Vol XXX Issue X - Feb 20, 2017

UBCO’s Student Newspaper

February 13th 2017 | Vol 30, Issue 10

Singin’ in the sound booth since 1989

Artist Feature | Podcasts 102

p.14

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thephoenixnews.com |

News

Tuum Est Student Initiative Fund p.3

News

Interprise Offering Raises Questions p.4

Campus

Life

TEDxUBCO Returns in a DISRUPTive Fashion p.5

Kelowna Cafe Review p.7-8

Canadian Federation of Students Executives Misleading Students p.6

In Conversation with Professor George Grinnell p.11-12

Arts

Opinions

Sports

Artist Feature: Ben Moody and the Queer Lives Podcast p.14

UBCSUO Elections p.18

Tiger Woods let Us Down p.22

The Right and Left’s Hatred of Truth p.20

Patriots Win Superbowl 51 p.23

Podcasts 102: What are UBCO Students Creating? ft. Easton Doran p.15

Superbowl Commercials p.21

Arts Editor Paula Tran

Web Editor Justin Kroeker

Art Director Sarah James

Sports Editor Grayson B. Leahy

Photo Editor/ Video Editor Riley Petillion

Production Editor Kelsi Brown

Phoenix Columnist Mark Dreger

Senior Copy Editor Francesca Gimson

Life Editor Brie Welton

Junior Copy Editor Nick Huertas

Staff Writer Frances Carruthers

Opinions Editor Tyrel Lamoureux

Staff Writer Riley Schlosser

The editorial staff encourages everyone to submit material to The Phoenix but reserves the right to withdraw submissions from publication for any reason. “Any reason” could be material deemed to be sexist, racist, homophobic, or of poor taste or quality. The Phoenix will not publish materials which condone, promote, or express actions which are illegal under current laws. This does not include articles which provide an in-depth examination of both sides of a controversial subject (e.g. legalizing marijuana).

News Editor Laurence Watt

News Writer Sarah Maryschuk

The Phoenix is published, in part, by the UBCSUO and is an active member of the Canadian University Press.

coordinating@thephoenixnews.com

University Centre 3333 University Way Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 5N3 Office: UNC 132B Phone: 250-807-9296

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thephoenixnews.com Cover by Sarah James Masthead photo by Sarah James

The Phoenix is the UBCO students’ free press. Editorial content is separate from the University of British Columbia Student’s Union Okanagan (UBCSUO) and from the UBC institution at large.

Coordinating Editor Jacky Deng

huertas@thephoenixnews.com

opinions@thephoenixnews.com

news@thephoenixnews.com

arts@thephoenixnews.com

sports@thephoenixnews.com

current.affairs@thephoenixnews.com

life@thephoenixnews.com

carruthers@thephoenixnews.com

schlosser@thephoenixnews.com

maryschuk@thephoenixnews.com

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video@thephoenixnews.com photo@thephoenixnews.com

Visuals Editor Sarah Dowler

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Ad Sales Alex Barberis

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News | thephoenixnews.com | Sarah Maryschuk - News Editor

News

Photo provided by UBC/ Tuum Est Initiative

TUUM EST STUDENT INITIATIVE FUND – IT IS YOURS TESIF gives UBCO students the chance to start their own initiatives

Sarah Maryschuk - News Editor

fund include student success, program connections, and student affinity, which are put in place to ensure funding goes to programming that increases student engagement on UBC Okanagan’s campus.

Past recipients of the funding have included students who attended the Student Leadership Conference at UBC Point Grey, the upcoming Relay for Life event, TEDxUBCO, and the Consent Tastes Sweet campaign.

Applicants for conferences can attain up to $500, while those applying for initiatives or competitions can receive up to $3500. New to 2016/17 is the Sharron Simpson Family Community Impact Award, which gives up to $2500 to students who want to engage with passions and dreams outside of the UBC

“ TESIF encourages students to engage with their own ideas and initiatives with a deeper level of commitment.

“

The Tuum Est Student Initiative Fund was started several years ago by the Associate Vice President Students’ office and encourages students to engage with their own ideas and initiatives with a deeper level of commitment, and to attend conferences or programs where their new found knowledge and experience can be applied back to campus ongoings. Anyone can apply and applications are sorted into three distinct groups based on the type of involvement, be it a new initiative, a conference, or a competition.

There are several application dates throughout the year, and funding is awarded based on the proximity of the request to the pillars of the fund. The three pillars of the

Okanagan community. These amounts can vary depending on the submitted budgets that come with the applications, but often applicants are granted enough money to ensure their initiatives can get off the ground.

Students are encouraged to apply prior to beginning their projects, and the application process includes both a budget and written statement explaining how the money from the fund will enable the initiative to be a success and impact the campus culture and community. The upcoming deadlines are February 24 and March 17, and there is an information session about how to apply being held on February 21 from 11:30–12:30 in UNC 207 at the Academic Advising and Involvement Centre.

Any questions regarding the fund or how to apply can be forwarded to tesif.ok@ubc. ca. Other examples of recent recipients can also be found on the Tuum Est Student Initiative Fund Facebook page, as well as their website!

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Sarah Maryschuk - News Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

BC SEES RECORD FEBRUARY SNOWFALL

News

Photo by Sarah James/ The Phoenix News

Cities across BC break decade old records Mark Dreger - Phoenix Columnist

February since 1937.

Abbotsford saw 57 centimetres of snow that same weekend, with 20 centimetres falling on Sunday alone, breaking an 11.9 centimetre record set in 1949. Abbotsford received 46 centimetres in all of December.

Chilliwack received 80 centimetres of snow that same weekend, only a few centimetres less than the entire seasonal average.

Surprisingly, Chilliwack did not break any records.

The storm resulted in school closures in both cities for the

“

In the Okanagan, Castanet reports that the Kelowna airport received 33-38 cm of snow for the first weekend in February, with Vernon recording 40 centimetres and Penticton 26 centimetres.

“

As January came to a close, it seemed that winter was nearing its end like usual in the southern interior, but the groundhog must have seen its shadow because the following weekend brought record-breaking snowfall to the region.

In the Okanagan, Castanet reports that the Kelowna airport received 33-38 centimetres of snow for the first weekend in February, with Vernon recording 40 centimetres and Penticton 26 centimetres. Such numbers have not been recorded in

first few days of the week.

Schools were also closed in Langley, Hope, Mission, and Maple Ridge.

According to Global News, the Vancouver airport received 12 centimetres of snow on Friday, beating a 1946 record of 10.7 centimetres.

Over the whole weekend, the Vancouver airport measured 24 centimetres.

On the island, some records quadrupled. On Saturday, Campbell River recorded 26 centimetres, beating the 2008 record of 7.2; while Comox recorded 12.6 centimetres,

beating the 1996 record of 3.6 centimetres. Over the whole weekend, Campbell River, Comox, and Tofino recorded 44, 26.2, and 11.2 centimetres respectively.

In the Kootenay’s, Castlegar broke a 1918 record of 11.4 centimetres on Friday with 12.6 centimetres.

ICBC received 5,074 Diala-Claim calls on Friday, almost double the number for the average weekday. The Saturday also saw nearly 2,400 calls, a 160% increase from the average Saturday.

students of those disciplines have struggled to get into in the past; they are courses students have difficulty passing, and they make significant use (in most cases) of content from introductory level courses. Here is the loophole: Interprise waves all pre-requisites for the courses, instead asking only that applicants maintain a 75% average and have third-year standing. These obstacles and concerns were topics of discussion at the Senate table where every Student Senator voted to debate the motion in the Senate, but they were outvoted as they represent only a minority of the Senators when compared

to faculty and staff.

It will be interesting to see what other channels might challenge the offering as it develops. Darling added that the first cohort is likely to be delayed until 2018 as the applicant pool is still small, but the university has strong hopes for Interprise in the years to come.

