September 28, 2011 by The Omega

The Ωmega www.theomega.ca

Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper Sept 28, 2011

Safety questions raised by renovations/ demolitions 3 PHOTO BY MIKE DAVIES

PHOTO BY NATHAN CROSBY

PHOTO BY MIKE DAVIES

Study Abroad another way for 3 TRU to go international

NDP advanced education critic stops by for a chat

WolfPack Sports

September 28, 2011

Feature

Unmasking ecstasy culture Exploring the increasing popularity behind party drug MDMA Mackenzie King

The Cord (Wilfrid Laurier)

$40,000 worth of music. They’re expensive.” Beyond the fast-paced excitement of these shows, there is a troubling trend: the accompanying use of party drug MDMA. MDMA, sometimes referred to as simply “M,” is the active ingredient of ecstasy in its purest form. It induces feelings of euphoria, diminishes anxiety and allows for increased intimacy with others. Across Canada, a large number of the students going to these shows are on it. “It seemed like the mindset of most students was to put alcohol on the back burner and to test out this new drug called MDMA,” said Brett Knox, a dance music fan and fourth-year science student at Dalhousie University. “It’s like a prerequisite needed to experience the full effects of the music.” When asked of the effects, Knox said, “It’s euphoric, increases awareness of my senses — touch, taste, smell.” He added, “You experience feelings [you’re] unable to achieve without the drug.” Personal testimonies like Knox’s present the drug to seem even more enticing, which prompts many students to try the drug with little thought or research. What is often not brought to light is the dark side of MDMA. The drug is known to have an unpredictable effect.

WATERLOO (CUP) — Behind closed doors, a movement is taking place. There are neon lights, glow sticks, fog machines, loud music and hundreds of young adults. The f loor is shaking to the continuous beat of the bass and the crowd is hypnotized by one man in charge of the rhythm. Everyone is dancing. This is a typical DJ show, more commonly known as a rave. Raves are not a new phenomenon. Raves have been a part of underground youth culture since the 1960s. Closely associated with club drugs, most notably methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, raves are stomping grounds for illegal activity. Historically, these raves have been held in warehouses, large barns and other venues far from the city and out of the public eye. Recently, however, raves have begun to spring up in the middle of busy cities, with events promoted heavily though mainstream social media sites. “It’s gotten big within the past six months to a year — it’s really taken off,” noted fourth-year Laurier student Chris Patterson. Essentially, continuing to call raves “underground” is inaccurate. “A lot of these DJs have been around for a while — Tiesto’s been around for years and I find that he’s the biggest now,” Patterson observed. It’s through these mainstream clubs such as Uptown Waterloo’s Beta that these DJs have gone from underground to household names among youth. —Carol Perkins, Public health “They come out with a big song or a remix and everybody Public affairs coordinator for kind of jumps on board,” Patterthe Waterloo Regional Police, son observed. The rapid rise to celebrity sta- Olaf Heinzal, offered perspective tus of these DJs has allowed them on the erratic side of an MDMA to charge large sums of money to high. “Because of the nature of play for a night. According to Patterson, “Each MDMA and how it’s produced, one of these DJs costs like $15,000 there are really no regulations to $20,000 for a set and they’re that control the quality of the coming for two to three hour sets. substance and what may be in it,” Two of those DJs a night is like Heinzal explained. “There could

It’s not a new phenomenon, but party drugs and raves are becoming more of a mainstream occurance. —Photo by xxxology/Flickr Creative Commons

be foreign substances in it with unpredictable impact on a person’s physiology.” Recalling a very recent incident, Heinzal told The Cord, “Two females got very ill after attending a nightclub in Waterloo allegedly after taking a substance they believe to be ecstasy. There were serious side effects.” Despite the euphoric and uninhibited feelings which result from MDMA consumption, negative effects on the body — and even on an individual’s emotions — can occur even days after consumption. Typically, “come down” from an MDMA nurse high can result in a crashing of emotions, mood swings or even depression, and a notable increased anxiety. Patterson recounted an experience where he took too much. “It was overwhelming,” he said. “I was trying to calm myself down but I came up so quick and everything was just really, really intense. I was panicking. I was scaring myself and not enjoying the show.” Heinzal stated that the Waterloo

“We’re finding people passed out in bushes.”

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Regional Police has not been ignorant to the increased use of the drug in the past year. “We are aware of significant quantities of the drug being either produced or distributed,” he told The Cord. “If [dance music has] become more fashionable in recent years, then clearly there would be an increase in usage.” Carol Perkins, a public health nurse for Waterloo Region, stated that the public health department is also well aware of the growing culture. “We know students are using ecstasy,” she said. “We’re finding people passed out in bushes.” Some doctors have noted that amid all its controversy, ecstasy can serve medicinal uses, particularly for patients suffering from chronic pain, depression and other psychiatric disorders. It was prescribed as medication until it was made illegal in 1977. Since then, due to the legal status of the drug, users resort to obtaining the drug off the street. Health and law officials agree that this is a huge risk, as Perkins explained. “People cut E with all kinds of stuff,” she said. “They’re cutting heroin, they’re cutting meth…

because it’s not a prescription, there’s no quality control. “The next time you take a full tab, it could be quite a different reaction than you had last time.” Some of Perkins’ other major concerns included mixing ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs. “The mixing of medications with illicit substances and alcohol can be really, really harmful,” she said. According to Perkins, one of the biggest risks of consuming MDMA in a bar is the possibility of dehydration. “A lot of places don’t allow you to take water bottles in and they charge a fortune for them when you’re in there,” she said. Conversely, hyponatremia can occur for those attempting to over-hydrate by consuming too much water under the inf luence. Hyponatremia occurs when sodium levels in blood are too low and can result in death. There is no doubt that the recent dance music phenomenon has facilitated a drug movement in universities all over Canada. The popularity of trance, techno, and dubstep are still currently on the rise, and students, true to their nature, are using the opportunity to experiment.

