Over the Edge + February 1, 2006 _

Sports and Clubs

11

Rookie Engineering Team Brings Home the Silver

ALLEN LAI

' (From left to right) Belinda Li, Lani McPherson, Marie Manchester, and Jen von Gradulewski of the UNBC team for
the Western Engineering Competition proudly display their awards.

TYLER CLARKE
SPORTS AND CLUBS EDITOR

From January 18 to 22, UNBC
engineering students partook in the
Western Engineering Competition,
held in Calgary,

“It was so much fun!” said Belinda Li,
president of UNBC’s Environmental
Engineering Student Association: a
club made official only this year. “It was
a new experience, as this was the first
time we were able to go to this event.

We didn’t know what to expect, but we
were certainly not let down.”

UNBC’s Engineering club took sec-
ond place in both of the fields they par-
ticipated in, despite having the smallest
school of the 9 schools pacipating:

Four members took part in Consulting,
and two of those four also took part in
Communications.

Schools from as far away as the Uni-
versity of Manitoba took part in this
event, Competing in other environ-
mental ‘areas such as Junior Design,
Senior Design, Consulting Design,
Debate, Comrnunications, Innovative
Design.

The.students taking part in UNBC’s
team included club president and
Over The Edge production coordin-
ator Belinda Li, as well as Jen Von
Gradulewski, Lani McPherson, and
Marie Manchester.

First -placé participants received a
$500 prize, second got $400, and third
got $200, These funds will be used to
take the team to the Canadian Engin-

‘eering competition in Montreal, which,

thanks their second placings, they were
qualified for.

In part of the competition, UNBC’s

Consulting Design team had to figure

out a solution to the problem of the.
_ West Coast Trail, taking into account

renewable energy resources. This con-
sulting design team was new this year
to the Western Engineering Competi-
tion, and UNBC's presentation with
regards to the issues presented earned

‘them second place, taking this event's

second-place-ginity.

Aside from competitions, engineer-
ing students taking place in this event
were free to explore a career fair, where
they were able to begin thinking about
their post-education careers. In addi-

tion to this career fair, tours of poten-
tial employers were provided, including
tours of:the- Shell Caroline Complex,
the Calgary Herald newspaper, and
the Aerospace. Museum, among a few
others.

On Thursday, competitors attended
the Jubilations Dinner Theater to view
Pirates of. the North Saskatchewan.
On Friday, everyone was encouraged
to go to Calgary’s most popular bar:
Cowboy's Night Club for dinner and
dancing.

~The Havibenmnenest Engineering Stu-

et Association-Has. been up to more

than just thesé competitions; since get-
ting together last year; and. becoming

‘an official club this year, they have been

doing more and more events. “This last.
semester, they've taken part in a pub
night, a charity food drive; and have
gotten together for’ building *competi-
tions involving canned foods;

“We've been teally successful so far
this year; said Li. “It’s been: alot of fun
being president of this club, and I hope
for a lot more events this semester.’ For
one, or a few, of these events, they plan
to reach out to high school students;
visiting Prince George high schools to
encourage them to pursue a future in
engineering.

For more information on this club,
contact Belinda Li, who can be found
sporadically at the Over the Edge
newspaper office in the Wintergarden.
“We're always looking for more engin-
eering students,’ encouraged Li.

The Vaguely-Themed Sports Ramble

A Spruce Kings Game

TYLER CLARKE ~
SPORTS AND CLUBS EDITOR

On Saturday, January 14, the
Prince George Spruce Kings battled
the Merritt Centennials, Literally,
Battled. There was very little hockey
playing involved in the evening, Intet-
rupting many well-done plays, was
the mindless fighting of a few atten-
tion-whores,

Bubba Westwood, for example,
seemed to be craving attention like a
hyperactive 2-year-old boy at Boxing
Day dinner. While the other play-
ers were off, trying to win, he was to
the side, trying to crack open skulls.
During one magnificent play, he
punched one fellow, turned atound,
and punched’ another player in the
very same place; flat across the side of
the head.

Not to say the Centennials didn’t
start any fights: over half of the penal-
ties were because of them. Both teams
were rather violent, bringing to mind
the Hanson Brothers of the movie
Slap Shot. In Slap Shot, the protagon-
ist team, coached by Patil Newman's
character, isn't very good, so they take
to fighting instead of playing hockey.
Newman encourages more and mote
fighting until it takes centre stage...
much like the events of this Spruce
Kings game.

This shouldn't come as a shock to
UNBC students, who, when polled
a few months ago by this teporter,
overwhelmingly professed their love
of hockey fights. And why not? It's
pretty damned neat to see blood

spurting out of a complete stranger's
Pp ig ip ig

face, his eyes darting across the ice at
that player they dislike, skating across,
whipping off his gloves and then re-
moving some of his teeth.

Violence is cool: just look at any
video game these days, Grand Theft
Auto, for example, You can steal a car,
run over a crack whore, then slice a
police officer to bits with a chain-saw,
Movies, as well: in Reservoir Dogs, a
man cuts off a cops ear, then douses
him in gasoline, Most lately, the movie
Hostel, which recently hit theaters, is
about torture. You see toes and eyes
being taken off of people, There isn't
very much to the movie, other than
scenes of violence and torture.

So, is hockey missing something?
We seem to enjoy these scenes of vio-
lence, and yet in hockey, players are
penalized for fighting, At this Spruce
Kings game, much of the 3 periods
were part of power-plays, thanks
to this fighting. So what needs to
change?

‘They should be rewarded for fight-
ing, with a points system in which
playets get benefits for the severity of
the injuries they inflict on other play-
ers. Considering the fact that many
people attend hockey matches for the
sole purpose of seeing fights, there
should be more of them. The audi-
ence comes alive whenever there is a
fight occurring; so if they simply have
more, the audience will be excited for
longer periods of time, and thus a
more exciting game will be viewed.

Fighting rocks. People obviously
want more. Violence is neat. *stabs self

in hand with pen*. BOO-YEAH!

UNBC Apprentice | Preview

REBECCA CARMICHAEL
STAFF WRITER

It's that time of year again! The
UNBC Business Undergraduate Stu-
dent Society (BUGSS) is hosting the
second annual UNBC. Apprentice
competition, Based on Donald Trump's
highly popular reality show, partici-
pants compete in tasks which mimic
the pressures of the business world.
On the show, they compete for the op-
portunity to work for Donald Trump,
but at UNBC, they will be competing
for great prizes as well as the chance to
show what they can do.

The competition spans from Febru-
ary 1 to February 8. It will consist of
four teams competing in four events,
with teams being eliminated after the
first three events, and the remaining
participants competing as individuals
in the final event. The events are meant
to be fun, as well as to help partici-
pants hone their business skills and to
provide advertising for the sponsoring
companies.

The four events will be sponsored
by The Hudson Bay Company, Spruce
Capital Credit Union, Pepsi, and Ad-
vantage Wireless,

On February 8, the winner will be
announced and a wrap-up party will be
held at Sgt. O’Flaherty’s. The prizes for
winning the UNBC Apprentice can't
be disclosed at this time, but they will
be worth it.

Although the application processes
ended on January 25, the competition
can be viewed while it runs from Feb-
ruary 1 through-to February 8, See an

upcoming issue of Over the Edge for a

full review.

avery ©

REBECCA CARMICHAEL

Our Graduate Program
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cutting edge of
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