April 12, 2017

A CLASS ACT

TIME TO EXPERIMENT

PSSST, PSSSP IS FUNDED!

Alumni theatre troupe awaits first show

TRU host to regional science fair

Aboriginal rep praises new funding

The Lyre Theatre, formed by TRU alumni, will perform Allen's Nine Murders this month • Page 9

Faculty and TRU students play a role in hosting future scientists • Page 4

The Government of Canada will fund a program that benefits students • Page 3

OMEGA Ω THE

ISSUE NO. 27

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VOLUME 26

APRIL 12, 2017

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THEIR ART AND THEIR STORIES OUR FINAL INSTALLMENT ON GRADUATING BFA STUDENTS PAGES 6-7

MAKING PLANS

STANDING UP TO CORRUPTION

CHOICES, CHOICES

Frozen yogurt foray funded

Russian speakers talk corruption protests

Mixing it up with local politicians

Business student wins $6,000 for his frozen yogurt business plan – now what? • Page 2

What do TRU students have to say about what's happening in Russia right now? • Page 4

MLA candidates meet with students ahead of May 9 election • Page 5

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APRIL 12, 2017

MAKING PROGRESS The construction site of the forthcoming Industrial Training and Technology Centre, a new $30-million building on campus expected to be completed and in use by the fall of 2018. The Omega will be documenting campus construction projects including the ITTC, the first residential development for The Reach and the new nursing building as they progress.

(Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

Business student wins $6,000 in business plan competition Budding entrepreneur Thomas Heine pitched his idea of sustainable and healthy frozen-yogurt Teshu Agarwal

CONTRIBUTOR Ω Thomas Heine was the winner of the Scotiabank Business Plan Competition, with his creative business model of a sustainable and healthy frozen yogurt shop. Heine will be graduating this June with a major in marketing and a minor in entrepreneurship.

The Omega spoke with this young entrepreneur about his business idea and his future plans.

Heine came up with his business idea while working in Switzerland.

Some girls came up to him, asking for frozen yogurt, and he realized that there was nothing there.

“It was a virgin market,” Heine said.

That inspired his business idea of selling frozen yogurt in Switzerland.

He found that setting up a business overseas was tougher than expected, so he brought his business model back to Canada.

Heine presented this idea at the Scotiabank Business Plan Competition held on the TRU campus in March and won a sum of $6,000 to pursue his business idea. The competition was judged by a panel of six judges, including business

community members and TRU school of business and economics faculty and the dean. After his recent big win, Heine awarded $500 to each of his three friends for helping him work on the business plan.

“I couldn’t have done this without them. I am not very strong with finance management and a few other such things,” Heine said. “My friends put in more time and effort than they needed to, to help me.”

Heine plans to save the rest for his business bank account and some to pay off his student loan.

The unique thing about Heine’s business model is that he plans to capture “the health wave” and use “yogurt that is organic, GMO-free, local and healthy toppings such a hemp hearts and chia seeds.”

Heine wants to provide a healthy alternative at festivals with his frozen yogurt food truck. Apart from health, he said he also cares about the environment. He wants to reduce plastic consumption by making use of edible spoons and 100 per cent biodegradable cups.

He also plans on supporting ocean clean-up with his profits later in life.

As a kid, Henie realized his inclination towards being an entrepreneur when he started a

Entrepreneur and business student Thomas Heine, who recently won $6,000 in the Scotiabank Business Plan Competition in March. (SUBMITTED) lawn care business “under the table,” said Heine chuckling. He shared his motivation by saying, “Being my own boss has a big impact on it.

I like all aspects of business. I like brainstorming business ideas and planning. Being an entrepreneur, I am able to never get bored and use everything I have learned.”

When asked about his biggest challenge in planning his business model and pitching it, Heine said “focusing on the ‘why’ and the market, and proving it is the toughest. And making sense of all the numbers in the pitch in a logical order.”

He went on to thank TRU for their

support and the advice and help that his professors provided him with. Heine imparted some advice to fellow TRU students and commented that more students should take advantage of these learning experiences because they are fun, interesting, and help students stand out.

