Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nexus Summer Magazine
Nexus Summer Magazine
PRESENTS
SU M M E
CAMOSUN COLLEGE’S
STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Read Nexus
New issues arrive
every other week in blue
Nexus newsboxes on
Lansdowne and
Interurban campuses,
and select locations off
campus, September
through April.
camosun’s student
newspaper since 1990
Address:
location:
Phone:
3100 foul Bay rd., victoria, Bc, v8P 5J2
lansdowne richmond House 201
250-370-3591
dslcontents
Nexus Vol. 19, Issue 18 – Summer 2009
email: nexus@nexusnewspaper.com
Website: www.nexusnewspaper.com
[a c t i v i s m] [a r t s]
Publisher: nexus Publishing society
Summer 2009 3
Ac t i v ism
A student’s c
By ChAntelle MUssell Th
[last summer, recent AcP graduate chantelle mussell did her co-
op in tanzania, Africa and wrote a journal about the experience.]
May 13, 2008
together we can make a difference.
i am a roots & shoots volunteer from canada stationed in
tanzania trying to spread this very motto. As my summer co-op
placement for camosun’s Applied communication Program, and in
an effort to contribute my knowledge of contemporary media and
environmental conservation in a positive, global way, i decided to
head halfway around the world and into the heart of darkest Africa.
dar es salaam, tanzania, the Haven of Peace.
i am doing some amazing work with roots & shoots and i would
like to share that particular aspect of my tanzania adventure.
the international volunteer program is a fantastic program with
the best of intentions, but it has been led down the garden path
a bit and needs ambitious volunteers to help make it something
Summer 2009 7
f e at ure
June 9, 2008 well-written and stern letter to the government in both English and
Luck and fate have made their sneaky little ways into the life Swahili, and a newspaper article in the Dar es Salaam Gazette.
and times and ups and downs of Ms. Chantelle Mussell. Since that day, I have traveled to the southern bits of Tanzania to
I should probably start with, “My God, where to begin?” as film hippos, baboons, snakes, birds, villagers, mangrove forests, and
this is exactly the thought dancing around my crazy mind. To all of dinosaur bones left unturned by generations of archaeologists.
you who are near and dear and oh-so-far-away, this is the biggest I have been offered a full-time position as the media monster for
understatement of my entire life. Yup, all 22 years. two massive eco-friendly safari business projects. I have decided to
I have managed to pertain volunteering in the Eastern bits of extend my stay here for another three weeks to film Jane Goodall in
Africa, accomplishing the co-op portion of my Applied Commication the jungle. This will encourage investors to help us with this dream
Program, in a number of fantastic ways. of sustainable eco-safaris in Tanzania.
First, I have been filming various Roots & Shoots activities at Every day I wake up to the Indian Ocean crashing over the sand
Jane Goodall’s house, such as the May 31 Beach Clean-Up. This on the beach just outside my bedroom window. The sun warms my
particular project was aimed for the government of Dar es Salaam cheeks and opens my eyes at the crack of dawn and, instantly, I am
to force them to implement better waste disposal systems in the smiling and wide-awake.
city that would be accessible to everyone. Every second I’ve spent in Tanzania has been an overwhelming ex-
Myself and another volunteer, along with fellow staff members plosion of sensations. Not every sensation is fantastic, however.
and 15 schools, planned a massive beach-cleaning project. We My fellow volunteer and I were mugged on the street and the
were crossing our fingers hoping that at least 50 students would thief took my passport, visa, debit card, cell phone, special bits of
show up; in the end we had almost 300. No big deal. Except that purse garbage, and my friend’s camera. In the end, it taught me a
it was huge. lesson. I am stronger and wiser because of it and it’s a really funny
We had costumes, games, sing-a-longs, and biscuits. It was a story to tell. Another time perhaps.
