12 April 2023

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Correction

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UMGSA election results announced, April 5, 2023

The article incorrectly stated that Christopher Yendt had been re-elected as UMGSA president after having already served three terms as president. This is in fact Yendt’s first term as president of the UMGSA, replacing Silvia Sekander who had served as president since 2020.

U of M to increase security on campus with new officers

Guards can have batons and pepper spray, limited arrest powers

Colton McKillop, staff

The University of Manitoba will be implementing institutional safety officers (ISOs) to assist with campus security in the near future.

ISOs are licensed security officers who can be outfitted with batons, handcuffs and aerosol weapons, and who will be given limited powers to arrest individuals who are trespassing or intoxicated.

The Manitoba government implemented amendments to the Police Services Act in October 2021 to allow designated medical facilities and higher education institutions to utilize ISOs due to security issues caused by the number of people at these institutions, as well as their size.

Manitoba Minister of Justice and Attorney General Kelvin Goertzen was unavailable for comment. Jon Lovlin, a spokesperson for Manitoba Justice, said in a written statement that ISOs are intended to address “unique public safety needs.”

“Manitoba Justice is still working to finalize ISO agreements with post-secondary institutions, and therefore it would not be appropriate to offer any additional details about them,” Lovlin said.

A recent freedom of information request from the prov-

incial NDP revealed that the government has been slow to implement ISOs, with none serving at any institutions throughout the province as of March 23 of this year.

The statement from Lovlin noted that, with the completion of a round of courses this week, approximately 30 ISOs will be trained and ready for service.

“The training classes delivered to this point have mostly been for community and First Nations safety officers,” Lovlin wrote.

The university is training existing security guards to become ISOs.

The Manitoban contacted the U of M administration for an interview and was directed to Security Services. The spokesperson was unavailable to comment at the time of publication.

UMSU vice-president advocacy Victoria Romero said that UMSU understands “the growing safety concerns” from students and that the union believes the university attempting to improve safety on campus is a good thing.

“However, the decision to address safety concerns in this way with the implementation of ISOs and having increased security presence has the potential to leave students feeling more unsafe

than before,” she said.

“I would note that, specifically, Indigenous, Black and racialized communities face disproportionate rates of police violence.”

She said that with guards that are more heavily armed, “misuse of that power” is a concern, and explained that UMSU wants to ensure that this does not happen on campus.

Romero noted that the student union was not consulted or informed about the upcoming implementation of ISOs on campus. She said that she has been approached by students with concerns about the implementation of ISOs, although she noted that some students support the decision. She said that UMSU has reached out to Gordon Perrier, the director of

Security Services, to schedule a meeting to discuss the issue.

ISOs will receive mandatory training in public safety and crime prevention, mental health awareness, provincial law enforcement, use of force and officer safety, search and seizure procedures and arrests.

This training can be provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Winnipeg and Brandon Police Services, Assiniboine Community College and Manitoba Justice. Other potential providers may submit their training curriculum to Manitoba Justice for approval to train ISOs.

ISOs at the University of Manitoba will also be trained in conflict management, de-escalation and suicide prevention.

Romero said she appreci-

ated that ISOs will receive this training, but called it the “bare minimum” and expressed concern that racial sensitivity training was not mentioned in statements on ISOs from the government or Security Services.

She highlighted community-based safety organizations such as the Bear Clan Patrol and Mama Bear Clan, “two great examples of community-based outreach and security that takes into consideration the tumultuous relationship that many communities have with policing systems.”

The university plans too have ISOs in uniform on campus by the summer.

Christopher Yendt elected as UMGSA president

news@themanitoban.com

Yendt’s slate campaigned on 4 key issues, including safety, financial pressures

Ashley Puchniak, staff

Graduate students at the University of Manitoba elected Christopher Yendt as the next president of the University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association (UMGSA) last month.

The UMGSA general election was open to all graduate students from March 20 to 21 via online voting.

Yendt, who is currently pursuing a PhD in education, explained that his slate, “Vision,” focused its campaign on four key issues.

The first item on the agenda for Yendt and his team is to address the financial pressures faced by graduate students. He said the team wants to “reconceptualize” the supports and services offered by the university.

The second issue Yendt referenced was improving safety

across the U of M campuses. He noted that some graduate students have raised safety concerns, particularly going to and from campus.

“We’ve heard from a number of graduate students that there are concerns related to not only transit and accessing campus that way, but also in accessing campus through the parking lots, and other pieces around campus that we think could be done better,” Yendt said.

The third pillar of the slate’s platform is to develop a strategic plan for UMGSA. This will coincide with the strategic plan that the U of M aims to release in the fall of 2023.

“I think our goal with the strategic planning piece,

which is one that’s very close to my heart, is to create spaces in which graduate students feel like they can contribute their thoughts and ideas,” Yendt explained.

The fourth campaign promise from Yendt’s slate was to advance graduate students’ interests through partnership and collaboration. Yendt highlighted the importance of collaboration among the university’s cohort of graduate students.

Yendt said that he wants to address concerns some grad students have about their faculties’ issues receiving less attention than others.

“I think the way in which we achieve some progress in that space is by leveraging our council and our other connected graduate students, be they in specific programs, be they faculty societies, pro -

gram societies and things like that, to engage with those issues more directly,” he said.

“I think the issues that we might get on the ground in a program like chemistry may look very, very different than a program like an MBA program,” he continued.

“In order for us to service those needs, we have to understand them more fulsomely.”

With a provincial election in the coming year, Yendt said UMGSA should be mindful of the “very different visions” for post-secondary education offered by the competing political parties and how best to “leverage our voice of 4,000 students at the institution” to make changes on issues such as the reinstatement of international students’ health care and addressing cuts made to other programs.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to really rally our membership to pushing back on some of those pieces,” he said.

Yendt has served in multiple student government positions previously, including three years as president of the graduate students’ association at his previous school. He said that he is passionate about student government and leadership, which is also a focus of his research in education.

He believes it will take “a collective voice to reach a collective vision” for UMGSA.

“I think the rest of our team is pretty [invested] in that goal and that outcome as well, and I think they’re all excited and ready to go to see where we can take UMGSA this year,” he said.

photo / Faith Peters / staff

“I think this is an opportunity for us to really rally our membership”

— Christopher Yendt, UMGSA president-elect

photo / Ebunoluwa Akinbo / staff

U of M introduces media literacy program

Program aims to help people identify reliable sources in media

Alicia Rose, staff

U niversity of Manitoba’s extended education will be running a media literacy program that aims to help people identify fake news and evaluate the credibility of content in media using investigative journalism techniques.

The program will be instructed by Cecil Rosner, who developed the course. Rosner has over 40 years of experience as a journalist, and has worked as managing editor for CBC Manitoba and executive producer of The Fifth Estate

“Everybody depends on media for understanding what’s going on in the world, so you have to be able to properly read the messages that come at you, whether it’s in media stories or on social media,” Rosner said.

The program will have sessions from May 8 to June 12 and will consist of a series of three courses, including “Media Literacy and Critical Thinking,” which will teach participants to assess sources, find reliable evidence and identify disinformation and bias.

“All kinds of organizations and individuals, and politicians and corporations are pushing messages at all of us, all the time, and it’s really important that we know how to properly assess those mes-

sages,” Rosner said.

One of the other two courses, titled “Understanding Public Records,” will teach participants to find their own reliable sources of information by accessing publicly available documents.

The third course, called “Advanced Investigative Journalism Techniques,” will teach citizens techniques used by journalists to locate reliable sources of information online

“that go far beyond basic Google searching.” These methods include accessing information through databases, filing Access to Information requests and analyzing document metadata.

Rosner said that the contents of the program could be useful for many different types of people including students, teachers, activists and ordinary consumers. He said that methods used in investigative journalism, such as looking into the backgrounds of people and companies, are very useful in everyday life.

