Sept. 20, 2017

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T H O M P S O N R I V E R S U N I V E R S I T Y ' S I N D E P E N D E N T S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R

VOLUME 27 · ISSUE 03 · SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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FROM BLAZES TO BOOKS

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BEST BROTHERS HIT THE STAGE

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TRU'S FRASER NETS TWO OVER WEEKEND

Wildfire fighters back to the books after record summer Wade Tomko CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Ω You could call Owen Powers and Kyle Gillich heroes, but to them, fighting fires during the summer is simply their job.

To them, firefighting is a mixture of a love of the outdoors, a sense of exhilaration and a duty to the people of B.C. Both Powers and Gillich are in their second year of the Natural Resource Sciences program at TRU, and both of

them served in initial attack crews this past summer.

Stationed in the Cariboo, Powers experienced what he called his “first full season” this year. Last year, during his Grade 12 year in Williams Lake, Powers had the opportunity to join the JR Initial Attack program. Provided by a select few school districts in the province, the program allows Grade 12 students to train in forest firefighting techniques and gives access to future employment opportunities.

“If you can make it through the program, once you

graduate from high school, you’ll get a job and you’ll start July 1,” Powers said.

Unlike Powers, Gillich is a firefighting veteran. He’s fought fires in B.C. for the past eleven seasons, and in 2013 worked his way up to the position of crew leader. Though Gillich started fighting fires in 2007, he had been fascinated by the prospect of fighting fires since 2003.

See INITIAL ATTACK CREW Page 5

OUT OF THE DUGOUT — WolfPack players support their teammates from the dugout during Sunday's game against Okanagan College. The 'Pack baseball team had a busy but winning weekend, taking three games against the visiting Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago team from the Dominican Republic, and winning three others. (Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

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NEWS

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

TRU alumnus wins prize for innovation in tech

Hummingbird Drones CEO, former TRU student wins at 2017 Startup Canada Awards Jennifer Will NEWS EDITOR Ω Robert Atwood, CEO and founder of Hummingbird Drones, took home the award for Innovation award on behalf of Hummingbird Drones at the Startup Canada Awards.

The fourth annual Startup Canada Awards for B.C. were held in Kamloops this year, marking the first time that the awards were held outside of Vancouver. The ceremony awarded nine entrepreneurs, businesses and support organizations from the province based on outstanding work and a variety of other criteria with the awards recognizing two Kamloops entrepreneurs.

Lynda Brown-Ganzert, the founder and CEO of Curatio, was the winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award. Catherine Dahl, the founder and CEO of Beanworks, took home the award for Woman Entrepreneurship. Co-owner of Harper’s Trail Winery in Kamloops, Vicki Collett, won the award for Senior Entrepreneur. Manny Padda, the founder of New Avenue Capital, was awarded for Entrepreneur Promotion. Accelerate Okanagan won the award for Entrepreneur Support. BroadbandTV was presented with the High-Growth Entrepreneurship award. Keela a

company that gives management tools to nonprofit organizations won the Social Enterprise award.

Finally, Hootsuite won the award for Global Entrepreneurship.

Atwood graduated from the Bachelor of Natural Resource Science program at TRU. Atwood said that the university has been a great resource for the tech sector in Kamloops, and also for emerging entrepreneurs.

“Speaking from experience, I can tell you that without the support or without the mentorship programs that TRU offers through the generators, there’s no chance we would be where we are today. We’ve been the direct beneficiaries of the support and resources that TRU has put into entrepreneurship, and I hope those continue to grow and continue to inspire students as they move through university,” said Atwood.

Atwood’s advice for students looking to be entrepreneurs is to take the risk and jump in.

“You can’t wait for that perfect idea. You can’t wait for that perfect moment because those things are never going to happen. You’ve just got to go for it and play it out, and maybe you’ll fail or maybe you won’t and it won’t be a big deal if you do because the reality is that it’s just about getting out and trying,” Atwood said.

TRU president Alan Shaver

TRU alum Robert Atwood, centre in blue shirt, on stage at the Startup Canada Awards. (Jennifer Will/The Omega) said that TRU has discovered a “secret weapon” when it comes to innovation, one that could be useful to many Canadians.

