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This issue’s cover art, entitled “Their Yellow Album,” was created by Francine Martin. Francine Martin, who works at the Clinical Learning and Simulation Facility at the Bannatyne campus of the University of Manitoba, is a multi-disciplinary artist with a fondness for birds, working mainly in collage and assemblage. Francine’s work is visually playful, bold and bright while sometimes exploring dark themes relating to gender, class, capitalism and loss. The Manitoban’s cover contest aims to showcase art created by the talent at the U of M on a wide scale. The next deadline to enter will be Feb. 15. Contest instructions can be found on our Instagram, @themanitoban, or inside most issues of the paper.
(Winter 2023)
Comment
Historic environmental agreement struck at COP15
Lucas Gomes, volunteer
The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, hosted by Canada in Montreal, Que., concluded on Dec. 19 with the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Representatives from 188 governments worldwide reached the agreement — its defining characteristic being the commitment to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s land, coasts, inland waters and oceans by 2030.
The need for a post-2020 biodiversity agreement was in response to Earth’s palpable loss of biodiversity and the failure of governments’ past commitments. A 2020 United Nations international report looked at national governments’ efforts from 20112020 to fulfill the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets agreed upon at COP10 in 2010. The report concluded that no targets were fully achieved, and only six were partially achieved.
The need for a new and improved agreement has intensified. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report of 2020 recognized loss of biodiversity, specif-
ically human-driven loss, as one of the most urgent threats facing our planet.
The 2022 agreement stipulates 23 environmental targets for governments to achieve.
Target 3, the protection of at least 30 per cent of the Earth’s ecosystems by 2030, is unprecedented, as currently over 17 per cent of land and 7.7 per cent of oceans are protected.
Other targets, such as number 10, seek governments’ assurance to sustainably manage fisheries, agriculture, aquaculture and forestry, in order to maintain food security without depleting ecosystems’ functions and services.
The commitments to these targets from all 188 representatives did not come easily.
Joseph Onoja, a Nigerian conservationist and director of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, pointed out the hypocrisy of colonial countries that built their wealth upon the exploitation of resources around the globe telling developing countries to cease development in order to preserve the environment. He argued that these same countries should be held accountable for their past environmental actions.
As frustrations culminated, representatives from Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia walked out of meetings.
Despite these frustrations, financial support was eventually determined. The agreement stipulates that by 2030, developed countries should be providing US$30 billion in annual biodiversity-related funding to developing countries.
Canada itself announced $255 million to help developing countries combat climate change, protect the environment and support their economies, adding to an already announced $350 million of funding to support biodiversity in these countries. During the conference, Canada signed the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement. The agreement is set to advance conservation and protection across the Yukon, with Indigenous leadership having a guiding hand.
within the Seal River watershed, located in northern Manitoba. The area is one of the world’s most significant carbon sinks — an area that absorbs more carbon dioxide than it releases.
To show their commitment to the new biodiversity framework, the Canadian government has implemented immediate change. Effective Dec. 20, 2022, the import of certain harmful single-use plastics such as checkout bags, cutlery and straws has been prohibited in Canada. The government projects that this will lead to the elimination of 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution over the next 10 years.
Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Steven Guilbeault compared the COP15 agreement’s significance to the Paris Agreement on climate change, signed in 2015.
While ambitious, the agreement struck at COP 15 is a positive step forward in the international order, and hopefully the conference will set the tone of world affairs when dealing with environmental issues for decades to come.
A similar agreement has been struck involving Canada and the Manitoba provincial government, as well as a partnership of four First Nations known as the Seal River Watershed Alliance. These groups will take steps toward implementing an Indigenous protected area comment@themanitoban.com
Supercars and inflated egos
How the cars you choose and
Sarah Cohen, staff
I’ve been to a number of car shows and car meets across Southern California. While I didn’t go by choice, I’ve found that there is a lot to learn at these events if you observe the right things. However, the thing that stands out above all else is that supercars are stupid.
To name a few, supercars are all the multi-coloured Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and Corvettes that race around barely half a foot from the ground with stupid-rich people inside.
Supercars are a collector’s item, allowing the one per cent to bask in their wealth and put it on display for the general population to view. I have no clue what this experience is like for the people who own the cars. My many mornings at the Malibu Country Mart with Jay Leno’s cars lined up against others gave me a glimpse into that world, and I can’t understand it.
