Arts & Culture pages 16 to

New student group aims to build community

Black Student Empowerment Society hosts cultural, professionalization events

Damien Davis, staff

There is always a need for support, community and guidance among students at the U of M, and this need is not exclusive to one type of student. The Black Student Empowerment Society (BSES) is all too familiar with this need.

The group, co-chaired by El-shaddai Nyakiir and Mily Baliho, was officially formed in September of 2020 during the pandemic. Baliho said that the group formed out of a feeling expressed by herself and other Black individuals — a combination of a lack of community, support and connection within academia.

“UMSU has also historically never been very good at celebrating things like Black History Month,” Baliho said.

“We’ve only really ever had one celebration of that a few years ago and it went not very well to my memory, so there’s a lacking feeling of connection both by the university and then among individuals.”

“We decided that because there’s no way to create generational ties, that we wanted to create a student group that kind of addresses [that], and we could be the community ties that other Black individuals in the student collective cannot inherently have,” she explained.

During its early days amid COVID-19, the group held events online, from Zoom parties to discussion forums and campaigns for Black History Month. While these are things that Baliho likes to reminisce about, another goal has always been at the heart of the BSES’s formation.

“We want to bridge a connection between students and between professionals and alumni that are both Black-identified,” Baliho said.

Baliho highlighted an upcoming event in February called “The Black Café,” which will host a simple coffee house-styled setup for Black students to meet and connect with Black mentors of later years. The students will be able to ask questions about academia and their futures, not only for educational support but for emotional support as well.

The BSES also recently debuted its Afrobeats Night event on Jan. 5 at the Good Will Social Club, kicking off the winter term for the group.

Baliho said that her biggest hope for the future of the BSES is to make up for the feeling of loss and hopelessness that people in her years have felt regarding their degrees. She said that this feeling is a personal experience for a lot of students, but that there are extra layers to it for students like her who may be the first in their families to go to university.

“It does feel aimless, and we don’t have those tiny bits of can be our own connection, because everybody knows maybe one little thing.”

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support and affirmation from people who have done what we wanted to prior,” Baliho explained.

“Although we can’t make generational connections, we arts@themanitoban.com

January 11, 2023 sports@themanitoban.com Sports

Moose swept in New Year’s Eve series

The Abbotsford Canucks outpaced depleted Moose in front of raucous home crowd

Matthew Merkel, staff

In their final series of 2022, the Manitoba Moose were swept by the Abbotsford Canucks. Although the Moose were supported by an enthusiastic crowd both nights, the Canucks dominated, winning game one 4-2 and the second game 5-2.

After winning their last four straight games heading into the holiday break, the Moose were second place in the Central Division.

However, injury trouble for the Moose’s parent club, the Winnipeg Jets, and the commencement of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Halifax, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. meant that a number of key Manitoba players would not be in the lineup.

Kevin Stenlund, Ville Heinola, Kristian Reichel and Jansen Harkins were all with the big club, while Chaz Lucius and Brad Lambert had both been loaned to their respective countries.

Luckily for the Moose, the Jets loaned Dominic Toninato to their affiliate, providing Manitoba National Hockey League experience for the teams opening faceoff against Abbotsford.

In game one, each team traded chances for the majority of the first period. With just over two minutes left in the frame, a holding penalty against the Canucks gave Manitoba their first man advantage of the game.

In the dying seconds of the powerplay, centreman Tyler Boland carried the puck end to end before firing a low wrister past Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs for his first career American Hockey League goal.

The Canucks responded forcefully in the second period, scoring three goals on 13 shots. Justin Dowling kicked off Abbotsford’s offence by roofing it past Moose goalie Arvid Holm in tight, followed by Linus Karlsson on the powerplay, then Danila Klimovich in the second half of the period.

Down by two, the Moose had a sense of urgency in the third, putting up 14 shots in the frame. With the Manitoba net empty, Boland shot his second of the game past a screened Silovs to close the Canucks lead.

Unfortunately, that was as close as the Moose would get to winning. Canucks winger Phil Di Giuseppe scored an insurance marker on an out of position Holm with a minute and a half left, giving Abbotsford a 4-2 victory.

