Download - June 24, 2015

Transcript

Volume 24 – Issue 29 – SUMMER EDITION www.truomega.ca Ω @TRU_Omega June 24, 2015

Car share co-op names TRU as potential location, p. 6

Local First Nation band had a role in final TRC reportImplementation of TRC recommendations the next step, more action coming, p. 5

Riding for mental health awareness, p. 4

GRADUATION SEASONGraduates celebrate at spring convocation, p. 2

DESIGNED OUTUniversity ceases enrollment for Digital Arts and Design program, p. 2

2 June 24, 2015NEWS

Now not only TRU alumni, but Omega alumni, too.

Congratulations to last year’s arts editor Kim Anderson (top), news editor Alexis Stockford (right), sci-tech editor Ryan Turcot and sports editor Tayla Scott.

“I’m done!”

Congratulations to all of those celebrating their graduation and moving on.

Former TRUSU president Dylan Robinson and Dean of Students Christine Adam (left)

Photos courtesy of TRU. For more, visit:www.flickr.com/thompsonrivers

After 29 years, the university has stopped offering the Digital Art and Design (DAAD) diploma program beginning this fall.

“Two years ago there was se-vere decline in applications and enrolments for first year students. That’s what triggered us to rethink this,” said Tom Dickinson, TRU’s dean of science and interim pro-vost and vice-president academic.

Troy Welch, an instructor in the program since the 1995-96 school year, had similar information. Too few students were applying and enrolling in the program for it to make economic sense to continue, he said.

The last cohort only had seven students, Welch said. “It ’s hard to argue that the resources are being well used with numbers like those.”

A full first-year class would have consisted of 36 students.

Dickinson said that with the decrease in applications and en-rolments and a faculty member retiring, it was the right time to rethink what was to happen to the program, as the cost was high and efforts to increase the number of students were not working.

“Upon further investigation, it turned out there is a lot of com-petition in B.C., with places like Emily Carr University and private institutions,” Dickinson said.

While the program is not ac-tually officially closed, students can no longer graduate with a diploma in digital design. Rath-er, some classes have been moved over to the faculty of Journalism, Communications and New Media, along with former DAAD instruc-

tor, Colleen Foucault.“Especially classes like digital

photography will be a valuable tool,” Dickinson said.

Welch, who will be taking on a position with Open Learning next year, noted low application num-bers all across the university’s pro-grams, but also attributed the low enrollment numbers in the DAAD program to the fact that the pro-gram needed to be revamped.

The program started with broadcast graphics, moved into desktop publishing and then web design. Now, Welch said, the pro-gram would have needed to be completely redesigned, but that it was not important enough for the university.

“I don’t know if the develop-ment of a new program in that area is an institutional priority, but there’s certainly a huge market for it,” he said.

Kevin Murray, a 2014 graduate of the program, agreed that the program was becoming outdated. In an email he wrote, “We did pay for an education, we paid for those classes, but we shouldn’t have been left to fend for ourselves when it came to learning something as big as web design,” speaking about one particular class he felt lacked fo-cus.

He also wrote that he wonders “about the value of a diploma in a program that the school discarded not even a year later.”

Curtis Bateson graduated from the DAAD program in 2012. He had a similar opinion.

“It’s kind of disappointing that the school is shutting down the program and now all of our di-plomas are all from a non-existent program, but in our field it ’s not about what you did, it ’s about what

you can do.”Dickinson says the program is

“not actually closed,” but rather undergoing change.

“We need to re-evaluate and see what the job market needs for 2020,” he said. “We want to target specific niches that are more rele-vant to the jobs that exist in design in this day and age.”

While the university looks to the future to see what students need, those who have graduated are looking back.

David DiFrancesco, a professor who has been with the program from its beginning, is retiring. Past students named him as the high-light of their time in the program.

Lorelle Kjarsgaard, a 2013 grad, called him the “pillar” of the pro-gram and said he was a huge in-spiration.

“I learned to really not sacrifice my own personality and identity to get a job. Just to really stay true to what I want to do and to work really hard,” she said.

Bateson said, “The thing that made the DAAD program unique was learning from David DiFran-cesco… he pushed me to do my best, always letting me know when he knew I could do better.”

Murray wrote that even after 25 years of teaching, DiFrancesco was “still very passionate not only about teaching, but also about

design. He still did design work outside of class, which meant that he was keeping his thumb on the pulse of what was happening in the world.”

Last year, first-year intake was suspended, so the program only consisted of second year students, most of whom are now graduated, Welch said. Some students have a few classes left to finish, which they can complete this coming year.

Dickinson said the program is still in the books and can be re-opened eventually.

“It ’s a work in progress, but I’m sure it will come back with a focus on digital design and web design.”