Find out more at interprise. ok.ubc.ca

INTERPRISE OFFERING RAISES QUESTIONS

This summer time academic offering is a proposal that has raised some contention Michael Flood - Contributor

disciplines. Darling describes this ensemble as a mix that benefits students enormously and was conceived a couple years ago at a Dean’s retreat.

Darling states, “we wanted to start to identify interfaculty programming for undergraduate students with a business flavor.”

Sounds like a splendid program from every angle, right? But the Interprise offering was not unanimously supported when presented to the Senate. When introduced to the academic governing body of the university, some concerns arose. Some of the courses offered as part of the Interprise program are upper-year courses that

“ We wanted to start to identify inter-faculty programming for undergraduate students with a business flavour.

“

What is the Interprise offering?

Few seem to know. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to sit down with a member of the committee and get a better idea of what it is all about. Kim Darling, Director of Academic Relations, explained that while there is both significant support and opposition for the project, the aim has always been to provide an interdisciplinary program that ignites the innerentrepreneur in students from across the campus, country, and globe. The courses listed online are in the disciplines of Psychology, Theatre, Management, Engineering, Economics, and Education

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News | thephoenixnews.com | Sarah Maryschuk - News Editor

TEDXUBCO RETURNS IN A DISRUPTIVE FASHION

Image provided by TEDxUBCO Organizing Committee

This year’s TEDxUBCO conference hosted at the Rotary Centre for the Arts on February 26th Michael Flood - Contributor

take action in their own lives.

We hope the audience leaves feeling challenged to disrupt something they are passionate about, for the better. This event has been in the works for almost a year now, so we’re really excited to see it all come together in a few weeks.”

The theme of disruption can seem ambiguous but what the conference planners are hoping to convey is that we need to focus on positively disruptive transformations that foster diversity, understanding,

“

Nine speakers are set to disrupt the audience at TEDxUBCO 2017. The event, which was a success in 2015, is going for its second shot at success with its conference on the 26. This year’s theme, Disrupt, has been a buzzword in news and media in recent years, and TEDxUBCO wants to build on the movement of positive disruption. Sydney Bednarik, TEDxUBCO CoChair, states, “we chose the theme disrupt because we want our talks to inspire people to

excellence, and a more peaceful and collaborative environment.

The event features speakers who aim to disrupt our perceptions of the world and the evolving landscape around us along with presenters who are disruptive in their respective fields.

Andrew Mills, an advanced life-support paramedic, will explore how tunnel vision impairs those in his field and how the impairment has parallels in other fields and in everyday life. Shira Sneg, a student speaker, is asking the

audience, whether millenials are over-sensitive. Another seven speakers will challenge a diverse array of questions that you may or may not have come to ask yourself. Whether you have questioned such concepts or not, the organizing team is confident that they are, as the TED slogan goes, ideas worth spreading. Come out and be disrupted.

has not emerged. Furthermore, without a clear preference or a clear question, a referendum would not be in Canada’s interest.”

Not to miss the political opportunity, the NDP attacked hard.

“What Mr. Trudeau proved himself today was to be a liar,” said Nathan Cullen, the NDP’s democratic reform critic, “[it] was to be of the most cynical variety of politician, saying whatever it takes to get elected, then once

elected seeking any excuse, however weak, however absent, to justify that lie to Canadians.”

During Question Period, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair accused Trudeau of “massive political deception.”

“A referendum would be a bad idea,” Trudeau replied. “Moving forward in a divisive policy would be a bad idea. The fact of the matter is I am not going to do something that is wrong for Canadians just to tick off a box

on an electoral platform.”

The MyDemocracy.ca survey report shows that of the 243,057 sufficiently profiled Canadians, 67% “of Canadians were somewhat or very satisfied with the way democracy works in Canada;” however, the survey never asked if Canadians wanted to change the voting system.

“ We hope the audience leaves feeling challenged to disrupt something they are passionate about, for the better.

LIBERALS ABANDON ELECTORAL REFORM Trudeau faces heavy criticism for breaking campaign promise Mark Dreger – Phoenix Columnist

Despite spending about $4.1 million on nationwide town hall meetings and online surveys, the Federal government has ended their plans to implement a new electoral system before the next election in 2019, breaking the campaign promise to make 2015 “the last federal election conducted under the first-pastthe-post voting system.”

“Our view has always been clear,” Karina Gould, the newly appointed Minister of Democratic

Institutions, said at a news conference, “major reforms to the electoral system, changes of this magnitude should not be made if they lack the broad support of Canadians. It has become evident that the broad support needed among Canadians for a change of this magnitude does not exist.”

In a letter addressed to Gould from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it says that “a clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus,

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Sarah Maryschuk - News Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

News

CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS EXECUTIVES MISLEADING STUDENTS CFS Executives flew halfway across the country to ‘ask a few questions’ Sarah Maryschuk – News Editor

by a group of post-secondary institutions that wanted greater buying power for their students’ unions. A collective group meant cheaper costs on everything from water bottles and agendas to health care coverage. Since then, the CFS has grown to encompass over 600,000 members, students from institutions all over the country. Their purpose now lies in greater lobbying power and the ability to draw attention from both provincial and federal governments.

Since the arrival of Roy and Veitch at Selkirk, dozens of emails have been exchanged between members of the BC Federation, members of Selkirk’s Students’ Union executive, and the CFS executives. While the two national executives claim to be reaching out to students to gain support for a current initiative the CFS is running

“ Our best defense is to educate ourselves.

“

Earlier in 2016, several BC post-secondary institutions voiced concerns over the increasing distrust in the Canadian Federation of Students, and the wasted funding consistently sent to the Ottawa-based group. A movement to de-federate was started, and over the past few weeks, many institutions have begun to pass petitions around asking students if they support their institution’s move to leave the Federation.

Problems started when Anne-Marie Roy, Deputy Chairperson of the CFS, and Peyton Veitch, CFS Treasurer, took the time to fly halfway across the country and arrived at Selkirk College’s doorstep—an institution that happens to be in the midst of passing around their defederation petition.

The Canadian Federation of Students was founded in 1981

in regards to lowering tuition, emails sent have revealed that their intentions may not be as pure as they say they are. Emails reveal that the executives have telling students that their students’ union is unsupportive of lower tuition costs, and creating a buzz that the Selkirk Students’ Union might be hiding information from their members. The messages sent from Selkirk’s executive body, and from executives at other institutions question Roy and Veitchs’ motives, and the ethics behind their actions.

Why does this matter to us?

Well, for starters, Roy and Veitch landed in Kelowna and attempted to start similarly misleading conversations at Okanagan College. We too are members of both the BCFS and CFS and have made motions to step away

from both federations, so these conversations could be coming for us in the near future. If allowed to de-federate, our student fees will go down, as we no longer have to pay into either federation. If all BC schools are able to de-federate, it also opens an opportunity for a new collective to begin with intentions that befit the needs of institutions in the province.

What do we do for now? Keep updated with the Students’ Union, and get involved with the upcoming elections. Our best defence right now is to educate ourselves on Students’ Union matters, and on-goings with the wider CFS.

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Life | thephoenixnews.com | Brie Welton - Life Editor

Life KELOWNA CAFÉ REVIEW

Phoenix reporters visit a latte coffee shops and review these four local businesses Brie Welton – Life Editor ; Fran Carruthers – Staff Writer

Pulp Fiction 1598 Pandosy St Latte price: specialty lattes are $4.00 Atmosphere: Pulp Fiction doubles as a used bookstore, in addition to having library-esque vibe, due to the assortment of vintage art on display. The music is primarily from the 60s, giving customers the sensation of stepping back in time.

Yummy Factor: Well-known for their delicious chai lattes, which Phoenix reporters preferred over regular lattes.

Great selection of baked goods. Also serve classic milkshakes.

