3 April 2019

FEATURE

In all directions

Special Feature: Community gathers to heal and celebrate

NEWS

The votes are out

ARTS AND CULTURE

Drag divas

UMGSA election unratified following accusations of misconduct

Local drag collective celebrates anniversary

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PAGE 19

COMMENT

Humanity united Stand together against hate PAGE 10 VO L 1 0 2 · N O 3 0 · A P R I L 3 , 2 0 1 9 · W W W.T H E M A N I TO B A N .CO M

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Index

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VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Garett Williams

editor@themanitoban.com / 474.8293

BUSINESS MANAGER Sohni Tappia

accounts@themanitoban.com / 474.6535

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Sydney Last

ads@themanitoban.com / 474.6535

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Malak Abas

me@themanitoban.com

NEWS EDITOR Malak Abas

news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

COMMENT EDITOR Jacob Singleton

comment@themanitoban.com

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Emelia Fournier

NEWS

comment@themanitoban.com

Pass pushback

sports@themanitoban.com

UMSU lobbies city council for U-Pass changes

copy@themanitoban.com

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sarah@themanitoban.com

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Pchajek COPY EDITOR Matthew Doering ASSOCIATE COPY EDITOR Sarah Doran

DESIGN

DESIGN EDITOR Kellie Huynh

design@themanitoban.com

GRAPHICS EDITOR Evan Tremblay

graphics@themanitoban.com

PHOTO EDITOR Asha Nelson

photo@themanitoban.com

PHOTO EDITOR Quincy Houdayer

quincy@themanitoban.com

PHOTO ASSOCIATE Alex Decebal-Cuza DESIGN ASSOCIATE Ernest Zarzuela GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE Scott A. Ford

REPORTERS SPORTS

Bison selected Alleyn picked by Saskatchewan in draft PAGE 25

NEWS Ty Brass COLUMNIST Kenny Ingram COLUMNIST Rebecca Balakrishnan ARTS Amin Montazeri ARTS Zachary F. Sigurdson SPORTS Kellen Taniguchi

VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTORS

Craig Adolphe Daniel Olapade Matthew Teklemariam

MANITOBAN 109 HELEN GLASS U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A N I TO B A WINNIPEG, MB R3T 2N2

EDITORIAL

To break the moat

The old task of opening knowledge’s paywall PAGE 6

Design Design Editor: Kellie Huynh Contact: design@themanitoban.com Graphics Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: graphics@themanitoban.com Photo Editor: Asha Nelson Contact: photo@themanitoban.com

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Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #589160 A “volunteer staff” member is defined as a person who has had three volunteer articles, photographs, or pieces of art of reasonable length and/or substance published in three different issues of the current publishing year of the Manitoban. Any individual who qualifies must be voted in by a majority vote at a Manitoban staff meeting. Elected representatives and non-students may be excluded from holding votes as volunteer staff members in accordance with the Manitoban Constitution. The Manitoban is the official student newspaper of the University of Manitoba. It is published monthly during the summer and each week of regular classes during the academic year by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. The Manitoban is an independent and democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens. The newspaper’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. The Manitoban serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute to any section of the newspaper. Please contact the appropriate editor for submission guidelines. The Manitoban reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, ableist or libellous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors. Editorials in the Manitoban are signed and represent the opinions of the writer(s), not necessarily those of the Manitoban staff, Editorial Board, or the publisher. All contents are ©2018 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Editor-in-Chief. Yearly subscriptions to the Manitoban are available for $40.

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News

News Editor: Malak Abas Contact: news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Controversial UMGSA election unratified Several appeals filed after VPSS vote ends in tie TY BRASS, STAFF

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controversial University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association (UMGSA) 2019 executive election is headed to a run-off vote after two candidates for vicepresident services and support (VPSS) finished in a dead tie and a handful of appeals — including one each against the CRO and uncontested returning president Carl Neumann — have been filed. The results were to be ratified at the association’s regular council meeting March 27 but the outstanding appeals have left the process in limbo. Voting ended March 22 and preliminary results were posted to the UMGSA website three days later. The unofficial results list Carl Neumann as president and Cody Ross as the vice-president finance and administration, both of whom ran unopposed and through the Experience UMGSA slate. Julia Minarik and Ehsan Tahmasebian, both from the Experience UMGSA slate, took the two senator positions. Rooxie Koohgoli of the Experience UMGSA slate won the vice-president academic position. The VPSS position ended in a tie, with independent candidate Okechukwu Efobi and Experience UMGSA slate member Eric Gagnon collecting 299 votes each. According to UMGSA policy, a run-off election “shall begin within 14 days of the final recount of the ballots of the general election.” During the March 27 meeting, council entered closed session and ejected UMGSA candidates in order to discuss ratification of the results.

Privacy concerns

Out of the appeals filed, one concerned CRO Ademola Adesola’s failure to penalize a candidate for an expense overrun. Two others concerned alleged breaches of privacy by UMGSA president Carl Neumann and the Experience slate.

“I have done nothing wrong, and the accusation is simply false” — Carl Neumann, UMGSA president Neumann said in an email he filed an appeal concerning Adesola “regarding the CRO’s failure to subsequently apply a non-optional penalty, as explained in my submissions to the committee.” The appeal claim’s Adesola failed to apply a demerit to Efobi for overspending on campaigning by $0.39. Candidates are limited to spending $50 on campaigning. Efobi filed a reimbursement form stating he spent $50.39. UMGSA policy states that a demerit may be awarded for “minor

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

yet flagrant or intentional infraction.” ing of your position,” Efobi said in One demerit reduces the recipient the email. candidate’s votes by five per cent of “I think you have lost your way and total ballots cast for that candidate. it is now time for you to resign.” A demerit applied to Efobi would Neumann said he did not learn result in Gagnon securing the VPSS about the overspending through position. any sort of misconduct, but because According to Efobi, he filed two Adesola spoke about it openly while more appeals — both on March 27 Neumann was “right in front of him.” — one against Neumann regarding “I have not seen any official docuconcerns with how Neumann was ments relating to the candidate's aware of the overspending, and one expense reimbursement submission, against members of the Experience and I trusted that the CRO wasn't UMGSA slate about their possible lying about what he said,” he said. complicity in the matter. “The CRO was entirely aware that In an email, Efobi voiced concern I was right in front of him, and I over personal information listed on remarked to him at that moment that the reimbursement forms he filed it was surprising and very unfortufor his campaign expenses and travel nate that the candidate had exceeded expenses. his expense limit.” “I feel that my privacy has been Neumann said there was no violated as the form in question also wrongdoing on his part. contains some personal information “I have done nothing wrong, and about me,” he said. the accusation is simply false,” he said. “I am also concerned someone was Adesola denied Neumann’s claim spying. These are serious matters.” that he was overhead discussing any Adesola has since accused overspending and said Neumann Neumann of violating the privacy of “lacks the courage to tell the truth.” a candidate. Adesola said no such discussion According to Adesola, the only ever occurred and argued that he people who should have access to would have had no reason to because the reimbursement forms are the he did not assign a penalty to Efobi. UMGSA office staff and the CRO. “In my view, the only place he On March 29, Efobi sent an email could have chanced on a candidate’s to all UMGSA executives and the campaign expenses would be that he council chair voicing his concern consciously fished for it, and he got about the possible privacy violation assistance somewhere,” he said. and calling for Neumann to resign. “Otherwise, the existence of every “Your actions are very unbecom- candidate document that was filed

with the election committee was always known between me and the office assistant.” Adesola refuted that there had been any overspending, saying he made the decision not to give out a demerit for a $0.39 overcharge. “The idea of a $0.39 overage, It’s Carl’s claim, he’s the one saying it’s excess,” he said. “I am the CRO of this election, and by the election policy manual, it is left for me to determine whether a candidate had overshot their budget or not.”

“I am also concerned someone was spying. These are serious matters” — Okechukwu Efobi, UMGSA candidate Independent candidates have a spending limit of $50 on campaigning costs and $20 on transportation, for a total of $70. According to Efobi, his $50.39 reimbursement form included his campaigning costs but not his transportation costs. He said he filed a separate reimbursement form for his transportation

costs. “I am saying there was no excess,” said Adesola. “I didn’t deem that an excess, for the reason that every candidate has a total of $70, so we should be looking at what is his overall.” Adesola said he believes Neumann’s appeal was strategic — the UMGSA policy manual requires appeals and complaints to be filed within 48 hours of the alleged breach, and Neumann had not filed a complaint until after results had come in. “Why wait until there was a tie?” Neumann said in an email he did not make an appeal or complaint upon finding out about the overspending because he did not know that Adesola had not awarded a demerit to Efobi until the preliminary results had been posted online. Adesola said he believed Neumann had violated the candidate’s privacy. “There are two offences here, I think — one is the lies he is peddling against me, that has to be squarely addressed, because that is falsehood, and that is like defamation of my character,” he said. “And two is, we have a case here, and a substantial, meaningful case, of [Neumann] violating privacy because of [his] access to that office.” Neumann said the UMGSA would be releasing a statement and declined to comment further on the issue until the statement was made public.

