December 10 2025

News

3 Editorial

8 Comment

Arts & 14 Culture

19 Sports

24

UMSU shrinks again

New Year, new you?

Holiday hypocrisy

Night in Palestine

Bisons beat Wesmen

Vice president student life Hannah Le removed from UMSU executive team

Are your resolutions destined for failure, or is it possible to achieve them?

Canada celebrates Jesus’s birth while we aid the destruction of his homeland

SJP hosts event to howcase and celebrate Palestinian culture

Winnipeg Wesmen lose 73-71 to the herd on Friday, Dec. 5

December 10, 2025

SINCE 1914

VOL. 112, NO. 17

Vol. 112

No. 17

INSIDE:

109 HELEN GLASS BUILDING UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA WINNIPEG, MB THEMANITOBAN.COM | 204. 474. 6535 GENERAL INQUIRIES: ME@THEMANITOBAN.COM CIRCULATION INQUIRIES: MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? EMAIL: DISTRIBUTION@THEMANITOBAN.COM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mikaela Warkentin

editor@themanitoban.com BUSINESS MANAGER Alice Teufack accounts@themanitoban.com BUSINESS SUPPORT MANAGER

Joshua Herold

ads@themanitoban.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

Peace Ifeanyi

me@themanitoban.com COPY EDITOR

Eden Quiring

NEWS

pages 3 to 6

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.

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

EDITORIAL

page 8

copy@themanitoban.com COPY ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Mursal Ghiyasi

Roy Albright Obah

news@themanitoban.com RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Mansura Meghla research@themanitoban.com COMMENT EDITOR

Quinn Mayhew

comment@themanitoban.com ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Boris Tsun Hang Leung arts@themanitoban.com SPORTS EDITOR

Abdul-Jalilu Ahmed

sports@themanitoban.com

DESIGN DESIGN EDITOR

Deveney Jarrow

design@themanitoban.com DESIGN ASSOCIATE

Patricia Sanque

GRAPHICS EDITOR

Emma Gillich

graphics@themanitoban.com GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE

Teegan Gillich

AUDIO AND VIDEO AUDIO EDITOR

Max Reid

audio@themanitoban.com PHOTO EDITOR

Mike Thiessen

photo@themanitoban.com PHOTO ASSOCIATE VIDEO EDITOR

Ebunoluwa Akinbo

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

Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute to any section of the newspaper.

Please contact the appropriate editor for submission guidelines.

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

pages 9 to 10

COMMENT

pages 14 to 16

The Manitoban reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its Editorial Board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, ableist or libellous.

Zulkifl Rafah

video@themanitoban.com DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR

Faisal Rahman

social@themanitoban.com SOCIAL MEDIA ASSOCIATE

Paula Robles Andia

REPORTERS NEWS

Arifah Gheesah

NEWS

Nafisa Al Lilo

RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY COMMENT

Thandeka Katsika

COMMENT

Kyra Campbell

Nawal Semir

ARTS & CULTURE

Carrington Dong

ARTS & CULTURE

Jordan Anglin

SPORTS

Faiyaz Chowdhury

SPORTS

Israel Abejoye

VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS Marco Tolentino, Mohamed Soussi, Anthony Nardella & Emmanuel Laramee

interested in volunteering? email me@themanitoban.com today!

2

The Manitoban is a member of the Canadian University Press, and our journalistic standards can be found on the Manitoban’s website.

Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors. Editorials in the Manitoban are signed and represent the opinions of the writer(s), not necessarily those of the Manitoban staff, Editorial Board or the publisher.

A “volunteer staff” member is defined as a person who has had three volunteer articles, photographs or pieces of art of reasonable length and/ or substance published in the current publishing year of the Manitoban.

DIVERSIONS

page 17

ARTS & CULTURE

pages 18 to 22

SPORTS

pages 23 to 24

Any individual who qualifies as a volunteer staff member must be voted in by a majority vote at a Manitoban editorial board meeting. Elected representatives and non-students may be excluded from holding votes as volunteer staff members in accordance with the Manitoban Constitution.

All contents are ©2025 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Editor-in-Chief.

News

December 10, 2025 news@themanitoban.com

Second UMSU executive removed from office in a month Hannah Le out as vice president student life following board’s decision Roy Albright Obah, staff

T

wenty-nine days after the removal of Jared Ramos Murphy from the position of UMSU vice president external affairs, another executive has departed.

Hannah Le, elected in March 2025 to serve as vice president student life (VPSL) for the 2025-26 term, has been removed from her role.

Prior to her election, Le expressed her passion for student engagement and community-building. She stated she was ready to devote her time to making “students lives better.” The 2025-26 election saw Le clinch the VPSL seat with 1,316 votes, ahead of five other contenders.

The removal followed an UMSU board of directors meeting on Dec. 4, where five major issues were raised against Le. The judicial board cited concerns including tardiness to Membership Services Committee meetings and failing to hold required monthly one-on-one checkins with the women’s representative, centered around a pattern of shirking assigned responsibilities.

Le expressed her feelings in response to her removal from UMSU. “This situation was unexpected and disappointing,” she said, “given how deeply I care about student life and the work I dedicated to this role.”She also commented on the challenges of the role and the impact of reducing the executive team.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT STUDENT LIFE HANNAH LE AT AN UMSU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING HELD ON OCT. 23.

PHOTO BY ZULKIFL RAFAH / STAFF

“The VPSL portfolio is large […] The quality and reliability of these services depend on a cohesive and well-supported executive team,” Le stated.

“Reducing the number of executives inevitably creates more work for fewer people.”

Despite the circumstances, Le shared her readiness to move forward. “I’m ready to close this chapter and move forward. This role has taught me a great deal about leadership, resilience and the importance of standing firmly

by your values even when circumstances become difficult.”

Prabhnoor Singh, UMSU president, confirmed the removal was a decision made by the board of directors. “Advocacy never stops at UMSU,” Singh said, indicating the team’s continued effort to realize campaign promises despite the downsizing of the executive team. He mentioned discussions will be held by the executive committee on how to assign Le’s duties, pending board approval.

Le offered advice to future students seeking UMSU office.

“My message for future UMSU executives is [to] have a strong reason for why you’re stepping into leadership. There will be tough moments, and you’ll need that reason to ground you and help you push through.”

Le also expressed gratitude.

“The support I’ve received from students has been overwhelming, and I’m truly grateful for every community we built together.”

As of Dec. 8, the UMSU website shows only three of the five originally elected executives remain in their portfolios for the academic year.

With 86 days until the next polls, UMSU has announced via its official Instagram that the vacant positions will be handled by the president.

Nominations for candidates to run in the next UMSU elections will open on Feb. 2, 2026, with voting scheduled to take place on March 5 and 6, 2026.

UMSU board updates CASA’s advocacy week, campus events and student support programs Arifah Gheesah, staff UMSU’s board gathered on Dec. 4 to share updates and announcements for the student community.

Prabhnoor Singh, UMSU president, updates Canada’s Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), the national voice for post-secondary students representing undergraduate, graduate and polytechnic associations. CASA advocates through research, policy development, awareness campaigns, government relations and strategic partnerships.

During CASA’s 2025 Advocacy Week, UMSU delegates, including Singh and Heaven Kaur, VP university affairs, held over 100 meetings with

federal ministers, MPs, senators and other stakeholders. Singh also attended Minister Patty Hajdu’s announcement of $1.5 billion in funding for youth employment initiatives, including the Student Work Placement Program and Canada Summer Jobs.

At the provincial level, UMSU continues to advocate for affordable tuition and international student healthcare, noting that post-secondary education received limited attention in the recent Throne Speech. At the university level, Singh met with Richard Jochelson, dean of the faculty of law, to discuss programs such as the Community Law Centre, Business Law Clinic and Manitoba Legal Clinic for

the Arts. He also met with the director of parking and transportation to address student concerns regarding parking tickets and representation on appeals committees. Ongoing initiatives include updating abortion resources on campus, hosting vice-provost (academic affairs) office hours and supporting individual student advocacy cases.

UMSU women’s representative Leata Goulet announced events to support student well-being. On Dec. 3, a collaborative study night with the Arts Student Body Council and Active Minds allowed students to body double, focus on schoolwork and enjoy giveaways and refreshments from local businesses. From Dec.

PHOTO BY EBUNOLUWA AKINBO / STAFF

1 to 8, students were able to stop by the lounge for complimentary snacks and beverages, with additional supplies planned for January.

Temiloluwa Oyewole, UMSU Black students representative, announced that the Black Students’ Association hosted the second-ever edition of The Junction, an

African-centric market event that was a success, with many local businesses selling out.

The event included rice and drinks, and a networking session for Black professionals, offering students the opportunity to connect, celebrate and engage with the community.

3

Vol. 112, No. 17 news@themanitoban.com

News

UMSU holiday hampers to support students in need Annual program offers $150 grocery support as financial pressures rise Nafisa Al Lilo, staff sonal holiday drinks, with one MSU is once again run- dollar from each purchase ning its annual Holiday going toward the program, Hamper program, an initia- IQ’s is donating one dollar tive that provides grocery sup- from every boba tea sold and port to students facing finan- GPA’s is allowing customers to cial hardships during the win- round up to the nearest dollar ter break. Last year, the pro- for a donation to the program. gram helped over 300 stuUMSU also hosted an dents through, according to on-campus event to boost UMSU president Prabhnoor donations. One fundraiser Singh. invited students to take He said the long running photos with Santa Claus and event offers students a $150 a polar bear mascot, with progrocery gift card, allowing ceeds directed to the hamper them to purchase items they fund. personally need.

UMSU partnered with “It’s probably one of Coca-Cola to host a holiUMSU’s most impactful initia- day event at the university. A tives run throughout the year,” Coca-Cola truck, along with Singh said. “Students can cre- Santa and the company’s ate their own holiday hampers polar bear mascot, offered free and purchase items that they photos to students. Singh said find necessary.” this was the first time the partThe program, which has nership included an on-cambeen operating for more than pus event, though Coca-Cola a decade, is funded through has supported UMSU initia- STUDENTS WHO TOOK PHOTOS WITH SANTA TO FUNDRAISE THE HOLIDAY HAMPER PROGRAM. PHOTO PROVIDED BY UMSU community donations and tives in the past. campus partnerships. UMSU “Ten cents from each Coca- the Holiday Hampers website. feels alone.” uted,” he said, “I really want to has reached student associ- Cola drink purchased went to The program is open to underSingh emphasized even thank you from the bottom of ations, faculgraduate stu- small contributions from my heart.” ties and exterdents across community members make a UMSU continues to direct “We just want to make sure that nal partners, the Fort Garry, meaningful difference in the students to additional supno student feels alone” while sevB a n n a t y n e lives of students. port, including the U of M eral UMSUand inner city Singh said he is grateful food bank on the fifth floor of — Prabhnoor Singh, UMSU president run businesses campuses. to students and community UMSU Centre and the UMSU have also con“We recog- members who contributed Hardship Fund, which offers tributed through fundraising the Holiday Hampers,” Singh nize that this time can be dif- through purchases, events or additional financial assistpromotions. added. Students who need ficult,” he said. “We just want donations. ance.

