Vol. 23 Issue 25
October 14, 2015 to October 20, 2015
None of these jokes have been funny since 1993
Bringing the elections into focus Election guide pull-out inside
AN EMOTIONAL CHECK-UP
SHANE KOYCZAN SPEAKS
THE MARTIAN
Mental Health Education and Screening
Spoken-word poet and YouTube sensation
Space thriller puts the “science”
Day reaches out to UFV students
talks about growing up as an outsider
back in science fiction
p. 5
p. 11
ufvcascade.ca
p. 14
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NEWS News
4
Litter stinks
Opinion
7
Facing the reality of school shootings
Culture
9
A glimpse into the world of Ugly
Arts in Review
14
Bill Simmons is back at it
Sports & Health
15
Get your groove on in the gym
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
The UFV Centre for Sustainability held a waste audit on the green last week. Find out how much garbage we throw out!
Ashley Hayes discusses how UFV falls short in terms of protection from and prevention of school shootings.
A new musical penned by UFV students tells the other other Cinderella story. Rachel Tait interviews writer and actress Annastasia Unger.
Volume 23 · Issue 25 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Editor-in-Chief kodie@ufvcascade.ca Kodie Cherrille Managing Editor valerie@ufvcascade.ca Valerie Franklin
Harvin Bhathal lauds Bill Simmons’ new podcast as consisting of “natural, free-flowing conversations.”
Hip-hop dancing isn’t just for the club anymore. Melissa Ly talks to the UFV hip-hop club about bringing dance to the university.
Will vote for weed and nudes
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 Video Editor mitch@ufvcascade.ca Mitch Huttema Production Assistant danielle@ufvcascade.ca Danielle Collins Staff Writer jeffrey@ufvcascade.ca Jeffrey Trainor
Image: npenny / Flickr
KODIE CHERRILLE THE CASCADE
If advance votes are anything to base initial assumptions upon, this election might just see an upswing in voter turnout. By Elections Canada’s count, by Thanksgiving, about 3.6 million people have cast their ballots — about 71 per cent more than in 2011. This kind of statistic forecasts that voter turnout is on the rise. I feel safe assuming that this is tied, in some part, to the focus on apathy and engagement that this election period has seen. Campaigns for engagement are more visible than ever. Media attention to the issue is admirable. And criticism on the low youth voter turnout and the sentiment to change are validated and bolstered when personalities like Rick Mercer and Justin Trudeau speak on the issue. These all give positive exposure to a social movement that is attempting to motivate more
young people to inform themselves of the political issues at hand and vote. But there have been other kinds of exposure that I vehemently disagree with. VOTES4NUDES is an Instagram account run by a group called Sluts Against Harper. The account sends nude photos to anyone who sends photo proof that they have voted. In a similar vein, Vancouver marijuana dispensary Eden Medicinal Society is holding a contest: those who prove that they voted get a chance to score free weed and a Snoop Dogg concert. These incentives risk denigrating the democratic process, and not for reasons related to the things these groups are giving away. If citizens are only motivated to vote a certain way simply because of the promise of weed or nudes, then they aren’t necessarily getting very informed about the choice they’re making on the ballot. And even if I agreed with some of the concerns that Sluts Against Harper
or Eden Medicinal Society have, the legitimacy of their image as “concerned individuals doing something about it” is tarnished when they offer something in return for voting in a way that is favourable for them. When government action is swayed by the influence of money, and not by facts or public demand, we call that corruption. These groups might not be using money, but they are buying votes. What makes accusations of corruption any different for voters who are swayed to vote a certain way? Political parties try to buy your vote all the time, though maybe not with an Instagram pic from your favourite candidate. You could argue, for instance, that the Conservatives’ Child Tax Benefit aims to buy votes — you wouldn’t be the first. But even if the political parties attempt to reward behaviour that benefits them, the response on the end of voters or advocacy groups should not be tit-for-tat, lest we
reinforce the notion of voting for goodies. And in a time when we’re seeing more discussion about apathy than ever, and more pressure to get informed and involved, rewarding simply the act of voting feels out-of-step. But maybe I’m expecting too much out of this increase in voter turnout. Statistics Canada doesn’t record how much attention those voters have given to politics. Maybe I’m confused as to what motivates most people to vote. In an interview with Motherboard, Sluts Against Harper spokesperson Jessica Sims discussed how the group is willing to “do anything to spark the vote and get some interest.” Despite my conviction, they’re might be getting out the vote better than a candidate or a social movement ever could. I hope that’s not the case.
Contributors Catherine Bell, Drew Bergen, Harvin Bhathal, Dave Cusick, Ashley Hayes, Remington Fioraso, Ken Kellington, Miranda Louwerse, Melissa Ly, and Rachel Tait Distributors Vanessa Broadbent and Tia Oostenbrug 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 1,500 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.
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
Athletics and campus recreation aims to repurpose Chilliwack gun range MEGAN LAMBERT
NEWS
BRIEFS UFV to seek input at public budget forums ABBOTSFORD (UFV) — UFV is beginning to plan the 2016-2017 fiscal budget and is seeking consultation regarding priorities and limitations of university spending. The invitations are open to all members of the UFV community including faculty, staff, and students. The sessions will be recorded on video for those unable to attend. The Chilliwack session is Monday, October 19 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in room A2428 at the CEP campus. The Abbotsford session is Wednesday, October 21 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in room A225 / A229.
Advance voting show early voter interest OTTAWA — Elections Canada revealed that 3.6 million people voted during the advance voting this past Thanksgiving weekend. This is reportedly 71 per cent higher than the advanced polling turnout in 2011. Elections Canada also opened temporary offices at a few Canadian universities as a pilot project to test how students, who may live in residency and not be able to reach community voting stations, would use them. The advance voting saw over 70,000 votes from people at those university locations. The general election is Monday, October 19, 2015.
THE CASCADE
The sound of gunfire at the Chilliwack CEP campus may be replaced with whistle-blowing and grunting next year. Once the RCMP base is finished with the property next to CEP, the shooting range will be an empty space for UFV. Director of athletics and campus recreation Steve Tuckwood says that the shooting range beside the Chilliwack CEP campus could be repurposed into a recreation facility, though there is not formal proposal to date. According to Tuckwood, the space is too small to house a large recreation facility, so the potential centre would include an artificial turf in addition to an indoor rock-climbing wall and a weight room. While the source for funding and construction have not been determined yet, the department is seeking input from SUS. Tuckwood says he hopes once the centre is up and running, it will be self-sustaining, with student jobs and public access and admission. Tuckwood says that student jobs would be mostly
Image: UFV Flickr
volunteer, but that there could be potential for paid work. “We could make them an honorarium that goes with them so people feel that they are getting some monetary help in return for their time,” Tuckwood says. He also mentioned the possibility of working with student clubs, but nothing has been set in stone. “No idea is off the table,” he says. “Let’s talk about all the options.” To fund the centre, Tuckwood says he wants SUS to re-
consider their current contract through the U-Pass with community recreation centres including the Matsqui Recreation Centre, Abbotsford Recreation Centre, Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre, the Cheam Leisure Centre, and the Mission Leisure Centre. “What we have spoken to them about was whether they looked to reduce the amount to leisure centres, how they would re-purpose those funds,” Tuckwood says. SUS president Thomas Davies was unable to grant an
interview to comment by press time. If SUS and the department of athletics and campus recreation invest in a new fitness centre, that could mean negotiating student access to the existing community recreation centres. “[SUS’s] biggest issue is that they don’t know how many people are using the centres,” Tuckwood says. Additionally, he says building the centre while ensuring no extra charge for students would mean drawing from SUS’s capital fund. As for the proposal, Tuckwood mentioned that he is interested in student input. “What I want is for the students to help make the decisions of how it looks ... I need their voice,” he says. Tuckwood says that the department of athletics and campus recreation will meet with SUS later in October. The Cascade will continue to cover this story in the coming weeks. With files from Alex Harte
Science social attracts students into the SUB
— CBC
MEGAN LAMBERT Academic Success Centre operating with fewer tutors than anticipated ABBOTSFORD (UFV) — The Academic Success Centre (ASC), after previously projecting the need for 40 tutors last spring, is now running at approximately 16 peer tutors. The centre is reportedly seeing a high demand for subject help in chemistry. Director of teaching and learning Maureen Wideman says that to date, the centre isn’t planning to expand the budgeted funding that was discussed in the previous semesters. She says that the centre is responding to the demand from students and anticipates more traffic approaching midterms and final exams.
Have a news tip?
Let us know! news@ufvcascade.ca @CascadeNews
THE CASCADE/PHOTO
Science students casually wandered in and out of the Great Hall of the Student Union Building last Wednesday, October 7. Students were able to visit booths while enjoying pizza and music from CIVL Radio. Foot traffic was steady throughout the evening.
CORRECTION In the October 7 issue of The Cascade, there are errors in the article “Andrea MacPherson talks storytelling, student engagement, and the art of facilitation.” In issue 24, we printed “I got a permanent type E position in fall of 2009 — I’ve been teaching for 10 years.” This is incorrect. MacPherson was in a type B position in fall of 2009 and has been teaching for 6 years. These errors will be corrected immediately online. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
Science on Purpose
First waste audit paves the way to a greener university MIRANDA LOUWERSE CONTRIBUTOR
Volunteering students and faculty braved the rain to sort and weigh campus garbage collected from the previous day for UFV’s first ever waste audit last Wednesday, October 7, hosted by the Centre for Sustainability. The goal of the waste audit was to look at how UFV disposes of waste and see if it can be done in a better, more environmentally friendly way. “We’re going to take some of the garbage that UFV produces on Tuesday … take it out to the green, dump it out, and … get people to basically sort out all this garbage,” facilities sustainability co-ordinator assistant intern Alyssa Bougie explains. Bougie held the event to get a hands-on understanding of how much waste UFV produces. “There will be about 15 categories of diversion, so there will be metals, and plastics, and stuff like that,” she says. The total waste in each category will then be weighed to find the proportion of the garbage belonging to each category. “From there, I can kind of give a bit of a financial look and say, ‘If we put more resources into this, could we actually save money
Image: Valerie Franklin
18 per cent of the garbage sorted was true waste, while 22 per cent of the waste was compost, 21 per cent was paper towel, and nine per cent came from disposable coffee cups. even without spending more, and also do better for the environment?’” she says. Another goal of the waste audit is to make students, faculty, and staff more aware of what happens with their waste. “I think a lot of people don’t think about it. I mean, I didn’t at all until I started trying to plan
this … We throw out a lot of stuff,” Bougie explains. She says that when they sorted the garbage on the green, she hoped to attract the attention of students passing by and get them involved. Some preliminary numbers from the waste audit show that only 18 per cent of the garbage sorted was true waste, while 22
per cent of the waste was compost, 21 per cent was paper towel, and nine per cent came from disposable coffee cups. Bougie notes that some of these values are skewed, since the rain increased the weight of the paper. After a more sophisticated analysis is done, results will be posted by the Centre for Sustainability.