great success and the beach was sparkling clean for about two days. Up next for King Tron, director of media management (this is the
Dar es Salaam has an unbelievable waste management problem, title we have all agreed to call me—I am so professional) is more
hence the importance of the beach clean. Our plan was to film the dangling from trees over a hippo pool and not getting eaten by lions
events in order to have a video pitch, have all the students sign a or large snakes. We are headed for two camping trips in the deep,
petition, write a letter concerning our objectives, and contact media dark jungle of Tanzania in tents. I hope I don’t die.
in Dar to publish our activity. As it stands, we have a 10-minute beach Take care, keep well and smile into the sky for me,
clean video (care of yours truly), a petition with over 250 names, a - Chantelle
Summer 2009 11
se x /A dv ice
Smith has walked the walk and toked Alaimo and the others pick up Smith “When I started all this I lived in a van,
the toke. He’s also spent time in court for his from his downtown CBCoC headquarters and and the guy who owned and founded Sacred
beliefs after raids in 2002 and 2003 of the return to a street near Camosun’s Lansdowne Herb let people smoke pot upstairs, so I hung
Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada (CBCoC). campus where they wait for me in the car. out there a lot,” says Smith.
The CBCoC is a group Smith runs selling After class, I catch up to them already blaz- We continue to spark up as the car fills
“cannabis products to people with permanent ing, smoke filling the car. up with smoke. Our camera won’t focus on
physical disabilities or diseases since 1996,” I meet Smith through the window of the anything anymore. There’s a logjam as one
according to their mandate. car, and can barely make out the giggling joint chases down another in our circle.
The cannabis activist and Hempology Nguyen in the background. “Ted’s probably thinking, what a bunch
101 instructor took the Nexus team on a trip, After packing my stuff into the trunk of lightweights,” giggles Nguyen.
literally and figuratively, as we rolled a few of the car, which is also filled with smoke, “This is kinda what I do. Most people
joints, hot-boxed my car, and visited a couple I squish into the back seat beside Nguyen can’t keep up with me,” says Smith. “It’s
of Smith’s favourite hangouts. and formally introduce myself to the famous funny, even when [marijuana activist] Marc
What follows is a hazy recount of the (or infamous) activist and ask him about our Emery came over here last year, he brags all
afternoon’s events. destination, Sacred Herb. the time, but at one point he said that he’d
CONT. >>>
Spring 2008 13
F e at ure
smoked more pot than anyone in the room, world evolve, I guess you could say, through
and he actually stopped and looked at me writing,” he says. “And so when I first came
and goes, ‘Well, maybe except for Ted.’ I was across Hempology 101 in Vancouver it seemed
totally honoured, because usually he’d never a perfect place to put my skills. The theme
give anyone else credit.” ‘legalization by education’ seems totally
Smith recalls going to high school in feasible in many ways.”
Ontario where he was a proponent of the Kennedy, Nguyen, and Alaimo start crack-
school’s drug culture. After deciding to leave “At one point ing up at this point, completely undermining
that scene and move out west in 1996, he the journalistic integrity of the piece. How
began meeting sick people and decided to
start up the buyer’s club.
[marijuana activist] are two stoned guys supposed to carry on a
conversation while something possibly hilari-
CBCoC now has 2,400 buyers and con-
tinues to go strong, despite being busted
Marc Emery said that ous was occurring behind us?
But Smith is a trooper, he continues on
multiple times by police.
Technically, the CBCoC is illegal, but he’d smoked more about the moral obligation he felt to get hemp
legal. He looked at his activism as a way to
authorities now tolerate the club. A number
of court cases have sided with CBCoC due pot than anyone in work for farmers who could make money and
wares from cannabis products.
to poorly structured medical marijuana Another point to his work is the help he’s
legislation. the room, and he able to provide to people using marijuana as
Health Canada’s own pot programs are a medical product. Used as a muscle relaxant
inadequate, according to Smith, so the group actually stopped and and pain reliever, marijuana products could
simply supplies what the official programs be considered a pharmaceutical drug as much
can’t.
Due to his business and the Hempology
looked at me and as an illicit one.
