21 15 12 DRUMMING CIRCLE FIGHTING IN HOCKEY LARPING The Drum Circle Downtown October 1 was opening night Seeing the players arrive is a sur- Nanaimo brings together people of for the 2013–2014 NHL regular real sight—leagues of armoured all ages, skill levels, and interests to season. The first two periods of knights, cloaked wizards, and light- explore themselves as individuals the season’s opening game was footed assassins, all piling out of and a collective through rhythm. living up to the hype. sputtering Dodge Neons and pick- up trucks pushing 30 years old. Contents NEWS FEATURES ARTS SPORTS 03 08 14 19 Chamber Music Festival appeals to all ages Editorials Study Drugs Chamber Music Festival Buccaneers suffer first defeat appeals to all ages of season 04 It’s the great pumpkin ale, Charlie Brown! Echo Players Call for Raiders clinch Letters Submissions regular season title, 09 prepare for post season 05 On the Radar: Tyler Walker 15 Presentation on School in 20 Downtown Drum Circle Spain (need a title) Zucchini Bites Clippers attempt to right ship Rotary Of Nanaimo Helps 10 16 21 Used Books Find New Homes Downtown drum circle Street Survey: Top 10 Worst Movies Season opening 06 How Do You Destress scare reopens VIU Releases Impact Report During Mid-Terms VIU Arts and Humanities fear of fighting Colloquium journeys in Hockey Haven 12 to Antarctica 22 Society Celebrates Blood, Magic, and Mud 35 Years Larping on Vancouver Island 17 Odds and Ends CHLY Programmer Profile: Comics, Sudoku and More! 07 The Gilray Sisters StudentsNS Hopes to Build Relationship with new 18 Provincial Government Blue Jasmine Young Liberals Campaign for Pot Indie Games Legalization The Navigator welcomes reader contributions. Guest Contributors Kiera Obbard Jane Lytvynenko All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and (CUP) (CUP to edit for space or clarity. To submit, check our <www.thenav.ca> or email <[email protected]>Letters Vegas Malsbury Clayton Bam- to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length. The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opin- Chris Dwyer brough ions expressed in the Navigator are expressly those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect Katie Salapura Dr. Timothy Lewis the views of the Navigator staff. Stephanie Brown Anthony Stevens Cherise Letson Spencer Willson (CUP) Bes Chessor 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 Leah Myers Glenn Mathieson Amanda Key News Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor Web Editor Art Director Kelly Whiteside Denisa Kraus Kimberly Hope Christine Franic Jeremy Unrau Copy Editor Arts Editor Kemmer Business Manager Graphic Designer Production Manager Ben Chessor Molly Barrieau Darian Hart Rio Trenaman Sports Editor Sr. Copy Editor Ad Sales Associate Graphic Designer 02 THE NAVIGATOR / Oct. 16 – Oct. 19 / Vol. 44 / Issue 4 Leah Myers How to Spot Warning: Editor-In-Chief Your apple The Navigator a Millennial juice-box is (According to sweetly but Baby Boomers) surely killing you According to a Globe and Mail article, the Over the past six months I’ve noticed a trend Ontario Liberals are to propose a law where chain Drew McLachlan in the media. Magazines, national papers, and restaurants must post calorie counts, to allegedly Associate Editor online blogs have all worked together to warn help “curb childhood obesity.” In this effort, the The Navigator readers of a new threat to society: millennials. government hopes to reduce health care costs Also known as Generation Y, millennials have going towards diet-related illness. Despite the been defined as any person born between 1980 comments under the Globe article that claim the proposed venture is a waste of time and a and 2000. Personally, I prefer Joel Stein of Time magazine’s aptly eloquent description of diversion from other pressing issues, I definitely think, tax dollars aside (if I dare say “tax dol- “lazy, entitled, selfish, and shallow.” While there has been no lack of responses denigrating lars aside”) the concept of the proposal itself is one worth exploring. the anti-gen-Y stance many writers have taken, I stand firmly in support of these writers. It’s As one comment pointed out, this proposal targets large chain restaurants, most of which true—this new generation is nothing more than an entitled, bike riding, Twitter-addicted already have fairly extensive nutritional information available online. So what’s the difference stain on the beautiful fabric woven by the baby boomer generation. And so I have spent the within the proposal? From what I can gather, the suggestion is to post caloric and other nutri- last few months observing these 13 to 33 year olds from afar, and have gathered my meticu- tional information on the menu boards that you order from in fast food chains, and printed lous notes into