The Cascade Vol. 25 Issue 11

MARCH 22 TO MARCH 28, 2017

VOLUME 25 ISSUE 11

Barred by no locked doors since 1993

SUS Health Centre

Canadaland’s Imposter

Logan

Studentcare reccomendation highlights expensive realisy of campus health centres.

CIVL Radio brings Canadian arts and culture podcast to UFV.

Wolverine but way more violent.

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Reclaiming history pgs. 10-12

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

EDITORIAL

I don’t think I’m going to graduate

VANESSA BROADBENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

When I started university it felt like graduation was something that although it was what I was striving for, it would probably never happen. And over the course of my four years in university, it still felt like something that would probably never happen.

And now, midway through the third to last week of my last semester of my degree, I still feel like it’s something that will probably never happen.

Maybe it’s a fear of change — not being able to grasp that the thing I’ve spent the last four years of my life pursuing might actually be happening (or just nerves) — but I feel like something is going to go wrong.

Last week I completed a grad check with academic advising where I was told that after completing this semester I’ll meet all the requirements to graduate, and this week I officially applied for graduation — but I have this hunch that I’m going to forget to hand in an assignment and unexpectedly fail a class, or that despite what my academic advisor says there’s some breadth requirement that I missed, or that UFV will somehow be shut down sometime in the next three weeks and I won’t be able to finish the semester.

Part of the anxiety that’s growing as I approach graduation may be because I have honestly no idea where I’m going from here. Last week the plan was to take off and teach English in Peru, this week it’s changed to try to find some sort of job close to a beach in Greece (if that’s even a possibility right now), but practically speaking, it’ll probably be working a job somewhere in B.C. and sticking it out until I actually have enough in my savings, or at the very least a plan, to make the first two more achievable.

Or, the anxiety could be because I honestly never re-

STAFF

ally thought it would happen. There were more than a comfortable amount of times that I debated not returning for the next semester, several times where I left B.C. during the summer and almost never came home because wherever I was seemed so much better than going back to classes, and one time where I almost packed up over the winter break and moved to Fernie for a change of mountains, and a job that I didn’t end up getting.

While all those things never happened and somehow I actually made it this far, it’s much more daunting than I thought it would be, even though I’ve spent the last four years of my life waiting for the day when I would never have to return to this school again. I can’t wait to not have to worry about getting my socks wet every time I attempt to trek my way across the swamp outside of the Student Union Building. Or having to park way down at the end of Gillis Ave because if you show up anytime after 9:00 a.m. on any weekday except Friday it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’re not going to find a parking spot. Or having a late class that goes until after 6:30 p.m. and having the only place to get a coffee be Tim Hortons. Unfortunately, right now, all of this still isn’t enough to take away the slightly overwhelming and a little bit intimidating feeling that comes with knowing that the next three weeks of classes are my last.

The frustrating part is that nearly every single person that I’ve told that I’m graduating this semester has responded with some form of “and what are you doing then?” To which I have to respond with either some eloquent and mature-sounding response that, while socially acceptable makes me feel sicker than the thought of not having a plan at all, or, and this option is usually only saved for fellow students that are among the few that understand the stress, I say that I just really don’t know.

Because I really, really don’t.

CONTRIUBUTORS WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA @UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/THE.CASCADE

Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Broadbent vanessa@ufvcascade.ca

Opinion Editor Panku Sharma panku@ufvcascade.ca

Production Assistant Molly Jones molly@ufvcascade.ca

Managing Editor Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca

Culture & Events Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca

Features Editor Bradley Peters brad@ufvcascade.ca

Business Manager Quintin Stamler quintin@ufvcascade.ca

Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca

Illustrator Amara Gelaude amara@ufvcascade.ca

Cover: Bradley Peters Back Cover: Brittany Cardinal

Copy Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca

Varsity Writer Harvin Bhathal harvin@ufvcascade.ca

Photographer Alexandrah Pahl Alexandrah@ufvcascade.ca

News Editor Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca

Production Manager Brittany Cardinal brittany@ufvcascade.ca

Distributor Griffy Vigneron distributor@ufvcascade.ca

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It originated under its current name in 1993, and achieved autonomy from the university and the Student Union Society in 2002. This means that The Cascade is a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published in an entirely student-run setting. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds, and is overseen by the Cascade Journalism Society Board, a body run by a student majority. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a print circulation of 1,250 and is distributed at Abbotsford, Chilliwack (CEP), Clearbrook, and Mission UFV campuses and throughout the surrounding communities.

Ad Rep Kayla Normandeau-Cowan kayla@ufvcascade.ca

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Ekanki Chawla Mitch Huttema Lauren Johnson Jennifer Trithardt-Tufts Rachel Tait

Volume 25 · Issue 11 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

The Cascade is open to written, photo, and design work from all students; these can come in the form of a pitch to an editor, or an assignment from an editor. Writers meetings are held each Monday at 12:00 p.m. in The Cascade’s office on the Abbotsford campus.

In order to be published in the newspaper, all work must first be approved by The Cascade’s editor-in-chief, copy editor, and corresponding section editor. 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. Letters to the editor, while held to the same standard, are unedited, and should be under 400 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

NEWS NEWS BRIEFS

The Kitten Story: The final chapter Following up with UFV’s cat family

Creep on campus On Monday, a man at the UFV Abbotsford campus approached and made inappropriate and sexually suggestive remarks to multiple students and one staff member.

The man, in his late 20s or early 30s, wasn’t recognized to be a student. He was described as balding, with a dark complexion, and is approximately 5’11 tall. He was seen wearing a black track suit.

As a precaution, more security patrols at the Abbotsford campus will be increased. The Abbotsford Police Department was notified and UFV security is working with the authorities to investigate the issue.

It is recommended that if you’re approached by this individual or someone who makes similar gestures, leave the area, and call 911 and UFV security at 1.855.239.7654.

- UFV Announcements

Transfer Agreement The liberal arts diploma from Catholic Pacific College will now be transferable to UFV after a new transfer agreement between the schools was signed.

CPC grads will be able to enter the bachelor of arts or the bachelor of general studies degrees at UFV with full credit for their CPC coursework.

The agreements were approved by UFV’s Undergraduate Education Committee and are effective September 2017.

- UFV Today

UFV offering one-month tech program UFV and the Ministry of Advanced Education worked together to offer a short-term training program offering education in coding-related skills. The program, beginning May 1, will be offered at UFV Five Corners in downtown Chilliwack.

The program is aimed to enhance coding skills, provide employment training, and help prepare recent graduates for the job market.

Because it’s a one-time government funding, the fee for the program will be $100.

- UFV Today

Photo: Dana Landry

VANESSA BROADBENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Although UFV’s infamous cat family may have left campus, that doesn’t mean they’ve left the UFV community.

Last October, a cat with kittens was found on UFV’s Abbotsford campus and after an extensive search the family was rescued. Dana Landry, a professor in UFV’s communications department has adopted the cat.

Landry first saw the cat in the fall semester near the picnic tables outside of B building.

“I was outside visiting someone that smokes, and this cat just came running out of the bush,” she said. “It sounds so cheesy, but she literally bounded out of the darkness and into the light.

Right away, I was like, I want that cat. I don’t even know why, I just really wanted her.”

Although no one knows exactly how long, the cat had already been living on campus with her kittens for several months.

“I learned that she had been there awhile and people knew about her already and everything,” Landry said. “I saw her a few times just when I’d visit friends or whatever, and she’d come along. I just liked her right away.”

Members of the UFV community, namely in food services, had started feeding the cat. Sherry, a manager at the campus Tim Hortons was one of them.

“I tried to grab her, and then Sherry said ‘Oh, she has kittens,’ and she told me that they had been taking care of her,” Landry said.

It didn’t take long until the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) was called and a campus-wide search for the cat was

launched.

As a full-time volunteer trapper with VOKRA, Anne Salomon has seen her fair share of unique rescue missions. But she noted that none have compared to the one at UFV. “It made it different because of the location, time of year, and vastness of the campus,” she said.

The rescue was confused further even after the cat was initially found and brought to a shelter where she was spayed. She had to be returned after VOKRA learned that she had kittens, which were only between five and six weeks old at the time, still on campus.

“We had to return her to the site two days after she was spayed because during the spay we noticed that she had milk, which meant that she had tiny kittens out there,” Salomon said. “We hate doing that, but we had to make sure she would go find her kittens and feed them, and eventually maybe bring them to the feeding station.”

Feeding stations were set up at various locations on or close to campus to trap the cat and kittens, and were checked regularly by Salomon and several VOKRA volunteers, as well as members of the UFV community, and even a bus driver.

“I remember being out there, the power was out on the whole campus that night, and it was 10 o’clock at night and I had five traps set,” Salomon explained. “I went down to Tim Hortons to warm up and I came back, and I got all five kittens in one go that night. I’ll never forget it. I cried, you have no idea.”

After learning that the cat and kittens had been rescued, Landry contacted VOKRA immediately to apply for adoption.

“Because of Sherry, I managed to get into the process before the cat was in circulation,” she said. “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have.”

“I tried to not be really invested in it, so I just threw it out there. I got in touch with the woman, and then I didn’t really pursue it, I just wanted to see what happened, she had to wait for the kittens to be old enough anyway. Then I got another email asking if I was still interested.”

On Nov. 25 Landry brought the cat, now named Sofie, home.

“She’s totally awesome, she’s very chill and lovey. It’s been awesome and I’m really glad I did it,” she said. “She’s fat, all she does is sleep and eat now. She’s very playful at night. I lay awake at four in the morning and listen to her play with cords and unplug things and jump on tables and hit things off.”

As for the kittens, named Oliver, Twist, Sassifrass, Stormy, and Cousteau, they’ve all found their own forever homes as well.

Salomon noted that the rescue was only made possible with help from the UFV community — and that anyone that spots cats on campus should contact security by calling 1-855-2397654.

“That was one of the most frustrating, emotional, happy rescues I have ever been involved in,” Salomon said. “We say it takes a village, and it really took a village to get all this.”

“So the moral of the story is that if anyone sees cats, to speak up. If people do see cats or kittens, they are to let security know and they have our number.”

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

NEWS

Health plan centre stage JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR NEWS EDITOR

Fighting against fentanyl UFV students host harm reduction and naloxone training event VANESSA BROADBENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / PHOTO

With B.C.’s fentanyl crisis still going strong, the future of opiate overdoses in the province is looking bleak. But students in UFV professor Robert Harding’s Social Work and Community Development class are working to change that.

On Thursday, students in the class hosted a Harm Reduction & Naloxone Training event which featured speakers, along with naloxone administration training.

“It’s to start a conversation on harm reduction because of the drug opiate crisis,” Chloe Smith, a student in the class, said. “We decided to focus on harm reduction because of the fentanyl crisis and everything going on right now.”

The event was organized as a group assignment for the 300-level course, which there are two of offered this semester. Each class was split into two groups of about 15 students, and each was responsible for creating a community development initiative.

“Our professor quotes Saul Alinsky who’s a big community developer using activism, and he said that community development learning can’t solely take place in the classroom, it needs to actually happen through doing community development,” Smith said. “What we saw as a big community issue right now is the drug crisis. We wanted to create some education around people understanding what’s going on and also what they can do to help too.”