We discuss his textbook, The Hempology
101 lectures he runs at the University of Vic-
toria, he works over 50 hours a week, which
goes, ‘Well, maybe 101 Textbook. While it lacks a creative title, it’s
a fairly non-traditional textbook.
keeps his schedule busy.
At this point, we all decide to bus down- except for Ted.’” After describing the physical attributes
of the book, such as hemp paper and a non-
town and the fresh air snaps us back a bit. glossy cover, he moves onto what it contains
Ted Smith
Smith and I chat some more as Nguyen spits Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada
information-wise. It’s mostly a history of the
up something nasty—something very, very weed in different cultures and societies; the
nasty. book is a continuing work for Smith.
I follow up that by asking Smith how he got By now we have reached the bus stop.
involved with the activism side of ganja. After an awkward stutter-step by a passing
“It was, I guess, a progression. I realized in student, trying not to get caught up in this
university I wanted to be a writer and help the smelly, loud group of guys, Alaimo almost
Summer 2009 1
f e at ure
“and the name makes a lot of stores not sell it.” Alaimo wanders past at this point to
“A lot of people don’t know about it,” calls the buy an Adbusters Magazine that he’ll never
guy from behind the counter. “Partly because read.
of the stupid name!” Smith pushes his point. The conversation moves on to the legal
It is a stupid name.
“People think it’s bong cleaner,” replies They’re light, issues Smith has faced. As an activist, he’s
had a lot of media coverage and some face-
the shop-keep. to-face time with the cops. They have made a
Smith goes on to list off all the things he’s
cleaned with the hemp-seed soap. Apparently
despite their size— number of visits to the CBCoC headquarters,
where we head to next.
the biodegradable stuff works on hair and
floors equally well.
a half-pound each. Our visit is much more conspicuous than
the undercover cops who have been turned
Smith is active across all of Victoria
when it comes to cannabis, and it’s proven We each pose with away in the past, but it helps to have Smith
vouch for us on the way in.
by the donations he can list off for Reach for
the Pot, the world’s only marijuana-based the bags, like The CBCoC has around 35 full and part-
time employees in a variety of roles. We
game show. meet a few of them as we get a grand tour
This year the fourth annual Reach for the
Pot tournament was uploaded to Youtube
they’re celebrities. of the site.
A relatively large area for what it is, it’s as
where the winners picked up the award bong. much a clubhouse or community gathering
Ideally, Smith would like to expand this con- place as anything. A meeting will be taking
cept to a travelling show of some sort. place later, with discussions on the activities
of International Medical Marijuana Day.
Before things get too hectic though, Smith
gives a grand tour. The first room we go to is
a small, closet-sized box with a few posters
covering the pasty walls.
“The box,” announces Smith, “the most
popular closet in Victoria. There’s people in
here pretty much all day.”
We move on to the little back room of the
headquarters where the pot is.
A man behind a counter looks a little con-
cerned to see four young guys with a camera
and digital recorders enter the room. Smith
had forgotten to tell him who was visiting
this afternoon.
We move on to a back storage room, an-
other hideout to smoke out. Posters are on the
ceiling for those moments of relaxation.
It’s here Smith mentions the CBCoC goes
through about 40 pounds of weed a month,
providing medicinal marijuana to approxi-
mately 2,400 people.
“You’ve never seen a pound before?”
Smith asks us.
“Is it like a brick?” asks Alaimo.
“I’ll show you,” replies Smith
That perks up all of our ears. We follow him
over to his office, where his Herb costume
sits.
Smith pulls out two large baggies. They’re
light, despite their size—a half-pound each.
We each pose with the bags, like they’re
celebrities.
Our time with the activist and this leafy
topic are up though, as there is a meeting
starting soon.
With a friendly wave to Smith, we take our
leave. Rumour has it there’s a Japanese buffet
on tonight, and we just spent hours getting
stoned with a pot activist with no food.
Hi ho, munchies away!
Summer 2009 17
A rt s
A tale of two
dancers
stacy sanderson
age: 20
danced for: 18 years
Profession: Camosun College student, dance
instructor, and performer.
types of dance: Ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, mod-
ern, lyrical, contemporary, and theatre/stage.
