Jan. 28, 2015

TIME TO QUIT Respiratory therapy students weigh in on the difficulty of quitting, p. 6

Volume 24 – Issue 18

An app for your mental health

LAUREN MANN, SOLO

Without her Fairly Odd Folk, Mann plays to a full house at The Art We Are, p. 8

www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega

ELIGIBILITY Players profiled before saying their goodbyes to the WolfPack, p. 11

January 28, 2015

How a TRU student is involved in an app that helps you keep an eye on your mental health Page 5

Curling for B.C. under TRU’s banner, p. 11

Campus unions go back to the bargaining table, p. 7

OPINION & EDITORIAL

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 18

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 Brittany Henderson

PUBLISHING BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady INDUSTRY REP Christopher Foulds FACULTY REP Charles Hays STUDENT REP Vacant STUDENT REP Vacant STUDENT REP Vacant

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 Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication).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.

Don’t wait for pick-and-pay TV The future is here (unless you’re into sports) Sean Brady

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

I don’t know many students with a cable TV subscription. Those that do have one got it bundled with their Internet as a result of a pushy sale, have it for free because of shared accommodations or subscribed out of some kind of habit following what they’d had back at home.

With all modern options presented, it doesn’t seem very likely that anyone would pick a cable TV subscription above all the other, cheaper options. That’s why back in September, the CRTC heard debate over whether or not to allow an à la carte (pick-and-pay) system where consumers could specifically pick the channels they wanted.

Sounds reasonable, right? It’s the obvious consumer-friendly choice in a world where entertainment is increasingly offered in an on-demand format.

The debate was a waste of time, though. Long before bureaucrats got busy deciding whether or not to offer consumers more freedom, technology had already availed itself to the savvy consumer looking to cut the cord. Streaming services have popped up in a kind of bandwidth gold rush, looking to snatch up that coveted $9.99 monthly payment.

The lines between service provider, content provider and content producer are all beginning to blur. TV service providers are now

production studios who make their own TV for their own TV network.

Netflix wasn’t really the first – that would probably be HBO, which used to offer itself as a completely separate service from cable TV. But Netflix undoubtedly has done it best. With its original series like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, BoJack Horseman and now Marco Polo, Netflix made a lot of brave moves that allowed its series to thrive without ever appearing on cable TV. It’s a move I’m betting a lot of providers are hoping to replicate.

Now HBO is back. It announced late last year that it would offer its streaming service, currently known as HBO GO, as a standalone item that would compete with the likes of Netflix. With the quality programming HBO is known for, it might make a dent in Netflix’s hold on the market… but only if it’s cheap enough. HBO’s problem is that it’s still offered as a channel on top of a typical cable subscription, for a price that is not competitive with something like Netflix. It will be interesting to see how HBO manages to offer a competitive streaming price while not undercutting cable providers and pissing off an industry known to hold a grudge.

We can also count on HBO to delay offering its service here in Canada. Although there are some famous workarounds to access American streaming services like Netflix, it’ll still keep the average Canadian from accessing (or even

knowing about) HBO’s treasure trove of content. So what’s a Canadian to do, then? Well, there are some domestic options on the horizon, too. Shomi (offered by Shaw and Rogers) and CraveTV (Bell and Telus) are all currently available… but they’re not very good. They might make do for casual watching where you don’t particularly care what you see, but if you know what you want to watch, you’ll need to do a little research before diving in.

There’s also the absurd problem of requiring a cable subscription to even access some of these services.

CraveTV, for example, is only available to Bell and Telus customers, which strikes me as some kind of hacky add-on service to give people what they really want: pick-andpay TV. So if the future is already here, why not just cut the cord? Well, the problem for many is sports.

With CBC out of hockey and Rogers threatening to stop its free streams, even Saturday night NHL may be off the menu. While there are options like NHL Gamecenter and TSN Live Streaming, they aren’t really options for cord cutters looking to save money. Gamecenter on its own is pricey and TSN Live Streaming, like CraveTV, requires an existing cable subscription to access.

If you can do without sports, you’ve got options, but those who can’t miss the CFL, NHL and everything else, you’re stuck with cable for a little longer. editor@truomega.ca

Professors cheat, too

University staff should be held to the same standards Justin Dallaire

THE FULCRUM (CUP)

“Beware of plagiarism!” reads the University of Ottawa’s official handout on academic fraud. “It’s easy, it’s tempting… but it can be very costly!”

It’s a warning that all students have heard before, if not a thousand times. But what about professors, arguably the most distinguished members of any university? If you give them the chance, do they not bend the rules? And if they are caught committing academic fraud, do they get expelled?

More often than you think, the answer is no. Last year alone, three different cases revealed the difference in the way plagiarism is handled when the perpetrators are university staff.

In April, assistant professor Vanessa Ryan from Brown University was caught for having plagiarized materials more than 30 times in her 2012 book Thinking Without Thinking in the Victorian Novel. According to the Brown Daily Herald, Ryan called the incidents of plagiarism “inadvertent errors of attribution,” even though lengthy passages were used verbatim from the original source without quotation marks. In the end, a review

committee deemed Ryan’s mistakes unintentional and, as punishment, she later was named associate dean of the university’s graduate school.

In May, Matthew C. Whitaker, a history professor from Arizona State University, was accused of plagiarism for a second time. Despite being a multiple offender on this front, the university eventually decided not to pursue punitive action, despite massive protests from students and professors alike.

Another case was made public in November, when former University of Regina engineering student Arjun Paul accused professor Shahid Azam of having plagiarized passages from his master’s thesis. Even though a CBC investigative team found that as much as 24 per cent of the article had been plagiarized, Azam insists he wrote most of Paul’s thesis himself. Despite Azam’s claims, his publisher decided to retract the plagiarized article. But the school?

