March 20, 2019

Ω OMEGA

NEW ISSUE EVERY WEDNESDAY · WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA ·

d @TRU_OMEGA · c FB.ME/TRUOMEGA

A B Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

THE

T H O M P S O N R I V E R S U N I V E R S I T Y ' S I N D E P E N D E N T S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R

VOLUME 28 · ISSUE 23 · MARCH 20, 2019

PAGE

2

FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE SLATES

PAGE

5

TRU HOSTS COLLAGE PARTY

PAGE

8

A CLASSIC SECWEPEMC STORY

Amanda Lindhout tells her story on first day of IDays Cailyn Mocci ARTS EDITOR Ω Crowds flocked to TRU for an intensely moving talk by Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout. Filling the Grand Hall with nearly 700 people on the opening night of IDays, Lindhout spoke of the trauma she endured while being held hostage for 460 days.

Lindhout had the crowd on the edge of their seats as she

recounted the horrors of her time as a hostage in Somalia.

She spoke of experiences one couldn’t imagine, and of the strength and strategy it took to maintain composure.

Speaking of the personal strength and determination she built up while enduring these horrors, Lindhout attributed much of her strong will and determination to her less-than-easy childhood in Red Deer, Alta.

Raised by a single mother and constantly surrounded by abuse and chaos, Lindhout sought out travelling as

her escape from it all. As a child, she would turn to the backdated pages of National Geographic.

Her curiosity led her to tell the stories of far away lands which unfortunately led her to Somalia, along with photographer Nigel Brennan.

See JOURNALIST Page 5

And the this is 63 point Here’s compromise, 42 pt it’s intwo 32 point point called Adelle, around 35 SansMerriweather, Cond wrapped onto lines

Here’s serif headline option: for one line, but this isa theheaviest second lineserif that continues onto the second line, another 15.

Or ais15-point option that’s This is the 32-point Bernino This about 30-point Bernino Sans Cond Here’s aheavier playful sans option italic called Tisa A 15a point Here’s theversion Bernino Sans minihead that will follow all of thein above headlines, about 15 words And light for thedeck deck, text around 12 point

In case you missed it, the IDays Flag Parade on March 15 (a TRU tradition) featured a variety of flags representing the university's wonderfully diverse student body. (Wade Tomko/The Omega)

2

MARCH 20, 2019

NEWS

Progressive Student Advocates back for another run in TRUSU election Wade Tomko EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω With this year's TRUSU election well under way, all three slates are already well into their campaigning periods.

Under the incumbent slate, Progressive Student Advocates (PSA), Sierra Rae (TRUSU’s current VP equity) will be running for president of the union. Though Rae may end up as a returning figure on the board, many students running under PSA this year are new faces.

“In comparison to last year, we have a few members that are returning to the board, but we also have a lot of new members. We have members from all areas of campus,” Rae said. “I think that we also bring a lot of different perspectives than what has happened in the past election years.”

One of these new faces is Kole Lawrence, who is running for the position of VP external. If elected, Lawrence will engage with the City of

Kamloops to make not just TRU, but the city as a whole, more sustainable.

“One municipal issue that I’d really like to tackle is an environmental initiative in Kamloops,” he said.

“We’re not bad, but there is a lot of work to be done in our city. A specific example might be eliminating plastic bags.”

PSA will also continue to focus on some of their existing campaigns, such as Fund the Future and Open Textbooks, however, they would also like to focus on several new initiatives as well.

First among those new initiatives is a service or location, which the Students’ Union will provide, where members can look for job opportunities. While the Students’ Union has never provided such a service in the past, Rae can see them working with the already existing career service on-campus Symplicity.

Study space is another issue that PSA would like to tackle in the coming year, Rae said. Specifically, she would like to see TRUSU work with TRU’s administration to provide

multiple options across campus, as well as making sure the university’s current study spaces are properly maintained.

“The university does not have the areas for study and if they do, they are often loud and overcrowded, the seats are dirty,” she said. “I’d just like to see us really work with TRU administration to provide those options and to work to help some of those study space issues. With TRU making the changes they are on campus this is likely the right time to do that.

For Rae, another important issue this election is how TRU accommodates its international students, or more specifically, the continuation of the Welcoming the World campaign.

This new project seeks to ensure a thoughtful “approach in welcoming international students.”

“There is the current campaign, Welcoming the World, which has been started by the University Affairs and the Campaigns Committee. I want to see that actually go through,” Rae said. "I want to see it go past the current board and really see it

turn into something that provides students with the information they need and the consultation they need because it is just such a complex issue.”

Despite the many new initiatives that Rae and the PSA would like to take on if elected, many are overshadowed by a constantly recurring issue at the university: parking.

Much like study space, PSA plans to work with TRU’s administration and actively consult students to find the best possible solution.

“I think the main thing going forward and I think what previous boards have really missed, is that fact that we need to do student consultation before we go to this level of, ‘We’ve got this parking plan, we’re going to implement it’,” she said.

Student consultation and representation doesn’t just stop at parking either. Fellow PSA member, Brandon Hayashi, who is running for VP equity, would like to see an accessibility representative on the equity committee next year if elected.

“One thing I see on campus all the time is the lack of disability and accessibility services and I firmly believe that the committee should have an accessibilities representative as well,” Hayashi said. “I understand we do have programs that provide services to individuals who are suffering from physical disabilities or learning disabilities, but we don’t have a gauge of how these students are perceiving their education.”

As for the campaign period itself, Rae is more excited than anything to have two opposing slates running against her and her team. To her, it simply shows that students are interested in the union and want to have a voice.

“I’m actually really excited to see all the students involved this year,” she said. “I’m more than happy to see them all involved in the election because it means that students are interested in taking part in the Students’ Union.”

Election polling will take place online from March 18-22. Make sure to check your TRU email.

New slate Alliance wants TRUSU to focus on fiscal responsibility Christian Varty NEWS EDITOR Ω One of the two new slates to emerge in the face of the upcoming election is the Alliance Party. The Omega sat down with Fraser Barclay who is running for TRUSU president as well as Andrew Sahaydak, a nominee for VP services.

“We’ve observed a lot of improvements that we believe should be undertaken by the Students’ Union. Specifically, that starts with more transparency within student government. A lot of people don’t even know what the student union is and there’s a lot of opportunity to make a good impression and make a good relationship with students,” Sahaydak told The Omega, outlining a primary goal for the party.

“For instance, there’s a lack of

services on campus,” Sahaydak continued. “And they’re not really being dealt with, so one of the positions I have developed as a services nominee would be having a talent wall. Essentially what that would be is, we have the student registry right now, but there’s no place for people to get their services and for people to market themselves or their services like tutoring or web design, there’s so much untapped potential at this university.”

Second on the list for the party is to explore ways to reduce ancillary fees for students, while making some of the current services for students more efficient while not straining their pockets.

"A full-time student here pays $189/semester in fees that go directly to the Students’ Union,” Barclay said on the topic of TRUSU fees. “University budgets are kind of notorious for

getting inflated over time so I think if you can look through [the budget] to a line-by-line basis and just have to justify what’s going on then yeah, it’s something to look into.”

Amongst the biggest fish to fry on the slate’s agenda is the superfluous nature of the bus pass system.

“I think TRUSU pays something like $850,000 or so for them, and that’s by far the largest expense.

