April 6, 2005

NEWS

’ Russian Writer

Coming to UNBC

Russian writer Yuri Rytkheu
will be visiting Prince George,
and stopping at UNBC to give
a presentation on his latest
book.
.  Rytkheu is a member of the

Chukchi people, a Russian
indigenous group whose ances-
tral homeland is in Russia’s far
northeastern corner. Rytkheu’s
latest book is due out in April,
and is a story that captures the
essence of a magnificent land-
scape and an ancient people. A
Dream in Polar Fog is about a
Canadian soldier who is
stranded on the Arctic Coast
and rescued by a Chukchi
community. The book has been
described by a German publi-
cation as “A delicate, highly
lyrical book.”
|  Rytkheu’s talk will be on

Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30pm
in the Weldwood Theatre (7-
238) located beside the
Bookstore. Copies of A Dream
in Polar Fog will be available
for purchase. The presentation
itself is free and open to the
public.

UNBC to Add Nurse

Practitioner Program

UNBC’s ongoing commit-
ment to expand northern edu-
cational opportunities in the
health professions has caused
the university to work on
adding a new Family Nurse
Practitioner Masters of
Nursing program.

Prior to the start of the pro-
gram, approval
obtained from the University
Senate, the UNBC Board
Governors, the RNABG, ,
the Ministry of Adyin
_Education. Pending appro’
itis expected thatthe fir:
students will begin their stax

at UNBC this fall. Funding for
the new program has been ear-
marked by the Government of

B.C.

Women’s Basketball .
Coach to Pursue Level

Four Certification

Loralyn Murdoch, the head
coach of the UNBC women’s
Northern Timberwolves bas-
ketball team, will be pursuing
Level 4 coaching certificatio
from the National C
Institute. Upon complet
the program, Loralyn will
the first coach in northern Bt
to have this certific
basketball, which y
her with opportunitie
at the national level.

As a result, UNBC is cur-
rently recruiting an interim
head coach to

ing the 2005-06 season.

With files from UNBC

Are you stressed? |

Bringing balance to your life

By MELISSA BEEDLE
THE OTHER PRESS (DOUGLAS COLLEGE)
I’ve taken up smoking again. My so-
called healthy-eating resolution has
gone out the window. My gym mem-
bership has expired, and my Visa is
reaching its limit again; which is
always the sure-fire indicator that yes,
Tm stressed out. Because as much as I
love shopping, I absolutely despise
credit cards. Or truthfully, maybe what
I really despise is the memory of cred-
itors calling me, not to mention the
whole concept of interest. God, I’ve
got a headache just thinking about it.
If you can at least partially relate-to

‘the above symptoms, then I hate to tell

you this, but you’re probably stressed
too. So beyond downing five martinis,
a Bellini and umpteen shots of tequila
on Friday night (and then spending the
rest of the weekend on your sagging
student couch recovering), just what
can you do to keep your stress level to
a minimum? And I’m talking without
resorting to over-the-counter medica-
tion, or in my case, turning your lungs
into a black-filled tobacco disposal
centre. (And you thought smoking was
glamorous? Hate to disappoint you.)

First, I must confess that I am some-
times a burnout case waiting to hap-
pen. I said sometimes. I am a sucker
for taking on projects. I’m one of those
raise-yourhand, sure-can volunteer
types, even though I freaking hate
those kind of people. Not to mention
the fact that I love to make money, and
as you already know, love spending it
even more.

So how do you know when enough
is enough? How do you stop the break-
down before the meltdown, so to

speak? Since I for one don’t know the
answer, I called up personal coach
Nancy Bradshaw to. see what she had
to say.

Bradshaw is the co-founder and

past president of Canadian Business _

for Social Responsibility. Last year, she
received an Ethics in Action Award for
her role as a leader in B.C.’s social
responsibility movement. The
Vancouver Sun named her as one of
‘the top 25 new leaders. She has since
started a coaching business called
Spark Strategies, where she helps peo-
ple overcome challenges and minimize
stress levels. She is clearly a woman
with some idea of balance, if there is
such a thing.

Here’s her advice:

CUT OUT THE THINGS
THAT ARE DRAINING YOU

“You have to prioritize the things in
your life. Look at what you're doing
and what’s important to you, and then
look at how much time you are actual-
ly- spending doing those things you
love,” Bradshaw says. “I ask my clients
to write down everything they do for a
week and look at the actual hours they
are spending doing the things they
love. Chances are they’re spending
more time doing things they don’t like
than they need to be.”

VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS

Bradshaw helps her clients find
what they really want to do and then
set small goals to get the things they
want. “You have to visualize what you
really want in your life, if you ever
want to get it,” says Bradshaw. “They
did a study in Switerland with a
group of Olympic athletes. One group
spent 75 per cent of their time practic-

Page 4

aa

PHOTO BY ELLIOTT CHALMERS

Carolynne Burkholder takes a break from her stressful job as a
full-time student, and the Editor-in-Chief of Over the Edge. Are
you suffering from stress? Nancy Bradshaw offers some tips for

reducing stress in your life.

ing and the other 25 per cent of their
time visualizing their goals. Another
group spent 75 per cent of their time
visualizing and 25 per cent of their
time practicing — and they were the
ones who actually performed better.
That shows you how important it is to
be clear about what you want and to
really believe that you can do it.”

SURROUND YOURSELF
WITH PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT
YOU

Once a week, Bradshaw calls her
best friend, and they coach each other
for about an hour and a half. “We ask
each other lots of questions,” says
Bradshaw. “We commit to each other
things that we want to do and really

must be

lead the |
women’s basketball team dur-

Move necessary says administration,
move inconvenient respond students

CONTINUED FROM COVER

So far, several meetings have been.
held where all of the cohorts, as well
as acting chair Denis Procter, have
sat down to discuss the proposal.

“Tt all came up very suddenly...
they said someone has to move and it
made sense for it to be us,” said
Leona Prince, another PR Rep for
the SY04 class.

While the students don’t like it, the
administration does have some good
reasons for-considering a move.

Currently, the Education Program
requires four stationary classes and
with the library building under reno-
vations it has been difficult to find
four classes to suit those needs.

It was also stressed that with the
Teaching and Learning Center being
finished in 2007 the move will only
be temporary: :

However, from the other side of
the issue, students of the program
feel that the resources and facilities
that will be available at Lakewood
will not be up to par with the univer-

According to Wells and Prince,
some of the facilities that will be
missed by the relocated students are
the cafeteria, the library, the
Education Resource center, the day-
care, the residences, and the science
labs.

“They aré giving us a microwave

and a coffeemaker and expecting it to
replace a cafeteria,” Wells suggésted
wryly.

According to Wells, several stu-
dents of the program live in resi-
dence and moved there specifically
because of its close proximity to the
school. She also pointed out that to
use the daycare facilities, students
would have to come up to the
University, drop off their kids then go
back down to Lakewood, and come
back up at the end of the day.
Adding onto that, some professors
would have to commute between
Lakewood and the University
because several of them teach classes
not in the Education Program. All
these factors mean that the move
may be practical, but it is also incon-
venient, according to students.

Wells and Prince both agree, “It
has been very stressful to just. wait
and see.”

The final announcement is to be
made on Friday, April 1, two weeks.
after the final deadline for new stu-
dents to apply, which means next
year’s class does not even know what
it is getting into.

(Editor’s note: Due to Over the
Edge’s publishing deadline, we were
unable to print the decision. Please
read Over the Edge in September for
follow-ups and additional coverage
on this issue.)

make sure that we are clear on what
we want from our lives. If ’m doing
things that are counterproductive to
who I am and what I want, she calls
me on it.”

But what if you don’t have much
time? According to Bradshaw, “You
make the time. Maybe you cut out an
hour of TV or reading and you use

that time to connect with the support-

ive people in your life. You have to
make those connections a priority
because they are the ones who are
going to help you when you’re stressed
or when you’re unclear about where
you should be going next. Ideally, we
all should be doing what we. love at
least 80 per cent of the time.”

UNBC professors’ book short-listed for
prestigious British Columbia literary award

CONTINUED FROM COVER

to each chapter, and the preface to
the book, as well as adding all his
knowledge of nature loving poets, cre-
ating a book that was unique, and
about more than just birds.

The result is a book that is peppered
with quotations from poets that help
make it a very interesting read, even to
those of us who are not scientifically
inclined.

For readers not so interested in the
twelve syllable Greek or Latin names
that accompany each entry, Hutchings
did some researh, listing the folk
names of some of the birds, and. what
they mean.

The book is a “community effort,”
said Hutchings, and with thirteen con-
tributors - four authors and nine pho-
tographers - and the help of Harbour

Publishing House, one can well see his
point.

In addition to being an interesting
read, Birds of the Raincoast is also a
beautiful one, filled with amazing pho-
tography and great layout, making it
the kind of book that could sit on the
fanciest coffee table and not be
ashamed.

When asked how he felt about his
honour, Hutchings said he was happy

.to be'a part of the book, and is very

excited to have his book short-listed
for the award - not a common hap-
penstance for an author of academia.

The book is running up against
books authored by the likes of
Douglas Copeland and David Suzuki.
Hutchings considers it a “real honour
to be included among that list of
authors.”

ZAGA’S Parkwood Place, Prince George