The Cascade Vol. 22 No. 13

Vol. 22 Issue 13

www.ufvcascade.ca

April 9, 2014 to May 7, 2014

Fuel for the spark within us all since 1993

Following one student’s mental health journey p. 12-13

A night with astronaut Chris Hadfield p. 4-5

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News

Briefs Budget cuts officially lead to layoffs Following $2 million in cuts to UFV’s overall operating budget, the VP students division was forced to cut $160,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. After much discussion among VP students Jody Gordon and the other three directors of the division, it was determined that three positions were redundant and therefore were cut, the employees laid off. The positions included: manager, student life, leadership, and housing; disability resource centre assistant; and athletics facility assistant. The layoffs were announced on April 7.

Health and dental referendum SUS will be hosting its health and dental referendum from April 10 to 16. Do you accept an increase in health and dental coverage costs to $215.59?

Do you accept tying the fee to inflation? The increase will allow increased dental, prescription, and practitioner coverage as well as the introduction of glasses and contact coverage.

Transit stats: almost 50 incidents Metro Vancouver Transit reports 49 incidents involving sexual harassment and assualt have already been reported this year, which is a 23 per cent increase over last year’s statistics at this time. In response they are launching a new awareness campaign complete with mobile app and number 87-77-77 to text if situations arise.

Have a news tip?

Let us know!

Email news@ufvcascade.ca or tweet at @CascadeNews

News

4-5

Opinion

8-9

Culture

17

Arts

19

Sports & Health

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Hadfield puts it in perspecitve

Col. Chris Hadfield has been to space. Now back on our planet, he shared his experience with the intimate crowd of just over 600 Vancouverites. Cascade alumnus Nick Ubels has the details.

Would you rather read about pornography or what it means to be a good writer?

Brittney Hensman speaks on porn’s affects on sexual relationships and Thomas Nyte questions what determines a person’s ability to write well.

Daniela Elza says goodbye to UFV

Elza was joined by Vancouver’s poet laureate Evelyn Lau as well as several local poets and UFV faculty members for the third and final installment of the Canadian Writers Series. We’ll miss you, Daniela!

A metallic night at the Vogue

Intrepid reporter Taylor Breckles ventures out to the wild night world of Vancouver, returning with a review of the mosh pits, lighting displays, and performances found at August Burns Red’s most recent Vancouver concert.

Cricket, on grass, with feathers, under the sun

If you’re wondering what’s up with the cricket games that have been taking place on the Abbotsford campus green, Martin Castro talked to two members of UFV’s cricket club to get the details.

Cake. Cat. Casserole. Ship. Cascade.

My first editorial ran with a picture of a captain’s hat because I called The Cascade a ship, which may be the best description I can give it. I got on one day, and I didn’t get off. We weathered storms and came out in one piece. Now that I’ve emerged on deck, it’s clear that I started in one place, and now I’m another. I’ve been transported. I’m not quite sure where I am, to be honest. I still have my sea legs. It’s going to be odd to be on land again.

It has carried me so far and so safely, but now it’s time for me to return the favour – no matter what I do, I will carry The Cascade with me for the rest of my life.

DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

The Cascade is a lot of things The Cascade is a cake.

The Cascade is a cat.

The Cascade is a casserole.

The Cascade is a ship.

The Cascade is a stupid student newspaper.

I am listing these metaphors because this is my last editorial, and I’m getting sappy.

— I first joined The Cascade in summer 2011, after a year away from school and a bad break-up. I was pretty lost. I think most third-year students are pretty lost. Sometimes you get the kind of lost where you want to curl up into a compact ball and do nothing but read novels and eat cake.

The Cascade was my cake.

Pretty soon I wasn’t lost any more.

petting a cat.

And The Cascade is the cute kind of cat.

—

—

One summer a cat showed up on my deck, and I fed it.

Then it didn’t leave.

The Cascade is kind of like that. You feed it once, and you’re stuck with it forever.

My first article argued that StarCraft II is, in fact, a sport.

It was lame, it was kind of funny, and it was kind of enjoyable.

But writing for The Cascade is like petting a cat; you can’t really classify it as addicting, but one does not simply stop

I used to be the stoic sort of person who could cut an onion without crying. I always wondered: were my eyes less susceptible? Did my bad posture mean I leaned just enough out of the way to avoid the fumes?

But as I grew up, I honed my kitchen knife skills. I learned to dice vegetables instead of chopping any which way, and I started crying when I chopped onions.

Sometimes it’s all in the way you cut it. The same vegetable

Volume 22 · Issue 13 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Editor-in-chief dessa@ufvcascade.ca Dessa Bayrock Managing editor michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular Business manager joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson Online editor ashley@ufvcascade.ca Ashley Mussbacher Copy editor katie@ufvcascade.ca Katie Stobbart

— Image: Rumana / Flickr

The Cascade is more than a newspaper. can be in rough pieces or in perfect, tiny squares. It’s what you make of it. Sometimes you cry all over the kitchen, but in the end the casserole is pretty good, or at least filling.

Maybe you would rather have sushi, or ice cream, but at the end of the day you have casserole and that, as they say, is that.

Nothing wrong with casserole, after all.

— In my first editorial, I called The Cascade a “beautiful, unwieldy beast.” I called it “a curious mix of life-draining and inspiring work.”

News editor jess@ufvcascade.ca Jess Wind

News writer katherine@ufvcascade.ca Katherine Gibson

Opinion editor brittney@ufvcascade.ca Brittney Hensman

Production manager stewart@ufvcascade.ca Stewart Seymour

Culture editor valerie@ufvcascade.ca Valerie Franklin

Art director anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi

Arts editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt

Production assistant production@ufvcascade.ca Kaitlyn Gendemann

Varsity reporter nathan@ufvcascade.ca Nathan Hutton

Photojournalist blake@ufvcascade.ca Blake McGuire

Staff writer nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt

Contributors Martin Castro, Jeremy Hannaford, Jeff Hughes, Megan Lambert, Thomas Nyte, Nick Ubels, Tim Ubels, and Shea Wind Cover image Anthony Biondi

Staff writer breckles@ufvcascade.ca Taylor Breckles

It’s a cake; it’s a cat; it’s a casserole; it’s a ship.

The Cascade is a lot of things.

It’s given me (and so many other students) a place to express our opinions, examine our student politicians, talk about the issues — and triumphs — in our community.

On the bad days, I questioned what we were capable of accomplishing — because after all, we’re just a stupid student newspaper.

On the good days, though, I remember that it’s not just a stupid student newspaper: it’s my stupid student newspaper.

I hope you recognize it’s your stupid student newspaper too, because it can also be a whole lot more than that.

Printed By International Web exPress The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It provides a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a circulation of 1500 and is distributed at UFV campuses and throughout Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The Cascade is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative of 75 university and college newspapers from Victoria to St. John’s. The Cascade follows the CUP ethical policy concerning material of a prejudicial or oppressive nature.

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

Articles and letters to the editor must be typed. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. The writer’s name and student number must be submitted with each submission. Letters to the editor must be under 250 words if intended for print. Only one letter to the editor per writer in any given edition.

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

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

“Verification, transparency — those are the sorts of things that ... allow us to be better citizens” Penny Park speaks about bridging the gap between science and journalism ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

Science Media Centre executive director and honorary doctorate holder Penny Park spoke at UFV as part of the President’s Leadership Lecture Series on April 1.

Park has a background in both the arts and sciences, and has made it her mission to improve scientific communication in journalism and enhance science awareness. She earned a bachelor of arts in linguistics at the University of New Brunswick, where she gained experience working at the university’s radio station, and later a bachelor of science in honours biology from the University of Guelph.

Park worked as the producer and senior producer on Quirks & Quarks from 1980 to 1995, and then joined the Discovery Channel, helping develop the popular documentary Daily Planet.

Park gave her lecture on improving science-journalism communication, but shared her ideas with The Cascade first. Later in the evening, she and other members of faculty joined Mark Evered at the Friesen House for a presidential dinner, which was catered by executive chef and owner Jeff Massey of Restaurant 62.

You have a wide range of interests. You have a degree in linguistics and a degree in biology as well. Tell me a little about how you got to where you are now.

When I left high school I really wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to be a correspondent, and ... to start [was] with a BA at that time — you didn’t really have to go to journalism school.

But I did start with campus radio, which I love and I think it’s a great place to spread your wings and really learn about what works and what doesn’t work in radio.

After [broadcasting] a couple of years of political current affairs, I said, “Oh my gosh, this is the most boring thing on the planet.” You know, politicians know what they want to say, and they keep saying the same thing over and over again, it seemed to me, and I didn’t have the skills to break it down, to get behind that message track.

Image: Ashley Mussbacher

Honorary doctorate recipient Penny Park returned to UFV to bridge the gap between science and journalism.

So I said, you know maybe this isn’t really for me, maybe I’ll go back to school. So, I went back and did a science degree.

And once I got the science degree the only other thing I knew how to do besides going to school was being in radio.

That’s how I started working at Quirks and Quarks.

And now you’re at the Science Media Centre as their executive director. What are your goals in the SMC? A small group of us got together to put together the Science Media Centre of Canada, which is a non-profit group that’s been set up to help journalists cover science. And I could see, increasingly today, journalists are under the gun.

There was a study that came out, from the University of Wales, done by Nick Davies …

[They] found that today report-

ers are required to pump out three times the amount of information and stories that they had to 30 years ago. It’s fast, fast, fast, and they also have to provide content across several different platforms.

Today, journalists are running faster, and there are fewer science journalists in this country. They have less of a background in science, and yet the issues that we face in this country increasingly have science at their core.

That’s where we thought [SMC] could come in and help by [putting] journalists together with evidence-based research and researchers quickly on their timeline.

I find that’s a common thread especially here at university: we’re geared toward one direction or the other. We are made to choose between

the arts and science. What would you suggest to remedy this in journalism?

What I think is that there are qualities that journalists have — journalism should be taught to everybody. We know that people learn best with stories.

Increasingly today you have that potential to tell your story in your own words directly to the public.

And that public can be policy makers as well, so you can have a concrete impact on your community, and your politicians, by things like social media, Facebook, Twitter, blogging. So there are all sorts of ways that you can do your own form of journalism.

I would like to say that journalism isn’t just writing. It is critical thought. It is verification. There are all sorts of values that journalism has that, I think, we as the public need

to incorporate. Verification, transparency — those are the sorts of things that will help us evaluate the information that comes our way, and allow us to be better citizens.

Do you think journalists with arts-only backgrounds is a new trend?

No. I think that there have always been [journalists] who had science backgrounds, but not so many. I mean, just generally, there aren’t as many people in science or who know science, and the value for journalists to have some science means they can evaluate a study, that they have basic numeracy. So, they can again look at something they might be reading, and say, “Does that make sense? This is a study done on only 20 people. Should I be paying attention to that?”

UFV student represents B.C. at East Coast conference NADINE MOEDT

THE CASCADE

“It was quite intimidating at first, UFV student David Seymour says. “There was a lot of people from McGill, from Concordia, and from bigger universities.”

Seymour, a history major and art history extended minor, was the only student in British Columbia to have his presen-

tation accepted by the Quebec Universities English Undergraduate Conference (QUEUC).

Seymour represented the West Coast in the conference this March.

“Coming from a smaller university that’s not as well known, you feel like you have to make your mark,” he says.

Seymour found out about the conference through history instructor Ian Rocksborough-

Smith. Out of the Canada-wide submissions, only about 25 per cent of entries are selected.

Seymour’s paper came out of his art history background.

The opportunity to attend was made possible through SUS funding which he applied for prior to the trip.

“It was an art history essay about basically juxtaposing the male-oriented surrealist photography, the heterosexual

gaze, such as Man Ray, and juxtaposing that with a lesbian surrealist photographer called Claude Cahun,” Seymour explains.

Cahun, a French artist and photographer, is known for toying with concepts of gender, beauty, and sexuality.

“She’s basically challenging the male gaze through her photography, the stereotypes of women that were being perpe-

trated by the surrealists during that period,” Seymour says.

The conference was set up in panels, where papers were presented followed by a question and answer period and discussion.

Despite his initial nerves, Seymour says his paper was well received, and the subsequent discussion enjoyable.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

A night with Twitter’s favourite gan with some sort of launch, some sort of first step.”

He credited US President “Imagine how you would feel John F. Kennedy’s drive to “give if, when you woke up this people a defiant challenge that morning, you knew that by was beyond their current casunset you would be off the pability” for motivating him Earth. It changes how you eat to become an astronaut. So it was fitting that Chris Hadbreakfast.” field found This is how Chris Hadfield began “[T]his is like a himself waking up at “The Sky Is Not the tuning fork because the Kennedy Limit,” his hourso Space Cenlong address to a everything’s North Vancouver tightly bolted to- ter in Florida over 20 years audience that covgether. It is rudely ago, ready ered his incredible journey from awe- powerful. It has 80 for his first struck Ontario nine- million horsepower. flight aboard Space Shuttle year-old watching It burns fuel at 12 Atlantis. humanity’s first The moon steps on the moon tonnes a second. It’s to living aboard the just a stupid way to landing was a watershed International Space get to space.” moment not Station (ISS).

The April 4 event was only for a young Hadfield, who planned as the capstone on would subsequently find himUFV’s 40th anniversary cel- self sitting in his first simulator, a cardboard box he dubbed ebrations.

The 660-seat Centennial “Quaker Oats 215,” but for an Theatre was filled to capacity entire generation.

“It inspired millions of peoto hear the retired astronaut speak. Seniors in formal attire ple,” he said. “In the United sat next to kids in bright red States, if you track the number and sky blue NASA t-shirts, of PhDs per capita, it has never a testament to the child-like in the history of the country curiosity Hadfield inspired been so high as in the years throughout his career and par- following the original Apollo ticularly during his six-month landings.”

Dedication to a nearly immission as ISS commander in possible dream influenced ev2013.

“It’s a million stories,” Had- ery decisions along the path field said. “But like most things that eventually led Chris Hadin life, the great adventure be- field off this planet. He decided to find a way to realize

NICK UBELS

CASCADE ALUMNUS

his goals at age nine (in spite of the fact that Canada did not have a space program) on July 20, 1969, when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon.