Sept 28, 2011

THE

MEGA

www.theomega.ca

September 28, 2011

Volume 21, Issue 4

Published since November 27, 1991

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mike Davies

editorofomega@gmail.com/250-372-1272 BUSINESS MANAGER Natasha Slack

managerofomega@gmail.com 250-372-1272 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Cory Hope

SPORTS EDITOR

Nathan Crosby Copy Editor

Larkin Schmiedl Photo Editor

Cory Hope News Editor

Brendan Kergin

omegacontributors Lisa Coriale, Devin C. Tasa, Mackenzie King, Emma Godmere, Christine Adam, Adam Petrash, Kara Passey

publishingboard

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike Davies BUSINESS MGR * Natasha Slack INDUSTRY REP * Mike Youds FACULTY REP * Charles Hays STUDENT REP* Sadie Cox

letterspolicy

Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material. Opinions expressed in the Letters & Opinion section do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff. Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

All material in this publication is copyright The Omega and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright Omega 2010.

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #2 Box 3010, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 5N3 Phone: (250)372-1272 E-mail: editorofomega@gmail.com Ad Enquiries: managerofomega@gmail. com (Correspondence not intended for publication should be labelled as such.)

Want to get involved in covering campus news? Apply to contribute to the Omega.

News

Health issues discussed as House 2 dismantled Brendan Kergin News Editor

Don’t Panic. The famous advice from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is being repeated by campus safety officials about asbestos on campus. The Omega’s former home, House 2 near Old Main, is slowly being dismantled. Abatement crews have been inside for about a week now, carefully removing the harmful material from the house so it can be knocked down later. “The materials are solid, it’s not friable so there’s not air contamination or anything like that,” said Gordon Maurits, safety officer for the Occupational Health and Safety on campus. Friability means how easy it is for a solid to be broken up into smaller bits. This is an issue around asbestos as it is dangerous as a dust. Then people breathe it in and the damage is internal. “The area is cordoned off and measures are being taken as per WorkSafe standards for dealing with the hazardous materials that have been found,” said Maurits. To deal with any dust that may be kicked up the house is being sprayed down with water,

greatly reducing the likelihood of anything becoming airborne. The perimeter of the building is also closed to the public to keep students a safe distance away from the project. Stacey Jyrkkanen, Occupational Health and Safety department manager, has been working on asbestos removal from campus for awhile. “People hear that (asbestos) and they get into a bit of a panic. I’ve been working on the Old Main project all summer,” said Jyrkkanen. “We found asbestos here and it was actually in a lot higher concentration than what was found at Omega.” Old Main was upgraded throughout the summer with seismic upgrades, asbestos removal and new windows put in. All asbestos was safely removed. It was then bagged and taken to a regulated disposal site. “Asbestos was a really common building material and as long as it’s not disturbed it’s not a health issue. “It’s primarily when contractors and construction people and demolition get in and they start tearing things apart and disturbing that, that’s when you have to start looking at the health issues and that’s why any contractor who’s doing demolition in

an area where they have asbestos has to go through stringent WorkSafe procedures for dealing with removal,” said Jyrkkanen. With House 2 being removed it is likely a new bike compound will be put in its place, with

schools. Only about 59 students are on exchanges right now in one of the two exchange programs. The first is the bilateral or direct exchange and the second the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP). The bilateral program has TRU partnered with almost 60 schools, while the ISEP is an organization

There have already been a few information sessions, and two more are scheduled for Sept. 28 and 29. The sessions will be attended by Petrar and some of the student ambassadors. These are students who’ve already spent a semester away and are back at TRU telling others about their experience. “Living there day to day I wouldn’t say it’s culture shock, but it is something different,” said Andrew Dalgleish. He spent a semester studying mostly central European history and culture. Attending classes at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, he’s come back with a broader understanding of the world, which is what he was aiming for. “All my courses were in English, although I did take a course in Czech,” said Dalgleish. “Czech is the hardest damn language I’ve encountered,”  he said, adding that communication outside of classes could be difficult. At worst Dalgleish could make his point through pantomime, although many people do speak

shelter and lights. It is hoped this will encourage more cycling to and on campus. The newspaper relocated across the road about a month ago and can now be found in House 4.

House 2 stands stripped down and vacant as it awaits it’s final destruction. The operation has brought to light certain safety concerns about the presence of asbesos on campus. —Mike Davies

Study abroad gives students worldly experience Brendan Kergin News Editor

Go away. That’s the message some may take from TRU’s Study Abroad program — but this is a positive message. The program provides students with the opportunity to travel to a foreign country and continue their studies there while staying part of TRU. “The benefits are real,” says Jan Petrar, manager of the Study Abroad program. “Research is supporting [that] student’s GPAs go way up when they return. “Once you meet these return students it becomes quite obvious — they’re energized, they’re confident.” Petrar is trying to engage more students with the possibilities of a semester abroad. TRU already has a large international presence, but surprisingly there aren’t a large amount of exchanges, though the school is on par with other Canadian

“...TRU

has decided not to be average.”

—Jan Petrar with over 300 members. “But TRU has decided not to be average,” says Petrar. This is evident with the campaign going on right now to encourage students to at least consider studying abroad.