The Centre for Sustainability has a practices and policies page on the UFV website outlining the waste practices currently in place, including what can be put in paper recycling, bottle and can recycling, and compost. However, Bougie would like to see a more comprehensive waste disposal system put into place at UFV, including more recycling and compost bins spread across the campuses. SFU and UBC both have Zero Waste campaigns, aiming to make their campuses more sustainable. SFU aims to divert 70 per cent of their waste from landfills by 2015, while UBC aims for 60 per cent diversion by 2016 and 80 per cent by 2020. Both universities installed four-bin waste stations across all their campuses to help with this campaign and to increase student awareness of waste disposal practices. Both SFU and UBC also do waste audits to collect data and see how close they are to their goals. “I would love it if we could be like SFU and UBC who have really comprehensive systems for all of their waste sorting,” Bougie says. “I think it would be a really good change for UFV. We have lots of energy campaigns here, and saving energy is great — but I think this is more the key issue right now.”
Indigenization committee of Senate seeks to shed light on aboriginal issues MEGAN LAMBERT THE CASCADE
UFV appointed an indigenization committee this year, under the purview of the UFV Senate, to indigenize culture and education in all aspects of the university, including appearance, curriculum, and services. Senior advisor on indigenous affairs Shirley Hardman says the committee aims to be a governing body to support Aboriginal Peoples in self-governance, the aboriginal worldview, and in building a healthy nation for indigenous peoples. Hardman says that integration of aboriginal education isn’t necessarily a replacement of the current curriculum, but incorporating the idea that there is more than one way of looking at or learning something. She uses small examples, like
replacing houses with teepees on an elementary school worksheet, but also says that larger concepts in math, science, and literature can be shown in real life as well as on paper. Hardman says that at the University of Alberta, students work with canoes and travoises to apply math to the tangible world. “Math has social and political implications, so when we get to that point where we’re teaching students the basics, we need to make sure we’re approaching that from a pact that includes indigenous people,” she says. “But all of the sciences ... are positioned socially in the world and they have social impacts. So when we consider social impact, then that includes the position of Aboriginal Peoples.” According to Hardman, UFV was meant to receive funding to support indigenous initiatives at
post-secondary institutions after the ministry piloted the project at a few universities in B.C. However, UFV did not receive that funding after three years of the pilot. Hardman says that her position as an advisor and the indigenization committee provides ample support for UFV — especially because UFV includes indigenization in their ongoing strategic planning. She said that there are also other resources to draw from, despite the funding. Hardman mentioned that the Australian government has worked closely with its indigenous population to integrate aboriginal history and culture into its curriculum. In comparison, indigenized education only began appearing in the provincial K-to-12 system here in the last 15 years.
“We’ve participated in a historical amnesia,” she says. “We haven’t been taught about indigenous ways of knowing or authentic aboriginal history.” Hardman notes that rather than placing fault or blame on non-aboriginal people for not understanding the aboriginal perspective, education should be the primary focus. “Some of [the lack of understanding] rests at the feet of education. So the university has accepted that responsibility,” she says. Aboriginal relations, education, and safety is a large topic in most of the political party platforms for the upcoming election. Hardman says that individual communities are lobbying to the federal government for more financial support for students. Although the indigenization committee has the potential to make
UFV more welcoming to aboriginal students, it doesn’t solve the lack of governmental funding to support aboriginal students — meaning without financial aid, students are less likely to apply. “We’re partnering with the communities and supporting the bands in their request for more funding for post-secondary education for their membership,” Hardman says. Until then, Hardman plans to broaden the university’s perspective on aboriginal issues at events and at Senate meetings. “I’m very excited about the indigenous committee and that Senate has opened their hearts to working with aboriginal people to make education a good place for all of us,” she says. With files from Sonja Klotz
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
“Many names and many faces”
Annual Mental Health Education and Screening Day encourages students to reflect on their well-being
VALERIE FRANKLIN
THE CASCADE / PHOTOS
Have you been feeling down, depressed, or hopeless in the last two weeks? Have you been anxious speaking in public, eating around others, or writing while someone watches? How many times in the past week have you found it difficult to stop drinking? These are some of the questions on the mental health self-test that was administered to UFV students during UFV’s annual Mental Health Education and Screening Day, a free interactive event that connects students with services and resources to support their mental health. This year’s event, which took place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, was a collaborative effort between the counselling department, the student psychology association, and the mental health awareness association. UFV’s participation is in coordination with Beyond the Blues, an annual campaign by the Canadian Mental Health Association that facilitates similar events around the province throughout October and November. “Our purpose is to use the UFV community as a public platform to reduce the stigma and the shame surrounding mental health or mental diagnoses, and to really open it up in a very warm and welcoming way for community members, but primarily our students,” says Tia Noble, head of UFV’s counselling department. The screening process Tables offering resources were set up in three areas on the Abbotsford campus: outside Tim Horton’s, at Student Life in the SUB, and outside the cafeteria. Student volunteers engaged passers-by and handed out resource pamphlets, stickers, magnets, candy, and, most importantly, a self-test questionnaire consisting of four different screens: a depression screen, an anxiety screen, a risky drinking screen, and a wellbeing screen. In contrast to the first three, the well-being screen helps students recognize their strengths and areas where they may have more support around them than they realize. “It’s not only targeting and screening for students at risk, it’s actually resourcing students and emphasizing the aspects of their lives that are positive and showing resilience, and really acknowledging and naming the re-
sources that they already have,” explains Noble. Following the self-tests, UFV counsellors are available to sit privately with students and discuss their results in quiet, covered cubicles that help ensure confidentiality. Noble says if there is an indication of risk or areas where the student needs support, the counsellor may refer them to a community agency or resource centre that can provide more specialized support, or to UFV counselling services. These sit-down sessions last 10 to 15 minutes, unless more time is needed to work through a larger issue. “If there are significant indicators that the student is really struggling, a counsellor may use their clinical judgement and go to a clinic space that we have dedicated for any crisis, high-risk appointments,” says Noble. “We have different layers of support that are provided on that day, in addition to the education and the screening component.” Fighting stigma Thanks to initiatives like the Mental Health Education and Screening Day, the shame and stigma surrounding mental illness is gradually lifting; according to research gathered by Bell’s “Let’s Talk” initiative, 57 per cent of Canadians believe that there is less stigma associated with mental illness in 2015 than there was five years ago. However, many still find it difficult to discuss their mental health with their friends, families, employers, and instructors. “My goal, the reason I’m volunteering, is to help people understand that it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” says volunteer Dawn Bright, a social work student. “Mental illness has many names and many faces. It’s more normal than they thought … We need to remember it’s a medical condition; why should people be embarrassed?” Social work student and volunteer Kim Hampson said that the event was a valuable opportunity for students in need of support, as well as an important way to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental health. “Mental health generally isn’t talked about. It’s important to talk about it,” she said, adding, “I would definitely volunteer again.” “So often students can feel alone in the midst of stress, anxiety, whatever mental health crisis perhaps they’re having, or just the stress of student life, and I want to emphasize that there’s
UFV counsellor Viktoria Ivanova sits in one of the private, covered cubicles where students can confidentially review the results of their mental wellbeing self-tests with a counsellor.
“The positive and the negative stresses that come with being a student can often really surface mental health issues, or intensify mental health symptoms.” always options and support, whether it’s through counselling services or other community supports, or the Fraser Health crisis line,” says Noble. Bright also emphasizes that part of the event’s importance is relieving the isolation that mental illness can bring — an important part of the healing process. “You’re not alone,” she says. “You don’t have to suffer alone.” Students in crisis As though the stresses of balanc-
ing school, life, and work aren’t enough, the average post-secondary student is at an age where mental illness is most likely to manifest itself. According to Statistics Canada, people between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely to experience mental illness than any other age group. “What happens is ... the positive and the negative stresses that come with being a student can often really surface mental health issues, or intensify mental health symptoms,” says Noble. “This event tries to create an opportunity to reach those students who may have been suffering alone, or [are] unaware that some of their mental health issues are intensifying.” Increasing curiosity According to Noble, there’s been an increase every year in the number of students who show interest or start conversations with a counsellor or student volunteer. She adds that there seems to be an increasing openness and curiosity surrounding the topic of mental health.
“That’s a really important piece, to be curious about myself, and my mind, and my mental well-being. It’s really important, and we’re seeing that students are really curious. They want to learn, and they want to learn a lot about themselves,” she says. Bright estimates that she talked to about a hundred students, and that 75 per cent of passers-by had at least helped themselves to a pamphlet or the other resources available. Fellow student volunteers Mohit Bassi and Paul van der Endt estimate that they served 150 students just in the afternoon at the Tim Horton’s location, which experienced the greatest volume of foot traffic. “I think the more discussion, the more sharing, the more bonding that we can do around mental well-being, and the more we can have it out in the community, is extremely important. It’s not just coming in for confidential counselling services; there’s a real kind of public health and a stigma-reducing initiative behind this,” says Noble.
