The Navigator Vol 47 Issue 12

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Vol 47

A PR IL 6 FREE

navigator VA NCOU V ER ISL A ND U NI V ERSIT Y ST U DEN T PR ESS

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Legal highs from bath salts to flakka Never in my wildest, saddest dreams had I thought I'd become addicted to such a monster of a drug.

Rabbit 101: Prepare for the Easter Bunny's visit With Easter hopping closer, it’s the perfect time to reflect on VIU’s own rabbit friends.

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VIU theatre deserves an encore After 40 years, Malaspina theatre needs a facelift.

contents

news

features 08

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08 04 a foundation Founding

08 Editorials

arts 14 08 08 Home Star: Truth and 04 Going Reconciliation Contest to give voice to Aboriginal writers

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05 Rabbit 101: Prepare for the Easter Bunny's visit

Ava's Possessions movie review

Everyday Earth: Sacred soil

Nina Forever movie review

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06 International women stand up for gender equality

VIU Services: Scholarships, awards, and bursaries

TPP discussion in Nanaimo

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Celebrating Nature: The Brant Wildlife Festival New accessibility icon to take Nanaimo by storm

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Point of VIU

Shawn Atleo delivers inspiration for progress

Chronicle of a Craigslist sale

sports & lifestyle

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18 Island Divison Championship: 2016 Fred Page Cup Profile: Ornella Murumba

19 08 04victory for VIU V-ball

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BC Government announces $15 million grant towards new music fund

A guide to adulting: University edition

Dreaming of the past

Recipe: Beans, beans, the magical fruit

17 VIU theatre deserves an encore

The strange, viral memetics of Donald J. Trump

21 Flyers at your fingertips: Reebee app Mental Health Matters: Hate speech and social media

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Legal highs from bath salts to flakka

23 Calendar

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CON T EN TS

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letters

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CONTRIBUTORS Reid Eccles Ayanda Gatsha Marc Heroux Brandon Kornelson Zoe Lauckner Ornella Marumba

Jeff Sieniewicz Spenser Smith Chantelle Spicer

THE NAVIGATOR WELCOMES READER CONTRIBUTIONS

THE NAVIGATOR IS Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Emily Johnston Graphic Designer

Antony Stevens Associate Editor

Avery Crosson Graphic Designer

Kaytee Davis Art Director

Gabby Fleming Ad/Sales Rep

Natalie Gates News Editor

Shaina Bolduc Ad/Sales Rep

Catherine Charlebois Sports & Lifestyle Editor

Megan Wolfe Social Media Sp.

Brendan Barlow Arts Editor

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

Kelly Whiteside Production Manager

Christine Franic Business Manager

You don’t have to be a journalist to get published in the Navigator.

We encourage creators to submit poetry, art, comics, photo essays, editorial cartoons, and coverage of events on campus.

Send any inquiries or content to <editor@thenav.ca> or visit <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. 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.

Lori Shwydky Copy Editor

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

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In the last issue of the Navigator, we incorrectly stated in “Beating Penticton” that the Fred Page Cup playoffs were for 10 days. The 10 days roughly referred to only the first round of playoffs. We apologize for any confusion it may have caused. The full Fred Page Cup playoff schedule is available online at <bchl.ca>.

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L ETTER S

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editorials

Mi’kmaq memories Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Mi’k-what? Mi’kmaq is my heritage, or so I believe. Pronounced <mik mak> or with silenced k and q <me mah>, and representing a large native population in the Maritime provinces, specifically my father’s province of New Brunswick and the accompanying Indian Island (yes, that’s a real place).

Shawn Atleo recently returned to VIU’s Nanaimo campus to meet with students and faculty to speak on a variety of issues (story is on page five), inspiring the audience to be proud of their culture and to work hard at safeguarding the language, stories, and the many wisdoms of our Elders. This got me thinking about my own Elder’s story.

Some say I look Italian, but the freckles usually throw them off. I get those from my English and Scottish mother.

Upon first glance at my father, you can begin to see the genes of Indigenous blood in his warm skin tone and dark features.

Furthermore, his father exudes a colourful past­—one that is only held together by stories and secrets.

In the early ‘30s, my great grandmother got pregnant, worked in a hospital to pay for the birth, and single-handedly took care of my grandfather, Raymond—until she met Isaac Barrieau, with whom she married and had two more children who literally paled in comparison to their darker, bilingual half-brother.

So, raised in a white family, Ray never entertained the idea of having Indigenous heritage, in a world where bastard children and Indigenous culture were not widely accepted

by the government at the time. It was not until my own father grew up, and saw the lineage pass through his own children (my little sister was born two shades darker and with wild, dark hair—aptly nicknamed Eskimo Child).

The search for our heritage took my father and I on a wild goose chase, provoking a drive to Richibucto (also a real place) during a New Brunswick trip to track down a Chief in the area, only to realize that the only way to prove our bloodline is by directly testing my DNA. With no viable birth certificate from Ray, Canada cannot prove we are Mi’kmaq.

And you know what? I feel it, as my mother says, “in my jeans.” I don’t care that I don’t know what potlatch looks like, or what bannock tastes like. In my opinion, I’m about as Canadian as you can get—a healthy blend of English, Scottish, Irish, and Mi’kmaq. I couldn’t be happier representing such a beautiful minority of Indigenous women, succeeding in my field, and sharing my story in the front of the newspaper I publish.

So, check out the rest of the paper, and stay tuned for our last issue in April, where we will be covering Indigenous Survivance: The Truth in Reconciliation, an event happening on campus March 30. Also, if you’ve made it this far, don’t forget to apply to work with us next year if you’re still going to be a student—we’d love to hear from VIU’s writers and graphic designers.

GAWKER, YER DONE, BROTHER Antony Stevens Associate Editor

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EDI TOR I A L S

I used to read Gawker. Well, some of Gawker Media, anyway.

When I was a little nublet in the videogame world, I read Kotaku. It was the yin to IGN’s yang—the modern blog-style to the contemporary tech journalism. It was fine for what it was, and it served its purpose until I started to care about real journalism. I read Jezebel and its explicit counterpart occasionally in high school. I still read Gizmodo when I come across it. It’s a casual counterpart to Engadget with the occasional story leaks. That seems to be Gawker’s thing, really—leaks.

In October 2012, Gawker Media aided in the leak of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s private sex tape by publishing a clip of it on their website. In November last year, Hogan sued Gawker for defamation, and Gawker claimed defence in the first amendment. But last week, Hogan won the lawsuit against the publication for $115 million.

Because of the first amendment, there is only one thing that journalists are not legally allowed to print, and that is something that is libelous—written defamation. You can legally print things that are off the record, but there is an ethical risk.

Ethics don’t matter in terms of libel 99 per cent of the time—all

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that matters is if what you said is false or otherwise untrue.

Hogan found the one per cent.

Gawker’s defence wasn’t just that publishing the clip and its supplementary written, scene-by-scene detailing of the 31-minute sex tape was constitutional according to the first amendment, but that publishing the sex tape was newsworthy.

Just like taking certain ethical risks, newsworthiness is subjective. As a blog-style publication, I can understand how Gawker could think a sex tape is newsworthy. It gets the clicks. It’s got the headline. But Gawker Media is the digital equivalent of a tabloid print channel, all under a guise of pseudo professionalism. And for them to say that Hulk Hogan’s private life—that is, someone whose private life has no impact on either the readers (we’re not talking about the damn Prime Minister) nor the greater public (eg. whom journalism is for)—is even remotely “newsworthy” shows a fundamental flaw in the publisher’s definition.

The question isn’t just “is it new and interesting,” as Gawker seems to think it is. The question that defines news is “is it new, is it interesting, and is it worth it?”

I’ll bet they’re re-thinking the latter right now.

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news

RABBIT 101: PREPARE FOR THE EASTER BUNNY’S VISIT Natalie Gates

Natalie Gates

With Easter hopping closer, and stuffed bunnies and chocolate The Navigator eggs coating store shelves, it’s the perfect time to reflect on VIU’s own rabbit friends.

VI Abbie, a bunny character who represents VIU on social media platforms as the Lead Student Ambassador for the Engagement Enrolment Office, held an online campaign February 29 to March 4 to educate students on the campus rabbits.

The purpose of the campaign was to create student awareness that bunnies are wild animals and that people endanger them by treating them as pets, said Dakota Den Duyf of VIU’s Office of Enrolment Management. Since VIU shares space with many wild animals, people must understand how to properly coexist with them.

“The idea came from a post on Facebook encouraging

students to feed the bunnies food that is not healthy for them. One of our student ambassadors responded with a comment about healthy food options, and we thought it might be a good idea to do a week-long campaign on healthy co-habitation tips,” said Den Duyf. “The bunny population is growing very fast—they are being pet and fed by the students and, as a result, they have also become very tame, which makes them susceptible to predators.”

Over the week, VI Abbie published several bunny facts on her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram platforms.

Here is what we learned: •

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Avoid petting rabbits; it affects natural instincts and vulnerability to predators. Predators include hawks, feral cats, raccoons, and eagles. Nanaimo city Bylaw 4923.07 prohibits the feeding of feral rabbits within the municipality, and the fine for doing so is $100.

The Easter bunny has got some competition. Roughly 840 bunnies are born annually on VIU’s Nanaimo campus, so they really do breed like rabbits.

Bunnies are confused about their animal identity. A male is called a buck, a female a doe, and a baby a kid or kitten.

One is the loneliest number. Rabbits are social animals, and they love companionship.

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Much like your fellow last-minute study crammers, bunnies are crepuscular, meaning they are active at dusk and dawn.

A rabbit’s squeak is an expression of joy. They often do this when you see them flipping and twisting around in the air like crazy gymnasts.

They’re all descendants of immigrants. There are no species of rabbits native to Vancouver Island—the ones found here are European.

You can keep up-to-date on all things VIU by following VI Abbie on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

SHAWN ATLEO DELIVERS INSPIRATION FOR PROGRESS Connections in post-secondary institutions while a full Gathering Place enjoyed hot soup and bannock.

He highlighted the progress of VIU in relation to Indigenous recognition and education, motioning to the very building that he spoke in and the totem poles that stand outside of it. “This all wasn’t here that long ago,” he said. “And this is the first institution in the entire country to recognize Indigenous Elders as faculty.”

Atleo first began questioning the impact global influences can have on small Indigenous populations after being exposed to the realities of fish farming. “I remember wondering, Shawn Atleo with student Sara Daigle.

Molly Barrieau ‘How does a Norwegian-owned, Chilean-operated company that farms Atlantic salmon in the Pacific Natalie Gates Potlatches begin with Elders speaking Ocean come to be in front of my own [west coast Vancouver while listeners eat, so the teachings and Island] village?’”

The Navigator good feelings can enter with the food. The From there, and throughout his global Master’s Degree teachings nourish the soul, spirit, and heart, while the food in Education, Atleo further questioned the realms of neonourishes the body. liberalism, cultural hegemony, and globalization. “I ended up “Plus, if it’s really tasty, you’re quiet,” joked Shawn Atleo, in political work because I couldn’t hold myself back,” he said. former National Chief of Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and “I didn’t intend to be in that kind of political realm because it former Chancellor of VIU. grinds against so much I feel about the world. I’ve seen things Atleo served as National Chief from 2009-2014 and was I sometimes wish I haven’t seen, but they’re realities. We have named Chancellor of VIU in 2008, becoming the first university to expose them.”

