I remember the first time I heard “autistic” used as a slur. I was in tenth grade gym class, and one of my more athletic classmates had said it to a teammate who had messed up a play in baseball. I felt insulted; I knew he wasn’t trying to attack autistic people, but that’s essentially what he was doing. I thought, “Are people still that afraid of what they don’t know?” Given the current political climate in the US, where the President’s campaign was largely built on xenophobia, I can sadly say: yes. Yes, they are.
Fortunately, moments like these are the worst ableism I’ve ever faced. ...
Although women exist in the comic book genre, they do not have a history of being treated well—a bit useless, scantily-clad, and often used as love interests and conflict arousers. While this isn’t true of the ladies featured in a new, inclusive wave of literature, it is a trope inflicted on women in non-literary graphics and comics by publishers such as DC and Marvel.
Enter Gail Simone, creator of Women in Refrigerators, a website she started in 1999 as a response to the treatment of women in comic books. On it, she addresses the abuse, rape, dismemberment, and disempowerment that ...
February saw Greyhound Canada pull its Victoria-to-Nanaimo route, as well as the long-unused Victoria-to-Vancouver connector. The official statement quoted low passenger use and rising operating costs as cause for the shutdown.
Local bus service Tofino Bus All Island has already stepped up to fill the new gaps in transportation.
“It’s the latest step in our evolution as a premium service provider for residents and tourists looking to get around the entire island,” said Tofino Bus All Island founder and president Dylan Green in a press release.
The company already has a history ...
It’s March, and the Work-Able internship is open for applications for the 2018–2019 year. The twelve-month program gives disabled individuals the opportunity to work in BC’s public service.
Applicants to the program must reside in BC, self-identify as an individual with a disability, provide medical documentation, and give proof of graduation from a recognized post-secondary institution between April 1, 2015 and September 4, 2018. This year there are 18 positions available in BC. Island locations include Nanaimo and Victoria.
The importance of the internship is not lost on Odette ...
I first heard the term “ableism” at the Nanaimo Women’s March last January. VIU’s Student Union was handing out pins. One said, “Unlearn racism,” another said, “Unlearn ableism.” It’s hard to unlearn something you don’t know, I remember thinking.
Ableism, as I later found out, is the discrimination against people with disabilities. While the term was new to me, I had seen its definition in action. My partner Sarah is disabled. Once in Vancouver, a man harassed Sarah after we parked in a disabled spot, even though she had a disabled parking permit. She’s also been harassed while ...
“He looks like a criminal,” our neighbour, Claudia, told my mother. “Shifty-eyed.”
Claudia was elderly and happily divorced, tall with hunched shoulders and a loud voice. She was referring to my brother, Thomas. She did not like him.
“Look me in the eyes when I’m speaking to you,” she said to him on multiple occasions.
My parents weren’t fond of Claudia, but they felt sorry for her. We lived in the middle of “the boonies,” halfway between the two small towns of Lake Cowichan and Duncan, and my parents believed it was important to be kind to our neighbours—no matter how ...
This no-bake cookie is one of the easiest things you’ll ever make, and a perfect treat to make for Easter.
Ingredients:
½ cup vegan butter, margarine, or coconut oil
¼ cup and 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp vegan milk
⅔ cup sugar
1 ½ cups quick oats or rolled oats
1 cup coconut flakes
Directions:
In a saucepan stir oil, cocoa powder, milk, and sugar together. Place over medium heat and continue stirring until the oil and sugar have melted. Remove from heat and stir in the oats and coconut.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper and drop ...
If you’ve spent any time in the vegan corner of the Internet, you’ll have noticed a wide range of opinions about the vegan diet. There are those that claim it’s the healthiest diet that ever existed, and those that claim it will kill you. A vegan diet, like a diet that includes animal products, can be healthy or unhealthy. Sure, it can force a wedge between you and many unhealthy foods, such as fast food burgers and poutine, but vegan comfort food (thankfully) still exists. And just as there are challenges that come with eating a lot of meat, a vegan diet has its fair share of ...
Vancouver Island University’s gym was fire code maxed-out at 11:30 am on February 2, with hundreds of people waiting to participate in the Town Hall meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In the two-hour long meeting, close to 30 different people were given a mic to address Trudeau. Members from various parts of the community were in attendance, including some of VIU’s own. The following is a transcript of the questions that students got to ask Trudeau:
What should we, as Canadian citizens, do about the tension in the Korean peninsula?
“It’s an issue we struggle with. As we look ...
This vegan chocolate cake is also called Depression Cake, because it was common during the ’30s when milk, butter, and egg supplies were limited. The addition of vinegar has no effect on the taste of the cake and helps the ingredients rise in a similar way to a cake made with eggs. The recipe makes a 9” double-layer cake.
Ingredients
3 cups flour*
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup oil
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
*can be gluten-free. 3 cups of Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour, plus 3 1/2 tsp guar gum makes a nice ...
“Mallory,” Mr. Nelson, my Pre-Calculus 12 teacher, said, “what’s the first thing you need to do to solve this equation?”
I blinked up at the SMART Board, where Mr. Nelson had written a series of numbers and signs in red computerized ink. It was an easy equation to answer—isolate x, plug the result into the quadratic formula, and boom, question solved. I could only stare at the board in silence.
Beside me, my classmates had grown very still. I kept my eyes fixed on the board as each tick of the clock echoed through the room. I was already seated in the corner, in the least visible ...
Vancouver Island University’s head coach of the men’s soccer team, Bill Merriman, is retiring after nine successful seasons with the Mariners. Merriman took over the program in 2009 and had instant success, winning a PACWEST silver medal in his first year, and then went on to win a CCAA National Championship in 2010. Under Merriman’s leadership the team continued to find success, winning national medals in 2011, 2012, 2014, and then the most special of all, another CCAA National Championship this season on home turf.
