The Cascade Vol. 28 Iss. 10

MARCH 18 TO MARCH 24, 2020

VOLUME 28 ISSUE 10

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Self-isolating since 1993

Pulling the strings on climate change 10

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UFV HOME TO COVID-19 RESEARCH

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SETTLERS, SOLIDARITY, & TOKENISM

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ASIAN HORROR MOVIES

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

News Editor Sam Young samuel@ufvcascade.ca

Opinion Editor Andrea Sadowski andrea@ufvcascade.ca

Culture & Events Editor Carissa Wiens carissa@ufvcascade.ca

Arts in Review Editor Chandy Dancey chandy@ufvcascade.ca

Digital Media Manager Anoop Dhaliwal anoop@ufvcascade.ca Photographer David Myles Staff Writer Aleister Gwynne Staff Writer Nicholas Ashenhurst-Toews Staff Writer Krystina Spracklin

Sports Editor Alex Jesus alex@ufvcascade.ca Illustrator Kayt Hine Illustrator Kelly Ning Sports Writer Nic Jackson

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Social Media Coordinator Daniela Vasquez

The Shuffler Aaron Levy

CONTRIBUTORS Erin Froese Maneet Pasricha Front Cover: Mikaela Collins Back Cover: Elyssa English

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

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12 Snapshots.......9

@UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/UFVCASCADE Volume 28 · Issue 10 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

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

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

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

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

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ARTS

Feature Editor Darien Johnsen darien@ufvcascade.ca

OPINION

Copy Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca

NEWS

Production Manager Elyssa English elyssa@ufvcascade.ca

Creative Director Mikaela Collins mikaela@ufvcascade.ca

CONTENTS

FEATURE

Business Manager Aneesha Narang aneesha@ufvcascade.ca

Managing Editor Nadia Tudhope nadia@ufvcascade.ca

CULTURE

Executive Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca

16.......CIVL Shuffle

Study Break.......18 NEWS Coronavirus research funding......3

4......Senate summarized

OPINION Editorial.......5

5.......Dear Robin

Avoiding COVID-19.......6

7.......Pizza for the people

Love on campus.......7

8.......Tokenisation at protests

CULTURE 12.......Richard III review

Cascade Kitchen......12 Knitting 101.....13

SPORTS COVID-19 haults pro leagues.......14

14......Pro Wrestling

Softball.......15 ARTS Megan Thee Stallion album release......16 Daria......17

17......Asian horror movie marathon

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

news@ufvcascade.ca Sam Young — News Editor

NEWS NEWS

UFV //

NEWS BRIEFS It's still safe to donate blood, Canadian Blood Services says Canadian Blood Services (CBS) has urged people to keep appointments and continue donating blood, saying that donating is still safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Blood clinics will continue to be held around Canada, and potential donors are being screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the door and when booking an appointment.

“Every day [lifesaving donations] are needed for patients undergoing surgery and cancer treatment, as well as to save lives following traumas such as motor vehicle accidents,” Isra Levy, CBS’s vicepresident of medical affairs and intervention, said.

Coronavirus study “a UFV effort from start to finish”

UFV receives federal funding for research on the spread of infectious diseases

- Abby News

Harassment allegations prompt discussion around university coaching codes of conduct Allegations against a University of Victoria (UVIC) rowing team coach have prompted a call to post-secondary institutions in British Columbia for “coaching codes of conduct” that are separate from the general university harassment policies. The verbal harassment allegations against the coach were initially reviewed under the university’s harassment policy, which does not have sport-specific wording.

Joanna Waterman, the mother of one of the rowers issuing complaints against the coach, claimed “an adjudicator hired by the school found his behaviour didn’t breach the harassment policy but ‘may not meet a coach’s code of conduct,’” according to The Canadian Press.

“Your policy allowed for [the coach] to publicly humiliate, fat shame, and torment [my daughter] about her mental health,” Waterman said in a letter to UVIC’s president.

- The Canadian Press

Microscopes. Photo by Ousa Chea (Unsplash)

SAM YOUNG On March 5, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research announced that 47 research projects related to coronavirus would receive a combined $27 million, including a project proposed by UFV’s own Cindy Jardine.

Jardine, who is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Health and Community at UFV, has been granted $273,978 in funding to study the spread of COVID-19 and other viral illnesses among Canadians who "travel back to their countries of origin to visit friends and relatives."

The project is one of many submitted to a rapid funding competition launched by the federal government on Feb. 10 for research projects related to COVID-19, as a part of Canada’s efforts to help fight the global pandemic. According to Jardine, the rapid speed at which the research was proposed and funded is highly unusual, and speaks to Canada’s ability to innovate.

“We had eight days to prepare a full proposal, with all of the bells and whistles they expect from normal proposals … then we had a decision within 10 days,” she said, noting that research projects like this usually take three to six months to get approval. “We're still

a little dumbfounded at the speed with which this happened.”

She said that the research will involve interviewing focus groups of travelers, specifically focusing on members of the Chinese and Punjabi communities — the two largest immigrant populations in the Fraser Valley. The study will focus on what Jardine called “healthrisk communication,” looking into what kinds of pre-travel advice and preparation are available to individuals before they return to their countries of origin.

“We are looking specifically at travelers who are immigrants or the children of immigrants to the Fraser Valley,” Jardine said. “They tend to travel quite frequently back to their countries of origin, and they tend to live more like locals when they go back there; they live in houses with friends and relatives, so anything that everybody else is exposed to, they're going to be exposed to.”

She said other aspects of the study will include speaking with family physicians in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland area about their experiences giving traveling advice to people, and a survey of all UFV students to find out about their travel patterns and what they do when they travel to keep themselves safe.​She expects that the

research will be concluded within two years, and she aims to have all research data collected within four to eight months, with a survey coming out for UFV students at some point in the next two weeks.

Jardine said that although the research is being conducted locally, its findings will be broadly applicable to the rest of Canada and beyond. Researchers involved in the study will include UFV associate professors Martha Dow and Satwinder Bains and senior members of the B.C. provincial health system, as well as researchers from institutions in Manitoba, Australia, and New Zealand.

“We've got such a great, diverse population in the Fraser Valley that it is really a very representative microcosm for the rest of Canada,” she said.

Despite its focus on immigrant communities, Jardine stressed that her research is not intended to stigmatize anyone. “We're not doing this with immigrant populations to in any way imply that they are at fault or to blame for what's happening,” said Jardine. “They're absolutely not. They're just a specific group of travelers who, because they travel more frequently and under different circumstances, may be at higher risk.”

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VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

NEWS Senate //

Senate discusses COVID-19 preparations, “good news budget” presented JESSICA BARCLAY Senate is the academic governing body of UFV, with the university president and vice chancellor Joanne MacLean as the chair. They are responsible for making decisions on everything academic: approving new courses and programs, approving changes to programs, setting entrance requirements, and setting the academic calendar. The Board of Governors, which looks at the business side of the university, is advised by Senate on matters of mutual interest.

All at the university are welcome to attend Senate’s public meetings, held once a month at either the Abbotsford or the CEP campus, but most do not. Regardless, Senate makes decisions that impact the daily lives of both students and faculty.

COVID-19 planning and preparation In response to COVID-19, UFV established an Emergency Operations Centre in mid-February, in accordance with the university’s Emergency Management Plan. The Emergency Operations team is responsible for monitoring and gathering information and coordinating responses around the university regarding COV-

ID-19, to ensure actions are centralized.

The basic structure of the team is four chiefs who each oversee different aspects of the university: operations, planning, logistics, and finance and administration.

The chiefs report to the director, who coordinates the university's response with the university’s policy group. The policy group is made up of the university president, Joanne MacLean, and the senior management officials.

According to the presentation in Senate, UFV has been following guidelines and recommendations from the federal and provincial governments, as well as local health authorities such as Fraser Health.

On March 13 the university did no plan on closing, but were developing plans in case remote learning did become a necessity. Discussions have been ongoing with the deans of each department, who have been working with individual faculty to organize a plan for each class. Resources are being made available for faculty regarding the use of remote learning technology.

Remote learning would be considered if a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 were to be found on campus or if a nearby outbreak occurred. The univer-

The Cascade is

HIRING Graphic Designer a

Send inquiries and applications to managing@ufvcascade.ca

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sity would also move to remote learning if directed to by either the provincial or federal government.

On March 15, two days after the Senate meeting, UFV announced that they would be pausing all classes for a week.

Classes will resume remotely starting March 23. No known or suspected cases of COVID-19 have been reported by the university, as of March 17.

UFV has created a webpage for COVID-19 FAQs and an email to answer further questions at covid19@ufv.ca.

2020/21 budget presentation UFV’s 2020-21 Consolidated Budget Plan is a “good news budget,” according to Jackie Hogan, chief financial officer and vice president administration, who presented the budget at Senate.

A $9.9-million increase in revenue has been budgeted for in 2020-21, with international student enrolment being the largest contributor to that increase.

In addition to an increase in enrolment, UFV has implemented a new international “per credit” tuition model for international students. Previously, international students paid a flat fee which totalled 15 credits. Now, students pay a flat fee for

12 credits and an additional fee for each credit after. This change accounts for a $1.8-million increase in the budget, and increases in international student enrolment account for an additional $6.6-million increase.

