Nov. 12, 2014

TACKLING CONSENT Sexual Health Week held on campus – what we learned and then some, p. 4

Volume 24 – Issue 11

ROCKET EXPLOSION TRU had a role in the experiment lost in the recent Antares rocket explosion, p. 9

www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega

RUNNING STRONG WolfPack cross country runner Kayla Morrison won’t let her condition stop her, p. 11

November 12, 2014

CAMPUS CULTURE Lizzy Hoyt performs, p. 7

2014 Diwali Mela at TRU, p. 8

‘90s punk rockers regroup, return to Kamloops Last time they were in town, a riot broke out, p. 6

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NEWS

November 12, 2014

Postdoctoral fellows unionize due to growing job insecurity Rachel Ward

CUP LABOUR BUREAU CHIEF

Today’s university graduates are less likely to continue working in academia as professors than their predecessors, according to recent reports. New PhD graduates working as postdoctoral fellows are staying longer in entry-level research jobs, as better positions in academia are becoming rarer.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has found the overall per cent of permanent tenure or tenure track professors has declined over the last twelve years, while the per cent of temporary staff has increased.

Overall, more full-time professors have been hired, but the researcher who compiled the data, Robert Johnson, said enrolment numbers have outpaced hirings.

That’s bad news for some postdocs. A survey by the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) shows 80 per cent of Canadian postdoctoral fellows eye academic appointment. Permanent faculty jobs often have research time built in, according to the CAUT researcher, while sessional or adjunct teachers instead take on a heavier course load and are paid per course at a lower wage.

In October, postdocs at Dalhousie University unionized. Fernando Pena, who has a PhD in astrophysics, helped organize Dalhousie’s newest union. He’s 34 years old and in his sixth year of fellowships.

Pena said he expected to work for just a couple years before becoming an academic. Instead, he said, there’s “too much supply for a very low demand.”

Dalhousie joins other universities with postdoc unions, such as

University of Toronto. At some non-unionized schools, said the CAPS report, postdocs are considered trainees — not employees — despite being paid to research. The survey said postdocs want more training in order to be eligible for the private sector.

Universities are struggling financially due to rising faculty salaries, said Alex Usher, president of the think tank Higher Education Strategy Associates. That will leave fewer future permanent positions for senior postdoctoral fellows to fill.

“One of the reasons you’re seeing institutions so leery about hiring new professors in many disciplines is they don’t want to add staff,” said Usher, noting each new tenure professor might stay 30 years or longer.

“Most of those years that person is going to be making over $100,000 or more. Cost that out.”

According to the report, the desire to stay in academia, or “academic tunnel vision,” in the postdoc structure leaves workers without guidance as to how to leave academia. Usher, who studies the financial background post-secondary institutions, said that mentality must change.

“That’s a bonus, to be an academic,” he said. “The problem is, a lot of institutions don’t sell it that way, so you get a lot of disappointment.”

Nagarajan Kannan, the chair of CAPS and a postdoc fellow, said academic research careers are “sort of a mirage.” CAPS has found the length of postdoc fellowships increases each year, as they wait for professor jobs to open.

“The postdoc community is a vulnerable community,” said Kannan. “There are postdocs in Canada who have been exploited and let themselves be exploited because

they would want to have that extra publication. Just to see a better future they would want to go through the hardship of the postdoc.”

Kannan studies stem cells at the Terry Fox Laboratory, affiliated with the University of British Columbia, which isn’t unionized.

Despite six years of postdoc fellowships, published articles and awards, he said he’s only now qualified enough to compete for academic research gigs.

Despite the grim prospects, permanent professors with time to research will still exist, said Usher, but those applying will have stiff competition.

“You stick around and suck the 18-hour days in the lab for a while, but eventually you get rewarded with a professorship,” said Usher.

“You’ve got to stop thinking a career in academia is the be all and end all.”

Study links educators’ skepticism NaNoWriMo is on now – get writing! to poor academic performance among minorities Sean Brady

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

Rhiannon Joseph

THE RYERSONIAN (CUP)

Some Ryerson educators aren’t surprised at a study that says teachers who don’t believe in students might negatively affect their success.

“Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? Yes,” says Wendy Cukier, founder of the Diversity Institute of Ryerson. “While we know unconscious bias is everywhere and we have to work to combat it.”

Cukier was commenting on a recent study published by the Center for American Progress (CAP), which says that students from low-income families and diverse racial backgrounds may suffer in school based on their teachers’ expectations.

It found that teachers had less faith in some students being accepted into university, including: 42 per cent less likely for Hispanic students, 47 per cent less likely for black students and 53 per cent less likely for students from low-income families.

“For us, what was surprising was that individuals [whose teachers had high expectations] were three times more likely to graduate from college,” Ulrich Boser, a CAP researcher, told the Huffington Post.

The study suggests the theory of a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you believe something will happen, you will consciously or subconsciously try to achieve it.

For some at Ryerson, the study wasn’t particularly revealing, and shone light on an issue they’ve been combating for years.’

“I’ve had students come up to me and talk about how difficult it was to grow up in their neighbourhood,” said Mariam Hashemi, a program facilitator for Ryerson’s Tri-Mentoring Program.

“The expectation was that you’re not going to go anywhere and that you had limited choices on your future. Now that those students have crossed those boundaries, it paves a path and creates a way for others to look at them as role models.”

Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said that this is the first time such an issue has come to his attention.

“I have never heard anything like that,” Levy said. “I can honestly say I have never, never, never have heard anything like that at all at Ryerson.”

The First Generation project, a branch of Ryerson’s Tri- Mentoring program, offers support to students who are the first in their families to attend university. Student mentors help to provide support for students in their own communities.

“Our student mentors are ambassadors in their communities, and demonstrate that university is definitely accessible,” said Rudhra Persad, a mentoring officer for the First Generation Project.

Zayan Rafeek, First Generation engagement ambassador and fourthyear business student at Ryerson, remembers discouraging experiences with his high school teachers.

“There was one particular teacher that kept telling me that I would drop out of university in my first year,” says Rafeek.

“It’s sad to see teachers who should be encouraging students to follow their passion tell them otherwise. Even if you think you can do it, when you hear someone say you can’t every morning, five days a week, you start doubting yourself.”