I can’t lie, though. There was one holographic-wrapped
idealize impact the planet
Lamborghini that always caught my eye, and my general attitude was, “that colour is nice.”
All kinds of cars contribute in some way to the climate crisis our planet is facing, and that’s impossible to deny. When people talk about emissions and why they’re bad for the planet, they are talking about the amount of gaseous waste such as carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere. Like a greenhouse, those gases keep heat inside our planet’s atmosphere.
A typical car emits, on average, 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Manufacturing cars can have a carbon footprint of anywhere from six to 35 metric tons per vehicle. Either way, cars are bad for the environment. Especially if you are buying them for show and tell purposes. Electric cars help the world
because they don’t use gasoline, and so do not produce tailpipe emissions. Hybrid cars help the world because they are more fuel efficient than gas-only vehicles. Supercars don’t help the world at all, aside from boosting the egos of rich people.
Many of Tate’s followers fail to see his anti-women rhetoric, and believe that there is an agenda against “truth-sayers” such as Tate.
Be conscientious about the cars you purchase and the reasons you choose them
As the world saw last month, infamous influencer Andrew Tate took to Twitter to boast about his collection of cars and their emissions to climate activist Greta Thunberg. Misogyny and sexism seem to be on the rise on social media, and people like Andrew Tate — who has said that women are the property of men and bear some responsibility for being sexually assaulted — feed that with their misogynistic messaging.
Tate’s message to his target audience of primarily young men has the power to expand misogynistic oppression. Some of that messaging is subliminal, and sometimes it sounds like genuinely encouraging young men to be good people.
The more followers Tate has — even if those followers just want to check out his collection of supercars — the more power Tate has to spread the dangerous rhetoric or actions that he puts into the world.
In the Twitter feud between the two, Tate commented that Thunberg was probably sitting bitterly in a cold room. Ironically, Tate was arrested a few days after the exchange — though not because of the tweets, as internet sleuths
have speculated — and is now being held in custody in Romania. If he could only see himself now.
There is and was no need for Tate or anyone to buy supercars for any other purpose than to boost an image and ego. Humble yourselves. Be conscientious about the cars you purchase and the reasons you choose them, and be critical of who you follow on social media. Remember that as individuals, we have the power to reduce our own carbon footprints and think for ourselves.
At the end of the day, supercars inflate the egos of misogynists, and are also bad for the environment. We’d all be better off on a bike, using public transportation or a trusted Prius, rather than driving some misogynistic millionaire’s version of a Barbie car.
comment@themanitoban.com
graphic / Jenna Solomon / staff
There’s no time like the present
Stop romanticizing the past or future and live in the now
Dina Hamid, staff
As 2023 is upon on us and a fresh set of resolutions are made for the upcoming year, we can’t help but reflect on the past year and look forward to the possibilities of the coming months.
Perhaps you are still reminiscing about 2022 because it was the best year for you professionally, socially, romantically or financially. Or perhaps, last year was the worst 12-month period of your life, and you’re eager for what 2023 has in store.
These small comparative reflections are important to keep us on track and remind us of what we really want out of life. However, sometimes these comparisons can get out of hand when they stop us from living in the present moment.
These comparisons of the present to the past are what gave birth to the infamous “I was born in the wrong decade” attitude often found in most YouTube comment sections of musical artists like the Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald or Bob Dylan. This sentiment comes from both the appreciation and glorification of the eras that came before us.
However, when people romanticize the 1950s — the era when you could go to your local dance hall to do the twist or jitterbug with your friends to Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” — they forget the sexism and racism that was widely prevalent, and that pervaded so many people’s daily lives.
While the present has its own problems that seem impending and overwhelming at times, such as climate change, the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the looming threat of a nuclear war, there has never been an
era without problems.
There have been countless wars, revolutions, famines, pandemics and social injustices. Viewing our past through rose-colored glasses can prevent us from perceiving the true reality of our history. To do that, we need to recognize that the past was not perfect, and that romanticizing it can be problematic. Only then can we appreciate what we have now.
