Over tHe Evce Volume 14, Issue 14 March 26-April 9, 2008 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Open EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (ACTING) Andrew Kurjata MANAGING EDITOR Alzaar Shaam Semere PHOTO/PRODUCTION COORDINATORS Haakon Sullivan Tyler Clarke NEWS EDITOR Simran Lehal ARTS EDITOR Tabatha Lundholm COPY EDITOR Rebecca Carmichael DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Taylor Pratt ADVERTISING MANAGER Tabatha Lundholm FEATURES AND OPINIONS EDITOR Andrew Kurjata : SPORTS AND CLUBS EDITOR Andrew Bailey OFFICE LOCATION 7-219 MAILING ADDRESS 3333 University Way Prince George, BC V2N 4A6 PHONE (250) 960-5633 FAX (250) 960-5407 E-MAIL over-the-edge@unbc.ca Over the Edge is the official independent publishing media of students at the Univer- sity of Northern British Columbia. As such, it is our mandate to report on issues of interest to students in the North- ern Region. We encourage all students, both on the main and regional campuses to submit to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is part of the Canadian Uni- versity Press network of papers, otherwise known as CUP. CUP is an organization that is entirely owned by member papers, and provides such services as a news wire and advertis- ing to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is published every second week during the fall and winter semesters. Cover Green chemistry presentation for Green Day. Photo taken by Haakon Sullivan, Photo/ Production Coordinator . In all my time here at UNBC, I have never seen so much activism on campus in such a small period of time. First of all, we had a few students rais- ing money for the homeless by going through the experience of being home- less themselves. Going homeless for the homeless must have been a life altering experience for them and it hopefully opened other people’s eyes to the home- less situation as well. Secondly, we had the nuclear awareness day. Here students made an argument against nuclear weapons and the nuclear policies that control them. It is scary to see the destructive power of such useful knowledge and how close we have become to being consumed by it. Last, but not least, we had the Green Day which was a massive shout to people about the problems our environment is facing today. Tables were set up all over campus promoting environmental awareness and speak- ets were invited to talk about the present and future environmental state. Hopefully this changed some people’s habits and saved some garbage from the landfill and greenhouses gases from the atmosphere. Follow-Up: Miss World Canada When questioned on how much she has learned from the experience, Ghuman claims: “With pageants, if you’re not in it for the experience, you will find yourself overly dis- Simran LERAL News Epiror Harpreet Ghuman travelled to Toronto recently to compete for the title of Miss World Canada. Ghuman, who was absent from the final 15, was a semi-finalist for the SOS Children’s Villages Beauty with a Purpose award. Although Ghuman was a bit dis- appointed because of not winning the title, she felt great about her performances, and her “growth over the week, as a person and as a model.” During her packed 5- day schedule, Ghuman stayed at the hotel which hosts Canada’s Next Top Models, and participated in fitness competitions, photoshoots, interviews, and rehearsals. For her talent, Ghuman performed a Tae Kwon Do pattern, and she also par- ticipated in the swimsuit, interview, and evening gown competitions. with a positive attitude and confi- dence, but not with the attitude that it'd be the end of the world if I lost. Regardless of who got the crown, the other 44 girls, including myself, will probably continue to do what we were doing in the first place: working hard at our professions, giving back to our community, and trying to be the best role models possible.” ~ Miss World, the oldest surviving international pageant, is telecast to over 200 countries annually. Ac- cording to CTV, the pageant has taised millions for charity and is directly responsible for building the tourist industry in the 2003-05 host city of Sanya, China. Editor’s Message appointed. I like to go into them © Contrary to her expectation, Ghuman expresses that she and the other competitors became fast friends and “didn’t encounter the least bit of catty-ness or negativ- Leah Ryerse, a student at Mc- Master University who came third- runner-up in the competition last year, won the title and will represent Canada in the Miss World finals in ity.” Kiev, Ukraine later this year. Writers Wanted Over the Edge is a volunteer-run organization open to all UNBC stu- dents. We also welcome outside contributors. If you are interested in becoming a staff member, a writer, a photographer, or a columnist, it’s as simple as coming by the Over the Edge office located across from the Wintergarden and letting us know. We’ll tell you what’s available and how everything works. If you have a story proposal, a letter to the editor, a photo, a short story, a poem, a comic, an opinion, a question, or a complaint, please send it to over-the-edge@unbe.ca and it will most likely be published in the next issue (unless you don’t want it to be, in which case we'll keep it secret). Over the Edge is published bi¢§ekly during the fall and winter se- mesters. The next publishing date is Wednesday, March 26. If you would like to have something published in this issue, please send it to over-the-edge@unbc.ca by March 19. Well, with all these events all I have to say is keep it up. The best wa to change the world around you is to throw out these ideas to people and hope that people catch on to it. Not to mention they make great news stories. j Basically, you can’t sit around and wait for things to change. You have to take action sometimes. Look at the situation in Tibet for example, They got tired of Chinese rule and decided to take the matter into thei own hands to create a nation they can call their own. The declaration off independence of Kosovo from Serbia is another one. If they didn’t speak out they would have never become independent. Thi issue is chock full of ideas and idea provokers, The ideas range 1 topics from copyright law to the Chinese Olympics and the idea provok ers come from our news and arts stories. For inspiritation to act on these ideas you come up with, you can read about our own UNBC Timber wolves basketball team who fought their way to the national level. You don’t have to be a powerful or popular person to make change or a massive media outlet to inspire it. All you need is an idea that rings loud with others to inspire them to feel the same about the issue or a well writ ten piece that creates many different ideas for people to ponder about. Haakon Sullivan Photel Production Coordinator Green Day Wintergarden spectators are entartained with unique blends of musical stylings. 2 PROTOS TAKEN BY HAAKON SULLIVAN UNBC Sees Shades of Green Simman LEAL News Eorror Green Day was held last week, with over a hundred organizers and promoters running show. Representatives from the Chemistry department were out promoting Green practices currently being standardized by the industry. First- year chemistry courses are using non-toxic agents like M&M’s and Coca-Cola for dyes and acid/base titrations while virtual chemistry labs are replacing the harsh reagents commonly used in precipitation studies. Less harmful chemicals are currently being used as bleach- ing agents in the pulp and paper industry, and more research is being conducted into renewable resources and sustainability. One area of research which incorporates biology and chemistry, phytoremedia- tion, is looking at using common unicellular organisms as garbage- eaters in contaminated environments. GAIA was out supporting Green artists and recycled print-paper, while Darcy McLeod promoted creative uses for used and recycled paper. Used paper can be used for making origami and can be trans- formed into wrapping paper, thus easing the enviro-conscience guilt felt after Christmas or birthdays. Green Students Against the University Heights Neighborhood Plan were out advocating sustainable land management, now that the Uni- versity Heights development is a go, while Kate Juneau and Patricia Backlund represented the environmental studies program by,col- lecting cans for the Cantraption event taking place in the Agora on Thursday the 27". Over a hundred cans have been collected so far, and the group is under tight wraps about their construction ideas for the event. Robin Chang, a major organizer for the event, feels satisfied with the impressive event, and hopes more participants and agencies will come out in support next year.