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News

News Editor: Malak Abas Contact: news@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

UMSU releases 2019-20 draft budget Additional funding allocated to leaving Canadian Federation of Students, new HR position MALAK ABAS, STAFF

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uts to printing services and addi- current “Demand Better” campaign, for promotional items.” “I think this year the budget will be tional funding for marketing are which seeks opinions from students One place where the operations more reflective of what we’re trying some of the more prominent changes on where money being spent on budget had over-extended its projec- to achieve.” to this year’s UMSU budget, which membership with the federation tions last year was the digital print Participatory budgeting services, a was introduced at a board meeting could be used elsewhere. and design centre, which had been project that began with the current last week. In November, the executive allotted $83,000 last year and has executive, received a $10,000 increase, The budget, which was uploaded recommended meant to introonline Monday, marks a net increase U MSU leave duce the program of $38,000 — from $1,850,000 to the federation in to the Bannatyne “In the past, when unions defederate from $1,888,000 — much of which UMSU favour of joincampus. the [Canadian Federation of Students], UMSU vice-president finance and operations ing the Canadian Mbuli Matshe said will be allotted Alliance president Jakob they get sued” — Mbuli Matshe, UMSU St udent to marketing and possible legal fees o f Sanderson said vice-president finance and operations surrounding the current process Associations he is particularly of removing the union from the (CASA). excited about Canadian Federation of Students. “In the past, additional funding UMSU set aside $30,000 in its when unions defederate from the since had its budget halved to $41,000. for the student research jobs program budget for a marketing campaign [Canadian Federation of Students], “That’s just because the climate is in the budget. toward leaving the Canadian they get sued,” he said. changing in terms of paper, and what “That will allow students to earn “So we added legal there, as well as that looks like moving forward,” he a wage from UMSU while shaping Federation of Students — part of which is going to projects like the marketing [fees] that were increased said. our advocacy priorities with work on

Sanofi stars ALEX DECEBAL CUZA

Competitors in the regional Sanofi Biogenius Canada present their research at the regional competition in UMSU University Centre Monday.

any issue they’re passionate about,” Sanderson said. Additional funding for UMSU centennial celebrations was also included in the budget — both centennial funding and Frosh fest were allotted $50,000 each. “We are very excited about our programming for our centennial year, including an expanded Frosh music festival and some really exciting speakers for fall 2019,” Sanderson said. Another new addition to the budget this year is a new hire — a human resources position that will work within UMSU. Matshe noted that the not-forprofit organization employs more than 200 part-time and 30 full-time employees, saying, “We need a human resources entity.”

VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

News

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U of M offers online course on sexual violence Video-based program includes policy rundown, statements from faculty MALAK ABAS, STAFF

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embers of the U of M community looking for “foundational information on sexual violence” can now access a five-part course provided by the university online. The course, available on UM Learn, is comprised of six brief videos. The course begins with an explanation of sexual violence and goes into an explanation of the university’s sexual violence policies. Later videos include students and faculty members describing common myths about sexual violence and a guide to navigating the university’s sexual violence support and education website. The introductory video in the course includes opening statements from various university administration, faculty and one student. U of M vice-president administration Lynn Zapshala-Kelln is quoted as calling the course “only the first step” of the university’s campaign to combat sexual violence. U of M president David Barnard called on faculty and staff, along with students, to take the course. “It is our collective responsibility to educate ourselves around sexual violence on campus,” he said in a statement. The course comes after a year of sexual violence policy review from

the university. The sexual assault policy, which was made effective in 2016, is currently under review and policies based on feedback from faculty, students and stakeholders will be brought before the university’s board of governors in June. The university published guidelines in March for faculty and staff on how to conduct themselves toward students, both professionally and in possible romantic settings. These guidelines do not include any disciplinary measures, but recommends faculty avoid romantic relationships with students. The last two years have seen several allegations of sexual misconduct by faculty toward students at the university. The first day of classes this year saw Barnard hold a media conference wherein he apologized to students for the university’s response to sexual misconduct on campus. UMSU is currently in the process of suggesting amendments to the sexual violence and respectful work and learning environment policy and was involved in the eventual creation of the course. U MSU president Ja kob Sanderson, who said he has yet to take the course but did “look for-

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

ward to engaging with it,” called it a step toward the union’s demands for increased supports for university students affected by sexual violence. “We did have meetings with administration members about their

education and training resources and materials to put forward our priorities,” he said. “We’re encouraged to see the administration working to create more ways for people to access

this education and look forward to continued consultation as we move towards our goal of mandatory and effective training for all faculty and administrations.”

UMSU targets city councillors for U-Pass talks VP external says plan is to ‘go above’ Winnipeg Transit MALAK ABAS, STAFF

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fter receiving what the executive calls pushback from Winnipeg Transit, UMSU has decided to set up meetings directly with city councillors to negotiate its summer U-Pass.

at the meeting. “So our plan is to go above them, directly to city council and ask them to direct Winnipeg Transit to negotiate a summer U-Pass.” Black added there was already a meeting scheduled with St. Vital “We have had a bit councillor Brian Mayes. Sanderson said UMSU negotiof resistance from ated with Winnipeg Transit “up to a point” to ensure the summer U-Pass Transit itself at the proposal would reach city council but negotiating table for are now speaking with councillors to ensure it is approved. a summer U-Pass” “We are entering the last year of — Owen Black, our current contract and want to ensure all students have the option UMSU VP external of a summer U-Pass in the next contract,” he said. “As well as ensuring opt-outs for UMSU vice-president external all students outside the transit serOwen Black said he and union presi- vice area, and equity for Bannatyne dent Jakob Sanderson began meet- students to have a U-Pass option that ing with councillors to discuss the fits their unique schedule.” U-Pass at the union’s board meeting Sanderson also referred to resist- summer students,” he said. last week. ance from Winnipeg Transit. “We will continue working with Black discussed UMSU’s motiva“Certainly we’ve encountered some Transit to ensure we come up with tion for directly lobbying councillors pushback from Transit but UMSU an option that benefits both parat the meeting, referring to difficulty has been flexible with our summer ties and honours the initial terms of negotiating directly with Winnipeg U-Pass proposals, with consideration the U-Pass agreement: a desire for Transit. given to an elongation of the winter increased ridership, affordability and “We have had a bit of resistance U-Pass, an opt-in U-Pass — which sustainability.” from Transit itself at the negotiating was met with considerable pushback At the time of publication, table for a summer U-Pass,” he said — or a universal pass for full time Winnipeg Transit has not responded

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

to request for comment. Should the summer U-Pass be approved, a referendum must occur before any increases in student fees as per the UMSU Act. “Ultimately, we will give our students the final say before imposing any increased fees,” Sanderson said. It was first announced in January 2018 that UMSU would begin lobby-

ing for a summer U-Pass option, after the city introduced a 25-cent hike in bus fare and cuts to routes in late 2017. The current U-Pass contract will expire in May 2018, but if negotiations are not mutually agreed upon, the current contract may roll over for another year. Other requests on UMSU’s end include additional and more convenient routes and buses.

Editorial Editor-In-Chief: Garett Williams Contact: Editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

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Freedom of access versus maintenance of quality Advocacy for open educational resources must include a plan for their survival MATTHEW DOERING, STAFF

