Navigator Vol 48 Issue 7

#07

NOVEMBER 30

JANUARY 10

Vol 48

FREE

VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS

20 12

9 POint of viu: "what do you do to manage stress While studying?"

“I cry a little bit first. Then I play Sims...”

Mayan chocolate sparklers This recipe has proven to be dangerously delicious.

Dirtyin' the nav:

Silence, sexism, media, and the body binary.

CONTENTS

NEWS

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05

06

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Editorials

The road so far: Overview of VIU’s reconciliation efforts --City asks residents to cut down contamination in curbside pick-up

News in a Nutshell --Explore local history and nature at the Milner Gardens Christmas light-up

Behind the Lines Syrian art exhibit to be displayed at Cowichan Campus

FEATURES

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GMOs: A guide for the misinformed --Dressember: It’s bigger than a dress

Point of VIU --Where the hell am I?

Hands up, Balatti --Bunnies and Stairs

I’m dreaming of a green Christmas --‘Tis the season

Dirtyin’ The Nav: Silence, sexism, media, and the body binary

ARTS

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Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Holiday Movies

Review: A Buffy SainteMarie experience

Toys for Tots hip hop show --The Adventure Zone: Podcast review

SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

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Health & Wellness: Tips for the most wonderful time of year --Gingerbread house competition for housing in Nanaimo

VIU hosts badminton tournament --Drop-in hand drumming classes

Mayan chocolate sparklers --Sugar & Spice: Sleigh Bells Ring

Women’s volleyball: Douglas doubleheader --Men’s volleyball: Mariners dig in to win

Comic

CONTENTS

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LETTERS

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CONTRIBUTORS Ahron Balatti Claire Bauer Dallas Bezaire Shanon Fenske

Chantelle Spicer Kelly Whiteside

THE NAVIGATOR TEAM

THE NAVIGATOR WELCOMES READER CONTRIbuTIONS To submit, visit <thenav.ca> or email <editor@thenav.ca>.

Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Jessica Pirson Graphic Designer

Avery Crosson Art Director

Zyre Hoskins Graphic Designer

Natalie Gates Associate Editor

Spenser Smith Web Editor

Brendan Barlow Arts Editor

Elissa Doerksen Social Media Sp.

Aislinn Cottell News Editor

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

Cole Schisler Sports & Lifestyle Editor

Christine Franic Business Manager

Catherine Charlebois Production Manager

Diana Pearson Copy Editor

All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and to edit for space or clarity.

Letters to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length.

The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opinions expressed in The Navigator are expressly those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect the views of The Navigator staff.

Correction: In Issue 6 we incorrectly attributed Vancouver Island leadership conference inspires youth leadership development to Jessy-Lee Craig, however the article was written by Krista Meckelborg. All articles have been resovled on <thenav.ca>.

DESIGN WORK

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Zyre Hoskins Cover

Jessica Pirson Spread

900 Fifth St. Bldg. 193, rm. 217 Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5

T: 250-753-2225 F: 250-753-2257

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Letters

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EDITORIALS

A costume piece, a prop, a quote and a sound bite

Molly Barrieau --Editor-in-Chief The Navigator

This year for the first time, Malaspina Theatre inspired competitors to put their creative minds together for one short weekend to put on a live show by Sunday. The rules were simple: each group was given a box containing a random assortment of items, anything from a mink stole to a broken recorder. A quote was provided, which was to be incorporated into the final script. Each group would only be allowed 15 minutes on stage. On Friday night, the five groups each revealed their “inspirational package,” according to Leon Potter. From then till Sunday afternoon, it was up to each group on how to write their live act.

My team consisted of three VIU Theatre diploma alumni, a CREW alumna, and myself.

I won’t beat around the bush, my team and I are theatre veterans, and already live together, so it made for a very productive Saturday.

Included in our package was a felt fedora, the broken recorder, “Always do what you’re afraid to do”, and a sound bite that sounded like someone slipping on a banana.

We met up that night, with beer and notebooks. Ideas were tossed around and some

stuck, leading to a general plot line which included three more recorders, a Greek style quest, and a comically huge tree costume. We then spent all of Saturday workshopping. My teammate Jonathan wrote the meat of the play, while we edited along the way, in between pizza and Mario Kart.

We had no idea what the other teams might come up with, including Portal magazine’s team who got the mink stole, or the group that adopted our Sports Editor Cole Schisler.

We arrived with costumes, a partially memorized script, a tech plan, and a lot of giggles. I was cast as Douglas Fir, the uprooted tree who narrates between trials.

The inspiration for my character came when I offered to narrate, knowing I could read off the paper. However, a team member asked if we could use the narration from Soul Caliber. Turns out, we had to directly include the quotes, therefore I was left without lines—my only task was to waddle to center stage, and be the tree.

We went on last, and the plays we followed varied greatly. Christmas by Cole Schisler’s team inspired and delighted with the festive

colours and theme, Michael Calvert, Portal magazine’s instructor, and his team, created a piece around a grenade and geriatric grudges turned friendships, I missed the last few, in my dressing room trying not to squirm in my sixfoot foam tree (thank you Shelley for providing the look), but they were hits in the audience.

Lights came up on myself and my teammate Sophie on stage, and the big back recorder was in my hand, the fateful prize awarded to the winner, after they find golden apples, serenade the audience and fight lions and bulls.

I’m really proud of my team. Not only did we work so closely to see this through, but we didn’t care that our play was a farce, set up around phallic recorders and the jokes that came with them. Making a crowd laugh is invigorating.

So, if you’re an aspiring writer, actor, or tree, keep your eye out for opportunities to hone your skills as I did, grab some pizza, and enjoy the process. Stay tuned for Malaspina Theatre’s spring production The Picture of Dorian Gray in March 2017.

I’ll take ‘em sunny side-yup!

Natalie Gates --Associate Editor The Navigator

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editorials

With the looming Kinder Morgan Pipeline decision, Trump’s ever-wavering and often frightening stances on policies and social issues, alt-right group gatherings, earthquakes, shockingly racist party photos from Canadian universities, the predictably stressful, panicattack inducing end of semester pester, and endless despair plastered in front of us, I thought I would take this space to talk about…

Breakfast.

I love it. You love it. We all love it.

But do you relish in all its glory often enough?

Personally, it’s a bit of a daily ritual for me. I often go to bed thinking about what I will make when I get up. Scrambled eggs with avocado, toast, and a grapefruit? Oatmeal with cinnamon, berries, chia seeds, and almonds?

A big thick smoothie packed with everything but the kitchen sink? It doesn’t always have to be fancy, it just has to be made with intention.

I wasn’t always like this, but now that I’ve discovered my love, there’s no going back. I’m not exaggerating when I say I spend most of my grocery money on breakfast foods.

To be fair, I often don’t have to be out of the house super early in the day as I work from home and most of my classes are in the afternoon, so this gives me some wiggle room.

Still, I got shit to do, so I make sure to carve out a reasonable few minutes to prepare a nominducing nutritious concoction before I start the daily grind. After a workout or simply rolling out of bed and straight into the kitchen to make a steaming cup of coffee or tea to accompany the mini feast? Ugh yes! There is truly nothing like it.

It nourishes your body, fuels you for the crazy day ahead. It sustains your mind and gets the gears moving. It cultivates energy in your soul. Maybe it gives you a moment to simply slow down—even if just for a few minutes.

Breakfasts on days where the schedule is empty after “wake up” is even better. GOING OUT for breakfast—nay, BRUNCH! Can I get an amen?!

I’m hooked on the bennies, man—I can’t get enough. That crisp but soft little English muffin, like a tush that just wants to be bitten, buttered ever so slightly.

Then the works—my personal favourites being a creamy, bright green avocado, and a crimson, roasted tomato. But the possibilities are endless.

Atop this is an egg so perfectly formed, it’s outer white smooth and pure, but what it surrounds is where the real glory lies. Mother Nature’s natural sauce—a golden orange

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substance that tastes like no other and drenches the muffin in liquid satisfaction. Despite my obsession with breakfast, I have yet to master poaching an egg, so I bow down to these beauties each time they are placed before me.

And finally that slightly salty, slightly tangy, creamy—I deeply apologize if this has come across as uncomfortably sexual—hollandaise sauce. More like “hollan-yays”, or “holidays” ‘cause every time you eat it, it’s like a freaking celebration in your mouth.

And to compliment it, a side bowl of fresh, beautiful, rainbow coloured fruit, cut just right.

Never forget your fruits, kids.

Don’t even get me started on such indulgences as waffles and the like.

So yes, while some things in the world suck, but breakfast doesn’t have to. It can seem like a hassle sometimes—something to shove down your throat on the way out the door, but it should be so much more than that when possible. Take the chance to look forward to making your breakfast once in a while—or go out if you want. You deserve it.

Mamma always said it is the most important meal of the day.

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NEWS

The road so far: Overview of VIU’s reconciliation efforts Aislinn Cottell Built on the traditional land of the --Snuneymuxw First Nations band, VIU’s Contributor

relationship with the Aboriginal people of Vancouver Island has always been a core value. However, since the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s report in 2015, the University has acknowledged the vast amount of work that still needs to be done to help heal and rebuild.

The Reconciliation Road: Join the Journey with VIU series has been VIU’s answer to the call for action. There have been many events, workshops, and presentations on the Road so far, and many still to come in the New Year.

Beginning September 13 and continuing until April 11, 2017, an ongoing “Lunch & Learn” series of talks is being held one Tuesday a month at Shq’apthut, the Aboriginal Gathering Place at VIU. They will provide soup, bannock, and the opportunity to expand experience and awareness in current Indigenous topics and Aboriginal ways of Being and Knowing.

October 4 marked the arrival of the Witness Blanket, an installation by artist and master carver Carey Newman.

The Blanket, crafted from hundreds of items salvaged from Residential Schools across the country, had an impressive turnout at its reception, and has continued to draw groups and individuals over its two-month stay at VIU’s Gallery.

Accompanying the piece, a workshop called the Blanket Exercise, led by VIU’s Elders-in-Residence, was held which lead participants through the history of colonization and resistance.

On October 12, a third totem pole was raised at Shq’apthut.

The totem represents a coastal First Nations language, Kwakwaka’wakw, and stands between two others which represent the two other Vancouver Island languages, Coast Salish and Nuu-chath-nulth.

On October 14, a Coast Salish Protocol Session was held, facilitated by Snuneymuxw and VIU Elders Geraldine Manson and Gary Mansion. The session provided a basis for understanding the importance of recognizing the relationship with Native peoples, and respecting the traditional territories we inhabit.

City asks residents to cut down contamination in curbside pick-up

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On October 21, Laura Cranmer from VIU’s First Nations Studies Department presented a talk titled Kwak’wala Language Revitalization: Is it Possible? during the Arts & Humanities Colloquium Series. Her research focuses on the challenges of an adult heritage language learner in reclaiming their language.

Another ongoing event, the Indigenous Book Circle, is being held for those interested in discussing current prominent themes in Indigenous fiction. Two Circles have already been held on October 24 and November 14, and there will be two more next semester on January 16 and February 13. The book list can be found under the event page at <eventbrite.ca. > On November 4, Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley, Dr. Geoffrey Carr, presented his talk The Chain Between Barbarism and Civilization: Colonial Modernities and the Architecture of Residential Schools.

He addressed how the design of the residential schools served as a critical instrument in the efforts of churches and the government to erase and remake Indigenous culture.

On November 20, VIU sponsored a rare solo performance at the Port Theatre by acclaimed singer-songwriter, musician, educator, activist, and humanitarian Buffy Sainte-Marie.

The show was “fantastic and inspiring,” said one student that attended. “Being able to watch a part of music history, indigenous history, and Canadian history and engage with it was incredible,” he said. Saint-Marie received a standing ovation and preformed an encore.

On the 21, a Special Meeting of Convocation was held at the VIU Malaspina Theatre to award Sainte-Marie an honorary doctorate of laws, her 13th honorary doctorate to date. Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals who exhibit a record of outstanding distinction and achievement in an area related to VIU’s mission, and the Doctor of Laws is awarded for accomplishments and contributions in areas such as politics, justice, and social activism.