English. Natalie Lidster found more English in Norway, where she studied nursing for a semester. “We didn’t really find we needed Norwegian that much. We were either partnered with a Norwegian in the hospital who could speak English or in the community it was quite common for people to speak f luent English.” The education she had also had a hands-on approach which gave her a look at how Norway perceived nursing. “We had two practicums, one was in the community and one was in a hospital. I was in a plastic-surgery f loor and then out in a neighbourhood,” she said. Petrar is encouraged by the positive experiences students are telling her about. She’s hoping to continue TRU’s move towards a more international school. “We really want this program to grow because the benefits as we’ve had these students returning is huge and it’s becoming apparent.” There are two more two-hourlong information sessions in Panorama Room B of the International Building (third f loor). They are on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 2:30 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 29 at 3:30 p.m.

September 28, 2011

Life & Community

Interview with an MLA: Mungall talks post-secondary education Brendan Kergin News Editor

This week Nelson/Creston MLA Michelle Mungall was on the TRU campus, and our own Brendan Kergin sat down to find out why — and perhaps more importantly, who she is and what she does. Omega: “So, who are you?” Mungall: “I’m Michelle Mungall. I’m the MLA for NelsonCreston and the critic for advanced education, labour and market development and youth. There’s [sic] a lot of syllables in my introduction.” O: “How long have you been an MLA? ” M: “I was elected in 2009. I was a city councillor from 2002 and served one term to 2005. I didn’t run again and went to Africa. Then I came back and got involved.” O: Why are you the AE critic?  M: “Adrian (Dix, leader of the B.C. NDP) appointed me when he became leader of the NDP in April. “He gave me the position since I was deputy critic prior to this with the same portfolio but it didn’t have youth in the title. “It was a very limited role as a deputy critic so he gave me the full position starting with the last session in May.” O: “Where is B.C.’s advanced education sector strong and where is it weak, and where do you think it might grow in to fill future needs?” M: “Well we have tremendous potential with our public institu-

tions. “They are all doing incredible work on very lean budgets, so we get the biggest bang for our dollar out of our public post secondary institutions and we need to support them in their success. “I think there is more that we can be doing as a province and we need to be collaborating with the institutions on that. “Where we’re weak is I think the most notable thing that students are bringing up as well as faculty and administration is the affordability levels. “This province has one of the highest debt loads in the country and the highest outside of the Maritimes. “We have the highest interest rate on student loans, the lowest number of financial need-based grants. We are doing a very poor job on the affordability levels as has been noted and there’s a lot that can be done to really reverse that. “One of the things that we’ve proposed is the elimination of interest rates from student grants, so moving us from last to leader in this country and increasing financial need-based grants by $100 million, so essentially restoring and adding on to what we’ve had in the past which would have tremendous impact on the affordability rates for people of lower and middle income.” O: “One option for funding for universities is the corporate dollar. Do you see that as a good thing for the universities since they receive more funding or do you see that as a bad thing because there’s more of a corporate

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Michelle Mungall visited TRU this past week to talk post-secondary education from the NDP’s perspective. —Longbomb/Wilson Wong

inf luence? And, do you think the corporate inf luence is being regulated enough?” M: “I think universities provide a really great avenue for some tremendous philanthropic work for some of the major corporate entities in our community. “I think corporations also have a responsibility to contribute to post-secondary education via their taxation as well and they need to maintain their fair share of taxes and that’s not happening

in B.C. at all. “In 2009 students paid more in tuition than corporations paid in taxes and that’s a problem. When corporations make donations to universities I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but it becomes a bad thing when institutions rely so heavily on those corporate donations that they’re willing to sacrifice the allowance for critical analysis at universities of corporate activities. “When they sacrifice that in ef-

fort for donations, that’s when it does become a problem. I haven’t seen that at all in this province, but we don’t want to get there. “That’s why affordability and funding are so critical.” Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the discussion. You can read the entire interview at www.theomega.ca.

This week I present you with a to earn formal recognition for their challenge: what can you do to extend intercultural and international exyour learning beyond the classroom periences – from Study Abroad, to learning a second language, to volwalls? Often referred to as the “co- unteer work. It all starts by attending curricular experience,” the public a mandatory orientation session, and lectures, clubs, sporting events, and there’s one of those today! Wednesday, Sept. 28 other activities that from 12 noon to go on each week 1:15 p.m. in OL at TRU allow you 127. to apply what you More inforare learning in the mation at www. classroom to the tru.ca/global. world beyond. -Meet a ceHere’s a sample lebrity. of a few things goDarrell Dening on this week: nis is a local -Reach out to playwright, acthose in need in our Christine Adam tor and CBC racommunity. Studio host of “Vidents participating Dean of Students sion Quest.” He in the Community will be speaking Leadership Certificate at TRU are spending this week about creative writing and acting on a special project. As a collective on Friday, Sept. 30 in the beautiful of individuals concerned about the new Irving K. Barber BC Centre welfare of homeless individuals as (attached to the House of Learning) the winter season approaches, this from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. He group has committed to fill 100 will also read from his popular play backpacks with warm clothing, non- “Tales of an Urban Indian.” I found all of these on TRU’s perishable food and toiletries. The backpacks will be handed out by new events calendar. Check it out at ASK Wellness volunteers during the events.tru.ca. homeless count on Saturday, Oct. 8. Christine Adam, TRU’s dean of For more information, or for a more extensive list of items needed, please students, writes a weekly column on contact Alana Frymire at afrymire@ topics of interest to TRU students. You can find her in person in 1631 tru.ca or at (250)-828-5171. -Develop your global leadership Old Main and follow her on Twitter skills. The TRU Global Competency @trudeanstudents. is a credential that allows students

