The Cascade Vol. 23 No. 20

Vol. 23 Issue 20

September 9, 2015 to September 15, 2015

HO stu W D den O I t?

Checking ourselves without wrecking ourselves since 1993

#UPFORDEBATE SHUT DOWN

SUPERMAN’S DEAD?

HOW TO WATCH A GAME

Much is left unsaid when federal candidates

Charting the rise and fall of superhero movies

A primer on varsity sports for the uninitiated

p. 17

p. 18

refuse to talk about women’s issues

p. 7

ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Old AfterMath space to become a fitness centre

News

6

Opinion

9

Culture

12

Put a lid on it

Arts in Review

17

Carly Rae Jepsen impresses with her lyricism

Sports & Health

19

Learn how to row, row, row your boat

The Student Union Society campus restaurant has moved to the Student Union Building — so the old space is being renovated into a fitness centre.

Orienting you beyond New Student Orientation From the best nap spots on campus to tips on getting cheap textbooks, Hillary Rowe offers advice for new UFV students.

Volume 23 · Issue 20 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Editor-in-Chief kodie@ufvcascade.ca Kodie Cherrille

Raconteur-in-residence Thomas Palakon weighs in on how — and when — to wear a hat.

Michael Scoular comes away from Emotion convinced it should have been the album of the summer.

UFV’s rowing program will offer lessons this fall, starting with an information session on Thursday, September 10.

The privilege of involvement Is it reasonable to expect campus engagement from all students?

Managing Editor valerie@ufvcascade.ca Valerie Franklin Business Manager jennifer@ufvcascade.ca Jennifer Trithardt-Tufts Production Manager brittany@ufvcascade.ca Brittany Cardinal Copy Editor kat@ufvcascade.ca Kat Marusiak News Editor megan@ufvcascade.ca Megan Lambert Opinion Editor alex@ufvcascade.ca Alex Rake Culture Editor seamus@ufvcascade.ca Seamus Heffernan Arts in Review Editor martin@ufvcascade.ca Martin Castro Sports Editor vanessa@ufvcascade.ca Vanessa Broadbent Webmaster brayden@ufvcascade.ca Brayden Buchner Production Assistant danielle@ufvcascade.ca Danielle Collins Distributors Vanessa Broadbent and Tia Oostenbrug

KODIE CHERRILLE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

If you checked out the tables at New Student Orientation or UJoin, you probably experienced something akin to sensory overload as student groups, services, publications, initiatives, collectives, clubs, and associations, vied for your attention. Enthusiastic representatives at the table tell you to check them out, to put your email here, to get involved.

If you were one of those representatives behind those tables, you probably at one point asked yourself that maddeningly oftrepeated question: How do we get students involved?

I don’t want to ask that question here. I want to ask something else: What are we asking for from people when we talk about “student involvement?”

I’ve written before about how being part of The Cascade has changed my life and how happy I am to be part of it. But I also know that my ability to be involved in it would probably be undercut if I

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

weren’t living with my parents, if my financial standing weren’t as stable as it is, or if I had to take care of someone’s immediate needs other than my own.

Because I have the time to invest myself in something beyond simply making ends meet, I have the ability to get involved.

Implied in the question of how to get students involved, then, is “how able are you to get involved?” In other words, it becomes a question of privilege.

Because of my involvement with the paper, I was invited to attend an annual Canadian student journalism conference in Ottawa last January. Having the opportunity to discuss issues pertinent to the world of student journalism with other editors and journalists, so similarly engrossed in it all, was illuminating and empowering. Similar invitations to conferences, summits, and conventions — usually offering leadership development and skill- and connection-building for a small group of students — are extended to other groups on

campus, like the Student Union Society, CIVL Radio, and some clubs and associations like eSports Valley.

While these opportunities should definitely be seized, I cannot help but wonder whether giving them to students who have the ability to get involved reinforces the privilege that allows them to get so involved in the first place.

And if one’s co-curricular record — a university record that recognizes extra-curricular activities and the skills and experiences acquired from them — is taken at all seriously by potential employers or grad schools, then those with the privilege of getting involved on campus will win every time.

How about a CCR for single mothers balancing schoolwork with a job and a child or two?

How about a conference for those unable to immediately funnel their passions into something on campus because they’re busy trying to stay afloat?

If you think often about stu-

dent engagement at UFV, you’re probably aware of the image of UFV as a commuter school. Students go to class, and then go home — where’s the place for student engagement in that scenario?

But it’s the flexibility that UFV has as a so-called commuter school that also allows people to get a relatively cheap post-secondary education while balancing other commitments. Their experiences outside the classroom are as meaningful as those of engaged students, and should be accounted for if we’re going to start keeping track of what kinds of experiences are marketable.

This isn’t intended to dismiss the merits of engagement. If you can, find a place at UFV where you can funnel that passion. But let’s not leave behind those that can’t.

Contributors Sonja Klotz, Hillary Rowe, and Robert Sweeney Cover art: Brittany Cardinal

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 1000 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.

www.ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

New vending machines on campus part of provincial cost-cutting plan Universities mandated to negotiate as block while funding decreases for public education

NEWS

MICHAEL SCOULAR

BRIEFS SFU union strike set for this week BURNABY — The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) at SFU is preparing to protest this week during the first two days of the Fall 2015 semester. The TSSU says that after six weeks’ notice, SFU administration had no proposals or negotiation plans to bring to the scheduled mediation. However, SFU’s director of communications Kurt Heinrich states that SFU had five proposals that were tabled because the TSSU did not accept them.

Some classes may be cancelled in the first week, due to the membership at the picket lines including faculty.

- The Peak

SUS Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for next Tuesday ABBOTSFORD — The Student Union Society (SUS) is holding an Extraordinary General Meeting next Tuesday, September 15 at 9 a.m. in room S1114.

SUS will present their operating budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, which consists of student fees from both domestic and international students at UFV. The proposed bylaw changes include extending the term of office for board members by one month (to April 30), and to include all SUS executives in the creation of the operating budget.

Chilliwack medical marijuana to be grown on agricultural land CHILLIWACK — Since the province added rules to the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) that licensed medical marijuana is allowed to be grown on farmland, the Chilliwack City Council has expressed their dissatisfaction.

Councillors brought up arguments about the smell and chemicals used to grow marijuana affecting neighbouring homes, and had attempted to create an industrial zone to house the plants. However, this bylaw now has to be changed to align with the provincial regulations. A public hearing for the rezoning bylaw is scheduled for September 15, 2015.

- The Chilliwack Progress

Have a news tip?

Let us know! news@ufvcascade.ca @CascadeNews

THE CASCADE

At budget forums, program announcements, and in meeting rooms around the province, the message is consistent: the provincial government is allowing public education funding to fall.

In some cases provincial funding is now approaching only 50 per cent of university operating budgets.

To offset this news, the BC government has countered with some alternative measures: instead of guaranteed Adult Education funding, the possibility of individual grants. Or, when it comes to administrative costs, bargaining infrastructure they dubbed the Administrative Service Delivery Transformation (ASDT) initiative when it was introduced in 2012.

The latest work of the ASDT will bring an all-new set of vending machines to UFV for 2015-16.

The ASDT bears an ambitious title, and its purpose — bringing together every public post-secondary institution in the province — is complex. But its focus is narrow, streamlining everyday processes with the intent of saving costs. The vending machine agreement follows developments in the areas of IT service, natural gas supply, and purchasing cards.

“That is part of the provincial government’s mandate,” said ancillary services director Cameron Roy, who led the proposal and contract process for the project.

“The vending initiative was done so that it brings value. The whole idea is [higher] volume purchases will bring in a better investment in the institution.”

With the ability to promise an entire group of campuses that will house products and services

Image Credit: Megan Lambert

Vending machines across campus are changing to reflect the new contract. for students who will use them, proposals through the ASDT are superior to what UFV has seen in the past, Roy said.

For the vending machines, the Vancouver-based Ryan Company Ltd. offered additional product, scholarship investment, and the potential for UFV grad hires in the future. In order to agree on those terms, the contract length ended up being seven years, with the option for three additional two-year terms. Roy says the university believes the benefits will be worth it.

“Typically our contracts are five years,” he said. “But we collectively decided, among all the team members of our working group, seven years would be a better return on investment.”

When the Ministry of Advanced Education announced the

vending machine contract, it did so saying the agreement “will save the initial participating institutions up to $4 million over the life of the contract.”

Roy explains that this optimistic summary looks a bit different when broken down from UFV’s point of view, and does not apply if the contract is not extended with both optional terms.

“That is the best-case scenario ... it’s not a misnomer, because we will see that over 13 years, but it won’t be [all UFV] ... that’s the collective,” he says.

Overall revenue from the ASDT, in this particular case divided among the 11 institutions who have joined the vending machine agreement, will also be an amount that fluctuates from year to year, depending on the status of projects. In the Ministry’s

2015-16 letter regarding budget expectations sent to UFV chief financial officer Jackie Hogan, a reduction of $720,247 in UFV’s budget falls under the year-over-year change in “Post-secondary Sector Administrative Efficiencies.”

For now, UFV can count on the ASDT to be a continued source of new developments. The Ministry’s mandate letter to UFV’s Board of Governors includes the initiative as a “strategic priority action,” and timelines from the summer show plans for new deals related to travel management (contract by September), office supplies (proposals were scheduled for August), and natural gas (UFV is listed as on-board for a winter buy-in). Hogan and UFV president Mark Evered will continue to serve on the initiative’s steering and executive committees, respectively.

As for the vending machines, Roy said they will improve life for students in small, hopefully invisible ways; a good machine, apparently, is one that doesn’t stick out too noticeably.

“We are looking to reduce the number of machines on campus ­— to be more efficient with our power — but also so [we] don’t turn the campus into [a place that has] a vending machine every 20 metres,” he said.

According to Roy, the new vending machines will also be more power-efficient, and accept more payment options besides cash. The one exception will be the new Student Union Building on the Abbotsford campus, where the Student Union Society manages space and food options separate from the rest of the university.

With files from Megan Lambert.

Peer Resource and Leadership Centre now open in the Student Union Building MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE / PHOTOS

The Coast Capital Savings Peer Resource and Leadership Centre, located in the Student Union Building next to the Student Life offices on the first floor, opened quietly over the summer. The space was created to give stu-

dents a starting point to find out about UFV services, advising, and / or student activities.

