October 10, 2012

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 10, 2012

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World Mental Health Day

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Actor’s Workshop

Theatre

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Availability of gym space examined 10

CUPE launches job action

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TRU’s Independent Student Newspaper

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October 10, 2012

News

Support workers take job action

CUPE Local 4879 begin picket lines and rallies in protest of grivances Devan C. Tasa Ω News Editor

Members of the university’s support staff union want a contract and they want it now.

That was the sentiment expressed through picket signs and chants during the first day of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4879’s job action Oct. 4, which saw the facilities building and the Clock Tower blocked by picket lines and a rally take place on the Campus Commons.

The union has been working without a contract since 2010. It’s concerned about stagnant wages in the face of inflation and increased costs like parking as well as job security.

“Our goal was not to disrupt students and classes,” said Lois Rugg, the union’s president.

“The goal in the end is to ultimately bargain a fair and reasonable collective agreement, one we can bring back to our membership for approval.”

With the job action, the union wants to send a message to the university’s administration. That message: bring something serious to the bargaining table at the next negotiation meeting Oct. 18 and 19, Rugg said.

The union has met the university 10 times during the past two and a half years, a union pamphlet indicated.

B.C. chose to close down the entire campus by picketing the only entrance.

Seguin didn’t say what the university would do in the event of more job action, but he said it would work to ensure there’s a minimal effect on students.

There were around 120 people attending the rally, including members from the TRU Faculty Association (TRUFA), TRUSU and local Steelworkers from outside campus.

“As students, we know that the decision to take strike action is never an easy one,” Dustin McIntyre, TRUSU’s president told the rally.

“It’s not easy for you or your family and it’s certainly not easy for our members. But at a certain point, we know that you’re left with no other option.

“TRUSU looks for—Jason Brown, TRUFA president ward to working with you in the coming days, “It’s hard to say. It may also depend weeks and months to ensure that on what’s happening in the rest of the CUPE members are successful in this province,” Rugg said. “Other universi- fight.”

Jason Brown, the president of the ties in the province may be supporting us and we may be supporting them and professors’ union, TRUFA, told the there may be some action as a result of rally that now was a time to stand together. that.”

“There’s no doubt the [provincial] Four other universities also faced job action from CUPE locals that day, government is making it difficult for which have similar grievances with all universities and public post-sectheir employers. Most of those locals ondary unions,” Brown said, “but if we chose job action that only closed down don’t take a stand, things are going to parts of their respective campuses, but change and they’re not going to change the one at the University of Northern for the better.”

“TRU never left the bargaining table. We take this process very seriously,” said Christopher Seguin, TRU’s vice president advancement. “October the 18th was the earliest date the union could supply to meet with us and we look forward to that date.”

Rugg was unable to say when the next job action would take place or what form it would take. Job action can include wearing buttons, refusing overtime, picketing certain buildings or picketing the entire campus.

“...if we don’t take a stand, things

are going to change and they’re not going to change for the better.”

If a student or faculty member encounters a picket line, it’s a personal choice whether or not that person is willing to cross, as the picketers have no right to stop somebody from crossing.

TRUFA is asking their members to not cross. The professors’ contract indicates they can do so without con-

—PHOTO BY DEVAN C. TASA sequence, but they would have to forfeit their pay for that day. It’s TRUFA’s policy to provide those same professors with some compensation from its strike fund, as long as they contribute in some manner to the strike.

Updates on the situation can be found on both TRU’s and TRUSU’s websites.

Nominations open, but no Musical standoff held changes made to policy to integrate cultural groups Devan C. Tasa Ω News Editor

Nominations have opened for student representatives on the university’s two most powerful elected bodies, but there has been no change to the rules that contributed to problems in last year’s elections.

Students interested in running for the board of governors, which oversees items like the university’s management, operations and buildings, or the senate, which handles its academic aspects like creating and deleting new courses and degrees, must submit a nomination form to OM1155 by 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 22.

Voting will take place online from Nov. 20 to 30.

Yet the elections are being conducted with the same rules as last year’s.

Due to a problem discovered with the voters list and in combination with rigid timelines with those rules, the previous elections were held Dec. 8 to Dec. 22, 2011, the same time as exams and holidays.

Only 2.2 per cent of 13,689 eligible voters cast a ballot in that election.

The Omega’s request for an interview with the registrar’s office, which is responsible for conducting the election, was not returned before press deadlines.

The office has placed information

about the election online and on closedcircuit screens around campus. It has also taken out an advertisement in this week’s Omega.

There is one student position available on the board of governors and four on the senate.

Those elected to a board position will be expected to attend five meetings a year that take three to five hours, as well as read an agenda made of hundreds of pages before each meeting, former student member Melissa Schuurman told The Omega last year.

Those elected to senate can expect to spend four hours per month, with one hour used for the actual meeting and the rest to prepare, student senator Dylan Robinson told The Omega last year. Sitting on a subcommittee could add another two to three hours.

Robinson, who also is now TRUSU’s VP external, told The Omega he’d definitely recommend students run for these positions.

“I think it’s a really good experience,” Robinson said. “You get to meet people, like administrators and faculty, who make really important decisions about what’s going on in the institution.”

There’s also one student position available on the university’s community trust board and planning council for open learning.

Nomination forms and more information can be found at http://www.tru. ca/about_tru/elections.html.

Oriol Salvador Ω Contributor

East Meets West, a face-off between DJs MaRE and Erik Boog outside Old Main, was the first event held by TRU’s new Intercultural Council, Thursday Oct. 4.

“The council itself is trying to integrate domestic, international and aboriginal students because we have noticed that (different cultural groups) tend to stick with themselves,” according to Mary-Grace Maung, a TRU psychology student and member of the Intercultural Council, which formed over this past summer. “We are trying to get down all those boundaries and integrate [the students].”

There are other events on campus planned over the academic year but Maung said that for now they are just trying to become known to the student body.

The party started with MaRE (real name Vadym Nosov) onstage. He is an international student from Ukraine and when he arrived in Kamloops this summer he immediately sought opportunities to DJ. “[I wanted] to transfer electronic music from Europe to America,” Nosov said.

He said he doesn’t consider himself a professional DJ yet but an electronic music lover. “I listen to music six hours per day, all the time.”

Erik Boog represents Canada at East Meets West.

—PHOTO BY ORIOL SALVADOR He said in his hometown he DJed for commons filled with students looking to dance. four years in a local nightclub.

Both DJs had two 30-minute sets. ToHis challenger was Dutch-born Canadian DJ Erik Boog who took the stage day’s electronic beats were mixed with second. He has performed his craft at hits such as Gotye’s “Somebody That I Kamloops nightclubs such as the Com- Used to Know,” Pitbull’s “International modore and Cactus Jacks, where he has Love,” Psy’s worldwide hit “Gangnam opened for big names such as Steve Aoki, Style,” and a mash-up from Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and Queen’s “We Will Rock Morgan Page and Chris Lake.

Boog decided to become a DJ after You.” There was also spot for a special one of his earliest music festival experi- sing-a-long “Happy Birthday” for those ences in Holland. His mom helped him who celebrated his or her birthday at the with basic music knowledge and he self- party.

To be environmentally friendly and taught the rest. Last year he won a contest to play the Dutch Loveland Festival 2012. reduce garbage, the Intercultural Council “DJing in Amsterdam in front of asked everyone to bring their own reus2,000 people was really nice,” Boog said. able cups for water that was offered durAs the night went by, the campus ing the show.