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OPINION
SNAPSHOTS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
Curtailed commentary on current conditions
Images: Danielle Collins
Coffee-less
Fridays on campus
Are you ready for the big one?
Where has the time gone?
Hallway traffic
Catherine Bell
Ken Kellington
Rachel Tait
Kat Marusiak
A lot of the time I find myself staying on campus late on Fridays to work on projects. It would be nice to get a coffee or something to keep myself awake, but everything’s already closed! During the rest of the week, the places you can get food at UFV are usually open late, but on Friday they close a lot earlier than usual. I understand that the students that work there want to start their weekend early, and I’d probably want to, too. The problem is that unless you have change in your pocket, you can’t really get any food on campus if you have a late class or stay late on Fridays. Maybe someday something will be open late on Friday, or maybe there will be a coffee vending machine somewhere on campus so that I don’t have to remember to bring my own anymore ... One that accepts student cards, too.
When the “big one” hits, life as we know it from Vancouver to Sacramento will never be the same — thousands will die, infrastructure will collapse, billions of dollars worth of damage will occur, and the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest could be uninhabitable for years. This poses an important question: how should society plan for a looming catastrophic disaster if we don’t know when it will occur? You can start by being prepared at home; create an earthquake kit, and be aware of evacuation routes. At 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, UFV staff and students are encouraged to join the hundreds of thousands of people participating in “The Great British Columbia ShakeOut” — an earthquake drill. Lastly, we can lobby all levels of governments to increase seismic requirements of new construction, retrofit older public buildings and infrastructure, and increase funding for earthquake preparedness. We need to take this seriously, before it’s too late.
It is incredible how fast time flies, how busy we become, and where life takes us. As days turn into weeks, then to months, and finally into years, the question remains: how did life pass us by so quickly? What did we do with the time we thought we had? Many people go through life wasting their time on frivolous pursuits, never really getting anywhere. Others think they will always have time to do what they love later. I believe it is never too early or too late to pursue our goals, even if they are not the majors in our degrees, but the burning passion of our hearts. Our time on Earth is short; what we experience and take away will hopefully be remembered as special and monumental. So when opportunity knocks on your door, and you know it is the right thing to do, go for it — because you may not get a second chance. And years from now, looking back, you will not feel the tinge of regret lying below the surface of what could have been, but the satisfaction of having lived a full life.
No one likes to be late for class, but many of us have the bad habit of leaving things until the last possible minute, then having to rush around in order to be places on time. I have long legs, so I tend to walk more quickly than most, and when I’m in a hurry, I can speed-walk and make good time — when I don’t need to be constantly stopping to maneuver my way around people somehow managing to block off the entire hallway. Barely moving as they chat or stare at their phones, I sometimes find myself tempted to barrel through them like a football player. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s my own damn fault that I’m in such a rush, and I could always just politely ask them to move. But I often wish we had lanes in the halls like on the highway. If you’re moving slowly for whatever reason, just stay a little further to the right — or, as my husband often declares while driving, “Get the hell out of the passing lane!”
Cash cows in disguise: why they keep making critical flops DREW BERGEN
CONTRIBUTOR
The latest Transformers movies have had mixed-to-negative reviews over the years, ranging from decent, to mediocre, to just plain awful. In fact, the average rating of the four recent films is 32.25 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, despite how many of these films have been critical flops, Hasbro has announced four new films to be released over the next few years. How can a company want to keep making critical flops? Money. Transformers: Age of Extinction
alone grossed over $300 million on its first weekend. However, our money isn’t going towards something new or innovative, it’s going towards a recreation of a series of television shows and action figures that date back to the 1980s. You can ask anyone and discover that many have heard of Transformers, or were even fans themselves. The series spans multiple generations and taps into that legendary goldmine which many popular franchises strive to break into: nostalgia. I can think of many franchises these days that people will readily throw their money at because
they were significant parts of their childhood. They made a Peabody and Sherman movie not too long ago; there’s a new Peanuts film coming out; and Mad Max just received a new reboot. Marvel especially has been tapping into big franchises that were both well-known and very popular, yet which are also quite old. The list goes on, full of reboots and re-imaginings. And these familiar and very popular franchises continue to rake in the big bucks for Hollywood. Yet films that appeal to our nostalgia are not bad things; problems arise when films are being made with their prima-
ry purpose being getting into our wallets and not our hearts. Transformers as a film franchise has been made into a nostalgic cash-cow which Hasbro can continue milking. For many fans of Transformers as a series, this is a bad thing, because Hasbro has been catering to the lowest common denominator of Transformers’ audiences with flashy special effects and fast-paced action sequences, diverting attention away from lazy writing. We love sucking back those sweet, sweet nostalgic nectars. Whether we are simply pleased to see our favourite heroes recreated in the highest of definitions
with the most expensive of CGI budgets, or if all we want is to see eye-pleasing effects and be entertained for an hour or two, we continue to see these films, and thus they continue to make these films. Companies that make movies for monetary motivation over artistic motivation will always exist. If you quite enjoy these new films, then keep watching them, and I hope you have a good time. But, if you’re one who wishes to see these practices changed, there really isn’t much you can do other than continue to support the movies you do like, and hope for more to be released in the future.
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OPINION
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
We are not prepared for a school shooting ASHLEY HAYES CONTRIBUTOR
Though I was born in the United States, I don’t consider myself American (or ‘Murican, for that matter). I feel thankful every day that my mom is Canadian and decided to bring me back here when I was six years old. As much as I loved saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of every school day, I’m happier being in a country where national pride isn’t forced upon us. I’m also happy that we have stricter gun laws, and that an angry, disgruntled student can’t head to the local Wal-Mart for a gun before coming to campus to shoot up the place. In a world where information can be accessed almost instantaneously, it’s hard to remember a time when we didn’t hear about school shootings in the news. A
Image: University of the Fraser Valley
Sure, we have UFV Alert — but what would happen in an emergency if you were in one of the spots on campus without cell reception? quick Google search shows that there have been over 260 school shootings in the United States since Columbine in 1999. There have been three in the last week alone – two of which occurred the day I wrote this article.
I often wonder what I would do in an active shooter situation. Would I be the brave one who confronts the person(s)? Would I risk my life to save another? Or would I be so terrified that I would freeze and pray that I’m
not one of the victims? While I’d like to think that I’m brave and strong, until put in that situation I can honestly say I have no idea how I would react. I also wonder, if there was someone on campus with the intention of mass murder, how I would even know unless they were in close proximity? Our university has a new system called UFV Alert, where students and staff would get a text message or email notification in this type of situation — but unless you sign up for it, there will be nothing coming through to your phone. All you can do is hope that at least one person in your general area has signed up for it and shares the news with you. And in the event that you are in fact signed up for it, what happens when you are in one of the many areas on campus without cell reception? You could be
hanging out at the Canoe in the new Student Union Building, or perhaps sitting in a lecture in D building, and not even get the luxury of a text message due to spotty reception in those areas. I don’t think that any student should have to prepare for a situation like the ones that happen far too often in the United States, but given the statistics, maybe it’s something that needs to be addressed. As long as the media continues to glorify individuals who choose to shoot their fellow classmates, universities need to have contingency plans to keep their students safe. UFV Alert is a great start, but not only do we need to actually sign up for it so that we can all get the notification when and if that time comes, we need to look into other systems, as well.
Is that Facebook post going to change the way anyone votes? REMINGTON FIORASO CONTRIBUTOR
With the federal election looming ahead next week, social media is filled with opinions, photos, links, videos, and profile pictures regarding the candidates. Whether anti- or proConservative, NDP, Liberal, Green, or anything else, it feels like everybody is establishing their point of view by sharing content on Facebook and Twitter. But does this actually effectively establish your position on government-based issues? Theoretically speaking, yes. As Facebook is a public sphere, it provides a platform for communicating issues relating to the federal election that are of importance to you, the voter. You are able to share content with a brief comment on your stance on a particular issue. This then opens up an opportunity for a dialogue between you and your friends, family, and acquaintances. Whether or not you share the same political beliefs, the open debate still effectively provides awareness and recognition of the surrounding platforms of the candidates. However, when sharing a
Image: Facebook
Political articles like this get shared on Facebook a lot, but what happened to having a real discussion? quote or photo that you come across — regardless of your position — there is no actual immersion in the issue. Often, the content simply takes a piece out of context. Do you know the reasoning behind why something
was stated? Do you understand the issue at play, fully? By simply hitting “share,” a real opinion is unable to form. If there is no research beyond what someone posted on Facebook, are you necessarily reflecting your own
point of view? Additionally, posting a piece of content created by someone else does not clearly indicate your opinions nor establish your position on the specific issue that the content covers. Yes,
you are sharing content. Yes, you may agree with something the respective creator presented. But what are your thoughts? What is it about the content that stood out for you? Do you agree or disagree? By simply sharing the content, there really is no depth in it. You are not reflecting on it. It is just another post within a user’s feed. Although presenting your perspective on political issues by means of sharing content can create a dialogue online, there is a limited impact on the election results. Increasing awareness of issues is definitely positive; however, there is not a clear indication that this will make a difference in the polls. Is there anything more effective in terms of voicing who you want to win? According to Elections Canada, only 38.8 per cent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 to 24, and 45.1 per cent of eligible voters between the ages of 25 to 34, actually exercised their right to vote during the 2011 federal election. If you want your point of view to actually come across, you need to go out to vote in your respective ridings on October 19, 2015. After all, that is what really matters — not just a miniscule “like” or “share.”
