October 27, 2004 CO Interested in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in Economics? Economics is an exciting and in demand career, and anyone interesting in pur- suing their Masters degree in Economics is invited to attend the Economics ’ Program Graduate School Information Session. Dr. Ken Kasa,_ the Graduate Chair of Simon Fraser University will be speaking, application pro- cedures and course infor- mation will also be avail- able. October 29, 2:00 to 2:45 pm., in Admin 1069. Everyone welcome. Scientific Creationism Lecture Irrefutable examples of design in Nature: a lecture by Dr. Thomas Kindell, the author of Evolution on Trial. Kindell will be visit- ing UNBC on November 8th, at 7:00 pm. in room 7- 238. Dr. Kindell will be citing examples of extreme design technology and fan- tastic instinctive behav- iours of a wide variety of creatures. All are welcome, donations accepted for the Creation Science Association of Prince George. Call for Debate The 11th Annual Santa Claus Debate will be held in the Winter Garden, December 1st, at 6:30 pm. Debaters will have -five minutes to argue for or against the existence of Santa Claus. Open to facul- ty, staff and students. For more information, contact Todd Whitcombe at 960- 6678. Family Halloween Bowling Family Bowling is at Strike Zone on October 31st from 11:00 am. To 2:00 pm: Pizza and pop provided, costumes are optional (prizes for best costume), free for Rec Org members and their fami- lies. E-mail Sean Kinsley (kinsley@unbc.ca) to:.sign up. (Include number of kids and adults.) Halloween “The Coming out Story of One Who is not Gay, nor Bisexual by Heather Glasgow. >> Contributor When speaking of late with the recently ordained vice president of PrideUNBC, I had a revelation. ~ Years of questions were answered; my search was over, my identity was established. I wish to now use this opportunity to reach out to other women I know are waiting to come forward. I am a gay man trapped in a womans body.I began to realize it in my late teens. Growing up in Vancouver I found myself inex- plicably drawn to the gay district that is Davie Street. The lights, the dance beats, the glamour, the sense of community and cama- raderie dazzled me. I was sucked into conversations about Gucci and cosmetics. I laugh now when I think how I told myself I went to those clubs for the music. I was lying. It was the men. Men upon men, dancing together, calling me ‘sweetheart’ and ‘darling’. We drank into the late hours, sang Annie Lennox songs, held hands, and checked out boys in tight pants. Those were the good old days when no one questioned me. Slowly it occurred to me that my life was becoming divided. My straight friends looked at me in wonder and suspicion as I bounced off to the gay club, arm in arm with my flamboyantly attired male friends. They whis- pered behind my back, thought it strange that I had taken a sudden liking to Cosmopolitans and Will and Grace. Eventually, I started sneaking off to avoid the inquisitive faces. When people asked me where I had been on the weekend, I lied and told them I was studying. In actuality, I had danced on stage shamelessly, my arms raised over my head in celebration and joy, surrounded by men I had grown to love so much. My CD collection swelled to included suspect vol: umes such as the Queer as Folk soundtrack and Love Inc. My secret was growing deeper. I had to work harder to mask my true feelings. Although it pained me greatly, 1 went along to straight clubs. I watched as men swilled back beers, belched loudly, and bounced on the dance floor to Fifty Cent as though they all were the long lost members of G - Unit. “The white man’s overbite”, (a classic straight move) plagued the dance floor as.I observed in horror from the shadows of the bar. Oh! I had betrayed my true self in those dark days! And then it hit me. I was with- out identity. I was neither gay nor bisexual, but lingering on some strange plane between two worlds. Where could I place myself? I had seen other women like me, linked in arms with a gay man, or sitting in his lap. I began to think about these relationships. What did it mean that I was far more attracted to a gay man then a straight one? I sunk into a deep pondering, I left the clubs and did not return for many months. The soundtrack of my days went from ‘Daft Punk to R.E.M.I left home last summer for UNBC on a quest to find myself, and to find a place. Time has:served me well for now know who | am. Although my breakthrough has been problem solving, it has also been perplexing, for I know now that we are cursed ladies, we want ‘what we cannot have. But please, do not be discouraged, come forth, be not afraid for others who are like-minded. will embrace you. Let us together build a communi- ty, and never take for granted the gay man inside of us all. Discover PIRG and by Catherine Fraser >> Contributor I never thought I would be an ‘activist’ of any kind. I was raised by parents who always taught me to do the right thing and to be a good steward of the planet, but there was never any special emphasis on being ‘green’ or sav- ing whales or anything like that. _Mom and Dad taught me to com- post, recycle, not to