ON THE COVER: CUPE Local 4879 marches on Campus Commons Thursday, Oct. 4 as one of their first forms of job action over grievances with the university.

— PHOTO BY DEVAN C. TASA

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The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 6

THE

MEGA

www.theomega.ca

October 10, 2012

Volume 22, Issue 6

Published since November 27, 1991

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mike Davies

Editorial/Opinions A little “me time”

Take care of yourself by devoting time to “likes”

editor@truomega.ca

250-828-5069

@PaperguyDavies BUSINESS MANAGER VACANT NEWS EDITOR

Devan C. Tasa

news@truomega.ca @DCTasa ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Brendan Kergin

arts@truomega.ca @roguetowel SPORTS EDITOR

Adam Williams

sports@truomega.ca

@AdamWilliams87

Samantha Garvey

Editor’s Note

COPY/WEB EDITOR

Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief

ROVING EDITOR

roving@truomega.ca @Sam_Eliza

Taylor Rocca

copy@truomega.ca @manovrboard

omegacontributors Oriol Salvador, Chris Hearn, Andrew Bates, Kai Jacobson, Luke Henderson, Mark Hendricks, Maximilian Birkner, Courtney Dickson, Allison Declercq

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike Davies BUSINESS MGR * VACANT INDUSTRY REP * Mike Youds FACULTY REP * Charles Hays STUDENT REP* Sadie Cox

letterspolicy

Literary and visual submissions are welcomed.

All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material. Opinions expressed in the Letters & Opinion section do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff.

Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

Take a moment right now, if you would, to think about what it is you need to accomplish by this time next week.

I’m guessing that you didn’t include much (if anything) that you enjoy. The fact that I asked you to think about what you “need to” do lends itself to the thoughts that are generally unpleasant — as pressing as they might be — or at the very least, that’s the way my mind works. When I think about what I “need to” accomplish, I don’t immediately think of things I “like to” do.

A few weeks ago, this changed,

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 Box 3010, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-372-1272 E-mail: editor@truomega.ca Ad Enquiries: managerofomega@gmail.com

(Correspondence not intended for publication should be labelled as such.)

Follow us on Twitter: @TRU_Omega “Like” us on Facebook.

Do it.

Seriously.

time for your own mental health.

Maybe you don’t like golf. Maybe you like horses, or shopping, or road trips with your friends.

Maybe you like cooking, or dancing, or watching horror movies in the dark.

Figure it out.

Make time for these things.

As important as your education, job(s), volunteer opportunities and everything else you think you “need to” accomplish are, they aren’t as important as your overall happiness.

If you turn a few of your “want to”s into “need to”s, I think you’ll find that you’re a happier person.

There’s a reason that people say you should “do what you love for a living and you’ll never work a day in your life,” after all.

I’ll never be a professional golfer (unless I somehow miraculously learn how to putt), but I can make it more of a priority. Between that and Saturdays with my family, I should be able to keep myself mentally healthy enough.

Maybe I’ll see some of you out on the golf course when the snow (that we all know is coming, right?) thaws. My email address is right below this if you want to join me. editor@truomega.ca

Not to be ignored: Mental health matters

copyright

All material in this publication is copyright The Omega and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright Omega 2012.

however. I began to integrate “like to” into “need to.”

Why am I sharing this with you?

This past week was Mental Illness Awareness Week, and today — at least the day in the near future when this paper hits the stands — is World Mental Health Day. Despite what some say regarding my diet and consumption habits in general, I believe strongly in keeping the mental side of your health in order. It’s why I spend somewhat exorbitant amounts of money on golf.

As frustratingly difficult as the game is at times, it makes it all-but-impossible to think about other stressful aspects of your life for a few hours at a time, and despite what some people think, it’s a pretty good physical workout, as well.

It’s also why I don’t make plans for Saturdays. I spend Saturdays with my family — and try not to think about what else I “should be” doing.

Check out Mr. Rocca’s column this week (just below this one) and try to tell me that mental health isn’t an issue you should be paying attention to.

After reading it, decide if you can afford to put off taking some

TRUe Thoughts Taylor Rocca Ω Copy/Web Editor The Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) Mental Illness Awareness Week took place from Oct. 1 to 7.

The World Federation for Mental Health’s (WFMH) World Mental Health Day takes place on Oct. 10.

For students on campuses across the country and around the world, mental illness and mental health should be of concern year-round.

With heavy course loads, partor full-time employment and extra-curricular activities, students don’t exactly lead the most carefree or stress-free lives. Pile on the additional stress of student debt, relationship anxiety and even a poor diet and you’ve concocted a pretty darn poisonous stew that can eat away at the mental well-being of even the strongest individuals.

Depression: A Global Crisis, is the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day. According to literature released by the WFMH, depression can be a result of anxiety and at its worst can lead to suicide.

Check out these scary facts about depression and suicide:

According the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1 million lives end due to suicide in a given year, translating into 3,000 suicide-caused deaths per day.

Another shocking statistic that comes from WHO — for every person who commits suicide, 20 more may attempt to end their life.

Depression is such a serious and widespread mental illness that WHO actually considers it the leading cause of disability worldwide.

When boiling down the issue to university campuses it is easy to see the impact it has on students.

The National College Health Assessment (NCHA), Spring 2000, indicated that 10.3 per cent of college students (6.2 per cent male and 12.8 per cent female) reported having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their life.

For the purposes of the study, 15,977 students were sampled across 28 different American university campuses.

Those are alarming numbers.

The most up-to-date enrollment on TRU’s website states that student enrollment at the Kamloops campus (part-time and full-time students) in 2007-08 was 10,588.

If one were to use the NCHA assessment and apply it to TRU, that means 1,091 students on TRU campus would be suffering from depression.

To put that number in perspective, you could fill Heroes more than five times with all of those people.

Considering the time of the semester and the fact that midterm season is approaching if not already here, it’s crucial for students to not only be selfaware but also observant of their peers and friends.

This will sort of drag back to my column from last week, “Appreciation simplified.”

One of the best things any person can do to help out a friend potentially suffering from depression is to be a listening ear.

WFMH indicates that one of the most important supports for a person struggling with anxiety and mental illness is that of family and friends.

I’m not a medical doctor, so don’t consider this professional advice.

Simply put, look out for your fellow classmates. Something as simple as asking about someone’s day or taking time to have a little vent session can make a bigger difference than you might believe.

That being said, don’t be afraid to seek out professional help if you find yourself struggling or witness a classmate going through a rough patch.

A comprehensive PDF on WMHF World Health Day and depression can be found at http://www.wfmh. org /0 0World Ment al Healt h Day. htm.

Important contact information for on-campus services: TRU Counselling: 250-828-5023 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

TRU Wellness Centre: 250-828-5010 Mental Health Kamloops: 250-377-0088 Mental Health 24-hour toll-free line: 1-866-661-3311 TRU campus doctor: 250-828-5126 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) copy@truomega.ca

Of shoes and inspiration:

Doubledee reminds us that there’s still good in the world Chris Hearn

The Manitoban (U of M) WINNIPEG (CUP) — When Kris Doubledee stopped the city bus he was driving one day, stepped off, and gave his shoes to a man that did not have any, he really did show the best of what humankind can offer in a time when it’s easy to give up all faith in humanity.

The other day, I heard a CBC interview with Doubledee and he said, “Anybody would have done it.”

