march 28, 2012

IMAGE COURTESY U.S. MARINE CORPS

Quebec rises up against tuition hikes 4

There’s just something missing now 8

The future of TRU men’s volleyball? 13

THEΩMEGA

VOLUME 21ISSUE 28

March 28, 2012

TRU’s Independent Student Newspaper

Democracy

in action

March 28, 20122

You live in a democracy With that fact comes a responsibil-

ity. If people want the freedoms and choices afforded them in a democracy they are responsible for being aware of the processes which hold such a societal structure in place.

Here’s the thing though - studies show, students and young people at large just don’t give a –

On a federal level, ignoring the re-cent success of Jack Layton’s NDP, the 18 to 25 demographic is traditionally absent from voting booths. Youth Voter Turnout in Canada, a public report on parl.gc.ca (the Parliament of Canada’s official website), compared the turnouts of young people (under the age of 25) for the 2004, 2006 and 2008 federal elections. According to the report under 40 per cent voted on average. Numbers for the most recent election haven’t been tabulated. While they may have gone up, it’s likely they will still be the lowest of any age demographic, as they have been in nearly every federal elec-tion since 1970.

And that’s at the highest level of of-fice. Once we get down to the munici-pal levels, low levels of voter turnout become even more prominent.

Low municipal turnout is partly due to the fact that youth-centred issues are rarely discussed during city elections. Young people also tend to be more transient, renting homes and moving more often, sometimes changing mu-nicipalities multiple times in a year. An Elections Canada report on the 2010 Toronto municipal election also noted the lack of data collected on youth and municipal elections. It suggested that cam-paigners found it dif-ficult to engage young people without the data to calculate their strategies.

That brings us to student politics. Terms last one year, student union membership al-most completely turns over every five years, and the majority of eli-gible voters are from the age demographic least likely to vote.

With the recent Thompson Rivers University Student Union election it be-came apparent there was a greater lack of participation than previous years. 10.4 per cent of the 7090 eligible mem-bers partook.

Western governments and interna-tional media hailed the revolutions in Middle Eastern and North African na-tions as a sign of democracy’s power as a concept. However, those same West-ern countries are experiencing declin-ing voting figures according to studies in many established democracies. And while many considered the youth a driving force of those revolutions, their peers in Canada seem less and less in-terested in those same ideals.

TRU

While B.C. campuses tend to get low turnouts, TRUSU has done rela-tively well in the past (heavy on the relatively). The University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBCO) student council election this year was consid-ered a blockbuster as far as turnout is considered. The UBCO student paper The Phoenix proclaimed “UBCO has massive election.” The huge turnout?

Twenty-five per cent of eligible voters.Last year at TRU was a big year as

well, with 44 candidates and about 18 per cent turnout. One of the reasons postulated by some students for the low poll numbers this year was the fact only one slate ran and each position only had one person running in it. This gave stu-dents the option of voting for that slate or to ask for re-running of the process. For one available position the slate didn’t have a candidate and an indepen-dent candidate ran.

“I think there’s multiple things at play. We’re coming to the end of the semester when students are focused on one thing right now and that’s get-ting their papers in or doing their mid-terms,” according to Dustin McIntyre, VP internal and incoming president of TRUSU.

“If you want to call that student voter apathy, that they care about their schooling more than coming to the student union to vote, sure. I don’t call that voter apathy. I think if people legit-imately could come and vote and they just didn’t want to, that would be voter apathy, and I think, sure it was a low turnout, but I don’t think that’s a sign of anything that’s negative.”

According to McIntyre, there wasn’t a hot-button issue in this election, and he doesn’t think there usually is.

“If there was, maybe if there was something larger that was taking place and the student union had a pivotal role in that, voter turn out would be a lot higher because that issue would be in people’s minds and they saw the solu-tion as coming to vote at TRUSU.

“We’re talking about a lot of people who are only here nine to five and then they disengage from campus. I don’t think the state of democracy on campus is failing. I feel that democracy is a pro-

cess and it ebbs and flows.”TRUSU Executive Director Nathan

Lane agrees to a point, but believes poor turn out is an issue campaigners need to face as well.

“I think a lot of responsibility for youth voter turnout has to be split equal-ly. It has to be split because candidates...have to speak to issues that mobilize young people,” said Lane. “You cannot expect people to participate in a process if they do not feel like the issues being debated in that process affect their ev-eryday lives. I think that that’s impor-tant. I also think that there needs to be some responsibility from young people to say ‘If I want my issues to be heard I have to make it to the ballot box.’”

Fourth-year journalism student Joey Jack has become a vocal critic of TRU-SU and their communication tactics during the Winter 2012 semester. In a recent open letter printed in the Omega he called out what he considered a lack of effort in the student union’s com-munication to students. In particular he pointed to social media and the lack of real discussion with students and notifi-cation of the council election.

“It’s bullshit. It’s embarrassing be-cause we all learn so much at school, we

learn so many things, and it’s like we’re learning to not give a shit,” said Jack. “I think if it’s that low they should have to do it again. It should be a do over. How embarrassing is that? When you look at the numbers? They can’t even claim that 1 in 10 people on campus wants them in power. That’s embarrassing.”

McIntyre points out that while few students came out to vote, the majority did approve his bid for presidency.

“Am I glad that we had a low voter turn-out? Absolutely not. I can’t say that I’m happy that only 10 per cent

came out, but I’m also going to say that I’m happy that 500 hun-dred students came out and said that Dustin McIntyre is the best president for the job,” he said. “If they didn’t feel that way they had the option to vote no.”

Kristi DeWolf, a fourth-year bachelor of arts student, majoring in history with a politi-cal science minor, ran for VP external last year. She’s also been

very active in the TRU student body, as a student caucus member (elected co-chair), president and founder of the TRUSU Politics Club, member of the Educational Programming Committee (sub-Senate committee) and other stu-dent organizations. She also sees onus lying on both the student union and stu-dents. While poster boards have proven ineffective, there are other streams to engage and encourage student partici-pation.

Like Lane, Dewolf sees a duality in communication responsibility.

“And there is onus on students as well. We have to really make a bit of an effort to go out and see what’s out there or I guess continue with the apa-thy which makes me sad,” DeWolf said.

However, she points out the student union has the resources to become a hub for student communication.

“The TRUSU website, they have made a lot of changes to and it has got-ten a lot better over the past four years, but there’s really not a lot of advertis-ing other than that. And I know that’s something that even within TRUSU they want to work on, especially for student services,” she said. “I think it’s really important that when we’re pay-

ing a certain dollar amount every year towards or student union fees, that we should have some more detail on what those fees are going into and what we get out of those fees.

“I think using the Facebook page more because so many people do use Facebook and yet again there was noth-ing really about the election there either. Maybe doing classroom presentations, that seems effective. A lot of professors really are open to classroom presenta-tions especially because their part of a union too,” said DeWolf.

At the time of publication the TRU-SU Facebook page had three posts relating to the election. One post noti-fied about the closing of nominations closing shortly. The next announced the candidates while the final one an-nounced the opening of the polling station. The union has posted 23 times during the winter semester. Seven of those postings were to add photos to the page.

As for the buzz worthy twitter, @TRUSU15 only has 157 followers com-pared to the Facebook page with 1415 followers.

The twitter feed is more active though, with 124 tweets this semester.

The Omega broke down those tweets into seven categories. The most com-mon tweets had to do with the Cana-dian Federation of Students (CFS) and the campaigns run by the CFS such as the Drop Fees campaign and the move-ment to get rid of bottled water on cam-pus. Thirty-nine percent of the tweets were CFS-centric, many tagged with #cfsfcee referencing the CFS. Services and events were next at 28 per cent, fol-

lowed closely by deals offered by TRU-SU membership at 21 per cent. There was a noticeable drop down to tweets about elections which was matched by TRUSU Facebook page ads, with four tweets each. The student with the twit-ter handle @marvinbeatty was replied to nearly as much as there were election notifications, as he had three responses to inquisitive tweets. There were two New Years messages, one for the Gre-gorian calendar and one for the Chinese New Years celebration.

Joey Jack also points out what he feels is another flaw in the TRUSU’s use of social media.

“There’s actually nowhere for me on their Facebook page to actually have a dialogue with them or with other stu-dents,” said Jack. “Wouldn’t it be great if TRUSU’s Facebook page had it so you could write on their wall and ask some questions?”

Lane feels that social media, while useful, may be a bit of a red herring in communicating with Kamloops’ post-secondary students.

“Especially in Kamloops it’s impor-tant that people are doing face-to-face organizing in terms of going out and speaking to people about issues,” said Lane. “I think that there is a number of people that utilize Facebook, but I also think that there is a lot of clicktivism that goes on where people may ‘like’ a page but that doesn’t mean they go to the ballot box, that doesn’t mean they participate in an issue.”

Democracy inaction!Ω News EditorBrendan Kergin

TRUSU staff patiently await voters to register and vote at the 2012 TRUSU election polling station. Just over 10 per cent of the student population voted for their student union representatives for next year. —PHOTO BY CORY HOPE

“We have to really make a bit of an effort to go out and see what’s out there or I guess continue with the apathy...”

—Kristi DeWolf

Last week’s cover image tell-ing the student body to vote in the TRUSU election was meant to get across the fact that for each position being voted for, there was only one candidate, so students could vote for that per-son, or vote to run the election again.

The image itself stated that the YV=YV slate was the only option, which was rightfully pointed out to be incorrect.

Parth Mukesh Patel ran as an

independent, and was not a part of the YV=YV slate.

The YV=YV slate did not f ield a candidate for that position, and so Mr. Patel still ran unopposed in the election, which is the message that The Omega was at-tempting to get across, but the actual wording contained within the image was technically inac-curate, and as such we apologize to Mr. Patel for the implication that he was part of the YV=YV slate, when he was not.

Omega Correction SEE DEMOCRACY p. 5

Feature

publishingboardEDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike DaviesBUSINESS MGR * Natasha SlackINDUSTRY REP * Mike YoudsFACULTY REP * Charles HaysSTUDENT REP* Sadie Cox

letterspolicyLiterary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material. Opinions expressed in the Letters & Opinion section do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff. Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

copyrightAll material in this publication is copyright The Omega and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright Omega 2012.

