February 26, 2014

The OmegaThompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper Ω

News Editorial & Opinion Life & Community Arts & Entertainment Sports

Volume 23, Issue 20February 26, 2014

Page 3 Pages 5, 9 Pages 6, 7 1Pages 1, 2

Faculty gathered on Feb. 17 for the TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium, starting with keynote speaker Russell Hunt. He instructed them to “ink shed,” a form of free writing to discuss thoughts about constraints profes-sors work under.

( Jessica Klymchuk/The Omega)

While students were enjoying the first day of reading break, professors were learning how to overcome the constraints they face in trying to deliver quality and cutting edge education. The 10th annual TRU Teaching Practices Colloquium was themed “Beyond the Boundaries: 21st Century Education” and dove straight into the timeless concerns that professors continue to struggle to overcome: class size, timetables, course evaluations and the social paradigm that puts professors at the front of a lecture hall and students behind a grade.

These structural and social constraints were discussed early on by keynote speaker Russell Hunt.

“How do we deal with the boundaries we are given as teachers and as professionals? How do we get outside the boxes we’re in?” Hunt said. “Is it always a good idea to get out of the boxes we’re in?”

Although Hunt touched on constraints professors deal with on their own, such as how to conduct group work or discussions in classes of seven people or exercises when a class is only 50 minutes long, he discussed two constraints in which students have a direct influence: student course

evaluations and interpretation of professor feedback.

“If you can measure it, it’s real. If you can’t, it’s someone’s opinion,” he said. “Those numbers come to be way more important than they ought to be.”

Hunt said course evaluations are concerning to young professors who fear their results will affect their contract renewal or their ability to get a full time positions, actual concerns he heard when he worked as a faculty advisor. With the TRU Senate recently passing a mandate for TRU to implement mandatory course evaluations, many in the room would have shared similar concerns.

“Course evaluations should be used only to provide information to teachers, and we have to find other ways of evaluating teaching, but as long as we are in that situation, that’s a constraint we labour under,” he said.

Hunt suggested that professors provide midterm course evaluations and then share the feedback with the class and discuss it.

He said at the end of term students will better understand what they were going to say and that it might affect the way the course was taught in the future. Online forums could be used so the conversation is ongoing and doesn’t use class time.

Reinventing the classroom

See INNOVATIVe Pg. 2Roy Henry Vickers was this

year’s featured guest at TRUSU’s annual Story Teller’s Gala. At the event, he said that the most important things to be learned aren’t in university, but in life.

The fourth annual gala was held in the Campus Activity Centre’s Mountain Room on Feb. 12.

Vickers’ works are recognized across Canada and have been gifted to visiting foreign leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II. Vickers was the recipient of the Order of British Columbia in 1998 and the Order of Canada in 2006.

TRUSU’s Aboriginal representative, Liz Whiting, introduced Vickers as a personal friend, sharing her own story of the first time the two met. She met

Vickers as a child with her father and remembered him introducing himself with a hug and telling her that as a friend to her father, he was a friend to her, too.

During the Story Teller’s Gala, Vickers talked about growing up in the small northern

BC town of Hazelton, about visiting Vancouver Island and experiencing discrimination for the first time, about trying to learn what it means to be “an Indian,” about contemplating suicide and overcoming addiction, about his life as an artist and much more.

The full room of approximately

60 attendees shared laughs, tears and nods of understanding with the presenter. After the event, Vickers shared more of his thoughts with The Omega.

“I live my life as an artist, but more as a storyteller artist, because life is about stories and

stories are where we get our education,” he said.

Vickers described institutional education as an “old, archaic, industrial revolution type of teaching which hasn’t changed.” He said he feels it is important the teaching of his First Nations ancestors be learned by the academy and taught

within academic institutions like TRU.

Vickers said the stories he was taught growing up were filled with emotion, and emotion is how he now creates his artwork.

Recognized Canadian artist comes to TRU

Ω Roving EditorKarla Karcioglu

Roy Henry Vickers shares the story of his struggle with suicide and his decision to continue with life. (Ashley Wadhwani/The Omega)

Boost for women in trades programs Pg. 2

Each one of us is already an artist.”

—Roy Henry Vickers,

Internationally renowned artist“

Ω News EditorJessica Klymchuk

How professors are learning to deal with social and structural constraints

Annual Story Teller’s Gala celebrates art, leadership, a sense of self and community and the education received from stories

See VICKeRS Pg. 2

February 26, 20142 News

Community corner

Looking for a job? Part time work? Graduate work?

Summer job only? Just want some information

on Career options? Join us at the Job Fair,

happening on March 6 in the Grand Hall, CAC. Over 50 employers

confirmed.

Check out the website TRU.ca/JobFair or see the ad

on page 9 for details.

Vickers attempted post-secondary education in his youth, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him. He said that if you are studying f ine arts, you should not be in school, and if you want to attend school you should study something else.

“Each one of us is already an artist,” Vickers said. “We are born with creativity, we are born with strength and beauty and truth inside of us.”

Vickers said that arts are important because they help us be in tune with our emotions and are a more natural way of learning. He said we must f ind a way of teaching that puts the arts on the highest pedestal.

“When funding is cut it is always the arts that get cut f irst. Well, that should be the last thing that gets cut, because that’s where we learn the most, in the most compact period of time, because the emotions are doing it.”

The most important life lesson Vickers has learned is the impact one life can have on the world. He elaborated by ad libbing a traditional Basque saying his

grandmother taught him. “You are the centre of your

family, what you do and say in that family everyday makes a difference in every other member of the family. Your family is the centre of your community, and what your family does makes a difference in the community. Your community is the centre of your county, and what your community does makes a difference in the whole country. Your country is the centre of the world, what our country of Canada does makes a difference in the whole world.

“So, where did it begin? With you. You make a difference in the world.

“That’s the greatest lesson. My joy and my peace, that I have everyday, comes from knowing that I strive to be the best person that I can be, each day of my life.”

Vickers said that his most important message of the night was “your story is the most important story you have to share with the world. The most important things you have to learn are not going to be in this university, they are going to be in your life.”

Meanwhile, the social constraint of teaching and grading limits the potential for feedback since students only see grades, Hunt said. Everything a student does in school is evaluated. They expect it to be evaluated and if it’s not, they often won’t do it. It’s the simple idea that professors profess and students study, he said.

“Students very rarely read the comments and when they did, they read them as corrections – me fixing what was wrong, telling them what they should have done,” he said. “What they heard was the rationalization for the mark at the end.”

This also happens in the classroom when a student gives an answer and then the professor asks if anyone else has a different answer, Hunt said. The student hears that they got it wrong, which isn’t the case.

He said he struggled for years with how to write comments to students so they wouldn’t hear them as criticism, but hasn’t found an answer.

Hunt introduced class projects students can publish to be editorially evaluated, which students interpret differently. He said this avoids assigning classic term papers but suggests the language be as dialogical as possible.

Hunt has been at St. Thomas University since 1968, holding various administrative positions over the years in addition to

teaching. He has worked to make innovative teaching practices a reality at St. Thomas and continues to suggest changes to administrative constraints that he sees hindering the teaching abilities of professors and learning abilities of students.