Jessica Messerer-TrosinCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Low numbers end digital design programDigital art has been designed out of TRU’s program offerings – for now

Lorelle Kjarsgaard is a 2014 graduate of the program who had good things to say about DAAD professor David DiFrancesco. (Jessica Messerer-Trosin/The Omega)

Congratulations to all spring convocation graduates!

3The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 29

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

CONTRIBUTORS

NEWS EDITOR

ISSUES EDITOR

ARTS EDITOR

SCI-TECH EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

Sean Brady@[email protected]

Cameron DohertyJim ElliotJessica Messerer-TrosinWade Tomko

VACANT

PUBLISHING BOARDEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

INDUSTRY REP

FACULTY REP

STUDENT REP

Sean Brady

Christopher Foulds

Charles Hays

Kim Anderson

Mason Buettner

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:

[email protected]

PUBLISHING

/tru_omega

OPINION

For many post-secondary stu-dents, this will be the first federal election where they’re eligible to vote. Four years ago, in 2011, many now-eligible post-secondary stu-dents were still in high school.

As parliament goes on its sum-mer break, it might already be a bit late to start paying attention. If you haven’t been keeping a close eye on the news, you’ve got a bit of reading to do before politicians truly launch into campaign mode and begin re-telling the most self-serving ver-sions of their own parliamentary history. But really, it’s never too late to start paying attention.

Let’s face it: policy is really bor-ing. It’s words on a page, sound-bites on the radio, politicians in

media scrums on TV and politi-cians grandstanding in the House of Commons. When you pay at-tention to the upcoming campaign, you’re going to hear the same thing you don’t care about over and over again. But if you keep listening after that, you might hear about something that will affect your life – maybe even for the better. And it’s those bits of information that you should use to make your deci-sion in October.

An example? Alberta’s recent-ly-elected NDP government just introduced Bill 3, a piece of legis-lation that would freeze tuition for two years and undo the last round of increases. The result is that for the first time in most students’ lives, they won’t be paying more tu-ition than they did the year before.

But of course, those changes are made under a provincial mandate,

and the feds aren’t so hands on when it comes to how universi-ties behave. Nonetheless, there are policy changes for universities on the books in some federal parties. Policy discussions revolve around making post-secondary more ac-cessible, keeping quality high and managing student debt loads. The NDP has the most post-second-ary-related policy on the books at this point, but expect to see each party dip its toes into the pool of students before the fall. Which leads me to my next point: pander-ing.

In the past year or so, various parties have, at times, been accused of campaigning when they should be governing. With Parliament now in its summer recess, we can expect to see the level of cam-paigning really take off, especially with all three major parties polling

about the same. They’re coming for you, and you should be prepared. What’s it going to take? Just some critical thinking and a healthy dose of skepticism. You’re a university student, so you’ve probably got that down pat.

Every party has its target: the Conservatives will go for your par-ents and grandparents, while the Liberals and the NDP will cast a bit of a wider net, but will fight over the bigger catch. Either way, expect to be pandered to and don’t base your decision solely on what each party has told you. Look at how they have behaved over the past four years, too.

We’re at the starting line right now. If you want to make an in-formed decision, make sure you watch the race from the beginning. It’s going to be a good one.

[email protected]

If marriage plays a role that can be replaced by other things, it seems that we might not need it anymore.

When the institution of mar-riage was originally created, it performed a necessary function in society. Since then, our values have changed to a point where many of those needs have vanished — chil-dren no longer need the legitima-cy of wedlock to inherit family property, women can work outside the home and wages are such that women are no longer economically dependent on men.

If there is any function left for marriage, it would be creating a healthy environment to raise chil-dren. However, marriage isn’t even required to do that. To use anec-dotal evidence, my parents sepa-rated when I was 12 and while it was initially upsetting, I knew it was for the best — they couldn’t stand each other.

Despite living apart, they were still able to maintain the most im-portant thing for raising well-ad-justed children: stability. My parents were both determined to create a stable environment for

me and my siblings and while my childhood was not ideal, I always knew that come Friday at 5 p.m., I would be switching houses for the week.

Not every divorce works out that well for the children, but it seems possible that parents who are truly committed to their child’s well-being can create a healthy environment even without being together. If you or your potential spouse couldn’t create a stable en-vironment after a divorce, then maybe you shouldn’t be having kids in the first place.

Childrearing aside, the main reason people get married now-adays is for love. A wedding is simply a public declaration of love. However, despite marriage being seen as the be-all-end-all in this area, there may be stronger ave-nues for expressing that love.

A couple years ago there was a show on TV called Whitney. The main character was in a long-term relationship but refused to get married so that her and her part-ner always knew they were togeth-er solely because they were actively choosing to be.

Deciding to be with someone every day for the rest of your life can be just as powerful as marriage — if not more so than exchanging

vows. You don’t need marriage to have a strong bond with another person.

