The Cascade Vol. 22 No. 2

Vol. 22 Issue 2

www.ufvcascade.ca

January 15, 2014 to January 21, 2014

Going to party like it’s 3012 tonight since 1993

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NEWS

News

News

4

Opinion

6

Culture

17-18

Briefs

Fraser Valley connector approved Soon Fraser Valley residents will have transit options between Abbotsford, Langley, and Chilliwack. After denying the proposal in October 2013, Abbotsford revisited it on January 13.

The Abbotsford News reports that Mayor Bruce Banman urged council to approve the connector because of how it would serve the region. Despite some reservations surrounding cost, the bus was approved and the cities should expect to see the bus in 2015.

Director of teaching and learning hired After holding multiple candidate meetings last fall, Maureen Wideman has been selected as the next director of teaching and learning at UFV. Previous director Wendy Burton’s contract ended in December and Wideman’s starts with the new semester. We will bring you details of her first week, as she gets acquainted with the campuses and the people. What’s in store for the future of teaching and learning?

Daniela Elza hits UFV as writer in residence Put on your creative pants and take advantage of the English department’s writer-inresidence program. Designed to offer students the opportunity to interact one-on-one with creative professionals, the program is in its fifth year. Elza, a Vancouver-based poet, has published four collections of poetry; the most recent, milk tooth bane bone, came out last year. Check back for an in-depth interview, and make sure to visit Elza on the Abbotsford campus.

Have a news tip?

Let us know!

Email news@ufvcascade.ca or tweet at @CascadeNews

Arts

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Sports & Health

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

B.C. Students organize to lobby government

After formalizing late in 2013, the Alliance of British Columbia Students is preparing to lobby government in Victoria. The Student Union Society’s vp academic Kristianne Hendricks explains what makes the alliance unique.

Violence is not the answer

Is catharsis a release of tension or a perpetuation of aggression? Martial arts expert Ashley Mussbacher discusses why acting on your aggressive impulses doesn’t work to lessen your frustration.

What’s in store for culture

Student interns get to work behind the scenes in the professional art world. Meanwhile, Brittney Hensman reminds us that it’s not okay to wear pyjamas to class. Plus, we welcome the return of humour to the paper.

Theatre review: Age of Arousal

Imagine a world where women outnumber men by the thousands, a world where pre-marital sex meant social exile. The UFV theatre presents Age of Arousal, a play by Canadian playwright Linda Griffith. Check out the review.

Food Cravings

Have you ever asked yourself why you feel the need to eat chocolate? Why greasy chips make you feel so good inside? If you have, our health article from Vivienne Beard is the place for you.

Editorial

Don’t feed the troll, game the system, and other parables from a trip to Edmonton DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

Alberta isn’t normally considered a destination this time of year. If you don’t understand what I mean and are spoiled by the warm weather we’ve been having, just look at an Edmonton weather report to see what I mean — but to some Cascade staff last week, it was. Why? A little thing called Nash 76.

Nash is the annual national conference hosted by Canadian University Press (CUP), a cross-country coalition of over 50 student papers. Some of them are autonomous, separate from their student unions and universities like we are, and others are not. Some are small, with only three students on staff, and some are bigger, with dozens of regular contributors and large offices. Perhaps the only thing we seem to have in common is passion for what we spend most of our time doing — putting together a newspaper.

We spent five days in Edmonton; three of those days were jam-packed with sessions held by writers of all shapes and sizes: professional journalists, reporters, editors, and reviewers.

In short, we spent three days cramming information into our brains, stealing it from presenters and other papers alike.

Some of the tips and tricks are only useful in this office; you may, for instance, notice a slightly different headline lay-

Volume 22 · Issue 2 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

out this week, which our production team introduced after a critique with a Globe and Mail staffer, Jason Chiu.

Mark Coatney, senior vicepresident for Al Jazeera, taught us that one of the hardest and most necessary things in life is to speak up when you don’t get a concept — to say, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.

Can you explain it again, or in a different way?” This applies to every reporter at The Cascade in the middle of an interview, be it with a SUS employee explaining political process or a professor explaining their research. It’s a reminder to ask questions about what goes on around every student, both in class and everyday life, and to ask questions about the answers you receive.

Omar Mouallem, an Edmonton freelancer, ran an instructional session on how to pitch a story. He encouraged us to look past a topic and find the story, another piece of advice that holds as true for completing assignments or picking a thesis as it does for convincing an editor to take a chance on you. Who or what is challenged by the notion you hope to present? Where is the human story in what you hope to write? You have to know how you’ll connect to your audience before you can ever connect with an editor, or professor, or the employer you hope to convince to take a chance on you.

Ezra Levant was by far the most controversial speaker, and the very last keynote

News editor jess@ufvcascade.ca Jess Wind Opinion editor nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt Culture editor christopher@ufvcascade.ca Christopher DeMarcus Arts editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt Sports editor nathan@ufvcascade.ca Nathan Hutton News writer katherine@ufvcascade.ca Katherine Gibson

speaker of the conference. Levant is a talk show host on Sun TV, as well as a columnist and past magazine editor who has been sued for libel. He has a reputation, in short, as a shitdisturber, an overblown internet troll and a rude, argumentative pundit.

Tension was palpable in the room. Before ever arriving, Levant provoked criticism from two CUP member papers, The Link and The Charlatan. These editorials questioned why CUP would spend $2000 to bring Levant to the conference.

This question loomed large during the keynote; Levant spent his first 20 minutes defending his right to speak, championed hate as the most humanizing and normative emotion, and talked over more than a few of the students who stood up to ask him questions during the Q&A period.

I have a problem with Levant; he is a trained lawyer and an articulate, shrewd businessman, and yet was also one of the most rude, self-righteous, and disrespectful people I have ever had to listen to. He stated his opinions as fact, which every person has the right to do, but tore down any others who didn’t reach his exact standards and share the same views.

On the other hand, I can also thank him for teaching perhaps the best lesson of the weekend; that every person has a duty not to be an asshole. This is something that became abundantly clear during Levant’s

Production manager stewart@ufvcascade.ca Stewart Seymour Art director anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi Production assistant production@ufvcascade.ca Kaitlyn Gendemann Photojournalist blake@ufvcascade.ca Blake McGuire Contributors Vivienne Beard, Taylor Breckles, Alisha Deddens, Jeremy Hannaford, Brittney Hensman, Jayne Simpson, Tim Ubels, and Nathan Zaparilla

keynote: despite his education, experience, and obvious intelligence, he was an asshole.

He made no bones about it; he bragged about it, and spoke at length about the wondrous right of free speech that allowed him to say or print practically anything he wanted.

But I learned that while anyone has the right to be an asshole, that doesn’t mean they should be.

We are more than the legal and social rules we follow; we are the impressions we make on other people, and everything our actions encourage others to become.

I came to this conclusion as I watched a ballroom of student journalists become more and more agitated, and watched in disbelief as all parties were reduced to shouting and personal attacks. The disrespect spewed forth on both sides, and at that moment no one was better than anyone else — not exactly the moral high ground presented in The Link and The Charlatan editorials.

So maybe there was one thing Levant got right—hate might just be the most human emotion, something normal that we all share. But building on that, we all share the ability to be assholes — and the duty to at least try to be better 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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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

English as a second language faces an uncertain future at UFV KATHERINE GIBSON

THE CASCADE

Colleges and universities running ESL programs across the province will lose about $17 million in funding come April 1.

On December 10, B.C.’s Minister of Advanced Education Amrik Virk announced that due to changes in the way the federal government distributes funding for these programs, academic institutions will now be required to apply for money that was once implicitly given.

But how will this affect UFV’s ESL students? ESL department head Maria Bos-Chan explains that the answer hinges on UFV’s funding proposal being accepted by the federal government.

“We don’t know if the change in funding model is going to be affecting the ESL program here at UFV,” she explains. “UFV’s proposal was accepted for consideration along with a number of other proposals from colleg-

Image: leckernapfkuchen/ flickr

UFV’s international department is uncertain as to what provincial funding cuts will do to the ESL program. es and universities. But the actual negotiations, as to whether or not [we] will be funded or how [we] will be funded, we don’t know yet.”

UFV should know by the end

Abbotsford to introduce harm reduction measures

of January whether or not the ESL funding request has been accepted. In the meantime, the lack of certainty surrounding the program makes planning within the department dif-

Protecting the valley’s farmland DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

Image: Todd Huffman/ flickr

Abbotsford voted to amend its harm reduction bylaw.

ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

Abbotsford could see the development of safe needle exchanges in the near future.

On January 13, Abbotsford City Council met at the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium for a public hearing to discuss an amendment to the bylaw that prohibits harm reduction measures in the city.

The amendment would allow for Fraser Health Authority (FHA) to organize safe needle exchanges in the city, with the intention of preventing the spread of diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV. According to the Abbotsford News, the bylaw has been in the review process since 2010 after the FHA and the Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia were concerned about

Abbotsford’s high hepatitis C rates.

This amendment proposal was met with mixed feelings at the public hearing, as speakers rose to voice their opinions on the matter. As emotions rose, Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman had to remind spectators that “comments from the audience are not welcome nor are they productive.”

A member of Fraser Health took to the podium to answer any questions or relay any concerns.

“We have good evidence that distribution of clean equipment will decrease infectious diseases,” he said.

Amendment of the bylaw was approved pending final approval, which is slated for the February 3 council meeting.

ficult. Without knowing the exact dollar amount UFV will be allotted, Bos-Chan notes it is hard to give students an accurate picture of the courses available to them.

“It’s very murky. We’d like to be able to advise students.

We’d like to be able to advise instructors in terms of what they will be teaching or what they’ll be doing,” she continues, “but at this point we’re not really sure.”

During any given year, more than 900 international students registered at UFV. Bos-Chan does point out that not all of these students need access to ESL resources, but there are many international students who do rely on these services to succeed in UFV’s academic setting.

“You can learn a language to a certain extent on your own, but … that kind of daily English is not the kind of English that you need in order to be able to study at a university or college level,” she says. “If you were to be living, let’s say in Spain for a year or so, do you think that after that year you would be able to start taking first-year university courses in Spanish?”

Fraser Valley farmland is at risk, but a new study from Dr. Lenore Newman might fix that.

Newman has been exploring the history of valley farmland for the past year, and recently received $32,000 from the City of Abbotsford to continue.

Most farmland in the valley is protected as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), which prevents the land from being converted for other use — industrial or residential — without municipalities signing off on it. This preserves the largely agricultural nature of the valley, which is important to feeding both the local population and the rest of the province.

But with the constant expansion of valley cities, developers are starting to eye up land currently protected by the ALR. This, Newman says, has the potential to be a huge problem.

“All around the world, urban hinterlands are losing their farmland at this incredibly rapid rate,” she says.

Newman hopes her research will drive home the importance of agricultural land to the public, keeping the majority of protected land in the ALR

for as long as possible.

“This system, the ALR, is one of the strongest in the world — and it’s one of the older ones,” she says. “Getting that information out there — how it’s working, how it’s not working, what we need to change to make it stronger — is really important, so that other cities around the world can mimic it.”

Aside from the risk of development, the ALR is faced with another risk: people who buy farmland with no intent to farm it.

This land usually falls into one of two categories: people who buy land on speculation, with the hope to reap a healthy profit from it later, and people who buy land to live on when they reach a certain income bracket.

“They’re rich, they buy five acres, they put a horse on it — that’s allowed,” Newman explains.

Currently there is nothing in the ALR guidelines to prevent this, and Newman suggests restricting who can buy ALR land, limiting it to farmers or those with an agricultural background who intend to farm.

“We need incentives to … have those owners rent out their land to young farmers,” she notes, “because we have

a whole lot of young farmers who can’t find land.”

Newman and her post-doc research assistant Denver Nixon have been constructing a map of the ALR from Agassiz to Vancouver for the last year, tracking land that’s been added or removed since 1974.

Newman pinned the resulting poster — a swath of ALR green over the geometric web of property lines and municipal divisions — across three of her office’s walls just this week.

