The Cascade Vol. 23 No. 2

Vol. 23 Issue 2

January 14, 2015 to January 20, 2015

1989 since 1993

“I probably won’t go”

Clubs and student associations struggle to attract members p. 10-11

ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS

News

Briefs University of Calgary bans student union slates CALGARY — The Gauntlet reports that the University of Calgary’s Student Legislative Council (SLC) has banned slates. Where two or more candidates could run in student union elections together, the SLC has since amended that policy. Students can now only run independently, which means candidates can’t appear on other students’ promotional materials or share campaign funding. However, some students note that running in slates allow for shared responsibilities and encourage students to run in teams. Additionally, in changing the election bylaws the SLC is also tabling a discussion about a student union representative as a speaker of the SLC — however some note that this is a conflict of interest.

Auditor general suggests rethinking Memorial University tuition freeze ST. JOHN’S — The Muse reports that in a recent report, Auditor General Terry Paddon noted that because Memorial University’s student population from Newfoundland and Labrador has decreased, the government funding is benefitting out-of-province students.

Paddon suggested there be a system where students from outside the province pay more — similar to the way international students pay tuition.

However, students disagree — some note that because Newfoundland and Labrador have a smaller youth population, appealing to out-of-province and international students is beneficial.

A provincial survey states that 43 per cent of students remain in the province two years after university.

Brand management class becomes visual hybrid course

CHILLIWACK — Quizam Media Corporation is sponsoring a hybrid version of BUS 329, Brand Identity Management.

Instead of three-hour classes, students attend two-hour classes and are assigned ontrackTV videos to watch independently. The videos are worth 30 per cent of the students’ final grade, and they will be able to present portfolios to the company by the end of the semester. The Cascade will continue to cover this story in the coming weeks.

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News

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Opinion

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Culture

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Arts in Review

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Sports & Health

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Fraser Valley community supports UFV peace and conflict studies

A new peace and conflicts major and minor awaits approval, but the government is not contributing extra funding.

Can violence silence satirists?

The attacks in Paris keep the cycle of violence turning. Alex Rake wonders what’s accomplished.

Healing through art Vanessa Broadbent reviews the Reach Gallery Museum’s new exhibition, which tackles 100 years of loss in a stark documentation of the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada.

An eerie read Reviewer Anthony Biondi writes that if Southern Reach were a recipe of genres, it would be three parts horror, two parts psychological thriller, three parts sci-fi, one part linguistics, and two parts literary fiction. Check out his review on the whole trilogy.

Bacon, butter, and a healthier you

Looking for a diet change that encourages more bacon, more fat, and more overall goodness? Look no further. Ekaterina Marenkov tells us all about one man’s successful journey of losing weight by increasing his fat intake.

UFV’s Institutional Learning Outcomes aren’t all that smart KATIE STOBBART

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

So, what are ILOs? Essentially, they are nine goals the university has set for you, called Institutional Learning Outcomes. Despite the expectation students will meet said goals, I have a feeling most of us couldn’t name one off the top of our heads.

However, it’s not a hard guessing game, since UFV’s ILOs are about as vaguely applicable as horoscopes, and I imagine measuring the success or failure of students to meet them is a bit like astrology.

In short, they’re a collection of empty buzzwords.

I remember being instructed in middle or high school on how to set “SMART” goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. While I’ve never liked having The Way It Must Be Done fed to me with a spoonful of clever acronyms, I guess my SMART goals have seen better results than my stupid ones.

That said, catchy slogans and easy-to-regurgitate acronyms usually act as a kite string for something that desperately needs anchorage: that is, some-

thing insubstantial and flighty.

UFV’s ILOs are as follows: •Demonstrate information competency • Analyze critically and imaginatively •Use skills and knowledge proficiently •Initiate inquiries and develop solutions to problems •Communicate effectively •Pursue self-motivated and self-reflected learning •Engage in collaborative leadership •Engage in respectful and professional practices •Contribute regionally and globally Each is paired with an equally vague paragraph or so clarifying what graduates should do to meet these outcomes. To be fair, they sound nice; they’re the kinds of qualities that could at least sort of apply to most graduates of any university. But that’s also the problem.

If we’re thinking in terms of SMART goals, these aren’t specific, they’re not really measurable, they might be achievable, they are relevant since they all address learning in some way, and they’re bound to the amount of time each graduate takes to

finish his or her program. Finally, they can all be summed up in about five words: Acquire and use knowledge effectively.

Coming up with a short-slogan kite string instead of a ninecommandments kite rope might have saved the university some time. But the ILOs have caught on, and they’re being used as the foundation for other empty initiatives. Back in April 2013 for example, Jody Gordon told The Cascade about the benefits of the then fairly recent ILOs when it came to the new co-curricular record (CCR) project.

“A lot of schools that launch [the] co-curricular [record] spend a year and a half just developing learning outcomes,” she said, noting that UFV was a step ahead by already having ILOs in place (“Co-curricular record coming to UFV this spring,” April 3, 2013).

I don’t know what kind of price tag a year and a half of development carries, but I don’t imagine it’s cheap, and we’ve essentially paid for busywork: a lot of time and energy and resources spent to say very little of actual value.

It’s not that prescribed learning outcomes can’t be useful.

Volume 23 · Issue 2 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

News Editor michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular

Production Assistant shyanne@ufvcascade.ca Shyanne Schedel

News Editor megan@ufvcascade.ca Megan Lambert

Production Assistant eugene@ufvcascade.ca Eugene Kulaga

Editor-in-Chief katie@ufvcascade.ca Katie Stobbart

Opinion Editor alex@ufvcascade.ca Alex Rake Culture Editor nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt

News Writer vanessa@ufvcascade.ca Vanessa Broadbent Varsity Writer nathan@ufvcascade.ca Nathan Hutton

Arts in Review Editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt

Arts and Culture Writer martin@ufvcascade.ca Martin Castro

Sports Editor catherine@ufvcascade.ca Catherine Stewart

Advertising Representative jennifer@ufvcascade.ca Jennifer Trithardt-Tufts

Video Editor mitch@ufvcascade.ca Mitch Huttema Production and Design Editor anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi

Contributors Simon Grant, Marissa Harder, Sean Holden, Charlynn Jelier, Ekaterina Marenkov, Riley Nowlan, and Jasmin Sprangers.

Managing Editor valerie@ufvcascade.ca Valerie Franklin Director of Business Development joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson Webmaster ashley@ufvcascade.ca Ashley Mussbacher Copy Editor kodie@ufvcascade.ca Kodie Cherrille

Cover image: Anthony Biondi

In the public school system, for example, where a number of schools are required to deliver the same standard, learning outcomes serve as a set of criteria ensuring everyone knows what they’re supposed to impart. But the template doesn’t translate well into the context of a university. Rather than many places trying to deliver one standard outcome, we have one place trying to offer varied outcomes. The learning outcomes at a university should be as varied as the number of programs it offers; in fact, one could argue they should vary by its number of students, since we all have individual goals and aim to acquire different sets of skills and knowledge from our post-secondary experiences.

Most of UFV’s ILOs seem like no-brainers: “use knowledge and skills proficiently,” and “communicate effectively.” If that needs to be said, we’ve got a big problem: if not that, what are we doing here?

Hopefully students are going to come to UFV and learn, then leave and use what they’ve learned in some productive way.

But there’s already a perfectly good label for that: “university.”

Printed By International Web exPress The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It provides a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a circulation of 1500 and is distributed at UFV campuses and throughout Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The Cascade is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative of over 50 university and college newspapers from Victoria to St. John’s. The Cascade follows the CUP ethical policy concerning material of a prejudicial or oppressive nature.

Submissions are preferred in electronic format through e-mail. Please send submissions in “.txt” or “.doc” format only.

Articles and letters to the editor must be typed. 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. The writer’s name and student number must be submitted with each submission. Letters to the editor must be under 250 words if intended for print. Only one letter to the editor per writer in any given edition.

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, Cascade staff and collective, or associated members.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS

Prof Talks

Sociology department head Martha Dow breaks tradition with student-centred learning contracts ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

UFV has been promoting a sense of history around campus during its 40th anniversary celebrations from the past year. Though the anniversary is ending, there’s a lot more to explore. At The Cascade, we’re going to take a slightly different approach from milestones and lists of past presidents and present a series of oral histories through the people best qualified to talk about what UFV has been like over the course of its first few decades, and as it looks to change for the better in the future: its professors. Each week, we’ll interview a professor from a different department, asking them what UFV was like before it was UFV, and if and how things will continue to change here.

How long have you been with UFV? Twenty years, since 1995.

Have you worked at any other schools?

I started teaching at the University of Western Ontario, and I’ve taught at UBC and at Douglas College.

In what ways has UFV changed?

It’s dramatically changed in terms of size, [and] in terms of our enrollments. Since I’ve been here it’s changed from a university college to a university, so it hasn’t had much of an impact on the courses, but certainly the legislation. It’s helped students applying to grad school and law school because the university college model isn’t very well understood, even in other parts of Canada.

Could you elaborate on the university college model?

I was schooled in Ontario so it was new to me as well, but we just changed our identity more than anything.

Have the students changed?

I worked in criminology before, [and] my understanding was that one of the things that the university-college model [did was] laddering, so you do the first two years at UFV and then go on to UBC or SFU. But in my experience, students didn’t do that as much as we might have thought.

How have you changed your approach to evaluation?

A few years ago I started giving students a portion of their grade — it varies from around 30 to 40 per cent — that they get to design. They get to decide how they’re evaluated based on my input and guidance. They fill out what I call a “learning contract.” It’s a template where they have to describe the evaluation component, and they have to give themselves a due date. They have to specify how [their project is] connected to the course content.

Then I have to ensure that it embodies the learning objectives of the course, and if it does then they can be as creative as they like.

It’s interesting. I think students have some anxiety over that, some angst, because we generally tell students what to

do. I am firm believer that students have an ability to engage to a greater extent and to a greater depth and with greater enthusiasm if they have greater control over how they’re learning and what they’re learning. And I’ve absolutely found that students do more work than they’re required to do, because they’re passionate about it, because they feel a greater responsibility to their project.

I’ve had students do art pieces, write poetry, short stories, rewrite fairytales incorporating concepts from the course, do photo essays, blogs, class presentations, and traditional research papers. The point is to encourage students to move out of their comfort zone in terms of their intellectual and emotional engagement with the course material.

One of the things I’ve found is students who don’t see themselves as artists or even creative are redefining what that means to them. I would argue that education should be profoundly embedded in creativity and passion. So this allows students to do that.

Do you think the learning contracts are easier to do in a class like sociology where you can apply the concepts to anything, as opposed to, say, biology?

I don’t know, because it’s not my subject matter, but I’ve certainly heard from enough people who are teaching a variety of subjects, who are teaching it in incredibly creative ways.

What is your opinion on usual methods of assessment, like examinations?

I think we can do better. I think we all make some efforts to do better. Certainly my learning contract is an effort to respond to different learning styles. But I also give midterms and finals.

Do you do this with all your courses?

I do it with some of my fourth-year courses, and with my second-year “Death and Dying” course.

Are you thinking of doing it for all your courses?

[I’ve used it for] a lot of my courses already. For me it’s a lot more work. Now I don’t have 35 papers coming in. From one student, instead of one paper, I might have two art pieces, a photo essay, [and] a research paper. It’s also important for me to have some variation as well. Different courses require different approaches to evaluation.

