MEET THE CANDIDATES

It’s election season for UFV’s Student Union Society

By Rachel Tait

UFV’s student governing body, the Student Union Society (SUS), is holding their annual election for 2023, with voting taking place between March 13-16. All the candidates were invited to interview with The Cascade to share their platforms and what they hope to achieve in their positions if elected. We encourage everyone to check out all the candidates at the SUS Elections website for more information and official statements. The responses below have been lightly edited for clarity and flow.

Ashley McDougall (running unopposed): Bachelor of arts student studying economics and political science

Why do you want to be in this position?

I decided to run for President after gaining a lot of experience and leadership over my past two terms as Vice President External. I had a lot of success with my advocacy for a fall reading break at UFV, which is now being implemented for next fall, and so seeing the success of this — the success of our engagement on campus with our events such as Kickback — really inspired me to move forward in my student leadership by running for President. I also did get to see a lot of our current President, Nikiel, in his work, which really let me see the inside scoop of what the President does day-to-day. I do feel pretty prepared going into the role as well, given all this experience and my knowledge of the job.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

A lot of my platform focuses on student engagement and building up our sense of community on campus. One of the main ways I want to do that is, after seeing the success of our Kickback event during the past two years, I want to host another Kickback in the winter semester to take place on the Chilliwack campus. Something I’ve noticed is that the Chilliwack campus is often forgotten about, and I think it would be really great to do a big event out in Chilliwack. I’m really looking forward to moving forward with that in the next term, as well [as] doing other events, or student rush night with the Abbotsford Canucks. I hope to continue with those events and focus on student engagement that way.

We have already been doing a lot of work at SUS on moving away from UFV being such a commuter campus. We want students to feel welcome to stay after class [and] hang out. We want there to be activities going on on campus. So I hope to promote less of a commuter culture and more of a community culture at UFV. I’m also hoping to work with our team on making transit to campus accessible through both the campus shuttle and also through working with local transit.

We also have something that I think a lot of people don’t really know about SUS. One of our programs is our Student Perks program, which [provides] discounts for students in the local communities. I’m looking forward to building up awareness about this program and building up our partnerships, so that more students are aware of the discounts they can get and so our partners feel like it’s a reciprocal relationship as well.

I hope to also still be involved in advocacy through our federal advocacy partner, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). Also, I’m hoping to — in the name of transparency with the SUS executives — hold office hours for students to drop by, if they just want to say ‘hi,’ or if they have a concern to bring forward. To provide an open space for students if they feel like they want to come forward with any concerns or even just meet us to build up that sense of connection between the SUS executives and students

Vice President Internal

Alana Awram (running unopposed): Third-year student majoring in political science with a minor in economics.

Why do you want to be in this role?

I would love the opportunity to serve as VPI because I’m really passionate about campus culture and making sure that the Student Union Society has a strong presence here at UFV.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

As VPI I hope to work closely with the rest of the SUS executives to accomplish a wide variety of goals to provide for and represent students. Two specific goals I hope to get to work on are expanding SUS presence to UFV’s other campuses, and help clubs and associations get more exposure and engagement on campus.

Vice President External

Jayden Hovey (running unopposed): Fourth-year political science major

Why do you want to be in this role?

I have a big passion for policy and for governance. I think that Vice President External would be a great position for me just because I get to have that sort of connection with political entities, and other student organizations. I can help UFV and the student union to progress further with those organizations.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

I’m a big fan of transparency and engagement. I definitely want to get more students involved and I want them to know what we’re doing at SUS. I know that my first few years on campus, I didn’t even know the student union existed... and I feel like that’s a problem where we’re not really getting that engagement. So I want students to know what [SUS is] doing. I want to put more things out there. I have an idea to lay out where student fees are going to — for every dollar that they’re paying… I definitely want the students to be aware of what’s going on. I definitely want to get involved more with organizations like CASA. That’s the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations and [I] definitely want to get UFV involved with what’s going on there and the decision making process.

I just want to help students get more government resources — get more student aid. There’s something called OER’s, which is open educational resources…it’s essentially free student resources and educational aids, like textbooks and things like that. I think that would be very valuable, especially for the students who struggle financially or have to worry about paying for very expensive textbooks. I think that would be very valuable to have.

Vice President Students

Moninder Grewal: Global development studies student

Why do you want to be in this position?

I want to bring more of a community feeling or vibe to UFV… I believe people come to UFV, study and go home but people don’t want to study 24/7. They want to chill, they want to relax, they want to have the feeling of togetherness. Also, raising awareness of [struggles that] international students face on a daily basis [at] university and outside university. And raising awareness about accessibility at UFV. Something that’s very impressive to me is accessibility, as I’m a student who has a learning disability.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

What I hope to achieve is hopefully more people are aware of what resources are available for accessibility, but also having more events. That students feel like they’re together, like Kickback, but also when there’s no Kickback going on… having events once a week or something to keep the students engaged with community activities too.