Recent City of Abbotsford funding will propel this research forward for another eight months, and help bring that research into the public eye. Newman says they’ll hire a few more students to help with the legwork, and eventually set up exhibits about the ALR in the gallery at UFV and at the Reach.

“We’re always pushing to remind people, hey, this is not a poor use of land,” Newman says. “This is the most fertile delta in the world next to the Nile, and we’re not really aware of it … We have to start thinking of this region as a great river delta, and as long as we don’t we’re going to be pretty tempted to say, ‘Oh, it’s flat land. I’ll put some condos on it.’”

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Science on Purpose

Flying back up the food chain TAYLOR BRECKLES

CONTRIBUTOR

Fish have figured out how to fly, which is bad news for the birds.

In an African lake in Mapungubwe National Park, the carnivorous African tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus, for those who speak Latin) has recently been documented capturing birds mid-flight.

But how can fish capture birds? Isn’t the circle of life supposed to work the opposite way? These doubts have filled the minds of scientists and fish enthusiasts since the ‘40s when rumours of the flying fish started.

Nico Smit, the director of the Unit of Environmental Sciences and Management at NorthWest University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, admits in the Journal of Fish Biology that

his team of researchers was “never really convinced by the anecdotal reports.”

Yet despite all the doubt surrounding this fish tale, barn swallows have been disappearing — sometimes as many as 20 successful strikes in one day — from the air. Attacks vary from the tigerfish swimming near the water’s surface to hunting from a lower depth, then leaping up to three feet into the air: a remarkable feat for a creature without knees.

When Smit first witnessed a swallow vanishing into the water, he says he wasn’t prepared to believe it.

“The whole action of jumping and catching the swallow in flight happens so incredibly quickly that after we first saw it, it took all of us a while to really fully comprehend what we had just seen,” he says. “The first reaction was one of pure

Raising the student voice at a provincial level

joy, because we realized that we were spectators to something really incredible and unique.”

This research could reveal more fish populations with a similar diet, Smit explains.

“Our findings will really focus the attention on the importance of basic freshwater research, and specifically fish behaviour,” he says.

It isn’t the first time in evolutionary history fish have left their watery homes. Bob Strauss confirms in Tetrapods — The Fish Out of Water that fish used to take to land.

“The fact is that, 400 to 350 million years ago, various prehistoric fish crawled out of the water at various times.”

For now, and perhaps as long as any of us will be alive to see, only the tigerfish has started to look skyward for food.

An African tigerfish has added birds to its menu.

History department takes a semester in St. Petersburg KATHERINE GIBSON

THE CASCADE

Image: chittim/ flickr

ABCS plans to lobby provincial government in February.

JESS WIND

THE CASCADE

In an attempt to shed negative stereotypes and take back post-secondary education, B.C. students are organizing and lobbying the provincial government.

The Alliance of British Columbia Students (ABCS) officially became a society late in 2013.

“Four years ago or so there were four schools that got together and decided they wanted to lobby on a provincial level and that included us,” says UFV’s Student Union Society (SUS) VP academic Kristianne Hendricks. UFV is a founding member of the alliance and Hendricks sits on the board as administrating officer.

In its infancy the group brought the “WTF — Where’s the Funding?” campaign before legislature, but the double meaning was not appreciated, explains Hendricks.

They have since moved to a “Vote Education” campaign.

“We’re focusing on post-secondary education … [serving as] a voice so that politicians know that students exist,” she

says. “There’s this idea that we don’t vote and we don’t care and by going there with a group of organized students that makes them realize that, obviously, we do care.”

The ABCS was born from a response to lack of representation for students at the provincial level, despite the B.C. caucus under the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), explains Hendricks.

“There are a lot of students that are with CFS but don’t want to be — they don’t feel that CFS accurately represents [them],” she says. “One of the biggest tenets to ABCS is that ... we don’t want anyone stuck in a contract that they can’t get out of or [anyone] paying membership fees that are cumbersome.”

The result is a cost-sharing model that sees the membership sharing resources among each other in order to accomplish their initiatives. The only cost at the moment, explains Hendricks, is transportation.

With the formalization of the ABCS, 140,000 students are represented in B.C. — the most in the province’s history.

Image: Anthony Biondi

Feeling down about the dreary winter weather? Why not look forward to travelling and exploring St. Petersburg this summer instead?

Organized by UFV’s History Department, this trip will give students, faculty, and community members alike the unique chance to take part in St. Petersburg Polytechnical University’s 2014 summer program “St. Petersburg in Wars and Revolutions.”

St. Petersburg is well known for its unique culture, a fact UFV History professor and trip co-ordinator Larissa Horne believes will make this destination the perfect place for participants to get their feet wet and become better acquainted with Russia.

“It’s a city that pays great attention to education and travel and languages. It’s very cosmopolitan and, of course, it’s filled with art masterpieces

and artifacts,” Horne explains.

“They call [the city] a museum under the open skies.”

Beyond foreign exploration and the opportunity to experience academic learning in a different country, Horne hopes that this program will help students see beyond the stereotypes that surround Russia.

“It will open their world views tremendously. They will be able to appreciate the importance of Russia in today’s world,” she continues. “There are so many biases and misconceptions that exist both ways, exaggerating overly negative things and overly positive things. Travelling to destinations, like Russia, that are always in the news is important — that way [participants] can create their own impression of the place.”

The trip gives participants the option to choose between two different travel options: one that includes the summer course and travel time in Russia, and another that only

encompasses travel. Due to the differing structures and the fact that this program is individually funded by participants, Horne explains that the pricing will vary depending on which option people choose. The cost is between $3000 and $4000.

For Horne, this trip is about more than just travelling abroad. It’s about sharing a piece of magic with those who decide to go; a fact she hopes translates into each student’s experience should they choose to go this summer.

“I’ve done this [trip] before with a very small group of people from UFV and before we went on our first trip I said, ‘get ready, you’ll find some magic in St. Petersburg,’” Horne says. “I would like everybody to experience [a] day where they can say, ‘I have experienced something special.’”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

OPINION

SNAPSHOTS

How do you say “I’m Sorry” from the car?

5

Winter blues, social cues

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Pick up your own garbage!

Rats are good pets

Taylor breckles

Nathan zaparilla

JEREMY HANNAFORD

Sasha Moedt

It’s always aggravating when some other driver cuts me off, but even more so when I don’t know if that person is sorry or not.

True, the odd driver will raise a hand or flash lights in an effort to apologize for a wrongdoing. We use the horn when we’re upset or when we try to get someone’s attention, but why don’t we have an official signal for an apology?

Some eastern European countries use flashing emergency lights in order to apologize.

A simple flash of the emergency lights doesn’t seem like a hassle, especially considering how much road rage could dissipate as a result. No longer would we have to awkwardly use hand signals to apologize through tinted windows, or fret over an accidental faux-pas.

It’s true that a flash of someone’s lights might not eliminate all the frustration you have, but the mood will shift from “what an asshole” to “he should take another driving course,” which would be an excellent way to diminish road rage and reduce the stress caused both by anger and feeling sorry.

“How about this weather we’re having?” I say. “It’s really coming down out there, huh?

Well, that’s a BC January for you.” I smile and laugh, and so will they, most of the time.

Ah, the weather, the universal experience, concern, and observation – one of the few aspects of life that has yet to be conquered and manipulated to suit man’s ever-shrinking comfort zone. Yet this topic, so affecting and encompassing, has been relegated to the lowest form of conversation there is: small talk. But why?

Weather changes our lives: it dictates what we wear, makes or breaks our plans, and can determine our moods. Sunshine and rain alternate as miracles and plagues, but in any conditions, the weather saves us (or at the very least, it saves me). The weather saves me from commercial breaks, the awkward silences working the drive-thru at Starbucks, from my embarrassingly aimless fidgeting in the presence of acquaintances, and the few endless minutes between sitting down and the start of class.

Thank god for this wet, grey, and petty misery.

The right side of McCallum Road right after the Gillis Avenue parking area is now a no-parking zone. At first my normal reaction was to assume UFV is plotting to squeeze another few dollars out of us. But on further examination, you notice the road hosts a sign from the Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer Stakeholders Group. This side of road has now become a ground water protection area.

There are, in fact, mounds of garbage strewn on the roadside. While some could definitely be from passing traffic, it is undeniable that some people parking there have abused that stretch of road by making it a garbage pit. But even though the sign is up, the garbage is still there.

The City of Abbotsford pays people to clean the sides of the highway weekly, so why not this road, since it is now part of this aquifer protection agency? If you’re going to say you’re protecting something, shouldn’t you do something about it as well?

Fun fact: you won’t die of the black death if you have a rat as a pet. After all, it wasn’t the rat that carried the bubonic plague across Europe; it was the fleas. Rats are actually the cleanest of pets in the small animal category — beating out guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and mice. They groom like cats.

For students like us, they make fantastic pets, and not just because they’re so cheap.

Rats are extremely social. They come to trust you, and will chill out on your shoulder while you study. They are the most intelligent of small animals, and can be trained to do tricks and respond to their name. You can feed them tablescraps and they’ll love you for it.

They are basically tiny dogs with long bald worm-tails. And come on — they are cute. Just ignore the tail. There’s a little Templeton or Scabbers out there waiting for you.

Take a rat home!

Write for The Cascade!

Maybe your New Year’s resolution is to meet more people, to get involved on campus, or to add texture to your resume.

Maybe you just want to share your passions with other students.

Come see what we’re all about.

Email michael@ufvcascade.ca for details, or drop in to our writer’s meeting Monday at 8 a.m. in C1421.

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OPINION

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Does catharsis add problems?

Training ourselves into a bad habit

ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

When we were kids it was common to hear someone say, during a game of soccer or tetherball, that he or she was imagining a brother or sister’s face in place of the ball.

Not surprisingly said ball would end up getting kicked or hit as hard and as far as we had ever seen. For me, a punching bag has always been available to vent my anger — and no, I’m not talking about a person.

But from my personal experience in an anger management program, there is no worse way to vent anger than to act on it, be it against an inanimate object or not.

It’s a common misconception that venting frustration and anger is healthy.

This is an old way of thinking tracking back to witchhunts and Medieval medicine; during the Bubonic plague in the late middle ages in Europe, it was believed that popping boils and releasing black bile from under the skin would cure patients. However, all this achieved was further spread of the disease. We commonly fall into the belief that letting the bad out of the body or mind is better than bottling it in. In actuality, by acting on our anger we’re actually training ourselves into a bad habit.

Think of it like how cats train humans. Cat scratches furniture, because it feels the need to dull its

Image: peptic_ulcer/flickr

Take a page from the book of Mulan’s Chen-Po, or if you haven’t seen Mulan, this cat in a box. claws (or to evoke a reaction from a human who is surfing the internet for funny cat gifs -- we’ve all been there). In response (usually), the human reacts angrily at the non-digital cat, and bitter feelings are left on both sides, except that the cat has succeeded in not only

in dulling its claws but getting the human’s attention. However, we know from being human (I assume) that those bitter feelings will manifest into dislike, until every time you see the cat instead of a cute cuddler you’ll see a dullclawed couch-scratcher. Eventu-

ally, this hatred destroys your friendship and by extension, your life.

Don’t get me wrong, I love cats, but if catharsis doesn’t work then what about bottling the anger?

Bad idea. Remember Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum? If you do, then you

know that the advertisers broke our little nine-year-old hearts, because it was possibly the worst gum for blowing bubbles. Now imagine the mediocre bubble as your head. Point made.

So you must be asking, well if I shouldn’t act on my anger or bottle it then what the hell do I do? Three things.

Don’t laugh at this: meditation.

In Disney’s Mulan, big cuddler Chen-Po stops a red-faced Yao from feeding Mulan (disguised as Ping) a knuckle sandwich by picking him up, rocking him back and forth, and chanting calmly. Since I take all my life’s lessons from Disney, I know this works. In the scene, Yao immediately becomes passive and forgets his anger.

Chanting isn’t necessary in this exercise, and neither is a four-foottall red-faced man named Yao, but breathing certainly is.

