March 11, 2015

WOMEN HONOURED TRUFA committee recognizes two professors in annual awards series, p. 8

Volume 24 – Issue 23

FIRESTARTERS Wilderness survival workshop teaches students about local flora, survival, p. 2

www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega

THIS STORY OF MINE A First Nations perspective on the Mt. Polley mine disaster, p. 5

March 11, 2015

2015

MOSAIC

FASHION SHOW PHOTOS, PAGE 6

REFS: The abuse they take and how to stop it, p. 11

TRU’s Long Night Against Procrastination, p. 2

2 NEWS Students skip out on sleep, hit the books instead March 11, 2015

A long night in the library for TRU’s Long Night Against Procrastination

Jim Elliot

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

All-nighters may be part of university, but last week they were encouraged. With final deadlines and exams looming, more than 200 students came out to TRU’s first Long Night Against Procrastination, an all-night writing event meant to give students a leg up on projects due at the end of the term.

Writing Centre tutors were on hand throughout the night and provided workshops on topics like resume writing, organization and reading scholarly literature. According to tutor Zain Bakhtiar, the tutors were in high demand.

Writing Centre tutors Annie Slizak and Amber Knight. (Jim Elliot/The Omega)

“People were still asking for grammatical corrections at 3 a.m.,” he said.

Tutors Annie Slizak and Amber Knight said the event was rewarding for both volunteers and students since both enjoyed seeing fellow students do well and improve writing skills.

Students came and went throughout the night. There was a notable exodus following the free pizza at midnight, but about 40 students lasted until the event wrapped up at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. For students like Alanah Seaton, who had just begun work on a 40-page research paper she said was due March 9, the late night provided a chance for intensive productivity.

According to TRU Student Services manager Sara Wolfe, the event served the TRU community by helping students “avoid procrastination, build community and engage with student services.”

Christine Adam, TRU’s dean of students, added that she supported the event as a way of stopping students from “sacrificing their health at the end of the semester.”

According to a 2012 article by Psychology Today, up to 70 per cent of American college students procrastinate doing papers or studying.

TRU saw over 200 people pass through its library doors March 5 for the Long Night Against Procrastination. (Jim Elliot/The Omega)

The Canadian University Survey Consortium estimates that 40 per cent of students spend less than 10 hours per week outside classes on their studies, increasing the risk of getting caught with a major project

close to the due date.

Since its first appearance in 2010 at the University Viadrina in Germany, the Long Night Against Procrastination has spread internationally, also popping up at other

Canadian universities like the University of Alberta.

Bakhtiar said that he was “impressed by the turnout” of the event, adding that he would do it again next year.

Wildlife workshop teaches students survival skills Workshop talks campfires made with corn chips and the natural healings of Douglas fir Jim Elliot

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

The backwoods of B.C. can be a dangerous place, but a group of TRU students are better prepared for being lost in the wilderness after a hands-on lesson in outdoor survival. The workshop educated students of all outdoor experience levels on the survival uses of various common plants that can be found in the forests around Kamloops, as well as ways to start a fire without using matches or a lighter.

The Gathering Place, TRU’s on-campus aboriginal cultural centre, organized and hosted the course. Jason Johnston, an experienced Parks Canada employee and wilderness guide, gave an interactive lecture about plants common to B.C.’s forests that can save the life of someone lost in the woods. Johnston said that outdoor activity is “a lifelong hobby” of his that he was happy to share with the students.

Johnston, a graduate from TRU with a bachelor of interdisciplinary studies, has honed his wilderness skills with a certification as a wilderness first responder. He is also an authorized scientific wildlife collector and has taken a course on bear awareness and avoidance.

Students were taught about the various ways to use the

Douglas fir, which is helpful for everything from brewing a tea for sore throats to dressing small cuts with its sap. They also learned about reindeer lichen, a type of lichen that can absorb water to carry it long distances.

The discussion also covered some unlikely edible plants that are found in B.C. such as rock tripe, a species of lichen that grows on rocks and the roots of the cattail plant which Johnston said “taste a bit like cucumber.”

After learning about and tasting the plants, Johnston took the class outside to demonstrate ways to start a fire without matches and a lighter, two things someone may not always have available in the wild. Along with traditional methods such as creating friction with wood, Johnston demonstrated the use of steel wool and a battery to create a spark and the mixture of hand sanitizer and corn chips to help ignite kindling. Students were encouraged to try the method.

With camping season just around the corner, the workshop was well received by many of the students who attended. Sam Sturgeon was most interested in the session on Kamloops-grown plants.

“I found out just how uninformed I am about nature today, but it was nice to come learn how to identify plants, and find out which ones are edible.”

Education and Skills Training student Clay Hodges and TRU alumna Stephanie Gaudet demonstrate a firestarting technique using steel wool and a battery. (Jim Elliot/The Omega)

OPINION

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 23

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

Why the real world is different: managing stress in post-secondary

@TRU_Omega

Post-secondary might be the best time to learn how to manage stress, but it’s not an easy place to do it

/tru_omega

Sean Brady

www.truomega.ca /TRUOmega

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 Jim Elliot Steve Leahy

PUBLISHING BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady INDUSTRY REP Christopher Foulds FACULTY REP Charles Hays STUDENT REP Kim Anderson STUDENT REP Mason Buettner

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.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

I’m no expert in managing stress.

I feel it pretty bad at least twice a year. I start having problems sleeping, I don’t feel as good about the work I’m doing, I get more anxious and my eye even starts to twitch a little. I’ve come to take these as warning signs. They tell me that I need to figure out how to manage my stress before things get worse.

I take them pretty seriously and make whatever changes I can. I’ve found a few coping mechanisms, but still no easy solution.

The thing about stressing out at these times of the year is complicated by one thing, though: the source of your stress? It ends. It ends pretty abruptly, in fact. Your semester is over, your assignments are done, your tests written and a weight is off your shoulders. Now all you have to worry about is what you’re going to do for the summer or over winter break. It’s still some things to consider, but you now have some time to breathe –

something unfamiliar following the semester-long rush you just went through.

That’s why post-secondary stress isn’t like stress in the real world. After school, when you (hopefully) find a job in your field and get to work, it’ll dawn on you that you’re probably going to be at this for a long time. Your life is no longer a string of four-month chunks of time that simply end.

The need to manage stress is real. In TRU’s 2013 National College Health Assessment, 37 per cent of students reported that stress was affecting their academic performance – something that undoubtedly made them even more stressed. As many as 45 per cent of students reported “more than average” stress levels in the year prior and 22 per cent of students said that they “felt things were hopeless” at least once in the same period.

As a student, it’s far too easy to simply not manage your stress.

You know that the semester will end and that you’ll have a break, so instead of figuring out how to

decrease your stress level and still get your work done, you just push even harder and wait for it all to be over for you.