3

THE MEGA

March 28, 2012 Volume 21, Issue 25

Published since November 27, 1991

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society(Publisher of The Omega)TRU Campus House #4

Box 3010, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 5N3Phone: 250-372-1272

E-mail: [email protected] Enquiries:

[email protected]

(Correspondence not intended for publication should be labelled as such.)

editorialstaffEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mike [email protected]/250-372-1272

BUSINESS MANAGERNatasha Slack

[email protected]

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITORCory Hope

SPORTS EDITORNathan Crosby

Copy EditorLarkin Schmiedl

Photo EditorCory Hope

News EditorBrendan Kergin

Roving EditorTaylor Rocca

Promotions Coordinator/AdsalesAmrita Pannu

www.theomega.ca

omegacontributors Amy Berard, Crystal Cline, Marilla Steuter-Martin, Jaques Gallant, Chris Hanna, Samantha Garvey, Lucas Milroy, James Rouse, Cedric Noel, Micheala Piazzini, Jona-than Faerber, Tyler Shendruk, Tim O’Brien

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 28

Editorial

Hundreds of thousands of pro-testors took to the streets of Mon-tréal recently to protest the Québec government’s intention to raise the amount of tuition post-secondary students will have to pay for their schooling over the coming years (see article on page ).

They’re upset that their tuition fees will go up to the point where they will need to be paying a simi-lar amount to students in the rest of Canada.

So here’s my question:If a couple hundred-thousand

people are protesting in Québec against having to pay what every-one else pays, then why are those of us who already pay that much OK with the cost of our education?

Or are we?It would seem that one could ei-

ther call us accepting of the amounts we are paying for our education, or

lazy and complacent.Then again, maybe we’re too

busy studying to flood out into the streets and block traffic.

Maybe we’re engaged in what we’re learning and don’t want to take the time away from our studies just to piss off the public and make ourselves look like self-entitled, whiny drains on society.

Let’s face it, many uninformed and short-sighted people already think that subsidizing post-second-ary education at all is a drain on society.

They don’t want to look at the fact that a well-educated workforce demands a higher level of financial compensation, and therefore will be paying far more in taxes post-graduation than the amount they were “given” to attend school in the first place.

They don’t want to look at the fact that preparing academically for the workforce creates a more dili-gent, hard-working employee who is better at dealing with the stress and pressure of the workplace, which could very well lead to sig-nificantly fewer costly visits to the doctor later in life (not to mention someone you’d rather be dealing with in your future endeavours than someone who hasn’t experienced any stress or pressure until they got to their job).

But the short-sightedness of those who think that university education subsidies are a drain on society exists within the students of Québec as well.

They think that continuing the

huge subsidies they’ve been receiv-ing that afford them the least ex-pensive post-secondary education in the country is what’s best for ev-eryone, when actually they’re caus-ing the collapse of their province’s financial stability.

They also think they’re entitled to these low rates of financial re-sponsibility for their own educa-tion, because they’ve had them as long as they can remember.

Full-time students in Quebec in-stitutions right now pay an average of $2,519 per year according to Sta-tistics Canada.

British Columbian students are currently paying an average of $4,852 per year. Yes, you’re reading that right. It’s almost double.

So I guess each of you has to decide for yourself why you’re not flocking to public spaces and being a nuisance with signs and chants.

I’m not out there because I’m too busy working to pay for an educa-tion while attending school, appre-ciating what it will offer me (and provide for me) in the future, as well as what it will offer (and pro-vide for) society itself.

Maybe if the students of Québec had to get a job while they were in school to help pay for their own education they’d try a bit harder to obtain that education (realizing that the alternative sucks), and appreci-ate it a bit more because it wasn’t almost free.

That’s what I’m doing.How about you?

[email protected]

Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s Note

I assume most readers of this article are in their early twen-ties, completing some type of post-secondary education and living independently.

For a fair number of youth in Kamloops, that however is not a reality. Their average week is a struggle to f ind a secure job, safe housing and nutritious food.

That is not to say student life is a breeze, but many of the basic necessities we have to maintain ourselves are out of reach for our peers.

I met up this week with Taryn, a youth coach who does outreach work at Interior Community Services.

She works with youth in Kam-loops under age 24 and her role can include connecting youth with support services, f ind-ing affordable housing, visiting youth on the streets and accom-panying them to doctor’s ap-pointments.

Many of the youth Taryn works with grew up in govern-ment care, and at 19 years old are left to move forward with their lives independently.

Most of the youth she works with are in this transition pe-riod. While they’re technically adults, they still have so much learning to do.

“Hidden homelessness” is a serious problem among this age group. “Youth are in places, but

they may not be safe places. If they were on the street, it would set off alarm bells,” said Taryn.

If any of us were to walk past a 15-year-old sitting on the street, the problem would likely be f ixed instantly.

But when most of these youth are couch surfing, no one is aware of the issue.

“The problem with couch surf-ing is if you don’t have money to contribute, you worry that you can’t stay the next night. You’re more vulnerable to high-risk sit-uations.”

And so the cycle continues. It is diff icult to secure safe, af-fordable housing when living on income assistance.

Another factor affecting the ability to live independently can be the basic life skills we all take for granted.

Grocery shopping on a budget, comparing products and prepar-ing a meal are all daily tasks we likely watched our families per-form growing up.

For youth who may not have had that opportunity, it can be overwhelming or even embar-rassing to try to navigate.

One thing that remains un-changed in this lifestyle that surprised Taryn is that, “Youth in general – their resiliency is amazing, their strength.”

The energy, courage and hope our age group is known for is always present in the way these youth face their daily challeng-es.

Interior Community Services co-ordinates many programs and affordable housing opportu-nities. If you want to learn more, you can meet up with Taryn at the Youth Centre at 520 Seymour St.

Let’s make sure we give our peers the opportunity to develop to their full potential as creative, caring and competent adults.

Amy Berard is a TRU business student and the campus liaison for United Way. To get connected with the community, email her at [email protected].

Know Your Community

Amy Berard

Count yourselves lucky, and consider lending a hand

ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — The war on social problems has reached new heights in America, and museums are the latest weaponry. The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, for example, is trying to do its part to prevent child-hood obesity with displays that send a not-subtle-message: get healthy, kids.

The museum has erected a play centre where visitors learn the power of pedalling, bouncing and jumping. There’s a place to meet super-pow-ered vegetable heroes and exhibitions where kids crawl through a digestive system.

This museum isn’t unique in its initiative. The New York Times re-ports that The Young at Art Museum in Davie, Florida, has an after-school arts program for homeless students, while the Providence Children’s Mu-seum on Rhode Island helps foster-care children find permanent families. The Children’s Museum of the Arts in Manhattan provides a place for foster-care children to reunite with their birth parents. What do they do when they are reunited? They make art, of course.

Museums are becoming much more than receptacles for relics. They are trying to bridge gaps in places where there is often red tape. Social workers want to help build relationships be-tween parent and child; the Children’s Museum of the Arts in Manhattan is creating a new avenue where that can happen.

Museums are also evolving to meet the needs of today’s generation. Children are much heavier now than they were 20 years ago. Video games, television and fast food have contrib-uted to the high obesity rates in North America. Why not show children the benefits of eating healthy and exer-cising in an environment that’s even more fun than McDonalds?

In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn than by doing something hands-on. If a child can explore an ex-hibition play centre at a museum, they are more likely to retain that informa-tion because they will relate it to a fun memory. Canada needs to jump on this bandwagon. We need more pro-grams like this to benefit children and adults alike, especially as we are still struggling to understand challenges such as social inequalities, the effects of poor health choices and bullying.

Bullying is front-and-centre in the media lately following the conviction of 20-year-old Dharun Ravi on Mar. 16. Ravi spied on his roommate us-ing a webcam, and streamed footage of the man’s romantic encounters on the Internet. Shortly after the victim discovered what Ravi had been up to, he committed suicide. Ravi was con-victed of bias intimidation as a hate crime. He could face up to 10 years of jail time.

The availability of educational pro-grams during Ravi’s youth might have altered his decision to bully later on in his life. Ravi may have been an Amer-ican, but there are dozens of similar cases in Canada where bullying has ended in tragedy. Canada needs to turn museums into integral centres for education to ensure that our kids grow into the best people they can be. Education on bullying should be part of that process.

Who knows? In a few years’ time, we may see an exhibition on psycho-logical effects of bullying. We may yet fully embrace the positive effects that cultural environments like museum can have on our kids.

American museums evolve to meet the times

The Muse (Memorial U of NB)Crystal Cline

Wait, why aren’t we protesting again?

Follow us on twitter

and winreally easy

contests andgiveaways!

@TRU_Omega

March 28, 20124

News

Sign up on www.dealmate.ca

brought to you by

MONTREAL (CUP) — Over 200,000 people took to the streets of Montréal on Mar. 22 to protest tuition increases, many of whom were students from uni-versities across Québec.

The Concordia University del-egation, which led the way for the better part of the three-hour event, congregated near the Hall building around 12 p.m. Over 500 students then began to pro-ceed down Ste-Catherine Street led by Concordia Student Union vice-president external Chad Walcott and president Lex Gill.

The march began officially at Canada Place, where buses full of students from outside the city started arriving earlier in the day. The approximate length of the route was five kilometres, with protesters marching down both Sherbrooke and Ste-Cathe-rine Streets to their ultimate des-tination, Jacques-Cartier Place in the Old Port.

Protesters held signs denounc-ing Premier Jean Charest’s Lib-eral government, the leader-ship of Education Minister Line Beauchamp and the idea that ac-cessible education is not a prior-ity.

The historic nature of the march had some people in the Twittersphere saying that a “Printemps érable,” or Maple Spring — clearly a play on Arab Spring — had arrived in Québec.

Despite the massive turnout, the protest was ex-tremely peaceful and the Service de police de la Ville de Mon-tréal (SPVM) report-ed no major inci-dents during or after the march. Police presence was very light in comparison with demonstrations that took place over the past few weeks.

“This sends an in-credibly strong message to the government,” said Gill of the protest. “If anything else, the Liberal party has lost 200,000 voters for life.”

She went on to say that the march was the “largest mass demonstration over a public is-sue ... in years. It’s twice what they had in 2005,” she said of the last major student strike in Que-bec.

The participation far exceed-ed the predictions made earlier

in the day, proving that there is more public support for the stu-dent movement than estimated. Despite the success of the dem-onstration, Gill explained that protesters still have much work to do.

“The fight is not over,” she said. “There will be massive ac-tions in the coming weeks until the government backs down.”

Walcott agreed with her saying that, “it’s not a done deal,” and student groups need to “keep the pressure on.” He added that the organizers’ willingness to com-municate with the SPVM really made a significant difference in the tone of the day’s activities.