From the

d e a n ’s desk

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 4

Editorial

Big sound in a small, mostly empty room I popped by Heroes for a quick beer and to check out the band that had been booked by Brooke Pertersmeyer and her team as part of the Heroes Concert Series last Wednesday and had a fantastic evening. Unfortunately Brooke had gotten to me too late to get an ad in the paper for the show, and the dismal turnout attested to that, but the band they found to play was just phenomenal. Dinosaur Bones — a heavy thumping but melodic band out of Toronto — were awesome. There’s really no other way to say how much I enjoyed the show. They were just extraordinary. Driving rhythms and bass lines, haunting melodies and tight, well timed changes — this band has clearly played these songs many, many times, and it comes through in their set without it sounding stagnant or bored. After experiencing Dinosaur Bones live that night, I headed

Editor’s Note Mike Davies Editor-in-Chief up to the stage to have a chat with their frontman Ben, and was greeted warmly and given an impromptu interview before being invited to hang out with them for the night. I told him I thought their sound was “like if Radiohead weren’t such whiny bitches.” He laughed and completely

agreed with my comparison. Dinosaur bones were playing a few smaller venues on their way out to Victoria to meet up with Syracuse, New York band Ra Ra Riot, and embarking on a national tour with them. Unfortunately they’re hitting Kelowna on the way back through instead of Kamloops, so I’ll have to wait for their return — but when they do I’m all over that show. Check them out at dinosaurbones.ca and turn it up. Way up. I’m not going to get into what happened after we left the pub, but sufficed to say I felt a bit like that kid from Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous — except I never said that I had to go home. We did bust out into “Tiny Dancer” while we headed to the hotel, though. If this is the kind of band that’s going to be at Heroes on Wednesday nights—I’ll be there. Over and over again. editorofomega@gmail.com

Half of you are girls, right? Mike Davies Editor-in-Chief

You don’t need do be a mathematician or statistician to realize that somewhere around half the students here at TRU are women. It would therefore be irresponsible of the Omega to not point out that this year is the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and that you can be part of their efforts at the CIBC Run for the Cure event being held this Sunday, Oct 2. downtown at Riverside Park.

The annual event is one of the foundation’s largest fundraisers — last year the British Columbia events contributed $3.6 million to the efforts of the foundation in prevention, early detection, treatment and research of this form of cancer that forms in one in nine Canadian women in their lifetime. The WolfPack women’s soccer team will be doing their part this weekend (see page 11) by wearing pink shirts during their warmups and donating the proceeds from the game and shirt sales to the charity. Check out www.cbcf.org to find out how you can help out with the event as a volunteer, or donate to the cause.

Building community right here at TRU I would like to welcome you all and non-aboriginal students to come together as a group to gain a better back to TRU. I hope you had a relaxing but understanding of one another. He is very enthusiastic and passionate eventful summer. I consider it a privilege to be writ- about his upcoming year with the ing for the Omega once again. For collective and shared with me some those of you who don’t know me, information on upcoming events. They will be hosting a movie I am a graduate of the Bachelor of night here at TRU on Social Work proWednesday, Oct. 5, gram (2007) and in the Alumni Theam currently a atre, Clock Tower Journalism stubuilding from 7 p.m. dent here at TRU. to 9 p.m. This year I hope The movie that will to explore the idea be playing is “Grown of community Ups” starring Adam here at TRU to Sandler. The event create awareis free and free pop ness of various and popcorn will clubs, services be provided. and committees The collective on campus. will also be hostI recently had Lisa Coriale ing a Story Teller’s the opportunity Gala in March. to talk with NoThere will be more lan Guichon, the TRUSU Aboriginal Representa- information to come in the new year, tive for the campus Aboriginal Col- but Guichon did say that there will be a keynote speaker and worklective. He is a first year Bachelor of Busi- shops, one of which will be pine ness student and was elected by the needle basket-making. This gala will take place during student body last year. Previously, Guichon was involved in a number Aboriginal Awareness Week, March of committees on campus, as well 12-15, 2012. If you would like to volunteer to as the student leadership program. This experience led him to “take on help out with any events, please cona bigger role.” He said that one of tact Guichon at the TRUSU office the most rewarding aspects of being (250)-828-5289 or email guichon@ on the collective is “the interaction trusu.ca. To see other collective events with students and faculty.” The TRUSU Aboriginal Collec- please go to the TRUSU events caltive aims to provide “advocacy, endar at the TRUSU.ca website. I hope you will all take the opporservices and entertainment” to both aboriginal and non-aboriginal stu- tunity to take part in these events if dents, faculty and community mem- you have the chance. If you are involved in any clubs or bers. To find out more about the collective you can email Guichon services that you would like to have at guichon@trusu.ca or check out featured in my column, you can email me at lisa-coriale@mytru.ca www.trusu.ca. Guichon encourages aboriginal and I will be happy to meet with you.

Campus Clubs with Coriale

SUMMIT MONTESSORI The Virtue for September is: Peacefulness: Peacefulness is being calm inside. Take time for daily reflection and gratitude. Solve conflicts so everyone wins. Be a peacemaker. Peace is giving up the love of power for the power of love. Peace in the world begins with peace in your heart. Our Trained Montessori Teachers provide a Montessori Pre-school, and full day Childcare program. Studies include world geography, culture, math, language, art, music and much more! We provide care for Toddlers, 3-5’s and Afterschool.

