The Cascade Vol. 24 No. 13 by The Cascade

MAY 12 TO MAY 25 2016

VOLUME 24 ISSUE 13

Parking our car sideways since 1993

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, IT’s TOO LATE SUMMER (SEMESTER) IS HERE

UFV president responds to sexual assault reporting · PG. 3-5 How bouncing back from failure is like baking a loaf of bread · PG. 9 Saying goodbye to Prince · PG. 8, 18

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

CONTENTS

News

Opinion

Culture & Events

Students recomend voting changes

Mission: the good, the bad, and the not so ugly

Sup at O’Neill’s celebrates Mother’s day

Captain America: Civil War

UFV students help Elections B.C. to develop better promotional strategies.

Martin Castro muses on Mission, and the strange duality found there.

What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with deafening music?

Kat Marusiak reviews the latest Marvel blockbuster making waves at the box office.

CONTRIBUTORS

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Michael Scoular michael@ufvcascade.ca

Opinion Editor Alex Rake alex@ufvcascade.ca

Illustrator Sultan Jum sultan@ufvcascade.ca

Managing Editor (interim) Glen Ess glen@ufvcascade.ca

Culture & Events Editor Glen Ess glen@ufvcascade.ca

Webmaster Tanya Vanpraseuth tanya@ufvcascade.ca

Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca

Multimedia Editor Mitch Huttema mitch@ufvcascade.ca

Production Manager Brittany Cardinal brittany@ufvcascade.ca

Staff Writer Sonja Klotz sonjak@ufvcascade.ca

Production Assistant Danielle Collins danielle@ufvcascade.ca

Advertising Rep Kayla Schuurmans kayla@ufvcascade.ca

Business Manager Jennifer Trithardt-Tufts jennifer@ufvcascade.ca Copy Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca News Editor Vanessa Broadbent vanessa@ufvcascade.ca

Arts in Review

Joel Robertson-Taylor Panku Sharma Cameron Schmitke

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Volume 24 · Issue 13 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Cover Design: Sultan Jum

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It originated under its current name in 1993, and achieved autonomy from the university and the Student Union Society in 2002. This means that The Cascade is a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published in an entirely student-run setting. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds, and is overseen by the Cascade Journalism Society Board, a body run by a student majority. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a print circulation of 1,250 and is distributed at Abbotsford, Chilliwack (CEP), Clearbrook, and Mission UFV campuses and throughout the surrounding communities. The Cascade is open to written, photo, and design work from all students; these can come in the form of a pitch to an editor, or an assignment from an editor. Writers meetings are held each Monday at 2:00 p.m. in The Cascade’s office on the Abbotsford campus.

In order to be published in the newspaper, all work must first be approved by The Cascade’s editor-in-chief, copy editor, and corresponding section editor. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. Letters to the editor, while held to the same standard, are unedited, and should be under 400 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

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EDITORIAL

NEWS BRIEFS

EDITORIAL

Nothing to see here UFV responded defensively to our feature about sexual assault, then refused further interviews. Now what?

Tuition and fees to increase by two percent Tuition and mandatory fees for domestic students will once again be rising by 2 per cent for the 2016-17 academic year. Courses will now cost $139.41 per credit with $13.94 of ancillary fees per credit. As a result, 3-credit courses will cost $460.05, while 4-credit courses will be $613.40. For graduate students, the fee increase means paying $1,720.47 for a 3-credit course and $2,293.96 for 4-credit courses. This raise was approved by UFV’s Board of Governors following a recommendation from administrators. Two per cent is the maximum allowable yearly limit set by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education.

UFV changes re-admission period UFV is changing its re-admission period from two years to one year. As a result, students that have not taken any courses for

Illustration: Sultan Jum

MICHAEL SCOULAR

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

one year will need to re-apply for admission. The changes will be effect as of the Winter 2017 semester.

Development project for Chilliwack North site approved Plans to turn the former site of UFV’s Chilliwack North campus into a housing project were approved by Chilliwack city council at their April 19 meeting. The Van Maren Group, a Chilliwack development company, plans to build 42 single family homes, up to 150 townhouses, and an 80-plus unit apartment building. Various residents of neighbouring areas shared their concerns about increased traffic to council, who still unanimously supported the project.

Correction In the print edition of the April 7 issue, the feature article, “At UFV, unreliable support and a culture of silence for students who report sexual assault,” Kyle Baillie, the director of Student Life, was quoted stating that a new separate policy for sexual assault would have to pass through the approval of both Senate and the Board of Governors. This was incorrect, and was corrected for the online publication of the article. The policy would not fall under the jurisdiction of Senate.

This wasn’t the plan. After The Cascade published a feature article last month on the experience of a student reporting sexual assault at UFV, I thought that a reasonable follow-up, depending on how the article was received, would be to go back, ask the people involved in the process, and possibly the president, about what the best way forward really looks like. It took four pages to explain the process — that’s a start — now maybe it would be possible to take a good, hard look at ways it could be improved moving forward. I forgot how predictable universities are when it comes to this. Instead, before 24 hours had passed after the article’s publication, Mark Evered, UFV’s president, spoke to the Board of Governors (the highest decision-making body of the university, with members mostly appointed by the provincial government) during the in camera (private) session of a regular meeting. Following that, he prepared a few remarks, which he delivered in the public session that followed, and were expanded into an address emailed out to faculty, staff, administrators, and student employees the following morning. (It is reprinted on page five.) “My great concern, and it’s been expressed to me by a number of others today, is an article titled ‘Nowhere to go’ implies that this university is not providing services to students who have been sexually assaulted, and of course that is just blatantly false,” he said at the meeting before the Board. “There are many mechanisms available.” If Evered read past the headline, he’s seen that the article in no way says there are no resources available on campus. I mean, the article is about

those resources, it is about the process of reporting and trying to get help. The article describes how students were supported in the beginning by counsellors and administrators, and how, with the initial support, their outlook was positive. It talks about how, in the end, that support ended up not being enough to prevent students from feeling like reporting was a mistake — for all that it did was leave them feeling powerless, turned against, and closed off from real and sustained help. This is not difficult to understand, even from a skim of the article. And just as Evered focused on the headline, chose to read it literally when it clearly suggested something else, it would be wrong to read Evered’s full statement completely literally: it is notable more for its defensive stance than the claims it uses to justify the current state of affairs at UFV. Any interaction between the UFV president and the Board of Governors is not one between individuals, but between people placed in positions: Evered was making a statement not to engage with the article, but to signal a position, to attempt to establish the status quo. That being said, Evered did not reject the article completely, he did not deny that, like at any other university in the country, sexual assault can happen, and universities are lagging behind in addressing what to do when it happens. “We recognize that, as always, we can do better in what we do,” he said. “This is part of a national public conversation, a provincial conversation, and one taking place in our institution.” What Evered left out is that, while at the end of his letter he calls for public guidance, ideas and recommendations, the conversation — the one that will actually lead to any change or deci-

sion — is one that ultimately takes place in private, among high-ranking administrators. Sure, they’ll receive your emails, but will they act on them unless they’re directed to by specific provincial legislation? Does the public really guide UFV in this matter? My requests for any additional interviews with Evered, or Jody Gordon or Kyle Baillie, who directly handle student complaints, were denied. I was told by an administrator speaking on their behalf that, “They feel they have given enough time talking about this.” Again, while literally this explanation is a joke, its basis underpins a lot more than just this matter: the university wants to control its image, it did not appreciate being singled out for criticism, and it feels it does not owe a student newspaper anything more — any changes, should they come, will be communicated by UFV’s internal communications team, which is another way of saying that while recommendations are welcome, the university doesn’t want a real dialogue. It knows best. The only other public appearance to comment on this topic came from Baillie, who appeared on a panel at an event organized by the Yes Means Yes club, which organized it to try and promote consent awareness on campus. In his presentation, Baillie made a number of comments that deserve further explanation. Since no one at UFV is, as of press time, going on the record to address them, I thought I would simply share my list of questions. The entire point of the feature article was to share the matter with the UFV community, to give a fuller picture of what is happening at UFV, and what can be done. By saying “that’s enough,” and promising, paternalistically, that everything is under control, UFV, Article continued on page 4