“Those perceived boundaries – they may be less real than many people think they are, but they are real,” he said.

“They have potential to constrain our activities, to unhook what we most value or believe for what we are actually doing.”

Innovative teaching practices break down student-teacher boundaries

FROm ReINVeNTINg Pg. 1

The most important story you have to share with the world is your own: Vickers

Russell Hunt speaks at the 10th annual Teaching Practices Colloquium on Feb. 17. ( Jessica Klymchuk/The Omega)

FROm VICKeRS Pg. 1

RBC Foundation has committed $700,000 to support women in trades at TRU. The funding, announced Feb. 12, is the largest donation RBC has granted in B.C., outside the Lower Mainland. Graham MacLachlan, RBC’s regional president in B.C., said RBC usually donates $6 million throughout the province, with $1 million going to education.

With Canada reaching a skilled labour shortage in trades, vice president of corporate citizenship for RBC Shari Austin said it’s important to “reach out” to demographics that haven’t traditionally held those jobs. Of course, achieving career goals comes with obstacles stemming from the financial burden of rent, tuition and often childcare.

“RBC Foundation’s gift is directly aimed at helping women who want to overcome these kinds of barriers,” Austin said.

The donation will fund the three aspects of the RBC Women in Trades Training

Program. It includes the RBC Bursary for Learning Success, a $3,000 bursary granted to seven students each year. Seventy bursaries will be awarded over the next ten years.

Another program will see six women trained as volunteers to guide other women enrolled in trades programs at TRU. The RBC mentorship coordinator will also support women enrolled in TRU’s trades programs.

“When the university came to us with a proposal to support this program, we saw an opportunity to make a real difference,” Austin said. “We particularly liked the approach taken, which includes both financial support through bursaries to help pay for things like rent food and childcare, tools, but it also includes non-financial assistance through recruiting and mentoring from volunteers.”

Pipefitting student Kayla Goertzen spoke on behalf of the women who will be the first to benefit from the funding. The mother of three shared her personal struggle with finding the balance between work, family and school.

“My biggest setback has always been time,” she said. “There just isn’t enough time to be a mom and student and make money and get a little sleep. Now, thanks to RBC, I don’t have to sacrif ice anymore. I don’t have to choose.”

Metal fabrication student Tina Malkie, automotive mechanic student Kelly Roshinsky and commercial transport mechanic student Jamie Gainsforth also received funding through the RBC Women in Trades Training program.

Dean of trades Lindsay Langill said the percentage of women enrolled in trades programs has grown from three per cent to almost 20 per cent since he became dean five years ago. Langill credited Heather Hamilton, the manager of industry and contract training and the trades instructors for supporting the opportunity for women to get involved in skilled trades and ensure “the opportunity of equity was there for all.”

“That has been a cultural change that we have evoked in our system, and how we do business,” Langill said.

RBC donates to support women in trades


Approach taken will involve both financial support for those enrolled and recruitment and mentoring programs

publishingboardEDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike Davies

INDUSTRY REP * VacantFACULTY REP * Charles HaysSTUDENT REP * Travis Persaud

STUDENT REP * Hugo YuenSTUDENT REP * Adam Williams

letterspolicyLiterary 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.

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

February 26, 2014 Volume 23, Issue 20

Published since November 27, 1991

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society(Publisher of The Omega)TRU Campus House #4

900 McGill Rd, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8Phone: 250-828-5069

E-mail: [email protected] Enquiries:

[email protected](Correspondence not intended for

publication should be labelled as such.)

editorialstaffEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mike [email protected]

250-828-5069@PaperguyDavies

NEWS EDITORJessica [email protected]

@jjklym

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITORAshley [email protected]

@ashwadhwani

SPORTS EDITORAdam Williams

[email protected]@AdamWilliams87

ROVING EDITORKarla Karcioglu

[email protected]@0_kmk_0

SCIENCE & TECH EDITORMark Hendricks

[email protected]@MarkHendicks5

COPY/WEB EDITORSean Brady

[email protected]@iamseanbrady

omegacontributors Alexis Stockford, Kim Anderson,

Cameron Staff

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 20 3The Omega

www.truomega.ca

Editorial & Opinion

Follow us on

Twitter:

@TRU_Omega

“Like” us on

Facebook.

Do it.

There should be value in membership

It was recently announced that Canadian University Press (CUP), the national campus media collective that The Omega is a member of, is in dire financial straits and without immediate attention and aid will likely fold.

For the three years that I have been an active member of this organization, there has been constant discussion surrounding restructuring – both in fee-payment and organizational form – and yet nothing was done. Now we have a situation where the entire organization will likely cease to exist because of its own unwillingness to adapt to a changing landscape.

It used to be that a national organization for the promotion of campus media needed a centralized location from which to do business.

Back before the whole Internet thing happened, we had to send our physical papers to Toronto so they could cut stories out with scissors (or retype them or whatever… I wasn’t around for that) before sending them out via fax to membership so they could be disseminated within member papers if they were relevant to audiences other than the one they were originally written for.

This hasn’t been the case for many years, yet CUP has remained in its expensive office in downtown Toronto running a wire service on the Internet that could be run from anyone’s basement and would at best be called “unimpressive” (for example, as of the writing of this piece on Feb. 23 the most recent news article on the site about anything going on in B.C. was posted on Jan. 17) and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from its membership for the opportunity. The perception of much of the membership is that it has seen the number and usefulness of services and overall value of the organization decline while the cost of membership increases so that two people can relocate to Toronto for a year to get a leg up in their journalism careers.

And the self-perpetuating cycle – membership decline causing fewer dollars to be available, causing fewer services to be offered, causing membership decline – continues.

But it’s a collective, and in that regard, the whole membership is at fault for its current state.

It has rightly been pointed out that CUP shouldn’t be seen as a “pay for services rendered” type organization, and I completely agree, but I also think that any organization that doesn’t offer appropriate value for what membership is putting in (either in terms of effort or money) needs to be re-examined on a very foundational level.

That value doesn’t necessarily need to come in the form of services. It could come in the form of advocacy or advancement of causes, in the form of education or other benefit. None of this value is currently offered in any recognizable amount by the organization.

It kind of reminds me of another organization, actually.

That organization would be the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).

The CFS is a group of student’s unions (including your own here at TRU) that takes money from students in the form of membership fees and you get… what, exactly?

You get a “Drop fees!” campaign, and then your fees go up. Over and over again.

It seems as though people are starting to ask the same questions about membership in the CFS that they have been asking about CUP.

Multiple schools have recently decertified from the CFS (University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University for just two that are close to home), and many more are exploring the option (Capilano University, Kwantlen Polytechnique and UBCO could all be named just to keep the discussion in B.C.).

Let me be clear here: I am not advocating for or celebrating the downfall of either of these organizations. I love what both CUP and the CFS should be. But what they should be is nowhere close to what they are, and until they both recognize that they are not serving their membership the way their membership wants to and deserves to be served, they are heading in the wrong direction – that direction being plummeting out of the sky towards the Earth.

