vol 106 iss 29, April 8, 2020

T H E

M A N I T O B A N

THEMANITOBAN.COM

APRIL

8,

2020

VOLUME

106

ISSUE

29

CAMPUS-WIDE CLOSURES CONTINUE As our publishing year closes, remote education is set to continue through the summer semester.

Though we take a break from our regular publishing schedule until June, feel free to reach out to us to let us know the stories and situations that are most valuable and informative, and what you, our valued readers, want to know as we find our ways through the COVID-19 pandemic.

With you in isolation, — The Manitoban editorial board

THE OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STUDENTS’ NEWSPAPER

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Index

VOL. 106 NO. 29 April 8, 2020

ARTS AND CULTURE

A day at the virtual gallery WAG@Home worth checking out PAGE 13

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Matthew Doering

editor@themanitoban.com / 474.8293

BUSINESS MANAGER Alice Teufack

accounts@themanitoban.com / 474.6535

ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Pauline Calinisan

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EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Garett Williams

me@themanitoban.com

NEWS EDITOR Garett Williams

garett@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

NEWS EDITOR Ty Brass

ARTS AND CULTURE

ty@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

The show must go on

COMMENT EDITOR Kenny Ingram

comment@themanitoban.com

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Grace Paizen

Local band set to release debut EP

arts@themanitoban.com

PAGE 12

sports@themanitoban.com

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Pchajek COPY EDITOR Matthew Doering

copy@themanitoban.com

ASSOCIATE COPY EDITOR Megan Pietrus

megan@themanitoban.com

COPY ASSOCIATE Ursula Chojko-Bolec

DESIGN

DESIGN EDITOR Joshua Wesey

design@themanitoban.com

GRAPHICS EDITOR Evan Tremblay

graphics@themanitoban.com

DESIGN ASSOCIATE Kellie Huynh GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE Ernest Zarzuela

AUDIO AND VIDEO

VISUAL CONTENT EDITOR Quincy Houdayer

visual@themanitoban.com

AUDIO EDITOR Joseph Gonzales

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PHOTO ASSOCIATE Alex Decebal-Cuza PHOTO ASSOCIATE Ally Gonzalo VIDEO ASSOCIATE Nish Joshi VIDEO ASSOCIATE Paul Stabell AUDIO ASSOCIATE Tino Hove

REPORTERS

NEWS Gillian Brown

COMMENT

NEWS Damien Davis

Frontline failings

NEWS Amira Tekle NEWS (INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS) Kayla Lariviere COLUMNIST Cam Cannon COLUMNIST Meagan Hughes ARTS & CULTURE Kaelen Bell ARTS & CULTURE Zachary Sigurdson SPORTS Isaiah Wagner

Short-term wage subsidies are not enough PAGE 8

VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS

A “volunteer staff” member is defined as a person who has had three volunteer articles, photographs, or pieces of art of reasonable length and/or substance published in three different issues of the current publishing year of the Manitoban. Any individual who qualifies must be voted in by a majority vote at a Manitoban staff meeting. Elected representatives and non-students may be excluded from holding votes as volunteer staff members in accordance with the Manitoban Constitution.

The Manitoban is the official student newspaper of the University of Manitoba. It is published monthly during the summer and each week of regular classes during the academic year by the Manitoban Newspaper Publica-

tions Corporation.

The Manitoban is an independent and democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens.

The newspaper’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. The Manitoban serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism.Students and other interested parties are in-

vited to contribute to any section of the newspaper. Please contact the appropriate editor for submission guidelines. The Manitoban reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, ableist or libellous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors. Editorials in the Manitoban are signed and represent the opinions of the writer(s), not necessarily those of the Manitoban staff, Editorial Board, or the publisher.

All contents are ©2020 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Editor-in-Chief. Yearly subscriptions to the Manitoban are available for $40.

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News

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Pass/fail option announced for winter courses

‘Pass’ courses will not satisfy some program prerequisites GILLIAN BROWN, STAFF

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

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he U of M has announced that students will be given the option to have winter 2020 courses take on a pass/fail grading scheme on their transcripts in response to academic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement follows the university’s previous decision to allow students to selectively exclude letter grade courses from GPA calculations for the winter 2020 term, an option that will remain.

The university announced these changes after a petition created by engineering student Andrew Sadik on change.org advocating flexible course assessments quickly garnered more than 6,000 signatures.

“I started this petition because of a clear realization that the studying conditions of winter 2020 are not what students signed up for,” said Sadik.

Sadik said he believed that, even though the U of M “had taken many

crucial steps to facilitate remote A recent update from vice-provost learning and online resources for (students) Laurie Schnarr reads that continued education,” the changes to “Students, except for those in the faccourse delivery had a negative impact ulty of law, can choose whether or not for both students and instructors. to receive a ‘pass’ grade instead of a letter grade.”

“This option will apply to all winter term or spanned courses that you “Empowering complete by April 2020. Students students and valuing must have achieved a letter grade of D or higher to exercise this option.” their perception are The message also says that if a stusteps in the right dent chooses this option, the pass direction” — Andrew designation will appear on their transcripts, flagged with a notation that Sadik, U of M student they made this decision due to the COVID-19 situation.

“However, it is important to note that course grades of ‘pass’ will not He said that although he is pleased normally be used to satisfy prereqwith the steps the university and uisites. You should not choose this UMSU have taken in recent days, option if your program specifies a he urged them to remember “that grade of C or higher is required for there is no ‘One size fits all’ solution courses counted towards the degree.” to this situation” and that faculty It also notes that failing grades in should continue to co-ordinate with the winter term will automatically students and instructors to create be excluded from GPA calculations. beneficial solutions well-suited to UMSU vice-president advocacy the circumstances.

Sarah Bonner-Proulx said the union “Empowering students and valuing has been advocating for the pass/fail their perception are steps in the right option “quite strongly.” direction,” he said.

“We do think it is a positive change,

and our goal at the end of the day is to allow students the most option and the most flexibility to be able to decide for themselves what works best for them, acknowledging that these circumstances have affected students uniquely,” she said.

Bonner-Proulx, along with specific faculties, particularly the engineering faculty, are advocating to raise the “pass” minimum to a C. “We had proposed that a 60 per cent be a pass, and that is because a C, across the board for most faculties, is what is needed in order to qualify as a prerequisite for other courses, as well as to maintain good academic standing,” she said.

Bonner-Proulx urged the university community to recognize the effects recent events have on students.

“With these unprecedented times, we need to take measures that reflect these changes and that accommodate students in a way that is best for them,” she said.

“And from whether speaking anecdotally or empirically, we know that this has affected students in a number of different ways that go far beyond just the classroom and learning.”

Graduate students hit pause on research

University closure leaves timelines for master’s, doctoral programs uncertain GARETT WILLIAMS, STAFF

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

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he U of M’s more than 3,400 impact on graduate students, many graduate students are facing an of whom are both students and uncertain future as they deal with employees of the university working the “massive” disruption caused by as teaching assistants, instructors or the university’s indefinite closure. research assistants while completing The same day the provincial their own studies. government declared a 30-day state Carl Neumann, president of the U of emergency and announced new of M Graduate Students’ Association protective measures to manage (UMGSA), said the university clothe spread of COVID-19 through sure has forced the majority of grad Manitoba, the U of M announced students to pause their research. it would be closing its doors indefi“For the majority of grad students nitely to nearly all but those deemed — if you’re in medicine or if you’re in essential staff. engineering or in sciences or so on — The closure had a pronounced most of the research has to happen

in a lab and with the university shut down people can’t make any progress,” he said. “This is a huge delay to them completing their programs.”

