March 27, 2019 by The Omega

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THE

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 28 · ISSUE 24 · MARCH 27, 2019

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TRUSU ELECTION RESULTS

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CAMERA OBSCURA COMES BACK TO TRU

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TIM DOBBERT NAMED ALL-CANADIAN

KIS holds 12th annual Walk to Embrace Diversity Juan Cabrejo BUSINESS EDITOR Ω Kamloops Immigrant Services (KIS) in collaboration with Kamloops North Shore BIA held their 12th annual Walk to Embrace Diversity last Thursday, coinciding with the United Nations Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Participants gathered at the historic Wilson House (115 Tranquille Road) and marched up Tranquille Road from the Kamloops North Shore BIA office to

partake in a multicultural open house at the KIS office, featuring international foods and performances. In response to the recent mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, the walk was prefaced with a heartfelt statement from Jennifer Thompson on behalf of Kathy Sinclair and solemn speeches from criminal justice and human rights lawyer Bill Sundhu and Dale Bass on behalf of mayor Ken Christian. “The United Nations proclaimed the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1966, every year, March

21 is recognized as a day where the international community can come together in an effort to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination," said Sundhu. “We condemn nationalist populism and any form of racial superiority ideology that advances exclusionary or repressive policies and practices that harm individuals or groups on the basis of their race, ethnicity, national origin and religion or other related social categories.”

See DIVERSITY WALK Page 3

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The ﬂag-bearing participants walked up Tranquille Road to the Kamloops Immigrant Services Oﬃce for complimentary food and entertainment last Thursday. (Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

MARCH 27, 2019

NEWS

2019 TRUSU General Election results Wade Tomko EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω The Progressive Student Advocates (PSA) have swept the 2019 TRUSU General Election by a large majority in most positions. While this election period saw

diligent campaigning between the incumbent slate and two newcomers, Alliance and For the Lulz, PSA managed to win all contested positions. Sierra Rae, previously VP Equity, has been elected as the new president of the union. Kole Lawrence will serve as the new VP External

and Mackenzie Byers will serve as the new VP Internal. Brandon Hayashi will be TRUSU's next VP Equity, while Sajeesh Soman will serve as the new VP Services. Elected candidates will take their positions after the end of this semester.

Voter turnout for this election was 21 per cent, the exact same as last year's. However, this year's election was the first to make use of TRUSU's new online voting system. A system that TRUSU executive director Nathan Lane has marked as a success.

While this year's election was a test run for the new system, Lane says that it will likely be used in the next general election as well, in addition to any referendums TRUSU may hold in the next academic year. Whether or not the system sees continued use comes down to voter turnout in future elections.

Elected

Candidate

Position

Affiliation

Votes

√

Sierra Rae

President

Progressive Student Advocates

752 (46.3%)

Fraser Barclay

President

Alliance

503 (31%)

Ndumiso Makunura

President

Independent

369 (22.7%)

√

Brandon Hayashi

VP Equity

Progressive Student Advocates

823 (51.3%)

Zach Poba-Nzaou

VP Equity

For the Lulz

293 (18.3%)

Dominika Zhevno

VP Equity

Independent

488 (30.4%)

√

Kole Lawrence

VP External

Progressive Student Advocates

1174 (78.3%)

Brock Morford

VP External

For the Lulz

326 (21.7%)

√

Mackenzie Byers

VP Internal

Progressive Student Advocates

1009 (61.4%)

Tylor Pater

VP Internal

For the Lulz

193 (11.7%)

Robert Younger

VP Internal

Alliance

442 (26.9%)

√

Sajeesh Soman

VP Services

Progressive Student Advocates

814 (54%)

Andrew Sahaydak

VP Services

Alliance

693 (46%)

√

Olumide Adewole

Graduate Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

946 (64.5%)

Paul Oke

Graduate Rep.

Independent

521 (35.5%)

√

Raj Soni

International Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

905 (62.5%)

Hemanth Anil

International Rep.

For the Lulz

282 (19.5%)

Sravani Kakuru

International Rep.

Alliance

260 (18%)

√

Aria Appleton

University Affairs Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

808 (34.4%)

√

Shanta Sharma

University Affairs Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

677 (28.9%)

Navin Jain

University Affairs Committee Rep.

Alliance

408 (17.4%)

Shruthi Veeramanchala

University Affairs Committee Rep.

Alliance

453 (19.3%)

√

Lesley Campbell

Indigenous Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

1347 (89.5%)

√

Dallas Odsen

LGBTQ+ Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

1264 (85.1%)

√

Elma Mashia

Visible Minorities Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

805 (50.4%)

Earl Balageo

Visible Minorities Rep.

For the Lulz

271 (17%)

Deepinder Bal

Visible Minorities Rep.

Independent

521 (32.6%)

√

Mackenzie Francoeur

Women’s Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

953 (60.9%)

Sukhpal Kaur

Women’s Rep.

Alliance

613 (39.1%)

√

Manuela Ceballos

Campaigns Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

1327 (88.3%)

√

Ali Mulji

Campaigns Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

1146 (79.9%)

√

Paras Luthra

Entertainment Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

769 (31.4%)

√

Kunwar Rajdeep

Entertainment Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

573 (23.4%)

Henry Albuquerque

Entertainment Committee Rep.

For the Lulz

306 (12.5%)

Tek Nath

Entertainment Committee Rep.

Alliance

274 (11.2%)

Idan Yacobovitch

Entertainment Committee Rep.

Alliance

527 (21.5%)

√

Jessica Guthier

Services Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

975 (45.5%)

√

Dipak Parmar

Services Committee Rep.

Progressive Student Advocates

681 (31.8%)

Tristan Semeniuk

Services Committee Rep.

Alliance

486 (22.7%)

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NOW

HIRING FOR SUMMER START

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF As the editor-in-chief of The Omega you'll be responsible for managing the newspaper's print, online and social media components. You will serve as the executive director of the CSNS Publishing board. The position of editor-in-chief is also the only salaried employee of the organization.