No, not everybody would have done that. As the story goes, Mr. Doubledee noticed a man walking along the sidewalk with no shoes. The next day, he saw him again and decided to stop and talk to him. He asked the man if he would wear his shoes if he gave them to him. He said yes. So, he gave them to him.

Would anyone do that? Well, did anyone in the 24-hour period between when Mr. Doubledee first saw him and the time he gave him his shoes?

Nope. Who knows how many other people saw that man walking without shoes. And, those who noticed, what would they have thought? First impulse would probably be “That guy is crazy!” and steer clear of him.

Or they would just think he was another homeless drunk.

Or perhaps they went by him and didn’t even notice that he was there — let alone that he had no shoes.

No, it’s fair to say that not everyone would give their shoes to a complete stranger on the street. In fact, I think the number of people who would do that would be few and far between in our society. I even ask myself if I would have done it. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have even thought about it, and I consider myself to be someone who is supposed to care about these things.

I talk a lot about human rights, peace, justice, and caring, but I have never given anyone the shoes off my feet. I often don’t even give out change, sadly. I feel suspicious about where the money is going instead of thinking as though I am helping someone.

Why? I suppose I am caught up in the world of stereotyping as many of us are, and face it, we all know what those stereotypes are. But Kris Doubledee has got me thinking about this.

Have I passed anyone without shoes?

If I did, why didn’t I help?! Why didn’t I notice? What if it was I without shoes and what if Kris Doubledee wasn’t around? Would someone else fill his shoes, pardon the pun? The answer is: not many would.

No, Mr. Doubledee, you really did do something special. You really did do something that many of us other humans would not do. But, I think that every time we hear a feel good story of human kindness it does, or at least probably should, get us thinking about our own actions in this world, even just for a short bit. And the more we hear about these stories, the more we will be inspired to follow suit. It’s fair to say that this man has inspired many, given the international attention he has received – every bit of it deserved.

You’re a good man, Mr. Doubledee.

You’ve done a good thing.

Thank you.

4

October 10, 2012

News Striking CUPE union unhappy with B.C. plan to centralize university services Andrew Bates

The Ubyssey (UBC) VANCOUVER (CUP) — A provincial plan to combine administrative services at B.C. universities has cast a shadow over labour negotiations at UBC. The government hopes to save money by consolidating services at universities and colleges across B.C. But service and support staff unions currently striking at various B.C. universities say that this amounts to privatization and worry that some of their members may lose their jobs.

A $20 million cut is planned for the B.C.’s government’s entire postsecondary budget next year, and this plan is one of many ways for them to save some cash.

The province is calling the plan the “Post-Secondary Sector Administrative Service Delivery Transformation Project.” They’ve brought in consulting firm Deloitte to look at universities’ non-academic operations and deduce where things can be run more cheaply.

The firm is considering whether everything from libraries to IT support could be run centrally for all B.C. universities.

The union representing service and support workers on UBC’s Vancouver campus, CUPE 116, is worried about what could happen if the

project goes through. CUPE 116 president Colleen Garbe said that it will result in private companies taking over jobs from the union’s public-sector workers, whose job descriptions range from IT support, to janitorial work, to Campus Security.

“We’re not signing a collective agreement with that threat overhead,” said Garbe on Thursday.

“They have to take that away, just like [the B.C. government] took … the threat of privatization of the liquor distribution branch away,” she said, referencing how the provincial government recently went back on its plans to privatize liquor distributions when labour negotiations with another public-sector union went sour. “That has to go.” “[UBC] doesn’t agree with it, but at the end of the day, the university told us they have no control, ultimately, if the government decides to contract services at UBC,” Garbe said Thursday.

But UBC plans to keep their bargaining with CUPE 116 limited to issues like wages and pensions, and doesn’t want to discuss this project at the bargaining table.

“Our bargaining proposals and the mandate we got from the government were completely independent of this particular review,” said Lucie McNeill, the director of UBC Public Affairs Lucie McNeill. UBC

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is participating in discussions about the project, and McNeill says that so far, she isn’t convinced that it will end with UBC staff jobs being outsourced.

“We have not had indication that this project would entail any kind of privatization,” McNeill said.

CUPE B.C., the group overseeing collective bargaining for the many CUPE unions across the province, argues that centralized university services will wind up being less efficient.

“If you’re registering for a course, as a student, and you have to phone … or email somewhere that’s not your university and the person who’s actually dealing with your registration doesn’t work there, that would end up being a problem in the end,” said Jordana Feist, staff advisor for CUPE B.C. A provincial steering committee working on the project will release a report about how to go forward by mid-October. Any decisions they make will be binding.

Minister for Advanced Education John Yap said the public may not see the report “before the committee completes its work.” Critics of the project are concerned that university staff and faculty will not get to have any input before any changes take place.

In September, the Federation of

— PHOTO BY K AI JACOBSON (THE UBYSSEY) Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) sent a letter co-signed by the faculty associations of 19 B.C. universities asking the government to hold a summit to discuss the issue. The group is worried that the plan will lead to layoffs.

“We want to talk to them about it, because we don’t really know much in the way of details,” said George Davison, secretary-treasurer of the FPSE. “We’re concerned about what may happen to students and support staff.”

Davison continued, “If serious decisions are going to be made … we’d hope that stakeholders would be involved, including … support staff unions, faculty … and students.”

B.C.’s official opposition party also has a dim view of the project.

“They’re looking at [this] not from the perspective of how can we better serve students, but how can we save money,” said Michelle Mungall, the NDP critic for advanced education.

Still, Yap contends that B.C. universities should be able to cut $20 million — which accounts for one per cent of the total budget for the sector — without hurting services to students.

“What we’re asking, what we’re talking about, is a one per cent opportunity for finding ways to work more efficiently,” said Yap. —with files from Laura Rodgers

Rocking for a cause

B.C. bands perform to benefit Canadian Cancer Society Samantha Garvey Ω Roving Editor

Cancer sucks. Everyone has had their life affected by cancer in one way or another. Musician Matt Genshorek has a close friend — also the lead vocalist of his band I’ve Taken a Lover — who battled brain cancer and won.

Genshorek also has an aunt who survived breast cancer, a grandfather who passed away from cancer and a threeyear-old cousin who is recovering from leukemia.

It was cancer’s effect on his life that made him want to make a difference.

“But what can we do to help?” he said.

It was mid-August that he came up with a plan to use his passion for music to take action against the disease.

The Rock for the Cure concert came to be. On Saturday, Oct. 6, eight bands played at the Rotary Bandshell at Riverside Park for more than eight hours in order to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.

People could donate on location or online.

The Canadian Cancer Society focuses on prevention, research and support services for cancer victims and their families.

The society’s theme at this event was taking personal charge for health and against cancer.

“What one thing are you going to do?” asked Canadian Cancer Society event coordinator, Tessa Derksen. She said approximately half of all cancer diagnoses are from preventable causes and the society is trying to highlight the changes anyone can make in their life for prevention.

She and two TRU student volunteers, Ryan Turcot and Reason Chambwera, worked under the blue and yellow tent in the warm sun all day collecting donations and communicating to concert

goers about the easy changes to make in their lives to prevent cancer.

Turcot is a second-year communications student and Chambwera is a postbaccalaureate finance student.

“People in their 20s, 30s, 40s think they don’t need to worry, but the things you do now will affect you down the road,” Derksen said.