September 28, 2011

Life & Community

TRU prepares to REDress Cory Hope

Arts and Entertainment Editor Students and faculty of TRU will soon notice the presence of red dresses hanging in various locations around campus. The issue being addressed is widespread, just as the art installation will be. Silently blowing in the wind as people walk by, the dresses are part of an exhibit that addresses gendered and racialized violence. Winnipeg-based artist Jaime Black will be bringing her REDress project to TRU from Oct. 4 to 7 to help “provide opportunities for conversation about the serious impact of... gendered and racialized violence on all peoples of Canada.” Black said she hopes “to evoke a presence through the marking of absence.” REDress will also be featured at the Interior Indian Friendship Society, the T’kemlups Indian Band and the Kamloops Art Gallery. The project focuses on “the over 600 missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada,” and includes many different events. A banquet dinner will take place Oct 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the T’Kemlups Indian Band Sk’lep School Gymnasium. This will be followed by a candlelight vigil. Two videos will also be presented. “Building a Highway of Hope” will play Oct. 5 at TRU’s House 5 and will feature a talk with director Jessica Yee. “Finding Dawn” will play Oct. 6 at the Irvine K. Barber Centre at 6:30 p.m. It will be followed by a panel discussion. An artist talk takes place Oct. 7 at 12 noon in the Art Gallery in Old Main. Tours of the installation will be of-

fered at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. throughout the exhibit’s run and will be guided by Jaime Black. These leave from the steps of the Brown Family House of Learning. All events are free and open to the public. Donations of red dresses for the project can be made through T’kemlups Indian Band at #200- 355 Yellowhead Hwy., the Interior Indian Friendship society at 125 Palm St., or the Kamloops Art Gallery at 465 Victoria St. The goal is to collect over 600 red dresses to put on display - one for every missing or murdered Aboriginal woman. Jaime Black is originally from Thunder Bay but currently resides in Winnipeg, where she is an artist and art educator. In an interview with Indigenous Foundations at UBC she states that her REDress project was partially inspired by her work as a teacher in Opaskawayak Cree Nation, a place also known as The Pas. This is “where Helen Betty Osborne was brutally murdered while walking home one night by two young men who were not charged or sentenced until years later.” She said she is also inspired by “a group of 300 women in Colombia who had the courage to create a moving four-hour performance piece to protest their missing and murdered loved ones in the main square in Bogota.” “A female Aboriginal scholar at a Canadian Studies conference in Germany standing up to remind everyone of Canada’s colonial past and present,” she said was also an inspiration. Anyone wanting more information on the REDress project can look up REDress’ Facebook page, or follow it on Twitter at @REDressKam.

A good time for a good cause.

A visiting installation is bringing attention to gendered and racialized violence. —Jaime Black

JJ d’Aoust (#6) has a laugh with teammate Naqib Popal before his at bat in the TRU Alumni game. The game is a major fundraiser for the team each year. —Vanessa Obeng

Tough to get it by two.

Brad Gunter’s spike is blocked by the UBC Thunderbird defenders. The WolfPack were swept in three sets on Sept. 23 in early exhibition play. —Nathan Crosby

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 4

Science & Technology

For the record lover There’s science behind analog vs. digital Adam Petrash

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WINNIPEG (CUP) — The reason vinyl sounds better all comes down to analog versus digital. If you know anything about analog and digital wavelengths then you’ll know what I am referring to. If not, allow me to explain. Analog wavelengths are as pure as it can get. Sound is, by nature, analog; it’s continuous. To better explain this, imagine a green-covered rolling hill in the countryside. Now take a pencil and trace the outside of that hill. You now have a bell curve, right? This represents what an analog wavelength looks like. With digital, the sound is not continuous; it consists of a series of shorter sounds. Now, take that same green-covered hill, but this time, instead of tracing the hill accurately, draw stairs into the left side leading up to the top of the hill and back down the right side. This represents what a digital wavelength looks like. And, as you can see, it’s missing pieces of that hill, thus making the argument that analog captures a more organic, truer representation whereas, regarding digital, subtleties are absent. Now I get that these days with all the latest advances in digital technology there’s the argument that no one can tell the difference anymore. That yeah, sure, if it was recorded on analog it’s a safe bet that it sounds best on analog. But who records on analog anymore? Well, you’d be surprised. Bands like the Black Keys, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie, Jack Johnson, among many, many others still choose to record using analog. I know others would say if it was recorded digitally than it has to sound better on CD or MP3, so why buy it on record, you’re not missing anything? Point taken. But the truth, in short, is that it’s all subjective.

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Hawaiian born singer-songwriter Jack Johnson is one of many popular contemporary musicians who still record using analog wavelengths.

How we interpret music, as we do with most things, is all personal preference. For me, I’m an audiophile at heart. I believe vinyl to sound full and warm and that it creates an atmosphere digital continues to lack. But that’s just me. So I say go and conduct your own science experiments. Go up into the attic, or down into that crawlspace, or out to the garage and get your parents’ (or any other family member’s) turntable that’s sitting there just collecting dust. If no one you know has one, find one. Then just make your way down to your local record store and discover all the old, collectible and new LP’s they sell. Conduct your own science experiments, then go and find out for yourself why vinyl very may well be, in your own opinion, better.