The next night in the Moose’s annual New Year’s Eve game was a similar result.

In the first period, Cole Maier slipped past the Canucks defence to open the scoring for Manitoba, before Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters banged in a loose puck past Moose goalie Oskari Salminen.

Nearly seven and a half minutes later, Evan Polei tucked a shot glove side past Silovs to regain the lead for Manitoba.

In the second, Wouters picked up a Klimovich rebound and fired it past Salminen to even the score.

With the score tied up, the Canucks took over in the third.

Midway through the frame, Winnipeg native Jett Woo finished off a nice pass from Klimovich on a two-on-one to give Abbotsford the lead.

As the Canucks dictated the play, Manitoba was limited to only three shots in the period.

Even with the net empty, the Moose were unable to close the lead. Nils Höglander and Dowling each scored empty net goals for Abbotsford to make it 5-2, helping the enjoyed.

“The guys could feel the excitement and the energy,” Dubois said.

“Obviously we didn’t respond as well for the home crowd, but nevertheless the players enjoyed very much to have those big crowds.”

Canucks sweep the weekend.

Moose assistant coach Eric Dubois was happy with his club’s effort, but noted that the Moose did not execute in the last two games. He remarked that it appeared that the team’s first line was out of energy due to much of the club’s depth recalled to the Jets, which made it difficult to keep up with the quick Abbotsford team.

Dubois had high praise for the crowd at each game that weekend. There was a buzz in the air thanks to the holidays, something that Dubois said that players and coaches alike

photo / Matthew Merkel / staff

The next home game for the Moose is Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. against the Chicago Wolves.

sports@themanitoban.com

Sports teams’ schedules

U of M Bisons — Women’s Basketball

Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves Bisons @ Brandon Bobcats Bisons @ Brandon Bobcats Jan. 6 — Final: 49 – 85 Jan. 7 — Final: 69 – 82 Jan. 13 — 6 p.m. Jan. 14 — 7 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Women’s Hockey

Bisons @ Regina Cougars Bisons @ Regina Cougars MountRoyalCougars@Bisons MountRoyalCougars@Bisons Jan. 6 — Final: 1 – 2 Jan. 7 — Final: 5 – 1 Jan. 13 — 7 p.m. Jan. 14 — 2 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Women’s Volleyball

MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons Alberta Pandas @ Bisons Alberta Pandas @ Bisons Jan. 6 — Final: 0 – 3 Jan. 7 — Final: 0 – 3 Jan. 13 — 7:45 p.m. Jan. 14 — 6:45 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Men’s Basketball

Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves Bisons @ Brandon Bobcats Bisons @ Brandon Bobcats Jan. 6 — Final: 98 – 87 Jan. 7 — Final: 80 – 70 Jan. 13 — 8 p.m. Jan. 14 — 7 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Men’s Hockey

Regina Cougars @ Bisons Regina Cougars @ Bisons Ukrainian U25 National Team @ Bisons Bisons @ Mount Royal Cougars Bisons @ Mount Royal Cougars

Jan. 6 — Final: 8 – 0 Jan. 7 — Final: 3 – 2 / SO Jan. 9 — Final: 5 – 1 Jan. 13 — 7 p.m. Jan. 14 — 3 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Men’s Volleyball

MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons Alberta Golden Bears @ Bisons Alberta Golden Bears @ Bisons Jan. 6 — Final: 0 – 3 Jan. 7 — Final: 1 – 3 Jan. 13 — 6 p.m. Jan. 14 — 5 p.m.

U of M Bisons — Track and Field

Bison Grand Prix #1 Sanderson Classic

Jan. 11 Jan. 13–14

Winnipeg Jets

Calgary Flames @ Jets Tampa Bay Lightning @ Jets Vancouver Canucks @ Jets Jets @ Detroit Red Wings Jets @ Buffalo Sabres Jets @ Pittsburgh Penguins Arizona Coyotes @ Jets Jan. 3 — Final: 2 – 3 Jan. 6 — Final: 2 – 4 Jan. 8 — Final: 4 – 7 Jan. 10 — 6 p.m. Jan. 12 — 6 p.m. Jan. 13 — 6 p.m. Jan. 15 — 6 p.m.