Nothing so far.

How can this be? What would have been done to a student who had committed similar errors in judgment? He or she would have certainly been treated as having committed a crime of the highest order, punishable by death of reputation or banishment from the land of aca-

demia. So why is an erring professor offered clemency when it comes to plagiarism?

In a recent article for CBC News, professor Benson Honig of McMaster University’s business school said this double standard is a matter of administrations trying to save face: “My observation is the institutions have much more interest in pursuing student ethical violations than faculty violations because the faculty violations reflect on their institution.”

But doesn’t a university’s reputation also suffer when it tolerates academic fraud from its staff ?

These recent examples of professor plagiarism reflect a larger lack of transparency and accountability on behalf of post-secondary institutions. Most of us will have seen the “Beware of Plagiarism!” document, and its contents are widely discussed on the U of O campus. But there exists no specific regulations for staff regarding plagiarism at this university, nor is there a set disciplinary process for professors who are caught cheating.

The problem, in other words, is acting as though profs are beyond reproach, when in reality, they too will occasionally break the rules.

And when they do, there’s no reason that the cost of plagiarism should be any less for them.

3

TUNE IN/TUNE OUT Steve Leahy

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

Have you ever given any thought to how we, as a society, treat animals? I’m assuming that each of us treat them well enough, but that’s us as individuals. I’m talking about us as the entire human race.

Let’s leave aside the slaughterhouses and processing plants. That is where much of the really horrifying stuff happens, but we’ve all heard the sensational “let’s put an end to this” speeches from environmentalists. To be fair, they do have a point, but I’ve heard that so many times already and my response is “yeah it sucks to be them, but they are delicious.” I’m pretty sure that’s many peoples’ response. It’s a bit cold and callous, but welcome to the human race. We’re like that.

No, what really bothers me about how humans abuse animals is pets. This isn’t everyone, my family has three cats and we treat them very well. And I’m sure at least half of you have pets of several years that couldn’t be happier with you. No, I’m talking about those short minded people who either can’t or don’t realize that a pet is a responsibility. And a pretty major responsibility, too. I mean it’s a living creature that is now almost entirely dependent on you for survival.

Like a child that never learns to talk.

Pets should never be abandoned.

Like a child that never learns to talk.

Who the hell would abandon a child?

That’s a pretty messed up thing to do and we would judge the hell out of anyone who did. I would, at least. But we seem to think of pets differently, going by the numbers of abandoned pets, or even more disappointing, the number of pets dropped off at shelters by their owners. Really? Is taking care of a pet really so much responsibility that you just can’t keep up?

I know exactly why this happens, too.

Either Christmas or a birthday rolls around and some little child finds a puppy waiting under the tree/gift wrap.

Lucky them, right? Well, not really because mom and dad want their little kid to learn responsibility by taking care of that puppy. But guess what? Very few children understand that responsibility, at least not until they’re old enough to have children of their own. So how can the parents expect their child to really take care of that puppy? The parents should know that they’re going to end up doing it, that’s their responsibility.

But they don’t want to take care of a puppy on top of that child they’ve already got. It becomes too much responsibility. And there’s no way they can get rid of the kid, so guess who gets the axe from the family when they stop being cute? That’s cold and callous, and I know it happens more often than we want to think.

So if you’re ever thinking of getting a pet, make sure you actually want that animal for life before you scar it emotionally forever. leahys112@mytru.ca

Want to have your voice heard?

We’ve got room for you. If you’ve got an opinion on a weekly basis, why not pitch it to us and put it on paper?

Politics? Social issues? Student life?

Tell us all about it and you might find yourself on this very page. If you’re interested in hearing more, write to editor@truomega.ca.

4

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

› Thomas Edison: Relentless Inventiveness Failure is no biggie. Just ask Edison. If he stopped at failure, he would never have moved on to invent a little thing called the light bulb. So if you’ve failed a class somewhere else, or have a scheduling conflict, come on over. You can catch up with our world-recognized online courses, then move on to bigger successes. Talk about a light bulb moment.

open. online. everywhere.

Learn more @ athabascau.ca/edison

By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

“ The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

January 28, 2015

A greener TRU in five years The plan to take sustainability to the next level Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

When TRU set out its strategic priorities for the next five years, one of them was to increase sustainability, and according to environment and sustainability director Jim Gudjonson, this prompted the university to create its first ever Campus Strategic Sustainability Plan starting last March.

“We’ve never really had a sustainability plan at TRU,” Gudjonson explained. “I’ve always had this underlying desire to get a plan going, and I’ve been setting aside money over the past few years to get it going.”

The plan, which was officially announced in December last year, sets out roughly 130 goals that correspond to the STARS rating system established by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The STARS ratings range from gold, silver and bronze to no distinction at all, depending on how much of association’s requirements are met. Over 200 institutions across North America use STARS as their environmental benchmarking tool, according to Gudjonson.

“Three years ago we went through the STARS process and we got a silver rating, which is good, but obviously we want to increase to a gold rating,” he said.

The gold rating isn’t TRU’s end goal, but it provides a reliable baseline when comparing TRU to other institutions.

According to the STARS website, TRU’s silver rating, which was published on Dec. 19, 2011, is now expired. Three B.C. universities currently hold up-to-date STARS gold ratings: the University of Victoria, Royal Roads University and Simon Fraser University.

TRU’s 85-page plan groups its 130 sustainability goals into four broad focus areas: operations and

planning, advocacy and engagement, learning, and administration.

The operations and planning focus is the broadest, entailing themes ranging from waste, energy and water management to information technology services and purchasing.

