameter seems a little... lame. Admittedly, we’re just collecting this from Chilliwack roads, but to compare us to Greenland (note the name — maybe they thought they were getting the other type of firn), the ice sheet averages over two kilometres thick.

cooler.

I say briefly because the Greenland snowball would shred itself into clumps of constituent million billion billion (yes, that number is accurate) pretty snowflakes due to the extreme tidal forces of its tight orbit. If we parked the Greenland snowball far enough away that it wouldn’t tear itself apart — about 20,000 kilometres above the blue/green marble’s surface, it would still look (checks calculations) no bigger than the moon. Darn. But hey — at least the old Greenland land mass could finally live up to its name.

Kin Korner is a health and wellness column by the students of Joanna Sheppard’s Kinesiology 360 class. Check back every week for a wide variety of tips and tricks on how to stay sane as a student in an insane world.

Exposure to nature has significant psychological benefits for an individual’s overall well-being. These include a more positive mood, increased ability to concentrate, restored directed attention, improved general mental health, enhanced academic and workplace performance, and decreased stress and anxiety levels.

Each of these outcomes are mentally restorative, causing individuals to be more satisfied with their lives. This all results from exposure to outdoor environments, particularly due to its evidently strong “healing power.”

Going for a walk (or participating in outdoor activities in nature of any kind) leads to more positive effects on mood and cognition than simply looking at pictures of nature does. According to scholars Logan and Selhub from the academic journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine, this is because less energy is expended on efforts to filter out non-pertinent stimuli in nature. Meaning, individuals have fewer distractions from the outside world when on a walk in nature, which allows more time for mindfulness.

Viewing nature scenes activates our parasympathetic nervous system in ways that reduce stress and autonomic arousal because of our innate connection to the natural world, according to scholars Bratman, Daily, Levy, and Gross from Landscape And Urban Planning. When stress and anxiety levels are decreased, people tend to have an increase in positive mood.

Research also states that natural environments invoke a different sort of attention from people. The sense of fascination and “being away” results in the replenishing of directed attention, because people are less heavily taxed in

these alternative environments. This is why nature is such a powerful tool for enhancing cognitive performance for tests that involve memory and attention.

Aside from psychological benefits, it is important to consider the tangible physiological benefits of spending time in nature. Treating the body with nature will in turn aid the mind, as the two are connected. Visiting your local park, or going out for a hike, can have positive effects on your body. According to research by M. Moore of New Scientist, individuals had lower blood pressure, and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, when they took country walks than when they walked city streets. This means it is important to get out and visit areas that have had less human activity.

Furthermore, time spent in nature has been tied to increases in immuneboosting killer T cells in women with breast cancer. Perhaps the fight against other types of cancer would see benefits from nature as well. With cancer being as prevalent as it currently is in Western societies, it is important to consider all areas of treatment.

People are spending less and less time in nature. Because of this we miss out on the numerous benefits outlined above.

With urbanization, the problem will only worsen. Future generations need to be considered, or they will miss out on the benefits of spending time in nature, perhaps may even be developmentally impaired.

These ideas are echoed by researchers from Social and Behavioural Sciences, who state: “The past few decades have shown that the opportunity for children to have a direct connection with nature and outdoor environment has declined due to rapid urbanization. Children are facing various physical and mental health problems as consequences from this phenomenon.” It is important that the benefits of spending time in nature be shared for our own sake, and the sake of health education for future generations.

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ARTS

Martin Castro — Arts Editor

arts@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Netflix Review //

CHARTS 1

Nap Eyes Every Time the Feeling (single)

SHUFFLE AARON LEVY

3

Faith Healer Try ;-)

4

Necking Meditation Tape

Ke$ha — “Praying”

5

Moses Sumney Aromanticism

6

Shrouded Amps World Well Lost

7

Leah Abramson Song For A Lost Pod

8

Jlin Black Origami

9

Greg Sover Alanis wrote this song, supSongs of a Renegade posedly, about Canadian and

Frankie Cosmos Jesse (single)

10

Hubbo True Say

11

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Gumboot Soup

12

John Welsh Vamonos Mi Chica

13

Sophie Milman In the Moonlight

14

Kim Gray Compulsion

15

Suuns Watch You, Watch Me (Single)

16

Lydia Ainsworth Darling of the Afterglow

17

Porches The House

18

Weaves Wide Open

19

Jason Buie Driftin’ Heart

20

St. Vincent MASSEDUCTION

14

Rotten pulls the curtain aside on the food industry

SOCIAL RUCKUS WARRIOR

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy continues to encourage us to re-evaluate our positions, and unpack our privilege both in the workplace and in our home lives.

2

What’s for dinner?

Corruption.

Why aren’t we hearing more of this song in the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns? Should this not be the anthem for the entire movement? A song about professional suppression at the hands of a privileged and powerful man, and the gendered violence that goes along with it.

Alanis Morissette — “You Oughta Know”

former Full House (ORIGINAL VERSION) star Dave Coulier, otherwise known as Uncle Joey.

