20 January 2016

MANITOBAN the

THE OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STUDENTS’ NEWSPAPER

NEWS

Investing in what matters

Syrian refugee receives sponsorship from UMSU, U of M Page 5

ARTS & CULTURE

Making the ordinary extraordinary Nick's on Broadway celebrates one year of sandwich-making Page 21

FEATURE

A step in the right direction Majority of teachers support LGBTQinclusive education, study shows Page 12

VO L 1 0 2 · N O 1 9 · J A N UA RY 2 0, 2 0 1 6 · W W W.T H E M A N I TO B A N .CO M

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Index

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

SCIENCE

Man's best friend

Study shows dogs sense human emotions

. page 15 SPORTS

Talk of the track

The Manitoban meets with Bison track and field captains

. page 26

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Craig Adolphe

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EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Lauren Siddall

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NEWS EDITOR Ethan Cabel & Garett Williams

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Chantelle Dubois

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ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Seamus Hamilton-Pattison

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SPORTS EDITOR Mike Still

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DESIGN

DESIGN EDITOR Bradly Wohlgemuth

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NEWS Osho Samuel Adetunji NEWS Estefania Wujkiw NEWS Shawn Garbutt NEWS Shreya Ghimire COLUMNIST Aedan Ladd COLUMNIST Jill Patterson SCIENCE Malak Abas SCIENCE Jeremiah Yarmie ARTS & CULTURE Olivia Michalczuk ARTS & CULTURE Tobi Nifesi SPORTS Andy Che SPORTS Ryan Stelter ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR Sarah Doran

VOLUNTEERAnthony CONTRIBUTORS Labonte

Sari Habiluk Sarah Walker

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

Will Gibson

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News

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News Editors: Ethan Cabel & Garett Williams Contact: news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Cao responds to UMSU sanctions Science Students’ Association president calls council motion ‘extreme,’ ‘excessive’ ESTEFANIA WUJKIW, STAFF

PHOTO BY MEGAN COLWELL

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he decision by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) to sanction the Science Students’ Association (SSA) was “extreme” and “excessive,” said SSA president Anthony Cao. In an emergency motion in early December, UMSU voted to sanction the SSA due an alleged unsafe work environment and culture of fear on council. In an in camera discussion, council voted 26-1 through secret ballot to pass three sanctions.

The sanctions included the appointment of an independent chair to oversee future SSA meetings, a governance audit, and finally, the withholding of all fund disbursements if Cao refuses to participate in mediation to resolve the conflict.

The motion, moved by SSA member and UMSU representative Dara Hallock, notes multiple members of the association had brought forward complaints regarding SSA operations, specifically related to Cao’s behaviour.

Further, the motion notes that complainants were “forced to retract their names from a supporting document out of fear of reprisal.”

Hallock was unavailable for comment by press time.

Cao said he was not aware of any issues within the SSA or the motion to UMSU council until he received an email from UMSU that explained all of the sanctions.

Cao added that nobody tried to contact him directly before seeking formal sanction through the UMSU council. He said that he has since cooperated fully.

“I can say that the stuff in SSA

council was, I think, being blown a little bit out of proportion and it’s a little bit excessive for UMSU to threaten us by withholding our funding, because the entire science student body [...] it’s their money and if UMSU doesn’t give us that money then it’s kind of messed up [...] I feel like that was also really extreme,” Cao told the Manitoban.

“I can say that the stuff in SSA council was I think being blown a little bit out of proportion and it’s a little bit excessive for UMSU to threaten us by withholding our funding” – Anthony Cao, president, Science Students’ Association “For other people to put the SSA’s money at risk, divert my attention to something else for things that are questionable that I don’t even really know the basis of it, I feel like that’s really sacrificing this year.”

Due to the confidentiality and privacy of in camera sessions, councillors from UMSU were not at liberty to share details or provide public comment on the specific problems that

led to the formal motion to sanction the SSA. “One of the representatives noted that because the situation dealt with a lot of very confidential, very sensitive, personal information that it would be in the best interest of everyone who was involved in this situation to keep things confidential and to not discuss it publicly,” said Rebecca Kunzman, UMSU’s vice-president advocacy.

Kunzman added that UMSU’s meetings and in camera sessions are governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, which is the standard guideline that many organizations use in order to have fair discussions and decisionmaking processes.

UMSU bylaws require that all in camera sessions be documented with complete and accurate minutes of all proceedings of council. However, the minutes are only accessible to council members upon request.

Kunzman told the Manitoban that part of the reason why the UMSU council chair decided to move the motion as an emergency motion was because of the complaint regarding an unsafe work environment.

“Typically, motions are required to be brought forward with sufficient notice from student council,” Kunzman said. “This was raised the day of the UMSU council meeting, so for those reasons, the chair felt it pertinent to include it as an emergency motion.”

Regarding the unsafe work environment and culture of fear described as motivating factors behind the motion, Cao said he has never degraded anyone.

“I’ve never insulted people, I’ve never yelled at them, raised my voice, I’ve never done anything physical,” he said. “If I were to do anything physical or something like that, this would be a matter for security services or police.”

gency motion, Cao said the reason behind the complaint is that the SSA doesn’t meet during winter break and exam period.

Cao took office as president in May 2015. He said he understands that criticism is bound to happen in any leadership position, but that his main goal has always been to give back to the science students that “One of the voted for him. representatives Cao explained that he doesn’t have sole power on council and that noted that because everything passes through a vote. He the situation dealt also said that negative accusations are largely evidence that he is sincere and with a lot of very attempting to do the right thing for confidential, very science students.

“I probably wouldn’t be accused of sensitive, personal those things if I was lazy or not trying,” he said. “If I was trying to not information that it take it seriously, these accusations would be in the best wouldn’t be there.”

“So for people to perhaps complain interest of everyone and feel a certain way, I think that’s who was involved in highly reactive and highly excessive [...] only do so much essentially, this situation to keep evenI can if I did have the intention of things confidential doing something malicious, I can only do so much even if I was like and to not discuss that,” he added.

With elections scheduled for it publicly” – March, Cao said he has noticed a Rebecca Kunzman, pattern in student politics when it comes to negative allegations. vice-president “I can’t speak for other people, I advocacy, UMSU can only really say what I think [...]

It seems like the bad things come out, accusations come out, when it gets When asked about the more than closer to whatever election,” he said. month-long break between meetings “That’s just something I’ve noticed, I cited by the UMSU council chair as don’t know if it has anything to do justification for allowing the emer- with this or not.”

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News

News Editor: Garett Williams Contact: news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Designing for wine Local firm Genuwine Cellars uses architectural principles for upscale wine cellar designs ESTEFANIA WUJKIW, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY GENUWINE CELLARS

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enuwine Cellars, a Winnipeg company that designs and builds custom high-end wine cellars, presented their unique work on campus as part of the University of Manitoba faculty of architecture’s “Food for Thought” series last week.

The series is funded through the faculty’s endowment fund with biweekly cultural events hosted throughout the full year.

During the presentation, faculty and students learned the history of wine cellars, the design process, and a little bit about aging wine.

“I think it relates a lot to what

we do in the faculty,” said Brandy O’Reilly, program coordinator of the partners program at the faculty of architecture. “The aspect of that whole design process, which is what we are here to teach our students, is the entire process of design, design thinking, [and] working within budgets.”

Brooklyn Hurst, vice-president of Genuwine Cellars, gave a detailed presentation on the inner workings of the design and building process for the company’s wine cellars.

He presented two case studies and discussed some of the consider-

ations that the future architects might encounter.

“I just want everybody to know that we exist [...] in Winnipeg,” said Hurst during his presentation. “We are always looking for A-players, we are always looking for people, designers, and talent to come up on board.”

Genuwine Cellars is the newest member of the faculty’s partners program, which aims to provide opportunities for businesses to engage with students and expose them to the design process while creating research, job, and internship opportunities for students. Currently, there are seven U of M graduates working for the company.

“It’s all about architecture, it’s all about engineering, and it’s all about design,” said Robb Denomme, CEO and co-founder of Genuwine Cellars.

“It’s all kind of mixed into one because it has to function [...] and how everything comes together, I think you can’t have it without that architecture piece.”

Denomme was not legally able to drink wine when he started his own wine cellar company in 1995.

Denomme was 17 years old when he and his business partner, Lance Kingma, were asked to build a wine cellar in Toronto.

As more people heard about the

company, their workload began to increase and for the first three years as a business, their clientele was primarily in Toronto.

ered to clients in Montreal, New York, Florida, and California, but they have clients all over the world including China, Switzerland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. Their work is showcased in private homes, restau“I just want rants, and wineries.

The company is involved in every everybody to know stage of the process, from the initial concept to the design, building, shipthat we exist in ment, and installation of the wine Winnipeg. We are cellar. With typically two designers assigned to each job, wine cellars always looking for range in size and can hold from 100 A-players, we are bottles up to 40,000 bottles.

With the average wine cellar costalways looking for ing approximately $100,000, the most luxurious projects have often reached people, designers, a seven-figure price point. and talent to come “A million-dollar wine cellar would be nice, it would be super exotic, one up on board” – of a kind, and it would have a lot of Brooklyn Hurst, technology,” Denomme said.

This isn’t unusual, according to vice-president, Denomme. He told the Manitoban Genuwine Cellars that the most prestigious of collectors often protect their collection of wine, beer, or scotch with state-of-the-art “We got a little, tiny, dirty shop,” equipment, such as retina scans, finDenomme said. “It was just the two gerprint identification, hidden walls, of us, we had no money and Home or safe rooms.

Depot tools — we literally had no “We are dealing with the most curspace and we just started growing. rent trends [and] designs,” he said.

The majority of Genuwine Cellar’s “It’s a luxury lifestyle business.” custom-made wine cellars are deliv-

Asper school of business to launch chartered financial analyst stream New MBA concentration to sharpen U of M’s competitive edge, give students a boost into financial sector SHAWN GARBUTT, STAFF

PHOTO BY MEGAN COLWELL

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eginning in the fall of 2016, students in the Asper school of business will be able to focus their master of business administration (MBA)

studies through a financial analyst concentration.

The University of Manitoba will be the first school to offer the

stream between Ontario and British Columbia, giving students an option to study for their chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation in central Canada.

The financial analyst focus will open opportunities for students to pursue higher-tiered employment in lucrative fields such as wealth management or hedge funds, said Asper MBA student Mark Williams.

“The courses offered could give me much-needed background to understand and possibly help enter [the industry],” he said.

Marci Elliott, executive director of the Asper MBA program, said the concentration will prepare students to write the three exams required to achieve the CFA designation.

“The difference between an MBA in finance and this particular stream [...] is that this preps students to write [chartered financial analyst] level exams,” she said.

A CFA tag opens numerous job opportunities at higher-level posi-

tions at brokerage firms and investment banks. It also provides students a background in capital marketing strategy.

However, conquering a CFA exam is no easy feat, Elliott said.

“The reason that we’ve undertaken this is that the level one exam, in particular, has an exceedingly high failure rate,” she said. “Students can do CFA exams on their own but they perhaps don’t know how to equip themselves as well, or they may [lack] face-to-face instruction from people that are available for discussion.”

She noted the concentration will answer the local market demand and has already received some student interest.

“There’s definitely student interest but we have not yet recruited [anyone],” she said. “I’m right in the throes of that now. Starting this month, you will see it pop up through my marketing and advertising channels.”

Elliott added the program is part of the larger aim of elevating Asper’s

brand.

“I view the MBA program as continuous improvement,” she said.

“Everything we do is directed to the quality of the program and the quality of the student experience.”

“As with all things in Winnipeg, we fly under the radar [but] we’re AACSB-accredited,” she said, referring to the accreditation offered by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which less than five per cent of business schools are able to earn.

With the announcement of such an exclusive concentration, Elliott said she hopes to generate a reputation for Asper as competitive in a multilateral, multinational sense.

“Business isn’t just local,” she said.

“It’s not national or international – it’s global.”

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

News

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University of Manitoba, UMSU sponsor Syrian refugee More money from student fees for refugee resettlement could be forthcoming SHREYA GHIMIRE, STAFF

PHOTO BY CHANTAL ZDAN

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he University of Manitoba has welcomed a new student from Syria this semester after the university’s administration, in conjunction with the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU), sponsored a refugee from the war-torn country.

The U of M administration announced in November 2015 their decision to provide in-kind and financial support to a Syrian student. Since then, UMSU has agreed to partner with the university to equally share the costs.

These costs include tuition, residence, and living expenses, as well as immigration and travel fees over the span of the two-year sponsorship.

The sponsorship was spearheaded through the local chapter of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) for the U of M. The committee has been sponsoring and aiding refugee students with their post-secondary education at the U of M since 1981 through the student refugee program. Twentyseven students from around the world have since been sponsored, including students from South Sudan, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda, Vietnam, and Ethiopia.

According to David Arenas Oropeza, WUSC board member and service learning coordinator at the student life office, the additional support from the university is allowing the committee to spend more money on increasing the number of students it sponsors per year from one to four beginning this September.

“The university wanted to do something about the situation,” said Oropeza, referring to the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing Syrian refugees.

“So there were different consultations at the executive level to decide what as a university community

we could do. What the university mitted and working with government affected by the Syrian civil war and he said. “Not just from the local comdecided to do was to work with our agencies to ensure the students cho- other regions in crisis. mittee, but from their university. As a organization to support one student sen are ones who have no other alter“I think this is a year of incredible member of the community, I believe within this period of two years.” native for post-secondary education. energy and attention to refugees in that universities and colleges can do “This is going to allow our local The agency then contacts different general, to resettlement, to private a lot of good.”