“Up until this morning, it was impossible to walk on the moon, but now there are two guys up there. By the time I walked back inside, those guys were sleeping on the moon.

How audacious!” he said. “It allowed me a certain confidence that would help me shepherd all the little decisions of my life, that big mess of fractious sheep that is everyone’s actual life, in a direction that may someday get me to the Kennedy Space Center.”

The 54-year-old Sarnia, Ontario native was the top test pilot in the US Air Force and Navy before fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut in 1992. Since then, he has lived on the ocean floor, served as NASA’s director of Russian operations, participated in three space flights, and is the first and only Canadian to command a space ship so far. He has been around the globe over 2600 times.

Despite being the most celebrated astronaut in Canadian history, his greatest accomplishment might be connecting with those of us back on Earth. One way Hadfield accomplished this was through a series of simple, but effective tweets. Throughout his mission, he dispatched photos of

Earth snapped from onboard tensely aware of how it all fits the ISS with brief captions that together,” he said. “That’s our spoke to something universal entire existence, that little buband human found in the strik- ble [of atmosphere and crust]. ing imagery.

We’re all breathing out of the “I would think, ‘why did that same bubble and yet we treat one strike me as beautiful?’” it like it’s guaranteed, like it’s Hadfield said. “We left Earth inevitable. permanently on the space sta“We’re the most arrogant tion; we put our first outpost goldfish in the universe.” in space 15 years ago, but you Last May, Hadfield permiss it in all the noise. We left formed a song live from orbit Earth. And that’s different with over 700,000 Canadian than sending out robot probes. students through satellite feed.

That’s humanity changing its He said that taking the time to perspective on itself.” do these sort of activities was It is Hadfield’s keen aware- perhaps the most important ness of the importance of this task of his mission, setting a sort of massive inspiration that benchmark about what is posled him to share his unique ex- sible for the next generation, to perience with show them that “Ca“There’s a helicop- nadians command the world.

“I took ter escort and police space ships.”

45,000 pho- out front, police out Though a pilot tos because and scientist, Hadyou would back, F-15s flying field is also an avid too,” he said. over and you’re kind musician, quick to “It gives you of at the hub of the note the importance a different of arts education, a view of the maelstrom, and you comment that was come around the met with rapturous world.”

H a d f i e l d corner and in the applause from the realized the packed crowd. very im- distance ... you see Joanna Wagstaff, p r o b a b i l - your space ship.”

CBC weather speity of human cialist and host for existence, the delicacy with the evening, aptly summarized which we survive on the Earth Hadfield’s greatest feat: “infusthrough this lens. One particu- ing a sense of wonder into our larly striking photograph cap- collective consciousness not tures all five great lakes, one felt since the first moon landfifth of the world’s drinking ing.” water, as “tiny, fragile, temporary puddles on the Earth.”

“You become much more in-

Image: Chris Hadfield

Hadfield’s view of Mt. Vesuvius from space.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS

astronaut: Colonel Chris Hadfield Hadfield dedicated a signifi- adarm II, which carried out cant portion of his talk to tak- much of the station’s construcing the audience on a visceral tion. It stands as a testament to ride through take-off, landing, what can be accomplished with and life in space. He described a common purpose. launch day as a mix of the sub“Any kid in the world, no lime and the crushingly mun- matter where they grow up, can dane. walk outside when it’s dusk or “The day is spectacular, it’s dawn and, when the station is triumphant, there’s horns blar- still high enough to be in the ing and fireworks; that’s how sky, watch the brightest star in it’s supposed to the sky go from be,” he said. “But “We’re the most horizon to hoin reality, you arrogant goldfish in rizon in about wake up in this four minutes,” humble little the universe.” he said. “It’s an room in quaranundeniable, vistine, like it’s a Motel 6 kind of ible example of what we can wake up.” do together when we do things The astronauts are outfitted right.” with diapers and long black For his part, Hadfield is glad socks and fitted into their or- to have had the privilege to ange pressure suits before de- travel to space three times. But scending down an elevator and after 26 years of living abroad, into the crew bus driving out he’s happy to be back in Cantowards the launchpad. ada.

“There’s a helicopter escort “The Sky is Not the Limit” and police out front, police also launched the non-profit out back, F-15s flying over and Summit Negotiations Society, you’re kind of at the hub of which plans to use software this maelstrom, and you come tools to aid conflict resolution, around the corner and in the and a served as a fundraiser for distance,” Hadfield said, paus- UFV’s new peace and conflict ing, “you see your space ship.” studies program. The night It is a dramatic moment when was filled out by preliminary Hadfield first witnessed the addresses from UFV president Space Shuttle Atlantis sitting Mark Evered and Summit Neon the tarmac, rising above gotiations Society executive the pre-dawn plains of Florida director Elsie Wiebe, a welcomsome 30 storeys. ing message from Sheryl Fisher “It’s probably how the phar- of the Squamish Nation, and a oahs saw their pyramids, this number of honours bestowed beautiful light shining down,” on the celebrated astronaut. he said. “Yet as you’re driving The mayors of North Vantowards it, everybody else is couver, Darrell Mussatto and driving away from it because Richard Walton, declared April they realize that it’s a 4-mil- 4 Chris Hadfield Day, to which lion-pound bomb sitting out the colonel wryly asked wheththere.” er he could get away with ilOnce the astronauts are set- legal parking now. He was tled in the cockpit, the count- also presented with the World down begins. Three-and-a-half Peace Tartan by its designer, minutes before launch, “the ve- Victor Spence. hicle is alive.”

The World Peace Tartan has Hadfield showed a clip of the been presented to eight Nobel launch sequence, and breath- Peace Prize laureates among lessly describes the accelera- other prominent world leadtion out of the Earth’s atmo- ers. This is the first time it has sphere: been conferred on Canadian “It is phenomenally pow- soil. Spence, sporting a vest erful, like the hand of God is matching the tartan’s pattern, beneath you just launched the hurtling you up in “It is phenomenal- initiative from the Earth.

December 1999 ly powerful, like the The vibration is after an enenormous, not like hand of God is [...] counter with an airliner where just hurtling you up the Dalai Lama. you get that sort Before placfrom the earth.”.” of slow flopping ing the scarf vibration as you go through over Hadfield’s neck, Spence turbulence; this is like a tun- said the retired astronaut’s ing fork because everything’s striking message of our interso tightly bolted together. It is connectedness through images rudely powerful. It has 80 mil- of Earth captured aboard the lion horsepower. It burns fuel ISS had earned him the honour. at 12 tonnes a second. It’s just a “We create false separateness stupid way to get to space.” through a lack of understandEight minutes and 42 seconds ing,” he said. “Chris Hadfield later, after continuously in- took the opportunity to remind creasing pressure and burning us and made an extraordinary through most of the shuttle’s contribution to creating that fuel reserves, Atlantis settles peace on Earth.” into orbit.

The scarf, which Hadfield “The engines shut off and wore for the duration of his you’re weightless,” he said. address, is a beautiful medley “How did you get there?” steeped in light blue to repreHadfield cited latching onto sent the cooperative promise an objective just beyond what of the United Nations, with the was currently possible and a tartan’s Scottish roots represpirit of international collabo- sented in the purple and green ration between 15 countries of the thistle. Black and red who were “enemies within lines represent the realities living memory” for coming of war and violence while the together to build the ISS. Ca- white is a counterbalance that nadians, too, can claim their symbolizes the hope for peace. contribution with the Can-

Image: Nick Ubels

Hadfield wears his scarf with pride and honour at “The Sky is Not the Limit” lecture.

Image: Chris Hadfield

When Hadfield decided he wanted to become an astronaut, Canada didn’t have a space program.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Science on Purpose

Cherry trees in space Faster-growing and fewer-petalled than those on earth DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

How do you baffle a botanist?

Ship a cherry pit into space and watch it bloom twice as quickly when it returns to Earth.

As part of the “space cherry” project spearheaded by Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation, 265 cherry pits were shipped to the International Space Station for use in experimentation.

When the pits returned to the planet’s surface, botanist Takao Yoshimura coaxed one of the space seeds to sprout, grow, and bloom in a little under four years — progress that

would take a decade to accomplish under normal circumstances.

“There is a theoretical possibility that the cosmic environment has had a certain impact on agents in the seeds that control budding and the growth process, but we have absolutely no answer as to why the trees have come into bloom so fast,” Botanist Kaori Tomita, one of the participants in the project, told The Asahi Shimbun.

Aside from the speed with which the tree grew and bloomed, another interesting development was that the blossoms had only five petals — in contrast to the parent tree’s thirty-petalled flowers.

UFV holds two of 2000 Canada Research Chairs

Lenore Newman and Hugh Brody showcase research on a national scale with the help of UFV’s undergraduates JEFF HUGHES

CONTRIBUTOR

What on Earth is a Canada Research Chair?

There are 2000 chairs available at universities throughout Canada with varying numbers of seats assigned to each university. UFV currently has two of these chairs, one belonging to Dr. Hugh Brody, the Canada Research Chair in aboriginal studies, the other to Dr. Lenore Newman, the Canada Research Chair in food safety and the environment.

The Canada Research Chair position was established in 2000 by the Government of Canada to bolster the country’s position as a leader in research and development.

What does holding one of these positions mean for UFV and the surrounding community?

“I’m very interested in food and the role it plays in our society,” she says. “How we reconcile urban uses with farmland and have lots of food and still have room to build our cities.”

For Newman, the proximity of UFV to the large agricultural land reserves of the Fraser Valley, which can be seen coloured on the large regional map on her office wall, added to the position’s desirability.

She goes on to explain the distribution of funding for such a project, noting that the government contributes some, but not all.

“To a degree my position is funded by the federal gov-

ernment, but I also apply for grants, also usually from the government, but often from other organizations,” she says listing agricultural organizations, provincial, regional, and other parties as some of those others. “One of my jobs is hunting money, always. A lot of that money brings students into the projects and that’s really exciting to me.”

Larger schools would normally have graduate students working on research projects of this type, and holding these projects through UFV give undergraduate students a chance to participate in research.

“Because we don’t have all the doctoral students and grad students, and because we’re really student-oriented, we can bring our students into research they’d never get to experience otherwise,” she says.

“So it’s a big advantage on the job market. And especially we have a lot of students who do very well and some do go on to grad school and they’ve already got a publication because they worked with us.”

The Canada Research Chair positions are a major benefit to smaller universities that lack the large research budgets found at schools such as UBC and brings undergraduate students into the researching fold, Newman notes. It generates attention for the school and places it higher in university rankings for specific programs when higher profile researchers such as Newman are present and working with students.

Image: Anthony Biondi

It took scientists four years to coax space cherry blossoms to grow — half the time they expected.

SUS asks for increase to health and dental coverage JESS WIND

THE CASCADE

MEGAN LAMBERT

CONTRIBUTOR

The Student Union Society (SUS) is running a health and dental referendum from April 10 to 16. The two questions propose an increased fee of $215.59, and authorization to adjust it in sync with inflation rates and premium increases.

Vision (i.e. glasses and contacts) would be added to the plan, and general coverage of prescription drugs, dental, and health practitioner sessions would also increase.

Other health, dental, and travel benefits would remain the same.

If this sounds familiar, it’s for good reason; SUS ran a referendum in March 2013, proposing similar changes, but SUS attention was largely on the simultaneous SUS shuttle fee referendum at the time.

SUS later determined that a lack of promotion for the health and dental question resulted in the failed outcome, and another referendum has long been in the works.

The actual referendum question for this referendum has been condensed and the fee proposal decreased by $14.33.

VP internal Thomas Davies says that the authority to adjust the fee is “tied directly to our inflation rates and premium increases.” Theoretically, this means that SUS would not have reason to raise the cost beyond what would “allow [them] to maintain the level of coverage.”

Davies assures that there is a cap on the annual inflation rate.

“Our health and dental provider has said we will never have to exceed five per cent.

Hopefully it will never have to go that high, but in a worstcase scenario we are capped at five per cent maximum,”

Image: Mandy Jouan / flickr

Increased health and dental coverage and fee are on the table. he says. Should the fee climb to an uncomfortable place for students, they have mechanisms to stop the rate via referendum.

“Maybe it does get to a point where it is too high, and then we’ll start hearing it again from students directly … students also do have a mechanism to call their own referendum,” he says. “So, if there was a large body of students that said, “We disagree,” there is a mechanism for them to do that.”

SUS is looking into possible surveys, emails, and other forms of communication to keep students informed about future changes in price and coverage, and will continue to work with the provider to get information out.

“StudentCare is very good at working with us to give us materials … to ensure that we can communicate the plan,” Davies explains. “They support us through these informational booths for this referendum … they provide us with a couple of different banners.” As well, the ihaveaplan website is advertising the referendum.

There is still question as to how the SUS health and dental fee stacks up against other schools. On the health and dental Facebook event, one student, Rae-Lynn Dicks, drew attention to the Kwantlen student benefits plan.

“The coverage provided

for this plan is far less than is provided for students at Kwantlen, and costs far more than students at Kwantlen pay,” Dicks said. She also noted that investigation into other providers could be beneficial.

UFV currently has the cheapest coverage behind SFU and Kwantlen. However, service coverage levels are reflected in that; Kwantlen students have access to 80 per cent dental coverage and 90 per cent prescription drugs on a student fee of $187. As it stands now, UFV students have access to 55 and 70 per cent for the same categories; with the proposed increase, that would change to 70 and 80 per cent.

Davies explains that SUS investigated other providers, but it isn’t a simple switch.

“There are a few different providers. We have investigated different providers. The biggest cost though is really the insurance agency,” he said.

Every three years, SUS puts the contract out to tender and agencies can bid on it. In 2012-13 SUS was able to avoid cutting services by taking an offer from Desjardins insurance. Davies notes that with a switch comes hiccups in service, so it’s not an ideal option; there was a blackout period for claims making after the last coverage changeover.

7

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Honours English colloquium expresses big ideas TAYLOR BRECKLES

THE CASCADE

Six soon-to-be alumni shared their research with a gathering of students, professors, and family at the English Honours Colloquium on April 4.

These honours English students, before moving on to further education or careers, had to write a research paper about a subject of their choosing with the help of a mentor.

This research paper — or creative piece, in some cases — was produced over the span of the past two semesters: one for research, and the other for writing.