Unfortunately for CUP, it looks like it started that descent from a much lower altitude and needed to pull up much sooner.

Organizations like the CFS should take this imminent crash as a warning that if they don’t start providing some perceived value to their membership, they, too, might find themselves in a downward spiral that’s hard to pull out of.

[email protected]

Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s Note

Have an opinion on something relevant to other students? Email [email protected]

The downfall of a media organization and how others, like the CFS, should receive the news

TORONTO (CUP) — Growing up, I was always told to treat others the way I wished to be treated.

What no one every really mentioned, though, is that I should also treat myself the way I wish to be treated. I’m always quick to offer friends and even strangers compliments, but I rarely offer one to myself. The sad truth is that I easily believe negative comments from others, probably because I actively engage in generating them about myself.

Stress is natural in a competitive environment, but treating ourselves a little better will go a long way to managing that stress. As they say, the kinder you are to yourself, the kinder the world will feel. I actually did not know they said that before now, but Google tells me it is an expression, so it must be true.

Because I f irmly believe that we are all deserving of a little self-TLC, here are four tips on how to be good to yourself:

1. Check your thoughts.

If you have been spending the last weeks tormenting yourself over your grades with an endless rhetoric of “I suck at this,” — STOP!

Firstly, it’s untrue. Secondly, if you wouldn’t say it to your friend, why would you say it to yourself?

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in school, but it’s important to spend some time focusing on your value as a person beyond your transcript.

Maybe you’re an asset to the intramural basketball team, or a source of support for friends or family. If you’re determined to criticize yourself, then make it constructive. “I can do better by…” is far more encouraging than, “I don’t belong here.” You do belong here! Google told me that, too!

2. Keep calm and sleep.

Sleep deprivation is a torture tactic.

So, if you’ve been keeping long hours in order to get everything done, it may be time to reconsider.

Not only are you more productive when you’re well rested, you’re also happier.

Science will back me up on this if you want to do some research.

More importantly, I think if the police aren’t allowed to do it to people, you should stop doing it to yourself.

All-nighters are just the worst; even during exam period. It may mean some fancy time management, but I think you can do it.

Also, please be sure to read yourself your Charter rights when placing yourself under arrest.

3. Clean energy.

I’m no nutritionist, but I think sometimes being kind to yourself means making smart food choices. Not all foods are going to give you the same quality of energy.

I personally recommend avoiding the processed, sugary stuff and trying to stick to natural foods and whole grains.

Try to avoid eating carbohydrates alone (even fruit). Pairing it with a source

of protein will give you a more consistent release of energy over time and will prevent spikes in insulin and the resulting energy crash.

Planning ahead and packing your own meals can set you up to make good choices and is probably more kind to your bank account. Universities have enough of your money as it is.

4. Be a little bad.

Ok, I know that most of the above was me waxing rhapsodic about making good and smart choices, but we all need to let loose and have some fun.

Thankfully, your pals are always here for you when the mood strikes.

Pub nights, karaoke or other shenanigans; have a cookie, grab a drink and hang out. I challenge you to talk about something not school related (it’s harder than you think) and forget about your to-do-list for a little while.

In closing; “Sippin’ on Coke and rum/ I’m like so what I’m drunk / It’s the freakin’ weekend baby / I’m about to have me some fun/ Bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce.”

Be kind, unwind

Obiter Dicta (York University)Tamar Friedman

Why do we say “Treat others how you wish to be treated,” and then treat ourselves so badly? Here are a few tips to help you feel better about yourself

February 26, 20144 Science & Technology

Everyone knows the pain of a slow computer, when your once fast computer turns into a sluggish beast it can be incredibly frustrating.

Here are some tips for you on things you can try if your computer is running slow before taking it in and handing it over to tech support.

1. Check for unwanted programs

Many times when you’re downloading free files they’ll come with attachments, even when declining all the optional extras with a download sometimes unwanted programs will still appear. Having too many of these can really throttle a computer’s performance. Try AdwCleaner for a good free adware cleaner than should help remove any unwanted programs.

2. Clean your registry and cookies

Temporary files, like cookies, which are designed to track where you’ve been on the internet, can eventually bog down your computer. A regular cleaning of your cookies and your registry can help keep things like new. CCleaner is a good free cleaning program that can remove these files easily.

3. Defragment your hard drive

Defragmenting your hard drive regularly is important. You can think of defragmenting as your computer doing a sorting of its files. Your computer will reorganize your files’ position on your hard drive into the tightest space, removing all the excess space between that can be caused by files being added and deleted.

This will help your computer more quickly access the needed files. Defraggler is a good free defragmentation program that works faster than your computer’s default defragmenter.

4. Get rid of your startup programs

Your computer has a large list of programs that it will launch at startup. Each of these programs will not only slow down the startup process but also rob a bit of your computers performance when running.

To stop this from happening, run msconfig and go to the startup tab. From there you can uncheck anything you don’t want running. Most of these programs are safe to remove, especially updaters which will run when you launch the application anyways.

5. Clean up your desktop

This won’t help your computer run faster, but will help it start up faster. Every icon you have on your desktop is one more thing your computer has to load every time it boots up.

Even organizing your desktop files into folders will help your computer start faster.

6. Regularly shut down your computer

Leaving your computer running constantly can eventually result in a build up of background files which will eventually drain your system performance. It’s not a guaranteed fix, but it’s a good habit to get into to keep your computer running well.

These are just a few things that are easy to try yourself before resorting to bringing your computer in and paying for someone to look at it. You can also find detailed tutorials of how to do all of these suggestions online if you’re still confused.

Remember: Google is your friend.

Whales of the sky

A new concept plane by Spanish designer Oscar Vinals could change the way we fly if it proves success-ful.

The AWWA Sky Whale is a oversized concept plane that would dwarf even the current jumbo jets such as the Boeing 787. The Sky Whale will have three levels of seat-ing available and the design is in-spired by a whale, as evidenced by the name.

The design is a departure from current aviation designs. The new design incorporates numerous ad-vanced technologies such as rotating turbines that allow for a near verti-cal takeoff, self-repairing wings and a system designed to redirect airflow to intake engines to reduce turbulence and drag.

“The likes of Boeing and Airbus

have a lot of experience of building aircraft that look like a tube and two wings,” Michael Jump, lecturer in aerospace engineering at the Uni-versity of Liverpool said to the BBC. “When it comes to a new airframe that they want to design, it makes sense to evolve rather than revolu-tionise.”

Find out more: www.bbc.com/future

Three blind mice no more

A new chemical trial has restored vision in mice who were born with a degenerative condition which caused rapid degeneration of the rods and cones in the eyes.

The drug is called DENAQ and was developed by Richard Kramer from the University of California Berkeley. The chemical has been shown to cause ganglions within the damaged eyes to become photosensitive under regular sunlight, effectively restoring vision.

The trial had two groups of blind mice, one group was injected with DE-NAQ and the other was left alone.