An example of a different kind of committee to use funds that would local committees across the country sponsorship, and to have this wave of normally go to tuition or to residence to sponsor the selected students. interest in activism with people will- response taken by a Canadian univerto be allocated for other sponsorships,” According to Oropeza, the com- ing to open their doors and pockets sity is Ryerson University’s Lifeline Syria challenge. he added. “But this was something mittee provides a financial, social, to support refugees,” Labman said. we were already thinking about, how and emotional support network to “I think the university’s decision The challenge is a joint project to save money to bring in more stu- help students with the transition once to respond to that in a way that is between Ryerson, Ontario College of dents. The need is massive.” they arrive. contributing to a program that was Art and Design University, University “WUSC’s student refugee program already in operation and will continue of Toronto, and York University to seeks to provide a durable solution for to operate is excellent.” support the citizen-led organization someone that is in an overwhelming Lifeline Syria.

“It’s a really unique situation,” Oropeza said.

Lifeline Syria’s goal is to coordi“This is a year of opportunity when According to UMSU president nate the sponsorship of 1,000 Syrian Jeremiah Kopp, the financial support refugees to the Greater Toronto Area incredible energy you are able to the union is providing comes from its over two years. The goal of the chaland attention to enrich the student endowment fund. lenge is to sponsor 75 refugee families, Spending money from the endowor approximately 300 refugees. refugees in general, experience at ment fund does not require UMSU According to Kopp, UMSU’s next to resettlement, to the University of council approval because the fund council meeting, scheduled for Jan. 28, acts as an incorporated registered will address the WUSC committee’s private sponsorship, Manitoba, while charity owned by UMSU and govproposal to increase their funding. and to have this erned by a separate board of trustees.

“I’d love to see more investments aiding a significant The board is comprised of students, taking place of this nature,” he said. wave of interest in humanitarian members of the community, and “I think it’s wonderful for everyone members of the UMSU executive. involved.” activism with people crisis in the world” According to Kopp, the cost of Mujtaba Jalil, UMSU internawilling to open their – Jeremiah Kopp, this co-sponsorship will be $32,000 tional students’ representative, said from the endowment fund. doors and pockets to this initiative is a good start but adds UMSU president “It’s a really unique opportunity that more should be done to address when you are able to enrich the stu- support refugees” – the needs of all international students WUSC is a non-profit interna- dent experience at the University of at the university.

Shauna Labman, U tional development organization Manitoba, while aiding a significant “A lot of people are now coming based in Ottawa with programs both humanitarian crisis in the world,” to a country like Canada because of M law professor overseas and in Canada. The student Kopp said.

Canada is a much safer place, and refugee program is their primary pro“The students at the University of they think there is a lot of opportugram in Canada.

Manitoba will benefit from meeting Funding for the WUSC commit- nity to build their life,” he said. “So According to Oropeza, the stu- and getting to study with the Syrian tee currently comes from a levy of from that perspective, I’d like to see dent refugee program is a joint effort student who is joining our classes. It’s $2.50 administered by UMSU. the university take more of an interest between WUSC, the United Nations going to be a very special relationship.”

According to Oropeza, the com- in what the international students High Commissioner for Refugees, Shauna Labman, law professor at mittee is considering what could be are looking for when they come here and different organizations within the U of M and a specialist in immi- done to increase their current level of and what kind of problems there are.” the refugee camps in the region. gration and refugee law, notes that funding through the union.

He added that WUSC chooses there is an increased interest among “There are other universities in potential students for the program by institutions and communities in Canada that provide a lot more going through the applications sub- Canada to do more to help those resources to their sponsored students,”

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News

News Editor: Garett Williams Contact: news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

U of M finds silver lining in green initiatives Office of sustainability earns silver rating for environmentally friendly efforts OSHO SAMUEL ADETUNJI, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MIKE LATSCHISLAW

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he efforts of the University of Manitoba’s office of sustainability have been rewarded with a silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

In his report to the board of governors at its regular meeting Nov. 24, office of sustainability director Ian Hall said the silver rating is an indication of the work completed by the sustainability office, which is responsible for managing the university’s environmental footprint.

Through its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, the AASHE measures the performance of universities and colleges with a scoring system focusing on four categories – planning and administration, engagement, academics, and operations. A minimum score of 25 earns a bronze rating, while an 85 draws a platinum recognition.

The U of M scored a 52.56 for its silver rating and Hall acknowledged to the board of governors the evaluation exercise also identified areas for improvement, including the accounting of carbon emissions, which he boasted have dropped 33 per cent per square foot.

The office of sustainability is responsible for the planning and monitoring of the university’s environmental impact – either directly or by working with partners – and to enhance the social, environmental and economic outcomes of its activities.

Hall said the office has made progress in the area of waste management and recycling, noting the

physical plant reported a 40-per cent year-over-year reduction in waste sent to the landfill for the month of September 2015.

“Earlier this academic year, we worked with our partners in physical plant to redesign the recycling and waste management system, providing new, easier opportunities to recycle materials,” said Hall.

“The sustainability office is doing an excellent job in making the campus sustainable. They have played a significant role in promoting awareness” – Astitwa Thapa, UMSU vicepresident external

plans, and a sustainability research- I can say that the office is strongly in-action program. supportive of having conversations University of Manitoba Students’ about integration of sustainability Union (UMSU) vice-president into all aspects of our university, realexternal Astitwa Thapa, who also izing that divestment is one approach spearheads the union’s fossil fuel to achieving this integration in the divestment campaign, expressed field of investment management.” satisfaction with the office’s efforts.

He added the university is work“The sustainability office is doing ing on reducing its oil and gas conan excellent job in making the cam- sumption, which he estimated at near pus sustainable,” he said. “They have $10 million annually. played a significant role in promoting awareness. I work very closely with the sustainability office and I “This is an evolving am extremely proud of their commitissue. So we ment to promote best environmental practices at the U of M.” are constantly However, Thapa criticized what he described as “unhealthy, highly monitoring what processed, and expensive” food is happening – served at the Campo food outlet in University Centre and called on the especially at university to pressure the food service other Canadian provider to offer a more sustainable menu. institutions” – Ian

Divest campaign

During his update to the board of governors, Hall addressed the sustainability office’s involvement Other sustainability programs with the UMSU-endorsed Divest include outreach and engagement Manitoba campaign, which aims campaigns, the completion of a range to see the university unwind its of bicycle parking improvements, a $64-million stake in oil, gas, and coal site tour of the Brady Road Resource industries.

Management Facility, and partnering Hall told the board his office is with human resources, student affairs, studying similar campaigns, which and active living to develop a new have emerged in more than 20 uniLiving Well web portal. versities country-wide, while at the Hall said other programs are in same time gathering information on the test phase, including a green alternative tactics. office program allowing campus “The issue is evolving and we are all offices to measure their own per- learning more about the issue,” Hall formance and develop mini action told the Manitoban. “So at this point,

Hall, director, University of Manitoba office of sustainability

“So we are constantly monitoring what is happening – especially at other Canadian institutions,” he said.

Under the banner Divest Manitoba, the campaign was endorsed by UMSU council in the spring of 2015. It got underway in earnest in the fall and has already drummed up overwhelming support, said Thapa, its chief proponent within

the union.

“I am completely overwhelmed by the support shown by students, staff, and faculty members at the University of Manitoba towards the fossil fuel divestment campaign,” he said. “It is an absolute privilege and honour to lead this campaign and help persuade the university to divest their funds from fossil fuel companies.”

Thapa noted more than 1,000 students, staff, and community members have pledged support to the campaign through petitions, letters, and social media outlets. Organizers are in the process of drafting a letter urging the board of governors to freeze further investments in fossil fuel-related operations and implement a five-year plan to divest completely, he said.

“It is extremely important to understand that the fossil fuel divestment campaign is more than an economic issue,” Thapa said, adding that it’s incumbent upon the university to take a leadership role on environmental sustainability.

“The student union is committed to ensuring that our future generations can be proud of the actions we take today,” he said. “Fossil fuel divestment makes social, economic, and environmental sense.”

“I don’t see any negative implications of fossil fuel divestment. On the contrary I believe that it is the right thing to do and the U of M should be a pioneer on this front.”

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

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Faculty union launches alternative budget consultation Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations holding consultations at four Manitoba universities ETHAN CABEL, STAFF

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he University of Manitoba revenue and expense categories. It Faculty Association (UMFA) also encouraged students, faculty, began consulting students, faculty, and staff to publicly indicate items and staff last week as part of an effort on a poster that should be preserved, to draft an alternative budget in con- added, removed, or never allowed as trast with the current spending priori- part of the budget. ties of the university’s administration.

Questions and budget catThe consultation process comes egories were prepared by LAHRK after the U of M’s board of governors Consulting, an independent worker passed a budget for 2015-16 that cut co-operative that advises largely nonfour per cent, or roughly $14.4 mil- profit entities. lion, from the operating portion of The consultation process at the U the university’s $701-million budget. of M is part of a larger effort by the University of Manitoba president Manitoba Organization of Faculty David Barnard has signalled another Associations (MOFA), an umbrella round of four-per cent cuts is immi- group comprised of the faculty nent this year. He has been consis- unions from the U of M, University tently criticized for not adequately of Winnipeg, Brandon University, consulting students, faculty, and staff and the Université de Saint-Boniface. about the cuts.

According to David Alper, MOFA “In the last budget, there were president, the organization will be some concerns that UMFA had and engaging in an alternative budget that some student groups had about consultation at all four of its member the extent of consultation, specifically universities and will publish alternaits very limited extent,” said Mark tive budgets for three of them. It will Hudson, UMFA president. not be publishing an actual budget “I think there are perfectly viable for Brandon University due to the models of doing budgeting that do faculty union’s concern about hurting involve a whole lot more genuine its good working relationship with participation.” administration, he said.

Last week, the faculty union Alper said he hopes to have a docattempted to model those participa- ument prepared on university funding tory processes with an open, drop- in advance of the provincial election in consultation session in University on April 19, with the series of three Centre. alternative budgets released following The consultation allowed par- the vote and before the universities ticipants to fill out a form indicating approve their respective budgets. their ideal allocation of resources in Alper told the Manitoban that the

alternative budget consultation is a response to the lack of transparency in the budget process across all four universities in Manitoba.

“We don’t seem to understand how priorities are established. The budgets seem to be decided upon behind closed doors without any public input,” Alper said, adding that participatory processes have been used successfully in other contexts, such as municipal administration.

“We just think that the whole process should be democratized, that we should be seeking input from people who are most concerned by the decisions that administrations are taking.”

According to Michael Barkman, chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba (CFS-MB), the student group has fully endorsed the budget consultation and will be actively participating in the process.

Although CFS-MB has not provided funding to help the process, Barkman told the Manitoban that CFS-MB sits on the alternative university budget subcommittee of the MOFA board.

“Our role has mostly been in terms of coordination of students and being part of the project in general,” he said, adding that CFS-MB supports the process for two reasons; that it empowers students, faculty and the university community within the budget process and demonstrates

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CANDACE WESELOWSKI

their priorities should be taken into account.

When asked whether there is any divergence of interests between CFS-MB and faculty unions at Manitoba universities, Barkman said that both organizations are united around the same goals.

“We know that research and teaching are both equally important, and we get a really good quality of research and pedagogy when faculty is well paid and when there are enough full-time faculty in each department, so I think in general that is really where the priorities of faculty and students lie,” he said.

Jeremiah Kopp, president of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU), told the Manitoban that UMSU encourages discussion of all kinds when it comes to the university’s budget but will not be endorsing

the MOFA process in particular.

“UMSU will be undergoing its own budget consultation process with its membership in a comprehensive and transparent way to be able to represent and reflect the voices of our constituents and our membership,” he said, adding “the more feedback, the more opinions, the more comments you receive in any kind of process like this can only be positive.”

The U of M administration maintains that consultations have been conducted and are on-going.

The university asked units to prepare for a three- to four-per cent cut in late 2014, instructing them to provide administration with areas acceptable for cuts. Barnard also conducted a lengthy town hall last January where he took questions about the budget process.

Divestment not the answer: UBC prof Business professor calls for price on carbon, government leadership GARETT WILLIAMS, STAFF

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hile students at more than In the spring of 2015, the “We need to do more,” he added, 20 Canadian universities – University of Manitoba Students’ “and we need to do it in a fashion that including the University of Manitoba Union (UMSU) formally endorsed will not hurt business but is just to – are engaged in campaigns pressuring the Divest Manitoba campaign send the right signal to move out of their campuses to divest from fossil to have the U of M divest from its carbon-intensive forms of an econfuel industries, a University of British $64-million stake in the oil, gas, and omy to less carbon-intensive ones.”