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CROSSWORD
If I Only Had One of Those
by MEGAN LAMBERT
ACROSS
Last issue’s crossword
4. Black and white and _________ (12) 8. Footwear. Not to be mixed with sliders. (8) 11. Taste it. (7) 12. Diamonds know they’re not as valuable, so they turn green (with envy) (7) 13. U.S. state known for wheat, corn, and sorghum (whatever that is). (6) 14. This creature would hunt solo, but it would hurt their pride. (4)
ACROSS 3. STATUTORY 5. NUTS 6. HARVESTMOON 9. DECIDUOUS 12. FEAST 13. CORNMAZE 14. DRUMSTICK DOWN
DOWN 1. Stuck for a Halloween costume? This one’s a classic. (5) 2. Cheeky (and little). (6) 3. Next to candy, Clayburn Village is made of this. (5) 5. Not once-icle, not thrice-cicle ... (7) 6. Yer a ______ (6) 7. Ask a blueberry farmer who their best friend is. (Hint: It’s not a strawberry farmer.) (9) 9. On your 10th wedding anniversary, maybe consider ditching the plastic. (3) 10. A violent funnel made entirely of air (7)
The Weekly Horoscope
Star Signs from Moira Mysteriosa
Aquarius: Jan 20 to Feb 18: Have you considered that postmodernism cannot exist, by definition? Do not listen to your silly professor.
Gemini: May 21 to June 21: Cut back on the Starbucks. Your sweat is beginning to smell like pumpkin spice.
Libra: Sept 23 to Oct 22: A long trip is necessary for your wellbeing. A long trip far, far away from your homework.
Cancer: June 22 to July 22: Have you considered wearing less black? Your mother is worrying about you.
Scorpio: Oct 23 to Nov 21: You will find answers in the pattern of freckles on your favourite professor’s nose. But don’t get caught staring.
Aries: March 21 to April 19: Peanut butter is extra lucky for you this week ... unless you’re allergic to it.
Leo: July 23 to Aug 22: Elizabeth May is your spirit animal.
Sagittarius: Nov 22 to Dec 21: It’s time to wash your favourite jeans. They are no longer everyone else’s favourite jeans.
Taurus: April 20 to May 20: Save your pennies in a glass jar. They’re useless, but they make a nice shelf decoration.
Virgo: Aug 23 to Sept 22: Reach for the stars! Just remember to stretch first. Muscle strain is very uncomfortable.
Capricorn: Dec 22 to Jan 19: This week, horoscopes are unlucky for you. Quick, turn the page!
BY ANTHONY BIONDI
Pisces: Feb 19 to March 20: Consider taking the path more travelled. You’ll walk into significantly fewer spiderwebs.
SPACED
1. PHOTOSYNTHESIS 2. CRANBERRYSAUCE 4. THANKSGIVING 7. AUTUMN 8. CHESTNUTS 10. SMALLTALK 11. LEFTOVERS
FIND MORE SPACED ONLINE AT WWW.ANTHONYBIONDI.COM
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The Style Counsel
Playing dress-up vs. helping someone dress THOMAS PALAKON RACONTEUR-IN-RESIDENCE
The Style Counsel, weekly advice on fashion and manners for the modern UFV gent, runs every week in The Cascade’s Culture section. Questions, comments or suggestions may be submitted to Mr. Palakon through seamus@ufvcascade.ca. Another letter from our growing audience! Dear Mr. Palakon, My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost a year now. Everything is going great, with one exception: he still dresses like he’s in high school. Saggy jeans, baggy hoodies, chunky sneakers, and skater logos everywhere else. How can I get him to dress a little sharper without coming off as a nag? Signed, Make Over Politely Expected You’re in a tough spot, MOPE, but you deserve to be applauded for recognizing the real pitfall in your request: how to tell someone they dress hideously and yet get them
to buy into change without coming off as a shrewish control freak. It’s a fine line, but I assure you — it can be walked. The most effective technique here is to start by putting your money where your sartorially concerned mouth is. I wouldn‘t recommend splashing out on a full wardrobe, but a few key pieces can lay a good groundwork. Start simple: a fitted black t-shirt or a casual, button-down Oxford, perhaps paired with straightleg dark blue jeans. It’s certainly nothing too controversial, and when you comment on how great it looks, he’ll likely be more receptive to such gifts in the future. It might be worth the effort in making a short list of his heroes, particularly in film or sports. Actors almost universally have a decent sense of style (they hire people like me to help them) and athletes are bound by team dress codes, and therefore are often (if unwittingly) well-suited and booted. By pointing out the dress choices of men he admires, be they anyone from Benedict
Cumberbatch to Sid Crosby, you could be helping him see clothing as something truly aspirational, rather than merely functional. There is also the possibility that your fella doesn’t dress up because he doesn’t need to. Are your social lives all about spending a bit too much time with Shomi and take-out? Get out and about: go to parties, or offer to spring for a proper slap-up dinner or a night somewhere borderline swank and cocktail-oriented when you have the chance to celebrate something in your lives. Effort begets effort, and any gent with a conscience will at the very least make a little extra appearance effort for his partner when he sees how excited she is to show him off to the town. There’s hardly any good reason to tuck in your shirt when your big date night is re-bingeing Mr. Robot and falling asleep on the couch. But ultimately, the best way to make headway with Agent Volcom here might be to simply talk to him, like a grown up. You’re obviously motivated by more than a little self-interest here, but
Image credit: Wikipedia Commons
Dressing a bit better doesn’t mean having to go with a tailored suit. (But if you get the chance…) there is room for altruism in helping someone put effort into their dress sense. The important thing is to be helpful without being judgemental, or worse, manipulative. You yourself said you and your gentleman friend have a
strong relationship. In the bigger scheme, love (or even something close to it) beats out having to date someone who doesn’t need to own an iron. And it’s not even close.
Looking for the beautiful magic behind Ugly RACHEL TAIT CONTRIBUTOR
UFV student Annastasia Unger and writing partner Lauren Trotzuk’s brand-new musical Ugly offers a unique twist on the famous Cinderella fairytale: what if the stepsisters weren’t really all that bad? The show will run from October 23 to 25 at Monumental Theatre. General admission is $18, $15 for students and seniors, and $12 for children. We asked Unger about the show, her plans for the future, and why having a possibly crazy fairy godmother in a show can only be a good thing. What is it about the Cinderella story that you really wanted to see in a new light? I think every version is different, but the Cinderella stepsisters maybe had the short end of the stick. Maybe Cinderella does not get the story completely right. She is not quite all there. She talks to mice, let’s be real! [laughs] And so it just kind of stemmed from this place where Lauren and I personally connected more with the stepsisters than we did with Cinderella. So you didn’t connect with the character of Cinderella because
you found her life too good to be true? Yeah, but it’s more, I think. Everyone, especially girls, have a time in their lives where they think and feel like they aren’t going to be the princess type. Maybe just because you aren’t that princess type, it does not necessarily mean you deserve the label “ugly.” We have a song in the show called “After All,” whose whole premise is that maybe you are different, but maybe different isn’t ugly. Is the ugly aspect in the show how the stepsisters treat Cinderella, or in their physical appearance? It is interesting because the stepmother is the antagonist of the show. And she tries to control her children’s lives. There is a part in the show where the stepmother is talking to her daughters about Cinderella dancing with the prince, and she says that could have been them. The stepmother adds, “I wanted you to be beautiful and lovely like me, what did I get? Two ugly stepsisters.” Is there going to be a fairy godmother in this version? There is, but she may not be the conventional idea of what the
fairy godmother is. She may or may not be crazy. Amara Gelaude is the one playing her, and she is actually a UFV psychology student, which is ironic since her character could be crazy! Is the character of Cinderella different from the one we are accustomed to? I want to say yes, but also no. I feel like we just really played up on the 1960s Disney cartoon version of Cinderella. She isn’t too bright to begin with, and we just expanded on that. Cinderella is really not all there. She really doesn’t have a lot of common sense. She is a very comedic role. What was the hardest thing about putting the production together? I think the fact that as many resources as we do have, there was also the fact we took on a lot more responsibilities than we should have. For me personally, I wrote the show, I was in the show, I codirected and produced the show. I did everything from poster designs to promotion, to running the rehearsals, to being in the rehearsals, to memorizing my lines, to balancing six three-credit classes. On top of that, I am do-
ing another show. So I have been going a little insane! It is probably time management that has been the biggest issue. Is there anything you would like to tell readers that would draw them to come see your show? Like I said, it came from a place where we understood where the stepsisters are coming from. We understand what it is like to not be the Cinderella of the story and it’s a really good lesson for anyone, but especially for young girls who are going through those formative years, and to just instill in them that just because they do not look like what they see on TV or elsewhere does not mean anything. That who they are does matter. What are your future goals in theatre? Monumental Theatre, which is the company producing Ugly, is actually my company. We have done one show so far before Ugly, and I would like to keep going and see where it goes. I am the managing artistic director and Lauren is my assistant managing director. Both of us have plans for at least four more musicals we are going to write. We have another
one planned for next fall. We would like to keep growing Monumental Theatre. It’s a company I created to bring theatre to smaller cities like Abbotsford and bring Vancouver-style performances out this way. Do you have any advice for people who would like to follow in your footsteps? Honestly, just go for it! It is kind of a crazy story, but Monumental Theatre was created in a week. I kind of got this idea in my head that was sitting there for a while. I had this crazy idea that I should start a theatre company. A week later I had my business license, a website, and my first show planned. Honestly, I am a big proponent of following your dreams and if you have an idea, no matter how crazy it is, no matter how many people tell you it is not going to succeed, just go for it, because you never know what you can do until you do it. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Below the Belt
The mistakes men make in the bedroom XTINA
SEXPERT
I’m sure many of you have a picture of what your perfect sexual experience entails. However, few of us get this without long hours of committed communication. Most men like to think they can please their partners in bed, and I’m sure for the most part they do. But from my experience there are a few fairly common — and unpleasant — mistakes that men make. The good news is they can be easily corrected. First, a common misconception for many men is that sex begins once the clothes are shed and the blood flow is redirected to the penis. It’s ready to go and therefore so is he. What he doesn’t realize is that women don’t necessarily work this way. While a rush of vascular blood flow will get us in the mood, many things have to be in effect collectively for this “lady wood” to occur. Women are, in general, emotional creatures. We need to feel sexy, loved (or at least desired), not too bloated, relatively stress-free, and not too hot
or cold. That’s right, guys — for women, sex begins long before the blood is sent to engorge our sex organs. If you are in the mood for love tonight, you’d better start by telling her she looks beautiful and making sure she is carefree and having fun. Second, foreplay is very important for women — not only because it takes women longer than men to reach the level of sexual arousal needed to climax, but also because, in women, the emotional effects of foreplay create the physical benefits needed for intercourse to be pleasurable for both parties. Men sometimes skip this step. Whether they just don’t place a high value on foreplay, or whether it’s a long-term relationship and this piece of the pie doesn’t get served anymore, women need to be caressed and kissed for lubrication to occur. Third, vaginas are delicate. The skin is sensitive, and can be irritated and even torn without proper care. Men, when you are manually stimulating a woman, be gentle. Don’t jab your fingers in, but slowly caress the vagina
UPCOMING
EVENTS Ongoing until October 20
(Mis)Interpretation: Sikh feminisms exhibition
Image: Charles Dana Gibson, 1905
Maybe a little less talking and a little more listening to the lady will be helpful. with delicate and loving strokes. Think of it like petting a kitty with two fingertips. This will make your partner purr with contentment rather than wince in pain. Fourth, regardless of what is portrayed in a filmed sex scene, it’s actually pretty rare for both partners to climax at the same time. In reality, your partner won’t come just because you banged into her a few times. Listen to her and figure out what is working for her and what isn’t. Does it need to be faster, slower,
harder, gentler? Maybe you hit the jackpot and found a confident woman who knows her body and will just tell you how she likes it, but this is not always the case. You will have to be willing to be patient and listen. Finally, consider this rule of thumb and you will have a satisfied customer every time: you aren’t finished until she is finished. I know this sounds like a lot of pressure, but I assure you that if you avoid the common mistakes listed here, you will hit the buzzer every time.