GRAPHICS BY EVAN TREMBLAY

“Professional control, ownership to consider OER before requiring Creative Commons (CC) license, or and use of professional literature students to purchase a traditional material in the public domain. They is a matter of most serious con- textbook. are free to use and share. But not neccern,” George Gould, editor of the If UMSU truly cares about the essarily free to modify, if published Philadelphia Medical Journal, wrote future and quality of education for under a CC no derivatives license, or in Suggestions to Medical Writers in students at the U of M, continuing free to be repurposed for profit — nei1900. With the growth of open- to blindly advocate for much-needed ther to restrict access nor to become access publishing, open education OER while failing to consider the sustainably updated, revised and can learn from the history of the basics of the centuries-old knowl- improved by means of a small revenue struggle against the monetization of edge-access debate may threaten the stream — if published under a CC knowledge. non-commercial Current UMSU license. president Jakob Professional Professional control of research publications Sanderson, and his control — either slate that swept and educational resources is both good and bad by academ ic this year’s elections, societies that campaigned and cover publishing won on a platform that included quality of education. expenses by membership and subadvocating for the university’s greater While the definition of OER, a scription fees or by corporate publishusage of open educational resources concept originating alongside the ing houses with a for-profit business (OER) — which substitute public communications network-based model — of research publications and domain resources for expensive internet 25 years ago in 1994, varies, educational resources is both good textbooks. During Sanderson’s first they can — like the name implies and bad. term as president he secured a prom- — be defined as material published Of course, it puts paywalls in place, ise from the U of M for new classes under an open license, such as a such as the fees charged by Elsevier —

the world’s largest academic publishing company, with the recognizable logo of an old man picking grapes from a vine entwining a tree. For a Canadian institution to access 316 priced journals for a year, Elsevier’s list price is US$396,622. In the past year, these huge prices have left scholars at research institutions in Germany and Sweden and most recently in Norway and the University of California system without subscription packages to the newest work published in Elsevier’s approximately 2,500 journals. This is the result of universities and Elsevier becoming increasingly unable to reach agreements on both price and open-access. While access is still available to individual articles through interlibrary loan, the delay in accessing published work slows research and the creation of educational resources, which delays content creators and authors access to the newest and most “cutting edge” ideas, advances, results and insights. But professional control also ensures quality, for the entire business model depends upon the ability and expectation to publish consistently rigorous scholarship. Professional control also means archival access and storage. For instance, the Elsevier family published the work of Galileo Galilei in 1635. That book is still archived today in the offices of the modern Elsevier company. It also means maintaining and updating the systems necessary to publish and archive hundreds of thousands of books and articles every year. Those advocating for OER and for the resources to promote their creation must also give thought to how to ensure all those resources will be sustainable when more institutions begin to fall out with the publishing giants. A possible consequence if publishing giants revoke access to their resources as universities embrace OER could be a deterioration in the quality of educational resources if they begin to become outdated, with resources provided only for their creation and not their revision, or if no plan is in place for archiving and disseminating. Ownership comes in many forms. Traditionally, publishing houses require authors to transfer copyright to the publisher. Therefore, publishers own the content of books and many research journals and then require the user to pay for the privilege of access. With OER, the author retains the copyright themselves. This novel idea in the history of academia — CC licenses were first introduced about 16 years ago — presents a change in thinking for authors who may not yet realize the ability to protect course materials and books under open licenses. Advocacy alone, on the basis of student debt, is not likely to be enough to convert authors of materials to open publishing models given the long history and what is for many a long experience with more closed models.

Copyright retention at this scale truly is a paradigm shift. It changes how knowledge is consolidated, how knowledge is disseminated, how knowledge is monetized. For knowledge will continue to be monetized, despite the advocacy work done by UMSU or any other group. Should publishing houses take on OER, the costs of publishing may be shifted to the author, like they are for open-access research articles. Elsevier’s fees can be in the range of US$150 to US$5,000 for a single article. For larger educational resources intended for a broader audience and requiring more work for editing, production and publication, the fees for each individual resource may be expected to be even higher. This puts open-access publishing beyond the reach of many qualified would-be authors who may want to take advantage of production, promotion and marketing channels available through corporate publishers. UMSU’s argument to lobby provincial and federal governments to incentivize OER creation at universities through “start-up” funding may promote the short-term creation of resources but does nothing to promote their archiving, revision and continued creation. UMSU’s proposal that “the government should look for ways to fund content creators themselves” runs the risk of the government taking on the role of a publishing house. And that would be fruit ripe for the cutting by a future government because governments are not in the academic publishing business, and that business can easily be seen as education subsidies in eras when university funding is being cut. The result would be either privatization or cessation of the government’s involvement in academic publishing. Publicly funded OER might end up for sale to a publishing house putting course materials back behind the guarded walls of textbook publishers. The use of these materials is the most important matter of historical and current concern to consider in this situation. Educational resources are meant to be used and are expected to be current. Simply advocating for increased uptake and usage neglects the complexities of professional control and ownership that must also be planned for, as the balance — from the end user’s, the student’s and the researcher’s perspective — shifts from expensive access to open to all. When planning advocacy efforts and taking on the necessary initiatives to make education more affordable and accessible, UMSU’s actions must be focused on the sustainable long term. Otherwise it is advocacy for the benefit of the resumés of the UMSU executives. At best, it changes little for students. At worst, it threatens the quality of the education of those the union protects.

Comment Comment Editor: Jacob Singleton Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

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Lies, half-truths and UMSU’s tired crusade Executive’s campaign against the Canadian Federation of Students predicated on falsehoods KENNY INGRAM, STAFF

C F S

C F S CFS UMSU

UM SU GRAPHICS BY EVAN TREMBLAY

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he upcoming UMSU executive has been clear on one thing: it will be devoting as much time and energy as possible in order to leave the Canadian Federation of Students. While the question of whether the federation has been an effective use of student resources is perfectly valid, it is the incredibly misleading and deceitful tactics employed by UMSU executives which call into question the validity and sincerity of their intentions. UMSU has taken it upon itself to begin a campaign called the Demand Better Camapign — funded by student dollars — imploring students to tell the executive what the federation membership fees would be better spent on. The issue is the executive is parading around a $4 million number supposedly representing all of the membership fees UMSU has paid the federation over the course of more than a decade. This exaggerates the true amount an individual student pays to the federation over the course of their degree. The reality is each student pay a mere $7.61 per semester in order to maintain membership in the federation. The cost becomes even less relevant when the dividends of a multitude of successful campaigns fronted by the federation are factored in.

Since 1988, there have been incred- be collected. ibly positive, progressive initiatives In fact, for the current federation taken on campuses across the nation fees to be diverted to UMSU, another that were the result of lobbying from similar referendum would be required the federation. in order to reinstate the fee due to The federation played a critical recent amendments to the provincial role in tuition freezes and grants, UMSU Act. legislation requiring post-secondary schools to include stand-alone sexIt is the incredibly ual harassment and assault policies, increases of $90 million to the Postmisleading and Secondary Student Support Program deceitful tactics for Indigenous learners and much more. employed by UMSU A closer inspection suddenly executives which gives the $7.61 per semester fee some perspective — a perspective not precall into question the sent nor welcome within UMSU’s campaign. validity and sincerity But even more dishonest is the fact of their intentions that the Demand Better campaign implies that there are simply millions of dollars sitting around waiting to be used on something better than the UMSU cannot continue collecting federation. This implication is absurd. the federation fees and utilize them to The $15.22 fee collected across two facilitate new programs and advocacy. semesters from each student are paid All the advocacy the federation does to the federation. The federation then will not be replaced without funding uses the money from its membership from another referendum. across Canada for campaigns and The reality, then, is this campaign initiatives that benefit the students is not about what UMSU can do with paying them. the money currently going to the Even more important is that even federation. Rather, this campaign is if students were to agree with the about what can an individual student executive and vote overwhelmingly to do with the extra $7.61 in their pocket leave the federation in a referendum, if they vote to leave. One could argue those fees would simply no longer that students who vote to leave the

federation specifically with the intention of saving $7.61 are not likely going to turn around and vote in a second referendum to increase their membership fees to UMSU by $7.61. UMSU president Jakob Sanderson knows this because he spoke at the provincial legislature in support of the amendments to provincial legislation that requires UMSU to hold a referendum to increase UMSU fees. Perhaps the potential benefits of leaving the federation that UMSU are parading should be rephrased. Maybe there should be a call back to a Sanderson favourite about breakfasts. Imagine this slogan, “For the $7.61 a student saves, one could easily afford one discounted Rise-n-Shine breakfast at Degrees each semester. That is two discounted breakfasts a year!” But more than just the despicable dishonesty, it is disappointing to see the UMSU executive fail to do its job and represent the will of students. The hubris of the executive is what blinds it to the fact that only a year ago a non-binding plebiscite yielded a commanding two-third majority to maintain federation membership. The UMSU executive seems to not be beyond a good dead horse flogging and are continuing to plow ahead with this unpopular crusade. The role of a student union should be to represent the will of students, not actively attempt to shift public

opinion on student dollar. What is even more fascinating, however, is some who now hold positions in the UMSU executive once had a large role in the federation — leading rallies and meetings. The flip from fervent supporter to apathetic adversary comes across as curious at best and exploitative at worst. This flip carries the stench of rank careerism and an executive that would rather push its own personal political agenda than represent the will of students. Frankly, this agenda should be enraging to any student. Students individually pay $57.20 per year for the basic operation of UMSU and what they are receiving is a body of callous careerists who have zero interest in representing the will of the student body. Students are getting a raw deal. If the UMSU executive clearly understands and believes every statement it has made publicly and are truly convinced it maintains the support of the student body, it should be fair and principled going forward. Therefore, if UMSU has the intention of holding a binding referendum on maintaining membership with the federation, it should similarly hold a referendum on whether or not students wish to keep paying the annual $57.20 fee to UMSU. UMSU executive, do we have a deal?

VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

Comment

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I applied for an employment scam Scammers lurk online, trying to steal your money and identity REBECCA BALAKRISHNAN, THE WORK LIFE

job board, such as Indeed.com. Be cautious if you decide to post your resumé online. I would advise against it. Keep track of where you apply. If you are rapidly applying everywhere, it is more likely you will be tricked by a scam email.

Way too good to be true

T

he online job market is infested by scammers trying to steal from you. Anecdotally, over the last few years, the number of students coming to me as a career consultant with questionable job offers has increased substantially. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians are scammed out of millions of dollars each year. To get a better idea of how to spot an employment scam, I made myself a simple resumé approximating a typical new graduate with limited experience and started seeking scams. It was not hard — once I told my network what I was looking for, misfortune filled my inbox. I even had a scam show up unsolicited. Here is my scam story and how I knew I was being bamboozled.

I got offered jobs I did not apply for

I applied for a wide variety of jobs and few of the offers I received actually matched the companies I applied to. One application magically begat two offers at two different companies. One of my scammers was posing as a big telecommunications company. The scam clue here was the email domain I applied to did not match the web address of the real company. Another common story I hear from students is being offered a scam job after posting their resumé on a

I was promised a lot of money and amazing perks for very little effort. These were part-time entry-level jobs requiring little experience. All the hiring managers told me I could work from home.

One company offered me a free MacBook Pro and iPad One company offered me a free MacBook Pro and iPad. Another said I would get 30 days of paid vacation annually and a free trip anywhere in the world for my family and me. One employer offered $3,000 per month for 10 to 20 hours of work per week. Another offered $3,200 monthly for a f lexible 20-hour workweek. My most lucrative offer was a whopping $1,470 weekly for full-time work as a remote human resources assistant.

My spam filter worked

Some of the scammers’ communications went directly to my Gmail spam folder. Apparently, spam detection works. While I have heard of legitimate professional communications being accidentally filtered to the junk folder, it is worth some extra consideration if a job offer is detected as spam.

Their websites seemed (sort of) legit

The websites of each of the scams I applied for were polished and professional. They had modern designs and well-written descriptions. On the surface, they seemed legitimate. When I dug a little deeper, however, a new picture emerged. A reverse image search of the staff headshots confirmed they were stock photos. I pasted the company description into Google and found it was stolen from a legitimate organization. In 2019, it is not hard to purchase a real website domain and piece other people’s writing into a free website template. Scammers can easily put on a facade of legitimacy.

They never interviewed me

I never spoke to anyone. We only communicated by email. A primary red flag for scam jobs is that there is no interview. This does not happen with real jobs. No employer will hire you without talking to you first. They will also typically expect to check your references. Let’s be real: you could be a terrible hire. Without an interview, why would an employer trust you? How would they know you are even capable of the job? Still — I have heard of people being scammed after a Skype interview. An interview does not guarantee legitimacy.

Their grammar and spelling were a little off

While some of our communications were well-written, others were less so. My suspicion is that my scammers had a bank of templates to copy and paste from. One of my contacts claimed to be in Canada, but they accidentally called Manitoba a state. The suspiciously named Canadian

Work Employment Agency asked me, “Are you agree to work with us?” Of course, honest people make grammatical errors in emails every day. The strange part here was the inconsistency. My contacts would sometimes send me perfect emails. Other emails gave me the impression they were not communicating with me in their first language. Odd formatting errors gave me the impression they were pasting partial information from a template.

Phone numbers would go to a robot

When I dialed the business numbers listed by each of my contacts, I was greeted by a generic computerautomated message. The business name was not listed and there was no way to get to a live person. I never spoke on the phone with any of my supposed employers. These were clearly not real companies. Real companies have real phones.

Bitcoins and Google Play gift cards

Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I prefer to be paid in Canadian dollars. If an employer starts talking about Bitcoins, like mine did, run for the hills. They asked for my banking details and said they would set up a bitcoin wallet which I would need to fill with money in order to pay for goods and services my customers required. Obviously, they would have emptied that wallet immediately. Don’t worry, I didn’t fall for it. Another common tactic is to scam you by getting you to purchase Google Play gift cards. A real employer will not do this. Run.

What are they after, anyway?

At the end of the day, scammers are after two things: your money or your identity.

Many will wire you money, say they sent you too much, then ask for some back before the money officially clears. You will send them the requested amount then they will disappear. Their initial cheque will bounce. Now you, because you are an honest person with a real bank account, are out whatever money you sent them. Another common scam is to ask you to purchase gift cards, to buy a computer program, for example. They might send you money to reimburse you and ask for the gift card numbers. Next, they will keep the cards, but let their money to you bounce. Now you are out whatever you spent on gift cards. The scammers were also after photos of my identification, like my passport and driver’s license. One scammer stopped talking to me when I refused to send scans of my identification and a selfie of me holding my ID. Other scams are looking for your Social Insurance Number or your credit card information.

Be diligent — these are not easy to spot

Even as a know-it-all career development professional, I had my doubts along the way. Despite the enormous red flags, I had the nagging thought, “What if this is real?” I mean, who doesn’t want a remote job with great perks? Trust your gut: if something feels off, it probably is. Ask for help from a career development professional or seek other opportunities.

Reporting

To complete this scam saga, I tattled. If you find a scam, you can report it online to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or the Competition Bureau.

RE: “Sustainability week comes to the U of M” RACHEL BERNHARDT

U

MSU recently spent a week, from March 18 to 22, promoting sustainable practices through a variety of diverse workshops and games. This week was a good opportunity to expose students to one of the biggest issues that society, and the world, is facing. I believe, however, there is a fundamental flaw with how the university is tackling sustainability. Dedicating a week to promoting environmental sustainability simply is not the solution to such a big issue. I am aware of some of the solutions the university has implemented to minimize our ecological footprint and impact on the environment. For example, in response to the plastic

straw movement, restaurants at the recycling bin. This practice is taught tually every garbage can is a blue Campo no longer give out straws to students at a young age. However, recycling bin. These bins are unforunless requested. That seems like a with China’s recent restrictions on tunately often misused, with items good way to reduce the amount of foreign waste, many more of recy- that are not recyclable being thrown plastic disposed of each day. However, clables can end up in the landfill. The into them. considering that To increase plastic cutlery is the effectiveness still offered and these bins, I believe, however, there is a fundamental flaw of is probably used the university more often by with how the university is tackling sustainability should better students than inform students plastic straws on what can and ever were means alternative types of university should consider switching cannot be recycled. cutlery need to be considered. to alternatives like aluminum cans Lastly, walking around the uniThe majority of drink machines due to the greater market for recycled versity, there is an exorbitant numoffered around campus dispense metals than recycled plastics. ber of posters pasted up on the wall, plastic bottles. Most people do not The university has done an excel- advertising and promoting various think twice about this. They have lent job at giving the students the events and positions. Many of these their drink and then place it into a opportunity to recycle. Next to vir- posters go unnoticed by students. It

would be virtually impossible, or, at the very least, quite challenging to fully eliminate the use of paper posters. However, further encouraging the use of electronic promoting and advertising, would eliminate the amount of paper used daily. I know there are various student groups around campus working extremely hard to introduce sustainable practices on campus and their efforts and activism should be recognized and applauded. However, sustainability is an issue that needs to be addressed by each student and the university needs to continue evaluating current practices to better help the environment.

10 Comment

Comment Editor: Jacob Singleton Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

A call for solidarity It is time to institutionalize the solidarity shown in the wake of tragedy JACOB SINGLETON, STAFF

