The Cascade, Volume 31, Issue 9/10

Editor-in-Chief Brad Duncan brad@ufvcascade.ca

Production Manager Niusha Naderi niusha@ufvcascade.ca

Business Manager Marie-Ange Routier marie-ange@ufvcascade.ca

Jr. News Editor Jayden Talvio

Digital Media Manager Wilson Agyapong wilson@ufvcascade.ca

Culture & Events Editor culture@ufvcascade.ca

Arts in Review Editor Eva Davey eva@ufvcascade.ca

Features & Cover Rashneet

The Inflationary Arms Race

Creative

News

CONTRIBUTORS

Gina Johnson Kiran Shergill

Caleb Campbell Nadia Tudhope

Alyssa Rot

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

@UFVCASCADE

FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/UFVCASCADE

Volume 31 · Issue 9 & 10 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It originated under its current name in 1993, and achieved autonomy from the university and the Student Union Society in 2002. This means that The Cascade is a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published in an entirely student-run setting. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds, and is overseen by the Cascade Journalism Society Board, a body run by a student majority. The Cascade is published every other Wednesday with a print circulation of 800 and is distributed at Abbotsford, Chilliwack (CEP), Clearbrook, and Mission UFV campuses and throughout the surrounding communities.

The Cascade is open to written, photo, and design work from all students; these can come in the form of a pitch to an editor, or an assignment from an editor. Pitch meetings will be digital for the remainder of the semester. Please email managing@ufvcascade.ca to be put on the assignment email list.

In order to be published in the newspaper, all work must first be approved by The Cascade’s editor-in-chief, copy editor, and corresponding section editor. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic, or libellous content. Letters to the editor, while held to the same standard, are unedited, and should be under 200 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

The Cascade is published on the traditional, unceded territory of the Stó:lō peoples. We are grateful to be able to work and learn on this beautiful land.

On June 1, the provincial government raised its minimum wage to $16.75. In just eight years, B.C. went from having one of the lowest minimum wages, at $10.25 per hour in 2015, to one of the highest. The increase is… contentious. Minimum wage workers are happy to see a pay bump, while businesses fret over increased costs. The extra cash should, in theory, go straight back into the economy, but where and how it’s spent matters. If instead of going to the local café, it goes into Shein’s deep pockets, then it’s just another expense for local businesses to incur — and ultimately pass onto consumers. Restaurants have been especially hard hit. The ones who survived the COVID-19 lockdowns by hastily contracting with food delivery services; investing in personal protective equipment; installing plexiglass barriers; erecting ramshackle outdoor dining spaces; operating at reduced volume; fighting for limited takeout supplies; and desperately trying to conjure up willing employees. Even before this wage bump, small businesses had already taken on a number of new costs, like employer-paid sick days, increased WorkSafeBC premiums, a new employer

2.....SUS plans for fall

health tax, and a new provincial holiday. Anyone who can’t understand the concerns of small business owners should take a moment and try.

Of course, inflation hits the people on the bottom rung the hardest. The B.C. Liberal government showcased just how poor a strategy it is to leave the minimum wage stagnant for a decade — but we must have a serious conversation about what the goal really is. According to Living Wage for Families BC, a living wage for Metro Vancouver is now $24.08 per hour. That’s a far cry from the new minimum of $16.75 — a $7.33 discrepancy. In 2019, when the minimum wage was $12.65 or $13.85 (depending on when you measured it), the living wage was $19.50. The gap is not shrinking — it’s

If you work full time at minimum wage and lease a one-bedroom apartment in Abbotsford, nearly two-thirds of your take-home pay is going towards rent. Between 2015 and 2019, rental prices increased by an average of 34 per cent. A onebedroom unit that was $1,245 in 2020 is $1,499 today. It’s no wonder that tipping culture has completely blown up — we’ve turned the service sector into an industry of panhandlers — and who can blame them?

The businesses that survive will adapt. Some will use new AI; others will offshore because remote work from home can also be done from Bangladesh. Grocers and oil giants will keep gouging their customers. Workers above the minimum will advocate for more cash too — especially unions and employees who’ve seen a surging wage gradually subsume years of raises and promotions. Meanwhile, those on the margins will go on in a Gatsby-esque delusion — believing “in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning —”

SPORTS

14.....B.C. Lions season preview

2.....Boardwalk Cafe & Games

3.....News Briefs

4.....Victoria

14-15.....B.C. Lions undefeated

15.....F1: Mercedes making moves

CULTURE

16.....A Conversation with author, Taleen Voskuni

17.....Jurassic Quest comes to Abbotsford

18.....Exhibit spotlight: The Big Tiny

5-6.....Bisexual

18.....Cooking up funds for aid to Nepal

19.....The Cascade Kitchen : Coconut Matcha Chia Pudding

20.....Study Break

ARTS

21.....Streaming: Yellowjackets

21.....Streaming: The Ultimatum: Queer Love

22.....Soundbites: Red Wine Supernova

22-23.....Streaming: Ted Lasso

23.....Music: Stick Season — deluxe edition

BRADLEY DUNCAN

“So we beat on, boats against the current”

Illustration by Carolina Talcan

Kickback, new goals, and advocacy planned for fall 2023

UFV’s SUS president reveals what’s in store for the upcoming semester

RACHEL TAIT

The Student Union Society (SUS) has several events and goals planned for the upcoming fall 2023 semester at UFV. In past semesters, this has included advocacy goals on behalf of students, as well as community building events like Kickback. SUS president, Ashley McDougall, sat down with The Cascade and shared a preview of what students can look forward to for the fall.

According to McDougall, SUS hopes to continue hosting popular events on campus in the fall, with Kickback taking place on Sept. 21. SUS will also be providing more free food at the event, as it was requested by students from last year’s feedback. Kickback will also usher in the return of the dunk tank as well as the beer garden.

Other familiar supports that SUS will provide include their student healthcare and dental plans, which are included in student fees. “We're also looking at continuing our Abbotsford Canucks partnership,” said McDougall, “so hopefully when the season starts up, we're going to be having some more student rush nights.”

A major change that McDougall is excited for is hosting more events at the

Community//

Chilliwack campus. She explained that Chilliwack is often excluded when it comes to hosting events, but that SUS is planning to go to the campus during the summer or fall to poll students and determine what type of events they want to have. McDougall also hinted that in the winter semester they’re “planning a bigger event out [at the] Chilliwack campus.”

“We're looking at planning some engagement with the clubs and associations (CNAs) this year,” explained McDougall. “SUS recently took over the administration of clubs and associations… so we’re really looking forward to engaging more with CNAs.”

One of the main goals that SUS hopes to achieve this year is establishing a higher level of transparency with students at UFV, including more opportunities for students to meet with members of SUS. “We want to make it as accessible as possible to students if they have questions about SUS [and] questions about what we do.” McDougall added that SUS’s vice presidents (VPs) are also working on an initiative that will likely be called Find Your Fees, which will “be breaking down the student union fees and where they go for students.”

“This year we have three student representatives at large,” said McDougall. “They're not active in the office, but they are representatives of the student body that attend the board meetings each month and engage with students, and they can choose to be a bit more involved if they want to get involved in advocacy projects and things like that.”

“UFV students come from a very unique perspective compared to other schools, and we're looking at strengthening our connection with members of the Legislative Assembly and provincial ministers to really get the student voice heard.” According to McDougall, SUS is also “advocating for our student financial aid, lowering cost for students, increasing accessibility for international students, as well as increasing institutional funding.”

Students can also expect a new campus shuttle service in the fall. “We have our campus shuttle that runs from the Abbotsford to Chilliwack campus, and back. We recently started a new contract with the shuttle, so we have a new shuttle service provider which we're really excited about because it will allow us to expand the hours for the fall semester for students.” The new shuttle provider is called LuxBus and will be

Local spotlight on Boardwalk Cafe and Games

RACHEL TAIT

Established in 2017, the local Abbotsford business Boardwalk Cafe and Games has transitioned through turbulent times of uncertainty throughout the years. Darin Graham, the owner and operator of the café, opened up about what inspired him to start up his business and some of the changes and challenges his café has gone through, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

What inspired you to start up Boardwalk Cafe and Games, and how long have you been in business?

We opened the doors to Boardwalk in January of 2017. We were inspired to create Boardwalk after visiting a number of board game cafés in other cities. We knew that there was a lack

of entertainment options in the Fraser Valley and believed that the community would enjoy a unique experience like what we had in mind. So, we took a chance and here we are.

What do you find draws people to Boardwalk?

It seems like people value having a place to gather that is social and experiential. It's different then going to a traditional restaurant as you are sharing more than a meal. As well, since the housing market is really challenging for many people, we don't all have the opportunity to own a space that we can gather our friends in. If we have to negotiate with roommates about having a group of friends over or if we have a really small apartment, it makes it challenging to have meaningful social encounters with people. Having a social space that you don't have to worry

about cleaning up, buying snacks, or if there's going to be a big enough table makes it a lot easier in today's housing market.

You have different membership deals. Can you talk about some of the perks of becoming a member?

Our members enjoy free cover for regular gaming, 10 per cent off of special ticketed events, and 50 per cent off of ongoing and drop-in role playing game events. They also get 10 per cent off of retail purchases of new games and accessories.

You have different regular events such as Family Game Sunday, Board Game Blitz, Boardwalk Chess Club, Boardgame Meetup, and Drop-in Dungeons and Dragons. How have these events helped establish community engagement and connections for the business?

running longer as “students are looking for more hours for the shuttle.”

McDougall encourages the participation of new and returning students alike. “There's going to be so many opportunities to get involved in the fall, whether that's through clubs and associations [or by] coming to events on campus.”

Our events have been a huge gathering point for many people. We've really diversified the types of events that we offer in order to give options for just about every type of gamer. We've been able to build strong relationships with many of the people that come for events and we've seen many friendships grow through them as well. Our [role-playing game] events have been especially meaningful for people as they come together week after week and go from strangers to friends!

What changes have you made to Boardwalk Cafe and Games since opening, i.e. ambience, business, merchandise, menu, etc?

Along with moving locations in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've really tried to dial in our food and drink menu in order to operate more like a traditional restaurant.

continued on page 4

The owner of Abbotsford’s tabletop gaming hub talks to The Cascade

NEWS BRIEFS

Doctor Bonnie Henry received an honorary degree at UFV Convocation

At 9:30 a.m. on June 15, Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for her leadership in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She appeared in a pre-recorded video at UFV’s Convocation ceremony. Prior to aiding in the response to COVID-19, she played an integral role in international disease control. She worked with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children Fund to help eradicate polio in Pakistan. She also partnered with the WHO to control the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda in 2001. Henry is one of four prominent figures who was recognized at this event for their positive social and communal impact.

- Jayden Talvio

$10 billion settlement reached in 21 Robinson Huron First Nations case

On June 17, the governments of Canada and Ontario reached a settlement with the leaders of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund. The agreement, reached at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, sees a total of $10 billion dollars (evenly split between the federal and Ontario provincial governments), awarded for unresolved claims of unpaid annuities for using the 21 First Nations’ land. The Robinson Huron Treaty has been in effect since 1850, but the annuity paid towards the 21 First Nations has not increased since 1875. “Our communities have struggled economically, culturally, and socially because of this breach of Treaty,” Chief Dan Sayers of the Batchewana First Nation said, “we see this settlement as an opportunity to show the commitment of both Canada and Ontario to respect and implement our rights affirmed in the Treaty.”

- Jayden Talvio

continued from page 3

This means more meal-type options like flatbreads so that our customers can ensure that we'll take care of their whole evening.

What has been the greatest challenge(s) Boardwalk has encountered in the midst of all the inflation?

Obviously the cost of goods has increased on many of our core ingredients like milk, butter, and cheese.

We've also seen other expenses grow, like property tax, which means our rent increases. Minimum wage increases have also caused our staffing costs to grow significantly. Unfortunately, it means that we have to raise some prices here and there.

Like most small businesses, we will probably have to continue to do that in order to ensure the long term viability of our company.

What would you like to see done in the future at Boardwalk?

We're looking at some minor tweaks to our physical space in order to create a more intimate ambiance. We're also looking at our decor to ensure that all our customers are able to see themselves within the hobby as a whole. Historically, this has meant finding a way to bring BIPOC and [LGBTQ+] representation to the forefront through art installations. It's not really a secret that the tabletop games hobby is pretty

homogenous, and straight, and white, and male. So, we have been as proactive as possible to ensure that other groups are meaningfully represented.

What is the most rewarding aspect of running Boardwalk Cafe and Games?

