Volume 143 • Issue 20 • Febuary 17, 2010 thebruns.ca brunswickan canada’s oldest official student publication. SU electionS //read candidateS’ bioS and platformS >> pG. 4 Two hitch-hiking thumbs down for Acadian Ryan Brideau, vice president external for the UNBSU, is concerned with the latest changes Acadian Coach Lines is attempting to make.The company has applied to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to eliminate routes between Fredericton and Miramichi, as well as between Saint John and Bangor. Brideau has initiated a way for students to speak up about the proposal. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan Lee Larrett News Editor As soon as this April, New Brunswick’s colleges are going to be run differently. The provincial legislature introduced legislation on Feb. 9 that will create two autonomous boards to run the English and French community college systems. Each board will have to create a five-year strategic plan for the college that must get government approval. Donald Arseneault, minister for post- secondary education, training and labour, said that this new structure has been a long time coming. “This new structure has been talked about for over twenty years ... it’s about time the community college system in New Brunswick enters the twenty first century,” he said. Arseneault said that it is very important that the college system move to a system that is more independent of government, and generally more autonomous. “By having the community college system managed by a board of govern- ors from throughout the regions of the province, you have individuals on those boards that represent the community, and that speaks volumes compared to what it is now when it’s just an arm’s length division of government,” he commented. A unique feature of the legislation is something very important to Arseneault: the students. “I’ve always said from day one that my priority is the student, therefore there is a student representative on the board,” Arseneault said. This new system will bring more opportunities to colleges that may not have existed under the previous system. Arseneault explained that the system, “will give the opportunity for the com- munity college structures to go out and develop new partnerships with other levels of government or try to look at more private sector investment, more opportunities in research and develop- ment.” The first boards will be filled through government appointments, but Arse- neault said that this is just to get the boards going. “Following that, three to six members will be appointed by the board itself, and three to six members will be appointed by the government, one member will be voted on from the academic staff, and one member from non-academic staff, as well as one student rep. So they’ll make up your nine to 15 members [for each respective board]. And each board is responsible to hire the CEO,” Arseneault explained. He said that while this system is new to New Brunswick colleges, it is similar to the university system currently in place. “It brings both the community col- lege and universities closer together in forming more partnerships and so forth.” These partnerships are important to Arseneault. “We’ve come a long way in a year. We see that there’s more that unites the university and colleges and divides us, and we’re working on common themes such as foreign recruitment and course transfers and other initiatives that we feel will be to the benefit of students in New Brunswick,” he said. The new boards are expected to be in place by April of this year. Sarah Ratchford Editor in Chief Acadian Coach Lines is looking at making more changes that will affect students, and the UNB Student Union is encouraging students to voice their opinions on the matter. The company, a division of Groupe Orléans Express Inc., has proposed the elimination of service between Fred- ericton and Miramichi and between Bangor, ME and Saint John. Acadian has applied to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to change the routes, but the changes have yet to go through. Both a formal and an in- formal hearing must take place before changes can be made final. The Friday and Sunday evening runs from Charlottetown to Moncton will also be cut, as well as service between Kentville, NS and Digby, NS. The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board issued a notice about the changes for the province. “These proposed changes would result in the discontinuance of ser- vice to the following communities: Pennfield, St. George, St. Andrews, St. Stephen, Bangor, Renous, Blackville, Doaktown, Boiestown, and Nashwaak Village,” it reads. Ryan Brideau, vice president external for the SU, is the man behind an initia- tive for students to speak out against the changes and get their questions out on the table. The SU plans to intervene at the formal hearing on March 17. To get the word out, Brideau started a Facebook event called UNB Stu- dent Union: Acadian Coach Lines Feedback. The event wall encouraged students to fill out a form in order to generate questions to be submitted to Acadian. The company will be required to answer the questions, and follow-up questions will be posed at the hearing next month. Feedback, the event wall says, was accepted from Wednesday, Feb. 10 until Monday, Feb. 15. Brideau says 23 people responded to the form, and responders included international students, local students, and even part-time instructors. A number of concerns were brought up, with travel for international stu- dents at the forefront. “Eight Haitian students [who re- sponded] flew out of the U.S. this year for the Christmas Break,” Brideau says. He found out about these eight through their submitted forms. One student also pointed out that New Brunswick colleges to introduce language specific boards SEE ACADIAN PAGE 3
brunswickancanada’s oldest official student publication.
SU electionS//read candidateS’ bioS and platformS > > pG. 4
Two hitch-hiking thumbs down for Acadian
Ryan Brideau, vice president external for the UNBSU, is concerned with the latest changes Acadian Coach Lines is attempting to make. The company has applied to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to eliminate routes between Fredericton and Miramichi, as well as between Saint John and Bangor. Brideau has initiated a way for students to speak up about the proposal. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
Lee LarrettNews Editor
As soon as this April, New Brunswick’s colleges are going to be run differently.
The provincial legislature introduced legislation on Feb. 9 that will create two autonomous boards to run the English and French community college systems. Each board will have to create a five-year strategic plan for the college that must get government approval.
Donald Arseneault, minister for post-secondary education, training and labour, said that this new structure has been a long time coming.
“This new structure has been talked
about for over twenty years ... it’s about time the community college system in New Brunswick enters the twenty first century,” he said.
Arseneault said that it is very important that the college system move to a system that is more independent of government, and generally more autonomous.
“By having the community college system managed by a board of govern-ors from throughout the regions of the province, you have individuals on those boards that represent the community, and that speaks volumes compared to what it is now when it’s just an arm’s length division of government,” he commented.
A unique feature of the legislation is something very important to Arseneault: the students.
“I’ve always said from day one that my priority is the student, therefore there is a student representative on the board,” Arseneault said.
This new system will bring more opportunities to colleges that may not have existed under the previous system. Arseneault explained that the system, “will give the opportunity for the com-munity college structures to go out and develop new partnerships with other levels of government or try to look at more private sector investment, more opportunities in research and develop-
ment.” The first boards will be filled through
government appointments, but Arse-neault said that this is just to get the boards going.
“Following that, three to six members will be appointed by the board itself, and three to six members will be appointed by the government, one member will be voted on from the academic staff, and one member from non-academic staff, as well as one student rep. So they’ll make up your nine to 15 members [for each respective board]. And each board is responsible to hire the CEO,” Arseneault explained.
He said that while this system is new
to New Brunswick colleges, it is similar to the university system currently in place.
“It brings both the community col-lege and universities closer together in forming more partnerships and so forth.”
These partnerships are important to Arseneault.
“We’ve come a long way in a year. We see that there’s more that unites the university and colleges and divides us, and we’re working on common themes such as foreign recruitment and course transfers and other initiatives that we feel will be to the benefit of students in New Brunswick,” he said.
The new boards are expected to be in place by April of this year.
Sarah RatchfordEditor in Chief
Acadian Coach Lines is looking at making more changes that will affect students, and the UNB Student Union is encouraging students to voice their opinions on the matter.
The company, a division of Groupe Orléans Express Inc., has proposed the elimination of service between Fred-ericton and Miramichi and between Bangor, ME and Saint John. Acadian has applied to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to change the routes, but the changes have yet to go through. Both a formal and an in-formal hearing must take place before changes can be made final.
The Friday and Sunday evening runs from Charlottetown to Moncton will also be cut, as well as service between Kentville, NS and Digby, NS.
The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board issued a notice about the changes for the province.
“These proposed changes would result in the discontinuance of ser-vice to the following communities: Pennfield, St. George, St. Andrews, St. Stephen, Bangor, Renous, Blackville, Doaktown, Boiestown, and Nashwaak Village,” it reads.
Ryan Brideau, vice president external for the SU, is the man behind an initia-tive for students to speak out against the changes and get their questions out on the table. The SU plans to intervene at the formal hearing on March 17.
To get the word out, Brideau started a Facebook event called UNB Stu-dent Union: Acadian Coach Lines Feedback. The event wall encouraged students to fill out a form in order to generate questions to be submitted
to Acadian. The company will be required to answer the questions, and follow-up questions will be posed at the hearing next month.
Feedback, the event wall says, was accepted from Wednesday, Feb. 10
until Monday, Feb. 15. Brideau says 23 people responded
to the form, and responders included international students, local students, and even part-time instructors.
A number of concerns were brought
up, with travel for international stu-dents at the forefront.
“Eight Haitian students [who re-sponded] flew out of the U.S. this year for the Christmas Break,” Brideau says. He found out about these eight
through their submitted forms. One student also pointed out that
New Brunswick colleges to introduce language specific boardsSEE ACADIAN PAGE 3
The Gregg Centre for the study of war aand society has been granted a wish that’s been a long time coming.
Lee Windsor, director of the centre, says it has been trying to get a Canadian Inter-national Development Agency (CIDA) member to talk at UNB for a while, and as part of International Development Week, they finally got their wish.
Jean McCardle works with CIDA as the senior development advisor to Task Force Kandahar in Afghanistan. She just returned from a 16 month tour oversees and spent the evening of Feb. 11 at the Wu Centre, telling students and members of the community about her experience.
“The one thing that I absolutely loved about working in Kandahar was the fact that you talk about things… it’s done by incredible negotiation, lots of tea and it’s absolutely not a process that we’re used to, but I think it’s a very solid process,” McCardle said.
McCardle showed images from Kanda-har, the Afghan province Canadian troops are deployed in, to illustrate her stories. She spoke of how the civilian efforts have grown, from just 15 civilians in theatre a few years ago, to 80 civilians now. Half of that number is RCMP, who are there as police mentoring teams for the Afghan National Police.
She said that presently there can be between 10 and 15 non-governmental organizations implementing projects. The difficulty for CIDA is that, as aid workers, they are not allowed outside the wire (out-side Kandahar Air Field) and so they rely on NGO’s to execute their plans. She said this constraint necessitates creative solutions.
