Nov. 26, 2014

JE ME SOUVIENS Remembering the Montreal Massacre 25 years later with help from a TRU prof, p. 8

Volume 24 – Issue 13

CAMPUS TECH From 3D printing to 3D modelling, projects have purpose and following, p. 9

www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega

NEVER NEVERLAND Western Canada Theatre’s latest, Peter and the Starcatcher, makes its debut, p. 10

November 26, 2014

Six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes comes to TRU

Honorary degree recipient, p. 4

Running with the ‘Pack, p. 5

FOURTH YEAR CRITIQUES The final test for BFA students, p. 6-7

Finn Modder and her artwork

2

NEWS

November 26, 2014

Following two departures, TRUSU tops up its board New VP finance hopes to hit the ground running with mid-year takeover Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

The TRUSU board of directors is at full strength for the first time since September.

Ryan Makar, a first-year arts student planning to transfer into journalism, was announced as the new vice president of finance Nov. 18, replacing previous vice president, Trad Bahabri.

“I decided to apply for the position because I wanted to be involved,” Makar said, adding that he heard about the job through the student caucus, which he was a member of at the time.

TRUSU president Dylan Robinson said he thinks Makar’s previous participation in student government played a part in his appointment.

“I think that just kind of spoke to his dedication, or his willingness to do a lot of work on behalf of students,” Robinson said. “So I think

that was really impressed the board about Ryan.”

Robinson also debunked the notion that the vice president of finance deals solely with money, saying the position does not require an accounting background.

“It’s a somewhat misleading name,” Robinson said. “The role of the vice president of finance is really focused on the services of TRUSU…working in conjunction with folks like the services co-ordinator, Abbey McAuley, and managing the UPASS, the health and dental plan, all of our online services, managing Common Grounds, overseeing the building, you know, kind of all the services that the student union offers.”

While Makar is new to his role, he said he already has ideas to improve the student experience, including more services tailored for students coming from outside of Kamloops.

“Not being from Kamloops, or from the area, I think I’ll bring a

unique perspective in that,” he said.

Among his priorities for next semester, Makar said he hopes to expand the student saver program, adding new vendors and more saving options.

The TRUSU board of directors had been shy one seat since Sept. 23, when previous LGBTQ representative Nic Zdunich resigned. Current representative Megan Graham later filled the LGBTQ seat, only for Trad Bahabri to be removed as vice president of finance after exceeding his limit of meeting absences according to TRUSU bylaws.

Makar will now hold the position until April.

“I knew I was coming in halfway through and I guess my mentality was ‘I’ll hit the ground running,’ and I’m a little nervous about that, but I think the [TRUSU] staff and the other representatives, the other board members, are going to be a great support in helping me transition halfway through the year,” Makar said.

BC Transit asks for feedback ahead of service changes Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

BC Transit made a stop at TRU last week to gauge reaction to proposed changes to the transit system next year. Students and faculty wandering through Old Main on Nov. 19 got the chance to offer their suggestions for improvement and put Phase 2 of the Transit Future Plan, a 25-year guideline for the transit system, under the microscope.

Suggested changes for next September include altered routes for lines 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10, increased service on the number 1 down Tranquille Road, and a new line with service to TRU. “A lot of the service changes that we’re looking at for next year bring big improvements to the students and the routes that serve TRU,”

said Erin Felker, senior regional transit manager for BC Transit.

Passers-by got the chance to share their priorities among already proposed changes (increased service between TRU and downtown and more direct and reliable routes on lines 4, 7 and 10 proved popular) or give more open feedback through a post-it board. Posted suggestions included adding more bike racks to buses and expanded weekend and evening services.

Amanda Kasper was one of the students who took advantage of the chance for feedback.

“It looks like they’re trying to increase the frequency [of buses],” she said.

The first-year arts student said she finds the number 10 bus she takes every day too unreliable and infrequent. She also said she would be happy with any effort to make the bus schedule more reliable.

“Sometimes you can be waiting for like 30 minutes for your bus and in the dead of winter ¬– that kind of sucks,” she said.

TRU Open Learning staff member, Sarah Langlois, on the other hand, said she takes the number 9 bus five times a week and is happy with the service.

“It works perfectly for me,” she said. “It picks me up right outside my work building and drops me off two minutes away from home.”

The Nov. 19 information booth was part of a larger feedback campaign by BC Transit. Similar booths were set up around the city. Kamloops residents could also weigh in with an online survey, which closed Nov. 23.

Feedback received will be analyzed by BC Transit to form recommendations, which will be presented to city council by March 2015.

Ryan Makar is the new TRUSU vice president of finance, TRUSU announced Nov. 18.

(Image courtesy Ryan Makar)

OPINION

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 13

The Omega Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper Published since November 27, 1991

www.truomega.ca /TRUOmega @TRU_Omega /tru_omega

EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady @iamseanbrady editor@truomega.ca NEWS EDITOR Alexis Stockford @AlexisStockford news@truomega.ca ISSUES EDITOR Ashley Wadhwani @ashwadhwani issues@truomega.ca SCI-TECH EDITOR Ryan Turcot @RyanTurcot sci-tech@truomega.ca ARTS EDITOR Kim Anderson @K_AndersonSays arts@truomega.ca SPORTS EDITOR Tayla Scott @taylascott3 sports@truomega.ca COPY EDITOR Rachel Wood @rachelwoood copy@truomega.ca CONTRIBUTORS Jim Elliot Racheal Estok Adina de Jong Steve Leahy

PUBLISHING BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Brady INDUSTRY REP Christopher Foulds FACULTY REP Charles Hays STUDENT REP Vacant STUDENT REP Vacant STUDENT REP Vacant

PUBLISHING Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 900 McGill Rd, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-828-5069 Advertising inquiries: accounts@truomega.ca

LETTERS POLICY Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material. Opinions expressed in any section with an “Opinion” label do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff. Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

COPYRIGHT All material in this publication is copyright The Omega and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright The Omega 2014.

Student occupations: the last line of defense against rising tuition If what you’re doing isn’t working, try something different Sean Brady

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

At the height of the occupation, more than 100 students sat in Wheeler Hall at the University of California Berkeley. That number has since fallen to just 20 or 30, according to a Nov. 23 LA Times article, but the protests are still on.

This student protest flare up was caused by the decision to increase tuition by at least five per cent per year for five years.

This increase, which will amount to more than 28 per cent, was first proposed in 2009. That increase was marked for 32 per cent, but students rejected the increase with occupations, protests and riots. In 2012, California Governor Gerry Brown urged university trustees not to make the increase, and they complied.

But now the plans are back on the table, and students have organized in protest. There are plans to spread their campaign to other campuses, organize mass walkouts and march past high schools.