“The secret is young people, young people have ideas and

Engaging voters in unconventional ways could be answer to low youth turnout Aidan Grether STAFF WRITER Ω Fair Vote Kamloops, a grassroots organization promoting the use of a proportional representation voting system, is talking about democracy in an unconventional method: chatting over coffee.

Data shows that in the 2013 B.C. General Election, a total of 112,918 citizens between the ages 18 to 24 voted – less than half of the 235,615 registered.

The overall turnout for the upcoming municipal byelection is expected to be low in all age categories, but especially youth. So it’s worth asking: why are engagement levels so low?

“There’s a sense among Canadians that the level of government most deserving of their trust is municipal,” Terry Kading, a professor of Canadian studies and politics said.

“Candidates are non-partisan which has something to do with it.

Voters tend to think nothing will change municipally, but also know

they can go to a city councillor easier than an MLA or MP. However, most youth seem to not even realize that nothing is changing.”

Broken promises may also play a role in youth disengagement.

“When Trudeau scrapped his election promise to explore different voting methods, he probably hurt a lot of his young voters. Many of them wanted to see proportional representation tried, and there’s a demographic of them that are most likely feeling betrayed,” Kading said.

But with B.C.’s NDP-Green coalition government, some of those youth might get their wish.

Premier John Horgan said he would consider holding a referendum on electoral reform in the fall 2018 municipal election.

With that referendum on the horizon, Fair Vote Kamloops wants to get out the vote.

“Let's Talk PR is an informal coffee event, where citizens are invited to discuss the topic with members of Fair Vote Kamloops.

It's an opportunity for engagement

dreams. [They] frankly don’t know that it can’t be done, they don’t ask whether it can be done, they just go out and do it,” Shaver said. “That’s the secret to long-term innovation and the

growth of our economy across the whole country.”

Startup Canada’s national awards and grand finale will be held Oct. 19 in Ottawa, Ont. Viewers can also tune-in online.

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Jim will serve Kamloops with a clean and fresh approach!

• Reduce Tuition and improve Bus Transportation • Make Municipal offices more Accountable and Effective • Realize Kamloops’ full potential as BC’s Hub Centre On September 30th vote for

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on an issue that BC will be holding a referendum on,” event organizer and Fair Vote Kamloops member Gisela Ruckert said.

Fair Vote Kamloops will be holding a second event featuring a

discussion facilitated by the Council of Canadians’ Bob Gamble.

“TRU has done a great job in fostering political awareness on campus. The Student Union, the faculty and the clubs have all grown

so much. TRU is one of the more informed and active student bodies there is,” Kading said. “But Fair Vote Kamloops’ efforts might be what is needed for voters to engage with government.”

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

NEWS

Clubs on display for students to find Jenifer D'souza STAFF WRITER Ω

Alex Juel/Creative Commons

Challenging the blood ban Gay men still face discrimination when giving blood, some are working to change that

Wade Tomko CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Ω For gay and bisexual men, donating blood to Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is not an easy process. Despite the Liberal party’s promise to end the discriminatory guidelines last election, men who have sex with men (MSM) are still required to forgo sexual contact for a year before giving blood.

Many western countries, including the United States, UK, Australia and France currently share a similar one-year deferral policy. In Canada, no policy exists that prevents lesbians or bisexual females from giving blood.

While the one-year deferral policy is markedly better than the five-year deferral policy that existed prior to Aug. 15, 2016, and the indefinite ban on MSM blood donations before that, LGBTQ advocates across the country have stated that it is time to end the ban once and for all.

Member unions of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) across Canada, including TRUSU, are just some of the groups advocating for change. During TRU’s Back-to-School BBQ and Clubs Day, TRUSU collected signatures

from students who want to help end the ban as part of their End the Ban campaign.

“We started at the Back-toSchool BBQ, and we were getting students and staff to sign petitions to send to our new health minister, Ginette Taylor,” said Caitlin Orteza, TRUSU’s vice-president equity. “We are calling on the federal government and Ginette Taylor to fulfill the promise they made last election to end the ban completely.”

Like TRUSU, the CFS believes the ban is a leftover policy from the HIV/AIDS scare in past decades. On their website, CFS states that the current policy is both transphobic and homophobic and calls the policy an attempt “to define and enforce oppressive definitions of gender identity and expression.”

While many Canadians don’t know much about the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, Orteza said the stigma attached to the crisis has been difficult to remove.