Programs, such as First Generation, help individuals who may not have thought about attending university, perhaps based on their background, community, or lack of encouragement in high school.

Mohamed Moustapha, a Ryerson student and mentor at the First Generation Project, is one of those students.

Moustapha, who grew up in a neighbourhood characterized by public-housing units and high crime rates has taken advantage of programs aimed at his demographic.

“I love my neighbourhood but I’ve always wanted to do bigger and better things,” said Moustapha. “And school is a driving force to obtain that success.”

National Novel Writing Month is on now. The goal is for writers to top 50,000 words by the end of November.

The group’s website, NaNoWriMo. org encourages writers to take five steps and partake in the experience with others. First announcing their novel, then earning badges by hitting milestones and participating in challenges. Then, writers looking for inspiration can turn to the site’s inspiration section, where well-known authors provide encouragement.

Throughout the month, the site tracks your progress (by wordcount)

and generally keeps track of things.

It also breaks down groups by region.

The “elsewhere” British Columbia, Canada group currently has more than 2,500 members. Vancouver’s group is topping 7,000 members as of Nov. 10.

There is also a weekly write-in session held at the North Shore Starbucks here in Kamloops. The next session will take place on Nov. 16 and every seven days thereafter. There is also a Kamloops discussion section in B.C.’s “elsewhere” group that is helping local writers organize and motivate each other.

In 2013, NaNoWriMo topped 310,000 participants worldwide, with more than 250 of the completed novels being published.

Image courtesy nanowrimo.org

OPINION

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 11

The Omega Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper Published since November 27, 1991

www.truomega.ca /TRUOmega @TRU_Omega /tru_omega

EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady @iamseanbrady editor@truomega.ca NEWS EDITOR Alexis Stockford @AlexisStockford news@truomega.ca ISSUES EDITOR Ashley Wadhwani @ashwadhwani issues@truomega.ca SCI-TECH EDITOR Ryan Turcot @RyanTurcot sci-tech@truomega.ca ARTS EDITOR Kim Anderson @K_AndersonSays arts@truomega.ca SPORTS EDITOR Tayla Scott @taylascott3 sports@truomega.ca COPY EDITOR Rachel Wood @rachelwoood copy@truomega.ca CONTRIBUTORS Steve Leahy

UBC’s international student-only school makes sense, but just in terms of money Sean Brady

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

The University of British Columbia recently announced that it will build a new international student-only college, meant to boost the English language skills of the 1,000 students it will house.

While it might be smart to provide more focused English language instruction and assistance to students new to the language, it’s a mistake to wall them off from the rest of the student body, even in the first year. It’s also worrying that the college will, by necessity, only attract students from rich families to the school, since its one-year tuition rate tops $50,000.

UBC’s Vantage College is like the next step in someone’s slippery slope argument against large international student populations on Canadian campuses. I can almost hear it being made, “Oh, what’s next? A university that’s only for international students?”

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady INDUSTRY REP Christopher Foulds FACULTY REP Charles Hays STUDENT REP Travis Persaud STUDENT REP Adam Williams STUDENT REP Hugo Yuen

PUBLISHING Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 900 McGill Rd, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-828-5069 Advertising inquiries: accounts@truomega.ca

LETTERS POLICY 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.

COPYRIGHT 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 The Omega 2014.

And other than the money, the college will serve no purpose to domestic students or even the student body at large. It will serve a narrow minority of students from other countries with families rich enough to send them here. It won’t be about adding any cultural value to campus. It won’t be about the international student experience or even meeting people who are different from yourself, since the college will target students from Mainland China.

The act of walling off first-year students is doing them a disservice.

Keeping them from the rest of the student body is doing that student body a disservice, too. There has to be an advantage to having international students around other than the money they bring with them. If there isn’t, what kind of campus culture are we creating?

What claim could UBC ever make towards campus diversity if its actions create such different classes of students? editor@truomega.ca

Telling a girl to “watch out” for other guys isn’t helping anyone, especially not women Ashley Wadhwani ISSUES EDITOR Ω

PUBLISHING BOARD

The idea of boosting university revenue with international student tuition is not a new idea. Universities have been doing that for years.

TRU does it, too. Nearly one in five students on the TRU campus is an international student, and since those students pay more than three times as much for their education, they’re a significant part of the university’s revenue stream.

In terms of filling in budget gaps, which there are more and more of as government subsidies fall off, international students are worth more to the university than domestic students.

In a way, UBC is just addressing this fact head on, perhaps not thinking about the consequences of doing so. It sees a revenue stream and is tapping into it. It’s doing what any smart business would do.

But that’s the problem. While universities need to act to remain solvent they have to be mindful of their business moves while doing so. It can never be about money at any cost.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I don’t trust them.”

It’s a statement that most 21st century females who have ever had significant others have probably heard before. “Them,” being other guys in a club, bar or really any social setting, and in actuality this expressed mistrust in other men perpetuates something much more serious and concerning.

This year, my roommate and I were getting ready to go out on Halloween. I was primping in the bathroom and she was in the living room talking to her long-distance boyfriend about his Halloween plans.

Near the end of the conversation, she said, “If you end up going out tonight, just be careful babe ‘cause, I mean, I trust you – I just don’t trust other girls.”

She was joking, and they shared a laugh and a few smart remarks.

In the few months I have watched their relationship grow, it seems healthy enough that this would never actually be said in a serious manner. I was taken aback though with how ridiculous it sounded to ever be seriously said from a woman to a man.

I have felt this insecurity before, but never actually said anything about it to my ex-boyfriend who, luckily, only said something like this once before figuring out it wasn’t going to slide with me.

I never said anything to him because I knew if there was ever a situation with another woman he could and would say no. I mean, I trusted him from the beginning to end of our relationship.

In 2009, women self-reported 472,000 sexual assaults, according to Statistics Canada. This is not something to sweep under the rug, but our social structure when it comes to gender is so deeply rooted in our behaviour and conversation. We often don’t realize that what sounds like a man simply suggesting he is uncomfortable with another man finding his girlfriend attractive brings up a number of other social issues.

First, according to this thinking, a female is an object to possess.

This is almost laughable, but the moment a guy feels like another guy is infringing on his territory, suddenly it becomes an argument similar to two children fighting over a toy.