Back here in B.C., our tuition increases are capped at two per cent per year, and while that figure only outpaces inflation by about a quarter percentage point, it still has the “slow creep” effect that needs to be addressed.

Nearly every school in B.C. has opted to take that full two per cent tuition increase every year since the limit was introduced.

With falling government funding, I almost understand, but eventually that two per cent won’t be enough to cover the gap and an alternative source of funds will need to be tapped.

And just because tuition has only risen approximately two per cent beyond inflation since 2005 doesn’t change that tuition and fees will have tripled by 2017 since 1990, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

While the two per cent increase limit does a little to stop the bleeding, it does nothing to address the gaping wound that came before.

It might also be worth considering the pace of these increases. Students are typically at a university for four years. As many of you know, that’s barely enough time to get in, get your degree, do some extracurriculars and get out – add activism and advocacy on top of that? It’s tough, especially when no single student really bears the full brunt of tuition increases. Tuition is what it is when you enroll and once you’re finished school, you might be too busy working to care, but either way you’re disconnected from the campus and people you’d be advocating

for if you did decide to take the issue on.

We might be getting some help on that front (then again we might just be spinning our wheels). The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) recently launched the “It’s No Secret” campaign, which says it’s a “call to action for Canadians of all political affiliations concerned for our country’s future” and points to tuition, student debt and youth unemployment as the key issues.

Aside from asking for email addresses for whatever future campaign plans they have, CFS is also organizing meetings with MPs to discuss the issues.

While a unified voice for students sounds like a good idea, CFS seems like it’s often unable to reach the difference makers and reverse some of the damage that has been done. Back at Berkeley, it sounds like that’s something those students would understand.

“Students are constantly dismissed at regents meetings,” sophomore Jake Soiffer told the UC Berkeley student newspaper the Daily Californian. “We’re here because we’ve tried the normal routes, and they didn’t work.”

CFS is still trying the “normal routes,” and while it might not be time for students to line the halls of our universities in protest, it is time to stop trying the same old things and spinning our wheels. editor@truomega.ca

Why police should wear body cameras Desire for more transparency trumps privacy concerns Omar Abdikader

THE FULCRUM (CUP)

Outfitting police officers with body cameras has the potential to drastically increase transparency and accountability in police departments everywhere. While this technology might raise concerns about the invasion of privacy, it’s a small price to pay to ensure both suspects and police officers are objectively judged by an unbiased third party.

Often, a violent confrontation between a police officer and a suspect leads to conflicting reports from both civilian eyewitnesses and the officer(s) involved.

This has been made evident by a variety of recent news stories that highlight the growing problem of police brutality. The most high profile of these incidents is, of course, the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo. this summer. Since the encounter was not captured on video, eyewitness accounts differ on

exactly what led to the shooting.

Outside of protecting civilians, body cameras also hold benefits for police officers themselves, since these devices can shield them from wrongful prosecution.

This has recently been demonstrated by an incident in Albuquerque, N.M., where a police officer’s lapel camera recorded the arrest of a woman who was driving drunk. After the 23-yearold failed her sobriety test, the camera recorded a moment when she tried to get out of trouble by accusing the arresting officer of sexual assault. But thanks to the camera footage, the officer was cleared from any wrongdoing and the department was spared the burden of a costly sexual assault suit.

It will only be matter of time before this technology becomes ubiquitous throughout the country. Police body cameras are now being tested in most major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and even Ottawa. And why wouldn’t we implement these pilot projects? According to a re-

port from the Wall Street Journal, the city of Rialto, Calif. has had great success equipping its entire police force with body cameras. After a year, the use of force by police officers declined by 60 per cent and complaints against officers by the general public declined by a staggering 88 per cent.

These statistics suggest that the positive effects of body cameras transcend beyond simply providing better evidence and testimony; it appears it can also have a psychological impact that will force both officers and suspects to be more conscious of their actions. Since both parties are aware that they’re being recorded, they will modify their behaviour in a more honest and forthcoming fashion.

Despite the reservations some may have about the potential invasion of our privacy, this new technology will not only protect officers and the citizens from physical harm and unwarranted prosecution, but it also has the potential to restore the public’s dwindling confidence and trust in the police.

We love letters. Why not send us one? editor@truomega.ca

3

TUNE IN/TUNE OUT Steve Leahy

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

Continuing with what I was saying last week; do you know what’s killing comedy? You should, because it’s killing comedy dead. Really dead. It’s the lack of subtlety.

You want to know why I haven’t seen a good comedy movie in theatres lately? Because there hasn’t been a good comedy out in theatres in a long time. They all suck. Except for maybe a handful over the last five years. And those are not good odds. Just look at any recent sitcom to know what I’m talking about, and then compare it to a show like Adventure Time. Now, anyone who knows Adventure Time is going to be like “Steve, there’s nothing subtle about that show.” And you’re right, to a point. I’m talking about subtle comedy, and Adventure Time does that really well.

Basically what it comes down to is this: when a joke is made, does the show point out how funny that joke was? I see a lot of shows doing this. It’s like the characters on the show break the third wall in order to let the audience know that the last part was a joke and that they should laugh.

I call it awkward humor, because it’s not funny, but it leaves the characters looking like such idiots that you have to laugh at them. Or cry because of the boredom. So many sitcoms do this now. They’re not funny, it’s just a bunch of obvious jackasses looking like obvious jackasses. Funny, right? It started with Seinfeld and Friends, but they get a pass in this case, because they were the first, and that’s not the only trope they relied on.

But now, that’s the only thing sitcoms have anymore; tell an unfunny joke, and then wink at the audience so they laugh at how awkward and stupid everyone looks. That’s comedy these days.

And if it’s a good joke, then they point out how funny it was in the same way they point out how unfunny previous jokes were. Sign me up for that.

Now look at Adventure Time.

The show has no subtlety anywhere, except for in the humour.

They don’t point out their jokes, hell, if you’re not paying attention to the show you’re going to miss most of them. And I’m not going to act like Adventure Time has no awkward humour, but it’s the same as Seinfeld or Friends, just one of the many types of jokes in there ol’ bag o’ comedy. Really, that’s what sets funny comedy apart from painful comedy, the variety of jokes. Most times it’s the same setup, same pay-off and same boredom.

Next time you’re watching a sitcom ask yourself, “is what they just said funny, or is it funny because they look like a jackass?”

The answer to that one might surprise you. leahys112@mytru.ca Stephen Leahy is a third year philosophy student who has been attending TRU since 2011. He has been living in Kamloops for 21 of his 23 years.

4

FEATURE

November 26, 2014

An honorary degree for a six-time Olympic medallist

Speed skater and cyclist accepts honorary doctorate, speaks on mental illness Alexis Stockford NEWS EDITOR Ω

TRU can add a six-time Olympic medalist to its list of honorary alumni.