But in the real world, it’s different. If you find yourself stressing out in your day-to-day work life, you’ll have a luxury students don’t: time to figure it out. Work-life balance is not something easily accomplished. It might take you years, but when you do manage to figure out, not only will you be less stressed, but your life might feel more fulfilling, too. After a while, you might even have the opportunity to lower your workload or change your schedule to something more manageable.

Post-secondary is where we learn a lot of things, but work-life balance is not one of those things.

The school schedule just isn’t compatible with figuring something like that out, especially when it only lasts 2-4 years for most students. Even those who do figure it out find themselves at the end of their fourth year, never to return to this kind of schedule again. editor@truomega.ca

A letter to the editor I want to thank The Omega for the article entitled “My Health is Sexy” campaign brings HIV testing to campus in the March 4, 2015 issue. I was interviewed for this article to help explain and promote the new pilot program that offers access to free and confidential HIV testing on our Kamloops campus.

After reading the article, I wanted to clarify a couple of issues that I thought could be perceived as confusing to your audience. Firstly, in my interview I stated that HIV testing can create anxiety and fear

for anyone being tested, regardless of risk status. One of the reasons why the Wellness Centre agreed to partner with Interior Health for this pilot was to help reduce this stigma, promote awareness about recommended HIV testing guidelines, as well as to create a dialogue about the importance of HIV testing as part of everyone’s sexual health and well-being.

Secondly, I mentioned that provincial guidelines for HIV testing for the general population are every 5 years for those aged 18-70 and

more frequently if you are in a higher risk group such as men having sex with men or for those using IV drugs. If you are interested in specific testing recommendations for higher risk populations, please see Interior Health’s press release at: http://bit.ly/1Hr7Mr5 This article has helped to foster important discussions about access to HIV testing and education here at TRU; for that I thank you.

Chelsea Corsi, RN, BScN, BSc. TRU Wellness Coordinator

Don’t be that guy: Rancid Roommates Mercedes Deutscher

THE OTHER PRESS (CUP)

Do you participate in a bro-habitation? Do you have a female flatmate?

How about a co-ed bunk bed?

For many college students, in order to make ends meet, their first home away from home will be shared with roommates. There are plenty of advantages to sharing living accommodations, such as saving money, making new friends or building on old friendships, and being in a more accessible area.

It may not always be smooth sailing onboard the S. S. Roommate. Sometimes, you’ll be plagued by the rancid roommate, otherwise known as That Guy. That Guy doesn’t take into consideration that he shares a space with one or more tenants. They will leave the suite in a disaster, not do their share of chores, won’t respect already limited

privacy, borrow things without asking, or even slack on their share of the bills.

Putting it bluntly, That Guy will not be easy to live with, and will be the source of constant conflict throughout an otherwise harmonious living space.

That’s why it’s important to know what you’re getting into when deciding to share a residence with someone.

When you and your potential roommate are first organizing a future living situation, make it clear to all parties involved what their privileges and responsibilities are. Will the bills be split evenly between roommates? Will one pay for internet and another pay for cable? Is everyone responsible for their own food or will everyone pitch in for groceries? These are among many important responsibilities when (almost) living out on your own. Clarifying these factors early and holding everyone accountable to their own tasks could eliminate (or at least tone down) any future conflicts.

I’m not your mom nagging you to clean up, but common areas such as the living room and kitchen should be kept orderly. This could be done by cleaning up after oneself or by assigning rooms to each resident to care for. If you invited a date over (after asking for your roommate’s permission, of course!), I’m sure old pizza boxes or dirty clothes wouldn’t be a great first impression.

Although finding privacy in a multi-person household may be difficult, everyone should at least have some sort of private area. No one should intrude on this area without the occupant’s permission. A similar rule should apply to an individual’s belongings: nothing should be borrowed without consent. Doing so could cause discomfort, mistrust or potentially criminal charges. All in all, it’s easier to just ask.

Hopefully by setting some ground rules early, the S. S. Roommate will neither capsize nor wash ashore, and all the shipmates will sail on smoothly.

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TUNE IN/TUNE OUT Steve Leahy

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

Remember the ‘90s when the biggest problem facing that generation was a lack of identity? If you don’t, then just watch “Fight Club.” Even if you do know what I’m talking about, watch it anyway.

Sometimes I wonder if our generation has found an identity. I’m not so sure that we have, but that’s not our fault really. How the hell can we build ourselves an identity when every five years our society advances fifty? Consider all the technological advances we’ve made in the last twenty years. We went from having computers taking up an entire room to having a computer in our pockets. That’s not the future, it’s the present.

Where can you find a generational identity when somebody reinvents the wheel every year? There’s none to be found because an identity requires permanence to establish itself. Our generation is riding a surging wave of technology. Identity as we have known it can’t exist atop a wave, so either our generation gives up on having an identity, or we forge an identity as no one has seen before.

If someone out there reinvents the wheel every year, then we reinvent our identity every year. We have the luxury of picking and choosing which state of the art wheels we want on our identity. If you don’t like one, then give it a year or two and you’ll have several new models to choose from. We’re living in the future people; time to let the past be the past.

The ‘90s had it tough. They didn’t get the same amount of technology to play with, but we’re suffering from the same problem this generation is. There’s almost no stability to be found in society anymore. Back in the day you had absolute faith in the head of state, but thanks to technology (I’m looking at you, social media) we know that there are heads of state elsewhere that are not good people. And if it can happen over there, why not here?

That’s where this generation is coming from. For the first time we have a generation of young people growing up with a global consciousness. That’s truly insane, if you consider how insular we were just fifty years ago. Back in the ‘60s we were growing a global consciousness (those crazy hippies) but they only knew what their own country was doing. And even that was circumspect at best. Now we know what most other countries are doing, and not only that we have several voices all saying different things about the same topic. Let’s face it: we’re spoiled for choice.

Our generation has so many options available to us that it’s little wonder why we don’t really have an identity. It’s hard to choose on direction when we’re being pulled every which way you can imagine. But that’s the downside to riding the wave of the future – you can’t really direct a wave. We’re just along for the ride. leahys112@mytru.ca

Give us your words!

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

NEWS

March 11, 2015

Students charged with violent crimes

Three TRU students appear in court in as many days Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

Three TRU students, in as many days, were in court last week facing charges for violent crimes.

Vladislav Arnautov, a 23-year-old business student, was released on bail March 3 after being charged with assault causing bodily harm. According to a recent report by Kamloops This Week, Arnautov admitted to beating and choking his girlfriend, also a TRU student, before being arrested Feb. 26. The pair was living in an apartment off campus where the assault allegedly took place.

Arnautov has since been placed on house arrest, although he will still be attending classes (accompanied by a friend, as per his release restrictions).

The March 3 ruling also forbid him from contacting his girlfriend in any way, KTW reported.

The following day, law student Houtan Sanandaji appeared in court for a year-old assault charge.

Kings Chukwemeka Odemena, also a business student, rounded out

the week with a charge of sexual assault. The 30-year-old made his first court appearance March 5.