“The not-knowing about HIV/ AIDS back in the ‘80s and very much attributing it to specifically gay men, that has really stayed with us. That is where the ban comes from too.”

Despite more stringent screening and blood testing processes

existing now, CBS has been slow to move from history-based screening to behaviour-based screening.

“Men who have sex with men account for the largest proportion of new HIV infections reported in Canada,” reads CBS’ history of the ban on their website. “A oneyear deferral period, which was implemented in 2016, was chosen as a safe incremental step forward in updating our blood donation criteria based on the latest scientific evidence.”

Though CBS and their sister organization in Quebec, Héma-Québec, have stated that they wish to move towards behavior-based screening, they are still behind other countries like Italy, Argentina and even Russia, where no deferral policy exists.

Orteza hopes that the action of student groups across Canada will help expedite CBS’ switch to a behavior-based screening process.

“I think it’s great to see other student unions doing this as well,” she said. “I know that Canadian Blood Services is definitely paying more attention now that student unions are taking action, which is great.”

TRUSU will end its End the Ban campaign at this year’s Pride Parade on Sept. 28.

Thompson Rivers University Students’ Union hosted its annual Clubs Day event on Sept. 14 outside of Old Main.

More than 50 clubs made an appearance at the event, with clubs ranging from the academic, athletic, ethnic, political to religious.

Some groups, like the Kappa Beta Gamma International Sorority that has been around as a local sorority for two years recently diversified itself to be the first and only international Sorority on campus.

“This year we are focusing on making sure that the community knows we are here, getting around and becoming a bigger sorority rather than a local sorority,” said club vice-president Rayne Atkins.

Another club on display was the LGBTQ Club, which organizes socials every Monday and Tuesday as a way to connect and have fun without the organizational aspect of meetings. It also provides opportunities for students to hang out, meet new people, make friends and get access to resources.

One of the most crowded tables belonged to the TRU Modern Marketing Association. The club, which is relatively new, made efforts to sign up members from

different disciplines.

“The club is growing now, a lot of people are signing up for it,” said a member Dan Jacobs.

If you are interested in becoming a confident public speaker and strong leader, the TRU ToastMasters Club might be for you.

A recent addition to the group of clubs that focuses on helping students become more confident speakers and leaders. The club is a part of the international ToastMasters organization.

In addition to the clubs, Kamloops Fire Rescue was also part of the event.

“We are telling people about cooking safety, making sure the smoke alarms work and other safety precautions,” said Lyle Weninger, a representative from the department.

If your schedule is not already busy enough, try adding some extracurricular activities. Whether you are looking for opportunities to meet new people, make friends or building greater connections in class and with peers in the same or similar areas of study, there is a club for everything. There is an opportunity for students to start new clubs, as well. By visiting the front desk at the students’ union building or going to the TRUSU website, students can start the process of getting a new club up and running.

The Kappa Beta Gamma Sorority was one offering available for students to learn about on Sept. 14. (TRUSU photo)

TRUSU says open textbooks campaign here to stay Jennifer Will NEWS EDITOR Ω The open textbook campaign was introduced in September 2016 by TRU’s Student Union.

The program is focused on eliminating the high cost of textbooks that adds financial stress for students. The campaign supports faculty who use copyright-free textbooks in their courses so students don’t need to purchase a textbook for that class.

TRUSU president Tatiana Gilbert said that this year they plan to build upon their

successes from last year’s campaign.

“Last year we had over 1,800 signatures of support from students, which makes sense.

The open textbook program will be able to save students money.

It has enormous potential and is an incredible opportunity, not only for students but for faculty members who choose to write an open textbook and take advantage of the program,” Gilbert said.

TRUSU has presented and discussed the importance of the open textbook campaign with every faculty council, the

most exciting of which was the academic and planning priorities committee.

“That’s one of the highest decision-making committees at TRU of senate, and we were fortunate enough to receive an endorsement from them,” Gilbert said.

The endorsement will help keep the campaign on the committee’s mind, get it into conversations higher up in TRU and will hopefully result in investment funds in the future.

“Seeing that it’s something that they value as being an academic priority and endorsing us for that was a huge success,” Gilbert said.

Along with that endorsement, TRUSU has also established a partnership with the university library and open learning. Gilbert says that they will be looking at developing a funding request for the open textbooks program in October of this year.