Besides, only the individuals from the past are gone. There are still remnants of their lives left behind for us to relish today. The music, clothing, movies and other aspects of those decades are still accessible for us to consume at the click of a button or a drive to Value Village. You don’t have to be living in the 50s, 70s or 90s to appreciate them.
On the flipside, it can be just as damaging to glorify the future as it might be to romanticize the past.
When we place too much emphasis on an idealized vision of the future, we run the risk of missing out on the experiences and happiness that can be found right in front of us.
Even if planning for tomorrow creates expectations that can help us set goals to progress toward our dreams, living in the future prevents us from fully appreciating the present.
graphic / Jenna Solomon / staff
into a better society, that’s not a given. The only thing that is definite is the here and now.
Even if our current reality can occasionally feel depressing, I think that there are things to be thankful for.
You don’t have to be living in the ’ 50s, ’ 70s or ’90s to appreciate them
Since the future is an unknown goal post that is constantly changing, idealizing something so indefinite and fickle can lead to dissatisfaction or disappointment about what could have been.
While I hope we can continue to advance and develop
Improvements to health care, medicine and technology have made it possible to easily access virtually infinite amounts of information, and there is greater access to rights for those who
have historically been disadvantaged.
As Drake once famously put it, “what a time to be alive.” Those are words to live by. Things do not seem to be the best right now, but they could be worse.
It’s easier to fall in love with an era that you’ve never lived through, or live in a daydream of a potential future, than to live in the present. Ignorance is bliss.
Besides, the past is still there for us to observe and enjoy, while the future,
although uncertain, is inevitably coming. Thus, this new year’s resolution should be to live in the moment and enjoy the now.
Adopting positivity and gratitude is the only way we can be truly appreciative and happy with what we’ve got.
comment@themanitoban.com
Science tip: Scientists hardly ever use the two-dot division sign, and when they do it often doesn’t even mean division, but they still get REALLY mad when you repurpose it to write stuff like SALE! ALL SHOES 30÷ OFF!
To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely
In Hidato, fill the board by continuing the chain of numbers from 1 to 100 moving any direction or diagonally to the next number.
In Straits, like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a “straight.” A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how “straights” are formed.
If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.
Sudoku
Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles
Hidato
Puzzle by M.J.D. Doering
Straights Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles
Horoscopes for the week of Jan. 11
Zodiac tips for surviving life at the U of M
Damien Davis staff
ARIES
Your tarot card for the week is the Tower. Things have not gone the way you wanted them to go. You’ve found yourself falling into line time and time again. Through sideways pupils, you’ve seen the future you crave so deeply on the horizon, but can’t seem to make it up the hill. Stop resisting. This is not a time of senseless chaos, but a catalyst for personal transformation. Shave down the coat you’ve been stuck in since last year. Start fresh.
TAURUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Sun. Have you seen a farm with fields of cattle in your dreams? The Sun beckons you to embrace your inner child and to rear your horns toward the sky. The first week back at school will test your might and patience, but you know what it means to have absolute control.
GEMINI
Your tarot card for the week is the Moon. The fear that is burrowing itself inside you and your inner self will finally be purged. Know that you know yourself best, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. Twins symbol ize duality. Show your peers what it means to be both kind and cruel when necessary. Consult the ever-shifting librarians of Elizabeth Dafoe on what it means to be whole.
CANCER
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
Your tarot card for the week is the Magician. Who are you when you are not performing for others? At the bottom of the ocean, you wonder what a life without the water’s reflection could be like. This card asks you to reach the surface and find out for yourself. What good is it, sitting around and wondering about the what ifs? Approach the new year with the knowledge that you could do more than survive, you could thrive.
LEO
Your tarot card for the week is the Fool. Caution is your friend again. Meticulous planning with the hope of a relaxed week is your best chance at preparation this term. You’ll find yourself gravitating to the busy corridors of University Centre. There is a comfort in walking invisible among strangers, not because you’re nobody, but because you choose not to be seen. This card asks you: if the universe has your back, why don’t you take what you want?
VIRGO
Your tarot card for the week is Death. When Persephone found herself locked in the underworld, she made it her own. You too will be surprised at what can grow and flourish in the darkest of times. The scales do not tilt unless you wish them to. What would your childhood self say if they saw you now? Remember that order is not for the good of humanity, but for you.