The centre operates on a $50,000 grant from Coast Capital Savings, and can be renewed for three more years.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Low attendance but high participation at U-District townhall meeting MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE

The seats in room B101 were mostly empty, but the discussion about the U-District plan to develop the King Road area from a remote industrial landscape into a livable hub for students continued well after the scheduled end time.

Approximately 30 people attended the townhall-style UDistrict meeting last Wednesday, September 2, where a guest speaker gave her presentation, and a Q&A period followed.

Campus planning director Brodie Bain, from the Seattle office of Perkins + Will architecture and design firm, gave a slideshow presentation on the trends in campus development. The presentation used photos of modern glass walls and brightly lit corridors, but there were no specific plans or concepts directly related to UFV or the U-District. Bain was hired to give workshops earlier in the day so UFV administration could get some ideas from her years of experience in campus planning.

She said the way of building universities is beginning to follow trends in education, including the focus on group work and student-led learning. Bain said that because of less public funding, the increased use of distance or online learning, the wider demographic of students pursuing post-secondary, and the changing perception of a university as an ivory tower, it’s important for a university to keep up with the direction of education with a flex-

ible design.

“You absolutely can look at the implications of the physical environment,” she said. “It’s about facilitating the mission, goals, and activities of an institution that we’re creating the environment for.”

Bain then spoke about the redesign of classrooms, explaining that the trend is moving away from the traditional style of a professor at the front with students facing forward, and towards the use of all four walls.

VP academic Eric Davis took an opportunity to speak to this, saying the 20th century university model is of the professor instructing the student, but that the 21st century model is of the student asking questions and the professor facilitating learning beyond that.

“The 20th-century university was built around instruction by faculty in the classroom. The 21st-century university will be built around learning by students everywhere,” he said.

This aligns with Bain’s portfolio: classrooms are designed with tables and chairs that have group work in mind, are wired for the latest technology, and have sleek, minimalistic surfaces below eyelevel. The themes in her presentation included open and transparent architecture with flexible and efficient use of space within those buildings. Bain also mentioned the use of large gathering spaces outside of classrooms for students to use individually or in teams.

This is the trend in other modern buildings, too; an example is

Image Credit: UFV Flickr

Guest speaker Brodie Bain spoke about adapting university space to fit collaborative education models. the HighStreet Shopping Centre in Abbotsford that has floor-toceiling glass walls and simple furniture. However, as the building trends from decades past go in and out of style, Bain reinforced the merit of staying adaptable.

“You want to place a couple of more iconic uses and elements of the campus in certain locations, and then everything else should stay flexible. You just don’t know where the funding is going to come from, what the needs are going to be, and how the campus

might grow,” she said.

After associate vice-president of institutional research and integrated planning Vladimir Dvoracek asked her opinion of what UFV’s focal point is, Bain responded that it seems to be the Abbotsford campus Green.

As the U-District takes shape, executive director of campus planning and resource development Craig Toews said that using UFV’s infrastructure in an attractive and effective way might have a positive impact on student retention.

“It’ll be a stimulating environment for creative learning and collaboration,” he said. “If we get this right, this could be a real game-changer for Abbotsford in terms of retaining young people and the talent that we’re currently losing to Vancouver.”

The U-District project planning is currently in its second phase, “Choices and Direction,” synthesizing data collected from research and previous public input.

This phase will continue until December 2015.

You’ll fit right in.

All UFV students are invited to write for The Cascade!

Come to one of our writers meetings at 1:00 p.m. on Mondays in room S2111 (at the top of the stairs in the SUB), or email valerie@ufvcascade.ca to be added to our mailing list.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

UFV Board of Governors reconvenes for September meeting MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE

It was a tight squeeze last Thursday, September 3, in the A building boardroom where the UFV Board of Governors gathered for their first meeting of the academic year.

The board invited several guests, including mayor Henry Braun and School District 34 superintendent Kevin Godden.

The in-camera items brought forward from the July planning session at Harrison Hot Springs included some revised policies, such as the addition of the SUB to the board policy on the Student Union Society (SUS); new programs awaiting UFV Senate approval, including the advanced medical office assistant certificate and the paralegal certificate;

and updated committee memberships.

However, these items were not discussed at last week’s board meeting. Chair Barry Delaney said they were all known to the board, and dismissed the information points as a last mention before dinner. The majority of the meeting was a discussion around events, campaigns, and various UFV initiatives.

One of those initiatives is to indigenize UFV. Indigenization is the process of incorporating aboriginal history, traditions, and / or beliefs into course material in the hopes that students will grow to be more aware of the indigenous cultures of the region. Associate vice-president, academic Peter Geller and senior advisor of indigenous affairs Shirley Hardman presented a few ideas on how to begin this process at UFV

— despite UFV being one out of 11 universities in BC to not have received a provincial grant for that initiative.

One of these ideas is to continue collaborating with the Indigenous Teaching Education Program (NITEP) — a program for aspiring aboriginal teachers to learn methodologies and teaching practices that align with First Nations cultures. UFV offers this program as a UBC cohort for students.

Hardman said that partnerships do exist between the Stó:lō Tribal Council and reconciliation circles such as Bright New Futures. UFV is currently drafting an indigenization policy, which has not yet been finalized.

Mayor Henry Braun gave a brief talk about the City of Abbotsford’s Official Community Plan (OCP); in regards to UFV, he

mentioned transportation.

“One of the first things I want to do is revisit how we do transit in our city,” he said. He went on to say that that would work in conjunction with the U-District planning, as the goals of a liveable city align with the OCP. Braun also mentioned that UFV is a sponsor of the 2016 BC Summer Games. The sporting event will be held in Abbotsford next year, and Braun thanked the board in advance for the use of UFV facilities for hosting competitions.

Superintendent Godden also spoke to potential partnerships with UFV. He noted that the provincial K-12 school system is in the midst of reform, similar to post-secondary institutions, to align with the BC Ministry of Education’s plan to focus on skills in trades and technology.

“The transition to post-secondary in the Fraser Valley is one of the lowest in the province,” he said, going on to mention that a goal of the Abbotsford School District is to improve this rate.

In his report, UFV president Mark Evered noted that there will be a new streetlight maintenance program in the Faculty of Applied and Technical Studies, and that the criminology department received a $220,000 research grant from the National Research Council of Canada.

The board adjourned their public session shortly after 6:30 p.m.

The next UFV Board of Governors meeting is October 1, 2015 at the Heritage Park campus in Mission at 4:30 p.m.

Student orientation sessions held to promote student engagement on campus

Image Credit: UFV Flickr

Left: International students listen to a talk that encouraged them to “speak up in class.”

Above: Students serve food to newcomers at NSO. Below: Volunteers with UFV International take a break in the SUB at International Student Orientation.

Image credit: Megan Lambert

MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE

The annual New Student Orientation brought roughly 1,000 students together, said UFV vicepresident Jody Gordon at the UFV Board of Governors meeting last week. International Student Orientation also offered two orientation sessions with approximately 150 students.

Orientation for both domes-

tic and international students was held in the Student Union Building, the gymnasium, and in various classrooms on campus, giving new students opportunities to learn about the difference in expectations between high school and university, meet representatives from student clubs and associations, and to familiarize themselves with the UFV campus.

Image Credit: Megan Lambert

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

AfterMath space will become new fitness centre MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE

Following the Student Union Society campus restaurant’s move to the second floor of the Student Union Building, the AfterMath space will be rennovated into a fitness centre.

“The former AfterMath space has been cleaned up and will host some small classes of yoga, Pilates, etc. beginning in September,” reads a line in UFV president Mark Evered’s monthly report. The name of the new centre is yet to be determined.

The Cascade will continue to cover this story in the following weeks.

UFV is currently reconstructing the Student Union Society’s former restaurant AfterMath into a fitness centre.

Image Credit: Michael Scoular

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

SNAPSHOTS

Image: Danielle Collins

Take it easy Martin Castro

I’m pretty nervous right now. I haven’t even attended my first class yet, and I’m nervous.

I’m not nervous about how class will be — I mean, I’m in my third year of university. I’m used to classes and the responsibility and stress that comes with them. I guess I’m nervous because any time I accomplish one of my goals, I immediately focus on a new one. I don’t give myself time to celebrate those accomplishments, as small as they may appear to be.

As the semester crawls to a start, remember that as daunting as your car payments, grades, social life, and work may be, it’s always important to take a step back and appreciate the fact that you’re making progress. And the fact that you’re worried about these issues means that you’re paying attention to them, and that fact should put your worries to rest — at least until midterms roll around, anyway.

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Image: Danielle Collins

Image: Danielle Collins

Image: Danielle Collins

School year’s resolutions

Thanks, Abby bike thieves

K-Cups should be trashed

So it’s a new semester, a real chance to start fresh. For once, I swear to God, I’m going to plan out all my assignments well in advance, go to bed at a reasonable time every day, and show up to class on time, every time!

Who am I kidding? No I won’t. I’m not going to have an organized binder. I’m not going to develop a system of marking textbooks with post-it notes. Certainly, I’m not going to refrain from doodling during lectures.

Every year, many of us make these impossible “School Year’s Resolutions,” and

by October we’ve lost all faith in them. This causes all kind of unnecessary anguish: “I’m not good enough!” or, “I’ve failed myself!” or, “I might as well just give up!” We ought to give up on these resolutions and allow ourselves a little psychological slack. Fantasies of smooth-running goal-accomplishment are nice, but accepting that we’re not academic machines is nicer. Be human, screw up sometimes, and do your best without destroying yourself.

Welcome to Abbotsford! The land where you cannot be expected to own a decent quality bike for longer than a year.

Recently, my shared dorm was broken into and three rather expensive road bikes were stolen. Victim One bought their bike barely one month ago, Victim Two purchased her bike six months ago, and Victim Three bought her bike less than nine months ago — to replace her bike which was stolen less than a year ago.

The worst part of the story: these bikes were on the second floor of an apartment.

The thieves climbed in a window to snatch them, and then walked right out the back door. Where the hell do people get off with this shit? Maybe life is rough, but is climbing into someone else’s apartment to steal their primary method of transportation really a good option in even the toughest spot? So much for honour among thieves.

K-Cups are little white lies — they promise a fresh cup of coffee, but what they fail to mention is that they are just another item of disposable plastic created to appease our own laziness.