Do you learn something from your students when you have them do these learning contracts?

Absolutely. Some would argue it’s selfish on my part. I get to watch students be incredibly creative. I get to watch and engage with them in the content matter in a way that I didn’t imagine. So it’s an incredible gift to be able to bear witness to students becoming so intellectually excited about issues that they might not have grabbed onto if they hadn’t had this opportunity.

Image: Ashley Mussbacher / The Cascade

Dow has found creative alternatives to research papers for academic evaluations to be rewarding as a form of expression for students and as an educator.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Men in Dalhousie dentistry scandal to take separate classes as external investigation starts RACHEL WARD

The faculty group, in the statement, said it supports the external investigation in the form of a presidential task force and headed by University of Ottawa professor Constance Barkhouse. It wants a broader review, as well. “The President has clearly listened and responded, at least in part.”

CUP LABOUR BUREAU CHIEF

HALIFAX (CUP) — The Dalhousie University president announced Jan. 9 that 13 dentistry male students have been barred from attending regular classes. The students were members of a Facebook group in which some posted misogynistic and sexually explicit comments. The group was banned Monday from degreerequired clinical work.

“No woman who has been harmed by this will be sitting in a class next to one of the Facebook page members,” said President Richard Florizone in a press conference that afternoon.

Those men have been barred from regular classes, but may take classes remotely or in a separate on-campus classroom. When questioned, Florizone did not explain the logistics of this decision.

Florizone also announced the school has commissioned an external task force to assess the dentistry department’s culture and policy.

The revelations mid-December of misogynistic Facebook posts, sometimes naming female dentistry students, shook the Dalhousie community. Some expressed outrage through the social media hashtag #dalhousiehateswomen, a public statement and an online petition to expel the men, which almost 50,000 people signed.

The posts from the private Facebook group, 2015 DDS Gentlemen’s Club, were made public by the CBC and the Coast. They show male dentistry students voted on which female student to have “hate sex” with. Members also joked about getting women unconscious with chloroform or nitrous oxide, in order to “bang

Image: Nick Holland / The Watch

Dalhousie students congregating to protest the university’s response to a misogynist Facebook group. until stress is relieved,” and using a penis to “wean and convert lesbians and virgins into useful, productive members of society.” Several posts also named female students directly, according to these media reports.

One man not participating in restorative justice process The school is undertaking a restorative justice process, one of the informal options in the sexual harassment policy.

Fourteen women and 12 men are taking part, said Florizone at Friday’s press conference.

“I understand the thirteenth elected not to take part,” he said, refusing to explain further.

All men involved — including “the thirteenth” — will be assessed individually by an internal committee of dentistry professors called the Academic Standard Class Committee (ASCC). This is meant, according the Dalhousie website, to determine whether the students meet professional standards.

At the press conference, Florizone confirmed the Royal College of Dental Surgeons

of Ontario had asked for the names of the 13 to be released, which Florizone refused, citing privacy reasons. Several other provincial organizations have joined the call by speaking with media outlets.

In the press conference on Jan. 9, Florizone said he did not know how many of 14 women in the restorative justice process had been named on the Facebook page. Four dentistry students wrote a letter three days earlier to say they disapproved of the process and felt pressured into participating.

Florizone released a statement saying the school is dedicated to just process. He echoed that in this latest development.

“We care about everyone who has been harmed in this, even if they haven’t chosen to take part,” said Florizone.

“What we’re hoping is that some of the other measures we’ve announced today, and this week — the suspension, the work of the ASCC, the broader task force — starts to meet some of their needs just as well.”

Faculty complaint yet to be addressed

The school has yet to respond to a formal complaint filed Dec. 21 by four faculty members, Francoise Baylis, Jocelyn Downie, Brian Noble and Jacqueline Warwick. The group said it wants a formal investigation through the Student Code of Conduct as the women impacted can remain anonymous and the findings — including a clear decision on guilt — will be made public. Florizone said the school is “working hard on” responding and will make another announcement. “We are still waiting,” said the group in a statement Jan. 9.

The faculty group said it worries about the lack of a formal investigation to identify those involved, beyond simply saying 13 students were members. It also said nothing has been done to protect the reputations of male students not involved but about to graduate.

“What steps will the University take to ensure that all men who were involved in the Facebook group are identified and held accountable through various institutional processes?”

University commissions external task force Barkhouse will lead the Task Force on Misogyny, Sexism and Homophobia in Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry, a group of herself and two other members, which she will chose with the president. Dalhousie chose Barkhouse, said the release, because of her extensive background working on gender equality.

The investigation will review the dentistry school only, by considering documents belonging to the university, interviews with people involved and submissions from dentistry students and faculty, according to the terms of reference.

Goals include answering questions such as when the Facebook group was created and whether others have ever existed, what policies exist regarding misogyny, sexism and homophobia and what training students and faculty receive. Missing from the list is analysis of the individuals’ involvement.

The task force is scheduled to wrap up June 30, 2015 with two reports on policy change recommendations for each the dentistry school and the broader university. Florizone said results will be made public.

With files from Sophie AllenBarron.

Correction: On January 7, 2014, The Cascade published the headline “Tuition costs for upgrade courses could hit UFV after provincial government ends GED program.” The GED is not a program — it is a American high school equivalency test and the BC provincial government did not end it.

In that article, we said: “The BC provincial government is ending its General Education Development (GED) program, impacting students who wish or are required to take upgrade courses at a college or university level.” The government is not ending the GED test, but has lifted the policy prohibiting post-secondary institutions from charging adult students tuition for courses at a grade 12 or lower level.

The article also states “At UFV, this impacts the institution’s departments of Upgrading and University preparation (UUP) and English as a Second Language (ESL), where tuition had been free following the same government’s decision in 2007.” The ESL department is not affected as of yet, and the policy was implemented in September 2005.

The online version of this article has been corrected. The Cascade apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Peace and conflict studies program could be coming to UFV VANESSA BROADBENT

THE CASCADE

After internal approval for a major and minor last year, UFV has begun adding peace and conflict studies (PACS) courses to the timetable.

Steven Schroeder, who is also coordinator of Mennonite studies at UFV and a history faculty member, explains the courses will focus on conflict in the Fraser Valley as well as abroad. “In addition to analyzing conflict and peace strategies in the classroom, students will acquire practical skills and hands-on experience,” he says in an email.

Sylvie Murray, UFV’s program development coordinator, says even though the university isn’t receiving additional funding from the government, this particular addition will not add strain to other programs.

However, she did note that “the new programs that we’re creating are funded out of existing funds.”

Developing new programs requires hiring faculty members as well as developing new courses.

To create new programs, universities may scale back or reallocate funding for current programs.

Schroeder writes that in addition to internal funding, the program is being funded by “do-

Image: University of the Fraser Valley / Flickr

UFV launched its peace studies program in 2012 with a concert at Peace Lutheran Church in Abbotsford. nations that support start-up and supplementary activities.” And last November the university hosted a dinner event to honour “substantial” donors, where additional funding was sought.

“We are seeking external funding for an instructor to teach core PACS courses and administer the program,” the invitation reads, before listing that $100,000/year would pay for a teaching chair, $50,000/year “to deliver core PACS courses.”

Schroeder explains the funding received so far comes from

“a range of organizations and individuals with an emphasis on multi-cultural representation.”

However, it is unclear which organizations are donating, how much, and if the sources for donation are sustainable.

Schroeder explains that some of the PACS courses are already offered at UFV, as well as the professors that will be teaching them. “The peace and conflict studies program draws on existing resources, faculty expertise, and courses, to deliver a broadbased program that reflects the

multiculturalism of the Fraser Valley, and the UFV community,” he says.

Murray envisions other disciplines benefitting from the new program.

“The peace studies major and minor [are] interdisciplinary — it would be a great compliment to a major in political science [to have] a peace and conflict studies minor,” she says.

“The program mix is a very dynamic thing, and in order to stay relevant it’s nice to offer programs that address the issues

UFV’s Aerospace Centre holds open house SIMON GRANT

CONTRIBUTOR

UFV’s Aerospace Centre held an open house last Wednesday to promote its aviation structural technician certificate program.

UFV instructor Wally Gallinger presented a program overview for potential applicants. The program consists of 14 modules teaching students plane and helicopter repair, custom parts-fitting, damaged parts repair, and parts assembly.

Other certificate programs usually take 36 months to complete, but UFV’s program is 11 months because it emphasizes kinesthetic training rather than relying solely on classroom theory, giving the students hands-on work experience before they finish the course.

Director of applied and technical studies Rolf Arnold gave a tour of the UFV Aerospace hangar.

The Cascade Aerospace hangar also houses a Lockheed Lodestar from the 1940s, which flew former Prime Ministers Louis St. Laurent

and Lester Pearson roughly 60 years ago. It was salvaged from an aircraft in Chicago, and was later brought to Delta before being transported to Abbotsford, where students work on restoring it.

A Boeing 737 fuselage stands outside the hangar for course training. It belonged to a Hawaii fleet that “became a flying convertible when the top [of the fuselage] ripped off the first 12 rows of the plane midflight,” Arnold said. That incident led to an industrywide shift in aircraft maintenance policy, he explained: “Lessons are always learned.

We learned to do maintenance not by hours flown but by flight cycles. Plane parts expand and contract with temperatures and pressures from changes in altitude.”

The hangar also has a dummy rocket used in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

The program also teaches students how to service wooden planes. Though the aviation industry now relies almost exclusively on aluminum and carbon fibre for plane structure, Arnold noted that students still must learn how

Image: Simon Grant

Prospective students explore Cascade Aerospace hangar. to repair wooden plane structures.

“Though students may never come across a wooden plane in their career,” he explained, “wooden planes still fly.”

UFV instructor Al Behmer gave a demonstration on structural repair using rivets, where a technician bores a hole through a sheet of metal about to be attached and fits the rivet through. They then use a rivet gun, or pneumat-

ic hammer, to drive the rivet against a thick metal block called a bucking bar held by a second technician. This causes the rivet to form an ‘H’ shape preventing the rivet from falling out. To further fuse the replacement piece to the aircraft, a chemical heat treatment is given.

Behmer is also working with the Chilliwack 147 Airwolf Royal Canadian Air Cadets squadron to build a dummy

that our students are concerned about,” she adds.

While other universities offer variations on peace and conflict studies, UFV’s has a few distinctions. SFU’s “International studies” degree options are mainly grouped under an IS course listing, like UFV’s PACS, but UBC’s “International Relations” program is made up of a variety of components, some of which are shared at UFV, like political science and geography, and some which are not, like food and resource courses and a heavier emphasis on economics for degree requirements.

UFV’s degree, as one that focuses on the Fraser Valley, will also offer Mennonite studies and Indo-Canadian studies courses within the program.

Schroeder says this kind of addition was a natural step. “There is increasing demand for multidisciplinary programs that fall outside of the traditional parameters of existing disciplines,” he writes. “UFV cannot afford to not develop new programs.”

The program has been approved by UFV and its senate, and is currently waiting on approval from the Ministry of Advanced Education. Should it be approved, the major and minor will be implemented in September 2015.

plane.

He says this is to teach cadets “basic structure types and materials used to construct planes,” and once completed the plane will become a flight simulator to teach cadets plane controls and plane marshalling.