Rosner said that “one of the biggest differences” in the media landscape today compared to previous decades is the increased influence of social media.

“When you talk about things like disinformation, for instance, or false messages floating around, they’ve been around forever,” he said. “But with social media, they can

now travel way faster, at the speed of light.”

Rosner pointed to the social media influencer industry as an area that warrants caution. He explained that, in contrast to traditional public relations campaigns, organizations can spread messaging through influencers who appear to be ordinary individuals, but who may in fact be paid to promote a narrative. He said that people should question “whose interests are being served” by messaging they encounter in the media.

Rosner said that his interest in media literacy comes from his lifetime of experience working in news media, including about 15 years as managing editor for CBC Manitoba.

“I wanted to train everyone I worked with, all the reporters and editors, and everyone that went out on a daily basis on how best to evaluate all the messaging that was coming out, how to spot whether something was a lie or was the truth, and sometimes that’s not easy to do,” he said.

Rod Lastra, acting dean of extended education at the University of Manitoba, said that many people no longer rely on established news outlets for information, instead receiving news from a wide variety of sources both credible and non-credible.

“Given the swarm of infor-

mation that we’re all living in right now, it is absolutely critical for citizens to be able to empower themselves with the right information to be able to make informed decisions,” Lastra said.

He pointed to recent examples of disinformation interfering with the democratic process in countries around the world, such as in the lead-up to the Brexit referendum in the U.K.

He also highlighted the spread of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding vaccines.

“The intent of the course is really to be able to provide

people not with specific perspectives, but to really provide objective tools for individuals to make up their own mind, but also to have sourced information and to be able to validate actual information that they can then assess,” he said.

For information on how to apply for the media literacy course, visit umextended.ca/ media-literacy.

news@themanitoban.com

U of M instructor continues one-person Cree class

Course would have been cancelled if not for instructor’s commitment

Kasey Pashe, staff

A U of M language course teaching Cree avoided cancellation this semester after only one student enrolled.

Samuel Robinson, a student at U of M, is the only person enrolled in the university’s intermediate Cree course. Despite the low enrolment, instructor Ken Paupanekis agreed to continue with the course because he considers passing on the language to be important.

“Normally, they would cancel a course if there’s only one student,” Paupanekis explained. “I said, ‘well, I know that Sam is interested, and he’s a fluent speaker.’”

“That’s very important because we’re always looking for people to be instructors,

and you need to know about the language.”

Robinson learned Cree as his first language, and grew up around family that spoke Cree frequently.

Statistics Canada reported this year that the number of

“share and communicate culture, world views, knowledge systems, values, traditions, customs, history, spirituality, and social and political identity to future generations.”

“I see little paper posters on bulletin boards, but I feel like that’s not enough,” he said.

“If you’re not looking for it, you’re not going to see it.”

supported the development of the Cree courses by changing many street and building signs to read in Cree.

children eight years of age or younger who can speak an Indigenous language increased from 11,715 in 2016 to 28,755 in 2021. However, many Indigenous languages in Canada are in decline.

The Assembly of First Nations states that languages allow Indigenous peoples to

Paupanekis said that the university told him he could teach the course but would have to accept being paid significantly less than what he would normally earn, but he told the university that the pay cut didn’t matter to him.

He said that several years ago, low enrolment led to the cancellation of another one of his classes when only one student registered.

Robinson argued that the university could do more to advertise these language classes.

The U of M’s department of Indigenous studies offers Indigenous language minors in Anishinaabemowin — also known as Ojibwe and Cree.

Paupanekis said that one of the difficulties of teaching Indigenous language classes in schools is that teaching these languages is a specialized skill. He said that there are very few educational materials focused on Indigenous languages, which forces many teachers to create their own.

Paupanekis stressed the importance of community support in the development of Indigenous language classes. He gave the example of one Indigenous community that he helped develop Indigenous language courses for, which

Oral tradition is a prominent aspect of many First Nations cultures. Robinson is currently collaborating with one of Paupanekis’s former students to improve Cree language labs by making them more interactive, with the goal of helping students to further engage in the oral component of language learning.

“You don’t just read it, you hear people talking,” Paupanekis said.

“That’s what we’re trying to emphasize, is the oral component, because it often gets left out.”

news@themanitoban.com

photo / Faith Peters / staff

“That’s what we’re trying to emphasize, is the oral component, because it often gets left out”

— Ken Paupanekis, Cree instructor

& Technology

Verb-first languages fuel debate about language variation

Syntax has implications for language, psychology

Robert Moshe Thompson, staff

Across human languages, there are six possible ways for the subject, object and verb of a sentence to be ordered.

The most common word order is subject-first, which accounts for the majority of known languages.

It is less common to put the verb first in sentences. Verb-initial sentence structure is only found in about nine per cent of the world’s languages.

U of M department of linguistics instructor Julie Doner would like to develop a project studying the nature of verb-initial languages. She specializes in comparative syntax research, which means comparing sentence structure across different languages.

Verb-initial languages independently share several features beyond basic sentence structure.

“They seem to have lots of things in common other than word order,” Doner said. “Having word order patterns, that’s not so surprising, but having other things in common, that’s pretty surprising.”

Found all over the world, from North America to Polynesia, and even in the Celtic languages of Europe, part of what makes these similarities

so unexpected is the fact that they are shared by language families with no known historical descent from, or contact with, each other.

One property shared by verb-initial languages is that they appear to lack infinitive clauses. An example of this type of clause appears in the sentence, “I want to eat chocolate,” where “to eat chocolate” is the infinitive clause.

A shared property seen in verb-initial languages that is of particular interest to Doner is that they seem to lack the verb “have.” Instead, they express possession of an object with a prepositional phrase such as “it is on me” or “it is with me.”

Because so many unrelated languages share very specific properties in common, Doner said it is likely that the similarities exist for more fundamental reasons, such as human psychology or the nature of language production.

Among linguists, there are generally two streams of thought explaining why variation exists.

Noam Chomsky, an American theoretical linguist, proposed that there is a genetically determined blueprint for language called universal grammar that is programmed into the human brain. This

theory might explain why all human languages have certain traits in common, but it does not account for their differences.

Linguists who believe in universal grammar might explain the differences between languages with what is known as the theory of parameters. This theory claims that the brain has several settings called parameters that activate or deactivate depending on an individual’s language exposure.

However, this theory has been criticized because the number of parameters needed to account for the full variation of human language is thought to be too many for them all to have been built-in

at birth.

For example, Doner explained that the dialectal variation in northern Italian alone was found to require hundreds of parameters.

Another stream of thought suggests that there is no innate biological component to language, and that similarities between languages are present due to extralinguistic factors like human psychology. This means that differences between languages are attributed to the fact that there is no underlying structure.

The goal, then, of Doner’s verb-initial research would be to gain insight regarding the variation of human languages.

“What I would like to do is

get a big sample of verb-initial languages,” Doner explained. She added that she would then “double check that all of these patterns do hold that people have noticed, because they are probably looking at a different sample of languages, so, looking at yet another sample of languages would further strengthen the observations.”

“And then, [use] that to answer a theoretical question about how languages vary,” she said.

research@themanitoban.com

photo / Ebunoluwa Akinbo / staff

“They seem to have lots of things in common other than word order”

— Julie Doner, U of M linguistics instructor

U of M instructor in the department of linguistics Julie Doner.

New research finds T. rex had scaly lips

Suggests popular culture depictions of dinosaur may be inaccurate

Elah Ajene, staff

About 65 million years after their extinction, dinosaurs remain some of the most famous prehistoric animals, and are often depicted in popular culture.

In the 1993 film Jurassic Park, the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex was portrayed with large teeth that stuck out of its mouth, even when shut.

