nexus oct. 1/08, 19-3
TRANSCRIPT
BuiLDiNg BooMcamosun college in planning stages of a $68 million centre for health and Wellness.
oN LocAtioNcamosun on the walk to fame? hollywood knocks on the doors of bc post-secondary schools.
greeN cLeANiNgdon’t put that down the sink! green alternatives for household cleaning products are revealed.
Volume 19 Issue 3October 1, 2008
NeWs—3 LiFe—7 Arts—11
Camosun’s Student Voice Since 1990
Photo: courtney broughtonPhoto: courtney broughton
WHAT’ S IN THE CARDS for students this federal election?Platforms and predictions
Pages 8-9 Drawing: Adrian Binakaj
October 1, 20082
OCD no laughing matter
I am in agreement with Sheila Porteous’ stance on the Obsessive-Compulsive Discorder (OCD) action figure being sold in the Camosun
bookstore.The makers of this product may be “a group
of people who have obsessive compulsive traits,” but they have meshed the traits of the fun-loving, anal-retentive neat freak with people who are crippled by OCD.
Think of the psychological pain of late billion-aire Howard Hughes, who is mentioned on the back of the package as being a famous Obsessive Compulsive (what an honour, eh?).
This item is a slap in the face to a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. As someone with OCD, I can attest to this.
The creators of this product claim to be quite aware of the differences between being obsessive-compulsive and having Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
However, I feel the OCD movement is not understood well enough by indiscriminate con-sumers who are able to look at this silly toy and distinguish it from the man with the chapped and bleeding hands from repeated washing, or the woman with the illogical fear of catching AIDS in the most unlikely of places.
This OCD action fi gure does poke fun at a
serious disorder and is just mocking people trying to manage their OCD who are desperately trying to get over the stigma that has been associated with this particular condition for far too long.
roger youNgCAMOSUN STUDENT
Bookstore action- fi gure controversy continues
As a student of Camosun College, I am proud of the fact that we are a diverse community that is respectful of other cultures. However, I was highly offended and very disappointed to see a Jesus action fi gure being sold in our bookstore.
I witnessed another student at Lansdowne Campus questioning the appropriateness of such an item being for sale and her comments provoked jokes and laughter from the bookstore staff.
I respect the fact that not everybody is a Chris-tian, and not everybody believes in Jesus Christ. But in the same manner that other religions become offended when their symbols or proph-ets are mocked, it is completely inappropriate for the college to be selling such an item and I would like to see it removed from the bookstore immediately out of respect.
DArryL WiLsoNCAMOSUN STUDENT
And the bookstore’s response . . . sort of
The Camosun College bookstore did not send in a response by press time as they said they would, but they did respond directly to some of the students who lodged the action-figure complaints.
Thankfully, one of those students copied the bookstore’s response to us.
It reads, in part, “The bookstore puts a lot of effort into our buying decisions and we are not trying to offend anyone. We try to have a very diverse product mix that appeals to a diverse market. It is important to remember that there is education in humor, and by humor I do not mean laughing or mocking.”—Gillian Mann, manager, Camosun College Bookstore
Nexus too hard on parking attendants
Publishing opinion pieces with glaring factual errors brings into question the Nexus’ quality control. After reading Welcome to the [parking] jungle, baby! in the Sept. 17 issue I want to know how in the world this article ever made it to print.
Two unfounded claims exist in this piece. Scooters and motorcycles must pay for parking just like cars. Secondly, the “fi ve-minute leeway” has been in effect for years now.
But I forgive the writer for not knowing this—she admits being busy “[trying] to cheat the system by attempting to keep a watchful eye on that expired meter.”
However, the real issue is not a student’s uneducated opinion. Rather, I am upset that Nexus would have the nerve to print an article that targets a group of people in such a threaten-ing manner.
The writer fl ings numerous insults at park-ing attendants and her opinion is meant to fuel hatred towards a group of people who already receive enough of it on the streets.
But my major contention is with Nexus. As a Camosun College student, I am appalled Nexus printed an article suggesting “parking attendants should be obliterated” and how “it wouldn’t take much to bring them down” by insinuating they could be run over. Printing a hateful, insulting, and threatening article like this one certainly appears to be the making of a libel suit. I hope Nexus will apologize to its readers for allowing this article to be published.
coLLeeN thoMPsoNCAMOSUN STUDENT
[Ed. note—Scooters and motorbikes pay half price for parking and there is a fi ve-minute grace period for all downtown meters. Meters should blink for fi ve minutes before a parking attendant can hand out a ticket. Nexus regrets the errors.]
Wi t h t h e O c t . 14 federal elections right around the cor-ner, many students seem to know little or nothing about them.
Canadian politics have always been, well, a bore, to say the least. There’s hardly any trash talk, scandals, or media coverage, and the elections are all over and done with in about one month.
Many Canadians follow US politics more than Canadian politics due to the entertainment value and the two-year media spotlight the US candidates receive.
All we’ve seen on the news and shows like The Colbert Report the past two years have been ongoing jokes about George Bush, rumors that Hillary Clinton might actually have a penis, and sarcastic com-mentary on who will take over as US president in November.
We hate to say it, but this is the
kind of election coverage that ap-peals to young adults.
If the election process in Canada was drawn out more, we would get to know the candidates more and see their point of view without having to research it all within a month. Because, let’s face it, a majority of young adults are students with part-time jobs who don’t have time for politics.
The Rick Mercer Report, Can-ada’s version of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, is a ray of hope when it comes to making politics entertaining. Although Mercer covers quite a bit on Canadian pol-itics, he also focuses on Americans not knowing anything about our country.
In one episode he travels down to Arkansas to ask some good folks about Canada’s efforts to protect our national capitol building from the effects of global warming. A for-mer governor offers his congratula-
tions on the efforts to preserve our “national igloo.”
On an earlier episode, Mercer spoke with George Bush and con-vinced him that our Prime Minister’s name was “Jean Poutine.”
With the majority of Canada’s highest rating television programs coming from the United States, and the Canadian-made ones having some sort of tie-in to our neighbors, it’s no wonder why young adults
know little about our own politics. And the Americans don’t have a clue either.
Although Canadian politics may be a bore and the election process is fast, at least we’re getting things done quickly! What takes the United States two years, Canada gets done in one month. That’s pretty effi cient.
Let’s just hope our candidates for the next federal election try hard-er to distract us from our textbook concentration with more entertain-ing media coverage and personal appearances. If we actually had MPs coming to our campuses and getting to know students, maybe we would give a damn.
We hope our Canadian elec-tions feature story on pages 8–9 will help to get students interested in political issues and out to the voting booths. Or, at the very least, provide some entertaining reading between classes.
Next publication date: Oct. 15, 2008
Deadline: noon Oct. 8, 2008
Address: 3100 Foul Bay Rd., Victoria, BC, V8P 5J2
Location: Lansdowne Richmond House 201
Phone: 250-370-3591
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.nexusnewspaper.com
Publisher: Nexus Publishing Society
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CONTRIBUTORS:Guy AlaimoOlivia BertrandAdrian BinakajCourtney BroughtonChris BurnettAlisha CharmleyBreanna CareyDaniel CarranzaKait Cavers Tessa CogmanTom FowlerMaelina de GrasseChristopher GillespieJared GowenAlexander JonesBrendan KerginDonald KennedyJen LeMercierKelly MarionLiz McArthurChantelle MussellAlan Piff erShane Scott-TravisJenna SedmakRhea SmilowskiEd SumMarlie Van RoyJustyne Wallace
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors, not of the Nexus Publishing Society. One copy of Nexus is available per issue, per person. Nexus is printed on a mixture of 100 and 40 percent recycled paper. Please recycle your copy. Th anks!
Editorial meetingsCome out to our weekly Nexus editorial meet-ings, where all Camosun students can get involved in their student newspaper. Meetings take place every Tuesday at 11:30 am in the Nexus offi ce, Richmond House 201, Lansdowne. Call 370-3591 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.
Send a letterNexus prints letters that are 250 words or less in response to previous stories. Nexus reserves the right to refuse publication of letters. Letters must include full name and student number (not printed). Nexus accepts all letters by e-mail to [email protected]
VIEWS
Nexus
Editorial
Letters
Election schmelection... who cares?
If we actually had MPs coming to our
campuses and getting to know students,
maybe we would give a damn.
This is Open Space, a forum for Camosun students to share opinions and thoughts.
Open Space accepts submissions from Camosun students. Submissions to Open Space should be 400 words or less. Responses to previous articles in Nexus should be 250 words or less.
E-mail submissions to [email protected] andinclude your name and student number.
Liz McArthurStaff Writer
Another Camosun bigwig sails off into the sunset. Vice-President of Business Development Paul McGeachie retired this month, spending his last day in his office on Sept. 24.
During his five years with the college, McGeachie was heavily involved in developing plans for the Pacific Institute for Sport Ex-cellence (PISE), the expansion of campus libraries, and the creation of Camosun’s first-ever campus plan.
“It’s a great loss to the institu-tion. Paul has done an absolutely fabulous job creating the role of Vice-President of Business De-velopment and all the initiatives he has led through his tenure in that position,” says Camosun President Liz Ashton.
Ashton says McGeachie’s pos-ition will not immediately be filled and the decision is tied to her own plan to retire next year. By leaving his position open, some flexibility will be allowed for the new president
to decide what direction to take the college in, and what his or her priorities are.
McGeachie says his accom-plishments at the college were a result of the people he worked with, adding he would have liked to see residences being constructed on campus before he left. One of the things he is most proud of is his work in connection with PISE.
“The things I thought I wanted to do when I first came here changed. Your job becomes an emergent thing. In five-and-a-half years I think we’ve accomplished a great deal,” says McGeachie.
One of McGeachie’s pet pro-jects was the review of the campus libraries and the creation of the Chief Librarian position, which Sybil Harrison now holds.
“By creating my position, it creates another voice, and I see it as a voice for the students. It’s advocating for student research, study needs, and learning needs,” says Harrison.
Harrison credits McGeachie for the library renovations going
ahead. “Often there are reviews and then reports, but the difference with McGeachie is he got to it and made sure a lot of the recommenda-
tions were implemented. He was a real champion for library services, and saw that the library system is integral to the whole learning experience for students here at Camosun.”
For Michel Turcotte, director of operations at the Camosun Col-lege Student Society, working with McGeachie has been a positive experience overall.
“There have been disagree-ments over the years, but I believe they’ve always tried to be fair,” says Turcotte of the working relationship between the society, McGeachie, and President Ashton, adding there’s some uncertainty about who will replace them.
For McGeachie, the future of Camosun looks bright. “New leadership can put a whole different face on an institution—it’s inevit-able,” he says. “It will be wonderful for the scholars in this community to welcome new leaders into this institution and take it to its next level. I think it may be challenging finding the right fit, but I think it’s exciting.”
NEWS
By Alexander Jones
Nick BruLotI’d date Catwoman because I like scratch marks on my back.
ALisoN PerryBatman, because then I’d get to drive the Batmobile. Plus, I like the dark and broody thing.
cArLeigh NichoLLsSuperman, because even though he’s an alien, he tries to save humanity, and he doesn’t really have to.
Josh gALBrAithI wouldn’t, because all of the superheroines seem to be taken, and you just don’t date another guy’s girl.
DeeBs ALiAgent 47 [Hitman video games] . . . I’ve never seen a sexier bald man.
What superhero would you like to date and why?
NEWS BRIEFSBy kAit cAvers
Camosun students represent, yo!
Christopher Gillespie, second-year political science student and the Camosun College Student Society’s External Affairs Executive, has announced his decision to run for city council in the upcoming municipal elections. Gillespie, who has been with the CCSS for over a year, holds a dual diploma in International Hospitality and Professional Business Management from Sprott-Shaw Community College. He has also been a resident of the Greater Victoria region for the past 17 years. “Victoria, as the provincial capital, should symbolize and embody a vision for British Columbia,” states Gillespie. “It is time to have some faces in City Hall that are ready and willing to manage the tough decisions that must be made, to ensure the economic success and environmental sustainability that’s important to us all.” Gillespie’s campaign will concentrate on homeless-ness, transit, economic de-velopment, and environmental sustainability in the Capital Region.
