The Navigator Vol 47 Issue 14

A PR IL 6

Vol 47

#014

SEP T EM BER 6 FREE

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

19

07

12

The Navigators: A partnership

The 5K

The Jean Burns fire

September 2015 signalled the start of a partnership between the Navigator and the NDSS Skills for Life program.

I think I may have just sparked a new passion—I'll let you know.

At 2:30 a.m. I could still see the flames. I rise up and look outside—I do not want to, but I have to.

contents

news

features 08

04

04 "I 08 have met God, and he is a MIDI trumpet," or Why Touhou is secretly the key to all of existence

08 Editorials

09

05 Let's talk about sex, baby Culture and Heritage Awards Ceremony

Federal budget impacts on students Prayer pole and warrior canoe raised in memory of Coast Salish veterans

07

14 08 08 movie review 04 Slender

15 The NoSleep Podcast and the art of the scary story

Buttertubs' birds

The sex-positive tunes of Rachel Lark

10

06

arts

VIU sets troubling communications precedent

Doctor-assisted suicide debate

Point of VIU Everyday Earth: Piece by piece

11

Pulling together for sponsored refugee students

Making a cultural and spiritual connection

Local crisis line looking for volunteers

Op-ed: On Ghomeshi, masculinity, and radical sex-ed

The Navigators: A partnership

The truth in reconciliation

sports & lifestyle

16

18 Pentiction's out, Nanaimo's in: The Fred Page Cup third round

19 08 04 The 5K A medicated mind

20

In the mood: An evening with The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Recipe: Bean there, done that

Poetry in transit

Mental Health Matters: The controversy of sex bias in diagnoses

17 Music round-up

21 Local authors share the power of pulses

22

12

Page 22

The Jean Burns fire

23 Calendar

02

CON T EN TS

NAV IGATOR

#014

letters

nav the

.c a

CONTRIBUTORS Reid Eccles Shanon Fenske Dane Gibson Philip Gordon Brandon Kornelson Zoe Lauckner Ryan Levis

Sarah Packwood Ryan Peppin Jeff Sieniewicz Spenser Smith Chantelle Spicer Bryn Tassel

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

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

#014

NAV IGATOR

L ETTER S

03

editorials

Hiring < getting hired Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

We made it. The last issue of volume 47. The Navigator has seen its share of struggle and success this past year. As Managing Editor, I have had such a privilege working with some great writers, awesome designers, and devoted contributors.

Then April comes, and for some reason we stop publishing.

Students go back home and vacate the normally full campus for the summer and our paper lulls to a light hum. Therefore, I need a job. Even journalists need “real” jobs to get by, and for one who has made the top of her masthead in fourth year, it sure isn’t as easy as I thought.

What’s worse is the lack thereof in terms of actual reporting jobs for entry-level journalists. Nowadays, you have to be able to write creatively; edit copy; take photos and videos, and edit them; and understand Wordpress, InDesign, and just about every other Adobe and Microsoft program. The jack-of-alltrades journalist must have social media experience, and be able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays. Sounds easy enough, right?

While I scour websites for something that slightly resembles “editor,” I am in the midst of gathering a new handful of creative writers, graphic designers, and media students for volume 48, and it’s looking good.

I’d like to make a few introductions, and a few farewells.

As we say goodbye to a few deer-in-the-headlights graduates, we open our doors to eager second, third, fourth, and sixth years.

Firstly, I’d like to welcome back Natalie Gates, Catherine Charlebois, and Avery Crosson, who have all earned promotions within, taking on Associate Editor, News Editor, and Art Director respectively.

Then we’ve got my right hand woman, Kelly Whiteside, who, along with myself, can’t seem to leave this paper. Brendan Barlow, our Arts Editor, has also decided to stick around, and possibly begin an endeavour connecting your campus newspaper with the community radio station (TBA). Social Media with Megan Wolfe changes hands to Elissa Doerksen, our YouTuber from volume 46.

With a jealous look and a congratulatory wave, I say goodbye to Antony Stevens, Kaytee Davis, Lori Shwydky, and Emily Johnston, all 2016 grads.

In their place comes a myriad of new faces with fresh talent to add to the already great team: Zyre Hoskins, Jessica Pirson, Cole Schisler, Diana Pearson, and Spenser Smith.

What else can I say but thank you for your continued readership of a dying breed. I hope you’ll continue to follow where the Nav goes. It will be good.

Tubthumping Antony Stevens Associate Editor

04

EDI TOR I A L S

Five years.

Five years where for 30 weeks I would walk 17-and-a-half minutes, uphill both ways, from my little tiny home to the VIU campus in a wild dream to become a writer—whatever that was supposed to mean that week, whether a poet, a journalist, or a storyteller.

It wasn’t a perfect time. Most courses went well, but there were often struggles and even failures. I never anticipated that I was capable of failing something—that I would actually need to work hard to learn and continue to work hard to prove it. I became notorious within my program for tardy assignments.

I would stumble into class late and out of breath because I left the house late because I always convinced myself that I could make it to school in 17-and-a-half minutes when that was really just the time it took me to reach campus, not to scale the 409 steps.

That was an important part of it all: Humility.

When I found myself in the position to become Associate at the Navigator, I approached it with the same cocky attitude I approached everything else. But it wasn’t a perfect time, and I learned more during the last four months in this position than I had in my last couple years.

Every issue was an experiment where I had to push myself out of my comfort zone—not just complacency in my work, but a rooted social anxiety. I spoke to more new people in the last four months than I had in probably my entire life. What was

NAV IGATOR

even more difficult was being knocked down a peg. I wrote a profile on someone I only knew for a short hour, and while I thought I had portrayed them in an honest and accurate way, they didn’t agree. It was not the binary I thought it was.

For this final issue of the Navigator, and my final week at VIU, I tried to do two things. I tried to deliver new information regarding what I believe to be an important issue: the implementation of the new Student Services Fee. It didn’t go so well, and I was knocked down another peg. I also tried to deliver a unique flare to the story of the Jean Burns fire.

Shanon was an amazing help in putting together my first joint-byline, and the photographers we worked with captured some profound moments in the heat. Hopefully you like what we did.

And while I’m on this podium, I’d like to thank my wonderful boss and friend Molly for supporting me through my many struggles these past four months, and thank all my professors for the patience they offered me over the years. I like to think that in my occasional successes, I make those people proud.

I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do after graduation, but I know I’m going to keep pushing myself and experimenting.

I’ll keep finding pegs, and keep getting knocked off. And I’ll be listening to Chumbawumba the whole way down.

Cheers, VIU.

#014

news

let’s talK about seX, babY “I am not driven by society—I am driven by the righteousness of my love for my family and myself, and if you want a piece of this body, you better love it too. You’re going to call me fucking ma’am!”

Sexuality, Pleasure, and Relationship Coach Jennifer Zurba has studied human sexuality over the past 15 years while furthering a mandate of sex positivity, inclusion, ethical non-monogamy, and sexual self-esteem.

On March 8, Zurba and the VIU Student Organization for Social Change (SOSC) held a Sexuality Matters workshop on campus, which filled the room with both students and members of the community eager to learn about sex positivity.

Zurba grew up in a Mennonite community, but, now 43, she takes the idea of gender out of the box and identifies as pansexual and polyamorous— which means she has the ability to love multiple people. She now has two children and is married to a man.

Zurba uses her personal experiences and feelings toward sexuality to illustrate each of her lessons and highlight the fact that there is no one right answer when it comes to sexuality. Using a vibrantly crude form of teaching that included flirting, (consensual) spanking, a table of sex toys, and giant stuffed genitalia, Zurba captivated the audience and allowed for an open platform where everyone could voice their questions, opinions, and concerns.

“I use words like cock, pussy, ass, and fuck

when I do these workshops,” she said before beginning the lessons, symbolizing how she clearly steps away from the dryness of high schoolesque sex-ed classes.

During the workshop, Zurba covered a wide span of sexual topics. She touched on the idea of gender, teaching her children about sexuality, consent, anatomy, polyamory, BDSM, safe sex practices with multiple partners, and, of course, pleasure.

When it came to her own children, she recalled when her son, now six years old, discovered his first erection. “I just said, ‘Oh my god! That is awesome!’ And then told him to go play with it in his room,” Zurba said. Zurba described this as an example of using sex positivity to allow her son to be open about discovering himself. “Teaching kids about sex is about balancing boundaries and desires,” she said.

Highlighting the details of consent, Zurba used her experience working at a sex party. One man happened to fall asleep on a couch, and, since sex party rules state this is not allowed, Zurba approached him, thinking he opened his eyes and saw her. She decided to wake him by playfully tickling him on his inner thighs—but he was still fast asleep, and was mortified by her actions. “I was over confident in myself and my qualifications,” she said. Using this as a teaching moment, Zurba explained how even accidental non-consensual actions must be followed by immediate apology, offers of support, and respect.

culture and Heritage aWards ceremonY Culture and heritage have the potential to further a city’s creativity, diversity, and innovation; the City of Nanaimo will honour this on April 13 with the 2016 Culture and Heritage Awards Ceremony.

Along with local entertainment, the ceremony will recognize Alyssa Glassford for Emerging Cultural Leader, Debbie Trueman for Honour in Culture, Susan Juby for Excellence in Culture, and Memorial John Hofman for the John Thompson Heritage award.

“These awards celebrate those who have made significant contributions to Nanaimo’s culture and heritage, making it a more culturally vibrant community,” said Mayor Bill McKay. The Emerging Cultural Leader award recognizes upand-coming leaders who have contributed significantly to the new landscape of cultural life in Nanaimo. The Honour in Culture award recognizes individuals, groups, or corporations known for their dedication and support of the cultural fabric of Nanaimo. The Excellence in Culture award recognizes organizations or individuals

#014

Natalie Gates The Navigator

On pleasure, Zurba used anatomy demonstrated on larger-than-life models to offer advice. She also explained how casual encounters can be “amazing if you know how to practice safer sex and communication, and you know your body.” Building on this, she highlighted online sexual checklists to help partners further explore themselves, and the ways in which she has taught people who have lost pleasure to find it again.

From coaching people who have lost the use of their legs to use a row machine in order to penetrate their partner, to an 80-year-old recently widowed woman how to masturbate for the first time, Zurba showed that sexuality can matter for everyone.

Her final message was one of self-discovery and confidence that goes beyond sexuality. “Your best intimate relationship is with yourself,” she said.

SOSC and Zurba plan to hold more sexuality workshops at VIU in the future. Contact SOSC at <organization4socialchange@gmail.com> for details and questions. To learn more about Jennifer Zurba, her workshops, and initiatives, she requests you message her on her personal Facebook.

Natalie Gates The Navigator

who have achieved regional and/or national recognition in the field of arts and culture. The John Thompson Heritage Memorial award recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding heritage service and dedication to the community.

“This year’s award ceremony will not only celebrate those who have contributed to Nanaimo’s culture and heritage, but will feature a variety of performances by many local and talented youth,” said Culture and Heritage Coordinator Chris Barfoot.

Entertainment will include performances by the Vibrant Dance Studio, the Brigadoon Dance Academy, M.E.M. Dance Company, Nanaimo’s Poet Laureate, The Footprints of the Wolf, and the Wellington Jazz Band.