“It’s still in the early stages but we’re really looking to move forward because it’s so incredibly advantageous to students and for faculty members who decide to take up the program,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert adds that moving forward with this campaign will include finding funding but also

informing TRU’s population on the program.

“We would like to continue informing students about the program and continuing discussion with faculty members about the open textbook program and having some more feedback with that. But more than anything, we are just excited to implements this hopefully as soon as we can and get approval and have that as a resource for staff and faculty who are looking to write their own open textbooks.”

Students and staff can find open textbook resources at libguides.tru.ca/oer/opentextbooks.

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NEWS

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Initial attack crew during by summer, students by fall Wade Tomko CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Ω During the particularly bad fire season of 2003, Gillich said his family was evacuated from their home in Naramata, a town just north of Penticton. Gillich applied to a ministry crew but was turned away because he was too young.

“The next summer I saw an initial attack crew attack a fire,” Gillich said. “They landed in a helicopter, they got out and scrambled up this hill. Then the smoke died like in an hour, and I thought, ‘I really want to do that when I graduate.’ So I kept applying.”

Powers was stationed in the Cariboo this season and Gillich was stationed in the East Kootenays. Despite this, both of them recount similar experiences from their time in initial attack crews.

“In initial attack we are always the first responders,” Powers said. “So when there is a report of a fire somewhere we have to go find it. If there is a really good phone report and it is called in accurately, we can find it very quickly.”

While initial attack crews are often on standby, Gillich said the situation can change at a moment’s notice. Initial attack crews often operate in small teams and are flown in by helicopter for a rapid response. As a result,

they often found themselves participating in the heaviest firefighting.

During a two-week deployment to Williams Lake, Gillich was responsible for seven fires. Having to pull his crew off the fires and regroup to stop fires combining and heading towards the city, Gillich recounted what he was thinking at the time.

“It was very eerie – a very surreal experience,” he said. “The sky was orange and there was smoke everywhere. Helicopters, their ability to fly was pretty intermittent because of the smoke and the darkness. It was well before sunset but the smoke made it look dark.”

While both Gillich and Powers describe firefighting as hard and stressful work, both of them said the job is very rewarding. On top of that, they believe it has helped them in their university careers.

“The chaos of a new fire – there is nothing more stressful than the initial phases of a fire,” Gillich said. “If you can handle that, you can handle anything in life. It’s just dealing with priorities.”

While the job is tough, it’s something Powers and Gillich recommend to those interested.

“If anyone is ever interested in it, I’d recommend trying firefighting. It’s a great job,” Powers said. “Very fun, hard work, but you can see some amazing things and meet some amazing friends.”

TOP RIGHT: TRU student and firefighter Kyle Gillich inspects the husk of a burnt-out tree. (Jon Whelan)

BOTTOM RIGHT: TRU student and firefighter Owen Powers uses a drip torch during controlled burn operations. (Submitted)

BOTTOM LEFT: Powers poses in the field around Williams Lake. (Submitted)

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ARTS

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

TRU faculty member publishes latest novel Karen Hofmann releases new novel What is Going to Happen Next Sept. 15 Cailyn Mocci ARTS EDITOR Ω TRU English faculty member and author Karen Hofmann has released her latest novel What is Going to Happen Next on Sept. 15.

This is Hofmann’s second novel following her 2014 release of After Alice.

The story follows four young people who grew up in rural B.C., where they didn’t really have adequate parental supervision, making them almost like “feral children” as Hofmann explains.

The plot picks up later when the four characters are in their 20s and 30s but now living in metro Vancouver. It follows their life as they try to figure out who they are and how to navigate through life especially without having a strong

background in the lives they are now living.

What is Going to Happen Next is written through the perspective of three different characters, all with different thoughts and experiences throughout the plot.

The novel fits in with Hofmann’s previous work with similar themes such as family life and siblinghood.

The novel follows the family fiction and literary fiction genre, a genre that Hofmann states she’s enjoying right now, but has plans to expand her writing styles and themes in the future. Hofmann mentioned that she’s interested in working more with public themes in the future as her current novels handle more domestic situations.

When asked about the development of this novel, Hofmann gave a little insight. “I’m always

trying to learn new techniques of writing. I’m always trying to get better at removing filters, getting closer to the characters’ heads and presenting their experiences subjectively.”