The cure for off-road rage
Enhancements to the Interurban parking lot are scheduled to take place this semester. The first phase of the project will see the relocation of motorcycle parking, re-placing motorcycle stalls with extra car stalls. More parking stalls for cars will be also added to parking lot nine. A second phase of enhancements (also at Interurban) is currently being planned and budgeted.
Vending machine dreamThose with a killer craving
for some serious junk food can forget about seeking fulfill-ment from campus vending machines. As part of a prov-incial strategy to reduce health care costs, junk food is gradually being weaned out of vending areas and replaced with smarter snack choices. New products in the machines include milk, soy, and whole grain products. Can’t fight those cravings? The bookstore is still selling all of the nutri-tionally empty snack food one’s heart (make that stomach) desires.
Happy trails to VP Paul McGeachie
“In five-and-a-half years I think we’ve
accomplished a great deal.”
PAuL McgeAchieretired Vice-PreSident
Nick MuNDy AND cyNthiA WerBikNick: Claire from Heroes . . . she regenerates, so I could share my genetics with someone who’s invincible!Cynthia: Wolverine, what’s sexier than a man who can heal himself, and has claws?
chris BurNettcontributing Writer
For the past few years, athletes at Camosun have grown more and more excited about their new Pa-cific Institute for Sport Excellence at Interurban. Now it’s the health professionals’ turn.
Camosun College is in the planning stages of a $68 million Centre for Health and Wellness at Interurban campus which should
house all of the health and human services programs at Camosun.
Because of the new building’s high cost, Camosun and strategic planning partners the Vancouver
Island Health Authority will look to the Ministry of Education to foot the bill.
The centre will be considered the main hub on the island for nurses and public care attendants to get their educations. Over the next 10 years, Camosun is projecting a 73 percent increase in full-time health students.
“We’ve got outdated, potentially overcrowded facilities [at Lans-downe] which are aging and aren’t the best place for teachers and stu-dents to learn,” says Camosun Vice-President of Administration/Chief Financial Officer Peter Lockie.
While the college’s main focus is on the development of the centre at Interurban, changes are coming for the Lansdowne campus as well. Camosun plans on taking $10 mil-lion out of the project to refurbish the Lansdowne Campus facilities if and when the health programs move to Interurban.
The space made by the move will provide Lansdowne with more student spaces for non-classroom activities and a wider range of student services. A Lansdowne campus plan also includes the demolition and relocation of some of the older buildings.
Not only will the buildings be new, but the technology as well. The new centre at Interurban will feature nursing labs with a series of $80,000 electronic mannequins that will train students by displaying accurate simulations of a vast array of illnesses and injuries.
“If Camosun wants to build the center, they have my support,” says nursing student Breanne Payie.
“The fact that Camosun is paying for something that is necessary is a great thing.”
While it’s important to re-member this project is only in the planning stages, the college sees a window of opportunity with
the federal election coming up in October.
The issue of health care will be prominent in the upcoming election, making the idea of a brand new, state-of-the-art facility an import-ant one, according to Lockie.
“If politicians are looking for projects that appeal to them, they are more likely to look at something that is good for the community, which is why this health centre is such a good idea,” says Lockie.
If all goes according to plan, big changes will be coming to both campuses of Camosun College. Changes that will be costly, but necessary.
Camosun plans new health facility
“We’ve got outdated, potentially
overcrowded facilities which are aging and aren’t the best place
for teachers and students to learn.”
Peter LockiecamoSun college
Photo: courtney broughtonThe $80,000 mannequins in the proposed health building will be a lot less old school than these current fellows.
October 1, 20084
JeNNiFer LeMerciercontributing Writer
For a new student at Camosun, the snake of people lined up out-side the campus bookstores at the beginning of the semester might be discouraging. And returning students will probably try to avoid the bookstore altogether during the fi rst week of classes.
Students trying to purchase textbooks before classes start will have to schedule extra time to en-dure the bookstore lineups.
Once inside, students are usual-ly greeted with helpful and effi cient staff. The number of red-shirted employees almost matches the number of shoppers sometimes, as the bookstore accommodates the back-to-school rush by more than doubling their staff.
But waiting in the bookstore lineup only to fi nd out the required textbook is sold out or unavailable can be frustrating.
“It’s necessary to maintain a lineup for the respect of everyone,” says Gillian Mann, manager of the college’s bookstores.
Other institutions like UVic experience the same congestion around their bookstore.
“The Camosun lineup was com-parable to or shorter than what I’ve seen at UVic,” says Sarah Conlin, a UVic graduate and first-year Camosun student.
For those students not will-ing to wait their turn, or wanting to avoid the lineups altogether, there are other options for purchas-ing textbooks at the start of each semester.
The fi rst option is to buy text-books early. According to Mann,
“The bookstore aims to have 90 percent of [required] textbooks available for students one month before classes start.”
Another option is to arrive at the college when the bookstore opens at 8 am. “I ended up getting my books on the day school started [because] I went early in the morning,” says fi rst-year student Paul Cuizon. “I didn’t have to wait in line, but a lot of my friends waited for quite a while.”
Students can also use the book-
store’s website to see if the text-books are in stock. An automatic inventory system updates a list of available textbooks every couple of hours.
Finally, students can shop online. For almost a year, the bookstore
has offered an online service to order textbooks, which are shipped within 24 hours of placing an order and received in two to fi ve business days. Shipping costs are added to the purchase as well as an extra $2 per item.
Without an option to pick up online orders, there’s a price to pay for convenience. “Logistics and lack of space prevent the [feas-ibility] of pickups,” says Mann.
Similarly, bold letters on the website of UVic’s bookstore apolo-gizes for their no-pickup policy for online orders.
The limitations within the online service have some students questioning the bookstore’s mar-keting tactics.
“I knew about the online book-store,” says Simon Allard, third-year environmental technology student, “but the bookstore prob-ably wants you to buy more than books.”
If students want to save time and money, the best option is to pick up textbooks in December for next semester.
NEWSNEWS BRIEFS
continued
MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill
Supporting more affordable and accessible post-secondary education
[email protected] www.opposition.bc.ca
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Student loan demand on the decline
Enrollment in BC post-secondary schools is up, and demand for student loans is down, but this news is not to be considered a good sign. Th e drop in loan requests by students demonstrates a changing demographic on school campuses. With the average student debt running somewhere near $27,000, and the cost of living going up, the Canadian Federation of Students has discovered that fewer students from low and middle-income families are enrolling in college and univer-sity. Since 2001, the Campbell government has invested $15.9 billion in post-secondary edu-cation. Currently, tuition rates in BC are capped, and student loan interest rates are being reviewed.
Get your voice heard, win cash!
RBC has launched its third annual Next Great Innovator Challenge, asking students to “suggest an innovative concept, product, or process from another part of the world or diff erent industry that Canadian Financial Services providers should adopt.” In teams of three or four, students are asked to submit an idea focusing on the chal-lenge question. Submissions will be gradually narrowed down to the top fi ve teams, who will compete for over $45,000 in prizes, and receive an all-expense-paid trip to Toronto for the chance to present their ideas to a judging panel. For more information, rules, and submission dead-lines, visit www.nextgreatin-novator.com
Creating CanadiansTh e Ministry of Citizenship
and Immigration has an-nounced details of a program designed to allow tempor-ary workers and foreign graduate students who have technical, trade, managerial, or professional work experi-ence to apply for permanent resident status. Th e Canadian Experience Class will eventual-ly allow these workers to apply for Canadian citizenship. Th e program asks all applicants, depending on their occupa-tional skills, to demonstrate basic or moderate language skills. Info: www.migratenow.ca/articles/112.asp
Avoiding the bookstore lineup blues
toM FoWLercontributing Writer
Ever been put on a waitlist when trying to take out a book from the college library? Or wished you could highlight something in a library book to refer to it more easily?
The Interurban and Lansdowne libraries have offered online books in addition to the print selection for two years, though they have received little publicity.
“If they’re there, I’d use them,” says Camosun student George Medek.
Students can access Camosun’s online library at camosun.ca/servi-ces/library and can view any of the 43,000 books available with no cost and no lineups. The library is not
limited to students on the campus grounds either.
“[eBooks are] available 24/7, wherever you are. If you have an assignment at 2 am and you need a book, you can check it out from home,” says Sybil Harrison, Camosun’s chief librarian.
Although the eBook interface is confusing right now, Harrison hopes to have a new, simpler inter-face in place by Christmas.
eBooks are no more expensive for the library than print books. Many online books are not avail-able in the print collection and the number of eBooks available will increase slowly every year.
Multiple students can look at the same eBook and highlight whatever they need without dis-rupting others.
“[It would be] a lot easier than taking books out. I’ve got enough textbooks as it is,” says Camosun student Sam Daisly.
Online books are extremely cost effective for the library and allow them to quickly extend their resources and be of a greater help to students.
“The library is really committed to helping students,” says Harrison.
“Come in here and ask and someone will help you.”
eBooks way of future
“If you have an assignment at 2 am
and you need a book, you can check it out
from home.”syBiL hArrisoN
camoSun chief librarian
guy ALAiMoStaff Writer
On Oct. 17, Camosun College intends to enter a “formal partner-ship agreement” with Crimson Group, a construction fi rm that has expressed interest in developing an eco-friendly housing project on Interurban campus.
“This has nothing to do with student residence housing,” ex-plains Camosun Vice-President of Administration/ Chief Financial Offi cer Peter Lockie. “Nobody will be living there. It’s just a proposed test site for a company who wants to use their new green technology with the school.”
According to Lockie, Camosun would fill the new eco-friendly buildings with “daily student life,” which could include classes or space for students to work on projects.
A memo of understanding that was co-signed by Camosun Pres-ident Liz Ashton on June 19 and Crimson Vice-President Al-Karim S. Alibhai on June 16 states the par-ties wish to explore the possibility
of developing the project upon a portion of land at Interurban. The location will be “mutually suitable and feasible” for both parties.
Among other objectives, the memo stated a steering commit-tee, comprised of membership from both Camosun College and Crimson Group, will provide “gov-ernance and oversight” of the project.
Because plans are still in their initial stages, Camosun will not comment on funding scenarios for the project. According to the memo, these scenarios will be discussed with the Crimson Group before Oct. 17. But Lockie doesn’t believe an agreement will be met by that deadline.
“It looks like that date might be pushed further into the future,” says Lockie. “We really don’t know that much about [Crimson], and the details still have yet to be worked out.”
But if a deal does go through, Lockie says the project may open the college to further eco-friendly development.
“If this project works out, maybe [Camosun] will do more things like this in the future, says Lockie. “I think it’s a great idea and it’s timely for the environment and for the students.”
College and Crimson Group planning eco-friendly test site
Photo: courtney broughton
If only everyone could get through the bookstore lineups as easily as biology student Tamara Russell.
Liz McArthurStaff Writer
It’s the same every fall. The provincial and federal loans ar-rive and post-secondary students rejoice. The beer flows freely and the fridge is stocked with healthy and pricey groceries.
But by the end of the semester, waistbands start to feel loose and grocery lists get shorter as bank accounts are drained. With the ris-ing price of food, how are students going to cope this year?
First, students need to know the reason for costly food.
Freak weather is a factor. But so are dramatic changes in the global economy, including higher oil prices, lower food reserves, and growing consumer demand in China and India.
But be prepared-food is going to become more expensive, even if oil prices stabilize.