Degrees is offering six sea- assistance can apply through to make sure that no student “To those that have contrib-

U

GPESA hosts conversation with Canadian diplomat GPESA hosts conversation with Canadian diplomat Arifah Gheesah, staff The Global Political Economy Students Association (GPESA) hosted retired Canadian diplomat Mark Eichhorst on Dec. 5. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Otterburne, Manitoba, Eichhorst attended Providence College and completed one semester at the U of M as a visiting student for his history courses.

He initially pictured a future in teaching, but new interests and opportunities eventually pulled him toward a global career.

Eichhorst especially enjoyed his work in immigration. “I absolutely love that because [...] I played a part in

4

making Manitoba [...] more diverse, and [...] bringing different perspectives.”

Over the years, Eichhorst has found his career rewarding, and he enjoys sharing his experiences. He has previously spoken to political studies classes at the U of M and to high school students.

“Ninety per cent of the time, I probably would have done it for free,” he said, when reflecting on his career.

According to Camila Hernandez, GPESA co-director of administration, Jonathan Jenner, Global Political Economy (GPE) coordinator, helped GPESA connect with Eichhorst. Marianne Shaibu,

GPESA co-director of events, explained that many upperyear GPE students struggle with career decisions, and the purpose of this event was to offer a perspective on what professional paths might look like. She added that Eichhorst’s involvement in diverse international contexts is especially valuable for students in the program. “[GPESA] exists to unite GPE students, and people who are globally-minded members of the campus community,” Hernandez said. GPESA regularly hosts brown bag events to help students connect with professors, learn about their research and explore career

PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF

paths. As a self-funded club, GPESA organizes bake sales — their largest fundraiser — and donates part of the proceeds to causes such as the U of M Food Bank.

Shaibu emphasized that GPE is interdisciplinary, and

that GPESA events aim to spotlight intersections between different academic fields.

The association also has several upcoming initiatives, including donation drives and additional fundraising activities.

December 10, 2025 news@themanitoban.com

News

What community truly means Induction of former Seven Oaks superintendent into Jerry Maslowsky Hall of Fame Marco Tolentino, volunteer Of the many schools of the Seven Oaks School Division (SOSD), most, if not all of them, have giant banners on the front. Some say “Community begins here,” and some say “Community starts here,” but no matter what, there is always something about “community.”

When asked about the meaning of “Community begins here,” Brian O’Leary, former SOSD superintendent, said, “It means bringing people together, old or young.”

O’Leary was the superintendent for 22 years (200123), and was recently inducted into the Jerry Maslowsky Performing Arts Hall of Fame on Nov. 6. This induction was accompanied by a concert featuring multiple school groups under SOSD which was organized by Tyler Yip, Manitoba Music Educators’ Association president.

“We hope we can connect with new communities […] through the power of live performance. In Brian’s words, he was most proud when he attended a concert at the SOPAC [Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre] and watched the look on parents’

faces. He loved seeing the pride in their faces as they watched their kids on stage, Yip said.”

The Hall of Fame concert featured some of the many SOSD school groups consisting of Elwick Community School, Amber Trails Community School, Maples Collegiate/Maples Met and Garden City Collegiate/The Seven Oaks Met School. The schools had much to show for the performing arts O’Leary worked so hard to put in the spotlight.

The variety of performances include drumming by Walking Wolf, a group led by Ray (Coco) Stevenson, a band performance from Elwick Sistema, an Afro-Caribbean dance performance from The Amber Trails BSU Dance Group, a choral performance from the Garden City Senior-Choir, a fiddle performance from the Seven Oaks Fiddle Teachers, and a band performance from the local Winnipeg family band, Legacy.

All proceeds from the event will be going toward a scholarship fund to assist a Maples Collegiate student who participates in the Wayfinders Program, a community based outreach program that pro-

vides mentorship for students in their high school journey and encouragement for successful transition into post-secondary education.

The SOSD hopes to continue to help its students and the community moving forward.

Tony Kreml, current SOSD superintendent, spoke about the school division. “Our division welcomes families from many cultural, religious and social backgrounds and we rely on this diversity to create a unique, rich environment for all. Our goal is for every family to find their home in Seven Oaks, without compromising what makes each of us unique,” he said. “Our community is much stronger when each person is authentically seen, heard and valued.”

Jaclyn Loganberg this year marked her 30th year as a music teacher at Maples Collegiate. When asked about what the performing arts is like within the SOSD, she said, “I believe I have one of the best jobs in the world for two reasons — the support from the Seven Oaks board members, trustees and the superintendents, and the amazing students we have in our school.”

TONY KREML IS STEPPING UP AS SUPERINTENDENT OF SEVEN OAKS SCHOOL DIVISION. PHOTO PROVIDED BY TAMARA PROCIUK / SOSD

“Seven Oaks values the arts more than most, if not all, the other school divisions in Manitoba and definitely across Canada,” Loganberg added. “With free instruments for all students, subsidized trips to the Brandon Jazz Festival, generous budgets and staffing support, I am very fortunate to have worked in this division for my entire career.”

“Our students work very hard and they become very successful adults, in large part

because of the values of the music program and the values of arts in our lives,” Loganberg said.

Brian O’ Leary’s induction into the Jerry Maslowsky Performing Arts Hall of Fame serves as a reminder to all on how hard he has worked toward putting the performing arts in the spotlight in the school division. It also reminds us that community is not just an individual idea.

Talking with your hands

MMF files class action suits against Manitoba and Canada

‘Toban news briefs Mikaela Warkentin, staff 24-hour exam study space opens on campus

Enjoy finding art in advertisements?

Riding into the night with transit’s winter schedule

The U of M is running a 24/7 study space over the upcoming exam period, open to all students seeking a dedicated study space at any hour of the day. With a capacity of 55 students, the space operates on a first-come, first-served basis and requires student ID for entry and exit. You can find this study haven in the St. John’s College Library on the third floor from Dec 8 to 19.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is heading to Winnipeg with screenings of the best advertisements the industry has to offer. The awards, which have been presented annually since 1954, celebrate creativity within the advertising and communication industry on an international scale. Screenings will take place at the Muriel Richardson Auditorium at WAG-Qaumajuq from December to March.

Winnipeg Transit is heading into their winter schedule on Dec. 14 with expansions in the On Request system covering gaps in nighttime transit availability. Zones that currently operate after 7 p.m. will extend to 2 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and 12:45 a.m. on Sundays and holidays. Schedules are also being rewritten for the D12, D13, D16 and F8 among other routes to improve weekday availability and timing.

For specific showtimes and to buy tickets, visit wag.ca/ event/cannes-lions-2025/.

For more bus route updates, visit info.winnipegtransit. com/en/rider-guide/news/.

Legislation introduced to recognize sign languages in the Manitoba government was brought to the table on Dec. 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Languages recognized in their own right would be American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, Indigenous sign languages and tactile sign languages. If this legislation were to be successful, Manitoba would be the first province in Canada to recognize sign language as a language, not solely as a tool for accessibility.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is demanding that Manitoba and Canada acknowledge the role both governments had in the Sixties Scoop and how it impacted the Red River Métis in the form of two lawsuits, one against Manitoba and the other against both Manitoba and Canada. David Chartrand, MMF president, cites the lack of apology from both governments for how the Sixties Scoop affected Métis children and families as the reasoning behind the suits.

You can find out more about these lawsuits, filed earlier this month, at mmf.mb.ca/news.

5

Vol. 112, No. 17 news@themanitoban.com

News

UMES gathers to honour lives cut short at Polytech in 1989 Ceremony remembers the 14 women lost, stressing the need for more inclusive spaces Nafisa Al Lilo, staff

T

he Price faculty of engineering held its annual memorial on Dec. 5 to honour the 14 women murdered in the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, an act of gender-based violence that has continued to shape conversations about safety, inclusion and equity in engineering.

The event, organized by the U of M Engineering Society (UMES) in partnership with the dean’s office, drew students, faculty and staff to the engineering atrium for speeches, reflection and a candle lighting ceremony.

The ceremony opened with remarks from Elder-in-residence Norman Meade, followed by speeches from U of M president Michael Benarroch and dean of the Price faculty of engineering Marcia Friesen.

The names of the women killed were read out, along

with brief biographies. Can- whether we’ve made changes remembering.”

Kinzie Friesen, the MC for dles were lit and placed beside since then and what we can the event and a second-year their photos by 14 volunteers continue to do,” she said. made up of seven women and She added the tragedy engineering student, said seven men. The event closed reinforces the broader reality the gathering made her feel with remarks from UMES sen- that “the world is not a safe “really empowered.”

“It makes me really happy and just place for everybody,” ior stick Simran Gill. that everyFriesen said one gathered the memor“It’s important to just recognize why the event together today ial, held across support the country, happened, and to ask ourselves whether we’ve to [this issue],” remains essenmade changes since then” she said. tial more than “There [are] so three decades — Marcia Friesen, many people later. that find this “It’s importdean of Price faculty of engineering matter important to rememant and want ber the losses of that day, [as well as] the vio- further encouraging engin- to make a change and stand lence that was inherent in that eering communities to con- up to gender-based violence” Luke Qually, fourth-year event and the impacts it had tinually ask themselves how on the families and the com- they can contribute to elicit- civil engineering student who has served as a candle holder munities.” ing change.

Friesen explained that the Friesen also expressed at the event for several years, anniversary calls for ongoing gratitude for student leader- said the act carries deep sigscrutiny of our culture sur- ship. “I really appreciate that nificance for him as a man in rounding violence against [UMES] continues to host this the faculty.

“I feel it is a duty as a man in women. “It’s important to just event every year,” she stated. recognize why the event hap- “I think it’s a real expres- engineering to do what I can pened, and to ask ourselves sion of their commitment to to ensure that the space is wel-

coming,” he explained. “And that the harms and the issues that still exist are acknowledged.”

“For me, the candles represent that while their lives were cut short, the impact and the legacy that they had is not forgotten,” Qually added.

Mallory Stewart, a thirdyear biosystems engineering student and UMES equity officer, mentioned the importance of hosting such events.

“It’s a really good time to reflect on these important events so that they don’t repeat themselves.”

“It promotes inclusion,” she said. “I’m doing a lot of work in engineering to help promote equity, inclusivity, diversity and accessibility.”