On November 22, an inaugural advisory council meeting was held between Douglas White, Director of VIU’s Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation, and the Centre’s

Advisory Council to discuss various current pre-confederation treaties and reconciliation issues happening across Canada, and the Centre’s mandate concerning them.

A talk was also given on November 22 by Dr. Tracey Lindberg for the second annual Indigenous Speakers Series, part of a partnership with the Laurier Institution and CBC Radio One’s Ideas. Lindberg is an accomplished Cree academic and writer who explored the complex nature of reconciliation in her talk (W)rec(k)-oncoliation: Indigenous Lands and People’s Respect, Reciprocity, and Relationships.

On November 26, the Testify showing was held, which displayed art created by pairing artists and legal thinkers to collaborate on multi-media and written work that reflects the concepts of Indigenous law. The show will be on display in the Malaspina Theatre until December 9.

In the New Year, the Road continues. The Indigenous Portfolio Development will be a series of workshops focused on helping participants build a collection of life experiences to support their personal, career, and educational goals. A five-part series titled Conversations Toward Reconciliation and Healing will provide the opportunity for individuals to explore individual and collective responsibilities in the path to reconciliation. A two-day workshop called Land-Based Traditional Teaching will draw upon the knowledge of VIU’s Elders-in-Residence, and explore the practices, protocols, and relationships between First Nations culture and the land we live with. A series of sessions called Indigenous Leaders on Learning, an initiative of Su’luquw’a, the Aboriginal Community Cousins, will invite different Indigenous leaders to speak at Shq’apthut on their life experiences, and balancing their education and professional lives with traditional teachings.

There will also be a new course offered, date and time to be announced, titled Learning to Be Together: Indigenous Knowledge and the Academy, which will expose students to Indigenous ways of knowing and developing shared understandings between cultures.

Aislinn Cottell The City of Nanaimo is asking residents to --use more care when sorting their waste for

rates are not reduced, and the City will begin undertaking inspections of curbside recycling in November. Residents who have placed unacceptable items in their yellow bag will receive a sticker upon pickup. Residents with properly sorted waste will receive a “good job” sticker. The recycling collector will begin to leave whole bags of recycling behind at residences that repeatedly include contaminants in their curbside recycling.

The most common types of contamination are plastic bags, Styrofoam, and glass; the City recommends residents take these materials to the local depot instead, where they will be recycled.

Other items not accepted include books, electronics, chip bags, paint cans, batteries and textiles. The full list of items can be found on the City website at <nanaimo.ca> and any questions can be directed to the public works department at 250-754-4251.

VIU also offers some additional recycling services for students. Apart from the general recycling stations around campus, small amounts of Styrofoam and shrinkwrap (bagged separately) can be taken to the loading bay beside bldg. 300. This bin is kept locked, and a key must be acquired from VIU facilities for access. Batteries and cellphones will also be accepted at the Health & Safety Office (bldg. 360, rm. 112), the Welcome Centre, and the Library’s IT help desk.

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the curbside pickup program. A warning letter was recently received from Multi Material BC (MMBC) (the province-wide organization currently paying the city to collect recycling) concerning contamination levels in the recycling being delivered.

Contamination levels have increased in the last several months, reaching as high as 14 percent, which is significantly above MMBC’s accepted three percent. Recycling with this level of contamination cannot be processed properly, and can cause entire loads to be landfilled.

“I think it is clear that there is some confusion about what does and does not go in the yellow bag,” said Charlotte Davis, Manager of Sanitation and Recycling for the city. “We want to clear up this confusion, and so residents will notice increased messaging from us about contamination. We have been advertising on the radio, in newsletters, and now we are doing some curbside inspections. We hope to speak with as many people as possible about what to put in the yellow bag.

I would encourage residents to pick up the phone and call us or check out our website if they have any questions.”

MMBC can fine the City up to $120K per year if contamination

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NEWS

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NEWS

News In a Nutshell Aislinn Cottell | The Navigator

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

On December 1, Nanaimo is hosting a free Education and Career Fair.

Vancouver Island Conference Centre

The Fair is an opportunity to explore the future with post-secondary schools, employers, and associations from across Canada.

9 am – 3 pm RSVP for free tickets at <educationcareerfairs.com>.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

From December 2–19, the Nanaimo Community Hospice is offering the Celebrate a Life Tree, a place to hang memory tags of loved ones. Heart Angels are available by donation to take home.

Country Club Centre Court

The Tree is a beautiful way to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed on, and all proceeds go to support local Hospice programs.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

$200K in funding has been approved for the Stevie Smith Community Bike Park, and the project is expected to be completed in 2017.

Beban Park

The park is named for Stevie Smith, a professional cyclist from Nanaimo who lost his life last year. It will be an addition to the existing BMX part and will include a dirt jump and return trail, pump track, and skills park.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Membership nominations for “exemplary leaders in our community” are being sought for the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) Board of Directors.

Written submissions will be accepted until December 23 and can be addressed to:

The NEDC is an arm’s length for-profit organization owned by the City, and provides economic development services to the greater Nanaimo area.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

A new journalism study-abroad program is being offered in Kyoto, Japan by ieiMedia, open to students and recent graduates from all colleges and universities. ieiMedia also offers journalism programs in a number of other countries including Italy, Ireland, IraelIsrael, Spain, Croatia, Norway, and Australia.

Information on application can be found at: <ieimedia.com>

Participants will work as foreign correspondents, and collaborate with local bilingual students who will act as guides. They will meet with local journalists, explore the city, and have the opportunity to publish stories in an online magazine. Credit will be given for three transferable academic credits from the University of Jamestown.

NEDC Board Nominations c/o Holly Pirozzini, Administrative Assistant, City Manager’s Office 455 Wallace St, V9R 5J6 <Holly.pirozzini@nanaimo.ca>.

Or by contacting the directing professor, Rachele Kanigel, at <rkanigel@gmail.com>.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through February 15, 2017 for the Kyoto program.

Explore local history and nature at the Milner Gardens Christmas light-up Aislinn Cottell Milner Gardens is offering free invitations --to students for their Christmas light-up The Navigator

this year, which starts December 2 and continues every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 5 – 8:30 pm, until December 18.

Featuring over half a kilometre of decorated trails, live music, Santa, a Teddy Bear Cottage, storytelling, refreshments, the tea room, and a gift shop, the event is a great way to celebrate the holidays and explore the Gardens. The general public is, of course, also welcome. Entry is by donation and all funds will go to support the Garden; suggested donations are $5/adult, $2.5/child, and $12/family (two adults and up to three

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News

children under 19). There is an onsite shuttle for the mobility impaired, and it is suggested visitors bring a flashlight.

Located near the seaside in Qualicum Beach, Milner Gardens has been voted one of the ten best public gardens in Canada

by Canadian Geographic Travel. It was first developed by Horatio Milner, a successful businessman and philanthropist who bought the property in 1937 to be his private retreat.

The property is 70 acres in total, 60 of which are natural native woodland and support a rare, coastal old growth Douglas Fir ecosystem. The remaining ten acres are a garden developed

by Veronica Milner, which consists of over 500 species collected from all over the world by her and her husband.

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According to her, the garden was a place “in tune with the infinite,” and she lived there until her death in 1998. Milner also had family connections to British royalty—in fact, Queen Elizabeth herself stayed at Milner House for three days in 1987, and visits were also made by Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Prince Philip.

The estate was donated to VIU in 1996, and is now maintained by the University and volunteers in the “Friends” program of the Milner Gardens and Woodland Society (MGW).

The property is gently used as an educational resource for VIU’s horticultural programs, and preserved for future generations’ benefit from its “historic character and unique spirit.”

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NEWS

Behind the Lines Syrian art exhibit to be displayed at Cowichan Campus

Juhayda Al Bitar

Juhayda Al Bitar

Aislinn Cottell Art has always been a venue for human --expression in all cultures, and sometimes The Navigator

it seems the greatest pieces arise from our times of deepest suffering. With no end in sight to the current violence in the Middle East, some Syrians are turning to art as a way of coping and expressing to the world what the conflict is costing their country.

Behind the Lines is an exhibit that displays the work of contemporary Syrian artists, first shown earlier this year at the Penticton Art Gallery, where it was co-curated by Penticton Art Gallery director Paul Crawford and Syrian architect Humam

Lina Malki

Alsalim. Alsalim is the founder of Cyrrus Gallery, an online platform for the collaboration and promotion of young, contemporary Syrian artists. Behind the Lines displays work from 19 different artists in the Gallery, many of whom are still residing in their home country.

The pieces are from a range of mediums, including sculpture, painting, drawing, and mixed media.

Through the efforts of the Cowichan Intercultural Society, the United Church, VIU’s Department of Anthropology, and Brentwood Bay College School, a portion of the exhibit has come to the Cowichan Valley for the first time. It is being shown at the Duncan United Church from November 27 – December

3, with a special opening reception on November 27, after which it will be on display at the Brentwood College School in Mill Bay from December 10 to December 17.

Crawford will also give a special talk on the stories behind the artists at the VIU Cowichan Campus on November 28, titled The Story Behind the Lines. Both the showings and talk are free to attend.

Crawford has described the work as “a testament to the capacity of the human spirit”. He added, “I hope this exhibition will help build an even greater understanding of the Syrian people, their art and culture.”

Monumental $49 million settlement for Snuneymuxw First Nation Molly Barrieau ---

November saw a record-breaking deal in the fight for land reserves for Canadian The Navigator First Nations. 79 acres of Downtown Nanaimo was reserved for the Snuneymuxw in 1860, yet the government never delivered on their agreement to give this land to them. A recent vote of 98.1 percent led to the settlement, which will be placed into a trust for future generations.

The Snuneymuxw—pronounced snu nay moo—is one of the largest nations in BC with over 1,700 people. VIU sits on

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Snuneymuxw land, and recognizes the territory in everyday student life representing the local language in one of three totem poles erected on campus by Sh’qapthut The Gathering Place.

The process to garner this deal has taken over 20 years, the lack of land given to the Snuneymuxw meant that in recent years, only one-third of the band’s members live on-reserve, located south Nanaimo along the coast.

According to The Georgia Straight, the land commissioner at the time of the original treaty, Joseph Trutch, was the reason

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the land never ended up in Snuneymuxw First Nation’s hands in the late nineteenth century. He was known to be a negative component in the process of land reservations, feeling that, even though First Nation’s people were a majority in BC at the time, the land chosen for them was too large.

Yet, the land they currently live on is the smallest area per capita for First Nation’s in the country. Along with the cash settlement, there is an agreement to find 79 acres of replacement land for the band to live as a community.

NEWS

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FEATURES

GMOs: A guide for the misinformed Dallas Bezaire We need to take some time and correct --some major misconceptions concerning Contributor

genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. You may have heard of them before as dangerous, untested, unnaturally modified foods that destroy the environment, promote the use of poisons, may be dangerous to your health, and are used to manipulate and take advantage of farmers and producers, all in the name of profit. It all sounds like the plans of some comic book super villain, and there’s a reason for that. All of it is highly misleading.

Firstly, what are GMOs exactly? They are living organisms—whether that be pigs and cattle or corn and tomatoes—which have had their genetic make-up modified in some way. There are a number of techniques, such as selective breeding, where plants or animals with the best traits are selected and bred together until they are substantially different organisms. This is the oldest and most widely used technique in human history. which helped turn big shaggy wild cows into the domesticated versions of today such as the Red Angus, bred for their excellent marbled beef, the Piedmontese, who’s milk is a vital ingredient in a number of Italian cheeses, and the ionic white-with-black-patches Holstein, famous for their milk and the type most commonly thought of when told to imagine a cow.

But most people who have issues with GMOs usually don’t seem to consider this form of genetic modification bad or negative, considering these to be natural processes.