“We’ve decided to bake our own bread and pies this year. We are go-ing to make everything from scratch
and we’ve been picking a lot of food like berries and mushrooms,” says Niki Brockway, a Camosun science student. “Yeah, but somehow we still managed to spend $200 grocery shopping yesterday,” says room-mate Matt Rosenthal, a university transfer student. Rosenthal adds that the haul will last them about 11 days.
Lynn Galligos, a First Nations Community Studies student, says the higher cost of food has made her think more about her diet. “I’m def-initely changing what I am cooking and buying,” she says. “I’m trying to make it stretch.”
The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) offers a food bank in its office and grocery vouchers that students can ask for if their ends just won’t meet.
CCSS Director of Operations Michel Turcotte says they have a budget of $250 a month per campus food bank, plus $200 in grocery vouchers.
The student society ran out of
vouchers quickly this term, but they restock the food bank every day.
The CCSS food bank is limited to two items per day per student, but Turcotte says they encourage people who use it to seek out other community resources that can sup-port them with better nutrition, like community food banks.
Brent Palmer, food bank direc-tor for Victoria’s Mustard Seed Food Bank, says he has seen a marked difference in the food bank this September compared to last year.
Fewer donations and increas-ing numbers of needy people raise concerns for what the food bank will face this winter.
“Anyone on any type of fixed income, including students, would feel a definite strain on their food budget and would need to seek extra help to subsidize it,” says Palmer.
Camosun Financial Aid Ad-visor Joanne Cumberland sees the benefits of the food bank, but stresses budgeting in every way
possible, especially when shopping for food.
“Budgeting makes a huge differ-ence, but it’s hard. I’m not going to say it’s not hard,” she says.
Cumberland, a former Camosun student, says picking the right store makes a difference and recom-mends looking at flyers that can be found online.
“Some stores make me want to cry they’re so expensive,” she says.
“Read the labels and compare prices. It’s common sense, but people run out of time and then it’s hard to compare and check everything.”
Making it through the long winter months on a student budget certainly isn’t easy, but with some creative meal planning and resour-ces both on and off-campus,
Camosun students can live to see another semester and another round of student loans.
NEWS
What can you do to conserve energy @ Camosun?
TheCamosunEnergy ProjectSHIFTING TO A GREENER FUTURE
Monthly chance to win a Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
$50 Gift Certificate
Get a grip...There is no Planet B
GET A GRIP
Suggestion cards available at campus bookstores.
Winners will be announced online at camosun.ca/green
Drop off your energy saving idea at the Get a Grip box located at the campus bookstores.
Draws take place monthly until December 31, 2008
Education Council
BY-ELECTION
Do you want to make a difference? Would you like to have a voice in the development of educational programs?
Expand your horizons by serving on Camosun College’s Education Council!
The nomination period is from Monday, September 22 through Friday, October 03 (3pm deadline).
The by-election will be held on Wednesday Oct 22, and Thursday Oct 23, from 8:00 am – 7:00 pm.
Representationis important!
For more information, see posters around the campus, on CamNews, student website, or contact Becky McGowan at 370-3530.
To do:- get tex
tbooks
- go to class
- do homework
- DUNLOPHOUSE PUB
NIGHT!
DunlopHousePUB NIGHT
4–6 PMOff Lansdowne Road,
beside the staff parking lot
Food prices force students into unwanted diets
Revving up for parking passesoLiviA BertrAND
contributing WriterAlthough Camosun College has
never offered discounted semester or yearly parking passes before now, they are currently “looking at the whole process,” says Kath-ryn Le Gros, director of Ancillary Services.
Parking passes are available to persons with disabilities or motor-cyclists, and weekly and monthly passes are available through the meters, but without discounted passes per semester or year some students still find the prices too expensive.
Other major universities or col-leges on the island, such as Royal Roads, Malaspina, and UVic, offer longer-term parking passes with discounts.
UVic tops the list at most ex-pensive of the three at a rate of $75.60 per month (compared to
Camosun’s $64), but they also of-fer a pass for $393.75 per calendar year. That’s nearly half what most Camosun student would pay for 12 months.
Although Camosun owns the campus parking lots, Robbins Parking is contracted by the college
to patrol them, manage the meters, and distribute and collect fines.
So how do Camosun and Rob-bins each benefit from this arrange-ment? “Robbins Parking collects on all the revenue from meter sales and fines and then returns a share [of the meter revenue] back to the college,” says Le Gros. Robbins doesn’t pay the college a com-mission on fines from tickets they dole out.
This irks Camosun students like Angie Nordheimer of Community Family Child Services. “If anyone profits, it should be the college.”
There may be change on the horizon though. Le Gros says the college will hold an open meeting in October and will “invite input from students, faculty, stakeholders” and anyone else with a vested interest to offer suggestions or alternatives for a new transportation and park-ing plan.
Although Camosun owns the parking lots,
Robbins Parking is contracted by the
college to patrol them, manage the meters, and distribute and
collect fines.
A number of factors have caused an increase in food prices, causing stress on student budgets.
Photo: courtney broughton
October 1, 20086
ALishA chArMLeycontributing Writer
Camosun has a secret. It lies within the walls of every build-ing. No, it’s not a ghost. It is every building. Like every student who passes through it, each building has something unique—a name representing someone signifi cant to the college.
A survey of 100 students showed that building names like Isabel Dawson, Jack White, and Wilna Thomas don’t appear to be as sig-nificant as they were obviously meant to be. Less than 10 percent of students polled guessed why these people had buildings named
after them and less than fi ve percent were sure of their answers.
Students were also asked where they would go to uncover informa-tion about building names. Almost half said they would look online, 33 percent said they would go to the library or ask a librarian, and 24 people said they would fi nd out else-where—from a teacher, archives, or plaques outside the buildings.
If information were being sought out, the only place to fi nd it would be the College and Com-munity Relations department, ac-cording to its executive director, Susan Haddon.
Not one student mentioned that department when asked where they would look. Since Camosun’s library or website seems like a better place for this information, why not put it there?
“The reason the information is not readily available is that we’ve not put it into a library-useful for-mat—it’s just in a Word fi le—so the notion of putting it onto the web might be an easy answer to begin with,” says Haddon. “We can easily put this information onto the web and will look after doing this over the next short while.”
Well, that solves that mystery, sort of.
As for the plaques on the build-ings, some students had noticed only a few plaques on campus.
“We haven’t had a practice of putting historical plaques on build-ings that explain much about them,” responds Haddon. “I’m not aware of any initiative for getting plaques for the buildings. That said, it would be possible to have brief histories of the buildings and their names mounted somewhere within each building in a cost-effective format if there were interest.”
CAMPUSThe mystery of Camosun’s building names
“Most Camosun students
are eligible to vote here in
Victoria. Visit my website
for information about
registering or casting your
ballot in advance polls or
on election day.”
“We can easily put [building name]
information onto the web and will look after
doing this over the next short while.”
susAN hADDoNcamoSun college
What’s in a name?Finding out who the college’s buildings are actually named after can be a diffi cult task. So Nexus has uncovered some of the stories behind Camosun’s building names.
Lansdowne:young Building
Designed by Vancouver architect W.C.F. Gillan, it was built between 1913–1915 and was named after Dr. Henry Esson Young, a com-munity member involved in Victoria’s educational community. The Young Building was Victoria’s fi rst Normal School and was used during World War II as a hospital.
ewing Building
Opened in 1952 and named after Dr. J.M. Ewing, principal of the Normal School in 1946.
Paul Building
Opened in 1961 and named after Dr. Edward B. Paul who ran Victoria High School from 1892–1908, was Victoria’s City Superintendent of Schools, and once principal of Victoria College.
Fisher Building
Opened in 1980 and named after Dr. Grant Fisher, the fi rst principal of Camosun College.
Dawson Building
Opened in 1983 and named after a student and instructor of Camosun College, Isabel Dawson.
Wilna thomas Building
Named after former Camosun Social Services faculty member Wilna Gratia Thomas. She generously funded toward the creation of the Wilna Thomas Cultural Centre.
Alan Batey Library Media centre
Opened in 1991 and named after Alan H. Batey, the fi rst Director of Community Services at Camosun College in 1971.
Dunlop house
Formerly a private residence designed by Samuel Maclure in 1928 for a retired client, James Lyle Dunlop.
Interurban:Drysdale Building
Named after John Drysdale, a 22-year administrator and leader in vocational education in BC.
Jack White Building
Named after Jack White, considered to be the father of vocational and trades training in BC. White established BCIT and nine other regional vocational schools. He personally drafted all the plans for the Interurban Campus at that time.
helmut huber Food services Building
Opened in 1993 and named after Helmut Huber, the coordinator of the college’s Professional Cook Training program from 1974 to 1992.
Now offering bistro lunch menu!Starting Oct. 15, most Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 am to 1:30 pm
Some take-out items are available.
The Dunlop House Restaurant is run by the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program students.
We utilize award-winning locally sourced, organic, and sustainable offerings; many in a variety of sizes, at affordable prices.
Dunlop House RESTAURANT
Located at the Lansdowne campus,off Lansdowne Road, beside the staff parking lot.
For more info and reservations, call 250-370-3144.
Photo: courtney broughton
JeNNA seDMAkcontributing Writer
People might not think about where their waste goes as they pour it down the sink or flush it away. But the household chemicals people use can have considerable environmental impact, especially in places like Victoria where un-treated water waste fl ows directly into the ocean.
The water cycle is continuous, so all cleaning products will eventu-ally end up in the ocean. In order to
reduce their impact on the environ-ment, consumers can choose what’s in the products they buy.
“When shopping for cleaning products, I will always make sure to read the labels and the fi ne print to make sure it’s environmentally friendly,” says Camosun Environ-mental Technology student Man-dala Smulders.
Instead of chemically harsh, non-biodegradable cleaning prod-ucts, environmentally friendly solutions do the same job and are healthier.
In a poll of 100 Camosun and UVic students, the majority use or are trying to implement natural cleaning products in their homes.
Camosun arts student Adam Escourse is making an effort to use less chemicals in his household products. “I use natural cleaners for the countertops,” says Escourse.
About one-third of students polled say they don’t use eco-friend-ly or biodegradable cleaning prod-ucts, mainly because other products
are cheaper, or they are unaware of eco-friendly products within their cost range.
Those students say they would buy environmentally friendly prod-ucts as long as the cost is similar to other cleaning products. “I would go green,” says Curtis Barber, a Camosun nursing student.
UVic student Steph Lingard uses a cost-effective and healthy cleaning method. “I don’t use any-thing but baking soda, hot water, and biodegradable products, be-cause why would you eat off some-thing or wear it if it was cleaned with something that could harm you?” says Lingard.
Another UVic student, Claire Atkin, offers a cheaper alternative for a cleaner house with less of an environmental impact.
“For the countertops, I use bak-ing soda and vinegar, and some-times hydrogen peroxide,” says Atkin, “because it’s cheap and works like bleach, but without the chlorine.”
Rob Fleming, MLAVictoria – Hillside
1020 Hillside Avenue
250 360.2023 [email protected]
Serving Our Community
Students green cleaning at home
It’s World Veggie Day, y’all!
LIFE
“Why would you eat off something or wear it if
it was cleaned with something that could
harm you?”stePh LiNgArD
uVic Student
eco-friendly cleaning choices
Although decreasing their impact on the environment is important to many students, cost and effectiveness are also key in selecting household clean-ing products.
Never fear—eco-friendly products are available to suit any preference and budget.
Method and Seventh Generation brands dish detergent and all-pur-pose cleaners work extremely well and are fairly priced. Most grocery stores carry both of these brands.
A great all-purpose cleaner is Dr. Bronner’s. The classic liquid soap cleans anything—your car, hair, dog,
dishes, bathroom, fl oor, clothes . . . you can even brush your teeth with it! It’s available at most stores for about $10 for 16 ounces.
Seventh Generation and Mela Power produce great smelling, gentle laun-dry detergents. These run around $8.50, which is similar to the other leading detergents.