We forget that a woman can have a conversation with a man without it ending in sex. A woman has an active mind and can make the decision to reject or accept a guy’s advances.

There have been two or three times I’ve witnessed bar fights because of a “misunderstanding” over a girlfriend. The kicker here is that usually nothing sexual happens between the woman and the other man. But I guess it was going to, right?

Aside from being objects for men to have, the “I trust you, I just don’t trust them” comment ignores the idea of consent. Why doesn’t he trust other males? Because they may approach, flirt or be sexually suggestive with his girlfriend. And once they do any of those three things it seems to be understood that the girlfriend’s choice doesn’t matter in what happens next.

“No.” “No thank-you.” “I’m sorry, I’m not interested.”

In an ideal world, these are three

examples of all it should take to stop unwanted sexual advances.

This, unfortunately, isn’t always enough, or sometimes the rejected man doesn’t take it so lightly.

There’s an assumption that men have control to dictate what a woman does at a club, bar or any social setting, that a woman can’t say no, and if they do say no, it doesn’t need to be valued. What I’m trying to say is that we continue to bury the sexually victimized with statements that suggest there is no option for women to have any control of what happens to them.

There are a lot of good guys out there who respect women, but I am not going to congratulate them on doing so. Respecting a woman should not mean you are above the men who don’t, it should mean that you’re a decent person. However, this also affects those good guys that are respectful because I have found myself often mistrusting the guys that come up to me at a bar when they could just be looking for friendly conversation. The rape culture that is very much alive causes many women to live in fear and distrust guys they don’t know.

“I trust you, I just don’t trust them.”

If this has ever been said to you, or if you have ever said it to someone else, consider why it was said.

Unless it’s because you are afraid the “no” will actually be a “yes, okay” then maybe the relationship isn’t as healthy as it should be. If it’s being said for no reason, then stop saying it. Stop perpetuating a culture of patriarchy and find a better way to express your insecurities about the other men around your girlfriend. issues@truomega.ca

3

TUNE IN/TUNE OUT Steve Leahy

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

Politics again? You lucky people. First things first, I don’t really like politics. Surprise! It’s not because I don’t care about politics, I do care, it’s more the fact that I disagree with what politics has become.

You see, politics began as an excuse for the rich and powerful to be rich and powerful, as long as they were making their community a better, more respectable place to be. Back in the day, I mean way, way back, politics was a matter of pride. “That community over there just built a beautiful music hall? We’ll just have to build a bigger, more beautiful music hall to prove that our community is better! That’ll show them!” now, I’m not saying that’s what politics should be, but there are its humble beginnings.

So now the question is “what’s politics now?” Good question, but the answer isn’t really an answer. Politics is just like any other product we’re expected to purchase with a smile and no questions. Just look at the politicians we’ve been getting. Are any of them really different from the others? Not really, once you look past the superficial “image” thing.

They pretty much all have the same sound bites, same stances on the same things, and little to no personality outside of being someone “of the people.” What the hell does that mean; being “of the people?” I got no idea, do you?

But that really is the problem isn’t it? No one really understands politics because we don’t need to understand it. Because if we could, then why would we need politicians? You don’t hire people to do something you can do yourself. Well, maybe you do, since that’s what Western culture is all about, right? “Why do it yourself when someone else is willing to do it.”

That’s all well and good, but just because someone is willing to do it doesn’t mean they can, or even should. Think about it: who really wants to be a politician?

You essentially have to stop being a person, and become “of the people” so that you can no longer do what you want because now everything you do reflects the people you represent.

That just seems backward to me. I don’t want to be represented by someone who is so bland and uninteresting that they could easily be mistaken for several other people in my community. I’d much rather be represented by someone with a distinct personality, someone outspoken and defiant, like Jean Chretien. Everyone remembers that guy. He had personality for days, and whether or not you like him, you got to respect that.

Let’s get real people into politics, I’m tired of being told to vote for candidates when all I see is the same persona behind several different cardboard cut-outs. But maybe that’s just me.

leahys112@mytru.ca Stephen Leahy is a third year philosophy student who has been attending TRU since 2011. He has been living in Kamloops for 21 of his 23 years.

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NEWS

November 12, 2014

Tackling sexual consent on campus

Sexual Health Week and other programs hope to create a culture of consent on campus Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

Sexual consent was a hot topic on campus last week.

For the fifth year in a row, the TRU Wellness Centre’s Sexual Health Week was focused on consent. This year, the week included a workshop on sex and communication in relationships as well as an information booth in Old Main.

Information provided was partly based on “Don’t Be That Guy,” a campaign focusing on the need to be sober if consenting to sex.

“If someone’s drunk, they can’t consent to sex,” TRU Wellness Centre co-ordinator Chelsea Corsi said. “If someone is passed out they can’t consent to sex. If they say no…it’s just really getting that message across.”

According to Corsi, the Wellness Centre has used the “Don’t Be that Guy” campaign for about four years.

“Change always starts with a conversation,” she said. “You always have to openly talk about things and I think what I’d like to do here is to get people talking.”

The discourse on university rape culture has exploded in the last few years, putting pressure on Canadian universities to develop better ways to deal with sexual assault.

Both UBC’s Sauder School of Business and Saint Mary’s University came under fire last year after students were recorded participat-

ing in chants that advocated underage and non-consensual sex.

Following a scandal last November in which three McGill University football players were charged with sexually assaulting a student from Concordia University but were not removed from the team, McGill hired a harm reduction liaison, partly to develop a sexual assault policy for the university. Other universities, such as the University of Guelph, already have a sexual assault policy in place or have developed alternative methods to combat sexual assault.

TRU does not have a specific sexual assault policy but dean of students Christine Adam said there is a structure in place for any instances of sexual assault.

“We have supports available on campus where students can come to us for various reasons, as they would come to us about any concern related to another student or something that happened to them on campus,” Adam said. “We’ve really focused our educational efforts on consent.”

TRU offers free and confidential counselling to victims of sexual assault and has co-operated with organizations like the Kamloops Sexual Assault Centre and the RCMP. “I think, honestly, we have a very strong Student Services area…I think we do a good job at this point and we are being proactive,” Corsi said.

In the past four years, there have been two instances of sexual assault

reported on the TRU campus.