This second step comes handin-hand with meditation, and involves a bit of foresight or good common sense. Think of the word “consequences.” It’s a scare tactic to use on yourself. Is that moment of lashing out worth losing the respect of others? It’s the same as paying it forward, except backward.

There is no third step. Even if you think there should be. And if you get angry, because I misled you like your favorite childhood bubble gum did, then read the article over again.

Op-ed

Get your opinion on student fees heard on CIVL AARON LEVY

CIVL STATION MANAGER

Students. Nearly all of us are or once were one.

Fees. All of us are always paying them; students, employees, citizens, it’s one of the universal truths — death and taxes.

Most of us also have pretty well developed ideas of what we do or don’t want to see fees, or taxes, that we pay go toward.

Many Americans hate the idea of Obama-care forcing them to pay for health coverage that supports a population of people who can’t afford to buy into their own personal insurance. Canadians enjoy a fairly socialist system of government provided health care, and there are splits among the voting population as to whether or not this is a good thing.

A lot of us debate with our votes.

We cast ballots intended to state our opinion, and throw our literal two cents into the ring with the intent of making our ‘voices’ count, if not heard.

All too often, though, the debate about fees gets splits into political perspectives; conservatives want fewer mandated fees and more privatized services. Liberals and

radicals want to see those of us with more to spend money supporting those of us without them.

From this citizens’ perspective, these ideological differences are irreconcilable most of the time, and dividing ourselves into for and against sides doesn’t always yield results that either side are satisfied with.

With this chasm between the impact of voting and policy, it’s incredibly important that we vocalize our opinions on overarching matters that end up affecting all of us.

To this end, CIVL is excited to engage in a brand new program that will take place throughout the winter semester.

Starting at the end of January, every week, CIVL will be producing two-and-a-half hours of programming that focuses on one issue and one issue only: Student fees.

Do you know what student fees you pay at UFV? Do you know how those fees are spent?

Do you utilize the services that your fees are going towards? Do you want to see them go towards different services?

Do you think student fees should be wiped out completely, and students should be charged

only for the education they receive and none of the other benefits that accompany being a fee paying student at a Canadian post-secondary institution?

Many students will have a wide variety of different answers to these and other questions, but this is why we are dedicating a total of over 30 hours of on-air programming this semester towards finding the different answers that UFV students have about the issues that impact their life on campus.

Post-secondary education is supposed to provide us with a safe and encouraging community to ask important questions in, and consider a variety of answers to.

If you are interested in talking about what you think matters with regards to student fees and service based operations on campus at UFV, contact fees@civl.ca and let us know what you want to talk about!

Check back at CIVL.ca in February for a schedule of when you can listen live, or download podcasts full of student created content that addresses the issues of student fees in a holistic way that puts what we are spending up against what we need to spend on.

All of it according to you.

Image: Anthony Biondi

CIVL introduces weekly programming to get your opinion on fees.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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OPINION

What was your favourite movie of 2013?

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

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE CULTURE

by Katie Stobbart

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www.ufvcascade.ca

SUDOKU PUZZLE

CROSSWORD Souped up

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014

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ACROSS 2. This tricky-to-spell eastern European soup is made from beets. (7) 4. An educational soup with a tomato base. (8) 6. This is often served as a side in Japanese restaurants. (4) 8. A seafood or vegetable stew often served with cream. (7) 9. This soup is made of fungi. (8) 10. This delicious soup contains bright green cruciferous vegetables and cheese. (15) 11. This cream-based soup usually contains shellfish, like lobster and crab. (6)

DOWN 1. These super-thin noodles are usually sold in square packages and make a popular soup among university students. (5) 3. Both delicious and useful, to be eaten when plagued with illness. (13) 5. A hot liquid flavoured with meat or vegetables. (5) 6. An italian soup made with vegetables and often pasta or rice. (10) 7. Split with ham, this thick soup is perfect for a rainy day. (3)

Answer Keys LAST WEEK

sudoku solution

Across 2 3 6 7 9 10 11

POTOFGOLD SIDEWALK BURSARY PRIZE STEAL INHERITANCE PASSGO

Down 1 4 5 6 8

MONEYTREE BIRTHDAY GAMBLING BEG PARENTS

The Weekly Horoscope

Star Signs from January Jones*

Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18: You really are supposed to go Hogwarts. Hagrid just couldn’t find your house. Perhaps you should more clearly mark your driveway?

Gemini: May 21 - June 21: Have you ever tried French onion soup? You really should.

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22: Red sky at night, you will find yourself in a Pokémon battle.

Red sky in the morning, you’d better pull at your Bakugan cards.

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20: Yellow is not a great colour for you this week. In fact, yellow is not a good colour for you period. Stay away from school busses, DHL, and post-it notes.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22: This week you will be inspired to visit the SUS office, only to find it has been transformed into a janitorial space. But the condoms are still free! Score!

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21: You wake up in China. “How did I get here?” you think.

Well, maybe that last shot at AfterMath wasn’t such a good idea. Learn from your mistakes.

Aries: March 21 - April 19: This week, most likely Thursday, your writing implements will rise up in revolution against you. Plan a trip to Staples.

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22: Don’t look up. IDIOT! I said, “Don’t look up!” Now just look what you’ve done. Jeez.

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21: Stripes look good on you, but only in one direction. Figure out what it is before your mother signs you up for What Not To Wear.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20: A great choice lies ahead of you: cut your hair like Macklemore and you will gain instant skill in graffiti and D&D. Cut your hair like Miley, and you will suddenly be able to pull dollar bills out of your asshole.

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept22: You will pass Taylor Swift on the street and have a deep connection that you both sense instantly. Subsequently, she will write a song that paints an unflattering picture of your idea of a date, and you’ll be arrested for stealing her cat.

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19: Carry bobby-pins and chewing gum with you this week — there may be a chance to prove yourself as the new MacGyver. *No, not that January Jones.

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ARTS & LIFE CULTURE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Discussions below the belt

Waiting to have sex might be better than jumping right in and getting wet XTINA SEXPERT

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CHARTS*

Austra Olympia Suuns Images Du Futur Braids Flourish // Perish Young Galaxy Ultramarine

A Tribe Called Red Nation II Nation

The Ketamines You Can’t Serve Two Masters

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Shotgun Jimmie Everything Everything Hayden Us Alone The Bicycles Stop Thinking So Much The Besnard Lakes Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO

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Imaginary Cities Fall Of Romance The Arcade Fire Reflektor Said The Whale Hawaiii Julie Doiron So Many Days Royal Canoe Today We’re Believers Born Ruffians Birthmarks The Sadies

Internal Sounds No Joy

Wait To Pleasure Tegan And Sara Heartthrob DIANA

Perpetual Surrender

National Canadian charts for 2013

Shuffle AARON LEVY

CIVL STATION MANAGER

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy isn’t the hippest of cats, in fact, according to his astrological sign, he’s a bull, but here are some snippets of his 2013 in music!

Jordan Klassen — “Repentance” If all Jordan Klassen released this year was the “Go To Me” single, then his 2013 would have been an unbridled success. The infectious song’s Shins meets Wilco whispers and hooks are a highlight for Mainland music over the past 12 months. See him Thursday, January 16th at Aftermath - free!

Run the Jewels — “Sea Legs” Probably my favorite line of the year: “See the truth from the womb is a fool proof plan to be doomed while the damned do they dances.

So I move through the room like an animal fooling a master.” There’s more, but you’ll have to check out the self-titled debut.

Deafheaven — “Sunbather” I’m not the authority when it comes to metal, and many who know me will label me a zealot for itemizing this release as a favorite of mine. All I’ll say is I’ve argued, not over whether or not, but simply how this record should be rerecorded by a symphony.

The Darcys — “Warring” I met these guys in 2009 when they were still a band of Toronto to Dalhousie kids on the touring scene across the country, struggling with botched recording sessions and dangerous tour stops. Here they are covering Steely Dan for an entire album. Though the mighty may fall, what progress!

Anciients — “Heart of Oak” / Open Letters – “1-6” Two local releases that I couldn’t select just one of; Anciients were recognized with a Polaris long list nod, and Open Letters released the most singable local album since I’ve had the pleasure of being in town. To both of these bands, I salute you, and keep on keeping on.

Are there benefits in waiting to have sex? Some brush this suggestion aside and say sexuality is organic and shouldn’t be stifled. Others have strong opinions about when sexual activity is appropriate. I think, like sexuality, most people’s opinions fall somewhere on a continuum and have a lot of asterisks surrounding them. But assuming we do decide to wait, how long do we wait? And what are we waiting for?

Waiting to come of age Is there a magical age when someone becomes ready for a sexual encounter? Our bodies tell us we are ready for sex when they are changed by puberty. Girls’ hips widen, grow breasts, begin to feel sexual attraction, and become fertile.

Likewise, boys grow facial hair, experience a deepening of their voice, and become fertile.

So if this is when our bodies are ready, why do some insist that sex should be reserved for much later in one’s life? Often age isn’t the only restriction. Mar-

riage, love, and circumstance are other factors that are regularly tied to sexual activity.

Waiting for marriage There is a large slice of society that says remaining virginal until marriage is the only way to go. This ideal has fallen to the wayside a bit in recent years but still remains a strong sticking point with some individuals and groups.

The Christian community, for example, shares this perspective. This may have been more realistic when marriage was sought out early in life. With the average age of marriage in Canada now at 29, waiting is increasingly less likely to happen.

It is also common for certain denominations to tie “sex out of wedlock” to sin and immorality.

If you’re a follower of a particular religious group that adheres to this belief then following the rules makes sense. But what if you’re not? If you don’t belong to a church or practice any type of religion, are you still bound by the same morality code? Perhaps then you need to consider the other governors for engaging in sexual activity.

Waiting for love This is a lovely idea. It’s what little girls’ dreams are made of.

The only problem here is that while falling in love, your emotional and physical craving for your sweetie is all-encompassing. It may become difficult to refrain from the sexual spoils of your would-be lover. But if it can be done, sex with love as a basis is spectacular.

Circumstance Sometimes life gives you lemons. Instead of making lemonade and drinking it after sex, you might need to be still and wait for the right time to begin a sexual relationship. Additionally, putting a timeframe on the beginning of the sexual chapter in a relationship can be very exciting and allow you two to build a solid foundation first.

Because having sex creates a bond between two people, rushing into it may fool the participants into a false sense of intimacy. Sex can be just sex. But if you’re looking for more than a romp, waiting and getting to know your partner might be the best thing you ever did.

The Reach trains interns behind the scenes ALISHA DEDDENS JAYNE SIMPSON CONTRIBUTORS

Perching precariously on the top rung of a ladder in something resembling a yoga pose while clutching a hefty national art treasure isn’t exactly what we envisioned as a course assignment when we signed up to be art majors.

As the first UFV fine arts majors to undertake an independent study internship course (AH330 Museum Principles and Practices) at the Reach in Abbotsford, we were both experimental guinea pigs.

The Reach is a professional space that has presented a stellar line-up of local, national, and internationally acclaimed art and cultural exhibitions since its doors first opened five years ago. We were pretty excited to get into the gritty backend of the arts scene.

According to the outline, the course explores “the ways museums negotiate aesthetic, cultural, and political interests,” and examines “how exhibitions construct meaning alongside issues such as taste, ownership, stakeholder interests, community needs, and curatorial objectives.”

But what does that mean?

We’ve learned that, in part, it means determining what type of work to display is tricky.

What stimulates one visitor ’s artistic cravings assaults the conservative sensibilities of

another. Some people want to see only traditional shows that relate to the local community, while art geeks like us hunger for outrageous contemporary interdisciplinary feasts. Others in the community might prefer not to have an arts and cultural centre in the city at all.

Such are the delicate considerations of curator Scott Marsden and executive director Suzanne Greening. Behind the polished veneer of the stunning exhibitions are a lot of politics that must be carefully navigated if the Reach wants to retain its municipal and public support without watering down curatorial objectives of producing inspiring and provocative shows.