While getting published is always a bonus to the craft, Hofmann doesn’t place the publications of her work on the top of her list when it comes to the most rewarding aspects.

“I think the most rewarding part is that intense experience of being in a writing space,” Hofmann said.

“Many many hours can go by and you don’t even notice because you’re just so engrossed.”

Hofmann encourages new and aspiring authors to keep it up and not to give up if it starts to seem to difficult.

“Start with smaller, more manageable things,” she said.

TRU prof's "Peace Pledge" to be read during International Day of Peace Johnson told Kamloops This Week.

“People thought that was ludiSean Brady crous and he got a lot of flack for KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK that. Officials in the church were embarrassed, and they thought He knows it’s a bit of a long Christians should fight along with shot, but screenwriter George M. everyone else.”

Johnson is determined to get his The fictional John, challenged latest work onto the silver screen.

by Sheppard to take up the cause, Peace Pledge tells the story of reluctantly becomes a pacifist and the pacifist movement in 1930s helps the priest in his work, evenBritain. The story is told through tually losing friends and family John, a disillusioned First World as he stands by his new beliefs War veteran of Johnson’s creation, at a time when they are wildly and Dick Sheppard, the real life unpopular. The story follows John, Anglican priest who founded the who after Sheppard’s death in 1937, Peace Pledge Union, a pacifist continues organizato spread tion that a message opposes of peace war and “I think the film is during promotes meant to make people wartime. peace.

The Sheppard think about pacifism play was was the as an alternative, and a recent vicar of St. winner in Martin-intry to show people that feature the-Fields pacifism is not passive,” the screenplay church in category Trafalgar George M. Johnson at the TRU prof and screenwriter Square in Wildsound London. He screenfounded writing the group compein 1934 and tition, and a part of the prize was called on men to send postcards that Johnson’s screenplay would be pledging never to support the read by actors in a table reading. coming war. Sheppard’s work Soon, Johnson will have his was often controversial at a time screenplay read again, this time when the defence of Britain was as part of the U.N. International paramount.

Day of Peace events in Toronto on “He wrote a letter to Hitler and Mussolini asking whether he could Sept. 21.

Johnson, who teaches screencome to their countries and talk writing in Thompson Rivers to their people about peace there,”

“

George M. Johnson, TRU professor and author of Peace Pledge, which will be read during the U.N. International Day of Peace in Toronto. (Dave Eagles/Kamloops This Week)

University’s English department, first started writing for the stage in 2007, and for the screen in 2011.

“I’ve got three screenplays now — two that are pretty much polished,” he said.

Johnson also wrote the stage play Mockus, which showed in Kamloops earlier this year, and The Wonder, which in 2012 was a finalist in the British Independent Film Festival Screenplay Competition and a semi-finalist in the FirstGlance screenplay competition in Los Angeles.

Although Johnson considers getting the screenplay made into a film a longshot because of how expensive it would be to shoot a historical drama in downtown London, he hope there’s someone out there who wants to tell a story of peace and pacifism and get that message across.

“I think the film is meant to make people think about pacifism as an alternative, and try to show people that pacifism is not passive,” Johnson said. “People think it’s just about sitting down

and ignoring a war or something — it’s not. The film shows you have to fight for what you believe in and against war.”

Johnson thinks that message, and other themes in the story, are particularly relevant today.

“I think we’re seeing a rise of warmongering again,” he said.

“Governments are spending a lot more money on armaments since Donald Trump came into office. He’s kind of bullied other countries into increasing their war expenditures.”

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ARTS

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Who would have thought a 300-pound Pina Colada could kill?

Western Canada Theatre opens their 42nd season with a bang with Best Brothers Cailyn Mocci ARTS EDITOR Ω Western Canada Theatre opens their 42nd season with a charming production of The Best Brothers starring Ryan James Miller as Kyle Best and Aidan Desalaiz as Hamilton Best.

The Best Brothers was written

by Daniel MacIvor, one of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights. The WCT production is directed by Sharon Bajer with costume design

by Suzannah Marriott. The creative team also includes Kamloops locals Ross Nichols as the set and lighting designer and Christine Leroux as the stage manager.

The production features two adult brothers; Hamilton Best, the older, uptight brother who needs life to fall perfectly into plan, and his younger brother Kyle Best, who is slightly more flighty and careless in certain situations. When their mother Bunny unexpectedly dies in a fluke accident involving a large drag queen named Pina Colada, the two brothers are left to

arrange the funeral.