The aviation field has seen many technological changes, but according to one speaker, it has lagged behind in equal representation.

Kirsten Brazier, a pilot and the founder of the non-profit organization The Sky’s No Limit – Girls Fly Too, stated that of the “24,505 total personnel in the industry, only 1300 are women.” While the organization’s primary goal is to bring women into the industry, Brazier says “men are welcome. This is not an exclusionary thing.”

Some participants left the open house with a rivet piece, while others left with a keen interest in the most integral part of flight: ground maintenance. Though the position is not as romantic as a pilot flying the plane, the work of the structural technician allows the plane to leave the ground.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

SNAPSHOTS

Dear observers of human tragedy

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

A world of me

Bad books are bad

Clubbing protocol

Sean Holden

Jasmin Sprangers

Catherine Stewart

Ashley Hayes

It is not my intent to add a gloomy stain on this page, but I have an ethical question: Since when did life become a game of survivors and the fallen? In the early afternoon of January 6, a fellow human may have attempted to take his own life by jumping off the high-rise parking block at Seven Oaks Mall. Although I didn’t witness this event, I did see the many flashing lights of emergency vehicles and pedestrians solemnly standing sentinel around the scene. What truly struck me were the aloof comments of passersby: some teasing on the process of attempting resuscitation, others laughing about the folly of the person about to jump.

Even the bus driver with whom I was travelling took a moment to pull over beside a friend and joke about pushing the victim off the highest floor. Whether or not their laughter was some kind of sadistic coping, I found it repulsive. An individual who is trapped in their own reality and truly feels the solution to their issues is taking their own life should not meet with such disrespect or contempt. That is not to say suicide is noble, but it does not take a great measure of empathy to humbly respect another human’s struggle.

In a world of over 7 billion there’s a lot going on, and a lot we don’t know about. Yet when the news is full of horrible things we turn it off, because ignorance is bliss, right?

But that shouldn’t be the way we operate. If we want to make the world a better place, we need to educate ourselves on what needs fixing. Unlike our Twitter and Facebook pages, the whole world doesn’t revolve around us. Getting the most likes, the most followers: it’s a useless popularity contest. The world is not a “world of me”; there are other people in it who need help.

Think back to past natural disasters that have struck our world, or even the recent Ebola virus. They dominate news stations for weeks and suddenly fade away as if they never happened. Yet people’s lives are still being affected — it’s not a memory. Education makes the world a better place. Ignorance keeps us in the past.

I’d say one of the biggest disappointments in life would be after you’ve sold your soul to get a new edition of a book that’s apparently really good, and then you realize it’s complete crap. But you’re determined that it will get better, that it will redeem itself. You’ve just got to put some effort in.

And so you spend an entire day dedicated to this book — but guess what? It never gets better. You’re left sitting there cursing the book, cursing the author, and vowing to return the book and get your refund. A poorly written book that sucks out your soul and leaves you feeling defeated (and not in a good way) deserves to be burned at the stake, and sent back to the depths from whence it came.

I went out this past weekend to downtown Vancouver because my girlfriends and I wanted to have a cheap meal and do some dancing. When we got into the nightclub (free cover for students, yay!), I couldn’t help but notice that there were way more men than women. I realize that some guys are there to have a good time and some are obviously there to meet a nice girl to take home to mom, but there was one in particular that reminded me of a lion stalking his prey. He would stand off to the side, making his choice du jour, and then would swoop in for the kill.

Some girls were all over it, but most were clearly disgusted by the thought. Guys, all we want is for you to try and strike up a conversation first, even if it’s too loud to hear anything over the music!

A storytelling video game is helping children read MARISSA HARDER

CONTRIBUTOR

Getting children away from their iPods, smartphones, and other devices is a challenge nowadays. Teachers especially have trouble getting students to forget about video games and social media so they can concentrate on in-class activities such as reading. Schools need to adapt their methods in order to capture children’s attention.

Krista Berzolla and Lauren Willy, two Canadian teachers concerned about the difficulty of competing against actionpacked video games with text on a page, are using Kate Pullinger’s Inanimate Alice. Pullinger’s stories offer a new type

of reading that uses a video game-like scenario that allows children to read stories taking place in different parts of the world, while interacting with the characters and helping them solve problems through puzzles and games. A few episodes of Inanimate Alice can be found online.

Making schoolwork fun for students will make them want to attend school and try their best. This genre of reading not only intrigues students but also helps different kinds of learners. These “transmedia” stories use three different kinds of learning: auditory, visual, and tactile. Students can understand and remember what is taught when the right method is used, and their full

attention is on the task at hand.

This does not mean education should move away entirely from reading physical books.

Children should still learn the joy of flipping pages and reading a story. But the way children are taught needs to change as technology continues to change. The reason why these online stories are becoming more popular is because the technological aspect appeals to modern children.

Children are growing up with iPads and cellphones. As time goes on and future generations enter the classroom, students will need more digital forms of learning. Teaching stories like Inanimate Alice is a step in the right direction.

Image: Lexie Flickinger / Flickr

7

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Kanye and Paul: only time will tell MARTIN CASTRO

THE CASCADE

As many of you may have heard, Paul McCartney and Kanye West are collaborating. Some Kanye fans think this is huge for Paul.

Hell, some Kanye fans don’t even know who Paul McCartney is.

Fair enough, you don’t listen to the Beatles — that’s all right. The problem I have with the whole “Kanye vs. Paul” debate is: why is it a thing? I mean, if there was some sort of feud between Kanye and Paul, then maybe it would make sense for people to take sides, but there’s no feud — these two men are working together.

Music fans (each artist has many) have become incredibly divided about the collaboration between Paul and Kanye. First of all, a lot of people are saying Kanye is doing Paul a favour. As much as it pains me to say it, he kind of is. I sincerely doubt there are many kids out there that can name any of Paul’s projects apart from The Beatles. We live in a culture that’s saturated with popular music, and, unfortunately,

Image: Kanye: Super 45/ flickr, Paul: Kubacheck/ flickr

“We shouldn’t judge their product simply based on animosity for either one or the other.”

Paul’s Ram isn’t exactly a Top 40 hit at the moment.

Now let’s talk about Kanye.

Is Kanye a good rapper? He’s all

right, but he’s not great (although I know a lot of people who will disagree with me and rush to Kanye’s defence). He’s also a total

asshat. But nobody can deny that Kanye is a ridiculously gifted producer. This is why I am actually looking forward to this col-

laboration: despite Kanye West’s personality, he has produced some really catchy and innovative tracks (production-wise) in the last decade. There is a reason that people like his music. There’s also a reason Paul has become the legend he is today: he’s a ridiculously talented man.

I’m not saying, “Hey, let’s all jump on the Kanye / Paul bandwagon!” For all I know, whatever they put out could turn out a total flop. What I am saying, though, is that we shouldn’t judge their product simply based on animosity for either one or the other. And as for the comments that Kanye is doing Paul a favour or that Paul is doing Kanye a favour, let’s face it: both men are sufficiently talented and so lauded in their respective regions of musical enterprise that they ultimately need no favours done for them. If anything, it’s simply a hilarious collaboration between two giants in the music industry, a collaboration that I am personally looking forward to as much as a little kid looks forward to Christmas morning.

Slaying satirists will only make them strike back harder ALEX RAKE

THE CASCADE

What’s the deal with those shootings in Paris last week?

I can’t completely get into the head of a religious fundamentalist or a murderer, but I think I have an understanding of how satirists think. I know they expect backlash from the get-go. I know they don’t accept hurt feelings as a reason to stop their work. Most of all, I know that killing them won’t solve a thing.

Satire is intrinsically critical. In other words, making fun of something requires putting it under a microscope and illuminating everything one finds wrong with it. Sometimes humourists are misinformed or misguided; Charlie Hebdo has in fact published quite a few utterly hateful cartoons.

These cartoons may be rightfully criticized as such, but killing the artists / critics does not remove the thinking their humour perpetuates; their deaths, as we have seen, turn their work into a symbol of “freedom of speech” in general, which makes feelings against the cause behind the killings even stronger. If the public perceives Islam as the essential

cause behind the killings, for example, then the misguided anti-Islamic sentiments that angered and likely oppressed the killers in the first place only become stronger in the culture. Violence, in this case, makes the problem even worse.

In a film called The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, philosopher Slavoj Žižek says that “every violent acting out is a sign that there is something you are not able to put into words. Even the most brutal violence is the enacting of a certain symbolic deadlock.” Accepting this, the violence in Paris points to the perpetrators’ inability to counter the criticism that Charlie Hebdo presents (however shoddy) with their own. This inability may point to the killers’ lack of intelligence, or to something more systemic like a sense that they do not have the cultural capital to express their ideas.

Whatever the reason, the violence will prove fruitless for the killers’ cause because satirists are necessarily fearless.

That is to say they take on the role in the first place to fight against what threatens them, so threatening them further fuels their dedication to their art.

Satirists also don’t mourn like

other people; where the average person might cry and leave it at that, satirists satirize. If the idea behind shooting the folks at Charlie Hebdo was to send a discouraging message to others who might crack offensive jokes, the killers have another think coming.

In the wake of all this, it’s important to remember that we don’t need to get swept up in easily absorbed binary thinking. As Arthur Asseraf points out in an article for Jadaliyya, the recent acts of violence around the world apparently for Islam’s sake are not matters of Western ideals versus Eastern ideals or anything like that, but an indication of something more difficult to conceptualize all at once without taking sides, something a little more woven into the way our world works. I don’t know how to begin making things better, but violence and hate will probably only contribute to the cycle of violence and hate. In the meantime, satirists will continue their work, no matter how problematic, and the killers will have accomplished nothing but increased animosity towards so many people who don’t deserve it.

Image:e;kokoparilla/ flickr

8

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Snow is an opportunity, not a hassle SEAN HOLDEN

CONTRIBUTOR

As we dash from class to class this winter semester, some of the more observant may notice the looming harbingers of a gloomy change in our surroundings.

You can see them form around rooftops or crystallize around fences; they are the scrambling of desperate neighbours outfitting their homes in preparation, and the chilled fog adhering to car windows. Indeed, it is the annual approach of the great Canadian villain, snow. However, like the Grinch, snow is terribly misunderstood. The various benefits of this little devil shatter the icy tales of its coming. Snow collapses the foundations of ordinary routine, which is a miracle for our psychological health.

The most common complaint about this chilling “foe” is that it’s cold. But the cold is preferable to heat because it’s easier to get over. For example, if you’re born with the rutilus saeta strain like me (in other words, you’re a ginger), then heat from unavoidable UV rays can cause serious health issues, which considerably reduce your life expectancy. You can avoid the cold, on the other hand, by bundling into a few

Image:Muhammed Taslim Razin

heavy jackets, a scarf or two, a decent cap, and a suitable pair of long johns.

Snow may seem adversarial, but this is actually good, because when snow settles our comfortable lifestyles lift. Getting to work on time is a struggle, trying

UFV SPEAKS

to make it to class without getting frostbite requires nothing short of a miracle, and those intense moments of trying to start your beat-up Chevy can cause a panic attack. It’s in these moments that the spirit of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin tends to possess

The provincial government recently announced it will allow universities to charge tuition for courses that used to be free: high school equivalency and ESL courses. What do you think about this?