That’s right, laziness. It takes just as much effort to put a K-Cup in a machine as it does to scoop a teaspoon of coffee into a filter.

The idea of technology and mass-production making our lives easier is quickly transforming into brands selling us disposable products to create the illusion of ease. Simply put, we use K-Cups because they seem easy, when really, scooping coffee isn’t that much more difficult.

Just to add insult to injury, K-Cups are expensive. Not only are we buying into a lie, we’re paying $20 a week — not to mention the costly and soon-to-be-obsolete-anyway contraptions that only work with those little plastic devils.

As if this weren’t bad enough, K-Cups are adding to our tonnes of waste, one tiny bucket at a time. Most K-Cups — and their Verismo, Tassimo, and NesCafé cousins — are not recyclable or biodegradable. Solution: if you have a K-Cup machine, please purchase a reusable filter. Nature will thank you for it.

Alex Rake

Mitch Huttema

Megan Lambert

Women’s rights must be #UpForDebate SONJA KLOTZ CONTRIBUTOR

Do you want a more sustainable economy and a healthy social environment? Want Canada to be a leading nation according to its Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms again? Then I urge you, as a Canadian, to not downplay the reality that women face simply because they are not men.

Women make up 50.4 per cent of Canada’s population according to Stats Canada — they hold the majority of potential voters in this federal election. Although more men participate in Canada’s workforce with 70 per cent male participation, women are still following close behind with a 61 per cent participation rate. In

most cases, young, single-family homes led by women are living below the poverty line, trying to make ends meet by working multiple jobs. Living in an unstable, stressful economic environment as a woman can lead to significant increases in substance abuse and domestic violence.

One hundred and seventy five organizations from all across Canada have created an Alliance for Women’s Rights to raise awareness and engage in a public discussion with Canada’s political leaders about the needs and experiences of women in our society. In light of the federal election, an #UpForDebate campaign has been growing to encourage political candidates to hold a televised debate pertaining to women’s

rights.

Despite the willingness and enthusiasm of Elizabeth May and Justin Trudeau for taking part in this proposed televised debate, both Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair decided against participating, therefore canceling a nationally-engaged debate on women’s rights that could have encouraged local constituencies to partake in further debate.

Recently, a Conservative party source told the Toronto Star that they have “been told no debates and no media.” The announcement continues to affect all Conservative candidates in this election, hindering them from engaging with public media and public forums. In the same article, the Star reported that, according

to Andrew MacDougall (Harper’s director of communications from 2012 to 2013), “it’s much more effective to get your message to a voter on their doorstep than through a filter.”

Originally, Mulcair had shown a keen interest and commitment to participate in the #UpForDebate broadcast, only to decide at the last minute that it would not be effective for his campaign if not all of the leaders were present. In an earlier interview with the CBC, Mulcair stated, “Since Stephen Harper is the person I want to defeat and replace, I’ll take part in debates where he’s present. Otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense, would it?”

But to disregard prevalent, systemic, gender-based issues such

as violence against women, the mirage of upward mobility in our workplaces, and gender-based prejudice as less important than a federal politician’s campaign strategy is utterly demoralizing, and an ineffective and embarrassing example of national leadership. We must create an open discussion with the political leaders of our communities and our nation about these issues which lie at the core of our diverse Canadian society, because ignoring issues of women’s rights will only reinforce the systemic cycle of violence and prejudice. You simply cannot resolve the world’s political catastrophes while ignoring issues that affect half of Canada’s population.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

What New Student Orientation didn’t teach you 4. Use the free parking zones Finding a free parking spot is a great way to save money all semester long. Think about it this way: every $2 you save on parking is another coffee you can afford during finals, which is roughly equivalent to an extra three hours of sleep-free study time before your exam! Some of the best spots include the big Park and Ride just off the McCallum exit, the parallel street parking on McCallum across from the old movie theatre, and down the hill on King Road.

HILLARY ROWE CONTRIBUTOR

So you attended New Student Orientation ­ — now what? Your first few days on campus can be daunting. You still don’t really know where anything is, how anything works, or how to get free parking. Here are some tips to help you survive your first semester at UFV. 1. Make new friends It may seem pretty basic, but making friends in class is one of the best things you can do. Developing a solid crew for working on assignments, or just testing out someone’s project-partner compatibility, is a great way to start each new semester. Not only will campus life feel more friendly and familiar, but you will find that this new support network is a great resource for your overall academic success.

2. Explore the campus Three places you will want to find are a study zone, naptime real estate, and a place to just chill. It’s really important to find a study zone that fits your personal needs. For eerie silence, head up to the top floor of the library (called “the stacks”). If you want a low buzz of background activity, choose somewhere like the Rainbow Lounge in B building, or the bottom floor of the library. If you enjoy a deafening roar of conversation around you, try the cafeteria between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

You might also need to recover

Image: US Air Force/ flickr

The time you spend in class is only a fraction of the time you spend on campus, so why not get comfortable while you’re here? from a crazy weekend, or that exhausting calculus class. Having a comfy spot on campus to catch up on some “z”s is a good way to make sure you are alert for your next class. I won’t reveal my personal naptime destination, but a couple of popular spots are the big leather couches in G building, or the benches in the geography wing of A building, on the top floor.

As for a chill-space, the cafete-

ria can be a gong show, so some other top picks are the Science Centre, or our brand-spankingnew Student Union Building. Of course, there’s always the Canoe, the restaurant on campus which, incidentally, serves real beer! With alcohol!

3. Look for cheap textbooks Shopping for five classes at $100 per textbook might roughly equate to your first month’s rent.

Buying them used is a great way to save money. You can troll the bulletin boards scattered around campus to find a textbook on the cheap, or check websites like Books 2 Go. This site in particular allows you to search specifically by institution and class. Also, always make sure to ask your instructor before buying an older version of a required text to make sure that it will still be appropriate.

5. Check out student services A lot of students fail to take full advantage of the student services on campus. Even if you feel that you understand the material covered in class, and are happy with your grades, stop by one of these centres to get even more out of your educational experience. For tips on anything from fine-tuning an essay, to making a presentation, to studying smart (not hard) — someone, somewhere, can help you. A few of these services are the Math Centre, the Academic Success Centre, the Science Centre, and Supported Learning Groups.

I hope these tips help you to not only survive your first semester, but to fondly incorporate the University of the Fraser Valley into your personal definition of home.

UFV cuts waitlists, waits for praise REPP LACEMONT REPORTING IN

In lieu of a recent survey conducted by the Department for University Happiness (DUH), UFV has done away with its waitlists.

“The survey revealed that a shocking 80 per cent of students don’t actually like to be on waitlists,” said DUH representative Evelyn Knowles. “So we recommended that UFV consider restructuring their registration system.”

When asked about the other 20 per cent who actually do like waiting on waitlists, Knowles replied that “those students are a bit fucked up.”

Besides the removal of waitlists, UFV’s plans for restructuring include a social app where

students can review class / teacher combinations and keep tabs on what others are signing up for, as well as a “Random Class Selector” for students who like surprises. These new features are intended to “increase student engagement with the registration process,” according to UFV janitor Frank.

“We hope students will have lots of good things to say about these changes,” added Frank.

Though some critics have argued that removing the waitlists means denying students certain opportunities, like not getting into the classes they wanted, Knowles asserted that the new system has worked at other universities “without a hitch,” and UFV should be no exception.

“As at other universities that have done away with waitlists, such as UBC, SFU, and Kwantlen,” Knowles assured a busy Frank last Friday, “if students do not make the initial registration for a class they’d like to take, they just have to show up on the first day and hope the professor takes pity on them. Most professors still have hearts, y’know.”

Frank grunted in agreement as he replaced a garbage bag in the cafeteria, adding that “while there are rumours that waitlists will be replaced with an ‘Academic Waiting Centre,’ I can provide no information at this time.”

Satire

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

CROSSWORD Et al.

9

ACROSS

by KATIE STOBBART

2. The timid sidekick of A.A. Milne’s honey-loving icon, which will be 90 next year. (6) 6. How to sum up everything else in a word? Try this one, from the Latin. (8) 8. Temporary accommodation for soldiers, often a civilian’s house. (6) 10. This small tower is a popular feature of medieval architecture. (6) 11. This mollusk uses the rim of its cup-shaped shell as a bulldozer to drive competing barnacles and mussels away from its primary food source, algae. (6)

DOWN 1. To remove the bones. (6) 3. Someone on strike will probably do this. (6) 4. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” is an example of this. (6) 5. This Broadway production, whose title itself is a kind of performance, is approaching its 50th anniversary in 2016 as well as a North American tour. (7) 7. Famous last words, often used to signify the greatest betrayal, especially by a friend. Hint: UFV Theatre recently performed the play that features this quotation. (2, 2) 9.A cluster of pancreatic cells which release insulin to maintain blood sugar levels. Or, a tiny landmass completely surrounded by sea. (5)

The Weekly Horoscope

Last issue’s crossword ACROSS 3. TORSO 5. ORB 8. ORAL 9. CHORE 10. ORGAN 11. LIQUOR 12. WORM DOWN 1. PORK 2. ORCHARD 4. SNORE 6. BORROW 7. ACTOR 11. LORD

Star Signs from Sybil la Clair

Aquarius: Jan 20 to Feb 18: You reap what you sow — just make sure you don’t plant seeds before a massive earthquake.

Gemini: May 21 to June 21: If you’re thinking about legally changing your name to a character from House of Cards, it will totally suit you.

Pisces: Feb 19 to March 20: Take some time to recharge ... your phone, that is.

Cancer: June 22 to July 22: Beware of thorny bushes — don’t let all the roses fool you.

Aries: March 21 to April 19: You will encounter a small gnome at the entrance of the SUB, only to realize it’s a bush and you should have more coffee.

Leo: July 23 to Aug 22: Try not to brush your teeth too rigorously this week. Your family might start to worry.

Taurus: April 20 to May 20: There will be something about the way you look tonight.

Virgo: Aug 23 to Sept 22: Take your time when answering questions. Make sure to pause at commas and breathe at periods.

Don’t choke on semicolons.

Libra: Sept 23 to Oct 22: Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll still be able to put “space lord” on your resume.

Scorpio: Oct 23 to Nov 21: A four-leaf clover will come across your path — only to be stuck in the mud under your shoe.

Sagittarius: Nov 22 to Dec 21: Clip-on earrings are a thing of the past. But there’s always opportunity to fight the good fight.

