CAMPUS PRIDETRUSU-organized parade marches around campus in support of LGBTQ, p. 8

ROMA LIVINGA TRU field school in Eastern Slovakia will explore how the Roma people live, p. 5

KELLY OLYNYKBoston Celtics centre returns to Kamloops to speak to the WolfPack, p. 11

Volume 24 – Issue 5 www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega October 1, 2014

Pride parade returns to campus

AARON PRITCHETTAT CACTUS JACKS NIGHTCLUB

Arts editor Kim Anderson

HATES YOUR SHIRT

2 October 1, 2014NEWS

A TRU professor in the depart-ment of biology received recognition for her research on the reproductive capacity of a parasitic plant.

Cynthia Ross Friedman was named on Sept. 16 to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists by the Royal Society of Canada for her research on the parasitic flower-ing plant, the dwarf mistletoe.

The College focuses on gathering professors from universities in mul-tiple disciplines that have recent ter-minal degrees or PhDs. The benefit of having professors in multiple dis-ciplines is so new ideas can be creat-ed by taking different approaches to certain issues.

“[It involves] thinking about ad-vancing post-secondary education or

higher learning in Canada and dis-cussing the issues and opportunities that we have,” Ross Friedman said.

The dwarf mistletoe is found nat-urally in Canada and in B.C. Ross Friedman claimed the plant is worse than the pine beetle.

Her research was specific to the dwarf mistletoe infecting Lodgepole Pine trees in the province.

The dwarf mistletoe has a lifespan of around seven years. It produces seeds, which, after landing on a host, develop root-like structures that em-bed into the tissue of the tree. It’s the perfect parasite, as it can shoot seeds up to 20 meters to infect other hosts. There is an 80 per cent chance that infected trees will die, according to Ross Friedman.

Ross Friedman had 50 to 60 stu-dents over a period of 10 years work-ing with her on the research.

Biology professor named to College of New Scholars

An important precedent has been set with the June 26 land ti-tle decision made by the Supreme Court of Canada that granted title for some 1,750 km² to the Tsil-hqot’in (Chilcotin) people. The land is located approximately 100 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

The decision was a very import-ant outcome that has never been seen in Canada before, according to a TRU faculty member who played a role in the case.

“Within one minute of the de-cision, we knew that the legal ground had shifted, that Aborig-inal land title had finally hit the ground in Canada,” said Nicole Schabus. “It was a very important historic moment, but it is really the moment on which we have to build now.”

Schabus is a member of the law faculty at TRU and was involved with the case. On Friday, Sept. 26, she was one of five speakers who explained the case and its impli-cations at a forum in the Irving K.

Barber Centre organized by TR-UFA Human Rights chair Derek Cook.

“It is a landmark decision that came out of the Supreme Court of Canada. I was part of the legal team for the Secwepemc, Okana-gan and Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs interveners,” Schabus said.

Schabus explained that under current provincial legislation, Ab-original land title is not something that is contemplated. She said this decision affirms that First Nations must be consulted.

Tk’emlups Band Chief Shane Gottfriedson called the decision a game changer and that it made clear consultation was “not simply an advisable way to conduct busi-ness, but now the only way to con-duct business in B.C.”

“This decision finally and sim-ply asserts that First Nations must have a say,” he told the nearly-full Irving K. Barber Centre. “Nothing can be decided about us without us,” he said later. “The Tsilhqot’in decision should force government to look at new and alternative measures to the status quo, be-cause the status quo is illegal and

the status quo is not working.” Past Tk’emlups chief Wayne

Christian, who was also granted an honorary doctor of laws degree from TRU, presented a detailed treaty history to the audience. Along with a look into the past, Christian gave a prediction for the future.

“The interesting part is that we can chase them out, but they’re going to go to South America and implant themselves in a place where there is no law and no reg-ulation, and they’ll kill the Indian people,” he said.

“This is a world issue. We chase them out of British Columbia, fine, but they’ll go someplace else and do it to some other indigenous people in the world, and I don’t think that’s a good thing, so we have to think about how we col-lectively move forward on sustain-ability, in terms of environment, but also sustainability as a people and our relationships with each other,” Christian said.

Tsilhqot’in chief Joe Alphonse called upon other bands to support the work that has been done and to help establish a new deal, which

will “become the new template in dealing with First Nations issues in British Columbia.”

The decision came just months before the 150-year anniversary of the hanging of six Tsilhqot’in chiefs who thought they were meeting with officials to negotiate, but were instead tried for murder

and hanged, a piece of history mentioned multiple times during Friday’s forum.

“Sometimes infringement hap-pens because you allow it to hap-pen,” Alphonse said. “In 1864 they executed six of our war chiefs. They don’t do that anymore. What are you guys scared of ?”

Tsilhqot’in “landmark decision” rendered by Supreme Court of CanadaTk’emlups Chief Gottfriedson: Decision “finally and simply asserts that First Nations must have a say”Sean BradyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

Tsilhqot’in and counsel with legal team representing the Secwepemc, Okanagan and Union of BC Indian Chiefs Interveners before the Su-preme Court on Nov. 7, 2013. (Nicole Schabus/Contributed)

Carli BerryCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Cynthia Ross Friedman was one of 91 inaugural members named to the Col-lege of New Scholars by the Royal Society of Canada. (Contributed)

The TRUSU board of directors is looking for a new LGBTQ repre-sentative. Nic Zdunich officially re-signed from the job on Sept. 23.

“It would’ve just taken up too much of my time,” Zdunich said. “It was something that I was very passionate about, but I was sort of moving in a different direction than TRUSU was.”

Zdunich explained he recently ac-cepted a position with TRU career mentoring and alumni events and will be traveling abroad next semes-ter.

“I sort of decided that it was be-tween TRUSU and alumni, and I thought at this part of my life it was better for me to work with alumni,” he said.

Zdunich was the first person elected to the LGBTQ represen-tative position after the TRUSU Pride collective was created in Jan-uary 2013. Without a prior body of knowledge to draw from, the new collective relied largely on the work of Katie Hutfluss, who was one of the major organizers of TRU’s first

Pride Parade, as well as ideas from around the world. TRU’s rainbow crosswalk was inspired by similar projects in Sydney, Australia accord-ing to Zdunich.