The students shared a rough outline of their projects, as well as their research methods, some findings, and some excerpts.

Dessa Bayrock shared first.

Her project was titled “Cloudgänger: Douglas Coupland’s Split between the Digital and Physical, the Individual and the Community.”

While delivering her presentation with a hint of nerves, Bayrock explained her process.

“Read a lot, write a lot about it, and then Carl [Peters, her mentor] reviews it.”

She addressed topics such as the conflict between the digital and the natural world, how literature and technology work together, and the concept of Coupland’s “Cloudgängers” (doppelgänger of the virtual world which houses all your online information).

The second presenter, Megan Davies, outlined her research for “Historical Pageants, Flags, and Q’owet: Contesting Identities, History, and Land in Fort Langley, B.C.” Davies’ interdisciplinary research was partly inspired by something she noticed in the re-enactment of an historical proclamation at Fort Langley, B.C. centennial celebrations: “First Nations” was a single character. This led her to eventually conclude that Canada is not, in fact, post-colonial.

“Fallen Poetics: The Satanic, Erotic, and Tragic in Mary Robinson’s Sappho and Phaon,” was the title of Kirsten Nickel’s project. The idea behind Nickel’s paper was to highlight the limitations of gender studies in studying female authors from the Victorian period.

Nickel discussed two of Robinson’s sonnets in her presentation: “Sonnet II The Temple of Chastity” and “Sonnet III The Bower of Pleasure.”

The colloquium was divided into two parts, and following each block of three presenters, guests were invited to ask questions. There was also a brief break at the halfway point, during which both the attendees and the presenters were free to eat some food and mingle.

Lane Anderson opened his talk following the break stating that “industrialization … is the basis for consumerist ways of today.”

He then segued into his topic, Charles Dickens’ early

Students, family members, and faculty gathered to hear honours students share nine months of research at the Honours Colloquium. works, in his paper entitled “Sketches by Boz: A Lesson in Perceptiveness.” After explaining that Dickens wrote under the pseudonym of Boz during his early career, Anderson continued to explore the hidden meanings and symbolism in the works.

Anderson also provided a handout, as a few of the students did to help contextualize their work. In his case, it was an illustration from the work.

In order to show some of the features discussed in his paper, Anderson provided the audience with an engaging way to understand his point.

Lacey Hall, the fifth presenter, discussed “The Implied Author and the Real Reader: A Relationship Stimulated through the Fallible.” She was one of two students to present a creative piece rather than an essay.

Hall outlined the concept of an unreliable narrator in children’s literature: a narrator which either purposefully or unintentionally withholds information which marks them as untrustworthy, or a narrator who has limited life experience and is thus too naïve to be considered trustworthy. This was the focus of her first research semester in the honours program.

Hall also read a passage from her novel involving a girl

named Josie who has to go to a naughty boot camp in the North Pole for some behavioural correction, which was the focus of her second writing semester.

Jess Wind was the final student. She discussed her project, “The Survivors: Violence, Sexuality and Media through the Lens of a Young Adult Novel.”

As the second student to present a creative work, Wind also read an excerpt. The theme of her novel surrounded the idea of teen violence and sexuality through the uses of bullying and rape.

Unlike typical stories, however, Wind decided to make her main character both a victim and a villain in the sense that he gets bullied but also surrenders to his temptations.

This is a perspective in which Wind said she had to be aware of boundaries.

Over the course of two hours, all of these ideas were shared, insightful questions were asked, and conversation was had over a couple Timbits and some coffee. Quite a literary end to the final semester at UFV for these graduates.

Editor’s note: Dessa Bayrock is the Editor-in- Chief at The Cascade. Jess Wind is the News Editor.

Images: Katie Stobbart

Kirsten Nickel recites the sonnets that were the focus of her research.

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OPINION

OPINION

SNAPSHOTS

A lesson through his eyes

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

This week’s theme:

Perspective

Instant coffee only comes from a machine

Inanimate faces

Katie Stobbart

Martin Castro

Dessa Bayrock

You just want to take your daughter to the park. But there’s an unkempt man at the edge of the park with a bottle of vodka, taking a swig.

You clutch her hand tighter. She squeezes back, smiling, doesn’t seem to see the danger. The swingset beckons invitingly. This place was supposed to have been cleaned up — you don’t remember seeing anyone shifty when they were holding the music concerts last summer, but now you’re alone.

He drinks again, tilting his head back, facing the playground.

It’s not your fault if this guy lives on the street. Why should you have to suffer?

Looking through your eyes, I see how fear can trump compassion. I used to live downtown. I remember my heart used to pound when I walked home from the bus stop after dark.

I’ve also felt my heart clench in sympathy, seeing a sleeping bag snugged underneath a bush.

Suffering is not one person’s fault. But we can all do something to ease it.

I wonder how we would view homelessness as a city if we could see through his eyes.

A lot of the time when I go to the Tim Horton’s on campus, I want my coffee — and I want it now.

However, I work at a restaurant. I know how hectic it can get when someone runs up to the counter, mumbles a hastily puttogether sentence that may or may not have included the word “coffee,” and hands you a fistful of coins, only to stand a few feet away, fidgeting with their phone, checking the time every 20 seconds.

They need their coffee and they need it now. Scratch that, they needed it yesterday.

We sometimes fail to notice the person at the till isn’t even the person making the coffee, and usually another order is being taken care of before ours.

Yet we still demand a piping-hot coffee and donuts in record time. So, Tim Horton’s employees, the next time you receive a hastily-mumbled order and some random coins, mixed in with a paperclip or two, remember — if we were in your shoes, we too would probably withdraw into a state from which only several, very expensive, therapy sessions could bring us back to reality.

When schoolwork starts getting me down — usually around the same time I start falling behind on sleep — I start seeing faces in everything.

The handle of a drawer becomes a mouth and a nearby cupboard knob becomes an eye. My kitchen is smiling! The grill of a car looks like teeth. That vehicle is mad! The leaves in that tree are waving in a way that looks like the hair of a woman in a shampoo commercial. Herbal Essences, anyone?

(Get it? Herbal essences? Because herbs are plants?)

My bookshelf makes a face at me. My furniture makes a face at me. My computer screen turns into one big shiny eye to match the toothy grin of my keyboard.

It’s just a trick of perception — like learning to find the hidden image in one of those secret picture eye-benders — but once you start seeing them it’s hard to stop.

And that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes it’s nice to stop seeing everything so intently for a minute and let a little whimsy into my vision.

Letter to the editor Tax season is upon us again. Time to bust out all the tax breaks you can muster with the hope of eking out a couple extra bucks to fund your summer adventures. Yet this yearly ritual involves one particularly arduous task with which recent alumni and current students are no doubt intimately familiar.

This weekend, I trudged over to my.ufv’s student information tab one last time to do mortal battle with my most ancient nemesis: the T2202A. The mere mention sends a chill down my spine.

Anyone who’s ever attempted to print off this infernal form through UFV’s supposedly “print friendly” page knows this misery well. It requires some strange, forgotten alchemy of print settings to actually get the whole thing to print without being cut off by awkward my.ufv frames.

By the time you finally have the complete document in hand 20 minutes later, clumps of hair left in your clenched and shaking fists, sweat pouring down your forehead, family dog horrified at your creative use of expletives, the dreaded T2202A strikes its final blow: a little mark that says **duplicate**.

I don’t know about you, but my tax booklet requests originals. So far the Canadian Revenue Service has made due with second-rate documentation, but it gives me the howling fantods every time I submit this potentially problematic form.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Besides the courtesy of providing recommended print settings, there’s a simple solution that could put students on good terms with the T2202A. Make it a PDF. Easy! If UFV isn’t going to bother to mail copies of tax forms to its students, it could at least make it a lot easier to print them with the correct dimensions. It would save countless sheets of paper and many collective hours of stress and anxiety.

Nick Ubels UFV Alumni, Class of 2013

Porn is not sex BRITTNEY HENSMAN

THE CASCADE

I volunteer at the pregnancy option centre in Surrey.

Through the centre, I work with a team of people who go into high schools and give a presentation we call “Sexual Integrity.” We do this in hopes of preventing teen pregnancies, STIs, and the fast-growing use of pornography. This is necessary because the reality is kids have sex, talk about sex, and watch sex.

Usually when we talk about pornography during these presentations, there is a fraction of the class who jeers at each other and laughs, suggesting light-hearted and nonchalant attitudes about the topic.

But porn is not a light topic.

Our society has made porn socially acceptable and easily accessible through media like the internet. People laugh at the word “porn,” tease friends about forgetting to erase their browser history on their laptops, and are used to the various sex scenes acted out in Hollywood films, or music videos.

But then there’s hard porn. You may recognize it as “adult material” or XXX. Scholar and activist

Gail Dines, in her book entitled Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Society, defines this type of porn as “gonzo.” It often features women tied or chained to some form of sturdy furniture being penetrated in one of three holes — and in many cases all holes at once — by men who are using some form of verbal and physical aggression to get what they want, and calling it sex.

Hard pornography is a multimillion-dollar business that has been created because soft porn has desensitized people. It’s not graphic enough or perverted enough to satisfy.

It objectifies and dehumanizes people by portraying sex as an open, barbaric, and animalistic act.

In her book, Dines mentions the average boy is first exposed to pornography at age 11-and-a-half — and while it’s not always an intentional pursuit to “watch porn,” it makes it incredibly hard to avoid sexual images when they are popping up everywhere.

Before puberty, boys who are exposed to porn don’t have a mature understanding of porn’s effects, meaning they don’t understand how to process sexual experiences

or content properly because they are not fully developed. But many men say after puberty, it becomes a normal part of their day. Gary Wilson, who most people know from his TED Talk “The Great Porn Experiment,” says that the younger children watch porn, the more likely they will become “hooked” as they get older.

Watching porn causes your brain to release pleasure chemicals such as oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. These are the same natural chemicals that enter your system when you use hard drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamines. These are also released during normal rewarding behaviours, such as eating chocolate or going for a run. However, when these behaviors are not modified or controlled addiction sets in. This is what many recent studies are realizing when researching pornography’s effect on the human brain.

People use porn as a means to stimulate arousal to satisfy sexual tension, but the problem is people, through porn, begin to treat sex like a fast food industry — satisfying “the crave” instantly. Feminist Germain Gureer from the Royal Institution of Great Britain says,

“pornography makes sex easy; it is the psychological equivalent of ready-made food.”

The problem is sex does not function healthily in an instantaneous, rapid-paced, or immediate way. When people participate in sex, it is the closest literal position two people can physically be together. Why is that? Because most people would say sex is an action of love.

But is that what a person ejaculating to porn is achieving? Selflove perhaps, but what is that?

Self-love leaves a person empty.

According to a recent study by the University of East London, one fifth of teenage boys said they could not become sexually aroused without the aid of pornography.

The consensus from frequent porn users voiced on the CBC’s Generation Porn podcast was that “it is easier to masturbate to porn than it is to develop a personal relationship with someone.”

Pornography strips away our ability to experience true sexual intimacy with a person. It seeks to fulfill the narcissistic pattern people easily fall into by satisfying desire without the need for any other human being.

Our generation doesn’t have it easy. We are sexual beings, and men specifically are wired visually when it come to sexual stimuli.

The reality is, with the internet, pornography can be dancing in our laps with the click of a button.

There are over 260 million pornography pages online such as YouPorn, PornHub, Slut load — and most of them are free.

Many people struggle with porn — and unfortunately it’s a rising issue that affects more men than women. But porn is not a light habit. Porn can develop into an addiction that will corrupt your view of a healthy relationship. Porn has the potential to contort relationships, break down marriages, and can ruin a person’s sex life by causing them to feel emotionally unfulfilled.

Love and sex are not just about a feeling, or the climax. Love and sex are a conscious choice, decision, and intentional action to put someone else’s needs above your own and they involve work. But it’s through that work that there is a lasting reward and real satisfaction. The sooner people begin to realize this, the more fulfilled they will be when it comes to sex.

9

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

No right way to write THOMAS NYTE

CONTRIBUTOR

I’m in the final weeks of my creative writing degree, and I’m realizing more and more that I don’t like writers.

Now before any writers get their pitchforks, let me slide in a disclaimer. First, I should say that I, as a writing student, cheerfully include myself in all the following critiques. Second, most of the writing instructors, mentors, and peers I’ve gotten to know these last few years are downright wonderful people whose opinions and influence have shaped me as both a person and an author.

I have nothing but love for you all, as individuals.

Creative writers as an artistic faction though, are seriously starting to bum me out.

In the past few years, I’ve read too many articles and heard far too many authors who nonchalantly slap labels on that which must define the identity of a “good” writer: A good writer must be compelled by their story, because being madly compelled creates more of a powerful narrative than an author’s love or intellect ever will.

Good writers must draw primary inspiration from books, for all other mediums are false idols.

A good writer must have some-

Image: Jeffrey James Pacres

Must one experience the depths of turmoil to be a good writer? thing indefinable inside them; something roils in their innards like a horny monster, begging for gratification and validation in the form of prose.

A good writer must, above all else, feel turmoil. Turmoil while they write. Turmoil in their past.

Turmoil for years to come.

Turmoil. All. The. Time.

These guidelines? They suck.

Why? Because they force the practice of writing into exclusivity.

These ideals are instilled in the minds of authors young and old who form private social cliques consisting only of those who brashly follow the same modus operandi.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have no turmoil. Without going into details, my life is pretty much off the chain.

So what’s a guy like me to do?

Force myself to feel miserable or guilty about things? Increase my

social activism? Binge on reality TV and Fox News so I can write condescendingly about things that make me feel insufferably worldweary?

I’m openly hostile toward the idea that good writing comes only from those who bear an inimitable message that must be written down to be communicated. This train of thought is inherently exclusionary because, if true, those who don’t feel similarly driven fail to meet the prerequisites necessary to write a decent poem.

Even more, I despise the idea that if I genuinely love my work, I must be doing something wrong.

I’ve heard so many writers imply, or say outright, that a writer should not love their work so much as they should feel tortured and infuriated by their love for it.

So if not all this, what constitutes a good writer?

Terrible question, but if I’ve learned one thing from my time as a writing major, it’s this: aside from the ability to form a comprehensible sentence or two, the only universal skill I can confidently say should apply to all adequate writers is observation.