Capricorn: Dec 22 to Jan 19: This is the wrong work to start working on that feature-length turtle milk documentary you’ve always wanted to produce.

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BY MEGAN LAMBERT

“It’s two extremes living here:

either you become a total outcast or you become totally outgoing,” UFV student and Baker House resident Jesus Araujo told The Cascade in a previous article about living on campus (“Baker House strives to foster a strong community,” February 2015).

In the article, the culture of Baker House was described as welcoming — the RAs organize small events like smoothie-making days in the kitchen, running teams at charity events, or day trips off-campus. But during that interview, Araujo noted that many residents of Baker House, especially international students, stay up in their rooms alone.

“The problem is there are a lot of people who don’t participate,” he said. “They don’t go to events, and this happens especially with [international students].”

There is a Korean phrase: “The crayfish sides with the crab.” It means that among strangers, a person will tend to stick with people from backgrounds similar to their own. International students often seek a Western education at universities like UFV for the career options it offers them both in their home countries and in Canada — yet when they arrive, they often find themselves alienated by language barriers, homesickness, and culture shock, leading students like Araujo to note their lack of engagement on campus.

According to the 2014 Education at a Glance report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada is the sixth most popular destination country for international students after the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Australia. To study in Canada, international students have to pass multiple hurdles, including a passing score on an English language proficiency test, a temporary study permit from the federal government, and proof that they will be able to support themselves financially through school. Post-secondary institutions also have entire departments dedicated to the smooth transition of an international student from home to their study in Canada, but that support comes at a cost. Tuition is usually double what a domestic student pays — and that doesn’t count housing, transportation, food, textbooks, and other costs.

Regardless of the thousands of dollars international students pay, the immigration issues that can arise when they apply to work in Canada after finishing their education, and the social barriers that can isolate them while they are here, international students are still applying for Canadian study permits in large numbers. Meanwhile, universities like UFV increasingly go abroad to recruit new international students, marketing their schools as providing a unique experience and quality undergraduate education.

So, do international students contribute to a multicultural and diverse learning environment, or are they a source of income?

ADVERTISING ABROAD The answer is both. International students spent $2.3 billion in BC alone in the 2012-13 fiscal year. There were over 50,000 international students in private and public institutions, spiking provincial government revenue by $80 million and funding over 25,000 jobs in international education.

These are prosperous numbers — not just for universities but for the cities in which they are located. As the Times Colonist recently reported, international students at the University of Victoria spent upwards of $30,000 per year in food, housing, transportation, and entertainment. Recently UVic partnered with Tourism Victoria to attract international students interested in improving their English at UVic while exploring the city’s culture and beauty, according to Tourism Victoria’s website.

Although UFV has not explicitly partnered with the City of Abbotsford or Chilliwack, it is one of the many universities that go overseas to recruit prospective students. UFV International has gone abroad to countries like China and India to facilitate teaching exchanges in programs like woodworking and art. It hires student recruiters and hosts visits from politicians like BC premier Christy Clark and acting foreign affairs minister Ed Fast.

Whether or not these marketing attempts are the attraction for some 800 international students currently enrolled in programs at UFV is unclear — but students continue to arrive, like the 50 new students enrolled for the Summer 2015 semester.

STEADILY RISING TUITION Newly arrived international students are here just in time for a tuition raise. For the beginning of the fall semester, international student tuition at UFV is increasing by 6.1 per cent — meaning the cost of one credit is jumping from $612.50 to $650.

This is almost five times as much as domestic students pay, at $136.68 per credit.

For 2015, the cost decreases to $520 per credit if a student enrolls in 15 credits.

The year before, UFV approved a tuition increase of 10.1 per cent from 2013 to 2014. The UFV Board of Governors minutes from that year state the jump was meant for UFV to stay competitive: “International enrolments have remained rela-

THE CRAYFISH SIDES WIT ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

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UFV INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PAY THOUSANDS IN TUITION, BUT IS TH

www.ufvcascade.ca

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HE CAMPUS WORTH THE COST?

ARTS IN REVIEW tively flat at UFV over the past two years, despite the BC Jobs Plan challenge to increase international student numbers ... In order to remain competitive we do need to ensure that program offerings remain current, application processing times are efficient, and recruitment agent networks become more focused and effective.”

Currently, this means full-time international students pay about $7,800 per 15-credit semester for tuition — not including living costs, fees, health insurance, or educational materials like textbooks. In comparison, full-time domestic students pay approximately $2,400 in tuition per semester.

Director of UFV International David McGuire says that because of provincial funding cuts to post-secondary education, rising tuition is a matter of cause and effect. He adds that the raise helps UFV stay competitive with other universities.

“We have to position UFV well with the competition in the Lower Mainland. We also have to take into consideration the steps we’re taking to try and provide students with the best undergraduate education here. So, keeping those two things in mind, we came up with a fee that kept us affordable relative to other institutions in BC,” he says.

For tuition, UFV ranks in the bottom half of public post-secondary institutions in the province.

This means even with the recent high tuition increase, UFV is still a cheaper way to go for those considering Canadian universities.

However, cheaper doesn’t mean cheap. According to UFV’s website, extra education and living costs, as well as ancillary fees, can add up to an extra $12,000 per year on top of tuition.

STRANDED IN SUBURBIA Rather than renting, some students choose to live in Baker House, homestay, or with relatives in the area. International students who live on campus generate revenue for the UFV bookstore, food services, and Baker House, while being immediately plugged into the campus community.

However, as many of UFV’s students commute to the Abbotsford, Chilliwack, or Mission campuses from neighbouring communities, they tend to show up for class and go home rather than stay to become involved with clubs or events.

So even for those who live in Baker House, the UFV community can be difficult to become involved in — mostly because it is very small, paling in comparison to the big student communities at larger universities like SFU or UBC. The other issue with UFV is its location, as the Abbotsford campus is surrounded by agricultural land and industrial businesses. For those who live on campus, the nearest bank, clinic, or grocery store is a 30-minute (2.5 km) walk or bus ride away.

SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY?

COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELLS Language barriers and geographical isolation aren’t the only difficulties international students face here. As UFV’s global engagement programming co-ordinator Chelsey Laird explains, they often miss what they left back home and struggle with culture shock.

“Maybe they’re missing food that Mom cooks, or they haven’t found that group of friends they can connect with,” she says. “We’re so grateful they come to us and feel they can trust us with that. That’s when we can help! If they don’t come to us and don’t say anything, then we can’t help.”

Laird adds that if a student is having issues, UFV International will refer them to a peer mentor or to counselling services in the university.

To establish a friendly and welcoming atmosphere right off the bat, UFV International greets students at international student orientation. Last year, UFV saw 232 new international students at fall orientation and 129 new students in the winter. Sue Chapman, UFV International’s student medical and permits liason, states that in that year, over 90 per cent of students enrolled attended orientation.

Five global student associates tour the new students around campus, as well as partnering up with smaller groups of students and taking them to get cell phones and open bank accounts. They become well-acquainted. Later in the semester, GSAs often continue to check in with students — even though they aren’t required to.

“It’s not officially part of it,” Alfadel says. “We like to know how they are doing, basically.”

UFV International continues to host events after orientation, too. There is the Friends Without Borders program, where students regularly meet to discuss different cultures and customs; a men-

toring program where domestic student volunteers are matched up with about four international students each; and events like International Inquiry and Ice Cream, an inclusive space where people can gather weekly to share their different cultural traditions and perspectives through discussion.

Despite UFV’s struggles as a commuter campus, there are efforts by clubs and associations and UFV International to create a comfortable and inclusive atmosphere for new students. Maryam Momtahen, founder of the Persian club on campus, says that when she first came to Canada it was difficult to interact because of her English skills, but since then she created the club and is enjoying her education here.

“As a person who speaks English as a second language, I still have many communication problems, and yeah, sometimes I used to [feel] alone,” she says in an electronic message.

“For this reason, I desired to create [the] UFV Persian Club … In general, I like UFV, but I know I have to work on my communication skills.”

There are also clubs in various faculties or areas of study. Business student Fabiana Brusco, originally from Brazil, is looking forward to extending her involvement farther than just the international community.

“I want to join the [Business Administration Student Association],” she says. “I’m applying for SUS … because I want to be integrated with the university.”

FINDING FUNDING A Canadian degree can get pricey: based on the 2015 increase, a bachelor’s degree at UFV can cost upwards of $60,000 in tuition alone for international students. There is financial aid available to them, such as a private student loan, but usually students need to demonstrate that they are financially stable before they begin their studies.

Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, provide scholarships for students to study abroad as long as they use their education to find work in their home country later. Alfadel, for example, has a scholarship like this, as well as financial aid from his parents and his job at UFV as a GSA. “If they provided funding for five years, you have to go back home and work for five years,” he says, adding that this isn’t a strict rule and that he’d like to work in Canada.

“It’s worth it in the long run,” he says, referring to living away from home.

­— CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

1000 800 600 400 200 0 UFV

KPU

RRU

UNBC

VIU

SFU

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UVic

UBC

There are over 800 international students at UFV, coming from Brazil, South Korea, India, China, and parts of Africa and Europe. Most of these places do not list English as an official language. Even though most English proficiency tests that UFV accepts have oral components, the English language is known for being difficult to learn, and many international students struggle with a language barrier when they come to study in Canada.

According to the 2013 Developmental Student Outcomes (DEVSO) survey prepared by BC Stats, ESL students reported that their English courses helped develop their skills in reading and writing more than they helped with their speaking and listening skills. Unfortunately, a lack of speech skills not only makes it difficult for students to develop social relationships, but can also hinder their abil-

ity to participate in group work and classroom discussions. In many classes, group work is essential; many projects are prepared by a team of students, and marks are often evaluated based on each individual’s performance in front of the class.

Aziz Alfadel, a computer informations systems (CIS) student and a global student associate (GSA) with UFV International, is one of those students. In his upper-level CIS classes, much of his coursework is based on group projects.

“It was a very nice challenge, but at the same time [it’s] difficult with your communication skills,” he says. “In my group, we were lucky. I was with a good group of people.”

INTERNATIONAL TUITION IN CANADIAN DOLLARS

TH THE CRAB WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015

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­— CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 A FUTURE IN CANADA Although many international students choose to pursue a Western education in the hopes of working in Canada after graduation, this may not be as easy as it sounds. In December 2014, the federal government introduced a new system called Express Entry for potential immigrants applying for permanent residence.