The technique that gets the most flak tends to be the newer method of direct modification, or the addition of specific genes within the genome of organisms. Many see this as unnatural or as having the potential to add dangerous or unnatural changes to their food that could lead to sickness.

Yet, this is inaccurate. By most standards, the modern techniques of genetic engineering are like using a laser cutter, while the old method of selective breeding is more akin to a chainsaw. It gives breeders and food companies the accuracy and freedom to make specific changes in the exact locations rather than hoping that random mutations can result in similar results. Plus, even the concept of something being “naturally occurring” in an organism is violated by nature all the time with processes like lateral gene transfer between species. In fact, lateral gene transfer is almost exactly what most of genetic engineering is— except we choose which genes and we choose where those genes are expressed.

But, there is some validity to the concern that these changes can create potential health hazards to consumers.

In Canada, the policy of substantial equivalence is used.

This means that we recognize that normal foods contain toxic compounds that do not pose a risk if prepared

properly; for example the leaves of potato plants, tomatoes, and rhubarb are all toxic but are never actually consumed.

Although genetic modification broadens the potential of what can be in specific foods, it also introduces new risks; so, these foods must be assessed accordingly. These tests include deciphering where and what sort of changes have been added to the food; tests for allergens, bioavailability, toxicity, and gene transfer; and considerations of how this food would be eaten both processed and unprocessed. In a number of cases, these tests have caught unintended consequences of genetic modification before they hit the market. One example was a strain of soy bean that was discovered to have the Brazil nut’s allergenicity transferred to it along with a Brazil nut gene.

But what about the claim that GMOs destroy the environment and lead to increased use of pesticides and herbicides?

Pesticide use has actually decreased since GMOs were introduced to the market. Herbicide use, however, has increased in that same time frame. This is due to the ability of GMO’s to withstand the chemicals without being damaged, and it is only increasing more as weed species develop their own resistance through natural selection.

This has led to some controversy, especially as companies selling GMOs and herbicides begin to merge, as some of the promise of GMOs was to reduce the overall uses of herbicides and pesticides. All of this comes under an even more critical spotlight when compared to EU markets which have largely restricted the use of GMOS while still keeping up with yields and also drastically reducing the amount of pesticide and herbicide use thanks to better farming practices.

Luckily, the majority of herbicides are nearly harmless to humans as they directly target aspects of plant biology.

Regardless, the increased volume and the use of wider varieties of herbicides only seems to be a growing trend as more and more herbicide resistance genes are added to crops.

But herbicidal resistance is just one of the many types of genes added to our foods to help increase yield. In many cases genes are added to help control pests. Anti-insect genes help to reduce the use of pesticides, while anti-viral or antifungal genes help protect crops from disease and spoiling in the fields, in the stores, and in your home. Genes that help crops better withstand weather changes are also becoming increasingly important in the face of changing climates.

Antifreeze genes that help plants withstand frosts, genes that help root systems resist temporary or even sustained flooding without rotting, or genes that help plants withstand intense sun without burning up and turning brown all help to increase the hardiness of crops. All of these have allowed farmers grow a wider variety of crops than would normally flourish in their climate and biosphere with the most drastic and impressive impact seen in the developing world.

Many genes are used just to increase nutritional value.

Sometimes this means growing larger fruit and vegetables or growing them in a shorter period of time so that more can be consumed. Other times it means adding nutrients into the food itself by giving it the genes needed to synthesize them. The most famous example is golden rice—rice that was genetically engineered to synthesize the precursor to vitamin A which is severely lacking in the diets of the poorest in the developing world. There a large number of nutritionally augmented strains already made or in the works in an effort to increase general health and fighting malnutrition worldwide including strains of soybean, maize, and canola.

The last and most controversial aspect of anti-GMO rhetoric is the business practices of the companies that produce them. Unfortunately, there is also where the greatest amount of misleading or emotionally charged information muddying the truth lies. In some cases there is good reason for the concern as important ethical questions like whether genes and other aspects of biological life can or should be patented are left by the wayside.

Sometimes the concerns are resolved as the companies themselves make efforts to better the world with their product as Syngenta did by making golden rice free of charge to farmers in developing countries. Other times, the concerns are baseless or false as is often the case with health related rumours and anti-GMO rhetoric, most of which stem from bad experimental design or the misunderstanding of biology and the results of scientific studies.

Many of these false studies and conclusions come from unreliable resources, but, in any case, while the ethics of GMO producing companies can be questionable, the majority of propaganda relating to GMOs themselves is also baseless or misleading. The anti-GMO propaganda has gotten to the point that 121 Nobel Prize Laureates have signed a letter asking Green Peace and other organizations to cease anti-GMO fear-mongering.

Now more than ever we need to be able to control and modify our food to best feed our ever growing population in an ever turbulent and changing world. While climate change becomes more and more prevalent, challenges like disease, overpopulation, and poverty will become even more difficult to address. GMOs could be essential in ensuring that rampant crop loss and famine do not occur.

In the long run, GMOs can offer us a tantalizing possibility of ending world hunger and malnutrition or the potential to grow crops in the inhospitable soils of Mars and beyond.

The possibilities of GMOs are exciting and provide hope for an otherwise troubling future.

Dressember: It's Bigger than a Dress Claire Bauer This month, you may notice more people --wearing dresses out and about, which might Contributor

not seem like the smartest clothing option in the winter. But rather than just assuming they’re wacky Canadians who can’t feel the chill of winter, it’s possible their outfit may have a decidedly more political reasoning than usual.

Dressember is a relatively new movement, similar in structure to No Shave November. Using fashion and creativity as their banner, Dressember strives to restore the inherent dignity to women across the globe. As the movement grew, so did their core meaning, and today they stand opposed to human trafficking worldwide, specifically the systematic exploitation of women.

Participating in Dressember helps support the abolition of modern day slavery and oppression.

The Dressember movement began in 2009 as a creative outlet to fight against the monotony of university classes. Blyther Hill, the founder, decided that she would wear only dresses for an entire month, and since the next full month was December—

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and because puns are amazing—Dressember was born. What was originally a one-time project turned into a yearly event, as friends, and friends of friends quickly gained interest and began to take part in the challenge.

By 2013, with over 1200 participants joining in, Dressember aligned itself with the International Justice Movement, an organization dedicated to fighting slavery, sex trafficking, police brutality, and citizenship rights abuse, to raise money for their cause for the first time. They set the very lofty goal of $25K for their first year, and were promptly blown away when that goal was met by the third day of the campaign. In that one month, with participants from 32 different countries, Dressember managed to raise over $165K. Over the next few years the movement grew, almost tippling their profits by the next year, and doubling the number of participants. When 2015 rolled around the movement had grown strong enough to add a second grant partner, the A21 organization, whose standing motto is prevention, protection,

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prosecution, and partnership, and whose main goal is to abolish injustice, with a large focus going to human trafficking. That year the funds raised were just shy of one million dollars, at $924K, with almost 5,000 participants. 85 percent of proceeds go directly to IJM and A21, the remaining proceeds going exclusively towards administrative, technological, and marketing expenses.

You can participate by raising or donating funds, even by starting a fundraising team via <dressember.org>. But if you’re strapped for cash or time, you can participate by wearing a dress and exposing your legs to the cold for a good cause.

Not a fan of wearing dresses? Work uniform wont allow it?

Not a problem. Bow-ties are the official way to participate while wearing pants, getting a little dapper is always fun, and if you can only dress up some of the time, that’s fine too. No amount of participation is too small. Even mentioning the movement when your friends point out all those crazy people running around campus freezing their legs off is enough to spark interest in the movement. It’s so much bigger than just a dress.

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Point of viu Cole Schisler | The Navigator

What do you do to manage stress While studying?

Chantelle

Katie

Luke

Sierra

Sheena

“I write my notes down in a book, which I use to study from. What I do to de-stress is I watch three of my favourite shows playing back to back, one of them is Bones, Teen Wolf, and the Flash. While studying, I notice something suspenseful happening in the series, and then I get distracted, so that’s basicallyhow I de-stress.”

“I cry a little bit first. Then I play Sims, and I usually torture them a bit. I have this one guy, I made a property that’s really big, then I made his house really big, but all the hallways are skinny; I made it into a big maze, and all his rooms are really far apart. He has to run from room to room, and he usually pisses himself along the way. I find that really funny, so I go from crying to laughing pretty quick, then I’m ready to study.”

“For studying, I portion it out so I don’t overexert myself, I take it little by little. To de-stress, I throw on my headphones and listen to some music, or just set a break to watch this YouTube video or listen to this many songs. Then I switch back to studying, and keep flipping it back and forth, to not get too distracted, but at the same time, not get bogged down and forget what I just studied.”

“I found that listening to classical music helps. I prefer Bach, but most composers work. I would study different segments over time for all the material. Over the course of the year I would refresh my memory, then a few weeks before the exam I’d refresh again, then a few days before the exam I’d go over everything with a group. I find that studying with a group is helpful because you can bounce ideas off each other and find good ways to remember material.”

“Getting enough sleep is key, and I go for walks in the woods by myself to clear my head and destress. I try to break up my studies, and now that I have more experience with University, I try to organize study groups with classmates. I bring it up in front of the whole class and see who’s interested, and whoever is, just get them together and rent a room in the library or the student lounge. I think it’s one of the best ways to study, it’s helped me a lot.”

Where the hell am I? Shanon Fenske ---

Hundreds of people in costume are all around me, vehicles are everywhere, Contributor and music and lights are pouring out of the forest. A man with a flashlight walks up to my car and asks for $25. I give him my money and pull into the party.

Twenty minutes earlier, I had driven off of the pavement onto a muddy, tree-lined back road. Every time I had become convinced I was lost, there would be another subtle sign pointing me towards the remote Halloween show, past another pot-holed crossroads, or around another gnarly bend leading me further away from cell service. Directions had just been posted a few hours before, so just finding the show felt like it was supposed to be part of the whole experience.

I had first heard about Skulls and Bass from another VIU student, Ryland Pennell-Davis, over the summer. We had both been at the Brand New concert in Vancouver when the topic of Nanaimo shows came up. Skulls and Bass is the “big one” on Vancouver Island, he had said. “You have to check it out.”

The 6th annual Halloween EDM (Electronic Dance Music) double-stage show would be hosted in a remote location by a group calling themselves Zone Phactor. Using the tagline, “No Drama. No Bullshit,” there would be licensed security, first aid attendants, and “sober transport,” for worst-case scenarios. DJs believed to be selling drugs would never be allowed to play again.

When I was younger, I had heard these kinds of Vancouver Island shows were drug-infested free-for-alls. Skulls and Bass, on the other hand, sounded like something positive and more interesting. Even though the EDM scene was completely foreign to me, I decided to attend the event and write about my experience

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afterwards. Months later, the night has finally arrived.

I park my car on the side of the road. I then make my way up a muddy path towards the main stage. The tarped-over dance area with its carnival-like lightshow gives it a UFOhas-landed-in-the-forest look. The bass thumps and the music scratches and twitches rhythmically into the night. People in costumes are moving across the makeshift mud dance floor.

Most of them are smiling.

Zone Phactor was created by “a collective of people with a common goal from all over the island,” Mike Greenspade, one of the group’s founders tells me. Talented newer musicians had been finding the EDM scene “clicky” and difficult to get into. Other DJs were not being paid. There was a demand for something different.

There hadn’t been any outdoor Halloween shows in years, so Zone Phactor recognized the opportunity and began to plan one. They found out another group was preparing to do the same thing, so the two entities collaborated and turned the night into a three-stage event. To “showcase” as many artists as possible, Zone Phactor has continued to use two stages for Skulls and Bass ever since.

“I am semantically opposed to the term rave,” DJ Grimiaulkin tells me, “It implies theft, violence, and drug use. We like to use ‘bush party’ instead.”

The main stage is set up near a parked U-Haul truck.

A running generator powers the lights and sound system.

There is a bonfire off to one side. Being an all-night show, some people have set up tents nearby as well. The crowd is all ages, but most of them look to be twenty or younger. I’m curious where they’ve all come from.