She added that people from Kamloops are a very generous group. “They just need an opportunity. We need to create more opportunities.”

Create opportunity is exactly what Genshorek did.

It was only a few short months ago he and Rob Wikstrom, his cancer-survivor bandmate were discussing what a fundraising event would look like, and it was in their very first conversation that they wanted the Bandshell, in October, all afternoon.

After much hard work, Genshorek made it a reality.

Despite many hours of rallying excitement and building an audience, sponsorship fell short, with only Lee’s Music and 98.3 CIFM jumping on board.

“We waited as long as we could,” Genshorek said. “I wanted this show to happen, so I paid for it.”

He estimated he probably put forward $3,700 himself to make it happen.

“I don’t regret it.”

The total amount raised for the society on the day was more than $1,100, but Derksen and Genshorek are already planning next year’s event with the intention of building off this year’s success.

“I wanted it to be a good show so people will know about it,” he said.

As the afternoon went on, a crowd did slowly form, even those who were at the park for other reasons stopped and stayed for a set.

Papa Tee’s restaurant provided pizzas at the event and as a surprise to Gen-

shorek, donated all their earnings at the end of the day to the society.

The bands were recruited by Genshorek through networking. Every musician donated their time and even Calgary rock group Black Phoenix Orchestra donated their album sales to the society. From Kelowna came Fields of Green.

A Name Unheard came from Vancouver and five more Kamloops groups filled the afternoon, including Van Damsel, Matt Stanley and the Decoys and The Fine Print. Mohsin Zaman is a local artist who signed onto the event only the day before to fill in for an injury.

Genshorek found time to perform as bassist and guitarist in his group, I’ve Taken a Lover.

Kamloops band The Fine Print, including lead singer Jarrett Boyetchko, plays for free at the Rock for the Cure concert to fundraise for the Canadian Cancer Society, Saturday Oct. 6.

— PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GARVEY

5

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 6

News

Biological gold in the hills Luke Henderson Ω Contributor

sion is to discover and deliver medical innovation to treat unmet medical management needs in various disease conditions,” Biopharma’s website stated. “On the other, our target customer/ collaborator is the traditional pharmaceutical industry.”

Recently a group of researchers discovered new microbes in some of the world’s deepest caves in Lechuguilla , N.M. The bacteria found have been in absolute isolation from the outside world, but have built-in antibodies, according to an article posted in http://www.sciencedaily. com.

The bacteria are resistant to nearly every antibiotic in use by medical doctors. These bacteria are challenging scientists’ understanding of bacteria.

“Maybe bacteria harbor more antibiotic producing genes that we haven’t discovered,” Cheeptham said. “The purpose of bioprospecting gives us info we didn’t have before.

“There is other knowledge to be gained from this.”

A microbiologist and instructor at TRU has discovered bacteria new to science while exploring caves in Wells Grey Provincial Park.

Dr. Naowarat Cheeptham discovered these bacteria while bioprospecting, a term used to describe searching for new life forms for practical use and commercialization. She hopes to discover microbes that could be used in the pharmaceutical industry to benefit humans.

“Can we use their compounds they produce to our benefit?

Such as anti-cancer agents or anti-microbial agents?” Cheeptham said.

Cheeptham chose the caves because of their extreme ecological nature.

“When you talk of darkness, you don’t have primary producers for energy, they complete the food web,” she said. “If you don’t have photosynthesis where do you get the energy from?

“Caves are actually a near-starved environment.”

This was the first bioprospecting in volcanic caves to take place in Canada.

Cheeptham expected the life forms to match the uniqueness of their environment.

“Wouldn’t they have unique metabolic pathways to be able to produce something new for us?” she said.

“We can make use of their metabolic diversity.”

During her exploration, Cheeptham did discover a strain of Actinomycete bacteria that may be beneficial to the agricultural industry.

The bacteria, at this time only known as E9, has shown anti-microbial properties against Paenibacillus larvae, a destructive honeybee killer that causes Wells Gray Provincial Park. foulbrood disease.

— PHOTO Entering isolated COURTESY GERTHMICHAEL/WIKIMEDIA environments, such as caves, is not a simple matter.

“You have to be aware that every action you do in the cave can change the native microbial community,” Cheeptham said.

This isn’t the first time Cheeptham has undergone an expedition in search of new life forms.

She has also done research exploring ocean sediment from Tokyo Bay. Cheeptham is not alone in her bioprospecting.

Soricimed Biopharma Inc. is a Canadian-based company in Sackville, N.B., that specializes in discovering and utilizing new microbes.

The company’s mission statement is: “To advance the health and wellness of humanity by developing globally applicable cancer and pain management platforms.”

Bioprospecting walks a fine line of serving human needs and financial gain.

“On the one hand, our mis-

International Intonations

Textbook law in California, trouble in Brazil, and puppies!

Mark Hendricks Ω Contributor

New California law to provide free textbooks for students A new law in California will provide students with free electronic textbooks for 50 select lower division courses.

Californian governor Jerry Brown signed into law last Thursday a bill that will create a website to serve as an information commons where select textbooks will be available to download for free.

Which textbooks will be available hasn’t been decided yet.

Steinberg said in a press release.

“Sometimes having to choose between buying the books they need or paying for food and other living expenses.”

Where you can find more: www. theatlantic.com

Slums being levelled and residents evicted in Rio

— PHOTO COURTESY JDK243/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

— PHOTO COURTESY ASAHIKO/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The law will give Californian universities the option to either create textbooks or to purchase licenses for already available textbooks. Any textbooks that are created by the Californian universities will have a creative commons license, allowing these textbooks to be used for free by other universities.

“Many students are paying more than $1,000 every year on their textbooks,” senate president pro tem (the highest ranking member of the state senate) Darrel

Contact managerofomega @gmail.com

triggered positive emotions that is associated with approach motivation.”

The study is called “The Power of Kawaii”, kawaii being the Japanese word for cute and can be found on the peer-reviewed open access electronic journal site PlosOne. Where you can find more: www. plosone.org

Looking at cute things can improve your performance A recent study at Hiroshima University in Japan found that looking at cute images can improve your performance doing everyday tasks.

This study means that those images that flood your Facebook wall or email inbox with more cuteness than a puppy and kitten taking a nap together might actually be helping you in your studies and daily activities. The study measured both fine motor control and concentration skills. Both areas saw significant improvement after viewing cute images.

The research team believes this increase is the cause of “cuteness-

Buildings in Rio’s Favela do Metro slums are being levelled and the residents being evicted as Rio attempts to spruce up its image before the World Cup. Approximately half the families in the Favela do Metro have been evicted and placed in a new housing estate. The housing estate was not finished in time and is only able to accommodate half of the families at the moment.

This has not halted the demolition as earth movers are in the process of destroying the buildings.

“It looks like you are in Iraq or Libya,” Eomar Freitas, one of the last remaining residents, told The Guardian, “I don’t have any neighbours left. It’s a ghost town.”

Residents of the Favela do Metro believe the city wants the area to build a new parking lot for the nearby stadium.

Jorge Bittar, the city’s housing secretary, said the area was singled out for destruction due to the precarious state of the homes there.

Where you can find more: www. guardian.co/uk

Duffy’s Neighbourhood Pub NFL Football Student Membership

Join our Exclusive Student NFL Football Membership for FREE!

for advertising inquiries.

TRU Students Only - Free to Play Weekly Winners announced every Monday night will enjoy 20% off Entrées, Burgers, Pastas and 50% off Wings for themselves and their guests the following Monday. Reservation Required.