Instead of submitting an application and waiting to hear a yes or no, students who have Canadian degrees are put into the same pool as temporary foreign workers and instead wait for an invitation into Canada. Students are subject to a labour market impact assessment, where the government verifies that the students are not in competition with similarly qualified Canadians for jobs. To live and work in Canada, a student must have a positive assessment.

Students can also be given in-province work permits, a component of Express Entry called the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). For 2015, there are 1,350 PNP spots in BC. This limited number of permits, compared to the tens of thousands of international students in BC universities, means that the chances international students have of getting work in Canada after graduation are fairly slim.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Regardless of the cost, the experience and the education seem to be enough for international students to want to study here. Alfadel says he enjoys his time at UFV, not only because of the social atmosphere but because he likes his classes.

“I had the option to go to the US,” he says, “but the education here is much better.”

This means the demand for an international education for students, with parents who are willing to pay for it, puts a lot of power into an institution’s hands.

As for the isolated international students we originally set out to find, we couldn’t find them. Whether this is because the summer semester tends to be quiet, or whether the excitement of those just arriving is still fresh, the feedback was mostly positive — although the students we spoke to were all involved in clubs and events at UFV. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t issues facing international students. As Express Entry limitations and rising tuition increases, studying and working in Canada is becoming increasingly exclusive — even as universities encourage more international students to enroll.

This story was originally published on June 3, 2015.

With files from Jeffrey Trainor, Michael Scoular, and Ashley Mussbacher.

Art by Anthony Biondi.

The Style Counsel

We all need something to doff: hats for men THOMAS PALAKON RACONTEUR-IN-RESIDENCE

The Style Counsel, weekly advice on fashion and manners for the UFV gent, will be a regular feature in The Cascade’s Culture section.

Questions, comments or suggestions may be submitted to Mr. Palakon through seamus@ufvcascade. ca. We are also looking for a contributor for a women’s counterpart for this feature, so please spread the word.

My grandmother used to say that if men knew what women thought of them in hats, there’d be a lot more covered heads out there. Then again, my grandmother was Irish and believed in fairies, pots of gold, and Papism, so her advice should always be tempered with polite skepticism. The fact remains, however, that hats are the great misunderstood men’s fashion accessory of the 21st century so far. It’s not hard to know why.

Hijacked by the skinnyjeaned and chunky-spec’ed, the modern man’s choice of brimmed hat (often wrongly described as a ‘fedora’) has crawled out from under considerable scrutiny to now be

universally laughed off as a fashion accessory of the overtly-ironic; or worse, the tryingtoo-hard. This is nonsense.

Proper hats — actual fedoras, porkpies, homburgs — have a proud history of lending leading men from Bogart to Hackman that elusive mix of coolness and just enough menace.

If you want to match yours with your Strokes t-shirt, by all means go ahead, but to capture the echo of its film noir past, a natty suit and loosened tie are its true brothers.

Many of my women friends have said they like a man in a baseball cap from time to time.

It lends a certain boyish charm, especially if the wearer is genuinely athletic. I’m much better at watching sports than actually playing them (and there wasn’t any baseball at Eton, anyways), but even so, I have a couple handy for when bedhead can’t be tamed for early morning coffee runs or spending time outside playing croquet with the niece. A quick reminder, however: Unless you’re a professional baseball catcher, as a grown man your cap should never be worn backwards — unless you still stand in solidar-

ity with Fred Durst.

Whether it’s a proper brimmed hat or the ’93 Jays cap you’ve just dug out to join this year’s bandwagon, please remember that they are not to be worn inside, especially places of worship. And if the cuff behind the ear I received from my father many years ago is to be believed, they are also wholly unacceptable for the dinner table.

Of course, hats also serve a practical purpose, and with the air getting a little chilly, we are reminded that winter is on its way. A toque is always a good choice, and don’t be afraid to have a little colour in there to fight the wintry grey. I myself favour my traditional Russian ushanka, both for its fur-lined warmth, and the vintage military tags. Gives it a nice Bolshevik vibe that will likely play well in most university arts or humanities classes.

Regardless of how your head gets covered, just remember that your style is your own. So be brave, try out something different, and wear whatever you damn well please.

Unless it’s a beret. That’s just crazy talk.

Go ahead, tell him fedoras are stupid.

Image credit: Insomnia Cured Here / Flickr

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Klassen’s watercolours exude tone and mood JEFFREY TRAINOR

THE CASCADE / PHOTOS

The Reach Gallery Museum is a triumphant addition to the Abbotsford arts scene. Aside from being able to house high-quality travelling arts exhibitions, the Reach also highlights the work of talented local artists. Heinz Klassen is one such artist.

Klassen’s collection, Drawing & Colouring: A Visual Diary, features suites of small drawings on postcard-sized pieces of paper, grouped together in custom frieze-like frames. Not only does each frame highlight one of Klassen’s personal explorations, but it also reflects on his emotions towards each experience.

Each image contains two main elements: an ink etching of the scene, and watercolours over top that bring the sketch to life.

These elements combine to create a playful companionship, each complementing the other. From a distance, the highlight is the watercolour, which sets the overall tone of the image. When you look closer, you can appreciate the fin-

Laid out side-by-side along the wall, Klassen’s pieces tell a story. er details of the drawn lines of the ink, which adds to the emotional expression to the piece.

The collection is laid out sideby-side along the wall, and within each frame are seven postcardsize art pieces (with the exception of one piece with eight, and three with 12) that reflect different states or viewpoints of a similar place. The best example

of this comes in Klassen’s frame, “Along the Chilliwack River to Chilliwack Lake.” Klassen portrays these familiar locations in a way that feels as though you are walking up the Chilliwack River Valley with Klassen acting as your eyes. When the images finally reach the vastness of the lake, you can almost feel a serenity come over you: tired from the walk up,

but grateful for the beauty of the view.

All of Klassen’s frames reflect on nature and architecture, with the exception of the “Travellers and Diners Series,” which proves to be one of Klassen’s most intriguing works. The collection’s greatest feat is the humanity that can be felt within each image.

Throughout Klassen’s collection, the tone and mood of each piece is a strength, but it is particularly noticeable within these frames.

“Manhattan, NY” demonstrates some of the many great architectural features of the Manhattan skyline. What separates these frames from Klassen’s others is the attention to detail. This piece maintains stronger images that are well-defined and show incredible depth and awareness of space.

The diversity and complexity of Klassen’s watercolour collection makes it a must see. Drawing & Colouring: A Visual Diary will be on display at the Reach until October 4. Admission is by donation.

Below the Belt

A tale of two first times XTINA

SEXPERT

Welcome back, readers. It’s a new semester, a fresh start. Maybe it’s another chance to tell that person you’ve been Facebook stalking how you really feel. Or maybe, if your summer was a disappointing repeat of you showing your “o-face” to the ceiling while listening to your roommates’ headboard slam into your wall, you have another chance to lose your v-card. If this is the case, let me pave the way with an uncensored account of my first times. I say “first times” because I believe sex with a male partner is very different from sex with a female partner. Yes, readers, I have enjoyed both kitten and rooster. Let me begin with the latter, as this was what came first.

He was my best friend. He and I had been spending every weekend together for a couple of years by that point. Our parents let us have sleepovers because we were like brother and sister. Little did they know that one February evening, after talking about how dumb it was that we were way too old to be virgins, we clumsily undressed each other and did it right

Image credit: Quinn Dombrowski / Flickr

Losing your virginity doesn’t have to make you die of embarrassment. there on my Strawberry Shortcake duvet while my cat watched in horror. There was a lot of twisting, ouch, and awkward bending — yikes — and unattractive reaching for the lube that had fallen between the bed and the wall.

It turns out that we really were like brother and sister and should never have attempted to cross this necessary boundary. To say there was no chemistry was like saying Miley Cyrus has made some poor choices. Anyway, it was bad.

And we both knew it. We still had sleepovers after this, but we were never as close. We soon began dating other people and stopped spending time any time together

at all: a tragedy caused by bad sex.

My first time with a woman was a lot less awkward. I should have been nervous — she was much older than me, and a professor (calm down, not mine). Maybe it was the handful of extra years I had spent rubbing up against people since my failed attempt with my besty. Or maybe it was that I finally had some anatomy in front of me that I understood.

But when it came time to turn down the lights and turn up the pheromones, let’s just say I got an A. We ended up on her desk at an office she kept in the city. The blinds were open and the win-

dows faced a city street. I thought we should close them, but she must have thrived on the danger of it all because she wouldn’t let me. She was kind of crazy, now that I think about it. Mostly in a good way, though. She was a dedicated, patient, and untiring instructor, and I was a star student.

This wonderfully taboo and artful dalliance was never witnessed by passersby, thankfully. I’m sure it wasn’t as memorable for her, and I’m positive she was “going easy on me” because of my obvious lack of experience with the ladies, but it was a simultaneously mindblowing and eye-opening experience for me.

So there it is — my first times.

I hope this has given you insight to your sexual situation and a road map to success. Or perhaps just an idea of what not to do.

But if next summer comes along and you are still “playing that old trombone” or “double-clicking the replay button,” remember: it’s okay. Take your time. This is one deadline that doesn’t exist in university. Just think of all the extra room in your brain that can be focused on maintaining your GPA and not your sex life.

UPCOMING

EVENTS Sept 9

Comedy and Movie Night at the SUB Welcome Week continues with competitive improv by TheatreSports in the SUB’s Great Hall from 4:30 to 6 p.m., followed by a screening of Ted 2 put on by UFV Circle K.

Sept 11 DiscoverUFV orientation workshops begin The first two sessions of an ongoing extended workshop series for new international students take place this Friday. The first session, “Immigration Pathways with Sirius Immigration,” runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m., followed by “Living the Good Life: Wellness and Recreation at UFV,” which goes from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Prior registration is required.

Series continues every Friday until October 9.

Sept 11 to 12

Games Day Marathon eSports Valley — who regularly host Smash Bros. and League of Legends events on campus — are hosting an epic day (and night [and early morning]) of video game tournaments at the Great Hall in the SUB. Prizes will be awarded to the victors. Bring coffee.

