Jan. 22 – Feb. 04 VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS Volume 45 – Issue 9 12 09 19 JAM OUT WITH STIGMATIZED FIGHT THE YOUR CAM OUT BREEDS WINTER BLUES Nanaimo’s film scene, while relatively Imagine walking in a park on a Don’t let the Winter Blues get you young, has been seeing rapid growth beautiful day. The sun is shining down. There’s a lot a busy stu- thanks in part to the Hub City Cinema and you are basking in the summer dent can do to keep spirits high Society. Founded as a way for those heat, minding your own business. and energy boosted during these with passion to connect and collabo- Suddenly, from around a corner gloomy days, on and off campus, rate. comes a Rottweiler. for relatively cheap. A Trip to the Red Planet NEWS FEATURES ARTS SPORTS 03 08 14 19 Editorials Review: CHLY Programmer Profile: How to fight the Winter Blues The Violent Century Steve Levington 04 by Lavie Tidhar The superfood 15 Letters 09 phenomenon Stigmatized breeds: Run away with the circus 05 Mariners sweep Douglas how humans create Aerial silks for adrenaline capture first Navigating Nanaimo dangerous dogs junkies 20 10 Snowed in Comedy Tour Photo Page: Show must go on Buccanners shipwrecked by comes through Nanaimo Recipe: 16 Storm Blue-Ribbon 06 chocolate chip cookies Round table with Women’s basketball stays Moths & Locusts Nanaimo Museum celebrates 11 undefeated Chinese Lunar New Year 17 Hub City Film Jam Men’s basketball returns to Victoria based business Movie Review: perfect weekend 12 comes to Central Island American Hustle 21 Jam out with your cam out 18 The Accessible Icon Project Clippers finally Movie Review: slay Grizzlies 07 Her Men’s volleyball earns split CHLY Special General Meeting January Colloquium explores 22 Brewing program launches at ‘bird painting’ in music kwantlen, student-run brewery Odds and Ends a no-go at UBC Student Showcase The Navigator welcomes reader contributions. Guest Contributors Dr. Timothy Lewis (CUP) All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and Julia Siedlanowska Stephanie Brown to edit for space or clarity. To submit, check out <www.thenav.ca> or email <[email protected] Letters (CUP) Laura Rodgers to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length. The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opin- Spencer Wilson (CUP) ions expressed in The Navigator are those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect the views Brian Mough Sheena Gnos of The Navigator staff. Kelsey Puddister Jay Stevenson 900 Fifth Street • Bld. 193, Rm. 217 • Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5 • T: 250-753-2225 • F: 250-753-2257 NAV STAFF Blake Deal Drew McLachlan Gareth Boyce Glenn Mathieson Amanda Key News Editor Associate Editor President Web Editor Art Director Kelly Whiteside Denisa Kraus Leah Myers Christine Franic Jeremy Unrau Copy Editor Arts Editor Managing Editor Business Manager Graphic Designer Ben Chessor Molly Barrieau Kim Kemmer Darian Hart Rio Trenaman Sports Editor Sr. Copy Editor Production Manager Ad Sales Associate Graphic Designer 02 Jan. 22 – Feb. 04 / Issue 9 / Vol. 45 /THE NAVIGATOR Leah Myers Editor-In-Chief The Navigator The Shame Drew McLachlan Associate Editor Game The Navigator Y/N? There’s a fairly recent phenomenon sweeping over us, and for good or for shame, it seems If you often find yourself in political conversations with people, you may have noticed a to be spreading into an out-of-control entity in both social media and real life. “Sham- certain quality in some. It’s an almost religious-like fervour dedicated to a political party, ing” is a recently coined term for placing blame on another person or group of people as one that will never be swayed no matter how big a scandal or how vast a leadership or policy a way to publicly denounce their behaviour. change that party goes through. I have a friend that likes to compare Christy Clark to Justin The most prominent example that most are familiar with now is the term “slut-sham- Trudeau despite the BC Liberals not being affiliated with, and considerably more right-wing ing,” which is used to describe the criticism for dressing or acting in a manner perceived than, their federal “counterpart.” Another friend of mine is a diehard Green, going as far as promiscuous. From my understanding, slut-shaming became a well-recognized term as saying that he would support an autocratic coup if it meant the party would protect “our alongside Toronto’s Slutwalk in 2011—a rally in response to a police officer’s remarks country’s most valuable gem.” In a way I sort of admire the conviction, though he already has to a class at York University: that women could keep safe from