Beyond marriage no longer hav-ing an actual purpose, is legally binding yourself to someone for the rest of your life even realis-tic? People can change immensely in five years — let alone over the course of their whole lives. What if you or your spouse simply grow into someone who is incompatible with the other? The divorce rate in Canada fluctuates between 30 and 40 per cent and infidelity does not cause all of these instances.

Given the potential for two peo-ple to grow apart, marriage puts an extra strain on a couple when it ’s clear that the relationship is end-ing. When you swear an oath to love someone forever in front of a crowd of people, it puts a lot of pressure on you to try to make the relationship work. Which isn’t al-ways a bad thing — but there are some relationships that cannot be saved and trying to do so anyway is stressful.

Wouldn’t it be much less chaot-ic to date someone for a very long time and if you realize you’re no longer suited for each other, you can just go your separate ways? Divorce brings in lawyers, division of assets and some very bitter feel-

ings.Also, it seems cruel that di-

vorce is seen as a failure when some people sacrifice so much just to avoid it. What’s wrong with dating someone for sever-al years and making an unofficial commitment? If this arrangement becomes no longer agreeable, then you can choose to split with mini-mal legal hassle.

It ’s possible that we might all be better off if the main goal wasn’t “forever and always,” but perhaps “for as long as we’re both happy together.” This isn’t to say I’m in any way against a lifelong com-mitted relationship, but it only seems reasonable if you actually do want to be with that person every day for the rest of your life.

The very existence of no-fault divorce has made wedding vows essentially meaningless. Although they’re certainly well-intentioned, given that if you change your mind you can get divorced with as little hassle as you choose takes quite a lot of credibility out of vows.

Of course, there are certainly more variables present than what I’ve described. That being said, it seems that marriage in its current form is overdue for a critical ex-amination, especially if it ’s doing us all more harm than good.

Sean BradyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ω

Monica GordonTHE SHEAF (CUP)

Don’t wait until October to choose how to vote

Has marriage outlived its purpose?

It’s time to start paying attention to politics, if you haven’t been already

$950.00 to attend the Skills Canada National Competition on May 27-30, 2015.

Full meeting minutes can be found on TRUSU’s website available at: www.trusu.ca/governance/meetings/board.

Upcoming TRUSU board meetings: June 30, July 14, July 28, August 11, August 25.

During the summer months, The Omega moves from its weekly publication schedule to a monthly one. Look for new issues on the stands on the following dates:

July 22 – August 26Weekly papers will return on Sept. 9.

UNION BUSINESS

SUMMER PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Grant applications approved by TRUSU – May 5, 2015

4 June 24, 2015NEWS

On June 21, the third annual Ride Don’t Hide bike ride took place in Kamloops. The ride, put on by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kamloops branch, as well as a committee of volunteers, aimed to both raise funds to help peo-ple dealing with mental health is-sues as well as raise awareness about just how prevalent mental health is-sues are in Canada.

The ride be-gan in Centennial Park in Westsyde and followed the Thompson River south before loop-ing back to the park.

The event has been growing ex-ponentially, ac-cording to CMHA property and office manager Shelley Trudeau, who is also an organizer for the event.

“The first year we had 40 rid-ers, second year we had 80 riders and this year we are expecting 150 riders,” she said.

Over $12,000 was raised by the Kamloops Ride Don’t Hide cam-paign this year.

The idea of using a bike ride as way to raise awareness about men-tal health issues began with one man, Michael Schratter. In 2010,

the elementary school teacher liv-ing in Vancouver rode more than 40,000 km around the world to raise awareness about mental ill-ness in the hopes of eradicating the stigma often associated with it. Upon arriving back in Van-couver, Schratter partnered with the B.C. division of the CMHA in Vancouver and started the first Ride Don’t Hide event.

“It was so successful that they reached out to other branches in

B.C. to see if they would be inter-ested in putting on a Ride Don’t Hide event in their community,” Trudeau said.

Kamloops was one of the branches that showed interest.

For volunteer Ingrid Pfeiffer, Ride Don’t Hide is very person-al event. Pfeiffer lost her son 12 years ago, only six months after he had been diagnosed with schizo-phrenia.

“There’s so many other [events]

out there … but there really has never been anything for mental health, so that ’s our big thing, just to raise the awareness and to let people let go of that stigma.”

By raising awareness, Pfeiffer hopes that those struggling with mental illness will be able to not be ashamed, to “say it out loud.”

One in five Canadians suffer from some form of mental illness in their lifetime. It makes sense then that the ride and Michael

Schratters’ impact would not just be limited to B.C., but would spread further afield.

On June 21, there were rides taking place in four separate prov-inces across Can-ada, all of them with the same determination to raise money as well as awareness.

“Across Cana-da, our numbers right now are at

$750,000,” Trudeau said, just short of their target of $1 mil-lion.”

Christa Haywood-Farmer, an-other volunteer, led the 10 km portion of the bike ride on Sun-day and spoke to why the event was important to her.