The mice were then observed under both regular-light and low-light condi-tions. The mice injected with DENAQ were better able to navigate their sur-roundings and showed clear evidence of visual learning.

As it stands now DENAQ is injected into the eye and must be re-admin-istered every couple of days. No side effects have yet been observed, but the chemical is a long way from hu-man trials and there is a possibility that human physiology might react differ-ently, causing DENAQ to be toxic to humans.

Find out more: www.iflscience.com/brain

Native American bones show evidence of European descent

A team of scientists led by Danish geneticist Eske Willerslev found that a child whose remains date back roughly 12,600 years ago descended from a Si-berian tribe that originated in Europe.

The boy’s remains were dated by the arrowheads that he was buried with. These arrows possess a distinc-tive fluting pattern that have only been found in the Clovis people, which lived 12,600 years ago.

The study also reveals that more than 80 per cent of all natives in the Americas are descended from this boy’s lineage.

The DNA sequencing has taken four years to complete and now that the project is completed the bones will be buried again to respect first-nations sensitivities.

Find out more: www.spiegel.de/international

Ω Science & Tech EditorMark Hendricks

This week in scienceA new giant airliner, a cure for some kinds of blindness (in mice,

anyway), and Native American DNA comes from Europe?

Using a chemical called DENAQ, vision was restored to mice who were blind from ocular degeneration.

(Image by Stephen Barnett/Flickr commons)

Tech TipsΩ Science & Tech EditorMark Hendricks

(Photo courtesy CollegeDegrees360/Flickr Commons)

What to do when your PC just isn’t running like it should

EDMONTON (CUP) — Laurel Richards is reverse-engineering a plesiosaur.

No, this isn’t some twisted, Jurassic Park-style experiment destined to go wrong. Richards, a fourth-year civil engineering student, is sticking to plastic models in her search to discover how the creature functioned in its natural habitat.

As part of a research collaboration between University of Alberta professor Mark Loewen and Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs at Alberta’s Royal Tyrell Museum, Richards has been experimenting with a one-tenth scale model of the ancient reptile — the plesiosaur isn’t actually a dinosaur — to determine the arrangement of fins on the creature’s body that would have allowed it to swim stably in its turbulent, freshwater environment.

To do this, Richards and Loewen have been using an open-channel flume to simulate the same conditions a plesiosaur would have been exposed to millions of years ago, when it roamed the lakes and rivers of the world. The device used in their research is essentially a glass-walled artificial river that allows the researchers to observe the behaviour of their model underwater in real time.

“It’s basically an aquatic lizard; this plesiosaur would have been about three meters long,” Richards said. “Henderson’s theory is that plesiosaurs wouldn’t have been able to swim with stability — to maneuver, turn and stay swimming forward — without some sort of fin on their tail. With their long necks and their flippers, they wouldn’t have been able to move as effectively.”

Their research is still in the early stages, but Loewen and Richards are working to investigate the theory that the addition of a wide fin at the end of the plesiosaur’s tail would act like a rudder on a boat, giving the lizard greater control and balance in its movement. Right now, Richards says the tail-less model they’ve been running tests on has difficulty staying oriented forward.

“We’d like to do more tests on plesiosaurs with tail fins, and possibly with larger models,” Richards said. “Our current equipment doesn’t include a load cell sensitive enough to measure the torque created by the model in the simulation. If we can quantitatively determine the torque, we can then start to see if a tail fin creates more stability for the model, numbers-wise.”

In the meantime, Richards is working on developing new and inventive approaches to the research while Henderson constructs new models to test in the lab. She’s attempted various reconfigurations of the single model they have so far, removing and reattaching the tail fins to observe how that affects the positioning of the plesiosaur underwater.

Other engineers at the university have suggested experimenting on a model of a sea turtle, because of the similarities between the flippers of turtles and plesiosaurs. There are plenty of directions research could take from here, and Richards said she considers the experience of working in this lab an interesting departure from her normal studies as a civil engineer.

“I couldn’t pass up looking at this old aquatic reptile,” Richards said. “When I read what the research would involve, I contacted Dr. Loewen, and we set it up … It’s definitely been a big learning experience for me.”

Engineering student reconstructs plesiosaur

The Gateway (U of A)Brad Kennedy

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 20 5Life & Community

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is a neighborhood most Canadians have heard of, East Hastings known as a street for lost, homeless and drug addicted souls. This summer it gained attention when actor Cory Monteith’s fatal Vancouver heroin overdose made national headlines, and when InSite, Vancouver’s one-of-a-kind safe injection facility was again the topic of controversy. More recently, the conversation was revived around crack pipe vending machines fixed in the same neighborhood, intending to provide safer drug paraphernalia and limit the spread of disease among addicts.

But while some debate over whether or not the Downtown Eastside is Canada’s hard drug capital and what can be done about it, others are using it to educate Canadian youth on the harmful effects of drug use.

In partnership with the RCMP and School District 73, the Kamloops Blazers run Project EDGE. Though hearing a drug use prevention message from a role model makes it a reality for kids, seeing what the message is trying to prevent makes it a reality for the players.

In September, six Blazers sat through seminars and learned the ins and outs of drug use and addiction, which they would eventually relay

to classrooms full of their biggest fans. Then the RCMP drug task force suited up and took the players on an evening tour of the Downtown Eastside so they could see the grim reality of drug addiction firsthand.

“You’re not really paying attention until you see it,” Joey Kornelsen said.

“It” being the rat infested streets and the cockroach-ridden apartment buildings that reek of “literally death.” They also met the people who call these places home.

“We saw people shoot up, tweak out, shake, people foaming at the mouth, smoking out of crack pipes… just everything you can imagine.” Kornelsen said. “But then you get to talking to the people. Most of them will agree to talk to you because they don’t want you to go down the same path.”

Although he started the tour with a sense of antagonism towards addicts, Kornelsen said their stories evoked empathy. None of them want to be where they are.

The players take this message and spend the rest of the season delivering it to elementary-aged children in School District 73. Because they’ve seen the end result of drug addiction, Kornelsen said they are able to convey an honest and more powerful message. It’s the same message that the RCMP have been delivering for years, but he said he thinks it has a much stronger effect coming from the players who are often seen as heroes to kids. For other kids it can be

learning from their peers that makes the difference – youth teaching youth.

He said it’s in this arena that the Blazers have the biggest impact.

“They’re supposed to be the best thing in the community, a police officer. So you know what they’re going to say all the time,” Kornelsen said.

“They just say that message to you over and over again. You won’t really think twice about it, but when it’s

someone you look up to or you see play, then maybe it sets in more.”

This is the eighth year the Blazers have run Project EDGE. Kornelsen, also a part time student at TRU, said the message would be equally effective coming from TRU athletes.

“I’d like to see all the teams in the WHL do it,” he said. “I’d also like to see not just hockey teams doing it, maybe TRU’s volleyball team… I learned so much and it’s a rewarding

experience talking to those kids.”Kornelsen has presented at ten

elementary schools and he said the students are always eager to hear what they have to say and are always armed with many questions. They are often proudly wearing a Blazers jersey, too.

