Vol XXIX Issue VIII - January 18 2016

UBCO’s Student Newspaper

January 18th, 2016 | Vol 29, Issue 8

#prayformark2016 since 1989

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thephoenixnews.com |

Campus

News

Sports

Life

UBC Okanagan Welcomes Syrian Refugees p.3

Heat Women’s Basketball pushing for Playoff Spot p.17

Make frowns fade and get good grades p.12

UBCO Student will run across Haiti to help end poverty p.4

Competition Heats up in Second Half for Women’s Volleyball p.18

Social Media: Why it’s making you sick p.13

January at UBCO is Sexual Assault Awareness p.5

Surrey p.19

Identity and the Search for Self p.14

Opinions

Arts

Features

Feminism and the big screen p.15

The Top 10 Movies of 2015 p.6

Bowie Favourites p.9

When are Women Allowed to not look perfect? p.16

Art on the Line 2016 p.8

Turn and Face the Strange, Always p.10

Sarah James

Production Manager

Maranda Wilson

Varenka Kim

Coordinating Editor

Project Manager

Visual Editor

Kelsi Brown

Maggie Wilson

Francesca Gimson

Riley Petillion

Alex Barberis

Production Assistant

University Centre 3333 University Way Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 5N3 Office: UNC 132B Phone: 250-807-9296 thephoenixnews.com Cover and feature illustrations by Varenka Kim

Photo Editor

Copy Editor

Coordinating Editor Alex Barberis coordinating@thephoenixnews.com

Sports Editor Grayson B. Leahy sports@thephoenixnews.com

Visual Editor Varenka Kim visual@thephoenixnews.com

Production Manager Sarah James artdirector@thephoenixnews.com

Current Affairs Editor Mark Dreger current.affairs@thephoenixnews.com

Production Assistant Kelsi Brown production@thephoenixnews.com

Project Manager Maranda Wilson project@thephoenixnews.com

Life Editor Amithisste Multerer-Zarda life@thephoenixnews.com

Copy Editor Francesca Gimson copy@thephoenixnews.com

Web Editor Justin Kroeker web@thephoenixnews.com

Life Reporter Tiffany Goodwein lifereporter@thephoenixnews.com

Video Editor Riley Petillion production@thephoenixnews.com

Opinions Editor Brittni MacKenzie-Dale opinions@thephoenixnews.com

Life Reporter Maria Otto lifereporter@thephoenixnews.com

News Editor Laurence Watt news@thephoenixnews.com

Staff Writer Kathryn Helmore helmore@thephoenixnews.com

Contributors Brie Campbell, Gordon Hamilton, Susheel Palakurthi, Lea Sebastianis, Jeff Bulmer and K.E

Arts Editor Jacky Deng arts@thephoenixnews.com

Photo Editor Maggie Wilson photo@thephoenixnews.com

Video Editor

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.

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).

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

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News | thephoenixnews.com | Laurence Watt - News Editor

News

MEIN KAMPF SELLS OUT IN GERMANY Adolf Hitler’s controversial book empties from shelves Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor

PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER

Photo provided by the ASA

UBC OKANAGAN WELCOMES SYRIAN REFUGEES Laurence Watt News Editor

Earlier this year, the UBC Okanagan Arab Student Association, in collaboration with Fresh Start and St. Charles Garnier Catholic Church, greeted Syrian refugees as they arrived at the YLW airport.

Greeting them with posters, candy and toys, the ASA did their very best to ensure the new Canadian citizens felt welcomed and at home.

According to Esam, co-founder and secretary of the ASA, this was an important opportunity to show solidarity with those fleeing from war and to represent UBC. He states, “it meant so much to be a part of something really great and to represent UBC, there has to be a lot of credit given to everyone who helped out.”

A moment that stood out for Esam was when he saw a girl from one of the families smile upon arrival. “I know what it’s like to see people running away from war… so to see we could give these families hope and see one of the girls smile after coming from a civil war was amazing. Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Esam also pointed out ways in which the Syrian refugee crisis has managed to bridge gaps domestically. First, it has opened the door for associations at UBC ,like the Muslim Student Association, Political Science Student Association, International Relations and International Programs and Services, to host discussions and contemplate methods on how to deal with the on-going crisis.

DRUG-RESISTANT SUPERBUG GENE

Recently discovered gene is found to be resistant to strongest antibiotics Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor

Drug-resistant bacteria have been a major fear for years, and now a superbug that’s resistant to a last resort antibiotic has been detected in Canada after being recently reported across the world.

This gene, called MCR-1, makes bacteria resistant to a highly toxic antibiotic called colistin, a very powerful drug used only as a last

resort.

Scientists in China first reported on the gene in The Lancet medical journal on November 18, when they found 260 samples of gene-infested E. coli from meat, hospital patients, and farm animals. However, what is more frightening is that the gene is located on a plasmid, which is a piece of DNA outside the chromosomal DNA that

Second, it has provided an avenue for local Churches and Mosques around the world to communicate and work together in welcoming refugees to their new homes.

To date, Canada has taken in approximately 10,000 refugees from Syria and is in the process of taking in 40,000 more over the next couple of years.

Although all seems to be going well at the moment, the reality is that the Syrian crisis continues to get worse by the day and both our domestic and international issues are far from being solved. For this reason, the ASA feels it of upmost importance to raise awareness and ensure the community is united in the face of terrorism and fear.

can spread the antibiotic resistance to entirely different organisms. The fear now stems from the notion that the resistance can adapt further.

“Once the genie is out of the bottle, once they start moving around, then it becomes very, very challenging to contain,” said Gerry Wright, director of the Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University, “and so the question we have to ask ourselves is where’s it going to end up next?”

In Canada, the superbug was found on samples of E. coli from a 62-yearold patient in Ottawa and from ground beef in Ontario. However, the

The infamously controversial book, Mein Kampf, sold out within one week as publication of the book renewed in Germany after a 70-year ban.

The copyright on Adolf Hitler’s autobiography expired on January 1, 2016, allowing publishers to print the book again after the state of Bavaria prevented new copies when they acquired the copyright after Hitler’s death in 1945.

The Munich Institute of Contemporary History published the two-part volume after three years of adding over 3,500 annotations to the 800-page original.

Over 15,000 orders for the 2,000 page volume were placed, but only 4,000 copies were printed for the first issue, forcing publishers to consider the high demand for a reprint. There have also been requests for publication in other European and Asian languages.

Andreas Wirsching, director for the Munich Institute of Contemporary History, has defended the publication, saying, “the edition unmasks Hitler’s false allegations, his whitewashing, and outright lies.”

Amongst the Jewish community, opinions are divided. The main Jewish community in Germany accepts the publication, but supports only publishing new books with annotations to help expose Hitler’s ideology.

Other Jewish leaders like Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, has criticized the republishing, saying that Holocaust survivors will be offended to see the book in bookstores again despite it being annotated.

“Now, it would be best to leave Mein Kampf where it belongs: the poison cabinet of history,” Lauder said.

The president of the German Teachers’ Association, Josef Kraus, supports having the book taught in schools “in the hope that young people can become immunized and resistant to extremist notions.”

A recent poll suggests that 40% of Germans are against reprinting the book, believing that it will bolster far-right ideology instead of weakening it.

The book sold over 12 million copies until the end of WWII.

samples from ground beef were from 2010, leading some to believe that the superbug has been around for longer than previously thought.

Antibiotic resistance has been a concern in the scientific community for many years because when a drug is wrongly used or overused, the bacteria adapts, evolves, and reproduces into stronger and more resistant bacteria. This results in the creation of stronger drugs to counter the resistance and the dilemma repeats; but currently, scientists have no stronger drug.

The situation has led scientists to call for a ban on polymyxin

antibiotics for agricultural use, even though the drug’s use is expected to rise from 12,000 tonnes to 16,500 tonnes by 2021.

After the discovery in China, researchers across the globe searched their bacterial data to see if they had any MCR-1. The gene has been detected so far in Algeria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Holland, Laos, Malaysia, Portugal, and Thailand, but the list is expected to grow.

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Laurence Watt - News Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

News

MIGRANTS TO BLAME FOR ASSAULTS Hundreds of women report assaults in Germany on New Year’s Eve Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor

Photo by Sarah James/ The Phoenix News

UBCO PROF REVEALS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHITENING Debating whether or not to use whitening strips? Well think again...

Laurence Watt News Editor Got a presentation or a date coming up?

A family member or friend’s wedding?

Maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend Level nightclub? If so, you may feel the need to look good and use those good old, trusty white strips. However, according to UBC professor Adriana Manso, you may want to come up with another method of getting that white smile as whitening strips are anything but trusty when it comes to maintaining oral health.

Adriana Manso, a clinical assistant professor at UBC in the Faculty of Dentistry, recently provided insight on how teeth bleaching works and why individuals who do decide to bleach their teeth must be cautious.

The secret to bleaching products is hydrogen peroxide, a chemical that breaks down the compounds that

cause discolouration on your teeth.

Usually, bleaching products used by the dentist in the office can contain peroxide concentrations of up to 40 per cent, whereas typical over-the-counter strips and gels contain much lower concentration levels.

Manso reveals that there is also a negative aspect to hydrogen peroxide.

Over time, if your teeth are exposed to hydrogen peroxide for too long then the chemical can begin to break down the proteins of the enamel and alter its structure.

Essentially, think of hydrogen peroxide as similar to self-confidence: having a little of it is fine, and can actually be beneficial, but too much of it and you could find yourself regretful and decaying. Manso also points out an alarming array of side effects associated

with bleaching products, from damaging the dental enamel to causing gum irritation and increased tooth sensitivity.

Furthermore, some of these effects, particularly damaging to the enamel, can be permanent and irreversible.

According to Manso, the best way for an individual to ensure they have healthy, white teeth for a long time is to change their habits. Avoid excessive smoking and refrain from drinking coffee, tea and red wine—these actions are large contributors to discolouration, and whitening strips could be avoided altogether if these habits were dropped. If you’re unable to do this, Manso suggests consulting with your dentist to learn about the best available options.

If the migrant crisis in Europe wasn’t heated enough, there have been growing reports of sexual assault from those of Arabic or North African appearance across Germany and the Union.

The story garnered attention after New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany when over 100 women complained to police with reports of Arabic men surrounding and harassing them. As the story received attention, more women came forward with reports of being groped and robbed. Since then, the number of reports of violence and sexual assault has risen to over 500 including two accounts of rape.

“They felt like they were in power and that they could do anything with the women who were out in the street partying,” said Busra A., a victim of the attacks.

Police were slow to respond to the assaults, which have led to accusations of a police and media conspiracy to avoid stories with anti-foreigner sentiment, a view hostile to Angela Merkel’s open-door policy.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker was accused of blaming victims in an attempt to steer blame away from the immigrants for sexually harassing woman in the city. She also proposed a code of conduct that woman should travel in groups and stay an arm’s length away from strangers to prevent attacks.

With so many reports happening simultaneously, police admitted that they couldn’t gain control of the situation. According to witnesses, the assaults appeared to be coordinated with some firing firecrackers before their attacks. Witnesses also reported seeing groups of men approach other men who would point and then send the groups back into the crowd. Cologne’s police chief, Wolfgang Albers, has since been fired for the police’s poor handling of the events.

Merkel has said she would consider tougher penalties, such as withdrawal of asylum-seeker status, and even deportation “to send a clear signal to people who do not want to stick to [Germany’s] legal framework.”

Germany’s Justice Minister said that if any asylum seekers were found to have taken part in the attacks, they would be deported.

32 suspects have been identified for crimes committed that night, with 22 of them in the process of seeking asylum.

Other parts of Germany faced similar attacks, with eight German cities reporting assaults. Hamburg reported 167 assaults (two-thirds of them sexual) and two cases of rape, while Frankfurt reported men of North African appearance assaulted seven women in two separate incidences.

Finnish police also reported a high level of harassment in Helsinki on New Year’s Eve, something Helsinki’s deputy police chief, Ilkka Koskimaki, called “a completely new phenomenon.” Swedish police reported 15 sexual assaults in Kalmar, and Austrian police arrested a Syrian and two Afghani men that sexually assaulted several women.

Protests against Merkel’s opendoor policy to migrants took place in Cologne on January 9th, with about 1,700 protesters calling the assaults proof that Merkel’s policy is flawed.

Frauke Petry, leader of the antiimmigrant party Alternative für Deutschland, attacked Merkel on Facebook saying, “is Germany now open and colourful enough for you, following the wave of crimes and sexual attacks, Frau Merkel?”

Germany alone has acquired over a million refugees since January 2015.

UBCO STUDENT WILL RUN ACROSS HAITI TO HELP END POVERTY Laurence Watt News Editor

Paige Marzinzik, a fifth-year human kinetic student and Heat volleyball player at UBC Okana-gan, is about to run across Haiti in an attempt to raise money to help end poverty on the island.

Set to run 350km across Haiti in 8 days, Marzinzik joins a number of other volunteers in a fund-raising effort organized by the American non-profit group called Team Tassy.