“I think the fact that we worked with the police really ensured that everyone remained safe,” he said.

Participants in the Mar. 22 demonstration represented every age demographic, from toddlers with their parents to cheering grandparents. Grade 10 student Terra Leger-Goodes of Paul-Gerin-Lajoie School in Outrem-ont was at the march with a large group of students from her class.

“We heard that the cost of go-ing to university is going up by a large amount, so we’re here to protest that. Society can only ad-vance if people can go to school and gain knowledge,” she said, mentioning that by the time she enters university four to five years from now, the govern-ment’s tuition hikes will have almost reached their maximum. Québec Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals are planning to increase

tuition by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017.

For grandmother Danielle Ge-nereux, accessible education is an issue that affects everyone in Québec, and should be at the top of the government’s priority list.

“Major investments in educa-tion should be an absolute prior-ity. There should be no further discussion on that,” said Gener-eux, a grandmother of seven. “[The government] says opposi-tion against tuition increases is

not representative of the whole population. But today, they will see that it is representative.”

At the end of the march, Co-alition large de l’Association pour une solidarite syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) spokes-person Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told students to return to their schools and to keep the student movement going. By 6 p.m., most of the protesters had dispersed, crowding into the nearest metro stations.

CLASSE, one of the main or-ganizers of the day’s march, is planning a series of protests next week in an ef-fort to cause an “economic dis-turbance” in the city, which they say will only end when the govern-ment retracts its

decision to up tuition. The first “manif-action” is set to take place Monday, Mar. 26 at 11 a.m. at Henri-Julien Park.

Concordia’s next general as-sembly where students will vote whether or not to remain on strike is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 26 at 2 p.m. on the Concor-dia University campus.

The university has already made clear that as of Monday, students who continue to block access to classrooms or build-

ings will face charges.Opposition parties join stu-

dentsEarlier in the morning, a press

conference was held at Palais des Congres by the Federation étu-diante universitaire du Québec and the Federation étudiante col-legiale du Québec, and included representatives from groups such as the Centrale des syndicats du Quebec and the Confederation des syndicats nationaux, as well as opposition political parties, the Parti Quebecois (PQ), Qué-bec Solidaire (QS) and Option Nationale.

At the conference, PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterated that a PQ-elected government would not proceed with the tuition hikes, and would call for a pro-vincial summit on post-second-ary education. “The Charest gov-ernment must stop considering students as enemies of the state,” she said.

QS spokesperson Francoise David, for her part, emphasized that the government could in-crease taxes on larger corpora-tions in order to bring in more revenue, rather than asking for more money from students.

After the conference, PQ post-secondary education critic Marie Malavoy spoke to The Concordian about the issue of mismanagement of public funds in Québec universities that has often been brought up in the de-bate on tuition increases. Refer-

ring to Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s recent decision to impose a $2 million fine on Con-cordia for handing out severance packages totalling $3.1 million, Malavoy said, “there is no reason to have targeted one university.

“We must look at the salaries, the benefits and the severance packages at all universities. It’s foolish to think it’s just Concor-dia.”

Malavoy added that an idea has been f loating among PQ ranks to institute a “commission” to look more closely at the management of public funds in Quebec uni-versities.

Reaction from the government to the Mar. 22 protest became more severe as the days passed. On the morning of Mar. 22, Cha-rest told reporters at the National Assembly in Québec City that his government would “never stop listening to students.”

By Mar. 23, his education min-ister was telling the Canadian Press that students needed to get back to class, or else they would face consequences. Line Beau-champ reiterated that the govern-ment would not back down from its decision, and said that should students continue to boycott classes, they risk having their semesters extended or classes scheduled at night.

Concordia already indicated in a previous statement that it has no intention of prolonging the winter term.

Hundreds of thousands flood Montreal’s streets in the name of student supportThe Concordian (Concordia)

Marilla Steuter-Martin and Jacques Gallant

The scene at the corner of Berri and Ontario at the Mar.22 tuition hike protest where an estimated 200,000 people took to Montreal’s streets. —PHOTO BY CHRIS HANNA

“If anything else, the Lib-eral party has lost 200,000

voters for life.” —Lex Gill

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 25 5

News

“Your Space Place”

The exams will soon be finished. Now you need to store your possessions for the summer.

Clean; Controlled Access; Security Systems; All Sizes Boxes & Moving Supplies Available

Close to you at 820 Notre Dame Drive

Call 250-374-7368 to book your space! www.budgetstorage.ca

STUDENT SPECIAL 15% OFF March to September

For as many months as you prepay. 10’x10’ or smaller—must present Student ID

That’s what you saidFor this week’s issue, we patrolled the grounds looking for your answers to this question:

“I voted because I’ve never voted before and I figured I might as well do it today.

“I found out about [the election] today just walking in here.

“I heard about the vote through a couple of friends that were actually running..”

“[Voting] is important because we’re students and we actually have an opinion about things. We want certain things in our school and in our community that we like to vote for and actually have around here that we can use and gain experience from.”

“There were people standing on my way from residence to class, and they reminded me that [the election] was today.

“To be honest, [voting is] not in the top of my mind.

“I don’t really see the results, but then again I don’t really look very closely.”

Why did you vote in the TRUSU elections, and how did you know it was happening?

Bachelor of tourism management Amanda Svenson

Bachelor of Tourism ManagementBrittany Riehl

Associate of artsAlison Declercq

That’s right, we’re getting you involved To get even more involved, contact [email protected]

DEMOCRACY...from p. 2Jack thinks better ideas would pro-

vide more value for the unions commu-nication budget.

“I charge people to come to my events. I’m a stand up comedian and I’m in a band. I charge people $10 to come and see me and I’ve never had less than 100 people come to any of my events,” said Jack.

A Broader Problem

It should be noted that the lack of interest in student politics is faced by most campuses. At the University of Victoria the regular turnout of 20 per cent has caused some to question stu-dent apathy at that institution. At Simon Fraser University recent columns in the student newspaper the Peak criticize the students for a lack of interest and the candidates for showing a lack of en-thusiasm as well.

This may be linked to the fact that lo-cal democratic institutions aren’t open-ly threatened.

“I think the best example of that is if you look at the 1960s in North America when people saw right in front of them that certain rights were being abused,” DeWolf said.

“These blatant abuses or things that people didn’t agree with gave them cause to stand up for what they believe in. And so, because we do feel safe we do tend to just follow the status quo.”

Lane and McIntyre agree that Cana-dians, especially the younger genera-tion, believe the concept of democracy is safe, and therefore doesn’t require their participation.

“It’s an institution that’s not going anywhere. There’s no imminent threat, there’s no Cold War happening,” said McIntyre. “It’s a lull period where peo-ple are like ‘It’s there, it’s fine. We don’t have to worry about it so let’s just leave it there and if I don’t want to be involved I don’t have to be involved. I’m not wor-ried about it.’”

A recent research paper called “The Values of Youth in Canada,” commis-

sioned by the Government of Canada as part of the Policy Research Initiative, dedicates a good section to the political action and interests of youth. While no hard conclusions are made it does note that while political parties have lost membership, political awareness is still high and there is activity among youth. Arts and culture organizations have seen an increase in membership, as it appears youth are moving away from a political culture they don’t feel they fit into. McIntyre has felt the same way.

“You’ve got the right wing party, you’ve got the union party, you’ve got the crazy party and then you’ve got the totalitarian party, that’s what I see and I don’t want to engage in that,” he said. “It’s cookie-cutter politics and you tow the line or you’re not a part of it.”

Referencing federal NDP leader Jack Layton and U.S. Democrat Barack Obama’s recent campaigns which seemed to invigorate younger partici-pants with rhetoric, Lane said, “Both of those campaigns were [ones] that mobi-lized around some form of progressive or positive change.”

So what is the issue? Why is this generation seemingly so

disengaged from those who make deci-sions on how society is run?

Is TRU facing the same crisis of apa-thy?

Why is the democratic process so of-ten ignored?

Do we feel it is safe enough to be ig-nored?

Do the youth feel a lack of empower-ment and importance?

Has the digital age, while empower-ing some to become active, distracted others from the entire political arena?

Does Canadian politics seem too boring compared to the revolutions in some countries?

Are we suffering from political envy watching Obama and the Tea Party?

Have there been no hot-button issues which engage our younger population?

It seems these are all answers. There is no silver bullet.

Unless students start giving a fuck in general.

March 28, 20126

News

In case you missed it, Kergin’s got you covered: Things you probably didn’t see happening around you last week

Global• New species in New York

While deep sea dives and long treks into nearly impenetrable forests reveal new species, it’s less likely to find one in one of human civilization’s shining cities.

However, a new frog species has been identified in New York.

In an area better known for skyscrap-ers there are a few marshes, and a new species of leopard frog was identified earlier this month, with specimens com-ing from places in sight of the Statue of Liberty.

While the frog isn’t that different from others in its family, it has still come as a surprise to find a new species which evolved around an area which is now called Manhattan.

Read more at sciencedaily.com.

• EDL meeting

A rally in Denmark this week is bound to get some press coverage.

The English Defense League is look-ing to hold a meeting with other far-right groups and anti-Islamist organizations.

On a continent already dealing with racial tensions in the aftermath of a racially-charged series of murders in France and the trial of the Norwegian man responsible for 77 deaths last year in a two-pronged bombing and shooting attack, this has many anti-racist activists concerned.

The fact the meeting is in Denmark is no mistake either, as the country is a hot-bed for tension and violence in relation to immigrants and religion, particularly after an infamous comic portraying the prophet Muhammad.

Read more at guardian.co.uk.

National• Québec City arena

The capital of Québec is making an-other move necessary to bring an NHL team back to the city.

Québec City has announced a $400 million arena deal with the media cor-poration Quebecor.

The planned arena will be similar to the one the Pittsburgh Penguins cur-rently play out of.

While there isn’t much talk about which team might move there or even if a new franchise might be viable, the fact Que. is providing a viable location for a team has to be noted by the NHL.

The NHL is also looking at several teams in the southern U.S. facing fi-nancial issues, which some think may lead to relocation. Québec City’s hope should be tempered though. Some large American cities are still looking at the possibility of bringing the NHL into their neighbourhood, with rumours still swirling around Seattle and Kansas City. On top of that, the Quebecor arena won’t be operational until 2015.

Read more at cbc.ca.

• Montreal student protest

Lots of people took to the streets of Montréal Mar. 22 as part of the grow-ing protest about tuition and the place of post-secondary education in Qué-bec’s political culture.