The plan’s administration goals also cover a lot of ground, ranging from governance and human resources to investments. TRU’s advocacy goals are split into internal and external efforts, while the learning goals are split into curriculum-based and re-

Eventually, Gudjonson said all 130 operations will be included in the dashboard, although for the time being, it will be limited to the operations TRU has begun to focus on.

“Right now for example, under operations, we would have a whole list of energy-related projects, including graphs showing our decrease energy use,” he said. “Then you can click under various other links and say, if you’re interested in solar panel installation, you can click on that link and it will take you to a site that shows you exactly how much energy that it’s producing. But something such as water, for example, that we haven’t tackled yet, won’t be in [the dashboard] until we start to make progress on it.”

Gudjonson said that TRU is already off to a strong start in all four of the plan’s focus areas, but explained that a lack of resources will affect their rate of progress.

“Resources are always tight, both in terms of how much horsepower we have here in the office and how much money we have, so in a perfect world there would be two dozen of us and one person would be focused on water, one on waste, and so on,” he said. “But, there are only three of us, and Emi Omaha/Submitted so we’ve been focusing on energy and we haven’t had search-based efforts. time to look on other things like Gudjonson hopes to implement water.” a system that will allow the comHe said the department hopes munity to stay informed on TRU’s to hire a new staff member to work progress. with TRU’s faculties to help in“The next step, and we’re doing crease sustainability-related content this now, will be to take this frame- in course curricula. work and make a dashboard so that He also acknowledged that TRU the community will be able to look administration has been supportive at the 18 areas, and every three of virtually all his department’s enmonths that will be updated on deavours. our website,” he said. “So, someone “To date, I don’t think we’ve been will be able to say, ‘How’s it going turned down for money when we’ve in terms of TRU’s zero waste initia- asked for anything, whether it’s for tive?’ and every three months they compost, zero waste or energy projwill be updated.” ects. We have been supported every This dashboard will be made time from administration, and that available on TRU’s website. speaks volumes.”

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 18

5

“

The most important thing about all the publicity the app is getting, is spreading awareness for mental health, reducing stigma and letting people know that support is really accessible,”

Sara Gillis First year TRU psychology student

Ryan Turcot/The Omega

Development continues on mental health awareness app Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

Behind the scenes, as Sara Gillis prepared to present her work to an international audience at the fourth annual E-Mental Health Conference in Vancouver last weekend, she received some motivating news.

“When I was rehearsing for my presentation, my boss actually told me she received an email all the way from London saying how the app has helped people,” she began.

“It really hit me, the sense that I really am making an impact and my contribution is helping someone all the way over in England.

That’s something that really, really moved me.”

Gillis is a first-year psychology student at TRU, and for the past year the Vancouver Island Health Authority has been consulting with her and eight other youth on how to build a smartphone app to promote mental health among teens and young adults.

The app, called BoosterBuddy,

is based around an animated “buddy” that befriends the user to help them track and take care of their mental health. It hit the Apple and Android app stores in September 2014 and received roughly 3,600 downloads in its first three months.

When users open it for the first time, they are surveyed to identify potential mental health challenges they may have. Then, depending on the needs of the user, the app will set out “quests” that can range from simply trying new coping mechanisms (in mild cases) to following a medication schedule and following a crisis plan (in more severe cases).

Completing these quests earns users virtual coins, which they can use to deck out their buddy with accessories ranging from cool sunglasses to goofy moose hats (and yes, this app is 100 per cent Canadian).

“Often times, people who are struggling with mental health challenges also struggle with motivation,” Island Health occupational therapist Lauren Fox explained.

Back in 2013, Fox saw gamification as a potential solution.

“I’ve had an interest in how mo-

bile apps can be helpful for giving people tools to self-manage their own wellness,” she said.

Gamification is the process of applying the same features that make video games engaging to non-game scenarios.

Island Health began working on the BoosterBuddy app during March 2013 after receiving funding from Coast Capital Savings.

Fox explained that the first step in developing the app was gathering a focus group of youth for advice.

Gillis was introduced to the project through a focus group, but she wanted to take things a step further.

“Originally, they were offering a $50 honorarium for the meeting, but I emailed them and said I didn’t want any money. I just wanted to be involved as much as I could. I have my own history in mental health. I’ve been surrounded by it all throughout high school personally, and with my friends and family, and I wanted to help,” Gillis said.

“A couple months later I heard back from them. They said they

wanted me as part of their development team.”

Starting in January 2014, Gillis began meeting with software developers, Island Health clinicians, other youth and parents of mentally ill youth.

“We met at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, and we had the software developers coming to us with ideas,” she said.

Along with the rest of the app’s “youth team,” Gillis helped determine what the app’s goals were, how those goals would be achieved, and what types of coping mechanisms needed to be included in the app’s library.

She also advised the developers on what would and wouldn’t make sense in terms of design and copywriting.

“The imagery was very important. It had to be comforting to the user,” Fox explained.

“We went through several pages of ideas on what the buddy should look like. It went from [the developers] saying ‘Oh, here’s some little dragons’ to all the youth saying ‘No, if youth are confiding in an

app and trusting it and wanting its support, I wouldn’t want something with horns and teeth.’ And we made sure we approached [the copy] in a way where there weren’t certain words that could trigger someone,” Gillis said.

Coast Capital Savings recently approved a second round of funding for the app, which will allow the team to develop new features for the app, according to Fox. “I was told I would definitely be invited back to the team in the summer,” Gillis said.

In the meantime, she wants to ramp up her involvement in mental health advocacy in Kamloops.

“On the island, I got my name out there as a mental health advocate. I’d like to get more involved here.”

One of her goals is to eventually join the regional board for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“The most important thing about all the publicity the app is getting is spreading awareness for mental health, reducing stigma and letting people know that support is really accessible,” Gillis said.