“In both cases our response has been to connect students up with RCMP and other resources as quickly as possible,” Adam said.

Adam said that she has not heard a lot about rape culture in how TRU has been characterized. She said that other universities where rape culture may be more prevalent are also more residential and may have a more active bar scene than TRU. The university’s Campus Master Plan hopes to eventually develop

Symposium to be held at university starting Nov. 15 NEWS EDITOR Ω

Organizers of the Nov. 15 Restorative Justice Symposium at TRU say the technique could even benefit how TRU handles its own internal conflicts.

Criminologist and TRU professor Camilla Sears said that the university has recently shown interest in restorative justice, including discussions between TRU Student Services and Alana Abramson, who taught TRU’s first course on restorative justice this summer, on how the method could be integrated into TRU. “They’ve had some really great meetings to talk about how restorative justice could be put into practice on campus and thinking about how it could provide an avenue to deal with non-academic student misconduct,” Sears said.

She added that restorative justice could be used to train those who often deal with student conflict such as resident advisors, security staff, faculty and counselling staff.

Restorative justice is traditionally an alternative to the criminal justice system that focuses on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. Usually used to deal with minor offences like

vandalism, shoplifting, breaking and entering or minor assaults, restorative justice involves both the offender and the victim and often includes community or family members.

Proponents of the method point out that the process is often faster and less expensive than court proceedings, allows both victim and offender to feel like they have a say in the restitution plan, and fosters a reconnection between the offender and the community, making it less likely he or she will re-offend. As restitution plans are tailored for each offender, advocates also point out that restorative justice can better take into account things like mental or learning disabilities or addictions.

“We want for them to own their behaviour and their actions and try and get them the help that they need,” said Edith Fortier, restorative justice co-ordinator with the Secwepemc Community Justice Program and one of the guest speakers for the Nov. 15 symposium.

Rehabilitation can include an apology, community service, addictions counseling, financial repayment, a curfew, or specific conditions, such as avoiding certain places.

Fortier said that 95 per cent of people who go through her program do not re-offend.

“Party with Class,” an awareness program focused on safe party practices. The TRU Wellness Centre also hopes to bring the “Don’t be a Bystander” program to TRU next semester. The program informs students how to spot a potential sexual assault and how to intervene.

A task force on alcohol and other substances has also been formed to compare TRU’s substance policies with policies across the nation. The task force will present its findings by the end of February.

Students Kaitlin Clement, Amy Gorman and Danya Thompson and sex and communication workshop facilitators Corey Keith and Jessy Dame get comfortable with sex terms during the “sex-ball game.” (Alexis Stockford/The Omega)

Restorative justice at TRU Alexis Stockford

TRU into that kind of residential campus, though.

“We have to always be paying attention to our students’ safety and wellbeing and identifying those positive aspects of culture, things that we’ve been doing like the consent education, the work on harm reduction, that’s a really key aspect what goes on in our Wellness Centre and in counselling,” Adam said.

Aside from Sexual Health Week, TRU Student Services has teamed up with TRU Residence to create

In order to be referred to the Secwepemc Community Justice Program, an offender must have already convinced the RCMP or Crown that they want to be rehabilitated. Fortier also said the process can be emotional and, in some ways, more difficult for those involved than a court proceeding, since they are required to speak for themselves rather than be represented by a lawyer.

The symposium is part of a national awareness week starting Nov. 16. Events include a panel with special guests from restorative justice programs, government departments, RCMP, and a former restorative justice program participant. The day will also include a Q&A on how restorative justice is applicable to post-secondary institutions.

Organizers will also facilitate a talking circle, a common tool in restorative justice where each participant is given a chance to express their perspective without interruption.

“It’s a very emotional process, but it allows [participants] to get everything out…to hear exactly how the other feels and so, we can come up with that healing together,” said Brittany Walker, one of the students on the symposium’s planning committee.

Symposium tickets can be purchased on TRU’s website.

NEWS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 11

5

Should he stay or should he go?

Review is under way in reappointment of university president Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

An online survey to TRU staff, faculty and students recently tested public opinion on university president Alan Shaver, who is looking for re-appointment after his current term ends next August.

Brian Ross, TRU Board of Governors Chair and chair of the presidential review advisory committee, said over 300 responses were received “from all areas of the university community,” from Oct. 3 to 22.

The survey was also available to members of the wider Kamloops community with ties to TRU or dealings with the president’s office.

The presidential review advisory committee will meet in the third week of November to analyze the survey’s results. They will then make a recommendation to the

board of governors on Shaver’s reappointment. Ross said the final decision on whether to reappoint will likely be made by the end of November.

On Oct. 15, TRU Faculty Association (TRUFA) president Tom Friedman penned a letter to Ross, which was then sent to various TRU faculty. In it, he was highly critical of Shaver’s performance, saying, among other things, that Shaver “is perceived as someone who does not engage effectively with student, faculty or staff,” and has created a “band of middle managers” that Friedman feels adds distance between TRU decision makers and those actually dealing with students. Friedman also expressed his opinion that Shaver should be doing more to resolve labour relations issues among faculty.

“While I do not believe that Dr. Shaver has deliberately created this level of mistrust, he does, I would argue, have the responsibility for

restoring faculty faith in TRU by creating an atmosphere of transparency and accountability in all administrative decisions,” Friedman wrote.

The letter was sent out to TRU faculty while the survey was publically available. Ross said it is hard to tell if the letter affected survey results.

“I felt an open letter sent to people prior to them completing the survey on their own was inappropriate, but I don’t have any suggestion at this point that it’s made a difference [in the results of the survey],” Ross said.

Ross added that the letter, although it was sent out to TRU faculty, was in response to the survey request and, although it did not follow the recommended format for public feedback provided by the survey, the letter will be taken into account by the review committee in their recommendations to the board.

Alan Shaver was appointed president of TRU in 2010. His first term as president is now up for review as the university considers whether or not he will continue in that capacity.

(Photo courtesy TRU)

Vote 50 campaign continues: “But first, let me take a selfie” Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

With less than 24 hours until TRU goes to the polls, Kamloops Vote 50 wants to see your Election Day game face.

The local non-profit, which hopes to increase voter turnout in the 2014 municipal election from 29 per cent to 50, has launched a selfie campaign to get the social media generation to the polls.