Atleo’s journey into elected politics at the provincial level chancellor of Aboriginal heritage in BC’s history. began in 2003 when former Prime Minister Paul Martin asked On March 8, Atleo spoke about World Indigenous

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him to join him in Mexico for his meeting with former US president George Bush and the 32 other presidents and prime ministers of North American states. When the topic came to Indigenous people, and Martin asked Atleo how Canada was doing in relation to First Nations, Atleo recalls saying, “‘I’m not sure if that’s the question we should be asking. The question we should be asking is why, out of these 34 people, am I the only Indigenous person here?’”

After that, once Atleo was elected as Chief of the AFN in 2009, Stephen Harper was in power for Atleo’s entire time in office. “It wasn’t always easy,” Atleo said. “Leadership is rewarding, but it’s extremely challenging.”

Sara Daigle, an Aboriginal VIU student upgrading for her Bachelors of Science in Nursing, was skeptical of coming to hear Atleo because of her feelings towards Canada’s federal government. At the end of his talk, she asked Atleo how she could best retain her Indigenous culture from home in the Kootenays while studying at VIU. Atleo said it must be a joint effort in continuing to make progress and integrate Aboriginal culture into institutions.

“VIU must become more than an institution that develops human capital for market economies,” he said. “It must be an institution that supports and encourages actors for a more civil society. Within the institution, we bring encouragement that it continues to transform integrated vertically and horizontally Indigenous values in every area of study, not just First Nations studies.”

Atleo pointed out that progress is still very recent; while VIU is not perfect, it is still leading in the country in relation to Indigenous education, as well as the representation of over 80 countries on its campuses.

“This is a global conversation,” he said, “and we are on the comeback trail of Indigenous people.”

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International women stand up for gender equality In honour of International The Navigator Women’s Day on March 8, VIU’s Chair of the Status of Women, Joy Gugeler, and the Faculty of International Education hosted a panel for three women to share their experiences coming to Canada from their war-torn countries.

The first speaker was Anastasiya Kryvanos from the Ukraine. Kryvanos graduated from high school last year and is currently studying sociology at VIU with hopes of using her education to defy gender imbalances in her home country.

Left to right: Hamasa Tahmina Durrani, Ghadir Kishawi, and Anastasiya Kryvanos.

Being the daughter of a military father, she has lived all around the Molly Barrieau globe, and her father experienced the conflicts in eastern Ukraine, witnessing the drastic lack of protection for women and children.

Kryvanos highlighted the unfortunately high demand for the sale of Ukranian women. “Trafficked women make more money in a week [for the criminals] than law enforcement does in a year [in Canada],” she said.

She also spoke about how family support is the only way many women in the Ukraine can survive. “My grandmother’s retirement fund is about $36 [per year], and she worked her whole life in the subway system,” she said.

While she feels safe here in Canada, she still has her worries regarding her home country after she completes her degree.

“There’s a psychological impact of the war zone that doesn’t make you feel safe,” she said. “And I know that, at any second, my dad could be sent back.”

The second speaker, Ghadir Kishawi, immigrated to Canada in 2011 from Palestine. As an English-Arabic translator with a BA - HAMASA TAHMINA DURRANI . in Computer Science, she settled in Nanaimo after her husband completed his MBA at VIU. “I wish for Palestine to become a free country,” she began.

While International Women’s Day is still celebrated in her home country, it used to be a state holiday. Now, many Palestinian women are in Israeli jails, and many more are exposed to various kinds of violent oppression and are displaced from their homes. Still, Kishawi positively highlighted the many feminist

Natalie Gates

“A WOMAN. .IS A MOTHER,. .A DAUGHTER.. .TREAT HER. .EQUALLY.”.

movements Palestinian women have established to fight back.

She also pointed to her religion as a means to symbolize the need for gender equity. “Islam is the first religion to recognize women and give them rights,” she said. “Our prophet Mohamed said before he died, ‘Treat your women well and be kind to them.’”

Speaking third was 23-year-old Hamasa Tahmina Durrani.

Durrani was born and raised in Pakistan before moving to Afghanistan, and eventually to Canada in 2013 to attend Vancouver Community College.

“My name, Hamasa, means ‘to bring change,’” she said. To live up to her name, she is calling for people to stop allowing men to harm women in Afghanistan and across the globe.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Durrani said. “You can’t just do that with a woman who wants to live and have a good life.

A woman is a mother, a daughter. Treat her equally.”

Durrani spoke about the issue of child marriages in Afghanistan. “Once your daughter passes age seven, they are considered a machine ready to have kids,” she said. “If these problems don’t make sense to me, and I’m from Afghanistan, I’m sure they don’t make sense to the rest of the world.”

To further illustrate her point, Durrani highlighted August 11, 2015, when a group of men killed a 27-year-old Afghan woman in public, after blaming her for burning a Quran. They proceeded that she must pay the ultimate price and began to beat her, drove a car over her body, and finally burned her corpse.

Durrani spoke about the stand for gender equality her own family took in Afghanistan. “Hijabs are fine; they are part of my culture,” she said. “But it is not fine to force me to wear one. I never do something when someone forces me. My dad didn’t force me to wear a hijab and people thought he was the worst person in the Muslim community. But to me, he was the best.”

Now, grateful for the higher level of acceptance and equity they have received in Canada, all three women plan to use their education and experiences to spread this mindset.

While women in Canada are generally treated more equally than many other areas around the globe, there is still progress to be made, said Gugeler. Conversations like these, from wagegaps and domestic abuse, to the damaging effects of human trafficking are vital for change.

Durrani pointed to a photo of six different skulls. “In this picture you can see skeletons. Do you see any difference between mine and yours?” she asked the crowd. “No, because there’s not. We are all the same.”

TPP DISCUSSION IN NANAIMO Natalie Gates

The Mid-Island Chapter Council of Canadians will hold a presentation on The Navigator the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal in Nanaimo on April 8.

The TPP is a free-trade deal between Canada, the United States, Mexico, and nine other countries, representing 40 per cent of the global economy. Of the deal’s 26 chapters, two have to do with trade.

The remaining chapters discuss issues such as how a government regulates corporate activity, what Crown corporations can and cannot do, how long pharmaceutical patients or copyright terms should be, how the internet is governed, the sharing of personal information across borders, banking and taxation rules, and when a company or investor should be compensated when environmental or public health policies interfere with profits.

Critics say the TPP threatens access to medication for the public, environmental protection measure, access to knowledge and the open internet, and community-led public policy. On

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the other hand, advocates of the deal say it will create more liberal trade to deliver higher productivity, higher GDP, and higher incomes for citizens.

Speakers at the April 8 presentation will include several critics of the deal: Canadian microbiologist and human rights activist Dr. Shiv Chopra, local documentary filmmaker Paul Manly, and member of the Hupacasath First Nation Brenda Sayers.

Dr. Chopra is also a former Health Canada scientist who lost his job after raising alarm about dangers posed by bovine growth hormones, and his work is partly responsible for making it illegal to use drugs to boost milk production in Canada.

Dr. Chopra told CBC News he is worried what the trade agreement could mean for US dairy products, which have fewer restrictions, coming into Canada. “The damage that occurs to the milk, to the cows…Ultimately, it translates into human health hazards.”

Manly has been studying the effects of investor state dispute settlements (ISDS) provisions in trade agreements for the past

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decade. He says ISDS provisions allow foreign corporations to sue governments in secretive tribunals for policies that limit the corporations’ profits.

In 2009, Manly also completed a feature film about the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) entitled, You, Me, and the SPP. Sayers was a Director of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, and the Hupacasath’s national portfolio holder for the Canada China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement court challenge.

The presentation will take place April 8 at 7 p.m. at Bowen Park. Admittance is by donation, and questions from the audience will be welcomed after the presentation.

If you wish to send feedback or questions to the Canadian government, it has provided an email address <TPP-PTP. consultations@international.gc.ca> for the public. For more information on the Mid-Island Chapter Council of Canadians, visit <midislandcanadians.org>.

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CELEBRATING NATURE: THE BRANT WILDLIFE FESTIVAL Spring is a time of change and abundance around the Salish Sea. The first budding shrubs—the Indian Contributor Plum—are already upon us, with delicate white flowers soon to come. White fawn lilies decorate the ground of Bowen Park, getting every bit of sun possible before the deciduous trees above them burst into fresh spring leaf. It is not only the flora that are waking up with the warmer weather—bird song fills the air from sunrise to sunset, and fawns are already being spotted (pun intended).

The Brant Wildlife Festival is a community acknowledgement of the wildlife that is a part of our ecosystem year-round, as well as the much appreciated migrant visitors who utilize it. Taking place along the shores between Qualicum Beach and Parksville, the festival invites participants to take part in activities to gain insight into the dynamic relationships happening around us.

This year, the festival is taking place March 19 to April 15, and is hosting a range of events, from high teas to carving and art shows, eagle releases to wildlife tours and even a nature camp for children on spring break. The Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI) and VIU students are also taking part in the events calendar.

On Sunday, April 17, the Institute will host a mini-BioBlitz, where participants will be joined by expert scientists and students to learn about the diverse ecosystem of the wetlands and forest. The event will have teams ranging over the landscape identifying and counting species of plants and birds, which will become a part of a yearly inventory for the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region.

In coming years, there may be different areas to be inventoried, adding

Chantelle Spicer

NEW ACCESSIBILTY ICON TO TAKE NANAIMO BY STORM Natalie Gates

On March 15, the Nanaimo Disability The Navigator Resource Centre (NDRC) proposed to City Council a change in “disability icons” in the city.

These new icons will be known as “new accessible icons;” they portray legs, arms, and body in a forward motion, suggesting independence, strength, inclusiveness, activity, and participation. To contrast, the current disability icon presents the person as much more vulnerable, immobile, and incapable.

The goal of the NDRC’s presentation was to replace every old disability icon in the city with the new one, in order to reduce the stigmas surrounding those with disabilities. If passed, it will be used on bathroom stalls and parking spots that are meant to have priority for people whom need to use those accessible spaces.

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to the knowledge of the entire region. By becoming a part of the BioBlitz, participants are able to become a significant and ongoing part of the scientific knowledge of the ecosystem, learning how to do this type of research themselves. As citizen scientists, they will have the opportunity to work on their own inventory in the future.

The 10 students involved in organizing the event come from a diverse academic background, ranging from Forestry to Recreation and Tourism, each bringing their unique perspectives along with them. Under the faculty guidance of Michele Valee and coordinators of MABRRI, this student-powered event plans to be very impactful.

Kayla Harris, a fourth-year Geography student and event organizer, explains that by MABRRI doing events and research like this, “we can work towards this land and region being taken more seriously.” Collected data will be made available through the Royal BC Museum and is accessible to all scientists and the public alike. It may also be used by VIU students and MABRRI work-op students in university projects, applying experiential learning gained in the field.

The intent behind BioBlitz and the Brant Festival is that people are a part of the natural world—that this relationship is to be celebrated. It is a collaborative endeavour, bringing together communities, government, and organizations with a goal of fostering this connection.

The location and time of the event has yet to be announced, as agreements are being formed with Island Timberlands for land use. Please refer to <mabr. ca> for more information.

For more information on the Brant Wildlife Festival and to see the full list of events, visit <brantfestival.bc.ca>.

Richard Harlow, Board Director-at-Large of the Nanaimo Disability Resource Centre, holds a copy of the new ability icon.

“We are not asking for change overnight, but we do hope that, when needed, this new icon will replace the old one wherever you see or need the Universal Icon of Access,” said NDRC Director-at-Large Richard Harlow.