SCORPIO
Your tarot card for the week is Judgement. You are on the precipice of change. Scorpions can go months without nutrients. Their stingers reach for the sky, and they bow in the face of the universe. It is not in your nature to hate, but rather to behold the wonders of the universe and your place within it. This week will challenge you, but you can handle it.
SAGITTARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Chariot. This week, you should practise making a decision and sticking to it. You are not in a place to be acting impulsively. Gather your things and consult your mentors. There is truly nothing more satisfying than knowing that you made the right choice. The Chariot asks: do you hold the reins of your destiny, or does someone else?
AQUARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Devil. In the new year, you are peeling off all that limited you from last term. These chains you put on yourself in attempts to be free do not serve you anymore, and it is time to rid of them. You’re known for your independence, but it’s never wrong to ask for help, especially when you’re struggling. Rest easy, water bearer. All will be well in the end.
PISCES
’Toban Tips
Dear Toby,
During winter break, I brought my boyfriend to my family’s Christmas Eve dinner. However, he made some problematic comments that made my family uncomfortable.
I wonder if this is something to expect from him in the future, or if it was a fluke. If it is what I should expect, I don’t know what to do!
I’m not okay with that behaviour. How do I resolve
Your tarot card for the week is the Emperor. With the moon in your sign at a waning gibbous, now is the time to feel grateful for all that brought you here. You’re known for your logic and practicality. The Emperor asks: how do you apply the wisdom and guidance from past men tors to your current situation? Never for get your elders. Never forget the warnings of writing on the walls.
How to help a friend in a toxic relationship
things with him and my family?
Help, Troubled girlfriend
Dear Troubled girlfriend,
I am sorry you are dealing with this issue. It’s always uncomfortable when your partner doesn’t get along with your family, especially when they’re the ones in the wrong.
Communication is key. Ask your boyfriend what he meant by his comments in private. He may have spoken out of
Your tarot card for the week is the Fool. When was the last time you had real fun? Did you release all of your ten - sion and stress during the break, or were you so caught up in making sure you had fun that you were unable to truly relax? The need for things to be just so can be overwhelming. This week, you should focus on the excitement of going to new classes. Put down the bow, archer, and remember what it felt like to be free.
pure ignorance, and may not have understood why what he said was problematic. If that is the case, he might be willing to apologize for his actions and educate himself so that he can do better in the future. However, it’s also possible that your boyfriend knew what he was saying and was purposely being problematic. If that is the case, you have to make an important decision about your relationship. We should not surround ourselves with hateful or spite-
ful people. People can change, but only if they want to. If you do end up making the choice to leave him, explain why. Per haps it will give him some thing to think about, and hopefully his future partners will not have to experience what you did.
Wishing you luck, Toby the Bison
To ask Toby a question, email comment@ themanitoban.com.
Your tarot card is the Hermit. If you felt that you barely got through the fall term, or were overwhelmed by any chaos near its end, the Hermit is here to tell you that it’s time to put your toys away. Sometimes we have to do things that others may see as odd in order to ensure success for ourselves. As a Pisces, you’re used to solitude, but that doesn’t mean you always have to aim for it. Even Diogenes had a friend, surely.
Arts & Culture
The best Canadian albums of 2022
’Toban picks for the best music to come out of our beautiful nation last year
Alex Braun, staff
Alvvays — Blue Rev
Alvvays has reclaimed its rightful spot as indie-pop royalty. Since its first record in 2014, the band has pumped out perfect pop gems at a frustratingly slow pace. Blue Rev comes after an excruciating five-year gap, but any wait would be worth it for an album like this — 14 perfect songs that somehow get more perfect the more you listen to them.
Each song has such a strong base — beautiful, wide vocal melodies matched with clever, observant lyrics. And Alvvays keeps building on top, piling on ingenious instrumental parts, perfectly timed key changes, bridges that cut through like rays of sunshine and little blips and melodies that appear for a second, then disappear. It’s breathtaking songwriting and an absolute masterclass in craft and production. Fellow Canadian super producer Shawn Everett’s mix is pitch-perfect,
with constant little details that boggle the mind but never distract from the neatly built songs at the core. It’s a magic trick of an album, a rare alchemic accident, an incandescent bright blue potion that rockets you out of time like the sugar-rush alcopop that gave the album its name. Drink it up.