Why do you want to be in this position?

Currently, I work at UFV International. I’m a global student associate and my position there is working with engagement, so I already have been working for over a year very closely with the whole SUS team. I really got to know a lot about the position and all the things that they do, and I took great interest in that because I really saw it as an opportunity to do all the engagement work that I have already been doing on a larger scale so I can reach more students. I feel like engagement is way more important than people think. I’ve had students come up to me, especially international students, saying things like, “I don’t know why I felt so lonely before,” and “this really gives me a sense of home,” or “it’s so nice seeing a lively campus.” So what I really wanna do is bring forth a more active student experience — for people to be proud of being UFV students.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

So my main ideas surround having a lot of different types of events on campus. I want to have a second Kickback in the winter semester because I feel that’s the event that the students like the most. It’s the most requested. So I want to see it two times a year. And having more events in Chilliwack.

I [noticed] Chilliwack campus gets very neglected and it’s very hard for the communities and associations that we have to get out there. So one of my ideas is building this stronger bridge between both campuses and seeing more engagement there. So my idea of having a second Kickback would be having the second Kickback in Chilliwack.

I also want to have a physical space for clubs and associations. I feel like people that actually see their interest being represented on campus really makes them want to be involved, so having a physical space and not only on Instagram or something can really change the impact that it has. Also, having a crafts week together with the mental health week before exams, because I feel like when you do craft work, you really get your mind working and it really de-stresses you. I feel like [combining] that with this amazing program we already have would be a great idea. One more thing that I really want to do is have more cultural events — having the [greatest number] of cultures represented and [each] having their own little piece of home-away-from-home here at UFV, because I am an international student — I’m from Brazil — and I can say that I really found myself. I live on campus, so I live in university, I study in university, I work in university, and I feel like I got to know a lot of amazing international students [who] say sometimes that they have not been very well represented. Overall I feel like engagement has really improved since I’ve started as a student.

Student Representative at Large

Rashpinder

Why do you want to be in this position?

I have a family background [where] my parents, my grandparents are in political positions right now and I also want to go into politics. This is the right opportunity that I found for myself.

Can you briefly talk about your platform?

As the student representative at large, as it suggested, I’ll be representing students from different groups. Right now for international students, [the minimum is] twelve credits they must pay for. And it’s quite hard for them to pay such a big amount and do work as well, so [there] should be [a] minimum [of] 9 credits that are [the] legal requirement. And it’s also in most of the universities and colleges. It’s 9 credits minimum required. So I believe it should be in UFV as well. I just want to be the best inspiration for all of the other students, and serve the position at my best.

Varsity//

Welcome to the Cascades Check — an update on the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Athletics

It’s award season for court sports, and multiple UFV Cascades squads have received recognition for their exploits throughout the 2022-23 Canada West season.

Starting off on the volleyball court, Gabrielle Attieh became the first Cascades volleyball player to win a major Canada West award, as she was named the Canada West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.

Multiple volleyball athletes were also named to conference All-Star teams, as Attieh earned Canada West First Team All-Star honours, while women’s volleyball teammate Natalie Lemoine-Sells was named to the Canada West All-Rookie Team for her stellar freshman season on the right side. On the men’s side, Nimo Benne earned a Canada West Second Team All-Star nod.

Moving on to the basketball court, Maddy Gobeil was named a Canada West First Team All-Star, moving up from a conference second team nod the previous season.

Meanwhile, the Cascades men’s and women’s golf teams are in full swing for their spring seasons. Both squads competed at the RMC Intercollegiate at the Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nev. this past weekend with the women’s team capturing a fifth-place finish and the men’s team ending the event in seventh.

Individually, two Cascades picked up top10 finishes in the tournament. Emery Bardock shot a final score of +18 in the three-round event to secure seventh place on the women’s side, and Jacob Armstrong’s final tally of +7 landed him in ninth place on the men’s leaderboard.

Up next, the Cascades men’s and women’s golf teams continue their spring schedule by taking part in the Warrior Invitational hosted by Winona State University in Henderson, Nev.

Make sure to visit gocascades.ca to keep up with all the news, stats, and scores from the UFV Cascades.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at @ufvcascades to stay connected with all our UFV teams.

Get involved and stay active on campus with UFV Campus Recreation — visit ufv.ca/ campusrec, or follow @ufvrec on social media, for more information and activity schedules.