One goal which requires a lot of creativ-ity is reaching women, McCardle said. The Food for Literacy training program takes place in Kandahar city and is a three month numeracy and literacy program. To entice women to come, and ensure their attend-ance, at the end of the classes they receive a food basket to take home to their family. McCardle said that this program has been relatively successful. She explained that by the end of the program women, “could go to the market and rather than handing out their hand to the seller to take the money in the hopes that they would take the right amount, they could actually give the money to the vendor … that’s a really big
deal.”“The types of results that we harvest
off of our projects are modest by any definition, but in a place like Kandahar it’s nothing short of a miracle,” McCardle said.
Towards the end of her talk, McCardle tried to contextualize the difficulty of working in Afghanistan.
“I have worked in a number of countries in the world, and if you were to take the worst parts of all of those seven countries, weave them together, you can never even come close to matching the complexity of the development problem that is in a place like Kandahar in a peaceful situation. Throw in a very active and nasty insurgency into the mix and you have something more complex than you can ever imagine.”
McCardle explained that there are six priorities for Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan. They are: security, which encompasses the development of the Af-ghan National Army and Afghan National Police; basic services, which includes health care and education; humanitarian assist-ance; border management; democratic development of national institutions; and Afghan-led reconciliation.
CIDA is helping to work towards these priorities and has been part of three sig-nature projects which McCardle said will be a “legacy for Canada for an enduring time period in Kandahar.” These projects are the Dahla Dam, polio eradication and education.
Following her talk McCardle answered questions from the crowd. The final ques-tion sparked discussion among the audi-ence when a student asked about integrated civil and military planning, specifically the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) system representing militarization of aid.
McCardle agreed that this is a big issue, explaining why the world food program distributes food using local Afghans. She also said that she is proud of the Canadian Forces for working very closely with CIDA to prevent CF members from participating in providing food.
A former deputy commanding officer of a PRT team, and member of the audience, added to the dialogue.
“I hear the argument that we’re militar-izing the aid portion of the humanitarian work, but my challenge to the NGO com-munity has always been ‘Okay, we’ll gladly leave if you show up and do your thing.’ The problem is that it’s such a hostile en-vironment that they’re not there,” he said.
The formal rededication of CC Jones House occured this past Thursday, Feb. 11. The building, which was once a residence, has been dedicated to Student Services. Ringing in the building’s rebirth are, from left: Jon O’Kane, Anne Forrestall, Richard Currie, Greg Byrne and Eddy Campbell. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
JONES HOUSE OFFICIAL RE-OPENING AND DEDICATION
Jean McCardle, above, is a senior member of CIDA and spent time in Afghanistan working on Provincial Reconstruction Team projects. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
A small crowd gathered in a gallery at the UNB Art Centre on Feb. 11 to listen to Elizabeth Weir speak about her experiences with politics abroad.
Weir is the former leader of the New Democratic Party of New Brunswick and current president and CEO of Effi-ciency New Brunswick. Born in Belfast in Northern Ireland, Weir currently resides in Saint John, and travelled to Fredericton to speak as part of Inter-national Development Week.
Weir has travelled extensively around the world and worked in places like Mo-zambique, Northern Ireland and Al-bania. Weir worked with the National Democratic Institute, a non-partisan organization that strives to strengthen developing democracies in countries of conflict.
She spoke about how her career in politics led her into non-profit work overseas.
“The experience of working in a small legislature was valuable to help people who were working in immensely harder circumstances than I was and it was just a natural progression.”
The majority of Weir’s speech was spent recalling experiences in countries with young and struggling democra-cies.
“The first session I did in Northern Ireland was directed at the members of the first national legislature that was elected, and I remember hearing one of the Ulster unionist members say that he actually said ‘Hello’ to a Sinn Fein member and that was an absolutely unheard of exchange,” she said, elab-orating on the benefits of integrating working committees into legislatures.
Weir also discussed bringing the issues of constituents into the legis-lature to be heard by politicians for a more effective democracy. She used the example of an area of Macedonia where constituents were unable to complain to their politicians and have their voices heard.
“Part of this one session that I was working on was to impress upon newly elected members that your job isn’t just to go sit in parliament. Your job is to get out and talk to your constituents and find out what their issues are of concern and bring them back again. So establishing those kinds of dialogue was just a concept they had a very hard time wrapping their heads around,” she said. “So, [it was] very challenging, especially in that tradition of ‘nobody complains’ and certainly nobody complains to the people in power.”
Weir’s presentation was not restricted to information about struggling dem-ocracies. It was also highlighted by several funny anecdotes about overseas travel. Weir humorously included some advice:
“Always listen to your public health nurse,” with a story involving the nau-seating side effects of the yellow fever vaccine and a meal of roasted goat.
Weir also told a story about being in a restaurant in Albania and listening to the sounds of nearly every cell phone in the room ringing at exactly the same time because NATO had begun to bomb a nearby city. Almost immedi-ately, she said, waiters and bartenders at the restaurant carried out trays of brandy for the patrons.
The presentation was concluded by a question and answer period where attendees not only asked about Weir’s experiences abroad, but also her polit-ical career in New Brunswick.
Smart food: eating well on a budgetSandy Chase Staff Writer
Eating healthy can be a difficult chal-lenge, let alone on a student budget.
Ellen McIntosh, the dietician at the student health centre, spoke with 20 students last Thursday during lunch at McConnell Hall, giving tips for saving money on their weekly food purchases. “You can save money without comprom-ising on taste or nutrition,” MacIntosh told the crowd, as her slide show pre-sented ten easy steps to save money while grocery shopping.
McIntosh stressed the importance of maintaining variety in the daily intake of food, saying that she’s seen cases where people will start to eat a lot of chicken simply because they like it and it’s easy. This can lead to an iron deficiency be-cause chicken is not a good source of iron.
“The planning and the organizing is as much a part of budgeting,” McIntosh
said, saying that if you forget to get some-thing at the store it will end up costing you in time and gas to go back and get that extra item. Planning in advance also reduces the risk that you’ll run out of food during the middle of the week. “Set a time aside to go get groceries once a week. The problem comes when it’s the middle of the week and you’ve got 100 things to do, there’s no food in the fridge and you think ‘Oh, I’ll order out,’ and that really blows our budget.”
McIntosh also recommends not shop-ping while you’re hungry, as you’re more likely to make impulse purchases and get an extra treat that will tip your budget over the top. Another tip is to avoid convenience foods.
“Costly convenience foods...There are just so many more convenience foods available now then there was five years ago [and they’re expensive],” McIntosh said, using chicken breasts as an example.
“To cut up chicken breasts and dredge
it in flower and salt and pepper, it’s not a big trouble to do that as opposed to buy-ing the chicken fingers,” said MacIntosh, adding that they’re healthier too.
“The less processed your food is, the less it costs, but also the higher it is in nutrient content, so you win in every regard.”
McIntosh also added one last tip for students who are coffee drinkers. Brew-ing your own at home as opposed to buy-ing a cup a day will save a lot of money.
“When you’re buying one a day that’s a $1.50 a day, that’s $7.50 a week, that’s $30 dollars a month. Many people drink three a day, so that’s $100 a month, that’s getting up to be as high as your phone bill...You might be surprised how much you can save,” MacIntosh said.
“It really adds up.” For more information, Ellen Mac-
Intosh can be reached through the student health centre or through e-mail at [email protected].
Employers were seeking students at the Summer Jobs and Graduating Students Career Fair in the SUB Ballroom this past week. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
if the routes are cut, it could become more cost effective to simply rent a car. Brideau expressed concerns about the environmental impact this would have.
“The negatives coming out of this far outweigh the benefits,” he says. These new changes, combined with the company’s decision to relocate from its downtown location in October, have led Brideau to question the company’s concern for its clientele.
“They don’t seem to have the cus-tomers in mind when making these
Hilary Paige SmithNews Reporter
The SUB ballroom was buzzing on Friday as students and prospective employers flooded in and out of the Summer Jobs and Graduating Students Career Fair.
Employers from all career paths had booths at the fair, including the New Brunswick government, Xtrata, Bruns-wick News, Camp Rotary and Canadian Forces. Close to 30 booths filled the ballroom.
Dawn Wortman, a second year nursing student at UNB, operated the booth for Camp Ouareau, an all girls French camp in Quebec. She has worked at the camp for four summers.
Wortman said the camp organized a booth because of UNB’s reputable French language department.
“I know that there’s quite a strong French department here at the university, and we’re always looking for bilingual staff and I thought it would be a great place to find some bilingual people who are interested in working at a summer camp,” she said.
She felt that the fair was mainly directed at business students and graduates, more than those looking for summer jobs.
“Well, I think it provides some balance with some of the business-type groups. Working at a camp is kind of a perfect sum-mer job for a university student,” she said.
Omar Johnson, a graduating student, said he was somewhat disappointed with the number of booths at the fair.
“There’s enough, like I found, [Xtrata] is definitely hiring, so there are a couple companies, but it seems like last year there was a lot more in general than there is this year. It’s understandable because we’re in a recession I suppose,” he said.
Johnson said that a career fair is a great thing to hold on campus because you can get into contact with potential employers who send knowledgeable staff members to talk to students. He had just finished speaking to representatives at the Xtrata booth.
“I knew of Xtrata, but I did not know how to get into contact with them, so this was a prime opportunity for me to actually access a company that otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gotten in contact with. It’s
good to have a face-to-face interaction with someone from the company and usually they send someone who actually knows something rather than just the lowest level person,” he said, gesturing to the human resources manager and engineer behind him at the Xtrata booth.
“It was good to have two people who actually knew what was going on in the company to speak with.”
Jessica Fennell, at the Explore and Odyssey booth, travelled from Halifax to recruit students for the French lan-guage training bursary program and the nine-month teaching assistance work term.
She said that students seemed genu-inely engaged and interested at the fair.