Contrary to these depictions, an international collaboration that included U of M assistant professor in the department of earth sciences Kirstin Brink recently found that the prehistoric creatures had scaly lips covering their teeth.

The project began over 10 years ago, when Brink was a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Brink and her colleagues were curious about the accuracy of dinosaur representations in media.

“This idea was popularized that the teeth of T. rex were too big to fit in the mouth when they were closed,” she said.

The T. rex had sharp, serrated edges along their teeth, which helped it slice through the food it consumed.

Brink explained that the

than that of a T. rex. Despite this length, these reptiles are able to have scaly lips that cover their teeth.

“It’s not weird to think that T. rex or other big meat-eating dinosaurs would have also had scaly lips covering their teeth,” Brink said.

Additionally, the team analyzed the quality of teeth in dinosaurs and their closest living relatives, crocodiles.

shows that the extinct species looked more similar to modern Komodo dragons than crocodiles.

Brink is curious to see if these findings will translate into the media and film industry’s depictions of dinosaurs.

One of her students is currently working on teeth in extinct marine reptiles called Mosasaurs, trying to determine whether or not they were migrating in the oceans. Additionally, students volunteer in the lab for tasks such as fossil preparation.

group decided to compare measurements of dinosaur teeth with extant species that had extremely long teeth to see if it would have been possible for a T. rex to have had a scaly lip. The team made comparisons between the teeth structure in the T. rex and the Komodo dragon, the largest extant lizard.

Komodo dragons have long teeth relative to their skull — even longer proportionally

The upper and lower teeth of a crocodile interlock and protrude when its mouth is closed. As a result, its teeth lack protective covering and are often worn down or damaged.

In contrast, dinosaurs like T. rex often have well-preserved teeth. Brink explained that the only way dinosaurs could have maintained their teeth in such good shape was through lip protection.

Overall, this evidence

“People think they’ll look scarier if you can see the teeth,” Brink said, “but really we’re using biological data looking at living animals, looking at actual measurements from these fossils to say, ‘actually, these are real animals and they had a mouth that looked like a lizard.’”

“They’re not some big scary movie monster.”

During her PhD, Brink looked at the evolutionary patterns of Dimetrodon teeth. These are prehistoric reptiles related to primitive mammals.

Now at the U of M paleontology lab, Brink and her graduate students continue to work on teeth development, pathologies, abnormalities and fossils found here in Manitoba.

To Brink, paleontology and the study of fossils offer perspective on how life and the earth has evolved over time.

She noted how, through the analysis of teeth alone, one can uncover geochemical information and gain an insight into the diet of these extinct species.

“I think there’s just so much information we can learn about how the planet has changed,” she said.

research@themanitoban.com

photo / Faith Peters / staff

“They’re not some big scary movie monster”

— Kirstin Brink, U of M assistant professor in the department of earth sciences

America is heading toward fascism

Terrifying legislation is shifting the political landscape in the states

Sarah Cohen, staff

Ican’t be the first to argue that what I see happening in the United States increasingly resembles fascism. From those who hold power to legislation being passed in various states, it is clear that democracy is dying. Fascism is a political movement that emphasizes the dominance of a powerful leader, extreme nationalism, and prioritizes the supremacy of the nation and its leader over individual rights.

When asked if I’ll ever move back to the U.S., I always cheekily respond by saying that it depends on who’s in power. These days, I’m thinking more and more about renouncing my U.S. citizenship.

In my view, there are currently three major things happening in U.S. politics that are driving the rise of fascism in America.

The first involves yet another school shooting in the U.S., this time in Nashville, Tenn. on March 27. While I could once again go on about the recklessness of not having appropriate gun laws in the U.S., what is even more scary about the current situation surround -

ing the tragedy is the blatant disregard for democracy that Tennessee legislators are showing.

Passionate students took to the state’s capitol building to protest current gun laws and push for reform in a peaceful and legal manner, and three Democratic lawmakers supported them. Now, two of those lawmakers have been expelled from the house of representatives because of their participation in democracy and their advocacy for the safety of students everywhere.

It is terrifying to see that the Republican party is purposefully trying to silence any Democratic voice that tries to advocate for young people and their ability to stay alive and free.

Additionally, Nashville police have said that the shooter identified as transgender, and rather than listening to the needs of the people they are serving, U.S.

lawmakers are turning the tragedy into rhetoric for antitrans campaigns.

The Trans Legislation Tracker notes that in 2023, there have been 492 anti-trans bills introduced across the United States. So far, 32 have been passed this year.

An example is Montana’s Senate Bill 99, which prevents minors with gender dysphoria from receiving care. Specifically, treatments “are prohibited only when knowingly provided to address a female minor’s perception that her gender or sex is not female or a male minor’s perception that

his gender or sex is not male.” This is only one bill from one state. There are 13 other states that have similar laws against gender affirming care.

There are also various bills being passed that prevent young trans people from using bathrooms belonging to the gender they identify with

or playing on gendered sports teams that they identify with, as well as laws that ban teachers and schools from using students’ preferred names and pronouns without parental approval and that prohibit teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation at certain grade levels.

The Declaration of Independence states that all Americans have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Shouldn’t that mean that no matter who a person is or how they identify, they should be free to present themselves however they wish?

The core of the fascist rise in the U.S. is, in my opinion, occurring in Florida.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading the state, and probably the rest of the country, toward a form of fascism.

Florida introduced House Bill 999, which is essentially

an outline of basic guidelines for higher education institutions. I first learned of the bill on TikTok and the need to avoid misinformation prompted me to closely read the legislation itself. What I found was saddening.

The legislation claims to support education for “citizenship in a constitutional republic” but is forcing institutions to remove any core courses, or any “major or minor that is based on or otherwise utilizes pedagogical methodology associated with Critical Theory, including, but not limited to, Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, Radical Feminist Theory, Radical Gender Theory, Queer Theory, Critical Social Justice or Intersectionality.”

The bill requires this while at the same time stating that courses cannot “distort significant historical events with misleading or incorrect presentations of fact.”

So, when Floridian colleges and universities teach their students significant historical events in U.S. and world history, they cannot discuss anything other than the white, straight and Christian characters and versions of events?

This makes absolutely no sense to me. Rather than improving education, the Florida government is straight up restricting any discussion or instruction about the true history and incredible stories of the Black and queer people that have made America what it was and is today.

The bill also bans post-secondary institutions from using any funds to promote or support social or political activism, or to advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion. To me, this is a government saying that if you are not what it wants you to be, or try to change the way it wants things to be, you are not welcome.

Ron DeSantis makes me worry for the future of the United States. If he runs for president in 2024, as many are predicting he will, I think that America has a lot more to worry about than the pronouns someone prefers to use. With the rise of this kind of fascist legislation, a fascist America could be just beyond the horizon.

It is clear that democracy is dying

Be wary of Trump’s criminal charges

Donald Trump’s indictment may be cause of concern for Canadians

Sarah Cohen, staff

Donald Trump is a man known for his cameo in Home Alone 2, the popular television series The Apprentice, his business empire, tons of towers and hotels with his name on them and, most infamously, as the 45th president of the United States.

I’m tired of seeing Trump’s name in headlines and I’m sure that my dad is tired of turning “Trump” into “Rump” with the nearest pen.

Now, Trump is also known as the only president to be charged with a felony. 34 counts of falsifying business records allegedly tied to money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, to be exact.

Trump was arraigned on April 4, where he was read each charge and entered a plea of not guilty.

Even as a firm believer that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I do feel slightly better knowing that Trump is at the mercy of the courts. In some way, shape or form, there will at least be an attempt at justice.

With Trump’s charges, there are many questions about what will happen next.

Trump has already announced his candidacy for president in 2024. So, if he is found guilty, will he still be able to run? Or even, god forbid, be elected president?