Hockey//

The fascinating and feverish 2023 NHL trade deadline

Breaking down the biggest moves, and predicting their ramifications

JOSIAH HANSEN

One of the most active NHL trade deadlines in recent memory has come and gone, with most teams having made a transaction or two that established them as either a buyer or seller. With less than twenty games remaining on each team’s regular season schedule, general managers had tough decisions to make which resulted in some marquee names swapping jerseys.

The Boston Bruins, the most dominant team in the league, only losing 2 games since February, and recently reaching a historic milestone as the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points, traded to bolster their position as the juggernaut of the east, and to win a Stanley Cup. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spent a massive amount of future draft capital this year, most in a 3-team deal in late February to obtain defenceman Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals. Orlov is a legitimate top-pairing defenceman which is rarely traded for this relatively low price of a first, second, and third round pick. The Bruins followed this move up at the trade deadline by acquiring 28-year-old forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings for another firstround pick. Bertuzzi will provide them with scoring depth as well as more physicality which is much needed in the playoffs.

The race for supremacy is murkier in the Western Conference, with the top five teams being separated by 5 points (at the time of writing). The Edmonton Oilers made the biggest splash to try and disrupt the gridlock, trading defenceman Tyson Barrie, multiple picks, and their most recent first-round draft selection Reid Schaefer to the Nashville Predators for their veteran defenceman Mattias Ekholm. This move is risky, mortgaging a significant chunk of the Oilers future for an upgrade that isn’t monumental long term. Especially when contrasted with the Bruins' trade for Orlov — arguably the Bruins paid less than the Oilers for a better defenceman than the Oilers got. It remains to be seen if the deal will propel Connor McDavid and company to the top spot in the Pacific division.

On the opposite side of the standings from the Bruins and Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks made a move that left fans and analysts bewildered. The Canucks are a team not in contention for a championship any time soon. However, rather than trading older pieces for younger ones and draft picks — and freeing up salary cap space — they went the opposite direction. The Canucks made a deal with the Detroit Red Wings to bring in 25-year-old defender Filip Hronek in exchange for a second-round pick and a protected first-round pick they acquired when they traded Bo Horvat. From a value perspective, this trade is arguably quite good for the Canucks by adding a top 4 defenceman who’s early in their prime. However, it doesn’t make a ton of sense when you contextualize the Canucks’ salary cap situation. Hronek’s contract expires at the end of this season, and he’s due for a solid pay raise. The Canucks’ already have a tight salary cap, with the behemoth contracts of J.T. Miller and Oliver-Ekman Larsson. Trying to fit in a player that won’t put them over the cusp of mediocrity long term is fruitless. Of course, the Canucks could prove everyone wrong next year if Hronek rejuvenates the defencive core; a healthy Thatcher Demko returns to form; and their offensively gifted group of forwards continues to score at their current pace. It feels risky to bet all of that at the price of draft picks that could have been used to add to their bare cupboards of prospects.

These were just the tip of the iceberg for trades that will move the needle as we approach the playoffs. More casual fans of the league might be surprised to tune into the playoffs and see John Klingberg on the Minnesota Wild, Timo Meier on the New Jersey Devils, and longtime veterans Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko uniting to compete for a title with the New York Rangers.

Thus was the chaos of the 2023 NHL trade deadline.

Basketball// Nikki Cabuco reflects on her role inside and outside of the hash marks

Nikki Cabuco is the third-year starting guard for the UFV women’s basketball team. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and flow

Nikki Cabuco scored 197 points this season, averaging 8.9 per game, and totaling 37 assists, improving her shooting accuracy both beyond and inside the 3-point line. But scoring and stat accumulation is secondary for the Child and Youth Studies student. Her primary objective is simply to celebrate the successes of her teammates while learning to recognize her own contributions internally.

If points and stats aren’t your top concern, what would you say your role is on the team?

I think I’m that positive upbeat person. My goal is to have the team be

Formula One//

in the right headspace and be together. So when we're in team huddles, I'm the positive booster rather than the analytical one. That's just not my role on the team. As a leader, I’d rather have those mini side conversations with all my teammates asking are you good? That fits my personality more. I'd rather know that all my teammates are in the right headspace, or that everyone's on the same page to win the game, rather than have my individual award. Really good defence — there's no stat for that.

What are the steps you want to take on for your next season with the team?

For the next couple of years, I want to have that confidence and hunger to want to score. I think I struggle with this because obviously to be a good shooter, you wanna take shots more in practice, find time to shoot on your off-days, or play one-on-one with my teammates like Maddie [Gobeil].

Three spectacles in Jeddah

TERYN MIDZAIN

The Formula One (F1) season blasted off with a dramatic and exciting Bahrain Grand Prix. To no F1 analyst’s surprise, Max Verstappen won the season premiere, with second driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez taking second place, giving Red Bull Racing a strong 1-2 finish.

