September 18, 2013 by The Omega

Ajax mine discussions heat up again on campus Pg. 5

The Omega Ω

Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper

News Pages 1, 2

Volume 23, Issue 3 September 18, 2013

Editorial & Opinion

Life & Community

Arts & Entertainment

Sports

Pages 5, 6, 8

Page 7

Page 11

Page 3

Eight outlets and five plugs Charging stations appear at TRU, but the cars haven’t followed on the road. In December 2012, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia reported having five fullyelectric vehicles in Kamloops. TRU’s decision was to be progressive and set an example for the rest of the city, Gudjonson said. “The numbers are quite low now, but I think within a year or two we will have dozens and dozens on the road around here,” he said. TRU does not have access to usage figures for the charging stations, which require a credit card to track usage but do not charge for it. As part of an added incentive to go electric, the university isn’t charging community members to use the station. Charging a standard fully-electric vehicle costs the university 28 cents per hour, he said. Lisa Lake, a TRU employee with the school of business and economics, and her husband Terry Lake, MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, decided to invest in the electric technology last year. She wasn’t surprised to see TRU get on board. She said that her husband intends to use the charging stations on campus at least once a month. “It’s easy,” she said. “If you’re working on campus, you’ve got a charger here. I think it’s good to have them here so that as people start to buy into the technology, they know that there’s already some infrastructure in place, and that they’re not playing catch-up.” Gudjonson acknowledged the fact that the chargers are used infrequently but said the anticipated growth in popularity influenced the decision to go ahead with the project.

Jessica Klymchuk Ω News Editor

This sign says it all when it comes to the upgrades to Old Main.

(Sean Brady/ The Omega)

Same old story for Old Main’s third story Justine Cleghorn Ω Contributor TRU law students are still waiting for the Old Main renovations to be complete so they can move into their new home. A renovated third floor of Old Main was initially scheduled to open the first day of the fall 2013 semester, but the repairs weren’t completed on time and law students remain in the Brown House of Learning (HOL). Law students were initially disappointed in the delayed opening of Old Main, but it isn’t a big deal to most students right now, according to Patrick McIlhone, the president of the TRU Society of Law Students. “Nobody talks about the new building because [being in HOL is] just what we’re used to,” he said. “I mean, I think it’s going to be so good, but honestly it’s just the same as last year. We feel we’re taking space away from other programs.” Second-year law student Blake Tancock agrees. He said he feels like he’s in the way in HOL. “It’s not only about us getting a spot, it’s also about us getting the hell out of the way too,” Tancock said. “If you look around, most tables

are always law kids. You see people walking that are definitely undergrads, and you can just tell they have nowhere to go, like at all. “I’d imagine it’s more frustrating for other people than us.” With 100 new students joining the program this year, TRU’s law school has grown to over 250 students, according to Christopher Seguin, VP advancement at TRU.

“

years. It makes more sense to keep it here than to move it off campus,” Pappas said. “Is it comfortable? No not really,” she said, adding, “I mean, if you walk down the faculty halls, you’ll see three and four people sharing an office. “Can we all survive for a little bit? Yes, I think so, as long as it’s just a little bit.”

We feel like we’re taking

TRU made “going green” easier when it installed eight electric vehicle charging stations on campus in April 2013. Four stations are near the Brown House of Learning bike shelter and another four are near the culinary arts building. “There’s a push from the provincial government to get electric vehicle infrastructure in place,” said James Gudjonson, interim director of environment and sustainability at TRU. The university received funding for a total of 10 stations, with two stations going to the Williams Lake campus. Another $40,000 was received from the Fraser Basin Council last fall, which covered the cost of the chargers, according to Gudjonson. The university contributed $25,000 for the installation, bringing the total estimated cost of the charging stations to $65,000. “The installation costs were fairly minimal because of some existing infrastructure we had,” he said. Conduits were going in near the culinary arts building for block heaters, and the ground near the bike shelter was dug up to accommodate new concrete and curbs, he added. “If the project costs $65,000 now (and it actually cost us $25,000), three years from now it would probably cost $100,000 if we had to dig everything up and redo all the concrete,” he said. “So it was basically a fraction of what it would have cost.” The push for the infrastructure is an effort to get more electric cars

space away from other programs.” —Patrick McIlhone,

TRU Society of Law Students President

Interim dean of law Anne Pappas said that the department explored moving classes outside HOL to accommodate the influx of new students, but decided to stay because everyone was already familiar with the building. “We’ve had the infrastructure in the House of Learning for two

Sharing the space is manageable right now, but McIlhone thinks that, come November, HOL won’t have enough space to house students studying for finals.

See RENO DELAYS Pg.

Four of TRU’s electric car charging stations are located near the bike shelter behind the Brown Family House of Learning.

( Justine Cleghorn/ The Omega)

News

September 18, 2013

The next five years might look a little different for TRU

Busy week for Ajax mine discussions: Stories page 5

Strategic Priorities Advisory Committee will help determine the university’s future (Karla Karcioglu/ The Omega)

Justine Cleghorn Ω Contributor

President and vice-chancellor of Thompson Rivers University, Alan Shaver, is co-chairing the strategic priorities advisory committee. The initiative will determine the university’s top priorities.

He anticipates that TRUSU will be active in the nomination process. “I’ve told Dylan [Robinson, TRUSU president] that I’m fully expecting that many of the nominees will be members of the student forum,” he said. TRUSU is letting students know about the committee and encouraging nominations, but the organization wasn’t approached to do so, said Robinson. “We weren’t informed beforehand or anything so we were a little bit surprised,” he said. Robinson has nominated himself to be part of the committee. “This is kind of a process to guide the university over the next couple of years and provide the frameworks of what

( Justine Cleghorn/ The Omega)

the priorities, the strategic priorities, of TRU are,” Robinson said. “I think definitely that’s a very important exercise to be a part of, especially as a student. “Presumably the university is here to service us, so it makes sense they would consult us about we think the direction of TRU should be.” It is estimated that the committee will include 10 faculty members, 10 students, four administrators, one alumni member, one dean and three community members. Shaver’s plan is to meet throughout the fall semester, and in January of 2014 start exploring the operational side of how the university will put the priorities into action. The committee members will be announced to the community on Oct. 24.

Community corner

The Omega believes strongly that, as a society, we need to look out for each other and help those around us whenever possible. It is only through cooperation and coaction that we build and retain strength as a whole. It is with this in mind that we will be offering a

“Community Corner” in the upcoming publishing year, where we will advertise one fundraising or other community effort each week. Email editor@truomega.ca with your event or cause and our editorial staff will choose one group to feature each week.

(Mike Davies/ The Omega)

Thompson Rivers University is embarking on the creation of a new strategic priorities advisory committee to guide the university’s priorities for the next five years. “It’s time to do a review and to develop what our new priorities will be,” said Alan Shaver, president and vice-chancellor of TRU. The goal is for the new strategic priorities to ref lect, and even anticipate, the needs of the university, according to Shaver. The process will include assessing TRU’s previous strategic priorities set out in 2007, making sure the relevant priorities for the university are kept and that irrelevant ones are omitted. First Nations education and sustainability are two of the priorities set in the 2007 plan, and two that are likely to transition over into the new plan. “Clearly I have my own thinking about what is likely to come out of it, but I’m also open and sort of excited about the possibility of being surprised and having things come out of this that are really creative and innovative.” Social media will be used to help determine what TRU values. “We want to survey students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders about the state of our priorities, the value that each respondent puts on them, and then the hard part, which is what are your top priorities,” Shaver said.