For more than two weeks, nearly all research being conducted through the university has been suspended.

Exceptions were made for research relating to COVID-19 and work involving the care of live plants and animals but Neumann said more requests for exemptions were submitted by students than were granted by the university.

The university has extended the

timeline for grad students to complete their programs by four months, which Neumann said is appreciated but until the university re-opens and students are back in the labs it is too soon to say if it will be generous enough.

“We hope that a lot of people can get back to the labs in the not too distant future,” he said, “but it’s still really uncertain how long it’ll be until that can happen.”

The university has announced that in-person classes will not be resumed until at least September.

“We understand they’re dealing with a lot and in a lot of ways there’s not a lot they can do — they can’t magically make a lab safe to work in.

It’s a tough situation,” he said.

Since the arrival of COVID-19 in Manitoba last month, the U of M has continued to tailor its response.

Just last week, the senate executive approved a revision to the university’s grading policy to allow students three options for the winter 2020 term.

An emergency fund offering support to both graduate and undergraduate students was established but was overwhelmed with applications within days.

But it was in the days after COVID-19 arrived in Manitoba

that Neumann said graduate students were most unsure of the next steps as the university’s focus was set on limiting the number of people on campus

“They can’t magically make a lab safe to work in” — Carl Neumann, UMGSA and relocating all instruction online.

“So much of what we do wasn’t really covered in those initial immediate reactions to dealing with classes specifically,” he said, acknowledging that it was a fast moving and difficult situation and that “I think they really were doing the best that they could.”

Neumann said there is now some more clarity for graduate students but noted there are still many questions to be answered, most directly concerning emergency funding from the provincial and federal levels.

“There’s still a lot that we don’t know,” he said, “but I think the things that we don’t know now are just things that we can’t really answer until things progress more.”

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News

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com /ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Conservatives cut post-secondary funding yet again Operating grants down approximately $7.5 million TY BRASS, STAFF

responsibility for which was moved from the education minister to the minister of economic development and training in October, have had their grant assistance cut by roughly $7.5 million — nearly one per cent — for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

M

a n itob a’s Prog r e s si v e Conservative-led government has cut post-secondary operating grants for the third year in a row.

PHOTO BY ALLY GONZALO

The budget includes a one per cent reduction in the provincial sales tax as well as a $25-per-tonne carbon tax.

An emergency supplement to the

budget was made to bring the province’s rainy-day fund to $800 million in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Post-secondary institutions,

The university is expected to unveil this year’s budget in the coming months.

There is no word yet from the university on whether tuition will follow the pattern set over the last two years and increase again this fall.

UMSU president Jakob Sanderson called the cuts “unsurprising but “The only thing deeply harmful.”

“The provincial government thinks dropping faster than it can run a province without consulfunding for vital tation with any meaningful community from students to administrators, services is my level to nurses to First Nations to the business community and beyond,” of surprise at their Sanderson said in an email. woeful decisions” “Cutting funding to our leading education institution as we are going — Jakob Sanderson, to need vital research and innovaUMSU president tion to solve this crisis and kickstart our economy is dangerously shortsighted,” he continued.

“I have come to expect this from For each of the past two years fol- the Pallister government however. lowing similar cuts, the U of M has The only thing dropping faster than adopted tuition hikes of 6.6 per cent funding for vital services is my level and 3.75 per cent, respectively, to help of surprise at their woeful decisions.” offset the decreases in government funding.

U of M Student Emergency Fund closed after two days Fundraising underway for its reopening TY BRASS, STAFF

T

wo days after becoming available, and be able to demonstrate that their Asked to comment on its closure, the COVID-19 UM Student financial distress resulted from the Sanderson urged students to recogEmergency Fund closed.

COVID-19 pandemic and that sup- nize the significant size of the fund.

The fund was announced on port was needed to continue at the “We’re sad in some sense it closed March 31 by the U of M as well as via U of M. so soon but the fact it did is because an email from UMSU to the student Applications for the fund closed 2,000 students applied and will be body that included the application April 2, and the university’s web helped by it,” wrote Sanderson in an page that contained the applica- email. “That should be celebrated, not form.

A U of M bursary opened to stu- tion form now states: “At this time, vilified.” dents to help offset costs resulting we are no longer accepting underSanderson said UMSU is curfrom the COVID-19 pandemic. It graduate application forms due to an rently surveying students to figure offered a one-time deposit to under- overwhelming response. Should this out what students need most right graduate and graduate students of situation change, we will update our now, “particularly extending beyond up to $800 for full-time students and website.” [the Canada Emergency Response $400 for part-time.

Graduate student applications are Benefit] and this fund,” and is advoApplying students were required also closed. cating to the province “for a freeze to have no tuition costs owed to the According to UMSU president on student loan payments, and on university, have any previous emer- Jakob Sanderson, the fund was made evictions, late fees or utility tampergency aid repaid, have achieved up of approximately $1.2 million and ing to protect renters. a minimum passing grade on all took in roughly 2,000 applications The emergency bursary was courses taken in the previous term before its closure. funded by the university and its

donors. According to UMSU vicepresident student life Jelynn Dela Cruz, the university is currently fundraising in hopes of reopening the fund.

“We’re sad in some sense it closed so soon but the fact it did is because 2,000 students applied and will be helped by it” — Jakob Sanderson, UMSU president

“To our understanding, the university is working very hard to raise more money in order to reopen the fund and we’ll be announcing it again to UMSU’s networks once it is back up and running.”

The faculty of science announced on an emergency fund specifically for students of the faculty on April 6. Contributions to the fund can be made online.

There is no word yet on when and how applications for students in need will be available.

Applications for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit — the federal government’s assistance program for citizens affected by the pandemic — opened Monday.

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Diversions Graphics Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: graphics@themanitoban.com / 474.6775

Editorial Editor-In-Chief: Matthew Doering Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

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The COVID-19 pandemic in Winnipeg through the lens A visibly empty city is the result of a quarantined population QUINCY HOUDAYER, STAFF

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t’s strange being home when your home is empty.

As someone who lives in downtown Winnipeg, in what is usually a very busy and loud neighbourhood, it’s been a very different experience walking the streets nearby and being the only person out there.

Leaving my building and not seeing a single soul walking, smoking, talking or yelling.

I work as a freelancer, which means that I, along with many other people, am not working right now.

Other than my work for the Manitoban, I haven’t had a full workload since March 19, the day before more strict physical distancing rules began to be implemented in Manitoba.

I’ve been going for socially distant photowalks to pass the time, and there’s been quite a lot of time to pass. I’m focusing on photographing places that I’ve known and walked through since I moved here six years ago, places that are often full of life, but now, are decidedly empty.

For the most part, the only

people I have seen are folks waiting for the bus, driving to work or people that I know to be homeless.

People who don’t have a home to quarantine in, and people who are deemed essential workers and have to go out everyday and keep the wheel turning.

As bored and cooped up as I may feel inside my apartment, there are things I need to remind myself of.