The name of the group is derived from an encounter between the run organizer, Ian Rosen-berger, and a young boy named Tassy shortly after

the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Tassy had a cancerous lump on his face and it made Rosenberger realize that, despite Haiti receiving support and aid to deal with the earthquake, there wouldn’t be any specific help available for the boy. Consequently, Rosenberger launched a fundraising campaign to raise enough money so that Tassy could obtain surgery.

The campaign ended up being a great success and Tassy was flown to America where he received the surgery.

Today, Rosenberger has

“

Team Tassy is raising money specifically to create and improve health care facilities and schools.

”

transformed what was initially supposed to be a one-time fundraiser into an annual event which attracts volunteers and aims to create sustainable jobs for those in need.

This year, Team Tassy is raising money specifically to create and improve health care facilities and schools.

Marzinzik is set to leave for Haiti on February 18 with her mother, Amanda, both of whom are no strangers to the island. Over the last few years, Marzinzik has joined her mother on three different occasions

to help volunteer at a medical clinic in Port-Au-Prince.

For anyone interested in learning more, or wishing to help out with Marzinzik’s journey and Team Tassy, be sure to take a look at her online Crowdrise fundraising page entitled: Paige Marzinzik - Run Across Haiti 2016.

Although Marzinzik enjoys playing for the UBC Heat volleyball team, she is certainly excited and prepared to take a break and experience a different kind of heat during her run across Haiti.

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Campus | thephoenixnews.com | January 18th 2016

JANUARY AT UBCO IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains information about sexual assault and/or violence, including testimonies that may be graphic or triggering to survivors K.E. Contributor

Despite the societal prevalence of sexual assault, many people still seem unsure about what sexual assault actually means. While anyone can be a victim, it is important to remember that sexual violence tends to occur at a disproportionate rate for certain groups. On university campuses, it is reportedly experienced by 15-25% of female students, 6.1% of male students, and 24% of transgender, genderqueer, and questioning students. Curious as to how UBCO students perceive safety and sexual awareness on campus, I interviewed a series of students about their experiences. While doing so, a predictable, yet disturbing pattern emerged that suggested that males and females experience safety on campus in radically different ways. Though my sample was admittedly not an expansive one, the male students I interviewed expressed that they felt safe at UBCO and did not personally feel in danger of being sexually assaulted. One male student offered that perhaps this phenomenon was due to the fact that males “generally have less to worry about.” In contrast, the female students I interviewed could off-hand report at least one instance of sexual harassment on campus, especially those who lived in residence during their first year. These instances of harassment ranged from stalking behaviours and sexual threats to unwanted touching and public groping. The majority of female

students also shared the experience of not feeling safe at night.

In hopes that their stories might help promote awareness around the severity of the issue, two young women opened up about their experiences with sexual assault. Their stories both provocatively illustrate that sexual assault may not always look the way that people expect, and stress the importance of understanding what consent looks like.

These stories are being shared with the full written consent of both victims.

The first story comes from a recent UBCO graduate, who was sexually assaulted in a horribly violating way during her first year. One of the so-called popular guys had invited her and some of her friends to a party and this was a big deal because, she admits, they were young, lacking in self-confidence, and just wanted to be liked. However, when she ended up innocently cuddling with the guy who had invited her, he began touching her in ways that made her uncomfortable. She voiced this discomfort clearly and immediately, repeatedly telling him “no,” and asking him to stop.

He continued, however, telling her that she was “being such a loser.” At this point, he was straddling her, and she was unable to escape from beneath him.

She continued telling him to stop, but he replied by telling her to jerk him off, and when she refused, he started doing the job himself on top of her. Beyond

uncomfortable, and terrified for what might happen if she tried to fight him, she started feeling hopeless and numb, so she gave up trying to resist and tried instead to disappear. He forced her shirt up and ejaculated over her stomach. Shortly after, he left her in the room, traumatized and alone. She was unable to speak to anyone about it on the night it happened. She sat on the floor of her friend’s shower feeling embarrassed and angry because she “didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

After that night, she began opening up to her friends about what he did to her.

While many believed and supported her, a few told her that what she experienced wasn’t rape. She stresses that attitudes like this need to change. What happened to her was not consensual. Any unwanted sexual contact achieved through force or coercion is sexual assault and should not be dismissed.

The second account comes from a current UBCO student, who lived in residence in her first year. The assault took place in her bedroom after she allowed someone she considered to be a friend to enter her room while he was “rather inebriated.” It’s important to note that “over 80% of sexual assaults are by someone the person knows and alcohol is often involved” After taking care of him, he leaned in to kiss her, and initially, she “welcomed it.” What followed, however, she did not welcome. She was forcefully dragged to the floor, and he began feeling

her up. Despite her loud protests, he started pulling her underwear down from under her skirt. She told him to stop over and over again, yet he refused to listen. As physical resistance seemed futile, feeling frustrated and helpless, she went limp, hoping that her body language would indicate to her attacker that she was not okay with what was happening. When he did not respond in the way that she had hoped, she was forced to try pushing against him once again. She was eventually able to wiggle her way out of his hold and shoved him out into the hall, where she then locked him out of her room. Though this was an extremely emotional event for her, she did not think to call it sexual assault at the time. She later discovered that this individual had acted in a similar way to one of her friends that same evening, but neither of them reported him. When she spoke with her perpetrator about what had happened, he apologized for “being ridiculous.” “Being ridiculous,” she powerfully states, is not “synonymous with violating another human being.” She explains that she only began to accept this as sexual assault a year later after explaining the incident to her boyfriend, who encouraged her to speak out against her perpetrator’s unacceptable behaviour.

She urges everyone reading this to “please speak up and acknowledge your power!”

Ours is a society in which sexual violence has become normalized. Rape culture is accepting and expecting rape as a natural consequence if a girl is drunk, alone, or dressed in revealing clothing.

Rape culture is victim blaming, and telling survivors that they were “probably asking for it.” It is convincing women that

it is their job to take actions to avoid rape, rather than teaching men that they are not entitled to women’s bodies. We need to stand in solidarity with survivors, and raise our voices, so that we can begin to break apart the ideological foundations that allow rape culture to exist. We must believe victims and show our support for them regardless of how long it may take for them to accept their assault and speak out about it.

The first step in dismantling rape culture involves understanding that consent is a voluntary and enthusiastic “yes” that is given without force, coercion, pressure, or manipulation. It is important to remember that if a consenting individual becomes uncomfortable at any point, they have the right to revoke their consent, and that must be respected.

Being in a relationship does not mean that you lose your right to consent; you do not owe sex to anyone. Lastly, remember that individuals cannot consent to sex if they are underage, unconscious, or if impaired by drugs or alcohol.

January is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and even though this can be a difficult and sensitive subject to address, we need to start talking. Thankfully, we have groups like SARA (Sexual Assault and Rape Awareness), a student-led organization on campus dedicated to promoting consent culture, sexual health, and sex education, while highlighting campus resources available to students.

SARA is putting on many events this month, so come and check them out!

Denim Day will take place on Wednesday January 20. Please wear denim to show support for survivors of sexual assault!

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Jack Deng - Arts Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Arts

acquaintance from the husband’s past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years. Thrilling throughout and possessing a Fincher-esque atmosphere, comedic actor Jason Bateman gives the best dramatic performance of his career as Rebecca Hall’s husband, and Edgerton demonstrates that his prowess in front of the camera is rivaled only by his skill behind it. Quite possibly the most underappreciated film of the year, The Gift is a gift that you should definitely open.

Composite image by Maggie Wilson /The Phoenix News

THE TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2015 Here are the top 10 movies of 2015 according to Jacky Jacky Deng Arts Editor

It was a great year for movies, and so I thought it’d be necessary that I tell you about my top 10 movies of 2015. Note that these are my favourite movies of 2015, meaning that they are not necessarily the best movies of 2015. Rather, they are the films and motion pictures that I found to be the most enthralling and stimulating via my own subjective experiences upon viewing. Fortunately, there is some overlap between the general consensus regarding the best movies of the year and my own list, so I’m not being too out there. However, there will definitely be some surprises for those who place blind faith in such critical consensuses. I didn’t get a chance to see all the films released in North American theatres this past year, and since I cannot have an opinion on something I haven’t seen, such films are absent from the list.

10. Mad Max: Fury Road “Oh, what a day... what a lovely day!”

George Miller returns to the chaotic world of Mad Max in a film that will appear much higher in other top ten lists. As somebody who values the intimacies and interactions between characters in film more so than the spectacles of film, I cannot refute the fact that Fury Road is a stunning and adrenaline-charged trip to the theatre that is deserving of every available accolade for its revolutionary technical prowess.

Laden with gorgeous practical effects and a compelling universe that begs to be unmasked, Miller’s return to

the franchise is one of the sweetest comebacks of 2015. Though I did not enjoy as much others, I strongly recommend you experience Mad Max: Fury Road.

9. Straight Outta Compton “F*ck the police!”

Straight Outta Compton follows the monumental rise of generationdefining rap group, N.W.A., in a film filled with persistent turbulence and tension. Directed by F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen), the film’s portrayal of rap icons Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre is inspiring yet honest, complete with themes of power, fame, loyalty, and frequent reference to the immense impact that the overlooked can have when given the opportunity to speak. Though the structure of Compton begins to derail in its third act, the emotional investment you have within the lead characters throughout the film makes this my biggest surprise of the year.

8. The Visit “Would you mind getting inside the oven to clean it?”

The prodigal son returns as M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable) makes a return to form with The Visit, a foundfootage horror-comedy that follows two kids during a weekend at their grandparents’ home. The film’s hilarity and unease is bolstered by fantastic lead performances, an air-tight story, and a claustrophobia-inducing Pennsylvanian farm. The Visit shows

that Shyamalan is still amongst the best in the industry when given the opportunity to tell localized, human stories, and reminds us why he was once heralded as the next Spielberg.

Oh, and the twist is immaculate.

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl “One last thing. Hot girls destroy your life. That’s just a fact.”

Guised as your prototypical indie, coming-of-age drama, Dying Girl takes a unique spin on the hardships of youth, loss, and love through the eyes of newcomers Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, and RJ Cyler. Boasting my favourite long-take of the year and quite possibly the most accurate and funniest depiction of recreational drug-use ever, Dying Girl breaks through the tropes and clichés which frequently burden the coming-ofage genre by being a piece of art that is unique in both style and story.

Though the premise may appear to be a knock-off of your teenage sister’s Bible, The Fault in Our Stars, Dying Girl is anything but, and it is the latter that deserves your undivided attention.

6. The Gift “See, you’re done with the past, but the past is not done with you.”

Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty) proves himself to be the ultimate player-coach in his directorial debut, The Gift, which he also wrote, produced, and stars in. A young married couple’s lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an

5. Beasts of No Nation “Bullet is just eating everything.

Leaves, trees, ground, person. Eating them. Just making person to bleed everywhere. We are just like wild animals now, with no place to be going.”

Watching Netflix? Turn off the bullshit that is Friends and tune into one of Netflix’s first original films directed by one of my favourites, Cary Joji Fukanaga (True Detective).

A brutal, dark, and visceral tale that offers a discomfiting narrative regarding the plight of child soldiers, Fukanaga’s Beasts of No Nation is not just another brilliant project by one of this decade’s most promising directors, but an incredibly important film that is as disheartening as it is enlightening. Marked by Fukanaga’s distinctly beautiful camerawork (including a visually-arresting sequence that employs the use of infra-red photography to represent a cocaine high), an Academy Awardworthy performance by Idris Elba (Luther, The Wire), and the best lead performance by a child actor in decades by Ghanian newcomer, Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation is a landmark film that is tough to stomach, but deserves the appreciation of the masses.

4. Inside Out “Do you ever look at someone and wonder, ‘What is going on inside their head?’”

I cried a lot during Inside Out, Disney Pixar’s latest animated masterpiece that takes us into the foray of 11year old Riley’s mind and follows the emotions who run it. Though not outrageously original in its premise, Inside Out is an exhibition of why Disney Pixar’s ability to effectively execute hilarity and poignancy remains unmatched, as the film will strike chords that resonate within both adult and child viewers. The turbulence of our emotional wellbeing is a rite of passage into each of our individual adulthoods, and is through such a beautifully effective manipulation of emotions in the context of this tempestuous time that Inside Out deserves a spot on this list. Who would’ve thought that a film about emotions could be so emotional?

Arts

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?”

New faces and old friends come together to fight the Dark side in the 7th episode of the cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars. The Force Awakens has already broken multiple domestic and global boxoffice record,s and deservedly so.

Undoubtedly the most re-watchable and fun film of the year, The Force Awakens recaptures the magic that defined the original trilogy by bringing back Han and Chewie, the Skywalkers, and droids, R2D2 and C-3PO, discarding the disastrous problems that characterized the prequel trilogy, and enabling a new generation of fans to interact with a plethora of dynamic, unpredictable characters, including Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren. The Force is awake and it’s calling to you, so go see this film while you still have a chance.