Baking soda and vinegar are cheap, effective all-purpose cleaners. Bak-ing soda is a natural abrasive and deodorant, while vinegar is a dis-infectant.
Or, to give your house a great smell, try putting a few drops of lavender oil in a spray bottle full of water.
MArLie vAN roycontributing Writer
The day to celebrate the world’s plant-eating friends is upon us again! Oct. 1 is World Vegetar-ian Day and, for local vegetarians, that means a chance to spread the knowledge and invite others to join the cause.
Vegetarianism used to be viewed as a health fad for “hippies,” but since its countless benefits have been brought to light, it’s gaining popularity in western societies.
What benefi ts are those? Health, for one. Studies show vegetarians are less likely to suffer from heart disease, obesity, and strokes, and have reduced exposure to food-borne pathogens.
“The average Canadian con-sumes too much food that’s high in protein and saturated fat,” says John Bowers, director of the Van-couver Island Vegetarian Asso-ciation (VIVA). “In the same way that smoking leads to lung cancer, a diet high in saturated fat leads to chronic and fatal diseases that are an epidemic in Canada.”
According to experts, clear-cutting of precious ecosystems like rainforests to make room for livestock and the pollution pro-duced by animal agriculture is causing irreversible damage to our environment. But vegetarianism also means saving animals from factory farm conditions and painful slaughter.
Every vegetarian has his or her own personal reasons for adopting
the lifestyle. “I have never really liked the taste of meat to begin with,” says Camosun Biology student Tamara Russell. “But once you look into the meat industry standards and the nutritional benefi ts from being vegetarian, it’s pretty easy to remain so. Not to mention the toxins involved in rearing meat nowadays are pretty scary.”
So where do newbies start? First off, get all the facts. Protein is available in almost all foods, but the
important thing is to balance them out correctly. This doesn’t necessar-ily mean planning out each meal, as most students rarely have the time, but eating snacks throughout the day that are high in nutrients, like nuts and veggies.
The campus cafeterias offer vegetarian choices, but Director of Food Services Donna Burger prom-ises to provide a greater array of se-lections and promote local produce to “go along with Camosun’s idea of sustainability.”
As for eating out, Victoria has a huge variety of vegetarian and vegan restaurants, such as Green Cuisine in Market Square and Lotus Pond on Johnson Street.
Also, VIVA often hosts vegan potlucks around town and always welcomes new members.
Vegetarianism used to be viewed as a health fad for “hippies,” but
since its countless benefi ts have been brought to light, it’s gaining popularity in
western societies.
A veggie-friendly recipe Websites such as islandveg.com and veganhealth.org include additional info on vegetarianism, as well as tons of yummy recipes like this one:
Dal1/3 cup lentils or split peas3 cups water2 tbs vegetable or olive oil1 onion, fi nely chopped1 or 2 teaspoons fresh gingerSpices
In a pot, combine lentils or peas with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30–40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat oil, add onion and gin-ger, and sauté for about two minutes. Add spices to taste. When lentils or peas are fi nished cooking, add salt and onion mixture. Serves four.
FEATUREOctober 1, 20088 FEATURE
THE LIBERAL’S EDUCATION PLATFORM
The Grits have two areas they’d like to look at. The fi rst is fi nancial support for students.
They plan to increase grants and bursaries for students in need. To do this they will put $25 billion aside. This would create a 20-year endowment fund.
From this they want to pull 300,000 bursaries for students. These range up to $4,000, not even a semester for many students, but it’s better than a kick in the teeth. The hope is to get more people into post-secondary seats.
While 200,000 of those bursaries would be for students in need, the rest would go towards students coming from under-represented groups as access bursaries.
Keith Martin is the incumbent for Esquimalt–Juan de Fuca (which includes Colwood, Langford, and other Western Communities). He’s put forward a series of solutions to the current tuition rates and has spoken to the students themselves about the issue.
“I wouldn’t have been able to go to medical school at today’s tuition costs,” points out Martin.
To balance that out, every student will be eligible for a fi ve-grand loan. So the rich kids can have a student debt, too!
For all the loans the Liberals give out, they want a new, decreased interest rate and longer grace period for repaying the student loans before the interest kicks in.
The rest of the platform is built out of research and development funds. Basically, this section is trying to boost universities, and, by the by, the private sector. Interesting how they snuck in there.
The money promised here is inexact and probably won’t impact many students, but it’s still good to know where $500,000,000 might be going.
The Liberals have a couple concerns about the future and one is that, with an aging workforce and a baby boomer
generation retiring, many jobs, especially the trades, require new, trained workers. The bursaries are an element they hope will get young people who weren’t interested back for more school.
IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .Liberals: Poorly predicted phuture
With so many bursaries and grants available from the Liberals, everyone will apply for one. When is a student not in fi nancial need?
Some students will start using fake IDs to get multiple loans. A mini-industry will pop up around campuses creating all the necessary paperwork and data.
Canadian students will become so adept at creating fake documents they will start to freelance for organized crime, who start to sell cheap, well-made identities to Mexican immigrants in the US.
The American government will stop trying to build a fence to stop the fl ow of Mexicans into their country since the threat is now gone.
The Mexicans are accepted into American society and start a cultural revolution. Latino music and sombrero sales skyrocket as employers are now forced to pay immigrants proper wages.
Canada benefi ts from the increased demand for grain products as Mexican food overtakes the lower 48. Farmers in Canada are overwhelmed by this new market and hire new employees—illegal immigrants from south of the border.
Canadian students start selling fake IDs to their new “Canadian” brethren.
The cycle continues.
When I was a kid, my parents made a few things clear to me. One was the importance of politics and knowing who leads our country. Another was how vital it is to have clean
drinking water. But the most important fact of life was that our family was genetically enabled, through generations of being normal, to predict the future. Poorly.
So I took up the family practice of going to malls and trying to read the palms of curious people, or using a deck of cards to try and tell kids on the playground at school when they were going to die.
Now that I’m older, I’m ready to go for the big dogs. I’m mixing my parents’ advice together and predicting political possibilities after
the upcoming federal elections. While drinking water. Clean water. Unnaturally clean water.
The political season is upon us. The national election will bring a changing of the guard of sorts, though they tend to be the ones protected. No, not the American election, or the resigning Israeli Prime Minister, or the next leader of Japan. It’s our turn. And while we may not have the fl ashiest election campaigns, we’ve still got our puffi ns and token tokers.
It’s red vs. blue vs. orange vs. green . . . vs. a different shade of blue if you live in Quebec.
A variety of issues are deemed important this year. Each party has
their own favourite ones; the Greens want environmental responsibility, the Liberals are looking at tax reform (and the PM’s seat), the NDP are trying to become more important, and the Tories are looking to conserve and grow their lead.
Between the four camps there hasn’t been much discussion about post-secondary education.
Camosun College has a vested interest in what these possible leaders would do with our future centres of learning. So here’s a look at the party’s thoughts on education and what I predict (albeit badly) might happen if they obtain the Prime Minister’s offi ce.
THE GREEN PARTY’S EDUCATION PLATFORM
The Green Party is concerned about the price of tuition for students. They believe this is the biggest issue facing students.
But they’re also concerned that students are pushed through post-secondary, without enough preparation for the workforce.
They raise the point that students are getting certifi cates, not proper education and training. Then, those students who do make it through to a PhD aren’t able to pursue purely academic pursuits, as universities can no longer afford long-term research positions.
They also raise issue with the continued reliance on the private sector and corporations to run universities and colleges. They’d also like to remind us that education is mostly a provincial matter.
But they recognize other nations, notably Sweden, Ireland, and other European nations creating national post-secondary systems, which greatly reduce the price of education.
This reduces economic issues facing students and puts the onus on the grades. They look at this as an investment in the future.
One of the more notable tasks they’ve put forward in this section is the reduction of student loans by 50 percent when/if students graduate with a degree or certifi cate.
They’re trying to push students to fi nish a program, instead of bailing halfway through. They also hope to support more apprenticeship and summer job programs for onsite training.
The Greens would also like to work on the lack of tenured positions at Canadian universities, bringing research back to the campuses. And if those researchers could look into some environmentally friendly ideas, that’d be great too.
IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .Green Party: Predicted at 4 am
If the Greens do somehow take the
Prime Minister’s offi ce, we’d see a green shift everywhere, that’s for certain. But, as many universities and colleges are already leaning this way, most would not need to change track much.
With relations good between government and students, as tuition prices fall, students will follow their research dreams. This leads to an unimaginable amount of knowledge, with Canadians becoming academic elitists around the world.
Students start to research everything, from the effects of atomic radiation on tomatoes to the best way to fi t pipes.
Canadians become the nerds of the world.
No one socializes with us on a global scale; not even our neighbours to the south. They fi nd us nice, but a little weird, and quiet, leading them to the paranoid belief that the entire nation is about to go postal.
The world will arm against the perceived Canadian menace. As a bunch of socially awkward, well meaning nerds, the Canadian public doesn’t see it coming.
We all smile at the invading armies and wonder if we invited them over for soda pops but forgot to punch it into our collective calendars.
Our great nation fails as our army is now made up of Dungeons and Dragons players rolling 12-sided die and trying to decide which way to drive the tank.
In a poor roll, they defend Moose Factory, Ontario. Canada is annexed onto Greenland, as per the Green Party’s surrender letter.
THE NDP’S EDUCATION PLATFORM
The NDP believe the Tories and Grits have both been poor leaders in furthering education, pointing out that the cost of tuition has tripled over the last 20 years.
The only real action the NDP promises for the future is a decrease in costs and debt. The NDP points out that many graduates leave school with a future starting in debt, instead of with a house or a family.
They’re not too sure on how to follow through on their promises of less tuition and less debt, but they do seem eager.
The NDP points towards what leader Jack Layton and the current NDP MPs have already done, or tried to do, in the House of Commons. Layton has tabled one act and has shared various plans to others on the hill, but so far it doesn’t appear to have taken hold.
The NDP would also like to look at the plight of workers needing an upgrade in their education. Many mature students are in this boat, looking to upgrade their skills to continue to be competitive in their respective fi elds.
The NDP also points out many jobs now require at least some college training or an apprenticeship of some sort.
“It has been our policy to reduce interest on student loans and to have an ombudsman,” say Denise Savoie, Victoria’s incumbent MP and NDP education critic, “but fi rst of all to make sure students have to borrow less by having a national needs-based grant system.”IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .NDP: Prediction phound on matchbox
The NDP will reduce tuition and help make mature workers become mature students.
This will lead to a clash of old and young on campus, with an astounding spike in cougar attacks. Not the big cat, more the old pussy.
The younger men will become wary of older women, getting twitchy anywhere they are surrounded by a majority of matriarchs. Support groups on campus will receive a sudden spike in membership due to post-traumatic stress syndrome from a weekend of drinking with cougars at campus pubs.
On the fl ipside, mature students will start reliving their youth, as college life is now popular among 40-somethings instead of 20-somethings.
Roving gangs of Sex and the City wannabes will be seen across the country. UVic will replace their student pub with a martini lounge. Camfestival will have the student environmental awareness group set up next to a Mary Kay booth.
Scandal will break out when Carlton University holds an infamous wet t-shirt contest won by a 60-year-old grandmother who is related to an NDP member of parliament.
Future politicians will no longer have to worry about how their kids act, but how their parents hold together.
The not-so-likely future of post-secondary: their platforms, our predictions
Li b e r a l s : S om e s t u d e n t s w i l l s t a r t using fake IDs to get mult iple loans.
Green: Canadians become the nerds of the world.
NDP: Roving gangs of Sex and the City wannabes wil l be seen across the country.
FEATUREFEATURE [email protected] 9
When I was a kid, my parents made a few things clear to me. One was the importance of politics and knowing who leads our country. Another was how vital it is to have clean
drinking water. But the most important fact of life was that our family was genetically enabled, through generations of being normal, to predict the future. Poorly.