(Re)new(ed) pathways to faith (Mis)Interpretation exhibition invites a feminist reading of Sikh spirituality KODIE CHERRILLE
THE CASCADE
If you’ve walked past the S’eliyemetaxwtexw art gallery in B136 recently, you might have heard the delicate sweep of ambient tones exuding from the room. If you’ve looked towards the source of that sound, you might have seen frenzied timelapses of highway traffic and a bustling UFV, cutting to slower moments: water slowly dripping onto stones; a khanda dangling on a string under a rear-view mirror; and a Sikh woman, wearing a golden salwar suit, almost smiling. And if you’ve looked inside the gallery, you will have been part of (Mis)Interpretation: Sikh Feminisms in Representations, Texts, and Lived Realities. With photos of the five Sikh articles of faith, segments of the Bara Mah, and the symbol of
Ikk Oan Kar (typically translated as “there is one God”), the exhibition offers a window into Sikh spirituality. But more importantly, with the assertion that God must not “be reduced to any exclusionary concept or any intimidating male symbol,” and with the welcoming statement urging us to “(re)raise the textual and practical meaning of Sikh feminist thought and understanding,” (Mis)Interpretation is an examination of what it means to be a Sikh woman today, and invites a feminist interpretation of the Sikh faith. The exhibition is curated by the Centre of Indo-Canadian Studies (CICS) director Satwinder Bains and coordinator Sharanjit Sandhra, and includes camerawork from UFV student Rishma Johal and alumna Suvi Bains. Four segments of Bara Mah Tukhari are displayed, each of
which has four separate translations. The Barah Mah is a part of the Sikh scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and synthesizes love and spiritual devotion in a poem based on the 12 months. Implied in these translations is that there is more than one way to read the text. In an interview with CBC, Satwinder Bains described the intent behind the exhibition. “We wanted to look at the realities of young women and their lives, both through a faith perspective, and their work, play, and families,” said Bains. “Like all faiths mostly in the world, they’re very much prescribed from a male perspective,” she continued. “My daily living, I try very hard to incorporate my ideas into how I interpret my faith.” Next to the scripture segments are photographs and paragraph-
length stories of local Sikh women, each of whom describe their lived realities — how they interpret their faith from a feminist perspective, while also preserving the virtues prescribed by their spirituality. “My belief in equality, equity, humanity, and social justice informs my work at large and is derived from a spiritual understanding,” reads Johal’s statement. On October 29 at the Reach Gallery Museum, Suvi Bains will exhibit her latest work, Kesh, which examines the article of faith of the same name — Sikh men’s unshorn hair — with a similar intent to examine faith in a feminist light. (Mis)Interpretation will continue to be on display until October 20.
UFV’s Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, with support from the visual arts department at UFV and UFV International, continues to present (Mis)Interpretation: Sikh Feminisms in Representations, Texts and Lived Realities in room B136. The exhibition explores Sikhism through the female lens and the daily lived realities of Sikh women.
October 22 Burger & Brew Fundraiser Bring a friend and enjoy dinner by yourselves, or join the crowd and meet some new friends, all in support of the Abbotsford Arts Council. Thursday, October 22 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Town Hall Public House. Tickets are $15 and available at Abbotsford Arts Council or by calling (604) 852-9358.
October 21 Marinus van Prattenburg: a look into the “kitchen” of novel writing Prattenburg’s novel Mr. Sebastian tells the story of an Erard grand piano and takes the reader through two World Wars in France and to England, while providing an intimate view of the lives of its owners, their joy and sadness, loyalty, infidelity, and societal conflicts. 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Reach, free admission.
Starting October 29
Art exhibit: The Radcliffe Line and Other Geographies Toronto-based artist Sarindar Dhaliwal’s work reflects on the dissonance of the immigrant experience, often addressing her childhood experience and perceptions of Eastern and Western customs. This exhibition brings together monumental works from Dhaliwal’s oeuvre of the last 20 years. Free at the Reach.
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Dark places, funny places: in conversation with poet Shane Koyczan DAVE CUSICK
computer or on their phones. The cyber aspect of what’s happening now is very insidious, and still just as dangerous as what any of us went through physically. Now it’s sort of that more emotional side of things coming into play.
CONTRIBUTOR
Canadian spoken-word poet Shane Koyczan, known for his melodic rhymes and powerful anti-bullying poems that have found international fame on YouTube, is coming to the Fraser Valley on October 18 for a solo show. Prior to his arrival he spoke with CIVL program director Dave Cusick on his art, his performance at the 2010 Olympics, and his childhood. This interview can be found online at soundcloud.com/dave-cusick/ shane-koyczan-interview. You were raised by your grandparents, is that right? That’s right, yeah. Tell me about your grandparents. My grandad emigrated from Austria and he found work at the mine in Yellowknife, the Con Mine. And so he worked there for a very long time until he retired. And my grandmother worked at a receiving home for abused children and runaways and throwaways and that type of thing. So on the one hand I had a very stern grandfather who worked very hard — well, they both worked very, very hard. But on the other hand, I had a grandmother who was in-touch with her own sort of empathy and really just wanted to help people. And so I felt like I had a pretty good balance of those two worlds growing up. They were very important to me, growing up. My grandmother especially was the one who sort of helped me dealing with all the bullying that I went through at school. There were so many times that I wanted to just quit school and I just never wanted to go back, so she was the one who sort of bolstered my spirits and made sure that I saw it through. So how did you originally get into poetry in general, as well as performing spoken word? I always liked writing. I always liked reading. When I first started writing, a lot of it was like the beginnings of really long novels that I never actually got around to finishing. By the time I got to university, my professor was like, “Why don’t you try something that’s smaller, that’s more immediate, that can get you from A to B in a shorter amount of time?” And so that’s when I started dealing with things like short stories and poetry. In terms of the performing aspect of it, we did some kind of poetry reading with a class for an exercise in university. We had to
Image credit: Jhayne / Flickr
After enduring bullying as an adolescent, Koyczan is concerned for young people who are now being bullied online. organize this reading and invite people out to it and it was the first time that I read any of my work publicly. I was surprised immediately by the amount of people that came up to me afterwards and were just like, “Wow, that piece you wrote really spoke to me about this, that, and the other, and I really connected with it.” And I think that’s the first time I ever felt sort of that kind of intellectual acceptance. School had finally ended, that place where I’d been bullied, bullied, bullied; where I just wanted to be left alone. And now, finally, I was in university, and those attributes that I had were finally being recognized in a positive way. And then I just fell in love with being able to speak my mind because I hadn’t been able to do that for so long, speak my heart for so long. Because growing up it was a lot of “nobody cares what you think or feel,” and finally I was given a space to say something, and realize that people do care what I think and feel because a lot of them think and feel the same thing. The anti-bullying video that you did do, “To This Day,” definitely resonated with a lot of people. I think it’s at somewhere around
14 million views or something like that. What do you think the reasons are that the bullying was as bad as it was? It seems like it was worse maybe for our generation than it was for previous generations. I can’t say if it’s worse or not. It’s definitely different. I grew up in an age where there were no posters or any words to bolster our spirits, there were no groups that we could go to, and there was that mentality of like, “Oh, it’s just a part of growing up,” or it’s a part of our evolution or whatever. Now, yeah, it’s a mandate at school where that kind of behaviour is not going to be tolerated. And I think that’s good for us to sort of evolve past that sort of mentality. I mean, why are we doing that to each other in the first place? But also, now you have more insidious ways to bully people. For us, bullying stopped at 3:30 when the school bell rang, and we got on the buses home, or walked home, or whatever. When we got to the front of our door, when we walked inside of our houses — no matter how bad it was — when you got to your house, bullying ended. Now we live in a world where kids are being bullied inside their own bedrooms on their
Did it ever come to fists outside for you? Oh God, yeah. I can’t even recall how many fights I’ve gotten into physically. And it got to a point where at first it was this “blood in the water” sort of mentality, like, “If we hit him, he’s gonna cry!” But after a while, if you get hit often enough, you learn how to take a hit. And then they stop getting that blood from you, and they’ll try to squeeze it from you, they’ll try it again. They’ll figure out different ways to come at you. Then they’ll get into the more emotional attacks. So there was a wide range of ways I got bullied at school, and I think a lot of people will go through that. Not just at school — it happens in life and the day-today, it happens in the workplace all the time. You’re still dealing with a world that’s very stuck in this mentality, and I’m not sure why people insist on doing it. I’m not sure. People say it toughens you up, but I don’t think so. I think it’s more damaging than you’ve possibly considered. But you’ve found a lot of acceptance. You’ve found an increasingly large audience for your work. I mean, a lot of people hadn’t really heard the type of spoken word and poetry that you do until they heard it from you. At least, the way that I came to know who you was through your performance at the 2010 Olympics. How did that come about, that you were chosen? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a poet at an Olympic opening ceremony before. Well, I’m sure that when they were first starting off back in Greece it was all poems. Poets and storytellers. So this was kind of a return to that. In terms of how it came about, I’m not actually really sure. They just asked me. They asked me so far in advance, but I felt no pressure committing to it because I thought this was gonna go through a hundred rounds of people saying yea or nay and it’ll probably get cut. I think it opened people back up to the idea that there’s another way for your voice to be heard. Poetry for the longest time became that sort of loaded word even in schools, you know. The
teacher says “the poetry section” and you hear the collective moan from the students because they’re reading work that doesn’t necessarily speak to them ... I get that there are students who read that stuff and they’re like, “I have no idea what this person is talking about” simply because it’s a different time, a completely different generation. But when you show a generation “Here’s how it’s evolved,” that’s the thing about art. It’s always evolving. It’s always changing. It’s always symbiotically attached to what’s happening around it, and that’s what makes it change, and that’s what makes it strong. And so, when people start to hear a voice that actually makes sense to them, poetry then becomes something like, “Oh yeah, okay, I’m interested in this because this is speaking to me on this level, and perhaps this is a way for me to communicate, as well.” So you’ve got a show coming up in Mission, at the Clarke Theatre there in just a few days. Is that gonna be with the band, or is that just you on the stage there? That’s gonna be me solo, and that’s on the 18th. And that provides you with being able to do different types of pieces as well? Oh yeah. I mean, I don’t walk into a show being like, “I’m gonna do all love poems right now.” I think that would get a bit tedious for people. Generally for a show I like to take people through a range of emotions. We’ll go to some dark places, but we’ll go to some funny ones, too. I want people to have a full experience. The problem we have in the world right now is that we’re constantly being told to stuff our emotions into our backpacks while we’re at work or things like that. And, if you have an emotional day at work, they send you home ... And so when people come to my show, I like to remind them that it’s okay to have emotions. It’s okay to be emotional about something that’s happened to you. We are emotional creatures, and so that’s the kind of show that I like to put on for people to take them through the range of the possible feelings, to reconnect them to themselves. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Transcribed by Alex Rake.