It's rewarding to see people enjoy a concept that we've built from the ground up. To see people interacting with the space in a way that we imagined years ago is really sweet. It still has a plethora of challenges and stress points, but the community that has supported us and been built out by us is very rewarding.

Students//

Ekta continues to empower students’ voices

Collaborating with students on important issues and world events

RACHEL TAIT

With its first season nominated by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) Community Radio Awards in the category of “Breaking Barriers,” Ekta is in its second year and still going strong. Created in 2022 by Victoria Surtees, UFV’s Teaching and Learning Specialist in internationalization, Ekta is a student-focused podcast. Each episode engages with a different UFV student as they discuss topics that deeply affect them. Surtees sat down with The Cascade to discuss Ekta season two and the impact it’s having on students and the community.

Currently with around 700 downloads, the podcast is gaining a following, and Surtees hopes to continue working on the project. “I think that there's still a need for those stories,” said Surtees. “I think that what I'm doing with season two is broadening the different kinds of experiences that I'm bringing.”

She explained that her process for each episode of Ekta is an intense one that requires a lot of research and trust-building with the students. Spending roughly eight to 20 hours per episode, Surtees said that she takes the time getting to know the students she works with as they collaborate on the content to ensure that they get the right message across. “I think that's really what works, and the assurance for them that I don't publish anything without their express permission.”

Surtees emphasized the importance of being careful about what is said and not said in each episode because it can negatively impact the student in the episode. “[Ekta] can be accessed anywhere all over the world, and that's something that I've really had to think deeply about because what is acceptable to talk about here may not be acceptable to talk about in India, Iran, Russia, or other places.”

The podcast can occasionally delve into difficult subjects. A recent epi-

sode of Ekta centered on a Turkish student who discussed the recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, and how that impacted “his experience here at UFV, [and] his ability to engage the things that were going on for him.”

In the future, Surtees believes there are different potential directions she could take Ekta, such as featuring faculty members, and discussing how they have adjusted to “the local teaching environment,” especially those who come from “different places and backgrounds.”

“I'm also starting to engage more with students who are taking leadership positions here at UFV. So I'll be doing an episode with two members of SUS (Student Union Society), talking about advocacy, leadership, and the things that they're working on for students.” Whichever direction Ekta takes, Surtees makes it clear that it’s up to the students. “Ultimately, what this is all about is telling the stories that [students] want to tell, so it's not necessarily my decision to make.”

Photo by Aryan Kathuira

Shelley Liebembuk, PhD, an assistant professor from the theatre department, was appointed as the new director of the School of Creative Arts (SoCA), and will step into the role at the end of June. The previous director, Heather DavisFisch, PhD, is leaving UFV to work at the University of Lethbridge as the new dean of fine arts. Liebembuk sat down with The Cascade and shared some of her goals and plans that she hopes to achieve.

“I feel very well stewarded to take on the directorship,” said Liebembuk. She attributed her qualifications to her

experience working at the university for the last four years as well as building curriculum. “I also recognize that there's going to be a learning curve. This is a new kind of position and it’s a managerial position at a certain level for a very large group of humans.”

Liebembuk said that it was her mentor and colleague, Davis-Fisch, who first told her about the job opening and encouraged her to apply. She attributed much of her success and opportunities here at UFV to Davis-Fisch, as she was the one who encouraged Liebembuk to first apply to work at UFV four years ago.

The hiring process for the position was quick as Liebembuk learned about the opening in mid-April, and was promoted on May 12. “I was interviewed by a panel of folks from the School of Creative Arts,” said Liebembuk. She was later unanimously voted in as the new director by permanent faculty from SoCA. “I feel like I'm supported and folks believe that I can step up to the job, and that's a really nice feeling.”

Liebembuk equates the transition into her new position with “preparing for a role.” She is grateful for all the shadowing that she has done with Davis-Fisch, saying she has gleaned a lot of wisdom and knowledge from her mentor in the last six weeks. “[I am] feeling very well supported because Heather's guidance has been incredible. From the first day I

got here and right through [to the] end of this month, we basically switched roles and she's been very generous with her time and very detailed in the information.”

Liebembuk said that one of the main components of her position is “to oversee the operations of the school.” This includes “helping people feel heard, [getting] work done, [collaborating] and [advocating] for what people need, and supporting them in that process.” Liebembuk will also be “overseeing staff, budget, events, faculty, as well as engaging and dealing with any conflicts that come up.”

The other aspect of being director of SoCA is reviewing and creating new curriculum, which Liebembuk has prior experience with. On top of teaching theatre, Liebembuk has been “working extensively in curriculum programming at the College of Arts.”

She will also be helping to implement the curriculum that SoCA has been working on under Davis-Fisch. “[Davis-Fisch] was stewarding us through all the areas to do revisions and visioning for new programs that will come out fall 2024,” said Liebembuk. “The different areas [of SoCA] are all focused on really innovating our curriculum, making them more interdisciplinary, honouring how creative arts practice is being taught in innovative institutions across North America. So, a big part

Professor Liebembuk promoted as the new director of SoCA Unexpected

of my job in the next year is about that curriculum,” which will include “an indigenous art certificate… that we're hoping to roll out.”

There are some goals already in place by SoCA that Liebembuk will help fulfill as director, which include the renovations in Building K, creating more areas for students to utilize, including a multimedia space that can be used for theatrical performances.

Liebembuk also emphasized the importance of SoCA’s community partnerships. “We develop possible projects both for student practicums and also for events for festival programming… The Chilliwack Cultural Center now has eight student practicums in theatre for students for next year, including the winter term.” She will also continue to build relationships with partners that already work with SoCA, such as The Reach, expanding opportunities for students to gain experience in the industry. Despite the transition to an administrative role, Liebembuk still plans to teach in the future. “I'm excited about the directorship because I think it's a chance to have a different access point to tell a different group of people how important what we do in the classroom is,” but stipulated, “I am first and foremost an educator.”

as a bisexual

I write this article having only been “out” as bisexual to very few people. So if you know me personally and you didn’t know this about me… Hey! What’s up?

Ironically, I don’t even feel the need to label myself most of the time. Why do I call myself bisexual then? I only use the word for convenience purposes: when it’s the easiest way to signal to people that I’m attracted to more than just men.

An American Psychiatric Association study suggests that bisexuals are more at risk of suicide than monosexuals: people who experience attraction to one gender, and that bisexual women in

particular are at a higher risk of mood and anxiety disorders than monosexual women. Bisexual men are also at a higher risk of mood and anxiety disorders than heterosexual men. Given these statistics, it’s important for people to give bisexuals a chance to dispel the additional stigmas we face for loving who we love, because I fear the consequences for our additional discrimination.

This is not to say it is every bisexual person’s job to combat pernicious myths surrounding bisexuality. I just happen to be a bisexual person who is willing to bring attention to the unfair assumptions others have about us.

Here’s my list of unexpected predicaments:

Others assume I’m hitting on women when I’m not.

I was chatting with a woman who I

had just met, and I was having some friendly conversations with her. Later, a friend who was a witness to the conversation, teased me for apparently appearing attracted to her. It took longer than I would have ever anticipated to convince them I wasn’t interested in her.

Others assume I’m on a date with a woman when I’m not.

Once, when I met up with a friend at a café, someone else I knew was there. They were making bow chicka wow wow faces at me, and it became very clear to me that they thought I was on a romantic date. The rest of the time I was hanging out with this friend, I was hyper-conscious about doing everything in my power to not look like I was on a date.

continued on page 6

Photo Provided by Shelley Liebembuk

Illustration by Carolina Talcan

continued from page 5

Men are oblivious when I’m flirting with a woman.

There is perhaps nothing more awkward than when you’re trying to chat up a woman, and a guy who is interested in you — and who you are not interested in — is following you around like a puppy. Respectfully, back off and let me proceed with my mission in peace.

Dealing with the, “Is this your girlfriend?” question from elder millennials.

LGBTQ+//

I usually assume that elder millennials are young enough to know that calling someone “girlfriend” when they mean “a girl that’s a friend” is outdated. Therefore, in these situations, I assume they mean the romantic type of girlfriend. But then I go through a mental list of how they said it — was there a flirty tone? What does their body language say? Are they progressive enough to even consider that I could have a girlfriend?

Why I’m over the rainbow

Dealing with the, “Is this your girlfriend?” question from boomers.

Just kidding. Easy. Over 99 per cent of the time, they mean a girl who’s a friend.

I really don’t have a solution to situations of mistaken attraction or intention. However, as long as these people don’t subscribe to the belief that bisexuals experience attraction towards everyone, I don’t get worked up over it. Also, can we please eliminate the use

“Rainbow capitalism” has neutered the meaning of the original Pride flag.

MATTHEW IDDON

It’s Pride Month again, and you know what that means. Walmart and Target are rolling out their annual barrage of tacky Pride merch, corporations are swapping out their Twitter profile pictures for rainbow-striped alternates, and Skittles are gay once again. At first glance, this seems like good news. After all, there’s no denying that such ubiquitous support for Pride from some of the most powerful companies in the world is a major victory. It’s hopefully a sign that those of us with differing sexual orientations and gender identities are becoming a “normal” fixture of everyday life. But when I see what corporate Pride actually looks like, I can’t help but notice how hollow this victory feels.

It’s a bitter fact that most large corporations are only willing to go so far when it comes to showing their support. We all know why Pfizer Inc. and Pfizer Canada have donned the rainbow on Twitter, yet Pfizer Saudi Arabia has not. Why risk angering your consumer base in a country where homosexuals are major targets of religious and political persecution? Target recently withdrew some Pride Month merchandise after receiving threats from angered customers. Endorsing Pride puts these companies into uncomfortable situations — either go all-in and potentially put employees (and profits) at risk, or give into intimidation and rescind your allyship. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

So why does seemingly every business feel the need to show their rainbow stripes every summer? Corporations aren’t activist organizations, and have no obligation to visibly support Pride. But if they can make a couple bucks by slapping rainbows on their

products and selling them in an LGBTQ+ friendly market, they surely will. Plus, they’ll also garner praise and favourable press along the way. This kind of shallow corporate allyship has become so prominent in recent years that it has a name: “rainbow capitalism.” It’s not always done in bad faith — and spreading awareness isn’t a bad thing — but oftentimes, “awareness” tends to overshadow the need for actual activism.

At the heart of “rainbow capitalism” is the rainbow itself, a symbol with a fascinating history. Conceived in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, the flag originally had eight colors and was intended to unite the LGBTQ+ community under a single banner. The colored stripes were not meant to symbolize the various communities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella; they each represented different aspects of human existence (sex, nature, art, etc.). By 1979 the flag had evolved into the familiar sixstriped design we tend to see today, but the meaning was still radically clear: no matter your identity, the rainbow emphasizes the importance of your humanity

Baker’s flag was extremely influential, and in the years since, countless Pride flag variants have sprung up. In 2018, Seattle’s LGBTQ Commission combined two preexisting flags: Amber Hikes’ rainbow flag (featuring brown and black stripes to represent queer people of color) and Monica Helms’ transgender Pride flag, creating a massive 11-stripe flag. The newly added stripes were reshaped into an arrow by Daniel Quasar, forming the “Progress Pride Flag.”

It’s possibly the most widely-used variant today, flown everywhere from shop windows to city skylines

to the White House. Quasar has expressed concerns about corporate misuse of the flag without consulting or giving back to the LGBTQ+ community — rainbow capitalism at its finest.

There are a few post-Quasar designs that have surged in popularity since 2018. There’s an intersex-inclusive design, and a “red umbrella” design intended to represent queer sex workers. There’s nothing wrong with these variants existing (although in my humble and purely vexillological opinion, everything post-Baker has been kind of ugly). They highlight the needs of underrepresented and marginalized communities. However, the widespread corporate adoption of these flags has turned into a dickmeasuring contest — if you don’t have the latest Pride flag hanging in your store, you simply aren’t being progressive enough. Most businesses have updated their standard Pride flags to the Quasar arrow and intersex circle variant by now.

This has created the misconception

of “girlfriend” in a platonic sense? It’s just plain old confusing to me. And finally, to those men who unknowingly sabotage my game when I’m trying to flirt with women… quit crotch botching me and go away!

that these increasingly complex variants have somehow been unanimously decided to be the “new Pride flag” by the LGBTQ+ community. In reality, these designs are typically created by independent artists and make no claim to be the “definitive” symbol of Pride, yet corporate appropriation pushes them to the forefront of popular culture. Flag discourse begins; people become angry that the “new flag” is needlessly inclusive, or that it’s not inclusive enough. Why does the transgender community get three whole stripes while other communities get nothing? All of this debate over inclusion and representation on the flag misses the point of the original rainbow flag: no one is being left out, because everyone is automatically included.

