November 20, 2019

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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 29 · ISSUE 12 · NOVEMBER 20, 2019

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KAMLOOPS AUTHOR DISCUSSES 2017 WILDFIRES

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COMMUNITY RUNS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

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TRU WOLFPACK PLAYER MAKES HISTORY

TRU Club encourages the student body to Rise Up with Rojava Farrah Johnson NEWS EDITOR Ω When most students bring baked goods on campus, it’s usually for a bake sale a group of them are hosting to raise money for a respective club.

Nonetheless, members of TRUSU Engage for Change Club gave out free cupcakes, cookies and pins to help raise awareness of a serious humanitarian crisis currently taking place in Rojava.

On Friday, Nov. 15, the club rented a table on Student Street in the Old Main Building to encourage students to stand in solidarity with the Kurds and inform them of the different things they could do to pledge their support.

“Engage for Change is a club that has a two-part mandate,” Jeff Diment, one of the club’s directors told The Omega.

“We facilitate students finding volunteer opportunities and we also run awareness and solidarity

campaigns around global issues.”

Diment explained that Rise Up for Rojava is an “international solidarity campaign” in support of the Kurdish government in Rojava.

See TRU STUDENTS Page 2

The club gave out free pins to encourage students to stand in solidarity with Rojava. (Farrah Johnson/The Omega)

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NOVEMBER 20, 2019

NEWS

TRU Students help raise awareness of the Rojava conflict on campus CONTINUED (COVER) “The Rojava government is a decentralized, council-based government modelled after the ideas of American philosopher Murray Bookchin,” he said.

“It’s frequently called anarchist as a simplification of what it is and it really is based on anarchist ideals.”

According to Diment, the Kurds are an ethnic group comprised of 30 million people who have occupied land that has “long been” divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Following policies enforced by the Damascus government through the Arab Belt project, many of the Kurds lost their citizenship.

This caused a significant number of Kurdish people to become stateless.

Kurdish language was also banned and repressed and those who attempted to advocate against the injustice were

tortured and murdered.

“The Syrian government is allowing Rojava to operate on its own within Syria but it borders Turkey,” Diment said.

“Turkey, for the past 50 or 60 years -basically since the end of WW2- has been fighting the Kurdish people and committing ethnic cleansing against the Kurdish people.”

Diment explained that the Turkish government considers the Kurds to be terrorists and recently justified invading Rojava.

“Turkey claimed that this was to create a safe zone to allow Syrian refugees to go back to Syria, but the UN and Amnesty International both say Turkey’s motivation is territory and the destruction of the Kurdish people, not safety for Syrian refugees,” Diment explained.

“Most western countries -most of the EU and Canadahave officially condemned

Turkey and have cut off military aid and trade to Turkey,” he added.

Diment said a ceasefire was reached on Oct. 18 and since then Turkey has taken control of the Rojava-Turkey border, forcing the Kurds to “pull out their fighters.”

“Calling it a ceasefire is not a very accurate term because although the air forces have been pulled back, ground fighting is continuing,” he said.

“People are still dying on both sides. The Turkish military and the Turkish backed jihadist militias are still attacking Kurds and the Kurds are still fighting back,” he insisted.

Stating that the overall goal of the table was to help make more people aware of the situation, Diment said he hopes the club’s efforts inspire the TRU community to do more research for themselves.

“We’re handing out pins to

“We just want to encourage students and faculty so that people to talk about the importhey have a way to physically tance of allowing Rojava to exist show their solidarity with because it could be an example Rojava and with international of what’s possible when people fighters, including Canadians, work together for a democratic that are over there volunteergoal.” ing,” he said.

Members of the TRUSU Engage for Change club stood proud with their informational booth. (Farrah Johnson/The Omega)

UPCOMING EVENTS TRU FERMENTS TRU LEAP: PANIC AWT PRESENTS OWNER'S WANTEDLIVE AT TRU FUNDRAISING DINNER AND PIZZA RETREAT KAMLOOPS PRESENTS RYAN MCNALLY NOV. 21 @ 12:30 P.M. NOV. 21 @ 8 A.M. NOV. 21-23 @ 7:30 P.M. NOV. 23 @ 11:30 A.M. NOV. 25 @ 6 P.M. NANDI'S FLAVOURS OF OFF CAMPUS ALUMNI THEATRE KAMLOOPS INNOVATION BLACK BOX THEATRE INDIA Ryan McNally brings hillbilly blues and jug band jazz to the Alumni Theatre in support of his latest album, Steppin’ Down South.

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You will have one hour Four interns find themselves abandoned at a camp run by a to figure out all the clues disgraced scoutmaster. They’re to get out of the themed escape room. each given a token and As an incentive, there will instructed to get their hands on all four tokens at any cost. be pizza for the survivors.

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NEWS

B.C. author visits Kamloops library to discuss his book Fred Reid talks about his experience with the disastrous 2017 wildfire season Brianna Schellenberg STAFF WRITER Ω Last Wednesday, Fred Reid did a presentation and book signing for Captured By Fire: Surviving British Columbia’s New Wildfire Reality, at the downtown Kamloops Library. He had co-written the book with his friend, Chris Czajowski.