GRAPHICS BY EVAN TREMBLAY

T

he corrosive wave of right-wing politics and fascism’s many forms is inter-faith meetings, community outThere is a need to practice soliideologies around the world can its rejection of human solidarity. ings and celebrations of our shared darity as well as speak the language only be confronted with the indefatiAnd that is why a politics of soli- humanity to fill the streets. of solidarity. The workplace remains gable force of human solidarity. darity is the only feasible weapon Rather, these events should be a site of common human struggle In the wake of the tragedy at capable of combating the killer’s regularly held with the full backing where cross-cultural connections Christchurch, New Zealand, where spreading and gruesome ideology. of government. can be built and cemented. Fascism is nearly a self-defeating over 50 Muslims were killed and The response to the Christchurch Solidarity must also permeate another 50 were injured by a white massacre is forming the basis of a new the economic realm as well. It is not ideology. Its call for the fractionalizasupremacist, demonstrations of politics of solidarity. So far, solidarity enough to publicly gather when the tion and violence against sections of solidarity with Muslim communi- in response to the tragedy has focused work day ends. humanity, which is precisely why it ties have been the norm. From New on rejecting discrimination and vioThe work day itself must be a place inevitably fails. Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda lence against Muslim communities. of solidarity and humanity’s fortitude. However, it still must be defeated. Ardern’s warm embrace of surviving The central mode of expressing this The labour movement was fractional- Left unchecked, it will grow like victims and family members of those solidarity have been vigils and inter- ized along racial categories in Canada cancer and consume large sectors of killed to international gatherings of faith gatherings. society. Therefore, a support and mourning, solidarity has This is a politics of solidarity It should not take a tragedy for inter-faith strong foundabeen a guiding force throughout. must also confront The force of solidarity has many tion for a politithose who carry meetings, community outings and celebrations water for people like fronts. At the most basic level, cal movement however, solidarity asserts that we built on solidarthe Christchurch of our shared humanity to fill the streets are human beings first, before any- ity, but a more murderer. thing else, and our shared humanity proactive plan Conservativism obliges us to ensure dignity, comfort would provide a basis to address for most of its existence. However, is not fascism. But leading conservaand safety is built and fortified for the underlying disease feeding the anti-racism is now a firm plank of the tive parties across the country share everyone. attacks, racism and hate. labour movement. Workers in unions stages and platforms with proponents Of course, this strikes against the For one, the existing displays of call each other “brother” and “sister” of fascism and pay nothing for it. heart of everything the killer and the solidarity should be made permanent. to underscore their shared humanConservative party leader Andrew growing movement that produced Far too often communities across ity, common goals and willingness Scheer attended the Yellow Vests’ him stands for. White supremacy nations develop insular tendencies. to stand side-by-side to defend each “United We Roll” rally in Ottawa manifests in different ways: cultural While Canada has one of the most other. in February. The Canadian Yellow supremacy, racial supremacy and reli- integrated and cross-cultural socieAll workplaces should adopt the Vest movement is filled with white gious supremacy. To be clear, there ties, it can do a better job at facilitat- language, mind-frame and practice nationalists and anti-Muslim rhetoare other variations of supremacy and ing public celebrations and gatherings of the labour movement. Solidarity ric. Yet Scheer will suffer no serious fascism outside the scope of white which are designed to strengthen is as much an economic struggle as a political fallout for supporting Yellow supremacy. However, the common people’s bond. struggle against racism, violence and Vest types. denominator across all supremacy It should not take a tragedy for discrimination. Scheer has also peddled conspira-

cies and talking points shared among fascist circles. In December, Scheer said Canada’s adoption of the UN Global Compact for Migration would strip Canada of its sovereignty on immigration and potentially give it to “foreign bureaucrats.” This plays into the conspiratorial narrative of the far-right that there are globalists (often described as Jewish) trying to replace white people. The former immigration minister Chris Alexander, who served under Stephen Harper, had to take to Twitter to remind Scheer that the UN compact was a non-binding declaration. Again, Scheer will pay no political price for legitimizing this cancerous element of Canadian society. Solidarity means confronting the lies designed to fragment humanity, especially when they come from major political institutions like the Conservative party. Scheer faces no political backlash from his supporters because politics of solidarity have weak institutional support. In the end, solidarity cannot just be a short-lived expression or even just a shift in language. It requires a massive systemic approach that implements structural solutions to the ever-growing problem of fascism.

THREE MINUTE THESIS

COMPETITION

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2019 WINNERS! DR. ARCHIE MCNICOL PRIZE FIRST PLACE

THIRD PLACE

Kevin Boreskie

Biosystems Engineering (Master’s)

Applied Health Sciences (Doctoral) UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA RETIREES ASSOCIATION SECOND PLACE

Justine Hudson Biological Sciences (Master’s)

SEE ALL OF THE FINALISTS’ PRESENTATIONS AT

UMANITOBA.CA/3MT

Avery Simundsson PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Kashfia Shafiq

Human Anatomy and Cell Science (Master’s) Stay tuned to UM Today to find out how to vote for Kevin in the Western Regional Competition on April 17.

Diversions 12 Graphics Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: graphics@themanitoban.com / 474.6775

PALLISTER-BABY:

PREVIOUSLY...

Get away from my home!

disapproves of blotter paper No.26 Huff

!

Huff

...Gah! Errr...

They’re not here...

Mom! Dad! Grandma! It’s Neoma! I’m back. I’m so sorry!

Nobody’s here! What was I thinking? The whole village is gone.

SCOTT A. FORD #BOREALCOMIC CATCH UP ON BOREAL AT THEMANITOBAN.COM

?

They’re gone... but they’re alive!

I won’t be long. I know the way through the mountains.

It’s just past these trees.

Features Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6520

VO L 1 0 2 · N O 3 0 · A P R I L 3 , 2 0 1 9

I

the MC speak and watching the dancers don their regalia and walk past the crowd, it was impossible not to feel some connection. This is the history of our land, and the history of the people who inhabited it far before us. In this feature, I am honoured to have my photographs accompanied by the writing of Winona Wamblie Littlesky, this year’s Miss Manito Ahbee Youth Ambassador, and Darryl Buck, a Round Dance organizer and accomplished musician. The photographs here were taken at Indigenous Day Live 2018, the Orange Shirt Day Pow wow, and the 2018 Pride Two Spirit Pow wow.

CREDIT

Quincy Houdayer,

Photographer

Darryl Buck, Author Winona Wamblie Littlesky, Author

IN ALL DIRECTIONS

first started photographing powwows and other Indigenous cultural events for the Manitoban in early 2018. Not being raised in this community, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Often at news events, I feel a certain disconnect from what is happening in front of me. I am not usually there to participate but to document. After arriving at my first powwow, listening to

Many thanks to Winona and Darryl for their words. Enjoy.

QUINCY HOUDAYER

Features

Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6520

14

DARRYL BUCK, Round Dance Time hen you enter the building you instantly W smell the beautiful aroma of smudge and food. Hearing the sincerity in the words of wisdom

of the elders conducting the pipe ceremony, as the younger ones eagerly put in their part where they might be of help while preparing the feast is culturally nourishing to witness. The sound of the elders’ prayers gives sustenance to all around. There is a spiritual and peaceful essence that thrives in these moments leading to a night full of energy. This is a good way to start off the festivities, however, with the finishing the pipe ceremony, feast and with the closing words of the elders, they share motivation and inspiration with the dancers, singers and spectators. The anticipation itself is enough to motivate the crowd. To begin with, the floor is cleared and a table is positioned at the centre of the spectacle. Hand drums are gathered from the guidance of the elderly and veteran round dance folk. The event is underway as they turn over the festivities to the master of ceremonies. There is when it is announced an appointed stickman and a whip man whose responsibilities range from choosing the order of singers, arrangements of honourings, organizing the giveaway, passing tobacco to dignitaries and directing the appropriate protocols to the occasion. These are among the few responsibilities carried out in order to an otherwise excellent start and great turn out for this social gathering. This is a ceremony that has a mandate like any and all social gatherings to be free of drugs and alcohol. Including a disclosure made clear publicly by the co-ordinators that they are not responsible for underfunded travellers, stolen or damaged property and also divorces or break ups. Initially, a sound is made by the drums four times as a calling in all directions to come gather and join in on this celebration of life. The drum call is referred to and taught as the heartbeat of mother earth, also known as a double beat goes through the air. The songs heard throughout are alluring in nature and captivates the crowd as all join hand in hand in a dance called a “healing dance.” In this dance people hold hands and dance in a circular order. It is said time and again that the grandfathers (spirits) and the spirit world is connected as we give and take through this sacred ceremony. Hence the rise of spiritual enlightenment and this is one of the elements procured from attending this gathering. A sense of sadness is felt as the closing is announced, but all good things must come to an end. Only to have us start another beautiful day.

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VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

“I’ve traveled to many different powwows across Canada and the United States to bring awareness about our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, but to also educate all people on the issue’’ — Winona Wamblie Littlesky

WINONA WAMBLIE LITTLESKY y name is Winona Wamblie Littlesky, M also known by my Nakoda

wow and I carry the crown and sash that comes with this title to honour the memory of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Being able to represent this title as Miss Manito Ahbee Youth Ambassador has been by far the most honourable experience I’ve had. I’ve travelled to many different powwows across Canada and the United States to bring awareness about our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, but to also educate all people on the issue.

name Ta Makoche Hugan Wiyan, meaning Her Land Boss Woman. I am 17 years old and from the Oglala Lakota tribe, and Stoney Nakoda. I live at the Bearspaw First Nation near Calgary, Alta. I come from a long line of powwow dancThroughout my travels ers, including my late father I have the honour of repreKidd Littlesky. I am a tradi- senting Amanda Jane Cook tional dancer and also enjoy and her family. Amanda Jane singing backup to the drums. Cook was murdered at the I bead and sew and make my age of 14 in 1996. own regalia in my traditional Her case remains unsolved. Nakota/Lakota designs and Amanda is deeply missed and colours. loved by her family, friends and her community. My covI was crowned the Miss enant is to be the best role Manito Ahbee Youth model I can be for her and Ambassador this past year others. at the Manito Ahbee pow-

I also represent the Manito Ahbee Festival. Whether it is a speaking engagement, a powwow, or a family gathering, I always wear my crown and sash with pride and bring awareness to this great event. The Manito Ahbee Festival is a gathering that celebrates Indigenous culture and heritage to unify, educate and inspire all. Wopila Tanká About the Manito Ahbee Festival: Manito Ahbee Festival celebrates Indigenous arts, culture, and music in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The 14th annual festival is May 15-19, 2019 and features the powwow, Indigenous Music Awards presented by Casinos of Winnipeg, Indigenous Music Conference, Indigenous Marketplace and Trade Show, Getting Jiggy With It, Art Expo, Art Challenge and Youth Education Day.