Reno delays continue, but TRU hopes to have the law department moved into Old Main in November From SAME OLD Pg.

Members of the public have two opportunities to experience a reading, talk, and book signing by poet, artist, and 2008 TRU honorary doctorate recipient Bill Bissett. Winner of the 2007 George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, bissett is the author of over seventy books of poetry and two novels, as well as children’s books. On Wednesday, Sept. 25 from 2:30 to 3:30 PM in room 2472 of TRU’s Old Main building, bissett will read some of his work of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as more current work. This presentation is sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada, the Canada Council, and TRU’s English and Modern Languages Department. Please contact Ginny Ratsoy (gratsoy@tru.ca) if you require further information. On Thursday, September 26 at 1:00 PM, Bissett will read from his current work at Chapters Indigo on Hillside Drive, Kamloops. These are opportunities to hear the man James Reaney called “a one-man culture” and “ a lesson to us all” share his wit and wisdom and perhaps even discover why Margaret Atwood said, “Bill Bissett is my astral twin.”

TRU initially wanted to open up parts of the renovated Old Main but was impeded by the city from doing so. “We had plans to open up sections of the building without opening the entire venue, but we learned through our application process that this wasn’t possible,” Seguin said. The building is now projected to open in November. McIlhone isn’t getting his hopes up for an Old Main space in November. “It’s like construction for anything,” McIlhone said. “You always have to expect it’s going to be at least twice as long as they tell you.” “You can’t get up in arms about with something you can’t change,” he added. A new TRU policy requires media to first contact the university

to request permission to speak with Stantec, the contractor for the Old Main project. It’s not clear when the new policy was implemented or what exactly it states. The Omega encountered the change when it made a request for comment directly to Stantec and was referred back to the university to first ask for permission. Prior requests made to Stantec near the beginning of August were not met with restraint. “It’s not a new agreement,” said Diana Skoglund, media and communications supervisor at TRU. “Now it just works better if [Stantec] just informs us with what’s going up and then we tell you, instead of us reading about it in The Omega and going ‘Oh we didn’t know that,’” Skogland said. The Omega was not granted permission by TRU to speak with Stantec in regards to a timeline for the project.

Editorial & Opinion

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 3

www.truomega.ca

September 18, 2013 Volume 23, Issue 3

Throw-away culture or the bleeding edge? With the latest phone launch imminent, two of our editors debate the merits of upgrading for upgrading’s sake

Published since November 27, 1991

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mike Davies

editor@truomega.ca

250-828-5069

@PaperguyDavies NEWS EDITOR

Jessica Klymchuk news@truomega.ca @jjklym

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Courtney Dickson arts@truomega.ca @dicksoncourtney SPORTS EDITOR

Adam Williams

sports@truomega.ca @AdamWilliams87 ROVING EDITOR

Karla Karcioglu

roving@truomega.ca @dicksoncourtney COPY/WEB EDITOR

Sean Brady

copy@truomega.ca @iamseanbrady

omegacontributors Justine Cleghorn

publishingboard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike Davies INDUSTRY REP* Sylvie Paillard FACULTY REP* Charles Hays STUDENT REP* Sadie Cox STUDENT REP* Adam Williams

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 any section with an “Opinion” label 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.

Editor’s Note Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief My decade-old toaster makes toast really well. It makes bread into crispy bread exactly as well as it always has. My 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier gets me where I need to go and is pretty efficient at doing so. My Samsung Galaxy SII, purchased in August 2011, was, until recently when I purchased a new MacBook Pro, the best and mostadvanced piece of technology in my house. It has never needed work done on it, allows me to do just about anything a laptop computer can do, fits in my pocket and even allows me to place and receive phone calls — not that anyone does that much anymore. So when I heard the news that people were again lining up well in advance of the release of the newest iPhone to be sure to get one, I again shook my head in disbelief. What do you seriously expect that this version will do that your current model can’t?

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 2013.

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

Shut up, Davies Sean Brady Ω Copy/Web Editor Have you seen toasters lately? We have toasters that can do anything. See-through toasters, colour-sensing toasters, portable toasters and even toasters that can print the weather forecast right onto your toast. You’re probably scratching your head right now and asking yourself “Why?” Well, that’s a good question. Perhaps not every technological leap is one worth taking, but can we really know that without trying? How many years did Apple falter before finally finding its feet with the iPod? Or going back even further, how many Apple computers were there before the Macintosh? History is rife with gadgets that failed to find a market, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were failures. While everyone is talking about Apple and Samsung, Nokia has been making some real gems (and upgrades for said gems, too). Something we have to face is that there will never be an ultimate

Suicide rates high among post-secondary students

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 900 McGill Rd, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-372-1272 E-mail: editor@truomega.ca Ad Enquiries: accounts@truomega.ca

I’ll give you two-to-one odds — with real money on the line — it’s not going to be able to do your dishes or laundry. The camera is better? My twoplus year-old phone takes shots good enough to run full-page in this newspaper. I know because I’ve done it. It comes in more than standard black or white? Wow. Something about a fingerprint reader? Guess what, you’re not in the CIA or CSIS. How about you don’t leave your phone lying around (assuming it’s for security purposes). According to a CBC report recently issued about the expectations for the new iPhone, “The most notable update seems to be a feature called Control Center, which allows a user to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to quickly access apps such as the camera and calculator or settings such as screen brightness and Airplane Mode.” Perfect. Thankfully you’ll now be able to change the brightness of your screen with a swipe and one touch, thus removing one or two touches of the screen from the equation to accomplish such an important and regularly-needed task. I guess maybe I’m old fashioned — or just getting old — and don’t understand why people feel the need to replace things that do exactly what they need them to do just because a shiny new one of the same product comes on the market. Maybe my friend and colleague Sean Brady can enlighten me? editor@truomega.ca

Wellness Matters Courtney Dickson Ω Wellness Columnist I have a lot of friends who have never been a post-secondary student. Any time someone in university mentions how stressed they are about exams or the amount of debt they’re in, my non-student friends respond with some stupid remark about how easy students have it and how we’re just a bunch of whiners. As you might agree, that stress is real and it’s tough to deal with. So tough, in fact, that some students choose to “opt-out.” I read a story a few months ago in Maclean’s about UBC student Joshua Beharry who attempted suicide after struggling with depression. One of the things causing him such distress was his unhappiness with the program he was enrolled in (computer science). Students have stress, and we often don’t know what to do about it, and in a time of despair, there may seem like only one option.