Estimates range from 50,000 to 200,000 protestors, with a math for-mula suggesting 80,000. Either way the number is large enough to grab the provincial government’s attention.

Students from across the province

showed up to show their support. Of special note with this protest was the total lack of violence.

No arrests were made as the stu-dents marched through the streets, but tensions between students and their supporters, and the provincial Lib-eral government are becoming more strained on a daily basis.

Read more on page 4 of the Ω.

Provincial• Bottled water

Vancouver Community College (VCC) is making a move to a bottled-water free campus.

The college’s president and the student union chair are pledging to make the school the first Vancouver-based post-secondary institution to be bottled-water free by 2013.

While VCC does receive some in-come from water bottles, it was de-cided the move to a more sustainable campus was worth the cost.

A similar campaign is taking place on many campuses across Canada and was started by the Canadian Fed-eration of Students.

Read more at vancouver.24hrs.ca.

• UBC honours students they dis-honoured

In 1942 a decision by the Government of Canada put Japanese-Canadians liv-ing on B.C.’s coast in internment camps.

This included UBC students working towards various degrees. As a result of the government order, 76 students had to leave their educations to become resi-dents elsewhere, outside of the coastal zone.

UBC is now taking efforts to honour those they let go with honourary de-grees.

The university is also creating a pro-gram in Asian Canadian history as well as other educational and historical ini-tiatives regarding Asian Canadians.

Read more at straight.com.

Local• Ajax parade

A parade of opponents to the pro-posed Ajax mine took to the streets last Mar. 23.

The group included TRU students, and local artists and musicians with signs reading, “I choose animals,” and other slogans.

With about 30 participants the group looked to promote alternatives to the mine and to look past the job creation numbers to the health of the community.

Read more at kamloopsnews.ca.

• New Aberdeen fire station

Kamloops’ seventh fire station is operational in Aberdeen.

The station, which will have four employees, is already taking calls while some sections are under con-struction.

The official grand opening will be in May and tours will be available then.

The station is located on Aberdeen Drive and will serve the Aberdeen area and provide backup to the down-town station and dispatch.

The station will also provide stor-age and new training facilities for Ka-mloops firefighters.

Read more at kamloopsnews.ca.

Ω News EditorBrendan Kergin

© 2012 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *$29.95 valid for regular student tax preparation only. Cash Back service included. To qualify for student pricing, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during 2011 or (ii) a valid high school identification card. Expires July 31, 2012. Valid only at participating H&R Block locations in Canada. SPC Card offers valid from 08/01/11 to 07/31/12 at participating locations in Canada only. For Cardholder only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. Usage may be restricted when used in conjunction with any other offer or retailer loyalty card discounts. Cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards or certificates.

$2995

$tudent pricing*

For just $29.95, walk in with your taxes, walk out with your refund. Instantly. You’ll also get a free SPC Card to save big at your favourite retailers.*

JOB NAME: TS ‘12 YOUNG ADULT NEWSPAPER - ENGLISH

ART DIRECTOR COPY WRITER CREATIVE DIR. PRINT PROD. STUDIO MGR. ACCT. MGMT.

DOCKET/AD#: 11-HRB-047-BW-SP-E-1

DATE STARTED: Jan 11

ARTIST: CS

REV#: 0

LASER %:

DISKED:

LIVE AREA: –

TYPE SAFETY: –

TRIM: 8" X 10"

BLEED: –

BW

NEWSPAPERS:

SCANNERMEDIUM

hrblock.ca | 800-HRBLOCK (472-5625)Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

we maketaxes painle$$

instantcash back& free SPC Card*


Arts & Entertainment

I was in the Future Shop a few days ago, and while I was busy perusing expensive toys I can’t yet afford and trying to f ind a way to justify spending my gro-cery money on a fancy f lash for my camera, I noticed a girl.

Not like that. Minds out of the gutter, please.

She was young, probably dragged there by her parents, and while they were shopping for toys that I can’t afford, she found herself a corner to sit in and read a book.

Not an ebook. Not Facebook. Just a book. The kind made of paper.

She immediately became my hero, though because of the so-cial stigma regarding talking to girls that age without a parent being present, I merely smiled to myself and walked away, hoping that the f lash I had been looking at had suddenly become marked down for clearance.

I am far from a Luddite. I own more than my fair share of tech toys, but I f ind the disap-pearance of tangible, physical media to be dishear tening.

Take records, for example. I won’t bother you with the sound quality issue. My mp3 player sounds better in the car than a record player would, and it takes up less space in my pocket.

It’s the rest of it. It’s the packaging, the liner

notes, the lit tle extras you get when you buy a record, or even a cd, that make buying them worth the money.

Lookout! Records was great for that, back in the day. Look-out! was the record label that Green Day was signed to before they got picked up by Warner.

On the vinyl version of 39/Smooth, Green Day’s debut LP (now compiled with their EPs Slappy and1000 Hours and called 1039/Smoothed Out Slap-py Hours), the words “James, put down that skinhead!” are writ ten more prominently than the band’s name or the album title. You know what that has to do with the album?

Nothing.And if you hold up the record

(and many others by labels like Epitaph) to the light you’ll f ind messages scrawled into the vi-nyl. The A side of 39/Smooth says “Bill, Mike, John: Loyal Filth Groupies.” (Filth was an-other Lookout! band) The B side says “Call Back Tomorrow, It’s A School Night.”

It’s the lit tle details like these that make collecting records more fun than just downloading a track from iTunes.

I’m not suggesting that all media needs to be physical and tangible, but rather that there are some things that are more

personal if they’re not on a re-writeable str ing of ones and ze-ros stuffed into a lit tle electric box. Certainly the age of digital photography has more people taking more photos than ever before, but should an album of your favourites be kept only on a hard drive? I’ve star ted print-ing some of my favourite photos out, and even spent a lit tle bit of money on envelopes and stamps to *gasp* send a copy to some-body in the mail!

And believe it or not, it’s ap-preciated. Nobody has sent me an email back asking for a digital copy to be sent to them (well, okay - one guy did). The response is usually via email, but more often than not it’s to say thank you.

I really am all for the digital revolution to a cer tain extent. I enjoy consuming digital media at a fast pace without having to pay anything more than my Internet bill. The examples of records and photos are but two things I’m afraid of losing to the impersonal-feeling screen I’m typing this on.

One of the great things about the digital age is how we can all be connected if we choose to, but I for one feel more con-nected to a photograph in my hand than a friend request on Facebook.

Especially when the power goes out.

A case for the tangible

Ω Arts and Entertainment EditorCory Hope

Where did the need for physical sensations and creativity in packaging go?

Roland Pemberton may not sound like the name of one of Canada’s most critically acclaimed rappers, which is probably why he went with

Cadence Weapon. Hailing from the fine city of Ed-

monton and the son of a hip-hop DJ, Mr. Weapon has released album after album of unique flows over generally minimalistic, twitchy electronic beats. This led to his de-but album landing a Polaris Prize nomination.

He followed that up with a sopho-more album which also got the Po-laris nod. Since 2008 he hasn’t re-leased a full length album but has remixed, featured and released the odd single or mix tape.

His skill really lies in his words and delivery; which doesn’t re-ally follow the standards set by the mainstream. Subjects vary from the normal fare of drugs and life in a city to less common themes of sleeping with your ex despite the bad vibes.

What makes it different is the level of language he’s using.

There’s a reason Edmonton named him their poet laureate for a couple years.

Rarely swearing, often using combinations which don’t seem to match on paper and always look-ing to keep the flow even, unless it serves his purpose to drop it, cadence is definitely a part of his writing pattern.

Some may remember him from the moderate hit Sharkin’ which got some air play a few years ago.

While it is fairly typical of his style, a better suggestion for who he is now would be The D.B. Bux-ton Revue Sex With My Ex (No Sex Mix) which leaves behind some of the glitch electro sound for a more polished beat.

This may lose some of that unique minimalistic sound that he started with but it’s much more fun.

Pro tip: look for his remixes, which are pretty stunning as well.

Bend Sinister is a progressive indie rock band originally from Kelowna but now hailing from Vancouver.

Having just released a new EP on Mar. 6, the band is gearing up for the release of a new full-length album this summer.

Combining infectious guitar riffs with invigorating piano and lyrics that any listener can relate to, Bend Sinister captures its au-dience with ease.

In this day and age, it’s rare to find a musical act that is bet-ter live than on studio recording. Bend Sinister is one of those rari-ties.

Phenomenal studio recordings are reinforced and taken to the

next level by energetic and pas-sionate live performances.

Formed in 2000, Bend Sinis-ter has released three full length albums including 2002’s The Warped Pane, 2005’s Through the Broken City and 2008’s Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers. The band has also released three EPs, including 2012’s On My Mind, which features the single Give It A Rest and Got You On My Mind. Their fourth full-length album is set for release on Jul. 10.

A select amount of Bend Sin-ister’s music is available for free streaming on CBC Radio 3.

See Rocca’s review of the Bend Sinister’s recent Kamloops show on page 12 this week.

Canadian Music CornerΩ Roving EditorTaylor Rocca

Ω News EditorBrendan Kergin

Our arts and entertainment editor misses the days when you had a tangible piece of machinery and physical product you could feel while you were feeling what it was saying. —PHOTO BY CORY HOPE

The Omega Is now accepting applications for editorial positions for the

2012/2013 academic year.Various positions are available for those of varying interests!

We’re not going to tell you what they are — but they’re exciting,

and you want to be a part of them.

Submit cover letter, resume and any writing samples you may

have for our perusal to:Mike Davies,

[email protected]

We’re at least as busy as you are, so keep that in mind while you’re waiting

anxiously by the phone — actually, just don’t do that.

Interviews will commence mid-late April.

March 28, 20128

TRUSU Membership Advisory

Advocacy | Services | Entertainment

ELECTION RESULTSPresidentMcIntyre, Dustin Yes 537No 109Spoiled 1

Vice President External Robinson, Dylan Yes 530No 89Spoiled 2

Vice President FinanceSpence, Jeromy Yes 495No 109Spoiled 1

Vice President Internal Bahabri, Trad Saba Yes 531No 111Spoiled 1

Aboriginal Students’ RepresentativesGuichon, Nolan

Yes 495No 114Spoiled 1

International Students’ RepresentativePatel, Parth Mukesh

Yes 470No 137

Spoiled 0

Women Students’ RepresentativeMoulton, Alexandra


Representative - Graduate Studies Hutfluss, Kathleen


Representative - Arts, Science, Education, and Advance TechnologyDouglass, Leif


Representative - Business & Economics, and School of TourismMacedo, Colin


Representative - Social Work, Nursing, Trades, and Division of Student DevelopmentSkagos, Olivia


Voter Turnout: 10.4%

The Omega · Volume 21, Issue 25 9M

C11

5936

PoolOPEN LEARNING

Get ahead this summer by studying at a pace and place that suits you. Enrol in an online and distance course through our Open Learning Division and get the prerequisite you need or redo that challenging course.