“Believe in who you are, believe in your passions and believe that you have a place in engineering,” Stewart encouraged students.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY UMES

Remembering the 14 young women whose lives tragically ended on December 6, 1989

Geneviève Bergeron (21 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Anne-Marie Lemay, (22 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Maud Haviernick, (29 years old) Metallurgical Engineering student

Maryse Laganière, (25 years old) Employee, Finance Department

Barbara Daigneault, 22 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Annie St-Arneault, (23 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Hélène Colgan (23 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Sonia Pelletier, (28 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, (31 years old) Nursing student (Université de Montréal)

Maryse Leclair, (23 years old) Metallurgical Engineering student

Anne-Marie Edward, (21 years old) Chemical Engineering student

Annie Turcotte, (20 years old) Metallurgical Engineering student

Nathalie Croteau, (23 years old) Mechanical Engineering student

Michèle Richard, (21 years old) Metallurgical Engineering student

PHOTO BY EBUNOLUWA AKINBO / STAFF

6

From the 2025 UMSU Executive Team!

On behalf of UMSU, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

On behalf of UMSU, we wish you great success in your upcoming exams!

May luck be in your favour and your preparation bring fantastic outcomes!

@myumsu

www.UMSU.ca

Editorial

Vol. 112, No. 17 editor@themanitoban.com

Are your New Year’s resolutions really for you?

How social media and societal expectations set us up for failure Deveney Jarrow, staff

E

very New Year, we hear and see the same cycle — friends and family declaring that this is the year they are finally going to do blank.

Whether it is to read more, start eating healthier, exercise more regularly, learn a new skill, start volunteering, the list goes on. We see the gyms become busier, people sharing their Goodreads lists and posting their healthier meals.

Come February or March, it all seems to come to a halt.

So why is it that these resolutions always seem doomed to fail?

I believe it comes down to us seeing others online accomplishing certain goals that we, too, w o u l d like to accomplish.

W e

think, “Hey, I can do that.” ily mean it will work the same ated to.

But sometimes that just isn’t way for you.

So, how do we set intenthe case — it isn’t always that An example of a goal I tional, achievable goals that easy. would like to accomplish but align with our own lives?

Don’t get me wrong, seeing know isn’t right for me right First, I would recommend others achieve their goals can now is reading more. I used to looking at what you are doing be inspiring, now and where but it’s also you spend the “Seeing others achieve their goals can misleading. most time. Is be inspiring, but it’s also misleading” Social media there somecan be a great thing you place to get inspiration for be an avid reader when I was would like or could do less of setting goals or envisioning younger, and I really, really that may free up time for a new where you want to be in life — miss reading. Every time I see hobby? Do you already lead however, when setting a goal, people I follow post their read- an active lifestyle and know it is so important to consider ing challenges and how much going to the gym more won’t why you want to achieve it and they’ve read so far in a year, be that crazy of a change? how it can be possible within I get so jealous. But knowing Second, I would really ask your myself, I know I won’t real- yourself if the goal is achievistically be able to read that able for you, or much until I finish my degree. I know others can study and then switch to reading for fun, but it just does not work for me.

priority, so you know which is more important for you to focus on. Also, for each goal, define why it is you want to do it. I think when people just say they want to achieve a certain thing without giving it meaning for themselves, this is where they are letting themselves down. If there is no meaning or purpose behind your desire to achieve something, what will motivate you to do it when it gets hard? I think there is power in putting something in writing versus just saying you want to be better at something.

Finally, tell a friend your goal or make vision boards, so you can reach your goals together and keep each other accountable. I know my friends and I will be doing t h i s

GRAPHIC BY EMMA GILLICH / STAFF

immediately start comparing our own lives to the ones we see on TikTok and Instagram and feel a desire to have that same fulfilment. On top of that, we see them achieve their goals from start to finish through updates that they may post, showing how “easy” it is to do. Thus, we start to

specific lifestyle. Are you wanting to achieve it just because you saw someone else do so? And since they seem successful, for you to feel successful you have to do the same? Just because it works for one person and they only had to take these few steps to get there does not necessar-

Some people even set timers and just read for 10 minutes a day to start small, but setting rules around reading would just make it feel like a chore for me rather than something I actually enjoy. So for now, I will look longingly at my want-to-read list and only read whenever I feel motiv-

does it need to be broken down into smaller goals first?

For example, maybe if the gym is too daunting or you don’t know how to come up with a workout, you can try a new sport instead.

If you are going into 2026 with multiple goals, maybe write them down in order of

come winter break. Setting intentional goals is much easier with people who know you and can help you. With that, good luck, Bisons. Happy New Year and here’s to our future achievements in 2026!

Do you know a place on campus that could use a Manitoban newspaper stand?

Let us know at editor@themanitoban.com

8

December 10, 2025 research@themanitoban.com

Research & Technology

From the picket line to the negotiating table Research explores history of feminist labour movements Nawal Semir, staff ition on the plane,” and stewhen images of femin- ardesses, who were positioned ist activism flash across “below that.” This changed as our screens, they often fol- women sought access to those low a familiar script — pro- higher-status jobs, leading to testers with placards in the a merger of the roles into the streets, marching for legisla- single, gender-neutral title tive change. For Julia Smith, of flight attendant. a U of M labour studies proDespite this formal intefessor, this common narrative gration, Smith observed the captures only a fraction of a profession still consists premuch richer and more diverse dominately of women, and history. This history is one she the issues they fight for being has dedicated her research to deeply gendered. She conuncovering. nected the recent Air Canada Smith describes herself as strike’s focus on unpaid labour an interdisciplinary histor- — being paid for only part of ian and outlines her focus their work — to long-standing on the history of femin- inequities in woman-dominist labour organization. Her ated jobs. approach focuses on “women According to Smith, this who have been working to research represents more advance gender equality than an academic focus — through union activism,” she it is a personal and intellecexplained. Her research chal- tual journey that has fundalenges the traditional idea of mentally reshaped her underthe feminist activist, reveal- standing of social movements. ing a world where the fight for Reflecting on her undergraduequality has been persistently ate introduction to feminwaged not only on the streets ism, she admitted a combut within the very structures mon initial perception. “Like of the workplace. many people, I felt like femSmith’s portfolio is delib- inist activism kind of looks this, highlighting women erately wide-ranging. She has like one way. It’s women out from varied backgrounds, studied women who founded in the street, picketing, fight- including many from the independent unions, as well ing for things,” she admitted. working class, who have idenas those who organized within Exposure to labour history, tified as feminists and chosen existing male-dominated however, opened a new lens. the collective power of the labour structures and cam- Studying the intersection of union as their primary vehicle paigns across different profes- gender and class activism, she for change. “The women that sions, including the financial said, “really opened [her] eyes I’ve spent a lot of time studysector. This includes signifi- to the diversity of what [fem- ing,” she said, “chose to basiccant work on women in the inist acitivsm] looks like.” ally advance their feminbanking industry and a curThat diversity is twofold. ist activism through labour rent co-authored project on First, it concerns the activists activism — by organizing in flight attendthe workplace, ants. The lator by joining “The women that I’ve spent a lot of time ter holds parunions.” ticular signifiSecond, this studying […] chose to […] advance their cance, Smith intersection feminist activism through labour noted, “given r e f r a m e s the high-prothe very tacactivism — by organizing in the file strike by tics of social workplace, or by joining unions” flight attendchange. It posants at Air Canitions collect— Julia Smith, U of M labour studies professor ada recently.” ive bargaining S m i t h’s for pay equity, research on flight attendants themselves. “When we talk parental leave, protections shows that the role was “lit- about feminist movements, against harassment and safe erally divided by gender.” we might think of women of working conditions as core There were stewards, who held a certain kind, that look a cer- feminist achievements. The what she described as “more tain way,” Smith observed. Her negotiation table becomes like the management pos- research deliberately counters as significant a site of strug-

W

PHOTO BY EBUNOLUWA AKINBO / STAFF

gle as the rally. This perspective enriches labour history by centering gender justice as a driving force within union movements, while simultaneously expanding the feminist canon to include the sustained, organized efforts of women within their professions.

When asked about the role of men in this integrated struggle, Smith emphasized their critical importance.

She noted that, while women constitute a majority of the population, systemic change requires broad-based alliance.

“A lot of feminist activists will say this, that it’s really important that men are on board too and that men are participating in the feminist movement.” Achieving equitable workplaces demand allyship across genders, challenging entrenched norms and power dynamics that affect all workers. “We need men to understand those issues […] to help organize around them, espe-

cially when […] people who sit at decision-making tables are still predominantly men.”

For students of history, labour, gender studies and even technology, Smith’s research offers crucial insights. It demonstrates that the tools for building a more just world are often found in the spaces we already inhabit.

Her project on flight attendants, a profession long defined by gendered expectations and now on the front lines of modern labour disputes, promises to further illuminate how feminized professions organize, blending traditional union strategy with urgent feminist concerns in the 21st century economy.

In documenting these stories, Smith’s work does more than archive the past. It provides a roadmap for understanding the present and strategically organizing for the future.

9

Research & Technology

Vol. 112, No. 17 research@themanitoban.com

Listening to the land’s stories Indigenous storytelling carries knowledge, ethics and histories of resistance Mansura Akter Meghla, staff

W

arren Cariou, a professor in the department of english, theatre, film & media, has spent his career thinking about stories. Cariou focuses on where the stories come from, who carries them and how they connect people to the land.

“My research involves Indigenous storytelling, writing and land relations,” he said. “I am interested in the ways that all three of these are interconnected in Indigenous traditions.” Many storytellers describe stories as emerging from the land itself, he explained, and retelling them becomes a way of maintaining relationships with territories.

His work also examines how environmental damage from developments like oil extraction or hydroelectric dams has shaped communities and cultural memory.

Cariou’s research is tied closely to his own upbringing.

“My dad was an amazing storyteller in the Métis tradition, so I have always been inspired by his example,” he said. Growing up near the Athabasca tar sands also exposed him to the cultural and environmental disruption caused by resource extraction. “I have felt a responsibility to tell the stories of Indigenous people who have been affected,” he said.

That responsibility led to Petrography, one of his recent creative projects. Using bitumen from the Athabasca region, Cariou created photographs depicting both the damage caused by oil extraction and the landscapes that persist beyond industrial development. The project emerged during a previous film collaboration with U of M colleague Neil McArthur.

“I realized during the filmmaking process that the bitumen is naturally occurring and that it had traditional uses for Indigenous people before the oil companies came,” Cariou said. “In my Petrography project, I am trying to find a new way of relating to oil, one that is more in keeping with Indigenous teachings about respect for the land and for one another.”

Across his work, storytelling became a form of knowledge that transcends genres.

“A story is not just an entertainment — it is also a condensed and memorable form of science, law, psychology and ethics,” he explained.

Many stories record teachings about survival, ethical relations or the careful observation of plants, animals, weather and stars. The land

10

GRAPHIC BY EMMA GILLICH / STAFF

itself functions as a character be much more aware of the way of understanding the and a teacher, shaping both environmental and cultural topic.” the story and the listener. costs of using them,” he noted.