I have a roof over my head and I am able to safely distance myself during this time of crisis. During this pandemic, remember to check in with those in your life, particularly those who are on the frontlines, and remember that there are many people out there who are unable to safely quarantine themselves, whether their housing situation is unsafe or because they do not have access to shelter.

I hope that these photos offer a slight respite from the news, and make you pause to remember that what makes up our city, our neighbourhoods, our homes is the people who populate those places. Stay safe and stay healthy. We’ll get through this.

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2 1 and 5: Balmoral Hall Girls School lies vacant (1) and a school bus sits empty. All schools, universities, and colleges in the province have suspended classes as a result of the spread of COVID-19. A majority of students are being moved to online learning, as educational institutions try to wrap up the school year.

2 and 3: City Radiator in the Exchange says goodbye to its customers as it has closed after 56 years. While it is unclear if they closed because of the pandemic, or if it just made sense to finally close their doors for good, this serves as a reminder of all of the families and small businesses that are currently being affected by COVID-19.

VOL. 106 NO. 29 April 8, 2020

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Editorial

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4: Fresh snowfall lies undisturbed around a house in Winnipeg’s West End. Many families in Winnipeg are now home together, as schools close down and people begin to get laid off or work from home.

5: A street corner between Little Brown Jug brewery and Red River College is empty and still. While both are usually bustling locations, most Winnipeggers are attempting to quarantine as much as possible, leaving much of the city eerily empty.

7: The sun sets on a quiet Exchange District. Usually a busy hub of restaurants, nightlife and business, the streets lie empty. Most businesses have closed, with no clear date on when they’ll be able to open again.

8: A corner store in Winnipeg’s West Broadway remains open, still supplying the neighbourhood with much-needed items. With restrictions on which businesses can open tightening, grocery and convenience stores and restaurants are essential services.

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Comment Comment Editor: Kenny Ingram Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

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Contemplations of a post-COVID-19 world

How the pandemic may change our perspectives and how we live our lives MEAGAN HUGHES, STAFF

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has already had a huge global impact.

Entire cities have essentially shut down and the ways in which we connect with the people in our lives have completely shifted.

Eventually, we will see rates of infection dropping off and we will no longer be confined to isolation.

But what lasting changes in our lives and ourselves will be present after this pandemic finally ceases to exist?

COVID-19 has stripped away many aspects of our daily lives. We may be used to a routine of going to work, going to school and socializing without giving much thought to how these basic activities relate to public health and safety.

It’s likely a lot of people who have lived through COVID-19 will encounter long-lasting changes in the way they perceive and interact with the world we live in.

Systems within our world will

remain forever altered — with the impact on our national economies and a palpable fear of touchable surfaces within public spaces, businesses are being forced to ever-further adapt.

It reminds us of the things that are most fundamentally important: our health, friends, family and safety The COVID-19 pandemic shows us just how many of the aspects of our daily lives we may be accustomed to are privileges, like going out to shop or see a movie.

The facade of some of our per-

ceived needs easily melts away once we can no longer leave our homes or partake in indulgences used to fill insecurities or quell boredom. This will hopefully instil a new sense of appreciation in people once we are able to live freely again.

Being confined to our homes may be both a curse and a blessing as we may have more time to spend with loved ones — either at home or at a distance — and more freedom to focus on our own mental and physical needs.

The culture we live in is obsessed with productivity which can act as fuel for workaholism, anxiety and burnout.

During this time, the world should adapt an alternate perspective and see how this culture detracts from our lives, taking focus away from the things that truly enrich our lives like spending time with loved ones.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be a time of contemplation for a lot

of us. A situation such as this global gles during this time, the situation pandemic is a profound reality check has brought the necessity of coming and it reminds us of the things that face to face with a lot of our fears. are most fundamentally important: We have nowhere left to run, leadour health, friends, family and safety. ing hopefully to insight amongst the The only silver lining of COVID- chaos.

19 may be that there is something There are reasons for concern positive to take away from the expe- regarding how the anxiety of these rience: to see a communal priority times will linger on into the future. shift toward being more grounded There already exists a saddening and appreciative of the simple and amount of paranoia and xenophobia important aspects of life, even though in our world. But with the aim to eduit will absolutely take time for people cate and look out for each other, there to mentally recover from and process is hope to clear up misjudgments and this experience. misunderstandings.

This experience may also aid peoWe will likely see people throwple in becoming more mindful and ing sharp glances at strangers coughaware of their privilege. It is impor- ing or sneezing in public areas for a tant to appreciate what we have and while into the near future. It will take recognize that many people are not time for the communal wounds of dealt a fortunate hand. The more we COVID-19 to fade. become aware of this, the more we The more optimistic and realistic can inspire change and action toward we are as we look to the future, the helping to support those who need it greater chance we have at making in our communities. it out of this situation with insights Though some will face great strug- overpowering ill feelings.

Response to COVID-19 serves big business, not workers

Government’s temporary relief by subsidizing wages only prolongs a hegemonic hierarchy CAM CANNON, STAFF

to remain employed — are being asked to risk not only their lives, but the lives of their families and those around them for no additional pay and without mandated PPE. These workers are in direct danger of being hit hard by the virus while businesses and their bottom lines remain the priority of the government.

GRAPHIC BY ERNEST ZARZUELA

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s emergency measures continue However, there are a few details that to be taken by all levels of gov- are particularly interesting: lawn care, ernment, it’s become increasingly natural resource exploration, conclear that these governments act on struction and temporary staffing behalf of a specific, property-owning agencies stand out as businesses that segment of the population — leaving the government has deemed essential. workers to simultaneously carry the Even more interestingly, the pubweight of a global pandemic and an lic health order includes no protececonomic downturn. tions for workers on the front lines.

On March 31, Manitoba’s Minister There still has yet to be any governof Health Cameron Friesen issued a ment intervention that grants workers public health order, closing all busi- the right to personal protective equipnesses that were not considered essen- ment (PPE), a sanitary workplace, tial in an attempt to prevent further any kind of hazard pay or even job spread of the COVID-19 virus. protection for those that need to selfThe businesses that one might isolate after developing symptoms of deem essential for immediate sur- COVID-19. vival seem to be fairly evident — like What this indicates is that many those that sell supplies like groceries workers — who likely have few and those that provide medical care. other options for income and want

through all of this. After all, both This is not even beginning to Employment Insurance and the scratch the surface of the massive Canada Emergency Relief Benefit bailouts for businesses that are likely only pay out for a finite amount of coming from the federal government time, and it’s likely that the impend- — even businesses that should be ing economic downturn will last long shuttered due to market forces like beyond the periods these benefits the oil and gas sector. cover.

The emergency measures put in Workers are brave in the face of all place by the provincial and federal of this because they have to be. These governments are clearly not intended sacrifices are structurally coerced to protect workers. This is made even and in a capitalist society — this has more clear by the fact that around one The emergency always been the case. third of unemployed workers will not measures put This is because the state is sim- be able to access financial help from ply the collection of institutions and the government. in place by the apparatuses that ensure one class’ The takeaway from all of this is provincial and federal domination — or hegemony — over clear: there are no guarantees for all other classes. This is how capital- any individual worker. Yet there will governments are ist societies have always reproduced always be guarantees to businesses: clearly not intended themselves and how they maintain a people healthy or desperate enough ruling class. to perform any work — at whatever to protect workers Simply put, the state is precisely wage — deemed essential by a state that which reproduces the ruling class more concerned with maintaining as the ruling class and normalizes it. the economy than anything else.