Link found between optimism and heart health Tyler Pitre

THE ARGOSY (CUP) A new study from the University of Illinois suggests there is a strong correlation between optimism and ideal cardiovascular health across socio-demographic and ethnic lines.

The study was published in the journal, Health Behavior and Policy Review, authored by many researchers but led by Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work. The study found that the people in the highest quartile of optimism were also

likely to have close to ideal or ideal cardiovascular health. In contrast to their pessimistic counterparts, the most pessimistic participants had low scores, indicating low cardiovascular health. These results factored in socio-demographic differences, which may otherwise conflict or skew the data. They also utilized multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis, which is a medical study of cardiovascular disease over a period of time. They accessed health related information through MESA’s participants of about 6,000 multiethnic men and women. MESA’s access to

a multi-ethnic sample made it easier to get a general study. Cardiovascular health may range based on ethnicity, so factoring this in helped strengthen their findings.

The researchers used various metrics in their calculation of cardiovascular health. Among these were diet, physical activity, blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar and total cholesterol. The most optimistic people had ideal values for these metrics or close to ideal, whereas their pessimistic counterparts did not. They were graded on a two-point scale, ranging from zero to two. The sum

of these numbers for every category tested would be from zero to 14, where a higher score indicated a better cardiovascular health.

The highest scoring participants were found to have twice the probability of having ideal cardiovascular health. We can imagine, although it is not explicitly stated, a healthier outlook on life leads to less stress and more drive to keep healthy, whereas a negative outlook may lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices and stress.

The study collected data of adults from the ages of 52 to 84 who participated in MESA. The researchers for

the optimism study used their data, with a sample size of 5,134, in order to discover the correlation between optimistic people and ideal cardiovascular health.

According to Statistics Canada, cardiovascular disease was the second leading cause of death among Canadians. Many cases of these diseases are preventable, and a healthier look on life may certainly be a good start.

“At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates,” said study leader Hernandez.

6

LIFE & COMMUNITY

January 28, 2015

Time to QUIT Respiratory health students share insight on the struggles and advantages of being tobacco-free

by Ashley Wadhwani I knew smoking was bad for me when I started at age 15, but then again I was only 15. I also know that if my parents ever found out I’d be shipped off to boarding school, which of course made me feel cool and rebellious. Once I moved away from home and began paying for all of my own things, I realized that the $12 packs were cutting deep into my budget.

Before my 21st birthday in December, I promised myself I would cut the habit that not only grossed out my boyfriend, but was also making me breathe heavy from a simple walk across campus. I quit cold turkey and haven’t really regretted the decision. I have been unable to resist a cigarette a few times outside the bar and had a particularly difficult time during the last week of fall semester when my workload was heaviest.

I figured I can’t be the only one sitting in this in between of wanting to quit smoking and freeing myself of the addiction. Twenty per cent of 20- to 24-year-olds identify as avid smokers, according to a 2011 Health Canada report.

Second-year respiratory therapy students Alesha Miller, Renae Desrochers, Dave Sahadeo and Christa Miller helped me in butting out my last cigarette.

Ashley: Obviously I’m a sucker for craving a cigarette and giving into the temptation. How do I deal with the cravings?

Christa: Nicotine replacement therapy helps to ward off the cravings a little bit. The reason you get addicted to cigarettes is because of the nicotine in them. So, if you can supplement that with these kinds of replacement therapies – these patches, the gum, the lozenges stuff like that – it will limit the cravings to some extent and keep your blood-nicotine levels at a specific level.

Ashley: Aside from the clean nicotine, is there any behavioural remedies I can turn to?

Renae: There’s the four Ds: drink water, distract yourself, do something else and deep breathe. Also keeping your hands busy, like playing with sticky tack or a small toy so you’re not wanting to do that hand to mouth [action] and you can get your mind off of it.

C: Snacking on healthy foods like carrots or celery can help.

R: Brushing your teeth can also help in changing the taste in your mouth.

Ashley: Aside from cravings, the one symptom I find I have is the intolerance of cigarette smoke – making me feel nauseous. Is this normal or am I crazy?

A: That’s a fairly common one. At our booth [on Tuesday] we had one guy say that he can’t even stand it anymore. It’s not a super uncommon thing, I think it’s that your body knows it’s a toxin and now that you have started to get that out of your body it’s just more aware of the damage it’s done.

Dave: Let’s try to use an example. You go out for a hard night of drinking-lots of tequila and you’re just wrecked-and then you can’t picture yourself drinking tequila for years; and then you smell it and it makes you feel nauseous because your body remembers the poisons that have been in it.

While you’re addicted to it you crave it because you need the nicotine, but after you break the addiction and you don’t need it anymore it’s like “No, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

Ashley: Compared to September, what do my lungs look like now?

R: Some of the benefits of quitting smoking can be seen as quickly as 20 minutes after your last cigarette-heart rate and blood pressure begin to decrease. After 48 hours of quitting, people can look forward to senses like smell and taste starting to improve. Between two weeks and three months, lung capacity can increase as much as 30 per cent and exercise starts to get easier. Six months after quitting, people tend to see an improvement in coughing and feel less shortness of breath. When a person has quit for a year their risk of a smoking-related heart attack is decreased by 50 per cent.

changes and makes the tissue more elastic so it’s harder to inflate your lungs and makes it harder to breathe.

Ashley: From your work with other students wanting to quit, is there any common characteristics of those who successfully quit and those who don’t?

R: The person has to want to change. It can’t be an external force causing them to change— you will just relapse and go back to smoking. You have to want to make the change for yourself. On average, it takes approximately seven to 10 quit attempts to fully quit smoking.

Ashley: How much can I expect my lungs to repair?