The icon update addresses the stigmas surrounding people with disabilities, where there is much more focus on the human characteristics of the person rather than the assertive technology device—the wheelchair.

This icon is also meant to help inspire those who do struggle.

“Some of these challenges they deal with on a daily basis are hard to overcome, and, with this negative stigma attached, it gets harder to overcome barriers that might be social barriers when the person with the disability feels ashamed and the community does not accept them for who they are, which, frankly, is a human being,” Harlow said.

“We hope that this will help educate employers that there is no reason to overlook a person with a disability because there is a large portion of people with disabilities that are either unemployed or underemployed.”

The icon was first designed by a group of graphic designers in New York with disabilities, and eventually grew into a grassroots movement. In Nanaimo, the biggest issuer of disability parking permits has already gone forth and changed the icon for motorcycle users, and members of AC Taxi have approached the NDRC to put the icon on all of their accessible vans. Harlow also brought the changed icon to VIU in December.

Now, all parking lots on campus have the new icon and, as new signs need replacing, they will receive the updated image.

“Several Nanaimo city councillors were moved by the presentation and inspired

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Marilyn Assaf

to actually make change or champion this movement,” Harlow said. “[Councillor] Jerry Hong has said he plans to bring the new icon to his own establishment and replace the old icon.”

Harlow says the NDRC has been assured that City Council will pass the proposal to replace all of the city’s icons, and all members of City Council, including the mayor, have officially signed a petition on <change.org> in support of the new icon.

“It is far too often that persons with disability are left out, forgotten, or almost socially outcast,” Harlow said. “This icon addresses the thought that there is a perceived inability, because disability does not mean inability.”

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fouNdiNG a fouNdatioN

Natalie Williams accepted a cheque on behalf of the Canadian Liver Foundation, BC and Yukon Chapter on March 3.

Courtesy of the Biliary Atresia Awareness and Research Facebook

Natalie Gates The Navigator

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Natalie Williams, 18, sits on a plush couch, blinding production lights on her face, and a microphone clipped to her shirt. Next to her sits a beaming Breakfast Television reporter and Williams’ doctor, ready to offer his insight.

As the segment begins, the reporter asks Williams to tell the country about her experience with biliary atresia—a rare, life-long threatening liver disease—and about the non-profit organization she created to fight back against it.

When Williams was nine weeks old, she was diagnosed with biliary atresia. About one in 16 thousand to 20 thousand babies are born with the disease, which results in the shrinkage of the bile ducts, and, if left untreated, can lead to liver failure. Most with the disease will require liver transplants within their first few years of life.

Like many rare diseases, there were minimal resources for patients of biliary atresia. So, in 2012, at the age of 14, Williams founded Biliary Atresia Awareness and Research (BAAR), a non-profit organization aimed at raising awareness of the very thing that was holding her back.

BAAR has three key purposes: First, it aims to increase awareness of biliary atresia’s symptoms by providing information to front-line health professionals. Second, it works to reduce the stigma surrounding liver disease and promote organ donation.

Third, it raises funds to further raise awareness, and improve research.

“I hoped it would go far, but I never imagined it would have reached this far, and that so many opportunities would have come out of this,” Williams says. “The awareness and funds we have made, and the people we have met, has—and still continues to—blow my mind.”

It began in Wolverhampton, England, on August 29, 1997, when Williams and her twin sister, Kathryn,

were born seemingly happy and healthy babies. Shortly after being brought home, Williams’ parents noticed one of their daughters was considerably jaundiced—a symptom common in even healthy newborn babies—although her twin sister was not at all. Over the next couple of weeks, Williams continually got sick, her skin grew increasingly yellow, and she passed pale stools, which her parents took as signs to get checked out by several doctors.

Yet, all of the doctors dismissed the symptoms, and insisted that her parents should not be so paranoid.

At six-and-a-half weeks, when Williams’ mother, Nickie Pearce, took her for a routine check-up, the doctor questioned how long she had been jaundiced. When Pearce told him, his brow furrowed and his response worried her; he called the hospital and told Pearce to take her baby there right away.

“When he reached for the phone, his hand was shaking and his face was white,” Pearce says. “That’s when I knew it was something serious.”

Tests were booked, and the doctor said the worst case scenario would be biliary atresia. Two and a half weeks later, the worst case was confirmed reality. A few days later, Williams underwent the Kasai procedure, a vital operation to clear the blocked bile-ducts, which saved her life and temporarily improved her health.

Now 18 years old, Williams is a rare case because she has not yet had a liver transplant, while most patients must have the operation soon after the Kasai procedure.

Williams and her family left the UK and came to Vancouver Island when she was seven years old, and over the years she has gone through over 500 hospital procedures and tests. At 14, her health began to decline, eventually causing her to miss 90 days of school in grade

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11. Through her countless hospital visits, she met many people with the disease, and saw too many lose their lives to it. She also learned the hard way how few people, including medical professionals, actually knew about the disease.

She began looking for support systems for biliary atresia. “I was frustrated with how little awareness and knowledge there was out there,” Williams says. “There had also been several babies that died from biliary atresia within a few weeks, so I was wanting to somehow find, and give, hope to others.”

Finally, Williams created a Facebook page dedicated to providing education on the disease, which sparked an unexpected flow of positive feedback. BAAR now has the only Facebook page dedicated to biliary atresia that is welcome to everyone and focuses on education about the disease. BAAR began a chain reaction that has now connected 49 countries.

“I think it’s important that BAAR is accessible to everyone, as it allows anyone and everyone to not only view our [Facebook] page and website, but to learn from it,” says Williams. “A page dedicated to only one particular person, although great, isn’t what I wanted. I never wanted the attention on me, but on awareness, and finding a cure.”

Run by Williams, her parents, and her grandparents, BAAR is an official non-profit organization. There is no funding pot for the disease, and the organization is not about giving money to families. Rather, by teaming up with the Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF), BAAR raises awareness, and the fundraisers it holds go towards CLF, where the money can then be put towards research. Since 2012, the group has raised $10K. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in our account or the Liver Foundation’s— we’re still saving people, and the doctors will do what the doctors will do,” Pearce says.

Williams hopes to do more fundraising in the future and raise at least another $10k, as they have been primarily focused on education so far. One strategy will be to create more merchandise to add to the t-shirts and wrist bands they have already found success with.

Williams has dedicated over five thousand hours to BAAR; she has done many interviews with media, and public speeches for various groups of doctors, nurses, and students, as well as local organizations, using her experience to tell her story about the symptoms she experienced, and the slow diagnosis she went through.

She also meets with children in the area who have biliary atresia.

One baby she has grown especially close with is 19-month-old Naomi.

Naomi was originally given two weeks to live, and Williams’ doctors were worried what would happen if she became attached to the child. But Naomi is now doing well after having a liver transplant; unlike Williams, most of the babies she meets have already had the operation.

“It gives me hope to see them doing well after their transplants,” Williams says. “Seeing others struggle is harder than what I go through. The physical isn’t the hardest part—it’s the mental and emotional.”

Currently, Williams’ health is deteriorating, but before she can undergo a liver transplant her doctors need her to be near full liver failure. “I kind of want the transplant to hurry up and come, because I don’t want to prolong the suffering,” she says. “Seeing positive situations like Naomi give me drive.”

Now in her first year of premedicine at Camosun College on Vancouver Island, Williams tries her best to attend all her classes, but appointments and health complications still take a toll. “I ended up failing physics last year,” she says. “But my teachers are more aware now.”

Williams hopes to become a doctor, and is particularly interested in working as a biliary atresia specialist or anesthesiologist. Having recently been awarded the North American Social Media and Patient of the Year awards, she is well on her way to continue making real impacts in the lives of people affected by the disease.

“Long-term, finding a cure is the ultimate goal,” she says.

When she isn’t managing her health, working on BAAR, or doing school work, Williams works and spends as much time as she can with her friends and sister, who is also in university and planning to become a police officer. Williams also loves to bike and ski, though these sports pose a risk to her enlarged spleen.

“I’m not supposed to do them, but I do anyway,” she says. “I don’t want a list of things to do after the transplant.”

While some youth will rebel against having a liver illness by drinking at parties, others do so with riskier sports, Pearce explains.

The thought of her daughter putting herself in risky situations will never fail to put her on edge, yet she does not want to take all of the living out of her life.

“It’s about balancing enjoying [your life] and protecting your life at the same time,” she says. “But, aren’t we all in that? Sometimes you just need to go live.”

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features

POINT OF VIU JEFF SIENIEWICZ | CONTRIBUTOR .

Have you been keeping up with the US electoral campaign? Do you think it’s worthwhile to pay attention to their politics?

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“No, because I dislike politics. I feel it’s a choice of the lesser evil to let in (in most cases). They all make a lot of promises, but in the end they are just lies, because when one gets in they don’t do what they promised they would do.”

“I read a few articles when I have time. I find it very interesting. It’s like a new world to me. For example, with Trump, it’s more inyour-face politics, mean even, and it’s everywhere with all the different media outlets. It’s good to be aware of what the US is doing, even if it’s scary sometimes.”

“I’m not completely following it, but it is what’s on the front page of CBC and my social media a lot of the time, so I see what’s going on a little. With Trump, it’s getting less funny and more troublesome all the time.”

“Not a whole lot. I get whatever is on my social media and when I visit a news website. A lot of the attention is on Trump now, and I think that’s what he wants. I do think it’s worthwhile to keep an eye on what they are doing, especially since Canada has such close ties with them.”

“It’s impossible to avoid. It’s good to know what’s going on, but what’s happening down there with the election isn’t enough to change how I live my life each day. [At] least not yet.”

Everyday Earth: Sacred soil Chantelle Spicer Contributor

From the food we eat to the flowers we enjoy, from the forests we walk in to the beaches we walk along, a magical process is occurring. Yes, all of nature is amazing and beautiful, but some parts of it are quite unsung—none more so than soil. Soil contributes to every part of our existence; it is supportive of our every step, provides nutrients for our fruits and veggies, and offers a habitat to millions of unique species. Very little life could exist on this planet without soil, so how can it be so overlooked?

The soils under our feet here on Vancouver Island are very young in the grand scheme of geological time. About 16 thousand years ago, the great ice sheets which covered North America began to retreat, leaving a changed landscape.

Released from the tremendous weight of the tundra, the earth recouped via a process called isostatic rebound, which created some of the land formations we see around us today. In their retreat, the glaciers also scraped bare the bedrock in some areas, and deposited minerals, broken rocks, and soil debris in others. This has left landscapes, such as our own here in Nanaimo, exposed with soils less than one inch deep.

These thin soils, known as regisols, allow us the opportunity to see the soil forming process happening. Layers of moss and hardy native perennials cling to the surface of the exposed rocks, each year adding another layer of their decay and nutrients. At the same time, moisture from these plants and our climate slowly work their magic on the rocks, pulling out nutrients. From this original state of bedrock and layers of moss, it can take 500 to one thousand years to form one inch of topsoil, depending on rainfall, climate, and input from the environment. In this slow-motion dance, soil is formed over millennia. As these soils form, many different types of insects, bacteria, algae, fungi, and, eventually, small mammals come to call them home—the biodiversity in soils is some of the greatest on earth.