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Government commits to funding PostSecondary Student Support Program Aidan Grether

STAFF WRITER Ω The Government of Canada announced their budget for 2017 on March 22 and a few changes from last year have been made.

Most importantly for Aboriginal students, the budget promises $90 million in funding over two years for the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP). The program is a federal initiative that provides financial support to Indigenous students enrolled in post-secondary education.

In 2015, the Liberal government ran with an election promise to inject the program with $50 million annually, which wasn’t fulfilled until this year. The new plan falls short by about $5 million per year.

The government’s standing committee on finance and the Canadian Federation of Students recommended the government remove a two per cent funding cap initially placed on the PSSSP. Trudeau also campaigned on removing the cap on funding increases in his 2016 budget, but failed to do so in his first budget.

The new budget removes the cap by increasing the funding.

The TRUSU equity committee has campaigned this semester to have the Trudeau government fulfill their pledge. The campaign had over 500 supporters send messages to the federal government, calling on them to fulfil their pledge.

TRUSU Aboriginal students’ representative James-Dean Aleck is hopeful for First Nations students,

Recently re-elected TRUSU Aboriginal students' represnetative James-Dean Aleck is hopeful now that PSSSP has been funded. (Juan Cabrejo/Ω)

both current and future.

“So many people are being blocked off from taking the steps they need to try make a better future for themselves and their families by a wall of money. If we can help take down that wall, then it is something I feel we all should strive for,” Aleck said.

However, the fight for equality doesn’t end here for Aleck.

“What we do and plan to continue doing for Aboriginal issues goes beyond post-secondary. There are many problems with reserves, land issues and problems our people go through due to trauma caused by residential schools,” Aleck said.

“Take steps, no matter how small, towards a better future for everyone. After all, a small step is better than no step.”

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APRIL 12, 2017

Anti-corruption protests sweep across Russian cities What are TRU’s Russian-speaking students’ opinions?

Diana Igumnova STAFF WRITER Ω

Hundreds of people, including a prominent opposition figure, were arrested in Moscow on March 26 for participating in unauthorized protests, according to state media and a human rights group.

The Russian opposition side is represented by Alexei Navalny, who fights against corruption.

Navalny was once featured in Time magazine with the headline, “Can this man save Russia?”

Navalny is making a push for candidacy in the upcoming presidential election in 2018.

He is promoting himself in the national, as well as in international media by revealing corrupt activity by Russian political figures.

At the beginning of March, Navalny has accused Medvedev

(ex-Prime Minister of Russia) of amassing a global property empire through various forms of corruption. In Navalny’s report, he claimed that Medvedev has a portfolio of assets including "huge pieces of land in the most sought-after regions, yachts, apartments in old mansions, agricultural complexes, and wineries in Russia and abroad." Navalny's report claims this was all purchased through "bribes from oligarchs and state bank loans."

“Mr. Navalny is a quite famous Russian political figure.

His Anti-Corruption Fund made the movie, which showed real property of ex-president Dmitriy Medvedev. The movie presented facts of the corruption in the government. Alexei Navalny used it as an impulse for the all-Russian anti-corruption meeting. However, it is not enough for serious changes in [the] Russian political arena.

This meeting gathered a large number of people through the country but what will be the next step of Mr. Navalny? Negative emotions of Russian people are not enough,” says Yana Grohalskaya, TRU International student from Russia.

A lot of people around Russia did not stay indifferent to the corruption report and as a result, demonstrators attended a large-scale anti-corruption demonstration in Moscow.

Around 8,000 people attended the protest in Moscow alone and similar protests were planned in 100 other cities across Russia, according to organizers.

Navalny was present at the protests and tweeted, "Today we are discussing (and condemning) corruption, not the detentions. Well, I was detained. So what. It OK. There are things in life that are worth being detained for."