The catch here is that writers shouldn’t always observe other writers. They should create for themselves a circle of friends and influences who do not consist en-

tirely, or even mostly, of fellow prose hounds. We cannot afford to be reclusive, because to be a critical observer, you must be a participant. A member. A partaker.

You should watch every movie you can get your hands on to find nuggets of pathos and truth.

You should listen to conversations between old men on park benches.

You should find (several) hobbies outside your notebook.

When it gets right down to it, a writer shouldn’t even be a writer; just a person who pencils things down and lives with an open mind as they watch and learn. Because if writing is the art, then observation is the art behind the art. To quote Louis CK, “Life isn’t something you possess; it’s something you take part in, and you witness.”

This isn’t intended to be a postmodernist’s rant about the elitism of art. Nor is it intended to condemn the lifestyles or strategies of other writers.

This is, however, frustration linked to the ever-pervasive ideology that doing something I love has to be a chore. It has to be arduous and harrowing and compulsory and soul-sucking because apparently, it’s meaningless otherwise.

On perfection and creation “If perfection believes in me, maybe I will believe in perfection. Until then I will be cautious when it comes to visit.”

DANIELA ELZA

WRITER IN RESIDENCE

Are you at home with your idea of perfect? Is perfection a good roommate? Is it a lover you are trying to please? Or is it that grumpy editorial voice constantly editing away your unique thoughts into the notgood-enough category? Is perfection the imposter that seduces you into feeling unqualified and no good?

Or is it that attention that unfurls our awareness into seeing perfection in an imperfect world?

I am through with being perfect.

Sounds like a line from a song? Almost. It is a line from a poem, in which I say just that: I am through with being perfect. A woman is too many examples.

Sometimes people say: you are brave. In my head that can translate as: I am just willing to be imperfect. Sometimes they say: you are authentic, or genuine. In my head it sounds like: I am tired of trying to live up to some notion of perfect. Sometimes they ask: where do you get your courage from? That can translate as: I do not care enough to just please. Or, I care enough about what I believe in. Some days perfect equals acceptable, perfect equals fitting in the norm, sometimes perfect is the right answer, is too certain of itself. Some days, perfect is dangerous, runs contrary to diversity. Still, some days I stumble into the perfect moment, which I did nothing to orchestrate. I was simply attentive, tuned in and open to see. Is striving for perfection one of our many human flaws?

Where does your perfect come from? Does it have a nationality?

Image: Anthony Biondi

“In this first translation from world to word we cannot be perfect.”

A colour? A face? A body shape?

Usually when I ask myself this question I find that it is someone’s idea of what I need to live up to, or it is some notion in my head which is unattainable. That kind of perfect interferes with my exploration and play. In fact, it can end them.

An important phase of the creative process is that initial generative space where you allow yourself to explore playfully. It is a messy, uncontrolled, unorganized place. It is as ungrammatical as

our thoughts, our sensations. It is an undefined, swampy place. Yet, I can stumble into beauty and perfection right there in the swamp, and draw a poem out of the murk.

Too often I encounter those, young and old, who cannot even begin on a project. If they feel they can not do it perfectly they would rather not do it at all. How about the essay you expect to pour out of your head, intact? Do you see the problem with this idea of perfection? I do. It will not let me write a

word on this page. Nothing on the page comes out perfect. It could be pretty good. But it will not be perfect.

The blank page is perfect.

Then comes the long process of scoring the page and making it less perfect. In this first translation from world to word we cannot be perfect. Language is an imperfect tool. We have to translate a complex tangle of perceptions, emotions, assumptions, into a string of marks on the page to which we

attribute meaning, and hope, eventually, to be able to conjure that complex experience in another. It is, in itself, magic, this learning to spell. Perhaps if we agree that as writers we will always be apprentices to that act of translation, to this casting of spells, we will likely be less inhibited by unattainable notions of perfect. Whose were those notions again?

Is there some perfect idea of perfection? Now, I am getting bored with my own notions of perfection. I begin to doubt myself. Even beginning to doubt if this piece is perfect enough.

If this kind of perfection is my house, I will be homeless. I will be silencing the very voice I am trying to capture and express. The voice I call my own. Call my home. It is a timid voice, and it can be very quiet. Is perfection a beacon that guides me? Is it a lighthouse that warns me where the treacherous rocks are?

Perfection will not let me submit this piece. Too many preconceived notions will always tamper with the genuine and unique voices that we are.

I want to know what perfection thinks of me. What is perfection’s idea of us. If perfection believes in me, maybe I will believe in perfection. Until then I will be cautious when it comes to visit. I will fear the meal is not perfect, and perhaps my hair is not quite right for this guest, who sometimes can take more from my home than I am willing to give up.

10

OPINION

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

What’s one thing you’ve learned this semester?

Feel like sharing your short-andsweet opinion? Keep an eye out for our whiteboard-toting pollsters roaming the halls.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

August Burns Red bass player on Vancouver, creativity in metal music, and brewing beer SHEA WIND

CONTRIBUTOR

Dustin Davidson plays bass guitar and sings backup vocals for August Burns Red, an American Christian metalcore band which stopped in Vancouver on Sunday night as part of their North American tour. Their sixth studio album, Rescue & Restore, was released in 2013 and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Top 200. Davidson talked to contributing writer Shea Wind about how the album has been received, how the tour is going, and what fans can expect from the band next.

How has the Break Down the Walls tour been?

It has been great so far. I feel like we are getting a lot of new exposure to kids that may have heard of us but have never seen us play live before. [It’s great] going out to the merch table every now and then, and just talking with new kids who are wearing other bands’ t-shirts, [like] Asking Alexandria, and saying that is their first time seeing us and they loved us and so it’s awesome.

How many times have you been to Vancouver before?

Two or three times, I believe.

I love it. It’s beautiful up there.

Last time we played there, it wasn’t the nicest venue, so I’m excited to play at a different place this time. We got to walk around downtown and check out a couple cool places. I remember this cool beer bar we went to in this really nice part of town, I really enjoyed myself. I look forward to checking it out again.

Why did you first start coming to play in Vancouver?

I feel like it is one of those places that takes a while to get to, being where it is, because we have been touring since 2004 and Vancouver is not the first place on your mind when you are a small local band. But it is one of those places that we knew we were going to get to eventually, and now that we’re a wellestablished band … We’re really excited to come back, we really

Image: iamLHORD / Flickr

August Burns Red returned to Vancouver this month for their first tour following the drop of their new album. are. We’re really looking forward to the show.

but nothing is set in stone just yet.

and bringing new sounds to the table.

Does August Burns Red have anything planned after this summer of touring?

I would say that this summer is actually pretty light. We’re not doing Warped Tour or any big festival tours like that. We just got a couple weeks going through June and July. I think June is one week and July is maybe nine days or something like that. It’s pretty light. We go to Europe in August and after that we’re going to be taking off the rest of the year to write and record a new record.

How happy have you and the rest of the band been with your latest album, Rescue and Restore?

I have been extremely pleased with the album. “Creative Captivity” is a standout song to me on the record … it’s different from most of the songs and I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go over. [But] when we started to play it live, and shortly after the record came out when we were doing the headlining tour in the fall, it went over really well. We were really surprised. People were actually calling for it, it’s … a song that people wanted to hear.

Brubaker has said that Rescue and Restore is a challenge to the genre and to yourselves. Have you noticed any response from other bands of the genre?

No, not yet, but it’s funny. Obviously we are a metal band ... but we wanted to push the genre to its limits and bring in new sounds and new scenes, and just not do your typical first chorus, bridge structure, as well as not trying to do the same old breakdown after breakdown. So, we do challenge bands to ... think outside the box. I want to hear a song that is different like that, you know? Maybe there is and I just haven’t heard it yet.

How is this album different from previous August Burns Red albums?

It shows a lot of growth. There is some really technical stuff. I feel that JB [Brubaker] really did a good job writing the record

Is there any chance that August Burns Red will do another Christmas album?

Oh, I don’t know. That is tough to say. That was hard … trying to write a Christmas record and trying to write another new record,

Any dates set for recording yet?

No dates set yet. Hopefully at the end of the year, I would say.

November or December is what we’re looking for so that we can use September and October to write the record and bring it together and then hopefully record. That’s the tentative plan,

it was a lot to take on at one time.

I will say that I am pretty sure that we will do Christmas songs, but I don’t know if we will ever pull together another Christmas record just because it is a lot ... to pull together, but ... in the future we will definitely be doing more Christmas songs.

It says that you’re starting your own brewery in your bio on your April Fools website. Is this true?

Yes, I am, actually. I’m in the process of doing that. There is a lot to do yet, but we’re trying to bring it together. Me and my best friend from back home, we’ve been working on that for quite some time now, just trying to get different beers ready. Now we’re trying to look as to where we want to start and when we want to start.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

ATTENTION SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS The BC College of Social Workers, the regulatory body for social work in the province of BC, is changing the

requirements for registration. This change may affect students in the school of social work and your ability to become a social worker in BC.

Effective September 1, 2015 all applicants for registration will be required to successfully complete a licensure

examination to become registered. Details about the exam may be found at www.aswb.org/exam‐candidates.

We encourage students, who wish to become registered, to speak with advisors and faculty so as to ensure appropriate preparation for the examination.

For more information visit www.bccsw.ca or contact the College office.

BC College of Social Workers In Vancouver 604‐737‐4916 Toll free 1‐877‐576‐6740

12

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

What is normal?

A journey through mental health and self discovery

For the past six months, Gabriella, a mented her counselling journey on

By Katherine Gibson Gabriella’s experience When Gabriella walked into The Cascade’s office in early October 2013 to discuss her mental health journey with a journalist, she didn’t know what to expect. Feeling apprehensive but excited, Gabriella came into the experience with an open mind and the desire to share her story with others.

Willing to talk about her life and struggle with anxiety, Gabriella hoped her UFV counselling experience would not only bring insight, but also help other struggling students find the courage to come forward and seek help.

The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that a staggering 49 per cent of those who suffer from anxiety have never gone to see a doctor, a fact that is caused largely by the stigma that is associated with mental health. Although there have been recent campaigns to lessen this negative perception — there are organizations like To Write Love on Her Arms vocally advocating for mental health awareness — this stigma still remains.

Gabriella is no stranger to these stigmas. In her experience it is the pressure to appear “normal” that pushes people to keep their anxiety hidden behind closed doors.

“Everybody wants to be normal — what is normal? I think we believe really successful people must have their heads on straight, but it’s just what they show to [the world],” Gabriella says. “There’s a whole different presence that you put on when you come out in public — everything you’re feeling is very much hidden behind [closed] doors.

“Selfies, for instance: how many times do you take a billion selfies and then post the good one — the one that makes you look less like you? There’s a huge filtering in how we present ourselves ... being unstable or revealing that you have unstable thoughts, it takes away from that façade of being perfect.”

For Gabriella, meeting with UFV’s counsellors broke down some of these barriers. In fact, Gabriella realized very early on that her counselling sessions were not going to be anything like the stuffy therapy sessions depicted in the movies. Ga-

briella was never once was asked to lie on a leather couch and bare her soul while a counsellor held a clipboard, noting her deepest darkest fears. No, Gabriella came to learn that counselling is a “conversation,” a dialogue between two equal individuals. “[The counsellor] takes notes … but the clipboard isn’t something that’s scary,” she says. “They weren’t hiding their notes from me.

You’re not sitting there wondering, ‘what are [they] writing about me?’

It’s all very open.

“And it’s not like we’re Facebook friends or anything like that, but when I’m in there, [the counsellor ’s] present with me. We laugh and she does some of the same [exercises] with me as well — like the breathing. [They] do feel like a counsellor because [they] know more than you, in terms of knowledge and experience — but you just feel like they’re a cool teacher.”

Maintaining an open dialogue, each session progressively focused more of Gabriella’s own commitment to self-discovery. Asked to do everything from breathing exercises to visualizing a painful childhood memory, Gabriella reflects that the process was sometimes frustrating.

She had initially expected the counselling staff to simply tell her what was “wrong with her,” but Gabriella now recognizes the importance and power of having been guided to pursue insight somewhat on her own.

“It was a surprise and it was almost frustrating at times: I wanted to say, ‘just tell me what’s wrong with me and what I need to do.’ But when someone tells you something, they might not be able to tell you the same way you would tell yourself,” she says. “The self-discovery [approach] is nice because you feel more accomplished as well — you yourself are discovering things, rather than someone just saying, ‘This is what’s wrong with you.’”

For Gabriella these last six months have been about more than just facing her anxiety — they have been about gaining perspective and finding courage in knowing that her story has the potential to positively impact other students struggling with similar issues.

through a series of weekly blogs. As th “When I go through the blogs from the very beginning and read through them, it’s really interesting.

For myself, it’s helping me understand things seeing my journey as a whole.

“It’s like studying. I study better when I try to explain things to people, and so I feel like I’ve learned so much more just by trying to explain and decipher my [anxiety]. It’s kind of like [these interviews] have helped me study my brain.

Although opting not to take summer courses, Gabriella will be back and UFV in the fall, eager and ready to not only continue her education, but also go back to her counselling sessions. As Gabriella notes, these sessions have given her the tools to face the situations that cause her to feel anxious — an enhanced selfawareness she believes will continue to help her cope with the stresses of university life.

And while this process has brought with it a change in her perspective, Gabriella still maintains that dealing with her anxiety will be a process she will face for her entire life.

“Just being able to just let things ‘be,’ I think is the main thing, being able to let things take their own course. And that goes back to everything (what grades I get or if something terrible happens to me) — I’ll be able to learn how to move through that,” Gabriella says. “Obviously I still struggle with it, it’s not going to disappear — but I’m much better with that.

For now, the blogs and counselling sessions will stop as Gabriella takes time to refresh and get ready for the fall semester. However, the process of not only going to UFV’s counsellors, but also sharing her experience with the entire student population is one she will not soon forget.

“You interviewed me, but that was my choice,” Gabriella concludes. “For other people, they can choose not to share; you can choose to do with the process what you want. [For me] it’s been nice just to have someone to listen to me … It’s been cool to talk and have someone care enough to write my thoughts down.”