“I think it does a good job of educating them. I hope it does,” Kornelsen said. “Even just getting them to set goals for themselves.”


Beyond the EDGE

For Dr. Rod McCormick, his research on aboriginal mental health and healing is a personal experience that has allowed him to view the natural world in a new way.

A professor and research chair for aboriginal health at TRU, McCormick is most interested in how Canadian Aboriginals use nature for mental, physical, emotional and spiritual healing. The types of nature used for healings are not limited, as long as they trigger an internal ref lection that alters a perspective, or relieves emotional pain or struggle.

The majority of McCormick’s research has been found through listening to Aboriginals share their healing journeys where they overcome mental, physical, emotional and spiritual battles.

“[I have heard] stories about recovery from being suicidal, or about dealing with trauma from residential school experiences,” McCormick said. “No matter who I was talking to, nature was always one of the sources of healings.”

McCormick has heard hundreds of different healing journeys involving different natural elements.

“This fellow climbed up the hills behind his village, and up the power lines. He was sitting, feeling sorry for himself because he had given up drinking and drug use. He went away for treatment and when he came back to his community he was ridiculed and

felt really isolated,” McCormick said.

“So he was sitting in the clearing, and he heard this crashing from one side of the clearing. A bear ran right passed him crashing into the other side. He [wondered] what that bear was trying to tell [him]. He realized that he had to go straight ahead in dealing with his problems; be like that bear and take the straight path in doing what he needs to do,” McCormick said.

Through his research, McCormick has recognized some of the healing journeys he has experienced through nature.

“I was walking to my car in a parking lot, and it was a very

rainy and wet day. I was feeling bad for myself and feeling really down – I had parked far away. Then I walked by a crow that was sitting on a garbage can looking for food. The crow reminded me that my life really wasn’t that bad,” McCormick said.

Healing journeys can involve overcoming obstacles and struggles of any size, and can be triggered in any kind of natural setting.

“Even in a city, the natural world around you is there,” McCormick said.

“If we’re open to looking to nature for guidance nature can provide it. It is whether you are open to it or not.”

Aboriginal healing in the natural world

Dr. Lyn Baldwin, plant ecologist and professor at TRU, took part in the discussion and question period at the end of the presentation. (Ashley Wadhwani/The Omega)

Blazers partner with RCMP and SD73 to teach real impacts of drug use

Joey Kornelsen, a TRU student and player for the Kamloops Blazers, toured Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for Project EDGE, seeing the effects of drug use firsthand. (Courtesy Joey Kornelsen)

Ω Arts & Entertainment EditorAshley Wadhwani

February 26, 20146 Arts & Entertainment

Paramount Theatre

KAMLOOPS

FILMFESTIVALMARCH 6–15, 2014

KAMLOOPS

FILMFESTIVAL

KAMLOOPS

FILMFESTIVALParamount Theatre

KAMLOOPS


the Broken CirCle Breakdown

regu la r t i c ke t s a l s o ava i lab l e a t Mov ie Mar t & a t t h e doo r (s o r ry, n o s t u d e n t d i s Co u n t t i C k e ts ava i l a B l e at t h e s e lo C at i o n s )* for students only available at the TRUSU desk

$5 tickets*

watCh trailer

“AN IMMACULATELY OBSERVED STORYof love, loss and bluegrass music.”

The Playlist

KAMLOOPS

FILMFESTIVAL

KAMLOOPS

FILMFESTIVAL

kamloopsfilmfest.ca

KAMLOOPS


saturday, MarCh 9 at the ParaMount theatre. As PArt of the KAmlooPs film festivAl

The Omega · Volume 23, Issue 20 7

Unique, uplifting, or as Ian Bevis, front man of Bear Mountain put it: “nostalgic.” These are three words that accurately describe the band’s debut feature length album XO. On tour now, Bear Mountain headlined at Cactus Jack’s nightclub on Feb. 20. Kamloops homegrown band Van Damsel opened.

Van Damsel’s charismatic lead singer Sebastien Ste Marie had no problem getting bodies to the dance f loor, but there was a signif icant energy shift

among the crowd when it played an upbeat cover of late Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.”

Although the king of pop is long gone, Ste Marie and company did the song justice. Van Damsel got the whole room pumped up and when Bear Mountain took the stage, it was met with a raucous welcome from the crowd.

For a band who originally started out as an “angsty, punky” band, playing “garage-type shit,” as guitarist Kyle Statham explained, Bear Mountain has certainly evolved.

It’s near impossible to slot Bear Mountain into a specif ic genre

because their sound is simply so unique. A blend of electronic, dance and experimental pop music with distinct and powerful vocals from Bevis can strike a special chord within the listener.

The audience was treated to an incredibly clean and tight set. The pounding electronic beats set the fast-paced tone for the evening, and once it began, it refused to let up for a moment.

Seamless bass lines combined with pulsating electronic beats, high-energy drumming, precise guitar riffs and soulful, on-point vocals f illed the band’s set.

The electric lighting show grabbed the attention of many audience members from the beginning. It was coordinated perfectly by the creative and visual director Kenji Rodriguez. Twirling, spinning and f lashing psychedelic lights were projected onto two upside down triangles on either side of drummer Greg Bevis.

Bear Mountain has had some wild reactions from energetic crowds before. Ian Bevis recalled that once, when playing at a university in Connecticut, the audience totally lost control. “[They] started storming the stage like those bugs in Starship Troopers, then out of nowhere started chanting U.S.A,” Bevis said.

With irreversible damage to my eardrums from standing so close to the stage, I have no regrets watching the performance. It’s fantastic to see a B.C. band gaining steam and throwing down live performances with so much energy and gusto.

Arts & Entertainment

Frontman Ian Bevis of Bear Mountain takes the stage with an elec-trifying show at CJ’s nightclub. (Kim Anderson/The Omega)

A bear of a show

Ω ContributorKim Anderson

Kamloops’ own Van Damsel rocks Cactus Jacks with B.C.-bred Bear Mountain

Even before teaming up, singer/songwriters Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce both had thriving careers. Shine previously worked with the Foo Fighters’ Chris Shif lett, while Pierce has toured with artists like Damien Rice and has had her work featured on the hit TV show Grey’s Anatomy.

Now, the Vancouver-based couple has joined forces to release their debut album, The Royal Oui, earlier this month. The album’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from accomplished artists like Shine and Pierce, delivering easy-listening rhythms mixed with haunting harmonies and quietly profound lyrics.

Shine was co-winner of the John Lennon Song of the Year Award in 2006, which is appropriate given the retro feel underlying most of The Royal Oui tracks. The fourth track, “Dirty Snow,” features a somewhat repetitive vocal harmony, backed up by articulated guitar runs and a strongly chorded entry into the chorus reminiscent of early rock bands like The Beatles.

In places, the album brings to mind nothing more than the image

of a sea of lighters, swaying gently to the music. Meanwhile, tracks like the heartfelt acoustic number “True,” mix in a bit of country twang. The result is an emotional, crooning style of folk music.