Reid and his wife Monica live deep in the Chilcotin wilderness; their land is situated in a valley where they farm and raise cattle. It was on July 7, 2017, when they saw distant smoke billowing into the sky, which was started by five lightning strikes southwest of them.

At the beginning of July, 97 wildfires had erupted in one day, most of them situated in the Chilcotin area.

“Monica and I were extremely pressured,” Reid recalled.

“We had no idea how we would save our place if the fire came upon us, as it surely would be driven by the westerly-winds.”

The forestry crew who monitored the fires used Reid’s property as a staging area, where they landed helicopters that were watching the fires from above. Both Fred and Monica stayed involved in the communication amongst the crews, whether they were discussing safety requirements or where the helicopters were going to go that day, the couple found the details interesting.

Firefighters came to their property and helped install sprinklers and a pump to protect the buildings and structures. They had to remove any dry hay, fuel, wood, vehicles and gas cans from their sheds and move them to a meadow nearby.

On Aug. 3, 2017, almost a month after they saw the first fire, it began to take its charge towards their property.

That day the humidity, wind and temperature reached the critical 30/30/30, meaning humidity was below 30 per cent, the temperatures were above 30°, and the wind picked up to 30km/hr.

“We couldn’t take our eyes off the wall of smoke and flames that were coming at us from the Northside of our valley,” Reid said.

The crews that had been working on their property were told to leave. They had reserved two seats for Fred and Monica on the last helicopter, but the Reid’s declined the offer, ready to stay behind to protect their property, animals and livelihoods.

After the crews had left, they feared not having the internal communication that came with the workers. Fred said it was scarier not knowing where the fire was, more than being able to see it.

When they could see them, Fred and Monica were very observant of the fires, not afraid to get close and watch as

the small flames moved across the forest floor. Even when the fire was less than 30 metres from their property line, their fascination overtook their fear as they continued to watch it.

“What’s mostly shown on the news are the dramatic clouds of smoke up in the air,” Reid explained. “That’s not what we witnessed; what we saw was the creeping, pervasive nature of the fire, always on the ground, always looking for fuel.”

Soon, the firefighters arrived in their valley to fight the fires on the ground.

By the beginning of September, the fires had died down, though many fires in the Chilcotin area burned into the winter.

It was in October that Fred felt relief, believing the wildfire season was over in their valley.

The presentation concluded with Fred answering questions about his experience with the wildfire season. It was clear that many of the people in the audience had felt the same anxiety that Fred had felt, wondering if the fires would displace them and if this was the new normal for summers in B.C. Fred Reid gave his presentation on his book: Captured

By Fire: Surviving British Columbia’s New Wildfire Reality documenting the disasters of the 2017 wildfires that overwhelmed B.C. (Brianna Schellenberg/The Omega)

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NOVEMBER 20, 2019

TRU helps students navigate assignment crunch time TRU Library hosts annual event to support students get through impending deadlines Lisa Chernyshova BUSINESS AND TECH EDITOR Ω On Nov. 14, in the Main Library TRU students had a chance to enjoy the event Long Night Against Procrastination.

The event started at 7 p.m., by the entrance students were welcomed by the library’s staff and organizers of the event Students were asked to present their idea, they were given a schedule of activities of the night and were asked to proceed and enjoy the night.

At the event, there were no only the writing help Centre, but other different help centers and some Wellness activities.

There were Writing Help Centre, Peer Academic Coaches, Mini-Spa by Bhumika’s Salon and Spa, Student Wellness Ambassador Team, and yoga.

“Today, I’m representing the PAC program, supported by the TRU university. So, we’re academic coaches and we’re here to help students to study efficiently, maybe we can propose some new learning strategies that students can implement to their habits.

And yes, it seems like it’s been highly beneficial so far, we’ll see if students will come and seek our help today,” Elvira Rizvanova, a science student at TRU, said.

“Never study the day before the exam! Do not waste your time

studying, when it’s twelve just go to sleep. It’s been shown that people who just sleep without studying during the night, they show much better results on the test, because at least they can recall something that they knew before than when you just overloaded your brain with the information, and you just completely forget everything,” Rizvanova said.

During the night student took all the spots across the library and some people were just sitting and studying on the floor among the book’s shelves. One of the students from the computer science program was working on his project for the work.

Kenneth came from the Ivory Coast a few years ago to TRU for the computer science program.

“I came here pretty late at 9:30 p.m., actually I’ve got a message from my friends saying that there is this event,” said Kenneth.

He came there, as he wanted to have some work done and plus there was some tasty pizza.

A Political Science student at TRU, Michael Zaitlin shared his thoughts about the event.

“Sometimes if you study at home or when you study by yourself, you can get caught up by things. But something about an event like this, it’s a mix between its fun, and it’s not like brutal, everyone else is suffering, meeting up here in this cool little

community, and free food, and popcorn,” Zaitlin said.

Jenna Goddard, one of the organizers that put the LNAP together with Main Library’s staff told that this is the seventh event for her.