Columbia (UBC) business profes- coal sectors. sor characterizes the movement as In February 2015, when his own “The real effort has misguided. faculty was preparing to vote on a Werner Antweiler – an associate divestment motion, Antweiler pub- to be on helping professor at UBC’s Sauder school of lished a blog post titled “Fossil Fuel business – called the campaign’s focus divestment at UBC: feat or folly?” to put a price on on demonizing the fossil fuel indus- in which he argued the movement carbon. That is the try “greenwashing” and said activists is borne out of frustration toward a only policy that has should be calling for a carbon tax. lack of government leadership on the “I’m skeptical about the divest- environment file. the right long-term ment campaign in the sense that the In the post, he called the camimpact that we need” fossil fuel companies provide a good paign a symbolic success – “a cathartic that is [...] in high demand,” he said, purging of our links to the purveyors – Werner Antweiler, noting energy companies are “major of carbon.” investors in wind farms” and other He told the Manitoban that the associate professor, alternative energies. efforts would be better served pres“I drive a car, I put gasoline into suring provincial and federal gov- UBC Sauder school my tank,” he said. “So it seems like ernments to institute a polluter-pay of business when I’m pointing a finger at those regime. companies, there’s four fingers point“The real effort has to be on helping back at me. ing to put a price on carbon,” he said.

In November 2014, Dalhousie “I feel like this is not the right way “That is the only policy that has the University’s board of governors to change things.” right long-term impact that we need.” rejected a drive to divest from fossil

fuels, arguing the move would hurt investing device isn’t readily available. investment back into the school’s “I’m not particularly concerned programs. about the performance issue,” he said.

Concordia University is the only “What is much more of an issue for Canadian campus so far to adopt a endowment funds is the investment measure of the campaign, agreeing vehicles that are available to them.” to institute a $5-million fund toward “That’s essentially the difficulty investing in sustainable energy, while that endowments face,” he added. falling short of actually divesting its “That the vehicles available to them current fossil fuel holdings. to pursue these policies are actually Critics argue divesting university quite limited or non-existent.” endowments away from the energy What it boils down to, he argued, sector is a complicated endeavour that is the need for stronger leadership won’t have a tangible impact on how from the federal level. oil, gas, and coal companies operate “If we see leadership on the climate but will hurt the returns generated portfolio coming from Ottawa, then I through investments. wonder what is the divestment going Antweiler, however, said a to do,” he said. divested portfolio wouldn’t fare “Do we really believe it makes a much different than one including difference? I think the answer is no. oil, gas, and coal investments over a It will not change the policies of these long, 20-year timeline. companies. They will not have any The difficulty, he said, is that trouble securing financing for what university endowments are invested they do and in a way it’s ostracizing heavily in pooled funds managed by the companies for the wrong reasons.” investment companies. The group investments allow the endowments to meet their mandate of a diverse portfolio, he said, noting a fossil fuel-free

Editorial Editor-In-Chief: Craig Adolphe Contact: Editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

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The grass can be greener on both sides Despite Conservative opposition, marijuana legalization agrees with the party’s economic principles SEAMUS HAMILTON-PATTISON, STAFF

must be examined. Where there’s legal marijuana, there’s a marijuana industry. The recent example of the state of Colorado proves that the legal marijuana industry is a lucrative one indeed.

The state of Colorado’s marijuana taxes, licenses, and fees transfers and distribution sales report for November 2015 gives a year-to-date total of marijuana tax revenue as approximately US$72 million

GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

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s a result of the recent federal election, the topic of legal and regulated marijuana has gone from a far-flung possibility to a nearly immediate reality for Canadians.

Legalization became a hot issue for Canadians the moment Justin Trudeau promised his Liberal government would work to do it “right away” if elected.

This declaration would be reiterated by Trudeau throughout his campaign, as the candidate adopted an unabashedly pro-legalization stance.

Canada’s Conservative party and its leader at the time – former prime minister Stephen Harper – were

staunch in their opposition to legalizing marijuana, which led to much back-and-forth between Trudeau and Harper on the issue, Harper even going so far as to claim that marijuana is “infinitely worse” than tobacco.

However, with the election over and a Liberal majority government securely in place, it’s really starting to look like legalization is inevitable.

Despite this, interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose’s opposition to the plant means Canada’s official opposition won’t stop fighting legalization anytime soon.

It’s not like Canada is the first

country to attempt this, so for the politically minded and societally conscious, it would now be prudent to examine the effects marijuana legalization and regulation have had in places it has been tried so far.

When one looks at the beneficial aspects of pro-marijuana legislation, it becomes difficult to see just why our Conservative party is so against it. In fact, both recreational and medical legalization of marijuana has been shown to work towards many broader policies and goals espoused by the party that opposes it the most.

First and foremost, the effect legalization has on the economy

Colorado’s report on marijuanarelated revenues (including taxes, licences, fees, transfers, and distribution) for November 2015 gives a year-to-date total of marijuana tax revenue as approximately US$72 million. That’s a large amount of government revenue that simply didn’t exist before. Better yet, the state has instituted a 15 per cent excise tax on all marijuana sold commercially to direct revenue towards public school construction projects.

Colorado has a population of about 5.4 million, so if the same taxes and legislation were applied to Canada’s 35 million, the country could potentially rake in tax revenue in the neighborhood of $810 million on a yearly basis.

Even under high taxes (over 25 per cent in total), Colorado’s marijuana industry is thriving. In August 2015, Colorado’s total marijuana sales for the month exceeded $100 million for the first time, and they’ve been on a steady climb since May. This lines up nicely with the first point of the Conservative party’s current policy declaration on economic development, which states that “it is the responsibility of the government to create an economic climate in which Canadians can thrive and prosper.”

Legalization is a massive, untapped source of potential government tax revenue and marijuana is performing very reliably as a sales item in Colorado, paying dividends for the state in turn. It is curious that Canada’s Conservative party would shy away from blatant money-making machine that is legal weed.

It’s not the just the economy itself, though – the Conservative Party of Canada cares about and prioritizes job creation for Canadians. The phrase “quality job opportunities” appears a few times in the party’s policy declaration on economic development and Harper hard-lined the importance of good job creation in Canada on the campaign trail in September. According to Harper, if the Conservatives had been reelected, the party would have kept its focus on “creating new, well-paying jobs over the next four years” by setting a target of 1.3 million jobs by 2020.

Job creation is important, and goes hand-in-hand with keeping the current economy going. That’s not really a refutable point – but the potential role of marijuana legalization in job creation can’t be ignored either.

According to WeedHire, an online company meant to help people find employers (and vice versa) in the marijuana industry, 10,000 marijuana-related jobs were created in Colorado alone over the course of 2014. This is an excellent start to an industry that’s still growing at an astounding rate – from the third quarter of 2014 to the fourth, dispensary jobs alone grew by 90 per cent in Colorado.

Both recreational and medical legalization of marijuana is proven to work towards many broader policies and goals espoused by the party that opposes it the most If the Conservative Party of Canada wishes for the country to maintain a strong rate of job creation and a “competitive economy,” embracing a hot new growth industry is a clearly logical move. Based on the aforementioned numbers, it looks like marijuana is a prime candidate to be that growth industry.

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Comment Comment Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

The systemic issues behind Trump’s following How social insecurity disenfranchises society’s most vulnerable JILL PATTERSON, STAFF

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y now Donald Trump has made uncertainty felt by a large portion of problems perpetuated by the most himself well-known for his individuals in not only the U.S., but vulnerable and disenfranchised indirampantly racist and controversial other Western democracies as well, viduals in society. In particular, it is political platform and the question- including Canada. This rising insecu- the poor, racialized individuals of able comments he has made during rity stems largely from stagnant social society who are seen as a threat to his campaign for the Republican mobility, an increase in precarious the well-being of other individuals. presidential nomination. Notable employment and unemployment, and This point is illustrated perfectly by examples include his plan to build a fear-mongering that is perpetuated by Trump’s infamous statement about wall along the Mexico-United States the media through over-representa- Mexican people in the U.S.: “They’re border to keep Mexicans from enter- tion of crime, terrorism, and other bringing drugs. They’re bringing ing the U.S. illegally, his proposal to sensationalistic news stories. Social crime. They’re rapists. And some, I ban all Muslims from entering the insecurity has always been present, assume, are good people.”

U.S., and his plan to end gun-free but it seems like recently it’s been on The decline of social security can the rise. zones at schools, among others. largely be blamed on free-market Although the idea of these policies capitalism (though that’s a story actually being implemented likely for another time), but the response The support for seems laughable to the majority of to social insecurity has been the Canadians, within the U.S. there is implementation of social policies Trump in the U.S. sizable minority of voters who openly that target the most vulnerable and is illustrative of an and strongly support them and who essentially criminalize the poor. would like to see Trump become the In Canada, in previous times, this increase in a more next U.S. president. included changes to social assistance generalized social At first Trump’s declaration of policies making it harder for indicandidacy seemed like a joke, which viduals to get assistance, whereby accessing social assistance, those who and economic was only further compounded once drug testing became mandatory for are incarcerated, or anyone else who insecurity felt by he began making public statements receiving assistance and life-long is deemed a deviant. The precarious on his political platform and ideals ineligibility for violating any of the situation that many individuals of a large portion of in general. However, it has become requirements.

Western nations find themselves in clear that Trump is not going away In the U.S., Trump claims that can be directly attributed to social individuals in not and that there are in fact many people the Mexicans residing in the U.S. policies made by neoconservative only the U.S., but who support his outrageous proposals. are to blame for many of the social politicians, in which many of the Why, then, is there such a large problems Americans face, and in previous social safety nets that existed other western following when in previous times turn their decline in social security. were stripped and replaced with a democracies as well statements similar to those made by But they are certainly not the reason “pull yourself up by your own bootTrump would have likely guaranteed why so many Americans are feeling straps” mentality. disadvantaged themselves. failure in any political situation, let Unfortunately, it seems as though alone the presidential race?

As a result, feelings of fear and Job loss, precarious and low- many people have been convinced The support for Trump in the U.S. instability held by the general pub- skilled wage work, and high debt that implementing more punitive is illustrative of an increase in a more lic are reconfigured by politicians loads are not the fault of Muslims, social policies towards those who are generalized social and economic – largely conservative – as being Mexicans, African-Americans, those most vulnerable will “make (insert

GRAPHIC BY KELLY CAMPBELL

country here) great again.” The only thing that these types of policies will achieve is more poverty, crime, debt, violence, and disenfranchisement for society’s most downtrodden.

Fortunately, there are a few politicians that share these sentiments and who will hopefully get the chance to correct mistakes made in the past.

Here’s hoping.

Louis 16 and Paris ’15 Reflecting on terrorism AEDAN LADD, STAFF

Jan. 21 marks the anniversary of one exact time with news of the attack throughout France with a particular victims of a Turkish genocide that of the most important days in human on the offices of the French satirical fetish for Paris. The events that took had never been acknowledged by that history. The liberty that we enjoy on magazine Charlie Hebdo, an attack place in this last year are different state. The Palestinians were (and still a daily basis made its transition from that struck particularly close to the than those of that decade. The events are) in the midst of a hostile takeover an idea to a reality on this day 223 hearts of the people of the last year are of their homeland. years ago. It was the culmination of in this industry I also different than However, the Islamists have France is not political, philosophical, physical, and have just joined. The the ones that led to remained the same. Their war and mental turmoil resulting in an act by day of that attack the death of French ideology has not changed. They still new to acts men and women who believed in the would leave 12 dead monarchy. Whether terrorize France today, only with new of terrorism. foundation of democracy. On Jan. 21, and 11 injured. Over you accept these soldiers and under new brands. This 1793, King Louis XVI was executed the next twelve differences ulti- is not surprising given the ideology Between by guillotine. His head rolled no dif- months in France mately comes down that powers their militancy is older 1978 and 1988 ferently than the ones before it. there would be to whether or not than any other; far older than antiAs we embark upon another year multiple terrorist you think a death Zionism or the Armenian genocide. terrorism was we can remember 2015 by celebrat- attacks leading to through terrorism It is this difference that also calls ing our accomplishments, mourn- more than a huncan be justified. into question whether Islamist terresponsible ing our losses, and learning from our dred deaths and The Armenians, rorism is justifiable on moral grounds. for scores of mistakes. To do so is intrinsic to our hundreds of injuries.

Palestinians, and The Islamist ideology is religious – a nature and integral to forming our France is not new anti-imperialists type that has shown itself to be more deaths and motivations for the year to come. I to acts of terrorwho terrorized permanent than any other in human hundreds thought it only fitting that my first ism. Between 1978 Paris did so under history. The actions committed by the piece written for the Manitoban be and 1988 terrorism the guise of justifi- younger ideologies were motivated by of injuries one of reflection. There are many was responsible for able action. They liberty, the recognition of historical events that have defined 2015, but for scores of deaths and believed the atten- truth, or hopes for freedom. me there were no events more divi- hundreds of injuries. tion they would gain Whether death justifies these ends sive or permanent than the terrorist Armenian, Islamist, Palestinian, and from terrorist attacks would create is a different discussion than whether attacks in France. anti-imperialist militant groups were enough uproar for their causes to be death justifies the Islamists’ actions.

We started last year around this bombing, shooting, and assassinating noticed. The Armenians were the The Islamist terrorists are not fighting

for freedom, they are not fighting for historical truth. They fight for the regression of everything France stood for and the sacrifices their people made for every single one of us.

I don’t know the answer to the Islamist world threat. I don’t trust anyone who claims to have it: politicians, professors, your neighbour.

What I do know is that we cannot ignore the cause of this global threat.

We cannot idle or seek to protect a set of ideas that would have King Louis XVI’s head replaced with another.

We must be vigilant in our discussion of bad ideas.

The liberty that so many people paid their lives for and continue to pay their lives for compels me to challenge anyone that seeks to make ideas sacred. This is the war that will be fought in the near future on our home soil. Let’s do it honestly and unafraid.