While only two actors performed in the production, the character of Bunny Best lives through both Miller and Desalaiz.

Both actors brought Bunny to life of the stage, giving the audience a taste of the exciting and sometimes unorthodox life of Mrs. Best.

Throughout the story the situations the two brothers are thrown into unearths some hidden rivalries, like who the favourite brother really was. The two brothers who have live two very different lives are forced together to sort out the life of their eccentric mother.

The situation gets even more complicated when personal life issues start creeping up on Hamilton, causing him to start losing control of his plans he had laid out for his life. Then the issue of what to do with mother’s beloved pet Italian Greyhound, Enzo, who had a habit of destroying expensive furniture.

This production is a realistic look into life, death and aging parents with comic relief to keep

UPCOMING EVENTS ART EXHIBIT: NOT QUITE THERE SEPT. 18 TO 22, 8 A.M. 4 P.M. Contemplate the notion of infinity within the 21st century situation in this TRU art gallery exhibit curated by Emily Dundas Oke. 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SEPT. 21, 11 A.M. TO 2 P.M. TRU students, faculty and staff take to the courts in this 3-v-3 basketball tourney. Campus Courts.

KAMLOOPS BRONCOS – TRU STUDENT NIGHT SEPT. 23, 6 P.M. TO 9 P.M. ICatch a football game. See the Broncos vs. Okanagan Sun for just $5 with a valid student ID. Gates open at 5 p.m. Hillside Stadium.

Photo Western Canada Theatre you smiling throughout the show.

The characters are hilarious, real and believable. Miller and Desalaiz gave a realistic look into the dysfunction that can occur in a family after a tragedy yet kept the

audience laughing with the added touch of dark humour.

The Best Brothers is co-produced in collaboration with Theatre NorthWest in Prince George, another B.C. Interior

year-round professional theatre company.

The Best Brothers will run Sept.

14 to 23 at the Pavilion Theatre.

Tickets can be purchased at the Kamloops Live! Box Office.

CFBX TOP 30 CFBX 92.5 FM Campus & Community Radio Kamloops, B.C. Music Director: Steve Marlow Charts to Sept. 14, 2017 * indicates Canadian Content ** indicates a local artist 1) Faith Healer* - Try (Mint) 2) Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Lay it On Down (Concord) 3) Walrus* - Family Hangover (Madic) 4) Ashleigh Ball* - Gold in You (Independent) 5) Glen Foster Group* - Music Alchemy (Rescue) 6) Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up (Atlantic) 7) Teenanger* - Teenager (Telephone Explosion) 8) Broken Social Scene* - Hug of Thunder (Arts and Crafts) 9) Mappe Of* - A Northern Star, a Perfect Stone (Paper Bag) 10) Beyond the Pale* - Ruckus (Borealis) 11) The Burn Ins* - Start a Fire (Independent) 12) Toothless - The Pace of the Passing (Island) 13) Kashka* - Relax (Independent) 14) The Judys* - The Very Best Of (Heavy Like a Baby) 15) Echo Beach** - Everly EP (Independent) 16) Keith O'Rourke* - Sketches from the Road (Independent) 17) Harris, Hunter and Fenn* - 2017 Bluesville (Independent) 18) Shannon Kingsbury* - Bones and Secrets (Independent) 19) Foonyap* - Apropos EP (Independent) 20) Naughty Professor - Identity (Independent) 21) Lo Tom - Lo Tom (Barsuk) 22) Holy Oak* - Second Son (Independent) 23) Rick Estrin and the Nightcats - Groovin' in Greaseland (Alligator) 24) Jason Buie* - Driftin' Heart (Independent) 25) Mary's Little Lamb - Elixir for the Drifter (Rootz Rumble) 26) Arley Hughes* - Parts of Me (Independent) 27) New Swears* - And the Magic of Horses (New Swears) 28) Lynn Jackson* - Follow that Fire (Busted Flat) 29) Tara Dente - The Gleaner (Travianna) 30) Fast Romantics* - American Love (Light Organ)

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ARTS

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Apple unveils new set of “upgraded” phones Jonathan Malloy FILM CRITIC Ω Another year, another Apple event to show off new technology.