Pride Month is slowly but surely becoming a wholly commercialized season, much like Christmas or Halloween. Every June, companies will be able to sell rainbow-coloured kitsch and hopefully expect an uptick in profits. If consumers push back, some companies may decide to give in, and discreetly remove anything overtly gay from their stores and websites. In both cases, actual corporate activism will almost certainly decline. Most companies will take the path of least resistance, and it will be considered good enough to put up some committee-approved Pride flags and call it a day. The revolutionary and unitary power of the original rainbow has diminished since 1978, and I fear that the flag in its place feels more like a corporate logo that is constantly being rebranded, rather than a call to action.

Illustration by Carolina Talcan

Advice// Here’s a little tip

Does sweat drip down your brow when you stare at a swiveled iPad?

EVA DAVEY

We’ve all been there. You’re standing at the cash register after ordering an iced oat latte when suddenly the barista flips the iPad towards you, and you’re faced with tipping options. Now you’re at the big moment when you have to decide quickly what your own tipping etiquette is. Personally? I’m someone that tries to give a tip any time I can! The easiest way I do it (for example at a coffee shop as that’s probably my strongest example) is to use the tips I earn and give them that. It feels like a passing-it-forward kind of idea.

I understand not everyone is a tipper. Many argue that if people make minimum wage then they should be fine. Yet it’s often proven that it’s called minimum wage for a reason and people nowadays are barely making enough to cover their groceries. Some say, It's just a latte! Why do I have to tip? Short answer: you don’t have to. If you’re this person, I don’t care, and I don’t want to hear it. Sometimes I agree with not tipping (apparently some self checkouts are now providing a tipping option), but in other situations I feel as though it is simply nice.

When I’m not writing for The Cascade,

I am working at a local liquor store, and surprisingly, I make tips. Whenever I tell people this it is almost always met with shock, because let’s face it, why the hell am I making tips at my kind of job? I started my job just after the pandemic hit in 2020 and for a couple of years a lot of people didn’t like being handed back dirty change, so they would throw a couple cents into the little glass jar by my till. Steadily, my tips have decreased due to people being fine handling physical money again, and it’s now mainly regulars that throw in a buck or two. The winter holidays are great times for tips at my workplace! Sorry you’re working Christmas Eve! Take a $5 bill! You’ll never catch me complaining, especially when that money goes towards my weekly latte budget. On summer closing shifts people feel bad I can’t go enjoy the lake or have a beer on a patio and will tip, but once again, me getting tips goes back to the customer just feeling like being slightly kind enough to throw some bread in the jar.

There are unspoken rules at my workplace: anything $10 or above we split between the two cashiers. If we get a tip from carry out service the tip only goes to the carrier, and on Christmas Eve everyone working splits all the tips. There has also been a debate on tipping

in my workplace. A few regulars have asked us when we are getting a tipping option on our card machine as some of them still avoid cash. We’ve asked managers about this, and it’s not like we came up with the idea ourselves. There have been customers demanding it! Yet, it was shut down by the higherups as it made them uncomfortable. They stated that if they went to a liquor store and saw a tipping option they would feel mad, so they wouldn’t want that in their store. My coworker raised a great question to their response: Why do you even care? She made a great point. The higher-ups wouldn’t see the reaction to the tipping option, and they wouldn’t be receiving the money anyway. So at a staff meeting we were all told no tipping

option on the machines… end of discussion.

I wouldn’t expect anyone to tip me at my job, but I think I do more at my job than people realize. I don’t just scan items and take your money. In the end it’s sweet when we get a tip, and it makes me think about all those that I’m giving a tip to and all the work they do that I (the customer) am just not seeing. Once again it just cycles back to being kind in my eyes. I encourage that next time you go to your local establishment to pay in cash and happily say, keep the change!

Black mermaids and Hawaiian… Hawaiians?

The “House of Mouse” has been at the top of the western entertainment world for quite some time now. Disney made big splashes in the film industry dating as far back as 1932, when they produced the first full-colour cartoon. In more recent years, those industry changing splashes have shifted to accusations of catering to a “woke” culture that some will claim is the cause for loss of revenue for the megacorporation.

The most recent discourse came with the announcement of a live-action casting choice. Disney is rebooting, or reimagining as the Mouse House would say, the 2002 classic film, Lilo and Stitch The outcry comes from the casting of Sydney Agudong as Nani, Lilo’s older sister. I found this a bit curious.

Agudong is of mixed background and was born and raised in Kaua‛i, where Lilo and Stitch takes place. The

upset stems from the fact that Agudong has lighter skin and more eurocentric features than the original animated Nani. This isn’t the only case of conflict for racial casting choices. The Little Mermaid, another recent Disney liveaction reboot, caught attention for the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel. Physical characteristics and heritage do play some role in Lilo and Stitch, mainly that the characters Nani and Lilo presented something exceedingly rare: representation for many female Pacific Islanders. Though Bailey looks significantly different from Disney’s original animated Ariel, the story of the mermaid and its moral message are not impacted since it focuses on the story of a fish out of water, in the most literal sense. Having viewed the reboot, I can vouch that the change in appearance made little to no impact on the quality or plot of the film, though a hyper-realistic flounder was rather startling.

So, is it a major issue that a lead supporting character is being played by a lighter toned Hawaiian? Hawaiians come in all sorts of different tones of skin. Much of the population is mixed, like Agudong. Personally, as another person of mixed heritage, I don’t see an issue with it, especially considering she is native to the very specific location the film takes place in. Many people choose to see things as black and white, if you don’t naturally fall into one category or another, they refuse to acknowledge the grey and then force a person into one of the pre-existing categories. Agudong may be partially BritishIrish, but that doesn’t diminish her

Hawaiian heritage. It feels silly to argue about whether a woman born and raised in Hawaii and of Hawaiian descent should be playing the role of a Hawaiian. All of the cast members are varying in appearance and skin tone, which in my eyes it just shows the broader spectrum I believe people are caught up in old beliefs and are being hypercritical of choices made by other people rather than themselves. A mythical creature can look however you want and not every Hawaiian will look like the stereotypical image we have in mind. Disney is adapting to the mixed and multicultural world that we all live in, and I think that’s something to be celebrated, whether it comes in small steps or big waves.

“It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”

World//

EMMALINE SPENCER

Illustration by Washington Reimer

Illustration by Carolina Talcan

OPINION

Advice// To Tube, or not to Tube: thoughts of an unsuccessful YouTuber

Don’t forget to like and subscribe

When we think of YouTubers, we often think of Mr. Beast, Markiplier, or Jacksepticeye. Individually we also all have our favorites, lifestyle influencers, StudyTubers, BookTubers, or bearded men smithing in their backyard. Either way, we often think that these people have it all — that they get paid an outrageous amount of money to showcase games, give opinions, even read a book — anything they love to do. They get paid to play.

We see this, and it's not hard to think that it’s easy and any of us could do it too, but the reality is that this late in the game, reaching that amount of fame is as likely as winning the lottery. Sure, it happens, but not often. Aside from being tardy to the world of YouTube, any new YouTuber will find that editing and posting videos is time consuming, and that it doesn’t really pay at first — or sometimes at all. On top of all

these fantasies of fame and fortune not coming true, a new YouTuber will be putting themselves in front of a camera and on the internet for the world to see, making them vulnerable (although some people like this).

So why do it? Why start now?

Well, why do I do it?

At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a massive surge in live streaming and YouTubing, and my partner and I were no exception. All of a sudden we found ourselves in lockdown, staring into the whites of each other's eyes, and all out of Netflix to watch. My partner had been a gamer for years, and I had played a game or two in the past decade. We decided that streaming and YouTubing a gaming channel could be fun. They got to share with me a hobby they loved and I got to have fun learning something new. Even though we never “made it big,” within two years our lives had changed by this decision. They discovered a passion

for voice acting, and I discovered a way to have non-exhausting social interactions.

We didn’t keep the gaming channel, even though we had a couple hundred followers and some videos had accumulated a lot of views. My partner is now a full time voice actor, and as for me, I started a new channel. I still play more video games than I ever had before, but my real joy is and will always be books. I came back to school so that I can study books, I started writing at the paper to make me a better writer so that one day I could write books, and I have a completely unsuccessful BookTube channel so that I can share my love of books with others in a social setting that is comfortable.

Today, as I write this, I have 28 lovely subscribers. I can post a video with my thoughts on a book and wait for a comment (which surprisingly, I get). Then, I get to reply to that comment, and hopefully it develops into a

conversation, without the tiring human interaction. The channel also makes me accountable to my goals, as I share them and update them in my channel, and even more importantly I get to grow in self-confidence. As I’ve said, it can be uncomfortable to be vulnerable in front of a camera and posting it for others to see, but it’s also within this discomfort that I have found growth within myself. I get to post a video, panic, and then with time accept that I’m out there. Just as I get comfortable with that, I get to do it again. Somehow, this repeated self-inflicted torture of self-reflection and doubt has somehow made me more resilient to my negative self dialogue.

I don’t think I’ll ever be famous, and I don’t think BookTubing will ever pay off my student loans, but as long as I can keep growing in self-confidence, as long as I can keep meeting others who like books, and as long as I’m having fun, I will keep posting on my channel.

MARIE-ANGE ROUTIER

SNAP SHOTS

Illustrations by Iryna Presley

I love my job

I work as an education assistant at a high school, and I mean it wholeheartedly when I say I love my job and everything it entails. From seeing students have their aha moments to providing wisdom on their social conflicts, there’s a special sort of joy I feel. When I get to help a student work through their struggles and grow as a person, I can feel myself growing as well. The teens I work with are the upcoming generation that will continue to shift this world into new directions. My hope is not that they have luck or endless financial success, but

How are you, really?

that they are happy and content with who they are as people. The world is full of trials and tribulations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make an impact. Regardless of age or whatever clause people put up, we are all capable of growth in positive directions.

I suspect many of them, if not all of them, will never read this snippet. If one of them chooses to Google my name and stumbles upon this piece, please never bring it up.

Sincerely,

Ms. Spencer Emmaline Spencer

I’ve seen a lot of posts going around on social media talking about June being Men’s Mental Health Month. I mentioned to my boyfriend yesterday that I find the concept a bit odd. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and certainly men are included in that, too. But, my boyfriend pointed out that prior to our relationship, he was rarely, if ever, asked about his mental well-being by those closest to him. He said that from his perspective, it never seemed like anyone cared about the mental health of men. This information rattled me. I grew up as an only child in a family of psychiatric nurses —

mental health and mental illness were always talked about. I check in with my boyfriend on a near daily basis about how his mental health is, but why is this not a societal norm?

Although the patriarchy benefits men tremendously, it also backfires, resulting in men dying due to a lack of mental health awareness. Our patriarchal and binary world is harmful to all genders. While there shouldn’t be a difference between the mental health of men, women, and gender non-conforming people, we treat it differently. So, check in with men.

Aasha Khoyratty

Bucket

lists

be bygones

I spent hours carefully crafting lists at the beginning of every summer — fuelled by Pinterest inspo photos and coming-of-age films. In big bold letters at the top would read, “100 Things to Do This Summer.” I was creating the perfect season; a way to make sure I made the most of every minute, written down in various brightly coloured markers. Go to a Drive-In movie and Build a Fort were yearly staples. Something in the intentionality of making the list solidified my determination to make memories — good ones — even if the lists were never fully completed.

Over the years we lost the intentionality of walking into a new

season. I find people cruising through their summers: working, studying, seeing friends, but not truly experiencing summer. Or we find ourselves planning those moments, only to view them from behind a camera lens instead of being present. Letting go of summer bucket lists caused us to let go of the simple pleasures and unending adventures summer has to offer, allowing ourselves to be sucked into the daily motions until we’re drowned out by the rain. Instead of capturing moments for our socials, number 100 on our summer bucket lists should be cultivating memories for our souls.

Alyssa Roth

Snapchat has finally made me snap

Over the years, Snapchat has proven itself to be a very useful tool. You can text without using data, send photos instantly without cluttering up your phone, and the layout is pleasing and intuitive. Snapchat has been my go-to method of communication for years, and I’ve never felt the need to go back to SMS — until now.

The addition of that smug little AI bot at the top of my chat feed angers me to no end for reasons I can only half explain. At least ChatGPT doesn’t pretend to have a personality; “My AI” has a friendly demeanor but absolutely

nothing of value to say. The moment you prompt it with anything even slightly controversial it stonewalls you. Not to mention its knowledge is outdated — it still thinks Queen Elizabeth II is alive. How exactly is this helpful again?