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EDITORIAL an institution that already doesn’t have a lengthy record of students coming forward to talk on even ground with administrators, is giving the impression that it hopes the criticism fades, that administrators are allowed to make their decisions without outside criticism, that the summer is one where people forget, returning in the fall with the standard university order of hope and trust. Is the university interested in changing anything about how it responds to sexual assault complaints before potential provincial legislation? That legislation, which would require new policy development with student consultation, is at least eight months away. The question is: what about the students who need help now, and in the fall semester? The main push at the panel surrounded awareness campaigns. Draw in students with a good slogan, easy-to-understand information, and well-produced videos, and people will gain the language to talk about consent — prevention, they said, is important. Adding it to the new student orientation is important. No one is going to say no to that. But the process itself — will that go unaltered? Nowhere in Baillie’s talk did he explore this. And Evered’s message skirts around one of the biggest problems, according to students both at this university and others: the restriction placed on students to not talk about the incident with other university students, staff, or faculty after their complaint has been filed. “We do not tell students who ask us to investigate a case of sexual harassment or assault that they cannot talk to family or friends outside the university,” Evered writes. Right, because documents instruct students not to talk to family and friends inside the university — as someone whose life revolves around this institution, it shouldn’t be hard for Evered to imagine how this imposed barrier could be a problem, how it could enhance the suspicion and mistrust of a student entering into a process they cannot yet fully understand, and alienate them from the people they know and the school they are attending. Should universities be expected to investigate sexual assault complaints? Baillie was frank about why so few complaints are substantiated. “I’m not a police officer. I can’t compel evidence, I don’t have the ability to subpoena tapes, I don’t have the ability to require people to come in and be a witness,” he said. “Arguably, my hands are tied from the get-go. I don’t say that as an excuse, I say that as a reality.” Given the flawed nature of this process, does it really make sense to promise students that the process they sign up for is fair? As Baillie noted, nonacademic complaints are only one part of his job description — he can’t even promise to anyone that this is all he’s going to be working on, no matter how severe the allegation. Other universities are asking this question as well. As the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, part of the problem — universities both having to support, then investigate students — is how universities are not built to rule on nonacademic matters. “Some college leaders are quietly talking about other alternatives,” writes Robin Wilson. “Could they pool their resources and create regional tribunals — staffed by legal experts — to handle rape allegations? Campuses could still fulfill their role of ensuring that students who come forward don’t have to be in classes or dorms with those they’ve accused. And the outside panels could process the cases more consistently, sidestep many of colleges’ built-in shortcomings, and coordinate with law-enforcement agencies.” Like any idea yet to become reality, this may be far more difficult and prone to error in practice than it sounds now. But it would be good to know: is UFV asking this question? Or is it simply following the ideas of its own staff, waiting for solutions to arrive in their inbox or be brought up in a meeting? Because UFV is smaller and younger than other universities, looking at other institutions that have encountered problems on a more widespread scale is like looking into possible futures. But there is no indication UFV is paying attention to where it is going. Is the university considering adding staff, or changing the organization of the office that handles complaints? Right now, Baillie, who works as the director of Student Life reports to Gordon, the vice-president in charge of student services, oversees the majority of complaints. He doesn’t see how it’s possible, with the current set-up, to comprehensively address the number of complaints filed each year at UFV. “I have other responsibilities that I have, and we know that even if there was one of me to do this full-time, we can’t do it alone,” he said at the panel. “This

Illustration: Sultan Jum

isn’t something that can be solved by one person in a room coming up with ways to deal with this. This is something that takes communities to solve.” Until the community solves it though, it’s worth noting that Baillie, who listed his education background in his presentation (political science, then management for his master’s degree), is not someone who would have necessarily applied for that full-time position, if it existed. Should there be another office, one with a social work, psychology, or criminology expert counted amongst its staff? For anyone paying attention, it is evident that UFV finds a way to hire new administrators where it sees a need — in IT, in finance, in communications. Is this a priority? Does UFV have a plan for what an expanded office would look like, whether it comes tomorrow or in a year? Part of the problem that prompts my previous question is that developing a comprehensive way to investigate com-

plaints and hire staff usually ends up being expensive. But so long as UFV is doing the investigations, the question is “how” and “who.” Evered indirectly addressed this question in his letter, suggesting that because UFV has female deans, vice-presidents, and a chancellor, students should feel comfortable talking to them. “There are many places for a student to go,” he writes. Offloading emotional work to women who have a great deal of other responsibilities as part of their jobs is a very strange way of saying things are under control. They are, undoubtedly, ready to listen to any student they cross paths with, but to say that just because they are women they will be able to clear their schedules and help a student who will always end up redirected to another office to redocument their complaint is a reach — and just because they are women does not mean that students will be comfortable talking

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EDITORIAL to them. I can’t imagine taking a personal story to an administrator I don’t otherwise know from studies or work, and it doesn’t sound like Evered has really imagined it either.

might appear to be in the know for showing that he knows about them, but what he draws from these examples beyond an undetailed recommendation is uncertain.

Why, if the entire system is “broken,” as you and others have said, are you looking to the U.S. model for ideas?

Will the university consider changing how it reports statistics to the public before potential legislation compels it to do so?

That was part of Baillie’s presentation — the processes are broken. This is something many administrators have acknowledged. But Baillie went on to share some ideas — which may not represent UFV’s ideas as an institution — that stuck out. “I think [the Cleary Act] and [Title IX] would be two really great steps that I would like to see our governments either at the provincial or federal level to take,” he said, referring to two pieces of American legislation. “I would love to see us have a system of reporting requirement, and I would love us to have

If Baillie supports the requirements of the Cleary Act, then it is not clear why he would wait for the province to create its own legislation before working towards better reporting on campuses. UFV has its own data, and it has a website, and other universities in the province share variations on this kind of data, so, for students who want to know more about the university they are enrolling in, it seems that making that information more easily available is a possibility.

“

Because UFV is smaller and younger than other universities, other

looking

institutions

at that

have encountered problems on a more widespread scale is like looking into possible futures. But there is no indication UFV is paying attention to where it is going. some manner of either charter-protected or human rights required civil rights legislation around sexualized and gender-based violence. I think that would make this discussion a little bit different, and it would definitely make my job a little bit easier.” However, Title IX, while it has become a rallying point for activists at American universities, has become a great weight on universities — they hire administrators, undergo investigations, and there is no resolution in sight for the effects of this legislative requirement. Hundreds of universities in the U.S. are currently under investigation, with under 50 resolved as of the close of 2015. Title IX, for universities, is an example of bureaucratic crawl. The threat of government funding removed for universities who violate Title IX by not having effective processes in place to address sexual violence on campus does not seem to be a real one either, to date, as no case resolution so far has seen that outcome. Baillie also recommended students watch The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual violence on campus. Again, this is a work with an American focus, and one that goes out of its way to paint university presidents as buffoons and administrators as callous cowards, with a musical score and statistics animations to drive the point home that reporting to universities is often a frustrating, fruitless task. I’m not sure what Baillie was suggesting with either of these ideas. They are the legislative and investigative outcomes of a broken system, rather than something that points to a solution — Baillie

Is the new webpage launched by the university the extent of its new ideas for the fall semester? Baillie closed his presentation by showing off a brief tour of the new online reporting form for complaints, as well as the policy information that is now linked in the same centralized location. However, if the reporting process is still problematic, and all the online resource does is make it so students can report online instead of in-person, with documents in menu on the side, is this all the university plans to do? Is this the final version of the page? In my conversation with the administrator speaking on behalf of Evered, Gordon, and Baillie, I was told, without any prompting, that the webpage (which according to Baillie was the result of 10 months of work) was not rushed to publication in response to The Cascade’s article. (The webpage went live on Monday, three days after the article’s publication.) It does seem notable that the page, despite being new, does not show the new design that UFV’s IT department has been rolling out slowly across the rest of the website, notably seen in the new student registration pages. But it hardly matters — the article was not intended to be a shock piece to send administrators reeling into knee-jerk decisions, it was intended to start a thoughtful dialogue. By deciding to refuse to comment outside of a defensive message and a conversational presentation, UFV is not showing a strong commitment to addressing the concerns of faculty, staff, and students that have followed the feature article’s publication. The Chronicle of Higher Education also recently ran a series of articles from presidents, administrators, faculty members, and students, on what progress will look like when it comes to sexual assault on campuses. There are nine broad suggestions in total, from better pre-university education about sex, consent, and relationships, to just following the standards and rules that already exist in a consistent way. Two student activists had this to say, though — something that isn’t much of a radical statement, just a low bar that universities refuse to pass because they care more about shrinking the perceived size of their problems. “Never in our travels has a single college president given the response that students deserve: ‘We will not tolerate sexual assault on this campus,’” wrote Annie Clark and Andrea Pino. “Rape is a violent crime, and compliance with Title IX does not do enough to fix the problem. Blue lights, rape whistles, and task forces do not help the sexual-assault survivor who must see her perpetrator until she graduates — if she even does graduate.”