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end, she looks back on the

“Everybody wants to be normal — what is normal? I think we believe really successful people must have their heads on straight, but it’s just what they show to [the world]”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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FEATURE CULTURE

UFV student, has docu-

The Cascade website

he semester comes to an

e experience.

“If students have never gone to counselling and they don’t know anyone who’s gone to counselling, why wouldn’t they think it’s like the movies?”

My experience

The counsellor’s experience For the main counsellor interviewing Gabriella, this experience has allowed her to see beyond their counselling sessions.

“We have unfinished stories — the person leaves and we don’t know how it ends. You have to be okay with not knowing. You can be really curious … but you don’t ask because it’s their journey; they get to decide how much they’re going to tell you. Here [with the blogs] I get to see a partial ending to that story … it’s highly unusual for me.”

The counsellor also notes that the experience of having her counselling techniques blogged online came with a bit of initial uncertainty.

However, looking back of the experience, she sees a benefit to knowing, in detail, the student’s honest perception of their sessions.

“Each time I click [the blog] there’s a bit of nervousness because there’s a risk — I’m exposed,” she says. “I liked it very much. It was almost like a report card every time.”

Although the blogging experience has been different than what they imagined, the counsellor says that there was never any frame of reference to judge it in.

“I didn’t really know how it was going to unfold … everything was wide, wide open,” she says. “So yes, it’s different than I imagined, but I didn’t have a frame of reference, so I was

really open to the process and following [the blogs].”

Gabriella’s story has opened up the UFV counselling experience for students, breaking down the myths surrounding the profession and the experience. For this, the counsellor is grateful, noting that without stories like Gabriella’s, students are left to rely on the media and mainstream stigmas when defining counselling.

“If students have never gone to counselling and they don’t know anyone who’s gone to counselling, why wouldn’t they think it’s like the movies — that’s their frame of reference,” she says. “[The blogs] demystify counselling. I think that we have come a long way, but still it’s the case of, ‘I can’t go see a counsellor because then I’ll be crazy,’ or, ‘What will people think of me?’ and really it’s just the everyday person who has anxiety.”

For the counsellor, concretely knowing that other students are taking something away from Gabriella’s blogs is a new but enriching experience.

“Even though I know it intellectually, I never really know how that client touches people’s lives. It’s satisfying and it’s an honour for me to have people develop their personal awareness,” she concludes. “It’s also an honour to read about her journey, and … to hear how it has affected [students] too.”

Like Gabriella, I had no idea what to expect when I agreed to follow a student through her mental health journey. The idea of pushing back against mental health stigmas and amplifying a student’s voice was a prospect that excited me, but I was still nervous. I kept questioning, ‘What if I ask the wrong questions or hurt the person by asking about their mental journey at all?’

The first time I met with Gabriella, I was anxious. I wanted to ensure that she knew I would not judge her, but I also didn’t want to come across as overly sympathetic or insincere. I was genuinely interested in following her journey and wanted to make sure that she was comfortable with that.

I believed going into this experience that I was simply going to be a journalist observing a situation and recording it for others to learn.

But I was wrong.

From the first session, it was clear that remaining completely objective and uninvolved was going to be hard to maintain.

Every week that I interviewed Gabriella, I got to know her better. Because I was reporting on such a personal part of her life, I was made privy to intimate feelings and aspects of who she was and who she is today. I was invited to observe her struggles with anxiety, learn about her family history, and watch her grow.

Over these past six months, I have built a unique relationship with Gabriella, a mix somewhere between journalist and simply a friend.

Here’s a snapshot of what I learned.

Gabriella is nothing like the media depiction of how people live with anxiety: she is not neurotic or a sitcom caricature, but rather is filled with light-hearted humour and possess an insightful eye, both in life and in her photography.

Gabriella is a person, a person with unique experiences and problems just like everyone else — just like me.

Speaking with Gabriella has revealed, firsthand, that every person’s struggle with anxiety is different. There is no blanket label that can be put on all people facing this issue and now, after having spoken with Gabriella, I will never try to find one.

Gabriella’s courage has given me, and the rest of the student body, the opportunity to see firsthand what it means to live with anxiety on a day to day basis — and I will always be grateful for that.

I have received emails from students expressing how this blog has helped them cope with their own anxiety. I even had one student stop me in the hallway to show me printed versions of the blogs they carry in their purse for inspiration.

When I reflect on these stories and the people who have found their own bravery in Gabriella’s words, I am reminded of the importance of sharing. Often we, as students, get so caught up in the rigour of academic life that we forget that we are built to tell our own stories too — we can find courage and lend courage by sharing the experiences that shape us with others.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

What to do with the vegetables that show up in your Harvest Box DESSA BAYROCK THE CASCADE

Harvest Box is a really cool initiative where, for a mere $7, anyone can sign up to get a box of fresh produce. SUS joined the program as an order/pick-up location last fall, and I’ve signed up a couple of times for some fresh veggies. Sometimes you need a reminder from the universe to eat your greens, since shopping for vegetables isn’t exactly on the top of the typical student to-do list. Harvest Box can’t tell you in advance what you’ll get, but they do promise that they prioritize local produce and will always deliver a variety of half a dozen fruits or veggies — meaning you’ll never end up with a box of just apples.

But while this mystery component is cool — it’s like Christmas, only with vegetables! — opening that promising brown box occasionally reveals something completely unexpected and/or perplexing.

In my most recent box, for example, I was given the twin gifts of eggplant and bok choy.

Never in a million years would I have purchased either of these plants on my own. But here I was with two weird vegetables and no idea what to do with them.

Luckily, the internet is my friend. If you ever end up with an ingredient and no idea what to do with it, I highly recommend Googling the shit out of it and just seeing what pops up.

In the meantime, I have some tips and tricks for anyone thinking about experimenting with bok choy.

Ingredients

Bok choy (How much lettuce would you eat in a salad? That’s how much bok

Image: Tim Sackton/Flickr

So you have bok choy in your kitchen. Now what? choy you should have.Alternatively, the amount that you receive in your Harvest Box.) Salt and pepper to taste Fresh garlic to preference (one or two cloves) 1 or 2 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil Grated cheese (optional and to preference)

Directions

Step one: prep work First, cut each head of bok choy in half, or quarters if they’re big heads. You want pieces, not individual leaves. Fill a large bowl with cold water and tuck the pieces in. The water will have an anti-wilting ef-

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fect on the bok choy, so leave it just chillin’ for 10 or 20 minutes. Rub the leaves with your fingers to remove any grit or grime.

When it’s done soaking, pull it out and pat as much water out as you can with a paper towel. While you’re waiting, slice or press a clove of garlic or two and have that ready for the cooking process.

Step two: heat things up Put a pan on your stove at medium heat, pour in the oil until you have a thin layer across the bottom of the pan, and add the garlic. Put your cleaned bok choy in the pan, cut side down. If it spits at you, you may want to turn the temperature down a little. Just let it cook for a few minutes. When it starts to crisp up,

flip the bok choy so another side of it sits in the oil. Grind pepper and salt over the crispy sides of the bok choy as you flip.

Add more oil if the veggies start to stick to the pan.

Step three: presentation Once the bok choy is heated through and the cut sides are nice and crispy, transfer from pan to plate. You can leave it in quarters and leave it up to the eater to cut it into bite-sized pieces. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could sprinkle some freshly grated cheese over the whole kit and caboodle to make it look less like wilted leaves.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

The layman’s guide to an all-nighter Don’t do it! But if you have to, do it right.

DESSA BAYROCK THE CASCADE

Let’s start off with the most obvious fact: all-nighters are not good for you.

Alarmist studies warn that in extreme cases, repeated sleep loss can cause brain damage. Best-case scenario, you’ll most likely spend the next day in a fog, unable to concentrate.

But at the end of semester, crunch time can get the better of even the best-intentioned student. Faced with a blank page and a due date less than 24 hours away, staying up all night ‘til the sun comes up starts to look pretty damn attractive if it will mean finishing the assignment.

But if you’re settling in for an all-nighter, there are several important things to keep in mind, and a handful of tricks and tips to help you make the most of your late, late night.

Know your working peak You most likely have a sense of when you are able to be your most productive self, so use that to your advantage.

If you’re a morning person, it might be more to your advantage to make it an early night and wake up earlier to get work done. If you’re a night owl, then an allnighter might be just up your alley. But there is no sense in staying awake if you know you’re likely to zone out after 11.

Caffeine is the enemy It may seem counter-intuitive, but put down the coffee. A steady stream of caffeinated beverage may seem like the best guide through the bowels of latenight study sessions, but it will turn on you more quickly than you imagine. Too much coffee, tea, or energy drinks will soon result in tremors and twitches, as well as frequent trips to the loo — the twin enemies of productivity. You don’t need to cut yourself off entirely, but pacing — and hydration — is paramount.

Match caffeine intake with water, and drink sparingly.

Eat good food; take good breaks Plan some hearty snacks in advance; cheese, pickles, crackers, or meat will fill

Image: Chris Betcher / Flickr

Despite what Daft Punk may recommend, staying up all night to get lucky is not necessarily in your best interests. you up without making you feel bloated.

Take a dedicated five-minute break every few hours to get up, prepare a snack, eat, and think about the weather. Hold yourself to a time limit; don’t check Facebook, or you will fall down the well of the internet forever.

Construct a working environment You know what works for you; sit where you know you’ll be able to get work done.

Whether that’s at a table, counter, desk, or in bed is up to you. Other small tweaks your working environment can also go a long way. Disable your internet connection (a shortcut probably somewhere in your hotkeys, FN +3 or something similar); open a window to lower the temper-

ature and bring in fresh air to help you feel alert; lower the brightness of your screen to avoid that strained, dry, tired feeling in your eyes.

The catnap is an evil temptress If you’re an English major or watched Wishbone as a child, you may remember the scene in Homer ’s Odyssey where the main character has to tie himself to the mast of his ship to avoid jumping overboard to embrace the sirens singing to him. The same is true for catnaps; although they may call to you, their promises of rest and renewal are false. Once you fall asleep, you’re likely to stay there.

If you start feeling drowsy, take a short active break instead — jumping jacks,

push-ups, or a walk around the block will have you feeling more alert in no time.

Finally, skip the true all-nighter; plan to sleep before tomorrow If you plan to stay awake for 24 hours straight, you’re going to have a bad time.

Around hour 20, you’ll be useless to yourself and everyone around you — and staring 24 hours of wakefulness in the face is intimidating. Instead, take it one step at a time; plan to work only until you finish your work, and include at least an hour of sleep in that plan. Set a reasonable goal for every hour to make the work seem more manageable.

Sweet transvestites rock the AfterMath stage TAYLOR BRECKLES THE CASCADE

Six contestants, a crowded room full of adoring fans, a hostess with the mostest, and fake breasts everywhere: this was the amusement that was UFV’s Drag Show.

Held on the evening of April 3, the drag show and competition was put on by the UFV Pride Network with the help of CIVL Radio and SUS. AfterMath was the venue of choice, its stage supplying the area for the competition to take place, even though the 100 guests that attended could barely fit inside.

What is this competition, you ask?

Six people decided to compete for the title of best drag persona with the aid of one charismatic hostess, Ryan Peterson. Contestants had three sets to gain favour with the judges.

The first set was a character introduction, an opening speech of sorts to engage the audience

with their persona.

During the second set, a talent show, first competitor Pixie Trixie performed a comical song involving a minuscule dragon enlightening the world so people would stop starving, homophobes would stop being homophobes, and all of the homeless would have homes. However, the dragon proceeded to say that it would never be real; laughter ensued. Other participants lipsynced to famous songs, which were also hilarious, and another cooked.

The final set involved an improvised question and answer segment. The competitors had to try to respond in an appealing fashion to whatever question Peterson decided to throw at them.

During one of the between-set intermissions, Peterson entertained the crowd by performing a dance by swinging balls placed inside what appeared to be socks. The climax of the performance was when one of Peterson’s breasts popped out of

his dress and rolled across the restaurant.

My image of the new SUS president will always be him trotting around after a fake breast in high heels.

The winners of the contest were announced soon afterwards. The winner of third place was Miss Shirley Child, second place was awarded to Pixie Trixie, and the grand prize winner was Madame Anita Tighthole, whose charismatic performance — full of vulgarity, comedy, and impressive dance moves for someone wearing heels as high as hers — won her the title.

After the awards were given out, some people lingered in the restaurant to take pictures, finish their drinks, and congratulate the winners.

If you missed UFV Drag Show and Competition 2014, be sure to come out for the next show in 2015 — with or without your high heels.

Image: Taylor Breckles

“Fake breasts everywhere”: students in drag competed for glory.

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CULTURE

SUDOKU PUZZLE

CROSSWORD Surviving finals

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

8 4 6 8 2 3 1 9

by KATIE STOBBART

7 5 9 3

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

www.ufvcascade.ca

8 2

2 5 1 7 8

5 6 3

ACROSS 5.

8.

10.

11.

12.

UFV students have free access to counselling on campus. (7) You will need a thousand of these to mark all the pages in your textbook you have to remember. (6, 5) Have a short rest before tackling that big assignment. (3) Sometimes you just need a glass of wine. (5) Get support from your digital community. (8)

Answer keys Last week’s crossword

Sudoku solution

ACROSS

Remember that the first writing utensil could always run out of ink halfway through the exam. (5, 3) Do everything but what you should be doing. (13) Keep the coffee brewing to get this essential nutrient. (8) A comically angry display of rage which topples furniture and sends paper flying everywhere. (5, 4) Grab a box of tissues to soak up the self-pity. (3) Actually prepare for your exam. (5) Beg, plea, whatever you can do to get a later deadline. (9)

DOWN 2 STEPHENKING 3 BACTERIA 4 SPREADSHEET 5 WIRELESS 6 NUCLEOLUS 8 CELLAR

The Weekly Horoscope Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18: Learn the difference between poison ivy and regular ivy before you go camping.

Gemini: May 21 - June 21: Your spirit animal is Isaac Asimov.

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

1.

2.

3.

4.

6.

7.

9.

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

DOWN

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

1 MITOSIS 7 EUKARYOTE 9 PRISON 10 CELLULOSE 11 FREECELL

Star Signs from January Jones*

*No, not that January Jones

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22: In a fit of end-of-semester insanity, you will construct a vest made out of shag carpet and wear it everywhere.

