The Confluence | October 15th, 2019

Confluence The

YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE MAGAZINE

OCTOBER 15TH 2018 Cover Art by: Harshpreet Kaur

Students Helping to Budget for Students

06 Feminism, The Fight Continues

10

A Letter From A Place With No Name

16

Marijuana Legalization and You

19

Damon Robinson

Paige Riding

Editor-In-Chief The Confluence

News Editor The Confluence

Harman Dandiwal Organizer CNC Students’ Union

News Editorial

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by Paige Riding

October is over half over, and as the weeks of school spill into the next, new assignments and responsibilities arise for students. Those arriving at a milestone this year are facing decisions on what to do next. Some students complete their programs this year. Some may choose to take a semester off for work or other personal reasons. Various applications for universities open in October. Students that plan on transferring may be contemplating on whether to head up the hill to UNBC, or perhaps somewhere else in Canada, or even the rest of the world.

Midterms and essay dates creep around the corner. Labs for science courses are in full swing. Perhaps most importantly, Starbucks released their holiday line, and the choices for drinks have multiplied.

Making all of these choices are hard.

Pumpkin-flavoured drinks aside, I encourage those who are confused in their courses now to ask for help if they need it this year. Professors offer office hours for the students in an attempt to help with a one-on-one session. Ideas, concerns, and questions should be brought forward for the benefit of the student, their peers in that class, and sometimes, even the staff members. Remember, there are no stupid questions.

Speaking out in class may seen daunting. Asking a question in a full classroom can make a student feel anxious that they will be judged or laughed at. While there is a chance that someone may snicker, the student that asks any questions they have will feel more confident during midterms and exams, and that is more important in the long run.

Besides, students who judge others for being curious are jerks.

Enjoy autumn and the beautiful scenery it has to offer, even if one can only admire it through a window in a classroom.

Regards, Paige Riding News Editor of The Confluence College of New Caledonia’s Students’ Union

Editorial Ahoy there mates.

by Damon Robinson

It’s been a while since we last spoke. About a month, to be exact. I opted to not have an issue October 1st as we have 2 other issues this month. A nice benefit of doing that is that we have a larger issue to put out. This one is a good one, I’ve taken to calling it “The political issue”.

I do want to talk about something though, and not just ramble on for an entire page (as entertaining as that may be!). We are publishing an rebuttal against an article from the April/May issue. The article in question, “A Trash Can of Feminism”, has always been regarded as a controversial piece. I am glad that the article has created a discussion. In this day and age, discussing your opinions and beliefs has become something that people are too afraid to do. I feel that this magazine offers up an opportunity to facilitate discussion between everyone in a fair and safe environment. I’ve said from the start that I don’t want to find my right answer, but the right answer. Of course, with opinion pieces, sometimes there is no right answer. However, I do hope that by publishing the rebuttal that I make it clear that everything is up for discussion.

Anyways, let’s get back to the spontaneous rambling. I’m glad that a lot of you have taken the opportunity to say hello whenever I’ve walked the hallways. What I’ve noticed is that a lot of the time, people just walk to and from class with nearly no emotion. While that’s not a bad thing, I can’t help but wonder if it’s because they may not have anyone to wave at in the hallways. Personally, this college has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of incredible people. My recommendation is that you do the same, because in a world so connected it sure does feel like we are alone sometimes.

Writing this now, I’ve realized that I have yet to find a costume for this Halloween. Of course, with every seasonal celebration, I urge you all to have a great time and be safe about doing it. As a friend once said: “Make good choices”.

See you guys, I look forward to meeting and talking to you all again these next few weeks.

Damon Robinson Editor-In-Chief of the Confluence College of New Caledonia’s Students’ Union

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It’s a big month for the college, a lot of events going on this month. We are always looking for volunteers to help with the seemingly weekly activities going on in the gathering place.

If you are interested in getting involved with the college life and meeting new people, you can come on by and let us at the Student’s Union know that you want to volunteer. You definitely will make a friend out of us.

