July 2013

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 29 July 2013

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PTSD affected by social approval

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Canada Day in Kamloops (gallery)

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TRU’s Independent Student Newspaper

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July 2013

News

Part-time studies grant sees dramatic increase in recipients

Karla Karcioglu Contributor

More than twice as many TRU students applied for and received the Canada Student Loans’ Grant for Part-Time Studies this academic year, July 1, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013, than the previous one, according to Gordon Down, manager of TRU financial aid and awards department.

In total 214 TRU students received the Part-Time Studies grant. 117 of those students are campus based and 97 are TRU Open Learning students.

In the previous academic year, July 1, 2011 to Aug. 31, 2012, only 102 students, on campus and open learning, received the Part-Time Studies Grant.

Down credits the increase to having more on-campus promotion. Last year the posters that advertise the grant came out

late, Down said.

The posters featured the catch phrase “take a course for free this summer,” as students do not have to pay back grant money, unless they withdraw from their courses or their need is reassessed.

The grant is designed for lowincome students who are taking no more than nine credits of post-secondary courses. They must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. They must also be in good standing with Canada Student Loans.

The grant provides a maximum of $1,200 per academic year, July 1 to Aug. 31 for students, or $1,920 per academic year for students with dependents.

“I hope we can increase [the number of students receiving the grant] another significant amount next year,” Down said.

According to the Government of Canada, 9,424 Canadian post-

secondary students received the Part-Time Studies Grant between Aug 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013, totaling $10,402.

In B.C. and the Yukon 3,873 students received the grant.

According to a release from the Government of Canada, this increase is all a part of the plan.

“More Canadians are pursuing higher education,” said the release. “To help them participate in post-secondary studies, the Government has taken steps to ensure that Canadians always have access to financial assistance for their education. This is why we have strengthened post-secondary education support by making it easier for students to have access to financial support no matter what their economic circumstances so they can gain the skills and knowledge they need to make a successful transition into the job market.”

“

...we have strengthened postsecondary education support by making it easier for students to have access to financial support no matter what their economic circumstances” —Government of Canada

Science & Technology

Social approval may be a factor in PTSD Billy-Ray Belcourt The Gateway (U of A)

EDMONTON (CUP) — The mental health of soldiers may be linked to social morality — a connection researchers from the U of A say reveals the detrimental impacts of some hasty government decisions.

The study, co-authored by David Webber, Erick Faucher, Jeff Schimel, Andy Martens and Joseph Hayes, demonstrated that returning soldiers often look to the general public to assess whether their actions abroad are socially accepted or rejected.

According to the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resource website, Heal My PTSD, 20 per cent of military personnel returning from the Middle East have PTSD — a severe anxiety disorder triggered by psychologically traumatic experiences.

Webber and his colleagues developed an experiment involving university undergraduate students where they tested the students’ propensity to kill insects depending on three distinct conditions: the presence of social validation, social invalidation or no support or disagreement at all.

As they anticipated, Webber said students displayed and reported more stress and guilt when their actions were challenged and overtly frowned upon by a confederate — an actor employed by the researchers — with opposite results occurring when their actions were accepted.

Although their research did not clinically focus on PTSD or

veterans, Webber noted the aspect of killing based on social morality can translate to soldiers returning from war — a correlation Webber suggested clinicians and other experts may not actually consider because of their tendency to attribute actions to internal motives and causes.

“Our research shows that the way you actually experience [PTSD] is dependent on what the people around you feel. So if you’re going to experience guilt from something you’re going to look for other people to tell you if [what you’ve done is] right or wrong,” he said.

“So clinicians should consider … the actual greater social environment and … the state of support for the war to help them understand what it is that’s troubling actual soldiers.”

Webber explained the extent of social acceptance for a war plays an immense role in the degree to which soldiers experience PTSD. When people consider a war to be illegitimate and not based on concrete evidence, Webber said social invalidation typically takes the form of war protests — a sign of social disapproval that reflects the insecure objectives of the government.