In 2009, Statistics Canada found that suicide was the ninth-leading cause of death for Canadians of all ages and genders. For people aged 15 to 34, the typical age of a university student, it was the second-leading cause of death, preceded by accidents. That year, 202 deaths among people aged 15 to 19 (the age of students just starting university) were due to suicide, and accounted for nearly a quarter of the total deaths in that age group. So, if one of us is going to die young, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll go by suicide. That is staggering. What really bothers me about these statistics is I think that a lot of (I’m not saying all) suicides are preventable. What are educational institutions doing to prevent such tragedies from happening? Universities across the country have been lobbying, some successfully, to incorporate a fall reading week into their schedules, largely due to demands made by student unions. TRUSU president Dylan Robinson said that TRUSU has approached TRU with the idea of a fall reading break in the past, but the union decides to leave student mental health care up to the wellness department because “it’s wellness’s mandate.” Meanwhile, the student unions at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario are both pursuing a fall reading week to improve student mental health. Does that bother you? That, before worrying about mental health, our students’ union is focused on having outdoor movie nights with

free popcorn or concerts to end the rise in tuition? It bugs me. World Suicide Prevention Day was last Tuesday, Sept. 10. The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and the Mental Health Commission of Canada partnered up to promote “hope and resiliency” against suicide, and aimed to give individuals and families the tools to maintain mental well-being in order to prevent suicide. The Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS) and the Canadian Mental Health Association teamed up to create an action plan for post-secondary institutions to improve student mental health. The document asks a variety of questions of institutions, including “To what degree does the institution believe that it is responsible for promoting student mental health as a requirement for integrated student development and learning?” TRU did not choose to run an event around suicide prevention, however Chelsea Corsi, campus wellness coordinator said there are plans to run a suicide intervention workshop in the future. Dates for this have not been confirmed. Be an active student and ask yourself if you think your school is doing enough to help its students manage mental health issues on campus, and prevent tragedies from happening as a result of the pressure we face. It’s an essential service that students require, and it’s something TRU needs to take more seriously. arts@truomega.ca

design when it comes to technology. Everything that gets better does so in iterations. Why does your phone have a number on the end of its model? Probably because it’s better than the last one. How much better? That’s up to you to decide, and “buyer beware” is certainly as true now as it ever was. Maybe you don’t have to make the jump from the “one” to the “two,” but when the “four” comes out? Time to consider an upgrade. Staying current isn’t just about new doodads and sleeker designs. Newer devices usually come paired with new software (such as operating systems) too. In turn, you’re more protected by the security fixes provided in the latest software and more compatible with everything new being developed. Another thing to consider is that files and settings have become portable and moving your own personal set of data is always getting easier. You can easily sync your apps, settings and contacts with an Android or iOS device. When you get your new phone, all you’ve got to do is sign-in and wait for the download to finish. Maybe your new phone can’t do your dishes or your laundry, but it might turn on your lights or change the channel on your TV. There are more features available to current phones than we can even use. New technology is often about making those features more accessible. On top of all of this, it might be important to remember that advances in technology sometimes aren’t easy to spot. An ad in the latest Wired magazine reads “Adding buttons isn’t innovation, removing them is.” copy@truomega.ca

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The Omega

Science & Technology

September 18, 2013

Growing pains in the biology department Burgeoning biology department does a lot with a little, but calls on the university for support and space Mark Hendricks Ω Science & Tech Editor TRU’s biology department has been punching above its weight, competing successfully for awards against larger universities like McGill and Carleton. But as space becomes tight, faculty are wondering if they’re getting the support they need from the university. For the past two years, TRU students have been among several (three last year and six this year) who received undergraduate awards from the Canadian Society of Microbiologists (CSM). TRU professor Jonathan Van Hamme was a member of the executive committee for the CSM at the time the undergraduate award was created. “The CSM has historically been more for professors and graduate students, but they’ve been making moves to try and get undergraduate students interested in microbiology at a younger age,” said Van Hamme. Students for the CSM undergraduate awards are nominated by their professors. One of Van Hamme’s students won the award last year. This

year’s winner was Tamara Bandet, a student of Naowarat Cheeptham, a TRU professor in the department of biological sciences. “Tamara is a dream student,” Cheeptham said. Both Van Hamme and Cheeptham believe that the hands-on experience that students get at TRU and the oneon-one interactions between faculty and students are the things that allow TRU to compete with much larger universities for these awards. The CSM is a well-known organization in the scientific community in Canada, and Van Hamme believes that awards of this kind will definitely help TRU students get jobs upon graduation. “If you’re a microbiologist in Canada you’re going to know what the CSM is,” Van Hamme said. “We advertised a lot when we established the undergraduate award, so I think it’s fairly well known.” Cheeptham believes this type of award will help gain TRU more attention on a national level. “This kind of experience or recognition from national organizations boosts TRU

Tamara Bandet is one of six undergraduate students in Canada to win the CSM undergraduate award for 2013. (Photo courtesy TRU)

and puts our students and our programs on the map,” said Cheeptham. Despite the success that TRU is experiencing with the CSM undergraduate awards both Cheeptham and Van Hamme feel that the science department is still undergoing growing

pains from the transition from university-college to university now that research is a part of the mandate. “We need more help from admin,” Cheeptham said, “They need to support our research as well, not just the monetary funding side, but physical space

as well. My personal research area is very small.” “It’s been decent but I think if we want to grow a bigger graduate program we’re going to need more space, maybe another building if we want to get really serious about it,” Van Hamme said.

This week in science Aids vaccine, tumour-searching robots and a natural-gear-using jumping insect? Mark Hendricks Ω Science & Tech Editor

Promising new AIDS vaccine found Oregon Health & Science University researchers have found a potential vaccine for AIDS by pitting one virus with another. The new vaccine Dr. Louis Picker and his team are testing has had a 50 per cent success rate in the prevention of SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV. The simian patients contracted SIV, but the T-cells (key components of the immune system) produced by the vaccine eliminated all traces of SIV from the patients. Until now, SIV and HIV were considered permanent viruses that could not be fully removed from the patient once infected. Picker and his team are utilizing cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus found in 50 per cent of the population in the developed world and 99 per cent of the population in the developing world, as a vaccine vector. By injecting small amounts of SIV into CMV, the body generates an auto-immune response to both CMV and the attached SIV. CMV is a persistent non-diseasecausing virus, and because of that, the body will continue producing T-cells to combat SIV for the life of the patient. No human trials have been conducted, but Picker and his team are hoping to begin them soon.

human skull to combat brain tumors. Neurosurgeon J. Marc Simard of the University of Maryland was inspired by the way maggots eat dead flesh and leave healthy flesh behind. The robots will function in a similar way. They will be controlled remotely and will use an electrocution tool to zap the affected tissue and vacuum up the remains. The primary benefit of this is that it will allow precision removal of a tumor while the patient is still inside an MRI, which is currently impossible. The MRI allows surgeons to much more easily determine where a tumor ends and healthy flesh begins. The robots are currently being tested on pig and human cadavers. Find out more: www.popsci.com

First organic gear found Researchers recently discovered an animal with a pair of interlocking bio-

logical gears that function like a manmade gear. This marks the first time an interlocking set of gears has been found in nature. The researchers, Malcolm Burrows and Gregory Sutton, found this gear in the adolescent form of the Issus nymph. This tiny jumping insect uses a set of interlocking gears on its legs to synchronize their leg movements to propel themselves at incredible speeds. The adolescent Issus uses its legs to accelerate at a rate of 400 Gs, 20 times what the human body can withstand. The legs move at a speed faster than what the Issus’ nervous system is capable of processing. Because of this, the Issus is incapable of synchronizing its jumps through miniscule corrections the way larger animals do. This caused the Issus to develop this organic gear that is specialized to work very quickly in one direction. Find out more: www.sciencemag.org