So what I’m curious about, I’m not going to axe the bus pass or anything, but I’d be curious to know to what extent can this go. If you’re bussing to campus that’s great, that’s a $50 bus pass for four months instead of 75 every month,” Barclay said about the positive aspect of the bus pass.

“I know some people that are within bus range, so they’re not eligible to opt out of that. But if they were to bus it would take them an

hour or something, and I don’t really think that’s reasonable to expect someone to bus an hour each way school if they only have one or two classes that day,” he added.

Barclay went on to explain what he and his slate believe to be an amicable solution to the issue.

“It could be reworking the model to being more of an opt-in, so hypothetically if you cut the fee down to $25 and you use that pool to subsidize the individuals who are using it enough they can request the bus pass and use that amount of money just for those individuals," he said. "So as a whole, if you’re not using it, your fees just got cut in half.

If you are using it, you’re still getting the same benefit.”

The scope of Alliance regarding how fees are distributed amongst TRUSU, and by extension the student base, is admittedly focused mostly

on the output the Students’ Union provides for students, but Barclay has some choice words on how funds are distributed.

“I think that maybe a lot of candidates aren’t willing to put in the hours for a minimum wage position.

I mean, you could just go to whatever fast food restaurant and get the same amount of money, maybe even more, probably more,” he said. “So what’s to their benefit of going through this whole process. I mean we’ve been working hours and hours on this campaign already and we’re not even in. So what’s incentivizing anyone to put in that kind of work? They need to have enough passion to do that.”

Members of the Alliance slate are of the opinion that even if they don’t see representation this election, that they will have pushed the vanguard on how student politics can be approached here at TRU.

TRUSU election slate “For the Lulz” shakes things up in student government Aidan Grether STAFF WRITER Ω Among the new slates in the running for TRUSU governance positions for the 2019/2020 terms is one accurately called “For the Lulz” (FTL). FTL is fielding candidates in five positions: visible minority representative, entertainment representative, vice president internal, international representative and vice president equity and their candidates are an interesting group.

The colourful posters of FTL succinctly sum up the mission of the party, which seems to be both satirical and outright insane. Earl Balageo, the candidate for visible minorities representative’s poster features him surfing on an alligator, while the candidate for VP equity Zach Poba-Nzaou rides the back of a grizzly bear, pointing off into the future. Each poster features a disclaimer that “images may contain modifications.”

These posters also feature the

fleshed out vision for the slate’s agenda, including: spontaneous fire drill, skytrain from science building to lot N, make clocktower higher, make lot N closer, free parking (hunger games style), more parking less new buildings, $20 for blocking hallways to chat and free tuition. Oh and “cheese,” followed up with “can’t stress this enough… more cheese.”

The candidates of For the Lulz really bring the party into shape, however.

“Originally when we started we thought that TRUSU would reimburse for any cost related to the campaign,” stated Poba-Nzaou. “When we found out that this was not true we were $150 in debt. One of our candidates even took a second mortgage on their house to afford the posters.”

“Once we sank that much money into the process we kind of had to make it real,” added Balageo.

When pressed about some of the biggest issues with TRU, entertainment rep. candidate Henry Albuquerque voiced his concerns around some issues on campus.

“We have found the single biggest threat to the university and its students are those people that think it’s a good idea to gather into groups of seventeen and stand in the middle of the hallway talking to each other,” he said. “It’s an inconvenience for anyone trying to get to class. 60 per cent of TRUSU’s budget should be relocated into crowd control water cannons in order to disperse such groups.”

Other members of the slate voiced appreciation and agreement with the solution.

So jokes aside, what would For the Lulz do if they won their elected seats?

“I believe that by us winning anything, TRU would fall into chaos.

You know that one scene in Lord of the Rings where Frodo gets consumed by the power of the ring?” asked Poba-Nzaou. “Well, this would be worse. Once we are in a position of power we would probably start small.

To start, we would prohibit the use of the word ‘Gucci’ on campus. Students would no longer be able to say things such as ‘that test was Gucci’ or ‘I feel

Gucci.’ After we get an understanding of the amount of power we hold, no one would be able to stop us.”

When asked what is seriously on the agenda for the slate, the candidates unanimously voiced that, “[We] don’t know. We thought we would have been expelled from TRU by now.”

But is the joking mantra born of real concerns with the university?

Many of the agenda items on their posters are issues frequently cited by students as negatively impacting the university experience (parking, tuition and fees, campus housing and food options). Balageo believes that although the party is mostly seen as a meme, they’re both satirical and very real.

“Although we are known as a ‘satire’ party and our posters contain a bunch of different agenda items, I think it’s important that the students reading this understand something about our campaign. Our party might be “For the Lulz” but don’t let the name fool you. We’re dead serious. All members on this slate have unanimously

agreed on this one agenda item.”

That one item?

“If elected we would relocate HOL into Old Main. That’s right, the only possible way to get a Tim Hortons into Old Main would be to physically relocate HOL into it.”

Albuquerque added that “other parties such as the [Progressive Student Advocates] would argue that this is absurd or that TRUSU doesn’t have enough money for such a project, but what they don’t know is that our campaign has been contacted by a Nigerian prince via email who has around $1.5 million worth of exotic jewels which we could sell to pay for the relocation. As soon as the down payment of $5,000 we sent him clears we will be ready to start the project.”

Looking past the jokes, For the Lulz are a group of students who seem to share a dissatisfaction with TRU with many other students. Win or lose, FTL has resonated with many students who are tired of TRUSU politics and the TRU quirks we put up with year round.

WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA

NEWS

NOW

HIRING FOR SUMMER START

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

To apply, send your resumé and samples of your work (published or unpublished, academic work accepted) to editor@truomega.ca.

Interviews by the publishing board will be conducted at the end of the semester. If a position is still posted on this page, applications are still being accepted.

To be eligible for any of the above positions, you must be a student at Thompson Rivers University while you work. Students who will be employed by the TRU Students’ Union during their employment period may not be eligible to work for the newspaper in order to avoid any conflict of interest. Applicants are asked to disclose all potential conflicts of interest.

3

Rethink Your Things: almonds Justin Moore STAFF WRITER Ω I've spent my past two columns talking about plastics that we can all do without and how we should opt for more natural and sustainable products but after a recent interaction and presentation from chef David Wolfman I've begun to pay more attention to other forms of over-consumption.

While it's true that we waste a lot of food in restaurants, grocery stores and conventions, to name a tiny amount of instances, we also waste resources producing food as well. In this instance, I'd like to draw your attention to one of the healthiest, most delicious, occasionally chocolate-covered snacks in the world, almonds.

Here's a bombshell fact: It takes a reasonably accurate 4.16 litres of water to grow a single almond.

Hecking yikes.

When you take into consideration that currently 80 per cent of the world's almonds come from California, a state that until this last weekend had experienced one of it's most devastating droughts in history, it puts that four litres of water into perspective.

A subsequent wet winter last year has since ended this drought dating back to 2011 according to the US Drought Monitor but dry conditions come quickly to the West Coast state, and when roughly 28 million acres of California is dedicated to agriculture, water is a hot commodity.

When you factor in the $5.6 billion USD that California brought in from almond production in 2017, the production of one of the world's favourite nuts isn't going to stop anytime soon.