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Comment Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Governmental appreciation of science holds promise for climate change Hearing directly from scientists will keep important issues in the public spotlight JESSICA WHITESEL, THE PEAK

BURNABY, B.C. – After nine a new cabinet position – minister of years of silence, scientists who work science – bringing the total number for the Canadian government are of science ministers to two; the other once more free to speak to the media. one being the minister of innovation, This means that Canadians will again science, and economic development. be able to hear about publicly funded Also, there has been a rebranding research from the scientists them- of the environment minister – now selves, and not statements released minister of environment and climate by a team of government spin doctors. change.

This is likely to usher in a new era of understanding climate change and The new Liberal how it will directly affect Canada.

While climate research is being government with undertaken by scientists around the Justin Trudeau world, since 2006 there has been a distinct lack of Canadian research at the helm is into the area. It is a poorly kept secret ushering in a new that the Conservative government under Stephen Harper didn’t really era of governmental care about climate change and was respect for scientists more concerned with bolstering the economy, especially through the exploitation of fossil fuel resources.

The Liberal government with The creation of a new cabinet posJustin Trudeau at the helm is ush- ition and the expansion of the duties ering in a new era of governmental for which the environment minister is respect for scientists. There is now responsible should be some indication

that the new Liberal government is on track to value scientists and what they can do; not just for the research surrounding vaccines and other health issues, but for the work they can do to help preserve the health of the Canadian environment.

I am looking forward to seeing governmental policy guided by scientific findings instead of the promise of short-term economic gain.

All Canadians should take climate change and the health of the Canadian environment seriously, as it not only affects coastal communities through sea level change but also those who live in the nation’s interior. Those who live in the interior are the most involved with the nation’s agricultural production. The fact that climate change affects weather patterns across the country should be of great concern, as it begins to affect access to affordable food. By working toward improving the Canadian climate as a whole, the overall health of the nation can be improved.

So what should be most exciting with regard to our unmuzzled scientists isn’t that they can talk to

All Canadians should take climate change and the health of the Canadian environment seriously, as it not only affects coastal communities through sea level change but also those who live in the nation’s interior the media again, it’s that they will be openly valued by this government

for what they are: incredibly skilled people who know way more about one specific thing than most people will in their entire lives. And as a result, when making policy changes, the new Liberal government will openly consider what they know.

If the new government manages to keep its promises surrounding climate change and the importance of scientists – which, given the creation of a new cabinet position and the renaming of another, doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch – then our country will not only have re-entered the 21st century, but will have made dramatic progress on the world stage from 2006 when government scientists were wrongfully silenced by the Conservative government.

– National University Wire

Features Features Editor: Lauren Siddall Contact: me@themanitoban.com / 474.6520

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Every teacher for every student Teachers in favour of LGBTQ-inclusive education, national study finds LAUREN SIDDALL, STAFF

PHOTOS BY LAUREN SIDDALL

Jan. 15 marked the official launch of 67 per cent of educators were aware portive of LGBTQ-inclusive educa- St. Vital. The amendment focuses on the final results of a national study of verbal harassment of LGBTQ tion as teachers in the public system. the areas of the Act regarding bulon LGBTQ-inclusive education, students, 55 per cent were aware that When prodded, however, it was lying and human diversity, and also dubbed the Every Teacher Project. LGBTQ students were the target of found that these teachers were far less protects the rights of gay-straight The study – headed by University of rumours, and 53 per cent were aware likely to engage in LGBTQ-inclusive alliances. At the presentation, Allan Winnipeg professor Catherine Taylor that LGBTQ students were being initiatives in practice. Taylor believes spoke extensively about her involvein partnership with the Manitoba excluded from activities by other this has to do with the amount, or ment with Bill C-18, which began Teachers’ Society – is the largest students. lack of, administrative- and ministry- when an LGBTQ student died as a of its kind worldwide with 3,400 level support. result of harassment. Unfortunately, participants.

“Teachers in Roman Catholic this is not the most recent case of a The study is comprised of an online “We looked into the schools were only a few percentage student dying as a direct function of survey, as well as 24 focus groups, points less likely to say they approve hostile behaviour toward them due data and found that with the intention of investigating of this work, but they were dramati- to their sexual orientation. teachers are typically cally less likely to have actually talked “Canadian educators’ experiences and perspectives on LGBTQ-inclusive in inclusive ways or to have particibeing held back by education.” pated in any LGBTQ efforts at their “It became apparent “We looked into the data and school. And I think the reasons for system resources” that there are all found that teachers are typically that are obvious – there is less system – Catherine being held back by system resources support for them to do that work.” kinds of people – lack of training, lack of professional Taylor believes that in order for Taylor, education trying to do this sort development, lack of resources, and the necessary support to exist, the lack of support from school leader- professor, University movement toward inclusivity must of thing and their ship and school division leadership,” involve individuals in positions of of Winnipeg said Taylor. authority, rather than just the indi- road block was that “That’s discouraging in a way, but viduals affected directly by antagonisthey didn’t have it’s also something that points a way Taylor believes that the way to tic behaviour – which, in most cases, forward for us and shows us what has mitigating these issues is through are students. solid large-scale to be done with the situation.”

LGBTQ-inclusive education to pro“I think this is a very grassroots research to point to” While all the data collected dur- vide students with positive examples kind of movement and most of the ing the study has been compiled of LGBTQ individuals, which will pressure for this work has come from – Catherine Taylor into a 180-page report and analyzed help reduce – and hopefully eliminate students and from teachers who have quantitatively, there is still work to be – the harassment these students face seen the harm caused by homophodone to analyze the data qualitatively, regularly. bia, but it would be really nice if the Taylor had a similar start to her according to Taylor.

Another major component of grassroots could have the support of engagement with LGBTQ individu97 per cent of educators who par- LGBTQ-inclusive education is sup- the authorities at the highest level.” als and their rights. She first became ticipated in the study believed that port at the upper levels of the educainvolved in addressing homophobic their school is safe, or somewhat tion system. Teachers need to know behaviour in schools while teaching safe, but this number significantly that they are supported and that their at the University of Winnipeg as a 67 per cent of dropped when asked about LGBTQ jobs are not on the line when standprofessor of education. She found educators were students’ safety at school specifically. ing up for their students. Teachers that when she included LGBTQOf the educators asked, only 28 per and educators also need adequate inclusive education in her courses, she aware of verbal cent agreed that their school was a resources to know how to effectively experienced kickback from some stuharassment of safe environment for these individu- promote inclusivity and answer any dents, which she flagged as an issue als, and only 18 per cent made the questions that they may be asked. that needed to be addressed.

LGBTQ students same statement about transgender Taylor used the Roman Catholic “I teach courses in anti-oppressive individuals. school system of Canada as an exameducation, and I always included antiFurther, when asked about homo- ple of what happens when there is An example of such legislative sup- homophobia education in my courses. phobic, transphobic, or biphobic inci- not support at the top of the system. port is the recently amended Bill C-18 About 10 years ago, I was having dents that took place over the last 12 The teachers in the Roman Catholic in Manitoba, the Public Schools Act, some students leave my classroom months at their respective schools, school system were almost as sup- headed by Nancy Allan, the MLA for in tears or shaking their fists at me,

denouncing me for daring to suggest that it’s alright to tell a child that it’s okay to be gay,” Taylor said.

“I did a lot of work trying to figure out what it was going to take to shift things for students – that was my entry point. Then it became apparent that there are all kinds of people trying to do this sort of thing and their road block was that they didn’t have solid large-scale research to point to.

It was work that needed to be done.”

Upon completion of the Every Teacher Project, Taylor and her team received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to complete a knowledge mobilization project. They will work with a group of representatives from different teaching organizations nationally, such as the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, to create what Taylor refers to as a “recommendation toolkit” to help educators practise LGBTQ-inclusive education.

“In each section, there will be our project recommendations, research to back up our recommendations, and suggestions for how to respond to questions at those different levels.

That’s going to take us about another nine months to pull together,” said Taylor.

“Then, these teaching organizations across the country are going to have a toolkit to help push for system changes in their own provinces and territories.”

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Science & technology Science & Technology Editor: Chantelle Dubois Contact: science@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Alternative auto energy Merits of new alternatives to combustion compared SEAMUS HAMILTON-PATTISON, STAFF

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t this year’s North American the cheapest production electric car time of approximately three minutes.

International Auto Show thus far. This diminutive hatchback Honda intends to deliver the (NAIAS), Audi debuted the concep- might not be as aesthetically impres- Clarity Fuel Cell to select North tual model of a new SUV, the Audi sive as anything that’ll roll off Tesla’s American markets in late 2016, starth-tron quattro, and Chevrolet offi- assembly line – but Chevy’s never ing with California and expanding cially unveiled their 2017 Chevrolet been about that. Chevy’s electric car based on the availability of hydrogen Bolt (after teasing the model briefly performs well enough for the average refueling networks that will need to at this year’s Consumer Electronics driver who needs to get from point A be implemented. to point B, and is practical and affordShow).

That’s really the biggest drawback These two models are particularly able above all else. to the hydrogen fuel cell as a viable noteworthy because each pushes an Audi’s alternatively powered car, energy alternative to the combustion alternative energy source to the fore- the h-tron quattro, was only debuted engine – the infrastructure just isn’t front of conversations on burgeoning in a conceptual form this year with in place yet. few working parts, but the specs procar technology.

The h-tron quattro and Clarity With the official unveiling of the vided by the company on the capa- Fuel Cell each sport a driving range 2017 Chevrolet Bolt and all its accom- bilities of the SUV were impressive that would outlast even the Tesla panying specs, those in attendance nonetheless.

Model S, and no electric car can comat NAIAS were introduced to a car As its name would suggest, the pare to the efficiency of the hydrothat, while still 100 per cent reliant h-tron quattro is powered by energy gen fuel cell car’s refueling process on electricity for power, will be mark- from a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. (which is more similar to gassing up edly more palatable to middle-class Hydrogen fuel cell engines use hydro- than anything) that takes only a few consumers than anything the electric gen gas as fuel, reacting with oxygen minutes. car’s current flagship company, Tesla to generate electricity. Water and heat Small groups of hydrogen refuelare the only byproducts.

Motors, has produced. ing stations exist in California (which The Bolt is powered by a 60-kiloAudi states the vehicle will have a explains why Honda is testing out watt hour battery, and a 200-horse- range of approximately 372 miles (600 the market there), but a worldwide power (144-kilowatt) motor. The kilometres) per tank, which will take network could take any number of battery can be fully charged in nine only four minutes to refill. years – and that’s assuming most hours at home, and will last for 200 Honda debuted their own hydro- governments are even on board with miles (about 320 kilometres). gen fuel cell vehicle in November at hydrogen’s widespread implementaHowever, the most appealing the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show. The tion as a fuel source. aspect of the Bolt to many consumers Honda Clarity Fuel Cell sedan sports However, charging an electric car is sure to be its price. After a US$7,500 comparable fuel specs to the h-tron is as simple as plugging it in in the federal tax credit, the Bolt will sell quattro with a driving range of over winter. There are even AC adapters to for under US$30,000, making it 300 miles (480 kilometres) and a refill make an electric car’s charging cord

GRAPHIC BY JONDELL COOMBS

work with three-pronged outlets, which aren’t exactly in short supply across North America.

Hydrogen fuel cell and electric energy sources are changing the auto industry slowly but surely, and the technologies behind each deserves to be explored and improved upon

in years to come.

At this point in time, however – and especially due to the fact that a vehicle like the 2017 Chevy Bolt can even exist – electricity is much farther along than hydrogen, and is infinitely easier to implement on an international scale.

Team of doctors complete first hand transplant in Canada Woman recovering in hospital after hand and forearm transplant in Toronto MALAK ABAS, STAFF

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team of doctors in Toronto have successfully completed a full hand and forearm transplant, a first for Canada. The surgery, which took 18 surgeons about 14 hours, is expected to be a deciding factor in getting the experimental procedure approved in Canada.

The procedure was performed at Toronto Western Hospital and took over a year of preparation. The patient, a 49-year-old woman, had lost her arm below the elbow after an accident a few years prior.

While there have been 110 hand transplants done worldwide so far, this is new territory for Canadian physicians.

“It’s not a breakthrough as far as doing a new operation,” said Steven McCabe, director of the Toronto Western Hospital’s hand and upper extremity transplant program and the lead surgeon in the procedure, in an interview with the Globe and Mail. “But it means that we have it available now here and that we have a capability of doing this procedure.”

The surgery used a donated limb, along with steel plates and metal

screws. The nerves from the donated limb and the patient had to be connected, and experts are hopeful that she will gain feeling in the hand within 200 days.

They are expecting the hand and forearm’s condition to continue improving over two years. She will also require immediate intensive rehabilitation, and will have to take medication for the rest of her life to prevent the hand from being rejected.

While there have been 110 hand transplants done worldwide so far, this is new territory for Canadian physicians Hand transplants typically have a 95 to 97 per cent five-year success rate, and the patient appears to be in good condition, McCabe said.

This being said, there are some outliers in these statistics. The first person to receive a hand transplant actually asked for it to be re-amputated due to psychological distress for example. The long road to recovery will be as mentally taxing as it will be physically.

Hand transplants are an especially divisive topic in the medical community because while they may improve functionality, they’re not strictly necessary, and many people are able to live well with only one hand.

