Over the Edge - November 2 lifestyle 9 SIT, STAY; RELAX UNBC Pet A Puppy Fall 2011 JARROD WEISNER LIFESTYLE EDITOR Pet a puppy day, Fall 2011. Jake was a show stealer. REZ CHALLENGE RLA Annie Vandergaag Explains JARROD WEISNER LIFESTYLE EDITOR Recently, Over the Edge has decid- ed to shift into fourth gear and cover the residence challenges. Check out a quick interview with RLA Annie Vandergaag to see what you’ve been missing out in residence, as well as to find out when you can get down and dirty with some floor rivalries next time. “The last Res Challenge we held was on Sunday, October 16th in NUSC. This was our second challenge this year, as we made Shinerama our first challenge. The challenge involved a talent show and a pie-eating contest. We had close to 100 residents come out to watch and perform. Some sang, some danced, some did comedy, and we even had one resident show off his gymnastic skills. The second part of the challenge involved eating as much pie as one was capable of. The winner received $100 to Boston Pizza, and second place received $75. Residents also earned points for their floor by sim- The University of Northern Brit- ish Columbia is unique for a thousand different reasons — we encourage re- cycling, our school is built to with- stand a nuclear blast, and of course we have the friendly neighborhood moose that hasn’t figured out whether or not it’s ugly enough to do anything but stare from a distance. Yes, UNBC has its quirks, but when it comes to student stress and anxiety levels come exam time *cough cough*, some fac- ulty members on campus have come up with a creative and effective way to ease your sore mind through this rough period by bringing some smart- er, better looking, and less elusive animals for students to meet before and after class. It’s the end of October and time for you to make a new best friend for an afternoon — Pet A Puppy Day Fall 2011! With the help of UNBC staff and a partnership with the Prince George SPCA, Residence Life Coordinator Rob Giardino has created a truly spe- cial event on campus that is not only one-of-a-kind in British Columbia, but also in the entire country. Dog owners on campus have volunteered their afternoons (and their pooches) and made them available outside Neyoh Residence (complete with toys and all) for students to stop by, have a chat, and spend some time with. This experience not only brings together community members on campus, but offers students a moment to ease back into less stressful ways of thinking by letting their guard down and opening up to (wo)man’s best friend. Living on campus or even away from home, some students start to miss the softer things in life once the tough reality of academic respon- sibility sets in, and Pet A Puppy Day re-introduces that forgotten feeling of unconditional love from those you may take for granted. Understanding the importance of pets or animals as a homeopathic stress reliever is key to finding a balanced lifestyle at UNBC, as Rob Giardino states, “Life at UNBC shouldn’t be all work and no play, and by simply thinking of what can redirect stress for any student, Pet A Puppy Day was established as a truly special feature of Canada’s Green University.” When you start to question the functions of human and animal re- lationships, it begins to make sense that Pet A Puppy is a guaranteed hit among students. Shown in countless studies around the world, animals of- fer a type of companionship in times of stress, illness, and hardship. The predictability in the ways animals re- act to humans also offers a comforting facet to pet ownership and bonding, as the sheer unpredictability of the world around us can wind up being too much to handle at times. Believe it or not, it goes farther than just the emotional aspect of this inter-species friendship. Humans and dogs have evolved together for thousands of years as evidence would suggest, and this has left a positively permanent impact on human-canine interaction. Self-help experts would advise that the two species have filled each other’s gaps of weaknesses for years: sometimes four legs have been better than two, and other times you really do need opposable thumbs to get the job done right. Nine out of ten dogs would agree. ply showing up and signing in, which brings them closer to the final chal- lenge that happens in March. Res Challenges are good community events as they provide an opportunity for floors to connect with one another in while making teams to compete in, and also while connecting with other floors and RAs who come out to enjoy the time. Getting everyone out for some games and fun builds our community through interaction, and also provides residents with the social opportunities to meet new people and really enjoy both their residence and university experience at UNBC. The ideas for Res Challenge are mostly our own. Obviously Res Chal- lenge has been going on for a num- ber of years now, and we have been able to see which events people enjoy and which ones they do not enjoy as much. We’ve modified our events a bit this year from the past two years as Katie Sven and I are both new RLAs and had our own ideas of events we wanted to run. There is not really any particular order to them. We incorpor- ate different things into the challenges depending on the season/surrounding holidays (such as pumpkin pie in Oc- tober), but we pretty much just pick a couple dates and events throughout the year. We also get RA input during RA training in August as to what they would be interested in helping run and promote.” If you think your floor is this hardcore, think twice.