Diversity Walk takes solemn tone after recent shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand CONTINUED (COVER) On behalf of the Muslim Islamic Association, Muqsit Faruqi shared a few words on the recent shootings and the value of events like the Walk to Embrace Diversity. “These events are important to show that as a community we care about certain issues that are far too prevalent in our world these days; we are here because we care about putting an end to racism and discrimination,” he said. “We are all human, we are born the same way, we all need the same things to survive and live and we all die.” “No matter the colour of our

skin, we bleed red and all end up in the ground, let’s remember that the next time we act on our biases towards someone that is different from us,” Faruqi added. Kamloops Immigrant Services along with TRU World and 51 other organizations in the Thompson, North, Central, and South Okanagan regions are members of the Respect Network, a regional network to support communities advocating against racism and hate, supported by Embrace BC. According to France Lamontagne, executive director of Kamloops Immigration, the original idea behind the diversity walk was

thanks to the Respect Network. “It started with the Respect Network, which is about four organizations coming together (one per region) from the Okanagan," she said. “It’s a regional kind of group of people assisting each other, sharing success stories, sharing new approaches to help newcomers arrive and settle." Lamontagne adds that the Diversity Walk is made possible by the B.C. Multiculturalism Grants program, an initiative to help organizations with projects work to improve cultural interactions, reduce barriers and remove discrimination.

To apply, send your resumé and samples of your work (published or unpublished, academic work accepted) to editor@truomega.ca. Interviews by the publishing board will be conducted at the end of the semester. If a position is still posted on this page, applications are still being accepted. To be eligible for any of the above positions, you must be a student at Thompson Rivers University while you work. Students who will be employed by the TRU Students’ Union during their employment period may not be eligible to work for the newspaper in order to avoid any conﬂict of interest. Applicants are asked to disclose all potential conﬂicts of interest.

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Muqsit Faruqi, Bill Sundhu and Dale Bass shared words at the Walk to Embrace Diversity. (Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

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MARCH 27, 2019

NEWS

TRU Toastmasters Club celebrates its first Grand Open House District champion speaker Marcus Anthony Ray taught students the key to public speaking Farrah Johnson CONTRIBUTOR Ω In celebration of their first Grand Open House, the TRU Toastmasters Club hosted a speech workshop in the Mountain Room of the Campus Activity Center on March 19. The session featured Marcus Anthony Ray, an international award-winning speaker and coach, who gave the audience tips on how they could break out of their comfort zones and learn how to structure and deliver an effective speech. Ray explained that he joined Toastmasters two years ago because he wanted to meet somebody who could teach him how to speak effectively. He said that after attending one Toastmasters meeting, he was encouraged to come back two more times before he was told that he could only visit three times without becoming a member. Beginning his presentation, Ray explained that the first thing a speaker should do is get to know their audience. “Confidence is everything,” he said. “In your mind go back to somewhere where you were really happy.” He explained that it was always a good practice to reminisce on the feeling that particular moment evoked just before making a presentation. In regards to communication skills, Ray said that it was very important for a speaker to make a connection with their audience. “The one thing I teach is humour because it brings everybody in,” he said. He explained that humour is

Ray spoke to attendees of the Grand Open House on how he became a Toastmaster and gave tips on becoming a better public speaker. (Aidan Grether/Ω) an effective technique because it breaks the ice and makes both parties comfortable. He added that eye contact is another great way a speaker can establish a connection with their audience. The next step Ray elaborated on was voice variation. He shared that a person should always lower their voice during a sad moment in a presentation and raise it for a happy one. “In the world competition, when I stepped on the stage, I did this speech about my dad dying in my arms,” he said. “The trick to that is taking yourself to the moment and

not going over. Everyone loves emotion, but no one loves a babbling idiot,” he explained. Moreover, Ray estimated that body language accounts for 85 per cent of a person’s speech, because “a picture is worth a thousand words.” “You can be blowing that speech but if your body language is good, hey you’re a winner,” he said. In closing, he stated that there are three things that a speaker should always keep in mind when presenting. “If you speak you will be heard, if you speak with passion you

will be felt, but if you manage to speak from the heart, you’ll never be forgotten,” he said. Andrew Sahaydak, sergeantat-arms of the TRU Toastmasters Club, said Ray’s speech was very impactful. “If you think about it, students can’t avoid speaking whether it’s in class lectures or presentations, so it’s a very important skill to have,” Sahaydak said. Idan Yacobovitch, president of the club, said he also hopes students will use Ray’s advice to counteract any fears they may have about public speaking. He also stated that Toastmasters is

a great way for students to get started. “People should join Toastmasters because they can work on their public speaking skills [and learn how to] give presentations and successful job interviews,” he said. Yacobovitch furthered that public speaking is an essential skill for students to master because it helps with the development of leadership skills. He added that although this was the club’s first ever Grand Open House, he hopes that it can become an annual event in the future.

Kamloops Naturalist Club welcomes new youth program After recently landing a grant from the Lawson Youth Foundation, the Kamloops Naturalist Club will be starting a new program for youth Tristan Semeniuk CONTRIBUTOR Ω The Kamloops Naturalist Club recently landed a huge grant, provided by the Lawson Youth Foundation, to start up a new program called Next Generation Naturalists. The program is aimed at teaching and developing young leaders of Kamloops in the conservation of nature. The skills learned will be those used by naturalists to identify the different species of plants, animals and fungi in the ecosystems around Kamloops; those used by leaders to find sustainable solutions to problems and those used by conservation biologists to manage and plan the best ways to protect nature around us.