Everyone is welcome, and tickets are free, but must be reserved. To reserve tickets, visit <porttheatre.com> or contact the box office at 250-754-8550.

The event begins at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m.

NAV IGATOR

Left to right: vagina and penis.

Courtesy of Jennifer Zurba

Jennifer Zurba.

Courtesy of Jennifer Zurba

Doctor-assisted suicide debate Natalie Gates

A landmark Supreme Court ruling, Carter vs. Canada, determined the prohibition of assisted suicide conflicted with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by several parties. This has led to many ethical questions and opposing opinions on whether doctorassisted suicide is moral and necessary, as well as what restrictions should be in place.

This will be the topic of a debate at VIU on April 7 and April 21. Dr. Paul Kamill, a retired physician, will argue for doctor-assisted suicide. Dr. Oscar Clemotte, a VIU philosophy professor, will argue against it, in favour of better palliative care services for people who require it.

Dr. Laura Shanner, a research and consultant in health care ethics, will moderate the debate.

“I am a retired physician who has seen many patients die, some in what I regard as tragic and inhumane circumstances,” Kamill offered a sneak peek of his argument. “Canada is about to legislate on this, and we need to get it right. Suicide is no longer a criminal offence.

As Sue Rodriguez argued, she was discriminated against as a wholly disabled person. She is only one of many—too many—examples.”

The doctors will be discussing the ethics of doctorassisted suicide and who should, or should not qualify; they will touch on their opinions regarding details such as patients who are mentally ill or mature minors.

The floor will then be opened up to the audience for participation and general discussion. For the April 21 talk, Shanner will discuss issues moving forward and what the new legislation should look like, followed by audience discussion.

The event is free and open to everyone. It will be held April 7 and 21 in bldg. 200, rm. 203 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Navigator

N E WS

05

news

Federal budget impacts on students Natalie Gates The Navigator Youth support was a large focus for Justin Trudeau during the election, but it is still in question whether the Liberals will fully deliver on their campaign promises. The recent release of the federal budget gives us some insight to the road to come for students and youth for the 2016-’17 tax year and beyond.

“student services” and other fees being implemented across BC this year.

Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-BC (CFS-BC) Simka Marshall believes there is more the government can do to support universities and colleges. “This budget provides a bandaid solution that will help some, but ultimately doesn’t fix the problems caused by chronic Loans There will be a new way of assessing underfunding of the system,” she said. eligibility for Canada Student Loans.

A flat-rate student contribution Grants to determine eligibility for loans and There will be a 50 per cent increase to the grants will replace the current system of Canada Student Grant (CSG) amounts. assessing student income and financial The CSG will increase from $2K to $3K assets. This change will provide $267.7 per year for students from low-income million in assistance over four years, families, and from $800 to $1200 per starting in 2017-’18, and $73 million per year for students from middle-income year after that. families. For part-time students, the CSG Loan repayment regulations were increases from $1200 to $1800. In total, also increased. The repayment threshold these measures will provide $1.5 billion under the Canada Student Loans in assistance over five years, starting in Program’s Repayment Assistance Plan 2016-’17, and $329 million per year after now ensures that no student will have that. to repay their loan until they are earning Yet, there were few other factors at least $25K per year. addressing rising tuition fees—an issue Whether or not these changes will VIU’s own Students’ Union has brought eliminate the looming shadow of student up repeatedly. VIU’s 2016-’17 budget debt is yet to be determined. has approved a two per cent increase In 2012, the Canada Student Loan on tuition for Canadian students.

Program estimated that outstanding “This budget offers a welcomed student debt was over $28 billion. This boost to the CSG program,” Marshall number only includes loans from the said. “But without a comprehensive federal and provincial student loan plan for reducing the barriers to postprograms. Government funding for secondary education, students from colleges and universities fell from 83 low and middle-income families will per cent in 1982 to 55 per cent in 2012. continue to be squeezed out of our This has resulted in sky rocketing tuition colleges and universities, ending up and ancillary fees paid by students unemployed like so many of their and their families—including the new generation.”

Indigenous students

The budget addressed primary and secondary education on Indigenous reserves; of the $8.4 billion set for Indigenous peoples and reserves in general, $2.6 billion of that will go toward improving primary and secondary education on reserves, but there was no mention of Indigenous students at the post-secondary level.

“While there were significant investments in other sectors for Indigenous people in Canada, Justin Trudeau’s government has failed to acknowledge Indigenous college and university students,” said Shayli Robinson, Aboriginal Students’ Representative of the CFS-BC. “The lack of funding for Indigenous students prevents thousands from enrolling.”

The Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) provides funding to status First Nations and Inuit students to alleviate barriers associated with post-secondary education. Since 1996, increases to the program have been capped at two per cent, which does not keep up with inflation, rising tuition fees, or the rapidly growing Indigenous population.

During the federal election, Trudeau committed to removing the two per cent cap on the PSSSP and to invest $50 million into the Program. In the 2016 Federal Budget released March 22, there were no investments made toward Indigenous post-secondary education.

“The Trudeau government should keep its promises to Indigenous people,” added Robinson. “The lack of financial assistance has limited Indigenous

learners’ abilities to achieve their potential, and has upheld the education gap between Indigenous and nonIndigenous learners.”

Job opportunities Currently, the government invests over $330 million into the Youth Employment Strategy, which aims to help young people acquire necessary skills for employment. In 2016-’17, the Liberals are raising this to $495.4 million.

The Liberals claim the funding will help create new green jobs for youth and increase the amount of young people who access the government’s skills link program, which helps Canadians transition into the workforce.

This goes in hand with the Liberal’s February announcement of doubling the resources behind the Canada Summer Jobs Program. It will go from $106 million last year to $133 million each year for the next three years. This will help create approximately 70 thousand summer jobs for students until 2018.

Prayer pole and warrior canoe raised in memory of Coast Salish veterans Dane Gibson

Following a history-making event last November honouring Coast Contributor Salish veterans from both sides of the border, VIU today raised a veterans’ prayer pole and warrior canoe in remembrance of Coast Salish veterans who served their countries.

The veteran’s prayer pole will have a permanent home at the south entrance of VIU’s Cowichan campus. The warrior canoe will be made available for other communities to use as an “ambassador of remembrance,” and will be travelling to another community in November to honour Aboriginal veterans on Remembrance Day. “We have totem poles and other exquisite pieces of First Nations art on campus,” said VIU president Dr. Ralph Nilson. “This is the first that explicitly

06

N E WS

honours Coast Salish veterans who served in combat.

First Nations cultures and peoples are at the centre of university life here at VIU. The prayer pole and warrior canoe will greet every visitor who comes to the Cowichan campus, providing an opportunity to teach our students about the important role that Coast Salish veterans played in protecting the freedoms we enjoy today.”

The prayer pole was carved by George Rice under the guidance of Harold Joe, a VIU Elder-in-Residence and internationally-renowned master carver. The warrior canoe was carved by Harold Joe, Roger George, Cory George, Walter Thomas, and George Rice.

“Most of the time our veterans are not really acknowledged,” said Joe. “Recognizing Coast Salish veterans for what they have done for us is important.

NAV IGATOR

It’s a great thing.”

It is estimated that more than seven thousand Aboriginal Canadians served in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. During the Second World War, First Nations soldiers participated in every major battle and campaign, including the Normandy invasion that marked the turning point of the war.

The project was made possible through the generous donation of timber by BC Parks and Khowutzun Forestry Services Ltd., and contributions from VIU. Financial support was also provided through Veterans Affairs Canada’s Community Engagement Partnership Fund.

#014

news

PULLING TOGETHER FOR SPONSORED REFUGEE STUDENTS Natalie Gates

In Swahili, Harambee means to “all pull together.” On April 23, VIU’s local World The Navigator University Service of Canada (WUSC) committee will be doing just this at their annual Harambee Gala dinner.

To date, the VIU WUSC Local Committee has sponsored 12 students from Somalia and South Sudan through the Student Refugee Program (SRP). In the fall, they will sponsor their first student from Syria.

This event will fundraise for the three sponsored refugee students that will come to VIU from Africa and Syria in the fall through the SRP. “There is certainly added hype and pressure for this year’s gala because we are increasing the number of sponsored students coming next fall,” said VIU WUSC co-chair Jessyca Idi. “It means that we need even more support—not only

financially—from students and faculty as well as the community outside campus. It’s an expression of celebration, but also of gratitude for those who support the SRP and to inspire a progressive continuation of the program.”

With the goal to raise $3K, the Harambee event will feature a four-course dinner, a silent auction, fair trade sales, and live music by a local band.

“Harambee Gala is our biggest fundraiser for the SRP at VIU, and that has always been our focus,” said Idi. “Nonetheless, the evening is also an opportunity for students, faculty, and community members to network and learn about the program in a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. It is a very special evening for everyone to show their support and have a good time.”

WUSC provides financial and social support to students who previously grew up in refugee camps. WUSC’s SRP is one of few options available to students in refugee camps looking

The Navigators: A partnership

local crisis line looKing For Volunteers Brendan Barlow

Volunteer crisis line operators are The Navigator in short supply at the Vancouver Island Crisis Society (VICS).

The VICS is presently taking applications for their next training session, which begins April 28, with the final deadline for applications being April 21.

Training offered by the crisis line is extensive, and covers a wide variety of topics, including mental illness, grief, suicide, working with Aboriginal populations, and providing extended context and understanding that is extremely valuable.

The society operates in Nanaimo and offers services all over Vancouver Island, and even to parts of BC’s mainland. While educational programs are offered through the society, a major part of their offered services come in the form of the crisis line.

Operators provide short-term emotional support and resources to those who find themselves in need.

How many of us have needed that voice—that beacon in our lowest moments?

That is what this line provides, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In order to ensure the continued support of those who need it, the line is chiefly operated by volunteers.

“Our volunteers know what it means to struggle and find meaning for their own lives, being there for support,” said Heather Owen, Community Relations Co-Ordinator for VICS. “Sometimes, that’s all it takes to turn thoughts of suicide around and save a life.”

A volunteer on the lines told the Nanaimo News Bulletin in March, “Helping others is a great way to help yourself, [and] I know for a fact we are saving people’s lives,”

#014

to pursue post-secondary education.

The event will be held at the Cavallotti Hall (2060 Wellington Rd.). Doors will open at 6 p.m., with dinner (vegetarian options available) served at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $55 for community members or $45 for students, and table rates will soon be announced. There will be no tickets sold at the door.

Students are welcome to volunteer at the event. There are limited positions available, but everyone is welcome to apply.

You can RSVP on the Harambee Gala Dinner 2016 Facebook event, and contact the VIU WUSC Local Committee via email <wusc.viu@gmail.com> to request tickets or apply to volunteer.

Stay updated with WUSC’s initiatives by “liking” their Facebook page, VIU WUSC Local Committee.

which is a clear demonstration of the line’s importance.

As a volunteer on the crisis lines for well over a year now, I won’t pretend that the work is not challenging, but it is also extremely rewarding. The line provides an essential service, and without people to answer those calls, it becomes impossible for the line to provide that service. Calls I’ve received have ranged from people dealing with loneliness to people coping with suicidal thoughts and actions. My time there has not only allowed me to be present for people who deeply needed someone to be there, but also to understand the complexities involved in each person’s circumstance. No two people experience life in the same way, and knowing that helps me both professionally and personally.