The event began with speakers, including Erica Thomson, a former user and HIV / hepatitis C outreach worker at the warm zone, a drop-in centre for street-engaged and vulnerable women in Abbotsford and Mission, as well as Erin Gibson, Fraser Health’s harm

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reduction coordinator.

Following the speakers, attendees had the opportunity to speak with Thomson, as well as workers and service users from Rain City Housing, or complete naloxone training with Gibson and a public health nurse.

“A lot of people want to take action, so that’s why we have the training piece, so that if someone sees someone overdosing they can use naloxone to reverse the opiate overdose,” Smith said.

The fentanyl crisis saw 914 overdose-caused deaths in B.C. last year, an 80 per cent increase from 2015. A report released by the B.C. Coroners Service on Friday showed that in February alone, 102 people died of suspected drug overdose in the province.

While Smith and her group mates are hoping to increase education surrounding drug use and the ongoing crisis, they’re also hoping to increase empathy for it as well.

“Either people aren’t totally aware of it, or they’re becoming more aware of it but they don’t necessarily understand it from a user perspective. We’re trying to bring that piece here to help people have empathy and more understanding,” she said. “I think empathy, along with education, is what changes people’s minds.”

Although the majority of students involved in the project and in the class are social work and global development students, the event was open to not only all UFV students, but community members as well.

“We’re hoping community members, and even people with maybe not the greatest understanding or opposition opinions, will come and have their minds open and understand,” Smith said. “[We want to] make people feel like they can make a difference and that they have a greater understanding of what’s going on right now.”

The proposed Student Union health centre may bring with it, increased health and dental fees.

According to a document prepared by Studentcare (the plan provider) for the Student Union on the impact of health and dental practitioners in student union buildings, a health centre “has a very major impact on the health and dental plan that can increase costs by up to 50%.” The document goes on to say that this “led to Studentcare’s longstanding position that health providers were not a beneficial fit for student union buildings, once all underlying factors were accounted for.”

However, already $16,000 has been spent on renovating the SUB third floor space to accommodate a health centre, according to Sukhi Brar, SUS president.

Brar declined to comment on what the intentions of the Student Union were moving forward but said that the item would be discussed at the upcoming SUS board meeting on Tuesday, March 28.

The Studentcare document goes on to say that the “introduction of a dental provider in a SUB leads to a large increase in dental claims through the student plan. This phenomenon was first noted at the University of Windsor … where a dental clinic opening led to a $500,000 deficit on the student dental plan.”

The University of Saskatchewan student union saw a 25 per cent increase after the first four months of the clinic being opened, a 41 per cent increase was seen by the University of Toronto Scarborough campus student union a year after the clinic opened, and the University of Waterloo felt a 35 per cent increase after a year of opening.

“Oftentimes, this decision is purely a business operations decision, or is made at an executive level without consultation or analysis from the perspective of the health and dental plan committee,” the document states.

“While dental clinics on campus lead to dramatically increased claims (which is worrisome from a financial stability perspective), it is indicative of increased awareness of the student service.”

Last term’s numbers

The UFV students’ health and dental plan annual claims report of the 2015-16 year showed that $579,846 in premiums was paid to Studentcare while claims paid out to students totalled $511,088.

Based on those numbers, the loss ratio from the 2015-16 term was 88 per cent.

Loss ratio is the difference between the premium paid to the insurer and claims paid out.

Simply put, if $100 is paid as a premium to the insurance company, and an $80 chiropractic visit is fully covered, the loss ratio for that claim is 80 per cent.

According to Studentcare, a loss ratio around 88-92 per cent is an indication that the plan is used to its full extent because insurer administrative costs are typically between 8-12 per cent.

Breakdown of costs

The drug type with the highest amount of claims was anovulants (birth control) with 958 eligible claims totalling $31,387.73.

The second costliest drug category was antidepressants at $12,456.63 across 599 claims.

This was followed by anti-infectants costing $10,990.94 for 609 claims.

The six most expensive drugs by amount paid out were all birth controls. The seventh most expensive category was an amphetamine; eighth was an inhaler for preventing / reducing asthma attacks; nine and ten were more birth controls.

Extended health care claims paid out to students totalled $44,172.15. This includes chiropractic, physiotherapist, and massage visits, among other extend health services.

Of the dental claims, 59.03 per cent went to preventative services, 40.66 per cent paid for fillings, minor restoratives / surgery, and 0.32 per cent was paid to prosthesis or major restoratives.

The student opt-out rate from the plan in 2015-16 was 34.88 per cent while 36.26 per cent opted out for the current 2016-17 term.

Although the agenda has not yet been released, the tentative plan will see the health centre discussed at the next SUS board meeting, scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m. on the Abbotsford campus in S3102.

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

Photo: Mitch Huttema

Complex policies, triangular relationships Edward Akuffo on the African Union, Canada, and NATO JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR MANAGING EDITOR

Edward Akuffo is in the middle of an ongoing research project that picks up from his most recent book: Canadian Foreign Policy in Africa: Regional Approaches to Peace, Security, and Development.

On top of department head and associate professorship responsibilities at UFV, Akuffo went to Ottawa in November 2016 and will be heading to the NATO headquarters in Brussels this year to continue his research.

The focus of his project is on the complex relationship between Canada, the African Union, and NATO — on which very little has been written. Akuffo also started the Politalk Roundtable Series at UFV which included discussions on the Brexit and the implications of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Here he shares some of his insight into the condition of Canada’s international policies in Africa.

You’re working on a project called “Triangular Relationship: African Union - NATO Cooperation and Canada’s Security Policy in Canada.” Can you help me unpack that title?

So what this project is about is it builds on my research on Canada’s security and foreign policy on the African continent.

So I’m trying to build on this project to look at the changes that are taking place within Canadian foreign policy and security and the engagements on the African continent. Part of the whole pathos of this project is looking at what I call “triangular relationship.” The triangular relationship had to do with Canada’s bilateral relations with the African Union in promoting peace and security on the African continent, and Canada’s multilateral relations with the North Atlantic Trade Organization, NATO, and how that impacts Canada’s bilateral relations with the African Union, and looking at how NATO relations with the African Union itself also has its impact on Canadian policy. I call it triangular and it’s more complex in the interrelationships. So in a nutshell, that is what this project is about, looking at how policy at different levels impacts Canadian foreign policy and security policy in general.

In what kind of way do these relationships affect one another?

In all these different levels of engagement, Canada plays a significant role: at the bilateral level, Canada deals one-on-one with the African Union; at the multilateral level, Canada is a key member of NATO; and at an interregional level, being a key level, NATO, as a representative body of the North Atlantic Alliance, has a relationship with the African Union. We saw that in Darfur and we have seen more engaged relations with the African Union, to help to build the African Union’s standby force, and there have been several military operations and training exercises between African Union forces and NATO. The latest intervention, the very first NATO-led intervention on the African continent was in Libya in 2011, when it led to the overthrow and subsequent killing of Gaddafi, who was the leader of that country. So the project purpose here is to try and bring a more complex, nuanced understanding of Canada’s role on the African continent, to look at a set of factors that have not been looked at before, and so this is very original research that builds on the pioneering work that I did with the previous book.

What got you interested in this project?

I’ve been studying Canadian security and foreign policy ever since I came to Canada as an MA student at Brock University in 2002. So since 2002 my research has focused on Canadian security and foreign policy on the African continent. But I have a special interest in security issues because that is the area where there is not much being studied. The literature in Canadian security policy on the African continent is negligible. It might interest you to note that my book is the first single-authored book on Canadian security policy, looking at Canadian security policy’s role on the African continent.

Then this is something that really needs to happen now.

Yes, we really need the kind of research that I’m doing, not only because it is unique in the sense that it looks at the complex relationships of bilateral, multilateral, and interregional level, but within a globalized context, especially if we want to understand Canada’s role, we want to understand what Canada is doing in an international system, we really need to enrich ourselves with this kind of research. And I think it will be beneficial to not only academics but to policy makers and also to businesses that

are interested in Canada’s economic relations with the African continent.

How do you think of Africa then, because it’s such a complex and diverse continent, aren’t there lots of nuances within the continent itself?

This doesn’t look at Africa as made up of states but it looks at the African Union. The analytical category here that I’m looking at is the African Union, which is the regional body. The operational definition of this regional body is a representative body of the diversity of Africa. So that is why I’m looking at the bilateral relations. I’m not looking at Canada’s bilateral relations with every single African state.

But in fact, you are absolutely right. Usually people talk about Africa as if it’s a state or it is a city; it is not a state neither is it a city. It is a continent made up of 54 independent states with several cultures, traditions, and religions, from the north to the south and the east to the west. So it’s a very diverse continent, rich in culture, rich in religion, and the social and economic development of the continent is also very diverse.

Because it’s a very original work then, are you uncovering things that you didn’t expect at all to see?

In fact, I’m uncovering many things that I did not expect to see at all. It’s very interesting that there is a discussion now for Canada to deploy peacekeeping troops to Mali. So one of the conditions that was set by the United Nations (which of course is the global body responsible for promoting international peace and security and had deployed United Nations troops in Mali) is that they were looking to a NATO member country to provide the leader. So you can see here that although this is a UN operation, the UN criteria is that in order to get somebody to be the commander of the forces, they are looking for this certain quality, or criteria — that the commander of the forces should be from a NATO member state. Canada’s name came up but as the Globe and Mail reported a few days ago, Canada seems to have missed that opportunity because it has dragged its feet in deploying troops to Mali. So this is a very interesting thing that is coming up in the research. Although it’s primarily a UN operation, the UN is trying to bring the idea of NATO, showing the important role that NATO plays in global security since the end of the Cold War. So it makes this research very, very impor-

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

NEWS tant, and very, very timely, in the sense that it will help us to understand the role that Canada is playing on the African continent.

Does that say that the UN has a bias towards NATO ideals, in putting a NATO commander in a position of power?

Yes, the UN has made it quite clear that it needed a person with a certain level of experience and qualifications, someone who is able to use the kind of intelligence that they gather in Mali and to help operationalize that intelligence in dealing with the situation in that country. The UN finds that only NATO members have that kind of expertise, and therefore Canada will be able to do that. Actually, it’s important to mention that there have been two Canadian commanders in recent years who have actually led operations on the African continent: Roméo Dellaire in Rwanda in 1994 (of course that was not a very successful intervention because as we all know it couldn’t prevent a genocide in Rwanda), and there was another Canadian general who actually led a NATO operation in Libya and his name is Charles Bouchard. I think he’s retired now from the Canadian Army. So Canada really has been up there in terms of commanding huge forces on the African continent.

That’s interesting, I would expect them to want to go within Mali to find someone whom they could at the very least consult with if not lead the forces.

That’s right, in fact the deputy commander of the UN operation there is a Senegalese officer, but this Senegalese officer from what I’ve read so far doesn’t possess the kind of qualifications that the UN is looking for. The other thing though is that we shouldn’t lose sight of the power politics within the UN peacekeeping operation. The department of peacekeeping operations, usually it is the case that major states like Canada which make a significant contribution to peace operations have a little bit more say when it comes to the deployment of UN forces.

Because we have more say, and we’re a big player in peace operations, does that mean that Canada can also say we’ll only help under certain and beneficial conditions?