“Every one of us is affected by mental illness, whether it ’s personally or through family or friends. This is a really great way to support them.”

Cameron DohertyCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Ride Don’t Hide: bikes out for mental healthCMHA-organized event expected as many as 150 riders this year

Riders seen along the Thompson River during the 2015 Ride Don’t Hide event to promote awareness of mental health and the stigma against it. The Kamloops CMHA was expecting as many as 150 riders this year. (Cameron Doherty/The Omega)

“Every one of us is affected by mental illness, whether it’s personally or through family or friends. This is a really great way to support them.”

Christa Haywood-Farmer, Ride Don’t Hide volunteer

COMMUNITY EVENT CALENDAR

BC’s Strongest Man 2015Saturday, June 27Big-O Tires (North Shore)

This year, the strongmen are after the Rob Medves Memorial Trophy. The event is being held in memoriam of Rob and will be collecting donations for the Kamloops Food Bank.

Andrew Hood: The CausewaySaturday, June 27 to Sept. 5Kamloops Art Gallery

Curator’s Choice: the work of a TRU alumni presented at the Kamloops Art Gallery. BFA grad Andrew Hood describes his work as “conceptual constellations that examine myth-making potential of objects and images.”

Kamloops Wine Trail Open HouseSaturday, June 27Various open houses (see kamloopswinetrail.com)

The Kamloops Wine Trail is now a thing! Four wineries (Harpers Trail, Monte Creek Ranch, Privato and Sagewood) will be hosting open houses from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. How many can you make it to? Drink responsibly!

Canada Day CelebrationsWednesday, July 1Riverside Park (see tourismkamloops.com)

Celebrate Canada Day starting at 7 a.m. with the Brock Lions Club pancake breakfast. From there, tour Riverside Park and experience the KAC’s Art in the Park and Performing Stage in between visits to the Kamloops Multicultural Society’s ethnic food and culture displays. In the evening, stay for the music at the Rotary bandshell. If you last all day, you’ll even make it to the fireworks, which start at 10:30 p.m.

Music in the Park: HIJACKEDFriday, July 10-11Riverside Park, Rotary Bandshell

BC Living Arts has taken over. And it’s a good thing, too, since they’ll be bringing Van Damsel, The Caspians, Gleneagle Band and Spencer/Jameswolf to the stage, and also featuring tributes to Joni Mitchell, Leonhard Cohen, Neil Young and more. Events start at 6 p.m., which is a good time to hit the food trucks that will be at the event.

Project X Theatre presents: X-Fest 2015Friday, July 13 to August 1Prince Charles Park

With daily performances Monday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m., there will be plenty of opportunities to take in some theatre in the park. This year’s shows will be The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and The Shakespeare Show. New this year are matinees, scheduled for July 18 and 25 at 3:30 p.m.

5The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 29 NEWS

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) presented its summary report in June after seven years of investigation and deliberation. The commission’s stated goal was to create “sincere indication and acknowledgement of the injustices and harms experi-enced by Aborigi-nal people and the need for continued healing.”

The commis-sion’s findings are especially relevant in Kamloops, both because of its large First Nations com-munity and be-cause it was home to one of Canada’s residential schools. The Kamloops Residential School operated from 1893 to 1977. The commission’s report states that what took place at residential schools “constituted an assault on Aboriginal children, families and culture.” The result, according to the commission, is intergenera-tional harm to the First Nations community and culture.

The Tk’emlúps band played an important role in helping the TRC reach its conclusion. In May 2013, commission chair Murray Sinclair held a hearing that gave residential school survivors and their families an opportunity to have their voices heard and their stories recorded.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is another step in

the ongoing process of making amends. The government be-gan implementing a settlement agreement for residential school students in 2007, and Prime Min-ister Harper issued an official apology in 2008.

One score that has not been settled yet is that of the resi-

dential school day scholars. Day scholars are the students who at-tended the residential schools but returned home to their families at night. On the heels of the TRC’s report, the Tk’emlúps, in partner-ship with the Sechelt band are launching a class action suit on behalf of residential school day scholars nationwide.

“The abuses suffered by day scholars were simi-lar enough to other residential school students that they also deserve com-pensation,” said Kamloops band councillor Katy Gottfriedson, the por t fo l i o-ho lde r for the day schol-ars’ suit.

G o t t f r i e d s o n also said that the day scholars repre-sented by the suit also suffered the unique trauma of

being resented by their peers who had to stay at the school over-night. Gottfriedson said that the TRC’s findings will be important to the lawsuit because their argu-ments will almost certainly incor-porate the commission’s findings.

All groups involved seem to agree that reconciliation and ed-ucation are priorities.

“The government has made strides recently by including an Aboriginal focus for K-12 curric-ulum. What the general public is not aware of is that the last fed-erally funded Residential School was in 1996,” said Bernard Gil-bert, Secwepemc Nation member and project manager professional student at TRU.