But almond farmers seem to be already ahead of the curb. As the

Almonds take an astonishing 4.16 litres (1.1 gallons) of water to produce! Since the 1980s, farmers have reduced this number by 33 per cent. (jules/Flickr) almond community so proudly states in a numerous amount of press releases that I've read, they've been able to reduce the amount of water used to grow almonds by 33 per cent since the 80s. Not bad!

And that number is improving.

Much of the California almond community is committed to reducing that number again by another 20 percent by 2025 by implementing micro-irrigation in newer farms and retrofitting old orchards.

During the winter, excess stormwater is also being directed into the fields, seeping into the soil and underground aquifers without damaging the trees.

It is undoubtedly a move in the right direction, and proudly enough, not the only sustainable initiative these farms are implementing. Farms all over California are going zero-waste, supporting honey bee research at orchards and

Ω

See full posting at www.truomega.ca/work

THE OMEGA STUDENT NEWSPAPER • PUBLISHED SINCE NOVEMBER 27,1991

Publisher and Board

Editorial Staff

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society TRU Campus, Old Main, OM2691 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-828-5069 Advertising inquiries: www.truomega.ca/advertise or email accounts@truomega.ca

Editor-in-Chief Wade Tomko

Publishing Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF INDUSTRY REP FACULTY REP STUDENT REP STUDENT REP STUDENT REP

Wade Tomko Christopher Foulds Charles Hays Juan Cabrejo Vacant Vacant

Letters Policy

Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material.

Opinions expressed in any section with an “Opinion” label do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff. Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

News Editor Christian Varty Arts Editor Cailyn Mocci

Business Editor Juan Cabrejo

Sports Editor Alvin Mutandiro Staff Writers Justin Moore

Photographer Aidan Grether Distributor Morgan Hunter

Contribuors Farrah Johnson, Elizabeth Nygren

c fb.me/truomega d @TRU_Omega

f instagr.am/truomega Õ www.TRUOmega.ca

All material in this publication is copyright The Omega except where otherwise noted and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher.

A B Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

contributing to a better bioecology.

So the next time you order your latte with almond milk as a health power move, you can feel a little better knowing that this major agricultural industry is holding themselves accountable. However, we owe it to ourselves as protectors of this planet to keep industries, farmers and business accountable.

We need to put in the research before sharing trendy stories with each other claiming we know what's best for not only us but the planet too, and that goes beyond almonds.

As a tangent to this column, I learned that we're missing an almond emoji! While it isn't a huge deal to me, the digital representation is huge to the industry. You can find the humorous petition on the California Almonds Twitter site @ almonds. As well, you can Tweet me using #RethinkYourThings for column topic suggestions.

CONTRIBUTE

WRITE FOR US! We’re always looking for contributors.

If you’re interested in writing for us, make sure you check out our contributor guidelines found at:

truomega.ca/contribute First timer? Don’t worry – no experience is necessary and we’ll give you as much help as you need.

If you’re ready to get started, just email one of our section editors and pitch your story: News: news@truomega.ca Arts: arts@truomega.ca Sports: sports@truomega.ca Or write the editor at: editor@truomega.ca

4

MARCH 20, 2019

NEWS

UBC professor discusses Belt and Road Initiative $200 billion in bank loans cause concern for potential debt trap among developing nations Juan Cabrejo BUSINESS EDITOR Ω Political science assistant professor and director of the Institute of Asian Research at UBC, Yves Tiberghien, discusses what the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) consists of, including its drivers, causes and implications for global and regional governance.

Initially named One Belt One Road (OBOR) and also commonly referred to as the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, the BRI is a development strategy adopted by Chinese President Xi Jinping involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries worldwide; including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Over $200 billion in bank loans have been disbursed to accelerate global infrastructure with much concern of a potential debt trap for many developing countries.

“This is essentially a major vision; it’s not a very tight plan, it’s not an organized plan, it’s a vision emerging and bursting out of China,” he said.

“For China, I see it as a globalization strategy; it’s not like the Cold War where China is presenting a new approach to globalization, or a non-capitalist, non-liberal view of the world.

In fact, it fits within the paradigm, it

The BRI focuses on reviving trade along the historic Silk Road while expanding to European markets. (Unsplash) doesn’t advance new norms or new values.”

The BRI initiative was created as a response to the American-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which excluded China and focuses on improving trade standards in the Pacific region. Unsurprisingly, the BRI excludes the U.S. (likely out of vengeance) and focuses on reviving trade along the historic Silk Road route while expanding to European markets at a competitive level with that of

the U.S. Both the TPP and the BRI are seen as strategic undertakings aimed at increasing American and Chinese influence in the Pacific respectively.

“Initially there was benign ignorance by the U.S. for three years, as of 2018, the U.S. got hot about it and so now it’s part of the strategic competition between the U.S. and China,” he said. “In Europe, it’s generating a new historical force that is the potential reconnection of Europe with China and Asia, which has existed in the past.”

Wolfman and the path to sustainability The Toronto-based chef passes down his story of becoming a more sustainable cook and person through Indigenous roots and teachings Justin Moore STAFF WRITER Ω David Wolfman was raised far away from his traditional Lillooet roots. The self-proclaimed "city slicker" instead grew up around the mountains of towering buildings and the flowing streams of Toronto's traffic and busy city life.

However, Wolfman's methods and teachings around his practice of cooking couldn't be more similar to his traditional background and connections to the Xaxli’p First Nations.

In an IDays presentation, Wolfman talked about sustainability, a word we commonly use today to talk about everything from consuming less to climate change, environmental protection and even food.

For Wolfman's family and ancestors back in Lillooet, that obligation to protect the land and his people's way of life is called "N-talk-menth-katha."

"It demonstrates the connecting of each other, the bonding of the environment, trusting each other, sharing with others, cooperation, caring for strangers, conserving for the future and most importantly constructing love. These experiences opened my eyes to a traditional way of life that is grounded by principles and

practice of what we call in the English language sustainability," Wolfman said.

In his twenties, Wolfman had the opportunity to visit the place his mother called home before moving to Toronto. In Lillooet, he was able to meet extended family and learn from them how to fish for salmon, collect berries during the harvest and prepare traditional Indigenous dishes.

What Wolfman came to realize was that his street smarts and teachings growing up in a big Canadian city like Toronto mirrored what he learned during his visits to Lillooet.

Wolfman has since integrated these teachings around sustainability into his work as a chef and as a teacher at George Brown College in Toronto.

During his presentation, Wolfman recalled working at hotels, trying to reuse and waste less food against corporate pushback.

"Sustainability is all about knowing right from wrong and doing the right thing, taking responsibility in other words.

Doing the wrong thing traditionally would have led to being shunned," Wolfman spoke.

Wolfman received the same pushback from fellow staff members and professors at George Brown, where Wolfman

successfully implemented new programs focused on sustainability, waste consumption, buying local food products rather than importing them.

This resulted in reducing all food waste at the school by 85 per cent, turning the program to a huge success.

"Many Indigenous stories centred around sustainability, they were told to babies children and young youth over and over again. Stories tell wisdom.

They were taught that their actions have consequences whether they see them or not.

The philosophy is, we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children," Wolfman proclaimed.

These traditions of sustainability, using less and not wasting follow Wolfman in his day-to-day life even outside of his classroom. When testing recipes, Wolfman calls up his neighbours to cook for them and in the past has been known to share entire meals with community members and those less fortunate.