The Weeknd — Dawn FM
The Weeknd is probably the best living pop star. In a world of sleepy pastiche peddlers, trend-chasing TikTok phenoms and washed-up hangers-on, the Weeknd is one of the brave few really pushing forward. And nowhere is that more apparent than on his admirably ambitious album Dawn FM. Reuniting with experimental electronic darling Oneohtrix Point Never, we are led through a dance mix presented by the official radio station of the purgatorial afterlife, Dawn FM, hosted by none other than Jim Carrey. This is another case of a great songwriter and performer flexing his muscles. Abel Tesfaye pulls from ’80s synth pop, ’90s Eurodance, modern R&B and house seamlessly, without ever indulging in imitation. And the hit rate over the 16 tracks is remarkably high, especially in the sterling opening sequence from “Gasoline” through “Sacrifice.”
Chastity — Suffer Summer
The so-called pop-punk revival is still limping along after a couple years of relevance. Pop artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Machine Gun
Kelly have embraced the sounds of ’00s stars like Avril Lavigne or blink-182 by making the music even more poppy and artificial. However, Chastity grasped the real object of pop-punk on Suffer Summer, fusing together classic power pop and actually edgy punk music with style.
Project mastermind Brandon Williams managed to make an album both harrowingly honest and effortlessly catchy, with songs so sugary that you don’t notice that you’re swallowing some truly bitter pills. Like on “Happy Face,” a song about a friend’s overdose death that somehow still goes down like an ice-cold Coke on a hot summer day.
Living Hour — Someday Is Today
Someday Is Today marked a big leap forward for Winnipeg’s premier indie rock band. After two albums of solid but uniform dream pop, the band leaped out of its previously defined patterns to deliver an album of varied and consistently excellent pop and rock songs.
These songs run the gamut from fuzzed-out rock to gentle instrumentals to woozy, steadily building guitar pop, introducing whole new worlds of texture and structure to the band’s already gorgeous sound. And somehow, even as the band expands to new genre frontiers, it always fits perfectly and never feels like trying on a costume. When Living Hour returns to its signature dreamy sound, it is deeper and more breathtaking than ever.
Destroyer — LABYRINTHITIS
Dan Bejar is a journeyman musician, a real standard-bearer of Canadian indie. On his 13th album, LABYRINTHITIS, he once again demonstrates his constant restlessness and increasing wiliness in his middle age.
The album can be seen as a synthesis of some of Bejar’s previous adventures, mixing the herky-jerky, uncanny electronics and dry, surreal humour of 2020’s Have We Met with the smooth, glammy sound of albums Kaputt or Poison Season
But in that synthesis, Bejar arrives at something completely new and exciting. From the hypnotic opener “It’s in Your Heart Now” to the heartbreaking closer, aptly titled “The Last Song,” Destroyer offers up some of his most elusive songwriting paired with some of the tightest and catchiest arrangements of his long and varied career.
What to play before the semester weighs you down Space out with these gravity and physics-based video games
Jessie Krahn, staff
W
hile January is past the longest night of the year, many students still have weeks of scarce sunlight and burning the midnight oil ahead.
These four space-themed games immerse you in zero gravity and starry nights. Hopefully, they’ll lift your spirits, give you a different perspective on the darkness and lighten the burden of schoolwork.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a 2D space shooter with up to four-player couch co-op. You and your crew of little nubbin-limbed Tic Tacshaped “spacenauts” must navigate spherical ships through asteroid belts and perilous caves to rescue captive creatures from insectoid and fishy aliens.
Each player controls one function of the ship, such as its movement, guns or shield. However, Lovers does require a level of co-ordination and teamwork that always melts down into hilarious consequences when the ship is surrounded by 40 angry, flying acid-spewing beetles.
Combat in Lovers is ridiculous. You can mix and match different gun upgrades to create anything from a bouncing buzzsaw cannon to springloaded laser-shooting flails. Because missions can take a while to complete, even with an efficient team, the price of failure is steeper than other stress-fun couch co-op games like Overcooked
The game is cathartically silly, like a road trip through space with your best friends. Playing with two or more people is a guaranteed bonding experience, as your team will shriek and giggle trying to destroy extraterrestrial fish while the brave soul who volunteered to drive crashes into asteroids.