2. Steve Jobs “The musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra.”

Love him or hate him, the story of Steve Jobs is one that deserves to be told due to its dramatic heft, undeniable influence, and complicated protagonist. Though Danny Boyle’s direction is crisp and concise, and Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of the late Apple CEO is ever-so-deserving of any and every award possible, it is the Aaron Sorkin who deserves high praise for crafting the most jubilant and exhilarating script of 2015. Steve Jobs takes place during the backstage moments that precede major Apple product launches and often takes liberties with the true story of Steve Jobs, but by doing so, Sorkin and Boyle create a film that is as sharp, as unrelenting, and as brilliant as the man behind the machines that now dominate our world.

1.Ex Machina “Isn’t it strange to create something that hates you?”

A technically gorgeous film with A-list performances from Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina is a science-fiction thriller that follows a young programmer as he participates in an experiment with the world’s first artificiallyintelligent being. The film is quiet and thoughtful in both its aesthetic and narrative choices, ultimately resulting in the most satisfyingly ambiguous ending of the year.

Questions regarding the definition, fallibility, and fluidity of humanity arise throughout the film through Garland’s simple, but powerful, script, and Vikander’s breakthrough performance as the android, Ava, encapsulates the innocence of a being who is incomprehensibly intelligent but is inherently ostracized from humanity.

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Arts | thephoenixnews.com | Jacky Deng - Arts Editor

Composite image by Maggie Wilson /The Phoenix News

2015 IN MUSIC

Looking back at the biggest musical hits of 2015

Jeff Bulmer Phoenix Alumnus

Biggest Album of the Year:

Taylor Swift wins 2015

While it sell as well as Taylor Swift’s, Drake’s, or even Nicki Minaj’s newest, Kendrick Lamar’s latest album To Pimp a Butterfly nevertheless finished the year as one of Billboard’s Top 200 bestselling albums, placing 16th, right after Fall Out Boy’s American Beauty/American Psycho. More impressively, however, Butterfly is the only album in Billboard’s top 50 for the year to score over 90, beating every other album – including those released in 2014 or earlier – by over 10 points.

The runner-up? Compton. Dr. Dre’s new album was able to secure a place on Billboard’s Top 200 at number 45 (30 when including only albums released after November 2014), thanks in no small part to the release of N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton around the same time.

It wouldn’t be a Phoenix yearend list without Taylor Swift.

The Pennsylvania songstress finished third on last year’s Billboard year-end chart, but managed to beat both Beyoncé and Disney to the top spot in 2015. Swift’s album 1989 dominated the charts for most of January and February, and was a force to be reckoned with during the rest of the year thanks to singles “Style”, “Wildest Dreams” and the massively-hyped “Bad Blood”.

With this month’s release of “Out of the Woods”, there are only seven songs on 1989 without videos.

While you shouldn’t expect another album anytime soon, you should expect 2016 to be another strong year for Tay-Tay! Chart Surprises: Napalm Death, the British grindcore band best known for “You Suffer”, the shortest single

ever, released their fifteenth album this year to universal acclaim.

Apex Predator-Easy Meat was the fourth-best of the year according to Metacritic, scoring an incredible 89 points. That Metascore is based on 15 reviews, including two perfect scores from noted publications Kerrang! and The Guardian.

Personally, I found it okay, but not really my thing.

For the first time in a few years, Passenger is nowhere to be seen.

No mention in the Top Artists; “Let Her Go” was snubbed from Top Songs; All the Little Lights didn’t make it in the Top 200 albums.

Come to think of it, when is the last time you heard that song? I honestly can’t remember.

Despite placing eighth on Billboard’s Top 200 albums and producing four singles, nothing from J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive made it to Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs. The worst part about this is that every track on the album is worlds better than “The Hanging Tree” from Mockingjay, which finished the year at #78 and earned James Newton Howard his #99 spot on Hot 100 Artists, puzzlingly.

In 2015, Adele reaffirmed her

relevancy with the release of her third album, 25. Fittingly, she also finished the year on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart… with 2011’s 21!

Highest-Selling Albums: Based on Billboard top-selling albums of 2015 chart, adjusted to only include albums released in November 2014 or later. Notably, the top three best-selling albums of the year were Taylor Swift’s 1989, Ed Sheeran’s X and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, which all came out before the cut-off date for the following list.

1. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake 2. Title – Meghan Trainor 3. The Pinkprint – Nicki Minaj 4. 2014 Forest Hills Drive – J. Cole 5. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack 6. Four – One Direction 7. Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd 8. American Beauty/American Psycho – Fall Out Boy 9. To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar 10.Kill The Lights – Luke Bryan

Most Acclaimed Albums: Based on highest Metacritic scores, adjusted to include only albums with at least 12 reviews.

1. To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar – 96 2. Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens – 90 3. No Cities to Love – SleaterKinney – 90 4. Apex Predator-Easy Meat – Napalm Death – 89 5. Divers – Joanna Newsom – 88 6. Sometime I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett – 88 7. From Kinshasa – Mbongwana Star – 88 8. Art Angels – Grimes – 88 9. Painted Shut – Hop Along – 87 10. Have You In My Wilderness – Julia Holter – 87

8

Jack Deng - Arts Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Arts

THE DANISH GIRL

The Danish Girl is important, but boring Jacky Deng Arts Editor

PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER

ART ON THE LINE 2016

Photo provided by Art on the Line Planning Committee

The 14th annual Art on the Line event Jacky Deng Arts Editor

On February 20th, UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies will be hosting the 14th annual “Art on the Line”.

An auction night dedicated to connecting student, alumni, faculty, and independent artists with the greater Kelowna community, “Art on the Line” has been a staple event for the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies with regards to its ability to providing artists with exposure and appreciation for their work, while also compensating these artists for their work within a context that extends beyond the UBC Okanagan campus. I recently spoke with “Art on the Line” Submission Coordinator and third-year UBC Okanagan Visual Arts student Addison Oberg to learn more about the event.

What is Art on the Line?

“Art on the Line” is fundraiser for the Creative and Critical Studies Faculty and is a night in which art produced by local and national artists is raffled off. The event is limited to 100 auction tickets which will be sold at $190.00 each. One ticket admits two people, guarantees the ticket holder one piece of artwork, and entitles the ticket holder to an evening of live entertainment, good food, and, of course, great art! During the event, auction tickets are drawn based on a random lottery system to which the

ticket holders then make their selection based in the WildCard draw for $5.00 for a chance to on the art that is remaining, always making for win a second piece of art. In addition to this, an exciting and suspenseful evening! other exciting raffle prizes will be available throughout the evening.

How do people submit their work to Art on the Line?

What has been the most memorable experience Interested artists can email me at addyoberg@ during years prior?

Unfortunately I am usually behind the scenes during the actual event, but it’s always been a great night. The combination of live music, food, wine, and great art has always been a perfect formula for a fantastic evening. We have had awesome MC’s in previous years and “Art on the Line” is fundraiser for the we have a local comedian coming in this year Creative and Critical Studies Faculty and is to further entertain participants. a night in which art produced by local and What is the purpose of the event?

Funds raised form this event are distributed national artists is raffled off. throughout the Visual Arts Course Union to financially aid students with events, such as the 4th-year graduate exhibition, visiting artists series, and art-focused student trips.

Furthermore, it is, in general, a huge event for live.com for a submission form. After filling our graduating students and faculty. that out, participating artists can drop off for their artwork on January 31st at 4 pm in the Students are encouraged to visit and like this Creative and Critical Studies building. year’s Facebook page, “Art on the Line 2016”,

“

”

Is there anything new happening this year at “Arts on the Line”?

New to “Art on the Line” this year is a WildCard draw. Ticket holders can participate

and to those who would like to help out, the “Art on the Line” team meets every Thursday at 2:00PM in CCS 222. Interested individuals can also take advantage of the Eventbrite page found through the Facebook page.

The Danish Girl is the latest in British director Tom Hooper’s collection of quiet, Oscar-bait dramas (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables), and Eddie Redmayne’s collection of physically transformative performances (The Theory of Everything). It is a thought provoking, albeit unexciting, film about the life of Lili Elbe, a Danish painter who was one of the first known recipients of sexual reassignment surgery.

There are two ways to critique The Danish Girl: first, with a social perspective regarding its subject matter, and second, with an artistic perspective regarding its technical capacity as a film. In terms of the former, The Danish Girl is a groundbreaking work that documents a pioneering event in the transgender movement. The film’s piercing drama invites viewers to empathize with Elbe, and it serves as a fiercely educational piece on topics of gender and sex.

Unfortunately, the social exploration that strengthens The Danish Girl is mitigated by several technical misgivings within the film. The problem with the film stems from its plot and direction. In short, the film can be a bore. The film drags at times, and the two-hour runtime ends up feeling an extra hour longer due to strange editing choices, unrelated scenes, and awkward pacing. As a result, certain scenes that demand a greater emotional heft are diminished because of these issues. Furthermore, Hooper’s characteristic cinematography and use of aberrant framing is obvious and, at this point, unspectacular. Certain shots feel stilted and unnatural, thus tragically suppressing the powerful acting abilities of Redmayne and Vikander in various scenes and establishing a bizarre dynamic between the two central leads. Thanks to these difficulties, The Danish Girl feels a lot less like an inspired film dedicated to telling a great story and a lot more like Oscar-bait.

Despite these gripes, The Danish Girl is worth watching based on performance alone. Once again, Eddie Redmayne strikes gold with his portrayal of a transgendered individual. The performance rivals his harrowing portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory Everything. Masterfully exhibiting bouts of both immense sorrow and euphoria throughout the film, while also encapsulating the physical evolution of a stoic male artist into a colourful female figurehead, Redmayne’s exhibition of inner-turmoil against the social standards of the early 1900s supplants him as undoubtedly the most physically transformative actor in film today.

However, despite the Eddie Redmayne’s Oscarworthy performance as Lili Elbe, he does not provide the best performance in The Danish Girl.

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) steals the show as Elbe’s wife, Gerda Wegener. It could be argued that Gerda is the film’s anchor, as Hooper opts to focus on the impact that a relationship with a transgendered individual can have on a loved one. Gerda is both sympathetic and resentful throughout, and Vikander’s brilliance shines as she portrays a conflicted woman who wants to lovingly support her husband while also feeling betrayed by his irrevocable choice to begin anew. Since her performances in Ex Machina and The Danish Girl have been amongst the best female performances of 2015, Alicia Vikander is an actress to follow in over the next couple years.

Despite a few gripes, The Danish Girl remains a worthy watch due to its performances and social impact. However, audiences should not expect a thrilling piece about the transgender movement.

Instead of placing you at the edge of your seat, The Danish Girl will place you in a pensive seat and grant you the perspective of a transgender pioneer completely exposed to her loves, her losses, and her evolution.

9

Arts | thephoenixnews.com | Jacky Deng - Arts Editor

BOWIE FAVOURITES Lea Sebastianis Contributor I will introduce this small group of recommendations by admitting that I am no expert.

These songs are merely suggestions that I hope will serve to introduce others to David Bowie’s music. If you have any thoughts on my choices, or think I’m downright wrong, find me in the halls and we can chat while I paint Ziggy Stardust makeup on your face.

I hope my selections will show you how brilliant, talented, honest, original, and diverse David Bowie was. I am incredibly morose about his passing, but it gives me an opportunity to encourage people to listen to his music. So, let’s begin. In no particular order, here is my list of Bowie favourites: Original Songs: “Oh! You Pretty Things” The 1972 live version of this song on YouTube is the first song my boyfriend and I played in memoriam when we heard David Bowie passed. We were sobbing heavily as Bowie looked at us honestly on the screen. Some people reference Nietzche or Arthur C. Clarke as inspiration for this song, and I’m not denying that it has deeper meaning. But when I listen to this song, the chorus reminds me of teenage exploration and worrying parents.

“Kooks” I have a deep-rooted love for this song because it is seeped in nostalgia. I remember listening to this in the library at my high school, the only place you’d need to look to find me, and dreaming of friends who would throw my homework in the fire and take me downtown if I was having a bad day. Later in my life, I met some great friends and we would listen to this song while getting high and confessing our love

for one another. Sure, David Bowie wrote this for his son, Zowie, but I identify the song with friendship.

“Life on Mars?”

When I listen to this song, I think of the bleakness of life on Earth and the frustration I feel at our inability to have a new, strange life on Mars.

Bowie blurs the line between reality and fantasy in this song. This song is a call for the hope that there is something beyond this bleak world, or something beyond what we know. Bowie sums this song up as “a sensitive young girl’s reaction to the media… I think she finds herself disappointed with reality... although she’s living in the doldrums of reality, she’s being told that there’s a far greater life somewhere, and she’s bitterly disappointed that she doesn’t have access to it.” This one also serves as outfit, makeup, or general inspiration.

“Changes” I love the line “turn and face the strange.” Change is terrifying, but has the potential for a myriad of new opportunities. Whenever I listen to this song, I daydream about David Bowie brushing my hair and saying, “girl, you can do this.” Bowie recognizes in this song that young people know what they are going through and don’t need consultation.

I appreciate this as I constantly feel that older generations trivialize the tough situations young people go through, but a young person’s experiences are both valid and important.

