Waterfalls
By contributor Spenser Smith
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS: Back to school
This is the first in a contributor column by Zoe Lauckner. Check back next issue for the latest in Mental Health issues.
It’s that time of year again—students new and experienced come together on campus with the goal of learning in mind.
Though exciting times for many, university is commonly the most stressful time students have experienced in their lives so far. According to a 2006 study by Statistics Canada, 75 per cent of Canadian university students are between the ages of 17 and 27. Is it a coincidence that this age range is also the most susceptible to mental health issues? I ...
Need motivation to hit the gym or eat your greens?
VIU Campus Rec’s successful program Personal Activity Choices and Eating Sensibly (PACES) gives students an incentive to eat healthy and exercise, as well as an opportunity to win prizes. Beginning again on September 28, participants will record their physical activity minutes and fruit and vegetable intake for nine weeks, ending November 27.
By recording and submitting their exercise minutes and fruit and vegetable intake on activity cards (each worth 10 hours of exercise), participants are entered into a draw for various prizes. The cards will be counted and documented weekly, where ...
Fast Fall Recipes
Finding recipes that are quick, easy, and nutritious is hard. Between work, school and life in general, it’s difficult finding new recipes (or finding the time!) to cook something different, especially when it comes to the struggling student. We’ve all been there, wondering what to make for dinner and just not finding anything interesting to cook among the million choices available out there. Let’s hope this one will make things easier on those busy days when coming home and cooking isn’t suiting you.
After seeing vendor displays at the Harvest Festival on September 12, squash was ...
Volleyball: For the thrill of it
Above: Colleen Haddad. Photo by TJ Heath
When we hear about sports, what typically comes to mind are the big names: The Mariners, the VI Raiders, the Buccaneers. But what about the average university player? Though they may not play within the big leagues, university intramural athletes play with as much ferocity and competitiveness as their counterparts, though it may be for pleasure-—friendly play without the pressure of tournaments and having to travel for their sport.
Intramural volleyball player Colleen Haddad is one of them.
On her way to completing her Bachelor’s of Science ...
Mariner Highlights
Wednesday, September 9 // Nanaimo
VIU - 0, Quest - 1
The 24th minute gained Quest the winning goal shot from 25 yards out. VIU did well the second half of the game but did not manage to tie the game. “We came out a bit nervous and it took us a bit to get settled and start playing like we can,” said Head Coach Anup Kang after the game.
Saturday, September 12 // Vancouver
VIU - 3, Langara - 1
VIU scored 30 minutes in with a great free kick by Samantha Rodgers from 30 yards away. Eight minutes later Rachel Jones went to the penalty box and later converted the spot kick from 12 ...
Harvest Festival
Walking towards the venue, you can already hear the music and people. The place is packed, full of vendors and people of all ages. Pumpkins, squashes, beets, carrots, and greens are abundant. Food trucks advertise colourful shaved ice and delicious crepes. The atmosphere is buzzing, full of talk and laughter. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day, one of the last before the rain comes.
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The Politics of Youth
Millennials get a bad rap. This particular generation—“youth” born roughly between 1986 and 1997—have been labelled apathetic, lazy, and entitled. Sweeping generalizations rarely help when examining human behaviour, but bitter-tasting tar seems to accompany the word “millennial” as it rolls from the tongue. Yet, as the generation moves more deeply into adulthood, they’re dispelling some of these myths.
Samara Canada recently examined one of the misconceptions—that youth are apathetic and disengaged from politics. A non-partisan charity with a mandate to increase civic engagement, ...
Gold & Shadow light the way with Torch
By contributor Megan Wolfe
While standing outside of The Buzz Café, waiting for the doors to open for the concert and album launch, you could see the strong support Gold & Shadow has gained from the community. Many people in the crowd said they had also attended the band’s show the previous night at The Vault Café. Several members of the art-rock group came outside to talk to family, friends, and fans. The band engaged with the audience, laughing about an inside joke, and that carried through into their show.