“It was sort of interesting because it was such a blank canvas,” Zdunich said. “Usually you come in and there are certain events that go on, certain activities, certain things that you do, but it was kind of neat that we were a completely new collective and we got to come up with our own ideas.”

“We were just happy to have him serve for the time that he had over the year-and-a-half,” said Melissa Gordon, TRUSU vice-president internal and equity committee exec-utive member. “He served the stu-dents very well and we are sad to see him go. We really thank him for his service.”

According to TRUSU bylaws, the LGBTQ representative informs the board on sexual orientation issues, represents the LGBTQ community across campus, and is an active mem-ber of the TRUSU equity committee. The equity committee includes the women’s, aboriginal, international and graduate students’ representatives.

TRUSU president Dylan Robin-

son has been on the TRUSU board for the last three years, both before and after the addition of an LGBTQ representative.

“I think the changes that the po-sition has started making happen on campus have been really positive,” he said, adding that it was a “logical step in the growth of the organiza-tion.”

For Zdunich, he says he has no-ticed tangible differences in how the idea of LGBTQ is treated at TRU.

“Visibly, on campus I find a lot more people are a lot more friend-ly and more open. I’ve noticed dif-ferences in the Pride Club. They’re hosting a lot more socials and get-ting a lot more visibility throughout campus and I think it’s growing into a stronger community now because there is that visibility, or representa-tive, on campus,” he said.

Applications for the position opened Sept. 24 and will remain open until Oct. 8. They can be sub-mitted on the TRUSU website. The union will announce the new rep-resentative Oct. 21. All TRUSU advocacy representatives must be a member of the group for which they are advocating.

Students, staff and faculty get a say in whether TRU gets a new presi-dent next year.

President Alan Shaver’s term ex-pires next August. The TRU board of governors is looking for feedback before deciding whether to reappoint him for another five years.

An online survey has been creat-ed and will be available to the public from Oct. 8 to Oct. 22 as part of a presidential review.

“In general it asks participants to comment on the performance of the president, give their opinions and comments as to how it has affected them and whether it’s positive or negative,” TRU board of directors chair Brian Ross said.

Ross also said that the board sees the review process as an opportunity to identify areas of improvement go-ing into the next five years.

“There are common issues that are going to be found, and that’s how you get to deal with them. Bring them out, talk about them, put them in a format

that speaks to positive results and pos-itive change,” Ross said.

Survey results will be compiled and analyzed by the presidential review advisory committee. The committee will present their recommendations to the board in November with a final decision expected by Nov. 27.

Anyone who wants more infor-mation before taking the survey can access public documents, including monthly president’s reports, senate reports, board of governor’s minutes and financial documents on TRU’s website.

Alexis StockfordNEWS EDITOR Ω

Zdunich resigns as union LGBTQ representative

Alexis StockfordNEWS EDITOR Ω

TRU to test the waters on presidential appointment

3The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 5

The Omega

www.truomega.ca

/TRUOmega

@TRU_Omega

Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Published since November 27, 1991

EDITORIAL STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NEWS EDITOR

ISSUES EDITOR

ARTS EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

Sean Brady@iamseanbradyeditor@truomega.ca

Alexis Stockford@AlexisStockfordnews@truomega.ca

Ashley Wadhwani@ashwadhwaniissues@truomega.ca

Kim Anderson@K_AndersonSaysarts@truomega.ca

Tayla Scott@taylascott3sports@truomega.ca

Rachel Wood@rachelwooodcopy@truomega.ca

Carli BerryMarlys KlossnerDanya LeBlancSteve Leahy

PUBLISHING BOARDEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

INDUSTRY REP

FACULTY REP

STUDENT REP

STUDENT REP

STUDENT REP

Sean Brady

Christopher Foulds

Charles Hays

Travis Persaud

Adam Williams

Hugo Yuen

LETTERS POLICYLiterary 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 expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright The Omega 2014.

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society(Publisher of The Omega)

TRU Campus House #4900 McGill Rd, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8

Phone: 250-828-5069Advertising inquiries:

accounts@truomega.ca

PUBLISHING

/tru_omega

EDITORIAL STAFF

Trinity Western will have no choice but to rescind its Community Covenant

Trinity Western University’s law school is set to open in 2016, but if none of the law societies in Canada accredit it, what exactly will be the point?

Let’s hope someone at TWU is considering that. The Commu-nity Covenant in place requires students to pledge that they will abstain from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman” in keeping with “biblical and TWU ideals.”

If you’re going to school to be-come a lawyer, you may very well find yourself representing some-one whose views, beliefs or life-style you do not yourself believe in or agree with. But lawyers are nothing if not professional, and they are taught to act this way in school. They are taught to under-stand that a barrier exists between their personal and professional lives, and that this barrier is an important part of their ability to hold the principles of law above all else.

If this barrier exists profession-ally, and it is taught in school,

what sense is there to signing a covenant that poisons the well from the very beginning? What sense is there to reinforcing a per-sonal ideology in a setting meant to foster professionalism?

None that I can see, but I can’t vote on the matter.

Thankfully I’m not alone. Ear-lier this year in June, 3,210 B.C. lawyers voted for reversing the de-cision for the Law Society of B.C. to accredit TWU’s school of law. There were 968 who voted against.

That non-binding deci-sion made in June informed the Benchers (those who sit on the board of the Law Society of B.C.) as to the ideological climate among B.C. lawyers. On Friday, Sept. 26, the Benchers decided that a referendum will be held on the matter and that its outcome will be binding.

For the referendum to be suc-cessful, the vote must show a two-thirds majority for adopting the resolution that the TWU school not be an approved faculty of law.

If the upcoming referendum re-sults are anything like June’s vote, it ’s likely to succeed.

And it won’t be the first time a group of lawyers has decided that TWU’s covenant isn’t welcome

among Canada’s law school co-hort.

Earlier this year in April, the Law Society of Upper Canada vot-ed 28 to 21 against accrediting the school. So Ontario is out.

In Nova Scotia, just a day later, the Barristers’ Society approved accreditation, but with a major condition: that TWU exempts law students from the covenant or that it changes the covenant so that it does not discriminate. So Nova Scotia is out, at least with the cov-enant in its current state.