This innovation and marriage of sustainable techniques is now a part of Wolfman's hubris as he continues as a teacher and influencer of sorts, sharing and passing down his traditions to future generations to not only cook better but live both smarter and more sustainably.

Interestingly enough, the BRI directly impacts British Columbia through an explicit memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the initiative. Discussions have been ongoing between the Guangdong and the British Columbia provincial governments negotiating how to stimulate maritime and economic connectivity between the two provinces and encourage collaboration between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Canada’s Pacific Gateway Strategy.

“B.C. was the only North-American jurisdiction to sign an MOU with Belt and Road; it was signed by Christie Clark, the former premier, spearheaded by the minister of trade which at the time was Teresa Wat,” Tiberghien added. “There was a grand ceremony in Vancouver where B.C hosted Hu Chunhua, party secretary of the Guangdong province and member at the time of the Politburo [of the Communist Party of China], so [it was a] pretty high-profile visit and there was in fact a signature connecting the Pacific Gateway and the Belt and Road Initiative.”

In many ways the BRI appears as nothing less than an attempt to solve China’s problems of overcapacity and surplus capital, which to some degree has proven effective; nevertheless, Tiberghien argues that the project is nowhere near enough to solve the overcapacity issue.

“The overcapacity is so big that the Belt and Road [Initiative] is not enough to really solve that problem for China,” he said. “What it is, is an organic process that got boosted in 2014 around the APEC Summit around infrastructure, trade and investment going in many directions building on Chinese competitive advantage and it’s gradualist approach to development.”

Study shows 86 per cent of Canadian politicians’ websites are unsecured Christian Varty NEWS EDITOR Ω A recent study conducted by the cybersecurity company Comparitech has shown that globally nearly 61 per cent of all politicians don’t use industry standard security certificates on their websites. Canada, as a whole is comparatively atrocious on this front. The study found that when looking at the major party's websites, a whopping 86.25 per cent of websites did not meet current standards. To put that in an academic context, for students, an 86.25 would be considered an “A” grade. It can be said then that Canadian politicians receive an A, but for these purposes it represents “awful.”

The Green Party had a shocking 100 per cent of their website or affiliate websites that did not feature an SSL certificate, commonly identified as an “HTTPS” prefix before the website address, as opposed to an unsecured “HTTP” prefix. Coming in second was the NDP with 95.12 per cent of websites not having a valid SSL certificate. The party that had the highest amount of coverage was the Conservative Party of Canada with 68.89 per cent of relevant pages covered. Even the party most covered still had well over half of their websites unsecure.

This information is particularly disturbing considering that there is an imminent federal election fast approaching. Couple this with the barrage of allegations our neighbours to the south have been hurling at one another about cybersecurity during the last election cycle.

Whether those accusations were

accurate or not is irrelevant considering the impact it had in the election for the Democrats, with unsecured email servers and the subsequent special counsel investigations being launched at the Republicans. It is now on the record that there is the potential for cyber interference, or at the very least, the ability for hackers to access Canadian’s information that have registered on a politicians website for donations or newsletters.

According to Global Sign, a separate cybersecurity company, an SSL and HTTPS prefix is important because “SSL certificates are small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to an organization’s details.” When installed on a web server, it activates the padlock and the HTTPS protocol and allows secure connections from a web server to a browser.

It is important for any website that retrieves information from site visitors to have an SSL certificate because it provides an extra layer of protection against people that may be trying to access their stored information.

“HTTPS encrypts data in transit so that unauthorized third parties cannot intercept and decipher it. Valid SSL certificates also authenticate websites, helping to ensure voters that they’re on the politician’s genuine site and not a fraudulent one,” Paul Bischoff of Comparitech wrote in the study.

SSLs are especially easy to obtain in our modern technological era so there is no excuse for politicians not to have one on a website that collects information from the public. Hopefully, this study will spur Canadian politicians to take action in protecting their data, as well as ours.

WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA

NEWS

5

Journalist shares her harrowing tale of being held captive for 460 days CONTINUED (COVER) During her time held captured, Lindhout spent a lot of time trapped in her mind for the sake of her sanity.

“And at this point in captivity, I thought, ‘This is how people go crazy,’ and I was racking my brain to think of anything I have ever learned about survival,” recounted Lindhout.

To keep her mind safe while her body was in peril, Lindhout would walk the perimeter of her dark room and imagine the iconic views of the seawall in Stanley Park.

“I could picture it in the most granular detail, I could lose hours like that,” said Lindhout.

“I was walking around that room in Somalia but in my mind, I’m walking the seawall.”

During that intense time of disparity, Lindhout starting taking more and more risks to save herself and Brennan. Leading up to the duo’s first attempted escape, the pair had been in captivity for nearly five months and the surveillance had finally lightened.

“That sense of despair led me to take some big risks, to

communicate with my friend Nigel,” said Lindhout.

During trips to the washroom, Lindhout and Brennan would exchange a few secret moments and during those conversations, they planned the escape through the bathroom window; an escape that would later prove unsuccessful.

“I went through it all. Believe me, if you’re sitting here thinking, ‘But what was she doing going to Somalia in the first place? That’s not a very good idea.’ Believe me, I know and I knew it then but I couldn’t change it. I couldn’t take it back,” admitted Lindhout. “I will own it now, you will never hear me try and defend that decision. I can say that was probably my worst mistake but there I was.”

Lindhout’s experience facing the abuse, isolation and horror is the perfect storm to break a person down, but in moments of pure perseverance, Lindhout maintained a sense of strength that one would attribute to a superhero.

Lindhout attributed much of her personal strength to the perseverance of those around her, feeding off the energy they

Lindhout spoke to a full Grand Hall about the trauma she endured while being held captive. (Justin Moore/The Omega) put into saving her. Her mother especially, put in the work to raise the insane amount of ransom her kidnappers were holding her at.

While she is now home safe in Canada with her kidnapper held in prison in here as well,

Lindhout still experiences the trauma she faced in her day-today life. This has not, however, changed her outlook on travelling but instead provided her with a notion of awareness to the dangers.

Lindhout retells her harrowing tale in her memoir, A House in the Sky. She noted that this memoir has been picked up for a Hollywood project and said to keep your eyes out for it in the coming years.

Event Logistics class host latest Collage Party exhibition An experiential social art and music gathering supported by the Bass Coast Festival Juan Cabrejo BUSINESS EDITOR Ω As part of the IDays Social, TRU’s Tourism Management Event Logistics (EVNT 3800) class, with support from the Bass Coast Music and Art Festival, held the latest Collage Party exhibition last Thursday featuring electronic artists Slynk and Fort Knox Five. Participants would individually create collage art pieces in a communal atmosphere that would

be displayed as a mural when completed. Billy Collins, the instructor of the course, used this opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in organizing a music event.

“This is the major project of a course I teach called EVNT 3800, Event Logistics, in the tourism management program and it’s the penultimate course of the event management stream within tourism management,” he said. “It’s completely handson, real-time, real deliverables, there are almost zero lectures,

it’s completely collaborative teamwork.”

