The Navigator Vol 46 Issue 13

No 13

MAR. 25

APR. 07

Vol 46

NAV I GATOR VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS

FREE

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THE DAM STORY

BC MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS LEFT IN POVERTY

MEN SETTLE FOR SILVER AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The battle over the Colliery Dams, and many small dams like it, will be won or lost by balancing cultural and community values alongside economics and human safety.

The BC government refuses to increase minimum wage enough to keep working people above the poverty line, despite calls for an increase from British Columbians.

The VIU Mariners’ men’s basketball team’s hunt for a National Championship came to a disappointing end on Saturday, March 21.

POVERT Y LINE

Contents

NEWS

04

05

06

07

Editorials

BC minimum wage workers left in poverty

Bill C-51 protests in Nanaimo and across Canada

Tune in to 102.3 The Wave for Variety - The Children’s Charity’s 8th Annual Radiothon

Fundraising for Northern BC students to visit VIU a success

Stem cell donor registration event in Nanaimo

FEATURES

09

10

11

12

The dam story

The long commute: Dorms

Museum news: Amphibians of Vancouver Island

Feed the bees

Point of VIU

ARTS

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17

18

The Cinematheque’s 24 Hour Movie Marathon

In Bloom with Duncan Symonds

The Duncan Symonds Trio– Bloom

St. Paddy’s Day Street Party

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21

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Carver comes up big as Mariners win final game

Men settle for silver at National Championship

Clippers one win away from Island Championship

Odds and Ends Comics

Camosun spoils Mariners’ quest for bronze

Pollard having a strong first year as a Mariner

SPORTS

02 CONTENTS

THE NAVIGATOR

No 13

Letters

www. thenav .ca THE NAVIGATOR WELCOMES READER CONTRIBUTIONS

â&#x20AC;˘ To submit, visit <www.thenav.ca> or email <editor@thenav.ca>.

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

CONTRIBUTORS Barb Beasley Shari Bishop Bowes Stephanie Brown Jennifer Garceau Tim Goater Jon Hiebert Jo Picard, Hitomi Kimura Edward Lee James Mackinnon Paul Manly Bill Pennell William Smith Chantelle Spicer Spencer Wilson

No 13

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.

900 Fifth St. Bldg. 193, rm. 217 Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5 T: 250-753-2225 F: 250-753-2257

STAFF

Leah Myers Editor-in-Chief

Natalie Gates News Editor

Jessica Reid Graphic Designer

Molly Barrieau Online Reporter

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

Rio Trenaman Art Director

Ben Chessor Sports Editor

Dahlia Yuen Graphic Designer

Brendan Barlow Social Media Sp.

Christine Franic Business Manager

Alexandria Stuart Associate Editor

Kelly Whiteside Production Manager

Shaina Bolduc Ad/Sales Rep

Antony Stevens Web Editor

Gareth Boyce Board President

Denisa Kraus Arts Editor

Molly Barrieau Senior Copy Editor

Gabby Flemming Ad/Sales Rep

Elissa Doerksen Multimedia Prod.

THE NAVIGATOR

LETTERS 03

Editorials

Beauty secrets Leah Myers Editor-in-chief The Navigator When I hit tween-hood, I had what I’d call a healthy curiosity for beauty products and accessories. I remember in grade five or six occasionally sneaking makeup to school, applying it in the washroom, and then taking it off before I got back on the school bus home. Though it’s now often overridden by an unending pursuit for comfort, over the years I’ve experimented with high heels, skin-tight jeans, push-up bras, etc.

Over the years I’ve also found myself caught up in mini-obsessions to do with how I look, focusing on one self-dramatized flaw for an amount of time, then finding something else wrong.

It started with acne as a teenager—countless formulas to try and fix it, and when they didn’t work, products to at least try and cover it up.

When I was in high school I needed dental work; when my parents asked if we could wait a couple years for dental

coverage, I threw a fit because I felt having braces at my high school prom would be a tragedy. Skip ahead to the end of grade 12, I have a faux-hawk and I’m too self-proclaimed punk rock to go to prom anyway.

When I was in college, I endured five stitches to the forehead after a melodramatic, completely sober crash in my dorm room, leading to years of bangs, vitamin E, and emu oil. At one point I even consulted a dermatologist to see if they could laser flatten out the little raised scar tissue, to no avail.

Through it all, I have to credit my parents for humouring my coming-of-age vanity. They took me to cosmetic appointments and even offered beauty advice when neither of them really had any.

Since having all these appearance concerns, I’ll admit now most of my focus is just on giving myself enough time to do personal hygiene practices, never mind beauty routines and fix-me-ups. So, bearing that in mind, I’d like to offer my opinion on looking your best. Here are some beauty secrets I’ve learned over the years:

Beauty is creativity Your face is a canvas and it can be fun to paint it up. Using makeup as a creative tool can be as rewarding as any other creative pursuit: the process is therapeutic and it’s satisfying to have a final product at the end.

Beauty is comfort To quote Vancouver-bred author, Michael Hingston, from his book The Dilettantes: “Sweatpants, flip-flops, golf visors—I’ve seen yoga pants with a dress shirt. Tucked in. In Vancouver, casual is a right.” And on Vancouver Island, surrounded by some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, we push that right to its limit.

Beauty is bumps, bruises, scars, and chips In the era of snapping every new outfit and hairstyle to share on Instagram, I think it’s important to remember that pictures are a moment in time, and that beauty is not stagnant. How we look changes day to day as we age, grow, and experience, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Beauty is embracing, not hiding It’s sad when beauty products are used by women to hide instead of enhance or just glam up. Looking back at all the products I had used to cover up my teenage skin, I now even find the name “concealer” pretty disarming.

Beauty is routine We are creatures of habit, especially when we’re settled in one place for a while. There’s a certain amount of ease in knowing that you’re going to wake up in the morning and do the same routine day to day, whether that ranges from a quick shower and getting dressed to something more complex.

Words count Alexandria Stuart Associate Editor The Navigator Word counts.

As students and writers producing academic essays and creative writing projects, they’re all around us. This is, of course, understandable in an academic environment, because it helps define the parametres of our assignments and ensures that we meet the expectations of the instructors that are entrusted to imbue us, their inquiring charges, with the knowledge that we so desperately seek, and will, ultimately, help us meet our objectives.

See what I did there? That is one heck of a sentence, fat with syllables and big words plumping up the word count.

But what does it say? Not very much, actually: word counts help students understand what their instructors want. Except that the reader was probably too busy tripping over unnecessary modifiers to get that message.

Inexperienced and insecure writers are often tempted to

flex this type of writerly muscle. They mistake quantity for quality, to the despair of their audience who, unless they’re reading for credit, will probably throw it to the ground and go back to surfing kittens on YouTube.

Don’t get me wrong—I am a big fan of words. I am a writer and a reader; to borrow a phrase from Wonder Boys, I am “a junkie for the written word.” I’m also a big fan of word counts, because they can save me from stumbling into those traps, saving me from myself. It’s easy to prattle on, waxing poetic on a topic, letting the words tumble from your head onto the keys, and losing sight of what you’re trying to say.

But writing is less about art and more about craft: choosing the strongest, clearest words available and trusting them to do their job because brevity counts. It follows that the writer must also trust their choices, trust themselves.

Words count.

Outside of school, it’s a mistake I see businesses make.

Marketing materials run on for pages, extolling the virtues of a product or service with the most colourful, multisyllabic language possible. Sometimes, the culprits aren’t writers at all. Many businesses have devalued writing to the point that they’ll assign it to any semi-literate administrative assistant who passed Writing 12. Lacking experience and confidence, they’ll go to town with the thesaurus, believing that the more and bigger words they use, the smarter they’ll appear. It’s the curse of the telemark jib jab, a collection of words whose

only purpose is to be there, filling lines while conveying little meaning, and leaving the reader so baffled that they’ll just smile and nod in blind faith. Words, words, words. In sales it’s all just words, saying stuff while saying nothing at all, yet magically implanting the idea to buy, buy, buy!

So there’s the problem: it’s not necessarily the number of words themselves, but the novice writers who wield them in the mistaken belief that quantity will make up for lack of experience and talent. But it isn’t their fault— they’re just doing what they’re asked. I blame business owners who place more value on olde tyme strategies than new world marketing. And on the interwebs especially, words count.

A flashy $50k website is just a pretty toy unless it effectively shares information and conveys a message. It never will unless the words are strong, clear, and brief, which requires the services of a craftsperson, an experienced professional writer. Unfortunately, they usually sit around the bottom of the budget, first against the wall when money gets tight.

And no one—certainly not that overworked administrative assistant—wins.

Businesses wonder why they’re failing? Often the answer is in their words; cumbersome, misspelled, and poorly punctuated. I can’t trust a business that can’t be bothered to pay attention to its words. Brevity counts. Words count. Let’s show them the respect they deserve.

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04 EDITORIALS

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TWITTER @THENAV_VIU

No 13

News

BC minimum wage workers left in poverty NATALIE GATES The BC government refuses to increase minimum wage enough to keep working people above the poverty line, despite calls for an increase from British Columbians.

Instead, the provincial government has announced that it will increase the minimum wage by 20 cents in September, and link it to BC’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increases annually.

VIU’s Students’ Union (VIUSU) Director of External Relations Alec Patterson spoke about the impact this will have on minimum wage workers.

“The 20 cents increase in my opinion is infuriating,” said Patterson. “It shows the stance of the provincial government on this issue, and they don’t see it as an issue.

Tying minimum wage with the rate of inflation is counterproductive.”

The Canadian Federation of Students-BC joined the British Columbia Federation of Labour’s call to increase minimum wage to $15 per hour. In addition to helping curb poverty, an increase would help students tackle the mounting student debt crisis. The Bank of Montreal estimates average student debt after a four-year degree is about $35k, said a press release from CFS-BC.

THE NAVIGATOR At the January 2015 CFS-BC general meeting, delegates from around the province voted to endorse the Fight for $15 campaign.

“Minimum wage should immediately be increased so no one working 40 hours a week is forced to live below the poverty line,” said Zachary Crispin, Chairperson of

At $10.25 per hour, $6.00 below the poverty line for full-time workers, BC’s minimum wage is one of the lowest in Canada. At the current minimum wage, it takes students about 550 hours of work just to pay for tuition fees.

Patterson and Olson both addressed concerns about the

“The outcry against $15 an hour is the same as the outcry to $10 an hour was,” Olson said. “What’s happened is there was a very small amount of businesses that were negatively affected and a huge amount of British Columbians that were positively affected. Minimum wage right now keeps people

“The whole point of identifying a poverty line is to keep citizens above it.”