While TRU refused to comment on any specific case, dean of students Christine Adam said the university works with authorities when a student is involved in violent crime to make sure any restrictions are abided by. The RCMP has a liaison officer specifically appointed to facilitate communication with schools and universities.

According to Duane Seibel, director of Student and Judicial Affairs, communication between TRU and authorities varies from case to case.

“In situations where the alleged victim is also a student, then the communication would be often and there would be follow up,” he said.

“If the alleged victim is not a student, less [communication exists].”

While TRU has practices they have developed to deal with students involved with violent crimes, Adam said these practices are not included in any official policy.

Adam also said there is no set way that TRU finds out if a student has been charged with a violent crime. Sometimes it is the student being charged that reports the reof students strictions placed on him or her so that the university can make accommodations.

According to both Seibel and Adam, a criminal charge, including a charge of violent crime, does not automatically prevent a student from continuing studies.

TRU’s Suspension of Students policy says a student may be suspended “for unsatisfactory conduct,

“We’re ensuring safety and we’re ensuring ability to function academically,” Christine Adam, TRU dean “We’re ensuring safety and we’re ensuring ability to function academically,” Adam said. “So really it’s about understanding the student’s schedule, and if it involves both students, understanding both of their schedules and setting up a clear plan for how they’re going to go about their daily lives.”

Chris Potter/Flickr Commons

for failure to abide by university regulations and/or policies, or for consistent failure to demonstrate adequate effort in the pursuit of educational progress.”

Both Seibel and Adam stressed that only TRU’s president may suspend or expel a student, although Student and Judicial Affairs investigates each case.

Adam would not speak to last week’s media reports, which named two of the three accused as international students, but said there could be many cases where a TRU student appears in court but is not singled out.

“There are a lot of people in this community who may be encounter-

ing the legal system who may or may not be here [on campus]… I guess I question whether it’s actually relevant,” she said.

She added that TRU’s orientation familiarizes all international students with the Canadian legal system.

“Laws are obviously different from country to country,” she said. “Even just cues about how people are behaving might be culturally specific.”

A legal information seminar is held each semester by Student and Judicial Affairs and TRU’s RCMP liaison officer and is mandatory for new international students. According to Seibel, topics covered include dating, consent, alcohol use, violence and personal safety.

or anchors] to guide you through that sea of information.”

To cater to this, the CBC and Radio-Canada are going to offer news in a variety of digital platforms. Lacroix said that television news would be more geared

toward millennials who use different platforms. Radio-Canada is already experimenting with this on its evening news program, where it goes in depth for three to four stories instead of 20-second clips of the day’s news events.

CBC must adapt or die, CEO says Deni Verklan

THE FULCRUM (CUP)

The current CBC business model is going to die, according to its president.

The public broadcaster is currently facing issues with funding and keeping viewers, listeners and readers engaged and needs to find new ways to do both, said CBC President and CEO Hubert LaCroix during a discussion on public broadcast’s future, hosted by the RTA School of Media on March 5.

Currently, the CBC receives funding from the federal government and through television and radio advertisements. The government has cut its funding to the CBC by $115 million over the past three years in the 2012 federal budget. Radio and television ads on CBC and Radio-Canada stations were estimated to bring in $15 million to $20 million but failed to actually produce that much revenue.

With 657 jobs eliminated last year alone due to budget cuts, and having eliminated its competitive rights to broadcast professional sports except those of national significance like the Olympics or the upcoming PanAm Games, the CBC and Radio-Canada need to find a new source of revenue.

“The funding model of receiving a cheque from the [federal] government and lobbying like crazy so that your cheque is not weaker or smaller than the one that you

got the year before is not the best funding model,” LaCroix said.

“Not only do we [have to show] great content, we [have to] justify in the eyes of our citizens that we are actually a benefit to the economy.”

In 2011 and in 2013, the CBC paid Deloitte, an accounting firm in London, U.K., for a study that found that for every dollar allocated to the CBC by taxpayers generates $4 in jobs, taxes, creative industries and investments.

“We fuel the economy, we’re just not an expense. People think, ‘Oh geez! I’m giving 29 bucks to CBC/Radio-Canada for these programs!’ No. You’re giving 29 bucks to get the programs, plus [a] reinvestment of close to four bucks in the Canadian economy,” said LaCroix.

The CBC’s $913-million budget this year makes it one of the most poorly-funded public broadcasters in the world. The average worldwide funding of a country’s public broadcaster per capita is $82 per year. The CBC only receives $29 per capita annually, which is then further divided by time zones and broadcasting in Canada’s two official languages.

Compared to top players like the BBC, which receives $97 per capita annually to broadcast in one language and one time zone, the CBC has eight to nine times less funding, but is expected to produce the same amount and quality of content, said LaCroix.

Creating engaging content

across multiple platforms is another issue the CBC is tackling.

LaCroix said the Internet is a new source of search and display but not of advertising revenue for the CBC. With 90 per cent of Canadians watching live television for about 28 hours a week, LaCroix said it’s now a question of how to maintain the public’s interest with those who still watch by-appointment television and those who are accessing content from multiple screens, like phones, tablets or laptops.

“The challenge that we have is to try to make sure the content we create is relevant,” LaCroix said, adding that people expect each platform to have unique content.

CBC anchor Charlsie Argo, who co-hosted the discussion, said that there has to be a change in storytelling because people are being “bombarded” with social media all day and the CBC needs to keep their interest for the 6 p.m. news.

“What do you want to see at six o’clock? And how can we tell it to you in a way that’s going to keep you watching, when chances are you already know the facts?” Argo said.

LaCroix said that the challenge is connecting with Canadians one-on-one because now they are more likely to trust social media rather than a news anchor.

Argo said that “in an age where people are following people, literally, on social media, it’s even more important [to have hosts

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 23

5

Murky future following Mount Polley spill

Tribal council speaks to disaster’s effects on Secwepemc community

Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

“It was like a death,” Jacinda Mack began. “We cried. We grieved.”

The town of Likely, B.C. was devastated last year when Mount Polley, a local gold and copper mine, experienced a breach in its tailings storage facility.

Roughly 13.8 thousand cubic metres of tailings slurry spilled into Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake, according to a report from Imperial Metals, the company that owns the mine.

“I don’t even call it Hazeltine Creek anymore, because it’s not,” said Mack, a mining response co-ordinator for the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council.

Mack is touring B.C.’s universities to raise awareness on the disaster’s impact on both the Secwepemc people and the general public.

“If you don’t know where you are right now, you are in Secwepemculecw,” she told a packed room in Old Main last week. “In most of Secwepemculecw it’s quite dry, but out in Quesnel Lake there’s rainforest. There are medicines and foods out there that we can’t get anywhere else.”

According to Mack, Quesnel Lake was an important source of potable water before the disaster.