The Dean of Science at TRU, Tom Dickinson, tells The Omega that the connection between the university and the club is one that really involves people who “share the same mindset and values” of those in the naturalist club. “The connections between the university and the naturalist club are really important. We help with the establishment of some citizen-science that they do, so we have had this connection to the university through our members of the faculties and the club crossovers, it is an important set of values of things that we share,” Dickinson said. “Matt Reudink in the biology department helps with the understanding and maintenance of about 400 mountain bluebird boxes that are put up in the

countryside around here”, he continued. “The bluebirds were declining in numbers and it was correctly thought that it was because they were losing their nest sites to more aggressive species like starlings.” Dickinson says that there was an amazing opportunity that arose last fall to apply for a grant that would benefit both students and the naturalist club. The program would allow high-school and university students alike to work together to develop a knowledge of nature and leadership skills. “We got a grant of $245,000 from a foundation in Ontario, that is focused in on this idea of youth leadership and conservation,” Dickinson said. “The naturalist club in town was one of only three in Canada, and the

only one in British Columbia, that was able to get an award to work on this idea of developing young people with the skills necessary to be leaders in the area of sustainability and the environment.” It is a program for young leaders aged 17-22, who will be taking a series of workshops and courses that will be delivered on campus at the university. There will be up to 35 young people in this new program, and there will be “lectures that are brought in and local experts in these sorts of areas,” according to Dickinson. There will also be field trips that students will be able to participate in. “In addition, we will be going out on field trips to learn more about the natural environment we have, particularly the plant and animal communities of flora

and fauna that make this part of British Columbia so unique,” he said. “We’re going to train people in some identifying of the important pieces of our biodiversity, we’re going to talk to them about the methods of working within groups to come to solutions regarding some of the toughest environmental problems we’ll be faced, we’ll be looking at learning from Indigenous communities about the ways in which they understood how the land worked and was healed after trauma like the fires and other sorts of things, and some of the stories of the land from them as well.” The program just started up recently, on March 16, and the meetings will be every first and third Saturday of the month. It is a three-year program, with eight modules in total.

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NEWS

Liberals release 2019-2020 budget

New budget proposes many multi-year programs in an election year Christian Varty NEWS EDITOR Ω As is tradition in the Trudeau government, the 2019 budget venerates the middle class and proudly declares Canada’s economic success relative to other G7 nations. While the budget is

usually presented around this time of year, the newest budget operates under the assumption that the Liberals will remain in power after the next election. There are multiple programs that would be financed over multiple years. One commitment was a five year investment that would help

the development and implementation of charging stations for electric vehicles. Other programs include a $1.7 billion commitment over a five year period to a Canadian job training program that would help facilitate workers to upgrade their skills while currently employed.

This year's budget will reduce our deficit while focusing on the middle class, says the Liberals. (Michel Rathwell/Flickr)

The budget will come into effect on April 1, and even if the Liberals do not reelected, it would take time for a new party to implement their budget or renege on programs put in place by the Liberals. Of course, a prospective and presumptuous budget is not rare, governments need to table a budget in election years. There are certain aspects of the budget that could even give incentive to some groups to vote Liberal because of what they have tabled. However, what is glaringly obvious is the Liberals have no intention at the current time to curb spending in order to balance the budget like they promised in 2015 on the campaign trail. The deficit predicted by the budget is $19.8 billion. “We want to continue to reduce our deficit as a function of our economy,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said during a press conference. When Morneau first announced the budget he was jeered at by the Conservative party, not for what was in the budget, but in solidarity with Jody Wilson-Raybould, the Liberal Member of Parliament that has been at the centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

While the Conservatives were protesting her alleged muzzling by shouting, “Let her speak,” before walking out, others have pointed out oddities in the budget. One such point of contention is the vow to assist struggling newspapers across Canada. Partisan detractors of the policy considered it to be a propagandistic endowment in order to win favour during an election year. “He's [Trudeau] forcing Canadian taxpayers to dole out $600 million in order to try and buy the media's support as he goes to the polls,” Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre commented back in November. “What they’re basically doing is subsidizing the jobs some reporters up to $13,000 in tax credit per person that work for newspapers,” journalism professor Chris Waddell said. “What they could do is say ‘we’re going to subsidize jobs that specifically allow a newspaper to make the transition to being digital only’ as opposed to being a print product.” The Liberals have made it clear that the tax credits would not affect news organisations until after the election period.

Effects of and solutions to domestic violence discussed in Kamloops Multiple experts on domestic violence discussed future action against abuse at panel event Morgan Hunter CONTRIBUTOR Ω A multitude of experts on domestic violence discussed the current problems with domestic abuse crimes and the struggles that come in solving it at a panel at the Kamloops United Church on March 21. On the panel, was Rachel Williams, a local RCMP officer, Sarah Firestone, a government implements crown lawyer, Sharlene LaBoe, a director for a branch of child services, Jillian Oliver, a family law attorney and Rose Browe, a counsellor for domestic issues. The panel started off with Williams, who was assigned to domestic assault cases back in the United Kingdom for 27 years before coming to Canada. “I was very disheartened to find that a lot of the things that were regular in the U.K. such as bail hostels, alarm patrols, assistance to fleeing procedures were almost non-present in Canada,” she said of her arrival in the country. She continued to state that, due to privacy laws in place, a great place to start was “for families and loved ones to reach out regularly to help victims know they're not alone.” The panel continued on, highlighting the following problems from each of the speakers. Firestone spoke about how it is difficult to

prove beyond reasonable doubt and if charges are required in the public interest. “If it’s partner related, it’s always yes to both of the two requirements,” Firestone said. “In Kamloops, 50 per cent of homicides are related back to intimate partners.” “I work for the Crown, which means that I continue on with charges no matter what,” she said. “So if someone calls in, let's say a wife hoping to drop the charges against their husbands, then I inform them that I can’t.” Laboe then spoke on the same point that people needed to trust them more than they have in order for them to help them. She went on to claim that people who are more forthcoming with information have less of a chance of losing custody. “It shows responsibility that the concern of the children come first and the director will take that into account,” she said. Oliver shared that most of her time is used to combat laws broken in family law, mainly family violence. “Family violence is anywhere from emotional, physical or financial abuse towards a partner and/ or children. 67 per cent of my cases are presenting family violence,” said Oliver. She went on to speak on the fact that her goal in her job is to find the best interest concerning the children.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic violence, you can reach VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808 for toll-free and confidential service. Additional services can be found at healthlinkbc.ca. (Sydney Sims/Unsplash)

MARCH 27, 2019

NEWS

Sustainable economics expert gives lecture to community Tim Nash Skyped into the CAC to give a crash course on sustainable investing Justin Moore STAFF WRITER Ω Mother nature is the base of our economic system. Without a functioning and healthy environment, commerce would fail and our society would cease to operate. That's the scope Tim Nash set up at the beginning of his talk last Wednesday, the Power of Sustainable Investing.