Cariou’s upcoming proCariou’s approach has conHis creative practice — jects continue this multiform tributed to fields such as spanning memoir, fiction, approach. He is currently Indigenous environmental poetry, film and photography working on an audiobook feathought and energy human- — reflects the fluidity of oral turing Indigenous oral storyities, where he proposes what storytelling. “Oral storytellers tellers, created in collaborahe calls “Indigenous energy are often retelling their stor- tion with the publishing comintimacy.” In contrast to West- ies, but each time the story is a pany McClelland & Stewart. ern ideas of “I hope that “A story is not just an entertainment — it is energy as a listeners will c o m m o d i t y, feel like they also a condensed and memorable form he sees energy are sitting at a of science, law, psychology and ethics” as a relationkitchen table ship between or at a camp— Warren Cariou, department of english, humans and fire [while] land. He hoped hearing stories theatre, film & media professor this framework that will capwould encourtivate them,” age people to think more crit- little different,” he said. Mov- he said. ically about the resources that ing between mediums allows For students interested sustain daily life. “If we under- him to explore a subject from in Indigenous literature or stand that we are related to multiple directions. “Each of environmental humanities, our energy sources […] we will those forms provides a new he emphasized humility and

attentive listening. “Being humble means abandoning the idea of ‘mastering’ a subject and instead opening yourself to the possibility of being moved, and being changed, by what you are learning,” he said. “Spending time with storytellers has taught me to be a better listener, but it has also taught me that I have so much more to learn.”

Cariou said one of his greatest inspirations is Omushkego Cree storyteller Louis Bird. Despite facing difficulties throughout his life, Bird remains driven by curiosity and joy. “At 91 years old, he is an inspiration for learners everywhere,” Cariou said.

Features

Vol. 112, No. 17 editor@themanitoban.com

The coach who never stopped raising the bar Ken Bentley reflects on his journey with the Bisons women’s volleyball team Faiyaz Chowdhury, staff

B

isons women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley stepped into his role for the team in the 1986-87 season at just 23 years old, full of ambition. Entering his fourth decade with the Bisons, he is one of the most accomplished coaches in the Canadian university sport, guiding the Bisons to 11 national finals and winning seven (1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2025).

Ken Bentley was born in Winnipeg. He graduated high school from Murdoch MacKay Collegiate and completed his post-secondary studies at the U of M. “The simple goal was just a win,” Bentley said of his first years with the team.

Coaching at the university level required more than just knowledge about volleyball. “I certainly didn’t realize the breadth of the responsibility [as] a university coach,” he said. “Obviously, as time goes on, your goals broaden […] In the short-term I just wanted to try it out, keep winning.”

Bentley found success in rebuilding competitive teams across multiple generations, adapting to changes in the sport while maintaining a consistent culture. “Strong recruiting, getting really good people, great student athletes and then obviously retaining those players too [is key],” he said. “Your retention rate is critical, and that’s a big challenge for any university coach […] They [the players] have to be happy more often than they’re not.”

His hard work has not gone unnoticed. Bentley was named coach of the year by U Sports twice, in 1991–92 and 2006–07. “It’s obviously a reflection of the totality of the work that we’re doing,” he

PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF

said. “I never set out [at] the think about all the late nights tral to his long-term success. start [of] the year [saying], ‘I […] when really nobody’s He noted “no one person is wanna be coach of the year.’” watching and you’re grinding bigger than the team [...] We In 2014, Bentley reached it out,” he added, “You don’t fight hard for each other, not 1,000 career wins, a milestone get to 1,000 [wins] without against each other.” only a few CanBentley adian coaches remembered “No one person is bigger than the team […] reach. He was the moment he the first Canlearned he got We fight hard for each other, not adian women’s the job back against each other” volleyball in 1986, and coach at the the small cele— Ken Bentley, Bisons women’s volleyball head coach bration that university level to achieve followed. He this. Bentley recalls the grind winning those matches when said, “I just couldn’t believe more than the glory. “I don’t no one else is around.” someone was going to pay me think of the wins as much as I Team culture has been cen- to coach.” With his first pay-

cheque, he added, “I bought my parents Chinese food [to] pay [them] back in some small measure.”

Across several decades from the sideline, certain seasons stand out for Bentley, though he hesitated to rank them. “Each championship was incredibly […] different,” he said.

Bentley happily shared that winning championships hosted at the U of M were special to him. This happened twice, in 2000-01 and 2024-25.

For more content, check out The Manitoban Youtube channel! @TheManitobanNews 12

“I have the ability to make a positive impact in more than 80 people’s lives.”

M ELISSA , WINNIPEG Registered organ and tissue donor

Register to be an organ and tissue donor donateyourorgans.ca

Comment

Vol. 112, No. 17 comment@themanitoban.com

Peace on earth, parts to Israel Canada celebrates the holidays while arms exports help sustain the Gaza genocide Kyra Campbell, staff

H

ere in Canada, many are getting into the holiday spirit by gathering for dinners with friends, crowding into shops and walking under lights strung over streets that were dark just weeks ago.

For a moment, it can feel as if the wider world is on pause.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has recently released a statement that the genocide in Gaza is ongoing. At the same time, our own government is still exporting the weapons technology that make it possible.

To spell out what the ongoing genocide means in practice, Palestinians are still being starved and displaced, and settler attacks in the West Bank are intensifying instead of fading away. Villages are assaulted, homes and olive trees burned, and people live under the constant threat of being killed outright in the bombings or by gunfire. Faced with that reality, why do we go on as if everything is normal?

This is where the holiday season becomes uncomfortable. “Peace on earth” is not just a slogan on our cards. It is a claim about what we value, and our country’s role is part of that claim.

In Ottawa, members of Parliament (MPs) are debating Bill C-233, a private member’s bill that targets the heart of that role. It targets a long-standing loophole in Canada’s arms export system, where general permits allow military goods and components to go through the U.S. without the risk assessments required for other destinations. Those parts can then make their journey to states like Israel with little Canadian scrutiny.

In the House of Commons, MP Jenny Kwan argued that by exempting U.S. bound exports in this way, Canada is breaching the Arms Trade Treaty, which bars transfers that would contribute to genocide or serious violations of the Geneva Conventions.

Bill C-233, the “No More Loopholes Act,” would close key gaps in Canada’s arms

14

GRAPHIC BY TEEGAN GILLICH / STAFF

export system. It would make clear that finished weapons as well as the parts, components and technology needed to assemble or use them are covered as “arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war.” It would end country-based exemptions, stop broad general export and broker permits for military goods, require stronger human rights tests and annual reporting on Canada’s compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty.

Critics of the current system are not saying that a better law would make Canada innocent. Even if Bill C-233 passed tomorrow, it would not erase the fact that Canada has armed and backed Israel throughout its genocide in Gaza and has treated the apartheid regime as a close ally for decades.

This bill does not undo that

history. But it finally admits that the exporting of our weapons technology is part of the problem, and it tries to stop at least some of the harm from being rubber-stamped.

The government’s response has been to brush aside reports of Canadian shipments to Israel and instead praise Canada’s export control system, warning that Bill C-233 would damage our defence industry and weaken our international partnerships.

MPs repeat that Canada already has one of the strictest regimes in the world in export controls for arms. With those talking points backed by the government’s numbers in the House, the bill will likely be voted down. If the bill dies, Canada will go on celebrating Christmas, singing about peace while our government continues to help arm a genocide.

This is possible in part because, at Christmas, many people reach for a different story — one of sedation.

Sentimental carols, Christmas movies, office parties and the quiet request not to mention Gaza, because “it has been such a hard year already,” take over the season.

Yet the Christmas story itself is not sedative at all. It is the story of a child born under military occupation to parents who had to flee state violence. If we take that seriously, Christmas is not an invitation to look away from the occupation and violence taking place in the region where Jesus was said to be born. It is a reminder that any words we speak about peace and goodwill are measured against what is happening to Palestinians under Israeli apartheid.

So, what do we do? First, we must refuse the story that

the genocide is over. When you hear the word “ceasefire,” remember that Israel has violated the current agreement numerous times with impunity. Remember, too, that many continue to make clear the genocide has not ceased, and that some of our own MPs continue to fight to end Canada’s ongoing complicity. Refuse the idea that “this has nothing to do with me.” Ask your MP where they stand on Bill C-233 and why. Support campaigns for an arms embargo and for international law to be upheld.

If we truly believe what we sing about the spirit of Christmas, an ongoing genocide funded and armed by governments, including our own, cannot be treated as background noise.

December 10, 2025 comment@themanitoban.com

Comment

Paper angels, real inequality Angel trees highlight community care in an economy built on profit over people Kyra Campbell, staff

I

GRAPHIC BY TEEGAN GILLICH / STAFF

am not a religious person, but my best memories of church are of my grandmother and I standing together beside an angel tree. We went year-round, but at this time of year, the community room would be home to a Christmas tree covered in paper tags.

We would stand there together choosing a few names, and then spend time looking for gifts for people we would never meet. It made us feel like we were quietly part of something bigger.

This year, that feeling came back to me in a very modern way — through TikTok. My For You Page has been full of angel tree videos.

People film the tags they pick and make haul videos of what they buy. One woman in the U.S. has been taking on multiple angel trees and going above and beyond. In one video, she arranges for a boy to get a kitten, plus bags of cat supplies.

It has been nice to see the outpouring of generosity.

After a while, I started looking for angel trees in Winnipeg too and picked up a few tags from one in my community. It feels like a small, practical way to share what I have, because no one should have to go without gifts during the

holiday season.

But, the cynic in me will not stay quiet.

I cannot ignore the fact that there seem to be more people in need this year, not fewer.

A lot of the tags read less like wish lists and more like shopping lists for basics such as grocery gift cards, shampoo, diapers and baby formula.

These are essentials that should not depend on a stranger’s spare cash and soft heart to be within reach.

We talk a lot about the kindness of community, and that is real. What we talk about less is why we are having to lean so heavily on each other in the first place. In Canada, income inequality continues to grow while corporate profits look more than healthy.

Rent, food prices and bills do not stop climbing. The federal and provincial governments preach about affordability measures, even as they take a notable neoliberal turn that leaves more to the market and private organizations.

Angel trees are a kind invention for an unkind reality. While the sentiment is beautiful, we should let the needs they reveal push us to keep advocating for a world where such gestures are less necessary.

There is no shame in asking for help, and no shame in feel-

ing good when you give it. I am glad TikTok has turned generosity into something more people feel moved to take part in. Mutual care is one of the only ways many of us are getting through this cost-of-living crisis with our humanity intact.

But we should be honest about what these trees are really telling us. They say that we are being left to sort out among ourselves what those with far more power and money have chosen to inflict and look away from. They say that a child’s basic needs are being outsourced to seasonal charity while corporations post record earnings and governments shy away from solidarity.

This Christmas, I am glad to support initiatives like angel trees. I will likely still feel that old, quiet joy when I drop the gifts off. I just refuse to let that feeling be the end of the story.