Message from the President, re: Cascade article on sexual assault The following email was sent by UFV President Mark Evered to faculty, staff, administrators, and student employees on April 8 in response to The Cacsade’s featured article “Nowhere to go at UFV: Unreliable support and a culture of silence for students who report sexual assualt,” which was originally published on April 7 in The Cascade Vol. 24 Issue 12.

Dear UFV community, Yesterday, the student newspaper, The Cascade, published an article on how our University responds to students who have been sexually assaulted. The headline was “Nowhere to go”, a statement that is completely false. I am writing because I fear the impact on any student needing help who reads this and assumes that none is available. Our University is known for the many faculty and staff who take a personal interest in our students. Many have a long, strong record of helping students in need. We have student leaders who are quick to support their peers. We have a full student service division with 8 trained counsellors ready to respond to any student need. We have University administrative staff and leaders who have a record of putting students first. I would add that if a student prefers to speak with a female senior administrator about any concerns, two of our three vice-presidents, five of our six deans, and our Chancellor are women. There are many places for a student to go. Like most universities and colleges in our province and country, we continue to work toward improving the ways we will respond to sexual harassment or assault. Our Vice-President Students is working very closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education and her provincial colleagues to develop best practices to guide post-secondary institutions on preventing, educating and responding to sexualized violence. We welcome constructive advice from our students. I am precluded by privacy legislation from commenting on details of the Cascade article other than to state that we do not tell students who ask us to investigate a case of sexual harassment or assault that they cannot talk to family or friends outside the University. We encourage them to seek support from people they trust and respect, and provide them with immediate and full access to our counselling services. We also help them connect with community services. We do, however, ask them to help us protect the integrity of an investigation. I have asked our Vice-President Students to provide the community with a summary of the processes and services available to students. Her office is about to release a “Safe Student Community” website that describes student supports, processes and policies. This will be published on Monday. As always, we seek your guidance on how we can improve. A mechanism for collecting your recommendations will be provided. Let us all continue to explore the best ways to serve our students, a principle that has guided our University throughout our history. Sincerely, Mark Dr. Mark Evered President and Vice-Chancellor

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NEWS

Students recommend voting changes, marketing ideas to Elections BC officials MICHAEL SCOULAR THE CASCADE/PHOTO

As of this article’s publication, the next provincial election in B.C. is less than 365 days away. At UFV, though the outcome of that contest will have more of a direct impact on what the future looks like than any other single decision, there will never be an official stance on the matter. Election talk, if it does show up in the classroom, is more likely to reflect the media’s laser focus on the American primaries. But students and their political attention span was the subject of one recent project here. For the conclusion of a semester-long study into voting habits, a group of students recently presented their findings to an audience that included several municipal politicians, as well as Keith Archer, the chief electoral officer for Elections BC. The course, which was run as an interdisciplinary directed study, was funded through a $10,000 Elections BC grant, with similar courses simultaneously offered at Emily Carr University, Thompson Rivers University, UBC-Okanagan, the University of Northern British Columbia, and Vancouver Island University. Archer, who opened the presentation with some remarks about why Elections BC funded the series of group studies, noted that the choice of regional institutions over universities with a more diverse, global student population and outlook was intentional — SFU, UBC, and UVic were not part of the study, because at a smaller university, it was thought, the study could have a higher profile, and reach students not normally the focus of major, often metropolitan political analysis. This followed a similar, earlier study at Emily Carr. “It led me to think developing partnerships with universities was a pretty good idea,” Archer said. “And as partners, universities come

pretty cheap — for $10,000 you can generate a lot of ideas.” The major ideas of the UFV course came from a single 34-question survey, which also collected data on ethnicity, program of study, Aboriginal status, and religious affiliation. As noted during the seven-part presentation, the survey’s findings ended up being somewhat limited in application, and could not be said to be representative of the UFV student body — or young adults in general: 374 completed surveys were counted, with 47 per cent of those coming from students in the humanities, followed by 18 per cent in business, and seven per cent in the sciences. However, the group drew some conditional conclusions, and presented several recommendations to Archer. Most of these had to do with hooking in young students, less likely to vote, with a message: more voter information in high schools and other government-operated outlets, including ICBC and liquor stores; issuing voter identification cards that would function similar to B.C. ID cards; instituting a new voting-themed provincial holiday. Some of these were directed toward Archer, while others were voiced with the need for support from the provincial legislative assembly in mind. Archer noted that he was aware of many of these ideas, had proposed some in reports, and that others correlated, in some way, to work that was already being done by Elections BC. Amie Foster, the manager of communications for Elections BC, was also present, and was the focus of another presentation from three members of CMNS 316, a course on social media. As a final project, members of the class chose a client for whom they designed a social media strategy. In Elections BC’s case, they identified several weaknesses: a lack of regular updates, no original marketing imagery, poor consistency across platforms, and jargon-heavy language.

the

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The majority of posts on the office’s Twitter and Facebook feeds, for example, share financing reports and disclosure statements, and Elections BC is not active on Instagram or Snapchat. As the intent behind this multiuniversity project was to better understand younger potential voters, the students pointed out the whole point of social media was to be social, not simply post official documents. Archer noted that, at this point, it might be too late to completely redesign the Elections BC brand image, as was suggested by one student. And the budget and staff for promotion is also unlikely to change drastically ahead of the election. But Archer noted that an app, which was also developed ahead of the previous provincial election, will likely be available again with information on polling stations and dates.

Also briefly discussed at the presentation was the fact that, while it is part of BC Elections’ priorities to increase voter turnout, a number of people do not vote for reasons that are not as simple as the stereotype of the apathetic millennial. “Although we often talk about a ‘youth vote,’ that demographic is not a monolith,” said Pankaj Sharma, one of the presenters from the course. For some, the political process is alienating, or regarded as less important than the identity creation and active work to be found in other areas in life. However, the conclusion of the final report written by the class offers another perspective: “Perhaps, this participation of youth addressing a youth problem provides a pathway toward positive change.”

The Cascade is looking to fill a number of positions! Let us know if any of these opportunities are catch your eye! • Production Assistant: Designing and laying out sections of The Cascade as directed by the Production Manager. • Illustrator: Designing and creating The Cascade’s cover illustrations as well as other illustrations throughout the issue. • Distributor: Delivers the latest issue of The Cascade to a variety of locations throughout the Fraser Valley. The deadline for applications is June 3. To apply, or request further information, please email: glen@ufvcascade.ca

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NEWS FixIT reduces hours and staff for summer semester, reopens next week for service VANESSA BROADBENT THE CASCADE

For summer semester students, limited hours around campus are a reality due to lower enrollment — most, including the library and the Student Union Building, shut down by 7:30 p.m. At one of the Student Union Society’s newer services, summer plans are being reworked to fit with demand. At the SUS’s annual general meeting, concerns were voiced about the summer operating hours of FixIt, a technical support centre for computers, phones, and other equipment. Initially, employees of FixIT were told that the service would be closed for the summer. “We’re telling everyone that we’re closed April 22 and will not be open until the fall,” said Erica Jennings, a student employee at FixIT. “I don’t think that’s right, since we’re charging students a set fee for FixIT and we’re supposed to be fixing and repairing their computers … We’re charging someone and we’re basically taking their money without giving them the service.” Thomas Davies, the SUS president at the time, responded by saying that the issue was something he’d “have to look into.” “I can’t give specific staffing levels, but my understanding is that the service is supposed

Photo: Mitch Huttema Photo: Mitch Huttema

to be operational during the summer,” he said. “The traffic, I do expect to be lower which is why I do expect lower opening hours, but my understanding is that the service is supposed to be operational.” “The student at the AGM was misinformed,”

current president Sukhi Brar writes in an email. “FixIT is open to students during the summer semester.” A sign posted in the window of the FixIT office window, located on the top floor of the SUB, states that the service will re-open with

reduced operating hours on May 16. Summer hours will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with only one employee on staff, a non-student hire. As well, any equipment currently dropped off for the service will not be retrievable until May 16. FixIT is described on SUS’ website as “a free service for Student Union Society members.” However, while students do not have to pay when they use the service, they are charged $4.98 every semester for its operations, separate from the standard Student Union Society fee. While the 2016-17 FixIT budget is not yet available, in 2015-16, revenue from the student fee was $107,568, of which $85,662.16 was allocated for employment. While FixIT will be operating without student employees for the now, Brar notes that this will change should business increase. “Due to the reduced traffic on campus during the summer term, it would be inefficient and irresponsible to hire additional student staff when it isn’t required to deliver services at FixIT,” she writes. “If at any point there is an influx in demand for FixIT during the summer that our permanent staff member is unable to accommodate, UFV students will be hired to support the service.”

