The Cascade Vol. 23 No. 5

Vol. 23 Issue 5

February 4, 2015 to February 17, 2015

The future of U-House

As student services move to the new SUB, what will happen to UFV’s living room?

p.5

A lament for Towne Cinema

Looking back fondly at Abbotsford’s oldest movie theatre as its long history draws to a close

p.8

Foraging for food

Can a university have academic success without a writing centre? p. 2, 3, 9

The best options for hungry students, from the cafeteria to the campus pub

p.10-12

ufvcascade.ca

2

NEWS

News

Briefs

New chancellor Gwen Point CHILLIWACK — On Wednesday, February 4, Gwen Point will be inaugurated as UFV’s new chancellor. Point is a member of the Stó:lō community, and has worked with Aboriginal youth in the Fraser Valley for many years. She holds a master’s of education from the University of Portland and an honourary doctorate from UVIC. The chancellor confers degrees at convocation and serves as the spokesperson for the university, as well as serving on its Board of Governors and Senate.

Ed Fast as acting Foreign Affairs minister OTTAWA — In light of Foreign Affairs minister John Baird resigning from cabinet, Abbotsford MP Ed Fast will temporarily act as Foreign Affairs minister in Ottawa. Serving as a school trustee and a member of Abbotsford City Council, Fast was elected to Parliament in 2006. He is currently Minister of International Trade, recently designing the International Education Strategy — which is meant to attract more international researchers to Canada.

Fast will take over the duties of Foreign Affairs minister until a new minister is elected.

Fashion Design diploma to be discontinued ABBOTSFORD — As of Fall 2015, UFV will no longer be accepting applicants for the fashion design diploma program. UFV will continue to offer courses necessary to the diploma to current students in the program for the next 18 months while the program is in review.

UFV has stated in a press release that the reconsideration of the program is due to a drop in demand for the program. The Cascade will continue to cover the story in the following weeks.

news@ufvcascade.ca @CascadeNews

www.ufvcascade.ca

What’s in U-House’s future?

News

5

Opinion

7

Culture

13

Arts in Review

15

Gaming vs. reality

Sports & Health

18

The early bird gets the worm — but the late worm lives

With the new Student Union Building (SUB) opening this April, the function of U-House is up for discussion.

#SaveUFV! The Writing Centre is being replaced by student tutoring. In his op-ed, Jack Brown proposes a movement to stop it.

Challenging colonialism Jasmin Chahal reviews the new exhibit Decolonize Me at the Reach, where six Aboriginal artists confront Canada’s history of colonization.

Overcoming challenges, beating the boss, gaining currency — there’s always something to achieve in video games. But that sense of achievement can be addicting. Tony Biondi discusses achievement, fantasy, and addiction.

Does exercising in the morning help you lose weight faster? Sasha Moedt addresses different studies that discuss the best time to exercise — or does it even matter at all?

Closure of the Writing Centre goes beyond myopia KATIE STOBBART

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Often it seems as if this university is a game of Operation, and administration is trying to remove vital organs instead of plastic toys.

Such is the case with the recent announcement that the Writing Centre, which has operated since about the time this institution transitioned from Fraser Valley College into a university college, will be closed.

If you’re not familiar with the game, the players in Operation must remove plastic pieces from cavities in a human body using tweezers without touching the edges. If the edge is touched, a buzzer will sound.

Likewise, the decision to remove the Writing Centre, which appears to have been made exclusively at the administrative level, seems to be striking a nerve in the UFV community.

It’s not the only nerve that has twinged recently, but I have to hope it elicits a stronger counteractive response than previous decisions have.

The space the Writing Centre currently occupies will be converted into what is being called an Academic Success Centre.

For further detail, I invite you to read the news article adjacent to Volume 23 · Issue 5 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

Editor-in-Chief katie@ufvcascade.ca Katie Stobbart

Have a news tip?

Let us know!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Managing Editor valerie@ufvcascade.ca Valerie Franklin Director of Business Development joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson Production and Design Editor anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi Copy Editor kodie@ufvcascade.ca Kodie Cherrille

this editorial.

UFV administration is trying to market this as a positive transformation, as a kind of vision for student support. However, the decision means lowering service quality as well as erasing a service that performs a specific, necessary function.

Furthermore, the Academic Success Centre will be redundant of existing services. There are two main categories of academic support: one helps students grasp material and place it within a context, while the other helps frame one’s understanding in written form.

For the first category, students go to professors. That is the best way to get clarity when it comes to assignments, surpassing hurdles that bar comprehension, and achieving more than just the prescribed learning outcomes.

Professors, obviously, have a much better understanding of the material they are teaching than even an A+ upper-level student. It’s also their job to impart that understanding to you.

When students need help with the second category — expression of what they’ve learned — they go to the Writing Centre, where there are trained and skilled professionals at the same level of expertise as instructors.

Peer support is valuable, but it News Editors megan@ufvcascade.ca Megan Lambert michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular Opinion Editor alex@ufvcascade.ca Alex Rake Culture Editor nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt

should not take the place of services offered by professionals.

To suggest otherwise by imposing a decision like this on faculty and students is not only myopic and disrespectful; it’s insulting.

While some of the cuts to academic services over the past couple of years have been directly linked to budget cuts handed down from the BC government, the message from UFV administration this time is that this is not a cost-saving measure.

It begs the question: what

Peer support is valuable, but it should not take the place of services offered by professionals. could the reasoning possibly be for trying to fix a system that isn’t broken? I don’t have the answer. As far as I can surmise, it’s just another whim of the powers that be, like the UFV 40th anniversary debacle. Neither students nor faculty are properly consulted in such decisions; Umbridge-like decrees are nailed into place before anyone can say otherwise. It’s not up for debate.

Administration is closing the Writing Centre, whether you like it or not.

News Writer vanessa@ufvcascade.ca Vanessa Broadbent Varsity Writer nathan@ufvcascade.ca Nathan Hutton Production Assistants shyanne@ufvcascade.ca Shyanne Schedel eugene@ufvcascade.ca Eugene Kulaga

Arts in Review Editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt

Advertising Representative jennifer@ufvcascade.ca Jennifer Trithardt-Tufts

Sports Editor catherine@ufvcascade.ca Catherine Stewart

Contributors Martin Castro and Jasmin Chahal.

Video Editor mitch@ufvcascade.ca Mitch Huttema Webmaster ashley@ufvcascade.ca Ashley Mussbacher

Illustrations Graeme Beamiss and Brittany Cardinal.

Cover image: Anthony Biondi

Then they try to pass it off as the most fragrant shit any institution has had the misfortune to defecate.

I hope that makes you angry.

This university cares more about profit and cosmetics than it does about your academic success or personal growth, no matter how they try to spin the story.

Is this the pattern at all universities? Here it seems it’s all about bang for buck — how can we offer an education to a financially strapped and most often disengaged student body and go home with our pockets overflowing?

I love UFV; the principles and values it purports to have are worth striving for, and, at what I feel must be the tail-end of an era in its existence, I have gotten a good education here. But I fear future students won’t get the same, and certain administrators should be given the pink slip before they decide to cripple another limb of the university — and the students — they’re supposed to serve.

Note: The Cascade received an oped this week from a UFV alumnus regarding the closure of the Writing Centre; said alumnus has started a petition and is in the process of organizing a protest to take place on February 25. See page 9 for details.

Printed By International Web exPress The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It provides a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a circulation of 1500 and is distributed at UFV campuses and throughout Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The Cascade is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative of over 50 university and college newspapers from Victoria to St. John’s. The Cascade follows the CUP ethical policy concerning material of a prejudicial or oppressive nature.

Submissions are preferred in electronic format through e-mail. Please send submissions in “.txt” or “.doc” format only.

Articles and letters to the editor must be typed. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. The writer’s name and student number must be submitted with each submission. Letters to the editor must be under 250 words if intended for print. Only one letter to the editor per writer in any given edition.

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, Cascade staff and collective, or associated members.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

University replaces Writing Centre with peer tutoring New Academic Success Centre will hire students, while Writing Centre staff are offered teaching positions MEGAN LAMBERT

THE CASCADE

Two weeks ago UFV announced that an Academic Success Centre, a new peer tutoring service, will take the place of the Writing Centre.

Students in their third and fourth years will help other students with subject matter and core concepts in addition to writing.

For 26 years, the Writing Centre has been a service for students seeking help with writing assignments like essays, reports, or creative pieces. Rather than editing, instructors who hold post-graduate degrees sit down with students and help them express and synthesize their ideas in their work. The Writing Centre also offers workshops and awards, and has been a resource for faculty members and students alike.

Provost and VP Academic Eric Davis says that the change is not a cost-cutting exercise. “It is more cost-effective, but it’s not cost-cutting. It’s reallocating funds that will service more students,” he says. “I don’t think the quality will suffer at all.”

VP students Jody Gordon says that the centre will be changing to a more efficient framework.

“We have limited resources to work with, and we need to ensure that we can deliver the most support we can for our students,” she says.

Currently, students have the option of visiting their professors during office hours, consulting fellow students in their classes, meeting with student-led Supported Learning Groups (SLG) if they are in specific courses, or seeking private tutoring for help with course material.

Director of teaching and learning Maureen Wideman says that the Academic Success Centre is based on a peer-tutoring model other universities use, and will assist in both writing and course work.

“What we’re going to do is have support for students across all disciplines, not just writing,” she says.

Writing Centre instructor Nadeane Trowse notes that the Writing Centre already teaches skills that apply to several disciplines.

“Interdisciplinary is kind of what we do,” she says. “A student is a multidisciplinary being. You are taking what, history, [political science], English, psychology, maybe a little biology — and yet

The Writing Centre will become the Academic Success Centre in Fall 2015. you contain that all in one person.”

She notes that over the years, the Writing Centre faculty have offered support for the different styles and forms of writing in

“We have limited resources to work with, and we need to ensure that we can deliver the most support we can for our students.”

— Jody Gordon,

VP students various areas of study. “[The Writing Centre] supports them as they move through the various disciplines they encounter in their time at university, helping them see the distinctions between the kinds of writing they are asked to do and learn them efficiently,” she says.

Trowse explains that rather than educating a student on the subject matter, the Writing Cen-

tre helps students who already have a grasp on the concepts but struggle to express them on paper.

“We have always made sure that it’s not just about correcting errors, but getting people to learn more in this context about the writing that they’re doing,” Trowse says.

The new centre will be looking for upper-level students with solid grades and strong communication skills to act as tutors. Tutors will undergo 40 to 60 hours of training, and will work in paid positions supervised by two staff members and a faculty co-ordinator in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.

However, political science department head Hamish Telford notes that the Writing Centre faculty are a helpful resource for advanced students as well as beginners.

“It’s not just weak students learning how to write. There’s nothing more frustrating than being that student who always gets a B or a B+ and can’t crack the next level. The Writing Centre helps with those students as

well,” he says.

In contrast, students in the last years of their degree, or those who are B students trying to improve their grades, may be at the same comprehension level as the peer tutors at the new centre. As of the end of this semester, those

“... I don’t think there’s any substitute for highly trained professionals offering instruction to students who need it.”

— Hamish Telford,

political science students won’t have the Writing Centre to go to for professional help.