Favourite genre: “I don’t know if I have a favour-
ite. I love lyrical/contemporary [a mix of ballet
and jazz], I’d have to say that’s my baby!”
why she dances: “I dance because I have to!
Dancing is something that is so physically
challenging, so artistically expressive, and so
rewarding that once you start, it seems stupid
Photo: christi Kay to stop.”
on balancing work, school, and dance: “Dance
that has brought a great number of boys into “my ballet classes are full and i continue helps everything else. When I’m just going to
the dance studio,” says clark. to have lots of amazing opportunities to guest school or just working, I get very restless and
the increased interest in hip-hop is what teach, choreograph, and coach, so for me bored. But dancing stimulates the other parts
led Brooke Kilgore to open her own local the ballet business is still as busy as ever,” of your brain, your expressive, emotional, and
artistic sensors. I can concentrate better, feel
company, vibestreet dance, in 2006. says sinclair.
more alive, and have more energy when I’m
As victoria’s only urban dance company, classical ballet is one genre sinclair says dancing.”
she’s also seen significant growth in her en- will keep its place in society.
dance in the future: “I’m planning on traveling to
rolment numbers. Kilgore believes hip-hop most trained in dance would agree ballet
LA and training for a few weeks. Then I’m look-
has become more popular due to society’s is where the strength is found to increase ing at performing arts universities! Ultimately, I
renewed attitude towards it. abilities in all other dance genres. would love to own and operate a dance company
“People are finding that hip-hop dance “Art will last forever. Art takes years based in Victoria that performs internationally.
actually has a culture behind it, and it is finally of training and perfecting. the charleston I also want to finish a degree in kinesiology and
becoming more respected. it’s not just about came and went, so did the twist, and so will open up a training centre for dancers, involving
booty shaking and grindin’ like in some music hip-hop in the form that it is now, but clas- rehab, physical therapy, cross-training benefits,
videos. it’s an art form,” explains Kilgore. sical ballet will outlast them all because the and nutritional advice.”
Kilgore also agrees with clark that dance training is core to all other forms of dance,” laura Blain
shows are allowing all styles of dance to be explains sinclair.
noticed by society. Whether you take part in trained dance age: 20
“dance as a whole is being seen more, classes, or simply move to the beat because danced for: 17 years
and it is showing dancers of all ages and standing motionless in front of a live band is Profession: Hotel Restaurant Management
abilities dancing various styles. it’s very mo- just awkward, it’s clear dance will continue graduate from Camosun College, International
tivating and empowering,” says Kilgore. to play a part in humanity for generations Hotel Restaurant Management student at Royal
With dance styles like hip-hop becoming to come. Roads University, and server at Cordova Bay
more popular, are the original dance genres “Passionate people will continue to be Golf Course.
vanishing? dedicated to their craft, forever learning what types of dance: Jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop, the-
not so, says Gina sinclair, a dance teacher they can learn. We will continue to learn new atre, and ballet.
and former owner of sinclair Academy of Per- sub-genres of each style of dance ,” says on balancing work, school, and dance: “I have
forming Arts. sinclair danced professionally Kilgore. “Plus, who doesn’t want to learn definitely had to cut back on dance now that I’m
in classical ballet and musical theatre. how to dance?” out of high school. College was harder because
I had co-op work terms, so I wasn’t in town
to take the dance classes and be ready for the
performances. Now in university I manage my
time well and I only dance three hours a week. I
Brazilian waxing specialist manage to go to the gym still and work and get
school done, so it depends on the person. I love
new client special $30 being busy all the time.”
dance in the future: “It would be a hard industry
Krista at 250-661-1562 to get into and I want to make a lot of money
when I’m older, so I have decided to take a
Iaso Bodyworks, downtown near Fort and Cook different path. Now I just dance for fun and to
stay active.”