“We organize this, it’s every semester, something that was new this year, we usually had it all night long, but we’re ending it at 1 a.m.,” Goddard said.

“We’re a little bit afraid that people weren’t going to come, but it’s been very successful, we’ve got over 300 people,” Goddard said.

She explained that this year that they’ve done this event ending at 1 a.m., like previous times when the event was all night long, people were sleeping or watching Netflix, so they weren’t really using their time.

“So, we kind of wanted to encourage people to have healthy sleep habits, as well as you know to have the community feel and all fun events that are part of our habits,” Goddard said.

“You know, the first year when we did it, it took a long time, but we’ve done it so many times, that now it’s pretty quick. We probably started to organize this one a month and a half ago” shared Goddard.

The event was fun, nice and with cool, diverse activities, there were over 300 students and 75 boxes of pizza.

Computing Science student, Kenneth, found a quiet spot with a slice of pizza hoping to tackle his assignments. (Lisa Chernyshova/The Omega)

Potential Centre for the Arts should bring new life to Kamloops The Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society will be going forward with a referendum in early 2020 Elizabeth Nygren ARTS EDITOR Ω After some struggle to get approval from the city and its residents in previous years, the Kamloops Centre for the Arts will be heading to a referendum in the early months of 2020.

Norman Daley, President of the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society discussed his thoughts on the importance of the arts centre in Kamloops and what will happen in the future if the centre is approved by citizens.

Daley said that he thinks of the centre as a community centre for Kamloops.

“I think it’s a community centre that will allow all forms of activities to take place. Obviously, there are some major groups in the community, with the Symphony and Western Canada Theatre that would be the primary tenants of the facility. I think that it’s going to be a place that’s available to everybody.”

Daley also adds that many venues in the community are being used for events that don’t quite fit the spaces that they are given.

“A lot of the art functions right now are going into sporting facilities.

Right now, high school graduations are held on an ice surface. Let’s try to

get these events into the correct space to make them as positive as possible for the people involved and also then allow for the other spaces to be used for their intended purpose.”

The centre is proposed to be located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street, which is currently a parking lot. Daley adds that “it’s a site that was chosen in 2015 after a review of a number of different locations and was supported by community input.”

What is currently most important to the centre of the arts society is to provide accurate information about the centre to residents of Kamloops.

“We want people to understand and to try to ensure that everyone has information and that they can be supportive of it,” Daley said. “What we want to do is ensure that the vision we have for the centre gets out to the community.”

When asked about what comes next if the centre is approved, Daley provided a quick potential timeline.

“We have a very aggressive timeline. We would hopefully get approval in March of 2020.” Daley said that there would approximately be one year of planning, and then two and a half years to build. The project would hopefully be completed in the Fall of 2023, but all the numbers are

The performing arts centre referendum should be taking place in early 2020, and if approved, the centre may be completed as early as Fall 2023. (Submitted) estimates.

Daley added, “it’s a very aggressive timeframe for these types of facilities but if we have willing people that want to move things forward, things will get done and things will happen.”

Regarding payment for the centre, Daley said “right now, we’re looking at needing to raise a minimum of 22 million dollars to get to the 70 [million] with the 45 million from the city. If we can raise more than 22

million, well, trust that we’ll reduce the cities requirements.” Daley added that Ron and Rae Fawcett are contributing to the centre as well, which will help offset the costs.

When asked how people could support the centre, Daley said, “we have a membership and it’s two dollars. People go ‘oh why is it so cheap’ and the concept is that we're not trying to raise a bunch of money from this, we’re trying to make this

an inclusive opportunity so that we can gauge the community support for this project.”

Daley adds that “our website provides a wealth of information about benefits, the cost, and identifies the needs in our business case for the new facility.” He mentioned that they have over three thousand members now and anyone can easily sign up on their website at kamloopscentreforthearts.ca.

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TRU students band together to make an impact on the community Students hope to surpass last year’s donations for the Boys and Girls Club Power Start Program Cailyn Mocci EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω Kamloops is set to come together, one ugly sweater at a time with the third annual Brennan’s Ugly Sweater Run. Event founder and TRU Interdisciplinary student Payton Comazzetto shares her passion for the event in memory of her late brother Brennan.

“We’re just trying to boost people’s mental health at the beginning of the holiday season and also try and give back to the community as well,” Comazzetto said.

Brennan’s Ugly Sweater Run has been a passion project for Comazzetto dedicated to her brother Brennan who was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 1999. Brennan’s favourite holiday had always been Christmas and many of the best memories Comazzetto held of her brother centred around Christmas, making the holiday season the best setting for her memorial event.

“His favourite holiday was Christmas and that was something that he and I really valued and loved. All my best

memories of him are from that time of year,” Comazzetto said.

In 2017, while studying psychology, Comazzetto found in her research into mental health that many people who have experienced mental illness saw a significant decline in mental health during the winter holiday season. This pushed Comazzetto to begin this event in hopes of getting people out and enjoying the scenery around them.