UFV doesn’t currently offer a peer tutoring service, and so is using the same model as universities like SFU and UBC. Telford notes that peer tutoring is beneficial, but it is not as effective as professional help.

“I think there is a serious place for peer mentoring, but I don’t

Image: Megan Lambert

think there’s any substitute for highly trained professionals offering instruction to students who need it,” he says.

Along with assisting upperlevel students, the Writing Centre faculty have been a helpful resource for fellow educators at the university. Although the six instructors have been offered teaching positions at UFV, Telford says it won’t be same.

“Faculty are losing that resource as well, and that’s deeply concerning,” he says.

“They’re going to be regular faculty members — teaching their own courses and working with their own students.

I wouldn’t feel as comfortable dropping by their office hours to say, ‘I’ve got a problem, can you help me out?’”

The Writing Centre will be administratively handled by the faculty of teaching and learning as of April 1, and will continue to operate until the new centre opens in the fall.

4

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

UFV geography students plan to build better neighbourhoods VANESSA BROADBENT

THE CASCADE

Geography students at UFV are collaborating with the City of Abbotsford, putting their ideas into practice.

Cherie Enns’ Social Geography (GEOG241) class is working with Abbotsforward, a City of Abbotsford committee, to prepare a new Official Community Plan (OCP) — which involves the residents of Abbotsford in planning neighbourhoods and development.

Enns is working with the City to create a project where groups of students in the class will get the opportunity to design local neighbourhoods.

“They’ll be writing a report on each neighbourhood they’ve been assigned with a focus on the economic role in the neighbourhood, and [the] idea of designing more complete communities,” she says.

Once the projects are completed, the City will review them and consider them in the OCP. Aaron Levy, station manager at CIVL Radio and member of Abbotsforward’s Citizens Advisory Commission, explains that Abbotsforward’s goal is to create a community that reflects what the people of Abbotsford want.

“They’re taking feedback from the public and they’re trying to stream that through their professional, urban-planning, development, [and] architectural lens,” Levy says.

Enns designed the project to help students think of new directions for the community within existing infrastructure — a valuable skill to have in urban plan-

Image: Vanessa Broadbent

Geography students are submitting neighbourhood blueprints to the City of Abbotsford for review and consideration in city planning. ning.

“How can we rethink Abbotsford in a way that the neighbourhoods or the communities are more complete, which then addresses things like the need to use your car less [or] neighbourhood interaction?” is one question Enns asks.

Though they are still in the early stages of the project, students in the class are excited to be working with Abbotsforward.

One student in the class said the project created a stronger sense of

connection with the city.

“I live in Abbotsford and I drive by these neighbourhoods all the time and I’ve never actually looked at what goes on there.

So, it’s kind of cool to see the actual activities that happen,” the student notes.

However, because a large number of UFV students commute, not all students feel the same connection with Abbotsford. Another student said this was the case in her group because they all commute from elsewhere.

“None of us live in Abbotsford, so we feel disconnected from this project,” she says.

Enns understands that not all students are familiar with Abbotsford, or even with urban planning, but she explains that the skills are transferable.

“Understanding communities and neighbourhood planning processes is of value at whatever stage, whatever direction you’re going,” she says. “There’s ways for them to take their own interests and integrate that into the vi-

sion for the community or neighbourhood.”

It may be a while until a project like this is offered again, but Enns explains that there will be similar opportunities for other classes.

“The official community plans are only updated every five years, but the thing is, just like this project we’re working on, there’ll be other kinds of projects that students can be involved in in the future,” she says.

SUS IT support centre passes student referendum Board meeting discussion included a revised social media policy and SUS’s quorum requirements VANESSA BROADBENT

THE CASCADE

Student Union Society (SUS) fees are increasing again, this time by $4.98 per semester.

The referendum for a new IT support centre passed; it will be housed in the new Student Union Building (SUB).

From January 25 to 29 students voted on whether or not they wanted SUS to offer services for electronics, and at the board meeting last Friday SUS announced the results: out of 515 voters, 58 per cent voted yes.

President Ryan Petersen explained that students can expect to see the service implemented sooner rather than later. “In the summer we’ll start implementing the fees and we’ll have this up and running in the new building in the fall, which will be exciting,” he said.

Fee collection will begin prior After some discussion about to the debut of the centre, Pe- whether or not SUS has the right tersen says, in order to hire staff to dictate what board members and train students and purchase post from their personal social equipment. media accounts, VP internal SUS also discussed the imple- Thomas Davies explained that is mentation of a sonot SUS’s aim. cial media policy “Student politics is “We are not to improve SUS’s trying to restrict very similar to Ca- people from sharsocial media presence. By decreas- nadian politics: they ing their opinions; ing the number of just don’t care as we’re just trying people who have to protect the socilong as things are ety,” he said. administrative access to their social running smoothly.”

VP external media pages, as —Ryan Petersen, Dylan Thiessen well as making supports the poli SUS president cy and doesn’t see sure that all of the information they it affecting what share is completely accurate, SUS he posts. hopes to improve their communi“I’m a very politically minded cation on Twitter and Facebook. person and I’ll definitely be postSUS is also encouraging members ing a lot on my personal Facebook of the board to be careful of what with the upcoming election. This they post on their personal social isn’t meant to [affect] anything media pages. like that,” he said.

In the offline social sphere, students can expect to see new clubs on campus this semester. Davies announced three new clubs registered in January: Café Francais, a French language club; Pen and Paper Tabletop, a role-playing board game club; and Modern Electronic Arts Appreciation, a club dedicated to appreciating art including digital art, movies, music, and games.

There was also a proposal for a revision of bylaw 16, regarding quorum requirements for meetings. SUS has struggled with engaging the student body enough to meet quorum for their general meetings, so Petersen suggested that the proposed revisions will lower the percentage of required students, making it easier for them to meet quorum.

“Student politics is very similar to Canadian politics: they just don’t care as long as things are

running smoothly,” he said.

Board of Governors rep Sukhi Brar did not agree that this was a good idea for SUS. “I do understand where this is coming from, with the challenges of bringing people [in] — but at the same time, I think the timing is bad,” she said. “If we really think that students are going to be more engaged, then I don’t think this is a good time to be lowballing the amount of people that are coming out to things.

“I believe that people are going to come out more, I really do,” she said.

SUS has a draft of the revised policy and will motion for its passing at next month’s board meeting.

With files from Megan Lambert.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

5

NEWS

With Student Life moving to SUB, future of U-House up in the air University aims to “formalize” connections between students in SUB Peer Support Centre MICHAEL SCOULAR

THE CASCADE

The completion of the Student Union Building (SUB) in two months will mean a noticeable shift in amenities and services on the Abbotsford campus. In addition to new gathering and study spaces, AfterMath, and other student-run operations, Student Life, whose current site is in UHouse; the Career Centre and Campus Card office from B building; and Advising Centres from various locations around campus will be moving into the SUB. As a result, UFV’s campus planning department is in the process of deciding how to fill the vacancies left by those amenities and services. Craig Toews, executive director of campus planning, suggests the freed space will provide some needed room for instruction, among other uses.

“At the Abbotsford campus, there’s a fairly significant space crunch,” Toews says. “We’re currently at about 20 per cent over capacity from an instructional point of view, so we’re really thinking strategically around the re-allocation of those spaces.”

Right now, Toews and other staff are assessing where to renovate and what makes sense in terms of each building’s layout.

The rooms that will be left by CIVL, The Cascade, and SUS in C building may become classrooms or spaces for visual arts use. Toews adds that the areas opened up in B building will still be for university staff.

“Most likely some kind of administrative office space,” Toews says. “[It’s] what we’re in most need of right now.”

The one undecided location on campus is also the one most frequented by students: U-House. Toews calls it “the last piece” they’re working on.

Student Life currently shares the building with the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, offering a space where students have room to hang out, play games, and visit with Student Life staff to set up events or talk about what’s happening on campus.

Student Life director Kyle Baillie says that setup will be replicated in the SUB, pointing out a lounge space, a kitchen, and improved offices for staff.

“Ultimately we want students to feel at home here and to feel comfortable ... so we’re hoping the physical space will create some of that,” he says.

However, plans for the two locations — U-House and the SUB — point to different purposes each fulfills.

U-House, a medium-sized building midway between student residences, the gym, and the library, is a casual setting that students know well. Student Life programmer Martin Kelly estimates that hundreds

Image: Megan Lambert

of students drop by every week.

The SUB, organized around a central space Toews describes as “a mall design,” is projected to be a thriving activity hub, but exactly how the space will work is so far unknown to Student Life staff, according to Kelly.

“We haven’t had a tour of the facility yet, so we don’t know what to expect,” Kelly explains. “We’re anxiously looking forward to our chance to tour the facility.”

While Toews estimates the final approved plans for U-House will not be disclosed until March, it is known that the location will not continue to be a student lounge. Proposals for the building are currently before the Campus Space Planning committee. One from SUS would add a student service that would then have to go to student referendum before being completely approved for funding.

SUS president Ryan Petersen explains their proposal is just one of several put forward by different groups at the university.

“It’s before the committee right now, and whether or not that goes through or not, we’ll see how that goes,” Petersen says.

“Right now, there’s a conference centre [proposal], another group wants to turn it into a cultural centre, [and] another group

wants to turn it into office space.” So far, Toews says only that U-House will not be used for classrooms.

Meanwhile, Student Life’s new space on the SUB’s first floor will include the addition of a new “Peer Support Centre,” which feeds into the overarching idea of the building as an activity hub.

Jody Gordon, who oversaw the development of the project at the administrative level, describes the prospective centre as a help desk or directory where students can get directions to services in the university from other students, rather than from staff, which Gordon says can be intimidating for new students.

“Students already informally talk to each other, and we [will] formalize those conversations,” Gordon says. “There’ll be an area, similar to my office where you’ll have some couches, you’ll have resources, there’ll be some computers, if you maybe wanted to walk over and show a student how to do something on the web.”

The Peer Support Centre service will be funded externally, not by the university.

Just as the Envision Athletic Centre and RBC Arts Peer Mentor program are funded by recognized external partners, Coast Capital Savings, Gordon explains, has

given UFV $50,000 to start the service. Annual reports will determine if equivalent funding will continue for three additional years. After that, Gordon says how the program will be supported is uncertain.

“We’ll do our best to find funds within the institution, within my division ... [and] there might be another investor out there that comes along and says, ‘Wow, what a great program,’” Gordon explains.

The idea for the centre came from research in community criminal justice done by student and varsity athlete Jasper Moedt. After Gordon his report on peer support, the university funded a flight and visit to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), which also has a Peer Support Centre.

“He got to go and actually see [the centre at SAIT], and that was a lot of what then shaped his recommendations for us,” Gordon says.

Baillie will supervise the service, through which he says students will receive training so they can direct their peers through the university’s resource options.

“We’re looking at creating a volunteer pool that will be our front-line service, backed by co-op students,” he says. Gordon explains co-op students will be tasked with internal research, while practicum students will also be part of the Centre.

“And then staff support [will be] behind that,” Baillie adds.

Kelly also has ideas for how to bring students closer together which have less to do with the new building, and more with reviving an old tradition.