Women’s soccer grad selected for international competition JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR THE CASCADE

Shelby Beck, who just completed her fifth season with the varsity women’s soccer team, is next going to be representing Canada at an international competition in Brazil. The World University Championships (WUC), hosted in Goiânia, Brazil, features 37 events, one of which is a variation on soccer, futsal. The game differs from soccer in that the teams have only five players and the sport is played on a smaller, indoor field. After rising to become one of the Fraser Valley’s most impressive strikers, Beck will now travel to Brazil as part of Canada’s first entry into the event. Futsal, Beck says, is a particularly challenging sport because it’s so fast paced. “It’s a game that shows your skill level a lot more than regular soccer,” she says. “You are expected to make decisions and plays very quickly in tight spaces.”

Speaking about the opportunity to play on a world stage, Beck says Brazil will be a new experience. Although she has done a lot of travelling for soccer, it has all remained within the United States and Canada. “Being able to go to a place like Brazil where soccer and futsal are so important to the country will be unreal,” she says. The WUC is a part of the FISU, a federation that was created to harmonize the increased amount of university games and sports around the world. The competitions are held to celebrate student athletes and do so in the spirit of peaceful international competition. Of their events, futsal is one of the most highly attended. “My expectations for the tournament would be to come in the best shape I’ve been in, in order for me to play to the best of my ability,” Beck says. “The plan is to hopefully come home with a medal.” The futsal competition will be held from July 3-10. Photo: UFV Cascades / Flickr

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

OPINION S

Troll! #BoatyMcBoatfail Mitch Huttema

A lunchless lament

Curtailed commentary on current conditions Illustrations: Danielle Collins

The latest trend in corporate social engagement is Twitter polls and “you decide” promotions. The internet is asked to provide a name, or make a decision for a company. However, the internet is not so easily tamed, seeking to destroy at any opportunity. The UK’s National Environmental Research Council asked the public to come up with names for their newest £200m polar research ship, and at the end of the poll the most popular name was “Boaty McBoatface.” The winner was ignored and RRS Sir David Attenborough was chosen instead. There are several other instances as well: Taylor Swift asked the internet to pick a school for her to give a show at and a school for the deaf was chosen. Justin Bieber nearly played a show in North Korea thanks to internet trolls. By now you’d think that people would have learned better than to ask the internet in an unrestricted poll, because in the same way that you can mess with the bull and get the horns, when you ask of the internet, you get the trolls.

Come all you intelligent, beautiful, impossibly prescient people pulling your lunches from out of your office fridge; tell me your secrets. Tell me how to prepare my idiot self to pack a lunch that won’t get grossly warm and dry in my bag or disgustingly fridge-flavoured and damp in the old icebox. What can I do, poor and stupid student that I am, to not spend all my money at some restaurant when each lunch rolls around this summer? I wish I could be like you, crafty enough to cook some miraculous pasta the night before, not EAT IT ALL, and have it remain tasty and normal-smelling enough the next day to bring to school. But alas, I am hungry and lazy and money never seems like a problem until I’ve run out. I starve in the early hours of evening when all the food dispensaries of UFV are closed, and I have only myself to blame. Let my failure be a lesson to all of you to get your shit together and pack a mother-lovin’ lunch.

Alex Rake

Summer and sorta sad, sorta not Martin Castro

Make 2016 great again

On “Paranoia,” Chance the Rapper sings: “I hate crowded beaches, I hate the sound of fireworks … I heard everybody dies in the summer, so pray to God for a little more spring.” This is kind of how I feel at the moment, on this, the summer before my last year at UFV, before I have to venture out and do something with my life. Recently somebody asked me why I’m not more visibly happy. Well, the thing is that, while I may not be overjoyed, I’m not unhappy. I find myself passively wading through all the newfound free time I have (a result of the semester having ended), and I’ve realized that although I’m not as stressed as I was during the semester, I’m anxious because I’m not doing anything. At least over the semester I got a lot of writing done. Summer’s spread out before me like this great, slothly giant, and I just don’t want to look back in September and find that I’ve done nothing with the four months of time I had. I guess by writing about it I’m producing something tangible. That’s a good start, I suppose.

As I’ve written before, 2016 has been a pretty bad year, what with the whole “celebrity death” pattern that it’s fallen into. Now, I don’t have much of an awareness of celebrity culture, but I was pretty choked up when David Bowie died, disappointed when Alan Rickman died, and dejected when I heard about Prince. Yet another month, yet another inspiring legend dies without warning. I know it doesn’t have a direct influence on my daily life, but still, it’s a reminder of my mortality. And if there’s something I’d like to forget, it’s the fact that I’m going to die someday. Sure, I won’t be ushered from the mortal plane with thousands of mourning fans, but I will end up being maggot food. We all will. And part of growing up, I suppose, is watching legends age and depart. I guess I’m just going to have to brace myself for more of my childhood icons passing away.

Glen Ess

Summer semester best enjoyed outside SONJA KLOTZ

THE CASCADE

I understand that it is important for some students to expedite their studies so that they can complete their degrees in three years rather than four. We all want that, but then again, should we not enjoy a break once in a while? What happened to those awesome summer vacations that we were conditioned to look forward to during our grade school years? Summer semesters should not exist. You may disagree with me, and that is totally fine. After all, having a summer semester can also prepare us for the “real world”

where most people normally do not get two whole months off of work anyway. Nonetheless, there is a difference between earning a good income during the summer months and having to pay to study during the season. I would much rather work during the summer months than pay to suffer through assignments, projects, papers, and tests. There is nothing worse than being invited to go out on a lovely camping trip or hiking trip and having to decline the invitation for the sake of homework. At least after the eight-hour work day we could go home and not have to worry about deadlines and academic performance. Of course, this is with the exception of those students who are able to work and study full-time.

That said, I will give credit to the professors who make an effort to host their lectures outside on the green. I find that extremely considerate seeing as they also understand that daydreaming happens amongst their students during the sunny weather (okay, so maybe it is not always so bad to study during the summer months). No matter what your summer looks like, I want to encourage all of you to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible before the rains come back again. No, seriously: go play outside.

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

OPINION When your grades fail to rise, add more yeast PANKU SHARMA CONTRIBUTOR

There are rites of passage common to many of us, things that we look back and reflect on, good or bad: our first bike ride, scraped knee, chipotle dip, crush, and — probably the freshest memory for some of us — our first failed university class. I wish it were a rare experience, but it happens. Sometimes it’s a course outside your program (math is hard if you’re out of practice), but too often it’s just a matter of you holding the ball up in the beginning of the semester, getting sidetracked by something more interesting, dropping the ball, and then feeling so upset about the whole thing you don’t bother trying to pick it back up. Whatever the reason though — and there are many valid ones, since life happens outside the classroom, and some things will take priority over Victorian literature or early Western political thought — what matters most is how you deal with the fact that this happened. Take a minute. Breathe. It’s not the end of the world; not many things that come printed on a report card will be. (Possible exception being highly classified KGB op teams.) Yes, if you need this class you’re going to have to retake it, and yes, you spent $500 on a glorified audit, but there is always a bright side. It can be a learning opportunity, a chance to actually grow as a human being. Just be mindful of the distinction between learning from an experience and dwelling on one. Shore up your weaknesses, don’t pick at them. Take part in study groups, try re-typing your

notes next time, use a different coloured highlighter — just don’t wallow. Life is a lot like a game of beach volleyball (follow me here) and sometimes you let the ball drop and the game stops. You feel bad, but you pick up the ball and try again. If you load yourself down with regret and shame it’s a lot like playing with a ball covered in sand. When you get back into the game, you’re inevitably going to get a bunch of dirt in your eyes and then make more mistakes because you’re weepy and irritated. So, my advice: dunk the ball in the water and start off the next play clean. The equivalent here of going the extra mile of drying the ball in a towel would be doing something to get your confidence back. It doesn’t even have to be related to your studies, just something to which you can apply the lessons you learned and be proud of the end result. Try baking bread. It’s one of humankind’s greatest achievements, but it’s 2016 and I believe in you. It takes patience and motivation to persevere and chase perfection. Your first loaf is probably going to be too dense; you either didn’t knead enough or forgot an ingredient. (Bless your heart if you attempted to make your own starting yeast or sourdough.) However, once you master the skills of volleyball/baking/studying, you are left with something tangible, a success that can literally give life. What I’m trying to get across here is that I really wish I had spent more time planning out this rambling mess, but at least I did it.