Clara Hughes, one of the few people to ever medal in both the Summer and Winter Games, received an honorary doctor of laws from TRU before taking the stage Nov. 20 as this year’s President’s Lecture guest speaker.

The usually solemn award ceremony was interrupted several times as the audience broke into applause.

“In the four years I’ve been chancellor of Thompson Rivers University, we’ve conferred a number of honorary degrees on a number of worthy recipients, but I can say I’ve never heard so much applause, so much love and affection as there is here in this room for Clara Hughes,” TRU chancellor Wally Oppal told the audience.

According to TRU, the degree is in recognition of Hughes’s athletic accomplishments as well as her humanitarian efforts, which include organizations like Right to Play, a $10,000 donation in 2010 to Vancouver’s inner city program Take a Hike and her efforts as a mental health advocate,

including her role as a spokesperson for Bell’s Let’s Talk day.

Normally awarded at convocation, Hughes was unable to cross the stage last spring, as she was part way through Clara’s Big Ride, an initiative that saw her bike more than 11,000 kilometres across Canada to raise awareness about mental illness.

Dean of students Christine Adam nominated Hughes for the award.

“I like to nominate people who I think our students would really value meeting and hearing from, and Clara was one.

“I also always look for women who are contributing…in different ways to our society and making the world a better place and, in particular, I have a really strong passion for supporting the mental wellness of our students and so it matches very well with the work Clara’s done,” Adam said.

The degree from TRU is Hughes’ fifth. She already holds honorary doctorates of law from the University of Manitoba, the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta, as well as a doctorate of letters from the University of New Brunswick.

Hughes said it was funny that she was adding all of these degrees on top of what, up until recently, was only a Grade 12 ed-

ucation from an inner city school in Winnipeg.

“It’s pretty amazing to be here with all these amazing young minds and these cerebral athletes,” she said.

TRU awards honorary doctors of laws for skills in business and profession, doctors of letters for achievements in community service, arts and science and doctors of technology.

After shedding her ceremonial robes, the newly minted “Dr.” Clara Hughes took the stage again to speak on her own achievements and years-long struggle with depression.

“I am one of the one in five,” she told the audience, referencing the popular statistic that one in five Canadians will suffer from mental health issues sometime in their lives.

This year’s President’s Lecture began with a video highlighting Hughes’s Olympic victories, including two bronze medals in cycling in 1996, a bronze medal in Salt Lake City in speed skating, gold and silver medals four years later in Torino and a final speed skating medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games, where she won bronze.

“What that video doesn’t show, and what life doesn’t show, is the spaces in between,” Hughes said.

Hughes began her story by describing her childhood growing up in what she describes as a dysfunctional home with a history of mental illness. Hughes’ sister suffers from severe depression and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and her father struggles with addiction.

That environment, Hughes said, led to a lifestyle of smoking, drinking and drugs before she became involved in speed skating at the age of 16.

Hughes went on to describe her slide into clinical depression after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and the denial she felt during the two years that she did not seek help.

advocacy. In an interview with The Omega earlier that day, Adam said she feels Hughes has contributed greatly to the campaign for mental health, de-stigmatizing mental illness and fostering open conversation on the topic.

“I think that any time you start to talk about mental health, people will very quietly say ‘oh yeah, I’ve struggled with that,’ or ‘a member of my family has,’ and the more that we feel comfortable talking about it, the easier it will be for people to seek help,” she said.

Hughes also told The Omega that she feels mental illness has become better understood and accepted in the last five years, but added that the health care system must improve if it is to meet people’s Clara Hughes needs.

“The support isn’t “I was too good for depression, there for people who are strugright? I had Olympic medals, gling and it needs to be so much that was going to get me through better,” Hughes said. anything,” she said. “I held onto Hughes closed her hour-long those things outside of myself be- lecture by urging the audience to cause I didn’t want to admit the accept the struggle of those with weakness, what I thought was mental issues without also shamweakness, inside of me.” ing them for their illness.

Hughes first publically spoke “We’re so much better than on her struggles with depression this,” she said. “Here at this uniafter her last winter Games in versity today I have seen so much 2010, a move that launched her compassion…there is compassion into her role as an advocate and and connection happening right spokesperson for mental health. here. You, all of you, especial“I started realizing that people ly the young ones, please know just thought it was all good and that you can change your world. all beautiful and I must have come Please know that you can do anyfrom this great place because I did thing with your actions and don’t these great things,” she said. ever underestimate the power of “I realized I had more to share.” your actions when you reach out Adam saluted Hughes for her to someone.”

“I was too good for depression, right? I had Olympic medals, that was going to get me through anything.”

Left: Making it official: Clara Hughes accepts her doctoral hood from TRU president Alan Shaver.

Opposite page, top: About 130 participated in the Walk/Run. Organizers hope to continue next year. (Tayla Scott/The Omega)

Below: Olympian Clara Hughes (centre) accepts her honorary doctorate from chancellor Wally Oppal (left) and president Alan Shaver (right).

(Alexis Stockford/The Omega)

Opposite page, centre: Left to right, Clara Hughes, Cindy James, Chelsea Corsi run the one kilometre lap around campus on Nov. 20.

(Tayla Scott/The Omega)

FEATURE

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 13

5

Now she’s running with the ‘Pack

Olympian Clara Hughes takes a lap with the TRU community ahead of degree ceremony Tayla Scott

SPORTS EDITOR Ω

Before accepting her honorary degree, six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes ran with the WolfPack cross-country team during their Walk/Run a Kilometre in My Shoes event to raise awareness for mental health.

There were 130 participants in the Nov. 20 event, with Hughes leading the group. The event began at Old Main and went for two loops around campus.

WolfPack team captain Ryan Pidhirniak had the idea to create the event to raise awareness for mental health after a teammate and friend took her own life over the summer.

“After the death of my teammate, I just thought, ‘I have to do something,’” Pidhirniak said.

He approached his assistant coach Sharon Munk, who is also a counsellor, with the idea. Munk, with the help of the WolfPack cross-country team and nursing student Amy Gordon, organized the first Walk/Run a Kilometre in My Shoes event.

The event was not only meant to raise awareness about mental health, but to raise awareness about the availability of counselling services at TRU. “We have world-class people available to help kids that are struggling with depression or a form of anxiety. We all know how tough it gets around finals and there’s somebody here to talk to if you need to,” Pidhirniak said.

Pidhirniak said it is too soon to outwardly honour the teammate that took her own life by associating her with the event, but hopes that with the approval of her family, the event can later commemorate her.

“She meant a lot to me and the team and we don’t want her memory to be lost,” Pidhirniak said.

