By contributor Reid Eccles
It’s a good post-season to be a Clippers fan. The Clippers easily secured the Island Division Championship, sweeping the Powell River Kings 4-0, and now the Penticton Vees have been eliminated from the BCHL’s 2016 Fred Page Cup playoffs. Rallying in four straight games, the West Kelowna Warriors were able to dethrone the Vees and take the Interior Division Championship 4-2. For the Clippers going into the double-round-robin third round, this scenario is among the best.
The Clippers’ secondary scoring remained strong through the second round and the ...
By contributor Ryan Levis
Justice was served and Median inclinations reborn; the acquittal of Jian Ghomeshi signals a new era of hopelessness for survivors of sexual violence. The evidence of how the justice system is rigged to favour rapists has never been clearer.
Either all women need special training in formulating their rape accusations, or all men need radical training in healthy relationship development. I prefer the latter. I prefer prevention.
Ghomeshi is socially ruined, but financially he will probably benefit. His retaliation lawsuits will likely succeed. Men have ...
By Megan Wolfe
Going on medication for my mental illness was probably the most terrifying and worthwhile decision I have ever made. I’ve made jokes in previous years about one day going on it, and since no one knew that I was actually struggling with severe anxiety and depression, they laughed along with me, not thinking much of it.
I was terrified of being diagnosed with anxiety or depression, because of the chance that I didn’t have either and was just overreacting—if I just thought positively enough, if I just ignored what I was feeling, it would go away. I always thought going ...
When faced with the question “What are pulses?,” the majority of us would shake our heads in confusion. According to the Manitoban Pulse and Seed Growers, a pulse, or pulses, refers to the “term for the edible seeds of legumes (plants with a pod) which includes peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans.” Douglas & McIntyre’s The Power of Pulses: Saving the World with Peas, Beans Chickpeas, Favas and Lentils, a new veget arian cookbook designed with pulses in mind, comes out this year, with 2016 named the Year of the Pulses by the United Nations. Hosting a variety of recipes ...
By contributor Zoe Lauckner
In the Nav’s Valentine’s Day issue, the Mental Health Matters column was about sex bias (that is, biological/natal sex) in regards to how females are diagnosed with mental illnesses and how stereotypes and labels can affect the latter.
The same can be said for men, as sex differences exist in diagnoses that reflect stereotypes portraying men as more violent, antisocial, and criminal in nature. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), men dominate the statistics for alcohol dependence (twice as likely as women to be diagnosed) as well as ...
When my mother spontaneously signed me up for the Nanaimo Foam Fest back in January, I was less than enthusiastic to say the least. I skeptically looked up from my computer screen at the dinner table as my mother excitedly shoved a pamphlet in my direction. She sat down as I examined the purple and yellow piece of paper with a big, bold “5K” plastered on the front. My mom took my computer from me and went on their website, chock full of videos of previous runs. Barring my own reluctance, after watching a few promotional videos of people smiling and covered in bubbles and mud, it was ...
Above: Poetry in Transit in Vancouver via The Canada Project.
Riding the bus is not everyone’s favourite thing, and perhaps not the place many of us go to find something beautiful or artistic. I know my preferred method of bus-riding is to put on headphones and look down into a book or my lap, avoiding eye contact, and really just wanting to be off the bus. Clearly, it’s not my favourite way to travel either.
Nanaimo’s Poet Laureate, Naomi Beth Wakan, has inspired the Poetry in Transit program—a way to change the way we ride the bus, and to change our experiences of the city we ...
A couple of years ago, I began my journey into a place that many had gone before and many have gone since: to the world of collecting vinyl records. In the beginning of my collecting, I wasn’t especially discerning in my purchases. The records I bought typically cost under a dollar and I was taken in by things that “looked old,” or had great album art—the reason why I have not one, but two Meatloaf albums. There was something about hearing these old albums from decades gone by, in the same way that many would be hearing it when they were released; there is an element of time travel to ...
