Residence formal, awards ceremony, and a student film screening

Sasha Yasinski

Cast of ‘Lake Tamblyn’ Taken by Cassaundra Noyes March 25, 2009

The patriotic paint on the windows in residence has been scraped off, the white boards are white and the last house meeting has came and gone.  Students in residence are looking forward to Spring Formal, which will be held on Saturday April 4th.  This incudes a gourmet dinner, served at 6:00pm in the main cafeteria, followed by a dance at the Outpost for all ages.
The theme is “What Happens in Vegas”; students are encouraged to dress accordingly.  This event is ran by the Formal Committee from the Residence Council and they have a great reputation for catering to students’ wishes.  “I guess we will have to wait and see how the dice roll and chips fall (laughs) but I’m just excited for the swan ice sculpture,” says Erica Armstrong, who sits on the committee along side Steph Dodds, the chair and organizer of this year’s spring formal.
Residence awards are being presented during spring formal during the dinner.  The list of awards includes: Male and Female participant of the year, Sportsmanship house, House President and Resident Assistant of the year, Apartment and Phase of the year and lastly House of the year.  Mike Snoddon, Resident Assistant of Nipigon house has consistently demonstrated residence spirit since Nipigon received and maintained the title ‘House of the Month’ this year.  “I believe we’ve performed very well as a house, it’s been a really fun year so I am really looking forward to finding out the winner,” Mike says eagerly, referring to the House of the Year Award.
Lakehead Residence continues to make an effort to recognize outstanding students in residence who participated and volunteered through the events, activities and fundraisers that were held this year.  A $200 Residence Award is presented to a student who has an academic standing of at least 70%, whom also plans to live on residence next year, and has contributed to LU in some manner.  Students who are interested must fill out an application form.
The Outstanding Contribution by a Woman or Man to Lakehead University Residence award is received by nomination through fellow students who must choose an individual that has made a difference in Residence.
Applications and nomination forms are to be submitted by Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by 4:00pm in the Residence Administration Office.
Another topic of interest in residence right now, aside from exams and spring formal, is Lake Tamblyn, a short promotional video depicting residence life.  Created by students in residence, the purpose of Lake Tamblyn is to expose the different atmosphere and student culture of  residence living, compared to a lifestyle of living at home.
Like Laguna Beach or The Hills, Lake Tamblyn is about real students, living real lives.  For those that are ending their first and last experience in residence this year, Lake Tamblyn is meant to resurface the memories made since day one.
The story line is about new friendships, relationships and experiences, independence, freedom and maturation.  The soundtrack will also include local music and original beats made by students from Lakehead.
Caitlin Rudanycz, participant in the project, says “I definitely think new students coming to residence will benefit from this idea because it is real people they can relate to and it gives them a positive image to look forward to”.
The targeted audience, are Lakehead University’s prospective students seeking to live in residence next year.  As of right now, Lake Tamblyn is expected to be screened in the Agora on April 15, 2009 in the afternoon, check it out anytime during a study break. This student film will potentially be showed during Orientation in September as well.

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009, 12:30 – 4:00
Come and join us in the Agora for free T-Shirt making, cookies, music, hugs, information, and movies.

International Snack of the Week
Where:  LUSU Multi-Cultural Centre, UC2014A
When:   Every day from 1-4
What:    A free snack, tea and conversation
March 30 - April 3
Nan-e Nokhodchi, chickpea flour cookies from Iran
April 6-10
Khanom Phing, tapioca and coconut cookies Thailans
April 13-17
Barazeh, sesame seed cookies from Syria
April 20-14
Cassava cake from the Philippines

The year isn’t quite over but what a year it has been.
Over exams the centre will be open as a space to relax. We will be showing some classic films from the 80’s and 90’s (including Jenny Lewis’s big films, Troop Beverly Hills and the Wizard). There will also be snacks, so stop by and take a moment for you.
We will be updating our facebook group over the summer. If you’re interested in what’s happening on campus and around the feminist blogosphere, join our group (if you can find it on the new facebook). We are also working on having our library open over the spring and summer semesters. There will be information posted on our posting board about those hours.
I think it has been a great year on campus. It was great to see a lot of support for our campaigns. Though there are still major issues on campus, from pay equity of faculty and staff, to support for women who have experienced sexual assault,  the derision of ‘chilly climate’ on campus and the troubles faced by women and minority groups in academia,  and issues of security on campus, I have seen hope. There are good people within LUSU and the administration seeking to make social change on campus and, of course, students who continue to strive to have their voices heard. I’m so grateful to the students, faculty, and staff who look to us and the other centres for information and join the fight for equality on campus.  Most of all, I would like to thank the volunteers and staff of the centre who have been so dedicated to our causes. I’m continually amazed at just how much has been brought to the table by all of you and what we’ve been able to accomplish this year.
As Glass Candy Say: Our World, Our Lives, Our Bodies, they are constantly changing, but there’s a rhythm that runs through it all. They also say that this summer is going to be SICK! I think they’re right on both counts.
Peace, love and a kick ass summer to all of you,