“During my undergrad studies I was oblivious to the impact of the aboriginal population eradi-cation. It was estimated that 90% of the aboriginal population was decimated post-colonial contact,” Gilbert said.

Along with better education about the history of First Nations

people in Canada, many feel that efforts should be made to reclaim the cultural elements that were damaged by residential schools. First Nations graduate student Alexa Manuel summed up the importance of her family’s culture to her:

“I have heard many of my Ab-original peers and classmates throughout university lament their family’s loss of culture, and have witnessed the results of this loss,” she wrote via email.

“I was raised knowing both

Syilx and St ’at ’imc cultures, as taught by my parents. I learned about ceremonial practices early in life ... and carry a deep un-derstanding of their healing and teaching properties. I know what it is to be close to my culture, and it is difficult to imagine my life without it.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s findings will give national direction to the numer-ous local efforts to make amends for the horrors of the residential school system.

For the first time in history, students at the University of Sas-katchewan will be able to obtain certificates in Indigenous languages beginning in the fall of 2015.

This development is a collabora-tion between the College of Edu-cation and the College of Arts and Science, and signals a commitment to preserving and promoting First Nations, Métis and Inuit culture at the U of S. A formal memorandum of understanding has been signed between the colleges, each offering its own unique learning opportuni-ties.

The College of Education will offer an Indigenous language cer-tificate starting in September. As

a two-year 10-course program, the Indigenous language certificate will prepare students to teach Indige-nous languages in a variety of envi-ronments.

Chris Scribe, coordinator of the Indian Teacher Education Program and First Nations, Métis and Inu-it programming at the College of Education, speaks to the goals and impact of this addition.

“The aim of the ILC is to pro-vide teachers with the methodol-ogy, confidence and oral fluency of Indigenous languages specific to our traditional territories in which we live. There is no better place to revitalize language than in the class-room with our youth,” Scribe said.

Scribe also acknowledges the sig-nificance that the program holds for cultural preservation.

“We also hope to halt the loss of

Indigenous languages throughout the province by facilitating the con-nection between language speakers and those wanting to learn. The col-lege is honoured to have the oppor-tunity to contribute to this work.”

The program offered through the College of Education will initial-ly focus on Cree, with Michif and other Indigenous languages to be offered in the future. Enrollment will be open to current education students and postgraduate students who majored in either education or Indigenous studies. The Saskatch-ewan Ministry of Education also fully recognizes the program as a special qualification for teachers.

“This language certificate is a trailblazer for methodological and pedagogical Indigenous language revitalization. Our university is not only encouraging the revitalization

of Indigenous languages; we are cel-ebrating and honouring it with the recognition it deserves,” Scribe said.

The College of Arts and Science is working towards offering its own certificate of proficiency in Cree lan-guage as well. While the certificate is still in development, the program aims to be a five to 10-course certif-icate that can be taken separately or alongside any undergraduate degree at the U of S.

Between these two programs, Scribe believes that the U of S has strengthened its commitment to preserving Indigenous culture.

“Language is the heartbeat of In-digenous culture. It is the connec-tion to the Indigenous knowledge, traditional territories and Indige-nous ways of knowing,” Scribe said.

This connection to the past is an integral part of the Indigenous lan-

guage certificate program.“The literal Cree translation

for the word school [kiskinwa-hamâtowikamik] is ‘place where we go to cry.’ It was so named because of the cultural genocide imposed on Indigenous people through the resi-dential school era,” Scribe said.

Moreover, he insists that learning can also be a tool for healing and re-membrance.

“An elder gave some very wise words in regards to the influence of schools on Indigenous culture: he said, ‘Yes it is true that [residential] schools were responsible for the as-sault on our languages; however, if schools can do that much damage to us as a people, they also have the ability to bring it back and revitalize it.’ Powerful words and the guiding hope behind our language certifi-cate,” Scribe said.

Jim ElliotCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Emily KlattTHE SHEAF (CUP)

Local First Nation band had role in TRC reportNext steps are implementing recommendations, resolving day scholar class action suit

University of Saskatchewan expands Indigenous language options

The Kamloops Indian Residential School closed in 1977. By 1979, only 15 residential schools re-mained open in Canada. The last federally-run school closed in 1996. (Jim Elliot/The Omega)

Jim Elliot/The Omega

“I have heard many of my Aboriginal peers and classmates throughout university lament their family’s loss of culture, and have witnessed the results of this loss,”

Alexa Manuel, TRU graduate student

6 June 24, 2015NEWS

As part of the Films for Change film series put on by TRU’s de-partment of environment and sus-tainability, representatives from the Kamloops and Kelowna car share co-ops (InCar and OGO, respec-tively) hosted a showing of three short films about car sharing and the sharing economy.