In the early ‘90s, Coulier had an extra-marital affair with Alanis, and Alanis apparently was somewhat less pleased with him than he who’s referenced in “Hands Clean.”

Nicki Minaj ft. Chris Brown, Drake, and Lil Wayne - “Only”

Previously shuffled, I feel like the Lil Wayne verse that serves as the finale to this dark, starstudded recording, is super insulting to Nicki Minaj. I won’t reprint the line here, but the opening of his turn is just the most overreaching and rude thing that he could say.

The Kingsmen — “Louie, Louie” A song whose intelligible lyrics mirror most of our feelings regarding the Louis C.K. revelations that came out late last year; Louie, we’ve gotta go. We can no longer support you, and it makes us scream ai, ai, ai! For shame! Let’s engage in the conversation, everyone, please.

JEN KLASSEN CONTRIBUTOR

Corruption, deceit, greed — it’s not reserved for Wall Street; welcome to the food industry.

Netflix’s Rotten, a six-part documentary series, explores aspects of the food industry, including the story behind honey, peanuts, garlic, chicken, milk, and cod. Throughout each episode, the crew brings light to various schemes and crimes in particular areas of the production of these products.

We see the frustration of bee workers, fighting with regulatory standards placed with the aim of creating a “pure” product; we watch as a teen fights for her life because there were peanuts in a meal she was promised was nut free; we root for the small garlic farmer, who just wants to see people like himself have a fighting chance to make it in the market; and we grieve over the loss of so many chickens, who burn because of a company’s greed.

I found the documentary well-

executed, and it hooked my attention by opening each of its segments in the style of a true-crime detective anthology. It exposed many horrible sides of the food world, and gives viewers insight into behind-the-scenes scandals.

There is a lot of beneficial information in this documentary.

It shows that there is more to the food world than we usually see, and it is eye-opening to know just how entangled commerce and corporations are with what we eat. It really causes the viewer to take pause, and to comprehend just how important it is to think critically about where the food lining your cupboards comes from.

Increasingly, society is shifting its focus toward what we consume, how it’s cared for, and where it comes from. I always love shopping in the “local” section of my grocery store. I try to buy my produce from the plethora of farms we have in the area too. I long to see the “little guy” have a fighting chance, especially among the push for local and sus-

tainable.

However, just because sourcing local food is in vogue doesn’t mean it’s always the most financially savvy option. Rotten emphasizes that. In order to halt the corruption rampant in the food industry, turning to local organic sources may be the better option, since big companies are trying to circumvent and bend the law to meet demand by being dishonest about where their food comes from and what’s actually in it.

So, if you’d enjoy a little documentary to take your mind off the homework piling up on your desk, I would highly advise watching Rotten. I would suggest doing it on an empty stomach, because after watching some of it, you won’t particularly want to eat. Bingewatch at your own risk; Rotten may kickstart the best diet you ever participate in.

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Album Review //

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club inches closer towards the mundane on Wrong Creatures

STEVEN SPROTT CONTRIBUTOR

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is one of those bands that I keep forgetting about. But they put out a new album, and therefore I feel I must remember them. I was glad to remember when I relistened to their first album — one foot in my nostalgic notions of the ‘90s, and one in the cool 2000s. Someone might apply

labels such as garage, shoegaze, grunge, or psychedelic, but to me they’ve always been that pleasantly grooving band that I ought to throw on a playlist before leaving on a road-trip.

The band’s previous album, 2013’s Specter at the Feast, felt vivid and genuine. It was more carefully crafted than many of its predecessors, but it wasn’t a masterpiece. It was the kind of thing your mind could pleasantly drift along with on a long drive after the first thrilling albums you picked for the occasion start to feel a little ironic, but you’re not yet ready for something acoustic or ambient or the inevitable “can we just listen to nothing for a while?”

But what does BRMC want to convey on Wrong Creatures? Who do they want to be in 2018? Pretty much the same thing, it seems; but with yet more refinement. The album starts with an alluring buildup of warlike drums, and a sludgy atmosphere that’s vague enough to make you think this could go anywhere. Where will it go? But then it just transitions into the expected grooves and slurred vocals.

The guitar tone in the third track “King of Bores,” for instance, is just… nice. Dirty bass is layered over synthesizer, which creeps around underneath, and morphs into prominence, reminding us briefly that we’ve assimilated a lot of the ‘80s into our day. This would make a great dance track. It is one of two moments that I wish were echoed throughout the album.

But Wrong Creatures doesn’t sound very “‘80s” on the whole. The next track, “Haunt,” is languishing, dreamy, and fluid — listen for when the bass

awakes, and starts rolling around like a sea monster coming out of sleep. “Question of Faith” is a nice half-point shift — a stomping, hazy restart, like flipping over to side-B. “Circus Bazooka” too, is a shift — an unexpected one. It is playful, and very reminiscent of ‘60s psychedelia with its wonky melodies and organ. It makes you imagine a carefree cynic half-skipping absentmindedly down a city street, singing to himself — with a circus tent in the distant field. Well, that is what I picture anyway. The point is that the track is vivid and engaging. This is the second moment that I wish wasn’t an anomaly.