“Don’t worry — it’s ironic!” you’ll say. No one will believe you, and for good reason.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22: If you spend enough hours in the library, a friendly library and information technology student will show you the bookcase where the librarians store their whiskey.

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21: Practice your Queen and/or Miley Cyrus repertoire. Karaoke will come unexpectedly calling this week, and trust me when I say you do not want to be found wanting.

Aries: March 21 - April 19: This week the dark circles under your eyes will grow so large that they will swallow your face. You will find a new calling as a super-villain known as the Human Eclipse.

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22: Poseidon is trying to kill you.

I suggest staying away from water this week. Acquaint yourself with the process of spongebathing.

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21: You are destined to become a prophet of Hackey Sack.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20: You are fated to write your thesis paper about the lyrical works of Mumford and Sons.

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept22: Fortune cookies are good luck for you this week. Egg fu yung is not.

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19: By stockpiling sriracha, you will become one of the most powerful people in the approaching post-apocalyptic world.

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20: Your spirit animal is a miasma.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Elza’s final reading reflects growth of community at UFV KATIE STOBBART THE CASCADE

It was a good end. On April 2, over 40 students, community members, and UFV faculty filled the rows of chairs in the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies (CICS) for the final reading

by Daniela Elza, our writer in residence this semester.

Resident elder Eddie Gardner began the event with a song welcoming everyone.

“Welcome to our territory.

This is sacred ground,” he said, translating the words before he began. Gardner also acknowledged Evelyn Lau, Vancouver ’s poet laureate, as a “special guest, who is going to share some of her gifts — her medicine.”

From the beginning of the event to the end, it seemed to me the place was listening too, soaking it all in — the trees seemed to lean closer in the breeze, the grass glowed attentively green, and the sun pressed its rays to the window, peering in.

Then Elza came to the mic and spoke briefly of her time at UFV. “This is my almost last (but one) day here, and I will miss it terribly,” she said, before presenting the line-up of readers and performers. One of the things she wanted to focus on for this last event, she said, was to do some crossing over of genres. This was reflected in the set, which included poetry, fiction, drama, and music.

Robert Martens, a local Abbotsford poet, was the first to read. He shared some of his thoughts on poetry before he began.

“I think of poetry as oral. Poetry, for me, involves the tongue — that’s the way it began.”

He read a handful of poems, some from his most recent collection, Little Creatures. From a poem on fog (“the world’s open lung, the white of your eye”) to “Cricket Moods,” Martens’ selections swelled with calm lyricism, often silvered by a shine of light humour.

He also decided to share a poem about his father, who died in 1984 and whose passing clearly still resonates with Martens. He spoke of growing up in Yarrow, where “all the Men-

Image: Katie Stobbart

Daniela Elza wrapped up her term as UFV’s writer in residence: “This is my almost last (but one) day here, and I will miss it terribly.” nonites were refugees from Russia,” and struggled with PTSD. “My father, he did okay,” he said as a simple preface to the deep emotional resonance of the poem.

The next act was UFV professor Rajnish Dhawan, who invited theatre student Danielle Warmenhoven and fellow professor John Carroll to help him act out the hilarious first scene of his play, Cricket on the Golf Course.

Then Elza introduced Elsie Neufeld, a poet and historian who also volunteers at the Warm Zone in Abbotsford. Neufeld read a selection of poems, often with floral elements, including a poem based on a painting she had done related to her work at the Warm Zone called “Still

Life/Death.”

UFV student Heidi Luhmert then brought forth a pearlescent blue accordion, regaling the audience with a Mexican polka, a tune from Spain, and a tango.

The last song she played was dedicated to Elza.

“I felt kind of awkward when Daniela asked me [to play at the reading], because I’m not a poet… but music and lyrics are their own kind of poetry,” she said. Luhmert went on to express how much she had enjoyed having Elza as writer in residence, and selected the final song in her set with this in mind, recalling Elza’s fascination with blackbirds: “The Black Crow Polka.”

The audience, who had all

been tapping their feet and swaying to the music, laughed as Luhmert noted the cheesiness of the lyrics, which told the story of cheating crows.

“Like I said, pretty bad. So I decided to just embrace the cheesy.” Then Luhmert surprised everyone, especially Elza, by singing a verse she wrote herself to the same tune — all about Elza. Unfortunately, the written word fails to fully capture how touched Elza looked, or the glee of the audience.

UFV professor Helene Littman followed the musical performance with an excerpt of her novella. A few people left around 2 p.m., the event’s official end-time, but many stayed an extra 20 minutes to hear the last two readers: Elza and Lau. Before she began, Elza shared that part of the goal of a writer in residence is to work on her own project. She handed a manila envelope containing a manuscript to Lau: “She will have the honour of seeing the poems first,” Elza said.

As she read poems from loose-leaf pages, I noticed the notes on the back, written this way and that — likely her plans for the event and introductory notes for the performances we had seen, and it made me think of her first reading at U-House.

She had read alone at that event, sharing her poetry with UFV for the first time. Now, she had achieved this crossover, or overlapping, of genres and people.

Suddenly I realized we had been watching the culmination of a community’s growth this year.

As writer in residence, Elza tied the local community to the UFV community to the one in Vancouver, and had united creative spirits from a number of different genres — and UFV is the richer for it.

Lau was the final act of the afternoon, and read from her books, A Grain of Rice and Treble, which she published in her 20s.

“Relationships take so much prominence in that time in our lives,” she said, speaking of the latter collection, but her words seemed to float into the present, like motes of dust in the light.

Upcoming

Events April 11

Fraser Valley Talent Show For an evening of eclectic entertainment, check out the third annual Fraser Valley Talent Show, coming to the Abbotsford Arts Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at Investors Group on McCallum Road. All proceeds from ticket sales go to Blessings in a Backpack.

April 11-13 Rock and gem show Fascinated by minerals, gems, and fossils? Check out the rock and gem show at the Ag-Rec Building, titled “Petrified – Locked in Time”, for a day of family-friendly workshops, displays, and demonstrations. Event runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Adult tickets $6, youth $2, and three-day passes are available for $12. Tickets available at the door.

April 10-15

Sculpture exhibit opening: “Catharsis” An art show titled “Catharsis” will feature the final projects of Sculpture IV students Tanya Kaario, Jessica Parsons, Adam Zonneveld, and Sara Zoppa. Come to the opening celebration in room C1401 on April 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for a chance to meet the artists, enjoy refreshments, and appreciate upper-level student artwork. Exhibit will run from April 10 to 15.

When did phones become fashion?

MARTIN CASTRO CONTRIBUTOR

I’ve been noticing more and more elaborate and creative phone cases and sleeves every day, even to the point where it’s counter-intuitive. You know what I’m talking about: those giant plastic covers that attempt to convince passers-by that your phone is a cat, or a bunny, or anything else that has generic triangular ears. If you’re thinking of buying one of these rubber animal cases, don’t. They look childish, and worst of all, you’ll look childish. Phones are getting bigger, and pock-

ets are getting smaller, even to the point where some women’s pants don’t have pockets, just the illusion of pockets. Do yourself a favour and don’t multiply the size of your phone by three simply to add ears to it. It’s a phone, not a pet.

On the flipside, however, there are cases which look great: minimalist and colourful. I can see the appeal. Sometime in the past month I noticed that an acquaintance had, apparently unwittingly, matched the colour scheme of her outfit with that of her phone case. Her phone looked more like an accessory than a tool. I thought: well,

when was the last time a phone didn’t look like an extension of an outfit?

Now let’s go forward in time, perhaps 15 years. What if phones have become such a crucial part of our existence that they not only need to keep up with technology and function properly, but they need to keep up with our wardrobe, as well? Am I wearing a lot of blue today?

Well, out comes the blue phone case. Do I have a leather jacket on? Well, so does my phone.

When did the phone stop being a tool and start being a fashion statement? Why do you need the latest iPhone when the pre-

vious version works just as well, and is only a year old? I’ll tell you why: It’s because you’re not buying a phone. You’re buying a pair of shoes, a scarf, an accessory. You’re buying the Ray-Ban Wayfarer of phones. Sure, there are others that are cheap and get the job done, but this, this has style. This phone screams out to the world, it says: I look good, I dress well, and my phone? My phone matches me.

So the next time you’re buying a phone, ask yourself: what are you really buying? A phone, or the equivalent of a $500 bracelet that, by the way, can call and text and surf the web?

April 29 Absolute Style fashion show Show your support for 2014’s fashion design graduates by attending their annual fashion show at the Envision Athletic Centre. There will be two shows: a matinee at 2:30 p.m. and an evening show at 7 p.m. The evening show will include a wine and cheese reception hosted by the alumni association. For ticket information, email deanna.devitt@ ufv.ca .

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

From SXSW to the desert, Little Wild finds adventure MARTIN CASTRO CONTRIBUTOR

Little Wild is Layton Keely (guitar, vocals), Jake Holmes (drums), Josh Erickson (bass), and Zach Keely (guitar, keyboards, trombone, and backing vocals). The band talked to The Cascade about their longest and most eventful road trip to the South by Southwest music festival, the reasons behind their name change, and what the future holds.

You guys were previously Rags to Radio. Are there any differences between Rags and Little Wild?

Jake: No. Layton: We’re more fun.

Jake: We’re a little older, and we’ve grown some beards.

Zachary: We have a couple new songs.

Like, literally a couple. So, two.

Josh: I think the biggest difference is that we’ve stopped playing a lot of the songs that we recorded previously to the [new] record [we] released as Little Wild.

Jake: However, we did play “Gallows Humour” — we re-recorded it for this album.

What is the songwriting process like?

Is there a set structure?

Jake: There kind of is and there kind of isn’t. Layton will come to us with a rough idea or a group of chords that he’s put together with some lyrics that he’s built on. And either I’ll try to fit in a groove, or Zach will come in with a melody and Josh will come in with something else, and we will arrange that to fit in with a good structure so that it’s a good song instead of [a] long jam that goes … all over the place.

Josh: It’s a very collaborative process.

You hear of some bands [where] one person writes a song and then everyone else fills in their parts. I think we all contribute our bits and pieces to each song, but lyrically, it’s all Layton.

What has the reception to the band and the new album been like?

Josh: The reception on tour [was good].

We’ve only played in the States once previously, and that was in L.A. … a few years back. But this recent tour down in the States was different. People seemed to really like [the album].

Zachary: At one of the shows we played in Denton, Layton even got up on the bar and started playing cowbell and [convinced] the people in the bar to join our conga line.

Jake: Another thing I’d like to add [about] the show we played in Denton, [is that] there [was] a group of people that had [seen] us and actually asked us when the next show on the tour was, and they then travelled to come and see us in Austin. That was pretty cool.

You got some followers?

Jake: Yeah, that was nice, it was refreshing.

Jake: Denton is a big town of university students, like music students, in northern Texas. Denton basically has the best music college in the States, so [the town] is full of university students that go there just to learn music.

Little Wild played at South by Southwest. What was the process of setting that up like?

Layton: Well, we went to L.A. in 2012; that was when we changed our name, before we released the record. A writer for a music blog saw us play, and she really liked us, and she mentioned [the possibility] of doing a South-by thing, and I told her that we’d definitely be interested.

And when she approached us later on, she said she had a full line-up and she wanted to do a tour, so [making] connections. It worked out really well for us.

And you guys drove up there? What was the road trip like?

Layton: Stinky.

Image: Little Wild / Facebook

Little Wild, after arriving at SXSW and before taking a desert detour.

Jake: Yeah, it [gets] really stinky when we’re all in a small cube van for three and a half weeks.

Josh: And these guys all have gastrointestinal problems that are just the spawn of Satan.

Jake: Three and a half weeks of being in a van, travelling most of that time, gets a little ... stale.

Zach: I think we got pretty good at controlling how we [behaved] around each other. You know, if someone’s pissing you off, you just throw on your headphones.

They don’t piss you off forever, just for a time.

Did any of you experience any cabin fever?

Layton: Oh yeah, I got cabin fever harsh.

Jake: I was a band mom. I [brought] peace to everybody.

Layton: There was definitely cabin fever because we were driving, like, 10-hour-long drives, and sometimes we were in a bit of a rush, and sometimes we were a little scared because the van was close to overheating.

Josh: In fact, the van broke down the first day of tour.

And how did you guys fix that?

Josh: [Laughs.] Six hundred dollars is how we fixed it.

Jake: We got into Oregon, we stopped in Portland for lunch and Voodoo Doughnuts. And as we’re leaving, we get this nasty stink. We pull off and the front of the van is smoking, so we’re kind of freaked out. We made a couple phone calls and brought it into [a shop] right at 6 p.m. as they were closing. They took a look at it and said they’d have to keep it for the night. They [estimated] it would be the late afternoon when we’d get our van back. We went to a snooze-in motel that had no heating and we loaded up on beer. The day afterwards they gave us a call at 10 in the morning and said, “Hey, your van’s going to be ready in an hour, so get your asses over here.” We then got ready as quick as we could, flew over there, got the van, and drove with only stops for gasoline and food.

Josh: We drove for 11 hours straight.

Jake: We made it to the gig 20 minutes before we played.

Layton: [The mechanic] eventually told us he was going to come in early and work on [the van] himself, so thanks John.

All: Thank you, John!

What were some of your best experiences as fans from the festival?

Josh: Being able to experience the atmosphere of the festival was really cool because Austin is a music-loving city, and for the festival it gets filled up. The downtown core at any given point has around 30 to 40,000 people in it. People were on the rooftops of cafés, in theatres, and parking lots.

Jake: There were like 20 shows happening at the same time, all on the same street.

Zack: A lot of free shows as well.

Layton: And free beer.

What were some of your favourite acts that you saw?

Zach: Damon Albarn, man. All of us got into this free showcase at a place called the FADER Fort. We waited in line for about three hours. I’m actually not 21, I’m 20, so I had to flash them my ID really quick, and sure enough, I got let into the show.

Josh: When we got inside, we all gave each other high-fives. Then at the end of the set he said, “All right, we’ve been playing lots of new music, I know it’s hard to sit through but I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I’d like to perform this song for the first time in its original state.” And he got Del the Funky Homosapien and Dan the Automator onstage and they performed “Clint Eastwood.”