To say that the line has been a positive experience would be an understatement; more accurate would be to say that my time on the line has changed my life in a very fundamental way, and I deeply encourage anyone who thinks this might be a good fit for them to seek out the opportunity. Plus, volunteer hours may be a way to achieve educational or career goals; for example, I’m using it to fulfill my volunteer hours for my social work program. The process is quite simple—you submit an application, meet for an interview, and then begin a training program.

For more information, you can find a link to the application at <vicrisis.ca>.

Skills for Life students stand in uniform in the Navigator office. From left: Dylan Murumba, Noel Anderson, Dallas St. Louis, and Justin Keith.

Catherine Charlebois

Catherine Charlebois The Navigator September 2015 signalled the start of a partnership between the Navigator and the NDSS Skills for Life program. Coordinated and executed with the help of Skills for Life program educational assistants (EA) Johanne Aubut and Cathy Murphy, the partnership has provided sought after work experience for nine Skills for Life students.

Outfitted with blue and white “Navigators” hats provided by the Nav, the nine students set out every second Friday of the month to deliver newspapers to businesses in downtown Nanaimo, the waterfront, Bowen area, and at NDSS itself. After the initial hurdle of approaching businesses about the venture, both students and helpers found their rhythm.

“When we started, all the stores said yes [to us delivering to their business]. The second time, they were waiting for us,” says Aubut. “They were very welcoming.”

Always looking for work experience, delivering newspapers for the Navigator provided the students with much more says Aubut.

“Every time the students delivered, it helped them develop their life skills, like street awareness, social skills, finding addresses, practicing counting newspapers, making sure they were discreet and quiet in stores,” says Aubut. “They learned to be professional.”

Throughout the year, Cathy Murphy also saw a growth in her students.

“Our students learned, grew, and received a real feeling of accomplishment

NAV IGATOR

that otherwise they may never have gotten,” she says.

“At the beginning, the students weren’t sure how to go about it,” adds Aubut. “As we delivered more and more they grew in confidence; at the end, we didn’t have to go in [the businesses] with them—they were independent. This is proof that they can learn and can contribute to the community.”

Nearing the end, the partnership is bittersweet to Aubut.

“I was handing out newspapers with Dylan [my Skills for Life student], and we were at Modern Café. We got there and the owner was out arranging chairs. He turned to greet us and he hugged me, thanking us, saying how good this was for the students, the university, and the community. It was a great initiative. And it hasn’t been just him; on the bus, people smile at us and tell us how great this is that were doing this.”

With the end of the university semester, the students will get a well-deserved break for their hard work during the last eight months.

“Even when they were tired, they still did it, and persevered,” says Aubut. “We had so much fun doing this.”

With Murphy possibly leaving at the start of the next academic year, it may be a struggle to find coodinators to help continue this partnership. Regardless, the Nav wishes to extend their thanks for the help the NDSS Skills for Life program and their coordinators in aiding our newspaper distribution.

N E WS

07

features

“I have met God, and he is a MIDI trumpet,” or Why Touhou is secretly the key to all of existence Philip Gordon

You may have seen the word “Touhou” floating around Contributor the internet on a YouTube video, or a song, or a weird anime thing your brother liked once. By way of a short explanation, Touhou is the name of a series of shooting games made by one Japanese dude named Zun. There are 15 entries in the main series, which began on the PC-98 in Japan and exists on Windows today, and Zun shows no signs of stopping or slowing down his output.

This might seem only moderately impressive from a glance, but the raw creative energy that goes into every Touhou game is enough to equal the entire life-long corpus of some artists.

Since Touhou 6 (Embodiment of Scarlet Devil), the convention for the games has reached an absurd standard: Every game contains at least six stages, and each stage contains a mid-boss and an end-boss. Each stage also has its own musical theme (between two-and-a-half to five minutes in length), as well as an extra theme for each end-boss.

The music is at the core of Touhou; every song is perfectly choreographed to the on-screen events of the level, so when enemies appear their shots are in time with the beat of the music. Patterns, cascades of noise, and the tense and release of action is all synced with the symphony Zun created for each isolated experience. Zun also does all the art for the Touhou games. He does all the programming. He taught himself everything entirely on his own, and from scratch. Because of this, the Touhou games are, in a way, a condensed version of human existence—the perfect metaphor for all things in reality. But to get to that, first I need to explain parallel universes.

The most common theory is that of the “multiverse;” the Reader’s Digest definition is that the possible outcomes of every occurrence (from something as grand as the winner of a football game, down to the spin of electrons on your left shoelace) requires the existence of its own new splinter-universe—one of an infinite series that comprises the multiverse. It’s all quantum mumbo-jumbo, but it means that there’s a possibility that there is some event which occurs in every possible universe. Something so grand, or perfect, or choreographed within the threads of fate that it is the pinnacle of experience at that

08

F E AT U R ES

single point in time across all universes.

Touhou, by this point, doesn’t just mean one of the games in the series. It means the series, the music, the characters, the manga, the fan creations—everything that embodies the concept of creative energy is, in a sense, part of this strange tree of ideas. Everything that comprises those ideas—and the entire universe, in fact—is a theoretical outcome of the decisions of just one consciousness. Without Zun, the entirety of Touhou as a beautiful manifestation of choice and determination dissolves into nothing. Millions of hours of enjoyment vanish from the multiverse.

The 3.7 terabytes of fan-made music available for free on the internet unwinds itself from every harddrive in reality. That significan an impact alone is reason to identify with Zun as some strangely super-conscious entity, almost like a Creator fiddling with the buttons at the beginning of all universes. But what makes this comparison more apt is that everything Zun has learned and now expresses, including the art, the programming, the music, etc., is ultimately math. Sound generation boils down to synthesized waveforms.

Programming is the manipulation of parameters, logics, and systems. Even art is a theoretical execution of envisioned possibilities; I, with no confidence in my ability to draw, could theoretically sit down at a canvas and recreate the Mona Lisa, if I knew exactly what amount of paint to put where in every configuration—like a giant “paint-by-numbers” of every identifiable measurement of the painting. This also happens to be the case for a piano concerto or a best-selling novel—and it’s true for Touhou as well.

Although the series has garnered a reputation for its overwhelming difficulty and punitive mechanics and encounters, it is, at the end of the day, simply a series of button presses: four arrow keys with plastic sensors which, when depressed in the right order over a period of time, will get you to the end of a Touhou game on the highest difficulty without taking a single hit.

It’s in this sense that Touhou contains the secret of being. When I sit in front of my computer and finally dodge a Touhou spell-card that has been slaughtering my pixelated-anime-girl avatar for days, I feel the same sensation that Zun must have felt when his fingers hit those same keys, programming the bare bones of the engine and

NAV IGATOR

movements and playing it through himself countless times to verify its arrangement and perfection. I am hitting the piano keys of the song that brings the stage to life in front of me. I am participating in the math of the universe, twisted and harnessed in so many ways to become this artifact singularity, a device that can transport any consciousness to a singular point in the multiverse, aligned on the axes of space, time, and any other dimension, where the experience is exactly the same, where the bliss and perfection and ultimate articulation is channelled the same way in every version of events, running like a raw, magic pulse through the heart of every participant in its echoing history. I call this “multiversal synchronicity,” for short.

Despite my overwhelming admiration for Touhou, and Zun as an extension thereof, I am terrible at Touhou games. I have yet to clear a single one on normal difficulty without using a continue. For a long time, this prevented me from playing Touhou, and ultimately writing this article. After a lifetime of learning quickly, I have been at the foot of a master pedestal, and shown so readily, time and time again, that there is no shortcut past learning, or the pain of experience.

It feels like Zun is staring at me from his own chair, the most honest face of God I can imagine, and calling me on my every shortcoming. If his hand can build the math and give me the keys to recreate it, then nothing separates me from the perfect run and my own actualized failings.

Touhou has taught me that life is nothing if not a series of re-learned lessons—and although I may think every day that I have found a way to conquer my hardships, or that there may be a moment where I can forget to watch the whole screen, lest my hitbox disappear in a swamp of projectiles, there is no way to achieve fulfillment in life than by accepting your failings, and letting them teach you.

These interwoven thoughts are either philosophical epiphanies wrapped in a videogame, or the ramblings of someone who has thought far too long about math and music and bullet patterns. But in the multiverse, both of those are true at the same time, and we can decide which version of reality we’re truly living in.

#014

features

VIU sets troUbling communications precedent Antony Stevens Following the implementation of a now part of domestic full-time and part-time tuition, but VIU and the VIUSU is expecting a package of information within controversial new “student services fee” on April 1, VIU has been tight-lipped regarding what exactly students’ money is going towards.

VIU defers to an online fact sheet, updated early last month, for all information regarding the fee and the new services it will eventually cover. The new services are split into three focuses: “increased services” to the Health and Wellness Centre, including “mental health…and support for students with disabilities;” opportunities for “experiential learning,” such as “paid employment off-campus;” and the addition of a “lending library” which offers “tablets and laptops” with “voice-to-text, time management, [and] word processing” software.

In order to gather more information as to what exactly students can expect now that they’re paying a new fee—such as what kinds of mental health and disability services will be added; whether or not students in smaller programs will get off-campus employment opportunities; and the particulars of the laptops, tablets, and software mentioned—the Navigator reached out to VIU communications, but was told there was nothing new to announce and to follow up in September.

When asked if there was a timeline, or whether any of the services were closer to launching than others, the response was the same: Nothing to announce—check back in September. The VIU library did not respond to a follow-up, and the executive director of student affairs (and co-presenter of the fee’s initial proposal) was unavailable in time for a comment. The fee is The Navigator

has only offered a vague idea of what’s to come, and an even vaguer idea of when.

On its own, VIU’s response wouldn’t be of note—there’s nothing wrong with getting your act together before you make an announcement—but due to the controversial nature of the fee, the cold shoulder is disturbing.

First proposed in November as a way to provide “new and enhanced supplemental initiatives for students and to sustain current service level,” the new fee of $6.27 per credit was met with concern by the VIUSU. In 2005, a Tuition Limit Policy was set by the BC government, restricting universities from raising tuition and mandatory fees by more than two per cent during a fiscal year in order to account for inflation.

VIU has followed this limitation for 11 iterations of its Tuition Fee Schedule, raising tuition incrementally by almost 22 per cent in the last 10 years, per the policy. The addition of the new student services fee, along with the annual two per cent increase in tuition, marks a total increase of a 6.5 per cent in tuition and fees this year, as of April 1.

BC Minister of Education Andrew Wilkinson says that new fees are allowed so long as they provide a “clear benefit to students,” although this clarification of the policy is currently not available in the official literature on the BC government website. In response, the VIUSU made a freedom of information request on January 4 in order to gather any and all information regarding BC university tuition, fees, and their policies. The ministry asked for an extension to deliver upon the request,

the month.

“This has been one of the more challenging things I’ve had to deal with here,” says VIUSU spokesperson Patrick Barbosa.

“We’ve worked here for 15 years to make a meaningful and collegial relationship, and with this one [student services fee], they [VIU] never felt the need to fulfill any reasonable dialogue.”

Barbosa attended the latest VIU Board of Governors meeting last month with a group of Students’ Union members in order to present a package asking the Board to reject the new fee. The VIUSU polled 414 students, and Barbosa says that “students were universally opposed.

