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The Manitoban is the official student newspaper of the University of Manitoba. It is published monthly during the summer and each week of regular classes during the academic year by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.
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CORRECTION: The Bisons finish just outside playoff range
In the April 2 issue, the Manitoban incorrectly stated that the Bisons women’s basketball team finished the season just outside the playoff range. The team did in fact make the playoffs, losing in their first game.
Sikh Heritage Month welcomed with kirtan night
Spiritual gathering brings students together in prayers and hymns
Milan Lukes, staff
Students welcomed Sikh Heritage Month, a designated month recognized by the provincial and federal government, on April 1 in the Multi-Faith Centre.
The University of Manitoba Sikh Students’ Association (UMSikhSA) celebrated the occasion by hosting kirtan night, an evening prayer session with religious verses recited in song.
“We do kirtan for the sake of everybody’s prosperity,” stated Gurleen Kaur, UMSikhSA volunteer coordinator.
Gurkaranbir Singh, UMSikhSA director of external affairs, explained that each word sung during the group worship originated from the Guru Granth Sahib — the central religious scripture of Sikhi and the final and eternal Guru.
Singh stated that the religious text is a collection of hymns, featuring the writings of Sikh Gurus dating back to the first Guru from the 15th century. Verses were recited in multiple languages, such as Persian, Hindi and Arabic.
Pahul Singh, a self-taught musician and one of the members that led the kirtan, stated that the event was held to “try to connect to God through listening and singing kirtan.”
Sikh Heritage Month proclaimed in 2019
April was proclaimed as Sikh Heritage Month by the Canadian Parliament in 2019, and following the passing of Bill 228 in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, Manitoba also began recognizing Sikh Heritage Month that year.
Canada’s Sikh Heritage Month Act states that Canada has the second-largest Sikh population in the world and “recognizes the significant contributions that Sikh Canadians have made to Canada’s social, economic, political and cultural fabric.”
April marks the celebration of Vaisakhi — the first day of the month of Vaisakh — which commemorates the creation of the Khalsa in 1699 by the 10th Sikh Guru. The
Khalsa is a Sikh order that was created to defend any victims of aggression or injustice.
As part of kirtan night, the harmonium, a keyboard that functions similar to an organ, and tabla, a pair of hand drums, were amongst the instruments played to accompany the hymns.
Pahul Singh stated that traditionally, scriptures are sung to specific ragas, defined as musical melody structures which have been passed down by the Gurus.
A drawing of the first Guru, Guru Nanak, and three kirpans, a blade that resembles a sword or dagger that is to be constantly worn by Khalsa Sikhs, were located at the front of the prayer session.
Gurkaranbir Singh noted that Sikhs do not pray in a particular direction, but that the kirpans were used to symbolize God and focus the mind. He added that special safety measures were taken around the kirpans.
Free food was provided to everyone in attendance — imitating the community kitchen of a gurdwara —
to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of any differences.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 770,000 people reported belonging to the Sikh faith which represented approximately 2.1 per cent of Canada’s total population.
The Multi-Faith Centre is located in 521 UMSU University Centre and is available for all university members to access for communal and individual spiritual practices. It can be booked for single and recurring events throughout the year.
Students partake in Polish tradition with pisanki
Polish Students’ Association organizes Easter egg decorating on campus
Milan Lukes, staff
Students gathered in the Tier Building on April 4 to decorate Easter eggs, a Polish tradition that dates back centuries, as part of an event held by the University of Manitoba Polish Students’ Association (PSA).
Alexandra Pierzchala, lead organizer and PSA social media manager, stated that the egg symbolizes rebirth into the world and that the act of decorating represents the celebration of life.
Decorated Easter eggs are known as “pisanki” in Polish, which means to “to write.”
“You’re telling a story through the eggs, through what you’re designing on them, what the designs are,” said PSA president Natalia Sawka, who comes from the southwestern region of Poland.
She added that the decorated eggs are brought to church and blessed during the Easter weekend as part of the Polish tradition. The eggs are then exchanged among friends and family members with good wishes, according to the Republic of Poland’s website.
“For me, it’s about story-
telling and designs of the eggs, because during Easter, you share the eggs and you’re able to see the stories behind them through the beautiful designs,” said Sawka.
Pierzchala, whose parents are both immigrants from Poland, said that each colour used to dye the eggs symbolizes a different theme. She stated that people would traditionally use onion skins or cabbages to dye the eggshell.
Certain patterns illustrated on the shell are also specific to cities or regions within Poland, according to Sawka.
She explained that utensils are used to apply melted wax on the eggshell, before dunking the egg in a dye. The wax should prevent the dye from affixing to the wax-covered portion of the shell.
“The thought process is basically whatever colour you want on the egg at the end of it, [that] is what you put the wax area on,” said Sawka.
She stated that the dye lasts for a long period and that some eggs can last for “many, many years.”
“You’re able to keep them preserved,” she said, noting that they become hollow over time.
“At end of the process, when you’re happy with how everything is […] then you melt the wax so that you see all the colours underneath the wax that you had, and you see the full design of it.”
Sawka stated that attendees at the event could keep their decorated eggs for Easter.
Polish Students’ Association hopes to build community
Sawka, who has been
re-elected to serve as PSA president, stated that the association hopes to “build community, to help anyone interested in the Polish culture to learn more about it.”
She acknowledged that the student club was less active during the pandemic, but said that the PSA has been more involved on campus following the return to in-person classes.
“When I came into my presidential position last year, we started doing more events
at least every month, doing some sort of event just to have people come together and either talk about the Polish culture or just meet up with anyone who’s interested in it,” said Sawka.
“You don’t need to be Polish to be in this club,” stated Pierzchala.
“We want to welcome as many people as possible to learn about the culture.”
photo / Milan Lukes / staff
photo / Milan Lukes / staff
Nobel laureate speaks on ‘the art of building small’ Dutch chemist discusses research on molecular machines and future applications
Milan Lukes, staff
tudents and staff mem-
S
bers at the U of M gathered in the Robert B. Schultz Lecture Theatre on April 3 and 4 to hear from Bernard Feringa, a Nobel laureate and distinguished professor of molecular sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Feringa was jointly awarded the 2016 Nobel prize in chemistry “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines,” along with Sir James Fraser Stoddart and Jean-Pierre Sauvage.
The Nobel laureate provided a general science talk, followed by a specialized science lecture the next day on “the art of building small” — sharing recent work on molecular motors and molecular machines.
Feringa opened the specialized science lecture by recognizing the “fantastic machines” that are in the body, “that make it possible that I can talk to you, that I can see you, that I can wave my hands, that I can walk.”
He stated that motors are responsible for providing dynamic functions in a living system, but called into question the possibility of inducing controlled motion through creating molecular motors and machines — a realm of research that he has been studying for decades.
He argued that a ribosome — the structure inside cells that is responsible for protein synthesis — is “way more sophisticated and complex” than the robot in a car manufacturing plant, which is approximately 100 million times its size.
First molecular motor
In 1999, he constructed the world’s first molecular motor which was light-driven and allowed for continuous rotation in the same direction.
His research group has since optimized the motor to rotate at 12 million revolutions per second in 2014.
“The beauty of light is that you can have the high temporal spatial control,” he stated.
