The Confluence | February 25th, 2019 | Bring on the Retro

YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE MAGAZINE

FEBRUARY 25th, 2019

Confluence The

How would i be speaking to you right now?

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Comic by Zephyr Chen-Pearce 10

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Bring on the Retro

THe boy : Brielle Rivard 13

Poetry: Hannah Cole 14

It’s the Intern - Editorial Hello, I thought I can take over the editorial this time.

I am a Web and Graphic Design student here at CNC and this year is my final semester to strut my stuff. Over the past two years have been a wild ride; however, it is well worth it because I met a lot of beautiful people and learn a new thing or two.

This issue is part of my internship and visual showcase class, so I came up with an idea of creating something fresh and exciting for The Confluence. My vision for this issue of The Confluence is explained in “Bring on the Retro.”

Too bad CNC is not in College Heights; otherwise, I would’ve said “Good times at Collge Heights.” Kind of replicating the saying of Fast times at Ridgemont High film title.

Anyways I won’t babble anymore. Hope you enjoy this week issue.

Cheers!

Kiana Fergusson Intern, CNCSU

Here comes the news - Editorial

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Hello, Confluence readers!

With Reading Break now wrapped up, I hope each student returns to their routines feeling restored and ready to finish this semester strong. As I am currently writing this while driving through the Fraser Valley on my way to Vancouver, it is fair to say my reading break is one of relaxing and not of much reading. Whoops.

The elections are wrapped up. I would like to thank all of the voters and CNC representatives that made the voting period smooth especially compared to that of last year. I got to try out being a security guard during voting (a short girl with glasses on, how intimidating!). I wish the representatives of the 2019-2020 school year all the best. While I will be attending SFU in Burnaby by then, a piece of me will remain at the College of New Caledonia Students’ Union office. I know it is in good hands with all of those Paige Riding News Editor, The Confluence who were elected!

Let’s finish the Spring 2019 semester with a bang, not a whimper.

Bonus points if you get that literature tidbit reference.

Cheers, Paige

Confluence Staff and Contributors

Harman Dandiwal Organizer, CNCSU

Damon Robinson

Karm Shah

Editor-in-Chief, The Confluence

Photographer, Cover Artist

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The

The Confluence is produced biweekly at the CNCSU office on CNC’s Prince George campus

by Damon Robinson and Paige Riding.

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

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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.

The Confluence

06 - article - how would i...

JANUARY 14th, 2018

10- Comic - Zephyr Chen-Pearce 13 - Story- Brielle Rivard Three days. She cried for three days over the boy who was never really hers to begin with. The boy she talked to everyday for nearly a year, who made her feel beautiful and special in a way no other boy had.

How would I be speaking to you right now? In twelfth grade, it was a requirement for each student to read one of five novels and write a paper inspired by the overlaying themes of their chosen book...

14 - Poetry - Hannah Cole Staying Afloat My Soul lay within My Body their occupied space unmoved.

Feeling the weight of the world, we imagine a place we’ve been before.

Bring on the Retro

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8 COVER STORY

The Confluence

How Would I be Speaking to You Right Now?

by Paige Riding

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In twelfth grade, it was a requirement for each student to read one of five novels and write a paper inspired by the overlaying themes of their chosen book. I personally chose Margaret Atwood’s speculative masterpiece, Oryx and Crake. If this book is unfamiliar to you, in short, it follows the tale of a man in the not-so-distant future who goes by the name of Snowman/Jimmy. Through flashbacks that lend themselves to the hyper-technologically advanced present, Snowman recollects and pieces together the current state of artificial emotion and manmade creations. A theme of the book is the increased emphasis on scientific advances that leads to the collapse of humanity, beginning first with the lack of interest in the liberal arts.

As a future English major, this book about the irrelevance of the arts was striking. Atwood was correct in calling the novel speculative fiction, warning readers of what could come to be. Indeed, the more I mentioned to peers and teachers that I planned on pursuing an English undergraduate degree, the more muffled chuckles and looks of confusion proceeded. I graduated high school with honours. Finishing with practically a blemish-free transcript, my teachers were eager to see what my next step would be. To almost all of them, a Humanities degree seemed futile, too easy, a waste of potential.

Even now as I finish my second year of my degree, I am shocked to recall that no STEM course has led to me getting less than an A. Why, then, do I choose to pursue a “useless”

degree? Why do I read the Romantic-era poems of dead British guys? Why did I cry after finishing King Lear for the third time? For me, and for other Humanities majors, the answer is simple: further fulfillment is found in a book, in self-expression, through an instrument or movement of the body, than solving for x. And though the technologically-obsessed twenty-first century places greater importance on the sciences, those interested in the arts offer something different. This difference may not invent a rocket to the moon, or explain the molecular components of the galaxy, but it keeps us grounded and reminds us what makes us human.

I am by no means trying to say one is “better” than the other.

Make no mistake, I do appreciate the invention of the measles vaccination and doctors discovering that washing their hands before an operation could save a patient’s life. I understand that various algorithms and paradigms allow me to type this very essay out. Mutually, however, I understand that my own vocabulary allows me to deliver my ideas with coherence.

The ability to argue one’s ideas is a difficult task that must be sharpened through studying the written and verbal works of others. To belittle the arts is to sacrifice a large component of man’s potential, or worse: using the wrong conjugation of the word “there, their, or they’re” while writing. The mental processes going on in one’s mind utilizes both concrete and abstract ideas, so why is there a stigma against those pursuing further education in the Humanities?