Must be 19 years of age to participate.

6

October 10, 2012

TRUSU Membership Advisory Post-Secondary Education Fact:

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Ban

million plastic

bottles were sent to landfills in BC.

Join the campaign to elminate the sale of disposable plastic bottles on campus!

TRUSU Pride Collective

s t n e s Pre

SPO over 108 DI2011, L In L S A

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DISPO L L S A

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GET INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY! Sign-up at trusu.ca

Tues Oct 16 7PM Clocktower Theatre Free Admission!

Free Snacks!

As student loan debt grows from $1,000 to $10,000, completion rates among borrowers plummet from 59% to 8%.

This Week: • International Collective Movie Night • TRUSU Graduate Students’ Collective Meeting • Council Meeting • Rocky Horror Picture Show Show

Check out the Events Calendar at trusu.ca for details!

Log on to trusu.ca and get connected!

• Subscribe to the Newsletter • Join us on facebook • Follow us on Twitter

Advocacy | Services | Entertainment

7

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 6

Arts & Entertainment

Fixin’ to thrill

Film review:

Safety Not Guaranteed

Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts & Entertainment Dragonette played a sold out crowd at Cactus Jack’s Saloon on Oct. 2 and those fixin’ for a thrill left thoroughly entertained.

They brought a long list of openers for a triple bill. Data Romance, a moody electro duo brought Bjork- like vocals, tons of percussion and a bit of synth.

The show really picked up with Young Empires, a four-piece group from Toronto. Leading with a fast rhythm and building on it with a keyboard and guitar Young Empires created an incredibly danceable mix, pumping up the bass to nasal cavity-shaking levels at times. By the time the band left, the dance floor had filled up and people were in the mood for more.

Dragonette brought it with pixiepunk lead singer Martina Sorbara jumping right into one of their earliest single, “I Get Around.” Sorbara was more than happy with the attention from the energetic crowd, dancing and strutting across the stage, her small stature augmented by an intense light show.

Despite enjoying the, at times literal, limelight, Sorbara was a little jealous of those in front of her.

“I wanna be with you, on that side,” she shouted over the fence.

With Dan Kutz playing a variety of instruments and drummer Joel Stouffer setting the pace on drums, Dragonette was able to play a variety of extraordinarily electro-dance-pop-rock. An uptempo 13-song set (plus an encore), disappeared quickly with a very fast hour up on stage. Part of this was due to the occasional melding of four songs at a time into super-mixes.

most-personal mission to find out what Kenneth is all about. Ω Contributor Predictable romance ensues, peppered with anti-climactic acSafety Not Guaranteed tugs at tion sequences and some mildlythe heart. While 300 words are insightful dialogue.

From where it picks the audiusually enough to destroy a time travel f lick, if you take it with ence up, Safety Not Guaranteed a few grains of salt and ignore drops them just as far.

Things take a dramatic turn Aubrey Plaza’s one-muscle face, there is story enough to keep from a campfire make-out session to the appearance of Byour eyes off your watch. movie secret Let’s skip agents and a the inevitwist in the table time plot. travel movie The clicomparisons max is as with Back to quick as it is the Future p e r pl e x i n g , or The Terwhile still minator. being heartS a f e t y warming Not Guarand leaves a nte e d’s — IMAGE COURTESY DUPLASS you wonr e d e e m BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS dering what ing feature really hapis that it spends a lot of laughs on comic pened.

The only thing that makes this relief and very few snores on the a 21st century movie is a mencomplications of time travel.

The story kicks off when a tion of Facebook and the use of reminiscent, lost-in-life report- smartphones. Everything else is er named Jeff (Jake Johnson) 1985.

Electric-blue lightning bolts and two deadpan interns, Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Amau even make an appearance, leav(Karan Soni), go on assignment ing you to speculate what comto Oceanview, Wash. to get the munity college actually proscoop on ragged eccentric Ken- duced this thing.

Safety Not Guaranteed is a neth Calloway (Mark Duplass) who has placed an ad in a news- throwback to the accidental feelpaper looking for a partner in good f lick that got you laid in high school. time travel.

On a Thursday night in KamWhile her two friends go on the prowl for libidinous teen loops at the Paramount Theatre, girls, Darius embarks on an al- that’s good enough.

Miximilian Birkner

—PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GARVEY

While the first two-thirds were strong, the last three songs really riled up the crowd, with “Hello” leading into new single “Let It Go.” By this time the workout on stage got to Sorbara as she climbed on a security member and inserted new lyrics into the band’s megahit.

“Alright, you should sing this part so I can take a drink,” she sang, holding a cup of water at the

ready. The crowd happily obliged with a big, “I just came to say hello!”

A high-speed rush of a bouncy, electro dance rock night, Dragonette concerts are always for those willing to get a workout on the floor.

Check out more photos from the show at theomega.ca.

Actor’s Workshop Theatre: Village of Idiots

TRU Career Mentoring

Samantha Garvey Ω Roving Editor

To do List

1. apply fo r TRU aw ards and bursa ries 2. study fo r next exa m 3. attend Career Mentoring event 4. Start m y career!

—PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GARVEY “I’m more excited than nervous,” he said.

In the theatre arts program, students take courses not just in acting but directing and technical production among other subjects. Raschke said he would like to one day work in technical production while Gilker would like to continue to work in promotion and publicity.

Students are responsible for all aspects of the production including lights, costume, hair and makeup, set and props. Rascke built several props himself.

Positions in the production are open to all students and a handful of the 17-member cast comes from other departments, such as business administration. The core is mostly made up of fourth-year theatre majors who have known each other and worked closely for three previous seasons.

Village of Idiots was written by John

Lazarus, a prominent Canadian playwright.

“I love that we’re doing a Canadian work,” Gilker said. “People don’t always recognize it... It’s important for us to be showing it off.”

The community of Kamloops has been a support to the group. Western Canada Theatre has lent equipment and set pieces to the TRU department.

Occasionally, the company opens its auditions to students which gives them experience in the professional world.

“They’re a wonderful support to us,” Gilker said.

This year the theatre underwent a facelift, drawing attention to the entrance with a dramatic black finish.

Raschke said it’s good to highlight the place as last year he met students who didn’t know TRU had a theatre major.

SEE THEATRE p. 9

Discover the Strength of Networking Networking 411

Mentor Connections: 1-on-1 Pairing

> Grand Hall

> Culinary Arts building

October 23, 2012: For all students January 28, 2013: Faculty of Adventure Tourism, Culinary Arts and Tourism January 29, 2013: Science / Animal Health / Health Sciences January 30, 2013: Business

October 29, 2012: Online Application Deadline (registration limited) November 7, 2012: Pairing Reception

Mimics “speed dating” format

> Based on your registration information, you are paired 1-on-1 with a mentor > Meet your mentor at our pairing reception > Subsequent meetings are at the discretion of the pairing

> Meet with 5–7 professionals over 90 minutes > Answer your career questions in quick group discussions > A wide variety of industry professionals will be present

Career: TALCC Series (Timely Advice Linking Campus and Career) > Available Upon Request > Program specific panel discussions with industry professionals > Students are encouraged to suggest the career focus > Learn who is being hired and why and increase your career understanding

MC117047

TRU Actor’s Workshop Theatre kicks off this season with its first production, Village of Idiots, playing nightly from Oct. 11 to 13 and 18 to 20. Village of Idiots is about a Russian Army deserter who winds up in the village of Chelm in Poland where things don’t seem quite right to the outsider.