Jean Chretien and also Stephen Harper made

it quite clear that they were not going to deploy troops to the African continent, for different reasons. In the case of Jean Chretien, his government actually supported the African Union in deploying troops to Darfur. So one could say they supported materially and financially, and even provided some diplomatic support, to help the African Union to deploy troops to Darfur, in between 2003 and 2005. Now in the case of former prime minister Harper, he came to power at a time when the United States were trying

perceived in a certain way. And that way is that the continent is poor, unstable, and therefore there is no material interest that Canada gets from the continent, but what is true, and what many people actually do not know is that Canada is the mining super power on the African continent. Canadian mining investment far exceeds any other country outside of Africa. It is estimated that this mining interest is over $20 billion and if we look at how it has grown, in the mid-1980s, Canada’s mining interest was

“So it’s a very diverse continent, rich in culture, rich in religion, and the social economic development of the continent is also very diverse.” to ramp up the war effort in Afghanistan, and Canada was heavily committed in Afghanistan, and with a declining defence budget and in terms of the current position of the Canadian Army, the prime minister I think found it quite, if you will, more strategic to support the combat in Afghanistan than to deploy troops on the African continent. But the underlying fact here is it does also tell us the strategic interests of the Canadian government, where its strategic interests are. So it’s part of geopolitics. The geopolitical interests of Canada, that it is more interested in aligning with the other major powers within NATO in Afghanistan than deploying troops on the African continent.

What conversations need to be had that relate to all this that aren’t being discussed in popular conversations?

I think the conversation that we really need to have and one of the key things I think that’s not being talked about is that the focus of discussions about Canada’s relations in Africa is

around $300 million. Now between the mid‘80s up to the present day it’s over $20 billion; it is the largest single investor in the African continent when it comes to mining possessions.

So it’s one of the conversations that’s not being had, and of course it is kind of a paradox.

On one hand we have huge Canadian economic interest in the African continent, but on the other hand we don’t see much of Canadian security contributions towards the continent.

But if we look at how the prime minister and the Liberal government has dragged its feet, announcing in June to the whole world that Canada was going to send 600 peacekeeping troops to Africa, but we haven’t seen that happen yet, it’s kind of mind boggling that we have such huge investment but we are unwilling to put Canadian troops on the ground in Africa to promote peace and security. And I think in relation to that, I would also like to see more conversation about what role Canada can play to prevent the spread of terrorism in Africa. Be-

cause terrorism is a global threat, it’s a threat to global security, and terrorist threats are indivisible in the sense that whether it happens on the African continent or happens here in Canada, it still impacts on Canada’s material interests around the world.

So do businesses, especially the mining industry, believe they benefit from the current state of instability? And would that make them reluctant to change the system or could they benefit in both conditions?

I think looking at what some scholars call “social responsibility” in terms of the role that mining interests or other business interests balance the economic pursuit with protection of the environment or human rights issues. I’d say it’s related with this whole security thing that I’m looking at. But whether they benefit directly and they see that as benefiting from the current instability, I think it will make more sense to argue that businesses will operate in conditions of peace. So in places like Ghana or Senegal or Liberia where Canadian mining interests are located, these countries are relatively stable so it encourages that.

But at the same time in Burkina Faso recently there was a terrorist attack which led to the killing of two Canadians. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo where there is an endemic violent conflict, and in Sudan where there is also a violent conflict, in these places and in Mali as well, I think it increases the operational costs of these mining companies. It increases the operational cost because they are forced to hire extra security in order to protect the mining sites. And that contributes to making their businesses more dangerous because there is no predictability of when the next bomb is going to go off. So I think, and that is why I said earlier that it is in the interest of the Canadian government, or it is even in the interest of these businesses, to lobby the government to do more and contribute more to creating security and stability in some of these places that I mentioned.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Stories worth paying attention to #Can’tBeTrusted

#GettingSued

B.C. Liberals challenged to return pipeline donations The B.C. Liberals have been called on by three environmental groups to return hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Kinder Morgan, and groups and companies that they say have a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The three groups, the Dogwood Initiative, Stand.earth, and Leadnow said the B.C. Liberals have received “at least $771,168 from Kinder Morgan, its shippers and allied pipeline and petroleum associations,” according to the CBC. Only about $33,000 of the $771,168 was from Kinder Morgan. The donations were made between 2005 and 2016.

-CBC

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#BreastDefence

B.C. government sued Two Vancouver lawyers filed a lawsuit against the B.C. government for what they claim is a misuse of tax money.

The civil claim, which they are trying to get approved to class action, filed Monday by David Fai and Paul Doroshenko, alleges that by spending as much as $15 million a year ago on ads to “enhance the image of the governing B.C. Liberal Party,” the government broke the law.

“They are not spending it for the benefit of British Columbians, they are spending it for the benefit of the B.C. Liberal Party,” Doroshenko said.

The suit also alleges that the government benefits personally from B.C. tax dollars because they’re being used to improve the party’s chances for re-election.

-CBC

Montreal activist acquitted on charges related to Grand Prix protest An activist accused of mischief and disturbing the peace for brandishing her breasts and draping herself over a race car during a 2015 Grand Prix street festival was acquitted on Tuesday. The trial was the first in Canada against a member of the topless protest group.

Neda Topaloski is a Montreal woman and member of the women’s rights group Femen.

Defence lawyer Veronique Robert said Tuesday that the judge ruled there was reasonable doubt about who caused the $2,500 in damage to a racing car at a street festival in downtown Montreal in June 2015.

“It’s a victory for freedom of expression,” Topaloski said after the ruling.

- National Post

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

SPORTS

Joel Kleingeltin on his time as a Cascade and being an AllCanadian HARVIN BHATHAL VARSITY WRITER

Joel Kleingeltink was recently named the UFV men’s volleyball program’s third All-Canadian. The graduating business student and right side from Langley, B.C. is finishing off his fifth season in the PACWEST conference’s top five for offence and as a first team all-star. After half a decade of balancing classes, early morning practices, and road trips, Kleingeltink opens up on his experiences with the team, how he has grown as a person and athlete, and what he’ ll miss most about being a Cascade.

Growing up, what attracted you to volleyball?

My brother, who was two years older than me, was playing on the school team and that kind of drew me to it at first, and on top of that, it was an excuse to miss my after-school chores when I had to stay to practice.

What is your favourite skill in volleyball?

That’s a tough question. The skills that I’m probably best at are attacking and serving, just flying up in the air and trying to hit the ball and find a spot on the floor where no one can get to it. On top of that, nothing feels better than putting up a big block and watching the ball go off your arms, straight into the floor.

What changed in the years you were named an academic All-Canadian to a men’s volleyball All-Canadian?

The academic All-Canadian is school-based, getting a 3.5 GPA and being a conference all-star. The two years prior I got that, I was a second-team all-star. What’s cool about this award is that it’s just based on volleyball, it has nothing to do with my school or education.

It’s nice to be recognized for all the hard work I’ve put in for just the sport — the athlete side of the studentathlete part.

Adam Chaplain was the second men’s volleyball AllCanadian in the history of the Cascade’s program last season. With you being the third this season, what did you learn from him to get to that level?

Adam Chaplain is the hardest working guy I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen someone so dedicated to their craft.

He’s the guy that it’s the weight room before practice and after practice, all throughout the summer. He stays late after practice working on things if they don’t feel right — I mean, just the dedication and the commitment. People talk about professional athletes that are almost crazy about it and Chaplain’s not crazy but he’s crazy about volleyball and he loves it so much. I think that’s why he’s doing so well and is pursuing it overseas as well.

What advice would you give to the future players of the Cascade’s volleyball program?

Have fun, enjoy it, and work hard. You can’t do five years of university volleyball or any sport really unless you are committed to it, and the only way you’re going to stay committed is if you really love it and enjoy it. Be true to yourself if you want to do it and go down that road, because it’s a huge commitment but it’s a lot of fun. You make good friends.

Photo: UFV Cascades

You’re notorious for your Instagram photos of the team on road trips. What’s your fondest memory on a road trip in your five years here?

First off, all the road trips are a blast. But I think you get used to them in your fifth year, it’s kind of a routine and you know what to expect. In my first year, the first road trip I went on was to Cranbrook, which was a 10-to-12-

hour bus ride depending on the weather. It was awful but it was fun in its own way. I think the worst part about a bus is having your legs fall asleep all day. Me and a player at the time who’s now an assistant coach, Devin, we went for a walk around Cranbrook and there was snow. At the time, I don’t think there was any snow in the Lower Mainland so we were playing in the snow, a little bit of a snowball fight, shoving our faces in the snow, just having a good time. It was fun as a first-year thing, getting used to road trips and how they work, and exploring new cities which is a cool aspect of it.

In what ways has being a business major contributed to your success as a volleyball player?

That’s a good question. I think business is a lot about people and that’s one of the biggest takeaways I’ve had with the business program. If you think about sales, it’s selling yourself and unifying people and getting other people to see the benefits of a product. If you turn that into an athletic perspective, you’re trying to unify the team towards that one goal and trying to sell them on why they should be working and competing hard, and where we want to end up.

Do you plan to pursue volleyball professionally?

No, everyone has been asking that but I don’t plan on going overseas to play or do anything like that. It takes a lot of commitment and I think I’m better off playing in rec-leagues and switching into the coaching aspect of volleyball, and nurture some of the kids of the future, teach them things I’ve learned along the way and just put my competitive playing days behind me.

In what ways have you grown as a person since you first started at UFV? Physically I’ve gained a lot of weight and grown a bit more, I’m a bit more solid of a person. But I think I’ve matured a lot. I’ve grown up, coming from in high school where I was one of the better players on my team and never had to earn my spot on the floor, to having to earn my way to get where I am. I’ve grown as a leader as well. When you get people in their first year to their fifth year, that’s a pretty large age gap, and trying to play an influence in those people’s lives and be more than just a teammate to them, help them with their schooling and getting to know the city, and a few other tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way.

With this being your last season, what are you going to miss the most?

The friendships, seeing the guys every day and spending time with them, as well as the competing. I think the game day feeling, like driving to a game and going through the whole routine of getting ready and warming up until that first whistle, is probably what I’m going to miss the most. I can live without having to practice every day, all the weightlifting and stuff like that, but I think competing and competing with my brothers is [what I’m going to miss].

What are you going to take away from your volleyball career for the rest of your life?

I think competing and having that drive to succeed.

Anything you are doing, the more passionate you are and the more you want it and want to succeed, the more likely you are to succeed. I think moving forward in life, finding things I’m passionate about or finding a way to be passionate about my work or my relationships with people will be something I’m going to take away from my time here.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

OPINION

Who controls the conversation?

There are only so many things we can be worried about; Canadian values and language policing shouldn’t be any of them PANKU SHARMA OPINION EDITOR

While a campus should be the ideal principled setting for discussions of censorship and discourse, our expectations and rules of conversations are influenced and set beyond just the classroom; media, culture, and politics are all arenas and arbiters.

Trigger warnings, identity politics, and holding people to account (calling out) are not inherently damaging to discourse, in fact they are tools that if anything bring more people into the conversation and put us on track towards better understanding and practice for the future. It’s not the tools, but the people wielding them that are sometimes unwise or not well-intentioned. In the same way that ethics in gaming journalism or frog memes were a fine and dandy thing to be concerned about up until the moment when they were co-opted by lonely, misguided pre-teens who are very good at the internet.