Slime Rancher
Slime Rancher’s setting isn’t exactly celestial, but it does take place on a far-off planet. The player character, Beatrix, is a rancher tasked with collecting plorts, a special resource to sell to a voracious off-world market.
Most of the game’s mechanics involve corralling and farming the source of plorts — slimes, giggly little animated liquid critters. Once fed, the slimes will poop out precious
crystalline plorts, which can either be sold for profit to upgrade the ranch or used as material to construct gadgets to explore the slimes’ home world.
The game is technically a first-person shooter, as your vacuum gun is capable of sucking up and firing out your giggling slimes like a militarized shipping container.
Slime Rancher offers a calming, lush and rainbow-hued open world and equips you with a jetpack that allows you to float through it.
My one criticism is that Slime Rancher puts forth the capitalist and colonialist myths that colonized lands are improved through resource extraction and refinement, which are too often tacitly endorsed in the farming simulation genre.
However, if you’ve exhausted everything to do in Stardew Valley, Slime Rancher is a kooky, floatier alternative that’ll scratch the same itch.
Gravity Ghost
Gravity Ghost is a relaxing puzzle game and a feel-good gem. In it, you play as a little spectral girl named Iona as she works through residual grief in the afterlife, guiding
animal spirits along the way.
Beating a level seems simple — just collect stars.
The catch is, you have to figure out how to work with the game’s gravity by flinging Iona into the orbit of heavenly bodies with enough momentum to cause the path she is on as she hurls through space to precisely align with a star.
Building up enough force to land in just the right spot is tricky, but super rewarding as you grow accustomed to the game’s physics.
For me, whipping the ghost around until she became a human satellite was soothing in a way I imagine knitting or needlework must be for patient people.
Heavenly Bodies
In Heavenly Bodies, you play as a cosmonaut who must fix space stations, flying through space collecting resources and doing simple tasks that zero gravity renders monumentally difficult.
hope physics is on your side. Experienced through the magic of couch co-op, the physics-based gameplay of Heavenly Bodies is comically absurd.
Either I or my co-op partner usually try and fail to regain control over the game’s twisted physics, while the other miraculously carries us through to the end of the level. Spinning in a circle for 10 minutes while someone else single-handedly fixes a space station — possibly while literally dragging your character through the level by the foot — is humbling in the best way possible.
As I watch my little cosmonaut kick and flail desperately, whirling out into the star-speckled cosmos, the burden of deadlines doesn’t seem so heavy. I think about thousands of little nubbins rushing to complete arbitrary tasks while soaring through the dark abyss on our little Earth, and I just can’t help but laugh.
What’s more, you have to do all of that while controlling your cosmonaut’s arms and legs separately. Pulling a lever, for instance, is broken down into several steps — kick off a wall to float to the lever, lift your arm, grab the lever and arts@themanitoban.com
New student group aims to build community
Black Student Empowerment Society hosts cultural, professionalization events
Damien Davis, staff
There is always a need for support, community and guidance among students at the U of M, and this need is not exclusive to one type of student. The Black Student Empowerment Society (BSES) is all too familiar with this need.
The group, co-chaired by El-shaddai Nyakiir and Mily Baliho, was officially formed in September of 2020 during the pandemic. Baliho said that the group formed out of a feeling expressed by herself and other Black individuals — a combination of a lack of community, support and connection within academia.
“UMSU has also historically never been very good at celebrating things like Black History Month,” Baliho said.
“We’ve only really ever had one celebration of that a few years ago and it went not very well to my memory, so there’s a lacking feeling of connec-
tion both by the university and then among individuals.”
“We decided that because there’s no way to create generational ties, that we wanted to create a student group that kind of addresses [that], and we could be the community ties that other Black individuals in the student collective cannot inherently have,” she explained.
During its early days amid COVID-19, the group held events online, from Zoom parties to discussion forums and campaigns for Black History Month. While these are things that Baliho likes to reminisce about, another goal has always been at the heart of the BSES’s formation.
“We want to bridge a connection between students and between professionals and alumni that are both Black-identified,” Baliho said.