Student fees were once again the largest source of revenue overall for the university. In 2019-20, student fees exceeded government operating grants “for the first time.” In 2020-21, student fees account for $73.3 million, or 47 per cent of the budget. Government operating grants account for $61.7 million, or 40 per cent of the budget.

A total of 24 new positions have been budgeted for, including 15 new teaching positions and two new associate deans, one in the faculty of science and one in the faculty of health sciences.

Senate nomination results Winners of the recent elections for student representative seats on Senate were announced. Eleven students were nominated, and the four elected were Tripat Sandhu, Jobanpreet Singh Thind, Rajdeep Dhaliwal, and Nathan Burns.

we’re hiring a

Production Assistant

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

opinion@ufvcascade.ca Andrea Sadowski — Opinion Editor

Editorial //

The Cascade shifts online, and you should too JESSICA BARCLAY For the duration of UFV’s partial shutdown, The Cascade will be moving entirely online.

UFV has temporarily shut down all classes and will be resuming them remotely starting March 23. Although the university campuses will still remain open, at least for now, there will likely be few people on campus. Printing physical newspapers would have brought a number of our staff onto the campus during a time when people shouldn’t be there, including our distribution team, those who deliver the paper, and our production team.

This decision was not just made because editing in our pajamas at home is our deepest and most secretive desire — it is, but that’s not the point. We are taking the recommendations of the province and local health authorities seriously because members of our staff, their families, and the community have health concerns that make them at risk of complications and death from COVID-19.

There are many people and organizations, however, who are not taking recommendations seriously. That is highly concerning.

Health Minister Patty Hajduestimates that between 30 and 70 per cent of Canadians could contract COVID-19 before the pandemic is over. That is between 11 million to 26 million cases. If over five per cent of those cases need ICU treatment, as is currently seen in Italy and China, our approximately 3,200 ICU beds are not going to cut it if a large number of people get ill at the same time.

Last week, the Fraser Health region had eight ICU beds open out of 80, according to the Abbotsford News. The region services 1.9

million people.

We need to slow down transmission of the virus, and your individual actions have a direct impact on the health and safety of those around you.

If your work isn’t considered an essential service, one of the best things you can do is be really, really bored for a period of time.

Social distancing, in addition to proper hygiene, is one of the main methods to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Stay at home if you can, and don’t hold non-essential gatherings. We are living in the digital age, with a thousand programs to help us connect remotely; try some of them out. Hold gatherings that are essential, either for business or your sanity, remotely, such as meetings, your Lord of the Rings marathon night, or poker night.

Additionally, businesses need to be taking every effort to enable their employees to work from home. The federal government rolled out an $82-billion aid package to help businesses and people during this time, including benefits for those who don't qualify for sick leaves or employment insurance and who lose their job but don’t qualify for EI. Remaining at home and avoiding social gatherings is not a trial — triage is. If we fail to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and overwhelm our hospitals, our health-care staff may need to decide who receives life-saving treatment and who doesn’t. This is actively happening in Italy.

So take a moment to consider your activity and whether it is necessary. It is our social responsibility to reduce the spread of this virus, and your actions have the ability to directly impact that.

Humour //

Dear Robin

ROBIN HALPER Life is tough and confusing and weird.

We all need help sometimes, and when you need an expert opinion, you turn to an expert opinion-giver like Robin Halper. Whatever problem you’re facing in life, Robin will have a solution. The Cascade cannot guarantee the effectiveness of Robin’s unique approach to life, but if you’re in a jam, get some advice by writing to halp@ufvcascade.ca A full house Dear Robin, My roommate works an office job, and the whole office was just told to start working from home for the rest of the month. Since I’m a student, I’m usually at home a lot during the day and enjoy those hours by myself. It’s been a few days now with her working from home, and it’s been going terribly with us both in the house. We’re constantly bumping elbows when in the kitchen, and she’s so loud on phone meetings. I just want some peace. What should we do?

Sincerely, Annoyed in my apartment Hello,

Photo by Christin Hume. (Unsplash)

OPINION

Don’t worry, now that class is canceled and moving online you’ll be working from home even more!

Wait, hear me out, this is good news for you because it’s a great reason to temporarily move out. Do you have parents living in the middle of nowhere near 100 Mile House?

Go there for a while. How about grandparents who are retired on the

Island? Pitch a tent on their patio.

How about a friend from elementary school who won the lottery? Get cozy in that mansion. The world is your oyster.

Robin Reality check Dear Robin, I’m still really upset about the Bachelor finale from last week. Like, why would Peter’s mom be so mean to Madison? And why did I waste a whole four hours over the course of two evenings for not much to really happen? How can I move on from this?

Sincerely,

Bummed about the Bachelor Hello, I think we can all agree that Pilot Pete is the worst. He can’t make up his mind in any way, and I’m sure he’ll be going after Hannah Ann again. I understand your frustration, but I have a radical new idea: just don’t watch the upcoming seasons of The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise this year. Take a break.

Focus on more important things in life, like making creamy mashed potatoes and finding the best deals on toilet paper. You’ll be amazed at how different you’ll feel when taking a break from those fame-hungry reality-show stars.

Robin

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

OPINION Satire //

How to not catch COVID-19 Solid advice on staying safe and healthy

ANDREA SADOWSKI The apocalypse is upon us, and the government is doing everything they can to protect the world from a virus that does not discriminate based on how many zeros are in your bank account. Everyone who leaves their house at any point for any need will be arrested on sight. The virus must be contained. We need to flatten that curve like puberty in reverse.

This just in: Beyonce, the Queen Bee, has fallen ill to COVID-19; Coachella is cancelled in her honour. The first lady, Melania Trump, has also been diagnosed with the virus; however, her husband is not too worried about her illness because this whole virus thing is bound to blow over soon anyways, just like global warming. Many have fallen, but all will have extremely clean butts, as they have ensured the means to safely wipe with abundant amounts of toilet paper.

I am currently on day eight of my 90day self-quarantine. Medical professionals have advised people to quarantine themselves for only 29 days, but I’m doing triple the time just to be safe. I haven’t been diagnosed with COVID-19, but I’ve been training my whole introverted life for this moment. This is my time to shine.

I do still like to get out at night though, as I read on a blog that loneliness has the same negative health effects as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. I like to go dancing at a club at least an hour or two a night to get my exercise and socialization in at the same time. I prefer clubs that are nice, moist, and hot, as I also read that the virus can’t survive in hot temperatures. I still wear a bedazzled face mask though, just to be safe and stay stylish.

I don’t really even have to worry about this virus, as I am young, healthy, and in the prime of my life. My immune system is so strong from constantly falling out of trees as a child and rubbing dirt into my wounds to clot the blood. If you’ve ever smoked bum weed out of a tin can because you ran out of rolling papers, you’re probably immune to the virus as well. Also, if you’ve ever used a public washroom in that disgusting death-punk-indie music venue downtown, or if you’ve ever showered barefoot in a men’s locker room, I can assure you that your immune system has a Herculean strength that the coronavirus cannot possibly penetrate.

You should take advantage of this impenetrable immune system by travelling somewhere exotic now that the price of flights are dirt-cheap. Go see all those insanely popular tourist sights now as crowds have virtually disappeared: Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China. I just looked online last night, and they’re selling round-the-world tickets for only $108; you can’t afford not to go. However, if you really want to travel in style you should consider a cruise. Those things are basically like floating, all-inclusive resorts that take you to a new country every single day.

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What could be better?

If your immune system is weak, and you feel like you have a higher risk of getting the virus, I have two words for you: essential oils. Oil of oregano, rosehip, and frankincense all have high immunity-boosting qualities. Douse yourself in these precious oils, pour them in your smoothie, diffuse them in every living space — you can’t be too careful. Hand sanitizers are terrible for your skin, so I’m sticking with my natural, delicious-smelling oils to keep me safe, and

I suggest you do the same, unless you like scaly, withered hand skin.

I made sure I was well prepared for my quarantine by buying all the toilet paper that could fit in my car, along with every non-perishable food item I could find. But I still find myself making the occasional trip to the grocery store when the craving strikes for a chocolate bar; I’m only human.

The most important thing you can do is spread awareness. Turn on every single news alert to get immediate updates of

which countries have shut down, or where you can’t fly to, and be sure to tell everyone around you as loud as you can about this precious information. It’s important that everyone stays in the loop about how dire and pressing this situation is. I recommend scrolling through Facebook at least 30 minutes every hour to make sure you stay up to date on what everyone is saying about this crisis. Stay safe, remain vigilant, and wash your fingers.

Illustration by Kayt Hine

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

OPINION Canada //

Let them eat pizza!

Pizza is the people’s food DARIEN JOHNSEN Last week, I read two news articles about pizza and social movements. To be specific, the articles used the purchase and consumption of pizza by protesters in an attempt to frame the movements negatively.

The first was an article from Abbotsford News titled “B.C. legislature occupiers ate pizza, mocked ‘colonial government’” (which is possibly one of my favourite headlines of all time).

The other was an article from HuffPost on the Ontario teachers’ union strike, titled, “Doug Ford Defends Government’s ‘Tremendous Concessions’ In Talks With Teachers,” subtitled: “He also slammed the previous government for buying teachers’ negotiators pizza.”