HOT TOPICS

References

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Money and social desirability are the leading drivers in the sciences. With a history degree, academia argues, these two components are apparently hard to reach and degrees like that are therefore inferior. I argue, however, that pursuing a further education in a subject should be more intrinsically driven. A keen interest in a subject lends itself to a student’s success. Forcing oneself to read a textbook about a hated subject is difficult to do. An accumulation of knowledge on a subject should feel rewarding in itself.

It should not just be a money grab. I cannot recall how many of my STEM friends from the university or here at CNC claim they went in to their major “because their parents wanted them to,” “because it’ll make me money,” or “because my friend is doing it.” If you are not learning for yourself first, then those you work with in the future will suffer because of self-imposed apathy.

The arts promote a sense of culture. Specific artistic displays stimulate unique areas of the brain (Ashford University). Entertainment and enlightenment can be found in the pages of a piece of literature. Through artistry, man can understand and relate to those of the past, find connections in the present, and grow in the future. Without the arts, how would I be connecting with you right now, after all?

https://www.ashford.edu/online-degrees/liberal-arts/ how-looking-at-art-can-help-your-brain (Ashford University)

Confluence

Bring on the Retro

by Kiana Fergusson and Karm Shah

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Karm Shah from Yk Photography and I teamed up to have a photoshoot for the nostalgia edition for The Confluence. This idea came up one day as I was looking up retro posters and nostalgia moments on Reddit on the internet and thought hey why not try designing the page. I pitched the idea to Karm as gives him the opportunity to showcase his skills as he has his own business; YK Photography. I enjoyed working with him, and hopefully, the photoshoot will help him out in the future. Thanks, Karm Shah!

Cheers, Kiana Fergusson

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HOT TOPICS

The Confluence

HOT TOPICS Comic Drawing

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by Zephyr Chen-Pearce

Good Times...

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Nostalgia Moments

WORKING TOGETHER

GETS RESULTS! 80+ MEETINGS WITH MLAS

20,000+ POSTCARDS SIGNED

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100S OF VOLUNTEERS 2,000+ EMAILS TO THE FINANCE MINISTER room for ads 13+ STUDENTS’ UNIONS TAKING ACTION

0%

INTEREST ON BC STUDENT LOANS

The BC Government’s 2019 Budget announced that interest on the BC portion of all student loans is eliminated effective February 19, 2019.

STUDENT ACTION WORKS – WE DID THIS TOGETHER!

The Boy Three days. She cried for three days over the boy who was never really hers to begin with. The boy she talked to everyday for nearly a year, who made her feel beautiful and special in a way no other boy had. He was the boy behind all the random smiles that nearly split her face in two, and who made her heart flutter every time that familiar sound jingled from her phone. She thought of him day and night. He knew everything there was to know about her and still seemed to care. To her, he was perfect. What a naïve young girl. She gave him everything and the boy took it greedily, gobbling it up like a starved child. But that’s what boys do isn’t it? They take and take and take until there is nothing left and then they move on to someone new. That realization was heart wrenching. The boy didn’t even have the decency to tell her himself, she found out online.

The girl could feel her heart breaking when she saw the boy’s picture beside another girl’s with R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P spelled out between them. The girl had never felt so much pain in her life, it was like walking face first into a brick wall made of sadness, anger and regret. He used her and that hurt more than anything.

That was day one. She cried for the boy who sent her good morning and goodnight texts, who told her she was beautiful, and who made her smile more than anyone else ever had. She cried for the loss of something she thought she had. On day two the girl woke up with blood shot eyes and tangled hair. She spent her day crying tears of anger. How dare he treat her like a play thing that was to be used and discarded? She cried and screamed until her throat was raw. On day three she cried for herself, for letting herself trust that boy and for falling so deep. She cried for everything she lost. No, everything he took from her. On day four she showered, brushed her hair, put on make-up and plastered a smile on her face. He wasn’t going to win. That boy changed her and broke her in ways she never thought possible, but she refused to let him know that.

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by Brielle Rivard

Staying Afloat My Soul lay within My Body their occupied space unmoved.

Feeling the weight of the world, we imagine a place we’ve been before.

Far off; distant; but still present A feeling of quiet nerve creeping softly along the spine of one who will try, despite being.

Inside we are turning like the tides of the ocean; pulling urgently despite having nowhere to be.

The flower by the boulder on the shore knows not how to shelter as the waves break.

Wishing to be strong only once, high above ground We hold our breath. Lungs full like the inner tube: Solace in the rough.

The wind howls.

We are consumed, but here we remain.

My Soul, My Body.

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My high-tide lullabies

By Hannah Cole

Consideration

By: Amber Boileau

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Her dainty fingers, Like small, thin timbers.

Often fiddling, With hems of her sweaters, As if the stitches, Were strings on an instrument.

Her touch always drifting, Yet never lingers.

Belonging to a thought, Rigor as the wind of winter.

50 ANNIVERSARY ENTRANCE AWARDS TH

To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, CNC is now offering $100,000 in new entrance awards for the 2019/20 school year!

No special awards application is necessary - students who apply for the 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters by 11:59PM PST on March 17, 2019 are automatically eligible for entrance awards.

For more information, go to cnc.bc.ca/entranceawards