CFS-BC. “The whole point of identifying a poverty line is to keep citizens above it.”

“The board hasn’t formally endorsed it at our individual students’ union, but we have an upcoming board meeting where we will have a presentation from the Canadian Labour Congress who will speak about the campaign with request for endorsement,” said VIUSU’s Executive Director Michael Olson.

impact a higher minimum wage would have on small businesses. “[The government says] it will ruin small businesses, which isn’t the case at all,” Patterson said.

“If you pay your employees higher, everyone will be paying the same price. People will be out of poverty and have disposable income that they can spend on the businesses. And it would be an incremental increase so businesses can adapt to it.”

in poverty. $15 an hour puts people 10 percent above the poverty cutoff. Pegging a minimum wage to inflation pegs people to always be in poverty and allows the government every year to say that minimum wage is going up.”

A report by First Call: the BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition released last November revealed that approximately 1 in 5 BC children were living in poverty in 2012, and that this number was growing.

MOLLY BARRIEAU

Fundraising for Northern BC students to visit VIU a success

No 13

The report also found that BC had the second highest rates of poverty among provinces at 16.1 percent.

“Cutting taxes for the wealthy, adding fees to public services, and refusing to support a fair minimum wage will only result in increased poverty rates for BC families,” said Crispin.

Olson and Patterson also addressed concerns around secondary school students having a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

“It will help them afford to save for post-secondary education,” Olson said. “So what if teenagers are being paid $15 an hour? How else are they going to afford to save?”

“And even if they don’t go to post-secondary, they are still contributing to the local economy because they have that disposable income,” Patterson said.

The CFS-BC is composed of post-secondary students from 15 universities and colleges in every region in BC. Post-secondary students in Canada have been represented by the Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organizations since 1927.

If you are interested in getting involved with the campaign, contact VIUSU on Facebook or email Alec Patterson at <external@viusu.ca>.

THE NAVIGATOR

In our ninth issue, The Navigator covered the story about 11 students raising money to fund their trip down the coast to visit three universities: VIU, UBC, and SFU. Only two months later, the group has surpassed their goal, raising just over $11k according to their FundMe page.

The largest donation was an accumulation of the events the students held in their small town, Klemtu, BC, including pancake breakfasts, movie nights, and bake sales. Some donations were anonymous, but many included comments of gratitude from the teacher, Kathryn Ovenell-Carter.

“My hope is that we can use some of the extra money to give something back to our community as a thank you,” Ovenell-Carter said.

Her small class is thrilled at the successful fundraising and she especially thanks the donations from outside her community.

“It means so much for my students to see that even total strangers are willing to get behind their education,” Ovenell-Carter said. The money raised will cover costs of travel, accommodations, admissions, meals, and other trip expenses.

The group of junior high students will visit the three universities in May 2015, along with museums, movie theatres, and science centres on their nine-day trip. Now, with the opportunity to add extra activities, swimming and biking have been added to the already exciting itinerary for the students.

THE NAVIGATOR

NEWS 05

Bill C-51 protests in Nanaimo and across Canada

People gathered at Maffeo Sutton Park for the Nanaimo protest against Bill C-51.

Paul Manly

“You know we have problems when a bill makes David Suzuki a terrorist.”

NATALIE GATES

THE NAVIGATOR

Canadians came together to protest Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Bill C-51 on March 14.

Citizens from dozens of major cities across the country participated in these protests, including Nanaimo.

“The signs are everywhere, not the allegorical signs, but the ones that are octagonal in shape and read ‘Stop Harper,’” said Sebastian Barkovic, a VIU student who attended the Nanaimo protest. “It’s time for change and Canadians know it.”

Nanaimo’s NDP MP Jean Crowder attended the Nanaimo rally, which started on Terminal Ave. and Commercial St., and marched to Maffeo Sutton Park.

06 NEWS

“The crowd wasn’t anything near the size of Vancouver’s protest shutting down Burrard and Robson, but it was enough to make the message clear that C-51 is harmful and endangering to our civil liberties,” Barkovic said. “You know we have problems when a bill makes David Suzuki a terrorist.”

The bill has concerned many Canadians about their privacy protections being weakened and their civil liberties being threatened. It aims to update Canada’s criminal law by increasing the level of surveillance power held by the government in an attempt to combat terrorism offences by enabling law enforcement agencies to address any activity that could possibly threaten the government.

THE NAVIGATOR

No 13

LEAH MYERS Variety - The Children’s Charity, an organization which gives financial support to individual families and organizations across British Columbia that care for children with special needs is teaming up with 102.3 The Wave to host the 8th Annual Radiothon fundraising event at Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo on April 8.

The show will be on air from 6 am to 6 pm. In between newscasts, it will go to the live location set up in the mall’s centre court, where families will be sharing their stories. Mall goers will have the chance to interact as they walk by and, as a treat for the kids, an appearance by the Minions will also be available for photo ops from 12-4 pm by donation.

The annual fundraiser serves two purposes: to bring awareness about Variety and to raise money for the community. Variety is a worldwide organization, and though they have chapters in several countries around the world, all the proceeds from the Radiothon will go directly into the Nanaimo community to help children and families with

THE NAVIGATOR kids who have special needs. The proceeds help cover special expenses that aren’t covered by BC medical care, including some lifesaving medications, travel costs to medical centres, wheelchairs, hearing aids, and the means to experience life-enriching summer camps and special schools. Last year the Nanaimo event raised $25,676. The organizers are hoping to match or surpass that target this year.

One local organization Variety has partnered with is the Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization (NUKO), a learning centre for children with neuro-developmental disabilities.

NUKO began their journey with Variety in 2007 when the organization applied for a Variety Sunshine Coach. Last month, NUKO celebrated its 10th birthday with a party, and during his speech, founder Rod Gallant thanked Variety for their involvement over the years.

“As we go through our 10 years, we’ve been fortunate enough to have Variety - The Children’s Charity be involved with us and help us by getting us our vans to take our kids out

Tune in to 102.3 The Wave for Variety - The Children’s Charity’s 8th Annual Radiothon

Variety’s Sunshine Coach program grants vehicles to organizations that support children with special needs, providing a comfortable, safe mode of transportation and an avenue to bring the kids on outings without the staff needing to use their personal vehicles.

Leah Myers

Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization runs an academic program in the morning, and then the afternoon is focused on life skills and recreation activities, including weekly outings to go bowling, swimming, or play games at Oliver Woods gymnasium.

Leah Myers

in the community,” said Gallant.

“Education is yes, one component we all need to know; we all need to know how to read, to write, to count money, that kind of stuff. But there’s the ability to go out and be part of our community, to go out to these places, swimming, and to those community events.”

Variety’s Sunshine Coach program lives on a shared arrangement, where Variety’s donors provide 50 percent of the funds to

acquire the vehicle and the recipient organization provides the other 50 percent, so long as the logos and donor names remain intact throughout the life of the vehicle.

In 2010, NUKO applied for another Sunshine Coach and today they have two vans which are used to take the kids on outings. Access to these vans ensures the kids are safe and comfortable as they travel, and also spare the staff from having to use their personal vehicles.

Variety is actively seeking volunteers for the event in Nanaimo, and those interested can fill out a volunteer application on the Variety website, <variety.bc.ca>, or contact the Manager of Volunteer services at <maureen.curtis@variety.bc.ca>.

NUKO also takes on practicum students from VIU and Discovery Community College. For more information, contact Program Manager Teresa Nielsen at <uniquekidsoffice@shaw.ca>.

Stem cell donor registration event in Nanaimo SHARI BISHOP BOWES

CONTRIBUTOR

VIU third-year Nursing students (left to right) Jaime Crucil, Courtney Johnston, Jennifer Simm, and Jacquelyn Janzen, along with Chris Barron, territory manager for Canadian Blood Services Vancouver Island.

Shari Bishop Bowes

No 13

If there’s a chance you could save someone’s life, someone you’ve never met, would you do it?

VIU Nursing students and Canadian Blood Services (CBS) are hoping to get a long list of healthy young adults showing up for a OneMatch stem cell donor registration event from 3 to 6 pm on Friday, March 27 at Nanaimo’s Country Club Centre mall. The registry is open to people aged 17 to 35, with a particular need for healthy young men of different diverse backgrounds.

“We are encouraging people to come out and learn about OneMatch and hopefully make the commitment to help the approximately 1000 Canadians searching for an unrelated stem cell donor,” said Courtney Johnston, who, along with three other third-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, will be hosting the program in conjunction with CBS on Vancouver Island.

The OneMatch event will provide information on what’s involved in becoming a stem cell donor, she says, and Nursing students will help registrants conduct a quick cheek swab on the spot.

“It’s a simple procedure that involves getting a swab sample from your mouth to collect your DNA,” Johnston said.

Chris Barron, CBS Vancouver Island territory manager, says the OneMatch event is a great partnership for VIU and his organization, and a learning opportunity in community engagement and practice for the future nurses.

THE NAVIGATOR

“Once you get your cheek swabbed, your information is entered into the databank and the test results from your swab sample will be compared to any patient in the world needing a stem cell transplant,” Barron said.

Matches are sought for patients who suffer from a variety of diseases and disorders, including blood-related diseases like leukemia, aplastic anemia, and inherited immune system and metabolic disorders.

If the call comes and your stem cells are a match, a OneMatch donor can expect to undergo additional testing to determine the full extent of their compatibility.

If a donor is determined to be a match, stem cells are collected in two ways: through a “peripheral” collection, much like a blood donation, or through a bone marrow stem cell donation, which is collected through a surgical procedure. Once stem cells are collected from the donor they will be given intravenously to the recipient. The donation could have a life-saving effect on the patient.

“OneMatch is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA)—a network of accredited registries around the world,” Barron said. “A Canadian stem cell donor could provide a match for someone in another country, and there’s also the possibility of a match internationally for a patient who needs it here in Canada.”

For more information on the OneMatch campaign and stem cell donation, visit <blood.ca/en/stem-cell/what-are-stem-cells>.

NEWS 07

Features

The

dam story

Nanaimo’s Colliery Dams has been a contentious issue since 2012.

CHANTELLE SPICER

CONTRIBUTOR

British Columbia—the early 1800s. Colonization by the Europeans has not yet begun. Ecosystems are in their natural state or managed under the sustainable ideals of the numerous First Nations bands across the province; populations of all animals flourish in their natural balance. River systems run in an unimpeded web for thousands of kilometres across the province, supporting many unique habitats and one of the world’s most compelling natural events—the Pacific salmon spawn.

At the time of colonization in the 1850s, logging began in earnest, a destructive force across the landscape. To ease access and transport, many forests towering over the coast and large waterways were removed. Everything began to change for the wilderness of BC and for the peoples who inhabited it. Industry was taking its place.