Now look, I’m not here to choose a side (or point out how biased some media has been on both these social movements). Rather, I’m here to say: pizza is the people's food, and always has been.

Pizza is an historical dish; the modern version of pizza originated in Naples, Italy at a time when the economy was struggling and pushing many people into poverty. These poor folk were known as lazzaroni, for their shabby demeanour, resembling Lazarus, a biblical figure who was restored to life by Jesus — but who, after being dead for four days, looked pretty weathered. These lazzaroni would eat pizza, because it was something quick to eat that they could buy from street vendors on-the-go as they were bustling about in search of work.

In an article from History Today, it is explained that food critics and foreign visitors to Naples looked down on pizza as disgusting. A quote about pizza from the inventor of the telegraph, Samuel Morse, reads as follows: “[Pizza is a] species of the most nauseating cake … covered over with slices of pomodoro or tomatoes, and sprinkled with little fish and black pepper and I know not what other ingredients,

it altogether looks like a piece of bread that has been taken reeking out of the sewer.”

It wasn’t until Queen Margherita venerated the pizza as something delicious and to be valued that the hot, delicious dish took off as a trend. Appropriated by the rich and made famous, the pizza now enjoys international status as, arguably, one of the world’s most favourite foods.

In the article from Abbotsford News,

“Pizza is the people's food, and always has been.”

Indigenous youth, who were occupying the legislature in support of the Wet’suwet’en land defenders, were referred to by the journalist as having a “pizza party.” In the HuffPost article, Ford criticizes the Liberal’s financial support of teachers, citing that the money given to teachers’ unions to help them with the cost of negotiation talks was used to buy “large orders of pizza,” stating that it was “out of control.”

What these journalists and Ford failed to consider was that pizza has always been the food of the people, and both the journalists and Ford had no right to say it was a frivolous party treat. Teachers and land defenders do a lot for us; they deserve a large order of pizza now and again. I think that what we really need is a collective pizza party — I’m sure that it would bring both sides of these conflicts together, non-violently and unbiasedly, to discuss our differences while cheers-ing to some cheesy slices of dough.

Satire //

Love advice for the modern college student How to never be alone again NICHOLAS ASHENHURSTTOEWS Everyone is looking for love. Everyone has that desire for a deep connection with someone they can spend long hours with in meaningful conversation, or for someone's hand to hold if you’re feeling particularly physically affectionate. If you’ve already found someone to help fill the void of existential loneliness and increasing anxiety toward the inevitable collapse of society and the world at large, that’s fantastic. As for the rest of us, we’ll just slowly die of social isolation because platonic love and intimate friendships can't evoke any of the same feelings as a romantic relationship.

Society has long since held the idea that romantic, heterosexual love and desire is the be-all and end-all of relationships. It is what everyone is looking ahead to and working toward. We are constantly bombarded by the image of the perfect couple — in Disney movies, on social media, by our out-of-touch grandmothers who just want us to “settle down with a nice young person of the opposite sex.” We are all just waiting to lock eyes with someone and know that they’re the one. Our one true love with whom we will settle down in a nice suburban home complete with a yard, a white picket fence, 2.5 healthy, happy children, and a dog. We can’t forget the dog.

Love can conquer all. We would all be 10 million per cent happier if we just had the perfect partner; whatever trauma we had as children or adolescents would disappear, panic attacks and self-destructive thoughts would cease all together, and we wouldn’t feel like we were worthless. Our partner loves us and we believe them. If we aren’t happier while in a relationship, it’s not a result of our own deep-seated issues that should be addressed in therapy; no, it must be that our partner isn’t loving us properly.

It can’t be our fault. It’s our partner’s job to fulfill us.

What if your partner has their own issues that are keeping the relationship from flour-

ishing? Don’t worry. You can fix them if you love them enough. Taking on their problems won’t drain you. They don’t need counselling, outside support, or medication. They just need you to love them.

Actually finding someone to call your own is the hardest part. Just look around: there are people constantly surrounding you — in your classes, at your job, on the bus. Believe me, it’s in no way awkward or creepy to go up to someone unprovoked and ask them if they would like to spend the rest of their life with you. Bonus points if you begin dating your best friend of the opposite gender. We all know that men and women can’t have fulfilling, platonic relationships without falling deeply and inexplicably in love with each other. It doesn’t matter if you have nothing in common. You were meant to be.

If you prefer not having the stress of trying to manufacture your own human connection, online dating may be for you. Let their highly sophisticated algorithm cupids do the work for you.

Don’t worry if you have absolutely no attraction, physical nor romantic, to your partner. You can force yourself to be in love with them. If years pass and you still feel nothing, except maybe a small amount of hatred or resentment, well it’s too late now.

You made a commitment, and you can’t break that for anything.

If you do break up with your partner, it’s best to do so early before any real feelings set in. Hopefully they were your close friend, classmate, or coworker so now you can redirect all of the energy you devoted to dating them into actively avoiding them.

After your break-up, get into a new relationship as soon as possible. You’ll either find your soulmate or you’ll make your ex jealous enough that they beg you to take them back. You could even try dating two people at once; it’s not cheating, it’s nonconsensual polyamory and it’s hot.

Remember, as long as society accepts your relationship, it’s not wrong. Being in an unhappy relationship is better than being alone forever.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

OPINION Canada //

Questions for settlers

How to stop tokenizing Indigenous people in your activism and use your privilege darity work, are you sure that they’re not already maxed out on emotional labour, time commitments, or life in general?

MIKAELA COLLINS Demonstrations in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the CGL pipeline across their traditional territory have been the subject of heavy media coverage, and demonstrations are being held not just in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, but in smaller towns across the country, including Abbotsford. On March 4, UFV students staged a walkout in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en, and last month Abbotsford demonstrators held a march on Feb. 22, and others erected a rail barricade on Feb. 24.

As more people get involved with solidarity and fighting for land rights, it's important for non-Indigenous demonstrators — especially those organizing solidarity events — to check in with themselves about how they’re interacting with Indigenous people in their communities. Here are some questions settlers should ask themselves before asking an Indigenous person to come to their demonstration: 1.

Are you asking them to get involved just because they’re Indigenous? If so, why? What assumptions are you making about that person, and Indigenous people in general?

2. If they’re already involved in soli-

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3.

Do you only reach out to this person to ask them to do solidarity work with you?

4.

Are you being upfront with them about what you expect from them?

Are you inviting them to attend your demonstration, or to justify its existence?

5.

Are you asking them because you think they might want to come, or because you want them to perform being Indigenous? Would you be disappointed if they showed up without a drum, or in jeans instead of regalia?

When organizing a protest, it’s important to lay out (to yourself and others) why you’re organizing a demonstration in the first place, what you hope it will accomplish, and what role you’re willing to take on publically and visibly. If you have been thoughtful, reflexive, and responsible with putting together your event, the presence — and by extension endorsement — of one or two token Indigenous people should not make or break it. An Indigenous person is

not an insurance policy against criticism.

The Unist'ot'en camp website links to a zine on allyship by Ancestral Pride which says, “Of course we do not want to be dictated to or told what we should be doing by settlers BUT if you are organizing then you need to make decisions and act on them without being guided every step of the way.” If you don’t want to lead as a settler, reach out to Indigenous people who have already chosen to take on leadership roles and ask if you can get involved with them.

But, why do you feel uncomfortable with being visible in the solidarity movement as a settler in the first place?

This sentiment is usually well-intentioned; learning not to speak over people whose rights are at stake in a given moment is one of the first lessons many activists learn. However, if you are getting involved with solidarity work out of concern for Indigenous rights, there is value in letting detractors of Wet’suwet’en solidarity see that it’s not just Indigenous people who are involved, passionate, and taking initiative. You have privilege, but don’t just check it — use it.

At protests against Trump’s separation and incarceration of immigrant families, protestors in the Bay Area in 2018 consistently directed media coverage to the white people in attendance; they hoped that by showing white Americans from typically conservative, politically disengaged lo-

cales and demographics were involved it would demonstrate how dire the situation was. Further, at a protest where many of the people with a stake in it were undocumented, white Americans were able to shoulder the burden of risking arrest. At these protests, a group of white protestors trespassed on holding facility grounds and chained themselves in place. According to organizers, later protests, because of those protestors’ visibility, saw an even higher white turnout.

Rather than simply offering approval, offer something material. Instead of helping charitably, seek to join equally. If you find yourself unable to reach (or not invited to) Indigenous-led demonstrations, by all means start your own — but also consider using the privilege you have in the colonial system. Write letters to city councillors, MLAs, and MPs, or consider what powerful institutions you have access to and influence over, like your municipal government, your workplace, your school, or your faith organization. Helping Indigenous land defenders get material resources like food, transportation, or money can be as impactful as — or more than — demonstrating directly. And, if you do decide to invite an Indigenous person to your event, invite them because you want them there as a person, not a token.

SN S AP HO TS

BRIEF BITS OF BITE-SIZED BREVITY

CURTAILED COMMENTARY ON CURRENT CONDITIONS

Illustrations by Kelly Ning

Cartoons are the only good left in the world The last umbrella A personal quirk of mine is my insistence on carrying an umbrella, despite it being cumbersome when not in use, instead of wearing a hooded jacket. At least, that was the case until recently.