So I took up the family practice of going to malls and trying to read the palms of curious people, or using a deck of cards to try and tell kids on the playground at school when they were going to die.
Now that I’m older, I’m ready to go for the big dogs. I’m mixing my parents’ advice together and predicting political possibilities after
the upcoming federal elections. While drinking water. Clean water. Unnaturally clean water.
The political season is upon us. The national election will bring a changing of the guard of sorts, though they tend to be the ones protected. No, not the American election, or the resigning Israeli Prime Minister, or the next leader of Japan. It’s our turn. And while we may not have the fl ashiest election campaigns, we’ve still got our puffi ns and token tokers.
It’s red vs. blue vs. orange vs. green . . . vs. a different shade of blue if you live in Quebec.
A variety of issues are deemed important this year. Each party has
their own favourite ones; the Greens want environmental responsibility, the Liberals are looking at tax reform (and the PM’s seat), the NDP are trying to become more important, and the Tories are looking to conserve and grow their lead.
Between the four camps there hasn’t been much discussion about post-secondary education.
Camosun College has a vested interest in what these possible leaders would do with our future centres of learning. So here’s a look at the party’s thoughts on education and what I predict (albeit badly) might happen if they obtain the Prime Minister’s offi ce.
THE GREEN PARTY’S EDUCATION PLATFORM
The Green Party is concerned about the price of tuition for students. They believe this is the biggest issue facing students.
But they’re also concerned that students are pushed through post-secondary, without enough preparation for the workforce.
They raise the point that students are getting certifi cates, not proper education and training. Then, those students who do make it through to a PhD aren’t able to pursue purely academic pursuits, as universities can no longer afford long-term research positions.
They also raise issue with the continued reliance on the private sector and corporations to run universities and colleges. They’d also like to remind us that education is mostly a provincial matter.
But they recognize other nations, notably Sweden, Ireland, and other European nations creating national post-secondary systems, which greatly reduce the price of education.
This reduces economic issues facing students and puts the onus on the grades. They look at this as an investment in the future.
One of the more notable tasks they’ve put forward in this section is the reduction of student loans by 50 percent when/if students graduate with a degree or certifi cate.
They’re trying to push students to fi nish a program, instead of bailing halfway through. They also hope to support more apprenticeship and summer job programs for onsite training.
The Greens would also like to work on the lack of tenured positions at Canadian universities, bringing research back to the campuses. And if those researchers could look into some environmentally friendly ideas, that’d be great too.
IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .Green Party: Predicted at 4 am
If the Greens do somehow take the
Prime Minister’s offi ce, we’d see a green shift everywhere, that’s for certain. But, as many universities and colleges are already leaning this way, most would not need to change track much.
With relations good between government and students, as tuition prices fall, students will follow their research dreams. This leads to an unimaginable amount of knowledge, with Canadians becoming academic elitists around the world.
Students start to research everything, from the effects of atomic radiation on tomatoes to the best way to fi t pipes.
Canadians become the nerds of the world.
No one socializes with us on a global scale; not even our neighbours to the south. They fi nd us nice, but a little weird, and quiet, leading them to the paranoid belief that the entire nation is about to go postal.
The world will arm against the perceived Canadian menace. As a bunch of socially awkward, well meaning nerds, the Canadian public doesn’t see it coming.
We all smile at the invading armies and wonder if we invited them over for soda pops but forgot to punch it into our collective calendars.
Our great nation fails as our army is now made up of Dungeons and Dragons players rolling 12-sided die and trying to decide which way to drive the tank.
In a poor roll, they defend Moose Factory, Ontario. Canada is annexed onto Greenland, as per the Green Party’s surrender letter.
THE NDP’S EDUCATION PLATFORM
The NDP believe the Tories and Grits have both been poor leaders in furthering education, pointing out that the cost of tuition has tripled over the last 20 years.
The only real action the NDP promises for the future is a decrease in costs and debt. The NDP points out that many graduates leave school with a future starting in debt, instead of with a house or a family.
They’re not too sure on how to follow through on their promises of less tuition and less debt, but they do seem eager.
The NDP points towards what leader Jack Layton and the current NDP MPs have already done, or tried to do, in the House of Commons. Layton has tabled one act and has shared various plans to others on the hill, but so far it doesn’t appear to have taken hold.
The NDP would also like to look at the plight of workers needing an upgrade in their education. Many mature students are in this boat, looking to upgrade their skills to continue to be competitive in their respective fi elds.
The NDP also points out many jobs now require at least some college training or an apprenticeship of some sort.
“It has been our policy to reduce interest on student loans and to have an ombudsman,” say Denise Savoie, Victoria’s incumbent MP and NDP education critic, “but fi rst of all to make sure students have to borrow less by having a national needs-based grant system.”IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .NDP: Prediction phound on matchbox
The NDP will reduce tuition and help make mature workers become mature students.
This will lead to a clash of old and young on campus, with an astounding spike in cougar attacks. Not the big cat, more the old pussy.
The younger men will become wary of older women, getting twitchy anywhere they are surrounded by a majority of matriarchs. Support groups on campus will receive a sudden spike in membership due to post-traumatic stress syndrome from a weekend of drinking with cougars at campus pubs.
On the fl ipside, mature students will start reliving their youth, as college life is now popular among 40-somethings instead of 20-somethings.
Roving gangs of Sex and the City wannabes will be seen across the country. UVic will replace their student pub with a martini lounge. Camfestival will have the student environmental awareness group set up next to a Mary Kay booth.
Scandal will break out when Carlton University holds an infamous wet t-shirt contest won by a 60-year-old grandmother who is related to an NDP member of parliament.
Future politicians will no longer have to worry about how their kids act, but how their parents hold together.
THE CONSERVATIVES EDUCATION PLATFORM
T h e C o n s e r v a t i v e s h a v e n o t responded by press time to our request for their thoughts on post-secondary education, and there’s no information readily available online, so we’ll just assume they’ll be cutting everything.
IF THEY WIN, WE PREDICT . . .The Conservatives: Our prediction goes as such
With no funding to students, only the rich go to school.
With no extra education, high school students stay in their part-time jobs after graduation.
Unable to afford groceries as the food crisis continues, a campaign to “eat the rich” appears.
In an attempt to quell the rioting masses, the government makes a temporary bill, giving people earning less than $25,000 the right to eat those earning $500,000 or more.
Rock stars and pro athletes freak out, as they become targets of the “Soylent Green Riots.” Bryan Adams is turned into meatloaf.
Three quarters of the Tragically Hip escape to Detroit, but a border guard unfortunately recognizes Gord Downie.
The Toronto Maple Leafs return from a road trip in California and have their plane surrounded by a screaming mob. Believing them to be actual fans, they open the door to the plane and walk out as they are torn to shreds and eaten on the spot. “Where’s Kyle Wellwood?!” screams one particularly hungry student.
The less-famous rich see their counterparts turn into pizza toppings and start turning to security firms for high quality defence systems. Illegal arms dealers start fl ooding to Canada as the fi rms start arming their agents with top-flight equipment. A charging mass is laid to waste in front of Paul Martin’s residence.
The country begins to descend into an almost feudal society with the rich hiring small armies to defend their gated communities.
With the rich no longer available, but their appetite for human fl esh wetted, the cannibal mobs start roving the country, completely overrunning small towns.
The yet unturned middleclass head to mountainous regions in BC and the east, and onto the islands of the Maritimes, BC, and Nunavit. Canada’s breadbasket becomes no man’s land.
America sees its chance to strike and take the centre of Canada. Their military moves in. In an attempt to completely wipe Edmonton off the map for good, a new generation of nuke is dropped.
Instead of killing the residents of the forsaken city, it mutates them into zombies.
T h e z o m b i e s p r o v e a f o r c e unstoppable, quickly munching through the invaders and moving onto Minnesota and the rest of the US. While Canadians remain safe in their hideouts, most of America is eaten alive.
After a long period of time the zombies begin to fail and European and Asian armies mop up the remnants. Canadians go to the UN and are awarded rule of both Canada and the former United States of America.
Learning their lesson, Canada becomes the next great empire of the world.
The not-so-likely future of post-secondary: their platforms, our predictions
NDP: Roving gangs of Sex and the City wannabes wil l be seen across the country.
Conservatives: Bryan Adams is turned into meatloaf.
Story: Brendan Kergin
Photo: Courtney Broughton
Drawings: Adrian Binakaj
October 1, 200810
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s EndStarring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira KnightlyRuntime: 2 hrs 49 mins
Why is all the rum gone? Be-cause the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End drank it. All of it. This would explain the disastrous fi nale to what started out as a fun and imaginative fantasy-adventure fi lm.
Heroes Will Turner and Eliza-beth Swan, with their loyal band of pirates, set off on an adventure to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from the octopus guy’s gym locker (or something to that effect). Here, Jack has apparently lost his marbles and has begun conversing with multiple appearances of himself.
Millions of crabs carry Spar-row’s rescue ship to the shores of the underworld, Jack and his buddies fi nd a message in a puzzle map, and together they capsize the ship in order to magically come up sailing on the other side.
The problems lay not in the farfetched aspects of the movie, but in the storyline which is nothing more than double, triple, and quad-ruple-crosses that are completely lost on the viewers.
Each character has their own unrelated agenda and just when we think the story can’t get any more convoluted, it does—presenting an overwhelming urge to hit the direc-tor over the head with a peg leg.
Turner and Swan can’t decide whether they want to break up or get married on a pirate ship, mid-battle and thunderstorm.
We learn of a love story between ol’ squid-face Davy Jones (whose heart is in a box under the ocean) and Tia Dalma who wants to free the Godzilla goddess inside her, Calypso.
Barbosa and his crew are alive and well (sort of), and are ironic-ally searching for the way to get into Davy Jones’ locker. Throw in a scary pirate captain from Singapore and a monkey with a gun, and you have this brain-disintegrating third installment.
The redeeming features of the fi lm are the remarkable costumes, the visually exciting cinematog-raphy, and the compelling and witty dialogue. And the soundtrack has morphed into something more sophisticated and incredibly well composed.
For anyone who can appreciate attention to detail, the experience will not be unpleasant—but consid-ering the three-hour running time, perhaps bringing an ass cushion would be a wise decision.
eD suMcontributing Writer
The long wait is over. For fans holding out for the IMAX version of The Dark Knight, stop reading Batman, The Long Halloween (the comic book that inspired the fi lm), and head down to the Royal BC Museum’s National Geographic IMAX Theatre.
Most who attended the opening night screening agreed the IMAX version is better than the theatrical release.
“Absolutely. I was blown away—by far it’s the best Batman movie ever made,” said Charlotte Rennison, owner of Victoria Cos-tumes, who was dressed up for the occasion.
This version of The Dark Knight
is unique because 30 minutes are re-corded in the square-shaped IMAX fi lm format, a fi rst for Hollywood.
“It’s exciting that they are em-bracing it. They’re recognizing the way IMAX fi lls your peripheral vi-sion. It really gives a different feel to the fi lm,” says IMAX Publicist Marie Zirk.
Fans will not be disappointed with the sweeping cityscapes of Gotham City and the hero battling villainy in the dark city streets.
Director Christopher Nolan stays safe by not constantly ex-ploiting the extra space. The extra real estate is used like every other IMAX fi lm—to show architecture from top to bottom and give depth to landscapes.
The action sequences stand out better and the car chase scenes are more spectacular on the IMAX screen.
The transition between the two screen formats is not noticeable or jarring. It serves to juxtapose the situations and psyche of the lead characters. They complement each other in unsettling ways, and the screen size sometimes changes to show their emotional states.
Larger than life is IMAX’s mo-
tif, and it only accentuates Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker when he graces the screen.
“The acting has to be impec-cable; when they’re up there, they are larger than life,” says Zirk. “And you can see any fl aws. People can appear really wooden, and that’s one of the things I’ve seen in more amateur fi lms.”