“Space Oddity” This song shows how powerful Bowie’s storytelling was. Some people interpret this song as an overdose on drugs because in the song “Ashes to Ashes” Bowie writes, “we know Major Tom’s a junkie.” But, when I listen to this song, I think of someone calmly escaping the world. Naturally,

Composite image by Maggie Wilson /The Phoenix News

ground control is up in arms about a dead circuit, but Major Tom is “floating in the most peculiar way” and reflecting on how “the stars look very different today.” Major Tom tells his wife he loves her very much and seems to be unbothered by his situation. I feel an interesting juxtaposition of emotions when I listen to this song: I’m scared for the astronaut and sad that he is leaving everything he knows behind, but I’m happy he is escaping to a new, exciting environment.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” There is nothing more encouraging than Bowie singing, “oh no love! You’re not alone.”

“Suffragette City” I’m not sure whether this song is about bisexual Bowie confessing to his homosexual friend that he is back in Suffragette city (i.e. interested in ladies again). He does say, “there is only room for one.” On the other hand, is Henry slang for heroin and is Bowie trying to get off because his new babe doesn’t want him hooked? I’m not sure.

Some lyrics say, “this mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place” whereas others say, “this mallow thighed chick just put my spine out of place.” Either way, that chick sounds like an inspiration and I’m into it. Interestingly, he references The Clockwork Orange in this song by using the jargon “droog” to mean friend, which only makes me appreciate Bowie even more.

Albums: Hunky Dory Low The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars Films:

The Man Who Fell to Earth This film is about an alien who comes to earth.

Obviously, Bowie plays this character perfectly.

Labyrinth Bowie plays a mysterious, flirty, and powerful Goblin King. Need I say more?

Collaborations: “Dancing in the Street” – Mick Jagger & David Bowie Their outfits, their ridiculous dance moves, Jagger’s crazy eyes, and the erotic undertones really get me going. The low budget, improvisational dance moves, and genuine fun the two are having make this video a real treat.

“Under Pressure” – Queen & David Bowie I used to cite this song as the theme song for my life. Though I have moved past that phase, I still believe this song is incredibly moving. The song describes the ways in which pressure can destroy lives, but love is the solution. I feel incredibly alive when I run around my apartment and scream, “can’t we give ourselves one more chance? Why can’t we give love that one more chance?”

Bowie Covers: “Life on Mars?” - Seu Jorge “Fame’ – Ty Segall “Sound and Vision” – Beck “The Man Who Sold the World” – Nirvana “Golden Years” – James Murphy “Space Oddity” – Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins These are some of my favourite musicians, and they have so much fun with this piece.

9

Arts | thephoenixnews.com | Jacky Deng - Arts Editor

BOWIE FAVOURITES Lea Sebastianis Contributor I will introduce this small group of recommendations by admitting that I am no expert.

These songs are merely suggestions that I hope will serve to introduce others to David Bowie’s music. If you have any thoughts on my choices, or think I’m downright wrong, find me in the halls and we can chat while I paint Ziggy Stardust makeup on your face.

I hope my selections will show you how brilliant, talented, honest, original, and diverse David Bowie was. I am incredibly morose about his passing, but it gives me an opportunity to encourage people to listen to his music. So, let’s begin. In no particular order, here is my list of Bowie favourites: Original Songs: “Oh! You Pretty Things” The 1972 live version of this song on YouTube is the first song my boyfriend and I played in memoriam when we heard David Bowie passed. We were sobbing heavily as Bowie looked at us honestly on the screen. Some people reference Nietzche or Arthur C. Clarke as inspiration for this song, and I’m not denying that it has deeper meaning. But when I listen to this song, the chorus reminds me of teenage exploration and worrying parents.

“Kooks” I have a deep-rooted love for this song because it is seeped in nostalgia. I remember listening to this in the library at my high school, the only place you’d need to look to find me, and dreaming of friends who would throw my homework in the fire and take me downtown if I was having a bad day. Later in my life, I met some great friends and we would listen to this song while getting high and confessing our love

for one another. Sure, David Bowie wrote this for his son, Zowie, but I identify the song with friendship.

“Life on Mars?”

When I listen to this song, I think of the bleakness of life on Earth and the frustration I feel at our inability to have a new, strange life on Mars.

Bowie blurs the line between reality and fantasy in this song. This song is a call for the hope that there is something beyond this bleak world, or something beyond what we know. Bowie sums this song up as “a sensitive young girl’s reaction to the media… I think she finds herself disappointed with reality... although she’s living in the doldrums of reality, she’s being told that there’s a far greater life somewhere, and she’s bitterly disappointed that she doesn’t have access to it.” This one also serves as outfit, makeup, or general inspiration.

“Changes” I love the line “turn and face the strange.” Change is terrifying, but has the potential for a myriad of new opportunities. Whenever I listen to this song, I daydream about David Bowie brushing my hair and saying, “girl, you can do this.” Bowie recognizes in this song that young people know what they are going through and don’t need consultation.

I appreciate this as I constantly feel that older generations trivialize the tough situations young people go through, but a young person’s experiences are both valid and important.

“Space Oddity” This song shows how powerful Bowie’s storytelling was. Some people interpret this song as an overdose on drugs because in the song “Ashes to Ashes” Bowie writes, “we know Major Tom’s a junkie.” But, when I listen to this song, I think of someone calmly escaping the world. Naturally,

Composite image by Maggie Wilson /The Phoenix News

ground control is up in arms about a dead circuit, but Major Tom is “floating in the most peculiar way” and reflecting on how “the stars look very different today.” Major Tom tells his wife he loves her very much and seems to be unbothered by his situation. I feel an interesting juxtaposition of emotions when I listen to this song: I’m scared for the astronaut and sad that he is leaving everything he knows behind, but I’m happy he is escaping to a new, exciting environment.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” There is nothing more encouraging than Bowie singing, “oh no love! You’re not alone.”

“Suffragette City” I’m not sure whether this song is about bisexual Bowie confessing to his homosexual friend that he is back in Suffragette city (i.e. interested in ladies again). He does say, “there is only room for one.” On the other hand, is Henry slang for heroin and is Bowie trying to get off because his new babe doesn’t want him hooked? I’m not sure.

Some lyrics say, “this mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place” whereas others say, “this mallow thighed chick just put my spine out of place.” Either way, that chick sounds like an inspiration and I’m into it. Interestingly, he references The Clockwork Orange in this song by using the jargon “droog” to mean friend, which only makes me appreciate Bowie even more.

Albums: Hunky Dory Low The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars Films:

The Man Who Fell to Earth This film is about an alien who comes to earth.

Obviously, Bowie plays this character perfectly.

Labyrinth Bowie plays a mysterious, flirty, and powerful Goblin King. Need I say more?

Collaborations: “Dancing in the Street” – Mick Jagger & David Bowie Their outfits, their ridiculous dance moves, Jagger’s crazy eyes, and the erotic undertones really get me going. The low budget, improvisational dance moves, and genuine fun the two are having make this video a real treat.

“Under Pressure” – Queen & David Bowie I used to cite this song as the theme song for my life. Though I have moved past that phase, I still believe this song is incredibly moving. The song describes the ways in which pressure can destroy lives, but love is the solution. I feel incredibly alive when I run around my apartment and scream, “can’t we give ourselves one more chance? Why can’t we give love that one more chance?”

Bowie Covers: “Life on Mars?” - Seu Jorge “Fame’ – Ty Segall “Sound and Vision” – Beck “The Man Who Sold the World” – Nirvana “Golden Years” – James Murphy “Space Oddity” – Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins These are some of my favourite musicians, and they have so much fun with this piece.

10

January 18th 2016 | thephoenixnews.com |

Features

11

Features | thephoenixnews.com | January 18th 2016

Turn and Face the Strange, Always.

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I know it won’t be boring.”- Bowie

“It would be wonderful to think that the future is unknown and sort of surprising.” - Rickman

Jacky Deng Arts Editor

It is as if George R.R. Martin has taken up writing the year 2016, as two of Britain’s most beloved entertainers were stripped from our world, leaving behind bodies of work that will be remembered for decades to come. Gone is David Bowie, the multitalented, awe-inspiring, artistic alien whose music and magic stands as unarguably the most enigmatic creative output from any artist over the past four decades. Also gone is Alan Rickman, the sultry-voiced gentleman and classically - trained actor whose filmography was marked by iconic turns of villainy as characters like Severus Snape and Hans Gruber. Though both of their departures leave tragic gaps within the framework of performance art, their significance will be forever remembered through their immortal charismas, undying virtuosities, and admiring fans that loved them so dearly.

his flamboyance, bravado, and peculiarity, there lived a trendsetter and the reason as to why every spotlight instantaneously focused on Bowie when he broke into the 1970s music scene with his

David Bowie

David Bowie embodied more things than you can count on one hand. With one quick click onto his Wikipedia profile, you’ll find his occupation as listed: singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, painter and actor. Continue down the page and you’ll find various statements about how Bowie was, as music reviewer Brad Flicky puts it, “a musical chameleon” with the ability to completely alter the course of pop culture and fashion through his innovations in art rock, glam rock, pop, and electronic music. But this handful of occupations becomes a myriad of personalities when you consider the plethora of alter egos that Bowie embodied throughout his career, ranging from Ziggy Stardust, a red-headed, androgynous musical alien intent on inspiring the youth of Earth, to Aladdin Sane, the source of the striking red and blue lightning bolt that has become the most common symbol associated with Bowie. Yes, David Bowie was many things, and it becomes incredibly difficult to summarize the life of a man who meant so much to so many different people.

However, there is one term that shows a shred of potential in amply defining who David Bowie was.

He was, simply put, a scene-stealer. At the core of

iconic “Space O d d i t y ”.

Never before had music been exposed to such a reinvented, alien presence in both sound and stagecraft. Although

there was, and always will be, the old wave and the new wave, Bowie somehow managed to attract both parties without attributing his style to either, but rather opting to be the personification of an artistic extremist. When his fellow rockers perceived pop stardom as contaminated and silly, Bowie liberated the conservative genre by moving into the world of the intangible through a complete abandonment of traditional rock instrumentation and injecting a new sophistication into what listeners thought rock music should be. When many of his colleagues did not recognize the potential found in other art forms, Bowie chose the route of pioneer and built an illustrious career as both actor and visual artist by taking advantage of skills he had developed as a musician and performer.

When non-heterosexuals were facing social injustice in the 1970s, Bowie nonchalantly came out as a bisexual amidst a flurry of controversy and public attention. It was this striving, as Bowie stated in Fas Ferox, “to be something more than human” that allowed him to dominate so many different art forms, mesmerize so many different listeners, and tear the public eye far away from his contemporaries so that it could focus on the enigmatic and undefinable everyhuman he was.

Between the years of 1970 and 1980, David Bowie undoubtedly conquered the pop music scene. The 12 albums that he produced within the decade, from the paranoid proto-metal of The Man Who Sold the World (1970) to the evocative amalgam of electronica, world music, and art rock of Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), mark one of the most prolific and experimental periods of musical output from any artist in history. In addition, they supplement a portfolio predicated on a reimagining of the limitations imposed upon music and iconography. As time progressed into the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie returned to the jazz roots that bore him, tending the soil of his first love while simultaneously incorporating a fertilizer comprised of new dance electronica and house music. Indeed, there may not be a musical artist in history who traversed such a dense variety of genres and experienced such a drastic artistic evolution throughout their respective career. But despite the remarkable dissimilarity between each production, Bowie’s collection of music remains unified by an artist who engaged in a perpetual internal and external search for inspiration—one who was dissatisfied with his past and permanently fearful

of repeating himself.

Bowie’s distinctively ambiguous and genderless appearance initially served to reinforce his public role as the ultimate outsider, but it was his eventual foray into the world of acting that best utilized his physicality and mastery of movement. Just as his musical career was dictated by an everlasting goal for innovation, Bowie’s filmography was also characterized by diversity and variety. His first silver-screen debut in Nicholas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) perfectly cast him as a tragic alien visitor who couldn’t grasp the strictures that defined humanity.

In 1986, Bowie’s most memorable performance in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth as the enigmatic baby thief, Jareth the Goblin King, has since elevated the film to cult status. Critics lauded it as he possessed “just the right look for a creature who’s the object of both loathing and secret desire.” Since then he has made smaller appearances in an assortment of films, including a hilarious cameo in Zoolander (2001) and an organically detached appearance as genius inventor, Nikola Tesla, in Christopher Nolan’s 19th century magician drama The Prestige. Bowie’s time in acting demonstrated to the world that he was a performer first and musician second. Though acting is not the sole reason for his being a household name, it offers a reason to recognize Bowie as one of the most versatile artists of the past century.

This brings us to Blackstar, Bowie’s final album that was released on January 8, 2016—his 69th birthday—4 days before his death on January 12. In typical Bowie fashion, the album was a surprise to casual and diehard Bowie fans alike, as many were unsure as to whether they would hear from the man ever again.