“I think it’s fantastic. I think [a summer job and career fair] is a great opportunity to bring students and employers together. When I do these, not just at career fairs, but other events, I get such a better response when that’s the whole mood of everything. Students come prepared, they think to ask questions, as opposed to when you catch them off guard with your message,” she said.
One stop summer job hunting
SU speaks out against bus route changes
decisions,” he laments. Despite the negatives, though, Bri-
deau has hope that the people’s voices will be heard and make a difference.
“The board is there to make sure Acadian is still serving the province,” he says. The existence of the board, he says, should signal that something will be done to prevent the route elim-inations from going through and that people still have access to the mode of transportation.
The deadline to apply to make a formal presentation at the hearing was Feb. 12, but the hearings, to be held on March 17 at the Fredericton Inn, are open to the public.
S 2010I pride myself as being your most involved and experienced
candidate with years of committees, societies, positions and two years of vice presidency under my belt listening to student issues and assisting in changes the Student Union has brought forth in the past three years. I want the Student Union to understand you and your individual needs by conducting a survey based study reassessing our 1.6 million dollar budget to better suit your needs. I will continue to build the relationships between the Student Union and its students, the university’s administration, and our municipal, local and national politicians to ensure the undergraduates of UNB Fredericton are more vocal, respected, and understood than ever before. Using my experience, connections and passion, together we will work to ensure the Student Union rises to its greatest potential and that you are better equipped and assisted for your next year here at UNB Fredericton.
My name is Shannon Carmont-McKinley and I am running for the position of Student Union President. I am currently in my fourth year of a science degree and I have had extensive involvement with the union both as a member of council and as Vice President Academic. I have many strong ideas which will improve communication between the union and students, enhance student opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom, and increase access to the post-secondary education system in New Brunswick for underrepresented student groups. You can find more information about my ideas at www.voteshannon.ca or you can search my facebook group “Vote Shannon for UNBSU President”. It’s important to educate yourself about the candidates and I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns (e-mail: [email protected]). Take care.
Stephanie Lord (preSident)
Shannon Carmont-mCKinLey (preSident)
My name is Julia Coleman and I am running to be your next VP Student Services.
I am in my 4th year of Civil Engineering, minoring in business and have been actively involved in university societies for the past three years. I currently sit on the Student Union as an Engineering Representative.
I am outgoing, creative, approachable and experienced. I have worked very hard during my university career to be involved outside of the classroom. I take pride in enhancing the university life of all those around me.
I love UNB and would genuinely enjoy the opportunity to continue to compliment your university education with events and services.
Safe Ride, Yearbook, Great Computer Giveaway, SU Student Agendas, Drink Smart, Winter Carnival, and the Red N’ Black Revue are the services currently in the VP Student Services Portfolio. I would like to build on the reputation that has been established for these services and look for new ways to improve them.
On February 8, a motion was passed for the UNBSU to use its lobbying power, wherever possible, to advocate for the reduction of the up-front cost of education, including tuition.
With my experience as Residence Liaison and as a residential leader this past year, I feel I have what it takes to represent your interests on the municipal, provincial and federal stages.
As VP External, I will act as the voice of UNB and push, during and after the provincial elections in the fall, the issues that matter most to us. I will create strong ties with the city, and bring the residence and off-campus communities together.
As VP External, I plan to articulate the concerns of students in a way that gets results. From tuition to bus passes, I will keep all priorities as my focus of attention.Vote for experience: Vote Brad. Thank you.
JuLia CoLeman(Vp Student SerViCeS)
Brad mCKinney(Vp externaL)
Hello everyone! My name is Jordan Thompson and I am a third year business student and one of the current business representatives on council and am now taking the leap to the an executive position and running for VP Finance & Operations. I feel I am qualified for this position as I have a solid understanding of the Union’s financial position and how the Union runs.
If elected, I would look into other revenue-generating services that will offer more services to students and increase revenues, increase the amount of student aid offered by the Union, work closer with Clubs & Societies, and continue the variety of entertainment options and the sound financial management of the Union.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and remember to vote from February 21st to 26th!
Jordan thompSon
(Vp FinanCe)
Since I arrived at UNB, I have been an active participant within the University community through Co-ordinating the Book Buy and Sell, helping with the Haiti fundraising effort and offering assistance in the upcoming Tax Return Clinic. I worked at Subtowne for over a year, and currently work for Sodexo and the Engineering Library. Through these experiences, I have gained valuable insight and have seen UNB from a variety of perspectives.
These perspectives have shown me how re-markably strong, determined and united UNB students are, especially when it comes to making a difference. I have chosen to run for VP Internal as I share this passion for making a difference and enjoy working within the student community towards making positive changes.
This passion and wish for positive change as well as my eagerness to do so, make me confident that I am the best candidate for this position.
VIRTUS, PROBITAS, OFFICIUM...(Excellence, Integrity, Service).Hey Everyone. I am running for the position of Representa-
tive of the Science Faculty at the SU Table, for the academic year 2010-2011.
I am a 3rd year Science student (Bio-Psyc), and I have experienced UNBF campus from different mindsets. I cur-rently serve my community as the Educational Proctor in Joy W. Kidd House, Student Assistant at the Campus Science & Forestry Library and stand as the International Student Advocate, among other functions.
I ask you all to give me the ultimate opportunity to play a unique role in making your experience at UNB an awesome one, by befittingly representing YOU, students of the Faculty of Science.
Vote Jocelyn for Science Rep!!
Hello, My name is Dave Pitts and I am a third year Mathematics-Statistics Major. I am running for Science Rep because I know I can effectively bridge the gap between every science student and the Student Union. My approachability and my capacity to understand any student’s viewpoint makes me an ideal Science Rep. I intend to make it easier for each science student not only to know all the decisions being made by the Student Union, but easier for every science student to have their own voice heard in that decision making process. Thank You and good luck to all my fellow candidates.
JoCeLyn FotSo Soh
(SCienCe rep)
daVe pittS(SCienCe rep)
I am Hansika Gunaratne, candidate in running for the position of Science Representative.I am a second year student hoping to graduate with Honours in Biology. I have followed the Student Union news and updates very diligently over the past year and now my interests are more than to just know what is going on, but contribute directly to the University’s academic community.I will make best use of my position to benefit all of whom I represent. I have alwaysbeen up for challenges, so I am now ready to be your Science Representative and I will make myself available to stay informed of the concerns and suggestions of all.I am extremely inspired and eager to be your Science Rep just like some of the gravity defiers determined to win gold in Vancouver, so you may support me with confidence, because I am fully geared up and ready!
hanSiKa Gunaratne
(SCienCe rep)
I am running for VP Internal because over the last year on council I have developed a passion for improving this University and the Student Union. By working within the University, with groups like senate, I will make a positive difference at UNB.
I have valuable experience with council and with senate. This year, I represent Science on council and serve on Student Union committees. This includes the Academic committee which works with the current VP Internal. I also serve on several senate committees as a student representative, including the Student Standings and Promotions committee, which the VP Internal sits on regularly.
My goals for the position include creating a consistent student experience by standardizing and improving academic services, making services more accessible through promo-tion, and creating new services - especially those targeted at international students. For more information about me and my platform, go to ashleywile.blogspot.com
aShLey WiLe(Vp internaL)
I am Josias Gado and I would like to be your International Representative.
I have spent most of my life in Africa but was born in Ger-many from a Cameroonian father and a French mother. As a child I went through three different education systems and was brought up with five different languages. I am open to other cultures and truly appreciate the cosmopolitan nature of UNB. Moreover, my father is from Muslim North Cameroon and my mother comes from a Christian family and they taught me by example to respect different religious beliefs.
My main aim is to achieve a reduction of the differential and medicare coverage fees. I talked with the current ISA, and not only are those fees hindering some bright minds from getting into UNB, they are also forcing many to drop out before completion.
To do that, I need you.Vote Josias Gado for international representative!
JoSiaS Gado(internationaL repreSentatiVe )
Forestry & Environmental Management is a small faculty with BIG spirits. We went a few years without a Student Union Representative; so until recently, our Faculty has been disconnected from important Student Union news & announcements. As the Faculty representative 2009-2010, I was able to change that. I kept students informed of SU events all year, as well as asked for their input on SU-related issues. As Faculty Representative 2010-2011, I would continue to keep students informed and engaged, and continue to represent our lively Faculty, in the way that it deserves! My long-term goal is to get Forestry & Environmental Management students excited enough to remain involved with the Student Union, even after my time at UNB comes to an end. February 21-26, go to your e-services, click the vot-ing tab, and re-elect your Forestry & Environmental Management Representative! Thank you everyone for your continued support!
My name is Tabatha Armstrong. I am a third year political science student running for Arts Representative. This is my first time running for a position on the council and I am very excited to convince you all that I will make a great representa-tive of your concerns. Academically speaking, I have been all over the map for the past three years, taking courses in history, world culture, literature, chemistry, biology, history, psychology, music, political science, and language. I chose the faculty of Arts partly because of its subject matter but more so because of its students and its atmosphere of openness and engagement. The real value of my experience here has been to learn to listen, to question and to care about the issues and people affecting our lives. I will use all of my enthusiasm and knowledge to be the best representative I can of the Arts community.
taBatha armStronG(artS rep)
Greetings! My name is Derek Ness; I am one of the candidates wishing to represent Faculty of Arts on the Student Union next year. I am also seeking to fill one of the three one-year Fredericton Campus Student Senate seats. I am a very dedicated and involved second year BA student. I have always enjoyed being a dedicated and outgoing member of student government. For example, in High School, I served as Student Council Secretary and Grad Class President. This year I sat on one of our many Senate Committees where I witnessed and assisted in the making of several crucial decisions that will have an impact on current and future UNB students. I wish to continue my faithful participation in Student Affairs next year to show the spirit and dedication that I have for my many academic, extracurricular, volunteer, and work involvements. Please vote through your e-services February 21st-26th!