• Study anywhere, anytime

• Choose from over 550 courses

• Easily transfer your credits to your on-campus credential

SCHOOL = +

Photo Gallery

ABOVE, LEFT AND RIGHT: Some bonus photos from the Rang De Basanti festival held Mar. 16 in the TRU Gymnasium.

—PHOTOS BY TAYLOR ROCCA

BELOW AND BOTTOM: About 30 people (mostly TRU students) gather in front of the KGHM offices Mar. 23 to show their opposition to the proposed AJAX mine project. —PHOTOS BY SAMANTHA GARVEY

March 28, 201210


Music Review: Rude City Riot plays Pogue Mahone

They played “Made For TV” by King Apparatus.

I’m already ahead of myself, and I haven’t even started yet. Vancouver’s Rude City Riot kicked off their tour with a show at Pogue Mahone on Thursday night, and for those of you who left after seeing your friend’s lo-cal band and didn’t stay to see these guys play, I have but one word for you.

Suckers!There’s something about the en-

ergy and intensity of a good ska band that makes a night so much fun that it baffles me the genre hasn’t gathered momentum of the world-domination variety. Here in Canada, we seem to breed good ska bands, which makes me question why Ska-Fest is held in Victoria. I would think they would fear being culled.

Rude City Riot would be safe from the cull, no doubt (not No Doubt), as the strongest survive and they put on what is probably the best ska show I’ve seen since The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

If that means nothing to you, go check them out (and tune into CFBX to hear some Rude City Riot, too). I mentioned it to Rude City Riot front-man Dustin Lionhart III, and he took it as praise of the highest honour.

And they played “Made For TV” by King Apparatus.

An eight-piece band on a small stage, Rude City Riot didn’t appear to have much room to move onstage, but like the arms of an octopus or Montreal traffic, they somehow man-aged to move around each other with-out colliding.

Opening up the show in traditional ska fashion, Rude City Riot set the pace with a fast-paced instrumental called DC Riot Stomp. From the mo-

ment the first note was played, one of my favourite things about live ska music happened as well: The entire band burst into huge smiles.

Saxophone player Jonny McCor-mack was grinning so wide I was surprised he could play, but the rea-son for the smiles was how much fun they were having playing their music. When it was time for Jonny to play, Jonny wasn’t slacking off.

One of the benchmarks of seeing a live band is how good they sound on-stage versus how they sound on their album, when everything has been professionally produced. Rude City Riot sounds as good if not better live than it does on their CD.

The energy the band brings to the stage makes the live performance memorable, and Lionhart’s vocals were clear and solid. Vocals can re-ally make or break a band, and Li-onhart belts it out with the best of them, as long as you like your singers to sing, and not just yell incoherent

nonsense. When you can make out almost every word of a song you’ve never heard, you’ve got a great vocal-ist (and a pretty damn good sound tech, too).

And, of course, they played “Made For TV” by King Apparatus. Did I mention that? King Apparatus was a phenomenal ska band out of Toronto in the ‘90s, and having the chance to hear this song played live (ska bands often cover some of their favourites - I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a ska band play a set of only original tunes), made what was already a great night of music that much better.

Keep your eyes open for more from Rude City Riot and more ska shows at Pogue Mahone. If you find your brains are imploding with all the wonderfulness of this highly un-derrated genre of music, get out to Victoria in July for three days of Ska-Fest madness.

Did I mention that they played “Made For TV” by King Apparatus?

Ω Arts and Entertainment EditorCory Hope

Vancouver’s Rude City Riot kicked off their tour with a high-energy show at Pogue Mahone, much to the delight of those who stuck around after their friends’ bands were done. —PHOTO BY CORY HOPE

VICTORIA (CUP) — She’s an American citizen. She was born in Iowa and grew up along the Mis-sissippi River.

Years ago, in an act of romance, she moved to Montréal and as-sumed the moniker Little Scream. Who is this mystery woman? Is she a spy?

No, it’s nothing that dramatic. Little Scream is the stage name of Montréal-based folk singer/song-writer Laurel Spengelmeyer.

Although if it was up to her, the name Little Scream would, like her American residency, be a thing of the past.

“I kind of wish I could change the name now, to be honest, but that is just how it goes once you get out there and do something under a certain name: you get stuck with it,” she says. “So be careful.”

While she’s no longer able to change her stage name, Spengel-meyer is working on changing something else: her citizenship.

So far Spengelmeyer has ac-quired the status of permanent res-ident, and is working towards her Canadian citizenship. This is a big win for Canada.

When she’s not busy writing and creating music, Spengelmeyer spends her time painting. Evidence of said skill can be seen adorning the front of her latest album, The Golden Record.

Spengelmeyer isn’t just a pret-ty face with a catchy tune. Upon moving to Montréal, she attended Concordia University’s design pro-gram, which she hoped would help

apply her social-activist tenden-cies.

“At that time I was way more in-volved with social activism, which is why I thought design was more applicable,” she says.

Spengelmeyer was never a huge fan of spending hours staring at a computer screen and chose to pur-sue her social activism through her music instead.

While she admits her latest al-bum has her social views present-ed in a more distant echo, she also assures that her upcoming album will put a greater focus on the is-sues.

“The best social justice style is just good art. Period,” she says. “If you make good art that moves people’s hearts in a certain way, that’s what helps inspire people to be more conscious and to change. It’s not necessarily because you tell them to do that in your lyrics. It’s a tricky balance. On the next batch of stuff that I’m working on, that will be more consciously ac-knowledged.”

So what comes next for this soon-to-be-Canadian? A lot. Spen-gelmeyer has a life plan, and if her success so far says anything about her character, don’t bet against her achieving these goals.

“I have this bigger-picture out-line where I have another two re-cords that I know I want to make, so that is the focus of my life until I get those next couple records out,” she says.

“After that, I’m not sure, exactly. I miss working with people, being more actively involved in social justice, and even teaching. I know that that is in my future.”

The Nexus (Camosun)Lucas Milroy

Little Scream makes big noise through her music‘The best social justice style is just good art,’ says Montreal-based American ex-pat



FREDERICTON (CUP) — There are many who believe Jus-tin Bieber changed their life, but few are like me. No, I’m not a 12-year-old girl and yes, I really can’t stand his music.

My story is a bit different. It’s one I haven’t really told anyone before.

I’m an internet kid — I always have been. At 13 years old I was running my own video game fo-rum website and at 14, the site grew to have over 14,000 mem-bers. I wasn’t the most social kid, so this took up a lot of my free time. When I got bored of my site, I shifted my attention to the emerging YouTube. I created my own account in July 2006.

I can’t quite remember how I stumbled across “kidrauhl,” Justin Bieber’s account, but it must have been around February 2007. I had just turned 15, and Bieber was about to turn 13.

He had about 10 videos up on his account. They were all shot with low quality cameras and ranged anywhere from a cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” to break-dancing to Michael Jack-son. Regardless, I was impressed with the kid’s talent and shot him a quick message: “Keep it up.”

It was his mother, Pattie Mal-lette, who responded. That was the beginning of our internet friendship.

Think that’s weird? Trust me, I know.

I was dealing with some of the hardest moments in my life as a teen. I’ve always kept to myself, which often led me to bottle ev-erything up. I was depressed, my self-esteem was at an all-time low, and nobody knew it but me.

That is, until I told Pattie.After several weeks of ex-

changing emails back and forth, I somehow ended up spilling my private life. I never told her specif ically what I was going

through, but she f igured it out. She had gone through the same things. She shared her story with me and offered her help and prayers.

And so there I was: not will-ing to trust anyone near me, but the anonymity of the internet al-lowed me to open up to someone half-way across the country.

I began to look forward to Pattie’s responses. My YouTube messages were often the f irst things I checked when I got home from school. It felt nice to have someone to talk to. Eventually we ended up speaking to each other mostly through Skype.

And yes, of course, this was all at the same time Bieber’s fame was on the rise. In the early stages, I got involved in a promotion group on YouTube. Pattie was one of the founders. I later left the group after it fell under heavy scrutiny from the YouTube community — rumours circulated that the group’s main owner was a pedophile.

So four other members and I started our own collaboration. We made videos together, and Bieber also went his own way. When my group, dubbed “Teen-Tubers,” met its inevitable fail-ure, I quit the YouTube com-munity and went back to my old website. For Bieber, however, things were going up.

I remained in contact with Pat-tie for a while after. She told me several record labels were look-ing at Justin and big things were going to come.

But she was still very worried for her son — he was in his rebel years. She was a single mother trying to cope with a teenaged son with a big ego.

It’s odd now, looking back and realizing a 30-year-old was get-ting support from a 16-year-old. She told me about Justin getting in f ights in school and how they were drifting apart. She worried for him. She worried a lot. She was especially concerned that

he was growing up to be like his then-troubled father.

I never really talked to Jus-tin himself — besides the few odd times he would jump on his mom’s Skype. His life kept get-ting crazier. Soon, he and Pattie were f lying out to places to meet with high-profile celebrities like Scooter Braun, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

I still remember Pattie sending me the original version of “One Time” long before its off icial re-lease. I was disappointed in it, but congratulated them all the same. I had no idea it would go on to get almost 400 million hits on YouTube alone.

As Bieber got bigger — and as I started to grow up — contact between Pattie and I gradually waned. I remember once receiv-ing the message, “Can’t talk, on the way to the Junos — watch it!”

I had Pattie on Facebook and I got to talk to her the odd time, but it was diff icult. They were now famous and very, very busy.

It was interesting seeing the posts by celebrities like Ste-phen Baldwin and Asher Roth on Pattie’s wall. She tried to keep her status updates relevant, but eventually she — and Justin — were just too well known. (Too well known and impossible to talk to.)

After several failed attempts to communicate, I knew it was time to delete them from my life. So I did.

Now, it’s all just a really odd story. Who would have thought?

I consider myself as distant from “The Biebs” as anybody else. I wish he wasn’t a manu-factured product, but that’s the price of success sometimes.

