5 February 2020

NEWS

More than a feeding ground Students to push back on provincial mandate letter

NEWS

EDITORIAL

Out of education

Foul treatment

Investigation finds system discriminates against LGBTTQ* students

PAGE 3

College leagues should fill athlete’s baskets PAGE 6

PAGE 5

ARTS AND CULTURE

Spatial awareness U of M instructor brings ethos to Atmosphere PAGE 14

VO L 1 0 6 · N O 2 1 · F e b r ua ry 0 5 , 2 0 2 0 · W W W.T H E M A N I TO BA N .CO M

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Index

VOL. 106 NO. 21 February 05, 2020

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News

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

Drop-in sessions helping Indigenize campus

Bi-weekly meetings offer researchers, academics a vital resource KAYLA LARIVIERE, STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Malak Abas

editor@themanitoban.com / 474.8293

BUSINESS MANAGER Alice Teufack

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ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Pauline Calinisan

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EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Doering

me@themanitoban.com

NEWS EDITOR Garett Williams

garett@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

COMMENT

NEWS EDITOR Ty Brass

Despotic detectives

ty@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

COMMENT EDITOR Kenny Ingram

comment@themanitoban.com

Reform Winnipeg’s law enforcement

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Grace Paizen

arts@themanitoban.com

PAGE 10

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Pchajek

sports@themanitoban.com

COPY EDITOR Matthew Doering

copy@themanitoban.com

ASSOCIATE COPY EDITOR Megan Pietrus

A

cademics and staff at the U of M looking to incorporate Indigenous content into their work have a new resource since the department of Native studies created an Indigenization drop-in lunch series.

Nearly every other Thursday through April, academics, staff and graduate students are welcome to visit the Native studies boardroom to get answers to questions about bringing Indigenization and reconciliation to their own lectures, research and studies. Faculty from the Native studies department will be on hand and ready to answer all questions that come their way.

Cary Miller, department head of Native studies, began the program this academic year.

Miller said she came up with the idea from the U of M strategic plan to infuse Indigenous content across

curriculums.

While acknowledging it is a positive initiative, Miller said she found few people felt comfortable, or have the training, to bring Indigenous perspectives into their program of studies.

She said she wants the drop-ins to be a welcoming and safe space where people can come in, eat lunch and feel at ease asking questions.

Miller said she has found some staff and academics outside her department have trouble confidently Indigenizing their studies while introducing information without misrepresenting it.

“We have a lot of faculty for whom this is entirely new terrain and providing them the space where they can learn, understand and grow I think is really important,” she said.

The sessions have been visited by

individuals from departments including history, sociology, anthropology, economics, nursing and social work.

Staff including librarians, archivists, advisors and even graduate students who have been looking to connect with Indigenous communities have made use of the drop-ins.

Miller said she has responded to questions ranging from decolonization, Indigenization, reconciliation, uses of textbooks and Métis identity.

Miller acknowledged there are a number of faculty already engaged with Indigenous issues and Indigenization but said she believes the university needs to give all faculty members the time and opportunity to do so.

“I think we forget — especially when you’re talking about an institution that serves 30,000 students and has something around 5,000 faculty

members, let alone staff — it takes a while for us to be able to fully edu-

“We have a lot of faculty for whom this is entirely new terrain and providing them the space where they can learn, understand and grow I think is really important” — Cary Miller, Native studies department head

cate people so that they can engage in the changes that the university needs to implement to fully embrace [the Truth and Reconciliation Commission],” she said.

“We have to recognize that while we’re on that road, we’re still doing the work.”

She said that while it will take time for the university to turn the corner, she is confident strides are being made in the right direction.

“It’s taken 200 years to get us where we’re at, it’s not going to take us that long to get out, but it’s not going to be an hour, it’s not going to be a year,” she said.

“If you come back and talk with us in five to 10 years, you’ll find a very different institution.”

megan@themanitoban.com

COPY ASSOCIATE Ursula Chojko-Bolec

DESIGN

DESIGN EDITOR Joshua Wesey

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GRAPHICS EDITOR Evan Tremblay

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DESIGN ASSOCIATE Kellie Huynh

Students critical of response to provincial mandate letter Letter suggests university funding will reflect labour market demands GARETT WILLIAMS, STAFF

GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE Ernest Zarzuela

AUDIO AND VIDEO

VISUAL CONTENT EDITOR Quincy Houdayer

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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

NEWS Damien Davis 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

ARTS AND CULTURE

A final chance to listen

Kelly Fraser among Nunavut artists on ‘Ajungi’

VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS

PAGE 12

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preliminary draft of the U of M’s answer to a provincial shift in its direction is “toothless,” according to students who are pressuring for a stronger response.

The mandate letter, issued in January, outlines the provincial government’s strategic direction and expectations for Manitoba’s publiclyfunded universities.

The letter suggests programs must more closely align with labour market demands and that future fund-

ing will be contingent on successful 5 — highlights the school’s social and student outcomes based on a to-be- economic contributions. determined measurement.

The university is a “complex insti“Success can mean different things, tution, one that does much more than including employment upon gradu- simply train students for today’s ation or layering credentials but labour market,” reads the draft. ultimately students will be putting “Higher education has social, as the skills they gained to work and well as individual, benefits. We meeting a labour market need,” reads provide a public good that helps to the letter. promote wisdom and to build a just, A draft of the university’s offi- inclusive and prosperous province for cial response — which will be dis- all people.” cussed when the senate meets Feb. Julia Minarik, a UMGSA senator,

said the response does not push back hard enough and that students will call for stronger language.

“What the government is doing, unfortunately, undervalues knowledge for the sake of knowledge,” said Minarik.

“They’re not accounting for all of the other benefits that institutions of higher education have for Manitoban society.

“A lot of students — particularly in the arts and in research fields — are fairly unhappy about that and we don’t think that the letter adequately captures our frustrations.”

Critics of the direction the province is taking post-secondary education argue it represents a narrow vision for the university.

UMSU president Jakob Sanderson said the university plays a critical role as an educational institution and that “I don’t think we’re just a feeding ground for industry.”

“I was sitting on the presidential search committee last time and we certainly didn’t request to have an interview with KPMG to run our university,” he said.

He said the university community should be gravely concerned about the direction the province wants to take the university and that students should be free to study any field they wish.

“We’re not here just to train people for the job market,” he said. “We’re here to enrich people’s knowledge.

We’re here to be an access point for students across the province.”

The mandate letter outlines the province’s plan to facilitate greater

“We don’t think that the letter adequately captures our frustrations” — Julia Minarik, UMGSA senator

dialogue between post-secondary institutions and industry “to ensure programs meet workforce needs and students gain the right skills and competencies to succeed.”

It also says that colleges and universities must be “nimble and responsive,” ceasing programs that lack “value in a modern context and building programs that deliver the skills needed for today and tomorrow.”