Bliss Bakery 109-1289 Ellis Street Study Friendly: Isolated desks at the back of the shop are ideal for studying, however, outlets are very limited and there is a hourly courtesy drink rule which can get pricey if studying for several hours.

Location: 8-minute Queensway bus station.

walk

from

Hours: Mon-Wed, Fri 7:00a.m.– 8:00p.m. Thursday 7:00a.m.–9:00p.m.

Saturday 8:00a.m.–8:00p.m. and Sunday 8:00a.m.–7:00p.m.

Latte price: $5–6 Atmosphere: The location features large window, so it is filled with natural light. There is a wide variety of seating, and has a very rustic, earthy warehouse kind of vibe. Long tables, booths and couches are all available.

Music is mostly modern radio.

Yummy Factor: A wide selection of baked goods and gourmet premade sandwiches make Bliss Bakery also suitable for lunch. Unique selection of teas, in addition to lattes.

Study Friendly: Very study friendly, with lots of tables and plug-ins.

Location: 7-minute walk Queensway bus station.

Hours: Daily 7:30a.m.–5:00p.m.

from

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Brie Welton - Life Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Naked Café 571 Lawrence Ave

GioBean 1320 Water St

Latte Price: Average price for a latte is $5.50—but they do come with coconut whipped cream and a selection of flavour shots, so these are not your average Joe lattes.

milk options include almond, cashew and soy. And of course, the rest of the menu is full of vegan treats, like Buddha bowls, vegan “pulled pork” and some kick-ass cupcakes.

Atmosphere: Naked has a low-key, artsy vibe and a real community feel; it’s always bustling with life. The walls are adorned with large painted murals of farm animals painted by a local artist; there are an array of comfy chairs perfect for cozying up with a coffee and catching up with a friend, or diner-style booths stretched along one side for some more formal seating.

Study Friendly? The booths are really good study spaces and have tons of space for books, laptops, and school stuff. However, if you’re planning on using a laptop, come fully charged as there are only a limited amount of power outlets dotted around.

The bustle of the café might also be distracting for those who favour quieter study spaces.

Yummy factor: A good-tasting coffee brew: not too strong. There are tons of different options, including Turmeric Chai, Pink Fog and Matcha lattes.

However, cow’s milk lovers beware, this place is 100% vegan: plant-based

Life

Location: It is pretty convenient, at around a 10 minute walk from Queensway bus station.

Hours: 9:00a.m.–9:00p.m. daily

Latte Price: Latte is $3.50 Atmosphere: The small coffee house has a European café culture vibe going on: it’s classy, sophisticated, and the simplicity of the décor only lends to its charm. One can imagine sitting on the tables outside in the summer, sipping an espresso and munching on a croissant al fresco. Baristas are friendly, and the place always seems to be popular with locals Yummy Factor: The coffee is strong, deep, and earthy tasting. It is no wonder that this place has won a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence.

It goes without saying that this is the place for coffee lovers – yet the delicious home-baked cake selection is also not to be missed. And the latte art is on point!

Study Friendly? There aren’t too many plugins, and tables are relatively

small; Giobean is probably a better place for a catch up with friends than a hard-core study session. However, on quieter days it might well be the perfect spot for reading a book.

Location: At just a five minute walk from Queensway bus station, GioBean is probably the most accessible of the coffee houses we tested.

Hours: Tuesday–Friday 7:00a.m.5:00p.m., Saturday 7:30a.m. –5:00p.m., Sunday 7:30a.m. –4:00p.m., Closed Mondays

Photos by Brie Welton /The Phoenix News

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Life | thephoenixnews.com | Brie Welton - Life Editor

INTERPRETING THE EMOJI

Image by Sarah Dowler /The Phoenix News

UBCO adjunct professor Jocelyn Wentland talks smileys, emoticons and emoji research Brie Welton – Life Editor

Emojis are a modern phenomenon most tech savvy people have experience with, especially active texters and users of social media.

However, according to casual sex researcher and adjunct psychology professor Jocelyn Wentland, there is much about emojis that remains to be discovered.

Emojis are images used in communication to convey emotion, whereas emoticons are the use of punctuation, such as a colon and a bracket, to form a face. The use of both emojis and emoticons is being studied in a survey conducted by Jocelyn and a team of researchers.

“We’re really trying to assess what emojis do people use and what do people themselves think those emojis mean,” explains Jocelyn, “if there’s a lot of disagreement about certain emojis and how they’re used, it would give us some insight into maybe some miscommunication that’s

happening when people are using emojis.”

This discrepancy between the sender’s intent and the user’s interpretation could be problematic. “It could be a real issue especially in the context of new dating relationships where people don’t know each other,” insists Jocelyn, “they’re relying on not just the content or the text writing of the message but some of the non-verbal cues and that’s where the emojis really come in as being a cue to what is this person’s intentions.”

It is this connection to communication and romantic intent that caused Jocelyn to pursue emoji research initially. “It was really a natural extension of some of my other research,” she says, which studies relationship initiation and casual sex. “There’s a lot of online and tech space communication taking place and emojis are being really used by a lot of people in those conversations,” Jocelyn

explains, “Understanding how emojis are being used is just a necessary next step in this research.”

Currently, emoji research is really in its infancy, with few studies conducted and limited data. However, due to its relevance, Jocelyn believes that research in this area will increase.

“Our approach is very exploratory just because there’s a real lack of published data on this so far, and I think that’s going to change,” she says, “If we had this conversation in a year from now, we’ll probably see a lot more published data.”

The study currently being conducted at UBCO is building on the work of Helen Fisher, Justin Garcia and Amanda Geiselman, which focused on the relationship between emoji use and dating activity. It was revealed that generally people who used emojis were more likely to report more recent dating

activity. Other studies done in the United States focus primarily on jealousy and cheating in relationships, studying participants’ reaction to texts with differing emojis in order to determine how they are interpreted.

However, Jocelyn and her team take a broader approach, examining how emojis are used and interpreted in a more general context.

Although some emojis may seem self-explanatory, Jocelyn insists that even the most innocuous emojis, for example the smiley face, may vary in their interpretation.

“There’s very subtle changes to even that smiley emoji in terms of the shape of the eyes,” she explains, “I’d say that the happy smiley emoji should be the least likely to be potentially misinterpreted, but there are such subtle nuances that are conveyed in these really small pictorial representations that they could be interpreted differently by different

people.”

The research on emojis may be limited, however, it is nonetheless an exciting field of study. “Emojis are such an interesting mechanism used in modern day communication,” says Jocelyn, “Understanding how and when and why they are used could really give us some interesting and important insight into tech space communication.”

Students wishing to partake in the emoji study at UBCO can do so by going to www. d at i n g a n d s e x r e s e a r c h . c o m which will direct participants to a survey. The number of questions will increase with frequency of emoji use, but the average time to complete the survey is 25 minutes.

Participants who answer all the questions on their emoji use will be entered in a draw for $100 cash. The study closes on Tuesday, February 28.

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Brie Welton - Life Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Life

UBCO STREETERS

Spring is nowhere in sight, but fashion trendsetters can be seen all over campus

Brie Welton – Life Editor ; Fran Carruthers – Staff Writer

Zara

Value Village

J Crew Aritzia

Michael Kors Aldo The run-up to mid-term break might see many of us retreating into our cosy sweatpants as we cram in our studying, but for the campus’s true trendsetters, the call of fashion never wanes. This week’s set of “streeters” sported everything from shiny leggings to hoodies, from a suited-and-booted gentleman to classy chic in all-black—confirming yet again that UBCO, you’ve got style!