In fact, the town of Likely relied on it, and went four months without access to clean tap water after the contamination.

“On a clear, calm day you could

have easily seen to the bottom of the lake,” she said. “It was that clean.”

In the wake of the contamination, Mack said toxins have accumulated in the region’s salmon as well as other local wildlife that prey on the salmon.

“A lot of communities decided not to harvest salmon,” she said, noting that salmon are an important traditional food source for the Secwepemc people. “We have a land-based economy that [the Secwepemc] are still very closely connected to.”

“Sometimes when I’m talking to people they’ll ask me, ‘Do you guys really still live that way? Like, really? I see you guys in Save-onFoods and Costco.’”

Mack has a simple answer to the question: “Yes, we still do live this way, but it’s becoming tougher to.”

“A question that remains is if our children will be able to,” she said. “It’s becoming less and less frequent for us to have our traditional food because it’s becoming more scarce.”

Mack hopes that mines elsewhere in B.C. will take note of the Mount Polley disaster and think twice about their risk management plans.

“The Mount Polley spill was never supposed to happen,” she said. “They believed it was an impossible event.”

The Government of British Columbia commissioned a geotechnical report to assess the cause of the disaster after it happened, according to environmental studies professor Michael Mehta. He said

the main problem was that the mine was situated on soft glacial till sediment.

“The mine did not anticipate or understand exactly how building on it could cause disasters, especially as it continued to increase the height of the containment system [beyond its original capacity].”

In response to the spill, Mack said the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council wants to take proactive

measures to help prevent other mines in Secwepemculecw from experiencing similar disasters.

“We have this new process where there’s a principal’s table that puts our chiefs at the same table as the ministers,” she said. “We also have a new mining policy that we put out on Dec. 1 last year.”

The policy Mack referred to is the Northern Secwepmec te Qelmucw (NStQ) Mining Policy, and she said “it pulls together the

best mining practices and indigenous laws from worldwide into one comprehensive document, and outlines our minimum standards for operations within our territory.”

“What happens if this happens at another mine in Secwepemculecw?” she asked the crowd. “You have mines around Kamloops.

What happens if they go? How will your water be impacted?”

Jacinda Mack speaks about the Mount Polley disaster at TRU on March 3. (Ryan Turcot/The Omega)

Apps of the week: Push your camera’s limits Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

PhotoMath

Android, iOS, Win 8 Mobile Free

I’m pretty sure this app is straight from the future. It uses your phone’s camera to scan and solve math problems in real time.

Until this year, an app like this only existed inside The Big Bang Theory universe and, while PhotoMath doesn’t solve the same quantum physics equations Sheldon Cooper encounters, it does perform reasonably well on algebra problems.

The user interface of the app is intuitive. It works more or less the

same way as any generic camera app, but instead of a shutter button to snap a photo, you’re presented with a small rectangle in the middle of your screen. Using hand gestures, you can resize this rectangle to precisely fit it to the math equation you’re trying to solve. Just hover over the equation for a few seconds and you’ll be given the answer.

The app will also run you through the steps it took to solve the equation, so you can actually understand the process required to solve it yourself (or verify that the app did the math correctly).

The app does have some limits.

It can only solve equations up to a limited threshold of complexity, and it doesn’t recognize handwriting. Apparently the developer is

working on upgrades to address these limits, though.

Adobe Photoshop Express Android, iOS, Windows 8 Mobile Free (with paid premium features)

Whereas apps like Instagram and Camu exist to help the social sharer quickly spice up photos with filters, Adobe Photoshop Express offers a more precise and technical approach for editing photos.

With this app you essentially get a backstage pass to all the knobs and dials that professionals adjust to create the filters you see on Instagram. This includes adjusting your photo’s lighting, boosting or reducing its saturation and altering its overall tones.

You also get a small arsenal of precision tools that allow you to straighten an uneven horizon, remove blemishes, and fix red eye.

Smartphones these days typically shoot higher resolution photos than standalone digital cameras did a decade ago, so I think a mobile app geared towards more serious editing is totally warranted.

Camera ZOOM free

Android, iOS Free (But time is money and this will waste it. Also there’s a paid premium version that will waste actual money.)

Whoever built this app clearly doesn’t understand how cameras work.

Camera ZOOM defies the science of optics and tries to claim it will let your camera zoom in three times closer to your subject (or thirty times closer, if you pay).

Oh yeah, I’ll get right on that!

I’m not dumb enough to pay $5.99 for the premium version, but I already know that if I did, my 30-times-enlarged photo would resemble an abstract mosaic of

pixels taken from a crashed NES game.

That’s because most smartphone cameras (including mine) simply don’t have a true capacity to zoom, and no app will change that. For a camera lens to properly zoom closer to an image without distorting it, the lens must have a series of glass elements that move towards and away from each other, essentially bending the light it takes in. This is called “optical zooming.”

Digital cameras try to simulate optical zooming with something called “digital zooming.” The thing is, digital zooming essentially just means cropping a photo to make it seem like it was taken from closer up. And that’s all this app does.

Your phone probably already lets you do limited digital zooming with its stock camera app anyways, and I guarantee any smartphone camera with the hardware to support optical zooming (like the Asus Zenfone Zoom) also come with the software to let you use it.

Have an app you want reviewed?

Let us know! Or just write it yourself. We’re always looking for contributors. Reach out to scitech@truomega.ca.

6

March 11, 2015

2015

MOSAIC

FASHION SHOW Multiple TRUSU clubs presented at the 2015 Mosaic Fashion Show held in the Grand Hall on March 6.

More photos online at truomega.ca.

Photos by Kim Anderson

7

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 23

Still Alice

Review by Rachel Wood

How would you react if you were told that from this day forward, you would begin to forget everything you once knew about your life? That your friends and family would become strangers, your hometown an unfamiliar place and your career a completely foreign subject?

For New York City-based linguistics professor Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), the unthinkable becomes a reality. Still Alice follows Howland as she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at 50, and the struggle to overcome incredible amounts of adversity to keep a level head. Howland is a strong, spirited and intelligent woman with a successful job and family, which is all put on hold while she faces the biggest battle of her life head-on.

For Moore, it had to have been a tough role to play, but she played it well.

With a plotline so focused on what’s going on inside Howland’s brain, her face managed to mimic every intricate mental change, making it easier for the audience to empathize with the character. It’s been said that actions speak louder than words, and this is clear with each of Moore’s furrowed brows, lip trembles and blank stares.

Howland’s family played a large role in outlining how her

Citizenfour Citizenfour is a factual documentary that has all the tension and suspense of a fictional spy thriller. The documentary tells the story of how NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents to the media that proved that the NSA and its partners in other countries intercepted and stored a vast amount of private electronic communication between citizens without their consent.

Keen followers of the Snowden leak may be disappointed that the documentary does not reveal much in the way of new leaked documents, but instead tells a very human story. As Snowden reveals the scale of the government agency’s breach of trust, the audience is painted a vivid picture of a brave group of people facing off against an almost omnipotent force.