The Bass Coast Festival and Tourism Management program share a symbiotic relationship as many of the program’s graduates proceed to become valuable employees for them. Despite not explicitly being partners of the event, they are avid supporters of the students and the event management department. The Collage Party according to Collins is part of Bass Coast’s winter promotional tour in anticipation for their festival in

Participants individually created collage art pieces in a communal atmosphere to be displayed as a mural when completed. Artist Paul Butler has been helping host Collage Parties for over 20 years. (Juan Cabrejo/The Omega)

July.

“Bass Coast have been long supporters of ours, the event management program in Tourism Management; I met the women who run the festival and we collaborated on a few things, I invited them on campus last year to do an educational presentation and they have recruited our students as volunteers and staff,” Collins said. “My hope is that more of my students from TRU can work for these festivals across the province.”

Paul Butler, the Winnipeg-based contemporary artist behind the premise of the event, came up with the collage inspiration during his time studying drawing at the Alberta College of Art (now known as the Alberta College of Art and Design). Since childhood, Butler would make collages as a form of therapy and would decorate his bedroom with his artwork.

Through social gatherings with peers, the term ‘Collage Party’ arose.

“I’ve done this project for over 20 years now, I was doing it and then people started referring to it as the Collage Party,” he said.

“I graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1997 and went back to Winnipeg, I did a Collage Party and this curator came and saw it and he ended up putting me in a show about drawing called ‘Draw, Stranger’ and he thought that my cutting of paper was like drawing.”

Through past connections, Butler has managed to exhibit at venues like the Arts Gallery of

Ontario, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and La Maison Rouge in Paris, among many other art galleries internationally.

“Through word of mouth, I got invited to Goldsmiths College in London and that was the start of it,” he said. “From that, I got invited to Norway to do one and it sort of took off.”

Collins and Butler had met around 30 years ago when studying at the University of Manitoba. Collins says the collage idea has resonated with him ever since.

“I’ve known Paul since the late 1980s, [we met] at the University of Manitoba where he was a fine arts student and I worked for the Students’ Union,” he said. “We have friends in the arts community in Winnipeg and I think I was at his very first Collage Party; the idea has always stuck with me and so when I got back into teaching on a campus I thought, I’ve got to hold a Collage Party.”

Given Kamloops’ last-minute buyer behaviour, the majority of the event’s tickets were sold on the last two days. Collins was verging on pulling the pin on the event.

“Kamloops is a very last-minute town; if you do an event in this town you’ll know that no one buys a ticket until the last day and it’s completely stressful,” he said. “We had sold 62 tickets on Monday night, we sold 125 yesterday (Wednesday) and 125 today (Thursday); I was ready to pull the pin.”

6

MARCH 20, 2019

NEWS

A dialogue on household food insecurity comes to Kamloops

Nourish, hosted by the Kamloops Food Policy Council, will take place on March 29 Justin Moore STAFF WRITER Ω Healthy, hearty food isn't as natural to come by as it may seem. Roughly one in eight households across Canada suffers from some form of food insecurity according to a study done by the Canadian Research company PROOF.

That translates to around four million Canadians that can't afford or don't have access to nourishing and reliable food we need to be healthy.

In Kamloops, the community focused and operated Kamloops Food Policy Council is continuing the conversation around food insecurities in town through their upcoming event Nourish on March 29.

The all-day event happening on TRU's campus will feature speakers local to the area that have backgrounds and experiences in such things as anti-poverty initiatives, sustainability, lived experience and horticulture.

The talks will be split into categories such as Indigenous food sovereignty, household food insecurity and poverty as a root cause of food insecurity.

On top of talks happening all throughout the day, there will also be an opportunity to speak with others and engage with the community during breakfast, lunch and networking activities.

Through interaction, it is hoped that attendees will be able to find solutions and inspiration to help solve these problems in our local Kamloops community and around the province of B.C.

One of the most significant approaches to the event and to the work that the Kamloops Food Policy Council does pertains to fixing problems upstream before the issues of food insecurity become greater, later on, affecting more British Columbians.

To find out more about Nourish and the Kamloops Food Policy Council, visit nourishkamloops. com.

Open House Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Terrace Room, Campus Activity Centre 12:00–4:00 pm l 5:00–7:00 pm Join the City of Kamloops and BC Transit to review local area transit plans, contribute your ideas, and complete a survey.

Learn more at LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/TransitAction

WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA

ARTS

7

Check out the last of our KFF reviews below The Grizzlies

Circle of Steel

Reviewed by Juan Cabrejo

Reviewed by Aidan Grether

Miranda de Pencier’s The Grizzlies tells a heart-rending tale of a group of Inuit high school students in Kugluktuk, Nunavut who bond together as a family through the game of lacrosse to help combat the record high suicide epidemic in their community.

For Canadians west of Ontario, this drama is a must see. Circle of Steel, directed by Gillian McKercher depicts life in the oil and gas industry so accurately. Granted, I haven’t worked a day in the oilfield, but the pacing of McKercher’s eye walking the audience through the every day creates real tension. It’s a fictional drama that reads like a tense documentary.

Based on a true story, the film is, in essence, an underdog sports movie and I would go far as to say it's one of the most touching sports movies I've ever seen. For depicting such a distressing and painful subject that is suicide, the film does an adequate job of delivering the urgency of the situation and excellently uses the likeable cast as comic relief to liven the theatre and provide hope. The cinematography thoroughly conveys the barren landscape of the Arctic, reinforcing the resilience of the Inuit people for surviving in such harsh conditions.

The Grizzlies is nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster. It’s camouflaged as an inspirational sports movie however really, it’s a poignant depiction of the sad reality among some of the Inuit youth.

The story follows a chemical engineer new to Paloma North amidst the height of the 2015 oil and gas crash. Wendy Fong is portrayed brilliantly by Chantelle Han who brings serious life to the fictional woman facing some desperate circumstances.

This film also has slight feminist overtones to it, placing Fong at the centre of depression, loneliness and staring down the barrel of an uncertain future. McKercher’s choice to show with pinpoint accuracy the long days and lonely nights following a monotonous routine creates a world-shattering feel as the film walks towards more immediate and real decisions.

Circle of Steel speaks to the dilemma of ethics in Canada’s arguably-most unethical industry: big oil.

At Eternity's Gate

The Bromley Boys

Reviewed by Morgan Hunter

Reviewed by Morgan Hunter

At Eternity's Gate is a deep tale of artistry, self-love and understanding of one’s mental state. All of which is given by what should have been an Oscar-winning performance from Willem Dafoe.

The story revolves around the final year of Vincent Van Gogh, from where he goes to his infamous act of cutting off his ear and so forth.

The entire premise is fantastic in the sense that it holds many layers among its plot. From the dealings with mental health, the effects of loneliness, the changing of art and the push back against it and one person’s purpose in the world.

All this only being amplified by Dafoe’s performance, giving so much depth to his character that it’s almost a crime he didn’t win an award for his performance. At Eternity’s Gate is beautifully shot, directed, acted and edited to give what should be considered Van Gogh’s best representation on film.

The Bromley Boys is a comedy straight from Britain with a very tongue in cheek comedic style that lands most of the time.

The film follows Dave, a young man whose love for his favourite football (soccer for the North American audience) team goes above and beyond a simple hobby. The films greatest strengths are its performances of its real-life counterparts. Brenock O'Connor’s portrayal of Dave as such an empathetic character whose love for his team, Bromley FC, is adorable to witness.