Jeremy Wiens Major: PPE Jacket: Value Village Hoodie: “Bought in South Africa” Scarf: Bay

Stephanie Morrison

Alan Blackwell

Crystal Zhang

Major: International Relations Cardigan: Aritzia Belt: Topshop Turtleneck: Aritzia Jeans: Topshop Boots: Michael Kors

Major: Business Suit: Zara Tie: Simons Shoes: Aldo Watch: Daniel Wellington

Major: Mathematics Jacket: J Crew Leggings: Dynamite Boots: UGG

Photos by Riley Petillion/ The Phoenix News

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Life | thephoenixnews.com | Brie Welton - Life Editor

Photo by Riley Petillion /The Phoenix News

IN CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR GEORGE GRINNELL The Phoenix probes an English professor about stigmas, skills sets and studying English Fran Carruthers – Staff Writer

Fran Carruthers: Welcome, George, it’s good to meet with you. Today I’d like to talk about some of the stigmas attached to majoring in English.

Namely, why do you think that English, and arguably other humanities are often considered less ‘useful’ or less likely to lead to a job than other subjects?

George Grinnell: It’s curious, because they’re no less likely to lead to a job.

So it’s entirely a perception question—it isn’t in any case true. And we could look at any number of examples that show that English majors are just as employed, if not more employed, than for example students in management.

The stigma is entirely unearned, if we look at the facts.

FC: What would you say are the key transferrable skills gained by students studying English Literature?

“ What we’re doing is reading and thinking about culture, about our world, about how culture shapes our lives and affects both ourselves and others.

”

GG: I think that thinking about transferrable skills is a really important way to put it, because we know now more than ever, that students don’t land in a single career for the rest of their lives. What you’re doing in English is you’re gaining skills that are your own, that you will apply in any number of possible workplaces; you’re making an investment in yourself, rather than learning simply a discipline, a particular way of working, or a particular field. So you’ve got expertise that you can take a number of different places. In terms of what that is—it’s expertise in

communication, expertise in argument.

And ‘argument’ means not just being able to mount a specific case, but also to see another perspective, so that’s especially helpful in something like public relations or human resources—fields where you need to be able to see things from multiple perspectives. B eing able to mount an argument is also a key part of what it means to be a lawyer, so a number of English majors will move into professions like Law. They’re well trained in research skills, information handling— that’s really important for individuals. I’ve known several students who go on into librar y sciences, information sciences— Google hires librarians by the boatload. And many

corporations do, because they’re looking to handle information, and that’s what English majors are really good at doing.

FC: It’s interesting you say that, actually, because I think there are a lot of jobs out there—especially new jobs that are coming up— with new technologies that people don’t even consider when they go to start a degree.

GG: Absolutely. And I think that matters so much if we think about all the new jobs that have come into being in the past twenty years, that didn’t exist for our parents’ generation, that those are jobs are available to individuals who understand their skills.

R ather than individuals who go into university

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looking to master a pre-set, given skill.

FC: I think that’s really important. In terms of being interdisciplinar y, what other subjects would you say are indirectly studied by English students, and what does that bring to their experience?

GG: English students are learning, in their own fashion, histor y, parts of linguistics, parts of philosophy, probably parts of sociolog y as well, certainly cultural studies on this campus — those are ver y analogous disciplines.

English is almost a sort of interdisciplinar y humanities programme, as it’s unfolded right now.

FC: Yeah, definitely.

So, when people make comments like “why are you going to university to read novels”, how would you respond to those criticisms?

GG: I guess a criticism like that comes from a place of misunderstanding — one simply doesn’t appreciate what is involved [in studying English].

The criticism worries me, because it suggests to me that what’s going on in their discipline is they’re only reading textbooks, they’re not doing anything else. And so they look at the reading list and think that’s all we do. What

Brie Welton - Life Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

we’re doing is reading and thinking about culture, about our world, about how culture shapes our lives and affects both ourselves and others. About how we can start to imagine the world we have, and the world we want. And I think those acts of imagination are so important for bringing us to new possibilities, new ways of living that are more

“

I think an ideal student is probably someone who’s flexible, interested in listening, interested in hearing what others have to say about our world, and then also committed to saying something to others about our world.

” in line with the world we want, and those humanistic values we might have.

FC: Absolutely, I’d have to agree. To further that, what qualities would you say make a good literature student?

GG: That’s a really intriguing question.

I

don’t quite know how to answer that—I mean that, I hope, productively—in the sense that I think there’s a lot of different students who come into English, and do really different things with their degree.

Some students might come in and see that what they’re doing in English is they’re learning logic and rhetoric, and that’s going to be especially useful for them in a future life as a lawyer, perhaps. Others come into the discipline because they’re interested in thinking carefully and critically about the world around us, have a particular investment in social justice, perhaps. And they find a home within English—people who are interested in similar sorts of questions, questions that aren’t easy to answer, what English often encounters [is that] we need a persuasive rhetoric to think about matters that can’t easily be solved. I think an ideal student is probably someone who’s flexible, interested in listening, interested in hearing what others have to say about our world, and then also committed to saying something to others about our world – tr ying to shape that world. Tr ying to make sure that we’re making a difference in some way, we’re not simply coming in to determine a set of skills that are going to enable us to earn money—I don’t

think that’s the value of a university education primarily. I think that’s certainly a valid outcome for what we’re doing here, but that shouldn’t be all that the university does.

FC: I think it’s interesting you say that actually, because from my experience, English students are some of the

“ We’re not simply coming in to determine a set of skills that are going to enable us to earn money—I don’t think that’s the value of a university education primarily.

” most opinionated people I know. They can have an opinion on anything, and that’s important as a life skill.

GG: Absolutely it’s important. And hopefully, they can learn to listen too… [laughs]. An opinion sometimes doesn’t require listening…

Life

FC: Yeah, I guess… Just to round off, I’d like to know : what are you reading right now?

GG: B est thing I’ve read recently would be Yuri Herrera’s “Signs Preceding the End of the World” – I started teaching it in my first year class for the first time, and I feel like it’s becoming all the more pressingly important, because it’s a novel about the U.S/ Mexican border and the lives of individuals who are crossing that border illegally. So much of what we’re hearing right now is inviting us to see our neighbours, our friends, our co-workers as somehow less human that one another, and I think those sorts of novels that show us the humanity and complexity, and individual desires—of someone that we might presume to know so well already, thanks to what we hear on the news.

It’s so welcome.

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Life | thephoenixnews.com | Brie Welton - Life Editor

THE BENEFITS OF FLOATING How an encounter with a Float Tank may change your world Riley Schlosser – Staff Writer

Ever wonder what it’s like to float in complete darkness, a universe of pitch-black nothingness stretching in every direction? I can now tell you that it’s quite the experience.

If you don’t know what a Float Tank is, I’ll try to enlighten you: essentially it’s an enclosed, deluxe size bathtub filled with water and a crazy amount of Epsom salt, so you can float effortlessly in complete darkness. No light, no sound, and no difference in temperature between the water, the air, and your own skin, to create an almost complete lack of sensory cues and a truly unique experience.

My own experience with Float Tanks is limited (I went for the first time last Tuesday), but I truly believe it might be the most relaxing thing I have ever experienced. Such a lack of sensory input leaves you no choice but to retreat into your own mind and take a break from the constant battery

of information we subject ourselves to in Western culture. On a personal level, I cannot recommend it enough.

The health benefits involved are also well-documented, and the popularity of Float Tanks for physical and mental health is only increasing. Conditions such as stress, muscular pain, anxiety, insomnia, back pain, and even depression have shown measurable improvements after floatation therapy. However, Dustin Erickson, founder of Float Space Kelowna, maintains that floating is not a fix-all method for aches and pains.

Erickson states that the tanks “aren’t some magic solution for this benefit or that benefit, but this is an approach to immediate experience in life, that is not separate from it. And that’s, I think, one of the biggest confusions for people…

The tank isn’t you trying to change who you are, it’s an opportunity to just add in

another layer of satisfaction with life. We don’t go in there to escape life, we go in there to improve life outside the tank, to just add a bit more of a sense of ease and joy and looseness and freedom.”