In an early scene, Snowden recommends that one of the journalists encrypt their emails with a password “strong enough to resist an adversary capable of a trillion guesses per minute.” A later

Mommy

Review by Jim Elliot

Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin

situation affected everyone around her. Howland’s husband John (Alec Baldwin) watches her decline 24/7, and must make some gut-wrenching decisions to keep his family’s head above water. Her eldest daughter Anna (Kate Bosworth), a bullheaded mother-to-be, is undoubtedly the most perturbed by her mother’s condition. From the start of the film to the end there is a visible shift in which Anna begins to crumble under the weight of her mother’s disease. Only son Tom (Hunter Parrish) is the least significant role, keeping quiet for most of the movie. Youngest daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart) starts off as the black sheep of the family, but ultimately ends up as the glue that holds their world together.

The movie follows a story that could be a reality for anyone, which makes it that much more emotional and unnerving for the audience.While there were snippets of black humour throughout (usually exchanges between Howland and Lydia), in the end it was a major tearjerker. At times the plot was hard to follow with large jumps in time and only the surface of early-onset Alzheimer’s was scratched.

However, by the end of the 99 minutes the audience had a clear connection with each of the characters and left feeling emotional for Howland and her family.

Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stwewart

scene, in which Snowden suggests that the fire alarm, which has suddenly interrupted his conversation with the journalists, may be the CIA trying to flush them from the building. The scene carries as much claustrophobic tension as the depth charge attack in Das Boot. In the face of an enemy that completely dominates modern electronic communication, Snowden’s meeting with the documentary crew is forced to rely on methods that would have been familiar to Cold War spies or the journalists that broke Watergate. The result is a face to face conversation in front of the camera that chronicles both the process of deciding how much of the secret documents to publish, and also how much of a public role Snowden should play.

Snowden is portrayed as a willing martyr but a reluctant hero. He seems resigned to the long odds that he is working against and is happy to go to jail for his actions but is unsure about becoming the face of the leak in the media. Snowden maintains

Review by Tayla Scott

“A mother doesn’t wake up in the morning not loving her son,” Diane Després said to her son in the film Mommy.

The film is directed by Xavier Dolan and recently won best motion picture at the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards.The film was also Canada’s official submission to the 87th Academy Awards foreign film category.

The strongest theme in Mommy is love. Love comes in a raw and slightly twisted form between Després and her teenage son, Steve, who has ADHD. After losing his father, Steve’s disorder worsens, prompting outbursts of violence which leaves his mother more disheveled each time.

Steve is released to Diane after being institutionalized and together they struggle to make ends meet and get Steve through high school, which takes some help from a neighbour, Kyla, the third major character in the film.

The film’s greatest strength is its gritty and

throughout the documentary that the leak is not about him, but Citizenfour certainly is. The documentary is a humanizing account of the man that the United States government tried to portray as a hardened spy and traitor. Snowden is seen eating room service and fretfully typing out emails to his girlfriend, with whom he did not share his plans. If there is one thing that Citizenfour offers that previous records of the Snowden leak did not, it is a look into Snowden’s intentions framed in his own words. It is clear that Snowden took great pains to self-censor what he released so that it would not harm U.S. citizens, only inform them of their government’s conduct.

Citzenfour was an excellent documentary that is deserving of every award that it has received. It is a tremendously important film that succeeded in fully realizing and documenting a small part of what will be remembered as one of the most important historical events of our time.

Starring: Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément

frustrated characters, which are portrayed by talented actors Anne Dorval (Diane), Antoine Olivier Pilon (Steve) and Suzanne Clément (Kyla).

Steve is especially easy to adore as a character.

When he’s up, he’s really up, and the world is a beautiful joke to him. His love is abundant, and his realness brings laughter and joy to Diane and Kyla. When he’s down the audience sympathizes with the teenage boy who struggles with the fact he isn’t “normal.”

Another strength of the film is the way it pairs its scenes, happy and sad, with complementary music.

Humour doesn’t play a big role in the film, but it is woven into a few situations. When things have started looking up, Diane walks home on a quiet street with a spring in her step and a full bag of groceries in each hand. When both bags suddenly burst at the same time, sending groceries rolling around on the pavement, Diane just stands there, frozen and staring straight ahead.

The film runs for 139 minutes, and although some scenes are overly long, they are well-edited.They yo-yo from blissful scenes, always bathed in golden light, to darker scenes that use music and editing to build the tension until it bursts.

Although the Kamloops Film Festival website states that the movie is in English and French with English subtitles, don’t be fooled, it is entirely in French. The only English words are some of the profanities, which are numerous, and American products.

If you speak French, there won’t be an issue, but as Mommy is dialogue heavy, reading the subtitles gets tiring. It’s also hard to get the full experience of the film when your eyes must keep going back to read what’s at the bottom of the screen.

Mommy is a powerful film about emotional strain, loneliness and the love that connects us to family and friends. Despite the length and the subtitles, it’s worth watching.

Showing at the Kamloops Film Fest the week of March 11: Mountain Men – Two Days, One Night – Big News from Grand Rock – What We Do in the Shadows – Winter Sleep – When the Ocean Met the Sky

8

NEWS

2015

March 11, 2015

TRUSU ELECTION TIMELINE

Status of women committee celebrates notable faculty

March 2

NOMINATIONS OPEN

March 13

NOMINATIONS CLOSE

March 14

ALL CANDIDATES MEETING

Ashley Wadhwani

March 16

CANDIDATE POSTINGS RELEASED CAMPAIGNING BEGINS

March 18

ELECTION COVERAGE IN THE OMEGA

March 23

ALL CANDIDATES FORUM, 7 P.M. TRUSU

March 25

POLLING OPENS, 8 A.M. TRUSU

March 26

POLLING CLOSES – 4 P.M.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the TRU Faculty Association’s status of women committee held a luncheon on Friday, March 6, honouring Brigitta O’Regan and Maxine Ruvinsky. Both women were acknowledged as part of TRUFA’s Notable Women series.

This year, the series recognized TRU staff or faculty, retired or actively teaching, who have “contributed outstanding service and commitment to the development” of the school, according to a TRUFA newsletter calling for nominations. The first honouree in 2013 was the late Linda Deutschmann, once a sociology professor at TRU before retiring.

Deutschmann passed away in 2008.

March 27

ELECTION RESULTS RELEASED

VOTE

Brigitta O’Regan and Maxine Ruvinsky honoured at luncheon for commendable work at TRU

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

ISSUES EDITOR Ω

4 EXECUTIVE 5 ADVOCACY 4 DIRECTORS AT LARGE

Executive PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT EXTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE

25

HOURS/WEEK

VICE PRESIDENT INTERNAL

Advocacy ABORIGINAL REPRESENTATIVE GRADUATE STUDENTS’ REP INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ REP LGBTQ REPRESENTATIVE

10

Brigitta O’Regan

Brigitta O’Regan began at the University College of the Cariboo in 1990 as a sessional lecturer with a PhD in 18th century German literature. O’Regan’s most prominent contribution to the development of TRU was her instrumental leadership in changing the policy of mandatory retirement, arguing that “women are disproportionately disadvantaged by mandatory retirement provisions,” according to her Notable Women Series poster.