Baliho highlighted an upcoming event in February called “The Black Café,”
which will host a simple coffee house-styled setup for Black students to meet and connect with Black mentors of later years. The students will be able to ask questions about academia and their futures, not only for educational support but for emotional support as well.
The BSES also recently debuted its Afrobeats Night event on Jan. 5 at the Good Will Social Club, kicking off the winter term for the group.
Baliho said that her biggest hope for the future of the BSES is to make up for the feeling of loss and hopelessness that people in her years have felt regarding their degrees. She said that this feeling is a personal experience for a lot of students, but that there are extra layers to it for students like her who may be the first in their families to go to university.
“It does feel aimless, and we don’t have those tiny bits of
/ provided
support and affirmation from people who have done what we wanted to prior,” Baliho explained.
“Although we can’t make generational connections, we
can be our own connection, because everybody knows maybe one little thing.”
arts@themanitoban.com
Moose swept in New Year’s Eve series
The Abbotsford Canucks outpaced depleted Moose in front of raucous home crowd
Matthew Merkel, staff
In their final series of 2022, the Manitoba Moose were swept by the Abbotsford Canucks. Although the Moose were supported by an enthusiastic crowd both nights, the Canucks dominated, winning game one 4-2 and the second game 5-2.
After winning their last four straight games heading into the holiday break, the Moose were second place in the Central Division.
However, injury trouble for the Moose’s parent club, the Winnipeg Jets, and the commencement of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Halifax, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. meant that a number of key Manitoba players would not be in the lineup.
Kevin Stenlund, Ville Heinola, Kristian Reichel and Jansen Harkins were all with the big club, while Chaz Lucius and Brad Lambert had both been loaned to their respective countries.
Luckily for the Moose, the Jets loaned Dominic Toninato to their affiliate, providing Manitoba National Hockey League experience for the teams opening faceoff against Abbotsford.
In game one, each team traded chances for the majority of the first period. With just over two minutes left in the frame, a holding penalty against the Canucks gave Manitoba their first man advantage of the game.
In the dying seconds of the powerplay, centreman Tyler Boland carried the puck end to end before firing a low wrister past Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs for his first career American Hockey League goal.
The Canucks responded forcefully in the second period, scoring three goals on 13 shots. Justin Dowling kicked off Abbotsford’s offence by roofing it past Moose goalie Arvid Holm in tight, followed by Linus Karlsson on the powerplay, then Danila Klimovich in the second half of the period.
Down by two, the Moose had a sense of urgency in the third, putting up 14 shots in the frame. With the Manitoba net empty, Boland shot his second of the game past a screened Silovs to close the Canucks lead.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Moose would get to winning. Canucks winger Phil Di Giuseppe scored an insurance marker on an out of
Sports teams’ schedules
U of M Bisons — Women’s Basketball
Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves
Bisons @ UNBC Timberwolves
position Holm with a minute and a half left, giving Abbotsford a 4-2 victory.
The next night in the Moose’s annual New Year’s Eve game was a similar result.
In the first period, Cole Maier slipped past the Canucks defence to open the scoring for Manitoba, before Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters banged in a loose puck past Moose goalie Oskari Salminen.
Nearly seven and a half minutes later, Evan Polei tucked a shot glove side past Silovs to regain the lead for Manitoba.
In the second, Wouters picked up a Klimovich rebound and fired it past Salminen to even the score.
With the score tied up, the Canucks took over in the third.
Midway through the frame, Winnipeg native Jett Woo finished off a nice pass from Klimovich on a two-on-one to give Abbotsford the lead.
As the Canucks dictated the play, Manitoba was limited to only three shots in the period.
Even with the net empty, the Moose were unable to close the lead. Nils Höglander and Dowling each scored empty net goals for Abbotsford to make it 5-2, helping the
Moose assistant coach Eric Dubois was happy with his club’s effort, but noted that the Moose did not execute in the last two games. He remarked that it appeared that the team’s first line was out of energy due to much of the club’s depth recalled to the Jets, which made it difficult to keep up with the quick Abbotsford team.
enjoyed.
“The guys could feel the excitement and the energy,” Dubois said.
“Obviously we didn’t respond as well for the home crowd, but nevertheless the players enjoyed very much to have those big crowds.”