“You can precisely tune where you want to irradiate in three-dimensional space, but also in time. And of course, you can tune the wavelength, the energy you put in there, and it’s non-invasive. You don’t need extra chemicals or whatever. And
that’s a big, big advantage for many applications.”
Feringa’s first molecular motor was mechanically constructed to rotate in a certain direction upon exposure to UV light.
“The fundamental ques-
wouldn’t get anywhere. So you have to put in energy and you have to control left and right.”
Feringa stated that his work on molecular machines used a “completely different approach” than Stoddart and Sauvage, who he said used mechanically interlocked molecules.
“Even if things go wrong, you can still be passionate and say, ‘okay, I will fix it tomorrow or next week,’ or I do it in a different way”
— Bernard Feringa, Nobel laureate in chemistry
tions are how to control rotary motion and how to control left and right,” he stated. “If there’s equal probability going clockwise or counterclockwise you
One of his studies that he highlighted involved 3D printing of shape-morphing materials containing light-driven molecular motors. Based on the presence or absence of UV light, he could reversibly open and close a 3D-printed flower
pattern — all visible to the unaided eye.
In the same study, he also had 3D-printed butterfly wings which mimicked a wing flap when exposed to UV light.
“It cannot fly yet,” stated the Dutch chemist.
“This is all useless of course at the moment,” he said in reference to those shape-shifting objects, but acknowledged potential applications such as in soft robotics — a subfield that utilizes flexible materials, or in biomedical materials such as artificial muscles.
Feringa’s four-wheel drive nanocar
He also talked about his research group’s construction of the nanocar, a car meas-
uring a few nanometres in length with four rotary motors that can move from conformational changes.
Powered by electrons from a scanning tunnelling microscope, the 2011 Nature publication reveals a “near-ideal linear movement” of six nanometres after ten consecutive voltage pulses. The experiment was conducted in ultrahigh vacuum conditions and at -266 C.
Feringa has previously referenced other uses for motorlike functions at the molecular level, including self-healing materials, smart surfaces and coatings, precision therapeutics and nanoscale energy converters which are “just a small fraction of the systems where fascinating discoveries
photo / Milan Lukes / staff
can be expected.”
“Being a synthetic chemist, we have endless opportunities to build by this chemical synthesis, the new materials in our laboratories with specific properties,” stated Feringa during his 2016 Nobel lecture. “The opportunities are endless.”
Feringa told the Manitoban that he first learned of his interest in chemistry during high school, as the subject was not taught in elementary school.
“Then I got to high school and I had a very inspiring teacher,” he said. “My teacher in chemistry and physics was an amazing person.”
He stated that he chose to major in organic chemistry due to the “diversity of molecules and the materials that you make, all the way from dyes and drugs and all these things.”
Reflecting on his undergraduate studies, Feringa stated that he “enjoyed it very much,” but described some experiments and certain practical courses as tough, adding that statistical thermodynamics is “sometimes a tough course.”
Nobel prize predicted by The Simpsons
Feringa stated that he never imagined he would win a
Nobel prize for his research, but stated that sometimes at conferences, people would say that this field might get the prize “because there were so many exciting developments.”
“But then I never thought about it,” citing that he was occupied working and teaching, until an episode of The Simpsons aired.
“In 2011, I got a call from a colleague in America and he said, ‘Ben, you were on American television last night.’ And I said, ‘come on, you’re kidding.’”
Feringa stated that he learned that he was on “prime time American television in The Simpsons” the week before the 2011 Nobel prize winners were announced.
The episode featured Feringa’s name on a Nobel prize betting pool as a potential winner in the field of chemistry.
“And then the next morning I came to the lab and students said to me, ‘Ben, you will get a Nobel prize.’ I said, ‘come on guys.’”
Feringa said that being featured in The Simpsons was “the highest honour” at that time, before eventually winning the Nobel prize five years later.
The 73-year-old professor stated that he still has a large research group, but acknow-
ledged that he will retire at some point.
“You have to be realistic. I will slow down at some point,” he stated.
“But on the other hand, if you ask this to an artist, a musician […] do they say, ‘we will retire?’ We continue, right? And I feel a bit like an artist.”
‘Follow your dreams,’ says Feringa
Feringa concluded his lecture by offering advice to students that were in attendance.
“Follow your dreams,” he said.
“Be confident, because yes, we are looking toward new things, going beyond our border, our horizon. It’s about uncertainty, but also about the joy of discovery.”
“Discover your energy. What is your passion? Where do you get a lot of energy? Even if things go wrong, you can still be passionate and say, ‘okay, I will fix it tomorrow or next week,’ or I do it in a different way.”
Feringa described his entry into the field of dynamic molecular motion as an adventure, “where there was hardly anything, no guidelines.
“And with this adventure it was a great joy.”
A panel on the wall in the Armes Lecture Building provides information on the research contributions of the 2016 Nobel prize laureates in chemistry. Feringa’s nanocar is visible in the centre of the display.
photos / Milan Lukes / staff
Manitobans gather to rally for Canada
The Manitoba government hosted Rally for Canada in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building on Sunday, April 6. Premier Wab Kinew previously announced the event at the end of March amid tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and calls for Canada to become the 51st state. “We will always be the true north strong and free, and we will never be the 51st state,” said Kinew from the steps of the Legislative Building. “No country will ever take over Canada.”
photos / Nischal Karki & Zulkifl Rafah/ staff
Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville (right) was one of the speakers that addressed the crowd at the rally on Sunday.
Manitoba offers free entry to provincial parks
Budget 2025 funds park upgrades and waives entry fees for all visitors for one year
Sylvester Delali Agbado, staff
he Manitoba govern-
T
ment has announced that entry to all provincial parks will be free for a year, starting on April 1, 2025 until March 31, 2026. No vehicle permit is required to access any of Manitoba’s 93 provincial parks.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes announced that the initiative is part of the 2025 provincial budget. The government aims to encourage Manitobans to explore outdoor spaces across the province.
“In Budget 2025, our government announced free entry to all of our incredible provincial parks for the next year,” said Moyes in a press release.
“As Canadians explore closer to home, we hope everyone will get out and enjoy our beautiful parks and take in all they have to offer. Whether you love to hike, canoe or just want to relax surrounded by nature, we encourage all Manitobans to visit our provincial parks, as no vehicle permit is required.” The 2025 Budget allocates $18 million for infrastructure upgrades in several parks, according to a press release. The improvements include new washroom and shower facilities at St. Malo and West Hawk Lake’s seasonal campground. The fund-
ing will also expand campgrounds and add electrical sites at Spruce Woods, Grand Beach and Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park. In Whiteshell Provincial Park, West Hawk Lake will have a restored Crescent Beach seawall. The area will include a ramp and beach mat to improve accessibility, per a
press release.
The province will also open new playgrounds at parks including Whiteshell, Clearwater Lake, Winnipeg Beach and Turtle Mountain Provincial Park.
Moyes stated that Manitoba is home to more than four million hectares of land and water in provincial parks.
“Visitors can make memories while exploring varied landscapes, including lush boreal forests to perfect prairie parklands and sandy shorelines, or walk through the past on a historic site tour and develop new skills at an outdoor workshop,” he stated. Camping fees will still apply even though vehicle park
Donald Trump ramps up tariff war
passes are not required. Provincial Park campground reservations open between April 7 and April 11. Reservations are staggard and start at 7 a.m. each day. They can be made online at manitobaparks.com or by calling 204-948-3333 in Winnipeg or 1-888-482-2267.