Find more at: www.ohsu.edu

Machines inspired by maggots may help combat brain tumors Robots inspired by maggots are being developed for use inside of the

The interlocking gears at the top of the legs of the adolescent Issus nymph. (Photo courtesy Macolm Burrows)

(Image courtsesy Frank Kovalchek/Flickr)

Speak to your wild side at Wells Gray Park Taylor Fry Ω Contributor On the weekend of Sept. 14, Wells Gray Park saw a gathering of some of Canada’s top writers and scientists discussing conservation at the Speak to the Wild conference hosted by Thompson Rivers University and the Wells Gray World Heritage Committee. Speak to the Wild was a four-day gathering of people across multiple disciplines to discuss the importance of wild areas and their place in the human psyche, as well as the current pressures on these areas. The goal of the conference was to help develop ideas for land ethics in Canada. The event led guests on hikes through the park, highlighting its historical and environmental importance. According to TRU’s dean of science, Thomas Dickinson, who helped organize the event, those headlining the conference were brought together due to backgrounds and expertise in writing and the science of conservation.

Guests included Canadian poet Patrick Lane, ethnobotanist Nancy Turner and Faisal Moola, director general of Ontario and Northern Canada for the David Suzuki Foundation. The event was part of a larger, yearlong series of events co-hosted by TRU and Edgewood Blue focusing on the Wells Gray World Heritage Year, a campaign to achieve world heritage site status for Wells Gray Park. The events are in celebration of the Wells Gray TRU Wilderness Centre currently being built. This centre will replace the old red schoolhouse that has been in use since 1992. In addition to helping coordinate the event, Dickinson has been involved in promoting understanding of the values and importance of Wells Gray Park. The last event of the series will be held on Oct. 5, with visits from Yorke Edwards, a nature interpretation visionary, and Robert Bateman, a Canadian naturalist and painter. The following day will see the opening of the TRU field station by Dickinson himself.

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 3

Life & Community

Ajax open house welcomed by TRU faculty moderators

Anti-Ajax rally draws attention from trades students

Karla Karcioglu

Ω Roving Editor

KGHM Ajax rented out the Campus Activity Centre’s Grand Hall, a public venue at TRU, from Monday Sept. 9 to Thursday Sept. 12, for their community open house. The event focused on informing community members how the KGHM team was going to evaluate environment, noise and health impacts from the mine and was presented by experts brought in by KGHM. Monday’s open house began with KGHM’s vice-president environmental, Don Ferriter, informing those in attendance that the open house was hosted to explain parts of the environmental impact assessment, and that while it was still Frank Chiappetta presents his early in the process, they were there explanation of the blasting to share the information they had and gather feedback from the community. process to community members Experts spoke about how they plan who attended the open house. to assess, predict and minimize noise (Karla Karcioglu/ The Omega) and impacts to the environment and health. Lindsay Langill, dean of trades and technology, and Tom Dickinson, dean of science, served as moderators for the event. Both said they happily accepted KGHM’s invitation to be moderators at the event. “I have always seen our university as being an important resource in the community,” Dickinson said, calling the university a place “where open discussions can be had, even on controversial topics.” “Greek universities were born in a democratic system,” Langill said, agreeing TRU is a good fit for such an event. “I’d like to see as many people on our campus as possible,” said Dickinson. “It would be very fair to say our university students benefit from industry in our community,” Langill said, noting that the same is true for the majority of students in many different programs on campus. Langill also said the process of the open house was very positive. He was encouraged by the depth of questions and the tone of engagement. When asked whether he would moderate an on-campus discussion for those opposing Ajax, Langill said “absolutely.”

Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) held a rally at TRU on Sept. 12 at the front of the Campus Activity Centre in response to the KGHM Ajax open house series, which had been taking place in the building throughout the week. The rally brought forth environmental concerns, health concerns and speculation that a smelter is something KGHM will consider in the future. About 200 people showed up throughout the event, including a dozen trades students, some of whom appeared in a hummer covered with “I Support Ajax” stickers. “People in my course need jobs,” said Eric Hughes, an apprentice in TRU’s heavy duty mechanics course and an Ajax supporter. “They don’t want to have to go up north, away from their families. We need to open opportunities for people here.” There were several anti-Ajax chants at the rally, including a creative take on a classic, “Hit the road Ajax, and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more!” The rally was peaceful with only a few heated debates among individuals. Cynthia Ross Freeman, a coorganizer for the rally, said the turnout was excellent and that KAPA’s goal for the day was accomplished.

A large group of about 200 people gathered for the KAPA rally, marched across campus and chanted their displeasure Sept. 12.

(Karla Karcioglu/ The Omega)

B.C. Sustainable Energy founder discusses Opinion: Childish behaviour doesn’t help the Ajax debate green alternatives for daily commuters Karla Karcioglu

Karla Karcioglu

Ω Roving Editor

The historic Plaza Hotel in downtown Kamloops welcomed the British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) and their founder and president, Guy Dauncey, for his lecture titled “Beyond Oil: Imagining the Future.” His wacky and humorous personality kept a full room of approximately 30 people amused and engaged while he explored serious issues surrounding global warming, with figures and diagrams about oil consumption and rising sea levels. According to Dauncey’s presentation, 40 per cent of light oil use is from cars and trucks. Dauncey offered a list of steps for commuters to become oil-free. His steps include converting a percentage of all our daily trips to walking, cycling, transit, ride sharing, car sharing, using hybrid and fully-electric vehicles and also by working from home. With the proper infrastructure in place from the various forms of government, and the ever-increasing presence of green technology, Dauncey said daily travel could become 100 per cent oil-free.

The Kamloops community is in the midst of a challenging debate over the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine. Naturally, issues like these form a divide. There are those for the project, those against and a neutral group that hasn’t picked a side. This past week, the debate brought two events to campus: an open house by KGHM Ajax, and a rally by the Kamloops Area Preservation Association, opponents of the mine. I covered both of these events and heard valid concerns and opinions from both sides. Concerns were voiced about the environment and health, as well as concerns about the economy and people who are trying to feed their families. However, among what was mainly civil discourse in which community members expressed their opinions, there was also some unfortunate radical behaviour that overshadowed everyone’s reasonable and logical arguments. The best way to win a debate is to provide a logical argument in the hopes that others will understand things from your point of view, and to then try and negotiate a solution. If you want to lose a debate, you should behave in a childish manner and yell and stomp your feet to get attention. And that won’t be positive attention. I witnessed childish behaviour from both parties at the rally. The trades students who showed up at the rally in a hummer decked out in “I Support Ajax” stickers made fools of themselves by causing a scene and putting the focus on their childish behaviour and their expensive, gas guzzling Hummer that can easily be argued represents greed and gluttony. I heard one or two people on the pro-Ajax side shouting valid points about the economy and jobs while the rest simply heckled the anti-Ajax crowd. I saw people who do not support Ajax with young children holding signs with statements they are too young to understand. Don’t use your children as a tool for shock-value in this debate. It’s fair to want to protect them from environmental or health impacts, but don’t force their hand on an issue they can’t yet comprehend. I’ve also read so much childish arguing, name-calling and insultthrowing behaviour online. It makes me want to smack the commenters’ heads together. This week taught me to look at things from both sides, but it also showed me a lot of unfortunate and foolish behaviour that made me question the logic of those both for and against the mine. This debate will make no progress if we can’t learn how to respect each other’s opinions and concerns.