Time magazine has written that, yes, he will be able to run. Rather than legitimately letting the criminal justice system do its part in policing and convicting white-collar criminals, I fear that this will only act as a publicity stunt for Trump’s campaign.

I already see this when looking through his 2024 campaign website. There are buzzwords like “tyranny,” “deep state” and “witch hunts,” all associated with the Democratic party. The site paints the party as a demonic entity that needs to be defeated. It calls for supporters to “save America” — as long as they do so in the form of a monetary contribution.

I’m almost certain that Trump’s charges will turn into a narrative of “the left tried to put me in jail, but we will

emerge stronger than ever.”

I think that this is also something all of us up in Canada should be concerned about as well. For some reason, Trump supporters can be found far beyond the United States.

I’ve come to know Canada as an exceedingly welcoming place for people of all identities. Of course, there are outliers and individuals who are exceptions to the welcoming environment, but overall, I think that Canada is a great place. Unfortunately, I think that Trump’s indictment has a great chance to blur the line between Canada and Trumpist-America.

But that is just in terms of the common person. Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman stated in an interview with CTV News that the two countries needed to rekindle some areas of their relationship once Trump was out of office. She said that the Trump administration was uninterested in collaborating to address certain issues.

With the weight of some of

the problems that the world is facing, such as the ever worsening state of climate change or tensions among nuclear powers, Canada and the rest of the world need a competent and collaborative person — preferably without criminal charges against them — in the Oval Office.

However, perhaps none of my fears will come true. Trump could be found guilty and be yet another criminal who could spend many years

in prison serving time for the injustice they took part in.

Trump’s criminal trial will be unprecedented, and I encourage everyone to pay close attention to it. It matters for the future of the United States, Canada and the rest of the world.

comment@themanitoban.com

The toxic culture of student council elections

The disadvantages of slate affiliations and the demerit system in elections

Sethulakshmi Kumbalathuparambil Sajeev, volunteer

As the dust settles after the recent Arts Student Body Council (ASBC) elections, I can’t help but feel disillusioned by the whole process.

As an independent candidate for the women’s rep position, I was up against opponents who were part of prominent slates. The overwhelming advantage that groups like ASBC 4U and Equalize ASBC have over independent candidates is undeniable. Despite my best attempts to campaign, I was unable to match the slates’ high visibility and widespread promotion.

I was disappointed but not surprised to see that the slate candidates had received the majority of the votes when the results were announced. It’s not that they lacked qualifications or abilities, rather, it was the unfairness of the playing field that allowed independent candidates like me to be overshadowed and overlooked.

While the election seeks to provide equal opportunity for all candidates, it is obvious that the system still has imbalances. The influence of the

slates drowned out independent candidates’ opinions and voices, creating an uneven election process overall.

Additionally, when candidates hold multiple roles, the chances of new and diverse views being heard are reduced. As a result, the student council can end up an echo chamber of ideas without a variety of viewpoints.

Prioritizing the participation of new candidates is essential if we are to successfully improve diversity and inclusivity. This not only opens up opportunities for more students, but also improves the efficiency of the roles that students are currently in.

The demerit system, or the “Hunger Games” of student council elections as I like to refer to it, should also not be overlooked. A demerit system is employed during the ASBC election to penalize candidates that violate the rules stated in the ASBC election manual. Although the system

aims to promote accountability, it can also cause candidates to act in hostile and desperate ways.

If votes are taken away for demerits as is currently outlined in the ASBC election manual, candidates may feel compelled to engage in negative campaigning or to attack their opponents.

It’s not just the ASBC elections that have issues — the UMSU elections were just as problematic. The UMSU elections were plagued by a tone of negativity and antagonism, just like many other student council elections.

It’s depressing to see how student council elections have devolved into just a contest for first place. Candidates are more concerned with knocking out or outdoing their opponents than with exhibiting actual leadership and a desire to bring about meaningful change.

This creates a toxic environment for candidates, and when all you see is negativity and animosity, it’s difficult to feel enthusiastic about an election. This discourages many students from taking part in the election process.

So, what can be done to make future elections more democratic and fair for all candidates? One approach may be to give independent candidacy more priority, which would enable all candidates to run on their own platforms and ideas without the benefit of slate association. This would ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to interact with voters and express their thoughts without the influence of groupthink.

It’s time for a change in the culture of student council elections. We need to encourage a diverse range of candidates to step forward and prioritize their platforms and ideas over slate affiliation. For this to happen, we should

make a positive change in the election process to attract more students to run for student council positions.

There are many great thinkers and diverse voices within the corners of the University of Manitoba, and if we continue with the current pattern of exclusive slates and negative campaigning, we risk missing out on the fresh perspectives and ideas that these students can bring to the table. After all, the goal is to create a fair and inclusive system that genuinely represents the viewpoints and ideas of our student body.

comment@themanitoban.com

graphic / Jenna Solomon / staff

The student council can end up becoming an echo chamber of ideas without a variety of viewpoints

graphic / Dallin Chicoine / staff

What I’ve learned as UMSU president

To be a good leader is to be constantly learning

Jaron Rykiss, UMSU president

It’s funny, it seems that almost every week at least one person will ask me, “what is the most valuable thing you’ve learned as UMSU president?”

There are many things I have learned, all of which are invaluable, and I will forever be grateful for learning them.

I learned that true leadership means supporting those around you. Some of us look for opportun ities to be the big boss, and some of us like to play a supporting role. The fault comes when we stop mak ing sure that our decisions support those around us.

The truth is, we all make mistakes. At the end of the day, no one can ever be a perfect leader. It is impossible. All you can do is give every bit of yourself and try to lead with grace.

The second thing I’ve learned is that leaders need to listen. With hundreds of emails, thousands of questions and so many goals for yourself and your team to

accomplish, you simply cannot please everyone. There are tens of thousands of students who are a part of this union, all with different backgrounds, different lived experiences and different expectations of what UMSU ought to be.

While we cannot please everyone, that doesn’t mean we can’t try. I have learned to listen to the perspectives of students around me, and to work to support them to the best of my ability. In my office, I have two signs that say “remember why you started” to remind me of why I am here.

I think that UMSU, as well as every other well-intentioned student union or association in the country, was founded and operates based on good intentions.

Unfortunately, in student governance, I feel that we sometimes lose our way. We forget that we are all supposed to be on the same team. Remember, when mistakes happen, each student leader, whether they are president of the union or the executive of a

club, is trying their best.

If you forget your kindness, humanity or humility, you have done a disservice to those around you.

Remember, be kind. Some people may not like you. They may disagree with what you have done, dislike your personality or, potentially, the organization you work within. Just know that if students elect you to be an UMSU executive, or to hold any position in student governance, you need to stay true to yourself.

A newspaper or email blast does not define the seemingly infinite number of hours you have put into your role. If you try your best and work hard for those around you, you’ll do just fine. We are all on the same team. We all want what is best for students, and any student-facing publication or organization must understand that.

The last thing I’ve learned is that I also need to be kind to myself. We all have emotions — we feel sadness, anger, frustration and everything else. You need to know that it is okay to feel overwhelmed. It is okay to feel upset when the UM Reddit or any media outlet tells you that you are doing a bad job but only knows half

of the story.

Take time for your mental health. Being a student leader is hard, so be kind to yourself. And know that transparency about how hard this job is does not make you weak. Rather, it shows your willingness to be open and honest with students. After all, that is what they elect you to do.

In the end, I, just like every one of my predecessors, could write a book on everything I have learned from this office.

I recognize that there will always be things that I could have done better and things that I wish I would have done differently, but I believe we have accomplished some fantastic things this year.

When I began in this position, I wasn’t a professional or an experienced leader. I was a student. I spent every single day learning about what I could do better, which things were broken, which things needed help and how I could be the best leader I could be.

In the end, regardless of the headlines, the Reddit threads or whatever else you may see, my team and I worked tirelessly this year and I am proud of what we have accomplished.