Additionally, some of the drugs used to block the body from rejecting the hand have side effects that range between nausea and dizziness to kidney failure and cancer. Whether or not these negatives outweigh the positives really depends on the patient and their pre-surgery condition.

Transplanting body parts is by no means a new frontier. The first hand transplant was performed in 1964, but it only lasted a week before being rejected by the patient’s body.

However, through new breakthroughs in immunology and the creation of better immunosuppressants

GRAPHIC BY KELLY CAMPBELL

we are getting closer to smoother, more ideal transplants. For example, a human head transplant has officially been scheduled for December 2017.

What would once be regarded as a

blurb on the back cover of a Philip K. Dick novel is now a factual headline.

The future is now.

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Science & Technology

Science & Technology Editor: Chantelle Dubois Contact: science@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Lumosity pays US$2 million amid claims of false advertising ‘Brain-training’ game company offered incentives for testimonials, says FTC MALAK ABAS, STAFF

GRAPHIC BY CAROLINE NORMAN

L

umos Labs, the company behind the brain-training program Lumosity, are expected to pay a US$2 million settlement after a complaint by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that their advertising

claims were misleading.

Lumosity ads have been almost inescapable within the last few years. You probably remember one.

Attractive, usually young, people say they hope to “remember people’s

names” and “to get it from in here, to out there.”

The company, which described its Lumosity product as a “brain training program created by scientists and game designers,” offered over 50 mini-games and claimed that playing just 15 minutes a day, several days a week, through either their website or their mobile app, could result in improved mental cognition.

The FTC complaint states that the creators of Lumosity have said that their games could improve players’ attentiveness, memory, and even lower their risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Lumosity preyed on consumers’ fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease,” Jessica

Rich, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a written statement. “But Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads.”

The FTC also notes that many of the company’s advertised positive testimonials were part of a contest that included prizes like iPads and free subscriptions to Lumosity.

Lumosity sells access to its games for about US$15 dollars a month, or US$300 for a lifetime subscription.

In 2013 it had a revenue of US$23 million, and made Forbes’ list of “America’s Most Promising Companies” at number 66 that same year.

Lumosity currently has 70 million members in 182 countries. The selfhelp market has taken off remarkably in recent years, and brain-training

products alone are currently worth US$1.3 billion. Part of Lumosity’s settlement with the FTC states that Lumosity must offer an easy way for members cancel their subscription and auto-renewal payments.

Many scientists say brain-training games’ claims of better memory and a healthier brain have not been substantiated.

All of this aside, Lumos Labs, creators of Lumosity, stand behind their work.

“It is important to note that this settlement does not speak to the rigour of our research or the quality of our products,” Lumosity said in a written statement responding to the FTC settlement. “We proudly stand behind the Lumosity product that millions of our members train with each month.”

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

Science & Technology 15

Emotional sensing capabailities of dogs Dogs show the ability to truly understand human emotions JEREMIAH YARMIE, STAFF

D

ogs can incur the wrath of their owners from time to time – they can do stupid things. But they are also likely to be the recipient of more affection than any other being in their owner’s life. People tend to love their canine friends unconditionally.

It turns out that your pup is able to tell when you are happy or angry, and it does so by using high level emotional processing that has only ever been previously observed in humans.

A recent study conducted by the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and the Federal University of São Paulo also in Brazil, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters concludes that dogs have the distinct ability to determine both dog and human emotions by integrating information based on facial and vocal changes.

Previous studies have shown that dogs can tell the difference between various human facial expressions and emotional sounds; until now, however, a study has not determined if these abilities are a result of simple association or abstract processing of emotional information.

Integrating information given off by facial expression and vocalizations allows for a faster, more accurate, and more reliable analysis of emotion.

This mode of processing informa-

expressions, for example a happy and playful individual or an angry and aggressive one.

A single vocalization was paired with each pair of faces which was either positive, negative, or neutral in emotion – dog barks were paired with dog faces, and human voices “That is an angry were paired with human faces.

To ensure that the dogs reacted face,” determines naturally, they were never exposed the dog brain. “And to the test prior to experimental trials.

Moreover, the researchers used that is an angry pictures of unfamiliar individuals and sound. Jeremiah used audio clips of people speaking an unfamiliar language. For these must be pissed off” experiments Portuguese was selected.

The emotional stimuli were preThis contrasts with determining sented to the dogs for a total of five emotion through association. “When seconds. Any trial where the dogs Jeremiah makes this face, I get sent were paying attention to the images to the kennel. I don’t like the kennel, for at least half of that time was included in the study. so this face is bad.”

Ever since dogs were domesticated In total, the researchers analyzed some 20 thousand years ago, the almost 200 presentation trials. The two most important animals they’ve dogs looked significantly longer at interacted with are fellow dogs and the faces that matched the emotion us humans. Understanding our emo- of vocalization two-thirds of the time. tions would have been extremely ben- When the neutral vocalization was eficial in our time spent together since used, the subjects did not look at then – we may have even preferred either picture with preference. dogs that were adept at this ability.

The researchers also found that The researchers took 17 family this ability to match image to sound dogs and simultaneously presented was not effected by the gender or spethem with a pair of images of a face – cies of the presented individual, or either human or a dog – with different the type of emotion that was used.

tion is based on categorization (recognition) rather than differentiation (association).

“That is an angry face,” determines the dog brain. “And that is an angry sound. Jeremiah must be pissed off.”

GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

However, the dogs responded more strongly to dog stimuli in general – that makes sense, as dogs like looking at other dogs.

So the next time you act happy

towards your dog, know that they understand how you are feeling. It probably makes them happy too.

Why so blue?

An explanation of unusual colouring in some tarantulas JEREMIAH YARMIE, STAFF

Certain species of tarantulas display brilliant shades of blue on their bodies, although the colour is not produced by pigmentation.

Researchers from Ohio’s University of Akron and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California have recently published a study in Science Advances investigating how and why these blue tarantulas exist.

When we see colours in nature, they are often the result of pigments – molecules that absorb certain wavelengths of visible light and reflect all other wavelengths back at your eyes, allowing you to perceive its colour.

For example, chlorophyll, which is abundant in most plants, doesn’t absorb green light due to its green pigmentation, and anthocyanin is responsible for the not-so-blue colour of blueberries.

Tarantulas do not rely on pigments to produce their blue exoskeleton.

Instead, their colours are produced by carefully ordered nanostructures, which cause light to scatter and allow for certain colours of light to be produced and reinforced.

These same structures are responsible for the blue colour seen on but-

terflies and blue jays.

The researchers used high-powered electron microscopes to observe the organization of these nanostructures, which are found on specialized tarantula hairs. If you were to look past these hairs and focus on the surface of the spiders, you would see something rather dull and dark.

But why so blue?

Well, the authors of the study concluded, we don’t really know The researchers found that these structures are either multilayered, much like a crystal lattice, or ‘quasiordered’, much like a sponge.

The researchers looked through 53 arachnid genera – a taxonomic grouping used to classify organisms –and found that 40 of them had at least one species of blue tarantulas.

These select tarantula species tend to be a very specific shade of blue, from which there’s not a lot of variation.

Blue colour was independently developed at least eight times in different lineages in the evolutionary history of tarantulas. And yet, using the two mentioned ways of producing structural blue hues, somehow they all came upon the same shade. This is unlike the broader shades seen among birds and bugs.

And unlike birds and bugs, tarantula blues lack a characteristic shimmer that is seen in the other creatures. As far removed as this research might seem from practical applications, understanding this phenomenon could actually improve colour displays.

But why so blue? Well, the authors of the study concluded, we don’t really know.

What’s even more confusing is how the same shades of blue keep popping up even in tarantulas that developed the colour in different ways.

There are some ideas, though. And the researchers are pretty sure they know what is not a reason: sex.

Sexual selection is the sex-specific choice of a mate, often due to physical features. In organisms with structural colours, sexual selection often results

GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

in a large variety of colours. But this doesn’t seem to happen with blue tarantulas.

Tarantulas have horrible vision and their colour perception of blue is particularly abysmal. Furthermore, one would also expect tarantulas to flaunt their sapphire-stuff during courtship if these colours were sexually selected, but this behaviour has

not been observed.

This leads the researchers to believe that these colours are favoured by natural selection for some currently-unknown reason. Perhaps, they argue, blue is a happy-medium signal colour that is dull enough to avoid predators and flashy enough to attract prey.

Diversions Graphics Editor: Bram Keast Contact: graphics@themanitoban.com / 474.6775

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GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

COMIC BY KELLY CAMPBELL COMIC BY SARAH WALKER

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

Diversions

17

IVORY BUFFALO THE

Area man awaiting Nobel Peace Prize nomination after switching to almond milk MURV BERKLEY, STAFF

Local man Devon Eirberg is awaiting a Nobel Peace Prize nomination after making the courageous decision to switch from cow’s milk to almond milk.

Eirberg made the switch after doing extensive research of whichever infographics happened to appear in his Facebook feed regarding the health impacts and harm to animals involved with conventional milk and the benefits of ingesting semi-liquefied almonds.

“Some people drink goat’s milk but there’s still a lot of harm associated with that. For me it’s all about doing the right thing – taste doesn’t even factor into it.”

Eirberg confirmed that he had not consulted his physician regarding the decision,

but said he had instead spoken to his neighEirberg said that although he is bour who is “really into nutrition,” arguing expecting the nomination to come through that the medical establishment was in the the mail any day now, he doesn’t want to be treated differently by his friends or coworkers.

“I’m just a regular “Would I call myself a hero? No. Martyr?

Maybe,” Eirberg said. guy. Same as Martin “I’m just a regular guy. Same as Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Luther King Jr., Gandhi, or Malala [Yousafzai].” or Malala Yousafzai” The Ivory Buffalo reached out the Noble – Devon Eirberg Peace Prize nomination committee for comment but had not received a response as of press time. pocket of “Big Udder.” He added that he was happy to pay twice as much to drink the dirt-flavoured milk substitute.

GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

GRAPHIC BY BRAM KEAST

GRAPHIC BY JONDELL COOMBS

19

Front and central

Arts & Culture Arts & Culture Editor: Seamus Hamilton-Pattison Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

New restaurant the Sentruhl Project takes on Canadian cuisine and more LAUREN SIDDALL, STAFF

C

entral [sen-truhl]: In, at, or near relationships with the community the centre. Example: Winnipeg, while we figure out what everyone Manitoba. wants,” explained Audet.

Gordon Bailey has been involved Each weekend, the restaurant in the restaurant business since he takes on a new persona – new theme was 13 years old, when he got a job and new menu included. The tempoin the dishwashing station at a local rary restaurant then opens its doors restaurant to buy a “super cool remote to roughly 40 people, who have made control car.” He quickly moved up reservations in advance. to cooking breakfast and became hooked on the culinary arts, travelling all over the world to work with “It’s a way for us to different chefs. discover what it is “Once the bug bit me, I never shook it,” said Bailey. we want to do, it’s a He and his wife eventually settled way for us to figure on Prince Edward Island where the two opened up a restaurant, Lot 30. out how we work The two lived there for roughly 16 years before deciding to return home together, and really to Winnipeg to be closer to family. develop relationships Upon moving back home, Bailey’s plan to make a living through his with the community” passion was obvious: open a new – Sean Audet, the restaurant. The two packed up the Lot 30 kitchen into a tractor-trailer, Sentruhl Project which Bailey jokingly describes as an “IKEA-style restaurant in a box,” and headed to the centre of Canada.

“We strive to come up with a comPrepped and primed with experience, pletely new concept every weekend. only one thing was missing: space.

Whether it’s the menu or the dining Bailey’s current business partner, experience itself, we want to bring Sean Audet, met Bailey while attend- forward something unique and this ing culinary school in P.E.I. is what our situation is allowing us to “When I couldn’t find a spot right do. It’s really exciting for us, and we away, I actually looked into where hope it’s exciting for the community Sean Audet was at the time – a res- as well,” said Audet. taurant in Kelowna, Mission Hill The process of coming up with Winery. So I sought him out and a theme and corresponding menu asked if he would want to be partners comes very organically for the in a restaurant in Winnipeg, and he Sentruhl Project team, according to said yes,” explained Bailey. “I thought Audet. he was going to take some time to think about it, but he actually took about five minutes before agreeing “[The project] to it.” exploded into Audet made the move to Winnipeg and the pair continued something with a their search for a location. lot of dimension and About a month and a half into their search, they stumbled upon a lot of intriguing Shelia Bennett’s new venture, elements to it” – Kitchen Sync. Bennett’s business essentially offers a rental kitchen for Gordon Bailey, the those looking to gain experience in the restaurant industry or host a pri- Sentruhl Project vate event such as a cocktail reception or wine tasting.

“We thought if we can’t get a spot “It’s a lot of little ideas that expand right away, let’s get the ball rolling one way, and then another. We’ll have and feel out what the Manitoba mar- an idea and we’ll all feel really good ketplace is looking for, what the din- about it so we start reading and lookers are doing, what the producers are ing up material, reading old articles, producing,” said Bailey. looking up posters. From there – and “We’ve been away from this prov- I know it sounds really abstract – but ince for so long that I wanted to get we can pull concepts,” he said. my hand back on the pulse. In order “The whole reason this has been to do so, why not use this space on successful, and continues to be, is that weekends and create something really we let it come organically to us. We unique and different.” don’t try and force it; we try and come The partners struck a deal with up with really cool concepts, make the Prairies, and finishing with the Kitchen Sync, booking the space sure we can tie the food to it, and West Coast each subsequent weekend. exclusively for Saturdays and Sundays make sure it is something that we’ll About halfway through the series – to start their culinary project. be interested in. Once you start put- after consistently selling out each “The main idea behind the ting all those things into the pot, the weekend – Audet and Bailey knew Sentruhl Project – and I do have to ideas just start bubbling out,” added they were onto something.