During the early 1920s, with populations increasing and industry expanding, a building boom was underway. To meet the increasing demand for hydroelectric power, many dams along our two major rivers—the Peace and Columbia—were erected. Another push for an increase in power occurred after WWII between the 1950s and the middle of the 1970s, which led to the damming of small waterways in Northern regions as well as major hydroelectric stations outside of Castlegar and Lillooet. At this time, many governments and heads of industry saw any undammed waterway as wasted potential for human use and progress, and rivers were run like machines with flows managed by computers housed many kilometres away.

Today, these 30 or so dams, some of them aging giants, support our power grid by meeting 86 percent of the electrical need in all corners of the province. Dams seem like an easy answer to an ever-growing demand: they don’t create fossil fuels in the creation of power, do not release pollutants which cause acid rain, and provide the consumer with a natural alternative to burning 22 billion gallons of oil each year.

Vast networks of people are supported through employment

FEATURES 08

Chantelle Spicer

opportunities in cities and rural areas alike. However, there is a lot of conflicting information about dams circulating these days.

Many non-government organizations (NGOs) and First Nations are demanding a closer inspection into the environmental sustainability and impact these dams have on the ecosystems within and around them. In the face of the proposed Site C dam, spearheaded by the crown-owned BC Hydro and under the approval of the current BC government (as of December 2014), dams have become a hot-button issue.

Site C dam, the biggest public infrastructure project proposed in the province’s history, would see the flooding of 5,550 hectares behind a dam on the Peace River, an area equivalent to 14 Stanley Parks. Nestled in this area of the Peace River valley are eight different Treaty 8 First Nations, fertile agricultural lands, as well as flourishing hunting and fishing grounds within the boreal forest. There is important human value placed on this landscape, and it also serves as a vital wildlife corridor for many migrating species such as caribou. This would be the first dam created within the province since 1984, and it is beside the Northern Gateway Pipeline as one of the most controversial issues facing BC right now.

This dam, like others, create massive reservoirs behind them (as opposed to run-of-river dams), and are a catastrophic environmental disaster waiting to happen. Many dammed rivers around the world have seen signs of toxic algae bloom caused by stagnant water which decimate fish and bird populations. The downstream trapping of sediments vital to ecosystems, and fragmenting water habitat for many fish species—including migrating salmon—plus the loss of the natural landscape of the area that is flooded and left underwater are other negative impacts of damming.

In spite of this growing concern, the BC government plans to move forward with the Site C project and will begin construction this summer following a nine month federal-

THE NAVIGATOR

ly-sponsored assessment. Many groups maintain that an independent audit is required to fully assess the environmental impact, as well as the need for the dam in the first place. It would fulfill only eight percent of current demands, which will continue to rise. Alternative energy sources, such as the expansion of existing wind farms or tidal generator creation, demand further examination, as does power conservation in general.

Locally, we have a similar battle over the construction or preservation of the Colliery Dams, a short walk from VIU’s Nanaimo campus. In 2012, City Council advised residents of Harewood, which sits in a flood zone, that the dams were to be removed and the reservoirs drained to mitigate damage and death in the event that the dams failed. Residents, many of whom view the dams as a jewel of their community and an important part of the city’s heritage, mounted a campaign to save the dams.

Years later, the issue remains a heated point of contention between the city, the Snuneymuxw First Nation, the general public, and a variety of scientists and lawyers. The Colliery Dams have dominated the Nanaimo City Council meeting agenda again in recent months, with personal liability and options for upgrading of the dams, including installation of an additional spillway, currently on the table.

First Nations interests, environmental impacts, structural integrity, and community and recreational value all come into play in discussion of the Colliery Dams. When the City’s plan was originally revealed in the fall of 2012, the community of Harewood rallied the assistance of geologists and biologists who surveyed all physical aspects of the dam. One of those was biologist Chatal Seadan (formerly Sean Williams). In 2013, he surveyed the ecosystems within the manmade reservoirs as well as below the dam in the Chase River. From this and technical reports from other scientists, he concluded that though the dam is man-made, the ecosystem within it, which is very different

No 13

from the surrounding environment, has naturalized and appears quite healthy. While doing several dives into the reservoirs, he discovered the salmonid eggs of lake-form Coho, in addition to the stocked population of rainbow trout and naturally occurring crayfish. Not only is there wildlife occurring within the reservoirs, but he saw that the dams have real merit in supporting and improving surrounding ecosystems.

“These nearly static bodies of water may act as a nursery not only for resident salmonids, other fish, birds, and invertebrates, but produce (through holdings and production of plankton, aquatic plants, insects, and other invertebrate larvae) food sources transported to the Lower Chase that not only provide essential (for ocean survival) nourishment but queue instinctive foraging, protective (hiding), and predatory behaviours for salmonids, juvenile birds, and amphibians to list a few,” says Seadan.

Williams and many other scientists are suggesting that the Colliery Dams may help alleviate pressure on the river system that is stressed due to extensive logging upstream.

Removing the forest canopy over waterways may cause loose sediments and debris deposits in the river system, and may even raise the risk of flash flooding during major rain events. Greater destruction of salmon habitat downstream may occur without the dams in place, says environmental lawyer Denelle Lambert.

The battle over the Colliery Dams, and many small dams like it, will be won or lost by balancing cultural and community values alongside economics and human safety. In

The long commute:

Dorms

some cases, such as the Site C dam, this is appears easy: losing the habitat and basis of culture for First Nations in the area would be devastating compared to the small amount of power generated. Nanaimo’s own little dam, conversely, involves much more complicated problems.

Walking through the Colliery Dam Park, it’s hard not be overwhelmed by its beauty—the fog caressing its surface, half-frozen in place, surrounded by snow dusted trees as the bugs of summer hang over the water in a falling dusk.

It is hard not to think of the generations of families who have learned to swim in its safe waters. It is a pleasant and beautiful place that provides sanctuary from surrounding suburbs and university stress.

Some say that no river benefits from a dam, but if there is one thing I have learned from studying ecology, it is there are no absolutes in the question. There is always an exception and perhaps it is this dam that benefits the river and the people around it. The time when Chase River ran free is a time out of living memory, so without that information to contrast, we can only work with the information available today to make the best decision we can. With careful thought and research, we can find balance.

For more information on the dam issues mentioned here, visit the SAVEcollierydams group on Facebook, <damnationfilm.com>, <bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/site_c>, and <wildernesscommittee.org/sitec>.

The dam argument at a glance: Pros • Does not burn fossil fuels, so they avoid a considerable amount of emissions.

• Operations do not involve pollutants that cause acid rain or smog.

• Consumers using the power are not using oil or coal. This prevents the burning of 22 billion gallons of oil each year.

• Dams provide jobs, opportunities for agriculture, and the creation of cities in otherwise inhospitable areas.

STEPHANIE BROWN

Cons • Slows or stagnates the rate of all river water, which is important to many fish species.

• Prohibits migrating fish such as salmon from reaching their natural spawning grounds.

• Cooler water temperatures lead to a decrease in available oxygen for fish, as well as proper decomposition of plants.

• Loss of lands that are vital to agriculture, First Nations communities, and migrating bird and animal populations.

CONTRIBUTOR

So where should you live while traveling abroad, dorms or a house? Like most things in life and travel, there are benefits and drawbacks to both.

I looked into renting a house, but, unless you find people who are just looking for a roommate, it’s hard when you’re only around for a semester. In a house it’s easier to feel like you’re actually in a different country. There’s more independence and you can get away from campus, so you really feel like you are living in another country where the homes are unique. The cubicles they call dorms don’t offer much character­—they’re all pretty similar no matter where you go.

In Italy, I lived in a flat with five other girls and loved it.

I loved commuting to class walking through the streets of downtown Florence. That said, we were studying in the heart of Florence and I was only there for a month. Being in a small town is a different experience.

Hatfield is surprisingly similar to Nanaimo in terms of layout, so I don’t think walking down Bishops Rise has

quite the same effect. As much as I would like to be living in a quaint little English house instead of the dorms, living on campus was the smart decision. In many cases everything is included and they are cheaper. When you come to a new country completely alone, it is nice to be right next to the bus you take to class the next day. With everything available to you as a student so close, you can focus more on planning small trips and making new friends. If the university was in downtown London, I wouldn’t want to stay on campus, but outside of a major city, living on campus is the way to do it.

No matter where you live, you will meet many new friends. Living in dorms I have met people from all over the world rather than just locals. It was convenient not to have to make as many plans moving into the dorms as I would have in a house. But either way, it’s just nice to have a bed when the sun goes down in your foreign land.

Point of VIU MOLLY BARRIEAU / THE NAVIGATOR

Compared to the United States, how imporant are athletics to your university experience?

Zach Andres

Kate Payter

Kelsey Linde

Hayden Cross

Tyson Strandt

“I think they’re very important.

VIU being in the conference that it is, the athletic side is positive for not only the school, but the surrounding areas. A lot of smaller communities feed players into the system; it brings out good talent in a lot of young kids.”

“Sports are huge, are you kidding me? I did play sports, I like playing—I don’t really like watching. I don’t think they get advertised as much. I know at other schools they’re huge, it’s everything.”

“I’ve noticed this a lot. Have you ever watched American movies and everyone in the university gathers in the gyms painting their faces.

It seems like they have crazy spirit and I’ve never actually been to a Mariners game. I mean, if they were doing well…oh, they are? Go us!”

“I’m just here for upgrading. I don’t really feel like an integrated guy yet. I think once you’re more part of the school, or if I played a sport, it’s important. I don’t personally have a connection to it.”

“I think it is important; it sets a standard for a student athlete. It gives you something to strive for, having some sort of national level championship on campus. The VIU team must’ve had more pressure on them this year.”

No 13

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09 FEATURES

Museum news:

Amphibians of Vancouver Island JAMES MACKINNON

CONTRIBUTOR

By now you’ve probably heard the nightly chorus, one of the surest signs that springtime is near. A choir so loud that it often hampers sleep, the song of the Pacific Tree Frog is a beautiful reminder of the rich amphibian diversity supported by our wetlands and streams, and what these animals are up to as they emerge from their wintertime of hibernation. The word amphibian is Latin for “both kinds of life,” meaning that generally all amphibians have certain adaptations, living and breathing both in and out of water during certain stages of their lives. Vancouver Island’s amphibians are made up of roughly a dozen species of frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders, all of them cold-blooded, relying on their environment almost exclusively to heat their body. It is this characteristic that sends them beneath logs or under water to wait out the cooler months. But as the weather warms and food becomes more abundant, these critters become more conspicuous in our forests and marshes.