This concept is especially powerful Canada is dependent on the conin times of crisis because it explains tinued labour of workers and it’s time While lauding these workers for what, to many, would seem like obvi- that it demonstrated this dependence their selfless effort is important, a ous flaws in responses to crises. by meeting their basic needs. In this failure to implement safeguards that The government has subsidized time of crisis, workers deserve a miniwill adequately protect them from the wages rather than providing direct, mum guaranteed income — regardvirus will foster an entire province universal assistance — operations less of employment history or status that simply accepts the inevitability that keep businesses able to expand — a moratorium on rent and utility that many workers will likely die as and maintain investments remain payments, hazard pay, proper safety a result. open. precautions and job security if they Many people are faced with a It has instead deemed construc- develop symptoms. choice: risk continuing to work tion and maintenance like lawn care All the property in the world is without proper safety measures or essential with a lack of mandated useless if there is nobody to contribopt for safety and become reliant on hazard pay or protective equipment ute their labour power, the sole comwhatever government aid is avail- and chosen to prioritize keeping modity that produces value. Without able. Both options are filled with temporary staffing agencies open workers, there is no economy, there is uncertainty and neither guarantees to ensure that staff are available to no society. We deserve much, much that individuals will be able to live replace those that cannot work. better.

We know exam time is stressful, here are some resources if you’re feeling overwhelmed!

Student Counselling Centre

Academic Supports

During the COVID-19 pandemic, only individual counselling services by telephone are being offered at this time – all groups and workshops are suspended. Call reception to request an initial intake counselling appointment.

Many student services are offering phone, email, and/or video appointments, including: Academic Advisors, Academic Learning Centre, Libraries and Student Accessibility Services.

Reception Phone: 204 474-8592

To book an appointment with an Elder in Residence, email isc@umanitoba.ca or call 204-474-8850.

Visit the SSC webpage for students resources that can be accessed remotely!

EmpowerMe 24/7

Be Mindful, Socialize and De-Stress

Telephone Counselling

by StudentCare

Making time for yourself is important during these uncertain times. Free, daily mindfulness meditation is being offered through the Faculty of Social Work to help us all restore and reconnect. We have also compiled advice from UM experts on how to reduce anxiety and be productive during our time away from others. Lastly, although gyms are closed, there are home exercise options available. The UM’s Recreation Services is posting workouts on its YouTube channel. We encourage you to take advantage of these helpful resources.

Available to students with UMSU Health & Dental coverage through StudentCare.

Toll-Free: 1-844-741-6389

10 Comment

Comment Editor: Kenny Ingram Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Status quo failures necessitate a progressive response Progressives need to use COVID-19 and the economic collapse as examples of why systemic change is crucial KENNY INGRAM, STAFF

GRAPHIC BY EVAN TREMBLAY

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he current situation around the world is a total disaster.

From a raging pandemic that has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people to a global economy on the brink of collapse, the world is in terrible shape.

But it’s at home, within our respective countries, where progressive people need to look to lobby for the changes needed to prevent this type of situation from recurring.

And it needs to start by directly addressing the issues that stem from a system with gaping holes and flagrant flaws that make emergencies — like those that have stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic — inevitable.

Another global pandemic was almost certainly bound to happen.

Scientists have speculated for years that a superbug was almost an imminent threat due to populations’ rising resistance to antibiotics.

The only real question was whether or not the world as a whole would be ready for it. Even though the world

had suffered a myriad of epidemics and pandemics in the past — the last of which was only a decade ago — it was still wholly unprepared for the necessary reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic that was to come.

Governments have failed to protect their people.

Instead of taking the drastic measures desperately needed to combat the crisis to ensure essentials like masks, sanitizer and gloves are available to the general population, governments have more or less sat idly by.

While measures like taking control of essential industries — or at the very least, forcing large companies to produce these essential products at mass capacity at zero profit — were the necessary steps needed to ensure that the supply met the emergent demand, the government has largely ineffectively relied on the goodwill of corporations.

The near-financial crash that has ensued was also inevitable. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has not

helped, but just like the depressions and recessions of the past, a downturn was looming.

The crisis is here and the left needs to respond in a meaningful way We have a global economic system built on a house of cards — from constant speculation to rampant debt and artificial growth due to stock buybacks — based in a country that has an aversion to any kind of meaningful way of regulating it.

Between 1939 — the end of the Great Depression — and 2020 there have been 11 significant global recessions, averaging about seven and a half years apart from each other.

Pandemic or no pandemic, economic crashes within capitalism are

unavoidable.

The crisis is here and the left needs to respond in a meaningful way.

In times of dire crisis and global uncertainty like this in the past, autocratic, fascistic governments of demagoguery have often taken power.

And though some of the world seems to have already fallen into this situation — from America to Brazil to Russia, where leaders actively threaten, persecute or murder political opponents — Canadians cannot allow it to happen here.

We need to demand far more from our government that, in times of crisis, has bailed out big business time and time again — and will do so yet again — while many Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque and will deeply struggle to get by.

The left as a whole needs to band together and provide a meaningful response to this crisis.

All aspects of health care — from pharmaceuticals to vaccines — must be universally available to every

Canadian. We must transition away from our volatile economy that relies so heavily on day-to-day speculation and the whims of the so-called invisible hand of the market and that we swiftly diversify our energy sector and move away from now-valueless fossil fuels and ensure workers in the industry are transitioned into similar fields.

We need to win the ideological battle — within Canada’s major parties, on major media networks and in the conversations we have with people day to day — and ensure the population at large understands that there is a positive path forward out of this crisis.

Real positive change is possible.

It’s essntial for it to happen now, and in this time The progressive answer is the only meaningful solution to these issues.

VOL. 106 NO. 29 April 8, 2020

Comment 11

From a basement on a hill

Student advocacy won’t only change you for the better, but that’s OK JAKOB SANDERSON, UMSU PRESIDENT

“I

’m never going to know you now, but I’m going to love you anyhow,” sings Elliott Smith I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect leader. If there is, its definition eludes me and certainly excludes me. If there is, there shouldn’t be. What will always exist is room for improvement for those strong enough to seek it. Or, as my late grandfather said, “When you duff your drive or make a mistake, life is giving you all the more opportunity for a better second shot.”

Near the end of my first term as UMSU president and after my second election, I went to see a counsellor.

My mental health was at an all-time low and I was falling into deeply unhealthy coping habits, something I thought I had previously escaped.

I wasn’t sure whether I was looking for therapy, medication or someone to vent to, but I knew something had to change if I was going to survive, let alone be the type of leader I thought I could be or that students deserved.

By the end of the meeting, I was told by the counsellor that I likely just wasn’t cut out to be in a high-stress job and I should consider leaving my post.

I was at a crossroads and did not

more suited to be in the job I hold term. But above our advocacy wins, not just because Elliott Smith is than the person I wished I was or what I tried to treasure most in my my favourite artist, but because the second term were my opportunities phrase which entitles his posthumous tried to present.

There are many attributes to being to connect with and impact people album serves as an enduring reminder a good leader: intelligence, public that often those we view as atop the speaking, confidence — many of hill may experience an extremely difwhich may compose that elusive defi- I spent so much of ferent reality. We ought to treat our nition of perfection. But I think the leaders with the same type of empamy climb to the top most important quality is empathy. thy we demand from them.