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“We do a lot of word-of-mouth advertising or use the Facebook event page,” Greenspade says.

According to the @ZonePhactor event page, people have come from Campbell River, Courtenay, Victoria, and Vancouver.

For those without vehicles, there are carpools and pickup locations in Nanaimo from Woodgrove Mall and downtown.

People are drinking, others are smoking marijuana, but I don’t see anyone using hard drugs.

“My dad was an addict,” says an underage male, “so I only drink and smoke weed.” He adds that he believes many others are “on something,” but says it isn’t something his group of friends are interested in.

“In the past,” DJ Grimiaulkin says, “Some people have used Djing to deal. Mike (Greenspade) doesn’t hire people who sell drugs.”

I ask Greenspade about this later. “Why would you even be here if you aren’t trying to showcase your musical talents to the best of your ability?” A large majority of Zone Phactor’s organizers are “sober people who simply enjoy music,” he adds.

“We do outdoor events almost exclusively,” Greenspade says, “From single nights, to camp-outs, to graduations and birthday events,” but Skulls and Bass is Zone Phactor’s biggest show of the year.

“After every event we have volunteers, crew, and DJs stay behind until the entire area is cleaned up.” Greenspade adds, “We haul out the garbage we bring, since we love Mother Nature and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors.”

No Drama. No Bullshit, I think to myself. I like it.

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Hands up, Balatti Ahron Balatti It was Halloween of 2015 and I was visiting --my uncle with my father. My uncle lives Contributor

on Rosehill, which is not a particularly nice part of Nanaimo. My piece of sh*t 95 Mazda Mx6 was in the shop so my father was getting me back to my mom’s. We were dropping off some rifle, a .22 I think. We didn’t have a proper case for it, obviously, so we just stuffed the gun into a garbage bag. Without the hammer though, which I’m pretty sure made it legal.

As we carried the gun into my uncle’s, a car slowed down and took a look at us. I gave the car a smile as I carried the gun into my uncle’s. As we walked out of my uncle’s, the same car drove by. I smiled again. This was a mistake on my part.

That car was an undercover cop.

The cop ran the license plate on my father’s pathfinder and the name “Alan Balatti” popped up. There’s two Alan Balattis. One is my father. The other, my father’s cousin, cannot possess guns in Canada over various disagreements with the law. My father and I may have been just two guys trying to mind our own business, but what the cop saw was a convicted felon and his dumbass friend with a rifle in a garbage bag in a high crime area of Nanaimo.

We were oblivious to this at first. My uncle gave my father and me a 12 gauge in return for the .22, and we were on our way. We did some shopping around Country Club, and enjoyed some of the costumes we saw early in the day. If my father or I had stopped to look around, we may have noticed we were being followed. As we sat a red light beside Country Club, eating M&M’s and listening to Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” we heard a siren. We started to get out of the way of the emergency vehicle, and then the rest is a bit of a blur.

When I started to realize what had happened, there was

a cop suburban in front of us, a cop car on either side of us, and two cop cars behind us. We were swarmed, a blitzkrieg out of nowhere. Completely trapped with no escape. Complete overkill by Nanaimo’s finest. Maybe Halloween was going slow for the Nanaimo RCMP, but in hindsight, I’m not sure how you would justify the dozen cops with their guns drawn that approached the pathfinder. From there it was a lot of “Put your goddamn hands up!” and “Put your hands on the goddamn dash!” and “Unlock your goddamn door!”

I was taken out of the pathfinder, handcuffed, asked a couple questions in which I, respectfully, let the cops know I wasn’t saying a goddamn thing, and was lead to a cop car. A crowd of people gathered around to watch my father and I get detained. I yelled “Hey, I’m going as a criminal for Halloween!”

I’m pretty sure that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever said, and no one laughed. In the back of the cop car, I eyed up the cop who had put the cuffs on me. He was young, and smiling, I think he enjoyed the rush of handcuffing some criminals.

“You guys fucked up, eh?” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not entirely sure what’s happening here, but I’m pretty sure a mistake has been made.”

He scoffed at me. I guess it was around this time that my father started clearing up the situation. The young cop drove me down the street to some parking lot. The original undercover cop who had seen us at Rose Hill was there. The undercover cop opened the door and pulled me out by my shirt. He was five foot five, 190 pounds, and a prick.

“Who’s weed is that in the truck?” He said. Certainly not mine, but I wasn’t really in the mood to throw my father under the bus. Yet, I was fairly certain my father was able to legally use pot.

“Look, I’m pleading the fifth here,” I say. (Side note: We don’t have the fifth in Canada, but we do have the right to remain silent. So same thing.) “I don’t really understand the situation, so I’m not really going to say much.” I guess the undercover cop forgot that this wasn’t a movie and lost his temper.

“Oh, you’re gonna be a fucking asshole? ‘Cause I can be a fucking asshole too dude. I can take you downtown right now. Fucking try me kid.”

I kept my mouth shut.

“No, got nothing, smart ass? You were pretty clever a second ago.”

Unfortunately, I am a creature of habit, and a dumbass mouth is a serious habit of mine.

“Maybe you should calm the fuck down, Dirty Harry.”

He said a whole lot more after that, and I was fairly certain I had just made a massive mistake. We I told him I didn’t understand what was going on—I was right, and should’ve kept my words to myself. It doesn’t get much dumber than mouthing off a cop while you’re handcuffed and being questioned. I got pushed and acted out of line. Fortunately, very fortunately, my father had worked out the situation with the cops a few minutes before, and questioning me was just some late-ditch effort to justify the total over-kill the bastards had pulled on us. The undercover cop shoved me back in the cop car to let me think about what I had done.

I sat in worry for all of a minute and a half before they pulled me back out and started apologizing. The undercover cop, on the other hand, simply walked away. The cops confiscated the 12 gauge for some reason. One last middle finger to my father and me I guess.

My uncle got the gun back less than a half an hour later.

Bunnies and Stairs The Navigator

Bunny: My LPN Instructor reminded me not to be so hard on myself.

She is proud to watch everyone is the program blooming with knowledge and wisdom.

The more the merrier! Submit your bunnies and stairs to The Nav by emailing <editor@thenav.ca> or Tweet us @theNavVIU. Bunny: Something nice, funny, positive, or sweet that happened in your life.

Stair: Something mean, annoying, negative, or gross that happened in your life.

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I’m dreaming of a green Christmas Chantelle Spicer I think I --might have Contributor

brought this up in more than one article, but it never gets old…Shop local. It is one of the easiest, supportive, and rewarding sustainability actions we as individuals can take, especially as the impending Christmas season creeps closer.

I have never been a huge fan of Christmas and like to reserve my gift giving for real meaning rather than obligation and equal reciprocity shopping…but I do love a good Christmas artisan market. I love the thrill of finding that gift for a loved one that is so them—like it was made with them in mind and I discovered it.

I also love knowing that the purchase I am making is not only going to make my friend’s day (hopefully), but also might make a local shop owner’s life slightly better or support the creativity and livelihood of an Island artist. I also like to get really creative with gifts and hand-make them, gift an activity together rather than a thing, or donate to a cause that they support.

Shopping locally also includes

what eat at the holidays. We are so lucky here on the Island to have an environment that allows our local farmers to continue to grow over the winter season. We also have many fowl and livestock folks which can provide us with happy, healthy, and loved local meat. Make sure to visit our all-season long farmers market for all kinds of edible goodies including jams and baked goods that can also make great gifts.

However, it is not just shopping that makes up Christmas. There are many steps we can take to lessen the impact our holiday celebrations on the environment that are accessible to every budget and might actually make the holidays more enjoyable.

For example, if you need a tree, try not to buy fake one. Although this might seem counterintuitive, as live trees are helping the environment in many ways, those fake trees, especially flocked ones, are made with petroleum products,. and countless chemicals. Then they are usually shipped by truck, barge, then truck again to get to the closest

box store that sells them. Live trees however, usually come from within a few kilometers of you, reducing transportation and air pollution, and are replanted every year.

Other alternatives, if you are adverse to cutting trees, are buying potted conifers that can be brought indoors for the couple weeks of the season or simply decorating a planted outdoor tree. I have also decorated my outside trees for the birds using seed bells, coated pine cones, suet and other edibles, giving a gift to both the wild birds in my neighbourhood and myself. I also now have a Christmas lamp…which sounds ridiculous (and probably is), but has made a humorous holiday tradition that is perfect for my apartment.

Another major impact is wrapping paper. I love unwrapping something as much as the next person—the anticipation and tearing sounds are delightful—but it takes trees, more transport, plastic tape, and then disposal for us to enjoy this activity, which is multiplied over the millions of folks who celebrate with wrapped

gifts. In Canada, gift wrapping amounts to about 545,000 tons of waste, according to <eartheasy.com> . This can be greatly reduced by using fabric instead of paper and reusing all gift wrap wherever possible.

My best friend and I have regularly traded the same gift bag back and forth for 3 years. It has become another one of those ridiculous traditions that makes each of us smile every time we receive it...again. Another great solution is, instead of using plastic ribbon or bows, try using natural finishing touches such as pine cones or cedar or fir branches affixed with natural twine or hemp. It looks much nicer and more personal. A couple of my crafty friends even make new decorations from wrapping paper bits, turning “trash” into snowflakes or little flags.

My favourite holiday activity has to be making Christmas cards. Storebought cards, though trendy, are one of those (usually) throw away items that make up a large amount of waste and are expensive to boot. I would much rather relax after a busy

semester creating unique cards made lovingly through collage, drawing, painting, or even bits of store bought cards people had given to me the previous year. This year my partner and I bought natural paper and will be printing our own cards from linoleum cut blocks. By making each one a little piece of art, friends and family are more likely to keep them around rather than toss them out.

The rate at which we have consumed over the holidays is really not sustainable or necessary, nor does it support the real reason for the season, which is to give time to loving ourselves, our families, friends, and the land, to reflect and give thanks to whatever creator/spirits/God you believe in. Over the past few years it has been awesome to see so many people shift away from consumer driven shopping mania and embrace a more unique holiday, creating their own traditions, celebrations and families that represent their own identities and beliefs. Until next year folks.

If you want to enjoy some truly great markets for gift-giving and connecting with plenty of amazing local artisans, check out:

Island Roots Market at Pleasant Valley Hall Every Wednesday, 3 – 6pm

The Jingle Mingle at OmTown Yoga December 2, 4 – 8pm

Nanaimo Aboriginal Christmas Craft Fair at 20 5th St. December 3, 10am – 4pm

The Nanaimo Artwalk, Downtown Nanaimo December 3 – 4 , 11am – 5pm

Lantzville Christmas Market at Costin Hall December 11, 10am – 3:30pm

‘Tis the season Kelly Whiteside On November 11 at 11 am my workplace --announced we would have a minute of Contributor

silence. For that minute, I saw all nearby customers and coworkers standing silently, heads down, showing their respect. At 11:01 am, when I lifted my head, all those customers suddenly had a look of panic in their eyes. The moment of silence was over. It was mid-November. Christmas was just over a month away, and they were standing in the middle of the Christmas section, carts empty. The first Christmas Shoppers had officially left hibernation, and they were hungry.

Most people who work in the customer service industry truly do enjoy helping customers. And most of the time, the customers we deal with are very pleasant. However, everyone who has ever worked in customer service knows that with the good comes the bad, and unfortunately the bad experiences tend to stick with us. If you’re picking up a job in the customer service field during winter break, here are five different types of Christmas Shoppers you may come across.

1. The Negotiator This customer has found exactly what they wanted, and you’re feeling pretty proud that you could help them. You’re about to wish them a good day, but then they open their mouth to say one more thing, and you notice that they’re not smiling like they

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should be. “Can I get a discount on this?” At first you may think they’re just joking, but then they ask you to call a manager, even though you know the answer will be no.

2. The Complainer A customer walks in looking frazzled, likely soaked from the rain, and the second you see them you know they’re not in a good mood. Chances are they’re just stressed out from holiday shopping, so you set out to help them and improve their day.