How is Blackstar? Fitting. The experimental art-rock album is everything a David Bowie album should be: it amazed both critics and fans, came with Bowie’s final character, Lazarus, and reminded the masses of how grand of an artist Bowie truly was. There are obvious themes that permeate throughout Blackstar—that of departure, immortality, and finality—which, when taken in the context of Bowie’s death, mark a poignant swan song for a man who knew that Blackstar would be his final artistic gift to a world he had already given so much. An artist to the very end, Bowie perceived death not as something to be feared, but as something to be harnessed and used for artistic endeavour. As a result, Blackstar immortalizes him. Despite Bowie’s prevalent self-reflection across the seven tracks, he hints at the future as well, knowing that his work would extend his life far beyond what he recognized as his limited human body.

In a similar fashion to a mercurial asteroid in a rigorously organized solar system, it is disheartening to know that such a vibrant star in a culture so dedicated to what is popular, rather than what is different, has left our orbit. David Bowie’s departure not only marks the exodus of a man who forever changed our societal outlook on fashion, pop culture, and music, but also

the departure of the characters we loved, the infinite melting pot of ideas he possessed, and his unwavering impulse to think differently. As Bowie croons in “Lazarus”, “Oh, I’ll be free. Just like that bluebird. Oh, I’ll be free. Ain’t that just like me,” it is with a heavy heart that the world says goodbye to a man that did so much for so many, but this goodbye is said with the knowledge that Bowie will finally become what he had always hoped for: something more than human.

Alan Rickman

As an avid fan of the Harry Potter films and books growing up, I am no stranger to the immense presence of Alan Rickman. With his smooth, mysterious voice that could lull you to sleep and distress you the next second, the beauty of Alan Rickman was that he was the most likable villain any filmgoer could ever hope for. No matter how despicable and cruel his characters were, there was always something about Rickman that mesmerized and engrossed audiences. Indeed, the passing of Alan Rickman marks the end of a career so subtly crafted that I found myself amazed at the multitude of films in which he’s appeared. Nearly always avoiding the spotlight of the main protagonist, Rickman’s beauty as an actor depended on his skill to steal entire scenes without detracting from the journey of the hero. But despite this preference for the background, audiences always remembered Rickman’s roles. There is no Die Hard without Hans Gruber. There is no Harry Potter without Severus Snape.

Rickman first broke onto the mainstream acting scene in 1988’s Die Hard as German terrorist leader Hans Gruber—a role that, at the time, pitted him up against fellow up-andcomer Bruce Willis. Though Willis was, and still is, the shining star of Die Hard and its sequels, Rickman’s Gruber is regarded nearly 30 years later as one of the greatest scene-stealing villains in cinematic history. An intellectual mastermind, Rickman’s Gruber foreshadowed a career characterized by antagonistic characters who preferred mental victories over physical victories in order to remain countless cognitive steps ahead of their foils. Hans Gruber proved to the film industry that any film would be better with the addition of Alan Rickman. His filmography continued to grow into the 1990s and early 2000s, choosing such roles as the dutiful Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), the honourable Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995), as well as Golden Globe-winning performance as the mystical faith healer, Grigori Rasputin, in HBO’s Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny. It’s no surprise that the casual film fan would cry, “Hey, that’s Snape!” upon immediate viewing of any of his productions that were made pre-Potter. However, I think it is important to recognize that Rickman’s treasure trove of character, throughout his acting in such a rich diversity of films, genres, and theatre productions, underlines the career of one of the most well renowned classical actors within the past several decades.

Which brings us to Harry Potter and, undoubtedly, Rickman’s most recognized role. As the Harry Potter books had not been finished at the start of the Harry Potter film

franchise, many book readers experienced Rickman’s Severus Snape without knowing the ultimate fate of his character (spoiler-alert: he dies). For every child who grew up with the Harry Potter franchise, Snape was the most frustrating riddle for a period of life in which everything is a mystery, and I think it safe to argue that Rickman was the major reason for this. Post-Potter, Rickman spoke fondly of his role, saying that the character “[has something] more to him than meets the eye. It’s something unnameable. He lives within a very tight confines emotionally, physically.”

Under an unrelenting grimace and leathery black hair, Rickman’s Snape is regarded by many as the real hero of the Harry Potter franchise. His capacity to show glimpses of gallantry within a character so magnificently masked by agony made the misfortunate lyricism of Snape’s end one of the most poignant and moving events in the collective consciousness of every teenage soul that evolved with Harry and his companions. Having to embody a reluctant father figure, stringent teacher, mournful lover, and loyal guardian within a single role, it is truly impossible to imagine a character with the fascinating complexity of Snape being depicted by anyone other than Rickman.

Rickman’s heroism as Snape not only inspired countless youth to place moral virtue over the temptation of amnesia, but his acting prowess also served to encourage and guide one of the most vulnerable child actors in film history. Daniel Radcliffe cites Rickman as “one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career.” Radcliffe’s growth as an actor throughout the Potter films is evident and was heavily influenced by Rickman. Years after the Harry Potter franchise had run its course, Rickman continued to attend and support Radcliffe’s theatre forays, even without Radcliffe’s deliberate invitation.

“He didn’t have to do that,” said Radcliffe in a touching tribute written to Rickman on January 14, “I know other people who’ve been friends with him for much, much longer than I have and they all say ‘if you call Alan, it doesn’t matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he’s doing, he’ll get back to you within a day.’”

As quiet as his characters, the man never demanded the spotlight, yet it naturally fell upon him. An omniscient teacher on film sets, who demanded excellence from his colleagues through sheer presence and stature, Rickman was a once-in-a-generation actor whose dastardly villains competed with the reality of who he was: a quaint, humourous gentleman with the propensity to enlighten all those around him. Though his double bass of a voice and his magnetic charm will be forever absent from cinema upon his death, his legacy lives on, peacefully, in his towering mountain of work. Will his presence ever grace the stage again?

Never. But will we remember him? “Always.”

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Amithisste Multerer-Zarda - Life Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Life

Photo by Maggie WIlson /The Phoenix News

MAKE FROWNS FADE AND GET GOOD GRADES How to make frowns fade and get good grades for a better semester Maria Otto Life Reporter During the first years of their undergraduate degree, many students make the resolution to do better during the second term after experiencing a less than thrilling GPA in the first semester. I spoke with Dr. Holder and Dr. Krank, professors in the faculty of psychology. Dr. Holder’s research focuses on happiness and wellbeing, and Dr. Krank studies different learning styles and techniques. They shared their professional knowledge about wellbeing, learning strategies and succeeding as we progress through our undergraduate degrees.

From personal experience, and observing how other friends and classmates cope with a full course load in addition to work, volunteering, sports and/or exercise, relationships and other extra-curricular activities, I know there are 3 ways in which students handle obligations. While our grades may vary, there are 3 types of students: 1. The one who locks themselves up with their books and are never to be seen unless in class or in passing between classes.

Don’t count on them to make it to a social gathering unless it’s during syllabus week or something super important. They have to study and can’t make it because they have a midterm next week.

2. The one who somehow always makes it to Roses/Sapphire/Level/Flashbacks, is always down to go for dinner, and definitely isn’t missing out on that fresh powder at Big White this weekend. If they have papers and a midterm next week, they sure aren’t stressing about it. Do they even understand the struggle or go to class? How are they always in a good mood and never stressed out? Are they even human?

3. The one who has achieved a happy medium. They make time for themselves, and their relationships, but know when it is time to hit the books. Everything comes in moderation, and they know what works for them. The true key. Follow them on the journey to success.

Dr. Holder has a background in

neuroscience and studies the science of happiness. His work is different to other sciences that ask ‘what’s wrong with you and how do we fix it?’, and his research asks ‘what’s right with you, and how do we make it even better?’. When asked if there are any particular characteristics of happy students with good grades, Dr. Holder responded, “a study showed that hope at the beginning of the semester was a better predictor of final grades for students than IQ. Although there is no ‘one size fits all’ model for happiness, happiness is dynamic and not subjective, most happy people do share certain things in common.” Dr. Holder explained that a critical component of happiness lies in the quality of personal relationships. In addition to nurturing personal relationships, exercising, spending time in nature, accepting spirituality (not necessarily religion), being sensitive, expressing gratitude to people, and acts of kindness such as participating in activities that help others, such as volunteering, are critical to personal happiness and wellbeing.

Happiness can come from sensory pleasures such as chocolate, and it can also come from living a good life by helping others and being connected to the community.

Individuals who harness both types of happiness experience the highest caliber of wellbeing. It is beneficial to indulge in selfish pleasures as well as a deeper and greater connection that promotes well being. Dr. Holder shares, “happiness takes work and takes time. Students have limited time, so it is important to use time to enhance personal wellbeing. Although taking time for yourself can make you even more stressed out about school, research shows that enhancing happiness is linked to being more efficient, meeting goals, improved study habits and improvement in grades.”

To stay truly happy during university endeavours, Dr. Holder stresses finding a balance and recognizing what you are genuinely passionate about: “rather than finding a career recommended by other

people, learn to know yourself and find something that you enjoy doing without getting paid, and when you are doing it, time flies by because you’re engaged.” When asked what he did to stay happy during his studies, Dr. Holder elaborated that he maintained a balance between schoolwork, fun and exercise. He always took times for friends, volunteered, and played on sports teams, which aided in his success at university.

A study shows that family income above $75,000 a year in BC doesn’t equal more happiness. The general idea that more money equals more happiness causes diminishing returns. In cases such as the $75,000 mark, more money isn’t critical, and more isn’t always better. “We think that with more choices, we have more freedom, and with more choices we have better outcomes.

Even though more choices does mean more freedom, it doesn’t mean more happiness,” Dr. Holder explains.

When asked what strategies students can implement to learn better, Dr. Krank answered “Although there are ways to study more efficiently, the main advice is to study regularly. Be prepared in advance; set aside time to read your materials, attend class regularly, and practice answering the kinds of questions you might see on exams. If writing or presenting is part of your class, then practice these skills.” Dr. Krank also promotes group and social learning, advocating that it is very beneficial. He states, “Reviewing materials and notes gains richness from multiple perspectives. Others may identify concepts that are important that you might have glossed over. Practice in writing, solving problems, and presenting is often facilitated by feedback from groups.

There are some potential pitfalls to studying in groups. Group dynamics are important and can be distracting. Contribute positively to the group and rise above any conflict that might arise. If the group isn’t working and is detracting from quality study time, find another group that is more compatible or study alone.”

Dr. Krank elaborated on tips for students wishing to obtain better grades than previous semesters saying, “my experience is that life sometimes gets in the way of good study habits and good grades. You can’t eliminate all of these distractions, but you can reduce their impact. Studying and exercising regularly are better and more effective stress reducers than using drugs or alcohol. Coping with problems by drinking or using cannabis is not effective in the long run and can seriously reduce studying time.

Note that studying with a hangover reduces how much you learn and retain.” In order to learn and memorize material efficiently, students can review previous materials before lectures. Dr. Krank explains, “one of the key findings in learning and memory is that new information builds on already learned information. The first lesson for getting the most out of lectures is to read the materials for the class before you go.

This preparation allows you to integrate the lectures meaningfully in their context. Rote memorization is a particularly inefficient way to learn. Memory is greatly improved by organizing it into meaningful structures.

The structure provides context and supports memory retrieval”.

We have all made the mistake of over-studying, pulling all-nighters and studying on too little sleep. Dr. Krank shared that another key principle of learning is that spaced practice is much more effective that missed practice, which is why all-nighters aren’t effective. “Whether it is a new skill or a set of concepts, studying the materials over several brief sessions is much better than trying to do it all at once. Research clearly shows that less time is required to learn new things with brief repeat sessions.

This time savings is quite dramatic reducing the required study time by more than half.

Frequent brief study times require a bit of discipline and planning, but the savings are worth it. Also note that when you are spreading learning over several sessions you can mix classes, spending time on one

Life

class and shifting to another is also efficient.

As long as the context is clear, there is little interference.”

Dr. Krank further explains, “cramming is common because it is possible to briefly remember information you have recently seen. This brief retention is called priming.

Unfortunately, the quality of information is lacking. Often the context and meaning is lost. You might remember the name of the term or just that it started with a “t”, but you might also not be able to remember the meaning. And this kind of memory is generally lost after 24 hours. All-nighters bring their own added problems. Learning requires effort and exhaustion interferes with new learning. Sleep has a purpose, it rejuvenates. Also, sleep is necessary for long term learning. Sleep is not just dead time; your brain is actively working while you sleep. Finally, lack of sleep interferes with performance. You have less use of the higher brain functions, less capacity to think critically, and less energy to respond creatively. Lack of sleep interferes with test taking.”

Dr. Krank and Dr. Holder both weighed in on advice for students struggling with anxiety and/or depression with heavy course loads. Dr. Krank shares, “the best remedy for test anxiety is being prepared.

