Artwork by: Catherine Sharp
The
YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE NEWS-
Confluenc
APRIL/MAY 2018
Looking Forward
06
A Trash Can of Feminism
08
Poetry
10
Knowledge Hunter
14
Damon Robinson Editor-In-Chief The Confluence
Madison Buckner News Editor The Confluence
Editorial
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As spring becomes more apparent and the snow begins to disappear, we enter a period of transitioning. As though it were planned, there are is a lot more than just the transition of seasons happening, as the students of CNC are moving forwards as well. This is the most exciting time of year as those who have finished exams (and some who preparing for convocation!) are finally able to live free of assignments, quizzes and classroom videos. To others, they are preparing for the upcoming intersession to further their education and get those credits. With all of this in mind, I feel obliged to congratulate all of those who are and have finished this semester and to welcome those who are coming to the college this summer. Submissions, inquiries and requests can be made to editor@cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC V2N 1P8. All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication. Advertisement rates are available upon request.
Harman Dandiwal Organizer CNC Students’ Union
That is not the only change that we have to announce, however. Unfortunately, Kyle Rowell will no longer be the Editor-In-Chief of the Confluence. I, personally, would like to wish him the best of luck as he moves on in life and continues to do great things. As to who will be taking over the position, starting with this issue, I am the new Editor-In-Chief of the Confluence and hopefully will be for the foreseeable future as I take my classes here at CNC. This is absolutely a cool experience to be a part of, as I have always liked the idea of working for a magazine. I, along with Madison Buckner, have a lot of ideas and plans to create a magazine that will spread the ideas, opinions, creations, and most importantly the voices of the students here at CNC. The Confluence is an opportunity that I will not take for granted, so expect a lot of cool things in the future as we develop and create our own Confluence for you to enjoy. As a final statement, I would like to thank everyone who happens to pick up this copy of the Confluence. We hope you enjoy what we have put together and we look forward to creating a magazine tailored to you. Cheers, Damon Robinson Editor-In-Chief
Letter From The News Editor
I spent my first Saturday of summer freedom watching cartoons with my Mom, and Scooby Doo was the animation of choice. In this particular episode, the gang finds themselves in a pickle while orbiting earth with a motley crew of characters. The above dialogue isn’t comedic genius, but it is hilarious and was exactly the kind of easy, straight forward levity I was craving after a hurricane of a semester. I cannot say I remember much of the weekends leading up to finals. I recall floundering in a semesters worth of q-cards and handwritten notes. Reviewing topics from week one caused me to question reality as I had no memory of these things ever being discussed. Inevitably, it would end with highlighters strewn across my desk, a plethora of empty Starbucks cups, and far more games of Tetris than I would like to discuss publicly. I imagine some of you sense a barrier now; no matter how transparent or temporary, it’s effects are tangible. Watching your friends run away from the college with empty backpacks as you remain behind questioning what you’ve gotten yourself in to and how you’re going to survive. I assure you,
as someone on the other side of that imaginary line, things here are not as fun as the caffeine fueled day dreams would have you believe. I find myself overwhelmed by free time. With a summer job on the horizon, I realize the idea of a break is far more appealing than the reality. I am envious of those continuing their educational journey through the dog days. To the hearts exiting the building for the last time, I urge you to run for the spaceship. Cherish your semester full of memories. Enjoy the weightless empty binders. We wish you a summer just as beautiful as you are. To the souls trapped in our institution for the arriving intersession, we at the Confluence are here to welcome you with bright smiles, a promise of comradery, and crisp high fives. Good luck to all on your adventures. Remember to put on sunscreen and stay hydrated, you meddling kids, Madison Buckner News Editor
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“It’s some sort of invisible force field!” “It’s glass, Fred.” “It’s some sort of invisible force field, made out of glass!”
