By contributor Carly Breault
Dementia is comprised of symptoms that progressively affect mental tasks such as memory, planning, judgment, emotional regulation, and personality. As the aging population continues to expand in Canada, dementia is becoming increasingly prevalent. As a consequence, the individual’s everyday life is tragically, and irrevocably, impaired. In turn, their loved ones also struggle with the devastating impact that dementia brings.
Nanaimo’s Kiwanis Lodge is a senior complex care community that houses elderly residents who require 24-hour personal care from ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_iDzcUbXvg
Steff Gundling, a fourth year Digital Media student and a graphic designer, is no stranger to the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF). The filmmaker awarded with two prizes for her very first brush with the film craft in 2013, a short romance called Year Of The Living Dyingly, has been shortlisted again this year and will be showing her new documentary Habit on February 6 and 7.
Navigator: Where did you grow up?
Steff Gundling: I was born in Halifax, but my dad was in the military so we moved around—mostly back and forth ...
By contributor Dr. Gordon Hak
“In our time,” says Dr. Marshall Soules of the Media Studies Department, “creative deception keeps us amused and confused.” He is reflecting on the fact that we live in a media-saturated environment, crowded from all sides by persuasive messages. All this advice, promotion, and propaganda form a spectrum of persuasion, according to Soules, and everywhere we see it performed with actors, scripts, props, and costumes.
“Persuasion and propaganda have consequences and we need tools—both old and new—to decode the stories, biases, stereotypes, and ...
The photographs sent by a resident of Nanaimo’s College Dr. neighbourhood, who recently emailed Nanaimo’s Mayor and Council to complain about litter on the College Dr. roadway, show a boulevard littered with coffee cups, food containers, and fast food wrappers. The writer characterizes the litter as “an eyesore and an irritation.” On weekdays the area provides free parking a reasonably short walk from campus, so the implicaton is that VIU’s students are to blame.
“I think it’s likely that students are the culprits, since they, and a few VIU employees, are the vast majority of the ...
By contributor Shaleeta Harper.
I heard about this hole in the wall—literally a hole in the wall—on Facebook. It made me curious, so I had to check it out. I took a trip downtown to the corner of Victoria Cres. and Albert St. for some of the New Years goodies advertised online, made specially for the occasion.
Normally a description of the décor would come in here, but, since Cinnamon Joes is a coffee window, paved sidewalks and maple trees are what you get for a street-side window.
The name Cinnamon Joes implies cinnamon buns and coffee, and that’s what it’s all about. The menu ...
This is the first in a contributor series by Stephanie Brown. Check back next issue for the next chapter of The Long Commute.
The final semester of my degree at VIU, ironically, won’t be at VIU—I will be in England studying as an abroad student at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. This isn’t the first time I’ve studied in another country; I attended a field school in Italy with VIU teachers who taught classes in Florence, but that was a much shorter trip. It’s a little more daunting to move to another campus, meet all new people and teachers, and live in foreign ...
By contributor James Mackinnon
The excuses are endless: “The weather is too nasty,” “Everything’s gone away for the winter,” “I just got a sweet Playstation for Christmas.” During the colder months, it’s easy to be deterred from getting out for a hike or an expedition in search of the plant and wildlife the Nanaimo area is known for. Truth be told, many of the trails are closed and much of our well-known flora and fauna have gone dormant, or gone south, for the season. But there are still plenty of exciting ways to get out and explore the natural wonders that make this part of the ...
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
During the fall term of 2014, the members of Solutions: A Sustainability Network reflected on consumption habits: their own and the habits of the entire VIU campus. They were interested in where consumption had the largest impact and how that could be minimized. Major contributors brought to the table were food waste, recyclables that wind up in garbage cans, and paper coffee cups.
The last one struck a chord, especially after the group worked so hard on the “Ban the Bottle” campaign in 2011 and had a serious impact on bottled water on campus. ...
By contributor Donovan Simpson. You can also read the Indonesian perspective here. View the farewell here.
Canada:
My Canada World Youth Leaders In Action adventure so far has been phenomenal. The journey began in early October when I left the cold Northwest Territories and arrived in a camp near Cowichan Lake where the orientation took place. I met with youth from across Canada and different parts of Indonesia. At first we were all strangers, but we quickly grew closer as friends and even as family. I found something really special about this group of culturally diverse and ...
By contributor Rihaf Husen. You can also read the Canadian perspective here. View the farewell here.
Indonesia:
This year I feel so grateful to get the opportunity to join Canada World Youth–Menpora youth exchange. I’ve been waiting to join this program since 2012, but I got the chance to follow the selection process in May 2014. I knew about Canada World Youth from my friend who happened to be a committee member for Youth Exchange Ambassador in my province in South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Indonesia. They thought I would be interested in joining—it would be helpful for an Indonesian youth ...
The VIU Deep Bay Marine Field Station is currently documenting the activity of an introduced species of algae and its environmental effects.
The algae being studied, Mazella japonica (MJ), is an exotic species estimated to have been introduced 80 years ago.
The study is taking place due to it taking over the ocean floor and reaching critical mass.
Manager of the Marine field station, Brian Kingzett, admitted they don’t know much about it yet.
The algae itself has become a controversial topic in the area with two specific sides drawn.
Kingzett said the first narrative is ...
Port Alberni teen Colin Simister is looking to bring Pride events back to town with a large barbecue this summer.
At 19 years old, Simister has decided it is time for there to be a Pride event held in Port Alberni again.
“We used to have the train ride to the Mclean Mill,” said Simister. “But there hasn’t been an event held here in two or three years.”
Pride events were organized and held by the now disbanded youth group Wilde Youth. Since the group split, nobody has stepped up to organize events for the LGBTQ community.
Simister said this year he was fed up with having ...