Adding space to your life is an absolutely key element to decreasing stress, and according to Dustin, floating is one of the easiest ways to realize that end. It’s a conduit to a pattern of life that is less plagued by stress and constant bustle, simply by completely slowing down everything for an hour every month. For Dustin, the sense of rest found in a Float Tank bleeds over into every other part of his life, bringing ease into his conversations, relationships, day-planning, and schoolwork, and vastly improving his lifestyle.

One of the main benefits of floating in Dustin’s life is the improvement of his performance at school, and has enabled him to attend

UBCO while starting Float Space, all with reportedly very low levels of stress. He believes Float Tanks would have massive benefits to all students, simply because of the extremely highfunctioning lives we subject ourselves to. Not only does slowing down for a little while have mental health benefits, it also increases attentiveness and has a generally positive correlation with better grades.

For potentially nervous floaters, Dustin offers the notion that “Floating is not a test, it’s a rest.” Float Tanks work differently for everyone depending on where they are at, but everyone can and will benefit from them if they let it. For claustrophobics and other fearful floaters, Dustin reports a common reaction of “incredible empowerment” after their first experience in a tank. But floating is still not a test, so there are more open float environments available for anyone who would prefer

a less restrictive space.

Floating truly is an incredible experience, and it’s absolutely worth spending 60 minutes out of your 43,800 minute month to simply find rest. To check out student rates, learn more about the benefits, find out about the different styles of tanks available, or to contact the (incredible) staff at Float Space, find them online at www.floatspace.ca.

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Paula Tran – Arts Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Arts

Arts

Photo by Riley Petillion/ The Phoenix News

ARTIST FEATURE: BEN MOODY AND THE QUEER LIVES PODCAST

Connecting Kelowna with the queer community, one episode at a time Paula Tran - Arts Editor

content was off the charts.

Speakers from all over Kelowna and the Okanagan talked about their experiences with the LGBTQIA+ community and shared their diverse backgrounds and stories.

Wilbur told his painful story describing his journey on coming out as gay and how his 91-year-old mother cut ties from him. Peter Breeze talked about his life in Hollywood, how he met Paris Hilton, and how he wanted to be rich and famous.

These were just snippets of the whole night. I cried, I laughed, and I smiled. This was the first podcast of its kind to ever be recorded and aired in Kelowna, and it definitely had potential to grow and expand.

I sat down with Ben on the Friday after the premiere in the Well to talk about Queer Lives.

I asked him a few questions.

What was his inspiration to create the podcast? Why a podcast and not a written blog that compiled experiences from the LGBTQIA+ community?

“ These were just snippets of the whole night. I cried, I laughed, and I smiled. This was the first podcast of its kind to ever be recorded and aired in Kelowna, and it definitely had potential to grow and expand.

“

On Tuesday, January 31, Ben Moody launched his new Queer Lives podcast with a live recording at the Wine & Art tapas restaurant located downtown. I walked into the venue with a friend of mine and breathed in the smell of wine and food that lingered in the air. The restaurant was smaller than expected, but warm and inviting. Ben was setting up his sound equipment in the far end of the corner when we walked in, and I noticed how close the set up was relative to the audience. It was very cozy, and I liked it that way.

The crowd trickled in slowly.

Everyone was talking to each other liked they have known each for a long time. My friend and I looked at each other and shrugged. His face was just as lost as mine because we didn’t know anybody there.

It didn’t stop us from having a good time, though. The Queer Lives podcast premiere was amazing, the production quality was fantastic and the

He told me that he wanted to connect the LGBTQIA+ community with people living in rural areas who don’t have many interactions with the queer community. Podcasts were also a passionate way of getting the content out into the world, because there were little to no space confinements which means more people have access to it. No stories were inappropriate, and everyone was encouraged to share their stories.

In terms of finding speakers for the premiere, Ben had personal connections from the Pride Resource Centre on campus but also from local organizations aimed at spreading awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community, men’s health, etc. When we talked about the speakers at the live recording, Ben said he knew each speaker for this live recording event, which made it easier to contact and help generate content.

The podcast’s success also

meant that there were a series of challenges during the creation process. One of the biggest challenges for Ben was trying to coordinate details for the event. Who was going to speak? What should they talk about? Where would he get the funding and the recording equipment? What venue should he use? It would be months of planning and brainstorming with sponsors and speakers before the podcast could officially kick off.

For now, the next steps would be to edit the audio recording and cut the recording into different episodes before publishing the podcast onto the internet. There is no set date for the next recording, but Ben anticipates a mid-February, early March recording date for the next few episodes. Making a podcast is a learning curve, and Ben will gage reactions from the community before he will generate more content.

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Arts | thephoenixnews.com | Paula Tran – Arts Editor

Photo by Riley Petillion/ The Phoenix News

PODCASTS 102: WHAT ARE UBCO STUDENTS CREATING? FT. EASTON DORAN We shouldn’t ignore local talent

Paula Tran - Arts Editor

not limited to) “music, cu lture, and t he current UBC campus cu lture.” Ta lk in’ ‘Bout Practice is a ta lk show hosted by Stephen Dass and Grayson Lea hy t hat focuses on spor ts and spor ts-based news. Treading t he Void by Chidi Agbo explores many philosophica l topics. This is only a slice of t he Heat wave podcast ca ke, and t here are many more to come in t he near f uture.

Easton Doran, Heat wave’s station manager, says t hat he and his team are a lways open to students who want to create and produce content.

He encourages students to come for ward and reach out to him and his team, and to come prepared to ta lk about t heir podcast. There

“ There is always someone willing to help a producer to record a pilot episode and refine the show’s contents and the students’ ideas.

“

Fun fact: Heat wave Radio Station on campus is actua lly home to a bunch of ta lk and music shows created by and broadcasted by students. There is an extensive list on t heir website for any interested student who likes to listen to podcasts but wou ld like to suppor t t heir loca l ar tists or producers. A lot of t he podcasts are produced and hosted by Easton Doran, which includes Ar tist Ta lk, Sof tcore Radio, and A lmost Live, but t here are many t hat are hosted by ot her students. Pussy Power, a podcast Elora Bascello and Sydney Dorfman, explores topics addressing feminine interests and feminist issues, which includes (but

is a lways someone w illing to help a producer to record a pilot episode and ref ine t he show’s contents and t he students’ ideas. A ll topics w ill be considered and rev iewed, but content t hat is too of fensive or v iolates t he school ’s code of conduct w ill be scrapped from t he table.

As far as f uture content goes, Easton says t hat t here is a new podcast tit led Colour Consciousness t hat is going to be aired prett y soon. The podcast w ill be focusing on race issues and t he many plights v isible minorities have to face in Canada and Nor t h America in genera l.

Of f t he Cuf f is a mov ie and v ideo game rev iew podcast t hat is a lso going to be

aired on Heat wave rea lly soon. He encourages t he UBC campus communit y to pay attention to Heat wave’s Tw itter account to receive t he latest updates on podcast episodes and new shows. Easton and his team w ill a lso be printing posters and distributing t hem around campus to adver tise and spread awareness for upcoming shows and episodes.

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Paula Tran – Arts Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Arts

Photo provided by Renee Saklikar

THE WORLD OF RENEE SAKLIKAR How she sees the world in poems and sound

Paula Tran - Arts Editor

“She is such a funny and sweet lady.”—That is the impression I have of Renee Saklikar; she has a lovely smile with an amazing personality to go with it. We introduce ourselves in the local Bean Scene downtown.

She asks me some questions, and I ask her some of mine.

We sit down. She sips from a mug of peppermint tea and I drink from a giant cup of coffee. Even though it is cold and snowy outside, the coffee shop is warm, lively, and inviting.

Renee Saklikar is UBC Okanagan’s tenth Writerin-Residence and will be staying in Kelowna for two weeks. She is an Indianborn Canadian lawyer, poet, and author and serves as Surrey’s Poet Laureate. She writes thecanadaproject, a life-long poem chronicle whose work has been published in many journals, anthologies, and chapbooks.