Sept 12 Concert in the Park series wraps up Abbotsford Arts Council and Envision Financial present the last show of their Concert in the Park Series, sent off by the jug stylings of J.D. Miner and classic-rock devotees Madflower. The music starts at 4 p.m. at the Kariton Gallery in Mill Lake Park.

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ARTS REVIEW ARTS ININ REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

CHARTS

Shuffle

Mortal 1 Unknown Orchestra

DAVE CUSICK

2 Destroyer Poison Season

School is back in, and it’s time to get down to business. Here are some songs that will make a great study break.

Multi-Love

Blonde 3 Yukon On Blonde Impala 4 Tame Currents Wrong Tohei?

5 What’s Bruce

6 Foals What Went Down 7

Ten Minute Detour Lay It Down

8 Miguel Wildheart 9 MYNAME 2nd Mini Album 10 Limblifter Pacific Milk 11

Andreya Triana Giants

And Sebastian 12 Belle Girls in Peacetime Want to

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Dance The Go! Team The Scene Between

Bridges 14 Leon Coming Home George Warren 15 Pistol Oceapur 9 Trumpet and 16 Donnie The Social Experiment

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Surf Ritchie Kotzen Cannibals

18 B.A.P. One Shot Service 19 Public Broadcasting

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Race For Space Unleash The Archers Time Stands Still

PROGRAM DIRECTOR / THE PODFATHER

Daniel Romano “I’m Gonna Teach You” Though he’s a graphic designer from the northern side of Niagara Falls, Daniel Romano is more country than any of the frostedtipped, designer-denimed products coming out of Nashville. If I’ve Only One Time Askin’ is his fifth studio full-length; give it a listen if you’re under the impression that you don’t like country.

Camera Obscura “Suspended from Class” Camera Obscura formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1996, the same city and year that Belle & Sebastian also formed. So it’s no surprise that the first time I heard their their twee lines, “I should be suspended from class/I don’t know my elbow from my ass,” I assumed it was Belle & Sebastian I was hearing, until I learned otherwise.

Twisted Sister “Be Chrool To Your Scuel” It’s hard to imagine a world, in September of 1985, when rock music was still considered so controversial that the US Senate held hearings on it. The video to Twisted Sister’s parody of the Beach Boys’ “Be True to Your School” opens with a quote from the band’s singer, Dee Snider: “Our videos are simply meant to be cartoons with human actors.” Elsewhere in the hearings, senators dissected Van Halen’s video for “Hot for Teacher.” Who, ultimately, in this scenario, were the cartoon characters?

Daft Punk “Teachers” In pre-Napster 1999, two friends and I heard a song somewhere in Langley on a Friday night that BLEW OUR MINDS, and so we drove as fast as we could to the only record store still open, HMV on Robson & Burrard, bought Daft Punk’s Homework just before closing, brought it home, and danced to it until morning. That HMV is a Victoria’s Secret now.

Daniel Romano “Learning to Live Without Me” Did I mention I really love Daniel Romano’s new album?

Time for some tactical espionage operations Final installment of Metal Gear series goes out with a bang KAT MARUSIAK THE CASCADE

Hideo Kojima’s highly anticipated final addition to his Metal Gear series hit shelves on September 1, and has received widespread critical acclaim as one of this year’s must-play games.

The fall gaming season kicks off with the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which has been scoring incredible reviews all across the board. The game has even received perfect ratings from several notable gaming websites, including IGN (10.0/10), Gamespot (10.0/10), and the Japanese magazine Famitsu (40/40).

A direct sequel to 2014’s Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, The Phantom Pain is an open-world stealth / action-adventure game, and part of the Metal Gear series’ intricate story, which spans over five fictional decades of events from the Cold War in 1964 to the present. The Phantom Pain is the 11th game to be released in the Metal Gear series, and the fifth to occur chronologically. It is essentially a prequel to the first game in the series, Metal Gear, which was released in 1987.

Gamers play as special operative Big Boss (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland), who wakes up in 1984 after being in a coma for nine years following the events of Ground Zeroes. With no memory of his former self, and now going by the codenames Punished Snake and Venom Snake, he leads a mercenary group called the Diamond Dogs, and heads to Afghanistan and Angola to get revenge on the people who destroyed his last team and nearly killed him as well.

The Phantom Pain is the first game in the Metal Gear series to have open-world gameplay, and offers players a great deal of freedom in how they choose to approach the game’s objectives. In terms

of overall size, designer, director, co-writer, and co-producer Hideo Kojima, the original creator of the Metal Gear games, reports that the gameworld is “200 times bigger than Ground Zeroes.” The game employs a third-person aiming view that gives players the option to switch to first-person, the same as in Metal Gear Solid 4. It also includes new methods of travel, a base-building feature called Mother Base (similar to that in seen in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker), and much more.

As in previous games, players are encouraged to use non-lethal tactics throughout the game, emphasizing the stealth combat aspects of gameplay.

The Phantom Pain also features two different multiplayer modes: Metal Gear Online, and a second Mother Base mode, which entails using the basebuilding feature to create further “Forward Operating Bases” able to produce money and resources for the single-player campaign. Players can also attack each other’s bases to steal resources.

Kojima has stated that as the final installment in the series, The Phantom Pain completes and closes the loop on the Metal Gear saga. After several disputes between Kojima’s development studio (Kojima Productions), and the publishers at Konami, Kojima announced that he has decided to sever his ties to Konami, which ensures that even if Konami chooses to do anything else with the Metal Gear franchise in the future, he will not be involved.

“In that sense, this will be the final Metal Gear Solid,” Kojima said. “Even if the Metal Gear franchise continues, this is the last Metal Gear.”

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC (Microsoft Windows).

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

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ARTS IN REVIEW

Albums

Ratatat favours funk over the futuristic MARTIN CASTRO THE CASCADE

Over the summer, New York duo Ratatat released their fifth studio album, titled Magnifique. After two records that, while being sonically interesting, didn’t live up to the standard set by their self-titled debut or the sophomore Classics, Ratatat’s fifth full-length record comes as a partial return to form.

The intro track seems to be the biggest in a series of nods to classical music found in Ratatat’s repertoire; a solo piano gives way to a guitar riff in the same vein as those made famous by Queen’s Brian May. “Cute” is perhaps the most poignant way of describing the track: it’s only a minute long, and it doesn’t really accomplish much, but, you know ... it’s cute.

Ratatat’s influences apparently know no bounds, as the 17th-century “Intro” gives way to a bass line that screams 1979 almost as much as a bag of cocaine wearing an afro.

“Cream on Chrome” is the record’s most straightforward track, as well as its best, in my opinion. From the start, bass and an airtight guitar riff compel the listener to shake off the oppressive, soundless yoke of nineto-fiveing and dance. Seriously, if you want your parents to spontaneously break into dance at dinnertime, play them this song when they sit down.

Apparently, Ratatat were of the mind that the listener just could not handle the

level of groove displayed in “Cream on Chrome” for more than four minutes without hurting themselves or others, so they decided to slow things down with the LP’s

namesake, “Magnifique.” A string section nudges the track on, hopeful and triumphant, as a relaxed-yet-anxious guitar riff assures the listener that this track was in-

deed made to serve as the soundtrack to a version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Cameron’s dad shows up just as his prized Ferrari flies out the window, leaving Ferris to solemnly walk home with the bill in his back pocket.

On the other hand, “Abrasive” seems undercooked. It’s got a great groove, and the main guitar riff is appealing enough, but the track fails to come across as anything other than an instrumental work-out track found on some long-lost cassette tape.

But the record picks up with most of the remaining tracks working as a series of auditory vignettes. “Drift” makes hilariously effective use of some pedal steel to produce what I’m sure would be the result of Ratatat being commissioned to write the soundtrack to Spongebob Squarepants, and that result is oh-so-sweet. “Cold Fingers” is full of guitar riffs that will satiate your nostalgia for Classics-era Ratatat, and also features a kick-ass guitar solo. “Supreme” plays in the same style as “Drift,” only this track would be more at home playing over the tinny speakers of a high-school gymnasium hosting a freshman dance. Braces and awkward embraces abound.

“Rome,” one of the last tracks on the record, makes a big impact as it swells and falls in intensity beautifully, until a last crescendo brings the track home.

Perhaps overlong, Magnifique marks Ratatat’s return to making the funky, captivating music that so enthralled me in the mid-2000s.

Mac DeMarco hits musical puberty on Another One ROBERT SWEENEY CONTRIBUTOR

Canada’s most charming sleazeball is at it again with Another One, an eight-track mini-LP that proves to be his most melancholic release to date. DeMarco’s euphoric, laid-back attitude has taken a holiday, and in its absence, the listener is instead graced with a catchy album that reeks of selfloathing. A departure from his last album, Salad Days, which was received astronomically well by critics and fans alike, Another One revolves around the absence of love and heartbreak, providing the most adult material thus far in DeMarco’s career.

The album kicks off with “The Way You’d Love Her,” sporting a twangy, elastic, lead guitar, intimate basslines, and, as the song comes to its denouement, a brief grunt of approval, like we’ve come to expect from Mac. The song is so cliché DeMarco, it inspired my girlfriend to ask, “Is this that Salad one?” But from there, the eccentric Albertan ventures into new territory. The album is a bit of a stretch for guitar-shredding, Jerry Garcia-loving DeMarco, who widely utilizes electric pianos and synthesizers this time around — which is magnificently showcased in the follow-

ing song, “Another One.” A weak-sounding keyboard and gentle vocals add a great layer of foreshadowing to the rest of the heartfelt indie-pop album.

Lyrically, it feels like DeMarco has hit puberty. And it seems as though the onceimpish stage performer, known for such illustrious live acts as crowd-diving and rectal insertion, has apparently grown tired of the same old song and dance.

More often than not, Mac peppers abrupt spoken-word snippets throughout his work. A whisper of profanity before a track, a blissful outburst at the end. Another One is no exception. After the last song, “My House by the Water,” Mac slowly reads out his address and invites listeners to come by for a cup of coffee.

Some stand-out tracks include “No Other Heart,” “I’ve Been Waiting for Her,” and the title track. It took me a bit longer to get into this album, but after a few days of religious listening, it has effectively grown on me. Self-recorded in New York in just over a week’s time, between a busy touring schedule, one might be surprised to find that this is some of the best material that Mac has released to date. The album as a whole is a testament to this very dedicated Canadian’s spike in popularity.