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The soils of the Nanaimo region are generally acidic due to the coniferous forests, so the main species which live under our feet are fungi. The fungi form vast webs of connection under our feet, and are some of the largest living organisms on earth. They are not only connected to each other, but are also connected to the trees above them, forming symbiotic relationships and a “wood wide web” for the trees to communicate with one another. Old growth trees work as hubs, with millions of fungi connected to the roots which spread outwards, transferring chemical signals, water, and food to younger trees in the vicinity. Known as “mother trees,” they are vital to maintaining a healthy forest. Suzanne Simard of UBC has shown, through years of research, that the more stressed these young trees are, the more the “mother trees” will send to them.

“The big trees are subsidizing the young ones through fungal networks,” Simard says. “Without this helping hand, many of these seedlings wouldn’t make it.”

The oceans also become a part of our forest ecosystems.

Every year, the coast of Vancouver Island plays host to millions of salmon returning to the river systems to spawn. For many wildlife species, such as bears, eagles, and wolves, this is the keystone event that helps them through year after year. After being carried through the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the bodies and nutrients of the salmon are deposited along riverbeds or carried into the trees by predators, slowly releasing into the soils. As the salmon run progresses, the rich nitrogen enters the forest soil ecosystem and moves far into the interior, sometimes being spread up to two kilometres from the rivers.

All of this, and so much more, is happening under our feet every day. The values of soil and its importance to continued agriculture and healthy ecosystems is becoming subject to global attention—although it seems to be happening in sluggish, geological time. As has been seen in Shawnigan Lake, soils all over the province become contaminated and need

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to be put somewhere. As seen in the growing belts of central Canada and the US, heavy applications of chemical fertilizer coupled with severe droughts are degrading millions of years’ worth of vital topsoil. There has been much discussion about soil as a renewable resource, but is this actually the case? By placing the idea of “renewable soil” into the context of time, one begins to see that within our lifetime or our children’s, that is certainly not the case. There needs to be less debate on how much contamination, erosion, or destruction soil can take and more laying of groundwork to begin treating soil like a vital natural resource.

At this time, the forestry industry is legislated to manage soils when harvesting forests and building roads, and when to use chemical fertilizer or pesticides. A rising interest in using biomass from forests as an alternative to fossil fuel energy is raising some interesting questions in this industry. As international markets grow for this alternative energy, research is ongoing to see how this effects the soil-forming process and nutrient availability for the ecosystem. In terms of the mining industry, regular testing of soil and water from mining sites are done regularly, but compaction and disturbance of soil is part of the industry, making it harder to regulate. In Canada, we have no specific legislation that protects our home and native soil, except under industry regulations, or in sections of the Department of the Environment Act, CEPA, and the Environmental Enforcement Act. As the weather grows nicer, many folks turn towards the garden and the forest. If you are one of those folks, I encourage you to take a moment and appreciate how connected, miraculous, and generous the soils are. The story of life and soil is intrinsically linked—each provides the other with life year after year.

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features

VIU SERVICES:

SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS, AND BURSARIES Kelly whiteside

Applying for scholarships, awards, and bursaries has never been easier The Navigator thanks to VIU’s new Scholarship, Award, and Bursary Profile. The profile is attached to your online student record, and saves you the time and effort of searching for scholarships, awards, and bursaries yourself.

All you have to do is fill out or update the application every academic year, and the university will take your information and submit it to any scholarships, awards, or bursaries you are eligible for in their system.

Most of the application form is extremely simple, asking you to check boxes or pick from drop-down menus. Every part of the application is optional, so you can pick and choose what you fill out.

The profile first asks for personal information, such as your hometown, current living situation, school district, whether you’re registered with VIU Disability Services, and whether you’re a visible minority or identify as LGBTQ, etc.

The second part asks for details regarding your studying,

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such as your program, year of study, and internship or field school experience. The third part looks into your financial situation with student loan debt, sponsorship, income, and living expenses. The fourth part includes some of the more specific questions that relate to scholarships, awards, or bursaries that are in the system. Questions in this section relate to your family background, connections, interests, affiliations, memberships, employment, future goals, barriers to education, community commitment, and athletics. The final section regards conferences, student travel, research awards, and post-graduate studies.

Some of the boxes you check off may ask you to include a short essay giving more detail, which you can attach at the end of the application. You also may attach any letters of reference or certificates supporting your education, volunteer, or community involvement.

In order to be considered for any scholarships, awards, and bursaries, your application must be completed by March 31.

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features

Chronicle of a Craigslist sale antony stevens I listed my iPhone on

Antony Stevens

Craigslist. It was my The Navigator first time using the site.

There was nothing egregious about my listing—all the necessary information was there in a succinct fashion. Condition details, pictures, my phone number (I opted for the “DO NOT CONTACT WITH SOLICITATIONS AND/OR IF YOU ARE A MURDERER” selection)—it was a pretty standard listing.

A day later, I get a text message. The area code looks unfamiliar, so I Google it: New Jersey. I plug the number into Facebook and only get one hit—“Jorge” (profile picture of a greying man with a shirtless chest and a soulless smile) had posted a string of around six thousand non-sequential numbers that I could only reasonably assume to be a cryptogram leading to the location of his kidnappers. The string just so happened to feature the three separate chunks of the 12-digit phone number I had searched for. I exited his profile after watching the video he posted 13 hours earlier of a cat getting washed by a detachable shower head.

I decide to text the number back; the person is probably on vacation to the Island and wants a decent, temporary phone with a Canadian number. I want money to order Pizza Hut before my $5 off coupon expires.

I get a reply in broken English saying that they’d like to pay me more than my asking price if I can ship it express to him.

For what it’s worth, number four on PayPal’s “avoid popular scams” page is “overpayment scams,” which says that a scammer may “tell you that they accidentally overpaid you, the extra money is for the shipping costs, they’re giving you a bonus for your great service, or the money is for the stress they’ve caused you.”

I text back, “Holy shit are you serious!?

Yes, thank you so much!” and send them my email address.

“I am a very honest and kind person to you,” they reply. “I will be making out my payment now, once payment is completed I will notify you.” Minutes later, I have an email from PayPal that I almost miss because it was caught in my spam filter: Money received from Debby Scott. Ship to Chris Paul in Nigeria.

“I’ll take it to the post office first thing tomorrow morning,” I say. “Thank you so much, again.”

I receive a text from Debby at 5:20 a.m.:

three weeks, but she asked for what’s called a “tracking number,” which is supposed to tell the buyer where the package is during transit.

As it turns out, Canada Post can’t reissue your tracking number if you accidentally throw away your receipt. Fortunately, Debby was patient with me and went ahead and notified PayPal that I shipped the phone on good faith.

A week later, Debby texts me again informing me that an additional $575 has been deducted from her account and put on hold as part of the package coming through customs, and that I must pay that $575 for customs or Debby’s payment for the phone will be put on hold. The good news was that Debby assured me that I would receive recuperation and that “PayPal will credit [my] account once [I] paid the charges.” The bad news is that I had already bought that Pizza Hut pizza in anticipation of receiving the money and was now flat broke until next month.

“Next month?” Debby texts. “What if the customs destroy the package?”

I sent a slanty-face emoji in reply. “good morning!”

As of writing, it’s looking like a lose-lose received 8:37 a.m.: “hello.” received 8:38 a.m.: “any update scenario for the two of us, but I’m waiting for about the shipment? an email back from <services-intl.pay.pals@ Received 8:46 a.m.: “are you still accountant.com>. Hopefully they can waive here? the customs charge.

Better yet, they could credit my account received 8:55 a.m.: “why silent on me?” for the “stress they’ve caused me,” and maybe I can get another pizza.

I let her know that evening that I shipped the phone and that it should take about two to

THE STRANGE, VIRAL MEMETICS OF DONALD .J. TRUMP antony stevens The Navigator

On October 13, 2015, three months into his campaign to become the next president of “the most powerful country in the free world,” Donald Trump tweeted a meme. The tweet included an original illustration of Pepe the Frog (an anthropomorphic amphibian introduced in cult comic series, Boy’s Club) known as a “rare Pepe.” The image was a rendition of Pepe bearing Trump’s hair and suit and standing behind the President’s podium.

Above was the caption “You Can’t Stump the Trump,” and a hyperlink to a YouTube compilation of Trump shutting down (and ostensibly winning) political arguments with his signature boisterous zest. The video was the fourth in what is now a 21-volume series that has garnered over four million views on YouTube.

Almost immediately, Donald J. Trump became the most important meme in living history.

There’s a lot of misinformation surrounding what exactly a meme is; you’ve probably heard the word used in some fashion by now, whether in reference to a joke or a funny Instagram image. In essence, a meme is something, usually perceptually irrelevant, that spreads pervasively (or virally) across cultures, often via the internet. “Damn Daniel,” for instance, is a recent meme—it

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rapidly transcended its original audience on Vine, and formed dialogues between talk-show hosts, social medias, and university campuses. If you’re familiar with it, you probably have a hard time not hearing “back at it again” in your head any time you see some white sneakers, even if you hate yourself for it. Trump (or at very least the masterminds behind his campaign) understands this psychology.

The campaign wants to traverse internet cultures like wildfire—to get people thinking about Trump, and talking about him, and hearing about him. To them, politics is synonymous with memetics.

Last week, Trump’s campaign released an attack ad on Instagram: a brief clip of Hillary Clinton barking like a dog during a rally before cutting to a clip of Vladimir Putin laughing. “We don’t need to be a punchline!” the ad finishes, “Make America Great Again!” The closing remark is the Trump campaign slogan, borrowed from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign. The ad is very unlike the standard attack formula, which is usually just to blast dirt on opposing candidates with nasty headlines and hard facts.

Trump’s campaign has those kind of formulaic attack ads too, but these aren’t the posts that net him 58 thousand likes on Instagram.

Jump back to the slogan—President Obama’s “Change” was a good one. It served its purpose. Clinton’s is a little drab in comparison, with “Hillary for America,” but, again, the point is made.

But Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) wants to do differently; MAGA wants to be 2016’s YOLO. Not only is it a great acronym to say, but it looks great on a hat. Sorry, Cruz, can’t say the same for “Courageous Conservatives.”

Donald Trump’s campaign is unlike anything seen before in politics at this scale. His attitudes and his public remarks on Twitter make him seem like a caricature of himself, as though he’s in on the joke. But his campaign is not a joke—the ploy is working, and it’s making serious waves. As of writing, Trump is sitting at 695 delegates, with Ted Cruz in second at 424. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio have dropped out of the Republican race entirely. Every day Trump is making front pages for something new. A Facebook trend, an Instagram post, an emphatic tweet, a polarizing quote from a rally that has been instantly uploaded to YouTube by its attendees. The campaign is unfettered to the point of being calculated.

At the very least, Trump is keeping the politics interesting.

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Courtesy of Donald Trump’s Twitter

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Spenser Smith Contributor I hover a burnt piece of aluminum foil over a lit candle, vapourizing the white powder sitting on top of it into a sticky, brown oil. I put the foil over the flame again, position my mouth over it, and inhale the streaming smoke. I look down at my ribcage and watch my heart vibrate like a jackhammer.

My entire family has gathered outside my bedroom and are whispering their intent to bust down my door. I hear the stomping boots of a SWAT team marching towards my bedroom window, and the buzz of helicopters swarming my roof top.

Blue and red lights flash against my walls. I’ve been up for 150 hours without a second of sleep, and I feel like my heart is going to explode with anxiety.

But my parents were not actually outside my door, and there was no SWAT team or helicopters surrounding my house. These delusions were the result of visual and audio hallucinations induced by consuming Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), also known as “bath salts.” MDPV is a synthetic stimulant that produces intense euphoria and stimulation, but also has a myriad of negative effects, including, but not limited to, muscle tension, gastrointestinal disturbance, involuntary body movements, extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and psychotic behaviour. Never in my wildest, saddest dreams had I thought I would become addicted to such a monster of a drug.