“They see the value in some of the services, but they [the services] didn’t meet the bar.”

He also says that there was neither a timeline, nor an expenditures plan regarding the new services presented by VIU at the meeting. As of writing, the minutes from the meeting are not yet online.

The initial proposal for the student services fee reads that “VIU is committed to transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Student Services Fee,” and that they would “provide clear information” on its impact and benefits.

Those words were in the draft back in November. The fee is already happening—so when does the transparency and clear information start? Five months from now?

BUTTERTUBS’ BIRDS Spenser Smith Contributor

1

164 species of birds have been spotted at Buttertubs Marsh, making the man-made oasis a birdwatcher’s paradise. Only a 20 minute walk from VIU, Buttertubs is the ideal destination for bird lovers and nature lovers alike.

2

3

4

1 — A great blue heron stands in perfect stillness.

2 — The Golden-Crowned sparrow has a broad yellow crown which becomes grey at the back of its head.

3 — Can you spot the heron in this photo?

4 — The American robin.

Spenser Smith

#014

NAV IGATOR

F E AT U R ES

09

features

POINT OF VIU JEFF SIENIEWICZ | CONTRIBUTOR .

The Canadian Government wants to compensate displaced First Nations people with money, but not with land. Do you think this is an appropriate measure?

Micah Messent

Sydney Power

Bachelor of Business Administration

Indigenous Studies

Hospitality Management

“I think that the choice should be theirs on how to be compensated. If they would rather have money, that’s fine, or if they just want the land, that’s also fine.”

“I think money is an alright temporary compensative measure...[but] a legally recognized territory to practice their culture on would be a good first step towards a perennial solution, and less of a temporary bandaid on a greater issue.”

“I think compensation in the form of money is the correct way. With how much time that has gone by, and land rights how they are now, it’d be more realistic and appropriate to give them money.”

Matthew Andre

Anneke Contant

Neil Quennell

Bachelor of Business Administration

Hospitality Management

“From the perspective of giving them money, it depends on the amount we’re talking about. People shouldn’t have their land taken away from them and then not compensated with land that is less valuable, or an amount of money that is worth less either. So, overall, it doesn’t seem fair.”

“I think it’s an appropriate measure to take. I think they should definitely be compensated in some way.

Yet, if the land is already in use, which I think it is in a lot of cases, that’s going to cause further complications.”

Everyday Earth: Piece by piece Chantelle Spicer

Over the long weekend I got to relish in one of my favourite things: being Contributor faced with pure, wild nature, this time in the form of a wind-whipped ocean. It made me smile, it made me cry a little bit (from both the wind and the beauty), and, as always, it made me think. I thought about how this exact place on Big Beach in Ucluelet was where I felt truly home for the first time, and where the roots of my relationship with nature was truly born. It is a special place to me, and it made me think of how many other special places there are in the world—places unique to every individual who loves them. I have had many special places in my life, from grassland meadows in the plains, to the dappled deciduous forests of Ontario, to the deep and lush temperate rainforests along the wild coasts of the Island.

Each one has its own personality, its own life.

Yet, many of these places (perhaps all of these places) are under the threat of human intervention. Some have already become shopping malls, while others may soon be under pressures of development or resource extraction. Places which have known no human footprint may be insidiously changed by acid rain, poisoned water, or the loss of migrating species to the intricate food web of its ecosystem. It seems easier to find statistics geared toward the negative aspect of the human-nature relationship; environment-focused websites provide information on faltering policy negotiations, failed goals, and the decline of species. It is overwhelming to think so negatively—especially in the glories of spring, which feels so full of hope and promise.

Very recently, the BC government declared that a new park will be established in the Northern Wetbelt near Prince George.

Important tracts of the rare inland temperate forests, and the ancient trees in its canopy, will be saved, including some of the largest cedars in the province. Known as Chun T’oh Wudujut

10

F E AT U R ES

to the Lheidli T’enneh First Nations who have lived in relation with it since time immemorial, the area is a natural wonder, giving all who visit it the opportunity to touch history. Soon, the land will be protected from all timber harvesting and any other commercial activity, with the province planning to help the area become a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is a remarkable step forward in old-growth protection—one which will hopefully be followed by many more steps.

The minds involved in sustainability and nature issues are just as innovative as those pushing for better technologies.

March saw the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and UVic’s Environmental Law Centre put forth a proposal to Saanich Council for a unique piece of legislation. Whenever you buy a pop, you probably happily consume your beverage and then discard the bottle, despite the bottle deposit charge that may be refunded if the bottle is returned. Instead, bottles wash up on shores, become litter in the streets and forests, or slowly become part of wildlife diets. These stray bottles have had fees paid upon them, but the deposit remains non-refunded, instead acting as profit for the beverage industry. The AFA and Environmental Law Centre thought, “Why not take the money back and put it to use?” Ken Wu of the AFA says that New York and Michigan have enacted similar legislation.

“They’re floating around on the streets and polluting the environment,” Wu said to Saanich News, “so it makes sense to take the proceeds and better the environment through protecting green spaces.”

The money could be used in many places, but especially on the Island for purchasing privately owned and ecologically important tracts of land that might otherwise be a part of ongoing resource extraction.

In terms of our vast, connected oceans, the drivers of our climate and a major source of our oxygen, much needs to be

NAV IGATOR

done about enhancing ecosystems under the strain of human influences. It’s estimated that 12 per cent of the land on Earth is under some kind of protection, yet less than four per cent of the ocean waters are protected. Seeing a need for more, Sylvia Earle—scientist, diver, activist, and all around inspiring lady—has started Mission Blue, an initiative which works to gain public support of “hope spots.” These are places which are “special places vital to the health of the ocean,” yet are most at-risk of over-fishing or pollution. By raising global awareness about the importance of biodiversity, carbon sinking, and our relationship to these life-giving waters, Earle hopes to form a network of marine protected areas. Currently, the largest marine reserve is around Pitcairn Island in the Pacific and contains 830 thousand square kilometres (almost 30 times the size of the Vancouver Island).

Many people say that movements like these are not enough— that more needs to be done to protect and conserve, and that small pieces of land do not equal the large shift needed to put a stop to our changing climate or the many issues that branch from it. But surely it must be better than the race towards economic progress we are on now. How much protection is enough? What is the balance between saving one area, while another is lost? How much time do we have, geologically or as humans?

It is enough, for me anyway, to know that there is somewhere wild, that there are people actively participating in creating more, and that I am one of those people in my own, small way.

I invite everyone during the summer break to find your place in this relationship, to embrace it in a new way, to eat something local and fresh, to be awed, and to cry for the beauty of it all.

#014

features

Making a cultural and spiritual connection

Op-ed:

Andrea Christiansen

Ryan Levis

Contributor Greenland is a barren, white island known as the land of ice and snow—a no man’s land where snowstorms never end. But in reality, the island’s population is approximately 56 thousand and it has all four seasons. During spring, the snow begins to melt, and you can hear the water dripping from the roof. When summer comes, the snow is all gone except for at the tops of the majestic mountains. Then the green grass grows, and you can find hunters seeking reindeer or musk ox, or taking their boats to the ocean to hunt seals, depending on the season.

When I was young and living in Greenland, a word stuck with me: Canada. I cannot remember from where or whom I first heard it. First Nations culture had always attracted me, so last year in May, when I was searching for a university to spend a semester in, I saw the totem pole on VIU’s website. I was struck by it, and right away I knew that was it; when I first arrived in Nanaimo, I felt peace.

It was a challenge for me to speak properly in English (my third language—back home we do not speak or write in English). I had to catch up and push myself hard to recall the words and to think differently when I tried to express myself. But the people here in

Nanaimo are supportive, friendly, and curious about Greenland. They take time to listen to my stories.

Everybody was excited to meet a person that comes from the big white island. They smile, and some of them are surprised when I tell them where I come from.

VIU offers different outdoor activities every month. There’s snowshoeing at Mount Washington, which feels like you are somewhere else in the world; there’s storm watching in Tofino, where the beaches stretch almost endlessly; and there are trips to the abundance of heavenly green rainforests that hold so much history.

I am taking courses in First Nations, Digital Media, Creative Writing, and Journalism. I took the last two because of my journalism studies back home, and I chose the First Nations course because I want to learn the Canadian traditions. During the readings I was surprised to see how similar First Nations history and Greenlandic history are. The loss of identity, culture, and traditions are the same. I learned two histories: this country’s history, and my own.

The readings began to trigger emotions. It was tough for me to read the dark side of the First Nations’ history, or to click in to my own ancestors’ suffering after they met Denmark-Norway in 1721, which brought Christianity and baptised the Greenlandic Inuit. The values

The Truth In. Reconciliation.

Lori Shwydky The Navigator

#014

from our ancestors were wiped away into a never-ending wind where they could never be found again.

The mourning follows even today, where alcohol, drugs, abuse, and suicide covers the small cities like a dark cloud. Deep inside I know that my path will heal the wounded; with guidance from the Elders, I have healed, so I have learned how I can heal others.

Trust grows within me, which makes me a better person.

I found my path.

I am home.

Last week, the “Indigenous Survivance: The Truth in Reconciliation” event was held on campus by my class, Health and Human Services 263 (HHS 263): Elder Teachings Across Disciplines, with instructors John Swift and VIU Elder Geraldine Manson. I used to think I was somewhat well-informed about First Nations issues, but this class has been an eye-opening experience. I realized what was missing was an Indigenous perspective. Was Columbus a mighty explorer who discovered America, or was he a mercenary—an invader who plundered the land? And why does the government, who illegally occupied this land we call Canada, have sovereignty?

Elder Geraldine Manson says that there used to be 98 thousand hectares of land that belonged to the Snuneymuxw people on Vancouver Island. Today, there are only 266 hectares, known collectively as Indian Reserve crown land. The Aboriginal people don’t own it—they only live on it—so they can’t use the land as collateral to borrow money from the banks. When our class visited the main village site of the Snuneymuxw peoples at Departure Bay, there were no longer any Aboriginal people living there.

It used to be a vibrant community with seven rows of longhouses facing the ocean.

Geraldine told us they made their own tools that lasted thousands of years and they knew

On Ghomeshi, Masculinity, and radical Sex Ed Justice was served and Median inclinations reborn; the acquittal Contributor of Jian Ghomeshi signals a new era of hopelessness for survivors of sexual violence. The evidence of how the justice system is rigged to favour rapists has never been clearer.

Either all women need special training in formulating their rape accusations, or all men need radical training in healthy relationship development. I prefer the latter. I prefer prevention.

Ghomeshi is socially ruined, but financially he will probably benefit. His retaliation lawsuits will likely succeed. Men have learned today that they are beyond reproach when it comes to sexual assault. Meanwhile, women have learned to say nothing because it’s futile, and the justice system will inevitably fail them. What a terrible outcome. Accusations of sexual violence are ruinous to men and worth avoiding, while legitimate punishment is easily dodged by the accused. Institutionalized attempts to curb toxic masculinity are poorly conceived, and far too polite to get through to their target audience. The impacts of men’s sexual behaviour have never been more scrutinized.

