The Navigator Vol 48 Issue 8 by The Navigator Newspaper

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JANUARY 11

JANUARY 24

Vol 48

FREE

VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS

18 12

5 SAFE CONSUMPTION SITE SPARKS CONTROVERSY

Nanaimo to host Hometown Hockey with floating ice rink

CATCHING THE SUN

“We believe we are saving lives.”

“When big events like the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour come to Nanaimo, we want to create a legacy residents can use for years to come.”

Life in the ashram had a surreal sense of emotional and spiritual intensity...

CONTENTS

NEWS

Editorials

Deputy Minister University Champion announced for VIU --Unauthorized safe consumption site sparks controversy

News in a Nutshell --Body found in Downtown Nanaimo identified

Dr. Ralph Nilson reelected for third term as VIU President and ViceChancellor --Perfect Pitch: Gift or Curse?

FEATURES

Dirtyin’ The Nav: Wheels of promiscuity

Point of VIU --Marketing through the holiday hangover

Everyday Earth: Parks as Canadian identity --Bunnies and Stairs

Not a hooker

Catching the sun

ARTS

Life as art: Rupi Kaur --Island short film fest gets down to it

Top 8 emo albums of the 2000s

Charmed by Sugar N’ Spice: Sleigh bells ring --The December Man: A conversation through theatre

Tacoma Review: 20,000 miles from home --Our Voices: Book review

SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

Five common mistakes to avoid while working out --Nanaimo to host Hometown Hockey with floating ice rink

Women’s basketball: VIU victorious over Quest and Langara

Men’s basketball: Mariners manage two wins in weekend matchups

Marijuana dispensaries: It’s all up in the air

Poetry and photography

CONTENTS

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LETTERS

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CONTRIBUTORS Ahron Balatti Glenn Drexhage Gordon Hak Krista Meckelborg Sarah Packwood

Diana Pearson Veronique Rioux Spencer Sheehan-Kalina Chantelle Spicer

THE NAVIGATOR TEAM

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

Molly Barrieau Editor-in-Chief

Jessica Pirson Graphic Designer

Avery Crosson Art Director

Zyre Hoskins Graphic Designer

Natalie Gates Associate Editor

Spenser Smith Web Editor

TBA Arts Editor

Elissa Doerksen Social Media Sp.

Aislinn Cottell News Editor

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

Cole Schisler Sports & Lifestyle Editor

Christine Franic Business Manager

Catherine Charlebois Production Manager

Sarah Torgerson Copy Editor

All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and to edit for space or clarity. Letters to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length. The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opinions expressed in The Navigator are expressly those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect the views of The Navigator staff.

DESIGN WORK

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Avery Crosson Cover

Zyre Hoskins Spread

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

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

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Letters

EDITORIALS

I'm so hungry

Molly Barrieau --Editor-in-Chief The Navigator

In the words of REM, everybody hurts. Currently, my partner and I are on a new year’s health kick, and I am already feeling the swift roundhouse of dieting. Yes, I know that impoverished children go hungry across the world every day, and I understand that personally removing food from my diet is a luxury few can enjoy. I agree, we all apparently suffered enough in 2016, but the amount of times I was stresseating due to unforeseen circumstances—like the slowly increasing hot sauce levels on our chicken wings upon Trump’s unforeseen win. It is time for a fresh start, wouldn’t you say? So, goodbye refined sugars, see ya later simple carbs, and bienvenue to the inside of VIU’s cramped gym facilities. Here’s to the satisfaction of waking up sore, the guilt of shoving my face full of chocolate late at night,

and the struggle of maintaining “healthy” eating on a student budget. After watching Passengers this month, and then The Magnificent Seven, I began considering how much Chris Pratt has changed in 2016, so I googled. Turns out, Men’s Fitness had the same idea, and dove into his workout regimen that he probably paid thousands for, in order to achieve the Guardians of the Galaxy bod that earned him a considerable jump in celebrity hotness status. According to the magazine, he lost 60 pounds in six months, didn’t drink beer (I know, the idea hurts), all while also raising his first child with wife Anna Faris. I know, I am not a six-foot, thirty-something male, so this workout is not suitable for me, but the promise of a chubby-turned-chiseled sends reassurance through my carb-loving heart. All I need is an NFL linebacker’s drive, an extra

couple thousand dollars, and a million adoring fans to impress. If you need a little motivation, might we suggest the “Arnold Schwarzenegger Motivation– 6 rules of success speech” on YouTube; you’ll be pumping iron in no time. “Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” Thanks, Arnie. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Anyway, for now, I’d like to welcome you back to another semester at school, the prospect of spring soon in our midst, and a whole lot more news, arts and sports to catch up on. Make sure you’re following us on our socials, and don’t forget to tune into CHLY 101.7 FM for The Masthead with new host, Cole Schisler, Saturdays at noon. And don’t forget, when you feel you’ve had enough: “Put that cookie down”.

2017, come at me

Natalie Gates --Associate Editor The Navigator

editorials

Welcome back, VIU. Congratulations on surviving 2016, and welcome to 2017—a year with one too many syllables for my liking, but I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. What is it about the flip of that calendar page to January first, and the stroke of midnight on your December 31 night out, that leaves you with a tear in your eye, a smirk on your face, a kiss on your lips, butterflies in your stomach, or a drink down the hatch? While we are undoubtedly aware that the dramatic ending and beginning that collide in that moment are purely mental, social, and cultural constructions with varying objectives, I can’t deny that the impact (however minimal or deep) of the build-up, the moment, and the after effects of a brand new year, do truly exist for most of us. As you know, 2016 took many dear global talents. From Bowie in January and Prince in April, to Muhammed Ali in June, Leonard Cohen in November, and Carrie Fisher and her mother just a couple weeks ago, it didn’t take long for people to start saying “Oh my god, another one…” as the headlines surfaced. Gord Downie’s incurable diagnosis this summer also shook Canada to its core.

Of course, I understand the impact of these celebrities and icons’ deaths, as many of them symbolized tremendous political, cultural, and social relevance. But for those of us who didn’t know them personally, we can still continue to honor the global significance they represent, be thankful for the lives they led, and not let their passings ruin our year. It’s been a rough one for our southern neighbour, with countless major shootings and a very unlikely candidate elected president after a grueling election season. It was the hottest recorded year ever, Britain left the EU, and heart-breaking headlines from the Syrian conflict reminded us of how many people whose names we don’t know are lost violently on a daily basis. As for the war, civilian loss, political turmoil, and many other scary things that may have happened to you personally or globally in 2016, call me an ignorant idealist, but surely there is still a reason to see the light of 2017 and look back at 2016 with some contentment. The studies tell us that the politics will only get worse, the environment will only continue to crumble—and I agree that this is all very likely—but we can also use this ending, and

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tangible new beginning we’ve created with the international calendar, to see the necessity of trying out new mindsets. We very much live in a stream of consciousness dominated by the media, and the social environment which surrounds us and wills us to think and feel a certain way. The stroke of midnight on December 31 and its implications is, itself, one of those things. Russell Brand said in one of his last videos of the year, that if you simply believe love is a real, impactful thing all people are capable of, then there is reason to be optimistic. “You have a lot more control over your own consciousness in your own reality than you can imagine,” he said. “Try experimenting with your own beliefs. Try new ways of looking at the world.” Simple, but worth pointing out. Whether you joined the “Fuck you, 2016” meme, whether you had a personally amazing or dreadful year, and whether 2017 frightens or excites you, look past the institution and, in the wise words of Lennon, “free your mind instead”. Was that cheesy enough for you? Bon appétit and happy new year!

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NEWS

Deputy Minister University Champion announced for VIU Glenn Drexhage Vancouver Island --University (VIU) has a Contributor

new champion. Diane Lafleur, Associate Deputy Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), has been named VIU’s Deputy Ministwer University Champion. Lafleur’s appointment is part of the Deputy Minister University Champion Initiative, which now includes VIU as a member. The initiative, launched in 2002 by the Canada School of Public Service, aims to strengthen links between the federal government and Canadian universities. The role of Deputy Minister University Champions includes fostering relations and identifying shared priorities between the federal government and universities; aligning university research and curricula with public service priorities; and building awareness of career opportunities in the federal public service. “I am honoured to be named the Deputy Minister Champion for Vancouver Island University,” said Lafleur. “I look forward to working together to identify opportunities to build stronger linkages between the public service and the University, through initiatives such as the Government of Canada’s Public Servant-in-Residence Program.” Lafleur recently visited VIU for the first time. She toured the Nanaimo campus, met with Dr. Ralph Nilson, the University President and ViceChancellor, and attended the awarding of an

Honorary Doctorate of Laws for legendary singer/ songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. “As Associate Deputy Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, I would like to acknowledge the commitment the university has shown towards reconciliation,” said Lafleur. “Your collaboration with Indigenous communities whas led to recruitment of Indigenous staff and faculty, and the creation of scholarships, academic programs and services that provide vital support to Indigenous students in their pursuit of postsecondary education.” Lafleur brings ample experience to her VIU posting. She began her public service career with Finance Canada in 1997 after completing her Master of Arts in Economics and Canadian Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. She held numerous positions at Finance Canada, including Assistant Deputy Minister of Federal-Provincial Relations and Social Policy. Lafleur was appointed as INAC’s Associate Deputy Minister in May 2016. “We’re honoured that Ms. Lafleur is VIU’s Deputy Minister University Champion,” said Nilson. “Our involvement with this unique program will ensure that VIU’s faculty, staff, and students are aware of federal initiatives, career opportunities, and more. It will also be invaluable for us to have a champion in Ottawa with whom we can be in regular contact, and vice versa.”

Clockwise from top left: Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer/songwriter and VIU honorary doctorate; Diane Lafleur, VIU’s new Deputy Minister University Champion and Associate Deputy Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Dr. Ralph Nilson, VIU’s President and Vice-Chancellor; and Louise Mandell, VIU’s Chancellor. VIU Communications

Unauthorized Safe Consumption Site Sparks Controversy Aislinn Cottell --The Navigator

Nanaimo residents have taken the growing fentanyl crisis into their own hands in a bold and somewhat

controversial move. On Boxing Day, city councillor Gordon Fuller and a group of concerned volunteers set up a safe-injection—or safeconsumption, as named by organizers—site within a tent currently residing outside of City Hall. The tent is staffed by approximately 20 volunteers working in shifts of two or three, and offers medical supplies, food, and warmth to individuals seeking a safe place to use. Originally operating from 7 am to 7 pm, they have since changed hours to 7/8 am – 10 pm after feedback from patrons, of whom they’ve been seeing approximately 15–20 per day. They are attempting to keep one volunteer trained to administer naloxone on site at all times, and eventually hope to equip all volunteers with the necessary training to give the antidote. The site is unsanctioned by the city, but Fuller says the death toll has become too high to ignore, with 25 fatal overdoses occurring in the first 11 months of 2016. The city council had been in discussions throughout the year on the possibility of safe injection sites, but Fuller came to the conclusion that action needed to be taken now. “Nanaimo has had more overdose deaths per capita than anywhere else in BC. And the number of overdoses that are happening is just phenomenal, if you listen to the scanner on the radio,” he said. “There are just too many people dying. Four years ago, if you asked me about a safe injection site, I would not have advocated for it. But with fentanyl, and now carfentanyl in the works, things are just getting worse and worse.” Carfentanyl is a synthetic opioid, chemically related to fentanyl, consisting of heroin laced with elephant tranquilizers.