Nash, an expert in sustainable investing and an economics professor at Ontario's Sheridan College, took some time out of his evening to speak to an audience at TRU over Skype hosted by the Kamloops chapter of the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association. Prepped with a slideshow Nash shared through a projector, he prefaced his presentation with a graph showcasing the

average Canadian's carbon footprint detailing the average amount of gas we burn while commuting, travelling and eating with an omnivore's diet. But spiking high above these plots was an average $5,000 total investment in stocks and bonds. These companies on the stock market involved with carbon production were companies Nash called an ethical thumbs

Nash called in from Toronto to show Kamloops residents how to invest in greener companies. (Justin Moore/Ω)

down. "I'm not here to project my values on anybody else. It's about looking at the companies inside, and people are going to determine on their own which companies are absolutely a no go from an ethical perspective," Nash said. For Nash, these red flag companies were companies like Trans Canada, Phillip Morris and Lockheed Martin. But there is more than just an ethical concern, according to Nash. A financial issue is also on the rise, particularly if we're serious about keeping the global temperature below the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold. This has to do with the significant carbon bubble currently on the market. "If we add up all the carbon reserves - we have roughly $27 trillion of proven carbon resources," Nash said. "Now when we look at the carbon budget, and if we're serious about keeping warming below one and a half degrees Celsius, then we only have this carbon budget where we can burn only $7 trillion worth of those assets." This would be a disastrous outcome for the market, with Nash comparing it to the burst of the stock market in 2007, only this time he predicts that it will be around three times larger.

"If we are serious about climate change we are looking at potentially one of the biggest bubble bursts in the history of the stock market," Nash warned. But Nash's presentation wasn't all bad news. He explained that over the past ten years he's done research and has analyzed the green economy, tracking a significant shift and transition into a greener market that exists today, something that's accelerating at a rapid rate. Nash then went into explaining and giving examples of ESG scales, environmental social and governance scores that track the social behaviour of companies as well as mentioning the Jantzi Social Index, a Canadian index measuring the environmental and socially conscious stock market. As Nash pointed out, some of these indexes still had kinks to sort out, with pipeline companies appearing on some positive scales and Indigenous issues not affecting the social behaviour and controversy scale of companies. However, overall Nash encouraged Kamloops residents to follow these tools to adequately invest in greener companies, pass on the knowledge and continue to follow his website, the Sustainable Economist, for further tips and advice.

The sun –our solar system's life-giving star

Astronomer Gary Boyle discusses how the sun came to be and what makes it so brilliant Gary Boyle THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER Ω Some 5 billion years ago, the Sun developed from a shell of gas and dust in an interstellar cloud measuring hundreds of light years across. A light year is about ten trillion kilometres in length. Most likely, the shockwave of a nearby exploding star called a supernova sent pockets of this material spinning. Over time, these pockets condensed and collapsed upon itself and over time, flatten out and widen like pizza dough. Our protostar at the centre began getting hotter and larger with gravity pulling in more gas. This “snowball effect” continued until our Sun grew to its present size of 1.4 million kilometres across or 109 earths lined up side by side like a string of pearls. There were most likely other sibling stars born from that same interstellar cloud so long ago. Once the Sun reached a critical internal temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius, it lit up by nuclear fusion and the shock wave blew away some of the closer material outwards into the pancake of dust. Over time dust grains began sticking together to produce sand-size particles. Like sticking bits of Play-Doh together,

about 100 baby planets called planetesimals came to be. Flying in all directions like a cosmic demolition derby, collisions resulted in utter destruction of the two bodies or the soft merger creating new larger worlds. Our solar system ended up with a family of eight main planets, hundreds of moons, tens of thousands of asteroids and billions of comets. We refer the Sun as our daytime star and we orbit it at an average distance of 150 million kilometres or one astronomical unit (AU). This is a mere baby step compared to our neighbouring star called Proxima Centauri at 4.3 light-years (ly) away. This star is located in the southern hemisphere and not seen from Canada. We do however see the bright star Sirius at 8.6 ly from us. End-to-end our Milky Way Galaxy measures 100,000 light years across. The Earth has created some 4.5 billion years ago with simple cell organisms emerging a few million years later. About 3.8 billion years ago, cyanobacteria began forming mostly on stromatolites and began the process of photosynthesis that produced oxygen. The Sun is not only a heat and light source but grows our food and helps our skin produce vitamin D, which is beneficial to our health. Earth is located in

the habitable or “Goldilocks Zone” where oceans remain liquid. If our planet were closer or farther from the Sun, water would boil away or freeze. To date, more than 3,700 exoplanets have been discovered orbiting distance stars with some four thousand possible candidates. A few exoplanets are believed to lie in habitable zone so if that planet has water, life might also be possible.

The same 92 natural elements found on the periodic table can be found throughout the entire universe with the recipe for possible life in the making. Next time you look up at the night sky, you might be gazing upon distant solar systems with a planet and the possibility of life. Till next time, clear skies. Known as “The Backyard Astronomer”, Gary Boyle is an astronomy

educator, guest speaker and monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He has been interviewed on more than 50 Canadian radio stations and local Ottawa TV. In recognition of his public outreach in astronomy, the International Astronomical Union has honoured him with the naming of Asteroid (22406) Garyboyle. Follow him on Twitter: @astroeducator or his website: www.wondersofastronomy.com

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NEWS

Discussing traditional tending of plants and their habitats UVic environmental studies professor talks Indigenous wild plant cultivation techniques Juan Cabrejo BUSINESS EDITOR Ω The latest segment of the environmental science seminar series (held last Thursday) featured a presentation from University of Victoria emeritus professor of environmental studies Nancy Turner, on the traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous peoples of Northwestern North America. Turner’s seminar was a primer to the field of ethnoecology, the scientific study of how groups of people perceive, understand and interact with the ecosystems surrounding them. Turner says the area can apply to many other scientific disciplines. “Ethnoecology is sort of in a sense the broader field in ethnobotany, which focuses on plants, but ethnoecology is really the study of cultural, ecological knowledge and the interactions between the human societies and their environments, including other species,” she said. “It’s a very interdisciplinary study; it draws on many fields from architecture to geography to chemical ecology and political ecology, oral history, anthropology and so forth.” Indigenous knowledge systems, according to Turner, find balance in procuring plants and animals for survival, while contributing to the land’s overall health and sustainability. She mentions the various techniques taught by her mentors, such as how to harvest silverberry bark and how to conserve halibut for the winter. “These are the different components of Indigenous knowledge systems, practical strategies like