The heavier the course load the more time you will need to spend studying. You can make this load more manageable by good planning and study habits. Students are often tempted to use alcohol or drugs to reduce anxiety or depression. This approach is very counterproductive. At best, drugs and alcohol can temporarily help you to forget your problems, but this brief respite comes with a cost. Sadly, the problems are still there and the evidence indicates that they will get worse the more you use. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out with friends and have a drink or two, but using heavily or frequently to cope with anxiety or depression is a recipe for disaster. There are many better options for coping with anxiety and depression. Regular exercise and quality time with friends or family are some of the best. Of course there are times when you are truly overwhelmed by anxiety or depression.

Then it may be time to seek professional help. There are many resources on campus to help you.”

Dr. Holder explained that research suggests there are separate dimensions of happiness, depression, anxiety, and being neutral. “Things that help with happiness don’t necessarily help with depression, and getting rid of depression doesn’t mean that you’re happy. It’s important to to focus on both. When good things happen to you, it’s good for your happiness to share it with others and celebrate happiness. When bad things happen, it’s not always good to share it with others, and is better to write it down.”

Final remarks from Dr. Krank about things he has found in his research that students can incorporate into their studying/ learning to improve their overall education experience at UBC Okanagan include building knowledge on past learning, and creating meaning to new learning. He offers, “try to see how it might apply in your everyday life. Organize the materials in ways that are meaningful to you. Some find a verbal structure most useful while others like visual structure. Use what best fits your learning style. Finally, learning is most effective when something is unexpected.

Look for new ways of viewing a problem and surprising facts. New learning should challenge you and you should embrace the challenge.”

To read the full version of this article visit our website at thephoenixnews.com

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Life | thephoenixnews.com | Amithisste Multerer-Zarda - Life Editor

Photo by Maggie Wilson /The Phoenix News

SOCIAL MEDIA: WHY IT’S MAKING YOU SICK Behind the lens of those Instagram posts is a range of secrets Tiffany Goodwein - Life Reporter

If you think that all the time you spend on social media is harmless, think again. Every day millions of people innocently resort to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat to view everything from picture perfect bodies and makeup trends to stunning houses and dream vacations. While time spent glancing on these images on social media may seem innocent, what you may not realize is that your daily social media habits may be making you sick. With the click of a button you can instantly share your life with family, friends and even strangers.

Every like you receive, and every comment that calls you anything from gorgeous to funny, provokes an instant validation and fuels a desire to stay instantly connected at all times.

Not only do you share your own personal life, but social media opens a window into the lives of others that cultivates jealousy in the constant comparison of someone else’s life in relation to your own.

The Center of Addiction and Mental Health discovered that students who use social media sites for an average of five or more hours a day were far more likely to develop

lower self-esteem, in addition to experiencing increased bouts of depression and anxiety.

Furthermore, The Pew Research Center notes that the average individual has 338 Facebook friends that can have full access to their profile whenever they wish on their phone, tablet or computer.

The use of social media sites is, unsurprisingly, most common amongst adolescents with 73% of adolescents between the ages of 12-17 reporting possession of a Facebook account and frequent use. With such a prevalence of users on social media,

many of which report using sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat on a daily basis, questions have started to arise regarding the use of social media sites and their effects on users.

Recently, Australian Instagram celebrity Essena O’Neill sparked headlines after she abruptly quit Instagram after stating, “social media is not real life.” The 18-year-old had over 600,000 Instagram followers at the time of her retirement, and was making a living through her Instagram posts and company sponsorships of her photos.

When you observe the posts of social media stars such as Essena O’Neill, or even the posts of your family and friends, it becomes clear that they highlight only the beauty and perfection that exists in their lives. Everyone has one friend on Facebook who rants about how much their whole life sucks, but for the most part every picture and status only highlights the good, such as how skinny they look, how pretty they are or how much money they have. These posts are always, happy, positive, or idealized.

It is not real. In fact, living a life with social media outlets is akin to living a double life.

Behind the lens of those beautiful, eye-catching Instagram posts lie an array of secrets. Behind the lens of the photogenic, “regular” people on Instagram with a 1 million person following there is a series of studio lights, makeup layers and days spent planning and preparing to take the perfectly portrayed casual photo. The process embodies the same creative effort as a high end magazine shoot.

To a certain extent, the friend that captures the perfect relationship, or the perfect “squad,” could in fact spend much of their day sitting at home feeling alone. The person who constantly posts about all of the expensive things they own could really be swimming in an ocean of debt. The images displayed on social media rarely, if ever, show the messy closet full of clothing, disruptive personal relationships, or a picture of someone crying. Thus social media is an idealized perception of the world in which people want to live.

So before you sit in angst over a Facebook friend’s post about receiving an A, or your friend’s perfect relationship that resembles romantic Hollywood, look behind the lens and imagine a true image of their lives.

NEW YEAR’S FITNESS IN 10 MINUTES High intensity interval training done in 10 minutes is proven more effective than an hour of moderate activity Amithisste Multerer-Zarda - Life Editor

You made a New Years resolution to get fit but you have school, work, and a social life. How in the world are you going to find time? Fear not!

Tabata fitness is a 10-minute work out that is proven more effective than an hour of jogging. It is a high intensity workout, so it is not easy.

But it only takes 10 minutes and you can do it at home!

Tabata fitness was discovered

by a Japanese scientist, Dr. Izumi Tabata, who found that high intensity training improves VO2 max (your maximal oxygen consumption) by around 14%. Anaerobic capacity improves by 28% compared to doing an hour of moderate activity 5 times a week. It is an excellent way to burn fat quickly and build lean muscle. HIIT is a common abbreviation for High Intensity Interval Training.

Tabata workouts can include push ups, squats, medicine ball slams, and jumping rope. Pick one exercise and do it for 20 seconds, then take a 10-second break. Do this eight times.

This type of routine is more effective than an hour of moderate exercise.

Tabata can be done during study breaks, before school in the morning, or whenever you have 10 minutes to spare. As long as you have space for the work out, Tabata is completely safe to practice at home. There is a myriad of Tabata workouts on YouTube, and even apps that you can download. Tabata can be done with

weights such as barbells, kettlebells, or even just heavy household items.

Otherwise, it can be done with no weights at all!

Tabata also doesn’t necessarily have to be 10 minutes. There are lots of different workout routines on the internet, ranging from 4 to 20 minutes. Though you may end up seeing stars and sucking wind, that is how you know you are doing it right.

It is high intensity and not easy. That being said, there are many options online so you can pick and chose one that is best for you.

Tabata can also be done with a

friend to keep you motivated. Listed below are some YouTube channels and smart phone applications suggested by other UBCO students.

If these channels aren’t your cup of tea, simply search Tabata in your YouTube browser and hundreds of options will be at your fingertips.

Happy Tabata-ing!

For Tabata YouTube channels and Apps visit www.thephoenixnews.com

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Amithisste Multerer-Zarda - Life Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Life

THE BENEFITS OF BEING A LONER Being a loner isn’t as awful as it sounds

PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER

Tiffany Godwein - Life Reporter

Photo by Frederic Poirot

IDENTITY AND THE SEARCH FOR SELF “Who am I?”

Susheel Palakurthi - Contributor

Everyone, at some point in their life, finds themselves asking, “Who am I?” Basically, we are asking ourselves about our own identity. It is definitely an important question, and something to ponder. It can take minutes, or even years, for some people to answer this question. In fact, it can sometimes be a question to which there is no answer. From the happiest to the saddest, the wealthiest to the poorest, the most educated to the least educated, and the most sociable to the loneliest, “who am I?” is a prominent question that people sometimes leave unanswered.

Colleges often try to attract students by emphasizing that they are more than just a number on their campus. How is this applied?

Within a body of over 1,000 students, how is one student different from the rest? How is one student differentiated from the hundreds of other students on that same college campus who most likely have the same purpose as you? Note that this problem doesn’t exist only in colleges but also in high schools, work places and anywhere else. Along with “who am I?” come the questions: How am I portrayed? Who am I to other people?

Why do other people know me? Is our identity defined by our goals and priorities or our success and accomplishments? The people we associate with? Our wealth? Our grades? Being identified by our goals is a very ambiguous aspect of this question. We simply cannot define our goals to everyone we know or might know. Many people do not know what their goals are at many points, nor do those goals remain the same throughout their life.

So maybe you have achieved your goals, and now you’re wondering about who you are and what people think of you. Then is identity defined by your success? Galileo Galilei accomplished a lot during his lifetime. He proved the heliocentric theory of the solar system, discovered sunspots

and moon craters. Though he accomplished much in his lifetime, he didn’t receive recognition for it, and thus was silenced. As he lived in a period of time when the Church was in the center of all science, his theories and conclusions were often considered contradictory to their religious beliefs.

It was only after his death that his research was noticed and he was recognized as the father of modern physics. So is our identity defined by our success and accomplishments? Maybe.

Galilei is an extreme example. Many people are aware of their own fame, and have seen great success. Some examples include Mark Zuckerberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Margaret Atwood, and Justin Trudeau. But what does this mean for personal identity?

“Stick with the right crowd” is something our parents, teachers and mentors repeatedly tell us. It is true; if people deal with the wrong crowd, they can end up at a dead end. Who we associate with also defines us. This is mostly true for educational institutions from middle school to university. One doesn’t have to be identified with a clique, and can rather be an introvert. Let’s look at celebrity Emma Watson. She is a self-identified introvert, successful actress, attendee of Brown University, known for helping to publicize the HeForShe Campaign, and is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. But who would she have been to her peers before her fame?

Does this matter?

In middle school and high school, there existed cliques for us to associate ourselves with likeminded people. Sociologists Peter and Patricia Adler from the University of Denver classify the cliques in middle school to be the popular group, the fringe group, the friendship circle and the loners. Though middle school can be considered important in terms of forming what kind of person you become in high school, I find it to be the least significant.

The transition from middle school to high school is so huge that many people realize they can become someone they weren’t back in middle school.

The most important thing to remember is that

after each segment, we can change ourselves. We don’t have to be seen as the person we were in the next few years but if we keep changing, who are we really? Wealth and grades are mostly synonymous.

They are both temporary. We can have money one day, and lose it all the next. This exists for grades also, as we can have good grades one day and have below average grades the next. In high school, there were ceremonies for those students who got straight A’s and for those who never missed a day of school. In those brief moments, a student would get a certificate from a random staff member, receive a congratulations and stand in front of hundreds of applauding students. This can feel good for a few seconds but is that what students are really looking for? Is that how they are identified, as that student who got straight A’s? Life is simply a never ending ladder.

In high school, we work hard to impress our dream universities. In university, we work hard to impress our future employers. This span of trying to impress other people already takes up approximately eight years of our lives. If we continue to impress others, where is the life that we want? Where do we define who we are? The question “Who am I?” can only be answered by you. It cannot be answered by me, nor by your family and friends. Only you can answer it. This article is not meant to answer the question, but simply guide you to where to start looking. You just have to set some time aside one day and look deep within yourself. The most amazing result of answering this question is that many other questions will appear in front of you, one of them being “what is my purpose?” To be honest, I don’t even know who I am nor do I know what my purpose is on this earth. Now I challenge you to take a few minutes to ponder and describe to yourself, in detail who you are, what your goals are, and your reason to be on this earth right now. It is a tough question, but one that demands introspection; what is your legacy to this campus and to this earth?

I am a loner. In fact, I have never had a lot of friends. As a child, when asked the dreaded question of whom I would consider as my best friends, I always confronted the question with a transparent feeling of embarrassment.

I didn’t have any best friends, at least none that were my age, or even human. Laugh all you want, extroverted social butterflies, but when I was a child, my close social sphere was skeletal and consisted of just my mom and my small dog, a Lhasa Apso. You are probably thinking that I must have been a very shy child, or one heck of a loser. Perhaps that is somewhat true. I recall many childhood moments in which I would be sitting on a park bench overlooking the playground, bustling with children running and laughter, wondering why I was always alone and if there was something wrong with me. But, like many loners, I have come to recognize and appreciate the many beneficial characteristics of this life that are certainly nowhere near as achievable when they are shared.

Being a loner is not as awful as it sounds.

Many people in the world can attest that being a loner, by nature, allows you to become more independent. Loners are more comfortable sitting at a café, going to the mall, or running errands without a constant companion lagging in tow. Evidently, you realize that you don’t need a ton of people to help you accomplish what you want in this world. Loners realize that things like happiness and personal goals do not depend solely on the actions of other people, but only on the actions of themselves.

Perhaps one of the coolest perks of being a loner is being allowed to do anything you want, whenever you want. Think about it. You can go to the movies and see the movies that you want to see without compromising with someone. You don’t have to sit through the movie with an anxious pit in your stomach as you wonder if the person you invited to the movie is enjoying it as much as you are.

Plus, you can hog as much movie popcorn as you desire. The loner life provides a life with less judgement. You can go to the mall and spend as much time as you like inside each store, and you can belt out your favorite songs in the car without worrying if the other people in your car find your voice, or your music, atrocious.

The loner lifestyle comes with tremendous benefits that are sadly overlooked in a culture that views people with large social networks as more acceptable. Living this lifestyle, or simply dedicating more minutes to alone time in your every day life, allows thoughts and ideas to flow freely, and sparks greater creativity, according to The Huffington Post. The ability to live independently, think independently, and accomplish goals independently is worthy of being cherished as much as living with impressively broad social networks.