ANTH/SOCI 4030 (6 credits) May 2012

Field School in East-Central Europe Information meetings: October 12, 2011 @ 16:30 – AE 101 October 13, 2011 @ 16:30 – AE 101 Graphic by Kara Passey/The Manitoban

Website: www.tru.ca/europe

September 28, 2011

Arts & Entertainment

Arcade Fire snag $30,000 Polaris Prize Emma Godmere

Emma Godmere — CUP National TORONTO (CUP) — If they somehow didn’t have the indie cred before, one of this year’s most successful bands has certainly solidified their top standing in the Canadian music world now. Montreal’s Arcade Fire were announced as the winners of the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for their album The Suburbs at the annual gala held at the Masonic Temple in downtown Toronto on Sept. 19. “Since the beginning of our career, we’ve been trying to get paid in an oversized novelty cheque and it’s never happened ‘til now, so — thanks, Polaris,” multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry told the packed crowd as the band accepted their prize. The indie rockers can now place that giant $30,000 novelty cheque beside their Grammy, Juno, and Brit award trophies they’ve already scooped up this year. But Steve Jordan, founder and executive director of the Polaris Music Prize, doesn’t think the band’s previous wins will have an effect on this particular endeavour. “There’s no doubt that this is the biggest selling band that’s ever won Polaris and certainly that’s going to extend our reach. But it’s not our objective to have that kind of reach,”

he told journalists after the event, emphasizing the prize’s goal of celebrating artistic merit above general popularity. “What we’re trying to create — it’s not as much about picking a winner at the end of the whole contest as it is about the conversation that happens about music,” Jordan explained. That nationwide conversation reached its peak at the Sept. 19 gala, where six out of the 10 shortlisted artists performed for the live audience made up of former Polaris nominees, fellow critically acclaimed performers from Canada and beyond, international media and industry insiders. Calga r y-by-way- of-Mont real youngsters Braids provided one of the most impressive sets of the night, performing two tracks from their shortlisted debut full-length release, Native Speaker. “Native Speaker was written and recorded in a very formative period of our lives that I think a lot of people went through and a lot of people are going through, in that younger demographic,” drummer Austin Tufts told Canadian University Press before the event. “I think, in that way, it makes it more relatable.” Every nominated act that took the stage that evening, including Ron Sexsmith, Austra, Galaxie, Timber Timbre and Hey Rosetta!, reached out to the young and old in both the

live and at-home audiences, who were able to catch the event thanks to web radio and live-streaming. Several live sets included extra indie star power: Ohbijou’s Anissa Hart and Jenny Mecija and The Acorn’s Jeff Debutte joined Timber Timbre’s onstage string section for their haunting performance, and Tasseomancy’s Sari and Romy Lightman sang backup to Austra’s Katie Stelmanis as the Toronto new-wave act turned up the heat early on in the night. Remaining shortlisters Destroyer, Colin Stetson, The Weeknd and Arcade Fire were not available to perform, despite the Montreal group’s Parry, Jeremy Gara and Win Butler being on hand to accept Richard Reed Parry, Jeremy Gara and Win Butler of Montreal’s Arcade Fire hold their $30,000 Polaris Prize. their prize. (Photo by Josh O’Kane/CUP) The band suggested upon as- cending the stage to celebrate their win that they would invest the $30,000 winnings into their re- for pretty cheap,” he said, noting that us, giving time, giving space, offercording studio. fellow nominees Timber Timbre and ing something — so I feel like we try “To be honest, we hadn’t really Colin Stetson have stopped in before. to and will try to keep doing that as thought about it much because we “For us, it’s been an important much as we can. didn’t expect to win,” frontman Win part of this band’s success to be able “We’ve been blessed and fortunate Butler admitted after the gala. to be a band and do the creation part enough to have a wealth of resources “But we started a studio outside of with little to no stress,” said Parry. at our disposal,” Parry continued. Montreal after our first record, and “We were really lucky in making “And as artists, that’s the greatest whenever we haven’t been using it, records and having just from the get- luxury in life — to have resources we’ve let bands go in there and record go people being really generous with and time to just work on the art.”

Community Calendar Wednesday, Sept 28 -Heroes Live Concert Series. Show starts 8 p.m. $5 Dollars cover.

Friday, Sept. 23 -Darrell Dennis, awardwinning playwright, actor and CBC radio host (Revision Quest) will speak from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Irving K. Barber Centre, House of Learning.

-Arts Colloquium Series begins. Seven TRU faculty members from diverse disciplines investigate the Saturday, Sept. 24 significance of “place” to teaching and learning -WolfPack Women’s at TRU and beyond. 12 noon-10 p.m. AE 108. Soccer, Noon Hillside Stadium vs Vancouver Island -Future Of University Transportation? discussion. How will -WolfPack Men’s the new transportation Soccer, 2 p.m. realities affect the way Hillside Stadium we live? vs Vancouver Island IB 1015, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. University -Global Competencey Credential orientation session, 12 noon to 1:15 p.m. in OL 127.

Sunday, Oct. 2 -CFBX Recod Fair. Annual record fair features vinyl, CDs, cassette tapes (remember those?), memorabilia, books, music equipment, instruments, and more. Terrace, CAC, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $2 entry -CIBC Run for the Cure Riverside Park downtown. www.cbcf.org for details

Know of events that are happening that students should be aware of? Let us know so we can let them know. Hooray for knowing! editorofomega@ gmail.com

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 4

Life & Community Omega Expeditionary Force Presents: Cooney Bay Cory Hope

Arts and Entertainment Editor Once school starts to kick into high gear, finding time and ways to relax becomes more and more difficult. Fortunately for anyone with lots of reading to do, Cooney Bay can provide you with a wonderful place to hang out and get lots of work done without all of that distraction that can be found in coffee shops and other such places that offer a Wi-Fi signal. And what’s more relaxing than hanging out by the water, making a fire and sitting down with a book? The only correct answer is: Nothing. Well, maybe one thing — I brought a hammock down with me and read by the river. You’ll need a car, or at least a bicycle for this one. If you simply head down Tranquille Road you’ll find a perfect spot to sit down and relax. Once you reach the fork in the road that lies way out past the golf course, keep to the left. There are lots of places to explore farther up the other way but those can be saved for another day. Once you take the left fork, keep your eyes out on the right and you’ll see the old Tranquille tuberculosis sanatorium where they filmed the opening sequences of the A-Team movie a few years ago. Park in the parking lot you’ll find at the end of the line and head down the path that leads to the water. If you happen to have brought a GPS with you, start looking for N 50 43’ 22.0” W 120 32’ 10.5”, and you’ll find the spot where I had my campfire this week and a piece of flag tape with something written on it. Find the tape and be the first one to tell me what it says by emailing cory. hope@gmail.com and you’ll win a prize.