“I would really like to see community dinners come back,” Kelly says. “Why? Because they were an awesome way to engage and involve students that otherwise were not going to get involved.”

The regular dinners, which used to be held together through Student Life and SUS when Student Life managed student clubs and associations, have, aside from UCM’s pancake breakfasts, all but stopped at UFV. “Those unfortunately fell by the wayside,” SUS president Ryan Petersen explains. “Some policy changes at the university made them a little bit trickier to do.”

However, through the SUB, which will give student groups more freedom to arrange events, Petersen expects this kind of collaboration could begin again. “We’d be happy to work with a club or an association if they needed food catered,” he says.

“As far as we’re concerned and aware, this is our space; we are able to have our food come out of our kitchens.”

With files from Megan Lambert.

6

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

SNAPSHOTS

Illustration: Eugene Kulaga

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Illustration: Eugene Kulaga

Illustration: Brittany Cardinal

Illustration: Shyanne Schedel

Forget the books this reading break

Vinyl un-victorious?

Joe Johnson

Unrealistic expectations

Nadine Moedt

Mitch Huttema

Catherine Stewart

I like gambling. It’s a simple enough form of entertainment that it can happen anywhere and can be about anything. As I sit here and write this, I’m betting $1.50 on the Super Bowl that could make me $12, and making another bet that could see a payout of $170 for only putting up $8.50. But here’s the thing: I like to bet low and usually not for a lot of money. It just provides simple entertainment value while I’m with friends.

Back in the day, I used to have poker games every Friday night. Those went on for a number of years but have petered out in the last few. The buy-in was only $10, but again, hanging out with friends and trying to beat them was the really enjoyable part of the experience.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is gambling is really fun, as long as you don’t put too much on the line and the real entertainment is in the social aspect.

February has arrived, and with it the weight of first papers and projects. The miserable damp promises months of grey and cold; the novelty of your winter-wear has long since gone; and the sunless sky subtly impinges on your mood. Seasonal affective disorder (aptly acronymed “SAD”) reigns.

All this accumulates and despair encroaches — but never fear! Reading week is nearly upon us. The chance to catch up on coffee dates and Oscar winners we missed has arrived. While reading week is named as a plea to actually do some schoolwork, its purpose and mid-winter placement is a little more sinister than that. Reading week is traditionally a suicide prevention week for students plagued with stress, anxiety, and seasonal depression.

So my advice? Forget the schoolwork.

Do stuff that makes you happy. Take a walk outside, get some sunshine if you can, drink Bailey’s and hot chocolate, and catch up on sleep. In between, educate yourself on the warning signs of suicide.

Your schoolwork will be waiting for you when you get back, but your mental wellbeing needs your attention right now.

So, the hipster movement has been returning to vinyl and record players. I keep hearing, “The sound is better!” or, “It has a more natural sound!” or, “Vinyl is the way human ears were meant to hear sound!” But is it really? I always thought it was just another one of those “vintage” trends that would die out as the hipster movement did, but it seems it hasn’t. More and more bands are releasing their stuff on vinyl and records can now be purchased at Walmart, Target (for a while), and Best Buy. Does this mean that there is some merit to it all? I’ve listened to both vinyl and digital music, and while it could be argued that vinyl has a more “natural” sound, is it really worth going through the trouble for it? Vinyl has good reason for making a moderate comeback outside of hipsterdom, but I can promise you it won’t ever become mainstream again.

We all graduate high school thinking we’ll know exactly what we’ll be doing for the rest of our lives. But then university walks into our lives and suddenly there are so many possibilities. They’re endless! We can actually do anything we want. Which makes everything that much harder, because we don’t know what we’ll be good at, what we’ll have money to study, where we want to live, or if we can even see ourselves in that career path for the rest of our lives.

Why are we expected to know what we want to do for the next 60 years when we don’t even know what we want to order at a restaurant? It’s unfair for all those expectations to be piled on our shoulders. Give us a free trial run so we can test the product before committing to it for life.

I like to gamble

It’s easy to cross the Port Mann, hard to pay the toll ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

If you’ve ever been tolled for crossing the Port Mann or Golden Ears bridges, you’ll know it’s an easy bill to put off paying for a while. I let my $26.36 toll sit since September; I didn’t want to part with my hard-earned cash. Then I received a letter in the mail from ICBC stating they wouldn’t renew my driver’s license or insurance until I paid the fee.

It wasn’t that I was surprised to see a warning like that. I sat on the bill for a while, so the letter was fair enough, and you have to pay any outstanding tickets on your license before you can renew it, anyways. But when I went to pay my bill, I realized paying off my Quickpass debt wasn’t quick at all.

To pay online, stated the letter, go to the TransLink website.

Seemed simple enough. I’ve got a Visa debit, so I figured I could just punch in my card number and within minutes I could have this bill off my desk. ICBC would get their money, Treo would get their cut, and everyone would be happy. Nope.

The quote at the top of TransLink’s “Pay Your Bill” page reads: “Your Quickpass invoice can be paid by cheque, credit card or online.” I actually called to ask if I could use the internet to pay my $26.36 balance, to no avail. I thought about asking if I could use my BC ID to pay, but it seemed less likely.

The payment methods are limited. You can pay online with a credit card, by phone with a credit card, through pre-authorized withdrawals from a credit

card account, by snail-mail with a cheque, or by showing up in person. It seems that TransLink assumes everyone in the Lower Mainland has a credit card; the only place to go in person and pay in cash or debit is in Pitt Meadows, because Quickpass has only one office.

One office to service the entire population of people of those without a credit card in the Lower Mainland. To top it off, the office is closed on weekends, and evenings after six. So, if you happen to have a nine-to-five job like the majority of the population, you have to hope you can leave work and get to the office in Pitt Meadows in the middle of rush hour before it closes. If you can’t, you should probably get a credit card.

Image: Michael Chu/ Flickr

Drivers have recently had bills fall onto their cars while crossing the Port Mann.

7

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Letters to the editor

Re: “Should UFV students be allowed to openly carry hunting knives on campus?”

This is a good article. I think if people are respectful and use common sense then they will realize there are many multi tools that do not incorporate a blade.

Art students like myself often carry exacto knives on campus or adjustable protractor razors for cutting paper. However, we do not wear them on our belts, ready for paper cutting action in a moments notice.

I don’t see what good a blade can do on campus other than widdling a spoon for yourself thanks to the cafeteria charging $0.15(?) for them now.

If a screw needs to be tightened, or a wine cork needs to be removed, a bottle cap needs to be popped off, or your finger nails filed before class because that cute girl you like is TOTALLY going to notice, then I don’t see an issue with any of that.

I do however find it to be disrespectful to those around you to carry something in plain sight which, as Mike Twolan points

out, can be perceived, and upon a simple choice, be USED as a weapon.

If I carried a wooden baseball bat with me constantly around campus in my hands people would start to wonder. But it’s simply a tool for a sport ... What’s wrong with that?

I think you see my point. It’s about perception. Instigating fear whether intentional or not is wrong. This issue is a about being a good community member in my humble opinion.

I hope this isn’t turning in to one of those “I’m going carry a knife on campus to assert my right” things. I love knives, I love multi tools. I also love my fellow students and would never want to make them feel threatened. I would support a blade ban on campus. Please people, use common sense.

Re: “The Imitation Game presents low-quality narrative and lazy filmmaking” Mitch Huttema’s review of The Imitation Game blew my mind. If he was not a fan of the homosexual subplot so be it, but to write the entire movie off as clichéd is lazy reviewing. To complain of a “heavy reliance on plot to keep the film engaging” is astounding! A film that rests its merits on a good story, isn’t that the whole point of movies? Seems to me that not cluttering up a good story is a sign of a good director, not one with “no artistic vision!”

Besides, how does one mix in special effects, explosions, car chases, etc. in a historicallybased film if they didn’t actually happen in real life? Please do not review Unbroken or 71 as I don’t think historical movies are your thing!

Jake Zboya

Brian Kavanagh

Re: “UFV’s Institutional Learning Outcomes aren’t all that smart” Dear Editor, I was surprised to read the argument put forth in the “UFV’s Institutional Learning Outcomes Aren’t All That Smart” article of the Cascade (January 14, 2015). So much so, that as a student whose undergraduate experience has been greatly enhanced under the guidance of our Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs), I feel compelled to address many of the points raised in the article.

Like many other UFV students approaching the end of their undergraduate experience, I am ever more conscious of what employers look for in new graduates who are entering the workforce.

Across the board, research article after research article shows that employers look for graduates with abilities that are neatly summed up in the UFV ILOs: The ability to: • Demonstrate information competency • Analyze critically and imaginatively • Use skills and knowledge proficiently • Initiate inquiries and develop solutions to problems • Communicate effectively • Pursue self-motivated and self-reflected learning • Engage in collaborative leadership • Engage in respectful and

Image: Blogs.ufv

professional practices • Contribute regionally and globally Something that new graduates all over North America are quickly realizing is that graduating from an educational institution with a piece of paper that says you “did university” is rarely enough to secure a job. It’s the demonstrated ability of students to do things like “initiate inquiries and develop solutions to problems” and “engage in respectful and professional practices” that get

them employed in today’s workforce.

The main arguments in Katie Stobbart’s article are that our ILO’s are “too vague,” “trying to deliver one standard outcome,” and that they don’t account for the fact that UFV students “have individual goals and aim to acquire different sets of skills and knowledge from our post-secondary experiences.” I’d argue otherwise.

UFV facilitates a multitude of opportunities for students to fulfill ILOs. At the forefront of these

opportunities is the Co-Curricular Record (CCR). The CCR is an invaluable program built for students on the solid foundation of our Institutional Learning Outcomes. It allows students to seek out learning opportunities according to their individual interests and then gives them a platform to record their involvement. Upon graduation, the CCR is a document that demonstrates how a student chose to fulfill institutional learning outcomes and helps to make them more employ-

able than students who chose not to do so.

Stepping away from how ILOs benefit student employability, I can attest to the fact that striving to meet our institutional learning outcomes will lead to a more colorful and impactful learning experience for students. Striving to meet our ILOs is what led me to pursue a student research position at our university, apply to be a resident assistant in dorm, and eventually inspired me to get involved in all facets of student governance at UFV. The possibilities of what you can do with UFV’s ILOs are truly endless, but at the end of the day it is students who are responsible for how active or passive they are in their own undergraduate experience.

In sum, while UFV facilitates many enriching educational experiences that are tailored to its ILOs, it’s up to students to recognize the value of this and take advantage of it. What I can agree with Katie Stobbart on is that UFV is “trying to deliver one standard outcome”: facilitating an unparalleled educational experience that has employers vying for an opportunity to employ UFV students.

Sukhdeep Brar

8

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

The screen goes black

The death of the Towne Cinema marks the end of an era

MICHAEL SCOULAR

THE CASCADE

A couple years ago, as the movie exhibition industry neared the finish of its change from film reels to digital hard drives, leading many smaller theatres, unable to pay the cost, to their demise, I had an interesting conversation with the manager of a movie theatre in the Fraser Valley. He explained the technical side of the changeover, and talked about the effect openings and closures of other theatres were having on attendance. I then said that, most times, I went to the Towne Cinema in Abbotsford.

“No, no, they went out of business,” he said. That wasn’t true, then. “Are they still on film? They must be close to getting out.”