The crowd is freaking out, Del does his two verses, and you think they’re about to go back into the chorus, and then you see a third person walk up from the side of the stage, and Damon Albarn just points to the stage and goes “Snoop Dogg!” and Snoop Dogg comes out and start freestyling over “Clint Eastwood.” It was hilarious, and amazing, and so much fun.

What is your craziest tour story?

Layton: We went to Joshua Tree and we met up with an artist.

Josh: Oh yeah, she was kind of crazy.

Layton: And she gave all of us t-shirts.

Josh: Wait, we have to explain this place.

It’s kind of like a hippie community in the middle of the desert. There’s everyone you can imagine on the hippie spectrum, from really earth-conscious to completely burnt out. And we follow these signs to this art museum in someone’s back yard, and there are all these weird sculptures.

They have a building called the World Famous Crochet Museum there, and it’s just this little shack filled with all these popculture references, crocheted.

Jake: There was also this trailer full of sculpted heads made of plaster. [It was] really interesting.

Josh: We eventually met the woman

who runs the place. She had this really weird style of drawing, it’s very minimalist. We told her we were in a band. She said that when bands go through town she usually gives them t-shirts. She said, “Guys just pick a t-shirt, and it’s yours.”

So, Layton — Layton: I took a shirt that had a drawing of Cher, the singer, and it said “What Would Cher Do?” It was good. [To Jake:] What’d you get?

Jake: I had one that was like an old Superstore Joe Fresh shirt that she had found somewhere. It had a green badge that said “I like myself.”

Josh: I got this purple tie-dye shirt with a poem printed on the front of it. I don’t even know what [the poem is]. I thought it was hilarious.

Zach: Mine was an XL orange thing, with a pocket on it. And it had a picture of Jesus, and it just said “JESUS.” Jake: She had another exhibit. It was a huge glass and metal room. You couldn’t get inside, but because the front was glass you could look inside. And what appeared to be like, glass water fountains that maybe she had sculpted or put together was actually something that her boyfriend, or maybe husband, had put together. It’s an exhibit that they bring to the Burning Man festival. But really, what seemed to be a water fountain was a bunch of dildos. All sprouted out, looking crazy. There [were] like four and there was one outside, all shapes and sizes. It was pretty extreme.

Layton. There were glass ones and rubber ones. [Laughs.] She was really nice, and really awesome.

Zach: And then following that, we took a trek into the desert and just hung out for a little while.

Josh: Yeah, we literally just drove into the middle of the desert, and we just started climbing rocks and stuff.

Jake: See where that guy in the hat is, over there? [Jake points to a man standing roughly 10 to 15 metres away from us.] So I was as far away from here to that guy, and I was talking to Josh in the middle of the desert at this same room [volume], and he could hear me. I could hear him.

There were no exterior noises. It was really eerie. [It was] kind of cool.

Did you guys stay there at night, or just during the day?

Jake: Oh, we were [in the desert] for like an hour, climbing rocks.

Josh: We left as the sun was setting. So that might not be the wildest story, but it was definitely one of the weirdest stories.

The other ones are full of inebriation that we probably don’t want our parents reading. [Laughs.]

So are you guys setting up any shows here at home? What’s next for Little Wild?

Josh: What’s next is I am leaving to go to Taiwan. I am abandoning the boys.

Is this forever?

Josh: No, it’s not forever. I’ll be gone for about a year. But the band’s not stopping.

Jake: In the meantime I suppose we’ll be keeping busy, writing more stuff. Trying to fill the time with shows. We will deeply miss Josh, [he’s] not someone we can exactly replace. Finding a buddy is not easy.

Zach: We’re going to be a three-piece.

Josh: We’re just going to Skype me into performances. It’ll be just like I’m there.

People won’t know.

Zach: We’ll make an animated Josh.

Jake: A hologram Josh. It’s going to slightly lag, but that’s part of the performance.

Josh: We’re going to continue writing thanks to the magic of the internet.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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ARTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Concert Review

A four-way metal extravaganza TAYLOR BRECKLES THE CASCADE

Mini Album Reviews

SoundBites

Four metal bands — Crown the Empire, We Came as Romans, August Burns Red, and Asking Alexandria — came together on one stage at The Vogue theatre in Vancouver on April 6.

Once inside the building, ticket in hand, I got lost. Nevertheless, I found a seat up on the balcony with a perfect view of both the stage and the growing mosh pit below.

Soon enough the lights dimmed and the show began with Crown the Empire. Instantly I was hit with bright lights, and the drummer was hitting the skins with enough strength to rock the balcony. The guitarists, bassist, and vocalists joined in and before long the song was in full swing. Heads whipped back and forth, both those in the audience and in the band. As someone who enjoys metal music — although not a huge fan of the growling variety — the rough screams came as a sudden shock; however, my five-second stun

quickly turned into me pounding my foot along with the beat.

Once the first set ended, We Came as Romans graced the stage. The crowed was rowdiest during the set for this band, with a large wave of people crowdsurfing in an attempt to get onto the stage. Luckily, security guards were there to snatch the surfers and direct them back into the pit. Hilariously, the security

did nothing to stop people from continually trying to vault onto the stage — I have to admit the crowd became more intriguing than the band during this bout of time. There is something so comically fascinating about watching people slide across other people, occasionally kicking some stranger in order to touch a band member. The lead singer did nothing to quell the audi-

ence, and instead he invited the mosh pit to try and get on stage — much to security’s chagrin.

By the third band — August Burns Red, which gave The Cascade an interview and free tickets to the show — the crowd was in an uproar, running into each other in the general direction of the lead singer, fists flying, arms flailing, people continuously pushed and shoved. As brutal as this may sound, I also noticed that if someone had been hit particularly roughly, the hitter would hug their victim — which seemed to ease any hurt feelings even if the bruises would be felt the following morning.

As for the band itself, August Burns Red certainly had the best light display. While flashy and eye-catching, the series of lighting contraptions were designed to not blind the audience, which was much appreciated. Like the other bands, August Burns Red added to my feeling of worry as they too shook the balcony with their sound.

Finally, Asking Alexandria took the stage. The screams in the crowd were enough to deaf-

Christina Perri Head or Heart

Mac DeMarco Salad Days

Head or Heart opens with “Trust,” a simple, borderline-folksy track that serves as a calm entrance into an album that moves way too far away from folksy.

Perri is on the precarious edge of folk — with simple piano ballads and a wavering voice — and mainstream pop. Head or Heart leans towards the pop, with tracks such as “Burning Gold” and “I’m Only Human” flaunting Kelly Clarkson-reminiscent “I’ve had enough” and “I’m standing up” lyrics (but always in the context of relationships). It’s a strong album that just seems to be heading in the wrong direction for Perri’s strengths. Perri’s vocals are thin and jarring when she raises it in pop-style Avril Lavigne-esque angst. Perri’s quiet songs are clearly the strongest on this album, such as “Butterfly” and “Trust.” The album is dominated by love or break-up songs, such as “Lonely Child” — which provides the album’s title “And I remember all the words that you said / That love is just a spark that starts in your heart / and into your head.” Perri does begin to break away from her tired “Sad Girl” image with “Be My Forever” (which could be a happy country song with a few twangs of a banjo), “Sea of Lovers,” and “Lonely Child.” But she needs to stay folksy, or she’ll fade into the formulaic pop masses and disappear.

A couple years ago, Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco started to adjust his outward persona, with his sophomore record 2 relying more on his sincere sense of humour rather than the romantic prankster on his debut release Rock and Roll Night Club. This genuine, good buddy persona draws obvious connections to Jonathan Richman, R. Stevie Moore and Harry Nelson, artists DeMarco likely reveres. However, it is his effortlessly irreverent attitude and woozy guitars that set him apart, recording music that sounds like nothing else being released today without being a goofy novelty.

DeMarco takes a decidedly laid-back approach on his latest album, Salad Days, exploring the attraction of minimalism. Salad Days features his signature mid-tempo jangle-pop and smouldering croon, but there is a clear evolution in the 23-yearold’s songwriting. The songs are refined and feature much richer imagery, exploring the double-edged sword of gaining fame on “Passing out the Pieces” and the struggles of getting a passport for his Canadian-born girlfriend on international love song “Let My Baby Stay.” Standout tracks are the poignant, radio-friendly “Let Her Go” and “Chamber of Reflection.” While “Let Her Go” features Richman-like relationship wisdom, “Chamber” is a synth-heavy track about initiating freemasons that feels like it’s moving in slow motion, as DeMarco uses these two tracks to demonstrate his developing range as a young artist.

sASHA MOEDT

Tim Ubels

en any ear that had stumbled across the building, had the blaring music not done so already.

Once again, the crowd vigorously tried to mount the stage. One man succeeded, skipping across the right corner of the stage much to the consternation of security. Regardless of the fans’ intent to climb aboard, the band continued to shake the house with loud music and flashing lights. Of all the bands, Asking Alexandria had the nicest setup with multiple backdrops that change after a couple songs, brilliantly blinding lighting, and a raised stage for the drummer.

The mosh pit was at its highest rowdiness with Asking Alexandria; people fought everywhere, taking sides and charging at one another in the name of metal.

A glorious concert complete with battles, this foursome has an exciting remainder of their tour to look forward to if the other crowds are anything like those of Vancouver.

Little Wild Victories Little Wild’s first full-length album opens with “Brown Vest” a Spanish-influenced blues-rock piece that powers through with as much energy as a bullet flying from the barrel of a gun. The buzz doesn’t stop there, however, as “Great Big” emerges from the cloud of dust left by its predecessor. This song plays like the soundtrack to a showdown at high noon; unrelentingly energetic, yet fun. Spearheaded by Layton Keely’s Jack White-esque vocals, this record hits like a bucket of water, waking up the neighbour, the dog, and perhaps even the dead. “Cockatiel,” however, stands out as tropical and exotic, probably as a result of the steel drum used sparingly throughout the track. Victories also belts out a rockin’ cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)” that does the original justice, while still being decidedly Wild. Pun intended. Another interesting point is the appearance of a trombone solo, courtesy of Zachary Keely. Jake Holmes and Josh Erickson, the rhythm section of Little Wild, also deserve praise, as they drive the sound forward tenaciously while channelling the energy of the band towards the listener. “Her Brother” was probably the track I found the most entertaining, as it’s just so full of energy — unapologetically going down the wrong highway lane at 100 miles per hour. One finds that Victories has a more than accurate title, as each of the 11 tracks on this high-paced, actionpacked record is just that.

Put on your headphones; we want your thoughts on new music.

MARTIN CASTRO

Pop into the Cascade offices in C1027 for a free album to review, or email arts@ufvcascade.ca for more information!

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ARTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

Luftrausers Shuffle

CHARTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mac DeMarco Salad Days

JOE JOHNSON

CIVL DJ / THE CASCADE

Timber Timbre Hot Dreams

Host of This Joe Show’s Everything Indie in CIVL Radio, and The Cascade’s Business Manager, Joe Johnson had an acoustic indie special this past week. Here are five lyrically heavy and emotionally packed tracks from that show.

Tough Age Tough Age Hot Sugar Made Man

Foster the People — Pumped up Kicks

Dead Soft Teen Fiction

To commemorate the release of their sophomore album, the acoustic version of the track that made Foster the People a mainstream crossover is a necessary listen.

Not only does the stripped down acoustic showcase the lyrics of the indie pop track, it differentiates the entire experience. Between the full-bodied original and this version, the acoustic may reign.

Shonen Knife Overdrive

Tokyo Police Club Forcefield The Julie Ruin Run Fast

Justin Rutledge — Don’t Be So Mean, Jellybean

Varsity Girls Darnit

While it was never released on any of Rutledge’s albums, this track goes back to his early days. A 2006 live version recorded at Toronto’s Cameron House has gained significant attraction on YouTube. This is a track that pulls in the crowd, has elements of humour, emotion, and is an example of Rutledge’s amazing, very Canadian, folk roots.

St. Vincent St. Vincent

Heaven for Real Hero’s Code

Bad Books — Forest Whitaker

Role Mach Travels In The Inte rior Districts

A side project of Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books’ Forest Whitaker has been given an acoustic turn. Being an acoustic version not found on the album, it obviously lacks the popier rock edge found polished in the studio mastered original. But this makes it so much better. The originally buried aching lyrics in the song come through in a big way.

13 14 15

Fountain Fountain Yankee Yankee Segments

Zebra Pulse Live On Big A, Little a

16 17 18 19

Wynn Galaxie Hella The Ketamines 11:11

Various Babysitter/Monster Treasure Split ‘13

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Weaves Weaves

contributor

Something about the idea of aviation calls to my inner fiveyear-old who dreamed of being a jet pilot or an astronaut.

But since I can’t comprehend advanced physics, and my eyes have been deemed uneven, I’m stuck with playing games instead. There are many times I can remember playing classic top-down shooters at Playdium and being beaten before the second level. The concept of high flying acrobatics, high-risk manoeuvres and over the top speeds always drew me in even if I was wasting my quarters. But sometimes, one game would get through and I would thoroughly enjoy playing it over and over.

Luftrausers, unfortunately, is not one of those games.

Luftrausers, developed by Devolver Digital, is a 2D game that has its own spin on the WWII era.

The German military characters look like evil Pep Boys,

Not a secondary version to the original, this track was intended to mute the instruments and highlight Soko’s lyrics. Like the rest of the album that the song’s found on, it’s beautifully riddled with hollowed feeling. With only one album under her belt, one selfishly hopes her pain endures into future projects.

She & Him, composed of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, had an MTV recording of this song that stands far above their recorded edition. In it their duet connects so harmoniously and effortlessly that you’d be fooled into believing that the two do have a romantic hold on each other.

while the overall art is a cartoonish Luftwaffe style, which adds that slight humour common to these types of indie games.

The pixel art hearkens back to the Atari-era; all dark shadows against a reddish beige sky. The planes have no streaks or colour augmentations; they are simply different shapes. This makes it easy to distinguish the types you have to fight.

The design also features a make it or break it gimmick.

Completely bending the rules of common aviation physics, instead of flying, you glide through the air as you take on different forms of aircrafts and sea ships. This is very similar to the movement in the original Asteroid games. The bending of flight thrust in Luftrausers is also reminiscent of gameplay from Ubisoft’s Hawx series. Zero G movement sequences would make you hurl all over your cockpit, but in these games, it heightens the experience and makes it much more fun.

