Photo by Cole Breiland

Practical tips for maintaining your sanity during exams

Christina Battaglia

Alas, classes are quickly coming to an end. Students are rushing, staying up late, and pulling long hours to get their last assignments completed. This means it is time once again for exams.

Students may experience the anxiety trips, panic attacks, and of course the sleepless nights due to the stresses of exams. There are three major factors that can help during “crunch time” that may benefit students.

Avoid or loosen stress levels

Try to stay away from stressful situations, like taking on a massive work load. Make sure to give yourself enough time for studying so you’re not panicking frantically at the last minute. It is essential to have time-management skills for planning days with a few hours dedicated to studying, as well as enough time for breaks to unwind any built-up tension. A helpful tip is to have notes written down on a board or a calendar of the subject to study.

Allow a minimum of two hours dedicated to one subject with a one-hour break before the next two-hour block of studying. This will avoid cramming everything in and will still allow you a few hours of free time to run errands – or even have a bit of a social life.

If you feel that tension persists, it may be time to visit a doctor. Students can access services at the Student Health and Counseling centre located on campus, or a walk-in clinic.

Take care of your health

A proper diet and exercise can increase your odds of staying healthy. Many students use the excuse of exam time to indulge in pizza, poutine, and brownies or the ten cups of coffee to pull an all-nighter – only to later realize that none of the information read was retained. Try to avoid high levels of caffeine; instead, drink water to stay hydrated and remember, plenty of sleep is key.

As a young energized student, stay active when taking a break from studying. Enjoy the fresh air and beautiful weather by going on walks. Being determined in a regular exercise routine can improve your mood and could defeat the physical effects of stress.

Other relaxation techniques, such as focusing on breathing and relaxing muscles by stretching arms, shoulders, back, and legs, can be done indoors. Maintaining a healthy body will provide for a healthy mind, and ultimately better results.

Keep a solid study environment

Exams are a whole year’s worth of knowledge condensed into a couple of hours. Having an organized study environment is important. Try to study in smaller doses over a long period of time. Having a wide timeframe will help make it easier to break down all the notes from the course. Be aware of all the information that was given throughout the course. If any concerns about the material arise, make sure to contact your teacher for clarification.

The last and final piece would be to avoid missing your exam. You may think it couldn’t happen, but it does. Whether your study habits involve working alone or in a group, sitting in silence or listening to music, just be aware of your physical and mental needs. Engage in lots of relaxation exercises and a stress free environment for a positive outlook going into exams. Best of luck to everyone!

Community has the chance to shape Thunder Bay culture

Amy Szybalski

News Writer

For the first time, the city of Thunder Bay is forming a municipal plan to direct the cultural path the city will take over the next ten years. Municipal culture planning is a process that leverages a community’s cultural resources to support economic development and integrate culture across all facets of local planning and decision-making.

The process will try to look at every aspect of Thunder Bay culture, both from the point of view of an outside consultant and through the eyes of its citizens. It will then be decided what steps need to be taken to protect and develop our culture to highlight the great diversity that exists here.

On March 29^th and 30^th, public forums were held in the Community Auditorium. The event on the 29^th was an open house where community members came to hear speakers discuss what course the plan would take.

“It’s wonderful to see the members of our community out and supporting our cultural centres,” said Leah Bayly of the city’s Cultural Services department in her opening speech.

Mayor Lynn Peterson was also thrilled to see so many people come out to the event. The mayor described the municipal culture plan as “an exciting project for our city that will serve to identify needs and priorities relating to culture, and understand the role of the cultural sector in sustainable development.”

Peterson continued that the city “is thrilled to extend the opportunity to the public to engage early in the planning process to help create shared vision for the future of culture in Thunder Bay.”

The next step in the plan is dealing with the “seven drivers for change” identified by the steering committee. These elements will dictate the direction taken in the next stages of the plan. These include enabling leadership, fostering arts heritage, and attracting youth and young professionals, among others.

In addition to the speeches, attendees at the open house also took part in an interactive panel session. Participants got to tell the committee what cultural assets they see in Thunder Bay, as well as what assets they believe could be better highlighted in the future.