Regardless, I’m glad he posted those videos on YouTube f ive years ago.

That friendship with Pattie was important — no matter how brief it was.

The Aquinian (St. Thomas)James Rouse

I was friends with Justin Bieber’s mom before the fame

You Must Apply to Graduate and Participate in Convocation Ceremony is open to all students who have

completed their studies, paid all fees, and have applied to convocate.

Please contact your Program Advisor or the Registrar’s Office

with questions about eligibility to graduate and attend convocation.

> Phone: 250.828.5032

Application forms and ceremony details at

www.tru.ca/convocation

MC115979

Graduation & Convocation

Registration Deadline

is March 31, 2012

Next year’s Omega staff recruitment will be starting soon!

Keep your eyes on the paper if you think you’d like to be on the team in 2012/13

How a 13-year-old kid found support and advice in the mother of a future celebrity

Pick up that guitar - you’re sexier

FREDERICTON (CUP) — Remem-ber those teen movies where the guy with the guitar — and the less-than-mediocre voice — sits on the stairs with a flock of girls surrounding him? Or that bad-ass, rebel girl who plays bass gui-tar and all the guys secretly (or not-so-secretly) have a crush on her?

I sure do. And now, almost three years out of my pimple-filled high school days, I still wonder: what makes musicians so attractive?

Most people don’t usually enjoy the spotlight. Maybe it’s the pressure, may-be it’s the responsibility, or maybe it’s the actual spotlight itself.

But there’s something intriguing about a person who has the guts to rock out and mesmerize their audience.

Max Leblanc is the singer-songwriter for Fredericton band She Roars!. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed guitarist said he can understand the phenomenon, but musicians aren’t necessarily more attractive.

“Attractive is one word I guess,” he

said, “but if you can think of it in a cou-ple ways — there’s hot and [then there’s] sexy. Basically the musician gets sexier, and when I think about that, I think about girls from various bands. They look sexier than girls who don’t play.”

Chris McIntosh is the bass player for She Roars!. McIntosh, who frequently rocks the ponytail and toque combo, said it has more to do with musicians as public figures.

“When you perform, you are the cen-tre of attention,” McIntosh said. “People like to think they have some sort of as-sociation with people that they respect, people they look up to.”

In more ways than one, I agree with McIntosh. The same phenomenon can be applied to athletes or other celebri-ties, whether they’re in high school, uni-versity or beyond.

Most people seem to want to be as-sociated with famous people, but I think music adds something more to the mix.

Musicians have the confidence to express themselves in front of a crowd. They pull out their diary and tell us their most candid experiences through song.

Why do we find that attractive or sexy? I’m not entirely sure.

It could be their confidence or the connection we make with their emo-tions. Love, loss, hate and sadness — all things we can feel too, bringing us closer to the musician.

Bridget Yard, a third-year St. Thomas University student, said another reason we’re attracted to musicians is because of their ability to fit in with the crowd one minute and then be a rock star the next.

“There’s that whole notion that they’re playing to you, or the lyrics of the song are being sung to you,” she said. “Of course, that’s almost never how it really is, but the thought is pretty exhilarating.”

Whether you strongly relate to a song or you’re just trying to figure out what it means, there’s a definite mystery and mystique around music and the people who make it — and everyone is in-trigued by a good mystery.

In any case, music has the power to make us feel alive. Whether we’re rock-ing out, dancing in a club, or lying down on our beds taking in some smooth tunes, music speaks to us.

So it only makes sense that we we’re attracted to the people who create it.

The Aquinian (St. Thomas)Cedric Noël

March 28, 201212

When I walk around campus I see some girls dressed as if they were going to a night club. It baff les me as to why some-one would wear such revealing clothing to classes.

With the images women are getting from media, it’s hard to not think that’s what men would like to see.

But is that what women should be doing, showing off our bodies as if we are pieces of meat?

I believe women are being giv-en the wrong idea of what men really want.

Sure it’s nice to get dressed up and be noticed, but what’s wrong with leaving something to the imagination?

The way these women dress is inappropriate, distracting to others in a classroom environ-ment, and degrading to women in general.

Most people have everyday working clothes and a couple of outf its for going to the bar, but somewhere along the line a few women must have gotten con-fused, because now they come to school in clothes that barely cover their bodies.

What’s wrong with having some class while picking out an outf it for the day?

Is it too hard to buy shirts that cover more breast, or skirts that have length?

Teachers should not have to walk into class and see a stu-dent popping out of her shirt, or wearing a skirt that resembles a belt.

Professors can’t dress like that, so why do some girls think it’s appropriate to show up to class with almost nothing on?

When I show up for class I’m there to focus on what the teach-er is saying.

I f ind it very distracting when someone doesn’t have the re-spect to cover themselves up.

The men in the class might not complain because it’s eye candy for them.

I believe I can speak for most women when I say that we don’t care that you can squeeze your D cup breast size into an extra small T-shirt.

Dressing so provocatively that even women get distracted or disgusted should give you an idea on how “sexy” you really look.

I’m not saying that it’s always wrong to wear revealing clothes, but there is a time and a place for that. Clothing like that should not even be considered when dressing for school. Think about that next time you look in the mirror!

Women have fought for rights for over 300 years so why de-stroy what our ancestors worked hard to achieve?

Dressing in that low-cut top and the shortest bottoms doesn’t

suggest a sophisticated stu-dent—it shows a woman who would do anything for attention.

This is why women get called names, or are looked at as being easy.

There’s no need to be like that. Although people talk behind

these girls’ backs they never say anything to them, leaving them unaware of how people perceive them.

As women we have to work harder than men to prove to the world that we are just as worthy and deserve the jobs we worked so hard to get, and this doesn’t help.

We are strong and don’t need to show off our bodies to suc-ceed.

Have respect for yourself and dress according to the situation.

You can still dress “sexy” with less skin and more f itted clothes.

I don’t want to be considered anything but an educated woman working to be the best I can be. I want to gain the approval of men by my knowledge not by my body.

University is for a higher edu-cation; it’s not a place to show off your assets.

So next time you’re getting dressed to walk around our cam-pus, think carefully about what not to wear.

Micheala Piazzini is a f irst-year arts student at Thompson Rivers University.

Ω ContributorMicheala Piazzini

Life & Community An open letter to TRU students:

What NOT to wearCommunity Calendar

Thursday, Mar. 29

• Muslim Sisters Club presents a talk about

Muslim women12 to 1 p.m.

TRUSU Boardroom

• Flair Bartending Competition

Cactus Jacks Saloon9 p.m. $10 cover

Friday, Mar. 30

• Saudi Female Club showcase of Arabian art,

music and dance6 to 8 p.m.

Clocktower Theatre

• White Out PartyCactus Jacks Saloon

10 p.m. $5 cover

Tuesday, Apr. 3

• TRUSU NDP Club Mix & Mingle with

Kathy Kendall and Tom Friedman3 to 5 p.m.Heroes Pub

$10

• Interactive Media Training Workshop with

Elisha McCallum4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Open Learning BuildingRoom 127

Know of upcoming events the student body should be

aware of?

Get them in the calendar for free!Contact:

[email protected]

“Community calendar” in the subject line will

help ensure they get to the campus community.

Bend Sinister, an upbeat rock act originally from Kelowna, B.C., opened for Electric Six at Cactus Jack’s on Mar. 15 night.

Originally, this review was sup-posed to be about the performance of Electric Six, but after seeing the mind-blowing awesomeness of the opening act and the atrocity that fol-lowed in the form of the headliner, I decided that I would be talking more about Bend Sinister.

Electric Six is a six-piece rock act out of Detroit, known for its recent cover of Queen’s Radio Ga Ga.

The band has achieved most of its success in the United Kingdom, with four different singles since 2003 reaching the top 40 on the U.K. charts.

Despite being the headlining act, Electric Six put on an underwhelm-ing and frustrating performance.

The majority of its act seemed like a figurative middle finger to the au-dience.

Lead singer Dick Valentine was disinterested throughout the entire show.

As a member of the paying audi-ence, I felt disrespected.

At one point, Valentine even said that the band had just finished play-ing its four worst songs.

Who does that?

Don’t you normally avoid playing your worst songs?

To be honest, I had trouble pick-ing out which songs Valentine was referring to.

Everything that Electric Six played sounded like total garbage to me.

It was an unfortunate circum-stance.

I had high expectations for Elec-tric Six after hearing the band’s stu-dio work, which is enjoyable. This was just a classic case of a band that failed to carry crisp and catchy stu-dio performances to the live stage.

Thankfully, Bend Sinister was there to salvage the evening.

Originally out of Kelowna, B.C., Bend Sinister now calls Vancouver home. On Mar. 6, the band released a brand-new EP, On My Mind.

Leading its performance with driving keyboards and soulful vo-cals, Bend Sinister had the entire crowd on its feet dancing, jump-ing, fist pumping and having a good time.

Vocalist and keyboardist Dan Moxon led the charge, injecting an infectious energy into the slowly growing audience.

It was difficult not to be pumped up by Moxon’s performance.

Dressed in a bright, tie-dyed shirt with shaggy hair flying all over his face, Moxon embodied the model hippie party rocker.

You couldn’t help but have a good

time with him belting out crisp, strong vocals and bouncing up and down on the keyboard with pizzazz and precision.

People already familiar with Bend Sinister got an advance lis-ten to a few of the tracks that will be featured on the band’s upcoming album, which is set for release this summer.

Opening the set with Don’t You Know and Man of Faith and Vir-tue, both tracks will be a part of this summer’s release.

The band also played Got You On My Mind and Give It A Rest, two tracks off its recent EP.

Bend Sinister managed to squeeze 13 tracks into its one-hour set, in-cluding a remarkable cover of Su-pertramp’s The Logical Song to cap off the evening in classy and respectable fashion.

Typically I am not a fan of the cover song. It is far too easy for a band to ruin a classic track. But Bend Sinister left the stage with the band members’ heads held high, and deservingly so.

Not only did the band nail the Supertramp cover, but its act was easily the most enjoyable part of the evening.

All things said, Bend Sinister sim-ply stole the show from the unappre-ciated and arrogant Electric Six.

It was pleasing to see a Canadian rock act show up a disinterested American band.