Now is the time for radical education about masculine sexuality and rape prevention at the source. Now is the time to address toxic masculinity in a blunt fashion before this happens all over again. To spare women the trauma, and to spare men from devastating accusations, we need all men to deeply understand the impact of sexualized violence. Prevention, coming from within male-male peer circles, is the only viable course of action. Intervention, justice, and government care will not be successful at reaching men and changing their attitudes. We must talk to men about sexualized violence in a way they understand.

the weather by studying the stars, which also told them when to hunt and when to fish.

After the Snuneymuxw people left to go fishing, they found their houses occupied by white people when they returned. They never got their homes back. Similar stories happened to First Nations people all across Canada.

Guest speaker Nick Chowdhury, President of the Island Marine Aquaculture Working Group, spoke about restricted fishing rights and access for Aboriginal people. Fish (particularly salmon) are an important part of Aboriginal identity, culture, ceremony, and stewardship. Fish stocks have declined drastically, due mostly to capitalistic practices, and today, Aboriginal food needs aren’t being met. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) limited access regulations to only 14 days per year, meaning fish are not always available to the 50 different annual Aboriginal ceremonies, where fish play a very important role. It’s not just a limitation; it’s a theft of a nations’ culture.

HHS 263 has given me the insight to see that Aboriginal lives, beliefs, and cultures are being negatively affected and exterminated by antiquated mandates, such as fishing rights. A recurring question was “by whose authority?” By what right did early Europeans have authority over First Nations people

NAV IGATOR

and their land? By what right does the DFO have authority to restrict fishing rights and access to Aboriginal people? Who gave the church and government the right to kidnap First Nations children from their families in order to remove “the Indian” from them in residential schools? We point fingers at other countries for their atrocities, like the Holocaust in Germany, or the colonization of Aboriginals in Australia, but what about us? How is what Canada has done to First Nations people any less horrible?

John Swift pointed out that the government cannot undermine themselves, as it would set a worldwide precedent and the system would crumble. Essentially, the government wants to compensate the displaced Snuneymuxw people with money, but not with land. They want to make reconciliation for residential schools with money and apologies. Is that really enough?

It’s difficult to grasp the enormity of the loss suffered by the Snuneymuxw peoples, and why their loss should be reconciled. It’s a complex issue with no easy answers, but at least now the questions are being discussed openly between government and Aboriginal people. Hopefully this will move us closer to resolutions steeped in fairness.

F E AT U R ES

11

AS The death of the Jean

THE JEAN BURNS FIRE The top of China Steps from behind Black & Blue Tattoo.

AS It’s half-past eight in the

Bryn Tassell

A fi refighter works to contain a large fi re that gutted the historic Jean Burns building in the heart of downtown Nanaimo on March 30.

Antony Stevens

Shanon Fenske

The Navigator

Special to the Navigator

• The fire was reported on March 30 at around 6:37 p.m. when smoke was noticed to be coming from the upper south side of the Jean Burns building.

• First units arrived around 6:40 p.m.

• 18 firefighters responded to the incident, an additional eight on-staff were called for backup, and eight paid on-call volunteers.

• The origin and cause of the fire are currently unknown.

• Around 8:30 p.m. the fire had worsened and the caution-tape perimeter was moved back to a fullblock radius to keep onlookers safe.

• The temperature reached several

•

• • •

•

thousand degrees at the height of the blaze.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue continued to battle the blaze throughout the night, until the fire was considered under control by 5:45 a.m.

The fire continued to be doused late into the morning until at least 9 a.m.

The highway was reopened to traffic just before noon the following day.

Nanaimo fire rescue successfully prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent blocks, and there were no injuries.

No other fires were reported during the night.

evening, and I’ve got a slice of pizza between my teeth when my girlfriend leans over to show me a video on her phone. It’s an Instagram: A firetruck, ladder half-extended, topped with a fireperson shooting down on a building with black-smoke windows. A ferocious blast of flame comes horizontally out of the building—fire with propulsion like a rocket launched somewhere inside. The roof collapses, the fireperson repositions themselves, the videographer says “oh my god,” with a palpable surprise somewhere between confusion and awe.

It’s not until my third viewing that I recognize the scene.

I start getting Facebook messages

referring to the fire in past tense, as though the viral Instagram was its only capturing before its inevitable defeat. I could walk 14-and-a-half minutes down the road and be close enough to see it glow, to taste its ash on my tongue, to capture it myself. But I stay on my phone. The people on nearby rooftops will collect the moment for me.

Hired Guns Creative—one of the 15 businesses and other collectives lost in the fire—live-tweets from the street below, among gathered groups of watchers and waiters. Melanie Godel—President of the Arts Council that was once located downstairs—finds out via text like the rest of us. Word spreads like a structural fire: skyrocketingly.

Sarah Packwood

Burns building is one of the deepest ironies. Built in 1955 and named after a fashionista, the block attracted precious garments and artists over its life. Fast Frames called it home for almost 30 years, while they homed countless photos and art pieces into their own customframes. The much younger My Favourite Fabric Store is currently looking for a wall to showcase creations until they find a new home.

Countless artists moved in and out of the building’s various gallery spaces.

Onlookers gather on the rooftop of Port Place Mall for an aerial view of the scene.

A fi refighter stands on top of a fi re engine tower ladder on the bottom of Albert St.

Shanon Fenske

SF The crowds in front of the yellow, movie-scene tape blocking Albert St. are thick. Slowly, I navigate my vehicle towards my Cavan St. parking lot, past open-mouthed stares and jogging witnesses pointing excitedly at flames dancing upon a downtown building’s rooftop. Parked firetrucks flash their lights as smoke billows into the growing darkness. I cannot believe what I’m seeing.

12

F E AT U R ES

Sarah Packwood

SF It is now after 7 a.m. and the sun is up.

Spenser Smith

Spenser Smith

The fi re has staked its claim.

The Hofmans lost years’ worth of art. Thirteen others lost their submissions to the Art Council’s spring exhibition.

Surviving (with a little water and smoke damage) is a collaborative (un-framed) art banner, done in partnership with the Arts Council and AEIOU collective, and the people of Nanaimo. The banner is also searching for a wall.

The China Steps, tonight, is a frame for sadder art.

The rooftop is aglow in a yellow-orange so bright at times it looks white.

My vehicle parked, it only takes a moment to rush up to my unit. A campfire smell greets me as I enter my suite. I walk reverently up to my living room window, and the heritage structure below me wears a helpless mask. The fire has staked its claim; the rooftop is aglow in a yellow-orange so bright at times it looks white.

Hose-wielding firefighters assault the flames

NAV IGATOR

Ryan Peppin

from every direction, but the situation looks hopeless. The space between the buildings across the China Steps ally looks vulnerably narrow. From up here it’s clear: The whole block is in danger. Tonight, Nanaimo’s firefighters are waging a war.

The wedge-shaped building appears a dystopian heart.

#014

#014

Shanon Fenske

NAV IGATOR

At 2:30 a.m. I could still see the flames.

I rise up and look outside—I do not want to, but I have to. There, in front of me, the burnt out and hollowed parts of the wedge-shaped building appears a dystopian heart. There is heaviness in mine.

Some of my earliest Nanaimo memories resurface: I didn’t live downtown then, but my friends and I would meet at Filthy McNasty’s, and Acme after that, for coffee, or a bite, or to listen to live music. At one point, there was an occult bookshop accessed through the China Steps side, called the Boiler Room. Strange, holy relics from far-flung lands would rouse my curiosity. A seed to travel to exotic lands was planted. Kids used to play Magic the Gathering in one of the shops along Terminal Street. I remember how I used to privately wish to join them, but I didn’t know any of the smiling faces I could see through those open doors. My first “serious” wall art came from Bastion Galleries’ Fast Frames. It was of a panther resting in a tree. The image hasn’t been on my wall for years, but for some reason I still have it.

I have never been able to let it go.

New business owners came and went. I would leave to work or travel, but Nanaimo always called me back. Over time, the symbiotic buildings (which operating officer Rick Hyne says was made up of three others over time with “many nooks and crannies”) became the “Acme Block” to me—always a central character in Nanaimo’s landscape. From my living room window she had greeted me faithfully every morning for the last several years.

The dead building stands, for now, a stark contrast to the brightness now shining forth from the community. The city rallies in love, tenderness, and generosity. Local businesses fed firefighters as they toiled through the night.

Others began to raise money or offer support to those who had lost everything. From the ashes of this shattered piece of Nanaimo’s history, it is easy to hope for a new heart to emerge. I dare to believe this will be so.

F E AT U R ES

13

arts

Slender movie review “Two filmmakers searching for the perfect documentary subject stumble across a story that even they don’t want to believe.”

Brendan Barlow

Oh, Slenderman, you may have The Navigator once been a spooky internet campfire story, but you have become a cheap way to make a film seem connected to something bigger, or a bogeyman to blame the attempted murder of a child on. This is not to say that the tale of this giant fancy-man in a morphsuit has not been the subject of frightening or even quality entertainment. Particularly when you look to YouTube, Slenderman seems to have found a home among very creative horror lovers. With series such as EverymanHYBRID, Marble Hornets, or TribeTwelve delivering surprisingly effective stories and receiving massive popularity, it’s easy to see why others would want to cash in on this story.

This brings us to Slender, a 2016 found footage film about assholes trying to make a movie. So, you’re already in trouble from the get-go. The purpose, according to the protagonist, is to take someone’s firmly held beliefs, or experiences, and pull the rug out from under them on camera. Who do they choose? A woman who was seen ranting to herself on a train about a faceless monster with tentacles who abducted her children.

So, what we have are two assholes who intend to exploit and terrify a woman who has been searching for her children for five years.

If that doesn’t sound great so far, I can promise you that there is nothing left to fill in the gaps. Despite being based around the Slenderman mythos, there is a staggering lack of any sign of the tall monster—the one exception being one of the “film

14

A RTS

crew” who dresses up as him to scare the aforementioned vulnerable woman. So, it’s hard even to call it a Slenderman story.

They opt for camera glitches and quick cuts over giving Slendy a presence in the film, making for an overall hollow and weak film.

You may argue that “it’s scarier when you don’t see it” but there has to be the threat of something in the shadows more than scared faces and screams.

The movie actually doesn’t have a terrible cast—most actors are (if nothing else) completely watchable and interesting.

Their actions don’t make a ton of sense, and they may not be the world’s strongest actors, but it’s really the one thing that got me through the bulk of the movie. I enjoyed seeing the events unfold, even if I hated everything that they were doing.

Likable cast or not, the movie struggles with the main component of a horror film: being scary. It’s a lot of shaky cameras, and blurry shots of cheap digital effects, all of which amounts to very little, if not nothing. The main plot is mean spirited, and the two main characters are senseless in their actions.

What we have here is nothing terribly interesting, or even a valuable entry to this particular mythos. There’s enough interesting content out there that this really doesn’t feel worthwhile. Hell, even the lackluster Always Watching has a bit more punch and intrigue to it than this.

Courtesy of <barleydoeshorror.com>

RATING

NAV IGATOR

#014

arts

THE NOSLEEP PODCAST AND THE ART OF THE SCARY STORY

Since I was a kid, I’ve loved horror stories—whether it was books, movies, comics, campfire stories, or even just perusing the horror section of my local video store, reading the backs of VHS cases I wasn’t allowed to rent. It started innocently enough, reading the Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark series, and of course the former’s Canadian-made television show, and its cousins Are You Afraid of the Dark and Freaky Stories.