Turner is immensely appreciative of the elders who have shared their methods and wisdom of plant tending with her, acknowledging Ida Jones, Clan Chief Adam Dick (Kwxsistalla), Selina Timoyakin, Helen Clifton, Mabel Joe, Mary Thomas, Ron Ignace and Annie York among many others. (Juan Cabrejo/ The Omega) what plants and animals are in an area, what’s good to eat, what’s bad to eat, where it grows, when it grows, how to process it and all of those things,” she said. “Central to a knowledge system like that is the worldview that people hold, the value set they hold, of respect and reciprocity, always you hear from elders, ‘you can’t just take, take, take; you have to give back,’ that’s part of the whole way of life that people have had.” Turner describes how most of the knowledge passed down through generations is through hands-on instruction and how every family or community holds a representative

body of knowledge in addition to the members’ talents. “Every community, every family, holds its own particular specific knowledge,” she said. “Some people are trained from an early age in some particular part of that knowledge whether it’s medicine or theatre, canoe building or basket weaving, each community has its knowledge and individuals also have their own particular body of knowledge. It’s not all universal.” Turner grew very fond of Neskonlith elder and ethnobotanist Mary Thomas over the many years they collaborated, who happened to be an expert basket weaver. One

wouldn’t assume the tremendous complexity and skill required to collect the right combination of birch bark to create a basket. “She was a master birchbark basket maker and would say, ‘you can’t go out and take bark from any old place you have to really look for it; [it] takes you maybe a whole day of searching to get the right mixture, the shorter the eyelets (lenticels) the better and doesn’t crack easy,” she said. “This is very practical knowledge about the birch tree that goes with the basket maker.” Despite having studied ethnoecology for almost 50 years, Turner is immensely appreciative of the

elders of various nations within B.C. who have been willing to share their methods and wisdom of plant tending with her. She acknowledged Ida Jones, Clan Chief Adam Dick (Kwxsistalla), Selina Timoyakin, Helen Clifton, Mabel Joe, Mary Thomas, Ron Ignace and Annie York, among many others. “What I’m sharing to you, I’ve been a student of and I’ve had some wonderful teachers who have shared their knowledge with me over the years,” she said. “I know people have cared for these lands for many thousands of years, Kukwstsétsemc (thank you in Secwépemc).”

Omega reporter goes undercover at Long Night Against Procrastination Our sleuth of a news reporter sees what exactly students are doing instead of studying Christian Varty NEWS EDITOR Ω As March rapidly approaches its end, and therefore the end of the semester TRU hosts the ninth annual Long Night Against Procrastination in the main library. The premise is self-explanatory, the library is open from 8 p.m. welcoming students in for an all-nighter with a variety of events throughout the night. Snacks and coffee are provided free of charge, there’s a midnight pizza party and a victory breakfast for those who make it to 6 a.m. A nice economic accoutrement for a quickly depleting personal coffer. It’s quarter to eight at the time of writing this and I plan on tracking how many people I see periodically throughout the night. I’m donning my sociology hat and assessing how lively people remain on an hourly basis. I’m guessing that people will start shuffling out post-pizza. 8 p.m.: I’ve raided the snacks. They had vegan options (broccoli), gluten-free snacks (SunRype Fruit

An abundance of these were needed to keep our news editor, Christian Varty, in the game and ready to survive the long night. (Wade Tomko/Ω) to Go) and unhealthy junk (candy and cookies). As is customary while in university, I look very much forward to talking about

how little sleep I got tonight to my compadres tomorrow. A precursory walk was promising, it looks as if most people were indeed here

to study. Like a modern-day Donal MacIntyre I infiltrated the event and took notes under the guise of looking for the schedule. I realized that this method was stupid and likely no one cares if I’m doing laps every hour. This is the riveting undercover work they don’t teach you at journalism school. 9 p.m.: There’s still a buzz around as students indulge in energy drinks and partake in chair yoga (not at the same time) and by and large people seem to be doing work. No signs of slowing down yet. 10 p.m.: This marks the point where I will allow myself to have another cup of coffee. A quick lap around the library reveals that few people have left. Students are still diligently looking at word processors, power points and spreadsheets. However, I noticed a modest increase in YouTube videos and empty chip bags. 11:11 p.m.: My wish was to not be so basic that I wish on 11:11. It’s not working so far. The majority of people are still studying, the library is still full, we’re at a good pace.

12:24 a.m.: The pizza is here rather than choosing the superior Panago or at least Dominoes, the school opted for Papa John's. My disappointment is immeasurable and my night is ruined. The choices were satisfactory though. 2:00 a.m. rolled around and that meant that it was time for another cup of coffee, as I suspected a large contingency of people left after the pizza had been delivered. But most of the people that remained were diligently working away. By this point, most of the chatter has disappeared. By 4:00 a.m. it was apparent that people weren’t as motivated as before. Walking past a full bank of computers, literally every person sitting at the computers was doing something that didn’t look directly related to studying. Around half of the remaining people seemed to not be working, only two more hours until breakfast. It’s 5:00 a.m. now and my stomach is beginning to curdle due to the mixture of cheap pizza and black coffee so I am humbly packing my proverbial bags and heading home.

MARCH 27, 2019

ARTS

TRU visual arts students bring Camera Obscura to campus Using ancient technology, students successfully presented crystal clear images Cailyn Mocci ARTS EDITOR Ω Under the warm rays of the Spring Equinox sun, TRU visual arts students presented an enlarged version of what is known as the Camera Obscura to the campus community. This Renaissance period device has shaped the way cameras work today. From the outside, this Camera Obscura looked like a makeshift shelter with its black garbage bag-esque aesthetics. One look inside presented a crystal clear view of students strolling around in the sun outside the tent. Camera Obscura is Latin for “darkened chamber” or “dark room,” hence the dark tent on the campus green. Using a collection of lenses and a projection set up, the Camera Obscura is able to display everything outside just inverted. The Camera Obscura was a project of Donald Lawrence’s visual arts

class. Lawrence has done extensive research into the Camera Obscura, making it only fitting to incorporate it into his classroom. The third-year sculpture class has worked throughout the entire semester, through many workshops, to get to the point of this public display. TRU student Kevin Bronnimann, who worked primarily on the design with some help from Lawrence, found that many students who attended didn’t quite know what they were getting into but were amazed at what they saw. “It was really interesting to see how amazed people were when they didn’t know what to expect,” said Bronnimann. The image inside the campus Camera Obscura was surprisingly clear, capturing the sun reflections details of the beautiful day perfectly. The Spring Equinox was the perfect day for this event. The sunny day was made for a crystal clear image.