FabDave

I would like to share my constructive critique of The Artery. This year marks their first year of publication, a year containing numerous events and three issues. For me, it is a year of disappointment and frustration towards an initiative I had originally hoped to support.
The first publication of The Artery contained nineteen submissions, five of which were from students directly linked to The Artery, the second contained twenty-two submissions, nine from students involved and finally, their third and latest publication contains forty submissions and seventeen from students within The Artery. The latest issue contains two submissions from ESA President Mark Kaethler, two from secretary/Treasurer Sean Devine, three from Editor-in-Chief Sheila Wilson and seven other members of the present Artery staff having at least one, but sometimes three of their works published in this one single issue.
Being an English Graduate student, I have spoken on many occasions with people connected to The Artery about this issue. The lack of interest in hearing constructive criticism is disappointing. There seems to be a refusal to consider how the publication may be viewed by those outside the pages. When almost 50% of the latest issue is by students directly connected to The Artery, this is an issue. When this is a recurring theme, this is a problem. When the President of the ESA refuses to hear concerns regarding it, this is an issue. The Artery is very quickly going to be perceived as a place for editors, executives and anyone else associated with it to fulfill their desire to see their own words published in black and white – leaving the rest of the Lakehead student body wondering what’s even the point in trying.
On the second edition of the magazine and continuing onto the most recent, the back blurb mentions that The Artery was “founded in the winter of 2008 by the English Students Association (ESA);” however, The Artery saw its first revival issue in the spring of that same year, whereas ESA was founded late October 2008. Does the first issue not count? Or is it more likely the ESA was created as a way for The Artery to fundraise and use LUSU space for free as it is acting under the guise of a LUSU club? Now, it would be unfair of me to say that the ESA does nothing besides The Artery, as they have created a writing contest – accepting the same kind of submissions as The Artery does. You can see it is difficult to separate the two.
There are numerous issues surrounding The Artery and the ESA that go beyond what I have discussed here. Where does the Thunder Bay community fit into the publication? What is it doing to promote Lakehead University and the amazing English department we have? Right now, it’s not doing anything. It is a publication fueled by an egotistical need for the self satisfaction of the current executive and editorial staff and if it continues in this direction it will be nothing more than an embarrassment on the shoulders of a wonderful department. But, there is hope. Hope resides in the new executive, the new blood coming into the program, the students who see this as a problem and want to do something to change it. Hope is what I still have for The Artery.

Meagan Stockwell

Boozhoo. Joann niin ndizhinikaaz. My name is Joann Lesperance and I am the Director of the Aboriginal Awareness Centre (AAC). We are an education, lobbying, support, and referral service open to all Lakehead University students regardless of ethnic background. We are located in the tunnels at RC 0019, down the hall from LUSU.
In conjunction with Aboriginal Cultural Support Services (ACSS) we will be hosting a Spring Feast on April 1, 2009; for more info or to register for this event you must contact Melissa at acss@lakeheadu.ca.
The AAC is also organizing Stress Busting events to be held during the exam period. We are organizing a workshop on growing traditional medicines which will be facilitated by Elder Gerry Martin. Also, we will provide a workshop on making beaded dreamcatchers for ornamental purposes only, as opposed to a traditional dreamcatcher, which is intended for use as protection by the Anishinaabe against bad spirits or dreams. To learn more about these upcoming events or to request other workshops or teachings please give us a shout at 343-8814 or email us at aac@lakeheadu.ca. We also take requests on what type of books that you think we should house in our ever-growing library.
Our OWSP students are done for this year and they are already greatly missed here at the Centre but they have a few words to pass on to you.
Tina Hall, Special Events Coordinator:  “I would like to say thank you to all the students that came out in support of events such as the Art Show, Bannock Contest, AA Week, and the support received in general with helping make everything possible.”
Meagan Berry, Library/Resource Technician: “We have had a great year in the AAC, and I’ve enjoyed my time working with the staff and ever-growing library. We made a lot of changes this year: organizing our entire collection, adding new resources, and purchasing a new catalogue system. We will have it running in September, so searching our materials will be quick and easy! I would like to thank everyone who participated in our events, used our library, or stopped by to say “hi” this year. To those that have never come to the centre, come next year…who doesn’t love free food, crafts, stories, laughs, and good times?”
On that note, a heartfelt thank you (which we say in our language, gitchi-meegwech) to all who participated in our events, stopped by for assistance or just a hello. I would like to thank Aramark for their generous donation of a $100.00 declining card that they gave to our Powwow Committee in their effort to raise funds for this awesome event (if you missed it, don’t fret, it will be back bigger and better than ever next year). A big meegwech goes out to the Outpost for the Pancake Breakfast fundraiser that they supported us with, and to all the artists that provided us with prizes for the Penny Auction sale. A gitchi-meegwech goes out to the staff and volunteers of the AAC these past seven months, without all of you the Centre would not be the success that it is and my life would not be as rich as it is in getting to know all of you. Good luck to everyone with their upcoming exams and with whatever endeavors that you take on in the future.

The day is coming soon that several current students will walk proudly through graduation ceremonies. Hats off to these hard workers now in their fourth – or maybe fifth, sixth – years. Your frustrations experienced in learning and also in appealing to the whims of professors and other instructors are finally resolved in that proud moment when you listen to speeches that bring your collective accomplishments forward into a cheery limelight that we call commencement. You leave just a few minutes later with a sense of happy accomplishment that can last for several weeks. Later you figure out that learning never ends and you wished you had paid a bit more attention to certain points in your education. But that’s okay.
In the U.S. it is great tradition – as many film dramas will show or some of you may have experienced first hand with friends or relatives south of the border – that one of Edward Elgar’s military marches playing at the entrance of the commencement exercises. Titled “pomp and circumstance” marches, the music is named for Shakespeare’s reference to the glorious moments of warfare, dispelled by the recognition of reality and hardship portrayed by the televised wars that came to the world much later than Shakespeare did. Oh, how much better the imagination worked without the television.
I’m reading this off Wikipedia, to be honest about my source: “Pomp” refers to the splendid show of military pageantry and “circumstance” to the drabness and terror of actual warfare. In a way that image bodes well for the university and the role it has in sending us forward into the real world, doesn’t it? Students and faculty alike tend toward pomp, but reality is a bit more drab and sometimes actually terrifying. Good luck, graduands. I will write to the next set of students who enter the world of pomp with their own initiation next September. Have a good summer.