“We basically did our first four call it a project – is it’s a way for us Bailey. to discover what it is we want to do, The first series was a journey weeks with the first series and realit’s a way for us to figure out how we across Canada, focusing on the East ized that we could keep this going. work together, and really develop Coast, then the Canadian Shield, The whole thing started out with us

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SENTRUHL PROJECT

wanting to get the ball rolling and – know exactly what we want to do, for lack of better words – keep busy what Winnipeg needs, and what’s while we find a space, and it exploded going to keep us motivated and havinto something with a lot of dimen- ing fun in this industry.” sion and a lot of intriguing elements to it,” said Bailey.

To keep up with Sentruhl’s ever“I know there’s going to be a point changing menu and persona, in time where we have to sever ties like their page on Facebook. with the weekend deal and do it full time, but I feel at that point we’ll

20

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor: Seamus Hamilton-Pattison Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Light up the night Astrophotographer Sheila Wiwchar shares tips on night sky photography TOBI NIFESI, STAFF

W

PHOTOS BE SHEILA WIWCHAR

hen it’s in the right hands, a by the purchase of a telescope just fair share of challenges with astrocamera can produce a master- eight years ago. photography. It took her a while to piece so exquisite that its beauty can “I still remember how seeing learn about and get used to the ample only be matched by that of nature. Saturn and its rings looked the very amount of equipment and gadgets Fortunately, astrophotographer first time, and how it made me want and the multiple tests it takes to find Sheila Wiwchar is passionate about to see so much more.” the right spots. She also had to keep both.

In a bid to quench her thirst, up with the dynamics of technology On Jan. 21, Oak Hammock Wiwchar got herself a high-quality in modern photography.

Marsh and Wiwchar will be hosting camera and joined some photography “Doing nightscapes requires some an astronomy night. Wiwchar will groups and associations, including fairly decent dark skies and some late be giving tips on how to capture the the Winnipeg chapter of the Royal nights, so travel time and finding beauty of night skies.

Astronomy Society of Canada time to catch up on sleep when you “My presentation is really meant (RASC). have two kids and a full time job is to be inspirational to anyone wanting She spent years developing her always a challenge,” said Wiwchar. to capture the night sky. Anyone that photography skills, while at the same “Processing really requires a crehas a camera will learn something,” time networking with fellow astro- ative and flexible mindset, and takes said Wiwchar. photographers and making exciting a lot of experimentation to make a “I’ll share lots of tips, tricks, and memories. successful image. Technologies and creative ideas I have learnt by being “I have many amazing memories of methods are increasing so fast and in the field, from capturing auroras, my nights under the stars, from being keeping up with the latest informathe Milky Way, and meteor showers.” with friends counting meteors from a tion can be tricky.”

Almost a decade ago, the meteor shower, watching incredible Today, Wiwchar has develWinnipeg-based photographer’s aurora pouring down from the sky oped a wonderful catalogue and is passion for the night sky and its unexpectedly, catching the Milky steadily making a name for herself stars led her into the world of Way rising above an abandoned home in the Winnipeg astrophotography astrophotography. you stumbled upon on your own, to community.

“I have always been lured by the seeing incredible treasures show up stars and the mystery behind the on your LCD screen of something so Visit www.oakhammocknight skies,” Wiwchar told the far away,” said Wiwchar. marsh.ca for more informaManitoban.

Despite all the fun and good times tion about Astronomy Night.

Wiwchar said that her first forays that are part and parcel of a life gazinto astrophotography were sparked ing at the stars, Wiwchar has had her

Red Riding Hood reimagined Local actor adapts classic fairy tale into solo show OLIVIA MICHALCZUK, STAFF

PHOTO BY RETOUCH MEDIA

F

rom Jan. 22 to 23, actress Rachel with a twist.

Smith is set to present a oneSmith took up a special studies woman alternate perspective of the course in her final year at the U of W. classic Little Red Riding Hood story. The final project for the course was a The show, titled RED, will be per- solo performance, and she began to formed in the Manitoba Theatre for work on the beginning stages of her Young People’s Richardson Hall. journey with the story of Little Red Through extensive research, which Riding Hood as inspiration for an includes work done for Smith’s under- undergraduate thesis. graduate degree at the University of Smith came across the story in an Winnipeg and her master’s thesis annotated version of Grimm’s Fairy at the University of Manchester Tales, in which the tale is titled “Little in England, Smith has created an Red-Cap.” This version noted that the abstract look at the classic fairy tale Grimm version of Little Red Riding

Hood was not the original story and deviated a lot from the original oral version of the story.

In the Grimm version, the wolf tricks Red Riding Hood, eats her, and the huntsman saves her by cutting open the wolf. The annotations stated that the original version has no huntsman and Red tricks the wolf and saves herself.

Smith looked for other versions of the story to include in her onewoman production for her thesis.

After Smith’s performance, she thought that was the end of her work with Little Red Riding Hood.

When Smith travelled to Manchester to complete her master’s thesis, she found herself revisiting the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but this time she would have to complete a much more extensive body of work with hours upon hours of research.

“I didn’t realize how much literature, academic research, and different versions of the story there were until I started working on it as part of my master’s thesis,” said Smith.

“In Taiwan there are around 240 different versions of a similar story, just with a tiger instead of a wolf.

There’s some in China where [the animal] is a bear.”

Some of the versions she came across had different morals and

meanings than the Brothers Grimm not necessarily linear,” she said. version we are used to. Some are “I’ll start with different versions focused on feminism, coming of of the beginning all mixed in to one, age, confronting fears, connecting then move to the woods and what to nature, and others are just based might happen in the woods [...] Think on turning the tale on its head. of it as a collage.”

“I’ve taken a bit of all these differThere have been some challenges ent stories and put it into one. It’s an in producing a one-woman show. All intertextual performance where it’s of the characters in RED are played weaving all these different stories into by Smith, so she must make full-body one performance. I don’t tell one story transformations between characters from beginning to end, I use bits of all so that the audience is extremely clear these different stories to create a new on which character she’s portraying tale or a new performance,” Smith at any given time. told the Manitoban.

Another major challenge Smith “Some of them are humorous has faced is the absence of a director versions, grandma eating the wolf to give her notes and feedback on her instead of the wolf eating grandma, or performance. Smith has had the help the wolf singing a song. Little varia- from previous audiences and profestions that turn it on its head a little bit. sors to contribute feedback on how In one of the versions, Red Riding to alter her performance to make it Hood encounters an old woman and more easily palatable. she is very nasty instead of a wolf. [In RED is self-written and self-proanother,] the huntsman being the duced, and funded, advertised, and male predator instead of the wolf.” performed by Smith alone.

Smith went on to explain that “I really wanted to do it, and I’ve she’s tried to incorporate as many worked really hard to do it,” said variations of the tale into her pro- Smith. duction as she can without the play becoming too chaotic. To mitigate RED will be performed at 8 p.m. on this concern, Smith said that (with Jan. 22, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the exception of one) she does not the 23rd. Tickets are $15 and can be use any version of the story more than purchased through Brown Paper once in her production.

Tickets at redbyrachelsmith.bpt.me.

“It’s in chronological order but it’s

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

Arts & Culture

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’Toban turntable Want us to review your band? Email arts@themanitoban.com today!

SEAMUS HAMILTON-PATTISON, STAFF

TOBI NIFESI, STAFF

Aidan Knight Each Other 4.5/5

Roger Roger Fairweather 5/5

V

R

Knight’s distinctive, light bari- thy in this regard for its warm tone, tone is rightfully front and centre prominence in the mix, and for the in the album’s mix. His lyrics are melodic lines that drive “The Arp” delivered in a hushed tone and and “Funeral Singers.” ancouver-based folk musi- seem rather vague – but this suits Each Other is a great, mellow cian Aidan Knight has never the album’s ambient, spacey vibe listen, and truly cements Knight’s failed to evolve his sound with just fine. ability to craft intricate, compoeach record he releases, expandProduction-wise, this album sitionally dense music without ing upon the rootsy beginnings of is faultless. Every instrument can sacrificing anything in the way of his 2010 debut Versicolour with each be heard clearly, and all are bal- dynamics or melody. subsequent release. Knight’s third anced appropriately in the mix. album, Each Other, is no different. The bass is particularly notewor- www.aidanknight.com Each Other’s brooding title track, the reverb-drenched “All Clear,” and melancholy album closer “Black Dream” are all sure to please fans of Knight’s previous album, while the remaining five tracks veer off and explore a few different (but nonetheless well-executed) styles.

With its simple, palm-muted guitar strumming, sparse piano, and moving crescendos, “What Light (Never Goes Dim)” could have been plucked straight from an Andrew Bird or Rufus Wainwright album. Meanwhile, “The Arp” embraces a modern psychedelicindie sound reminiscent of Tame PHOTO PROVIDED BY KILLBEAT MUSIC Impala.

oger Roger is composed of singer-songwriters Lucas and Madeleine Roger. On Jan. 17, the Winnipeg-born twin-sibling folk/ roots duo released their first album Fairweather.

Fairweather is a collection of nine songs that are collectively laced with folk, roots, rock, and country sounds. These sounds blend together to make for a well-crafted record. This blend is an extension of a greater juxtaposition – the fusion of the twins’ vocal and songwriting differences.

Throughout the record, the siblings take turns to lead while the other gracefully chimes in – and tracks like “13 Crows,” “Fairweather,” and “Scott Free” prove how good they sound together.

As is expected of a folk record, the album has a genuine vibe. As surely as Madeleine’s sweet-sounding ditty “O Rainy Day” calms you,

“Think of Me” and “You Came Around” will definitely get you pumped up.

Fairweather sounds really solid, especially for a debut album. The record was co-produced by the twins’ father, Lloyd Peterson (The Wailin’ Jennys, the Weakerthans), and his experience and influence bodes well for them.

The music on Fairweather will surely leave you feeling fresh, folky, and funky, so go listen to it as many times as possible. www.rogerrogermusic.com

PHOTO PROVIDED BY KILLBEAT MUSIC

Nick’s on Broadway turns one Broadway restaurant celebrates a year of quality sandwiching TOBI NIFESI, STAFF

A

little over a year ago, a boyhood [...] Like for our Reuben and hot passandwich fan spotted a vacant trami, we get it in and brine it [...] it space on one of Winnipeg’s most his- could take about a week to make our toric routes. Subsequently, a unique pastrami basically,” said Damaskin. downtown sandwich spot was born Both chefs pride themselves on – Nick’s on Broadway. their ability to provide quality food Located on the corner of services in a beautiful space. They Broadway and Smith, Nick’s on also try to maintain some flexibility Broadway is a breakfast and lunch with menu selections by switching it house that specializes in homestyle up every now and then. sandwiches, soups, salad, and pastries.

“Part of our mandate is to keep the The restaurant is run by Winnipeg- menu fresh [...] We probably change born chef and owner Nick Graumann it every month and a half, and it kind and fellow chef Ana Damaskin. of depends on the season and what is The two met while brushing up available,” said Graumann. their kitchen skills at the Culinary “I feel like that is almost as good as Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, my inspiration for this; because if you P.E.I. had every access to every thing ever, “[Nick] was starting out new and you would not know what to cook.” needed an extra set of hands. We “Menu changes happen quite had already worked together before heavily during the summer months,” so it kind of made sense to just Damaskin added. come on board and jump in on this,” Presently, the menu’s brightest Damaskin told the Manitoban. jewel has to be the pastramis. This As stated on its website, the deli’s bread and beef combo is a piquant mission is “to make the best sand- glimpse of heaven’s bliss that deserves wiches in Winnipeg.” Sandwiches a page-long article – but that is a story have always been Graumann’s favor- for another day. ite grub and he sees this restaurant as The restaurant’s walls are lined an opportunity to master the art of with beautiful photographs and artsandwich-making. work, including some by Winnipeg“For me, sandwiches are what I based photographer Mike Sudoma. grew up with. It’s my life,” said Nick. The owners are hoping to work with “I think what makes our sand- more artists and help promote their wiches special is that we try to make works. as many of the ingredients as possible “This year, we are planning on

inviting more artists and hanging their works here,” said Damaskin.

“I think it would be a good way for Broadway to get a venue to hang up some arts and photography [...] It is not just all about business, it is about living too.”

Located on the corner of Broadway and Smith, Nick’s on Broadway is a breakfast and lunch house that specializes in home-styled sandwiches, soups, salad, and pastries Broadway St., one of Winnipeg’s most historic and picturesque routes, is home to a growing number of eateries and coffee houses. Graumann believes the boom in restaurant business on Broadway is exactly what the street needs.

“The vision I had was to revitalize this strip,” Graumann said.