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Depending on its purity, carfentanyl can be up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl, with only a few granules able to cause a fatal overdose. It has been identified as the result of a surge in overdoses in the United States over the past year, Ohio being the hardest hit with 343 confirmed seizures. Reports of the drug in Canada are still scarce due to lack of screening, but traces were found by the Vancouver Police Department in several grams of heroin seized from a man arrested on the Downtown Eastside in September. In Nanaimo, several City Hall offices were shut down on December 29 and 30, following concerns raised by unionized workers regarding the safety of the operation, but they have since been reopened. The City has hired security to remain outside, and posted a warning sign that the site is unauthorized. In addition, several nearby businesses have also hired their own security. “I think they overreacted a bit,” said Fuller. “The problem has been in the general [City Hall] area for a decade now. People use right behind where we’re located, and on this bluff that people have been partying on for forty years. For some reason, they didn’t seem to think security was necessary beforehand.” The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) has announced plans to open an official safe site as soon as a suitable location is found, but Fuller says their estimated opening time is still two to three weeks away. Meanwhile, he intends to keep the City Hall site operational. VIHA has also provided medical supplies to Fuller’s site, after they ran low while Harris House, their usual source, was closed. There have been no overdoses so far, although the site experienced one incident concerning a member of the public who set up at the tent with the intention of preventing users’

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entry. Volunteers contacted the police department to have the person removed. “We believe we are saving lives, every time someone comes in and walks away, that’s a life saved. Some people seem to think that death is a better option–for me, I’m enabling them to make a better choice in the future,” says Fuller. “But by and large, the feedback from the community has been really positive, and myself and the volunteers really appreciate that.” Cpl. John Stuart of the Nanaimo RCMP said that the situation is complex, but that the police are supportive of an extensive approach to dealing with the drug crisis. “The RCMP is supportive of a comprehensive response to illicit drug abuse, and recognizes that this is an evolving issue in Canada,” he said. Kim Fowler, the city’s chief sustainability officer, said that bylaw officers cannot shut down the site without direction from councillors. “That actually requires a decision of council. A remedial order requires a resolution of council. A trespass requires a decision of council, and that is under the local government act or the community charter.” Fuller says he thinks they should be okay to operate for the next few weeks, until a sanctioned site is erected. “With Island Health recognizing that there really are no safety risks with what we’re doing, the city has now backed off on getting us to move,” he said. “I think the city has mitigated their risks for their liability aspects that they needed to – we will see how things go. We will be here, or we’ll be at another location on City property [until the new site opens].”

NEWS

News In a Nutshell Aislinn Cottell | The Navigator

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

As a result of the Millstone Trunk Sewer Replacement project completed by the city earlier this month, a new section has been added to Nanaimo’s already extensive trail network.

The trail connects Buttertubs Marsh with Bowen Park, as well as the Millstone Trail and Trans Canada Trail.

The trail is a nice added bonus to the original project, which was undertaken to improve the sewer capacity for the city’s growing population.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

VIU is launching a new study abroad program in May, 2017. Adventures in Mind will take participants on an exploration of the city of Florence, Italy, during a 22-day immersion trip guided by Dr. John Black, the Dean of Social Sciences.

Information and sign-up can be found at the Adventures in Mind page on the VIU website.

The program is not only for students, but for “anyone with a burning desire to explore the history and culture of Florence with a knowledgeable guide from VIU.”

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

The first Indigenous Book Circle of 2017 will be held on January 16 at the Nanaimo campus, and discuss the book Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

The meet up will be held at Shq’apthut: A Gathering Place, in bldg. 170, from 6 – 8 pm.

The book club offers participants the opportunity to those interested in discussing themes and ideas in Indigenous fiction. Participation is free, and light refreshments will be provided.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Starting January 9, parking restrictions will be in place along both sides of College Drive, with no parking signs installed. The restrictions will continue until the steel water supply main construction is completed, expected to be January 20.

Both sides of College Drive between Dogwood Rd. and the College/Parkway intersection.

Parking for school already takes a long time; you are advised to plan accordingly.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

The City is inviting all local amateur and professional artists to submit designs for the Nanaimo Street Banner Design Contest.

Submission guidelines and this year’s theme can be found on the city website under Business > Bid Opportunities.

Winners will have their art installed on the major streets of the City for the summer of 2017 and 2018.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

The City is looking for qualified residents to volunteer to sit on several select committees including the Community Planning and Development; Community Vitality; Nanaimo Youth Advisory Council; Parks, Recreation, and Wellness; Public Safety; and Public Works and Engineering committees.

Eligibility requirements and applications can be found on the city website.

Members of these committees will be a part of the discussions, collaboration, and decision making that shape the city’s future.

Submissions are due by January 27.

Applications are due by noon on January 30.

Body found in downtown Nanaimo identified Aislinn Cottell The BC Coroners Service has identified the --body of a man found lying between two The Navigator

cars at the Budget Car and Truck Rentals on Terminal Avenue on January 2 as Jerry Patrick Jimmy. The Coroner reports that Jimmy, 27, died on January 1, although his body was not found until approximately 8 am the next morning, according to a Budget employee who asked not to be identified. The temperature on Sunday night was estimated to be about -11°C with wind chill, and Kevan Griffith, shelter coordinator of the Unitarian Winter Shelter, said he is concerned about weather being a possible contributing

News

factor to this and possible future incidents. “We’ve got some drinkers that don’t make it back and fall asleep for a couple hours, and then come in, but in this weather falling asleep can be fatal.” He says that the area where Jimmy was found is a known hang out for the homeless. Lyn Blenkinsop, acting regional coroner, said that the investigation is just getting started, and they do not yet know how Jimmy died. The Independent Investigations Office was contacted early on in the investigation to determine whether the death had any connection to police actions, but determined that none exist. Some

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sources have told CTV News that Jimmy may have been seen at a party earlier in the day, although these reports are unconfirmed. According to a Nanaimo RCMP press release, the Nanaimo Serious Crime Unit is investigating. Police have not indicated whether foul play is suspected. “At this point it’s too early to say what caused death,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in a press release. “We have to determine if there’s any criminality. If there’s not criminality, then the case will be turned over to the BC Coroners Service.”

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NEWS

Dr. Ralph Nilson re-elected for third term as VIU President and Vice-Chancellor Aislinn Cottell Dr. Ralph Nilson has been reappointed --for his third term in office at VIU. In 2015, The Navigator

the VIU Board of Governors created a committee consisting of governors, the chancellor, faculty, staff, and students, which reviewed Nilson’s previous terms over the winter between November 2015 and March 2016 and reported their recommendation to the Board. “The predominant theme that came out of that process is how well-respected Nilson is with both internal and external stakeholders of the University,” said Allan Wiekenkamp, Chair of the VIU Board of Governors. “It is a testament to his leadership and dedication to the institution and community.” Nilson first became VIU President in January 2007, only a year before the school received its university designation and transitioned from the Malaspina College-University to become VIU. Prior to his appointment, Nilson had been Vice-President Academic at Acadia University in Nova Scotia; Director of the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre at the First Nations University of Canada; and Dean and Professor for the faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina. He holds an undergraduate degree in Geography and Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Physical Education, Health, and Recreation from the University of Oregon. “The Board is so pleased that Dr. Nilson has decided to stay on,” said Wiekenkamp. “From the start of his tenure, he has had a clear vision for VIU which has allowed us to navigate challenging times in the post-secondary sector. Dr. Nilson has successfully guided the institution in the transition from Malaspina University-College to Vancouver Island University. As well, his leadership has brought VIU to the national stage, through innovative programs like the Tuition Waiver Program for former youth in care, his extensive efforts in building ties with First Nations communities, and his commitment to making VIU a place for engaging in conversations on tough subjects, including the important topic of reconciliation.”

Perfect Pitch: Gift or Curse?

VIU Music Department Faculty member James Mark, author of the talk Perfect Pitch: Gift or Curse?

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James Mark

Nilson says he is looking forward to furthering VIU’s involvement in the reconciliation efforts, as well as opening educational opportunities to all those who desire them, developing new innovative programs to meet the needs of students and the community, strengthening collaborative relationships with partners, and celebrating the achievements of students, staff, alumni and faculty of the campus. “It’s pretty good [to be reelected], I enjoy the people I work with at the university, I enjoy the community that we work with, I enjoy all the opportunities we have as an educational institution to contribute to what I think are some very interesting evolving agendas in the country,” said Nilson. “I am committed to ensuring that VIU continues the incredible work we are doing in many different areas, including building bridges towards reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples; establishing a thriving international student body; and creating exceptional learning opportunities, both here and abroad, for all of our students.” “I look forward to celebrating a number of VIU milestones during this next term, including the completion of our new facilities, and continuing conversations with our stakeholders to ensure that VIU will continue to have a positive and ongoing impact in all the communities and regions we serve, both close to home and around the world.” Nilson’s new term will run from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019. “I offer warm congratulations to Ralph, our President, and our deep appreciation that he will continue to provide his unique and beautiful expression of leadership to this great university,” said Louise Mandell, VIU Chancellor. “It is a privilege to work with Ralph, who builds unity by welcoming diversity, and opens up pathways for reconciliation where VIU is leading the way. This year, I witnessed Ralph receiving the name Kwa’kwa’ni, which in the Kwakwaka’wakw language means ‘crane.’ The crane is a symbol of justice, of poise and balance, and of having proper focus–this is a perfect name for Ralph.”

Gordon Hak “Technically,” says James Mark, “perfect pitch is --called absolute pitch, and it is considered a musical Contributor

gift. Statistically 1 in 10,000 people have it and, not surprisingly, it is more common in musicians. Roughly 22 in 10,000 musicians have perfect pitch, but it seems all musicians want it.” Pitch is the topic of Mark’s upcoming presentation, part of the popular Arts & Humanities Colloquium Series. Mark is a VIU faculty member from the Music Department and his talk, entitled Perfect Pitch: Gift or Curse? will take place on January 27 in the Malaspina Theatre beginning at 10 am. Mark himself is very aware of the good and bad of perfect pitch because he has it. Why can it be a curse for those who have it? “Those with perfect pitch can recall pitches out of thin air and can identify audible frequencies and label them with conventional musical names,” says Mark. “Much like how our eyes can identify wavelengths in the visual spectrum and label them as colours. The problem in music is we are not always dealing with the same tuning system.” Tuning systems in music are vast. In the Western world, we have adopted a tuning system called Equal Temperament. Equal Temperament is rooted in Pythagorean tuning, a 12-note tuning system developed by Pythagoras in Greek antiquity. Another common tuning system is called ‘Just Intonation’, a tuning system based on the harmonic series. In any given situation, musicians may find themselves using one or more tuning systems in the same piece of music or phrase. “This is where the curse of perfect pitch rears its ugly head,” says Mark. “Perfect pitch nowadays is commonly developed in an equal tempered system, but musicians with perfect pitch must play in other tuning systems. This means instincts must be ignored; to play ‘in tune’ with others, we must play ‘out of tune’ with ourselves.” He goes on, “There are other problems too. Our reference pitch

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Dr. Ralph Nilson, newly reappointed President and Vice-Chancellor of VIU (right) with Allan Wiekenkamp, chair of the VIU Board of Governors. VIU Communications

is based on A440. A440 is the tuning note of the orchestra and vibrates at 440Hz. Some Baroque ensembles, to recreate music more precisely, play at A415, which is almost a semitone flatter than our current convention. Some modern orchestras are pushing A towards 442Hz, making it sound slightly sharper or brighter. Either way, a musician with perfect pitch will find it quite unbearable as they try to ignore their instincts.” In the presentation Mark will talk about the perfect pitch phenomenon in general and his own experience. He will discuss his childhood, different tuning systems in the world, and the contribution of Johann Sebastian Bach. He will also consider the possibility of learning perfect pitch and offer reflections on his coping mechanisms, how he deals with ‘out of tune’ situations, as well as the connections between perfect pitch and dyslexia. James Mark was born and raised in western Canada and completed his undergraduate degree in music at York University. He earned his Masters degree in violin performance and composition at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he went on to become a faculty member teaching theory and musicianship. Currently Mark is the Music Department chair at Vancouver Island University and teaches courses in digital music notation and studio recording. He also teaches violin performance at VIU and at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music. He is a core member of the Vancouver Island Symphony and is continually working as an arranger and composer. Since 2007 Mark has been the arranger, musical director, and violinist for the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular, a project that recently celebrated its tenth year with sold out performances on its island tour. The free Colloquium presentation is open to all, and students are especially welcome. There will be refreshments.

NEWS

FEATURES

Dirtyin’ The Nav: Wheels of Promiscuity “A common social anxiety of the period was that the vibrations of the bike seats would, when ridden, ignite the sexual fires of women.”