Sanderson countered that the university should instead be looking ahead to establishing itself as a leader in Indigenous education and with opening access to marginalized students.

“I think it’s fantastic that students are able to use the University of Manitoba as a springboard into the private sector, but I don’t think that’s the only thing we should be looking at,” he said.

“I don’t think that that’s the right picture of what a university’s role to play in the province and in the country is.”

4

News

Forum educates on sexual violence Student activists hope to clear up misinformation GILLIAN BROWN, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

I

t can be difficult for survivors of sexual violence to find institutional support on campus and for both students and faculty to educate themselves on the issue.

Student activists Karan Saxena and Atreya Madrone, who led a roundtable last week titled “Sexual Violence Mythbusting,” are working to alleviate that lack of information.

“People aren’t taught or given those really clear definitions of consent and things like that in their everyday lives and schools and with their families,” said Madrone.

“It’s not something that’s readily talked about.”

“It’s really scary but these dominant institutions work really well in that if you shame people for their bodies, like already, this thing that we live in and have to inhabit for our entire lives […] How are you going to exist and live your life?”

said Madrone.

“This is all you have and all of these dominant institutions are telling you that it’s wrong or it’s shameful or you shouldn’t know anything about it.”

A U of M study titled “The University of Manitoba Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence: A Final Report,” conducted last January by Tracey Peter, professor and associate department head of sociology and criminology, and Don Stewart, professor and executive director of student support, highlighted perspectives on sexual violence among roughly 1,500 students.

More than half of the students surveyed agreed with statements suggesting women are to blame for sexual harassment and assault if they dress “suggestively.”

About 40 per cent of male participants agreed that “sexual assault

accusations are often used as a way of getting back at men.”

Students also reported that they had a “less favourable” perception of the university when it came to its response to sexual violence, and general observations found that participants were not aware of sexual violence supports and resources on campus. The study also reported that most participants who experienced sexual violence did not report it.

There was a varying range of opinions regarding safety on campus. Heterosexual white male students said they felt most safe, while a higher percentage of female, racial minorities, and gender and sexual minorities perceived campus to be less safe.

and control.”

“And the question that needs to be asked is ‘Who has power in society?’”

Of the students who reported experiencing sexual assault, 41.2 per cent said that one of the perpetrators was a U of M student, and nine per cent said that one was a U of M staff or faculty member.

Students who don’t report sexual assaults fear negative consequences, particularly if the incident was committed by a staff or faculty member.

The study also reported that participants who had experienced a sexual assault were more likely to feel that the institutional supports were inadequate.

Prior to the opening of the Sexual Violence Resource Centre on campus, institutional support “Sexual violence is and education programs were not widely accessible for survivors. very prevalent here The resource centre, run by and everywhere” two staff members, is available for those affected by sexual violence — Atreya Madrone, to have a safe space and to educate student activist themselves.

Madrone highlighted the importance of improving resources “I was trying to point out how saying “With 30,000 people who power interacts with us, and conse- are here at any given moment, we quently with violence,” said Saxena. just need […] more information.”

“Another myth that we were “Sexual violence is very prevalent trying to debunk was that sexual here and everywhere.” violence is not about pleasure, or “It’s important for people to lack of one’s ability to control know that this campus is not oneself, or intimacy or whatever,” immune to that.”

Saxena added. “It is about power

UMGSA to hold referendum on U-Pass

Voting set for March, alongside general election TY BRASS, STAFF

W

VOL. 106 NO. 21 February 05, 2020

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

ith UMSU preparing its ref- though it’s still going to be another partly they want the support for with no added benefit to students. erendum on the U-Pass, the month or so before the city actu- the referendum to push city hall to UMSU previously put forward UMGSA council voted to hold its ally gives us a final decision on that actually finally approve this,” said a U-Pass plan to the city which own referendum on the subject dur- extension,” said Neumann.

Neumann. would see the winter U-Pass — ing its Jan. 22 meeting.

“If we don’t do this now, we It was suggested by the executive that currently runs from January to A motion passed at the meet- basically wouldn’t be able to have council that the UMGSA may be April — extended through August ing set a UMGSA referendum on a referendum until, at the absolute able to remain in the U-Pass pro- for a larger increase. the subject to be held alongside its earliest, April, and then the city gram even if UMSU decides to exit.

The UMSU referendum will general election in March, and the will have already passed its budget The referendums come after take the form of a ranked ballot council voted to support continuing and we’ll kind of be too late.”

Winnipeg city council recently asking students to choose whether enrolment in the approved they would prefer UMSU’s proprogram. a p r i c e posal for an extended winter pass, According increase to a smaller increase in the pass’s cost “We kind of have to decide on this now, to U MGSA the U-Pass without an extension, or for UMSU even though it’s still going to be another president Carl of $24.50 to exit the program altogether.

Neumann, per term The UMGSA referendum will month or so before the city actually gives UMGSA policy in order to be similar. us a final decision on that extension” required the councover the According to Neumann, if the cil to vote on the costs related referendum results in support for — Carl Neumann, UMGSA president referendum at the to the pass’s UMSU’s extension plan but the Jan. 22 meeting in expansion city decides against agreeing to it, order to have the to Red River the UMGSA could hold a revised referendum during the election “It’s a weird situation that it’s not College Students’ Association referendum over email. period. yet approved at city hall but already while making the pass financially “Because of timelines, we kind UMSU is off and away and they’re self-sufficient. of have to decide on this now, even doing this referendum because The cost increase would come

News

5

Queer students react to discriminatory education system Developer suspects arson in condo fire

‘That sounds very much my experience, unfortunately,’ UMSU LGBTTQ* representative DAMIEN DAVIS, STAFF

STAFF

The developer of a studentliving project that caught fire over the holidays suspects arson in the blaze.

Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites, the company developing the 16-storey student housing complex, told the Winnipeg Free Press last week that footage from a camera monitoring construction showed individuals entering the building before it caught fire Dec. 21.

The dramatic fire ignited on the upper levels in the early morning hours and burned for several hours before fire crews got it under control.

According to the report, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service could not complete a full investigation before control of the scene was returned to the owner.

Winnipeg police would not confirm that arson is suspected, only that an investigation is ongoing.

Branded “The Arc,” the building is planned to hold more than 550 beds and feature fully furnished suites, a gym and study spaces within walking distance of the university.

The development is highly anticipated in the surrounding neighbourhoods, with community members hopeful the additional beds will relieve the pressure of unsafe rooming houses.

It was initially scheduled to open to students by the fall of 2020 but the fire delayed construction by at least three months.

The U of M has on-campus housing for more than 1,350 students in its four residences — Arthur V. Mauro, Mary Speechly Hall, Pembina Hall and University College — and two affiliated residences, St. Andrew’s College residence and St. John’s College residence.

For the first time last fall, the U of M enrolment surpassed 30,000 students, with 25,453 fulltime and 4,837 part-time students on the rolls in November 2019, an increase of 2.3 per cent from the fall of 2018.