The protest drew a heavy

Police also showed up when Alexei Navalny campaigned for mayor of Moscow in 2013, where he received 27 per cent of the vote to Medvedevappointed mayor Sergey Sobyanin's 51 per cent. (Evgeniy Isaev/CC) police presence but remained largely peaceful. Riot officers flanked crowds while plainclothes officers moved among the demonstrators “It is one of the biggest protests in Russia during the 21st century. [The people who] decided to fight against corruption deserve to be respected.

[Protesters] were not afraid to go against corrupted government and they were fighting for the state they want to live in,” said Ilya Penkov, a TRU international student from Russia.

“This fact is amazing. To be honest, if I was back home in Russia, I would join the rest of the protesters.”

Muslim Students Association holds its first board meeting Diana Igumnova STAFF WRITER Ω

Two weeks ago, the TRU Muslim Students Association officially reopened their club on campus.

Ibrahim Hamid, the president of TRU Muslim Student’s Association, has decided to take the initiative and expand services that university offers for its Muslim students.

On Friday, April 7, Hamid and his colleague, Inayat Ur Rehman, held the Muslim Students Association’s first board meeting, where they implemented the club’s further activities and annual agenda.

“We feel responsible for Muslim Students Association members, and in our MSA we are all equal because together we can all make a stronger foundation for all Muslim students at TRU,” says Ur Rehman, vice-president of the Muslim Student’s Association.

The goal of the first meeting was to divide all the responsibilities

between each other. There are some vacant positions in the club, such as senior advisers, event organizers, and spokespeople. All of the positions need to be filled soon and it is essential for each member of the association to be in charge of something because the two most important Islamic events are coming this May. Celebrating special Muslim dates, such as Ramadan and Eid, are presently the club’s priority.

Ramadan is an Islamic month of fasting, and Eid is the festival that symbolizes the end of the fasting. It is important to support each other during theses special dates, especially when students are far away from their families. Muslim students will have the opportunity to celebrate these two dates together and it will minimize their risk of feeling homesick.

Hamid and his current team are all preparing for Ramadan and community members have already negotiated with Aramark campus food facilities that will serve Muslims

Members of the recently re-launched Muslim Students Association. (Diana Igumnova/The Omega) with Halal food during the Eid. Since a lot of Muslims on campus are representatives of different countries, the board meeting gathered different TRU associations together, such as Pakistan’s Student Association and TRUSU Bangladesh

Club. Muslim Students Association members believe that working collectively will help the association be prepared for Ramadan and Eid. There are still some available positions inside of the club and according to the Muslim Students

Association representatives, all of the vacancies are to be filled as soon as possible.

The Muslim Student Association is inviting everyone who has the will to participate in the club’s activities to attend or make a contribution.

Cariboo Mainline Regional Science Fair hosted at TRU Students and faculty volunteer their time to help promote and facilitate scientific inquiry Nolan Chapman STAFF WRITER Ω

More than two hundred elementary and high school students from the Cariboo and Thompson regions gathered in the Thompson Rivers University gymnasium on Thursday, April 6 to compete for advancement to the national championship.

Participants also had the chance to win awards, cash prizes and a semester of tuition at TRU.

“The top five go to a national fair that happens to be in Regina this year. It is an all-expenses-paid trip and students have the opportunity to win prize money,” said Janice Karpluk, TRU faculty and event organizer.

Karpluk has organized this event for the last ten years. “We usually get about seventy volunteers – at least forty of them are TRU students. At a busy time of the year, TRU students are kind enough to judge and give tour guides [around the TRU

campus],” Karpluk said.

“This is the biggest fair we have ever had and I think it is due to ‘inquiry learning’ that a lot more [elementary and secondary] schools are pushing,” Karpluk said.

One student volunteer said she heard about the opportunity to help out from one of her professors.

“When I was younger, I was in a science fair. We are also getting clinic marks for this.

Within the respiratory therapy

program, we have a student clinic on campus. [The hours] are worth a certain percentage of our grade. The extracurricular stuff we do goes into the portfolio for bonus marks at the end,” said Sarah Vaillancourt, a TRU science student.