Brennan’s Ugly Sweater Run started as a project for Comazzetto’s Service Learning class; a credit that allows students to become involved in their community while also earning credits towards their degree program.

During her own research last year, Comazzetto found that people experienced a mental health improvement while exercising in nature as opposed to urban environments; thus validating the beautiful scenery of the route along the West Highlands Community Centre overlooking Kamloops.

For the third year, 100 per cent of donations raised will be sent directly to the Kamloops Boys and Girls Club Power Start

Program in an effort to provide underprivileged school-aged children with a nutritious breakfast to start their day right.

Last year, the Ugly Sweater Run nearly tripled their 2017 attendance and double their organic donations from the previous year.

Comazzetto states that for their 2019 goal they hope to be able to feed 50 Kamloops students for a year. To reach this goal, Brennan’s Ugly Sweater Run will have to bring in $12,500 in donations.

Comazzetto hopes that by providing this support in her community, her team will be able to reduce the trauma hunger causes for students as they grow and learn.

For the first time in the history of Brennan’s Ugly Sweater Run, Comazzetto has been able to assemble a team to make 2019’s run bigger and better than ever. Comazzetto is joined by five other TRU students from varying disciplines.

This year’s event is set to be the best yet as the run grows each year. The route will be completely decorated making for the best holiday fun run as

Payton Comazzetto (left) has high hopes for the third annual event, hoping for the community to help support those in need along with her. (Submitted) cheerful holiday music floods the route. To top it off, runners can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or hot apple cider to keep the cheer going.

Runners are encouraged to come dressed in their ugliest Christmas sweater or holiday costume. Prizes for the best sweater and costume will be up for grabs on the day of the run.

It’s not too late for runners to register. Pre-registration will be open until Nov. 30 at runforbrennan.com/

register/ and TRU students can register to run with the AdventureU club on campus.

Comazzetto will also be holding a Registration night at Runner’s Sole on Nov. 22.

All registrees registered before Nov. 30 will be entered to win a slew of door prizes donated from the community.

To register you just need the means to move your body and a minimum of a $20 donation (per individual) or $10 for TRU students.

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ARTS

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

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Community gathers for poetry reading and discussion with TRU alumnus Conrad Scott returns to TRU a reading and to discuss his book: Waterline Immersion Brianna Schellenberg STAFF WRITER Ω Former TRU student, Conrad Scott, gathered with students and members of the community in the TRU Art Gallery to read from and discuss his first published poetry book: Waterline Immersion.

Scott did his degree at TRU, his Masters at the University of Victoria, and recently completed his Ph.D. in English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta.

“I immediately saw the potential in Conrad as did many of my colleagues in the department of English and Modern Languages,” said one of Scott’s former professors from TRU. Waterline Immersion discusses how identities are formed, whether it be an identity of a person or of a place. Much of Scott’s poetry reflects his life in the city, and the river lines coming together in Kamloops which are similar to family ties coming together. Scott’s poetry also discusses his Norse Viking bloodlines.

“Part of the Norse mythology ideas that enter [the poetry] involve creation and destruction stories, because that’s essentially

the mythos of the culture,” Scott explains.

He further says how in the book, he tried to bring back the Norse mythology and reanimate it to connect it to modern-day, as well as including real archaeological discoveries that tie into the theme of the book.

“In pursuit of doing the research about thinking towards the future, you come up against the fact that the ice is melting in various places and glaciers are retreating. Things are coming out of the glaciers and permafrost, meaning ancient artifacts.”

At the end of the discussion, Scott answered a question from the audience regarding his

family research for Waterline Immersion.

“Some stories about my family history came up organically; I had been told these stories by my grandparents for as long as I can remember and these stories helped make up the world around me. And many of the stories happened to come up while I did my research, or were ideas that I chose to further pursue.”

Audiences gathered in the TRU Art Gallery to listen to TRU alumnus share his poetry book, Waterline Immersion. (Brianna Schellenberg/The Omega)

TRU’s New Intercultural Club hosts their first event TRUSU South Asian Association for Students Recreation And Culture celebrate Diwali on campus Sadhika Burman STAFF WRITER Ω The TRUSU South Asian Association for Students Recreation And Culture celebrated the Festival of Lights on campus as their first event on Nov. 15.

Diwali also knows at the Festival of Lights in India is a multicultural celebration where people celebrate the victory of good over evil and light over darkness.

Legend says that Lord Rama, who is known as the incarnation of God Vishnu, returned to his hometown of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile with his younger brother Laxman and his wife Sita after successfully executing Ravana who had kidnapped Sita.

A week-long festival, Diwali brings the whole community together.

People thoroughly clean and wash their houses in the attempt of ‘Diwali cleaning’ and usually buy new clothes, make new investments, buy jewellery and light up their whole house with traditional tealight called ‘diyas’ to spread

light in every corner of their house.

The diyas are placed in every corner of the house to welcome Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Evening ‘Pooja’ gifts are exchanged.

The event started with prayers and a welcome speech by the President of the newly formed TRUSU club, Shivam Sethi who explained how the formation of this club is aimed at bringing people not only from India but also the neighbouring countries together and providing students and members with resources all under the same roof.