Courtesy of <thebarking.com>

Diana Pearson ---

W hether for exercise, budget, enjoyment, or out of necessity, Contributor bicycling is a great way to travel. It’s good exercise, reduces your carbon footprint, and is efficient and freeing. But did you know that the bike is also a symbol of feminism, and played a role in the advancement of women’s rights? You might be shocked to hear that bicycling used to be seen as an inappropriate activity for women, and that this social tension paved the way for women’s emancipation in North America. In late 1800s America, bicycling was considered a rich man’s leisure activity. This all changed in 1887 when a new bike design came out, which had equal-width wheels (instead of one big wheel at the front), a smoother ride, and a change in chain position. These changes made bicycling more accessible to women, and soon one third of the membership of the League of American Wheelmen were women (22,000 women by 1897). This had a snowball effect on women’s attire and attitudes; women at that time were expected to wear corsets which were uncomfortable, damaging to abdominal organs, and made it hard to breathe deeply, so fashions began to change to suit biking needs. Women were also expected to wear skirts, but these were a nuisance as they could get caught in the bike chains while riding. So women began wearing pants (“bloomers”), rejecting corsets, and rejoicing in the freedom of bicycling. The derogatory term “loose” (slur for a woman who’s had many sexual partners) in part refers back to this time period. You might be wondering, what does this have to do with sex? Well, the fear of women’s sexuality is fierce, and the conservatives of the time didn’t like that women were riding bikes. A common social anxiety of the period was that the vibrations of the bike seats would, when ridden, ignite the sexual fires of women. Innocence, purity, and chastity were common values which lingered from the Victorian era. Bicycles wheels were cogs in the resistance machine, an outspoken rally against these restrictive values. It was unladylike and immoral for women to have sex outside of marriage, and masturbation was a big no-no. One Tennessee doctor warned that women could experience up to four orgasms in one hour of bicycling (I’m not sure what kinds of bikes they were riding, but I’d like to get one). The editor of the Dominion Medical Monthly warned that “Bicycle riding produces in the female a distinct orgasm.” Other doctors claimed with disguised language that biking could cause hygiene problems and “gynecological consequences” (these were false arguments). These worries are why women were expected to ride side-saddle on horses. According to

the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, “The angle of the saddle could cause women to become aware of sexual feelings before marriage and so awaken in her carnality and unfeminine sexual desire.” The awakening of women’s sexuality was unladylike, and so some saddles and bike seats were made with holes meant to minimize the arousal of women. Imagine the scenario: women, racing around growing industrial American cities, refusing to wear corsets, discovering freedom from chaperones, finding self-reliance and adventure. These were the “new women”—and in Canada, “cultured women.” It is a glorious scenario to envision. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) an influential women’s rights advocate, remarked that female cyclists encouraged women to assert themselves with their clothing, their voices, their opinions, and eventually gained momentum which led to them gaining the right to vote. But not all women agreed that the newfound freedom given by bicycles was a desirable one. Some conservative women’s advocate groups were very worried that bicycling would encourage unladylike, immoral behaviours. One of these groups was the Boston-based Women’s Rescue League, which was led by Charlotte Smith. In 1896 they issued a public service announcement that the “bicycle craze by women” was “indecent and vulgar” and caused “disease and vice… peculiar to women.” They seemed to fear that women would become sterile as a consequence of biking (considered a vice), or become reckless, indecent harlots and succumb to disease. Although they meant well and aimed to improve women’s health (by treating sexually-treated diseases and providing shelter for women) their efforts may have actually promoted the social, sexual, and cultural censorship of women. Clearly, their efforts to discourage women from biking were not successful, and today we have the freedom to ride. Women today have more social, political, sexual, and cultural freedoms. Biking was surely not the only factor at play, but it played a positive role in changing gender and sexual values as industrial America developed. We have this to be thankful for. So ladies, next time you’re pedaling your way up Albert St., coasting along the Parkway Trail, or shredding down the side of Mt. Benson, remember that riding a bike is a symbolic act of resistance and activism. And, if you’re feeling frisky, make sure you lean forward on that seat as you coast gleefully over those happy bumpy patches of gravel for a vibrational thrill. Just what the doctor ordered!

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FEATURES

Point of viu

Which will be better: 2016 or 2017?

Cole Schisler | The Navigator

Kourtney

Isaiah

Reid

Atticus

“I think 2017 will be better. There’s been so much negativity about what’s happened in 2016, and some people think 2017 will be just as bad, especially with Trump coming in as president. I hope that everyone is going to have a way better year. I think people are going to look back on it and say ‘2016 sucked, but 2017 brought us back.’ For now, my goals for 2017 are to pass my classes.”

“Everybody hopes that as you go on with life you get better at life; I don’t think it has much to do with the year specifically. In short, I think it’s going to be better for me on a personal level; globally, with all the events going on, 2017 could have a few more hiccups. My goals for 2017 are to get better at public speaking, and working on my communication skills.”

“I’m going to say 2017, it’s a fresh start. I’ve got nothing against 2016, I just think it’ll be a better year this year. I’m focused on sticking it out with school, and keep doing what I’m doing. I’m excited for this summer.”

“I’m hoping 2017 is going to be better. I’m going to try to do as best I can in school, and give 100% percentin everything I do. I want to try as hard as I can, and help people try as hard as they can to do better in the new year. I want to try some new things, stay positive, buckle down, and keep going. “

MARKETING THROUGH THE HOLIDAY HANGOVER Krista Meckelborg The holiday hangover is known as --period of time after an extended Contributor

vacation, often when feelings of melancholy occur. The days after returning to a regular routine are generally approached with disappointment and disgust. The 6 am mornings after a week of sleeping in past noon. The dreadfully long hours trapped at a desk after days of unencumbered freedom. The shocking realization that Netflix is no longer an acceptable pastime. While these feelings are all a part of the typical holiday hangover, there is also a “hangover” feeling when it comes to shopping and advertisements. December is a busy month. Not just because of events, but also the massive advertising push experienced over the past several weeks. From Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping to Hanukkah presents, event outfit purchases, and Boxing Day sales. It’s all just...so much. People are tired of shopping. But more than that, people are tired of all the noise that comes with consumerism. Advertising can be awful at the best of times, let alone during the holiday season. Apart from all of these emotional responses to the postChristmas season, many often find themselves low on cash after December. Even those who have not allowed the cluttered season to hinder their desire to shop are now finding themselves without the excess cash to do so. As consumers go through the experience of the December aftermath, companies still need to sell their products. So how are businesses responding to this “hangover”? The first week of January found many of us back at our old routines. However, people are still overcome by the magic of change and new beginnings as the new year starts. Some

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have even made specific resolutions to encourage and foster this change. Marketers love resolutions because often they translate into purchases. “New year, new me” can be expensive. Resolutions to lose weight often result in feel-good purchases such as gym memberships and books on healthy eating. Commitments to spend more time with family may result in expenses such as travel costs, board games, or bowling outings. When products don’t automatically align with traditional resolutions, marketers often frame them in a way that does. Loblaws, a large Canadian grocery retailer, developed an advertizing campaign to play off of the popular new year’s commitment to spend more time with loved ones. Using the hashtag #EatTogether, their advertisements truly prove how something ordinary such as groceries can be used to appeal to those who are looking to make changes in the new year. Even though the holiday season has only just passed us by, many businesses choose to drive an immediate push towards the next upcoming event. Although not always effective, this strategy is used frequently and is clearly evident if used. If you walk into a Dollarama today, you will already find shelves full of products that are intended for Valentine’s Day. There is no pause in this strategy, rather a constant press to the future. While some brands are eagerly looking towards the future, others are desperately clinging to the past. Many Boxing Day sales, such as that of the online retailer giant, Amazon, have extended far into January. This is doing little to appeal to those facing the aftermath of the holidays and often just adds to the clutter. Sales act as a need for immediate action, but when discounts are extended or can be found at any time of year, there is no pressure to buy. Just because many people aren’t actually making many

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purchases today doesn’t mean that they’re not open to making purchases in the near future. Now more than ever, businesses are looking to build relationships with the consumers of tomorrow. Much of this relationship building is accomplished through social media. Many have recently purchased products, are more likely to reach out to brands during this month with questions or complaints. Brands have a valuable opportunity to foster relationships with consumers during this time. Businesses are reaching out on social media to build raport with consumers and boost their reputation. Additionally, many brands are using this time to release new content. Content is an incredibly powerful tool in building consumer-business relationships, as it adds value to the consumer and can often make them feel as though they are truly benefiting from a relationship with a brand. While this is true, branded content helps marketers keep their business at the top of consumers’ minds. Alongside many of their consumers, businesses often use this time of year to change themselves as well. Transformation is in the air, and many new business strategies are developed during this season. As the holiday hangover wears off, expect to see marketers eagerly waiting to grab your attention once again. In the meantime, enjoy the return to your normal routine and the brief escape from consumerism.

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Everyday Earth: Parks as Canadian Identity Chantelle Spicer Every Canadian city, no matter how --small, has parks. Parks are where Contributor

we find peace, quiet, recreation, play, reflection. These bits of land, saved from encroaching development, can appear as windows into how the city and residents see themselves. Take Bowen Park for example—a jewel of a park—which harbours old-growth Cedar and Douglas Fir, along with a productive salmon run right in the heart of Nanaimo. The neighbourhoods which surround the many parks of Nanaimo have higher taxes and are more valuable on the market— people see and pay for the benefits that come from being near wild or recreational places. Even the website for the city states “Nanaimo’s greatest assets are public outdoor spaces,” boasting over 880 acres of parks and 173 km of trails. The parks and trails here really are stunning. They embrace the diversity of a landscape I love, and educate on geology, culture, history, and ecological issues, working to connect the past to our present. Our parks are often not manicured, leaving the land to the natural species and processes. I can be outdoors, feel the cold sea air on my face or breathe air freshly made by grand trees. They simultaneously reflect and shape the way I see myself as a grateful resident of Nanaimo and the Island. But what about the grand parks—areas that supposedly epitomize a provincial or Canadian landscape? The overarching mandate of Parks Canada is to “protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment” on behalf of the people of Canada past, present, and future. They represent the 39

regions, which range from mountain top glaciers to marine ecosystems, forests to prairies, resulting in 47 National Parks. Yet, that term “significant” always irks me; how does one decide that a particular landscape or place of cultural heritage is significant enough to be deemed a national site. The very idea of significance is against everything that a park should stand for, in my opinion—that all is equal and a part of nature in that place and moment. So, what has the government declared significant enough and how does it fit into the Canadian identity being crafted by these decisions? Let’s look at those that are most famous in the West—Banff and Jasper, which are also both recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites. These are the true gems of the park system, creating awe and respect for the Canadian landscape (alongside money of course), but also speak to the epitome of Canadian identity, founded on westward movement, development, and survival in the wilds of the Great White North. Banff, the largest of Canada’s national parks (and the world’s third), covers 6,641 kms² of rugged glaciers, mountains, alpine lakes, and meadows. When I think of a Canadian park, this is my mental image, which appears to be the opinion of many people around the world, as the park receives over 3 million visitors each year. Unlike many other parks which allow visitors to traipse, explore, and experience the wilds and life of the land, 97 percent of the 11,000 square kms of Jasper is off-limits to visitors, which makes the town more of a destination than the land itself. Canada’s least visited national park is the Tuktut Nogait Park, which is located 170 km north of the Arctic Circle, which received only eight visitors in 2014. As most of us sit right along the border, the north remains a romanticized,

allusive, and dangerous landscape that is the last frontier of what it means to be Canadian—it is true wilderness. The park was created in 1998 in an effort to protect the calving ground of caribou (the park’s name translates to “young caribou” in Inuvialuktun). Unlike other parks, Tuktut Nogait does not seek to “facilitate amazing visitor experiences through improved campgrounds, trail and wifi access.” Instead, its few visitors are offered 16,000 square kms of the natural world, untouched by the trappings of modern society. There are more than 500 cultural sites within the park ranging from 100-40,000 years ago, most of which have never known an archaeologist’s hands. The greatest number of visitors are experienced in the form of 20,000 caribou and millions of migrating birds. These parks are but a blip in the offerings of this country. All hold their own space in the hearts of visitors and the land, as well as Canada. I do not think any of them are more significant than anywhere else I have been in this country— each place is a part of the Canadian experience, including your own backyard. National Parks may not hold the answer to what it means to be Canadian, but they do work as a reminder that where we live in extremely powerful and diverse—and that each of us are as well. So maybe it does answer that question of what it means to be Canadian after all—have respect for all, for we—humans, wildlife, and land alike—are all significant. This year, in celebration of its 150th birthday, Canada is offering Discover passes to anyone for free. This gives you free access to those parks which charge admission. To get yours, visit <pc.gc.ca>.