The Towne survived the change to digital, too.

The story of the Towne Cinema’s closure, which will happen just after midnight, when the final credits crawl finishes with a digital blink the early morning of February 8, 2015, is not one of the underdogs trodden under by an unfeeling industry. The Towne, despite its character and history, built up over its 41 years, was a chain theatre, part of the Calgary-based Landmark Cinemas company. Contrary to some reports, it was also not the first movie theatre in Abbotsford. Its closure, unfortunately, has more to do with the sway of advertisements, theatre competition, and bad timing. This is not the definite end of movies near UFV’s Abbotsford campus, but it is the end of a rare thing now, a neighbourhood theatre, and the end of a brief moment when it was the best place to watch movies for hundreds of miles around.

Perhaps that manager was thinking of one of the other theatres from Abbotsford’s past. The indispensable online archive of “British Columbia Theatres 1945-1953,” maintained by an “N. Roughley,” lists the Abbotsford Theatre, a 350-seat movie house that, at different points in its lifespan, was wired for sound, possibly closed at one point, and went by the alternate names of Opera House, Timms Theatre (a printing error, it seems), and the Odeon Theatre. It first appears in the Film Daily yearbook of North American theatres in 1933, but likely existed prior to that. Closer to our time was the Grand Theatre, originally a Cineplex project before they gave up on the six-auditorium plaza, selling it to become a member of the Landmark chain.

It doubled as an arthouse cinema and a second-run theatre, receiving reels of more popular pictures after they’d played at the Towne. Cinema Treasures, a site that exists to catalogue the operating, closed, and demolished theatres of the past century-plus of movies, lists its tombstone as 1988-2010.

A single picture shows a mixture of minor (Melinda and Melinda), foreign-language (Kung Fu Hustle), and blockbuster (XXX: State of the Union) offerings from 2004. It is now a gym, and the rental stores and restaurants that co-existed and shared its parking lot have likewise disappeared.

“Pretty sure this place doesn’t exist any-

more?” Roger T. has asked the void in its single Yelp review.

Film, as a marker of time, is inherently nostalgic, so the Towne, in the last days before it is gutted and left to be re-developed or demolished at some indeterminate point in the future, even without any formal farewell event from its staff or ownership, will stand as a repository of memories. The few pieces of writing, mainly Facebook comments, that have summoned markers from its past, have often dwelt on its reputation as a second-rate, disreputable, teenage-rampant hole with jittery projectors and a carpet with traces of a hundred spilled drinks in its stained-red design. So, it was a movie theatre — our movie theatre, they say.

For my own part, going to the theatre was not a large part of my childhood — once a year, I’d see an animated movie — but it did leave an impression. The first, The Prince of Egypt, at the Towne, towered before me, thundering musical numbers and galloping chariots — the shock of something new. In the Abbotsford News, Roger Ebert’s syndicated reviews would run alongside theatre listings, which I would eventually deliver, then attempt to write in my own way at this paper, when I was hired by virtue of being the only applicant for online editor in the summer of 2011.

The Towne, two blocks away from UFV, was mostly known to me as a place past its heyday. The parking lot was always mostly empty, and there was little sign it had once been the rowdy site of kids sneaking into age-restricted shows, first dates, and, as suggested by its first-ever movie, Blazing Saddles, controversial choices. The walls were a little thin, allowing sound to bleed between mismatched neighbouring movies, the higher-numbered screens were also the smallest, revealing, around a bend, something more like a private screening room than a multi-acronym expense, and instead of stadium-elevated seats, the rows seemed to conform to the slope of the foundation the Towne was built on: most angled a small distance down, while some rose up at the nearest seats to the front,

Image: Michael Scoular

making the viewing experience one where you looked up, an expanse of floor separating an elevated screen.

Regular visits turned it into something familiar though: the roof-frame over the ticket-buying booth outside would sometimes shelter birds, whose chirps could be heard during pockets of silence in Auditorium 1; the lobby, unlike other theatres, did not pump top-40 into the echoey reaches of the ceiling, giving the place an unhurried atmosphere; and despite its reputation, the floor was not sticky, the seats were not punishing, and the staff responded to projection problems.

Over the years, many students found that the Towne still lived like before on Tuesdays, when tickets were $2 — down from the regular $6.95. Lineups would hug the side of the building, whatever animated movie was showing would sell out early, and crowds would, like theatres are supposed to, make even average comedies and horrors alike more lively. By removing the price barrier to seeing movies, the Towne saw families, large groups of friends, birthday parties, and students became its best customers. The early-2012 switch from film to digital (the last film screening I saw: The Grey, with Liam Neeson, exhausted by the snow and wind, accompanied by the ghostly click and whir of the projector) meant the Towne was also at par, picturequality-wise, with its competitors in Mission and Chilliwack, but then 2013 brought the construction and opening of the new mall theatre in Abbotsford, with its claims of more food, more money, and larger screen size. It also claimed, more significantly, the rights to who showed first-run movies in the city. With two theatres in the same competition zone, the newer, higherpriced Cineplex building got first choice, turning the Towne into a second-run theatre, like the Grand before it.

This was, however, the best thing to happen for movies in Abbotsford in some time: it nearly doubled the amount of choices playing in the city, from nine to 17 (despite having 11 screens, the mall theatre only ever plays eight movies at a time), and made the Towne look to what the new

theatre was not bringing in. The Towne, already not limited to Cineplex’s sometimes strange omissions (it brought The Tree of Life to Abbotsford in 2011) became the only theatre outside of Vancouver, sometimes even before Vancouver, to play Before Midnight, The Grandmaster, All Is Lost, Snowpiercer, The One I Love, Selma, and Foxcatcher, among others. As a last-ditch attempt, all ticket prices became $3 during the day and $4 at night. The theatre’s name was changed to Encore Abbotsford to reflect its second-run status, though no new signs ever arrived, and people would have still called it the Towne anyway. When the Cineplex Abbotsford theatre opened, Landmark guaranteed the Towne would not close for the next year. That promise elapsed.

UFV does not have a film program or a film club, but that does not mean there is no film culture on campus. In the past, screenings for film classes were advertised in The Cascade, open to all students.

Some student groups have done regular events: history students managed some for a semester, there is currently a Spanish-language series that holds screenings in B101, and this past week both the psychology and international student associations showed their own movie selections.

In the library stacks, there’s usually an equal number of students actually studying, texting friends, and streaming a movie or TV episode. Universities have historically been a place where people can come together to create film societies — before the days of home video, college dorms and university halls were one of the few places you could count on seeing a 16mm dupe of a movie long out of theatre circulation.

Between the university’s library and the FVRL system (which acquires just about every new release DVD, from To the Wonder to Dumb and Dumber To), there is no problem of availability (or, as in Netflix’s case, the possibility of expiration or panand-scan-like cropping); just a lack of a place where a film community could come together. With plans for the development of the land and businesses around UFV seemingly on the horizon, there is the possibility more residences will someday come with that, more students exchanging ideas around campus, and maybe demand for a campus film presence, either through an actual theatre, or organized screenings. In Kitchener, Ontario, despite the idea that theatres will be slowly overtaken by streaming movies, a new singlescreen theatre has opened, with students at the nearby Wilfred-Laurier University in mind. The Cord interviewed Andy Willick, one of the owners, who is aware of how theatres are now only one way out of many people might encounter films. So why try to start another one? While watching a film can be essentially a solitary, private experience, it is perhaps only when we come into contact with others through film that the real potential of seeing them (and creating memories) happens. “You can’t ever replace [the experience] — that doesn’t go away,” Willick said.

9

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Op-Ed

It’s time to #SaveUFV and save the Writing Centre JACK BROWN

ALUMNUS

Three years ago, the government of British Columbia decided to cut $50 million from post-secondary education. Every year since then, our university has struggled to find ways to absorb cuts to its operating grant. Some of these cuts have been absurd, like when the senior administration decided to shut down faculty reception, forcing students everywhere to shove papers and assignments under doors instead of leaving them in instructors’ mailboxes.

But the most recent cut is not simply absurd, it’s also immoral and flies in the face of the government’s own mandate. Jody Gordon, the vice president of students, has decided to cut a core educational service: the Writing Centre. At the end of the current fiscal year, on March 31, the Writing Centre will be no more. Instead, Ms. Gordon has decided to shut down the best writing centre in Canada and replace the very competent, professional staff — all of whom possess advanced degrees in writing or the teaching of writing — with undergraduates UFV can pay $15 / hour.

When I was a student at UFV, I objected to ever-increasing tuition hikes with no new services.

We’re through the looking glass now: today’s students pay more and more in tuition and fees and receive less and less. Departments all throughout the university have seen retiring faculty not replaced, classes are being cut, and some programs are in jeopardy of being eliminated entirely to help balance the books. What does tuition buy at UFV? Fewer professors, fewer classes, almost certainly fewer programs, and the closing of the best writing centre in Canada.

Senior administrators at UFV, including the president, provost, and vice president of students, all make salaries approaching or above $200,000 per year. That’s more than the premier of the province! And since UFV has been mandated to balance its books, not one penny has been cut from senior administrative compensation. Students, alumni, and faculty all understand that you need good people to run an excellent university. But we’ve been paying large salaries to the senior administrators at UFV to protect and expand core educa-

UFV SPEAKS

tional services, not cut them.

Shutting down the best writing centre in the country is wrong, and it needs to be stopped. Students pay good money to receive an education, in the classical sense — to develop the character and skills they need to live good, flourishing lives. Learning to write well and think critically is a core part of this education and an essential life skill. The decision to shut down the Writing Centre directly undercuts this.

On page 20 of the government’s Budget and Fiscal Plan 2013 / 14 – 2014 / 15 document released in February of 2013, it’s written that

How do you feel about the Writing Centre with faculty changing to the Academic Success Centre with student tutoring?

Jordan Werner

It just seems better because they’ve done the schooling with the same profs maybe. It just seems like they’d have a better understanding of what to expect and they’d show us that.

Harsh Sidhu

It’s a good idea, especially for first year. Rhey can know how the third- and fourth-year students study for, let’s say, a final exam. They can learn their techniques. Master’s and PhDs know the concepts but they won’t go in depth.

Jason Yu

It’s good, say, for first-year students. If they struggle in a course you can help them get better. You can tell what their learning style is, how to study, a good way to understand concepts and ideas, stuff like that.

Cadence King

Image: Megan Lambert

“post-secondary sectors … were to engage in processes to find efficiencies and eliminate unnecessary administrative duplication through increased use of shared services,” and that “savings were to come from discretionary spending, administration and other efficiencies, while protecting educational services.” By shutting down the Writing Centre, Mark Evered, Jody Gordon, and all the senior administration at UFV are doing exactly the opposite of what the government has mandated.

It’s time to stand up for education, for UFV, and the best

writing centre in Canada. That’s why I have decided to create the #SaveUFV petition. If you think that students deserve a good education and that UFV’s senior administration should abide by the government’s mandate, sign the petition – either go online to www.saveufv.ca or sign the petition on campus. I encourage UFV graduates to contact their alumni association, and members of the community who are concerned about the future of their university to write to the minister of finance and Abbotsford MLA Mike de Jong.