With a strong cast of sup-porting actors and actresses, no signifi cant fl aws are to be found. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) re-ceives more screen time, but Heath Ledger steals the show again in the IMAX version. His performance is unbelievable.
“I still kinda like the Cesar Rom-ero Joker from the old Batman days,” says Allan Whysker, all decked out as the clown prince. “He set the tone, but Heath Ledger brought it up to a whole new level. He’s the king now . . . you’d be hard pressed to top Heath as a villain.”
With performances and dir-ecting that may be diffi cult to top, perhaps the Batman franchise should end on a high note instead of a disappointing sequel, as previ-ous super-hero trilogy fi lms have demonstrated.
ARTSIMAX takes Dark Knight to new heights
Spielberg-in-Stilettos
DVD reviews by Maelina de Grasse
The Alps★★★★★
eD suMcontributing Writer
With Switzerland Tourism pro-moting this latest IMAX fi lm, The Alps is a mix of many things. Be-sides being a travel brochure and a geography lesson, it’s a biographical story of mountain climber John Har-lin III’s love for his family and sport, and of his climbing attempts.
Director Stephen Judson as-sumes the audience knows nothing about Harlin and packages every-thing into a 45-minute show. That’s too much in such a short fi lm. More
time was spent on the build-up than the ascent itself.
Production-wise, the 70mm fi lm stock for the IMAX screen ideally shows how tiny humanity is against Nature.
Extreme sports are deadly. Har-lin’s father fell to his death when he climbed the steep north slope of the Alps’ Eiger Mountain. 42 years later, his son goes home to face his insecurities and demons by tackling that ridge.
The music is well chosen to refl ect the psyche of those moun-taineers who dare to challenge themselves and Nature’s majesty.
With songs by Queen to set the
tone of this fi lm, issues of mortality (“Who Wants to Live Forever”), stubbornness (“Don’t Stop Me Now”), and daring (“Ride the Wild Wind”) are covered. Queen fans will also appreciate guitarist Brian May’s own soundtrack contribu-tions from beginning to end.
Nights in Rodanthe★★★★★
MAeLiNA De grAssecontributing Writer
Pull out the ice cream, because George C. Wolf’s Nights in Rod-anthe, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, is the epitome of the chick fl ick.
Most men will likely want to avoid this one, because the cheese factor is astronomical.
Our two main characters, Ad-rienne Willis and Dr. Paul Flanner, come together in an enormous and beautiful guest house on the beach in Rodanthe, North Carolina. In a violent thunderstorm, Flanner saves Adrienne from a falling cabinet, and so begins their love affair.
Based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, the fi lm is being hailed as the most romantic, middle-aged romance of our time.
Diane Lane’s acting is believable and honest and, unlike Richard Gere’s rather two-dimensional role, her character, Adrienne, comes to life on the screen, encouraging both tears and laughter.
The most touching thing in Nights in Rodanthe is the relation-ship between Willis and her daugh-ter, Amanda (Mae Whitman). This aspect of the fi lm illustrates the bond that’s there no matter what, whether your mother happens to be your best friend or your worst enemy.
At World’s End—or does it?
“The acting has to be impeccable; when
they’re up there, they are larger than life.”
MArie zirkimaX theatre
LegendComplete disaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unfortunate malfunction . . . . . . . .
A solid stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Freakin’ fabulous . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charlotte Rennison (Batman) and Allan Whysker (The Joker) were all geared up for the new IMAX offering.
Photo: courtney broughton
shANe scott-trAviscontributing Writer
For a long time Victoria has played second-run to Vancouver when it comes to attracting the fi lm business. Lower Mainland universi-ties like SFU and UBC are wise to the fi lm industry and know there’s money to be made renting out their facilities. But if Camosun College’s campuses were the next recurring location for an episodic TV series or blockbuster film, what would be the cost to the students?
Since April of this year, Camosun has begun actively pursuing fi lm companies. Karin Hanwell, facil-ity rental coordinator of Ancillary Services at Lansdowne, puts it this way—”[Camosun] has space that is under-utilized. Why not actively promote rental of the space?”
Aardmore Productions shot
several scenes for their feature fi lm The Egg Factory at Lansdowne campus last fall. “We had relatively little impact on the students,” says Michael Dennison, the fi lm’s assist-ant location manager. “I wouldn’t hesitate at doing more fi lming at Camosun.”
Assistant Director Frank Holl-man echoes those sentiments. Hollman filmed here in 2007 for Normal, starring Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica, Hard Core Logo) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Trilogy). “The campus at Lansdowne makes for a great fi lm location,” says Hollman. “We did our best not to interfere too much with the student body.”
A little interference is one thing, but Hollywood is often accused of acting like they own the place whenever they tornado into town. The popular TV series Battlestar Galactica has fi lmed frequently at Simon Fraser University.
“Our fi rst day of fi lming there went great,” says Sonya Hull, a production assistant on Battlestar.
“But by the second day it defi nitely felt like we had worn out our wel-come with some of the staff and students.”
When a fi lm crew uses a loca-
tion, it becomes a work site, and suddenly teamsters are cohabitat-ing with co-eds and the results aren’t pretty by design. “We had a large crew during the fi lming, lots of extras and sets, and our parking arrangement soured many,” says Hull. “A few students were held up and were late for their classes.”
This may seem a small scrap, but SFU’s West Mall Complex has become the staple of many a fi lm crew diet. Dozens of productions shoot there annually, prompting SFU student Caitlin Keeshig to crack, “My school likes to whore itself out to Hollywood!”
The glitz and glamour of stars co-orbiting in the same world as our own can be pretty exotic. Ever hear of a Robin Williams sighting in Vancouver? Who hasn’t?
Contrary to popular belief, Wil-liams puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. Only once his pants are on he makes multimillion-dollar movies! Will his or another superstar’s orbit come within distance of our own?
Movie buffs and stargazers shouldn’t get their autograph scrib-blers out just yet. The BC fi lm in-dustry has been slapped around a lot in the last year, with the strong
Canadian dollar, cancellation of fi ve BC-shot shows, and the impact of strikes and other labour issues. That said; some fi lming has gone on in our backyard and will again before the year is out.
Hanwell is quick to point out Camosun College’s “number one priority for us is students and stu-dent life,” and adds, “It is advan-tageous to both the college and
potential fi lm crews that they have use of the facility after hours or on weekends, therefore not im-pacting our student population whatsoever.”
So far so good, but should Tinseltown convalesce, some revis-ing may be in order. Until then, pass the popcorn and keep the chatter down. The feature presentation is about to begin.
College campuses take a star turn
“I wouldn’t hesitate at doing more fi lming at
Camosun.”MichAeL DeNNisoN
aardmore ProductionS
keLLy MArioNcontributing Writer
Feeling bogged down with high demands from instructors, em-ployers, or parents? Imagine the pressure felt by the nine-unit dance troupe that makes up Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet.
Not only do they train for end-less hours perfecting their form and timing for their current pieces, Irregular Pearl and Rasa, but they are expected to feel and bring some-thing new to the stage every time they slip on their pointe shoes.
“Each night I try to tap into the pieces and experience new sensa-tions,” explains Laurel Keen, a LINES dancer for seven seasons.
“It’s about stepping into a place and feeling what you feel.”
King creates a vision and his dancers present it, allowing them to shape his pieces and tell his story. By bringing their person-alities to the stage, they become very intuitive and flourish at an impressive pace. This is benefi cial in a demanding career where only the fl exible survive.
“Alonzo is a very demanding person, but in the best possible way. He requires that you give all of yourself every single time—even if that means using every last morsel of physical and mental energy,” says Keen.
King’s work is more atmospher-ic than narrative, with each viewer feeling as though they’ve seen a completely different story. It forces dancers and audience to clue in to
their internal feelings and carefully interpret each movement.
This room for interpretation can be confusing for some, but chal-lenging the audience to think about what the pieces mean adds another dimension to the art form. Each plié, chassé, jeté, and pirouette expresses something different—a word in the string of verse.
“It really is like conversation in motion—broken into so many frac-tions that we need to see it all to hear the message,” says Laurel.
It’s an ongoing theme for King to tell a story completely dependent on the dancers and the audience. When prompted at night’s end about the storyline, King is known to ask, “Well, what did you see?”
To some, King’s pieces may
seem like a lot of work; the op-portunity to sit back and enjoy an evening of ballet ultimately winds up being a complex adventure.
But for others it’s a breath of fresh air. The idea of seeing a line as something other than straight—forming a circle or a squiggle even—removes restric-tions and limitations in a society that holds so many taboos. It can be an invigorating and refreshing concept.
ARTS
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LINES ballet mesmerizes audience
At World’s End—or does it?
“It really is like conversation in
motion.”LAureL keeN
lineS balletLINES Ballet
Oct. 1–2, 8 pmRoyal Th eatre
$�9-$69www.dancevictoria.com
kAit cAversStaff Writer
Victoria’s own Belfry Theatre is always poised to offer some truly fantastic plays during its running season. Incredible talent crosses the stage pretty much every night. The sets are always designed to inspire even the laziest imagination, and the costumes are often handcrafted to capture the true vision of the director’s mind.
On the other hand, the set for the Belfry’s current production, Half Life, utilizes a single curtain hanging at center stage. As the play begins, it becomes very clear a mas-sive set, well-numbered cast, and fl ashy costumes will only distract from the importance of the main message.
Half Life centers on Clara and Patrick, two elderly residents of a care-home who may or may not have been lovers during the war many years ago. Senility blurs the defi nite answer, but the timelines of their lives seem to confi rm it.
When confronted with their par-ents’ blossoming romance, Clara’s
son Donald and Patrick’s daughter Anna take solace in each other in the waiting room of the home, while gradually learning to accept their own feelings of love and loss.
The result is a play that takes a humorously tender look at the ups and downs of age, love, innocence, and nostalgia.
A cast of seven (with a few doubled-up roles) is the perfect way to give the audience a person-able account of the story, while the deeply philosophical messages are clearly demonstrated in a simple, relatable way.
But the show-stealer is the in-nocent and heartwarming bond between Clara and Patrick, which is consistently on par with Noah and Allie from Nicholas Sparks’ novel The Notebook.
This beautiful play is not to be missed.
Half Life—full satisfaction
Half LifeUntil Oct. 19
Th e Belfry Th eatre2�0–�8�–681�
Film crews have been using Camosun College as a location more and more in the past two years.
Photo: Shane Scott-traViS
October 1, 200812
Slam DunkThis issue Local Music Mind-
fuck ambushes Jordan Minkoff of Slam Dunk. Minkoff (also a former Nexus writer) talks about eating baby burgers, meeting Goth singles, and tries to tell us how to do our effi ng jobs.Chantelle: Can I interview you right now over the phone?
Jordan: Oh man.C: Why not right now? Just quickly.
J: Because I’m doing some song-making. Oh, how embarrassing.C: Here are the questions I’m go-ing to ask you. The fi rst one is, who are you and what is your favourite fl avour?
J: Is this recording?C: Yeah.
J: I’m the manager of Slam Dunk.C: If you were to look in your cup-boards or fridge, what would you eat because you think, “Hmm, I wanna eat that because that fl a-vour looks delicious.”
J: Well, I could tell you the truth.C: Please do.
J: Or I could not . . . uhhh. Chili milk.C: What is the worst thing about your band?
J: We’re crap.C: How often do you clip your nails?
J: I pull them off when I’m lying in bed.C: Preferably with a woman, or is that something you do during alone time?
J: I get people to do it for me.C: Do you have any upcoming shows?
J: I’ve gotta book some for the band. They’re real great guys but I’m a crappy manager. We’ll be playing at the Brickyard for our CD release party before Oct. 16.C: And do you have any albums?
J: Yeah. Our first EP is called Swish and after that comes the full-length, Getting It In, and then we’re covering all of the Barenaked Ladies’ Snack Time album.
C: What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
Liz: Chili milk?J: A baby burger.C: What the fuck is a baby burger? You can’t say that!