sexual violence if they three Green Party bumper stickers on his car, so I guess there’s no turning back now. I’m not “avoid dressing like sluts”––a comment that many proclaimed was slut-shaming, victim- one of those people. Granted, I’m only old enough to have voted in two elections, but even blaming, and irresponsibly lifted the blame off the attackers and onto the victim. for other important democratic decisions like Tim Horton’s Duelling Donuts, for example, More recently, I believe, the term “fat-shaming” followed suit. As you can guess, fat- my allegiance shifts. Like most people, I have a good idea of my own political beliefs (which shaming is a term used when someone is criticizing a person’s weight. Hand-in-hand is also somewhat fluid) and vote for whatever MP, MLA, party leader, or donut best reflects with fat-shaming is body-shaming, which encompasses a larger range of criticizing some- that—whether it’s the New Democrats, the Greens, the Liberals, or Oreo Borealis. one about their body. Finding out which side you side with requires a lot of research, but for those of us In his Vice article, “Shame on Everyone: Just because you don’t like someone’s criticism who are either too busy or too lazy to wade through party websites or watch hours of doesn’t mean they’re shaming you,” Mark Peters acknowledges that the term “shaming” Peter Mansbridge interviews, that can seem like a daunting process. Thankfully, there’s is “often used to point out legitimately horrible behaviour, especially towards women.” an easier solution. <Canada.iSideWith.com> offers the solution. The poll asks each user He also raises the point that assigning “-shaming” to (add noun here) is disheveling the questions on how they feel about divisive issues like assisted suicide, pipelines, free trade, importance of social movement terms like slut-shaming. And though the more serious health care, and immigration, how strongly you feel about them, then turns your pas- types of shaming (like slut-shaming or fat-shaming) are actually viewed with contempt sionate beliefs and complex opinions into a magical number. That magical number is in a “shame on you for shaming others” sort of way, there is a lighter breed of shaming then compared with the magical numbers of the five federal parties (even the Bloc Que- that has branched out from these roots. becois!) and suggests which party you should vote for. It’s sort of like a dating website Shaming for the sake of comedy has fabricated everything from animal-shaming and for people who have given up on romance. I won’t tell you which party is apparently my baby-shaming (ex. “I pooped in your slippers,” “I ate your cookie-scented candles...”[the soul mate (hint: it’s not the Bloc Quebecois), but before you ask “why should I trust my two are transferable between animal and baby]) to passenger-shaming (a website full of vote to a robot?” or “couldn’t a party pay to have their results always show up as positive, photos of the worst possible people you could near near on a plane or bus). giving an unrealistic image of what they represent and therefore undermining the whole But throughout my semi-not-overly-extensive research for this editorial, my favourite type idea of democratic process?,” that’s already how political advertisements, and possibly of shaming is probably the type which Peters dubs the “unintentionally comical kind.” dating websites, work, so you really have nothing to lose. He explains: “Guys who are tired of being called creeps have absurdly claimed creep- As it turns out, there are plenty of online quizzes about Canadian trivia, so if you’re the shaming, for instance,” writes Peters. “Breast-feeding advocates are sometimes accused kind of person who goes to the walk-in clinic just to check the boxes on the form, you’re of formula-shaming moms. I’ve also seen social-media-shaming, tattoo-shaming, luxury- in luck! Online quizzes are a fun and arbitrary way to test your knowledge on subjects that shaming, attendance-shaming, snack-shaming, bigot-shaming, privilege-shaming, salary- nobody cares about, so if you have 20 minutes to waste and need a new distraction from that shaming, single-shaming (i.e., shaming the unmarried or unattached), fedora-shaming, research essay, allow me to be your curator. Drake-shaming, and filter-shaming. This last word was used, with all apparent sincerity, Perhaps the most infamous of online quizzes is “Crack Shack or Mansion?” This quiz in an article by an acne sufferer who felt “shamed” for her use of Instagram filters by shows photos of various Vancouver homes, and it’s up to you to discern whether they are ‘selfie queens’” $1,000,000+ homes or the dens of hard drug users.