This community input, as well as what came out of the sessions that followed on the 30^th, will help to form the foundation of the strategic plan. A draft of the plan should be drawn up in the fall, and the city is hoping to launch the plan next spring.

The band prepares to rock Kilroy’s for the second time on their Blood, Steel & Fire tour

Derek Wall

A&E Editor

In early March, Omega Crom rolled through Thunder Bay and performed an intense live set at Kilroy’s. For those who missed this up and coming heavy metal act out of Vancouver or would love to catch them again, you have another opportunity this Wednesday.

The band is enjoying life on the road, but it hasn’t always been a smooth ride for the West coast group. Since the late 90’s, Omega Crom’s lead vocalist and founding member, Johnny Ketlo, has had a hard time getting the band launched. But after years of members leaving and joining the group, and even recovering from a few break-ups, Omega Crom is finally on the road publicizing their first full-length album release, Blood, Steel & Fire. The Argus was able to catch up with Omega Crom’s guitarist, Wayne Holden, enjoying some downtime in Toronto.

“You learn how to overcome lots of diversity,” commented Holden when asked about what the band might have gained from their tumultuous past. “We all kind of got together and persevered through it all… There was a time when releasing an album and going on tour seemed pretty far-fetched.”

Holden and the rest of the Omega Crom most certainly have some words of wisdom for anyone aspiring to be a professional musician: “No matter what happens, keep on going, and eventually good things will happen.”

It would seem that in today’s musical climate, being a part of a heavy metal outfit comes with more than the usual challenges normally associated with making music for a living. There are a few additional challenges that are unique to the genre.

“Cities like Vancouver have been shutting down all of the good [heavy metal] venues and turning them into nightclubs,” explains Holden. In fact, he stated, one of Vancouver’s most popular metal venues, The Coal Vault, was recently reconfigured into a nightclub. Holden further mentioned that when the quality venues get shut down, the only other options for performances are often dirty, run-down basements: “It’s tough finding good quality venues.”

With a past like the one that lies behind Omega Crom, one suspects they are especially looking forward to what the future holds for them. They are in the planning stages for a Western tour later on in 2010, as well as another Canadian tour coupled with an East coast tour in August.

The show happens to fall two days after the official CD release date on April 5^th so concertgoers can expect spirits to be high.

Also performing at Kilroy’s will be Rusted Dawn, Jagstog, D.E.A.D., Minotaur, and Last Boss.

Art by Christi Belcourt

Thunder Bay Art Gallery to host reception Friday

Kenneth Lloyd

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery’s current exhibition “Celebrating the Creators” focuses on art created by Aboriginal artists across North-western Ontario. The work of 55 artists will be available for the public’s viewing, as will as the art of Christi Belcourt.

Joanne Arnott refers to Belcourt on the gallery’s official webpage as “a Métis visual artist with a deep respect for the traditions and knowledge of our people. The majority of her work explores and celebrates the beauty of the natural world.”

Belcourt’s art revolves heavily around the natural and the spiritual. The artist’s webpage (www.belcourt.net) explains the nature of her creations – no pun intended. “From the core of Mother Earth to the infinite Universe,” she writes, “all that we need as human beings spiritually is already here. Our spiritual selves exist among, within, and in full partnership with the other spirits that exist in this realm. Spirits that are everywhere; within the waters, within the plants, within the rocks, and by our sides as Spirit Helpers.

“The Creator is within each and everyone of us, in fact we exist not only in this physical realm, but dually in the spiritual realm at the same time. We need not look further than what exists around us, or perhaps more accurately, we need not search outside of ourselves.

“And we need not await death in order for the mysteries of our world to be known to us, for what we need is already within and around us. At every moment we co-exist with the spirit world in the present. We are more powerful as human beings than we realize because we are complete with all the knowledge of the Earth and Universe.”

On Friday, April 12^th, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery will be hosting a reception for the Celebrating The Creators exhibit and Belcourt will be on site to give a talk on her art.

The reception will also have a performance from Little Bear Singers and a screening of the portrait series by Adrian Fox-Keesic and Brent Wesley, I Am Indigenous.