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

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ews that the provinciallyappointed board overseeing the Manitoba Human Rights Commission buried an investigation that found Manitoba’s education system discriminates against LGBTTQ* families is striking a chord with former students.

Nearly three years after initial complaints were submitted by two Manitoba families regarding a lack of inclusivity in the province’s classrooms, CBC reported last week that a commission investigation determined the curriculum is, in fact, discriminatory against LGBTTQ* families.

The investigation found that Manitoba’s education system lacks diversity in sexual education by

excluding gender identity and sexual orientation in learning materials.

The report’s dismissal is being challenged in court.

The commission report reveals a number of ongoing issues, including that a lack of a clear definition of diversity allows teachers to meet curriculum requirements even if they exclude sexual orientations, gender identities or family structures different from the cisgender heterosexual standard in lesson plans.

UMSU LGBTTQ* representative Trevor Smith said the environment detailed in the report reflects his own time in Manitoba’s school system, saying “That sounds very much my experience, unfortunately.”

“When I was in high school, I safer space where students and allies really felt like I was the only queer can gather, connect and even receive person I knew,” he said. “I definitely safer sex supplies and directions to felt a sense of isolation.” resources for sexual education.

“I think that the report, from what I’ve heard, illustrates something that’s quite clear and probably the “Ignorance doesn’t experience of most queer students change the fact that in Manitoba,” he added.

Smith, who said he was the only there is diversity” openly gay student at his school, recalled a moment during sex edu- — Trevor Smith, cation in high school when his teacher UMSU LGBTTQ* told the class that they would not be representative discussing homosexual sex because it was not the curriculum.

“It’s not like he was trying to be rude or anything,” said Smith. “He was just straight being like ‘I don’t Leo Lemire-Dawson, a gradureally have the tools to […] teach this ate from Kelvin High School in properly.’”

Winnipeg who assisted in running Smith said the teacher acknowl- Spectrum, a rebranded form of a edged there were other resources GSA, said they learned about queer available, but did not know how to sex education outside of school point him in that direction. through programs like the Rainbow The lack of LGBTTQ* represen- Resource Centre and Teen Talk. tation and education in curriculum is Rainbow Resource Centre is a not a new phenomenon and is in fact non-profit organization that supsomething school communities have ports the LGBTTQ* community struggled to address. with counselling, education and In response, gay-straight alliances programming for individuals of (GSAs) and queer-straight alliances varying ages. Teen Talk is a youth have emerged in schools across the health education program that procountry in recent years. vides services to youth in the hopes of The alliances are peer support net- assisting with harm reduction, focusworks run by students and supported ing on sexuality, reproductive health, by school staff. They are meant to be a body image, substance use awareness,

mental health, issues of diversity and anti-violence issues.

Lemire-Dawson said schools must include queer education — and it should not be restricted to sex education programming.

“I think that it needs to be mandatory for teachers to talk about it, even science teachers,” they said.

“I think there should be a small portion on gender because in biology, which is what I was interested in, it has a lot to do with sex chromosomes and stuff but that gives room for a lot of teachers to just be transphobic.”

“I definitely think that teachers focus — especially in health classes and curriculums — that teachers focus a lot, like 99.999 per cent of the time, on heterosexual sex and not a lot on queer sex.”

Smith agreed diverse sexual education should be presented to all students, saying “Whatever your family beliefs are at home or what your parents think ultimately shouldn’t dictate your access to information about diversity.”

“The fact that parents can pull their kids out of that type of content is also problematic,” he said.

“Ignorance doesn’t change the fact that there is diversity, all it does is hinders students from actually learning more about it and it encourages bigoted types of attitudes.”

UMSU president and VP meet with provincial ministers Discussions included international students, sexual assault survivors AMIRA TEKLE, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

U

MSU president Jakob Sanderson and vice-president advocacy Sarah Bonner-Proulx met with two provincial politicians in recent weeks to advocate for several policy proposals on behalf of international students, sexual assault survivors and the UMSU membership at large.

Meetings were held with

Progressive Conservative (PC) MLA and Minister for Economic Development and Training Ralph Eichler, and NDP MLA and Official Opposition Critic for Economic Development and Training Jamie Moses.

Sweeping changes to the way international student health care is

addressed is one of UMSU’s provincial advocacy bids. International student health care has been a hotbutton issue in Manitoba in recent years, especially since the PC government axed provincial international student health care coverage on Sept.

1, 2018. International students now generally pay $864 per year for health

insurance in Manitoba. recently came to fruition with the UMSU has proposed creating a opening of the Sexual Violence public buy-in health care plan to ease Resource Centre. the monetary burden on international It is open to students, faculty, students. staff and community members and Improved access to and increased is located on the fifth floor of UMSU use of open educational resources, a University Centre. cornerstone of the current UMSU executive’s platform during its 2019 UMSU has proposed election campaign, is another issue on the table between UMSU and the creating a public province. buy-in healthcare UMSU is asking the province to provide more funding for open eduplan to ease the cational resources.

Currently, UMSU has an acces- monetary burden sible education working group made on international up of U of M students. This collective works to “address ways to make edu- students cation more affordable and accessible,” including increasing the accessibility and use of open educational resources UMSU is now lobbying the provin U of M classrooms, according to ince to make changes to the Freedom UMSU. of Information and Privacy Act to In August 2019, an independent “allow for [sexual violence] survivors sexual violence report centred on and prospective employers [of alleged sexual harassment and violence on perpetrators] to know the outcomes the U of M’s campus was completed of sexual violence investigations as and 43 recommendations were made. it relates to their case,” according to University administration pledged to Bonner-Proulx’s Jan. 30 report to the undertake all 43 recommendations.

UMSU board of directors.

One of those recommendations

Editorial Editor-In-Chief: Malak Abas Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

6

High-level college basketball players should be paid

Compensation will have a positive impact on players, fans and the league JOE GONZALES, STAFF

WWW.UMSU.CA | 204-474-UMSU (8678) | 101 UMSU UNIVERSITY CENTRE

GRAPHIC BY EVAN TREMBLAY

I

t is an exciting time to be a fan of erate these massive sums of revenue, some schools focus on the athletic showcase for future NBA superstars. recruit from the 2019 class, opted American college sports. With do not receive any monetary compen- more than the academic and may try Players from schools in the NCAA to play overseas rather than commit the college football playoffs having sation. Meanwhile, the head coach of to find workarounds like enrolment make up most of the NBA draft class to a college. In an interview with wrapped up recently, another big the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basket- into easier courses to help student every year.