Vote 50 encouraged voters to take a selfie after casting their ballot, tagged with #Kampaign2014.

Each selfie should be taken out-

side the polling station while holding the “I Voted” sticker given to each voter. Selfie-takers then tag their friends in the hope that those tagged will also head to the polls.

Vote 50 encouraged participants to include the tag-line “It’s your turn.”

“We’re hoping to get the ball rolling for that for advance polling and then just have it blast off for the day of the election,” Vote 50 campaign co-ordinator Will George said.

The selfie campaign goes handin-hand with the group’s final push to engage TRU students. On Nov. 12, election candidates will be on Student Street from 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. for a meet and greet, organized by TRU in collaboration with Enactus.

George said the meet and greet will be an informal event aimed at giving candidates one last shot to get their platforms out to TRU. He added that the event will look much like the Clubs Day event held in September.

TRU’s advance polling station runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 in the TRUSU Lecture Hall, located by the TRUSU member services desk. Potential voters should bring two pieces of ID, at least one with the voter’s address as proof of residence.

6

ARTS

November 12, 2014

No riot (this time)

The Smalls return to Kamloops Kim Anderson ARTS EDITOR Ω

“It was excessive everything. Too many people, too many cops, too much control and a whole lot of fucking spit coming up on the cops. It must have been hundreds of people spitting at once. It was gross,” said Dug Bevans, guitarist with The Smalls.

Bevans is recounting the infamous riot which Kamloopsians took part in about a decade ago, when The Smalls played in an over-capacity hall.

After collecting a huge, dedicated fan base, The Smalls broke up for undisclosed reasons, but now they’re back.

Bevans said it’s the support from fans that brought the band back together for this tour. Drummer Terry Johnson took on the task of maintaining their fan page during their time apart.

Judging by the sold-out crowd’s reaction when The Smalls hit the stage following Royal Tusk, not an ounce of love was lost over those 10 years.

In true punk rock fashion, in welcoming the band, a few drinks were hurled at the stage, the unmistakable odour of weed hit the air and a top in the front row came off momentarily.

Corb Lund delivered a steady, pulsing bass line. Anyone who claims that country and punk are mutually exclusive needs to see Lund perform in The Smalls. In his black cowboy boots and leather-embellished bass guitar, he stayed true to the roots of The Smalls.

Frontman Mike Caldwell only got better with time. With his sharp and unique vocals he commanded the fans’ attention for the entire two-hour long set.

Bevans rocked out on his white, chipped Gibson Flying V. He had the sweaty fans in the front row bowing at his feet.

Last, but certainly not least, Johnson kept the pace fast and heavy on drums.

The combined talents of The Smalls melded to express a soulful, sexy, rough and raw experience, complete with two encores.

The doormen had their hands full.

This must have been the most crowd surfing that has ever happened inside the doors of Cactus Jacks Nightclub.

Several determined fans were tossed off the stage, one by the band’s manager.

Pained looks and tired, drooping heads plagued those in the front row by the end of the set. Their weary bodies lost some gusto, tired from getting crushed into the stage by the mosh pit behind them.

The Smalls genuinely enjoy playing for their fans. Lund thanked the audience for coming out and reminded them about the last time they played in Kamloops.

Basically, the riot went down because a promoter over-sold tickets to a show. When The Smalls were about one-third of the way through their set, the police came in and cut power to the stage.

“The kids were jammed in super tight. I don’t know what compelled the cops to come in and do what they did. They must have scoped it out and rallied the troops. They were ready and determined to shut the thing down,” Caldwell said.

The fans did not like what was happening, so they reacted.

“They started spitting. The cops were raring for any reason. They used their force. They took out their mace and sprayed these people who were trapped,” Caldwell said.

Once the mace hit the air, everyone in the jam-packed hall tried to escape. The mayhem spilled out onto

the street and the fans took out their anger on whatever they could find.

“It was a full-blown riot. There were fire trucks. A guy got pulled out of a cop car because he was trying to drive it away. I’m sure there were cars overturned,” Bevans said. “The media kind of painted it on us unfairly. There was a real backlash from the community. For months on end there was a war within the city saying that the kids were punks and they deserved it.”

Whether it was the type of music The Smalls play, or the overfilled concert hall that compelled the police to shut the show down in the way they did, no one will know for sure.

The incident still leaves a bad taste in Caldwell’s mouth.

“They didn’t have to do it that way.

We’ve done hundreds of shows like that, and it’s fine,” he said.

But, aside from the crowd surfing and moshing, the night at CJs went relatively smoothly for the security staff.

As for the fans, should they expect more in the future from The Smalls?

“There’s no plans to continue after the tour ends. That’s it. Everybody’s lives are full. It would take some doing to get another tour together, or start making music again. To do that again would be no small feat,” Caldwell said.

Although there are no plans set to continue rolling with what the band had started in the 90s, they know how much they have impacted their fans.

During their set, they held the hearts and souls of their dedicated fans, like 10 years had never passed.

“We started seeing people come, then it was like okay, this is why we do this. We established this connection with these people and it’s still there. It’s still important to them, and it feels great to us,” Caldwell said.

Above: Corb Lund and his leather bass (also cover).

Photos by Kim Anderson Below: Mike Caldwell, Corb Lund and Dug Bevans; Mike Caldwell taking it in while the crowd cheers him on.

7 Lizzy Hoyt pays remembrance to war history ARTS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 11

Performance echoes singer/songwriter’s remembrance-related travel experiences Ashley Wadhwani ISSUES EDITOR Ω

Lizzy Hoyt is a woman of many talents. The humorous Canadian fiddler, singer, songwriter, and, as if those weren’t enough, tap dancer, visited TRU on Nov. 6 to play in the Alumni Theatre for her second time through the Live at TRU! concert series.

Roughly 85 people gathered to watch Hoyt perform. With violin in-hand, Hoyt’s charisma poured over the audience, with some sitting in awe and others clapping along to the Celtic rhythm.

Hoyt was accompanied by her band of five years, which included Chris Tabbert on mandolin and acoustic guitar and Keith Rempel

on upright bass and harmony vocals.

To add to the instrumentals, Hoyt not only had her violin and guitar, but her harp, which she learned to play by ear.