After the event, many students, including the WolfPack cross-country team, got the opportunity to meet Hughes and listen to her recount her own struggles with depression.

“I thought winning medals would kind of fix me, make me feel good

about myself… and it did the opposite,” Hughes said to media outside Old Main.

Hughes said that sports gave her a sense of belonging and even kept some feelings of depression at bay, but it was not a solution and eventually she sought help.

“Athletic competition attracts really intense personalities...and people that may be prone more to OCD, to anxiety. Just because you’re so strong doesn’t mean you don’t have weakness,” Hughes said.

“I think sport is something that allows people to mask the weakness a little more, so maybe people are attracted to it.”

Hughes said she knows a lot of athletes who struggle with mental illness and thinks that there is a greater percentage of high performers that struggle with mental illness.

Kayla Morrison, a first-year

WolfPack runner, was diagnosed as a child with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

“I was really ashamed at first. It’s something that I put my own stigma on,” Morrison said.

Morrison believes awareness about mental illness has increased in the past few years, which helped her to become more open about her own struggles.

“The more awareness we get reduces the stigmatization and will enable people to actually get the help they need. It may be able to reduce the more higher risks, like suicide, which is something that has been increasing in the past few years, especially in Canada,” she said.

Morrison said she knows a lot of people with mental illness who reach out to athletics. She believes team support and exercise is a positive influence on mental health, and

that stigmatization around mental health needs to change.

“Being sick with depression or bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or whatever you may deal with is no different than being sick with a medical illness, they are the same thing and that’s something people really need to realize,” she said.

Morrison has lost three people, friends and family members, to suicide in the last two years.

“There are people that die everyday because they’re too scared to talk to someone and that breaks my heart. It’s not okay and it’s preventable.”

Although mental illness affects people of all ages, Munk believes young people at university are particularly vulnerable because it’s a transitional period in their lives.

“I do think student athletes are under their own unique stresses because they’re trying to balance

school and the demands and expectations of varsity sports but they’re not any different than any student that has their own stresses,” Munk said.

Munk was thrilled to see all the participants that came out for the run. She also hopes it can become an annual event.

“This was a big way that we could say that we’re going to honour that team member’s memory and make sure that doesn’t happen to others,” Munk said.

“We can do our small part in helping to prevent it for somebody else by making them aware of the supports and resources that we have here on campus,” she said.

Munk’s advice for anyone struggling with mental illness is to talk to somebody about it, whether it’s a friend, family member, teacher or counsellor, and to get directed to professional support if it’s needed.

6

ARTS

November 26, 2014

The final test for BFA students a look into the fourth-year critiques, part 2 Interviews and photos by Kim Anderson Last week I spoke with four of the thirteen fourth-year BFA students following their first of three critiques and toured their studio. During the critiques, faculty members and fellow students got an opportunity comment on and ask questions about their colleagues’ artwork. The students gain valuable feedback and suggestions for future work.

These critiques are in-depth and time consuming, so the students are split into two groups. I tracked down the seven students who had their critiques on Nov. 21 and asked them the same questions.

Siqi Xu

Shanghai, China

Finn Modder Nice, France

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

Watching boat-builders in Vancouver and realizing the work that goes into wood bending.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? I would like to better understand lumber and wood quality. I want to understand how to make my material more malleable and become more skilled in manipulating it.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Working in the art business doing art marketing. I think that art business would be more beneficial [for me], given my previous studies in economics and art history. I’m more interested in the business part of it. But you can’t do that unless you know how to make the art, if you do, you’re just an asshole.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

There was a lot of trial and error. I got smacked in the throat. I was bending the wood and putting it in the jig, and because of the tension, it released and hit me in the throat. The velocity of it was crazy town, it was nuts! I had to go to the hospital for the past few days. I could hardly speak.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

My father is an architect. He only builds super modern, square, hard lined stuff. So I do curves, the opposite. He works out of the Bahamas. His hand is always in his work. He still draws everything for his clients by hand and I think that is extremely inspiring.

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

My high school was an art school. We did a lot of practice with drawing and painting. So I had a lot of instructors helping me to improve my skills at the time. So that inspired me a lot with painting and drawing, it’s very important.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I think I want to be a 3D CGI conceptual artist. I’ve been a 3D animator for a few years now. I often think about high technology artwork. I have a job with a studio in Vancouver and I’ve also been working with a couple studios in China as well.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

I was a student in a Vancouver animation school at the time [I got to Canada].

I did a lot with 3D animation. It was an online program. I learned a lot of techniques from that school, which allowed me to produce a lot of high technology and 3D computer artwork here.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? I will continue to work on my project. My major concern will be focusing on digital art and oil painting. I will discover more video editing techniques.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

In the painting essentially, I wanted to talk about small culture from water cities in China. I will have three different paintings, exactly the same size as this one. Each painting will represent another city. I also shot a video to describe the cities and the culture. This city is Zhouzhuang.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Feng Zhu, he is a concept artist. He designs for the game industry and does character designs for film. Scott Robinson is another one. He is a vehicle designer; he does designs for BMW and Mercedes.

Devon Lindsay Kamloops, B.C.

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

Probably going up there for the first time. It’s very quiet, it’s one of the higher points that you can get to in Kamloops. I was curious as to what was going through all those towers. I got a radio scanner, went up there and recorded the audio. The audio that you hear now is audio that comes from these towers.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? To produce the best possible work that I can and leave TRU ready to pursue a MFA. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully I’ll be graduated from grad school by then. [I’ll go] anywhere in Canada that will accept me. I don’t want to go to Ontario, I know that.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

When I first got here, I thought I knew everything there was to know about photography. Being here has really given me the opportunity to explore photography and learn all the different processes. The faculty is very open to me trying things that are very out of the box. I got a UREAP grant from TRU to research wet-plate collodion photography, which is from 1851.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

It’s shot on slide film. The question gets brought up about why am I using this older technology. It’s an antiquated technology. Some people will think it’s romantic and traditional, I don’t fall into that category. I do enjoy it as slides, it has a different, more tactile feel. You can see the film grain, the projectors are loud, they’re hard to find. The audio is radio; radio transmissions are also an older technology. So I am correlating two older technologies.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Ian Ruhter, I’ve actually met him. He took an old delivery truck and turned it into a giant camera and shoots wet-plate images with it. I made small images, he’s doing 4 ft. x 5 ft. images out this giant truck-camera that he’s touring the United States with. He was in Vancouver and I made sure I made it there to meet him. He put all his life savings into it, packed up everything he had, bet it all on this project. He’s actually been really successful with it. He’s getting gallery shows. Betting on yourself, that is what really inspires me about his work. I got to spend a lot of time talking with him. He explained how he couldn’t just step in a little, he had to go all in. He said it was scary, but that’s what pays off in the end.