Arguably the most visible, and certainly the most vocal Vancouver Island native amphibian is the aforementioned Pacific Tree Frog, or the Pacific chorus frog. These animals are found all around south-western BC, as far down the Pacific coast as the northern Baja peninsula, and are easily recognized by their multi-toned green skin which changes hues with changes in temperature. Female frogs reach up to 50 millimetres long while males are slightly smaller.

They have been found in riparian areas anywhere from sea level to well over three thousand metres in elevation.

Using their adhesive padded feet, these frogs climb up tree limbs, hedges, and even house walls in search of flying or crawling insects that they catch by the dozens with their long sticky tongue.

And the reason for that incredible call? To attract a mate, a male tree frog first finds an appropriate site from which to attract his female companion, a site which will give good projection for his calls and provide ample standing water for the eggs that will eventually be laid. The male then releases a two-toned “kreck-ek,” calling females towards him, and he won’t stop until the attracted female makes physical contact.

The female’s eggs are fertilized internally and laid in standing water, often attached to or just beneath the leaves of pondweed or other plants. They hatch into tadpoles between two and three weeks later. These tadpoles will feed on algae or pollen on the water surface until they undergo metamorphosis, shedding their tail and developing limbs. In two to three months, the young will resemble tiny frogs. About a year after hatching they will mature and begin to mate themselves, if they survive. Pacific Tree Frogs are prey for a number of bird species, snakes, and some small mammals.

Following a similar seasonal pattern, another handsome local amphibian in our streams and marshes is the Roughskin Newt. Easily identifiable by their bright orange bellies and tan-brown backs, dry textured skin, and lack of costal grooves, the Roughskin Newt can grow to be 180-200 millimetres long. Their tails make up as much as 5/8 of that total body length. Throughout the winter, these newts primarily shelter burrowed beneath downed logs in the forest, hibernating while temperatures are cold and food is scarce. In the springtime, as the weather warms, these newts emerge and begin to feed on anything they can get their hands (feet?) on,

Western Toads are voracious breeders. This pair will produce up to 20 thousand eggs at once. including a variety of insects, larvae, and even other young amphibians. Eventually they make their way into a body of water, pooled or slowly moving, and begin one of the most intricate mating rituals of any creature. Once submerged, male newts locate females by smell. Once they have come into contact, the male latches onto the female’s back for hours or even days, and releases a pheromone to excite her. When the time is right, the male releases a spermatophore packet on the pond bottom. The female picks up the packet through her cloaca, and then lays her eggs beneath submerged rocks or aquatic plants. The eggs will hatch three or four weeks later as larvae, and metamorphose into adult salamanders anywhere from one to two years later depending on local environmental conditions.

Unlike the Pacific Tree Frogs, there is not much that feeds on the Roughskin Newt. A common theme in much of the plant and animal kingdoms is that if something is brightly coloured, it is usually to warn predators of its toxins. The orange belly of the Roughskin Newt is no exception. Over much of its territory it is amongst the most toxic of amphibians. Throughout BC, a number of birds and fish that are found dead had newts in their stomachs and were killed by the tetrodotoxin. One species of predator, the common garter snake, has adapted to eat the Roughskin Newt due to resistance to the particular toxins found in the newt’s skin.

Interestingly enough, Roughskin Newts found on Vancouver Island rarely, if ever, have tetrodotoxin in their skin, and correspondingly, the Island’s garter snakes lack this resistance to tetrodotoxin.

Both the Roughskin Newt and the Pacific Tree Frog are native species to the Island and play important roles in their corresponding ecosystems. While neither of these

The Western Toad is a serious threat to native frog species, displacing them from their natural habitats on the west coast of North America.

FEATURES 10

Tim Goater

species are currently recognized as at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), they are still under threat. Habitat loss and watershed disturbance remain a plague to amphibian populations, but locally the biggest threat to native amphibians has been the introduction of the Western Toad early in the 20th century. The intention was to farm them for their meaty legs as they grow large, upwards of 200 millimetres long. As their diet is similar to our native frogs, there is fierce competition for food. While studies of the effects that this species is having on local native populations are ongoing, it is believed that, if left unchecked, this invasive bullfrog is gradually edging many of our local frogs out of their habitats.

As the weather warms, there are many great places to view amphibians, though respect must be shown towards these creatures. Human intrusion into their habitat causes a great deal of stress, and touching them has the potential to harm their skin. With this in mind, set out for places like Westwood Lake where frogs, toads, and salamanders may be beginning their springtime courting rituals. In the evenings through April, if you are anywhere near a pond or creek you will hear the Pacific Tree Frog serenades.

For more information about Vancouver Island’s rich amphibian life, and the array of plants and other animals that make up our local ecosystem, visit the Museum of Natural History, run and curated by students and faculty from various sciences departments. The museum is open to students and the public on Mondays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, Tuesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 pm, and Thursdays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. More information is available on their Facebook page and at <viu.ca/museum/>.

Bill Pennell The Western Toad mounts the female from behind and fertilizes each egg individually as it is released into the water.

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Jo Picard

No 13

This Roughskin Newt would be much safer in its preferred habitat, in wetlands and burrowing beneath fallen logs, where it can live for up to 12 years.

Roughskin Newts are carnivores, eating insects, slugs, and worms.

Tim Goater

Tim Goater

Pacific Tree Frogs may be found in rocky, sandy environments along stream beds.

Roughskin Newts lay single eggs attached to the stems of underwater vegetation.

Hitomi Kimura

Jo Picard

Pacific Tree Frogs are very small, barely the size of a human knuckle.

Barb Beasley

The Western Toad tadpoleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body is about one inch long, while its tail is one and a half times that.

Hitomi Kimura

No 13

The Northwestern Salamander egg mass is an alien-looking jelly-like blob that can be as large as a grapefruit and contain up to 270 eggs.

Barb Beasley

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Pacific Tree Frogs, also known as Pacific Chorus Frogs, thrive around moist decaying wood.

Barb Beasley

11 FEATURES

Feed the bees

ALEXANDRIA STUART

S

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tooped over, tending the tomatillo plants in my garden on a hot August day last summer, I was confronted by a sharp sound. “Buzz!” It wasn’t the general buzz of just any bee; this was a message. Evidently, I was disturbing its work. I was in the way. Luscious flowers of bright yellow and brown were wide open, eagerly soliciting visits from bees and any other pollinators that might be around. My movements, tying back and propping up the bulging plant, were thwarting its “come hither” seduction. And that bee wanted to get busy.

Pulling back to make way for the action, I saw that many of the flowers on the tomatillos were occupied with bees of all shapes, sizes, and colours; large and small; thick and slender; black, yellow, and/or orange. “They come in a variety of styles and fashions,” says Roblyn Hunter. As one of the directors of the Nanaimo’s Beekeepers Club, she makes no effort to hide her reverence and awe for bees.

BC has about 400 native bee species. About a quarter of the province’s bee population, made up of 45 species, lives on Vancouver Island, and about half of those species are right here in my humble yard in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter. It’s a living, buzzing spectacle, watching them work.

The tomatillo bed, as well as the other herb and vegetable patches that surround it, are alive. The bees are doing the same dance that they’ve done through the centuries—they have a long history on the planet.

There is evidence that bees have been producing honey for 10-20 million years. Through the ages, honey has made an appearance in the works of Aristotle and Horace. The first written reference to honey details its use as a drug and an ointment. This was on a Sumerian tablet dating back to 2100-2000 BC. Honey has also been documented in ancient medical literature. In the healing of wounds, the antibacterial properties of honey are able to do their work because it keeps the wound moist and offers a barrier that protects against infection. It also drives away water, which can carry infection into a wound. In modern times, honey is showing promise in use against antibiotic-resistant strains of infection.

All of this antibacterial action also makes honey one of the safest foods to eat because it’s unlikely to harbour anything that will harm the gut. Honey was one of the foodstuffs that First Nations helped early European settlers find.

Like other insects that have persevered through the centuries, the bee life cycle is fairly typical: egg, larva (maggot-like), pupa (cocoon-like), and adult. They make their homes in two main types of habitat: about 30 percent live in trees while the other 70 percent are ground nesters, burrowing into undisturbed soil. Abandoned rodent nests and patches of dried grass are attractive options as well as rotting piles of wood. “People should keep the wild colonies where they are if they can,” Hunter says.

“They should try to see them as a wonderful addition to their property.”

Feral honeybees will establish colonies in trees with layers of honeycomb, while some wild honeybees will live alone.

Others live in manmade hives, a type of domesticated life at the hand of a beekeeper. Urban development and rural resource extraction are serious threats to the wild habitat of bees.

When living in a manmade environment and kept for the purpose of producing commercial honey, a beekeeper may carefully control forage so the honey has a consistent flavour and colour. Fireweed honey and blackberry honey, plants that grow in abundance on Vancouver Island, are two popular choices, though berry plants will help produce tasty honey. Bees running amok in the wild also head for clover, buttercup, thistle, alfalfa, and any other plants that will have them. The resulting wildflower honey—the product of plants that most gardeners would eradicate—is in high demand by consumers.

Gardeners are increasingly incorporating bee-friendly plantings in an effort to support the populations. Mediterranean herb crops are valuable for the herbs they produce as well as the attractive flowers they offer the bees. There is a movement to encourage gardeners to leave those herbs or vegetables that have gone to flower in the soil for as long as possible to serve as a buffet for the bees. In our garden,

the tomatillos and ground cherries are the clear stars, but our pollinators also love the tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and herbs in flowers like mint and oregano. The bees that we see may be local or they may work in a region as large as 50 thousand acres. No matter how far afield they forage, they always come home at night.

Bees live under a strict social system. Eusociality is a form of social behaviour that is so extreme it’s found in only a few types of animals. It’s characterized by several generations occupying the same space at the same time, cooperation between members to care for young that are not their own, and a division of labour between the queen and worker bees. It actually looks surprisingly similar to the human Communist ideal.

The queen of a honey colony or a bumblebee colony has only one task: to lay eggs and reproduce. The worker bees, all female, care for the nest, larvae, and provide forage for the colony. A bumblebee colony will contain between 50 and 400 workers, while a honeybee colony houses between 10 and 50 thousand. Male honeybees (drones) may number up to 500 (bumblebees only 50) and their job is to leave the colony, mate, and die. Honeybee colonies can thrive for many years while bumblebee colonies are usually smaller and rebuild themselves annually.