Step inside the camera obscura for a crystal clear, but inverted, projections of our sunny campus (Aidan Grether/Ω)

The first downtown HOLI festival Kamloops opens the brings celebration to Kamloops fifth chapter of a The people of Kamloops came together to celebrate the Hindu holiday in Riverside

Cailyn Mocci ARTS EDITOR Ω

Elizabeth Nygren CONTRIBUTOR Ω On Saturday, March 23, the Kamloops community came down to Riverside Park to celebrate the HOLI Festival of Colour. This is the first time this event has been put on by Downtown Kamloops, the HOLI Committee and the TRUSU India Club. The TRUSU India Club has held a Holi festival at TRU before, under a different name a couple of years ago, but has now teamed with Downtown Kamloops and the HOLI Committee. Both the Kamloops HOLI Committee and the TRUSU India Club were planning their own Holi events separately, so they chose to work together to plan a bigger and better event for the people of Kamloops. Although Downtown Kamloops and the HOLI Committee helped finance and plan the event, and the TRUSU India Club helped promote it. Before, when the event was put on at TRU, it was targeted towards students and those of Indian descent, but now with the event downtown, the promotion has furthered to targeting everyone in Kamloops. Deepinder Singh, the president of the TRUSU India Club, has said that the promotion of the event had reached more than 27,000 people in the area, with about 300-500 people saying they were coming via a Facebook event page. Hundreds of people came out to partake in the colourful event. People had a great time playing with colours and having fun in the sun with music, dance and good food, as

neuro-diverse club

This year's HOLI Festival of Colour brought the Kamloops community to Riverside Park for music, fun, food and dancing. (Chandan Singh/Flickr) well the non-toxic colours created a comfortable environment for everyone. Kunwar Rajdeep, Vice-President of the TRUSU India Club and newly elected TRUSU Entertainment Committee Representative, said that this event was “a stress-buster” for students as it was put on before exams at a time when students still had time to hang out and relax before the end of the semester crunch. The reason for the event was to celebrate Holi, a Hindu festival in India that takes place at the beginning of Spring. This religious celebration is based on Indian mythology. Rajdeep said that the story represents beliefs in Indian culture and that there are many mythologies in this culture to help those that believe live positive lives. The TRUSU India Club was created in 2009 with hopes to put on events and help Indian students have a community to be apart of when

coming to TRU. In the future, the TRUSU India Club hopes to put on more events like this for the students and the Kamloops community. Singh said that the original TRUSU India Club president’s vision was “to create an environment for the students that were coming from India so they don’t feel alienated.” Singh went on to say that India has festivals every month. “Because India is so diverse, every community has their own local festivals. So if you don’t have a nationwide celebration, you might have a local celebration,” he said. Singh added that in its entirety, the point of the India club is “to bring all the Indian community together so they don’t feel left out.” Vice-president Rajdeep hopes that “[The HOLI festival] could make a bridge between the community people and the students as they go hand-in-hand [together].”

Kamloops is opening its doors to a new Thompson Valley Chapter of GIRLS CLUB, an inclusive club for girls with neurodevelopmental differences to socialize and play. The Thompson Valley Chapter is the fifth in B.C. GIRLS CLUB is based on the belief that every child, no matter their neurodevelopment, should be able to connect and form meaningful relationships with their peers. This new chapter, along with other chapters spanning throughout the province, is working hard to provide opportunities for children and teens who might face challenges to create these connections and friendships to better their well-being. GIRLS CLUB was originally founded in the Lower Mainland in 2017 by the mother of a five-year-old daughter with autism, Vicky Ryan. The club started as a dream in 2016 but soon became a reality for girls across the province. “The purpose [of GIRLS CLUB] is to create community and connect. A place for our girls to see themselves in others and to form friendships,” said Ryan. Ryan found that in the clubs and social groups available for her daughter, she saw a great gender imbalance. Noticing the importance of providing social settings with girls that shared the same neurology and experiences, Ryan started GIRLS CLUB. While raising her daughter, Ryan found that mainstream programs that were available were not necessarily allowing her daughter to act like a kid and just play. Instead of focusing

mainly on “life skills” and therapy, GIRLS CLUB is an inclusive opportunity for these young girls to connect and play. “What I was looking for, and was unable to find which is why I started GIRLS CLUB, was a social and fun environment for the kids to be able to be themselves, to make connections, to make friends, to just experience what it’s like to just be a kid,” expressed Ryan. Flash forward to today, parents Hoby and Rachel Cook are opening the fifth chapter in Kamloops. The Cooks have two children with neurodevelopmental differences, including a young daughter Mischa who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at age seven. This club is a fully-inclusive group and works to welcome girls of all abilities and ages. Girls have the opportunity to partake in meetups, arts and crafts, games and field trips, just to name a few. Before relocating to Kamloops, the Cooks were members of the Okanagan chapter. Noticing a lack of opportunities for their daughter, they decided to open a chapter for local girls to have the opportunity to “meet, have fun, develop connections and make memories to last a lifetime.” GIRLS CLUB was recently recognized in the Excellence in Autism Awards in the Community Impact category. This neuro-diverse club is 100 per cent non-profit with memberships free and no drop-in or participation fees charged. The club does not have an age gap and is open to all ages, not discriminating against young adults joining in on some of the social activities.