From maglev (magnetic levitation) train models to student-designed, built and coded drones, the science fair had it all. Filling the entire gym with cardboard displays and eager students, TRU was

doing its part to help facilitate the advancement of scientific learning within the elementary and secondary levels.

Students were judged on creativity, originality and proper procedure, among many other merits.

TRU volunteers also put on guided tours for visiting students – showing them what the future of their education may look like if they decide to continue their studies at a post-secondary institution.

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Mixing pizza and politics on campus MLA candidates meet with students to talk politics before the May 9 election Aidan Grether

STAFF WRITER Ω On April 5, MLA candidates from the four BC political parties in the North and South Thompson ridings met in the TRUSU lecture hall to answer questions and deliver their message to students.

The B.C. NDP, Liberal, Green and Communist parties were all present and represented by both of their Kamloops MLA candidates, except current Kamloops–South Thompson MLA Todd Stone (Liberal), who was in Victoria on MLA business, according to the TRU student volunteers representing him.

There was a large turnout at the TRUSU event. Many students, professors and a few local citizens were present to get informed prior to the election on May 9.

Usra Gohan, a third-year business student, was looking to learn from the candidates.

“I want to find out what their values are, their party platform and what they’re going to do if elected. I also want to judge how they answer questions and get a read for who they are,” Gohan said.

Natalie Speranza, an interdisciplinary studies student, was interested in learning more about the plans concerning education.

“What they’re going to do about tuition cost, transit problems and provincial economics is important to me and most students,” she said.

The BC Liberals replicated a “pin poll” that was held at the University of British Columbia to

THE CANDIDATES Nancy Bepple BC NDP, Kamloops–South (top right) Peter Milobar BC Liberals, Kamloops–North Barb Nederpel BC NDP, Kamloops-North Peter Kerek Communist party, Kamloops–North Dan Hines Green Party, Kamloops–North Donovan Cavers Green party, Kamloops–South Beat Klossner Communist party, Kamloops–South (right) Todd Stone BC Liberals, Kamloops–South, not pictured Photos Juan Cabrejo/The Omega

determine where student values lie. Students were asked to place a blue pin under what they were most concerned about, and a white pin under their second biggest concern. The seven categories were: university funding, job opportunities, provincial student loan increases, rising housing costs, the economy, transit and pipelines and the environment.

Of the 21 blue pins placed on the board, nine were under the university funding title, with five white ones accompanying. The second biggest concern to TRU students was pipelines and the environment, with four blue and five white pins. Pulling up the rear was job creation, with one blue and two white. The economy and provincial student loan increases were tied with two blue pins each.

As much as the students wanted to learn from the candidates, the candidates all had messages to deliver to the future voters.

Beat Klossner, Communist Party of British Columbia candidate for the Kamloops–South Thompson, emphasized a message of equality.

“We’re different from all of the other parties, we have only member funding. Our resources are fewer and we cover things out of pocket, so our party is really in this for the people.”

When asked about education, Klossner had strong feelings against the current university system. “Education should be about education, not about business and profits.”

Fellow Communist party candidate Peter Kerek had a similar

message. “We want to see equal campaign funding for all parties and to really stop the flow of big corporate and union donations.”

The Green party candidates, Dan Hines and Donovan Cavers, of the Kamloops–North Thompson and Kamloops–South Thompson respectively, communicated a message of long-term thinking.

“We want to change the shortterm political thinking currently present to one where we plan past what will win an election,” Hines said. “For people, it’s important to vote by your values. Find the party that fits your beliefs and vote that way.”

Cavers agreed with both points made by Hines, emphasizing the long-term thinking of the Green party.

“We want to break the cycle and create a forward-thinking government,” Cavers said.

Nancy Bepple, BC NDP candidate, is proud to be a part of a young NDP. “We’re focused on youth and we really want to engage with them. Moving forward, we’re supporting renewable energy, forestry support, and growing tech companies outside of the Lower-Mainland.”

Mayor of Kamloops and BC Liberal candidate for Kamloops-North Thompson, Peter Milobar’s message for students was about voting and how to become a responsible voter. “I suggest people get informed about the issues and the different stances on them. Vote your values, but make sure to fact check and follow up [with] what you hear.”