Hey I’m Dylan and I’m running for Arts Representative! I’m from Saint John originally but I love Fredericton. I’m super laid back and always down to talk about music or really anything in general. A few things I like to do are playing guitar and a few other instruments and I’m a big fan of going to concerts and playing Risk. I’m in my second year and I’m planning on doing a Joint-Honours degree in Political Science and History. I’ve also been a member of the Executive in the off-campus society Town House for two years and did my first year of Red Shirting this year. As a member of the Student Council I will do my best to make sure that the voice of the Arts faculty remains heard. I want to do the best job I can and your votes will help me make a difference for you!Thanks,Dylan Lenton
dereK neSS(artS rep)
dyLan Lenton(artS rep)
I am a 3rd year Political Science and IDS major. I enjoy long walks on the beach and... oh wait... wrong write up. As Arts Faculty Representative I would represent Arts students with creativity, energy and integrity.
Some ideas I would advocate at Council, if elected, would include: Removing the cost burden of education from the shoulders of students, ensuring that the UNBSU budget is spent in a way that betters the learning experience of all students, Addressing Student Mobility/Accessibility needs and an overview of our Environment Policy. These points are always open to change and evolution, as I would always be open to suggestions from students. I feel that it is the job of a strong Council to keep the Executive in check; although the Executive was chosen to make decisions on your behalf, they are still responsible to Council and to you, the students.
Thank you, Cody Jack.
Cody JaCK(artS rep)
Hello all,My name is Tina Theriault, third year Arts
student double majoring in psychology and law in society hoping that YOU vote for ME as your arts councilor.
I’ve loved my experience at UNB and I’m aim-ing to finish my last year with a bang and make any difference I can within the UNB community. I’ve been in councils before as well as participating with redshirts and my goal is to use all I’ve learnt from those experiences and bring it into next year to serve all of you as best I can. That being said, I hope I get your vote when election time comes so that I can do my best to make your year as good as I plan on making mine.
Cheers,Tina
tina theriauLt(artS rep)
JenniFer JenKinS
(artS rep)
My name is Jennifer Jenkins and I am a second year student in the Bachelor of Arts
program at the University of New Brunswick – Fredericton campus. I plan to major in English, minor in Psychology and afterwards pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Education. I am very profes-sional and have a genuine interest in helping other people. I try to be as involved in the community as I can. I am currently a volunteer member of the Off-campus Housing Committee and plan to undertake many other positions here at the school during my next years.
My main goal for this position is the chance to use my voice to voice the concerns of
the students of the Arts program and have them dealt with accordingly. I am very
out-going and not afraid to speak my mind and so I feel I would be an excellent voice
for the UNB Arts students.
I’m a third year science student actively in-volved in the university and the community. The UNB senate is the highest governing body of the university and deals with issues concerning degree requirements, admissions, scholarships, courses, faculty and many others. Since the senate makes decisions which can have huge implications on student life at UNB, having a strong student voice in the senate is extremely important. I’m an approachable, hardworking and dedicated person who would not hesitate to advocate for students in the senate. If you want your opinions heard in the senate vote John Boldon!
John BoLdon(one year Senate)
I have had the privilege of sitting on senate since October 2009 and it has been an eye-opening experience that allows me to interact with UNB administration, faculty, staff and students. I have already represented you on many committees such as Academic Policy, developing ways to educate new instructors and students on your academic rights (Did you know that a syllabus can only be changed with the class’s approval?) and as an alternate on Student Standings and Promotions, and Bookstore Policy. If you re-elect me to be your senate representative I promise that I will continue my hard work.
We are we are we are, we are the Engineers!Hey everyone, my name’s Aaron and I’m
running for the position of Engineering Representative! I enjoy climbing at the rockwall, playing at coffeehouses and wasting my days working in the humid Geomatics Room on E-level, Head Hall. I’m currently in my second year of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering as well as minoring in physics.
UNB has always been proud of its engineering program. With just a little less than 200 grads a year, it’s great to see our students are making a change in the world. This being said, I feel the faculty of engineering should play a part in our student council. Having experience from being a member of the Geomatics Engineering Undergraduate Student Society and the Engineering Undergraduate Society, I feel that if given the opportunity I will make sure engineering voice is heard on UNB student council!
Bonjourno (jokes) students of UNB! My name is Andy, Andrew, Drew, William, Will, Willy, Bill, Billy, Liam Ouellette and yes I have 9 names! I am a second year Engineering student enrolled in Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, and I am running for the position of Engineer Representative on the Student Council. Throughout my two years so far at UNB, I have actively been involved with student activities and extracurricular activities. Through volunteering with Engineering activities, RedShirt Orientation and TownHouse I have seen first hand what students go through, as well as see what they want from the University. I feel that I would be able to provide valuable input through the Student Council and help continue to make the University of New Brunswick even better!! Thank you kindly!
aaron FarKaS(enGineerinG rep)
andy oueLLette(enGineerinG rep)
My name is Chris Pelkey and I’m a second year electrical engineering student. I feel that I would be the best choice for your 2010/2011 engineering representative as I posses many attributes required to do the job well. I am organized, hard working and dedicated to making sure that engineering students at UNB will be well represented in student union. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I’m also devilishly handsome ;) I also have the experience necessary to excel in such a position. I was recently the Vp Communications for the Atlantic Engineering competition held at UNB. In this position I was required to answer competitor questions and relay information between competitors and organizers much like I would be doing as your engineering representative. I will make sure the voice of engin-eering students is well heard at UNB in the com-ing semesters. So remember when it comes time to vote. Chris Pelkey.. REPRESENT!
ChriS peLKey(enGineerinG rep)
Hello fellow graduates! I am excited to be run-ning for Valedictorian Ceremony A. I am a busi-ness student honouring in accounting with a long history of involvement at UNB. Through my ex-perience in the Student Union I have honed my speech writing and delivering. I am probably one of the most extroverted people you will ever meet and I love meeting new people. Public speaking is one of my favourite activities and I hope you will let me share my passion with you by speaking at graduation. Some of my public speaking oppor-tunities include: UNB Opening Ceremony, UNB Proudly Awards Dinner, and Media Spokesperson (as SU President). I think being elected Valedictor-ian is one of the greatest honours fellow peers can bestow. I hope that you will grant me that privil-ege. I look forward to seeing you all at graduation! And check out my facebook group for a video of me speaking.
Bethany VaiL(VaLediCtorian, Ceremony a)
The following people are running, but have not submitted write-ups for the position: Arts Rep: Samantha Molen, Nathan Alexander Ashton, Jaden Fitzherbert. Business: Brian Jan Lewis. Education: Hardy Cameron. Nursing: Elizabeth Stirling, Sarah Monteith. Renaissance College: Kevin Beets, Matthew Webb. Residence Li-aison: Krista Donovan. Science: Thomas Fraser Allen, Crystal Lumsden, Jassy Meng, Ashley Dipasquale, Laura Michaud, Davor Lukanovic. Engineering: Melissa Rousselle. International Student Rep: Jacqui-Jo Stephens. Law: Jay Williamson, Julian Williams. One-year Senate: Kevin Beets, Derek Ness, Ashley Wile. Two-year Senate: Cassie MacKinlay. Valedictorian (Ceremony A): Kailynn Anthony. Valedictorian (Ceremony C): John O’Neill
A one thousand ($1000.00) scholarship is available for the 2009/2010 academic year. To be considered applicants must have successfully completed at least one year of university undergraduate study and be presently enrolled at university. Only disabled applicants and applicants who plan to work with the disabled and are pursuing that objective through an appropriate course of study will be considered. Preference will be given to residents of the Fredericton area. Further details and application forms may be obtained from www.frederictonrotary.ca. Applications must be received by the Scholarship Committee
Fredericton Rotary Club,PO Box 301, Fredericton,NB E3B 4Y9 by March 31, 2010.
Rotary Club Of Fredericton Memorial Scholarship
Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a close relationship with UNB. From the days when my mom would bring me with her to class in head hall to my 3 years at the temporary elementary school that was set up in Marshall D’Avray, and of course, my 4 years in the Faculty of Arts, I’ve spent most of my life around UNB. Now, at the end of my BA, I want to give something back to the community that has given me so much. It would be an honour and an absolute pleasure to be your valedictorian this may and if you think I’m up to the task, I know I can make our graduation memorable.
We’ve seen the rise of the New Residence, the Currie Center, NBCC, Chapman field and renovations at the Social Club, but during our time here at UNB it wasn’t just the landscape changing, we were evolving as well. It wasn’t long ago when I was a first year coming to Fredericton from Ottawa, Ontario scared of this new city but excited for the adventure. And what an adventure it’s been. I want to be with you as we graduate and move on to remind you of the times we had here at UNB. If selected I would bring you some comedic relief for a ceremony filled with Latin but also take a serious look back at the journey we have taken together in our respective faculties of Arts, Nursing and Renaissance College by gathering quotes and memories from you and incorporating them into my speech on our day!
oLiVer Gorman-aSaL
(VaLediCtorian, Ceremony B)
Stephanie Lord (VaLediCtorian, Ceremony B)
I’m a 4th year Physics student and President of the Student Union. During my years on campus, I’ve been involved with my residence House Com-mittee, was Educational Proctor for Lady Beaver-brook Residence, held post as VP External, and have been finishing off my time as Student Union President.
I’m running for Valedictorian because I believe the role has a very unique opportunity. It’s often expected of the valedictorian to provide motivat-ing and inspirational words to the graduating class. I think it’s much more than that. I want to be your valedictorian to speak to you as a student like you. I’ve worked hard in the classroom, spent too long at the Cellar, and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. My speaking experience ranges from national conferences to managing meetings and I hope you permit me the chance to speak at your graduation.
Jon o’Kane(VaLediCtorian, Ceremony C)
Please consider voting for me as your Ceremony C Valedictorian. I would be honoured by the op-portunity to represent our graduating class. I am an accomplished public speaker, having won sev-eral national competitions. Additionally, here are some faculty-specific reasons to vote for me:
Science: My pre-law school degree was a BSc. in Mathematics, so I’ll be an integral part of your graduation experience. I’m easily differentiated from the other candidates.