The album has a strong organization, tying each track into a larger story. With the exception of “Dirty Snow,” which was inspired by hurricane Sandy in 2012, The Royal Oui brings the listener through all the intricacies of falling in and out of love. From the initial attraction in the album’s first track, “Siren Song,” to the deeper realities of making a relationship work in “Don’t You Think That I,” and “The Real Thing,” to the eventual break up in “Montauk (This Is The End),” Pierce and Shine convey the realities of a relationship.

If I had to choose a word to describe this album, it would be “soothing.” This is not an album meant for energetic parties. Chances are, no one’s going to be putting these songs on their workout playlist. Instead, this album will appeal to people looking for a quiet, calming music experience. This is music you play to help relax after a hard day, put on while you study or curl up with a good book and a cup of tea.

Album review: The Royal OuiΩ ContributorAlexis Stockford

Startupc o f f e e

Powered by

Kamloops

Kamloops Startup Co�ee is a regular informal meetup for entrepreneurs, students and anyone interestedin the #startuplife.

IDEAS + MENTORSHIP + FREE COFFEE

Common Grounds

MONTHLY

@ 8AMstarting MARCH 6

Details250.434.0200www.kamloopsinonovation.ca

Husband and wife Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce integrate retro vibes with a country twang to tell the real story of love. (Image courtesy File Under: Music)

Why is there this big empty spot here?

Because you didn’t write anything for us this week.Get in touch with Ashley

([email protected]) to write reviews

of shows, films, books, etc. or Mike

([email protected]) if you have other ideas

about how you’d like to get involved.

February 26, 20148

Since 2007, almost 80,000 former students have received a Common Experience Payment (“CEP”) as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. CEP recipients are now eligible to receive non-cash Personal Credits of up to $3,000, for either themselves or certain family members, for educational programs and services.

What are Personal Credits? Personal Credits may be used for a wide range of educational programs and services, including those provided by universities, colleges, trade or training schools, Indigenous Institutions of Higher Learning, or which relate to literacy or trades, as well as programs and services related to Aboriginal identities, histories, cultures or languages.

How much are Personal Credits? Adequate funds are available for each CEP recipient to receive up to $3,000 in Personal Credits, depending on your approved educational expenses.

Which educational entities and groups are included? A list of approved educational entities and groups has been jointly developed by Canada, the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit representatives. If an educational entity or group is not on the list, please consult the website for more information.

Will I receive a cheque? No. Cheques will be issued directly to the educational entity or group providing the service.

Who can use Personal Credits? CEP recipients can use the full amount themselves or give part or all of their Personal Credits to certain family members such as a spouse, child, grandchild or sibling, as defined in

the terms and conditions. Personal Credits of multiple CEP recipients can be combined to support a group learning activity.

How can I get Personal Credits? Each CEP recipient will be mailed an Acknowledgement Form. If you do not receive an Acknowledgement Form by the end of January 2014, please call 1-866-343-1858. Completed Acknowledgement Forms should be returned as soon as possible and must be postmarked no later than October 31, 2014.

How do I redeem my Personal Credits? Once approved, you will be sent a personalized Redemption Form for each individual using Personal Credits at each

educational entity or group. Once the Form is received, provide it to the educational entity or group listed. The educational entity or group must then complete and mail back the Redemption Form postmarked no later than December 1, 2014.

What happens to unused Personal Credits? The value of unused Personal Credits will be transferred to the National Indian Brotherhood Trust Fund and Inuvialuit Education Foundation for educational programs.

For more information, including how Personal Credits can be redeemed by certain family members of CEP recipients that are deceased, visit www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca or call 1-866-343-1858.

The IRS Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) provides immediate and culturally appropriate counselling support to former students who are experiencing distress.

Personal Credits Notice

If you received a Common Experience Payment, you could get $3,000 in Personal Credits for educational programs and services.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.The healing continues.

1-866-343-1858 • www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca

CEP recipients have the option of sharing their Personal Credits with certain family members, such as:•Children •Grandchildren

•Spouses•Siblings


TEDx events are a branch of the well-known TED Talks — TED standing for technology, entertainment and design.

The talks “bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less),” according to TED’s website, and on Feb. 14, TRU played host to 19 high school students from across Kamloops as they participated in TEDxYouth@Kamloops, which took place in the TRU Actors Workshop Theatre. Each participant spoke on the topic, “What matters to you?” which was the theme of the event.

Jordan Decker, a 17-year-old student from Valleyview Secondary and event organizer, said she had seen a lot of TED Talks, and when she heard about the Kamloops event she was amazed that her city had this opportunity.

Dexter Armstrong, a second-year TRU student and event organizer, said that as soon as he heard the word “TED” he said yes.

“You can’t say no to that,” Armstrong said. “It’s going to touch the lives of so many people, especially going onto the Internet. The world is going to see it. The world is going to be inspired by it. “

Decker said youth will be most inspired by the event because it’s presented by people they can relate to and it doesn’t feel like an adult telling you what to do.

Decker also said she thinks that teacher, parents and adults will learn from the event in regards to technological advances and online bullying and online pressures.

Taylor Walsh, also a second-year TRU student and event organizer, said that she believes ideas can change the word, and “with the internet and the democratization of ideas it’s how we’re going to move humanity to the next level.”

Walsh said the students give her hope for the future.

“They are speaking just truth and I think that’s incredibly mature,” Walsh said. “We have to start listening to the youth. I am in awe of them.”

All three organizers were amazed by the topics that came from the idea of “What matters to you?”

“It’s mind-blowing that these kids are younger than me and have this vast amount of knowledge that they’re sharing,” Armstrong said.

The high school students presented on a wide range of topics including “Acceptance” by Kierra Lindores, “Water” by Jacov Maricle, “Makeup: The Art of Self-Expression” by Chanel ledger and “The Art of Accepting Compliments” by Tatiana Gilbert.

Three TRU students also presented at the event. Tatiana Gilbert, a first-year TRU student, presented her talk, “Teens and Social Media” while Armstrong and Walsh presented on “Sustainability/Greening.”

The day-long event even included musical performances and a magic show.

Angela Ippolito, a 16-year-old student at Beattie School of the Arts, also presented at the TEDx event. Her topic, “Father: How Are You?” focused on events surrounding her father’s death and learning to cope by accepting the support of others. Ippolito talked about how people glaze over the significance of the common greeting “How are you?” without

bothering to answer truthfully. Ippolito said she wanted to

share the importance of being grateful for what you have and that if something unexpected happens, like her father’s death, “to realize that there’s people around you that are there to help you, and you need to help yourself too.”

Ippolito said that presenting in the event helped strengthen her and that

it was one of the processes she used to help her cope with her father’s death. “I’m definitely going to look back, like, ten years from now and say to myself, ‘Wow, I did that and he was there in my heart looking down on me and I’m really proud I did that.’”

The TEDx event will be available to watch on TRU’s live stream video library at http://livestream.com/livetru.

TRU hosts Kamloops TEDx eventΩ Roving EditorKarla Karcioglu

Participants of the first ever TEDx Kamloops pose for a shot after the event. (Photo courtesy Sukh Matonovich)

Job Fair2014Start Your

Career Today!