Don’t mistake it thought, his love is very unhealthy, however, but it still comes off as such a lovable story that it carries through till the end, especially in one of its final scenes. There are many instances though that stop it from being a great film, mainly its pacing. Yet doesn’t warrant passing on it. All in all, The Bromley Boys is a cute story about a young man’s love for his sport and that in itself shines brightly.

Shoplifters

Roma

Reviewed by Aidan Grether

Reviewed by Morgan Hunter

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters was a surprise appearance at the Oscars, where it received a nomination for best foreign language film.

Roma won an Oscar for best cinematography and rightfully so. The film reinvents the story delivery common to most movies. It isn't the best. However, for the first of its kind with such a technique, it holds many memorable moments.

Kore-eda gives voice to the age-old ethical dilemma: would you steal bread to feed your family?

From the opening scene, the audience is made hyper-aware of the routines and rituals between a father and son as they steal from small shops to feed their family. On the way home from their day's work, the two sort of kidnap a young girl who becomes assimilated into their little family when her family doesn’t notice her disappearance.

Shoplifters creates gray-area dilemmas that are frustrating to endure and made me question the definition of family, theft and loss, but are a beautiful portrait of the parts of life we all tend to ignore.

Want to have the ground under your feet shaken up? Watch Kore-eda’s masterpiece level Palme d’orwinner Shoplifters.

Roma follows Cleo, a maid for a wealthy American family and her experience as a citizen within the time period. As said before, one of the biggest accomplishments that the film holds is the cinematography.

From the beginning, the black and white filter holds such a distinct point of view with the scenes involved that it becomes memorizing when it touches landscapes from forest fires to long beaches.

The issue with Roma is that it feels long, far too long for its own good. Some subplots could be cut out altogether while keeping the central theme. The film is good, though it holds such a long runtime that isn’t justified that it brings the film down in quality because of it.

Upcoming Events Author Talk: Marilyn James & Taress Alexis March 21, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Kamloops Library

Antiques & Collectibles Show March 22- 23 North Shore Community Centre

Colin James March 22, 7 p.m.

Sandman Centre

Join in on the launch tour of "Not Extinct: Keeping the Sinixt Way", by Marilyn James and Taress Alexis.

Hear stories from the book and discuss the story's contemporary significance at the Kamloops Library.

Want to check out some of the cooler antiques in the community? Or have your own that you’d like to showcase. Join the North Shore Community Centre Society for their Antiques & Collectibles Show.

Colin James in back in Kamloops for another great performance with Marty O'Reilly, Barney Bentall.

Catch him at the Sandman Centre this Friday.

8

MARCH 20, 2019

ARTS

Sink or Swim

Cold War

Reviewed by Elizabeth Nygren

Reviewed by Wade Tomko

Sink or Swim is a classic story about the trials and tribulations of any sports team. What makes this story unique is how it follows a men's synchronized swimming team from France and how each of the members face their own hardships.

Together, they all follow through and travel to the men’s synchronized swimming world championships in Norway. The movie is humorous and tugs at the heartstrings, having you hope that they succeed.

The movie is in French and the audience reads off subtitles, but that only adds to the charm of the movie. Each character was fully fleshed out, and although some may not be your favourite, they all had you rooting for them. This story was not truly about anything, but it could make you laugh, cry and smile all the same. It truly showed where hard work and dedication can get you.

A passionate love story about two very different individuals coming together in a dangerous time, Cold War is a beautiful piece of art that perfectly captures the sights, sounds and sentiments of living in 1950s Eastern Europe.

Following the story of music director Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and aspiring singer Zula (Joanna Kulig), the film spans just over a decade of the two falling in love and back out again as they become famous in artistic circles in Poland and Paris.

Shot completely in black and white, the film has a very noir feel to it. While slow at times and a tad bit depressing given the backdrop of communist Europe, Cold War is still a wonderful story of two unlikely people falling in love.

For fans of period films and more importantly, period music, the film is a must watch. As much as Cold War is about Wiktor and Zula’s intimate love story, it is also a wonderful showcase of Polish folk music.

While the musical score is nothing like what you’d hear in most modern movies, respect must be given to the director and production crew for faithfully recreating sounds that likely haven’t been heard for over forty years.

Ben is Back

Vox Lux

Reviewed by Christian Varty

Reviewed by Elizabeth Nygren

Ben is Back is an emotionally gripping drama film that plays out in the same way many conventional thriller movies do. The premise is simple enough, Ben, played by Lucas Hedges, is the junkie son of an innocuous suburban housewife. It’s Christmas Eve morning and seemingly out of nowhere Ben shows up back home from a treatment facility proudly exclaiming that his sponsor had wholeheartedly endorsed his return home for the festive season.

Vox Lux is a movie that could easily make anyone uncomfortable. The opening scene starts with a teenager shooting up a school, murdering multiple people, including himself. Vox Lux follows one of the school's teenagers, Celeste, and her journey to stardom after this shooting. Slowly but surely, she changes from a kind-hearted Catholic girl to a corrupt primadonna.

The further the movie continues, the more we begin to doubt Ben’s intentions and wonder if he has ulterior motives in returning home. Ben constantly tells his mom not to trust him and that junkies will always lie. This is the only explicit insight the audience gets into Ben’s psyche throughout the whole movie. The editing and writing of the film masterfully display the ambiguous nature of the character without coming off as obviously our even intentionally obfuscated.

Without being obvious, the film is able to tap into many visceral emotional avenues and sheds a disturbing light on the impact addiction and substance abuse has on both the user and the family.

For the duration of the movie, you’re left feeling on edge, as though another shooting might happen at any moment, similar to how Celeste may feel for the rest of her life. Half of the movie is spent following teenage Celeste as she becomes a star and the other half following adult Celeste who has since spiralled out of control.

There was a lot of narration that seemed unnecessary at times and the ending was left very open. Part of me left the theatre feeling like I wasted about two hours of my life. Things that were mentioned in the beginning were never brought up again and the last scene could have been much shorter. Natalie Portman played an excellent Celeste, but the movie itself could not be saved by her.

Drumming and storytelling with Paul Michel First Nation faculty at TRU share Indigenous folklore as part of IDays celebration Farrah Johnson CONTRIBUTOR Ω Paul Michel, the executive director of TRU Aboriginal Affairs, hosted an Indigenous drumming and storytelling session on March 13 in the BC Centre, House of Learning, as part of IDays 2019.

Embracing this year’s theme: “Celebrating Culture, Diversity and Innovation”, Michel highlighted the importance of preserving the oral tradition of storytelling.

“We know about the academic journals, we know about our studies, our fields of research and our textbooks,” he said. “But what’s important is also the stories -the oral tradition of stories.”

Michel added that his culture strongly supports the “oral histories of instructors” because “the Indigenous way of knowing is storytelling.”

“You know your greater knowledge and you help the students understand the readings in their textbooks and the formality? that’s oral history and that’s what will help within a classroom,” he said.

Michel also shared a story about an Indigenous tribe who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami because of storytelling. He stated that 100-percent of the tribe

survived because of a story passed down to them from generations.

“The elders always told this story that the ocean is their friend [because] it brings them sustenance and food and fish,” Michel said. “But they said from time to time, the ocean becomes a cannibal and it starts craving human blood.”

He explained that the tribe were able to survive the Tsunami because they recognized the signs from their stories before the natural disaster hit.