Opinions | thephoenixnews.com | Brittni MacKenzie-Dale - Opinions Editor

Opinions

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FEMINISM AND THE BIG SCREEN Brittni MacKenzie-Dale Opinions Editor

While it has been a mediocre, and overrated, year in film, something important happened in 2015. We’re seeing more female leads and nuanced female characters. But while there is continuous movement being made on that front, there are still enough steps backward to remain cautiously worried.

The Bechdel-Wallace test, usually just called the Bechdel test, is named after writer Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace. Many will be familiar with Bechdel’s name, as she is the creator of popular and radical comic strip Dykes to Watch out For (1985) as well as 2006’s Fun Home, a graphic memoir.

This test seems embarrassingly difficult to fail.

The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least 2 women having a conversation with each other about something other than a man. The women having the conversation must also be named. Seems simple, right? Well, only around half of all films meet these requirements.

And that might be a generous estimate.

Let’s take a look at some of 2015’s highest rated films and explore which ones passed and which ones failed: The Revenant A stunning movie, and my year’s top pick, this film actually fails The Bechdel test. While Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s gorgeous movie doesn’t fall into some other sinister traps surrounding women onscreen, we only see one female character onscreen with a name.

The significant women we see are victims of violence—though empowered characters, we do not see them having conversations at all.

Carol This one might be obvious. Carol passes the test on all accounts, constantly showing complex women having thoughtful conversation about topics excluding men: interests, values, and personal lives. Shortcomings aside, Carol is a refreshing movie with strong female leads.

However, there is an interesting phenomenon occurring here in that no 2 men are ever seen talking to each other, unless about the titular character or her love interest.

The Big Short Sure, the women onscreen are named, but they are not technically characters. Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie are playing themselves. Yes, they are discussing other topics other than men, but they are not talking to other women. The Big Short falls short on many accounts, not the least being The Bechdel Test.

Mad Max: Fury Road 2015’s Mad Max is a delight that features many strong female characters. Not only do they have plenty of conversations about many other things other than men, but they are given badass names to go with their personas: Furiosa, Splendid, Capable, Toast, Valkyrie, Hope, and Cheedo. Yes, most of these names are not said onscreen, but I’ll give it a pass since that appears to be a theme of the movie and not a burden only the female characters carry. There is a lot of talk about survival, emotion, and life.

Photo by Andrea Raffin /Shutterstock

WHY MEIN KAMPF SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN GERMAN SCHOOLS In today’s social climate we need more education to prevent a repeat of history

Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor On January 9, 2016, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was republished in Germany after Bavaria’s 70year copyright expired. The decision to publish the controversial autobiography has sparked both support and concern from Jewish groups in the country; but allowing Germans to learn about this book and its ideology is important for Europe’s current social climate.

It’s no surprise that racial prejudice has risen in the wake of the refugee crisis in Europe. Protests have emerged across the continent, there have been attacks on asylum seekers, far-right political parties are either in power (Poland and Hungary) or gaining popularity (France and Greece), and the Union itself is being further divided between the East and West. With this current intolerant climate, it may appear to be the worst time to publish a book that further supports such ideologies. On the contrary, now is the best time.

The book sold out all 4,000 copies within the first week, which has some people voicing concern.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish community in Munich and Upper Bavaria, said that even printing an annotated copy still contains the original text and it will be “in the interest of right-wing militants and Islamists to spread these ideas.” Knobloch seems to be unaware that the book’s sell-out status is not due to a Hitler-loving conspiracy, but rather the fact that the book has

never contained over 3,500 new annotations that add context and debunk myths and lies within the text. The unannotated book can be easily accessed online or in libraries in Germany; if someone wants a copy they can easily get one. The idea that the republishing will create another field of rightwing extremism is nonsense. The book sold out because there is a longing for knowledge, and that knowledge needs to spread.

Using Mein Kampf as a teaching tool can educate students on the dangerous places racial intolerance and far-right ideologies can lead. Although it is true that giving high school students a 2,000 page volume to study for school is excessive, students don’t need to read the whole text. As the president of the German Teachers’ Association, Josef Kraus, suggested, versions with fewer than 100 pages can be published for students while following excerpts from the full volume. If Germany wants to educate its citizens on the dangers of racial and right-wing extremism, then the publishers should strongly consider Kraus’s suggestion.

For the Jewish communities in Germany, there is no decisive opinion on the publication. The Central Jewish Council supports an annotated print of the book, but Jewish critics believe that seeing the book in stores will offend Holocaust survivors. Despite the opposing positions, Holocaust survivors should put their offense aside and see the positive intent of

publishing the annotated book. If implemented properly, educating the public on racial prejudice will prevent the repeat of history that people like Knobloch seem to fear. Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw says, “censorship is almost always pointless in the long term in a free society, and only contributes to creating a negative myth, making a forbidden text more mysterious and awakening an inevitable fascination with the inaccessible.” If Europeans want to keep racist ideologies out of minds and government, and prevent a return of historical horrors, they need to teach new generations dark history instead of ignoring it.

If there is anything Germany, and the world, needs right now it’s education on extremist ideologies, not suppression from them. The refugee crisis has spurred extremist movements across Europe and they need to be addressed before they take control. Educating the public will not immediately create an anti-racial utopia, but if governments want to keep extremist politicians and parties from power, they must consider educating students of the consequences of such ideologies. History is on the verge of repeating itself; let’s not let it happen.

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Brittni MacKenzie-Dale - Opinions Editor | thephoenixnews.com |

Opinions

Photo by Maggie WIlson /The Phoenix News

WHEN ARE WOMEN ALLOWED TO NOT LOOK PERFECT? Wars: The Force Awakens”. People everywhere were outraged that she was no longer thin and nineteen. It seems her very presence on screen, as an older woman who looks her age, is insulting to people’s eyes. She was harassed to the point that she spoke up over Twitter, expressing her hurt.

“My body,” she contended, “has not aged as well as my mind.”

Harrison Ford received no such criticism.

Are we really surprised?

Magazines are full of beautiful, Photoshopped women, clinging to one desperate idea of youth, beauty, and worth. A recent US Weekly magazine published a very flattering photo of Jennifer Lopez, who would

have looked fantastic without some moron using the blur tool over the entirety of her face. So if someone as physically stunning as Jennifer Lopez isn’t deemed good enough by the media, who is?

This, of course, speaks to a larger issue: are women worth more than their looks? Answering this question might seem obvious on paper. But while this question might be answered overtly and positively among us, the implied answer that stems from experiences like Carrie Fisher’s is both dangerous and powerful.

Hollywood is not the only home of age anxiety. This phenomenon seeps into most women’s psyches. Jennifer Winer, opinions contributor at The New York Times has the following to say: “the truth, as any woman can tell you, is that there’s no place, no profession, nowhere that a woman’s looks don’t matter.” Unfortunately, most women can relate to my slumber party tale, whether it’s when they’re eighteen, thirty-three, or fifty-

five. We’ve all cried in the bathroom, pre-emptively lamenting the loss of our already-feeble footing in society.

We’re already women, we think, we can’t be ugly or old women too.

Consider the nerve of our quest to be allowed the same biological timeline as our male counterparts.

“Youth and beauty are not accomplishments,” Fisher boldly reminds us. There are more interesting and valuable conversations to be having—kinder conversations—than discussing the ways in which women have failed society by not being timestopping magicians. Fisher, like other women, has not aged badly—she’s simply aged. Let’s step back and allow women to do so without criticism.

We all know failure can suck.

It’s embarrassing, depressing, and sometimes cause for an identity crisis.

But it has a good side. Here are the top three benefits of failure: 1. Failure is a wake-up call.

So you’ve failed disastrously. Maybe you scored 23% on a Biology exam in the same week that you didn’t pay your utility bill. So, your Internet is cut off and you’re fairly confident that you’re going to lose the scholarship you need to stay here at UBCO. I’m willing to bet it’s not the best week you’ve ever had.

After you’ve cried, screamed, or punched your heart out, calm down and re-evaluate. Clearly, your priorities are not in order. Sit down and take a look at your schedule and make a plan for next time. This failure gave you a kick in the ass, and it gave you perception.

2. Failure allows you to focus on what is important.

Often the reason we fail, in any aspect of our life, is because we are spread too thin. Success is often equated with being a “yes” person, someone who is seemingly unstoppable and omniscient.

But we all have different limitations.

When you fail in this way, you are forced to de-clutter your mind and take a look at what you really need to focus your energy on. Crisis produces clarity.

Besides, sometimes the best creativity comes with the pressure of a looming deadline.

3. Failing eliminates fear.

Some people do not begin something for fear of failing. In fact, many of us do this constantly, subconsciously, without ever realizing. There are overt fears, like not trying a difficult class because we

would prefer to take a safe bet and not risk our GPA, but there are also more subtle fears like not asking a handsome guy out because the rejection will crumble a fragile self-worth. But failure humbles us and also frees us.

But guess what? You’ve already done it. You failed. You shit the bed. You walked into the dark cave and came out breathing. So take the gift failure has given you and try again. You’ve got nothing left to lose.

Hollywood demands women defy biology and time by staying young and beautiful—but this same anxiety creeps into every woman’s psyche Brie Campbell Contributor

The year after I graduated high school, two of my best friends and I had one of our regular sleep-overs.

Yes, we dedicated time to watching bad horror movies and eating too much greasy pizza. But we also knew that many of the hours we spent together would be owned by beautification: hair removal (including hair on our toes), expensive face masks that did little more than dehydrate our skin, and messy, unsuccessful hair remedies involving a smelly blend of mayonnaise, egg, and avocado.

We hunched over the kitchen and bathroom counters like mad scientists, looking for a remedy to stop time.

My closest friend, looked in the

mirror that night and burst into tears.

“I have a wrinkle,” she blubbered, pointing to her smooth forehead. We spent the next 30 minutes inspecting our faces in all the different lightings we could find in my basement, holding make-up mirrors millimetres away from our eyes to examine just how deep our laugh lines were. We were all in various states of disarray.

We were eighteen.

Of course, we were being ridiculous. Some of those things are rewarding and made us feel pretty. At the same time, our fear was very real. A timely example of our fear is realized in the treatment of Carrie Fisher. She reprised her role as Princess Leia in 2015’s “Star

THE 3 BENEFITS OF FAILURE Gordon Hamilton Contributor

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – JK Rowling The dreary, grey season of the post-Christmas winter can leave people depressed. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is an unfortunately common disorder. 2-3% of Canadians experience SAD annually, but another 15% experience a milder form of it. Add that to a bad first semester, perhaps a holiday break-up, grad school applications, or a jam-packed

class schedule, and January/February can become a culvert of mental anguish.

It’s easy to skip class and/or work and stay huddled in bed, eating stale Ramen noodles and entire packs of Oreos.

Psychologists have seen the empowering benefits of allowing children to make a mess, both figuratively and literally. This isn’t to say stop trying because you can fix everything. Let’s be real, you can’t fix everything. But it’s a firm reminder that when you find yourself trapped in a cycle of self-pity, get back on your feet and try again. Fail again, and fall again.

Just keep getting up.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to a counsellor or a support system if the grey weather is getting to you—but also remember to keep picking yourself up again and again. John Green said it best: “What’s the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”

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

Sports

HEAT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PUSHING FOR PLAYOFF SPOT In her first year as Heat head coach, Claire Paterson seems to have her team up to the task of playing into the post-season Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

In their first game back after the winter break, the Heat earned a well-deserved victory over the visiting TRU Wolfpack.

With a final score of 48-45, the Heat pulled their record even with TRU’s at 6-3. It was also the fifth straight win at home for the Heat, who remain undefeated at UBCO this season. In their first competition of the new year, they scored 21 points off the bench, and didn’t allow the visiting ‘Pack a lead larger than two points. The teams were evenly matched for most of the game, with the largest lead of the contest being 11 points in favour of the Heat near the end of the first half. The Heat gained momentum late in the game to re-take the lead in the fourth quarter following a clutch 3-pointer from starting post Robyn Aulin-Haynes that came out of a broken play to put her team up 44-42 with just over two minutes left. From there, starters Emily Kanester and

“

It’s ok to make mistakes ... that’s where the best learning happens.

”

Claire Elliott went to the free throw line in the final seconds and put the game away for the Heat.

With this successful start to the second half of their season, the team looks to have put themselves in a position to make a legitimate push for the playoffs this year. With a schedule that has them playing at home two weekends for the rest of the regular season, a playoff position isn’t locked up for the Heat, but if they are able to keep up the defensive play that they’ve had so far, it’s within reach.

The team travels to play UNBC on January 22 and 23, with a make-up game at TRU the following weekend on the 30th. The Heat’s final two games of the regular season are also

on the road against TRU. Not having lost to either of those teams so far this season, it stands to reason that they can be confident travelling to play them on the road. If they can come out with another win against the Wolfpack in two weeks, that will undoubtedly give them a boost going back to Kamloops in mid-February to finish out before the postseason.