Computer Science: I’ll make Ceremony C turn into Ceremony C++, because I’ve got a lot of “class”.
Engineering: See the two reasons above. Plus, I’m like a ninja with AutoCAD.
Forestry and Environmental Management: I’m running an environmentally-friendly, paper-less FaceBook campaign. A vote for me is like a vote for the environment!
Law: It would personally hurt my feelings if you didn’t vote for me. Seriously.
Weak Size Fish is a six piece band made up of UNB alumni and students. The reggae inspired jam band have become notorious up and down the hill for their infectious melodies and danceable beats. Christian Hapgood / The Brunswickan
Elizabeth GiesbrechtThe Brunswickan
It began with a beach jam and it never stopped for the big fish of feel-good music.
The hard-working boys in Weak Size Fish have put in a lot of effort in the past couple years and it’s starting to really pay off.
The six-piece band plays live shows on most weekends, which has allowed them to master the art of throwing a party. The intimate feel of Weak Size Fish shows has certainly become some-thing to look forward to in these parts, but this month the party will reach beyond the boys’ humble Maritime roots.
For those of us in Fredericton, it’s nice to know that Weak Size Fish are here to stay, but not before they embark on their first adventure out-side the East Coast at the end of this month.
Before they begin an eight day tour of Ontario and Quebec, Weak Size Fish will be touring a number of their traditional haunts in the Maritimes, and will return to the region just in time to play at the ECMAs in Sydney, Cape Breton, on March 6.
As the band has grown and evolved, they’ve become a great deal busier, playing more shows than ever before. However, the band still always makes time for their true focus: creating music.
The boys of Weak Size Fish are always keen to see the music that they write evolve and they don’t let busy touring schedules interfere with the progression of their music.
Since their humble beginnings on a beach in PEI, the boys of Weak Size Fish have built themselves up through hard work and a love for what they do.
The band has undergone a few changes since their days jammin’ on Skinner’s Pond. They’ve grown in membership since their inception and little changes to their musical style have
come over time.“Something has always changed
every time we play a song,” explains vocalist and guitarist, Nick Mazerolle.
Mazerolle is quick to explain that the band’s changing music is a natural evolution the fans should enjoy and nothing forced.
“The evolution of it all has been really natural.”
Life is a palate to create, and Weak Size Fish does it beautifully with their well-orchestrated tempos and wonder-ful melodies made for dancing.
Despite what you may think, Mazerolle says playing live shows is not just a party all about the live music, but the essence of what the band wants to be.
He says that building off of every ex-
perience they have together, Weak Size Fish hopes to keep doing what feels right and to continue to put everything they have into making that possible.
In the end, it’s the music that means everything to the Weak Size Fish boys, and playing shows for crowds that love it is enjoyable for everyone.
Mazerolle sums up what the band is all about very simply:
“Music is awesome. Making music is even more awesome.”
It’s pretty simple, but that is the best kind of motivation. With that attitude, Weak Size Fish won’t be at risk of los-ing track of their vision.
Weak Size Fish will be playing with Tympanic at the Capital Bar for its Feelsgood Thursday event on Feb. 18.
UNB Student an up-and-comer on Atlantic Canadian poetry sceneMaggie DeWolfe Staff Writer
It’s always satisfying to hear about one of our own succeeding, and this year, UNB student Jesse Ferguson has done just that.
This past September, Ferguson achieved a feat that many people his age are still dreaming of: his first book of poetry, Harmonics, was published. Ferguson, a PhD student at UNB, said the process of getting published was long but worthwhile.
“I talked to a lot of friends, and submitted my poems to magazines as often as possible,” Ferguson said.
Finding a publisher proved to be
more difficult; after a company in Calgary offered to publish Ferguson’s book, they hit a small roadblock.
“My book sat on their shelf, un-opened, for almost an entire year,” said Ferguson.
Luckily, Ferguson submitted his work to Freehand Books, a division of Broadview Press looking to publish new creative writing. Freehand loved his book, and the rest is history.
For Ferguson, this is hopefully only the beginning of his poetic career.
“I’ve always been a creative person,” Ferguson said. “Visual art was my first love, and then music and song writing. But I found poetry to be the freest form of expression; it’s the best vehicle
to express complex ideas.”Ferguson recently achieved a mile-
stone in his career as a poet: this year, one of his poems was selected for the Best Canadian Poetry 2009 anthology.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Ferguson said. “It’s my first time being published in a real anthology, and there’s a real sense of having arrived, and being accepted as a poet.”
And it’s quite an arrival. Best Can-adian Poetry 2009 is edited by Griffin Poetry-Prize winner A.F. Moritz, a personal hero for Ferguson.
“I spoke with him [Moritz] when I found out I was being put in Best Can-adian Poetry,” Ferguson said. “And he told me I had several poems he would have picked for the anthology. That was so awesome.”
Along with his successful poetry releases, Ferguson finished the first
leg of a cross-Canada tour in Ontario this October. He’s picking up the tour again this April, and is hoping he’ll receive the same reaction he got in Ontario. Ferguson, a native of Cornwall, ON, says that he was really happy with the reception he received in his hometown.
“Good poets came out, as well as lots of my friends and family,” he said. “It was a very positive reaction.”
Ferguson is not only promoting his poetry in other provinces, but right here in Fredericton as well. He has been commissioned to organize and execute the Atlantic Canadian launch of Best Canadian Poetry 2009. The launch is an important event for Atlantic Can-adian poets, as it will provide them with some much deserved exposure.
“There’s some great stuff coming out of Atlantic Canada that’s not get-
ting due respect,” Ferguson said. With regards to aspiring poets,
Ferguson urges people to get involved. Fredericton has a very diverse creative writing community with plenty of op-portunities to get involved: classes on campus, writer’s workshops and easy access to various poets and publishers. Ferguson also recommends submitting poems to publications.
“Being published gets taken ser-iously,” he said. “But you can’t have a big ego, and you need to be able to take constructive criticism. Poetry is a dialogue between poets, and sharing your work can only make you better.”
The launch of Best Canadian Poetry 2009 will take place on Feb. 25 at the East Gallery, Memorial Hall, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is open to the public, and copies of Best Canadian Poetry 2009 will be on sale.
Sorry!
Correction: The article “Times they are a changin’” on page 13 of last week’s issue-- Vol. 143, Issue 19-- should have been run as an opinion piece, which it was. Apologies to
An inexpensive solution to an expensive habitAndrew OlsvikArts ReporterA look at the spending of typical students would likely reveal several trends.
Along with the essentials like books, groceries and coffee, one of the most financially devastating products to appear on student budgets is arguably the most valuable commodity of all – beer.
The amount of money that students spend in a year on beer must be so im-mense that I don’t even want to think about it; if only I could have it all back...think of how much beer I could buy!
Although it brings destruction to our bank accounts along with our livers, beer holds the privileged place between pizza pockets and pasta on many students’ grocery lists and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, help has arrived to ease the financial strain. Thirsty beer loves gather round and listen, as I have the solution for you: home brewing.
While time is something that stu-dents, along with money, often do not have an abundance of, home brewing is surprisingly straight forward. A new organization, The Fredericton Craft Brewers Association, has emerged to help establish a community for established brewers and a learning environment for those just getting started.
“Brewing is a very rewarding skill, and the learning process is life-long,” says FCBA founder Kyle Zelmer. “I wanted to get a community together that could learn from each other as well as teach new brewers. While beginners can get up and brewing very quickly, the nuances of brewing technique are learned over many years, and there is always something new to try.”
According to Zelmer, the brewing of a typical beer can take anywhere from one to three weeks from start to finish and while the start-up equip-ment (brew bucket, racking cane, siphon hose, airlock, cleaner and sanitizer, hydrometer and bottle caps) can cost $40 - $50, it is a onetime cost that you won’t ever have to pay again. For those lacking the space to house this equipment, Zelmer suggests local home-brew supply businesses, which allow you to use their equipment and brew on their premises. Plus, the deal gets really sweet once the brewing actually starts.
“One can easily make 66 bottles of good beer for 20 dollars,” claims Zelmer. “For just under 30 dollars, one can make the same amount of beer with quality that rivals professional breweries.” A staggering statistic, but there are even greater advantages for serious brewers.
“You can customize all aspects of
the brew to your particular tastes [and] advanced brewers have tremendous free-dom in terms of shaping the flavour, col-our, and alcohol content of their brews.”
But for beginners, Zelmer recom-mends brew kits which are “essentially prepared on the same principle as cake mixes: just add a couple of things and stir.” The procedure is fairly simple and the Fredericton Craft Brewing As-sociation offers many benefits to appeal to young brewers including “access to a network of others who share the hobby, free seminars and classes, some shared equipment and the ability to take advan-tage of bulk prices on ingredients,” for only $15 annually.
One of the first things to be discussed in the classes offered by the ACBA is the liquor laws in New Brunswick. “It’s legal in NB to brew at home, within certain limits, but the homebrew cannot be transported,” says Zelmer. “The club will be petitioning the NB government to al-low for homemade beer to be transported to others’ houses.”
Membership to the Fredericton Craft Brewers Association is available to both students and the general public, but is restricted to ages 19 and above. If you are interested in joining the Fredericton Craft Brewers Association, you can visit their website at fcba.webs.com or email Kyle Zelmer at [email protected].
Home is where the he(art) isAndrew Olsvik Arts Reporter
When you think of an art gallery you normally don’t think of one of Fred-ericton’s downtown homes.
However, one of Fredericton’s more prominent art galleries, Gallery 78, is just that.
Originally founded in their home at 78 Brunswick Street in the 1970s by James and Inge Pataki, Gallery 78 is the oldest private art gallery in New Brunswick.