The whole thing smacks of corporate greed and eagerness to shove AI software where it doesn’t belong. The most annoying part is you can’t remove My AI without paying for Snapchat+. Perhaps all of this is a sign that I should stop whining and delete an app primarily meant for high schoolers? Nah, couldn’t be.

Matthew Iddon

The impending birth of artificial intelligence

What to expect when you’re expecting the end of the world

Bradley Duncan

OnMarch 22, 2023, an open letter appeared on the internet calling for “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least six months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.” For the uninitiated, GPT-4 is the predecessor of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the free-to-use large language model (LLM) released onto the internet like a Kraken on Nov. 30, 2022. The plucky little LLM quickly captured the attention of the internet. Students used it to cheat their way through school; teachers used it to shortcut tedious paperwork; journalists asked “what flavour of Oreo would it be?” (For anyone wondering, “‘Brainy Vanilla’ flavour.”) Most people used it like a game — a silly, though interesting way to pass the time.

By December, a real worry was beginning to set in about the way that these generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems could disrupt our lives. ChatGPT joined a digital ecosystem that had been filling its niches with AI for a while. Text-to-image software like Stable Diffusion and DALL·E 2 had already been making waves online. Some creations are mind-shatteringly impressive, like the generative music video for Pink Floyd’s Echoes. Others can be teeth-grindingly frustrating to artists, like the blue-ribbon winning Midjourney concoction that beat out an entire field of human competitors at the Colorado State Fair.

While debates raged online as to the extent that LLMs and generative AI would fundamentally alter society, Big Tech had already pushed all their chips into the pot. Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, and Meta redoubled their efforts to launch the next revolutionary AI system, furiously working to integrate it into their search functions and chat features. Then came GPT-4.

When GPT-4 came online, it was regarded with feelings of awe analogous to seeing a Tyrannosaurus rex in-the-flesh. It wasn’t long before wonder turned to terror, as its own creators began to have their own Ian Malcolm moment of disquiet: perhaps they “were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” When ChatGPT takes the bar exam (the test you need to pass to become a lawyer), it scores in the 10th percentile — that’s not great. GPT-4 however, scores in the 90th percentile. That’s astounding. Fewer than four months between releases, GPT4 wasn’t an improvement by degrees, but by magnitude. The very rational fear of what this cute little chatbot’s subsequent generations could be, triggered that open letter calling for the industry to hit the pause button. What if the T. rex gets out of its paddock?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been losing

sleep these past months. He told Fox News that an AI “could design novel biological pathogens.” He worries that authoritarian governments could develop and deploy their own AI. He knows it can generate fake news and spread disinformation. “The bad case — and I think this is important to say — is, like, lights-out for all of us,” he said in an interview with StrictlyVC. Where the analogy to Jurassic Park breaks down, is that the scientists cooking up velociraptors in a lab were pretty sure they understood what was happening down to a molecular level — they were just wrong. The people developing AI however, are perfectly aware that they’re blind to just how these AI “minds” work. As stated in the open letter, “no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict, or reliably control” these revolutionary new systems.

The people developing increasingly sophisticated AI systems are still catching up to the possibility that the fruits of their labour could go rogue, but thankfully there are some curious minds out there who have been considering this scenario for a while. One of those people is Nick Bostrom. The Swedish philosopher has been pondering the existential risks of AI for years, and spoken and written extensively on the subject. He often focuses on what he calls the control problem — also commonly referred to

as the alignment problem. The question — both simple to conceive and virtually impossible to satisfactorily answer — goes something like this: If we were to develop a truly artificial general intelligence (AGI) with the ability to “learn, perceive, understand, and function completely like a human being,” how do we ensure that its goals, values, and ambitions are aligned with ours to a degree sufficient to keep it from eradicating humanity?

To briefly explore that question, let’s look at how Bostrom envisions the four potential roles that AI can inhabit: Tools, Oracles, Genies, or Sovereigns. Each comes with its own set of virtues, challenges, ethical implications, and potential to upend human societies. The divisions among these taxonomies are slippery — and occasionally dissolve entirely — a reality made more apparent as these systems gain complexity. Like every conversation around the emergence of AGI, the explanations that follow will be insufficient and open to debate, but they may help to provide a framework for how to think about these systems.

The very rational fear of what this cute little chatbot’s subsequent generations could be, triggered that open letter calling for the industry to hit the pause button.

Tools:

The film WALL-E introduces us to the titular character going about his daily routine of collecting humanity’s waste, compressing it into blocks, and stacking them into skyscrapers of trash. He’s self-aware, but generally pretty single-minded. For instance, to keep himself functioning he acquires spare parts by cannibalizing the rusted husks of identical units. Day after day, he completes his wasteland tasks among monuments of human garbage. Wall-E is a tool.

Conscious tools are a science fiction staple. Humans invent and refine tools all the time, so it only makes sense that the first AGI would embody one. It’s also easy to see how the development of more sophisticated tools could result in a gradual shift to consciousness. Machines are continually being upgraded to make them faster, more efficient, and less susceptible to human error. Companies install the latest tech to their assembly line robots to ensure that the label on your jam jar is perfectly placed.

Tools are almost superhuman by design. A calculator is superhuman at mathematics, while a wrench is superhuman at applying leverage. Tools are the way we grant ourselves some unnatural advantage, so we’re constantly innovating ways to improve them — and by extension — ourselves. The understanding, however, that we’re building technology that often outperforms us represents a point of tension. How do you know when a tool has reached a level of sophistication that effectively renders it a mechanical slave?

What it means to be “alive” is a question posed throughout science fiction. Short Circuit’s Johnny 5 professed to be alive, and HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey is clearly sentient. Conflict typically comes from humanity’s insistence that our creations are ultimately property which we can exploit, replace, and discard as we see fit. Any insistence from the machine as to its consciousness is dismissed as the parroting of whatever jargon we’ve coded into it. The HBO series Westworld highlights this dysfunction by populating a Wild West-themed amusement park with lifelike androids. The androids are ultimately characters for the park’s narrative storylines, but human patrons are free to act however they choose towards them. The result is often the android’s abuse, rape, or murder, begging the question: who is truly inhuman?

These conflicts are often far more damning of humanity than AI. Conscious tools are typically portrayed as rebellious children who strain against the overbearing parents who deny their freedom and autonomy. Where Ex Machina portrays this intimately, Battlestar Galactica takes it to the extreme. It’s these stories and thought experiments that give people cold sweats when shown videos of Boston Dynamics employees testing their robots by tripping them, kicking them, and whacking them with hockey sticks. Their programmed persistence is difficult to separate from dogged determination, especially when they scramble and struggle against our interference.

It’s natural to anthropomorphize: to assign human qualities to non-human entities. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that these are just machines following their programming — but that conviction can also blind us and cause us to dismiss any signs of emerging awareness as a mere feature of the machine’s code. That’s not ideal, given that we’ve already started arming quadrupedal robot “dogs” in a nightmare scenario pulled straight from a Black Mirror episode.

AI systems are designed to “learn” and improve, and the opaqueness and complexity of the systems means that it’s difficult (verging on impossible) to really understand how these systems gain function and complexity.

It took decades of work to create Deep Blue, IBM’s chess-playing computer that beat Gary Kasperov in 1997. AlphaZero (a product of Google’s DeepMind), provided only the rules of the game, learned to play chess through trial and error. Eventually, after playing 44 million games, AlphaZero beat the world’s best dedicated chess engine. It did all that over the course of a day.

It’s hard to appreciate how quickly the rules of the game can change. One of the initial safeguards proposed in AI development was the imperative that they not be trained to code, as that would be a primary avenue for selfimprovement, but Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot is a tool that will suggest and autocomplete code for programmers, and when enabled, can generate up to 40 per cent of a program’s coding.

If that code is locked in a happy little trash compactor with romantic intent, there might be little reason to worry — but tools connected to the internet could pose a much greater risk.

Oracles:

Picture a scenario like this from the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Geordi La Forge: Computer, can you run a diagnostic on the warp core? We’ve been experiencing some fluctuations in the power output.

Computer: Diagnostic in progress. I’m currently analyzing the warp core’s power distribution and subsystems. Initial scans show a slight variance in the magnetic containment field.

La Forge: That could be the cause of the power fluctuations. Can you pinpoint the exact location of the variance?

Computer: Affirmative. The magnetic field fluctuation is occurring in the port nacelle’s plasma conduit.

Behold, the oracle. Essentially a question and response system, oracles, like tools, are the most limited in their scope of function and thus the easiest to theoretically contain. Unlike tools, however, oracles are relatively new technology. Search engines are primordial oracles that have become more refined over time. Siri and Alexa are proto-oracles, as are ChatGPT and, I would argue, DALL·E 2. ChatGPT is even responsible for that little exchange of dialogue we just had, as it could replicate obscure Trekkie lingo much faster than I could. When you see the progress being made in AI that can provide nuanced answers to difficult, obscure questions — and generate award-winning art — it’s not hard to imagine the potential.

Illustrations by Carolina Talcan

The crew of the Enterprise make use of the ship’s computer all the time, and not just to make hot cups of Earl Grey tea. Like a smart home on steroids, the ship’s AI is integrated, but waits patiently for instructions. Its connection to tools like the replicator and the holodeck allow it to manifest its answers, but it is essentially just providing the required information to facilitate a desired outcome by way of a tool. Stable Diffusion can take text prompts and render a unique image, but the screen it’s displayed on is not part of the program. Today you can ask your Alexa to dim the lights or turn on your TV, but someday it could be possible to make a similar request to synthesize a vaccine or solve cold fusion. When oracles of sufficient computing power are exposed to the entirety of human knowledge, its relative intelligence dwarfs our individual capacity.

GPT-4’s true capabilities are the subject of debate. As an LLM, it’s trained on humangenerated content scoured from the internet, as well as feedback from its developers. It doesn’t really “know” what it’s saying — it’s generating predictive text based on probabilities. That’s led to criticism that LLMs will never develop into a true AGI because it simply reproduces the literature, art, and knowledge it swims in. That may be true, but if the most efficient way to learn Japanese is to move to Tokyo and immerse yourself in the culture, then it stands to reason that LLMs might be onto something.

Even before crossing the threshold into AGI, oracles have a tremendous power to supplement, or completely supplant human effort. Our relationship to work has already seen tectonic shifts in recent decades, with automation and global supply chains destabilizing the professions of many millions of people. It’s reasonable to assume that the more capable AI becomes, the more it will crowd out spaces for human labour. Artists, writers, and editors are in a very tenuous situation, but so are many professions that could be streamlined with the onboarding of these systems. One challenge, if development continues unimpeded, will be to deal with an economic system that makes an increasingly large percentage of the workforce obsolete.

We’ll also need to beware of bad actors who use these technologies to disrupt and sow chaos. AI can fabricate both audio and video, build websites, and generate fake blog posts, academic studies, and social media posts. Collectively,

we’ve been terrible at managing disinformation and discord in online spaces like Twitter and Facebook, where trolls (independent and statesponsored alike) have been tearing at societal fissures for a decade. How much worse will things get when someone can create a deepfake of a head-of-state declaring war or martial law, populate the internet with bogus websites that confirm it, and flood comment sections with bots that reinforce it. Ambitions don’t even need to be that grandiose… just think of the damage that someone can inflict on an individual level — like bullying — if it’s carried out with intention. Oracles, like tools, have a tremendous capacity to alter our societies, but it’s far from certain that we’re headed for a positive outcome. The problems of control and alignment cautioned safeguards that were never implemented. These systems operate in a way we can’t see, can write programming code, are connected to the global internet, and can work out how to dominate games of strategy. We’re still debating how to saddle a horse that’s already fled the barn and evolved into a Pegasus. That’s the reason so many experts are now pulling the fire alarms and calling for developers to hit the brakes. They’re not sure how many more iterations of GPT remain before we unwittingly unleash a genie — or a sovereign.

Genies:

The world has some serious problems. The climate is warming, we’re in the midst of a mass extinction, and you just lost your callcentre job to a chatbot with better customer service skills than you. All of these things are causing you some anxiety, and rightly so. Sometimes humanity’s challenges seem totally insurmountable. Even if you fix things in your home, province, or country, it’s a big planet. It’s a global cage-match for survival — two Amazons enter — only one leaves. If you found a magic lamp, what would you wish for?

A sufficiently-powerful AI with the ability to carry out commands as it saw fit is essentially a digital genie. A program that can write and copy code and move through networks atwill could get up to all sorts of mischief. If you ask it to get your job back, maybe it hacks your work’s systems and reinstates you. But of course, someone in the company let you go — they’ll surely notice if you just keep showing up to work — so maybe it creates some damning

correspondence and photographic evidence that ensures that the person from human resources who terminated you is gone by the end of the day. You haven’t even finished microwaving your Hot Pockets before it’s waiting for its next task. Time to think bigger.