The first words out of their mouth will likely be a complaint about the shitty parking lot, and then they’ll probably complain about how crowded the malls are. You apologize, even though you didn’t design the parking lot, and ask them what they’re looking for. If your store has what they’re looking for, they will complain about how expensive it is. If your store doesn’t have what they’re looking for, they will complain about the store’s lack of stock. Some customers just can’t be pleased.

3. Overly Festive Their first stop is the Christmas section. They stock their cart with hundreds of lights and ridiculous lawn décor, and clean your shelves of ornaments. It looks like they showered in glitter—there are even sparkles in their eyes. You wish the customer a good day, and they reply with “Merry Christmas” even though it’s the middle of November.

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4. The Know-it-All They asked you for help, and you begin exporting your knowledge, but they interrupt—“No. That’s wrong.” The customer may ask for someone more knowledgeable, but you ensure that you are the most knowledgeable person in the store about this product.

They then inform you that they are in fact an expert in that field, and shoo you away. An alternative is the customer that tries to subtly tell you how to do your job. Chances are they’re never even worked in customer service before.

5. The Last Minute Shopper Whether they’re rushing into the store five minutes before close—or five minutes before close on Christmas Eve—this customer either knows exactly what they want and is in and out within two minutes, or they have absolutely no idea what they’re looking for and unofficially hire you as their personal shopper as they drag you through every single department, insisting that they know what they want and will be out the doors before closing time. They never are.

Being a customer service employee during the Christmas season is a tough job. Often times, Christmas Shoppers accidentally take their stress out on us, which in turn stresses us out. Kudos to all of you for pushing through the season.

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DIRTYIN' THE NAV: SCIENCE, SEXISM, MEDIA, AND THE BODY BINARY

Diana Pearson At the end of October, --online media exploded The Navigator

with the headlines “MALE BIRTH CONTROL INJECTIONS HALTED BECAUSE MEN ARE WIMPS” and “Male Birth Control Study Killed After Men Report Side Effects.”

These are perfect examples of how online media headlines can be reactionary, simplistic and blown out of proportion. A mere day or two after these headlines, high-profile media outlets like The Globe & Mail, The New York Times, and Vox, took great pains to explain this study to the general public. In a nutshell: men are not wimps. While male birth control injections showed a 96 percent pregnancy prevention rate, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested discontinuing the study because of numerous adverse side effects, including mood disorders, increased libido, mood swings, and muscle pain. While the injections show promise for effective male birth control, the technology needs to be refined.

This scenario is all too common. Reactionary media outlets in search for click-bait obscure the complexity of scientific studies. It’s not that men are wimps. This reactionary approach is very misleading.

When news media falls victim to marketing impulses public knowledge is harmed. The general public relies on media to explain complicated issues. It’s really hard for any individual to wade through the daily inundation of online media coverage to sort

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out what is good, valuable, and what is real. It takes time, effort, critical literacy, and access to scientific journals to be able to fact check headlines. Not everyone has the access, time, nor skill to do this.

But of course, few issues are ever black and white. So, what happens when we go looking for the shades of grey, only to find that the studies themselves could be the problem? While it is necessary to critique media, the problem is bigger than this. In this expose I look at the ways online media and scientific method both promote confusion. The strategy employed by both is the technique of invalidating lived experiences.

The example of “men are wimps” is a striking example, but I’m going to show that both media and science invalidate my lived experience, as a woman, all the time. I am going to show you how both my G-spot and my experience of PMS are being denied.

Finding the G-spot relies on Scanners, Surveys, and Sample Size, not Sex “Scientifically proven” is considered to be the gold standard, equated with ultimate Truth.

We are told that because scientific methods are objective, unbiased, and neutral, they are the most valuable way to uncover knowledge (“science says…”). While these methods have forwarded undeniable progress, the history of scientific medicine has also posed ethical concerns: who do these studies benefit, who do they exclude, for what benefit, and at what cost?

Take the G-spot for example. The G-spot

refers to a sensitive area on the front (anterior) wall of a woman’s vagina. Some women find stimulation of this area highly pleasurable, others find it irritating, and some simply say “meh.” In 2014, sexology researcher Emmanuele Jannini termed this region the clitourethrovaginal (CUV) complex, a term that feels fitting as it recognizes women’s pleasure centres as complex systems, instead of as a button to push. This is a progressive, complex look at women’s pleasure response.

Unfortunately, many researchers in this field fail to take the same, systems-based outlook, and the G-spot is a point of hostile contention amongst some gynaecology researchers; some insist it exists, some insist it does not.

Last spring, I came across a shocking headline that read “The G-Spot and ‘Vaginal Orgasm’ Are Myths, According To New Clinical Review”. I dug deeper. This online report suggested it’s time women stop searching for their G-spot, that it’s “old news”, and that “it’s time to put this sex myth to bed.” It turns out the study reviewed 60 years worth of research and concluded that though most women “believe” they have it, not many of them were able to locate it. Researchers fail to find a distinct anatomical structure; media reports tell women their search for pleasure is futile.

Another researcher, Dr. Adam Ostrzenski, wanted to prove its existence. Disclaimer: this is gross. In 2012 he published a report of having “discovered” the G-spot by

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dissecting a “distinct anatomical structure,” rope-like in texture and grapish blue in colour, from a cadavre’s vaginal wall. He was condemned by fellow researchers in his field because this dissection was considered unethical, uninformed medical practice and this anatomical structure could have been pathological (a tumour, a deformity, or variance in body structure). Despite this critique, he was featured on a popular talk show, The VIEW, and as it turns out, he runs a gyno-cosmetic surgery clinic where G-spot plasty (G-spot enhancement surgery) is one of the available and very profitable procedures.

Conflict of interest? I think so.

Two researchers (Puppo & Puppo) published a paper in 2014, where they reported in upper-case letters that THE VAGINAL ORGASM DOES NOT EXIST; in fact, they report that a woman’s anterior vaginal wall (area of the G-spot) is so insensitive that women feel no pain during surgical procedures in this area.

Further, with fervent language they demand people start calling the clitoris what it is–“The Female Penis”–and are also concerned that the myth of the G-spot is damaging to men; perhaps hetero men wouldn’t suffer from premature ejaculation if they didn’t have to spend so damn long poking around down there for something that doesn’t exist. One wonders how this kind of content gets passes through a peer-review.

Whatever you want to call it, this erogenous zone has been recognized for thousands of

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years (it wasn’t termed “G-spot” until the ’50s). I think these scenarios highlight our society’s continued deep cultural confusion about women’s bodies. It also highlights the way biases can sneak their way into what should be a neutral, objective, and rigorous method of study. It shows that ethics is not an inherent characteristic of the scientific method, and that women’s orgasm processes need to be viewed as complex and diverse.

PMS: Science Fact or Science Fiction?

Another example of the way women’s bodies are being misrepresented in scientific studies and simplified in the media is PMS. PMS, which stands for pre-menstrual syndrome, refers to a phase before menstruation starts.

There are over 150 documented symptoms of PMS, including: anxiety, depression, bloating, aching, cramps, headache, fatigue, increased appetite, rage, exhaustion, mood swings, crying spells, and more. Some women do not experience negative symptoms, but most suffer somewhere on the spectrum, feeling disgruntled, hopeless, anxious, and melancholy until we finally start to bleed.

It’s important to note that five to 10 percent of women suffer these symptoms to an extreme, and are diagnosed with PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder).

Usually, these symptoms lighten up when Aunt Flo (menstruation) comes to town. So snide retorts of “are you on your period?” when a woman is assertive is not just

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sexist, but also inaccurate (that being said, menstruation comes with its own symptoms of cramping, bloating, cravings, and fatigue, which is enough to make any girl crabby).

But in 2012, the reductive headlines struck again: “PMS May Not Exist, New Study Finds” and “New Research suggests premenstrual syndrome is a myth.” This study, led by a team of Toronto researchers, collected mood reports from 100 women over a six-month phase, and is currently featured on the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) page (“PMS: Science Fact or Science Fiction?”). The results show that “mood changes are almost always linked to the menses phase alone or the menses and premenstrual phases combined, not the premenstruum alone.” Doesn’t this mean that behavioural changes do occur?

One of the researchers, Gillian Einstein, suggests that North American women are so trained to expect PMS that by the time they reach womanhood, they believe they have it; in other words, cultural ideas of PMS are little more than a placebo effect.

I scoured through the study in a rage. I hit a language barrier; the use of standard deviations, multivariate approaches, parameter estimates of affects, and periodicity analysis made it impossible for me to understand. What do I know? Not much, except that for me, these symptoms are not simply result of a “placebo effect.”

Einstein says that one of her goals is to debunk the myth that women are irrational

and unstable. I get it. We’re sick of being dismissed. But one of their findings suggests that women stop looking to hormones as the cause of emotional disruption in order to look to the “real causes” of our negative moods, such as personal relationships, physical health, and social factors. Creating binaries (does/does not exist) is socially irresponsible and lends to the invalidation of women’s lived experiences, depending on which side of the bell curve they land. By stating boldly that PMS doesn’t exist is to give men (and women) ammunition to invalidate the voices of countless women who suffer real, severe, and sometimes life-altering mood symptoms approximately one week a month for their entire adult life.

Putting the pieces together Yes, the “men are wimps” backlash was frustratingly oversimplified. But why is it that high-profile media outlets are so quick to defend men’s integrity and physical bodies, while women have been trivialized for decades over life-altering side effects of birth control, such as anxiety, depression, risk of liver damage, blood clot, and stroke, and decreased bone density, to name a select few? Controversial headlines about women are everywhere and as a result, both men and women continue to be confused about how our bodies work.

These instances of confusion about women’s bodies in scientific study and

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perpetuated by social media are a kind of sex inequality not so easily described as “men vs. women.” I see these studies as being methodologically inadequate; it is a paradox, because the very methods which have successfully forwarded scientific progress are the same methods that end up categorizing bodies into “normal” and “abnormal.”

What can be done? I conclude this article by forwarding two pieces of advice from prominent women’s health professionals.

Dr. Beverly Whipple, author of The G-Spot: and other Discoveries about Human Sexuality (1982), says, “it behooves researchers to listen to women and then to validate their pleasurable sensual and sexual experiences in laboratory studies”. Starting from a place of ethics, education and awareness of diversity is essential. Finally, refining a systems-based approach in scientific research methods is necessary. I sign off with the words of VIU’s Women’s History Professor Cheryl Warsh: “Uncertainties, irregularities, mysteries, and unexpected consequences–the stories of women’s health, as indeed life itself, are complicated, messy, and even chaotic.

Perhaps it is time to embrace the chaos instead of prescribing what the norms of a woman’s life should be.”

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Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Brendan Barlow On November 15, a large crowd was --treated to an Arts Club production of The Navigator

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Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

The show is billed as a “fast-paced farcical adventure”, and features the exceptional talents of five actors filling the roles of 40 characters. While the actors portraying Dr. Watson and the famous Detective Sherlock Holmes remain the same, it falls to three others to make up the rest of the cast needed to tell the story.

Having seen Potted Potter the week before, my expectation for Baskerville was significantly different from the show that I actually saw. Where Potter plays things fast-and-loose with the story details, and is a high-energy performance that even borders on the frantic at times, Baskerville takes things significantly more seriously. The first clue came from the costumes. A character enters the scene at the beginning of the show in period-appropriate garb and starts delivering lines directly from the source material. For those who wonder what I mean, the original stories of Sherlock Holmes are not actually set in modern-day London, but way back in the days before Benedict Cumberbatch graced us with his beautiful cheekbones.

From there, Baskerville very quickly establishes that while it is putting a humorous tone on the Baskerville story, it is committed to telling that story properly, albiet in a way that is hilarious and memorable.