Bunnies and Stairs The Navigator

Stairs:

To College Drive being closed until January 20. Where am I supposed to park for free until then?!

To my bike chain snapping on the first day of class, forcing me to walk from Bowen Park. UGH.

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

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Not a hooker Ahron Balatti ---

It’s 11:30 am and we’re still in bed. We’re both exhausted. Contributor The room smells like sweat and cigarettes. I pull Rose close and nearly drift back to sleep. The scene is innocent enough; you’d probably have no idea that she fucks married men for money. I then realize we completely forgot to do the interview, the sole reason we saw each other the night before. Damn it. I met Rose late last September, a couple days after my twentieth birthday. I had just completely ruined a nearly year-long relationship, so I was doing what any young and hurt person does. I got on Tinder and swiped right when I saw her picture. I think we sent less than 20 messages each. I was there later that night. She told me to just open the door when I showed up. She was naked—I didn’t even get a chance to give an awkward “hi”. As we continued, I noticed her entire room was pretty much some kind of strange sex-dungeon. There was a sex-swing on her wall, and all sorts of lubes and candles covering the surfaces. The vibrators on her bedside table made me feel as if I were a green pepper among a field of cucumbers. I was intimidated, and whenever I am in a potentially uncomfortable situation, I become a stand-up comic. I saw her butt-plug beside her bed and audibly gasped. “Oh my god, look at that thing.” “Oh, that? That’s nothing. Check this out.” She reached into her bedside table, and pulled out something that looked like a strawberry the size of my fist. I was in awe. “Jesus fuck. Look at that thing! It’s bigger than you are!” “What? I mean, anything’s possible with a good start.” “What does that even mean? I...Why would you even invite me over? I can’t compete with that!” “It’s not even that bad!” “It’s so aggressive! I’m worried it’s going to sprout little tiny fucking angry eyebrows and it’s going to follow me home and I’ll wake up and it’s gonna be levitating over my bed all pissed-off looking!” From there, we became good friends. She’s a funny girl, good-looking, works out every day. She’s also an accountant in the mid-Island area—a really nice girl who just so happens to have the sexual appetite of Genghis Khan. It was a couple weeks later when I learned she was a sugar baby. Present day, we meet up in a coffee shop near her house. The shop is nearly empty, which is probably good considering the content of the conversation. We order some coffee and food, and find a nice seat by a window in a corner. We talk over mouthfuls of turkey sandwiches. She’s in sweatpants and a hoodie. Her hair’s a mess. Her glasses are on the verge of falling off, and she looks hungover. She’s absolutely beautiful. She looks like she’s about to break your heart more than anything else. That’s probably the strangest part about her, at least to me. I look like a homeless lumberjack with hair like a mad scientist. “Alright, so, quickly in your words, what is a sugar baby?” “A sugar baby is someone who will be in a romantic, non-committed relationship in exchange for money and gifts. It can be a sexual

or emotional relationship. Generally no strings attached.” Rose speaks a little too enthusiastically, and I tell her to quiet down or else we might get a strict talking-to. “And what’s a sugar daddy?” “A grown man, usually married, who wants to spend money and time on a younger [woman]. Sometimes the circumstance isn’t even sexual. I think it’s sort of a power thing.” “Right, and when did you start?” She looks off in the distance, scrunches her face, and looks back at me quizzically. “About a year ago, right when I got sober.” “What made you want to do it?” “Money. It was something I had always joked about doing. One day I downloaded an app and got connected with a sugar daddy. He came over to my house and I was absolutely terrified.” She crosses her arms and leans back, “We’re supposed to meet in public first, but he didn’t want to get recognized. I made 300 bucks. I knew it was for me before he even left. The money was easy.” “What was your childhood like? Super fucked up?” “No, no.” She laughs lightly, I worry I offended her. “Normal, I guess. My parents got divorced when I was 14, turns out my mother is a whore. I moved in with my boyfriend at the time. We started doing a fuck-ton of drugs.” Rose has an extremely self-deprecating sense of black humour that I find both hilarious and horribly uncomfortable. One might expect some sort of teenage mistress to be seductive and flirty. Perhaps she is to her clients, but to me, she talks bawdily and straightforward. “Which drugs?” “All the fucking drugs? Everything we could?” First it was pot, then E. Lots of cocaine after that. We’d get super high and have a ton of sex. I’m an addict in nearly every way. Drugs, booze, sex, everything. My boyfriend and I broke up after that, and I started dating a girl. I was selling drugs too. I never slept!” She giggles at her own story. The server in the coffee shop hears us and looks at Rose the way Jim in The Office looks at the camera. She laughs so hard she snorts. “Then you got clean.” “About a year ago, yeah. I got on antidepressants and started doing a bit better. Quit the drugs and everything, which sucks.” She looks sad for a moment, then smiles. “I miss coke, Ahron.” I pause for a moment and watch her eat. The coffee is terrible and the room is luke-warm. The sandwiches are so mediocre, you eat them only because wasting seven dollars is a tragedy. “So how do you feel about this whole sugar baby situation? Is this something you regret doing?” “Ahron, I used to sell drugs while fucking everything!” She laughs short and loudly. “No, not at all. I love it. I have great sex and I make a ton of money off it. The guys I fuck are generally good looking, which I didn’t expect when I first started this. I think most of these guys are just in sexless marriages, so they came looking for me.” She shrugs, pauses for a few seconds, looking for something to say. “They’re friendly. They respect me. I haven’t had any issues in the year I’ve been doing this, so far.” She pauses again for a moment and

scrunches her brow. “Actually, one of them peed on me, which I wasn’t into, but worse things have happened. The only thing I regret is when they have wives, so I just don’t ask.” I shuffle around uncomfortably at the pee comment, and hope no one heard. I can tell the server from before is listening to us from the bar, but he seems more intrigued than offended. “How much are you making from this?” She waves her hand as if to say “no, move on,” but I press a little bit. Finally, she says, “currently about three grand per month.” “Off how many men?” “Four.” “How does that work?” “Payment is one of two ways. Monthly or per visit. Three of them are per visit right now. Usually make four to five hundred off the visits. One of the sugar daddies is monthly. He gives me about two grand per month.” “I don’t have two grand to blow on anything, let alone a secret teenage hooker,” I mumble with a smirk. She guffaws and rolls here eyes. “Not a hooker, Ahron!” “Why not? How is this different?” “Well, for starters, I make way fucking more. Plus sex doesn’t necessarily have to be part of the situation. I also have total control over who I have come over.” “How is it different than GFE (girlfriend experience) then?” “I don’t really need to pretend to be anything but a teenage mistress. There’s no more pretending that we’re friends who get along and have sex. Not a ton of affection, really. It’s not what any of them want.” “Probably worth noting that you’re bi.” “I am gay as fuck, yes. I love vagina. Tits. Everything.” “Would you be open to a sugar mommy?” “Fuck, yes. I haven’t had the chance yet, but I’d be up for it.” “What about relationships? Or your family? Do any of them know?” “Relationships are a big no. Feelings get in the way of money, and I only seem to fuck up. Guys are possessive; most of them would not be okay with this situation. I don’t really want anyone getting in my way to begin with. Family is a fat no. They do not need to know about this.” “What about your regular sex life?” “I love sex! I’m actually not supposed to see guys other than my sugar daddies, but whatever. Being a sub makes me open to just about everything, so I try to experience as much as I can.” “How many men have you slept with?” “I’m actually unsure. I figure anywhere from 70 to 100.” “Would you recommend being a sugar baby to anyone?” “I have recommended it before. It’s honestly the easiest thing. You just have to be not dumb as fuck. A pretty girl with a good head on her shoulders can make thousands. Most of the other girls I’ve met doing this make upwards of $100K a year.” “So you have a bunch of cash lying around somewhere?” “Somewhere around $30K yeah.” “And with your other job, you don’t exactly have a ton of expenses to deal with.”

“Calvin Klein is the only man I blow my money on.” “Where do you see yourself at 25? 30? Is this forever or only until you don’t have to?” “Honestly, man, I have no clue. It’s like, make money now, and then stop when I don’t want to or need to anymore. I don’t really have a plan.” “With all the drugs and sex and weird shit you’ve done, do you ever figure what you need is less dudes and more therapy?” She laughs again and smirks at me, rests her arms on the table and puts her head in her hands. “You’re a dick. Besides, how much money do you have again?” We finished the interview and I dropped her off around 1:30 pm. Apparently, she and some couple planned on being friendly with each other that day, and I had a final to study for. As I drive away, I think about how screwed up life is. Here was this random girl who had basically fucked and snorted her way to a higher class, and I was living in my car, going to university, doing everything the “right” way. With that in mind, I can’t really judge. I’d probably do the same if I could.

*Names have been changed*

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Catching the sun Natalie Gates As a kid, I had a mysterious --aunt and uncle. I have The Navigator

spotty but vivid memories of a family vacation to Costa Rica with them when I was five, where I sat high up on my uncle James’ shoulders as we walked the beach to view leatherback sea turtles. He was six feet tall, but might as well have been twelve—I could almost catch the sun. I remembered my aunt Elizabeth showing my grandparents how to do the tree pose for a group photo on the beach with a toothy grin. Near the end of the trip, they got me a laminated, one-page, double-sided “field guide” of the mammals in Costa Rica, which I mounted on my bedroom wall at home like a priceless piece of art. For several years after that, I didn’t see them much, if at all. They sent me a hanging crystal and a heart-shaped box that fit in the palm of my hand and smelled like musty incense. I knew they lived in a place called an ashram, where they did a lot of this thing called yoga and didn’t eat much meat, but the obliviousness of childhood kept me from questioning it. I guess Dad—a stubborn tradesman from Edmonton—was confused by his brother’s shift in lifestyle from an NHL-destined tough guy, and unable to comprehend it. Neither he, nor Mom, seemed to mention it at the time, so that was that. Little did I know they were leading a lifestyle completely foreign to my own, embracing a purpose I had no way of comprehending at the time. When I was about 13, my aunt and uncle appeared in my life again when they moved back to the Vancouver area. We started seeing them more and more regularly, but I still had no idea what they’d been doing the past six years. As a typical teenager, I didn’t ask. * A couple years ago, something on T.V.—a movie, about kids with cancer—triggered an abrupt, debilitating realization of my own mortality. I was in the midst of a tropical vacation for spring break—living up the magical simplicity of youth and a week of freedom in the sun, and somehow this realization that I could, at any moment, be cursed with a terminal disease hit me like a ton of bricks.

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Suddenly I was seeing cancer and illness everywhere I looked. I walked around wondering how everyone could act so normal, wondering if I was the only one fearing this uncertainty. I thought it would subside quickly on its own once I returned home, but as a couple weeks passed, it only got worse. Every little ache or slight “off-ness” I thought I felt sent me shuffling into the walk-in clinic for no real reason other than to be told that there was nothing wrong with me. One day at work I convinced myself I was having a stroke, and forced my boyfriend to take me to the emergency room. I had never really been a worrier; I knew I was supposed to just live in the moment and not concentrate on such what-ifs, but something had changed. One day I was sitting on my tiny dorm room bed, body crumpled, eyes wet, and my head spinning with all the things that could possibly be wrong with me. I was on the phone with my mom. “Why don’t you try meditation and yoga?” she murmured. I would have tried anything at that point. I examined my floor. There was just enough room for me to stretch out on it. How does a millennial short on time and money learn anything new? It sounds silly, but I resorted to YouTube, of course. I put my laptop down, laid out an old pink towel, and sat cross-legged. I eventually bought a cheap mat from London Drugs and unraveled it on my cold, dirty dorm carpet with great satisfaction. Each morning and night, I gave my mind the chance to break from the day’s events and thoughts and focused on my breath; on how my body moved. The virtual teachers soothed me with their mantras—that nothing was permanent, and the unknown was not to be feared. Mindfulness dominated the way I breathed and moved; gratitude that I had such abilities surfaced. At that point, my aunt and uncle had been living outside the ashram for seven years. One day, when they came to visit at my parents’ house, my mom gushed to them that I had started yoga. I blushed and avoided eye contact. My process of practicing alone in my room sounded so trivial compared to what they had been through.