The show we were most involved in was the travelling exhibition from the Canadian War Museum called The Navy: A Century in Art. It looks at 100 years of Canadian Navy history through artist documentation.

We had the opportunity to work with Marsden on the exhibition changeover. This included some of the less glamorous tasks such as moving the tall walls, removing vinyl lettering from walls, patching holes, and moving crates.

We were also given the task of condition reporting. As works came in we had to document their states and take photos of any previous damages. When it came time to hang the pieces we were given the opportunity to work with someone from the Canadian War Museum. It was a great opportunity to learn how professional institutions create

installations.

But the challenge is how to construct meaning through interpretive programming and material that resonates with visitors. As Marsden says, it’s all about the story behind the artwork.

Tara, an intern from Trinity Western University, helped us put together a script and narrate a video about the stories of the artwork from the show. After filming, we spent countless hours editing and tying everything together.

We also developed a children’s activity book that helps younger visitors and school groups experience the artwork through fun, hands-on activities.

The internship experience has been a valuable lesson in learning the workings of a professional gallery and museum environment — the stuff they don’t teach you at university.

Our time at the Reach will end with the installation of the next group of shows, which will mean working alongside a preparatory team from the National Gallery of Canada, as well as several regional contemporary artists.

The upcoming travelling photographic collection titled Clash: Conflict and Its Consequences is an exhibition of national and international photographers who investigate the personal legacy of war and trauma, as well as the effects of mass media on depictions of conflict. The show runs January 23 to March 30.

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE Before Midnight

Before Midnight is alarmingly aware of itself in a way the first two films that follow Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jessie (Ethan Hawke), were not. Jessie’s third book is discussed as more ambitious than the others, three perspectives on the permanence of romantic love emerging from a farewell dinner set in Greece, and the film is neatly divided into three sections. But Richard Linklater ’s unique collaboration with Hawke and Delpy is — and has been from the first invitation to get off a train — interested in the role of acting and artifice in real life; with this third piece, it enters it completely and vulnerably. Where Certified Copy’s similar premise was concerned with the layers of what is original and what is fake, the Before movies present a cycle, moving around pretenses to arrive briefly at heartfelt truth, with a hundred moving pieces in between — a passage made not through the time so prominent in the title, but a seemingly incompatible mixture of closed-off dreaming and open conversation. — M.S.

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Much Ado About Nothing

As if he wasn’t busy enough, Hollywood’s geek-inresidence Joss Whedon found time between shooting and editing The Avengers to film this charming and faithful black-and-white Shakespeare adaptation. The bard’s classic tale of gossip gone good and awry is the perfect fit for the director ’s verbose and quickwitted style. Enlisting the help of frequent collaborators and friends to fill the roles while shooting over two weeks at the Whedon abode lends this movie a delightful homespun quality. Though a small role, Nathan Fillion’s bumbling police chief Dogberry lights up the screen. While mostly lightweight fare, Much Ado About Nothing deftly expresses a certain unvarnished movie-making magic only found in a labour of love. — N.M.

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Hot on the heels of the first installment, Into Darkness hit Trekkies like a truck full of bricks last summer.

It draws seamlessly on the original series movie Wrath of Khan without giving too much away to the seasoned fan, or confusing new ones with too much information.

The film thrusts the familiar and well-loved characters into new situations — who can forget Uhura speaking Klingon and somehow making it sexy? — but still landed a giant emotional punch at the end that turns a good remake into a savvy and hard-hitting film pleasing old and new fans alike. — D.B.

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Gravity

Gravity, the rare film that truly benefits from 3D and the immersive scale of a towering screen, starts out as a “can’t beat the view” perspective of outer space and the glory of the Earth’s aura before quickly turning into a harrowing crisis of human survival in the one place we are not meant to. Alfonso Cuarón (Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) delivers a scientifically half-true, nerve-wracking experience (a selfreferential “one hell of a ride”), but more importantly, one with emotional intelligence. — J.H.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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In a way, J.C. Chandor ’s All Is Lost is the same kind of gesture Jean-Luc Godard did for Fritz Lang with Le mépris or Peter Bogdanovich did for Boris Karloff with Targets: giving great film creators a fresh scenario to act years after the motion picture industry lost interest in them. To be fair, Redford has continued to make movies, but of a dead-on-arrival topical political kind. By contrast Chandor foregrounds an appreciation for actors that transcends whatever meaning a script might hold. For most of All Is Lost, the camera and whatever direction might be going on is simply information: Redford, reacting, processing the details of Chandor ’s single-performer lost-at-sea scenario, is all that matters. Given the film’s largest chunk of dialogue to open the film, Redford sets the tone for the two storm-beaten, shrunken-hope hours to follow: slightly uneven prose intoned into poetry.

— M.S.

Be Movi 201

The Place Beyond the Pines

After the success of their no-budget release Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance and Ryan Gosling once again teamed up to bring a quiet and tragic character drama to the screen in The Place Beyond the Pines. Though the runtime of this threepart odyssey pushes 140 minutes, every moment of the film is filled with tension surrounding the correlation between dirty criminal Luke (Gosling), his ex-girlfriend Romina (Eva Mendes), and young officer Avery (Bradley Cooper). The film’s breathtaking cinematography and ambient soundtrack boosts it from an average crime thriller to a lesson about actions and their consequences. It seems as though only Cianfrance and fellow director Nicholas Refn truly understand how to utilize Gosling in their films, giving him enough prominence on screen to make an unforgettable impression. — T.U.

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12 Years a Slave

Based on the 1853 memoirs of Solomon Northup, a free man sold into slavery, 12 Years a Slave offers the fascinating perspective of a man who knows freedom and dignity before slavery, and can understand his experiences through eyes resistant to dehumanization and degradation. Steve McQueen’s vigorous attention to specific moments in Northup’s long suffering gives a very individual experience to an account that could easily become depersonalized. — N.M.

All is Lost

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Blue Jasmine

Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins give awesome performances in Woody Allen’s loose adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. The two sisters, separated by the classes they identify with, are both tempted by the material things supplied to them by men of a higher tax bracket, but discover that despite a societal emphasis on the material, the ability to supply a spouse with wealth is not synonymous with virtue.

Blanchett gives one of her best performances as the foster sister with the “good genes” who falls from status and sanity and moves back in with her reluctant sibling. — N.M.

ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

If there’s one image burned into my mind after Catching Fire, it’s watching Mags (Lynn Cohen) disappear into the acid mist after a wordless goodbye to Finnick (Sam Claflin). The second film in the Hunger Games series ignores most sequel stereotypes. Where most middle stories struggle to find a balance between continuing plot lines from the first film and laying groundwork for the final, Catching Fire stands out on its own. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is thrust back into the games with her only-for-the-cameras fiancé Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), but not before further confusing her teenage emotions with Gayle (Liam Hemsworth). Lawrence elevates Katniss’s character from emotionally inept to deeply fractured as she attempts to navigate the manipulation both in the game, and in the Capitol. While Lawrence is easily the best part about any movie she is in, the A-list supporting cast took Catching Fire well beyond its young-adult blockbuster status. — J.W.

est ies of 13 3

The Wolf of Wall Street

Played in a loose, fantastic performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jordan Belfort is a silver-tongued devil not after legitimacy but the pure high of stock manipulation, sex, coke, ‘luudes and the cash that gives him access to all of the above. Yes, the film is sucked into his greed and unflinching power, but it also never forgets the destruction of lives, drug addiction, and affairs. It’s a mirrored portrait of self-interest.

Terrence Winter ’s script is comical in a refreshing, if dark way compared to other contemplations of post2008 greed, and, like a classic Scorsese film, likely to reward with the perspective time lends. — J.H.

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American Hustle

I’m a sucker for period films, especially anything set in the ‘70s — Almost Famous comes to mind. I was more than pleased to add American Hustle to this list; the crocheted bikinis, collar-to-midriff-baring necklines, and giant glasses were as much a character of the film as the constantly-smoking protagonists. In terms of plotline it falls somewhere between a mob movie and a con movie, although it’s not violent enough to be the former and not quite clever enough to be the latter. This movie is what you get when add a whole lot of sexual tension, no small portion of it faked, to a deal between a small-time con man and an over-ambitious FBI agent, and the result is as hilarious and heartbreaking as Christian Bale’s comb-over.

— D.B.

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Rush

Director Ron Howard is always at his best when he has a limited budget. Like the tête-à-tête of 2008’s Frost/Nixon, Rush, the story of 70s Formula One rivals Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), operates on a relatively microscopic level. The film perfectly captures the dangerous thrill and competitive nature of racing, and while Chris Hemsworth holds his own as Hunt, it is Brühl who steals the show. Portraying the relentless Austrian Lauda bent on becoming the greatest driver in the world, Brühl is almost unrecognizable from earlier roles (The Bourne Ultimatum, Inglorious Bastards) and helps make this film one of the year ’s best dramas.

— T.U.

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The World’s End

The World’s End marks the reunion of the satirical trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright, but also the end of the beloved Cornetto trilogy (along with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz).

While on the surface our heroes spend most of their time combatting zombies, ornery locals, and robots, at its core, each film in the series deals with fractured friendships, outdated traditions, and in the case of The World’s End, Gary King’s alcoholism. With subtle metaphors scattered throughout the film, like the 12 pubs working as an allegory for the 12-step program in AA, The World’s End benefits from the trio’s ability to squeeze more sinister themes into scenes involving fluidly choreographed bar and bathroom fights.

The film has the technical precision and editing of the first two films with a script to match. — T.U.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

It wasn’t until Smaug bellowed to a fleeing Bilbo Baggins that I really believed Benedict Cumberbatch was somewhere under all that CGI. The second installment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy lives up to many of the expectations he created for himself over the years between the adaptation’s announcement and its actual release. Certain choices to deviate from the original text are well integrated and lay the groundwork for further development in the third film; the love triangle between Legolas (Orlando Bloom), elvish guard Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and young dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) comes to mind.

Where all the dwarves were introduced in the first Hobbit film, the second carves out space for more development, including a touching scene between brothers Kili and Fili. The Desolation of Smaug calls to question themes of richness and loyalty while situating itself comfortably as the middle child in the larger story of Bilbo’s grandest journey. — J.W.

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Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers was by far the most memorable film of the year for me. There were moments when I didn’t know if I was supposed to laugh, stare, or scream in horror at what was being presented on screen. Every sequence has an ethereal, dream-like feel to it, particularly the film’s final scene, as director Harmony Korine replicates the frenzied party culture, contrasting their college life. Taking centre stage in the film’s second act, James Franco excels as the sleazy and deplorable Alien, introducing these college friends to his pseudo-gangster lifestyle. Even during the excessive montages of young adults partying on the beaches of Miami, the audience can sense the tension building. “Spring break forever, bitches!” short-lived. — T.U.

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Frances Ha

Played flawlessly by the incomparable Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha is incredibly and uncomfortably relatable for anyone who has felt the aimlessness of his or her existence, or the anxiety of post-graduate life. The narrative is structured through vignettes of life that demonstrate the world Frances has created for herself in New York, all the while living paycheque-to-paycheque in a mix of studio flats, unsure about where she wants to go — career or otherwise. Shot in black and white (and co-written by Gerwig), Frances Ha masterfully captures those awkward conversations in life that not a whole lot of filmmakers like to explore — director Noah Baumbach tackles them head-on and successfully humanizes them. — T.U.

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

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Josh Ritter — The Beast In Its Tracks

Josh Ritter ’s The Beast In Its Tracks comes roughly 14 years after his first release. Over that time his folk and alt-rock styling has only gotten better. The album is dynamic, never settling in on one sound but instead varying in cadence, tempo, and lyric. Still, Ritter doesn’t over-complicate and lets the album rest on its own acoustic airiness. In many ways the album is quaint, with a sound reminiscent of an old cedarfloored performance house. — J.J.

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David Bowie — The Next Day

Bowie is a master. Raw, dirty, bombastic and smoothly carved all that the same time; The Next Day creates the impossible. No logic can explain how Bowie has been able to craft such a unbelievable set of tracks. Part of the answer lies in the technical production, which sounds like an expensive cigar and triple glass of rare rum — neat, of course. The drums snap, the horns slam, and vocals power across the speakers.