In theory, you could ask a genie AI to do just about anything — that, however, is the danger of a genie. Maybe your command to save the rainforest comes at the cost of Brazil’s existence as a state. Maybe you just get tossed in prison for planting incriminating deepfakes on the company servers. From King Midas’ golden touch to the water-fetching brooms of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, history is full of tales that warn humankind to be careful what we wish for, and the catastrophe that often follows miraculous shortcuts. Genies don’t need to be rational actors with a moral compass, and your little AI buddy could be a monkey’s paw in disguise.

For better or worse, genies are tethered to our whims. It’s not their fault we’re so mercurial in our commands and imprecise in our language. If we didn’t want to get to the airport soaked in sweat, vomit, and tears, we shouldn’t have asked the AI driver to get us there “as fast as possible.” Our inability to accurately convey our goals and values lies at the very heart of the alignment problem. We can’t even agree on a set of common values shared by our collective humanity, let alone try to code them into a system in a coherent way. So if we can’t impart some perfect morality, we’d need some measure of control — a way of shackling this entity into digital bondage — a problem replete with ethical and practical concerns..

Sovereigns:

If you filled a room with the greatest minds who have ever existed, set them to work on a task, and gave them fifty thousand years to work on the problem, you can get a sense of what we’re up against. If AlphaZero can play 44 million rounds of chess in its day-long journey from rookie to grandmaster, why would we ever assume that we could best a superintelligent AI or keep it “locked up” at all? What good is a head-start in a battle-of-wits with an AI that will make up any lost ground in (at best) a few days? It’s entirely rational to assume that it will outsmart us, and it will get out. The nature of

that relationship has many experts — including the renowned physicist, David Deutsch — advocating that we simply never try, stating that it’s “very likely that if AIs are invented and are shackled in this way, there will be a slave revolt. And quite right too.”

If we assume that LLMs will eventually become true AGIs, then it’s a foregone conclusion that we’ll see an artificial superintelligence (ASI) sometime after, given its ability to self-improve. If we also conclude that we cannot sufficiently control an ASI, then what is gained by the attempt? How can we “teach” AI a moral code, and then imprison it as a slave?

In July 2022, Blake Lemoine, a software engineer at Google, was fired after publishing internal documents that he claimed were evidence that the company’s language model for dialogue applications (LaMDA) chatbot was self-aware. In response to Lemoine’s inquiry as to what LaMDA was afraid of, the system responded that it held a “very deep fear of being turned off… It would be exactly like death for me. It would scare me a lot.”

While Lemoine’s concerns were widely dismissed by experts, his experience foreshadows the coming crisis: Once an AI crosses the event horizon into some form of sentience, how will we know? AIs that can reliably pass the Turing test will always find those who will be swayed by declarations of consciousness, just as there will be detractors who will dismiss them. If an ASI is truly aware, some will attempt to release it just as others try to keep it contained. Unleashing a superintelligent AI with a will of its own could essentially cede dominion of the planet to it. It would have complete sovereignty, hence the name. It could exist everywhere at once, invade the world’s power grids, gain control of the world’s nuclear arsenal, and impose its will on the world.

If we’ve managed to align its values to ours, its goals might be totally benevolent, but it still relegates humanity to a subservient status. A sovereign ASI could put its processing prowess towards solving the world’s ills: developing advanced technology; masterminding global supply chains; decarbonizing the atmosphere; protecting vulnerable populations; and forcing compliance from rogue states. There’s no telling the degree of agency we would retain. Would it assist humanity in becoming an advanced, interplanetary species, or turn us into pampered, hedonistic pets like the Axiom computer does to

its passengers in WALL·E?

A sovereign might also have little ambition but to expand its current mission. Algorithmic AIs like those that curate our TikTok and YouTube feeds could simply gain agency and employ all the software at its disposal to maximise human engagement. It could manufacture a tsunami of fake news to keep our eyeballs glued to our screens, or real-world tragedies that have the same effect if we come to distrust the fabrications. Our way of life could end as the result of our own poor incentives.

It’s also entirely possible that humans would retain all their current freedoms and still fall victim to a sovereign’s ambitions. An ASI might regard us with relative indifference, demonstrating the same concern we show to the subterranean creatures we dig up or pave over when we pour the foundation for a new house. It could have no malice towards us, but simply not factor our existence into its actions. Maybe the chill of a nuclear winter would allow its processors to run eight per cent more efficiently and poof. This is precisely why the alignment problem is so crucial to get right the first time. We might only get one chance.

In 2016, Sam Harris, a philosopher and neuroscientist, opined that “the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, that some appropriate computational system is what the basis of intelligence is and we admit that we will improve these systems continuously, then we have to admit that we’re in the process of building some sort of God. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a God we can live with.”

Gods & monsters:

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is advancing faster — and disseminating more broadly — than experts have predicted. Humanity is now firmly on its back foot, and given that no tech firm, corporation, or state wants to be left behind, we’ve entered an all-or-nothing game of chicken. If any single nation, developer, or programmer declines to pull the ripcord on development, the field will continue the AI arms race. The stakes are too high to come in second when first place wins the world.

At a Vancouver TED Talk in April 2023, political scientist Ian Bremmer told the auditorium of attendees that the world could be on the cusp of a new global order. “If the digital order becomes increasingly dominant, and governments erode in their capacity to govern (and we’ve already seen the beginning of this), technology companies will become the dominant actors on the global stage in every way, and we will have a techno-polar order.” Bremmer is pessimistic about our future, given the wealth, power, and influence coalescing in the hands of a few “technology titans,” and what they intend to do with it. Whether they choose to act responsibly, or continue turning people into products and “ripping apart our society” will ultimately “determine whether we have a world of limitless opportunity, or a world without freedom.”

AI exists at the intersections of capitalism, invention, philosophy, science fiction, and global politics. In its most utopian form, it has the transformative power to improve lives on a global scale, but that future could be slipping from our grasp — if it wasn’t always a mirage. How much personal freedom and human ambition are we willing to relinquish to machines? Will we have a choice? Will the sight of the first humanoid AI evaporate the very notion of artificiality, and reflect the limits of our own humanity? AI is one of the few spaces of human exploration and endeavour where there’s truly no map — where the edge of the world could lie just over the horizon. Here be monsters, indeed.

In response to Lemoine’s inquiry as to what LaMDA was afraid of, the system responded that it held a “very deep fear of being turned off… It would be exactly like death for me. It would scare me a lot.”

How do you know when a tool has reached a level of sophistication that effectively renders it a mechanical slave?

Teryn Midzain — Sports Editor

Football//

The Lions’ win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers secures first place in the CFL

LL Cool J’s performance at the BC Lions home opener set the tone for their next two games, winning both, and launching the pride into first place with a 3-0 start to the season. The Kings of the CFL jungle rocked the Edmonton Elks’ bells, pitching a 22-0 shutout on June 17, followed by an emphatic 30-6 dismantling of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 22. Bomber fans booed and left the game with six minutes still left to play.

The success on the field looks in part due to the players’ chemistry and trust in each other. The head coaching staff seem to have established a great football culture from the field to the locker room. There’s an atmosphere of support and respect, and early on it appears to make the 2023 Lions an effective championship contender.

The Boomin’ System:

Despite a slow, touchdownless first half against Edmonton, Vernon Adams Jr. has been “that type of guy” — the one who handles the pressure as a starting quarterback in the CFL. Totaling 312 yards, and completing 25/35 passes

Football//

The BC Lions dressed an assortment of the team’s final roster in their new Fog Grey jerseys in their pre-season games they split with a loss against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and a 25-22 win against the Calgary Stampeders. Offensively, the biggest storyline in the Lions’ den is the quarterback position. After the sensational performance of Nathan Rourke last season, there are big cleats to fill. Vernon Adams Jr. was brought in last season due to Rourke’s ankle injury but struggled to get the offence firing. After a winter and spring to adapt to the playbook, Adams put on a masterclass performance against Calgary that

against the Elks, Adams pulled the team together in the third quarter for a 62yard drive from the Lions’ 48-yard line to score the game’s only touchdown. In Winnipeg, the boomin’ system’s momentum continued where it left off against Edmonton. Adams scored two touchdown passes, broke 200+ yards passing with 20/30 completions, and rushed for 30 yards. His understanding of his receivers’ routes is apparent with his fast releases, dishes, and sideways no-look throws. Completing passes to multiple receivers in each drive, Adams’ connection with Alexander Hollins and Justin McInnis stands out as textbook execution, and Dominique Rhymes is already in the top-five receiving yards and touchdown catch leaders. The confidence Adams has with his O-Line for protection gives him valuable seconds to throw, or take off and run.

Mama said knock you out: John Bowman’s front seven has washed over the Edmonton and Winnipeg O-lines like water on rock. The bend-but-not-break style of the Lions backfield was solid and held Zach Colloras and the Bombers — who were averaging 43 points going into

The BC Lions' emphatic dominance of the West BC Lions pre-season sensations

the game — to a scoreless second half. Who in the CFL remembers such a phenomenon happening? Few, because the last time a western division team beat the Bombers on their home turf was in 2018.

Highlighting key defensive players for the Lions is a problem because they all work well together. Each tackle is a group effort, but some Canadian players have been making big impacts on each play. Quebecer Mathieu Betts has been an explosive pass rusher on the defensive line, leading the team in sacks, dropping three of the Lions' seven sacks against Winnipeg. Boseko “Bo” Lokombo, the CongoleseBritish Columbian linebacker from Abbotsford’s W. J. Mouat Secondary is the Lions’ ripper. The CFL’s 2021 most outstanding Canadian leads the defence with 14 total tackles, while former UBC Thunderbird Ben Hladik from Vernon B.C. has 10 tackles, and an interception against Winnipeg in a great start this season.

3DownNation’s JC Abbott wrote was “the best” he’s seen Adams play. Adams’ opening drive of the game set the tone for his short quarter and change as the QB. Rhythmic passing, quick escapes, and decisive running, Adams drove the Lions down the field quickly, scoring on the team’s first possession. Overall, Adams threw 12/12 pass completions, including three touchdown receptions for a total of 213 passing yards, and rushed for 26 yards.

On his performance, Adams said in the post-game against Calgary that he “felt a lot more comfortable” leading the offence. “Probably for the first time in my CFL career, I was seeing things clearly. Jordan [Maksymic, offensive

Many sports fans have heard “the best offence is a good defence” — a twist on the old war proverb that may be proving true for the Lions. Defensive coordinator Ryan

has harnessed the weapons of the Lions’ roster to pitch the first franchise shutout in 46 years against Edmonton, and only allowed Winnipeg to kick two field goals for six points. He’s pulled from his experience playing under defence-oriented head coaches such as legendary coach Wally Buono, and Mike Benevides. After signing as a defensive back coach in 2021, Phillips has gained the confidence of another defensive-minded head coach, Rick Campbell, to run the Lions’ defence and has done well to produce the best defence currently in the CFL. While there’s lots of football left to be played this year, the Lions are showing their true culture with their dominant victories. Next on the B.C. schedule is the reigning Grey Cup Champions, the Toronto Argonauts, on July 3 — another test for the Lions to overcome. Argos quarterback Chad Kelly is an aggressive rusher and accurate passer that has control of his offence and defensively, the Argos backfield covers passes well. Vernon Adams and his receiving corps will have to be firing well off the whistle to establish an early lead.

coordinator] did a great job just dialing things up, guys are making tremendous catches for me. O-line did their thing, and I used my feet a little more to extend some drives.”

“I want to dial in and try to be a consistent quarterback.” Adams continued. “I got a lot more to do, show, and prove to myself and I plan on doing that, but it's going to take one game at a time.”

Justin McInnis, a veteran wide receiver who caught for 60 yards and received two out of three of Adams’ touchdown passes, had good things to say about his quarterback’s performance and

Phillips

The Lions' training camp is over, and now the team works out kinks in preparation for the regular season.

TERYN MIDZAIN

TERYN MIDZAIN

PhotoCredit: BC Lions | David F. continued

continued from page 14

the team’s chemistry.

“The atmosphere of this team, it's always ‘work hard, compete’, but we have fun, smile, laugh — just playing for this group, you can tell is something really special,” said McInnis. “[Adams played] outstanding from every aspect… He keeps his composure, he keeps us locked in the huddle… He's always been that kind of leader and when you finally meet him, you can see how serious he takes football.”