I spent so much of my climb to As I move into a new chapter, I of the hill trying to the top of the hill trying to convince hope I can keep my head levelled, convince everyone everyone around me — most of all, embarking on a new hill to climb. myself — I had it all figured out that And I am even more excited about around me — most I quite actively shut off the empawhat’s next for UMSU and our entire thetic lever inside me. It was hard of all, myself — I had new generation of student leaders. to embrace the hardships of others To all of them: I promise you it all figured out that that you are much stronger and without confronting the reality of To those that want more capable than you could posmy own demons.

I quite actively shut While I knew doing this would sibly imagine, and that you’ll likely to go into advocacy off the empathetic make me less happy — and potenfind that strength in the areas you tially make me less loving of a person look to least often. work one day — lever inside me I used to view my life as linear. I — I felt it was all worth it if it made student or otherwise me a better leader. had overcome a childhood of repeated A stronger leader. If I’d seen a betbullying, a high school experience — and don’t have all ter counsellor that day, they probably — at times those closest to me, and often spent eating lunches in the their shit together would have illuminated me to the at times total strangers. We could washroom, crippling social anxiety bullshit I had been spewing. always do better, but I truly think we and substance abuse to become an yet, I say there is no Sadly, that bullshit — masquer- succeeded at that. elected leader. ading itself as a concocted raison I remain proud of these accomTo those that want to go into time like the present d’être of the tortured genius — hurt advocacy work one day — student plishments, but that’s no longer the many people around me, in addition or otherwise — and don’t have all end of my story. Life is never that pressure others put on me, that I put to myself. I often found purpose in their shit together yet, I say there is linear. vengeance, happiness — albeit fleet- no time like the present. Just don’t on myself.

While this leg of my journey has The version of myself I presented ing — in attainment and weakness assume your new title will vanish your changed me in many ways for the better, in some ways it brought out and the version inside my head could in vulnerability. It’s a societal ethos insecurities. Nor should it. not have been further apart. I had that’s deeply problematic, and I am We need those who speak for us to the worst. And that’s OK. To those who showed me love at positioned myself on the mountain one of many that have fallen into that speak with us and to understand us.

I’d always wished to climb, but inter- trap.

No person can resonate with all the my worst, criticized me at my best Quite unexpectedly, as I became challenges of the people they repre- and directed my journey in any posnally I was beneath the floor.

Luckily, I did not keep walking. I more comfortable and open with my sent. But I do believe that acknowl- sible way: I thank you, I will miss you discussed my situation with my team- flaws, blind spots and weaknesses, edging your own hardships — and and I am grateful for you. mates, who are among the most sup- I became a much stronger leader. admitting what you don’t and can’t Marsee. Ekosani. Kinanaskomitin.

Make no mistake, I am extremely know — is the best start in finding Acknowledging our weaknesses portive people in my life. gives us strength. Most importantly, And over the past while, I slowly proud of some of the accomplish- out. realized the person I am is much ments of my team and I in our first I chose the title for my article it gives us plenty of company. see any options. In reality, no amount of public pressure I thought I faced measured up to the amount of pressure I put on myself.

Most people care about you far less than you think they do: a truth that ranges between comforting and deeply shattering but is nevertheless accurate. Nonetheless, I felt at that time leaving my job was less of an option than just about anything else.

I walked home that day from the university (well over a two-hour walk) and strongly considered just continuing to walk. Anything to escape the

Arts & Culture Arts & Culture Editor: Grace Paizen Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

12

Music in the age of coronavirus

’Toban turntable Ada Lea — ‘Woman, Here,’ 3.5/5 KAELEN BELL, STAFF

The Prairie Joggers talk about debuting EP during these strange times KAELEN BELL, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ADA LEA

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da Lea’s debut record, 2019’s What We Say in Private, was a prickly and elastic rock composition, built from bent folk guitars and an itching stop-start rhythmic pulse.

Lea’s new EP, Woman, Here, is billed as a bridge between that record and what’s to come. It’s a slightly softer set of music, paring back some of the debut’s more rigid textures.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY PRAIRIE JOGGERS

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ody Goertzen and Adam Hill are keeping busy while the world burns outside, attempting to make the most of this collective isolation.

“We’re doing okay,” Goertzen said. “We’ve got a nice space — we’ve got a decent sized house we’re renting here, with our jam space and everything here.”

“We’ve got some recording equipment here, so we’re also learning how to use [that]. We want to start recording our own music.”

The duo, who are planning to release their debut EP as the Prairie Joggers this summer, are trying to keep things running as planned in the midst of their quarantine.

“We’re kind of carrying forward with all our plans for releasing, and just kind of cancelling shows as they get closer to the date and seeing how everything plays out,” Hill said.

The Prairie Joggers had already postponed their debut once before.

After releasing their first single, “Moments Happen,” in November, the duo ran into a problem with their planned second single, an eyebrow-raising Marilyn MansonSabrina Carpenter mashup that will likely never see the light of day.

“As we were registering it, we realized we couldn’t get it licensed,” Goertzen said, laughing.

Releasing a cover track comes with a minefield of copyright laws.

Following this snafu, they decided

to hold off on the EP’s release and recalibrate — they said now they just want to push through this latest, much scarier obstacle.

“We’ve already waited a long time, and we’re just going to go ahead and release it, and we’re just eager to put some music out there,” Goertzen said.

The as-yet-untitled EP is an overview of the duo’s folksy, eclectic sound, incorporating country, rock, roots and blues.

“There’s four songs on the EP, and we chose those four songs because they were all very individual,” Goertzen said.

“Adam and I have written a lot of songs together, and we’ve been writing and playing together for a long time, and for the first release for this band we wanted to kind of pull in the different genres and the different moods and styles that we touch on throughout all of our music.”

Their musical partnership began years ago, though it didn’t take off in earnest until they realized they’d both been writing songs individually.

“After Cody took a trip to Southeast Asia, he came back and had a handful of songs and I helped him finish a bunch of those and then everything took off from there,” Hill said.

“We’ve been writing like crazy since.”

They chose to record their debut

with Winnipeg music mainstay Micah Erenberg, whose presence they credit with helping shape the EP’s identity.

“He’s got a very fun but dry sense of humour — he likes to keep things very light, but he also works really hard,” Goertzen said.

“His attitude and his playfulness and his energy and hard work really shows in our EP.” That they can’t currently bring that energy directly to their audience is weighing on the duo, though they seem to be taking isolation in good humour.

“We love playing live, that’s one of the reasons why we do this,” Hill said. “But we’re somewhat fortunate that right now we’re getting so much together with [figuring] out how to record. And I do all of our video editing and photo editing, so getting all our single art and EP art together.”

“Not being able to play live is forcing us to learn a few new tunes, but playing live is definitely, I would say, our favourite part about being musicians, as opposed to recording and doing everything else,” Goertzen said.

Like most bands trying to make it work, they have plans for virtual shows and Facebook Live content, but for the time being the Prairie Joggers seem content to hone their studio skills and practice for the day they can bring their music to the real world again.

If the opening track is an indication of where Lea is headed, it’s an intriguing taste

her debut.