“They hit the highlands right away and the ones in the ocean saw the signs and they headed more towards the middle of the ocean because it’s only turbulent water,” Michel added.

Sharing a story from his own Secwepemc heritage, Michel talked about how his father took him to Adam’s Lake and told him a traditional story after he had told his parents that he wanted to come home after finishing a twoyear diploma.

“As we were on the canoe and travelling on Adam’s Lake there was this rock and within it the water swirls,” he stated.

Michel said his father looked at him and asked him if he knew the story about Ogopogo or Loch Ness Monster.

Quoting his father he began to

A creative rendition of the mighty Ogopogo of Lake Okanagan sits by the lake's beach in Kelowna. (GoToVan/Flickr) recite the tale and said: “Well, a long time ago, you see how the water swirls? It reminds us of the water monster we used to have.”

Michel explained that “the people that lived at the head of the lake” had trouble crossing it to get to the Cariboo and medicines because of Ogopogo.

“The only way they could get around the lake (was) to either walk or paddle in the shallow parts, but it took a long time,” he stated.

Michel said the people gathered everyone together at a dinner and the elders talked day and night until four warriors were selected to try and defeat the monster.

While the first three warriors were unsuccessful, Michel said the fourth warrior was able to defeat Ogopogo after having visions where the old spirit animals guided him.

Michel said the story made him ponder until he realized that the warriors represented different

individuals in life and that he needed to be the fourth warrior.

The session also featured Troy Thomas, an Indigenous mentor from House 5 who shared the tale of how Brother Coyote and Brother Bear made day and night.

Speaking about the event in its entirety Michel stated: “This is a storytelling session but I know as an educator stories are very important. We have to listen to stories because it empowers our learners.”

WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA

ARTS

9

Album review: From the Basement How laws are created: Predictably unconventional indie pop that falls short rethinking freedom Christian Varty

Elizabeth Nygren

NEWS EDITOR Ω Composer in chief of Bird Parade, Francis Baptiste unveils a new release where nostalgia and longing for the past are thinly veiled under an array of contemporary indie folk music with subtle electronic underpinnings. Unfortunately, the result is an EP whose highs are shortlived and dull, like sniffing gasoline, and the lows are blasé.

It’s evident by the lyrical content of the release that it’s supposed to evoke sadness and a want for yesteryear. The major drawback from this is the moderately paced and optimistic radio-friendly indie stylings of the instrumentation. One could easily be forgiven for tuning the vocals out and then coming away feeling cheery and hopeful.

Unfitting juxtaposition in the music aside, Baptiste is aptly suited for creating music that balances upon the precipice of mainstream appeal and underground proclivities. While the music may not be ambitious it’s well situated within the bounds of competent songwriting and just enough alternative flair to result in an engaging listen, if you search it out. The commercial ready melodies and aforementioned lack of experimentation do allow for a vapid, albeit pleasant listening experience but the only reason this is possible is due to the seamless way Baptiste is able to coalesce

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

organ with guitar and bubbly synth arpeggiations together.

Ruby Scars, the fourth track on the record is one such case of the sum being a simplified version of its parts. One of the more synth and electronica forward songs on the 15-minute release, Baptiste brings in a variety of ornate synthesizer sounds into a cutesy indie pop ballad that comes off as harmless as it does pretentious.

For all intents and purposes,

From the Basement is a release that should be slated for easily digestible mainstream appeal.

Baptiste’s vocals have a poppy affectation to them, shown at the forefront during the song, In the Afternoon, but the mixing of his vocals don’t live up to the grandiose standards that are necessary to pull off the stylings he seems to be wishing to emulate.

5/10 - peanut butter toast

On March 13, Tom Fitzjohn discussed his research to colleagues and those interested, regarding how laws are created and how they shape a community. This arts colloquium session was titled The birth, life, and death of laws: Hegel’s account of the dynamic forces that shape the laws of a community. This session focused on how laws are perceived in communities all around the globe, specifically using examples that many may know, like a stop sign.

Fitzjohn talked about the different ways laws are created and why we follow them, the positive and negative elements of law and the life cycle of laws.

He discussed how laws are created, and how, if people of a community follow that law, they become apart of that community.

Using the stop sign as an example, Fitzjohn went on to talk about how important the stop sign is in some communities, but in others it might not be. By obeying the stop sign, it shows how the community chooses to live. In Kamloops, obeying stop signs is important at every intersection but in Mexico, as one attendee pointed out, you would be seen as ludicrous to stop at some signs.

As humans, we always have the option to choose, but if we want to be apart of the Kamloops community, for example, we’re likely to choose to stop. This option to choose contributes to our freedom.

Then there are the two elements

to law: the positive element and the negative element. The positive element refers to how we are able to do things, but it’s our choice if we actually do them. For example, we have the choice to commit suicide, but whether or not we do it is up to ourselves. The negative element refers to how we have the option to negate laws and choose to not follow them. Referring to the stop sign example, people can choose to ignore the law or follow it. That is our choice. Laws can never be perfect as people will always be able to go against them.

Something rather strange to think about is how laws actually have a life cycle. Laws come into existence for a reason, but they also cease to exist in some cases as well. When a law is born, it is a commitment shared by the community, like choosing to follow the law of stopping at a stop sign.

The life of a law exists when the community is continually vitalizing the law by participating in it, like how the stop sign law is being vitalized as people continue to follow it. In certain cases, a law may have to die because it is no longer be utilized and the commitment is no longer being followed.

For example, if a stop sign is no longer being followed in a rural area and no accidents have been happening, the stop sign may be taken out of commission.

Humans always have the choice on all matters, whether that be following a stop sign or not, the choice is always there. The only thing affecting that freedom is whether or not we want to be apart of the community.

Captain Marvel review: how irrelevant controversy can infest a film The Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest addition has proved to be a hotbed of controversy Morgan Hunter CONTRIBUTOR Ω Captain Marvel is the 21st entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it holds controversy for an unjustified reason that will run through the heads of many moviegoers. At it’s worst, the film is simply written poorly; that’s where it should end.

Captain Marvel is a prequel to the origin point of the MCU where Carol Danvers is taken back to Earth after a botched mission with her team on Hala hoping to uncover multiple mysteries alongside MCU semi-veteran Nick Fury.

The film is good. That should just be stated right out the gate.

It’s opposite to the regular Marvel formula of a charismatic lead involved with a below average plot, instead with a very interesting plot carried by a not-well-written main character. It honestly feels like they were so caught up in writing the plot that when it was time to shoot, they realized that they forgot to give any dialogue to Brie Larson so she basically had to improvise. The rest of the

performances are great, from a less-jaded Nick Fury to such an interesting Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull leader Talos.

The movie's problems come from its lead, who lacks charm in the world itself. Where there are scenes that hold many opportunities to show the main character's depth as a hero, it instead takes the route of inserting a wink or nod to the universe, which detracts from the story as a whole. This makes the lead just seem mundane more than anything.

The controversy, however, becomes present because of its theme. The film has been stated as a feminist piece and that itself has been shown to be very successful, with the DC counterpart Wonder Woman making $821.8 million in theatres.

The problem came from when accepting an award, Larson touched on the lack of diversity of film critics and said, “I do not need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn’t work for him about ‘[A] Wrinkle in Time.’ It wasn’t made for him.”