This is the kind of record that musicians die to produce: quality composition paired with exquisite performance. David Bowie is a monument to character in this age of lazy reproduction. — C.D.

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Eleanor Friedberger — Personal Record

One of the easy things to miss in Eleanor Friedberger ’s control of verbal timing, from first twists of mundane details to final sentiments, is that through all the comic understatement (“Other Boys”) and overstatement (“I’m a disgrace,” cue guitar riff), Personal Record is anything but placid. It sounds even, but Friedberger ’s second solo record is full of leisurelypaced responses to panicked scenarios, songs that live for wordplay threaded into narratives that fall apart.

“Why don’t you give me all my time back,” Friedberger asks at her most direct, and Personal Record is at its best when spinning out variations, echoes, and encores of a kind Friedberger could only do in a formless tornadoed kind of way as a member of the Fiery Furnaces. Co-written with John Wesley Harding, Personal Record is a compendium of deadpan double meanings and flipping gender perspectives (“When I Knew” and “She’s a Mirror”), adding up to something that is, in its own limited way, all-encompassing. — M.S.

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Arcade Fire — Reflektor

Reflektor takes me back a few steps in the Arcade Fire canon. The sound of this album seems to revert back to their style from Funeral, mixed with a garage band twist. It isn’t my favourite, but a few lead titles always catch me and make me listen over and over. The lead song is both strange and inspiring. A few other songs on the two-disc set strike similar chords and hold a groovy bob-my-head-as-I-drive beat. Not only that, the cover of the album itself is super shiny and fancy, and I love super shiny and fancy things. Catches the eye. Maybe I’m really a crow. — A.B.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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When AM dropped this year, it was a pronounced departure from the band’s early “I bet you look good on the dance floor” Fratellis-esque pop-styling. AM proved the Arctic Monkeys are a band unscathed by thoughts of alienation as they pour their sexually dirtied rock all over that dance floor. Of course, through their catalogue of albums there have been hints of this progression. But AM is beyond that. Over the 12 tracks it slips through fast-paced grit, finds its way to be desperately wanton, and just shines as a thoroughly compelling album. — J.J.

Be Album 201

Kanye West — Yeezus

Coming off the high of his dazzlingly ornate magnum opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West spent three years dabbling in singles, production, and a full-album collaboration with mentor Jay-Z before springing this latest monster loose. Left puzzling over where the divisive rap icon could go, fans were left the closest thing to a clue on the aforementioned collaboration with Jay-Z. Watch the Throne’s most ubiquitous single “Niggas in Paris” embodies the same raw, industrial groove that found wings on Yeezus.

After an earth-shatteringly brilliant opening quartet, Yeezus struggles to reach the same heights consistently.

But make no mistake: this is ground-breaking stuff already making its influence felt. — N.U.

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Janelle Monáe — The Electric Lady

I bought my first CD of Monáe’s, The Electric Lady, from a Starbucks, along with a mocha minus the whipped cream. The mocha was shit (the whipped cream is an essential part of a mocha; always get it with the whipped cream). The CD, however, was out of this world. Monáe has a huge range of sounds; she is pop, groovy funk, all sweet and love ballad and perfect rap all in one. Some favorites: “Q.U.E.E.N.,” “Primetime,” and “Ghetto Woman.” Her music is also political — Monáe is an activist of the arts — and impossible not to dance to. With appearances by Miguel, Prince, Erykah Badu, and Solange. — N.M.

Arctic Monkeys — AM

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Haim — Days Are Gone

Bursting onto the scene with their debut album, Days Are Gone, Haim leaves a lasting impression. A deft blend of folksy melodies, breezy hooks and devastatingly sure-handed riffs, Days Are Gone transcends the term “pop rock” and creates an experience hard to summarize. Its ‘80s influences are apparent in its vintage sound, but it doesn’t grow tiresome, as the slick production sounds bright and new. These three sisters from California are not lacking in confidence, attitude, sass, or skill, and if this impressive first studio effort is any indication of what we can expect from Haim in the future, we should consider ourselves lucky. — N.Z.

ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

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13. Daft Punk — Random Access Memories

While everyone else in the world used their new-found digital mixing techniques to add dubstep to everything, Daft Punk took a chance and a giant step back in time to the era of disco. Damn, did it pay off — the result, Random Access Memories, became both the ironic and so-hipsterwe-went-back-in-time-to-be-vintage summer anthem album. The disco elements work surprisingly well as a backdrop against more modern elements, and it somehow manages to lasso the catchiest elements of both eras into a single addictive collection of songs. — D.B.

est ms of 13 3

Chvrches — The Bones of What You Believe

As a musical outsider and ignoramus it says a lot that I find Chvrches to be an accessible band. They make techno pop an easy listen without making it too, you know, mainstream. Despite hearing “The Mother We Share” regularly in The Gap, I still feel cool. Chvrches is like the lovechild of Kate Bush and some obscure electro or techno or synthpop guy. Neon Gold named them “a godless hurricane of kinetic pop energy,” and I think that about sums things up. Energetic, Scottish, non-religious despite the name, Chvrches is pretty rad. Have a listen. — N.M.

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My Bloody Valentine — mbv

My Bloody Valentine gets away with doing things that no other band can: droning guitar musical soundscapes that weave themselves between notes. I don’t think any song on mbv is in a specific key, yet somehow, the whole record plays out flawlessly. Why drink the whole bottle of whiskey when you can listen to this audio trip and feel the gravity swells pull you down into an audio coma? If you like taking too much NyQuil, you’ll enjoy listening to mbv. Warning: do not listen to while driving after dark, or in heavy traffic.

— C.D.

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Okkervil River — The Silver Gymnasium

After the release of their criminally underrated I Am Very Far in 2011, Okkervil River regrouped before recording The Silver Gymnasium. Singer-songwriter Will Sheff returned to his hometown and reflected on his small-town upbringing in Meriden before writing the songs that would later appear on the record. A healthy dose of retro keyboards and sunny horns to accompany their acoustic guitars and slight percussion transports the listener back to those sleepy weekends in New Hampshire where Sheff spent half his life.

Despite their consistent output, Okkervil River was never lucky enough to catch the flavour-of-the-month wave that propelled groups like The National or Arcade Fire into the mainstream. The songs on the record reveal themselves gradually over multiple listens, as the The Silver Gymnasium gives back whatever you put into it. — T.U.

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The National — Trouble Will Find Me

Undoubtedly, The National is the greatest indie band on the scene today. That’s a great feat to achieve given this is now their sixth album. While it’s not a major departure from their past few releases, it’s certainly enough to remain fresh. Remaining true to their past albums, this is an album that continually gets better with each consecutive listen. Every lowly trembling track is laden with depth, from the painfully melancholic lyrics, to the unique song structures, to Matt Berninger ’s baritone voice. — J.J.

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Mikal Cronin — MCII

When I first reviewed Mikal Cronin’s sophomore effort MCII this past spring, I envisioned it “fitting the bill [as] this spring’s introduction to summer record.”

I now view that statement as being severely shortsighted. As the summer drew to a close and the fall semester began, I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into this record. The multi-instrumental power pop-garage-rock ethos Cronin creates on MCII complements his questions about adjusting from youth to adulthood, as he asks on “Shout It Out,” “Do I shout it out? / Do I let it go? / Do I even know what I’m waiting for? / No, I want it now / Do I need it, though?”

MCII is a great triumph for a young artist stepping out of the shadows of Ty Segall and into his own promising career. — T.U.

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Phoenix — Bankrupt!

No one’s ever going to confuse Phoenix with Gang of Four, but Bankrupt! had Thomas Mars singing songs with titles like “Entertainment” and “Bourgeois” and making no secret of the subject of most of the band’s no longer only love-addled lyrics. Like Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, Phoenix, even as they out the robotic movements of those who always “care for more,” can’t help but find a flicker of romanticism as the album travels through “fanatic attitudes” and “fake rituals.”

Even if they don’t say it outright, they’re dwelling in the same market of selling and upgrading senses, which is why the single’s central hook is an anthemic “I’d rather be alone!” Bankrupt! pivots from pop sparkle (it’s the band’s best-sequenced album) to critique and back again — a side-eye and a smile, rather than a scream, for the moment. — M.S.

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Vampire Weekend — Modern Vampires of the City

Obsessively recapitulates the glancing blows of sunrise/sunset like trying to fit all of Linklater into three minutes, bookends the whole organ-stabbing string section-ing early-life crisis with two types of horror stories, and contemplates the end of every line without saying the “d” word (except for a crucial save in “Step”) — it’s safe to say that, no matter their New Yorker milieu, Vampire Weekend isn’t just playing the irony game. What they do have is a sense of humour, of play with the college-pop corner they’ve dug out.

On a first listen the Rechtshaid-plus production can seem decorative, freely inheriting past decades, but what sticks around are the pockets of silence opened up on “Step,” “Hannah Hunt,” and Ezra Koenig’s way of making love as religion and the vocalizing of time’s effects take on all the weight of Brian Wilson’s “Wonderful,” even if Smile is still impossible. — M.S.

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

RESTAURANTS OF 2013 10

Roseland Family Restaurant

I can’t stop raving about Roseland. The beef dip, the broccoli cheddar soup... I’ve never been unhappy with a meal there. It’s all comfort food. Do yourself a favour: settle down with a friend in a cushioned booth — they only have booths, not tables — and order potato skins.

You won’t regret it. Service is good, atmosphere is good, and prices are low to average. One of the main perks of this restaurant is that it’s within a five-minute drive to UFV, so you can duck out between classes on a rainy day and enjoy a stress-free lunch at this idyllically named eatery at Five Corners in Abbotsford. — K.S.

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New Saigon

New Saigon is a vegetarian-friendly alternative to the typically meat-heavy restaurants; the wide selection of vermicelli bowls, stir-fry and salad rolls offer lighter, gluten-free options. The owner, Henry, is often in and remembers your last order with surprising detail, which gives the restaurant a welcoming feel. My favourite: a vermicelli bowl with vegetarian spring rolls and sweet prawns. For those who like a little more protein, Henry’s special features grilled pork and pork patties. Vietnamese coffee is a interesting addition to the meal. Grab one of the comfortable and private couch-seats against the wall, or call in and get take out. − W.K.

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Mr. India

Two words: butter chicken. I can’t get enough of the rich yellow sauce, spiced to perfection. It’s creamy, thick, spicy. I’m no Indian cuisine expert, but as a person who usually avoids spicy foods − well, Mr. India has changed me. I usually go with my vegetarian friend, who lets me try her matter puneer, aloo gobi, and malai kofta. It’s delicious as well, but I’m still at the stage where all I’m ordering is butter chicken, as well as a basket of naan — garlic naan is best, golden with just the right amount of crunch. Even if you’re not a spice-person, give some mild butter chicken from Mr. India a try; you won’t be let down. — S.M.

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4

Mitch Miller’s

Mitch Miller ’s is the best of both worlds: huge portions and gourmet quality. If you’re worried about being serving too much, there is always the option for a “to go” box. The best thing about this local favourite is the service. Your coffee cup will never sit empty. Despite the complexity of the dishes, food lands on the table quicker than in any other cafe in town. But that doesn’t mean the dishes are pre-made cardboard. This place hosts a massive menu: from buffalo burgers to eggs Benedict. If you want to score the best breakfast in town, this is the place. — C.D.

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They do sushi well at Sushi Nine. I’ve tried all their basic menu items — dynamite roll, California roll, assorted sashimi, sunomono, gyoza, and miso. It’s great quality, always fresh, decent prices (though, like all sushi places, not student-wallet cheap), and the little restaurant has a clean, cozy atmosphere. The tempura sauce at Sushi Nine is interesting, spiced with something different and pretty tasty. The service is really the best of sushi places in Abbotsford. The woman serving always has a smile on her face, and never leaves you hanging. Finally, I won’t give you any spoilers, but try the Sushi Nine roll. It’s an adventure in a roll. − S.M.