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ARTS

Album review: Lash by Mesa Luna Christian Varty NEWS EDITOR Ω Following the release of a string of modestly well-received singles, Mesa Luna, the project of Vancouver-based Justice McLellan recently released his first full length album, Lash. Lash is a sophisticated and well-rounded release that evokes melancholy and self-doubt through a hazy and delicate blending of the shoegaze and dream pop tropes that have been prevalent in the past decade. This styling is shown nowhere more than on the second-to-last track, Never Steady. The song is initially driven by pounding drums and droning synth textures with the sporadic dissonant and distorted guitar work ala Beach House before daintily balancing on McLellan’s soft spoken vocal work and equally soft piano stylings before triumphantly reemerging. It’s the gentle moments on the record that resemble the emotions McLellan tries to evoke. The album is self described as being about trauma and the ghost like blur of everyday life post-trauma. This is represented through the shifting sound textures doused in reverb and set ablaze by a hot searing bassline on the track Woronoco. McLellan also taps into different avenues of musical direction that are not as rewarding as the more conventional dream pop and shoegaze influences he draws upon. Don’t Let Go is a more upbeat track

that pulls from the same cloth as dance-punk. In any other context the track wouldn’t come off as jarring, but when paired with the slow and brooding atmosphere of the rest of the album it sticks up like a nail that needs to be hammered down. The album closer, This is Your Life dives into the deep end of postpunk rather than simply wading through similarly depressive genre. While suffocation and panic may be admitted themes and goals of the record, the forward facing approach McLellan took drowns out any nuance and subtlety that could have been garnered with the

track. Instead of being a triumphant moment of whirling synthesizers or atmospheric soundscapes like the track As It Happened, the album closes not with bang nor whimper but with a trite and overused style that downplays the evocative nature of the rest of the record. While McLellan refrains from drawing in stray influence, Lash is a hugely enjoyable release but unfortunately the album manages to meander enough that frequent listening may only consist of a select few tracks. 7.2/10 - Finding out that the sale price was off by a dollar

CONTRIBUTOR Ω Teenagers dying from a disease while falling in love with someone who also has the same disease is now a genre that exists in today’s culture. And Five Feet Apart is a part of that genre. However, its entertaining enough that I’d still call it an alright movie. Five Feet Apart is about two 18-year olds that suffer from cystic fibrosis who fall in love but must stay five feet apart from each other at all

Upcoming Events Sustainability Movie: Living the Change March 27, 7 - 9 p.m. Alumni Theatre TRU Sustainability would like to invite you to our March Films for Change event. In partnership with Permaculture Kamloops, they will be showing the documentary film Living the Change—Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future. Transit Future Action Plan March 27, 12 - 4 p.m. or 5 - 7 p.m. Terrace Room Participants can engage face-to-face during this drop-in open house with the BC Transit and City of Kamloops transit planning team. This open house provides an opportunity to learn more about the Transit Future Action Plan, provide input into infrastructure improvements and to complete a survey to help the team and what service levels on key routes should see an increase in span or frequency. Hockey and homelessness at the frontlines of Edmonton’s arena district March 28, 4 - 5 p.m. S 2013 Jordan Koch, PhD, Dept. of Kinesiology & Physical Education, McGill University, presents Street Hockey? Dispatches from the Frontlines of Canada’s New Urban Sporting Environment as part of the Environmental Sciences Seminar Series. Space and the coming medical revolution March 28, 1 - 2 p.m. HL 109

Movie review: Five Feet Apart Morgan Hunter

times or risking each other's lives due to cross-infection. They quickly fall in love and manage both their diseases and their feelings for each other. Now, a film that basically states at the very beginning that the two main characters have a life expectancy of five years (with the exception of Haley Lu Richardson’s character who could get a lung transplant) is going to want to make you cry. It’s entire plot/purpose is for the audience to sob violently as they leave the theatre. The problem is that it’s not done

naturally and when it’s as obvious as it is in this film, it makes an audience member not want to pay attention because everything has to end badly in the end. That takes any suspense out of it and that’s the sad part of this film because you can tell everyone involved is trying. Haley Lu Richardson is very likeable in the film and does her best to bring this character to life. Cole Sprouse’s character is also very well acted and they both shine brightly when the two are on screen together. Even the dialogue at times, if it were anyone else, would sound terrible. However, the duo makes it feel natural due to their back-andforth. The chemistry they have really shows and that’s very entertaining to see. Even the main theme of bringing awareness to cystic fibrosis is well done. There have been multiple accounts of people who’ve seen it claiming how accurate it is in representing the disease and you can tell that the people behind the show itself care to be correct in representing CF. It just gets ruined when they attempt to force every young adult fiction trope there is into it hoping that I’ll cry while watching. I enjoyed Five Feet Apart, but that’s because I like both really great movies and poorly-written movies. And what makes this film worth watching is the chemistry with its actors, but if you don’t enjoy badly-written dialogue or a cheesier that cheddar plot, it’s not worth the time.

TRU Science Seminar Series invites you to an out-of-thisworld experience with astrobiologist and TRU alum, Dr. Bruce Damer. Explore his science and engineering on the origin of life and our future in space for a coming revolution in medicine. Understand the direction humanity is travelling toward. Nourish: get to the root of household food insecurity March 29, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mountain Room This is an opportunity for all those who have experienced food insecurity, as well as who work in the food sector, poverty reduction, Indigenous food systems, policy making or education to come together. TRU Undergraduate Research & Innovation Conference 2019 March 29 - 30 The 14th annual TRU Undergraduate Research and Innovation Conference is an opportunity for TRU students from all programs, departments and areas of study to share their work, either as a poster or as a 15-minute lecture. 2019 Business Gala March 29, 5 -10 p.m. The Coast Kamloops Hotel On Friday of March 29, the TRU Modern Marketing Association invites you to join us for our third annual TRU Business Gala. Fueled by the hard work of dedicated TRU students, they are eager to give back to our campus, community and showcase our incredible city. Together We are Tourism: #Tourismatic March 29, 5 -7 p.m. Scratch Cafe Together We are Tourism: #Tourismatic is an end of the year gathering for first-year students with an opportunity to share their stories with experienced students and faculty members. Even if you're not a first-year student, please join us and share your stories, we would like you to be here!