To support their colonies, worker bees will often fly six and a half kilometres, covering as much as 50 thousand acres collecting the pollen from flowers. The fact that bees can fly at all is a miracle. Their bodyweight and shape doesn’t add up to an aerodynamic creature capable of flight. Yet they do. The theory is that their four wings work in concert to make flight possible. Warm air temperatures are also a factor, boosting the efficiency of the mechanisms of flight.

Their wings beat 200 times per second, or 12 thousand times per minute. By comparison, the song “Thousand” by Moby, Guinness World Record holder for fastest song, clocks in at just one thousand beats per minute.

While they’re engaged in the miraculous task of flying and collecting pollen, the end product is what garners the most attention—honey. Its antibacterial properties give it

an impressive shelf life. “You can harvest it, give it a light straining, and put it in a jar. Go put it in the pyramid tombs and 10 thousand years later you can take it out and eat it,” says Stan Reist of Flying Dutchman. “What food other than honey can you harvest without doing any real processing, put in a jar, and come back 10 thousand years from now to eat and have it be good? I don’t think there’s any other food we eat that we can do that with.”

Bees are about honey but there’s much more. Bees carry pollen from flower to flower, and work among crops like canola as well, a vital element of food production. One third of the food we eat relies on bees for pollination. It also enables genetic diversity, which is vital for sustainable agriculture. The product of pollination can be honey, which we have come to rely on as a sweetener (mead is becoming another popular byproduct). There is also an emerging respect for its medical properties, as well as the value of the pollen itself. The byproducts of bee production—wax and propolis—are becoming popular for use in manufacturing and crafting. Beeswax candles are in high demand.

While consumer demand for bee products is increasing, honeybees are facing serious perils. Habitat destruction is a primary risk to bees right now. Urban development is covering bee habitat in subdivisions with manicured lawns and paved parking lots. Blackberry bushes, an excellent habitat for bee colonies, are deemed an invasive species and destroyed, taking the bees and pollen-giving flowers with them. “Wild bees are under threat,” says Brenda Jager, former apiary inspector. “What I think people should be worrying about is that they are irreplaceable.” Diversity in bee species is at risk due to large-scale agriculture.

Disease can decimate entire colonies and even whole regions of bees. We saw its power in action recently according to entomologist Ted Leischner: “The main cause of what’s called ‘colony collapse’ all across Canada was the [varroa] mite.” On Vancouver Island in March 2010, beekeepers suffered massive losses of bee colonies due to a perfect storm of circumstances. The long summer kept the bees working

much longer than usual. Exhausted, the bees were then hit by the devastating varroa mite, which rendered them more susceptible to disease. Once weakened, the cold temperatures of winter finished them off. These factors added up to the loss of 90 percent of the hives on Vancouver Island.

“The last three years we’ve had fairly heavy losses. We had 75 percent one year. It’s just getting harder and harder to stay in bees,” says Reist. “It’s a sticky, dirty business.”

These catastrophic losses led to attention from the provincial government. In February 2011 the Official Opposition Critic for Agriculture, Lana Popham (MLA Saanich South), implored the Minister of Agriculture, Ben Stewart, to maintain a quarantine on the importation of bees and equipment as a safeguard against further disease being transmitted from the mainland to Vancouver Island, where it can spread very quickly. Importation and movement of bee regulations have been amended to mitigate the possibility that this could happen again. But regulation requires enforcement. Government bee inspectors are in place for six regions of the province, but Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands (home to 25 percent of BC’s bees) do not currently have a dedicated inspector.

The most pressing threat to bees at this time may be exposure to pesticide residues which, if they don’t harm the bee directly, weaken them and make them more susceptible to parasites and disease. Neonicotinoid pesticides, introduced in 2006, are implicated in damaging losses to bee populations in Canada. Neonicotinoid dust used on corn and soy seed was identified by Health Canada as a cause in the 2012 mass honeybee die off in Ontario and Quebec. This led to reforms in the way that neonic-treated seed is planted. Consumers are voting with their wallets and demanding that garden centres and other plant retailers label product that has been treated with neonicotinoids, while some retailers are refusing to stock these plants at all. Action is also being taken on the municipal level; the Vancouver park board doesn’t accept planting material that has been treated. Here at home, Groundskeeper Gordon Howe says, “VIU does not have

any policy around the use of neonicotinoid-treated plant material. As far as I am aware, no one has discussed it.”

Consumer demands for action are likely to put pressure on more businesses and municipalities to consider a neonicotinoid-free position.

This consumer awareness, plus growing general awareness of bee populations and the importance of bees is improving.

Seed combinations are being marketed to attract bees, and backyard beekeeping groups are coming together to support hobbyists who wish to learn more. Backyard beekeeping is becoming a popular pastime. In fact, there are so many beekeepers on Hornby Island that there is a shortage of flowers to support a sizeable population of bees.

Legislation in the form of the Bee Act is in place to regulate the use, movement, and housing of bees to protect their populations in BC. Stricter controls on pesticide use are also an important part of the plan to maintain healthy bee populations.

Manicured flowerbeds, ironically, must be free of pests and debris to remain esthetically pleasing to their gardeners. Yet these conditions are harmful for the very bees that the flowers themselves require for pollination and to thrive.

Manicured landscaping is an enemy; embracing wilder, natural planting styles will go a long way towards supporting the bees.

In conversation with scientists, commercial beekeepers, professional pollinators, hobbyists, and bee cheerleaders, there’s one sentiment, a simple message that is shared across the board: plant bee-friendly plants, and leave as many native wildflowers as possible. The solution to a thriving bee population isn’t complicated, Jager says: “Don’t go and get beehives to help the bees unless you really love bees and that’s what you want to do. But if you want to help the bees and that’s your main thing, plant lots of flowers.” And in the early spring particularly, before much vegetation is in flower, “Keep your dandelions. It’s the most important early crop for wild bees. More kinds of bees get more benefit from dandelion at this time of year than any other flower.”

Arts

The Cinematheque’s 24 Hour Movie Marathon SPENCER WILSON

CONTRIBUTOR

It was a great spectacle the morning of the event: everyone pouring into the theatre dressed in pajamas with pillows, blankets, and survival kits, ready to claim a seat for the next 24 hours.

From 10 am on February 28 to 10 am on February 29, I had the pleasure of attending the Cinematheque’s second 24 Hour Movie Marathon in Vancouver. The $40 tickets were well worth the price considering the amount of films shown and the free goodies given out. 15 films that the Cinematheque deemed essential viewing were shown. The list of films was not revealed ahead of time. The only hint provided was “tick tock.”

It was a great spectacle the morning of the event: everyone pouring into the theatre dressed in pajamas with pillows, blankets, and survival kits, ready to claim a seat for the next 24 hours. The Cinematheque was kind enough to brew free coffee throughout the entire event—something that was essential to making it through the whole night. An announcer came up to the podium just before the first film to hype up the crowd. “Are you guys ready for 24 hours of rom-coms?” she called out. The whole audience laughed, though as it turned out, playing with time and memory leaves plenty of room for romantic films.

10 am

Groundhog Day (1993) was an excellent, high-energy choice to begin the festivities, which almost made you believe this was going to be 24 hours of romantic comedies. Phil Connors (Bill Murray), a weatherman who hates small talk, is trapped living the Groundhog Day over and over again in the most famous Groundhog Day city in America: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Phil despises going to the event every year and he is generally a brutally selfish and mean-spirited man, but by the end of the film he is a completely different person.

Many viewers, including myself, will have seen this film, but it had

ARTS 14

been some years and I can now greatly appreciate the effort director Harold Ramis went through to recreate each moment as exact as possible for each repeat scene. It may not have the most satisfying story due to Murray’s non-serious approach, but the gags and seamless scene recreation make this a worthwhile classic.

11:45 am

A 35mm reel of La Jetée (1962) begins and the audience goes wild.

These are the kinds of films that the Cinematheque is known for showing. Chris Marker’s classic 30-minute sci-fi is the precursor for Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys (1995) and describes a post-World War III France where people live underground due to radiation. In the underground, scientists experiment on prisoners by sending them back and forward in time—the subjects are chosen based on vivid dreams from the past. Most do not survive, except for the story’s protagonist, (simply called Man, played by Davos Hanich). La Jetée is almost entirely composed of still images, which are edited extremely well together to form the story through masterful composition.

My expectations are high leading into the next film, and the Cinematheque did not disappoint.

12:15 pm

The opening credits begin and the director is revealed: Alfred Hitchcock. Rope was Hitchcock’s first colour film and the first film to make use of careful editing to give the illusion of a nearly one shot film. Unlike 2014’s Oscar winner, Birdman, Rope demonstrates Hitchcock’s mastery in camera control as he gives us a unique perspective into a murder that is followed by a dinner party. Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger) exe-

cute what they think is a perfect murder, hide the body in a chest in the middle of the living room, and then throw a party in that room. It is incredibly suspenseful as you try and guess if someone will find the body, and also a wonderful dig at the overrated Birdman.

1:40 pm

I am soon beginning to realise that the theme of time is getting a bit more loose than I thought it was going to be, especially with the

The Cinematheque, an arthouse cinema downtown on Howe St., specializes in new, old, and rarely seen cinema that they consider essential. It is not only a great place to see interesting films, but also a great resource of old film magazines and original film stills. The theatre has around 500 curated film exhibitions annually, which can be (but is not limited to) touring film exhibits, such as their recent career-spanning showcase of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s films; or films from their vault, which includes original 16mm and 35mm copies of hundreds of films from Battleship Potemkin (1925) to Stop Making Sense (1984). If you are in Vancouver, be sure to look them up. April will be featuring showings of Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972), Persona (1966), and Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959).

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subtle connections Before Sunset (2004) has to it. It was the first sequel in Richard Linklater’s continuation of Before Sunrise (1995), which follows the same two character eight years later and features one of the characters writing a book titled This Time, but now anything could be possible. Still, it is a great trilogy of films with long takes, superb acting from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and an examination of the mindsets during that time.

3:25 pm

The crowd begins cheering as the opening credits display “a Christopher Nolan film”—it is Memento (2000), an obvious choice. The film follows, in backwards format, the story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man suffering from anterograde amnesia who is out to find the person who killed his wife.

Leonard does this by taking photos of people, places, and things, and then writing on the photos as memos for when he loses his short

term memory. His lapses in memory are a bit too convenient for the storyline, sometimes to the point of frustration, but it is an interesting exercise in re-ordering how a story is told.

5:25 pm

Switching up styles, we are treated to Mamoru Hosoda’s animated time bender The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), the first recipient of the Animation Award when the category was added to the Japanese Academy Awards. Makoto Konno (Riisa Naka) is a high school student with a bad memory and suddenly finds she has the ability to literally leap through time after falling on a magic acorn in one of her school science labs. Makoto initially uses this to do things like party at a karaoke bar with her friends for 10 hours straight after only paying for one hour, but soon transitions into altering unfortunate things that have happened to her, which turns out to have a butterfly effect. Like many anime stories with romantic elements, it can be a bit too melodramatic (even as an animation), but it is a fun time film—one that probably should have been shown later in the evening.