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Album
Casey Veggies lives and grows
MARTIN CASTRO THE CASCADE
Live & Grow, the debut album from California rapper Casey Veggies, starts with his father’s voice, briefly giving the listener an insight into the college aspirations that Casey’s parents had for him. Then, over a smooth bass line, we hear Casey: “Picture me on my side of town with the top down and I’m riding / AC on cause it’s hot outside, got a bad one beside me.” Throughout Live & Grow, Casey gives the listener a relatively wide range of aesthetics, dipping in and out of souland funk-influenced beats while at the same time offering up lyricism that’s as fresh as it is audibly exciting. The instrumentals on the record range from smooth, funky, bass-dependent tracks that immediately bring Los Angeles to mind (glossy and minimalist as far as percussion is concerned) to more
trap-influenced instrumentals, which Casey seems to struggle to shine as brightly on. The result’s interesting regardless. “Set it Off” isn’t immediately charismatic, but Casey’s delivery, relentless in its consistency, wills its way into the listener’s good graces. Snoop Dogg also tags on an endorsement of Casey at the end of the track, and, funny as it is, it seems out of place. “Actin’ Up” sees Live & Grow really take off, as Casey embraces the instrumental and adopts the confidence that was so appealing throughout Life Changes. The chorus gives some melodic content to the otherwise pretty neutral track, and a verse by Dom Kennedy really pops midway through, paralleling Casey’s confident and energetic flow with a more grounded verse. “Backflip,” which was one of the record’s first singles, continues the instrumental trend, but relies less on percussion. Although
Casey delivers quality verses throughout, YG’s verse outshines Casey’s — not lyrically or contentwise, but because YG’s personality is overwhelmingly present, whereas Casey’s gets overshadowed fairly quickly. That said, Casey’s third verse does a great job of tying the track together. The tracks where Casey really comes into his own are ones where the instrumental is as minimal as it can be. For example, “Wonderful,” which features a chorus by Ty Dolla $ign, sees Casey rely solely on his delivery to bring intensity to the track, which works endlessly in his favour; each one of his verses is full of energy and delivered with a degree of control that’s impressive for someone as relatively new as Veggies. Casey really picked his features well for this project, including BJ the Chicago Kid on “Life Song,” where not only does BJ’s crooning smooth out the track, but Casey goes off, deliveringz a succession
of verses, each of which surpasses the previous. “Aw Man” brings the aesthetic of the record down to a grittier place, and while the instrumental is pretty much all percussion, Casey spits some of his hardest verses throughout the track. There’s not much that works against him in the track.
As a debut project, Live & Grow could have benefited from having more starkly memorable moments, but it works together in a way that leaves the listener anxious for Casey Veggies’ next release.
Vaccines miss the mark on English Graffiti JEFFREY TRAINOR THE CASCADE
English band the Vaccines have always toed the line between rock and pop. Since the band’s emergence onto the indie music scene in 2011, the Vaccines have churned out a relatively consistent collection of pop / rock tunes. However, in the band’s latest release, English Graffiti, the group starts to move into a more hyper-produced, studio-polished sound which ends up hindering more than supporting their songwriting abilities. The album’s overall complexion is a cluttered combination of overly distorted and fuzzed out guitars tones. Tracks such as “Handsome” and “20 / 20” are completely dismantled because of the fuzzy barrage. It’s incredibly unfortunate, as these tracks are two of the best on the album in terms of pure song-writing, but the production and construction of the recording only obstructs the satisfying melody hidden within. These elements combine with bright, sometimes overbearing piano and synthesizers, subtly mixed bass, and often robotic
drums. This sound tapestry ends up leaving the record on disconnected and uneasy footing. The instruments and layers of sound are working on their own instead of combining together to create a cohesive piece of music. Throughout the record, it is
also evident the Vaccines are trying to work in influences from artists that have made a name for themselves in the North American market. The Vaccines are not anywhere near a household name in North America, nor are they a huge factor in North American in-
die circles. In light of this, perhaps they deemed that the route that would get them the most attention would be to closely align with bands that had broken through. In reality, these close connections just make you want to turn off the songs halfway through and listen to the bands they’re modelled after. Two prime examples of this are the tracks “Minimal Affection” and “Dream Love.” The chorus of “Minimal Affection” could easily find a place on any Strokes record, while “Dream Love” is a blatant attempted emulation of the Arctic Monkeys’ latest release, AM. Obviously there is nothing wrong with drawing on outside influences, every artist or group does it, but in the case of “Minimal Affection” and “Dream Love,” it is so flagrantly apparent that it takes away from the songs themselves. You are thinking about what they are referring to, and quite frankly, the albums and groups they parallel are far more memorable than those put forth in this record. Though this is the unfortunate reality for most of the record, English Graffiti does find strength
in some of its slower moments, when the group turns down the volume and zeroes in on the melodies and personalities of each of their songs. The best example of this is the verse portions of “Give Me A Sign” and “(All Afternoon) In Love.” Despite these glimmers of hope, the tracks still fall victim to the pitfalls of the record as a whole: overproduction. The chorus on “Give Me A Sign” explodes in an entirely unnecessary way with ear-piercing synthesizers and guitars, while “(All Afternoon) In Love” simply wanders aimlessly without a grounded purpose. If you weren’t a fan of the Vaccines before English Graffiti, I highly encourage you to not waste your time listening to this release. In fact, I suggest you go back and listen to the group’s first record, What did You Expect from the Vaccines? Perhaps if you have been a die-hard fan since before English Graffiti there is something here for you, but even if that is the case, you may find yourself moving beyond this record after a single listen … and rightly so.
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ARTS IN REVIEW
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
Podcast
CHARTS
Shuffle
Gogo 1 David Vicksburg Call
DAVE CUSICK
2 Ought Sun Coming Down
Please, please, don’t forget to vote.
3 Wavves V Hyslop 4 Joshua Believer Ysa 5 Mas Seraph Hamilton 6 Megan Forty Warm Streams to
7
Lead Your Wings War Baby Death Sweats
Vy 8 ElReturn to the Moon Cliché 9 Nouveau Walk in My Shadow Velvet 10 Red The Red Eyes 11 Frog Pickpocket’s Locket Moffat 12 Ariane 22h22 Shout Never 13 Never Black Cat Indian 14 Neon VEGA INTL. Night School
15 Foals What Went Down 16 Childbirth Women’s Rights Girls 17 U.S. Half Free Minute Detour 18 Ten Lay It Down
19 Luz 20 LaWeirdo Shrine UNIQ EOEO
The Moth will draw you in with illuminating stories DAVE CUSICK
CONTRIBUTOR
PROGRAM DIRECTOR / THE PODFATHER
Radiohead “Electioneering” Thom Yorke said in a 1997 interview that after shaking one too many hands, he began accompanying each handshake with “I trust I can rely on your vote.” He was also reading a lot of Chomsky at the time, and he “had that feeling when you read Chomsky that you want to get out and do something and realize, in fact, that you’re impotent.” Wilco and Billy Bragg “Christ for President” In 1992, the daughter of folk singer Woody Guthrie invited English singer / songwriter to peruse her late father’s lyrics archive. Guthrie had thousands of songs’ worth of lyrics that he hadn’t ever set to music, and so his daughter asked Bragg if he’d please choose some of them to give life as songs. Bragg agreed, enlisted the band Wilco to help him, and released the first volume of these in 1998, followed by two more over the next several years. Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” In fifth grade, I was on Safety Patrol, which meant that five minutes before the final bell rang, myself and other select students left our classrooms, donned yellow rain slickers and hats, grabbed a flag with a stop sign on it, and ran down to the crosswalks to direct traffic for students leaving school. At the end of the year, they brought Safety Patrol from every school in the city to the amusement park. I heard this song hundred of times on the radio that year, but the loudspeakers that day is the one in my permanently memory. Something tells me that the world has changed enough in 30 years that they probably don’t have 10-year-olds directing traffic anymore, let alone send them to the amusement park unsupervised. Ella Fitzgerald with the Chick Webb Orchestra “Vote for Mr. Rhythm” We could do far worse than Mr. Rhythm.