UMSU, just know that the work you will do, the work that we all do, matters. We want to see a world that is better than it was when we joined. Keep that close to your heart. Listen to the voices around you, and never forget why you started.

They never tell you about the end of the line and they never talk about the stress it takes to get there, but take it from me, every moment of doubt I’ve ever had about this job has been brief. I am continually amazed by the dedication of those around me.

I loved being your president. This has been the most incredible honour of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I truly hope that I have made you proud. That’s all I have wanted from day one, to show you that your vote mattered. It will always matter. Remember, whatever you do, be kind.

Humbly, and with great pride,

Jaron Rykiss,

your

UMSU president

If you choose to run for comment@themanitoban.com

Don’t feel guilty for taking care of yourself

Mental and physical health can be a struggle

Braden Bristow, staff

Being sick is awful. I am writing this article while nursing flu-like symptoms, so I feel pretty gross. In fact, I have spent the past three days terribly ill. With the moaning and groaning out of the way, I arrive at my actual point — I feel guilty about being sick.

Logically, I know that I am sick, and that going to work or school would only make my condition worse and could potentially infect others. So, staying home is simultaneously protecting myself and other people.

This all makes good, logical sense. However, I cannot help but feel like I am somehow cheating the system by staying home.

I think as a society we are somewhat conditioned to feel this way. Under the Canada Labour Code, which defines the rights of Canadian workers in workplaces under federal jurisdiction, an employee is able to earn a maximum of 10 paid sick days per year. With only 10 days of paid sick time annually, one might rea-

sonably try to “bank” these days for a more serious illness. However, in reality, refusing to take these sick days may turn a minor illness into a more serious one by heading into work.

These 10 days only apply to federally regulated workplaces. Each province itself has different rules and regulations for sick leave. In Manitoba, for example, there are only three days of unpaid sick leave are guaranteed per year. Which, needless to say, is abysmal.

A student taking a day off often means missing a full day of class time that might be critical to a test, exam or essay. While many professors upload notes and slides, some do not upload anything.

In my experience, class instruction also typically expands on ideas only touched on in the lecture notes or slides. This problem is only made worse by instructors who may dock marks for absent days. This effectively encourages students to come to school when they are ill. I

cannot speak to the experience of other students, but I have absolutely gone to school while sick out of the fear that I would miss important content.

There is also, of course, the social aspect to consider. By not going to work or school, you run the risk of appearing less capable than your coworkers or peers, especially if you need to stay home in order to take care of your mental health. We also miss out on periods of socialization that might be critical.

But the fact of the matter is that your mental and physical health trumps these factors. That test you are worried about can get deferred. Your essay can be extended, and if you have sick days then you should use them. Going to work or school when you are ill might seem like you are weathering the storm that is your body and mind, but really you are just hurting yourself.

High workloads, a lot of responsibility, mental health struggles and chronic ill-

If you will not think of yourself, think of others.

When dealing with a communicable illness, follow the advice of reputable resources or your family doctor on when it’s safe to return to work or school. Stay healthy, Bisons.

ness among other factors can lead to higher levels of stress in life, and it has been shown that stress can have serious impacts on mental and physical health. The last thing you need while trying to recover or cope with an illness, physical or mental, is something that can make that illness last longer or become even worse. comment@themanitoban.com

graphic / Dallin Chicoine / staff

Prison reform is necessary

Why rehabilitation, not punishment, should be the goal

Dina Hamid, staff

You wouldn’t keep buying the same product if it didn’t do what it was meant to do, right? Of course not. Yet this seems like a widely accepted standard for prisons. Prison systems around the world have continued to be inefficient in their primary objective of reducing crime. While recidivism rates — rates of returning to the criminal justice system after release — in Canada are unavailable at a national level due to a lack of clear data, in the U.S. about half of all formerly incarcerated people are reincarcerated within three years of being released. Why are people sent to jail if not to correct their behaviour?

To answer the last question, we must look at retribution, the idea that offenders should experience pain equal to that experienced by the victims of their crimes in order to achieve balance. Retribution is usually what is meant when people say they want “justice.” It’s the idea that those who do break the law deserve to be punished.

However, crimes and the

reasons that people choose to engage in illegal activity are not black and white. By not examining or taking into account the social and psychological factors that cause people to commit crimes, we are being reductive in our approach to creating effective correctional services.

According to research published in the American Journal of Public Health, half of all incarcerated people in Canada have experienced some form of childhood abuse. This finding suggests that inmates might benefit from psychological and mental health support more than punishment. This is why I believe that retribution is counterproductive for making changes. Harm simply serves to reinforce a vicious cycle of more harm.

This finding, coupled with reports of several human rights violations inside of Canadian prisons including poor living conditions, the use of excessive force by prison staff, racism, discrimination, insufficient access to health care, sexual coercion and violence should indicate that further abuse is not conducive to

crime reduction.

The further traumatization of inmates within prison systems, who already have what I can only assume to be unresolved trauma, serves no benefit in the correction of deviant behaviour.

Further Canadian research shows that punishment slightly increases recidivism rates, and that being held in prison for longer periods of time is associated with higher rates of recidivism. This data suggests that our approach to crime reduction is not the best way to lessen the negative effects of crime.

The failure of our current system to reduce repeat offences should indicate that a new system is required. That’s why I think the aim of incarceration should be rehabilitation, with the further goal of successful reintegration.

The removal and isolation of citizens from society is already a punishment. During a person’s sentence, the aim of correctional services should be to help them unlearn unacceptable behaviour with the help of various forms of therapy, including

psychotherapy and substance abuse treatment.

Rehabilitation has proven itself to be an effective form of correction in Norway’s community-based correctional facilities. Since Norway has implemented a focus on rehabilitation, its recidivism rate has decreased from as high as 70 per cent in the 1990s to the lowest in the world at 20 per cent.

The primary emphasis on reintegration that focuses on emotional and moral rehabilitation, as well as employment skills, is another advantage of Norway’s correctional system. Because of this, the postprison employment rate for individuals who were unemployed prior to being incarcerated increases by 40 per cent following release. This, along with the low prison population, all help to boost Norway’s economy.

The idea that inmates deserve cruel treatment during their sentences, yet are expected to become well adjusted citizens once released, is one that baffles me.

How are inmates supposed

to learn the fundamental respect we ask of them once they are released when they are not even given it themselves? I think that how people are treated inside of prison should set the precedent for how they treat others inside and outside of incarceration.

At the end of the day, incarcerated people are humans like you and I, and deserve basic human decency and kindness. They are not disposable and should not be treated as such. They will return to the community, and I believe that their time in prison should prepare them for that. By focusing on healing and rehabilitation in prisons through empathy, therapy, treatment and education, I think that is possible.

However, in order to do this, we must evaluate what matters most to us — changing behaviours or seeking vengeance disguised as justice.

comment@themanitoban.com

The importance of different perspectives

Acceptance of differing opinions is crucial to being well-rounded

Ashley Puchniak, staff

I find that when I am in a discussion with someone about a “controversial” topic, the conversation always gets heated.

I think that most people tend to go into political, religious or personal conversations with an “all or nothing” mindset.

This is when, in an unconventional conversation, people will try to convert you into believing their views through argument, or will stay stuck in their ways, unwilling to view another perspective.

I’m not sure that this is always done consciously, as some humans are just stubborn by nature.

I do believe, though, that this mindset limits healthy conversation and debate and is the reason that so many groups are divided.

I’d argue that most people are taught to respect others’ opinions even if those opinions do not correspond with their own. This seems like an easy enough task to do, but it is something that some people definitely need to work on.

It is okay to agree to disagree. Debate and difference

of opinion are healthy. It is what makes us all unique. Besides that, it’s just a basic freedom. Everyone deserves the right to freely express their opinions.