Illustration: Brittany Cardinal

Sketch of a strange city: What’s the deal with Mission? MARTIN CASTRO THE CASCADE

I live in Mission, and every time I tell anyone I invariably get a response along the lines of “Oh you live in Mission do you?” And then we exchange knowing looks. This relatively small community exemplifies many stereotypes of small towns. The first stereotype is that of the quaint town with a seedy underbelly. When you build on a hill, you start at the bottom. So there’s a section that I guess could be referred to as “old” Mission. (Down on First, by the RBC and the cat shelter that announces its presence a good couple of feet in advance via the unmistakably acrid scent of chlorine.) Here’s where Mission gets weird, because although most of it looks quaint as can be, and our parks are nicely kept and quiet and frequented by dog walkers and families, every now and then something will scratch the surface, and then news will come out, like it did in 2014, that one of the buildings in the industrial area was actually a drug lab containing $3 million worth of MDMA. Drugs are a prevalent force in Mission, although an oddly passive one. I’m almost 100 per cent sure that at one point there were at least three simultaneous grow ops on the residential stretch walking down from where I live. Just as the smell of fertilizer is to Abbotsford, the smell

of marijuana is, in a lesser degree, to Mission. But this isn’t to say that Mission is this hopeless black hole populated solely by old people and drug manufacturers. I mean, to a certain extent it is, but it’s also nice as hell. This is the weirdest thing about the place. Despite its kind of squalid economy compared to Abbotsford (we can’t even claim we have a new, big theatre now, HighStreet took that away from us as well), Mission is home to some of the nicest, most picturesque scenes (in a stereotypical small-town Canada kind of way) in the Fraser Valley. The fact that we’re essentially a big hill has its perks. For example, sunsets in Mission, especially during the summer, are ridiculously nice. I’m talking about the kind of unrealistically adorable sunsets Bob Ross might spend his afternoons painting, remarking, “Now see, that’s nice isn’t it? How about we add some people? Sure, let’s add a family, maybe a couple of trees and a little bird.” So it’s not that bad, it’s just the odd coalescence of the kind of reality we’re reminded of when we see joints or cigarette butts lying on a bench adjacent to a playground, and the picturesque fantasy of houses lined with endlessly blooming trees in early May, blanketing the ground below with bright pink petals as their f lowers become too heavy to support.

Illustration: Danielle Collins

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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STUDY BREAK 1

Crossword

2 3

Disney MOFOS

Across

2. Featured the use of frying pans as weapons 3. The dumb dwarf 5. Live action film from the 80s starring a young Jeff Bridges 6. Eddie Murphy’s character in Mulan 7. Similar to ‘’Magnificent’’ 12. Gave us the phrase “Hakuna Matata” (two words) 13. The princess from Atlantis: The Lost Empire 14. A real fishy character 15. Mickey’s girlfriend. Or his drag queen persona.

Down

1. Many Disney films are based off this Danishman’s fairy tales 4. Disney line marketed towards young girls 8. First ever live-action Disney film (two words) 9. Recently remade as a live-action feature 10. Made every child cry and hug their mothers 11. He’s got a friend in you

12 13

Horoscopes

EclipseCrossword.com

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 Go gluten-free — and save some dough.

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 If your piano is suffering from poor self-esteem this week, remind it that it’s just grand and to hold its chin upright.

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 If your friend tells you a joke, laugh. Even if it’s not funny, you’ll get the health benefits of a positive attitude.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 A cheap alternative to decisionmaking software is a magic 8 ball or rock, paper, scissors.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 If you fail your driver’s test, just remember that a scooter will cost less cash to operate.

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 If you get around to taking a break this week, try to lie down and let your eyes move in rapid motions for at least a four hour cycle.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 If you notice blossoms in the trees this week, duck. There may be cherry-bombs heading straight for your face.

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Everything hangs in the balance this week — including your books, power, and the accounts.

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 Who’s that mysterious figure? Why, it’s you Aquarius! Make sure you let your profs know that you really have been in class — you’ve just been the victim of an invisibility spell.

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 If your fishbowl looks particularly empty this week, try to remain calm. Your fish is just being koi.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 If you get your taxes done sooner rather than later, you’ll get your return faster.

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 If you decide to wear a hat this week, make sure you choose something that goes with your aura but doesn’t clash with your vibe.

BY ANTHONY BIONDI

SPACED 12

Star Signs by Sybil la Clair

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

CULTURE & EVENTS At professional development day, professors and staff learn from students, workshops SONJA KLOTZ THE CASCADE

As many people around the world know, May 4 was “Star Wars Day” — Star Wars fans greeted each other with the phrase, “May the ‘fourth’ be with you.” Meanwhile, here at UFV there was a different kind of “force” stirring for UFV’s Professional Development Day (PDD). This was a day set aside for the university’s faculty, staff, and administrators to learn about some of the ways to strengthen the university, both professionally and academically. “We host an annual event for all faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in a variety of professional development activities,” says Claire Hay, associate professor in the geography & environment department and coordinator of PDD. “This year we have 32 unique workshops running, facilitated by staff, by faculty on topics that are professional in nature.” These workshops focused on teaching strategies, finance planning for events, classroom branding, and social media development strategies. Hay says that, by gathering together to connect on the same topic, the usual division of labour at UFV could be set aside. “I’ve seen connections between people who would not normally talk to each other or meet each other in our jobs here at UFV, so this way we built connections, and hopefully those continue,” Hay says. “Teaching and

learning opportunities for all of the staff and faculty will hopefully steamroll from here.” This was clearly evident in the more than 277 participants that attended the day’s event. One of the more popular workshops that was attended was the student panel, where staff and faculty had students talk about their ideal university, ideal instructor, and ideal classroom. “The student panel was about getting the student perspective on how they felt with things [and it] was interesting to see from their perspective ... how it’s different from an instructor’s,” said Grant Fritzke, a lab instructor in the chemistry department. For example, he learned that “Students do not like group work. As they get higher up in the disciplines, they want to have an ability to be more involved with their instructors and their research projects.” Although there seemed to be many people who had positive experiences with the workshops overall, there were some who seemed somewhat skeptical of the workshops they attended. Rajnish Dhawan, assistant professor for the English department, shared some mixed feelings about the entire day. “It’s been a mixed bag,” said Dhawan. However he, like Fritzke, also noted the valuable lessons that were learned at the student panel workshop. “We’ve had the student’s panel, which was very interesting, the students were able to be open about their ideal instructor. Their good experiences and

Photo: UFV Flickr

their not-so-good experiences.” With that said, however, he also experienced some bumps along the way, specifically pertaining to the keynote speaker, Jan Unwin, superintendent of graduation and student transitions with both the Ministries of Education and Advanced Education. Unwin spoke about how the Ministry is modernizing its approach to learning, as seen in new K-12 curriculum, and how that will impact schools and jobs in the future. “Her ideas were definitely interesting, but there

were a few questions that popped into my mind, and I’m sure they’ve popped into other people’s minds,” Dhawan says. “[This is] especially with regards to the funding model for the kind of idea that she was presenting. But then we didn’t get enough time to talk about that.” Overall, people from various departments, positions, and backgrounds were able to connect, learn, and grow from these workshops. To top it off, the event ended with a happy hour featuring complimentary wine and snacks.

New South Asian club celebrates Vaisakhi GLEN ESS THE CASCADE / PHOTO

Springtime isn’t just an opportunity to rest and relax, free from the stress of a hectic schooltime schedule. The springtime also serves as the beginning of the Punjabi calendar and is heralded by the harvest festival Vaisakhi. Traditionally held in mid-April, this past Friday saw one of UFV’s newest clubs, the South Asian club (SAC), host a Vaisakhi celebration in the SUB. Rahul Kumar, a first year student and one of the organizers of the celebration, says that the SAC decided to hold the event a month later than usual. “[Vaisakhi] is usually celebrated on the fourteenth of April, but we didn’t celebrate earlier because of exams,” he said. “But we have the time now, so that’s why we’re doing this.” The event featured dancing, food, and music provided by DJ Decibel. “We booked a really good DJ, he’s considered the best here in B.C.,” Kumar says, adding that this was one of the reasons the club was predicting a large turnout. “We’re hoping to see a lot of people, we’ve had a lot of guests outside of UFV students say they were interested. A lot of the South Asian community.” The event itself saw DJ Decibel’s equipment

shaking the SUB’s foundations, a colourful light show, and a strange, yet heady mix of traditional music and dancing with contemporary flourishes. Impressively, the event was the first organized by the newly formed SAC. “We’re a very new club and it’s quite a big responsibility as the first event,” Kumar says. However, despite the weight of responsibility, Kumar was confident that the club would grow quite fast, stating that they were already planning more events, such as dinners, movie nights, and a food festival. It’s expected that the SAC, which promotes cultures from all across South Asia, will collaborate with other student groups with similar interests, such as UFV India and the Punjabi student club. With several students belonging to multiple clubs with significant overlap, future events may feature more partnerships between clubs, leading to larger numbers of guests attending such events. Kumar believes that Vaisakhi will be just the beginning for the SAC. “It’s a big responsibility,” he says, “but with the support of UFV, and all of our club members, I think we’re going to make it.”