I began using drugs at 15 to cope with severe depression. I started out smoking cigarettes; graduated to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol within a few months; and ended up using psychedelics such as LSD and mushrooms, and stimulants such as ecstasy and cocaine, within a year. By the time I was 17, I entered a free public treatment centre for addiction, completed a one month program, and relapsed within days of being released. This is a cycle that continued for years. I went from treatment centres to detox centres to psychiatry wards. By the time I was 20, my life was at a crossroads. I had dropped out of high school, and relapsed after four different recovery attempts, dwindling my family’s hope for me to live a normal life. Each day was dominated by using and finding drugs. My physical and mental state deteriorated to the point where it was impossible for me to hold down a job. I stole incessantly from family and friends until eventually there was nothing left to steal and no one left to scam, which meant there was no way to support my addiction without resorting to more serious crimes or finding a cheaper alternative to the drugs I was using.

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I was reading an online discussion board where people were discussing how to order legal drugs from China. I researched the best legal stimulant available, and the answer seemed to be MDPV. I found an online vendor and ordered seven grams for $100, which included seven-day express shipping from China. Not only was MDPV a fraction of the price of street stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, but it was much stronger, and technically legal.

“The unknown should scare people,” says Rusty Payne, chief DEA spokesman, in response to the increase of people ordering legal drugs from China. “You don’t know where it came from, or the kind of lab it was manufactured in.”

The reality is that most drug users don’t care about where their drugs come from, or what conditions they were manufactured in. I didn’t. All I cared about was getting high.

After much press coverage of the paranoiac dangers of the super-charged stimulant, MDPV became illegal in the US in 2011 and Canada in 2012, and once that happened, chemists in China were busy cooking up new, legal alternatives. They came up with a closely related chemical compound called alpha-PVP, also known as “flakka.” I was scared of the legal consequences of continuing to order MDPV through the mail, so I switched to alpha-PVP, a drug that authorities hadn’t yet regulated. When I first tried alpha-PVP, I was surprised by its strength, as it was even stronger than MDPV—a drug that the National Science Foundation determined was 10 times stronger than cocaine.

Alpha-PVP is so potent that using it almost always put me into suicidal states of psychosis, but I still couldn’t stop using it despite rarely enjoying the experience. As an addict, I was willing to use whatever drug I could get my hands on, and alpha-PVP was easily available. The drug tore through Florida in 2015, bearing headlines with chilling proclamations: “The dangerous new drug flakka is turning people into naked, paranoid lunatics” (Associated Press) and “‘Devil’s Drug:’ Flakka is Driving Florida Insane” (NBC News). A medical examiner in Broward County, Florida had reportedly seen 63 alpha-PVP-related deaths between September 2014 and November 2015.

I attended an addiction treatment centre for five months, starting in September 2013. This was my third stay in a treatment centre, and it was the one I finally found success with. I have remained sober to this date, and I cringe every time I read

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the frequent and frightening drug-related headlines. I partly attribute my want and initial ability to stay sober to not ever wanting to relive the terrifying bouts of psychosis I experienced on MDPV and alpha-PVP. But I know that my kind of heavy experiences are not necessary for an addict to realize the harm that addiction is inflicting on their life and reach out for help.

In October, China restricted exportation of alpha-PVP and 115 other synthetic drugs. Broward County hasn’t seen an alphaPVP-related death since December. Representatives from Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, the US Department of Justice, and the DEA travelled to Bejing and met with the US ambassador to China, Chinese police, and government officials to discuss the scourge of deaths attributed to Chinese manufactured drugs, and to voice their support of the restrictions.

“Our answer was not to arrest our way out of the problem,” said Lt. Ozzy Tianga of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, “but to educate the community, show compassion to users, and make flakka enforcement of dealers priority number one.”

Educating the community and showing compassion to drug users is imperative. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, “…addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will.” In the same way a cancer patient doesn’t choose to have cancer, an addict doesn’t choose to become an addict. But will the tinkering of laws have a positive long-term effect, or will there soon be a new batch of Chinese drugs hitting the streets? A quick Google search can find the answer to be the latter.

A new type of drug has started taking its toll on western Canada, including Victoria and Nanaimo. Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate analgesic—a prescription painkiller that is 50 times stronger than morphine—that causes sedation and relaxation, the opposite effects of alpha-PVP and MDPV. Between December 20 and 26 2015, eight people died in Victoria of suspected fentanyl-related overdoses. Nanaimo RCMP and Island Health released a statement in January urging drug users to use extreme caution, and provided a list of precautions, such as avoiding using alone and having an overdose plan. Fentanyl is especially dangerous because of its high potency at low doses. People who die from using fentanyl often believe they are taking a different drug, such as heroin or methamphetamine, and accidentally overdose.

The rise of the use of fentanyl coincided with the prescription drug OxyContin (an epidemic in its own right) is changing to a

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harder-to-abuse formula. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending US physicians limit opioid prescriptions in an attempt to combat opiate addiction.

In January, Health Canada confirmed that a new synthetic opiate, W-18, had been found in fake OxyContin pills in Calgary.

W-18 is reportedly 100 times stronger than fentanyl, and 10 thousand times stronger than morphine. W-18 is widely available online from labs in China, and is not yet regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in Canada. So far, there is no proof that W-18 has been widely circulated on the streets, but as authorities start to clamp down on fentanyl, W-18 may become the next crisis. The fact is that whenever authorities ban a new drug, or attempt to limit its availability, newer drugs get created which are often stronger and deadlier than their predecessors. Drugs will always find a way to seep into our streets because addiction is a disease, and there will always be a sizable portion of our population seeking them.

In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. If someone is found in the possession of less than a 10-day supply of anything from methamphetamine to marijuana, the person either gets sent to treatment, pays a small fine, or gets off penalty-free. Since the mass decriminalization, drug use has declined dramatically among 15 to 24-year-olds, and the size of the population who have tried a previously-illicit drug has steadily declined. The number of drug-induced deaths has decreased from 78 in 2001 to 10 in 2011.

The never-ending cycle of criminalizing drugs is not working, and in the long-run is causing more harm than good. I was blessed with the opportunity to attend Edgewood, a private, world-renowned treatment centre that cost in excess of $40K. I understand that going to a place like Edgewood is a privilege that is not afforded by most people, but I believe that quality treatment centres should be available to anybody who needs them. Is the answer to the drug crisis increasing the amount of money spent on treatment? Or is it decriminalization? It’s most likely a combination of both. Portugal had a moment of clarity when they realized that their approach wasn’t working, and they became willing to take a risk that we now know is paying off tremendously. It’s time for Canada and the US to consider doing the same.

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arts

GOING HOME STAR: trutH and reConCiliation Chantelle Spicer One possibility of art is to take a topic and reframe reviewer Sandra Abam, “the work is a dramatic residential institutions did—but in a very different Contributor

it into a visual language that offers different perspectives to the viewer. It is a way to engage the mind and emotions, creating a space to discuss difficult subjects in a new and enlightening way.

To see art used in this way is to fully realize how powerful it is as a way to precipitate change.

This seems to be a driving factor in the creation and production of Going Home Star, the newest story being performed by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB), which is being shown at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre on April 4 and 5. The company is renowned for its contemporary, progressive, and fearless storytelling through dance.

In previous years the RWB has shown a variety of stories including a dance production of the works of Leonard Cohen, as well as Moulin Rouge, and Alice in Wonderland. For the 2016 season, the company will be conveying the horrors, consequences, and courage that have emerged from the Indian Residential School System (IRS) of Canada, which ran from 1876-1996. It is an ambitious effort to provide a new understanding of a painful part of our past.

Going Home Star, which is supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), follows the main character as she attempts to navigate living in a society which is reeling from the effects of this history. Touching on the psychological lateral violence which has occurred in Aboriginal communities and families, the audience is allowed to explore how the past continues to exist in the present. According to CBC

re-telling of worlds and relationships torn apart, with a nod to a brighter future.”

A major recommendation from the TRC was a need for ongoing education for non-Indigenous peoples on the realities of our shared history—it is one which all Canadians carry together. Through the beauty and power of dance, the audience is offered a chance to see these stories acted out, as the work is inspired directly from testimony of residential school survivors. It is interwoven with Indigenous learning as well, offering “trickster” characters—an archetype of storytelling to many Aboriginal cultures around the world. As described by the Port Theatre, it also works to remind that our past is always with us, carried by our ancestors whose histories are a part of each person. It seems as though a theme of community is also very present in the story, documented through the relationship between the two main characters, who are constantly learning from and supporting one another. This idea of communal sharing of pain and hope is integral to an Indigenous perspective of overcoming the atrocities of the IRS—we all bear witness together. The collaboration between TRC, the dance community, and the audiences carries this off the stage and into the lives of Canadians.

Going Home Star offers a way to open ourselves in new ways to the stories of our neighbours and fellow peoples of Canada. The opportunity to empathize and gain insight into the multiple ways we, as humans, experience in the world and our history may have as far-reaching impact as the

Contest to give voice to Aboriginal writers

In Our Own Voice is an anthology series that publishes fiction written by Aboriginal writers from BC. The 2015 edition of the book featured writers from grades eight through 12, and Rebel Mountain Press and the Vancouver Island Regional Library have now announced a writing contest for 2016.

The contest is open to Aboriginal writers—as well as nonAboriginal writers, for a different edition of the book—this includes status, non-status, Inuit, and Métis, who are 15 years old and over. The submitted stories must contain Indigenous content with “themes of cultural connections [or] contemporary issues”. This is a phenomenal opportunity for young writers Brendan Barlow to share their words, and to further conversations around Aboriginal issues.

The Navigator There are two age groups writers may submit to: ages 15 to 20 or age 21 and older, and there is no entry fee. On top of all of that, there are cash prizes, and the 25 finalists will be published in the 2016 edition of In Our Own Voice, set to be released in October of this year. The book will be available at the Library, at VIU, and at various bookstores in BC. Some of the published authors will also be invited to read their stories at public events.

There is no denying the significance of this opportunity, as a space for Aboriginal writers to share their voice, and to express themselves in this way—a fantastic thing to be sure.

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way. The idea of hope is something very much alive in Canada right now—our current Prime Minister won an election on a campaign of hope, environmental organizations are beginning to feel hope as policy change. Indigenous peoples everywhere are starting to feel this too, like a great weight lifted from generations as the truth comes to light.

VIU Elder-in-Residence Ray Peter, who is attending the ballet as an honoured guest and residential school survivor, regularly teaches students the importance of using dance or song to awaken the body and lift the spirit. He is very excited and interested in the ballet, hoping that it can spark some positive conversation.

The ballet has received glowing reviews from every stop of the tour, praising the work for its courage and the hope that it offers as we, as a nation, move forwards. Community Outreach Coordinator for the Port Theatre, Shelly Johnstone, is excited about the opportunity to share in this work.

“This ballet, in addition to being an evocative and beautiful performance, is key to helping our community better understand Canada’s past.

Through the arts we can learn about, and learn from, our history while supporting important dialogue around reconciliation in our community.

We are proud that we can present an important work by the world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet here at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo.”

For those of you who aren’t writers, submissions of original artwork are being accepted as well, and chosen illustrations will be published in the book.

The deadline for submission is May 15, 2016, and you can find more information about the contest at <inourownvoice. com>.