As I matured, so did the horror that I consumed, but something that I always had a love for was short form, horror fiction—spooky stories that were passed around, the urban legends we used to tell each other as kids that we simultaneously didn’t believe, but didn’t want to experiment with either. The Brendan Barlow campfire story, as with so many other things, seems to have migrated to the internet with spooky stories like Slenderman The Navigator becoming a new generation’s answer to Bloody Mary or Candy Man. On top of these spooky stories, there are surprisingly large amounts of budding horror writers who are able to self-publish and share in vast communities of people who share their interests. One of these communities is located on Reddit, on a forum called NoSleep. Here, writers tell stories from the first person perspective, and community members interact with the story as if it were true. This interactive dynamic has led to some very creative, and often deeply disturbing stories, and continues to encourage these writers to produce more work.

While this enormous archive of horror stories is a wonderful thing, one of the most interesting results of this community is The NoSleep Podcast, a Canadian-produced podcast that takes stories from the community, and presents them as a sort of combination between an audio book and an old-timey radio play. Complete actors, music, sound effects, and a fantastic atmosphere, The NoSleep Podcast manages to produce a weekly podcast with six different stories in each episode. The show has just finished its sixth season, with the seventh set to start on April 10, and each season contains 25 episodes. Leaving you to do the math on this, it should be immediately clear how much content the show has to work with.

Speaking from my own experiences, this podcast can be genuinely terrifying; more than once I have managed to freak Original episode artwork from The NoSleep Podcast. myself out in my own home just listening to one of the stories in a given episode. Of course, when you have this many stories Courtesy of <thenosleeppodcast.com> it is inevitable that some will fall more flat than others, but as a

Stephen Gammel’s artwork from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Courtesy of <geek.com>

general rule there is a lot of strength in the overall production value and storytelling present.

NoSleep is not alone in its mission to aurally frighten us either—the recently wrapped up Knifepoint Horror has left a number of stories, told in a much more stripped down way, with one narrator telling the story as a first person account.

Even without the additional atmospheric sound effects, there’s something equally chilling about the stories as they unfold. As well, there are shows like The Black Tapes Podcast, covered last year in the Nav, and their sister show Tanis. Both shows tell their stories in a documentary format similar to the smash hit Serial. For those among you who need reality in your scary stories, the show Lore presents the stories behind different pieces of regional folk lore. His episodes are shorter, but again manage to be effectively scary stories.

It’s wonderful to see the success of many of these shows, and of course their popularity has led to short-lived, knockoff feeling versions, but even at their worst they manage to at least be entertaining. Audio storytelling is so deeply effective, in its own way creating the feeling that came from late night sleepovers of kids trying to scare each other in the dark. While reading scary stories or watching horror films are effective in their own way, there’s just something nostalgic and deeply terrifying in what these shows do. I really can’t recommend them enough.

All of the podcasts mentioned are searchable on iTunes or your preferred podcast service, and just so you have them all in one place, here they are again: The NoSleep Podcast, Knifepoint Horror, The Black Tapes Podcast, Tanis, Lore, The Message, and Limetown. Enjoy, and sleep well.

THE SEX-POSITIVE TUNES OF RACHEL LARK of feminist ideas and sex positivity running throughout. While the album features her primarily on piano and ukulele, according to her website, this can change drastically from performance to performance, with this more traditional sound being one side of the spectrum, and the other being Lark performing “behind her laptop and synthesizers creating dance beats to accompany her layered vocal harmonies,” which would genuinely change so much about the experience that I would really love to hear what that sounds like.

While still an up-and-comer in the music and comedy scenes, she has amassed quite the cult following, and a devoted fan base in her hometown Courtesy of <rachellark.com> of San Francisco. This feels like proof in itself that she is doing something unique and interesting that Brendan Barlow It was a month or so ago, people have a real desire for. You can even hear on an episode of The Savage her audience sing along with some of her songs, so The Navigator Lovecast, that I first heard it is pretty clear that people know who she is and the shocking and hilarious sound of Rachel Lark’s have a love for the music she makes. music. Her comedic style was a breath of fresh air, What’s most interesting about Lark is her and I needed to know more about her. So off to blunt, open, and deeply honest content. She is Bandcamp I went, where her 2015 album Vagenius bold enough to acknowledge female sexuality, and can be purchased for a mere $7. to call bullshit on the blatant and plentiful double The album is a fabulous mix of comedy and standards placed on women when it comes to their singer-songwriter music, with the common thread own desires and interests. She does this not only

#014

NAVNAV IGATOR IGATOR

by singing about those hypocrisies specifically, but also by subverting them and singing about things that many might find shocking for a woman to sing about. A perfect example comes from the deceptively innocently titled “You Only Live Once,” which I’ll let you seek out and hear for yourself.

Lark’s music is raw and explicit, but you really do feel the passion and the intense emotional connection she has to the things that she sings about. Songs like “For the Boys” showcase her huge range of vocal ability and genuine frustration. It’s very obvious that she is a talented musician and a funny person, and incorporates both her wit and musical abilities into an album that will make you laugh and think.

While she doesn’t have much in the way of Canadian dates approaching, I would strongly recommend keeping an eye on the work that Rachel Lark is putting out. I have a feeling that there’s a lot to look forward to from this dynamite performer.

She recently released a music video for a new song called “Warm, Bloody, and Tender,” and is beginning her Vagenius tour very soon. You can follow her work by heading to <rachellark.com>.

A RTS

15

arts

IN THE MOOD: AN EVENING WITH THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Note: If you don’t think that you know who Glenn Miller is, check out the song “In The Mood” and you will likely realize that you do.

Courtesy of <glennmillerorchestra.com>

Brendan Barlow

A couple of years ago, I began my journey into a place that many had gone before and many have The Navigator gone since: to the world of collecting vinyl records.

In the beginning of my collecting, I wasn’t especially discerning in my purchases. The records I bought typically cost under a dollar and I was taken in by things that “looked old,” or had great album art—the reason why I have not one, but two Meatloaf albums. There was something about hearing these old albums from decades gone by, in the same way that many would be hearing it when they were released; there is an element of time travel to vintage records that you don’t find in mp3s or even re-releases of old albums on vinyl.

One of the more interesting things that I found, I bought on a whim—a book containing three 12-inch records, bound together with the story of their significance in music history. It was a collection called For the Very First Time, 50 Never Before Released Original Performances by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The collection includes live recordings from the early 1940s, and I picked it up, for 60 cents, and brought it home. I had no real sense of what I had picked up but I got home and listened to what I would describe as big-band-swing-jazz, though I’m really not a person who knows a ton about music, or how to write about it. What I knew was that it was something very special; the records are everything that I wanted a recording from the ‘40s to be: warm, crackling, and strangely familiar.

POETRY IN TRANSIT Brendan Barlow The Navigator

16

A RTS

Fast forward a few years—A few more Glenn Miller records in my collection, and a reaffirmed love for jazz, swing, and orchestral music.

I heard, through the wonderful e-mails I get from promoters here at the Nav, that The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra would be right here in Nanaimo. I virtually leapt at the opportunity, and a few nights later I sat, dead centre, in the Port Theatre, waiting for the show to start. Admittedly, I was among the youngest people in the audience, but this was to be expected.

I also did not share the immediate title recognition that many of the older audience members seemed to, but I certainly matched their enthusiasm.

This orchestra has been touring and performing since the Glenn Miller Orchestra was reformed in the 1950s, and are the official carriers of the Glenn Miller namesake. According to band leader Nick Hilscher, the band had been touring and playing shows five nights a week, 48 weeks per year since the ‘50s.

With that in mind, it should be no surprise that, as far as the musicianship on display, the orchestra was absolutely fantastic. According to one of the older gentlemen sitting behind me, who seemed less pleased than I was about the show, the songs had been shortened, and there was more of a “swing” sensibility than the jazz he had hoped for, but I’m not sure I could have enjoyed the show any more unless it had been a black-tie affair.

Nick Hilscher absolutely oozed charisma from the moment he strutted on stage; he felt like someone that had been plucked out of the 1940s and plopped down on the stage. Really, the whole orchestra had an authentic feeling about them, and seeing them in a theatre like The Port really made the experience all the more interesting. Adding to the 1940s feel was vocalist Jenny Swoish, who literally sparkled on stage, and held a smile so big that it looked like it may have caused physical pain, but she too (much like Hilscher) appeared like she had been pulled straight out of the past.

I really can’t say enough about this show. It’s something that I feel grateful to have been able to see—a piece of musical history performed live on stage. It served only to further cement my love of Glenn Miller, and recordings from the ‘40s and ‘50s, and will likely cause a spike in records of that kind being added to my collection. An astonishing show, and one you should absolutely go and see, if the opportunity arises; however, if you’re not going to be in Ottawa or Montréal this summer I don’t know when that opportunity will come up again.

Riding the bus is not everyone’s favourite thing, and perhaps not the place many of us go to find something beautiful or artistic. I know my preferred method of bus-riding is to put on headphones and look down into a book or my lap, avoiding eye contact, and really just wanting to be off the bus. Clearly, it’s not my favourite way to travel either.

Nanaimo’s Poet Laureate, Naomi Beth Wakan, has inspired the Poetry in Transit program—a way to change the way we ride the bus, and to change our experiences of the city we all share.

Poets have been submitting their works with the theme being “Riding the Bus,” and the works will be revealed to all on April 9. Set to be unveiled at the Harbourfront location of the Vancouver Island Regional Library, the first set of poems will be on display on an on-site bus starting at 1 p.m.

Wakan, who proposed the idea, shared her feelings on the event, saying: “I am delighted that

NAV IGATOR

my suggestion that poetry should go on Nanaimo buses has been so speedily taken up and made a reality by the Culture and Heritage Department, and that it has also been embraced by Nanaimo poets who have sent in their poems about riding in buses. Look out! They are coming to buses on your route soon.”

April will mark the 17th anniversary of National Poetry Month here in Canada, and so this new program will celebrate local poets, as well as the national celebration of our arts community that comes every April.

While this first round of poems has been selected and will be unveiled April 9, it is still possible to have your poems selected for display in the next round of submissions. If you are interested in submitting your works for possible selection, see contacts and guidelines at <cnan. ca/1o6Xqbo>.

#014

arts

Music round-up Brendan Barlow The Navigator For the last issue of the year, it seems fitting to finish things off with one more music round up. Here are my five favourite albums from March and April of this year.

Courtesy of <exclaim.com>

Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled by Donovan Woods Courtesy of <picthfork.com>

Untitled/Unmastered by Kendrick Lamar This is the definitive proof that Lamar is the master of his genre, even at his most stripped-down. The album is a compilation of unreleased demos from the recording of his last (masterpiece) album To Pimp a Butterfly. It hits hard and is heart-breakingly brief, but is sure to satisfy those looking for a bit more Kendrick before, what is sure to be, his next breakthrough album. While the songs may not be new, the album is, and therefore it makes this list. Listen to it.

Alright, I’m cheating here a little bit. This new album

by Donovan Woods was released in the last week of February, but I wasn’t able to listen to it until March. It’s something of a retroactive addition to the last list that I put out. Woods is soothing, soulful, and has created a truly beautiful album with Hard Settle. I’ve been a major fan of this particular artist for a couple of years, and am glad to genuinely encourage more to listen to him. Get yourselves a copy of this one, turn off the lights, and close your eyes. Enjoy it.