Held on Sept. 12, the Cupertino, California, company showed off its next slate of phones with the iPhone 8 (with Plus version available) and the X, their new “ultra” phone set to rival Android’s already present set of OLED powerhouses.

Lacking both a front button and the already removed headphone jack, the iPhone X’s new look also presents one new upgrade: the price tag. Coming in at $1,399, the iPhone X once again shows that the constant change in technology continually drives our need for upgrades and excess.

This manner of thinking is nothing new. Car companies have been releasing “new” versions of their cars annually for decades with incremental updates added to justify the cost of the

new version. But the difference between these industries is the lifespan of how long they are used. Where a car will more than likely retain its use for a decade or potentially longer, our phones and laptops are seeing shorter and shorter leases on life.

With companies like Apple cutting off phones from future updates, currently the iPhone 5s is the newest version to allow current updates (although with the release of the 8, it shouldn’t be long until the phone is soon unable to update).

The success of this strategy can be seen by both Apple and Android users as the buzz surrounding these events causes people to re-evaluate their current phone plans to see if they can get the newest, shinier version.

Where the problem of this strategy lies is in its expansion to other companies. Both Xbox and PlayStation consoles have now come out with mid-generation versions, while Nintendo has been

adding several upgraded versions to their systems since the Wii hit shelves in 2006.

The newest technology isn’t lasting as long as it used to in the past, as it is not meant to. The more product bought the higher the margins of profitability can be seen. What is not seen is the amount of waste appearing on the other side of that number.

A 2016 article in the Atlantic proposed that 50 billion tons of electronic waste are expected to be dumped this year alone with the problem of irresponsible electronic dumping becoming an extreme issue across Asia.

The more companies push their newest technology every year the larger these issues will become.

These worries of sustainability should be on the forefront of these companies’ minds as the focus should push for more substantial upgrades in the future. Yet, at this point, all people wonder is: will the iPhone 9 bring back the headphone jack?

Mother! reviewed, and the nature of spoilers Jonathan Malloy FILM CRITIC Ω On Sept. 13, the eve before the release of her new film Mother!, Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and said “I’ve gone between not saying anything to just telling everybody everything,” in regards to the film’s cryptic and heavily metaphorical story.

The film from Darren Aronofsky features Lawrence as a woman living with her husband in peace before a couple comes to their house and fundamentally changes their lives.

Now don’t worry, I won’t spoil any more of the film from here on out as it is something that should

absolutely be enjoyed knowing as little of the plot as possible.

On Fallon, Lawrence spoiled several key aspects of the film that fundamentally change the perspective through which the film is seen.

It is not uncommon for films to be relatively completely spoiled before it has even come to theatres with the bevy of teaser trailers, in depth trailers, and 10 minute previews that arrive in the months (now sometimes years) between a titles announcement and its release. The mystery behind films and general entertainment has largely been cast away in favour of attaining the highest box office by showing viewers what they should expect when they enter the cinema.

In the case of Mother!, this aspect was handled with a relative

sensitivity, as the pre-release material heavily focused on the atmosphere of the feature, rather than any particular plot points. In general that almost seems to have backfired, with a Cinemascore of F and a crushingly low box office pull from this weekend, it seems that audiences didn’t care to see a densely layered mystery-drama over everything else in theatres.

Now, this could be due to marketing that was too secretive or perhaps that Lawrence no longer pulls as large an audience as she used to but as it stands the general viewer did not enjoy their experience with this film.

However, do not let this deter from the potential of this film.

The filmic creativity of this picture shines through the roof when it

TRU WolfPack baseball in action against Okanagan College on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Juan Cabrejo/The Omega

clicks all together. It is a confusing, energizing and engaging thrill ride of a film that nestles somewhere in between a tense thriller and balls-to-the-wall throw everything out the window rollercoaster that never backs away from going there.

The performances of Javier Bardem and the aforementioned Lawrence are nuanced with subtlety as they carry the oddities of the film on their often bare and bloodied backs.

On all accounts the film looks to dazzle you up to and including its central thematic mystery that not only remains detrimental to its core but intriguing and well worth not seeing or reading about the film anymore than you already have.

So don’t listen to the stars spoiler filled Jimmy Fallon session. Don’t listen to the people outcrying its

‘boring’ pacing. But, do go and see one of the most original, mystifying and thrilling films of the year.