New trade policies introduce stricter regulations impacting 60 nations
Ngozi Okose, staff
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a speech on April 2 declaring “Liberation Day” for the nation. He intensified global trade policies, which will likely impact American consumers and businesses while raising concerns about economic stability, according to CNN.
Declaring a national economic emergency, he announced a broad tariff plan that could have far-reaching effects. Trump framed the moment as a pivotal shift, stating, “my fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day.”
Trump described the U.S. as having been exploited for decades by foreign nations. “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” he said.
“[Workers] really suffered gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign
cheaters have ransacked our factories and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream,”
Trump added.
According to Trump, the American dream had faded from public discourse, exploiting taxpayers for over 50 years.
“But it is not going to happen anymore,” he declared.
He revealed plans to sign “a historic executive order” imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide.
The policy will ensure that if foreign nations impose tariffs on the U.S., the U.S. will respond. “This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history,” Trump said. “It’s our declaration of economic independence.”
As part of this trade policy, Trump announced a 10 per cent baseline tariff to take effect on April 5 for most goods from many countries. Steeper tariffs will go into effect on
April 9 for 60 nations labeled as “worst offenders,” according to White House officials.
The highest tariff rate announced of 49 per cent will be imposed on Cambodian imports. Vietnam will face a 46 per cent tariff, China with 34 per cent and the European Union with 20 per cent.
China will also now face a cumulative tariff of 54 per cent when factoring in the 20 per cent duty already in place. The U.S. imported US$439 billion worth of goods from China last year, making it the second-largest import source behind Mexico, according to CNN.
Beginning on May 2, the 54 per cent tariff will also apply to packages valued under US$800 from China and Hong Kong.
Trump defended the tariffs as a necessary step toward achieving “economic independence.”
“Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our
country, and you see it happening already,” he said. He also suggested that tariff revenue could replace income taxes, though economists widely dispute this claim, according to CNN.
Trump cited currency manipulation, tax policies and unfair labour practices as justifications for the higher tariffs as per a report from the U.S. Trade Representative out-
lining foreign trade barriers. Despite the widespread tariffs, goods from Canada and Mexico that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement will be exempt.
Automotive parts and vehicles imported into the U.S. will face a 25 per cent tariff, imposed on April 3, while steel and aluminum will remain under a previously imposed 25 per cent tariff.
photo / Milan Lukes / staff
graphic / Teegan Gillich / staff
Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park is one of the 93 provincial parks that will have free entry for a year.
Breast milk as a baby’s first defence
U of M professor researches how breast milk affects infant health and development
Divyata Gosai, staff
M
eghan Azad is a professor of pediatrics and child health at the U of M’s Rady faculty of health sciences. She is a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and a director of the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre. She also holds cross-appointments in the departments of immunology, food and nutritional sciences and community health sciences.
During her PhD, she studied the infant gut microbiomes, finding that breastfeeding played a major role.
“When I started my own lab, I thought I wanted to understand that at a deeper, more molecular level,” Azad said. “So, I decided to study breast milk.”
She joined the microbiome project as part of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development study, a large national study involving 3,500 families across Canada.
The study aimed to understand why more children today are developing asthma and allergies by recruiting pregnant mothers and tracking various environmental and lifestyle factors. Her team analyzed the gut microbiomes of babies using diaper samples to investigate whether early microbial differences influence the development or prevention of various conditions.
“We saw that babies who were breastfed longer or more exclusively — meaning they got only breast milk, no formula, no other foods for the first number of months — they ultimately grew up to be the children with the lowest risk of asthma,” she said.
Azad analyzed breast milk samples collected during the study, securing grants to examine components such as fatty acids and hormones while exploring their potential significance.
“My vision as I started learning more about breast milk was really that there are so many things in breast milk,” she said. “There are for sure nutrients like fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals because this is a food for a baby. But there are so many more other things. It is not only a food, it also contains antibodies from the mother, which helps protect the baby from infection. And it contains hormones from the mom. It even contains cells from the mom.”
She aimed to study how various components of breast
milk such as hormones and fats interact with one another, understanding that babies consume them together rather than separately. However, due to the high costs of research, she decided to take a step-bystep approach, starting with small grants to first analyze hormones and fats.
maternal and infant nutrition in regions affected by stunting and wasting.
While these studies provided nutritional supplements to pregnant women, they initially neglected breast
“Milk is so much more than food. We could think of it as an immune system for a baby”
— Meghan Azad, professor in the U of M’s Rady faculty of health sciences
“We started to find some interesting things like babies drinking milk with higher levels of particular hormones might be more likely to have higher body fat composition,” she said.
Azad was approached by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who recognized her vision for comprehensive breast milk research, inviting her to lead a project on the subject.
milk analysis. Researchers recognized that better maternal nutrition could affect infants both during pregnancy and through breastfeeding, making breast milk a crucial factor for study.
Azad led the design of an ongoing research project to collect breast milk samples, with her team handling the analysis. This project is now part of the International Milk Composition Consortium.
lyzing 2,000 milk samples for all the things that we can think of and we’re at the stage of crunching the data,” she explained. “From these 2,000 samples from 1,200 moms and babies who we have growth data on, can we identify patterns in the breast milk that are associated with healthy versus unhealthy growth?”
breastfeeding or breast milk.”
Azad is launching new projects focused on breast milk’s role in supporting infant health. The projects will also explore the long-term health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, including reduced risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Azad added that breast milk contains antibodies that protect infants from infections and pointed to the continued potential for broader health applications.
“I think that the average person probably thinks of milk as food,” she said. “What I have learned is milk is so much more than food. We could think of it as an immune system for a baby. A baby is born with a very immature immune system. It can’t produce all its own antibodies, it’s getting it from [breast milk].”
Azad joined ongoing global studies focused on improving
“I’m still working with that original child study,” she said. “Those babies are now 13 years old, and we continue to follow them every few years. So, we can start asking questions beyond who got allergies as a baby and start looking at who’s getting diabetes as a teenager or who is developing behaviour problems or different types of outcomes. And so, I’m always interested in still linking within that cohort, the long-term outcomes of either graphic / Fumnaya Ifeadi / staff
“We have finished ana-
Cutting HIV rates, one circumcision at a time
The Canadian public health researcher who changed HIV prevention worldwide
Rhea Bhalla, staff
F or over four decades, Stephen Moses has been on the frontlines of global health research, weaving a career that spans continents, pandemics and transformational public health breakthroughs. From Kenya to India to Winnipeg, Moses has dedicated his life to tackling some of the world’s most urgent and under-resourced health crises — most notably, the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“I’ve been working in global health since about 1980,” Moses said, now a professor in the U of M’s Max Rady college of medicine. “You can see impact very quickly with that kind of work. It’s very gratifying. […] I think it’s appreciated in its importance — importance to the people, the programs and the countries in which we work.”
In the early years of HIV research in Kenya, Moses and his colleagues noticed that circumcised men had consistently lower rates of infection.
“Even when you control for other factors like other sexually transmitted infections or other behaviours, [circumcision] always came out as an important factor,” Moses said.
At first, their theory was met with skepticism.
“It was something that people just didn’t believe for a long time,” Moses said, citing doubt from major international organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “There was this feeling that there was something that was missing.”