Lea’s writing remains sharp as ever — the admittance “I can’t be a woman here” making for one of the most captivating lines in her catalogue.

The entirely acoustic demo version is an interesting peek into Lea’s process. She’s a master of dynamics and space, and the finished track benefits from its layered arrangement.

“Perfect World” is downtempo and atmospheric, awash in mist-like synths that evaporate the song’s sullen tension. A raucous guitar breaks through the haze and the song begins to mutate into something more jagged, a solid encapsulation of what Lea does so well.

The warped sparkle of “Jade” rounds things out and you’re left with what’s essentially a tasting menu of Lea’s multifaceted writing.

While it lacks some of the disorienting dynamic shifts of her debut, Woman, Here is exciting in its own right, a warmer avenue left open to explore.

The EP is a satisfying album to tide us over to whatever Lea has planned next, a taste of the past and a glimpse of what’s to come.

The title track is the only truly new song here — the rest of this brief EP consists of two songs left over from What We Say in Private and the “Woman, Here” demo.

If the opening track is an indication of where Lea is headed, it’s an intriguing taste.

It shares the processed guitars and subtle complexities of her earlier work, but it’s slightly looser and more shambolic, absent of the drum Want us to review your band? machines that ticked throughout Email arts@themanitoban.com today!

VOL. 106 NO. 29 April 8, 2020

Arts & Culture

13

The who’s who of Canadiana

‘Hinterland Remixed’ documents how Canadian nostalgia never outgrew the 1970s GRACE PAIZEN, STAFF

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collective memory of Canadians, Hinterland Who’s Who remains a staple of Canadiana, with newly produced versions of the short educational films on television at this very moment.

Andrew Burke, a film professor at the University of Winnipeg, has now taken the time to analyze the shorts and mine them for Canadian identity in his book Hinterland Remixed: Media, Memory, and the Canadian 1970s.

Throughout the book’s five chapters, Burke thoroughly examines Canadian television shows and films from the 1970s to see how these works cemented and perpetuated Canadian mythologies.

Chapter one gives an in-depth look into the complicated history of how Hinterland Who’s Who came into being, including how the 60-second shorts got their name.

The information concerning how the Canadian Wildlife Service — now called the Canadian Wildlife Federation — used the shorts to promote their conservation efforts while masking their self-promotion as educative clips is fascinating.

After the setup of Hinterland Who’s Who as a perpetuation tool of Canadian mythology, the proceeding choices of shows analyzed are as interesting as they are limiting.

Chapter two focusing on Michael Snow’s La Région Centrale is sound, as the film can be argued to be perpetuating the “barren landscape” of

Canada into the global imaginative collective.

However, chapter three is an interesting choice which focuses on how Canadian comedy perpetuated Canadian mythologies.

At first glance, focusing on SCTV is a wise choice with the amount of comedic talent on the show as a collection of proof that Canada is a comedic powerhouse.

Burke thoroughly examines Canadian television shows and films from the 1970s But on second thought, all Canadian comedy shows seem to perpetuate Canadian mythologies and manifest them in our present day.

Most glaringly, the “Great White North” segment on SCTV barely gets a page of recognition in the book, where a line of impetus from SCTV to the birth of the Red Green Show could be drawn.

It’s chapter four that reads the best. Analyzing the film Death by Popcorn: The Tragedy of the Winnipeg Jets, Burke eloquently connects the modern Winnipeg identity as being hinged on the sale of the Winnipeg Jets, the first iteration of the team having originated in the ’70s.

Burke argues that by creating the narrative National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman betrayed the Jets and the city, Winnipeg’s “downon-our-luck” identity seems to have been created in this moment, linked to the “fortunes of its hockey team.”

At its best, Hinterland Remixed makes the case that Canadian media from the ’70s perpetuated and propelled Canadian mythologies into our present world, including the fact that these mythologies are mainly composed of white imaginings of what Canada is.

At its worst, the book perpetuates what can be referred to as ’90s dissociation — that things held nostalgically for occurring in the 1980s disappeared for kids born in the 1990s.

Where Burke definitively asserts Hinterland Who’s Who largely disappeared from the Canadian television landscape in the mid- to late-’80s, anyone born in the ’90s will dispute the claim, fondly remembering the Canadian shorts while watching Beave and Buckley on the Manitoba Television Network — a frustrating moment of misinformation now canonized and perpetuated in academic literature.

That being said, Hinterland Remixed is a worthwhile read chockfull of information about the manifestation of Canadian nostalgia.

Hinterland Remixed is available at major retailers.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MCGILL-QUEENS UNIVERSITY PRESS

A trip to the art gallery without stepping outdoors WAG@Home brings Winnipeg Art Gallery exhibitions to you ZACHARY SIGURDSON, STAFF

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hrough the COVID-19 quarantine, the ravenous consumption of art can make the hours pass by.

Whether it’s movies, television, games, creating art or a dozen other hobbies, these are some of the things that make life worth living.

During this time, many people are able to rediscover their passions that were often set aside for the hectic lifestyle we have grown accustomed to.

In this spirit, WAG@Home is another antidote to the solitude of social distancing.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), while closed at this time, has made strides in creating online content free and open to the public.

Until the gallery reopens, Stephen Borys, the WAG’s director and CEO, has daily posts sharing some of his favourite pieces, giving them historical and artistic context as well as his own personal anecdotes and musings.

These intimate and thoughtful posts feel as if you are being read to by a wisened old sage.

They range from being funny, insightful and fascinating to absolutely bizarre.

They can be found on the WAG website’s “Stories” page and their social media pages. Following the comments, you can find immediate engagement with Borys and other

gest public collection of modern and contemporary Inuit art in the world.

There are hundreds of pages of artwork to comb through, finding new and fascinating pieces each time.

For those who may have missed the phenomenal exhibition by Kent The search engine Monkman — Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience — a small sample of features allow you the incredible Cree artist’s reinterpreto narrow down tation of Romantic North American styles, depicting scenes of colonial artists, date, style violence and the complexities of hisand even medium toric and contemporary Indigenous experience, is available online.

Since 2017, the WAG’s exhibitions local art fanatics. have been recorded and archived The WAG’s website also includes a on their “Exhibitions” and “Past full user interface with major catego- Exhibitions” webpages. There you ries ranging from Indigenous art to will find information on the artists, contemporary art to classic art. The the works and often extensive supplesearch engine features allow you to mentary information such as videos narrow down artists, date, style and and interviews. even medium.

While social distancing, one thing Nearly half of the WAG’s per- to do is appreciate incredible art, even manent collection is comprised of if it’s just to hold back the anxiety for Indigenous artists’ works with tech- an hour or two. niques including carving, drawing, print, textile and stonework.

To experience WAG@Home go to In fact, the WAG holds the big- wag.ca.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY WAG

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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor: Grace Paizen Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

From board to digital

The Manitoban staff gives its picks for games during social distancing

Alchemists

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

NHL 20

Winnipeg-Opoly

Matthew Doering, editor-in-chief

Joseph Gonzales, audio editor

Jason Pchajek, sports editor

Zachary Sigurdson, arts reporter

Even more soul-sucking than fixating on the daily increase in the spread of COVID-19 may be the absence of research and conferences as our academic lives are turned upside down during this time of physical distancing.

Luckily, the board game Alchemists can fill the void otherwise occupied by continual worry left by the pandemic-induced university closures.