MC1

1853

7

Attend one of these free workshops to learn tips and strategies for maximizing your time at the Job Fair…

Friday, February 28

12:30–1:30pm • TRU Student Union BoardroomWednesday, March 5

4:00–5:00pm • TRU Student Union Lecture Hall

Thursday March 6 10:00–3:00 pm Grand Hall, CAC

tru.ca/jobfair

Life & Community

February 26, 201410 Coffee Break

Across

1. Graphical user interface feature5. Latke ingredient11. Attain14. Game name15. Trash container16. Old Tokyo17. Restrain18. Calkins19. Inflamed20. Not extreme23. Like old records24. Choppers25. Yellowfin, e.g.28. 1995 hurricane32. Its symbol is an omega35. Present38. Cartoon art39. Taking drastic measures42. Hitchcockian43. Like some colonies44. Harvester ___45. First place?46. Cargo boat type48. Cherokee and Wrangler53. Foreign currency56. Tolerance62. One with a supporting role63. More viscous64. Way to go65. Tide alternative66. Short musical pieces67. Mythology anthology68. Departure announcement

69. Abandon70. Textile worker

Down

1. SALT concern2. Demand3. Best4. “You ___ bother!”5. Clip6. Capital on a fjord7. Grand ___8. Decrease9. Church donation10. Attack11. “My ___!”12. It comes to mind13. Sarah’s husband21. Potter22. River of Lyon26. Excluding27. Asian buffalo29. Cotton fabric30. Grace period?31. In case32. Double curve33. Worked the soil34. Slough36. Mushroom you can eat37. Departure38. Historian Toynbee40. Soldier of fortune41. Black gunk47. Alate49. Just beat

50. Gush51. Reverent52. Like a snicker54. “___ or not...”55. In reserve56. Give away57. Bank58. Lothario’s look59. Bucks60. Start with while61. Telephone button

crossword

6 7 82 1 9 4

1 4 53 2 9

2 6 14 9 7

7 6 14 8 6 5

6 1 3sudokueasy

P1

E2

P3

A4

T5

O6

L7

L8

P9

H10

O11

T12

O13

A14

V E L15

A M I A O16

A R E D

R17

E D E18

X A L T N19

I C A D

S20

N A K21

E I N T H E22

G R A S S

I23

S L E E24

V I L

N25

A26

C27

R28

E29

E30

D I T31

O32

R33

S34

P35

A36

D37

R A M A38

N39

A P A

C40

A T S41

O U T O F T42

H43

E B A G

A44

V O W S45

T A I R S46

H E

R47

E M A D48

E49

E50

R N S T51

D52

I D O53

A54

M55

O56

K57

B58

I59

R60

D S O F P61

A62

R63

A64

D I S E

A65

D U L T T66

E L I C D67

I N

W68

E B E R E69

R O D E S70

E N

L71

A S S O N72

I T E R T73

R Y

“Copping an Attitude”

8 3 41 5

2 64 3 7

1 6

2 1 93 8

sudokuhard

MYL

ES M

ELLO

R A

ND

SA

LLY

YORK

LAST

ISSU

E’S

AN

SWER

S

Puzzle of the week

Heroin and Hollywood

Janis Joplin, River Phoenix, John Belushi and most recently Cory Monteith and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

These are some of the Hollywood names that will forever be attached to heroin, after all f ive of these performers overdosed and died after taking heroin or a combination of heroin, cocaine and other drugs.

When Hoffman was found dead in his apartment on Feb. 2, 2014 of an apparent heroin overdose, with a hypodermic needle sticking out of his arm and 70 glassine baggies of heroin stored in the apartment, the world, and other celebrities, reacted with shock that such a great talent could be lost to a drug overdose at age 46.

Many others didn’t understand how Hoffman, a respected stage and screen actor, could have hidden a heroin habit. But he isn’t the f irst.

Back in July 2013, when Monteith, 30, was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room after a heroin and alcohol fueled bender, the world was left shocked. How could this young talent who stared on the family-friendly sitcom Glee get involved in such an extreme drug?

It seems that heroin use is more common than we believe. I have read several articles in the past six months that delve into the use of the narcotic by all kinds of people. The articles, ranging from NBC News to Cosmopolitan

Magazine, explain that the drug has a certain reputation, and because of this, it isn’t discussed as openly as other “party drugs” like cocaine and MDMA.

Like other opioids, heroin produces an intense rush and euphoria.

Yet, unlike other opioids that only produce morphine in the brain, heroin also leaves 6-MAM which produces what users describe as both a physical and mental numbing, making it appealing to people possibly trying to de-stress.

“In certain professions where there is high stress, there is a greater proclivity to people using drugs like heroin to get rid of that kind of stress,” said Dr. Joseph Strand of Harvard Medical School in an interview with NBC News.

“Part of what may be happening in some people is there is this sense of invulnerability, they have this high profile, visible profile and other people give them all this acclaim, and there is a sense that nothing bad can ever happen to me.”

Puzzle of the Week #15 – Bacon!

Mom cooked up some bacon strips and left them out for her guys (Dadand three sons) to fend for themselves.

The first son took his fair share of one-quarter plus three more. (“Hey, Iwas hungry!”)

The second son took his fair share of one-third of the remainder plus twomore. (“I’m still growing, you know!”)

The third son took his fair share of one-half of the remainder plus twomore. (“Don’t look at me. The other guys are the pigs!”)

This meant that dad Did not get any. How strips of bacon did Mom cook?

This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The

full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize. Please

submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon the second-

to-next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <[email protected]>. Submissions by

others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that

in my blog (http://genew.ca/) and in the Math Centre (in the HOL, fourth

floor study area). Come visit: we are friendly.


WolfPack Bites

The WolfPack men’s volleyball season has come to an end, and, in what was touted as a “rebuilding year” going in, saw the team come out of the Canada West Division (CW) of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) in third place.

After having missed out on the postseason for the past two years, the team travelled to Langley to have the opportunity to play for a spot in the CIS championship, but it was not to be.

The top two teams to come out of the CW championship would head off to play against the top teams in the rest of the country, and the ‘Pack’s loss to the second-ranked Golden Bears out of the University of Alberta halted that trajectory for TRU.

The team would go on to beat

the Brandon University Bobcats, however, to take the third place spot in the division, and will likely be a serious threat as they continue to move forward as a program.

Considering the team was ranked eighth in the pre-season polling, a third-place finish can’t be seen as anything but a positive.

The Wolf Pack men’s basketball team made its f irst ever postseason appearance this year, but unfortunately ran into a dominant University of Saskatchewan Huskies team and lost their best-of-three series 0-2.

Saskatchewan ended the regular season in second place in the Prairie Division of Canada West with a 15-7 record

and showed why they earned that position, beating the ‘Pack 82-68 and 84-71 on their way through to the Final Four where they will meet the hosting University of Alberta Golden Bears, the number one team in Canada West.