“If members of Canada or the U.S. are avidly protesting a war, that’s a clear sign of invalidation for a soldier which would potentially put them at a greater risk for psychological harm,” he said.

“If wars are based more on irrational fears or insecurities, and the decisions aren’t based in hard

Canadian soldiers of Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, Canadian Army inspect their weapons prior to participating in lane-training during a training evolution on Camp Blanding, Fla., April 18, 2009.

—PHOTO COURTESY US MARINE COR PS evidence, those are the situations where as time at war continues and passes, the public will catch wind of that and they will disapprove of what’s happening and protests will ensue.”

Faucher, one of Webber’s colleagues, is hopeful that further studies based on the premise used in their experiment will reveal

additional information on the link between heroic-like killings and social validation, and whether that has any influence on a soldier’s mental health.

“We would like to see whether we could continue using this bug-killing paradigm to examine whether participants would feel heroic or perhaps gain self-esteem

if the bugs are portrayed as villains,” he said.

“For example, framing the bugs as ‘evil’ and as something that needs to be annihilated often gives people doing the exterminating, and those endorsing the exterminating, a sense of significance and pride — [for example], the murdering of Osama Bin Laden.”

ON THE COVER: What do you think of Canada? Of being Canadian? Of where the country is headed? Check out Sean Brady’s centre-fold photo gallery on pages 4 and 5 this month to see how Kamloops celebrates Canada’s birthday and share your thoughts with us on Facebook or at theomega.ca.

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The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 29

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www.theomega.ca

July 2013

Volume 22, Issue 29

Published since November 27, 1991

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Editorial/Opinions

Canadian Pride

Mike Davies

editor@truomega.ca

250-828-5069

@PaperguyDavies NEWS EDITOR

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

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Editor’s Note Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief

omegacontributors Karla Karcioglu, Sean Brady

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

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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.

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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 2012.

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 Box 3010, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-372-1272 E-mail: editor@truomega.ca Ad Enquiries: managerofomega@gmail.com

(Correspondence not intended for publication should be labelled as such.)

Follow us on Twitter: @TRU_Omega “Like” us on Facebook.

Do it.

Seriously.

This month’s photo gallery (Canada Day at Riverside Park, pages four and five) got me thinking: What does it mean to be Canadian?

Type that question into any Internet search engine and you’ll see a rather predictable set of results: bloggers celebrating “freedom,” filmmakers exploring “identity” and multicultural organizations celebrating, well, multiculturalism.

But what it means to be Canadian is a fluid concept.

It’s generally accepted that Canadians are a polite, well-mannered, soft-spoken people who keep to themselves and care about each other. We respect nature and democracy and have universal healthcare and excellent public schooling. All of these things are true — compared to many other places on the planet, at least — and yet, there are many who struggle to cut through all these facts (some would say stereotypes) in an attempt to find a “Canadian identity” that is universal.

Why is it important to ascertain this elusive “Canadian” identity? Are we not all individuals?

Does it matter that some of us don’t fit this mold?

Are we looking for this character in order to “correct” people when they fall outside these ideals?

There are those who think this supposed modesty is actually bravado.

After all, we’re pretty vocal about how awesomely modest, respectful and caring we are.

“I find the majority of Canadians self-righteous and smug about their country, the excact [sic] same thing they accuse the Americans of,” said one commenter under a MacLean’s story from December 2011 entitled, “Canadians feel like they’re on top of the world: Poll,” in which this national identity and pride is explored.

The commenter was a self-proclaimed “Brit living in Canada…going home next year [because] Canada just does not cut it for me.”

The article itself, while celebrating in Canadian nationalism, confidence and pride, makes some of the same points.