Hoyt began her one-hour show with the prairie-folk feeling of “New Lady on the Prairie,” off her newest album of the same name released in early October.

With every song having a story for Hoyt to share, the audience was taken on a short journey through Hoyt’s interest in the history of the Second World War and Vimy Ridge.

“The Pantheon,” performed by Hoyt and her guitar and written by Hoyt after her experience visiting the Pantheon in Paris, France, told a story of three influential people buried underneath the iconic building.

“Their stories struck me and I wanted to share them with other people,” Hoyt told the audience.

The first verse focused on Les Justes de France, those who hid Jewish people in their homes during the Second World War. The second verse told the story of Jean Moulin, an influential member of the Resistance. The last verse paid remembrance to Marie Curie, two-time Nobel Prize winner.

Continuing a Remembrance Day theme, Hoyt shared her experience visiting the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France.

“It’s really cliché to say, but it was a life-changing moment,” Hoyt said.

In an area close to the memorial, a German cemetery stretched “for as far as you could see” with wooden-crosses marking the dead.

“Every single cross, there were four men buried,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt became especially interested in this history, wanting to find a way to share the stories she found with younger generations. Her performance of “Vimy Ridge” captured the audience with chilling vocals and the experience of war from the perspective of a young woman.

“Hopefully it would be something that sparked someone’s interests. A song like ‘Vimy Ridge’ that’s just under 5 minutes – that’s not reading an entire novel on the battle of Vimy Ridge,” she said.

After a few years of researching the history of both the First World War and Second World War, Hoyt looked for the personal elements she could turn into song.

“I think people will always connect better when it’s something they can relate to,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt finished her performance with some traditional “fiddle tunes”

and some of her own in a mash-up of “The Jubilee Reel,” “Diamond in the Rough” and “Calliope House.”

She wowed the audience one last time with a tap dance routine, as if she hadn’t wowed them enough.

The Live at TRU! concert series will continue after the winter break with French pianist Maxim Bernard stopping by on Jan. 6, 2015.

Top: Lizzy Hoyt strumming her harp while singing her cover of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton.

Left: Chris Tabbert, on mandolin, during a solo in the cover of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton.

Photos by Ashley Wadhwani

Alan Rickman: the perfect villain Professor Snape, Hans Gruber – the guy knows evil Kim Anderson ARTS EDITOR Ω

If I were to see Professor Snape in real life, I’d probably punch him out. Or, at the very least, hurl my finest “expelliarmus” his way. Full disclosure: I am of the Harry Potter novel generation. I remember waiting (not so patiently) for the books to be released. Then reading them in rapid succession long after my parents had sent me to bed.

What follows can’t possibly be considered a spoiler, because if you haven’t read the books or watched the films yet, I’m not sure what you’ve been doing with your life.

Gently lift the enormous rock you’ve been living under, smell the potions brewing and listen up: Snape is a hero.

Despite Rickman’s aggressive lip curls, greasy locks and patented loathe-inspiring drawl, he is always looking out for the “boy who lived,”

until his dying breath.

The seventh and final book was released in 2007 just as the fifth film was released. Until the very last book, I was content in investing an inhuman and surely unhealthy amount of hatred squarely on Rickman’s shoulders.

This may be a tribute to Rickman’s acting abilities, or partly due to Rowling’s expertly crafted character development, but I assure you, the hatred he inspired was absolutely organic.

Leave the brooms, bludgeons and butterbeers behind for a moment, and let’s examine one of Rickman’s other films. Consider his role in Die Hard as the terrorist Hans Gruber.

Is there anything more menacing than Rickman playing a sociopathic German terrorist? One must be inherently evil to terrorize a Christmas party, and at the same time, not all that bright to engage with John McClane.

What feeds Rickman’s convincing villain persona is his ability to radiate evil while he is totally silent. Without words, with only a look, he communicates his character’s intentions. I wonder if Rickman’s actual resting face is a dirty snarl… we may never know.

I hope to one day inspire such emotion and reaction from my audience with a glance, or a swishing flip of a cloak. Until then, I’ll have to rely on my pen, paper and mildly impressive vocabulary to accomplish that for me.

Congratulations Alan Rickman, for successfully making a generation of Potter-heads hate you, playing with our emotions like a chocolate frog then capturing our hearts like the allusive golden snitch, with one film.

Bravo! I have officially moved you from my list of people I hate to my list of people I love, something that happens even more rarely than an appearance by Halley’s comet.

Alan Rickman, seen here being incredibly evil, or just posing for a photo on the street. We don’t really know. (Marie-Lan Nguyen/Flickr Commons)

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CAMPUS CULTURE

November 12, 2014

Celebrate Diwali at TRU A selection of photos from the 2014 Diwali Mela held in TRU’s Old Gymnasium on Nov. 8 and organized by the TRUSU India Club. Photos by Alexis Stockford.

Above: Arjuna Goswami performs at the 2014 Diwali Mela in TRU’s Old Gymnasium.

Left: Abdul Gudoos Shinwari, a post-bac marketing student, performs the Attan dance, the national dance of Afghanistan.

Bottom: Bollywood made several appearances throughout the night, including this performance by a group of Bollywood dancers.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 11

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TRU had a role in experiment lost in fiery rocket explosion When an Antares rocket carrying a Kamloops school’s science experiment was lost, it wasn’t just the work of school kids that went up in flames Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

When NASA’s unmanned Antares rocket blew up on Oct. 28, the headlines did, too. Much of Kamloops discovered that four students from McGowan Park Elementary lost part of their seventh grade science experiment to the rocket’s explosion.

As it turns out, TRU science faculty assisted and mentored the younger students Kieren O’Neil, Ryan Watson, Jordan Brown and Hunter Galbraith as they designed an experiment to test gravity’s effect on the way crystals form.

Paul Hembling, principal of Bert Edwards Science and Technology School, explained that, “in a nutshell, TRU helped us by not only allowing our students to use the chemistry lab facilities on campus to prepare the tube, but also by providing our student team with all the required chemicals … [and] expertise.”

The boys used one of TRU’s chemistry labs to prepare five tubes that contained barium chloride on one end, sodium thiosulfate on the other, and water in the middle. Clamps within the tubes kept the chemicals separate until the boys were ready to combine them. Doing so caused the barium chloride and sodium thiosulfate – both water-soluble substances – to form solid, crystalized barium thiosulfate.