CONTENTS STUDENTS HELPING TO BUDGET FOR STUDENTS PAGE 6

FEMINISM, THE FIGHT CONTINUES PAGE 10

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POETRY PAGE 8

Submissions, inquiries and requests can be made to editor@cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC V2N 1P8.”

All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication.

Advertisement rates are available upon request.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AND YOU PAGE 10

HALLOWEEKEND PAGE 14

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A LETTER FROM A PLACE WITH NO NAME PAGE 12

Students Helping to Budget for Students

by Paige Riding

Robin

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Representatives of the CNCSU presented innovative ideas for the benefit of the student body on September 18th at the Budget Consultation Meeting for the Municipality of Prince George. Concerns included outdated student loan applications, ridiculous textbook prices, and the overall disadvantage of a student working a part-time job during the school year due to such high costs.

A board of MLAs gathered at a meeting room in the Civic Plaza to hear pitches from representatives in the community for potential government budget adjustments for the next year.

Students’ Union representatives discussed how to make the lives of students less stressful financially.

In the long haul, making a college student’s life easier sets them up for success in the future.

Changes in the community now lend themselves to the community years down the road.

Michelle Frechette and Harman Dandiwal of the CNCSU provided anecdotal and factual evidence that supported the need for these changes. When applying for a student loan, Harman was rejected due to the fact that he worked more than 32 hours in a week at minimum wage. Shockingly, however, if a student were to be working even two hours less in a week at a wage much higher, the loan would have been granted.

The presentation of such an outdated system caused physical reactions of shock from MLAs attending. The CNCSU reps suggested that this system be scrutinized and changed in the near future for the benefit of the students who need such loans.

If and when these loans are granted, the interest rates they bear are another issue for students. With the stress of high interest rates looming over one’s head, the passion for school a student may have while entering may not leave with them when they graduate. The representatives illuminated such a saddening truth to the Government representatives. They demanded that such interest rates be reprimanded. In many cases, the students needing these loans are not able to readily pay the interest rates in the years following graduation, and thus the quicksand pit continues to engulf them for a long time.

Not surprisingly, however, an MLA intercepted their idea with unrelated suggestions.

Completely away from the concept of eradicating student loans, the MLA snidely asked if students had “forgotten” about their previous attempts at lowering student tuition costs. There has been a freeze in the rising costs, and the representatives did not miss a beat countering with this. Being realistic, a freeze is a good temporary fix. While,

idealistically, lower tuition and lower interest rates would be great, the life of a student is not one of “I wish,” but of necessary changes that can actually be done for the benefit of the student body. The suggestions of the reps are far from idealized, and these demands would lend themselves back financially into the community that the MLA is representing.

Faced with a time crunch of five minutes for their presentations, the reps only brushed on the problem and potential solution for the everrising prices of textbooks. Virtually monopolized, the textbook industry is controlled by a few powerhouse companies that have no limits to the prices they set on books that are required for courses. 26% of students choose not to register for a course due to the cost of the required books and materials (British Columbia Federation of Students). Similarly, students who enroll in a course but are not able to purchase the book are not able to study as effectively. These high costs not only lead to financial concerns for already stressed students, but sky-high textbook costs can also affect a student’s academic career for the worse.

Their solution? OERs, also known as Open Education Resources, which are more affordable options than the $400 biology books-turneddoorstops. OERs include textbooks, videos, exams, and other tools professors of postsecondary courses need for a successful semester.

Faculty choose to “adopt” a textbook. These newly attained books replace textbooks from giant companies. The not-for-profit company charges schools little to nothing for these resources.

The resources required to grow this program, as suggested by the representatives, is monetary support from the BC government. With the help of OERs, students have already saved over 9 million dollars on textbook costs. The more money saved from books, the more a student can save and give back to their city at a later time.