J: A baby burger, but not from A&W, because those are pussy. No, don’t write they’re pussy. Okay, write they’re pussy, then say I said don’t write pussy. I’m not going to do an interview again if you don’t write that.C: Well, fuck! I don’t know if I’m going to ask you again. Are you getting this, Liz?L: Yeah.
C: Do you have a MySpace?J: No. We have a Napster ac-
count. We’re working on getting a new Mixopia account because we wanna meet new goth singles.L: We’re going to print the part where we’re convincing you to do the article.
J: Uh. Okay, okay. Then for the worst part of the band just write we’re crap.C: It’s our fucking article.
J: Oh yeah. I know, I know, I know.
For more info, go to www.oldlife.tumblr.com
ARTS
Local music mindfuck by Chantelle Mussell and Liz McArthur
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ALAN PiFFerStaff Writer
The reality for musicians in small towns is that, in order to realize their dreams, they’ll have to make the move to the big city. Or the big-ish city, anyway.
Victoria may not be Vancouver or Toronto, but it has enough going on for a guy like Geoffrey Lund-strom to leave the friendly confi nes of Nelson, BC and make a go of it at a music career.
“Coming from Nelson, you don’t even know if your music works, because everybody’s your friend, and tells you that you kick ass,” says Lundstrom. “I’m going to get a sense of whether it works or not.”
Lundstrom had a hard time fi nding gigs until he became more acquainted with the local music scene.
“When I fi rst got here, I got my resume and my CD together and went downtown to every restau-rant,” recalls Lundstrom. “I got a lot of shitty responses and I wasn’t happy with the town. But after I saw where they have open mics I went to a few of those places and they were so much more respectful to
a musician coming in and saying, ‘Do you have live music here?’ Once you’ve found the right places, I think there’s a lot going on music-wise around here.”
Lundstrom also gave busk-ing a shot, and while it had its ups and downs, it didn’t suit his personality.
“Going to the street where no-body gives a shit who you are, and almost want you not to be playing there—it’s kind of like you’re in somebody’s sonic space when you’re playing downtown. It’s really humbling,” says Lundstrom.
Lundstrom’s persistence paid off though, and his music impressed
the owners of the Serious Coffee in Cook Street Village enough to give him a regular Saturday night gig. So far it’s gone well, but Lundstrom realizes it will take time to develop a following.
“When I was in Nelson playing at a restaurant, by six months in you start having people coming in saying, ‘Hey, is that guy here tonight?’ and you start to get a fol-lowing of people who want to hear live music,” says Lundstrom. “I’m going to give it a couple months, and hopefully by then there’ll be people who remember that I’m there and come back.”
Despite the uncertainties of a career in music, Lundstrom plans to persist with his dream for as long as he can.
“I kind of feel as though, right now, if I wasn’t playing music, I don’t know what else I would do. At least now I haven’t found any-thing else in my life that is even close to music. I’m sure every musician says s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h a t , right?”
“I haven’t found anything else in my life
that is even close to music.”
geoFFrey LuNDstroM
local muSician
Geoffrey Lundstrom makes the leap to Victoria’s music scene
Geoff rey LundstromSaturdays, 7:�0 pm
Serious Coff ee (2�0 Cook)
[email protected] 1�SPORTS
DANieL cArrANzAcontributing Writer
Soccer mania is about to sweep across Camosun College . . . well, in a year or two, that is.
According to Graham Mat-thews, Camosun’s Athletics co-ordinator, his department is in the
“early planning stages” of starting BC Colleges’ Athletic Associa-tion (BCCAA) soccer teams at the college.
This year will be spent focusing on fi ling the right applications to the BCCAA, which is the govern-ing body that approves new sport program applications.
The BCCAA could recognize Camosun’s men and women soccer programs as part of their respect-ive college leagues as soon as the
2009/2010 season if the application process is successful.
“We will be doing the ground-work needed to launch an inter-
collegiate program over the coming year, with the hopes of having a program in place the following year,” says Matthews.
The college’s latest partnership with the Pacifi c Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) has led to the development of a new turf field located at the Interurban campus. The new fi eld provides a suitable pitch for what could be Camosun’s fi rst ever league soccer teams.
Camosun’s Athletics depart-ment has struggled to fi nd a suit-able soccer field in the past and now that things have changed for the better, funding will be the next challenge.
As far as staying competitive within the BCCAA league, Mat-thews believes it won’t be hard to
attract highly skilled players from Victoria and the outer regions.
“Victoria is a hotbed for soccer, so we believe the college, com-bined with the new PISE facility, will be able to attract and field very competitive programs,” says Matthews.
So start gearing up, dust off those foam fi ngers, get those lungs ready to scream for 90 minutes, and practice your face-painting skills. Soccer teams will potentially repre-sent our college in the 2009/2010 season.
For now, open tryouts are be-ing planned and anyone who is interested should contact the Ath-letics offi ces at either campus. For more information, go to camosun.ca/sports
Soccer at Camosun’s fi ngertips
“Victoria is a hotbed for soccer, so we believe the college, combined
with the new PISE facility, will be able to attract and fi eld very
competitive programs.”grAhAM MAttheWs
camoSun athleticS
guy ALAiMoStaff Writer
Camosun College’s golf team placed third at this year’s fi rst BC Colleges Athletic Association (BC-CAA) golf tournament hosted by Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC.
The Chargers shot a two-day total of 608, tying for third place with Vancouver Island Univer-sity (VIU) behind second-place Thompson Rivers and fi rst-place University of Fraser Valley.
Former BCCAA bronze medalist Phil Kondrack provided Camosun with their top individual score, shooting a 73 and 74, good for a fourth-place fi nish.
Kondrack fi nished behind BC-CAA golfer of the week Riley Balson of Thompson Rivers, who shot 74–70, and VIU’s Kristian Hrabowych, who fi nished in fi rst place, only two shots ahead of Balson.
Rookie Camosun golfer Mat Hennick fi nished an even 75–75, good for an eighth-place finish, while Ryan Tofani fi nished in 15th, shooting 77–78.
Last year’s BCCAA Silver Medalist, Charger Kevin Walz, fi nished the Castlegar tournament in 18th place, shooting 78–78 for a two-round total of 156.
Rookie Stefano Sidonio also made the trip to Castlegar for Camosun. He fared the worst out of the Chargers team, but still managed to shoot a respectable 79–80 for a 26th place fi nish in the tournament.
Just days before the tourna-ment, Chargers coach John Randle released this year’s roster.
Callum Ashby (McMath, Rich-mond), Andrew Chapman, Tyler Kuyvenhoven (Claremont), Dave Behnsen, and Warren Haugan all made this year’s roster, but didn’t make the team’s travel roster for the fi rst tournament.
The Chargers played their next tournament in Langley at the Red-woods Golf and Country Club on Sept. 27–28. They fi nished third out of nine schools, while Kevin Walz provided Camosun with their best individual score, shooting a 69–73 and fi nishing in third place overall.
Rookie Tyler Kuyvenhoven fi nished with a 75–71 while tied for eleventh place with fellow Camosun golfer Matt Steger. Steger came out gunning in the fi rst round, shooting a 70, before faltering in the second round, shooting a 76.
The Chargers are currently sitting in fourth place out of nine teams in the BCCAA standings.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start this season,” says Troy Dunning, Camosun’s Golf Management Pro-gram leader. “Best-case scenario we could win bronze, but it’s going to require a pretty good outing at this weekend’s tournament if we are going to fi nish with a medal.”
Camosun currently trails fi rst place Fraser Valley by seven points. Fraser Valley hosts the next tourna-ment on Oct. 4-5 in Chilliwack.
Chargers golf team make strong showing at tourneys
Photo: courtney broughton
October 1, 200814 COLUMNS
By Guy Alaimo & Donald Kennedy
By Breanna Carey
A� AnythingThe External Voice: News from the CCSS
A review of major party promises is needed to make an informed decision on election day.
Send your questions to [email protected]
University of AlbertaInformation Session
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christoPher giLLesPieeXternal affairS eXecutiVe
Having a good time downtown is going to get harder if city hall has its way. Public servants are cur-rently drafting a bylaw that would see the end of 24-hour eateries.
Mayor Alan Lowe has stated he would consider extending this bylaw to the entire municipality, not just limiting it to the downtown core.
City hall is considering this by-law due to the rowdiness of people getting drunk and causing dis-turbances when the bars let out. Lowe says these disturbances are drawing police away from greater priorities.
This “solution” is ludicrous. All-night eateries help sober people up after a night of partying and give them somewhere to go rather than parks or the streets.
The real problem is the lack of public transportation for getting people out of the downtown core after midnight.
If you really want people to go home, give them the means to go home. If people can’t get home, it’s better they eat something and sober up before attempting to journey home.
In addition to leaving intoxicat-ed individuals stranded downtown, the potential for hurting Victoria as a community is great.
This bylaw could hit places such as 7–11, since they also sell food products. If these 24-hour convenience stores are shut down, communities of people that work late, have sleeping disorders, or need that last-minute food supply will be out of luck.
Workers who rely on being able to work late hours to make rent or eat will be out of a job. The overall economic impact would be more devastating than the current disturbances.
With a municipal election on the horizon, why city hall would choose this time, of all times, to even consider such a disturbing bylaw is puzzling.
The current administration seems intent on leaving an anti-business legacy that would even-tually leave the downtown core a ghost of what it was.
Municipal elections are on Nov. 15. It’s not too late to send a clear message to city hall that this is an unwanted band-aid solution that will do more harm than good in the long run.
Late night eats in jeopardy
Q: Why do I have a raging hard-on in the morning? It’s probably in-appropriate and not really fair to
start something when the other person is still sleeping, but I need to fulfi ll my needs. How do I get my lady to nail me before noon?
A: The fact of the matter is that you have external gonads while she has internal parts. Both sexes
exhibit arousal during sleep; females are simply more subtle about it. Typically, men have about fi ve erections while they sleep. When women become aroused, you can’t tell because it’s not poking out from under the covers. Try getting it on before you go to bed; that’s when your girlfriend is bound to feel sexier. The morning sunshine may be nice, but it doesn’t make the ladies feel like hop-ping on and baring it all. If you are keen on getting laid early, try warming up your girlfriend with touching and gentle kissing when waking her up. If she’s not game for nookie, casually mention that there’s more protein in an average ejaculation than in a medium-sized pork chop. Why not at least make oral sex part of your breakfast routine? Erections occur during REM sleep, and men can also stay harder longer when they are asleep as opposed to when they are fully aroused and awake. Testosterone levels also peak in the morning, typically causing morning wood. Also, make sure the two of you get enough sleep, since exhaustion can dry up the sex drive. Trying to guilt your girlfriend into having sex with you doesn’t usually work. Playing hard to get (no pun intended) works better than you might expect.
JustyNe WALLAceWomen’S director
If one day you happen to fi nd yourself in the cozy confi nes of the Camosun College Womyn’s Center, why not grab a book off the shelf and nestle up on the couch (a warm tea from the center’s tea supply would be a great topper!).
The center has many books to choose from, and among the pages and bindings of literature, art, and poetry you may just be lucky enough to fi nd a copy of The Feminist Cookbook.
Sometimes the most unexpect-ed ingredients can conjure up the tastiest product! This cookbook is a very unique blend, made up of two parts radical, a cup-and-a-half of must-read information, and a dash of women’s empowerment.
The cookbook was written by a group of women currently residing in Quebec with the assistance of
Status of Women Canada. It pro-vides essential, up-to-date informa-tion about women and the feminist movement within the country.
The Feminist Cookbook, being a metaphor for conjuring up active social and political change, also plays on women reclaiming the kitchen, ridding it of all negative connotations.