CONTENTS LOOKING FORWARD PAGE 6
TOMORROW PAGE 10
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A TRASH CAN OF FEMINISM PAGE 8
KNOWLEDGE HUNTER PAGE 14
KAMAL BINDRA: A GOODBYE PAGE 14
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LET’S TALK BUDGET PAGE 11
Looking Forward: Our Mission
by Damon Robinson
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I have a lot of ideas for the Confluence, and I look forward to putting them all in place during my tenure as the new Editor-In-Chief of the magazine. The one thing that I want to make clear, is that as long as I am the Editor-In-Chief, is that we will have a high standard of free speech and honesty. I want the magazine to be your megaphone to give everyone a voice. During my tenure I look to hold a high journalistic integrity. With all of these plans of journalism, it makes sense to announce my plans for how the magazine will be ran and what content we will be publishing. While we will still publish everything that we have published prior, (Poetry, Short-Stories, Art, etc.) we will shift ourselves more towards journalism and news coverage. This is the reason for why we have hired on Madison Buckner
as our potential News Editor. With someone dedicated fully to the journalism side of things, our readers can look forward to hearing more about what is going on around them rather than reading just poetry and short stories. With this in mind, we will also accept any form of journalism from the students here at CNC. Overall, we at the Confluence want to develop the magazine into a reliable source of information for everyone at CNC to read.
At this moment we will focus on journalistic integrity, as I believe it is important for me to state what kind of bar there is and what I expect when we publish content in the Confluence. High-Quality: All piece that will be published in the Confluence must meet a high enough standard to be included. This includes: The quality of the content Good reasons for the piece being written Grammar, spelling, basic editing, etc.
Honesty: We want to maintain a standard that
all pieces published should be fact-checked, or come from a place of experience. We look to spread the truth, but also not offend anyone in the process. That’s right, we will publish two issues of the Confluence each month starting in September. Along with this, the responsibility of my job is to look at everything sent to me and approve it for publishing. If anything was to gain controversy it would lay on myself and the person who wrote the articlepoem-story. If you disagree with something, feel free to come to me and we can talk about why it was published. My personal belief is that everyone has their own voice, and should use it. This would encourage healthy discussion amongst us at the community. However, there will be no tolerance of any sorts towards hate-speech and excessive vulgarity. We have morals too, you know?
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Reliability: We at the Confluence look to publish the magazine bi-weekly.
A Trash Can of Feminism by Madison Buckner
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Piles of pre-composed rotting fruits and vegetables; manhole drains of industrial wash bays clogged with mud, garbage juices, and hydraulic oils; dumpsters full of used condoms, dirty tampons, and fecal matter. I worked for a company called Waste Management— a private garbage collection company. My official title was “utility man,” and my tasks were those of a general labourer: keeping the shop sites tidy, washing garbage trucks, or pressure washing and refurbishing dumpsters. Before this job, I worked at a landfill as a general labourer. In my time as a garbage connoisseur, I have completed many revolting tasks. I handpicked various plastics out of those composting foods. I stood waist deep in that manhole drain and cleared the clog with only a pair of ill-fitting gloves separating me from the concoction. With three layers of blue latex gloves and a face shield, I pressure washed that dumpster from the Wastewater Treatment Plant. As the smell of poo filled my
nostrils, and flakes landed on my mask, I came to a realization: feminism is a dumpster full of shit. Feminism is an ideology that believes in equality of the sexes. The primary concern of feminism is women’s rights. Two societally known examples of these are employment rights and self-expression. However, my experience suggests that within its execution, feminism has evolved into nonsensical demands from extremists. Statistics suggest that a wage gap exists between men and women in a variety of fields. However, my reality states this is not true in the blue-collar positions. I shared my general labour position with a man named Devin. He had oneyear experience over me. Due to this experience, he had more knowledge of the procedures of the job. We each made $22 an hour. Waste Management is unionized. My position does not exist elsewhere in Northern British Columbia; however, my entry-level job was in Vancouver, the company’s Canadian headquarters. My wage of $17.68, and comprehensive benefits package, is the same as my Southern counterparts. My work experience before breaking ground in the labour industry varies— Warehouse One, a spa receptionist, a full-time nanny. These jobs are cleaner, significantly less dangerous, and pay minimum wage without offering benefits. I chose to smell like garbage and have a higher income, while my co-worker, Kristine, decided to feel pretty and make less. The wage gap is a layer of shit in the dumpster that is feminism’s plight for equality. The labour industry is giving hiring priority to females to increase diversity and equality in the workforce. But, it appears women are not willing to forgo the niceties in exchange for the justice.
times and places for intimate self-expression; the workplace, or in public, is not those. If we scrape away these layers of sh*t, we will reach the refreshing clean slate that feminism could be. With the gunk removed, feminism is merely about creating equality. Instead of wasting our resources stressing over the wage gap and self-expression, we need to pick up a bucket and help clean out the clogged drain that is third world countries. The concept of equality is unfathomable in places such as Afghanistan. Those women need our help. It is a tremendous cleaning job, but a necessary one. Let’s get dirty.