The club has active members from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The SAASRC has teamed up with the writing centre and the math centre to facilitate services for the students.

Another interesting approach that this new TRUSU club impressed its audience with was its ‘sustainable rangoli’.

Rangoli is a form of art where beautiful patterns are created on the ground

using powdered food colouring, coloured rice, pulses, dry f lour or f lower petals. The venue of the event was decorated by a rangoli of maple leaves and rose petals instead of powdered colours.

The event was graced with the presence of members from TRU World, James Gordon who is the Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator at TRU. The attendees were encouraged to join a game of Kahoot focused on trivia questions about South Asian countries.

Club members performed their traditional folk dances and the attendees were provided with traditional Indian food.

The SAASRC is planning more events in the future keeping in mind the interests of students from South Asian countries. The club members can be reached at saasrc2020@gmail.com.

Guests of the Festival of Lights had the honour of lighting the "diya" to begin the ceremony. (Aidan Grether/The Omega)

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ARTS

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

AWT presents a high stakes show with unpredictable twists ‘Retreat’ by Kat Sandler is sure to thrill audiences and comments on the competitiveness of reality Elizabeth Nygren ARTS EDITOR Ω The Actors Workshop Theatres’ new show ‘Retreat’

by Kat Sandler is opening on

Thursday, Nov. 21 and sure to excite audiences.

The show follows four interns as they all compete for a position at an accounting firm; Fischer, Cox, Sutton and Tate. They all head to a

company retreat at an old summer camp, lead by an eccentric scoutmaster and are given a task to complete if they want the position.

Jakob Kopytko, an advanced theatre student at TRU, plays

The cast of Retreat receives there orientation to the corporate retreat from Scoutmaster Candace Matchwick (right) played by Marianne Stad. (Elizabeth Nygren/The Omega)

Paul, one of the interns at the retreat. When describing the show, Kopytko said: “This show is the journey of four interns through the trials and tribulations that their company puts them through to prove their devotion.”

Lukas Vanderlip, a thirdyear theatre student at TRU, plays Jordan, another intern.

Vanderlip added that “the show sort of functions as this sort of commentary on the viciousness of the modern job market and how insane it is and how hard it is to get a job.”

Kopytko said that one of his favourite things about the show is “the whimsy cartoon elements that this show has in both the design aspects and also in the characters.”

He adds, “the characters are kind of like archetypes and stereotypes of certain versions of people, but they also have a lot of depth to them which is fun to play with.”

When asked about her character, Avie Cachelin, a fourth-year theatre student at TRU said, “she’s like relatable in that self-deprecation way.

Which I really enjoy because I’m like ‘ugh, girl same.’ I find

her very relatable and really fun.”

Cachelin, who plays an intern named Kira, added, “it’s kind of like parts of me that are me but I’m actually getting to explore them in an outward way.”

Vanderlip hopes that many people will come to see this show, and believes that it has something for everybody.

“There’s a lot of swearing and violence,” he added, noting that it is not suitable for children. “But also the show goes a lot deeper into the social commentary and the writing is so clever and funny. It’s just a hilarious show, every line is like a one-liner.”

Cachelin added to Vanderlip’s point by saying “It’s a lot of fun, and there are twists and turns but at the same time it’s making very pointed commentary and it makes you think.”

Tickets are available now for $15 at the TRU Actors Workshop Theatre box office in Old Main, open Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. or at brownpapertickets.com. The show runs from November 21-23 and 28-30 with shows starting at 7:30 pm.

A look inside the life of a ballerina with the Moscow Ballet Moscow’s Ballet Great Russian Nutcracker’s ballerina shares her pathway to ballet Lisa Chernyshova BUSINESS AND TECH EDITOR Ω The performance given on Nov. 10 at the Sagebrush Theatre was quite memorable.

One of the ballerinas that played among other main characters in the Nutcracker, Anna Trofimova shared her career story of the ballerina.

“I have worked in the company Moscow Ballet since 2015. I’ve been working as an artist of ballet, but now I’m also working as an audition director for the Moscow Ballet,” Trofimova said.

As she explained the audition director’s responsibility includes travelling to ballet schools in different cities and rehearsing with kids and other young ballet dancers before the actual season of a tour will begin.

The Nutcracker performance included not only ballet dancers from the Moscow Ballet, but also some students and young dancers from local dance studio the Academy of Dance.

In order to make the performance look professional and to make artists dance synchronically, there always needs to be some practice done before.

Trofimova’s responsibility includes not only dancing for performances of the tours but also giving classes and rehearsals for local students from the ballet schools.

“It’s our fifth season and our company works with different ballet schools, and they make the schedule, and then seven of the audition directors travel to schools. Then the ballet company arrives and we give the show and kids dance with us,” Trofimova said.

Trofimova graduated from Donetsk Ballet School and worked as a ballet dancer there.

Then she worked as a ballet dancer in Kharkiv, where she was invited to join the Moscow Ballet company.

Trofimova expanded on how it is to go with tours and be on the road almost every day travelling from city to city.