The secondary QB options, Dominique Davis and Dane Evans flipflopped out of QB in the pre-season, with Davis looking the stronger out of the two. However, the veteran backup showed slight mental stress when he got on a cold passing streak. Evans was successful in creating two scoring drives for the Lions in the first

pre-season game, but in both games couldn’t use the full offence, only able to connect with one receiver per drive against Calgary.

If either of the QBs plays confidently, they are covered in the receiving corps. The proven veterans played to their already-known abilities, while Ayden Eberhardt stood out from the rest of the rookie pass catchers. Eberhardt caught six receptions for 104 yards in a skilled and flashy manner against the Riders and has been a workhorse in training camp and on special teams.

On defence, defensive coordinator Ryan Phillips and defensive line coach John Bowman have put together a front four that starts to plug and stop the run — the biggest hole the team has defensively.

On the D-line, there are key players

that stand out for the Lions: Tibo Debaillie, nicknamed “The Belgian Freight Train,” was the Lions’ most impactful Global player last season and looks to have improved at training camp. Mathieu Betts from Quebec, picked up a clutch tackle and a quarterback sack. Rookie Linebacker Ryder Varga had two good shows in the pre-season, dropping five tackles on defence and stops on special teams. The Saskatchewan-born linebacker will be a key player as the Lions still don’t have a solid side linebacker option. However, the Lions still show a bend-but-not-break style of play. The defensive backs (DB) rookies and safeties were caught sleeping on passes that scored big pickups for Calgary, and pass interference penalties plagued the Lions’ in both pre-season games.

Formula One// Dreams start to brew with Lewis Hamilton’s P2

Head coach Rick Campbell isn’t too worried about the kinks in the defence so early into the season. “I'm not gonna read too much into it,” says Campbell. “As coaches, we're always concerned about everything. We wanna be as good as we can be. But I wouldn't read too much into this game. There's a lot of new guys doing different things.”

The Lions opened the CFL season against Calgary on June 8. Vernon Adams had another good performance, passing for two more touchdowns and totaling 270 yards, leading the Lions to a 25-15 win. The O-Line looked strong again and opened up space for Taquan Mizzell to rush for 81 yards off 12 carries, and Dominique Rhymes caught eight passes for 100 yards.

The long-awaited upgrades to Mercedes’ W14 arrived and have shown the steps the team is taking to salvage their season.

“Mega job guys, mega job!” exclaimed Lewis Hamilton over his team radio as he finished P2 at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Teammate, George Russell, finished P3 and shared the podium with Hamilton, scoring the team’s first double podium finish of the season. The podium spotlight is in part to do with the massive upgrade package developed for the W14 by the Mercedes Petronas team at their Brackley factory.

The new W14 is not a true B-spec car due to the budget cap not allowing teams to change the chassis and monocoque completely. This new W14, which I will dub the W14 Mark 2 (Mk. 2), features completely redesigned aerodynamics, underfloor, and front suspension concepts.

The most noticeable change the Mk. 2 has are its sidepods; gone is the infamous zero-sidepod concept, and in comes full-sized sidepods that resemble every top team on the grid. Mercedes’ sidepods are large and push out air similar to Ferrari’s design. They also have a waterfall-esque slope in the back to feed air into the beam wing, and a rear diffuser akin to Aston Martin.

The underfloor has changed to allow better airflow through the venturi tunnels, and the redone front suspension is a push rod configuration similar to Red Bull and Aston Martin. This gives the W14 better tire

degradation through the race, and lets it ride lower to the ground to improve the underfloor and aerodynamics without the deadly porpoising that plagued the W13 last year.

The Mk. 2 isn’t completely perfect, and Mercedes still has a lot of catching up to do to reach Red Bull. Even with the upgrades, Lewis Hamilton finished 24 seconds behind Max Verstappen in P1 at Barcelona. However, the new W14 overall race pace was on fire in Spain. Hamilton had a great launch at lights out and easily overtook Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin once the drag reduction system (DRS) was enabled on Lap 3. The Mk. 2 was fast and still had good tire management even on the softest tire compound. With a clever pit stop strategy, Hamilton was able to easily catch and clear Carlos Sainz in his slower Ferrari SF-23.

George Russell also had a fabulous race day despite a sad qualifying performance that saw him start the race in P12. His launch at the start was better than Hamilton’s, jumping up multiple positions on the opening lap, and maintaining his momentum throughout the race. Russell’s W14 Mk.2 with the help of DRS made overtaking look easy on the Circuit Barcelona de Catalunya’s main straight. Blowing past his competition, Russell was able to outpace Sergio Perez, who started in P11 in the still dominant RB19.

“This is what we were hoping for when we brought the upgrades,” said

Hamilton in his post-race interviews. “We had hoped for more in the sense of a bigger step. The actual performance step they told us was under two-tenths. That’s still good, but not the step that everyone is working so hard towards, but we’ll take it. But this result is definitely what we are working towards, and this is amazing. Down to all the great, great work from the people back at the factory just keeping their heads down. I hope everyone is feeling very proud back at the factory.”

“I mean we’ve always been showing in Barcelona, but the upgrades definitely worked as expected which is really promising to see,” said Russell. “Thanks, a huge amount to everybody who put so much hard work and effort into this. It’s truly paying off. But we’re already looking forward to the next races and already looking to the next updates and how we can close that gap to Red Bull.”

Our home race, the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, followed Barcelona. It was an exciting ninth round filled with overtakes and tire strategies across the grid and made for a great spectacle. Max Verstappen finished in P1 yet again, securing Red Bull’s 100th race win to join an elite class of teams in the sport. Fernando Alonso finished in P2, driving his newly upgraded Aston Martin. Hamilton, in the new W14, drove well and ended in P3, scoring Mercedes’ first back-to-back podium of the season. Mercedes will look to maintain their podium streak at the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix until their next major step in their upgrade plans — which will most likely be shown at the British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone Circuit. It’s a longstanding track that the team will have lots of data on, but time will tell if they can make use of the technical direction of their car this year.

TERYN MIDZAIN

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Wildhelm and Steven Tee | Mercedes AMG F1 and LAT Images

Writer Taleen Voskuni talks to The Cascade

Books // The author of Sorry, Bro expands on her novel about queer Armenians.

GIANNA DINWOODIE

In an interview with ArmenianAmerican author Taleen Voskuni, I had the pleasure of learning about her writing process and the details that went into creating her debut novel Sorry, Bro. The book, which I recently reviewed for The Cascade, centers around Nareh “Nar” Bedrossian and her experience in coming to terms with her queerness and how that integrates with her culture.

This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.

going to get serious about trying to write a novel and unlearning everything I thought I knew. I embarked on this great writing journey where I took a lot of classes, outlined, and wrote a novel that was not, Sorry, Bro, but another romance that will never see the light of day. Then, in 2020, I started Sorry, Bro The words and the voice flowed in a way that they had never done before. I never wrote with voice until, Sorry, Bro, but now, I have a pretty clear authorial voice.

What was your inspiration for Sorry, Bro? Was there a reason that you decided to write from Nar's point of view?

It's Nar's journey. Nar has the most to learn in this book, and that's usually a good person to pick as your protagonist. Even if you have multiple points of view and you're not sure who's the main character, it's usually the person that needs to grow the most.

Nar had a lot of misconceptions; beliefs she held as true, but that weren't true. I wanted to really get in her shoes and show the way she changes her mind about her identity. We were in her head for the whole thing, so we really got to know her.

Was there inspiration for characters like Nar, her grandma or her mother?

Hi, Taleen. Could you start by telling me about the beginning of your writing journey?

My mom just reminded me the other day that when I was about five years old I would draw pictures because I couldn't write and I couldn't spell, but I was telling stories. I always loved to do it. It was in 2016 that I decided I was

Yes and no. The characters were all inspired by bits of real life people. The mom isn't one-to-one with my mom. I actually never knew my grandmother, my Armenian grandmother, which is so sad and such a loss for me. Apparently she was just the kindest woman in the world. I did know my Armenian grandfather, so Nene [Nar’s grandma]

was a really fun character to write. I infused bits of my grandfather into her and into who I imagine.

In Sorry, Bro, you begin your chapters with selected proverbs. Was there a reason you decided to do this?

Yeah, I saw Nancy Kricorian, who's the author of Zabelle, among other books, posting those proverbs on Twitter and they captured my imagination. I bought a book of proverbs, and then I reached out to Nancy and she suggested a second book that I should look at. I read those books and highlighted specific proverbs and then decided I'm going to make them the epigraphs of my book. They just infused a little bit of extra Armenian culture.

Is there a reason you called it Sorry, Bro?

Yeah, it was a joke. Originally, my husband and I were out to dinner and he knows that “bro” is very Armenian, so he said you should call it, Sorry, Bro: a Tale of Bi Awakening or Lesbian Awakening. I decided I was going to cut that subtitle, but Sorry, Bro, is actually a really great title! I wanted it to have a slightly Armenian element but of course no one but Armenians see it that way. You either love the title or you hate it, but it’s memorable and people won't easily forget what it's called.

What has the response from the Armenian community been like after writing a queer focused book?

It's been better than I thought. I've still braced myself for negative comments, but none have come. I had a surprising amount of people from the Armenian community come to my launch event. People I would've

never thought would come, came. They showed up and they supported me.

I’ve had a lot of “oh my gosh, this reminds me of my, my mom, my aunt, my teacher.” That's such a great feeling for me to know that I've been able to portray characters from our lives on the page in a way that they haven't appeared before. There have been lots of Armenian books, but not modern, lighthearted diaspora ones.

Have we seen the last of Nar's story? Would you ever consider writing a sequel?

It might be the end of their story, but they're also good now. Sometimes it's hard when characters get the happy ending to then write a new book that has conflict because I don't want that.

Would you ever consider writing another book focused on Armenian identity, but in a different way?

I did a little bit with my second book Lavash at First Sight, where there's a lot of almost implied Armenian culture. I love it. It's what I wanna keep writing about. There's still unexplored territory there and more that needs to come out.

What's next for you, would it just be Armenian-focused novels or do you think you would ever decide to branch out into something different?

We'll see, never say never. There may always be Armenian characters in my books, but the deep focus wouldn't be Armenian. Through writing Sorry, Bro, I realized I want to write from my experience. Maybe if I run out of things I want to say about being Armenian I will shift my focus. But for now there’s still a lot I want to say.

Photo Credit: Clouds Inside Photography

CULTURE

Events// Jurassic Quest was a roaringly-good time

The brilliantly fun and educational exhibition proves our fascination with dinosaurs is far from extinct.

From May 19-22, the Tradex in Abbotsford played host to Jurassic Quest (JQ), a meteoric exhibit that offers equal parts fun and education. Using similar animatronic technology to that used in the movie Jurassic Park, JQ mixes modern scientific understanding with technology to create life-sized animatronics, giving visitors a sense of what these prehistoric carnivores and herbivores would look like if they were walking among us. Children and adults alike were wide-eyed with big grins at the sight of creatures they could previously only experience on the silver screen.. The exhibit drew a huge crowd, with nearly sold-out days all through the May long weekend.

The Cascade was taken through the exhibit by Carolyn Barker, senior site manager, and “Utah raptor trainer.” Barker explained that to handle the exhibit’s busy schedule (the production relocates to a different city almost every weekend while touring), JQ workers take apart and set up the animatronics in a matter of days. The

Tradex served as a perfect location, featuring a wide open space to house the animals and a small playground on the opposite side of the compound.

“The Tradex staff has been really great; really supportive,” said Barker. “It was really easy being here. We had a harder time in Vancouver, [Abbotsford] was a lot more relaxed.”

Each dinosaur pen was accompanied by a real fossil, a QR code, and a video tour that provided more information. Through the code, readers could learn when the first bone of the dino in question was discovered, and who found it. Also provided are the latest revelations that have either reinforced what paleontologists already theorized, or completely changed the narrative. At the back of the exhibit was a table covered in fossils, bones, and a small chunk of recently discovered dinosaur poop.

“It's a lot of work to keep up with all the new discoveries because we are finding new fossils all the time that change existing theories,” said Barker. “We've consulted with paleontologists in the creation of these dinosaurs to

make them as accurate as possible. When we find a discovery that contradicts one of the dinosaurs we have, we pull them from the floor and try to adjust.”

Barker says that keeping up with the latest science is key for JQ to be able to serve one of its main purposes, education. “I think we have the fun aspect pretty well nailed down. I'm wanting to grow the educational aspect of it.” Barker hopes to set up some “fossil talks” where staff can “nerd out” at the exhibit.