Andrew Solomon is a journalist from New York who decided a few years ago to write a book that investigated the experience, science, and treatment of depression. His interest in the subject was not purely academic; he personally had suffered from it, sometimes unable to return friends’ phone calls or leave his home. Eventually in his research, it dawned on him that depression was not a modern, Western problem, but one that cut across cultures and time. This train of thought eventually brought him to tribal Senegal, interviewing a shaman about her ritual to cure depression. At the end of his interview with her, she told him that she could tell that he himself was depressed, and offered to actually perform the ritual for him. He agreed, and showed up the next day with the required two roosters, several yards of fabric, and a ram. By the end of the day, he was covered in ram’s blood, surrounded by villagers who had each taken their day off work to usher him through this. Despite his skepticism, he felt completely restored to happiness. After this experience, he returned home to New York, finished his book, and then told his story to an audience of strangers at The Moth. The Moth is a collection of live events in different cities where people tell their true, personal stories on stage, without using a script, or even any notes. Its founder, George Dawes Green, used to attend meetings on a neighbour’s porch in his native Georgia, where people would gather to share their stories with each other. There was a hole in the screen where moths could get through to the porchlight, and the group began calling themselves “the Moths.” When he moved to New York, he gave that name to the groups he began hosting in 1997 in his living room — a space they quickly outgrew. Storytelling is arguably the oldest art form, certainly predating even cave paintings. Making sense of our experiences by shaping them into a narrative, and then sharing that narrative with others is one of the most essential functions of our brains. It’s at the heart of what makes us human. We’re wired to respond to stories far more than to pure information. It’s hard to imagine that the Ten Commandments would have had the same cultur-
al staying power if they hadn’t been accompanied by the drama of Moses’ journey up the mountain to receive them on stone tablets from God, only to then destroy his first copy in a fit of righteous rage. There’s two types of Moth events: slams, where volunteer storytellers compete onstage, and mainstage events, where storytellers are chosen beforehand and coached by Moth staff. The Moth artistic director Catherine Burns says that “The best stories are the ones that have stakes,” where the teller had something to gain or lose, and the outcome changed their life. “We’re looking for the story about how you became you. And that’s a tall order, obviously.” When coaching tellers, they ultimately get to the question of why the audience even cares about the story at all, which ultimately means why does the storyteller care. “If you can convey to us why you care, then chances are, so will the audience.” The result of this approach is thousands of compelling, sometimes hilarious or heartbreaking (or both) stories on The Moth podcast. An Indo-American comic who is heckled one too many times as “terrorist.” A woman who prints her dying mother a ticket to Heaven. A 12-year-old boy who tries to impress a girl with his homemade Halloween ninja costume (making heavy use of smelly black permanent marker) at the party he discovers is not actually a costume party when he arrives. Give it a listen at themoth.org, and I hope you have a story-worthy week. Dave Cusick is Director of Programming and Volunteers at CIVL Radio.
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ARTS IN REVIEW
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Podcast
Bill Simmons rebels against ESPN with new podcast HARVIN BHATHAL CONTRIBUTOR
He’s back! After a five month “sabbatical,” the controversialyet-renowned Bill Simmons has made his return to the world of sports. For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past five months, or just have no clue what I’m talking about, Simmons was fired by his former employer, ESPN. For years, the relationship between the two had been on the rocks. In Simmons’ 14-year tenure at ESPN, he was suspended three times, all relating to his criticism of the company. His firing coincided with him going on The Dan Patrick Show — Dan Patrick is also
a former ESPN employee — and ripping NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. With ESPN no longer his employer, Simmons doesn’t have to worry about criticizing the company. He expectedly praised new employer, HBO, and fired shots at ESPN in his first episode. You can expect to see more of this, knowing Simmons. While he worked for ESPN, Simmons made two ventures, creating the critically acclaimed, Emmy award-winning series, 30 for 30, as well as Grantland (in a sense, his own personal site funded by ESPN). It was on Grantland that Simmons started one of the most famous sports podcasts to-
day, The B.S. (Bill Simmons) Report. Despite putting his blood, sweat, and tears into the podcast, he could not take it with him, as it was owned by ESPN. Thus, after these five months, Simmons has finally returned with his new podcast, The Bill Simmons Podcast, which you can check out on SoundCloud. What makes his podcasts so revered is the fact that they are more natural, free-flowing conversations than anything else — and touching on mature and controversial subjects doesn’t hurt, either. For reference, watch one of many podcasts he has done with Adam Corolla. He made the viewers feel as if they were sitting in on the discussion.
Simmons himself is incredibly relatable, and that shows with his loyal fanbase. The podcasts are a perfect blend between sports and pop culture, as he often combines an analysis of recent sports news with a pop culture reference or two. Simmons has a rare ability to maintain credibility and respectability despite his nonchalant ways. Never boring or repetitive, Simmons will shuffle in guests such as regulars Jalen Rose and Cousin Sal, and more well-known guests, from the likes of Mark Wahlberg and former NBA commissioner David Stern, to Mike Tyson, Jimmy Kimmel, and even Barack Obama. If the President wants to come on your podcast,
you’ve definitely made it. Tune in to The Bill Simmons Podcast three times a week (Monday, Friday, and some time midweek) for the first six months on SoundCloud.
Film
The Martian leaves no one behind MITCH HUTTEMA THE CASCADE
Warning: this review contains major spoilers. The list of films released in the past several months that piqued my interest was a sad and short one. This summer was long and dry with only Southpaw, and maybe The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to quench box office cinema enthusiasts’ thirst for adequate filmmaking. This fall saw a steady increase of great films released, The Martian being the first of which I was able to see. So I was excited, to say the least, to get back into the leathery, semi-reclining seats of Galaxy Cinema in Chilliwack. Full disclosure: I have been a long-time fan of Ridley Scott’s brand of sci-fi; Alien and Blade Runner are locked in at the top of my favourites list. Scott’s films span many time periods and genres, but they all have the same huge visual weight to them. Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, and Prometheus are great examples of this, with their open and wide representation of landscapes and incredibly cinematic portrayal of their environments. The Martian falls right in line with these films. I am not a fan of 3D by any means, but it was used well in this film. With The Martian being a space movie, it is understandable that Scott chose to work in 3D. Unlike the use of 3D in most other films, it did not seem to be a gimmick in The Martian. There was no overuse of giant chunks of rock flying out of the screen at
you, there were no guns or wands pointed in your face, and there was a significant lack of people jerking back in their seats to avoid any explosions. Typically, you know something works well when you don’t notice it, and that was the case for the 3D in this film. It was instrumental in illustrating the depth of space, and allowed for interesting interplay between foreground and background in several shots. Unlike other Scott sci-fi flicks, The Martian steps away from the
themes of God, creation, power, and sexuality. I didn’t walk out of the theatre holding onto my manly bits out of unconscious fear the same way I did after seeing Alien and Prometheus, and I wasn’t questioning the origin of the universe or whether or not my best friend could potentially be a robot. Instead, The Martian is simply about a man surviving. The typical themes of man versus man / nature / god / self didn’t seem to apply. Yes, Matt Damon’s character was on another planet fight-
ing for his life, but it didn’t seem like Mars was out to get him, it seemed like he was a scientist conducting experiments to which there could be either a positive or a negative result. This film is the kind of science fiction that Earth really needs right now. Rather than being caricatured nerds scrambling around in lab coats, scientists are heroes for once. This film is unapologetically smart: it incorporates hexadecimals with no explanation, purports complex chemistry
with humour, and only minimally dumbs down the astrophysics necessary at various points in the film. For once, we’ve proven that a blockbuster can accurately represent science, or at least do so respectfully. The film was plausible on every front and it really doesn’t feel like we’re that far away in history from the events of the plot. I did, however, have several points of complaint with the film. Think of how you’ve seen a movie abandon someone on a foreign planet. That’s exactly how The Martian does it as well. Also, this film comes maybe a little too close to Interstellar, and Gravity. They definitely have visual parallels to this film. My biggest complaint about The Martian is the video diaries. Why? I honestly felt like I had walked into Avatar by accident at times. Surely Scott could have come up with some alternate way for the character to explain his emotional state? The film clocks in at 140 minutes, so it sits in the heavyweight class. However, I felt that I could have spent much more time in the theatre and never once felt it was too long. This film offers an interesting and realistic look at the necessity of science in everyday life, and how fundamental it is to our survival. The movie did moderately well to respect the laws of physics and stayed true to reality. However, there was one absolutely blatant disregard of the laws of cinema: Sean Bean played crew supervisor, stayed comfortably on Earth, retired wealthy, and didn’t die.
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SPORTS & HEALTH
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca
UFV hip-hop club: popping, tutting, and good laughs MELISSA LY
CONTRIBUTOR / PHOTO
UPCOMING
EVENTS Oct 17 FMX World Tour
The Extreme Freestyle Motocross World Tour is back for another year at the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre. The event will feature 12 top international pros from the FMX and BMX pro circuit. Tickets range from $15 to $35 and are available at abbotsfordcentre.ca.