Their plan was to launch one of the tubes up to the International Space Station using the Antares rocket and study how the crystals would form in a zero gravity environment. The results would be compared to crystals formed

on the four remaining tubes, still firmly planted on Earth.

“NASA’s done a lot of research on this, but most of the things they’ve done to form crystals have been by cooling solutions or by evaporating the liquid. The boys wanted to make a crystal by precipitation,” TRU chemistry instructor Sharon Brewer explained.

The boys received access to the Antares rocket through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), which also provided them with a microlaboratory aboard the International Space Station.

School District 73 fundraised $25,000 to reserve a space on the rocket and space station and then allowed local elementary and high schools to put together their own research proposals for the program.

The microgravity crystal experiment, which Brewer said the boys designed themselves, was the winning idea out of various other proposals that local elementary and high school students put together.

In the process of putting together their proposals, “each class approached one faculty member and we helped answer their questions,” Brewer said. She became involved when Kieren, Ryan, Jordan and Hunter approached her.

The three strongest proposals were sent to the U.S. where SSEP evaluated them.

“Once [the boys’] experiment was chosen, they needed more support,” she said. “When they decided they wanted to make a precipitate as their reaction, they asked TRU Chemistry for a bunch of solutions they could test.”

They chose to make barium thiosul-

Jordan Brown, Hunter Galbraith, teacher Sharmane Baerg, Kieren O’Neil and Ryan Watson seen here after completing their experiment that went up in flames. Thankfully, they’ll get another crack at it. (Sharon Brewer/Submitted) fate crystals because they form differently depending on how quickly the barium chloride and sodium thiosulfate mix, according to Brewer.

“When you mix the solutions slowly in water, you get needle-like crystals, and when you mix them quickly they get a fluffy powder,” Brewer explained.

TRU decided to provide support for the experiment as an outreach initiative to engage youth in science.

“One of the key things is getting kids excited about science. The idea that something from Kamloops is going to space – that’s really cool. If that’s not something to get a kid excited, I don’t know what else is.”

When the boys were ready to pre-

pare their tubes, they were given the opportunity to work remotely alongside a scientist from NanoRacks, LLC in Texas.

“They had to prepare the final experiment – the one that would get sent up in the rocket – under the supervision of a scientist from the company responsible for packing the payload that goes on the rocket,” Brewer explained.

The TRU lab they worked in had a ceiling-mounted camera that allowed them to Skype chat with the NanoRacks representative.

To prepare each of the five tubes, the students had to inject the chemicals into the tube using syringes, dry

the tubes to avoid premature mixing and cut filters to the proper size of the tube. Each one took about 30 minutes to prepare.

Over the summer, TRU’s lab allowed NanoRacks to monitor the tubes for contamination and changes in temperature or PH levels.

Even though their fifth tube was destroyed in the Antares rocket’s explosion, Brewer said the boys, who are now high school students at Sahali Secondary School, will be able to use TRU’s lab to build and launch another one into space. SSEP has tentatively arranged for another rocket to carry their tube to the International Space Station on Dec. 11 this year.

Fifty-four hours to launch a business Startup Weekend Kamloops an opportunity for student programmers, designers and entrepreneurs Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

The Kamloops Innovation Centre wants to help local innovators turn

their ideas for smartphone apps and digital services into marketable, fully-functional prototypes. They will get a chance to do exactly that on Friday, Nov. 21, but there’s a catch: they only have 54 hours to make it happen.

Jonathan Bowers, one of the organizers behind Startup Weekend Kamloops, has over five years of experience in the tech startup industry.

(Ryan Turcot/The Omega)

“Startup Weekend Kamloops is about throwing people into the proverbial pot and seeing what comes out,” event organizer Jonathan Bowers said. “Ideally, people would have a viable business idea that they could start running with on Monday.”

The event kicks off Friday night with a networking dinner, which will come in handy to participants later on. By the end of the night, people will have pitched their ideas and formed teams to get to work on them.

While web and software developers are essential to build the core products, Bowers said students with graphic design or business backgrounds are also valuable assets to a team.

“On Saturday, you work like mad trying to build your thing, calling customers to see if it’s a good idea,” Bowers explained.

“One of the teams last year showed up on Saturday around 8 a.m. and worked until about 3:30 a.m. the next morning.”

The teams have until 5 p.m. on Sunday before they present their work to a panel of judges and ex-

plain how they would sell it.

The winning teams will receive additional support from Kamloops Innovation Centre to help build real companies around their ideas.

“Part of the prize package we try to create is to help them pursue their idea,” he said. “If they need help incorporating, or need office space, we try to help with that.”

“I would really want to see some TRU students attending Startup Weekend. It’s a great opportunity for people to get a taste of what startup life is like.”

He also said the weekend could be a valuable networking opportunity for students.

“Some companies are going to send members of their teams here to see what kind of talent there is at TRU,” he said.

A few mentors, coaches and speakers are slated to appear at the event, including an audit partner from KPMG’s Enterprise practice in Kamloops and the product director of FreshGrade, a Kelowna-based startup company.

This is Kamloops’s second year hosting a Startup Weekend. Last

year’s winning idea was a mobile app and website called “Aptiv.”

It was designed to help people broadcast, find and partake in real-world activities ranging from chess to road hockey. Runners-up included “Narr8r,” a service that converted text into podcasts, and “Wingman,” a mobile app that reminded people to buy gifts for important occasions like their wedding anniversaries or relatives’ birthdays.

Startup Weekend Kamloops is part of a larger, worldwide Startup Weekend movement powered by Google for Entrepreneurs.

The event runs from Friday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 23 and starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Kamloops Innovation Centre.

Entry costs $99, but students can receive a $24 discount if they use the code “STUDENT” when they register online (students must produce valid TRU identification at the event to receive the discount).

Students can register for the event online at swkamloops2014. eventbrite.com.

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COMICS & PUZZLES

November 12, 2014

Puzzle of the Week #10 – Chess Setup) You are about to set up your side of the board for a game of chess. Your chesspieces consist of one king, one queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, and eight pawns. There are exactly the same number of squares where each piece type can go. (For example, there are two squares where you can place the two knights.)