Determined to investigate further, Moses and his team eventually secured funding to launch a randomized clinical trial in Western Kenya. The study, involving hundreds of men aged 18 to 24, was designed to test whether circumcision had a direct effect on HIV infection rates.
The results were “staggering.”
Men who were circumcised had a 60 per cent lower risk of acquiring HIV compared to those who were not — a level of effectiveness rarely seen in
biological interventions.
Additional trials in Uganda and South Africa yielded virtually identical outcomes. By 2007, the evidence was clear enough that the WHO and UNAIDS issued a joint recommendation supporting voluntary male circumcision as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy.
Today, more than a dozen countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, where circumcision was not traditionally practiced, have integrated it into their national HIV programs.
“People have tried to ascertain whether there’s less HIV since circumcision was adopted by these countries, and in fact, there has been,”
Moses said. “There’s really no other good explanation for it. So, the practice continues now, and all those countries now have fairly strong programs which offer circumcision to young men and boys.”
While the link between circumcision and HIV is among the most widely cited aspects of his work — garnering coverage in major outlets such as Time Magazine and The Guardian in the early 2000s — Moses’s research extends far beyond this.
Much of his work focuses on improving health outcomes for marginalized populations, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.
Moses emphasized that these communities experience disproportionately high rates of HIV, increased vulnerability to disease and limited access to health care. Whether in Canada or Africa, these populations are often socially and structurally marginalized, indicating the urgent need for targeted support and intervention.
“What we find is that once they get a little bit of support and knowledge and are empowered to take control of their situation, they do really well,” he said. “They become advocates, and they rapidly improve their own health and also work on improving the health of their friends and colleagues.”
Now based in Winnipeg, Moses continues to contribute to global and local health initiatives through the U of M’s Institute for Global Public Health. His recent projects have explored health equity and access to care, including international studies on HIV, human papilloma virus and other sexually transmitted infections.
Moses’s legacy is defined not only by landmark discoveries but by sustained efforts to translate evidence into action, working across borders and disciplines to improve health outcomes for communities that are too often overlooked.
Why goodbyes hurt — and why we need them
The beautiful challenge of transition
India Schlegel, staff
There’s a stillness that comes before a goodbye.
A moment suspended in time, where nothing has ended yet, but everything is about to. I never know how to handle a goodbye with grace, I’m often caught up in the unknown path set out before me.
No matter the kind of goodbye, it’s guaranteed to be difficult for one reason or another.
A breakup, quitting a job, graduating from university — goodbyes don’t necessarily come easily. Yet, embracing a goodbye and transition is an important and inevitable part of personal growth.
When we say goodbye, we know there will be an inevitable change, a change that often brings discomfort. The status quo is comfortable
— it’s predictable, and willingly putting ourselves into the unknown and choosing discomfort is no easy task. In these situations, we are not just saying goodbye to a partner or a job, we’re saying goodbye to a version of ourselves.
To move forward and accept the need for change, we must grieve the loss of our previous selves and shift our identity to embrace the next phase, the unknown.
Then why say goodbye at all? If it causes discomfort, identity crisis and often pain, why take the leap?
There’s an unspoken promise tucked inside every ending. Saying goodbye forces us to reckon with the fact that we are constantly evolving. We are not static creatures, bound to one identity or a
single version of a story. Letting go becomes a portal to something new — not just out there in the world but within our very selves. Saying goodbye is the breeding ground for growth.
Sometimes, we can’t wait to say goodbye to something. We’re racing to the finish line and can only reflect on how far we’ve come and everything we’ve learned once we’ve passed it. Sometimes, we wish we could’ve spent more time savouring the moment or that we could go back and do things differently.
This was my experience graduating university, it wasn’t until I handed in that last assignment that I realized how much the chaos of university had quietly held me together. It wasn’t until it was
over that I understood how it served me throughout my 20s. However, it also provided me with the tools I needed to move on to the next step.
The same can be said for relationships. Breakups are a difficult beast on their own, sometimes they’re forced upon us, and sometimes we see and accept them as an inevitable result of a relationship that can’t go any further and initiate the break. However, each breakup brings a valuable lesson that can help us better understand ourselves and our future partners.
This is why we sacrifice things for growth, it brings us wisdom from past experiences. We don’t leave everything behind when we say goodbye. We carry pieces with us — memories, lessons, little
echoes of who we were. The past doesn’t vanish, it settles within us and becomes part of how we present ourselves in the world from then forward. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting. It means honouring what was and being brave enough to embrace what is yet to come.
Goodbyes are rarely clean or comfortable, but they are necessary. They make us fuller in ways we could never have previously imagined and remind us that growth often begins where certainty ends. Even in the pain of goodbye, there is a silent beauty — a reminder that we are changing, learning and always evolving. To say goodbye is to say yes to what comes next.
graphic / Teegan Gillich / staff
The doubt and possibility of male-female friendships
The age-old question continues to spark debate
Carrington Dong, staff
It’s an age-old question — “Can men and women ever just be friends?”
The popular film When Harry Met Sally… aimed to answer this question. In the film, Sally (Meg Ryan) believes that men and women can have purely platonic relations, but Harry (Billy Crystal) asserts that they cannot because “the sex part always gets in the way.” The ending seemingly proves Harry’s assertion — Harry and Sally make numerous efforts to stay platonic, all leading to attraction and cutting off contact, until they finally confess their feelings and marry.
In general, popular culture follows Harry’s statement. Refinery29’s Rebecca Smith wrote, in a critical review of the relationships depicted in The Mindy Project, “unfortunately, the producers of pop culture seem to have taken [Harry’s] quote as some kind of mantra […] taken together, all of our favourite television shows seem to teach that all friendships eventually end, or at least take a detour, in bed.”
Public figures and politicians have expressed similar beliefs on the topic. Billy Graham, the notable American Christian evangelist, was known for not travelling, meeting or eating alone with any woman other than his wife — a principle now commonly known as the “Billy Graham rule.” This rule was meant to help maintain a clean public image and avoid any potential controversies and tempting situations. The rule gained renewed attention in 2017 when then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was reported to follow a version of the rule. Following this rule seems to suggest that men and women cannot be alone together in any situation without a degree of risk.
So, men and women can’t be friends without falling in love. That’s the answer, right? Not necessarily.
I have many friends of all gender identities and sexualities. So yes, in short, I have male friends — completely platonic male friends. I have never felt any romantic or sexual attraction to any of them (they’re like brothers to me!), and vice versa. And no, it’s not that all my male friends are gay. Most of them, in fact, are straight.
There are a few reasons why these friendships work for me, but the biggest reason is that all parties involved believe that it’s possible to be around each other without catching
feelings.
In my experience, when I have had friendships with men that did not work out, the following scenarios usually occurred.
First, the man developed an attraction, and when I did not reciprocate, he immediately cut things off and refused to be friends.
Second, the man wasn’t attracted to me, but assumed that I was attracted to him, and began distancing from me as a result. Generally, this was without explanation or asking me how I really felt.
In both cases, one of the parties involved had doubts about the feasibility of being able to have non-romantic relations with another person.
Something else I noticed from my own experiences and from talking with others is that usually, it is men who are more likely to doubt the feasibility of male-female platonic friendships than women. In all my experiences, the friendships ended at the decision of
my male then-friend, and not me. In previous years, I was often unable to even speak to boys my age without them keeping me at arm’s length, immediately assuming I was initiating contact for the purpose of romance or sex. This was incredibly frustrating — I was never trying to make a move, but the boys just automatically assumed I was.
