THERE'S NO DENYING IT
PRODUCING PRODUCERS
MAKING MERRIMENT
B.C. Green Party leader talks climate change
Three TRU alums among awards nominees
Festive ways to spend your holidays
Andrew Weaver visits TRU to talk climate change and politics • Page 6
The Mayor's Gala for the Arts will hand out awards on January 21, 2017 • Page 8
Our picks for the best events around Kamloops for the holidays • Page 5
OMEGA Ω THE
ISSUE NO. 14
THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1991
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DECEMBER 7, 2016
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SAYING GOODBYE Van Damsel splits, playing its final show on Friday, Dec. 9. COVER/PG. 6
PHOTO KIM ANDERSON/THE OMEGA (FILE PHOTO)
SURVEY SAYS
VOLUME 26
DON'T GET TOWED
Assessing the demand for student housing
Do you have to pay those parking tickets?
TRU has hired a consultant to look at the demand for student housing on campus • Page 2
Private parking co's like the one at TRU might have limited options in making you pay • Page 7
Van Damsel calls it quits, local rockers to play last show Dec. 9
On Nov. 4, Van Damsel announced on their Facebook page that this was it – the band members would be going their separate ways at the end of this year. Sebastien Ste Marie, the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, said that after seven years of creating music together the band members have agreed to pursue new projects on their own. “Being in a band’s a grind, unless you’re Coldplay or slightly smaller. Most levels are quite a grind, and we just wanted to try something different. A couple of us are going travelling, another one of us is moving to the coast,” Ste Marie said. Ste Marie also said that they are all leaving on good terms, and there is no ill-will between any of them. “We might be closer than we’ve ever been, because we are really just enjoying these last moments of being together as a band. We will be leaving as good of friends as ever. It’s bittersweet,” Ste Marie said. Even if fans of Van Damsel are sad about the news of this breakup, there still might be some hope. “We’re all going to be involved in music forever it’s in our blood, to use the cliché. All of us have our own individual projects going on. There will be some collaboration with other musicians, but we’re also looking at achieving some other personal goals,” Ste Marie said. Although Ste Marie says that he is going to continue to create new things after the band's breakup, there are still things he is going to miss about being apart of Van Damsel. “My two favourite things are both creating, being in the studio and playing live. I love performing and part of performing is connecting with your supporters, both while you're performing and after when you get to mingle. I don’t know if I’ll get another opportunity to play the types of shows that we’ve been able to with this type of project, playing in front of hundreds and occasionally thousands of people. It’s really a special experience and I’m really going to miss that aspect,” Ste Marie said. CONTINUED page 6