Since all of the pieces of one type are the same, it does not matter which piece of a type goes in each of the permitted squares, but if it did, how many different possible arrangements would there be for setting up your side of the board?

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 (HL304). Come visit: we are friendly.

SUDOKU 7

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xkcd.com

SPORTS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 11

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Running despite the risks Kayla Morrison’s condition has not held back her ambitions as a runner Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

Despite being born with a condition that works against her, Kayla Morrison is determined to continue racing and improve her speed.

Morrison, 21, was born with the left side of her rib cage twisted and protruding. It’s something her doctors had never seen before.

“They’d seen people that have parts of the ribs stick out. They’d seen people with part of the ribs twisted in, but they’d never seen someone with both,” Morrison said. “I guess I’m kind of an anomaly with it.”

Morrison has been running since she was a child. In high school, she joined the track and field team and started racing.

When she was in Grade 12, she entered a race in Abbotsford, but she never got to finish it. While she was running, one of her twisted ribs slipped, possibly striking a nerve, and caused her to suddenly lose consciousness halfway through the race.

It was the first time her condition had caused her to pass out, but it wouldn’t be the last. Morrison experienced sudden loss of consciousness multiple times while working at a restaurant in Langley and once during class.

“When they slip it causes a lot of

pain. Sometimes, if it hits a nerve or a muscle funny, then it causes me to pass out,” Morrison explained.

“My body’s not meant for a runner.

Everything is against me, but I like running.”

Morrison began physiotherapy to strengthen her back muscles.

This helps hold her ribs in place and makes them less likely to slip, although the risk is always there.

After losing consciousness during the race, Morrison took three years off from running but got back into the sport when she joined the WolfPack in September. She was afraid her ribs would slip when she first started running again, but is confident in her rehabilitation.

“I’ve been working really hard. I do a lot of strength training on my back so my back’s actually pretty strong now,” Morrison said. “I know my body and now I know when I have a rib out. I know when it’s slipping, so I know when to stop.”

Another setback Morrison has to deal with is that her left lung is only partially developed due to her twisted rib cage.

“As a runner you want to be able to take a full deep breath. So that’s more of an issue than the actual ribs because I’ve been working on my ribs, but I can’t change the fact that I can’t take a deep breath,” Morrison said.

Morrison has met with physiother-

apists, chiropractors and an osteopath for advice about her condition. She also has seen a surgeon in Surrey, who believes her rib cage can be reconstructed with surgery, preventing her ribs from slipping.

“It’s a very invasive surgery. It hasn’t been FDA approved yet so I’m still on a waiting list. It’s probably not going to be [approved] for a few years,” she said.

“It’d be nice to be able to be normal,” she said.

Despite her twisted rib cage, her partial lung and her three-year break from running, Morrison is faster than ever.

On Oct. 25, she ran a personal best in Abbotsford on the exact same course where she had lost consciousness three years before.

“It was kind of like redemption for me,” she said. “It was a good feeling to actually finish that race and do well and get a good time.”

Her goal is to be able to go to the CIS Cross-Country Championships next year. To accomplish this, she will have to be one of the top five female runners with the ‘Pack.

“I don’t know if it’s possible, but within the next year or so I want to be able to do a half marathon.”

Outside of running, she plans to pursue a career in mental health and hopes to stay in Kamloops, and will continue running and racing despite the risks.

Kayla Morrison isn’t letting her condition keep her from running. She’s aiming to be a top-five runner with the WolfPack and wants to head to CIS nationals next year.

(Tayla Scott/The Omega)

Athletes drawn to Adopt-a-School program One-year-old program still expanding as WolfPack athletes help out in local schools Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

Douglas Groenendijk (above) and Same Taylor-Parks (below) are two of the WolfPack athletes who are participating in the Adopt-a-school program.

The WolfPack’s involvement with the Adopt-a-School program was a factor for some athletes, like Douglas Groenendijk and Sam Taylor-Parks, in deciding to come to TRU. Both Groenendijk and Taylor-Parks are passionate about mentoring youth and want to bring that into their sport.

The program offers WolfPack players the chance to help out with PE classes, read with students and generally help out however they can.

“I remember older kids coming to my school and teaching me how to play different sports and I just loved it,” Groenendijk said. “It helps so much having a mentor, especially to look up to and try to become better than them.”

Groenendijk, who helped assist youth teams during high school, volunteers alongside Matt Lofgren at Juniper Elementary, where they teach the fundamentals of volleyball to a team of Grades 4 to 7 students. Groenendijk said the main thing that sticks out to him about the program is how happy it makes the kids.

Taylor-Parks, a recruit for next season, has been involved in coaching middle school, high school and beach volleyball teams and is excited to continue working with youths.

He is also looking forward to more community involvement.

“When I was down at the tournament that TRU had a couple weeks ago, there were probably 1,500 people there and I just think that’s so cool that the community actually comes out and watches them,” he said. “I think it would be fun to get involved with the community and really get known in Kamloops.”

Jake Schmidt, assistant coach of men’s volleyball and principal of Pacific Way Elementary, believes the program is also bringing kids to the sport.

“The kids that are getting to know some of the athletes come out to the games. They just love it when the players come by. They know them by name and they want to hangout with them and talk to them and you can just see that they want to follow in their footsteps,” he said.

The Adopt-a-School program was started last year by men’s volleyball head coach Pat Hennelly and involved eight elementary schools. This year it added two more schools to the list.

“The big expansion has been adding the women’s volleyball team. We have a bigger roster by five athletes and women’s volleyball has 17 players so it is going to add up to more visits,” Hennelly said.

Through the program both men and women volleyball players visit different elementary schools once or twice a week until December.

The players help the kids with everything from volleyball to math, depending on what the teacher needs.

“What we’re going to trying to do this year is mix it up. I try to make it focus more on the academics but the players and the kids also like it to be an intramural activity at the lunch hour or to help out with some of the P.E. classes,” Schmidt said.

“The kids all know who the WolfPack [players] are. They’re just amazed that these big guys are here to help them and when they actually kneel down and help them with the activity they’re doing, it’s just the biggest thrill.”

Schmidt and Hennelly are working on expanding the program and hope to see growth continue in the sport and in the WolfPack.

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November 12, 2014