Local wind energy project is dividing Thunder Bay residents

Ian Kaufman

Features Editor

To many people, the idea of opposing a wind energy development seems ludicrous. Wind farms, from their name up, conjure a compelling mix of pastoral and futuristic images: verdant fields and iconic, shining white structures often described as sleek and elegant. They are used to symbolize the growing sustainability and environmental movement. When Barrack Obama made wind energy a noticeable part of his platform during the 2008 election campaign, it seemed to epitomize his appeal: fresh, forward-looking, and idealistic, but practical and serious at the same time.

It is against this backdrop that a Toronto-based company, Horizon Wind Inc., recently announced their intention to build an 18-turbine facility in Thunder Bay. The company is looking to lease a 17,000 acre property on the Nor’Wester mountain range neighbouring the Loch Lomond ski hill. They say the development, named the “Big Thunder Wind Park”, will power 9,000 Thunder Bay homes.

A rough estimation of Thunder Bay’s energy situation puts the city’s potential generation around 1500 megawatts. Of that, hydro makes up about 700 mW, coal 525 mW, and natural gas 150 mW. With the McGuinty government’s plan to phase out coal by 2014, potential generation would be reduced to around 900 mW – still almost twice the peak energy use, which sits just over 500 mW.

The proposed wind project has divided many of the residents of Thunder Bay. While a facebook page supporting it has drawn over a thousand fans, but it has equally generated concerns and an organized resistance.

Wind’s green cred means that critics of wind projects often get pigeonholed as paranoid, anti-environment wingnuts. Meeting with some of the opponents of the Big Thunder project is enough to dispel this preconception. Anna Marchese, a member of the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee, lives near the proposed development with her family. Like many other critics of industrial wind power, she initially welcomed the idea.

“At first, neighbours called [with concerns], but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought, so? It’s a windmill. Nothing to worry about. After two or three phone calls, I thought maybe I should start digging around. I went on the computer, I started asking other neighbours, I started asking my husband’s doctors.” What Marchese’s digging unearthed was surprising. Wind farms face a slew of criticisms on financial, technical, political, health-related, and even environmental grounds.

Financial

Wind energy is certainly more expensive than conventional energy; the province pays producers 13.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the average provincial cost of about 6 cents. “Wind and solar are great sources: they’re green, they’re clean. But they can be expensive,” says City Councilor Larry Hebert, who served as General Manager of Thunder Bay Hydro for 20 years.

“Ontario is very encouraging, under its programs, to get into those things, but there’s a cost to pay – and that’s starting to come home with the hydro bills that are coming out. It’s shown on the bills as ‘Provincial Benefit’ right now, and there’s a number of things that go into it, but one of them is the cost of green energy.”

Of course, factoring in “external costs” – the incalculable social and environmental costs associated with fossil fuels – may well justify this added expense. The city of Thunder Bay will receive $275,000 in taxes if the wind park land lease is approved. If so, it will be the first wind farm in Ontario on municipal lands – usually they are located on privately-owned agricultural land. On the flipside, critics counter that this sum will be counter-balanced by a drop in tax revenue with the possible devaluation of the homes near the wind farm.

Technical

The technical criticisms of wind power mostly focus on its unreliability. Birbal Singh, a Lakehead professor of Mechanical Engineering, explains the dilemma: “You cannot design a power plant for the normal demand;” rather, it must be designed for peak capacity. “The problem with wind is, if you want to guarantee 10 mW, you have to design for 100 mW, because sometimes it’s only running at %10 capacity. With oil and natural gas, if you want 10 mW, you get 10 mW, guaranteed.”

This unpredictability means that other sources of power will still be required as backups. Some charge that the resulting fluctuation in output on the part of the backup sources makes them less efficient, resulting in increased carbon emissions and energy use. In the case of the Horizon project, with its potential generation of 27 mW, this compensation would be minimal. This could, however, become an issue in the future.