“I felt like this would be kind of a good point to make Broadway a

PHOTO BY CAROLYNE KROEKER

good place [...] There are a ton of ing about the local businesses here people [living] here, we just need [...] not movable businesses,” said to get them out. Right now, we are Graumann. servicing mostly the business people This past weekend marked a year in the area.” since Nick’s on Broadway opened Another one of Graumann and and the chefs organized a two-day Damaskin’s visions for Broadway is anniversary celebration. On Saturday, to eliminate food trucks during the the restaurant hosted a number of live summer months. He believes food acts (including folk and jazz duos) to trucks and their owners only consti- grace the event. tute a nuisance on the street.

“I know a lot of people who are not For more information about business owners will disagree with Nick’s on Broadway and their me, but my biggest problem with menu, visit nicksonbroadway.ca Broadway is the food trucks. They do nothing for our tourism. We want to have people coming down and talk-

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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor: Seamus Hamilton-Pattison Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Sports

23

Sports Editor: Mike Still Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

A battle for momentum Men’s basketball splits series against seventh-ranked UBC, Thunderbirds remain two points ahead in standings MIKE STILL, STAFF

I

t was a tale of two games this from playing a meticulous game in past weekend at Investor’s Group the post.

Athletic Centre, as the University of Defensively, Keith Omoerah, Manitoba Bisons used their speed to Wyatt Anders, and Jonathan knock off UBC on Friday, but came Alexander kept the gigantic up short on Saturday thanks to well- Thunderbird post-players at bay for rounded play from the T-birds. the most part, while UBC’s playmaking guards Jordan Jensen-Whyte and Friday Phil Jalalpoor were held to a comThe Bisons made a huge statement bined 14 points. on Saturday night, knocking off top dog UBC in emphatic fashion 66-64.

While the score may look deceiv- Despite being ing, Manitoba was the clear aggres- heavily undersized, sor – dictating the tempo for 35 of 40 Manitoba used minutes. The herd took the lead late in the first quarter and never looked their quickness and back, leading by as much as 15 at one point. The Thunderbirds made a late up-tempo style to fourth-quarter charge, pulling the frustrate the visitors Bison lead to within two in the final minute, but couldn’t get the go-ahead and kept them from shot to fall. playing a meticulous Justus Alleyn led the home the home side, doing everything asked game in the post of him and more. The six-foot-two point guard was excellent on defense The win also marks the second with eight rebounds and three blocks, while adding a team-high 21 points. consecutive game where the Bisons UBC forward Conor Morgan was the have held their opponent to under leading point-getter for either side, 65 points, and the third time on the finishing with 22 points and keeping season. “[Defensive play] is our main focus the game close in the final 10 minutes.

Despite being heavily undersized all season,” Alleyn said post-game (UBC’s forwards stood at an aver- when asked about the results from age height of six-foot-eight, while the past two weekend sets. “Every Manitoba’s tallest defender is six- day we work on defense for half our foot-seven), Manitoba used their practice, so it’s nice to see it pay off quickness and up-tempo style to because it’s tiring in practice.” frustrate the visitors and keep them

PHOTO BY CHANTAL ZDAN

Saturday

The Thunderbirds gained some revenge in Saturday’s rematch, using a deep bench to defeat Manitoba 76-66.

UBC dictated the pace from the opening tipoff, and never trailed at any point. The visitors received welldistributed scoring with starters Phil Jalalpoor, Jordan Jensen-Whyte, and Conor Morgan all registering at least 10 points. Their reserves also played well, especially forward Will Ondrik,

who had five rebounds, and guard Taylor Browne, who had six of his eight points in the fourth quarter.

The Bisons received offence in spurts, but couldn’t sustain any form of run. They cut the lead to four points on a few different occasions, but every time they gained momentum, the T-Birds would answer right back.

Justus Alleyn was Manitoba’s leading scorer again with 18 points, but eight of those came in the fourth

quarter, as UBC was able to contain dynamic guards Alleyn and AJ Basi.

Keith Omoerah finished with a double double for the home side as well, but the Thunderbirds still won the rebounding battle as eight players had at least one board.

With the win, UBC advances to 9-3 while Manitoba falls to 8-4.

Up next for the herd is a tilt with Lethbridge on the road this coming weekend.

A royal return to victory Women’s hockey nabs first win of second half, fall in rematch against Mount Royal ANDY CHE, STAFF

Friday

After dropping the opening weekend set of 2016 without scoring a goal, the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team broke their cold spell at Mount Royal on Friday afternoon. In a relentless display at the expense of the Cougars, the herd managed a 4-1 win – their first victory against Mount Royal this season.

Both sides played to a scoreless opening period, the fourth scoreless frame between the two so far this season.

Mount Royal grabbed an early second period lead when freshman Talia Terry scored her second goal of the season. The goal came just 1:46 into the frame with Bisons goalie Rachel Dyck giving up a juicy rebound.

However, the Bisons didn’t let up and seized a powerplay opportunity less than four minutes later to level the score. Lauryn Keen’s deflection

on Caitlin Fyten’s point shot eluded pulled off a shutout in the first meetgoalie Jess Ross for her second goal ing of the season between the two on the campaign. teams – experienced a busy night with Manitoba used their momentum 29 saves on 32 shots. after the second intermission and opened the third period in ruthless fashion. Just 23 seconds in, Ross fum- Despite giving up bled a shot that landed between her a rebound which pads and defenseman Lindsay Blight beat her to the loose puck to put the gifted the Cougars Bisons ahead. the game’s opening A 4-on-3 powerplay for the Cougars swayed the way of the herd goal, Dyck held her when Alexandra Anderson managed ground firmly and a shorthanded marker for her first goal of the season. turned away 26 shots The Bisons then took Mount Royal to the point of no return as Karissa Kirkup tallied an empty net- Saturday ter for the 4-1 victory.

The Bisons were looking to make Despite giving up a rebound it two wins in a row in their weekend that gifted the Cougars the game’s series at Mount Royal, and might opening goal, Dyck held her ground have done so if it hadn’t been for firmly and turned away 26 shots. At the Cougars’ resiliency on Saturday the other end of the ice, Ross – who afternoon.

The home side responded from trailing three times in the game and topped the Bisons in a shootout by a 4-3 score.

Courtlyn Oswald opened the scoring for Manitoba at the midway point of the period when she tucked a close shot under the bar, beating goalie Jess Ross.

Less than three minutes into the second, the Cougars drew level. The goal was initiated by seeing-eye shot, as Sarah Weninger shoveled the puck on goal while on the ice and it found its way in for the equalizer.

With just over five minutes left in the frame, Manitoba turned a defensive odd-man rush in the other direction. Erica Rieder fed Keen for her second goal of the series and the go-ahead goal for the Bisons. Two minutes later, the Cougars responded again with Jocelyn Froehlich firing her shot through traffic and beating Dyck to level the game again.

At the midway point of the third period, Alannah Sharman managed to gather the attentions of three defenders to tee up Oswald for the 3-2 lead – her second goal of the game.

However, five minutes after going down, the Cougars leveled the game for the third time. Rachel Piitz picked out Megan Carver in the slot to beat Dyck with 4:05 left on the clock.

When overtime solved nothing, the game headed into a shootout.

Janessa Jenkins scored on her first shot for the Cougars, while the Bisons were unsuccessful in their next two attempts. Weninger picked the top corner against Dyck to clinch victory for Mount Royal.

With some much-needed motivation, the Bisons return home next week to start a four-game homestand against Mount Royal and Saskatchewan.

24

Sports

Sports Editor: Mike Still Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Cougars cruise past Bisons Men’s hockey drops two straight against eighth-ranked Mount Royal RYAN STELTER, STAFF

Head coach Mike Sirant talked post-game about the sluggish start for the Bisons.

“The first period we did not play the way we have been playing,” Sirant said. “We were moving pucks without purpose, we were out of sync.”

With such a quick turnaround, the Bisons had to be prepared to play on Saturday against the Cougars, something Sirant touched on after the game.

"They are a very good team, you have to be at their best to beat them,” he said. “They play very good within their systems and have very good players.”

Saturday

PHOTO BY CHANTAL ZDAN

Friday

On Jan. 15, the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team played host to the Mount Royal Cougars in the first of a two-game set. Mount Royal was able to emerge with the 3-2 win.

The first period was fast-paced with both teams getting chances.

The Cougars opened up the scoring 14 minutes into the game. Some miscommunication in the Bisons’ defensive zone allowed Brett Zarazun to walk in and score off of his own rebound.

Mount Royal picked up right where they left off three minutes

into the second period, as forward Matthew Brown backhanded a rebound past a helpless Justin Paulic.

Manitoba would get on the board nine minutes later, as Shaq Merasty picked up a loose puck on the rush and fired a nice pass through the seam to Lee Christensen who snapped home the Bisons’ first goal on the night.

Jordan DePape picked up the second assist on the play, extending his point streak to 14 games.

The Cougars struck shortly thereafter to restore their two-goal lead when a Jordan McNaughton shot from the point beat a sprawling

Paulic.

Mount Royal went to the dressing room up by two in a period in which they carried most of the momentum, forcing 11 saves out of Paulic.

The herd started the third period fast and furious, pressing hard to get back into the game. Five minutes in, Liam Bilton fed a pass to a wide-open Dylan Kelly in the slot who made no mistake, rifling a shot past Cougar netminder Cam Lanigan.

Manitoba continued to pressure hard for the equalizer, but to no avail.

Some solid defensive work from the Cougars allowed them to hold on for a 3-2 victory.

On Saturday, Mount Royal completed the weekend sweep with a 3-1 victory. The Cougars took all four points from the weekend.

The first period was a scoreless affair that saw both teams get chances.

The Bisons’ top line of Brett Stovin, Jordan DePape, and Jesse Paradis were buzzing all period, generating many good scoring chances.

The Cougars outshot the Bisons 14-6 in the first, but it could have been worse if not for Manitoba’s excellent shot blocking, particularly from Merasty and Adam Henry.

Forty-six seconds into the second period, the Cougars broke the 0-0 deadlock when Connor Rankin showed some great patience on a 2-on-1 and slid a pass around Henry to find Cam Maclise who tapped the puck past Bison goalie Byron Spriggs.

The herd would draw level with 56 seconds remaining in the second when DePape picked up a loose puck

after a scramble in front and put it up and over Colin Cooper. With the goal, DePape extended his point streak to 15 games and currently leads the Canada West with 33 points in 21 games (13G, 20A).

Mount Royal would regain their lead before the period was up however, when third year Cougars forward Tanner Olstad slid the puck five hole on Spriggs.

The third period saw the Bisons put tons of pressure on the visitors, but they failed to get the tying goal.

Mount Royal tried their best to put the game away, including a failed penalty shot attempt, but finally sealed the deal with an empty net goal with three seconds remaining in the third.

Head coach Mike Sirant talked about the Bisons’ performance post game.

“I thought we were better today, we cleaned up a lot of things from Friday night,” he said. “Mount Royal are a very hard team to play against – positionally they’re solid.”

Sirant also talked about the intensity level of the games ahead and the toughness of their schedule coming up.

“These are the types of the games we are going to play, for the next eight games down the stretch. It is going to be tough,” Sirant said.

The Bisons head to Lethbridge next weekend to play a two-game set against the Pronghorns.

The Stony Mountain sensation Red-hot rookie Brett Stovin impresses in his first season of CIS hockey RYAN STELTER, STAFF

S

tony Mountain is a small community 16 kilometres north of Winnipeg with a population of approximately 1,700 people. It’s home to NHL Hall of Famer Babe Pratt – a six-foot-three defenseman who applied his trade in the NHL in the 1930s and 40s. Stony Mountain is also where 21-year-old Canada West rookie phenom Brett Stovin honed his gifts as a hockey player.

Despite his young age, Stovin has the experience of a seasoned veteran.

He played the better part of five years in the WHL for the Saskatoon Blades as well as eight games of pro hockey with the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL. In a short stint with the club, he racked up five goals and one assist.

Stovin has also been a leader. He was relied upon as captain of the Blades in the final year of his WHL

career. Being a leader is something that transcends the jersey you’re wearing and Stovin has stepped up to become one of the leaders on a young Bison squad.

“I’m taking on a bit of a leadership role as much as I can, and some of the guys are talking to me on the ice about different plays now,” Stovin said.

In a second-half matchup against the Alberta Golden Bears, with the score tied late in the third, Bison head coach Mike Sirant called a timeout prior to a power play. Stovin took the coach’s role and explained what everyone should be doing on the upcoming draw. Funny enough, the Bisons ended up scoring a late winner, yet another example of Stovin’s eye for the game and high hockey IQ. Stovin’s smooth skating and uncanny finishing ability has him

sitting near the top of the rookie scor- where there are some pretty tough ing race in the Canada West confer- stretches,” Stovin said when asked ence with nine goals and 11 assists. about the difference between the He’s also coming off an 11-game point WHL and CIS. streak.

“The guys are bigger and stronger, guys have more experience and it is a bit faster. You have to think the game differently.”

Stovin’s smooth Stovin had plenty of other offers skating and uncanny to go elsewhere, but because he had spent so much time away from home finishing ability has playing for the Blades, he decided to move back close to home and get him sitting near the his education at the University of top of the rookie Manitoba. Stovin said that Sirant was a big reason for his decision to scoring race in the come back home as well.

Canada West “This is where my family is from, and getting to spend time with family is important,” Stovin said. “Mike “The hardest thing about playing was really approachable and really in the CIS is not playing all week, honest throughout the process which whereas in junior you play 72 games I really liked.”

Sirant commended Stovin for his performance with the herd so far this season, discussing how he’s become one of the go-to players for the Bisons.