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But then I realized how little I still knew about their process. * My uncle James suffered a stroke when he was 27—in a park on central Vancouver Island. A healthy, active, young guy, it changed him—the experience made him softer, and more interested in his inner life. Having never set foot in a class, James was introduced to the physical and spiritual world of yoga by Elizabeth, who had just spent a couple years on an intensive meditation path. There was some sort of unidentifiable force drawing James to the practice. “I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but I guess I was looking for something a little more meaningful,” James says. “Plus, Elizabeth was interested, so that made it interesting to me.” After several years studying and practicing at other yoga centres together, they visited the Yasodhara Ashram, a spiritual retreat that spans over 20 acres in BC’s Kootenays. They went for 10 days, then three months, then a year. Eventually, in 2002, they returned to the ashram as residents instead of guests. They made a two year commitment but ended up staying for six. “I don’t even remember anything about a two year commitment,” James says. “I just had a really strong feeling that that’s where I wanted to be.” Known as the yoga of action or the practice of selfless service, karma yoga is the foundation of life at Yasodhara. It involves maintenance of the ashram facilities, from cleaning and painting, to gardening and landscaping, simply for the purpose of getting it done, and expecting nothing in return. Everything James and Elizabeth did became a teaching; they were constantly in a state of observing themselves, reflecting on their tendencies, their emotions, as well as those of other people. Residents and those in long-term courses support guests on short-term retreats and manage the village, which revolves around the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha, the founder of the ashram. A day in the ashram was structured, and set around morning hatha yoga class, scheduled meal times, work (or

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karma yoga), in-depth reflection periods, spiritual workshops, and evening satang—a time for the community to gather and chant or hear readings and teachings. Life in the ashram had a surreal sense of emotional and spiritual intensity, particularly for long-term residents. There were also strict ways of governing daily interactions, and visitors and residents were not permitted to leave unless they had a compelling reason to do so, or for a “town run” to restock supplies. Despite the restrictions, the close-knit, likeminded community and spiritual lifestyle kept James and Elizabeth vibrant and passionate. Two years into their residency, James and Elizabeth began working seven days a week, for 8 to 10 hours a day. Their health was at its peak, as daily physical activity was built into their regimen and on-site chefs prepared nutritious food for each meal. They began teaching yoga classes and working with young adults. “I was thriving, learning, and teaching every day,” Elizabeth says. “I was 100 percent satisfied with life.” Yet in the sixth year of their stay, a draw to the outside world had begun to build. James felt a compelling force to leave when a prominent friend in his life left to seek his own change, which diminished his own bond with the ashram. Elizabeth started having stronger urges to travel. That’s when I started seeing them again. Little did I know at the time that the simple act of planning to meet up with somebody now seemed foreign to them. In the ashram, meeting up with friends was an organic process, because everyone gathered for meals and workshops, or ran into each other in the garden or down at the lake. Scheduled meetings felt forced and awkward. I vaguely remember having a difficult time tracking down my uncle in a Vancouver market as he was not yet accustomed to checking his cell phone for text messages. Bustling streets, honking cars, emails, and texts pinging like heart monitors were a shock to the system. Inside the retreat, everyone had a similar process, but it seemed on the outside, there was none. No one was aware of what they were doing, or why they were doing it.

Finding a balance of what they learned inside and applying it outside was critical; finding purpose in the wild chaotic outside world was the next step. “We had given up personal freedom for structure and community,” James says. But they eventually found their way; they discovered their passions for local food, so they found jobs in the local farming and market sectors. They took yoga classes. But they also got a beloved whoodle (Wheaten Terrier and poodle cross) named Zadie. They traveled. They went to the symphony and opera, and took up swimming and hiking. They got to know my sister and I better, and I them. * It’s a crisp early-autumn morning; the trees are gold and crimson; the early sun reflects off Kootenay Lake and warms the cool air. Five people enter a garden, shovels, gloves, and buckets in hand. James towers above them all; he leans against a wooden post, scans the rows, and runs a hand through his greying curly hair. Elizabeth adjusts her glasses and tucks shoulder-length salt and pepper strands behind her ear, before quickly pulling on frayed gardening gloves. James then immediately begins weeding the garden, freeing the beets and carrots from the vice crowding them below the surface. Elizabeth starts as well, and the others follow suit. The workers bring awareness to their tendencies while they pull the sprouting greens from dewy soil. This summer, my aunt and uncle quit their jobs and moved back to the Kootenays, eight years after their departure. They had fulfilled what they needed to outside the ashram. As I speak to them through a grainy Skype call, asking them to fill me in on the past 25 years of their life, I can hear Zadie lapping water in the background. They have just come home from a breathing workshop. This time around, they also have paid management jobs and live in a personal cabin just off ashram grounds instead of in the ashram residencies. James and Elizabeth now venture beyond the ashram’s confines each weekend to explore the surrounding

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wetlands and hike the foothills, their black curly-haired dog racing ahead of them. Yet, they still continue to gather for hatha yoga and satang, work hand to hand with the community, teach, observe their tendencies, and evolve internally. “Just because we’re getting paid doesn’t mean it isn’t karma yoga,” James says. “But with this particular move here, I want to live more of a secular life.” I asked them how long they want to stay this time, but they have no particular plan. Elizabeth shrugs, “Long term.” She asks me if I will visit soon and I say I would love to. I may never be ready to live on an ashram; variety and freedom are too important to me, even if they are also the things I tend to fear the most. But I think anyone can practice the basic guiding principles that yoga encourages. Being “present” and “mindful” doesn’t have to mean your mind can never stray, or that daydreaming is a sinful practice of pretentious, ignorant assholes. Simply show up, honour where you are today—good or bad—and remind yourself of the things you can be grateful for. At the risk of sounding cheezy or cliché, apparently Buddha said, “Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.” As I see this truth applied in more and more peoples’ lives, I hold it closer to myself. Today, the heart shaped box sits on my bedside table full of hair elastics; I open it to grab one whenever I lay out my mat. The little crystal hangs in my apartment’s kitchen window, catching the sun, now a reminder to stay “grateful” even when I’m doing something mundane as washing dishes—a sparkling token of purposeful presence.

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Life as Art: Rupi Kaur Chantelle Spicer ---

Rupi Kaur

<wikimedia.org>

Island short film fest gets down to it

Over the break, I took my time working through the 2015 book milk and honey, Contributor which is a collection of poetry, prose and illustration by the talented 24 year old Canadian. If you do not know the name Rupi Kaur, I am willing to bet that you probably know her work. Many of her poems from the book milk and honey have gone viral. She has also received Instagram fame for both the poems and her personal and poignant photographs that deal with the taboo of menstruation. She is an absolute force in the world of contemporary feminism, encouraging and emboldening women—all of society really—to question what it means to be “woman.” When I began to explore her public life through social media and her website, what I saw was a young woman fully living her life as art and as a challenge to all who view it. It is at times heart-breaking to read, others made my heart feel like it could explode from the beauty of her words and spirit. The book is broken up into four parts—hurting, loving, breaking and healing—which lead the reader through her mind, history, spirit, and future hopes. Some of her written works are only two lines long, some a couple pages; all of them feel larger than what they are. In fact, some shorter pieces are so profound I had to go back and read them over and over again, trying to draw their meaning. Her topics cover everything from the multitudes of love one can have in life, sexual violence, body hair, solitude, and beauty. When first undertaking the book, I was worried that I would find it a little depressing. What I found instead was a portrayal of all the pieces of ourselves—that we all carry in some way—shown to us by a brave artist. Many of the poems are illustrated by Kaur, which at first appear very simplistic, but are in fact hauntingly beautiful images that hang with you long after you have moved on from them. They are full of motion and emotion, just as the words are, making them perfect companions to their poems. Nothing in this book is static on the page. By the end of it, I was astounded that human beings can bear witness, carry, and heal from the many harms that we encounter in our lives—that these harms can be made beautiful; they make us. After reading the book, I had to have more. Turning to the internet, I found her collections of photographic essays, including the famous “period.” which was shared by thousands of Facebook users and made international news after it was removed from Instagram twice. As part of a university class, Kaur was working

Molly Barrieau Released last week, in anticipation of --next month’s Vancouver Island Short

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Film Festival (VISFF), are the 16 films carefully chosen from the record-breaking 112 entries. With films coming from across the globe, over 14 countries, the team had the daunting task to narrow it down to share the short films with an eager Nanaimo audience in February. “This reflects the growing popularity and reputation of the festival,” says Karla Duarte, Director of VISFF. “The VISFF is hosted in Nanaimo and is open to anyone around the world who can submit films in any genre.” The long list includes films from Vancouver Island and Canada, along with places like Iran, China and the UK.

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to destigmatize menstruation and remind people that this is part of not only the natural human process, but also that a womb is home to the source of life—sacred. After the images were deleted twice for “not following Community Guidelines,” Kaur responded stating that she “will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in underwear but not be ok with a small leak, when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified, pornified, and treated less than human.” Her portrayal of the feminine and womanhood continues in her photo series “anatomy,” where she draws parallels between the beauty of fruit and flower and the biology of the female reproductive system. All of her photographic work parallels her unassuming illustrative style—possibly even her concept of all women—that seems to be simple is so much more. Each is an invitation to an inner life that is honest and, thereby, beautiful. As if her written word and photo essays were not moving enough, her spoken word is powerful. As I continued to explore this world of self that she offers, I was overcome with gratitude. I am so grateful to have a woman like her in the world, her voice and thoughts available to me, to all women, to men. She offers us a different view of ourselves and each other through herself and her experiences. She is a reminder of the power of art, stating in a TEDTalk that, having been raised in a Sikh household, she is a product of generations of poets and poetry that have survived carnage and destruction, carrying the power to survive and heal through words. She is also following in the tradition of authors like Alice Walker (The Colour Purple) and Jamaica Kincaid (At the Bottom of the River), she has used her writing to heal and reclaim her body and spirit and self—bibliotherapy if you will—and invites the reader to find this in themselves as well. At the end of her book she offers her own gratitude to us, the readers, as a love letter, asking that we carry this book, her book, our book, as a way to be good and kind to ourselves and each other—a pay it forward for the gift she has given us through her art and life. I encourage everyone to delve into her world of words and healing through her many social media venues (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, her website and email list). It should tide you over until her next book release which is expected in the fall of 2017. If you would like to read milk and honey, it is available to borrow through the Women’s Collective Resource Library at the Students’ Union.

Me, Baby and the Alligator (Jean Faucher) Canada Leonore`s Lullaby (Quentin Paquignon) China Drifter (Olivia Lindgren) Vancouver

Found (Sunny Bahia) UK

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Fish (Saman Hosseinpuor) Iran

Mia (Amanda Strong & Bracken Hanuse Corlett) Canada Cradle (David Holechek, Jake Hart) US

Ingrid and the Black Hole (Leah Johnston) Canada Croissant (Marius Conrotto Diaz) Spain Lemonade Mafia (Anya Adams) US

Isolamento (Carmelo Zucco) Canada

It`s All In Your Head (Greg Jeffs) Canada

Descrambled Eggs (Kayla Jeanson) Canada Sweat (Kristin Snowbird) Canada

To catch the films, grab a ticket from their website <visff. com>, or at The Port Theatre, they’re $15 and $10 for students. The screening will be on Friday, February 10 at 7 pm, followed by a filmmakers Q&A, and Saturday, February 11 at 2 pm and 7 pm, followed by the Awards Ceremony. Check out <thenav. ca> for more on last year’s VISFF events.