247Sports, his father Rod Hampton tournament looms on the horizon: ball team, John Calipari, made a little athletes maintain an adequate enough Recently however, it has become encapsulated what may be the mindMarch Madness. The annual col- over US$9 million in 2018. The reason GPA to keep their scholarships and apparent that playing in the NCAA set for a lot of talented high school lege basketball tournament brings the NCAA is able to get away with to remain in the athletic program. does not necessarily grant a player a recruits in the U.S. going forward, with it some uncertainties, such as not paying its student athletes is due So, while student athletes are free ticket into the NBA. A couple of saying that it was his son’s dream how each school will be ranked and to the distinction made in sports law receiving a free education, there are today’s biggest NBA stars — Giannis to play in the NBA, not college who will come out on top in the between amateurs and professionals. some with either no intent to use it Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić, basketball.

68-team single-elimination tourna- Student athletes are the former.

Cases like this show the obvi— being talented enough to move on for example — played overseas. They ment. One thing is certain, however The NCAA does redistribute the and play at the professional level — or played in professional leagues, despite ous risk of the NCAA and March — the National Collegiate Athletic revenue it generates to all the schools who are not receiving a quality educa- being the same age as their student- Madness losing talent to other Association (NCAA) stands to have under its oversight and to the differ- tion because the school would rather athlete counterparts. They were get- leagues. The magic of the big dance another big year of revenue. ent sports they run. This money is have them fulfil their athletic com- ting paid while also continuing their is getting to see why one player is During the 2016-17 school year, then used by the schools to provide mitment to the team. In either sce- development. receiving so much hype on their the NCAA made more than US$1 amenities to student athletes such nario, student athletes do not receive way to the next level, like Zion billion, with a majority of it coming as scholarships and training facili- the perceived monetary value of their Williamson, or discovering someThe student athletes, one who flew under the radar and is from the March Madness tourna- ties. Some may see this as an argu- supposedly-free education. ment. This has only been trending ment against paying student athletes.

Underneath the millions of dolstarting to make themselves known, especially those upwards. Thanks to a television deal After all, the monetary value of these lars of revenue and behind the facade like Stephen Curry. What happens playing in March the NCAA has with CBS and Turner amenities surely makes up for not of something like a scholarship, the when more of those types of players Broadcasting System in regard to the getting paid in cash, right? student athletes, especially those decide that forgoing college is the Madness, provide broadcasting rights specifically for A closer look, however, shows this playing in March Madness, provide best choice? the NCAA with the tournament, the NCAA is look- is definitely not the case. More often the NCAA with nothing more than The effect will be a league that ing at making US$827 million in 2020, than not, the provision of something free labour. loses talent to other leagues willing nothing more while a total of US$3.466 billion is to such as a scholarship is more for the A quick remedy for this would be to pay for it, and a game that gets less be distributed from 2021-2024. An benefit of the school and the NCAA to amend the rules and allow student and less competitive. than free labour extension worth US$8.8 billion was than it is for the student athletes athletes to be compensated fairly with Each year it seems to become negotiated beyond this until 2032. themselves. the revenue the NCAA generates. It more and more evident that in the The student athletes, who play in A scholarship allows a school to would be in the best interest of the interest of the players, fans and espethese big games and provide their recruit highly-touted teenage ath- NCAA. This has not gone unnoticed. R.J. cially itself, the NCAA needs to pay labour in order for the NCAA to gen- letes to come play for them. However, March Madness is known to be a Hampton, a five-star basketball its student athletes.

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

University of Manitoba Graduate Students' Association

8

GENERAL

The discriminative nature of privatization Disguised in a rainbow flag, Manitoba’s privatization plans hit LGBTTQ* community hardest

ELECTION

Run for a UMGSA Executive position. Help grad students. Make a difference on campus.

Nomination Period: February 3 - 14

CAM CANNON, STAFF

President

VP Finance & Administration

VP Services & Support

VP Academic

Senator

Senator

How to run for a UMGSA Executive position: 1. Go to

www.umgsa.org/umgsa2020election/

2. Complete & print the Nomination Form 3. Collect 10 signatures from other grad students 4. Drop off the form at 221 UMSU University Centre before 4pm on Friday, February 14th For a detailed description of each position, visit www.umgsa.org/umgsa2020election/

www.umgsa.org

GRAPHIC BY EVAN TREMBLAY

A

fter two complaints regarding the lack of mandatory education on sexuality and gender diversity were filed with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in 2017, the commission’s investigative team prepared a 40-page report finding that the province discriminates against LGBTTQ* people through exclusion from the curriculum.

These findings were effectively buried by the commission’s board — made up of political appointees by the provincial government — until the complainants recently brought the province to court.

Discussions around sexuality and gender diversity have long been considered sensitive topics by the province, allowing parents to pull their children from these discussions — potentially allowing for parents to pass on their reactionary views unchallenged by the government.

Of course, this can become a major point of contention — do parents have the right to pass bigotry on to their children?

It seems almost nonsensical to

defend one’s right to make society more dangerous and exclusionary for groups that have already been marginalized for as long as we can remember.

Neoliberalism like that practiced

by Manitoba’s government will only continue to deliver policies that disproportionately harm marginalized communities Education is only one part of an overall strategy for eradicating patriarchy — in this case homophobia and lionization of the nuclear family. But understanding the province’s actions when it comes to the treat-

ment of LGBTTQ* people, which mainly perpetuate less overt forms of discrimination through structural means, like exclusion from curriculums, is key to understanding how fundamentally incompatible conservative ideology is with the rights of these groups.

Without an understanding of how patriarchy is structurally reinforced

by Manitoba’s PC-led government, including through the government’s attempts at pink-washing itself by running a gay candidate in the recent provincial election — stressing that it’s somehow possible to separate social policy from economic policy and political ideology — and attending Winnipeg’s Pride parade, it remains easy for the government to continue structural oppression while winning points for their performance as so-called allies.

Given this cover, the government maintains a sense of plausible deniability.

After all, they go to Pride. There are members of the party from the community. How could they pos-

sibly be perpetuating structural doing what works, is intended to oppression? depoliticize a program of marginalSuch a strategy makes it easier to izing people through both economic dismiss these types of complaints and political means.

Neoliberalism like that practiced as nothing but hysteria — as if the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) by the Manitoba government will is being privatized for financial rea- only continue to deliver policies that sons, not because it makes marginal- disproportionately harm marginalized people less able to fight for their ized communities. At this point what rights in the legal system. we need to do is make sure to take It makes politics one-sided, where note of what’s happening on a struconly the government and those with tural level and expose it for what it is. the resources are capable of engaging At the very least, we need to make in political struggle in a way seen as clear that these political decisions are legitimate, and even then it is in a understood as political — empowde-politicized way that presents these ering some groups, in this case the actions as necessary, even inevita- parts of the base of the PC party that ble given the financial state of our benefit from austere fiscal policy and province. continued bigotry at the expense of We need to be diligent in counter- the rest of us. ing these narratives — we do not need Pink-washing is becoming more to accept Margaret Thatcher’s idea and more common among major that “there is no alternative.” What banks and businesses, cops and the is and is not included in curriculums, military, politicians of all stripes and whether PILC remains publicly and even institutions like universifunded is indeed deeply political. ties. What ultimately matters is how Even the PC-led government’s stated their actions impact these communigoals of balancing the budget, while ties, especially the most marginalized veiled in technocratic rhetoric of just segments.