I am not saying that this is alright if it comes at the cost of someone’s mental or physical safety, but we should all be given the equal and free opportunity to speak our minds.

I think that many people are starting to blur the line on what an opinion really is.

An opinion is simply someone’s personal perception of something, not an attack on another person. I think that it is important to make this distinction.

I find this to be the biggest problem in the media. When I am scrolling through news updates or watching something online, what I see is always so one-sided. Sure, most news channels are politically biased, but how can we gather an informed opinion if we only know one side of the story?

I think it’s healthy to look at information you would not necessarily agree with to try to either reaffirm your own opinion or maybe shift your views

slightly. Doing this also helps to just understand where others are coming from.

This tactic makes for a much healthier and more informed conversation between two people with different opinions.

I am a politically driven person, so I find this to be critical. I can’t truly understand the weight of a problem if I am just viewing it from one perspective. Although I definitely have specific political opinions, I understand where others are coming from.

Not only is it important to look at other sources for understanding how other people view ideas, but it is also critical to not let the media that we consume polarize our views and perspectives on important issues.

I believe that to be a wellrounded person, you need to be socially aware. This doesn’t just concern social issues, it includes the perspectives and opinions of others.

It may be somewhat “socially unacceptable” to advocate for all opinions, as there are definitely less popular opinions out there, but it is necessary to do so. We as a society cannot claim inclusiv-

ity and acceptance unless we truly love each other regardless of differing opinions.

That is the beauty of being human. We have differences and we are all unique. Sure, it is refreshing speaking to someone with the same opinion as you, but that does not challenge you or build your character.

There are so many people from so many different walks of life out there. It is so important to gain all these perspectives before digging your heels into the sand.

I feel that the divide between different groups of people, even within our country, is caused by a lack of acceptance and some ignorance of other people’s right to freedom of expression.

That may sound harsh, but

we are all at fault for that. In order to be fully accepting of others’ opinions we need to be held accountable for our tenacious ways.

I feel like more people need to be called out on this. Not enough people are looking in the mirror and accepting the fact that they indeed do not practice the inclusivity that they preach.

Next time you are in a heated discussion, remember to look at the other person’s viewpoint and try to see where they are coming from and why they have the opinion they do. Instead of jumping to conclusions, understand the story.

comment@themanitoban.com

graphic / Jenna Solomon / staff

From our archives 100 years ago

phdcomics.com

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely

In Hidato, fill the board by continuing the chain of numbers from 1 to 100 moving any direction or diagonally to the next number.

Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

Call to all poetry

Here’s to you and me

by Mary Lauren Medlake

here in the next issue.

Here’s to...

To the tops of the fruit trees and the gardens they shade,

To the petals on all cherry blossoms and the grass below, the bed the petals drift down to,

To the clouds in the heavens and the rocky world below,

To the rain that falls from the sky and the snow that sticks to the ground,

To the moon and the stars and the sun,

To the edge of the mountains to the cracks in the sidewalks,

How to beat Str8ts –

To the glittering water to the flooding streets, rain left over from previous days,

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org

If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

In Straits, like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a “straight.” A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how “straights” are formed.

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

To the blue eyes and brown eyes and this very day,

The solutions will be published here in the next issue. www.str8ts.com

To the olive branches handed out each and every day,

To the reconciliation and the bridges better off burned,

If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

To the ones who have their thing and the ones who can’t find their name,

To the beauty and the grace and everything in between,

To the simply put saying of “here’s to you and me.”

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org

Medlake is a first-year student at the University of Manitoba

Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

How to beat Str8ts –

Answer to this issue’s Straights

Previous solution - Tough

Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org

such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9

such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9

If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store. The solutions will be published here in the next issue. can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

Like

Sudoku

Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles

Hidato

Puzzle by M.J.D. Doering

Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles

Horoscopes for the week of April 12

Zodiac tips for surviving life at the U of M

Damien Davis, staff ARIES

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Resist the urge to bite, like a rabid dog that craves blood as if it’s spring water. More often than not, violence is just violence. When you return to this academic ground you will still be wild, but in ways that are kinder to your peers and professors. Yet, you will have shifted into something with sharper teeth.

TAURUS

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. You might have sawed off your horns and placed them upon the mantle, but they will always come back. They will whisper forgotten feelings in your ears at night, making you regret the act. Let this be a lesson to you — you are no sacrificial lamb.

GEMINI

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Hold yourself in all your moments, the special, the bad, the truly good and truly evil. Share with your twin self what you denied yourself for too long — a physical form. Kiss the mirror during the August blue moon and they’ll escape.

CANCER

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Hold your breath in intervals, for the moment you stop is the moment you’ll be caught off guard. The ocean is always waiting for its chance to take you back home, even when you’re safe on dry land. The pipes will burst and seafoam will pull you under the hardwood floor.

LEO

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Don’t trust free tickets to any circus at this time of year, they simply don’t exist. What a coincidence it would be if, conveniently, they started just in time for you to be free of school. A visit will leave you chained to the tents, laughter filling the bleachers. Stay clear.

VIRGO

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Summertime is when spirits will choose to communicate with you rather than autumn and winter. The heat of the living, the sound of your joy, these things attract the jealousy within them. Carry frank incense matches with you, and know that it’s not their fault and it’s not yours either. Don’t try to convince them, however, as that would be your end.

’Toban Tips

To cheat or not to cheat

Toby the Bison, staff

Dear Toby, I’ve been in a turbulent relationship for a while. My needs are not being met and I am really unhappy. However, I don’t feel like I can leave the relationship. Recently, there is an individual who I’ve become increasingly attracted to and the possibility of us going on a date is in circulation. I want to go out with them, but I am still in a relationship. What should I do?

Thanks, Stuck partner

Dear Stuck partner, Wow, we’re sad to hear that you have found yourself in this predicament. My initial advice will always be to have a healthy conversation with your partner about your feelings. That is the best way to address and communicate your issues, especially if you feel that your needs are not being met.

However, if you are unhappy enough to want to cheat on your current partner, you should probably just break up with them. Nothing good can come out of cheating, and the desire to cheat signals that something in the relationship isn’t working.

LIBRA

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. The stranger in the halls of University Centre with the striking eyes and full smile that no one seems to notice but you is not your friend. Though they are beautiful, though the world seems to slow when you catch a glimpse of them, remember that magic is neither good nor bad. Its users, however, can change that.

SCORPIO

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. The blood, by God the blood. It seeps into your daydreams and stains your mouth, but it smells so familiar; a past life of searing cathedrals and forbidden red wine. It will pass if you fortify yourself. You can still turn back. Are you truly ready for a lifetime of nighttime?

SAGITTARIUS

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Carry yourself stronger than you normally would when at crossroads. The things that sleep within the gravel and dirt can taste the desire and power that sits in your chest. They’ll poke holes in your tires, send obstacles to your path, anything to get you outside on your hands and knees begging for a deal. You don’t need them, they need you.

CAPRICORN

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. An ordinary life is worth more than you think. A family, a home, friends and a place where you belong are all extraordinary. Don’t let your boredom guide you to the ring of fauna and mushrooms that grow in the woods close to your home. Once you step in there I can’t help you, and trust me, you’ll need help.

AQUARIUS

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. The cups are no longer full. The bowls aren’t either — the pots, the pans, the sun, the moon. Don’t be alarmed, it’s a metamorphosis. The water is poured elsewhere. Why else do you find yourself tearing up so easily these days?

PISCES

There are no symbols or tarot cards left, there is only you. Your name will appear on statues and lamp posts throughout the city. It will spill out from the markers of strangers who scribble it on bathroom stalls and government property. Sometimes when one’s will is so strong, they unknowingly affect everyone around them with it. Let your will be an inspiration, a prophecy instead of an omen. We choose our own fate.