Reproductive Cycles (John Gardiner) Nanaimo

Women’s Christmas Night (Oonagh Kearney) Ireland

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Top 8 emo albums of the 2000s Spenser Smith & Sarah Packwood | Contributor

Image via <wikipedia.org>

Terrifying fact: Grade 12 students starting their semester this September will be born in the year 2000. List of things I was doing in the early 2000s: waiting for my crush to log on to MSN, reading Deltora Quest, and listening to a steady stream of emo music. As a teenager, I formed a deep connection to the genre. The confessional, overthe-top angst spoke to my adolescence, and while I had zero experience with the overdramatic relationships that the bands sang about, I fantasized I did. I enlisted my partner and resident emo expert, Sarah, to craft our

own MySpace-style “Top 8” emo albums of the 2000s. In the early 2000s, Sarah could be found listening to LimeWire’s best downloads and surfing LiveJournal in her bedroom, which she describes as “an endless feed of Fueled by Ramen content and slash fiction, pre-Tumblr of course.” Her emo phase helped her discover that her distaste for her hometown was shared among other pierced up, fringe-bearing weirdos. (Note: Sarah is still a pierced up, fringe-bearing weirdo.)

Image via <wikipedia.org>

Tell All Your Friends, Taking Back

...Is a Real Boy, Say Anything

Translating the Name, Saosin

Almost Here, The Academy Is…

Sunday (2002)

(2004)

(2003)

(2005)

Tell All Your Friends was my introduction to emo, and with over 800,000 copies sold, it was probably a lot of other people’s introduction as well. From “You Know How I Do” to “There’s No ‘I’ in Team”, the energy of Taking Back Sunday’s debut album is entrancing. Adam Lazzara’s and John Nolan’s forceful, breakneck exchange of vocals gives this album a sing-along value that cannot be understated. In fact, if you drive down Nanaimo Parkway towards Woodgrove Mall on a weekend, there’s a decent chance you’ll see me in my Mazda 3 performing a cringeworthy rendition of “Cute Without the E (Cut from The Team)”.

While recording …Is a Real Boy, lead singer Max Bemis, who suffers from bipolar disorder, believed he was being secretly filmed for a mockumentary which led to one of many mental breakdowns. Not surprisingly, mental illness, drug use, isolation, and loneliness are consistent themes throughout the album. Originally slated to be a rock opera, …Is a Real Boy has a deeply introspective, theatrical quality that somewhat reminds me of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Euphonic, drug-fueled, and heartbreakingly real, ...Is a Real Boy will always have a place in my little emo heart.

Probably a little more post-hardcore than emo, Saosin’s first EP is graced by Anthony Green’s dazzling voice, countered perfectly with heavy, catchy guitar riffs and explosive drum fills. I was never too big on screaming until I heard Green scream on this album (it’s angelic). I vividly remember driving around Regina with my older brother Dylan in his little red Turbo Sprint, the place where I usually found out about new music, listening to the magic that is “Seven Years”. Ah, the nostalgia. “Seven Years” has almost 5,000,000 plays on YouTube, and I’ve probably contributed a solid five digits to that total.

Almost Here holds several classics: “Attention”, “Slow Down”, and “Skeptics and True Believers”, to name a few. When I was 14, I had a “girlfriend” named Shelbey, and although we were too shy to converse outside MSN, “Skeptics and True Believers” became the anthem to our relationship. Speaking of angelic voices, lead singer William Beckett’s is on par with Anthony Green’s, and his voice, like Green’s on Translating the Name, carries the album. Fave lyrics of Almost Here: “‘Cause the film runs a shallow budget, and the writer’s subject script isn’t any deeper, so dive right in.” Doesn’t get much deeper than that.

Image via <wikipedia.org>

Take This to Your Grave, Fall Out

A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,

Same Old Blood Rush with a New

Boy (2003)

Panic! at the Disco (2005)

My Chemical Romance (2004)

Touch, Cute Is What We Aim For (2006)

The tone of Take This to Your Grave is plain old angst, with the exception of the song “Saturday”, which is somewhat hopeful in lyric and sound, but still pretty melancholy overall. This is an album that takes overdone topics such as dating and breaking up to the next level, with brutally honest lyrics that literally wish death on other people. I’m still not sure if the line “stop burning bridges and drive off of them so I can forget about you” is badass or frightening, but it’s uber original so that counts for something. The rest of the album is soaked with selfpity and insecurity, automatically making it emo as hell.

Zomg. This is only one of the most foundational albums for all late-blooming emo kids, and it earns its emo badge by questioning society with cynicism and sheer sassiness. The year this album was released, a sizeable amount of emo kids went from utterly questionable stylistic choices, to donning pinstripe skinny jeans and eyeliner designs across their faces (Google “Ryan Ross eyeliner” if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Important not only for its experimentation with sound by having two unique-to-the-time genres on a single album (electropunk in the first half, and baroque pop in the second), but also for the way the band’s artistic styling and theatrical live performances became as equally influential as their music and lyrics. The track “Camisado” even inspired my MySpace username back in 2006 (because every young emo girl wants to be a “decorated emergency”).

Two years before blogger-acclaimed The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance graced us all with this beautifully dark album. Key tracks include “The Ghost of You”, “To The End”, “Helena (So Long and Goodnight)”, and “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”, obviously. If you didn’t cry while watching My Chemical Romance videos with your friends then you weren’t a real emo. It should also be noted that liking My Chemical Romance was pretty much mandatory for all emo kids of the early 2000s, and if you didn’t love them, then you were probably just scene (or maybe br00tal). This album was probably a cause of concern for some parents thanks to its horror-like themes and for the fact that the cover illustration features two people with blood splattered across their faces. But parents just DON’T understand art. *cries*

This album marks the moment the emos stepped out of their self-involved bubbles and discovered sex was a thing. Let’s first look at the album cover: this chick is about to be stripping down in front of a group of guys who are pretending to look at the floor. Secondly, the songs say a lot with titles like “Moan” and “The Curse of Curves”. If you pay attention to the lyrics on this album, you’ll notice it’s as if the writer suddenly had a lot of sex and decided to put music to his diary entries. It’s very smutty, but it is also full of sweet moments that chronicle what it was like being a regular emo kid in unrequited love. Also, the lead singer had the most adorbs hair.

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Charmed by Sugar N’ Spice: Sleigh Bells Ring

Diana Pearson

Diana Pearson The Sugar N’ Spice --Holiday Burlesque and

Contributor Drag show was held December 16, 2016, at the Harbour City Theatre on Victoria Rd. in Nanaimo. It was a charming evening, full of fun, inclusive, sexy, and expressive performances. Debut performances by Justina Winters and Lana Del Raymond, performances by Clara Fox, Betty Krueger, SirReal, Manna Quinn, Adam Lambourghini, Synder Starr, and—all the way from Alberta—award-winning drag superstar, TIARA Manila. The host for the evening, Gareth Boyce, was warm and charismatic, and kept the show running smoothly. He entertained the enthusiastic crowd with snippets of acapella Christmas carols, when a few kinks

in technology slowed the momentum. He was a fantastic MC and even stripped down to his boxers as the night went on, in the joyful spirit of burlesque. The debut performance by Justina Winters was an upbeat lip sync and dance of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”. Lana Del Raymond stole the stage, too, with an acoustic rendition of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”. My personal favourite performance was by burlesque performer Betty Krueger, who stole the night with a lusty, soulful dance number, where she enacted a love/hate relationship with a cupcake set to Adele’s down tempo cover of “Love Song”. The performance culminated in Betty succumbing to the cupcake, spreading its vibrant blue icing

The December Man: a conversation through theatre Cole Schisler ---

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across her chest with convincing passion. It was my first time attending a burlesque and drag show, and it was neat to see such a rich variety of performers. Manna Quinn, Adam Lambourghini, and SirReal were particularly intriguing in their drag king attire, with dance moves and lip syncing that made me want to paint my face with stubble and get up on stage too. Part of the proceeds of the event went to the Harbour City Rainbow Community Services Association (RCSA), a community group that aims to support the LGBTQ community, as well as HIV-positive individuals living in the Nanaimo area. Keep an eye out for details of their upcoming Valentine’s Day themed show this February.

Roaring Heart Theatre’s production of Colleen Murphy’s Governor General award winning play, The December Man, was a respectful, well-performed, and chilling performance about the effects of violence on a community. The events of The December Man take place after the 1989 Montreal Massacre, in which 14 women were killed at Montreal’s École Polytechnique. The story follows Jean, a young architectural student, and the effect the incident has had on him. The play also follows Jean’s parents Catherine and Benoit, and how they react when their son commits suicide. In a new take on the play, director Michael Armstrong introduced the three guides. At the end of each scene, three women dressed in black appear silently at the edges of the set, and gently guide each of the characters off stage then rearrange the set. Their presence added a uniquely chilling element to the play, especially in one scene where the women close in on Jean and his mother as Jean exclaims of the dead women, “They’re following me! I see them everywhere!”

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Each if the actors, Lorna McLellan as Catherine, Brian March as Benoit, and James Dean as Jean, delivered powerful performances. Through their dialogue, and body language, each was able to convey exactly what the characters were going through. McLellan and March maintained believable Québecois accents through the play, however Dean opted not to speak in an accent; which led to a slight disconnect, however, Dean’s performance as the tortured Jean was deeply moving. In a break from traditional theatre, the cast and crew sat for a Talk Back following the performance, during which they encouraged members of the audience to ask them questions and share their feelings about the play. A theme that kept coming up was the need for communication, and a more community based approach to helping those in need, especially when recovering from a tragedy like the Montreal Massacre. “This play struck me personally,” Director Michael Armstrong said. “It’s something that woke up memories in my mind about things that had happened in my past. It’s

Diana Pearson

good theatre. It’s an important script done by good actors, I’m very glad we chose this script.” The December Man is the first production put on by Armstrong’s production company, Roaring Heart Theatre. Originally from Nanaimo, Armstrong spent the last few years in Victoria. He worked on his ambition of starting a theatre company in the area, but talks fell through. Armstrong recently moved back to Nanaimo, and made Roaring Heart a top priority on his return. “We had some time off, so we were able to really throw ourselves into it,” he said. “It’s difficult starting a theatre company from scratch, it kind of becomes a full time job.” Armstrong is a professional writer with a master’s degree in playwriting. He hopes to continue doing productions in the Nanaimo area with Roaring Heart Theatre. For those unable to attend Roaring Heart’s production of The December Man, the script and performances can be found online.

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Tacoma Preview: 20,000 miles from home Spenser Smith ---

You are a woman, exploring a foreign, contained setting, putting the pieces The Navigator together to find out why the people who should be there aren’t. For those who’ve played Fullbright’s Gone Home, this will sound familiar. But this is not Gone Home, it’s Fullbright’s space-based sophomore effort, Tacoma. By entering this facility, you consent to the following: AR audio recording is in use at all times and may be archived by Virgin-Tesla or its subsidiaries. Tacoma is set in the year 2088 on the titular Lunar Transfer Station, and is a stark shift from the mid-90s, suburbia setting of Gone Home. Steve Gaynor, co-founder of Portland-based Fullbright, says the decision to steer the studio’s second game into a fictional, futuristic era was born out of a division within the team. “Three of us on the team worked on Gone Home, and the rest of the five people on the team had not,” Gaynor says. “It started to feel like there were these two halves of the team. The team that had worked on [Gone Home] and knew how to do that [style], and the rest of the team who were like, ‘Oh, they already know how to do this and we don’t.’There was this disconnect.” Fullbright’s Gone Home sold 50,000 copies within its first month of release in August 2013, and by February 2014 the total had jumped to 250,000. The game won Polygon’s 2013 Game of the Year, BAFTA’s 2013 Best Debut Game, as well as critical acclaim from a long list of gaming publications. Using Gone Home as a drawing map for Tacoma, even loosely, seems like a logical choice for continued success. “It’s all bound up in that question…[how to] get to somewhere that doesn’t just feel like Gone Home plus X or Gone Home but Y,” Gaynor says, “[but] an experience that answers to itself in a way that stands on its own.” The similar systems between the two games, Gaynor explains, is partly a product of Fullbright’s small-studio

budget. Developing AI is expensive, hence the focus on a lone protagonist. Gaynor also adds that the exploratory, detectivelike gameplay in Gone Home is conducive to the kind of story they want to tell in Tacoma. “We wanted to do something that none of us had really done before, and to push us into a setting and a bunch of constraints and questions that were unique to a fictional time period—to a time period in the future—an extrapolation of our own reality…like, if trends keep going in this way, or if this thing happens that isn’t expected, this is what the present day might lead to,” Gaynor says. Originally slated for a mid-to-late 2016 release, Tacoma has been pushed back to spring 2017. Gaynor notes the major challenge with Tacoma has been creating the opportunity for meaningful, unique interactions between the player, the space station, and its technology. “Our challenge has been to point the player towards [feeling] what it would be like if someone in this place used this technology,” Gaynor says, “[feeling] this is what is important about it, and what is important about me as the player being involved and interacting with this setting in a way that I couldn’t in any other setting.” “I’m really glad we got the word out there [early], and that people could start being aware of the game and all that kind of stuff, but it also made us realize, ‘Okay, the ideas are only half there—we need to be thinking differently about this.’” In the gameplay videos Fullbright has released so far, the similarities with Gone Home are clear: You are alone, in an eerie, foreign environment and have to examine objects to further your understanding of what has gone on without you. Playing as Amy Ferrier, you are sent to Tacoma to replace the previous Operations Specialist, Clive, only to find out your entire crew is missing. You are presented with the terms of use of the augmented reality (AR) embedded within the space station before you can enter.

