HouseKeeping
Health and Dental Opt Alex Mackey’s Out Cheques Meme of the Month
Let’s hear it for a comic issue. I don’t really think I can take credit for production this time around. All the credit should go to Andy. This special comic issue was his baby, and he did most of the leg work on it. And it looks great, doesn’t it? So congrats. Also, say hi to our new Web Manager, Taren Johnson. She’s starting with us this week. She’ll be working with us and the student union to increase our web presence, hopefully we’ll have something cool up by the time our next issue goes to print. As usual, we have open submissions from anyone, at a usual rate. So, keep those submissions coming in, you could get featured and paid!
Teleah Old, Services Coordinator
A Run for Hope
asking, “Who are you running for?” Some people had names, others simply said, “My Mom.” Shirley Bond addressed the assembly with a simple statement, “We are here for three reasons. One, to share the grief of loss. Two, to celebrate those that survived. And three, to help aid in the future of a cure.” After a short but sweet thank you from our Mayor, Shari Green, a crowd of over 475 gathered at the starting line to make their 1-5k journey. The excitement that everyone shared at that moment was nothing I had ever seen. People had warm smiles on their faces, even though the weather was anything but warm. It was as if the beginning of winter, with its icy winds, had arrived to greet the participants. Still, they all remained head strong, and once that count down began—3, 2, 1; cheers resounded in the audience of supporters, and caused even me to want to join in on the trip around town. About 45 minutes later, people began to run across the finish line. A roar of cheers came—though, mostly from me. It was an experience that made me want to shout and congratulate every single person that ran across that finish line. Some people trained for months for this; a run for those women fighting breast cancer. The numbers were announced: this year, Prince George alone raised approximately $84,355.07. That is an amazing amount for a city as small as ours. Following the cheers from the crowd, a
Garett Svensen, Production Editor
Cassandra Case, Contributor
“Breast Cancer will be treatable and manageable by 2020,” Wendy Campbell said to everyone who stood in the cold rain. It was a remarkable thing to hear, that such a horrifying disease that affects around 1 in 62 women a day would be announced as a war won. The CIBC Run for the Cure happens annually, this year was its 21st. Upon entering the area one might have had heart attack, or thought they were seeing a bubble gum factory: there were masses of people and animals dressed in pink. There were dogs that had pink fairy wings and pink bandannas, while their owners resembled pink birds; they had feathers hanging from their hair, wrapped around their neck and glued to various parts of their clothes. It seemed like there was a competition to see who could make their child the cutest. Little girls were in tutus, while little boys wore ribbon stickers. If you love pink, you’d think you were in heaven. The colour pink is in support of a potentially fatal illness. People travel a selected route for donations that are put towards research. Being someone who has had a loved one snatched away by breast cancer, I hold this topic close to my heart. So do those that gather at the event each year. Every person participating had a shirt
For students who have opted out of the Health and Dental plan, it has been a long wait for the refund cheques. We have a date! Opt out refunds will be available starting Novmeber 5th, 2012. They can be picked at the Students’ Union office, room 1-303. All students that wish to get their refund cheque will need their student id cards. The CNCSU thanks everyone who has bared with us through the implementation of this plan. parade started for the survivors in Prince George. I counted over 21; they were so brave for coming forward. The hosts paid respect to these courageous women with a song a band had written for them. It really makes you think about how fragile life can be. This annual event happens all over Canada and it’s such a welcoming heartfelt event, that more people should attend. It allows the community to make a difference in our world. Last year alone, the Run for the Cure raised over 3.6 million dollars. That money goes toward saving the lives of our moms, sisters, grandmas and daughters. If you are not intending to run, jog or walk, there is still something there for you; stay for the stories of survivors to get real insight into this problem. One woman named Janice shared a heart wrenching story about her struggle with cancer, and it really made you want to cry. If that’s not your cup of tea, then you can help show your support by buying some of the various merchandise such as t-shirts, fake tattoos, and even some teddy bears for either that special someone or your children. Even if you are a guy, support the boobies: be tough and wear some pink.