Courtesy of <inourownvoice.com>

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arts

MOVIE REVIEWS Ava’s Possessions (2016) Brendan Barlow As startling as this might be, but Alter Egos, his sense of humour and solid direction are on Ava’s Possessions is a unique take on exorcism movies. Considering that we’ve seen Exorcist clone after Exorcist clone, it would be easy to understand why people might be exhausted by the sub-genre as a whole. Let’s face it, we’ve seen remakes, found-footage versions, and lazy capitalization, all of which follow the same formula, and rehash the same tired shit that The Exorcist used so effectively.

Ava’s Possessions starts after the main character’s possession and the fallout that results, rather than bringing you in beforehand, and follows Ava as she struggles to rebuild her life post-exorcism. Her family is distant, her boyfriend has left her, and her friends are keeping their distance. Apparently her actions while possessed have been damaging, and she has done serious harm, despite not remembering any of it.

Something an exorcism movie can’t do is have weak performances, particularly from the victims of a possession, and thankfully this movie is full to the brim of solid performances, and a surprising number of familiar faces. Louisa Kraus (Martha Marcy May Marlene) plays the titular Ava, and delivers a pretty strong performance from start to finish. You feel her struggle and frustration as she tries to put things together. Also adding to the great cast are Dan Fogler (Fanboys), William Sadler (The Green Mile), Carol Kane (The Princess Bride), Wass Stevens (The Wrestler), and the fantastic Lou Taylor Pucci (Spring). The wellrounded group brings dynamite performances to the movie, and really are a big part of what makes this movie stand out.

Also on display in the movie are Jordan Galland’s writing and directing chops. Having previously directed the comedy

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display here as well. He wrote and directed the film, and seems to have nailed a cohesive story (which, given some of the films I’ve watched lately, is a huge deal and apparently a lot to ask), and knew what he wanted to do with it. It’s well paced, and he has extracted solid performances from everyone. Perhaps not the most artfully shot movie, or impressive film, it is, however, deeply satisfying in its simplicity.

Arguably, the weakest parts of the film are the rather cheap makeup and special effects throughout. While they are used effectively enough, and some of the style choices work quite well, the makeup design of the “possessed” looks a bit more like a slap-dash Halloween costume than scary movie makeup. The effects used to transition them back and forth are pretty wellexecuted, but the design feels cheap. Even with that complaint, it’s clear the filmmakers have worked exceedingly well within a small budget, and the end result is very effective.

Darkly funny in parts, and even a bit creepy, Ava’s Possession is a strong film, and one that I would suggest giving a watch if you are looking for something a little bit different. It’s not often that a movie about possession doesn’t feel cookie-cutter or samey, and this was, frankly, a breath of fresh air in an over-saturated sub genre. Give it a watch.

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Courtesy of <barleydoeshorror.com>

Nina Forever (2016) Brendan Barlow What a strange, and surprisingly between the three characters in Ava’s Possessions, and their delightful (if not totally disturbing) movie. I went into this with no real idea what to expect, and was really happy that I took a chance.

It’s not clear where things are going to go, and initially I was worried that Holly might be a completely unrelateable level of “dark and weird,” but her character quickly grew on me.

Telling a bizarre and disturbing story of obsession and love, Nina Forever is about a young girl who finds herself infatuated with Rob, a man who had lost his partner, Nina, in a car accident. The two fall in love, but things are not so simple; each time the couple has sex, they are joined by a third: an undead, and unhappy Nina, who emerges from their bed.

Nina Forever is the feature debut of Ben and Chris Blaine, and they’ve made a hell of an impression. After being disappointed time and time again by The Vicious Brothers, it’s nice to see a filmmaking team that works so well together. Perhaps a project with the Blaine Brothers and the Soska Sisters could be in the future. The film was also written by the brothers, and the showcase of writing and directing ability is really promising and makes them a duo to put on your radar.

Based on the poster, you might find yourself assuming that this is more along the lines of zombie rom-com Life After Beth, but it’s significantly darker and grimmer. In the interest of providing some context, it’s a bit like if the necrophilic grossout Deadgirl was funny and not disgusting. The connection

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chemistry, is gripping, and they all work so well together. The reveal of the source of Nina’s continued apparitions is genuinely interesting and actually provides a much more complicated mentality than a lot of female characters are given.

One of the most standout parts of this are the performances.

Abigail Hardingham is great as Holly, and Cian Barry has a lot of charisma on screen as Rob. The most notable, though, has to be Fiona O’Shaughnessy (Alexander) as Nina—her comedic timing is solid, and she commits fully to the bizarre character.

From her first emergence from the bed, she is a formidable presence on screen. She manages to embrace the shift from a relatively funny character to a genuinely frightening one. The trio works really well, and the dynamic between Holly and Nina is bizarre, disturbing, and truly funny.

Nina Forever was really something special, and might be one of my favourites of the year thus far—A small movie, loaded with sex, blood, and a pitch-black sense of humour. Well-acted, well-shot, and bizarre, if you haven’t gotten around to this yet, then it’s time for you to do so. Keep your eyes open for more from these filmmakers, and give this one some support.

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Courtesy of <themissingreel.com>

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BC government announces $15 million grant toward new music fund Natalie Gates

A crowd filled Victoria’s Upstairs Cabaret—just one of the city’s many popular live music venues—to hear The Navigator Sam Weber and four other local bands rock out tributes of Bruce Springsteen songs with a passion like no other. Like many young artists, Weber hopes to add to his first original record and grow his career, but to do that he will need to face the obstacles that come with living in a province filled with talent, where the music industry is in decline.

In an attempt to improve the music industry, on February 11, Premier Christy Clark announced the BC government will put $15 million towards the creation of a fund to support music in the province. This new fund will help music businesses produce, distribute and promote the province’s well-known and emerging artists.

Clark made the announcement alongside Vancouver-born singer Michael Bublé, who said BC is capable of growing into the “Nashville of Canada.”

“BC is one of Canada’s leading centres for music, with talented musicians in every corner of the province,” said Clark in a statement. “Our record labels, recording studios, concert venues, and music festivals draw people from all over the province, the country, and the world. Music develops culture, promotes talent, and diversifies our strong and growing economy.”

The announcement was part of the launch of a new Music Canada report, BC’s Music Sector: From Adversity to Opportunity.

The report makes 26 recommendations, including appointing a municipal music officer to serve as a liaison with industry and advocates for music tourism, land-use planning that takes into account the need for new music venues and removing liquor-licensing red tape.

Weber said he believes an investment of this size has the potential to significantly stimulate music businesses and bands alike.

“The worst case scenario is the money gets granted out in large chunks to private companies who promise to bring big, quick, international praise to the province and, correspondingly, the BC Liberals for their investment in the arts,” he said. “The truly noble and praise-worthy tack here is small investments aimed at artist development, touring, and recording. To think $15 million is going to guarantee juggernaut, Bublé-sized careers would be a mistake. I hope the intention with this music fund is to create and support longterm sustainable careers built on hard work and compelling art.”

With 58 independent record labels, 123 sound recording studios, and a strong presence of the top three major labels in the world (Sony, Warner, and Universal), BC has the third largest concentration

“BC IS ONE OF. .CANADA’S. .LEADING. .CENTRES FOR. .MUSIC, WITH. .TALENTED. .MUSICIANS IN. .EVERY CORNER. .OF THE. PROVINCE.”.

of independent labels and sound recording studios in the country. The music industry in BC also delivers significant tourism benefits when visitors spend on concerts, music festivals, as well as on food and beverage purchases, hotel accommodations, local attractions, and more.

The BC Music Fund will be administered through Creative BC, an independent agency that is responsible for promoting the development of creative industries in the province. With the help of the agency, the fund will work to diversify BC’s economy, stimulate foreign direct investment, enhance music tourism, stimulate the creation and retention of jobs, and encourage increased activity in regional centres. Support will focus on services toward sound recording, live music performances, distant location tour development, music tour strategy and industry development.

“The magnitude of the effectiveness of an investment like this to help up-and-coming musicians, promote musical diversity and the long-term health of music in British Columbia is entirely contingent on how Creative BC administers the funding and their intentions,” said Weber.

Mark Reed of the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) branch in Victoria said the CFM is working on tapping into the fund. He says the fund could benefit both musicians and those that dole out money for the fund.

While the funds likely won’t go directly to the musicians, it will go towards infrastructure that supports the music industry.

“That sounds to me like it’ll be a trickle-down effect to the actual people who create and perform music,” he said. “If the musicians find it easier to do what they need to do to earn livings in this business, then they will be better able to participate in society as normal citizens with which will have a trickle-up effect to the donors and funders.”

Reed said he would like to see the fund go towards programs and systems that help raise the esteem of musicians both in their own valuations and that of society. “Musicians and artists are marginalized, generally,” he said. “It’s common practice to steal from musicians, and for musicians to pay to play at venues. Musicians are often invited to play for the ‘exposure.’ As we say, ‘People die from exposure.’ But musicians participate in the reinforcement of that low valuation. Funding to programs and systems to counter that would be very welcome.”

From here, the fund could grow or change in the coming years, depending on its success. The Ontario Music Fund was established in 2013 as a threeyear, $45 million grant program and has now been made permanent at $15 million per year.

There is not yet any word of the fund going towards music education in institutions like universities, colleges, and music conservatories, but Reed says this would be extremely effective, as it is largely overlooked.

“The industry is structured as such that the music business people earn their incomes on the backs of musicians,” he said. “Most emerging musicians have no idea how to earn a living as a musician. If some of the funding will address this knowledge vacuum, then these musicians will be more empowered to build careers to support themselves and their families, and to participate more fully in society.”

dreaming of the past Kelly Whiteside As I sat in my seat, staring at the stage, all found their places, the lights went down, and the orchestra Between each song, the narrator spoke, telling stories of

waiting for the lights to dim and the orchestra to come on stage, I noticed something odd about the stage. Where were all the chairs and music stands? Where was the conductor’s podium? All that occupied centre stage was a harpsichord, an armchair, a coffee table, and two plastic chairs. A large screen hung above the set-up. I had to double check the program to make sure I was about to watch the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Upon looking in the program, though, I noticed another odd thing: they listed a narrator. What kind of orchestra is this?

Two musicians walked on stage. One brought with them a lute, and the other a bass. A third musician followed behind and sat on the waiting stool in front of the harpsichord. The lights had not gone down yet, but they began to play. Other instruments joined, though at first I saw no other musicians.

Then I saw them out of the corner of my eyes, slowly emerging from beside the audience and gathering on stage. Once they had The Navigator

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played the first piece by Handel, wandering and bouncing around each other.

Throughout the performance, everyone on stage was energetic and smiling, interacting with each other via body language—a nice change from the typical straight faces and rigid bodies hiding behind sheet music (these musicians had memorized every song). There was constant positive movement, had a welcoming tone that invites the audience to relax and not take the performance so seriously. It was obvious that the musicians were passionate about the music they were playing, and this made the experience so much more enjoyable.

The orchestra played music by Handel, Vivaldi, Sweelinck, Purcell, Marais, Bach, and Telemann. Songs that featured various uncommon instruments, such as the lute and harpsichord, were picked to highlight individuals in the orchestra and show off their impressive talents. Each performer received at least a few minutes of solo glory in the two-hour show.

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five historic European houses from the 17th and 18th century in London, Venice, Delft, Paris, and Leipzig. Hence the name of the show, House of Dreams. These were houses that had significance not only in the musical world, but in visual art as well. The screen hanging above the stage showcased many paintings that were found in these houses. The narrator also detailed the lives in those houses, the cultures of the time, as well as random facts about manufacture and trade in those periods.