Trigger warnings are in themselves not censorship, if anything, once you have everyone ready, committed, and sure of context, you should feel even freer to say whatever it was that you wanted. The well-meaning intention is to remove barriers and limit shock or trauma that might otherwise keep people from engaging in the conversation. We as a human civilization have a long and deep history of conversation being dominated and led along the lines of race, gender, class, and depending on the state of the world’s empires even nationality. Sure, we shouldn’t expect to always feel comfortable or unchallenged, but for those with posttraumatic stress disorder or trauma, that “discomfort” we feel might manifest for them as something more painful. In fact, as noted in an article by the Huffington Post’s Lindsay Holmes published last year on the subject, early clinical uses of the term and theory were by psychologists who were trying to classify war neurosis in veterans. By giving the warning, you give that person a choice to either withdraw or the preparation they need to fully engage and contribute.

Think of it as the context you would give, such as “Hey I’m an air marshal and this is a test” or “We’re with Paramount and this is a film and most of these people here are extras,” before you get up and shout the word “BOMB” on an airplane. Sure, referring to it as a, or even giving a trigger warning can sometimes feel corny, if you can find an alternative way that does the same thing then go on ahead. Otherwise feel free to justify and explain the violent images of war crimes or violence that you included in your Business 100 PowerPoint which upset people. If you want to talk about whether or not in the long run exposure is harmful or helpful to those suffering trauma, then get a degree in psychology and have the discussion somewhere, but that seems, to me at least, to be separate from the issue of whether or not it’s censorship.

Between that and callouts, what proponents would like to call speaking truth to power and holding to account, is probably the root of this

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growing dread that some people feel about political correctness and censorship. Once again, in a perfect context callouts are well-intentioned and meant to challenge the norms, rules, and arbiters that for generations have been free to speak when others aren’t or the ideas that have guarded themselves too closely against criticism. They’ve become the tool that has been wielded too loosely and so unwisely that it’s grated against even my benifit of the doubt. For example, if I was being charitable, the recent accusation of cultural appropriation against NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton by the Twitter of a Vancouver-based Black Lives Matter group (which is a leaderless movement made up of chapters who are all over the map when it comes to this kind of stuff ) might have to do with a marginalized group not wanting parts of their culture adopted for a political purpose or commodified for the benefit of those already in power. However, considering the contention was over a post Ashton made using Beyonce’s lyrics from the song Irreplaceable — “To the left, to the left” — to stake her position in wanting a more progressive and ardently left platform, there is little benefit to give here. Irreplaceable was first written as a country record

by Norwegians, it was the exchange of culture and cooperation between the parties involved that turned it into the manufactured pop that it became. If Ashton, as a person who grew up with this music in the West, isn’t allowed to celebrate or have fun with it then what is the point of us even continuing to try and move culture forward? I’ve said it before, but callouts and telling people to check their privilege have become accusations and tools to keep people out rather than help anyone move forward.

That tweet, and some of the righteous discontent that you’ll find on campus’ and in the media, isn’t always motivated by intellectual curiosity or good intentions for a better tomorrow. Professors shouldn’t feel unwilling to teach classes because of trigger warning, or students eager to debate, or theories and politics that are increasingly intersectional in their approach.

What is putting strain on our discourse is a wave (and the size of it I don’t know but you can’t deny it being there) of performance activism, ego, and progressiveness as a brand rather than a principle. It’s mostly on online spaces sure, but you’re bound to know someone who couldn’t show humility if they tried but is more concerned with the correct and “woke” rules of discourse than they are real change or real people.

Yet, even with that said, even with all the frustrations I have in a wide coalition that has to include people more concerned with saying what sounds right over being right, of constantly coming up with new criteria for solidarity, and just generally obnoxious whiners; I know at the end of the day that my life isn’t changing much or under threat because of them. What worries me isn’t a campus left that is pretty much across the board mocked and marginalized by the media and those powers, because in the grand scheme of things they’ve been given very little power to meaningfully move a pro-

gressive agenda forward. Yet on the other end, you have racists — and I mean that in the most direct, truthful way, people who think there is some inherent advantage and superiority in the pigment of their skin and lineage of their blood — and totalitarians being given greater legitimacy in the discourse every day. You have sinkholes and propagandists like Rebel Media having a legitimate influence over the leadership of a major political party right here in Canada.

What worries me isn’t this argument we’re having with a progressive and inclusive political movement that’s only been able to find its footing in the past few decades after centuries of power imbalance and is now in the midst of an awkward teenage-growth-spurt-like phase of development. And it’s not about young people trying to find an identity that fits into the standards of their peer group and politics, and that becomes reflexive rather than chosen.

I’m more worried about how my kids one

day are still going to be asked, “So where are you really from?” if they’re even still welcome in this country. I’m more worried about some idiot taking their talk radio too far and doing something dangerous in my community. I’m not worried about someone telling me the word idiot is ableist. Life moves on from challenge, but it doesn’t move at all if the people who hold real power and influence (and maybe we would if we could get out and vote) aren’t working for those who really need the support.

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

OPINION

SNAPSHOTS

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Harvin Bhathal

Panku Sharma

Society’s Scum: Scalpers

RE: Awards shows are garbage

I hate the practice of scalping, and loathe those that try to take advantage of fans who genuinely want to attend an artist’s concert. The feeling of trying to purchase tickets for a show to find that the only ones available are resale and extremely overpriced is agonizing. Although Ticketmaster has taken steps to weed out scalpers, it doesn’t stop them entirely. The loophole scalpers often take advantage of is in the form of presale tickets from presale codes that fan clubs and corporate partners offer.

The idea of scalping is in itself a smart way in which to make easy money but that doesn’t make the fan getting taken advantage of feel any better. There have been artists who have shown their fan savviness by buying overpriced tickets from scalpers and selling them directly to fans, such as Chance the Rapper, but those instances are few and far between. Exterminating the scum known as scalpers would be great, but there’s a risk in adding more policies and hurdles to ticket buying: they would be so restrictive, becoming an inconvenience to the very fans that need help. The unfortunate reality is that scalpers will still remain and fans will still complain.

See, I am 100 per cent on board with people wanting to shit on the Oscars, and for that matter the Emmys and Grammys too. They aren’t annual celebrations of merit and achievement by artists so much as they are the end result of backroom politicking and grandstanding by incredibly out of touch elites and judges whose tastes are so fucking pedestrian that they’ve lead to a whole genre of well-meaning stories of adversity known as “Oscar bait.” You know them when you see them. The Grammys are probably the worst of the bunch considering the overrepresentation of the same lousy pop acts every year. Based on those statements alone I will self-assuredly, and without shame, take my seat at the table of pretentious critics who in some way make money out of complaining.

However, I still feel uncomfortable with any excess or banal action that takes place in the West being diminished on the grounds that there is suffering elsewhere. Yes, these stunts and Hollywood elite only pay lip service to politics and suffering and the condition of humanity — but so do we most of the time. Save the scorn for hypocrites and politicians; the joke is on you if you ever believed that these shows are supposed to fill a humanitarian void.

Panku Sharma

Are affirmative assholes reverse racist?

BREAKING: EXECUTIVE ORDER

Promises were made, promises that said only “the best people” would make up his administration. Yet for once a broken Trump promise might actually work in the benefit of the world, even if it is another example of stunning conservative hypocrisy. Yes, his administration is made up of assholes, but are they really the best? Did merit and individual talent really bring them to the higher echelons of power?

Did they out lie, cheat, steal, scheme, and shout their competitors through sheer force of will, frothing self importance, and lack of self awareness?

I say no. Sure, Kellyanne Conway came out of the gate strong, but she’s shown an incredible lack of tactical depth or range in obfuscation — we’re used to politicians and pundits lying, so we hold liars to a higher standard. Sure Stephen Miller and Rudy Giuliani are scumbags whose spines have been sold and replaced, but they trip over themselves and are so inept at covertly pushing their insidious and incredibly dangerous agenda that they were directly quoted by a federal judge in the decision that led to Trump’s second travel ban being blocked.

They are assholes, but they aren’t the best at being assholes. They are only there out of some twisted affirmative action plan and crony nepotism. But please, don’t do better.

The Office of the UFV President By the authority vested in me by the UFV Board of Governors and the bylaws of the University Act it is hereby ordered as follows: No pepperoni, on account of it being more a grease sink than a real topping and yet not as flavourful as other protein-rich options. Instead, we will go with sausage or chicken if it’s seasoned.

Extra black olives, not green, which is too mild to bother with, and extra green peppers, which for some reason are always cheaper than the other colours.

Tomato sauce and daiya cheese, which surprisingly is the most rich and creamy option.

Mozzarella and cheddar had their heyday years ago, but at this point most major chains are soaking eraser shavings and paper mache in yellow and white food colouring.

Regular hand-tossed crust. Why would you pay for thin? Not only are you losing out on the calories to value scale, but you don’t get the nice chewy crust to dip into your side dish of chipotle mayo, marinara, and possible Italian garlic sauce.

No pop, sugary drinks that don’t get you drunk are for children.

For immediate release. Please knock upon arrival, we’re in the basement of the house across from E building.

Panku Sharma

Illustrations: Amara Gelaude

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

FEATURE

Making the invisible visible:

Discovering the deep Sto:lo history the Fraser Valley

Written and photogrphed by: Bradley Peters My family used to migrate to the Coquihalla Campground in Hope, B.C. for a one-week caper each summer. Long days were spent shredding the local skatepark or bumming money from my mom to buy candy and play Street Fighter in the windowless trailer campground arcade. In the late afternoon my brother and I marched shirtless over the levee and across the rocky bank with unreliable swimming goggles sucked to our eye sockets, and waded into the summer-sedated Coquihalla River. The water was knee deep and warmed from a full day of sun exposure. We coasted in the current, either face down fingering the riverbed or reclined, skipping over smoothed boulders. Five minutes of this brought us to the swimming hole. Here, a chest deep sand estuary cuts into the bank where river water circulates and grows tepid, and where children belt “Marco Polo” while their toddler siblings wander naked along the murky shoreline.

The swimming hole is cradled by a large rock bluff that scoops alongside the sand dune and reaches into the river.

The current cuts down against the bluff and narrows into a deep emerald surge. The water where the river and cliff meet is clear and cool, deep enough to sprawl vertically underwater. My brother and I used a convenient shelf in the cliff-face to scramble across and swim circuits in the channel, diving upstream to be ferried back down by the current, observing the veins of sunlight that pulsed against the crag.

We didn’t know it then, but the Stó:lō First Nations used this rock shelf as a prime fishing spot for countless generations, and it has a very particular name: Kw'ikw'iya:la, which in Halq'emeylem means “stingy container.” The name Kw'ikw'iya:la had an attractive sound to Western settlers; exotic perhaps, hinting at a mysterious history that was nearly

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(and according to most, inevitably) squelched. The name was appropriated as a generic slogan for most of the place markers in the surrounding area. The wagon road became the Coquihalla Highway, campgrounds and coffee shops, hotels and corner stores — everywhere an adage was needed to indicate some sort of “Canadian” authenticity, the name Coquihalla was enthusiastically appointed, eventually becoming the airy mascot of the mountain pass.