Dan Mack

“I don’t see why this is necessary, to be honest. If it was free in high school anyways, why are you suddenly having to pay for it to get it outside of your high school education?”

Catherine Pham

“I would like not to be charged to upgrade courses from high school. Some people, it’s great if they know what they want to do in high school, and they plan to go ahead to university.

You could have a cap for a certain amount of years for when it’s free.”

Richelle Willick

“I guess you could argue, ‘Why didn’t they take it in high school, if it was that important?’

I don’t think they should charge a whole bunch to take the course, but I think it’s fair to charge a little bit for it.”

Nikhil Rawat

us. Our finest moments occur in these tight scenarios, whether it’s asserting personal pride by calling in sick to work, or finding the angry theologian inside ourselves as we holler curses towards the skies, praying for a spark in this pitiful scrap of metal

we call a vehicle.

But like John Franklin, it’s not just a spark in the ignition we crave, but the spark of adventure.

Snow offers this; it creates an unexpected twist in our routines, making each little hardship all the nobler. Making a right turn at an intersection is an average part of daily life, but catapulting into the next lane while drifting at 50 and narrowly escaping what could have been a front-end collision is nothing short of superhuman. We turn from Average Joes to damn heroes with a meek change in precipitation. Snow keeps us on our toes not merely to keep the soles of our feet warm, but also to keep our minds healthy, vigilant, and productive.

Talking about weather may seem mundane and fruitless, but I hope this perspective can take snow off the burner for once.

I dream of a day we no longer trudge through snow’s wake as the oppressed under winter’s occupation. I dream of a day we engage in wonder and adventure, building forts and melding into our personal dramas yet again.

I dream that this great Canadian villain becomes our great Canadian friend, and we can finally enjoy its visits.

“I’m part of that now. I have a family, I have a kid ... people say, ‘Well okay, you’ve had it in high school one time before, you didn’t do well so we should charge you this time,’ but ... the idea of education is you can change your life at any given time. That’s the whole point of it.”

Eric Chadney

“Since it’s free for high school, it doesn’t really seem fair to charge at university for the same course ... I just graduated high school so I don’t have much say because I took all the courses I needed ... But I don’t think you should charge something that’s free for other people. “

Tenaia Gatland

“I think people should be entitled to high-school equivalency. Some people might not get high school at that time, so I feel like they should be entitled to get a high school education at least.”

Tessa Webb

“The fact that they’d have to pay extra just to go back and get what other people already have, it’s not necessarily fair. A lot of people can’t go to high school because maybe they have stuff at home or they have disabilities or time, and then circumstances change and they want to go back; they should have the opportunity to do so.”

Andrew McCullough

“It’s good yet bad, if that makes sense. It’ll be good for the government and the school to get money in there, but it would hurt the students a little bit. All in all, I guess we won’t really know what will happen.”

9

STUDY BREAK CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

CROSSWORD Straight Es

by VALERIE FRANKLIN

ACROSS 1.

3.

5.

7.

8.

9.

11.

What water does when it gets cold enough. (7) Sound a chick makes. (4) Originally meant a carnival performer; now mainly used to describe people who like sci-­fi or fantasy. (4) Something you do for your team from the sidelines. (5) A skimpy men’s swimsuit. (6) Meat from a bovine. (4) Game played with babies that takes advantage of their undeveloped sense of object permanence. (8)

DOWN 2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

10.

The average person spends about eight hours a day doing this ­­but for students, it’s often far less. (8) What you might do to a sunburn or an orange. (4) It’s the new black, according to environmentalists. (5) An unwanted plant ­­or, as slang, a plant that people will pay a lot of money for. (4) Black beverage used as liquid sleep replacement. (6) It comes out of you at about 35 miles per hour, according to Mythbusters.

The opposite of imprisoned. (4)

SUDOKU 2. ANCHOVY 4. BACHELOR 7. MACHO 8. CHIVE 9. CHESTNUTS 10. CHALK

7 2 6 5 5 4 6 6 9 2 3

7

4 3 8 3 1 2 2

DOWN 1. AVALANCHE 2. CHEESE 3. ARCHER 4. CHARMS 9. CHAIN

2 6 7 4

The Weekly Horoscope

6 3 1 5 2 7 8 4 9 4 5 2 8 9 6 1 7 3 8 7 9 4 1 3 6 5 2

ACROSS

1 7 6

Sudoku solution

3 8 7 2 6 1 4 9 5 2 9 5 3 8 4 7 6 1 1 4 6 7 5 9 2 3 8

3

Last issue’s crossword

9

7 1 4 9 3 8 5 2 6 5 6 3 1 4 2 9 8 7 9 2 8 6 7 5 3 1 4

1 4 5 2 8 9 4 1

Star Signs from Natalie Nebula

Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18: One friend this week will do everything in his or her power to treat you to coffee, but accepting the offer will be your peril.

Gemini: May 21 - June 21: A Taurus holds the secret to your undoing.

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20: Planting carrots in the dead of winter will prepare you for a coming shortage.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22: Your success or failure to survive the week will depend solely on your ability to tie a good slipknot. Hopefully you paid close attention in Scouts.

Aries: March 21 - April 19: This week, caterers will inexplicably unnerve you.

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22: On Monday, each time you enter a room raise your arms and say, “Let there be darkness!” Do not explain why. Be convincing.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20: It’s best if you don’t talk to Capricorns at all, but if you do, believe nothing they tell you. Make friends with Gemini instead.

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept 22: Forsake Twitter and Facebook, for they are the harbingers of evil and thwart the will of Google.

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22: The day of reckoning is almost at hand. Hopefully you’ve been honing your charades game; gestures will be of vital importance.

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21: If you really want to save the world, start destroying all carrots. But just in case the world ends after all, be sure to treat an Aquarius to coffee.

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21: It will soon be necessary to embrace schadenfreude and spread the practice to others. Door-knocking is a good method; bring pamphlets.

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19: Mars is in Gemini this week. This will result more in amusement than anything for you, but you should warn Taurus to be on guard.

10

FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

As student groups attempt to grow, organiza

Club and association leaders say groups can lead to better ac

By Vanessa Broadbent

When we think of university life, we often picture insane frat parties or endless amounts of student-run clubs or associations waiting for us to join. University is typically portrayed as a place where a large group of students have endless fun and take advantage of everything the university offers, especially a thriving social life.

We grow up with this image of university, expecting it to be the same for us. Then we come to UFV. UFV isn’t exactly known as the most exciting university around. In fact, most students attend their classes and leave, leaving many communal areas on campus empty and deserted.

Student Union Society (SUS) president Ryan Petersen thinks it could be because of the average age of the general student, and UFV’s large continuing studies program.

“Our average age of the student is more mature,” he says. “[Students] are trying to have a career, or a job, or a family, or other responsibilities outside of the university while trying to work through their program.

Petersen isn’t the only one who has noticed the lack of student engagement on campus. UFV garden club president Samuel Harder explains that a large portion of students commute to school, making it difficult to attend campus events.

“It’s a commuter school, so

spending that extra half an hour on a Friday evening to go and water your lettuce is kind of tough,” he says. “For us, it kind of seems like a chore to go out to an association event because it doesn’t line up with your classes.

So unless I’m at campus and it’s right after that, I probably won’t go.”

Most UFV students haven’t attended other universities, but we’ve all heard the stories of campuses overflowing with students and a plethora of events to attend every day. “I think, when you look at UFV, we always try and compare it to other institutions, and I think that does UFV a bit of disservice,” says Petersen.

However, SUS clubs and associations officer Alisha Atkinson thinks other universities do not necessarily have a more engaged student body. “It’s not that they have more engaged students [by] percentage — I think they just have more students,” she says. “It looks like there’s more engagement because there are so many more students.”

This is true in a sense. Large universities have many more students, which will inevitably raise the amount of students engaged on campus, but the percentages of clubs and associations per student

do not line up. UBC has over 350 clubs and associations active on campus and a student enrolment of 50,000 students, and SFU has over 185 clubs and associations and an enrolment of over 35,000. UFV has 62 registered clubs and associations and an enrollment of around 15,000 students, or roughly a ratio of 2:3 when compared to the offerings of the two larger BC institutions.

UFV Urbanists treasurer Dylan Anderson, a fourth-year geography and urban planning student, says large universities are more likely to have engaged students due to the high number of students living in residency.

“By nature, you don’t get the same student life and engagement such as SFU or UBC [have]. People are living there and they’re sort of stranded at their campus. Therefore, they have to keep themselves occupied with what’s available for them,” he explains.

The lack of student engagement at UFV has had an effect on clubs and associations on campus — especially when it comes to recruiting new members. Vessal Jaberi, president of the biology and chemistry student association (BCSA), has a hard time talking to students on campus about getting involved.

“It’s so difficult to engage people, because everyone just has headphones in and is either in the

Timmy’s line or going to class,” he says. “It’s awkward to go up to someone and say ‘Hey, you don’t know me — come to our event.’”

Advertising on campus is one of the main ways student groups can let students know they exist and are hosting events, but even that can be difficult.

“It doesn’t make it exactly easy to engage students either because of the way that we have to advertise our events.

They’re either too expensive or they're not efficient,” says Jaberi. “When you put a poster on the public notice boards, no matter what colour you choose ... it’s going to blend with the other 50 posters. People don’t see it.”

Even SUS has noticed that most clubs and associations struggle to find new members. “There’s a lot of handfuls of people that want to be involved, but the struggle is finding the bulk members of these

FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

11

ation and communication emerge as barriers

cademic experience

groups who want to come to these events and care about these various issues,” Atkinson says. Even if a club or association does have a core group of members, there’s always the threat of members graduating or losing interest. “It’s hard to keep those members year after year after year. Also, we’re a university; people’s interests change, people graduate, people transfer.

It’s a constantly moving thing,” she says.

Harder adds that getting recognized by SUS as a UFV club or association — which can lead to assistance in event funding and other services, can take a lot of work, requiring official meetings to make quorum while navigating promotions regulations.

"The hard part is [making quorum] ... if you read the student associations handbook, one the things that you come across is that you can't advertise on SUS bulletin boards, which are most of the bulletin board around school [before your group is registered], so you're kind of in this catch-22 of 'I need to get members out to become a club so that I can advertise, but I need to advertise so that I can get members,'"

Harder says. "They were like, 'Yeah, host some events, get people out,' but I can't host events with funding from student fees, it has to be out of my pocket until we're official."

Regardless of clubs and associations’ efforts, the majority of students at UFV, according to student group leaders, are missing out on academic opportunities. Anderson says in the first few years of his degree, he wasn’t involved on campus, but enjoyed it once he was.

“I really think once I started [getting involved], everything just improved. My grades improved, I liked coming to school more, I wasn’t as eager to go home, and it makes the experience overall better,” he said. “We’re not UBC, you’re not going to get the same experience. So it’s up to you to put in the effort to get that.”

Despite the numerous benefits that come with getting involved on campus, it’s just not something that interests most students. Maybe it’s the thought of having to add one more commitment into our already hectic lives. Maybe it’s a fear of stepping out and being “that new person.”

Petersen has noticed this trend on campus as well. “The people who are trying to find out more are always a little bit daunted and intimidated, but the people who are already there always want new people and are looking for new members. You [have] to get over

your embarrassment and being shy,” said Petersen.