Guy Dauncey asks the audience if they think it’s possible to shift to 50 per cent use of electric vehicles. (Karla Karcioglu/ The Omega)

“It’s not just solutions,” Dauncey said, “but a transition of the way we live.” His main recommendation was community engagement. Not everyone in the audience was in support of the presentation, but Kamloops city councillor Arjun Singh said people like Dauncey are important to have around. “People need to stop thinking this is a hippie or new-age movement,” Singh said, adding that he thinks

the only way to solve environmental issues is for everyone to find a way to work together. TRU has been a leader in enhancing the community’s understanding of environmental issues, according to Singh. “Ties from the community and the university are important,” said Cheryl Kabloona, Kamloops BCSEA chapter chair. She said TRUSU has been a strong supporter of the organization.

Go to www.truomega.ca and have your say on these or any other stories you see in the paper! Do it.

Life & Community

September 18, 2013

The great veil of China

An economic time bomb with a short fuse? Israel Mesfin Ω Contributor

Open laptops when studying or in classrooms are a common sight on the TRU campus, but are they doing more harm than good when it comes to improving academic performance? (Mark Hendricks/ The Omega)

Your laptop use might be hurting those around you Mark Hendricks Ω Science & Tech Editor Laptops are supposed to help students in school, to make it easier to do class work and more efficiently take notes. However, bringing a laptop to your lecture may be hurting your grade more than it’s helping. A study done earlier this year by researchers at York and McMaster University found that laptop multitasking in classrooms can lose, not only yourself but those around you, a full letter grade in the class. The students that were using laptops for multitasking suffered an 11 per cent loss in learning comprehension, and those with a clear view of the multitasking student suffered a 17 per cent loss in learning comprehension.

This is the first study to examine the effects of multitasking on surrounding students, not just the multitasker. The bright lights of the laptop screen and the changing images cause students who aren’t multitasking to be even more affected than those doing the multitasking. As the study puts it, “Disrupting one’s own learning is an individual choice. Harming the learning of other students in the class is disrespectful.” Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. 99 per cent of students own a laptop and 65 per cent of students bring their laptop to class, according to the study. It was also found that 42 per cent of a student’s time in classrooms is spent multitasking. “In general, paper and pencil

control participants outperformed multitasking participants on the quiz assessments (particularly MSN and Facebook users),” as written in the study. Professors at TRU are aware of the risk presented by laptops. “I definitely encourage my students to turn that stuff off. Turn off your cellphone, turn off your computer and engage with the people. It’s a more human interaction,” TRU biology professor Jonathan Van Hamme said. “I always tell my students that I expect this will be the three hours of the week when they’re not staring at a computer screen.” Van Hamme believes that putting away the laptops and phones allows students to achieve a deep level of thought and concentration that is impossible to obtain while worrying about a laptop or cell phone.

China’s relatively-meteoric rise as a global economic leader in just ten years is without precedent. It took Europe decades to regroup after the Second World War under the Marshal Plan — the economic recovery plan wherein the U.S. economically supported European nations in an attempt to stave off Communist inf luence. So how did this centrallyplanned Asian economy, that our parents and grandparents were taught was not going to last, become an economic titan in the 21st century? China’s economic policies and markets are authoritarian and centrally planned. However, China has poached the best (and some would say the worst) aspects of unbridled capitalism that was seen in the West from the 19th century into the early parts of the 20th century. Securing key natural resources in Africa, having access to a large pool of the cheapest labour in the world and a borderline unlimited amount of credit created today’s China. The boom of China’s economy can best be summarized by a line in the classic 1989 Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams: “If you build it, [they] will come.” With all the natural resources and cheap labour at the beck and call of the government, they decided to (metaphorically) build Rome in a day.

In one instance, they built Paris in China. The town is called Tianducheng, and it was designed to very nearly resemble Paris, France. According to Wyng Mio, a TRU student from China, there are four or five cities like Tianducheng that are ghost towns. That might not seem like many, but you have to put it into context. Those four or five cities were designed to house 160 million people. The main reason for these barren cites is not because they are unappealing, it is due to the rapid housing speculation that has inf lated the housing markets. According to economist Victor Shih, the same speculation and complex derivative trading that took down the American economy in 2008 will happen in China on a grander scale because of the massive amounts of overleveraging the Chinese banks are engaged in. No country has seen a “gentle” market crash, and that scares TRU students like Chen Gseshen and Mio. Both students are worried about finding jobs after university. They believe that China has a lot of potential, but would like to see more of an emphasis put on innovation instead of infrastructure-based projects. The two have great affection for their native land but would like to see a more western-style economic model to create more stability for their future back home.

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The abandoned theme-park called “Wonderland” located ouside Beijing. This could have been the main attraction, a Disney-style castle. (Tormod Sandtor v/Flickr Commons)

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 3

Arts & Entertainment

Van Damsel not in distress Kamloops band rocks provincial music project, working to be the next big thing Courtney Dickson Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor Wondering who those guys were that opened for Mother Mother at Tunes Against Tuition? Their lead singer is a student at TRU, and the drummer and guitar player are recent TRU grads. Emerging alternative group Van Damsel is representing Kamloops in the Peak Performance Project. Popular Vancouver radio station The Peak teamed up with Music BC in an attempt to foster budding British Columbian musicians. From hundreds of applicants, Van Damsel was chosen to be in the top 20 and complete a series of challenges to qualify for the top prize of $100,000 and the chance to play at Vancouver’s famous Commodore Ballroom. Past qualifiers for the project include The Boom Booms, Current Swell and Said the Whale. Approximately three weeks ago, the band returned from boot camp in Vancouver. There, they went through intense training with fellow musicians and industry professionals, including vocalist Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother. “We were basically trained on everything to do professionally,” said Sebastien Ste Marie, lead singer of Van Damsel. After returning from the training, the guys were exhausted, but looking forward to the rest of the competition. The bands have to complete five challenges: a performance, a charity challenge, a merchandise challenge, a media challenge and a viral video challenge. Van Damsel’s performance is on Sept. 26 at Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver. For the charity challenge (their

favourite part of the competition), the guys chose to sponsor Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kamloops. “It’s a mentorship program,” Ste Marie said. “Ultimately during this project we’re being mentored to be better, and we see the positive impact that it has had, not only on an individual level but on a social level.” To generate donations, they are holding a dinner and acoustic show featuring their lead singer at Sports Central Lounge on Sept. 25, the night before their big Vancouver performance. Tickets to the dinner are $20. They are also playing a show with Kelowna’s Fields of Green (who have participated in the Peak Performance Project previously) and Kamloops’ Earthea at the Sagebrush Theatre on Sept. 29 for only $15. Part of the proceeds from their merchandise sales will also go towards Big Brothers Big Sisters. The viral video challenge has indeed been a struggle for the group. They originally created a video mocking the royal baby hubbub, with Ste Marie dressing up as the infant prince. Sadly, their camera, laptop and memory card were all stolen from their vehicle and they lost all of the footage. They decided to start from scratch with a new idea. They created a mock of popular TV show “Inter vention” and acted as themselves trying to deal with a bandmate addicted to steroids. Though Ste Marie said most other bands submitted music videos for this challenge, they wanted to do something unique and unexpected. “I was initially thinking we should have done something with kittens or puppies,” Ste Marie said, due to the fact that cat videos