Bend Sinister steals the show from headliner Electric Six

Ω Roving EditorTaylor Rocca

Fans of Kelowna-born band Bend Sinister were treated to songs from Spring Romance (June 2010) as well as tracks yet to be released during the show at Cactus Jacks Mar. 15. —IMAGE COURTESY DISTORT ENTERTAINMENT

You’re not proving to the world that you’re sexy, you’re proving something else entirely


SportsMen’s volleyball future in the hands of Gunter

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky on the first warm day of spring in Kamloops and students were walking around TRU in shorts.

But Brad Gunter was trapped inside writing a math midterm.

When asked how it went, he re-plied in his usual soft-spoken and to-the-point manner.

“Not bad.”One can assume there’s a lot on

Gunter’s mind these days.Since being named to the CIS

all-rookie team, the WolfPack’s phonemenal right outside-hitter has a lot going on in his life.

Final exams are approaching faster than a Colin Carson pass. There are also the tryouts for the National Junior Team that have Gunter occupied while he recov-ers from the injured ankle that forced him to stop short in his sensational rookie year.

The big six-foot-seven, 205-pound right-side hitter from Courtenay, B.C. was one of the shining lights in a lost men’s volley-ball season.

TRU finished last in the treach-erous Canada West. Gunter sat out most of Janu-ary with his injury and the WolfPack finished with a 3-17 record and lost eight of its last nine.

“It was painful sitting on the sidelines watching us lose know-ing that I could have done some-thing,” he said.

Gunter’s terrific first half of the season had him ninth in total kills at the semester break in the Canada West.

He would finish the season av-eraging three kills a game, which was 16th overall.

The WolfPack won its third game of the season the same night Gunter went down. It was the second match against UBC in one weekend and TRU won three straight sets after losing the first.

He went for the kill and landed awkwardly.

“It all happened so fast,” he said.

“The set was hung inside and I had to adjust to it and I landed on someone’s foot. I came down, I was kind of dazed and I tried

to get up and I realized I couldn’t put any weight on my foot.”

He would sit on the side for the next three weeks while his team fell quickly out of the playoff race with losses to Brandon and Saskatchewan.

He would see action in the last weekend against UBCO, which head coach Pat Hennelly admit-ted was rushed.

WolfPack fans, however, got a glimpse of who the new “big dog,’ as coach Hennelly called him, in the Canada West will be in the very near future.

Back home, Gunter’s father owns a meat-cutting shop. Dur-ing semester break, Brad works for his dad skinning hogs and carrying sides of beef.

While most students go home for the holidays to ski, party and catch up with friends, Gunter is working.

It’s that hard-working persona that has coach Hennelly excited.

“I think he’s got a good head on his shoulders and he’s got a strong sense of work ethic,” the WolfPack coach said.

“I had high expectations of Brad and he exceeded them in the first semester.”

In Gunter’s first-ever game, he had five kills on 19 attempts against Calgary. The next night, he had 13 kills on 34 attempts. In a game on Remembrance Day in Regina, he had 20 kills on 36 attempts. Even against a tough Manitoba team, he put up 15 kills.

“Typically when you put a first-year guy out there, for every kill they make they are probably going to make one or two mis-takes,” coach Hennelly said.

“Brad, like Gord [Perrin], got past that fast.”

Hennelly is referring to former WolfPack outside hitter Gord Perrin, who is the program’s all-time leader in kills. Perrin also came from a small B.C. town and

managed to bring TRU volleyball to relevancy in the CIS.

It was coach Hennelly who compared the two. Now that TRU is seeing players retire after five years of playing, Gunter will be the player to watch lead the ‘Pack into a contender.

“He’s hitting a world-class ball as a first-year guy. Whether he’s realizes it or not, he’s doing it,” Hennelly said.

“He comes down, has that little smirk on his face and I don’t even know if he realizes how good of a hit he made.”

Hennelly, who has coached the men’s volleyball team since join-ing the CIS, goes back with Gunt-er a couple of years. He coached the young Courtenay product twice with Team B.C. and said if there’s anything he trusts about Gunter’s game, it’s his instincts.

The WolfPack got to match up with the Stanford University in exhibition play over the semester

break and it cer-tainly was one of Gunter’s favourite memories of the year.

Here is a NCAA Division I school that was ranked as high as third in the nation at one point and TRU took them to a 35-33 game, the equivalent of what would seem like

three overtimes in hockey.“We played some of our best

volleyball against them,” Gunter said.

“It was awesome comparing the two teams because they are a huge school.”

Gunter spent the games matched up with Brad Lawson and Brian Cook, two of the top players in the USA..

But the kid from Courtenay made Silicon Valley stop and take a look.

“You could see [Stanford] looking at him like, ‘who’s this kid?’ as they looked at the ros-ter,” coach Hennelly said.

“At one point I looked at their coach and he was shaking his head saying, ‘wow that was a good hit that guy just made.’ Stanford is a legitimate team with big-size guys and Brad was one of the best guys on the f loor.”

As bright as the second half of the season looked for Gunter,

bad luck got in the way. The ankle injury suffered at

UBC gave him a lot of time to think about the future of the ‘Pack and where he f its into it. He has star ted practicing with his teammates and said that the healing process is going well.

That ankle will be healed in time for Gunter to try out for the Canada National Junior Team, with tryouts expected to star t in June.

If all goes to plan, according to Hennelly, he should have no problem making the team de-spite missing a large chunk of

the 2011-2012 schedule.Still, Gunter’s optimism and

work ethic will become the big-gest factor for the men’s vol-leyball team’s success, and he’s ready to make it happen.

“I hope to be at the top, and the next couple of years are looking pretty good,” he said.

It’s going to be a busy sum-mer for Gunter and head coach Pat Hennel ly, but i f th is rook ie season showed Wolf-Pack fans any th ing, it ’s that the f ut u re is sh in ing as br ight as the f i r s t day of spr ing in Kamloops.

Ω Sports EditorNathan Crosby

The coyote atop the Brown Family House of Learning perhaps lending some extra bite to the man who might be the future of WolfPack men’s volleyball?

—PHOTO BY TAYLOR ROCCA

WolfPack rookie hopes to recover from injury in time to try out for Team Canada and go into next season continuing to “hit a world class ball”

“I hope to be at the top, and the next couple of years

are looking pretty good.” —Brad Gunter

Athlete of the Year:

Male winner: Chas Kok (basketball) Nominees: Adam Dodgson

(soccer), Kyle Sandulescu (base-ball), Andrew Fisher (hockey), Joey Chu (badminton), Colin Carson (volleyball), Josh Oosten-brink (cross country)

Female winner: Diane Schuetze (basketball) Nominees: Anna Arduni (bad-

minton), Rowena DeBruyn (cross country), Katarina Osadchuk (volleyball), Alanna Bekkering (soccer)

TRU WolfPack Appreciation Award

Brad Pape (head coach badminton)

Dr. Roger H. Barnsley Scholar/Athlete Award:

Male winner: Alex Condon (baseball) Nominees: Spencer Reed (vol-

leyball), David Gore (hockey), Conor Doherty (soccer), Chas Kok (basketball), Dan Drynan (cross country)

Female winner: Ashley Piggot (soccer) Nominees: Amanda Frayne (vol-

leyball), Rowena DeBruyn (cross country), Jessica Heitmann (cheer-leading), Jorri Duxbury (basket-ball), Kia Lidster (badminton)

Inaugural Tyler Lowey Award

Tyler Lowey (baseball)

TRU Sports Task Force Athlete of the Year (Grades, Athlete

and Community Involvement):

Male winner: Andrew Fisher (hockey)

Nominees: Mike Hawkins (vol-leyball), Kevin Pribilsky (bas-ketball), Alex Condon (baseball), Brynden Swint (soccer)

Female winner: Jen Ju (basketball) Nominees: Katelyn Lohr

(cheerleading), Marlee Mertens (badminton), Kara Twomey (vol-leyball), Laura Smylie (soccer)

Congratulations to all the 2011-2012 TRU WolfPack Awards winners and nominees

March 28, 201214

Puzzle of the Week #20 – HASTA LA VISTA!

This is the last problem of the year, so ”‘HASTA LA VISTA!”’.

Of the letters of the alphabet that occur in “HASTA LA VISTA!”, allbut one have something in common. What is it, and which letter is theoddball? (Consider the capital forms of the letters only.)

Have a good summer. See you next year.

This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The

full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize.

Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next

Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <[email protected]>. Submissions by others are

also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in the Math

Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

Science & Technology

Puzzle of the week

EDMONTON (CUP) — Text-matching technology is cur-rently under scrutiny at the University of Alber ta, with the depar tment of biological sci-ences’ plagiarism checker the latest subject in a long discus-sion about academic integrity on campus.

The aptly branded “Plagia-rism Checker” — a mandatory text-matching tool used by the biological sciences depar tment since September — is inciting controversy after the depar t-ment’s decision to go ahead with the technology last year left stu-dents unhappy with the lack of commu-nication about the service.

The depar tment’s plagiarism checker is currently the U of A’s most extensive use of text-match-ing software, and the latest instance of academia’s shift towards Turnitin-type technologies.

The increased use of text-matching software, and the need to discuss its ad-vantages and drawbacks, was recognized by the Academic In-tegrity Task Force Report — a 2011 document outlining survey results and recommendations on academic integrity at the U of A.

The report’s proposed com-mittee on text-matching soft-ware, however, is still in the works.

Its emphasis on dialogue also seems to have come too late for the biological sciences depar t-ment, which left all student bodies, including the Interde-par tmental Science Students’ Society (ISSS), shut out of the decision-making process.

Students’ Union vice-presi-

dent academic Emerson Csorba said he was surprised by the de-cision to use the software, and expressed concern with the lack of consultation between stu-dents and faculty.

“You want to see the off icials going to the representative body before any decision like this is made — something that has the potential to affect a lot of stu-dents and has a lot of controver-sy as well,” Csorba said.

But U of A discipline off icer Chris Hackett, who headed up the Academic Integrity Task Force, argued that the depar t-ment had no obligation to seek student feedback.

“There’s nothing in the code that says there’s anything wrong with [text-matching software]. There’s no policy that says you can’t use it, so the [biological sciences depar tment] is do-ing absolutely nothing wrong,” Hackett said.

The decision was made with students’ best interests in mind, according to senior lab coordi-nator Maggie Haag.

Although Haag admitted that the plagiarism checker is still an imperfect process, she sees it as an effective “guide” for instructors and teaching assis-tants to monitor their students’ intellectual proper ty and to pro-mote academic integrity in their classes.

Csorba, however, is worried

that the program may be coun-ter-productive in its promotion of incorrect perceptions about plagiarism among students.