10 Comment

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

Winnipeg law enforcement in desperate need of reform Further training, regulation necessary to ensure police serve the public good KENNY INGRAM, STAFF

GRAPHIC BY ERNEST ZARZUELA

I

t seems police in Winnipeg are in evidence. At the time he was stopped, the news more and more lately, and the off-duty officer refused to use a not in a positive light. breathalyzer — which would have Last week, Patrol Sgt. Sean been all the evidence needed to conCassidy was charged with obstruct- vict him — and instead was let off ing justice, unauthorized use of a on the excuse that he was simply too computer and fraud for attempting tired to drive. to erase his speeding ticket.

It would be bad enough if these This egregious display is just the incidents were isolated examples latest example in a series of Winnipeg that had nothing to do with how police officers seemingly believing Winnipeg police enforce the law on that they are above the law. But this a daily basis, but it’s abundantly clear belief comes from a broken system that through the excessive force they where police are often excused from continually use, this mindset seems their own actions — actions that perfectly mirrored in how they act anyone else would face serious con- on duty. sequences for.

Last November, Winnipeg police Just last year, Const. Leslie responded to a robbery at a conveniMcRae was acquitted of an impaired ence store. Once they arrived, numerdriving charge. ous officers surrounded the building The acquittal was due to a lack of with one shouting “Drop the knife!”

When the robber refused to drop it, designed to expose personal prejudice wrongdoings. the police immediately shot the teen and reduce profiling. Whereas other If Winnipeg ever hopes to fix nine times. public services like health care have these deeply-rooted problems with Using excessive force like this made great strides in this realm — policing, several things need to has serious consequences. In 2019, people pursuing a field like nursing happen.

Winnipeg police killed four people now have courses on diversity built Winnipeg police training must within six months. Chad Williams, right into the curriculum in Manitoba further emphasize that shooting is Machuar Mawien Madut, Sean not the first course of action when Thompson and Randy Cochrane dealing with a threatening situation. all died at the hands of the police in Being a police officer is a dangerous Winnipeg. profession — if holding off on the If Winnipeg ever But Winnipeg police have yet to trigger in any situation of perceived be charged in connection to a single danger is too hard to grapple with, hopes to fix these one of these cases. you need to change professions. deeply-rooted It’s obvious that our system of law Next, training must include more enforcement is broken. diversity and sensitivity training. problems with Winnipeg police need to underPolice training must include buildpolicing, several stand that they are public servants. ing empathy for the communities that Just like firefighters, school teachers have been most impacted by their things need oppression, and this is a way to be and politicians, they exist to serve a public good. sure that they do. Winnipeg police to happen But a system broken to the point must also be mandated to wear body of killing members of the public — cameras when on duty. In cases where disproportionately minorities — is police are investigated, this is a surein desperate need of reform.

— the police have stagnated. fire way to find out if they did the Simply put, the use of force trainAnd when police use exces- right thing.

Finally, the IIU needs to be proping for Winnipeg police is horrific. sive force while disproportionately They are, quite literally, told to bring profiling the most marginalized erly funded if the public hopes to communities, the only recourse is have any recourse in investigating a gun to a knife fight.

In 2018, the Winnipeg Police an independent watchdog that is wrongdoing, and the organization Service invited members of the media grossly overworked, understaffed must address the fact that minorito a “use of force” seminar wherein a and underfunded. ties are the most affected by making situation was discussed where someBetween the fiscal years 2016-17 sure the organization is adequately one approaches an officer with a knife and 2017-18, there was an increase in represented with those from racialand a police officer then shoots them investigations by the Independent ized communities. at point-blank range, several times Investigation Unit (IIU), with no Until the significant systemic and in the chest to kill. increase in funding or staff. This has issues facing the police are addressed, But beyond this, the training lacks effectively stripped power away from Winnipeg police will continue to act in the area of training in diversity the only agency that attempts to hold as though they are above the law and or sensitivity — something that is Winnipeg police accountable for their cause more harm than good.

Misleading public health propaganda must be stopped A message that inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering must be treated as a criminal issue MEAGAN HUGHES, STAFF

T

he development of vaccines has anti-vaccine film.

Whole Foods, amongst magazines of rhetoric is a threat to public health helped bring medicine into the The film — titled Vaxxed II — is healthy living and pets, are ads about across Canada. Allowing ourselves to modern age. The risk of contracting a sequel to the original and equally the perceived danger of vaccines. fall victim to this unfounded propadiseases such as smallpox and polio controversial film Vaxxed, which The Canadian Charter of Rights ganda is threatening to the future of has essentially been eradicated with was released in 2016 and directed by and Freedoms protects our freedom public health in Canada. the help of vaccines.

Andrew Wakefield, a British ex-phy- of expression and human right to Canada is at an increased risk of a Being vaccinated protects not only sician known for his notorious and equality in Canada. measles outbreak due to the presence ourselves but also members of the debunked study linking the measles, The first section of the charter of communities with low vaccination public that may be more vulnerable to mumps and rubella vaccine to autism designates the limitations to free rates. There were 113 reported cases of illnesses, such as seniors and children. in children. expression as being “only to such measles in Canada in 2019, up from This occurs through herd immunity, The sequel has been screened in reasonable limits prescribed by law 29 in 2018, and the global number of which is when a large enough portion Calgary, Edmonton, Grand Prairie as can be demonstrably justified in a measles cases reported in the first half of a population is vaccinated against and Medicine Hat in various theatres free and democratic society.” of 2019 was at its highest since 2006. an illness that it becomes difficult and local libraries.

This clause is what allows us to We have also seen a recent increase for a disease to spread due to fewer Grand Prairie Public Library distinguish types of expression that in influenza outbreaks in Canada people being vulnerable to infection. director Deb Cryderman advised that are lawful from ones that are harmful with associated fatalities. Influenza It’s now abundantly clear through the decision to rent out a room at the to society, such as hate speech. The complications caused the death of the consensus of those practic- library for a showing of the film was spread of anti-vaccine misinforma- two young people in Winnipeg during modern medicine that getting justified due to the library’s commit- tion must be regarded as falling into ing the second week of January. Three vaccinated is a good idea, based ment to allowing free expression, and the latter of these two categories. influenza-related deaths have been on the benefit to ourselves and our advised that the library’s rental policy The right to form our own indi- reported in New Brunswick this flu communities. merely states that the space cannot be vidual opinions and express ourselves season as well.

However, some people unfortu- used for illegal activities. is essential to a democracy.

Canada consistently falls short of nately do not seem to agree.