If the tags on the tree break your heart a little, that is not a sign of something wrong with you. That is a sign something is wrong with a system that leaves many behind so a few can live untouched by the consequences.

The kindness is real. So is the crisis. We should not let that kindness distract us from the crisis behind it.

Manitoban wrapped The track is always on rewind Quinn Mayhew, staff If there were a Spotify playlist for this year, but for life events, it would be a compilation of less-than-joyful moments from days gone by, a garbage fire of memories. However, despite my cynicism, there were also moments of joy in my life that made this year enjoyable.

As the year comes to a close, I have sentiments about the year that I’d like to share with you. If you ever find yourself in a pickle at school, go get an ice cream. Life is too short to be stuck worrying about something that won’t matter the next day.

If I could pick one song to sum up my year, it would be “party 4 u” by Charli XCX. I feel like this year has been the year of missed chances for me, missed moments and a sense of yearning for something I cannot even put a name to.

In the song, Charli repeats the same sentence over and over again, resembling the

broken track of this year that just keeps playing — “Party on you, party on you, party on/ Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on/Party on you, party on you, party on.”

For me, the lyrics resemble my life. I feel like it was always happening to me, never with me.

Another song I would queue up to represent this year would be “Starstruck” by Lady Gaga. There’s just something so motivating about strutting down the hallways on campus as your heels click with each step while blasting this song. I solely attribute passing all my midterms this semes-

ter to listening to this song. If you need a motivating track, I highly recommend this one.

For my next act — or, should I say, the next song on my playlist of life events — I would choose “The Wild Rover” by the Pogues. They are a band with Irish roots, and as a person with Irish roots myself, how could I not include an Irish pub song on this Manitoban Comment wrapped? This song resonated with my time in Ireland, where I would constantly hear this song wafting from the corner of almost every pub I visited. It makes me feel nostalgic for the moments in Ireland I didn’t even know I would yearn for again.

This year, although filled with song choices that might suggest self-wallowing, model walking and pub tunes, is, on a larger scale, a period of selfgrowth and development.

My last piece of advice before the year ends will be borrowed from A Charlie

GRAPHIC BY EMMA GILLICH / STAFF

Brown Christmas, spoken by Charlie Brown himself. “This little green one here seems to need a home [...] We’ll decorate it, and it’ll be just right for our play. Besides, I think it needs me.” I think this quote shows

that perhaps we should see the merit and appreciation in small gestures and moments.

For all those reading this article, I hope you have a happy holiday and a great New Year.

15

Vol. 112, No. 17 comment@themanitoban.com

Comment

Cut the show. I’m done. Take me off.

The struggle to survive the semester’s final stretch Thandeka Katsika, staff

F

ew memes manage to capture my exact emotional temperature, but the viral clip of a man sitting in a chair, hands in the air, eyes filled with tears of disbelief and exhaustion, crying, really captures my attention. “Take me off” has become the unofficial portrait of how I feel right now. At this point in the semester, this image is less of a meme and more of a mirror.

I feel just as dishevelled, overwhelmed and emotionally fragile as him, and I’m begging life to “please cut the show.”

The thing about this time of year is that everything hits you all at once. The assignments, final exam preparation and the pressure to perform well all pile up. It’s almost suffocating, and even though I joke about it, the burnout is real. Research supports the idea that the final stretch of a semester is one of the most stressful periods for university students. So, when students say they’re done emotionally, mentally and physically, it’s not because they lack resilience. Wanting this semester to be over is not lazy or dramatic. It is a completely valid response to a workload that is structurally overwhelming.

If I could fast-forward through this semester, I absolutely would. I would gladly forfeit the “character building” of this season of my life and skip straight to Christmas. I don’t want to grow as a person, I want sleep, Netflix and the kind of peace only a

GRAPHIC BY TEEGAN GILLICH / STAFF

finished semester can bring.

But because we cannot skip this semester, the best we can do is learn how to get through it, even if we just barely make it. One of the most important strategies for surviving this time of the year is creating a detailed schedule. It helps keep track of all the tasks that need to be completed and

makes all the daunting things that need to be done slightly less intimidating. I also find that scheduling makes me feel more in control. Another coping tip is to take real and intentional breaks. Don’t feel guilty for taking some time to breathe. Rest is not the enemy of productivity.

As overwhelming as this

season feels, it is important to remember that these emotions don’t make you weak.

They make you human. This stretch demands so much from us and feeling overwhelmed is not a character flaw but a natural response to academic overload.

The only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that

it’s almost over. In about two weeks, I will be able to close my laptop for good, throw out a bunch of manuals, get wrapped up in a warm blanket and sleep until my body — not an alarm — decides that it’s time to wake up.

Mental health is important, until you call for help Underfunded services and months-long waitlists are leaving students behind Mohamed Soussi, volunteer Exams are here, stress is rising and thousands of students across this campus are quietly falling apart. In anticipation, I reached out to the Student Counselling Centre (SCC) to work on issues stemming from my chronic health problems. As I went through the process of trying to make an appointment with SCC, I found that it is so severely underfunded that it functions as a rationing system where there is roughly one counsellor for every 3,000 student.

Right now, the SCC intake process looks like something out of 1997 — phone-only, once a week, Fridays at 2:30 p.m. Miss the window because you’re in class? Too bad. (It

16

happened to me twice.) Don’t have twenty minutes to sit on hold? Again, too bad.

When I called on Oct. 10, only seven minutes after intake opened, I was already the 10th caller on hold. This was the seventh week of classes, not even midterms, and the line was already full.

Meanwhile, faculties like law, nursing and a few others pay out of their own budgets to reserve counsellors for their students. If you’re lucky enough to be in a well-funded faculty, you get almost immediate access. If you’re not, you enter the “general population” queue, where wait times stretch into months depending on your triage category — low, mild or critical.

I was told directly that if I was not a law student, my case, classified as “mild,” would not have been seen at all in the general pool. And, had I waited a few more weeks, even my faculty-funded counsellor would not be able to see me, and I would have been advised to look for off-campus support instead. If I were to join the general queue, I likely wouldn’t be seen until seven or eight months later. By then, a student who started with a mild struggle could snowball into something far more dangerous — academic decline, worsened depression or even suicidal ideation.

This isn’t hypothetical.

This is exactly how the system works right now.

UMSU is trying to help change things by advocating, pushing for support, running student health coverage and promoting workshops. But advocacy only matters if the administration chooses to listen, and right now, there is no evidence of that.

The university loves to talk about mental health, but talk costs nothing. Instead of funding a real, accessible mental-health system, the administration has essentially offloaded responsibility onto faculties. That leaves the students who most need help — often first-generation immigrants, low-income, international students and those outside professional faculties — fighting over scraps.

If the administration truly cared about student well-being, mild cases would be seen quickly, before they escalate. Only low-severity cases should ever be waitlisted, and even then, making them wait until the next semester is unreasonable.

If the U of M wants to claim it supports its students, then it’s time to prove it. Fund the SCC properly. Eliminate the intake bottleneck. Stop forcing faculties to build their own mental-health safety nets.

If the only students getting timely counselling are those whose faculties can afford it, then this campus doesn’t have a mental-health system at all — it has a hierarchical system.

Diversions

8

2 1

1 7 3

6

5

9

3 4 2 1

5

No. 2313

Previous solution - Medium

SUDOKU

8 4

© 2025 Syndicated Puzzles

9

Tough

9

1 8 3 9 7 4 2 5 6

Medium

9 2 6 3 5 1 7 4 8

4 5 7 2 8 6 3 1 9

8 6 4 7 3 9 1 2 5

5 7 9 1 2 8 6 3 4

3 1 2 6 4 5 8 9 7

6 3 8 4 9 2 5 7 1

2 9 1 5 6 7 4 8 3

7 4 5 8 1 3 9 6 2

Previous solution - Very Hard

© 2025 Syndicated Puzzles

2

cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to The solutions will be published here in the nex see how ‘straights’ are formed.

6

4

COLOUR ME! Provided by Emma Gillich

xkcd.com

3

1

5 6

2

3

7

7

5 3 4 1 2 2 3 7 1 6 5 3 4 8 6 9 7 8

9

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

You can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

4 5 9 8 7

9

6 8 9 4 7 6 8 5 8 7 6 5 5 6 4 8 3 7 8 9 2 1 7 6 3 2 4 7 1 4 3 2 2 1 3

4

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

1

Ve

edium

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

7 6 3

4

9 2

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

3

5 6 5 4 7

7

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

8 3

5

4

6

3 4

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

1

9

Medium

3 8 4 7 6 1 9 2 5

3

1

5 2 9 8 3 4 6 7 1

1 9 4

4 1 2 7

3

1 7 6 5 2 9 3 8 4

5 1

9

ber can . But... ed by black s. These bers that ght is a set t can be in s in black s an option are not part e solution to The solutions will be published here in the next issue. ed.

4 3 5 6 8 2 7 1 9

5

8

1 5 5 8

6

9 6 2 1 7 3 4 5 8

tr8ts.com

2

8 1 7 4 9 5 2 3 6

How to beat Str8ts – Previous solution - Very Hard Like Sudoku, no single number can 1 9 4in any 8 5row 3 or6column.

2 7 But... repeat 8 2 and 5 columns 6 7 1 are 3 9divided 4 rows by black squares 3 6 7 into 4 compartments.

9 2 8 1 5 These need that 9 3 to2be7 filled 1 6in with 4 5numbers 8 complete is a set 7 5 8 a3 ‘straight’.

2 4 9 A6straight 1 of numbers with no gaps but can be in 4 1 6 9 8 5 2 7 3 any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black 2 7 3 1 6 8 5 4 9 cells remove that number as an option 5 that 4 row 1 2and 3 column, 9 7 8 and 6 are not part in 6 any 8 straight.

9 5 4 Glance 7 1 3at 2the solution to of The solutions will be published here in the next issue. see how ‘straights’ are formed.

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

3

6

2 5 3 9 4 8 1 6 7

8 4 6 9

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

7

6 4 8 3 1 7 5 9 2

2

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

3

7 9 1 2 5 6 8 4 3

3

5 7

No. 2312

Previous solution - Tough

Sudoku Solution To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each Previous solution - Easy No. 2312 6 1 3and 9row, 8 7 column, 2 43x3 box contains 5 8every 7 6 5 1 3 number2 uniquely.

In Straights, 9 7 4 5Sudoku, 6 2 3 no 1 single like number 1 to 9 2 7 8 1 5 4 3 2 can repeat in any row or column. But 7 6 8 9 1 4 5 3 2 6rows and 7 8columns 4 5 are divided by black 3 Straights Solution 2squares 3 8 7into 5 6 compartments.

4 Each 3 2 1 4 6 8 7 9 compartment must form a “straight.”

9 7 6 8 4 3 2 1 A straight is a set of numbers with How to beat Str8ts – 8 noSudoku, gaps but it cannumber be incan any order, eg Like no single repeat in any row or column. But...