“It wasn’t just retirement, it was mandatory retirement. The institution did not have to choose that way, because [mandatory retirement] was gone within three months and it was no effort to rehire us back,” O’Regan said. “For any institution that claims to educate young people, you have to have an ethical basis.”

O’Regan became an assistant professor in 1998. During her eight years at TRU, O’Regan made many friends as she sat on numerous committees including the Study Abroad committee and acted as chair of the TRUFA Human Rights Committee and the TRU Africa committee. O’Regan helped create and develop TRU’s Study Abroad office while also fortifying relationships with German universities for study abroad opportunities.

Brigitta O’Regan has a laugh with the crowd when talking about her time in Ghana, Africa.

(Ashley Wadhwani/The Omega)

“She would find out when a student might need some assistance or she would give people one-on-one language tutoring free of charge so they could represent TRU better,” said Ginny Ratsoy, associate professor in the English department.

For Ratsoy, one of the most admirable traits of both O’Regan and Ruvinsky is their fearlessness.

“It’s what I admire most about both of them, because, for me, it’s the toughest thing to have,” Ratsoy said.

“They won’t stop.”

When describing O’Regan, Ratsoy used words like tenacious, compassionate and warm. Ratsoy noted that O’Regan’s parties at her home were always welcoming and filled with great home-cooked food.

For O’Regan, the luncheon allowed her to see her friends and colleagues that she hasn’t seen since retiring.

“It’s better to be appreciated amongst peers than [to be] appreciated by anyone else, because they know what it takes to do what you’ve done,” O’Regan said.

Maxine Ruvinsky

Maxine Ruvinsky came to TRU in 1999 with a PhD in comparative literature, and is one of the founding members of TRU’s bachelor of journalism program. Ruvinsky’s most prominent contribution to the development of TRU is her aide in developing the journalism program by creating “many of the core courses that have inspired and educated new

HOURS/WEEK

WOMEN’S REPRESENTATIVE

Directors-at-large DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE (4)

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HOURS/WEEK

Eileen Leier holds Maxine Ruvinsky’s notable women series poster in her hand while speaking on her time knowing Ruvinsky.

(Ashley Wadhwani/The Omega)

generations of journalists,” according to her Notable Women Series poster.

Although Ruvinsky was unable to attend the luncheon and speak personally on her time at TRU, Eileen Leier, associate professor in the visual and performing arts department and a close colleague, stood up and spoke on her time knowing Ruvinsky. Also from Montreal, Leier watched Ruvinsky establish the academic direction that the journalism program now takes.

“I think within Maxine’s character, is a phenomenal intellect, but along with the phenomenal intellect, she has passion, compassion and commitment. She has that as an investigative journalist, as a writer and as a teacher,” Leier said. “She brings those things to her teaching and I think that inspires students.”

Her fellow honouree O’Regan thanked Ruvinsky for her support.

“Being [recognized] with Maxine makes a huge difference because I’m a great fan. She was very supportive when all of us had to go through mandatory retirement with no warning,” O’Regan said.

For Terryl Atkins, Ruvinsky is best described as “a force to be reckoned with.” Both met while acting on the curriculum committee, where Atkins remembers them laughing at similar points and “being on the same page.”

“When we started talking, it was about education, it was about what it means to teach a generation of students that are going to go on and become active human agents in the world,” Atkins said. “I think that’s one of the things that propels her forward. Teaching is an honorable activity.”

Outside of TRU but still within the realm of her passion for journalism, Ruvinsky is part of several national organizations: the Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting and the Canadian Association of Journalists.

A particular passion noted by both Atkins and Leier is Ruvsinky’s strong belief and encouragement of responsibility and ethics.

“She teaches ethics and that’s very important to her – being responsible for your actions in the world,” Atkins said.

NEWS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 23

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A community built on sand In the wake of falling oil prices, can Canadians rely on Fort McMurray as a steady source of jobs and income?

When my parents told me they were moving to Fort McMurray, Alta. about a year and a half ago, I was more than a little taken aback. After all, we had lived in North Bay, Ont. for most of my adolescence and I always figured they would just retire there after my brother and I went off to university.

But, after they sat us down and explained the situation, it all made sense.

If my dad worked at a mining equipment company in Fort McMurray for just five years he could effectively cut his retirement time in half, and the two of them could have enough cash left over to finally buy that house on Trout Lake they had always wanted.

I actually started to get a little excited at the idea of visiting them. Not only would I get to see them in their new digs, but I would also get the opportunity to visit the hub of Canada’s energy sector, and see what it was like for myself.

Up until that point, I had mostly learned about Fort McMurray through the filter of the media or from word of mouth. Many people likened this high-profile municipality to a modern day frontier town: a rough and tumble place that would seem right at home in an old-school Hollywood western.

When I finally got to visit Fort McMurray this past Thanksgiving weekend, I found that several of the city’s characteristics—namely its picturesque geographic isolation and infectious “gold rush” atmosphere—backed up that claim.

But more than anything, I found Fort McMurray to be a town full of dramatic inconsistencies.

Poorly built roads and condemned condominiums were a particular eyesore during our initial drive into town, especially contrasted against the beautiful new $258-million airport my brother and I arrived at. I had a similarly jarring experience when our family went to see a movie at Fort McMurray’s only theatre. Even though my parents had spent all day showing us local engineering marvels like the gigantic community centre and the brand new sports stadium, the theatre itself had the size and comfort of a shoebox. And although the area is full of gorgeous forestry and running trails, it was really hard to get past the sight of the oil sands themselves, which kind of look like the pride lands in The Lion King after Scar took over.

All and all, it was still a great weekend, but the town’s blatant lack of uniformity stuck with me well past the plane ride back.

In fairness, this kind of uneven development may just be growing pains—the symptom of living in a community that is so intrinsically tied to the booming oil industry. But now that oil prices are plummeting, Fort McMurray’s image of financial invincibility might be on the rocks—and with it may be thousands of prospective job opportunities for Canadian students.

and wealth. And why not? Because of their close proximity to the oil sands, the residents of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have managed to carve out a prosperous living for themselves. According to the area’s 2012 census, the median household income for a local resident is $190,470, more than twice that of the average Canadian.

This economic narrative has attracted the attention of multitudes of young people, especially fresh university graduates looking to find steady employment early in their careers.

Sam Gough, a recent communications graduate from the University of Ottawa, cast herself into this migrating horde. Gough arrived in Fort McMurray in October 2014, deciding to live there after months of failing to find reliable post-graduate employment in Ontario.