D: The realistic expectation is that you’d have some reversibility, but there are permanent longterm, non-reversible changes that do happen with smoking. So, don’t expect to go back to where you were. You will be somewhere in-between and depending on how much you smoke and how frequently, those changes will vary person to person.

Ashley: I’m a little worried then, it’s only my second time trying to quit, any words of encouragement?

D: As a respiratory therapy student and as a mid-twenty year old we all feel invincible right now. We have been fortunate to work with patients up at [the Tournament Capital Centre] and they seniors in the pulmonary rehab program.

They have full onset COPD [Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. Twenty to 40 years from now we’ve seen the effects on the patients and how they have little mobility, difficulty just getting changed or carrying groceries from the store to their car. So while you’re [smoking] today and it feels fine think about the long-term effects of what you’re doing to your body.

Ashley: What should I expect to be irreversible?

D: Things like your shortness of breath and your lung capacity. There will be some changes that happen when the particles from the smoke go into your lungs. Your body responds and tries to heal itself because those particles do damage your lungs. When it does that it does make

Respiratory health students will be handing out information on the Quit Tuesdays program at their booth every Tuesday for the next five weeks in Old Main between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Resource Education Clinic, run by second-year respiratory students, is also geared to help students in the process of quitting They can be reached at tobaccoeducation@tru.ca.

NEWS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 18

7

Back to the bargaining table

CUPE and TRUFA ready to renegotiate agreements with TRU Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

TRU faculty and staff are hoping to raise the bar in their relationship with the university. The TRU Faculty Association (TRUFA) and the local chapter of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are going back to the bargaining table after being without a collective agreement for almost a year.

The agreements, which lay out TRU’s obligations to its employees and vice versa, expired last March, although they are still in effect until a new agreement can be reached.

According to TRUFA president Tom Friedman, the association delayed negotiatons in order to better understand faculty desires. TRUFA members were consulted for suggestions before TRUFA announced that it was ready to head back to the table last week.

Sweeter deal for sessional instructors?

While TRUFA will not release specific details, Friedman told media the association hopes to bolster the programs offered at TRU, as well as tackle compensation, benefits and job security for sessional and limited-term professors.

“This is one of the priorities that our membership has said is most important for them,” Friedman said.

“The majority of our members are tenured faculty who would not be directly impacted by this, but they have told us loud and clear that this goal should be one of the guiding principles of our bargaining.”

According to TRUFA chief bargainer, John Turner, the university has used sessional faculty as a cost-saving measure, as they are paid less and are employed under a short-term contract.

“There are a number of people on this campus that have been here for years, upwards of over a decade, with virtually no job security and a pay scale that is a fraction of what a tenured faculty would make,” Turner said.

Contract staff make 80 per cent of the lowest step on TRU’s 28-layer pay scale. Turner went on to say that a TRU sessional faculty makes about $5,200 per course, compared to the $6000 to $8,000 per course offered by other undergraduate Canadian universities of similar size.

Friedman also challenged what he calls a lack of transparency in TRU’s allocation of resources.

“From what we’ve been told, we’re in a financial crisis,” Friedman said. “We’re not. We show a surplus every year as an institution.

I think this is a question of priorities, and the priorities of the Board of Governors up to date have not matched the priorities of our programs and students, and I think that has to change.”

In 2014, TRU reported an unrestricted surplus of $173,000, down from $197,000 the year before.

“The university has had a continuous dialogue with university employees as well as the unions’ representatives on financial matters through various means, including meetings with employee groups, town hall presentations and senate.

“The fiscal challenges we all face will only be overcome if we work together, keeping our students and their experience the primary concern,” said Christopher Seguin, TRU vice-president of advancement.

Stress test

The negotiations come a few weeks after both administration and TRUFA conveyed a desire to improve relations between the two.

Tensions came to light last semester through a letter drafted by

Friedman to the TRU Board of Governors. In it, Friedman cited widespread discontent among faculty.

“Faculty are the experts. They are the discipline and program experts and yet their voices were not being heard by administration,” Friedman said in a recent interview.

The letter was sent as part of the university presidential review process. TRU president Alan Shaver later said he hoped to improve relations with faculty.

“The university has signaled to the Faculty Association that we remain willing to meet and discuss concerns at any time,” Seguin said when asked how Shaver’s goal might affect the coming negotiations. “We have regularly scheduled meetings for this purpose.

However the university does have a responsibility to the students and the taxpayers to provide education and services through the expertise and dedication of our faculty and staff.”

Bargaining is expected to begin in the next few weeks. Turner said he hopes to have the new agreement on paper by the end of semester, although he acknowledged some of TRUFA’s priorities could cause friction. The last round of negotiations took eight months.

Also, CUPE

CUPE is also putting the final touches on their bargaining list before heading back to the table.

No bargaining goals have been announced, although CUPE president Lois Rugg said health and working conditions will likely make an appearance.

The last agreement ran from 2010 to 2014, but was not ratified until 2013, at which point it was rolled over without any changes being made.

“We didn’t get to the table for quite and while and when we did

TRUFA president Tom Friedman announces that TRUFA will be re-negotiating its agreement with TRU Jan. 19. (Alexis Stockford/The Omega) [begin negotiations], it took a long time. … So really, we ratified it and then essentially it expired a few months after that,” Rugg said.

She added she is hopeful that a resolution can be reached quicker this time around.

Despite the long negotiation, Seguin said the conversation in the last round remained respectful.

“It is not uncommon for negotiations to drag particularly when the adjustments to wages follow a pro-

vincial pattern … we would anticipate a settlement could be achieved in the next few months,” he said.

While TRU is not discussing specific goals for either of the upcoming negotiations, Seguin said they hope to address issues of “performance, accountability, competiveness, sustainability and cost containment.”

TRU will also try to extend the collective agreements to five years instead of four.