Thecanadaproject includes many poems and essays that describe Renee’s experiences living in many Canadian provinces and the transition in her life from India to

Canada. Her book, Children of Air India, is a series of poems that talks about the Canada/Air India event and delves into public trauma, highlighting the aftermath and the under-representation of the event in Canadian history and identity. Renee also dives into what she calls “Canada’s worst mass murder,” and named her book after the 82 children who died in Air India Flight 182.

“How would you describe yourself in one sentence?” I ask her.

Renee pauses and thinks for a minute. “I am passionate about connecting people through poetry.”

To her, poetry just comes naturally and writing poems is just a natural thing to do. She sees the world with visuals and sounds, which are the “essence” to her as a person. She can write in all genres, Renee says her brain is “hardwired” to write poetry.

Thecanadaproject describes the journey of an immigrant settler, and is a memoir of sorts for Renee. She was

born in India and came to Canada as child, and the blog documents her life in many Canadian provinces which include British Columbia, Quebec, and New Brunswick, to name a few. Since then, she has always been interested in place, location, and setting, and how they can influence our own identities, personalities, and language.

She questions the notion of citizenship and what it means to be Canadian. What is the nature of citizenship? Who is Canadian? These are some of the questions Renee asks everyday.

I mention her book, Children of Air India, and ask why she decided to write about the Canada/Air India event and the challenges she faced during the writing process. Renee tells me that the book was the last thing she ever wanted to write. It wasn’t just because the topic was so controversial and painful, it was also because Renee was too scared to write about the mass murder.

However, the desire to write overpowered the fear of not writing, and she eventually

started the demanding writing process. The whole process took about five years to complete from start to finish. Renee spent countless times in the archives and libraries, which became her muse. She became sick from the voices of the dead and the murdered, especially from the 82 children that were on board the doomed flight.

Eventually, the book was finished, published, and sold widely in North America.

Renee says that the book “terrifies [her], and [she] wouldn’t write the book now.

As a person and woman of colour, Renee says that she had many opportunities, despite how ironic it may sound. The “othering” that she faces on a daily basis helps her stand out amongst her peers in the literary community. She still recognizes that race and class issues still exist. Even the most well-meaning people may let slip some microaggressions.

I ask her about her job as Surrey’s inaugural Poet Laureate, and Renee says that she loves Surrey. It is a multicultural place and a

“yes” place. She describes her position is similar to a Writer-in-Residence, but she is on a two-year term, and she does consultations along with her teaching career.

She attends many cultural events and is Surrey’s literary ambassador. Renee says she meets many people from different walks of life and of different ages because of her position, and because of that she is able to do “really cool things with different people.”

The number one piece of advice Renee would give to aspiring writers and poets is “don’t give up, read, and keep going.” She tells her students and writers everywhere to write and read everyday.

The greatest inspiration, she says, is from people of different faculties and who use different art mediums as their way of expression.

17

Arts | thephoenixnews.com | Paula Tran – Arts Editor

THE HYPE WITH THE SWITCH AND HOW IT CAN ALL GO WRONG Will it be Nintendo’s No Man Sky? Paula Tran – Arts Editor

will I pre-order the Switch in the near future.

While the console on its own has amazing specs and has the capability to be a wonderful home and handheld device, the initial game lineup is dismal and we may not see a lot of new content until next year.

For around CAD $400, the Switch isn’t bundled with any of the games Nintendo has announced as part of the initial lineup, so the price upfront is very expensive considering you have to buy games like the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (which is priced at $80) separately. Not only that, most of the games on Nintendo’s list isn’t going to be released until 2018. Super Mario Odyssey, for example, is another highly anticipated game that is set for a late2017 or early 2018 release

“ The idea of the Switch being a hybrid home and handheld console is very innovative and interesting, but seems too good to be true.

“

Nintendo revealed its newest addition to the console family, the Switch, earlier this month and already, the gaming community is going wild. Even though the game lineup is minimal, preorder sales for the console have capped on Amazon, EBGames, and BestBuy. Gaming personalities are constantly talking about the Switch on their Youtube channels, and people are f locking to gaming-themed forums on Reddit to discuss the specs and predictions for the console. Not only that, EA Games and Bethesda are listed as partners who are willing to produce content for the Switch, which only adds to the hy pe for Nintendo’s newest console.

While the console does seem very tempting to buy right now, I don’t think we should buy into the hy pe just yet, nor

date. In my opinion, I would wait until the game lineup has been expanded a little to make a decision to order the consider.

The idea of the Switch being a hybrid home and handheld console is very innovative and interesting, but seems too good to be true. For one, Nintendo’s Wi-Fi and wireless ser vices are known to be awful compared to other consoles such as the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. Nintendo does have relatively good coop games such as Splatoon, but connections are slow and playability is mediocre at best. The idea of making the Switch portable to encourage gamers to play with others makes the Switch a desirable console, but how well can it connect to games wirelessly?

With Nintendo planning to make their Wi-Fi ser vices

a paid one, I would hold off on buying the Switch until Nintendo fixes issue with Wi-Fi and wireless playability.

In no way am I saying the Switch is a stupid console. I think the Switch is a beautiful and amazing console with a lot of potential, but I don’t think it warrants the hy pe just yet. We all know what happened to the Wii U when it came out, and Nintendo’s horrible marketing isn’t the only factor that contributed to the Wii U’s downfall. Wait a bit, then see if you really want the Switch.

Note: The above photo is not an actual photo of the new Nintendo Switch Controller Photo provided by Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

18

Tyrel Lamoureux - Opinions Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Opinions

UBCSUO ELECTIONS

Opinions

Photo provided by the UBCSUO

AKA: Pageant UBCO

Tyrel Lamoureux - Opinions Editor

Our University’s student union elections are once again upon us. This debacle inevitably turns out to be a popularity contest where a certain amount of students vote based on the reason of: “hey I know that person so I’ll vote for them.” As elections go, ours is so common that it could be argued to have less of an effect because of its yearly cycle. However, that single year of power can still have its rewards and consequences. For example, the new teaching and learning center that is being constructed is adding $34 a semester to your fees. This was put forward by Rocky Kim when he was president and will last 10 years, which means that these elections are not trivial.

So what can you do in order to avoid this year’s elections taking the same path? I could begin by giving you the “do your part and go vote! It’s your responsibility

“ You need to understand what issues are important to you as a student and therefore figure out what you want your students union to focus on.

”

to use your power” speech... and that is exactly what I am going to do. It is true that the best thing you can do is go out and vote. However, just voting for someone that you know or someone your friend told you to vote, for won’t cut it.

You need to understand what issues are important to you as a student and therefore figure out what you want your Students’ Union to focus on. If you are one of the many students who came here to learn and not have the student’s union waste $110,000 combined on Frosh and Recess parties and use that money for literally anything else, then vote accordingly, you have that power. If you want a better Frosh or more UBCSUO run parties with another famous artist who won’t show up, then that’s perfectly fine too.

However, you still need to do your part and get educated.

Even so, there is still only so much that you can do. As well as the elections being a popularity contest with no candidate standing a chance without a strong social presence, it also has the issue of minimally diverse platforms. Most candidates will run on practically the same ideas for each position making them all pretty much the same.

This lack of variety limits the opportunity for the voter to make a decision based on key issues as you would for a federal or provincial election.

You can still engage with the individuals running if you go say hi, and ask them some questions. If you do not know what their platform is or what they are going to do differently then ask them—that is what they are there for. Go to the candidate debates, listen to what they have to say, and judge for yourself. Notice if they are

good speakers or if they know what they are talking about. See how these people, who could potentially be representing you, conduct themselves and make your own judgment call.

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Opinions | thephoenixnews.com | Tyrel Lamoureux - Opinions Editor

TRUDEAU HAS NO EXCUSE Trudeau’s reasons for his broken electoral reform promise are pathetic Mark Dreger – Phoenix Columnist

On February 1, Justin Trudeau revealed what many assumed: the Liberal campaign promise of electoral reform is dead.