After outlining many of the wonderful facets — and in some regards tenets — of our Canadian lifestyle, the article points out, “[it is] no wonder our confidence levels are soaring. But there’s something else going on too. For almost 50 years, Canadians have prided themselves on their middle-power likeability—the peacekeeping and peacebrokering values instilled in us during the Lester B. Pearson-Pierre Trudeau period of our history. But our growing confidence makes for an ill fit over that old, aw-shucks heritage.”

In other words, the more confidence we display about being Canadian, the less “being Canadian” means what it used to.

Holder of the Canada research chair in law, population health and global development policy and associate professor in the faculties of law and medicine at the University of Ottawa, Amir Attaran agreed with that assertion.

“What made us effective as a middle power in the past is that we were conspicuous about that humility, and therefore threatened nobody. We had

In another MacLean’s article, this one published in June 2012 — a decidedly unscientific “How Canadian Are You” quiz — one Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies, said, “We have a pretty positive self-image of ourselves, it’s almost bordering on narcissistic.”

The quiz itself asked a series of questions about the regular census-like things MacLean’s asks about: income, spending habits, level of education attained, what kind of housing you have and the size of it, and so on, but added a somewhat creepy dimension asking about height, weight and measurements. I guess they were trying to find out what the “average Canadian” looks like and how they live.

The main problem with the survey and results is that it in no way establishes “How Canadian” one is — which is in fact the question in the title of the published work. It doesn’t even attempt to do so.

Are you more Canadian —Nicholas Köhler, the closer you are to the average? Am I less Canadian MacLean’s magazine because I have a less than average household income ($68,560) and have less than We are proud of the fact that we the average credit card debt ($3,462)? are a peaceful nation,” which doesn’t Or maybe I’m more Canadian because even imply modesty, or promote be- I’m taller than the average (5’ 9”) and ing soft-spoken or reserved. The weigh more than the average (187 lbs).

I don’t know how this is supposed to values of equality, respect, freedom, peace, law and order are the values be a “How Canadian Are You” test, but I do have a certain level of respect for asked of prospective citizens.

“Aw-shucks” doesn’t even come up one commenter on the piece who said, “I am Canadian enough to not have to once.

Then again, I’m not sure how much ask myself: how ‘Canadian’ am I?” I’ll tell you this much: When I hear stock should be placed in this document, since there’s a follow-up quiz “Oh, Canada” I take of my hat and at the end in which the first question stand up if I’m seated, I have a red mais “Which of the following is NOT ple leaf tattoo at the base of my neck, an official Canadian value?” and the I’m proud of (most of) what this country represents and I’ll share that pride possible answers are: with anyone who asks.

That’s as Canadian as I feel I need a.

Peace to be. You can be as Canadian as you b.

Freedom feel you need to be, too. That’s one of c.

Moose the other beautiful things about being d.

Equality Canadian. editor@truomega.ca wonderful power as an aw-shucks nation. And we don’t have that anymore,” he said.

But should we want — as seems to be the theme here — to be an “awshucks” nation, just because that’s what we’ve been in the past?

A “Canadian Citizenship Guide” is issued by the province of P.E.I. (no such document can be found at the government of B.C. website), which outlines what Canadian citizenship means to prospective immigrants. It suggests, “Canadian values include freedom, respect for cultural differences and a commitment to social justice.

“

Our growing confidence

makes for an ill fit over that old, aw-shucks heritage.”

Ω

What are your thoughts on being Canadian (or being in Canada)?

Chime in on our Facebook page under the link for the above article or at

theomega.ca

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July 2013

Canad

in Kam

All photos by Sean Brady (centre “map” image co

The Omega 路 Volume 22, Issue 29

da Day

mloops

ourtesy DrRandomFactor/Wikimedia Commons)

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July 2013

Sports The annual golf trip review: Whistler Mike Davies

Editor-in-Chief Every summer I try to do a tour of some B.C. golf courses outside our own magnificent region. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the tracks we have right here in Kamloops (look for my local courses review piece in the August edition of The Omega) but sometimes it’s nice to try some others — even if it’s just once so I can say I’ve played them.