Finally, on Wednesday, February 25th at 11:30 a.m., I invite everyone who wants to save the Writing Centre to join me on the green in front of the library on the Abbotsford campus for the Rally to Save the Writing Centre.

Together we’ll be able to take a stand for education and make sure that the senior administration stops making absurd, immoral, and illegal decisions to cut core educational services.

Let’s #SaveUFV and stand up for #writingUFV!

I think it’d be a good idea because I find a lot of people learn better when it’s from peers as opposed to a teacher, especially if they’ve already done the course. They’d know what to expect, what to help you with.

Divya Makhija

It’s a good idea. [Faculty with a] Master’s, they have their own teaching skills. Students can teach students better than the Master’s, according to me.

Nav Sidhu

I was planning on using the Writing Centre for research papers and stuff. I’m a science student, so I don’t really see the need for the other thing. I can see how it would be helpful for other people.

There’s not as much essay writing involved in science, so now I’m like, “How do I write a research paper?”

Karen Chung

I was actually looking forward to using the Writing Centre because I personally struggle a lot with writing, with English and stuff. I know regardless of what program [you’re in], you have to take English, and you have to write papers in university. Even if you have questions about topics you can email your prof.

Ashley Gonzalez-Rivas

There definitely has to be a Writing Centre. I think peer tutoring is necessary as well, but a Writing Centre I think is vital ... I think people who are wiser, who have more experience than your peers, can absolutely help the quality of your work. I think it provides a different standard.

10

FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

ABBOTSFORD CAMP

Food on campus

By Vanessa Broadbent

3. Tim Hortons

1. Road Runner

7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday to Thursday

11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday to Thursday

The Road Runner is essentially a smaller version of the cafeteria, but without the hot food. It is a great place to go if you’re in a hurry because there are rarely any line-ups. There’s also an energy drink vending machine, a necessity during finals week.

7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday

Time it right and you’ll get the fast service Tim Hortons is known for. Time it wrong and you’ll spend a large portion of your day standing in the dreaded, infamous Tim Hortons line. The campus Tim Hortons has all the drinks a detached Timmy’s would, but not all the food options. While you can get the standard doughnuts, cookies, muffins, and bagels, the only sandwiches or salads you’ll find are the same pre-made ones that the cafeteria offers.

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2. Cafeteria 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday

3

FAST SERVICE

E

1

STUDYING

D

A

CHEAP

The cafeteria’s food may be good and fast, but it’s not the most affordable. However, they offer a large variety — everything from your standard burgers and fries, to stir fry, Mexican food, and a create-your-own pizza station. But if you’re looking for something healthier, be prepared to pay for it. The amount of space does make it a great place to do homework while eating.

G

ALCOHOL

B

7

HEALTHY

6

2

C

11 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015

FEATURE

www.ufvcascade.ca

PUS 5. Bookstore / Press Café 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday to Friday

4. AfterMath 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday to Thursday

AfterMath offers the cheapest “real food” on campus, but skip it if you’re in a hurry. Their new menu has healthier items, including vegetarian and gluten-free options, and it’s also the only place on campus that serves alcohol. It’s a great place to hang out with friends between classes or watch a sports game, but if you plan on studying, bring headphones. Also, try their mac and cheese. It’s worth it.

The Press Café is probably the most underrated and forgotten place to buy food on campus. While they don’t serve hot food, the convenience store sells frozen food that only requires microwaving. They also sell snacks and have the largest candy selection on campus. Their coffee prices are comparable to Tim Hortons, and they have French press coffee, made fresh. The cozy chairs and quiet atmosphere make it the perfect place to study. And, the cherry on top — they even have ice cream.

6. City Blends Coffee

7. Finnegan’s Pub

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Monday to Thursday

8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Monday to Thursday

7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday

8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday

9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday

4

City Blends is about a five-minute walk from UFV, but the butter chicken wraps will make you forget that. They offer your standard coffee shop food: soups, sandwiches, salads, and they even offer U-Pass discounts. If you’re planning to study there, it is cozy and quiet, but it tends to get a little dark inside.

Avoid Finnegan’s if you’re broke, in a hurry, or in need of a quiet study space. It may be more expensive than any food on campus, but it also offers better food. If you need a temporary escape from the stress of university, Finnegan’s is the closest place to go. Bring your friends, share a plate of nachos, and everything will be okay.

continued on next page: Chilliwack options and the future of food on campus

12 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015

FEATURE

Looking for the best place to go eat when you’re in need of some serious studying? Or what about when you’re in a hurry and need something fast? Don’t fear, The Cascade is here to help. We’ve compiled a list of places to eat on and around campus.

The options of places to eat at UFV are slim, especially compared to larger universities close by, but plans will soon change that. The new Student

Union Building, which will be opening in the fall, will include a coffee shop, as well as a new and improved AfterMath. Due to the much larger size of the restaurant, SUS president Ryan Petersen says there’s a possibility of new menu items, including healthier options.

“When the new building opens we’ll be able to expand [AfterMath] to have fresh produce, fresh vegetables, and fruits, things like that,” he says.

CHILLIWACK CAMPUS Rivers Dining Café 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Monday to Friday

The trades centre on the CEP campus is by far the best place to get food for Chilliwack students. Students from the culinary program make the food daily and it’s cheaper than the cafeteria. Different food items are featured every day — everything from lasagna, to ribs, to schnitzel. If you’re at CEP, it’s definitely worth the two-minute walk.

www.ufvcascade.ca

SUS isn’t the only one that may be bringing new food options to campus. UFV is currently in an exclusivity contract with Sodexo, making them the only food provider on campus other than SUS, as Cameron Roy, director of ancillary services, explains.

“We have a legal contract that’s binding us,” he says. “Any food that comes on campus has to either be authorized by Sodexo or my office, and by virtue protecting that legal contract.”

This contract will be expiring in two years, and Roy is seeing it as an opportunity to expand the food services that the university offers.

“The direction that we want to go with the next contract is to bring in brands, because students are so brand-aligned. Booster Juice and Subway are healthy options and that’s where students are going,” he says. Before the contract expiry, Roy adds that there are plans for a Sodexo-run Starbucks bar in the works for Abbotsford.

Bringing more food options to campus would create competition, which could result in lower prices and better quality services. Roy sees this as one of the downfalls of being in an exclusivity contract.

“Limiting the exclusivity almost challenges the vendor to do better and challenges themselves to secure favour; [otherwise they] might get a little comfortable,” he says.

SUS is also planning to keep their prices low, according to Petersen.

“Students are already supposed to pay so much in tuition, rent, textbooks, equipment, laptops, and everything else, so just loading on more cost through food, that’s not really that great. We always try to be very mindful of that,” he says. AfterMath’s prices are lower than Sodexo’s because SUS subsidizes the restaurant every semester, which does not happen with the cafeteria. Roy does not see this as something that UFV could do.

“I will never be in a position where I would want to subsidize services. That’s not the business model that I would want to be involved in,” he says. While the cafeteria’s prices may not be ideal, Roy says he understands that “they have to make a living; they have to earn money.”

Starbucks Cafeteria / Tim Hortons

8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday to Friday

7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Friday

The CEP campus’ Tim Hortons offers the same drinks and baked goods as standard Tim Hortons except for their sandwiches or soups. Thankfully, the cafeteria shares the same space and has pre-made soups and salads, made-to-order wraps, and panini sandwiches. Line-ups can get long at times, but there is enough space to camp out and study.

The Starbucks at CEP campus is the only place on any campus where real Starbucks coffee is served. Unlike the Abbotsford campus’ Starbucks stations, this Starbucks has trained baristas that can make your custom orders. It is pricey, like any Starbucks, but if you’re on the Chilliwack campus and want espresso coffee, it’s the only place to go. There’s also plenty of study space, but it tends to get rather loud.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Exhibition lays bare Canadian history of colonization

Upcoming

Events

JASMIN CHAHAL CONTRIBUTOR

Late last week, the Reach art gallery launched a stunning new display titled Decolonize Me, a collaborative effort by six aboriginal artists that explores the implications of colonialism within Canada and the practises of political and artistic decolonization. Currently situated next to two other indigenous exhibits — 100 Years of Loss: the Residential School System in Canada and Ancestry and Artistry: Maya Textiles from Guatemala — the exhibit is a powerful audio-visual experience.

Decolonize Me displays the artwork of Sonny Assu, an interdisciplinary artist of the We Wai Kai First Nation; Jordan Bennett, a Mi’kmaq multidisciplinary artist; Cheryl L’Hirondelle, a Cree interdisciplinary artist and curator; Nigit’stil Norbert, a Gwich’in photo-based artist; Barry Pottle, an Inuit artist; Bear Witness, a Cayuga media artist; and Heather Igloliorte, an Inuit curator.

According to the curator of the collection, the works displayed intend to “challenge, interrogate and reveal Canada’s long history of colonization in daring and innovative ways.” The title of the display itself is a deliberate play on Morgan Spurlock’s film Super Size Me (2004), which challenges the capitalist culture that gives rise to unhealthy fast food consumption. The aim of the exhibit, however, is not simply a satirical jab at colonialism within Canada.

It is a clear-cut artistic statement that decolonization of indigenous lands must begin through our social and artistic practises.

February 4 Smoke Signals at the Global Lounge UFV’s sociology anthropology undergrad society and the Aboriginal student club present a screening of comical drama Smoke Signals. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Michelle LaFlamme. The event will take place in B223 and runs from 2 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome and free popcorn is included!

February 6 Images: Jasmin Chahal

Decolonize Me creates a multi-sensory experience to explore Aboriginal narratives.

Utilizing indigenous artist Linda Tuhwai Smith’s philosophy that “decolonizing strategies” can still be applied to indigenous artwork displayed in Western institutions, the collection challenges the norms of mainstream art galleries. Believing that art should be a multi-sensory experience, the artists combine visual art with a powerful video display with the intention of re-contextualizing “imagery and narratives of Aboriginal people.”

The audio-visual and interactive elements of the exhibit are perhaps its most powerful components. Bear Witness, a member of the aboriginal hip-hop group A Tribe Called Red crafted the ex-

hibit’s video display, titled “Assimilate This!” The video, which highlights depictions of aboriginal people in mainstream media, intends to reclaim these images and thus reduce their power.

Just as significant in its impact is Cheryl L’Hirondelle’s work.

According to the artist, her project is “an attempt to address relations between natives and non-natives by re-examining the intent, issue and details of the Canadian government’s ‘Certificate of Indian Status.’ Following the Cree principles of ‘welcoming and living alongside newcomers,’ the display allows all viewers to create their own ‘treaty cards.’”

The display suggests that since

land treaties were signed by both aboriginal chiefs on behalf of their people and representatives of the British monarch on behalf of her people, both parties should be required to carry treaty cards.

Given that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Vancouver’s Women’s Memorial March for murdered Aboriginal women, the Decolonize Me display could not have arrived in Abbotsford at a more significant time. The display is one that confronts difficult truths in Canadian history, and challenges our perceptions of it means to identify as Canadians and settlers upon indigenous lands.

Word Game Extravaganza Do Scrabble-tile cookies sound appetizing to you? What about Upwords, Boggle, Balderdash, and other quick-witted word games? The English students association is here to whet your appetite with a variety of games and themed baking. Come out to the U-House from 12 to 4 p.m.