But it’s not always as overt and But what if these opinions and its targeted vaccine coverage rate of Health professionals in Alberta obvious as this. Anti-vaxxers have choices threaten the well-being of 95 per cent. Reaching the targeted are voicing concerns after finding out spread propaganda through other our society as a whole and not simply coverage rate is crucial to ensure that some libraries and theatres in more subtle, salacious means. Inside ourselves? that we are all well protected from the province have been showing an the health-branded supermarket The promotion of anti-vaccination infectious diseases — especially the

most vulnerable people with poor immune systems who are unable to be vaccinated.

It is shameful that there are members of our society that are passionately spreading the misinformation that perpetuates the spread of more infectious disease. They are, knowingly or unknowingly, inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering on many of Canada’s most vulnerable people.

Just like hate speech and violent acts of criminality, perpetrating the spread of propaganda that leads to more cases of disease and death must be stopped.

We may have made volumes of progress in science and medicine, but we have a long way to go if we continue to allow harmful rhetoric to infiltrate our decisions and our lives.

In order to ensure that everyone in Canada — young and old — is healthy, it is imperative we put a stop to movements of shameless ignorance and treat the spread of propaganda as the threat to public safety that it is.

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+50 HANDS ON EXHIBITS AND LIVE SHOWS

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

VOL. 106 NO. 21 February 05, 2020

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The North’s shining stars Nunavut Music Collective’s ‘Ajungi’ processes intergenerational trauma and hope GRACE PAIZEN, STAFF

When Kirby raps “trying to see the bigger picture,” it feels disheartening in the reality of Canada’s bigger picture with the government seemingly leaving mental health initiatives up to big corporations that pay lip-service to such causes.

Fraser’s other song on the album, “Next One,” perhaps hits hardest. In Fraser’s second track, the Juno nomi-

The songs written and performed

by Fraser hit hard in the face of her sudden passing

I

have yet to recover from the sudIt has jumped into top-five posiden passing of Kelly Fraser. But tions on campus radio stations across the truth is, we should never recover Canada since its release, though it has from it. Mental illness — especially not appeared on any of the U of M’s amongst the Inuit and Indigenous 101.5 UMFM “top” charts. peoples — is something all levels of Ajungi — which means “capable the Canadian government are still people” in Inuktitut — is just that. trying to ignore, even with albums It is an album made up of not just like Ajungi being produced. capable, but also talented, young artIn late 2019, the Nunavut-based ists, whose songs pierce the listeners’ music collective Ajungi released their emotions, their lyrical struggles of first album composed of mainly up- making peace with their history and and-coming musicians — including thoughts weaving through the music.

Fraser — from across the territory.

“Letter to Myself,” featuring The album consists of 12 songs that Shauna Seeteenak, focuses on the discuss mental health, bullying and singer writing a letter to herself in residual intergenerational trauma order to confront and lay to rest the “residual haunting” of the “intergenexperienced by the singers.

Though Fraser’s tracks on the album are hard to process emotionally, there are definite songs of encouragement and anthems of togetherness. Aocelyn — discovered

by Fraser — has a loving and supportive song titled “Adventure Awaits.”

From the first lyrics, you can tell this song will be an anthem of positivity — “This is for all the people that have been left behind and ditched” declares Aocelyn defiantly against bullying.

“Dreams come true when it’s within your reach” and “They say you’re not cool, you’re still really, really cool to me” leave a sense of hope and camaraderie. The inspiring lyrics also leave a sense of mirroring with her fans, heralding words of support to Aocelyn’s Inuit supporters.

As well, Angela Amarualik sings “Don’t ever give up on your dreams” in “Sapingillunga (I Won’t Give Up)” — the song, part anthem in Inuktitut, speaking resilience to fellow Inuit listeners to never give up.

In fact, the album closes on a positive note. “Change the World” featuring N-16 and Mimi commands hopeful inspiration, N-16 repeating “Together we can do many great things,” and rapping “We can change the world […] one child at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time, one city, one province and one country at a time.”

The album decreeing “We got to work together” on its final track and to “Make sure the person next to you is OK” brings a sense of community to the listeners in that although things may be dark at the moment, there is always a possibility for change and to one day relish in the light.

nee and 2019 Indspire Award recipient talks about losing a love. But to Fraser’s adoring fans, this song brings on new meaning. As she sings “Now I can see, it wasn’t meant to be. So I’ll wait patiently, wait for the next love, the next one,” the listener must come to terms with the fact that there will be no “next one” — no next album to PHOTO PROVIDED BY AJUNGI fall in love with Fraser all over again.

And when she sings “I’ll never erational trauma” she has experienced. forget you,” it is a sentiment that can “Monster,” featuring Aasiva and be reciprocated by any of Fraser’s fans FXCKMR, is explicitly about mental — an artist who made an impact for health. The singers lament how they Inuit singers by bringing her beaukeep “practicing looking normal and tiful language of the North to the happy all the time” but the monster mainstream. inside them — their past and their Beginning with traditional drums anger for how they’ve been treated and starting the song in Inuktitut, — uncontrollably comes out.

Fraser ends the track with an allusion The songs written and performed to Inuit throat singing, layering her

by Fraser hit hard in the face of her culture onto the English lyrics of the sudden passing. Featured on the song’s second half. track “The Other Side” with Kirby, The lyrics “I want you to smile, I Fraser sings “I’m just trying to live, want you to be happy” are devastating I’m just trying to make it work […] in the wake of music’s loss of such a Ajungi is available for purchase on I just want to shine” — lyrics that talent. How can we be happy in a all streaming platforms. A portion of the resonate deeply in light of her own world that is so unfair it took away sales will be donated to the Kamatsiaqtut mental health struggles. our beloved performer far too soon? Nunavut Helpline.

An upcoming solo EP to mark a new beginning Odario Williams credits growing up in Winnipeg as an influence on his multi-genre sound

Arts & Culture

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’Toban Turntable Andy Shauf — ‘The Neon Skyline,’ 4/5 KAELEN BELL, STAFF

KAELEN BELL, STAFF

ALBUM COVER PROVIDED BY ANDY SHAUF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ODARIO WILLIAMS

O

dario Williams was in search of a fresh start. Or rather, he felt a fresh start in the air, with his friends and family yearning for a breeze from some new direction.

And so his upcoming solo EP Good Morning, Hunter coalesced into being.

“It happened to be a lot of people around me — friends and loved ones,” Williams said. “I just couldn’t help but soundtrack the time. And if music is my outlet, then I want to share that.”

“It will be a good collection of music for anyone experiencing a new beginning or wanting to experience a new beginning in their life.”

Williams is no stranger to new beginnings. A chameleonic entertainer, he’s a rapper, a storyteller, an actor and a radio host. He describes his upcoming work as a continuation of his artistic modus operandi — to push things in new directions, to blend and manipulate genre into something more.