“We have around seven ballet shows. So, every day we arrive at the ballrooms, depending on how long the road is sometimes we arrive 4 hours before the show and we always do classic rehearsing,” Trofimova said.

The schedule of the tour is quite busy but Trofimova said that she enjoys watching the dancers be passionate about what they do.

On the question about how

their team manages to keep themselves up in a shape all the time, she explained that in their company they are not forced to keep any diet, as they spent so much energy on dancing.

Trofimova said that the audience in Canada and the USA is very open-minded, cordial, and welcoming, and it’s always a pleasure to give shows for them.

“I can’t say that in some cities the audience was more or less welcoming, usually the audience is very thankful, and we try to do our job to the best of our abilities,” Trofimova explained.

“This is the 27th tour of the MoscowBallet Nutcracker, so the company exists for 27 years”, Trofimova noticed.

Moscow Ballet’s program of this tour will take place from Nov.1 to Dec. 30, where they will perform in 140 cities across the USA and Canada with three simultaneously performing companies. The program of the tour will include seven shows, one of them the Nutcracker.

Anna Trofimova has been a ballerina and audition director with the Moscow Ballet sinec 2015.

(Submitted)

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ARTS

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TRUSU Eco Club promotes sustainability with a screening of Tomorrow The film showed students how small sustainability efforts help to contribute to change on a global level Farrah Johnson NEWS EDITOR Ω On Thursday, Nov. 14, members of the TRUSU Eco Club gathered in room 1015 of the International Building for a screening of the shortfilm Tomorrow.

The movie showcased a number of alternative methods that can help eradicate the harmful practices found in agriculture, economics, energy and education.

Christian Andrews, co-president of the club, told the Omega that they chose the film after it was suggested to them by Film for Change through TRU’s Sustainability department.

“We looked at what movies we could screen that had to do with

our values as a club and we heard good things about this movie, so we decided to screen it free for students,” he said.

Andrews added that the primary goal of the film screening was to help students understand that they don’t have to start a “large movement” to make a change.

Instead, he insisted that it is more realistic for them to focus on “small initiatives” that can add up to make a noticeable difference.

“That’s really what this is all about, to do small things in your local community that can encourage other people to follow suit,” he said.

When asked what small projects TRUSU’s Eco Club was involved in, Andrews mentioned their annual Clothing Swap Drive.

“The clothing swap basically deals with the fast fashion industry which is super harmful and detrimental to the environment,” he said.

“So we’re partnering with TRUSU who will educate students about the fast fashion industry and then we’re going to host a clothing swap which will allow students to bring their old used clothes and trade it all for free,” he explained.

As for small initiatives he’d recommend to other students, Andrew said that practicing responsible recycling is a great way to get started.

“I know people who tend to throw trash in the recycling but if you throw garbage in the recycling bin, all the recycling is now considered garbage,” he said.

“One thing that people on campus

could do is understand what goes into which bin and put a real effort into learning what’s recyclable and what’s not,” he furthered.

When asked to explain just how small initiatives contribute to global change, Andrew also insisted that every movement “starts with a small idea.”

“That’s what this whole movie is about,” he said. “It’s about starting small and working with what you have as opposed to working towards something that may or may not be achievable.”

Adding to his sentiments, Stacia Panko, the club's other co-president, said Tomorrow was the ideal film choice since it gave an “optimistic” look at some of the environmental problems plaguing society today.

“We just want viewers to be inspired and uplifted by the film and inspired to make changes in their lives and in the community,” she said.

“Hopefully there will be more ideas from what they’ve done in the film because they go to lots of different communities around the world and look at how those communities are creating initiatives to be more sustainable,” she added.

Panko maintained that the club’s overall goal is to “generate ideas from the film” that can help inspire more people to become active within their local communities.

“After looking at those initiatives, hopefully, we can create ideas for our own that mirror those,” she said.

The Mandalorian: You gotta start somewhere Disney Plus’ original content: Does it justify the purchase?

Morgan Hunter CONTRIBUTOR Ω While streaming services have held some originals that have justified the monthly fee that they require, with Netflix holding countless from You, Bojack Horseman to Stranger Things and Amazon Prime Video having series like The Boys and Good Omens. The question stands, however, on whether or not the house of the mouse can deliver a series of its own.

The Mandalorian follows a lone gun-slinger who traverses the

galaxy in search of his next mark as he works as a bounty hunter during an age after the rebellion of the empire.

The Mandalorian is played by Pedro Pascal and even though his face is covered by a mask for the entire runtime of the two episodes that are released, he displays a level of emotion that both hooks an audience and has a likability to it that comes through. The dialogue that was written for this character displays a certain level of maturity that demonstrates the show isn’t a children’s show, however, it doesn’t discount them either. The secret

of Star Wars is that most of the enemies don’t have personification which allows certain extras to be discarded without thought as to how they are discarded.

The show is written by Jon Favreau, the same writer of the accredited film, Chef and director of the latest Lion King remake. He not only provides a sense of lore to the world that has already been defined but a presence of the character to the situation that gives a great amount of suspense. The first episode, in particular, holds a great ending credit scene that leaves both an audience wanting more and a Star

Wars fan satisfied that the series itself has a place within the universe as opposed to other installments that come off as mere cash grabs.