How much is your time worth?

Graphic designers say they won’t play ball with “exploitative” contest Brittany Henderson CONTRIBUTOR Ω

A group of graphic designers has boycotted a logo contest held by the Government of Canada and now they’re looking others to join the cause.

Entrants of the contest were asked to design a new logo celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation. The winner would receive $5,000, as well as the chance to have their work displayed in a federal building.

For the Association of Registered Graphic Designers however, the contest was exploitation, not opportunity. The association (which has over 3,000 members from 379 communities) claims their members’ time and effort is being un-

dervalued, since many professionals put work into the contest, but only the winner is recognized and compensated.

Sam Campbell and Daniela Luchetta, co-chairs of the student representative committee, launched a social media campaign on Jan. 14, posting photos of themselves holding signs reading #MyTimeHasValue in an effort to gain support for their cause. They then challenged fellow graphic designers to do the same.

Since the boycott was launched, over 150 protest photos have been uploaded onto the #MyTimeHasValue Flickr page.

“Students are busy preparing for a future career in a world where they can be paid for the work that they do. Think about how important it is that potential clients, like

the government, recognize that your worth as a graphic designer needs to be compensated, so that you can make a living once you graduate,” Campbell and Luchetta posted on the association’s website.

Campbell and Luchetta also said that they have contacted the contest judges about their concerns, but the government has not yet responded.

Local designer weighs in

When Mickey Van Wermeskerken graduated from TRU in 2014, she was a struggling graphic designer. She went looking for work in her chosen profession, but encountered difficulties and rejection.

“Most places were not hiring graphic designers,” Van Wermeskerken said.

The now-closed contest was held by the federal government. (Government of Canada) She relied on part-time waitressing job to pay the bills.

Van Wermeskerken agreed with the association’s ideals for protesting, but she believes that the chances of being recognized and

compensated for time and effort only increase with continued effort.

The contest closed Jan. 23, but the #MyTimeHasValue campaign remains active on Twitter and other social media sites.

8

ARTS

January 28, 2015

Lauren Mann, without her Fairly Odd Folk Kim Anderson ARTS EDITOR Ω

Short a few flying tambourines and without a giant drum, Lauren Mann made her triumphant return to Kamloops, this time on her own.

Mann put on an intimate show at The Art We Are on Jan. 24. She played Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk’s own brand of alternative folkpop tunes to a full coffee house. About 50 people were in attendance, a packed house for the small venue.

Yet again, Mann showcased her musical prowess by playing the ukulele, keys and singing. She delivered a nice mix of old and new and unveiled several unreleased songs, even one yet untitled.

Without her Fairly Odd Folk, the listening experience is different, but not by much. Playing solo, Mann still has the ability to transfix audience members with her strong and impressive vocal range. Heavy influences of Canadian vocalist Feist were ever-present throughout the show.

Audience participation is still a cornerstone of Mann’s musical practice.

During the last song, “Lost My Way,” she asked whoever knew the tune to sing along. The audience obliged by clapping along to the beat.

Since playing at Tunes Against Tuition at TRU back in September, there have been changes to the band. Two members left, and Mann along with husband and band mate Zoltan Szoges will be taking a break from touring over the coming months.

Mann and Szoges are based in Calgary and plan to make the most of their time there by stretching their artistic muscles.

“Now that we are in Calgary, we’ve been going to shows and trying to reconnect with people. [There’s] so much going on, so much talent and a lot of

cool shows. That was kind of our mission, to get back into that,” Mann said.

Despite their large fan following, Mann and Szoges aren’t able to focus on music full-time just yet. They are faced with the familiar artists’ dilemma: working a 9-5 job to pay the bills, or pursuing artistic desires full-time.

“It’s a balance between working all day, and you don’t really want to record at night when you get home, but you just have to push through,” Mann said.

Driven by a desire to communicate consistently with fans outside of the restrictions and limitations of Facebook, Szoges has dreamt up a way to do just that. The band is now offering a subscription-based platform through their website for fans to interact with one another and the band. “[It] gives us a chance to really connect with our fans on a bit of a deeper level, rather than an email list or Facebook,” Mann said.

Every month they release a demo, scratch track, behind-the-scenes footage, or other type of unreleased media to fans and friends subscribed to the program. For $6 a month, fans can stay in the loop about what’s next on the horizon for the band.

Since the beginning, Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk has been sort of fluid and collective in regards to band members. Often friends or other artists would jam with them for one show and go their separate ways. For the band, a huge part of their process is essentially an evolution of sound and experiences.

Fans should stay tuned for new and innovative things from the band.

Change signifies growth and looking ahead, they will continue to grow and progress as musicians.

“It’s kind of scary but also very exciting. It’s a crazy industry because you can plan all you want. It’s good to have goals and plans, but you have to see what happens, and take it as it comes,” Mann said.

(Kim Anderson/ The Omega)

9 Why I went back to my ex (smartphone) ARTS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 18

Broken hearts, broken screens – our attachment to technology Kim Anderson ARTS EDITOR Ω

I was panicking, patting all my pockets frantically; it was gone. After a short 16-week, intense love affair with my new Samsung Galaxy S5, it was gone. Following a swift departure from a taxi, I had lost my beloved phone.

As a generation, our collective obsession with mobile technology is undeniable and inescapable.

When leaving my house, I check for three things: phone, keys, ID – in that order.

Checking my phone has become both a compulsion and a fascinating, rewarding pastime. The entire world is literally at our fingertips, why wouldn’t we choose to stare into it at any given chance? News, social media, games, email, notes and images are all a mere swipe away.

These devices are mesmerizing.

We all have that friend who cannot, for the life of them, listen to anyone while they check their phone.