Local filmmaker and activist Paul Manly is seeking the opportunity to be the first Green Party of Canada candidate in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding in the next federal election.
Manly, who spent his formative years in Ladysmith, and has been a resident of Nanaimo since 2002, announced on January 5 that he was seeking this nomination.
Manly is known for his filmmaking and social activism. Many of his films touch on subjects that he said are of high priority if he is elected.
“I’ve had a long interest in Federal politics,” said Manly.
He has worked on films that touched on ...
Entering the month of January, we find ourselves right in the middle of flu season.
London Drugs Pharmacist Chris Wiebe said the biggest thing people need to remember during this time is the difference between the flu and a cold.
“A flu comes with a fever whereas a cold doesn’t. The rest of the symptoms are the same, but you can usually tell if you have the flu.”
Wiebe said there are some key things you can do to prevent getting the flu.
“The main things to do during flu season is wash your hands, take lots of vitamin c, avoid rubbing your face as your hands will spread ...
The City of Nanaimo is asking the public for their assistance in tracking down the person(s) who were involved in an illegal removal of trees.
On November 14, 12 trees were illegally cut down on a park property on the north side of Laguna Way near Universal Pl. Of the 12 trees cut down, there were two alders, two Douglas firs, and eight Western large leaf maples.
Urban Forestry Coordinator Alan Kemp said they believe it could have been done by a professional faller.
“We found a faller’s wedge left behind, and the trees were cut directionally with proper back cuts. It was ...
Happy New Year. It’s going to rain until May. The landscape is barren. Our next holiday is over a month away. Just when we need the comfort and security of something life-affirming—something that has been here longer than we have, weathering storms and drought—you come around the corner and it’s gone. They cut down the trees. On Milton St. at the corner of Wentworth St., three giants were struck down. In their place are ground down stumps, bloody with sawdust.
We need our urban trees. Their roots may burrow beneath private property, but their branches extend into public space—they ...
Something very exciting happened earlier this school year for Canadian students living in Manitoba. You may not have heard about it over the sound of the deep fryer at your part-time fast food gig. Let me recap: in November, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger announced that starting sometime in 2015, students studying in Manitoba will no longer have to pay interest on their post-secondary student loan.
According to Zach Fleisher, Chairperson at the Canadian Federation of Students in Manitoba, interest-free programs have found success in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but this is the first ...
After an extended holiday break, the VIU Mariners will return to action on Friday, January 16 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. There’s no doubt the Mariners will be excited to return to action as the team hasn’t played since November 29, when the Mariners picked up a victory on the road against the Bearcats.
The Mariners will be happy to play in front of their home crowd again. The team hasn’t played a home game since November 22 against the Douglas Royals. The Mariners played only five of their 12 games before the holiday break at home.
VIU was playing well heading ...
The Mariners’ men’s basketball team entered their holiday break with a perfect 7-0 record. With the seven-game winning streak to start the season, the Mariners were ranked as the best basketball team in the country. The Mariners played their first game of the second semester against the Camosun Chargers January 9 in Victoria.
The game was a tightly contested affair, but when the final buzzer sounded the Mariners picked up the 79-71 victory. The Mariners started the game well, opening up a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. The Chargers kept the game close in the second quarter, not ...
With the 2015 BCHL trade deadline having come and gone, the Nanaimo Clippers’ roster has finally taken shape. The Clippers made a couple of roster moves in the days leading up to the deadline, which was on Saturday, January 11.
First, the team signed forward Brendan Shane, who had spent his season to this point with the Waterloo Blackhawks of the United States Hockey League. Shane was also a teammate of Clippers forward and San Jose Shark draft pick Jake Jackson last season with the Des Moines Buccaneers. Shane had two goals and two assists in 21 games for the Blackhawks ...
The VIU Mariners’ women’s basketball team returned from the break on a positive note. The Mariners traveled down the Malahat to Victoria to take on the Camosun Chargers and came away with a 68-48 victory.
The Mariners came out strong and dominated the opening quarter, controlling the tempo of the game from the opening tip-off. By the end of the first quarter, the Mariners had jumped out to a 22-6 lead. The Mariners kept applying the pressure to the home team in the second quarter, continuing to expand their lead. At halftime the Mariners led 34-15. The Mariners did a good job of ...
After a six week break, the VIU Mariners’ women’s volleyball team is preparing to return to action. The team will play their first two home games after the holiday break, on January 16 and 17 against the visiting Columbia Bible College Bearcats.
The Mariners haven’t played since November 29, when the team picked up a hard-fought victory of the Bearcats. The win gave the Mariners a four-game winning streak, their longest of the season, and gave the team a record of 6-6 heading into the extended break.
The team’s upcoming games against the Bearcats will be the Mariners’ first home ...
It took seven tries, but the Nanaimo Buccaneers finally got the victory they were looking for. The team fought hard and picked up a 5-3 win over the first place Campbell River Storm on Thursday, January 8 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
It was Nanaimo’s first win of the season against their Division rivals. The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for the Buccaneers as the team snapped a five-game winless streak, their longest of the season.
Trent Bell opened the scoring against the Storm just over a minute into the game to put Nanaimo up 1-0. After Colin Blake tied ...
This Thursday, January 15, VIU is hosting Robert Shirkey, a former Toronto lawyer who quit his job to pursue Our Horizon, a not-for-profit organization fighting climate change. Shirkey lectures across Canada to demonstrate his organization’s plan to label gas pumps across the country with warning labels, comparable to that on cigarette packaging.
“This idea gives municipalities the chance to change the public perception of climate change,” Tomlinson says, “it is simple, easy to implement and relatively cheap.”
Melissa Tomlinson, a VIU student organizing Shirkey’s lecture, hopes ...