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NEWS

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

COMICS & PUZZLES

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Puzzle of the Week #2 — Textbooks If red is better than blue, starting better than quitting, something better than nothing, water better than wine, failure better than success, area better than volume, fast better than slow, and fast better than rapid, which is better: math or money? Why?

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xkcd.com

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SPORTS

WolfPack men strike with confidence Alvin Mutandiro SPORTS EDITOR Ω The WolfPack men’s soccer team continued their unbeaten streak with a confident 3-1 display against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at Hillside stadium Sunday.

This win extended the team’s unbeaten streak to five games.

The match was one-sided, with TRU taking 12 shots on goal to Lethbridge’s zero. The playerof-the-match was James Fraser, a second-year student from Penticton, B.C., who earned the honour by scoring twice, both from set plays, and assisting for the team’s third.

The game took a turn for the better for the WolfPack team and in Lethbridge’s case, a turn for the worse, when in the 51st minute, Lethbridge midfielder Sean Gaiskey, was given a red card after colliding with WolfPack defender Finlay McPhie.

This left Lethbridge with 10 men for the rest of the match, which wasn’t ideal given they were already 1-0 down in the contest.

In the 61st minute Fraser would score his second and Anatoli Leville, a first-year student from Winnipeg, who

is only 16 and the youngest player in U Sports soccer, later scored in the 78th minute to put the game out of reach for the Pronghorns.

Lethbridge would manage a consolation goal when Dominique Point du Jour scored a 90th-minute penalty after Fraser, who played a massive role in this game, had a hand ball. As consolation goals always are, it was a little too late for Lethbridge and the WolfPack team had done enough to prolong their unbeaten run. WolfPack’s defence was rarely tested with the keeper not having to make a single save and Lethbridge not having a single corner throughout the entire game.

After the game WolfPack Coach John Antulov said he was satisfied with the performance but still felt they could have capitalized on more of the opportunities that were created throughout the game. There was also a sense of joy on being able to capitalize on set plays, which can always prove vital in tough games.

The mood in the WolfPack camp is very positive now with results and performances being good. Improvements can still be made but right now it's safe to

TRU's James Fraser nets two in stellar game say that the team is going in the right direction.

Their current record stands at 3-1-3, which shows that the

TRU WolfPack soccer team is very competitive. The hope would be that they continue racking up more wins in coming

games, especially against teams with better records, with all due respect to Lethbridge, who currently have a 1-5-2 record.

James Fraser put two away in the WolfPack's only weekend game against Lethbridge. (TRU Athletics)

WOMEN'S SOCCER (1-3-0) AWAY TEAM

HOME TEAM

September 8

TRU (0-3 loss)

UNBC

September 10

TRU (2-7 loss)

September 16

MEN'S SOCCER (3-1-3) AWAY TEAM

HOME TEAM

August 26

TRU (1-1 tie)

UNBC

MacEwan

August 27

TRU (1-2 loss)

UNBC

TRU (0-3 loss)

Saskatchewan

September 2

Victoria

TRU (3-0 win)

September 17

TRU (1-0 win)

Regina

September 3

UBC

TRU (2-2 tie)

September 23

UBC

TRU

September 17

Lethbridge

TRU (3-1 win)

September 24

Victoria

TRU

September 23

TRU

Mount Royal

September 29

TRU

UFV

September 24

TRU

Saskatchewan

September 30

TRU

Trinity Western

September 30

UFV

TRU

October 5

TRU

UBC Okanagan

October 1

Trinity Western

TRU

October 7

UBC Okanagan

TRU

October 13

TRU

UBC

October 14

Lethbridge

TRU

October 14

TRU

Victoria

October 15

Calgary

TRU

October 19

TRU

UBC Okanagan

October 21

UNBC

TRU

October 21

UBCO

TRU

October 22

TRU

MacEwan

October 27

CW Play-in Series

TBD

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

THE OMEGA

TRU STUDENTS’ UNION

This event is part of Hungry for Choice, a campaign from the Student Caucus working to give the campus community a voice in food at TRU. A portion of all sales will be donated to those affected by the BC Wildfires

NIGHTS

Information Session:

September 22 at 4PM in the TRUSU Lecture Hall more info at

trusu.ca/events Join our Team – Speak for Students – Be a Representative

/TRUStudentsUnion

@TRUSU15

@TRUSU15