“I am proud of the guys for their efforts this season,” head coach Scott Clark told TRU Athletics after the series. “We continue to make progress with the program. We took a step forward this year and now we can go back to working to moving even further next year.”

The WolfPack women’s basketball team is getting ready to hit the road to take on the University of Alberta in their first-round best-of-three

series, which begins Feb. 27 in Edmonton.

The home team has looked all but unbeatable this season, cruising to a 20-2 record and taking first place overall in Canada West, though one of those two losses did come at the hands of our very own ‘Pack early on in the year, so they’ve shown they can pull out a win.

The WolfPack badminton team is sending two players to the CCBA national championships in Edmonton.

Women’s doubles partners Anica Arduini and Lacey Banman took the bronze medal at the provincial championship at Kwantlen, meaning they just missed out on the chance to attend nationals, but when the

gold medal winning team from Langara declined the invitation, it opened the window for TRU’s team to go.

Alex Perkin — who is also a coach with the team — captured the bronze medal in men’s singles at the provincial championships, as well (a win he’s sure to cherish, as he is finishing his final year of eligibility with the squad).

The WolfPack baseball team has finished up its spring training schedule in Arizona with a 2-6 record and now returns home to finish preparation for their season with a few more games throughout March in Washington State before their season opener at NorBrock Stadium March 21 against the Vancouver Island Baseball Institute.

Sports

Follow us on Twitter @TRU_Omega

Ω Editor-in-ChiefMike Davies

In the 2012-13 f iscal year of Own the Podium, “a not-for-profit organization [that] prioritizes and determines investment strategies to national sport organizations in an effort to deliver more Olympic and Paralympic medals for Canada,” according to its own website, the Canadian federal government injected $61.3 million into the program.

The program’s sole responsibility is, “to [f inancially] aid sports identif ied with the greatest medal potential.”

This means, basically, if Own the Podium and its partners believe we have a realistic chance at a medal in a particular event (no place for fourth place f inishes here), that program receives more funding than its counterparts.

I believe this model is f lawed and will create a system of self-perpetuating separation

amongst not only our different sports, but also our athletes and is ultimately a poor method of funding Canadian sports and athletes because of this.

“Own the Podium represents a particularly narrow strategy based on and extraordinarily narrow definition of success,” according to Peter Donnelly, professor of kinesiology and physical education at the University of Toronto and head of the Centre for Sport Policy Studies.

Donnelly’s report, “Own the Podium or rent it? Canada’s involvement in the global porting arms race,” published in 2010 just before Vancouver’s games would seem to agree with my assessment.

“Better planning and a broader definition of success … would link Canadian medals with the possibility of all Canadians being able to participate in the sport of their choice and with improvements of the health and wellbeing of the population.”

The study also puts forth the implication that the “win-at-all-costs attitude” promoted by the Own the Podium-style process of funding is what led us to the Ben Johnson situation in 1988 in Seoul, where the desire for medals and records led to the downfall of a great athlete who felt he needed an edge to keep up with everyone else on performance-enhancing substances.

After all, when your sport’s funding is tied directly to your likelihood of a global top-three f inish, the morality of whether to cheat or not may get blurry for some athletes who truly care

about their sport. If you don’t have a chance to

be one of the best three in the world, your sport itself suffers and so do all the prospective athletes that come after you, right?

But in any case, despite my reservations about the way they get funding and my worry about Canadian sport in general as we go forward because of it, my disappointment in some of the judging and the decision on where the last games were held, for right now I will be happy with Canada’s most recent Olympic performance.

We came in third in terms of gold medals earned and fourth in total medal count, after all – and apparently that’s all that matters to some people.

Personally, though, I’ll focus on the heart of the games rather than the f inal totals and how the count was one shy of what we garnered in Vancouver.

I’m going to remember Alex Bilodeau and his brother Frédéric celebrating together.

I’m going to remember Gilmore Junio giving up his spot to teammate Denny Morrison, who then went on to win a Silver medal, because he thought he had a better shot.

And I’m going to remember the people who celebrated their friend Sarah Burke after they were told this wasn’t the place for that.

That’s what the Olympics are about for me.

It’ll never be about a medal count, no matter if that is how they get their funding.

[email protected]

Life after Sochi

Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief

Armchair Quarterback

On the flawed Canadian system of athletic funding and what I’ll remember from these games

The Brier has long been celebrated as the nation’s biggest men’s curling bonspiel. It sees the best of the best converge to battle it out for the most prestigious title in a game that many view as Canada’s unofficial sport.

(If you don’t know about Canada’s fascination with curling, then you haven’t seen the film Men With Brooms, and you really should.)

One team from each province will play this game on the specially prepared surfaces at the Interior Saving Centre (ISC), and The Omega will be there to bring you the action with a periodically updated photo gallery throughout the event, as well as results as they come in (follow us on Twitter @TRU_Omega).

There are also plenty of opportunities to meet the nation’s best curlers and interact with some of Canada’s most eclectic sports fans. From Q&As with

panels of athletes to autograph sessions, every curling fan should head down at some point and take in the historic tournament.

But what if you’re not into curling?Well, then there’s the Brier Patch – a

legendary party zone that accompanies the main event.

Located a short walk from the ISC, this year’s Brier Patch features entertainment from local musicians and others, celebrating the music of the past and present.

From the classic rock stylings of Dan Hare and the March Hare Band paying tribute to John Fogerty and Bob Seger to the up-and-coming Shred Kelly out of the Kootenays and Kamloops’ own Sabrina Weeks and Swing Cat Bounce – there’s plenty of variety for all musical tastes.

Check out the full schedule of entertainment at the Brier Patch and other scheduled events at www.curling.ca and follow the links to the 2014 Brier.

2014 Tim Hortons Brier preview

Ω Editor-in-ChiefMike Davies

What you can see at the nation’s biggest curling tournament while it’s in town

February 26, 201412

ELECTION NOTICE

Nominations open Monday, March 4, 2013 at 9:00AM for the following positions:

• President• VicePresidentExternal• VicePresidentFinance• VicePresidentInternal• AboriginalStudents’Representative• GraduateStudents’Representative• InternationalStudents’Representative• LGBTQStudents’Representative• WomenStudents’Representative• Director-at-Large(4)

Nominations close Friday, March 15, 2013 at 4:00PM

To nominate yourself for election to the Board of Directors for 2014/2015 you must pick up a nomination package at the Members’ Services Desk in the Students’ Union Buidling and submit the completed nomination package before 4:00PM on March 15. Nomination packages will be available starting March 4 at 9:00AM.

The campaign period begins at 9:00AM on Monday, March 17, 2013 and runs untill 4:00PM on Thursday March 27, 2013.

If you have questions regarding the TRUSU General Election please contact the Electoral Committee at [email protected], 250.828.5289, or visit trusu.ca

POLLING WILL TAKE PLACE ON:

Wednesday, March 26th, 8:00AM-8:00PM & Thursday, March 27th, 8:00AM-4:00PM

in the TRUSU Boardrooom

@TRUSU15 trusu.ca/TRUStudentsUnion

February 26, 2014

Documents

Transcript of February 26, 2014