In New Brunswick, members of the Law Society of New Bruns-wick voted 137 to 30 at a special general meeting against approving TWU. Now, New Brunswick is in the same spot B.C. was in a few months ago. It’s waiting for a de-cision from its governing body as to whether or not that vote will be binding or if a referendum needs to be held. So N.B. might be out, too.

So if B.C. follows suit and votes to refuse accreditation for TWU’s law school (and by all indications it will), TWU will be left with those who have until now remained si-lent, and who knows what might happen once the place actually ex-ists.

editor@truomega.ca

My news feed this weekend was mostly dominated by the United Nations Climate Summit, par-ticularly with the hundreds of thousands who took park in the People’s Climate March in New York City. At some point, I came across a link that had UN, Emma Watson and feminism in the same headline. My confusion about why the former Harry Potter star was speaking at the UN Headquarters about feminism caused me to open the link.

Watson, who apparently became the UN Women Goodwill Ambas-sador six months ago, delivered a 12-minute speech about feminism, while simultaneously launching the new UN Women “HeForShe” campaign.

Unlike many other gender equality campaigns, this one aims to recruit as many boys and men as possible, which is absolutely pru-dent.

“How can we expect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feels welcomed to par-ticipate in the conversation?” said Watson. It ’s an excellent point.

Feminism has become, or may-be always has been, an unpopular word. It instantly conjures up im-ages of angry, man-hating females

who will shake their fists at the slightest injustice. Lately, the word has crept its way into mainstream media and is slowly making its re-turn into contemporary discourse.

Quite alarmingly, we’ve seen campaigns like #WomenAgain-stFeminism go viral over the In-ternet, and we’re also seeing more frequently, words like “anti-fem-inist.” However, we’ve also seen a surge in advocates, from Playboy porn stars to performers like Be-yoncé, openly identifying them-selves as feminists.

All of a sudden, everyone has something to say about it, and that’s why Watson’s announce-ment at the UN came at an ideal time.

The conflict between some women owning the word and oth-ers trying everything to disown it isn’t the issue. That’s not what our current conversation on fem-inism should be about. Nowhere does this process include men; the other quintessential component to achieving gender equality.

For a word to carry that much weight, even with all the efforts being made to deconstruct our societal prejudices, why don’t we just stop using it? The negative connotations surrounding that word are so ingrained, maybe we should move on from it, give it a little break.

The fundamental problem, and

the main focus of the “HeForShe” campaign, is that gender equality can’t be reached if we continue to pit opposing views against each other. It ’s a complete disservice to the idea and goals behind what the word feminism actually strives for, which is equality.

Near the end of her speech, Wat-son says, “We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is that we have a united movement.”

If the discriminatory pact remains in place at the university, its graduates might have no place left to work

Actress Emma Watson’s feminism speech at the United Nations aims to recruit as many boys and men as possible, which is absolutely prudent

Sean BradyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

TUNE IN/TUNE OUT

Let’s discuss smoking. I know it’s a somewhat controversial topic as it serves no practical purpose other than damaging the body. Getting rid of such a filthy habit is most certainly a good thing, but then we have to ask why?

Not why we want to get rid of it, that’s self-evident, but why people do it in the first place. Take me for instance. Yes, I am a smoker, and yes I realize it does only harm and no good. But I still do it. And it’s not because I’m ignorant to the effects, but it’s because I like it. It helps to manage stress, which is very important for a person juggling a part-time job along with classes. Going for a cigarette is often the only way to guarantee myself of five minutes of rest and relaxation.

But many people don’t smoke. They don’t need that quick break in the middle of a busy day. Or maybe they do, but find a healthier alter-native. Either way, different strokes and all that. Can’t we just let people do as they please?

Apparently not, because we’ve got to keep our air clear, or at least that’s the new policy. Second hand smoke; that’s what’s got people afraid nowadays. A justifiable fear, but is pushing all the smokers into little corners of the campus really the way to go about it? Yes, I am bi-ased against this new policy, I won’t try to hide it. I don’t like it, because this is my campus, too. Why can’t I walk to class with a ciggy hanging out of my mouth?

Because smoking’s bad? We know that already. Hell, every pack of smokes sports a huge warning about the dangers of smoking. Only the blind and deaf have an excuse for not knowing the dangers of smoking, and I’m sure they’re tired of all this anti-smoking pro-paganda too. Smokers are quite lit-erally being marginalized by ADM 05-2, more commonly known as the New Smoking Policy, by which I mean we are told to stand in the marginalized areas of the campus. Where our second-hand smoke should cause the least amount of harm.

Out of sight, out of mind, if you ask me. Honestly, aren’t we adults here? If you want to save yourself from my second-hand smoke, avoid me when I’m smoking. If you don’t like the smell of smoke coming from my clothes, by all means keep your distance. It won’t offend me, but if you start telling me off be-cause of it, that’s not helping either of us.

This new policy seems to me to be less of an attempt to create a more inviting campus, and more of a personal crusade against smok-ing. Fine by me. I’m not going to argue against someone with a le-gitimate beef with cigarette smoke, mainly because I really have no de-fense. But don’t expect me to just bow my head and sit in the “des-ignated smoking area” with my evil cigarettes. You can crusade all you want, but don’t expect me to let you walk all over me. This is my cam-pus too, and I’m not happy about being told to sit in the corner.

leahys112@mytru.ca

Stephen Leahy is a third year philos-ophy student who has been attending TRU since 2011. He has been living in Kamloops for 21 of his 23 years.

Steve LeahyCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Feminism is an unpopular word, so let’s change it

Leah JensenTHE RYERSONIAN (CUP)

(David Shankbone/Flickr Commons)

4 October 1, 2014NEWS

Interior Wellness FestivalThe festival brought three days of seminars, workshops, yoga, fitness and more to the Campus Activity Centre over the weekend of Sept. 27. Photos by Alexis Stockford/The Omega

TOP LEFT: Instructor Tammy Morrison of Let’s Move studio demonstrates fusion belly-dancing.TOP RIGHT: It wasn’t just adults at the festival. Brooklyn Dupont, 4, adds some colour to her outfit at the face-painting booth.BOTTOM LEFT: Kamloops resident Judy Bregoliss tries out the henna tattoo booth.BOTTOM RIGHT: Artist Jessica Scott shows off her work.