Through Trudeau’s mandate letter to the Minister of Democratic Institutions— and through Question Period at the House—his main excuses were explained, and they are pathetic.

In his letter, Trudeau said, “A clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, has not emerged.” Since when has mass consensus ever stopped the government from implementing their policies?

Pipelines have no consensus, but he still passed two in November. Maybe this “lack of consensus” derives from the MyDemocracy.ca survey never asking if Canadians wanted change, or what system Canadians wanted?

Trudeau cannot claim a lack

of support when the question was never asked. At the UBCO town hall meeting last July, they refused to allow questions regarding electoral systems, despite many wanting that discussion.

Opinion polls show a majority want a referendum on change, but are unclear on what that change should be. These questions could easily have been asked in the survey.

A referendum seems to be a valid solution, but Trudeau’s letter continues that “without a clear preference or a clear question, a referendum would not be in Canada’s interest.” Here is an idea: have a referendum asking, “Would you support electoral reform if the government worked with Canadians on a widely endorsed system and held a second referendum on its implementation?” Assuming there is a desire for change,

Photo by Alex Guibord/ Flickr

the government would work with the Elections Reform Committee and average Canadians to draft an electoral system. Maybe through public opinion via

“ Since when has mass consensus ever stopped the government from implementing their policies?

”

better managed surveys and town halls, the government could present a system that has majority support, which would lead to a second referendum asking, “Do

you agree with the system the Liberal government has presented?” Yes, this could fail and be a waste of money, like the failed flag referendum in New Zealand, but such a major change cannot be held through one referendum and then fully trusted to a majority government.

However, Trudeau’s reasoning for not having a referendum is that “moving forward in a divisive policy would be a bad idea.”

Canadian history is full of referendums that took place through divisive policy and a lack of broad support, but at the time they answered a question and were upheld no matter how close the result. The 1898 referendum on prohibition received 51.3% national support (81% of Quebec rejecting it), the 1992 Charlottetown Accord was rejected 55% to 45%, and the 1995 Quebec

sovereignty referendum was rejected 50.6% to 49.4%. In a country as large as Canada, divisiveness is irrelevant because division will happen no matter what.

Trudeau’s reasons for ending electoral reform are silly, but the theory going around now is that Trudeau ended the campaign because he feared he would not get the ranked ballot system that would heavily favour the center-left Liberals. Trudeau was also afraid of fringe extremist parties taking seats in the parliament, but is he really afraid of extreme parties (whatever that means) or is he afraid of more competition that a proportional system would create? Like Nathan Cullen said, they broke their promise “not because it was a threat to Canadian unity, but because it was a threat to the Liberal Party.”

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Tyrel Lamoureux - Opinions Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

THE RIGHT AND LEFT’S HATRED OF TRUTH

Opinions

Illustration by Sarah James/ The Phoenix News

When will the media put their narratives aside and report the facts?

Mark Dreger – Phoenix Columnist

The Quebec shooting in January taught me one thing: people would rather gamble on the truth to maintain their agenda, than wait for what the truth really is.

On that Sunday night, many media outlets frothed at the bit to spin the story for their political agenda before any facts were known. Some Left-leaning outlets reported of a shooting at a mosque with the implication that it was a hate attack, while some Right-leaning outlets headlined the shooter’s cry “Allahu akbar,” implying that it was a jihadist attack.

When false information from a parody Reuters Twitter account reported that the two shooters were white supremacists, some outlets like The Daily Beast could not hold back and pushed the “islamophobia” narrative, leading to laughter from the Right. Then when news broke that one alleged suspect was Mohamed Khadir of Moroccan decent, the Right could not hold back and

pushed the “radical Islam” narrative.

Social media continued the narrative war that the shooting was either absolutely islamophobia or absolutely radical Islam. It finally came out that the white male Trump supporter Alexandre Bissonnette was the shooter, and the Left media wet their pants in excitement with the moral high ground as the Right reluctantly updated their reports.

What this sequence of events shows is that the media and the public no longer react to tragedies with neutral solidarity, but with, “how best can we use this story for our agenda?” Like what Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

Here is an example in the opposite direction. In December, Muslim college student Yasmin Seweid claimed that 3 men attacked her on a Manhattan subway.

The Left media pounced on

the story as a perfect example of a Muslim hate crime, but when it came out that she fabricated the story, the Left got very quiet while the

“ Until one side halts at the opportunity of narrative advantage and instead suggests common ground to address a societal concern, then the cultural division will continue; however, neither side will give up an opportunity to push their narrative to maintain their perceived advantage.

” Right took the moral high ground and used the story and other examples to push the narrative of consistently faked hate crimes.

Narratives are what fuel the media industry. If a story fits the narrative, it will be front page news; but if anything new emerges that disproves the original assertion, the story will either be ignored or printed on the 11th page.

Both sides also thrive on fear. For the Left it is when a white, far-right male shoots a minority school or mosque with an AK-47, and for the Right it is when a Muslim refugee shouts “Allahu akbar” and kills Christians in Europe. For those on the Left taking the moral high ground now, you are no better than the Right that takes that podium when a radical Muslim bombs a crowd.

Heck, the Right tried to take it back less than a week later when a radical foreign Muslim attacked soldiers in France. It is a battle, but until one side halts at the opportunity of narrative advantage and instead suggests common ground to address a societal concern, then the cultural division

will continue; however, neither side will give up an opportunity to push their narrative to maintain their perceived advantage. People have forgotten the reality that truth trumps narrative every time.

Both sides share an element of truth. There are Islamic terrorists, and there is Islamophobia, but the problem is the extremes taken to “solve” the problems. The far-Left stifles free speech by seeing genuine criticism of Islam as Islamophobia and the far-Right sees any Islamic attack as an excuse to enclose themselves from all foreigners, with peaceful Muslims facing much of the fault. Neither side will work to implement what the other side is fighting, but if both sides can admit that the other holds an element of truth, then maybe we can tackle the evils of Islamophobia and radical Islam together.

21

Opinions | thephoenixnews.com | Tyrel Lamoureux - Opinions Editor

SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS Why these high-profile ads are simply an ineffective waste of money Riley Schlosser – Staff Writer

Super Bowl ads are a cultural phenomenon these days, and they are also an insanely expensive way for companies to promote their products. $5 million is the current price for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial, and that number is expected to climb to $10 million in the next ten years. So this all begs the question: is it worth it?

Financially speaking, evidence says it is not. Super Bowl ads are indeed viewed by a massive audience, with a quarter of Super Bowl watchers admitting to viewing just for the commercials, but there is no evidence to suggest that those increased numbers have an long-lasting effects on sales.

There are, of course, outliers, such as Budweiser’s Wazzup? ad or Wendy’s Where’s the Beef ? commercial, that gain

a cultural following and prove to have some longevity.

Looking at actual sales of advertised products, Super Bowl ads cause a massive spike for the better commercials, but that popularity subsides in a matter of days. $5 million for the possibility of a few days worth of increased sales seems like an unfortunate situation.

As far as the effectiveness of Super Bowl ads, studies show that very few are successful.

The highest rated commercials feature cute animals and celebrities and air during the second quarter. A Stanford study on Super Bowl commercials suggests that companies with competitors also running ads, such as beer, car, and insurance commercials, lose almost all their effectiveness simply because their specific brand is not easily

“ It would be smarter to simply run the ad on YouTube or social media: it’s cheaper, more widespread, shareable, promotable, and on YouTube your guaranteed at least 5 seconds of viewing before the viewer skips the ad.

”

differentiated from their competitors.

So how could all this money be better used? From the companies’ perspective, it would be smarter to simply run the ad on YouTube or social media: it’s cheaper, more widespread, shareable, promotable, and on YouTube your guaranteed at least 5 seconds of viewing before the viewer skips the ad.

