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 ...
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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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, ...
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 ...
“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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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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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 ...
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?” ...
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 ...
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 ...
In the last Navigator issue prior to the summer break, Ben Chessor, our previous sports editor, made the five following predictions:
1. The Canucks will win a playoff series,
2. The Seattle Mariners are going to make the playoffs,
3. Tiger Woods won’t win a gold tournament,
4. The Tampa Bay Lightning will win the Stanley Cup, and
5. The Cleveland Cavaliers will win the NBA Championship.
In some respects, his predictions came true. Just a few weeks after the last issue was published, the Canucks and Calgary Flames fought it out on the ice, with Calgary coming out on top ...
Devoted fans filled the stands as the weather changed from heavy rain to sunny breaks. The game finished with a 22-14 final for the home team. Their next home game is September 19 against the Okanagan Sun.
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Above: Proposed one-way cycletrack. Image courtesy of City of Nanaimo
When commuters choose bicycles over cars, the benefits are undeniable: less congested roadways; lower demand on parking spaces; a cleaner environment; and a workout for the legs, heart, and lungs without a trip to the gym. Many businesses, like VIU, make it easier for their staff to ride to work by providing showers and secure bike parking. But sometimes those benefits aren’t enough; unless people feel safe outside of their cars, they’re unlikely to leave them.
With motor vehicles increasingly sharing the roads ...
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Photos by Sean Enns
A note on Deep Dream:
Developers at Google released an image manipulation framework during the summer. The package applies various filters—from the subtle to the fantastical—to images it’s fed, then examines each pixel, and attempts to make sense of it. Once it comes up with an answer, it overlays another image to enhance the original. We thought it would be interesting to see what it made of VIU’s Nanaimo campus. Try Deep Dream for yourself at deepdreamgenerator.com and share your manipulated images of campus with us on ...
Contributor name witheld
When you’re a Townie, the only difference between August and September is what’s on TV. That’s how it used to be, anyway, before I started dating a Dean’s Lister.
Yeah. I’m a Townie. I’ll always be one, even when nobody says it anymore. Long after the days of “town and gown” are gone and forgotten, I’ll be the goth kid loitering outside the downtown coffee shops with a Dunhill cigarette crushed between black-painted fingernails.
Yep. My girl’s a Dean’s List darling. This ain’t luck, either. These are consecutive appearances, bought with a bucket’s ...