You could be feet from them, engulfed in flames, smoke billowing out of your mouth and eyes and, yet, there they would stand, phone inches from their face, typing furiously and responding flatly with, “mhm, yeah, totally.”

Maybe I’m old school, but I think it is the height of disrespect to be looking someone in the eyes, and consciously, deliberately take out a phone and start using it.

Because these devices fill so many of our needs, we develop an unhealthy attachment to them.

They have become a sort of security blanket for adults. You are never alone at night when your device is staring back at you from the other pillow. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve fallen into this trap. Even misplacing it inside my house causes me extreme anxiety.

Over time, my phone has become an appendage, a part of me. It never leaves my hand, pocket or sight.

It hasn’t been this way forever. I put off getting a smartphone until July 2011 – amazing, I know! I was about four years behind the smartphone revolution. What did I even do with my phone back then? Tetris probably.

After I lost my beloved S5, I was digging through drawers looking for an old flip-phone. When I couldn’t find it, it dawned on me that I gave it to a thrift store last summer. A THRIFT STORE! This amazing tool that enables the user to make a call or send a message, instantly, was worth so little to me at the time, that I willingly gave it away, without a second thought.

I gave it away and haven’t looked back since. Because once you take that smartphone leap, there is no going back.

Once you get accustomed to using them regularly, it’s impossible to return to basic technology. Daily agendas, maps, contacts, voice recorder, email, to-do lists, absolutely everything was stored in my phone.

I relied on it so much that when I lost my beloved, I felt helpless and lost.

I was only without a cell phone

It’s always tempting to sleep with your ex, but it’s not always the best idea. (Kim Anderson/ The Omega) for a day and a half. It was hell.

I ended up staying at home, compulsively checking my Facebook messenger, because it was the closest thing I had to text messages.

I finally found my old iPhone 4 (my first smartphone), just lying there, forgotten, tossed in a desk drawer, complete with a smashed screen. I almost shed a tear. I was so happy. I rushed to a repair shop and without a second thought, dropped $70 on a new screen.

Finally, I was connected with the rest of the world! Eagerly I unlocked the phone and tried to do what I used to on my beloved.

Then I was hit with the crushing pain of the technological downgrade.

Sure, I could do most of what I needed to, but all those things took far longer than I had gotten accustomed to with my beloved.

The iPhone was glitchy and painfully slow. Half the time, I found myself getting worked into a little rage and quitting whatever application I was trying to use. The step down was simply too dramatic.

Hours into activating my old phone, I had already began scheming ways to get a new one. I justified it in every way possible: “Oh I need faster email, this calendar app isn’t syncing with my laptop, the battery life is awful,” and even, “the alarm clock snooze function isn’t intuitive enough!”

I just wanted my shiny, fast, and above all else, expensive, security blanket.

We get so used to having these

triumphs of technology tucked in our pockets that we can become careless with them. I lost my beloved and now, for lack of a better option, I am back together with my ex-smartphone. The one who I broke up with in a pretty memorable fashion. It may have fallen out of my pocket when I jumped off a stage while celebrating my last birthday.

I have resigned to staying in a relationship with my ex, for as long as I can handle it, or until I save enough to buy another beloved, whichever comes first.

The most significant shift, now that I’m back together with my ex, is that over the last few weeks I noticed my social media usage plummet. Instagram used to be my go-to time waster, but not anymore. The screen resolution is so poor on my ex, compared to my beloved, that the images aren’t even pleasing to look at. Facebook takes ages to refresh, Snapchat freezes, Twitter is glitchy, and it’s just not worth it.

With an abundance of spare time, I’m noticing how transfixed others are with their devices. Maybe it’s just jealousy, but I see a significant pattern. They say it’s better to have loved and lost an Android than never to have loved one at all, but I think it’s more than that. I can see people blatantly diverting their attention away from those around them, and funneling it into their phones.

Doing what? Probably texting someone, somewhere else, who is doing precisely the same thing!

This is not a cry to abandon

these magnificent devices and revert back to carrier pigeons. It’s far from that. This is a humble observation from a person who has spent the last few weeks cursing her ex and people watching. We are missing out on things happening right in front of our faces.

I do know that once I get a new beloved, however difficult it may be, I will consciously leave it alone

while in the company of others.

As fantastic, intuitive and useful as smartphones are today, they cannot replicate or replace the company of actual living, breathing humans. I hope for the sake of us all that true experience and connections will forever trump manufactured entertainment and distraction (even if we do develop strong feelings for our devices).

10

COMICS & PUZZLES

January 28, 2015

Puzzle of the Week #13 – Snowballs Anticipating a neighbourhood snowball fight, George has several caches of snowballs prepared. The total number of snowballs is even. No cache’s size is evenly divisible by another cache’s size. (For example, if there is a cache that has two snowballs, no other cache can have an even number of snowballs.) What is the minimum number of snowballs that George can have if he has four caches?

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.

xkcd.com

SUDOKU 2

5

Because you’re probably not doing enough math

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7

4

1

5

8

4

1

4 7

8

1

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4 2 5

3

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SPORTS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 18

11

Curling sisterhood sees success under TRU banner Alberta stands in the way at 2015 World Junior Curling Championships Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

TRU’s unofficial curling team hit the ice at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Corner Brook, N.L. to battle against teams representing each province and territory (with two teams from Ontario). The winning team will represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championships in Tallin, Estonia in early March.

By Monday afternoon, the B.C. rink had gone 4-0 at the tournament and was at the top of its pool.

Team Brown is made up of four TRU students: skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher and lead Sydney Fraser.

The group has been curling together for nine years, and both Brown and coach Allison MacInnes said they are more than teammates, they are like sisters.