TORCH by Gold & Shadow
Though the seats were filled at the ...
VIU hosts Nanaimo’s first gaming convention
“Look, it’s bigger on the inside,” exclaims Jennifer Montgomery as she inspects the replica TARDIS. She was one of hundreds that attended the first annual MosaiCon on September 12. Rolling board games, video games, cosplay, and general nerdy fun, MosaiCon offered something for everyone. The upper cafeteria at VIU was packed with booths and console games, while the Royal Arbutus Room on the second floor buzzed with board and card gamers.
Event coordinator Marc Gervais developed the idea for MosaiCon when he realized there were no conventions of this style anywhere near Nanaimo—people ...
Movie Review: Wish I Was Here
Wish I Was Here is one of those movies that somehow finds its way onto your Netflix “Recommended for You” list, and you sit there for a moment trying to piece together your watching habits in a desperate attempt to understand why it’s there. And since it’s Tuesday, and you’re in limbo between reminiscing/recovering from the weekend and actually doing your homework, you click play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCponfeWNOI
An indie flick with an indie soundtrack, indie camera shots, and indie clichés, Wish I Was Here is not soul-changing, and it never pretends to be anything more ...
Book Review: The Martian
Andy Weir’s book The Martian encapsulates the wondrous question of “what if” in character, plot, and the narrative story, creating a piece where the reader excitedly wonders if our main character will die or not.
Weir’s own knowledge of space exploration and technological development gives tangible evidence to these questions, helping the readers immerse themselves in the story and believe much of the unknown that is faced. This is one of the highlights in reading The Martian—how easily you can immerse yourself in the new and slightly futuristic world. It’s there, just barely out of ...
Out of Addiction and into Education
When Jordan Reed's parents tried to talk him into moving to Nanaimo from Vancouver to attend a treatment centre for his problem with drugs, Reed resisted by using the tactics he knew best: anger, hostility, and manipulation.
He thought he could beat his addiction on his own—an idea that is seemingly universal among addicts and alcoholics.
As his life became steadily more unmanageable, he eventually gave in to the pressure and decided to accept the help they were offering.
Now, with over 15 months of sobriety, Reed’s life has transformed from a state of hopelessness into a life of ...
Food Festival Turns to VIU Students for Hospitality Help
By contributor Kimberly Plumley
Nanaimo’s newest annual festival, Feastival, is a unique celebration of the Island’s culinary culture.
VIU’s Hospitality Program will have a chance to shine when up to 60 students head up the welcoming crew for visitors. “It’s a privilege to work with these dedicated students in our partnership with VIU. After all, hospitality is at the centre of so much of this part of our culture,” says Kim Smythe, Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce CEO.
Feastival will include food trucks, a farmers market, celebrity chefs, family cooking lessons, a trade show ...
EVERYDAY EARTH: A personal reflection on the meaning and culture of sustainability
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
It is with great pleasure that I give the environment a voice within The Navigator, as that voice rings definitively within my own head and life. I have lived my life under many labels: “hippie,” “naturalist,” “environmentalist,” and “activist.” Each place I live in seems to identify the way I live under a different term; however, to me, it is always the same life.
When I was eight years old, I decided (for the first time) to become a vegetarian. The consumption of animals was just too sad for this little farm girl—they were my confidants, my ...
Nanaimo Community Gardens Society Greenhouse project
The Nanaimo Community Gardens Society (NCGS) is in the running for a $25k funding grant by the Co-op Community Spaces Program.
One of four project finalists, NCGS aims to build an educational greenhouse in Beban Park with the additional funding. In hopes of expanding its ongoing projects furthering education on local food production, they will involve communities and schools, as well as produce seedlings and produce to be sold and donated.
Since last spring, the Co-op program has donated $1 million towards projects of recreation, environmental conservation and urban agriculture ...