Cheating in a relationship can also create trust issues in the other person and you could also do some damage to yourself. When it’s all said and done, you deserve to be happy, but your partner also deserves someone who wouldn’t consider cheating on them. I suggest that you strongly consider all of your options and remember that doing it for the plot should leave only you as the one vulnerable to getting hurt.

Best of luck, Toby the Bison

To ask Toby a question, email comment@themanitoban.com

’Toban turntable

Bodywash — I Held the Shape While I Could

Alex Braun, staff

3.5/5 Stars

Shoegaze and dream pop, the perennial buzz genres of the indie world, are by this point a little stale. Breaking through the noise is a hard thing to do, and many choose these genres as masks for weak songwriting and performances.

Bodywash is not one of those bands, and its brand of shoegaze is not the drab, tired kind.

The Montreal-based duo of Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter, who hail from London, U.K. and Toronto, Ont. respectively, were raised on opposing musical diets — Long Decter on folk and Steward on the U.K.’s rich lineage of dream pop.

That mix of influence is what sets Bodywash apart. The folk side of things means a focus on tight songcraft often ignored in the genre, and the respect for the old heads of shoegaze means that the

sounds present here are varied in the way that the genre was in its early days, before it ossified into its current-day signifiers.

All over this album there are nods to the ethereal, floaty sound of Cocteau Twins, the gothic, industrial tinge of A.R. Kane, the driving force of Ride or Swervedriver and the ambient leanings of My Bloody Valentine.

The opening song, “In As Far” is about as audacious as an opener can be, beginning with a full two minutes of amorphous instrumental before forming into a sort of Madchester rave groove with gorgeous, wordless vocal acrobatics on top.

“Picture Of” has a the Curelike focus on the bass, offering the album’s first real pop song. Track three, “Massif Central,” is its first rock song, and has a driving force that sits comfortably alongside a nimbleness in its melody.

Across the record’s 12 tracks, Bodywash switches modes

like this with ease, indulging in Grouper-like fuzzy experiments on “Bas Relief” and “Dessents,” bouncy synth pop on “Ascents,” New Age on “One Day Clear” and downtempo on the lovely closer, “No Repair.”

Occasionally the album’s crystal clear, tightly wound production leaves less inventive tracks like “Perfect Blue” or “Sterilizer” bordering on H&M fitting room music, and the album has some of the least-inspired album artwork I’ve seen in a long time.

But, for the most part, I Held the Shape While I Could is a breath of fresh air in the crowded dream pop landscape, and a varied and constantly engaging trip through all sorts of shoegazing.

Bodywash’s I Held the Shape While I Could is available on major streaming platforms April 14.

arts@themanitoban.com

Rainbow Resource Centre relocating during 50th year

New space will feature affordable housing for 2SLGBTQ+ older adults

Damien Davis, staff Canada’s longest continuously running 2SLGBTQ+ resource centre, Rainbow Resource Centre (RRC), is soon moving buildings to create an even larger and more accessible space.

RRC was born 50 years ago, originally as a student group at the U of M in the ’70s, and is now a non-profit organization that serves the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Manitoba.

RRC’s current programming and services include free short-term counselling, a youth program and its Over the Rainbow 55+ program, as well as a plethora of diverse volunteer-run social support groups. The centre provides education about diversity, equity and inclusion, and its Winnipeg location is home to one of the largest 2SLGBTQ+ libraries in central Canada.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for RRC, as its new location comes with major plans for the community including the development of affordable

housing for 2SLGBTQ+ older adults. The centre is partnering with Westminster Housing Society to create 21 new affordable housing units.

Despite the historical progress that has been made over the last 50 years, Joey Moore, director of services at RRC, said that there’s still a significant need for spaces where 2SLGBTQ+ folks can gather together and build community.

“There’s also a really high and steady, growing demand

— Joey

, Director of services at

for affordable housing dedicated to 2SLGBTQ+ older adults,” Moore said.

“We know that a lot of older adults who were on the front lines advocating for change, advocating for their rights, as they may go into assisted care or different living situations, a lot of them who’ve spent their whole [lives] being out and proud are being forced

back into the closet in order to receive basic care.”

The new space will be perfect for what RRC has in store for the future, as its current location at 170 Scott Street is a “disjointed space,” according to Moore.

“We’re tenants of part of the building,” Moore explained. “As other parts of the building opened up, we took over those spaces and kind of expanded within a series of buildings.”

Moore said that the simple act of coming through the front door and heading to a programming space involves navigating a labyrinth of lefts and rights, and that RRC is rapidly outgrowing its current home.

“This new space, essentially what it’s going to be is three floors of the 21 units and then [RRC], we are having a lease on the main floor that’s going to be an empty space that we get to create intention within,” they said.

Alongside all this, RRC has purchased and will be operat-

ing inside the historic Wilson House while everything else is developed.

Moore explained that the development process is occurring in phases. The organization is moving into Wilson House while the new space is under construction. They said that once construction is complete, RRC will be able to use that space while it begins internal renovations at Wilson House to “make it more purposeful for the needs that we have within the community.”

“When we did our strategic plan, Rainbow Resource Centre changed our mission statement, which really aligns with this new move,” Moore added.

“Rainbow Resource Cen-

tre nurtures inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ folks to thrive, and this space is a space where communities can call it their own, feel at home and thrive. That’s exactly what we’re doing here.”

The move is scheduled for May 10, leaving the centre closed from May 8-12, but the centre will re-open at the Wilson House on May 15, right before pride season begins.

For more info on the RRC and its programming, visit rainbowresourcecentre.org.

arts@themanitoban.com

image / Rainbow Resource Centre / provided

image / Killbeat / provided

A varied and constantly engaging trip through all sorts of shoegazing

“Communities can call it their own, feel at home and thrive”

Moore

RRC

Gabrielle Roy, Manitoban writer in retrospect

40 years since her passing, celebrated author’s work still resonates

Jessie Krahn, staff

Gabrielle Roy wrote about her departure from her childhood home in Manitoba with a sheepishness characteristic of anyone caught in this province’s nostalgic grip. No matter how much time lapses, this place stakes an eternal claim on anyone who loves it well.

Leaving can be hard, due to a sticky sense of obligation we have toward our childhood homes. Roy explored this delicately, writing, “we can’t return with impunity to the places that knew us when we were young,” even if we only left with the “innocent hope” of making something of ourselves.

Roy was born in St. Boniface in 1909 and spent some time roving around Manitoba in different teaching appointments. From her late 20s onward, Roy spent most of her time in between Europe and Quebec before passing away in Quebec City in 1983.

A sensitive, sympathetic and attentive writer, Roy is one of the defining voices of French-Canadian literature of the 20th century with a perspective that endures. Even with this July marking the 40th anniversary of her passing, her work bottles the humdrum and charm of everyday life in a way that is still agon-

izingly relatable decades later.

Originally published in 1945, Roy’s first novel — translated into English as The Tin Flute — is told from the perspectives of a handful of navel-gazing wanderers. As preoccupied as they are with their love lives or the possibility of a better future away from Saint-Henri, Que., they stroll through Montreal absorbing every detail of the city. The end result is an illustration of a society in sharp definition, cold and awash with its residents’ yearning.

Well before the novel was translated to English from its original French, The Tin Flute was an instant success partly for anthropological reasons, spotlighting the very real social and economic struggles of the people in Saint-Henri.

This thoughtful, observational point of view is on-brand for the author. Roy’s collection of non-fiction writing, titled The Fragile Lights of Earth: Articles and Memories 1942-1970, offers a glimpse into the mind of a perceptive sweetheart with a sour streak.

There are little comments about how Portage and Main feel like “the windiest streets in the world,” which are endearing and relatable. Sen-

tences later, though, Roy will write with ruthless honesty.