Van Damsel will be playing at The Sagebrush Theatre on Sept. 29. Tickets are $15 and all proceeds will go to charity. (Photo courtesy Mikael Finley Photography)

are most popular on the Internet, and an important aspect of this challenge is how many views the video receives. The final report for the Peak Performance Project is due on Oct. 25, and from there the judges will choose the top five performers. Shortly after, the judges will announce the top three, who will each win a cash prize and play at Commodore Ballroom. On top of the project, Van Damsel is getting set to release an EP on Oct. 1 called The Sunshine, Girl. They also have plans to release a full-length album and tour in 2014. And on top of that, Ste Marie still has a degree to complete.

He’s in his final year of a bachelor’s degree, majoring in psychology. Though he’s passionate about pursuing a musical career, Ste Marie loves psychology and is open to the idea of doing a master’s

members graduated from NorKam Secondary School. Though they are Kamloops boys at heart, they’ve created quite a following in Kelowna. “We do really well in Kelowna,” Ste Marie said, “People seem to like us there. Our presence there almost matches our presence in Kamloops.” Ste Marie said that because of the genre being produced in Kelowna, Van Damsel seemed to fit right in with the —Sebastien Ste Marie, city’s music scene. However, they love Lead singer, Van Damsel playing wherever they can. “We’ve played degree someday. some strange areas,” he said, “We “I want to have both options played Harrison Hot Springs for this open,” he said. geriatric enthusiastic crowd. I mean Van Damsel has been together enthusiastic in their lawn chairs, for close to three years and all four but they were still shakin’.”

“

I was initially thinking we

should have done something with kittens or puppies.”

Student-run performance club kicks off its 2013-14 season

Album Review: hawaiii

Courtney Dickson

Jess Buick

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor

Ω Contributor

TRUDAT (Thompson Rivers University Drama and Theatre club) was recently brought back to life by three performing arts students. Organizers Brittany McCarthy, Allison Clow and Jessica Buchanan hosted a meeting for more than 30 eager students, explaining the goals of the club and what it has to offer. An entirely student-run club, TRUDAT’s mandate is to involve interested participants in every way possible and without judgment. The idea is that people can be involved in the performance process without having to worry about grades or what others will think. The club is also meant to encourage performing arts students who weren’t cast in the Actor’s Workshop Theatre productions, giving them a chance to be part of something outside of class. But any student from any faculty is invited to join. TRUDAT will put on two shows this year, starting with The Untold Stories of the Brothers Grimm, a comedy written by drama student Andrew Cooper and directed by

If you’re a Said the Whale fan, you’ve probably had Sept. 17 marked on your calendar since the I Love You EP was released earlier this summer, which featured tracks from the band’s latest album, hawaiii. As always, the Vancouver-based indie rock quintet succeeded in recording a sunny album featuring their well-known teenage wanderlust writing and signature “oohs” and “ahhs” complemented by crisp keyboards. Tom Dobrzanski, who has worked with other Canadian indie bands such as The Zolas and Kelowna’s own We Are the City, produced the album. With hawaiii, Said the Whale has moved away from the ever-indulgent songs about young love or the city of Vancouver, and has instead taken a more family-oriented and self-reflective approach. “Mother” is an upbeat song with lyrics revealing an internal battle with how one should live their life, begging the listeners “Don’t tell my mother ‘til I pull myself together.” If you don’t listen to commercial radio strictly because you can’t stand having a

McCarthy. This show will take place on Nov. 3. The next show will be written by a variety of students, and will view like a television flipping through channels. At the meeting, Buchanan asked students to submit two-to-five page acts of a television program. The date for this performance has yet to be decided. Monday evenings from 5:30 until 6:20 there will be open improv nights in the theatre. Students can participate or just go to watch, because as Clow said, “Improv requires an audience.”

On Dec. 1, there will be an improv competition. The organizers are hoping to revive TRUDAT, as they said it was “basically non-existent” last year. “Last year there was a lot of hype at the beginning and it just fell through,” McCarthy said. Students interested in joining TRUDAT, or just going out and seeing what fellow students are working on in their spare time, can find more information on the club’s Facebook page “TRUDAT Club” or on Twitter @TRUDATClub.

song bouncing around your brainwaves for days, do not listen to “I Love You.” The instant this song starts, its extreme infectiousness has the listener dancing and repeating, “You know, you know, I love you,” over and over again and spurs the urge to start shaking a tambourine. With all the fun, bubbly, ‘60s-esque pop tunes that keep you floating through the album, hawaiii takes an interesting turn near the closing of the record. The second-to-last song, “Helpless Son,” smacks you in the face with dark subject matter. It starts with very beautiful harmonies and builds musically for the duration of the song. The lyrical content and imagery are powerful and compelling. Written from the perspective of a mourning son, he asks his dying mother to tell him about her youth, the places she loved and whether he was the son she had always hoped he’d be. “I’ve watched your skin and bones give out / wincing at the pain you’ve felt / helpless son I am to you,” is a powerful line sung close to the beginning of the song which makes one really pick up on the subject matter. hawaiii is no doubt going to please their fans. Musically, Said the Whale doesn’t stray very far from their previous albums, but kudos to them for sticking to what they know, and executing it brilliantly.

Life & Community

September 18, 2013

Eat to live, live to eat Presented by iLive2Eat.com Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief Located in the Walmart plaza (technically 1055 Hillside Drive #330) Wok Box is a great change of pace for those at TRU who are tired of cafeteria pizza slices or Tim Horton’s sandwiches. I always order the Indian Butter Chicken with Naan, but that’s simply because I tend to be one of those people who sticks to what they like once they establish it for fear of being disappointed after trying something new, but from all accounts, many of their menu items are exceptional — from a fastfood perspective, anyway. I’ll warn you right off the bat, if you’re going to go with the butter chicken, your options are: wear red (or orange) or be good getting saucy, unbalanced loads of cutlery (or chopsticks) to your mouth, or be beside your laundry machine while you eat. That sauce stains your clothes something fierce. My only other complaint is that the lunch-sized order is a bit too small to fill me up and the full-sized order keeps me in my seat for a while if I finish it because I’ve just put on a few pounds. That’s not really a huge turn-off for me, though. The lunch-sized order runs you less than $10 with a bottle of pop to wash it down, and, like I said, it’s a welcome change from a sandwich and coffee at a comparable price. They’re licensed, too, so you can have a beer with your meal if you want it — although their selection is anything but extensive. I’ll give it an 8.5/10 when put up against other fast-food joints, and a more-than respectable 7/10 in general.

Want to review a local eatery you think other student/staff/faculty should (or should not) try out? Email editor@truomega.ca with your ideas. Or just go do it and send it in. Your call.