From his work with the Winnipeg-based hip-hop group Grand Analog to his solo material, Williams is dedicated to the act of exploration. “[My solo work] is just an extension of Grand Analog because [of] the way I approach sound — it’s always been a hip-hop foundation and there’s always been experimentation with other genres,” Williams said, “so, I don’t see that changing, ever. I think I’ll always be regarded

as the guy that experiments with sound.”

Raised in Winnipeg, Williams credits the city’s lack of clear musical identity for his omnivorous approach to genre.

“Growing up in Winnipeg, we weren’t expected to have a sound,” he said. “Toronto, for example, there was only a certain sound that could come out of Toronto, especially in hip-hop music. Everything else wasn’t necessarily accepted or celebrated.

“I think I’ll always be regarded as the guy that experiments with sound” — Odario Williams, musician

“[Dawn Pemberton] called me out of the blue because a fellow musician told her ‘You need to speak to Odario,’” he said. “We ended up talking for well over an hour, maybe a couple of hours, about just life and music.”

He described this chance phone call as the catalyst for revisiting the song that would eventually be the EP’s first single.

“It was her that made me want to complete this song because I’d always wanted to implement gospel flavour into the song,” he said.

“That is fate in a nutshell.”

Fate seems to play into Williams’s music often, whether it be in the form of an unexpected phone call from a soul singer or an EP that speaks precisely to the experiences of those closest to him.

With Good Morning, Hunter, he seems poised to soundtrack many new beginnings, to guide listeners into a new day.

“There are aspects of the EP that [are about] surviving the night, and getting through the darkness,” he said.

“The hunter is that person that’s survived the darkness and is now ready to take on the world.”

“Me and the Grand Analog crew, we were mashing up sounds before mashup was even a thing, you know? So, that’s just nothing new to me.”

The world’s first taste of Good Morning, Hunter is the Dawn Pemberton-featured track “Low Light (In This Space),” a soulwarped rap song that introduces Odario Williams opens for Bedouin the EP’s detail-oriented eclecti- Soundclash at the Park Theatre Feb. 15. cism. As Williams tells it, the track Good Morning, Hunter is slated for is a piece of serendipity. release this May.

There is a formula to what Andy Shauf does. His music is detailed and incisive, lighter than air, filled with a sprightly mix of guitar, piano and his signature reedy horns and woodwinds played as though they’re fluttering around your head.

That this formula is still so effective is a testament to his ability as a songwriter and arranger, and how he’s honed his sound carefully rather than blown it out to widescreen proportions. His newest record, the relationship-dissecting song-cycle The Neon Skyline, is his

The album plays like an expertly choreographed stage performance, each song a spotlight on a new character

by these softly glowing songs — is his ex, Judy, who is unexpectedly back in town.

The album plays like an expertly choreographed stage performance, each song a spotlight on a new character — old pal Charlie, bartender Rose, young mother Claire, golden-haired Judy.

Often the spotlight is on Shauf as he delves into soliloquy, recalling past lives and inhabiting the minds of friends and family. You can feel the edifices of the skyline being built around you, the sidewalk outside and streetlights appearing from thin air.

The album is pared back slightly from the lush arrangements found on The Party — these songs sound like Shauf boiled down to his essence, a summation of his talent for brisk, meticulous pop songs. His sound is a more modest, economical form of the 1970s contemporary singer-songwriter fare, with traditional instrumentation — piano, guitar, horns, live drums — made new again, rendered tighter and more melodic.

That his words tell such vivid, lived-in stories is the record’s ultimate gift, his words the glowing heart of these songs. And though no resolutions are reached, though he and Judy remain feet apart, sharing small talk, you’ll be glad you were brought along for the ride.

most precise yet, finding new contours in his writing and unearthing new depths of colour.

Shauf remains dedicated to his conceptual frameworks. Like 2016’s The Party, The Neon Skyline is centred on a particular idea and a particular place — this time around it’s the record’s namesake, Shauf ’s Toronto haunt filled with familiar faces. The face most important to Want us to review your band? the record — the face illuminated Email arts@themanitoban.com today!

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Arts & Culture

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

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

Questioning the longevity of our spaces U of M’s Jae-Sung Chon channels purpose of this year’s Atmosphere symposium ZACHARY SIGURDSON, STAFF

on the wall and just watching […] which has its place, but it’s just not my palate.”

According to Chon, design has only evolved so much in the last hundred years. In fact, domestic space itself hasn’t changed at all.

“If you look at the floorplan of a 1910 suburban house and the floorplan of a 2020 suburban house, [they’re] almost identical,” he said. “Even the decor is similar […] but technology is all different and what we do in that space is completely different, too.”

Chon is fascinated with the idea that homeowners build for resale

PHOTO BY ALLY GONZALO

Chon is a designer, curator Jae-Sung and educator in the U of M’s faculty of architecture. Originally from South Korea, he came to Canada to continue training as an architect.

Having spent time in both Montreal and Winnipeg, he saw how environment both reflects and limits our lives.

“I was exposed to many different cultural fabrics and textures of these places,” Chon said, “which sort of created my appetite toward these sort of nuances.”

As a designer he runs the archi- Chon carved out the domestic space tecturally savvy Make Coffee + Stuff of a room from the urban city space. coffee bar, as well as STUFF (Studio In fact, Chon’s almost philosophifor Transformative Urban Forms and cal understanding of space allows his Fields), a space which attempts to work to transcend the traditional conengage and develop public aware- fines of art, architecture and design ness in design as he himself is “more by focusing on space as an experience drawn to curatorial work rather than — not a static piece or structure, but as the defined office of interior design an experience in and of itself. [and] architecture.”

“My tool is space,” he said. “That’s One project at last year’s Nuit why my curatorial work largely Blanche involved creating an outdoor focuses on immersive experience, curtain. By setting the exhibit outside, rather than having beautiful art

theme helps answer the question that has been rising in the last decade — what should school and education look like? He wants professors and students alike to imagine “What’s next? What’s coming? What’s just surging up? What’s tomorrow?” “[It’s about the] feasible extension of what we are doing, but fundamentally rehauling some of the things we need to think about,” he said.

In fact, Chon believes that only through fully engaged and crossdisciplinary discussions can there be any forward movement or proper self-reflection.

“We know there is something about school that is slightly not in “We know there is sync with how we operate in the world today,” he said. something about “We are not only interested in crischool that is slightly tiquing it, but just thinking about not in sync with how it. Let’s just stop and think about it.

What is a school? And what can it be? we operate in the What it should be? What is it doing now and where are we? Reflecting on world today” — Jaethe idea of school, which is different Sung Chon, faculty than just education. What is a school in relation to education?” of architecture Chon’s questions naturally span into the space of post-secondary instructor education, asking why we go into post-secondary and if the purposes value leaving wasted space. of school are aligning with the actual Where technology has gone for- consequences and outcomes. Chon ward in leaps and bounds, and our believes a main purpose for pursuing culture has become so fundamentally higher education is for credentials different because of tech, our homes or experience to be more desirable and spaces have remained broadly in the job market. But he wonders static. if students are leaving school with Chon would like us to question degrees without actual education. how much time we really spend at “It can be forced to align, of course, home. Our infrastructure and trans- but is it fundamentally aligning?” portation has changed, yet we still Chon said. have garages? We eat out as often In fact, this is just one of the as we eat at home, yet still have full avenues that Chon hopes this year’s kitchens? symposium will explore.