It was a month or so ago, on an episode of The Savage Lovecast, that I first heard the shocking and hilarious sound of Rachel Lark’s music. Her comedic style was a breath of fresh air, and I needed to know more about her. So off to Bandcamp I went, where her 2015 album Vagenius can be purchased for a mere $7.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=950409078 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
The album is a fabulous mix of comedy and singer-songwriter music, with the common thread of feminist ideas and sex positivity running throughout. While the album features her primarily on ...
Above: A firefighter works to contain a large fire that gutted the historic Jean Burns building in the heart of downtown Nanaimo on March 30. Photo by Bryn Tassell.
By Antony Stevens and Shanon Fenske
SF | The crowds in front of the yellow, movie-scene tape blocking Albert St. are thick. Slowly, I navigate my vehicle
towards my Cavan St. parking lot, past open-mouthed stares and jogging witnesses pointing excitedly at flames dancing upon a downtown building’s rooftop. Parked firetrucks flash their lights as smoke billows into the growing darkness. I cannot believe what I’m ...
Above: The original Slenderman image by Victor Surge
Oh, Slenderman, you may have once been a spooky internet campfire story, but you have become a cheap way to make a film seem connected to something bigger, or a bogeyman to blame the attempted murder of a child on. This is not to say that the tale of this giant fancy-man in a morphsuit has not been the subject of frightening or even quality entertainment. Particularly when you look to YouTube, Slenderman seems to have found a home among very creative horror lovers. With series such as EverymanHYBRID, Marble Hornets, or ...
Above: Untitled Unmastered by Kendrick Lamar
For the last issue of the year, it seems fitting to finish things off with one more music round up. Here are my five favourite albums from March and April of this year.
Untitled/Unmastered by Kendrick Lamar
This is the definitive proof that Lamar is the master of his genre, even at his most stripped-down. The album is a compilation of unreleased demos from the recording of his last (masterpiece) album To Pimp a Butterfly. It hits hard and is heart-breakingly brief, but is sure to satisfy those looking for a bit more Kendrick before, ...
Above: An honouring ceremony for the Snuneymuxw people last year at VIU.
By Lori Shwydky
Last week, the “Indigenous Survivance: The Truth in Reconciliation” event was held on campus by my class, Health and Human Services 263 (HHS 263): Elder Teachings Across Disciplines, with instructors John Swift and VIU Elder Geraldine Manson. I used to think I was somewhat well-informed about First Nations issues, but this class has been an eye-opening experience. I realized what was missing was an Indigenous perspective. Was Columbus a mighty explorer who discovered America, or was he a ...
By contributor Andrea Christiansen
Greenland is a barren, white island known as the land of ice and snow—a no man’s land where snowstorms never end. But in reality, the island’s population is approximately 56 thousand and it has all four seasons. During spring, the snow begins to melt, and you can hear the water dripping from the roof. When summer comes, the snow is all gone except for at the tops of the majestic mountains. Then the green grass grows, and you can find hunters seeking reindeer or musk ox, or taking their boats to the ocean to hunt seals, depending on the ...
Above: Photo via Russell McNell on Flickr
Following the implementation of a controversial new “student services fee” on April 1, VIU has been tight-lipped regarding what exactly students’ money is going towards.
VIU defers to an online fact sheet, updated early last month, for all information regarding the fee and the new services it will eventually cover. The new services are split into three focuses: “increased services” to the Health and Wellness Centre, including “mental health…and support for students with disabilities;” opportunities for “experiential learning,” such as “paid ...
Above: Touhou 15 (Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom) via axeandnyan.wordpress.com
By contributor Philip Gordon
You may have seen the word “Touhou” floating around the internet on a YouTube video, or a song, or a weird anime thing your brother liked once. By way of a short explanation, Touhou is the name of a series of shooting games made by one Japanese dude named Zun. There are 15 entries in the main series, which began on the PC-98 in Japan and exists on Windows today, and Zun shows no signs of stopping or slowing down his output.