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A BIT OF COLOUR TO AN OTHERWISE DREARY DAY. TRU shows its support of LGBTQ rights by replacing a crosswalk with the colours representing the fight for equality. (Sean Brady/ The Omega)

Opinion Feature

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 3

Loss is the price we pay for love Sarah Jackson Over The Edge (UNBC) PRNCE GEORGE (CUP) — My uncle Chris died from AIDSrelated illnesses in April 1993, four months after I was born. I spent my first several months in his hospital room, having my diapers changed on his sheets and sleeping in my mother’s (his sister’s) arms. After his death, I grew up listening to stories about him: how he loved to carve and make art, how his feet were always so cold, and how his smile was always so bright. My uncle’s death – and the deaths of so many other young men in the Ontario hospital where she had worked – led my mother to apply for a volunteer position at the Prince George AIDS Society after moving to British Columbia in 1995. The volunteer position never panned out; instead, she was offered a full time job as an educator. She has been facilitating education about health and HIV in and around Prince George ever since. The number of young people infected with HIV in Canada may be increasing, according to a Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) report. The report claims that youth aged 15 to 29 reported 26 per cent of HIV infections in Canada leading up to 2008. This, combined with ongoing reductions in HIV education in northern British Columbia, has led some HIV workers to express fear that the number of youth infected with the disease will increase in years to come. This matters to anyone who attends postsecondary because the vast majority of the student population is within this age bracket and even those who are not are surrounded by those that are. This matters to me because I am a youth and because the HIV movement began shaping my life both personally and professionally since before I was even born.

In 2011, I was hired to work for the Northern HIV and Health Education Society. The non-profit society was founded in 2007 by my mother, Mary Jackson, to provide education on HIV, hepatitis C and general health in order to prevent the spread of these and other blood-borne diseases. At first, I just took the job because it paid better than Tim Horton’s, but I slowly grew to love it. The stories people shared helped me to understand how complex, beautiful and terrible the world can be. I have learned more about love and life and courage from people that have been labelled as sex workers, drug addicts and criminals throughout their lives, than I could ever have hoped to teach them. I have learned that the roots of HIV prevention go much deeper than just convincing people to wear condoms. By examining the history of the disease, we can see that time after time it has affected the most marginalized groups of our society: gay men, IV drug users, Aboriginal people, seniors and, according to the most recent statistics, now youth. While these trends can superficially be attributed to the behaviours of those infected – specifically sexual practices and the sharing of drug equipment – on a deeper level, the trends are a result of our society’s failure to respond to this

“

isolation and stigmatization. I remember going to one of my professors in my second year at UNBC and asking how all the theories we learned once in the community and heard all of these heart-breaking stories. To me, there seemed to be a huge disconnect between the theories I was lear ning and the stories I was hearing. He told me that university focuses on matters of the mind. It teaches us about intellectual matters that are only the tip of the iceberg of human experience. The vast majority of the things which make us human – spiritual experiences, compassion, empathy, and love – exist within the lower part of that iceberg, hidden beneath the surface, and are not what contemporary universities concentrate on. If we really want to eradicate HIV in Canada and around the world, we need to see what is

Grief exists because you have

the ability to love others...and to love yourself.”

epidemic and to protect and care for these groups of people. Our failures as a society have resulted in the persistence of risk factors that affect at-risk groups, including a lack of HIV education regarding, a lack of access to services such as food and housing and, all too often, discrimination,

below the tip of that iceberg. We need to take a hard look at our own society and at the root causes of addiction, social isolation and lack of access to a high standard of education. As individuals, we need to look at our own lives, our own choices, and figure out how we fit into this pattern. AIDS Vancouver created a video campaign this summer to mark 30 years of community service. They released one video for every year that the organization had been in existence. The videos marked the “remarkable loss and remarkable progress” that has been achieved by many people who have been involved in the HIV movement in the last thirty years. My mom was interviewed for one and we went down to Vancouver to attend a gala where the last video was unveiled. It was powerful, just as the others had been. The interviewees discussed what they had learned from HIV and the words of one woman, Michael Vonn, stuck in my head. Vonn is a lawyer who has been involved in HIV work for many

years, and she remarked in the final video that the disease has taught her that “loss is the price we pay for love.” When we talk about grief and loss in workshops, we share the quote: “Grief exists because you have the ability to love others; grief fades because you have the ability to love others and to love yourself.” I believe that as individuals what we are truly missing is the ability to love ourselves. As the future leaders of our society, we share the responsibility of creating a world in which the circumstances are in place for the future generations to learn to love themselves and others. They need to change the circumstances so that, together, we can create a healthy cycle of love. We can do this through the different roles we take on in our lives, professionally and personally, and through our own actions today: by challenging our own assumptions and striving for a better, kinder world. I personally believe that in a world where everyone can consistently present that, HIV would be eradicated.

Welcome to a new year of puzzles. Triangular numbers are numbers that are the sum of the integers from 1 to some positive integer. Call the function T(n). T(1) = 1, T(2) = 1 + 2 = 3, T(3) = 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, and so on. Some numbers can be expressed as T(a) - T(b) for some a and b. For example, 12 is one such because T(5) - T(2) = 15 - 3 = 12. Actually, for all integers n greater than 1, there are values a and b such that T(a) - T(b) = n. Prove this. Hint: There is a very simple solution which you may find if you look at the problem right. Drawing diagrams may help. 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. Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net>. Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in my blog (http://genew.ca/) and in the Math Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

Yet another marbles problem! You have some marbles which are each of one colour of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. From the clues below, determine how many marbles of each colour you have. 1. The total number of orange marbles and green marbles is equal to the number of yellow marbles. 2. Three of the colours have an even number of marbles; the same for odd. 3. The numbers of yellow and violet marbles are both even or both odd. 4. There are at least two of each marble colour, but no more than nine. 5. The numbers of red and blue marbles are both even or both odd. 6. There is a different number of each of the six colours. 7. From lowest to highest numbers of marbles is the same order as the colours in ascending alphabetical order. 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. Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net>. Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in my blog (http://genew.ca/) and in the Math Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

Look for the weekly puzzles in a different place every week. Contact Gene (genew@telus.net) with your answers

Puzzle(s) of the week

Puzzle of the Week #2 – Marbles

Puzzle of the Week #1 – Triangular Numbers

Coffee Break 4 9

2 5

9 3 1 4

7 8

sudokueasy

1 1 7 6

1 2

3 8

4 1 2

4 3

6 9

9 3 6 7 2

sudokuhard

“High Enders”

1 8 1 2 3 3 1 9 8 3 4

Finish the easy Sudoku, win a prize. Finish the hard Sudoku, win a better prize. Email editor@truomega.ca for details.