ARTS

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 13

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Brandi Mack Quesnel, B.C.

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

Through TRU study abroad I had the privilege to go to Wales and the U.K to attend school. I’m an advocate for travelling, especially at a young age, there’s so much to see.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? Everlasting friendships and connections with people.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I just want to be happy in five years.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

I find myself really open-minded now. I think I have a lot more faith in myself. In my first year I was really shy and not open towards exploring different art methods and showing my artwork. But now I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in my last four years.

Xiaoqing Zhai Tianjin, China

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

In China, the politicians can’t be talked about. It’s a secret. I wanted to [create] an irony of the Chinese society. [I want] to make people to think about that, and to speak freely. I want people in China to speak freely.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

These are gargoyles, hybrid creatures from photos that I took in Europe. One of my main interests were these weird creatures that were incorporated into the buildings. I thought I’d bring them back to Canada and try to incorporate them into Canadian architecture because they aren’t seen as regularly here in Canada as they are in Europe.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Kristi Malakoff. She’s a huge inspiration to me because right out of Emily Carr graduate school she went to Russia and did an artist residency there. She’s really interesting.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? Just to get ready for the graduating exhibition and do a lot of art!

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I am interested in doing data art. It is a kind of art style that is more like a collage.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

When I first came to TRU, I didn’t know about drawing. I didn’t study drawing and painting when I was young. Some Chinese students are very technical, they studied drawing and painting when they were kids, but I didn’t. I just started in university. I had to study hard to catch up.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

Every chairman has large hands and they represent how they are holding the rights of China. Chairmen in China are the most powerful people, so the Chinese flag is always near their hands. The chairmen hold the rights of Chinese, so they can dress however they want.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Hannah Hoch.

Andrew Hood

St. Catharines, Ontario.

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

Experiencing the “Dream Machine.” It was at a show at an artist-run centre in Toronto. The “Dream Machine” is a kinetic sculpture that you experience with eyes closed. It’s supposed to activate the sitting potential in your brain. It was developed by a group of artists who lived in NY in the 60s and 70s.

How do you push yourself?

Make work that pushes me outside of my comfort zone and into an act of practice right after the degree. To use materials that you aren’t used to using, testing ideas where you don’t necessarily know all the answers, asking questions and using inductive reasoning, not really having an end goal, but setting out with an investigation and presenting what you’ve found.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Practicing art. I can’t really envision where I’ll be in five years, I don’t know where I’ll be. I know I’ll be in galleries, making and showing art.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

I am open to making different styles of art making and I take all projects seriously.

Shannon Meyer Kamloops, B.C.

Can you name a real-life experience that has inspired your artwork?

I was doing research on my background because I’ve recently found out that I’m part Haida.

What are your goals for your last semester here at TRU? Finish school, finally. This is my ninth year. I was doing a double major.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Coming back to school and doing the education program, after a couple years off.

How have you grown as an artist since your first year?

My early years I was just throwing stuff on canvas to get work done. Getting toward my fourth year, I want to put some more meaning behind it.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

It’s a combination of Haida art and also based on the Nike of Samothrace, I tried to integrate both of them together. I am half German and 1/8 Haida. With the colours, I tried to stay more toward German colours. I did use Haida colours too, because they only use red, black and white, but I added yellow to represent Germany too.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Brian Jungen. [He] takes Nike issues and he makes them into Haida warrior masks. He’s combining the two cultures together.

Tell us about your piece on display today.

I had an idea, but it was very basics. As I went, I learned about the physics of building something like this. I had to improvise with the design a bit. It’s heavily based in film and film history.

Can you name an artist that is inspiring your work?

Brad Troemel. He does conceptual art surrounding critical theory.

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NEWS

November 26, 2014

Remembering the Montreal Massacre: 25 years later TRU professor who reported on the shootings reminds us why the event is so important to remember Racheal Estok

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

On Dec. 6, 1989, a gunman opened fire in a classroom at École Polytechnique, a university in Montreal, Quebec, killing 14 women. This act of gender-based violence was carried out because the male shooter, Marc Lépine, viewed his victims as “feminists,” who he believed should not be studying to become engineers.

This December marks the 25th anniversary of this tragic event now commonly referred to as the Montreal Massacre.

Maxine Ruvinsky, a journalism professor at TRU, was a reporter in Montreal at the time and was sent to report on the massacre.

“Twenty-five years, to me it’s like yesterday. I can remember everything. I can remember sitting at my desk…and through my tears writing the stories,” Ruvinsky said. “I covered that first night and I actually [saw] those parents in the hospital waiting to see if their children had survived or not.”

Before this tragedy, Ruvinsky had never feared walking down the streets of Montreal alone.

“It changed things. After the massacre, I’d be walking down the street and a guy would be approaching me and I couldn’t help myself. I’d think to myself, ‘does he hate me because I’m a woman? Does he have a gun?

Should I run? Is he going to hurt me?’” Ruvinsky said.

Every year since 1991, Dec. 6 commemorates the Montreal Massacre as the National Day of Remembrance and Action of Violence Against Women.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation, a group fighting to empower women and girls in Canada, states “gender inequality is visible in many areas, including politics, religion, media, cultural norms and the workplace. Both men and women receive many messages, both blatant and covert, that men are more important than women.”

Ruvinsky called gender bias “a bias so old…so ingrained and so much [a] part, like a fish doesn’t see the water that it swims in.”

TRU journalism professor Maxine Ruvinsky was a reporter when the École Polytechnique shooting took place and reported on the event.

Ashley Wadhwani/The Omega

“I would say that when I began actively describing myself as a feminist was not long after becoming a father.

As I watched them…overcome each systemic roadblock and confront assumptions about their gender, I became keenly sensitized to a world that seemed to be working against their interests,” said TRU communications professor Mark Wallin.

Wallin was attending Trinity Western University when news of the massacre broke.

“I was, of course, shocked and terrified that something so violent could have happened on a university campus,” Wallin said.

Many see the massacre as a symbol of the issue of violence against women due to the day of commemoration.

However, Ruvinsky believed that “if the government were truly interested in addressing women’s issues they wouldn’t have killed the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, which Harper did when he first gained power.”

“I think they would change the laws about domestic abuse…all the studies show that the reason domestic abuse continues as a huge problem and just gets worse…despite all the days of mourning, is that people get away with it,” she added.

Wallin said that the massacre represents the way our society sees injustice and pointed to disproportionate rates of poverty among women, the prevalence of unreported sexual assaults, a tolerated rape culture and a wage disparity that, he said, has lasted nearly his entire lifetime.

“The Montreal Massacre shows us all that it is society as a whole that objectifies women. We are to blame for what we teach our sons and daughters every day by means of the culture around them,” he said.