Friday and get your fill.

February 7 - March 3 A Tale of Two Countries The Kariton Art Gallery presents local artist Serena Trinder. The exhibit, titled A Tale of Two Countries, explores a man’s changing relationship with his environment and is inspired by the landscapes of the Fraser Valley and of Trinder’s home town of Dorset, England. The display will be available for viewing free to the public until March 3, with a opening reception on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

February 12 Pecha Kucha at UFV UFV does what it loves! UFV’s first Pecha Kucha night, themed “Doing what we love!”, will be held in B101 at 6:30 p.m., with a reception starting at 5. Pecha Kucha, a fast-paced presentation style that originated in Tokyo, allows for each presenter to show 20 slides with 20 seconds of talking per slide. Tickets are by donation, with proceeds going to UFV’s graphic and digital design department.

Images: Jasmin Chahal

Images: Jasmin Chahal

14

STUDY BREAK CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

CROSSWORD 50 Shades of Grey?

by VALERIE FRANKLIN

ACROSS 1.

6.

7.

9.

11.

Grey powder in undisturbed attics. (4) Where there’s _____, there’s fire. (5) Black carbon produced by burning wood, a favourite among artists. (8) Nerves of ____. (5) It might have a silver lining. (5)

DOWN 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

8.

10.

Sterling Archer, for one, is named after this metal. (6) Avian symbol of peace. (4) Liquid element in thermometers. (7) The hand in the velvet glove is made of this metal. (4) Start over with a clean _____. (5) What cigarettes turn into as they burn. (3) Metal no longer used in pencils. (4)

SUDOKU 6 6 2

8 9 6 5

9 1

7 9 1

7

DOWN

2

2. FULLMOON 3. BAND 4. FANTASY 5. WEREWOLF 7. HIGHSCHOOL 9. VAMPIRES 10. MAGIC 12. UNDEAD

4 2 6 7 3 2

The Weekly Horoscope

6 9 3 2 1 5 4 8 7 7 5 8 4 9 6 3 2 1 2 4 1 3 8 7 5 6 9

1. BOYFRIEND 6. MONSTERS 8. TEENAGER 11. YOUNGADULT 13. SCIFI 14. HORROR

9 1 5 8 4 2 7 3 6 8 7 4 6 3 9 1 5 2 3 6 2 7 5 1 9 4 8

ACROSS

Sudoku solution 4 8 7 9 2 3 6 1 5 5 3 6 1 7 8 2 9 4 1 2 9 5 6 4 8 7 3

Last issue’s crossword

9 1 8 5 4 2 8 3 6

Star Signs from Moira Mysteriosa

Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18: Lucky Charms are unlucky for you this week. Actually, they’re unlucky for everyone. Switch to oatmeal or something. Don’t give yourself diabetes.

Gemini: May 21 - June 21: Keep a vial of glitter with you at all times for emergencies. And perhaps some glue, just to be safe.

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20: Beware of your head.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22: This is a good week for you to start your own radio show. CIVL needs your divine energy!

Aries: March 21 - April 19: Wear more black — it will serve you well in laser tag.

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22: If you don’t have anything nice to say, write a Cascade article.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20: Katy Perry’s dancing sharks are your spirit animals.

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept 22: Your old diary from middle school will be unearthed this week. Burn it before your enemies can lay hands on it.

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22: Homework is unlucky for you for this week. Ask for an extension. Clip out this column and show it to your professor if they say no.

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21: Annoying in-laws will plague your home soon. Vacuum now and save yourself from doing it five minutes before they arrive.

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21: Avoid Virgos this week; they won’t have anything nice to say.

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19: Get an aquarium and some brightly coloured fish. Even if you don’t like it, your cat will.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

15

CULTURE

Folk band Alea Rae has humble roots and high hopes MITCH HUTTEMA

out in the next six years, though.

THE CASCADE

Do you have any thoughts or comments about the tour? This is your first?

J: We definitely need to work on itinerary. We got here and everything was closing around 4 p.m. so we couldn’t get food!

I’m really enjoying it, though. People have been really friendly! We’ve had really great reception.

While attending their Acoustic Emporium show in Chilliwack, I interviewed Alea Rae, comprised of Alea Clark on lead guitar, Jeremiah Ackermann on drum kit, and Patrick Farrugia on rhythm guitar. Over the two years they’ve been together, the New Westminster band has developed an atmospheric indie folk sound, and have been likened to the National and Daughter by Laurie Brown on CBC’s The Signal. Alea and the band have most recently released a double-single titled Flies and Lancaster, which can be found on their Bandcamp page and downloaded by donation.

You’ve been compared to the National, Daughter, and even Sigur Rós. Are you influenced by those bands or are there others?

P: Those are basically our influences!

We’re also heavily influenced by local acts — We are the City, Aidan Knight. Those are super influential. Because you know there are such great bands in BC, you can’t help but be influenced.

What inspired you to take up music?

P: I come from a musical family. Both my parents are professional musicians, so I kinda just grew up in it. Doing piano lessons when I was young, you know, I was the one who continued with that.

J: I started playing drums when I was in grade 10. I don’t know what it was, I just kinda wanted to play. And then I was in a band with some friends I had recently met.

It was rock music but I just really pursued it.

A: I don’t know, I don’t know. I just remember wanting to do it so bad so I started doing it. I was so bad, I was waiting for someone to tell me to stop, but no one did, so I just kept going. I was in high school.

What is the source of your inspiration to write music? Is it walking down the street, seeing and thinking things, or does it come from some traumatic event?

A: I’m having a hard time pinpointing that right now. I’ve been through enough stuff that I’m like, shouldn’t I be writing?

I feel so horrible right now! [Laughs] But it still doesn’t happen that way. Sometimes I just get really angry ­— “I haven’t written anything, I’m going to write now.”

What are your greatest struggles and challenges as musicians?

A: I had a vocal injury last year, and it just took a long time to recover. Even now I’m still not all the way there.

P: Just trying to find the drive at points to write and record, because the rest of life just tires you out.

J: I know my biggest difficulty is just transporting drums!

P: Sometimes it just sort of comes to you.

Sometimes I hear a chord progression or melody in my head and I’m like, “Oh, I wanna write that.”

J: I record melodies on my phone all the time — sometimes just before I’m about to go to sleep, I’ll just think of something.

hope to accomplish.

P: I guess to find comfort in things. [Our music] helps people to deal with the, like, negative feelings.

J: I’m playing drums. I do it for selfish reasons, and it feels great to play. People don’t emote so much toward drums.

How would you describe the type of music you make? Do you aim for the same type of sound all the time?

P: It’s hard to pinpoint. We all bring something and then it becomes a melting pot of all of us.

What has the reception to the band and your music been like?

A: Really positive!

P: Not to brag, we’re world famous. It sucks, being the biggest band in the world, but it happens! [Laughs] J: I’m really happy with where we are.

We have a strong, loyal following. It makes me feel like we’re doing something right.

How do you write music? Is there a particular way you go about it each time?

A: Right now we’re trying to work that out. At first I had all this stuff that I had written and they had to write around it, but now it’s a lot different.

P: We use all sorts of methods. I guess we’ll find out what works best.

What is the main thing you want to impart to your listeners with your music? A feeling?

P: Intense, ultimate depression. [Laughs] A: I guess if they’re engaged and it does something for them ... If something moves me, that’s really powerful. That’s all we can

So you’re working on your tour now, what’s next?

P: Writing and recording is next on the ballot. Like Alea said, to slow down and focus on writing.

So we can expect an album soon?

A: I don’t want to promise anything, I’m just taking this break, and whatever happens from there we can map out the rest of the year. I don’t want to put anything on the table yet.

P: We’re definitely going to have music

Is it tougher to start out as a band in New West and Vancouver because there are so many other bands, or is it easy because there’s a musical community and audience?

A: I think there’s so much going on, it’s hard to bring new people out. You kind of build a following very slowly, but then those same people will be loyal ... or people will just go to the bar they like and will go, “Oh, who’s playing?” instead of finding anyone they want to hear sometimes.

J: Every night there like 10 shows. It’s difficult to find the people you want to work with, but it’s great because there’s a huge selection.

P: There are so many anchovies in the sea, it’s hard to find the salmon.

Is this band a temporary thing? Or do you plan to keep it up for as long as you can?

J: I think we want to do it professionally forever.

P: It’s my 100 per cent ultimate goal to make it my career.

J: I think that’s especially the idea because we have a sound we haven’t pinpointed yet, so I think people will grasp on to that.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Musicians and comedians at AfterMath raise donations for UFV Food Bank MARTIN CASTRO CONTRIBUTOR

On Thursday, January 29, AfterMath, in conjunction with CIVL, hosted an open mic night. The goal of the event was to raise canned food donations for the UFV Food Bank, which serves to help feed students.

Comedian Clifford Prang presided over the event, delivering a barrage of jokes and sprinkling humour in between acts.One of the night’s earliest acts included Braeden Clark, who entertained the guests with a re-

laxed acoustic cover of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” and later changed things up with a ukulele cover of Lorde’s “Royals.” Alex Rake continued the musical trend after Clark, playing an eclectic synthesis of folk and punk-rock on mandolin.

Although comedy seemed to pepper the event, a variety of artists took to the stage, including singer-songwriters on guitar, and one student performing a piece on piano.

CIVL station manager Aaron Levy was happy to help out with the event.

“Anytime somebody wants to help raise

money for charity, and you’re talking to CIVL, the answer is yes, let’s help do that,” he said. “Jared from SUS and AfterMath said he wanted to turn [the event] into a food bank fundraiser, and I said ‘Perfect.’

“I’d be happy to [contribute] any time there’s an event [of this nature],” he added.

Although turnouts at UFV events aren’t always the most enthusiastic, Levy was pleased with the turnout of 50 to 60 people at the event.

“There wasn’t really much [extra] space — it was basically a full house,” he said.

As the night wound to a close, Levy took to the stage, taking the crowd by surprise as he launched into a fierce Killer Mike cover, much to everyone’s enjoyment. Levy’s rapping, along with the display of student talent at the event, made the night a success.

Alex Rake is an employee of The Cascade.

16

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Peer Pleasure

Setting boundaries crucial to healthy porn viewing YOURS TRULY

masturbate three to four times a week, according to Men’s Fitness.

One thing to remember is that porn isn’t intimate. What you and your partner do together is intimate. Your partner isn’t in love — he’s just getting off. There’s a huge difference between a screen and your in-the-flesh lover.

When you bring it up, be serious but not accusatory. Tell him why you’re uncomfortable. Talk it through, lay some boundaries if you’d like and you’re sure to feel better about it.

THE CASCADE

My partner views a lot of porn and it makes me uncomfortable. He doesn’t try to hide it from me, and it’s not hardcore or anything, so should I be weirded-out by it? I read that it’s normal. Should I be concerned?

—Porn Doesn’t Please Dear PDP, Porn is a complicated issue for many couples. Some enjoy it together — they use it to learn new positions or how to use various toys. Other couples see looking at porn as plain-old cheating and abstain. There is no right or wrong answer as long as both people agree on something together and follow through with said agreement.