Across 1. Monroe’s successor 6. Yammers 10. “Hamlet” has five 14. Storyteller 15. Unsightly 16. Binary 17. High enders 20. Fifth-century scourge 21. Border monitors (abbr.) 22. Absorbed, as a cost 23. Caesar’s meal starters? 26. Bach composition 28. ___-l’Eglise, France 31. E or G, e.g. 32. International language 33. ___-time low 34. “Seize ___!” 35. Arctic jacket 38. High enders 42. ___-proof 43. Caviar source 44. Afflict 45. Gathered dust 46. Black gold 47. Dutch pottery city 49. 1940s-60s world leader 51. Dorm room staple 53. “We ___ the World” 54. Dash 56. Plaudits 60. High enders

64. 1952 Olympics host 65. Home, informally 66. Heart chambers 67. Western or Buy 68. Arabic miracle 69. Leather whip Down 1. Eastern pooh-bah 2. “Dang!” 3. Common contraction 4. Fashionable 5. Funeral slabs 6. Pursue relentlessly 7. “Give it ___!” 8. Disheveled 9. Harmonize 10. Play title word 11. Relating to a steward 12. Spoonful, say 13. Cold shower? 18. Spicy stew 19. Corn dish 24. Like, with “to” 25. Mark for misconduct 27. Aroma 28. Truth 29. Scat queen, to friends 30. Hinged dredgers 34. “And I Love ___” (1964 tune) 35. Mature 36. “___ I care!”

37. Early European 39. Bandy words 40. Hoaxes 41. Lady Macbeth, e.g. 46. Fish hawk 47. Strip of potency 48. Crude stone artifact 49. Bigwig 50. Clear, as a disk 52. “Andy Capp” cartoonist Smythe “Empedocles on ___” (Matthew Arnold poem) 55. 57. City on the Yamuna River 58. Dilute 59. Alone 61. Auction offering 62. ___ Today 63. Utmost T A C K

A C H E

P R O P

R A W E R

A M A T I

G U R U S

A D A M

L E G O

G A U D

P E W I T C H I C K A D E E

A D D E L S A A N K I L A K N E E B E M S

G E R A R D

A N O N

L O V E L H O O R T O N R E E Y P E U N E S A C H I R E L U R

A L E R A A N W E D U N A D P O S E G S A

J O H N D O N N E N I G H T

A G O G

M E G S

B E S T

W E D G E

E W E R S

S T R O P

O R E O

T E R M

A D O S

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS

7 3 8

MYLES MELLOR AND SALLY YORK

September 18, 2013

crossword

RANDOM JOKE! A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his expensive wool vest and said, “Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel.” “I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.” “The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5 p.m. for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I’d accumulated a fortune of $9.80.” “Then my wife’s father died and left us two million dollars.” Got a better joke? Got a comic? Send ‘em in and we might run ‘em.

editor@truomega.ca

Sports

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 3

Feeling cheery for the new season WolfPack cheerleaders have big plans for the year, both on and off campus Nathan Weissbock Ω Contributor With the beginning of the athletic season underway, the Wolf Pack cheerleaders have begun their selection and training for the upcoming season. Tryouts for the cheerleaders began the weekend of Sept. 7, when 30 athletes auditioned for spots on the team. When asked what coaches were looking for in potential cheerleaders, head coach Shannon Blakely said “Mainly body awareness and dexterity, along with dedication and effort. This sport is based heavily on trust and all players need to be able to trust each other, as well as be here for every practice so we can progress as a team.” Tryouts consisted of testing the players’ abilities in the following categories: tumbling, dancing, cheering, jumping and stunting – stunting is a prime component in cheerleading that includes lifting and tossing teammates into the air, with the expectation that the vaulted person will perform some type of aerial feat. For the coming season, the cheerleaders were fortunate to gain a few promising new members, one of whom is Logan Keegan-Boucher, an experienced cheerleader who has spent a number of years perfecting her abilities in the sport. “I’ve done cheer for eight years,” Keegan-Boucher said. “I have been to world championships three times, and managed to snag a top-five spot one of those times.” Keegan-Boucher will look to help a Wolf Pack team that had some success in competitions last year. In 2012-13 the cheerleaders

competed in both the Sea to Sky International Cheerleading Championship in Vancouver and a cheer competition in Edmonton, placing third in both events. The team also sent a quintet of players to compete in the Okanagan Cheerleading Championship in Kelowna, that group placed second. Tatianna Landry, a former veteran on the team, also entered into an individual tumbling competition in which she finished first in her division. While the cheerleaders continue to support Wolf Pack teams this season, they will also be entering competitions of their own, and continue to participate in a number of community and charity events around Kamloops. Last year, Paws for a Cause, Walk for Memories, Run for the Cure, Basics for Babies, Dreamlift Day, Santa Claus Parade, Family Literacy Day and TRU’s Casino Night all had help from the cheer team. “We are really excited for this year,” said assistant coach Kelsey Boule. “We think that with some hard work, we have a real shot at a victory in Sea to Sky this year.” This upcoming Thursday, the cheerleaders will play host to Tight n’ Bright Night at Heroes Pub, raising money for upcoming competitions. TOP: (Left to right) Laura Vieser, Jolene Glover, Pamela Tulliani, Kennedie Maidement and Ryan Lavery practise their routines. Bottom: Kira Cheeseborough (in the air), Ryan Robinson, Shannon Blakely and Pamela Tulliani (left to right) show onlookers a little something.

(Nathan Weissbock/ The Omega)

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Oriol Torres’ four goals in the opening weekend of WolfPack men’s soccer action netted him player of the week honours in the Pacific Western Athletic Association. Torres, a third-year forward from Barcelona, Spain, was held out of Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the Kwantlen Polytechnic Eagles on the weekend, as were Corey Wallis and Darren Dinsdale. Co-head coach John Antulov told The Omega in an email Monday “hopefully all will be available for this weekend.” On Saturday the WolfPack played to a 3-3 draw against the Douglas College Royals. Justin Wallace had two goals and an assist, with Mike Harvey deflecting in Wallace’s pass for the tying goal in stoppage time. Sunday’s victory was a physical match in which the WolfPack landed itself five yellow cards. Justin Wallace and Jason Staiger had the goals en route to the ‘Pack’s third victory of the season. The WolfPack is currently in first place and will return to Hillside Stadium Oct. 5, when it will play the UBCOkanagan Heat.

Alanna Bekkering was named the player of the week for the Pacific Western Athletic Association on Wednesday, an award which came on the heels of the women’s soccer team’s back-to-back wins on the weekend of Sept. 7. Bekkering made a case for a second consecutive award in Week 2 action, with two goals in a 4-2 victory against Douglas College on Saturday and another deuce against the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles in a 2-1 victory on Sunday. The WolfPack is currently in first place and will return to Hillside Stadium Oct. 5, when it will play the UBCOkanagan Heat.

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The WolfPack men’s hockey team lost 5-4 on Saturday to the Trinity Western University Spartans in the opening game of its exhibition schedule. Tyler Berkholtz, Silvan Harper, Alex Smith and Tyler Jackson scored for the WolfPack, with goaltender Mark Memicucci in net for the loss. The WolfPack will head to Calgary on the weekend to take part in the annual Icebreaker Tournament.

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The WolfPack baseball team is 6-0-3 after a nine-game weekend in Okotoks, Alta. The ‘Pack played games against the Okotoks Dawgs and the Edmonton Prospects, both split-squad contests. TRU will be at home this Saturday and Sunday for Alumni Weekend. The team will play two exhibition games against a WolfPack alumni team on Saturday, before closing out the weekend with the annual 100-inning Game fundraiser on Sunday.

September 18, 2013

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