7:45 pm

Making a high concept sci-fi film for only $7k is an interesting feat, but that does not make Shane Carruth’s Primer (2004) any easier to understand. Anyone claiming to completely understand the entire plot of Primer after their first viewing had to have read the Wikipedia article ahead of time. Two engineers, Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan), build a machine in a storage locker that can take them back a day, allowing them to have foresight into future stock market prices. Everything has to be executed perfectly so that the clones they make through using the machine do not deviate from the path they need them to follow, which does not last forever. Primer looks like it was filmed through a security camera, with poor image quality, composition, and colour balance, followed by really obvious post-synchronous audio and unconvincing acting, but Carruth does at least display good camera control. It is hard to recommend this film and I am glad they showed it sooner rather than later in the evening.

9:10 pm

Orlando (1992) is an adaptation of the famous Virginia Woolf book Orlando: A Biography (1928), a visually amazing film that worked perfectly with the time of day. The gender-bending film features Tilda Swinton as the nobleman Orlando, who is commanded by Queen Elizabeth I (played by Quentin Crisp, who does an exceptional job in his cross-dressed role as well) to live forever. What follows is mesmerizing journey through time (1600 to present) as Orlando changes his views to suit his needs and eventually changes sex. Director Sally Potter does a wonderful job of capturing the attitudes towards women throughout the ages, as well as shots that look as if they belong in old English paintings. Orlando is a wonderful celebration of English culture, which segues perfectly into the next film.

10:50 pm

A Philip Glass score trickles into the theatre and I gyrate in my seat in anticipation for Errol Morris’ A Brief History of Time (1991). Part Stephen Hawking reading from his book of the same title, part documentary on Hawking’s life, the film splices events seamlessly together to connect the story of Hawking’s life, the major ideas in his book, the use of the advancements in science fiction, and intricate explanations or the theories he helped develop. The fatigue increased the dream-like qualities of the film, and although the physics may have bored those less knowledgeable, it is a remarkable tribute to Hawking’s life—much more so than The Theory of Everything (2014).

12:25 am

Everyone stumbles back to their seats after getting their last bit of fresh air for the next while. The Cinematheque was not allowing in-and-outs between 12:25 am and 4:50 am, so the expectations are high for entertaining films.

Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run (1998) begins, encouraging us with its running sequences to make it to the finish line at 10 am. Lola (Franka Potente) has 20 minutes to run around looking for 100,000 Deutschmarks before her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), robs a supermarket to help pay back a mobster. The film shows Lola failing twice, and by some mysterious act is able to start from the beginning again. The time travel is never really explained apart from something to do with the power of love, but it is interesting to see the repeats as the events twist slightly.

Lola will pass by certain people and have a photograph montage of what happens to them later flash across the screen—this can range from people stealing babies, winning the lottery, becoming born-again Christians, dying from drug overdoses, or engaging in BDSM. Lola is a film that will lose some of its specific meanings to non-German people, but it is an engaging experience.

with the locals and discover a way back home. It is an absolute riot of one-liners and silly special effects, and it completely reinvigorated me for the last three films.

5:10 am

Fresh air and free breakfast of fruit and scones. At this point, I am so cracked out on coffee that I feel like I have already gone to sleep and gotten back up the next day. Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) is next, which amounts to 103 minutes of laughing at Nicolas Cage doing his best impressions of Pokey from The Gumby Show and jokes about having the same maturity level as an adult while reliving high school. Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) is at odds with her electronic sales-man husband, Charlie Bodell (Nicolas Cage), and has a hard time facing him at their 25 year grad reunion. When she is crowned prom queen, she faints and wakes up 25 years ago in 1960.

Like any post-Apocalypse Now (1979) Coppola works, it has some interesting shots and is entertaining, but overall forgettable.

7:05 am

Well into the home stretch, the Cinematheque must not trust our wakefulness if they are going to put on Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). Whether it be the sleep deprived state or my desire for something that does not take itself as seriously as Peggy Sue Got Married, Bill & Ted is an enjoyable film to turn your brain off to. Two teenagers, Bill S. Preston (Alex Winter)

and Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan (Keanu Reeves), are more concerned with their band Wyld Stallyns than trying to pass their history class. Their teacher, Mr. Ryan (Bernie Casey), gives them the ultimatum that they must get As on their final assignment, otherwise they will fail the class­—the result being that Ted will get sent to military academy in Alaska by his police officer dad (Hal Landon Jr.). With the help of a man from the future named Rufus (George Carlin), they attempt to wrangle key historical figures to help them ace their presentation. It does not have the same cult classic calibre that Army of Darkness has, but it is a fun watch and an interesting look into the beginning of Keanu Reeeves’ career.

8:30 am

It is time for the final film. I am hoping for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), but instead, staying with the goal of presenting a wide variety of genres, we are shown the Fred Zinnemann western, High Noon (1952). Let us get one thing straight: High Noon is a great western and a fantastic allegory on the rampant black-listing that was happening during the McCarthy era, but it is not a good film to watch after being awake for 24 hours. Dimitri Tiomkin’s quiet, thumping theme song would have lullabied me to sleep if it had not been for the several cups of coffee I had consumed at this point.

Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is wed to Amy (Grace Kelly), and thus is supposed to give up his title as marshall to pursue a quiet life.

He almost makes it out of town when he hears that a gang will be coming in at noon to take the town.

Too proud to leave, Will unsuccessfully tries to find some deputies and ends up taking the gang with few numbers. If anything, Will’s stubbornness echoed my own that helped me make it through all 15 films without missing a second.

10 am

My brain is angry at me and the fresh air never felt so good. It was a bizarre experience sitting through so many films, but it is something I would do again next year in a heartbeat, regardless of how I think that film selection should have gone. The major thing that stuck out about the order of the films was that there was always a theme that related to the next film. Almost all of the films played on the idea of memory in some way, but there were specifics that carried to each film from the last.

La Jetée featured a man reliving a past experience like in Groundhog Day; Rope played on the idea of some humans being superior beings like in La Jetée; Before Sunset featured people who were past lovers like a couple on Rope; and so on. These moments reveal the care the Cinematheque took in currating the event—it really tied the experience together in a cohesive way for those who were awake enough to see it the whole way through. This was an event made by film lovers for film lovers. If you would like more information on the Cinematheque, visit their website at <thecinematheque.ca>.

1:45 am

The coffee breaks are getting more frequent and necessary. Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956) begins.

I am a bit disappointed we do not get to see A Clockwork Orange (1971) instead. The Killing follows a group of crooks who work with some employees for a race track that try to execute a daring robbery of the place. The film-noire setting works well for the late night movie, but it lacks the extra energy and demented quality that Kubrick’s other films have. The only thing that kept us going was Elisha Cook Jr. playing up his idiot character to the point of absolute hilarity.

3:10 am

More coffee is drank. My energy is at its lowest since the marathon began. Suddenly, a large horn section kicks in and the face of Bruce Campbell graces the screen—it is Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness (1992), thank goodness. The energy of the audience changes; suddenly we are all attending a cult classic movie night and everyone cheers as loudly as they can at every cheesy effect and tagline. Following the events of Evil Dead 2 (1987), Ash (Bruce Campbell) is sent back to 1300 where he must make peace

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15 ARTS

Edward Lee

DENISA KRAUS

Edward Lee

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In Bloom with Duncan Symonds One day, he watched a band play in his backyard as a kid. Another time, he secretly played around with his younger brother guitar. In fact, he borrowed it so often that he had to get his own. Then, finally, playing guitar started to consume so much of his time that he just knew.

Since then, Symonds has been in numerous bands, playing rock and blues in the beginning, exploring

ARTS 16

jazz and funk during his VIU years, and then gravitating toward fingerstyle guitar and folk and Americana roots. He currently plays bluegrass with The Hub City Ramblers, and gets the crowds dancing with the eight-piece funk hit Bananafish Dance Orchestra. He also frequently tours with Big River, a Johnny Cash tribute band, which he considers the first opportunity to make his living

entirely by playing music. Duncan spoke to The Navigator about his newly released album Bloom, a collection of instrumental fingerstyle guitar compositions with folk and world music influences.

How many guitars do you own?

I have seven guitars: three electrics, an acoustic, a dobro, a tricone, and a pedal steel guitar. I'm not a col-

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lector. They are all very different and allow me to express myself in different ways in all different styles of music.

Which one do you value the most?

A father can't choose between his children.

No, not really. I knew three or four songs before joining the band. I'm glad for Big River. It's this kind of a glorified tribute band, and we get to go out on tour and play in theatres and not in bars. I appreciate Johnny Cash a lot more now that I have a better understanding of his music.

Do you have a strong connection to Johnny Cash?

What do you take from his music?

I understand why people like it so

No 13

much; it's story-driven music. And in the ‘50s, he was like nothing people had ever heard. It tends to be a breaking point when you come up with a completely new sound.

Do you identify with any of his stories?

I think I'm mostly on autopilot too much when I play it to be able to pay attention to the lyrics. But I know some of the bigger songs, like “Hurt.” A lot of people come up to us after the show to tell us how much they identify with a song like that.

Why do you think people come to you when it's someone else's music that you play?

Well they come to us because they can't go to him. They're at the show—they hear the songs and feel emotional.

What is it like to be the medium between the original artist and his audience?

It's still a nice thing at the end of the day. They're still giving you a compliment.

How did Bananafish Dance Orchestra influence your music?

It made me start thinking about writing and playing music with a bigger group of musicians. Usually there are four or five people, but there are eight of us in Bananafish.

You have less space to fill. It helped me figure out how to play simpler, stronger parts that fit the song well.

What is the dynamic like in such a big band?

It's a lot more challenging because we have that many more opinions.

Everybody has their own ideas of what sounds good to them. You have to be a lot more diplomatic in the decision-making process, which is what I look forward to when I write my own music—you don't have to worry about making any compromises; it's just your own art. I wanted something small and organic-sounding. That's why there are all the strings. I appreci-

ate being able to play quiet, more nuanced and sensitive music.

How do you work with the other two members of The Duncan Symonds Trio?

I met Marisha [Devoin] and Brad [Shipley] at the jazz program at VIU and played with them in the Hub City Ramblers. With half of the material on the CD, I wrote the songs for solo guitar probably before going to VIU, so maybe eight years ago. Making my own music went on hold for a bit, and then I was too consumed doing school and playing in bands. Three or four years went by after school when I started revisiting my old tunes and realized I don't want to play this just by myself. I wanted to add

Do you want your music to have a similar impact on listeners?