An Amnesia of Things Past Post-modern scholar, Fredric Jameson suggests that we have slowly begun to lose our ability to remember our history. The collective unconscious is in no way clear about what it is anymore. It is simultaneously possible that there was never a history to remember in the first place; we are simply just realizing this. Consider that the past was pervaded by a schizophrenic collection of histories instead. This is why we cannot effectively remember it; this is why we can only attempt to mold one out of the many through repression. The collective unconscious can only be singular if one considers that singularity itself exists as a set of multiplicities. French scholars/philosopher’s Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari propose the equation (n – 1). Take n as the collective unconscious; it is indefinite. The singular histories that make up the collective unconscious are singular only when they are subtracted from the indefinite multiplicity of the collective unconscious. We have begun not to lose our history, but our traditional sense of it. Our pasts have been liberated from the tyranny of a grand narrative. One of the reasons for this affect is the de-totemization of the nostalgic points of entry into our collective memory. The importance of specific historical figures has begun to erode and is being replaced by a thematic memory (the vulgarity of a zeitgeist). A more personal analogy exists in the collection of personal affects (totems) one amasses over a lifetime – photographs being perhaps the most exemplary item in the set. Beliefs, in which the taking of a photograph is concurrent with capturing the soul, intersect with one’s ability to retain one’s history. Make a comparison between this and the relationship between oral and written traditions: the ‘writing’ of memories onto a static visual medium petrifies them. It defines them and consequently ‘captures’ them. It appears that we are arriving at an intersection between identity, memory and the soul. Perhaps a brief aside is warranted to consider the inclusion of the soul. I suggest an approach to the soul which performs on a metonymic basis. The soul apposed to identity only in the sense that they both have begun to signify the transition from essence to quintessence. What implications does this new memory have? It
implies the liberation of our own personal histories as well as our collective ones. This liberation like all other liberations comes with difficulties. Take the destruction of one’s memories in Alzheimer’s, which ultimately culminates in a patient’s death. Causes of the disease are still highly disputed. One imagines for a moment that its prevalence has something to do with this current socio-cultural context. This is not to suggest that our social organization of memory is a cause of the disease. Simply, the two events are occurring synchronously. And this is not the only disease that has correlation to our post-industrial capitalist society, cancer as a metaphor for the uninhibited growth of our society is another. What is truly horrific is the fear that, as our culture, persons, and collective unconscious age, they too may expand cancerously and break apart from a socio-cultural apocalypse, which will charge through like the seven hooded horsemen of Alzheimer’s. Is this the point where we see a dawn of the dead? Is this where the zombie originates? Is this not a more terrific origin for the zombie – one that is particularly horrible because it has already begun to manifest itself? Somewhere the threat is hidden and looming, haunting us like a specter. -Brian S. Barnis
-Stuart Jamieson
Thank you to Clint Everall and Deanna Wallace
ANIMATION FESTIVAL! Cinema CNC and le Cercle des Canadiens Français are proud to partner with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) to bring you this annual cross-Canada animation celebration. We hope to see you there! Get Animated! serves up some of Canada’s finest (and funniest!) animation, offering audiences free screenings. And don’t miss our hands-on animation workshops for children of all ages, demonstrating the basics of animation and giving participants the chance to make their own animated short film. There’s something for everyone—so come join us and get animated!
SCREENINGS at Cinema CNC room 1-306 College of New Caledonia
Entrance is free! Just come along and bring a friend! Friday, November 2 7 pm English Adult Screening 8:30 French Adult Screening Sunday, November 4 noon English Kids Screening 1 pm French Kids Screening
ANIMATION WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS [following the Screenings]
Nov. 4, 1 pm + 2 pm [limited spaces] passes for the workshops available at Books and Company and le Cercle des Canadiens Français