To her, “even Winnipeg presents a strange, disconnected aspect with its miserable little shops hemmed in between modern buildings, and here and there an old wooden house of 1900 vintage.” She goes in for the kill, writing that “Winnipeg must appear to be no longer a pioneer town, but a city in the midst of transition.”

It is a little freaky and a little sad how relatable Roy’s descriptions of Winnipeg are in 2023 despite this year marking Fragile Lights’ 45th anniversary, as well as the fact that

describes Louis Riel as a “prophet to some, a traitor to others, a visionary, man of passion, vehement and perhaps, at certain times in his life, victim of a kind of delirium.”

Naive and laden with the settler-Canadian biases that hide themselves under the guise of disengagement, Roy’s commentary on Riel falls flat here because she just will not explain how she feels about him. She withdraws her signature attentiveness from her recollection and ultimately comes across as perplexed and tone-deaf.

Obtuse takes on Indigenous history are to be expected from settler authors, but

the good and the bad.

My loved ones have communicated something close to a feeling of betrayal when I have talked about how my life might carry me away from Manitoba. I think there is a sense here that we must be loyal residents of our province because it has been loyal to us. But, as Roy wrote, your home is “the place to which you go back to listen to the wind you heard in your childhood.”

When I think back to what always took my breath away, it was the weight of Winnipeg’s wind when it walloped me with humid, high summer heat.

some of its contents were published decades earlier. The city’s identity came solely from its potential even back then.

A diverse population was part of prairie life for Roy, and it was ultimately something she celebrated. She wrote that visiting Winnipeg had its own benefits, as “without having to travel, [she] could see the peoples of the earth parade before [her] eyes.”

There are exceptions to this general love for the diversity of Treaty 1’s peoples. Roy

Roy’s general mindfulness makes these moments where she trips all the more obvious.

She wrote once that she “would rather leave Manitoba on the note of a summer impression — the excessive summer of those parts, which we always loved so much.” That was the impression she left the world on, too, in high summer.

Roy’s memories of Manitoba preserve a piece of prairie life and show that in many ways, very little about this place has changed, including

Despite living the better part of her life away from Manitoba, Roy’s childhood home in St. Boniface stands to this day as a house museum — La Maison Gabrielle Roy — preserving a piece of her early life for visitors to analyze in their own time, just like her memorable stories.

Gabrielle Roy’s work is available through the University of Manitoba libraries.

arts@themanitoban.com

Roy’s memories of Manitoba preserve a piece of prairie life

U of M to host ’24 U-Sports track and field nationals

Bisons cap off amazing track and field season, rewarded with hosting duties

Quinn Mayhew, staff

Bisons track and field team performed very well this season in both of the major competitions of the year, consisting of the U-Sports nationals and the Canada West conference (CanWest) championships, thereby setting the expectations for the herd this upcoming 2023-24 season exceptionally high.

U-Sports took notice of the herd as well, for the University of Manitoba has been selected to host the 2024 U-Sports track and field nationals, which will be played at James Daly Fieldhouse inside Max Bell Centre.

Some of the highlights for the herd’s track and field teams this year included the men’s team coming in first at the CanWest championships, Anna McConnell crushing the competition in shot put at the CanWest championships, Madisson Lawrence’s first place victory in the pentathlon at the U-Sports nationals, as well as Max Speiser’s fight for third place in the heptathlon at nationals.

Overall, the Bisons had an amazing season, for which both the varsity staff and athletes should feel immensely proud. Nevertheless, it was ultimately the University of Guelph Gryphons who

reigned supreme again this year, sweeping the U-Sports banner for the fifth year in a row. The herd, then, will take up the challenge of thwarting a six-peat on their home terf.

Nevertheless, at this year’s U-Sports nationals, the men’s 4x400 relay team did manage to beat the University of Guelph by a time differential of 0.76 seconds, securing the gold medal.

Moreover, the herd’s coaching staff

will surely look to carry this season’s momentum into next year when the herd hosts nationals.

Thanks to the herd’s extensive coaching staff — led by head coach Claude Berube — they always did their best to help the track and field athletes perform at the highest caliber possible due to their

stupendous coaching.

Head coach Claude Berube will be going into his 27th year of coaching this upcoming season, and for the U of M track and field team, consistency is certainly key.

Since the Bisons will host the 2024 U-Sport nationals, they can take heart in the fact that Berube is no stranger to national championships, having won two national championship titles on the

men’s side in 1995 and in 1996. Going into the 2023-24 sports season, it will be exciting to see what kind of tactics Berube has in his pocket to help guide the herd to even more podium finishes.

Ultimately, then, with the U of M’s track and field team in such good hands, the team is likely shaping up for an exceptional year — hopefully culminated by the raising of a U-Sports banner in their home gym.

sports@themanitoban.com

photo / Ebunoluwa Akinbo / staff

Going into the 2023-24 sports season, it will be exciting to see what kind of tactics Berube has in his pocket

Ballin’ Sea Bears coming to Winnipeg

Joshua Brandt, staff

Do you like basketball?

Are you a hoops aficionado? Can you tell the difference between a horns set and floppy action? Well, May 27 at 7 p.m. — mark down the date. It’s the Winnipeg Sea Bears’ inaugural game.

The Sea Bears will play out of Canada Life Centre, becoming the first Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) team to play in a National Hockey League arena, while also becoming the CEBL’s 10th team.

Between late May and late July, the Sea Bears will play 10 regular season home games this year, kicked off by their home opener against the Vancouver Bandits on May 27.

Additionally, two of the Sea Bears’ games will also be broadcast on TSN. The first one will be against the Bandits on June 6, and the second against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on July 11.

The colours the Sea Bears will rock are teal, black and white, while the team sports a titular Sea Bear as its logo.

Moreover, the team’s name might confuse some. “What exactly is a Sea Bear?” you may find yourself asking.

Well, a “Sea Bear” is simply a polar bear. And the name was chosen because the Latin for polar bear, Ursus maritimus, translates to “sea bear.”

Furthermore, Manitoba

also boasts a certain affinity for polar bears, ranging from its Assiniboine Park Zoo attractions to the Churchill Wild polar bear tours, to the significance polar bears play in Manitoba’s Indigenous peoples’ heritage.

Further, former dean of the University of Manitoba’s faculty of law David Asper was a big driver in getting the Bears to Winnipeg, becoming the Sea Bears’ inaugural owner.

Accordingly, Mike Morreale, the commissioner of the CEBL, had apparently already been looking to expand to Manitoba since the conception of the CEBL way back in 2017, but was waiting until a qualified leader like Asper put themself forward.

The Sea Bears will be led by head coach and general manager Mike Taylor, who has hired this past December.

As of publication, the Sea Bears currently have four players on their roster.

The team’s first ever signing was local Winnipegger Chad Posthumus, who, despite his surname, stands at a largerthan-life six-foot-eleven.

Posthumus went to high school at River East Collegiate where he averaged 39 points per game as a senior, played National Conference Athletic Association basketball for Morehead State University and had a stint with the National Basketball Asso -

ciation’s Chicago Bulls’ Summer League team in 2014.

Most recently, Posthumus played for the Ottawa BlackJacks in the CEBL.

The Sea Bears have also signed six-foot-seven forward Shane Osayande, six-foot-four guard Michael Okafor and sixfoot-four guard Glen Yang.

Osayande is a former University of Saskatchewan Huskie, Okafor is a former Lakehead University Thunderwolf and Lang is a former Mount Royal University Cougar, meaning all four of the Sea Bears’ players have played basketball in Canada at some point in their careers.

While four players is certainly not enough to play, the Sea Bears will tentatively name their full roster by the start of their training camp on May 19. Until then, expect more signings.

The Sea Bears’ home opener is scheduled for May 27 at 7 p.m. at Canada Life Centre.

Sports teams’ schedules

This May, the city of Winnipeg will add another professional sports team to its mix