Last year I shared with you my assessment of a few courses in B.C.’s northwest (Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert), which you can find at theomega.ca.

The end of June 2013, however, saw me in Whistler, B.C. on a three-night, four-round excursion. After careful consideration, I have ranked the four premier courses of that area for you, in case you’re ever up that way with your clubs — or want to book a package as we did.

Let me first say that you can’t go wrong picking any of these courses over the others, and it feels weird saying that some are “worse” than others by ranking them, because they’re all phenomenal tracks. If you only have a weekend, though, or want to play a couple of courses twice (as is my plan if I ever go back) here are my rankings and the reasons for them so you can make the most of those opportunities.

4. Nicklaus North Opened for play in 1996, for some reason this course feels like it still has some maturing to do, but you can feel that it will become what Jack envisions for it.

Nicklaus doesn’t put hazards (bunkers, ponds, long-ass rough)

everywhere on his courses to threaten you and make you feel intimidated.

Instead, he has this (seeming) obsession to put bunkers exactly where your draw from the tee wants to end up and water hazards in plain sight so you shoot away from them forcing a difficult next shot to try to recover and save the hole.

It’s a “lull you into a false sense of security,” kind of layout in this regard.

Also, since rich people for some reason like to have really expensive houses right next to golf courses where they can lose windows and lamps — and Whistler is full of rich people — keep that slice in check. Even clubbing down to a fairway wood on many tee boxes won’t keep you out of some American’s second-back-yard (and possibly leave you with a hefty repair bill if they happen to be there that day).

19th hole: We had lunch before the round. The wait-staff was friendly and the food was excellent. Pricey, though: panini, fries and a pint of Whistler Brewing Company product was $30 including tip.

3. Big Sky Voted the number one public access golf course in B.C. in 2012 by the BCPGA and securing a spot in the top 30 Canadian courses list compiled by Golf Digest, this one is truly a gem and it pains me to put it at number three on any list.

Designed by Bob Cupp (who incidentally worked with Jack at Nicklaus Designs for 15 years before going off on his own) and opened for play in 1994, this is the most open layout of the four — but that’s not to say you can just haul off and spray the ball anywhere off the tee.

Water abounds on this par-72 layout

Trent Heppner tees off on the signature par-three 17th at Nicklaus North. We both managed to keep it out of the water, and I’m not going to brag about how I got a par and he did not, but this is a true statement.

—PHOTO BY MIKE DAVIES

which plays 7001 yards from the tips (I played it at 6037) and hitting the rough isn’t much less of a penalty as you’ll find yourself chopping your next shot up the fairway instead of attacking the greens.

Also, try not to lose yourself in the magic of Mount Currie looming over you and its streams and waterfalls cascading to the valley floor — it’s an easy thing to do. You’ll never catch Shigeki Maruyana’s course record of 64 if you lose yourself in the scenery.

19th hole: We had lunch before the round and a couple of patio-pints after.

Let’s say that Big Sky would have leaped past Whistler GC to number two on this list if my Chicken Caesar Wrap had some food in it and they would have had even one decent beer on tap to choose from.

2. Whistler Golf Club Whistler GC was designed by the one-and-only Arnold Palmer and is the original Whistler golf course (I guess that’s why it got to have the name).

You can feel its age — but that’s a good thing. It’s the most mature of the region’s courses and has really melded into the landscape, as is Palmer’s goal with all of his 300 (or so) layouts around the world.

From the 70s rock in the clubhouse to the bridges over the streams (one of which is modelled after the iconic Hogan’s Bridge that crosses Rae’s Creek at Augusta National in Georgia), everything about this course says “classic.”

The staff is extremely (at times overly) friendly, but the course itself can be less-than convivial. Palmer makes you question your options on most tee boxes, and there is never a “right” answer to that query.