This might seem only moderately impressive from a ...
Above: Lore, one of many compelling horror podcasts
Since I was a kid, I’ve loved horror stories—whether it was books, movies, comics, campfire stories, or even just perusing the horror section of my local video store, reading the backs of VHS cases I wasn’t allowed to rent. It started innocently enough, reading the Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark series, and of course the former’s Canadian-made television show, and its cousins Are You Afraid of the Dark and Freaky Stories.
As I matured, so did the horror that I consumed, but something that I always had a love for ...
By contributor Dane Gibson
Following a history-making event last November honouring Coast Salish veterans from both sides of the border, VIU today raised a veterans’ prayer pole and warrior canoe in remembrance of Coast Salish veterans who served their countries.
The veteran’s prayer pole will have a permanent home at the south entrance of VIU’s Cowichan campus. The warrior canoe will be made available for other communities to use as an “ambassador of remembrance,” and will be travelling to another community in November to honour Aboriginal veterans on Remembrance Day.
“We have ...
September 2015 signalled the start of a partnership between the Navigator and the NDSS Skills for Life program. Coordinated and executed with the help of Skills for Life program educational assistants (EA) Johanne Aubut and Cathy Murphy, the partnership has provided sought after work experience for nine Skills for Life students.
Outfitted with blue and white “Navigators” hats provided by the Nav, the nine students set out every second Friday of the month to deliver newspapers to businesses in downtown Nanaimo, the waterfront, Bowen area, and at NDSS itself. After the initial ...
Volunteer crisis line operators are in short supply at the Vancouver Island Crisis Society (VICS). The VICS is presently taking applications for their next training session, which begins April 28, with the final deadline for applications being April 21.
Training offered by the crisis line is extensive, and covers a wide variety of topics, including mental illness, grief, suicide, working with Aboriginal populations, and providing extended context and understanding that is extremely valuable.
The society operates in Nanaimo and offers services all over Vancouver Island, and even to ...
In Swahili, Harambee means to “all pull together.” On April 23, VIU’s local World University Service of Canada (WUSC) committee will be doing just this at their annual Harambee Gala dinner.
To date, the VIU WUSC Local Committee has sponsored 12 students from Somalia and South Sudan through the Student Refugee Program (SRP). In the fall, they will sponsor their first student from Syria.
This event will fundraise for the three sponsored refugee students that will come to VIU from Africa and Syria in the fall through the SRP.
“There is certainly added hype and pressure for this ...
Youth support was a large focus for Justin Trudeau during the election, but it is still in question whether the Liberals will fully deliver on their campaign promises. The recent release of the federal budget gives us some insight to the road to come for students and youth for the 2016-’17 tax year and beyond.
Loans
There will be a new way of assessing eligibility for Canada Student Loans.
A flat-rate student contribution to determine eligibility for loans and grants will replace the current system of assessing student income and financial assets. This change will provide $267.7 ...
A landmark Supreme Court ruling, Carter vs. Canada, determined the prohibition of assisted suicide conflicted with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by several parties. This has led to many ethical questions and opposing opinions on whether doctor-assisted suicide is moral and necessary, as well as what restrictions should be in place.
This will be the topic of a debate at VIU on April 7 and April 21. Dr. Paul Kamill, a retired physician, will argue for doctor-assisted suicide. Dr. Oscar Clemotte, a VIU philosophy professor, will argue against it, in favour of better ...
Culture and heritage have the potential to further a city’s creativity, diversity, and innovation; the City of Nanaimo will honour this on April 13 with the 2016 Culture and Heritage Awards Ceremony.
Along with local entertainment, the ceremony will recognize Alyssa Glassford for Emerging Cultural Leader, Debbie Trueman for Honour in Culture, Susan Juby for Excellence in Culture, and Memorial John Hofman for the John Thompson Heritage award.
"These awards celebrate those who have made significant contributions to Nanaimo’s culture and heritage, making it a more culturally vibrant ...