“I couldn’t get a job where I was making salary,” Gough says, now working two jobs at a local restaurant and at Service Canada. “I’m still not doing what I went to school for, but at least I have a full-time job and I can use that to transfer back home eventually.”

This image of financial reliability has been shaken as of late, since the price of oil has been on a steady decline since June. As of this writing, the price of oil is hovering around $49 per barrel, significantly down from its triple digit value last spring.

The effect on Fort McMurray has been dramatic. Not only have new projects relating to the oil sands been halted, many of the contract workers have up and left. Fort McMurray’s reputation as a bastion for job-hungry students has also been compromised, with engineering graduates reeling from an unprecedented lack of job opportunities. This economic downturn has even transcended beyond the oil industry, and is influencing people’s day-to-day lives. “(The price of oil) isn’t just affecting people who are working on the oil, but the whole town is suffering,” Gough says. “Nobody wants to go out for dinner. Nobody wants to spend their money and go to the movies. People are just being… cautious.”

However, as many industry experts have already pointed out, Fort McMurray has been in this situation before, having successfully bounced back from crippling oil recessions in 2008 and in the 1980s.

Andrew Leach, an associate professor at the Alberta School of Business, says he remains skeptical of the doom and gloom rhetoric surrounding the future of the Wood Buffalo community.

“McMurray is really the centre of the most mature part of the oil sands industry,” he says. “That town is much more reliant on the operating of (companies like) Suncor, Syncrude, CNRL, Shell, Kearl, all of those projects, than it is entirely on the construction of new projects.”

This kind of analysis still doesn’t provide much comfort for residents like Gough, who is uneasy about the coming months.

Shadows over Fort Mac

This conversation largely centres around Fort McMurray’s “shadow population”—a group of around 40,000 workers who fly in to the community for a couple of months of work and fly out when their jobs are done. Some might suggest that a town populated largely by temporary workers does not encourage the growth of a healthy communal atmosphere, especially now that many of these workers have abandoned the city in search of more fruitful opportunities.

As a relatively new member of Fort McMurray, Gough echoes these concerns. She says many of the people she knows aren’t really taken with the idea of sticking around for too long.

“People are only working up here,” she says. “People book vacations to get away from here … Nobody stays around when they have time off.”

But some maintain that the local community is perfectly capable of promoting growth and expansion.

Scott Schellenberg, a colleague of my dad’s at SMS Equipment, has lived in Fort McMurray with his family for almost 15 years and is in no hurry to move anytime soon.

“It’s a fantastic family community and that’s something that the press never seems to get right,” he says. “In the neighbourhood that I live, my son … can run out the front door and ride his bike and disappear out of sight and I don’t have to worry.”

Furthermore, Schellenberg says he believes the reduced oil sands activity will only improve their current situation, since this downtime will allow the community to develop at a normal pace. “(We) never have been able to catch up to the infrastructure. The growth has well outpaced their ability to build to suit the infrastructure of the population,” he says. “Times like this are fantastic, where you can just let your road infrastructure catch up, and the housing prices kind of normalize a little bit.”

Of course, the main reason why this Alberta city attracts thousands upon thousands of Canadians like my parents every year is because it has been framed as a guaranteed source of jobs

The recent economic downturn highlights another overriding concern about Fort McMurray: its apparent lack of a strong, tightly knit community.

Outside of these internal concerns, Fort McMurray’s well-being is also threatened by outside dissenters who object to the ethical nature of its num-

Kyle Darbyson

THE FULCRUM (CUP)

Land of opportunity

Fort McMurray, seen here in 2010. (eryn.rickard/Flickr Commons)

Ethical tug of war

ber one money maker: the oil sands.

With the increasing frequency of divestment movements on university campuses and heavily critical celebrities like Neil Young, the fossil fuel industry has been receiving a beating in the media—which could affect the community’s economic viability in the future.

Joan Haysom, a senior researcher and manager of solar projects at the U of O, says she considers the current hubbub over oil prices to be insignificant in the long run. Energy sources like wind and solar offer up considerable benefits to fossil fuels and are even starting to hit grid-competitive prices, she says.

“The oil industry is going to be a boom-bust industry that’s dependent on global political aspects, like on wars, on decisions of foreign countries made in times of crisis,” says Haysom.

“It’s extremely volatile, compared to other industries that can be a much more stable source of energy and a healthy source of economic growth for our country.”

Schellenberg doesn’t see it as cut and dry as that. He says that, at least for the time being, fossil fuels are a necessity in our society.

“The oil sands are here for the long term,” he says. “In our generation, and probably in the generation to come, my suspicion is that we’re still going to need an awful lot of oil and these guys will be around to produce it.”

Missing from the day-to-day news reports, he says, is the progress that has been made in terms of the industry’s environmental policy. Syncrude Canada Limited, one of Fort McMurray’s biggest employers, has been particularly vocal about their reclamation projects. According to the oil producer’s website, more than 3,400 hectares of land have been successfully reclaimed in the Wood Buffalo area. One of these reclamation sites even includes a wood bison range—a welcome sight after my dreary drive through the oil sands.

Still, the effectiveness of these projects has received, to put it generously, mixed reactions from scientists and environmentalists. Schellenberg says that’s OK.

“It’s good to have watchdogs and it’s good to have people pushing back on these guys because it does make them better and it holds them accountable.

There’s nothing wrong with that.”

However, now that the use of renewable energy in Canada is on the rise ,and bad press surrounding fossil fuels is never in short supply, it might not be wise for the residents of Fort McMurray to put all their eggs in one basket.

Modern day manifest destiny

I’d say uncertainty is probably the best way to define Fort McMurray. For relatively new residents like Gough, the area’s fluctuating economic prospects prompt second thoughts about staying for the long term.

“I would like to move somewhere else. I don’t want to be here forever,” says Gough. “My plan is probably to stick it out for like a year, and just get the experience and then move on.”

As for my own parents, while they do have a distinct exit strategy in mind, anything could happen between now and five years from now.

My brother hinted recently that he’s interested in finding a job in Fort McMurray after he graduates from Queen’s, which could throw a monkey wrench into that whole plan.

Having said that, this sense of unpredictability is what sparked my interest in Fort McMurray in the first place. Here’s a community that’s populated by people who have uprooted their lives to try their luck at “making it big” in a western town that’s 435 kilometres away from another major urban centre.

This kind of modern manifest destiny has led to the creation of a community that’s simultaneously modern and archaic, a fascinating conundrum that has become the centre of a national discussion on economics, urban development, and environmentalism.

However, like many experiments, there is always a distinct possibility of failure.

Just like the sun always sets in the West, the sun might be setting on Fort McMurray’s status as modern day boom town. Although, only time will tell.

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COMICS & PUZZLES

March 11, 2015

C R O S S W O R D Ω

Puzzle of the Week #18 – Number Grid Each of the spaces in a three-by-three grid has one of the integers from one to nine. Each value is used once.