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ARTS

APRIL 12, 2017

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS STUDENT SHOWCASE STORY JENNIFER WILL / PHOTOS JUAN CABREJO

Twelve students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program are gearing up for their final showcase at Thompson Rivers University. This week, we talked to four of those graduating students to learn about them and their work. The BFA graduating students exhibition will open at 7 p.m. on April 21 and will run until May 5 in the Old Main art gallery.

Kelsey Jules Jules is one of twelve perspective BFA grads and says that she didn’t even expect to graduate from high school, let alone graduate from university.

“Coming from high school to university was a really big transition in itself. It really opened the door for me to experiment with how I was feeling,” Jules said.

Jules says that before making her artwork, she really has to get into the right mindset in order to take an abstract idea and make it into reality.

"Art in itself was a creative outlet for me for a lot of different reasons. So, it was going from wondering how I deal with my emotions and how I deal with my feeling, to ‘I can channel my energy into making really cool stuff,’” Jules said.

She will be focusing her exhibition piece on a topic that is extremely important to Canada’s history and one that carries a heavy weight for many Canadians.

“My final exhibit is showcasing the residential schools and I’m doing research with people my age and how they feel about the residential school, how it

impacts them and how they can realize that impact. Instead of letting it hold us down, having it enlighten us and how we can change things to have a brighter and better future,” Jules said.

She hopes to not only send a message of healing for those impacted by the residential schools but also find a way to grow.

“Setting stepping stones for other generations to follow that route, because it’s a really good way of thinking about things that have happened in the past and how we can continually change from them,” Jules said.

Culture is an ever-growing and changing thing. Jules says that you shouldn’t generalize a single group of people together because everyone is an individual.

“It’s part of my history, it’s part of who I am. It’s just one way of using all of those emotions and feelings that I get from them and all of the experience that I’ve had with it,” Jules said.

Jules hopes to continue her research regarding residential schools in her graduate studies.

it’s making those connections with the people that do realize it,” Jensen said.

After grad, Jensen plans to apply for shows and artist residencies and eventually go for a master’s degree.

“I’ve always enjoyed being creative and making things, ever since high school and earlier. So, I was playing around with the idea of doing fashion design or fashion marketing,” Jensen said.

Alex Jensen “My body of work for the final show revolves around this sort of obsessive analysis of anime and my relationship to it, so it has a lot of these scenes that are recreated from anime with photography,” Jensen said.

Jensen’s series of photographs also looks at the motifs that are created with various anime series.

"I have a series that just looks at clouds and telephone polls, sort of in the same way that animes draw attention to these small details,” Jensen said.

His main piece for this exhibit and the one that started his interest in the project is called “Sad Anime Fan.” He says that the rest of his work revolves around that particular piece.

“It’s creating a view into this internalized sort of obsessive world and giving a glimpse to the viewer of this other mode of viewing,” Jensen said.

Jensen says that these themes stemmed from a photo gallery that he did a year and a half ago and that he wanted to continue expanding on those ideas.

“Working from anime or popular culture is something that’s really interesting now and my preferred mode of working,” Jensen said.

Jensen adds that not everyone will understand the metaphors in his work, but he hopes to make a deeper connection

with those that do and believes his work is at least aesthetically pleasing to look at for those who don’t.

“I’m not sure that’s it’s so important that everyone gets that it’s anime, but

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ARTS

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Sarah Wood "I’m doing a series of paintings to kind of reflect my family history or my family relationships. I’ve come from a broken family, so it’s a way to express that and using different ways to show the relationships. I’m using floral patterns and stuff to represent my family,” Wood said.

Wood says that she is inspired by the personal and intimate inner workings of her family bonds. She says that it’s also very relatable because a lot of families fill the same clichés.

“For me, it feels kind of like a therapy, it’s nice to just look within and talk to my family and see where the relationships are at. I do believe that in every family there’s always like the black sheep, there’s part of the family that maybe people don’t like,” Wood said.