The Red Bull Reign

There isn’t much more that needs to be said about Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s start to this year. They are dominant. Verstappen is at the height of his powers, and doesn’t have any ideas about slowing down. He made no mistakes in Bahrain, creating a comfortable gap early in the race. Even with an easy win, Verstappen’s radio chatter was all business with his engineer.

“It's only a sample of one (race), all the circuits are different but it's a great start for us to come out the blocks unlike last year when we were sitting here with zero points,” said Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull about his team’s performance. “We came here determined to try and address that this year and we’ve done it in the best possible way.”

An intriguing aspect of Red Bull’s current reign will be their second driver Sergio “Checo” Perez; a defensive driver who has shown he can defend his position well, and more importantly, Verstappen’s. Perez is the next car directly in Darth Alonso’s sights for podiums and race wins in the well-made, and heavily Red Bullinspired AMR23.

Fernando Alonso on the podium

Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso have been the talk of the Paddock since pre-season testing. They looked quick, and have remained quick into the premiere race. Alonso’s racing mind and technique showed with his clever and daring overtakes in Turn 4 and Turn 9, two of the more technical corners of the Sakar circuit. “This is just the beginning,” Alonso said after Round 1 in Bahrain. “This is not the final car; this is just the starting car of this concept that we changed over the winter.”

Aston teammate Lance Stroll’s P6 finish while still recovering from hand and arm surgeries, and foot fractures (yes all at once) is an amazing feat of athletics, and shows that all those years of finishing in the bottom positions could have been because he didn’t have a competitive car. But now Aston Martin does have a competitive car, battling to be the new member of the

Maddie is so analytical; she's amazing with that type of stuff. We'd watch [game] film by ourselves, and I would get her to send me clips of what I probably could have done [better] from a player's perspective.

I think it's finding that switch… wanting to be better for the team, but also better for myself. I want to find that mentality where I am thinking about myself, and not dismissing myself.

How do you balance school and basketball with the tough studentathlete schedule?

I feel I’d regret not playing all five years. It's a cool opportunity to play. I love my schooling. I love what I'm learning. When I have homework, it's not a burden to do homework. I love my degree. It's kind of nice that I’ve actually found a great group of girls who are my program friends who aren’t always associated with basketball.

Is there a synergy between the academic focus of Child and Youth Studies and your role with the team?

I can tell when people are getting beaten down a little bit inside. Being able to be that positive reinforcement for them. Especially since I am one of the veterans on the team.

“big three,” currently usurping both Mercedes and Ferrari, and launching into second place in the constructor’s championship.

A P3 or P4 finish in Qualifying on Saturday will place Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso in a great position to use the AMR23’s speed and Alonso’s technique to attack the Red Bulls.

Mercedes admits their concept is wrong

Whatever hopes Mercedes fans had for the Silver Arrows this year have been dashed early. The W14 is a step forward, but Mercedes is still two or three steps behind the competition. The W14 is still lacking consistent downforce to reach its projected racepace. Lewis Hamilton finished P5 some 50 seconds behind Verstappen, and George Russell arrived in P7 — not at all the race-winning performance that was speculated coming into 2023.

“Everything is bad," said team principal, Toto Wolff. “The single-lap pace is still good but in the race, we saw the consequences and to put it bluntly we are lacking downforce and sliding the tires and going backwards,” Later, he admitted that Mercedes’ philosophy and concept are wrong.

Engineering director, Andrew Shovlin said the team is looking at “radical changes” for the W14’s design, assuring that potential upgrades are coming in the next few races as the gap from Red Bull to Mercedes will only grow larger between now and Imola — the traditional time when teams implement their first major upgrade packages in May. Otherwise, it may be too late for Mercedes to remain in the Big 3 this season.

Back to the races

Since its debut in 2021, Jeddah’s street circuit has been an exciting race with all sorts of drama along a stunning venue. Fast and technical, with highspeed straights and curvy bends lined by narrow and unyielding walls — it’s a track designed to challenge even the most experienced racer.

If there isn’t a battle in the top positions, the mid-field has the chance to provide the grittiest action. The teams will be close, and not just in Qualifying times — the tight walls of the track will pen drivers in. They’ll need to be precise and daring when overtaking — committed to their maneuvers. Backing out won’t be a safe option, and a mistake can be deadly. To watch the Grand Prix live, check out TSN or F1TV on March 19. For a post-race discussion, check out The F World, Mondays at 1 p.m. on CIVL Radio 101.7 FM, civl.ca, and on-demand on Spotify.

Anisa Quintyne — Culture Editor