Courtesy of <steponmagazine.com>

The Wilderness by Explosions In The Sky Challenging, haunting, and beautiful, Explosions in the Sky’s new album is well worth your time. They’ve always set themselves apart with their purely instrumental music, and though they’ve done some soundtracks over the last few years, this is the first time in five years they have released a full album of non-soundtrack music. If you’ve been a fan of their previous work, there’s no reason to suggest that you won’t like this one, and hopefully it will make new fans out of those who might not know them.

Explosions manage to create a very emotional experience through their music without the use of lyrics and vocals, setting them apart from so much contemporary music on that one aspect along.

Courtesy of <north6th.wordpress.com>

Sept. 5th by dvsn Courtesy of <radioutd.com>

iii by Miike Snow If you’ve been looking for a little more upbeat indie snyth music, then look no further than this third effort from Sweden’s Miike Snow. It’s a fun, pop-y album that will make for excellent summer-time listening.

Particularly, the tracks “Genghis Khan” and “Heart is Full” are a couple of excellent entry points into the album. If you find yourself enjoying this, it’s imperative that you listen to their self-titled effort as well, which remains their strongest to-date.

#014

If you know me, you know I love Canadian R&B star The Weeknd, so it shouldn’t surprise you that dvsn has made their way onto the list. This Canadian R&B duo just recently signed to the Drake-run label OVO, and their first album Sept. 5th is not one to be missed. Beautiful, and oozing sensuality, add this one to your list right this second. You want to get yourself up on this duo, and enjoy the smug sense of satisfaction that comes with “knowing them first.”

NAV IGATOR

A RTS

17

sports & lifestyle

Penticton’s out, Nanaimo’s in: The Fred Page Cup third round

A determined Rempal on the ice.

Reid Eccles

It’s a good postseason to be a Contributor Clippers fan. The Clippers easily secured the Island Division Championship, sweeping the Powell River Kings 4-0, and now the Penticton Vees have been eliminated from the BCHL’s 2016 Fred Page Cup playoffs. Rallying in four straight games, the West Kelowna Warriors were able to dethrone the Vees and take the Interior Division Championship 4-2. For the Clippers going into the double-round-robin third round, this scenario is among the best.

The Clippers’ secondary scoring remained strong through the second round and the Clippers easily have the best goal differential of the remaining teams. Top line forwards

18

Reid Eccles

Sheldon Rempal, Devin Brosseau, and Matt Hoover, as well as allstar defenseman Yanni Kaldis, are leading the way in scoring. Nolan Aibel has eight points in nine games, while Chris Dodero, Gavin Gould, and Kale Bennett are steadily producing as well. Nanoose Bay local Corey Renwick even has two goals, including the game-winner that capped off the Kings in game four. Going into the third round, 13 individual Clippers skaters have scored.

While the Clippers had 10 days off between rounds, the Warriors have been playing, and they’ve won four games in that time. The Warriors are going to be looking to ride the high of defeating the Vees through the double-round-robin. But the Clippers

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

have won eight straight games in the first two rounds, and only trailed for a total of 10 minutes in that stretch.

Though the Warriors did prevail over the Vees, Penticton goaltender Anthony Brodeur was injured early in the post-season and the Vees were forced to play 18-year-old backup Zachary Driscoll. Brodeur has been a staple in the Vees’ success all season, and his absence put the Vees in a tough position. The Vees’ offense remained stellar through the first two rounds, but they were inevitably out-scored. So, yes, the Warriors are the team that eliminated Penticton, but they accomplished the feat with a handicap of sorts, which does not translate to them being a better team, or having a competitive edge over the Clippers. Brodeur previously played

NAV IGATOR

Major Junior hockey for the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and has been drafted by the New Jersey Devils; he is the son of legendary NHL goaltender Martin Brodeur.

On March 31, the Clippers faced the Warriors in their first meeting of the round-robin and won the game 4-1. It turns out the 10 days off didn’t have much effect on the Clippers’ top players, as Rempal and Hoover each scored twice, including two empty netters—one apiece. This put the Clippers’ win-streak up to nine games, and put the Warriors down a game after they won the inaugural match of the double-round-robin against the Chilliwack Chiefs.

That being said, the Mainlaind Division champion Chilliwack Chiefs shouldn’t be taken lightly either. The Chiefs finished atop the Mainland Division during regular season play, and they eliminated the Wenatchee Wild from the playoffs in only five games—both worthy accomplishments. At this point in the playoffs the round-robin is essentially a toss-up, but Clippers fans should be feeling optimistic to at least see the finals come to Frank Crane Arena.

With the Vees eliminated, Rempal has securely taken over the post-season scoring lead with 19 points in 10 games, accumulating 10 goals and nine assists. While still Penticton-heavy, the top five now includes 18-year-old Chiefs forward Jordan Kowaguchi with 15 points in 10 games.

At press time, the West Kelowna Warriors, the Chilliwack Chiefs, and the Nanaimo Clippers all hold a

record of 1-1. The first team to reach the three-victory plateau enters the final best-of-seven series with homeice advantage. The remaining two teams host each other until a second team reaches three wins and the second spot is filled; the final team is eliminated.

Puck drop for each game of the third round is set for 7 p.m. Tickets for Clippers games can be purchased at the box office at Frank Crane Arena starting an hour before puck drop. Tickets are only $10 for VIU students, and a free beer is included with admission.

A full post-season schedule can be found at <bchl.ca/playoffs>.

#014

sports & lifestyle

THE 5K When my mother spontaneously signed me up for the Nanaimo Foam Fest back in January, I was less than enthusiastic to say the least. I skeptically looked up from my computer screen at the dinner table as my mother excitedly shoved a pamphlet in my direction. She sat down as I examined the purple and yellow piece of paper with a big, bold “5K” plastered on the front. My mom took my computer from me and went on their website, chock full of videos of previous runs. Barring my own reluctance, after watching a few promotional videos of people smiling and covered in bubbles and mud, it was starting to look like fun.

At this time of the year, the sun went down at 5 p.m. and the days were short and full of rain. There was still plenty of time to train and I conveniently forgot about it, storing it away in my “to do—later” folder.

The bright summer sun and balmy weather eventually brought me right back to reality, and I could no longer continue to conveniently forget that I needed to start training. Running five kilometres is nothing to some people; for those like me who have only recently decided to try new things and push themselves into being more active, this was more than a casual stroll.

So what to do? I felt defeated, as my regular yoga sessions from the previous semester were done, and my scheduled time for workouts had not lasted into the craziness that was my spring semester. All in all, it boiled down to two options for me: either wing it on the day and suffer the consequences, or start one step at a time and build up my endurance.

So I found myself in running gear facing down Westwood Lake, feeling awkward in my messy ponytail and barely-broken-in running shoes.

Luckily, I had a running partner with me, so I just followed along after we made it up the initial hill.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t too out of breath, and as we started to jog, I found myself falling into

Catherine Charlebois The Navigator

a natural rhythm. I was actually running ahead, and when my running buddy started to lag behind and wanted to take a break, I found myself feeling like I could probably go on.

Running with someone who is naturally slower than you has its advantages, and, in all honesty, if you can find that person, they make a perfect companion for training. You may have to, like I did, slow down and feel like you could go faster, but it’s the perfect hold back so that you don’t end up exhausted and unwilling to try again the next time.

By kilometre four, I was starting to feel the burn, and summoning the energy and drive to pump up my arms and jog after my minute of walking was starting to drag. I could already see the bend in the trail and knew there wasn’t much farther to go. With other runners jogging past, I wanted to prove to myself I could do this, and, in fact, I had no choice—the $50 entry fee had already been paid. Maybe there was my motivation.

As I emerged from the end of the trail, sweaty yet proud of myself, I decided to sprint all the way to the car. I’d always loved the feeling of the wind through my hair, the solid ground as my feet hit the pavement, and my blood coursing through my body. I reached the car, breathless and smiling.

Maybe this was a feeling I needed to cling on to on the days where I had no motivation.

As it stands, I still have a few months to prepare, and after buying a pair of bright turquoise running pants to match my hot pink running shoes, I think I may have just sparked a new passion—I’ll let you know.

Registration for Foam Fest is still open, but spots are going fast. The Nanaimo event is on June 11 at the Arbutus Meadows in Nanoose Bay off the Island Highway. For more information, or to register, please visit <5kfoamfest.ca>.

The right pair of shoes might be all the motivation you need to push yourself.

Catherine Charlebois

A MEDICATED MIND Megan Wolfe

take to manage my symptoms, all depending on my upcoming diagnosis. I left with some answers, a prescription for a twoweek trial of a synthetic serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and a whole lot of relief.

SSRIs block serotonin receptors in your brain so that when your body creates serotonin, not all of it is used at once, keeping some in reserve for when it stops producing to prevent a severe emotional crash.

After spending four weeks on my first dose of SSRIs, I made the decision to switch to a higher dose. I wasn’t feeling anxious anymore, and though I’ve had a few depressive episodes, they haven’t been anywhere close to what I’ve experienced in the past. Along with the process of going on medication, I’ve also learned that I’m severely anemic (low iron) and that it played a significant part in my depression.

Everything that scared me about going on medication and being diagnosed turned out to be needless. With the diagnosis, I was finally able to see where I was and where I wanted to be, and since being on medication and supplements for my anemia, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been and feel more like myself than I ever have.

I’m in the process of building a daily exercise routine, because, in the famous words of Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy.” Along with regular exercise, I’ve also significantly changed my diet—I eat less simple sugars and processed food, and opt for more

#014

NAV IGATOR

Going on medication for my mental illness was probably the most terrifying and Contributor worthwhile decision I have ever made.

I’ve made jokes in previous years about one day going on it, and since no one knew that I was actually struggling with severe anxiety and depression, they laughed along with me, not thinking much of it.

I was terrified of being diagnosed with anxiety or depression, because of the chance that I didn’t have either and was just overreacting—if I just thought positively enough, if I just ignored what I was feeling, it would go away. I always thought going on medication changed how I felt, and would make me someone I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t until a friend opened up to me about being on meds for their depression and anxiety that I realized how misguided my perceptions were.

When I was told that I have depression and general anxiety disorder (GAD), it was so relieving that I cried in the examination room. I wasn’t making it up, it was real, and I finally knew what was going on with me.

I had mentioned that I was considering medication to my counsellor a few weeks prior, after having one of the worst meltdowns I’ve ever experienced. If I wanted to move on from the point where the smallest thing sent me into a river of tears, it was something I needed to seriously consider.

I went in to the Health and Wellness centre on campus to see the nurse practitioner for what kind of medication I could

fruits, vegetables, and drink copious amounts of water. I’ve lowered my caffeine intake, mostly by avoiding caffeine after 6 p.m. (or else I won’t sleep), and only have a drink on occasion since alcohol is a depressant and also makes my medication less effective.

I’ve told my friends and family about the process, which has helped them understand how to help me on a bad day and to be supportive on all the other days. It has also helped me realize that there’s absolutely no shame in having mental illness or seeking help for it. My goal is to eventually get off medication, which will involve me making better life choices when it comes to diet and exercise, how I manage my time to lower my levels of anxiety (aka no more procrastination), and therapy to work through what triggers my anxiety attacks and depressive episodes. This is a process that’s going to take years to complete, and going on medication isn’t an overnight fix, but the first step of looking after my mental health. Everyone is different and medication will affect them differently. Like me, if one medication doesn’t work for you, there are others that could.