AR user locational and body-positional data recording is in use at all times and may be played back as deemed necessary by Virgin-Tesla or its subsidiaries. No video recording is in use of thiscfacility. Only audio, user locational and bodypositional data is saved. Interactions between crew members, created from the aural and spatial data of the crew, can be played back and watched. The crew members take the form of 3D avatars, and although the avatars are only recordings of the crew members, they are moving characters nonetheless, and it raises some intriguing gameplay questions. What will the experience of trying to locate missing crew members be like when they are seemingly standing right in front of you? In what ways does getting to know a recording of a person feel authentic to getting to know an actual person? And in what ways does it feel alien? In real-life 2088, when historians look back and compare their present day with Tacoma as we do with all science fiction, the most interesting question won’t be whether or not the game correctly predicted a new technology, but whether it portrayed a realistic experience—authentic interactions and consequences between new technology and human beings. Think 1984. Think Back to the Future. Media has a startling ability to get some of these things right. Gaynor says he is happy with how Tacoma has grown. “You can hope that you win the lottery, like, ‘Oh, we had all the perfect ideas right away,’Gaynor says, “but, on some level, the fact that it took us a while—in exploration and iteration—to really find the identity of what we were making [with Tacoma], I think—I hope—speaks to the fact that we actually are pushing it to be something that is unique.” Originally published on online video game review magazine <clipthrough.com>.

Our Voices: Book REVIEW Molly Barrieau ---

It is nearly impossible not to have a bias when it comes to reviewing the In The Navigator Our Own Aboriginal Voice anthology, published late last year by Rebel Mountain Press. The Navigator has a distinct relationship with Rebel Mountain Press editor Lori Shwydky, a Creative Writing Alumna and former Copy Editor here at the student press. Upon graduation, Shwydky has managed the uncompromising feat of publishing three anthologies on embracing Aboriginal voices, the latest, In Our Own Aboriginal Voice is available at the VIU bookstore. The compact anthology is beyond measure, gathering and blending Aboriginal writers from Canada’s West, and breathing new life into an underrepresented genre. Giving a voice to those who have suppressed their desires to see their work on the page, allowing for their words to strike the reader with force: “I am a Powwow dancer and / I will dance for money.” (“Past Energy Outlet”, Tara DeSousa). The collection begins appropriately with a prayer to Mother Earth and the elders, followed by “Rebirth of a Nation” capturing the essence of womanhood in a few short stanzas. Each stand-alone piece is a letter to the past, their version of reconciliation. “Though, to be Native in a world continually fighting my very existence is heartache enough.” Kevin Henry’s “Queering While Brown: How I Attempt

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Two-Spiritedness in 2016” captured my attention at the book’s launch in November. Standing above all others, Henry shared his story of attending UVic to pursue Social Justice, submitting the works, and forgetting until they were accepted. The unique journalistic style that Henry achieves is conversational and defiant, he begins by informing the reader about the Aboriginal Philosophy of Two-Spirit, and his personal challenge coming to terms with his sexuality and gender. His closet metaphor is clear and well-developed, he creates humour in his words, yet shares candidly the struggles faced by being “QT2IPOC (Queer, Trans, 2Spirit, Indigenous Persons of Colour)” a term used by Henry. Throughout the anthology, art and photography give life to the words, including VIU student Shelby Brown, and seventh grade students of Huband Elementary in Courtenay, who met weekly to create the Indigenous drums used on the cover. A large totem graces the back, alongside the 13 contributing authors’ names. The totem stands at the Wachiay Friendship Centre in Courtenay, the recipient of the book’s net proceeds. Michael Calvert, VIU alumna turned Creative Writing professor, has three pieces: “Flood Damage”, “Fallen Over”, and “Strayed”. A Metis, Calvert develops a tone of days’ bygone, moments of cultural history in Canada. “Strayed” hits every sense with imagery and sound, finishing with the familiar scent of bannock. Aside from his poetry, his short story is heavy,

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following a young boy and his father, where slang and jargon solidify the colloquial quality of moments between family. It is common in this anthology to see a name a few times over, yet each submission by the authors differs enough to collect a variety of ideas, circling the same theme of culture, history, knowledge and power. Many grasp at the idea of what future generations of Canadian Aboriginals are capable of, especially young women, who harness the wisdom of their ancestors and the anger from loss, driven by the fear that their lives are in constant danger. It was at a recent VIU event that this young Aboriginal woman archetype showed itself to me, during the Sisters in Spirit Vigil in October, when we mourned for those lost and stood for those who could be, hardened, yet intelligent women stood and spoke prayers and poems for their sisters, cousins, mothers. By telling these stories and educating, In Our Own Aboriginal Voice achieves something few publications have, providing a chance for the suppressed voices to be heard. The Anthology can be found at the VIU Library, Vancouver Island Regional Library, UVic Library, Vancouver Public Library, and can be purchased at the VIU Bookstore, Strong Nations bookstore, Laughing Oyster, Blue Heron, and other independent bookstores in BC, or at <rebelmountainpress. com>. Check out their website for the two other anthologies, In Our Own Voice 2015 and 2016 editions.

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SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

Five common mistakes to avoid while working out Veronique Rioux | Contributor Veronique Rioux is a VIU Fitness Instructor who teaches classes for Campus Rec. 1. Only doing cardiovascular exercises

Most people who want to get rid of belly fat will do cardiovascular exercises, like using the treadmill, bike, or the elliptical. Doing cardio is great to get started, but it should not be the only thing you do. I once heard someone say: “A man should train like a woman; men should do cardiovascular exercises because they have more belly fat and die more often from cardiovascular disease. And women should train like men and do weight training workouts; because they have less muscle mass and that would help increase their metabolism.” Only doing cardio will simply create a “skinny fat” version of you. You need to lift weights to increase lean muscle mass, to tone your body, and burn more calories.

2. Don’t spend hours at the gym

I don’t believe in spending endless hours at the gym unless you are training for an intense athletic event or sport; I believe that an hour at the gym is enough. Over the years, I have noticed people taking lots of rests, maybe more rests between sets than the actual workload. I believe in circuit training, interval, tri-set, and superset training. It will maximize the

Nanaimo to host HomeTown Hockey with floating ice rink

time you have at the gym, will keep your heart rate elevated, and give you better results. Also, doing it every day will have more impact than doing too much and giving up.

3. Get out of your comfort zone

I see people so often at the gym texting while on the treadmill, or using weights too light to see any results. Use your time at the gym wisely. If you do cardiovascular exercises, integrate interval training, and when you lift weight, challenge yourself, use heavier weights, but be conscious of your ability, don’t lift too much.

4. Putting 100 percent effort at the gym with exercise and 0 percent in clean eating might not see the results you want.

5. Not setting realistic goals

People want instant results and that is not realistic. A pound equals 3500 calories, so a pound a week can be realistic. Set up goals that you can achieve and that are realistic. Make time for the gym around your schedule and commit to going to the gym regularly. If you go two to three times a week, then stop going, you will not see the results you are hoping for. Veronique Rioux will be at weight training room, helping students with their training for free Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:30–8:30 pm starting at the end of January. Fitness classes start on Monday January 23, 2017. To register online: <viu.ca/campusrec/registration.asp> or at the gym.

If you put 80-90 percent effort in eating clean and 10-20 percent in the gym, you might see the results you are looking for. Cut out refined, processed food, sugar, unhealthy fat from your diet, and stick to a plant-based, low preservative diet as much as possible. Everyone will have different dietary needs, so be mindful of your diet, and do what works best for you.

Cole Schisler Nanaimo is one of 24 communities --included in the Hometown Hockey Tour. The Navigator

The Local Organizing Committee has allocated $122,750 for community events leading up to the festival, which will begin on February 18 with the opening of an outdoor ice rink at Maffeo Sutton park. The rink will remain in place for up to two weeks during the festival, which concludes on February 26 following a game between the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. Along with the outdoor ice rink, the city is purchasing several floating docks, which will be placed in Swy-A-Lana Lagoon for activities during the festival. After the festival, the docks will be permanently placed at the Brechin Boat Ramp, Diver Lake Park, and Colliery Dam Park. The docks will cost $271K, and the ice rink will cost $200K, for a total of $593,750. Richard Harding, Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Nanaimo, hopes that the festival will leave a long lasting, positive impression on the community. “When big events like the Rogers Hometown Hockey tour come to Nanaimo, we want to create a legacy that residents can use for years to come,” Harding said. “An outdoor ice rink is something unique that can bring the community together in a healthy and fun way.” The Local Organizing Committee is made up of several agencies and organizations in the community and include representatives from the City of Nanaimo Council and staff, Snuneymuxw First Nation, Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association, Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo Museum, Nanaimo RCMP, Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation, Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, The Port Theatre, Nanaimo Clippers, Nanaimo Buccaneers, and Nanaimo Hospitality Association. More events will be announced as the festival comes closer, however, the current schedule of events, available online at <cnan.ca> includes the following:

Friday, February 18 Outdoor Ice Rink opens (until February 26) - Maffeo Sutton Park Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19 Old City Quarter Selby Cup (ball hockey tournament organized by DNBIA) - Selby Street Monday, February 20 and Tuesday, February 21 School District 68 Pro-D Days – stay tuned for activities in City recreation centres Wednesday, February 22 Skate with Nanaimo Buccaneers - 7 - 8 pm Thursday, February 23 NDSS Theatre Performance - The Port Theatre Nanaimo Buccaneers Home Game - Nanaimo Ice Centre Friday, February 24 NDSS Theatre Performance - The Port Theatre Nanaimo Clippers Home Game & Tailgate Party - Frank Crane Arena, Beban Park Saturday, February 25 Day 1 of Rogers Hometown Hockey Festival - Maffeo Sutton Park Sunday, February 26 Day 2 of Rogers Hometown Hockey Festival - Maffeo Sutton Park Live Sportsnet broadcast 4 to 4:30 pm - Maffeo Sutton Park Ottawa Senators at Florida Panthers game will be livecast 4:30 pm - Maffeo Sutton Park Fireworks Display to follow game - Maffeo Sutton Park Monday, February 27 Gee Dan Productions present Tom Cochrane live in concert - The Port Theatre

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Women’s Basketball: VIU victorious over Quest and Langara Cole Schisler In their first league game since winning two --of their three winter tournament matches, the The Navigator

Mariners showed poise in their 70-48 victory over the visiting Quest Kermodes. “We played strong, we played together, we had good ball movement, and we executed well in many ways,” said Mariners’ forward Sienna Pollard, who scored 21 points in Friday’s match. The Mariners out-scored the Kermodes in every quarter, and were dominant from the get go. Mariners guards Avery Snider and Emily Clarke each had a total of 9 points between them at the end of the first half. Snider finished the game with 16 points, and Clarke finished with 12. Along with her 21 points, Pollard was aggressive on rebounds, and racked up 17 rebounds in the match. “We kept working hard and made sure we had a play-byplay mentality. We kept focused and kept moving forward,” Pollard said. “I think when we stay positive with each other and encourage each other, we take the lead and go to the next level.” On Saturday, the Mariners took on the Langara Falcons, and finished with a decisive score of 74-38. Going into the match, Mariners head coach Bill McWhinnie said of Langara, “They’re a smaller team that likes to press. We’re going to have to handle pressure, take care of the ball, and get good shots in.” The Mariners got ahead early with a lead of 17-9 after the first 10 minutes of play against the Falcons. At the half, the Mariners widened their lead to 34-18 over the Falcons. Snider had 13 points for the Mariners, Pollard had 8 points and four rebounds. The Mariners continued to control the match throughout the third quarter, which they took 54-27. “I thought we were really good defensively,” Coach McWhinnie said. “We gave up far too many points last week at our tournament, so this week we were focused on getting back to a defensive mindset. We made it difficult for them to get good shots, other than that, we got easy opportunities at the other end.” Next week, the Mariners will travel to Vancouver to take on the Douglas Royals on January 13, and the Capilano Blues on January 14. The next Mariners home game will take place on January 27 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. Cole Schisler

Mariners forward Victoria Brown sinks a free throw from the foul line.