“We need to remove…tolerances for objectification. We need to make sure that men and women who

This plaque at the École Polytechnique in Montreal commemorates the 14 victims of the shooting.

(Bobanny/Wikimedia Commons) speak disparagingly about women are called to task for it in that moment. We need to push back against the symbolic violence so that there is no soil in which violent acts can take root.”

Ruvinsky highlighted actions, such as letters to the editor of your local or national newspaper, and recognizing that you do not have to be the leader of a mass movement to take action against this issue. She believes that the only solution for change is a “revolution by consciousness” from the individual.

“The more that people reach a conviction that doesn’t keep them with their heads in the sand, whether male or female, and realize that it’s a better world if it’s not woman-hating… and

a lot of things will be solved by not giving in to a woman-hating world,” Ruvinsky said.

“The worst thing is to go silent,” she said.

Students can pledge to raise awareness of gender-based violence in Old Main on Nov. 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a table set up by the TRUSU equity committee in front of Academic Advising.

On Dec. 5, the TRUSU Equity Committee and the Thompson Rivers University Faculty Association Status of Women Committee will be holding a vigil for the 14 women killed. The vigil will be in the Old Main Art Gallery near the Black Box Theatre.

State of health and safety of the province’s homeless

New reports help create a better understanding of the situations of homeless people Angela Espinoza

THE OTHER PRESS (CUP)

Several reports released near the beginning of November offer updated information on the state of the province’s homeless population. Reports were published by Megaphone Magazine and the Women’s Coalition of the Downtown Eastside, the latter of which formed in 2011.

Findings by Megaphone reveal that those who are homeless in B.C. face half the average life expectancy of the average B.C. resident. The Women’s Coalition report outlines the rate of violence against women in the Downtown Eastside (DTES), claiming physical assaults are “normalized.”

Megaphone’s report, titled “Dying on the Streets,” was conducted between 2006 and 2013, which found “at least 271 homeless people died in British Columbia.” B.C. coroners provided numbers of recognized homeless deaths, but the report states that the numbers are “likely much higher” due to the number of homeless persons who

go missing.

The report also states homeless are twice as likely to die via accident, suicide, or homicide compared to average B.C. residents, and that the average age of death for homeless ranged from 40 to 49 years of age. The average B.C. resident, according to the report, lives up to 82.65 years.

Of the 281 confirmed deaths, 160 are totalled for having died on the streets, 90 for having died in shelters, and 31 were listed as “unknown.”

Recommendations for preventative measures are also outlined in the report.

Amongst other suggestions, Megaphone states the B.C. Coroners Service “should work with regional health providers and local homeless agencies … so it can better record the true number of homeless deaths in British Columbia.”

Also suggested were yearly coroner reports, as well as monitoring of aboriginal homeless people specifically to have accurate numbers of the aboriginal population of B.C. As for the Women’s Coalition report, titled “Getting to the Roots,” research was conducted via participants who

were “self-identified women with existing relationships to the DTES.” The report states that 48 per cent of those who responded to their research said they had experienced violence in the past two years.

Participants were asked, “Where do you go or who do you approach when you are feeling unsafe?” The majority, at 23 per cent, were classified as “no one/ deal with it myself.” An additional 20 per cent stated they inform friends or family, 19 per cent go to women’s services, while 15 per cent go to the police.

When asked “What services or organizations do you feel comfortable approaching to talk about women’s safety,” 69 per cent of responses selected various women’s centre services, yet only one per cent selected going to the police.

The report stated that one of the contributing factors of many not going to police is that some victims live in the same housing units as their aggressors, and thus fear living on the streets if the crimes are reported. Another factor was that some “women may be reliant on violent partners for income, housing, or other support.”

Suggestions for change are offered in the report, several of which include

offering 24-hour shelters and self-defence training for women, as well as developing “decriminalized areas where sex workers can work openly and safely.”

Megaphone is published monthly, and sold via homeless and low-income street vendors throughout Vancouver and Victoria. Each issue is $2, with $0.75 of each sale going towards each vendor. Vendors can be located via the Megaphone Vendor Finder app.

yaokcool/Flickr Commons

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 13

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3D modelling blurs lines between real and virtual

From 3D printers to virtual environments, technology is helping to combine worlds Ryan Turcot

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ω

In the wake of looming deadlines for semester-end assignments, Hector Alzate is one of the few students at TRU who can justify spending his days on Xbox Kinect. No, he hasn’t figured out how to get academic credit playing Dance Central, but he may have figured out a new way to teach RCMP officers about crowd control tactics using virtual reality.

By the end of the semester he hopes to finish a virtual simulation of the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot that RCMP officers can physically interact with.

“It’s a simulation intended to train the officers and make them better,” he explained.

Alzate’s directed studies project builds upon a 3D digital replica of Vancouver that computing science alumnus Alex Touchet created in a previous semester. RCMP officers can navigate through this environment, which includes everything from Rogers Arena to Science World, using the same motion-sensing technology that powers Xbox Kinect video games.

Under the mentorship of TRU computing science instructor Andrew Park, Alzate is now tasked with programming and animating the virtual characters that police officers will have to confront.

“We had to make a model for how people interact in a crowd,” Alzate explained. “There are specific kinds of people within a crowd. For example, there are leaders, who are very angry and try to influence others to break things. There are also good guys who try to protect things and bring people back to sanity.”

“There’s a large amount of research on how people behave in crowds, so we had to go to those models to see what would fit in this situation.”

With a general model researched and developed, Alzate’s next step was to program the artificial intelligences (AI) of each individual within the crowd.

“This is a really hard thing to do,” he explained. “First, there’s just getting them to know, ‘hey, that’s a window. Let’s break it.’ Then one of the other interesting parts was making human-like movement. In real life we like to keep our distance from each other, for example, and that has to be programmed.”

Alzate is still working on the human models and their animations, but he plans to finish his project by the end of this semester.

“Then he will present his simulation at Simon Fraser University’s Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies,” Park explained. “He will show his work to criminologists and police officers. “[Alzate] and I are really interested in realistic simulation. We want to use 3D models with realistic building and human characters so it looks like real life. That’s why we use lots of game technologies. But we are not making games, we are making social simulations based on social studies. How do people behave, and influence others. How do police officers control a crowd? It’s not just computing science. We are combining social science studies and computing science technologies.”

Virtual simulation developed for TRU Kamloops campus

Park thinks virtual reality can benefit TRU’s grounds, too.

“The next project is to figure out

if the TRU campus is safe,” he said.

“We re-created the Kamloops campus virtually, and it’s very realistic.

We are going to have some experiments soon.”

One of Park’s personal research interests is studying how people experience fear and perceive danger in their environments. In the past, he has teamed up with students to simulate specific areas of Kamloops (Victoria Street, for example) to help facilitate criminological studies.