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The second layer of shit in the dumpster is that of self-expression. I wholly believe a woman should be able to walk around in what makes her comfortable. I wore safety orange coveralls and steel-toed boots at work, as all Waste Management employees do. Outside of work, I enjoy wearing my Birkenstocks with my favourite pair of socks. In her leisure, my best friend, Katherine, does not wear a bra. My other friend, Brianna, has an electric pink Mohawk and multiple ear piercings. These women exemplify true self-expression. It is not walking around topless ‘because a man can.’ You would not walk drunk and alone in the hood at 3 AM with money spilling out of your pockets; so why would a woman take that same walk dressed provocatively and expect no repercussions? The notion of being safe at any time of day is idealistic. Our world is not perfect. Women, like men, must adopt common sense. There are appropriate
Poetry Submissions Tomorrow
Lava lamp lit daydreams of a neon-fluorescent future, but I cannot picture any details outside of the warm, airy glow. I imagine that in my neon future, I can float. I will be safe, hidden away. The future sounds like the crackle of a Geiger counter. I imagine being alone with you, our faces bathing in the irradiated pink and yellow glow. I hope it will look like the fairy lights of the present. One day I will grow old and wither, and my hands and feet will grow cold as blood flees my purple extremities. My skin scorches under the unrelenting blue sun, so I strip it away and step out of it, naked in the dry smoky air. One day you too will see my flesh and bones, my skin discarded somewhere. But even then, my neon tomorrow will be bright.
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by Justin Madu
See Me See me. Chisel away until you crack open my chest. Slip your fingers in to spread apart the bone, And bathe in the sands that you find. Feel your way through me from there because The beacon of light may blind you. See me. Have me. Hold me. F*ck me. Love me.
Entirely.
by Gabrielle Sandhu
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You once wrote, You take quick glances because you are afraid That your eyes will burrow into me. They do. But I like it. I find it irresistible, Perhaps even a little erotic. See me. For all that I am. Have me. For all that you see. Do not avert your gaze For the sake of mindfulness. See me. Let them burrow deep. Let them explore the possibilities of Lust and love and touch and kiss and Emotional closeness. Vulnerability.
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Let’s Talk Budget by Madison Buckner
In 2015, The College of New Caledonia (CNC) faced severe budget cuts. Many felt the consequences of the institution losing $2.8 million; entire programs were dissolved, which resulted in 21 instructors and 17 operational staff losing their positions. The community of students at CNC also felt the impact of this decision. In addition to having to adjust to a smaller selection of courses, students faced minimal counselling services, fewer grants and risked losing daycare services altogether. The impending stress of having to balance an educational career, as well as the inevitable burdens of life, is an issue The College of New Caledonia Students Union (CNCSU) wanted to address immediately. Over the last three years, reverberations from the budge cuts have been fought in an uphill battle. While steps have been taken towards repairing the damages, CNCSU says further improvements are still needed. On April 20th, the CNCSU presented their budget requests to the board for the 2018/19 year. There are five key areas Harman Dandiwal (organizer of CNCSU) benchmarked for
additional funding: course offerings, campus accessibility, campus events, mental health services, and consent culture training. The first issue presented was a significant lack of seating within high demand programs such as information technology, human resource management, and business management. Students apply to CNC from all over the world. A document handed out to board members alongside CNCSU’s presentation states “lack of course availability is a key factor in determining the speed with which students complete their studies”. With an increase in waitlist lengths in the past year, paired with a shortage of seats, program completion is becoming more challenging. If students are unable to find seats within CNC, they look for education elsewhere—essentially undermining enrolment and guaranteeing the undesired result: budget cuts. Campus accessibility, or lack there of, is the next suggestion in CNCSU’s docket. For many students, a campus is the most effective place to study. However, CNC satellite campuses (such as Quesnel) face challenges
a 16-week sprint. The sprint would be easier with constant availability to water. The Red Phone Project is a step CNC has taken towards battling sexual assault and misconduct on College campuses. However, additional funding is required to allow for proper and consistent training for both staff and students. This training would include ways to protect oneself, ways to spot signs of sexual assault or misconduct, and what resources are present in the community at CNC and in Prince George. The College of New Caledonia and The College of New Caledonia Students Union are working diligently to create an enjoyable, memorable and ultimately, safe environment for all students, staff, and faculty.