5The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 5 NEWS

In May 2015, David Scheffel will be instructing TRU’s Field School in Romani Studies, which takes students on a dynamic ex-pedition to Eastern Slovakia. The six-credit course, ANTH 3000: Current issues in Cultural An-thropology will immerse students in Romani culture.

In partnership with the Insti-tute of Romani Studies at the University of Prešov, Scheffel has been working with faculty mem-ber Alexander Musinka to pro-vide the course to students.

TRU has been sending stu-dents to Eastern Slovakia since 1993, when the field trip was in-strumental in the development of a Romani community. The 2015 trip however, promises to be dif-ferent. Previously, visiting Roma-ni communities was just a chapter in a much broader field trip in Eastern Slovakia, but this year the course will entail spending the entire three weeks living with host families in cites of oppres-sion, discrimination and poverty that Gypsies are segregated into by mainstream society. Accord-ing to Scheffel, “there is no other field school in the world that will have this kind of focus.”

In Canada we have many cul-tures who, for the most part, live side-by-side harmoniously. How-ever there are other countries where this is not the case.

“People can learn from these extreme examples, which is the case in Slovakia,” Scheffel said.

“For centuries, the Romani people have been at the centre of those inter-culture controversies.”

That is why ANTH 3000 fo-cuses on the “Roma question,” which examines why mainstream societies are having such a hard time living side-by-side with the Roma.

The communities that students will visit are not just sites of pov-erty, dirt, discrimi-nation and oppres-sion. They are also cites of a degree of resistance where Gypsies maintain their cultural iden-tity and practice the mentality that “we do things dif-ferently, we remain untamed and we re-main independent.”

Scheffel expand-ed on this mentality by noting that what is being studied is a “counter-culture that sees things and does things differently.”

“I don’t want it to be a poverty safari. I want them to think more about [the Roma question] and think about this kind of segrega-tion from mainstream society.”

This experience is open to all TRU students and students from other universities. Since there are no prerequisites for the course, a diverse selection of students from all programs can enroll. The pro-

gram fee, which covers all travel expenses in Slovakia, is $2,575, but all attending students also qualify for a $500 CUEF trav-el bursary. International airfare, travel insurance and immuniza-tion are the responsibility of par-ticipating students.

Because students will be ex-posed to an entirely different cul-ture and are going to experience culture shock, Scheffel comment-ed that the course is open to any-one looking for a “high impact” experience.

“It requires an open minded attitude and pioneering spirit,” Scheffel said.

In order to prepare students for the trip, mandatory readings are assigned before the trip so that students know what to expect.

The coursework for the class is designed to let students fo-cus on their experience while in Slovakia. There is a test on these readings and a paper that is due a month after students are back in

Canada. Scheffel claims the ex-perience itself promises to teach students more about cultural dis-crimination than a classroom ever could because you can depend much more on peer learning and feedback.

According to Scheffel, the site of the field school is no more dangerous than some Canadian cities, but he did note that there are “pockets of unexpected be-haviour.”

“I take it seriously, and the host families take it seriously. In all

the years I have not had a single incident where a student has felt threatened or in danger,” Scheffel said. Slovakia is a country that is part of the UN. Law and order are maintained and medical care is easily obtained.

A c c o m m o d a -tion with host families is one of the main experi-

ences that a student can get out of this course. The families are wel-coming and provide the support that students need in order to re-flect on the experience, according to Scheffel.

“You need a bit of guidance. You need a niche that you can relax in and that you can feel safe in. And that is what these host families are designed to do,” Scheffel said. “Going into these settlements as an outsider can be a very emo-

tional experience.” Host families live in apart-

ments, houses or huts and stu-dents have the choice to decide where they will live and for how long they want to stay.

According to Scheffel, this ex-perience is “the core of what stu-dents take out of there. They don’t just learn from books or from looking at something as if they’re on a safari, but they actually are

expected to interact with people.”As an expert on the Roma peo-

ples and having facilitated these trips for the last 20 years, Scheffel is extremely sympathetic to the Gypsies current quality of life. He compares the communities

of Eastern Slovakia as similar to those of sub-Saharan Africa, but this is in Europe.

Five years ago, in partnership with Alexander Musinka, Scheffel founded a non-profit organiza-tion helping Roma families inte-grate into Slovak society by pro-viding the support necessary for these families to buy houses. The official webpage at www.svinia.org provides more information on

the organization’s goals and how to help.

For more information on ANTH 3000: Current Issues in Cultural Anthropology, con-tact David Scheffel by email at dscheffel@tru.ca.

Living with Gypsies through TRUStudents will travel to Eastern Slovakia and explore how Roma people liveDanya LeBlancCONTRIBUTOR Ω

“I don’t want it to be a poverty safari. I want them to think ... about this kind of segregation from mainstream society.”

David Scheffel, Romani Field School instructor

A Gypsy family and friends gathered outside their hut during the field school trip of May 2011. (David Scheffel/Contributed)

TRU’s David Scheffel (middle left), socializing with local Slovakian Roma in May 2010. (David Scheffel/Contributed)

6 October 1, 2014ARTS

Q: How did you get started singing?

A: At karaoke. Believe it or not, the very first night I sang in pub-lic was at karaoke in 1991 and I was scared like you wouldn’t be-lieve. The guy that was running the karaoke that night said, “Do you want to work for me? You’re a really good singer.”

I didn’t think I could sing. I was shaking so much I don’t think I remembered much of singing that actual first song. So after that, the guy had me working for him for about six months.

Then I started my own com-pany, and I was singing every song you could imagine, not just country, everything and anything. Frank Sinatra to Led Zeppelin... everything. That really helped me create a voice for myself, and started me heading in the right direction.

Q: You’ve had the opportunity to tour with some huge names in country. How has working with

other artists influenced your own style?

A: Well, I think their influence more came from when I was play-ing in the clubs. I played in the clubs in Vancouver for almost ten years before anything happened with recording. Their influence on me was early because I played a lot of Keith Urban. I played a lot of Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, a lot of those guys. So when the time came that I was added to a concert tour of theirs, it was an absolute thrill.