“It’s not ethical to just bring people to an area and ask them how scary it is to them,” he explained.

“So instead, what we do is create virtual environments that resemble the target areas.”

In one of Park’s experiments, he simulated an area of downtown Kamloops during both day and night, and asked participants to navigate from a starting point to a designated end point in both scenarios.

The participants were free to pick whichever path they thought was the fastest or safest.

“As you might expect, nobody chose any alleyways,” he explained.

“We put human characters there, laying down on the street and such.”

Similarly, he will soon be able to study how people behave as they navigate through the TRU campus.

Park said that TRU World may also have a use for a virtual model of the campus.

“They can use the same environment to create a virtual orientation for international students,” Park explained. “Some international students cannot come to the campus for their orientation, so we are creating this for them. You can talk to virtual humans. You can learn about registration, which building is for what, and everything.”

Dave Hylands shows a plastic chain he 3D-printed for one of his machines.

(Ryan Turcot/The Omega)

TRU workshop demonstrates 3D printers

Above: Hector Alzate (left) and Andrew Park (right) work together to simulate the Stanley Cup riots to help train RCMP officers Right: The 3D printer in action.

Bottom two: A toy robot and a fully functional crescent wrench are two objects printed by Dave Hylands.

(Ryan Turcot/The Omega)

Creating immersive, convincing virtual environments is one possibility of 3D modelling software. Last Wednesday, students found out that creating real-world objects, ranging from fully functional crescent wrenches to toy robots, is another.

Machinist Dave Hylands facilitated a workshop in the House of Learning to demonstrate how 3D printers heat, weave and cool threads of plastic to construct tangible items.

He began his demonstration by explaining the history of 3D printers.

As it turns out, the technology to print in 3D existed since 1984, but acquiring one was difficult and expensive, to the point where it simply was not worth it.

This changed a little over two decades later, when patents for the original designs expired. New designs for 3D printers started emerging in 2007 and, thanks to the Internet, they were more widely adopted this time around. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo helped innovators raise funds. Designers were able to share and publish their 3D models online, so non-designers could download and print them.

Hylands then walked the audience through the process of designing and printing an object. Because of time constraints, he chose a simple item: a red plastic cut-out of a ModLab logo

with embossed white lettering.

To begin, he used a software program called FreeCAD, which allowed him to build the geometric, wireframe shape of the item. Then he used another application called Cura to encode the wireframe with a specific path that the 3D printer could follow to successfully print the item. Finally, he used a program called Repetier Host to embed more specific instructions into the wireframe. For example, he needed the 3D printer to stop at a certain point so he could change the printer’s filament from a red plastic to a white one. With the design completed, Hylands proceeded to print it.

The printer itself took about 10 to 15 minutes to complete its job.

Aras Balali, who helped organize the event, explained that he is working to make the benefits of a 3D printer accessible to Kamloopsians without having to be an expert like Hylands.

“It’s in a pretty early stage, but what we want to do is create a ‘makerspace’ in Kamloops,” Balali said.

A makerspace allows people to share their knowledge, expertise and resources to collectively manufacture tangible items ranging from machine parts to arts and crafts. In addition to a 3D printer, woodworking and metalworking facilities would be provided.

In the near future, Balali hopes to

launch a fundraising campaign to cover the start-up costs associated with the makerspace. This will include securing a building for the space as well as the tools needed to run it.

For the past year, TRU has also been looking into ways to implement 3D printing on campus. A few programs on campus are already actively looking into ways to integrate 3D printing as a new tool. For the past year, students in the architectural and engineering technology (ARET) program have used them to provide clients with tangible, 3D models of their work. Earlier this year a visual arts student borrowed one of them for a project, and the mathematics and statistics department has its own 3D printer too.

The implementation of 3D printing at TRU is still a work in progress, however, ARET chair Mindy Marshall said.

“As it isn’t part of the curriculum and it takes a long time to print things, most students do not want the hassle,” she said.

Marshall also mentioned that the room used to store them is not ideal because its air quality suffers when the printers run.

She does acknowledge, however, that a few third-year students are keen to experiment with the printers in January.

10

ARTS

November 26, 2014

Stephen Jackson Torkoff and Holly Lewis (Kim Anderson/The Omega)

Take a trip to Neverland Peter and the Starcatcher makes its debut Adina de Jong

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

This photo: Andrew Kushnir as the Boy and Holly Lewis as Wendy showcase their talents in Western Canada Theatre’s Peter and the Starcatcher.

Top: Stephen Jackson Torkoff and Holly Lewis.

Kim Anderson/The Omega

“It’s a beautiful play, it’s really, really funny, and it’s great for kids. But it’s also great for adults. [It’s] really theatrical and magical,” said Daryl Cloran, Artistic Director at Western Canada Theatre and director of the Canadian premiere of “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

The play opens at Western Canada Theatre (WCT) on Nov. 27 and will run until Dec. 6.

“Peter and the Starcatcher is the prequel to Peter Pan, so it imagines how Peter became Peter, how Hook got his hook, and how the Lost Boys got lost, and the invention of all those characters,” Cloran said.

The lead roles are played by Andrew Kushnir as the Boy, Holly Lewis as Molly, Evan Buliung as Black Stache, Amitai Marmorstein as Prentiss and Stephen Jackman-Torkoff as Ted. The lead roles are a handful of the twelve talented

actors working on this production.

These actors and others play multiple roles and make excellent use of the audience’s imagination throughout the play.

Adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, this Tony Award-winning Broadway play was based on the children’s novels by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, and has never before been performed in Canada.

“I saw it on Broadway a couple years ago and it’s so imaginative and so exciting that I reached out to the Broadway producers to get the rights. We are the very first Canadian production ever,” Cloran said.

“So if you want to see this show anywhere in Canada, you have to come to Kamloops.”

This holiday season, audience members of all ages can look forward to an inventive play full of imaginative stagecraft, daring battles, lively songs and finding oneself.

“He [the Boy] kind of starts out with no identity, not even a name, and over the course of the story,

turns into all of our childhood heroes, Peter Pan. I think we all have stuff like that, where we feel sort of lost and don’t really know who we are, where we stand, and what to make of something,” Marmorstein said.

This production’s ideas about imagination and dreams immediately drew Jackman-Torkoff in.

“It’s about really giving into your dreams and these things you believe in, and being a brave person, because in the world, it happens to me all the time, you can become very passive, and just kind of let life go by you,” Jackman-Torkoff said. “There’s something in this play that I find, like all your dreams, all these things are possible. You can get what you want, but you have to be an active participant in that. You have to keep having faith, you’ve got to believe.”