Every Monday
A few hip-hop enthusiasts are sharing their passion for dance with the rest of UFV through the hip-hop club, which just debuted this semester. According to Tim Sung, a series of events sparked the creation of the club. Last year he and Bruce Martin, one of the club’s other executives, attended Vancouver BattleZone at Douglas College. They came back inspired to create the same experience and culture in their own community. For members like Jeremy Molina, the club was a space which finally allowed him to be surrounded by others with a similar passion: a place for him “to observe other dancers and to be further inspired in [his] own craft.” And practice being a lot of fun is a bonus. For me, the club allows dance to be something more than just
me dancing in my room or at a club. As a child I was noticeably shy, and I was too embarrassed to dance in front of others. By the time I came out of my shell and became interested in hip hop, I was too old to learn to dance at local studios, because there were no appropriate age groups and skill level classes offered. As a young adult, it is difficult to pursue hip-hop as a hobby if you are a beginner. However, the club overcomes that barrier, and gives me the opportunity I had been waiting for. The first session of the semester started off with an icebreaker, which was followed by learning some of the basics to hip hop, such as popping, tutting, and waving. At various points, there would be breaks in which a brave few would take turns showing off their moves through freestyle dance. The class was intertwined with funny banter and a sup-
portive environment in which everyone would cheer and applaud no matter how ridiculous one thought they looked. The following session was all of the above, plus a few new people, as well as some new choreography. Bruce highlights that the UFV hip hop club is an “inclusive group and anyone, regardless
of any experience, is welcome to come in and participate and have fun.” He foresees that in the future the club will expand to include performances and dance events. So readers, get involved or stay tuned, because the “Cascade Crew” will be making its presence known in the community.
Hip-hop dancing The UFV hip hop dance club welcomes students of all skills levels to participate in hip hop dancing. Classes are every Monday evening from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall in the Student Union Building. More information can be found online at facebook.com/groups/ufvhiphop.
Every Wednesday Free yoga classes Join the UFV yoga club for free yoga every Wednesday. Classes are from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Great Hall in the Student Union Building. For more information visit the yoga club’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ ufvyogaclub.
Ongoing Organized drop-in sports Now that school is back in gear, drop in sports are beginning again. Stop by the Envision Athletics Centre to join in basketball, pickle ball / badminton, soccer, volleyball, rugby, or ball hockey games. No registration is required and anyone with a valid UFV campus card can participate. For more information and to see the full schedule visit ufvcascades.ca/ rec.
Tennis club comes to UFV VANESSA BROADBENT THE CASCADE
When you think of university varsity sports, tennis is not the first thing that comes to mind – at least not for UFV students. But that could change this year. Adrian Oziewicz, tennis instructor at Great West Fitness, is working to start a tennis club at UFV. Oziewicz, in partnership with the university’s athletic program, is currently recruiting athletes for the UFV Cascades tennis team — the first ever at UFV. “I’ve had a few responses. I need to get a group together and then we can build on that,” he said. “The main thing is that we get some players and go from there.” Although this will be the first time that UFV has a tennis team, many other universities in Canada (including SFU, UBC, and UVIC) already do. These existing teams compete in the Tennis Canada league, making it easier for a new team to join. “It’s not like we’re trying to pioneer the league,” Ozeiwicz said. “There’s already a whole league out there.” Oziewicz explained that the Tennis Canada league functions similarly to other university leagues. “They basically take a few universities from western Canada, a few from Ontario, and then a few from the East, and then they get together for national championships to see which universities go to nationals,” he explained. “In between, they have friendly matches and stuff like that.” As the school year is underway, Oziewicz hopes to have a team established by the end of October so that they can start
preparing for the season’s first tournament, hosted by SFU. “We can pick a team and go from there,” he said. “As time goes on it gets harder because of midterms and stuff like that.” At this time, SFU is the closest university with a tennis program, making it difficult for local tennis players to pursue the sport at a university level. “It’s a pathway,” Oziewicz said. “And right now the pathway stops at 17. When you finish, you go to university in the States or wherever, but wouldn’t it be cool if the pathway continued just down the road here?” Joining an athletic club can be a difficult thing to do, especially while in university, and Oziewicz understands that. “People get into their groove. It takes a bit of time away from the academics, but it makes you focus,” he said. “Those memories I have of playing for my university, they’re good memories. I don’t regret it.” Seeing that UFV doesn’t have any tennis facilities on campus, the program would be a partnership with Great West fitness and tennis club. “I think it would be a great partnership,” Oziewicz said. “We have the facility, [UFV] has the people. It just makes sense.” Like any team that’s starting out, Oziewicz understands that the team may have a rough start. “Obviously, it wouldn’t be super strong in the beginning,” he said. “I’m not expecting great things, but just to get the ball rolling.” Anyone interested in joining the tennis club is encouraged to contact Oziewicz at aoziewicz@yahoo.com.
The Cascade Annual General Meeting November 16 3:00 PM On-campus location to be announced Must bring valid student ID. All students who have paid the Cascade newspaper fee may attend.
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UFV volleyball’s Adam Chaplin serves it up HARVIN BHATHAL CONTRIBUTOR
Coming off a quarter-final finish last season, the men’s volleyball team hopes to build upon last year’s success and take it even further. Part of the reason for that success was outside hitter, Adam Chaplin. With the 2015-16 volleyball season fast approaching, Chaplin sits down to talk about what made him fall in love with the sport, what his goals for himself and the team are, the two coaches he has played under in his Cascades career, and even archery. Growing up, what made you fall in love with volleyball? Well, that’s a tough question. It started in grade eight; I wanted to play on a sports team, so I started playing volleyball. After playing for the year and sitting on the bench most of the time, I talked to my dad and figured out that he was on the national team and he did two world tours, and that sparked my interest a little bit more. You know, at least I now have somebody close to home that can help me out with [volleyball]. From there, I ended up going in seven camps over the summer, so my entire summer was just volleyball between grade eight and grade nine. I came back to high school a totally different player and I started playing club. What’s your favourite skill in volleyball? Serving, setting, spiking, or digging? And why? Honestly, I’ve been an all-around player all my life, and that’s just the way my dad trained me. I love every skill. It’s hard to pick an individual skill to be my favourite, but there is something about playing defence. Digging is more satisfying than anything. Yeah, you can score points on offence, but stopping the other team from scoring points is more satisfying to me. Last year, the Columbia Bible College Bearcats beat you in four of the five matches you two played. What’s going to be different this season?
First of all, CBC lost a ton of players, so it’s going to be a totally different look on their side. It’s kind of hard to tell what they’re going to be like this year. Speaking strictly from our side though, we’ve only gotten stronger. I said to our coach and a bunch of the guys that two weeks into this year, we were starting what we finished last year; not just in terms of skill, but as a team. As a whole, we were bonding better and playing better, so I definitely think that going into this year, we haven’t gone backwards at all. We’re already on the uphill heading into playing CBC. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you where they’re at because it’s an entirely different team. You’ve played under two coaches during your career with the Cascades. What do you think is different about Kyle Donen, and what do you think is better? Oh gosh. Greg [Russell] was older and Kyle [Donen] was a super young guy. Greg brought a lot different outlooks on the game — he would try the weirdest things where nobody had any idea what he was doing. But things worked and it was unbelievable. He has that sure experience with volleyball because he’s been around the sport for so long. Kyle, on the other hand, is kind of tentative with what he does; he’s not really ready to make lots of changes. He lets things kind of ride through. I think that allows us to develop instead of changing every day. Not that there’s anything wrong with changing every day, but it’s hard to get into a rhythm. I personally love the change every day because I’m an all-around player. I moved from the left side to the right, setting — I was just so used to it. Kyle sticks with something and tries it out for a while and sees how it goes. In your fifth season playing for the Cascades, what do you want to improve upon the most? As a team, we can do a better job of being consistent. Personally, consistency has always been something that I’ve strived for. I think that comes with being con-
Scoreboard
Men’s Soccer: Friday Oct 9 UFV Cascades vs. TWU Spartans W 4-1 Women’s Soccer: Friday Oct 9 UFV Cascades vs. TWU Spartans L 2-1 Men’s Basketball Friday Oct 9 UFV Cascades vs. TWU Spartans W 90-81 Saturday Oct 10 UFV Cascades vs. TWU Spartans W 77-68 Women’s Basketball Friday Oct 9 UFV Cascades vs. Regina Cougers L 86-48 Saturday Oct 10 UFV Cascades vs. Guelph Gryphons W 69-53
sistent as a team. That’s definitely going to be one of our biggest strengths this year, getting that consistency and holding it. [If we do], we can be a very strong team. Do you have any personal goals for the up and coming season? Seeing as this is my last season, I want to leave everything on the court. I don’t want to be at the end of the season saying, “Wow, I could’ve tried a little harder in that game and in that practice; I slacked.” I just want to leave everything out on the floor. Everybody obviously wants to win provincials and nationals, but only one team in each league can do it. Not that that’s not a goal, but it’s the procedure that we need to focus on. Do you want to pursue volleyball professionally? It’s been a thought in my mind, and I’ve swayed back and forth. Yeah, I want do to it, but another part of me says no, let’s just get to real life. But it’s tough at my height. If I wanted to be a libero, there’s an outside chance, but as an outside hitter, I’m too small. Being 5’10 as an outside hitter in the volleyball hitter is few and far between. What is your vertical? I couldn’t tell you. At one point, I’ve touched 11’4 and my standing reach is 7’6. Officially it would be 46 inches, but unrecorded, I know I’ve touched higher than that. I’ve hit my head on a basketball rim at one point. Besides volleyball, what other sports do you play? I don’t really play any other sports to be honest. Before volleyball, I used to shoot archery, but volleyball has been my passion, and to be focused on what I’m doing and to be the best I can. I don’t really take any time aside to play any other sports. Everything I do is based on volleyball. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Image: Mallory Donen Photography
Upcoming Games
Women’s Soccer: Friday Oct 16 4:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. Manitoba Bisons (home) Saturday Oct 17 5:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. Winnipeg Wesmen (home) Women’s Basketball Friday Oct 16 6:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. VIU Mariners (home) Men’s Volleyball: Friday Oct 16 8:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. CBC Bearcats (away) Saturday Oct 17 7:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. CBC Bearcats (home) Women’s Volleyball: Friday Oct 16 6:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. CBC Bearcats (away) Saturday Oct 17 5:00 p.m. UFV Cascades vs. CBC Bearcats (home)