If you’re uncomfortable, talk it through. Opening the communication lines is so important in a healthy relationship, and developing the skills with your partner to work through potential conflict is vital. The reason you are feeling weird right now is because you and your partner have not set any boundaries. Your partner clearly doesn’t hide it from you, which is good. Cheating, in my books, is doing something you wouldn’t do if your partner was present.

Image: static/ flcikr

When it comes to your partner’s porn habits, your comfort level depends on communication.

He thinks it’s normal — which it is. There isn’t anything wrong with looking at porn, to a certain extent.

But it means he thinks you’re good with it (and probably thinks you watch porn as well). While you shouldn’t be concerned, there should be a conversation between you. Ask yourself why you are uncomfortable before bringing it up.

Looking at porn can mean a lot of things. Is he in contact with other women through chat cams?

There is a big difference between looking at a picture and actually having an interaction with a person. If you aren’t okay with that, set boundaries with him.

Are you concerned about the ethics of porn? There are a lot of issues with the industry; women are exploited and abused not only within the industry but in everyday life because of objectification. If men are innundated with the message that women are tools for men’s sexual pleasure, it allows them to dehumanize girls

and women, leading to things like domestic violence and other forms of sexism. If this is a concern, try what I call “ethical porn” sites. These sites treat women like actual human beings. Here is a great one to start: makelovenotporn.com.

Some couples set boundries in terms of length of viewing. As long as it isn’t over-the-top and cutting into his time with you, it shouldn’t be a problem. Some guys look at porn every time they masturbate, and men on average

Next week with Yours Truly: I just moved in with a friend of mine and he keeps inviting his girlfriend over. She basically lives with us now. I don’t mind her, but it makes things a little crowded. How do I let them know this isn’t working for me without making things awkward?

- Perpetual Third Wheel Did you have a similar experience you’d like to share? Want to contribute with your own advice?

Feel free to write in with your own say and be published alongside my advice in the next issue of The Cascade.

Send in your questions, scenarios, or responses to peerpleasure@ ufvcascade.ca

Holy Moly Matrimony!

Hotels offer convenience and class for wedding venue ANTHONY BIONDI THE CASCADE

Engagement is exciting and all, but eventually reality starts to kick in and the happy couple soon realizes they have a whole effing wedding to plan! Dear God, how did it come to this? As someone who was just recently married, I guarantee you it doesn’t have to be hard if you don’t want it to be.

And I can help.

There are several stages to planning, but I’d like to look at venues. As far as numbers go, they can look pretty basic when it comes to pricing. A thousand dollars and under can land you a very nice venue for a whole day.

But there are a few catches. Catering, decorations, sound, and video all have to be considered.

Some venues have a few of the necessary amenities, but some do not. On top of that, you have to make sure the venue looks nice to

Image: Wikimedia

Hotels make for easy set-up and take-down for your reception. begin with, and that it is in a good location.

This is where hotels come in.

Often, hotels come equipped with banquet halls that cater to all sorts of events, including weddings. This is a great boon for wedding planners. If you are not partial to the glorious garden

wedding with bluebirds, sunshine, and sexy short-sleeve shirts with vests, then hotels are the perfect venues.

In most cases, hotel banquet rooms are outfitted with sound equipment. At the very least, they will have hookups and speakers.

They have to — when it comes to

hosting big events, good sound is key. On top of this, they come equipped with all the tables, basic table décor, cutlery, centrepieces with nice shiny little candles, and chair covers. This is normally included in your venue rental price.

If you are on a budget, just the fact that you don’t have to rent any of these things yourself will keep your bill down significantly.

I rented the Ramada Inn for my wedding. For $700 we had the whole works, and it looked very nice.

And if time is money, consider yourself lucky. They set up and tear down all of the decorations.

The reception was as easy as walking in and walking out — with the gifts, of course.

There is a catch to this simplicity, however. In the case of the Ramada — and I’m sure in other hotels — catering is done by the hotel itself. That isn’t a huge issue if you find the right hotel where

the food is great; it’s just a little expensive. Hotels, to defend their business (God bless them), keep the catering in-house. Outside catering is not allowed. It does mean that you don’t need to bother shopping around for caterers, but it also means you are locked into the hotel’s price. This can get pricey if you aren’t careful. Buffet dinners, which most weddings seem to have, can drive prices way up per plate. There is the option of plated dinners, though, and those are cheaper.

All in all, hotels can be a great place to begin looking for your wedding venue. They offer great packages — including many of the knick-knack items that drive wedding costs up — and they do all the set-up and tear-down.

Even with the catering bill, I’d highly recommend looking into booking one.

17

ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Album

Club Meds is a new direction for Dan Mangan + Blacksmith CHARTS Grips 1 Death Fashion Week

2 Sleater-Kinney No Cities To Love Cong 3 Viet Viet Cong

4

Bjork Vulnicura

Twin 5 Aphex Computer Controlled

6

Acoustic Instruments Pt. II Dada Plan A Dada Plan Is Free

7

Ariel Pink pom pom

8 Various Mint Records Presents: Hot 9

Heroes Johnny de Courcy Alien Lake

10 Alvvays Alvvays High 11 Cheap Idle Bee & the Buzz12 Queen kills

13

Stalk to Me Energy Slime New Dimensional

14 Nots We Are Nots B-Lines 15 The Opening Band Welsh 16 John On The Road Ring 17 Purity Another Eternity and Weird 18 Old What I Saw

Shuffle

AARON LEVY

CIVL MANAGER/ CAT WRANGLER

In honour of this past weekend’s Super Troll Sunday, I listened to some Eve 6, where the video for the song “Leach” included singer Max whomever sporting a Seahawks-themed Tshirt. Here’s a shuffle of TV-inspired songs/bands.

Eve 6 “Showerhead” This is, I think, said band’s absolutely most effectively written and recorded piece of singing and / or songwriting inclusively. It’s somewhat immature (“I loved you while he was in you in the shower / Did in joy and ecstasy your eyes begin to water?”) but it’s still good tunage for the uninitiated.

Weird Al “Theme Song” “This is a story about a guy named Al, and he lived in the sewer with his hamster pal, but the sanitation workers really didn’t approve, so he packed up his accordion and had to move to a city in Ohio where he lived in a tree, and … ” From. Memory.

MARTIN CASTRO CONTRIBUTOR

Dan Mangan’s recently released album Club Meds sees the Canadian singer-songwriter stray away from his delightfully simple folk roots and into darker, moodier territory. This record is a departure for Mangan in that it employs more full-band arrangements, as opposed to the layered acoustic guitars of Mangan’s previous work.

There’s a lot of reverb used throughout this record, and although Mangan could have very easily overdone it, here it’s done tastefully. The extra space adds to the mood that Mangan is shooting for here. “Offred” is more electronic than most of Mangan’s previous work, however, it still has a very moody quality to it, which plays off well with Mangan’s crooning and his gruff tone of voice.

“Mouthpiece” is as close to pure folk as we get to on this record — it’s all strummed guitars and snare. There’s an electric guitar being picked in the background throughout most of the song, apart from the chorus, which is a lot more rock ’n’ roll

than folk. Mangan’s departing from his roots, but in a way that really shows his breadth as an artist, and makes for an enjoyable listen.

“Kitsch” became one of my favourite tracks as soon as I heard it. It’s full of thick, pronounced reverb, as well as crashing symbols in the background, as Mangan croons; it’s sombre, but there’s a lot of energy behind “Kitsch” which drives it forward.

In “XVI,” Mangan gives us a silky blues track that sneaks its way quietly before entrancing the listener for some three minutes. Mangan’s lyricism comes through particularly on this track, if only because of his poignancy. It’s one of the most rewarding tracks on the whole project, even including a soothing horn and string section.

“War Spoils” is literally three minutes of reverb and echoing vocals over some sparse, notquite distorted instrumentals.

My guess is this is as close as Mangan is going to come to channeling his inner Roger Waters, and that’s just fine, as the track actually does a great job of instilling in the listener a feel-

ing of familiar unease, which ties in well with the aesthetic of Club Meds.

“Forgetery” is perhaps the most commercial track on the record, but that doesn’t detract from its value at all. It’s more or less straightforward folk, although it’s spruced up with Mangan’s newfound backing band, Blacksmith. Reminiscent of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Forgetery” calls back to some of Mangan’s earlier work, acting as a bridge between his previous folk and this new incarnation.

The last three tracks on the record all deserve praise, particularly because they tie the project off in a neat and memorable fashion. This is perhaps doubly impressive when one considers the fact that this record could have been an amorphous mass of sonic anonymity; thanks to Mangan’s ability to take a (somewhat risky) new direction and run with it, however, Club Meds shaped up to be one of the most enjoyable projects from the artist yet.

B.A. Johnston “Lonnie Anderson“ “If I could build me a time machine,” broods Hamiltonian and frequent Abbotsford, BC tourist B.A. Johnston, “maybe Jennifer the receptionist would marry me.” I always thought Lonnie was Pam’s mom. But then why would Pam have to be a Lioness … but they look so similar … in Cincinnati.

Red Hot Chili Peppers “Throw Away Your Television” This is exactly the era of RHCP that started reminding me that, no matter how popular Californication was, or had been or still is, there’s no way these guys hadn’t recorded all of their best stuff nearly 15 years before. And that was two comebacks prior. Three?

Moxy Fruvous “Video Bargainville” If I was Moxy Fruvous, and my career took off attempting to educate the youth of my day with humourous yet progressive pieces of valuable information that would encourage those around me and in our communities to appreciate and respect what and who lives around us more, I’d promote real local businesses.

Image: danmanganmusic / facebook

18

ARTS IN REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

Where is reality?

The false sense of achievement in video gaming can lead to addiction ANTHONY BIONDI THE CASCADE

It’s been a long time since Xbox first implemented the achievement system. It was strange at first. Were the points a currency, or were they just points? Turns out they were nothing more than just points — bragging rights. Now it seems everything has some kind of achievement system, some way of logging all the cool things you can do in a video game. They give goals, mark waypoints of progress, and show off how amazing players are at the games they play. In a way, Microsoft added something revolutionary to gaming. But, as with all things, there is a cost.

A website sponsored by the Camp Recovery Centre in California states that video game addiction is, as of yet, an unrecognized mental disorder. This is supported by numerous other sources, journals and medical sites. There is a growing trend and appreciation for a condition in which players of video games quickly become detached from their realities.

An article on the Week recorded one subject dedicating up-

Image: Graeme Beamiss

Achievements you gain in games don’t carry over into reality. wards of 12 hours of play time a day. These numbers may be extreme for some people, but I have seen it firsthand: people with responsibilities — not for themselves, but for dependents as well — waste hours in front of a screen, ignoring everyone and everything around them.

It can become damaging. There

is no clear definition of how many hours need to be played in order to be addicted, but an article by Tech Addicts defines it as, “ … excessive play which results in negative emotional, social, relational, educational, or career-related consequences.”

Many people don’t seem to recognize that video games

are manufactured to do this.

It’s something I’ve come to understand as a false sense of achievement. At the end of the day, when the game is beaten and the player has completed the challenges, none of those rewards carry forward into reality.