The first thing that sets this production apart as something unique is its presentation. Before we even get to the small cast, and the deeply impressive costume changes, we have to talk about the multimedia tools that are used. The set design combines elements of practical sets and props with images projected onto screens. There is a crew of stagehands who transition the sets between scenes with what can only be described as laser-precision. From where I sat, I was able to see the marks that littered the stage, and only someone who had been working on the show could have made any sense out of what appeared to be literally hundreds of marks. The cast was also involved in moving sets and screens to place, and the entire production was so fluid and impressive that it alone might have been enough to make the show something special, even if everything else hadn’t been so great.

There is, of course, the wonderful cast. As I mentioned, Holmes and Watson are played by the same actors for the entirety of the performance. They are expertly portrayed

by Mark Weatherley as Watson and Alex Zahara as Holmes.

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While they do their best (and mostly succeed) to deliver the characters with an accent, it’s the charm and charisma that make their performances work as well as they do. It does make sense that the accents from those two actors would be the strongest, given that they only have the two characters to worry about, which leads me to completely forgive the hilarious and bizarre cacophony of accents displayed by the other three performers.

The trio, Lauren Bowler, Kirk Smith, and Mike Wasko are responsible for filling each and every remaining role in the production, and are also responsible for some of the most impressive theatre performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. The costume changes they performed were so fast that part of me had to wonder if there wasn’t another actor or two hiding in the wings. It quickly became apparent that these three changed outfits faster than I could even properly wrap my head around, and always came out in character and ready to deliver a performance with the same level of gusto and enthusiasm as they had in the previous scene. They kept their energy up to inexplicable levels, and it’s hard to properly describe how impressive the changes are without seeing them for yourself.

The farcical elements of the play really work well as well. There are jokes in the show about the more elaborate and stressful costume changes, most memorable being one from Lauren Bowler, who changes from a woman in a large hoop dress to a young newsy boy and back again between three scenes, and acknowledges the task with a loud, and out-of-context scream as she runs off stage. There are also some interactions with a particularly funny stagehand, and other jokes that are simply inserted anachronisms that really work to make the show fun and consistently entertaining. That said, it’s clear that there is a real knowledge of the story they are “farci-fying” and it maintains what I said about Potted Potter, in that you can’t effectively make fun of a thing if you’re not very familiar with it.

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery was a truly entertaining and funny show that made me further appreciate the position that I hold here at The Navigator. A job that allows me to go out and watch exceptional theatre is one that I will be grateful for forever, and Baskerville will be one of those memories that I hold on to for a long, long time. Keep an eye out for further Arts Club performances coming through: if you get the chance to see this team of actors and creatives perform, you need to take it.

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Holiday Movies Brendan Barlow | The Navigator

Well everyone, the semester is coming to a close and you’re presently sitting down and reading the last issue of The Navigator in 2016. Along with the year and the semester ending, it’s also treading closer and closer to that most wonderful (or

terrible, or indifferent, depending on your view) time of year: Christmas. While the true meanings and origins of the holiday may have been warped, skewed, and more often ignored, there’s one thing (besides peppermint mochas) we

can always count on the holidays for: a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of nothing. I thought I’d suggest a few of my favourite movies to watch during the holidays, compiling a list of the holiday best, based on my own nostalgia.

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A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Black Christmas (1974)

Love, Actually (2003)

If we’re being honest here, the big draw of this particular 25-minute long “movie” is the soundtrack. A Christmas doesn’t go by without its appearance, be it either from the special itself, or emanating from the beautiful green vinyl played on heavy rotation every year. So much about this special is ingrained in my consciousness of Christmas, from the saddest tree ever, to the amazing dancing on display at the pageant.

A true and absolute classic.

Guys, I reviewed 31 horror movies in October. You had to know that one on this list would be a horror movie. This 1974 Canadian slasher movie is essentially the beginning of almost every horror trope that has become cliched and eyeroll-inducing, including the ol’ “The call is coming from inside the house” and the idea of slasher movies as a whole. John Saxon’s performance alone is worth checking this one out, and everything else is just the icing on the cake.

Yeah, it’s a romantic-comedy, yeah it’s loaded with seriously problematic elements; most significant the guy who takes signs to his best friend’s home to silently seduce his wife. You won’t hear me defend the problems (and there are lots). That said, there’s something so wonderful and charming about this movie and I really can’t be too mad. It’s a fun, sweet, and entertaining film starring every British actor ever. It’s a rare occasion that I recommend a rom-com, so watch this one if you haven’t.

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Gremlins (1984)

A Christmas Carol (1951)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s really easy to assume that everyone has seen this movie.

It’s just one of those films that had a tremendous impact on my youth, and it’s also a great horror-comedy-Christmas movie that everyone needs in their lives. Director Joe Dante gave us both Piranha, and The Howling before this one, and it is easily one of the most iconic films of my generation. Even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve probably seen the adorable Furbyinspiration that is Gizmo. One of the best ones one this list by the way, if you’re trying to pare it down.

This is obviously a tricky one, and a second adaptation of this movie will show up later on this list as well, but I’m specifically talking about the 1951 film starring Alastair Sim as the famous Ebenezer Scrooge. This is a version that I’ve grown up watching, and surely many of you have as well. I will always remember the moody, black-and-white ghost story that treads into the realm of being pretty damn scary more than once. Looking at you, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and Ghost of Christmas Present. It’s a fabulous version of the story, and one that I can’t recommend enough.

I mean, it’s a movie starring James Stewart. There really shouldn’t be a whole lot more needed to sell you on it, but it is sort of like an entire movie based on the final two ghosts from A Christmas Carol. It deals with some dark and emotional themes, and acknowledges that the holidays can be a pretty tough time of year for a lot of people. Another great one, and did I mention that it stars Jimmy Stewart? Seriously, watch this and then go screen Rear Window.

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Die Hard (1988)

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

You’re damn right this is a Christmas movie, I know that it’s a bit of a cliché joke now to say that your favourite Christmas film is Die Hard, but cliché or not this movie kicks ass. I can appreciate a movie that gives something different and still sets it around the holidays. Like Gremlins and Black Christmas, this one makes the list because sometimes you really do need something to break up the Grinch re-runs that are inevitably going to be on TV for the next month.

The greatest adaptation of A Christmas Carol. This is an objective fact, and not up for dispute, so let’s just move on.

Michael Caine stars as Scrooge, and it stars the Muppets. I can’t imagine what else you need to know. It’s a funny, charming take on the original and (of course) it’s a musical. A first feature directed by Jim Henson’s son, Brian shows a respect and reverence to his father’s work, and that the love of the Muppets runs in the family. This one is among my favourites on this list as well, and one that I watch every year.

Here’s another one that I usually just assume everyone watches, but the older I get the more I realize that this is simply not the case. Written by John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club), this is another one of those movies that hold a special place in my heart. I remember watching it more than once each Christmas with my family, particularly when I was younger, and one that I maintain a level of love for, even if I laugh a little less at it now than I used to. Plus, who doesn’t like to remember a time when Chevy Chase was pretty funny, and didn’t bum everyone out.

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Review: A Buffy Sainte-Marie Experience a Chantelle Spicer W i t h --career that Contributor

began in the 1960s, Buffy Sainte-Marie is the most celebrated Indigenous artist in North America, with both Canada and the US claiming her as one of their beloved own—especially Canada as she has been banned from the air by two US Presidents.

She is almost mythological in her contribution to the music and social justice scenes, devoting her life to creating art that inspires all who listen to take action against issues of war, greed, the corporate machine, and the effects of colonization.

Her songs have been covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley, to Kanye West, to Janis Joplin, along with 30 others who have connected with her powerful lyrics and strong messages of love and equality. A star of all screens small and large, Sainte-Marie is also an acclaimed visual artist. She has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, numerous Gemini and Juno awards (they even made a Juno category for Indigenous music to honour her work), and has been inducted into three different Hall of Fames. This is just a fraction of her accomplishments (and does not even cover her philanthropic work).

In other words, she is a superstar.

On November 20, Nanaimo’s Port Theatre gave her the stage and offered her audience the gift of a rare solo performance, an event sponsored by Vancouver Island University as part of their “Reconciliation Road” series.

At the time I am writing this, it has been four days since seeing her show, and her music, message of community and love, her vibrancy

and charisma, are all still stuck in my head. She invited the audience into “her studio,” took us back in time to California in the ’60s, and reminded us of the power of our own voices. My mind is still coming to terms with the nuances of her power and the simple beauty of her performance.

The night was opened by Douglas White, welcoming us onto the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nations.

He taught us that the Port theatre is known in Hul’qui’minum as “the grassy place”, and wished guests William Prince and Buffy Sainte-Marie, who both hail from the big grasslands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan respectively, a feeling of comfort. He reminded us of the power of the arts in paving a path towards reconciliation in a way the legal system or governments can never achieve.

The night started with White offering up a prayer song taught to him by his grandmother, Ellen Kwulasulwat White. In the silence which followed, William Prince came onto the stage and opened us all up with his powerful voice and dynamic guitar playing. Prior to this show, I had never heard of Prince, though he has recently won the Western Canadian Music Award for Aboriginal Artist of the Year for his album Earthly Days. He is a delightful performer, offering us pieces of himself in the most humble and beautiful way between his song stories. As a new father and obvious lover of love, his songs are filled with bittersweet wisdom, lifted up by a voice full of emotion and hope.

I have since listened to his album and enjoyed it just as much.

With this, we awaited Buffy in great anticipation, especially after being offered a view of her current global tour, which has been ongoing for eight years. Her performance with her band looks incredible and I was beginning to feel like we might be missing out by not seeing them together—until she came onstage. For being such a small woman, she has quite the presence.

Beginning with “It’s My Way,” she gifted us with an array of songs from throughout her career, moving between folk songs to rockabilly to pop songs played on just as many instruments. At one point, she even pulled out a mouth bow, which is an instrument I had never heard of, but, as she explained, is based on the design of a hunting bow and transformed through the eyes of tribal musicians. Laughingly, she wondered why anyone would want weapons when you could have music and after hearing the strange quality of the instrument, I have to agree. She also offered us a glimpse into her exploration of music, weaving together some intricate and strange rhythms on her synthesizer and sharing some new songs she is working on. The opportunity to experience that was amazing, as her process of creativity, both in music and lyrics, is incredibly intimate and powerful.

The best moment however, if that could exist in this show, was when she led the audience through the 1960s protest song “We Are Circling,” which is also given new life on her most recent album Power in the Blood, to which she had written new lyrics. Having not experienced the 60s, hearing this encouragement to come together as community and the recognition and celebration of this as sacred work was very empowering. In all

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honesty, I think if she had called on us to walk out of that theatre together and rally in the streets, we gladly would have followed her. In honour of 1960s protest songs, she finished off the show with “Universal Soldier” which is rated by many as one of top songs to rally against the machine of war, and is one of the only Buffy songs I know by heart. Many people in the audience, consisting mainly of older fans, felt this song reach deep from years past. It is just as relevant now, just as she is relevant now, just as her message of love and justice is still resonating in millions of people.

In between all of this, she offered the story of her epic career and bits of herself, peppered with hardship and laughter in equally generous portions. It is in these moments of sharing her humanity, and getting under her already potent songs, that we can journey with her, feel her life, mind, and heart. It is this type of connection that makes me fall in

love with her over and over again, in one moment for her strength, then for her vulnerability. This openness, this offering of her under the fame, is, I am sure, what has rallied people around her and the complex message of rebellion, love, community, and inequality for over 50 years.

Her songs which bring to life a simple life in the country, which bring the tears of addictions and war, which ask us to love ourselves, the land, and each other are our songs too—our stories stitched together by her incredible talent and unique voice. I had been so excited to see Buffy Sainte-Marie— what I feel afterwards is incredible gratitude and inspiration—and the aspiration to be as amazing as she is when I am 75 years old. Anyone who gets the opportunity to see her should grasp onto that with both hands and an open heart. I will hopefully see you there.

theoxypub@outlook.com

Daily Drink and Food Specials Breakfast Specials Karaoke every Thursday and Friday Music Trivia every Saturday

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Toys for Tots Hip Hop Show Cole Schisler Tyler Barnes, otherwise known as Jinx --TK, is busy preparing for his third year of The Navigator

organizing the Toys for Tots charity hip hop show, which will take place December 1 at 9 pm at The Cambie on 63 Victoria Crescent.