“It’s a farce comedy but there’s also a deeper story to it,” said Kelsey Gilker, a fourth-year theatre arts student who plays the part of Miriam in the production. She said the plot is usually secondary to the humour in most farce productions, but that isn’t the case with Village of Idiots. Audiences can still expect the high energy performance typical of farce comedy, according to Gilker.

As well as four classes, Gilker is participating in a work-study program as the publicity coordinator for the Actor’s Workshop Theatre, which has been a huge help to promote the productions and grow the program. Last year’s productions, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream and Death of a Salesman, had an overwhelming reception in the community and many sold-out nights.

“All publicity [effort] was thrown on directors, [which was then] pushed to the back of their mind because they’re focused on the show,” Gilker said.

The lead character Yosef is played

by Jared Rashke, who has been co-lead in past productions but this is his first time taking centre stage of a major production.

www.tru.ca/careermentoring

8

October 10, 2012

Arts & Entertainment

Album review: Lawrence, Where’s Your Knife?

Courtney Dickson Ω Contributor

Lawrence, Where’s Your Knife? — released in 2011 — is the Crooked Brothers’ second album. Recorded in a cabin in the band’s native province of Manitoba during the middle of winter, makes it tough to get the impression these guys aren’t dedicated to their craft.

Darwin Baker, Matt Foster and Jesse Matas make up this multi-talented trio. All three write, sing and play the music.

The first track was strategically chosen to engage listeners with a great beat and raspy vocals.

Following that, the album slows down for more than 15 minutes during tracks two to five. If it weren’t for the poetic lyrics, it would be easy for listeners to check-out.

The sixth track, “Up the Mountain,” starts off with a banjo solo comparable to introductions of many contemporary country songs. Despite this, the vocals are anything but modern.

Though the Crooked Brothers consider themselves primarily a roots and folk band, listeners could argue that classic country

is a more appropriate way to describe the group’s genre.

“Good Man” is the big finale on this album and can be heard as nothing less. Johnny Cash himself would have been privileged to provide a voice for the lyrical genius and smooth harmonica that sets this song apart from the rest of the album.

The group is on a break after a summer of touring but will be

making a few appearances in Manitoba, Alberta and the Yukon throughout the fall. Recently returned home from a tour in Europe, the band’s lyricism seeps onto its website as well; even updates from the tour are written in a poetic style.

Fans will appreciate the soul that went into this album, regardless of how they react to the genre. The passion these men

Lindsay Ell is a singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alta.

Though not blatantly country, it could be argued that Ell’s recent sound falls into the country genre.

On her 2006 release Consider This, Ell deployed a much more pop-rockinspired sound.

“Seize the Moment” is lyrically inspiring and empowering song that opens up Consider This on a positive note. “Let Me Keep Fallin’” has more of a bluesy flavour to it, though still keeps aligned with the overall pop sound that the rest of the album carries.

2009’s Alone marked a departure from the pop sound featured on Consider This as Ell dabbled with an acoustic country influence.

Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor Space pop powerhouse Grimes may have only been making music for the past two years, but she’s been impactful in that short period of time. Based in Montreal, though originally from Vancouver, she already had an interesting life before becoming a major player in Canadian indie, attempting a riverboat trip down the Mississippi River.

When that met an early demise, she came back to Canada and started in on music.

Her inf luences are varied and she herself described the music as “ADD music” to W Maga-

On March 31, 2005 the Thompson Rivers University Act created three governing bodies for TRU: the Board, the Senate, and the Planning Council for Open Learning.

Please see the ‘TRU Board, Senate & Planning Council Election Procedures’ document dated January 25, 2010 for details. It is available on the TRU web site at tru.ca. Search on ‘Elections’ I) The positions on the three governing bodies which need to be filled through the election process are as follows: Nominations: All candidates for election must be nominated in writing by three individuals eligible to vote in the election for the candidate. Nomination forms are available on-line at tru.ca. Search on ‘Elections’.

Board

1 (One) Student nominated from students who are members of the TRU Student Union but elected by all TRU & TRU-OL students (1 year term)

Senate

Students: 4 (Four) Students nominated from and elected by TRU & TRU-OL students (1 year term) Support Staff: 1 (One) Support staff, elected by the support staff (2 year term) Teaching Staff Open Learning: 1 (One) Member from the teaching staff in the Open Learning Division, elected by members of the teaching staff in the Open Learning Division (2 year term)

Truly a Secret Canadian Music Corner Broadcast Ω Copy/Web Editor

(TRU Registrar’s Office)

Students:

—IMAGE COURTESY TRANSISTOR 66 RECORD CO

Taylor Rocca

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Using an acoustic guitar to drive her songs, Ell has worked alongside Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman.

Apart from working with Bachman, Ell opened up a Keith Urban show in Halifax, N.S. on Aug. 19.

While she might not be a household name on the Canadian music scene, she is certainly getting noticed by some heavy-hitters within the industry.

For those looking for an easy, soothing tracklist to sit quietly and read a good book to, Lindsay Ell is worth checking out. Her silky vocals allow listeners to slide into a comfortable chair and simply let go.

Other worthy tracks for a taste of what Ell offers include, “Might As Well,” “Fallen House,” “High Hopes” and her cover of Jann Arden’s “Good Mother.”

zine. A woman of the digital era, space pop is the easiest way to describe the futuristic instrumentation and layered vocals that go into a Grimes piece.

Synths, and keyboards in general are common, with her vocals often providing additional melody. Rhythm is generally 80s-esque drum machine material and at times a dark and aggressive presence.

Successful in England and Belgium, she’s well regarded in Canada’s indie scene and by the more pretentious music fans.

“Vowels = space + time” off of her Polaris Prize Short List achieving album Visions is an excellent introduction to melodious digital work.

TRU Community Trust (TRUCT) (For more information about the TRUCT, please view on-line at: http:// www.tru.ca/vpadmin/university_village.html ) Faculty: 1 (One) Faculty member elected by and from all of the TRU faculty members (3 year term) Students: 1 (One) Student nominated from and elected by TRU & TRU-OL students (1 year term) Planning Council for Open Learning Students:

Brendan Kergin

1 (One) Student nominated from TRU-OL students and elected by both TRU and TRU-OL students (1 year term)

Secret Broadcast rolled into town Oct. 3 for a show at Heroes amid its cross-Canada tour supporting the Hungry Ghost EP. The recent signees to eOne, originally from Calgary, are on the way back home for the official album release.

Sounding like a mix between Nirvana and Radiohead, Secreat Broadcast played a short set of indie rock.

Starting off with a classic sound, the set occasionally grew into moments of epic proportion, using a driving guitar presence to maintain the small-time indie charm.

Vocalist Matt Lightstone sings like he means it, with enthusiasm in the words he’s written.

Hardly a soul showed up for the concert. A planned two sets were trimmed to one as the doors opened at 7:30 p.m. without a person to let in. Never did the number of audience members outnumber the number of people working.

While no doubt disappointed by a comically small crowd, the band persevered and played nonetheless, working through a variety of material, including most of the Hungry Ghost track list. Lightstone took to the mike like it was any other show and played like the front-man of a rock band, leaping and having fun. The set-up at least offered the chance for a full dress rehearsal before a much bigger show in Calgary.