Our documented achievements keep us playing by giving us goals we must reach. The appeal of having something to show for our efforts can play a big part in diluting our sense of reality and responsibility. There is a certain amount of work and reward inherent in playing games: you die and restart over and over until the challenge is complete. Once completed, there are usually prizes to make characters stronger or give the player more options.

Playing out fantasies in games is not a new concept to society. Novels and stories exist to bring their audience into a new world away from the reality they come from. Video games are just one of the newest media on the scene to give audiences this experience, only they have an element of control; players can interact with the virtual world, control it, and

manipulate it. They empower themselves, or build creations born of their imaginations. It can be easy to get lost in these kinds of scenarios. I’ve wasted countless hours on games such as Minecraft or Monster Hunter.

However, for some people, the false sense of achievement — the feeling that they have accomplished something with their time — dominates above all else, and the Pavlovian reward system keeps players playing. There have been studies as to the benefits video games have on players’ health, but too much of a good thing can go awry.

It’s just something to keep in mind as we all begin to head into the middle of winter semester. The rewards of a video game do not carry over into reality. They are separate worlds, and neither deserve to be ignored entirely. There is help available to those that are addicted to video games. A quick Google search will find you all the support you or your loved ones will need. There are limits, however, since it is not yet a recognized condition.

Godspeed, and happy, healthy gaming.

Rupi Kaur’s poetry draws strength from vulnerability, simplicity JASMIN CHAHAL CONTRIBUTOR

“The thing about writing is / I can’t tell if it’s healing / or destroying me.” These were the words I met as I flipped open the pages of Rupi Kaur ’s Milk and Honey for the first time.

After seeing post after post on Instagram and Facebook about the author ’s debut poetry collection, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy and find out for myself what all the hype was about.

As an English major and creative writer, it’s always exciting to see poetry gaining attention among my generation. As the current top bestseller in Amazon’s poetry genre, the fact that it’s getting attention is the least that can be said about Milk and Honey. The astonishing popularity of this little black book may indicate that poetry, which is often seen as market-less by publishing companies, may be making its return.

More exciting still is the fact

that the collection was published by a fourth-year undergrad student completing an English major. Perhaps I speak prematurely, but Rupi Kaur ’s poetry may be a glimmer of hope for the rest of us starryeyed creative writing majors.

Released last fall, Milk and Honey was the culmination of one year ’s worth of writing shared online and through spoken word. As Rupi’s poems steadily gained attention on social media, so, too, did the demand for a book. Spanning nearly 200 pages, Milk and Honey explores the feminine experience of love, loss, trauma, and healing. The poems, often coupled with Rupi Kaur ’s trademark illustrations, contain strength in their simplicity.

Flipping through the pages, it quickly becomes apparent why her writing has taken a hold on so many. Using only the most necessary, hand-picked words, Rupi manages to cut to the depth of human emotion.

The success of Rupi’s style of

Image: rupikaur.com

Kaur was an undergrad student when she wrote Milk and Honey. writing is in the way it manages to speak to experiences that so many of us can connect to.

Whether it’s the struggle to heal from past relationships or the struggle for self-love, each of us

can find a piece of ourselves in Milk and Honey. Her poems often manage to read like miniature bundles of wisdom from an older sister. At other times, the vulnerability of her thoughts

leave readers humbled that she chose to share such intimate parts of her past with them. It is a collection of writing that does exactly what its table of contents profess: it hurts, it loves, it breaks, and it heals.

If I have any particular criticism of the book, it is that I wish there was more. Each poem contains enough to leave the reader lost in thought, yet aching for another stanza as they flip to the next page. My second and third readings of the book were much slower than the first, as I was eager to unravel the writer ’s thoughts now that I had read the collection cover to cover. The book’s greatest weakness being its length, all that I can ask is for a second collection.

Whether you are an avid reader of poetry or enjoy an occasional musing by Rumi, Milk and Honey is a great read and worth an order from Amazon.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Men’s wrestling team hosts first tournament on home turf Cascades look ahead to the nationals after defeating Winnipeg Wesmen and Saskatchewan Huskies NATHAN HUTTON THE CASCADE

On the last weekend of January, the men’s wrestling team hosted their first tournament in the history of the program. The tournament, dubbed the Cascades Classic, was also the first time that the Cascades were asked to defend their new number-one national ranking — and they succeeded, winning seven medals, including three gold. Earning 51 points, they beat out the Winnipeg Wesmen, with 43 points, and the Saskatchewan Huskies, with 40.

“It was just proof of their hard work,” said Arjan Bhullar, who coaches the men’s wrestling team with Raj Virdi.

“The kids have been working hard all year. Our goal is to win; the ranking doesn’t mean anything.”

One student who has stood out to Bhullar is Manheet Kahlon. The freshman has become a rising superstar, and his success is a big reason that the Cascades have earned the title of best wrestling team in the country.

Kahlon, who fights in the 120 kg division, made waves when he defeated University of Winnipeg’s Kyle Nguyen in mid-January. Nguyen is the defending national silver medalist, yet Kahlon was

Image: Wikipedia

Two weeks from now, the wrestling team gets to fight for a spot at nationals. able to squeak out a 7-5 win. The two were matched up once again in their first contest of the Cascades Classic.

In terms of the men’s physical size, the match between Kahlon and Nguyen was comparable to matches between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant in the ‘70s.

However, Kahlon’s lead grew larger and larger over the course of the six-minute match. When the final buzzer went, Kahlon was victorious once again, this time 9-2. The third-year Nguyen had been defeated twice by a freshman.

“I performed good,” said Kahlon af-

ter the match. “I’m a first-year student beating people that medalled last year. I should be able to get gold at nationals.”

Not only is Kahlon’s consistency against the best wrestlers big for him individually, it’s “huge” for the program, according to Bhullar.

“We are looking at the team and how we stack up against the other teams in the Canada West. In two weeks [at the Canada West playoffs] it might even come down to that match, as we look at how we match up with them,” he explained. “As you can see with a young athlete like [Kahlon] … the more he wrestles, the more confidence he is getting with these match-ups.”

The Cascades are up next in two weeks when they travel to Alberta to fight in the Canada West playoffs for a spot at nationals. It’s a tournament that Coach Bhullar is positive that the team is mentally and physically prepared for.

“They earned that [number-one] ranking,” he says. “It was something we told them to expect all year. If you put in the work, do what we tell you to do, then that’s where we should be.

“It’s validation that we as coaches have put together the right program for them, and they as athletes have followed that program to a T.”

Weight loss connected to what time you exercise SASHA MOEDT THE CASCADE

Interestingly, the time of day you work out makes a difference in how your body breaks down fat. Why do you work out? For some it’s about muscle gain, for others it’s about performance, and even more still just want to get a good night’s sleep. Everyone knows you need to be active to keep happy and healthy. But for most people, it’s all about weight loss.

People prefer different hours to exercise. There are early birds and late worms (you know the old saying — “the late worm stays alive”) and I’m definitely a late worm. But if I want to work out for weight loss, I might have to change my ways.

Weight loss is affected by your body’s rhythms and cycles. You can synchronize your workouts with optimal times in this cycle.

A Danish study shows that working out before breakfast might do the trick. The study, published in the Journal of Physiology, took three groups of young men, feeding them all high-fat diets. The first group

Image: Lynn Friedman/ flickr

Sync your exercise with optimal times in your body’s cycles in order to achieve weight loss. worked out before breakfast, the second after breakfast, and the third group not at all (poor third group).

At the end of six weeks, those who worked out before breakfast hadn’t gained weight and had healthy insulin levels.

Insulin is key to weight loss.

Those who worked out after breakfast gained about three pounds, and had offset insulin levels. And no one ever saw

the third group ever again.

Just kidding! We just don’t talk about them anymore.

This study would suggest that working out prior to breakfast will give you more bang for your buck. However, the flaw here is that the study doesn’t have anyone working out later in the day, so we can’t compare.

Yet there is evidence that working out later on has its benefits. Let’s talk cortisol.

Cortisol is a stress hormone.

It does good things, according to the US National Library of Medicine’s website MedlinePlus — it maintains your blood pressure, metabolises fats, helps out with the nervous system, and gives you a kick for your fightor-flight reaction. But unless there’s a bear on campus, you don’t want high levels of cortisol. That’s because it’s trying to save you by storing fat. Cor-

tisol is worried. Are you okay?

Cortisol will make sure you’re all good. Therefore weight loss isn’t easy with high levels of cortisol. You can’t help stress levels sometimes. However, cortisol tends to stay at higher levels in the morning.

Wellness website Fitbie notes that cortisol is highest at about 8 a.m., and lowest in the evening. If levels are high, working out will raise them higher and higher, until your body is in stress-mode for the rest of the day. It may be best to wait until levels are low, so that your friendly neighbourhood cortisol won’t go breaking down muscles, and hanging on to fat.

In the end, the best way to achieve all of the above is simply this: consistency. The American Heart Association notes that the benefits of physical activity are closely linked to how often you work out. If you’re a late worm and you’re forcing yourself to get up early, how long are you going to keep that up? Chances are, if you work out during the time of day you feel good, you’ll stick to your schedule.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015 www.ufvcascade.ca

Aerial, Hatha, and Bikram, oh my!

The student’s guide to decoding yoga names and deciding which version is right for you CATHERINE STEWART THE CASCADE

With so many different types of yoga, it could be difficult to choose which one is right for you. In Abbotsford alone, there are more than six places that offer different yoga classes — MRC and ARC included. Stress no more! The Cascade has the ultimate guide to direct you down the path of restfulness.

Bikram yoga If you want to sweat your worries away while rolling around and folding yourself into a pretzel, Bikram yoga is for you.

This style is also known as “hot yoga,” as it’s typically practiced in a room that is 95 to 100° F. This allows tight muscles to loosen, and encourages your body to release toxins. Wellness website Dailycupofyoga. com says this form of yoga is for anyone wishing to cleanse their body, speed up recovery from an injury, or enhance their flexibility. Abbotsford has its very own Bikram yoga studio on Essendene Ave. Hatha yoga This is the most common form here in the West. It’s what you typically think of when yoga comes to mind. It focuses mainly on physical postures and relaxation — or finding inner peace, if you will. It’s full of gentle, slow movements that

Image: matthewphotograph/flickr

Contrary to popular belief, not all forms of yoga focus just on meditation and finding inner peace. will leave you feeling looser and ready for bed. Don’t expect to sweat lots from this one. In fact, unless you’re truly into closing your eyes for 20 minutes to do some soul-seeking, it might not be for you at all. With your U-Pass, drop by ARC and try a couple classes for free — then you can decide for yourself if it’s right for you.

Aerial yoga As the name implies, this replaces the yoga mat with a fabric hammock. Inspired by yoga and Pilates, it’s a way to “play with gravity in different ways and to stay energetically grounded,” according to yoga website Yogaonhigh.com.

Half of the class time will be

spent on the traditional mat, while the other half will feature you achieving other sorts of yoga positions while suspended in the air. According to the Goddess Movement, a local studio which offers aerial yoga, the inclusion of the hammock is meant to help students “achieve proper postural alignment through relaxation rather

than effort.” The hammock lets you stretch more deeply, and people of all shapes and sizes are welcome to join in. If you’re open-minded and want to try something different, drop by the Goddess Movement on Sumas Way and have your world turned upside-down.

Image: wikimedia