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Ever get hungry at night? Of course you do. This 24 hour diner, with its ‘50s signage, neon lights, and Archie comic-esque booths will ease your cravings. The portions are hefty. If you’re looking for deep-fried, greasy, meaty and cheesy, Rockos is for you. Try their milkshakes — Rockos boasts dozens of flavours, and 420 combinations!

If you’re lucky, your waitress will call you “honey” and snap her chewing gum while she takes your order. − S.M.

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Sushi Nine

O’Neill’s Home Cooking

O’Neill’s has been a downtown Abbotsford and UFV student favourite for a long while now. The O’Neill breakfast sandwich is legendary at this point for the huge sweet potato bun, not to forget the delicious melding of cheese, ham, mayo, honey mustard, and a fried egg. Vern O’Neill has expanded the seating area too, so now you can sit down for your sandwich and enjoy some local art bedecking the walls. — S.M.

Rockos

Clayburn Village Store & Tea Shop

At Clayburn Village Store & Tea Shop, it’s all about the atmosphere and the soup. The little tea shop makes you feel like you’re in Hogsmead. It’s British. Old-fashioned.

So quaint. But it’s the soup that will blow your mind.

Whatever the soup of the day is, get it. If you don’t like the ingredients, still get it. My favourite soups — chipotle black bean and ham, and carrot-orange — didn’t sound good on paper, but they are creamy goodness. The flavour was so rich and genuine! You’re not going to get a lot of food for your buck; the tea shop isn’t cheap. Try something small — a Cornish pasty and a bowl of soup — and you’ll be satisfied. — S.M.

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Wendel’s

The lunch wraps and paninis at Wendel’s are something to rave about. A wild salmon wrap with bean sprouts and quinoa? Yes please. A chicken and brie panini? Pepper jack panini? Wonderful! Half-bookstore, halfcoffee shop with an extensive and varied menu, Wendel’s — on the corner of the main street in historic Fort Langley — fosters a warm atmosphere. It’s always busy, and really the only negative thing I could say about it is somethimes you have to wait a while for your order. But it’s definitely worth it. Wendel’s knows how to combine flavours into something heavenly — roasted garlic mayo and caramelized onions on one wrap, brie cheese and roasted meat on the other... Wendel’s combines texture and taste to make a delicious mouthful. — S.M.

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Afterthoughts

Cheesecake, pastry, and coffee lovers: Afterthoughts is your home. Whether you’re looking for rich, creamy cakes, delicate pastries, or a thick, gooey cinnamon bun, this is the place to be. Afterthoughts’ soups and sandwiches are nothing to sneeze at either — try the broccolicheese soup! This is the kind of place that you can take chances at. Try something new. Cookies, turnovers, danishes... Afterthoughts does everything they serve well.

It’s a social place — no plug-ins or wifi — so go with a friend and share a slice of Vancouver cheesecake to start.

— S.M.

Image: Shannon Clattenburg/Flickr

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

BOOKS OF 2013

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The Dilettantes by Michael Hingston

It’s obvious why this title landed here. The book is about SFU’s student run paper the Peak, but that’s not the only reason we’re into into it. The Dilettantes captures what it’s like to be a student in the Lower Mainland of B.C. Not since Neal Stepson’s The Big U — another first book by a great author — have we been able to kick back for a quick comical read about the realities of university life. Its ironic look at academic life will have you quoting lines during your next classroom debate.

Hingston wrote this for students, not for book reviewers. National reviews of this book have been unfair by missing the target audience. Read it. — C.D.

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Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

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This is possibly the weirdest historical fiction you will ever, ever read. I hated the first two chapters, because it wasn’t until the third chapter that things started really falling into place — in short, our protagonist Ursula Todd restarts at the beginning of life every time she dies, and is implanted with the innate sense of how to avoid making the same mistakes again. It’s like watching someone read through a choose-your-own adventure and begin again and again and again, following different variations each time. The cherry on the cake: you know how hypothetically time travellers always talk about going back in time to kill Hitler? That’s a thing. But can she pull it off. — D.B.

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Putting a formal political science book on this list is totally pretentious. Yes, the book is dry. Yes, it’s academic. Yes, reading about foreign policy — along with all of the genre’s acronyms — puts most of us to sleep. And yes, the book costs way too much: around $100. But until Akuffo’s work there hasn’t been a single book completely dedicated to the topic. The content spearheads a new exploration in international relations, looking to reframe issues like security and development. Too often Canadian scholars rely on the United States to crack the question of peace, order, and good governance in Africa. We have our own political science scholars that can untangle the problem, too. — C.D.

Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

by Thomas King

Thomas King has been called the “Canadian Mark Twain.” His latest book is a crash course in the historical catastrophe of North American First Nations peoples’ relationship with settlers.

But this book isn’t the dry, recycled tale you keep hearing about.

King has one foot in the past and another in the present; every story in the book is linked and contextualized to the issues of today.

King’s sentences are loaded with heavy comical punches that land critical blows on both sides. Humorous, loveable, and above all: full of truth. — C.D.

This was my absolute favourite book this year, possibly because I also work for a newspaper. In short, Hainey goes in search of the truth behind his father ’s unexpected death by heart attack 20 years ago. The newspapers blandly report Bob Hainey died “after visiting friends,” but he was a newspaperman, so it’s more than possible that other journalists are covering something up to take care of their own. Michael’s search takes him across the country, and ultimately ends with a question: does knowing the truth change anything at all? And if it does, was it worth it? — D.B.

Canadian Foreign Policy in Africa: Regional Approaches to Peace, Security, and Development by Edward Akuffo

A lot of people are worried about what the internet is doing to our literacy and economy, but few people try to come up with real solutions. What do you do when new technologies like Instagram replace the Kodak factories that used to employ thousands of people?

This powerful missive explores the dark side of technology fthrough lessons Lanier learned as the father of virtual reality in Silicon Valley. It cracks our ideological beliefs about what we can do for technology and what technology does to us. Digital technology has the same trade-offs and limitations analog has always had. — C.D.

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After Visiting Friends: A Son’s Story,

by Michael Hainey

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Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland

Douglas Coupland’s latest novel is perfect if you’re looking for an asshole. Raymond Gunt (who I will loosely label as the protagonist) is perhaps the biggest asshole you will ever meet. To be let into his mind for 317 pages is disgusting, revolting — and enlightening. His callous selfishness and general wolfishness makes the reader take a step back and consider not only how rude the rule is getting as a whole, but what that means. Are goodness and rudeness mutually exclusive? On a nonphilosophical note, it’s cathartic to watch a jerk say exactly what you wish you could to screaming babies and sexy women, and then get exactly what’s coming to him for other miscellaneous everyday assholeishness. — D.B.

The Flamethowers by Rachel Kushner

The star of this book isn’t a character (although they’re also strong and intriguing), but Kushner ’s prose: her descriptions and phrasing wrap the reader up like a silk scarf — strong, soft, and comforting.

It takes place in the ‘70s, when there was still a scent of newness to now-nostalgic ideas: the characters ride motorcycles before they are cool, are part of the New York art scene before it becomes pretentious, and take part in the Italian revolution before mass media made political uprisings seem commonplace. The theme of aesthetics versus violence stays true today, and the flashback to a long-gone era comes with an ache of nostalgia for a time when things were simpler, even though they never were simple in the first place. — D.B.

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Video games of the year

Theatre Review

JEREMY HANNAFORD CONTRIBUTOR

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The Last of Us

The Last of Us is the game of the year for many reasons, beginning with its engaging characters, its meticulously laid out post-apocalyptic world, and its nerve-wracking gameplay. The beauty in this game is both inspiring and heartbreaking. From surviving a brutal winter to roaming among giraffes in an abandoned zoo, protagonists Joel and Ellie endure a gripping journey to the very end and leave a permanent impression that won’t be forgotten for many years.

2 Image: UFV Theatre

Age of Arousal SASHA MOEDT THE CASCADE

The Victorian era was a complicated time of European history, a period of social change, and an age of both sexual discovery and repression. Early feminists began to make waves. The very fact that there were 500,000 more women in late Victorian England gave opportunities to young women to join the workforce. For women who were told that they only existed to be mothers and wives, how did a woman cope, should they have no opportunity to marry? How did she deal with her sexual urges in a time where pre-marital sex was unacceptable?

Canadian playwright Linda Griffith’s Age of Arousal addresses these questions with a sensual and clever script. UFV director Ian Fenwick brings it all to life with a cast of half a dozen women and (appropriately) just one man.

I honestly can’t say whether Age of Arousal is sexier than it is smart, or smarter than it is sexy. Three sisters — Alice Madden (Melissa Regamble), Virginia (Geneva Perkins), and the young and pretty Monica (Rae MacEachern-Eastwood) — struggle with identity and for survival without a male figure guiding them. A suffragette veteran, Mary, (Cait Archer) runs a typing school with her young lover and protégé, Rhoda (Danielle Warmenhoven). Mary’s cousin, a lecherous fellow, is thrown into the mix.

Having seen numerous prodcutions, I didn’t realize UFV theatre could be so risqué. Immediately in the opening scene, Warmenhoven and Archer ’s characters — the mistress and protégé — share a passionate kiss. It set the tone for me, and got me excited – at that point, I was thinking, “now anything can happen!” And I wasn’t let down, that’s for sure.

It was a pleasure to see Dani-

elle Warmenhoven and Eli Funk back in action after their work in Once in a Lifetime; the pair has great on-stage chemistry. The acting all around was strong and consistent. I was especially impressed with Cait Archer, who probably made me laugh the loudest with her perfectly delivered sardonic lines.

One concern of mine came from moments when characters were talking over each other.

While it added to the frantic and hysterical characters of the two elder Madden sisters, I found it distracting and difficult to understand.

My biggest disappointment was the death of the “fallen woman.” Considering this is a play greatly influenced by a work written in the Victorian era, this was bound to happen — but this theme seems to continue on today. The woman loses her oh-so-precious virtue, gets pregnant or sick, then dies so that everyone learns the lesson: sluts aren’t acceptable.

The production design was flawless. There were a couple of really cleverly done scenes working with shadows, and the set’s design was pretty cool. I wondered how the costumes would go, considering the many-layered and complicated get-ups women in the Victorian age got into, but the costume designer, Aaron Froc, did the era justice.

Age of Arousal has been my favourite play put on by UFV theatre. I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in sexuality, feminism, history and, well, acting! Performances continues on January 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. There are also two matinees at 2 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 26. Students can get tickets at the door for $10 with valid ID with the new rush ticket system; otherwise through the UFV Theatre box office at 604-795-2814 and theatre@ufv.ca.

Grand Theft Auto V

Rockstar North has shown what a studio can accomplish with supposedly limited technology — pushing the Xbox 360 and PS3 to their limits and still maintaining a fully functioning open world game. The scope of the game is immense: from pedestrians’ reactions to your acts of crime to the mind-blowing detail of Los Santos. Its vastness gives players the means to do whatever they want on a different level from the next-best in the genre. Along with a fun and innovative online counterpart, GTA V tops out the processing power of the seventh generation of home consoles.

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Gone Home

One of the shortest games on this list also happens to be one of the deepest in terms of story.

Gone Home has its protagonist return home to find their house deserted and things in disarray.

What unfolds next is a brilliant look at high school ideologies, sibling bonding, and an exploration of foreign relationships. A great puzzle game hidden within a deep and passionate story, Gone Home shows that every home holds many stories — it just takes one to look to uncover them.

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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

For a game that featured a simple (yet at times aggravating) control setup, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons innovative system is a key reason for the game’s success. The idea of using two characters at the same time via the two analogue sticks is definitely difficult to grasp at first but it proves to be highly engaging. Despite the characters being mute, the brothers’ quest for their father is full of emotional imagery that proves words are not needed to describe their family bond.

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Tomb Raider

For years, the Tomb Raider games have shown a sexy, charismatic version of Lara Croft. The fifth in the series, a reboot for the character, provides a completely different look at the heroine.