Maybe not quite that, eh? I hope that when people listen to my music, it will relax them and kind of take them somewhere. All the songs have their own atmosphere and vibe to them. They bring scen-

my album is Tommy Emanuel, an Australian guitar player. I saw him about six months ago. He's not only a really good guitar player, but he also involves his audiences a lot—not like some other musicians who just show off or play for themselves; he plays for people and they respond to that.

How do people respond to you?

I guess that depends on what kind of mood I'm in. It's easy for me to get lost in my head. But when I'm making eye contact with people, they do respond. They don't want to just see a band and listen to music.

They want to feel involved in the act, in the process, whether they know you or not. Otherwise they

I hope that when people listen to my music, it will relax them and kind of take them somewhere. All the songs have their own atmosphere and vibe to them. more instruments and make the songs bigger.

Why did you choose to add string instruments?

String instruments are folk-y. Lots of people can relate to that sound.

It's an old tradition, built into this culture and all the sounds. Even if you don't know the music and are not a fan of bluegrass or banjo, you can still kind of know the sound and relate to it in some way. The finger style guitar is acoustic—you don't just play the melody and strum chords. You play with your fingers and try to play a song as a band would play it. You try to be the whole band on one guitar. You play the bass line, the chords that accompany the melody, and then the melody itself.

The Duncan Symonds Trio– Bloom

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Some songs on the album carry strong influences from different cultures.

Where did this come from?

I got inspired by watching a kungfu movie, Kung-Fu Hustle. There's a scene where two villains are playing these instruments that shoot waves at people and slice them in half. Scary, right? But they're playing this beautiful music while they do it.

eries to mind. The kung-fu movie is one example. Another song can sound like you're under water, with a peaceful feeling. It depends on who's listening.

Who do you imagine your listeners are when you write music?

I don't have any. I just play because I love it. There's a creative bubble going on, which I'm trying to break out of. You should be playing for people, you should be involving them. Probably not everybody thinks that way, but the artists I like do.

Who are your heroes?

There are a lot of them. But one of my favourite artists that play a similar type of music that's on

JENNIFER GARCEAU

might as well just stay at home and watch YouTube.

How else do you connect with your audience?

Having a stage presence and not just standing there like a rock: walking and moving around the stage.

Talking in between songs, telling stories—that's what we do a lot in Big River. We introduce the stories of the songs and people really relate to them when they know what's going on. And playing melodically. People like to hear songs they can sing, and to hear music that sounds familiar to them. I try to be conscious of that on the album.

What is the creative process like for you when you're in charge?

Although I had the creative control at the end of the day, I asked for a lot of opinions. I wanted Brad and Marisha to feel involved in the process, not just show up and have me dictate how they should play. They need to put their own personalities in it as well. Mostly, I came in with tunes that were 70 percent done and then we'd hash out the arrangements and parts together. It's good to bounce ideas off other people.

The album is a studio project. We've never played together, only one-onone. Today we've actually played for the first time. It was different. My music is technically challenging.

Is there room for improvisation?

There is a mix between highly arranged sections and improvised parts. Improvisation is written into these songs. I like the contrast.

What can we expect from the concerts?

Three nervous players. (Laughs.)

The songs aren't going to change, but the smaller details are going to be different from night to night.

That's the nature of improvisation.

Where do you want to go?

The biggest driving force behind this CD was art for art's sake. I've never had any expectations to make money, because it's not that kind of music. It's nichier. A lot of the promoting is going to be done on the internet. That's the method of all other artists that play this style.

It's not financially feasible to go touring around and play for toosmall audiences.

You chose to play a house concert for your CD release event.

I've only done one and I loved it. Everyone's there to see you and listen to the music, not to socialize and drink.

The Bloom CD release house concert takes place on April 19 at Rolo Rooster on Gabriola Island. The album is available for $14 on CDBaby, Amazon, and iTunes, and hard copies are available in person.

CONTRIBUTOR

A full disclaimer is in order here: when I first checked this album out and saw that one of the songs was titled after one of my favourite shows growing up, “Under the Umbrella Tree,” I was pretty determined to love this offering of Americana-all-grown-up. Incidentally, even if this song was named something else I would still be sitting at my computer telling you about this wonderful, ambrosial collection of instrumental songs.

There is a subdued confidence that is immediately apparent on the first track, “Walkin’ Thoughts,” and carries the listener through to the end track, “Clockwork.” Each offering is a surefire to have perfectly placed, timed notes which still manage to feel spontaneous. As a listener you get to feel like you’re on a road with no particular destination and the expanse of time at your disposal, with a soundtrack of bygone days rejuvenated into a contemporary blend of mastery and taste.

Taste is truly what stands out on this album. As much as it may seem like a myriad of complex notes are being performed, it is the notes that the band chooses not to play that makes me listen again. At any point, the mandolin or intricate acoustic guitar could navigate the listener to the exact sonic location they anticipate to land, but instead the runs of notes hit somewhere unexpected, resonating in your ear and leaving you at full attention and wanting more.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more evident than on the title track, “Bloom.” The complex layers are like the petals

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of a flower unfolding, beguiling you to the end when the song comfortably descends into a satisfying conclusion. The alluring dobro and bright, upbeat mandolin drive the song along and unite each component into a singular expression.

Another standout song on the album is “Daria.” The lush, finger-pickin’ good acoustic guitar anchors the intricate mandolin harmonies while the exotic dobro slides in and out of your ears. The jubilant, adventurous spirit of “Moving Day” is liable to make you put your sunglasses on and walk out your door without a plan. And as for the song that sold me before a single note passed through my ears, “Under the Umbrella Tree,” it delighted me to know a namesake song for a treasured childhood memory is charming and does the title absolute justice. The synchronicity of all the band members is particularly evident in this piece, especially between the bass notes rolling alongside the glittering mandolin, all set against what I am beginning to recognize as the trademark Duncan Symonds toe tappin’ acoustic rhythm.

Bloom has a song for each moment, whether it be the contemplative “Such, as Life” or the otherworldly “Sui Lim Tao.” This album has a moment ready for whatever mood you may find yourself in. And even though each song has a distinct flavour of its own, the album as a whole is a united expression. Treat your ears to a savvy arrangement of perfectly plucked notes and all kinds of heart and check out Bloom.

17 ARTS

St. Paddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Street Party

1

WILLIAM SMITH & DENISA KRAUS

AS NUMBERED 1. Spectators watch the action on Diana Krall Plaza.

2. Entertainment at Diana Krall Plaza featured a live U2 tribute band and a video feed of the Irish Rovers concert at The Port Theatre.

3. The Port Theatre telecast the concert on the big screen.

4. Revellers fancy the beer gardens on the plaza.

2

3

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4

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No 13

Sports

Jenna Carver (shooting) went 8/9 from the free throw line in her final game as a Mariner.

BEN CHESSOR

Carver’s 29 rebounds broke the previous school record of 26.

No 13

Elissa Doerksen

THE NAVIGATOR

It wasn’t the game they wanted to be playing in, but the VIU Mariners’ women’s basketball team picked up the win in the team’s final game at the National Championship. VIU got a monster performance from fifth-year forward Jenna Carver as the Mariners picked up a 63-51 victory over the Mount Allison University Mounties.

Mount Allison jumped out to an early lead to start the game, but Carver scored a basket with four seconds left in the quarter to give the Mariners a 14-12 lead. The Mariners built on their lead at the start of the second quarter, taking a 20-14 lead three minutes into the quarter. The Mounties battled back as the half wound to a close, tying the score 27-27 at halftime.

The Mounties took the lead as the third quarter got underway. With just under four minutes left to play in the third, Mount Allison had jumped out to a 38-32 advantage. But as the buzzer went to end the third quarter with the Mounties leading 40-38, Carver was fouled trying to get a shot away.

She hit both free throws with no time left on the clock to tie the game 40-40 at the end of three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Mariners took control of the game for good, scoring the first 12 points of the quarter to jump out to a 52-40 lead with just over five minutes to play.

The Mounties tried to stage a final comeback but were stifled by the VIU defense. Carver finished her final game as a Mariner with 22 points and a staggering 29 rebounds. Her 29 rebounds broke the previous schoool record of 26. Carver had four less rebounds in the game than the entire Mount Allison roster.

The victory over the Mounties gave the Mariners a seventh place finish in the tournament. VIU came into the tournament as the seventh ranked team. The Mariners finished the Nationals with a record of 1-2. The Mariners lost their first two games of the tournament to find themselves in the seventh place game against the Mounties.

VIU opened the tournament in front of their hometown fans against the Holland College Hurricanes. The Mariners treated the home fans to a thrilling contest, battling back from a 13-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the game with just over five minutes left to play. But the second ranked Hurricanes proved to be too much for the Mariners as the game entered its final moments. The Hurricanes jumped out to a five

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point lead with 3:30 left in the game and held on for the 67-62 win.

The Mariners still had a chance to advance to the bronze medal semi-finals with a victory over their PacWest rivals, the Quest Kermodes. VIU got off to a hot start against the reigning PacWest gold medalists, jumping out to a 7-1 lead just over three minutes into the game. But after the early Mariner run, the Kermodes took the game over. Quest took their first lead 16-14 with four seconds left in the first quarter. The Mariners weren’t able to tie the score again after the Kermodes took the lead. Quest led by as many as 19 points on their way to the 52-41 victory.

After the seventh place finish at the Nationals the Mariners are now done for the season. VIU finished the PacWest regular season with a record of 16-5, good for second place in the standings. The Mariners also captured the bronze medal at the PacWest Provincial Championship with a 57-44 win over the Camosun Chargers.

The Mariners have been a power house in the PacWest for the last few years, finishing in the top two in the standings each of the last five years. With a strong core of players returning to the team next season the Mariners will no doubt once again be a favourite for the PacWest championship.

The Nomades de Montmorency from Laval Quebec won the National Championship.

This was their third consecutive National Championship title.

Elissa Doerksen

SPORTS 19

Men settle for silver at National Championship Cedar-born Mariner Harrison Stupich finished his five-year career at VIU as team captain.

Harrison provided the Mariners with strong play on both sides of the ball.

BEN CHESSOR

Courtesy of VIU Mariner’s Flickr page

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The VIU Mariners’ men’s basketball team’s hunt for a National Championship came to a disappointing end on Saturday, March 21. The Mariners lost the National Championship game 68-62 to the Humber College Hawks. The Mariners return home from the Nationals with a silver medal.