Anderson thinks students just need to step out and try something new for once. “Put in the effort, jump in with both feet, and try it out,” he says. “If, by the end of it, you don’t like it, that’s fine. You don’t have to stick around, but give it a shot and put yourself out there.

You won’t know until you try it.”

12

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Peer Pleasure

Respect and tact keys to a happy break-up heal and move on.

YOURS TRULY THE CASCADE

I just broke up with my girlfriend after two years of dating. We were friends for a while before we started dating and I’ve known her family for a long time. The breakup was a mutual thing, but now I’m not sure how to deal with her family. I have a bunch of them on Facebook and before the break-up would hang out with her siblings regularly. I haven’t spoken to any of them in a month. Should just leave it or if I should try and talk to them? Do I unfriend them on Facebook? What’s the protocol here?

— F.R. Dear F.R., First off, congratulations on your mutual breakup! (Dare I say conscious uncoupling?) Too often the trauma of a dramatic breakup overshadows the positive memories of the relationship.

As I’m sure you well know, even if a breakup is mutual, the pain of losing that relationship is not easy. A 2004 study conducted at Stony Brook University found neural similarities in those withdrawing from a cocaine addic-

Image: healheartbreak.com

Division in friend-loyalty is often discussed during a break-up, butwhat about family friendships? tion to men and women who had recently left a romantic relationship. If you consider the ways in which a long-term relationship works to interlock the lives of those involved — if not living together after two years, at least hanging out every day, texting, talking on the phone, and having mutual friends, interests, and hobbies — the parallels between drug withdrawal and relationship withdrawal makes sense. In order to work towards healing, it’s important that these ties are severed.

This withdrawal becomes sensi-

tive when other relationships are involved. While a division in the loyalties of friends are often topics of debate in a breakup, family ties are less prominent. My advice: leave it up to her. If the breakup was amicable enough — in her mind, not yours — she might be open to your continued contact with her family. If she doesn’t feel comfortable with it, respect her decision. In either case, enough time has passed to explain the situation to the family members involved. Be tactful (don’t be bitter and try and pin the blame on her),

only give enough information so as to let them down easily. They don’t need a play-by-play of your break-up — if your ex-girlfriend wants to fill them in, again, that’s her choice.

Discontinuing friendships with her family might be a difficult thing to do considering how close you are with her siblings. However, it would be more difficult for your ex-girlfriend to be constantly reminded of you through her family. For yourself, leaving those reminders of your relationship behind is a healthy way to

Next week with Yours Truly: I’ve been wanting to try some new things with my partner for a while.

He’s a little conservative in bed and since the honeymoon phase has faded I’ve been getting a little bored of what he has to offer in that way. I’m pretty adventurous in that regard and have been in previous relationships, but I’m pretty sure I’m one of the first he’s been with. I’m worried I’ll shock him (not in a good way) if I bring up my interest in light bondage / anal play. How do I bring up that I want to try different things without hurting his feelings? Do I break up with him if we’re not sexually compatible?

— Sexually Frustrated Do you have a similar experience you’d like to share? Want to contribute with your own advice?

Feel free to write in with your own say and be published alongside my advice in the next issue of The Cascade.

Send in your own questions, scenarios, or responses to: peerpleasure@ufvcascade.ca

Aboriginal students club brings cultural identity to UFV MARTIN CASTRO THE CASCADE

UFV has recently seen the creation of its first aboriginal students club (ASC). The group aims to bring a stronger aboriginal presence to UFV, educating students about the impact of aboriginal history and culture within the Fraser Valley, as well as affording UFV students opportunities to become involved with their community through the ASC’s events and functions.

The club’s president Morris Prosser says that the ASC is concerned with bringing a strong cultural identity to UFV. The group focuses on organizing and participating in events, as well as being an active part of the aboriginal community not only at UFV, but throughout the Fraser Valley.

“Part of our contribution to UFV’s International Week was to bring notable people from the Stó:lō community into UFV to speak [on various topics],” Prosser said. “We organized and set that all up.”

In addition to facilitating multiple talks at UFV and helping out

Image: DJ Borhan / Flickr

The ACS facilitates culturally focused events like November’s UFV Talks: Empowering Youth. with UFV’s International Week, the ASC also organized attendance of a place-names tour offered by the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre.

The tour takes students up the Fraser River and along the Fraser Canyon to visit spots significant to Stó:lō culture and history.

“The tour company was already there, but we decided to [use it] with international students so that they could get a better idea of what the Stó:lō culture

and history is [like],” Prosser said.

“Sonny McHalsie from the Stó:lō Resource Management Centre [has been] instrumental in the organizing of the tours.” The ASC organized the last student tour in October, and another is being planned for the near future.

The group has also helped facilitate events such as UFV Talks: Empowering Youth — Local and Global Indigenous Peoples, which was held in November. According to Prosser, these presentations

“focused on aboriginal youth, especially centred on youth empowerment and what aboriginal youth are doing, [since] aboriginal youth are quite a large population within our community.”

Another aspect that the ASC is looking into is holding the same type of youth empowerment talks at different high schools. “We’re thinking about [looking into organizing talks] at the high schools we came from, since we have a connection there,” Prosser said.

“We haven’t gotten to that point yet. It is something we have talked about at length, though.” The ASC is also looking into fostering connections with similar groups at different universities across BC. Among their plans for the future is a collaborative effort between the university and the ASC. “We’re in talks right now with [UFV] about a youth mental health day,” Prosser said. He explained that the event would reach outside the institution as well, including high schools, and would be a collaborative effort.

“There’s also a newly formed group, the First Nations Nursing Students, who I think could contribute more as they’re more geared towards mental health and related topics.”

Prosser encourages all UFV students to get involved with the UFV ASC, as it offers keen insights and educational experiences relating to Aboriginal Peoples of the Fraser Valley from a much more involved perspective than the one they may have been exposed to in related coursework.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

CULTURE

13

The Reach’s new exhibition focuses on residential school history VANESSA BROADBENT THE CASCADE / PHOTOS

We’ve all heard the horror stories of Canadian residential schools, but for most of us, that’s it. We’ve only heard about them. We don’t know enough about them to truly understand what happened, and we certainly don’t know enough to understand why this is such an important issue for Canadians.

That’s why the Reach Gallery Museum and the Legacy of Hope Foundation opened a new exhibition, 100 Years of Loss — The Residential School System in Canada, on Saturday. The gallery focuses on the history of residential schools, from their formation in the early 1830s to the closure of the last school in 1996, and their impact on Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. The exhibition is targeted toward non-Aboriginal Canadians, with the goal of making it clear why these issues matter to all Canadians, not just those who were directly involved.

Although the exhibition had a disclaimer at the beginning stating that some of the subject matter may be disturbing for some audiences, it was no preparation for what was to come. It’s not that the stories were graphically retold, or that the photographs showed disturbing images. The most disturbing thing was that this was perpetrated in Canada, by Canadians.

The exhibition is divided into two sides, one in French and the other in English. Each side had four columns, each focusing on a different aspect of residential school history. The two sides were divided by a long, winding timeline of the history of the residential schools. The timeline started with the formation of the first school, and ended with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology to the Aboriginal People involved, as well as the implementation of the Common Experience Payment — a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement — to compensate those involved.

The first column focused on the history of residential schools and how they started in Canada. It featured excerpts of letters from Canadian officials, including one from Duncan Campbell Scott, the deputy

superintendent of Indian Affairs at the time, stating that he understood that the conditions on residential schools were resulting in deaths among children, but it did not require “a change in policy.”

The second column focused on what actually happened in the residential schools.

A combination of photos and stories told about various things that aboriginal children had to endure, including physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect and malnutrition. There were stories of children running away from the schools to go home to their families, as well as families coming to the schools after learning about the conditions and trying to take their children home.

The third column explained why residential schools are still a current issue in Canada, even though they have finally all closed. It stated that although the Canadian government is now compensating those who attended the schools, many Aboriginal people are still unable to receive compensation because they can’t prove that they attended a school. Records of many children, especially Métis, do not exist or are incomplete, and therefore cannot be proven.

The final and fourth column in the exhibition explained to viewers “why it should

matter to a Canadian who never attended a residential school.” Reasons included that Aboriginal communities have similar levels of poverty, illness, and illiteracy as in developing nations. It explained that this part of Canadian history is now the responsibility of all Canadians, not only those that were involved. It read, “We must see the legacy of the schools in our streets and communities every day. We must all commit ourselves to a process of reconciliation and healing.”

An afternoon of exploring the graphic history of residential schools can put quite the damper on one’s day, and all though the horrors can’t be erased, you’ll leave the exhibit knowing that there’s still something you can do about it. Raising awareness is key, and it’s suggested that viewers get in contact with local aboriginal groups and encourage others to do the same.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Holy Moly Matrimony

Putting a ring on it is harder than it looks SASHA MOEDT

for beautiful rings. One huge upside is that you don’t have to worry about the ethics of your ring.

The downside is that they may not last forever. The stone itself is softer (8.5 on the Mohs scale), and can be chipped, nicked, and scratched. You have to remove it when dealing with handing chemicals or doing something active. Cubic zirconia is the whiny little sibling of the diamond, but it’s affordable!

THE CASCADE

Buying an engagement ring, when it comes down to it, can be a big thing. Even if you’re going to spend as little money as possible, you have to explain to everyone that asks to see the ring — and yes, a lot of people ask — why the ring is so simple.

Not many people getting engaged these days want to spend $5k on a ring. First of all, we don’t have that kind of money. We just paid tuition! Second, the knowledge that 5k is a two-month backpacking trip across Europe might shift your priorities.

You want to buy something that is meaningful and represents who you are. As someone who has gone through the shopping process, my advice is this: research, research, research. Research. You’ll come to know what you’re looking for. You’ll understand the terms that salespeople use, and you’ll be able to ask them the important questions.

My own research brought me to consider a few different options for purchasing an affordable engagement ring. Here’s a brief list: Sales, sales, sales!

As soon as a diamond nears a ring, the prices shoot up. Because diamond equals engagement equals wedding equals money!

A diamond is expected on an engaged woman’s hand. But it’s also

Image: loveandpromisejewelers.com

The search for your perfect ring requires rigorous research. the most expensive choice. You’re not going to get a lot of bang for your buck. People’s, for example, sells itsy-bitsy diamond rings for an average of $150, and you have to get up to the $500 range for something more substantial.

Even then, you don’t have a lot of variety. The joy of inflated prices, though, is that there are sales. Ask a salesperson about their annual sale. Pick a ring. Lie in wait, like a tiger stalking its prey. Get that ring.

A ring of a different stone Diamonds weren’t always forever. In fact, it was clever marketing campaigns that pushed them to popularity. But if you want something orginal, try a different stone.

A salesperson will tell you that diamonds are hardy and will last … forever … but consider that if a diamond is a 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, corundum is a nine. Not much difference. The stones that derive from corundum include ruby and sapphire.

The colour of these stones range from clear as diamond to black, blood red, and light pink. With the engagement label taken off, prices will be lower.

Man-made Cubic zirconia is a man-made diamond stimulant. They look exactly like a diamond to the untrained eye — in fact, they might look even too sparkly. They are very affordable, ranging from $50 to $300

Go Dutch My family is Dutch, and this is the route I chose. In Holland, the engagement ring is traditionally the wedding band. The couple wears a band on their right hand, and then when they marry they switch it to their left hand. I chose gold. Ten-carat is your best option rather than a higher carat, because the higher you go the softer the ring is, and the less hardy. Before buying my ring, I asked to see my Opa’s 10-carat ring. He’s had it on his hand for more than 50 years, and it still looks very good. While I don’t have a stone, the upside is that there is a nice equality to the purchase — one partner doesn’t have a ring three times more expensive than the other. You can buy the rings together and then not worry about it.