Features

Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6520

16

Join us for this special celebration honouring University of Manitoba Indigenous graduates

Saturday, May 4

Investors Group Athletic Centre 11 AM

Pipe ceremony

1 PM

Grand entry

3 PM

Honouring graduates

4 PM

Feast and Pow Wow dancing Métis entertainment resumes

6 PM

Pow Wow specials

7 PM

Closing prayer and payouts

This is a free event and everyone is welcome Indigenous graduates, please register to be honoured at the celebration:

UMANITOBA.CA/INDIGENOUS

Care about it?

Write about it. Help us tell the stories that matter to U of M students. email me@themanitoban.com to find out about volunteering opportunities.

Yuri’s Night Winnipeg Planetarium Dance Party featuring The Shake, Grimace, & Adam Scott with Winnipeg VJs Toxic Prophecy & Jabez Lee. Space-themed costume contest, demos, refreshment, and all kinds of science fun!

Apr 6 • 7 PM – 1 AM Tickets at ManitobaMuseum.ca @ManitobaMuseum #yurisnightwpg

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Arts & Culture Arts & Culture Editor: Emelia Fournier Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Slunt Factory celebrates six-month anniversary

Local drag collective showcases new talent AMIN MONTAZERI POUR AGHA, STAFF

PHOTO BY GRAEME HOUSSIN

S

lunt Factory will be celebrating its six-month anniversary with Slunt: A Drag Showcase April 7 at Club 200. The showcase will feature special guests Feather Queen and Sapphoria. Slunt Factory was co-founded in September 2018 by Dirt (Brielle Dorais-Fleming), Moxie Cotton (Caity Maskiew) and Stara David (Ezi Raizen). Their first event was held Oct. 31, 2018. Slunt Factory hosts events on the first Sunday of every month. The group’s mandate is to create a safe space for drag performers, with a focus on introducing new talent to the community. “We focus on making a space for new performers, people who have maybe not had a chance to experience the scene before or who are having a hard time finding their way into the performance scene,” said Dirt.

“We want to help build bridges makeup, costumes, music, comedy lots of makeup or people like me who between new performers and old per- and other art forms. are drag kings, so kind of an exaggerformers, we want to help them have a “Drag is really any sort of artistic ated or warped version of masculinity,” stable monthly thing where they can expression of gender,” said Dirt. said Dirt. come and perform and hopefully get “Often that comes out in a club Moxie Cotton defined drag as paid,” they added. scene as someone very performatively “performative gender,” where some“We wanted one of any gender to give young exaggerates and queens a place to deconstructs gen“Drag has brought me nothing but joy get some experider constraints. and community and family” — Moxie ence to try new Moxie Cotton things, to perform explained that Cotton, Slunt Factory co-founder where they know drag consists of a they’re not going myriad of differto be judged,” said ent performance Moxie Cotton. dressed up in a super exaggerated ver- types, such as lip syncing, dancing Slunt Factory has also featured sion of a gender. or ballads that are often performed drag artists from different Canadian “Whether that’s like drag queens, on a stage, usually for a club audience. cities in an effort to connect drag you can be these extremely, overtly Dirt explained that they, Stara communities across Canada. feminine people or sometimes it’s David and Moxie Cotton are all Dirt, who performs as a drag king, kind of a mix, you see a couple of non-binary people who were assigned said drag is a form of entertainment queens in town who will have a full female at birth. Winnipeg’s commuthat plays with gender through beard but also these huge wigs and nity has been supportive, caring and

inclusive to the three performers, according to Dirt and Moxie Cotton. “As for Winnipeg’s drag community as a whole, I find it’s really quite accepting. There are a lot of [drag communities] where people who are assigned female at birth would not be as accepted as we are,” said Dirt. Moxie Cotton has also thrived in Winnipeg’s drag community. “Drag has brought me nothing but joy and community and family,” Moxie Cotton said. “Everyone here is amazing.” Slunt: A Drag Showcase will be held at Club 200 on April 7. Cover is $5. For more information or to get involved with Slunt Factory, contact their Facebook page, their Instagram @sluntfactory or email them at sluntfactory@gmail.com.

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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor: Emelia Fournier Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Manitoban indie music festival shines on Shine On becomes Hoot Owl EMELIA FOURNIER, STAFF

PHOTO BY CARY BILCOWSKI

H

oot Owl Festival of Music and Art, formally known as Shine On, returns for its 15th year Aug. 22-25. Hoot Owl is a small indie festival held on private property in Kerry, Man. This year’s festival will be headlined by Attica Riots, Sweet Alibi, Micah Erenberg Band, Mobina Galore, Bullrider and the Honest Heart Collective. The last edition of the festival known as Shine On was held in 2017. After the previous festival organizer moved away, Shine On volunteer Lisa Mills was put in charge of the festival by the landowner in 2018, and Shine On became Hoot Owl. Rylie Saunders and Kevin Repay were hired to help with event management and promotion a month before Hoot Owl 2018 to help with promotion and management. Saunders and Repay are both members of the Village Idiots, a local music production and promotion company. “We noticed they had a good lineup [in 2018], and then us as the Village Idiots actually reached out because we realized they weren’t really advertising or promoting,” said Saunders.

After last year’s Hoot Owl, Repay festival,” said Repay. musical acts whose energy would and Saunders became co-owners of “Because we created the festival,” mesh well with the festival’s ethos. the festival along with Mills. They finished Saunders. Mills, Repay and Saunders ran open have distributed responsibilities Saunders said Hoot Owl provides submissions for the 2019 musical among them, with Repay as the a non-judgmental place for people lineup, looking for diversity and acts art director, Saunders as the music to party. that attendees would be most excited director and Mills as the operations “That’s the goal, you just want eve- about. They picked old favourites like director. ryone to have a good time, feel com- the Remedies, but varied the acts from previous Repay a nd Saunders a re years. “The people there are what bring out “We wanted involved with an art instalment artists that really the personality of the festival” — Rylie at the Winnipeg want to play the Saunders, co-owner and music director Folk Festival, host festival, of course, events as part of that would be at the Village Idiots the festival anyand are regular attendees of other pletely safe, everyone should be able way,” said Saunders. Manitoban festivals. to feel like they can be themselves,” Last year, the Thursday night of “We’re trying to take the best said Saunders. the festival was only a sound check pieces of all the festivals that we’ve Campground safety volunteers, as night. Hoot Owl 2019 will have a full ever attended and bring them into well as the festival co-owners, the headliner night with four bands. one,” said Repay. friendly landowner known as Al to In addition to expanding the Saunders said running Live at the attendees, and a local family who musical acts, Repay and Saunders Roslyn as part of the Village Idiots runs the site’s café will be onsite to are bringing in large-scale art instalhas essentially allowed him to throw ensure people feel safe and welcomed. ments and structures that are featured a weekly party. He said he is excited “We have a pretty straightforward at many other music festivals. to run a larger scale event. safe space policy [...] like don’t be a Art and crafts, Big Games com“We’re just looking at it from the dick to anybody, and if somebody’s pany’s oversize versions of famous fact that we want to throw a success- feeling unsafe, it should be in their games and a Sunday workshop will ful party,” said Saunders. right and their availability to let also be featured this year to expand “If I make no money, if I come out somebody know and that should be what the festival has to offer. of there at zero dollars, it’s better than addressed,” said Repay. Saunders and Repay said they me having gone to someone else’s The three co-owners also picked want to bring more light into the fes-

tival’s nights with lit up animations. “We want to have more of that Folk Fest vibe when you walk around late at night [...] we’re taking submissions for that,” said Saunders. Repay and Saunders are trying to illuminate the beauty of the festival, rather than drastically change it. “The heart of Shine On, that’s what people love [...] and we’re just trying to make sure we do it justice, make sure people know it’s still happening,” said Saunders. All the organization and planning that goes into the festival is important, but the people attending are what make Hoot Owl special, according to Saunders. “The people there are what bring out the personality of the festival,” said Saunders. Early bird prices are available until April 30. Hoot Owl 2019 is BYOB, free for children under 12 and dog friendly. Camping is included in the ticket price. For more information, the full lineup or to get involved, visit the Hoot Owl 2019 Facebook page or email hootowlfestival@gmail.com. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com/event/3919671.

VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

Arts & Culture

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Telling refugee stories through song Ben Caplan brings latest album to Winnipeg AMIN MONTAZERI POUR AGHA, STAFF

album’s themes address the current turmoil around immigration. One of Stephen Harper’s comments in the 2015 federal election campaign helped prompt Caplan to undertake a project featuring a refugee romance.

“There is no such thing as more or less Canadian” — Ben Caplan

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAMIE V KRONICK

C

anadian singer-songwriter, cian has been about trying to colperformer and entertainer Ben laborate with people who know more Caplan will be performing at the than me, who are more talented than West End Cultural Centre April 6. me and slowly soaking up the little The concert will feature songs off things that they know,” said Caplan. his latest album, Old Stock, as well as The songs from Old Stock were originally composed for the musitracks from previous records. Caplan’s music is inf luenced cal theatre production he co-created by diverse genres such as eastern entitled Old Stock: A Refugee Love European folk music, Balkan brass, Story. Caplan wrote the songs for the Klezmer and Roma music. musical along with director Christian “The story of my career as a musi- Berry, while Hannah Moscovitch

wrote the musical’s script. His Canadian tour will end in Toronto with a five-week theatrical run of the musical. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story takes place in 1908 and follows the story of two Jewish Romanian refugees in Halifax. Chaim and Chaya, the protagonists, are based on Moscovitch’s great-grandparents. Despite taking place in the past, the musical and the accompanying

Caplan recounted that Harper “made a distinction between new Canadians and ‘old stock Canadians,’ and I was very disturbed by that distinction that there could be a kind of person who was more or less Canadian, in my opinion. “There is no such thing as more or less Canadian.” Caplan sought to draw the audience to the hypocrisy of modern-day xenophobia by relating it back to Canadian immigrants in the early 20th century. “This idea of drawing a distinction between people who have more complex ethnic backgrounds, that have identities that

involve a place of origin that is not Canada and people who have a more unified or a more singular identity, I think is deeply problematic and, at its heart, racist,” said Caplan. Caplan was also pushed to write Old Stock after seeing the image of the young Syrian boy Alan Kurdi, whose body came ashore on the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean. Deeply disturbed by this tragedy, Caplan decided to help create a humanizing story about refugees. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, winning top festival honours. In between the play’s international tour performances, Caplan has played concerts showcasing the musical’s accompanying album across Europe, Australia and North America. “I hope the audience will leave [the show] with a sense of the joy and the whimsy that is inherent in life as well as the chaos and darkness that is inherent in life,” he said. “I try to hold both wholes in my hands and move through both the light and the dark with humour and joy, so I hope that people will leave with a rich sense of the absurd and the duality of life.” Ben Caplan will be playing at the West End Cultural Centre April 6. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.ca.

A decade of fantasy and superheroes Game of Thrones and Marvel’s Cinematic Universe are 2010s icons ZACHARY SIGURDSON, STAFF

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very decade is defined by certain office of US$18.4 billion. cultural elements. Game of Thrones, on the other There was the British Invasion hand, is an HBO medieval fantasy of the 1960s, then disco and series depicting the conflicts between Blaxploitation cinema in the early various families over the iron throne, ’70s. These are tied to the political and dragons and ice zombies included, social landscapes of their day as well and premiered April 17, 2011. as the structures and trends in their Adapted from George R. R. various industries. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books In 30 years, when people throw which have has become the second 2010s nostalgia parties, they would best-selling epic fantasy series after be woefully incomplete without The Lord of the Rings with over 90 milreference to the Marvel Cinematic lion copies sold worldwide. The Game of Thrones final season Universe (MCU) and HBO’s Game of Thrones. approaches with season seven reguBoth of these properties reach larly drawing in over 10 million viewtheir respective climaxes this April ers and garnering 38 Emmy Awards, with Avengers: Endgame premiering second only to Saturday Night Live’s April 26 and the eighth and final sea- Emmy wins. Episode budgets have son of Game of Thrones on April 14. grown from US$6 million to US$15 A decade has been defined by million. these franchises and the world has What is the point of this? certainly been affected by them. It is important to understand what The MCU and the correspond- our culture is valuing, consider the ing wave of superhero films began in effects it has had on us and how we 2008 with Iron Man and, arguably, got here. The Dark Knight. The MCU’s inf luence on the Since 2008, the MCU has had 21 industry was immediate once 2012’s films which have been immensely The Avengers proved the validity of popular worldwide with a global box a cinematic shared universe. The

rival DC Extended Universe has The books’ and show’s excessive had mixed results and several other use of nudity, sexual violence and ongoing franchises, such as Godzilla/ female objectification has often come King Kong or The Conjuring, have into conflict with feminist themes attempted to bring together various of empowered warrior women and independent movies into an ongoing politically shrewd queens, a debate universe. that will likely remain ongoing. The 2008 financial crisis, the U.S.’s Regardless, men and woman watch war on terror and American presiden- the show in roughly equal numbers. cies all hang over the cultural zeitGame of Thrones’ labyrinthine geist. Given the content of films like power politics has always been an Black Panther and Captain America: intentional parallel. The original The Winter Soldier, MCU’s films are inspiration for the books was a high not mere escapism. fantasy retelling of the 15th century What does the popularity of Game Wars of the Roses and a deconstrucof Thrones imply? It continues the suc- tion of fantasy tropes where heroes cess of period political dramas such as win and evil is defeated. The main arc of the series where HBO’s Rome or The Tudors. Does it simply offer the high fantasy fix we’ve immediate political conflicts over stamissed since The Lord of the Rings: tus and wealth distract from larger Return of the King? and more devastating threats seems Game of Thrones has often been all too real for our current political cited as an only slightly exagger- and ecological landscape. Author ated reflection of European history George R. R. Martin has confirmed and Machiavellian power politics. it as an allegory for climate change, Concepts such as Realpolitik, hard even when writing the books in the and soft power and political legiti- 1990s. macy have all been reflected from The Cato Institute held a panel various perspectives throughout the after Game of Thrones’ seventh seaseries. son in which panelists discussed the

series’ allegories and themes of intellectual monopolization, economic stagnation and even nuclear strategy. Multiple real-world politicians have been compared to Game of Thrones characters on numerous occasions. April will bring a watershed moment in the entertainment industry. Both the MCU and Game of Thrones have had an immense impact on our wider culture and reach a longawaited finale, however, this will not be the end. Phase four of the MCU films continue in production. A Game of Thrones spinoff series has been in the works under the tentative title The Long Night. Game of Thrones and the MCU have had a marked effect on our entertainment industry. Blockbusters are bigger and more spectacular and our television dramas are more labyrinthine and violent. These are big, sweeping stories populated with characters that we care about, providing entertainment while holding up a mirror to our current reality.

Put down your phone. 100 Manitobans die on our roads each year. Over 1/3 of those fatalities involve a distracted driver. But we know what to do. Together we can save them.

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VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

Arts & Culture

Springtime in the big city ALEX DECEBAL CUZA

Temperatures in Winnipeg climbed to 7 degrees as spring arrived on the Fort Garry campus Monday.

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Sports Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

Former Bison moving across Prairies

Thirty-seven current and former U Sports athletes drafted in CEBL draft KELLEN TANIGUCHI, STAFF

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ormer Bisons basketball guard Justus Alleyn is headed across the Prairies. The six-foot-three guard was selected in the third round — 16th overall — of the inaugural Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) draft by the Saskatchewan Rattlers March 23. Alleyn had a breakout year during the 2017-18 season and won the Canada West scoring title — the first by a member of the Bisons in program history. He dominated the court in his senior season, leading the Bisons charge with 24.1 points per game and over three assists and three rebounds per game. The guard was named a Canada West first team all-star and won the Bison Male Athlete of the Year award at the 2018 Brown and Gold Gala. Not only did Alleyn bring talent to the court — he brought leadership. The Winnipeg native captained the Bisons during the 2016-17 and 201718 seasons. The wealth of experience Alleyn also brings makes his selection early in the CEBL draft a no-brainer. He wore the maple leaf during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and helped the team win a silver medal. The medal was the first ever won by Canada in men’s basketball at the games. Alleyn also led the Bisons in scoring during the 2016-17 season with 17.4 points per game, leading the school to its first nationals berth in over three decades. The Bisons lost to McGill University in the quarterfinals at that year’s national championship. The University of Winnipeg will

athletes drafted. “This is going to give our Canadianbased student-athletes in basketball a real opportunity to continue to play at an elite level,” said U Sports president and chief executive officer Graham Brown to Bison Sports.