“It’s so special that Bill can retire as a National Champion. This ...
Playing in his final season at VIU, basketball guard Bryson Cox has a lot to be proud of. Throughout his five-year career his coaches and teammates have relied on his leadership, both on and off the court. He took time to chat with the Navigator about the team’s preparation for the upcoming provincials, and personal takeaways from such a remarkable university career.
What was it like to play in your last regular season home game at VIU?
I couldn’t of asked for anything more. The five years here, and then having that final send off. Having the coaches showing their appreciation. ...
The 13th annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival took place at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre earlier this month and, once again, the films did not disappoint. Out of 127 submissions, 18 films were selected for public viewing. I had the opportunity to attend the February 3 viewing before the awards ceremony, to get a peek at the contestants. Here are my rants and raves:
“Breakdown” by Greg Tudéla (France)
A local bar is held up by one unprepared patron having a terrible day. Michel, having been fired from his job, decides to rob his friend’s bar with a machete—but things don’t ...
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 28, 2018, and left much to be desired, with only a single televised award given to a female artist. Alessia Cara won Best New Artist, while all thirteen other televised awards were handed out to males.
As if that isn’t bad enough, the president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, was asked about the gender misrepresentation in a post-show press conference, to which he responded by saying women in the industry need to “step up” if they “want to be part of the industry on an executive level.” The executive producer of the Grammys, ...
Al Cool is a born and raised BC author, having travelled extensively along the provinces’ coast throughout his career as a computer professional. He has won first and third place awards in short story contests, published stories in Toronto’s Danforth Review and New York’s The Otter e-zines, contributed to three Canadian anthologies, and is the author of five published West Coast novels. Cool majored in English at Simon Fraser University and completed a Masters equivalent in Creative Writing with Sam Hiyate at THE RIGHTS FACTORY (2016).
Cool uses his writing to educate the public on ...
A patriotic biopic on the rise of McDonald’s—the multi-billion-dollar restaurant empire that pays starvation wages and sells food causing a range of trademarked digestion symptoms, from McBloating to McHeartburn—is a strange concept to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really into the new Seriously Chicken Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich. However, The Founder, just like the majority of McDonald’s menu, does not deliver.
The plot: in 1954, Ray Croc (played by Michael Keaton) is a travelling milkshake mixer salesman from Illinois. He discovers that McDonald’s, a restaurant in San ...
“Roll Sound!”
Robert Murray shouted as he sped along, while beside him Knuckles ripped through traffic with no apparent care for his life or well-being.
At a red light, Knuckles slowed into a track stand, balancing on his pedals while he rummaged through his messenger bag before pausing to shotgun the beer he removed. Then, before the light turned green, he was off through the intersection—triggering a symphony of horns from the angry afternoon commuters.
The streets blurred into a gradient of grays on the camera. Murray struggled to keep up while filming, but it was worth the ...
It’s no secret the film industry on the West Coast is booming right now. Major Hollywood players like Warner Brothers, Disney, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon have all increased production in BC, and current trends show that this expansion won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
A bulk of BC’s film production happens in Vancouver. However, the industry is also thriving on Vancouver Island. The recent production of Chesapeake Shores in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, and Nanaimo has resulted in a new Vancouver Island Film Studio being developed in Parksville. The studio is expected to be completed ...
Down Victoria Crescent, between Mambo’s Pizza and The Queens, is a quaint chessboard-floored barbershop. Inside, the walls are decorated with retro advertisements varying from original PEZ ads to classic “There’s nothing like Guinness” posters, all punctuated by a variety of 50s pin-ups.
Johnny Rose is a thin man at 33, his face and body covered in tattoos, from the highly detailed to the likes of a weekly paper comic strip. He sports a classic greased-back hairdo combined with a surrealist moustache, as if Salvador Dali joined a street gang. He works away on a young man’s hair; the ...
When you’re in need of some Mexican cuisine, very few places in Nanaimo will satisfy like Gina’s Mexican Café. The service and food are fantastic, while the environment feels unique, festive, and—okay, let’s just get this out of the way.
We’ve all heard tales of Mexican food and its destructive potential on the digestive system. My stomach isn’t always the most cooperative, and hot and spicy food items are usually a gamble.
So if the gorditas happen to win in a standoff against my gut, it’s important to familiarize myself with the fastest route to the best baño I can ...
“Have you tried the free fitness plan at VIU?”
It’s a common phrase used by students who have classes in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Building (380). For those students who have classes exclusively on the lower campus, this “free fitness plan” refers to the climb of 403 stairs that leads to the highest building on campus.
No one is arguing about the relationship between exercise and learning; we all know that it’s good for us as we huff into class with bright red faces, shedding layers as fast as humanly possible. The problem is that, as of late, all of those exercise benefits ...
The news that Canadian poet Sheri-D Wilson is coming to Nanaimo usually leads to one of two reactions: utter excitement at the chance to work with her, or a puzzled look combined with a politely uttered, “who?”
With roots in Calgary, Wilson has taught all across Canada. Her specialty is the “intensive workshop,” usually running multiple days in a row, which gives creators the chance to create, edit, and finalize a piece to perform. She herself has performed countless times in Canada, the USA, England, France, Mexico, Belgium, and South Africa. With works of theatre, music, literature, ...
In film, ‘breaking the fourth wall’ is a term for when actors break character and address the audience directly, blurring the line between fiction and reality. It’s been used for comedic effect in movies like Deadpool (2016), Space Balls (1987), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and many more.
In theatre, breaking the fourth wall is a more personal experience. Live actors can walk through the audience and engage with anyone in the room. There’s an energy to live performance that film can never quite match.
Our lives are full of acting. We all have roles: the role of a student, a ...