Whatever style you lean towards, do your research! Don’t take a single salesperson’s advice, and shop around.

The classic badassery of Doc Martens CHARLYNN JELIER CONTRIBUTOR

Dr. Martens have always screamed badass grunge. Also known as Doc Martens, DMs or Docs, these boots are iconic in the fashion world. However, they had a rather ordinary beginning. The first pair of Doc Martens were created when the German Dr. Klaus Martens broke his foot during a skiing accident. He found regular army boots uncomfortable so, along with his friend and fellow innovator Dr. Funck, he created air-cushioned soles for his army boots. Soon the market for the boots grew, and they expanded out of Germany and into the UK where the Griggs family, who had been making boots since 1901, received the rights to manufacture them.

The first pair of original Dr. Martens went on sale April 1, 1940. They became a reliable work boot for policemen, postmen, and,

Image: Google

surprisingly, housewives. However, they were quickly taken up by the skinhead movement in their quest for a youth revolution.

Tired of being clones of their parents, they started to rebel, working-class style. As time wore on, more and more subcultures adopted Docs as their own. People wearing gothic, punk, mod, and grunge styles all began wearing them. The ‘90s were a huge moment for Docs as the grunge trend became increasingly popular and Docs popularized with it.

Dr. Martens are comfortable, fashionable and last for years.

There are no limitations to what they can be worn with; adding an edge to a cute dress with Docs and a motorcycle jacket is a good way to incorporate a toughlooking pair of boots into your wardrobe. Docs can also be worn to dress a skirt and blazer combo down. And who could forget the classic band tee, ripped jeans and Docs pairing? If black boots aren’t your thing, Docs offer a variety of patterns and colours to pick from, ranging from floral to neon to polka dots.

For guys, Docs can accentuate the working-man vibe and lum-

berjack look when paired with red flannel, a canvas jacket and jeans.

A blazer with trousers can be dressed down with a classic black pair of Docs as well. If dressy isn’t the look you normally go for, try pairing them with jeans, a hoodie, and a beanie for that comfy, everyday look.

Docs have historically been a symbol of rebellion, culture, free thinking and a journey of finding one’s self. Instead of being intimidated by them, why not try a pair on for size? With loads of different styles, there could easily be a pair that speaks to you. Docs have played a part in shaping history.

Who knows what will happen next? The next big thing could happen from someone donning a pair of Docs, enroute to change history one yellow-stitched step at a time.

Upcoming

Events January 7-28

STASIS: sculpture exhibit UFV’s visual arts students explore stasis versus movement in a new exhbition. Works completed by both intermediate and beginning students will incorporate mediums that showcase this movement, as well as interactive displays. The exhibition, located in the S’eliyemetaxwtexw gallery in B136, runs until January 28.

January 16 Scholarly sharing initiative at UFV UFV’s Alex Wetmore and Miriam Nichols will give lectures at the first scholarly sharing initiative of 2015. Wetmore’s lecture, “No parrot on morality and sentimentality,” will delve into the fascinating world of 18th century talking birds while Nichols’ lecture will focus on her new publication, The Astonishment Tapes. The afternoon begins at 1:15 p.m. and a light lunch is provided.

January 17 Art Battle comes to Chilliwack Two rounds, six artists and 20 minutes to paint. The Fraser Valley’s first ever Art Battle comes to Chilliwack, where painters compete in front of a live audience for the chance to move on to regionals. Audience members are given the opportunity to both vote and bid on their favourite piece of artwork. This round will take place at the Hampton in Chilliwack at 6:30 p.m. For more information check out Artbattle. ca.

January 18 Canadian Sikhs in WWl An exhibition commemorating the all-too-often forgotten contribution made by the Sikh community to the Great War will open Sunday. The launch of the exhibition will take place at 2 p.m., and will include a documentary screening, speakers and dignitaries. The exhibition, which will be available for viewing until December, is located at the Sikh Heritage Museum and National Historic Site Gur Sikh Temple in Abbotsford.

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ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Film

The Imitation Game presents low-quality narrative and lazy filmmaking MITCH HUTTEMA THE CASCADE

The Imitation Game, directed by Morten Tyldum, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, and Keira Knightly as his strictly platonic fiancée. Cumberbatch et al bring a passable performance to a film with a mediocre script. Simple and informative, but lacking in depth, the film is rife with cliché characters and the same old stereotypes we’ve seen in every half-assed novel, film, and story before this.

Right from the start, Alan Turing is presented the same way, as every other human with Asperger ’s to grace the screen.

He is unable to understand jokes to a fault, causing him to nearly lose a job opportunity.

He’s first written off as a jerk, but then — like every character before — at the last second, everyone loves him and comes to his rescue, having suddenly seen past his flaws.

The Imitation Game contains

a subplot bearing little importance to the rest of the story.

Unknown intruders ransack Turing’s apartment, leading to police investigation, a nosy inspector and Turing hustling them out. The inspector takes issue with being thrown out

by Turing and begins an illegal and frivolous investigation into him. He eventually uncovers that he is homosexual (illegal at the time). This subplot is a cheap answer to the director ’s problem of not knowing how to present his message through good filmmaking.

To finish his film, Tyldum fades out with some on screen text (like every other “based on a true story” film) outlining how homosexual men were repressed, imprisoned and completely mistreated by the British government. While these facts are true and absolutely dreadful, using text to relay them at the end of a film is disrespectful and a cheap shot. What happened to making films that spoke for themselves?

Image: Ma_Co2013 / Flickr

There is a low quality of narrative; Tyldum presents the film with no artistic vision through bland cinematography and a heavy reliance on plot to keep the film engaging. The movie is essentially a regular historical biopic that relays the facts of a brilliant man who cracked

the Enigma code, saved 14 million lives, cut short WWII by years, and also happened to be gay. This film is great to watch if you simply want a relaxing night with the added benefit of learning little-known facts from WWII. But from a critical filmmaking perspective, the di-

rector completely fails to bring forth his point, and sets about like a first-year fine arts student and pins a meaning onto his work which cannot speak for itself.

Podcast

Comedy Bang! Bang! sets the standard for North American long-form improv KODIE CHERRILLE THE CASCADE

“You gotta laugh” was advice given to Scott Aukerman early in 2014 by Smith Calvins and Jones Calvins — two strange, short, and affluent old twins who spend the fortunes of their bee taffy business by promoting and hosting horse boxing matches. It’s business as usual in the world of Comedy Bang!

Bang!.

Comedy Bang! Bang! is an interview-style, long-form improv podcast, where Scott Aukerman (once a writer for Mr. Show, and co-creator for Between Two Ferns) has long talks with (typically) two or three guests, real or fictional. The show starts with one guest being interviewed relatively normally — though that’s not saying much in this zany world;

even the most normal conversations can derail into absurdity with Aukerman. But the show has “a strict open-door policy,” so characters of all colours can and will show up.

The real guests are quite often the biggest names in comedy, but the real fun of listening to the podcast is for the improv.

The “uninvited” guests that come in later are unbelievably talented; often they walk in with only a rudimentary idea of a character, but by the end of the episode, you’ll be wheezing with laughter. Andy Daly and Paul F. Tompkins make many appearances, and their batting average is unbelievable.

Aukerman’s a brilliant host.

His ear for consistency helps characters reel things in if they seem like they’re juggling too much, and by paying close attention to the eccentric details of characters, he also is able to

call them out on their contradictions, resulting in some hilarious back-and-forth. When the Calvins twins claim that one in 7,000 horses “come out of the womb fighting,” and that they’ve been in the business for 25 years, Aukerman does some math-checking and exclaims, “you’ve had to have been to 40 million horse births,” to which Jones replies nonchalantly, “is that all?”

CBB wraps up each year with a best-of list, complete with clips from the winning episodes. If you haven’t listened to this podcast, you may want to start there. It should be noted that the show does not shy from explicit content.

Image: Comedy Bang! Bang! / Facebook

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ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

Confessions of a newly converted Amiibo owner ANTHONY BIONDI THE CASCADE

I bought an Amiibo the other day. Hooray for me. I bought a funny little peripheral. For those who don’t know what an Amiibo is, it’s a little statuette of a Nintendo flagship character that not only decorates the shelf, but also can be used in games like Super Smash Brothers.

It’s another funny little statue to add to my collection of funny little statues.

When the Amiibo first came out, I was skeptical. They looked like a more mainstream attempt at creating the Skylander toys but with a little less functionality. So far they only act in one game, and only as NPC characters that you essentially “train” to become stronger.

They can become quite difficult to fight, and, in fact, one won a tournament at a big convention not long ago. Regardless, they are little useless figurines that serve to satisfy the big collector.

I didn’t quite understand how they would sell to a wide

Image: Kory Biondi

This little Luigi could become a highly trained NPC character. audience, but due to limited distributions of what Nintendo would consider “low popularity” characters, certain Ami-

ibos became instant hot sellers.

Certain ones were bought out by third-party sellers to sell at outrageous prices of their own

design, and how did Nintendo reply? They announced a potential discontinuation of those models. So the public was left with the desire for something that was ultimately impossible to acquire without paying enough money to feed a family for a full week. Nintendo had won. Since supply did not meet demand, the focus on the Amiibo skyrocketed. The infamous Marth was one of them, selling for upwards of $100 on Amazon and eBay. Though Nintendo has successfully integrated these toys into their market, I somewhat disapprove of their seedy marketing tactics. I’ve never been a fan of the manipulation of supply and demand. Nintendo is no stranger to the method, but with the Amiibo it seems somewhat silly. Already, as they move into the third phase of their Amiibo release schedule, they had even me wondering if I should pre-order characters that I only marginally care about so that I could just have it in case it was discontinued.

I suppose these business models are nothing new to collectors. Anyone wanting to buy a marginally distributed Super Nintendo game — which are practically antiques now — must be willing to pay hundreds of dollars. At what point, then, does game paraphernalia become worth that much? I could never justify owning a Marth Amiibo for $100 in the same way I could never buy a copy of Chrono Trigger for $200. It just isn’t logical. But somehow the markets turn into inflated pools of over-demand. Consumerism is already a terrible problem in our society, and gaming is just one outlet of that, but how is it ethical to charge dedicated fans and consumers these prices?

Yet I still bought an Amiibo.

Not the Marth I had been looking for, but a Luigi. Nintendo got me. They plucked my heartstrings, where my love of their characters lies. They plucked it and forced my hand. Good on you, Nintendo marketing team.

Good job.

Concert

“Let’s fall in love” with Mother Mother RILEY NOWLAN CONTRIBUTOR

First of all, if you have never been to the Orpheum, you need to go. Go soon and go often. It is beautiful. Chandeliers perfectly placed and glistening, works of art painted on the ceiling and walls, a staircase leading up to our seats — all of it gives the feeling of going to see a very expensive and prestigious play.

Mother Mother played at the Orpheum in December, and I made sure I was there — after their summer concert at Stanley Park, I wouldn’t miss it.