My current umbrella has a chipped handle, and the spars are rusting and falling apart, making it increasingly difficult to open and close. From now on, I will only take it with me if it is already raining heavily when I leave the house. I have no plans to buy a replacement because most umbrellas are so shoddily-made that they start breaking down after only a few months. It

is a waste of money and ultimately produces more garbage that clutters up the planet. The noble umbrella has become yet another victim of our hyper-capitalistic throw-away culture, and it breaks my heart. If I ever do get a new umbrella, it will be top-tier and built to last, not the kind that gets big, ugly chips in the handle if I drop it on the floor.

Aleister Gwynne

If it lives in the water, it must be a fish While living in Brazil, I often visited the small community of Santa Ana. The residents there enjoy eating fish and shrimp caught straight from the river. Being a pescetarian at the time, I appreciated this abundant access to seafood in a country whose meals revolve around meat. I had lunch every Sunday after mass with my neighbours, with my plate usually filled with shrimp, pasta, rice, and beans.

One Sunday, my neighbour, Patricia, had prepared a special “fish” quiche that she was excited to share with me, knowing how much I love seafood.

I had never seen fish with such dark meat before, or tasted any seafood

with such a gamey flavour. Only after forcing myself to make it through the whole piece of quiche which was so graciously given to me, I asked what kind of fish was in it.

“Capybara,” replied Patricia.

“But Capybaras aren’t fish!” I exclaimed, immediately feeling sick after eating a creature that was so similar to the guinea pigs I kept as pets.

“They live in the water most of the time, so they are fish!” she insisted.

I couldn’t argue with that solid logic

Andrea Sadowski

My cortisol levels have been at a peak for the past month due to fighting with other allies in social movements, hyper-criticism from people in my life masquerading as comrades, and deadlines on overdue deadlines that are piling up like the reeking dishes by my sink. Not to mention that pesky little virus that honestly couldn’t take my life fast enough. It’s safe to say my disdain for humanity has grown to a point where I hate everyone. So what have I been doing to cope? Television.

Not just any television — I’ve been so annoyed at humans that I can’t bear to even watch live-action productions.

So, cartoons it is. Sailor Moon is my go-to in tough times. The pretty co-

lours and spacey themes are an absolute delight when I’m stuck in bed seething with resentment at the real pandemic overtaking the earth: people. Those close to me know that when they hear that iconic theme song blaring from my bedroom, I’ll be in there clutching a glass of red wine, desperately trying to forget that I’m one of those atrocious breathing creatures that roams the earth in search of sustenance while destroying trees with my poisonous carbon breath.

Darien Johnsen

Handling modern-day disorganization One thing in my house that causes me anxiety is the freezer. It’s not a massive deep freezer like our parents have in their garage, but just a little freezer that takes up the top portion of the fridge. I can’t store a massive amount of food in there, but it’s good enough for me and my partner.

The thing that stresses me out about the freezer is the sheer disorganization of it all. There are packages of meat from God knows when from a cow my parents-in-law slaughtered, several bags with just one bun or one bagel in them, plus a big container of orange slices I once thought would

make a good substitute for ice cubes in sangria.

I’m sure I’m not alone with feeling this freezer disorganization anxiety.

But guess what I did yesterday? I took matters into my own hands and organized it. I tossed out the things I will never eat (dry mini banana muffins) and stacked up the essentials (perogies and tofu) into neat piles so I can make room for more.

Tomorrow’s task: organizing my closet.

Carissa Wiens

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VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

by Jessica Barclay

no longer science fiction

I

n 2019, the world emitted the highest quantity of greenhouse gases (GHG) in recorded history. While many are optimistic that there is still time remaining to change our ways, change has been slow, and the largescale impacts of climate change are becoming apparent.

If we hope to keep to the Paris Climate Agreement goal of halting global warming at 1.5°C above preindustrial temperatures, the entire world needs to cut its GHG emissions in half by 2030. However, in 2019, GHG emissions increased by 0.6 per cent from 2018, according to the Global Carbon Project.

Rob Jackson, a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University, summed it up nicely in an interview with the Washington Post: “We’re blowing through our carbon budget the way an addict blows through cash.”

We have a limited amount of GHGs we can pump into the atmosphere. At the current rate of GHG gas emissions, around 1,332 tonnes per second, the Mercator Research Institute’s Carbon Clock estimates we have seven years and nine months before we reach 1.5°C warming.

Five years after The Paris Climate Agreement was signed there have been improvements, but few countries reach the level of action that needs to be seen to meet the goals of the agreement. If mitigation alone is not enough, or our predictions prove too moderate, drastic measures may need to be taken in the future to reduce catastrophic consequences of climate change.

Geoengineering is a field of research that looks to develop technological solutions to large-scale, environment-related problems. It is the engineering of the Earth, and currently, geoengineers are looking for solutions that can reduce the effects of climate change.

The technology researchers are developing and testing is on the level of science fiction, both in scale and in function, but isn’t. The technology is being actively being proposed as a potential aid to mitigation actions in the fight against climate change.

Students going into nearly every field are going to be faced with critical and challenging questions about climate change actions. Policy makers, both those involved in government and individual companies, will need to make choices about the extent and type of action to take regarding climate change. Those in research will be asked to implement and monitor these solutions.

It can be easy to push for a solution that appears to have the potential to help reduce the impacts of climate change with limited impact on our current way of life.

However, major questions around the ethics of intentional, large-scale climate-altering technology and the feasibility of implementation are at the forefront of geoengineering as its solutions grow more and more plausible.

Broadly speaking most ongoing research in the field of geoengineering is divided into two categories: technologies that capture and hold carbon and technologies that manage the sun’s rays.

Technologies around carbon dioxide removal (CDR) look to directly reduce the actual greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Technologies range from already implemented to entirely theoretical. They are generally more accepted than the proposed technologies of solar geoengineering, and there has been increasingly open discussion on using CDRs as possible climate change mitigation options.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes periodic and influential assessments of climate change aimed at policymakers. In one of their more recent reports, “Global Warming of 1.5°C,” all scenarios that would limit warming to 1.5°C would require the use of CDRs, and scenarios where the global temperature would need to be reduced to 1.5°C required considerable use of CDRs. The increase in acceptance of geoengineering as a possible, if not required, solution to climate change is rapid. In 2013, an article in the Guardian expressed surprise that the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report even mentioned geoengineering.

The wider acceptance of CDRs may be due in part to the range of technologies that it can include. Afforestation and reforestation fall under the CDR umbrella as carbon capture and storage techniques. Forests act as carbon sinks: plants in the forest take in carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store it. Forests are dynamic entities, and the carbon captured by trees and plants is converted, reused, and recycled throughout the ecosystem. Though some of it is released back into the atmosphere, much is also stored as carbon compounds in the soil or deep underground as carbon fossils.

There are ongoing reforestation efforts worldwide, and the benefits of replanting deforested areas with diverse native species, and then leaving it to recover, are generally agreed upon.

Afforestation is a more contentious method, which involves planting forests in areas where there historically haven’t been forests. Certain areas don’t need forests, such as the grassland biomes in Africa, an area recently targeted by the Bonn challenge as part of their goal to plant 150 million hectares of forests by 2020, and 350 million

hectares by 2030. Grasslands are complex ecosystems in themselves, and the animals and plants that live there have evolved to survive in those circumstances. Planting trees dramatically changes the ecosystems and what species can live there.

Biodiversity is also often ignored, both in reforestation and afforestation efforts. Forests are a complex and dynamic interaction between animals, insects, fungi, shrubs, and trees. Often though, only trees are planted in areas targeted by afforestation efforts, and are limited in diversity. A study published in Environmental Research Letters found that biodiverse forests are likely more effective at longer-term carbon storage than plantations, areas of planted trees that often contain few unique species.

The most contentious side of CDR technology is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a process where biomass is burned for energy, and the carbon produced is captured and stored. Concepts generally involve the growth of crops or trees which use and store carbon from the atmosphere, and are burned for energy to produce electricity or create biofuels.

This technology is still mostly in the development stage, but a number of problems are being discussed, and public acknowledgement of the rather niche technologies is growing. In the IPCC’s above mentioned report, three of the four pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C included the use of BECCS to a certain degree.

A 2019 study published in Nature looked at the public’s perception of BECCS. Participants overall showed an initial high support for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of BECCS with no strong opposition, but support later decreased in groups where researchers discussed potential direct costs to taxpayers and energy users.

Participants also brought up a number of concerns with BECCS — concerns echoed in other research.

The amount of land needed for these technologies may be substantial and take away from food-producing agricultural lands. Currently, the technology is expensive and does not scale up effectively. As with CDRs and geoengineering in general, participants expressed concern that looking to geoengineering technology for solutions could marginalize the main solution to reducing the effects of climate change: reducing our GHG emissions. Certain geoengineering solutions could be seen as easier than the development and implementation of green technology and habit changes.

The other main category under geoengineering is

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

solar geoengineering, or solar radiation management (SRM). By far the most likely technology to appear in a science-fiction novel, SRM seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change by directly interacting with the sun’s rays, often using technology to reflect the rays away from Earth.

Greenhouse gases within the Earth’s atmosphere reflect the sun’s rays back to the Earth, keeping them within the atmosphere, and causing warming. Simply put, less solar energy reaching the Earth theoretically equals less warming.

Some of the more unique ideas in this field range from launching a giant reflective surface into space (which is prohibitively costly) to growing crops with a higher albedo, giving large areas of land reflective capabilities while still providing food for the masses. Altering the clouds has also been suggested. Clouds over the ocean could be injected with salt water, increasing their density and therefore their reflectivity.

Of SRM technologies, stratospheric aerosol scattering is one of the most widely discussed and debated ideas, and is considered by some to have potential for global impact, as it is both theoretically feasible and has the possibility of not being prohibitively costly. Stratospheric aerosol scattering involves putting particles, usually sulfate aerosols, into the atmosphere. The sulfuric acid clouds that form from the sulfate aerosols would reflect the sun’s rays, causing a cooling effect. This same effect can be seen when large volcanic eruptions release large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere that oxidizes to sulfuric acid clouds. SRM technology is unique to many other geoengineering technologies as it can use volcanoes as natural, if moderately inaccurate, models to help assess the feasibility and potential side effects of sulfate aerosols.

The aerosols could be distributed by aeroplane or military artillery, but would not be a permanent solution.

The sulfate gases would need to be continuously replaced as they fell out of the atmosphere, and if neglected would cause the Earth to continue on its warming trend.

Aside from the issues around scaling and application of the technology, the ethical concerns broached by researchers of SRMs are considerable. David Keith, a researcher of solar geoengineering at Harvard, spoke to the New York Times about the concerns in his area of research: the lack of confidence in the effectiveness of the techniques, the possibility of disastrous consequences, and the ethics around international manipulation of the global climate.

In a paper on SRMs, Alan Robock, a climatologist at Rutgers University, wrote: “Geoengineering does not now appear to be a panacea, and research in geoengineering should be in addition to strong efforts toward mitigation, and not a substitute. In fact, geoengineering may soon prove to be so unattractive that research results will strengthen the push toward mitigation.”

Geoengineering has historically been a taboo area of research. Although research in the field has been ongoing for well over 50 years, discussions around bioengineering were pushed into the public sphere only recently by an editorial essay written by Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prizewinning atmospheric chemist.

Crutzeh wrote: “Finally, I repeat: the very best would be if emissions of the greenhouse gases could be reduced so much that the stratospheric sulfur release experiment would not need to take place. Currently, this looks like a pious wish.”

Geoengineering’s ideas seem seductively straightforward, and there is concern that policy makers may grab onto the hope of a perceived easy technological solution instead of initiating change through the development of green technologies and reducing carbon emissions.

The world may not have the luxury of these concerns, however. In 2015 a binding agreement between nearly every country in the world was signed in Paris; 187 countries as of November 2019 have ratified the Paris Climate Accord, including Canada.

The overall goal set in this agreement is frequently cited in media discussions of climate change: we have

agreed to limit global warming to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with a goal of 1.5°C, by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. This may not seem like a considerable amount, but it is important to remember that this is a global average. During the last ice age, the average global temperature was only 4°C colder than pre-industrial levels, so it is easy to imagine the significant changes to our planet that a number even half that can bring.

Sadly there is no need for the imagination. Although there has been action, few of the countries who signed the Paris Agreement five years ago have made commitments that would meet the temperature limitation goals.

According to the Global Carbon Project, there was an overall increase in GHG emissions of 0.6 per cent between 2018 and 2019. At the current rate, warming is projected to reach 3°C, and global emissions have continued to rise.

“The oceans are acidifying, the soil is degrading, crops are becoming less nutritious, desertification is spreading, the ice caps are melting, and we’re destroying biodiversity,” Ovais Sarmad, UN Climate Change deputy executive secretary, said in a recent speech.

The countries that are moving toward green energy are moving too slowly, and too many are not moving at all.

Geoengineering should not be seen as the solution, but as a supplement to the ongoing mitigation efforts, and mitigation efforts need to be dramatically increased.

However, as concerns around climate change grow and geoengineering research becomes more viable, we need to not just discuss the ethics around acting to intentionally alter nature, but the ethics around not acting and whether geoengineering technology can help in our fight against climate change.

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

CULTURE

culture@ufvcascade.ca Carissa Wiens — Culture Editor

Column //

UFV Event //

Cascade Kitchen: Simple Lemon Chicken

Playing a devil Richard III sheds light on the darker side of power ERIN FROESE

Lemon chicken. March 16, 2020. (Maneet Pasricha)

garnishments in order to make it different and give a new taste to the dish with every preparation. Preparing the dish The Cascade Kitchen is a student-run food has come to make me feel like a profescolumn that brings you budget-friendly sional in the kitchen, since its simplicity recipes and cooking tips. Check back weekly allows me to make it almost “with my for something new to try in the kitchen, or eyes closed.” if you want to see your own recipe featured next, get started by reaching out to culture@ Happy cooking and enjoy! ufvcascade.ca.

MANEET PASRICHA

I never thought that I would reach this stage of my life where I would have to live without my mom and cook for myself. This recipe is one of the simplest recipes; it can be made as a snack as well as for supper. It is very simple and just requires basic ingredients that can be found in almost every kitchen.

The other reason I like this recipe is that it only takes about 30 minutes to cook.

If you’re someone who loves to have a group of friends at your place and doesn’t wish to spend much time on your dinner preparation, this is just the recipe for you.

This dish hails from my mom’s kitchen, and I have been tasting it since my childhood. It can be made dry as well as with a little curry. It has a lovely hint of lemon combined with the ginger, which gives it a very rich flavour. Another benefit of this recipe is that it is light, and the lemon and ginger help the body to digest it easily.

I cook this recipe often at family and friend gatherings, and all of those who have tasted the dish praise it. My friends felt that the name “lemon chicken” was common but that this recipe was somewhat different, worthy of notice. Such inspiring words motivate me to cook this special dish often.

The ginger can be sliced with a mandolin, but I prefer it to cut it myself as it is fun and simple. I usually try different

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Ingredients: 2 lbs cut chicken with bone 6 green chilies, sliced into shreds 100 g ginger, thinly sliced 1 bay leaf 5 tsp curd 2 cardamom seeds 5-6 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 tsp cornstarch 60 ml salted butter 50 ml lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste 40 g coriander leaves Method: 1.

Heat the butter in a pan on medium stove heat and add the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, green chili, and sliced ginger. Continue heating until the mixture is golden brown.

2. Add chicken with 1 tsp salt. Keep over medium heat and stir for 5-7 minutes.

3. Add curd. Stir and cover for 5 minutes.

4. Add lemon juice and black pepper according to taste and cover for 2 more minutes.

5. Add 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 100 ml water.

6. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

You may have seen the posters around campus, advertising the production of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, accompanied by a tasteful smattering of blood. You may have wondered, why this play? For most of us, when we think Shakespeare, we think of titles like Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet. The historical plays tend to fall more by the wayside of cultural awareness than Shakespeare’s more widely-known plays. So why Richard III? I sat down with Anna Griffith, adaptor and director of the production, and asked her this exact question. To paraphrase Griffith’s response, this play is particularly timely. The story follows Richard III, the Duke of Gloucester, as he manipulates his way to the throne of England, stabbing most of his family in the back — both literally and otherwise, but mostly literally — as he goes. Griffith commented on the ongoing relevance of such a play in today’s political climate: “Anytime there is an opportunist dictator in power, this play becomes timely.”

Richard is cunning, ambitious, and willing to manipulate and sacrifice anyone in order to get what he wants. As is stated by Griffith in the helpful insert in the program that each audience member receives, “One reason this play resonates so strongly today is that it allows us to see the ways power operates.” Not only is Richard able to manipulate his fellow nobility to raise himself to the throne, but those who stand by are equally implicated. While guilt lies with the hand that raises the sword, an equal share lies with those who allow the hand to be raised.

Certainly the themes of manipulation and abuse of power are well-communicated in this performance. Richard opens the play by speaking directly to the audience, making it unavoidably clear that his intentions are treachery by claiming that since he is unlikely to be well-loved by the kingdom, he is instead “determined to prove a villain.”

The relationship between the character of Richard and the audience is very interactive, and Makailla Palliyaguru plays the role in such a way that the viewer feels privy to Richard’s plans. Throughout the play, Richard manipulates nearly every other character, and the way this company portrays this kind of control is extremely effective. Richard is a charmer, physically and intellectually intimidating anyone who stands in his way. Palliyaguru slides into the physical space of Richard’s enemies and treats them like friends, but what might look like an amicable hand clapped on a shoulder doubles as a threat, more likely to strangle than to strengthen.

Richard III is a production more typically performed on a grand stage, which raises questions about staging the play in a small black box theatre. Griffith’s adap-

tation of the play cuts down on the number of actors, of which there are only eight in this production, performing a total of 20 characters. According to Griffith, “The smaller space actually fits the production of this play really well.” For eight actors to play 20 characters, costuming must be quick and easy to change, and the smaller space is better for backstage movement, allowing actors to hit their marks quickly.

As I have mentioned, Richard is intimate with the audience, and a small stage — as well as a small audience — helps to emphasize this relationship; nearly every time Richard is alone onstage, even for only a few seconds, Palliyaguru exchanges a knowing smirk with the audience,

“Anytime there is an opportunist dictator in power, this play becomes timely.” reminding us that to Richard, the whole murderous affair is nothing but a game.

One recurring motif that this production utilizes is the display of the dead bodies, presented as nondescript human figures wrapped in white sheets and hanging from the ceiling; every one of Richard’s murders are present and watching as he plots the next. In the moment that the body of King Edward IV is suspended from the rafters, Palliyaguru takes a moment to bow mockingly to it; as much as the viewer knows that what Richard is doing is abominable, we find ourselves laughing at his treatment of such acts because in a way, Richard has charmed us as easily as any of his victims. What better way to portray this relationship between character and audience than by putting both in a small, intimate space?

On a thematic level, this play is relevant to our current political climate, and on a practical level, such a production not only lends itself to a smaller space but encourages the pushing of the space’s limits.

While Griffith has adapted the play, this production is not modernized, proving that the story can resonate even when presented in such “alienating” language as Shakespearean English. The story of Richard III transcends the Shakespearean stage, as relevant today in a black box theatre in Abbotsford as it was when the Bard first penned it for the London stage.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

CULTURE UFV Event //

Knitting 101

The many benefits of knitting as a hobby NICHOLAS ASHENHURSTTOEWS Knitting 101 was a free event held by Student Life on March 12 in the Student Lounge. Alec Zinman from the Peer Resource and Leadership Centre helped nervous beginners get into knitting by showing them the basic knitting stitch and how to cast on. Supplies were provided to students who were interested. The event was laid back, with much of the time being spent in light conversation, or in a comfortable silence.

As someone who has been interested in knitting for years, but has never been able to really understand how the basic stitch worked, this event was informative. The ability to have someone there who was able to show me what mistake I had been making for four or so years was great.

Sometimes, trying to figure out a process solely through online articles or even videos just doesn’t work, and you need a real human who can see what you’re doing wrong and correct it.

I often find myself leaning toward hobbies that produce some kind of physical product, such as drawing or woodwork. As someone who has been sewing for years, the allure of knitting was just around the corner. To think that people could create such elaborate patterned scarves, hats, or gloves out of such a basic material like yarn is remarkable. I’ve even seen projects that resulted in adorable soft toys or a delicately patterned lace. The

possibilities seem limitless when my great grandmother can create functional and durable socks or washcloths, and my grandma can knit plush friends for my little cousins.

Another fantastic thing about knitting is that, once you get the hang of it, it’s such a mechanical action that you can focus on other stimuli. Even after only a couple of hours, I found my thoughts wandering to my writing projects or what I was going to do over the weekend.

While this might come off as kind of a boring hobby, the ability to make something while also having the brainspace to work on or watch something completely different is a thing I need in my life. For a while now I haven’t really watched any long-form television series or movies for over an hour and a half because I always get bored, distracted, or my mind wanders away from the story. Having the ability to knit, I feel, would allow me more ability to focus on what I’m watch-

Knitting 101. UFV Abbotsford. Feb. 12, 2020 (David Myles/The Cascade)

ing while I’m being productive.

The final reason that I’m interested in developing my own knitting abilities is admittedly a vain one. I have wanted a bright red knit scarf for the past few years and have not been able to find one to my liking. In addition to my own human-

sized knit items, I will also be able to use my newfound knowledge of knitting to produce doll-sized items for my customized figurines in less time than it would take to weave or macrame a scarf or shawl by hand.

develop professional skills get experience writing and editing join a great team

send inquiries to managing@ufvcascade.ca

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VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

SPORTS

sports@ufvcascade.ca Alex Jesus — Sports Editor

World //

Coronavirus threatens the world of sports Nearly all major professional sports leagues in North America and Europe have shut down ALEX JESUS COVID-19 has created many issues in various industries, leaving virtually no sector or profession unscathed. Sports have now joined others in their efforts to stop the spread of the virus by shutting down nearly across the world. Just two weeks ago, the idea of leagues and companies shutting down over the virus seemed absurd.

Now, the few that are trying to remain active seem to garner the most questions and concerns.

In local news, U Sports, the league that UFV’s varsity sports and teams compete for, has been no different in its struggle to manage with the spreading virus. After announcing that the men’s and women’s volleyball championships would be played without fans and only limited staff and family members on Thursday, March

12, the league stated later on that same day that both the championships would be cancelled, along with hockey’s upcoming championships. This comes among other cancellations, such as the All-Canadian awards banquet.

The world of professional sports is seeing a shutdown unlike any in modern history, with all major leagues shutting down operations in North America and many European leagues postponing or cancelling games. This is in large part due to restrictions on arena capacities and public gatherings, which originally meant that fans would be excluded, but games would proceed. Quickly, the situation went from no spectators to complete shutdown, as the NBA, NHL, and other notable sporting leagues announced the suspension of all games.

As leagues continue cancelling and suspending their operations, very few have

remained open. The UFC, which was the only major MMA promotion left running and the last major sports league still active, has now closed. The controversial decision to remain open was big news for the world of MMA but now they align with Bellator MMA and One Championship, the other two major leagues which have either adapted, suspended, or cancelled their shows.

The most controversial of the closures so far was the NCAA, which early last week hadn’t yet decided to cancel their yearly spring tournament, known as March Madness. With networks paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast the tournament, many speculated that the decision had more to do with money than with safety. The lack of shutdown was scrutinized by Charles Barkley, a legend of basketball and a broadcaster for CBS. “I give Adam Silver a lot of credit, man.

Let’s shut this thing down and try to figure it out,” said Barkley, referencing Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, who decided to suspend NBA games before other leagues made their decisions to cancel or suspend games. March Madness has since been cancelled.

New updates every day suggest that more teams and leagues will step down across the world to reduce the spread of the virus. What we can already tell is that the world of sports is shutting itself down rapidly. Sports fans and players can only hope that things improve soon, or else many of the postponed and suspended events may be cancelled outright. Regardless, the cancellations are necessary and set up leagues, players, and fans for a chance to dodge this virus, which continues to plague thousands in the world today.

Pro Wrestling //

Coming out of the closet and into the ring Pro wrestling shouldn’t be home to homophobia

CHANDY DANCEY “Drag is not a contact sport” are the iconic words spoken by RuPaul on season three of RuPaul’s Drag Race. But what if it was?

Wrestling and drag already share a lot in common with their use of costumes, personas, and flashy moves, so why not expand the sport to allow for more visibly queer wrestlers to make their way to the forefront?

Male wrestling evokes homoeroticism with its close physical contact between half-naked, oiled men, yet it’s also chock full of homophobia. In the early 2000s, the WWE advertised an in-ring wedding ceremony for Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo, a wrestling duo who didn’t shy away from flaunting their chemistry and wearing matching outfits. After enduring boos from the audience, the couple suddenly announced they weren’t gay and that the whole event was a publicity stunt, causing the ring to erupt into an attack on the duo — a bashing of a previously assumed same-sex couple.

This history of homophobia has further embedded itself into the storytelling

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of wrestling where the bad guys, referred to as heels, are often cast as LGBTQ+ individuals. The biggest names that come to mind are Adrian Adonis and Goldust, two overly sexual heels who made names for themselves as villains of the ring. Rather than genuinely being representation, these storylines were purely for show. Openly queer wrestler, Effy, critiqued past effeminate heels in a Pittsburgh City Paper interview: “All those guys going back, they were just straight dudes who knew there was money in a gay gimmick.”

A more recent example of homophobia includes a villain team that was recorded as part of a storyline in a locker room shaving each other’s backs. The video was posted online and endorsed by the WWE on Twitter where the discussion devolved into homophobic jokes and insults to the men’s masculinity. Despite how theatrical and over-the-top pro wrestling might be, it still rushes to distance itself from the LGBTQ+ community any chance it gets.

John Nash, a historian, pinpoints that camp (meaning an amusing mix of theatricality and exaggeration) was first introduced to the ring by George “Gorgeous” Wagner, a well-known wrestler in the ‘40s.

George was known for dressing in chiffon and lace and sporting an ostrich feather fan and platinum blonde hair as he entered a match.

This overt subversion of gender roles was something that fans both admired and reviled, but nevertheless catapulted him into becoming a long-time leading act. On an international level, exóticos (a term for mostly gay, effeminate wrestlers) in Mexico have been occupying their niche for decades in lucha libre (freestyle wrestling) where they proudly display their sexuality paired with makeup and feminine attire.

Although they’ve been criticized for embodying stereotypes of homosexuality and playing up femininity for laughs, a majority of exóticos are gay in and out of the ring.

This calls into question how queer performers are allowed to express themselves within the confines of having to appeal to a wider, largely straight audience. Is the incorporation of gay stereotypes into acts hurting the cause of LGBTQ+ wrestlers rather than being progressive? Arguably, they could be seen as helping to break the shackles of macho masculinity in wrestling and expose others to LGBTQ+ talent, especially if it’s done by members of the

queer community. However, stereotypes can also, understandably, be interpreted as a disservice and mockery of queer culture.

Despite discrimination, the queer community has been pushing boundaries and finding its place in the wrestling world.

Rick Cataldo, who goes by “The Boy Diva’’ in the ring, has been organizing A Matter of Pride for a number of years — an event that promotes and accepts wrestling in drag. These smaller, openly-LGBTQ+ events allow for queer wrestlers to express themselves authentically without the pressure of being televised or controlled by management. Wrestling personas will always be exaggerated, but these events allow performers to have full control over their own narrative; this empowers them to push the limits in ways pro wrestling hasn’t mirrored.

Pro wrestling has a dark and undeniable past of homophobia, but the future looks bright. More LGBTQ+ performers are coming forward now than ever before and showing they can compete with the best.

Drag and wrestling have so much in common that they’re beginning to merge in incredible ways — the message being that a new era of wrestling is on its way.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

SPORTS Softball //

UFV should add softball to the athletics department With the success of UFV’s baseball team, softball could be the next big step NIC JACKSON Over the past couple of weeks, basketball, volleyball, and wrestling at UFV have wrapped up their seasons. While for some students, this means the winter semester is coming to a close, for the players on the men’s baseball team, this means they are close to starting their collegiate season.

Last year, the UFV men’s baseball team won their first championship. This is surprising since the team has only been around since the 2017 season. While baseball has been a part of the UFV athletics department for a few years now, their success not only shows that UFV baseball was a great option; it also raises the question of whether or not UFV should implement women’s softball into their program

as well.

For those that do not know, baseball and softball are very similar sports. Baseball is more traditionally associated with men’s collegiate sports, while softball is a variation that is played by women at a collegiate level. The major difference being that baseball uses a smaller ball, called a hardball, while softball uses a slightly larger ball called a softball.

One problem UFV would have implementing softball into their athletics program is that the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), which is the league the men’s baseball team plays in, only organizes men’s hardball. That is okay, however, because the North West Athletic Conference (NWAC), a woman’s softball league that spans the west coast of America and Canada, would be the

perfect league for the Cascades to join.

Universities that UFV plays in other sports, such as Douglas College in volleyball, are part of the NWAC. With a similar student enrollment, Douglas was able to come in third last year in the North conference, during the regular season. Although this league would have women from UFV travel down the coast to play teams in the United States, it would be less driving for road trips than UFV’s basketball teams do to play their conference competitors. For example, away games for the basketball teams against the University of Manitoba Bisons take about 24 hours to travel to.

Another hurdle for the team would be to find a proper field to play on, since baseball and softball have slightly different playing surfaces. While the baseball

team plays at DeLair Park, the best spot for the softball team would be Ellwood Softball Park in Abbotsford, since they are about a 10-minute drive from the Abbotsford campus.

With this year’s baseball season just around the corner, the chance UFV could pull together a softball team is highly unlikely. However, following this year, it makes sense that UFV’s athletics department would at least consider adding softball. Baseball has shown that there is a demand for summer sports at UFV, and with a successful men’s program already at the university, a competitive American league just across the border, and a field that is close to the university campus, softball at UFV would be perfect.

Softball. Photo by Keith Johston. (pixabay)

15

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

ARTS ARTS

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

arts@ufvcascade.ca Chandy Dancey — Arts Editor

Album //

CHARTS

Suga needs a little sweetener

SHUFFLE

Megan Thee Stallion’s third album is a bag of mixed feelings

1 Tops

AARON LEVY

2 Hannah Georgas

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy likes to think he’s ahead of “the curve” by being too isolated last week to shuffle for ya, so he’s making it up to you, since that’s clearly not the true explanation, by taking you through a four-song suite of apoca-rhythmic classics. Just follow the health authority’s directives directly, and you and your family’s well-being can be protected. As long as you’re doing that, you can lighten up and imagine the world is actually ending with these little suckers:

Colder and Closer (Single) That Emotion (Single)

3 Mike Aube

Together (Single

4 Dixie Alley 719

5 MEF Muse The Clock

CHEETAH-PRINT ZEBRA

6 Nakeem Grace

Matthew

7 SOPHIST

Not that end of the world song

Good

Band

-

Wish I Would've Known “Look Happy, It’s The End (Single) of The World” Betrothal to the Stone: you're used to. No, this is the Conception of Mephisto penultimate take on the sopho-

8 Uh

more full-length release from

oh and the Oh lifetime Valley-ite who popularized the term “first-world probWells Uh Oh and the Oh Wells lems” with the secret and 11th

9

song on his debut, at the time record-setting, independent alDwane Dixon Betting on a Gambling bum release.

Man

10 Lucky Peterson

50 Just Warming Up

11 L'Homme Absurde Belong

12 Johnny Burgin

Johnny Burgin Live

13 Caribou Suddenly

14 Rich Aucoin The Other

15 Jessica Towler

On My Own (Single)

16 Lié

You Want It Real

17 The End A.D. Badlands

18 Andy Shauf

20

16

Previously shuffled, and appropriately placed here because this song is the soundtrack to a future that we can continue to avoid, but only if we act quickly, and in doing so, prepare not to act outside of our homes in any way that puts us in contact with others, basically.

Nine Inch Nails - “We’re In This Together” The song that made us cry at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Unlike the singer’s son in this song, we did not get an emotional goodbye when we were abandoned. But we aren’t as cool as the Guardians of the Galaxy, so we guess that’s fair.

Radiohead - “4 Minute Warning”

This suite's chill-out, mellowdown take. "This is just a nightmare / Soon I'm going to wake Moonshine Society up / Someone's gonna bring Sweet Thing me around / Running from the bombers / Hiding in the forest Commando / Running through the fields / Love Songs #1 (Total De- Laying flat on the ground / Just struction, Mass Execu- like everybody / Stepping over heads / Running from the untions) derground."

Neon Skyline

19

Nine Inch Nails - “The Day The World Went Away”

CHANDY DANCEY Megan Thee Stallion’s third album, Suga, dropped March 6 amid the world anxiously anticipating her next hit following the 2019 summer-defining single “Hot Girl Summer.” It follows in the footsteps of her debut album, Tina Snow, in 2018 and her follow-up album, Fever, in 2019.

Unfortunately, the first impression of Suga is a resounding “meh.” At no point does Megan deliver mind-blowing rhymes or her usual consistent and clever wordplay, both seen in her previous albums and her verses in “Diamonds” from the Birds of Prey soundtrack. Megan has explained that her albums thus far have represented alter egos.

Tina Snow is her dripping-withsexual-energy side whereas Hot Girl Meg is a fun-loving party girl.

While her other two personas are reasonably well-developed and fully formed, Suga doesn’t receive the same treatment. Megan describes Suga as letting “girls know that it’s okay to be a mess.” This isn’t abundantly clear throughout the album, nor is any particular theme or character. Although there’s potential, many of the tracks are unmemorable, and the few that are would’ve been better if they were released as stand-alone singles or an EP. “Hit My Phone,” featuring

Kehlani, is one of the strongest tracks of the album. The backtrack is incredibly infectious — a mix of vaporwave with a strong reverb bassline.

Kehlani’s vocals are the perfect high-pitched match to Megan’s deep-voiced rhymes, but unfortunately the vocals dominate the song, giving the impression that Megan plays a minor role in her own track.

To give credit where it’s due: there’s a degree of experimentation throughout the album that works surprisingly well.

“Captain Hook” has interesting sword sound effects to accompany the otherwise straightforward beat and features a different rap voice from the usual.

Megan adopts an airy, valleygirl accent as she spits: “I’m so indecisive, you can’t cuff me, but I’m wifey / I just want a n***a who gon’ slurp me like an Icee.”

Although a rapper through and through, her singing is also more heavily developed in songs like “What I Need,” and it’s a pleasant change.

One aspect remains consistent though: Megan’s music and interviews make it clear she knows she’s attractive, and she uses this to redefine femininity by her own rules. Although she’ll pose for Instagram photos in string bikinis and exude confidence while delivering sex-imbued lyrics, Megan defies stereotypes by showing off her duality; she wields and em-

braces her sexuality while also exemplifying her other qualities as a woman.

In 2019 her single “Hot Girl Summer” was a state of mind that preached sexual freedom for females, and at the same time Megan used its publicity to arrange a Hottie Beach Clean Up at the Santa Monica Pier.

Furthermore, she’s an educated woman. Megan is currently enrolled in Texas Southern University to study health administration with the goal of opening assisted-living facilities when she graduates. This established rapper balances her career in music with the struggles of being a student, and for that she deserves an extra layer of respect.

On the topic of the biggest misconception about her, Megan confesses she loves anime, giving us the iconic quote from an XXL interview: “Just ‘cause I got a fat ass don’t mean I can’t watch anime … Bad bitches can like anime too.”

Although Suga might not be innovative or groundbreaking given Megan’s other impressive discography, she still remains a force to be reckoned with. Since her debut in 2018, Megan Thee Stallion has been dominating charts and consistently putting out female-empowering anthems. The only question is what will be conquered next by this rap queen.

VOL. 28 // ISSUE 10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

ARTS Movies //

A week off can only mean one thing Distract yourself with an Asian horror movie marathon CHANDY DANCEY The news is official: UFV is moving to online classes after taking a week off to transition.

You know what that means? It’s time to distract from the real horrors of the world with fictional ones! Asian horror is a unique subgenre of horror that’s known for being especially chillinducing and unsettling, and this selection of ‘90s-era movies ranges from laughably bad cult classics to genuinely hair-raising. There’ll be something here for everyone that wants to sit back, relax, and distract themselves with spooky storylines that get neatly wrapped up in the end — think of it as cathartic.

Perfect Blue - 1997

Sweet.

Gorgeous, the protagonist, is upset with her father for remarrying after the death of her mother and flees to her aunt’s for the summer along with her friends. They realize too late that her aunt’s house is not as it seems, and hijinks ensue that will change how you see the iconic cat on the movie poster forever. House is incredible to take in as a psychedelic art piece and entertaining to follow along as a movie.

Audition - 1999 This movie is a staple in Asian horror. It follows a widower who wants to remarry, but he decides to go about it by staging auditions for a fake movie to bring in pretty, young women.

From there he (questionably) decides to use his authority to pursue the women outside the sham acting gig, and he meets Asami. She’s quiet, pretty, but also extremely elusive. Any attempts the protagonist makes to track her down or contact her turn up empty. At some point, even the audience questions if Asami is real. The protagonist isn’t interested in these women for who they are, as it turns out, and when he begins to uncover Asami’s past, he realizes he's in deeper than he thought.

Audition also features an extended and horrifying torture scene near the end (although not necessarily gorey) that will be burned into the memory of its viewers.

Wild Zero - 1999

Although this animated film takes place before the rise of modern technology, it tackles a very modern question: are our curated personas reality? Perfect Blue follows the storyline of Mima Kirigoe, a pop singer retiring to pursue acting much to the dismay of her fans. She’s ready to stray from the image of a naive pop idol to a more mature, sexualized actress, but she soon finds the line between her work persona and her real life blurry. Director Satoshi Kon masterfully wields psychological horror to show Mima’s reality as it breaks down; she begins losing track of time and forgetting where — and who — she is. Meanwhile, a doppelganger of her popstar self haunts her, and she has the nagging suspicion she could be getting stalked by an angry fan.

House - 1977 This film is part of the Criterion Collection and perfectly encapsulates the absurdity and aesthetics of the ‘70s. It isn’t so much grounded in reality as it is fantasy, with scenes dramatically washed in surreal colours, goofy action scenes, and character names like Prof, Kung Fu, and

Watching Wild Zero is the equivalent of getting whiplash; it will leave you wondering what the hell you watched but also oddly intrigued. It’s a piece that’s best gone into blind and without expectations. The essentials are that aliens have unleashed a horde of zombies upon the earth, and rock 'n' roll enthusiast Ace gets caught up in the action. Guided by his hero and blood brother, Guitar Wolf, Ace protects those he comes across and also discovers something about his sexuality by the end of the movie. How all these seemingly unrelated themes fit together is for you to find out.

The DVD release features a drinking game: drink every time a head explodes, fire comes out of anything, a character brushes back their hair, or when someone yells “Rock 'n' roll!” Not recommended if you value your liver, however.

Three... Extremes - 2004 This collection of three short films is a great introduction to the Asian horror genre, and it includes one film by the same director as Audition, Takashi Miike. It also covers a variety of cultures: Dumplings is from Hong Kong, Cut is from Korea, and Box is from Japan.

These films range from abstract, moody, and almost silent (Box), to plot-driven arcs not for the faint-of-heart (Dumplings), to captor/ hostage situations full of dark comedy (Cut).

Serving three uniquely disturbing and equally well-made stories in one feature film makes Three… Extremes a suckerpunch that’ll keep viewers reeling long after they’ve finished watching.

Rewind //

The world needs more Daria DARIEN JOHNSEN Daria is an animated comedy TV series that ran from 1997 2001 on the popular channel, MTV. It is safe to say that Daria was one of the pinnacles of ‘90s culture. Based on an intelligent, sarcastic, and pessimistic young woman, Daria (who originated as a character in Beavis and Butthead), and her best friend, Jane, this show follows the teens through struggles of growing up in the ‘90s.

Daria captures some of the issues that g i r l s w e r e struggl i ng w it h du r i ng this time.

T h e show was a part of larger feminist narratives that began forming in the ‘90s.

Daria is a unique role model for young women in that she not only rejected the cultural standards that girls were striving to meet, but she often gave spot-on critiques of the culture in her one-off monologues that were frequent throughout the show. A personal favourite is: “As far as I can make out, 'edgy' occurs when middle-brow, middle-age profiteers are looking to suck the energy, not to mention the spending money, out of the quote, unquote youth culture. So they come up with this big concept of seeming to be dangerous, when every move they make is the result of market research and a corporate master plan.”

Megan Koester in her article for the Guardian titled “Daria: the ‘90s cartoon that nailed American feminist teenhood” explains that “Daria blossomed into an icon of above-it-all, take-no-shit

feminism.” Daria’s societal critiques are still relevant today and are even applicable to what is studied in sociology classes in the year 2020.

Modern critics might say that the show is an example of white feminism. Daria only had two black characters, one of which was a female supporting character, Jodie. Jodie is an overachieving cheerleader with a high IQ. In an article from Vice, author Britt Julious explains that Jodie was an image of her future when she was growing up.

Julious quotes a n iconic epis o de

where Jodie c a l l s Daria out on her privilege: "At home, I’m Jodie. I can say or do whatever feels right. But at school, I’m the Queen of the Negroes. The perfect AfricanAmerican teen. The role model for all of the other AfricanAmerican teens at Lawndale …

Believe me; I’d like to be more like you." Julious explains: “Daria and Jane had to do very little; Jodie had to do it all.” In other episodes, Jodie and her boyfriend, Mack, express annoyance at being named homecoming king and queen as tokens of diversity for the school, and Jodie calls out a banker for rejecting her loan based on the colour of her skin.

The truth that Daria presents in its episodes is something the world still needs, so if you're looking for some dry but intelligent and accurate sarcasm, this ‘90s cartoon might be just what you need.

17

STUDY BREAK Crossword //

Made by Carissa Wiens

ACROSS

DOWN

4. The abbreviation for a response to an event invitation.

1. Credit cards may take off 1 per cent of this.

5. A person who is admired for their courage and bravery.

3. The second smallest type of saxophone.

2. A bunch of people.

6. Frodo’s uncle.

5. Taylor Swift says these people are “gonna hate hate hate hate hate.”

8. The term for traveling somewhere.

7. A head without hair.

9. Another word for showing graciousness.

10. Do this when you want to waste gasoline in your car.

13. A hoppy beer called India Pale _ _ _.

11. A British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess.

14. A dance performed in triple time by a pair of two.

12. Add this to enhance the flavour of your food.

LAST ISSUE’S

ANSWERS: Across: 2. Due 5. Fox 6. River 7. Fork 8. Ice 9. Beer 11. Gawk 14. Unwrap

Down: 1. Acai 2. Doorknob 3. Sketch 4. Blooper 6. Raking 10. Emu 12. App 13. Kit

Snakes and Lizards

Horoscopes //

Illustration by Elyssa English Your weekly life predictions as told by Ang the Great

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 Think twice before saying anything controversial today, as your words may land you into more trouble than you bargained for. People in your workplace have been extremely on edge lately, so be careful as your words may backfire.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 There are big changes coming in your home life. Perhaps the end of an important relationship, or moving to a different house.

Carefully weigh each decision that you make, taking your future goals into strong consideration.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 A sexy stranger will cross your path this week, and the two of you will have an unforgettable encounter. This newfound romance will not last long, but don’t worry — another suitor will soon follow.

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 You may be so overwhelmed with everything that must get done before exams start that you simply freeze up, and procrastinate a harmful amount. Focus on one task at a time and stay accountable.

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 A little healthy communication will go a long way with your partner this week. Your needs will never be met if you don’t clearly communicate them. No one is a mind reader.

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 You will have a surge of creative momentum this week, and your hands will be itching to grab a paintbrush, a camera, a block of clay — anything needed to create this vision in your head you simply cannot put to rest.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 You may find your temper flaring up without notice this week, wreaking havoc on your relationships and causing undue anxiety at a time that is already stressful enough. Stop blaming others for your problems and take a hard look at yourself.

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 There is someone in your life who does not want what is best for you. Trust your gut to identify who that person is, as they are a very good actor. Cut them off without any guilt, as this is best for the both of you.

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Look for ways to give back this week. It is normal for students to become self-centred at this point of the semester, only thinking about the tasks on their to-do list and not on others.

Spend time giving to those who cannot return the favour.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 Don’t underestimate the power of a good group of friends this week. Take care of yourself in self-isolation by FaceTiming friends, or even listening to a nice, chatty podcast that makes you feel like you have friends.

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 Focus on some more ambitious goals this week, as this might be the very thing you need to break out of this rut you have found yourself in. Try something that really lights your creative fire and gives you a sense of bliss.

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 It is time to make that important announcement you’ve been wanting to make to the world this week. Be sure to make the announcement in as extravagant a way as you know how. Hold nothing back in declaring this milestone!