Aside from the great voice-acting and incredible artwork, Tomb Raider is still a great survival game. Through its gameplay, developer Crystal Dynamics make you care about Lara as she traverses through harrowing obstacles. Along with a bow mechanic that brings back memories of Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider is the change the series desperately needed.

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Not since Assassin’s Creed 2 has there been as much intrigue, as well as overall fun, in the atmosphere of an Assassin’s Creed game. Taking place before Assassin’s Creed 3, Black Flag puts the player right in the golden age of privateering. Within an expansive open world holding many quests and treasures, Black Flag truly rewards the player for doing whatever they want. Along with a finely tuned ship battle mechanic, Black Flag is a great outing in the series, all while shrugging off most of the conventions of being an AC game.

Papers Please

A game that brings the most astounding and cruel decisions out of some gamers, Papers Please was a definite surprise for 2013.

Playing as an immigration officer analyzing people’s documents — choosing whether to let them into the country or not — sounds horrible as a premise.

But in truth, it’s very engaging and unsettling at times. Set in the ‘80s, Papers Please is a view of the harsh reality some eastern European countries had to face during the Cold War Era. Between dealing with illegal immigrants and trying to support your family, the game forces its players to encounter some difficult choices, leading to some surprising decisions.

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Super Mario 3D World

Whether through the creative co-op puzzles or incredibly cute cat costumes, Super Mario 3D World exceeds the already-high expectations always placed on a Mario game. The type of great game the Wii U mostly lacks, 3D World provides addicting gameplay and hilarious co-op sessions. Despite the negativity following its announcement (as opposed to another Galaxy game), 3D World will prove to be another classic Mario game.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag

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Bioshock Infinite

From the opening moments of arriving on Columbia, Bioshock Infinite players are treated to a majestic and beautiful place that rivals the sky that it hides in. But Columbia is also plagued with the horror of racism and segregation owing to its 1920s period setting. Replacing the horror of splicers with the horror of human exclusion is a interesting new venture in the series, and along with traditional Bioshock gameplay mechanics (including a Skyhook device that never gets old), Infinite is a solid entry in Ken Levine’s continuing narrative.

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Pokémon X&Y

With each iteration of Pokémon comes a new and better game in the series. Pokémon X&Y is no exception. Featuring an improved online community that’s seamlessly incorporated into a stunning 3D world, X&Y also introduces new mega-evolutions and exciting new animations.

While it follows the same Pokémon story of every Pokémon game, this iteration is quick to the punch and pulls PokéMasters-to-be into its world immediately.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Fashion

Fashion tips for the winter semester BRITTNEY HENSMAN

Upcoming

Events

CONTRIBUTOR

We’ll be spending the next few cold and wintry months huddled in our classrooms, expanding our knowledge.

To be honest, I would not consider myself a fashionista, nor am I crazy about the latest fashion magazines or blog updates.

But what we wear on the exterior can say a lot about the interior. So keep that in mind if you’re tempted to roll your eyes at the “fashion” article.

Early in the morning, it’s natural to dress according to our initial feelings after a deep slumber. If you wake-up groggy, congested, exhausted, grumpy, and freezing, then you’ll dress according to those feelings.

You’ll look and feel that way all day.

You can avoid this fashion roadblock by planning your outfit the night before. Choose something you know you’ll be comfortable in, but that still looks professional.

I have to tackle a fashion crisis that appears to be a university stigma in the minds of students for the winter semester. To be blunt, I don’t condone pyjama pants or sweats as a viable excuse to cover your lower half — no matter how cold it is.

When you walk on campus in pyjamas, you’re basically making a statement that says, “I don’t care.” The reality is, you’re paying to be at this institution and other people do care.

No one wants to look at your faded flannel Betty Boop pyjama pants.

You can still stay warm and

Jan 8-26 Arouse your interest If you’re looking for some high-minded culture, your answer lies in UFV theatre’s latest production, the Canadian play Age of Arousal. With student rush tickets available for only $10, it’s never been more affordable to see a play.

image: NotMargaret/Flickr

While army green jackets are popular, in winter weather they’re nothing compared to one made out of wool. comfortable in a nice pair of jeans, cords, or classic black skinnies. Throw on a pair of wool socks with boots and your bottom half will be set. Remember, black and jean will never go out of style and will always be an appropriate option for university students.

And hair — oh, hair. Hair in the rain can always be a challenge. I used to be against hair spray because it smelled funny and I thought it made my hair look crunchy, but there are a lot of brands out there that can keep curls in shape, hold down the flyaways, and smell shockingly delicious!

Tresemmé extra hold was where my appreciation for hair spray began. But I’ve recently

decided to use Herbal Essences lily bliss fragrance.

Jackets are a must in this type of weather. Don’t even think of trying to be tough and braving the cold — it’s not worth it.

The explosion of the armygreen jacket has definitely made its statement of popularity this season. I thought I was being original when I purchased mine until I came to school last semester and saw the sea of green.

But the downside is that most of these jackets are made of lightweight cotton, so their ability to keep out the cold is lacking. A wool jacket is what you want to stay warm.

A quick tip on good quality fabrics: choose 100 per cent wool for sweaters and socks. Real

leather for boots, bags, and other jackets are good investments.

These staple items may seem to hurt your wallet on initial purchase, but I promise it will pay off in the long run. They’ll last for years and actually serve their purpose — to keep you warm and the wet out.

When buying these items choose simple, classic styles and colours. A classic wool sweater or cardigan is perfect to add layers when you want to sport your army green. It will save you from feeling the need to pull out your puffy, feather-down, winter marshmallow coat for warmth. Let’s leave that in the closet for the ski slopes.

Yzerman’s controversial choice gets ready for Olympic pressure CONTRIBUTOR

Last week’s highly anticipated unveiling of Hockey Canada’s Olympic roster was certain to spark debates among fans and sportscasters alike.

Despite Steve Yzerman and company having put together what appears to be a very solid group, controversy is unavoidable in our hockey-crazed country.

Significant omissions in the forward positions include Martin St. Louis and Logan Couture, and missing on defence is BC’s own Brent Seabrook. But perhaps the most notable snub lies in the position of assistant equipment manager (AEM), with the coveted title going to newcomer Jack “Mr. Clean” McCourt, leaving veteran and twotime Olympic AEM, Frederick Lapointe, to count his hangers at home this February.

“I know we’re taking a bit of a chance with him,” said Yzerman responding to critics of his surprise pick. “But I’m confident that he [McCourt] can de-

liver the goods — those goods, of course, being the player ’s equipment — safely and quickly to the dressing room.”

Yzerman went on to praise his young AEM. “In all my years in the game of hockey, I’ve never seen a young man so dedicated to the management, placement, organization, and cleanliness of sporting goods. You watch him down in the laundry room, sorting, folding — you can tell that he really cares. He has an eye for fabric softeners that, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say is equal to Vladislav Zaytsev in his prime.”

Some might say comparing him to the legendary Soviet equipment manager is putting far too much pressure on the new AEM to perform, but McCourt insists that we should believe the hype.

“I’m the best there is, plain and simple. You put me in front of a basket full of dirty gloves and I’ll have them sprayed and sorted quicker than you can say, ‘maple syrup.’ One of the players wants his skates sharpened?

I can point him in the direction of the guy in charge of that, no problem. I work hard, but hey, that’s just part of the job.”

McCourt, at just 21 years of age, has no shortage of confidence. At 16, he was hired at the Sport Chek in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario. Within 18 months he was promoted to shift manager.

It wasn’t long before scouts from all around the country began booking flights to the small Ontario town to see the youngster at work. After three years of paying his dues in the back rooms of sporting goods stores, time which included a heartbreaking blockbuster trade to the Source for Sports across town, the highly touted McCourt got his chance to display his equipment-managing chops in the minor leagues, signing a contract in the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League, now stands for nothing).

The general consensus from equipment scouts is that Jack McCourt will be selected first overall in next summer ’s annual NHL training staff entry

Fine dining with UFV culinary arts If you’re looking for fine dining on the cheap, head over to the Chilliwack Trades and Technology Centre for an outstanding gourmet fixed-price menu prepared by UFV’s renowned culinary arts cooksin-training. A four-course meal is only $19.95.

Jan 23 - Mar 30

Sasquatch Exposed: Cascade Humour

NATHAN ZAPARILLA

Jan 23

draft in Boca Raton, Florida, but eyebrows were still raised when Yzerman announced his selection.

“He’s talented, there’s no doubt about it,” said Dick Kniffing, CBC sports radio and TV personality. “But he’s unproven. I just don’t know if he’s got what it takes to hang those sweaters and fill up those Gatorade bottles at a pro-level, night in, night out. And at a tournament as tight as the Olympics, a half-empty water bottle could be the difference between silver and gold.”

We’ll find out in February whether or not Yzerman’s risk will pay off, but until then, the pick will be debated and scrutinized, as will the snub of veteran Frederick Lapointe, who has refused to comment on the situation.

Of course, all opinions from here on out are moot; what’s done is done — like it or not, Jack McCourt is our guy.

Clash: Conflict and Its Consequences The Reach is featuring a collection of work from national photojournalists with the theme of war and conflict: memorials to the fallen, objects that survived atomic blasts, sites of concentration camps, and the link between the photographer and the subject.

Jan 8-24 It(wa)’s All About Me Chris Janzen returns to UFV this month after graduating with a BFA in 2010. His latest autobiographical visual arts show presents “the painful, positive, and often unsettling transformation from self to husband and father.” You can swing by anytime during school hours to see his work hanging in the gallery on the Abbotsford campus.

18

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

British Columbia’s lumpy multiculturalism is what defines our community CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS THE CASCADE

What is culture?

It’s what intellectuals call a contested subject.

Some take a holistic approach — culture as the sum of all human knowledge — while others consider culture to be a refinement of the self — making the best of any art form.

The Cascade has split arts and culture into two sections, separating these different views of culture. The arts section is our analytical view of culture and reviews. On the other side of the arts section is the culture section, used to celebrate the human creativity around us.

Like it our not, we judge culture. Not cultures, but the artifacts we create inside them. We rank things; grades, ratings, click-count, speed, mass, and skill. We build relationships around our cultural preferences and we place them into hierarchies. Not all creativity is created equal in our subjective minds.

Critics judge the products culture industries produce: movies, music, actors, singers, directors, and composers.

The battle for the ranking of our tastes is something we like to wage in the reviews section, not the type of thing that we will be covering here.

Culture is a collection of our human creativity. We categorize

image: Jens Ross/Flickr

Welcome to Canada; have a Kinder Surprise! it into sections: geographic region, decade, class, ethnicity, or gender.

These categories are always shifting. There are no hard-andfast rules when it comes to talking about culture. At the same time, it is clear that groups of people lump together with the same tastes, ideas, values, and goals. In this way, British Columbia has a lumpy culture.

In this section of this paper we will hold conversations about

what it means to live in British Columbia. What is it that we create to celebrate what it means to be us? How does the culture of the outside world change our own unique perspectives? How can we better share the things that we love?

In the quest to answer these questions, The Cascade has embraced multiculturalism as the lynchpin of our community and its relationship with the outside world.

We all experience two different cultures: mass culture through the connectivity of digital platforms, television broadcasts, and national booksellers; and our local ties to a specific natural environment, our bio-region. Our perceptions and ideas are rooted in a connection to the local geography and biological organisms that surround us.

Multiculturalism’s evolution in BC has remained more fragmented than in other provinces.

While we share aspects of our personal cultural identity with those that we see as the “other,” we need to be wary of simply wearing the mask of the cultural other.

Cultural identity can’t simply be selected and tried on. To mimic the other ’s culture by ironic display or false representation should be considered extremely inappropriate. We embrace each other when sharing cultures, and we should also realize that we are different.

But with our ties to the land we have created another layer of hybrid culture, one that is distinctly British Columbian. A culture we can all celebrate.

Multiculturalism falls upon us much like the layers of a Kinder egg. On the outside is the wrapping, our national and provincial identity. The chocolate is our ethnic shell, the toy inside is our own unique experience — a collision of class, gender, and personal identity.