This isn’t a surprise. According to a study from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire conducted in 2012, men consistently overestimated the level of attraction felt by their female friends. In contrast, women consistently underestimated attraction. This can lead to situations such as the ones I mentioned above.
This creates a domino effect — many women I know stated that they only truly began to doubt the ability of men and women to be purely platonic after such bad experiences. Many also stated that they were simply always taught by
their families that they could never have non-romantic relations with men. And with the depictions that Hollywood gives us, which almost always lead to romance and sex, it’s no wonder so many in society just assume it isn’t possible.
How much would change if we simply didn’t let doubt get in the way and analyzed each friendship on a case-bycase basis? Probably a lot. I remember seeing a comment in an online discussion about the “Billy Graham rule,” that said treating every interaction as potentially sexual just sets you up to fail.
That’s not to say that one shouldn’t set appropriate boundaries. Respect between parties should be maintained, particularly when there are other partners involved. I have a few rules that I follow myself to respect my boyfriend, my male friends and their romantic partners, such as informing my boyfriend when I am hanging out with others (regardless of gender
identity) and asking permission to sit shotgun with a male friend when he is giving me a ride, particularly if he is in a relationship — though none have ever had an issue with it. I set these boundaries mainly to respect others who might not be as comfortable as me and to maintain trust — not because I think things will become sexual.
However, assuming that every opposite-sex friend one’s partner has is a possible romantic threat doesn’t make for a healthy situation. Trust must be maintained, but if someone has genuinely proven themselves trustworthy, there is no need for alarm. As long as you find what works for you, there’s no reason you can’t be around someone of the opposite sex without thinking it might end in a kiss.
So, can men and women ever just be friends? Yes, if you have appropriate boundaries and communication and if you believe they can.
graphic / Teegan Gillich / staff
Cartwheeling forward
The incredible opportunity to be yourself
Quinn Mayhew, staff
T hroughout the school year, I have learned one thing, and that’s the ability to adapt. This school year has been full of changes for me, both personal and academic. I think perhaps this year was so hard because I found that I wouldn’t do the things I wanted to do. After all, I was afraid.
Fear held me back from doing a lot of things. Either trying to make new friends because I was afraid they wouldn’t like me, or I wouldn’t try as hard as I should have on assignments because I thought I would fail, or in general, I just wouldn’t do activities because I was afraid to do them alone.
One big fear of not doing things I always wanted to do was the fear of looking stupid. I think a part of me growing in this school year and just growing up in general is that I stopped fearing looking stupid.
The fear of being judged was immense for me, I felt as though everyone would see right through me and realize how awkward and eccentric I was and decide I was too weird to be associated with. So, I kept to myself I played it safe and did things others wanted me to do instead of pushing back when I didn’t want to do something.
I am of the opinion that a big part of being yourself is not caring what others think of you. A big step for me was realizing it was okay to be loud, eccentric and weird, and it was the people in my department that made me realize that it was okay to be me.
The faculty of arts, specifically the English department, are genuinely some of the most authentic and kind people I have met in my entire life. In my opinion, I have never met such an embracing, smart and emotionally
intelligent group of people, and I think a large portion of me feeling freer to be a little weirder and a little more myself is because of them.
I say — when you find a group of people you can be yourself around, that is special because I don’t think everyone finds that. For me, it was the people in the English department who made that possible and I am lucky to have experienced them.
Having a group of people who make you feel fulfilled and happy is important for both physical and mental well-being. When you have people who support you and cheer you on instead of bring you down, it helps with your self-esteem, which benefits your mental well-being and allows you to be seen as who you truly are.
Stop being afraid of what people think of you and start living life for you. Go against the grain, be who you are. In my opinion, people like the real you much better than the image you think everyone will like instead.
Having friends who support me has allowed me to thrive, decreased my stress and, in my opinion, helped decrease how often OCD affects me within a day.
This year has been a year of changes for me. I’ve been to more social functions this year at the U of M than ever before. I’ve found myself going to socials, attending sporting events and hanging out more on campus. I believe that when you find your “people” who make you feel fulfilled, it makes all the difference.
Now that classes are winding down, I find myself feeling nostalgic for the moments I’ve experienced, whether with my friends on campus or all the things I’ve learned this year that I didn’t know before, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true.
I’ve always viewed my life as a constant string of backflips, never moving forward, just backward. But for the first time, I feel like I’m cartwheeling forward. Although I most definitely do not have everything figured out, I know it’ll
be okay because I have people who are cheering me on even when I fail.
I would just like to thank anyone who has read my articles this year. It means the world to me that I had the privilege to write for you. If I graphic / Teegan Gillich / staff
could leave a piece of advice to whoever reads these articles, it would be to do what makes you happy. I hope to see you all on campus next term. This is Quinn signing off.
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 for Sudoku and www.str8ts.com for Str8ts.
If you like Str8ts and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.
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 Straights, like Sudoku, no single number 1 to 9 can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. Each compartment must form a “straight.” A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but it can be in any order, eg [7,6,9,8]. 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 stress of finals
Are exams really the best way to assess students?
Thandeka Katsika, staff
F
inals are approaching, which means most students on campus are entering the most stressful period of the academic year.
For many, this means mountains of pressure — long study nights, endless revision and the constant thought of possible failure. Finals almost feel like a “make it or break it.” Even though assessments throughout the semester all contribute to the overall grade, the final exam tends to hold more weight than anything else.
Additionally, some final exams are cumulative, which means that students need to review everything they have learned since the beginning of the term. The sheer volume of the content, along with the minimal time for revision without lessons, can lead to students sacrificing sleep, social interactions and even their physical and mental well-being just to pass an exam.
According to a study of university students from Toronto, 40 per cent of students experience stress and eight per cent experience extreme stress, while zero per cent of students say that they feel no stress concerning exams. Research also shows that student stress tends to peak during finals. In my experience, the heavy workload is the most stressful part of the final exam period.
I always feel so overwhelmed by all the notes I need to read and all the things I must remember from lecture one. I feel a compulsive urge to go over every piece of information with the potential of showing up in the final exam thoroughly. One of my biggest fears is knowing enough about a topic to recognize it in the exam but not enough to correctly answer a question.
Other factors that cause students stress are the fear of failure, self-imposed high expectations, negative self-talk and
graphic / Fumnaya Ifeadi / staff
the belief that grades are an indication of self-worth. The pressure that comes from these exams, the intense pressure during finals week raises serious concerns about whether these assessments are sustainable.
The primary purpose of finals is to measure a student’s understanding of the course material. But when faced with the intense pressure of final exams, students often resort to cramming — memorizing facts and formulas rather than truly grasping the underlying concepts. This short-term focus can hinder their ability to retain knowledge after the exam, making it difficult to apply what they’ve learned in the future.