As always, at the end of the summer season, vegetable gardens are more than ready to be fully
harvested. Try enjoying this end-of-summer recipe, compliments of my mother and inspired by The Feminist Cookbook.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread1 1/2 cups shredded raw zucchini1 cup all-purpose fl our1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 cup brown sugar2 large eggs
Mix together then bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (test by poking with a toothpick).
For more info on the Womyn’s Center, e-mail [email protected]
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Sometimes the most unexpected
ingredients can conjure up the tastiest
product!
Guy’s houseDish: Rigatoni with Italian sausage, onion, garlic, orange pepper, and onion.
Donald Kennedy: Back in the good ol’ days when I was a teenage mall-king, it seemed like I was conning a new girl into making me dinner every night. Nowadays I’m sitting around at Guy’s house eating pasta and thinking to myself, “Wow, it’s just like dining in the kitchen of a real Italian family.” I’m not sure when my dinner hour switched from wild teenage clambake to a Michelina’s commercial parody, but it seems like ages since the last time a girl reheated her mom’s corn chowder in an effort to impress me. Guy did a great job of jazzing up canned pasta sauce with garlic and peppers, but I couldn’t help but feel like I’d done this before . . . with a girl. For fuck’s sake, Guy even put a tablecloth on the table and we ate with his family. Next time I eat at Guy’s, it’ll be thin crust pizza wolfed right off the pan. This sitting-down-for-a-nice-meal shit is far too depressing. PS—Guy, your pasta was al denté as fuck.
Guy Alaimo: The pasta was cooked perfectly as the garlic danced with the tomato sauce. Peppers and mushrooms adorned the sauce, adding a meaty texture to an already hearty dish. The wonderfully grilled sausages were tender and tasty, a clear indication of being slowly cooked for hours with the tomato sauce. I noticed my guest glancing over the table at the chef in sheer adoration for what he had created—a culinary masterpiece.
Price for dinner: FreeVerdict: If I scammed on more Culinary Arts students, homemade Guy meals wouldn’t be necessary.
Slummin’ it at Guy’s house
[email protected] 1�HUMOUR
You draw comics, and we know it!
Submit samples to:[email protected]
Inconsistent Biomix By Jared Gowen
classifi edsPart-time work Great pay, fl exible schedule, sales/service, training provided, conditions apply. 250-220-8419, www.workforstudents.com
The Western Canada Wilderness Committee is seeking environmentally aware, outgoing people to join our canvass team. Flexible days, fresh air, and fun. Great job for students. Call Susan at 250-388-9292 between 2-4 pm.
The BC Cancer Agency - Vancouver Island Centre is currently recruiting volunteers for the TeaLC Café. If you are available for a weekly shift, are comfortable using a cash register, and wish to spend time in a rewarding volunteer environment, please call 519-5500 ext. 3747.
rheA sMiLoWskicontributing Writer
Top ten songs that make bar star girls dance10. “Dance, Dance” by Fall Out Boy
9. “Ladies’ Night” by Kool and the Gang
8. “Material Girl” by Madonna
7. “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crüe
6. “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
5. “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot
4. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
3. “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
2. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard
1. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Songs that make bar star boys dance10. “Break on Through (to the Other
Side)” by The Doors
9. “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
8. “Big Pimpin’” by Jay-Z
7. “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy
6. “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol
5. “Beat It” by Michael Jackson
4. “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
3. “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones
2. “Fight for Your Right” by Beastie Boys
1. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Are you for scuba?!?!Join the Camosun Scuba club!W h e t h e r yo u a r e a n advanced diver, or are interested in learning how to scuba dive, join now to receive valuable deals on gear, rentals, and education, and to connect with other divers here at Camosun.
If interested, please email: [email protected] or join our group on Facebook!
A federal general election is taking place on October 14, 2008.
New identificationrules to vote!WHEN YOU VOTE, YOU MUSTPROVE YOUR IDENTITY AND ADDRESS.
PIECES OF IDENTIFICATION AUTHORIZED BY THE CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER OF CANADA
IDENTITY CARDS— Health Card— Hospital Card— Social Insurance Number Card— Birth Certificate— Driver’s Licence— Provincial/Territorial Identification Card— Canadian Passport— Certificate of Indian Status— Certificate of Canadian Citizenship or Citizenship Card— Credit/Debit Card with elector name— Canadian Forces Identity Card— Veterans Affairs Canada Health Card— Employee Card issued by employer— Old Age Security Identification Card— Public Transportation Card— Student ID Card— Library Card— Liquor Identification Card— Canadian Blood Services/Héma-Québec Card— Fishing Licence— Wildlife Identification Card— Hunting Licence— Firearm Acquisition Card/Firearm Possession Card— Outdoors Card and Licences— Local Community Service Centre Card (CLSC)
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (containing name and address)— Credit Card Statement— Bank Statement— Utility Bill (residential telephone, cable TV, public utilities
commission, hydro, gas or water)— Attestation of Residence issued by the responsible authority
of an Indian band or reserve— Local Property Tax Assessment— School, College or University Report Card or Transcript— Residential Lease, Residential Mortgage Statement or Agreement— Canada Child Tax Benefit Statement— Income Tax Assessment Notice— Insurance Policy— Government Cheque or Government Cheque Stub with
elector name— Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid (T4E)— Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions/Quebec
Pension Plan Statement of Participation— Statement of Old Age Security (T4A) or Statement of Canada
Pension Plan Benefits (T4AP)— Statement of Benefits from provincial workplace safety or
insurance board— Statement of Direct Deposit for provincial works or provincial
disability support program— Vehicle Ownership— Vehicle Insurance— Attestation of Residence issued by the responsible authorities
(shelters, soup kitchens, student/senior residences,long-term care facilities)
— Letter from public curator
Note: The pieces of identification required under the Canada Elections Actare not the same as those for provincial or municipal elections.
The above information is also available in a number of heritage and Aboriginal languageson the Elections Canada Web site at www.elections.ca.
YOU HAVE THREE OPTIONS:
Provide one original piece ofidentification issued by a government or governmentagency containing your photo,name and address.e.g.: driver’s licence
Provide two original pieces ofidentification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.Both pieces must contain yourname and one must also containyour address.e.g.: health card and hydro bill
Swear an oath and be vouchedfor by an elector who is on the list of electors in the samepolling division and who has an acceptable piece or piecesof identification.e.g.: a neighbour, your roommate
OR OR
1-800-INFO-VOTE
1-800-463-6868
www.elections.ca TTY 1-800-361-8935for people who are deaf orhard of hearing
A Prehistoric Comic By Adrian Binakaj
Top 10 countdown
Friday, Oct. 3
Zimmer’s Hole, Invasives, Lesbian Fist MagnetALIX GOOLDEN HALL, 9 PM, $18 (NO MINORS)Metal, Metal, METAL! Vancouver-based band Zimmer’s Hole, a side-project of Strapping Young Lad members Byron Stroud and Jed Simon, grant all ironclad wishes for one night only, onstage with the high-energy British rock-inspired In-vasives. The always-animated punk-metal act Lesbian Fist Magnet rounds out this spectrum of musical genres.
Saturday, Oct. 4
Horrorpops, The Switch-blade ValentinesSUGAR, 9 PM, $15Psychobilly/rockabilly/new wave poppers the Horrorpops have arrived right smack in the middle of their Canada/US tour to demonstrate why their newest album, Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill, is getting worldwide recognition. Victoria-based, high-octane psychobilly band the Switchblade Valen-tines open. It’s the perfect opportunity to drink drink, dance dance.
Sunday, Oct. 5
Nine Mile, Brave New Waves, The VistaELEMENT, 9 PM, $10.50A collection of unique acts gathers this Sunday for a musical journey guaranteed to leave you vibrating at a high frequency. Local act Brand New Waves offer up some sweet coastal reggae sounds (think Sub-
lime), while Toronto’s Nine Mile is sure to impress with Bob Marley-inspired tracks. This lineup is the perfect wind-down to a crazy weekend.
Friday, Oct. 10
Chad VanGaalen, No More Shapes, Jody GlenhamSUGAR, 9 PM, $15VanGaalen’s roots date back to simpler times of street busking in Calgary. He recorded his fi rst album in a makeshift studio setup in his bedroom, eventually creating such a buzz around town that he sparked the interest of indie label Sub-Pop Records. Now with a decent discography behind his name, this pop act is ready to introduce Victoria to his unique, soulful sound. Catch him before he heads on his European tour.
Friday, Oct. 10
Freed the PuppetSOLSTICE CAFÉ, 8 PM, BY DONATION
Halifax’s Companie J’amusement presents live soundscape generation, video projec-tion, and contemporary dance, combining to fuel a journey through the limits of sound, image, and movement. Featuring the conscious rhymes of the Viable Human Existence Research Project, and dub from the J’amusement Sound Exchange. Check out creative and ear-pleasing musical art at its fi nest.
Saturday, Oct. 11
Plants and Animals, Born Ruffi ans, Slim TwigSUGAR, 9 PM, $16Montreal has more to offer than public drinking and tasty poutine. They have Plants and Animals, a band that util-izes a delicious combination of chillaxed beats, heartfelt lyrics, and catchy tunes. Toronto-based contemporary pop band Born Ruffi ans and the almost-psychedelic Slim Twig add to the chilled-out ambiance of a sweet Saturday night at Sugar.
eye oncampus
by By Kait CaversBy Kait Cavers
Distance learning course delivery reduces our environmental impact as it minimizes energy expenditure and produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions.- Roy, R., Potter, Yarrow, K., and Smith, M. (March 2005). Towards Sustainable Higher Education: Environmental impacts of campus-based and distance higher education systems. Design Innovation Group, Factor 10 Visions project: Higher Education Sector.
An ocean ofopportunity
awaits you
Can’t get into the course you need? Does your schedule make it difficult to balance schoolwork and a job?Thompson Rivers University can help by bringing education directly to you through Open Learning.
Open Learning takes your lifestyle and commitments into account, allowing you to set a schedule that works foryou. Study when you want, where you want and arrange your exam schedule. With over 400 online and distance courses available for registration throughout the year, you can get the credits you need and transfer themback to your home institution or apply them to a Thompson Rivers University credential.
For a complete list of Open Learning courses and programs please visit our website.
Swim with a new school1.877.663.4091
Swim with a new schoolChoose Open LearningSwim with a new school
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Breast cancer awareness eveningUVic is teaming up with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to host an even-ing promoting breast cancer awareness. A panel discussion will take place with guest speakers, medical staff from UVic, clinical counselors, and breast cancer survivors. An uplifting film about one woman’s journey through breast cancer will also be screened. Everyone is invited to come and learn about healthy lifestyle choices, current treatment options, and cutting-edge cancer research. 6:30–9 pm, UVic’s Engineering/Computer Science Building, room 123. Info: web.uvic.ca/hr
Thursday, Oct. 2
12 Days of PeaceVictoria’s 12 Days for Peace wraps up at the First Metropolitan United Church Sanctuary with a celebration of Gandhi’s birthday and the UN Day of Nonviolence. The evening will feature presentations by members of various faith communities on the teachings of nonviolence in their traditions. Quadra at Balmoral. Info: www.departmentofpeace.ca
Sunday, Oct. 5
CIBC Run for the CureGet over to UVic to support Victorians as they participate in either the 1K or the 5K Run for the Cure. Started in 1992, the run is held annually to help raise awareness and funds for the cause. In 2007, Canadians participated all across Canada and together raised more than $27 million for research. Missed the registration? Start training for next year! 9 am, University of Victoria. Info: www.cibcrunforthecure.com
Thursday, Oct. 9
Speaker Series 2008Dr. Helen Caldicott, an educator of the public on environmental issues, speaks in Camosun College’s upcoming Speaker Series. Hailed as one of the most infl uen-tial women of the 20th Century, Caldicott will deliver insight on the dangers posed by nuclear technologies. It’s sure to be an informative and inspiring evening that shouldn’t be missed. 7 pm at McPherson Playhouse. Tickets $25/$15 for students. Info: 250–386–6121.