The 10th hole, for example, plays to a mere 334 yards from the championship tees (I played it at a seemingly-miniscule 301) but has you staring down a deep, huge-lipped bunker on the right positioned about 200 yards out. You can go left of it to the landing area — which seems about 12 yards wide — or you can lay-up short of it and not be able to see the green over it for your approach.

Another option is to blast one over it and hope you carry it but stop between the bunker and the creek that runs in front of the green. I don’t recommend this option, but only because you’re not on the PGA Tour, making that shot all-but impossible.

19th hole: We had breakfast before the round and a pint following it. Both were phenomenal and reasonably priced — especially for a golf course, let alone an establishment in Whistler.

The patio at Big Sky overlooking the green of the par-five 18th. Take it down the left side to take the pond out of play, and lay up short of the creek in front.

—PHOTO BY MIKE DAVIES

BONUS: They don’t have GPS carts, but they give you a card with blown-up maps of all the holes so you can plan your way around the course more effectively. Nice touch.

1. Chateau Whistler Golf Club Simply put, this is the best golf course I’ve ever played.

With elevation changes of over 400 feet overall, this course seemingly climbs up the mountain for six holes and then descends drastically back to the clubhouse with elevated tee after elevated tee.

Club selection gets difficult at times as the yardage markers and scorecard obviously don’t take into account the three-club difference sometimes needed to adjust for elevation differences, but picture a perfect drive carrying an extra 30 yards and then rolling away from you down the slope of the fairway to settle 80 yards further than normal. That feeling alone is worth missing a green or two because you picked a six-iron when it

should have been a nine and lost your ball in the woods over the back of the green.

The signature hole at the Chateau course is the par-three 8th, but the highlight for me was the string of par4’s from 11 to 15 that take you back down to the valley floor, tempting you to let it rip with the driver at every tee box and punishing you when you do.

If you love golf you need to get here to play this course. Put it on the bucket list with St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and Bethpage (because you’re not getting to Augusta).

19th hole: We had lunch before the round and had to bump back our tee time to let it digest. The “Mountain Burger” patty is made with ground beef, short-rib, prime rib and cheese curds and weighs in at something like a pound (maybe exaggerating, but it’s huge). Then they top it with bacon that’s been glazed with maple syrup, turning it into a candy-like substance that does wonderful things to you when you eat it.

WolfPack X-Country team fundraiser now qualifier for world’s biggest marathon Mike Davies Editor-in-Chief

The Kamloops Marathon, to be held this year on July 27 and 28 (the five and 10 km events go on the 27th and the half and full marathons go on the 28th), will be the first year that will see runners qualify for the Boston Marathon — provided they meet the strict criteria set out by the Boston Athletics Association in regards to pace based on the age category of the runner.

The annual event is also the primary fundraiser for the TRU CrossCountry Running team and this year

the team has offered to donate some of the proceeds to victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, at which many were injured near the finish line on April 15 of this year.

“I’m not sure who exactly came up with the idea,” said Jack Miller, head coach of the WolfPack team, “but it was a great one and we’ll be giving 15 per cent of our proceeds to a fund for the Boston survivors.”

According to Miller, the marathon itself was set up to be a fundraiser for the team, and the school has guaranteed $5,000 from each year’s event to go towards travel and accommodation for them when attending events like the National Championships (which

will be held this year in London, Ont.).

“We don’t have a lot of expenses,” said Miller, adding that the because season is only two months long — September and October, with the Nationals happening the first week of November — the events are fairly close day-trips and the team members supply their own footwear, they have enough money that the donation to Boston will not adversely affect the team’s season.

If you’d like more information on the marathon, would like to register to run, attend the pasta dinner fundraiser for the team, or offer up some time as a volunteer, all that information can be found at kamloopsmarathon.ca.

WolfPack runner Rolena deBruyn.