In the end, I felt like I watched a multimedia documentary rather than a concert. I had a much better understanding of the roots of the music I heard, as well as the lives of the composers.

It was an impressive production, incorporating music, acting, movement, and visual art. I walked into the theatre expecting a boring concert, but came out feeling energized and educated.

I also felt inspired to research the history of classical music more often; it’s more than just good background music.

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VIU theatre deserves an encore

Courtesy of <viu.ca>

Brendan Barlow

Anyone who has seen a theatrical or musical performance, performance The Navigator art, or anything else that happens live on a stage, knows the magic that can come from that experience. Sitting down and watching one of the most vulnerable forms a person be in, something that cannot be recreated in any other medium. VIU has been the home to student and community productions alike, it is the home of the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival, and has been a staple of the city of Nanaimo rivaled only, perhaps, by the Port Theatre.

In 40 years, with the innumerable amount of productions, and people coming to watch, it makes sense that the space would fall victim to more than its fair share of wear and tear. As such, this year the Malaspina Theatre has launched a special fundraising effort to bring new seats and other

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much needed renovations into reality. Just as actors must eventually retire, so too must chairs from time to time.

Funds will be raised through the purchasing of tiered seat dedications. Those who decide to purchase a dedication will find their names, or the name of their business, on a seat and the donor wall in the lobby. The dedications range from $100 to $500 for the various tears, and each has a different set of benefits. While tier prices may seem a bit steep for a student population—parting with $100 can be a bit daunting for me anyways—Alumni Relations and Annual Campaign Officer Kamala Haughton mentioned to me that there had already been a group of students who pooled their resources and had their names added to seats.

At the time of writing there are a total of 294 seats requiring dedication, and 31 have been dedicated so far. Leon Potter, the new Chair of the Theatre Department, has released a video

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explaining the campaign, and expressed the importance of the facelift.

“The seats here are the original seats that have been here for literally 40 years, and like most people after 40 years of working, the knees start to creak and groan. The theatre acts as more than just a drama department—for a lot of students this is their first impression of the campus as a whole. This is where they do their orientation”.

Oscar Wilde said, “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” Be part of that, and help our theatre get its encore.

For more information, and to donate, visit <viu.ca/giving/ encore.asp>.

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Island Division Championship:

2016 Fred Page Cup playoffs second round

The Kings won five of the seven matches against the Clippers this year.

On Friday, March 18, the British Contributor Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) 2016 Fred Page Cup playoffs entered the second round.

The Nanaimo Clippers lost their inaugural game to the Port Alberni Bulldogs on March 4, but they quickly broke the trend by dousing the Bulldogs in four straight. In a 7-3 victory on March 11, one week after the Bulldogs’ only win of the postseason, the Clippers eliminated the Bulldogs four games to one.

The Clippers have now moved onto the second round of the playoffs to play the Powell River Kings, who eliminated the Cowichan Valley Capitals in six games, taking that series 4-2. The Clippers and Kings will face off for the title of Island Division champions and entry to the double-round-robin that comprises the third round. Having lost only

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one first-round game, the Clippers maintained their position as top seed in the Island Division and their home ice advantage.

Powell River took the regular season series against the Clippers in a commanding fashion, winning five of the seven meetings between the teams. In total, the Kings outscored the Clippers 26-17 and only lost once on home ice at Hap Parker Arena.

There is a chance coming into the second round that the Kings are fatigued from the rough opening series, which included three overtime finishes. The Kings were able to score 23 goals to defeat the Capitals, but the 16 goals they allowed is the most among the remaining squads— Clippers’ goaltending only allowed eight goals in their five-game series against the Bulldogs. The Clippers will be looking to ride their winning streak through the Powell River

series and enter the double-roundrobin with momentum. At press time, the Clippers lead the Kings in the second round series 2-0, going back to Powell River to play their third and fourth games on March 21 to 22.

The Penticton Vees maintain a looming threat in the Interior Division as they enter the second round to face the West Kelowna Warriors. While the Vees are an easy favourite to defend last year’s title in the Cup Finals, the Warriors pose a roadblock to the Vees’ success. For Clippers fans, the best case scenarios include the Warriors taking the series, and undoubtedly entering the round-robin banged up, or the Vees winning a long, grueling series that saps as much out of them as possible prior to the round-robin. But even then, the unique round-robin format of the third round places teams by regular season point totals, so there is no chance of the Clippers earning home ice advantage over either the Warriors or the Vees, regardless of which team advances.

The most important story of the post-season so far is the Clippers’ secondary scoring, which had been a missing factor throughout the regular season. After heavily relying on the starting line-up all year, goals being generated from the second and third lines have added excitement to the Clippers’ post-season play. At the end of the first round, the Clippers’ top-three forwards had only scored six of the team’s 18 goals. The other 12 goals were recorded by defensemen or bench forwards, such as Nolan Aibel—Aibel is currently tied for the team lead in goals with all-star, veteran forward Sheldon Rempal. If

forwards like Aibel, Chris Dodero, and Gavin Gould can maintain their production alongside the offensive staple that has been the first line, the Clippers will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

At this point, team news has been pretty quiet—which in the playoffs can be a good thing.

Clippers defenseman Yanni Kaldis was named the BCHL’s first star of the week at the end of the first round. Kaldis had recorded six points in five games, including two goals (one shorthanded, the other a game winner); he leads all defensemen in points through the first round. There have been no injuries reported.

Puck drop for each game of the second round is set for 7 p.m. (excluding the possible game six match scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Friday, March 25 in Powell River).

Tickets for Clippers games can be purchased at the box office at Frank Crane Arena an hour before puck drop. Tickets are only $10 for VIU students, and a free beer is included with admission. For fans able to make the trip to Powell River, tickets for away games are available for $15 through the Kings’ website at <tickets.powellriverkings.com>.

Check our website at <thenav.ca> for post-game recaps throughout the remainder of the Clippers’ playoff run.

A full post-season schedule can be found at <bchl.ca/playoffs>. The double-round-robin begins Friday, April 1.

profile: ornella murumba Catherine Charlebois The Navigator

Ornella Murumba

A first year BA student originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Ornella Murumba joined the VIU Dance Team in September 2015 to meet new people.

“I jumped at the chance to audition for the VIU Dance Team, as previously I was on a similar team in Ontario,” says Murumba.

While the VIU Dance Team is a staple in Mariner basketball games, they also help organize and attend local events, often with VIU’s favourite mascot, Stuey the Sturgeon, in attendance.

“We recently held a beer and burger fundraiser at the Queen’s in downtown Nanaimo,” says Murumba. “We also took part in the Ladysmith Light Up, as well as in our local Christmas tree light-up in the Christmas season.”

This year, the dance team will also be lighting up the stage at the Upper Island Music Festival.

Despite only having been a part of the team for a short time, Murumba feels the strong bond between teammates already, recalling her first practice fondly.

“We are truly a family; there is so much love and respect between teammates. I still remember my first practice—in just five minutes, I already felt like a close friend who had been dancing with them for years.”

Like many in their first year of university, Murumba sees the many possibilities that lie before her for her career.

“To be honest, I have no idea what career I hope to get,” she says. “Right now I’m just working hard on getting good grades, and hopefully something will pique my interest.”

From top left: Tiffany Greig, Brittany Usborne, Daniel Kelly, Ornella Murumba, Rachel van Viegan. From bottom left: Marianna Hammerstrom, Erin Johnson, Stephanie Ramsay, Jordynn Danks, Courtney Chan, Tennah Bieberdorf.

Courtesy of Ornella Murumba

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v-ball victory for viu Catherine Charlebois The Navigator

The VIU Mariners’ women’s volleyball team became the 2016 CCAA National Champions after beating topranked Élans de Garneau in the finals. A tough match, they beat the opposing team in four sets. Megan Rosenlund was chosen as Player of the Game with nine kills and four digs, and Tylar Turnbull took home the title of Most Valuable Player. Congratulations Mariners!

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1 — CCAA MVP Tylar Turnbull at the ready with teammate Chantal Cumming.

2 — Mikayla Wagner spikes the ball mid-game.

3 — The team gets hyped after a successful play.

4 — Mariners keep the excitement going while away in Québec.

5 — Chantal Cumming makes a save with her opponent blocking.

Courtesy of VIU Mariners’ Flickr

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A guide to adulting: University edition Ayanda Gatsha

1. Time

Contributor Being an adult is a weird thing—shaving, behaving properly in front of strangers, and making a tangible meal for yourself instead of eating cereal for dinner.

Though being of age doesn’t necessarily mean being mature, for the sake of this article, an adult is someone who can both be trialed for breaking the law while considered legally allowed to live on their own and vote.

The World Bank Group’s statistics report in 2012 shows that Canadian life expectancy is 81.24 years— meaning that’s at least 63 years of being an adult if you just turned 18.

Think of this less as an instruction manual, and instead as a hack list to adulting—though that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.

This distributes itself pretty democratically across all adults.

Since we only get 24 hours in a day, allocating sleep should be a first priority. Sleep is a significant component in our day.

According to <sleepfoundation.org>, adults need between five and 11 hours of sleep per day in order to work productively.

Giorgio Gilestro, Neurobiology lecturer at London’s Imperial College, says our brain’s thinking muscles are rejuvenated like post-workout muscles by sleep. This means the right amount of sleep a day gives our brain the downtime it needs to take

on the next day full force.

Eight hours of sleep a day in 63 years amounts to up to 184,080 hours of downtime, meaning the rest of your spare 368,160 hours of adulthood are left to accomplishing necessary tasks and taking the time to relax.

2. Planning Using mind maps and strategy planning can really benefit fun so they don’t slip your mind. You can find inspiration at in simplifying and putting in place a visual to-do list. Mind <biggerplate.com>, which has a variety of pop-out templates maps are creative, fun, and it’s common knowledge we to choose from and get down to business. remember fun things more easily. Your goals need to feel

3. Community Economics: Canada in the Global Environment identifies social constructs that facilitate how we adults trade amongst each other. The constructs are more complex than swapping sandwiches with your best friend in kindergarten. The quality of stuff we get is likely to make us happier. In the social contract that is our community, understanding any community’s customs is an asset to how we navigate our

way through it. The popular expression “time is money” definitely applies here. We swap our time for stuff, and time is non-refundable, hence why taking the time to plan and make meaningful connections is so important.

4. Play it up As university students, saving and managing money can seem pretty daunting. It might be the first time many of us have lived on our own, let alone thought about what a mortgage is. This is why taking into account your assets can be beneficial—by recognizing what you have, you can take advantage of it and make smarter financial decisions to improve your assets. Think of Monopoly—you don’t stop at the first house you buy; you keep rolling the dice and

You may or may not have been as excited as I was to hear the United Nations declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc.). Yes, they make a great meat substitute, but before you flip the page in anger at another vegetarian trying to reel you in to the not-so-dark side, let me tell you that pulses could be your wallet’s best friend.

At less than $2 for a standard can of beans (which will give you multiple servings), they make a super cheap staple food that can be incorporated into endless dishes. Whether you are a vegetarian or not, pulses make great additions to curries, chilies, stir-fries, wraps and burritos, lasagnas, salads, side dishes, and more for a great source of protein, fibre, and micronutrients.