“My concerns with ant i-pla-giar ism programs are the pre-sumption of guilt — the fact that a student has to send in the biology repor t even when that student hasn’t plagiar ized and disagrees fundamentally with the program,” Csorba said.

Csorba said the text-matching software also risks damaging the relationship between stu-dents and instructors, espe-cially since it only “prevents” cheating after the fact.

“This sor t of pro-gram is reactive, and I would rather see measures that are proactive.”

Hackett admits that the program risks compromis-ing the relation-ships between instructors and students.

“The most pow-erful tool in deal-ing with plagiarism is an instructor talking to his stu-

dents,” Hackett said.“If (text-matching software)

becomes something that makes people complacent — that’s one of the dangers that I would wor-ry about.”

But Haag feels that there’s plenty of opportunity for dia-logue in the biological sciences depar tment, and stressed that the program is still an imper-fect process that is only the f irst step in teaching students about intellectual proper ty.

“The whole point is to get the students to think like a scien-tist, write like a scientist, and do all the processes like a sci-entist,” Haag said.

“We’re trying to ingrain that from year one.”

U of A science students take issue with new ‘plagiarism checker’

The Gateway (U of A)Jonathan Faerber

“My concerns with the anti-plagiarism programs are the

presumption of guilt.” —Emerson Csorba

ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — The OP-ERA collaboration with the Eu-ropean Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which made in-ternational headlines last fall with their apparent discovery of faster-than-light neutrinos (small, electri-cally neutral subatomic particles), have pinpointed two possible sourc-es of error in their experiment.

On Feb. 22, Science Insider’s Edwin Cartlidge broke the news that a “bad connection between a GPS unit and a computer may be to blame” for the apparent anomaly in the neutrinos’ velocity, according to anonymous sources associated with the experiment.

Physicists with the OPERA col-laboration struck a chord in the scientific community when they

announced in September 2011 that neutrinos sent from CERN in Ge-neva, Switzerland to a detector in the Gran Sasso cavern in Italy ap-peared to make the trip in 60 nano-seconds less than if they were trav-elling at light speed.

CERN confirmed on Feb. 22 that two possible effects may have influenced the measurements in Italy. Spokesperson James Gillies confirmed to the Associated Press that a problem in the GPS system used to time the arrival of neutrino particles was discovered earlier in February.

The first, due to a possible bad connection between a fibre-optic cable bringing the GPS data to OPERA and the detector’s master clock, would have caused the ex-periment to make a calculation er-ror in the neutrinos’ transmission time.

The other possible effect con-

cerns an oscillator which is part of OPERA’s particle detector that gives its readings time marks which are synchronized to GPS signals.

Physicists think correcting for an error in the oscillator would ac-tually increase the discrepancy in the neutrinos’ velocity.

CERN has also said that “the po-tential extent of these two effects is being studied by the OPERA collaboration.”

There is no indication from CERN as to which source of error is more likely. The main focus is, according to sources with OPERA, on the fibre-optic cable connec-tion.

CERN’s statement also says that new tests will be conducted in May for the two effects, when CERN’s Geneva lab and Italy’s National In-stitute of Nuclear Physics in Gran Sasso are scheduled to conduct further velocity experiments.

The Muse (Memorial University)Tim O’Brien

Nanoengineering ‘cyborgs’University of Ottawa master’s student works to improve titanium-based implants

Student union raises concerns over presumption of guilt damaging relationship between instructors, pupils

Not so fast: Possible CERN error

OTTAWA (CUP) — Cyborgs aren’t science fiction. All around us, people with pacemakers, insulin pumps and prosthetic implants con-tinue to live normal lives because of mechanical and electronic parts within their bodies. It’s not sci-fi; it’s mundane.

But that doesn’t mean combining human bodies with technology is scientifically simple. Even relative-ly straightforward implants need to be biocompatible or human tissues won’t accept them. Implants also need to be reliable.

We may take it for granted, but our bodies are amazingly robust. When we sustain injuries, we heal — but implants don’t. Hip replace-ments are some of the most success-ful prosthetics, but even they have a 20 per cent failure rate after 20 years.

Titanium is one of the best bio-materials for implants. It’s light, strong, non-toxic, resistant to cor-rosion, and isn’t bad at osseointe-gration — the merging of bone and non-bone into a single object.

Not all metals are good at this, but titanium isn’t bad.

Amirhossein Ketabchi — an en-gineering grad and now a master’s student with an interest in medicine and bio-materials in the Surface Nanoengineering Laboratory at the University of Ottawa — thinks he can engineer it to be better.

In order to engineer better bio-compatibility, Ketabchi modifies the surface of the titanium. Because your body’s cells are in contact with implants, modifications must change nanoscopic details. Ketabchi does this nanoengineering by dip-ping titanium into an acid mixtures.

The acid causes an oxide layer of open nanotubes to form on the sur-face of the titanium, which human bone can then grow into. Nanoengi-neering the surface of titanium like this improves its biocompatibility.

But soaking metal in strong acid for hours and hours weakens it, and the last thing you want is a titanium pin in an implant snapping. So Ket-abchi knows there has to be a trad-eoff between biocompatibility and preserving strength to withstand years of fatigue.

He tests the endurance limit of pin after pin, looking for the perfect compromise between biocompat-ibility and strength, hoping to find the perfect balance.

The Fulcrum (U of Ottawa)Tyler Shendruk

Know about science and have a knack for the written word?

The Omega will soon be taking applications for editors for the 2012/13 school year, and if this type of writing

spins your centrifuge, let us know!Contact

[email protected]


Across

1. K follower5. Said sheepishly?10. Big laugh line (slang)14. Old World bird15. Charles de Gaulle’s

birthplace16. ___ Danger17. Convention city for felines?20. Pang21. Masses formed by heating22. Downer25. Brahman, e.g.26. 1935 Triple Crown winner30. Ancient Greek weight33. Lifeboat lowerer34. Fair share, maybe35. “My man!”38. Class for teen felines?42. But, to Brutus43. Jack-in-the-pulpit, e.g.44. Kind of wave45. Of a great range47. Wee48. Big sheet51. Dalai ___53. Ham it up56. Santa’s original reindeer, e.g.60. Feline in a Salinger title?64. Cornstarch brand65. Mushroom caps66. Dangerous biters

67. Capital of Rhône68. Light parody69. Dutch painter, to friends

Down

1. ___-Atlantic2. Risk prison3. Little impressionist?4. Anastasia’s father, for one5. More gloomy6. Balloon filler7. “Aladdin” prince8. Building additions9. Kosher ___10. Diminutive11. Double-reed instruments12. Bat an eye?13. Band on a shield18. As yet19. Creep23. Cleave24. Slow but steady26. Ends partner27. Filly’s mother28. All fired up29. Certain retrovirus31. She has a degree32. Certain refrigerant, briefly35. Dwell36. Bookbinding leather37. The “O” in S.R.O.39. “Awesome!”

40. Hook up41. 20-20, e.g.45. Cooling system (Brit.)46. Wyle of “ER”48. Central49. Egg producer50. “Take your hands off me!”52. Recurring theme54. Eur. think tank55. Field ___57. Heavy furniture wood58. European language59. Ilk61. 1969 Peace Prize grp.62. “The Matrix” hero63. Cousin of -trix

Coffee Break

cros

swor

d1 7 5 96 3 9

4 2 11 7 45 9 8 7 1 6

7 6 25 2 3

2 3 83 8 1 6su

doku

easy

SUDOWEB.COM

last week’s answers

B I T T T A P A G U S HA C H E U F O S S A N T OR A R E N O P E U N D E RB O U N C E U P A N D D O W N

H U L A O O HL E T R I P U T R I C L EO D E O N I D L E E A TR U N B A C K A N D F O R T HI C E H O Y A R A T T YS E T U P O N M O R S E L

P U S M E O WF L I C K E R I N A N D O U TA U R A E A M E N A K R OD R O S S D I M E T A G SS E N T S C A R A Y E S

“Here, Kitty!”

hardeasy

8 5 28 6

6 7 44 98 1 9 3

5 45 2 9

2 73 2 1su

doku

hard

SUDOWEB.COM

MYL

ES M

ELLO

R an

d SA

LLY

YORK

1 8 3 5 6 9 7 4 2

5 4 9 2 8 7 3 6 1

2 6 4 4 1 3 5 8 9

4 3 2 7 9 1 6 5 8

8 5 1 6 2 4 9 7 3

7 9 6 3 5 8 1 2 4

6 1 4 8 3 5 2 9 7

9 2 8 1 7 6 4 3 5

3 7 5 9 4 2 8 1 6

8 1 3 7 5 9 6 2 4

7 6 2 8 1 4 5 3 9

9 5 4 6 3 2 1 7 8

1 2 6 9 7 8 4 5 3

5 9 8 4 2 3 7 1 6

3 4 7 1 6 5 8 9 2

6 8 5 2 9 7 3 4 1

2 3 1 5 4 6 9 8 7

4 7 9 3 8 1 2 6 5

Notice anything wrong with The Omega? Bring it to our attention and win a prize. We may have done it on purpose just to keep you on your toes...or you might just be helping us get better. Either way...you win!

LAST

WEE

K’S

AN

SWER

S

March 28, 201216

TRUSU Membership Advisory

Advocacy | Services | Entertainment

This Week:

Check out the Events Calendar at trusu.ca

for details!

Post-Secondary Education Fact:

Log on to trusu.ca and

get connected!• SubscribetotheNewsletter

• Joinusonfacebook

• FollowusonTwitter

• ArabianNights• CouncilMeeting• BoardofGovernorsElections

• TRUSUNDPClubMix&Mingle

TransitRidershipinKamloopsincreasedby78%theyeartheUPASSwasimplemented

Ban Bottled waterCome by Old Main on Thursday March 29th

between 10am and 2pm

Get a reusable water bottle and sign the pledge to ban the sale of bottled

water on campus

March 31st

12-4PM

END OF YEAR EVENT

TRUSU and TRU Environment & Sustainability are

partnering to host a Park Clean-up and BBQ.

To get involved sign up at www.trusu.ca

Graduating?The Students’ Union offers free

graduation gown rentals for convocation photos.

To rent a graduation gown and regalia, drop by the Members’ Services Desk in the Students’ Union

Building. You must provide a $60 cash deposit or credit card. Your deposit will be returned when

the regalia is returned.

march 28, 2012

Documents

low municipal turnout

youth voter turnout

turnouts of young people

student politics

municipal elections

federal elections

ubco student paper

elections canada report