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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CULTURE & EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS MAY 13 MAY 14

Loud music and sandwiches: a surprising way to spend Mother’s Day

Art Battle 398

6:30 p.m. @The Reach Gallery and Museum

Excel Martial Arts spring tournament

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. @Envision Athletics Centre, Abbotsford campus

Chilliwack’s Art of Wine Festival 7:00 p.m. @Chilliwack Cultural Centre

Envision Coffee House Series: Fiddlin’ Frenzy 7:00 p.m. @SippChai Cafe

Mission Coffee House Series: Arnold Shoichet 7:00 p.m. @Heritage Park Cafetorium

MAY 16-18 MAY 18 MAY 20

Indigenizing the Curriculum Abbotsford campus

New Student Orientation Part I 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. @Abbotsford campus

Punk show feat. Like Bears, Riot Porn, Slow Erase, and Nic Fit 6:30 p.m. @33737 George Ferguson Way

18+ Open Mic Night 8:00 p.m. @SippChai Cafe

MAY 20-28 MAY 21 14

Gallery 7 presents Freud’s Last Session @Matsqui Centennial Auditorium

Fashion Frenzy Market

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. @2518 W. Railway, Abbotsford

GLEN ESS

THE CASCADE

This past Mother’s Day, over at O’Neill’s — a local sandwich shop found tucked away in downtown Abbotsford — a sweet, heartfelt little concert was in full swing. While not billed as a Mother’s Day performance, the evening saw local act Villain Villain partnered with out-of-town touring talent in Painted Fruit and Johnny DeCourcy, and a surprising amount of mothers in the crowd. With a greater variety of ages present and even a couple families treating their mothers to a night out, this punk show didn’t have the usual amount of punks. Opening act Villain Villain are one of the newer bands around the block, but they quickly settled into their groove. A loud, bone-shaking groove. It’s been mentioned before that the space isn’t designed around loud, live music — within the small confines of O’Neill’s a drummer alone can sound like an earthquake. Villain Villain’s

Nitya St. Laurent certainly tried his best to do so. St. Laurent, who also plays in the post-punk band Dodgers, created a frenzied, thrilling base around which the rest of Villain Villain could shine. While Villain Villain inspire comparisons with acts ranging from the likes of early Modest Mouse to Interpol, the overwhelming loudness of their instruments, particularly the keys, meant that the lead vocals from Jaydee Bateman were somewhat overshadowed. This one minor flaw was avoided by the second act, Victoria’s Painted Fruit. While they weren’t anywhere close to Villain Villain on the decibel metre, their performance was characterized by a smooth, crisp style. Every note struck was heard, none drowned out. With their surf-rock, beach-style aesthetic, Painted Fruit were a relaxed, chilled out contrast to the hustle and bustle of Villain Villain. Painted Fruit also happen to be pulling double duty, having begun a two-month-long tour alongside the night’s final act, Johnny DeCourcy. The Montreal-based baroque pop

eccentric is playing across the country with Painted Fruit performing as DeCourcy’s backing band. While on the face of it this might seem a relegation, the foursome from Victoria were easy-going with an infectious sense of humour, and it was clear from their faces that they were greatly enjoying themselves. That feeling of enjoyment was the defining factor in DeCourcy’s performance, which was spent alternatively thrashing around on the floor, belting lyrics into the mic, wailing on keys, and most impressively, laying down some smooth sax. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a saxophone, but when coupled with DeCourcy’s eccentric irreverence and his retro, trippy version of pop rock, the sax worked as the cherry on top to an extravagant and maddeningly amusing performance. The evening was crammed full of talent, and it’ll live long in my memory; after all, it’s not every day that you get to see a middle-aged mom go crazy for a pop rock auteur dressed up like a cross between a grieving widow and Beetlejuice in a sandwich shop.

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THURSDAY, MAY 12 2016

ARTS IN REVIEW MOVIE REVIEW

Shuffle AARON LEVY CIVL STATION MANAGER

Aaron Levy writes a shuffle featuring the human serviette and local noisemakers Blessed.

CHARTS Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool

1 2

The Tragically Hip In a World Possessed By The Human Mind (Single)

Andy Shauf The Magician (Single)

Fall of Tro "F.C.P." Ten months after the fact, I finally realized the real reason baseball's best shortstop was brought to Toronto, so I can include this song for Tulo. Punishing, blisteringly fast, and catchy like a nice good ol' reliable worn-in mitt with the perfect mix of singalong chorus and quick chaotic noise-core break. Nardwuar "The Nardwuar Theme" In honour of his immediately timeless interview with 40 and Drake (in alphanumerical order), I give you this: one of the most iconic, memorable, and on point productions of Canadian music over the past 25 years — the theme song of CiTR's Nardwuar, the Human Serviette. Blessed "Feel" This is a song that changes the game for local noise. Certainly the best selection off of Blessed's debut EP, you can feel the sense of a band galvanizing its songwriting process, and, at times, pushing the limits of where melody and rhythm coexist in a difficult to achieve harmony. Blistering Barnacles "Just say Fuck" You can't play this song without some heavy radio edits before 9 p.m. on CIVL, and after that you would need to do an academic job of contextualizing the importance this band has to the development and sustenance of the local punk scene in "Stabbotsford." You didn't think I'd miss 'Blisterin'' did you?

In Captain America: Civil War, heroes try to atone for their mistakes

Plants and Animals Waltzed in from the Rumbling

Italian Boyfriend The Beat (Single)

Frightened Rabbit Portrait of a Panic Attack

Blessed Blessed

Damien Jurado Visions of Us Upon the Land

9 10

Tegan and Sara Love You to Death

Miguel Rogue Wave Cate Le Bon Crab Day

The Last Shadow Puppet Everything You've Come to Expect

Wishkicker Por Que, Y

DIIV Is The Is Are

Parquet Courts Human Performance

Family Band Don't Ship Away (Single)

Comfort Skilled Mechanics

KAT MARUSIAK THE CASCADE

Captain America: Civil War takes place approximately one year after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), constantly reminded of how his creation, Ultron, caused so much damage and destruction, believes signing the “Sokovia Accords” — which, once passed, would allow the UN to assign a governing body to dictate when and where the Avengers would be allowed to operate — to be the best course of action. However, Captain America (Chris Evans) firmly believes it is not, as the Avengers could potentially be forced to compromise their morals at the behest of those (very possibly corrupt) in power, and refuses. As he puts it, “I know we're not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” Civil War has a very similar atmosphere as the previous Captain America film, The Winter Soldier; not surprising considering both were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo with screenplays by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. There is quite a bit of jumping around between locations, as well as some flashback scenes, but despite all of the different new plot points, background information, and characters being introduced, the film does a great job keeping things from getting too confusing through the use of good pacing and dialogue to help keep things on track. The choreography of the fight scenes is fluid and fastpaced, resulting in a spectacular, yet realistic combination of martial arts and stunts with CGI. Though kids will surely be entertained by the non-stop action and impressive visual effects, it is certainly not a movie aimed primarily at children. The film examines mature subject matter such as morality, responsibility, and accountability, along with friendship, loss, and how anger, conflict, and the desire for vengeance can consume us. For a superhero, even more so. As Vision (Paul Bettany) muses, “Our very strength

incites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict ... breeds catastrophe.” Despite the serious subject matter of the film, there is still plenty of clever comic relief to keep things from feeling too heavy. Ant-Man’s (Paul Rudd) awkwardness never fails to result in some very amusing moments and dialogue. And the somewhat strained relationship between Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) had the whole theatre laughing on more than one occasion. Another huge source of laughs and excitement came in the form of one of the characters finally introduced to the Avengers in this film. When I heard Tom Holland had been given the role of Peter Parker, my first thoughts were, “Really? Another new Spider-Man?” But considering Marvel’s casting is so often on point (for example, I think most of us would agree that Robert Downey Jr. basically is Tony Stark), I was more than willing to give him a chance, and was certainly not disappointed. Holland absolutely nails the part, perfectly portraying Peter’s adorable, nerdy nature as well as his slick, web-slinging side. The other highly anticipated character introduced in this film is Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who becomes entangled with the Avengers while trying to avenge the death of his father. Boseman definitely captured the character: somewhat mysterious, strong, stoic, and thoroughly badass, his excellent performance left me even more excited for the standalone film which is currently underway. Overall, I believe I can say quite confidentially that if you're a fan of Marvel / superhero flicks, you will most likely love this film. And if you're not, you very well still might, though it’s probably best to catch up on some of the older movies / history before viewing in order to enjoy it in the fullest. Marvel Studios continues to astound with their uncanny ability to translate from the comic page to the big screen, successfully delivering while leaving us waiting excitedly for more.