“It helps with understanding. It is a benefit and an advantage,” MacInnes said. “They know each other so well, even just knowing what to say to someone if a shot is missed. It’s hard to create that.”

Team Brown will be using every advantage it can to try for a win at nationals before moving on to compete in the world championships again.

“Obviously we didn’t have the best

performance we wanted to when we went to worlds last time, so it’d be great to get a little redemption,” Brown said.

Team Brown placed ninth out of 10 teams at the 2013 world championships in Russia.

To see world championships again, Team Brown will have to best some strong teams at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships, starting with Team Alberta skipped by Kelsey Rocque, who, after taking the national title in 2014, went onto win gold in the World Junior Curling Championships in Switzerland. Rocque is the only member of that team to return to the national championships this year. In the competition’s other pool, Alberta has thus far matched B.C.’s 4-0 record.

But Team Brown will be bringing their own skillset to the table, which begins with their experience playing together. All four “sisters” have been competing together since childhood, even winning gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Both Brown and Fisher’s fathers coached the women, which added even more of a family feel to the team.

This is the team’s first year under new coach MacInnes, something Brown said would be another advantage.

“Allison [MacInnes] has brought a whole new perspective on things.

Team B.C., made up of four TRU students, is in Corner Brook, N.L. for the Junior Curling Championships and boasts a 4-0 record. (Tayla Scott/The Omega) It has definitely made me re-think some of my strategy choices,” Brown said. “I think we have a pretty good chance at nationals. We’re definitely a lot more mature and a lot stronger than we were two years ago.”

MacInnes agreed the team will have a fighting chance to win the national championships, a goal they set

in April.

“They’re very dedicated, not just to the sport of curling, but to their studies and to doing well in school and making education an important part of their lives,” MacInnes said.

This year, Team Brown is curling under the TRU banner, although athletic director Ken Olynyk said athlet-

ics and recreation has not committed to curling as a sport.

“We endorse their participation in the play down and the championships,” Olynyk said. “I cannot commit to the next year as an official club team.”

The women’s finals will take place on Jan. 31.

Oh, the places they will go Graduating WolfPack players share their future plans before saying their goodbyes Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

With their seasons soon coming to a close, the end will come as bittersweet for fifth-year WolfPack players who will say their goodbyes and move on to the next chapter in their lives.

Brett Roualt (TRU Athletics)

Men’s Basketball Brett Rouault came to TRU in 2010 after graduating from high school in Vernon. He found himself immediately in a starting guard position – a challenge he enjoyed and rose to meet. Rouault has seen the team improve immensely over his five

years at TRU. He played in the ‘Pack’s first ever post-season in 2013-14 and has led scoring in multiple games this season. He is currently averaging 14 points-per-game.

“Next year, I’m going to be working in the Kamloops area and working on my resumé. I’ll go to med school the year after,” Rouault said. “I was thinking of being a surgeon.”

“It’s kind of scary. I’ve been here for so long, I got used to the system. But I’m excited for the next chapter in my life.”

Rouault plans to keep playing basketball recreationally and return to Kamloops after medical school. He hopes to one day become a part-time coach and give back to the community.

“We have a bunch of freshmen here that will be able to carry the torch next year, I’m sure,” Rouault said. “Thanks to everyone in the program for a great five years.”

Forward Tallon Milne and guard Brett Parker will also complete their eligibilities and part ways with the WolfPack this year.

Men’s Volleyball

Casey Knight came to TRU in 2010 after graduating high school on Salt Spring Island. Knight, an outside hitter, has struggled with injuries during his time with the ‘Pack but recovered enough to make the last season his strongest yet. On Jan.

23, Knight had 14 kills in 28 swings, helping his team to victory over the visiting Mount Royal Cougars. Head coach Pat Hennelly has called his gameplay “dangerous” multiple times.

“The hope is to go over to Europe and try to play pro,” Knight said.

“There’s just way more options over there.”

Casey Knight (TRU Athletics) Knight got engaged over the winter break and will be getting married later in the year. He said he’d return to Kamloops after he has finished playing professionally in Europe.

“It’s kind of a weird feeling knowing that next year I’m not coming back and playing,” he said Men’s volleyball will also say goodbye to fifth-year players Stuart Richey,

Blake Majcher and team captain Matt Krueger. There are no fifth-year players leaving the women’s volleyball team.

Women’s Basketball

Jorri Duxbury joined the ‘Pack in 2010 after graduating high school in Salmon Arm. Duxbury has been a power player since she gained a starting position as a guard with the ‘Pack. Duxbury, a team captain, helped make history this season when the ‘Pack scored over 100 points two nights in a row against the UBC Okanagan Heat. Duxbury has often been at the top of the league for most steals throughout the season. On Jan. 23, Duxbury scored 19 points against the visiting MacEwan Griffins.

The ‘Pack sits at the top of the league with a 10- game winning streak, making it likely that Duxbury will get to play in the post-season during her last weeks with the team.

Duxbury will graduate with a bachelor of science degree with a major in physics. She is torn between heading straight into grad school or moving to Europe to play professionally.

“It’s really sad because I’m such good friends with the girls on the team, and it’s a nice support system to have behind you all the time,” Duxbury said. “Confidence-wise and leadership-wise there has been a lot of growing in five years.”

“Sarah [Malate] is our fourth-year

point guard and Emma [Piggin] is our first-year guard who definitely has potential to be a starting point guard as well,” Duxbury said.

Duxbury said basketball will always be in her life.

“I love it, so if I’m not playing I’d probably be coaching. Thanks to TRU and the program, it’s been an amazing five years and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

Duxbury is the only women’s basketball player leaving the WolfPack this year.

Basketball will play three more weekends and volleyball will play one more weekend before the season ends and post-season begins.

Jorri Duxbury (TRU Athletics)

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January 28, 2015