“I wonder if any of the people who use the name Coquihalla know what it really means,” exclaimed Dr. Naxaxalhts’I from the front seat of the tour bus. “It’s just the name of our fishing hole, our little ‘stingy container’.”

Stó:lō historian and cultural advisor Naxaxalhts’I (pronounced Nakahaltsi), also known as Sonny McHalsie, recently guided his renowned Place Names tour for a rather exclusive entourage of American geographers and I managed, with persistence and luck, to coerce my way along for the ride. The tour was an all-day romp up the Fraser Valley, from Abbotsford to Yale, brimming with hundreds of traditional Swelqwels (true stories), and Sxowxiyám (legends).

Arranged by the Geography Club of Washington, the tour was initially slated to depart from Bellingham before the U.S. elections made border crossing slightly more hairy. So, in true Canadian fashion, UFV hosted the club and its multiday exhibition, erecting information booths where student volunteers handed out pad-and-pen outfitted tote bags and ushered guests to their intended public speaking event or horticulture forum. A succession of local tours took place during the first weekend of March, a fleet of buses departing for sights of geographical interest, of which the Place Names tour was the most popular. I had heard of the talent-

ed storyteller and published historian Sonny McHalsie, and was eager to learn more about the history of this strangely enigmatic land we call home.

As a settler nation, we perpetuate the myth that rich history is exclusive to other, older countries. Canada is young after all, only 150 years this July. Canadians travel to Europe seeking history and culture almost as a rite of passage. It’s easy to ignore the fact that we are only a handful of generations away from colonization, and before our ancestors swarmed this land in the name of religion and greed, there was a thriving society established here with a rich culture, deep heritage, a fastidiously arranged economy, and an allencompassing religion of its own; it’s even easier to ignore the fact that those traditions never went anywhere. Aboriginal culture still thrives within a recovering and growing community. Indigenous history is inseparably suffused within every stone and brook and square-inch of this land.

The Place Names tour is all about making the invisible visible. Knowing the history of our home will help us view this land with clarity and wisdom, will foster understanding and respect, and will challenge us to comprehend our role as an individual in the world, not as an inconsequential frolic or inimitable snowflake, but as an integral pinion latching the future to history with a responsibility to both. Reclaiming the names of the country’s landmarks is the first step in the difficult process of decolonization.

I arrived on campus in the muted grey dawn and weaseled into the last seat on the bus. Naxaxalhts’I quietly boarded toting a cotton sac overflowing with apples. The bag had an external pouch from which he consistently plucked tablets of Fisherman’s Friends. He was large, over six feet tall, with

www.ufvcascade.ca

Tour stop at Kawkawa Lake, the place of origin for the sacred sxwó:yxwey mask.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

steady hands and a cultivated but greying goatee. He was also endearingly calm and soft-spoken; having to orate above the rolling bus’ thrum strained his voice, hence the lozenges.

The tour began at eight a.m. A thick mist lidded the valley and rain prattled against the windshield as we merged eastward onto the freeway.

“When our chiefs used to meet to discus land questions,” said Naxaxalhts’I, turning to face the group for the first time, “they would begin by reciting a very important statement: ‘S’ólh Teméxw te ikw’elo. Xolhmet te mexw’stam it kwelat,’ meaning: ‘This is our land and we have to take care of everything that belongs to us.’ It is a profound statement and something that is very important. The second part of that statement, that we have to take care of everything that belongs to us, sparked my interest when I first heard it in 1988, and it sent me on a lifelong journey to discover what the chiefs meant. All of the narratives I will be providing today compile a comprehensive list of the things that are out there that we need to take care of.”

Passing through Chilliwack, we learned that the original Halq'emeylem name for the area is Tʃɪləwæk (pronounced chalwheyak), meaning “backwaters.” Before the installation of dikes, the Chilliwack Valley was entirely flooded. Sporadic plots of land surfaced from the vast backwaters, creating an intricate bayou flush with wildlife. Aboriginal ancestors used to paddle their canoes through the Tʃɪləwæk, watching the spines of silver sturgeon cut the water’s surface.

Looming above the valley stands the vaulted buttress of Lhílheqey — Theeth-uhl-kay — otherwise known as Mt. Cheam. “Mt. Cheam is the Western name for Lhílheqey. Cheam comes from the word luthcheam, which means ‘always wild strawberries’,” Naxaxalhts’I explained. Lhílheqey was a woman from the valley who fell in love with a man from the south. She lived with him in his home and together they had six children; three boys and three girls. Lhílheqey grew restless in her old age and longed to return to her home, and so along with her three daughters and

"Coquihalla was just the name of our fishing hole, our little stingy container."

Xéylxelamós: a shxwla:m (medicine man) who used his power to benefit himself and so was transformed by Xexá:ls, the transformer, into this large rock. Xéylxelamós is known to some as Lady Franklin Rock.

Dr. Naxaxalhts’I relating Stó:lō oral history beneath a salmon dry-rack in Yale.

followed by her faithful dog, she returned back to the valley, where the transformers Xexá:ls immortalized her in stone and entrusted her with the responsibility of watching over the people in the valley, and to take special care in watching over the salmon. Lhílheqey’s husband is Mt. Baker, and the rest of her family establishes much of the Cheam range, each with a unique history that pertains to its individual characteristics.

I am amazed at the volume of stories that the Stó:lō people have for the land. It isn’t simply legends about mountains and valleys; Naxaxalhts’I related specific histories for every landmark imaginable. One of the Swelqwels (true stories) that we heard was the history of the dangerous warrior Tómtomiyéqw.

Many years ago in Alámex (Agassiz), a young boy was left in charge of his infant sister while the rest of his tribe went berry picking. The young girl wouldn’t stop crying, and the boy couldn’t calm her. Angry and distraught, the boy threw his sister into the longhouse fire. When the tribe returned they were horrified to discover the child burned. The boy grew up fierce, and no man in his tribe would dare to say anything against him.

He always carried a long club, and he began attacking visitors from other tribes wanting to trade. Revenge raids from the coast were immanent after the young man slaughtered a trading party. This forced his family to disperse and flee upstream. They banished the violent young man, who later became known as Tómtomiyéqw. Living as a hermit, Tómtomiyéqw lingered at the mouth of his cave above the Fraser River. He watched for canoes paddling upstream and, once in sight, he’d silently descend from his perch and hide beneath a bullrush mat in a river eddy. Once the coastal canoe was within reach, Tómtomiyéqw would capsize the boat and swiftly climb onto the upturned hull. From here Tómtomiyéqw bludgeoned the passengers to death as they clung to the sides of the craft.

“A few years ago when I told this story,” relates Naxaxalhts’I wistfully, “I had a girl on my tour who was from a tribe on the north end of Vancouver Island. She remembers how her elders used to talk about this story, how they used to warn their tribesman about the crazy man who lived in a cave near Skw’iytel. Well, Skw’iytel is a little bit down river, but I’m pretty sure they were talking about this place.”

A unique and especially entertaining genre of Stó:lō narratives are the tales of Mink. These are essentially dirty stories; yarns of debauchery recanted with rascal glee, but intended as cautionary lessons about how not to behave. “There was a young man who was training to be a shxwlá:m, which is an Indian doctor,” Naxaxalhts’I said with a sly smirk as we neared Hope. “Xex:als the transformer came along, and he asked that young man, ‘What is your spirit power?’ Every Stó:lō individual gets

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

FEATURE

An ancient rock wall used by Stó:lō ancestors to defend against coastal raiders. a spirit power once they reach puberty.

Shxwlá:m have to gain multiple spirit powers to become Indian doctors. When Xex:als the transformer asked that young shxwlá:m what his spirit power is, the young man whipped out his penis and said ‘Here is my spirit power.’ Xex:als transformed him into his spirit power, so now when you walk along the bank of the river you’ll see a large, smooth boulder that is four meters long and one meter in diameter.”

As the day wore on, I listened to numerous tales, legends, and histories and I became convinced that the Stó:lō people are not only breathtaking storytellers, but also unparalleled horror story raconteurs. “Stl’áleqem is a Halq'emeylem word that means supernatural creature,” murmured Naxaxalhts’I provocatively. “The double-headed snake, the little people, underwater babies, the bear that lives beneath Cultus Lake, the giant maggot, the glowing red eyes that come out after dark. These things and so many more live amongst us, out there in the wild… when you feel the hair raise on the back of your neck and you know something is watching you; that’s the Stl’áleqem.” The phrase “supernatural creatures” is certain to bring one specific name to the mind of most non-Indigenous people: the infamous Sasquatch.

“In 1999 I asked for a meeting with Elizabeth [Herrling] and Rosaline [George] to talk about the Stl’áleqem, which at that time I had very little knowledge of. It was for a Halq'emeylem Place Names atlas I was getting ready to put together. So when I met with them and the elders, I started by saying, ‘Alright I want to talk about the Stl’áleqem…’

So I looked at my list and said ‘Sasquatch.’

I’ll never forget the big scowl I got from Elizebeth Herrling when she looked at me and said, ‘Sasquatch is not a Stl’áleqem. Sasquatch is real; it’s just that you young people don’t believe in it anymore’.” It was Rosaline George who explained to Naxaxalhts’I what a Sasquatch is.

Indian doctors need to set out alone to scour the wilds, meditate, and pray, entreating ancestors and Stl’áleqem to endow them with a spirit power. Only once he has gained multiple spirit powers can the

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man return to his tribe as a complete and capable shxwlá:m. This can take decades.

Some people who set out to become an Indian doctor never return. Those people, the lost shamans, they are the Sasquatch.

Naxaxalhts’I did recant one especially impressive Stl’áleqem story that I am sure I will never forget.

We peeled off the Trans Canada Highway, banking down a rutted cliff’s-edge road above the Fraser River. We were in Xwoxwelá:lhp (Yale), heading to our last stop of the trip. Sunlight cleaved vaguely through the overcast gully and the bus careened top-heavy around each blind corner

children were commanded to sing and beat on a long log-drum while Th’ōxiya danced around the fire celebrating her impending feast. The kids brandished the log-drum and bulldozed her into the open flame.

“The fire was almost out when two men approached, both cold and hungry. They wanted to get the fire going to cook their hunted meat. The first man approached the fire and blew into the embers. The fire torched up and burned his chest, and that man became the black bear with the white spot on its chest. The fire immediately died down, so the second man approached the fire and blew. The fire flared into the sky and

"Indigenous history is inseparably suffused within every stone and brook and square-inch of this land." when Naxaxalhts’I leaned his head into the bus’ aisle and stared back stoically.

“Th’ōxiya (T-ho-kwee-ya),” he murmured, exhaling the word like smoke. He waited another hefty moment. “Th’ōxiya, the cannibal woman. She lived in a cave up here, though none of the elders were able to say which one. At nightfall she hoisted her basket and walked the shoreline, watching for kids that were out playing after dusk. She would creep up and snatch them, stuff them into her basket, carry them back to her cave where she would pitch their eyes shut so they couldn’t run away, sing and dance her song, cook the kids over the fire, and feast.”

