By contributor Reid Eccles
The Nanaimo Clippers have the best power play in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) when playing in front of a home crowd. With a success rate of 29.82 per cent at Frank Crane Arena, the Clippers boast the most effective home power play in the league.
The Clippers played seven home games in October and put on a special team’s clinic. They won six of seven, outscored opponents 21 to 12, and potted 12 power play goals—at least one per game.
The power play has become the driving force of the Clippers’ offense because of what it offers: open space ...
Not all of us can afford a Fitbit, the seemingly be-all end-all of sports tracking gear. However, almost everybody has a cellphone with a variety of sports app options. Hopefully this will help narrow down the selection for a better you.
8fit
With a Google Play and iTunes rating of 4.5 stars, this app looks promising. The opening page, with its green logo and white background starts you off profile-building with the general questions of age, sex, height, weight, fitness level, etc., with the added bonus of asking your current estimated body fat. This seems innovative for a health ...
By contributor Farida El Sheshingy
I’ve been told, on many occasions, that hard work beats talent; hard work goes a long way regardless of what you pursue in life. I understand this notion a bit through sports and education. I still remember how I felt the first time I achieved a major milestone back home in Egypt: the day I received my acceptance letter from the American University in Cairo, one of the most prestigious universities in the country—my dream university at the time.
It was a Monday morning, just like any other at school. I had worked hard since the ninth grade to ...
Students across the genres in the Creative Writing department are eager to submit their work to Portal 2016. Just two days before the deadline, the magazine publishing class is hosting a Beer and Burger Silent Auction on November 25 at Old City Station Pub from 6 to 9 p.m.
This year, as always, the class hopes to attract students from all faculties and their families to distract from the drag of the semester’s final weeks, bidding their way into the holiday season. Fortunately, “Wing Wednesday” and the Canucks’ game on the same night will fill the downtown hotspot, as Portal will open ...
By contributor Denisa Kraus
On Friday, November 13, The Projects, a creative studio on Commercial St., hosted an exclusive preview of Beyond Control, a feature-length thriller by local filmmaker Raymond Knight. The sold-out event included a screening of selected scenes from the movie, a behind-the-scenes presentation, poster signing, and live music from Monica McGregor and Roberts Hall.
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By contributor Sarah Torgerson
There is something about a musically-accompanied dining experience: food is richer, conversation is more vibrant, and the world, with all of its countless stressers, is paused for a moment. Marina’s Taverna and Pizza, a Greek restaurant at 215 Terminal Ave. North, is offering Nanaimoites the opportunity to dine on authentic Greek food while listening to a live piano performance. We have all heard music at restaurants—Sirius Radio playing over speakers, either too loud or so soft you can hear your partner chew. But how often do restaurants provide live ...
It seems fitting that Netflix finally picked up the Coen brother’s classic O Brother, Where Art Thou? It’s the perfect opportunity to bring a new generation of fans to this Oscar-nominated movie.
The 2000 release is an homage to The Odyssey and to one of the Coen brothers’ biggest influences, Preston Sturges. Sturges himself intended to make a movie tale of the “common man” and his struggles in the journey of life, but was unable to finance it. The title of O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a line pulled from the original script Sturges created. His influence can always be found in Coen ...
Welcome to Night Vale (WTNV) is a strange podcast, so it would make sense that the novel follows in a similar vein. Yet, the rambling narrative that created such a success for the podcast nearly sinks its written sibling, and needs a dedicated fan to enjoy the ramblings that give little-to-no explanation.
The book follows town residents Diane Crayton, single mother to a teen with morphing abilities, and Jackie Fierro, 19-year-old who has been that age for decades, as they deal with strange mysteries that have inched into their odd lives in the mysterious town. Eventually, the ...
From November 17 to 27, VIU’s third-year Graphic Design students will be showcasing their re-designed packaging projects from the ARTG Packaging Studio course. The students researched a variety of products in their original packaging, pitching the idea to the professor, intending to change the way the product is sold.
Tim Yeung, a student working on the event, found that this project examined many aspects of the consumer industry. The mandate for the project was to retain the business goals, allowing the product to still stand out.
“This is your opportunity to make it more ...
By contributor Elly Tomasson
The first two weeks of November passed in a blur for the students and instructors at the VIU Theatre, putting together a stunning production of Moliere’s comedy Tartuffe. The classic play follows the story of a family who is duped into signing away their entire fortune to a religious con-artist, who has manipulated his way into earning the trust of the head of the household.
The show’s construction started the last week of September, giving the department just over a month to bring everything together. The shows put on by the Theatre Department are ...
There are three non-profit societies directly connected to VIU, funded in part by student fees, and actively involved with students: Radio Malaspina Society (RMS) for CHLY Radio; the Vancouver Island University Students’ Union (VIUSU); and The Navigator Newspaper Society (NNS), responsible for the editorial direction and publication of VIU’s bi-weekly student newspaper. As recipients of student funding, their mandates include striving for the betterment of student life and expression, and providing access to media.
The work they do takes funding, staff, resources, and frameworks. ...
By contributor Spenser Smith
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Walking through the bustling hallways of Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS), Brett Hancock smiles at, and fist bumps, every student he passes. Smiles form on their faces as they greet him back. “I learned a lot from traveling, but I sure as hell didn’t learn much in high school,” he says. “The goal with these programs is to let students learn valuable things—like the acceptance of others, empathy, and respect.”