InCar is currently looking to bring car sharing to TRU and Kam-loops by the end of summer. Mod-elling itself after sister company OGO, InCar aims to bring a fleet of at least four vehicles to its members later this year. Unlike OGO, which has had problems attracting UBCO students because of the university’s distance from the city, InCar be-lieves TRU’s location would be per-fect for those students who live on or around campus and rarely drive as is.

Members of InCar can book a vehicle any time, although it is sug-gested they do it in advance. They pay both by the hour and by the ki-

lometre, picking up a vehicle from a designated location in the city (many of which will be located near bus loops) and then going about their business. Once finished, the vehicle is returned to the original location. Most car share co-ops in-clude the price of insurance, main-tenance and fuel in their member-ship fees.

Although InCar is close to start-ing their car sharing program, they are currently only accepting appli-cations for businesses and those who want to become shareholding members. As it stands, the cost of a shareholding membership is $500 plus a $25 application fee. Dylan Houlihan, executive director of In-Car, said it may be a while before casual memberships are offered.

Casual memberships, when they’re offered, would cost $25 to apply with a $25 monthly fee. At InCar’s rates of $4 per hour plus 40 cents per kilometre driven, a stu-dent who drives 200 kilometres in 15 hours over the course of a month would pay $165. Comparatively, a student paying for car insurance ($150 per month), gas and parking

at TRU ($62.50 per month) is like-ly looking at more than $250 per month to keep and use their own car.

Christian Brandt, executive di-rector of OGO, admits, “It comes down to a matter of cost with stu-dents,” with memberships starting at $500, many students may shy away from InCar for this reason alone.

InCar also seeks to go where few car share co-ops have gone before. It plans to embrace Kamloops’ “truck culture” and offer pickup trucks as well.

Perhaps the greatest threat to In-Car is the size of Kamloops. Even though Kelowna is larger, Kam-loops is still not a small city. Those living in the greater Kamloops re-gion would find it difficult to access vehicles in more remote or subur-

ban areas of the city such as Juni-per Ridge, Aberdeen and Bachelor Heights. Students without vehicles in these areas would probably find the public transit already in place more economical.

Although car sharing at UBCO was not as big a success as originally hoped for, Brandt said that OGO is negotiating with the UBCO student union to bring further car sharing to campus and that there are currently nine students who use the service.

Houlihan believes there is a chance for greater success at TRU than UBCO, but is still opting to take it slow.

“If there is a demand for two cars, then we’ll look into it. If there is a demand for five vehicles at TRU, we’ll look into it. We just don’t want to grow too quickly,” he said.

Although it may be a tough sell

to local students who already own vehicles, those living on and around campus, especially international students, may find car sharing use-ful.

TRU student Matt Greenwood can’t see why the student union here wouldn’t want to get on board.

“They could work out a discount and sign on students and faculty,” he said.

Greenwood was one of the first students to call for car sharing at TRU.

“I was pushing really hard for a broader-based opening,” he said. His original suggestion was “to have a fleet of a bunch of older, used cars which could be utilized by a lot more people. They could be sta-tioned at the city’s main bus loops at TRU, Lansdowne and the North Shore.”

Growing up, summer was by far the best time of year. With no school, and therefore no responsibilities, days were spent outside riding bikes, swimming, or doing pretty much whatever it was we felt like doing.

Then we grew up and somehow without our noticing it, summer transformed into one of the most stressful times of year for students.

To an outsider, summer may seem like a break from the hectic life of a student, with exams out of the way and many of us taking a break from courses until September — but in re-ality, it can be almost as anxiety-filled as the school year. The pressure of schoolwork may not be present, but it has been replaced with the pressure of summer jobs, internships, co-ops, and the stress of trying frantically to save enough money for the upcoming year while still being able to afford to take that road trip with friends and attend at least one music festival.

This perfectly describes my first summer as a student. I was expect-ing summer to be the same as it was during high school — a time to hang out at the beach with friends and do pretty much nothing more than that — but it turned out to be drastically different. I got my first real internship and instead of spending my days at the lake, I was cooped up in an office praying to God that I was working hard enough to get a good reference.

There was also the added pressure of saving money. As a full-time stu-dent, working more than part-time is not an option during the school year, at least not if you’re trying to keep your grades up. This meant that I had the summer to save enough money to pay for the upcoming year’s tui-tion. It was either that or get student loans — which I did not qualify for because my parents earned more than StudentAid BC thought parents of a student needing financial aid should earn, even though asking my parents to help me out with tuition was not an option.

Because of this, my entire sum-

mer was spent budgeting and barely spending any money on anything other than gas to drive to work. The anxiety only increased when my car broke down during the summer and I had to spend nearly two weeks’ wages to fix it — a lot when your summer job is only 12 weeks long.

Although everything ended up working out, that was one of the most stressful summers of my life. Yes, I had saved enough money for the up-coming year and had scored a great reference, I had spent four months of my year completely full of anxiety — the opposite of what summer should be.