This set Marvel fans off claiming that Larson hates white men. That

wasn’t the case, clearly. But because of that, it holds this sense that if you enjoy the film, you hate white men and if you don’t, you hate women.

A film about a person who shoots STAR POWERS from HER HANDS now became a dividing timepiece about gender.

The film is a superhero movie, and even though Brie Larson’s character isn’t given a lot of characterization, that’s not because of her personality being “anti-men”, but because Marvel doesn’t truly have faith in the character. Add on to that, Avengers: Endgame is being

released literally a month later.

Captain Marvel is an interesting film that deserves to be seen but is plagued with both unwarranted controversies to company semantics, as well as not giving this character a chance, which is a shame because it has real potential.

10

COMICS & PUZZLES

MARCH 20, 2019

SUDOKUBREAK 6

2 9

2

5

5

3

4

8

9

5

6

7

5

9

7

3

8 6 4 2

7

1

8

8

9

3

5

3

1

4

7

7

3 8

2

Puzzle of the Week #20—Risky Business

(in the March 20, 2019 issue of The Omega) In the game of Risk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Risk_%28game%29), when one has five or more cards, one must trade in a triplet. A triplet consists of three infantry cards, three cavalry cards, three artillery cards, or one each of the three card types.

Is it possible to have five cards and not be able to turn in a triplet?

This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize. Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko (<genew@telus.net>). Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in my blog (http://genew.ca/). Come visit the Math Centre (HL304): we are friendly.

CFBX TOP 30 CFBX 92.5 FM, 350 Watts Kamloops, BC Music Director: Steve Marlow Charts to march 14, 2019 * indicates Canadian Content ** indicates a local artist Artist - Album (Label) 1) Whitehorse* - The Northern South Vol. 2 (Six Shooter) 2) Layla Zoe* - Gemini (Alive) 3) The Houses (Where We Grew Up)** - Dy//ng (Independent) 4) Pugs and Crows* - Uncle! (Independent) 5) Tallies* - Tallies (Kanine) 6) Dan Mangan* - More or Less (Arts and Crafts) 7) Natasha D'Agostino* - Endings Rarely Are (Independent) 8) Jah Cutta* - Ladies and Gentlemen (Independent) 9) Daniel Romano* - Finally Free (You've Changed) 10) At Mission Dolores** - Cool World (Factotum Co.) 11) Only a Visitor* - Technicolour Education (Independent) 12) Praises* - In This Year: Ten of Swords (Hand Drawn Dracula) 13) Allegra Jordyn* - Possibilities (Independent) 14) Lenore* - Every Once in a While (Independent) 15) All Hands on Jane* - Animal Worship (Independent) 16) Jeff Goldblum/Mildred Snitzer Orchestra - The Capitol Studio Session (Decca) 17) Rusty Creek* - Looking Back (Independent) 18) Royal Canoe* - Waver (Paper Bag) 19) nehiyawak* - starlight EP (Arts and Crafts) 20) Sister Speak** - The Stand EP (Reso Nation) 21) Kirk Fletcher - Hold On (Independent) 22) Mother Mother* - Dance and Cry (Universal) 23) Van Morrison - The Prophet Speaks (Exile) 24) Oh Pep! - I Wasn't Only Thinking About You (ATO) 25) Mitten Claps* - Can't Not (Independent) 26) This Time* - One (Independent) 27) The Mandates* - Dead in the Face (Teenage Rampage) 28) Kate Weekes* - Taken By Surprise (Independent) 29) The Smile Case* - Murder Weather (Blacktop) 30) The Peptides* - Galapagos Vol. 1 (Independent)

WWW.TRUOMEGA.CA

SPORTS

11

Recent changes usher in new era for WolfPack WBB TRU Athletics director Curtis Atkinson confident about the future of women's basketball team Alvin Mutandiro SPORTS EDITOR Ω Curtis Atkinson was appointed WolfPack director at the start of 2018 and has overseen the program succeed in certain areas and fail in others.

When Atkinson got the job in early 2018, he promised patience.

“I don't think there will be quick changes, I think this is going to take some time,” he told CFJC at the time.

Atkinson kept his word.

Unfortunately, the women’s soccer and basketball teams struggled to get results and that forced Atkinson to change the coaching staff.

The most recent change was that of Scott Reeves, Reeves had coached the women’s basketball team since the early days of the program.

“It was a really difficult decision for us,” said Atkinson.

“Scott was a good coach. He has had a lot of success here, but we felt that it was the right time to make a change.”

He also stated that it was coincidental that TRU decided to make a change at the same time

as the departure of assistant coach Chuck Ferguson.

Yet Atkinson was very clear about what he is looking for in his next head coach.

“We want them to have high-performance experience as a coach,” he said.

He also emphasized the value of recruiting.

“Recruiting connections at this level will always be important,” he said.

Atkinson considered this to be one of the biggest factors in bringing success to the program and described it as “critical.”

“We want competitive success for all our programs, it doesn’t happen easy or every year, but we do want a sustained level of success,” he said.

Atkinson concluded by stating that he believes that the women’s basketball team is capable of being a playoff contender annually.

The TRU community will never celebrate the fact that a respected individual must move on but sometimes change is necessary for the good of a program.

The changes will bring hope for a new beginning, many would like to see that translate to better results.

(TRU Athletics/Andrew Snucins)

First-year student-athlete continues to amaze swim team Ryley McRae has been a exceptional addition to the 'Pack's swimming team Alvin Mutandiro SPORTS EDITOR Ω The first year of university is usually a time for development and growth.

Most student-athletes are trying to find their feet but some can adapt faster and there is no better example than Ryley

McRae. McRae is a Kamloops native currently enrolled in the engineering program. He was a big addition for the WolfPack after having shown promise in his high school years.

McRae has been an exceptional student averaging a 4.0 GPA, a feat pretty impressive given the challenge of his field of study.

McRae also has a long-standing relationship with head coach Brad Dalke, a coach he has worked with since he was thirteen years old.

The benefits for McRae have been evident as he hasn’t had to adapt to new training methods.

Familiarity is always key for athletes particularly when they are moving to a new school and

environment.

“Overall, it's basically been a development process for him,” Dalke said. “It’s truly the first time he has been a student-athlete.”

However, Dalke acknowledged that it has been a slow start for his long-time student.

“He was slow to get going, he has progressively improved and

(TRU Athletics/Allen Douglas)

I think that it’s not just a matter of his training improving but it’s also his recovery in combination with his studies,” he said.

McRae’s best performance was at an event in Kamloops where he managed to win five medals.

It was a performance that will give him the confidence he needs to compete at the Pan-American games in Toronto.

“For him to win five medals in his off events was really exciting,” said Dalke, praising McRae’s ability to compete against more experienced athletes.

Dalke went on to state the big challenge for McRae will be on the psychological side of things.

He believes that McRae is fit and strong enough to compete with older athletes but will need to get his mind sharp and focused if he is to do well.

McRae will be competing against athletes in their early to mid-twenties whilst he himself is only eighteen.

Dalke went as far as using an analogy about how NHL players only mature later on in their playing careers, maturity which he believes McRae will continue to gain as he grows.

The Pan-American games will be taking place on April 3 - 7.

TRU swim fans will be hoping that their top performer can rise to the occasion when it matters most.

12

THE OMEGA

MARCH 20, 2019