In their first season under head coach Claire Paterson, the team has put up impressive numbers that seem to have developed out of their new coach’s basketball philosophy.

“I like to teach the game in a sense that each and every player is empowered and has a say,” said the first year coach. “It’s not the strict hierarchy of a coach demanding and yelling, but more so it’s an open growth mindset learning environment.

I don’t want players to be afraid to make mistakes ... I want them to feel empowered, that it’s ok to make mistakes and that’s where the best learning happens.

It’s really kind of been open mindset, empowerment, and a pretty positive environment.”

That strategy of having everyone involved in the process has translated efficiently onto the court, with seven players on the team averaging over 5.5 points per game.

During their first weekend on the road in 2016, the Heat picked up right where they left off against Mount Royal. On Friday night, they won a close game against the Cougars, taking the first of the two-game set by a score of 44-40. Showing that head coach Claire Paterson’s plan to improve shooting percentage and scoring is already paying dividends, the Heat also won the second game of the weekend, by 15 points (68-53), on Saturday night to complete a clean sweep of Mount Royal. With the two wins, UBC Okanagan now has a record of 8-3, and they bump Mount Royal down to a record of 1-11.

With five weeks and eleven games left in the season, coach Paterson and her first Heat team have a good opportunity to make their season together one that ends with a playoff run.

Photo by Greystoke Photography

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

traditionally powerful teams in succession. Also part of that regular scheduling is Manitoba, against whom the Heat women officially started the second half of their season on January 8th and 9th.

The first half of the season ended way back on November 28th, leaving over a month between conference matches for the Heat.

While other teams are able to continue practicing right up until a few days before Christmas, the

UBCO gym was unavailable for the team to practice once finals started.

The team was back in the gym quickly after Christmas, as they hosted an exhibition and training series from December 28th to January 4th, with the MacEwan, Guelph, TRU, and RMC teams visiting to participate. From the 28th until classes resumed on January 4th, the only day that the team was not in the gym training was New Year’s Day. Senior setters Emily Oxland and Chandler Proch were able to speak to what the break meant for the team and their momentum. “It’s kind of weird to have such a long time between league matches,” said Oxland, “the coaches do a really good job of keeping us prepared though,” added Proch.

Head Coach Steve Manuel is definitely undaunted by the team’s tough stretch coming up. “It might be nice to spread the schedule out a bit, but this isn’t the first time this has happened,” he said of their having to face three powerhouses consecutively. He chooses to see the opportunity in the situation: “It can be good, because it kind of mimics the feeling of playoff competition.

It’s one big team after another, and every game feels more important.”

Asked whether facing teams like Alberta and Trinity Western back-to-back is as daunting a task as it looks on paper, both fifth year players seemed respectably confident. “We seem to play really well against Alberta,” said Proch of the first of the three big contests. “Trinity Western is also a completely different team than they were last year,” stated Oxland.

Proch added, “they graduated six of their players from last year.”

Facing the top teams in the country is still something that the team worked hard to prepare for, making full use of the exhibition and training series.

On Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16, the Heat

welcomed the University of Alberta Pandas to the UBC Okanagan gym. With Alberta coming into the weekend ranked at the top of Canada West and #1 in the CIS Top Ten, the Heat faced one of the toughest challenges of their 2015/16 season. Proving that they belong at the top of the national rankings, the Heat defeated the Pandas in both matches.

On Friday night, the Pandas dominated in the first set, but the Heat played on another level and won the second, third, and fourth sets straight to earn the victory.

On Saturday, the match went for full five sets, in one of the most competitive and exciting matches that will be played this year.

On Saturday, the Heat came out stronger in the first set than they had on Friday night, taking the first set in convincing fashion.

Alberta fought their way back to win the second and third sets. In the fourth set, the Heat played in a similar fashion to their first set, winning 25-21 and pushing the game to a fifth set. In the fifth set, both teams played as though losing was an impossibility. The Heat had a match point at 14-13, but the Pandas called a time-out, and went on to win the next two points to have a match point of their own.

The Heat managed to capitalize on back-to-back mistakes a few points later, and when the final ball hit the floor, the Heat won the deciding set 17-15.

With these two wins, the Heat move to a season record of 151, while knocking the Pandas to a record of 13-3. With these new stats, the Heat are likely to jump past Alberta and move up in the CIS Top Ten, where they currently sit at #3.

The Heat have a bye week on January 22 & 23, so their next matches will be against the UBC Thunderbirds, at the UBC Okanagan gymnasium, on January 29 & 30.

the teams are required to move the desks off of the court, and then return them to their places once their practice is over. As anyone who has been into the gym during finals will have seen, there are a significant number of desks involved, and it takes more than a few moments to move them. This means that on any given day, a team will have approximately one hour of usable court time.

When speaking to coaches of the teams with more creative practice schedules during December, two things seem to stand out. First, there are at most a handful of other schools that participate in a similar practice, and only one or two with programs that are as competitive as the Heat. It is unlikely that an institution truly supportive of its athletic programs will fill their

practice facilities with tables and chairs, let alone for weeks on end.

Second, this issue is brought up frequently by Heat coaches, who have thus far been met with little to no desire to find a solution that allows them an open gym during December.

“It gets brought up at every coaches meeting,” said one coach, pointing out that it is a shared concern throughout all Heat programs. For the moment, it is simply an inconvenience that the coaches and their teams have to deal with. “We find ways to work around it,” said another coach, when speaking on January 4. This particular coach added that it was the eighth out of the previous nine days that they had put in a full day to help prepare the team for competition after lack of practice time during the exam period.

“It’s an inconvenience,” added another coach, whose team’s time in the gym was severely limited over the break. The coach continued, “when you don’t get touches for four weeks, there’s nothing you can do in terms of getting better... The four practices that we did get it in, we’re coming in, we’re taking down all the tables, all the chairs, and then half the time we’re setting it back up... It’s not enough, and if we’re expected to compete then we need to find a way to have gym time.”

With the success the teams have been having this year, which will hopefully carry through to upcoming seasons, now might be the time to rethink the use of the gym during finals in December.

Photo provided by the UBCO Athletics

COMPETITION HEATS UP IN SECOND HALF FOR WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL For nearly a month every year, the UBCO Heat volleyball and basketball programs have to work around the gym’s conversion into an examination room Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor The women’s volleyball team’s Canada West season picked up again on January 8th and 9th when they visited Manitoba. Following a spectacular first half that ended with the team winning six straight matches going into the winter break, there is a lot of hype to live up to. Ranked number three in the country to start the new year, the Heat seem set to pick up right where they left off.

The most intense stretch of the

season for the team is the threeweek period from January 15th through February 6th. During those three weekends they face the U of A, UBC, and Trinity Western consecutively. To start the new year those opponents are ranked numbers 2, 4, and 1 in the CIS Top Ten respectively. While this might seem like a distinctly unbalanced schedule, coach Manuel stated that this is the fifth year in a row where they’ve matched up against these

Sports

CLOSED COURTS

For nearly a month every year, the UBCO Heat volleyball and basketball programs have to work around the gym’s conversion into an examination room Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

The category into which the members of the Heat volleyball and basketball programs fall is that of the student-athlete. With this title, the academic comes before the athletic, as is the expectation according to their agreement with UBCO. While there is an obvious emphasis on the desire for these athletes to be successful students, an argument can be made that more effort is required on the part of the institution in regards to the athletic portion of the studentathlete title.

During the exam period before winter break, the UBCO gym is filled with desks in order to allow multiple large classes to take

their final exams simultaneously.

While this approach is efficient and relatively easy in terms of scheduling and administering the first semester’s final examinations, it means that the practice area for the volleyball and basketball programs is cluttered with desks, chairs, and all manner of things left behind. These complications make it exceedingly difficult for the teams to practice, or even have time on the court, during almost the entire month of December.

When one of the teams wants to schedule a practice, they obviously have to work around the scheduled exam blocks. In order to actually hold the practice while no exams are being taken,

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

PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER PLACE HOLDER

Photo by Lisa Vandervelde /Morning Star

PANTHER FORWARD READY FOR JUMP TO HEAT

Current VSS Forward Jordyn Cullum is ready to join a former teammate at the next level of competition Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

Photo by Evan Seal /Surrey Leader Newspaper

SURREY FULLBACK TO JOIN HEAT The next addition to the September 2016 roster for the women’s soccer team is a defensive specialist from the coast Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

Surrey product, and current BCSPL fullback, Violet Bacon is the next student-athlete recruit officially joining the Heat women’s soccer program in 2016. Graduating from Surrey Christian Secondary this June, the 5’7” defensive specialist is ready to take the next step and face the challenge of university competition.

Bacon brings with her an impressive resume of championship appearances with multiple teams, both within Canada and the United States. The first of the accomplishments on that list are a pair of consecutive victorious results at the BC Futsol Provincial Championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, the split fullback/striker won the BC Provincial Championships with her Surrey Christian side, and was a finalist in the BCSPL Championships with her Surrey United 98 team. The list grew in 2015, a year in which she was a participant in the U-18 National Championships, as well as a finalist in both the Las Vegas Mayor’s Championships and the BCSPL League Championships.

Prior to joining the Heat, Bacon spent her previous five seasons as a member of the same BCSPL team in Surrey. “I am excited about my commitment to UBC Okanagan’s

Heat and think that my experience at the BCSPL level has prepared me well,” says Bacon of her new team.

She continues, speaking on the challenges of the transition, “having played on the same team for 5 years, the transition may be difficult but

“

Playing at the university level is something I have always wanted, so I am very excited and happy with this decision.

– Violet Bacon

”

I am looking forward to the new experiences with the players and coaches. Playing at the university level is something I have always wanted, so I am very excited and happy with this decision.”

When asked what she expects to bring to the competition at the university level, Bacon maintains

her optimistic and enthusiastic air saying, “I hope to provide strength and aggression to the back line at the fullback position, though I am also very attack-minded.”

The 17-year-old’s feelings on her upcoming participation in the Heat program are matched by her future head coach. “I have had the opportunity to see Violet play in the BCSPL and we were happy that she attended our fall player identification camp,” says Claire Paterson, Head Coach of the women’s soccer program. The Heat coach continues, “she was a standout for us at the camp with her strength, game sense and technical ability. We are very happy that she decided to sign with our program and are looking forward to her integrating herself into our back line.”

With both the student-athlete and program representatives enthusiastic about her coming to UBCO, Violet Bacon looks to be a promising and productive addition to next season’s Heat side.

The next player to join the 2016 roster for the UBCO Heat women’s basketball program is Jordyn Cullum.

The current Vernon Secondary School standout has a basketball resumé to be admired, and an extensive record of competing at a high level.

The 6’1” Forward has collected a number of personal, and team, awards throughout her basketball career thus far. Since joining the VSS Senior Girls’ team in her grade ten year, Cullum has earned Player of the Game awards, Pit Classic Senior Girls Basketball Tournament All-Star honours, been named Vernon Secondary School’s Female Sportsperson of the Year, and was given the North Okanagan Rotary Award for Most Outstanding Girls’ Basketball Player of 2015.

Prior to joining the senior team at VSS, Cullum represented the North-West region of BC at the BC Summer Games in grade eight, then went on to be invited to the U15 Junior Heat Team in grade nine, and was a member of the U15 Red Provincial Team. For the past three years, Cullum has been a member of BC Provincial Teams. With the U16 Team she and her teammates placed second at Westerns in Edmonton.

The next year, again in Edmonton, Cullum and her U17 BC Team placed fourth at Nationals. When asked about her time with the provincial teams, Cullum says, “I have grown so much as a player by being on the BC Provincial Team for the past three years. Not only have my skills improved, but my basketball IQ has has as well. Being part of these teams has played a big role in shaping me into the player I am today.”

Cullum hopes to bring the experience to her final season of high

school basketball this year, and then to the Heat program in September.

She explains, “this season I hope to be able to be a versatile player offensively, to help my team be successful in games, and to shut down my opponents on defence. I also hope to help lead my team to a place in the top four at Provincials for AA girls basketball.” The Vanderhoof, BC native added, “going to UBCO next year, I hope to bring my knowledge and skill to be a contributing member of the team as we work towards having more success in CIS.” When asked if she feels that she will be ready for that level of competition, Cullum is lacking in neither confidence nor enthusiasm: “yes, I feel I am ready. Just recently signing in October, I couldn’t believe I still had another school season to finish.

I was so happy to have finally made a decision. I felt I was ready to move to UBCO and start playing for Claire and Bobby right there and then. I’m very excited to play at UBCO and see what the future holds for me there.”

The decision that the official Heat recruit is so happy to have made was made easier as a result of academic and personal aspects. The studentathlete believes that UBCO will be a good fit academically for her and her goal of becoming a speech pathologist. Having a former Panther teammate, Jordan Korol, on the Heat roster helps as well. “She played on my high school team for wo years with me,” said Cullum of Korol, “you could say she was a bit of my ‘partner in crime’ on the floor in our last year playing together. Knowing Jordan played for UBCO made the decision a bit easier knowing there was someone there I knew and enjoyed being around.”