This summer, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall into the same situation. I was much pickier in my job search and rather than taking the job which offered the most money and hours, I settled for a summer job that would still allow me to save for tuition, but didn’t force me to spend my entire summer in an office. As a re-sult, I now have time to enjoy my summer the way it should be enjoyed, with a few road trips and concerts, but while

still working and earning money. While I may not be earning as

much money as I did last summer, and my job may not look as impressive on my resume, the reduced amount of stress and anxiety has made it com-pletely worth it and I know that when I start courses again in the fall, I will be returning from a relaxing summer

and not a stressful one, and I know it will be worth it.

So while working this summer and frantically trying to save enough money for the upcoming year, re-member that it is summer after all, and it wouldn’t be summer without a few camping trips and beach days. I’ll take those over anxiety any day.

Wade TomkoCONTRIBUTOR Ω

Vanessa BroadbentTHE CASCADE (CUP)

Car share co-op names TRU campus as potential location

Co-ops and campfiresLearning to balance the responsibilities of summer without having a nervous breakdown

The Interior CarShare Co-operative is making inroads in bringing car sharing to Kamloops, and TRU

InCar was at TRU on May 27 as part of TRU’s department of environment and sustainability film series “Films for Change.” (Wade Tomko/The Omega)

City councillor Donovan Cavers addresses an audience at TRU. (Wade Tomko/The Omega)

Mark Roy/Flickr Commons

7The Omega Ω Volume 24 • Issue 29 NEWS

Date Location Matchup

Aug. 20 Home *UNBCAug. 22 Home *DouglasAug. 23 Home *LangaraSept. 12 Home TWUSept. 13 Home UFVSept. 25 Away UBCSept. 26 Away UVicOct. 2 Away TWUOct. 3 Away UFVOct. 17 Home UBCOct. 18 Home UVicOct. 24 Home UNBCOct. 25 Home UNBCOct. 31 TBA Qtf finalsNov. 7 TBA Final 4Nov. 12 Toronto Finals

Men WomenWomenSOCCER

WolfPack 2015-16 ScheduleVOLLEYBALL BASKETBALL

MenDate Location Matchup

Oct. 16 Away UofAOct. 17 Away UofAOct. 23 Home MacEwanOct. 24 Home MacEwanOct. 30 Home UofCOct. 31 Home UofCNov. 6 Away U WinnipegNov. 7 Away U WinnipegNov. 13 Home Brandon UNov. 14 Home Brandon UNov. 27 Away UBC-ONov. 28 Away UBC-OJan. 8 Away Mt. RoyalJan. 9 Away Mt. RoyalJan. 15 Home U Sask.Jan. 16 Home U Sask.Jan. 22 Away U ReginaJan. 23 Away U ReginaJan. 29 Home U ManitobaJan. 30 Home U ManitobaFeb. 5 Away UBCFeb. 6 Away UBCFeb. 12 Home TWUFeb. 13 Home TWUFeb. 26 TBA Qtr finalsMar. 4 TBA Final fourMar. 11 Brandon Nationals

Date Location Matchup

Sept. 4 Home *UofCSept. 12 Home UofASept. 13 Home UNBCSept. 18 Away UFVSept. 19 Away TWUSept. 26 Home UVicSept. 27 Home UBCOct. 3 Away U ManitobaOct. 4 Away U WinnipegOct. 9 Away UBC-OOct. 10 Home UBC-OOct. 17 Home Mt. RoyalOct. 18 Home MacEwanOct. 23 Home UofAOct. 25 Home UNBCOct. 31 TBA Qtr finalsNov. 5 TBA Final 6Nov. 13 UBC FInals

* Denotes exhibition game

Date Location Matchup

On June 1, Waterloo’s regional newspaper, The Record, published an article after Justice Elliot Al-len criticized Wilfrid Laurier University for their handling of a sexual assault case, allowing a stu-dent to continue his studies at the school while facing sexual assault allegations against a fellow female student.

The victim, who remains un-identified, found her perpetra-tor, Adam Hughes, in her dorm room the morning after a night of drinking in January 2013.

Hughes has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars and three years on probation.

“Wilfrid Laurier University was apparently more concerned with the welfare of Mr. Hughes than that of his victim,” the judge told the court.

On June 2, Laurier released a statement responding to the news report. The university said they “upheld conditions of the perpe-trators release from police custody after he was charged, including that he have no contact with the survivor and he be removed from her residence.”

On June 4, Laurier published a second press release asserting that ongoing support was extended to the survivor of the sexual assault case.

“Every effort is made to be sup-portive and sensitive to the needs of the survivor while also consid-ering the fundamental legal prin-ciple that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the press release said.

According to the release, 28 months passed between the as-sault and the conviction of the perpetrator in court. During that time, Hughes continued to work on campus and finish his studies.