Since its foundation the gallery has grown in size exponentially. Gallery 78 now has the broadest display of fine art in Atlantic Canada and plays a vital role in the area’s art dealing industry.
While Gallery 78 has grown from a small gallery showcasing the work of friends to an internationally recognized gallery in the forty years since its foun-dation, Galley 78 continues to support the local art community with a strong focus on Atlantic Canadian artists.
“James was a classical musician with the New Brunswick String Quartet,” says Germaine Pataki-Thériault, man-ager of Gallery 78 and the daughter of founders James and Inge.
“They met a lot of artists who had very few opportunities to exhibit their work, so they chose to open the gallery in their home.”
In 1989, the Patakis’ home could no longer contain their business. They obtained a lease from the government of New Brunswick for Crocket House, a nineteenth century Queen Anne revival mansion in downtown Fred-ericton, and the gallery has prospered there ever since.
Gallery 78 is not only a gallery but also an art dealer, offering a place for artists to show their work to potential customers.
“This is a great venue for displaying art,” says Pataki-Theriault. “The role of the art dealer is to exhibit, to promote and to advertise. We have a list of quite a few thousand clients and we know what some of them like, what others like and we make sure we contact them.”
With prices ranging from a couple hundred dollars to over a thousand,
the artwork at Gallery 78 is out of the grasp of most students. The wide range of prices raises the question of how the prices are determined.
“It depends a lot on a lot of things,” Pataki-Theriault says. “When you have someone brand new coming in and you are trying to figure out what kind of price to put on their work, often it depends on the artist’s educational background. A lot of artists have done some kind of exhibiting whether it’s with their university, or they’ve perhaps been doing some small collective shows with other artists like artist’s coopera-tives. These are all good things – it helps them develop their resume and then it helps us in pricing their work.”
Gallery 78 is currently displaying an exhibit featuring the artwork of Teruko Inoue, a Japanese woman who moved to Fredericton in the 1970s
where she was introduced to the art of quilting, and Peter Thomas, an acclaimed ceramicist and teacher at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.
“We’re calling it East Meets West Meets East,” says Pataki-Theriault. “Peter’s pottery is in the style of trad-itional Japanese Raku, and is satire on what the banking industry and the government have done with the eco-nomic situation in the last couple years. You really have to look at them care-fully because they’ve got some great little innuendoes, hands in pockets, the bear scratching the bull’s back; it’s all very interesting and I think people are enjoying it.”
“On the other hand we have Ter-uko Inoue, who has learned the New Brunswick tradition of quilting,” continues Pataki-Theriault. “The quilt-
ing tradition was unknown in Japan and when she came to visit her son, who was a professor of classics at the university, he immediately set her up with Nan and Ellen Gregg who were great quilters and who taught her how to do it.”
Inoue quickly became a skilled quilter and had several exhibitions featured in Atlantic Canada during the late 1970s. She brought the art of quilting back to Japan and became somewhat of a celebrity until her death
in 1995. “Her son has had quite a few of her
quilts and he would like to give the world an opportunity to buy one,” says Pataki-Theriault. “This is the first time they have been for sale and the family is donating all money raised to the shelters here in Fredericton.”
Gallery 78 can be found at 796 Queen Street and is open every day but Monday. The “East Meets West Meets East” exhibit runs until March 7.
Industrious students have been making homebrew for a while. Rich-ard Macaulay can be seen here getting ready to bottle his newest batch of homemade goodness. Natalie Doucette / The Brunswickan
The Oscars as a stage for social commentaryMichael AllenRyerson Free Press
TORONTO (CUP) — As we near March, so too comes that sacred time of year for film students and entertain-ment junkies alike: The Oscars. The air is electric after the buzz from the Golden Globes. As entertaining as it is, however, to make our predictions for best supporting actress, best visual effects and the holy grail of them all, best picture, let us pause to reflect on
what lies ahead in 2010.Now, it is no secret that in the past
the Oscars have been transformed into a venue for discussing social issues. In 1973, Marlon Brando refused his Oscar for The Godfather, citing the misrepresentation of Native Americans in film. Likewise, Michael Moore’s acceptance speech in 2002 for Bowling for Columbine evoked shouts and boos when he criticized the war in Iraq. Al-though these individual outbursts and protests are rare, the Oscars’ ceremony
is the time for Hollywood to speak up about social issues. This can be seen even so simply in the films they choose to recognize.
Traditionally, the best actor/actress and best picture recipients have been tied to performances and films that address hot-button issues of the day in American society. George Clooney mused in his 2006 best supporting ac-tor acceptance speech for Syriana that Hollywood is unafraid of engaging subjects outside of mainstream dis-course. “We’re the ones who (talked) about AIDS when it was just being whispered,” he said. Indeed 1993’s
Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks as a homosexual man stricken with HIV, was seen by critics as a bold step and earned Hanks an Oscar. Some argued however, that Hanks’ recog-nition had much to do with soothing the tempers of gay rights activists over negative stereotypes in the previous year’s best picture winner, The Silence of the Lambs.
It seems that, especially in recent years, each Oscar telecast has a social justice theme. This was perhaps most exemplified in 2007 when former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth took not only
the best documentary feature award, but also claimed best original song — a first for a documentary. In addi-tion to being invited on stage by the director, Gore’s presence was ambient throughout the entire award show as he continually appeared onstage to support his stance on global climate change.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio proudly announced early in the 2007 telecast that this was the first “green” Oscar show and echoed Gore’s sentiment that climate change is “not a political issue; it’s a moral issue.” Of course, this remark came after a gushing DiCaprio begged Gore to run for U.S. president in 2008. Not a political issue indeed.
What theme will be most prevalent at the Oscars in 2010? For that we usually can take a cue from the Os-car’s junior predecessor, the Golden Globes. If we are to put any stock in the decisions made by this smaller gala, it’s looking to become an even better year for Ontario-born Avatar director, James Cameron.
With both he and his record-smash-ing two-and-a-half hour 3D spectacle claiming the top prizes at the Globes, it should not be a big surprise if we see a repeat of Titanic’s near-clean sweep in 1998. It’s difficult to extrapolate what particular theme Avatar will fulfill, as it is a film jammed-packed with as many ideas as eye-popping effects.
Will this year harken back to 2004’s Hotel Rwanda, with the themes of re-location and genocide as envisioned in James Cameron’s blue-skinned natives, or will anti-war sentiments over the occupation of a sovereign territory (or planet) for a natural resource win out?
It’s my hope that Avatar, a film that populated ideas so big it doesn’t know how to effectively address them, does not overshadow other, more focused and socially conscious, films from this year. I’ll have my fingers crossed for the underdog Precious, a film about an innocent 16 year-old girl growing up in Harlem who struggles to overcome some of the most brutal and squirm-inducing emotional abuse ever com-mitted to film.
Regrettably, this piece seems to have raised more questions than it had sought to answer — a common hazard when one tries to read too much into entertainment. It is probably a good thing that we try to keep it in perspec-tive. The Oscars are an annual celebra-tion of the newest films. So as we pitch in on our Oscar pools and tune in next month, if nothing else, we know we will be entertained. Hopefully as the awards are handed out and the long-running speeches are cut off by the orchestra, Hollywood will remember that’s why we keep going to the movies in the first place.
While traditionally the Academy Awards are about the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, in recent years the ceremony for the golden man has become slightly more political. Flickr CC
Lachlan MacIntosh (right) cycles behind the Dalhousie goal during Saturday’s 5-2 win. The victory concluded the 2009-10 regular season and pushed the Reds to a 27-1 record. With a first round bye, the Reds now await their next challenge in the semis. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
Christopher CameronStaff Writer
A seemingly unstoppable UNB men’s hockey team went into the final week-end of the regular season looking to go undefeated.
The fifth place St. FX X-men were the first to find a way to defeat the Varsity Reds.
In Friday night action the Reds found themselves up 3-0 early in the second period. The X-men battled back in the second scoring three times before the second intermission.
In the third period St. FX goalie Bryan Gillis shut down the Reds of-fence, who out-shot their opponent 15-7 in the third. The X-men did find a way to beat UNB goaltender Travis Fullerton with just under eight minutes remaining in the third to take a 4-3 lead. The lead held for the remainder of the game as the X-men were upset the number one ranked team in the CIS.
Reflecting on the first loss of the season, UNB offensive leader Hunter Tremblay was proud with how his team handled it.
“It was a tough loss against X,” Tremblay said, “but I’m proud of our team. We didn’t dwell on it whatsoever.”
The Varsity Reds came out the next night looking to avenge their first loss of the season against the Dalhousie Tigers.
The Tigers came out strong, and held the Reds offence at bay until Daine Todd opened the scoring 15:12 into the first period. Tremblay scored minutes later to take a 2-0 lead into the second.
In the second UNB notched two more goals from Nick Layton and Tremblay, to take a 4-0 lead into the final period of the regular season.
In the third period, DAL forward Kenzie Sheppard took a five minute major penalty mid-way into the per-iod for cross checking UNB players on the bench. It looked like the Reds might open up the lead, but the Tigers still had some fight in them.
DAL forwards Benjamin Breault and Daniel Bartek scored back-to-back
shorthanded goals cutting into the UNB lead and silencing the crowd. The threat of a comeback like the St. FX game ended there. Luke Gallant scored an empty net goal giving UNB a 5-2 victory.
Derek Yeomans picked up his ninth win of the season, turning away 21 of the 23 shots thrown at him by the Tigers.
Leading the Reds in offence in
the final regular season weekend was Tremblay with one goal, two assists Friday. He followed up Saturday with a two goal, one assist performance. After Saturday’s CIS regular season games finished, Tremblay was assured his CIS scoring title with 25 goals and 57 points, narrowly edging out Francis Verreault-Paul of the McGill Redmen by three points. Tremblay said going into the season, this was
his goal.“One of my goals this year was to
lead the country in scoring,” Tremblay said. “I’m proud of the way I played this year and as a team, what can you say? We’ve only lost one game.”