—PHOTO COURTESY TRU ATHLETICS

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13. Long Island ___ 15. Noble head topper 16. Piquant parade 18. Congratulations, of a sort 19. Money substitute 20. Bristle 21. Direction (var.)

23. Jackman or Grant 24. Japanese icebreaker 26. Military scouting 28. Author, White Feather 31. Back talk 32. “___ Ng” (They Might Be Giants song) 34. Italian monks 35. Sitting pols 36. Piquant parade 41. “___ di Stasio,” French film 42. Thickness measures 43. “Fantasy Island” prop 44. Short order, for short 45. ___ Tower 47. Not just trim 51. Exec 53. “Your majesty” 55. Take orders 56. “Oh, my aching head!,” e.g.

58. Drenched 60. Wiehl of FOX News

61. Piquant parade 64. Changing of lean to elan, e.g.

65. Cyber user 66. Strain 67. Go-getters Down 1. ___ Roo 2. Cooling-off period 3. Ulcer type 4. Certain computer file 5. Rash goddesses 6. Roost 7. DeLuise 8. Assayers’ stuff 9. Derby prize 10. Turkey part 11. Putting off 12. His “4” was retired 14. Myst character 15. Encodes 17. Haute couture 22. Heroin, slangily 25. Cathedral recess 27. Colon cleaner 29. ___ Europe 30. Man and Casino 33. Brightly colored seed cover 36. Tittle-tattles 37. Shed light on 38. ___ Review 39. TV series, 1991-95

40. Weapon storer 46. About 1% of the atmosphere 48. On fire 49. Certain angler 50. Green teas 52. It takes two to do it.....

54. “Snowy” bird 57. Novelist Jones 59. Legendary Tibetan 61. Video maker, for short 62. He played a robot on TV 63. Pronged spear

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LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS JUNE EDITION)

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Hey, here’s a random joke!

A philosopher went into a closet for ten years to contemplate the question, What is life? When he came out, he went into the street and met an old colleague, who asked him where in heaven’s name he had been all those years.

“In a closet,” he replied. “I wanted to know what life really is.”

“And have you found an answer?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I think it can best be expressed by saying that life is like a bridge.”

“That’s all well and good,” replied the colleague, “but can you be a little more explicit? Can you tell me how life is like a bridge?”

“Oh,” replied the philosopher after some thought, “maybe you’re right; perhaps life is not like a bridge.”

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July 2013

Life & Community

Blossoms of a community in bloom Sean Brady Contributor

Tucked behind Houses 8 and 10 are the lush horticultural gardens of TRU. Maintained by horticulture students, a hired summer caretaker and the group Friends of the Gardens, the grounds are host to the largest plant reserves in B.C. outside of Vancouver.

Those taking the tour can have their gardening, climate and specific plant questions answered by a knowledgeable guide and will be treated to a myriad of planted displays and a very diverse selection of annuals, perennials and even some fresh strawberries waiting to be picked. Rolling beds of ivy, a vibrant assortment of f lowers, towering succulents and an array of other rare cultivars line the paths of the garden and frame it from every angle as it pours into the TRU campus.

The tours are lit by golden evening light and there are plenty of shady spots to stop and admire the collection. The event generally runs for one hour, though enthusiastic guides may offer a more f lexible or specialized schedule depending on what the tour participants are there to see. Specially arranged tours are also available upon request through Friends of the Gardens.

Tours are free of charge (donations accepted) and begin at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday until the end of August. If you’re interested, meet your guide at House 10 behind the Campus Activity Centre. Self-guided tours are also available any time, though the grounds are often booked for weddings on the weekends. For more information call 250-318-1094.

Professor emeritus of the department of biological sciences at TRU, David Williams, guides the horticulture gardens tour Wednesday, July 4. Join a tour by showing up at 6:30 any Wednesday until the end of August, by calling for a private guided tour or just go for a walk-through yourself anytime there isn’t a wedding happening.

—ALL PHOTOS BY SEAN BR ADY