The next home game for the Moose is Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. against the Chicago Wolves.
Dubois had high praise for the crowd at each game that weekend. There was a buzz in the air thanks to the holidays, something that Dubois said that players and coaches alike sports@themanitoban.com
U of M Bisons — Men’s Hockey
Regina Cougars @ Bisons
Jan. 6 — Final: 8 – 0
Regina Cougars @ Bisons Jan. 7 — Final: 3 – 2 / SO
Ukrainian U25 National Team @ Bisons
Bisons @ Mount Royal Cougars
Bisons @ Mount Royal Cougars
U of M Bisons — Men’s Volleyball
MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons Jan. 6 — Final: 0 – 3
MacEwan Griffins @ Bisons Jan. 7 — Final: 1 – 3
Alberta Golden Bears @ Bisons Jan. 13 — 6 p.m.
Alberta Golden Bears @ Bisons Jan. 14 — 5 p.m.
U of M Bisons — Track and Field
Bison Grand Prix #1 Jan. 11
Sanderson Classic Jan. 13–14
Winnipeg Jets
Calgary Flames @ Jets
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Jets Jan. 6 — Final: 2
Vancouver Canucks @ Jets Jan. 8 — Final: 4 – 7
Jets @ Detroit Red Wings Jan. 10 — 6 p.m.
Jets @ Buffalo Sabres Jan. 12 — 6 p.m.
Jets @ Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 13 — 6 p.m.
Arizona Coyotes @ Jets Jan. 15 — 6 p.m.
photo / Matthew Merkel / staff
A beautiful international hockey friendship
Bisons last leg on charity “Hockey Can’t Stop Tour” for Ukraine
TQuinn Mayhew staff
he University of Manitoba Bisons welcomed the Ukrainian U25 Men’s National Team Monday night, with Winnipeg, Man. being the last stop of the four-game tour.
Canada West teams consisting of the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Saskatchewan Huskies, Manitoba Bisons and Calgary Dinos have played host in the “Hockey Can’t Stop Tour” — a friendly tournament that started off in Saskatchewan on Dec. 30 and ended in Manitoba on Jan. 9.
Each university played one game against the Ukrainian U25 Men’s National Team, with all profits from ticket sales going toward relief and charitable funds to Ukrainian grassroots organizations in Canada and toward humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
With more than 7,000
tickets sold for Monday’s game and with 4,000 Ukrainian refugees attending, the turnout for the Bisons’ leg of the tour was quite successful.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last year on Feb. 24, some Ukrainian professional hockey players left hockey behind to serve their country.
Arenas in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts — provinces of Ukraine — have also been destroyed due to shelling.
With most men between the ages of 18 to 60 in Ukraine expected to serve in the general mobilization of the country, it is a rarity for these young men to be able leave Ukraine.
The idea of the team coming to Canada came about through communications between TSN play-by-play
sponsors, eventually turned a chance for the Ukrainian squad to practice into the four-game western Canada tour.
The Ukrainian U25 team was even recognized Sunday evening at the Canada Life Centre with a puck drop before the commencement of the Winnipeg Jets game.
The hope is to establish a better, lasting hockey relationship between Ukraine and Canada
Though, the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine is determined for the sport to remain despite the less than ideal circumstances. The federation has continued to play with six teams competing in its national championship.
commentator Gord Miller and representatives of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine after the Ukrainian U25 team qualified for the 2023 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games held in Lake Placid, New York from Jan. 11-24. Miller’s contacts in the National Hockey League and U Sports, as well as various
Monday’s hockey game on Jan. 9 against the Bisons men’s team, concluded the Canada West tournament, and the Ukrainian U25 team will go on to partake in the World University Games.
This tour gave the herd an opportunity to play an international game with the intent to gain experience from a different roster of players. The hope is to establish a better,
lasting hockey relationship between Ukraine and Canada.
The Ukrainians dominated from the drop of the puck, scoring twice in the first and second period and taking a 4-0 lead into the third frame. Bison forward Devon Skoleski would score early in the third to take the shutout from Ukrainian goaltender Dmytro Kubrytskyi. Two minutes later, Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Simchuk would score his second goal of the night. The Ukrainian team would go on to win 5-1.