Even though many families do have certain clichés that they fill, Wood adds that everyone’s family is different and so are the relationships within the family.

“Even though it is my personal experiences that I’m putting through my artwork, it can be personal for other people because they can think about their own family,” Wood said.

Wood adds that not everyone in her family knows about the message of her artwork just yet.

“They don’t exactly know, I’ve talked to my sister a little bit about it. There is definitely some negative connections in my family, so it’s going to be really interesting to see what they see,” Wood said.

After her days at TRU are over, Wood hopes to attend the West Kootenay Teaching Program in Nelson for a one year program to get her bachelor of education degree.

“Since I was little I always planned to be an art teacher. I have always been a drawer and I have always been a doodler, I’ve just constantly just painted. I love art so I thought becoming an art teacher would be a great opportunity for me,” Wood said.

Paolino Caputo Caputo is a big part of the TRU community, due to his participation and push for LGBTQ rights on campus. His involvement in the community, along with his passion for activism, are prevalent in his artwork. Caputo adds that he is mainly interested in queer and feminist activism and that they have helped him develop an art practice.

"I sort of investigate my own relationship with my gender and what that means to me, navigating through the world as a queer person,” Caputo said.

For the exhibition, Caputo has created and been working on a persona named Magnolienne for about a year now.

“She serves as a bit of a role-playing character for me that I’m able to use as a surrogate for myself. She also seems to have become the sort of concept, the ideal genderless but still very feminine character. My work involves me both performing and creating environments around Magnolienne,” Caputo said.

Along with the embodiment of Magnolienne, Caputo plans to create a retro-future space bar. “[It] is going to be a space where people are invited in to relax, take their time, investigate and seek Magnolienne with me,” Caputo said.

He adds that when he first entered the BFA program his intention was to pursue

game design, and it's still a passion of his.

“It was sort of an interest in synthesizing my interest in game design with my art practice and queer theory. I wanted to somehow integrate these role-playing ideas that I investigated through my research over the summer and continue to push forward these ideas of stretching boundaries through embodying someone else. So, Magnolienne naturally came out of that and eventually she kind of got a life of her own,” Caputo said.

Caputo hopes his work will reinvigorate hope in people and that people will be able to look at their own relationships more intimately even with a past that is tainted by negative information. He hopes that it will help people to further expand their worldview and the way they look at life.

“I want people to take away a more optimistic view of the future. So, that why I aimed at a retro-future bar because I wanted to invoke the queer bars of the ‘60s but also a moment in time where future developments seemed much broader and the whole world was opening up for people.

Things were expanding, we were entering into a utopia rather than the dystopia we are faced with now,” Caputo said.

After grad Caputo hopes to get a job that will allow him to have a prominent role in the Kamloops community.

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APRIL 12, 2017

Science meets cinema in latest Netflix original, The Discovery Jonathan Malloy

CONTRIBUTOR Ω The Discovery is a peculiar and fascinating film full of existentialism and Jason Segel and is all the better for it. Premiering at this year’s Sundance film festival and distributed

by Netflix this past week, Charlie McDowell’s film follows a near-future in which the afterlife has been scientifically proven, resulting in the mass suicide of millions of people hoping to discover what is in the beyond. While that longline may come across as insensitive to the very real problem of suicide in today’s culture, it is thankfully handled in such a way that allows for greater discussion through its internal rhetoric.

Jason Segel plays William, a man on his way home two years after the initial discovery has taken place. On the ferry, he meets a woman, a bleach

blonde Rooney Mara that is spectacular as always, with whom he seems to instantly feel a deep connection. The secrets that are unearthed throughout remain intriguing long after the credits roll, as such it would be a disservice to ruin anything further than what the initial promotional materials have revealed. Robert Redford provides a multi-layered performance as the man who has discovered the afterlife, yet is still haunted by years of lingering regret and grief.