Recently I got to open for my hero, Tim McGraw, in Duncan on Vancouver Island for a big outdoor festival, so that was pret-ty awesome. Those guys had a huge influence on my career, and creating a sound. It derives from all different areas and especially from those guys back in the day, Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, and I got to tour with them so that was pretty cool.

Q: Do you have any projects on

the go right now?A: Yeah, recording right now,

I’m in the studio currently, on and off. The process has changed a lot from being in the studio one day and recording four or five songs in that day and then doing all the vocals and stuff later. But for the most part, the bones of it are done that one day.

Now, you can get a guy remote-ly playing drums from Nashville. I can send him a track and a beat and how I want it played and he puts together a drum track. It ’s not as long a process as it [once] was.

I’m currently in the studio now working on new material so there should be something new for spring.

Q: Do have any advice for someone who’s trying to make it in the business?

A: Yeah, don’t do it! [laughs] Just kidding. If you have a vi-sion and you stick to that vision, make a plan of what you want to

see your career do and where you want it to go and be tenacious. Don’t ever give up, no matter what people say or what people try to do to you to make your ca-reer that much tougher, don’t give up. If you really believe in yourself and believe in what you have as a talent with people supporting you, go for it.

Q: Do you have anything you’d like to say to your fans?

A: I honestly believe that with-out the fans, there is no industry. We don’t have a movie industry, we don’t have a music industry, we don’t have an entertainment in-dustry, period. It is because people do come out to shows and support us artists and the arts itself that without them we’re nothing.

We’re just people playing music and sitting around a campfire. I honestly, with everything I have, thank each and every person for supporting not only myself, but anyone who’s creative and puts on a show.

Country music giant Aaron Pritchett, hailing from Terrace, B.C., performed to an enthusias-tic crowd on Wednesday Sept. 25 at Cactus Jacks Nightclub. One

More Girl, a sister duo out of Vancouver, B.C., opened the show with energy and heart.

Pritchett began his set with his popular song “Let’s Get Rowdy,” to which the audience immediate-ly obeyed. The concert felt more like a backwoods tailgate than a formal event, which suited Pritch-

ett’s musical style. The performance was rife with

audience interaction, giving it an intimate vibe. Pritchett received several roses, two bras, and an in-explicable sock. As with most live music events today, cell phones were a constant presence. Pritchett himself grabbed numerous phones

from eager fans in the front row and took a few selfies mid-perfor-mance.

The audience was female-dom-inated and had a wider age range than CJs’ usual barely-legal crowd, as evidenced by the dominant drink choices: beer and wine.

Pritchett saved the best for last,

coming back for an encore af-ter the audience started chanting “Hold My Beer.” He mashed his hit song with crowd favourites like Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and went out with a bang.

After the concert, I joined Pritchett for a quick Q&A session.

Done gone country: B.C.-born star throws a backwoods party at Cactus JacksMarlys KlossnerCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Concert Q&A: One-on-one with Aaron PritchettBut first, let me take a selfie. Aaron Pritchett doesn’t miss a beat while taking a selfie with an eager fan’s phone during his Sept. 25 show at Cactus Jacks. (Marlys Klossner/The Omega)

Marlys Klossner/The Omega

7The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 5 ARTS

My stomach was twisting, my vision became blurry and my brow started to bead with sweat when the thing entered my field of vision.

I had walked into Forever 21, or Bluenotes, or something in that category of fashion store at the mall. I was looking for a pair of cheap, black flats for work, when the thing stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was a white crop-top. Nor-mally, that wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary in such a store, but upon further inspection, it was something truly horrifying. There, right in front of me, was an image of Kurt Cobain surrounded with flowers, guitar in hand. The letters “COBAIN” were plastered in green across the front.

I stood there, stunned. For per-haps the first time in 24 years, I had no words.

Some background on why I was feeling so rattled: I was that angsty teen who helped her guy friends

dye their hair the same deep red that Cobain donned for a while. I was the one listening to Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and all those grungy bands religiously whenever I got the chance. Their indifference and disgust for popular culture and the mainstream really spoke to me at the time, and it still does today, but in a different way.

Nirvana’s music was built on be-ing a dirty misfit and societal re-ject. Cobain and company relished on living on the outskirts of society and when the fame and mainstream notoriety of Nirvana became too much for Cobain to bear. Well, we all know how that story ended.

All I could think was, “What in the actual fuck am I looking at?” This exact thing was everything that Cobain loathed. A mainstream fashion store was profiting from his image.

Do the girls buying and wearing the top even know Nirvana, or what they represented? Maybe. Or may-be they just know Kurt’s name. But anyone who understood his music wouldn’t even entertain the idea of

wearing that skimpy crop-top with his name across it.

When people promote bands they don’t actually know, weird and awk-ward stuff happens. For instance, a coworker and I were chatting after a shift and I noticed that she was wearing a Nirvana tank top. I was stoked, because I didn’t peg her as a fan and excitedly I exclaimed, “Yes! Nice shirt!”

A few seconds of thick, uncom-fortable silence followed.

She replied, “Oh… I actually don’t know them, I just liked the shirt.”

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hide my prominent frown, raised eyebrow and crushing disap-pointment.

Full disclosure time: I own about 20 or 30 band t-shirts. Roughly 75 per cent of those were purchased at a show. Some shirts are from my fa-vourites, the classic titans of rock like Rush, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

However, some of those shirts are from smaller bands that are just starting out. I will never buy their band merchandise just to have it. The music has to speak to me, reach me. If it does, I feel compelled to buy some

merch to support them. In a tiny way, I believe I’m helping them in their journey of chasing their dream. If another fan were to approach me about my shirt, there’d be no ques-tion we could have a discussion about the band.

Hold on though. Before you write me off as that pretentious, know-it-all music fan, I feel this way about any band or artist. Why should some cheap clothing store, or anyone other than the artist or band, for that mat-ter, profit from their image? Too of-ten I see commercial goods stamped with the work of Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Da Vinci.