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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ARTS IN REVIEW MOVIE REVIEW

The Jungle Book, despite updated technology, is still a safe Disney production

JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR THE CASCADE

For many potential viewers, the thought of a repackaging of a childhood favourite in a sleek and near seamless reproduction may have been enough to write off The Jungle Book as another Disney cheap trick, a get-rich-quick sucker punch at nostalgia. It wouldn’t be completely unfair to scoff at the movie industry’s brazen disregard for originality, even if you enjoyed the film. But the thing about this creation of The Jungle Book is that it doesn’t carry the typical notes of a rip off. In fact, for a remake it actually feels rather respectable. Is it a Marxist re-interpretation of the overtly imperialist structuring in the famous Rudyard Kipling novel, a new film in which the lower caste animals must deatomize and force out the oppressive claws of the wandering Bengal tiger? No, not at all. This is a modernization of a children’s story already rewritten out of the original text — a proxy of a proxy if you will. The politics in the film don’t stand out any more than the implausibility of

African elephants wandering through the jungles of India. The story itself isn’t much of anything new — even after almost 50 years between the two Disney versions, it follows a similar diegesis with the addition of a few more Kiplingisms. You remember the story: the “man-cub” raised by wolves eventually must leave the jungle for fear that the terrifying tiger Shere Khan will kill him. His adventure out of the jungle and towards the man-village brings him into the company of a few familiar animals: one who wants to caress him, another who enjoys the simple life, and yet another with an existential dilemma, a certain fascination with being human. There are absolutely a few notable plot points that don’t make it into the new film from the old, but they don’t really change the direction of the story. Although practically the entire film is virtual and all the characters — save Mowgli — are non-human, the story itself is very human. The CGI wizardry of cinematographer Bill Pope is a stunning example of the computer’s role in modern film-making. The whole movie is computer generated (a nod to 11-year-old Sethi for acting out the whole film with almost no set) but the thing about that is it’s still full of humanity. It’s the young child

finding his place within a society that doesn’t quite accept him. It’s the banding together to combat a common threat to the home. Another detail worth talking about is the choice of actors for the main characters. An all star cast invites us to place what we know of the actors onto the characters they play. The devious King Louis, a “Gigantopithecus,” is voiced by none other than Christopher Walken, and satisfyingly so. Ben Kingsley plays the motherly, worrying Bageera, which makes perfect sense once the uptight panther starts speaking, if it didn’t so before the film started. Scarlett Johansson’s, delicate yet seductive voice almost lures Mowgli into the mouth of Kaa, the python. Bill Murray on the other hand, took a bit more time to convince me of being the carefree bear Baloo. Reflecting on the movie as a whole, it didn’t impress me the way I was expecting it to. It was a pleasant story, visually stimulating and entertaining — but nothing fantastic. There is plenty to laugh at and a story to invest in but The Jungle Book was really made 50 years ago. Hopefully the Warner Bros. interpretation, due to be released in 2018 (yes, another one), will excite in more ways than this rather tame Disney story.

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THURSDAY, MAY 12 2016

ARTS IN REVIEW ALBUM REVIEW

Views is more of the same from Toronto’s self-proclaimed hip-hop spokesperson CAMERON SCHMITKE CONTRIBUTOR

Like it or not, Drake has cemented his role as the epitome of Toronto’s hip-hop soundscape. On his latest album, Views, (previously promoted as Views From The 6 ) Drake crystallizes that Toronto sound, crafting 20 tracks his listeners will find familiar. Cold percussion and distorted backing vocals are mainstays of this album, and as usual, Drake’s vocals shift between rapping and singing to suit each track. The impact of these various elements are largely successful, though admittedly, sometimes inconsistent. (Looking at you, chipmunk voice effect.) Thematically, Views mostly sticks to Drake reflecting on romance and relationship woes, his standing in hip-hop’s hierarchy, and feelings of distrust and betrayal. He frequently references his hometown, which we evidently still have to call “the 6” at his behest. Listeners may enjoy lines such as, “Been flowin’ stupid since Vince Carter was on some through the legs arm in the hoop shit.” The themes Drake covers are familiar to his fans, or hip-hop fans in general, but he explores them in a way that is simple and emotionally honest. Drake assembles a large cast of contributors, each bringing their own flourishes to the final product. Noah “40” Shebib, who has long been producing Drake’s albums, crafts high quality beats that mesh well with Drake’s delivery. And the artists featured in Views are largely welcome additions. PartyNextDoor anchors the track “With You” using distorted

singing. Rihanna, Popcaan, and others help reinforce the West Indies aesthetic interspersed throughout Views. Kyla and Wizkid’s vocals on “One Dance” make it a standout pop number. Continuing his previous collaboration with Drake, Future makes “Grammy” noteworthy. “The Summer’s Over Interlude” is a jazzy piece with terrific vocals by Majid Al Maskati of the duo Majid Jordan (it is a minor travesty that he is uncredited). By contrast, the addition of rapper Pimp C on the song “Faithful” detracts from the final product. The verse delivered by dvsn on that same song lands well, making Pimp C’s inclusion all the more confusing. But on the whole, the featured artists on Views are a boon. Balancing rapping and singing has always proved difficult. While both are present on Views, they are certainly not represented in equal measure. This album is rather pop-heavy, a little too much for my tastes, but you can’t please everyone. However, whether you gravitate towards Singing Drake or Rapping Drake, there is something for you on this album. Back in 2009 Drake rapped about dropping a mixtape that sounded like an album. Then in 2015 he released If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, classified as an album by his label, but for all intents and purposes, it was a mixtape, as Drake himself said. So what sort of release is Views? The answer may be “something in between.” It seems mostly like an album, polished songs flowing together seamlessly. Occasionally though, it seems to draw on styles that were the low point of previous works. In any case, Views is best when it is innovative and pushes Drake’s sound forward.

ALBUM REVIEW

Death Grips’ new album is a bottomless pit of experimental excellence ALEX RAKE THE CASCADE

Death Grips is always difficult to listen to. With each new album, despite sounding the same on a superficial level of grating noise and barely-danceable, frenetic rhythms, they manage to show a new side of themselves. The newest album, however, doesn’t show a new side of Death Grips so much as it puts all the things they excel at into one tight package. Bottomless Pit sees Death Grips, once and for all, in total control of their chaos. Rather than bark beside an avalanche of noise as per usual, vocalist MC Ride dances with the chaos. In fact, he almost commands it. In “Hot Head,” for example, the beat fires off rhythms like a malfunctioning machine gun stuttering a spray of bullets, and it never feels like he’s lost in it because he is, finally, a part of it. As he belts out nonsense like “blo blo blo blo blo,” it feels as if he’s directing the chaotic beat like a traffic conductor rather than like he’s yelling over a track, as it often feels in other Death Grips records. But yelling or rapping or doing any old thing over a track is not what Death Grips is about. They are most often classified as a hip-hop act because of their hypnotic beats and their spoken vocals, and other times as an electronic act due to the heavy use of electronic sounds and effects, but neither of these genres sums up the Death Grips sound properly, and especially not on this record.

For example, the track “Bottomless Pit,” with its propulsive, distorted electric guitar and driving beat, is nothing more than a punk rock song. What’s a punk song doing on a hip-hop record? Nothing: it’s not a hip-hop record. Death Grips is above all an experimental act, not because they sound weird but because record after record they attempt something new. Sometimes this experiment is more silly than serious, such as the first half of ***The Powers That B, in which all the beats are composed from the same Bjork sample. Other times, the experiment is with song structure; despite the way the music sounds on paper — ear-bleedingly loud, nonsensical, non-melodic — The Money Store is full of what can only be described as wellconstructed pop songs. The experiment particular to Bottomless Pit is more difficult to identify, but it’s impossible not to notice the way it stands out against the rest of their discography as their messiest, most controlled record yet. If you’ve never heard Death Grips before, this is not the place to start. While Bottomless Pit will amaze anyone familiar with the rest of their work, newbies are bound to hear a contextless pile of noises — unless that very description piques your interest. As MC Ride himself asks in “Houdini”: “Fuck is that, a hairstyle?” Either way, Death Grips has finally collected all their best qualities — their embrace of noise and chaos, their defiance of genre, and their dedication to experimentation — and condensed them into one satiating, inedible album.