Mariners forward Sienna Pollard makes a break for the net.

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Mariners guard Avery Snider charges toward the net.

Mariner Emily Clarke prepares to pass.

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Men’s Basketball: Mariners manage two wins in weekend matchups Cole Schisler On Friday, January 6, the VIU Mariners --hosted the Quest Kermodes for the The Navigator

PACWEST Basketball game of the week. The Mariners came back to win the match in a stunning 85-71 finish over the Kermodes. “A lot our guys have been sick this week, so we haven’t had a full practice roster,” Mariners Head Coach Matt Kuzminski said. “This wasn’t a game where we had the energy that we needed, or the execution, but I give our guys a lot of credit for staying with it, and we were able to make a lot of big shots to get us the win.” Both teams jostled for the lead throughout the match. In the first quarter, the Mariners led 19-14 over the Kermodes. The Kermodes overtook the Mariners early in the second quarter and led 33-30 at the half. The Mariners finished the third quarter with a two point 51-49 lead over the Kermodes going into the final quarter. The Kermodes regained their lead in half-way through the fourth quarter, and led the Mariners 57-53. The Mariners clawed their way back, and after a precise three-point shot from forward Jalen Schlegel, the Mariners regained the lead to end the match with a 85-71 victory. Mariners Guard Bryson Cox had a high scoring game with 24 points, Montell Lindgren tallied 17 points and 3 rebounds, Jason Schlegel had 16 points after nailing both of his three point attempts, and Kaz Kobayashi put up 10 points with four rebounds in the game.

“I thought the first half was slow, we picked up our pressure on defense in the second half, we’re going to have to build off that for tomorrow’s match,” Coach Kuzminski said. “I think tomorrow’s game will be much tougher. We’ll be going up against a fast-paced team, and we’ll have to be ready for the challenge.” Despite the challenge, the Mariners were ready, and beat the Langara Falcons 86-66 on Saturday. The Mariners trounced the Falcons with an explosive first quarter performance. The Mariners racked up 36 points and held the falcons to only 9 points. At the half, the Mariners led 52-28. The Mariners maintained their lead throughout the match, perhaps getting a bit too comfortable with their lead towards the end. However, the Mariners finished the match with a 86-66 victory. “We just have to keep building,” Coach Kuzminski said. “We have not had our full roster for a single game yet, we’re always missing somebody. We’re trying to get healthy and get all our guys together to build some chemistry and get some momentum going into the future.” Next week, the Mariners will travel to Vancouver to take on the Douglas Royals on January 13, and the Capilano Blues on January 14. The next Mariners home game will take place on January 27 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

Cole Schisler

Mariners guard Kaz Kobayashi presses his defense as the Mariners take their defensive positions.

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Mariners forward Jalen Schlegel jumps up in celebration for the pregame warmup.

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Mariners forward Usama Zaid floats a jump shot into the net.

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Morgan Proctor moves the ball up the court.

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SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

Marijuana dispensaries: It’s all up in the air Cole Schisler On November 12, 2015, the Nanaimo RCMP --gave notice to 11 marijuana dispensaries The Navigator

operating in the city, informing them that they had seven days to close shop, or they would face criminal charges. More than a year after raids were conducted on several dispensaries, there are even more dispensaries in Nanaimo than there were before, and no criminal charges have been brought to the courts. While operating marijuana dispensaries and compassion clubs remains illegal in Canada, some cities, such as Vancouver and Victoria, have started regulating marijuana dispensaries with licensing agreements. Dispensaries are a low priority target for the RCMP, however the RCMP does view them as illegal enterprises. “The sale of marijuana outside of the Health Canada regulations is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,” Rob Christenson of the Nanaimo RCMP said. “The search warrants were executed on local marijuana storefronts because they are trafficking controlled substances contrary to the CDSA. None of the marijuana storefronts are operating legally.” Christenson said that the RCMP was firmly against the dispensaries because they operate outside of the law, however, with the current fentanyl crisis, the drug enforcement department of the Nanaimo RCMP lacks the time and resources to deal with dispensaries. Tyson Ricard, an associate of the Nanaimo Cannabis Club, formerly known as the Nature Source, agrees with the position of the RCMP. “We operate illegally,” Ricard says. “It’s terrible that we’re at odds with the RCMP. We do our best to self regulate. We are trying to get everything in line with building inspectors and all of that, but because we’re an illegal business, we can’t get people in here to do that work. It’s all up in the air right now.” Ricard says that cannabis advocates feel betrayed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government because the Liberals campaigned on legalization of marijuana, and have not decriminalized it in preparation for new marijuana laws. Despite Trudeau acknowledging a clear mandate given to the Liberal government to legalize marijuana, he has publicly maintained that until the new laws are ready, the current prohibition stands. The Nanaimo Cannabis Club does what it can to operate as close to legally as possible. They require ID, they do not sell to anyone under 19, and they place limits of how much product people can buy at a given time. The Nanaimo Cannabis Club

used to require prescriptions from registered physicians as a condition for membership, however following last years’ raids, dispensaries stopped adhering to government standards. “We operate to spite the government,” Ricard says. “I consider myself a protestor at this point in time.” Ricard is passionate about Cannabidiol, (CBD) oil, a cannabis derivative that does not result in a psychoactive high. In a 2013 review published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CBD has been found to reduce nausea, suppress seizure activity, as well as combat psychosis, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, tumour formation, and depression. CBD oil has been classified as a medicine in Britain, and is also used widely by MMA fighters who take it as a painkiller before their fights. “There’s so much out there about what weed can do for you,” Ricard says. “There’s so many ways to ingest it, a person is not just limited to smoking now. Smoking is probably the harshest way to take anything into your system.” Along with providing their members with access to marijuana and marijuana derivatives, the Nanaimo Cannabis Club provides jobs for members of the community. The Club is not just a storefront dispensary, it is also a kitchen, lounge, and events venue. Employees are trained in Serving It Right, and have obtained, or are obtaining their FoodSafe certification. Employees are also trained in the various strains of marijuana, and the effects of each product, so that they can best help customers to consume products that match their needs. “These are people who are making money and spending it in their community,” Ricard says. “We pay our taxes on the paycheques, we just want to be taxed and operate like a normal business. We’d like to operate under similar restrictions and circumstances that bars do.” Ricard believes that large pharmaceutical companies should not be relied upon for the sale of marijuana once it is legalized. He compares companies like Tilray to beer producers like Anheuser Busch, and the Nanaimo Cannabis Club to craft breweries. “The last thing we want is for it to be a faceless industry where people go into a London Drugs and get marijuana from someone who does not care about cannabis,” Ricard says. “There’s a lot of depth in cannabis. We have people with low tolerances who come in and ask for products that don’t get them too stoned. How are you supposed to answer that question if you don’t smoke weed?” Marijuana is hard to regulate due to the complex nature and variability of the substance. As the government moves forward with legalization, Ricard would like dispensaries and

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compassion clubs to continue operating in a similar manner to how they have been operating, then see the framework of regulation built around that. The Nanaimo Cannabis Club agrees that members should be 19 years of age and older to purchase products, and they have a self-imposed limit of one ounce of standard marijuana, and two grams of concentrates. Ricard would like to see more educational material around marijuana become available to the community. He believes that lumping marijuana along with hard drugs is not an effective way to teach kids about marijuana, who are likely to try marijuana at some point, and may lead to them trying other drugs. He suggests that marijuana has more in common with caffeine than with hard drugs, or even alcohol. “We want to be a part of the community,” Ricard says. “There’s a place for us in the community, and we want people to talk about weed. There needs to be an open and honest discourse. All of the dishonest information dilutes the conversation.” The Nanaimo Cannabis Club provides a community within itself for learning about cannabis. People who are not knowledgeable about cannabis can come to converse with the staff, and other cannabis advocates in a safe environment. “I like that it’s a controlled environment,” said Shane, a customer at the Nanaimo Cannabis Club. “It’s a safe place to come, they have lots of medical information, especially about CBD. I see a lot of people on disability come in for CBD oil and it helps them a lot.” Sarah, an employee at the Cannabis Club, says that the community at the Cannabis Club is what keeps her coming back. “A lot of our customers are very happy and outgoing all the time,” she says. “There’s this one older lady who comes in, she goes through chemotherapy three times a week. She comes in here looking so fragile. She’s so sweet to everyone, and she makes my day every time I see her. People like her make us want to help out.” It will likely be many more months until the Liberal government unveils their plans on legalizing marijuana. Until then, dispensaries and compassion clubs like the Nanaimo Cannabis Club will continue to operate outside the law, and not without risk. “Marijuana storefronts are an illegal operation under the CDSA,” Officer Christenson says. “All persons engaged with these businesses are subject to enforcement action and prosecution under the current laws of Canada.”

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Red Bird

Whale Barnacles, embossed gray skin, inky O eyes, trembling beneath illiterate fingertips. A secret: lying exposed and desperate to be touched, read like brail.

A face: Red Bird, limited company, offers 30 strikes. Red Bird, offering two sides of scaly skin to caress, offering flaming plumage, a warm gift.

Spencer Sheehan-Kalina --Contributor

Lunch for two Spenser Smith --The Navigator

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JANUARY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SHIFT - Paintings by Stephen Laidlaw

VIUSU’s Open Mic Night

Old City Laugh Lounge

The View Gallery Nanaimo Campus

VIU Pub Nanaimo Campus

Old City Station Pub 150 Skinner St.

On the Dock with NORTHCOTE, Emerald Specks and Jim Elder

All Day

9 pm

7 pm and 9 pm

FREE

$10 per ticket

Dinghy Dock Pub 8 Pirates Lane, Protection Island 7 pm $20

Thich Nhat Hanh and Julian of Norwich Concert

Fringe Flicks: Captain Fantastic

Art21’s “Vancouver” Series

Acoustic Night: Raymond Wade

Family Pool Party Fridays

The Vault Cafe and Bistro 499 Wallace St.

Parksville Beach

The Queen’s 34 Victoria Cres.

Beban Park Pool 2300 Bowen Rd.

Vancouver Island Symphony’s Classical Spirit

Bethlehem Centre 2371 Arbot Rd.

Avalon Cinemas Woodgrove Centre, 6631 North Island Hwy.

Treasure Hunt: Tidal Treasures Vancouver Island

2 – 3 pm

All day

Starts 7 pm

7 – 9 pm

7 pm

By Donation

$13

FREE

$5 door

Meditation Class

Arbutus Toastmasters

Pokénight

Unity Church of Nanaimo 2325 East Wellington Rd.

Parksville Community and Conference Centre 132 E. Jensen Ave. Parksville

Nanaimo Wellington Library 3032 Barons Rd.

7 – 9 pm

FREE

7 – 11pm By Donation

The Port Theatre 125 Front St. Starts 7:30 pm Students $18

6 – 8 pm

FREE

JOIN THE NAVIGATOR ONLINE

THENAV.CA /THENAVIGATORNEWSPAPER @THENAV_VIU

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