Summer 2009 19
a rt s
“When I talked to people, people said, naked; it was because of what we were saying own style, and naked, it’s like you’re totally
‘Wow, that would be really hard, but I’m down, when we were naked,” says Peters. “Someone out there; there’s no hiding at all.”
I want to do it,’” says Peters. “So we put it talked about having been a bully as a child, Peters found it refreshing that audiences
on at Solstice [Cafe], and we sold out before and how they come to terms with that now; were able to get into the intended spirit of
we opened our doors. We had people lined someone talked about being a racist. I talked the events.
up into Market Square, and we had to turn about my mother’s chronic illness and how “I was amazed last year at the incredible
people away.” I’m coming to terms with that.” thankfulness of the audience,” says Peters.
The group has since done more events in For fellow participant and Camosun “They understood what was being done; they
2008 and 2009. Creative Writing student Danielle Ayotte, totally got it. And they were open to it.”
According to Peters, the huge positive nudity creates a new dimension in creative Ayotte says Poetry in the Raw allows
response from the first Poetry in the Raw expression. people to see a sense of beauty not shown
show was more than just the fact that people “I write because it’s very honest,” explains in mainstream media.
were nude. Ayotte. “I think with other writers, too, it’s hard “It’s so rare that we get to see real beauty
“I don’t think it was just because we were to lie when you’re doing poetry. It’s always your and real people with freckles and pale skin and
dark skin and stretch marks,” says Ayotte. “If
you can speak beautifully and put your whole
body into it; that’s perfect.”
At Poetry in the Raw, many audience
members felt compelled to remove their
clothes as well.
“I think it’s because we created a re-
Mexican spectful, safe environment: we are all in this
Tacos Tamales Beer together, this is a safe space,” says Peters.
“And when an audience member decides they
are going to take off their top, they suddenly
8 typical Mexican taco llings have no shield for the words that are being
Try any 3 for just $5 said. And people cried. The audience will be
invited again this year, in a respectful way, if
low low student prices every day they would like to participate.”
If anyone wanted to try stepping outside
1002 Johnson St. Visit us today at of their comfort zone, they’d be hard pressed
(at Vancouver) www.orale.ca to do it more effectively than by performing at
or attending a Poetry in the Raw event.
Fo rg e t g r o u n d b e e f. . . w e p u l l o u r m e at ! “You can do anything after that,” says
Ayotte. “You’ll move mountains, I think.”
20 discover student life
f ood
Aura (The Inn at Laurel Point) not a little too small for the patty). The only bucks gets you a dry and tasteless patty with
condiment on the burger is a house mayon- a buttered bun. The Inn at Laurel Point does it
680 Montreal Street, 250–386– naise, which appears to have been mixed with right. Every new bite is as savoury and delicious
8721 a smidgen of Dijon. There’s just enough mayo as the last—the good times never stop rolling.
to enhance the overall flavour of the burger, For a long time now, whenever I saw Donald at
Point Burger but not overpower the patty. Despite a glut of school he would mention the burger at Aura,
Donald: Aura first peaked my curiosity when I toppings, you’re never brought too far away and how much we needed to go. I remember
discovered they had brought a Food Network from what is a truly wonderful patty. I really one week I couldn’t muster up the cash, and
muckity-muck and a bunch of his buddies from wish this burger was offered on a dinner menu, his reaction was like watching somebody find
Calgary into their fold. As if the news that a because it pretty much blows away everything out they have cancer. Well, Donald is one for
celebrity chef was making burgers in Victoria else in town. As if the burger isn’t enough, building up hype around a burger and having it
wasn’t enough, the Aura menu also revealed this place has an incredible hand dryer in the come through. Another visit to Aura is already
the kitchen was using a house-made bun for bathroom. When I stuck my hand in it I felt like long overdue.
its burger. Does anyone else in Victoria use a Bill Paxton in Twister.
house-made bun? I fucking doubt it. The Point Price: $16 (lunch only, 11:30
Guy: This is the best tasting burger I have
Burger’s pre-formed, premium Alberta beef
ever eaten in my life. The juices are dripping am-2 pm)
patty retains a surprisingly bold flavour and
is delightfully juicy. The texture and flavour of
like crazy, the mayo is expertly mixed with Verdict: We’re having a hard
the bacon and mushrooms; it’s just fucking
the mushrooms is magnificently subtle, and
incredible. This is what $16 should get you.
time thinking of a better burger
the house-made bun is—thankfully—light (if
According to places like Moxie’s and Earls, 16 in Victoria.