We are like the Kinder egg in another way, the chocolate cannot be found in United States — the FDA made it illegal. The chocolate egg, like our culture, is an item that Americans cross the border for and try to bring back.

It’s our goal to celebrate the multiculturalism that is uniquely us.

Connect With Your SUS Health & Dental Plan Your Benefits for 2013/2014 Health prescription drugs, psychologist, chiropractor, physiotherapist, ambulance, vaccinations, medical equipment, and more...

Travel travel health coverage for 120 days per trip, up to $5,000,000, trip cancellation and interruption in the event of a medical emergency

Vision eye exam and laser eye surgery

Dental cleanings, checkups, fillings, root canals, gum treatments, extractions, and more...

Networks Enhance Your Benefits and Save You Money Get even more coverage by visiting members of the Dental, Vision, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Massage Therapy, and Doctor Networks.

Find a health practitioner at www.ihaveaplan.ca.

Change-of-Coverage Dates Only new Winter semester students can enrol themselves and their spouse/dependants between Jan. 3 - 24, 2014 for coverage from Jan. 1 - Aug. 31, 2014. For more information, visit www.ihaveaplan.ca.

The Member Services Centre is there to assist you from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays: 1 866 358-4437 Have a Smartphone with a QR code reader? Scan the box to the left to be directed to your Plan’s website.

ihaveaplan.ca

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

19

SPORTS & HEALTH

Heat Report

Individual honours abound for Heat, but team remains in a tailspin mulated another million dollar deficit last season. The Heat enter 2014, the fifth year of their 10-year contract with the City of Abbotsford, with sliding attendance and a devoted but small fanbase. Under the agreement, the Heat are guaranteed a financial safety net each year, with taxpayers committed to making up any monetary losses incurred by the franchise. In their half-decade history, the Heat have yet to see a season where they break even.

TIM UBELS

CONTRIBUTOR

Berra and Baertschi off to Sochi, Billins and Street off to St. John’s It was a big week in personal honours for the Abbotsford Heat, as the international rosters for both the Sochi Olympic Games and the AHL all-star team were announced. Reto Berra, who has recently secured a place on the Calgary Flames roster and now splits time in net with Karri Ramo, was named to the Swiss Olympic team. Berra will likely compete with Tobias Stephan for the back-up position, as the starting position will belong to Anaheim Ducks’ starter Jonas Hiller. 21-year-old Sven Baertschi, who finds himself in a Heat uniform after starting the season with the Flames, was named to the Swiss reserve team. Baertschi had a tough winter with the big club and ended up in coach Bob Hartley’s doghouse.

While the demotion allows him to work on his game, the honour should serve as a confidence boost for the promising young forward.

Forward Ben Street and defenseman Chad Billins will represent the Abbotsford Heat at this year’s AHL all-star game. Street, who dressed for eight games with the Flames to start the sea-

If Ben Street is still in the AHL come Februrary, he’ll be suiting up for the league’s all-star team. son, has picked up 16 goals and 32 points in 30 games since returning to the Heat, establishing himself as the driving force behind the team’s offense. Billins, who is currently tied for second on the team in points, will participate in his second consecutive AHL all-star game, which is scheduled to take place over the NHL’s Olympic break in February.

This year the annual all-star

game will take on a new look — instead of pitting the best of the Eastern and Western conferences against each other, both conferences will team up to take on Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League. Farjestad BK is a championship team of Sweden’s top division, winning the title in 2006, 2009, and 2011. Heat fans can catch Billins and Street demonstrating their talents in the skills competition on Febru-

Image: Clint Trahan

ary 11 and against Farjestad BK during the all-star game on February 12 on Sportsnet.

Big losses on and off the ice It’s no secret that the Heat have had their problems putting the puck in the net recently, and were outscored 15-3 in their first four games this year, but the team is suffering off the ice as well. The Province reports that the Abbotsford Heat accu-

Heat surrender division lead Halfway through a six-game road trip, all-stars Street and Billins were the main reasons the Heat have been able to get any points at all. Falling to second place in the West division after the Texas Stars shut Abbotsford out (the low point in a four-game stretch of three total goals scored), the Heat rebounded for a win against San Antonio. Street pushed the Heat to victory in overtime, escaping the Lone Star State with two points. The Heat have an afternoon date with Rockford and a Grand Rapids doubleheader in between them and a return home against spiritual rivals the Utica Comets (parent team: Vancouver) on January 24.

Food cravings: why do I want to eat that?

VIVIENNE BEARD CONTRIBUTOR

Have you ever had images of chocolate and French fries follow you around all day? Food cravings are common to almost all, and overcoming them can feel like an impossible task.

Quickly eating something unhealthy may satisfy a craving, but will only harm our bodies in the long term.

While some cravings are actually biological messages our brain sends our body when certain nutrients are needed, research has found that most cravings are caused by our emotions.

When our taste buds enjoy the flavours or the texture of a certain food, a pleasurable message is sent to our brain and remembered. The areas of our brains responsible for memory and sensing pleasure are closely related, and will associate the tasty food with feelings of happiness and contentment. As amazing as this process is, it can also cause us to crave the unhealthiest of foods when our emotions are high. If we are feeling sad or stressed, the craving we have that provokes us into eating a chocolate bar or a greasy packet of chips is often our brain’s way of dealing with stress by craving food that previously left us feeling calm

Image: Smiteme/Flickr

Cookie dough is tempting, but better left behind in 2013. and stress-free.

Researchers from the University of California have discovered that the combination of fat and sugar actually has a calming effect on our bodies. Their study found that those who ate a combination of fat and sugar

produced fewer stress-related hormones compared to those who did not. This calming effect is one of the reasons those under stress tend to crave foods plentiful in grease and sugar.

Carbohydrate-rich foods like bread and pasta have a similar

calming affect by boosting our bodies’ levels of the hormone serotonin. Fat, sugar, and carbohydrates may leave us feeling momentarily calm and stress-free, but will only hinder our bodies by contributing to blocked arteries and unhealthy weight gain.

One way to overcome the obstacle of unhealthy food cravings is to eat healthy, nutritious food while doing something we enjoy. We can, in fact, train our brains to like healthy food by enjoying ourselves while we eat nutritious, body-benefitting foods. For example, when going to the movies with your friends, instead of succumbing to the smell of buttery popcorn, slip a healthy and delicious trail mix of almonds, dark chocolate pieces, and cranberries into your bag. Choosing healthy options while doing fun activities will help train our brains to crave these foods instead when a stressful time comes. It may be a challenge, but the more we choose nutritious over harmful foods, the easier and more enjoyable it becomes.

Students’ lives are riddled with emotional trauma. Thankfully, by making small changes in our diets and routines, we can avoid eating harmful foods when feeling stressed by the constant flood of assignments.

Try starting your day with 10

deep breaths and gentle stretches while focusing on peaceful, positive thoughts. Yoga has been proven countless times to counteract feelings of stress with relaxation, no fat or sugar involved.

Before your next food craving hits, make the decision to respond differently. Instead of giving in to the craving instantly, try this new method that has been proven very effective in overcoming food urges.

If thoughts of treats and juicy burgers haunt you, tell yourself, “I don’t want to eat that now. If I still want it in two hours, then I will have some.” By making this simple decision, we trick our brains into being satisfied, and often, the craving will subside. Not giving into food cravings the moment they come may be a challenge, but ensures that we, and not our emotions, are in control of our everyday health.

Good health isn’t about making radical changes right from the start. Total dietary restrictions have been proven to hinder, rather than help, a healthy life. Instead, healthy living is about making gradual changes over time, replacing processed, sugary food with whole, nutritious food that satisfies our bellies and our taste buds.

20

SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 www.ufvcascade.ca

Varsity Sports

Men’s volleyball looks to rediscover winning ways NATHAN HUTTON The Cascade

Men’s volleyball has struggled in recent years. Whether it’s game-to-game challenges or the bigger picture of the playoffs, the men’s volleyball team that has historically struggled the most of UFV’s four indoor court teams.

The men started 2013 in a tailspin — the talented squad could not get any momentum after a poor start and entered January with a record of one win and 11 losses. It wasn’t all bad for the Cascades as they opened with an exhibition game against seventh-ranked Cégep Limoilou Titans (whom they defeated three sets to one), but the glory would be short-lived. The Cascades returned to PACWEST action on January 19 as they fell to Capilano University in three straight sets. Their struggles continued later into January as they once again faced the same Capilano University Blues. This time they were able to overcome the fivewin, 13-loss team and earn their second win of the season.

The men seemed to turn their season around as February took over; they defeated the visiting Selkirk Saints on a night where they honoured their departing seniors and followed that up with four straight wins, upsetting crosstown rivals Columbia Bible College Bearcats in the process and getting a playoff berth by virtue of a tiebreak. However

Image: Tree Frog Imaging

The men’s volleyball team celebrate during a game against crosstown rivals the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. the strength of the team’s play in February did not translate into post-season success as they were eliminated in the first round by Camosun College, the eventual bronze medallists. UFV played well, winning the first set 2521, but couldn’t continue the streak, dropping the three sub-

sequent sets by scores of 19-25, 20-25, and 20-25. It was the third straight loss in the first round of the playoffs for the Cascades team, who last medalled with a silver in 2009-20.

The off-season saw the departure of fifth-year Trevor Nickel, an anchor in the middle of the

Cascades attack.

The 2013-14 season has been an interesting one for the Cascades. They’ve avoided a disastrous start like last year’s, but still sit on the outside looking in on the playoffs tied for sixth with the College of the Rockies Avalanche. The team’s priority

for the moment is a doubleheader against their statistical rivals, as they face the Avalanche this weekend in a showdown for sole possession of the last playoff spot in the conference.

Women’s basketball aims to avoid repeating last season’s slide NATHAN HUTTON the cascade

2013 opened with the women’s basketball team, impressively, in the nationally-ranked number one slot. However, the honour would prove to be fleeting, as only three weeks into 2013 they were defeated by a strong University of Calgary team in overtime, followed by another defeat the next day against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

These two losses were a definite setback in a strong season up to that point, but when faced with adversity strong, well-coached teams turn up the intensity From the end of January, UFV only lost a single game (in overtime to Thompson-Rivers). In the last game of their historic regular season, the Cascades faced down Trinity Western. Taking the game 84-76, UFV closed out the regular season with a record of 18 wins and four losses — the best record in the Canada West conference — securing the first Canada West regular season title in UFV history.

UFV was tasked with facing the University of Saskatchewan

Image: University of the Fraser Valley / Flickr

Aieisha Luyken, a first team all-star last season, is trying to push women’s basketball further this year.

Huskies for a chance to advance to the Canada West final four and the chance to make the national elite eight. The Cascades and Huskies split the first two games, setting up the third and final game of the series. Led by Kayli Satori’s 19 points, four rebounds, and five assists in the third game, UFV pulled out a

blowout win (73-58) securing the team’s shot at a national title.

With divisional play at an end, the Cascades’ Aieisha Luyken was named as a Canada West first team all-star. But the season was not done yet — Luyken and the rest of the team were not going to be pleased with one allstar and a trip to the semifinals;

they wanted more. Following a loss to the University of Regina, the Cascades had one final chance to earn a trip to the elite eight in a bronze medal game against the University of Alberta Pandas.

In the bronze medal game the Cascades women secured a trip to nationals as they narrowly

defeated a strong University of Alberta team 68-57 winning the first Canada West medal in Cascades basektball history. It was a game in which the Cascades struggled keeping up with the Panda’s in the first half trailing at the break 32-24. The Cascades would not roll over in the second half and proved one last time that they were a strong and resilient basketball team as they forced a complete 180 from the first half and outscored the Pandas 44-25 ultimately securing their 11 point win.

Up against the Saint Mary’s Huskies, who had spent the season atop the standings, the Cascades were unable to overcome an early deficit, losing 62-57.

The Cascades ended on a low note, dropping their consolation game to McGill two weeks later.

The early half of the 2013-14 regular season for the Cascades has treated them well, as they are currently the best team in Canada West basketball, seventh at a national level, and have lots of season left to build on their late 2013 successes.