[7,6,9,8]. Clues in black cells remove 4 1 rows and columns are divided by black that into number as an These option in that squares compartments. need be filled in with numbers 2 of 7 1 rowto and column, and arethatnot part complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set straight.

Glance at be thein solution of any numbers with no gaps but can 1 3 any [4,2,3,5].

Clues in black toorder, see eghow “straights” are formed.

© 2025 Syndicated Puzzles

Very Hard

SUDOKU

Puzzle by Signdicated Puzzles

© 2025 Syndicated Puzzles

No. 2312

9 2

STR8TS

Straights

Puzzle by Signdicated Puzzles

issue.

SUDOKU

Sudoku

© 2025 Syndicated Puzzles

December 10, 2025 graphics@themanitoban.com

2025 Alance AB

17

Arts & Culture

Vol. 112, No. 17 arts@themanitoban.com

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker full of festive fun Adaptation of the classic tale presented annually for over 25 years

Carrington Dong, staff

R

oyal Winnipeg Ballet’s (RWB) beloved production of Nutcracker was first commissioned in 1999 by then-artistic director André Lewis, who retired this spring after working with the company for 50 years. Set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s iconic score and choreographed by Galina Yordanova and Nina Menon, this version infuses the classic Christmas story with uniquely Canadian touches, including Mounties, an outdoor hockey game on a frozen pond and the hilarious Filbert the Bear, whose antics elicit giggles every year from the children in the audience.

Set in Winnipeg at the turn of the 20th century, Nutcracker follows Clara, a young girl who embarks on a magical Christmas journey when her wooden nutcracker comes to life. From there, Clara and her Nutcracker Prince battle with the Mouse King and then visit the Land of Sweets to meet the magical Sugar Plum Fairy.

The production is currently touring across Canada with stops in Regina, Saskatoon, Ottawa and Vancouver, before beginning a 10-show run here in Winnipeg at the Centennial Concert Hall.

Calgary-born dancer Julianna Generoux is a corps de ballet artist in the RWB and will be dancing the role of Clara this year.

“This role has three main pas de deux and they are pretty stamina heavy,” Generoux said of preparing for her role. “So, [we have] lots of rehearsals to really build up

18

our stamina and our artistry.”

Generoux is partnered with second soloist Marco Lo Presti, originally from Italy, who will dance the role of the Nutcracker Prince.

On his role, he said, “It’s mainly physical preparation [for me] because [the pas de deux] require lots of strength on my side for partnering.”

This will be Generoux and Lo Presti’s first time dancing these roles together, and they’ve found that they clicked together quickly.

“I feel like we’re both very expressive dancers,” Generoux remarked. “Once we start dancing, we truly are the characters and we’re just in the moment, very present together […] I can trust [Lo Presti] fully.”

Lo Presti agreed, saying, “I feel like it’s been easy from the very first moment because we have open communication […] If there’s a problem [or] issue, we just talk about it […] and there’s nice chemistry on stage, and that makes everything way easier.”

The two have enjoyed building their partnership, saying they have developed a strong stage chemistry where they can look beyond technique and focus on other aspects of the performance.

“We feed off the performance quality of the other […]

And that makes dancing very enjoyable. We’re not just thinking about technique, we’re thinking about enjoying the performance and portraying the character and [having] fun,” said Lo Presti.

“Even when little things go wrong, we can just look at

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MICHELLE BLAIS

each other and be like, ‘Okay, it’s fine,’” Generoux added.

“We’re in this together, we’re both on the same page.”

Generoux, Lo Presti and their fellow company dancers have a packed performance schedule, including classes and rehearsals during the day before they go on stage. “[On one-show days] we just have one show in the evening, so class at 1:30 [p.m.], and then we have two hours of rehearsal where you get notes from the show […] Any of the lead couples can choose to rehearse if they want, and then we have a dinner break and then performance at 7, 7:30 [p.m.],” Generoux explained.

On weekends, things are even busier as the company performs two shows per day, requiring mental and physical endurance and the ability to adapt to last-minute changes. “[The night before] you finish around 10 p.m. and you

have the adrenaline going until at least midnight,” said Lo Presti. “The next day you have to wake up around 8:30 [or] 9 [a.m.] […] Normally on double-show days we have class around 10 [a.m.] […] You go on stage, you wear your makeup, you look at yourself in the mirror, you’re like, ‘You can do this, you can do this.’

And then [we perform] again in the afternoon, [which] is even harder because you switch off, then you have to switch on again.”

Despite the hectic tour schedule, both dancers love being able to travel and perform in different cities for different audiences, saying that every show brings a new experience.

When asked what they think audiences will love about the show, Generoux mentioned the addition of local guest artists. This year, the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble will return for the fourth

time, having first worked with RWB in 2022. Also joining this year are the Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers, who blend the Red River Jig with modern hip hop, and Manohar Performing Arts of Canada to perform Indian classical dances such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak.

Lo Presti noted the show’s Winnipeg setting appeals to audiences.

“It’s very attached to Winnipeg and it’s a very great production. I’ve been in many productions, and I have to say this one is the most exciting so far,” he remarked.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s The Nutcracker will run at the Centennial Concert Hall from Dec. 19 through Dec. 27 (excluding Dec. 24-25 for statutory holidays). For tickets and all other information, visit rwb.org.

December 10, 2025 arts@themanitoban.com

Arts & Culture

SJP offer immersive cultural experience Palestinian cultural event showcases arts, cuisine and more Jordan Anglin, staff

T

he U of M Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) hosted a Palestinian cultural event, Night in Palestine, at the Ukrainian Labour Temple on Dec. 6. It featured Palestinian food and drinks, vendors, dancing, live music and an artefact display. The event was very popular, with such great demand that the initially soldout ticket sale was extended through last week.

Much of the food came from local restaurants, including shawarma skewers, but many dishes were also prepared at home by Palestinian women.

They were served alongside sage tea and karak chai. Products such as Palestinian coffee cups, soccer jerseys and accessories were sold at the market.

One feature of the program was the Dabke dance, led by SJP vice-president Hussein Chokr. Dabke is a traditional Palestinian social dance in which performers hold hands and alternate between line and circle formations.

Another feature was an acoustic performance by OP-ED, a local protest rock band led by Tarek Abdel Aziz,

a Palestinian refugee born in a camp in Lebanon.

Rana Abdulla, co-owner of Yafa Café, also provided historical Palestinian artefacts for a museum display.

Night in Palestine follows in the footsteps of a successful gala held last year. Chokr created the exhibition due to the lack of a Palestinian pavilion in Folklorama. He wanted to provide the opportunity for people to learn about Palestinian culture beyond the current genocide.

“People think that we’re just a group of people that are being massacred right now,” Chokr explained. “We are more than that […] We are rich in culture. We’re not just a culture of suffering. We have a beautiful culture through our food, through our dances, through our dresses. So that was the point.”

He also created the event for Palestinians in Winnipeg to have ways of participating in their own cultural activities together and to remind them of their home. He knows the importance from experience — his trip to Lebanon led him to naturally adopt a Lebanese

dialect of Arabic, despite living in Kuwait and Canada his whole life.

“Unfortunately for us in West Asia, we haven’t been able to see the light of peace due to conflicts. Yet we smile, we keep the culture alive because as long as we live, the heart of this global movement can never be killed,” Chokr professed. The majority of the funds raised from Night in Palestine will be sent to Palestinian mutual aid organizations.

Night in Palestine was also held in commemoration of SJP’s recently deceased member Nicholas Palmer. Last year’s edition of the event was the first SJP activity Palmer participated in, so this anniversary held complex feelings for the members he leaves behind.

A Palestinian Folklorama pavilion is also set to debut in 2027. The organizers will spend next year shadowing other pavilions in preparation.

“The Palestinian community is big in Winnipeg, and especially the pro-Palestinian community is even bigger,”

PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF

Chokr explained. “It’s quite important to showcase that culture, especially because […] they’re going through a genocide. And it’s important to keep that culture alive because if we don’t, the culture is going to die. It’s very important to have [a Folklorama pavilion].”

Chokr is proud to have

Night in Palestine completed after “countless sleepless nights [and] thousands of cigarettes,” and he is looking forward to more editions in 2026 and 2027.

Keep up with SJP by following them on Instagram @sjpuofm.

Renaissance frescoes and Indigenous-Vatican relations U of M professor speaks on Pinturicchio’s The Resurrection and its legacy Boris Tsun Hang Leung, staff Over 500 years ago, Pope Alexander VI commissioned Italian artist Pinturicchio to paint frescoes in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, notably a fresco of the Resurrection of Jesus. However, what appeared to be just another High Renaissance painting of Jesus became much more enigmatic when it was suggested that it might contain the first depiction of Indigenous people of the Americas in European art.

Suzanne McLeod is an assistant professor of art history at U of M and an Anishinaabe member of Sagkeeng First Nation. With research foci on Indigenous and Renaissance art history, McLeod hosted a lecture with the Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies at St. Paul’s College last week where she explored the origins and legacy of Pinturicchio’s work.

According to McLeod, Pinturicchio painted the frescoes between 1492 and 1494, which coincides with Christopher Columbus’s return to Europe from his “discovery” of

the Americas. She explained this timing may have led to the addition of Indigenous peoples into the work.

“We know through conservation now that it looks like he had finished The Resurrection by this point, but it looks like he was directed to insert these images of these dancing naked men at the foot of Christ,” said McLeod.

The figures are miniscule and virtually amorphous in most photographs, though a close-up reveals greyish men with hollow eyes and expressionless faces. Some have even proposed that one of the figures has a mohawk.

McLeod pointed out Columbus’s journey to the Americas had also “galvanized” Europe — nations such as Portugal, Spain and France started to make claims to the Americas, and the Vatican was no exception. In 1493, the pope issued the first papal bull rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery, the concept behind colonial conquest that asserted European and Christian superiority over all others.

In other words, the fresco played a role in shaping Euro-

pean perceptions of Indigenous peoples for centuries to come, especially before the invention of the printing press, when information was disseminated through poems, narratives and visual imagery.

Imagery continues to be a point of contention in modern-day relations between Indigenous peoples and the Catholic Church. McLeod cited one instance where Pope Francis came to Canada in 2022 in what can be described as a “penitential pilgrimage” to listen to stories about the residential school system.

At one point, he was given a headdress by Truth and Reconciliation Commission commissioner Wilton Littlechild. This image was jarring for many and caused substantial controversy within the community.

Moreover, visual imagery in the form of material culture remains a powerful tool used by the Catholic Church to this day. Last month, the Vatican returned 62 Indigenous artefacts to Canada in a historic feat. Though, for McLeod, this does not indicate a desire for complete repatriation.