The album is available via Spotify and

Mac’s label Captured Tracks’ official site.

If you’re craving more Mac, you can check out his instrumental album, Some Other Ones, made in a measly four days to curate a listening party / barbecue, with proceeds going to a New York food bank. YouTube commenter Charlie Wilson puts it best:

“This album sounds like what my dog listens to when I’m not home ... ” DeMarco humps his way through Vancouver this Halloween, playing two consecutive shows at the Commodore from October 30 to 31. Expect the PBR to run cold, and the cuffed jeans to be in plenty.

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ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Album

Strong and free, maybe On her third album, Carly Rae Jepsen shows off some serious song-writing flair MICHAEL SCOULAR THE CASCADE

“I wrote for love / Then I wrote for money / With someone like me / it’s the same thing,” goes one of the poems in Leonard Cohen’s Book of Longing. The striving for financial independence and openness to emotional memory that drive recording artists may not occupy the exact same parts of their brains, but they’re both there; when the latter dominates, we look upon the work that results as art. When we see the former first, that’s when music, one of the most territorial and label-obsessed art forms, gets funnelled into the sell-out bin. Carly Rae Jepsen, commenting on the work as she added it to her monthly book club (open to fans but never that popular, it stopped updates this February as Jepsen prepared the release of her new album), said it’s the book that’s “always by my bedside table.” Poetry that reveals itself with each evening, in a different country, or airplane, or dressing room: this is what we hope music will be to those of us who don’t keep poetry by our nightstand. Book of Longing mostly revolves around Cohen’s visits to a religious sanctuary; while written over a long range of years, it’s undeniably the work of an older artist. And yet buried in there is a lyric that might, simple and disarming, show up in a Jepsen verse: “You kept me from believing / Until you let me know: / That I am not the one who loves — / It’s love that seizes me.”

Here’s the part where people scoff, or briefly pause in disbelief; Jepsen and Cohen, two narratives of Canadian singersongwriters, are not supposed to intertwine. One collects stories, writes prose poetry, is a consummate artist, always working, staying inspired into old age, while the other edits and reduces text-message exclamations into pop lyrics, hitting on the universal (as most pop artists tend to do at least once), with a song that stays in your head for a season.

For those that listen to her albums, though, the connection might come as less of a surprise. Jepsen has chosen a different locale (suburbia, not bohemia), and because of her age and management, the radio is where her credibility lives or dies.

But Jepsen’s song-craft — her skill in pulling the poetic out of the everyday, coming through in flashes, circling in the way most visions do, like a routine until it’s broken — sets her apart from the many pop artists she tends to get grouped with. Jepsen is not a one-hit wonder. Like Cohen, she is a writer trying to decipher the language of love: is this the real thing, or just something we’ve agreed to call romance?

Emotion, Jepsen’s third album, is easily her most accomplished work. Aside from the slowest jam of all time (“All That”), and the Buzzfeed and TMZ-dissing “L.A. Hallucinations,” there is a remarkable consistency throughout: each song is about the same pop-song thing, but none of them settle for similar imagery, each trying out a different point of view. It adopts an ‘80s-

“Jepsen is an artist completely informed on the narratives before her — both the feeling of a stadium singing your words, and the feeling of needing to make art to prove something still exists.” quoting mode, and, unlike Taylor Swift’s recent attempt, sounds like an artist bridging and building on pop history rather than applying a production layer to “anythingyou-can-do-I-can-do-better” chart-aspiration. Jepsen knows what’s come before, knows the popularity of saying you’ve seen it all, and knows the adage that all the great pop songs are already written. Emotion, piece-by-piece, breaks it down and builds a case for well, what if they haven’t? It should have been the album of the summer.

Jepsen knows that wherever her name appears, “Call Me Maybe” will be close behind. When it comes up in a making-of video for Emotion, she begins by saying, “It’s a beautiful gift to have a song take off in that way, but ...” Jepsen, like every other artist taken by surprise by success, knows the weight of expectations. She knows that even when she says Emotion is an album of her working against, while completely dissatisfied with, the idea of repeating herself (especially when it comes to her biggest hit), that this will not change the conversation.

But it is one thing to be pegged a one-hit wonder, and another to see that possibility approach from one direction, while waking up to 11 million Twitter followers still there; still, maybe, listening. When Jepsen posts something on Instagram it routinely hits the front page, next to National Geographic panoramas and celebrity dinner still-lifes.

On Emotion, Jepsen is an artist completely informed on the narratives before her — both the feeling of a stadium singing your words, and the feeling of needing to make art to prove something still exists. The recording process for Emotion yielded over 200 song variations, the kind of number you don’t often hear except in cases of singers locked into contracts, where constant production is a way of staying busy, fight-

ing against a label’s refusal to listen to creative energy (JoJo and Sky Ferreira are two artists releasing albums this year after going through this kind of resistance).

But in this case, Jepsen had an unhurried production cycle (Emotion comes more than two years after 2012’s Kiss) and chose to work with some of the most highly lauded producers in the genre, including Devonte Hynes and Ariel Rechtshaid. Jepsen might not be as ahead of the game as Beyoncé or Bjork when it comes to collaborating with yet-to-be-uncovered talent. But as on Kiss, Emotion is filled with moments when the floor drops out, all silent except for a whisper, as there are choruses where her voice roils against a wall of production, transformed and amplified into the type of commanding presence Jepsen’s lyrics demand.

Emotion is 18 tracks long in its Japanese release, a.k.a. the version everybody listened to back in June, because the North American version, in a bizarre flashback to pre-file-sharing obliviousness, was not released for another two months. It is an album with enough variety that each listener will have different favourites: take away the singles, the bonus tracks (Jepsen’s bonus tracks are better than most of the filler that makes it onto other pop artists’ albums), and the actually-not-bad remix, and you still have enough to call this the best pop album of the year. For just two stand-outs, there’s the self-aware bounce of “Boy Problems,” drenched in new jack swing (there could be hints of Orange Juice’s “Satellite City” in there too), and “Warm Blood,” full of low-end bass and slow-burn tension.

“You have got me swimming in circles / in your warm blood,” Jepsen sings in the pre-chorus line: a mixed metaphor lacking in proper grammar, good taste, or logical sense that sounds exactly right when

backed by arpeggio synths and a just-ahair too loud, four-on-the-floor beat. “I saw myself tonight / Caught my reflection in a mirror / My hands and heart were tied / But I was scared of almost nothing at all,” she sings right after, confessing stage fright, dismissing its universal hold. As much as the title tips listeners off (guess what this album’s going to be about), the characters in Jepsen’s songs are always met through the way they believe in transforming emotion into something else — usually something that comes at incredible risk, like running red lights to get across town. Or, as in “Never Get to Hold You,” where, “Until I saw you in the thunderstorm, I didn’t see you,”; the kind of minor romantic crisis that summons half-thought or barely considered possibilities to the surface.

It’s the small details and odd turns of phrase that make Jepsen a distinctive song-writer. While Emotion continues a pop trajectory that aims globally, there is still something personal, embedded almost subconsciously, in Jepsen’s repeated scenes of night-time driving. Jepsen comes from Mission, a town known either for its train connection to Vancouver (and reputation therefore as a place where people have houses, but don’t live or work), or for the way its small-shop downtown and early closing hours mean there is, like a lot of places, “nothing to do.” So you pick a place to drive to, like the 24-hour diner, the school park, unattended after-hours, or the view overlooking the entire town and the river that surrounds it, and get there. Or maybe, as Jepsen sings in “Let’s Get Lost” (which opens with background party chatter, and ends with a howling coyote and a saxophone solo), “Maybe you’ll take the long way home.”

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

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ARTS REVIEW ARTS ININ REVIEW

Film

Cowboys vs. superheroes

Is the ragingly popular superhero movie trend doomed to a dark future?

MITCH HUTTEMA THE CASCADE

Thirty-six. This is the number of rumoured superhero films set to hit theaters before 2020. This number is not my estimate, or a guess made by industry prognosticators; this number comes from a list of films with projected release dates and titles. Between Sony, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Warner Brothers, and Fox, the bids are high for box office hopefuls. Eight of these films are set to release in 2016, with another potential 10 set to release in 2017.

They say pride comes before a fall, but maybe superheroes really are impervious to attack? Understandably, it makes sense to line up so many potential blockbusters after Marvel took home the second-highest grossing opening of all time with Avengers: Age of Ultron. Garnering $191.3 million in one weekend is the kind of

Image credit: Brittany Cardinal

Just like the western genre, superhero movies need to freshen up their formula and try a grittier approach if they’re going to survive. thing that studios seek to replicate. It seems consumers have not quite yet reached their tipping point on sequels, prequels, and superhero dynasties. “[If] you went to the movies in the ‘50s and ‘60s, you went to a western,” Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, screenwriters of Captain America: The Winter

Soldier, told IGN. “So at this point, you’re going to a superhero movie.” But like the westerns of the past, superhero films must come to an end.

“We were around when the western died,” said Steven Spielberg in an interview with the Associated Press, “and there will be a time when the superhero movie

goes the way of the western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving.”

Coincidentally, Spielberg’s comment on westerns making a comeback comes at an appropriate time. With such an incredible downpour of heroes and heroines in the forecast, it’s hard to believe that there is any room for any other genre in theaters. However, the western is indeed rearing its head and slinging its guns once more.

After its eventual replacement by sci-fi, the western mostly died out with the exception of an attempted treaty, Cowboys & Aliens.

In the next year, a slew of westerns are to be released, most notably Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Alejandro Iñárritu (Birdman)’s The Revenant, as well as Bone Tomahawk, Echoes of War, and The Timber. The difference

between the modern western and those classics of the past is the inclusion of a dark twist. Instead of a handsome, law-abiding cowboy, we see much darker protagonists, as well as themes of self-preservation for selfish purposes. The classic hero has been replaced by the anti-hero.

If the similarities between the era of westerns and the reign-supreme of superhero films extends to this current trend in the western film trajectory, then it becomes much easier to stomach 36 superhero films. The current happy-golucky, explosions-for-breakfast, empty-headed romance formula that is seemingly baked into Marvel movies these days is not sustainable. The future is bright if superhero films of the future turn dark, following in the footsteps of Watchmen, or at least Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. For now, rest assured: Suicide Squad, coming up next summer, seems to be a step down that very path.