If you’re feeling depressed or anxious, VIU offers counselling to students—don’t hesitate to reach out and seek help. These services have helped me get better, and hopefully, if you need them, they’ll help you too.

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

19

sports & lifestyle

RECIPE:.

BEAN THERE,. .DONE THAT.

Catherine Charlebois The Navigator

Congratulations, you made it through another semester— almost. It’s the final push before freedom. Whatever your situation, whether it’s your last semester at VIU, or the end of your first, at this point in the year I think we all deserve a pat on the back. Celebrate with something sweet and healthy for all your efforts—you deserve it. Taken straight from The Power of Pulses, this brownie recipe is sure to take your taste buds to a whole new level as the campus settles down for the exam period.

Ingredients

Instructions 1) Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

2) Pulse beans in food processor to form paste. In a large bowl, combine beans and melted chocolate. Add remaining brownie ingredients and stir.

3) Pour batter into greased nine-inch square pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

For brownies • 2 cups cooked black beans • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted • 3 eggs • 1/3 cup butter, melted • 1/4 cup cocoa • Pinch of salt • 2 tsp vanilla • 1 cup sugar Who would have known that such a tasty looking brownie was all bean?

Courtesy of Nathaniel Moore

For espresso ganache • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate • 1/2 cup 35 per cent cream • 1 tbsp maple syrup • 1 tsp espresso powder • 1 tbsp unsalted butter

4) Place pan on a rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

For the ganache 1) Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Add remaining ingredients to boiler and remove from heat.

2) Allow mixture to cool before spreading over brownies.

Optional: 1 tbsp espresso powder (can also be instant coffee granules dissolved in cream)

Makes approximately 12 brownies.

MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS:

The controversy of sex bias in diagnoses Zoe Lauckner Contributor

20

In the Nav’s Valentine’s Day issue, the Mental Health Matters column was about sex bias (that is, biological/ natal sex) in regards to how females are diagnosed with mental illnesses and how stereotypes and labels can affect the latter.

The same can be said for men, as sex differences exist in diagnoses that reflect stereotypes portraying men as more violent, antisocial, and criminal in nature. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), men dominate the statistics for alcohol dependence (twice as likely as women to be diagnosed) as well as antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) where men are three times as likely to be diagnosed with it than women. While men are more likely to become alcoholics, women selfharm at an alarmingly high rate in comparison to men, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Is this a reflection of societal perceptions of gender roles— where men drown their sorrows and women partake in more dramatic acts of emotional expression?

Other questions arise as to whether these sex differences are

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

due to diagnostic bias, meaning that similar traits are labeled one way for women and another way for men. For example, let’s compare the diagnostic criteria of two disorders: ASPD, and borderline personality disorder.

Core features of ASPD as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) are: ego-centrism, lack of empathy, risk-taking behaviours, deceit, manipulation, and hostility. Borderline personality disorder criteria include: unstable interpersonal relationships, mistrust, mood swings, anxiousness, impulsivity, and hostility. Borderline personality disorder emphasizes instability in interpersonal relationships (neediness/ abandonment) and does not have the same focus on violent and criminal behaviour as ASPD, but it is not difficult to see where overlap could occur.

Speaking of overlap—even more similar to ASPD is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Some researchers have claimed that if the labels of the disorders are

NAV IGATOR

removed, it is very difficult to tell the diagnoses apart. In fact, they are both characterized by behaviours that deviate from social norms, a complete disregard for the feelings of others (aka lack of empathy), and self-indulgent or ego-centric behaviours. At this time, Canadian statistics on the prevalance of NPD are all but nonexistent, making it difficult to compare sex differences between ASPD and NPD diagnoses.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s 2002 Report on Mental Illness, up to one half of prisoners have antisocial personality disorder, though they do not specify natal sex ratios. However, according to a Statistics Canada report in 2013-’14, men made the majority of persons in prison (85 per cent), so it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine that the majority of those with ASPD who are incarcerated are men.

At this time, the conversation about sex bias in diagnosis is ongoing among professionals and in the general public, and the DSM is constantly changing and evolving.

Whether these differences are due to actual biased diagnostic criteria,

differences in rates of people seeking treatment, or are a reflection of a society that is rooted deeply in gender norms, we can’t be sure. These are all ideas worth considering, discussing, researching, and being curious about.

There you have it—more grey areas. While nothing in the realm of mental health is clear-cut, it certainly is interesting.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this column. As the term comes to a close, I will say this: it has been a slice researching and writing for you, and I hope this column has stimulated a curiosity that will last beyond the school term. Here are my parting words. Get engaged in conversations about mental health.

Confront individuals perpetuating stigma with compassion. Reach out for help when you need it. Know you are not alone.

Stay sane(ish), VIU. Bon voyage.

#014

sports & lifestyle

Local authors share the power of pulses Catherine Charlebois The Navigator When faced with the question “What are pulses?,” the majority of us would shake our heads in confusion. According to the Manitoban Pulse and Seed Growers, a pulse, or pulses, refers to the “term for the edible seeds of legumes (plants with a pod) which includes peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans.” Douglas & McIntyre’s The Power of Pulses: Saving the World with Peas, Beans Chickpeas, Favas and Lentils, a new veget arian cookbook designed with pulses in mind, comes out this year, with 2016 named the Year of the Pulses by the United Nations. Hosting a variety of recipes ranging from salads, soups, and dressings to pies, cookies, and brownies made from pulses, the cookbook inspires even the most reluctant cook to try something new.

Not your typical cookbook, the first part includes a few chapters of information on growing your own pulses by Dan Jason, owner of Salt Spring Seeds.

His fascination with pulses started 30 years ago when he took an interest in gardening.

“I was trying to figure out the best foods that could be grown out of a garden and I came up with beans,” says Jason. “[People] think they’re going to give us gas, that they’re hard to digest and take forever to cook, but I’ve discovered from growing my own that it’s far different. When you grow your own, you eat relatively fresh, dried beans within a year of harvesting them and that’s why they’re so popular around the world.”

Jason has since made it his mission to promote the benefits of pulses.

According to <pulsecanada.com>, Canada has become one of the world’s biggest exporter of lentils and peas, and one of the world’s major exporters of beans, with exports growing exponentially over the past 25 years.

“When you add it all up, the way we grow food is a big contributor to climate change, and nobody talks about that issue,” says Jason.

Hilary Malone, from Nanaimo’s Sea Salt Food Company and one of the co-authors to the book, could not agree more. “[The book] dives into the global realm [that pulses] are a great source of protein and they aren’t coming from an animal source,” says Malone. “Even if you are a person that makes protein a stable part of your diet, [pulses] are certainly something to explore.”

After establishing her company in 2012 with her sister, Alison Malone Eathorne, and later starting a catering company under the same name, the two VIU grads published a book with boat-friendly recipes.

Last year, after being approached by their publisher to cooperate with Jason to create The Power of Pulses, the two set out on a five-month intensive cooking spree to create and perfect some new pulse-centred recipes.

“For us it was just about creating good, approachable recipes that were still flavour forward,” says Malone. “In some situations, the bean is the star; in others, it’s adding texture or being used as a binder. We’re playing with a lot of texture.”

Playing around with new textures and flavours to create varied vegetarian and sometimes vegan recipes is something most North Americans would balk at. However, according to Malone and Jason, it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Protein can be a bit of a mindset in our North American diets—protein, starch, vegetables,” says Malone. “For many reasons, we need to be changing how a dinner plate looks.

The Power of Pulses authors Dan Jason, Alison Malone Eathorne, and Hilary Malone.

#014

NAV IGATOR

The Power of Pulses launches at White Sails Brewing in Nanaimo on April 28.

Courtesy of Nathaniel Moore

Change doesn’t mean sacrifice, points out Jason.

“We don’t have to give up meat and dairy,” he says.

“Just to eat a bigger proportion of pulses would help enormously [with climate change].”

The Power of the Pulses: Saving the World with Peas, Beans, Chickpeas, Favas, and Lentils will be launched at White Sails Brewing on April 28. You can also find more information on the authors at <seasaltfoodco.com> and <saltspringseeds.com>.

The book can also be purchased at <amazon.ca>.

Courtesy of Nathaniel Moore

SPORTS & L I F EST Y L E

21

page 22

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

22

PAGE 22

NAV IGATOR

#014

April

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

6

7

8

9

Gen Silent

Portal launch

First Unitarian Fellowship, 595 Townsite Rd.

Dorchester Hotel, 70 Church St.

7 – 8:30 p.m.

6:30 – 9:30 p.m. $12

FREE

10

11

Nanaimo Cross Country Mountain Bike Race

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival

1825 Extension Rd. Starts 10 a.m.

Malaspina Theatre, Bldg. 310

$30

6:30 – 9:15 p.m.

12

13

Spirit of the West The Port Theatre, 125 Front St. Doors 7:30 p.m. $47.50

Culture and Heritage Awards Ceremony The Port Theatre, 125 Front St. 7 – 9 p.m.

Rend w/ Isobel Trigger and Mr. Goshness Tiger Mountain Music, #3 7221 Lantzville Rd. 8 – 11 p.m.

Anne of Green Gables The Port Theatre, 125 Front St. Doors 7:30 p.m.

Students $20

$15

14

15

16

Moonface

Kinsmen Beer Festival

Buying the Moose

Tiger Mountain Music #3 7221 Lantzville Rd.

Beban Park Social Centre, 2300 Bowen Rd.

Cedar Community Hall, 2388 Cedar Rd.

6 – 9:30 p.m.

$20

8 – 11 p.m. $10

FREE

8 – 10 p.m.

$30

Students $12.50

17

18

19

Second Annual Record Show

Characters, Con Men, and Celebrities

Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles

Royal Canadian Legion, 129 Harewood Rd.

Nanaimo Museum, 100 Museum Way

The Port Theatre, 125 Front St.

11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

7:30 – 11 p.m.

$2

Students $1.75

$65

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

#014

NAV IGATOR

C A L EN DA R

23

ADVERTISE WITH THE NAVIGATOR

<ads@thenav.ca>

Enjoy Summer

Sheila Malcolmson

Take courses online this summer.

Your Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Ladysmith

• Soak up the sun while you study; take your education with you wherever you go.

• Keep your summer job by studying at a time and place that works for you.

• Earn credits now and lighten your workload next year.

103-495 Dunsmuir Street, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 6B9 Tel: 250-734-6400 / Fax: 250-734-6404

• Choose from over 500 courses.

• Register anytime and get started right away.

There are no fixed registration dates.

Sheila.Malcolmson@parl.gc.ca www.SheilaMalcolmson.ndp.ca

NANAIMO CAR CREDIT AUTOMOTIVE FINANCING

truopen.ca/summeronline 1-877-543-3576

Fast and Friendly Auto Loans Simple and Hassle Free

Apply Today — Drive Today

get the credit you deserve www.nanaimocarcredit.com

1-877-244-0617

CREDIT COUNSELLING

PLANNING

IMPLEMENTATION

AVAILABILITY