Some parts of the album really prick up your ears, especially in the beginning, but for the most part it just drifts along. The bulk of the record communicates a comforting, insulating sort of feeling, and sometimes you can feel that encapsulating into a “stoner rock” feeling — all good things when driving, by the way. However, this means that in future listens, I will probably skip some songs. They are all decent songs, carefully coloured and clothed, and tastefully produced, but lacking a stronger core.

So, what place does this hold in the road-trip rotation? Probably the same place as their last album: lazy, groovy middle ground. Honestly, I will probably forget about BRMC again. But that doesn’t mean you have to. I can say, at least, that if you asked me to put on a BRMC album it would be either their debut or this one. They’re doing their thing, and it’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, it’s pretty good. Give it a go.

Board Game Review //

Backstab your friends in Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate JEFF MIJO

OPINION EDITOR

You don’t get many opportunities to ask your friends whether they want you to bite them, because you just got bitten by a wererat, and maybe they want to as well, but Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate sure is one of them. The new board game is a remake and reskin of Betrayal at House on the Hill, which has become something of a modern classic in the board game world since its release 14 years ago.

But while House has a team of three to six players exploring a haunted mansion to uncover secrets, treasures, and — unfortunately for them — monsters, this new spinoff transposes the action to the fantasy city of Baldur’s Gate, a popular Dungeons & Dragons locale, and host to multiple beloved PC role-playing games. The shift from modern to medieval hasn’t lessened the focus on horror, however: adventurers braving the streets and catacombs of Baldur’s Gate should expect to emerge physically and mentally scarred, if they emerge at all.

The game is built around exploration: each player moves their character (each character having varying levels of mastery at the game’s four attributes: speed,

might, sanity, and knowledge, as well as a unique character-specific ability) around a map, drawing new rooms from a deck to build the board as they go. Players all work cooperatively, but there’s an air of paranoia from the beginning, because everyone knows that eventually, inevitably, one player will betray the rest. Who it will be is unknown (it comes down to luck of the draw around the midpoint in the game), but nobody trips over themselves to share the beneficial treasure cards they discover with their fellow players too soon, preferring to hold onto them just in case.

Once the game reaches its turning point, and one player turns traitor, one of the game’s 50 random scenarios is selected, offering a specific storyline for that particular game, and two sets of rules and objectives: one for the traitor, and another for the remaining players. The different scenarios are varied, and represent a range of fantasy tropes, each with its own unique rules, and some with wildly different play styles.

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate shares some of the same weaknesses as the original Betrayal at House on the Hill, as is to be expected — the game is markedly better and more interesting in direct proportion to a larger number of participating players, ideally a full six. In addition, while its ba-

sic rules are relatively easy to pick up, each scenario (or “haunt,” as they’re called) offers unique rules which can be confusing even for experienced players. A laid-back group who can settle on a fair solution to a rules question will have much more fun than one who wants to debate the correct interpretation.

That said, Baldur’s Gate does make some improvements on the original House formula. The game board is divided up into two “layers” — the city streets/buildings, and the catacombs beneath. House had three: a basement, ground floor, and upper floor (as well as an attic in the game’s expansion, Widow’s Walk), which meant the game sometimes required a massive amount of table space, and became a confusing maze. In addition, the new setting freshens things up for those getting tired of exploring the same haunted house with the same spooky omens cropping up on a regular basis. Of course, Baldur’s Gate will become familiar as well, but it offers a change of pace, and an alternate option.

The game’s cooperative nature, combined with the paranoia of the traitor, lead to a tense but relatively non-competitive atmosphere compared to most board games. Sure, it becomes everyone versus one player, but there’s a sense that the player had bad luck, and was put there by the

game, and it could easily have been anyone else, so it’s hard to take it too personally.

The pacing is also immaculate: games almost uniformly take within 20 minutes of an hour one way or the other, and rarely slow down to drag (though I must confess, I haven’t yet tried the majority of the 50 scenarios — some of House’s did vary in quality, and no doubt Baldur’s Gate’s do as well), with the potential for games to come down to a single roll of a die.

While the Dungeons & Dragons flavour may not appeal to as broad of an audience as a haunted house, D&D fans will certainly appreciate lots of references to classic elements of the roleplaying game (as well as the Baldur’s Gate computer games), and the addition of unique classes and small backstories for each character are a nice nod towards the roleplaying potential, even if the rules aren’t explicit about it.

If you feel like spending an evening trapped in a terrifying mansion with your friends waiting for one to stab you in the back, Betrayal at House on the Hill is a good time. But if you’d prefer to spend it travelling through taverns and catacombs looking for the Apparatus of Kwalish, and running from mind flayers (and then getting blasted in the back by a spell from one of your friends), give Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate a look.

15

A student asked, “Where will I find truth?”

The teacher answered, “You must look within.”

“But I am without

.”

Astonished by the student’s wisdom, the teacher searched for a copy.

Finding none, he contemplated “without.”

At that moment, the teacher knew enlightenment .