“Brett’s been amazing for us, he has contributed in so many ways,” Sirant said. “On the ice you can see that he’s consistently one of our best players and he plays well on both sides of the puck.”

As a natural bonus, Stovin has also provided Manitoba with some muchneeded confidence as a team.

“He just gets it, he knows how to handle himself with his teammates,” Sirant said. “He provides really good leadership, he’s positive and encouraging and says the right things at the right time.”

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

Sports

25

AHL stars NHL-bound?

Moose are maturing despite below-average season ANDY CHE, STAFF

T

he Manitoba Moose may not be a contending team in the AHL this season, but their lineup boasts a collection of blossoming talent that is en route to starring in the NHL. Masking their woeful 11-21-2-3 record are the individual displays of Chase De Leo, J.P. Lipon, Josh Morrissey, Brenden Kichton, and Eric Comrie.

Though defined as a young and blossoming franchise, the Moose’s below-par season can be attributed to the high-end youngsters in the system already cracking the Jets roster, such as Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, and Jacob Trouba. Earlier this campaign, the Moose lost brawny goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to an NHL call-up, leaving the starter’s job to Comrie – a first-year pro.

If anything, Hellebuyck’s call-up was a blessing in disguise. The native of Commerce, Mich. has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL since leapfrogging Ondřej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson to become the Jets’ starter.

Meanwhile, Comrie has also been in top form for the Moose since inheriting the starter’s position. The 20-year-old is getting accustomed to facing more than 30 shots per night, producing a respectable 2.80 GAA, 0.915 save percentage, and his first pro shutout. Expect Comrie to finish the season as one of the Moose’s lifelines.

Manitoba’s concerns lie within the defensive corps, with the back six giving up 35 shots on four occasions since their first game of 2016.

Aside from Morrissey and Kichton, the collective efforts from the rest of the Moose defenders have been nothing other than average. The temporary sending down of Paul Postma should provide the blue line with some much-needed physical presence for a team that has averaged 3.19 goals against this season.

Kichton has been an offensive stalwart, leading the team with 18 assists and three goals this season Kichton has been an offensive stalwart, leading the team with 18 assists and three goals this season.

Meanwhile, Morrissey’s dominant two-way display thus far this season should warrant him at least one stint in the big leagues by April.

Both blueliners are offensive catalysts from the back end with a feisty and disciplined defensive edge, and either would make a worthy successor should the Jets lose Dustin Byfuglien or offload Tobias Enstrom.

As epitomized by forward Nic Petan, the Moose have also been sorely lacking in the offensive department. The 20-year-old forward – who has 110 WHL career goals to his credit – has scored just

GRAPHIC BY KELLY CAMPBELL

two AHL goals this season. To make 76 goals this season, 20-year-old De Though the former Canadian his next return to the NHL perma- Leo has found a nose for the net. The World Junior player has declined nent, Petan’s scoring rate will have AHL rookie’s 11 goals in 35 games since hitting 32 assists and 41 points to increase dramatically within next leads the Moose after scoring just as an AHL rookie, Lipon is on pace few months. two in his first two months. to hit the 20-goal mark after scoring John Albert is another Moose who Manitoba has also taken advan- just 14 in his first two seasons comhas been scarce in the goal depart- tage of Lipon’s sudden confidence bined. Should his goal rate continue ment. The captain has only scored in shot attempts. Often used on the to reach new ceilings, his presence five goals this season, while he netted right faceoff circle on the powerplay would be welcome as a second- or 16 and 28 in his past two campaigns unit, Lipon has contributed to 23 per third-line winger for the next few with the St. John’s IceCaps. cent of the Moose’s successful pow- seasons to come.

Despite the Moose’s league-worst erplays this season.

26

Sports

Sports Editor: Mike Still Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Getting to know your Bisons track and field team Highlighting a few athletes to watch in 2016 MIKE STILL, STAFF

watching, I noticed how much fun all the athletes were having and I was truly amazed at how they would sprint down the runway and launch themselves into the air, as if they were flying. They were fearless. When I stopped gymnastics, I tried pole vaulting and this is now my seventh year of being a vaulter.

I jumped my personal best of 3.81 metres last year at the CIS championships in Windsor. My goal for this season is to jump four metres and place in the top three at the championships.

Name: Erin Tramley Year: Second Discipline: Middle/ long distance

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BISON SPORTS

T

the amazing fifth year athletes their Name: Tamara well-deserved swan song. The boys’ Paetsch (captain) side is continuing to show they are a Year: Fourth title contender and the women's side Discipline: High jump/ is showing that they have the pieces pole vaulting to put up a fight as well.

I compete in high jump and have Personally I’m just aiming to recently started pole-vaulting as well. improve. Whether that’s on PRs [per- My love for competition started at a sonal records] or past results at certain young age as a multi-sport athlete. meets, no matter how well I perform, Through high school I competed in I can be happy but not satisfied. track and field and enjoyed the men“The women’s tal and physical challenge of the sport.

Name: Wilfred SamI jumped my personal best of 1.73 team has grown King (captain) metres in high jump last season at immensely in Year: Fifth the CIS championships. My goal for Discipline: Sprints/ this season is to jump 1.78 metres. I strength and I hope I long jump am proud to be able to represent can be a leader that I’ve been captain of the Bisons Manitoba at track meets, and am track & field team for the past four grateful to have very talented and can one day bring years; this year my goals are very large supportive teammates to compete home a Canada West and I want to stand on not only the alongside.

Canada West Podium but also the banner” – Sasanie CIS podium this season. I will have Name: Rebekah two primary events this year, the Sass (captain) Wanigasekara 60-metre and long jump. This year Year: Third is my first full year of long jump, after Discipline: Mid-distance/ making finals and finishing eighth in distance Name: Gee-ef the country at this year’s Canadian I am a mid-distance and distance Nkwonta (captain) Senior Nationals. runner competing in events from the Year: Fourth After last year’s injuries I have a 400-metre to cross country, but the Discipline: Long newfound appreciation for my team- 1,500-metre is my main event. jump/triple jump mates, the sport, and all the other I started my track career in grade I took an unlikely route to find blessings that come with being part 9 with Winnipeg Optimist Athletics. track that had me competing in a of such an amazing team. I would like I was not very involved in the sport wide variety of sports with basketball to thank my coaches – head coaches until my indoor season in grade 10. being my main priority. It wasn't until Claude Berube, Alex Gardiner, and That year, I ran a 10 second personal the last month of high school that my event coaches Rory McIntyre and best in the 800, which caused me to I even decided to start attempting Mingpu Wu for also believing in my finally start to take the sport seriously. track and field and the individual- ability and me. This is my final year I continued to improve in my various ity is what has kept me in the sport and I need to perform to the best of races so when I raced high school up until now. I set high standards my ability on and off the track. provincials in my grade 12 year I won for myself and once I break them I the 1,500-metre and the 3,000-metre, continue to make a new set of standand came second in the 800 metre. ards. This year looks promising for Over my university career I have our fairly young team looking to give been a Second Team All-Canadian he University of Manitoba Bisons track and field team has made strides over the past few seasons and with a strong roster for both the women and men beginning to come into form, the sky is the limit. Below are the stories of a handful of Bison athletes as they aim for big things in 2016.

in cross country, a First-Team and Second-Team All-Star in Canada West in cross country, third in the 4x800 and third in the 3,000-metre at Canada West track and field indoors.

My goals for this season are to make CIS standard and compete at the CIS for the 1,500-metre and for the 4x800.

Name: Aoun Muhammad Year: First Discipline: Sprints

I started running in grade four and participated in cross-country and track throughout elementary school and high school, but for the most part I played soccer. In grade 11, I decided to switch over to track and have focused on it since.

This past summer I competed at the Western Canada Summer Games.

I run both cross-country and track and my events on the track are the 600, the 800, the 1,000, and the 1,500metres. This is my second year as a Bison and I am proud to be a part of such an amazing team.

Individually, my goal this indoor season is to focus on the 600-metre and the 1,000-metre and then compete in one or both at the Canada West Championships in Saskatoon this February. Since both events are only offered in indoor it’s nice to see the progression in them from last year.

In terms of team events, my goal is to make the 4x 800-relay team and then hopefully help the team qualify for the CIS Championships in York in March. I had a great experience as part of the relay team last year so I’m hoping we can make it back.

I am an international student from Pakistan and am very happy to be competing this year; last year I was at the International College of Name: Sasanie Manitoba and was not able to com- Wanigasekara pete for the University of Manitoba. Year: Third I was hurt because I was beyond Discipline: Long jump/ excited to be a part of Bisons track triple jump/sprints and field, but this year I get to wear In my first two years on the team the singlet and compete for my school. I have made both the Canada West I will be competing in the team individually for triple jump, 60-metre, 300-metre, and 4x200- long jump and the 300-metre as metre relay races. I’ve also quali- well as the CIS team for the 4x200fied to represent Pakistan at this meter relay. This year however my year’s International Association of goals have grown larger as I not only Athletics Federations World Indoor want to make the CIS team for a relay Track & Field Championships in but also individually for triple jump.

Oregon.

It’s early in the season and seeMy goals this year are to qualify ing the improvements already made for this year’s CIS Championships, technically in my chosen events, I and medal at the 2016 Track & Field know with help of my individual Canada West Championships. I event coaches Rory McIntyre and would like to thank Canada, the Alanna Boudreau I will succeed. I University of Manitoba, and my would lastly like to thank my team Bisons track and field team for wel- as a whole for making these three coming me with open arms. years already so memorable. I can’t wait to see what this season as well Name: Melissa Richards as the seasons to come have in store.

Year: Fifth The women’s team has grown Discipline: Pole vault immensely in strength and I hope I My former gymnastics coach can be a leader that can one day bring was a pole-vaulter and invited me to home a Canada West banner. watch one of her track meets. While

Sports

VOL. 102 NO. 19 January 20, 2016

27

2015-16 Canada West conference standings TEAM Saskatchewan Alberta Mount Royal UBC Manitoba Calgary Lethbridge Regina

TEAM Alberta UBC Regina Saskatchewan Manitoba Mount Royal Lethbridge Calgary

GP 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

Men’s hockey Men's hockey

W 17 13 13 9 9 7 7 5

GP 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

L 3 5 5 8 9 9 12 15

Womens' Hockey Women’s hockey

W 11 9 9 8 10 7 6 4

L 7 6 7 6 8 9 11 10

TEAM Alberta Calgary Manitoba Winnipeg UBC Trinity Western Saskatchewan Mount Royal Brandon Thompson Rivers UBC Okanagan MacEwan Regina

GP 16 16 14 16 14 16 16 14 16 16 16 16 16

W 16 13 12 11 10 8 8 7 5 5 3 1 1

TEAM Trinity Western UBC Okanagan Alberta UBC Thompson Rivers Brandon Saskatchewan Calgary Mount Royal Winnipeg MacEwan Manitoba Regina

GP 16 16 16 14 16 16 16 16 14 16 14 14 16

W 15 15 13 11 7 7 7 6 6 6 4 2 1

TEAM Calgary UBC Manitoba Regina Victoria Lethbridge Winnipeg Alberta Saskatchewan Brandon Trinity Western

GP 13 12 12 10 12 10 10 11 12 10 10

TEAM Saskatchewan Alberta Regina Calgary UBC Brandon Victoria Trinity Western Winnipeg Manitoba Lethbridge

GP 12 11 10 13 12 10 12 10 10 12 10

OTL 0 2 2 3 2 4 1 0

OTW 0 3 3 3 0 3 2 2

Mens' Men’s Volleyball volleyball

L 0 3 2 5 4 8 8 7 11 11 13 13 15

Women's volleyball Women’s volleyball

L 1 1 3 3 9 9 9 10 8 10 10 12 15

Men's Basketball (Pioneer Division) Men’s basketball (Pioneer Division) W 10 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 4 0 0

L 3 3 4 3 5 4 5 6 8 10 10

Women'sWomen’s basketball (Pioneer basketball (PioneerDivision) Division) W 12 10 9 9 6 5 5 3 2 0 0

L 0 1 1 4 6 5 7 7 8 12 10

PTS 34 28 28 21 20 18 15 10

OTL 2 2 1 3 2 1 1 4

STRK Won 5 Lost 1 Won 4 Won 1 Lost 2 Lost 2 Lost 1 Won 1

PTS 35 35 34 33 32 28 23 20

STRK Lost 2 Won 3 Won 2 Lost 2 Lost 1 Won 1 Lost 4 Won 3

PTS 32 26 24 22 20 16 16 14 10 10 6 2 2

STRK Won 16 Won 4 Won 4 Won 4 Won 6 Lost 4 Lost 1 Won 2 Lost 2 Won 1 Lost 5 Lost 10 Lost 15

PTS 30 30 26 22 14 14 14 12 12 12 8 4 2

STRK Won 2 Won 10 Lost 2 Lost 2 Lost 1 Won 4 Won 1 Lost 2 Lost 1 Won 2 Won 1 Lost 3 Lost 4

PTS 20 18 16 14 14 12 10 10 8 0 0

STRK Won 6 Won 1 Lost 1 Won 4 Won 1 Lost 1 Won 2 Lost 1 Won 1 Lost 10 Lost 10

PTS 24 20 18 18 12 10 10 6 4 0 0

STRK Won 12 Won 4 Won 4 Won 2 Won 4 Lost 3 Lost 2 Lost 4 Won 1 Lost 12 Lost 10