While going to school, almost all students have to work at least one part-time job to save up for such high costs. These jobs do help to build resumes and provide experience, but when these jobs interfere with schooling, they can pose more downfalls than benefits. With a student enrolled in multiple classes with multiple due dates, working a school night with a quiz the next morning leads to less studying, and potentially, lower grades. The representatives pointed out that high interest rates and high textbook costs lead to a more stressed student. These students lose sleep to study after more and more hours of working to pay to be a student, or just do not study as much as they should. This cyclical process can be alleviated if the costs for college kids are lessened.

Past the superficial monetary advantages, school is intrinsically beneficial. “An educated society is an inspired society,” exclaimed Michelle during the meeting. Education lends itself back into the community in more ways than one. The CNCSU representatives reminded the Members of Legislative Assembly this in an attempt to make the lives of students easier. At the same time, however, they knew that these changes must be realistic if they are to be considered. Meeting in the middle, for both the Union representatives and the MLAs, is necessary for change.

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“...An educated society is an inspired society...”

Poetry Submissions

Incense

by Justin Madu

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Smoky, woody, lovely.

I watch the smoke dance like my fingertips on your skin.

Drowsy lines drift until they catch a breeze and dissipate, the way I someday will.

The incense sticks turn to ash, and so will I, but I won’t burn slowly.

Burned cherries and vanilla pair well with dimmed lights and anxious energy.

I’m scared my eyes will burrow into your skin, so I only take quick glances.

More swear words than sweet nothings have passed through the lips that have kissed you.

I wish “love” was my favourite four letter word, but I can’t stop swearing.

If we were incense, I would be ash, and you would be the scorched scents.

20 Years

by Lake Morris

i will be in toronto at a coffee shop and it will be my first friday off of work in a while so i just have my music and have a book about some social issue and it’s so real and so raw and i have my coffee and the cashier will have the same eyes as you we will not have talked in 19 years i will not have thought of you in 10 years i’ll have my book in my hands and i’ll keep thinking about the cashier’s eyes with the thought of “where have i seen those eyes before?” it’ll be a sudden realization. an epiphany. a stop mid-thought and think about it typa thing it will be your eyes. my heart will go out of beat. my chest will fill with anxiety. my hands will start to feel clamy. someone will ask if i’m okay and i’ll say yes

it will be your eyes. where you’ll be in 20 years, i don’t know but i know you won’t think of me

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i’ll walk back home in the rain. my coffee gone cold. my book left unread. my music not listened to.

Feminism: The Fight Continues

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by Brenda Koller

After reading the article “A Trash Can of Feminism” by Madison Buckner, which appeared in the May 2018 issue of The Confluence, I wish to address some of the fallacies and misconceptions on which the author bases her disparaging views of feminism.

Firstly, it is a hasty generalization to suggest that simply because she did not personally experience a wage gap working as a general labourer for a waste management company that a wage gap does not exist in all blue-collar positions.

She acknowledges that the company she worked for is unionized; therefore, the company must abide by a collective agreement, which would include equal pay for work of equal value. Buckner then compares her unionized position, which she describes as having a “higher income” and “comprehensive benefits package,” with non-unionized minimum wage jobs. This is not a valid argument against feminism,

rather it highlights the necessity for and hard work of unions to eliminate genderbased wage gaps and pay all workers fair living wages.

Secondly, Buckner’s attack on feminism based on the issue of women’s self-expression is reductionist. She suggests that “true self-expression . . . is not walking around topless ‘because a man can.’”

Women’s rights to self-expression go much deeper than a minority who may want to go topless. Further, she suggests that common sense dictates “you would not walk drunk and alone in the hood at 3 AM with money spilling out of your pockets.” Agreed; but then she goes on to say, “so why would a woman take that same walk dressed provocatively and expect no repercussions?”

Sadly, Buckner continues to perpetuate the sexist view that any woman who is attacked while dressed “provocatively” is somehow to blame.

“...why it is that many women cannot “afford” to work due to the cost of childcare, or why the Highway of Tears exists...” income,” as at one time women would not even have been considered for the position of “utility man” (hence her job title).