The opening band was USS. They delighted the crowd with their hit “Yin Yang,” but it was their cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” the lead singer ’s ability to do handstands and backflips multiple times in each song, and the guitarist’s habit of ending every song madly playing his instrument while lying on the floor, that really made an impression. A band I had previously overlooked managed to gain my respect.

As impressed as I was with their performance, I was still a little overjoyed when they were finished, because it meant

Image: Cord.ca

A highlight of Mother Mother’s December concert was their cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.” that we were that much closer to Mother Mother taking the stage. The first time I saw them in concert, I wasn’t a huge fan.

I liked their music, and I knew the songs that got radio play and a few others my sister had enthusiastically shown me, but it was only after their concert that I (instantly) adopted superfan status. I listened to all their music and longed to see them again in concert.

So as the lights dimmed and the band took the stage, excitement ran through me, causing me to stand and clap before anything at all had really happened. And I’m thrilled to share with you that my excitement was not in vain.

Just like before, Mother Mother put on an amazing show. The kind that makes you feel like time outside has stopped and this, this one song in this one

moment, is the only thing that matters. They played old favourites as well as new tracks, making me relieved and joyful that I had asked for their new album for Christmas. However, one of my favourite parts of the entire night was when they did a cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Videogames.” It gives me chills even now remembering this rendition. It was done perfectly and commanded the

full attention of everyone in that theatre. We all hung on every single note. When the song came to its expertly crafted end, the crowd erupted in applause and I revelled in the knowledge that I had been witness to, and a part of, a genuinely awesome moment.

Mother Mother went on to play new songs, one forgotten oldie, and all of my favourites.

I practically lost my voice from cheering and my hands were numb from clapping when I recognized the first key notes of “Ghosting.” Through it all, lead man Ryan Guldemond thanked the crowd for being there, but more than that he congratulated us on taking a night for ourselves.

He talked about what a cool thing it was that, in such a busy world, we can to take some time to do something enjoyable for ourselves. He also reminded us that we can’t always do this — “We still have to change the world,” he said — but it should be done on occasion. And I for one am grateful that I chose Mother Mother ’s concert at the Orpheum as my “just for me” occasion.

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ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Albums

Onward and Sideways a step up from Wax Wings JOE JOHNSON

CHARTS 1

Ariel Pink pom pom

2 Various Mint Records Presents: Hot 3

Heroes Viet Cong Viet Cong

4

John Welsh On The Road

Bee & the Buzz5 Queen kills

6

Stalk to Me Energy Slime New Dimensional

7 Royksopp The Innevitable End de Courcy 8 Johnny Alien Lake and the Van9 D’Angelo guard

10

Black Messiah Old and Wierd What I Saw

11 Monomyth Saturnalia Regalia Grips 12 Death Fashion Week

13 Alvvays Alvvays Specks 14 Cold Neuroplasticity New Pornographers 15 The Brill Bruisers High 16 Cheap Idle Blood 17 Royal Royal Blood

18 Bahamas Bahamas is Afie

Shuffle

AARON LEVY

CIVL MANAGER/ OLDBOY

Station Manager Aaron Levy is floored that The Cascade’s Michael Scoular has been nominated for two Canadian University Press “Johnnies,” named after inaugural CUP President John H. McDonald.

Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode” Written and recorded after Chuck’s cousin, Marvin, phoned him from a 1955 “Enchantment Under The Sea” Hill Valley high school dance, where George McFly’s future son, Marty, travelled “back from the future” to play this song in an attempt to encourage his “past parents” to ensure his future birth.

Foo Fighters “Hey, Johnny Park” A song I always thought was directed at Fighter frontman Dave Grohl’s former bandmate-in-law and Hole lead singer, Courtney Love, due to their publicized battles over Nirvana licensing: “Now that I’ve found my reward, throw it away long before I share a piece of mind with you.” Whatcha think, hmm?

The Arkells “John Lennon” “Head on the wall, and my piss hardly makes the stall, and this time it’s not an act, this time I swear it’s fact.” “I’m so lost, and I live just around the corner.” Best thing Arkells’ Max ever recorded: the crack in his voice on “just.”

Bob Dylan “Subterranean Homesick Blues” “Johnny’s in the basement, mixin’ up the medicine,” and a lot of other things are happening … So many directions to shuffle it; the late ‘90s commercial aping the video with lyric cards, Radiohead’s “Subterranean Homesick Alien” song title reference … This is classic Zimmerman – Robert from Minnesota, not George from Florida.

Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” NOT the Girls version, and not girls = females; rather the awesome opener from wicked debut album Album by the solid band Girls, and my single, “My Single Is Dropping,” is dropping. From the Iggy (or Pop): “Here comes Johnny, in again, with liquor and drugs and a fast machine.”

THE CASCADE

Joshua Radin is a musician who maintains an almost steadfast schedule of releasing a new album every two years.

There’s now nine years of distance since We Were Here made him the decisive leader in the romantic acoustic folk genre.

With Onward and Sideways, this is Radin’s sixth release and second independent album following 2013’s Wax Wings — and truth be told, this a much better album than that previous album.

Radin began his career by having soundtrack-worthy songs. So much so that his popularity came with having his tracks featured in the emotionally charged scenes on the

now-concluded Scrubs television show. And that’s how Radin made his name, pulling at those sensitive heartstrings.

Unfortunately, by releasing albums on such a stringent schedule we were ultimately left with an album like Wax Wings that almost felt like Radin’s own inner ambitions had lost their edge. That album had far too many songs that felt like they were following a template, and many fell flat, with one exception: “Beautiful Day.” Fortunately, that’s been ameliorated.

Radin has reconnected with whatever it was he needed to in order to deliver an outstanding album with Onward and Sideways. But make no mistake — this isn’t exactly the Radin of old. Radin has grown as a songwriter and musician, and

his music doesn’t feel like he’s exactly where he once was.

This album is a progression in mood.

With all 13 tracks falling at less than four minutes, this album is a shorter, succinct piece of lyrical and acoustic art.

There isn’t much to be found on the darker, brooding side of things, but that doesn’t present a problem when there are songs like the revised “Beautiful Day,” this time featuring Sheryl Crow. But it’s the second half of the album that’s laden with the lyrical heavy hitting tracks like “Blow Away,” “Worlds Apart,” “One and Only,” and “Old Friend.”

Perhaps the album’s title is fitting. With Onward and Sideways Radin has renewed himself and corrected the path that he was on with Wax Wings.

Meshes of Voice bridges gothic folk and harsh noise KODIE CHERRILLE THE CASCADE

It’s an old story for us musicguzzling SUVs of culture: the year comes and goes; we put together a tidy list of favourite albums released over the year; we dab the sweat off our temples as we labour over the order of albums five through seven. And then, soon after, some amazing album comes in like a jerk and shakes our list up, and the world is turned upside-down. August’s Meshes of Voice, by Jenny Hval and Susanna, has belatedly arrived to claim that spot this year.

The first proper song, “Black Lake,” delivers the album’s mission statement. On the surface, the song’s a melancholic folk dirge, with a simple verse-chorus-verse progression. But then a vast swath of noise (a distorted guitar coming through an overheating amp, recorded much too close to the mic) consumes everything like a violent deluge. As it ascends in volume and pitch, there is suddenly grounding: a tectonic bass drone and breathy crooning push the piece back to tonality. The violent surge recedes, and the piano returns — this time in a major key,

leading into the elegant, fragile coda: “The black lake took / The black lake gave.”

Hval has said in an interview that her songwriting process usually starts with some kind of noise or atmosphere as a prompt, as opposed to melodic or lyrical cues, and that she builds the rest of the song around that initial prompt. This likely explains how Meshes of Voice uses noise and ambience so well; these elements, which are often subordinated to more traditional elements like melody, are central to the song. Another impressive factor is how the lack of percussion (there might be two or three songs here with softly plodding drums or a close-mic’d standup bass keeping time, but not much else) doesn’t hinder the momentum of the music.

Meshes of Voice deftly walks a tightrope over gothic folk instrument, ambient textures, and drones that threaten to collapse into white noise. These musical elements compose the atmosphere of this world of an album: Hval and Susanna paint a haunted world suffused with mythology, menace, and beauty, and often project these images onto themselves (“O Sun O Medusa” leads to “A Mirror in My Mouth” leads to “Thirst

that Resembles Me”).

Through it all, it’s the human voice that keeps these disparate sounds and themes within this planet’s orbit. Both Susanna and Hval offer jarring vocal performances — with the former offering deep, meditative croons and chants, and the latter doing nothing short of vocal ballerina. Susanna’s vocal mix is cloaked in reverb, while Hval sings right into your ear in that chilling, sensual way had Bjork mastered in Vespertine. Album highlight “I Have a Darkness” takes digital vocal distortion straight out of The Knife’s playbook, segueing into a murky sheet of bass-heavy noise, all this ugliness still grounded by voice — “honeydew, honeydew,” they call — warbling like birds over a burning world.

Meshes of Voice is a breakthrough for both Hval and Susanna — two musicians with great musical chops taking a leap forward — and demands continuous immersion and exploration. How can I successfully speak reductively about such a lush world? How can I put this on my list of favourite things and be done with it? I cannot — all I can do is listen, again and again.

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ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Book

This isn’t Wonderland — welcome to Area X ANTHONY BIONDI THE CASCADE

There’s something strange and wonderful about Jeff Vandermeer ’s Southern Reach trilogy. If it were a recipe of genres, it would be three parts horror, two parts psychological thriller, three parts sci-fi, one part linguistics, and two parts literary fiction. If it were an organism, it would be alien, motile, and malignant.

Yet they’re books, and damned good ones. There is a unified volume containing all three novels, Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. I’m glad I read them as separate volumes; however, waiting to buy the next in the series nearly killed me. They’re some of the best novels I’ve read in a long time.

The trilogy opens with Annihilation — the shortest of the three — written as a field journal into a mysterious anomaly along the Florida coast known only as Area X. It is written by a woman known only as “the Biologist.” She is part of a four-woman team, with the other three members sharing equally ambiguous names: “the Surveyor,” “the Anthropologist,” and “the Psychologist.” The four of them are tasked with discovering the secrets of Area X, and as expected, the expedition does not go as planned.

One of the chief achievements of this novel, and the series as a whole, is the atmosphere of strangeness that permeates beyond the words on the page. Though the world around the Biologist appears normal, there is always the feeling that there is something wrong with it.

Vandermeer is a master when it comes to articulating this atmosphere.

He instills a feeling of uneasiness and weirdness from the get-go just by how he frames the novel. And much of the strangeness seems to come from the humanity of the other characters.

Area X changes people, and as I kept reading, I felt it was beginning to change me in some way too. The language of the novel, the strangeness of its passages, and the failing humanity of some of its characters seemed to chisel away at my mind as I read it, drawing me further into the book as I went along — and this was only the first volume.

With the sequel, Authority, the atmosphere changes. We are greeted with the protagonist known as “Control.” He has a name, but he goes by a title. He is the new director of the Southern Reach, and in charge of sending expeditions, though he is stuck cleaning up the mess of the previous one from the first novel. Authority exudes that strange, alien feeling of Area X. We’re given a government facility in a normal — albeit a little futuristic — world, yet still the strangeness remains.

Although it’s my least favourite of the trilogy, and other reviewers feel it’s somewhat inflated, I feel this novel was just as strong as the first in many ways.

“If the Southern Reach trilogy were an organism, it would be alien, motile and malignant.”