Originally from Edmonton, Barnes began his hip hop career at the age of 21. He recorded his first track, and started doing shows a few years later. He became deeply involved in the hip hop community, and cultivated connections with top talent across the country.

In 2007, Barnes moved to Campbell River, and began organizing monthly hip hop nights. Eventually, he moved down to Nanaimo and got involved in the thriving hip hop scene, where he attended local rap ciphers and performed at shows.

Barnes founded Toys for Tots as a way to give back to families that are struggling in the community, as well as to teach his daughter the importance of being selfless and generous to others.

“It was around Christmas time, I thought, why don’t I just throw a show, and try to raise funds for kids,” Barnes said.

“That way, if I can keep building it, I can teach her those same qualities, to grow up and be a better member of society.”

The first year of Toys for Tots was met with little fanfare.

Barnes was new to throwing fundraisers, and there was little involvement from the community. Despite that, Barnes was able to help seven kids from a few families.

Things took off for Toys for Tots in the second year. Barnes appeared in the local newspapers and was on Shaw TV doing press for the event; more local businesses got involved, and the level of donations skyrocketed.

“It was a great show. We had lots of local support,” Barnes said. “Thirty kids got helped from 11 different families. We were able to help all the families that applied, and there were even toys left over to give to other families.”

This year, Barnes says that the level of applications from families is about the same, but the show is being promoted

much more. He says that each year is a learning process of finding out what works best. For the future, Barnes is focused on creating a professional website for the event, as well as partnering with bigger businesses, and possibly even expanding the show to other island communities.

“By the time the fifth year comes, Toys for Tots will be much more recognized,” Barnes said.

Currently, Toys for Tots is a 19+ event, as it is far less expensive to put on shows at a 19+ venue than to book a space for an all ages show. This year, Toys for Tots will be held at the Cambie, however Barnes hopes that Toys for Tots will grow into an all-ages event.

“We were talking about it last year, but things didn’t fall into place this year. It is definitely an option on the table.”

For more information on Toys for Tots, and how to get involved, visit their Facebook page <facebook.com/ hiphopstoysfortots>.

The Adventure Zone: Podcast Review Brendan Barlow If I told you there was a podcast during --which three brothers and their father The Navigator

played Dungeons & Dragons together, would you jump on board right away? You might if you’re a fan of D&D, or if that premise aroused just enough interest in you to check it out, but somehow I feel that you might just roll your eyes and give it a pass. The idea of listening to people playing a game is almost less appealing than the idea of watching someone else playing a game, and yet The Adventure Zone manages to stand alone as one of the funniest, most entertaining dramatic podcasts I’ve come across in a while, and features some of the best writing I’ve heard in any media across the board.

A big part of what works about The Adventure Zone is the chemistry between players. It’s easy to say that being family might help with that, but not every family has this much chemistry, and works this well together. Travis, Justin, and Griffin McElroy are brothers who collectively host more than six other podcasts, and produce content for <polygon. com>. Their father, Clint McElroy, has a long history in radio, adding a great presence to the show, and the family dynamic between the four of them is unique and interesting.

The show is led by Griffin McElroy, the dungeon master (and babiest brother), who conducts the game better than you could reasonably expect someone to produce a game of D&D. While my hands-on experience is limited, in listening to other podcasts that attempt the same formula, I’ve learned that there is something truly unique and special in the way Griffin writes his adventures. While he, of course, leaves room for the players to interact, he manages to create compelling stories and characters that I find myself getting attached to way more often than I would expect; especially considering they are just Griffin doing different voices.

A game of D&D would be nothing without players, and Justin, Travis, and Clint take on those roles as Taako, Magnus, and Merle respectively. The characters are well defined, and it’s clear even before you learn their histories that they are already fully fleshed out people with stories and struggles leading up to their introduction to the audience in the first episode. It also helps that the people portraying them have a sense of humor, and are clearly extremely creative people.

The story of The Adventure Zone follows Taako, Magnus, and Merle as they attempt to reclaim dangerous relics on behalf

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of an organization wishing to see the relics destroyed before they can be used to destroy the world. They battle gerblins, solve murder mysteries on trains, engage in Mad Max style death-races, and even find time to shop at FantasyCostco (where all your dreams come true). Through all of this, the show provides hilarious jokes, compelling drama, frustratingly tense cliffhangers, and as the show progresses it begins to feel more and more like a radio-drama than a game of D&D. More than once I’ve found myself feeling genuine shock and surprise at the twists and turns Griffin throws into the game, and laughing in public at the gang’s antics.

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All in all, this is so much more than just a show about people playing a game that people don’t like to admit they play.

It’s a demonstration of extremely high-quality story telling, and something you all need to hunt down and listen to. New episodes are released every two weeks, and episode 52 was released not that long ago. It’s a good time to start catching up, as Griffin and his wife are expecting a baby, and so some time away from D&D is expected. Find this show, and others from this podcasting dynasty at <mcelroyshows.com>.

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Health & Wellness: Tips for the most wonderful time of the year Cole Schisler| The Navigator As the end of semester approaches, and the specter of final exams loom over many of us, like the dreadful ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, cycles of stress and

study tend take precedence over health and wellness.

In order to better understand ways to de-stress, manage my time, and study more effectively, I visited

the VIU Health & Wellness centre, and collected some nuggets of wisdom from the counsellors, as well as some handy pamphlets prepared by the counselling staff.

Top tips: Organize a small time investment that works for your life. Whether it be taking a walk, talking to a loved

one, preparing a healthy meal, having a nice bubble bath, or going out for a night on the town, try to find something that suits your needs. Make sure to find something small and achievable to decompress from a long day of studying. Trying to do too many things to de-stress can add to your to-do list.

Focus on a small, daily task that makes you feel good.

Minimize distractions.

Try to avoid an excess of unhealthy behaviours like Netflix binging, spending too much time on the internet, or finding solace in substances like drugs and alcohol. While these behaviours might make you feel good in the short term, they may leave you feeling stuck, and can open the door to more stress.

Take breaks.

It may be tempting to hunker down for a night of cramming at home, or at the library, but cramming can often lead to burning out. For every hour spent studying, take a ten-minute break for a short walk outside, get up and move around, a change of scenery can work wonders. If you are working on a project that you really don’t want to do, practice the 15-minute plan: work for 15-minutes, take a five-minute break, then come back and work for another 15 minutes until you’re finished.

Try to regulate your sleep.

For many students, and young people in general, a good nights’ sleep often falls by the wayside, not only in exam periods, but in daily life. Avoid screens and artificial light up to an hour before bedtime. If you can’t turn your mind off, write down your thoughts in a journal, or practice breathing exercises

until you become tired. Also, try reading a boring book, and avoid spending too much time in your bed when you’re not sleeping. Train your mind to recognize your bed as being for sleep, not for hanging out in.

Put things in perspective.

The pressure to succeed is real, but take a step back and evaluate what really matters. Do you need to get an A in every class? Maybe, but probably not. Make an attainable, and realistic goal for your studies. Decide how good is good enough, and work towards that goal.

Make a study group.

The odds are pretty good that if you’re struggling to study for a particular class, your classmates are as well. Book a study room in the library, or organize a place where you can meet with friends and make the studying more manageable. Being in a group brings a fun, social aspect to studying, and can leave you feeling much happier than studying in a room all by yourself. If you don’t have anyone in mind to study with, raise the idea in class, and see if your classmates are onboard.

Manage your time effectively.

Time management will look different for everyone. Make a list of all the important tasks you have to do in a day ranging from the most important to the least important. Even if, for example, you only finish two out of six tasks, you’ve still completed the two most important things in your day. Some people like the rush of a last minute dash to get everything done, but it’s a bad habit to fall into. Do your best to find a balance for everything in your life, and don’t forget to make time for yourself.

Download helpful apps, or look up tips online.

There’s a wealth of information out there on time management, and relaxation tips for people with busy lifestyles. One of the best apps, available on both Android and iPhone is MindShift.

As described on the Google Play Store, “MindShift will help you learn how to relax, develop more helpful ways of thinking, and identify active steps that will help you take charge of your anxiety.” There are also great websites such as: <heretohelp. bc.ca>, <mindbodygreen.com>, <yourskillfulmeans.com>, and a wealth of great videos on YouTube to help as well.

Reach out to others.

If you’re struggling and feel like you’re at the end of your rope, talk to someone. Whether it’s a close friend, a parent, an instructor, or even the staff at the Health & Wellness centre, talk to someone. Often times, the simple act of venting your problems, and talking yourself through them will help you find clarity. Don’t be afraid of burdening others with your issues, find someone who you feel comfortable with, and again, talk to someone.

Most importantly, you don’t have to wait for the holiday season to de-stress. Hopefully, these tips, and others that are available, will help you to take control of your time, and manage your stress in a healthy balance that works best for you. Stress is becoming a bigger problem in our society as we continue into the future, and learning to manage it early in life will help to set us up for success in the future.

If you have any helpful health and wellness tips, please submit them to <sports@thenav.ca>, and I wish you all the best of luck going into the end of semester. Happy holidays.

Gingerbread House Competition for Housing in Nanaimo Cole Schisler Last year, local home builder B.Gallant Homes --organized a gingerbread house decorating The Navigator

Hans the gingerbread man with Santa at the 2015 fundraiser.

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B. Gallant Homes

event to raise money for the Salvation Army’s housing programs in Nanaimo. They raised almost $1000 dollars in 2015, and this year, they are raising the stakes with the B. Gingerbread Homes Competition.

This year, teams representing local businesses in Nanaimo will compete to see which of their gingerbread homes is the best. To view the homes, all attendees must make a cash donation, there is no minimum donation, and no maximum donation. All proceeds will go to support the housing programs of the Nanaimo Salvation Army.

The winners of the competition will be announced December 15.

The gingerbread homes will be on display at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre at 101 Gordon Street in Nanaimo, on December 3 – 4, 11 – 12, and 17 – 18 from 12 – 4 pm. Along with voting for the best gingerbread house, attendees can decorate their own

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gingerbread houses, and take them home after the event, there will also be a colouring contest for children. All attendees who donate will be entered in a draw to win tickets for Helijet travel to Vancouver.

The VIU carpentry program has been involved building display stands for the event, and the VIU baking program has been baking cookies for the event over the past few weeks. Several corporate sponsors have also been involved with the B. Gingerbread Homes competition, such as Thrifty Foods, which donated the gingerbread for the event, the Vancouver Island Conference Centre which is hosting the event, and Ensuite, which has provided financial backing for the event.

Volunteers are needed for the event. Volunteers will work handing out candy, accepting donations, monitoring the event, and welcoming people to the event centre; volunteers must be available on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 4 pm. To apply for volunteer positions, email <gingerbread@bgallanthomes.com>.

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VIU Hosts Badminton Tournament Cole Schisler Over the weekend, VIU hosted teams from --UBC and SFU for a badminton tournament.

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On Friday night, the teams had a chance to play against each other and warm up for the tournament in nine match sets, with two men’s singles, one women’s singles, two women’s doubles, two men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles.

VIU beat SFU 6-3, and fell to UBC 8-1.

In the individual matches, VIU Mariner Helen Cheung placed first in women’s singles, and VIU Mariner Graydon Robb placed second in men’s singles. The Mariners continued their success in the doubles matchups. The team of Melissa Liew and Chris Wan took first place for VIU in mixed doubles, Helen Cheung and Melissa Liew placed second in women’s doubles, and the team of Robert Foster and Graydon Robb placed third in men’s singles.

Going in to the tournament, the Mariners knew they would face stiff competition from the powerhouse teams of UBC and SFU, however they preformed exceptionally well, and are looking forward to more success in the season.

Darby Walker flicks the birdie.

Courtesy of Northfield Photography

Helen Cheung and Graydon Robb get ready to return a serve.