Name:

Young in da ‘90s

1. The three values in the left column are consecutive odds.

by Ashley Wadhwani

1

2. The three values in the right column are consecutive evens.

3. The three values in the middle row are consecutive primes.

4. The three values in the bottom row are consecutive.

How are the integers arranged in the grid?

2

3

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.

4 5 6 7 8

SUDOKU

9 10 11

5

12

13

Because you’re probably not doing enough math

1 7

14

2

15

9 5

17

8

Created on TheTeachersCorner.net Crossword Maker

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LAST WEEK’S CROSSWORD ANSWERS: ACROSS 1. RIFFS 3. DOIN 7. THREE

8. THEREMEMBRANDTS 9. ROSS 10. PARIS 12. MAURICE

15. CENTRALPERK

DOWN

2. SCIENCEBOY 3. DUDLEYMOORE

4.DRAKERAMORAY 5. HARMONICA 6. DENTIST 8. THANKSGIVING

11. SNOW 13. CRAP 14. WHERE

xkcd.com

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The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 23

Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

“If your boss came to you every morning and told you to ‘smarten the F up cause you’re a dumb bitch,’ would you like it? Well that’s exactly what’s happening to the referees by the parents, and fouler language than that,” said Jim Humphrey, president of the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association.

Referees for all age groups and in all sports must deal with verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse from spectators, coaches and players. It’s an issue that is especially common in hockey.

Penticton police are currently investigating a case that involves a Kamloops man who allegedly threatened the referees after his son’s game.

“Inside of a hockey rink, it seems that they get a free pass, and I think the days of these free passes need to disappear,” Humphrey said.

According to Humphrey, abuse has caused hundreds of referees to quit officiating for the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association over the years. Humphrey believes this aggressive behaviour is ingrained in hockey culture. He remembers multiple incidences when the police had to be called to deal with violent parents.

“The biggest one took 17 police officers to control the fighting inside the hockey rink by the spectators in the stands,” Humphrey said.

In the last month, Humphrey said at least 13 parents have been kicked out or banned from games for getting aggressive or verbally abusing the referees.

“We’ve tried many different things to try to deal with it but pretty much all of them have been unsuccessful,” he said.

But there is one thing that has been helping recently, and that’s the attitude of other parents.

“In the past parents weren’t wanting to get involved. They would just sit and be quiet and just hope the game ended. What’s happened now is that there are parents that are actually standing up in the game and they’re telling their peers to sit down and behave themselves,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey said parents have also started reporting abuse to their local Minor Hockey Associations.

“Now that this is out and parents are actually turning in the bad guys, we can investigate. Now, rather than punish all the parents, we can just take sanctions against those parents that are the ones doing the abusive behaviour,” Humphrey said.

Kamloops is not without its share of abuse incidents, either.

Jeremy Salamandyk, ex-equipment manager for TRU’s WolfPack hockey team, works as a security guard at various minor hockey tournaments in Kamloops.

“I’ve seen parents freak out. A lot of times they’ll throw stuff on the ice or they’ll have vulgar language and profanities directed at the referees. I’ve seen parents at the [Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament] go after the officials in the parking lot,” Salamandyk said. “A couple times I got in between the officials and the parents. Once a dad tried to get in the referee’s room and I had to grab the dad and pull him out.”

Sean Raphael, referee chief for

REFS

SPORTS

11

but the amount of media attention it gets has been growing in the past few years, and that might be part of the solution.

“We’re always looking for ways to raise awareness. We’re always trying to communicate the rules that are in place to try and prevent it from happening, and to encourage positive attention towards the officials,” Raphael said.

One of the new ways BC Hockey is doing this is through “Make the Call” contests on their website.

“We have a [video] that shows an infraction or incident that occurred and we quiz people to answer the right question with the multiple choice of what the penalty was,” Raphael said. “At the end being the subject of verbal abuse. the back of a referee, they tend to of the two weeks we announce On March 3, Bennett was one create a bias, whether they real- a winner and then we reveal the of the referees that a Kamloops ize it or not and they’re not going answer to teach everybody about Blazers player got upset with af- to give you any favour, that’s for that specific rule.” ter the game. The player pushed sure,” Weir said.

There have been about 550 one of the referees and yelled at In addition to coaches, Weir entries into the “Make the Call” Bennett. But Bennett didn’t take has also seen parents and players contests since they began in Ocit personally. tober. The prizes “He’s a good guy. have ranged from He doesn’t mean to clothing to tickets do it, just his emoto watch the Vantions were high,” couver Canucks Bennett said. “You and meet the refcan’t always make erees. Raphael said them happy, but the contests have you have to call the been successful game fairly.” and will continue Cam Weir, TRU on the officiating business student page of BC Hockand ex-WolfPack ey’s website. hockey player, said “Unlike playhe has seen verbal ers, officials don’t abuse get so extenreally get to pracsive that it pushed tice, so the games fairness out of the tend to be their picture. opportunity to Jim Humphrey practice,” Raphael “One coach that President, Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association I had in junior had said. “Officials are a horrible relaconstantly learning tionship with this just like a player is one ref. It just seemed completely swear at and insult referees. learning. The officials are always odd how one-sided every game he “A lot of people, a lot of players going to make mistakes out there reffed was. There were a lot more and a lot of coaches get caught up but they are going to hopefully calls against us and some of them in the moment and really don’t see learn from those mistakes.” were borderline almost made up,” the ref as a person.”

“We always encourage people Weir said.

According to Raphael, referee to try officiating if they think that “When you start getting on abuse has always been an issue, they know the rules.”

The abuse from players, parents and coaches and what is being done to stop it BC Hockey, said referee abuse seems more common in minor hockey because, with over 50,000 players, it’s the most abundant level of hockey in the province. Minor hockey is often officiated by level one, or 12- to 16-year-old, referees.

“I think a lot of it is a lack of information that the spectator or the person criticizing the officials have,” Raphael said. “Rules are constantly being updated and changed. New rules are being created and old rules are being taken out on a bi-annual basis.”

A pre-requisite to officiate under BC Hockey is a four-hour online course through Hockey Canada. After that there are many training opportunities for referees, from clinics to summer courses. Referees have their own coaches and supervisors who watch their games and provide feedback.

Referees must also get recertified annually.

“Hockey Canada also launched the rulebook as a mobile app with a live search function on it.

It’s free of charge and it can look up any rule, any incident, right through the search function,” Raphael said.

Kevin Bennett started working as a referee at age 12 and 15 years later he still loves it, despite often

“If your boss came to you every morning and told you to ‘smarten the F up cause you’re a dumb bitch,’ would you like it?”

Kamloops Blazers player Ryan Rehill yells at referee Kevin Bennett while linesman Riley Bilson stands between them.

(Tayla Scott/ The Omega)

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March 11, 2015