Women today are benefitting in countless ways from our feminist foremothers’ long hours in dumpsters so disgustingly dirty most of us cannot even imagine.

Nevertheless, if anyone would like to help women in third world countries, I encourage them to support excellent organizations such as Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, which helps to provide educational opportunities for women in Afghanistan and their families.

Finally, I encourage everyone to view the 2012 NFB film, Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada.

The fight for political, economic, and social equality for women all over the world will continue until all of our goals have been achieved.

In solidarity, Brenda Koller CNC English Instructor

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Much of Buckner’s personal essay revolves around how women express themselves through their appearance, both on the job and in their personal lives, and she seems to take issue with women who do not want to “smell like garbage,” like she did, in order to earn higher than minimum wage. Again, not only is her argument illogical, but she is confusing feminism with femininity, both of which come in many shapes and forms. There are many types of feminisms—yes, some radical, and to express one’s femininity is as unique as a fingerprint.

Buckner suggests that feminism should be focused on women’s equality in third-world countries such as Afghanistan.

Such statements leave me wondering how single mothers in Prince George who cannot afford to feed their children feel, why there are often not enough beds in women’s shelters, why there is a need for private abortion clinics and sexual assault/ rape centres, why it is that many women cannot “afford” to work due to the cost of childcare, or why the Highway of Tears exists.

I suggest Buckner (re)considers those feminists and union activists who paved the way for women like her to have choices to “smell like garbage and have a higher

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CNCSU Scrapbook

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Confluence The

Advertise your business, organization, etc. to the students of CNC. Advertising in the magazine is a sure-fire way of advertising to the College of New Caledonia student body.

For more information, please contact us through these methods: Editor@cncsu.ca Organizer@cncsu.ca

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Also, supporting the Confluence by placing your advertisement here will make it so we can use Helvetica instead of Arial Bold.

Halloweekend

by Paige Riding

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The only experiences that should be scary during Halloween weekend are horror movies and haunted houses. A fear that should not reside is whether or not girls can dance with their friends at a club without being groped by a complete stranger without consent, or whether someone will slip something in their drink when they are not looking.

With Halloween coming up, various events around town present themselves to college students. Night clubs, The Rollerdome, and other Prince George locations urge this target audience to enjoy themselves at their locations. Each venue has its own drink specials, themes, and special events that guarantee a great time for various people. For such events to be successful, however, each person attending needs to follow that gorgeous golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. In other words, keep your hands to yourself unless consent is there. It’s really that simple.

It does not matter what the girl is wearing. Halloween is a holiday intended for everyone to dress up as something else, to have fun, and to not be labeled as a “slut” for wearing cat ears. Newsflash, Brad. A girl wearing something tight or revealing has not given you the right to touch her. She is not “asking” for anything. To label a girl with some exposed skin as “free merchandise” leads to you being labeled as an assaulter. There are no if, ands, or buts about this. Without clear consent, it is assault.

This is a reminder that for Halloween to be fun for everyone, respect and safety should be the biggest priority while going out. The introduction of drugs and alcohol are realities of the weekend, but if used responsibly, nothing more than a good time should come from them. Some may call this viewpoint idealistic, that to compromise one’s balance and senses “leads to trouble.”

Expecting these assaults to occur reinforces normalization of such events.

For such “trouble” to stop happening, the first step is to stop expecting and normalizing such events.

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Please remember this Halloween weekend that, while costumes and drinks are encouraged, exploiting others is not. Have a good time, but do not sacrifice someone else’s good night in order to do so. Dress how you feel comfortable and confident, and respect others’ approaches to this, too. Plan a safe ride that will guarantee that you and other people partying will arrive home safely.

This weekend is an opportunity for drinks, dancing, and costume contests. Let others have a good time, too. Stay spooky.