When we consider that finals are typically highstakes exams, it is easy to see why students may neglect wanting to truly understand the lecture material and simply focus on getting the grade. According to my observations, exams can limit academic growth and undermine the long-term value of education. Final exams to me, at times, seem to send the message that it doesn’t really matter how well you understand the information or even how much interest you have in the lecture material — it matters how well you can take the test. This, in a way, diminishes the value of final exam grades, as it is not always a reflection of a student’s interaction with
material but rather how suited they are to take the actual exam. It also creates a problem for students who are poor exam takers. The stressful conditions surrounding exams may have a negative impact on performance. High levels of anxiety during tests can impair cognitive function and make it harder for students to remember information they may have studied or think critically when solving exam problems. So, even if a student does comprehend their notes, they still may not perform well in the exam. Similarly, even if a student does not really understand what is happening in lectures, they can still score well in exams.
Every university assessment should be aimed at strengthening a student’s grasp of information. I do not think testing knowledge is the primary goal of the education system. I think it is to help students internalize and apply information outside of the classroom environment. When assessments are designed to reinforce understanding, they promote deeper learning, which is crucial for long-term retention and application.
University is not about passing a final but about gaining valuable knowledge and learning how to use it to make an impact in your chosen field.
SoulBear to perform Frank Sinatra in Winnipeg
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra teams up with Quebec singer for upcoming concert
Boris Tsun Hang Leung, staff
This weekend, the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is teaming up with SoulBear (David Grenon), a bilingual singer-songwriter originally from Quebec, to perform jazz standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. Curated by Sean Irvine, the concert features beloved oldies such as “Fly Me To The Moon” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
In an interview, Irvine said he began playing saxophone in 2004 and joined the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra 15 years ago. As a woodwind specialist, he plays the flute, clarinet, saxophone and oboe. He has worked as both a composer and performer. He currently teaches full time — leading high school band, jazz band and a music studio primarily for students with special needs and those who identify as queer.
Frank Sinatra remains one of the most iconic musical figures of the 20th century, earning monikers like “The Voice” and “The Sultan of Swoon.” Moreover, he is widely credited with helping bring jazz into the realm of popular music. Even though he was born more than a century ago, his influence can still be heard
in contemporary artists such as Michael Bublé.
Irvine explained that this genre of music has its roots in Tin Pan Alley in the early 1920s.
“Tin Pan Alley was based out of New York, and there are a lot of traditional commercial songs or [songs] from musical productions. And these became jazz standards over the years from being performed so regularly,” he said.
“So what genre of music [the concert] is mostly going to be is jazz standards that have been arranged, and many of them are the original arrangements that
got an original in this show, but we’re also looking to a couple other crooners for their arrangements and
comes from the crooner tradition, where a male vocalist fronts the band and the performative environment is just as important as the music itself. He described SoulBear as “the best train of personality” to take on the crooner role for this concert.
Irvine first met SoulBear in the Royal Canadian Air Force band many years ago. The two have performed together in the past — and Irvine even appears on one of SoulBear’s albums.
Frank Sinatra used with his band. David’s got an original in this, I’ve
their traditional songs.”
Irvine added that Sinatra
“David and I have had a long-standing friendship, and obviously too, we’re both members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community so that’s also been a gravitating force. [In] the music industry, we’re far and few between, so when you meet people that you can relate to in that sense,
who you see yourself in, there’s a special bond there.”
When asked why the oldies continue to resonate with audiences today, Irvine said much of their staying power lies in their ability to uplift people during hard times.
“These songs have stood the test of time simply because they are great melodies. Historically, they were melodies that connected with audiences,” he said.
“We look at the time that many of these standards came out, from the 20s to the 60s, we look at the world and what the state of the world was in at those times, and these songs were very uplifting. Many of them were relevant to what was going on in those moments. But the other side of it was that in the time where they’re facing wars and poverty and whatnot, these were very uplifting songs.”
Think Sinatra… Except Fabulous will take place on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. and April 13 at 2 p.m. at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain (340 Provencher Boulevard). Tickets can be purchased at app.arts-people.com/index.
Bed, Bach & Beyond to be performed on April 12
Baroque choir mashes Bach with Billy Joel in Winnipeg concert
Boris Tsun Hang Leung, staff
This Saturday, Canzona will present Bed, Bach & Beyond on campus as a part of the 2025 Winnipeg Baroque Festival. This eclectic concert features music by Johann Sebastian Bach alongside works by modern composers, including Billy Joel, who have been inspired by the Baroque period.
Founded in 1989, Canzona is a Manitoba-based choral group that specializes in Baroque music. However, artistic director Elroy Friesen — a U of M alumnus-turned-professor — says the ensemble often ventures beyond the genre.
“Everything [Canzona is] doing is sort of rooted in Baroque music. We’re also trying to push the boundaries a little bit and sort of recontextualize Baroque things, as we are in this concert,” he said.
Bed, Bach & Beyond will include Bach’s cantata “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich,” as well as the motet “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied.”
“The ‘beyond’ part is there
are a number of works on the program that are based on Baroque works, I think in this case, mostly Handel and one by Bach. So they’re written by modern composers, but they’re rooted directly in a particular Baroque work,” said Friesen.
“The ‘bed’ part [is] just a play on the words Bed Bath and Beyond […] So that led us to hunting down works. These are modern works that are related to sleep, the bed, that kind of thing. So it is actually a really, really cool melding of things in what we all get to do.”
Friesen explained that the Baroque period has inspired generations of composers, and this concert offers an opportunity to re-examine that legacy through a contemporary lens.
“[Bach] was famous and radical in his time, like he was pushing the boundaries back then. That’s my understanding anyway, and then he sort of fell off the radar after he passed away [but] Mendels-
sohn really sort of revived Bach in particular,” he said. I would say that Bach definitely influenced Mendelssohn, and then Mendelssohn influenced, like from the Romantic era, influenced things,” Friesen added.
“For this concert, the Baroque composers are — obviously we wouldn’t be doing this concert unless we had Bach and company — but the composers are sort of re-imagining some Baroque works in a contemporary context.”
Sandra Goetz, one of the choristers and a music education student at U of M, says performing Baroque music
can be challenging — but that’s part of the appeal.
“I think that some of the music is challenging on the Baroque side, just with rhythms and things like that, but also just like harmonic structures that are sometimes unexpected […] And that goes also into the modern, contemporary stuff as well,” she said.
Goetz added that the complexity of older music can be often overlooked. “Sometimes we think about old music as just like, making sense musically, but there’s little twists and turns and corners and tricky things that are challenging to get but fulfilling once you get them.
“I’ve really enjoyed sort of the difference between the old and the new in this concert and bringing it all together and feeling where that theme is kind of driving us, and making a really special program. I think it will come together nicely.”
Bed, Bach & Beyond will take place on campus in the Desautels Concert Hall on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at deadofwinter.ca/product/bedbach-beyond-canzona-april12th-2025. Student tickets can also be purchased at the door for $5 right before the show.
photo courtesy of / Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
Dry Cold Productions to present Dogfight: The Musical
Premiere of musical by award-winning songwriters features powerful themes
Carrington Dong, staff
W hen Dry Cold Productions was founded 24 years ago, most of the musicals being staged in Winnipeg came from the “golden age” of musical theatre.
“We started Dry Cold as a company 24 years ago because there wasn’t a lot of musical theatre being produced in our city that was modern,” said Donna Fletcher, a U of M alumna and instructor, and one of the company’s co-founders. Dry Cold Productions aimed to showcase local talent in leading roles. At the time, Winnipeg-based performers were rarely featured, with most lead roles going to actors from other cities. Today, local artists are regularly cast in prominent roles, and Dry Cold takes pride in having given many emerging performers their first big opportunities.