Brett’s wearing pointy leather shoes with an intricate gold design, a stylish blazer over a t-shirt, and various ear piercings that make him look more like a rock star ...
We’ve all heard of students who lived off of Mr. Noodles because they simply couldn’t afford to buy proper groceries or make more nutritional meals. Perhaps you’re one of those students. There are also many students who buy fast food every day because, between classes and work, they don’t have time to cook for themselves. Thankfully, VIU has solutions for both.
Cafeterias tend to have a bad reputation. Everyone seems to think cafeteria food is disgusting and over-priced. VIU’s cafeterias prove that to be untrue.
There are two cafeterias on campus: the upper cafeteria in bldg. 300, ...
“I’ve always thought of myself as a little bit of a rebel,” says Lori Shwydky, a fourth-year Creative Writing student at VIU.
That was Shwydky’s thought process coming up with the first part of the name for her new publishing company, Rebel Mountain Press. The second part? Well, she loves mountains, but not actually climbing them. “I’m an armchair alpinist because I’m afraid of heights, so I have to read about it.”
Rebellion. Reading. A set of seemingly contradictory elements that blend together better than you might think.
It takes a certain kind of person to start a publishing ...
Above: A full house for the panel discussion on the call to action of Canada's TRC and the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People at VIU on November 2
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Our society moves from one buzzword to the next: “organic,” “sustainable,” “green,” “growth,” and now, here in Canada, we have “reconciliation,” which I greet with open arms. Its meaning reaches far beyond its dictionary definition to exceeding social effects and redefining history, Canadian identity, and how we can relate to the land and all people on it. It is spoken by the voices of CBC, our ...
VIU will be joining the Ladysmith Light Up and Nanaimo Santa Claus parades for the first time in recent memory with a bright float showcasing the school’s academic, athletic, and leadership success.
The float will feature a VIU band, student leaders, scholarship and award recipients, a DJ, cheerleaders, Mariners’ athletes, mascot Stewy the Sturgeon, and many lights, said Executive Director of Student Affairs and the float’s main organizer Carrie Chassels.
“The delegation will lead with a big rig truck, then a flatbed where there will be a stage for the band, followed by a white ...
On November 6, a band of drums and chimes filled VIU’s cafeteria with an energy that brought students and staff on the floor to dance and clap along. Along the entryway of the cafeteria, crowds of people browsed the booths that showcased information, cultural snacks, and pride from international students of many different cultures. World VIU Days is a time of celebrating, and this year there was an especially important announcement.
“In response to the Syrian refugee crisis, VIU faculty, staff, and students have come together to initiate the creation of the VIU International Refugee ...
In support of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, the Vancouver Island Crisis Society will be holding an educational evening on how to help those in need who have lost someone to suicide.
There will be speakers from the Crisis Society who all have experience coping with the effects of suicide, whether they have lost someone or have been exposed to it through working with youth and the community.
The speakers will provide participants with techniques on how to talk to people who have lost someone and how to deal with the loss of someone to suicide themselves. “We will talk ...
“Looking at this new government, it does seem to echo our need for positive change,” said Lise Steele, the Director of Land and Natural Resources for the We Wai Kai Nation, based in the Campbell River and Quadra Island area.
She is referring to the fact that her cousin, and member of the We Wai Kai Nation, Jody Wilson-Raybould, is now Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, as well as the first Indigenous person to hold this position.
Raised in Vancouver, Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, and carries the Kwak’wala ...
Never mind wearing white after Labour Day—if only it were so simple as stowing away those boat shoes and halter-tops. We’re far past the first weekend in September, and if you want to wear white, go ahead, fill your boots. Today’s battles aren’t nearly so frivolous as a fashion faux pas.
If I’m wrestling my mind back into the realm of academia, the soundtrack to an afternoon labeling school supplies should not be “The Monster Mash.” Let me have those last hazy days of summer. Please. And if you try to put pumpkin spice in my latte—or in anything for that matter—I’ll be throwing it to ...
The other day, while wasting time at London Drugs, I came across a display of adult colouring books, and it wasn’t just the sale sticker that caused me to stop and browse. Catherine, our sports editor here at The Nav, wrote “Colour me interested” in our last issue, and we printed some cool mandalas for our readers to de-stress with. The following week, I was seen colouring the back page of our paper, printing the images again and again, searching for dry erase markers to fill the small shapes. So, when I saw the extensive selection at the store, ranging from the original mandala, to ...
By contributor Sarah Torgerson
Nestled in the heart of the Vancouver Island University campus, students can find plumes of grey smoke and a handful of generally unhappy-looking smokers. This mecca for stressed out, nicotine-addicted students is where I sit between classes and take study breaks.
I started smoking on a beautifully humid evening in November 2009. I was living in Perth, Western Australia, and thought I could smoke recreationally. “Recreational smoking” ended when I lit my second cigarette. Some may argue it ended when I lit my first. Who am I kidding—it was a downward ...
By contributor Jordan Peterman
Between mountains of reading, writing essays, cramming for exams, and trying to salvage something of a social life, students will often cut corners when it comes to eating right. On top of this hectic lifestyle, it can feel impossible to tackle issues like fighting climate change, supporting local agriculture, and raising funds to help our classmates facing challenges and disabilities. Who has the time? Well, as it turns out, we all do.
The on-campus farmers' market accomplishes all of these things and more. The market was developed as a joint effort ...