During this often hectic pre-Christmas season, make time to take a journey into your own imagination and off to Neverland with “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

GREEN TEA, STRETCHY PANTS AND MEDITATION My journey to becoming a yoga master Kim Anderson

BUDDING YOGI Ω

“The light in me bows to the light in you,” the tiny and unfathomably flexible yoga instructor said to a class of about 19 skilled yogis... and one sweaty and exhausted me.

Yoga has always been one of those things on my endless to-do list. It’s heralded as a sport with numerous benefits mentally and physically. Since my days now consist of sitting in class, or sitting at home doing schoolwork, the only physical activity I get is running around at work or chasing after people (exhausted and usually hyperventilating) with my camera, I thought yoga would be a wise activity for me to try. To be honest, four years of school has made me embarrassingly soft.

Luckily, my friend had a free plus-one pass for a newbie at a studio downtown.

She convinced me to join her at a Sunday class.

I took her up on her offer, despite

the fact that the class was at 8 a.m. It is very uncharacteristic for me to be up that early on a weekend. I stepped into the studio and right away I was hit with calming, eclectic tunes, the smell of lavender and green tea and welcoming smiles. I slipped my shoes off and wandered up the staircase.

My friend explained to the instructor that I was going to use her plus-one pass and that I was new to yoga. The instructor paused for a moment, looked at me, then back at my friend and said, doused with uncertainty, that usually the plus-one passes aren’t used for “this level class,” but I was welcome to stay.

My heart dropped. What had I agreed to? I read the sign-in sheet and it said “Level 2 Slow-Flow.” It might have well been written in another language, because I had no clue what that meant, but with my superior powers of deduction I gathered that this was not a beginner class. My friend shrugged, looked at me and for some reason, I said, “Well I’m already here, let’s do this.”

Tomas Sobek/ Flickr Commons

To my dismay, she already had our mats and props set up in the middle of the room. If I had to flop around like a goldfish on this mat, couldn’t I be hidden in the corner? Ideally, away from the eyes of those who literally have the ability to fold themselves into pretzels?

But there was no going back now. We were there and ready to yoga (can it be a verb?).

The class started out slowly, with simple breathing and meditation exercises. I was confident, but that didn’t last long.

Things started happening quickly. I was hit with successions of downward dog, cobra, cat, cow, warrior, goddess and too many planks. Breathless, sweaty and straining, I did my best to keep up, listen to the instructor and mimic the poses of

the others.

Miraculously I survived until the final (and at that point my favourite) segment of class: savasana. I lay on my mat, trying to clear my head and ground my thoughts. Class ended and I looked over at my friend with an incredulous look on my face.

I was exhausted, but exhilarated.

Somehow I made it, and I knew this was something I wanted to pursue. Your body is pushed to stretch and move in ways you never even imagined. Your mind is challenged to drop all burdening thoughts and become grounded in the moment. Although tired, I felt fantastic.

I wiped off my mat, put away the props and started walking to the front desk. I thanked the instructor for the

experience and expressed my desire to purchase a membership.

Since then I’ve stuck to the basic foundations and the rest and relaxation classes. Those are much more my speed.

Trying a class that was way over my skill level was a not-so gentle reminder that I should consciously push myself to try new things, especially things that initially frighten or intimidate. If I had left that day before getting my ass kicked for that seemingly endless hour, I would have never wanted to walk into another yoga studio.

I hope that I will forever pursue new and exhilarating relationships, work and recreation. Because the things that frighten us the most, are the most rewarding.

COMMUNITY

The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 13

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Volunteer opportunities for the holiday break Jim Elliot

CONTRIBUTOR Ω

United Way Jail and Bail

The Kamloops Food Bank

Operation Red Nose

Members of the TRU community who would like to support the United Way Community Fund can do so by pledging a donation for the Jail and Bail event, which will be held on Nov. 27 at the Tournament Capital Centre. For more information on the event and how to donate visit http://www.unitedwaytnc.ca/2014/10/jailand-bail-kamloops/ or contact the Kamloops United Way at 250-372-9933

The Kamloops Food Bank is looking for volunteers to assist with preparing food hampers, serving clients, cleaning, stocking shelves and helping with pickups and deliveries. Volunteers will also be needed for a number of special events over the holidays. For more information visit www.kamloopsfoodbank.org/volunteer or call the food bank at 250-376-2252.

Operation Red Nose is a by donation designated driver service looking for drivers, navigators and headquarters volunteers to help provide safe rides home this holiday season. The service operates every Friday and Saturday from Nov. 28 to Dec. 27 as well as on New Year’s Eve. For more information on how to volunteer visit www.operationnezrouge.com or call 250-3200650.

Snow Angels

Habitat for Humanity

Snow Angels is a volunteer program that provides assistance with snow removal for Kamloops seniors and other residents with limited mobility. The program is organized by the Seniors Outreach Society, the city of Kamloops, Volunteer Kamloops and TRU. Volunteers can receive more information by calling 250-8280600 or emailing info@kamseniorsoutreach.ca.

Habitat for Humanity Kamloops is looking for volunteers over 16 years of age regardless of experience and training to help with upcoming builds. Volunteers are also required for the ReStore and for fundraising and marketing events.

Donations are always welcome. For more information on volunteer work or donation visit www.habitatkamloops.com or call 250-3146783.

Around this time of year we often find ourselves wanting to give to those less fortunate, whether through donating to a cause or volunteering time and work to help carry a Street Light Christmas Gala fundraiser or charitable The New Life Mission is hosting a Christmas event.

Gala for marginalized women in the community on Dec. 18. Volunteer staff including certified Here are some of the stylists, hosts, hostesses and servers will be organizations and ways you hair needed for the event. The Gala organizers are also looking for donations of Christmas decocan help in the local comrations, women’s semi-formal clothing, mirrors munity. and food for the event. For more information visit volunteer@newlifemission.com.

Tis the season... to bust out the swimsuits, santa hats and run through downtown Kamloops for charity! Approximately 20 TRU Law students gathered at the Commodore on Nov. 22 to raise funds for the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation. The scantily clad runners got caught in a downpour and raised over $2,000.

Photo by Kim Anderson

Join our publishing board!

The Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (the body that governs The Omega), is currently looking to fill three student representative positions on its publishing board, which oversees the paper and its business.

Monthly meetings are held to discuss operations, finances, editorial direction and design. As a student representative, you’ll see how the organization works and contribute your ideas and opinions on the matters of the day. Your responsibilities will include reviewing reports, finances and contributing ideas and strategies you think the organization should be considering. Also, there’s pizza.

Those interested in joining the publishing board should express their interest to editor@truomega.ca before Nov. 26, 2014.

Please let us know why you’d like to serve on the board and what perspective you hope to bring to the table. Applicants must be registered students.

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November 26, 2014