COMICS & PUZZLES

MARCH 27, 2019

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CFBX TOP 30 CFBX 92.5 FM, 350 Watts Kamloops, BC Music Director: Steve Marlow Charts to March 21, 2019 * indicates Canadian Content ** indicates a local artist Artist - Album (Label) 1) Whitehorse* - The Northern South Vol. 2 (Six Shooter) 2) At Mission Dolores** - Cool World (Factotum Co.) 3) Homeshake* - Helium (Royal Mountain) 4) Jah Cutta* - Ladies and Gentlemen (Independent) 5) Kaelan Mikla - Nott Efter Nott (Artoffact) 6) Only a Visitor* - Technicolour Education (Independent) 7) Tallies* - Tallies (Kanine) 8) The House (Where We Grew Up)** - Dy//ng (Independent) 9) Layla Zoe* - Gemini (Independent) 10) Motherhood* - Dear Bongo (Forward) 11) Tomislav Goluban - Chicago Rambler (Spona) 12) Lee Harvey Osmond* - Mohawk (Latent) 13) Uncertainty Principle* - Live at the Rex (Independent) 14) Cosmic Range* - The Gratitude Principle (Idee Fixe) 15) Jazzlab Orchestra* - Quintessence (Effendi) 16) The Smile Case* - Murder Weather (Blacktop) 17) Abigail Lapell* - Getaway (Coax) 18) The World Provider* - Old Dreams (Ting Dun) 19) Pale Son* - Get Outside (Independent) 20) Bootlicker** - Who Do You Serve? (Slow Death) 21) Tiny Havoc* - Pluto and Nick (Independent) 22) Roving Reporter - Joie de Vivre (Independent) 23) Pugs and Crows* - Uncle! (Independent) 24) High Parade* - The Ocean (Independent) 25) Imperial Sound - The New AM (Pravda) 26) Big Foot Yeti* - Big Foot Yeti I (Home Street) 27) Brave Shores* - La Hoo La La (Universal) 28) Priors* - New Pleasure (Slovenly) 29) Brandon Isaak* - Rise 'n Shine (Independent) 30) Ryan Playground* - 16/17 (Last Gang)

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SPORTS

MVB's Tim Dobbert named All-Canadian Dobbert has been the top player for TRU men's volleyball throughout the 2018/19 season Alvin Mutandiro SPORTS EDITOR Ω Every team has an outstanding performer who plays a big role in the overall success of a team; this year Tim Dobbert was that player for the WolfPack. Dobbert is a fifth-year outside hitter from Germany. Dobbert arrived at TRU after having played four years at Brigham University, USA, a university which played in the NCAA division 1. He led Canada West with 379 kills in the 2018/2019 season and was an Academic All-Canadian in his first year. Standing at 6ft 10 inches he has played 43 matches, 165 sets, has 701 kills, 1, 554 attacks, 227 digs, 49 service aces and 102 total blocks in his TRU career. Head coach Pat Hennelly expressed his delight to TRU Athletics. “Happy for Tim to end with a well-deserved first team All-Canadian selection,” Hennelly said. “Tim belongs in that special group of alumni and it was an honour to have Tim a part of our program.” Hennelly praised Dobbert for being a great student as well. “Tim is also an exceptional student-athlete and academic All-Canadian,” he said. “Tim is a great person, excellent teammate and one of the hardest working guys on a team with a great work ethic.”

(TRU Athletics/Andrew Snucins)

Dobbert is the fourth member of the WolfPack to have been named an All-Canadian. Dobbert’s impact on the team has been huge with Hennelly describing him as “world class.” Throughout the season he was either the top performer for TRU or

within the top two. Dobbert added to his selection as an All-Canadian by being named a finalist for the 2018 Kamloops Sports Council University athlete of the year, an award which was won by Mitch Popadynetz last year. The ceremony will be taking

place on May 11. Dobbert was a key part of a very successful program and his presence on the court will be missed, but the positive for the ‘Pack is that he is getting rewarded for his performances. Dobbert receiving recognition is

a major plus for the TRU and will help shine a spotlight on one of the University’s most consistent programs. The hope is that it will help attract better recruits for the program, recruits that can help win a national championship.

TRU cross country competes in community race The TRU cross country team took a break from their track and field season to compete in a Westsyde race Alvin Mutandiro SPORTS EDITOR Ω The TRU cross country team has had a season of growth and development as they have expanded their women’s roster and added several assistant coaches. Head coach Carmin Mazzotta has

been dealing with some personal health issues which unfortunately have reduced the amount of time he can work with the team. Despite the program being in transition they have still managed to have a productive season which has included competing in some indoor competitions and recently the Spring Runoff.

The event took place in Westsyde, Kamloops, on St Patrick’s Day, the run served as a perfect way of celebrating the occasion. Most of the team participated in the run including the assistant coaches. Men’s team captain Troy Morgan was first in the men’s 10K run and set a personal record of 34 minutes and 25 seconds.

The time was the third fastest in program history. Liam McGrath was sixth overall and set a personal record of 36 minutes and 59 seconds. Assistant coaches Ian Mckinley and Conlan Sprickerhoff finished close to each other, the former was second in the 10k with a time of 35 minutes and four seconds and the latter finished right after with a time of 35 minutes

(TRU Athletics)

and 35 seconds. In the 5k run, Calum Carrigan finished first with a time of 16 minutes and 52 seconds. Assistant coach Marcus Allen followed with a time of 17 minutes and 48 seconds. Kaileen McCulloch finished fifth overall in the women’s 10k with a time of 36 minutes and 28 seconds. Zoe Painter finished 17th with a time of 41 minutes and 25 seconds, it was her first race since suffering an injury. “As a part-time assistant coach it was great to have the team come out and take part in a competitive community race,” said assistant head coach and former team captain Conlan Sprickerhoff. “The team has been training for track lately so to see Zoe, Troy and Liam run the 10k and Calum run the 5k was great. It was awesome to see them put up fast times and good results.” He also stated that the team is hopeful of making improvements. “Over the next few weeks there are going to be a few tracks meets and we hope to see some fast times with all the hard training the team has been doing,” Sprickerhoff said. It is great news for TRU that there were personal records set at the run, the hope will be that it can be done at upcoming track meets.

THE OMEGA

MARCH 27, 2019

Donate any left-over non-perishable food items

Donation bins will be available in the TRU Residence, Upper College Heights, and McGill Housing lobbies:

APRIL 15-30, 2019 /TRUStudentsUnion

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