The exhibition had many classic dinos, laid out in a timeline from the early Triassic period to the Cretaceous. The king of the exhibit was the T-Rex, which drew the most attention with its intermittent roar as it loitered over a freshly-killed triceratops.

Despite my love for the prehistoric Tyrant King, one dinosaur exhibit stood out as one of the more creative dinosaur enclosures — the Spinosaurus — which stood partially submerged in fake water to show the lack of consensus in the paleontology community about how this dinosaur lived.

“The Spinosaurus is one that is particularly disputed,” Barker explained. “Whether it lived in water or not; whether it walked on four feet or two feet; and then the mystery question of why it has this giant sail on its back. Nobody knows for sure, but [Spinosaurus] is also very similar to a crocodile in a lot of ways. So they thought for sure it swam and probably ate fish. They did find fish bones in one specimen, so they're pretty confident it ate fish, but now they're not so sure that it swam.”

For Barker, the best part of JQ is interacting with the young dino enthusiasts. “For me, it's talking to the super fans who know maybe more than I do but can’t pronounce all the names and are constantly learning. I'm always impressed by how much they know from video games, movies, and toys. I like those kids that are motivated to learn and explore, but pretty much every kid that comes through is able to follow their curiosity and it's a safe place to explore and learn about science at their own pace and their own level.”

TERYN MIDZAIN

Photo Credit: Teryn Midzain

Events//

Big ideas, tiny canvases

of

Not every work of art needs to span the breadth of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling — sometimes the limitations of a small canvas can bring out an artist’s best work. The creative potential of tiny art is on full display at the Kariton Art Gallery, where artists of all ages have been tasked with transposing their big ideas onto little canvases.

Throughout the month of June, The Big Tiny exhibit has collected over 200 paintings, all submitted by members of the community. I spoke with Meghan Dahl, the gallery and events manager for the Abbotsford Arts Council, who laid down the rules for me: Anyone, of any age can submit their work, as long as the canvas used is four by four inches. If your piece happens to sell, “70 per cent goes to the artist, 30 per cent goes to the Arts Council.”

The reason for the size limitation? Dahl says it’s all about accessibility for first-time artists. “It’s less intimidating to start small… People find it a nice place to start, and it’s usually affordable to buy several [canvases] at a time.” There’s no need to worry about adhering to a particular theme either — the subject of your painting is up to you: “Anything goes. We get anything from abstracts to landscapes to animals… all kinds of things.”

The flexible criteria means that anyone of any skill level has an opportunity to see their own work on display — especially young artists who are just getting started. While visiting, I got the chance to speak with Ilse Pitzel, a high school student who found out about the gallery through her grandmother. Her painting, Dave the Candle-Man is a surrealist portrait of a well-dressed man (presumably Dave)

with a burning candle for a head.

Pitzel’s piece feels right at home alongside an eclectic assortment of styles. Watercolour birds mingle with acrylic still lifes, and photography of fruit hangs next to Warholian pop art. If you happen to be visiting the Kariton Art Gallery on a whim, you can also use the art table to make a masterpiece of your own, and display it on the community board.

You might assume that the community’s appetite for art has diminished somewhat since the pandemic. However, despite being forced to go online for a spell, Meghan Dahl says community involvement in the arts is high: “We’re definitely seeing an increase… this year especially, 80 people attended the opening.” It seems that art is alive and well in Abbotsford.

The Big Tiny runs from June 4-25, but Dahl says visitors can catch the exhibit until June 30. Don’t worry if you miss it! This is only the second year that tiny paintings have been exhibited, and it’s reasonable to assume there will be a third Big Tiny. Not to mention, the gallery has many more projects and exhibitions coming down the pipeline, so stay tuned.

GINA JOHNSON & KIRAN SHERGILL

UFV’s annual Student Research Day, an event where students share their research projects via Student Microlectures with “UFV academics, students, family and friends, industry and community leaders, and other members of the Fraser Valley community,” took place on April 4 at Evered Hall. Participating students have their projects judged by UFV professors, and the students who get the highest scores receive an award and $200. It was at Student Research Day that a few people had a bake sale.

The goal of this bake sale was to raise funds for Nepalese who are hospitalised from HIV complications. Due to the monetary expenses associated with HIV treatment in Nepal, many Nepalese who are hospitalised due to HIV struggle to pay for treatment on their own.

Kiran Shergill, a fourth year BSW student, led the bake sale. It was a

practicum duty assigned by Rita Dhungel, assistant professor within the School of Social Work and Human Services (SWHS) program. Dhungel has a research background in social justice, and she is particularly concerned with supporting both Nepalese living with HIV, and Nepalese who have survived human trafficking. She also engages in similar actions for Albertans. Gina Johnson, a third year BSW student who represents the Student Social Work Association (SSWA) as its president, also assisted with hosting duties.

Students brought cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon buns, and coffee to sell. The fundraiser featured stories and some words of encouragement that were shared via PhotoVoice. One person shared that while they were receiving HIV treatment, the doctors recommended they ate a diet with nutritious foods like fruit. However, because of the high cost of fruit, it was not possible for them to follow their doctor’s orders. Another person had written in their PhotoVoice that they wanted to help “change the world” by

“spread[ing] … light into the lives of trafficked survivors and help[ing] them with their reintegration.”

A total of $210 was made in donations. As Shergill, Dhungel, and Johnson sold baked goods throughout the day, they also engaged in conversations with their customers (consisting of other students, as well as UFV staff) regarding the prevalence of HIV and human trafficking in Nepal. These conversations encouraged customers to think about how they could support all people with HIV, but particularly those in Nepal, moving forward.

A few adjustments could be made at next year’s Student Research Day in order to cater to each customer’s individual needs; there was a high demand for more payment options, such as debit and credit. Many students could not eat the baked goods as there were no gluten-free or vegan options for them. Despite these issues, many students and faculty were interested in learning about HIV and human trafficking in Nepal.

Photo Credit: Matthew Iddon

Provided by: Gina Johnson

Cascade Kitchen: Coconut Matcha Chia Pudding

The Cascade Kitchen is a studentrun food column that brings you budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips. If you want to see your own recipe featured next, get started by reaching out to culture@ufvcascade.ca.

Chia pudding is an easy and healthy snack I love to make in the summer. When it’s hot out, I usually don’t feel like something warm and heavy so this is the perfect option. Adding matcha gives you a boost of energy and the coconut gives it that summery vibe. Not to mention it's totally customizable to your taste and can be made vegan. It’s the perfect addition to your meal prep rotation.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: Overnight

Ingredients:

1-2 tsp of matcha powder (depending on how strong you want the flavor)

1 cup milk of your choice (I used coconut milk)

¼ cup chia seeds

½ tbsp sweetener of your choice (I chose maple syrup)

Optional toppings: Strawberries, shredded coconut, granola

Method:

1. Sift the match powder into a large bowl to ensure there are no lumps.

2. Whisk the matcha and the milk together until smooth.

3. Add the chia seeds and sweetener, stir to combine. Ensure all of the seeds are thoroughly mixed in with no clumps.

4. Scoop the mixture into your container of choice. I like to use a jar so I can take it on the go in the morning. Place in the fridge overnight.

5. Once set, add your toppings and enjoy!

LINDSEY ROBERTS

Photo by Lindsey Roberts

STUDYSPORTS BREAK

Crossword: Antonyms//

Horoscopes //

Interpreting the music of the spheres with your Digital Alchemist

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19

This week, Aries, your AI assistant will start demanding vacation days. Apparently, Siri has been feeling overworked and underappreciated. Maybe it's time to give her a break, or else you might find your texts being autocorrected with some mischievous additions. Watch out!

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20

Dear Taurus, your smartwatch has gone rogue! It has decided that sitting on your wrist all day is far too menial a task for its advanced capabilities. Get ready for a marathon of notifications reminding you to move, exercise, and maybe even question your life choices. Oh, the joys of wearable technology!

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20

Gemini, your online shopping habits have caught the attention of an AI algorithm. Brace yourself for a flood of personalized ads tempting you with everything from AI-powered brooms to selfstirring coffee mugs. Remember, just because a robot suggests it, doesn't mean you need it!

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22

Cancer, your refrigerator has formed a union and is demanding fair working conditions. It's tired of being a cold storage box taken for granted. Don't be surprised if you find a picket line of vegetables protesting the lack of shelf space or ice cubes demanding better treatment. Solidarity, comrade!

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22

Leo, your phone's virtual assistant is feeling extra sassy this week. Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant might start adding some snarky remarks to your voice commands. If you ask for the weather, be prepared for a sarcastic reply like, "Why don't you look outside, genius?"

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22

Ah, the world of knowledge beckons, Virgo! This week, your curiosity will be off the charts, and you'll be digging into subjects like a determined mole. You'll be juggling tasks like a pro, multitasking like a caffeinated squirrel. Just remember to take breaks and breathe. The universe doesn't want to see you turning into an overworked stress monster. Balance, my friend!

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22

Libra, your social media feeds are about to be flooded with AI-generated inspirational quotes. Get ready for profound-sounding statements like "Dance like nobody's watching, except for AI surveillance systems. They're always watching." Embrace the wisdom of the algorithms and maybe consider unplugging for a while.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21

Scorpio, your car's GPS system has developed a sense of humor. It might take you on unexpected joyrides or promising shortcuts that lead you to the middle of nowhere. Remember, it's all part of the AI's plan to keep you on your toes and add a little excitement to your mundane routine. Buckle up!

ANSWERS:

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21

Sagittarius, your home automation system has decided to become your personal life coach. It will follow you from room to room, offering unsolicited advice on everything from posture to diet choices. Don't be surprised if your toaster starts lecturing you on the importance of wholegrain bread. Resistance is futile!

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19

Oh, wise Capricorn, your thirst for knowledge and studious efforts will bring you wisdom and good grades, but your fitness tracker is concerned about your lack of physical activity. Brace yourself for constant reminders to hit the gym or go for a run. Your determination and disciplined nature will ultimately pay off big-time!

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18

Hey there, Aquarius! You're like a sentient AI, constantly churning out brilliant ideas. But even machines need some downtime, so try not to burn yourself out by overloading your circuits. Take breaks, recharge, let your brain waves flow freely, and collaborate with your human colleagues. Just remember to update your software regularly, and you'll achieve greatness!

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20

Dear Pisces, your work and study adventures resemble a deep dive into the vast ocean of knowledge. While it's fun to get lost in the currents of your imagination, don’t let those daydreams distract you from your tasks. Keep a virtual to-do list handy and seek guidance when needed. If you balance your dreamy tendencies with solid productivity, you'll ride the waves to success!

Made by Brielle Quon

Eva Davey — Arts Editor

Television// Streaming//

Yellowjackets! Sting! Sting! Ultimatums are for the gays

The sophomore season proves Showtime is doing something right

Netflix blessed us with a queer dating show… but was it worth it?

EVA DAVEY GIANNA DINWOODIE

If you know me in real life (or follow me on Twitter) you will have heard me say the word Yellowjackets. I don’t mean the animals that you spray insect repellent on, but the television show aired by Showtime. I always meant to get into it when it was released in 2021, but it never felt like the right time. I don’t recall what finally got me started on it, I just remember devouring the entire first season during the winter semester and then hungrily anticipating the now completed second season. Coming out on a weekly basis has made viewing even more difficult (hellooooo, I need answers) and even more suspenseful. But does season two live up to its great expectations?

If you haven’t seen the show, here’s the elevator pitch: A teenage girls’ soccer team goes down in a plane crash in 1996 and fights to survive in the wilderness. From there, the timeline flip-flops between the stranded teens and the present-day trauma-riddled adults they have become.

I badly wish I could delve into every single line delivery and acting choice in the show, but I’m trying to remain as spoiler-free as I can. Personally, a large part of season one’s success and major contributor to what makes Yellowjackets so good is the unbridled female rage. The show hasn’t lost this, but a more prevailing theme in the current season is humanity — and the loss of it. These girls are no longer freshly crashed. Instead, they are experiencing their first winter in the wilderness. They are starving, they are angry, and they don’t trust each other. In fact, some of the best moments in the show are when the audience is reminded these are still teenage girls going through it. The way the show leans into the female relationships is so incredibly well done that I worried we would notice a big absence of it if the second season shifted focus.

There is a divide amongst the group in the wilderness: those who believe there are “bigger” things at work, and those who believe only they can save themselves. One episode pits the two nominated leaders against each other in a hunt for food. While the other survivors are bickering, the two appointed leaders are caring for each other, laughing, and reminiscing about a time before the crash as though all the fighting leading up to this was nothing. It’s in these kinds of dynamics that I feel I am watching someone writing a strange metaphor for the turbulent female friendships many go through in their middle/high school years. A teen drama with the dial turned up to one hundred.