Worried you are falling behind in your research? Alchemists offers the tantalizing challenge of deducing the nature of ingredients, and how to blend potions for healing, speed and wisdom. Or for poison, paralysis and insanity.

Not progressing with grant writing?

Alchemists offers five coveted grants to boost your reputation — alchemical H-index anyone?

Unable to focus on writing papers? Publish your theories about bird claws, toads and scorpions. Or discredit the pterido-theories of your fellow alchemists. Missing the inundation of tasks assigned to graduate students? Never fear, Alchemists ensures there’s never a shortage of potions for the lowly, oft-forgotten grad student to drink. And if there’s a risk of insanity, the grad student might just get paid for the research.

Of course, a board game review when nonessential businesses — sadly, though responsibly, including game stores — are shuttered, and physically distancing ourselves is the new norm, seems unhelpful. Luckily Alchemists is available as a module on the Vassal board gamesimulation engine. Alchemists offers a way to minimize social distance, and connect over the most anxiety-inducing aspects of academia, with your next conference arriving one turn sooner than you prepared for. A self-isolation filled with this grad-school-in-a-box will leave you a calmer, more rational, more critical student when university life returns to whatever normal we’re headed for.

Did coronavirus cancel your vacation and you’re missing out on an island escape?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has you covered.

The fifth game in the console series, New Horizons builds upon the features in previous versions, but the concept remains the same: inhabiting an anthropomorphic community made up of animals from all across the kingdom that you interact with and build up your community alongside.

With its vibrant colours, heartwarming animations and a beautifully produced soundtrack which changes depending on the time of day, New Horizons provides a virtual world for you to play in.

And that is more than just a pleasant distraction from the current situation in the outside world.

From the moment you start, a tanuki named Tom Nook and his two sons, Tommy and Timmy, give you a task to begin work on turning your deserted island into a thriving locale.

This can involve gathering materials to help build new homes for visitors to move into, catching fish and bugs or finding fossils to donate to the local museum.

Regardless of what you set your mind on doing in New Horizons, a quick check of the time might show that two hours have passed without you noticing.

There is no right way to play the game and what you decide to do can change from day to day.

Whether it’s hunting for tarantulas to sell or annoying your anteater neighbour Antonio, New Horizons is a great way to find some downtime and have an island adventure.

With the COVID-19 virus currently creating a lockdown of sports leagues and recreation facilities across the country, many Canadians are sitting home missing the familiar scent of a hockey locker room, or the rhythmic clatter of plates at the local gym.

Thankfully, the world of video games has just the ticket to keep you active through this tough time with EA Sports’ NHL 20.

The latest edition of the long-running sports simulation franchise has everything a hockey fan needs to live out their own pro dream.

And everything that fan needs to finish the NHL season currently on hiatus.

Want to see your favourite club lift the Stanley Cup? Jump into “Playoff” mode where you can finish the season the NHL can’t — and if you’re a fan of, say, the Detroit Red Wings, do what your squad couldn’t.

Can’t hit the ice with your friends?

Well grab your pals and head out to the virtual outdoor rink for some properly socialdistanced fun.

The “Ones Now” mode allows three players to go head-to-head in order to see who truly dominates the outdoor sheet.

Or maybe you’ve got that pro dream you could never quite reach in real life — don’t worry, everyone has a story. NHL 20 has you covered there too.

With “Be a Pro” mode you can take your journey all the way from the Canadian junior ranks to its hall-of-fame finish.

Since you can’t go outside right now, you might as well experience all that sports have to offer from the comfort of your couch, with friends or solo.

Missing going out and about our dear old ’Peg? Winnipeg-Opoly is just the game you need.

Outset Media and Walmart Canada have come together to create a series of communityspecific editions of Monopoly.

The project was in place before the quarantine but has had a huge resurgence with many people in isolation needing something to do at home with their friends and family.

There are nearly 50 community-specific Monopoly editions across Canada, with the intent to expand to over 100.

Commence a microcosm of commercial capitalism that will end with one person taking a major share of our city’s resources — for the cynic gamer, this is just a microcosm of our lived experience as Winnipeggers, so you’ll be sure to feel the brutal “realness” of this game.

Winnipeg-Opoly includes landmarks and attractions such as the Royal Canadian Mint, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Winnipeg Railway Museum and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Even though you can’t play as a Slurpee and Garbage Hill is sadly missing from the landmarks to purchase — the game may even feel a bit like a Google search of Winnipeg landmarks — this doesn’t take away from the experience and there will certainly be entertaining fights over who wants to buy Portage Avenue.

Be sure to add these games to the list for the next volunteer grocery tribute to pick up.

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Sports Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Browne selected by Rattlers in CEBL draft

Guard joins fellow Bison Alleyn on defending champion Saskatchewan squad JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

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he U of M continues to generate with an early pick and is ready for professional sports talent. the challenge.

“It was a good feeling to me, it With the eighth-overall selection in the 2020 Canadian Elite showed they believed in me,” Browne Basketball League (CEBL) draft, said. the Saskatchewan Rattlers selected “There were a lot of people that Bisons guard Rashawn Browne. could have been selected, but they “I had an idea, but nothing is ever knew what they were looking for and guaranteed,” Browne said. now it’s my job to go out and perform.”

“The coaching staff had reached out before the draft just to make sure I was interested. As for the actual draft, “As for the actual it was a great feeling. draft, it was a “Just the fact that I am now able to great feeling” — call myself a professional basketball player after all the years of work feels Rashawn Browne, rewarding, but I do know that the real work starts now.”

Saskatchewan With its two other picks, Rattlers guard Saskatchewan looked within its provincial borders, selecting Chan De Ciman in the first round and Seeing the Toronto-born guard Alexander Dewar in the third. Both are products of the University of selected in the top 10 should not surprise anyone, as he was one of the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Being picked first in the second best players at his position in Canada round is a great accomplishment in West during the 2019-20 season. He any league, as teams spend valuable finished third in the conference in picks to snag the best talent available. assists with 99, points-per-game with Browne said he knows what it means 19.6 and turnovers with 68.

His 94-121 record from the freeto have a team jump in to draft you

throw line was at the top of the conference and his 353 points were seventh-best in the conference as well.

Saskatchewan dipping into the Bisons’ well during the CEBL draft is not new, as the club chose former Bisons guard Justus Alleyn 16th overall in the league’s inaugural draft last season.

“Justus had nothing but good things to say about [the Rattlers],” Browne said.

“He said they were a well-run organization and that they would be a good team to continue my development with.”

Alleyn and the Rattlers finished third in the CEBL in 2019 with an 11-8 record but made a strong run to the CEBL finals, knocking off the Hamilton Honey Badgers to win the league’s first championship.

Browne can now turn his attention toward getting ready for his first professional season, living out a dream many other athletes never reach.

And despite the current global pandemic, he is doing everything he can to stay in shape until he can set foot back in the gym.

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

“What does change my plan — and by my plan I mean training plan — is the COVID-19 stuff,” he said.

“I am trying to do as much as I can to stay in shape at home until it has

all passed.

“Normally, I would have set up a lot of workouts with my trainers and coaches to prepare myself for the pro game.”

Just outside the spotlight

Lamb, Gregoire and Wagner headline underrated Bisons of 2019-20 JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

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he coming of spring means one season, and was a first team all-star thing is for certain.