One of these local performers is Wes Rambo, also a U of M alumnus, who met Fletcher through a vocal master class and later studied under her.
“[I] started to do a lot of opera and a lot of classical stuff,” Rambo recalled of his time at U of M. “But, at the same time, I was doing the musical theatre ensemble at the U of M, which [Fletcher] leads, and it was just such a highlight of my entire degree to do those shows with the musical theatre ensemble […] there’s really no joy quite like the kind that I feel when I’m doing this musical theatre stuff.”
Rambo stars in Dry Cold’s upcoming production of Dogfight: The Musical, based on the book by Peter Duchan and with music and lyrics by EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award) winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The production marks both the show’s Manitoba premiere and the directorial debut of Justin Stadnyk, a past Dry Cold performer. Set in 1963, Dogfight follows a group of U.S. Marines preparing to ship off to the Vietnam War. Before they leave, the men engage in one final night of debauchery, centred around a cruel contest known as a “dogfight” — a bet to find the ugliest date.
“One of the Marines in particular starts to find his way in some way out of that kind of culture,” said Rambo, referring to the misogynistic nature of the bet. “It is also the story of a young woman who is finding herself and coming into her own and finds herself in a really difficult situation and turns out to be the most influential, and sort of powerful and grounded person in the end.”
In the musical, Rambo plays Boland, one of the Marines, who has an unwavering belief in the military and American propaganda.
“He is the platonic ideal of like, ‘rah-rah’ soldier guy,” he said. “Whole family was soldiers, and he is completely bought into the propaganda that the American government at this time is telling them, ‘America doesn’t lose wars, we are going to win’ […] That is definitely Boland’s mantra and that is his guiding star. He is incredibly bought into the Marine experience.”
and important subjects that, as Wes said, are still frighteningly relevant in […] these times we’re in now of division and intolerance and tariffs and political instability and friends becoming enemies,” she said. “The great thing about Dogfight is, through this historical lens, it forces us to sort of look at ourselves and wonder, ‘are we moving forward in any way or are we still
time when the #MeToo movement was gaining momentum. Fletcher said it felt like a “golden age” for women’s rights — but after about five years later, she believes things have shifted. She noted that things have taken a turn, with women’s rights being in jeopardy again in the U.S.
“The great thing about Dogfight is, through this historical lens, it forces us to sort of look at ourselves and wonder, ‘are we moving forward in any way or are we still living in times where Dogfight could happen like that?’”
— Donna Fletcher, co-founder of Dry Cold Productions
Fletcher said the musical, while set in the 1960s, explores themes that remain relevant today.
“I think Dogfight deals very frankly with these serious
living in times where Dogfight could happen like that?’”
Dry Cold initially planned to stage Dogfight before the COVID-19 pandemic, at a
“That’s why I think we felt the show was also super important, because it shows you how quickly things can shift,” she said. When asked what audiences will love about the show, Rambo highlighted Pasek and Paul’s music, which he described as their “best show.” He also highlighted the journey that the characters go on throughout the play.
“It’s a pretty classic, tried
and true thing to say, but this show is going to make you think. It is going to really hit you hard in your heart,” Rambo said.
Fletcher agreed, adding that U of M students in particular will connect with the story.
“It’s such a show that speaks to your generation, and the pitfalls that can happen at any time,” she stated. “It speaks to us being socially conscious. It speaks to us being aware that we can have a part in making change. And so, I think that’s why it’s such a great show for students at the university to come and see.”
The Manitoba professional premiere of Dogfight: The Musical, presented by Dry Cold Productions, runs from April 30 to May 4 at Prairie Theatre Exchange. For tickets, please visit tickets. pte.mb.ca. For more information on Dry Cold Productions, please visit drycoldproductions.ca.
photo courtesy of / Donna Fletcher
Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ to be performed
Winnipeg choirs and symphony musicians unite for April 13 season finale
Carrington Dong, staff
o mark its season
Tfinale, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir — also known as “the Phil” — will present Seven Last Words of Christ, an oratorio by famed composer Joseph Haydn. The performance, which will feature the Winnipeg Singers and musicians from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, takes place April 13, coinciding with Palm Sunday. It is also part of this year’s Winnipeg Baroque Festival.
The Phil was founded in 1922 and is now in its 102nd season.
“It began as a division of the Men’s Musical Club back in the 1920s, an amateur singing organization, essentially. And later on, after the Winnipeg Symphony was created, we became the in-house choir for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for many decades,” said Vijay Chalasani, a classical violin and viola player who serves as the choir’s manager.
After parting ways with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in the 1980s, the Phil became an incorporated, standalone organization — a
status it retains today.
“Since the mid 80s, the choir has been a registered charity, and it’s an organization dedicated to providing opportunities for volunteer singers from around Winnipeg and the surrounding areas to sing really highlevel musical performances of choir, but also choir with orchestra,” Chalasani said.
Currently, the Phil comprises 50 to 60 singers and is conducted by maestro Yuri Klaz, who has served as artistic director and conductor since 2000. Klaz also holds these positions with the Winnipeg Singers.
Haydn composed Seven Last Words of Christ in the 1780s, during a period of growing fame. The work reflects on the seven final words of Jesus of Nazareth during the crucifixion.
“This piece was originally just written for orchestra only […] This was written originally only for instruments,” Chalasani explained. “But the piece became so popular, so quickly, that he made some other versions of it. So, he made a version for string quartet right away as well, and then he
made this version of the piece where he added choir and added a religious text to the music.”
In addition to the two choirs and musicians, conducted by Klaz, the performance will feature soloists Ainsley Wray (soprano), Donnalynn Grills (alto), Aaron Hutton (tenor) and Howard Rempel (bass).
When asked what excites him most about the performance, Chalasani emphasized its uniqueness.
“I think the really exciting thing about a performance like this is that it’s a singular moment in time,” he said. “You have one chance to experience it and then it’s gone, but it provides you something to be excited about as it approaches and it provides something for you to talk about again later after it happens, reflect on and tell your friends how much you enjoyed this special opportunity that happened once and
it’s never happening again.”
The Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, in collaboration with the Winnipeg Singers and musicians of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, will perform Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ on April 13 at 3 p.m., at Cathédrale Saint-Boniface. Tickets are available at winnipegsingers.com. For more information on the Phil, visit thephil.ca.
photo courtesy of / Dave Lipnowski
Ken Bentley looks ahead after title win
Women’s volleyball head coach prepares for next season after championship win
Israel Adeogo Abejoye, staff
The Bisons women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley discussed the championship title, the team’s journey and their future without five key players next season to the Manitoban.
When asked about the national championship, Bentley reflected on the event. “I think what made this [championship game] different was just the environment we played in,” he said. “This place was absolutely packed.”
Bentley added that their success came down to several factors but that the biggest thing was that “they stuck together.” He mentioned that consistency and hard work also played major roles. “We’ve been really consistent. We’ve stayed together. We’ve continued to work hard, and we just stayed focused on this goal of winning a national championship we believed we could do it [and] we worked hard at it.”
He highlighted the significance of the junior Bison program. “We’ve been developing that for 15 years now,” he said. “Obviously, it drives hard performance, but it’s not only about that. I mean our junior Bison program is about opportunity, and it’s about just love for volleyball.”