one handy guide: The Navigator’s Guide on How to Spot a Millenial (According within the menus of sit-down restaurants—so instead of needing to research this information to Baby Boomers). on your own time, it’s right in your face during the time of purchase. “[Millennials] consider the Internet to be as important as air, water, food, and shelter.” -Cisco Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that nutrition in the human body is a very vast landscape online survey to cover, and calorie counting is a very black-and-white approach of making dietary choices. The advent of the smartphone has allowed millennials, who were previously solitary Sure, you can acknowledge the copious amounts of sugar in a regular soft drink, and as a creatures confined to social media devices, the opportunity to cohabitate with previous gen- result choose a sugar-free beverage instead. But then your diet cola is artificially sweetened, erations. In your search for a millennial habitat, it is paramount to take wi-fi and 4G signals probably by the lab-created sweetener aspartame. Also, what about “good” calorie intake and into account. If a bar contains neither food, water, shelter, nor air, you may still find a few “bad” calorie intake? For example, an avocado and a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty both have approxi- twenty-somethings passed out under a table, clutching their shiny iOS devices. Approaching mately 160 calories, even though their nutrition values vary largely. Another dreaded food a conscious millennial can be dangerous, so finding such an establishment is key for novice debate is margarine vs. butter. Butters are high in saturated fat, but margarines can be high in observers. trans fats. “Millennials received so many participation trophies growing up that 40 per cent of them So, while posting caloric and nutrition information on boards at fast-food restaurants is think they should be promoted every two years—regardless of performance.” – Josh Sanburn, Time an interesting idea, I’d argue that it’s a bit simplistic for a consumer who is trying to make Magazine educated food choices. The glint of a golden “P” is a surefire way to spot a millennial. Whether it be printed I’ve never personally counted calories—although I do try to count the number of ingre- on a medal, ribbon, or trophy, you can be sure that it has been pinned to the proud chest dients listed on packaged foods, and how many syllables the ingredient contains and if I’m of a millennial. As I’ve learned from some of the world’s most qualified cynical old people, able to pronounce it. I’ve always found it fascinating that many people are more concerned 1980 marked an enormous reform for the education system. Across the globe, teachers and about the amount of calories in food than they are about where those calories are coming coaches stopped keeping score and announced that every student would now be a winner. from, but maybe that’s just me. 30 years later, these small tokens have butterflied into hugely inflated egos. Millennials have Last year, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) proposed the use of warning labels been known to speak often and proudly about their participation trophies as a reminder of on products considered to be junk food. The labels are comparable to the warning labels on their previous accomplishments. From what I’ve gathered, millennials are so far incapable of cigarette packages, with a graphic and written warning of potential health effects associated differentiating between first grade intramural soccer and their current job at the law firm. with the product. The National Post reported: “Ontario doctors have launched an assault on “GYPSYs Are Delusional. ‘Sure,’ Lucy has been taught, ‘everyone will go and get themselves obesity, saying society should aggressively fight the epidemic using the tools that have made some fulfilling career, but I am unusually wonderful and as such, my career and life path will major inroads in the battle against smoking. The campaign calls for graphic warnings—like stand out amongst the crowd.’ So on top of the generation as a whole having the bold goal of a the ones tobacco companies must print on cigarette packages—on high-calorie, low-nutri- flowery career lawn, each individual GYPSY thinks that he or she is destined for something even tional value foods such as sugar-sweetened soft drinks, french fries, and even fruit juices.” The better.” – Waitbutwhy.com article featured pictures of what the proposed obesity warning labels might look like. One For clarification, GYPSY is an acronym meaning “Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yup- OMA warning had a graphic of a pizza box and a picture of a diseased liver with the follow- pies” that is commonly used by Wait But Why and other SOPs (Shitty Old People).