— the goalies deserve love, too.

No, not the slush and muck, and Coming in this season as a rookie, no, not the start of patio season, but Rivers-born netminder Lamb was the end of most U Sports competi- set to play in a tandem with fellow tions and the academic year. So, with rookie Tyler Brown. Very quickly, this final buzzer, some U of M Bisons Lamb proved himself to be more than deserve extra recognition. capable of being the man in charge.

While a 3.42 goals-against-average along with a .908 save percentage He’s a solid doesn’t look so hot, these numbers hide Lamb’s stellar work between the netminder who can pipes. Despite the former being 11th bear a heavy load out of 13 Canada West netminders, the latter stat was third-best. in the blue paint, Lamb faced the fifth-most shots and without him of any Canada West netminder in 2019-20 at 573 and helped get a Bisons the herd would be club that was under siege for most of the year into the playoffs. He’s a solid in real trouble. netminder who can bear a heavy load in the blue paint, and without him In a year where the COVID-19 the herd would be in real trouble. virus cut short four national tournaWillan who played on a far more ments, the Bisons still finished each Women’s hockey: offensively gifted team. Gregoire has team’s season, providing plenty of Kate Gregoire quickly shown her ability to slip from data to draw on. But while Bison From one rookie on the Wayne coverage, find lanes and open space, Sports is busy naming its MVPs for Fleming Arena ice to another, on and then fill the net. this year, these are some of the most an extremely young Bisons squad As this Bisons squad continues to valuable underrated Bisons from Gregoire stood out amongst the grow, the herd may just have a new 2019-20. pack. With only two goals before the all-time goal-scoring leader when holiday break, she came storming out Gregoire’s five years are up.

Men’s hockey: Riley Lamb into 2020, picking up six goals and an While captain Adam Henry was assist for seven points in the herd’s Men’s basketball: James Wagner undoubtedly the best player for the final seven games.

Bisons in 2019-20 — he’s developed She tied for third in rookie scoring While almost all eyes were on into a pro-ready two-way defender with nine points but was second in now-Saskatchewan Rattlers guard who you can throw out in any situ- goals with eight — just three behind Rashawn Browne, Bisons forward ation, led the team in points this the University of Alberta’s Madison

PHOTO BY DAVE MAHUSSIER

James Wagner made the space below minutes of any Canada West player the rim a nightmare for opposition. this season with 688.

The fourth-year finished fourth He also earned the secondin total rebounds in Canada West best per-game mark at 34.4 with 182 — also fourth in offensive minutes-per-game. rebounds with 62 and sixth in defenHe appeared in all 20 games for sive rebounds with 120 — and fifth in the herd and helped his club play rebounds-per-game with 9.1. strong in the key while draining his Not to be outdone in the offensive fair share of shots. department, he also finished 11th in the conference in points with 339, 12th Honourable mentions Emma in blocks with 14 and 13th in points- Thompson — women’s basketball, per-game with 16.9.

Light Uchechukwu — women’s Wagner was also an iron man in volleyball and Gabrielle Clark — 2019-20, playing the second-most women’s soccer.

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Sports

Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

The world of sport haunted by ghost of Spanish flu

History repeats itself on larger scale in 2020 JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

GRAPHIC BY ERNEST ZARZUELA

T

he world of sport has changed through this once before.

The 1919 Stanley Cup final games, more Canadiens players Central — was in its formative years, forever. was fought between the NHL’s joined Hall in hospital due to flu-like and so too was the NCAA. With the ongoing COVID-19 1919: The rise of Spanish flu Montreal Canadiens and the Pacific symptoms, along with team general The Grey Cup wasn’t awarded in Coast Hockey Association’s Seattle manager George Kennedy. Multiple 1919 either, though this was due to a viral outbreak, various leagues and and fall of Lord Stanley sports bodies across the globe have Since it was first awarded in 1893, Metropolitans. options to continue the series were rules dispute and not the Spanish flu. been thrown into disarray. In North the Stanley Cup has gone unclaimed explored but rejected, and when We are currently in unprecedented America alone, the NHL, NBA and just twice in its 126-year history. The Montreal offered to forfeit the final, territory in North American sports.

MLS have suspended their seasons. latest came in 2005, when a labour Seattle declined.

For generations, sports have been the Now, over a century The MLB has delayed the start of stoppage led to the 2004-05 season The Metropolitans didn’t want shield people hide behind when times later, history seems its 2020-21 season, and only the NFL being cancelled. to win that way, but eventually this get tough, when they need a little believes its season will start on time.

The first came just over 100 years meant nobody would. distraction from tragedy and strife. doomed to repeat Outside the professional ranks, ago under unsettlingly similar In the following days, most of the One need only cast an eye back to itself — and this time infected Canadiens players began to Sept. 21, 2001, as the Atlanta Braves you have the Canadian Hockey conditions.

League, United States Hockey In 1918, the world was still wander- more championships improve — except for Hall, who and New York Mets took to Shea League, NCAA and U Sports all ing through the aftermath of the First contracted pneumonia and died on Stadium to play the first professional are ready to fall. falling like dominoes as COVID-19 World War, picking up the pieces left April 5, 1919. sporting event in New York since the spreads throughout the globe. behind after the greatest conflict our The series was never finished.

Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

All cancelled, and all going with- planet had seen to that point. People Now, over a century later, history For so many, the crack of Mike out a champion in 2019-20. were sick and tired of war, and soon seems doomed to repeat itself — and Piazza’s bat off his eighth-inning The pros, though, aren’t ready to the former would outrank the latter.

Seattle crushed Montreal in this time more championships are game-winning home run is seared throw in the towel.

Although the exact location of a lopsided 7-0 game-one win, to ready to fall. into their memories as the ultimate Most recent reports have the origin is unclear, the Spanish flu — which the Canadiens responded by statement of “We’re back.”

NHL asking its teams to submit an H1N1 virus with avian origins tying the series up in game two. The 2020: COVID-19 and a Now, the world doesn’t have that arena dates for August as the league — spread throughout the globe in a Metropolitans took game three, the tsunami of cancellations — yet. Nobody knows who will be seems bound and determined to fin- pandemic from 1918 to 1919. It is esti- clubs drew game four and Montreal In 1919, the sports world was a dif- the first league to try and come back, ish the season, even if it means giving mated that one-third of the Earth’s again evened the series with a game ferent place. While the Cincinnati and some have already said they won’t players no break between 2019-20 and population was infected and approxi- five win.

Reds won the 1919 World Series, until next season. the 2020-21 season slated to start in mately 50 million people died.

Yet the win was not the big- the Super Bowl was still almost 50 Unlike 1919, it’s not just one sports October.

Like the COVID-19 virus, the gest story coming out of game five years away from existing, the NBA league falling victim — it may be all While other leagues are all right world came to a halt, and so did the — Montreal defender Joe Hall col- wouldn’t be around until after the of them. calling it a year, the NHL will explore sports world — or at least hockey. lapsed on the ice and was taken to end of the Second World War and For many in the sports world, we every option to crown a Stanley Cup But even then, the leagues and teams the hospital. the MLS didn’t exist until 1996. will now be left with 2020: the year champion — because it’s already gone involved battled to the bitter end.

In the two-day break between U Sports — then known as CIAU without champions.