UNB Coach Gardiner MacDougall was pleased with his sniper’s perform-ance in the final weekend before AUS playoffs.
“Hunter has tremendous resolve,”
said MacDougall. “He is picking his game up at the appropriate time. He’s mentally very strong. He gets the best checking line of every team. He takes a pounding, but he gives it back.”
UNB has a week off, as they have a bye to the semi-finals as the first place team. They will take on the lowest-ranked team remaining after the quarterfinals in a best of five series beginning Feb. 25.
Who is going to win the Olympic men’s hockey gold?the panel
the brunswickan presents
voice your opinion
The only two complete teams in the tourament are the Canucks and the Swedes. The Americans don’t have the depth.The Russians don’t have the defence. A Canada-Sweden final wouldn’t be as sexy as one versus the USA or Russia, but they will be the two best teams. As for the winner, the home crowd and NHL-size rink will prove to be the difference when Canada wins.
Canada, although it won’t be easy. The offensive firepower of Rus-sia (who could stop a Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin line?) will be the biggest threat, but if Ryan Miller gets on a roll the Americans could take the gold as well. I see it end-ing up as a Canada-Russia final that will be the most watched event in Canadian history.
Americaland. They’re going to unveil a new super ultra hockey steroid, as well as cyborg athletes that don’t feel pain. Then the IOC will fight them with lawyers. Then a Canada/US Cold War will begin after Rick Reilly is kidnapped and force fed maple candy in basement just outside of Kelowna. I watch too many movies.
I am a Canadian through and through, but Russia is going to upset us for Gold, just a gut feel-ing. Ovechkin, Semin, Kovalchuk, Malkin, Nabakov, Datsyuk, etc will put up quite the fight.
Young athletes all over the world are fighting for spots on their various sports teams and the pressure to succeed is higher than ever. Many athletes will even play through injuries to keep their spot. Flickr CC
Kady PatersonThe McGill Daily
MONTREAL (CUP) – Every year in Canada there are over 63,000 sports-related head injuries in high school sports alone. Across all of Canadian organized sport, the figure rises to 1.6 million, with some estimates as high as 3.8 million. A great deal of these injuries could be prevented.
High school and college athletes in particular face pressure that forces them back into their games sooner than is medically recommended. This pressure is often the result of coaches who push their star athletes to compete when they shouldn’t.
At a minor league hockey forum hosted by the Toronto Star last week, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke illustrated a mind set that prevails in much of organized sport: “You play a contact sport, there’s going to be injuries. It’s that simple.”
From an early age, athletes are taught to toughen up, and “play through the pain” becomes a mantra. The image of the resilient athlete is one of the things that leads to the all-too-common phenomenon of playing while injured.
I get knocked, and I get up again
When asked about deciding to allow an injured player back in the game, McGill Redmen basketball coach Craig Norman relied on concepts of toughness. “Some kids have higher thresholds for pain than others, and sometimes that determines it,” he said.
Redmen basketball player Matt Thornhill spent most of January wear-ing a facemask because of a broken nose. “I couldn’t miss games just because of a broken nose — it was something I just had to play through,” he said.
Canadian Interuniversity Sport has no official policy on playing while in-jured. The choice of whether or not an athlete is healthy enough to play falls to the school. At McGill, for instance, this decision rests with coaches, players, and is heavily influenced by the team’s medical staff. The school’s policy dictates that varsity players receive a full physical at the beginning of each season, as well as periodic check ups. At the first sign of injury, players report to the team physician in the case of a varsity team, or the sports clinic for club teams.
Part of being a college varsity coach is preparing athletes for potential futures at more elite levels of sport. This preoccupation often results in
players seeing game time sooner than they should.
Key players like Thornhill can end up facing the difficult choice of playing while injured or losing their spot on the roster. When asked if he faces more pressure to play while injured because of his skill level, Thornhill affirmed that he did. “When you get hurt, you want to come back and play, so the pressure is kind of mutual,” he said.
While this pressure can come from parents, fans, and the players them-selves, the main source is often coaches. Norman explained: “If the kid is of major importance to your success, then you work with the medicine people and are a bit more aggressive in your rehab, and they come back a little earlier than someone else.”
This attitude is often pushed to dangerous extremes in college sports. The expectation of injuries should not excuse coaches from playing athletes in a way that will risk their health in the long term. Those who are meant to protect players should, and should stop looking to push players for “their own good.” Encouraging students to stay active and live healthy lives is important, but when the encourage-ment becomes coercion, we need to draw a line.
Kendra WongThe Peak
BURNABY, B.C. (CUP) — Over the past couple of years, Canadian athletes have just barely missed the mark when it comes to earning a spot on the Olym-pic podium. A team at the University of British Columbia has created new materials aimed at pushing our athletes that one step further.
Savvas Hatzikiriakos, a chemical and biological engineering professor at UBC, spearheaded the project, which saw the creation of new super-low friction surfaces for metals and plastic surfaces that can be used on skates, skis, and snowboards. The research team included co-investigator Peter Englezos and PhD students Chris-tos Stamboulides and Anne-Marie Kietzig.
During the three years involved in refining the new materials, there were two projects developed: one dedicated to ski and snowboard equipment, while the other worked with skates. Both projects aimed at minimizing friction in order to increase speed.
The new base created for Nordic skis and snowboards involved finding the specific combination of additives to put into polymers that allowed the material to be shaped easier, flow bet-ter and reduce friction. Hatzikiriakos’s expertise in polymeric materials helped
him to finalize the specific formula for the material — which he has kept so secret that even the Canadian Olympic Committee is unaware of its contents.
The ice-friction project works to optimize the roughness of the edges of athletes’ skates through micro pat-terning the skates with lasers. The microscopic patterns on speed skaters’ blades mimic the surface structure of lotus leaves, naturally designed to superbly repel water. Putting this pat-tern on skate blades, according to the research, has resulted in the decrease of friction by 30 to 40 per cent.
“One year ago, (we tested the metals) and we got good responses from the athletes and coaches on the Olympic team,” Hatzikiriakos said in an interview. “The expectation now is for Canada to be the top country in the next Olympic Games.”
The opportunity to create innova-tive and speed enhancing technology emerged three years ago when Hatz-ikiriakos proposed his ideas of ex-perimenting with different polymeric materials between metals and ice to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
After a series of meetings between the Canadian Olympic Committee and various departments at UBC, they finally decided that Hatzikiriakos’ expertise made him the most qualified candidate for this specific project.
Despite the team’s new inventions,
Hatzikiriakos is quick to note that UBC is not the only university developing new equipment for Canada’s Olympic athletes.
The project was funded by the $8 million “Top Secret” program, which aims to give Canadian Olympic athletes an edge through science at this year’s Vancouver Games. According to Todd Allinger, the Vancouver-based bio-mechanist who manages the program, they have completed 55 projects with the help of 17 universities and institu-tions.
Researchers at the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec invented adjust-able sit skis through the program, and a team at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering as-sembled a missile guidance system into a downhill skier’s backpack to track skiers’ progress, among other develop-ments for the Top Secret project.
“If you look at the history of the Olympics, Canadian athletes won a lot of fourth and fifth places and the differ-ence between the fourth and fifth place and a podium position is very small, a split second,” said Hatzikiriakos.
“Canada did not have this competi-tive advantage in (competing with other countries). But now, I think that we’ll be in better shape. The talent is there with Canadian athletes, but of course you need to have the best equipment as well.”
All roads in the association lead to NBA All-Star weekend.
Well, they used to anyway.Saturday night’s slam-dunk contest was a
complete dud and we, the NBA fans, should have seen it coming. Have all the good dunks been done? Are the prizes too small to attract big name players? Will Lebron James ever step up and compete?
Forgive the Seinfeld reference, but what’s the deal?
Back in 2001, Desmond Mason and Jason Richardson wowed the basketball world with an epic “dunk-off.” They opened the decade and kept their show going for three years, putting on great displays of athleticism until 2004. Fred Jones won by default that year when his muffed dunk went for a few more points than Ricky Davis’ rim rattling stinker. When Richardson and Mason’s time in the sun was over the contest began to slide towards what it is today.
The most notable Saturday night dunk competition in recent memory has to be the 2005 competition. For those who forget, JR Smith, Amare Stoudemire, Josh Smith and Chris “Birdman” Anderson competed. JR was his usual highly athletic and entertaining self. Amare threw down the famous Steve Nash header assist dunk. Josh “J-Smooth” Smith showed the viewers how to properly jump over people, and who can forget “It’s time for the Birdman to fly!”
Before 2005, contestants could only take one try at their dunk. After the Jones/Davis snore-fest final round in 2004, that changed. Birdman put the arena to sleep with his never ending failures, but J-Smooth’s phenomenal throw downs made everybody wake right back up. Smith was crowned champ, and the best dunker won.
The best way to sum up the 2006 contest is with one clever title, “Nate robs Iggy.” Nate Robinson beat out Andre Iguodala in the final for a breakthrough victory. Iguodala was the better dunker by far, but Robinson’s gimmicky dunks combined with his tiny size (5’8”) and the New York City fan base (text message voting) allowed him to come out on top. This was the first time that the top athlete in the competition failed to win, and All-Star Saturday night hasn’t been the same since.
In 2007, a clock was introduced after Fred Jones and Chris Anderson took forever to successfully dunk. Nate Robinson and his inability to put a dunk down without taking ten chances forced the NBA to limit the floor time of the dunkers. So began the downward slide of what was once the most prestigious event of All-Star weekend.
Split the decade down the middle and the dunk competition’s decline is easy to see. Up to and including 2005, the top athlete with
the most gravity defying dunks took home the trophy. The success of Amare’s header dunk proved that props and gimmicks could help players come up with new dunks. The problem is that the gimmicks went too far. The “Superman” Dwight Howard and “Krypto” Nate Robinson showcase in 2009 seemed so planned it was described by people in attendance as feeling similar to a World Wrestling Entertainment event.