Amidst my ranting, my point (yes, I do have one, somewhere), is a sim-ple question: should the lifelong toil and hard work of a deceased artist be whittled down to a cheap t-shirt, worn by someone in the name of fashion?

Should the legacy of an artist be whitewashed and transformed into profit for whomever their estate now benefits?

No.It’s gross and I hate it. It’s capi-

talism at its worst.

The Rural Alberta Advan-tage is straight out of Toronto (I know, right?) and released a third album, Mended with Gold, on Sept. 30.

The 12-track record isn’t much of a departure for the band. If you’re looking for loud, fun indie rock with a lot of heart sung by

a guy who sounds a lot like Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pump-kins, look no further.

The album’s best feature is its percussion. Drummer Paul Ban-watt is a machine. No, seriously, I think they replaced him with a drum machine infused with the soul of a talented and passion-ate drummer. How else could he deliver such consistent, delicate quick-hit beats that so effective-ly contrast the smoothness heard on some of this record’s tracks? Especially the mellow-but-quick and haunting “Vulcan, AB.”

Another standout on the album is “On the Rocks.” It ’s got a puls-ing lo-fi intro that adds a certain grittiness. It comes clean about 30 seconds in, but the theme re-turns throughout and the song is noticeably well-composed. Lead singer Nils Edenloff slurs his vo-cals a little more than he should, but he’s always bright where he needs to be.

If the other offerings on the

record were consistent with the themes heard in “On the Rocks,” it might be a little better. It ’s still quite good, but I don’t think it ’s on par with 2010’s Departing or the more garage rock-sounding record Hometowns from 2008.

Perhaps it ’d be a good idea for the band to return to its rough-er roots. There are certain 2008 tracks, like “The Dethbridge in Lethbridge” that sound, by com-parison to the almost over-pro-duced tracks found on Mended with Gold, like they were written and recorded in the same day by some sort of natural rocker talent and a group of guys who all met that day to make something awe-some.

It ’s the gritty, lo-fi sound that made me like the band to begin with, so anything that sounds like an attempt for them to abandon it feels a little alienating to me. But regardless, I hope the band continues to find an audience, even if I’m not in it.

Kim AndersonARTS EDITOR ΩI HATE

YOURSHIRT

That dead guy you’re wearing across your chest, do you know

who he is?

Latest offering from The Rural Alberta Advantage has a lot to offer, but is the band abandoning its roots?Album review: Mended with Gold

Sean BradyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

Image courtesy Paper Bag Records

Kim Anderson/The Omega

8 October 1, 2014NEWS

The crowd was smaller than normal at TRU’s annual Pride Parade on Friday. About 100 people came out to show support for the LGBTQ community. The parades in 2012 and 2013 each saw an attendance of over 300.

For students in their first or second year, this was their first taste of the TRU Pride Parade. Typically held in April, TRUSU decided last year to hold the 2014 parade in September, effectively skipping 2013-14 academic year.

TRUSU president Dylan Robin-son said that the scheduling change may have contributed to the small-

er-than-usual crowd, but added that he is still happy with the day’s results.

“We’re really just glad that as many people came out as they did and sent a really strong message of support for LGBTQ students, staff, faculty and the community more broadly,” Robinson said.

“It’s nice to see someone stepping up and supporting some diversity,” Kam-loops resident Jeff Conners said.

Conners was one of several partici-pants not affiliated with TRU to attend the parade.

“We have people from the communi-ty, different service agencies stepping up and supporting, trying to link the com-munity and campus which sometimes I think is really lost,” Conners said.

Dean of students Christine Adam was one of several university staff and faculty to participate this year. “This is something that I’ve supported since it started a couple of years ago and I think it’s really important to recognize the di-versity on campus and also for all stu-dents to feel welcomed here,” she said, sporting a bright purple wig.

Bright outfits, rainbow-coloured signs and banners emblazoned with slogans like “Queer is Beautiful” were common as participants marched around Old Main and the campus commons. Participants were also en-couraged to join in chants like “We are proud,” and “Hey! Ho! Homophobia’s got to go!”

Students Katelyn Echlin-Scorer

and Katie Hutfluss organized the first TRU Pride Parade in 2012. The next year, TRUSU created the Pride col-lective and gave it the responsibility of making the Pride Parade an annual event.

First-year student Madison Thomas said she was glad to see the Pride Pa-rade on campus.

“I think the TRU Pride Parade, and pride in general, is a really big deal that I think needs to be more supported,” she said.

Robinson said there are definite-ly things that TRUSU and the Pride collective can look to improve for next year’s parade.

“We’ll be continuing to strategize about how to get more people engaged

in the community and engaged in building a safe and inclusive campus for everyone,” Robinson said.

Fall chills TRU Pride Parade attendance, but the show goes onAlexis StockfordNEWS EDITOR Ω

TOP: TRUSU president Dylan Robinson leads the crowd in a chant (Kim Anderson/The Omega)

BOTTOM LEFT: Kamloops city councillor Dono-van Cavers joins in (Kim Anderson/The Omega)

BOTTOM RIGHT: Dean of students Christine Adam and counselling services chair Cliff Rob-inson don wigs (Alexis Stockford/The Omega)

RIGHT: Parade participants stand ready for the parade to begin (Alexis Stockford/The Omega)

BOTTOM MIDDLE: Professors Kellee Caton and David Hill express their support (Alexis Stock-ford/The Omega)

9The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 5 NEWS

Prostitution and the laws surround-ing it have always been a source of controversy, and the Canadian gov-ernment’s new bill cracking down on the practice is no exception to the rule. So it’s not surprising a keynote forum in Vancouver on September 17 leaned strongly in one direction.

The event was kicked off by Kerry Porth from the PIVOT Legal Society, who was critical in her assessment of the bill, calling it an “insane and mis-guided attempt to abolish prostitution altogether.”

One of the forum’s featured speak-ers, Catherine Healy, spoke about her experiences as a former sex worker turned activist fighting for the legal-ization of sex work in New Zealand.

She was followed by a local activist for abortion rights and sex work, Joyce Arthur. Arthur’s opinion on the bill

was consistent with her fellow speak-ers’.