A group of local kids thought they were pretty smart. They posted a lookout, the youngest boy, to keep watch for the cannibal woman while they played on the beach and froliced in the rosy waters of arrogance.

Well, needless to say, they got what was coming to them.

“Instantly Th’ōxiya was there; instantly she snatched them and put them into her basket,” Naxaxalhts’I said. The children tried various stunts to escape, each attempt thwarted by bad luck, until the final moment arrived; the

scorched the entire front of his body, and that man became the red robin. The countless cinders that erupted from the immense flame became the mosquitos. Just like Th’ōxiya who came out at dusk, the mosquito comes out at dusk. Just like Th’ōxiya was the cannibal woman, the mosquito drinks your blood. Just like Th’ōxiya who sings her song before she feasts, that’s the song you’ll hear the mosquitos sing just before they bite you.”

The road ended atop a flat outcropping in the cliff. A salmon-drying rack sat stilted on hemlock posts overlooking the Fraser.

The river cut an immense gorge through the menacing mountain pass. Perched across the river was another salmon-drying rack.

Beside the rack, camouflaged from anyone unsure of what to look for, leaned a conspicuously precise stack of boulders, standing one meter high and spanning nearly half a dozen metres of the river bank. It was an ancient rock palisade constructed by Stó:lō ancestors, used to defend against the coastal raiders. The surrounding mountainsides are rife with similar stone blockades. On the inside of the rock walls, archaeologists found

stacks of fist-sized boulders. Fired from a long leather sling, these stones could split through two sides of a canoe. On the exterior of the walls were hundreds of broken arrowheads.

Standing at the base of the wild mountainside and staring uphill, you can view a daunting arrangement of rock walls. In the river behind you is a massive boulder protruding from the middle of the waterway, all that remains of a mighty Indian doctor Xéylxe-lamós who did battle with Xexá:ls the transformer before being turned to stone.

Downstream are the three smooth boulders of the three boys who were transformed after swimming past sunset. Around the bend upstream is the whirlpool that leads to the mysterious underworld connected to the mountain cave above.

We live in a country that has a history almost too deep to comprehend.

Halq'emeylem history has its roots in every ounce of valley soil. The stories I witnessed are survivors of countless millennia, of war and famine, of a smallpox epidemic that devastated entire villages, wiping out between 60 and 90 per cent of the Aboriginal community. Imagine what was lost. It’s feasible to imagine every stone having once been a boulder with its own story, and that each granule of sand is the fragment of a living mountain. When a society survives on the premise that the earth is comprised of living beings, and that “every object has its own soul or spirit,” the inevitable result is a relationship with the land that most other traditions would struggle to fathom.

We arrived at UFV as the sun dropped behind the tree line, and it was as dim as when the tour began. Each of the passengers silently lurched off the bus, sore and bleary from a full day. Naxaxalhts’I gathered us into a circle for one last departing huddle.

He held his upturned palms in front of him and we each intuitively did the same. “S’ólh Teméxw te ikw’elo. Xolhmet te mexw’stam it kwelat. This is our land. We have to take care of everything that belongs to us. We have to take care of it. Nobody else can. It’s ours. We have to. We must.”

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

CULTURE

PAWS and relax Getting to know UFV’s favourite therapy dogs (and the people who care for them) RACHEL TAIT CONTRIBUTOR

Sitting in the library waiting for the bus is always uneventful and boring, right? Wrong! On March 15, I had only just sat down when in walked a lovely lady with a beautiful golden retriever.

Then came two more sets, one after the other, each dog a shade lighter than the last.

All three women are veterans at this. As part of the St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dogs program, they come to UFV with the express purpose of helping students, staff, and faculty alike in their most stressful times — like midterms and finals.

Sue Antonson, who is in charge of PAWS’ Mission school program, shared a few of her success stories. “I have seen a girl go from half-time attendance to full-time, students with reading difficulties getting help reading, kids with anxiety calm down.

There was one boy who wouldn’t talk to anyone and after a while he would just bounce into the room saying ‘Sassy is here!’”

Sassy has been a St. John Ambulance dog for three years, and before that, she and Antonson used to make regular visits to care homes. Sassy was joined by Selyca, who is about four years old and has been a therapy dog since she was two — the youngest they can start. Selyca is well trained and didn’t hesitate to perform various tricks, such as “doing her prayers” and standing

on her hind feet while her owner puts a biscuit on her nose. It was interesting to see how so many of the faculty and students responded with great joy at being around the dogs, and after spending an hour there myself, I was reluctant to leave too.

The therapy dogs have become a staple during exam periods and visited UFV seven times last semester, including visits at the Student Union Building, Baker House, and the campus library.

Barbara Renkers oversees the group and has been involved for years. “UFV has been good to us and we want to be good to them,” she said.

Afghan culture club draws big crowds for Nowrooz celebration On March 17, UFV’s new Afghan culture club hosted their first event, a celebration of Nowrooz, the New Year in Afghanistan and many other countries in the region. Dozens of attendees enjoyed authentic Afghan cooking, a fashion show, and dancing throughout the evening.

“We had a diverse group of attendees, from UFV students from all cultures and ethnicities, to students from SFU and UBC, as well as faculty and some members of the community!” said Afghan culture club president Shabnam Qanbery.

She added that the club has had “a lot of positive feedback from attendees,” and that they are already working on plans for their next event.

Photos: Alexandrah Pahl

A

GALLERY 7 THEATRE production of

MAR 24 & 25, 29 – APR 1, 2017 @ 7:00 MATINEES MAR 25 & APR 1 @ 2:00

Disney’s

Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice Book by Linda Woolverton

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com.

Originally Directed by Robert Jess Roth Originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions

ABBOTSFORD ARTS CENTRE 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford | www.gallery7theatre.com

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

CULTURE

Practicing Precise Poetry UFV’s creative writing club’s first poetry workshop focuses on lesser known poetic form LAUREN JOHNSTON

CONTRIBUTOR

On Wednesday, March 15, UFV’s student-led creative writing club CreWri launched the first of their two precise poetry workshops, focusing specifically on villanelles. A villanelle is a poem consisting of 19 lines and two rhymes and the club’s president, Jessica Milliken, came up with the idea to host the workshop after taking a form poetry class and falling in love with the unique style.

“There is a stigma in poetry around forms and how confusing and complicated they can be,” she said. However Milliken thinks that the restriction that comes with form poetry works

as a good way to release creativity and she wants to help bring that to other writers.

The club was started by Milliken and a few of her friends in the creative writing program.

They’ve had fantasy writing workshops, writer’s block workshops, and now poetry workshops.

Also, the club plans to have public speaking workshops in the near future. “Part of being a writer is reading, and the whole performance aspect of it is quite intimidating,” Milliken said.

Milliken was prompted to start the club and workshops as a way for students in the creative writing program to get involved outside of their classes. “I was sitting down last summer and I was just thinking about all of the things that

I’ve missed or haven’t got a chance to do in the creative writing program,” she said. “The program itself isn’t lacking, it’s simply that once you’re dismissed from your class or you finish your semester, that’s the end of it.” CreWri’s main goal is to bring new forms of creative writing to people, and to connect writers within the UFV community.

CreWri is now preparing to host their second poetry workshop in the series, this time focusing on sonnets. Like the villanelle workshop, Milliken will share some of the history behind the form, different examples of sonnets, and provide worksheets. As for more club events, the club is planning on having another reading near to the end of the semester where writers

can practice their public speaking skills and share some of their own creations. The club is also planning to host another Writer’s Block Party, where writers can bring any kind of their work, whether it be poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or even assignments or essays. Milliken added that sometimes she will throw in a random writing prompt that everyone has to stop and work on.

Precise Poetry: Sonnets is taking place from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22 in room S3103. More information is available on CreWri’s Facebook page.

Meet UFV’s informal Spanish language group Every Thursday, 20 to 30 UFV students gather to practice their Spanish-language skills in a nonclassroom setting. Mesa Latina, a gathering organized by the modern languages department, invites students to drop in, play games, dance, and more, all while speaking Spanish to strengthen their skills with the language.

Mesa Latina meets from 1:00 – 2:15 p.m. every Thursday in A305 on UFV’s Abbotsford campus.

Snacks and beverages are provided.

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

CULTURE Life is a Box of Swiss Chocolates:

How studying abroad is letting me be a different person JENNIFER TRITHARDT-TUFTS CONTRIBUTOR/PHOTO

Life is a Box of Swiss Chocolates is a weekly column showcasing the life of a UFV student studying abroad. Jennifer is in Lucerne, Switzerland at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts this semester, and documenting the process as she goes.

The first thing people back home would say to me when I told them I was going to Europe was “Wow, you’re going to love it,” and the second was “You are going to experience so many things and come back a totally different person.” I tried to take that with a grain of salt because I didn’t want to put too much pressure on this trip and be disappointed if something big didn’t happen. But I think I’m already starting to feel the very beginning of that change. Here I get to be anyone I want to be, since no one knows more about my past than what I disclose.

If you know me, you know that I’m always on the go and I am always planning or coordinating something. Here, I just get to attend things. Other people are super keen to plan events, so I don’t have to worry about it. This weekend my flatmates and I decided to have a party and show some good old Canadian hospitality. I had planned to go to Bern during the day Saturday, so I warned my flatmates that I wouldn’t be able to help set up, and when I came home everything was decorated and looked great. I quickly cut some lemons for tequila shots and oranges for sangria, then curled my hair and got ready to party.

Sometimes I’m critical of the setup or flow of events planned but I’m working on that. It is so much more fun just letting things roll off my chest. I am on vacation after all! Plus, I lived at home for my entire degree so far and I never got this “university / college experience.”

I know that a lot of UFV domestic students feel that way, and that’s why studying abroad is such a great opportunity.

Somehow my super chill third-floor Canadian flat has become party central, and I love it! I can just walk out of my room and there’s a party happening. This is a really fun aspect that I never thought about before.

Since I’m coming to the end of my degree, I have been starting to think about real life and coming to grips with what is realistic for me to accomplish in my life and what is not. I had this Barbie colouring book when I was a little girl and I

loved it because on every page she got to be someone new, and I had always hoped that my life would be like that. Recently, I started to get a little pessimistic about life in general and I lost the drive I had only a couple years ago to go out and accomplish things people told me I couldn’t. This experience has helped me to feel invincible again, like anything I want to accomplish is possible with a little hard work. But don’t worry, my Swiss health insurance hasn’t kicked in yet so I won’t do anything too too crazy.

The best part of this exchange semester so far has been the fact that I’m surrounded by motivated and like-minded young adults, many of them with the same interests as me. I would say the average age is about 21-22 and I am so impressed by many of them. I mean, I don’t know how well I would have handled this experience three or four years ago.

Granted most of them are European, so it’s not super far away from home for them. It is also very encouraging to be able to walk into a classroom and know that you are learning the same concepts as other countries. I was nervous that my little hometown education wouldn’t stand up to the business things I would learn in Switzerland but they totally do!

I am taking three academic classes and one fun class on Swiss culture; it’s going into week five now and I can honestly say I am just behind enough in my readings that I am starting to get motivated to do school work again.