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

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ARTS IN REVIEW

S undBites

Title DIIV

St. Lucia

????????? Is The Is Are DIIV’s follow-up to 2012’s Oshin has seen over four years worth of buildup, with frontman Zachary Smith spending that time making sweeping, ambitious statements about the album, as well as the band playing material from Is The Is Are on tour for over a year. The album, while an engaging one to listen to, just doesn’t live up to Smith’s ambitions. This itself isn’t that surprising given how tumultuous the past four years have been for Smith and his bandmates. Stints in rehab, cancelled shows, integrating a new drummer, and postponing release dates — it’s been a wild ride for DIIV and it’s a genuine mark

Mini album reviews

Matter of their talent that Is The Is Are sounds as cohesive as it does. Smith’s perfectionism can be credited with producing such a slick album. Where Oshin took pride in its simplicity, Is revels in its intricacy; lead single “Dopamine” is a standout in this regard. However, for all the positives about the album, it just isn’t what Smith promised it would be; it doesn’t reinvent guitar-focused music. Nor does it support Smith’s claim that DIIV could be as big as Nirvana. It isn’t a brain-busting masterpiece, it’s simply a decent, unspectacular album.

Glen Ess

St. Lucia’s latest overblown extravagant release, Matter, is a tenderly crafted love letter to the ‘80s. Crammed with keyboards, synths, and an unabashed maximalist approach to pop music, Matter wants to be the lovechild of Giorgio Moroder and the Pet Shop Boys. However, much like the acts St. Lucia draws inspiration from, the shimmering productionz at times gives way to glaring overproduction, which brings the musical rollercoaster to a grinding halt. The track “Physical” is the most obvious example of this, with Jean-Philip Grobler’s vocals losing their place as the keystone of the arrangements, to the song’s detriment. The over-the-top, infuriating siren effects are distracting, and offer nothing of value to

the song. Synthpop remains one of a handful of genres that rewards excess, a hedonistic approach to songwriting, where the driving question is: “Can I cram one more keyboard or synth line into this song?” And Matter’s answer to that question is always an affirmative. It’s impressive that when compared to contemporary synth acts like the Future Islands, Chvrches, and Passion Pit, Matter is clearly excessive. More impressive still is the way that excess toes the line between excellence and utter failure. Barring one disaster of a track, and other minor blemishes across other tracks, Matter is a cohesive, energetic, and most importantly, fun listen. Glen Ess

Prince

Plants and Animals

HitnRun: Phase II Remembering the life of Prince Rogers Nelson, about half of his music-writing career is cut off. The classics, we are told, come from the late-‘70s and ‘80s, and around the time of his triple-LP celebration of being free from a major label (Emancipation), people stopped paying rapt attention. Maybe it’s because, not long after that point, certainly by 2004’s Musicology, Prince was less clawing through a heaving societal mess of sexual, racial, and religious relations, more playing the role of historical bandleader — educating listeners on the soul and funk he stuck with until the end: in the many stories since his passing, we know he was still buying Stevie Wonder and the Chambers Brothers CDs and asking for a DJ to spin Janelle Monae and James Brown somewhere in Minnesota. While some have grouped Prince’s death with David Bowie’s, the end of his musical output was not a place of radical shifts — on his later releases, like HitnRun Phase Two, the

Waltzed in from the Rumbling music is often comforting, a reminder, with relatively simple lyrics sidelined by band jams (with himself). He quotes Purple Rain’s “Take Me With U,” though his screams from that era are nowhere to be found. But that isn’t to say it’s all throwaway material. There’s still the impish winks and come-ons (“Xtralovable” reminds he’s available for a shower; there’s also a four-minute slow jam called “When She Comes”), but also signs of an artist still aware of the world his music is being released into: the eternal conflict of the bi-racial son and familial history shows up on “Black Muse,” and the album opens with a Michael Brown and Freddie Gray prayer song called “Baltimore.” It may be more of a routine accomplishment than a series of songs to break you with intimations of ecstasy and sacrifice, but Prince was still working, right up to the end.

Michael Scoular

Montreal-based indie rockers Plants and Animals have returned with an album that refines rather than redefines their sound. P&A sound like a band firmly at ease in their own skins — impressive considering Waltzed in from the Rumbling features their most diverse set of arrangements to date, with horns, strings, and woodwinds swirling around the trio, the stationary point around which the airy flutes, jazzy horns, and slightly ragged and nasally vocals circle. The relaxed, at ease feeling that dominates the album is best demonstrated by the vocals, delivered by Warren Spicer, which were often

improvised during recording. This spontaneity is vital to Waltzed’s charm, as much of the album was created on the spot rather than through careful planning, leading to mistakes being made, such as the far too loud guitar crunch in “Stay” which temporarily drowns out the rest of the arrangement. Those imperfections really hammer home just how off-the-cuff the recording process was. Leaving those moments untouched may have been a mistake, and it’s fair to say that they usually would have been removed without hesitation. However, in this case, these mistakes, the dents and dings, make Waltzed a little more accessible.

Glen Ess

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THURSDAY, MAY 12 2016

ARTS IN REVIEW ALBUM REVIEW

Departure From Venus screams out from suburban backyards, basements, and garages MARTIN CASTRO THE CASCADE

the

The majority of the popular music seems to follow a trend of taking itself quite seriously (mostly in the thematic content that it presents), even though half of the time, there’s not much of a precedent for anyone to take a lot of artists too seriously. Acts like Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and One Direction have dominated the airwaves for a long time. And that’s fine, I’m not saying their music is bad or worth any less than anyone else’s music, but generally these artists take themselves quite seriously, and expect us, as listeners, to follow suit. Most of the time there’s no reason for anyone to take the Bieb’s lyrics seriously at all; the same goes for Drake and One Direction, and especially The Weeknd. Most of their material is riddled with vague blanket statements seemingly crafted so that the greatest possible number of listeners can identify with them. And then we’re asked to take these artists seriously at face value. ROMP’s Departure From Venus, on the other hand, is far enough removed from traditional pop aesthetics to land it in the minefield that lies between pop and punk. I’d say it’s niche but it’s not even that — it’s a throwback to the pop-punk of the mid-2000s. And the thing is, most of the content on DFV is so intensely angst-ridden, so adolescent in its view and presentation of the world, that at first it’s impossible to take any of it seriously; it’s too angsty. Madison Klarer’s bittersweet vocals endlessly revel in an adolescent dissatisfaction with everything (“Everyone says it’ll get better, but I don’t feel any better, liars liars liars liars,” she sings

in the title track) while at the same time celebrating and yearning for the simplicity of hanging out in her bedroom with what’s presumably her boyfriend (or just a friend — fuck boyfriends, they complicate things). It seems to beautifully encapsulate teenage confusion and angst in such a simple way: sometimes unsure, sometimes humble, sometimes combative, selling us on its authenticity. Structurally, the tracks on the record work well thanks to their length, which on average comes out to two-and-a-half minutes. That said, one of the best tracks on the record, “Get Off the Scale,” is just barely a minute long. Fuzzy guitars and screams abound, but not for so long so as to grate on the listener before giving way to a bittersweet melody that wraps the track up. “Avoiding Boys” is the track that’s most representative of the material found on Departure from Venus. Partly escapism (“Leaving my parents’ house, turning my phone off, laying on the driveway, this is the only way”) and partly outright aggression thanks to a chorus that repeats “I don’t care what you might say, this is going to be a great fucking day.” Does DFM present us with anything that’s clearly new? No, not really. But I think mostly because, in varying degrees, everyone’s felt at one point or another the existential angst and apathy that comes hand in hand with being young and ever so slightly disillusioned — the record is infinitely entertaining. ROMP has clued in to something that the majority of musicians today seem to have overlooked: simple, (that is to say, straightforward) is (almost) always good, especially if you’ve got charisma. And on Departure From Venus, ROMP has it in spades.

CASCADE

Is looking for Staff Writers! Do you think you have what it takes to be reporter? Then join The Cascade and gain valuable experience in the field of journalism! Staff writers are required to write a minimum two articles a week, one of which must be a news article, or coverage of an event. Applications should include: a resume, cover letter, and a sample of your writing. The deadline for applications is June 3. To apply, or request further information, please email glen@ufvcascade.

Photo: Mitch Huttema