So, to the students and music fans who decided to stay home Wednesday, you missed a good show from a band playing indie-garage rock with moments of grandeur.

II)

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor

The timelines for the 2012 elections are as follows:

October 1, 2012 – The Voters’ Lists are available for inspection at the TRU Registrar’s Office in Kamloops and Williams Lake.

October 1 to October 22, 2012 – Nomination period: All nomination forms must be submitted to the Registrar by 4:30 p.m. on October 22, 2012. The Registrar will acknowledge receipt of all nomination forms from nominees.

November 20 to November 30, 2012 – Voting period for online secret balloting: Voting will close at 4:30 p.m. on November 30, 2012. All online ballots must be submitted and paper ballots received in the Registrar’s Office by the close of voting. No ballots will be accepted by the Registrar after the close of voting.

December 7, 2012 – Announcement of results on the TRU website and by e-mail III)

Proposed Meeting Times (subject to change):

Board – meets 5 times per year with some additional committee meetings Senate – the fourth Monday of each month, 4:30-6:30 pm, except in July and August TRU Community Trust – TBA Planning Council for Open Learning – meets 2 times per year - dates and times to be determined IV)

Meeting Attendance for TRU Employees and Students:

Meetings will take place in Kamloops. For those not in Kamloops, teleconferences will be used and in person attendance will be arranged when necessary and appropriate.

Elected representatives will commence their term in office in January 2013.

Questions and requests for nomination papers: Nomination papers are available on-line at tru.ca (search on Elections), or from the TRU Registrar’s Office: in Kamloops or (Phone: 250-828-5032) or e-mail (lmcabee@tru.ca); for the Williams Lake Campus (Phone: 250392-8000).

9

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 6

Arts & Entertainment

Film Review:

Film review: Looper

Stalled

Generic characters don’t mean you’re in for a straight-forward Sci-Fi romp Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor Time travel leads to messy plots. The more a story discusses its intricacies, the more issues arise. Looper is a film where plenty hinges on time travel and the mechanics surrounding it, which are all unknown and uncertain. While writer/director Rian Johnson tries quell them, there will always be issues.

The story puts us a little more than 30 years in the future, where the mob has control of an unnamed dystopian city.

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a hit man for the mob, but not thug or assassin -- he’s a looper -- someone paid to kill those sent back from the future to be killed.

This is apparently the most efficient way of making bodies disappear from the technologicallyadvanced future where tracking devices are commonplace and time travel has been invented and immediately banned.

As part of the job description it’s agreed that the loopers will, at some point, have to kill their future selves, completing a loop.

This is where the movie takes off. The first portion explains a lot; when telekinesis came into existence, the mobs rule, loopers and establishing a fairly solid setting.

Bruce Willis’ arrival and subsequent escape as a future Joe is where things get fuzzy, with paradoxes and time-related memory loss.

It’s also at this point new major characters get involved, which is a hiccup at first, but the

movie is long enough to absorb the impact of the late additions.

Looper is a conceptually a strong film and despite being action packed and sci-fi, it has plenty of moral questions with some dark ethics.

The climax involves no real villains and two perfectly understandable viewpoints facing off in a life-or-death situation.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a strong central figure and his Joe does express some character growth. Though slow at first, he eventually catches up to the unique situation he’s in.

Bruce Willis’s Joe, on the other hand, is fairly one-dimensional with a couple strong scenes.

It’s not Willis’ acting, but the

writing that leaves him f lat.

Aside from Joe (all versions) most characters are fairly generic, but this is acceptable as the real issue at hand for the majority of the movie is time travel, knowledge of the future and destiny. Plenty of the audience’s brain power is needed to unravel things like why the mob doesn’t want to kill Levitt or how Willis’ memory might be working at any given moment.

For the time travel fans, a definite must see.

For people looking for a more straightforward action film this might be a little difficult at times. Looper is not a bad film to sit back and think about from a cool distance.

Entertainment blends into awareness Allison Declercq Ω Contributor

It’s hard to make friends here.

Or maybe I don’t want to.

Agreed. Sometimes I feel I’m better off by myself than with people, being fake.

You are beautiful. You are loved.

Maybe all of us who have written here should meet up?

How can we? We’re all the same person.

- Five anonymous women on a bathroom stall at UBC

—IMAGE COURTESY DMG ENTERTAINMENT

Stalled is a 15-minute film based off a collection of more than 800 quotes from bathroom stalls across North America.

Meghan Gardiner, scriptwriter and actress for all the characters, collected the quotes for three years as she toured for her play Dissolve.

She came up with the concept after coming across a debate about abortion on a bathroom stall at the University of Toronto. She found herself enthralled by the similar messages and their dark sides that thread across North America.

“Why did someone crouch down to write ‘I throw up my food’ under the toilet?” Gardiner asked herself.

The film focuses on four prominent themes she found

Contact arts@truomega.ca to review films, albums, books or theatre productions for us!

Puzzle of the Week #5 – Whodunnit?

The murder. The suspects. The detective: you.

There are three suspects: Tom, Dick, and Harry. One of them always tells the truth, one always lies, and one alternates between telling the truth and lying. They each made two statements.

among the anonymous quotes of graffiti: eating disorders, drugs, sexual assault and bullying. Its five characters span ages, nationalities and eras in an effort to encompass women from all areas of life.

An elder female janitor leads the journey, finding graffiti on each stall and transforming into four different women experiencing different problems.

“Each character is stalled,” Gardiner said of them during the discussion afterward, as she and the audience explored how the film addressed each issue through the characters.

A look at some quotes brought poetry to mind while others seemed like an attempt to connect.

“If you write it on the wall you either love it, crave it, or hate it,” wrote an anonymous person from an unknown bathroom.

Gardiner also described her desire to explore the difference between art and cries for help.

“Do these women come back to see if there was a response?” she asked.

In the film one of the characters wrote a poem – one found on a bathroom stall in reality – written by several anonymous contributors.

Discussions on stalls can be shocking and deep; “Is it because they are more anonymous than Facebook?” Gardiner asked the audience.

The film was finished five days before it was shown at in the Clock Tower at TRU on Thursday, Oct. 4, making the viewing the premier of Stalled.

Though the film was only 15 minutes, discussion continued well beyond 7:30 p.m. as Gardiner worked “to figure out where the impact lies.”

The audience members, the majority women with a handful of men, voiced their opinion on the film, the issues and their experiences with stall discussion.

As Gardiner had hoped, Stalled ended up being “entertainment first, awareness second.”

THEATRE...from p. 7

Tom: 1. “Dick always lies.”

2. “I sometimes lie and sometimes tell the truth.”

Dick: 1. “I didn’t do it.”

2. “Harry did it.”

Harry: 1. “I am innocent, innocent I tell you!”

2. “Tom always lies.”

Whodunnit?

This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize.

Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net>. Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in the Math Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

In addition to the new look, the schedule has also been altered to start several weeks earlier than last year, in order to avoid any productions that might interfere with exam schedules or students that have already returned home for the winter or summer breaks.

On the Oct. 13 showing, a dinner theatre experience will be offered, where patrons can enjoy a meal by the Culinary Arts department before seeing the show for a ticket price of $65.

Upcoming plays this season are The Good Soul of Szechuan at the end of November and Curse of the Starving Class in February and March 2013.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the box office in Old Main which is open weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or at Kamloops Live Box Office at kamloopslive.ca.

10

October 10, 2012

Sports

Limited gym space

Does TRU have enough floor-time available for those who would make use of it?