Singh brings up a neglected angle in the wind debate: our energy expectations. Growing up in India gives him a different perspective on the issue. “Back home, we get electricity for three hours a day, and that’s not even guaranteed. People are used to that. Here, if you supply people three hours of electricity – first thing, they will freeze to death. But even in the summer, nobody will tolerate that. Wind power in India is increasing, and it’s a great idea. People are happy to get three hours a day.”

Political

The recently-passed Ontario Green Energy and Economy Act (usually referred to simply as the Green Energy Act) has stirred some controversy, especially with municipal authorities. The Act gives the province increased power over energy issues, at the expense of municipalities.

“They took away meaningful local input from the community,” says City Councilor Linda Rydholm. “So now we’re in a situation where the province has changed the rules; now approval for this energy project rests between the company and the province.”

Health-related

Health concerns surrounding wind farms may be the most divisive of the criticisms of wind farms. People who have lived in close proximity to wind turbines sometimes claim effects including heart arrhythmia, headaches, stress, and loss of sleep; however, there is a paucity of scientific evidence to back up these claims. Wind’s critics say that there simply has not been sufficient time to study these issues; defenders counter that anecdotal evidence is insufficient, and that health complaints are either psycho-somatic or attempts for fiscal compensation from wind companies.

Horizon is unequivocal in its dismissal of this anecdotal evidence. In a 2008 Media and Councillor Information Kit, they state: “In over twenty-five years and with more than 68,000 turbines installed around the world, no member of the public has ever been harmed by wind turbines.”

The health effects, if valid, stem from the noise generated by the rotation of the propellers. In the case of large turbines, like those proposed at Big Thunder, low-frequency sound is generated – often low enough that it falls below the human level of audibility. It is possible that the repetitive vibrations from the turbines disturb human health.

Says Marchese: “Doctors are not agreeing; some are saying it can’t make people sick, some are saying it can. Our position is that, if you don’t know, then you invoke the precautionary principle and you do a third-party study to find out.”

Currently, Ontario requires turbines to be a minimum of 550 metres from residences. Other jurisdictions have pegged the distance (known as “setback”) anywhere from 300 metres to 1.5 km. Marchese calls the legitimacy of the province’s number into question. “Ontario studied [setback distances] 18 months ago, but noone knows what reason they have for that distance.”

Environmental

The Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee believes the proposed Big Thunder wind park is not as eco-friendly as it is marketed to be. They allege that the $75 million project will devastate the landscape with access roads and construction, threatening the structural integrity of the mountain and the health of the watershed, as well as posing a danger to birds and bats.

In a letter to the Chronicle-Journal, Lakehead President Fred Gilbert – never hesitant to voice an unpopular opinion – puts himself squarely in this camp. “The Nor‘Wester location is an ecologically sensitive area representing the northernmost extension of the Great Lakes Hardwood Forest, with attendant species not found elsewhere in Northwestern Ontario…

“The potential for habitat impact in an ecologically sensitive area is high with the Horizon Wind Inc. development and should have been considered seriously. It is now too late for sober second thought but city council ‘blew’ this one!”

However, some are more skeptical of these claims. Dr. Philip Fralick, professor of Geology at Lakehead, dismisses the concerns about the Nor’wester’s structural integrity, pointing out that the weight of the turbines is miniscule compared to that of the mountain, even considering that it is made up of relatively “light” rock.

Notwithstanding the numerous concerns brought forward by its opponents, Big Thunder wind park Project Developer Nhung Nguyen believes that the proximity of the turbines to people’s homes is the real sticking point. “I think all of the concerns about wind projects really boil down to setback distances,” she says. This is one thing upon which Horizon and its critics can seemingly agree.

“That’s our concern,” Marchese . “If you move [the turbines] away from people, it doesn’t interrupt their view-shed, it doesn’t interfere with their health, they’re not going to [contaminate] the water, they’re not going to destroy the mountain. If you put them further back, it’s problem solved.”

So is there any chance Horizon will compromise on this decisive issue? The company is set to make an announcement on Wednesday, April 7^th that Nguyen hopes will satisfy those who are concerned about the project.

“We’ve been really thinking about all of people’s comments. So next week, we’re going to be making an announcement,” she says. “We think that this will be a good response to people’s concerns.”