The planes are also customizable — my plane was able to fly

underwater as well as smash into enemies without suffering damage. Other upgrades include increased health, complete zero gravity manoeuvring, or another favourite of mine, making your plane a literal atomic bomb.

But Luftrausers’ simplicity is also its downfall. While I did enjoy my time playing it, I became bored very quickly as it only takes an hour to unlock all the main customizations. It’s an arcade game with not much payoff. I can honestly say I will forget I bought it a week from now.

This game was obviously made with nostalgia and 16-bit lovers in mind — a style that has become an unstoppable trend in the indie market. Perhaps that’s where my negative feelings come from. What began as a welcome resurgence has become an overused product. You can’t scroll through any selection without coming across a game sporting 16-bit graphics.

Luftrausers could work for you.

I know however that I will probably not play this game again.

NOW HIRING

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Soko — “Treat Your Woman Right”

She & Him — “You Really Got a Hold on Me”

PIXXX4

JEREMY HANNAFORD

The Editor-in-Chief directseditorial and production staffthrough all stages of publishingthe paper each week.

If you want to gain valuable writing experience and think you can handle staying on campus for nearly 24 hours a day, this might be the job for you!

For a full job description, check out the employment page on ufvcascade.ca, or email michael@ufvcascade.ca Pay per issue: $300

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Film Review

The Grand Budapest Hotel NADINE MOEDT THE CASCADE

The Grand Budapest Hotel is fantastical and storybook, but also manages to pull off just the right amount of believability.

Set in Zubrowka, a Switzerland-like fictional European country, the movie leaps between the ‘30s, ‘60s, and ‘80s, between the height of old-world majesty to its inevitable neglect and dilapidation.

The movie is narrated by Zero, played by Tony Revolori, who recollects the happiest years of his life as a lobby boy at the Grand Budapest. At the height of its splendor, the Grand Budapest looks a bit like an overly iced cake: pink, sugary, and decadent. Here we meet Monsieur Gustave, (Ralph Fiennes), for whom the blond, old, and insecure swoon. Monsieur Gustave, the concierge at the Grand Budapest, is both a suave con artist and the most genuine of friends; his sensibility and wit is such that any offences he may commit will be immediately forgiven by his audience.

We follow Zero and Monsieur Gustave through a whirlwind adventure that chases from the sewers of prison to the tops of snowy mountain summits. It begins with the obituary of one of Gustave’s many conquests: a wealthy woman in her ‘80s, dead by murder. Monsieur Gustave is left a priceless painting titled “Boy with Apple,” for which he

fights for rightful ownership and to clear his name of suspicion amid plot twists and intrigue, pursued by the authorities and the brass knuckles of menacing hit man Jopling, played by Willem Defoe.

Swept along with a lively musical score by Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox), the tale mourns the loss of old-world class and grandeur, as the war looms and Grand Budapest’s

days of wealth and luxury fall into decay. The movie is inspired by the writings of Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig, from whose autobiography the movie could have easily taken its name: the World of Yesterday.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is filled with the typical in storybook adventure: evil henchmen, bad guys with hearts of gold, double-crossing friends, secret societies, innocent romance, and

the authority who ultimately knows right from wrong. Anderson introduces us to a litany of memorable characters — the brave and strong willed Agatha, Zero’s beloved, and the wise and true Deputy Kovacs, who pays for his loyalty.

Anderson gives us a movie that is filled with humour and sharp wit as well as a distinctive feeling of melancholy. Most of the characters know the bitter-

ness of loneliness — Zero, as a refugee; Agatha, as an orphan; and Monsieur Gustave, whose conquests are many but whose true friends are few. The Grand Budapest was once a place of refuge from this isolation. It becomes a place of memories rather than life, and the audience is left with the sharp loneliness of passing time.

Book Review

The Blood of Gods by Conn Iggulden JEREMY HANNAFORD CONTRIBUTOR

Gaius “Augustus” Octavian is one of my favourite historical figures, especially in the Roman Age. A cunning man who was wise in politics and battle strategy even from a young age, Octavian built on the foundation Julius Caesar had created and expanded the empire farther than Caesar could have ever imagined.

But before his great expansions took place, he was a man bent on vengeance for the murder of his tutor and adopted father.

The Blood of Gods is a tale of two narratives, one from the side of the Liberatores and the other of Octavian. Between the two different paths for Rome’s future, I was unable to favour one side over the other due to the book’s emotional portrayal of Brutus.

One of the most iconic legends in terms of betrayal, The Blood of Gods portrays a truly conflicted character who believes what he does is right, yet still regrets his choices. Conn Iggulden gives the reader a great inside look at the man who betrayed the ruler who forgave him twice. I was just as easily drawn into Brutus’ story as I was to Octavian’s.

The novel begins on the Ides of March with Brutus and his

fellow senators drenched in Caesar ’s blood. Brutus tells the men to bear their stained togas as a flag to their cause — that they have made a great sacrifice for the sanctity of Rome. They then march straight out of the Theatre of Pompey and into the senate halls to pronounce themselves the Liberatores of Rome.

The Blood of Gods is Iggulden’s fifth novel related to the rise of the Roman Empire. By weaving dips of extra drama into historical events, he makes his books a great read from both an entertainment standpoint and one of historical accuracy. He adds notes to his novels to point out what he changed, and when they are extreme or contradict the actual events. Much like how Michael Crichton would weave in a great science lesson into his novels, Iggulden does the same with history.

Despite my having knowledge of the events that unfolded during Octavian’s rise to power, this novel is able to add a sense of renewed life to events that happened over two millennia ago.

This was the main draw to this novel for me.

Also being a fan of HBO’s Rome, I imagined how the show‘s carrying out their character ’s once again. This book mirrors the first half of the second season without Atia of the Julia, Octavian’s annoying mother.

Octavian’s story is one of vengeance and political justice. His hunt for the Liberatores leads to sea battles against Quintus Pompey, and eventually a final confrontation against Brutus’s massive army at Philippi.

His comrades Maecenas and Agrippa, figures often forgotten when dealing with the history of Augustus, have their moments in this novel. Maecenas is Octavian’s political advisor and Agrippa builds him a secret fleet of ships that change the face of naval warfare.

While the battle scenes are intense and covered in depth like those of British writer Bernard Cornwell, Iggulden also depicts great scenes of political debate.

The scenes with the Senate are always intense, with men spouting out political ideals, military strategies, and revealing their inner temptations for power. Those fascinated with ancient politics will enjoy these moments as they show the swift-handed brutality and cunning of the Senate Order.

The Blood of Gods also appeals to enthusiasts of ancient warfare both on land and sea. But in the end, it is a great portrayal of an amazing person in history — a great page-turner through and through.

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Cricket on the Abbotsford green

When the sun comes out, the cricket club practices at the heart of campus the wicket, it’s called hit-wicket, and the batsman is out. There are 20 [or] 30 ways of outing the batsman.

Yadwinder: [And] the total [circumference] of the field is 68 metres.

MARTIN CASTRO CONTRIBUTOR

If you’ve been at the Abbotsford campus in the past couple of weeks, you’ve most likely seen a group of bat-wielding students out by the path that leads from Tim Horton’s to C and D buildings. If you’re anything like me, you probably had no idea that UFV has a functioning cricket club. Club president Yadwinder Sharma and team manager Bommy Ahuja were gracious enough to answer some of my questions when I ran up to them one sunny afternoon and interrupted their practice.

How does one get points?

Yadwinder: If the batter runs up to [one end of the pitch] that’s one point. If he comes back, this is two [points].

Bommy: If they hit the ball out of the boundary, that’s six points.

Yadwinder: If the ball hits the ground, and after that crosses the boundary, that’s four points.

Bommy: And there are overs in the game. In one over, there are six balls.

When was the UFV cricket club formed?

Yadwinder: Around four years ago.

Are those kind of like innings?

Yadwinder: Yeah.

Does the club usually practice out here on the green?

Bommy: Oh, yeah.

Yadwinder: Almost every day.

If a student would like to join to join the club, who would they have to contact?

Yadwinder: We have a page on Facebook (“UFV Cricket Club”).

They can message us on there.

Bommy: Anybody can come and practice, but if they want to be part of the team, [joining] us for the tournament, we [hold] trials.

I hadn’t seen the club practice out here before, is it just the start of the season?

Bommy: Yeah, the season is just starting; you’ll see us more [during the] summer, because the [weather] will get nicer.

Do you play against other universities?

Yadwinder: Yes. We will have a tournament this coming summer, at UVic. How does one play cricket?

Yadwinder: Mostly, people think this game is kind of like baseball, but it’s different.

Bommy: Totally different.

What are the rules? And what

Image: Anthony Biondi

UFV’s cricket club practices out on the Abbotsford campus green, and welcomes new members! is the goal of the game?

Yadwinder: There are 11 players on each team, [with] two batsmen playing at a time and one bowler [throwing] the ball.

The ball has to touch the ground one time.

So it has to bounce?

Bommy: Yeah, just one bounce. If the ball directly hits the wicket (a set of stumps at each end of the cricket pitch), then the [batman] is out, and if

one person hits the ball, and the ball directly goes to a fielder, and they catch it, that’s an out.

So if the ball hits the wicket, that’s an out.

Bommy: And if the bat touches

When are trials usually held?

Yadwinder: Next month.

Do you teach people cricket as well?

Yadwinder: Yes, people always like to come up to us and learn.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Soccer teams poised for greatness NATHAN HUTTON the cascade

The UFV soccer program is the most up-and-coming of all UFV athletics departments.

Both teams made it to the Canada West playoffs, with the men’s team medalling after narrowly losing to the UBC Thunderbirds in semifinal action. The women’s team’s quarterfinal battle against the University of Alberta Pandas, the team that went on to take bronze at a national level, wasn’t decided until the final 20 minutes. Both teams now look poised to take Canada West soccer by storm in the near future.

Not only are nationals a real possibility, but their rosters are stocked with players the university’s program recently honoured with awards.

Last season, Carley Radomski was placed in a starting role for all 12 games because of injuries to teammates. She registered only a goal and two assists on the scoresheet, but her impact was vital to the team’s success.

Head coach Rob Giesbrecht saw her as an irreplaceable part of the Cascades’ attack (ranked sixth in Canada West).

Image: Tree Frog Imaging

UFV Athletics passed out a score of awards on its season-ending night, including two to soccer rookies.

“Carley was one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the Fraser Valley,” he says. “Her competitive drive and ability on the ball allowed her to outcom-

pete elite midfielders.”

The winner on the men’s side was Dylan Jordan. Jordan came in later in the season, but likewise had to jump into a starting

role with the Cascades defense, starting seven regular season games. He would become a huge part of the defense that played in front of goalkeeper Mark Vil-

lage. Dylan said of the award, “[It] means a lot being able to attain such a highly regarded reward going up against so many people. It also means so much ... in terms of motivation both on and off the field.”

UFV’s soccer program is looking to take the step up and join the upper echelon of programs in the CIS. Both teams’ core players return from last year, and the women’s team has already added five new players through recruiting. When Jordan speaks about soccer players sweeping Rookie of the Year awards, he describes it as “a great accomplishment for our soccer program as a whole,” a program that relies on the continual addition of young players to turn winning seasons into a tradition.

In preseason action, the men’s team has already won a tournament at Kwantlen University, and the women’s team has also played well in pre-season action with a pair of wins over the UBC-O Heat and the SFU Clan.

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Heat closer to clinching playoff spot after win over Icehogs MEGAN LAMBERT CONTRIBUTOR

The Abbotsford Heat won 5-3 against the Rockford Icehogs Saturday night. The team started and finished strong, with three goals scored in the first period and two scored in the third.

Corbin Knight, after receiving a pass from Max Reinhart, brought in an immediate goal in the first few minutes, setting the pace for the game. The assist, his first of three that night, extended Reinhart’s point streak to seven games. Derek Smith added the team’s next goal at the first period’s midway point, then Blair Jones scored 30 seconds later, again assisted by Reinhart.

At this point, the Icehogs switched out starting goaltender Kent Simpson for Jason LaBarbara in an attempt to shift momentum away from the Heat’s relentless offense, but at the end of the first period the score was still 3-0.

Garret Ross scored the Icehogs’ first goal in the second period on a deflected shot. Heat head coach Troy G. Ward admitted his team lacked the motivation in the second period they’d brought to the first, but focused more on what he can control from the bench.

“I’m more concerned about our ice management,” he said, commenting on the team’s tendency to sometimes take lengthy shifts. “I thought that affected the second half of the game.”

Image: Clint Trahan

The Heat gather after another win; Max Reinhart led the team with three assists in Saturday’s game against Rockford The Icehogs came closest to tying the game when Stephen Johns scored a swift wraparound goal in the third period, raising the score to 4-3.

But the Heat performed efficiently — after Johns’ goal, Ward called a timeout, and for the rest of the game the Heat stayed one step ahead of their

opponent.

There were several shots in the third period towards the Heat goal, but between Ortio’s saves and the team’s solid offense, the only change in score came from Brett Olson’s emptynet goal 31.2 seconds before the final buzzer.

Ward praised the team’s ef-

fort, saying that in the third period they “played with better pace.”

Blair Jones, awarded the game’s first star, was absent for the last nine games due to various injuries. Saturday was his first game back, and afterwards he said, “I’ve had my fair share of injuries this season, so it was

kind of nice to rest.” Commenting on Jones’ performance, Ward said “he was one of our better players.”

The Heat are now preparing for their next game on Friday, April 11 against the Oklahoma City Barons, their last home series of the regular season.

UFV TheaTRe PReSenTS The

19th Annual Directors’ Theatre Festival 5 days, 21+ plays, five bucks a pop!

April 23 to 27 UFV Performance Theatre and Studio, 45635 Yale Road, Chilliwack @UFV Theatre #DFest2014

See the full schedule at UFV.ca/theatre

604-795-2814 for more info 3464-16

Sponsored by: UFV Student Union Society UFV School of Criminology and Centre for Criminal Justice Research Friends of the Theatre Theatre angels Media sponsors: Chilliwack Progress abbotsford news Star FM CIVL Radio 101.7 FM The Cascade — UFV’s Student Press

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