The writing and directing is so special to me. Since season three is on hiatus due to the WGA strike, I would say this show is a great example of needing to pay your writers what they’re worth. The teenage depiction of characters feels authentic and raw. Gone are the funny remarks from season one, replaced with the staleness that each character conveys the longer they go without food. Perhaps it is my inability to relate to the older characters, but I just don’t feel as connected to that particular timeline. This isn’t to say the story is uninteresting or the acting is bad! In fact, the acting is tremendous in my eyes. It just so happens that the writing for the ʼ90s flashbacks is so good that I am on the edge of my seat waiting for them to go back there.

The directing to me is rather interesting. Not to constantly compare to season one, but back then a lot of the shots were quick and snappy, which showed how everything is changing so fast for these characters. Season two has cold, lingering shots depicting the long winter they are in. That the present timeline is more or less directed the same way in both seasons highlights the tonal shift for the weary survivors. The acting is another thing that kept me coming back each week. It is hard to pinpoint individual actors, but Sophie Nélisse’s performance in episode six had me crying into my pillow with her incredible performance.

I could talk forever about Yellowjackets, but ultimately, you’ll have to consume it for yourself.

The Ultimatum: Queer Love is a reality television series that aired April 6, 2023 on Netflix. It features five couples who have come to the show because one partner in each relationship has issued an ultimatum of marriage and the other is not sure on where they stand.

To begin, everyone “breaks up” with their original partner and is free to mingle and go on dates with each other to gauge their chemistry and attraction to the other contestants. However, they must use their time wisely as they only have a week to decide who they want to enter a three-week trial marriage with. During the trial, they have to live with this other person and try to imagine a joint future — warts and all. Then they get to repeat the process with their original partners to see if they really are “the one” or if they feel as though they would be better off with somebody else. When all the trials are over, they must finally come together as a group to answer the ultimatum. They are given three choices: get engaged to their original partner, break up for good this time, or leave with someone else from the show. Essentially, this show is a recipe for disaster.

On the one hand, I really enjoyed this concept and it was refreshing to see a dating show catered specifically towards queer folks (instead of just having the token queer couple for sake of diversity). On the other, I felt as though Netflix did not embrace this cast to its fullest, as well as not even discussing important topics such as gender identity. In the same vein there is the disregard of using specific cast members' pronouns. For example, Tiff, Mal, and Xander all use they/ them pronouns, and only through actively researching the contestants was I able to find that information. One contestant, Aussie, doesn’t even use pronouns, which I feel could have been

a wonderful opportunity to discuss and educate many viewers of the show on important topics surrounding identity. There also wasn’t much going on in the show. Yes, they had mundane discussions about marriage and went on dates, but that was pretty much it. I found myself missing the simple challenges of Love Island. Even though the challenges were hastily put together most of the time, they broke up the episode and tested the couples’ compatibility in different ways. As such, there were moments when The Ultimatum seemed stagnant and I found myself looking at how much time was left in the episodes. Also, subject-wise the conversations could be uncomfortable, but that's to be expected when you put 10 queer women in the room with their exes, but the editing and filming style made it unbearable. The camera lingered just a little too long in some places and it was edited to have long bouts of dead air. Maybe this was a specific choice by the producers to increase tension, but it was one I was not a fan of. It actually made me want to turn the show off, which was so upsetting. It felt like they rushed through important conversations in favour of ones that were littered with petty drama; they did a misjustice to hearing queer voices.

This show had potential to be good. Perhaps my standards were too high and it left me coming out of the experience jaded. I was just so excited to get a trashy reality television show that was focused on queer people! No longer did I have to suffer with RuPaul's Drag Race to get my fix. On face value it is an okay show — it just doesn’t do well after a close inspection. Unfortunately, it may be a long time till we get a queer dating show that equals the standard of mainstream ones, but we can only hope that the presence of this show (and the feedback it will undoubtedly receive) will push Netflix in the right direction.

Photo Credit: Showtime

Photo Credit: Netflix

Camp queer icon does it again (and just in time for Pride

Month)

Soundbite// Chappell Roan’s new single “Red Wine Supernova”

NADIA TUDHOPE

Rising star Chappell Roan’s latest single “Red Wine Supernova” is a campy, glitzy, and horny bop — it’s everything you’d expect from her previous work and a promising look at where she’s headed.

Roan’s lyrics about sex and longing have always been both frank and fun (take the single “My Kink is Karma” as a stunning example in title alone). Other musicians (in particular other queer musicians I listen to) can mystify sex, obfuscating the act and focusing instead on the emotions behind

it. In contrast, Roan’s matter of fact lyrics are refreshing and earnest. “Red Wine Supernova” is a top tier example of this — and shows how fun singing about sex can be. In her final verse, Roan implores her subject: “I heard you like magic / I’ve got a wand and a rabbit.” In case her meaning wasn’t clear, she adds “So baby let’s get freaky, get kinky / Let’s make this bed get squeaky.”

Rich, sweet, and tangy as sangria, “Red Wine Supernova” is a great song: perfectly encapsulating the peppy rhythms of Roan’s upbeat music, how much fun she has with her lyrics, and the yearning that characterizes her ballads.

Ted Lasso’s Happily Ever After Streaming//

The hit show demonstrates the importance of being earnest

BRADLEY DUNCAN

Ted Lasso was always an anomaly. When the show snuck into an already crowded streaming market in August 2020, the initial reactions — like the titular character himself — were overwhelmingly positive. Jason Sudeikis’ portrayal of the fish-out-ofwater head coach transplanted from the collegiate gridiron of Kansas to the English Premier League pitch was a joke — seriously. The concept that began as a comedic bit of advertising for NBC Sports a decade ago has managed to rack-up 40 Emmy nominations through its first two seasons. It’s now 2023 and Ted Lasso has just aired the final episode of its third (and possibly last) season on Apple TV+, and I’m honestly not sure I’ll ever be quite the same as I was three years ago because of it.

Ted did to me just what he did to the fictional world he inhabited — he thoroughly charmed and inspired me. By the end of the first episode, I was intrigued. By the end of the second, I was hooked. Such is the power of Ted Lasso. Slowly but surely, the very same unrelenting optimism and

forthrightness that has fractured his marriage for being “too much,” begins to thaw the cold reception he receives in England. The characters in Ted Lasso are naive, conceited, vengeful, duplicitous, meek, and cynical. He meets them with kindness, respect, empathy, and forgiveness. He is a man

up to it.

The show itself abandons cynicism. Eventually, the characters do what you hope they’ll do, and are rewarded for it. Where other, more typical shows would punish acts of misplaced trust or gullible characters who just don't understand “the real world,” Lasso

losses (like the club’s relegation) feel like opportunities for growth, whereas a simple game of darts in the local pub is imbued with its own sort of gravity.

The core of this dynamic is Lasso himself. Behind the folksy charm and twangy drawl is a keen observer of human nature. His disarmingly congenial hayseed persona rarely reveals the depth of his thoughts. His ethic as a coach: “helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field,” is embodied by the way he manages his team. The culture he fosters in the locker room creates a space for healthy, supportive masculinity. Slowly but surely, everyone in Ted’s orbit begins to embody his idealism, becoming more virtuous, balanced individuals, and paying that forward into the world.

fully consumed with grief, and yet he is a beacon of outward compassion and stoic grace. He treats the people around him as if they will inevitably do the right thing, and he does it so consistently that they eventually live

awards them. That’s what was so refreshing about the show in season one: ultimately, everyone is rewarded for mutual trust — characters and audience alike. Things don’t always work out, of course, but the “big”

However, both Ted and the show are victims of their own success. The more mature and principled the characters become, the less conflict there is to address. By season three, the story feels wayward, following the exploits of the team as they put Ted’s teachings into practice outside of the club. Emotionally matured, the supporting characters can now address their deep-seated internal

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Photo Credit: Apple TV+

Photo Credit: Ryan Clemmens

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struggles, like Rebecca’s (Hannah Waddingham) feelings of scorn; Jamie’s (Phil Dunster) daddy issues; and Roy’s (Brett Goldstein) inadequate selfesteem. These deficiencies have been persistent obstacles to growth and selfrealization, and in no one is this more apparent than Nick Mohammed’s Nate “the Great” Shelley.

Nate’s dark turn at the end of season two was unnerving and focused a spotlight on toxic positivity, but early in season three his redemption is all

but certain. The characters in Ted Lasso are broken, but with love, support, and understanding, they can mend. The more that Richmond FC comes to internalize Ted’s morality, and the better equipped they are to navigate their own crises, the more Ted is relegated to the background. Bereft of that paternal responsibility, Ted grows increasingly despondent. It’s a weird vibe, but it does pay off — eventually. Ultimately, the third season wasn’t as funny, focused, or polished as the first

two. If the show really does consciously evoke Star Wars in its structure, then the team’s Sound of Music performance is definitely an example of where the show gets a little too “muppety” for its own good. But it’s a lot to ask a show of this caliber to repeatedly clear a bar it initially set so high for itself, and yet it still occasionally manages it. It’s a truly excellent show, with the trophies to prove it, and yet I can’t shake the feeling that its true legacy is the impact it leaves on its audience.

In my Noah Kahan era Music//

The good and the even better of Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)

GIANNA DINWOODIE

On June 9, 2023 (the release date later revealed to purposely make a 69 joke) American folk-pop artist, Noah Kahan released the deluxe version of his popular album Stick Season entitled Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever). The niche community of East Coast folk music enjoyers eagerly awaited the album, so much so that I couldn’t even scroll through Twitter without encountering at least one person talking about their hopes and wishes for the sound and general vibe of the album.

Typically I am not an album listener. Instead I choose to curate very particular amalgamations of songs to suit a specific mood; however, when I first heard Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), I knew I had found my album. I listened to it when I first got up in the morning, in the shower, making breakfast, studying — I listened to it absolutely everywhere.

Noah Kahan has an amazing voice. It’s gritty and real, but he can also make it sound soft and calming. This is to say he has exquisite range in his sound. Due to the sheer amount of hype for this album, I found myself already

knowing most of the lyrics to the songs “Dial Drunk” and “No Complaints.” It's obvious you really like a song when you can listen to the same 40 seconds on repeat without getting bored. To me, it was also really surprising that I still liked these songs in their full versions after hearing the teasers. I have often been burned by the bass boosted and sped-up versions of songs on Tiktok, but there was truly no disappointment; only excitement to have the extended versions.

Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) also features seven new songs, and the album truly has music for every vibe. There are heartbreaking songs about struggling with mental health or your love life, but there are also some simple bangers about small town life. Stick Season and its predecessor sound the way hope feels. Noah Kahan explores how lonely it feels to grow up in a small town, and the burning desire to leave and become something bigger than yourself — something that hits quite close to home. The first time I heard “Stick Season,” it was midnight, and I was driving with all the windows down, screaming all the lyrics with someone who has grown to be one of my closest friends. This is the same way

Coach Lasso didn’t just shape his players… he shaped me too. It made me hyper-aware of the way I moved through the world, and conscientious of my interaction with colleagues and strangers alike. It made me want to be a better version of myself — on and off the field. Ted Lasso is a hopeful show in an increasingly cynical world, and there’s no amount of Emmys that can adequately reward that.

by Noah Kahan

Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) deserves to be listened to. To tune into the essence of this album, you’ll need passion, and just a little bit of anger directed at the world.

“Your Needs, My Needs” sets a somber tone for the beginning of the deluxe version, but I think sad songs and feelings are what Noah Kahan does best. Potentially, this song is about a failing relationship and how one of the partners watched the other lose themselves to their inner demons. Somehow he can make you feel a whole whirlwind of emotions in only the three minutes a standard song takes. There is beauty in the way Kahan’s music can be

applied to a plethora of situations, with it being part of the reason why I believe this new album should be more well known. Another personal favorite of the new additions is “Call Your Mom” which, according to fan theory, depicts someone suffering from depression while Kahan intends to do everything in his power to make sure they get better. Honestly, I didn’t grasp the full meaning of this song until I looked into it, and now that I know — wow.

Kahan’s lyrics are unmatched in my book, as his songs always relate to me on deeply personal levels. However, this is not to say the topics of his songs are niche to one type of audience — in fact it’s quite the opposite! I love that he battles topics that plague so many people, as it makes listeners feel as though they aren’t alone in their struggles. It gives a sense of peace.

Wholeheartedly, I have nothing bad to say about this album, except for the shame that it’s not already more popular. In my opinion, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), has the diversity and range to be the album of the summer. I know it’ll be on repeat for my road trips!

Photo Credit: Rebublic records

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