Will this mysterious response involve changes to Horizon’s contentious plans, or simply a rhetorical volley with the company’s critics? “It will be a modification of the plans,” Nguyen confirms. “With this change to the proposal, we hope that we’re being very accommodating. As to whether [those opposed to the project] will be satisfied with it, I can’t speak to that. But I can certainly say that we’ve tried our best.”

Although Nguyen could not reveal what that “modification of plans” will entail, the most obvious possibility is to move back the turbines closest to homes in the area – some will be within about 600 metres. This week could see the resolution of the conflict over this energy development – stay tuned.

Photo by Cole Breiland

Thunderwolves men’s basketball coach and OUA West coach of the year talks with The Argus

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Argus: Prior to this past season, you stated one clear goal: making the playoffs. Clearly the team far surpassed that goal. Are you at all surprised by what transpired this year? And, as a result, will the team’s goals be on the loftier side for next season?

Morrison: If you would have told me in the pre-season that we would be playing in the Final 8 as the #6 seed, I would have been pleasantly surprised. However, as our team took shape throughout the season, each win grew our confidence and our belief that the opportunity to exceed our goals was knocking at our door.

In respect to next season’s goals, they haven’t changed much in my mind. We began the 2009/10 season working on a two-year plan to raise a banner in the Thunderdome. While this goal has not yet been reached, the experience gained this year will only help us as we continue to work towards that ultimate goal next season.

A:   The team’s balanced scoring must have been a delight for both you and the players, what with everybody factoring in on almost a game-by-game basis.

M: I think we have found a winning formula in the sense that we want to build our team to be versatile and deep. We can sacrifice individual talent for a balanced group that is hard to contain. The factoring of each player provides an opportunity to foster closeness on the team, which has always been one of our strengths at Lakehead.

A: What has it meant to you to be named the OUA West conference’s Coach of the Year?

M: The Coach of the Year award is the biggest ‘team’ award out there as it reflects on the progress and success of the program. Because of that, it was special to accept on behalf of the players, assistant coaches and staff. Personally I look at it as a sign of respect from my peers within the conference for some hard work put in over the last 7 years.

A:   The team’s one individual award that seemingly sticks out is that of Greg Carter winning OUA West defensive player of the year. Just how important was Greg’s defensive wall to the team’s performance on a nightly basis?

M: Greg’s ball pressure usually sets the tone for us on every defensive possession as he makes it difficult for the opponent to get into their offense while having to deal with him buzzing around. He also contains the opponent’s top perimeter scorer every weekend. These two qualities were both major factors in our major defensive improvement as a team from 2008/09 to 2009/10.

A: 6-16 to 17-5 in the regular season? To what do you attribute that?

M: Many factors have contributed to our stronger season, including finding the right mix of players who are willing to commit themselves to being better as a unit. We made sacrifices as a team all season long in order to be better prepared to win each weekend, and those efforts paid off in a major way. The key now will be to raise the bar for next year so that our success level will also be to the next step.

A:   Looking towards next season, do you have any particular recruitment plans or voids to fill with players graduating?

M: In CIS basketball, a program must always grow and develop or risk being pushed to the bottom. We return most of our roster and as a result have adjusted our recruiting patterns slightly for this season. In the past we focused on young players with potential and time to develop in order to form a strong core unit. This has been accomplished and now we are looking to bring in 1-2 more experienced players that can fit in with our personnel and help us get to that next level.

A:  After this year’s successes, will anything below what you accomplished this year be a letdown, in your opinion?

M: Our goal since 2003 has been to raise a men’s basketball banner in the Thunderdome. This year we had an opportunity to do so for the first time but fell just short. Next season’s preparations have already started and the goal will remain the same but with more experience on hand to reach that goal than ever before.

A:   Any regrets from this year?

M: There were many mistakes made by everyone on the team this year including myself. So far we have handled them well and become stronger as a result each time. My only regret would be if in the future we forget these learned lessons and repeat our mistakes.

A:  And finally, your pick for NBA champions this year?

M: Knicks in 2010-11; while we are waiting I hope Toronto gets to the Conference finals.