litter, and to generally be thrifty and mindful of how I lived. We had books on our shelves like Amy Dazycyn’s ‘Tightwad Gazette’, wherein Amy instructed the world on how to “use only four squares of toilet paper per wash- room visit” and-to “reuse those plastic gallon milk jugs as pooper scoopers”. : Still, as I grew into adolescence and became more independent, I took things for granted. It was a matter of forgetting to live con- sciously and consider the impact of my lifestyle on the space around me. I made needless trips in the car when I could have walked, I threw Arts Page 12 Pucks create a great live CD in Artspace Story and photograph by Jonas Gagnon : >> Opinions Editor The Pucks concert was the first time I have ever been to Artspace, and both impressed me. The Pucks put on a good show and Artspace was a great intimate venue. The Pucks are Lloyd Larsen on tuba and bass, Cindy Larsen on percus- sion and vocals, and Murray Gable on guitar and vocals, and they put on a great live show. Their music was good, but what was impres- sive was the way they interacted with the crowd. They told jokes and even took some requests yelled from the audience. Another fun part of their show was they had a sing along with the crowd. Their live show was worth going to; it wasn’t simply playing songs from their records. This was my first experience with The Pucks and I thought their music was beautiful. The. song pop cans into the garbage, I brushed off world events that seemed so _ distant because Dawson’s Creek was on the next channel. I have spent the last few years in a period of unrest because the state of our world and our environment sometimes seems too daunting to take on. I wanted to see something change, both in my life, and in the world; to do some- thing that would yield visible results. I became interested in PIRG as a result of discontent with the world around me. I’m talking not only -about the unequal distribution of wealth on the planet, but also of the garbage I see strewn on my front walk. Its not just on the glob- al scale, its something that had to start in my own kitchen with a bag set aside for recyclables. We are lucky, on this campus, to have a tool for social and environment change at our very fingertips. The Prince George Public Interest Research Group has been present since 1995, empowering UNEC students to take initiative and to positively impact the envi- lyrics were so well written and thoughtful that they got the writer of the group, Murray, an invitation to the L.A. Songwriter Symposium. The music was folk but swung all the way from a bluesy ‘No More Little Women’ to some covers. of pop songs like ‘I Want You to Want Me.’ They start- ed out with a Bob Dylan song. This created a nice segway from a more known folk singer into their own work. Artspace was a great venue. It was quite intimate, allowing for the aforementioned conversation between the crowd and The Pucks. It was mostly filled with middle- aged people but there was a small contingent of university aged peo- ple.This was a fun evening. I rec- ommend Artspace for a night out. It’s cheaper than the movies and lasts longer, it. supports local artists, and is more fun than the average Hollywood movie. You should go. Make a Difference ronment (both physical and social) through education and through its various action groups. These groups include the Composting and Organic Garden Action Group (the ones pushing buckets of rotting _ vegetables through the halls), the Recycling Action Committee (bleary -eyed res dwellers who would probably rather be sleeping in on a Saturday than lugging everyone’s old pizza boxes to the depot) and the Organic Food Group (providing an. alternative to chemically-treated and less-than-fresh supermarket produce). On top of that, the Tuition Action Group (advocates for. an issue that we are all involved in, whether we like it or not) facili- tates awareness of government imposed fee increases and strives to hold decision-makers account- able for legislation that affects you as a student. The Goat River Watershed and Great Bear Rainforest Action Group raises awareness of one of the province's threatened. water- sheds in unison with other local environmental organizations. ~Greening the Ivory Towers is a pilot project underway in partner- ship with several universities across Canada, facilitated by the Sierra Youth Coalition. Its aim is to measure’ UNBC’s sustainability against. various pre-set indicators. That's not all - there is a flavour for everyone and the volunteering opportunities within the PGPIRG are endless. If you have only an hour a week, you can make a valu- able contribution. If nothing else, PIRG will empower you, as an individual, to start thinking outside the box. Surrounded by fellow students, it is an education in taking on some of the world’s most daunting prob- lems at a very small scale. Drop in to the office and browse the book- shelves, rent a movie, or just read the stickers on the wall. As students at UNBC, we have more resources at our disposal than the average citizen. PIRG can help you channel your energy and desire for change into a movement that will make a difference for the rest of your life.