PHOTO BY EBUNOLUWA AKINBO / STAFF

“They still have a lot more [items] within their collection [in] the Anima Mundi Ethnographic Museum that is housed within the basement in the Vatican […] They’ve set up this space to showcase or to display most of the items that they’ve collected throughout the years from colonized people around the world,” McLeod commented.

“There’s an effort there […] but the institution itself is, from what I can see — and this is my own observation — they’re not entirely comfortable, because they did make the statement that this is going to be the only gifting back of these items that’s ever going to happen. So that’s a pretty specific statement to make.”

19

Vol. 112, No. 17 arts@themanitoban.com

Arts & Culture

‘Toban turntable The Bros. Landreth — Dog Ear Boris Tsun Hang Leung, staff

L

ast month, Winnipeg roots music duo the Bros.

Landreth released their fourth and latest album Dog Ear. The album by the two-time JUNO award winning brothers Dave and Joey Landreth is an intimate celebration of love, and not only the romantic kind. In a press release, the brothers stated that the record is about refuge and “finding home in people you love.”

This is quickly established with the first track, “Sunrise, Sunset.” Featuring only acoustic guitar fingerpicking beneath a solo voice, the opener is a bold and unexpected move but sets the tone for the softer quality of the album.

However, the Bros. Landreth quickly switch gears and venture into country with “I’ll Drive,” a lively and retro-sounding country rock song about the usual topics — a love interest, boots and cars. The electric guitars (with heavy use of the wah pedal) and electric organ are reminiscent of the brothers’ earlier works.

“Vincent,” described as the “emotional centerpiece of the album,” is an upbeat and ten-

20

der track about platonic love — a theme too often overshadowed in songwriting.

According to Dave, the song is about loving someone despite their stubbornness and not knowing when to move on.

The deep bond can be seen in the lyrics “And I’ll stay here on the phone / So you don’t have to be alone” and “Oh, I’m dying trying not to let you go.”

Dog Ear’s title track is the most sentimental track on the album, bordering on being maudlin with soft vocals and soundscapes. By comparing himself to evergreens and shores “when big oceans swell,” the singer underscores the theme of being someone’s unwavering safe haven. The metaphor “When you get lost in that story again / I’ll be the dog ear, my friend” is so simple yet oh-so sweet.

“Knuckles,” which features acclaimed American roots singer Bonnie Raitt, is a slow but heartfelt 6/8 ballad about speaking your mind. Interestingly, the song does not end in the home key, creating a feeling of suspense and incompleteness.

The album concludes with “Strange Dear” featuring Winnipeg singer Begonia. It uses

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BUIO ASSIS / BNB STUDIOS

rich, dreamy and breathy harmonies and a bell-like backing track, tying back to the atmospheric quality of the album’s opening track. Once again, the idea of refuge is driven home with the imagery of stormy weather and a lighthouse.

Dog Ear is an introspective and pensive album that

exposes the more vulnerable facet of the Bros. Landreth, with upbeat and rowdier tracks sandwiched in between. Its lyrics are beautifully evocative and saccharine, though they can sometimes be minimalistic to the point of being abstract. Nonetheless, Dog Ear’s authenticity

and theme of genuine friendship is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in today’s music scene.

Dog Ear by the Bros. Landreth is available on all major streaming platforms.

For more information, visit thebroslandreth.com.

December 10, 2025 arts@themanitoban.com

Arts & Culture

Bethlehem LIVE! returns after decade-long hiatus The living nativity produced by Gateway Church as a “gift to Winnipeg” Carrington Dong, staff

G

ateway Church first produced their living nativity production, Bethlehem LIVE!, in 2005. The production was the brainchild of Mary MacLean, whose husband, Ron MacLean, was the senior pastor at the time.

“We built a town of Bethlehem in our gym that had different vignettes, and different vignettes told different bits of the Christmas story so that as people toured through, by the end of their tour, they had the full Christmas story,” said Lydia Thomas, Mary and Ron’s daughter and the current executive director of Bethlehem LIVE! Thomas first got involved with Bethlehem LIVE! as a teenager, working in various roles before becoming the executive director this year.

“I was involved in many different areas over the first ten years,” she recalled. “I did a lot of admin stuff, back-end stuff, and then got a little bit more confident and started acting.”

The production was held annually every December for 10 years, with over 52,000 people attending over that time with free admission. But in 2015, with many big changes for Gateway in the works, they took a break.

“We were in the middle of an expansion and just felt like we needed to take a break

from doing Bethlehem LIVE!,” Thomas explained.

Another 10 years passed, and then Thomas and others at Gateway felt the urge to bring Bethlehem LIVE! back, this time in their new building in West St. Paul. Upon deciding to relaunch, they asked their congregants to help, and the volunteers “came immediately.”

As it has been a long time since the last Bethlehem LIVE!, they are starting small compared to previous years, with three shows from Dec. 12 to 14.

“In previous years, we used to do six shows,” Thomas stated. “This year, we’re just starting with three just to ease back into it, figure out what we can manage, figure out crowd control.”

Demand has been high for tickets, which remain free, as all shows quickly sold out.

Thomas said they are considering expanding their schedule for next year.

It takes a lot of work to put on such a large-scale living nativity. According to Thomas, they have had over 400 volunteers in previous years, both in acting and non-acting roles.

“The biggest thing is getting all of the actors. We have over 100 actors that we have to get,” she explained. “These are all volunteer positions, all

PHOTO PROVIDED BY KAHANI PHOTOJOURNALISM

from the church […] Anyone who is wanting to act has the opportunity to act, whether they want a lead speaking role or if they want a non-speaking supportive role. And then there’s also non-acting volunteer areas, so we have people who have signed up for parking, people who have signed up to be in the welcome rooms, being a host, giving out hot chocolate and cookies […] We have people praying, we have people preaching the gospel.”

According to Thomas, the highlight of the show for many is when they get to see

baby Jesus, played in every show by a real infant. This tradition will be extra special for Thomas this year as her own newborn son will be playing the role.

“When you come around the corner to where the manger is and it’s a real baby, it really brings the story to life [that Jesus] was this little innocent baby lying in a manger, and it just makes it so real for people,” she said. “You see that on people’s faces when they round the corner and they see that it’s a real baby, that it […] brings the story of Christmas to life.”

Above all, Thomas hopes that those who walk through the streets of Bethlehem LIVE! will be impacted by seeing the nativity story come alive.

“The stories that you hear about people who are impacted and whose lives were changed through us doing this and that we have the resources and availability and gifting in the church to be able to gift this to the city [make this] hugely rewarding,” she reflected.

For more information on Bethlehem LIVE!, visit bethlehemlive.com.

U of M jazz student hosts open jam sessions Monthly event brings together students and enthusiasts Jordan Anglin, staff fifth-year U of M music student Brandy Lafond will host this month’s jazz jam at Must Be The Place, a bar at 84 Stradbrook Ave. on Dec. 11.

The idea began last year when she noticed a problem — there was a lack of opportunities for jazz musicians in Winnipeg to play for fun. She and her classmates would only play together at the university.

According to Lafond, many large cities have established venues for jazz artists, hosting regular jam sessions for anyone who wishes to join in and play standard songs. Unfortunately, there is no such venue in Winnipeg, or even much of a jazz scene at all. Such events are integral to jazz because of the genre’s culture of collaborative improvisation, so Lafond sought to create one.

She said she is pleased to have opportunities to play jazz for fun instead of for school.

The enjoyment of playing with her peers and discussing music together is what motivates her to pursue her music degree. Many people outside of the U of M jazz program have also joined her jams, and she hopes more beginner musicians will feel comfortable joining.

“Seeing everybody just enjoy themselves and have fun is the number one thing,” Lafond elaborated. “Sometimes when I’m hosting my jams, I’ll sit back and observe the room and I’ll just see people […] having fun. That’s the most important thing to me and it brings me a lot of joy.”

Lafond saw the opportunity in September 2024 when she performed at the thennew cocktail bar Must Be The Place with her indie rock band Strawberry Punch. It occurred to her that the “chill vibe” of the bar would help anyone feel comfortable jamming. So, she

approached the owners, Taiza Konrad and Colleen Ans, with a proposition for monthly jazz jams. They agreed to give the concept a shot, and were happy with the results. It has been a regular feature at the bar almost every month since, under the name Brandy’s Jazz Jam. As a musician involved in both local jazz and indie rock, Lafond is also especially thankful for her events at Must Be The Place as an opportunity to bridge the scenes together.

Last May, Lafond also hosted an inaugural three-day edition, Brandy’s Jazz Fest, to provide young local jazz musicians with more opportunities to play live. The festival is expected to take place annually.

For more information, visit the jam session’s Instagram page @brandysjazzfest.

PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF

21

Vol. 112, No. 17 arts@themanitoban.com

Arts & Culture

Bees, brainwashing, Bugonia A review of a jarring yet relevant sci-fi thriller Emmanuel Laramee, volunteer

W

hen I walked into the theatre on a Tuesday afternoon to see Bugonia, I was not sure if I was going into a science fiction movie or a psychological thriller. It was both apparently, even though it leaned much more to the latter. For a movie that is literally about aliens, Bugonia feels incredibly grounded in a reality not too different from our own. Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2025 film based on the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet!, takes us into the realm of conspiracy, trauma and apocalypse in a movie unlike any that came out this year.

The film follows Jesse Plemons as our conspiracy-theorist protagonist Teddy and his autistic cousin Don, played

by Aidan Delbis in his first role in a feature film. Teddy is convinced that an alien race called the Andromedans are

not only present on Earth but are also the cause of the all the issues that plague it. Teddy, along with a hesitant Don, kidnap Michelle, the CEO of a large pharmaceutical corporation, whom they suspect to be an Andromedan. The titular extra-terrestrial suspect is played by Emma Stone in one of her most convincing roles to date. Michelle’s kidnapping was an attempt to get her to contact her mothership on the night of the lunar eclipse so that they could send a message to leave Earth.

No other movie that I have watched has quite had me on the edge of my seat in the same way Bugonia did. Throughout the entire film, the question of, “Is she really an alien?” was constantly on my mind, and as soon as I concluded that she was or wasn’t, the movie would quickly give me a reason to think otherwise.

The acting is one of the pri-

mary reasons this suspense is held so well throughout the film. Plemons portrays the perfect conspiracy theorist in the form of Teddy, being both calculated and constantly on the verge of insanity. This makes his interactions with the equally calculating, but much calmer, Michelle feel almost physical, with a tension that seems like it will snap at any moment.

While tense, the absurdity and irony of these scenes often give way to humour.

The movie is labelled a comedy after all, and the theatre was laughing throughout the movie. Awkwardly, uncomfortably laughing, maybe, but laughing nonetheless.

For a movie as uncomfortable as Bugonia, it remains visually striking and beautiful. From its opening shots of honeybees and flowers to its grainy yet colourful depictions of lower middle-class

life, its hair-raising basement scenes and its apocalyptic sci-fi finale, Bugonia finds itself as one of the rare movies with a completely unique visual identity. This is, in large part, thanks to the movie being filmed on 35mm VistaVision cameras, a format that has not been used to shoot the entirety of a movie since 1961.