William Poon pivots with his eyes on the birdie.

Courtesy of Northfield Photography

Courtesy of Northfield Photography

Graydon Robb tosses up the birdie for a rally.

Courtesy of Northfield Photography

Drop-in hand drumming classes Cole Schisler Dave McGrath, also known as Voodoo Dave, --is a percussionist, drum maker, and hand The Navigator

drumming instructor.

Voodoo Dave is hosting hand drumming classes on Thursdays from 7 – 8:30 pm at the Kismet Theatre, 112-55 Victoria Road. This current session of classes has been running since November 17, and will conclude on December 8. The lessons cost $15 to drop in, and are open to all levels. Drums will be provided at the event.

“People have a great time playing together,” Dave says.

“It’s a good social event, people get to build community, it helps relieve stress, and forget about all your other problems for an hour and a half.”

Dave has instructed a wide variety of students in hand drumming. He has done workshops at elementary schools, universities, office events, and even retirement communities.

Dave says that all ages are welcome to his classes, and there is often a diverse mix of age groups at his classes.

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“It’s a good way for students to relieve some stress, and it might even help them with their concentration,” Dave says.

“It’s good on a lot of levels for your health, it even stimulates your immune system.”

While living in Mexico in 1993, Dave discovered the art of hand drumming, and making hand drums. When Dave returned to Vancouver Island, he was looking for a drumming community, but found there were few teachers and drum circles in the area. Eventually, he moved to Vancouver, and got involved in their community. He played in Brazilian and traditional African music bands, and developed a passion for percussion through his involvement in the drumming community. Dave then brought that passion back to Nanaimo, where he now hosts classes and organizes drum circles in the area.

“I have a motto I use, and that’s ‘building community one beat at a time.’ [Hand drumming] is fun, it’s something everyone should try at least once and see what it’s all about.”

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Voodoo Dave instructing a hand drumming class on Gabriola Island.

Courtesy of Voodoo Dave

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SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

Mayan Chocolate Sparklers Catherine Charlebois If someone told me that I’d be --putting ground pepper and cayenne The Navigator

into Christmas cookies a week ago, I’d probably have laughed and walked away. That is, until I met these bad boys. Me being me and unable to handle spice, I was very skeptical when our very own Designer extraordinaire Zyre Hoskins boasted the tastiness that was this cookie recipe. However, upon further testing (with a lot of assistance from taste testers), this recipe has proven to be dangerously delicious. Similar to ginger snap cookies, minus the ginger and chock full of chocolatey goodness, these cookies are sure to kick your taste buds into high gear and gain approval to whatever holiday gathering or Christmas party you bring them to. Feel free to play with the cayenne, it brings up the heat on these cold dreary December nights.

Cookie Ingredients 3/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 tbsp cinnamon 2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp pepper 1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping: 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp cinnamon 1/8 or 1/4 tbsp cayenne pepper Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Or not, I’m not your mother.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and cayenne for topping. Mix well and set aside.

3. For cookies, beat together shortening, butter and both sugars until creamy using an electric mixer or a plain ol’ spoon.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the next 6 ingredients, mixing well, then add the chocolate chips.

4. Roll dough into little balls, but don’t flatten them. Roll in topping and place them on your cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 7-10 minutes (depending on how big you made them) or until golden. The cookies should still be soft in the center. Let cool, remove and enjoy with a big glass of milk.

Catherine Charlebois

Catherine Charlebois

Yum.

Sugar & Spice: Sleigh Bells Ring Cole Schisler On December 16, Lumyn8 Entertainment --will be putting on their third production, The Navigator

Sugar & Spice: Sleigh Bells Ring, at the Harbour City Theatre on 25 Victoria Road in Nanaimo.

Sugar & Spice began in March at the Metro Lounge, originally it was more of a bar show, but it has developed into a full feature show to display talented Drag Kings, Drag Queens, Burlesque and Boylesque performers, as well as non-gender-conforming musical performers.

“We wanted to create an opportunity for some of the entertainers that society might look down on,” said Mark Swarek, founder of Lumyn8 Entertainment, originally called LaGrande Productions.

Through Sugar & Spice, Lumyn8 provides a safe space for their entertainers to learn what it takes to put on a feature production, and give them valuable experience to continue in the world of show business.

Aside from putting on the Sugar & Spice productions, Lumyn8 is partnered with the Harbor City Rainbow Community

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Services Association, (Harbour City RCSA.) The Harbour City RCSA was formed recently to address some of the gaps in services for the LGBTQ community in Nanaimo.

Harbour City RCSA has three main focuses: creating a social, and nutritional community for people living with HIV in Nanaimo, as well as creating social events and safe spaces for people who are non-binary gendered. They also have a peer support program, where they provide training for peer support workers who will meet with people in need of someone to talk to.

“When someone is newly diagnosed as HIV positive, there is pretty much no immediate and meaningful response to support that person,” Swarek said. “Providing that support is one of our main intentions with our peer support program.”

The peer support workers also help to guide individuals who are transitioning genders, and struggling with a variety of issues. Peer support workers have their own life experiences with similar issues that they can draw on to help others. To contact peer support workers, there is a toll free number,

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1-888-588-1408 and the extension 108 for peer support.

“People in need of support services can call and leave a message,” Swarek said. “I return their call, and do an intake with them. Based on what I learn in that conversation; I match them with the peer support worker I think will be best able to help them.”

Along with the larger Sugar & Spice productions, the Harbour City RCSA hosts open mics at the Vault café on Monday nights, and provides a safe space for LGBTQ performers, and anyone who wants to share their art on stage. These are fundraiser events, and are hosted once or twice a month.

The Sugar & Spice event will be a double feature, with a performance by Vancouver Island Medium Terry Lynn Boyle.

Tickets for the double feature are $42.50, tickets for the medium are $35 advance, and tickets for the Sugar & Spice event are $12.50 advance, and $15 at the door. Tickets are available online at <eventbee.com/v/lumyn8/boxoffice>

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Women’s volleyball: Douglas doubleheader

Northfield Photography

The Mariners getting pumped up before the match.

Cole Schisler The Mariners were riding high going into --the PACWEST Women’s Match of the Week The Navigator

on Friday against the second-place Douglas Royals to set off a weekend doubleheader.

Going into the match, the Mariners were ranked first in the PACWEST division, as well as the CCAA, with their winning record of 9-1. Despite their confidence going into the match, the Mariners were upset 3-1 by the Royals.

“I don’t think we played our best match today,” Mariners Head Coach Shane Hyde said. “We came up against a really good opponent, and I don’t think we were 100 percent ready to match their intensity.”

The Royals took the first set 25-13, the Mariners won the second set 25-17, but fell to the Royals in the final sets 25-23 in the third, and 25-22 in the fourth. The Royals generated momentum early on and sustained it throughout the match. Despite strong performances by Mariners’ Libero Kelsey Hutt, and PACWEST Athlete of the Week Megan Rosenlund, the Mariners failed to find their stride against the composed Royals.

Men’s volleyball: Mariners dig in to win

Zach Grigg and Wayne Woyciehouski jump up for a block.

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Northfield Photography

“We started to work really hard, but it was too late in each set,” Hyde said. “We have to have the attitude of playing defense. Tomorrow our blocking needs to be better, our servicing needs to be better, and we’ve got to serve better.”

The Mariners defeated the Royals in three straight sets on Saturday. The Mariners took the first set 25-21, the second 2522, and the third 25-23. It was a close match, but the Mariners were able to outscore the Royals. The Mariners also performed better on defense and kept the match in their favour.

“Today we focused on what we had to do in order to win, and I think we really executed that well as a team today,” said Mariner’s Power Hitter Megan Rosenlund.

Over the winter break, the Mariners will head down to San Diego for a volleyball tournament. Rosenlund believes the tournament will give the Mariners an opportunity to reshape themselves and find new goals for the next semester of play.

“I’m excited to see what happens next semester,” she said.

“We’re going to keep focusing on one game at a time.”

Cole Schisler Fresh off their first loss of the season --against Capilano, the top ranked Mariners The Navigator

were poised coming into their weekend matchups against the Douglas Royals.

“We’ve had a really good week of practice,” Mariners Head Coach Ave Avender said. “Tasting a loss last weekend was a good thing for us. We’re a pretty mature group, I think they enjoy the success, but realistically, having a good weekend at provincials means everything.”

The Mariners beat the Royals 3-1 on Friday. The Mariners won the first set 25-17, while Douglas took the second 26-24. The Mariners came back to take both the third and fourth sets 25-17.

Mariners’ Middle Wayne Woyciehouski had a huge game, with a good number of blocks and kills, that led his team to victory.

“Last weekend we hit a bit of a rough spot,” Woyciehouski said. “This weekend the goal was to get over that adversity, be confident, have fun, and play as hard as we could.”

Ryan Marcellus and Wayne Woyciehouski save the rally.

Northfield Photography

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Kelsey Hutt comes up with a big dig to keep the ball in play.

Northfield Photography

Andrea Cankovic floats the ball over the net.

Northfield Photography

In Saturdays match, the Mariners continued their success against the Royals, and won their match in three straight sets.

The Mariners won the first set 25-17, the second 25-18, and the third 25-13. Freshman Jeff Webb, and Sophomore Braydon Brouwer were a force to be reckoned with on the left side of the court, tallying up a high number of kills between them.

Going into new semester, the Mariners have a record of 11-1 ,putting them comfortably atop the PACWEST division, and are showing no signs of slowing down. The Mariners are putting their winning record far from their mind, and are focusing on each team one game at a time.

“The depth in our league has been strong for quite awhile,” Coach Avender said. “We have to show up every weekend, there’s always good teams, we prepare for every weekend like it’s a do or die match. With the talent we have, and the success we’ve had so far, we hope to go into provincials as the top seed and see where it goes from there.”

The Mariners celebrate their success.

Northfield Photography

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Brandon Kornelson is a Sociology and History student. He hopes to become a journalist.

Contact Brandon at <brandonkornelson@shaw.ca>.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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3

The Witness Blanket Art Installation

Introduction to Herbs

Jingle Mingle Artisan Craft Market

Milner Gardens Christmas Magic

OmTown Yoga Studio 43 Commercial St.

Milner Gardens & Woodland 2179 West Island Hwy., Qualicum

The View Gallery Nanaimo Campus

Black Bear Herbs 2748 Keswick Ave., Cumberland

11 am – 5 pm

12 – 2 pm

4 – 8 pm

FREE

$20

FREE

5 – 8:30 pm Suggested donation $5

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5

6

7

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Island Consort, “A Ceremony of Carols”

Spotlight Series: Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s The Nutcraker

Stressbusters Dog Therapy

Ladysmith Festival of Lights

O Christmas Tea - A British Comedy

Pet Pictures with Santa

VIU Library Nanaimo Campus

Downtown Ladysmith

The Port Theatre 125 Front St.

TESTIFY - A Project of the INDIGENOUS LAWS + ARTS Collective

Brechin United Church 1998 Estevan Rd. Starts 7:30 pm Students $5

The Port Theatre 125 Front St. Starts 7:30 pm

After dark

1 – 2:30 pm

FREE

FREE

Starts 7:30 Students $25

Students $25

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Santa’s Workshop

12 Drummers Drumming

Christmas Tea by the Sea

Santa’s Workshop, North Pole

Deep Bay Marine Field Station 370 Crome Point Rd., Bowser

12 pm – 4 pm

All Day

FREE

FREE

11 am – 3 pm Suggested donation $10

All Day FREE

11 Vancouver Island Conference Centre 101 Gordon St.

Malaspina Theatre Nanaimo Campus

Harewood Bosley’s 530 Fifth St.

11 am – 2 pm $28, reservation required

JOIN THE NAVIGATOR ONLINE

THENAV.CA /THENAVIGATORNEWSPAPER @THENAV_VIU

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CALENDAR

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Happy Holidays!

Congratulations to:

Donald Louch Thank you to everyone who participated, and stay tuned for more in 2017!