TV

Hannibal is taken off the menu

Creator Bryan Fuller hopes to find a new home for the popular TV adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novels KAT MARUSIAK THE CASCADE

Although NBC won’t be renewing the popular drama / horror series Hannibal for a fourth season, creator Bryan Fuller reveals that fans may still have more to look forward to.

Hannibal, a re-imagining of the stories surrounding the infamous fictional killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, first premiered on NBC in April 2013. Since then, the series has garnered much praise from critics and has developed a reasonably large and dedicated fan following. The show covers a range of different elements from each of Thomas Harris’ novels featuring Lecter (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising), as well as a great deal of original material, and had initially been planned to run for up to six or seven seasons.

Despite its successes, NBC officially announced in June that they would not be renewing any contracts for future seasons of Hannibal. The final episode of season three aired on August 28, 2015, and was the last episode of Hannibal that will ever be broadcast on the network. The decision to drop the show was made based mainly

Despite being slashed by NBC, the show’s faithful fan following might give it a second chance at life. on an increasing drop in ratings, regardless of the show’s acclaim and initial popularity. This has been considered to possibly be due in part to the intense, mature nature of the series being better suited to a cable or streaming network rather than a broadcast one.

None of this means that Fuller

is finished with his plans for Dr. Lecter, though. Some ideas for future storylines include a new adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, if rights can be obtained from MGM. Hopes are very high that a new spot can be found to revive Hannibal for a fourth season at a later date. At San Diego

Comic-Con in July, Fuller also revealed that Amazon, which currently has streaming rights to the existing three seasons of the series, had been interested in a fourth season, but a deal could not be reached due to scheduling and time constraints. Netflix was also approached, but was unable

to pick up the show due to Amazon’s streaming rights. The idea of a feature film is being looked into as well.

Both Mads Mikkelsen, who does a brilliant job in his portrayal of Dr. Lecter, and Hugh Dancy, who acts opposite Mikkelsen as FBI special investigator Will Graham, have also expressed their interest in being involved in any future projects.

“It’s an emotional thing for all of us,” Dancy said during the Comic-Con panel. “It’s not over in the sense that we were fully committed, and were living this thing for several years, and that’s still true in this moment.”

In the meantime, Fuller will be working with Starz on a new show based on the Neil Gaiman novel, American Gods. Because of this, Starz has also been considered as a potential new home for a renewal in the future. Fuller and fellow executive producer Martha De Laurentiis have also organized the ongoing #SaveHannibal campaign to help support the search to find a new venue.

“Hannibal is finishing his last course at NBC’s table this summer,” Fuller said in a statement, “but a hungry cannibal can always dine again.”

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

So you want to watch a sports game ...

BY VANESSA BROADBENT

UPCOMING

Back-to-school season means that varsity sports are kicking up again, and what better way to get into the school spirit than by taking in a sports game? But if you’re new to UFV (or maybe even not so new at all), you might not know too much about the UFV Cascades, and how to actually go about attending one of their games. That’s okay, because we’ve put together a guide with everything you need to know about supporting your Cascades.

EVENTS Sept 10

Women’s volleyball tryouts The UFV Cascades women’s volleyball team is hosting tryouts on Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. Those interested in participating should contact head coach Mike Gilray at m_gilray@hotmail.com.

When are the games?

What sports are there at UFV?

The Cascade publishes a schedule of upcoming games in every issue, and UFV Cascades posts upcoming games on their website as well. For non-varsity sports and clubs, game times and events can be found on their Facebook pages or groups.

UFV offers men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, rowing, wrestling, and golf teams. There are also athletic clubs that are not involved with UFV Cascades, including a yoga club, street hockey club, and cricket club.

Sept 11 Chamber of Commerce golf tournament Join the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce for their 28th annual golf tournament. The event is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and includes 18 holes of golf, a BBQ lunch, and a buffet dinner, as well as contests, prizes, and awards. For more information, contact the Chamber office at (604) 859-9651 or events@abbotsfordchamber.com.

How do I join a sports team?

Do I have to pay to watch a game?

No! Well, not if you’re a UFV student and you bring your student ID card with you. Tickets for non-UFV students, alumni, and faculty are $3, and $7 for everybody else. Season tickets can also be purchased at $25 for non-UFV students, alumni, and faculty, and $50 for everybody else. Soccer games are free for everyone.

If you’re interested in joining a sports team, contact the team’s coach directly to see if there are any open spots on the roster or tryouts coming up. (All contact info can be found on the UFV Cascade’s website at ufvcascades. ca/contact.) Some Cascades teams’ seasons are already underway, while others are hosting tryouts in the near future. If you want to get involved in sports but don’t want to commit to being on a varsity team, UFV Campus Recreation hosts drop-in games and tournaments at the Envision Athletic Centre. For more information, visit www.ufvcascades.ca/rec.

Sept 13 Cultus Lake Triathlon Take part in the ninth-annual Culus Lake Triathlon this Sunday. The event is open to athletes of all skill levels with Olympic and sprint distance races. For more information, or to register, visit raceonline.ca/ events/details/?id=748.

Sept 14-18 Try Before You Buy The campus rec program is hosting a Try Before You Buy event. All classes are free from Sept 14 to 18.

Visit ufvcascades.ca/rec/fitness for more information and a schedule of offered classes.

I missed the game! Who won?

Luckily for you, the results and recaps of every game are included in The Cascade, which comes out every Wednesday. If you can’t wait that long, results of games are also posted on ufvcascades.ca after every game.

And if you’re desperate to know what’s happening, when it’s happening, check The Cascade’s sports Twitter (@Cascade_Sports) account for live tweets during games.

Where do I go to watch a sports game?

Basketball and volleyball home games are played in the Envision Athletic Centre on campus. Soccer games are at the Panther Field at Abbotsford Senior Secondary.

Rowing events are at the rowing team’s home venue on the Bedford Channel in Fort Langley, and golf tournaments are at Chilliwack Golf and Country Club. For away games, check The Cascade or the UFV Cascades website.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

What floats your boat?

UFV rowing program’s Learn to Row lesson series returns, offering training for athletes of all skill levels people and learn something different,” says Liz Chisholm, head coach of the rowing team.

The lessons will take place on the rowing team’s home venue at the Bedford Channel in Fort Langley. Although much of the training will take place on the water, students will also learn the basics of safety, equipment, and technique by using an indoor rowing machine called an erg, which helps them to understand the body movement required.

“When you can call to them a certain movement, they understand a bit better once they’ve learned it on the machine,” explains Chisholm.

Although the rowing lessons are team-oriented, Chisholm also describes them as social, fun, and low-pressure. The lessons are

VALERIE FRANKLIN THE CASCADE

Always wanted to learn how to row? Here’s your chance to get your feet wet.

The UFV rowing program’s Learn to Row lesson series is returning this fall for its 15th year.

An information session will be offered on Thursday, September 10 at 5:30 p.m. in room D213, Abbotsford campus. All students are welcome, from rowing experts to those who have never set foot in a boat before.

“We offer [the rowing lessons] to everybody on campus because it’s fun, and everybody’s learning together, whether you’re a previous athlete in another sport or you just want to get to know

coached by the varsity athletes, allowing new students to connect personally with more experienced rowers as they learn the sport.

“The varsity team just loves teaching it. It’s something they obviously enjoy doing, and they’d like to pass that on to their peers,” says Chisholm.

After the lessons, rowers will have an opportunity to try out for the varsity team. Chisholm estimates that 10 to 15 per cent of the students who go through the Learn to Row sessions stay on to row competitively with the varsity team. While the sport may be fun, that doesn’t mean there isn’t commitment involved; rowing is not only a physically demanding sport, but one that requires its athletes to work independently, especially during competitions.

“It’s not like the coach is walking on water to coach you,” Chisholm says, laughing. “[The athletes] know what they can do on the water, but I just see them at the finish line coming in at the end of a race.”

The rowing team recently delivered a series of strong performances at the Head of the Fort Regatta in March, where they achieved seven top-two finishes.

After completing a training camp at the beginning of September, the rowing season is back in full swing.

“Now we’re ready to go,” says Chisholm. “We have two sort of exhibition races in September and then we’re right into the university two-km Olympic distance.”

Information about upcoming competitions will be posted on

the UFV Athletics website, and Chisholm encourages curious students to attend, not only to cheer on UFV’s athletes but to see what the sport is like.

For those who are interested, the rowing lessons will offer students a chance to get a taste of the sport in a low-pressure environment — although it doesn’t have to stop there. Several UFV rowers have gone on to the Canadian national team in the National Rowing Championships, and Chisholm notes that one student who came through the UFV rowing program is currently in the Olympic qualifying trials in Europe.

“We can go from just having fun and being a social experience to as far as you want to take it,” she says.

Image credit: UFV Cascades / Flickr

If you’re interested in making it onto the varsity rowing team, the Learn to Row lesson series is a good place to start.

Scoreboard

Upcoming games

Women’s Soccer

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

Men’s Soccer

Monday Aug 24 UFV Cascades vs. Concordia Universiry Cavaliers W 3-0 (away)

Tuesday Aug 18 UFV Cascades vs. SFU Clan T 1-1 (away)

Friday, Sept 11 4 p.m.

UFV Cascades vs. Victoria Vikes (home)

Sunday, Sept 13 2 p.m.

UFV Cascades vs. Thompson Rivers University (away)

Wednesday Sept 2 UFV Cascades vs. SFU Clan W 2-1 (home)

Friday Aug 21 UFV Cascades vs. Northwest Eagles T 0-0 (away)

Saturday, Sept 12 5 p.m.

UFV Cascades vs. UBC Thunderbirds (home)

Saturday Sept 12 2 p.m.

UFV Cascades vs. UBCO (away)

Tuesday Aug 18 UFV Cascades vs. Portland State Vikings L 1-0 (away)

Saturday Aug 22 UFV Cascades vs. Evergreen State L 3-1 (away)

Men’s and Women’s Golf

Friday Aug 21 UFV Cascades vs. Corban Warriors W 3-2 (OT) (away)

Sunday Aug 23 UFV Cascades vs. Willamette W 2-0 (away)

Sunday Aug 23 UFV Cascades vs. Pacific University Boxers W 2-0 (away)

Tuesday Aug 25 UFV Cascades vs. St. Martin’s T 1-1 (away)

Saturday, Sept 12 time TBA PacWest Gold Invitational 1 @UBCO

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca