Vol. 20 Issue. 25
www.ufvcascade.ca
OCTOBER 10–17, 2012
Schermenerming since 1993
Goodbye, Carlos
SUS looks for new president as Carlos Vidal moves on to work overseas p. 3
TQ&A with this is THE SHOES p. 15
Map photo by: john.murden/flickr.com
UFV golf teaches us how the west was won p. 22
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE News
Opinion
Arts & Life
Sports & Health
Q&A with John Martin
Driving distractedly
JK Rowling’s new novel for adults
On the road with the men’s soccer
There are enough distractions with cell phones and stereos, but driving can sometimes become the second-thought to make-up application, towel-drying and wardrobe changes.
Harry Potter fans: afraid to crack open JK Rowling’s Potterless story? Death, sex, drugs, infidelity and the penises of obese men, The Casual Vacancy is the antithesis of a children’s novel. Sasha Moedt reviews Rowling’s most recent novel. Read more on page 17
Sports editor Paul Esau takes a road trip with the varsity soccer team to UVic giving readers a look inside the locker room.
The Cascade’s Joe Johnson talks with Chilliwack-Hope MLA John Martin about his recent decision to leave the BC Conservative Party to join the BC Liberals.
Read more on page 4
Read more on page 8
Read more on page 21
Volume 20 · Issue 25 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Editor-in-chief nick@ufvcascade.ca Nick Ubels Managing editor amy@ufvcascade.ca Amy Van Veen Business manager joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson
EDITORIAL
Berlin memorial reminds us peace is more than just the absence of war
Online editor michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular
fying. I was completely isolated in my journey, unsure where I was headed and overwhelmed by somber contemplation of the violent history I then realized was memorialized here. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is an incredibly moving and thought-provoking experience. It subtly acts on the visitor by recreating a small sense of the overwhelming hopelessness felt by European Jews persecuted during the Holocaust. It would be difficult to produce the same effect through photographs or other documents to which we can easily become desensitized, viewing them from the comfort of our homes or libraries. But the memorial in the heart of Berlin causes those who encounter it to empathize more strongly with the victims of the Nazi regime by subtly intimidating the visitor, by making them uncomfortable. Below the public exhibit is a free information centre that adds personal detail by featuring the stories of several victims told through photographs, personal documents and other media. The 2711 concrete blocks, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and opened to the public in 2005, are said to represent gravestones, the trains used to carry victims to concentration camps, or perhaps the barracks used to house those held prisoner there. It is a bleak, grey sight. There is a terrible sense of supposed order masking an utter lack of humanity. The regular rows and columns
seem to simulate the systematic manner in which these murders were carried out. From afar, one does not get any sense of the scope or depth of the memorial, perhaps in an attempt to mimic the way in which unspeakable horrors can go unchecked when we do not stay actively vigilant in our defence of human rights. Upon entering the memorial, one is quickly isolated from any friends, family or fellow visitors they arrived with, simulating the way in which so many families and friends were separated from each other. The memorial is located in a high-visibility area near what might be the nation’s biggest tourist attraction (The Brandenburg Gate), and the very name “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” contains an explicit acknowledgement of the systematic genocide of an ethnic-religious minority. It struck me as a bracingly honest manner for contemporary Germans to attempt to reconcile with this brutal chapter in their recent history. The rhetoric of the Nationalist-Socialist Party sought to define German citizenship along racial lines and there is no attempt to wash over the details of this atrocity. In light of UFV’s new Peace Studies program, it is worth remembering that peace means much more than just the absence of war.
Art director anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi
Image: Nick Ubels/The Cascade
NICK UBELS THE CASCADE
My friend and I arrived in Berlin in the late afternoon. A little exhausted from the day’s travel, we spent the evening exploring the city rather than making any definite plans. After sunset, we found ourselves at Potsdamer Platz, a thriving and ultra-modern public square and commercial centre anchored by three cinemas, the colourfully lit-up canvas roof of the Sony Centre, and a series of impressively daunting glass and steel skyscrapers. The square was only restored after German reunification, having been laid to waste during the Second World War and cleaved in two by the Berlin Wall for the duration of the Cold War.
We followed the line of white bricks that represent the wall’s former path south down Ebertstraße until we came across something peculiar. An entire block filled with rows of concrete slabs of varying heights. From the sidewalk, it seemed as though many of the nearly 3000 columns only came up to a height of about four feet at most. Intrigued, we silently began walking down parallel paths into the middle of the site. Suddenly the ground started descending at a steep incline. The concrete blocks which had seemed tiny from afar now towered ominously, maybe 10 or 12 feet above my head. I caught only rare glimpses of my friend as we walked further and further towards the centre. At this altitude, I was totally cut off from the bustling sounds of the traffic and the city. It was dark, silent and terri-
Production manager stewart@ufvcascade.ca Stewart Seymour
Copy editor joel@ufvcascade.ca Joel Smart News editor news@ufvcascade.ca Dessa Bayrock Opinion editors opinion@ufvcascade.ca Nick Ubels/Amy Van Veen Arts & life editor arts@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt Sports editor sports@ufvcascade.ca Paul Esau Staff writers Karen Aney, Taylor Johnson, Nadine Moedt, Jess Wind
Contributors Kyle Balzer, Graeme Beamiss, Mike Cadarette, Joel Colbourne, Sean Evans, Jeremy Hannaford, Beau O’Niell, Ryan Peterson, Ali Siemens, Katie Tegtmeier, Tim Ubels
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UPCOMING EVENTS Oct 12
Oct 14-20
Oct 18
Oct 18
Fifth annual Vestival
Rotary book sale
BSCA presents blood drive on campus
Grow. Food. Justice. Planet.
Suit up in your favourite vest for this Chilliwack show, starring local bands Rags to Radio, Like Bears!, Ok Vancouver Ok, Slight Birching, and The Marlins. No drugs, no alcohol, no jerks. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at Hope River Lions Hall, and music starts at 7. Make it the VEST show ever. Entry fee is five bucks and a vest.
The Chilliwack Rotary Club is holding its annual giant book sale in the Chilliwack Mall from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m Saturday and Monday to Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. New books are out every day, and all profits go towards Rotary community projects.
UFV’s Biology and Chemistry Student Association is bringing blood donations to campus. Roll up your sleeves next Thursday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the south gym on Abbotsford campus. Approximately one Canadian a minute needs a blood transfusion, so don’t be stingy with your veins.
About 1 billion people go hungry every day. Oxfam UFV presents Oxfam Canada’s director Robert Fox , who will be speaking at UFV from 6-8 p.m. in B121 as part of Oxfam Grow Week. Fox will discuss the need for a global food revolution, as well as women’s right to land in third-world countries. For more info, email Oxfam.UFV@gmail.com.
The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It provides a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a circulation of 1500 and is distributed at UFV campuses and throughout Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The Cascade is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative of 75 university and college newspapers from Victoria to St. John’s. The Cascade follows the CUP ethical policy concerning material of a prejudicial or oppressive nature. Submissions are preferred in electronic format through e-mail. Please send submissions in “.txt” or “.doc” format only. Articles and letters to the editor must be typed. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. The writer’s name and student number must be submitted with each submission. Letters to the editor must be under 250 words if intended for print. Only one letter to the editor per writer in any given edition. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, Cascade staff and collective, or associated members.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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NEWS
Vidal departs for new job in Hong Kong
Image: SUS
After five years at UFV, SUS president Carlos Vidal is moving on.
dessa bayrock THE CASCADE
“It’s kind of sudden, eh?” Carlos Vidal has a slight grin on his face as he leans back in his chair, but there is no trace of nervousness despite the fact that
he’ll be leaving the continent in less than two weeks. It is, in his words, “kind of sudden.” Vidal has been the president of UFV’s Student Union Society for almost exactly a year and a half. He’s been attending UFV for five years, and he graduated last June with a Business degree in Human
Resources Management. This semester he took one course at UFV and continued in his role as SUS president, but the urge to move on has been tugging at him since convocation. So when Vidal got a job offer in Hong Kong, he knew it was the right move. “Everything’s kind of falling in place for me to get up and go,” Vidal says with a laugh. Hong Kong is a logical choice for Vidal, runs a YouTube channel dedicated to comedically teaching basic Cantonese phrases and slang. His educational videos are quite popular – which Vidal explains actually helped get him the position. “The manager of the company is a fan of mine on YouTube,” Vidal says with a laugh, “And when he found out I was applying he was actually really excited.” Vidal leaves for Hong Kong on October 14, and SUS will have a board meeting on October 12 at
which the board will select an interim president. Vidal speculates that it will probably come down to Shane Potter (VP east), Chris Doyle (VP social) and Greg Stickland (VP internal). Vidal will be teaching English and doing some marketing for a company called Eureka, but he also sees it as an opportunity to improve his Chinese and keep up his YouTube work. “It’s been a bit more difficult because I haven’t been around as many Chinese friends,” Vidal explains. “So if I can get better at the language and be surrounded by the language again, I’ll be able to pick up more words and things.” Eventually Vidal plans to go to graduate school, but more than anything he stresses the importance of experience. “You don’t want to graduate with just your degree and that’s it,” Vidal says. “You want to have some kind of experience in the field that you’re studying in be-
fore you graduate.” One thing Vidal treasures from his time at UFV is the experience of being able to see the institution grow in the years that he was here. “When I first came, it was still UCFV. So many things were very small,” Carlos says with a smile. “Being able to see things like the campus rec program grow … changing to a university, plans starting for building a student centre … just the growth of UFV.” This is something Vidal urges every student to get involved with. “UFV has a lot of potential for exciting things to happen, and I just want students to be involved in that growth. Leave something behind; be part of the growth. Be part of what’s happening here.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“This issue exposes everyone to some soul-searching questions.”
The Kinder Morgan pipeline through the eyes of UFV’s resident elder nadine moedt THE CASCADE
Eddie Gardner is the resident elder at UFV, and hails from the Skwah First Nation Village in Chilliwack. He talks frankly about the Kinder Morgan pipeline, what he sees as potential issues, some potential solutions, and how students can get involved. First of all, could you tell us a little about yourself? How would you describe the role of resident elder at UFV? My name is Eddie Gardner, my Halq’emeylem name is T’it’elem Spath. As resident elder, I provide support and encouragement so that our students can achieve the highest quality education they can. We play a role in making this a very welcoming place for them, and with the support that the aboriginal access centre has for students both here and in Chilliwack. We want to increase the number of aboriginal people coming to university for some higher learning, so that they in turn can take those skills and credentials and make their own contributions towards healthy and strong communities. I’d like to discuss some of your concerns regarding the Kinder Morgan pipeline. What effects does the pipeline and proposed expansion have on the Aboriginal community? It’s a risk too high for the aboriginal communities all the way to Kitimat or to Burnaby with Kinder Morgan. This project poses a real threat to the land, the water and the air. What we hold very precious is our wild salmon. If there is an oil spill either along the coast or in the rivers and stream where wild salmon spawn, that could cause the demise of wild salmon. We don’t want to see that. Aboriginal communities have taken fierce resistance to this, and
they’re asking that they be involved in comprehensive consultations on the whole business of having this bitumen being piped to the coastal waters. The Tsleil-Waututh band in Burnaby are quite fearful of the increase of the supertankers, being loaded with bitumen and shipping through to Asia or down in the states. With the increase of tanker traffic there is a risk of an oil spill in the pacific coast as well. It would take years and years for a proper cleanup to take place. For the Fraser valley and especially Chilliwack, we boast about the cleanest water in Canada— and it is—which could go by the wayside if there’s a spill in this area. We’re quite concerned about that. That’s essentially where aboriginal people stand: the risks are just too high. We have aboriginal constitutional rights to be properly consulted, which haven’t taken place yet. The big concern is that proper assessments are not taking place. Christy Clark has abdicated her responsibilities and handed over the assessments to the National Energy Board, when she could have had more provincial control over the assessments. We look at Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying this is going to go through, this, he says, is in the national interest of all Canadians and we must get this oil to Asian markets. On top of that, he’s said that the NEB will make all of their recommendations and conduct their public hearings on the Enbridge project, and [despite] whatever recommendations come out of the national energy board, cabinet will have the final say. It really undermines any assessment that’s taking place, especially by our federal government. Can you tell us about the background of Kinder Morgan from an aboriginal perspective? Well, Kinder Morgan took over the Trans mountain pipeline
about six years ago. But the Trans mountain pipeline was built in the 1950s. In the 1950s the department of Indian and Northern affairs was very compliant about it all. At that time people weren’t as conscious about oil. They were shipping crude oil through those pipelines, not bitumen. Since they first constructed the pipeline, aboriginal peoples have started to gain more control and begun to establish stronger First Nations’ governance. In the early 1990s, they lobbied when Trudeau repatriated the constitution of Canada, First Nations people stepped up to the plate and through their lobby efforts here in Canada and at the United Nations we successfully got Aboriginal rights and entitlements included in the constitution of Canada. So the political and social landscape and the state of the economy are much different today. I see where First Nations people have more access to information and have much more political clout than they did back then. Those dynamics will play themselves out. Obviously there are some people in favour of both of the pipelines. Economic benefits are a key point in their defence. Would you agree with these arguments to any extent? It’s a legitimate concern; it’s realistic to acknowledge that the global economy as it is right now needs oil. The other side of the issue is that it’s a finite, nonrenewable resource, and eventually we’re going to run out of this stuff. As we run out of oil, the exploration for new reserves of oil will cost a lot of money and be more invasive. The tar sands are getting more expensive to extract. That all goes to the cost of running the economy. Eventually there’s going to be a crash. There are obvious dangers and pitfalls to the belief that there’s no end to growth. It’s an illusion and
Image: UFV/Flickr
UFV’s elder-in-residence Eddie Gardner in the new gathering place. more and more people are waking up to that. We need to invest a lot more of money and energy into technologies based on renewable resources, rather than using it to extract oil. What we’re doing now is a short-term solution. If we stop Kinder Morgan and Enbridge right now, there are a number of alternatives that can be looked at. Piping oil through BC is treacherous. Landslides, earthquakes, storms, high winds, all those different factors create an inevitable—not if, but when—disaster. Instead of going that route they could refine that oil in Alberta and ship it out east. If we refine the oil here in Canada, shipping it would be less dangerous to the economy than pumping bitumen through these pipelines to China and having them refine it there. I think that would be a better way to go. Canada does generate enough oil from the oil sands, yet it continues to import our oil from other countries. It makes more sense to refine it in Canada. And at the same time, pick up the pace when it comes to looking at alternative energy. How can students at UFV get involved in the cause? It’s in their best interest to take a look at all the issues. It’s important to be as objective as possible and really take stock of the agenda that Prime Minister Stephen
Harper has set for Canada. The students really need to take a look at the politics of the issue. Where does the provincial government stand on it? How does that play out on with federal jurisdiction and authority? Then there’s the whole business of Harper’s clearing the road as best he can to bowl these pipelines through by restricting who is entitled to be included in the consultation process; on one hand this is an issue of national interest, yet only certain people have a right to be consulted. If it’s of national interest then it should be open to the broader public, to inform themselves. When we look at the future, students in all disciplines need to examine in their own study what the long term impacts are of an economy that is run on nonrenewable resources, as those resources are heading towards scarcity. This issue exposes everyone to some soul-searching questions to what their future looks like and what their children’s future will look like if we don’t take this to heart and really wrestle with these huge issues before us. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
NEWS
John Martin spills on his decision to swap parties joe johnson
more once they have to respond to scrutiny by the media and voters.
UFV’s own John Martin, a professor in criminology, has decided to continue with his other career – the political spotlight. After running as a card holding Conservative in last April’s Chilliwack-Hope by-election and coming up third, he’s now with the BC Liberals and eyeing the Chilliwack riding nomination for BC’s general election on May 14, 2012. He’s spoken with The Cascade to explain.
Along with the announcement of your changing of parties, you also declared intentions to seek the BC Liberal nomination and run in the Chilliwack riding. Having run in the Chilliwack-Hope riding and come up short, is the constituent base of Chilliwack likely to be more Liberal friendly? The by-election demonstrated two things. First: when the nonNDP vote is split between two parties, the NDP wins. Second: even in as conservative a constituency as Chilliwack-Hope, non-NDP voters were quite clear that the BC Liberals remain the first choice for free enterprisers. The Liberals are going to do very well in Chilliwack, regardless of who the candidate ends up being.
THE CASCADE
You ran in the ChilliwackHope by-election last April as a member of the BC Conservative party. Today you’re a BC Liberal. Why join a party that just a few months ago you were quite critical of? I believed I was doing the right thing then just as I believe I’m doing the right thing now. Things have changed. The BC Conservatives have demonstrated they are not capable of being a constructive voice on the provincial stage. They have reverted to fringe party status and can only play the role of spoiler and help elect an NDP government. I want to do what I can to prevent that from happening. Now, it’s time to bridge the differences between voters like myself who left the BC Liberals. I see a change. I see renewal. I am willing to play a part in bringing it back together. Can you tell me about your decision process to make the jump in parties?
Image: John Martin
John Martin has no regrets I view politics as public service and a tour of duty, not a career. There is no greater place to be employed than the University of the Fraser Valley. I am looking to make a contribution to my community and province and with my wife’s complete support, seeking the nomination is the proper thing to do. Given the current polls it looks like the BC Liberals are heading for defeat in May’s election. The party’s also losing a number of MLAs who are looking to the private sector after their terms end. You’re going in the opposite direction. Can you talk about being in-
volved in a party that’s in such a great flux right now? I would suggest the party is in a state of renewal. Most of the retiring MLAs have been in office for many years and returning to the private sector is simply part of the natural process. The BC Liberals have demonstrated to me they want to heal the fracture in the coalition and are reaching out to those of us who had become disenchanted with the party in recent times. The polls will tighten as we get closer to the election and the NDP will have to start providing some indication of what they would do in government. I expect the polls will tighten even
Image:Kunal Shah/Flickr
Image: 100% Pura Lana
Why announce your defection to the BC Liberals on the eve of the BC Conservative Annual General Meeting where a leadership review of John Cummins was likely? Once I made my decision to take out a membership with the BC Liberals it was essential I sever my ties with my former party as soon as possible. John van Dongen also left the BC Conservatives after being their only sitting member in the Legislature. In his case he decided to leave after the AGM and that no current party rep-
resents his beliefs. Were there any discussions between the two of you on plans to leave and the party’s direction? We spoke often about the state of affairs within the BC Conservatives but both our announcements came as surprises to one another. Did you ever consider sitting as an independent yourself? No, never gave it a second thought. What are your thoughts on the leaders: Cummins, Premier Clark, as well as the NDP’s Adrian Dix? The demands of public office, and especially being leader of a party, are overwhelming 365 days a year. Any person who takes on such a responsibility is to be commended for their commitment to public service. On a professional and personal level, I have a world of respect for all three leaders. If you receive the BC Liberal nomination and you don’t win in the upcoming provincial election, would politics still be in your future? Regardless of what happens with the nomination and the general election, I am committed to doing what I can to strengthen the coalition and supporting the BC Liberals in whatever capacity I could best serve. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
NEWS BRIEFS
Image: dave huehn/Flickr
Image: Reuters
Image: Joe Gratz/ Flickr
Justin Trudeau announces Liberal leadership bid
Tuition dependency for B.C. postsecondary rising fastest in country
Having problems sorting socks? There an app for that
More Canadians fall sick in huge E. coli beef recall
Canada court says not revealing HIV not always a crime
WATERLOO (CUP) — After much speculation and ongoing predications, Justin Trudeau has announced his Liberal leadership bid.
VANCOUVER (CUP) — Statistics Canada data shows that, in the past decade, tuition has come to account for 40.3 per cent of funding for BC universities, up from just over 25 per cent in 1999.
TORONTO (Reuters) - If matching socks is a daily problem a new app that sorts them into pairs and even lets users know when it is time to buy a new pair may help.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Ten people have now fallen sick from contaminated beef products from a Canadian plant that sent its meat across Canada and the United States.
(Reuters) - Canada’s top court said on Friday that failing to tell a sexual partner you have HIV is only sexual assault if there is “a realistic possibility” of transmitting the virus that causes AIDS.
The latest cases, linked to one of Canada’s largest-ever meat recalls, include three more illnesses in Alberta, where the giant XL Foods beef processing plant is located, two in Quebec and one in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Several groups involved in the case, including the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian AIDS Society, took issue with the court’s standard of a “realistic possibility”, saying it is too severe, and calling the decision “a major step backwards for public health and human rights.”
“I am running because I believe Canadians want and need new leadership,” Trudeau said in his statement. “The Conservative government is taking this country in a direction most Canadians don’t want it to go. We want a vision for Canada’s future grounded not in the politics of envy or mistrust.”
John Yap, the newly appointed Minister of Advanced Education, said that for the province of BC, there isn’t yet enough government money available to reduce the dependence on tuition. “In an ideal world, we’d find ways to increase affordability,” said Yap. “Maybe the timing is not right in terms of the funding available.”
The free iPhone app called Blacksocks is the brainchild of the Swiss luxury sock company of the same name to help their customers match socks embedded with a chip. It tells users which two socks are a pair, the date they were purchased and how many times they have been washed throughout their lifetime.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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NEWS
UFV launches development of Peace Studies nadine moedt THE CASCADE
UFV has launched the development of Peace Studies, a new program that will focus on different approaches and practices of peacemaking, in a multicultural and multi-faith arena. Ron Dart, an instructor in the Political Science department, was one of the driving forces behind this program’s development. The beginning of the Peace Studies program was a long time coming. Its inspiration was none other than the Abbotsford Air Show. Dart was involved in an arts and peace festival that ran on the same weekend. “Many of the planes that come here are war birds,” Dart explains. “They’re military planes,
not interesting, harmless little heritage planes.” Dart has been in active opposition to the show since the 1990s. In 1995, he wrote an article discussing the different stealth bombers and war planes at the show, the money put into them, and the number of people they’ve killed. That article is now one of the 10 most censored articles in Canada. “The seed of the program comes from both the flagship event [the air show] and the opposition to that. Peace activism because the air show is huge,” Dart explains. The task of creating a new program is still in progress, and while its completion is still a few years away, the Political Science department is currently developing courses to get things going. “We have a course right now, Western Peace Traditions, so a
UFV alumnus welcomes next generation of Students for Sustainability
Image: UFV
UFV alum Melissa Kendzierski.
nadine moedt THE CASCADE
Melissa Kendzierski graduated in 2010, but left a legacy of passion and dedication for sustainability at UFV behind her. Kendzierski recently shared her story with the future members of Students for Sustainability (SFS) a student-based association dedicated to making UFV an environmentally-friendly campus and discussed ways to potentially revive the association. Kendzierski first joined SFS, then known as the Enviro club, in 2008. “It was a bit of a passion project when I first got involved,” Kendzierski said, “but like most passions projects it can teach you a lot of things that can transfer into, or define, whatever it is that you’re interested in.” Kendzierski’s interest in sustainability at UFV began while taking an environmental issues class with Michelle Rhodes of UFV’s geography department. “[Rhodes] encouraged me to get involved,” Kendzierski explained. “We were given an assignment to start an environmental initiative group on campus. My group’s project led me to network with a company based from Vancouver called
Frogfile, a business that carried green office supplies.” Kendzierski managed to get the buyer of the UFV bookstore materials to meet with the company, and succeeded in having the UFV bookstore purchase green supplies. “Being able to accomplish something like that was incredibly rewarding,” Kendzierski explained. “I thought: I am a change-maker. That, in turn, led me to get a little more involved. So I stepped into what was then the Enviro club.” The rest is sustainability history. The club was a success; a major coup for the underdog association was organizing and running a wildly successful U-Pass campaign. Other initiatives included hosting the 2009 BC Sustainable Campuses Conference at UFV, working with the community to implement recycling at UFV, and bringing the water fill stations to campus, among other projects. Kendzierski is now the program coordinator of Parks, Recreation and Culture in the District of Mission. She attributes much of her success to her experience at SFS. “I’m working in a job that requires a lot of coordination; I manage staff, I do hiring, I market and create,” Kendzierski explained. “All of the things I did in SFS, like marketing for the UPass campaign, the coordination that went behind the sustainable campus conference, and managing volunteers – that all contributed to the experience that prepared me for where I am now.” Kendzierski strongly recommends participating in extracurricular activity while taking classes. “If anything, you get to accomplish something cool, you get something to hang your hat on; you get the opportunity to gain new skills that make you incredibly marketable.”
course is already being offered,” Dart explains. “It’s a history of war and peace and these large issues in the western tradition. In a multicultural context we’ll be doing courses on eastern oriental peace traditions as well.” The intention is to also introduce courses on state peacekeeping, as well as courses on interfaith peacemaking that will examine the use of violence and peace within different faiths and ask questions about the nature of peace in communities. “Really, it’s about the complex nature of peace,” Dart says. “Some equate peace with pacifism … and others see it as peace through strength.” “And then there’s all those variations in between,” he continues. “Peace through strength, through strong military, through might,
through power, and a whole variety of ways of people in between.” Dart also spoke of initiating semester field trips. One example would be for students to spend a semester studying in Bethlehem, which would allow them to witness and study the conflict in Palestine in a more primary way. “This would give students a more ‘in the trenches’ type approach to learning,” Dart says. “Once you actually see people who have suffered, it alters [you], in a way a book won’t.” Peace is an idea that people and students are drawn to from all faiths and walks of life, and it’s one that the Peace Studies program hopes to explore from every direction. “Historically, both within and between faith traditions, there’s been violence and conflict and
fragmentation,” Dart says. “But there have also been women and men who’ve been peacekeepers and bridge builders, rather than continuing the fragmentation.” Dart notes that career paths for Peace Studies students can vary. A Peace Studies graduate could end up in graduate school or teaching university classes, or become involved in any number of governmental or non-governmental groups. Another route for a Peace Studies student would be to become involved in politics, or work with religious groups and ethnic groups seeking healing and reconciliation after conflict. At the end of the day, the options are wide and could lead a student almost anywhere. “Each person would have to decide where their heart is leading them,” Dart says.
Feeling blue? You’re not alone! jess wind
THE CASCADE
Do you have trouble sleeping? Are you irritable for no reason? Do you feel compelled to drink on a daily basis? With these symptoms, you may be like most university students during midterm season, but you may also be suffering from depression or anxiety. HeretoHelp BC, the main mental health resource in the province, sponsored Beyond the Blues: Depression and Anxiety Education Screening Day on October 4, just outside the cafeteria of the Abbotsford campus. UFV Counsellors and HeretoHelp volunteers set out cookies and 26 piles of informational brochures dealing with social anxiety disorder, depression and diagnosis, suicide, and support for aboriginals. They also offered one-on-one confidential screenings for depression, anxiety and risky drinking behaviour, as well as providing support for those concerned for their loved ones’ mental health. Counselling department head Dawn Holt said the event was designed to educate and reduce the stigma towards anxiety and depression. “40 per cent of university students struggle with anxiety or depression ... it’s the norm,” she explained. UFV is one of the few universities to participate in the one-day program, and has been participating for at least 10 years. The event is traditionally held on the first Thursday in October, and dozens of facilities all over the province—including colleges, hospitals, health centres and walk-in clinics—participate in raising awareness on the same day every year. For students it is an opportunity to describe how they are dealing with the pressures of university, and get the support and resources they need to manage their symptoms. The first step students went through was a confidential
Image: rinku-moni.blogspot.ca
UFV employess six counsellors. Any student can drop in to talk. screening that finished up with a private discussion with one of the counsellors. “We give them the sheet of paper [to take to their doctor],” Holt said. “They don’t have to talk as much, so it takes some of the nervousness away of actually reaching out and getting some help.” The screening site was located in the hallway just outside the cafeteria, engineered to draw in students passing by on their way to lunch. This very public atmosphere would presumably deter students from participating but Holt explained that this wasn’t the case. “We’ve actually found that it brings students out; part of the point of the day is education. It’s not some small number of shamed people who are hiding in the corner with a mental health issue. We’re talking about half of our [country’s] population,” she explained. For those students that would still prefer the privacy of a closed door, UFV employs six counsellors at both Abbotsford campus and CEP. Students are free to make an appointment and have a screening done, or come in just to talk. The screening itself consists
of a series of questions about the symptoms for anxiety and depression, as well as risky drinking behaviours. In the last week have you felt anxious? Has this affected your ability to go about your day? On a scale of “never” to “all the time,” how often do you feel like breaking things? The questions are intended to make students consider things they experience frequently, but to have them laid out on paper can help students see patterns more clearly. “[It] activates different neural pathways in the brain, and makes you look at them differently,” Holt explained. “A low score may be a reassurance for some, but a high score might be reassuring to others.” Considering 100 per cent of us know what it’s like to be a student, and 40 per cent of us are experiencing anxiety or depression, a little more education could make a big difference. “You know what? We live with it,” Holt mused. “You can have help with it, you can get educated about it, and if you are having symptoms, somebody’s around to support you.”
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
The choice
SUS-byelection
dessa bayrock will see posters popping up like flowTHE CASCADE
There are some shoes to be filled on campus: SUS shoes. In the months since the last general election, some positions have been vacated. It falls upon the shoulders of students to select the individuals they would like to see join the SUS team. A by-election will be hitting myUFV on October 18 and sticking around until October 24. Meanwhile, students
Candidates were asked four questions.
ers in spring; candidates will be wooing every Tom, Dick and Nancy during the campaign period, which runs from October 3 to October 17. There are five positions available: representative at large, accessibilities representative, Chilliwack representative, clubs and associations representative, and aboriginal representative. Below are the statements from each candidate – unedited and exactly as they appear in the nomination packages.
1. If elected, what would you like the Student Union Society to achieve / improve during your term in office? 2. How will you improve the responsibility of the SUS to enhance life at UFV? Please elaborate. 3. SUS is the primary advocacy organization for students, how do you plan to improve the efficacy of SUS’s efforts in these engagements? 4. SUS has very large profile projects in its future including the Student Union Building, U-Pass commitments and future large and small concerts, what role do you see yourself taking for these projects?
Representative at large Alicia Williams I would like to improve and strengthen SUS’s relationship with student clubs and associations, as well as the autonomous run organizations like CIVL and the Cascade. I plan to utilize all of the resources available to any student, which could include a weekly feature on what we’re doing, as well as a weekly radio show with the same focus. Advertising our involvement with these organizations could also lead to more student involvement within them, leaving students who chose to participate with a more enriching university experience. I would help to promote everything SUS already does for students. As well, I would try to promote other helpful resources for students, like program advice and career counseling. Not everyone knows about the great UFV resources available to them, and I think that is something we could really try to advertise more. I see myself doing many of the same things I did for CIVL. DJing events and trying to ensure everyone is having a great time SUS events are already great and I feel with my experience, I could help to make them even better! I would also like to find more U-Pass sponsors to make the U-Pass program as diverse as our student body!
Nathan McRoberts 1.) If elected I would like to improve the amount of events on campus, if money is an issue charge a small fee for food and beverages. Say two dollars for a drink and a hotdog. I would also like to see the bus between the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses achieved, with many of the programs being moved over to the Chilliwack campus many students are finding it hard to get to the courses they need to graduate. The international students for instance would probably have the most trouble being that there is no residence building in Chilliwack. 2.) UFV is still young in its university years and has catching up to do. We need to work on putting UFV on the map. Since we are an organization for the students by the students the best way to do this is ask the students, whether it be through an online survey or simply in person, what they would like to see happen on campus. 3.) If elected I will help make sure all students are treated equally and with respect. And that every event or fundraiser will be accessible to one and all, whether they are from the Abbotsford or Chilliwack campuses, or are Canadian or international students. Students are the heart and soul of this university and it is our differences that make use so unique. 4.) I see myself helping out with events on our campuses; we need to deal with student’s lack of involvement in events. Simply putting out posters does not ness me to be enough and we cannot always rely on free food. Weeks of welcome was a big success, we need more events with that kind of turnout.
Cole Durrant 1. In brief, one of my main focuses will be to push the board to advocate on behalf of the many students who will not be recognized in their accomplishing the qualifications for a second major. This is due to the fact UFV has yet to adopt a system which would allow for the recognition of double and jointmajors in Arts programs. As a criminology student who wishes to pursue a second major who wishes to pursue a second major in Political Science, two fields which directly affect one another, I am faced with a barrier which does not exist at many other reputable institutions. Students should not face these barriers when they wish to further or expand their educational opportunities in different or relative areas of study. Furthermore, I would to improve the U-PASS by expanding business relations in the Fraser Valley for more student perks. As well I would like to work with those involved in establishing a transit option between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Lastly, I believe our students want SUS to maintain a conservative approach to spending students’ hard earned money; I back this position entirely. 2. Enhancing student life at UFV depends upon whether we make a strong, fruitful effort to ask the student body what they would like to see happen here. A vision needs to be developed based upon the fundamental values and creative ideas of our students. Being involved with this critical process is how I intend on improving our student life at UFV. 3. I believe improving the effectiveness of SUS’s advocacy engagements can be done my encouraging more student participation; by engaging the student body more intimately than we’ve previously witnessed. By listening to students more closely and carefully, we can be more effective in delivering results truly valued. 4. I see myself as playing a supportive role in contributing to the achievement of SUS’s largely anticipated projects. While supportive of grand projects, I would practice caution where students could be burdened with unnecessary fees and expenditures. Innovation and creativity in reducing costs to students, I believe is valued by this board, and very much so to me.
Clubs and associations representative Zack Soderstrom No statement submitted.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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is yours
SUS-byelection
The SUS by-election approacheth
Accessibilities representative Karsten Renaerts 1. If I were elected, would like SUS work towards increased access to UFV a couple of things that all class table layouts can have a wheelchair navigate the room and seeing a bus stop placed on Caen Road, also petition for a 4 way stop at Keith Wilson and Tyson. 2. Increased visibility. I stand out on campus. I have a voice and I am not afraid to speak out for the student body. 3. I will bring my natural leader personality and can do attitude to the table. I would like to see more events driven at awareness as well as fun. For the purpose of raising fund when needed as well and building camaraderie among all members and the student body. 4. Advocacy when needed and to ensure the accessibility issues are raise before student union building is raised not merely after thoughts.
Darren Nixon 1.) I would like the Student Union Society to improve relations with the UEV disability services, and to be more approachable to all students 2.) I will advocate on behalf of SUS for the disability students 3.) I will improve the efficiency of SUS efforts in these engagements by representing the disabled students 4.) I would make sure that there was enough ramps for the student union building and elevators so that all students get to it easily, and I would get UPass handed out at the disability services so all students know about it.
Aboriginal representative Harrison Depner If elected, I intend to improve and progress relations with and between our aboriginal students/community and the community of our University as a whole. I intend to act to improve SUS responsibility in this regard by acting solely in the best interest of our students as a whole. I also plan to aid in decreasing the costs of necessary services to our students and the SUS. I plan to improve our SUS’s efficacy by addressing and acting to resolve those issues I can, within the capabilities of my position, to the fullest extent of my abilities. My intended role in these and any projects is one in which i fulfill my duty to, and act to my greatest potential in order to, benefit all students and represent and support the development of our aboriginal students and community.
Mehtab Rai 1. When I become the Accessibilities Representative I would like the Student Union Society to improve its campus presence. By this I mean that as a larger entity I would like to see the SUS to be seen as more than the people who organize the Weeks of Welcome concert event (formerly known as Disorientation) or just the people who hand out the U-pass stickers. I would like the SUS to be known for its financial aid of student Clubs and Associations. I would promote the SUS services like Advocacy, Health and Dental plan, and U-pass program. 2. I would like to increase the responsibility of the SUS in reference to enhance student life by making sure that the directors that do fill the positions of VP Social and VP Internal work together. Having at one point been the VP Social it is important to recognize that the VP Internal deals quite closely with Clubs and Associations. As a result of this the VP Social can get a grasp of the Clubs and Association as a result of the work done by the VP Internal. This is important because if the VP Social can work with the Clubs and Associations they will have better attendance at events and be able to coordinate the events the Clubs and Associations have in mind. 3. While it is true that the USS is the primary advocacy group for students at UFV. The way in which I would try to increase SUS efficiency in this matter would be to try and work with the University to create and Ombudsmen Office on campus. As it currently stand the University does not have a third party truly unbiased person to fulfill the role of mediating problems between Students. Currently Students have access to the Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Office and that is working fine at the moment, but it would be more appropriate. For there to be an Ombudsmen Office who is funded fiftyfifty. Half by the SUS and half by the University. This would be to ensure that the Ombudsmen Office is not loyal to any one group of people over the others. 4. Concerning the SUB building, my major goal would be to make sure that we break ground. This project has met major delays in the past and I do wish it to be open in the very near future. With concerns with the U-pass program it would be interesting to see weather or not it would be possible to increase service in the lower mainland area. The only problem with this is that it presents a monetary issue. Perhaps it would be possible to work around this. Making it possible for those who live in those areas to opt into this secondary service so they have more service in the places were they actually reside. A more realistic goal would be to try and work with the Cities of Chilliwack and Abbotsford in order to have dedicated transit system between the two cities making it viable for residents of each city to attend the other Campus’s classes.
Chilliwack representative Anika Geurtsen During my term in office, I would like to see greater inclusion of Chilliwack students from all campuses in events and event planning. I would also like to see increased student awareness of what SUS does for students so that more may take advantage of SUS’s advocacy for students. I plan to spend time at all Chilliwack campuses, researching benefits sought by students studying in this region, and finding ways to advocate for those students. I also intend to help plan and promote events on each of the Chilliwack campuses in an effort to benefit all programs without favoritism. I also plan to lobby for fast establishment of a bus route to the Trades and Technology Centre. I will help improve the efficacy of SUS’s advocacy efforts in Chilliwack by specifically speaking to students in each of the predominant programs in Chilliwack and brining their issues to the society instead of assuming or ignoring such issues. During my term as Chilliwack Representative, I plan to help organize, advertise, setup and clean up any concerts taking place at UFV in both Chilliwack and Abbotsford as needed. I fully support bringing affordable entertainment to students.
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OPINION
Distracted driving: more than just your cell phone AMY VAN VEEN THE CASCADE
Distracted driving: what does it mean exactly? The first thing that pops into everyone’s heads has to be cell phone use. Signs, commercials and annoying friends constantly nag you not to use your phone and drive, and it makes sense, until you feel the dire need to text your friend and ask if they want a coffee. There are other ways to be distracted while driving, though. Image: Jessica Evelii
Take, for example, the person I saw driving behind me on my way to school. It was in Aldergrove at the light just before merging onto Highway 1. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see a girl wearing her iPod earbuds while towel-drying her hair. There doesn’t seem to be any specific legislation regarding the use of
headphones—like there is the use of anything handheld—while driving, but it is an increased danger to both yourself and other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Just like listening to your stereo at its maximum volume—which is not only irresponsible, but annoying to all those within a 10 metre radius of your vehicle—it limits
what you’re able to hear, like sirens, horns, car brakes, screeching tires and people yelling at you because you’re not paying attention. As a young and stupid driver, I do remember times when my stereo was a little too loud and about 90 per cent of the time it didn’t matter. But I do remember those moments when I ignored the suggestion to check your mirrors every five to eight seconds with my radio on a little louder because Taylor Swift just understood me, but then when I finally checked my mirror and saw an ambulance with its flashing lights and blaring siren right behind me, my heart rate jumped up and I pulled over to the side of the road, shamefully red-faced and a little shaky. How long had they been waiting for me to pull over? Whose life did I just put in danger because I couldn’t get out of the way for the paramedics to do their job? Headphones, it stands to reason, make that situation that much worse.
At least with the stereo, your ears are still open to other sounds, but with headphones, your ears are that much more blocked. Unlike a pedestrian wearing his earbuds and not noticing there’s a train coming (that happens more often than we’d like to think), a driver in charge of over a ton of steel becomes the threat to others, not the single victim. Again, too-loud music is a little obvious, just like taking your hands off the wheel to text your friend a smiley face. It’s the perhaps less obvious, but just as ridiculous, driving habits that can put yourself and others at risk. Towel-drying your hair, for example. Or touching up make-up because you slept in. Juggling that large, morning double-double with a breakfast sandwich also makes your response time that much slower because the coffee and sandwich need to be put down before full control of the steering wheel can be taken back. Once again, I recall a time when the slippery wet
roads combined with my coffee in hand meant a, thankfully, inconsequential rear-ender that resulted in hot coffee all the way down my leg. Similar to the towel-drying I witnessed by a young driver, I remember a time when I changed my whole outfit while driving down Fraser Highway. Unsafe? Yes. Stupid? Absolutely. A youth thinking she was invincible because she had yet to actually be in an accident? Unfortunately true. I know I always used to think I was the exception and it’s only the really bad drivers that got into accidents, but the thing about an accident is that it’s accidental – no one plans it, no one knows when it’s going to happen, but it happens. And the best way to avoid its sometimes fatal consequences is to remember that you’re the rule, not the exception.
great comics, but not really anything I’d like to see on a university syllabus. Further, the font itself isn’t really well-designed. Graphic designers get very passionate about this subject. Firstly, it isn’t a well-kerned font. Those of us who hang out around our newspaper’s office know what this means, but for the rest of you, this is pretty important. Basically, kerning is when the spacing between letters is adjusted to be aesthetically pleasing. This also makes it easier to read. Comic Sans isn’t kerned; if you look at a page of it, it almost seems as if there are large gaps in between some letters and none in between others. Next, it may be designed after comic books, but in most of them—including those that were the inspiration for the font—are written in all caps. So really, Comic Sans is designed to best be used in the same way. What does this mean? If it isn’t a title, or a small block of text, this font really isn’t appropriate. Saying that the font would be better in caps, by the way, is not an
invitation to create course outlines in all capital Comic Sans. Even without the kerning issue, the font isn’t well designed. It was made on a computer with a mouse, and thus is awkwardly shaped. The letters— such as the Bs and Ds—are droopy. Given our culture’s obsession with bras, Botox and banana hammocks, that’s just not good thinking. Looking at the font, with its childish yet droopy composition, is depressing and a little creepy; essentially, it’s a juxtaposition of everything that’s wrong with childhood and adulthood, all rolled into one obnoxious heap of irritation. So, professors who use this font: stop. It’s bad enough when students do this, but you are educated and intelligent people. There’s no reason to communicate to us using a font designed for children that is difficult to read and subconsciously reminds us that everything on our bodies is slowly heading south. For the love of Helvetica, just stop.
The font of a lost generation KAREN ANEY THE CASCADE
We’ve all seen it. We’ve all been afflicted with it. Hell, most of us have probably even been responsible for spreading it. Yes, I’m talking about Comic Sans MS, the scourge of the font world. I don’t like it and I never have. The only time I felt the need to use it was in elementary school, when I wrote a story from the point of view of five different characters and one of them was an egomaniacal blonde moron who had fallen off the stupidity tree and hit every branch on the way down. Imagine my dismay, then, to discover that at least two professors use this font in their classrooms. Yes, there are two people at our fine institution who use Comic Sans to write a class outline. Bear in mind that this is two confirmed cases; sadly, I fear that investigative research would uncover more examples. You may agree with me, but you
comic sans serif comic may be sitting there and thinking I have way too much time on my hands if I’m writing an article about something like this. However, I find the use of this font in the university setting to be slightly insulting. I’ll point out now that all of this history—aside from the designer’s name—is widely repeated internet lore. It could be true, and the evidence is sure there, but the only thing confirmed by Microsoft is the designer’s name. That being said, the font was
originally designed to be used for an application that assisted children in navigating computers. It was the text that was meant for the speech bubbles coming from the mouth of the guide character, Rover the dog. Now, the font wasn’t finished in time to be used, but that was its original purpose. Vincent Connare, its designer, modelled the font after the text he found in two graphic novels hanging around in his office. Those were The Watchmen and The Dark Knight;
Pig panic predictions NADINE MOEDT THE CASCADE
Bacon lovers across North America are panicking after Britain’s National Pig Association announced that a global shortage of bacon and pork “is now unavoidable.” The association, cited on CBS News as “the voice of the British pig industry,” reported that the annual pig production in Europe has declined rapidly between 2011 and 2012. The bad news doesn’t stop there; world pig production has fallen in the same trend, possibly causing the doubling of pork prices by 2013. The focus of this shortage ought not to be that we’ll be missing the beloved B from our BLTs, but rather that the worst drought in 50 years has hit the U.S. The drought has severely affected several important midwest farming areas in the States, such as Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), 75 per cent of Iowa, the nation’s biggest corn producer, is in a state of “extreme or
exceptional drought.” Half the U.S. corn crop has been classified as being in “poor” or “very poor” shape according to the USDM. Droughts do happen, and this one certainly isn’t the worse one to hit North America (remember the ‘30s?), so it’s not clear whether this is an absolute sign of global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), however, evidence does suggest that global warming will result in increased occurrences and intensity of droughts. The IPCC climate models tend to agree that droughts will get more intense and frequent in the Mediterranean, in central North America, Mexico, northeast Brazil and southern Africa. The exact regions are, as yet, still uncertain. If that change were to happen, the world would have to get its food from other sources. The possible pork shortage is a great example for how such change could disrupt the world’s food supply. As corn and soybean prices rose due to the poor harvests, feed costs also
rose. Pig farmers began to cut production and liquidate herds in an attempt to control losses due to their operating costs. Now imagine that cycle in a worldwide drought. So how can we mitigate these effects? Solving the bacon shortage is relatively simple compared to solving global warming. NPA chairman Richard Longthorp in the National Post stated that supermarkets must “raise the price they pay Britain’s pig farmers or risk empty spaces on their shelves next year.” If we pay more now for bacon, according to the “Save Our Bacon” campaign, we can slow the slaughter of pigs, making both the pigs and the BLT-lovers happy. Global warming is another issue altogether. We know by now that if we don’t drastically alter our actions environment-wise, we’re going to be in for a rough future. As the population rises and the world continues to heat up, it’s only going to get harder to maintain a sufficient food supply. No bacon is one thing. Unfertile farmland and no food is quite another.
Image: Vicky TGAW/Flickr
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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OPINION
Occupy will bring change in long-run
Image: Scoboco/Flickr
GRAEME BEAMISS CONTRIBUTOR
Three weeks ago, the social movement known as Occupy Wall Street turned one year old. For those of you in need of a refresher, the idea for Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was initially proposed in an Adbusters article in June 2011. It was a response to both (1) the abuses of power by governments and private industry and an over emphasis on military spending in the face of appalling domestic conditions and (2) the successes of the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt in their protest against government abuses. The idea was to engage the issues by peacefully assembling and defining, by group consensus, a list of demands and the manner in which resistance would take place. The article was published at a time when disillusionment, anger and a desire for change were reaching a boiling point.
As June 2011 drew to a close, several groups gathered (the most prominent being “New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts” and the OWS activists themselves), joined and set to planning one of the largest social movements the West had ever seen. Zuccoti Park, a privately-owned stretch of land adjacent to the economic nerve centre, was selected as the demonstration site. What was initially a loosely contrived assembly of individuals with a shared desire for social justice became, on September 17, 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement and the mobilization of the 99 per cent. Since spreading to Canada and around the world, the movement evolved to address regionally-specific consequences of the underlying issues: the widening wealth gap and the abuses of corporate, financial and governmental power. But what does that mean for Canada today? To answer that, it’s important to look at what Canada and the U.S. have in common. We both call our-
selves democracies, we both saw the mismanagement of bailouts to private institutions, we both passed new domestic security legislation in the wake of an increased fear of attack, we both have similar financial systems and for a year now and we’ve both seen a mobilization by working and middle-class citizens determined to see a change. That being said, the major difference between the OWS groups is their motivation to protest. While the rich/poor gap is still very much included in Canada, it is the political aspect that is the driving force behind Canada’s Occupy movement. In a clip posted on YouTube by web publisher Doug Brinkman of The Civil Information Activist, speakers for Occupy Edmonton identified several major issues. These included election fraud (Robo calls), the passing of the latest Omnibus crime bill and the militarization of the culture as an end to Canada’s reputation as a diplomatic and level-headed nation. These are sentiments shared
by the groups presently occupying Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. The movement has received support from the opposition parties in parliament. “What the Occupation movement is expressing is what we’ve been saying in the House of Commons every single day in question period,” said Peggy Nash, Finance Critic of the NDP, according to an article by Daniel Proussalidis on Canoe.ca. Despite this support, the movement still struggles with the criticism levied against it in its infancy. How can it be effective without a unified set of goals and a practical policy outline? Essentially, the real problem for those outside of OWS is that the movement and its supporters are responding idealistically to a problem that requires a realistic approach. This is not an unfair appraisal to be sure. The movement has cost taxpayer dollars in the form of increased police and waste disposal staff at the encampments. Not everyone adheres to a strict nonviolence policy, posing a threat to persons, property and legitimacy of the movement itself. Lastly, nonparticipation and sign waving produce no immediate results. These are all important components of the ongoing discussion. After all, no movement in history begins refined and effective without first overcoming hurdles like these. It is important, however, to remember that every revolution takes time, that the lack of mainstream media coverage does not mean that it has lost momentum (in fact, it is quite the opposite) and that the issues at hand will continue to affect lives whether or not they are recognized. For better or worse, life in Canada will change as a result. My advice? Stay informed and stay critical.
To choose or not to choose:
efforts to reopen the abortion debate in Canada NADINE MOEDT THE CASCADE
Over 14,000 pro-choice advocates are calling for the resignation of Canada’s Minister for the Status of Women, Rona Ambrose. Ambrose voted in favour of M-312, a private member’s motion that would have formed a committee to study parts of the Criminal Code that establish when a fetus becomes a legal person. Many interpret this as her wish to reopen the abortion debate in Canada. Executive director of the Abortion Coalition Joyce Arthur said, in the National Post, that Ambrose’s vote puts women’s rights below that of a “fertilized egg.” Ambrose’s explanation for her vote, voiced in a single tweet, cites sex-selective abortion. “I have repeatedly raised concerns about discrimination of girls by sex selection abortion,” wrote Ambrose, “no law needed, but we need awareness!” Why would Ambrose risk reopening the abortion debate—despite the fact that Harper specifi-
Minister Rona Ambrose cally asked his party not to—simply to raise “awareness”? Surely there is another way to do so without risking the basic rights of every woman across Canada. Now the question on everyone’s mind: what was the intent of Ambrose’s vote? Is she trying to re-open the abortion debate and mirror the anti-choice approach entrenched in
the Conservative government? When Ambrose had a chance to defend herself during a question period on September 27, she effectively skirted around the issue. “This government has an incredible track record of standing up for Canadian women and girls,” she said. “We have increased the funding to the Status of Women to its highest point in Canadian history. So far, in just a couple of years, we have funded over 550 projects from coast to coast to coast to tackle violence against women and empower women and girls, and we will continue to do just that.” The issue was then dropped. Ambrose has never stated her position on the abortion debate. It’s surprising to many that she would remain silent on an issue so fundamental to women’s rights. Her silence following her vote is not reassuring. Sex-selective abortion is a tragic thing, and certainly an issue that needs attention. If, however, we believe that abortion is a woman’s choice and something private between her and her doctor, we have to acknowledge that by supporting a
woman’s right to choose, we are supporting her right to choose to terminate a pregnancy due to reasons we may not agree with. Raising awareness as a way to lower numbers of sex selective abortion is a good goal. But Ambrose’s route is dangerously open to misinterpretation, and her side-stepping suggests other motives. Currently there are no abortion restrictions in Canada. The right to have control over your body and be able to choose whether or not you sacrifice that body in order to carry a child is fundamentally a question of women’s rights. If a woman feels she cannot support a child, or does not wish to bring a child into this world, she should be able to get an abortion with no questions asked, at any stage of gestation. It is Ambrose’s job to protect this right; by staying quiet she is failing women across Canada. Rona Ambrose needs to make a statement of her position on the abortion issue. You don’t have to support women’s right to choose. But if you don’t, you definitely should not be Minister of Status for Women.
UFV pulls the blue bin
KATIE TEGTMEIER CONTRIBUTOR
What a refreshing bottle of water – now where is the recycling bin? If you’re anything like the other thousands of students attending UFV this fall, you have probably noticed the absence of recycling bins in classrooms. UFV is clearly a school that cares about the environment and has invested money and time into constructing their new campus to the highest “green” standards. So why would a school which has set the bar in eco-friendly architecture turn a blind eye to recycling? It’s not only the students that find this disappearance baffling, but the janitorial staff as well. Now our school custodians are forced to rifle through our trash to find the recyclables. Not only is that a totally disgusting job, but it is completely unnecessary when you compare the time and effort manually sorting costs compared to that of just getting the freaking blue bins in the class rooms. Some may argue that students are careless and don’t bother throwing their recyclables in the trash, but I assure you, UFV students (at least a hefty majority), take pride in our ability to differentiate the garbage can from the recycling bin, and we distribute our refuse accordingly. I mean, we are in university after all. I also believe that this recycling bin problem ties into the other problems UFV has faced with what it is lacking at the new Canada Education Park campus in particular. They are lacking class room space, with the Level 0 floor changing their storage rooms into classrooms to accommodate the overflow of students. They are lacking enough parking at a close proximity, and they are lacking water fountains. I understand that parking and classroom shortages are hard problems to solve immediately. Those are just my own personal frustrations with the new campus. But what really gets me is the lack of water fountains. A friend of mine brought it up to me after class one day, and up until that point I hadn’t noticed that, other than a sink with a tap by the Tim Hortons, there was no water fountains on campus. Having always brought my water bottle with me, I hadn’t realized how inconvenient this is, up until I forgot my water bottle one day and had to buy an overpriced water bottle at the Tim Hortons. Not impressed, guys. So with more students having to purchase water bottles for lack of drinking fountains, you would think UFV would put two and two together and say, “Ohhh yeah, we need a recycling bin for those.” So hopefully in the near future, we will see a reappearance of the blue bins. If not … well I think the student body will think of something.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
OPINION
Shoegaze, hopscotch and the “theatre of the moment”
Art by Anthony Biondi/The Cascade
Sean (left) and Nick (right) duke it out in their rehash of last week’s Presidential debate.
SEAN EVANS CONTRIBUTOR
NICK UBELS THE CASCADE
Previously on AmPol: Nick and Sean discussed the race thus far, with Obama taking a clear lead after Romney tripped on his own mistakes and what the apathetic college-aged demographic means for each of their campaigns. The Presidential campaign was no longer about talking to their own supporters, but rather convincing the 10 to 15 per cent of the independent voters to come to their side. The argument was made that Obama was “obviously the better communicator” and Romney is “obviously struggling,” but how did the October 3 debate play out? Were these judgments affirmed or did one find his shoes more fascinating than his opponent? Nick: In a bizarre twist, it turns out that Clint Eastwood’s conversation with empty chair Barack Obama was somewhat prophetic. Where was Obama during last Wednesday night’s debate? Sean: That is a good question, Nickers. Obama looked extremely uncomfortable and unprepared; he clearly does not respect Mitt Romney as much as he did John McCain. The President did not appear presidential, which is so key in these events. Mitt Romney postured himself in a way that showed the American public that he is confident that he is the only man for the job. He looked and sounded like a President. Perhaps the most telling moment came as Obama suggested to the moderator, Jim Lehrer, that he “may want to move on to another topic,” right after Romney made one of his strongest arguments regarding taxes and job creation. Nick: If the first debate last Wednesday night showed us anything, it’s that Romney isn’t prepared to lie down and die. Coming off 18 months of campaigning and debating with other Republican contenders during the primary, Mitt was in fighting shape, outpacing Obama for aggression and enthusiasm at every turn. That said, there have been some serious problems with the accuracy of the facts that formed the basis of Romney’s arguments. For example, his claim that Obama had offered 90 billion dollars in tax breaks to
solar and wind energy companies was a clear misrepresentation. Only about 21 billion went towards these initiatives, according to the fact-checkers at The Washington Post. The rest was spent on other stimulus items, like public transit, home retrofits and improving the U.S. electric grid. Furthermore, Romney said that half of the green energy firms funded by the stimulus had failed, when the real number is significantly lower. Do you think the long-term effect of these errors—to put it diplomatically—will outpace the gains he might have made in his debate performance? Sean: To put it simply, no. The vast majority of the American public will not be interested in the various inaccuracies that came up during the debate. They watched, they were told that Mitt Romney won (he did), and that is the end of the story. Most people will not take the time to read the news the next day. The impact is made in the moment. That is why the debate format is so unique; it is more about the tone of voice, posturing and non-verbal communication. Nick: In a flustered interview after the debate, senior Obama campaign advisor David Axelrod dismissed this as “theatre of the moment.” Yet it was a lacklustre performance witnessed by nearly 70 million Americans on Wednesday night and the inescapable conclusion put forward by pundits to those who didn’t watch. The greater question is why Obama didn’t call Romney on his misrepresentations during the debate itself? Sean: Well, that is the question of the week, isn’t it? Really, it falls on Obama and Romney to hold each other accountable during the debate. Instead, President Obama spent more time looking at his feet than he did pressing Romney on his various gaffes throughout September and the plethora of inaccuracies he threw out. To be fair, Obama had his share of inaccuracies too – although, not nearly as many as Romney. During the debate, Obama proposed “a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan ... The way we do it is $2.50 for every cut, we ask for $1 in additional revenue.” While that sounds good on paper, the cut is not as big as it sounds. Eight hundred billion of those reductions come from the end of the wars; something that
will happen anyway. Additionally, last February Obama’s budget proposal aimed to cut the deficit by $2 trillion instead of $4 trillion, $1.6 trillion to be paid for by tax increases. So, in that scenario, for every $0.40 in cuts, Obama would increase taxes by $1.60. Why the discrepancy between February and October? Obama also repeatedly raised the notion that Mitt Romney plans to lower taxes by $5 trillion on the wealthy. Now, this number is impossible to know. Why? Because there is no concrete plan; the Romney/Ryan ticket proposes tax cuts in combination with the cancellation of tax exemptions, rebates and deductions, but does not give any specific details. Therefore, Obama’s numbers do not take into account the cancellation of any exemptions, so the numbers are questionable. Also, the $5 trillion figure is based on the next 10 years – a fact not mentioned by Obama. Although I am skeptical about Mitt Romney’s plans (or lack thereof), I do appreciate a principle that he raised that may have gone unnoticed during the debate. Instead of specifically spelling out exact policies that he will implement, he stated that he prefers to share the principles that he will follow: i.e. “I will never implement a tax cut that will raise the deficit.” The reason he gave for this is that it is better for a President to work with both parties to come to a compromise, than to dictate the exact policy to Congress. This style of leadership could go a long way in Washington. Nick: This makes a lot of sense, but at the same time, Romney’s principles have played hopscotch throughout his campaign. He took a steep shift to the right to win the Republican Party’s more conservative base and then course-corrected himself to a more moderate position once he secured the nomination. Whatever the polls might say about who “won” the debate, how much does this change the way people are actually going to vote? When CNN’s undecided voters focus group in Denver was asked if they had now made up their mind to vote one way or another, eight said they were now voting for Romney and eight for Obama. For once in my life, I think I might agree with Paul Ryan, who made it clear after the debate that it’s just one debate. It doesn’t fun-
damentally change anything about who these candidates are and what they stand for. Sean: Yep. Could not agree more. Although it will be interesting to see if this small victory for Romney will bring some life into his campaign, and more importantly, if there will be any movement in the polls.
Things are starting to heat up in the quest for the White House with the Vice-Presidential debates set for Thursday, and other major campaign milestones coming into focus. Nick and Sean will do their best to make sense of what’s happening on the campaign trail next week on AmPol: American politics for the everyman. And the everycat.
The Cascade is now hiring an Opinion Editor Terms of contract: January 2013 to December 2013 Pay: $100 per issue honorarium Job Summary: The Opinion Editor of the Cascade is responsible for assigning, collecting, editing and laying out the content of the Opinion section of the Cascade. The Opinion Editor shall ensure that issues relevant to students are presented in his/her section, and allow for a diversity of opinions to be expressed on a range of topics. Duties and Responsibilities: 1) Ensure that matters of interest to UFV students are covered in the opinion section. 2) Assign, collect, edit, and lay out articles for the opinion section of the Cascade. 3) Request and select appropriate images for the opinion section in consultation with any graphics and/or photo editors, the Production Manager, and the Editor-in-Chief. 4) Lay out the Opinion Section of each issue, ensuring that it adheres to the Cascade style guide 5) Hold at least one writing workshops per semester for the purpose of training. 6) Update the Opinion Training Manual as necessary, to ensure that contacts, issues, &c. are shared with successors. 7) Write a minimum of one article for the opinion section per week. 8) Along with the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, solicit volunteers to generate story and feature ideas to be covered in depth in the Features section. 9) Must work 5 hours per publishing week in the Cascade’s office. 10) Perform other duties as required by the Editor-in-chief. 11) Attend all writers’, editorial board and lay out meetings. Qualifications: 1) Must be a member in good standing of the Cascade Journalism Society. 2) Must be registered in at least one credit course during the fall/ winter semesters. 3) Must be available to work varying hours. 4) Must be available to be present in the office for at least 5 hours per week. 5) Must be able to deal effectively with Society and university staff, students and the general public. 6) Must demonstrate strong command of the English language by passing an editing test, which will be administered during the interview process. 7) Basic literacy is required 8) Must have knowledge of all relevant laws and journalistic standards concerning libel. Send cover letter, resume and sample article to nick@ufvcascade.ca by Friday, October 26.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
www.ufvcascade.ca
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ARTS & LIFE
CROSSWORD
Duos in history
THe cascade
ACROSS
1 2
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5 6
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DESSA BAYROCK
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10 11 12
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2. You be Thelma, I’ll be ____. (6 letters) 6. I’ll be Rosencrantz, you be ____. (12 letters) 7. You be Sonny, I’ll be ____. (4 letters) 8. I’ll be Fry and you be ____. (6 letters) 11. You be Fred, and I’ll be ____. (6 letters) 12. I’ll be both Sharon and Lois, and you can be ____. (4 letters) 13. I’ll be Pat Sajak, and you be ____. (10 letters) 14. I’ll be Butch Cassidy, you be _____. (14 letters)
LAST WEEK’S Answer Key Across 3. Penelope 5. MrBill 8. Stefon 10. Gilly 11. DerekStevens
DOWN
Down
1. You be Bonnie, I’ll be ____. (5 letters) 3. You be Bert, and I’ll be ____. (5 letters) 4. I’ll be Anthony, you be ____. (9 letters) 5. I’ll be Sailor Moon, and you can be ____. (10 letters) 8. I’ll be Mario, you be ____. (5 letters) 9. You be Batman, I’ll be ____. (5 letters) 10. While we’re waiting, I’ll be Vladimir, and you be ____. (8 letters) 12. I’ll be Smokey, you can be the ____. (6 letters)
1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 8. 9.
DebbieDowner TargetLady BluesBrothers LandShark MacGruber ShyRonnie MattFoley
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The Weekly Horoscope Star Signs from Swamp Bob Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18
Gemini: May 21 - June 21
Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22
Saturn regrets to inform you that you will have a distressing encounter with a chocolate pudding cup. Oh, and your lucky numbers are 2, 9, 56 and 594, 347, 222, 089, 189.999.
Calypso and Mars agree that your overindulgence over the Thanksgiving weekend will result in reoccurring dreams where you are being chased by zombie turkeys.
Uranus wisely suggests that you should really wear that lovely knitted sweater your grandma made you and no, he does not know why she made it have so many bobbles or how she managed to make them day-glow.
Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20
Cancer: June 22 - July 22
Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21
Uranus and Neptune foresee that the hockey lockout will leave a void in your life. One that can only be filled with weasel juggling or macramé.
Venus foresees you getting a blister when you attempt to chop wood for the first fire of the fall season and therefore recommends using a chainsaw or your old textbooks you were unable to sell as fuel.
Mars recommends avoiding any attempts at bravado with your hunting buddies this season lest you be set upon by rabid chipmunks.
Aries: March 21 - April 19
Leo: July 23 - Aug 22
Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21
Ganymede and Io agree that you should liven up your boring family meal this weekend, but warns you that your grandma does a wicked underhand pitch of boiled sprouts.
After a brief shouting match Mercury and Pluto agree that, for you, the Hokey Pokey is really what it’s all about.
Pluto states that instead of the E. coli scare in meat supplies you should be more concerned with coming across glowing radioactive spinach which could lead you on a string of nautical-themed adventures.
Taurus: April 20 - May 20 Neptune whispers that fall is in the air, which can only mean one thing: creating intricate booby traps for innocent piles of leaves. He suggests stuffing them with water balloons, talc powder or dog doo.
Virgo: Aug 23 - Sept 22 Jupiter suggests the best remedy for fall blues is to watch the upcoming American presidential election commercials. He also suggests limiting the viewing to five-minute increments to avoid insanity.
Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19 Pluto says that overuse of your phone will lead to finger cramps, Venus states any attempt at stamp collecting will result in serious paper cuts and Jupiter admits that while he has never tried sauerkraut he does not recommend adding it to your morning protein shake.
Visit us at www.monktucky.com!
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
ARTS & LIFE
In review: VIFF week two MICHAEL SCOULAR
Background Image: ecstaticist/flickr.com
THE CASCADE
Reality (Italy) Matteo Garrone’s Reality might at first seem to be a relentless satire of reality television and its hypnotic vacuity. Local Napoli seafood shopowner Luciano (Aniello Arena) reluctantly assents to audition for Big Brother to satiate the cries of his time-invested, celebrity-adoring children. He goes, he introduces himself to an audience that may or may not exist, and then he waits for results after the interview begins. In the moments after any interview, instant replay and analysis take over the mind, even the most casual sentence becomes something to be taken seriously, but Luciano and Garrone, take this more than a few steps further than even that. For Luciano, the distinction between the possibility of a larger audience and the reality of the one surrounding him disappears, and the question of if he should change the way he acts to stand out, to be exceptional and noticeable by a higher power, seizes him completely. This conviction bears a spiritual echo, and rather than make some sort of comment that reality television is the new religion, hardly worth dredging over a feature length, Garrone takes this highly visible medium and makes it the unexpected seed for lifechanging belief – initially self-serving, but gradually growing into something that makes the surface beginning of Reality look unrecognizable from its spiritual end. Its dreams of show business acceptance, reminiscent of Visconti’s Bellissima in its shattering vol-
ume and impassioned argument, fade away, moving to a direct invocation of Tolstoy’s “Where Love Is, God Is,” and Plato’s Cave, only with its shadows encased in holy light and its subject unchained and gleeful. But that isn’t to say Garrone is all references here. They are used to make the topic unmissable, as is the ubiquitous religious iconography— neon-illuminated, wall-hung, carried, packed into the frame—but what shapes this perspective changing is Garrone’s distinctive camera movements. As in the journalistic Gomorrah, Garrone shoots with roving camera in long, long takes, preserving continuity of time and place. Rarely stationary, rather than cutting to, the camera glides, turns from a close-up of a face, to behind in an over-the-shoulder perspective. Viewpoint splits between what Luciano wants to see inside himself, changing, searching for what this all could possibly lead to, and outside, as family members question his new motivation (“It’s all in your head”), and “the one who says he is from Big Brother” is revealed to not have the answers he seeks. It’s a brilliant relation of the conflicted Ivan Karamazov’s conversation with himself, or possibly another: “As long as I do not know the secret ... two truths exist for me: one truth is theirs over there, of which I know nothing, and the other truth is my own. And I am still not sure which of the two is worse.”
Barbara (Germany) Limited in location, emotion, and narration, Barbara is too confined, too neat, too easily observed for what it is, it seems. It’s straightforward almost to a fault, and every line seems to hold meaning related to some person characteristic or feature of the plot. But these mechanisms of lines, visually and speaking that give away everything are exactly too-everything. Christian Petzold’s film sets up these boundaries not to go outside of them, to break their hold flamboyently, but to go inside of them, immobile for the most part, but holding what will matter, if anything in this movie can be said to matter more than every other detail and its invisible counterpart, underneath. Barbara (Nina Hoss), relocated to a small East German town so separate it exists like an island in the film, has been tasked with carrying out the practice of town physician. All along a central colleague-observer (André, portrayed by Ronald Zehrfeld) and the entire environment amd its population hold her in sidelong glance. Uncommunicative, but profiled precisely by her new neighbours as she reorients her routine but seeks to break it, Barbara works at deflection, at the removal of all flourish to fit in. Petzold’s frames are extensive, but only in that they cover the minor extent of the mediumsized hospital and sub-standard quarters Barbara finds herself in,
motionless save for when Barbara commutes via bicycle. This one act open to deviation as visible by everyone provides most of the film’s counter to the control of ruling bodies. The land, which could never be seen this way based on the intown streets and indoors setting of the rest of the action, is windswept and expansive, and densely treed in an Ivan’s Childhood-like dalliance. This austere, easily interpreted exterior giving way shows itself in the most overt reference in Barbara, as Barbara in one scene chooses from the limited library the one English-language book: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Aloud the account of faking a death and escaping is read, and it’s easy to see where this could be applied to prediction of movement, perception of tendency. But this is a diversion as skillful as the storytelling of her intelligent, ingratiating overseer. Huck Finn is a most frequent unspooler of tales to disguise true paths and inclinations, and Barbara, translating, finds a hidden appeal of messiness in her non-reveal. At all points, Barbara is requested—ordered—to work within a system for the benefit of everyone else and her own slow detriment. What Petzold has crafted is the insertion, forgettable, missable, small, of barely noticeable freedom into this stifling command.
Après mai (France) It might be hopelessly limited or exactly appropriate for an undergraduate to try and write about Olivier Assayas’s Après mai. If not for the young thinkers who want to protest inequality and injustice today, then who is this film for? At the same time, Assayas is addressing a specific group he knew growing up in 1970s France, with his own specific set of memories, critical thoughts, ephemeral love for the people he knew. Someone just starting out in that position, in a wholly different climate, with no way of knowing how to truly understand this experience (and the unique address of Après mai) can’t be trusted with having a critical perspective on it. But maybe, what makes Après mai so difficult to talk about is that Assayas tries to bridge this unthinkable divide, impressing a few condensed hours of foolish mistakes and beautiful mistakes of the young people he was and knew to another, tracing the path from aimlessly wanting to be something, to something with direction. Lest the recreations of young free love, substance-fuelled bonfire parties, protests in the streets and vandalism after dark get construed as merely reverie, glory, and episodic genuflected period detail, the opening of Après mai has a professor speaking preceding a reading that probably won’t completely hold the attention of his students anyway. It’s an effort to balance the accepted ideals and summations of the era, setting up a reinvigoration of the past as people, from a different time, to be judged or at least reconsidered. Après mai’s (non) judgmental depiction of out of school freedom counterbalances restoring life to the past with viewing it through a critical lens. The campfire guitar listening, student group assembling, alternative weekly distributing that follows could be dismissed as trivial, but
the observing, struggling to grow as thinking, expressing individuals are always within eyeline in the corners of Assayas’s frames, doing over correspondence and shared internal conflict. What strikes about Assayas’s film, even more than the soundtrack or the attraction of flinging Molotov cocktails and love in the grass, is the way its main character Gilles (Clément Metayer) and the smaller group of friends of his that take up most of the movie’s focus talk and think about themselves. Assayas frames their story in a way that judges by what it keeps and excludes from the time, but also does not judge in a trivializing way what’s included. They are in their own minds, sizing up society and incorporating all the influential speakers they find agreeance with, but as this is happening there is the beginning (nearly everything done in Après mai is for the first time) of searching beyond these ideals of self-greatness, being the one to understand everything. Ideas about movements, philosophers, political film groups and institutions are challenged. The police state is attacked in thoughts, but the only one harmed when action is taken is a school security guard. Rejection is valued, but the realization that there must also be communication, a consideration of others begins to take hold. What opens with a scratched out anarchy symbol in a desk becomes a scratched out consideration of the people known to Assayas, and his audience. The title indicates an “after” and the movie depicts the generation immediately following the events of May 1968, but this after is unending, and Assayas, by personal tracing, afterimages of clarity, resurrects and resends a perspective, to be denied or accepted neither, but to exist consciously in the gap between learning by observing and knowing by experience.
Ernest et Célestine (France) While it’s likely a result of seeing this in a film festival less than 24 hours after Olivier Assayas’s latest, the commonalities between Ernest et Célestine and Après mai are less superficial, more indicative of a shared inclination towards creation rather than stultification. Hand-animated Ernest, a posthibernation bear, and Célestine, a mouse whose job requires venturing into supposedly predatorial territory, occupy the centre of the film. Similarities come in the desired demolition of dictating forces, the urge for change to inequal rights among classes of people, and undivided love and attention to art, all mixing and coming up for animated air. Imprinting ideas on children is something not ignored in Ernest et Célestine, as it opens with a familiar ancient, though not dead, idea of telling stories to instill fear and obedience in impressionable minds. The ideas listed above are notable criticisms, ones that usually indicate a position of cynicism or liberalism, but what directors Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubierdo do is bring this to its unaligned essence, creating a movie that doesn’t conde-
scend, forcing an ideology on children, but instilling cause for hope: it is for creation and love, against not caring and separation. That the oppressive forces in the film are in the form of a police state and an inattentive-to-minorities ruling court of law that segregates people based on their background is what makes the Après mai resemblance so noticeable, but Ernest et Célestine does have branches in abundance as well. While no less concerned with what goes on in the mind and the heart, Ernest et Célestine is a film of velocity, flying through locales with unrestrained optimistic fierceness. A beautiful break from the monotony of computer graphics, Ernest et Célestine is also divergent from the classically animated Disney tradition. Backgrounds are as watercolor paintings, splashes of color against white space, scored by playful jazz. This is animation as spur to imagination, not merely the “imagination” of anthromorphization, whether it’s mapping out a world in quick strokes, a King Kong-esque action scene, or beautifully, rebelliously, doing away with assaultive differences.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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ARTS & LIFE
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
ARTS & LIFE
The Bartender
Planter’s Punch
Dine & Dash
Blue Collar Restaurant 2866 Mt Lehman Rd, #102 Abbotsford, BC V4X2N6 Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Price: Everything under $14
ALI SIEMENS
CONTRIBUTOR
It is said that if you plant this punch, a rum tree will grow. 3/4 oz. light rum 3/4 oz. dark rum 1 3/4 oz. orange juice 3/4 oz. lemon juice 2 tsp. grenadine 1 dash Angostura bitters (optional) Mix: With a shaker and ice Glass: Highball/Collins glass Garnish: Orange slice, lemon slice and maraschino cherry on a toothpick
The Cascade Cookbook Francisco Armengual’s Buñuelos Mexicanos
Francisco Armengual is a Spanish lab assistant at UFV. At UFV you can find him around campus with students practicing Spanish. He likes to spend time with family and friends. Even though he does not cook, he found this recipe easy to follow. Buñuelos vary some from culture to culture, but this Mexican version is extremely popular at Mexican parties and celebrations. Buñuelos are a family tradition.
Ingredients
Premade flour tortillas Deep frying oil Cinnamon (for every ¼ cup of sugar use equal amounts cinnamon) Sugar 1. In a large frying pan add about one inch worth of oil, heat oil on medium setting until it’s sizzling.
3. Coat in cinnamon sugar mixture. 4. Repeat process, stacking finished Buñuelos one on top of each other on a plate. 5. Serve and enjoy.
Image:Dinehere.ca
Image: Anthony Biondi
Buñuelos can last several days and are just as delicious after they have sat for a while. They become crunchier as they cool. Buñuelos can be enjoyed as a dessert or served with Mexican hot chocolate at breakfast.
A comfort food classic of burger and fries
in homemade Dijon mustard that brings it all together. With only four major ingredients, this sandwich has a lot of flavour, leaving you excited for every bite. The second most important part to any lunch combo is what side you can order with your sandwich. Of course fries are important, and Blue Collar doesn’t skimp out on its order. But, with the autumn season coming, a warm cup of soup can make or break a meal. Making all their soups in house, the diverse options include Borscht, creamy mushroom and even farmer sausage chowder. With my Reuben sandwich and a cup of creamy mushroom soup, I was more than impressed with my food. Diner food should also have the key breakfast items such as eggs benedicts, omelets and skillets, and Blue Collar has them all. Their breakfast options are just as delicious as my favourite lunch
option. They are all served with hearty helpings of hash browns, which are grilled and crisped to perfection. Service is always a part of the grand picture, and here it is anything but lacking. The waitress working there seems to have the perfect system of balancing plates in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other. You need more ketchup? She has an extra bottle sitting in apron pocket. How about vinegar? She is back at the table before you even have a chance to reach for your fork. Blue Collar is an obvious hit for all of the men and women who work in the industrial side of Abbotsford. With specials written on their chalkboard everyday, there is a menu item for everyone. Don’t put your high heels or black tie on to visit this diner; work boots, hard hats and sweat pants are welcome at any time.
Gnome Chomsky says:
‘Come to our next story meeting!’
Want to get involved? The Cascade holds weekly contributor meetings on Mondays at 10 a.m. in A421. You can meet our editors, take an assignment, or just find out a little bit more about what we do.
Directions
2. Add flour tortilla and push it down into oil (tortilla floats in oil, so be sure it is fully covered in oil). Once golden brown flip so other side is fully covered in oil. Once both sides are golden remove and drain oil.
Hidden in the industrial sector of the Mt. Lehman side of town with only the front signage to advertise their name, Blue Collar is a small diner that warmly welcomes all its guests. Walking in, you’ll find mismatched tables scattered throughout the dining area with a seatyourself mantra. The décor is nothing to write home about, but the diner feel is present, and the food definitely takes precedence over the design. Whether you are looking for breakfast or lunch, this restaurant is the place to be if you want some comforting food with big taste. I have decided that I am always on the hunt for the best Reuben sandwich. Rye toast, pastrami, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut seems like an easy combination, but can easily be turned into a mess when not assembled properly. The last few places I’ve gone to, they’ve put the sauerkraut on before toasting the bread, leaving one side of the bun wet and soggy. Other places neglect to put a dressing on the sandwich, making it dry and tasteless. Blue Collar has won my vote for the best Reuben in Abbotsford. Served on a dark toasted rye, the sauerkraut is placed in between the pastrami to give flavour to the meat, and not the bread. The Swiss cheese is then placed on both sides of the meat, and is slathered
If you can’t make it, why not swing by our office in C1027? We’re open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (and often later) every weekday. Or you can always email editor-in-chief Nick Ubels at nick@ufvcascade.ca. Image: Anthony Biondi
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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ARTS & LIFE
This is the blues
Guitarist and kick drummer Jereme Collette on what roots and authenticity mean for this is THE SHOES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Shuffle
CHARTS
Crystal Castles III
AARON LEVY
CIVL station manager/ Baby Baby Baby
Passenger All The Little Lights
JEREMY HANNAFORD
CIVL DJ/Popcorn guy
Madchild Dope Stick
CIVL station manager Aaron Levy greatly enjoys CIVL’s program Listening to the Movies at 8 p.m. on Thursday nights, hosted by Jeremy Hannaford, who will provide you with some shufflage next week. This week they cover 28 Days Later.
Greys Down Under
White Lung Sorry
Hannah Georgas Hannah Georgas
Grandaddy – “AM 180” This is from the only Grandaddy album I really like, Under the Western Freeway, and I absolutely love the album. Heartbreaking piano interrupts the casio-tones during the breakdown and amps up down the stretch with feedback and blips. Fun song, fun part of the movie. As if there were any.
Mise En Scene Desire’s Despair Two Hours Traffic Siren Spell
Shad Melancholy and The Infinite Shadness
10 11 12
Nu Sensae Sundowning
White Poppy I Had a Dream The Best Revenge Young Nihilists Gun Club
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The You Are Minez Bird Circle
14 15 16 17
Treasure Eyes Treasure Eyes Thee Oh Sees Putrifiers II Woods Bend Beyond
Shearing Pinx Storm Majorities & Magnetic Tremors
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The Hellbound Hepcats No.2
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Demented Are Go Welcome Back to Insanity Hall
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – “East Hastings” They’ve got a new album, and played this song, from 28 Days Later to much fan fare in Vancouver last year. Godspeed coming back in 2012 is kind of like a zombie apocalypse. Focused on eschewing the mainstream and imparting morals on music, they’re eating the brains of the ignorant. Dillinger Escape Plan and Nine Inch Nails – “Wish” Seeing one of the most punishing modern bands ever to write, record and tour teaming up with a guy who recorded an eternally punishing album made up of completely synthesized sounds (Downward Spiral), for this live cover of his most punishing, analog based song … It’s really something else. Something real. Brian Eno – “St. Elmo’s Fire” From Another Green World, this was the first, and only, Eno record I ever checked out. Completely quirky, nerdy and silly-sounding with rubber basslines and cutesy lyrics, it’s a far cry from the Low era Bowie or David Byrne (Talking Heads) collaborations he is also known for.
BEAU O’NEILL
CONTRIBUTOR
Some time during the evening of October 11, conversations about Durkheim, Sapir and the cultural superstructure—which you can expect to be rife in an environment like the Sociology Anthropology Undergraduate Society student party—will be drowned out by the bluesy inundations of East Vancouver Blues/Folk band this is THE SHOES. The duo consists of Sabrina Robson and Jereme Collette, the former performing vocals, harmonica, and percussion, and the latter commanding guitar and kick drum. To understand more thoroughly this band whose precedents include The White Stripes and The Black Keys, I spoke with Jereme, and got some answers about THE SHOES, his positive thoughts on the blues, and why keeping it real matters. How long have THE SHOES been together? We’ve been around for like a year, a year that’s more like six month of grinding and taking it seriously, and instead of playing free shows in cafes we’ve moved onto bigger venues. We’ve been a band for a year, but the public started knowing about us about six months ago. Well, we released our EP in February. Where are you guys from? I’m from Maple Ridge and she’s from Port Coquitlam, but we’ve moved out to East Vancouver. So how did you form the band? Sabrina used to do a lot of singing competitions, and she comes from a musical theatre background. And so she used to do these competitions for money, to see if she could win them. And I had to help her do Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” She’d need backing tracks to perform these songs, and on the internet all you could get was the Mark Ronson version, which has the horns and is very grandiose. And she wanted the stripped down acoustic version which appears, I think, on a bonus track on one of her earlier albums. And so she couldn’t find it on the internet, so I recorded that for her and she sang over it at the singing competition. And she had actually introduced me to the Black Keys and so we always knew there was a blues influence there, and she has a voice tailored to the blues. Do you confront any obstacles being a blues band from East Van? For example, people not taking you seriously? That said, are you serious about the blues? In terms of taking us seriously as a blues band, more than geographical, it’s more an age thing. We’re only in our 20s, and some people don’t believe you have anything to gripe about when you’re only 25, but I always just point out the fact that Robert Johnson died when he was only 27. So the man that had the blues was well before his middle age before he could experience the old man blues. And that’s where I get the most eyebrows raised, “20 year old kids
Image: Used with permission from This is the Shoes
Sabrina Robson and Jereme Collette of this is THE SHOES playing the blues? That’s just the Black Keys over again.” But we do take the blues seriously, being inspired by that band and numerous other bands. Starting with the Classic Rock blues revival of the ‘60s, Cream, The Yardbirds, and even back before that with Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James. I mean, Elmore James taught me the slide guitar. But we take the blues seriously and I hope people take us seriously, because we do deliver our own take on the blues. We’re not playing Stevie Ray Vaughan behind-the-back guitar solo stuff ... The sonic ability they had back in the day, when they’d record with a guy in a room and that was it: two dudes play guitar. And so we want to go from that aesthetic of the blues rather than the ‘70s classic rock aesthetic of the blues with glitter pants and long hair. What is it about the blues that has you deciding to use it as the genre of expressing yourselves musically? [Compared to the popular bands of indie and folk.] It’s sort of the anti-thesis of that stuff. It’s stripped down, visceral. It’s not intellectual, I mean, I like to read, but music is totally visceral and primal. There’s not much metaphor when you’re writing a blues song ... It’s not a deliberate attempt to be poetic. It’s not coded in poetic devices. Compared to some of the other stuff that’s out there it’s visceral and real. And it’s a fun part about the blues, that within it you can be so restricted, but you can be so creative within that regimented form, so it’s awesome. Do you find it difficult writing music in such an old genre of popular music? I don’t think it’s something any musician can get around, by pretending they’ve created a new genre of music. Like, everyone’s calling Grimes the future of music but it sounds like stuff Yoko Ono
was doing years ago. Some people just want to hear that same old blues riff, but they want it done with sincerity. It’s that you do it with some integrity and sincerity. When can we expect a fulllength album from you bluesy folk? We’re working on new material for a full length ... it’s nice to get a taste, but you want the full painting, not just a piece of that painting. Aiming for next year. Any upcoming shows? On October 18 at Toby’s Pub and Grill in Vancouver, at the Media Club November 1, opening for a band called July Talks. And November 17, at the Howe Sound Brewing Company in Squamish. One final question, why the name this is THE SHOES? I’d had always wanted a band named “THE SHOES.” It came from a John Lennon interview when they asked him why “The Beatles.” He laughed and said it was just a name “we could have been called THE SHOES for all I care.” The “this is” is our way around having to share a name with some electronic duo from France. Like The Pack A.D., or D.F.A 1979, or Bush X. I stole the “this is” part from the movie This Is Spinal Tap. When put into an acronym it spells T.I.T.S. This was an afterthought. On October 11, the Sociology Anthropology Undergraduate Society will be hosting the student party “SAUSed With SAUS” at AfterMath pub on UFV’s Abbotsford campus. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from SAUS board members. From 7 to 11 p.m. you can expect trivia games, a raffle draw and plenty of libations. For more about this is THE SHOES, check out their website: thisistheshoes. com
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
Mini Album Reviews
SoundBites
ARTS & LIFE
The Soft Pack Strapped
Angel Olsen Half Way Home
Kay My Name is Kay EP
Melanie Fiona The MF Life
On their self-produced sophomore release, third if you count their days playing under the name the Muslims, the Soft Pack kick off with their stripped-down back-to-basics rock, but it’s clear that Strapped has the Soft Pack searching for something more refined. On the surface, the album isn’t drastically different than their scrappy self-titled debut, but it’s not predictable. With the sturdy groove of the opening track “Saratoga” and jangling guitar hooks of “Second Look,” both tracks could have easily slotted onto their debut. It is the Julian Casablanca-esqe “Bobby Brown” that starts to show the band’s aspirations to go farther afield from their trademark do-or-die garage rock; vintage synths and ‘90s R&B production preview the weirdness of side B. As the band starts to delve into more uncharted territory, they begin to unnecessarily slow their songs down, causing Strapped to stumble. The band has one of the best rhythm sections in all of garage rock, and it’s a shame when they don’t push the BPM on their 30-minute albums. Strapped shows traces of a complete album, but has lost some of the scrappy directness of their debut.
Disrupting easy chains of thought in the quiet of lovesick imaginations, embracing the stillness that other artists struggle through or can only deploy as brief stabs, Angel Olsen’s voice is backdrop, centre, above, cutting through melody and song and turning essence into fragments. Olsen’s voice, theoretically impossible to drown out as it swoons, wails and unreservedly calls, demands silence, sparseness, to be billowed out into late night/early morning air. Many of the selections on Half Way Home start out as structured songs before turning into poems, letters, beckoning instructions and appeals as stringed instrumentation strums and shakes. And within this changeable atmosphere is the age of unenlightenment, tired loneliness and its in-between forms. At one moment, Olsen sings of internalizing and failing to hide feelings, the next of how “we all soon disappear,” thoughts of love and thoughts of death beside each other, not as choices but in a relationship. The pinhole private view and space panoramic together. Whether in the back and forth from liquid crystal to quaver of “Safe in the Womb” or the unsummarizable “Free,” Olsen uses the simplest words, but carries them by voice to the wreckage of long-overflowed emotional sense.
Kay and I have remarkably similar tastes for the finer things; a fact that reached me with effort over the sickeningly sweet and puerile music that is the background to her lyrics: “Tricky’s and gold chains / Rum in my lemonade / 110 On the interstate / Crumpets and marmalade.” Now, I don’t know what “Tricky’s” is, but I can usually tell a Nikki Minaj-Katy Perryice-cream-cone-infomercial wannabe when I hear one spew her digestive effluvia into my ears, and Kay is just the sort. She claims to be “M-A-J-OR” on the significantly-titled “Major” but she should be labeled Corporal, in honour of the bodily punishment which is inflicted on the listener by each track off the five song EP. There is supposed to be humour on “Diddy Dum,” as she proves she can convoke sound effects by merely referring to various things: she mentions lemonade, we hear what’s more likely urine tinkling in a glass, she says didgeridoo, we hear a synthesized approximation of the noble austral wind instrument. But this doesn’t mean there’s no future for Kay: she’s got the looks of a Canadian ghetto superstar, and these quirky lyrics may bring her a fame like that of the universally-lauded Swollen Members.
Canadian R&B artist Melanie Fiona released her latest album in March of this year, The MF Life. With music featuring J.Cole and T-Pain, Fiona has a strong iconic voice that is present in all of her songs. The second song on the album, “4 AM,” gives an amazing example of the range of her voice. The slow jam works in her favour allowing her to reach the highest soprano notes as well as introducing the soul aspect to her music. Further into the album, her song “6 AM” featuring T-Pain brings in his auto-tuned voice which doesn’t exactly compliment Fiona. She very obviously has a strong voice representing both the soul and R&B side of music. Her voice doesn’t need complimenting of bigger names to make it big on her own. The album as a whole ranges from the typical flow of an R&B album, working its way into the Lauren Hill and Alicia Keys genre of a soprano-esque ballad about her broken heart. Overall, Melanie Fiona has an unwavering voice that doesn’t play like she is afraid to reach the high notes. Her talent is obvious, but sometimes downplayed by the men she has invited onto her album to compliment her artistic ability.
TIM UBELS
MICHAEL SCOULAR
Album Review NICK UBELS
THE CASCADE
How can I explain the appeal of Tame Impala? The first time I encountered the band was at a music festival in Washington state in 2010. My brother and I were doing that thing where you stake out a good spot during the act prior to the one you’re hoping to catch when we saw these four shaggy-looking Aussies take the stage, predictably barefoot. All I knew about Tame Impala was that they were from Perth and that they dabbled in psychedelic rock. It was a genre that left me seriously sceptical; I’d been burned by one too many critically-lauded psychedelic acts that would supposedly renew my faith yet left me seriously wanting – I’m looking at you, Comets on Fire. The problem with most of these bands is that their varied sonic palette merely acts as a mask for lacklustre song writing and endless, self-indulgent jams. Tame Impala was different. We were met with melodic bass lines; propulsive and frantic drumming; hook-conscious guitar riffs drowning in a whirlpool of spacey effects; gripping vocals; rapturous harmony; and an unshakeable
groove. I was impressed at their economic, purposeful song writing and their unwillingness to stay in one mode for too long. However insular lead singer Kevin Parker’s lyrics remain, Tame Impala is a band that clearly wants to connect with its audience on a deeply personal level. It’s a big challenge, but one that Parker pursues with renewed vigour on Lonerism, the follow-up to 2010 debut Innerspeaker. Much like Portland country-rock standard bearers Blitzen Trapper, Tame Impala’s albums are almost entirely composed and recorded by the band’s visionary leader. It’s fitting that Parker’s latest opus, which delves deeper into the personal trials and ecstatic joys of being alone, was crafted in his own home studio. Lonerism features more personal song writing and a heavier reliance on analog electronics than its predecessor. The confessional vulnerability on tracks like “Why Won’t They Talk To Me?” is aching, refreshingly direct, and entirely relatable. In 52 minutes, the listener is situated in the loner-friendly territory of night time, when it’s easiest to enjoy solitude. The evening starts with the manifesto-like opening “Be Above It,” with its rhythmically whispered slogan
BEAU O’Neill
ALI SIEMENS
Tame Impala – Lonerism
“gotta be above it” playing out like the interior monologue of a marathoner, and concludes with the beautiful, off-kilter piano ballad “Sun’s Coming Up,” a striking departure which finds Parker singing in a register an octave lower than usual. Much of the time, Parker’s Lennon-esque vocals are obscured under layers of spring reverb or noisy analog synths alternately punctuating and sweeping across the tracks. But here, there are rare moments of sparing instrumentation, consisting only of rave-up drums, the chanted manifesto and his vocals. The only track to closely resemble the Tame Impala last heard on Innerspeaker is single “Apocalypse Dreams,” which sets out with a clear, piano-driven melody in the opening bars. The band almost uniformly abandons the riff-based guitar hooks which drive a lot of the song writing on their debut. The fuzz-pedal heavy, rose-coloured retro stomper “Elephant” is actually one of the album’s weaker tracks, chugging along with a tired blues-based riff that would fit better on a Wolfmother album if it weren’t for the occasional intrusion of compelling syncopated rhythms. On an album that continues to
surprise at each turn, Tame Impala rally back with the sudden high drama of 59-second excerpt “She Just Won’t Believe Me.” It is difficult to find the vocabulary to accurately describe the specific sounds employed or to unpack the dense layers of constantly shifting production of Lonerism. Parker may
have pivoted away from the immediacy of earlier work like “Desire Be, Desire Go,” but Tame Impala’s fundamental dedication to melody and song structure within a personal, kaleidoscopic vision is unwavering.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
www.ufvcascade.ca
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ARTS & LIFE
Book Review SASHA MOEDT
THE CASCADE
The Casual Vacancy begins with death. It continues with Dursleylike muggles—Rowling is so good at the portraying the narrow-minded—gossiping and gloating, as we are introduced into the world of British small-town politics. The death of Barry Fairbrother leaves an empty seat in the Parish council of Pagford (a cobble-stone street village) and silence in the wake of a strong voice of advocacy for the unprivileged. We trail along an interconnected web of relationships as various townspeople try to fill the vacancy and push their own agenda through. Rowling jumps from person to person, and it was my pleasure to follow. Characters are undeniably Rowling’s strongpoint. We follow an acne-riddled but sympathetic teenager with a hard-on for the worldly new girl in town, her social worker mother who’s aiding a drug-addled woman whose daughter goes to the same high school as the acne-riddled fellow ... because everyone knows everyone somehow. It’s a story of binaries. Opposites struggle with one another; wife and husband, rich and poor, child and adult. It’s a clash of racism, sexism and classism as Rowling delves into complex adult issues. She simplifies until the themes are obvious, with the excuse of hav-
The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling
ing an isolated small town for the story to play out in. Several of Rowling’s petty, cruel characters are given the same sort of dynamics as Petunia Dursley: a sort of twist, an undeniable motive. It does not reach the point of being as powerful as Snape’s depth, and sometimes they just fall flat with nothing but bigotry and pride to hold as their motives, which works, but is not as strong. The creativity and humour is still present, injected into each scene with a cleverness that belongs only to Rowling. This can’t be considered a children’s novel – not at any point. Rowling deals with death, sex, infidelity, self-harming, rape and drugs. The Harry Potter series did, in its way, deal with some of these topics – especially death and racism. But the hardness in which Rowling writes about it is very different. She doesn’t shy away from lust, swearing, the raw, rough language and realities as she does (out of necessity) in the Harry Potter series. The Casual Vacancy isn’t anything special. Though Rowling’s writing technique still maintains that humour, that ease of dialogue and characterisation, the plot lacks a cheerfulness that Harry Potter had. It meanders along in melancholy, never quite brightening up. The characters are good, but Rowling doesn’t have seven books to
Haute Stuff KAREN ANEY
THE CASCADE
The other week, Glee saw the much-anticipated (by some people) debut of Sarah Jessica Parker in the role of Isabelle Kempt, online editor of Vogue.com. We’ll skate past the bulk of the episode that relates to Vogue – because the obscene ease with which Kurt obtained a job at Vogue and used his new-found swipe key to give Rachel a makeover (after filming a music video, of course), well, it infuriates me. Though I did spy an obscenely gorgeous coat during that scene and I’m pretty sure it was from Alexander McQueen’s last collection. One thing that gave me pause to think was during SJP’s mini freakout to Kurt, where they agreed that belts are, like, totally out. This freaked me out a little bit, as I’m one of those people. I’m the type of person who would wear a belt to the gym if I could just find one that goes with workout gear – people want a defined waist while they’re sweating, too! I’ve pitched the idea to Nike. They’re getting back to me. In the meantime, I thought I’d look at the history of the belt so I could assure myself that it is, in fact, ubiquitous. According to my Dictionary of Fashion History by Valerie Cumming (totally worth ordering on Amazon, by the way) the belt has been around since the Bronze ages. Seems ubiquitous to me. It started off almost exclusively for men – it was used to carry weapons, and later, coin purses. Women adopted the ingenious trend by wearing sashes. They were generally used to hang fans
To hair or not to hair TITS MCGEE THe cascade
develop them, and they don’t live up to Harry Potter. It’s the real world now; there’s no magic to bring the text to life. But what did we expect to say? Anything Rowling would have written at this point would have ended up this way – a bit of a letdown. But Harry Potter fans, read it. Just to hear Rowling’s voice again. You won’t be disappointed for what it is.
Belts
off of. For most of our history, though, belts have been used by soldiers. This wasn’t just for the purpose of hanging weapons off of, either: Russian soldiers in the Napoleonic wars used them to look good, even pairing them with small, waist-cinching corsets. See? Even Russian men want to look more like the French. It’s normal. The belt first became part of a women’s fashion arsenal in the 1900s. These belts still resembled a sash, but were constructed with boning inside of them, much like a corset. This hybrid was revolutionary in the fashion industry, as it’s a pretty early example of a move towards women’s apparel that respected fashionable appearance while still recognizing that women care about more than just looking good. Yes, this means that they prioritized having their kidneys in the proper locations over having the smallest waist possible. Shocking. Unless you’re wearing something with a built-in waist—an empire-waisted dress or peplum top, for example—a belt can really enhance what you’re wearing. Boys, your belt wardrobe doesn’t need to include much more than a classic, plain belt; in my opinion, anything more than that just makes it look like you’re trying to draw attention to somewhere I don’t care to look. Here are my suggestions for the belts every female reader needs to have. First: a plain leather belt, preferably in black or brown. At least four centimetres wide. This is what I have worn on an almost daily basis for the past four years, though mine is fake leather. I have a buck-
Discussions Below the Belt
Image:prettyboring/flickr.com
The waist-cinching power of the belt le on it that has little flowers on the sides – it’s a touch of femininity that works well in my wardrobe, but if you’re more classic find a belt with a buckle that reflects that. You can wear them through the belt loops of your pants, or overtop of a dress, cardigan or sweater. If you’re looking for a budget version, haunt the clearance racks at American Eagle. When they cycle through last season’s inventory, they often have real leather belts marked down to less than $20. Second: a skinny belt (two centimetres or less). This should be in a colour or pattern. These are used to break up monotonous outfits – loose black shirts or plain dresses. H&M is probably the place to go for these; they sell sets of three skinny belts for $8. And third: a wide (15 centimetres or more) elastic belt. These are on their way “out” but only in some instances. To make it look fresh, don’t wear it over a boyfriend cardigan – try it over an oversized dress. It’s more comfortable than jeans, and you’ll still avoid looking like you’re pregnant. To stretch your wardrobe, try wearing a summer dress as a skirt – use this belt to hide the messy waistband.
The hair-down-there issue really gets some folk heated up. Get it? Wax? Hot? Heated up? Let’s move on from that weak joke. Here’s the disclaimer introduction. There’s no problem with having a hairy bush cloud hovering above your wobbly bits, whether you’re a male or a female. It’s natural, we’re born with it, whatever. That being said, it’s also totally fine if you want to rip it all out, shave it all off or give it a buzz cut so your nether regions look like Demi Moore’s head in GI Jane. Don’t slam it, she’s hot. Aside from the pain aspect, waxing isn’t that different a choice from dying your hair red. Our femininity or masculinity doesn’t vacate the premises if we decide we don’t need an extra layer of furry warmth down there. Some people will prefer the au naturale look, too. So, if you’re on the hairy side of the fence, chill out. If you’d rather go smooth, stop saying how gross everyone else is. It really doesn’t matter. For those of you thinking about exposing yourself to the elements, I interviewed one of my friends, who requested not to be named. For the article’s purposes, I’ll call her Jane. She’s an OCD esthetician and can’t imagine her life without hardwood floors. A-hem. DO note that all the conversations I asked her were regarding vaginas, because, well, that’s what I have. So, here’s a rundown—according to Jane—of what happens when you go into the dimly lit room, and what you should do to make it easier on yourself. First, you’ll be showed to the room and asked to take your clothes off. Her spa offers a towel with a Velcro waist. Apparently, this is a thinly-veiled attempt at helping the client feel more modest. Keep reading to find out how ridiculous a thought that is. When the esthetician comes back into the room, they’ll make sure you’re lying down properly. Jane says she was taught to start at the top and work her way back. Why? “That part [at the top of the mons pubus] hurts the worst. It’s so terrible. The lips aren’t bad at all; I had one teacher who thought that might be because our underwear elastic is always near that area.” Most places use tongue depressors to apply the wax, which is heated to about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. For comparison, Starbucks lattes are heated to around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Some places go further back than the vagina, between the ass cheeks. Jane explained that her spa offers this service if clients specifically ask. “It’s called a Hollywood. People usually don’t ask unless they know that name, because they’re really embarrassed. It’s
Image:Sam Felder/flickr.com
like ... will you please pull the hair out of my ass for me? That’s not an easy thing to ask someone. We don’t offer because people get insulted for the exact same reason.” Every waxer is different, but my friend says it usually takes her about 15 minutes to do one Brazilian wax. When it’s done, they wipe the client down with baby oil. “Some places use scented oils to do this, which I think is so stupid,“ Jane said. “They tend to have alcohol in them, which stings so bad. If someone’s worried about that, they should bring their own oil with them and ask to use that instead.” The oil soothes the skin and gets the excess wax off. “It’s like, anyone can deal with something if it’s only 15 minutes right? The pain to me is kind of like a really bad sunburn that someone is slapping. But only for 15 minutes, and a little discomfort after. It’s not that bad.” When I asked for tips, Jane said to schedule the wax in between periods – your skin is much more sensitive in the week leading up to menstruation. She also recommended taking two extra strength ibuprofen half an hour before the procedure. “It needs to be an anti-inflammatory.” Also, consider your choice of attire: “I usually wear a dress, because if it’s too burny I can just go commando. Also, I don’t have to take it off when I’m being waxed so I feel less naked.” Tight jeans, polyester underwear and anything else that doesn’t breathe can cause irritation and infection. For after-care, she said to exfoliate – but not for a week after the wax. Before then, use all-natural soaps and freshly washed cloths. This, along with exfoliating, should help cut down on ingrown hairs and bumps. For those of you hesitating because you don’t want to be judged, don’t. When I asked what the grossest thing Jane had ever encountered was, she said it was the poop. Apparently, it happens at least once a week. “People think they wipe everything, but even if there’s just that little bit left ... it smells so bad, and it gets on the strips, and it’s really the only part of my job that I hate. If there’s no poop, they’re not gross at all.” Those are words to live by, friends – hairless or not.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
ARTS & LIFE
Film Review Taken 2 JEREMY HANNAFORD
CONTRIBUTOR
Whenever we watch a film about a hero burning a path to their goal by taking out tons of bad guys along the way, rarely do we think about the consequences of these fallen thugs. After all, they might just have dangerous bad guy family members who are pretty peeved off and wanting to seek vengeance against the hero. This is a question that Taken 2 ponders but doesn’t really answer. All it really shows is that they just need to die, too. Liam Neeson returns as Brian Mills, the ex-CIA agent whose threat of locating and killing his daughter’s captors is a huge tag line for the original Taken. This film’s tagline however feels like, “Don’t try it again or you’re going to get what’s coming to you.” The original film made a very impressive gross income so the idea of a sequel to something that Luc Besson had written didn’t seem that big of a surprise – especially when one thinks about The Transporter series. While Besson has stayed in the realm of the action shoot ‘em up genre for several decades now, he usually tries to add a little flair to each project. With Taken 2, he seemed to just take bits and pieces from his other films and slap them together rather than creating something different. Instead of exploring the idea of sifting through the Eastern Europe sex trade and spending weeks trying to find his daughter, Taken 2 is really a slow build up to a very bad daytrip Brian Mills takes to Istanbul. As said before, the film’s antagonists are in fact family members and associates of Mills’ victims from the first film who are seeking revenge. By giving a face to the villains, the mystery factor of the original is replaced with a supposed feeling of compassion and recognition. This falls flat however as the
leader played by Rade Serbedzija just repeats he is angry that his son is dead and that he is angry with Mills and wants to see him punished. Nothing else really escapes his mouth. Also, by giving the villains a face, Besson writes them to be stronger and more trained so Brian Mills can’t just karate chop them to death. But then it just turns into The Transporter and loses the very essence that made Taken a cool watch. When walking into this movie, you’re probably not looking for great acting or storytelling. What you are looking for is action scenes. There are definitely some decent ones here, but it feels like they are few and far between compared to the first film. Besson gives more screen time to Mills’ daughter played by Maggie Grace, portraying her as a scared girl who develops the strength to do what is necessary. She takes up a large portion of the film so Liam Neeson gets only a few distinct scenes where he gets to kill bad guys. Director Oliver Megaton returns to another Luc Besson project after directing the dismal Transporter 3 and does everything that he did wrong in that film with this one. With the unfortunate help of film editor Camille Delamarre, they still think that overusing cuts in fight scenes makes them more intense and fast paced. Instead, it just makes it look like Neeson is playing patty cake with the bad dudes and is very disorientating. Compared to the first film, Taken 2 falls flat on everything that made the original a good entertaining action film. It’s a relief to know that they won’t be making a sequel to this film despite whatever it makes in the box office, but it is a shame that the series will go out on a dull note rather than matching—let alone topping—the bar that was set by the first film.
Cascade Arcade JOEL SMART
THE CASCADE
Those of you who regularly turn to this section of the paper know that I have a tendency to shed light on cheap games with old-school influences. That’s because a game that doesn’t take a lot out of your wallet—one that’s playable in bite-sized chunks between homework and classes— is the perfect gaming fix for a busy university student. That’s why news that Super Crate Box is available to even more people this month is great news. Like the original 1983 classic Mario Bros., Vlambeer’s Super Crate Box is a 2D platformer in which the entire level is visible on the screen at once. In fact, Super Crate Box pays homage to much of Mario Bros. game design, whereby enemies come from the top of the screen and travel down several platforms to the bottom of the screen, whereby, if not killed, they immediately respawn at the top of the screen again.
However, unlike a Mario game, Super Crate Box is packed to the brim with deadly firepower. In order to score points and advance through the game, you must collect boxes that appear one at a time in the level. Each box contains a new type of weapon, from pistols to flamethrowers. The kicker is that since the player can only have one type of gun at a time, players must quickly adjust their strategies as they move from one box to the next. While a revolver will easily get you where you want to go, a disc shooter will feel more like a cruel joke. To make matters worse, if you allow any of the various enemies to make it to the bottom of the level, they’ll respawn as a red-and-furious quickly-moving version of themselves. To put it simply, it’s terrifying. Yet the game feels light-hearted and fun. The allure of only needing to collect 10 boxes to reach the next level is too good to pass up. Plus, the creative and amusing weapons you unlock
Free-to-play gem Super Crate Box comes to PlayStation Mobile for cheap
just by repeatedly retrying levels keeps your numerous failed attempts from feeling wasted. PC users can download the game for free from www.supercratebox.com or from Steam. The game is also available in iTunes for iPhone and iPad for two bucks. While the game benefits from physical controls, the gameplay is perfect for mobile gaming. That’s why news that the game would be available to more than just Mac users on the go got the gaming world exciting this week, with the release of the Android version of the game – available on the newly-released PlayStation Mobile service for $3.49. The service, which launched on October 3, allows PlayStation Certified phones (as well as the PlayStation Vita) to access a host of new, cheap games. Super Crate Box was amongst 20 new games released this month. Other intriguing titles included: Beats Slider, Samurai Beatdown and Twist Pilot. Give Super Crate Box a try for
Image:fileplanet.com
Super Crate Box offers gamers fun on the cheap free on your computer and see what you think. If you enjoy it, it might be worth looking into a mobile version of the game for
a slightly-higher price tag. It’s a challenging game, but it will keep you coming back for more.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
www.ufvcascade.ca
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ARTS & LIFE
Thanksgiving dinner with Student Life! SASHA MOEDT
THE CASCADE
Platters of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots and buns with butter were served up to students at the U-house as a Thanksgiving treat on Wednesday. For $2, students got a loaded plateful of food with gravy on top. The U-house was crowded with people getting their fill. Delicious!
Students enjoy the free Thanksgiving meal and company at U-house
Food, friends and plastic cutlery
The autumnal staple of cranberry sauce
The necessary side to mop up all the gravy
A Thanksgiving meal with every food group covered
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
www.ufvcascade.ca
SPORTS & HEALTH
INTRAMURAL SOCCER
UFV Scoreboard
Photos by Blake McGuire/The Cascade Last week’s scores Soccer Men Oct. 5 UFV vs. Victoria T 2-2 Oct. 7 UFV vs. Victoria L 1-2 Women Oct. 6. UFV vs. Regina L 1-2 Oct. 7 UFV vs. Saskatoon W 2-0 Golf PACWEST Tournament 4 First Place
Upcoming home matches Women’s Soccer Oct 12. UFV vs Victoria (5:00)
Women’s Volleyball October 12 UFV vs. CBC (6:00)
Men’s Volleyball October 12 UFV vs CBC (8:00)
Friday, October 12
HOME OPENER
MEN’s and WOMEN’s vOllEyball UFV Cascades vs CBC Bearcats
at the Envision athletic Centre Women @ 6pm / Men @ 8pm $5 Adult/Alumni | $2 non-UFV Student UFV students FREE
For more information,
604-557-4041 www.ufvcascades.ca UFV Cascades Athletics
For more information, call 604-557-4041 scan the QR code or visit www.ufvcascades.ca
@ufvcascades
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
www.ufvcascade.ca
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SPORTS & HEALTH
Victoria-bound with UFV men’s soccer team
image: Stewart Seymour/The Cascade
PAUL ESAU
THE CASCADE
They are an intimidating group these 16 men in matching tracksuits gathered outside the Envision Athletic Centre. The charter bus stands ready in the corner of the parking lot and each member of the UFV men’s soccer team is anticipating a pivotal game in the provincial capital. For some it’s only another trial in a long career; for some, like midfielders Kree Byrne or Connor MacMillan, it’s the first time they’ve been chosen for the prestigious travel squad. For me, the only one not in uniform, the stranger, the journalist, I feel like the biggest rookie of the rookies. For a moment I forget that I have a notebook, not cleats, in my travel bag. I recognize some faces as I approach: Sasa Plavsic, whose minute-to-midnight penalty goal the night before had preserved the Cascades’ unbeaten streak with a 2-2 tie, and Craig Robinson, team captain and fifth-year veteran. Players look up as I approach, not sure what to make of this outsider. “Guys,” I say, and more heads turn. “I’m your groupie for this trip.” I try to smile. “Not as cute as you were hoping, hey? I’m from The Cascade newspaper.” There’s a little laughter and I know that I’ve been given permission to sit down and listen to the conversation. As a journalist that’s about the best I can hope for, and so for a while I absorb the talk about music, about professional soccer, about road trips and Thanksgiving. After a couple minutes Sasa comes over to make some small talk about the previous night’s game. I’ve interviewed Sasa a couple times and I’ve been impressed by his integrity, yet it still surprises me when in an act of unlooked-for charity, he offers to let me borrow his official team windbreaker for the day. I put it on and the transformation is immediate. I’m part of the team. A funny, awkward part to be sure, but at least I don’t stand out. As we board the bus, head coach Alan Errington makes an official announcement about my presence on the trip, yet the team and I are already admiring the interior of the most modern charter bus any of us have travelled on. The six respectably-sized TVs, re-
clining seats, and comfy ergonomics draw many comments as 18 athletes, three coaches, one trainer and one journalist spread out down the length of the bus. I look carefully for a pattern, a hierarchy among the seating arrangement, but beyond the traditional ‘coaches at the front’ there doesn’t seem to be one. A debate develops over midfielder JP (Juan) Mora Perea’s perceived lateness but it’s quickly resolved and the team settles in for the ride to the ferry terminal (I find out later that coach Errington fines players $5 for each instance of lateness to practices, games or trips. No mercy and no excuses in the world of football). Errington slips in The Damned United, a film about legendary British football manager Brian Clough, and we spend a happy hour listening to people curse in old world accents. Craig and goalkeeper Mark Village are in front of me completely engrossed in a golf simulation game on midfielder Koby Byrne’s iPhone, while, to my left, Juan is grooving to dangerously high decibels that are easily heard over both the movie and the bus. Behind me Justin Sekhon and Sahib Phagura are trying to persuade Ravi “The Dark Knight” Singh to text a girl named -----, but Ravi (wisely) isn’t taking the bait. In other words, it’s like every other sports team trip I’ve ever been on. The men’s soccer team is unique among varsity teams in that it truly consists of “brothers in arms.” There are three pairs of siblings on this travelling squad, and if last year’s captain Trevor O’Neill wasn’t injured there would be three O’Neill brothers on the team. This provides an interesting dynamic to an already close-knit group, a loyalty that works well on the field. The usual hotel is sold out for Thanksgiving weekend, and so the team is staying in a back-up that’s a good distance from the downtown core, and (more importantly) food. The players have been consuming a steady diet of pizza, ice cream, burgers and fries since the ferry terminal, but the metabolism of a university footballer seems to have no limits. In the meantime, Cam MacKinnon, Dalibor Plavsic and I hunker down in the hotel room to watch an episode of what is apparently a team religion: the
TV show Storage Wars. Cam is sporting a black eye and a broken nose from a collision in a previous game, but he’s decided not to wear his facemask in tomorrow’s contest. “It just makes me more of a target,” he says, and then turns his attention back to the TV. “They’re bidding on repossessed storage containers,” he explains, “and everyone hates that Dave guy.” Dinner happens downtown, and then team is back at the hotel and in the pool by 8:30 for a stretching and sauna session courtesy of trainer Daniel Lewis. Curfew is set at 11 and I know some of the guys are watching an action movie in room 391, but I’m done for the night. I fall asleep listening to Daniel working away at his nursing homework. He’s already explained that he has a degree in kinesiology, but wants a second one in nursing. He’s also, I’ll later learn, a formidable enough soccer player to have played varsity at UBC: a true triple threat of a man. The next morning I ask some of the players if they have any specific rituals that need to be completed before a game. “Water and Spits,” is the immediate answer from alternate goalkeeper Jacob Kubanski, and Craig and Sahib unanimously agree. In another room, other players preach the importance of the right song to their psychological state. At the moment Connor MacMillan’s essential tune is T.I.’s “Go Get It”, Dalibor’s is “Till I Collapse” by Eminem, and Cam needs “Mercy” by Kanye West. Koby Byrne, by contrast, replies with a quiet intensity that’s an answer in itself. “Nothing special,” he says. “Show up. Warm up. Play.” Errington and assistant coach Colin Miller gather us around in front of the bus, and suddenly the jovial personalities of the preceding day are gone. “This is the crux of our season,” Errington says, and repeats the fact that many of the team’s playoffs hopes rest on winning the coming game. “You’ve learned how not to lose,” adds Miller, “how to draw. Now is the time to learn how to win.” The trip to UVic is quiet. The earbuds are in and only a single conversation in the rear of the bus recounts the struggle between Renaldo and Messi in the latest 2-2 draw between Real Madrid and
Barcelona. In the last couple of years the UFV team has often lost these critical games, and this time, their faces promise, things will be different. When we arrive at the field the players drop off their gear in the change room and head onto the field to loosen up. Coaches Errington and Miller exchange friendly jibes with Victoria Vikes coach Bruce Wilson (a man who Miller later asserts is “the best player Canada ever produced”). Then Errington disappears into the change room to put a little more air into some of the balls. Miller laughs as his partner walks away even as the two of them keep shouting back and forth. “There’s probably not another coaching pair like us in the league,” he admits of himself and Errington. “We just skewer each other.” I admit inwardly that I’m a little in awe of these two Canadian football legends, especially Miller, who occasionally coached me in the Abbotsford youth league. In the change room a portable speaker is blasting Linkin Park, Skrillex and The White Stripes through the reek of unwashed shin-guards and malodorous gym bags. Daniel is massaging a knot out of a player’s calf while teammates mock the patient’s obvious discomfort. The coaches don’t have any more to say, indeed all that’s left is to play the game. UFV takes the field with a surprising lineup that includes brothers Dalibor and Sasa Plavsic as the two strikers. UVic has one of the best fields in western Canada and the temperature is a sunny 20 degrees Celsius; no one could ask for a better setting. It takes 11 men, playing in precise, coordinated precision, to win a soccer game. At halftime Errington will furiously conclude that exactly two of the Cascades eleven “showed up” to play. The Vikes score two goals and outshoot UFV 13-1 during a grueling 45 minutes of turn-overs, penalties and poor play-making. Most damningly, Sasa Plavsic is sent off with a red card for a dangerous challenge in extra time, leaving the Cascades with only 10 men on the field to claw back from a 2-nil deficit. The coaches are beside themselves with frustration at this desecration of the “beautiful game.” At half the change room rings
with inflected four letter words inserted above, behind, and in the middle of adjectives in combinations that North American English cannot replicate. Yet Miller and Errington are masters of the craft, and amidst their own passion the shame on the face of the players quickly hardens into determination. Miller asks a pointed question about the size of his team’s collective manhood, and a transformation is made. Suddenly the Cascades are a different squad. In the second half, Craig Robinson, as the sole remaining striker, is all over the pitch. Cam MacKinnon fearlessly launches his characteristic arcing passes from his position at centre fullback, and goalie Mark Village is finally given some time to breathe after a stellar performance in the first half (both coaches agree he was the difference between 2-0 and 5-0). The Cascades are hardly dominating, but a beautiful strike by Connor O’Neill in the 74th minute halves the Vikes’ lead and allows UFV to regain some pride. Juan comes close to tying the game just before the end of regulation time, but in the end Victoria holds on to take the win and three points in the standings. UFV’s unbeaten streak is ended at five games, and I’ve become so involved in the struggle that I’m glad its the players and not me who have to shake hands with the opposing team. If only, I think, if only the ref hadn’t awarded that penalty kick in the first half off that travesty of a play. If only he’d been paying attention to number 11 diving like a swan throughout the second. If only… We all get back on the bus, both wearier and surlier than when we’d departed it. Once we’re on the ferry, once the emotions have become more distant, someone will crack a joke and the scar tissue will begin to form. After all, coaches Errington and Miller were satisfied with that performance in the second half. After all, next week we have another chance. After all, I tell myself, I need to maintain some journalistic integrity. After all, it’s only a game.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
SPORTS & HEALTH
Sizzling with opportunity: Heat training camp in review Forty-five players battle for 23 roster spots in gruelling week-long training camp
MIKE CADARETTE CONTRIBUTOR
With the unbroken hum of the Zamboni the only interruption between the action of the drills, prospective Abbotsford Heat players continued to pursue the opportunity that was clearly presented to them: work hard enough and you’ll earn a roster spot; don’t and you’ll find yourself on Calgary Flames’ ECHL affiliate Utah Grizzlies or worse, released. Just in case Heat head coach Troy Ward’s taxing two-one-two forechecking schemes and oneon-one keep-away drills in the corners weren’t enough of a grind for the players, the watchful eyes of Calgary Flames management and coaching staff added to the on-ice atmosphere. In a training camp branded with parity, a few players rose above the rest. Max Reinhart, son of former Vancouver Canucks defencemen Paul Reinhart and brother to New York Islanders 2012 fourth overall draft pick Griffin Reinhart, has shown his NHL bosses that he has the stick skills to compete with the best in AHL, if not the NHL once the lockout ends. In a game of oneon-one keep away on Thursday morning, Reinhart was able to effortlessly fend off his opponent as he dangled within the faceoff circle – surely a by-product of growing up playing against his dad and brother, both defencemen. Sven Baertschi, Flames’ 2011 first-round draft pick, showed why he was expected to make his full-time NHL debut this fall. The 20-year-old winger will be entering his first pro season after a
2011/12 season that saw Baertschi light up the WHL at a rare two points-per-game pace (94 points in 47 games). Throughout training camp, Baertschi was paired alongside free agent pick up centre Ben Street, a top 30 point-getter in the AHL last season with the WilkesBarre/Scranton Penguins. Other noteworthy forwards included last season’s Heat leading scorer Krys Kolanos, playmaking centre Ben Walter, captain Quintin Laing, and Heat rookie leading scorer Dustin Sylvester. With 25 forwards at camp and only 13 roster spots available, the forward position proved to be a fierce battle. The Heat are set to have a new look on the blueline this winter. Of the 15 defencemen at Heat camp, only five players have played for the Heat in the past; of those, only three were full-time players: six-foot-seven Chris Breen, AHL veteran Joe Piskula and TJ Brodie who spent 54 games with the Calgary Flames last season. Among the invitees at camp was former Vancouver Canucks defencemen Steve McCarthy. McCarthy, who played for Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley last season with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League, signed a standard players contract (SPC) with the Abbotsford Heat for the upcoming season. Brady Lamb, a hard-hitting two-way defencemen, has shown an all-round ability to be effective at both ends of the rink, while still looking for the big hit if the opportunity arises. Lamb, who played four seasons at the University of Minnesota Deluth, signed with
the Calgary Flames on March 29, 2012. This will be his first pro season. Another intriguing competition that arose at Heat training camp was the battle for the crease. Five goaltenders were invited to camp, but only two could be on the opening night roster. Some of the goaltenders that were at Heat camp were long-time Heat goalie Leland Irving, AHL journeyman Danny Taylor, and 2010/11 Calder Cup winner Barry Brust. Brust was particularly impressive, exhibiting flashy saves and Martin Brodeur-like stick handling skills. The Kelowna native won the Calder Cup with the Binghamton Senators appearing in 52 games and maintaining a 2.53 GAA and .925 save percentage. Intrasquad match proves spirited as hopefuls vie for final spots On Friday, October 5, the Heat held a Red vs. White intrasquad game open to the public. The Red vs. White game was their only preseason game due to being 2548 km from the next nearest AHL team. The 45 players were broken into two squads for the Friday night tilt, which saw Team White hold off Team Red in a 3-2 win. Friday night’s game was particularly important because it was the last chance for the players to make an impression with cuts expected to come the next day. Only seconds into the start of the game, rookie Brady Lamb set the tone for the rest of the game levelling an unsuspecting opposing Team Red player. With several hundred fans in attendance, Dustin Sylvester scored the opening goal, catching goaltender Leland Irving off guard. Sylvester, starting the game alongside Heat All-Star Krys Kolanos and rookie Max Reinhart, made a strong case to be on the opening
day roster demonstrating why the diminutive five-foot-seven winger was able to set a new Heat record in rookie points last season with 34 points. Sylvester finished the game with a goal and an assist. Shortly after the start of the second period, Max Reinhart took a Chris Breen slap shot off his ankle. Reinhart struggled to get to the bench and did not return to the game. Sophomore Roman Horak, who played 61 games with the Calgary Flames last season, scored the game-tying goal on an accurate pass from rugged grinder Tyler Ruegsegger. Halfway through the second period, Heat assistant coaches Luke Strand and Cail MacLean (acting as head coaches with bench boss Troy Ward observing the game in isolation from the stands), substituted goaltenders Barry Brust and Leland Irving for training camp invitee Alex Evin and 2011/12 Heat backup Danny Taylor. After two quick goals, one from Team White’s Krys Kolanos and one from Team Red’s rookie power forward Michael Ferland, the score was tied 2-2 heading into the third period. Midway into the third period, stay-at-home defencemen Jamie Fritsch scored the game winning power play goal on a slap shot from the blueline, beating Danny Taylor high stick side. While flashy left-winger Sven Baertschi was not able to gift himself a goal on his birthday to help his team, he showed an exceptional ability to make passes and dangle between sticks and legs even in the tightest of spots on the ice. Former U.S. Military officer and training camp invitee Zach McKelvie exhibited a different type of ability – the ability to get under the skin of opposing players. In the third period, McKelvie urged Heat forward Gaelan Patterson to engage in a fight with a series
of punches to the face. McKelvie has shown his peskiness and aggressive style since the first day of training camp. On late Saturday afternoon, the Heat roster was significantly trimmed down after cuts were made to the 45 player training camp roster. Thirty-one players now remain after the cuts. Among those sent down to the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies is former Chilliwack Bruin Ryan Howse. Howse, who went on a rigorous month-long conditioning/training leave last season, was not able to secure a spot on the club after finding himself near the bottom of the list in conditioning results. After a good showing at camp, playmaking centre Mitch Wahl was not able to find a spot on the Heat roster. He, too, has been assigned to the Utah Grizzlies. Don’t be surprised to see Mitch Wahl reassigned to Abbotsford if the Heat get into injury trouble. Some notable players that have been retained by the club include Tyler Ruegsegger. Ruegsegger came into camp as an invitee, but had shown excellent forechecking and offensive ability throughout camp. On Friday night’s intrasquad game, Ruegsegger finished with two assists and nearly had a goal after ringing the puck off the goal post. Interestingly, the Heat have elected to retain three goaltenders, at least for the meantime. Leland Irving, Danny Taylor and Barry Brust remain with the club despite head coach Troy Ward only wanting to keep two goalies. More cuts are expected to come before the season opener. The Abbotsford Heat will open their 2012/13 season on October 12 at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre against the Peoria Rivermen (AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues).
Cascades varsity golf squad wins PAC-WEST, eyes nationals KYLE BALZER CONTRIBUTOR
Thanksgiving weekend is always a great time to stuff ourselves with turkey, dream in pumpkin pie and remind ourselves of what we are most thankful for. For UFV’s varsity golf team, it was a weekend to focus on one of the most important tournaments of their season, the PACWEST Championship. Only the top two teams in this tournament would advance to the CCAA National Championship, and so the Cascades were up against some tough competition this year. After winning two of the three seasonal tournaments their hopes were high, especially since they were playing on home turf at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club. Going into the weekend, UFV was ranked second in the PACWEST division and sixth overall in the CCAA top 10. Three of UFV’s veteran players were in the PACWEST top 10 individual rankings
UFV’s varsity golf team celebrates their victory as well; Darren Whitehouse sat in second place (435 pts.), Mitch Lock in fifth (440 pts.), and Aaron Pauls in eighth (445 pts.). The entire team was pleased to be playing on the home course and were completely confident that they had the advantage. “We’ve already marked our
image: David Kent
territory here at Chilliwack. It shouldn’t be a problem,” said rookie Harrison Clegg. His teammate Taylor Callens added, “Having known all the tricks and bounces on this course, we feel that could help us out if it comes down to the wire.” Day one of the tournament
was off to a terrific start for the Cascades as they showed exceptional displays of athleticism on the course. Every shot was relaxed and focused, even as coaches, family members and other patrons watched from a distance. After the first day, UFV was sitting in third place, shooting a combined score of 301. In the individual competition, CCAA All-Canadian Aaron Pauls shot a round of 69 (-2), the best round of all the players in the field. He led by one stroke going into the final day. “With today’s tough conditions and pin placements, I think that he’s going to be in good position for Sunday,” said coach Chris Bertram on Aaron’s round. Day two became judgement day for the Cascades. Starting at seven strokes behind the Camosun College Chargers, they needed to bring their “A” game in order to advance to the National Championship. Once again Aaron Pauls did not disappoint, shooting another stellar round of 69 (-2) and
so did rookie Connor O’Dell. In the end, Aaron Pauls won the individual competition, shooting a total score of 138 (-4). By the end of the tournament, and after a critical tiebreaker against Camosun, the Cascades were triumphant and won the 2012 PAC-WEST Championship with a final combined score of 586. Not only that, Coach Bertram was named the PAC-WEST Coach of the Year for 2012. “I’m not sure I have the words to describe what happened on the golf course today. It was truly the gutsiest performance by a team I have ever watched. To come back from that deficit against a team as good as Camosun is just incredible. My hat is off to this group of athletes,” said coach Bertram on the team’s victory. Having now won their third division title in the last six years, the boys will now head off to Oshawa, Ontario to compete for the CCAA National title, October 15 to 19.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
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SPORTS & HEALTH
Workouts for the student schedule TAYLOR JOHNSON THE CASCADE
With exams, essays and major projects just around the corner it is important to remember how essential your physical health is in order to maintain mental health. UFV kinesiology instructor Brian Justin has some good tips for staying fit, focused and well balanced this school year. Justin has worked as a kinesiologist for seven years and a personal trainer for over 12 years. His philosophy of fun and functional health can be applied to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Justin
suggests spending an average of 20 minutes every day doing physical activity, combined with several important factors: First of all get some sleep: It is easy to cut down on sleep whether it is from staying out late on weekends, or cramming for final exams. Sleep is essential in keeping healthy, it is recommended to get around eight hours a night, although it may be less than eight hours for some people. Simply try to get as many hours as needed in order for you to feel refreshed. With the right amount of sleep our bodies feel satisfied and are less likely to crave excess food for
means of energy. Cook and prepare meals at home. It often seems much easier to buy food from the closest place available during breaks between classes; yet this urge could lead to those extra few pounds that you were hoping to avoid. The amount of salt, oil and added preservatives in our food can only truly be controlled when cooking for ourselves. Educate yourself by looking at not only the calorie and fat content on the nutrition guide, but also the sodium and sugar content. Your findings may be surprising. This doesn’t mean you should take all the fun out of your diet,
Twentyminute workout
just keep the 80/20 rule in mind: eat healthy 80 per cent of the time, and 20 per cent of the time, allow yourself to splurge with the things you enjoy – such as the university beverage of choice. Get moving: make physical activity part of your everyday. Eventually it will become routine and something that you don’t have to think about. It can be as simple as getting off the bus two stops early every day (rain or shine) and walking to school or as simple as following Justin’s 20-minute workout routine every day. Don’t forget to put the books down. It is important to remem-
ber your health by eating properly, drinking lots of water, reducing your sugar intake and indulging in a little change of scenery. After each hour of intense studying, put those books down and take a quick 10-minute walk. And most importantly, have fun! Never forget to enjoy the physical activities you are doing. Instead of going to the gym to workout on the same boring machine again and again, mix things up with a new sport or a group activity. This will meet your social and physical activity needs all at once.
First, warm up for three minutes by briskly walking, jumping rope or walking/running stairs, followed by various stretches. Each 30-second exercise set should be done one after the other (Ato-E) with no rest periods. This means in five minutes you should manage to do each exercise twice. After five minutes take a one-minute break and repeat the cycles two more times.
BRIAN JUSTIN
KINESIOLOGY PROFESSOR
Day one:
1. Squats: bend at the knees with arms bent upwards. Be sure to keep knees over toes and to focus on pushing backwards. This should feel like you’re sitting on a chair.
2. Push ups: your classic push up, bending slowly at the elbows until your nose just grazes the ground and pushing back to the upward, arms straight position.
3. Side plank: From a push up position, shift onto your right side so that one leg and one elbow are being used for support. Hold your core muscles for 30 seconds. Alternate to the other side.
4. Bent over Y’s and T’s with a light book: Standing straight up and down, bend forward at the hips keeping lower back straight. Stretch out arts to the side holding the light book in one arm. Reach forward until arms are coming forward directly in front of shoulders. Switch book to other hand and repeat.
5. No Jump Burpees: Same as in high school gym class, except without the jump! From a straight up and down position squat down with hands on the floor. Shoot legs out to a push up position. Draw legs back into squat position and repeat.
1. Lunges: Stand straight up and down, step right leg forward as far as possible bending at the knee (knee may or touch ground depending on your strength level). Be sure that your knee does not surpass your ankle. Step back together and repeat on the left leg.
2. Bear crawls: Beginning in a crawling position (bent down onto all fours) left knees off the ground so you are balancing on your hands and your toes. Reach right leg forward and left hand forward (crawl forward). Repeat alternating sides.
3. Floor bridges: lie on your back, with knees bent upwards. Keeping shoulder blades flat on the ground, lift your lower back up by squeezing core muscles.
4. Wood chops (with textbook): Standing with legs shoulder-width apart. Hold the textbook with both hands, reaching with textbook above head turn to the right side stretching out opposite leg. Recoil back placing textbook near left hip. Repeat on alternate side.
Day two:
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SPORTS & HEALTH
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012