“Congratulations to all the players who got drafted — it’s a historic time for a Canadian basketball fan” — Mike Morreale, Canadian Elite Basketball League CEO

also be represented in the inaugural season of the CEBL. Thirdyear guard Narcisse Ambanza was selected in the first round of the U Sports portion of the draft by the Edmonton Stingers. Ambanza is coming off a career year with the Wesmen, averaging more than 18 points, six rebounds

and six assists per game. “It gives me immense pleasure to see such amazing talent represent the league and its six teams,” said Mike Morreale, chief executive officer of the CEBL to Bison Sports. “Congratulations to all the players who got drafted — it’s a historic time for a Canadian basketball fan.”

“Now with the CEBL, you can pursue both during the offseason and when your schooling is done, opportunities beyond U Sports basketball.” Fans of both Alleyn and Ambanza may not have to make the long journey to go see the two local products play in the future, as Morreale hinted there are already plans to bring pro basketball to Winnipeg. PHOTO BY JEFF AND TARA MILLER “I can tell you that Winnipeg is on our target list 100 per cent,” Morreale The CEBL has six teams ready told the Winnipeg Free Press. to lace up and play in the inauguAlleyn and Ambanza will begin ral season. Hamilton, Guelph, St. their new journeys when the 20-game Catharines, Edmonton, Abbotsford inaugural season tips off on May 9, and Saskatoon will all be home to 2019. professional Canadian basketball this year. U Sports is heavily represented in the CEBL, with 37 current or former

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Sports

Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

From university to the pros Multiple Canada West players sign pro deals, reveal untapped talent market JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS

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hile most Canadian univer- Flames a complete player, with high Edward Island Panther Joel Ward some professional experience. years old. So while most junior playsity students have turned their offensive upside and plenty of poten- recently finished his NHL career The aforementioned Craig spent ers enter the pro ranks in the latter attention to final exams and term tial left to unlock. with the San Jose Sharks after a dec- some time in the AHL prior to stages of puberty, U Sports players papers, a few of their peers have Philp was not the only Golden ade in the league. joining the Golden Bears, while are already full-grown adults and can something else in mind. A select few Bears player to sign a pro deal in Many professional hockey teams Manitoba’s Brett Stovin played step right into the pros as physical young men have signed contracts to March. Defenders Jason Fram and have begun to see the benefits in sign- for the Missouri Mavericks of the equals to their peers. become professional hockey players. Graeme Craig signed with the ing players from Canadian universi- ECHL before committing to the Only the best talents available in In recent weeks, Canada West — KHL’s Kunlun Red Star and AHL’s ties, and as more players have success Bisons. the junior and NCAA ranks hit the or more specifically the University of Manitoba Moose, respectively, in these leagues the spotlight may So instead of spending years hop- NHL right at 18 or 19. Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey while goaltender ing a junior player =Most prospects spend at least team — has seen multiple high-pro- Zach Sawchenko will develop into a some time in the minors, working file players sign professional deals, signed with the Not only are they more developed talent-wise, professional cali- and developing their game, getting many of whom still have years of U AHL’s San Jose U Sports players are more physically developed bre talent through ready for the next step. Sports eligibility left. Barracuda. time in the minors U Sports players, though, get to compared to their younger counterparts The biggest splash came courtesy The Moose also — or can step right take the experience of junior hockey of Alberta forward Luke Philp who tapped some local into the pros at 18 and develop as players and people is expected to take his talents to the talent, bringing — with Canadian in an adult environment. They grow NHL next year. U of M Bisons netminder Byron finally turn to a valuable hidden gem university players what you see is into professional, complete players all On March 19, TSN’s Bob Spriggs on board with an amateur in Canadian sports. close to what you get. on someone else’s dime, while NHL, McKenzie reported the Calgary tryout agreement. He was released U Sports has the benefit of having Not only are they more devel- AHL, KHL and other professional Flames were close to signing Philp two days later without seeing any a player base aged 21 to 25 years old, oped talent-wise, U Sports players leagues can reap the benefits. to an entry-level contract. It was later time in the lineup. allowing them to develop their game are more physically developed comIf players like Philp, Fram and announced by the club it signed the The inclusion of more U Sports amongst men, while NCAA players pared to their younger counterparts. Sawchenko succeed in the upper echCanmore-born forward to a two-year players in the professional ranks — and more specifically major junior These players have reached physical elons of the sport, we may one day see deal. shows a continued trend of pro teams players — largely leave their leagues maturity and do not need to put in U Sports become a destination and The signing came as no surprise. mining Canadian universities for at younger ages. the requisite time an 18-year-old not a last resort. Philp had garnered NHL buzz for developed talent. Signing a U Sports player lands a junior player would to get ready for months prior, recording 45 points — The Flames already boast former team a fully developed talent, right a man’s game. 21 goals and 24 assists — in 24 games Golden Bears centre Derek Ryan, around their prime — generally 23 to The average NHL player is around for Alberta this year. He goes to the while former University of Prince 26 years old — who may already have 200 lbs, stands six-foot-one and is 27

VOL. 105 NO. 30 April 3, 2019

Sports

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Hovi joins professional champion ranks Former Bison wins first professional championship in CWHL JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

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ormer U of M Bisons women’s hockey player Venla Hovi has another addition for her alreadystacked mantel. With multiple international medals, a national championship and numerous individual accolades to her name, Hovi is now a professional champion. With a 5-2 win over Les Canadiennes de Montreal, Hovi

a cherry on top.” The win comes on the heels of a whirlwind 2018 for the Finnish forward. Hovi won bronze at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, flew home to Winnipeg right after for the Canada West conference finals where she was a key difference maker for the Bisons, then helped the program win its first national title. The following summer she was drafted by the Inferno and began her professional career. While the league did not publish official attendance numbers for the final, watching on television it was PHOTO BY BRANDON VANDE CAVEYE hard to find an empty seat. Fans from across the country filled Coca-Cola Coliseum to watch the and the Calgary Inferno captured CWHL final, which featured some the Canadian Women’s Hockey of the premier women’s talent, includLeague (CWHL) championship — ing Team Canada star Marie-Philip the Clarkson Cup. Poulin who dressed but never left the The win was the second in fran- Montreal bench. chise history for the Inferno and the After playing in multiple Olympic first for Hovi. winter games and women’s ice hockey “Honestly, it felt so great,” Hovi world championships for Finland said. Hovi is used to large crowds, but she “I’m very grateful to have been said she could not compare those part of that team and winning was experiences to the Clarkson Cup.

“Every moment like that is so unique,” she said. The “CWHL is by far the best league I have ever played in, in terms of level of hockey, so the final was really fast and so many skilled players on both teams. The atmosphere was good and I was so happy to see so many little girls at the game.” The CWHL and its primary media rights holder Rogers did a lot to make the final a day for women and girls in the sport. The television broadcast featured an all-female broadcast team and the players were given treatment normally reserved for their male peers. “Makes me feel so happy how far we’ve come,” Hovi said. “And how great it is for [the kids] to be able to have female idols in sports.” Also sharing the ice with Hovi were the likes of USA Hockey star Hilary Knight, Manitoban Halli Krzyzaniak and the first Indigenous woman to play for Team Canada at the Olympics, Brigette Lacquette. Although the response by fans and some media gives women’s hockey

players hope their sport is finally getting the respect they feel it deserves, Hovi knows there is still work to be done. She said she has always “known that female hockey will keep growing and developing, but obviously there’s still a long way to go.” This growth will unfortunately have to happen without the CWHL, as the league announced in a press release Sunday it will cease operations in May. This leaves the Inferno as the last Clarkson Cup champion, and the future of Hovi’s professional career uncertain. Now, though, at what may seem to some as the pinnacle of her career, Hovi has little else to prove on the ice as a player, so while she wants to continue playing, the Tampere-born forward has other places in life she wants to conquer next. She said she wants to “find a job I enjoy.” “I want to start teaching ESL, coach, write about women’s hockey, keep growing the game and, obviously, enjoy life and keep busy.”

Winnipeg Transit Master Plan Winnipeg is growing and our transit system needs to grow too. In the next 25 years, we expect Winnipeg to be home to nearly one million people. Now is the time to think ahead about what kind of transit system we want to help us connect people and communities around the city in a way that is sustainable and efficient. The City of Winnipeg invites you to attend an open house to share your thoughts and help to shape our transit system for the future.

Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2019 Time: 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Location: South Winnipeg Community Centre – Waverley Site 1885 Chancellor Drive Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2019 Time: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Location: Transcona East End Community Centre 517 Pandora Ave. East

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019 Time: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Location: Seven Oaks Arena 745 Kingsbury Ave. Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Time: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Location: Sturgeon Heights Community Centre 210 Rita St.

For inquiries or for those who require alternate formats or interpretation in order to participate, please contact transitmasterplan@winnipeg.ca For more information, visit us online at: winnipeg.ca/transitmasterplan

Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2019 Time: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Location: Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain 340 Provencher Blvd. *French language services will be available

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