Alternatively, they could be like Kraft Heinz, who decided to skip the Super Bowl add this year and instead gave all of their salaried employees Monday off. They also started a petition to make Super Bowl Sunday (Smunday) a National Holiday in the US, and honestly the whole stunt will probably garner them more attention than any ad would have.

On top of all this, 2017 was a particularly bad year

for Super Bowl ads. For proof, simply go look in the comments section of any “Top Ten Super Bowl Ads” video on YouTube, and you will undoubtedly see a plethora of comments complaining about the un-funniness of the ads, or the distastefulness of pushing political agendas.

Obviously this is not a cut-and-dry issue, or the abolishment of Super Bowl ads would already be well underway, but it certainly seems like the money could be better allocated. The whole ordeal is a shining example of capitalist North America, and the fact that companies will continue pay such outlandish prices for 30 seconds of passive attention from their audience is absolutely absurd.

22

Grayson B. Leahy – Sports Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Sports

Sports

TIGER WOODS LET US DOWN

Every weekend we seem further away from the comeback we can’t stop hoping for

Grayson B. Leahy – Sports Editor

his game has never been the same. Be it age, physical damage, or something else entirely, the Tiger Woods we grew up with is gone. He’s started this year being cut from his first tournament and withdrawing from his second, an identical beginning to what he did in 2015. In between, his schedule & results page doesn’t even have information for the 2015/16 season, due to lack of appearances.

In Dubai on February 2 & 3, Tiger shot a (+5) 77 in the opening round before withdrawing during the second.

“I wasn’t in pain at all,”

“ I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job.

– Tiger Woods

“

Last weekend, Tiger Woods withdrew from yet another tournament, this time the Dubai Desert Classic, citing back spasms. For a man who once upon a time was expected to shatter every PGA record, this extended failure to launch is disappointing to say the least.

For golf fans of my generation, Tiger was it. He was exciting, he was electric, he was the best. He dominated golf for over a decade, and looked to be on a path to take the title of greatest golfer of all time from Jack Nicklaus.

Since the disasters of his personal life became public,

Woods said after his birdieless first round. “I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job. . . At the end, I finally hit some good ones but damage had already been done. On top of that, I could have hung in there, I could have shot something near even par if I would have made some putts, but I made nothing.”

Statements like this can be seen as either his acceptance of his new reality, or as a statement about his lack of confidence. For a man whose career should have been the most successful we’ve ever seen, a lack of

confidence would be almost as disappointing as this growing list of withdrawals for uncertain reasons.

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Sports | thephoenixnews.com | Grayson B. Leahy – Sports Editor

PAT MCAFEE: PRO BOWL PUNTER TO BARSTOOL BLOGGER

After eight seasons with Indy, he’s trading in kicking balls for busting them Grayson B. Leahy – Sports Editor

response, “next question.”

Despite being still in his twenties (he turns 30 in May), McAfee had reportedly seriously considered retiring well before a career as blogger was an option.

Over the past four seasons he has undergone knee surgery three times, so after seeing how his personality and social media presence have developed, taking the opportunity to capitalize with a growing business in Barstool makes some sense.

The desire to start into a career beyond football has been in the works for McAfee since at least early 2016, when he went on a four-day tour in Indiana to perform his stand-up comedy.

Called the I-69 tour, it was wellreceived by fans and established his legitimate ability to be funny and tell a story, undoubtedly big selling points for his new employers.

Pat McAfee played eight

“ I make a lot of bad decisions, and this is just one of them.

– Pat McAfee

“

Pat McAfee, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts, retired from professional football last week in order to join Barstool Sports. It is without a doubt one of the strangest moves by a professional athlete in recent memory, and it will cost McAfee the $2.75 million he would have made in salary next season as well as $400,000 he reportedly owes the Colts, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

In a fake press conference done with his new colleagues at Barstool, McAfee was asked by senior Barstool blogger Kevin Clancy, “Are you aware just how bad of a fucking idea this is, leaving a million-dollar career in sports to come blog for this stupid-ass company?” It’s a question that in much less vulgar variants has been asked by nearly every sports reporter, writer, and analyst over the past week.

“Yup,” was McAfee’s comical

seasons with Indianapolis, and kicked a career total of 575 punts for 26,669 yards. In 2016, his final season, he led the league with an average of 49.3 yards per punt.

At the end of the Barstool ‘press conference,’ a second senior blogger, aka Uncle Chaps, asked about the ‘stupidity’ of the decision. “My mom really hammered it home about how really dumb this was. But mostly, the follow-up from the people in the company asking me how dumb it is, really hammers it home,” McAfee said. “I understand this is a very stupid decision, but you know what, I’ve been making those my whole life.” He went on to list examples.

“I own a professional wrestling ring right now. I own an aquatic vehicle that doesn’t float. I make a lot of bad decisions, and this is just one of them.”

Answers like this, and the

decision to hold a fake, comedic press conference, are good steps towards convincing the doubtful that he might be able to make a career out of making people laugh. With his stand-up comedy likely to become a much larger part of his life and with the continued growth in content and profitability of Barstool Sports, Pat McAfee might have an even better career after football than he did as a Pro Bowl punter.

PATRIOTS WIN SUPERBOWL 51

Record-setting performances put New England back on top, and set Brady and Belichick even further above the rest of the field Grayson B. Leahy – Sports Editor

#5. Prior to last weekend, the largest comeback in Super Bowl history had been 10 points. Now, it’s 25.

At half-time, the game looked to be over, with the Atlanta Falcons up 21-3.

Halfway through the third quarter, they were up 28-3.

Going into the fourth, it was 28-9. Normally, that would be it, we would all accept the end result was already well in hand. Except football fans know you don’t do that when Brady and Belichick are involved.

Just over two minutes apart, late in the quarter, the game’s two best receivers made two of the postseason’s best catches. With 4:40 left in the fourth, Atlanta’s Julio Jones barely kept himself inbounds and gave the Falcons a chance to set up a field goal, which would extend their lead to 31-20 and likely cement their win. Instead, the Patriots

“ ‘It was one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen. . . I don’t know how the hell he caught it,’ — Tom Brady on Julian Edelman

“

I dislike Tom Brady for a number of reasons, primarily his being the quarterback for the Patriots and his team’s seemingly endless string of victories over my Miami Dolphins. I also don’t enjoy the idea of his being a Trump supporter.

Despite these things, I feel incredibly lucky as a sports fan to be witnessing his career. When he retires, he’ll likely be considered the greatest quarterback of all time. His performance last Sunday in Super Bowl LI all but guaranteed that spot in NFL history.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and Brady now each have five championship rings with the team. They’re a dynasty, sporting the most successful coach-quarterback combination in the history of professional football.

Almost as impressive as those accolades is the way they won

defence sacked Matt Ryan and drew a penalty to force a Falcons punt.

On the ensuing drive, Julian Edelman found karmic balance for the David Tyree catch against the Pats in Super Bowl XLII (2008), somehow finding a way to catch a def lected pass between the legs of a Falcons defender. “It was one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen. . . I don’t know how the hell he caught it,” said Brady after the game.

That miraculous reception put the Patriots 41 yards away from tying the game at 28, with 2:28 left to play. Four plays later James White ran it in from the 1-yard line, and the second successful 2-point conversion in five minutes completed what’s being called the greatest Super Bowl comeback ever.

New England won the coin toss in the first-ever Super

Bowl overtime, and needed just one drive to get it done.

Brady completed five of seven passes to put them just two yards away, and James White’s herculean effort forced the ball across the plane of the goal line. 34-28 for the Patriots, and Roger Goodell probably wept.

Brady finished 43/62 for 466 yards, a new Super Bowl passing record, and was named the game’s MVP for the fourth time. James White finished with three touchdowns, setting Super Bowl records of his own with 14 receptions and 20 points scored.