The dunk contest lost its way after Fred Jones fell backwards into the winner’s circle. Since the 2004 final we’ve had to endure endless rule tweaks and blatant robbery from judges. If Dwight Howard can put up a sticker with his face on it, dunk on an 11 foot rim, put down a jam after three alley-oops, and then wow everybody with a Superman cape and not win, there’s a problem.
This year sucked because Nate Robin-son broke the contest model. The top guy doesn’t win anymore, and the NBA fans have to suffer through a player barely even tall enough to ride most roller coasters doing bad dances and ugly jams. Big time players like Lebron see that the contest isn’t truly fair, and a guy like King James values his image way too much to risk individual defeat on a national stage.
Nate Robinson just added a third trophy to his closet, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he started bringing them to Knicks games, just so he could have some company as he warms the bench.
What’s really annoying is how so many basketball heads are claiming Nate Robinson revolutionized the competition.
Imagine a friend of yours buys a brand new Toyota. Driving along one day, you’re in the passenger seat holding a Whopper in one hand, while fiddling with your cell phone and trying to tell the story of what happened last Friday night. Your friend hits a bump and you drop the burger, leaving grease and condiment stains all over the seat and floor. From that point forward your friend does not allow any food in their car whatsoever. You messed up, and a rule was made to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Apply that situation to New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson and the Sprite NBA Dunk Contest, and you have roughly the same result. Robinson’s antics didn’t change the dunk comp in any positive way.
Nate Robinson’s over 20 attempts bored the crowd so much in 2007, they put in a clock. He dropped the burger in the dunk competition’s car, and the dunk clock is the no food rule.
The trend continued as the Dunk Com-petition 2010 was just sad.
Maybe I’m just bitter because my least favourite NBA player has left his stamp on my favourite part of All-Star weekend. Anyway, please excuse me because I’m off to fire up a Nintendo 64 and play some NBA Hangtime.
Friday, February 19thWomen’s volleyball
CbU @ Unb7:00 p.m. @ lb Gym
Upcoming V-Reds Events
Saturday, February 20th
sports briefs.
The Reds ended their 10-game losing streak in a weekend split with Memorial. The Reds dropped the first match 70-58, but came back strong with a 93-66 win in an im-portant four-point match. The win pushes them to 2-15 on the season.
The Reds dropped two import-ant matches over the weekend against Memorial, tightening the playoff race. MUN took the first match 85-72 and followed it up with 91-57 win. UNB is still holding on to the final playoff spot, but is now tied with Acadia at 16 points.
The Reds ended the regular season on a sour note, losing their final two games and blowing a chance at a first round bye. Acadia dropped them 3-1, while UdeM swept UNB 3-0. They finished at 9-9 on the season and will take on CBU in the quarterfinals Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. in the LB Gym.
Men’s basketball ends losing streak
Women’s basketball slipping in playoff race
Playoff matchup set for women’s volleyball
What’s the opposite of slam dunk?
The Varsity Reds’ playoff picture
Men’s Basketball: After a dismal season, it’s surprising the team can actually still make the playoffs. However, they need a ton of help in the process as UPEI, who holds the final playoff spot, and Memorial are in front. Memorial could easily fall back as they take on a high-powered St. FX squad three more times. The UNB men could have a chance as they take on UPEI twice, but would need to win both matches. The Reds have only won two matches, but they have beaten UPEI. Chances of making the playoffs: very slim.
Women’s Basketball: Three straight losses is not the best plan for a team holding on to the final playoff spot. As the Reds are falling back, Acadia is moving forward and has tied UNB for the final spot. The catch is that Acadia has two games in hand. The bright side is that UNB’s final game is a four-point match against Acadia. The down side is that Acadia’s other two matches are four-points games as well against beatable teams. The ball is now in Acadia’s court (no pun intended). Chances of making the playoffs: not looking good for the Lady Reds.
Men’s Volleyball: Parity doesn’t exist in the AUS men’s volleyball league. Memorial doesn’t win, UNB beats Memorial, and Dalhousie beats everybody. The second place finish is good enough to clinch a playoff spot and another go at ending Dal’s 23 consecu-tive AUS titles. However, the Tigers have UNB’s number this year as they defeated
them in all four matches and only giving up two sets to the Reds. The two will face off in a best of three series beginning Feb. 26. Chances of UNB taking down Dal: the Tigers are the clear favourites, but don’t be surprised to see an upset.
Women’s Volleyball: Unlike the men’s league, parity amongst the team on the women’s side exists. That means anyone can take the AUS title, including the Reds. UNB has been plagued with injuries and inconsis-tency this year, but still managed to go 9-9 and settle in fourth. They will take on Cape Breton at home in the quarterfinals, while Dalhousie plays Acadia on Feb. 19. With a 5-5 home record, you never quite know how the Reds are going to come out. However, the Reds took both matches from CBU this year. Chances of moving to the semi-final: put your money on the Reds.
Men’s Hockey: So the perfect season didn’t work out. Who cares? 27-1 still did the trick. The record-breaking season secured UNB home ice advantage throughout the playoffs and a first round bye along with Acadia. The Reds should keep a close eye on the UPEI-St. FX series as Saint Mary’s is heavily favoured over UdeM and will most likely go on to face Acadia. The first place spot means the Reds will take on the lower seed that advances. However, UNB has defeated every AUS team four times this year, with St. FX being the only exception. The Reds should be able to handle any team they face. Chances of taking the AUS title: the Reds are the team to beat.
Rock climbing challenges the body and mind and is easily accesible to UNB students. The LB Gym’s rock wall hosts the UNB Rock and Ice Climbing Club as well. Christian Hapgood / The Brunswickan
It’s wellness month. It’s time to focus on health and stability, time to work on your body and fix it up. Time to stay oc-cupied while the sun is on vacation and everything outside is frozen. It’s time to get stronger. But how?
The gym is usually a good choice. Why not get on the weight bench and have no mercy on the leg press? Yet, it’s the same old thing. You can hang with the New Year’s resolution go-getters and sweat for a few weeks. Isolation exercises done with weights and machines can build muscles and be very beneficial. There’s no doubt that lifting weights will make you stronger. Bruce Lee loved weights, but also liked to say that they create “dead” strength. Doing exercises like pushups will create “live” strength, which is something much more practical in your
day-to-day well-being. But where can you find an entertaining, full-body workout that gives you a healthy dose of exercise?
The UNB Rock and Ice Climbing Club have the answer.
UNB has an accessible climbing wall and a well-organized club to service all your climbing needs.
“The club is growing so quickly, it’s the biggest club on campus,” explains Rock and Ice member Michelle Leblanc.
Why not teach yourself about balance, overcome your fear of heights, improve focus and strengthen your entire body while having some fun? Climbing pushes not only your body to the limits, but your mind as well.
“When you’re climbing outside, you have to absolutely think about what you’re doing rather than your fear of heights,” explained Leblanc. “[Climbing] makes me focus on what I’m doing.”
During the week the wall opens at 6
p.m. It is located in the basement of the Lady Beaverbrook Gym - take a right when you enter through the main doors, descend the stairs and it’s easy to find from there.
The club manages everything that goes on and offers friendly advice and lessons for beginners. For example, make sure you keep three points of contact when climbing and keep your hips close to the wall to keep your body weight centered. For a reference point, Leblanc explained that the closest sport to climb-ing is gymnastics.
With the Banff mountain film festival taking place recently and hosting various competitions, rock climbing is starting to make a name for itself around the school.
“It‘s not as popular as hockey,” said Leblanc, “but everyone should try it. It is awesome!”
Check it out. There’s no reason not to: the floors are padded!
Behind the red:Antwann Parks
Christopher CameronStaff WriterAs the regular season is coming to a close for the UNB Men’s Basketball team, guard Antwann Parks joined The Brunswickan to discuss his time at UNB and how he found himself here.
The third year kinesiology recreation student hails from Queens, NY. He is currently only in his second year of athletic eligibility.
Brunswickan: What brought you to UNB?
Antwann Parks: I was at Delaware State first. Things just did not work out there with basketball, so after my first year at Delaware State I went to my coach and the director. They searched for schools for me and told me about University of New Brunswick. When I first heard New Brunswick I thought of New Jersey, but they told me Canada. I had never heard of New Brunswick, Canada. I spoke to an alumnus here and [they] put me in contact with the coach, and the coach called me 36 min-utes after. I came for a visit and liked it so I decided to come here.
B: What is your biggest asset that you bring to the UNB basketball program?
AP: I am a guard. The coach likes that I’m a tough guard. I can get to the basket, I can shoot. I think I’m a pretty good all around player and can make a difference here.
B: How did you get your start in basketball?
AP: My grandmother actually taught me how to play. She would watch the Knicks’ games and I would watch with her. She taught me how to play in her living room actually. She had a fisher-price hoop that was about six feet high and taught me how to do a lay-up with my left and right hand, post moves and stuff like that. I just picked up the game quick and took it from there.
B: What is your fondest basketball memory?
AP: When I was nine I played on my first team and I was playing the post. I was a centre and the coach had me on the other team’s best player who was a perimeter player. We were down by one, he picked up his head, so I stole the ball. I was dribbling down thinking ‘I have to make this shot, if I miss the game is over.’ I saw my point-guard shoot down the sideline and I threw a perfect bounce pass to him and he put it in to send us to the championship, which we won that year.
B: What’s the biggest culture shock coming to Fredericton from New York?
AP: Well besides the size, the people here are so polite. I’ll be out walking and people will say ‘Hey how are you doing?’ At home if someone says that to somebody they say something like ‘What’s your problem?’ but here that is the norm. Also, when you cross the street here cars actually stop. The first time I got to a corner, I was looking in the opposite direction waiting for the car to pass and it was sitting there waiting for me to go. At home the cars rarely stop for you.