If you didn’t bring a GPS with you, just turn right at the water and keep walking. You should be able to see the flag tape just walking along the shore. Maybe if you’re lucky you’ll see some pelicans or big horn sheep while you’re out there. I spent part of the morning chasing fish up the creek while I was there playing catch-andrelease with my bare hands. I called it Bareknuckle Fishing and should patent that idea so you’ll owe me a nickel any time you even think it. While you’re out there, play safe with your fires. Kamloops doesn’t currently have a fire ban, but driftwood catches fire really easily, and Cooney Bay just happens to be where a lot of the driftwood in the area ends up. It makes for really nice long fires. Every year people make shelters out of it as well. Making sure that your fires are controlled while you have them and ensuring that they’re put out properly before you leave will help keep Cooney Bay the area it is right now: free to use and free of restrictions, so that you can keep having some of those cheap and easy ways to pass the time under the guise of doing your homework. Editor’s note: Congratulations can’t be given this week to the winner of last week’s geocache, as no one sent Cory the message on the flagging tape at Bridal Veil Falls in Peterson Creek Park. This Omega feature will be discontinued if there’s no interest, so you should really take the opportunity to get out there and see some of the beauty in the area — and win some free prizes while you’re at it.

Find this view at Cooney Bay and win the Omega’s weekly prize.

Inequality a threat to Canadian society: law professor Devan C. Tasa

Omega Contributor An increasing gulf between the rich and poor is a threat to Canadian society, according to Osgoode Hall tax law professor Neil Brooks. The TRU Facility Association and the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC hosted Brooks’ presentation in the Irving Barber BC Centre at the University, where he presented his findings, as well as his book on the topic, The Trouble With Billionaires, which he co-authored with journalist Linda McQuaig. “There has been an enormous increase of inequality in Canada,” said Brooks. “Wealth has become incredibly concentrated at the top one per cent of Canadians.” According to Brooks, CEOs made 20-30 times more money than the average worker in 1960, whereas they made 200-300 times more than the average in 2007. Brooks claims that in an unequal society, the wealthy are advantaged and the poor are disadvantaged. “At every level of the political policy making process, (the rich) are able to inf luence it through their wealth,” Brooks said. Some of those advantages are that they can fund think-tanks, purchase newspapers,

and make large donations to political parties. As for the poor, Brooks said that studies have shown that they are more likely to be less healthy, possess less education, and have less confidence in themselves and their society. “[I] think something should be done about it,” said Brooks. Studies have shown that more equal societies have a higher quality of life, more social mobility, higher wages, and higher economic growth. “The best instrument for dealing with this increasing inequality in income” is to change the tax system so that the wealthy pay more than the poor, said Brooks. Figures he presented showed that while the bottom ten per cent of Canadians pay a total rate of 30.7 per cent of their income, the top one percent pay 30.5 per cent. Brooks had some suggestions on how the Canadian government should reform the tax system. ”We should add more brackets to our income tax system for higher income people,” said Brooks. “And the other thing we should do is introduce a wealth transfer tax. When rich families give all of their wealth to the next generation, we should have a tax on that transfer of wealth.”

—Cory Hope

Puzzle of the Week #3 – Coloured Blocks You have ten blocks with each block being a solid colour of one of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. 1. There are the same number of blue blocks as yellow blocks. 2. The number of green blocks is not prime. 3. There are fewer yellow blocks than orange blocks. 4. There is at least one block of each colour. 5. There are the same number of violet blocks as orange blocks. 6. There is exactly one red block. Given the above, how many blocks are there of each of the six colours? This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize. Submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net>. Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in the Math Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

September 28, 2011

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Across 1. More than some 5. “___ Smile” (1976 hit) 9. Spray setting 13. Lou Gehrig, on the diamond 14. Donnybrook 15. Knowing about 16. Artist Bonheur 17. Be part of the cast 18. Brought into play 19. Simple addition 22. Elton John, e.g. 23. ___ souci 24. Mozart’s “L’___ del Cairo” 27. Like a bunch 29. Debonair 32. Undergrad degs. 33. Catches 36. Whole alternative 37. Ecstatic 42. Old German duchy name 43. Ready for anything 44. Wrath 45. Layers 47. It’s found in banks 49. Blonde’s secret, maybe 50. Vex, with “at” 52. Word from the decks 54. Literary homeowners 62. Shades 63. Roundish 64. Christiania, now

65. Tropical fruit 66. Rewards 67. Simpleton 68. Some beans 69. “___ quam videri” (North Carolina’s motto) 70. Chops Down 1. Big do 2. “Crazy” bird 3. Yorkshire river 4. Snares 5. Jiffs 6. Karen Carpenter, for one 7. Checks, with in 8. Trojan hero 9. Greek dish 10. Acad. 11. Potpourri 12. Big deal 14. Gibb brother 20. Ceiling 21. Occupied, as a lavatory 24. ___-Wan Kenobi 25. Art able to 26. Very, in music 28. Australian rock band 30. Clear 31. File material 34. “Harper Valley ___” 35. Jerk 38. Textual interpretation

39. “From the Earth to the Moon” writer 40. Signals 41. Society page word 46. Strauss opera 48. Storm part 51. Other halves 53. Age 54. As a result 55. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” writer 56. Bank 57. “Little piggies” 58. All alternative 59. “Cast Away” setting 60. Worm or lamp 61. Creates a lawn

last week’s answers

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 4

Sports

Despite the penalties, Lockwood won’t change his game Nathan Crosby Sports Editor