It has taken me a while to fully appreciate the place I am in physically and emotionally right now. I’m much more relaxed than I have been in a long time, which probably has more to do with not working than being in Europe. I’m genuinely happy to be here. Sure, there are days where I still get homesick, but they are fewer and farther apart now. And it’s more of wanting to bring all of my friends here to experience this with me rather than me wanting to go back home.

Lucerne is a very slow-moving city and I can feel that aspect setting into my own life. Things happen slower here, but everything feels more meaningful. For the first time, I really had a feeling of being at home when I walked through the train station to catch the train from school to my apartment.

Having so much time to be alone with myself has been challenging and I’m not sure if that is the experience people were trying to prepare me for, but it is the experience I am having right now.

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

CULTURE

Canadaland not an Imposter at UFV MITCH HUTTEMA

CONTRIBUTOR / PHOTO

Last Saturday night, March 18, 20-some-odd 20-some-odd-year-olds gathered in the front two rows of the theatre in B101 to listen to the live recording of Canadaland’s newest podcast, The Imposter — a show centred on arts and culture in Canada.

As podcasts are audio-based, so was the show. For most of the show the lighting was dimmed, there was little visual accompaniment, and the best way to experience it was with eyes closed, taking in the energetic layered music provided by Morning Coup and the pre-recorded interviews.

Charming host Aliya Pabani was excellent at making her interviewees comfortable with clever and witty commentary and conversation whenever they showed signs of nervousness (any of which would be understandable as the podcast goes online and is listened to by hundreds each week).

The show opened by playing a prerecorded phone interview with Chad Kroeger’s real estate agent as Pabani attempted to gain permission to tour

Kroeger’s famous Abbotsford mansion, which is currently for sale.

Vancouver stand-up comic Fatima Dhowre had a set followed by an interview. Dhowre’s set was largely based on story, and she talked about her experiences living in Somalia, resulting in a unique set unlike many mainstream comedians.

Despite technical issues, the highlight of the taping was the feature piece of the episode, a story about Crossings, a feminist book from 1979

by Betty Lambert that was ahead of its time by years, resulting in it being banned, even from independent feminist bookstores. The touching interviews with the family members and contemporaries of the author were prerecorded, but Pabani narrated the story between them.

This event brought a taste of the perks that you might find at a fullsized university. Props to CIVL 101.7, Aaron Levy, and the Canadaland and Imposter teams for coordinating this event and pulling it through despite minor technical issues and delays.

Feed your brain at UFV’s Student Research Day ENKANKI CHAWLA

CONTRIBUTOR

Since 2003, Student Research Day has been an outlet for students to showcase their research to the general UFV community — and it’s back for the 15th year. Students have the option of participating through microlectures or poster presentations.

Starting at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 21 student researchers will give microlectures in the atrium of Student Union Building (SUB). Then, at 12:30, there will be over 60 poster presentations in the SUB’s great hall, with the awards ceremony also taking place in the same location.

The high-speed micro lectures give students two minutes to summarize and share their research experience. Although two minutes seems short, student presenters gain the invaluable skill of conveying detailed and complex concepts in a simple, concise way for others to understand easily.

Posters, on the other hand, are a visual

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representation allowing presenters to explain more briefly and answer questions as peers and judges stroll along. Poster presenters compete for scholarship awards ranging $150 to $200. There are a total of 10 awards available to participants this year.

This year’s event will feature topics such as the effects of yoga on our working memory, genetic testing criteria, right wing extremism on the internet, the roles of nurses as advocates in an ICU, and bumble bee conservation in the Fraser Valley.

Student Research Day is about more than just the students, though. It brings together faculty and other individuals across all disciplines over a common love for knowledge. Kelly Tracey, assistant for research, engagement & graduate studies said, “It’s a really important day for faculty to see how they’re impacting the students.

Honestly, the faculty looks so proud to walk and look around to see their students presenting their research and talking about it.”

The Cascade is hiring an

Online Editor

Interested in uploading content, organizing and designing websites, and managing social media?

Email a resume and cover letter joel@ufvcascade.ca by March 24.

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

STUDY BREAK v CROSSWORD ACROSS

DOWN

1. Male children who deliver the daily news

1. A feeling or vision of something about to happen

4. Forehead facial hair

2. Previously aired television episode

6. Belted hunted constellation

3. Shakespearian astronomical term meaning unlucky (two words)

8. Acronym of US’s most populous city 9. Roman numeral corresponding with Revenge of the Sith’s place in the Star Wars series

5. A bird’s instruments for defying gravity 7. Homer’s Trojan War story, preceding the Odyssey.

10. Groovy 70s dance music

10. Prolific actor Willem’s surname

11. Flaws or imperfections 12. To be sick to your stomach, near vomiting.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: Across: 3. landscape 5. afoot 6. tempo 7. coven 8. camel 9. mercy 10. fluid 11. stalemate

Down: 1. infomercial 2. baseball cap 3. leftovers 4. expletive

Made by Jeff Mijo

v HOROSCOPES

Astrological mysteries interpreted by special guest astrologer superstar Mr. Tacos

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 Your birthday’s coming up, right? Yeah, I know, my powers are pretty impressive.

Thanks. I’d suggest telling your friends and family that, in lieu of gifts, you’d like them to make charitable donations to The Cascade so that we can afford to get a proper astrologer’s office where I can finally get some peace and quiet to untangle the astral web that weaves our fates. And maybe some more office snacks.

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 Looking for new friends? Just get a pot of coffee, sit down in a busy area, and put out a sign that says “will trade caffeine for friendship.” Results are guaranteed.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 You have the unique talent of being able to perfectly remember the lyrics to a very complicated song. Find out which one it is as soon as possible to make the most of your ability.

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 What’s the big hurry? Try driving 5km/h slower this week, it won’t slow you down that much and you’ll feel much more relaxed.

(If walk instead of driving, don’t try to slow down 5km/h, or you’ll never get anywhere.

And if you take a bus, the driver might not appreciate the suggestion, but you can go ahead and try.)

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 They say good luck comes to those who read newspapers cover to cover. I can’t confirm that this is 100% true, but do you really want to take a chance and not try it?

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 You have to wonder what went through the head of the first person to see a horse and say “hey, that monster that could easily crush? Yeah, I’m gonna try to sit on it.”

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22 It has never been more important than it is this week to brush your teeth every single day.

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 If you’re feeling down about your current project, blast some Mongolian throat singing in the background for an instant pick-me-up.

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Is there anything as funny as people who don’t believe in horoscopes? They won’t be laughing when the stars come crashing down to the earth, and only those of us who believed the warnings know the safe places to hide.

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 The snow’s gone, hopefully for the last time, so enjoy a little bit of spring before another record-breaking unpleasantly hot summer arrives. Yaaaay.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 There’s something magical about sleeping.

You should try it sometime!

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 Don’t forget about that thing. You know, the one you said you’d remember.

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www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

ARTS IN REVIEW v MOVIE REVIEW

Batman builds bridges RACHEL TAIT CONTRIBUTOR

The Lego Batman Movie hit theatres February 2017, and with it the iconic incarnation of Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), bricks-style. The story introduces the world of Gotham City, that is built on a flimsy foundation of bricks. If the foundation were to be compromised, the whole city would cease to exist, falling into a vacuum of nothingness, which is key to the plot. The main characters of Batman, Robin, and Barbara Gordon / Batgirl are met by the shenanigans of the Joker and Harley Quinn, who lead a cast of other comic-book archenemies in an attempt to get control of the city. But like The Lego Movie, the cast of characters don’t always match the

narrative, i.e some of the most evil villains include Jaws the shark, King Kong, and Sorren from Lord of the Rings.

The story follows Bruce Wayne’s heroic deeds as Batman, but with a twist: his inner fears of being part of a family because he doesn’t want to lose them as he did his parents. This fear stops Bruce from bonding with his new son Dick Grayson, who he unwittingly adopts at a gala. Dick just wants to be part of a family and blindly loves both of his “fathers” (Bruce and Batman). Wayne’s butler Alfred plays an instrumental role in helping the two bond and getting Batman to realize he can be part of a family again. Meanwhile, the Joker wants to be acknowledged by Batman, and wants the masked crusader to admit he is his greatest archenemy ever. When he is rejected, the Joker

devises an ingenious plan to ensnare Batman and send him to the most guarded prison ever — the Phantom Zone. Famous characters like Superman and the Justice League team are also featured briefly at an annual anniversary party at the Fortress of Solitude, when Batman robs Superman of a ray gun that will send the Joker far away for good. Robin is much younger in this version. We see him as a young boy who Alfred lets into the Batcave after Batman refuses to raise him.

There is a lot of comic tension between the two main characters, as Robin is trying so hard to earn Batman’s love, and Batman is too busy trying to put the Joker in the Phantom Zone.

Throughout the movie, there are many throwbacks and jokes about the past incarnations of Batman played by actors Adam West, George

Clooney, etc. The costume, theme music, and kapow! signs of the of the 1960’s show are key throughout the movie; even Batgirl’s costume mirrored Yvonne Craig’s with the signature yellow and purple cowl and suit. This Lego version is not nearly as grim as its counterparts.

The concept of building vehicles in mid air and completely changing the Wayne manor mansion into a Coney Island freak show was too sudden and drastic to be taken seriously. It was a fun watch that anyone who loves superheroes and Lego can relate to. It is truly like having a Lego play session with CGI. The 3D element worked for this movie, because as a viewer you felt connected into the story. It was more engaging, especially for younger children.

v MOVIE REVIEW

Logan: Jackman ends X-Men career with masterful performance LAUREN JOHNSTON CONTRIBUTOR

Note: Spoilers Logan is the final installment in Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine career. Although not the best performance from Hugh Jackman I’ve seen (I mean, it was no Jean Valjean), Logan offers a new spin on the Wolverine character, and Jackman fits the bill.

We first see Logan asleep in the back of his limousine.

He wakes up to a gang trying to steal the vehicle’s hubcaps. After taking a few hits, looking old and pathetic with an alcohol bottle in hand, his anger kicks in. This is when we first see the Wolverine character we’re used to, and he basically goes crazy, beating the guys senseless, and leaving you to think maybe he isn’t so old and pathetic after all.

We then discover that Logan is a retired Wolverine.

He’s now an alcoholic limousine driver in Texas. He lives in an old abandoned warehouse on the Texas-Mexico border where we are also introduced to Caliban (Stephen Merchant) and Charles, also known as Professor X (Patrick Stewart). Here, Logan takes care of Professor X who has Alzheimer’s and seizures that can cause time to stop and affect everyone around him. As the film progresses, we meet Laura (Dafne Keen) a young girl who is also a mutant, just like Logan. Logan takes on the task of taking Laura to a supposed safe place for mutant children called Eden, which is 2000 miles away. This is where the action begins, and the character development unfolds.

Jackman’s performance is good, but nothing spectacular. Logan’s character is an angry old man with a really bad cough. Jackman does a really good job of convincingly portraying this, even though it isn’t a complicated role.

However, Keen’s job of portraying the mutant little girl is just okay. Her character doesn’t speak for at least the first half of the movie so besides the action scenes, there

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isn’t much there. However, Keen makes up for the lack of dialogue with a performance in her action scenes that is on par with Jackman, and incredible for a 12-year-old. Both performances improve towards the end of the film.

Laura finally begins to speak to Logan, in both Spanish and English, and things get considerably more emotional.