(I’m looking at you Rogue One).

Does the series alone justify the $8.99 a month paywall? At its current state, no. The series will have eight episodes in total, and without the other six episodes to reflect on during the writing of this review, it doesn’t hold enough for the price of admission. However, if you’re a solid Disney fan who wants to see a bunch of Disney originals and see their original content, I would highly recommend it.

It’s not even close to Christmas: Last Christmas review

When Game of Thrones ends and you have nothing better to do Morgan Hunter CONTRIBUTOR Ω Emilia Clarke is a talented actress, she’s shown that.

Henry Golding is a good verse actor, he’s shown that. But even those two can’t save this messy, unfunny generic, dumpster fire that is this Christmas movie that makes me wish I didn’t celebrate the holiday.

Last Christmas follows Kate, a down-on-her-luck 20-something woman who, after meeting the most positive man on the planet, learns to appreciate life more as well as the people in her life.

This movie sucks. I can’t tell you how many times I heard a joke that didn’t land or was waiting for a bit to be over so that the film could be over sooner.

Which sucks because of the issue that Emilie Clarke and Henry Golding are talented performers who have made similar material work with ease. And when they are on-screen together, you can see the chemistry between them. The film also takes the talented actress of Emma Thompson and turns her into a foreigner punchline the entire film which is deplorable in its own right.

There also is a moment that felt so politically forced that it couldn’t have been more subtle than someone knocking on a door using a wrecking ball.

And if the film touched on it more than twice than maybe there could have been a great display of perspective, however, it doesn’t do anything other than haphazardly try to seem woke while it comes

off as distracting.

Probably the funniest thing about this show was the twist. Now, I normally don’t speak on the screening of the film due to the matter of its subjectivity, but I feel this instance holds relevance. I was sitting there and halfway through I turned to the person I was with and told them what I believed to be the twist. Their exact words were, and I quote “No, that can’t be it, that’d be so stupid.” I then turned out to be right.

This movie had a major marketing campaign, however, since the film’s release, there haven’t been any ads for it. That’s no coincidence, with people now knowing that the lack of story, humour or originality has turned this film into a must-avoid picture.

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COMICS & PUZZLES

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

CFBX TOP 30 CFBX 92.5 FM, 350 Watts Kamloops, BC Music Director: Steve Marlow Charts to November 14, 2019 * indicates Canadian Content ** indicates a local artist Artist - Album (Label) 1) The New Pornographers* - In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (Concord) 2) Peach Pyramid* - Bright Blue (Oscar St.) 3) Begonia* - Fear (Rex Baby) 4) Little Kim Retallick* - Work Week Blues (Independent) 5) Mother Sun** - Caramel Clouds (Independent) 6) Bodywash* - Comforter (Luminelle) 7) Britt A.M.* - Psychic Knots (Good Egg) 8) Kirsten Ludwig* - Wasted Time (Oscar St.) 9) Snuff - There's a Lot of it About (Fat Wreck Chords) 10) Laura Anglade* - I've Got Just About Everything (Justin Time) 11) Joseph - Good Luck Kid (ATO) 12) Cam Penner* - At War with Reason (Independent) 13) Paragon Cause* - Lies Between Us (Independent) 14) Jeremy Stewart* - II: Immemoriam (Independent) 15) Blue Moon Marquee* - Bare Knuckles and Brawn (Independent) 16) Shotgun Jimmie* - Transistor Sister 2 (You've Changed) 17) Jessica Heine* - Goodbye Party (Fallen Tree) 18) Flying Lotus - Flamagra (Warp) 19) Jeremie Albino* - Hard Time (Sleepless) 20) Fred Fortin* - Microdose (Grosse Boite) 21) The Needs - You Need the Needs (Jansen) 22) Bruce Cockburn* - Crowing Ignites (True North) 23) Elisa Thorn's Hue* - Flowers for Your Heart (Independent) 24) South Island Rhythm Kings* - South Island Rhythm Kings (Independent) 25) Plaid - Polymer (Warp) 26) The Head and the Heart - Living Mirage (Reprise) 27) Brian Eno - Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (Virgin) 28) Debate Club* - Phosphorescent (Michel) 29) Obey the Brave* - Balance (Hell for Breakfast) 30) Carol C - Seven (Si/Se)

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WHY NOT GIVE IT A SHOT? EMAIL EDITOR@TRUOMEGA.CA

Puzzles of the Week 1

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Puzzle of the Week will continue next semester. Look out for Puzzle #11 on Janurary 15, 2020!

Last week's solutions

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By Gene Wirchenko

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WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR STUDENT CARTOONISTS.

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YOUR COMIC HERE

Puzzle #10: Guy Fawkes Day

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One possible solution is:

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5 4 1

0: 1 × 1 × 0 × 5 1: 1 + 1 × 0 × 5 2: 1 + 1 + 0 × 5 3: 5 – 1 – 1 – 0 4: 5 – 1 + 1 × 0 5: 5 + 1 × 1 × 0 6: 5 + 1 + 1 × 0 7: 5 + 1 + 1 + 0 8: 5 + 1 + 1 + 0!