A Letter From A Place With No Name

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by Ewan Gillespie

Dear Reader

I’m writing to you from a place with no name. Since my arrival, years ago I’ve forgotten a fair lot of my life, most of which being minor bits, it’s why I failed to mention your name.

The house I live in is of queer design. It’s a two floor house with six rooms all of them are blank and a chair is the only piece of furniture. Each room has a window and all six windows are on the same side of the house. There are no doors, not even ones that lead outside.

Each window would show me the times in the life of someone I had something to do with. What I watched was the happy memories of each person. I watched them grow up. Often, I would feel the happiness of these memories and whenever I did the window would remind me by switching to the moment I killed them.

In a moment of madness I shot and killed six college students on their graduation, and none of them had anything to do with my own problems.

Several times I tried to get accepted into college, but because of my mental incapabilities I was rejected every single time. The only job I seemed to be smart enough for was hauling lumber around a saw mill. I lost my will to live because I knew all too well that anyone who graduates will move on to greater things while I’m left behind to live a meaningless life. It bothered me all too much to see their smiling faces at their graduation. I was merely taking my anger out on them before I deliberately surrendered myself to the police.

I hate where I am now. There’s nothing for me to do except watching the windows. I feel I’ve gotten to know these people quite personally. They had dreams and a future to look forward to and it hurts all too much to know that I had taken it all away from them. I feel as if I had killed my own friends. I feel more alone than I ever did in my life.

If I had’ve known this was going to be my punishment in the afterlife I would’ve chosen suicide over killing innocent people to get the death sentence.

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Acknowledgements An elder abuse commercial I saw years ago.

Jason Gillespie, who looked over my original manuscript, if he didn’t I wouldn’t have changed it to a more interesting plot.

ADVERTISE in

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Advertise your business, organization, etc. to the students of CNC. Advertising in the magazine is a sure-fire way of advertising to the College of New Caledonia student body.

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Also, supporting the Confluence by placing your advertisement here will make it so we can use Helvetica instead of Arial Bold.

For more information, please contact us through these methods: Editor@cncsu.ca Organizer@cncsu.ca

Marijuana Legalization and You

Marijuana, Pot, Devil’s Lettuce, Grass, Weed, Broccoli, Stinkweed, Ganja, Dope, Reefer, Cannabis, Mary Jane, Hay, Snazzy Grass, whatever you want to call it, is being legalized as of October 17th. The legalization of Marijuana brings a lot of questions to nearly all inhabitants of our college. There are some who will be ecstatic and there are some who will be more reserved. Either way, the legalization of Marijuana leaves us all asking about how it will effect us personally. The College of New Caledonia has met and gone over the policy changes that will take place once the legalization of Marijuana occurs on Wednesday.

At a student level, the consumption of Marijuana is prohibited on all CNC property. This includes those who live at the College Residence. Generally, the act of using marijuana is treated similarly to the consumption of alcohol. The reasoning behind this treatment of marijuana use seems to primarily be due to the effects of second-hand smoke and how you can be intoxicated. This also explains why the consumption of Marijuana is banned on the College residence, as there is the question of consent when it comes to second-hand smoke in general.

To those who may require the use of medical marijuana may go to Student Services to let them know that you require the medical benefits of cannabis to come to college. It does state in the new draft of the Substance Use an Abuse Policy that the college realizes that not all applications of cannabis products have THC or mind-altering effects in the product.

Overall, Bill C-45 is a positive step in the right direction for our freedom.

Marijuana should have a place in society, and the legalization of it allows us to study the true effects of consistent consumption of the plant. Plus, it will hopefully be a great boost to our economy!

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by Damon Robinson

Let’s Talk Affordable Housing

by Damon Robinson

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The costs of housing and lack of places to rent out are incredibly daunting before and during each semester here at the college for students.

With limited time to work, the costs of tuition and housing often creates a lot of stress for us. As a person who is a student, working a parttime job and renting out a living area, I can say that I often have to be on a very tight budget for anything else other than school and rent. We at the Student’s Union decided to take a stand on this, and pressure the upcoming municipality about affordable housing for students.