The film’s heady atmosphere and lack of overt spectacle may detract several less patient viewers as the film does feel slow in some moments, but the end result is a story that functions at its peak as an intimate slow-burn sci-fi. All of these elements are exemplified by some fantastic editing and an enigmatic electronic score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans that dabbles with synth and the musicality of everyday

household objects. Stroll Brandth Grøvlen’s cinematography also adds a layer of ingenuity, culminating in the film’s best scene: the two main characters first opening up to each other in a barely lit bedroom, just allowing the smallest amount of light to convey the frustrated emotions they are feeling.

While the film dives head first into questioning its own reality and the meaning of life, when there is an afterlife it never dips its toes too heavily into the melodramatic. What exactly the discovery is leads to an extremely satisfying reversion that adds a complexity to the film rather than detracting from everything that has already happened. With his previous film, The One I Love, and this under his belt, McDowell is crafting a peculiar corner of humanist science fiction that is both enticing for his future products and welcoming in the sea of modern, overstuffed, 3D explosion-fests.

Said the Whale branches out, moves away from its old sound Latest LP, As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide, is a departure from the band's last records Jennifer Will

ARTS EDITOR Ω Four years since their last LP , Said the Whale’s newest release sees the group try and reach for a sharper and more digital sound but is grounded by a lack of any distinct sound.

Historically, Said the Whale has released tracks that create a unique blend of folk and indie rock. However, with the comings and goings of various band members, it has made the sound vary in tone and consistency. The most recent departure of Spencer Schoening, their drummer, made this new addition to their discography notably different.

This is undoubtedly a pop album, using heavy influence from the indietronica genre.

Step Into the Darkness, the album’s first single, uses the same heavy keyboard that continues throughout the rest of the album while making subtle references to their older sound.

The homage to the band’s folky background makes this particular song unique and perhaps the only stand-out song on the album.

While the instruments used are not what any long-time Said the Whale fan would expect, they are well done. It’s the lyrics and overall repetitiveness that makes the album feel heavy and somber, even in songs that have an upbeat tone.

Confidence, the album’s second single, not only embodies what could have been but

signifies that Said the Whale is actively trying to be more experimental and branch out from their old sound. It also is faulted by its repetitiveness, but it is redeemed by that fact that it doesn’t bleed into the other songs which, on this album, is a refreshing and surprising trait.

The album has a great flow, but at times it’s hard to distinguish one song from the next.

Although this is not necessarily

a fault, it, unfortunately, makes the album forgettable.

The songs on this album dive a little deeper into the personal lives of the three members, Ben Worcester, Tyler Bancroft and Jaycelyn Brown, but its stance can’t redeem the unintentional melancholic feel.

As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide released on March 31 and is Said the Whale’s fifth studio album.

>> LISTEN ONLINE: saidthewhale.bandcamp.com

ARTS

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TRU alumni start up a new theatre company The Lyre Theatre gears up to premiere its first show, Allen's Nine Murders Jennifer Will

ARTS EDITOR Ω Born out of a need for creation, The Lyre Theatre was launched in February 2017 by two TRU alumni.

Dan Ondang, the company’s co-founder, graduated with a major in marketing and a minor in theatre in 2015.

Ondang met Chanelle Renee, fellow Lyre co-founder, in a directing class at TRU. Both Ondang and Renee were directing their own plays in the annual director’s festival, and their shows played back-to-back.

“What we found was that our shows had a darker undertone to them than a lot of the other stuff that was playing at [the] festival.

So, we wanted to expand on that, do more shows that have a darker undertone. Which is something that is not entirely absent from Kamloops, but is certainly not something that is seen a lot,” Ondang said.

Ondang says that both him and Renee had been thinking of starting their own theatre company for awhile and a bad and stressful summer was what kickstarted them into action.

“We kind of went ‘let’s do something, let’s do literally anything,’ so I guess out of that pain we built this,” Ondang said.

The Lyre Theatre will be showing its first ever production, called Allen’s Nine Murders in late April. TRU’s Drama and Theatre Club (TRUDAT) did a run of this play in December 2016.

“Dan wrote a play that I was able to watch [when] a student group did it at the theatre, and I thought it was really inspiring,” Renee said All of the cast and crew in the

production are either TRU alumni or current students. Renee says that it wasn’t planned to use only talent from TRU, but that it just kind of worked out that way.