Adam Williams Ω Sports Editor

For an institution its size, it could be argued that TRU lacks gym space. The Tournament Capital Centre (TCC) and the Old Gym are both constantly in use and while they do an amicable job of housing the sports they do, there’s not exactly extra space for individuals or groups hoping to put on a sporting event. Which is exactly the problem that Garrett Horvath ran in to a few weeks ago.

Horvath is a second-year law student and the organizer of the TRU Dodgeball Club.

With more than 140 players registered in the league, the Dodgeball Club is the largest on TRU’s campus and they nearly had to close the doors on their season before it even began. The reason? They couldn’t find anyone who was willing or able to rent them gym space for their weekly games.

“It’s an uphill battle just trying to get anything done in this town that requires a gym, unfortunately,” Horvath said. “Like I said in my email [to The Omega], my high school has more gyms than this university.”

He attempted to reach out to

resources on TRU campus.

John Shephard, the athletics and recreation assistant facilities coordinator, said Wolf Pack sports and special events use up the bulk of available space, according to Horvath. Similarly, Horvath claims that Pina Russo, the campus recreation coordinator, said no weekly “open gym” space was available when he approached her for help.

“I’m doing everything I can to get it running,” Horvath said.

“So hopefully it will work out.”

With the help of TRUSU and the Kamloops Sports Council (a local sports advocacy group) Horvath managed to secure a booking for a local elementary school gym and the league was able to continue, having only missed one week of scheduled games.

Horvath’s situation highlights what might be a larger issue on campus.

Does TRU need more gym space? After all, the Dodgeball Club is a part of the students union and is made up of students and alumni. It seems a little hard to believe they have to leave campus and rent an elementary school gym to be able to play their games.

If it’s not an issue of gym

Alex Walker, Kris Henderson, Mardi Edmunds and Eric Rines of “Seal Cub Clubbing Club” of the

2011/12 Kamloops Dodgeball League.

—PHOTO BY TAYLOR ROCCA

space, with demand like Horvath is outlining, is it time for Campus Recreation to take over the league?

“That’s ideal, because then I wouldn’t have to [run the league].

The only reason I started this league up is because I wanted to play dodgeball,” Horvath said.

“That would be so awesome because it would reduce the cost on everyone and make it just a regular part of the campus. Look at University of Alberta, they had

the largest dodgeball game in the world. Other universities see the value in the sport because you get people out doing exercise, it takes very little athleticism.”

The Omega attempted to contact Shephard and Russo via phone. Neither responded by print deadline.

Whether the issue is gym space or the priority sports are given within Campus Recreation, one has to beg the question, why is dodgeball still a peripheral sport

at this university?

As it stands, the Dodgeball Club is in operation for another year and in an email to The Omega the first week of games “went really well,” according to Horvath.

Let’s just hope that the TRU Dodgeball Club always has an organizer who is this committed, because without the support of the university or Campus Recreation, the club itself could be short-lived.

Downward dog has students looking up surrounding mental illness,” Corsi said. Ω Sports Editor “One in five will experience menA new yoga program started by tal illness in their lifetime, either the TRU Wellness Centre at TRU is themselves or through connection to taking a different approach to help- someone else. We need to be more accepting, open and aware.” ing those fighting mental illness.

Yoga is a popular way to help stu“In general, all campuses are struggling with how to help students dents as Jesse Faubert and his sister with these issues [depression and Phelan found out earlier this year. anxiety],” said Chelsea Corsi, the The siblings started the TRU Yoga Club, a student group with TRUSU wellness coordinator at TRU. “More and more students aren’t and had more than 103 sign-ups in only students. There are so many their first afternoon at Clubs Day. The club is still young and just redemands on them like having jobs or cently had their being parents.” first meeting The TRU but interest has Wellness Centre been impresruns nine free sive. classes each “We’re lookweek that are ing not just to aimed at helphave yoga classing students and es but to be able staff maintain to build comtheir “physical, munity,” said emotional, soJesse Faubert, a cial, intellectupre-MBA stual, occupational, and spiritual

—Chelsea Corsi dent. “We’re just stoked well-being.” about being able Pa r t icipa nt s can find classes on everything from to start something like this at TRU.” Both the TRU Wellness Centre’s meditation and belly dancing, to Piloga (a blend of Pilates and yoga) depression and anxiety yoga classes and desktop yoga. The implementa- and the TRU Yoga Club’s classes tion of yoga classes geared specifi- are slated to begin in the next few cally towards treating mental illness weeks, just in time for students who is something new to the centre this will be heading into the busiest parts of their semesters. year.

While the groups aren’t officially Previously, the Wellness Centre offered workshops that were geared connected in any way, Corsi said she at giving staff and students infor- would love to see if there are any opmation and resources for issues of portunities for the groups to partner mental illness. The new direction is in the future.

Regardless of the directions each an effort to give those in attendance specific tools for helping their men- group takes, there will be plenty of tal well-being, according to Corsi. opportunities for students and staff In a time where people are so con- to engage in yoga on campus this nected to those around them, taking semester, whether they’re just looktime to disconnect and recharge is ing to get some exercise or to battle the stress that is all too prevalent on more important than ever.

“We need to reduce the stigma university campuses today.

Adam Williams

“One in five will experience mental illness in their lifetime.”

—PHOTO COURTESY ROBERT BEJIL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

WolfPack Scoreboard Women’s Soccer Saturday: 2-0 victory over Douglas College Sunday: 3-0 victory over Kwantlen Men’s Soccer Saturday: 1-0 loss to Douglas College Sunday: 3-1 victory over Kwantlen

Hockey Oct. 6 - Season Opener: WolfPack vs. Trinity Western: 8-6 WolfPack

Golf 7th place team finish (632) Top TRU golfer: Nic Corno 15th (151)

Baseball

Winners:

Saturday, Oct. 6 and Sunday, Oct. 7

Individual: Aaron Pauls of UFV (138)

WolfPack vs Douglas College: 6-3, 5-3, 7-2, 5-3, sweep for the WolfPack

Team: University of Fraser Valley (586)

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The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 6

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46. Other side 47. Italian city 53. Pristine 58. Mexican bread 59. Confess 62. New World lizard 63. Gulf leader 64. Fill beyond full 65. Less 66. Fishing site

67. Genuine Down 1. Drifts 2. Crosswise, on deck 3. Grassy plain 4. Surrender 5. Burn cause 6. Galley tool 7. Turning point?

8. Slight, in a way 9. Established 10. ___ of Court 11. S-shaped molding 12. Check 13. Fine things?

18. Radioactive 19. Chisholm Trail town 23. It grows on you 24. Young herring 27. “Rock the Boat” music 28. Bronx cheer 29. Brings into play 30. Bug out 31. German historian Joachim 32. Dance bit 33. Pad ___ (noodle dish) 34. Leftovers 35. Mind 36. Nod, maybe 37. Pop-ups 39. Astringent substance

40. Perceive 44. Arias, usually 45. Looked secretly 46. Manicurist, at times 48. Place for sweaters?

49. Perspicacity 50. Bartender on TV’s Pacific Princess 51. Needle point?

52. Still 53. One of seven branches 54. Supreme Court count 55. Singer Phoebe 56. Rake’s look 57. It’s just for show 60. Melody 61. Blubber

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LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

sudokueasy

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MYLES MELLOR AND SALLY YORK

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crossword

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12

October 10, 2012