Image: Wikimedia

Vandermeer’s trilogy is based around Area X, located along the Florida coast.

It brings far more problems to the equation, and aims to solve some of them.

However, one of the joys of this novel is that it doesn’t beat you over the head with solutions. Vandermeer lets the explanation of Area X hide in the background of the book’s language. The solution is there, but it’s up to the reader to solve it. That being said, it’s nothing a Google search can’t assist. Despite the second novel’s inflation, I feel the added focus on the humanity of the characters in the Southern Reach adds to the depth of the series. It gives us the other side of the focus, and allows us to juxtapose the strangeness of Area X against something more real — though that reality is quickly called into question.

Finally, the third novel, Acceptance, approaches the origins of Area X. I found

“Area X changes people, and as I kept reading, I felt it was beginning to change me in some way too.” this somewhat confounded the atmosphere created by the previous two novels, and was probably my least favourite of the three. Instead of a singular narrative, the reader is split between three different points of view. The strangeness remains, but the layers begin to peel back a little.

However, with so many areas of focus, I felt the pace of the novel drastically shifted, and not for the better. One of the

Image: Kyle Cassidy / Flickr

points of view only seemed to add history and context to the other points of view, while another added understanding to the actions of the first novel. There was really only one point of view moving the story forward, and this drew me out of the novel. In the end, though, I got an ending I wasn’t expecting. It was both satisfying and as weird as the rest of the series.

What Jeff Vandermeer has done with the Southern Reach trilogy is construct a masterpiece. Within it are many deeper discussions of humanity, society, language, and nature. I feel like though Area X changed me as I read it, it changed me for the better, and there’s nothing better than a series of books that has a narrative and message so strong it strikes you right at the core.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

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SPORTS & HEALTH

The juicing detox: the first step to a healthier you MARISSA HARDER CONTRIBUTOR

This is the time of year that everyone is looking to make a change, and one of the most common obstacles people face is trying to lose weight. There are many different diets out there and I am sure we have tried and failed at a couple of them.

One way to start a new diet is to try a juicing detox. The detox helps cleanse the body of toxins and fill it with nutrients so you can start fresh. The detox can last three days or more, and each day you consume at least six bottles of freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, and nothing else.

Each bottle is a different assortment that loads your system with a variety of different nutrients. Research shows that a juicing detox can also help people quit smoking because nicotine is being removed from the body faster as the body cleanses. In order for this to work, sticking to the three to five days of juicing is required,

Chewing juice helps the digestive process. and doubles as motivation to finally quit.

Now, if the idea of a detox seems unappealing to you, you don’t have to follow it exactly.

Trying to eat enough fruits and vegetables on a regular ba-

sis is difficult for most people and especially for students who are on a budget. Juicing a large amount of produce — and drinking at least a glass a day — is an efficient way to get enough fruits and vegetables

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all at once, and is easier than trying to find time to eat the right foods. It is far easier to run to the closest fast food restaurant than to carry around a salad, a banana, and other healthy snacks to eat through-

Is bacon the ultimate belly blaster?

EKATERINA MARENKOV CONTRIBUTOR

After all the leftover turkey and stuffing had been devoured, and every last drop of egg nog had been consumed, I decided it was time to lose that extra holiday pound (fine, three and a half) I had accumulated over the course of winter break.

I was desperate to lose weight before anybody could notice its unwanted and very sudden appearance. Needless to say, a Google search was in order.

Along the way, I came across an article on Vox.com by Gregory Ferenstein called “I lost weight by eating lots of bacon and cream. Here’s a scientific explanation for why.”

Wait, so this guy is telling me I can lose fat by eating more fat?

Precisely.

Here’s how it worked: over the course of one month, Ferenstein wolfed down as much bacon and heavy cream that he

Bacon makes you feel happy, satisfied, and it reduces stress. could stomach. He aimed for 70 per cent of his caloric intake to come from fat. This included drowning his steaks in butter, eating coconut oil by the spoonful, and consuming at least a third of a pound of extra fatty bacon a week. During this month he also cut out as many carbohydrates as possible, ate

few fruits or vegetables, and completely eliminated grains from his diet.

Ultimately, Ferenstein lost seven pounds, one per cent body fat, 10 cholesterol points, and stated that overall he felt more energized.

Yet, fat is deemed as the source of all evil in the dieting

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world, so how is he even still alive from all that gluttony? Ferenstein concludes that America’s anti-fat craze is based on pure myth and lacks any scientific evidence other than there being an observational correlation between heart disease and trans fat. However, fat was unjustly deemed to be the cause

out the day. Juicing makes that transition into a healthier lifestyle slightly easier.

Of course, all diets come with a list of pros and cons, and it is up to each person to decide what works best for them. This detox is on the more expensive side, but in the long run, buying a juicer can help increase your fruit and vegetable intake, which can create a healthier you. The juice detox helps cleanse the body, and you can drop about three to five pounds, but it is not a cure-all.

After the detox is over, a regular workout routine and continuing to eat healthy foods is the way to go — juicing just gives you a jumpstart. There are many people who struggle with eating right and exercising regularly; the juicing detox is the first step to losing weight and feeling better.

The detox can be completed every three months, but if it is not right for you, having only a glass or two of fresh juice is better than the fast food you were planning to eat at lunch.

of cardiovascular disease and obesity, consequently turning the masses straight to devouring carbs — which has turned out to be an even bigger factor in causing obesity.

In reality, fats are loaded with vitamins such as E, K2, and D, and numerous other nutrients, whereas sugars and carbs are not only addictive, but awaken the appetite, leaving you hungrier than before.

Now I’m not saying it’s a good idea to bathe yourself in bacon grease and whipped cream in order to lose weight, because a “one-size-fits-all” model doesn’t exist (nor do I want to be responsible for your potential heart attack). Each individual’s metabolism is different.

So while for some, like Ferenstein, this diet may do wonders, for others it could make being overweight the least of their health issues.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

UFV wrestling team is dominating across Canada NATHAN HUTTON THE CASCADE

This is getting to be a little ridiculous from the UFV men’s wrestling team. At UFV we have a lot of impressive teams that have played well this season; the men’s basketball team has won 22 straight regular season games, and the women’s basketball team is defending their national bronze medal this season. But the wrestling team is making waves and dominating the Canada West competition this season.

In just two conference tournaments they have earned gold medals, and have done so in a dominant fashion. This past weekend they travelled to Edmonton for a tournament hosted by the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The tournament included some of the premier wrestling talent from the Canada West, including the aforementioned Bears and the Winnipeg Wesmen, home to national silver medalist Kyle Nguyen.

It is crazy to imagine that at

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Catch the wrestling team for yourself in Abbotsford on Feb. 1 this time last year, the wrestling team was just a thought at UFV, and now they are one of the most dominant programs in Western Canada. Coaches Raj Virdi and Arjan Bhullar have built a program that was unimaginable to many last year. The two men, who have Olympic wrestling experience between them, somehow transformed our little school into

a wrestling powerhouse, and could very well be the next dynasty of Canadian university wrestling.

Just look at the numbers from their trip to Edmonton. They scored 49 team points from their individual victories that earned them first place, beating second-placed Alberta by a whopping 17 points. To put that into perspective, the other

five teams outside the Cascades were separated by only six points.

Individually the Cascades weren’t that bad, either. Jasmit Phulka, the 82-kilogram beast, won his third gold medal of the year in his category (and also won at the Calgary Dino Invitational and the SFU International). The best part of the day for the Cascades, however,

came in a heavyweight matchup against a national medalist in the Winnipeg Wesmen, Kyle Nguyen.

It was the Cascades’ Manheet Kalhon that would play spoiler for Nguyen, pulling off the upset 7-5 win in the heavyweight category.

Coach Raj Virdi was ecstatic about his team’s performance, and commented to Cascades Media about the tournament showing.

“We didn’t even have our full lineup, and we were able to be the best team in Canada West this weekend,” he said. “It’s something that’s tremendous, and myself and Arjan and the team have worked really hard to get to where we’ve gotten so far. Throughout the tournament, everyone wrestled really well.”

The Cascades are off until February 1 — Super Bowl Sunday — when they host the Cascades Classic at the Envision Athletic Centre in Abbotsford.

How do female international students fare with health care in Canada?

ASHLEY WADHWANI THE OMEGA

KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CUP) — A pilot study looking at the current health care accessibility and use by female international students is being conducted on TRU campus. The researchers, senior lecturer Florriann Fehr and co-investigators Kim Munich and Wendy McKenzie are collecting data through interviews with women on their experiences with Canada’s health care system.

The interviews are focusing on the “specific cultural and religious influences [that] may influence unaddressed health care needs while attending Canadian post-secondary programs,” according to the description of the study currently being handed out to international student women interested in participating.

“The little information we have has been largely on mental health,” said Allison Perry, fourth-year nursing student and assistant researcher in the study.

Perry has always been interested in being culturally com-

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petent and culturally safe in health practices. This research allows her to pursue both her passions of anthropology and nursing.

According to Fehr, the data is already showing insufficiencies in Canadian health care, particularly maternity care.

For example, international students, specifically women from Saudi Arabia, are having babies in Kamloops, but where these women are getting post-pregnancy care from is unclear.

“There’s this big disconnect.

The nurses are saying ‘we don’t know where they’re going afterward,’ and public health is having issues contacting them, too” Fehr said. “As educators and ethical people, we think ‘well I hope that they’re getting

the services they need because they’re here going through TRU.’” Fehr completed her PhD with a focus on students raising children while they’re in post-secondary programs.

“My whole interest is making sure that this transition, of coming here on campus and having their academic life, is balanced with all the other stuff they need to have done outside of school. There’s this vulnerable group or unknown group of TRU international students, females in particular,” she said.

Click here for the original article in the Omega The data is already revealing a misunderstanding on the insurance coverage that international students have, where

some women students believe it’s cheaper to travel back to their home countries in order to have basic procedures, according to Fehr.

“They miss all these facts… and we’ve had a couple that have gone home for something as simple as a yeast infection.

[Here] it’s an over the counter [medication] or maybe they go through a doctor, but [it’s] not known how simple it is,” Fehr said.

The data has also shown a disconnect between Western uses of certain medications and other cultural beliefs or practices. According to Fehr, some Chinese students bring an extra bag of luggage filled with traditional medicines from home such as teas and herbs.

“They don’t have any trust with the Westernized system.

There is no bridging between the kinds of [medications] we have offered here and their stuff…when they go and see a doctor, they’re worried that they’re going to be given medicine that isn’t safe,” Fehr said.

“They have a different way of looking at medications and treatments and antibiotics too.”

Other cultural differences

found in the data include the concept of 911. In mainland China they have several emergency numbers for specific emergencies, according to Fehr.

“Some have phoned 911 not knowing what to expect on the other side and have panicked,” she said.

Other misconceptions Fehr has noticed through the interviews have been the role a pharmacist plays in prescriptions, how breastfeeding clinics work and a struggle adjusting to Canadian food leading to skin and stomach issues.

The group has mostly interviewed female students from China and India, but the pilot study is looking to expand to all groups on campus.

“It’s very preliminary, just understanding the basic expectations and experiences these women have had thus far,” Perry said.

Perry hopes this opens doors for more research.

“At this point we’re just collecting data. We need more answers and we definitely need other cultures,” Fehr said