Looking ahead to next sea-
son, Bentley acknowledged the challenge of replacing five key players. “It’s going to be hard to replace them in the short term, obviously, because they are all amazing players,” he said. “But that’s just part of the life cycle of teams and coaching at this level.”
Regarding maintaining a winning culture, Bentley stated that he already makes the players aware of their tasks and the goal of the team as they join the team. “The messaging that goes out to the incoming players, they have a certain assignment they have to complete for me before they get here,” he said. “I just really make sure there are no surprises.”
Bentley indicated the need for prioritizing academics even for players. “We’re not asking athletes to compromise anything in terms of their academic pursuits,” he said. “And just making sure we are properly scheduled, that I’m organized for them so they can organize their academics accordingly. And we’ve got amazing student-athletes on our team, we have high achievers.”
As for his coaching approach, Bentley remains committed to evolution and growth. “I spend a lot of time in the off-season engaged in research and looking at differ-
photo / Nischal Karki / staff
ent ways to do better things,” he said. “As long as I feel strongly about continuing to evolve, then I’ll keep coaching.”
Bentley shared what it takes to coach a team to the national
championships. “[It’s] having a sense of belief in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, and sticking through it, and just having the tenacity to not change,” he said.
“I’m super proud of our
group, and I’m just so proud of Bisons Sports for the event that they put on,” Bentley said. “I’m really proud of that too.”
U of M Tennis Club athletes share what motivates them
Gabriela Rzeszutek and Estefania Garcia highlight potential for tennis on campus
Abdul-Jalilu Ahmed, staff
The U of M Tennis Club athletes Gabriela Rzeszutek and Estefania Garcia reflected on their tennis careers, sharing what motivates them to continue playing the sport.
Rzeszutek noted that the competitive nature of tennis has always been a key source of motivation for her. “Growing up, I played a lot of other sports,” she said. “I did play volleyball and I also did a lot of gymnastics growing up and swimming. But overall, my family was playing tennis, so it was just kind of like a summer sport for all of us. And then eventually, I wanted to try more competitive tennis so then I dropped the other sports and just stuck with tennis.”
Rzeszutek outlined the key qualities and efforts required to become a successful tennis player. “I think determination and consistency and the
eagerness to learn to play,” she said. “In the summertime, there’s lots of availability to play on public courts, so you can just pick up a racket and go play. In the wintertime, it’s a little more challenging just because of court access, but I think if you’re determined to play, you can figure that out as well.”
Rzeszutek highlighted the benefits of joining the U of M Tennis Club and how anyone can be a part of it. “It’s a great club to be a part of,” she said. “There’s lots of room for growth and especially for students, you can be a part of that travelling team to go play and compete. I think tennis is a great sport to pick up and you can definitely do it later on in life as well. You don’t need to start playing as a child. So, it’s quite easy to pick up and join and play competitively if you have that right attitude,” she said.
Although Rzeszutek mentioned that one need not to have played tennis from a young age to enjoy or succeed in the sport, Garcia shared that, for her, tennis has been a long-standing passion.
She explained that it has always been a constant presence in her thoughts. “I played soccer for almost 15 years. I’m from Mexico so I played back there,” she said. “Tennis was always something that was on my mind. I have followed professional tennis since I was very young, but my sport was soccer, so I didn’t play quite often. Once I got here to Winnipeg, it’s one of the sports that I wanted to try because I always had this feeling to be involved in the sport because I think it’s amazing.”
Garcia shared her perspective on what makes playing tennis both exciting and challenging. “Well, playing tennis is great,” she said. “I think
it’s a sport that is very challenging but at the same time it’s very exciting and I think it puts yourself to the limit in terms of physically and emotionally.”
She noted the challenges that come with the sport.
“I think the fact that you are alone in the court and all the work is on you and also it’s a sport where you have to deal with a lot of mistakes,” she said. “It’s one of the sports where you probably make more mistakes than winners. So, you have to work with that and try to keep performing at your best with the fact that you are making mistakes.”
Garcia touched on what it takes to be a successful student-athlete. “I think it’s all on organization and effort,” she said. “That’s the main two things because we have our commitments as students but also have to come here and practice and try our best for a
couple of hours in the court. So, it was all about the effort to handle both.”
Rzeszutek and Garcia emphasized the promising future of the tennis club, expressing optimism about what lies ahead.
“With the amount of time that we had and the ability that the results we produced, if we train more, we can do even better in the future,” Rzeszutek said. “And then keeping what we’re doing and keep pushing and having that right attitude to keep going, we should be able to do the same or even better results in the future.”
“I think it’s promising because I know the talent is here in the province and in the city, and there’s a lot of things to do so more players have the opportunity to find opportunities from playing tennis,” said Garcia.
Behind the Bisons’ home games
The unseen preparation, people and pressure behind the Bisons’ home game days
Faiyaz Chowdhury, staff
M ike Still is the sports information and social media coordinator for the U of M Bisons and previously served as a sports reporter and sports editor at the Manitoban. He holds a bachelor of arts in English from the U of M and a bachelor of journalism from the University of King’s College. In addition to writing recaps for the Bisons’ home games, Still helps lead a team that fans never see.
“Writing is a small part of what I do,” Still said. On game days, there is a rotating team of roughly 30 staff members that includes camera operators, broadcasters, writers, photographers and other media personnel.
Some other key leaders on the team are Jennifer Everard, the game day and events coordinator, and Neil Noonan, the digital media and production coordinator.
By July, Still prepares for the upcoming Bisons season by reaching out to staff members from the previous season to see if they would like to come back. By late August, schedules for the staff are finalized.
“We’ve worked really hard to develop a culture here where people want to come back,” said Still. That culture — friendly, low-pressure and fun — is a major reason why they retain staff year after year.
Each week, Still and Noonan coordinate scheduling, updates and crew communication. “If we don’t have [communication], we have nothing,” said Still. “We’re always there for each other
and will always help the other person out. That is paramount.”
The biggest behind-thescenes effort this season was hosting the 2025 U-Sports women’s volleyball championship — an event that required about a year of preparation. Planning began the previous summer with a core committee of around a dozen people meeting monthly, then biweekly as the season ramped up.
“We have a history of success with hosting national championships here,” said Still. With experience in host-
ing track and field and men’s volleyball championships, the team was capable of hosting a high-level event.
One standout detail about the championship was the use of a Taraflex floor — a specialized green surface used in major international volleyball competitions, including the Olympics. Unlike the standard hardwood with the Bisons logo, the Taraflex provided a neutral court aesthetic, symbolizing the national scale of the event. “It sets the tone right away,” Still said.
The process of laying the Taraflex floor down began on
the Monday before the tournament and required coordination from the facilities’ team. It remained in place through the championship weekend and was only removed the following Monday.
After home games, equipment has to be packed, media uploaded, sponsors checked and post-game interviews wrapped up. For Still and the crew, that can mean an additional four hours of work after the game has ended.
“Honestly, it comes together pretty quickly and finishes pretty quickly because of how many
people help out and how strong the team is,” he said. “That really does make difference.”
Still wanted to underscore how the championship served as a powerful reminder of the talent showcased by the U-Sports women’s volleyball teams across the country. “This is the highest level of amateur sport in our country,” said Still. “This is [an] incredibly elite level of athleticism from every team, and that was on full display in the national final.”