Take the time to be mindful and de-stress
VIU’s counselling department is offering new initiatives and workshops to help students combat stress and anxiety, as well as a new room to practice mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation in the Health and Wellness Centre.
New this year, the Wellness Series workshops are scheduled group sessions based on the core reasons students go to see counsellors, said VIU counsellor Michelle Daoust.
Each of the five workshops (The Art of Relating, Emotional Pain is Not a Sickness, Living Well While You Learn, Stress: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, and Transforming Anxiety) are scheduled ...
Paul Manly and Elizabeth May climb the hill to visit VIU
On September 8, the VIU Greens hosted a garden party on VIU’s Nanaimo campus to provide information about the upcoming federal election and to promote the Green Party’s platform. Students had the opportunity to meet and talk with Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP candidate Paul Manly.
A meet-and-greet with opportunities for students to talk one-on-one with candidates from each party will take place at VIU on September 24, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m..Candidates from Nanaimo-Ladysmith as well as Cowichan-Malahat-Langford will be in attendance.
Voting for the “address-challenged”
As you may know, youth voter turnout in Canada has been less than stellar, with only 38.8 percent of youth voting in the 2011 federal election. While there are several reasons behind this—apathy towards politics, distrust in the government, or feeling as if they can’t make a difference—for some it is simply the hassle that comes with voting.
Stephen Harper’s changes to Canada’s Election Act made it so voters can no longer use their voter registration card that comes in the mail as identification at the polls. In 2011, 400 thousand people used this method. In addition, voters who do ...
Zombies hit the streets of downtown Nanaimo
Nanaimo’s downtown core was invaded by zombies on Sunday, September 13 around 4 p.m.
Undead men, women, and even little zombie children paraded through the streets as they groaned and snarled at frightened onlookers. The apocalyptic march filled the quiet streets with commotion. While several cried out for brains to eat, no injuries or fatalities were reported.
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An Arguably Partisan Look At Vote Splitting
There’s a lot of talk around the Island, talk about how “the left” is being torn between two lovers—the Green Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP)—and how the consequences (just like the last three elections) may wind up burning when you pee—another four years under Stephen Harper’s Conservative Government.
I’m not a mathematician. Apparently you need a degree in mathematics (statistics/probability/magic) to really wrap your head around the phenomenon called “vote splitting” in an election.
Succinctly put by <Votesplit.org>, “Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which ...
Never Eat Soggy Waffles: Creating a sense of direction
Okay, let’s get political. The other day, after scrolling through my friendly Twitter feed, I paused to see the CBC’s Vote Compass link. It was ideal timing, as my inner democratic compass was spinning wildly as if I stood on the North Pole’s legislative peak.
The link led me to a bright site, asking “Where do you stand?” Below that, an ever-augmented number showed us just how many Canadians have also sought bearing. At the time of publication, over 681 thousand people have done the quiz.
As per usual, CBC nailed it with their version of the “which character are you most like?” ...
Healthy eating: not as hard as we think
We readily consume sugars, pastries, and meats without much thought in everyday life, not to mention alcoholic beverages. What is a night out without it or a day out with friends without at least some dessert or heavily sugared coffee?
Noting our habits broaches tough subjects of food and nutrition. What are we really putting in our bodies? Is this sugary feast really good for us and are there healthier alternatives?
Raw food educator Debi Brummel of Nanaimo has all the answers up her sleeve. Her 30-year mission to rid her cupboards of pre-packaged, sugary foods and promote healthy ...
Summer Sports Highlights
JULY
Tour de France
A 3360 km race, the 102nd Tour de France kicked off on July 4 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. A total of 198 riders made their way to the final stage at the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This race marked a special moment for British riders as the winner, Chris Froome, was the first Brit to win the Tour twice, after a previous 2013 victory.
Pan American Games
Canada proudly hosted the 2015 Pan-Am games in the city of Toronto from July 10-26. With over six thousand athletes, this year marked the largest sports event hosted in the country, and with 45 percent of athletes ...
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