“Architects or designers of space His ideal goal would be deeper have not done their job, whereas all networking and interpersonal discusthe technology people and gadget sions across disciplines far beyond an people have done their job,” he said. added line on a resumé — connec“That is not to say our peers are lazy tions that actually produce exchange — I’m just saying we haven’t really and experiences. thought through this as a spatial Cross-discipline and hybrid eduexperience changing.” cation is the future for Chon, and Chon’s philosophy, then, focuses only through a genuinely critical and not on what is wrong with design, but mutual exchange can there be a full understanding where we are, where understanding of our changing world. we came from and where we are “I think too much is on contract going, which is the subject Chon is these days, rather than in trust,” he focusing on in this year’s Atmosphere said. symposium.

“As a cultural mandate, I want The 12th annual symposium put this to be a shaking-hands kind of on by the faculty of architecture runs experience rather than ‘I have you from Feb. 6 to 8, with Chon as the on my CV.’” organizer.

He believes this year’s theme — “Next School” — is one of the most important subjects for Atmosphere For more information on the to explore.

Atmosphere symposium visit atmos.ca.

Chon hopes the symposium

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

16

Manitoba Junior Hockey League announces change in head office Kevin Saurette to take over position in June

JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

Despite win, women’s hockey to miss playoffs

JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALLY GONZALO

hockey in Manitoba will Junior see a major change at season’s end.

Bison Briefs

Saurette’s hiring was the first having this event today, and a lot of step in this succession plan, and it was on the negative side,” he said.

At a press conference Jan. 29, he has spent more than three years “I want to just state in the stronKim Davis announced he will be learning from Davis to prepare for gest terms possible that the MJHL stepping down as commissioner taking over as commissioner. is in great shape right now, on all of the Manitoba Junior Hockey “I made a proposal to the board kinds of measures.”

League (MJHL) after 18 years as of the league which — in a nutWith Davis retiring, the league the league’s top dog. Director of shell — suggested to them that they will undergo some minor restrucoperations Kevin Saurette will take should start […] a process, if you turing at the management level. will, to ensure that someone fol- Along with hiring a replacement for over the position in June.

“It’s an exciting time for me per- lowed me after I retired,” Davis said. Saurette as he moves into his role as sonally,” Davis said.

“At the time I didn’t know when commissioner, the MJHL will also “If I think back on the many that would occur, obviously now be adding a marketing position to years that I’ve been in this role […] all of us know it’s the end of June, improve sponsorship revenue. obviously lots of “We’re lookmemories come ing very much back to me.”

“I want to just state in the strongest terms toward continuTaking over ing to grow the possible that the MJHL is in great shape from a staple of league, and that’s the Manitoba kind of at the right now, on all kinds of measures” hockey commuheart of some of nity is a tall task, the staffing deci— Kim Davis, MJHL commissioner but Saurette is sions that we’re excited for what going to be makbut at that time it was really just an ing,” Davis said. the future holds.

“I’m really thankful for the idea which [the board] embraced “We do expect to be very opportunity the board of gover- fairly quickly.” aggressive in terms of improving nors of the MJHL, the member Now focusing on retirement, and enhancing the sponsorship clubs and Kim Davis have given Davis said he is happy where the revenues that we generate for the league is in terms of talent and league. It’s a real challenge for the me,” Saurette said.

“And I’m very aware of the league parity, as well as finan- teams in junior hockey across the responsibilities that come with cially. He made care to quash the country — financially.” being the commissioner of the fears of fans following a tweet sent Davis stated the MJHL is Monday by the league about a major healthy and some teams in the MJHL.” Davis and the MJHL began announcement slated for Jan. 29. league are among the best in the “We were fully aware of the […] country, both on the bottom line his transition out of the role more than four years ago at Davis’s own speculation when we announced on and on the ice. recommendation.

Monday that we were going to be

Saturday started poorly for the U of M as well, as the The U of M Bisons wom- Vikes dropped 28 points in a en’s hockey team closed out big opening quarter and held a the road portion of its sched- 47-34 lead heading into the half. ule with a split against the The Bisons rallied again and University of Saskatchewan rode a 31-point fourth quarter Huskies. to a huge 91-83 win to split the Friday was a less-than- weekend. stellar outing as the U of M With one week left on the was outshot 28-22 in a 3-0 loss schedule the U of M is now in to the Huskies. Emma Nutter sole possession of third place opened the scoring midway in the conference at 15-3. Next through the first, Kennedy up is the 5-13 University of Brown made it 2-0 in the third Brandon Bobcats to close out and Jordyn Holmes added the the regular season. empty-netter.

Erin Fargey made 25 saves Women’s basketball on the 27 shots faced in the loss. swept by University Saturday was the Bisons of of Victoria old, as the herd rallied from a It was close but not close 3-0 deficit in the third to win enough for the herd over the 4-3. Mekaela Fisher got the U weekend as the University of M on the board, followed by of Victoria Vikes pulled off a goals from Sheridan Oswald weekend sweep. and Jordyn Zacharias.

The Bisons had the game Kate Gregoire got the Friday, but a second-half rally game-winner with just over a by the Vikes spoiled the fun in minute to play. a 77-72 U of V win. The Bisons With just two games left held a 37-30 lead at halftime, and a maximum of six points only for the Vikes to drop 25 available, the U of M has been points in the third quarter to eliminated from the playoff start the comeback. hunt.

The Vikes outscored the The University of British Bisons 22-16 in the fourth quarColumbia Thunderbirds cur- ter to claim the win.

The home side carried this rently hold the final playoff spot with 34 points and at 26 momentum into Saturday, the Bisons cannot catch up. sending the Bisons home empty-handed after a 78-63 Men’s basketball loss. hits speed bump The Vikes trounced the against Vikes Bisons in the first half, putThe Bisons men’s basketball ting the U of M in a 41-27 hole team had its first real test of at halftime. All it had to do the season over the weekend was keep pace from there, as in a split with the University the Vikes outscored the Bisons of Victoria Vikes.

37-36 the rest of the way for the The weekend started with win. an 82-74 loss for the herd, and With the losses the U of M a second quarter it will want sits tied for 11th in the conferto forget. ence at 7-11.

Up 22-13 after the first quarWith a Bisons win — or a ter, the U of M mustered just loss by both the Mount Royal four points in the second and University Cougars and Trinity trailed 27-26 at halftime.

Western University Spartans The Bisons rallied but the — the herd can clinch a playoff berth.

Vikes pulled off the win.