On October 9th, Harman Dandiwal, Paige Riding and I went to the Construction and Infrastructure Forum to ask the potential council candidates their opinions and plans on affordable housing.

To our dismay, each question would only be answered by one candidate at this forum. Being students, we are naturally crafty, and we opted to ask the same questions with slight changes to get at least three responses. Here are the results:

Question: International Students are contributing to the economy of Prince George during times of study. These students pay around 4 times the price of Canadian students in tuition. To alleviate financial strain, and interest them in Prince George as a whole, are there any plans in the future to provide opportunity for more affordable housing for these students?

Cori Ramsay: “I think affordable housing is something that is on everyone’s minds right now. It’s not just an issue for international students, indigenous students, or students. It’s an issue for a lot of our population. For seniors, for 40 plus, for young professionals. This is something that we, as a community, need to come up and find a solution for. I think that this next council is definitely going to be focusing on affordable housing because it has come up so often in this discussion. We know that it is an issue. We now that we have a housing crisis and that there are a lack of great rental opportunities for young people, especially students. I really think it’s important that we provide infrastructure they are going to be here longer and it will only make us better in the future.”

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Question: Indigenous students face a disadvantage moving from small towns to Prince George. Are there any plans in action or will there be to provide affordable housing for those aboriginal students?

Murry Krause: “I’d like to say that I’m sure there will be. The Aboriginal Housing Society has been working very diligently to create what they refer to as “The Village” on 17th avenue. They’ve worked with the neighborhood to ensure that there is neighborhood support for that and that I think it’s the perfect location. It’s centrally located and they’re actually using a school that has been recently turned into an old church for a community hall. So they’re looking at creating an entire village to house indigenous people in Prince George. They’ve created a great facility, people who have the opportunity should go to Spruce Street to see the seniors housing they’ve developed there and they’re doing great work and I think if that’s an example of what they can do I think that they’ll do a great job there. So I know that housing is challenging for indigenous people in general, as it is for other people, and I think that as a city we should work with those kinds of providers.”

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affordable housing for that international student population because they are spending money in our community and can stay here for a long time. If we can give them access to affordable housing and provide access to our city and infrastructure they are going to be here longer and it will only make us better in the future.”

Question: The cost of post secondary education and cost of living is increasing year by year. Are there any projects in the works in Prince George, or any in the near future, to create affordable housing for Canadian college students?

Kyle Sampson: “I think it’s a simple answer to be honest with you.

I think we’ve seen some great investment coming. We’ve had some investment over the past few years, there’s one in College Heights, by the Save on Foods and Walmart. Those are going to be some rental opportunities for students, people with families, seniors, (and other) different groups; so I think that is a good start. I think a big piece of this is attracting investment in affordable housing developments around the rest of our community. We need some development in the bowl area, we need some development near the resources that these students use. So the shopping infrastructure, transit systems and more. But I think that beyond that, we need to not only focus on college students but for those who want to stay in their communities in the Hart area and downtown. But for college students it’s really important to look at there resources and what they need and provide the housing in those areas and continue with those investments.

Confluence The

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Support and Crisis Contacts and Help Lines • Crisis Line- for immediate 24/7 support and information and referrals: 250-563-1214 Toll Free: 1-888-562-1214

• Youth Support Line: 250-564-8336

Chat line at www.northernbccrisissuicide.ca

• Provincial Suicide Hotline 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-784-2334

• College and University students for mental health • CNC Counselling: 250-561-5818 • UNBC Counselling: 250-960-6369

• Individuals who identify as aboriginal or wish to access aboriginal services • Carrier Sekani (Family Services): 250-562-3591 • Central Interior Native Health: 250-564-4422 • Native Friendship Centre: 250-564-4324

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• Bounce Back teaches effective skills to help adults overcome early symptoms of depression and improve their mental health: www.bounceback.ca