Summer 2009 21
column
Music Day 3: I had to bribe my family into streets, even at my school! In the foyer they
not playing any music for the next 11 days. were protesting violence against women
The challenge Unfortunately, I’m now stuck making din- and chanting outside my classroom as a girl
Give up music. ner every night and I have to clean the was strumming her guitar. Having only one
bathroom. option I did the unthinkable and built my
The reason Day 5: I went for a run today and only lair in the library—one place where silence
Music can be uplifting or soothing; it can lasted about 10 minutes. Despite having a is truly appreciated.
set or break the mood. In many cultures it’s an scenic route, abundant with distractions, Day 11: “Da da deedum da shingy bow-
essential part of who they are as people. But it’s apparently not stimulating enough and I wow.” Even though I can’t actually hear
is there a point to which music can be over- ended up stopping due to boredom. I can’t music it still seems to play in my head. I
bearing? From mall music to TV shows, and help it if music pumps me up and Missy can’t escape it.
now most ringtones, music is everywhere—in Elliot’s beats set my pace. Studies even Day 13: Normally I do my work while lis-
an almost irritatingly, unavoidable way. show that music can enhance endurance by tening to music because it keeps me relaxed
The rationale up to 15 percent and make exercise more and focused. Yesterday I was forced to take
There’s nothing worse than sitting on the productive. a different approach. For two hours I sat
bus minding your own business while your Day 7: Today I participated in the annual at the computer accomplishing very little,
neighbour blasts Nine Inch Nails on his iPod. Earth Hour, a time to vote against global constantly being interrupted by cells ringing,
Nothing against NIN or iPods, I just feel that warming and minimize energy use. I lit some doors shutting, and people talking. Music is
many people are so tuned out of their sur- candles, turned off the TVs in my house, a great way to shut off from the world; most
roundings and into their music that they miss turned down the thermostat, and tucked of the time this is a bad thing, but sometimes
out on so much, like meeting new people . . . away in my room to enjoy the true rarity of it can actually be useful.
and eavesdropping on cool stories. silence. I stretched for a while, did a few sit- The result
The trial ups, brushed my hair, did a crossword, stared I, like most of those in North America,
Day 1: As expected, I ended up riding out at the open sky, and listened to the wind have grown so accustomed to having music
the bus today beside some 15-year-old punk comb through the trees. It sounds boring but around me that it affects my efficiency and
blaring his tunes. Thinking ahead, I stopped it was really quite soothing, and boy does mood. The world seems so much more de-
at the dollar store yesterday and picked up every minute go accounted for when you’re pressing without it and I don’t think I’ll be
some earplugs, which did me good until I got that aware of your surroundings. giving it up for good . . . ever. The thought
to school and blatantly ignored my fellow Day 9: I walked into the mall. Then I alone gives me the willies. As Nietzsche said,
classmates. If I had worn my hair up they walked out. I forgot my damn earplugs. You “Without music, life would be a mistake.”
would’ve seen the reason behind my silence really can’t go anywhere these days without
hearing music. At the movies, in restaurants, Next
and apparent snobbishness, but tomorrow I I’m giving up school and this column.
think I’ll be getting the cold shoulder. public bathrooms, the gym, on downtown
Peace Camosun!
Phlegm Alphabet
by Shane Scott-Travis
Summer 2009 23
nexus returns to
our blue boxes
on Wednesday,
sept. 9 with a
new issue every
two weeks
For more info on Nexus,
or to volunteer for your
student newspaper, email
nexus@ nexusnewspaper.com
or call 250-370-3591