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in keeping the institutions open post typical business hours. Without a reliable, quiet, well-resourced place to focus on their studies, grades are likely to suffer. Additionally, CNCSU would like the opportunity to reinforce the community at CNC with campus wide events. A mental health service is arguably the highest priority of the allocation for funds. There are approximately 5000 students attending CNC, and one counsellor; “for the Prince George campus, mental health has been a hot topic…financial stress just adds up, stress from exams. This is usually the peak time, near Christmas, near March-April” Dandiwal stated in an interview with the Citizen. Life does not stop when a person makes the routine altering decision to pursue an education career. It is a stressful transition, and each semester feels like
Knowledge Hunter by Tom Mowatt
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Briana Ireland
Student Stories: Tom Mowatt
and is looking to complete his book based on his life story. He feels confident, and is happy that he is working on his story here at CNC, as: “...It’s just like doing a piece of artwork; If you’re sitting in a studio with a bunch of other artists, they will be there to help you.”
“...it feels like my ears have popped open and I can finally hear people now.”
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Tom Mowatt comes from Gitanmaax, British Columbia and is a proud member of the Gitxsan nation. Knowledge Hunter was a story written by Tom Mowatt in 1995 while he was sentenced to Mountain Institution, a penitentiary located in British Columbia. While in prison, Tom attended a creative writing group located within the prison itself. “Knowledge Hunter” was a name given to Tom from within the group, and he ran with it. This was when he wrote the short story present in this issue. Tom is now attending classes at the College of New Caledonia, and has been enrolled in Academic Upgrading courses since 2016. The environment and student base here at the college has been beneficial to him and his work. “...It’s quite a journey to be here and listen to the young people. They tell you what we need to do as a people.” Tom said.“Like, I’m 60 now, and it feels like my ears have popped open and I can finally hear people now.” Tom is now looking towards the future,
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A Letter From the ARC
A Journey From Student to Chairperson
I came to Canada in January 2016 with the enthusiasm of spreading happiness in my surroundings, and I chose CNC for my post secondary education because of its vast cultural diversity. From the very beginning I had passion of volunteering and when I came to CNC I got the opportunity under student leadership ambassadorship program to show my abilities by organising 1st cricket tournament in CNC. After that people got to know me and I did a lot of volunteering with the CNC Students Union.
With the students support, I became chairperson of CNCSU for the 2017-2018 session. It was a great feeling to be a part of a student association. There was a huge learning curve from chairing 1st meeting to the last meeting of this session. During this session, our team won many campaigns such as Fight for $15, Bringing back funding for adult basic education, and improving campus life by organising different events. It was a huge pleasure to serve the students by being their representative and fight for student’s rights. As my term comes closure to end and it’s time to say goodbye. Goodbye is always a difficult thing but it’s good for things to change. I would like to thank each and every person who voted, supported and elected me to give me chance to prove myself and my service to you. I hope that I reached and exceeded all of your expectations. “Humble Thanks”. “Stay humble, stay hard working, you can achieve everything you want.”
Kamal Bindra Chairperson, College of New Caledonia.
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Support and Crisis Contacts and Help Lines • Crisis Line- for immediate 24/7 support and information and referrals: 250-563-1214 Toll Free: 1-888-562-1214
• Youth Support Line: 250-564-8336
Chat line at www.northernbccrisissuicide.ca
• Provincial Suicide Hotline 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-784-2334
• College and University students for mental health • CNC Counselling: 250-561-5818 • UNBC Counselling: 250-960-6369
• Individuals who identify as aboriginal or wish to access aboriginal services • Carrier Sekani (Family Services): 250-562-3591 • Central Interior Native Health: 250-564-4422 • Native Friendship Centre: 250-564-4324
• Healing Centre: 250-564-4324 • SUCCESS Chinese Help Line:
Cantonese Help Line, available 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.: 604-270-8222
Mandarin Help Line, available 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.: 604-270-8222
• Bounce Back teaches effective skills to help adults overcome early symptoms of depression and improve their mental health: www.bounceback.ca