Despite its beauty, Bugonia remains heavy and serious in the places it needs to be. In the film, Teddy’s mother has fallen chronically ill, which is blamed on Michelle’s company. Teddy struggles with the trauma of his mother’s illness throughout the film, often provoked by Michelle and lashing out at her in some of the tensest scenes in the film. This trauma manifests itself as the main plot points of the film. Both Teddy and Don often talk about how once the aliens leave, their lives will go

back to what they were before — good.

This placing of blame on a malevolent force outside of human control is the carrying force for the film’s underlying narrative. Whether it is the aliens causing the bees to die or brainwashing the population, or maybe just the person in front of you in line causing you to be late, don’t we all want something easy to blame our problems on? This question culminates in the climax of the film, which asks the ultimate question — will the end of humanity come at the hands of aliens or ourselves?

Bugonia’s witty dialogue, riveting suspense and insightful ideas are able to blossom into a fantastical black comedy which manages to be both incredibly charming and terribly jarring at the same time.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ATSUSHI NISHIJIMA

22

Sports

December 10, 2025 sports@themanitoban.com

Cougars come back from 2-1 loss, beat Bisons 4-2 Bisons women’s hockey shows grit in a win-lose weekend series against Mount Royal Israel Adeogo Abejoye, staff

T

he Bisons women’s hockey team split their weekend series with the Mount Royal University Cougars, winning the first game 2-1 on Friday, Dec. 5, and losing the rematch 4-2 on Saturday, Dec. 6.

In the first game, the Cougars struck first, scoring a power-play goal in the 11th minute [11:10] of the first period. Jerzey Watteyne netted the goal, assisted by her teammates, giving the Cougars the early 1-0 lead. The Bisons responded with a goal from Julia Bird in the 19th minute [19:03] of the first period, tying the game 1-1. The Bisons took the lead in the second period with a goal from Jessie Haner in the second minute [02:27], making it 2-1.

The game was marked by several penalties, with Cougars’ Jordynne Hojnocki sent off for tripping in the fourth minute [04:31], Glory Plett (Bisons) for tripping in the ninth minute [09:47], Allee Gerrard (Cougars) for hooking in the 13th minute [13:25] and Aimee Patrick (Bisons) for hooking in the 14th minute

[14:53]. Patrick was later sent to the box again for interference, in the second minute [02:59] of the second period.

In the third period, Cougars’ Summer Fomradas was sent off for holding in the fourth minute [04:10]. Bisons’ Sophia Anderson and Sadie Keller were also sent off for tripping in the 12th minute [12:16] and holding in the 13th minute [13:57] respectively.

Despite the Cougars’ efforts to mount a comeback while the Bisons were shorthanded, the third period ended goalless, as the Bisons held on to their lead, securing a 2-1 win thanks to the strong goaltending of Emily Shippam.

Shippam explained how she managed the pressure from the Cougars. “I tried to stay pretty level throughout the game, not to get too high or low because things can change super quick all the way up to the last minute of the game. I think our team had a great penalty kill and I was able to make some saves and give our team some good momentum.”

Similarly, Bisons women’s hockey head coach Jordan

Colliton shared her experience on the last two minutes of the third period. “I thought we weathered it, we matched it at times, we generated momentum on our end as well. That big penalty kill, 5 on 4, 5 on 3, then back to 5 on 4, for an extended amount of time, for us to kill those off was a turning point in the game.”

She further shared her favourite moment of the game, “I think in the third period when we got through those kills just shows a commitment to us to defend, to play the right way for each other and sacrifice yourselves for each other.”

In the second game, the Bisons scored early with a goal from Norah Collins in the 13th minute [13:43], assisted by Bird and Alyssa Rasmuson. However, the Cougars responded with four unanswered goals, including an empty-net goal, to secure the 4-2 win. The Cougars’ goals were scored

by Isa MacPhee, Watteyne, Ava Metzger and Jori Hansen-Young, who netted the empty-net goal.

The Bisons’ other goal was scored by Keller.

PHOTO BY ANTHONY NARDELLA / VOLUNTEER

The Bisons outshot the Cougars in both games, 26-21 on Friday and 28-25 on Saturday.

The Bisons will be back in the new year to play against

the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at 8 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 9 and at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Bisons men’s basketball loses to the Wesmen Bisons lose 76-71 to the University of Winnipeg Wesmen Abdul-Jalilu Ahmed, staff The Bisons men’s basketball team recorded a 76-71 defeat against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday, Dec. 5 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Wesmen took an early 5-0 lead at 9:02 in the first quarter after Alberto Gordo hit a three-point jump shot.

Daren Watts made a free throw at 8:57 for the Bisons, cutting the lead 5-1. At 6:54, Bisons’ Brandt Lenz made a threepoint jump shot, assisted by Ramogi Nyagudi, to make it 10-6. With one minute left in the quarter, Manyang Tong finished a dunk for the Bisons, assisted by Lenz, to tie the game 13-13. At 0:00, Lenz scored on a layup to give the Bisons a 17-13 lead.

At 8:43 in the second quarter, Gordo made two free throws for the Wesmen to level the game 17-17. Elijah Mensah made a layup at 5:12 for the Wesmen to make it 20-20. At 0:00, Lenz finished with a layup to reduce the deficit to 35-30 heading into halftime.

Nyagudi made a free throw

at 7:47 in the third quarter to narrow the gap 37-36. At 5:27, Watts hit a jump shot to put the Bisons ahead 40-39. Donald Stewart made a layup at 0:03 to give the Wesmen a 54-44 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Stewart made a three-point jump shot at 5:32 to keep the Wesmen ahead 61-54. At 2:04, Nyagudi scored a three-point jump shot to cut the lead to 65-62. Lenz made a threepoint jump shot at 0:33, narrowing the score 67-65. At 0:03, Cieran O’Hara tipped in the tying basket for the Bisons to level the game 67-67.

In overtime, Ryan Luke made a three-point jump shot for the Wesmen at 4:04 to give them a 70-67 lead.

At 2:57, Bisons’ Tito Obasoto responded with a jump shot to cut the score 70-69. Watts made two free throws at 0:25 to reduce the deficit to 74-71.

Gordo sealed the win with two free throws at 0:08, and the Wesmen held on for a 76-71 win.

Bisons men’s basketball lead assistant coach Elijah

Lostracco commented on the game’s outcome. “It’s always a dog fight when we play [U of W]. They fought hard at the end,” said Lostracco. “I think we just had some lapses in the third quarter where they outcompeted us for a little bit and cleaned up some little mistakes. Some things on offence […] gave us a little bit of trouble sometimes, but I’m just proud of how they competed at the end and made it a fight until the very end of the game.”

He explained how the opponents relied on physical play as a key part of their strategy. “That’s [U of W]’s game plan and it has been for the last couple years. They have very physical bigs and they crash the boards really hard and they try to play through their posts, so we knew coming into this game it wasn’t going to be a big X’s and O’s game. It was really just going to be a dog fight and whoever competed for the most amount of time is going to come out on top.”

Lostracco outlined his expectations for the remain-

PHOTO BY ANTHONY NARDELLA / VOLUNTEER

ing games next year. “We’re five and five now and we start with the top two teams in our conference, so [we] get a little bit of rest over the Christmas break [to] regroup and come out of it better and learn from our first semester.”

The Bisons men’s basketball team will play the Mount Royal Cougars on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. CT and Friday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. CT in Calgary, Alberta.

23

Vol. 112, No. 17 sports@themanitoban.com

Sports

Bisons women’s basketball beats Winnipeg Wesmen Bisons survive late Wesmen push to seal 73-71 win in tense fourth quarter Faiyaz Chowdhury, staff The Bisons women’s basketball team played against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Friday, Dec. 5. The herd won the game 73-71 in a tight matchup.

The game started off with a jump shot by Raia Guinto for the Wesmen. Less than a minute later, Anna Miko scored two points for the herd.

This reflected a close game, as the teams would go back and forth and evenly matched in scoring skills. The Wesmen continued to pressure the herd and pushed the score to 14-8, but the Bisons soon gained momentum with the help of Treyah Paquette and Ayva Khan, scoring five and six points respectively. The first quarter ended 20-17.

The herd controlled most of the second quarter behind an explosive stretch from Miko, who scored eight points and made good runs repeatedly in transition alongside two blocks and two steals. However, Khan missed free throws for the herd, but redeemed herself with five points, three rebounds and one assist. The Wesmen were on par with the Bisons with help from Carmen Hiebert, who grabbed four rebounds. The first half ended with the herd leading 44-39.

Post-halftime, the Wesmen clawed back in the third with crisp passes and better possession. For the Wesmen, Guinto scored four points with layups and Jazmin Birch added four points and two defensive rebounds. The herd responded with two points from Miko, two rebounds and one assist, along with strong bench production from Darya Rom, who added four points and two rebounds. The third quarter ended tied at 55-55.

The Bisons controlled most

24

PHOTOS BY ZULKIFL RAFAH / STAFF

of the fourth quarter by scor- left, Jennifer Edwards made a lenge. ing efficiently and forcing key defensive rebound and missed Bisons women’s basketball stops. However, the Wesmen a three-point jump shot from head coach Michele Sung was were better when it came to halfcourt that would have pleased with the game. “It’s rebounds. Birch scored six been a game-winner for the always nice to get a win.” Sung points with two rebounds and Wesmen. credited strong ball moveone assist for the Wesmen, and For the Bisons, Miko and ment and balanced scoring her influence in this quarter Khan scored 15 points each for the victory. “Just having was significant. The scoring overall. Hiebert was able to get scoring from multiple people was very close, as each team 10 rebounds for the Wesmen. helped,” she said. stayed tight Several playand whichever ers stood out “It’s always nice to get a win” team was trailin the match. ing was only a “I think Anna —Michele Sung, moment away [Miko] had a from tying great game. I Bisons women’s basketball head coach the game or think she had allowing the some really leading squad to create a gap.

The herd will play against good vertical pressure and With one minute left, the the Wesmen again on Jan. used her length really well,” score was 73-67, but the Wes- 29 at 6 p.m. CT at the Invest- Sund commented. men gave their all and pushed ors Group Athletic Centre as Looking ahead to a it to 73-71. With four seconds a part of the Duckworth Chal- rematch, Sung said the team

might adjust its strategy. “We get a lot of video on different teams. You kind of have to switch it up a little bit, so we’ll see how the second half of our season goes. And if we need to change based on that and how they’re playing, it’ll change a bit.”

The Bisons women’s basketball team will next face the Mount Royal University Cougars on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 11:30 a.m. CT and on Friday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. CT in Calgary, Alberta. The Bisons last played against the Cougars on Feb. 15 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, where the herd lost 90-78.