If being good for your wallet and body isn’t enough, these Natalie Gates little suckers are also an asset to the environment. Besides acting as a meat alternative (thus requiring much less water, The Navigator producing much less pollution, and saving more trees), pulses return more to the soil than they take out. As they grow, pulses fix nitrogen into the soil, which turns inert nitrogen into biologically available nitrogen. This reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. Plus, they are largely grown right here in Canada, so your consumption is more than likely local, and CO2 reducing—not bad for a burrito.

If you’ve bean having trouble imagining a satisfactory meal without meat, this simple and super flexible recipe is a great place to start. Feel free to change up the veggies and bean types (mixed, black, chickpeas, etc.) or add some rice or quinoa. Eat it on the go or at home.

recipe:.

Beans,.beans,. .the magical. .fruit.

Ingredients • • • • •

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Four 10-inch flour tortillas 1 can mixed beans, rinsed and drained 1 avocado, cubed or mashed 1 bell pepper, chopped A couple strands of cilantro

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making deals.

Following this kind of linear path gives you the economic freedom to define and go after whatever makes you happy. In this day and age, it is crucial to have foundations practically set before chasing dreams and adventures. As much as the image of a bungee jumping lifestyle can seem alluring, there is a certain magic to a night in with family and friends.

A few scoops of salsa A couple handfuls of spinach or kale, chopped ¾ of an onion, chopped Tablespoon of some sort of cooking oil (I prefer olive or coconut) Some shredded cheese to taste A pinch of cumin A pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions 1) Add cooking oil to a medium-sized frying pan on high heat.

2) Add onions and let sizzle until translucent.

3) Add bell pepper, spinach or kale, and beans.

4) Season with cumin and cayenne pepper. Let cook until the vegetables reach your desired tenderness.

5) Lay out tortillas and put even amounts of salsa and avocado in a line down the middle of each.

6) Next, put even amounts of bean and vegetable filling in lines down the middle of each tortilla.

7) Garnish with cilantro and cheese to taste.

8)

Wrap it up and fold the ends. Tip: To keep it together, I throw it on my cheap George Foreman grill for a minute or two, which seals it together and gives the tortilla a warm and crispy finish.

But, if you don’t have a grill:

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Fold the sides in so they nearly touch (but not quite).

With the sides folded in, use your thumbs to bring up the bottom of the tortilla. This is almost like wrapping a present; tuck in the ends while bringing up the bottom flap.

Bring up the bottom of the tortilla and pull it tightly.

Roll the bottom of the tortilla tightly all the way.

Wrap in parchment if on-the-go.

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sports & lifestyle

flyers at your fingertips: reebee app Catherine Charlebois The Navigator College and university students don’t have it easy, what with loans, homework, and most of us living on our own for the first time. Budgeting, aside from the small section glossed over halfway through high school, isn’t a natural thing to do for most of us, let alone making and planning a grocery list. Forget scouring pages upon pages of flyers; reebee, one of the first mobile flyer apps, is an eco-friendly way to locate all your grocery needs and more.

Founders Tobiasz Dankiewicz and Michal Martyniak were in the same boat when they studied at the University of Waterloo in the early 2010s. “[The creation of] reebee came out of personal need,” says Dankewicz. “When [Martyniak and I] moved out to university, that was the first time we were doing our own shopping. We were on a budget—a really tight budget—and we had to do groceries, but didn’t have the tools to save on groceries.”

With a bright, white and blue homepage, reebee syncs to your location and finds flyers in your area using your postal code, keeping the data updated as new flyers are released each week.

Exclusively Canadian, the app already has over two million downloads—and the numbers keep climbing.

“We also focus on local stores—the momand-pop shop that might not be as noticeable,” says Daniewicz. “Out west there’s a lot of unique grocery stores.”

While many people rely on flyers to make up their grocery lists on a weekly basis, it can be hard for students as businesses tend to cut out residences and apartment buildings. With the fall of the Canadian dollar in the past year, budgeting becomes crucial.

“Flyers can save you a lot of money,” says Daniewicz. “Just by using the app, you’re automatically going to be saving because you’re strictly looking at the sale items.”

The app has come far since its debut in the summer of 2012. Moving from simple flyer browsing, the app now has shopping lists, a search bar, and will soon have a sharing feature within the next few months—great for those living in dorms or for roommates sharing a shopping list.

“When I was in university, I lived with three others,” says Daniewicz. “We split the grocery bill. You can have shopping lists on your phone and keep it updated.”

Though the app’s most popular use is for groceries, it also caters to a variety of other types of shopping, from department stores to clothing and furniture. “A lot of stores are starting to support delivery and free shipping,” adds Daniewicz.

“Especially if you don’t have a car and have to bus everywhere. You can actually buy things directly through the app, which is super convenient.”

A user-friendly app, reebee is available for download for Android and iOS. Visit <reebee. com> for more information.

Though budgeting in itself can be daunting, there are other ways you can try to save money in combination with planning. Marc Heroux, reebee’s Content Manager, offers three tips to help keep a balanced budget in these tough economic times: 1. Awareness: “When you’re building your shopping list, the price of each item is included in the title,” Heroux says, “so you’re aware of how much you’re spending.” Having that awareness when it comes to budgeting is key, he says.

2. Price matching: Go to one store, preferably part of a chain, that honours price matching, and show them a competitor’s fl yer. “Thousands of Canadians use [price matching],” says Heroux. “It saves on travel time.”

3. Price competition: By using the app’s search option, finding sought-after products for the cheapest price is right under your fingertips. “You can see who’s selling [the item] for cheaper, even if price matching isn’t an option, which it sometimes isn’t. The old economic principle of price competition holds true with the app.”

Co-founders Tobiasz Dankiewicz (top) and Michal Martyniak (bottom) stand next to an oversized phone displaying their app.

Courtesy of Marc Heroux

Courtesy of Marc Heroux

mental health matters: hate speech and social media Zoe Lauckner

While social media has facilitated our generation’s communication and Contributor connectedness unlike any other, it has also created a platform for people to spread maliciousness, prejudice, stigmatization, racism, sexism, and a plethora of other forms of hate speech.

Mob mentalities are present both in the physical and online world. Cyber bullying has had a huge impact on many of our most vulnerable populations: youth, Indigenous peoples, women, individuals with disabilities, and people with mental illness. We have all heard of Amanda Todd, the BC teen who committed suicide in October 2012 after serious cyber bullying following her private pictures leaking. This is one of many high-profile cyber bullying cases to hit the news in the past five years, and, despite the growing efforts of anti-bullying policies and awareness campaigns, these stories continue. A study done by UBC in 1999 looked at 490 students between grades eight to 10 and asked about their experiences with cyber bullying. While the study was done 17 years ago, before Facebook existed, they still found that 25 per cent of Canadian teenagers had witnessed some form of cyber bullying. This is a serious issue in North America, as is evident in a study done

by Yale University, which found that teens who are bullied are two to nine times more likely to consider suicide. At a time when the Canadian Mental Health Association reports suicide as the second leading cause of death among teens, there has to be more that we can do to change this course.

While most of the cyber bullying statistics for Canada focus on teens, and for good reason, there are a number of other demographics affected, particularly individuals who experience homelessness, drug addiction, and mental health

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issues, who are often unable to advocate for themselves.

Recently, while scrolling through social media, I came across a group dedicated to spreading hate speech about an individual who, at one point in their life, was homeless and often panhandled. This group had been active online for four years, and had over 100 members. Pictures of the individual were posted with accompanying mocking memes, members commenting and calling the individual derogatory names, and at times even threatening violence against them. The comments, while outrageous in their blatant degradation of a vulnerable individual, highlight just how rampant this type of behaviour is online, and the presence of online herd mentality.

Like many others, I found myself at a loss for what to do— while we are proficient in many aspects of social media, we also fall short in education about how to take action against bullying that we witness online. Not only are the majority of social media users unaware of their rights and options for taking action, speaking up against hate speech is intimidating, especially when faced with a group. There are a number of barriers that hold us back from taking a stand against hate speech, but there are so many reasons for us to stand strong and to stand up against bullying.

In an online world where pictures of breastfeeding get removed faster than groups dedicated to spreading hate speech, what can we do to combat this?

The fact is, reporting bullying or hate speech through the social media platform is often a fruitless endeavour. An article written by the Daily Mail UK in 2012 stated that a Facebookrelated crime happens approximately every 40 minutes, and those are just the statistics of known cases, including incidents of cyber bullying.

NAV IGATOR

In many instances, users are unable to write any description in their report of something inappropriate, making this system even less functional. While it is important to let the social media platform know about the behaviour in order for them to take action and perhaps revise their policies, in many cases where the bullying is serious, there is another option.

No matter the demographic targeted, hate speech is hate speech, and it’s a criminal offense. Sections 318 and 319 of Canada’s Criminal Code states that it is a criminal offence to advocate, incite, or wilfully promote hatred against any identifiable group, including individuals of any particular age, sex, ethnicity, race, or people with mental or physical disabilities. Yet, how often do we see behaviour that fits this description ignored or glossed over? Even the criminal code can be a grey area fraught with subjectivity. Regardless, your local RCMP are there for handling potential criminal offences, and cyber bullying is one of them. If your efforts to stop the hatred at the source are fruitless, such as contacting the platform or the individual perpetuating the hatred, know that the RCMP take reports very seriously.

At VIU, we’re all here to learn something, to better ourselves, and to grow. We are all on the same team, and need to support each other in becoming the best people we can be. There is nothing better for your mental health than a strong and healthy support network. If you or someone you know is experiencing cyber bullying or is the target of hate speech, reach out in whatever way you can. You’re not alone.

Stay sane(ish), VIU. Until next time…

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

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

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NAV IGATOR

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March/April

SUN

MON

TUE

WED 23

THU 24

FRI 25

SAT 26

On the Dock with Jim Elder, Brandon James Mason, Michelle Edwardson, and David Buchanan

Million Dollar Quartet

Dig It

Easter Bunny Bike Tour

Chemainus Theatre Festival, 9737 Chemainus Rd.

Art 10 Gallery, 123-4750 Rutherford Rd.

Diana Krall Plaza, Commercial St.

10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Starts 9 a.m.

Dinghy Dock Pub, 8 Pirates Lane

2 and 7:30 p.m.

FREE

$10

$47

Doors 7 p.m. $20

27 Easter Eggspress BC Forest Discovery Centre, 2892 Drinkwater Rd.

28 Milner Gardens Bunny Trail

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Milner Gardens and Woodland, 2179 West Island Hwy.

$8

10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

29

30

WordStorm First Unitarian Fellowship, 595 Townsite Rd.

Indigenous Survivance: The Truth in the Conciliation

31 Seventh Annual Isle of the Arts Festival

Upper quad

Surf Lodge and Pub, 885 Berry Point Rd.

6:30 – 9:30 p.m.

1 – 4 p.m.

6:30 – 10 p.m.

$5

FREE

FREE

1 Nanaimo Flea Market Wellington Hall, 3922 Corunna Ave. 12 – 6 p.m.

FREE

2 Nanaimo Day of Drum Festival Harbour City Theatre, 25 Victoria Rd. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. $25

Students $4.25

3

4

5

Murray Kinsley and Wicked Grin

Royal Winnipeg Ballet: Going Home Star

Characters, Con Men, and Celebrities

The Queen’s, 34 Victoria Cres.

The Port Theatre, 125 Front St.

Nanaimo Museum, 100 Museum Way

Doors 4 p.m.

Doors 7:30 p.m.

10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Tickets at the door

$60

$1.75

JOIN THE NAVIGATOR ONLINE THENAV.CA /THENAVIGATORNEWSPAPER @THENAV_VIU @THENAV_VIU

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C A L EN DA R

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