Helen Ramirez, a contract aca-

demic staff in women and gender studies, has been hearing stories of sexual assault on campus for years. According to a study done by the CBC in February 2015, Laurier reported 11 incidents of sexual assault from 2009 to 2013.

“We have risen all of our con-cerns with the administration over many, many years trying to get the administration more active-ly engaged in doing something, but also change is very slow,” said Ramirez.

Laurier’s dean of students, Le-anne Holland Brown, said there are a series of steps once a stu-dent becomes a victim of violence. The school must review Laurier’s non-academic code of conduct, which elaborates on what the pro-cess would look like once a stu-dent proceeds with a complaint.

“The first and most import-ant step is to make sure that the victim or the survivor, depending on what kind of context you’re talking about, gets the immediate support that they need,” Brown said.

Brown explained the victim would get personal and academic support, as well as required ser-vices in or outside the university.

“[We] really focus our attention on what the survivor needs for personal success, academic success and overall wellness,” said Brown.

If the victim requests the per-petrator to be dealt with, Drew Piticco, student conduct admin-istrator, will begin the code of conduct process based on all the information reviewed from both parties. Results differ and can in-clude expulsion from the univer-sity.

The university can demand co-ordinated access to the school, such as restricted time to the li-brary and classes, if both the vic-tim and perpetrator remain on campus.

In her victim impact statement, the female victim explained there

were a couple of encounters with her attacker on campus despite at-tempts to keep them apart while the case was ongoing.

“I never got anxious before this and now I do a lot,” the young woman wrote in a victim impact statement. “I’m always scared I will see him.”

“I think that in terms of uni-versity, we need to be … held ac-countable,” said Ramirez. “What the judge said was right that this student, after experiencing a rape, should not have had to walk the hallways and around campus wondering whether or not her safety once again was at risk and that this other person had the right to just carry on as per usual without any kind of accountabili-ty or responsibility directed by the university.”

The Wilfrid Laurier Universi-ty Students’ Union has said they are committed to bringing more awareness to gendered violence. The Students’ Union joined the gendered violence steering com-mittee, an idea that came out of the Gendered Violence Task Force.

“We have working groups on it surrounding policies, survivors rights, education, training, aware-ness and communication,” said Olivia Matthews, Student Union’s president, chief executive officer and student representative of the steering committee.

According to Matthews, the Students’ Union plans to train first-year students on sexual vi-olence, awareness and consent during Orientation Week this fall.

“When we start with first-year students they’re going to learn that and they’re going to keep learning that we have a zero-tol-erance policy for it.”

Along with Laura Bassett, vice-president of university affairs and Chris Hyde, director of pol-icy, research and advocacy, Mat-thews appeared before the Select

Committee on Sexual Violence from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on May 20. The Union is currently advocating for Laurier to be one of the first universities in Ontario to release a direct pol-icy around sexual assault and ha-rassment, including a survivor’s rights section.

“Enough is enough — we’re ready to deal with this and we’re ready to be a part of the change with the university”, said Mat-thews.

Ginette Lafrenière, associate professor in the faculty of social work, believes there needs to be a shift in how students deal with sexual violence on campus.

“This is not going to happen in four days, it ’s not going to happen because a judge said [Laurier] did a terrible job — this is going to take years and years of hard work before we actually have a change

of cultural and organizational change within the context of our university,” said Lafrenière.

Andrea Gunraj, communica-tions specialist of Toronto’s Met-ropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), believes post-secondary campuses should review their own policies and practices and examine its benefits with students, staff and security systems. Gunraj said policies may be in place, but response lacks when it comes to actually dealing with sexual assault.

“This is a thing that a lot of the times may not be on cam-puses, they might have policies and practices but not training on what those policies and practices are and what somebody could do if they were assaulted and what everybody’s responsibilities are,” said Gunraj.

Kaitlyn SeverinTHE CORD (CUP)

Evaluating Laurier’s response to sexual assaultHow Wilfrid Laurier University handled a 2013 sexual assault incident on campus

Andreas Patsiaouros/The Cord

WomenMenDate Location Matchup

Nov. 6 Away UNBCNov. 7 Away UNBCNov. 13 Away UofANov. 14 Away UofANov. 20 Home MacEwanNov. 21 Home MacEwanNov. 27 Home UFVNov. 28 Home UFVJan. 8 Away UBCOJan. 9 Away UBCOJan. 15 Away MacEwanJan. 16 Away MacEwanJan. 22 Home Mt. RoyalJan. 23 Home Mt. RoyalFeb. 5 Home UNBCFeb. 6 Home UNBCFeb. 12 Away UFVFeb. 13 Away UFVFeb. 19 Home UBCOFeb. 20 Home UBCOFeb. 26 TBA Play-in SeriesMar. 4 TBA QuarterfinalsMar. 11 TBA Final 4May 17 UNB Finals

Date Location Matchup