“The premise of Bill C-36 is rooted in the same old sexist, patriarchal, con-ditional beliefs that we’ve been fight-ing for centuries,” Arthur said. “It’s not only impossible to abolish [sex work and abortion]; it’s dangerous and un-just … Criminalization removes wom-en from the law and from health care services. When sex work is criminal-ized, women die.”

In an article published by CBC News, Canada’s Justice Minister Pe-ter MacKay argued that the law aids sex workers seeking health care or help from police. He also emphasized the intent of the bill to convict others involved in sex work rather than sex workers themselves.

“Prostitution is now de facto il-legal, but the emphasis and the focus is on the purchaser and the perpetrator — the pimps who are attempting to exploit and gain ma-

terially from prostitution itself,” MacKay said.

Janine Benedet, a law professor at UBC who testified on the bill, told the Ubyssey she felt that Bill C-36, while not perfect, is an improvement on old legislation.

“For the first time, we have a provi-sion that says it’s an act of exploitation to buy another human being for sex and you should stop because ultimately, you’re fuelling inequality and exploita-tion and trafficking,” she explained.

The bill still needs to be passed in the House of Commons before it is made official, and the intent of the fo-rum in Vancouver was to send a mes-sage to the federal government, Arthur told the Valley Voice before the event.

“The experience of New Zealand that Catherine will speak about should send a strong message to Ottawa that there is a proven, better way to protect both communities and sex workers from harm,” Arthur said.

The crisis surrounding ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), sometimes called ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), the radical Sunni group which has cap-tured large swaths of Iraq and Syria and has been committing various massacres, has been a top priority among most of the world’s govern-

ments. Both America and France have already begun an air campaign to bomb ISIS strongholds and net-works in both Iraq and Syria. Brit-ain seems to be on the fast track to join this campaign as well.

Canada is already involved with the conflict in a limited capaci-ty. On September 4th, the Harp-er government announced that it would be sending several dozen (later specified at 69) members of

Canada’s special forces to Iraq to act as military advisors and trainers to the Iraqi government and Kurd-ish fighters for a 30 day period, at which point Canada’s contribution would be assessed. In an email to the CBC from Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for the government, MacDonald explained the mission as, “This is an advise and assist role, not one in which Canadian Forces will be accompanying Iraqi forces

on missions [or] tactical operations. They are there to provide advice that will help the government of Iraq and its security forces be more ef-fective against ISIL.” Interestingly, this mission is not part of the wider NATO mission, but is solely being undertaken by Canada.

Now however, with the campaign ramping up, Harper has made it publicly known that the govern-ment is considering responding to President Obama’s request for a greater military contribution from Canada. However, later statements insisted that any further expan-sion would not take the form of a combat role. In Parliament, when questioned whether an expansion of Canada’s military role would be accompanied by a vote in Parlia-ment, the parliamentary secretary for the minister of defense refused to directly answer, only that the gov-ernment would need to discuss that matter in Cabinet and that “discus-sions” would be had before a final decision was made.

However, this has caused contro-versy at home and in Parliament. Before sending the first military advisors, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird took a two-day tour of

Iraq with the Foreign Affairs critics for the Liberals and the NDP, Marc Garneau and Paul Dewar respec-tively. Both said they appreciated the attempt to get multi-party in-put into Canada’s response to the crisis. However, this appears to have turned to frustration as the govern-ment appears unwilling to answer questions clearly in the House. Just a few days ago, NDP leader Tom Mulcair tried to get Harper’s parlia-mentary secretary Paul Calandra to answer several questions about the mission in the House of Commons, including the start date for Canada’s stated 30 day commitment. Howev-er, Calandra’s answer was not direct-ed towards the question, but instead mentioned a Facebook post by an NDP fundraiser that was critical of Israel and the IDF, contrasting that with the Conservative’s support for Israel. Mulcair asked the ques-tion two more times and pleaded with the Speaker to force Calandra to answer the question but he still received the same answer. This lead Mulcair to publicly question the Harper-appointed Speaker’s neu-trality, causing the Speaker to ignore Mulcair’s request for further recog-nition.

Controversy surrounds Bill C-36 debate

Uncertainty and controversy over Canada’s role in the fight against ISIS

Vanessa BroadbentTHE CASCADE (CUP)

Drew MacEachernTHE CADRE (CUP)

A former sex worker from New Zealand, among other activists, spoke against a new prostitution bill. (Rob Gross / Flickr)

Canada is weighing a larger, more direct military effort in the fight against ISIS, but uncertainty still lingers (Pete Souza/Wikimedia Commons)

10 October 1, 2014COMICS & PUZZLES

SUDOKU8 6 9

4 2 5 3 7

5

3 8 5

1 4 2 6

3 8 4

9

6 1 4 3 5

9 5 7

Puzzle of the Week #4 – Midterms

Midterms are approaching. You are taking five courses. Unfortunately, allfive courses’ midterms are in the same week (Monday to Friday).

1. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday combined, you have fourmidterms.

2. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday combined, you have threemidterms.

3. On Tuesday and Friday combined, you have three midterms.

How many midterms do you have on each of the days Monday to Friday?

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 next

Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net>. 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 (HL304). Come visit: we are

friendly.

Because you’re probably not doing enough math

Have something to contribute? We’re always looking for comics, jokes, or anything entertaining you can think of. If you’ve got something in mind, fire off an email to editor@truomega.ca.

Contributionsxkcd.com

11The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 5 SPORTS

Kelly Olynyk spent the majority of his life in Kamloops before mov-ing to Boston in 2013 to begin his professional basketball career with the Boston Celtics.

The morning of Sept. 25, 325 guests enjoyed a buffet of scrambled eggs, French toast, hash browns and yogurt parfaits in the Cam-pus Activity Centre. The theme of Olynyk’s speech was “It takes a vil-lage to raise a child.”

The event raised $50,000, with TRU matching the funds raised. The total will go towards athletic scholarships for WolfPack athletes.

“I know the importance of hav-ing a scholarship,” Olynyk said. “To give these kids the opportuni-ty to do something they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do is big.”

“It’s tough when you have to take out loans or if your family doesn’t have the funds to go to school. Scholarships are a benefit and allow you the opportunity to do some-thing special.”

Olynyk moved to Kamloops with his family in 2003 when his father, Ken Olynyk, was hired as TRU’s athletic director.