After losing in the BICHL final to SFU last year, the WolfPack hockey team is looking for redemption and that starts with solid leadership. Defenceman Cody Lockwood is returning for his third year on the Wolf Pack and is finding his place on the team as a role model for the players who are new to the college hockey circuit. “When you’ve been there and some guys haven’t, you got to let them know what to expect and first things first is setting precedence right away in the dressing room; and then leading on the ice,” Lockwood said. He will wear the “A” on his jersey this year and has set the bar high for himself and his teammates. “You know what to expect. All these players in this league are BCHL, WHL, Junior A, Junior B hockey players.” Lockwood is from Kamloops and played his midget hockey in the Memorial Arena where the Wolf Pack play. It was there where he suffered his first concussion after hitting his head on the penalty box stations that make the downtown arena unique. He left Kamloops for the 2008-2009 season on a scholarship to the University of Southern Maine but returned the following year and has played for

the ‘Pack since. Physicality is a huge piece of his game and his coach relies on it to set the tone with his hard checks and fearless attitude. With media attention surrounding Rule 48 in the NHL, which makes hits to the head illegal, Lockwood said it doesn’t change the way he plays. “I like to play tough, and I like to play rough. I like to bang bodies. Is rule 48 in the back of my head every time I go to make a hit? Absolutely. I don’t want to get kicked out of every hockey game. I’m a leader on this team. I need to lead by example on and off the ice.” It was on Sept. 16 at the Memorial Arena where Lockwood was given a game misconduct for a hit to the head on a smaller Okanangan College player. “I’m six-foot-five. The game I got kicked out of last week, the guy was five-foot-six. I got a foot on him and I went to go hit him and he ducked,” he said, but adding he understands the seriousness of head injuries. “The first body part you want to protect is your head; you don’t want your brain to be scrambled eggs.” Lockwood rebounded the next week at home with a solid 60 minute outing ending in a 6-5 Wolf Pack exhibition loss to rival SFU. Growing up, he says he modelled his game after the highly decorated Scott Niedermayer, and another one of the league’s

best blue-liners, Shea Weber. “He’s a big guy [with a] hard shot, and he likes to play the power play — that’s kind of what I try to do for this team,” Lockwood said of Weber. Once school and hockey fin-

ish, Lockwood said he is focused on a different type of enforcing. “I want to be a police officer. It’s been in my family forever. My dad is one, my stepmom is one; it’s something that has surrounded me my whole life.”

The Wolf Pack continues with their final pre-season games on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Calgary against SAIT. Look for Lockwood to be a significant part of this team’s road to redemption this year.

defenders and score at the 34th minute mark. The momentum was on the Heat’s side coming out of the dressing room in the second half and according to coach McManus, the chances were there for the Wolf Pack but the effort wavered at times throughout the second half. “I think we probably played about sixty-five minutes,” he said. “I don’t think we gave everything we had today, which is unfortunate because in the dressing room we were pretty confident at half time and we came back out and we just didn’t do it. But the girls are happy they tied a team which is supposed to be number five in the national rankings.” The game continued with both teams trading chances at each end but neither side was able to beat the solid play from the goalkeepers. The Wolf Pack and Heat aren’t scheduled to play again before the play-offs, but the 1-1 draw

won’t be forgotten the next time these two geographical rivals meet. Captain Abbey McAuley said the team put in a good effort but couldn’t finish against an opponent they have become familiar with in the last week. “This team (UBCO) always comes out battling hard and we knew that going into this and everyone’s mindset was to give it a full 90 minutes,” McAuley said. “Being at home provides a better atmosphere with people coming and cheering us on and we used that to pick ourselves up.” Coach McManus was more than happy with his goalkeeper Emily Edmunson. She was named player of the game and according to him was a big reason why the ‘Pack didn’t lose their home opener. “She was phenomenal and made some superb saves,” he said. “Danilo Caron (keeper coach) has to take a lot of credit for working with her and teaching her what’s going on. The two of them are fantastic.”

The Wolf Pack record is now one win, one loss and two draws. They host Vancouver Island University on Oct. 1 and Capilano University on Oct. 2 at Hillside Stadium. The

home opener also saw the soccer team wear pink CIBC Run for the Cure T-shirts during warmup, with proceeds from the sales of the shirts going to the cause.

Assistant captain Cody Lockwood (24) will be relied on to use his six-foot-five frame to anchor the WolfPack blue line this season. Lockwood has a physical edge to his game and hopes to help mentor the young WolfPack team. —Nathan Crosby

Women’s soccer plays to a draw against nationally ranked #5 Nathan Crosby Sports Editor

The Wolf Pack women’s soccer team couldn’t repeat last week’s victory over the UBCO Heat, as the home opener ended in a 1-1 draw. It was Emily beating Emily for the first goal of the match. Emily Braun of UBCO opened the scoring at the 24th minute mark by beating Wolf Pack goalkeeper Emily Edmunson. “I think the communication just broke down,” head coach Tom McManus said. “The midfielder hadn’t dropped back to give the defender a hand. It was a mix up of who we should be marking and we got caught on it.” A minute later, veteran Blair MacKay almost tied the game with a shot that sailed over the top of the net. Ten minutes later, it was Amanda Barrett who used her quick feet to outrun the Heat

Veteran Ashley Piggot (4) signs autographs for some excited future soccer players. The WolfPack tied the UBCO Heat 1-1 at Hillside Stadium on Sept. 24. —Nathan Crosby

September 28, 2011

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