In Logan’s final scenes, Jackman delivers a heart-wrenching performance that reminds the viewer what he is capable of. Keen also steps it up, showing more emotion and involvement than previously in the entire movie.

Logan differs from the Marvel superhero movies we have been accustomed to over the last few years. With Marvel’s release of Deadpool in 2016, it started a new age of R-rated superhero movies. Although Logan doesn’t include any of the controversial sex scenes or dirty jokes from Deadpool, it does include the same level of action. Logan had a higher level of violence than any of the other Marvel movies. This appealed to older audiences, the people who had nearly grown up with the X-Men movies. It gives us a feeling of closure and makes the movies more interesting for an older demographic.

Logan also takes a more realistic approach with its graphics as well. Think about any of the Avengers movies or Guardians of the Galaxy. These movies specifically include aliens who invade Earth, where epic battles take place and whole cities are destroyed. Not only the aliens are CGI but the explosions, the characters, and almost all of the action scenes as well. Logan doesn’t have any of this, or at least if it does, it isn’t noticeable. The fight scenes and action feel organic, raw, and real, helping to connect the viewer to the characters and the movie. This is refreshing in an age where almost all movies contain CGI and overedited action scenes.

With 93 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, I know I’m not the only one that would confidently recommend this movie to anyone who is a Marvel or X-Men fan, or just looking for an action movie with an intriguing story.

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

ARTS IN REVIEW v TV REVIEW

CHARTS 1

Loans Self-Loaning

2

Century Palm Meet You

3

Career Suicide Machine Response

4

Lee Rosevere Trappist -1

5

Tops Sugar at the Gate

6

Run The Jewels Run The Jewels 3

7

The Magnetic Feilds 50 Song Memoir

8

The Painters Supermoon Lunam Eclipse

9

Jenny Banai Live @ CIVL

10

Gen Gorman For A Friend

11

The Courtneys II

12

Terrifier Weapons of Thrash Destruction

13 14

Childinsh Gambino Awaken My Love Gold Gloom C My Baby

15

Terra Lightfoot Live In Concert

16

The Shins Heartworms

17

Jack Mack Back to the Shack

18

Rob Montgomery And Friends Guitar Stories

19

Fleet Foxes Crack-Up

20

The Flaming Lips Oczy Mlody

SHUFFLE AARON LEVY

Season two of Love is a love-hate relationship

STATION MANAGER

Last month, the National Post reported that a former VICE editor had allegedly utilized his position and contacts to smuggle, what else, but drugs! Here are some songs that I’ll relate to smuggling.

Killer Mike Reagan A mention of Oliver North in this track references the illegal drug trade as it’s been propped up by the American government funding salacious ruling bodies in third world countries, that resulted in elevated levels of smuggling throughout the ‘80s, and had a hand in proliferating crack through American ghettos.

Puff Daddy and the Family Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down Remember when Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy, or Diddy, or Sean “Puffy” Combs, or whoever, was in that movie with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand that was kind of a sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but not quite? Well, Jonah tried to smuggle some candy in an uncomfortable spot, and...

Sia Breath Me This song was the final montage soundtrack for the finale of Six Feet Under, featuring not only Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame, but also Freddy Rodriguez, who himself played a great role in Harsh Times with Christian Bale, about an L.A. enforcement hopeful who goes cross border for errands.

Andrew Canton Kid Cannabis Music Video A song released in conjunction with the production of the film Kid Cannabis, about an Idaho teen who crossed the line back and forth in order to smuggle B.C. bud to the northwestern state. “You got to watch out for the law and order.” Wise words to follow, Can. King.

The Rolling Stones Can’t You Hear Me Knocking Such a good song, from classic Stones release Sticky Fingers, home of my favourite Keef / Mick track, about flowers, but not poppies; this one also appeared on the soundtrack to classic cocaine flick Blow, with Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp. This concludes your warning. Follow the rules, all the time.

HARVIN BHATHAL ARTS EDITOR

Season two of Netflix’s Love is like drinking hard liquor: it doesn’t always taste good, but that isn’t the purpose of it. People drink alcohol for the effect it has on them, the same applies to Love. The main characters are not the typical protagonists; Gus and Mickey are the opposite of their character stereotypes.

Both characters see the other through a stereotype. Mickey sees Gus as a nice guy, and Gus sees her as a cool girl. However, Gus’ inner feelings are deeply cynical and hateful, and Mickey often plays with people’s emotions and is prone to aggressive outbursts. Not only are Gus and Mickey not supposed to be likeable characters, there’s no reason that leads us to think they might work as a couple. But the way Love is comparable to alcohol is that despite having clear red flags, the pair are realistic; and reality sells.

Love isn’t soaring in popularity because people love the traits of the characters, Love is such an engaging show because of its portrayal of a relationship that could be plausible in the real world, which most other shows struggle to do. Rather than attempting to get ratings via events

that pull the viewer in by sheer shock value, Love attracts an audience by staying true to itself.

The show has carved itself an identity based on two protagonists that we love to love and hate to hate, and no, not the other way around.

Despite their faults, seeds of a budding romance can be seen within their seemingly doomed relationship and as viewers, we want them to work out. However, Gus and Mickey do have faults and at times, they are hateful. But once again, we want them to work out. Hence, we love to love them and hate to hate them.

Between Gus and Mickey, the two are challenged with obstacles in their work lives and personal lives that all come back to the one thing that matters most to them — their relationship. Because of those hurdles that are thrown their way, the worst side of them is brought out and only when that happens do the two get a semblance of what to do and what not to do.

The biggest difference between the first and second seasons of the show is in character development (minor characters included), however limited it may seem. The development we see isn’t much, but it’s still important to character growth. Gus and Mickey mature through a long

and arduous process that makes the viewer question, is it worth it? Bertie grows as a character but not so much as a person; her established quirkiness and lovability is shown off more and her tendency to be a pushover is expanded upon in a larger capacity (metaphorically and physically).

Chris’ character gets more depth as a person but generally remains the same, and the same goes for Randy.

With the first season being about discovery, the second season was about the consequences of those discoveries that will either eat characters from the inside out or help them grow, and a bit of both happens to Gus and Mickey. Often, TV shows give off this mirage of a desirable life that realistically is a fantasy but with Love, the lives of the people are real; they are supposed to be you. And while that does not seem desirable, we should not be dreaming of living another person’s life. Love teaches us to accept ourselves and others, and to make the most out of our lives, not just our love life. Love is one of the greatest facets of human nature but with it comes so much more, and quite often, more than we ask for or can handle. But that’s life, and executive producer Judd Apatow realizes that from the get go.

19

UPCOMING EVENTS

www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

MAR

22

TRAVEL AND PHOTOGRAPHY: A MONTH IN PROVENCE

@ The Reach 10:30 AM

UFV CREATIVE WRITING CLUB — PRECISE POETRY: SONNETS

MAR

27

@ SUB (UFV Abbotsford) 12:00 – 1:30 PM

PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS: UFV, NVIT AND NUXALK NATION

@ U-house (UFV Abbotsford) 1:15 – 2:45 PM

MAR

23

MAR

28

MESA LATINA (SPANISH LANGUAGE GROUP)

@ The Canoe (UFV Abbotsford) 3:00 PM

MAR

29

@ Global Lounge — B223 (UFV Abbotsford) 4:30 – 6:30 PM ART ON DEMAND 3.2 — FRAGMENTED SELF

ALL STAR WRESTLING

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:30 – 11:00 PM

MAR

30

@ Chilliwack Cultural Centre 10:30 AM

REMEMBERING VIMY

@ UFV Abbotsford 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

STUDENT RESEARCH DAY

@ SUB (UFV Abbotsford) 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

MAR

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 PM

31

TANYA TUCKER

APR

@ Clarke Theatre (Mission) 7:00 PM BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PLAY)

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 PM BILL DURST

@ Eagles Hall (Abbotsford) 7:00 PM VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL BEST OF FEST TOUR

@ Chilliwack Cultural Centre

GAMES NIGHT

@ Global Lounge — B223 (UFV Abbotsford) 4:30 – 6:30 PM @ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 – 11:00 PM

MAR

LION KING

APR

LAST DAY OF CLASSES

7 8

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 – 11:00 PM

BC GEM SHOW

@ Ag-Rec Building (Abbotsford) 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM FRASER VALLEY FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL

@ The Reach 10:30 AM

@ Thunderbird Square (Abbotsford) 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PLAY)

FMX WORLD TOUR

@ Abbotsford Centre 6:30 PM – 12:00 AM

4

MAR

5

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 – 11:00 PM

MESA LATINA (SPANISH LANGUAGE GROUP)

MOZART’S REQUIEM

@ A305 (UFV Abbotsford) 1:00 – 2:00 PM

@ First Ave. Christian Assembly (Chilliwack) 7:30 PM

GAMES NIGHT

@ Global Lounge — B223 (UFV Abbotsford) 4:30 – 6:30 PM

KAI GLEUSTEEN AND CATHERINE ORDRONNEAU

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PLAY)

20

REMEMBERING VIMY

@ A305 (UFV Abbotsford) 1:00 – 2:00 PM

LION KING

RACE AND ANTI-RACISM NETWORK EVENT: CITIZENS CREATING CHANGE

@ B121 (UFV Abbotsford) 10:00 – 11:30 AM

MESA LATINA (SPANISH LANGUAGE GROUP)

LION KING

THREE’S A CROWD… NOT

@ Matsqui Centennial Auditorium 7:30 PM – 12:00 AM

6

@ Abbotsford Arts Centre 7:00 PM

@ The Reach (Abbotsford) 6:00 PM

25

@ Room 2201 (UFV Chilliwack)

MAR

OUR UKRAINIAN ADOPTION: BRINGING ZHENYA HOME

GAMES NIGHT

MAR

ADDRESSING THE OVERDOSE CRISIS

@ TBA (UFV Abbotsford) 12:00 – 3:00 PM

STUDENT UNION SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

24

@ UFV Abbotsford 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

@ UFV Abbotsford 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

INDIGENOUS STEWARDSHIP OF MOTHER EARTH WORKSHOP

@ A305 (UFV Abbotsford) 1:00 – 2:00 PM

MAR

REMEMBERING VIMY

MARCH

3RD ANNUAL CYC SLEEP OUT

@ Bookstore parking lot (UFV Abbotsford) 7:00 PM

APR

9

BC GEM SHOW

@ Ag-Rec Building (Abbotsford) 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM REMEMBERING VIMY

@ UFV Abbotsford 1:00 – 5:00 PM

FRASER VALLEY SYMPHONY

@ Matsqui Centennial Auditorium 3:00 – 5:00 PM

WHAT IS CANADIAN CUISINE?

@ UFV Abbotsford Library 2:00 – 3:00 PM

NURSING & DENTAL INFO SESSION

@ UFV Chilliwack Campus 6:00 – 8:00 PM

APR

10

BC GEM SHOW

@ Ag-Rec Building (Abbotsford) 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM OPEN MIC POETRY AND BLUE MOON READINGS

@ Clearbrook Library 6:30 – 8:30 PM

HOSTING ANY EVENTS YOURSELF? WANT TO SEE THEM POSTED HERE? Send the date, time, location, and any relevant info for the event to: jeff@ufvcascade.ca