She says that when they started the company, their intent was to encourage as much diversity as possible.

“That’s one of the mandates of our company, [which] is to open it up to people who maybe don’t have the experience,” Renee said.

“There’s so much hidden talent in Kamloops and the surroundings areas that people aren’t exposed to.”

Ondang co-wrote the play with fellow TRU alumni Andrew Robertson. The play follows a man named Allen, who is a telemarketer for a major company.

“It’s a black comedy. It’s a funny show in which a lot of sad things happen. It’s a play about suicide and depression,” Ondang said.

Allen feels so terrible about calling people and bugging them on the phone that he tries to make up for what he has done.

“He has a crisis of conscience one day and decides to go volunteer at the suicide hotline, in a universe where the suicide hotline does cold calls. So, he goes from being a telemarketer to being a telemarketer at the suicide hotline,” Ondang said.

Both Ondang and Renee add that this is a dark comedy that deals with very serious issues. The play not only poses the question but also provides resources of what to do afterward.

“I think there’s room in Kamloops for more difficult subjects to be discussed through theatre and I think it’s a really good medium to discuss those subjects,” Renee said

Zach Fernstrom rehearsing for his appearance in Allen’s Nine Murders.

(Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

Meagan Petrie and Taran Waterous rehearsing for their appearances in Allen’s Nine Murders. (Juan Cabrejo/Ω) The show will run from April 27 to 29, all shows start at 7:30 p.m.

There will also be a pay-what-youcan matinee at 2 p.m. on April 29, with proceeds going to the

Canadian Mental Health Association of Kamloops.

Tickets are $15 each for adults and $12 each for students. You can buy tickets at the door, in advance

at the Stock Pot Café, or online at allensninemurderskamloops.bpt. me. The show will be playing at The Stagehouse on 422 Tranquille Rd.

CFBX TOP 30 CFBX 92.5 FM Campus & Community Radio Kamloops, B.C. Music Director: Steve Marlow Charts to April 6, 2017 * indicates Canadian Content ** indicates a local artist 1) Bill and Joel Plaskett* - Solidarity (Pheromone) 2) Gun Control* - Volume 1 (Independent) 3) Johanna Sillanpaa* - From This Side (Chronograph) 4) Ladyshark - Monsters (Amityville) 5) All Hands on Jane* - Sorry I Set You on Fire (Independent) 6) Steve Amirault* - Hold On, Let Go (Independent) 7) Terra Lightfoot* - Live in Concert (Sonic Unyon) 8) Brad Pot - Brad Pot (Slovenly) 9) Heat* - Overnight (The Hand) 10) Japandroids* - Near to the Wild Heart of Life (Arts and Crafts) 11) Maya Rae* - Sapphire Birds (Cellar Live) 12) Moore and McGregor* - Dream with Me (Ivernia) 13) Parallels* - Metropolis (Marigold) 14) Rose Cousins* - Natural Conclusion (Outside) 15) Illvis Freshly* - Illennials (Independent) 16) Lion Bear Fox* - Lion Bear Fox (Elbowroom) 17) Elvin Bishop - Big Fun Trio (Alligator) 18) Dream Whip* - Dream Whip (Independent) 19) Doug Cox/Sam Hurrie* - Old Friends (Black Hen) 20) Leif Vollebekk* - Twin Solitude (Secret City) 21) Homeshake* - Fresh Air (Royal Mountain) 22) Amine and Hamza - Fertile Paradoxes (ARC Music) 23) The Screw Ups - No Time to Waste (Stubborn) 24) Career Suicide* - Machine Response (Deranged) 25) Lee Palmer* - Bridge (On the Fly) 26) Bobby Cleveland** - Loretta (Independent) 27) The Real McKenzies* - Two Devils Will Talk (Stomp) 28) Amanda Lynn Stubley* - Gem (Independent) 29) Louise Burns* - Young Mopes (Light Organ) 30) Aurelio - Darandi (Real World)

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