The championship game was a tightly contested defensive affair. The two teams went basket for basket through the game’s opening quarter with Humber, taking a 17-15 lead after the first. The Mariners were the stronger team early in the second quarter, taking a 21-19 lead in the quarter. VIU extended their lead to 28-22 with five minutes left in the half.

The Mariners held onto the lead until the final few seconds on the half, when Humber got a basket on their final possession of the half to tie the game 34-34.

Each team held the lead briefly at the start of the third quarter. First, the Hawks jumped out to a 38-34 lead, but a few minutes later Jason Fortin converted on a couple free

throws to put the Mariners out in front 40-38. In the last three minutes of the quarter, the Hawks took over the lead and held a 47-42 advantage heading into the third quarter.

The Mariners cut into the Humber lead as the fourth quarter got underway, tying the score at 57-57 with just over five minutes left in the game. But with two minutes left and the game tied 60-60 the Hawks took the lead for good. The Hawks scored six straight points to take a 66-60 lead. The Mariners tried to battle back one more time, but their comeback fell short as Humber captured their sixth National Championship, the most championships of any team in the CCAA. The loss marked a disappointing end to a great season for the Mariners. VIU finished the PacWest regular season with a record of 20-1, giving the team their first top finish in the standings in three years. The Mariners also captured the PacWest Championship, ending a run of three consecutive

second place finishes. VIU also broke the school record for points in a game twice this season. First, the team broke the previous record of 118 by scoring 121 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats on February 20. The team then shattered their own record the next night by scoring 136 points in a win over the Kwantlen Eagles.

Some Mariners also received some personal accolades.

Mariners forward Justin King was named a CCAA All-Canadian. Both King and teammate Fortin were named first team all-stars during the National Championship. Coach Matt Kuzminski also won the CCAA coach of the year award for men’s basketball.

The Mariners’ men’s basketball program is a force in the PacWest, picking up at least a silver medal in each of the last seven years. There is no doubt that the Mariners will be ready to take another shot at the National Championship next season.

Camosun spoils Mariners’ quest for bronze BEN CHESSOR

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On February 28, the VIU Mariners’ women’s volleyball team staged a dramatic comeback to defeat the Camosun Chargers and capture the PacWest Provincial Championship on the Chargers’ home court in Victoria. The Mariners rallied back after losing the first two sets to stun the Chargers in a dramatic five-set thriller.

At the National Championship in Longueuil, Quebec, the Chargers managed to exact a form of revenge, as the Chargers were able to hold off the Mariners in the semi-finals to advance to the bronze medal game.

The match between the two rivals was extremely close to being an exact repeat of the PacWest final. The Chargers jumped out to an early lead, winning the first two sets of the match 25-23 and 25-19, but the Mariners battled back into the match, capturing the next two sets by identical 25-22 scores to send the match to a fifth and deciding set.

But this time, Camosun managed to fight off the VIU come-

20 SPORTS

back. The Chargers captured the fifth set 15-10, winning the match 3-2. Megan Roselund was named Player of the Game for VIU. Roselund recorded one ace, 16 kills, and 17 digs in the match for the Mariners. The loss to the Chargers eliminated the Mariners from the tournament. VIU finished the tournament with a record of 1-2.

The Mariners, who entered the tournament as the second ranked team in the country, started the tournament on a strong note. VIU picked up a 3-0 victory over the Mount St. Vincent University Mystics in the team’s first match of the tournament. Claire Mcloughlin was named Player of the Game for VIU in the victory. Mcloughlin finished the game with five kills, three digs, and one ace.

After the victory over MSVU, the Mariners had a chance to advance to the gold medal semi-finals with a victory over Elans de Garneau. The Mariners started the match strong, winning the match’s first set 25-17. But Garneau took over

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the match after the first set, picking up victories in three consecutive sets (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) to pick up the win over the Mariners.

The Mariners may have come home from the Nationals empty handed, but the team has a lot to be proud of after such a successful season. After starting the season 1-5, the team caught fire and finished the regular season with a record of 16-8 to finish in third place in the standings. The Mariners then continued their hot play in the Provincials as they defeated Camosun to capture the gold medal and return to Nationals for the second straight season. The gold medal extended VIU’s streak of consecutive seasons with a PacWest medal to 21. The last time VIU failed to capture a medal was 1994.

A Mariners player also received some personal recognition before the Nationals—Tylar Turnbull was named an All-Canadian.

No 13

Clippers one win away from Island Championship BEN CHESSOR For the second straight series, the Nanaimo Clippers played a do-ordie game seven on home ice, this time with the BCHL Island Championship on the line.

The Clippers and their opponent, the Powell River Kings, were tied 3-3 after the first six games of the Island Championship series. The home team has won every game thus far in the series.

Game one between the Clippers and Kings was played in Nanaimo on Friday, March 13. With the game tied at two early in the third period, the Clippers got two goals in one minute and 23 seconds from Brendan Taylor to give Nanaimo a 4-2 lead and the victory. The Clippers followed up the 4-2 win with a 2-1 victory the following night in game two.

The Kings climbed back into the series during games three and four in Powell River. On Monday, March 16 the Kings got powerplay goals from Kurt Keats and Jacob Pritchard to take game three by a score of 2-1. The next night the Kings got two goals from Keats and evened up the series with another 2-1 victory in game four. After a 2-1 Clipper victory in game five pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination, Powell River forced a game seven with a 4-2 in the sixth game.

This is the second series in a row for Nanaimo that was decided in seven games. Nanaimo won

THE NAVIGATOR the first three games of their first round series with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, but lost the next three games before picking up a 3-1 victory in the seventh game. The seventh game was tied 1-1 with just over seven minutes left to play in the third period before Nicholas Carrier scored the series-deciding goal to allow the Clippers to move on.

The Clippers’ biggest struggle has been the Kings’ top three scorers: Jacob Pritchard, Kurt Keats, and Jarid Lukosevicius. The trio has scored seven of the Kings’ 12 goals in the series. Jake Jackson is the Clippers’ leading scorer in the playoffs with eight goals and three

assists in 13 games.

Game seven between Nanaimo and Powell River was played on Sunday, March 22. A Clipper victory would lead to a round-robin tournament against the winners of the BCHL’s Mainland and Interior conferences. The last place team after the round-robin is eliminated while the other two teams move on to play each other in a best-of-seven series for the BCHL championship.

Results of game seven between the Clippers and the Kings, as well as information on tickets to upcoming games are available on The Navigator’s website at <thenav.ca>.

Clippers celebrate their victory in game seven of their first round series against Alberni Valley.

Ben Chessor

Pollard having a strong first year as a Mariner BEN CHESSOR

Sienna Pollard led the PacWest in scoring during her first season as a member of the Mariners.

Elissa Doerksen

No 13

With the end of the National Championship comes the end to the season for the VIU Mariners’ women’s basketball team. The Mariners were a very deep team this year, with a lot of players contributing in different ways to the team’s success. Leading the team scoring this year was Sienna Pollard, a first year Mariner, whose strong play on the court has earned her some national recognition.

On March 18, Pollard was selected as one of 10 players named CCAA Women’s Basketball All-Canadian.

The awards were given out at an awards banquet held before the National Championship.

This season marked Pollard’s first as a Mariner after playing two years at Highline College in Washington State.

Pollard has taken the PacWest by storm in her first year in the

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THE NAVIGATOR league. The Auburn, Washington native led the division in scoring this year, averaging 18.5 points per game (ppg) in 21 games this season. Her 18.5 ppg was also good for seventh in the entire CCAA. Pollard also finished fifth in the PacWest in rebounding averaging 8.3 rebounds a game.

Pollard had a big game in the Mariners’ 67-62 loss to Holland to open the tournament. She finished the game with a team high 22 points and also had six rounds and two assists.

Pollard was counted on all season to lead the Mariners’ offense and she rarely disappointed. But she was also a force for VIU on the defensive side of the ball.

“Sienna is a great defender and a terrific athlete,” said the Mariners’ head coach, Bill McWhinnie.

“She has been outstanding for us this year.”

When asked about her success this season, Pollard is quick to talk about the strong bond she has with her teammates. “This year has been the highlight of my career,” said Pollard. “I instantly had good chemistry with everyone on the team, which was good considering it was my first year here.”

After finishing the season as the PacWest leading scorer, Pollard will be back to try and defend her scoring crown next season. She plans to play two more years with the Mariners before graduating with a degree in Sports Health and Physical Education. That’s good news for Mariner fans, who will get a chance to see if Pollard can put up another league-leading season next year.

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Odds & Ends Comic by Arlen Hogarth

Comic by Jon Hiebert

ODDS & ENDS 22

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No 13

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Shane Koyczan: Silence Is A Song I Know All The Words To

When I Was: Stories of Las Hermanas, Healing and Hope

Daragh Fitzgerald live

The Body Talk Program Finale

The Port Theatre, 125 Front St. $32.50 7:30 PM

Malaspina Theatre, VIU Nanaimo Campus $20 (available at Catwalk Fashions, Kismet Theatre Academy, and Haven Society)

Fibber Magees, 131 Selby St. FREE

Romper Room Indoor Rock Climbing Centre, 4385B Boban Dr.

7:30 – 10 PM

$20 7:30 PM

7:30 PM

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04

4th Nanaimo Guide Cookie Fundraiser

Work Smarter Not Harder: Tools To Get Things Done

In With The New

Science and Technology Lecture Series: Ancestral Echoes: Meeting Shared and Unique Human Nutritional Needs

The Mother Tongue Band w/ Duncan Symonds

Dante DeCaro, Aidan Thorne, Reid Williams

Downtown Nanaimo Easter Spring Fling

The Vault Cafe, 499 Wallace St.

Diana Krall Plaza, Commercial St.

VIU Nanaimo campus, bldg. 356, rm. 109

FREE

$10

FREE

8 PM

10 AM – 2 PM

Canadian Tire, 4585 Uplands Dr. FREE

VIU Nanaimo campus, Library, rm. 508 FREE

9 AM – 5 PM

Nanaimo Arts Council Gallery, 259-4750 Rutherford Rd. FREE 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM

4:15 – 5:15 PM

FREE

06

07

Jane Ellison Dance Jam

Bunny Trail at Milner Gardens

Nia movement workshop

Milner Gardens and Woodland, 2179 West Island Hwy, Qualicum Beach

Wellington Hall, 3922 Corunna Ave.

$8.25, kids free with adult, students $4.25

9:30 – 10:30 AM

$25 4 – 7 PM

9 PM

7 – 8 PM

05 Rotary Field House, 850 Third St.

The Corner Lounge, 121 Bastion St.

$13

10 AM – 4:30 PM

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No 13

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