“I spent a majority of my life in Kamloops. TRU has been an in-strumental part of my life in get-ting me where I am today, helping me with basketball and giving me the opportunity to play.

“Although you don’t realize it, [many people are] lending a hand. Just stop and realize that and give thanks to those people and appreci-ate where they’ve gotten you.”

After graduating high school in Kamloops, Olynyk went to Gonza-ga University on a full scholarship. He graduated after three years in an accounting program and started his masters, but left to pursue his basketball career when the oppor-tunity came.

“I was going to be drafted in the NBA, which is like a dream when you’re a kid. Every kid who plays basketball has a dream to play in the NBA. I had that opportunity, it was there and I felt like it was the right time to take it,” he said.

Olynyk was selected by the Dal-las Mavericks and immediately traded to the Boston Celtics in 2013.

“It’s always different moving to a new city, but it was an adjustment that was exciting and fun. Boston is an amazing city. It’s a big city, but it’s really a small knit city. Everyone knows each other.”

The seven-foot-tall centre has played 70 games and has a free throw percentage of 81.1 and av-erages 8.7 points-per-game. His career high was when he scored 21 points against the Atlanta Hawks.

When asked what his backup career choice was, Olynyk said, “I always wanted to be a chef. I always wanted to go into culinary arts. So maybe that. But I took accounting at Gonzaga, so probably the busi-ness side of sports.”

Olynyk gave advice for aspiring student athletes: “There’s going to be adversity everywhere in life, whether it’s on the court, off the court, in the classroom. It’s not how you get hit with adversity it’s how you respond. Do you get back up?

Does it make you stronger or does it shut you down?

“Things are going to go well, things are going to go bad, but you’re never as good as people say and you’re never as bad as people say. You’re somewhere in that mid-dle and trying to improve every day.”

His parents, both involved in basketball, are the reason Olynyk pursued the sport.

“It was kind of cool to have both of them there so excited about the game of basketball. It was definite-ly something that really impacted my decision to play.

“When you’re younger you want to do stuff to make your parents proud, and that was something that they loved,” Olynyk said.

The story of Olynyk’s career is not without its setbacks, however. Last year, he injured his back and ankle, but is hopeful going forward.

“You have to listen to your body to make sure you’re not breaking down. I’m healthy going into the season, so looking forward to a good year,” Olynyk said.

When asked what he would do while he was back in his home-town, Olynyk said he was going to visit his parents and family and try to relax and maybe grab some sushi.

“Oya Sushi, my favourite restau-rant. Gotta go there every time I come back,” he said.

But the real reason Olynyk came back was to support and speak at TRU’s athletic scholarship break-fast.

“It’s just a way to give back for me and give thanks to what they’ve done for me,” Olynyk said.

Tayla ScottSPORTS EDITOR Ω

With 12 kilometres already cov-ered and another nine to go, Ryan Pidhirniak saw the sole competitor in front of him disappear, taking a wrong turn and going off-course. Not long after, more competition came from behind, but Pidhirniak stuck it out.

He won the 2014 Kamloops Half Marathon with a time of 1:19:15.

“It was kind of my flagship race for the year. It was the one I had circled on the calendar,” Pidhirniak said.

Pidhirniak, a third-year business student at TRU, is pleased with the progress he has made over the year as a runner.

“I must have run over ten races this year, so from January until that race I’ve just been running and training for all sorts of races,” he said.

Pidhirniak also won the Mer-ritt Country Run this year, another 21-kilometre race, with a time of 1:24:35.

Running is a huge part of Pidhir-niak’s life. He is the vice president of Kamloops Ridge Runners, a local running club. He is also the captain

of the men’s WolfPack cross-coun-try running team. All of that run-ning put has put a lot of stress on his body.

“I just developed some IT band issues, which are very common with runners. It’s a typical overuse inju-ry. It came on in August and I ran a race in Revelstoke which I prob-ably shouldn’t have, because it was sort of bugging me. That hurt. It was hard to get through the 21-kilome-tre trail race with that bugging me,” he said.

“For a few days I couldn’t really walk up and down the stairs.”

The injury kept Pidhirniak from running for four weeks, which he said made him stir crazy.

“Yesterday was my first pain-free run, so I definitely turned a corner in this last week,” he said.

“It’s been hard as a captain to not be there running with the team. I’m there every morning at the start of practice and then they go off on their run and I hit the pool or hit the weights or the bike.”

But the injury hasn’t discouraged his passion for running in the slight-est.

“We have a trip to Western Wash-ington University, where I hope to make my season debut with the team.

“It’s a real cross country race, whereas the races that we’ll be run-ning locally are trail races and the competition isn’t really up to our lev-el. It’s just a way to gear up for na-tionals.”

The WolfPack cross country team will compete on Nov. 8 in the CIS Nationals at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

“It’s our first time at the CIS level. We’ll be competing against runners that will represent Canada. We’ll get a taste of what CIS is all about,” Pidhirniak said.

But he doesn’t plan on stopping there. He hopes to compete in the Boston Marathon.

“I qualified for the Boston Mara-thon last year. You have to run under three hours and five minutes if you’re 20 to 34 years of age. I won’t be able to go this year just because it’s an ex-pensive trip to Boston,” he said.

“I intend to run under three hours next year at the Vancouver Mara-thon, and I intend to do an Ironman [triathlon]... I also have my eyes on Ultrarunning, which is anything over 50 kilometres.

“I really love running and Kam-loops is a great running community. I really want to be a part of that for years to come.”

Tayla ScottSPORTS EDITOR Ω

NBA player Kelly Olynyk speaks at TRU’s first annual scholarship breakfast Olynyk made a special trip home for the event, which raised $100,000 for WolfPack scholarships

Runaholic Ryan Pidhirniak won’t be stopped

Kelly Olynyk and TRU president Alan Shaver pose for a photo during Olynyk’s visit to the university. (Thompson Rivers University)

Ryan Pidhirniak won the 2014 Kamloops Half Marathon and is the cap-tain of the WolfPack cross-country team. (Tayla Scott/The Omega)

WolfPack cross-country captain talks recent success, setbacks and future plans

September 3, 201412