9: 5 × (1 + 1) – 0!

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SPORTS

History is made as TRU player makes professional draft pick Jan Pirretas Glassmacher is the first-ever Wolfpack athlete to be picked in a professional sports draft James Fraser SPORTS EDITOR Ω This Nov. 11, the entire TRU men’s soccer team crammed into the living room of an apartment to hear the word.

Some skipped class, some were sipping beers, and everyone had high hopes.

This was not any sort of remembrance day gathering; this was the chance to witness a historic moment, a soccer dream come true; this was a draft party.

The centre of attention was cast on none other than the team captain, Jan Pirretas Glassmacher, who earlier that week was forecasted by experts to be picked as number two overall in the second annual Canadian Premier League U-Sports Draft.

The anticipation was electric.

The first two picks were announced as the team held their breath and watched.

On the third pick, Victoria Pacific Football Club stepped to the mic and announced Jan Pirretas Glassmacher from the TRU Wolfpack. The team erupted in celebration and danced around the draft pick for five minutes straight.

Ecstatic to see his boyhood dreams come true while putting Thompson Rivers University on the map, Glassmacher reports: “It was a surreal moment, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I get goosebumps thinking about it.”

Glassmacher made history becoming the first-ever Wolfpack athlete to get drafted into a professional sports league, one that incidentally is not easy.

Out of all the 48 soccer teams in U-Sports, only 12 players were drafted. That equates to about having a one percent chance of getting your name called.

Not only was this a huge step for Glassmacher, but also for TRU Men’s soccer.

"I am so excited for Jan," Head coach, John Antulov said. "Not only is he a fantastic player, but a fantastic person as well.

He has been massive for our program since we recruited him. For him to finally start getting some success has been huge for himself and for the program as well. It says a lot about Jan, but also says a lot about the program itself.”

Pacific Football Club will begin informal workouts in January and February with

training camp set to begin in early March.

“Time to put down the burgers,” Glassmacher jokes.

“I’m super excited for this opportunity and I plan to make

the most of it and not regret anything.”

Jan is hoping to sign a U-sports professional contract meaning he will be able to play professionally as well as

complete his final seasons with TRU. Keep your eye out next fall as he plans to return to Kamloops for the 2020 season in September.

Jan Pirretas Glassmacher was picked third overall during the Canadian Premier League’s second inaugural U-Sports draft. (TRU Athletics)

Zane Franklin is red hot for the Kamloops Blazers

Small town hockey player is taking Canada’s largest junior hockey league by storm James Fraser SPORTS EDITOR Ω Zane Franklin, captain of the Kamloops Blazers is tearing up the Western Hockey League. The boy from a small town in Alberta is currently tied third in scoring with 30 points in 21 games. He has

guided his team to the top of the B.C division and plans on staying there.

"I think we have a great team this year. We have been playing great hockey so far and I think if we continue to build, we can make a good push this year,” Franklin stated.

When asked about his budding career, Franklin

remembers his roots: “I’m from a really small town in Alberta called Marwayne, the population of about 500 people. I started playing when I was four years old. There wasn’t a lot else to do,” Franklin remarked. “This is my second year as a Blazer.

I was traded here from Lethbridge. I’ve really

Zane Franklin is leading the Kamloops Blazers to the top of their division. (Submitted)

enjoyed my time here in Kamloops.”

Franklin averaged a point per game last year after he collected 68 points in as many games. This season he is on pace to smash his previous scoring record.

His sparked play could be due to the fact that he was named Captain for the first time during his career at the beginning of this season. “I’ve never been captain before so I’m still learning as I go,” Franklin said. “It has been such an awesome experience and such a huge honour. A lot of great leaders have worn the ‘C’ for the blazers.”

Not only can Franklin score, but he is also known to drop the mitts and back up his team-mates from time to time.

“This season I have only fought once,” Franklin laughed. “You should have seen me my first year in the league, I probably fought every other game.

Now I try to focus on the offence part, but don’t worry I’m always ready for a little scuffle.”

As a student, attending

a Blazers game is a great way to get in touch with the community and enjoy high-level sport at a fair price.

Many students are unaware of the fun one can have by attending a hockey game. With an average attendance of 4257 people, it is a great way to enjoy your night with some friends.

“I think it is awesome when the students come,” Franklin said, “Usually they are the loudest ones in the arena, and they are even louder after they get a few drinks in them. The team tries to give them a deal.”

Catch Franklin and the Blazers in action for their next home game on November 27th where they will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Sandman Centre, downtown Kamloops, at 7:00 p.m.

If you cannot catch them this weekend, check out the team schedule online as they will be playing in Kamloops throughout the season until March.

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NOVEMBER 20, 2019

THE OMEGA

November 29 Celebrate the end of the fall semester with a winter carnival and tree lighting in the campus commons! Admission is free and hot chocolate and sugar cookies will be provided.

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