Gradzette The university of mANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT Magazine January 2015
Multimillion dollar Active Living Centre nears completion Page 3
Gradzette THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE
january 2015
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Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: editor@gradzette.com Editor: Ryan Harby Copy Editor: Bryce Hoye Designer: Marc Lagace Contributors: Rachel Wood, Katy MacKinnon Cover: Ryan Harby
The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published on the first Monday of each month by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.
The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens. The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objec¬tively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression If you have a passion for writing, jourand exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate nalism, photography, or illustration meaningful debate on issues that affect or would oththe Gradzette is looking for individuerwise be of interest to the student body and/or society als to get involved with the producin general. tion process of the U of M’s graduate student paper. The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and The Gradzette currently offers 10 other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please cents per word for freelance articles, contact the editor listed above for submission guide$7 per photo/graphic used, and $30 lines. for images used on the cover. FreeThe Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions lancers will be added to a contact and will not publish any material deemed by its editoripool and emailed with potential aral board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic ticle, photo, or graphic assignments or libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are when they become available. solely those of the authors. Interested applicants please send The Gradzette is a member of the Canadian University your resume and at least two (2) rePress, a national student press cooperative with memcent work samples to editor@gradbers from St. John’s to Victoria. zette.com. All contents are ©2014 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.
Freelance
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U of M Active Living Centre set to open in February Rachel Wood
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tudents and staff at the University of Manitoba can finally prepare to say “adios” to the Gritty Grotto. February 2015 will bring about the long anticipated opening of the new Active Living Centre.
studios, and a 40-foot climbing wall. This equals double the equipment currently in the Grotto, some of which is 20-years-old.
Located on the corner of University Crescent and Dafoe Road, the leading edge 100,000 square foot building features a 200-metre indoor and elevated running track, a group work-out area that includes 1,000 pieces of weights and accessories, 160 pieces of cardio equipment, 64 pieces of resistance machinery, 49 of strength equipment, food service options, an area for social gatherings,
by Cibinel Architects and Batteriid. Cibinel, a Winnipeg based consulting office, has been commonly employed by the University of Winnipeg, Brandon University, and Red River College, and is currently working on the new U of M Vision (re)Generation Development Plan for the Southwood Golf Course land obtained by the university, though the actual plans have not yet been presented.
The centre also includes a research space, taking up 10,000 square feet of the large The faculty of kinesiology and recreation facility. Gordon Giesbrecht, faculty of management’s new facility broke ground in kinesiology and recreation management October of 2012 after the centre’s plans were professor, told the Manitoban that this presented in February,2011. The 40-year-old Applied Research Centre will provide space locker rooms of the Frank Kennedy Centre to “design and evaluate programs that will were already renovated in 2012, as a first step actually get people active.” in the construction process. The building was designed in collaboration
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Active Living Centre construction from January, 2014. Photo by Beibei Lu
Cibinel describes the main architectural goals of the Active Living Centre as “contrast[ing] the existing Frank Kennedy Recreation Centre by creating a building that is extroverted, communicative, and engag[ing] the community and users at a pedestrian as well as vehicular scale.”
The Icelandic company describes the Active Living Centre as supporting the “promotion, teaching, and research of active living in a variety of formats and at varying levels of intensity [ . . . ] It will bear testimony and promote active living principles and practices for all Manitobans.”
The new centre replaces the both loved and loathed Gritty Grotto, anunderground facility that currently houses the U of M’s exercise equipment. The Grotto is surrounded by gravel and resembles the remains of an underground parking lot, with a chain link Currently, the U of M states that more fence around the perimeter of the space. than “7,800 students and 1,000 staff and community members use the Director of active living Gary Thompson faculty of kinesiology and recreation told the Manitoban in January of 2014 that “the primary driving factor of the new Active management’s[facilities annually].” Living Centre was to get out of the Gritty “The building seeks to maintain existing Grotto, which he said “looks, smells, and flows, contribute to the inter-connectivity of the campus network, and become a conduit feels like a basement.” Further, the architectural firm states that the prominent location of the facility on the campus will create an “important icon” by attracting staff and students, along with the public, to the U of M campus.
that increases the general public’s exposure to According to Thompson, the new centre the idea of active living,” states Cibinel. was a priority in order to encourage physical activity, which positively affects mental Batteriid is an Iceland based consulting architectural firm whose projects are mainly health. in Norway and Iceland. The company has a connection with Winnipeg, however, as they were also used for the Polo Park Stadium Site Redevelopment project.
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Research has shown that regularly exercising three to five times a week can improve thinking, learning and judgment skills. Studies on mice have shown mice that ran
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learned new tasks, such as a water maze, faster than those that did not run. Further, monkeys who regularly ran on a treadmill learned twice as fast than those who were sedimentary.
and prosperous communities”.
The U of M aims to support individuals who do not regularly exercise by providing a “getting started suite” that offers a smaller and more private space to learn the basics of exercising, such as how to use the equipment.
The university provided the remaining $36.5 million.
The City of Winnipeg also contributed to the cost of the Active Living Centre with$2.5 million provided by the sale of the old Polo Park stadium.
The opening of the new Active Living Centre arrives among a recent surge in health
Click to open a virtual tour video on YouTube Other aspects of the design contribute to creating an open and inviting atmosphere in the facility, such as the airy design and three walls of floor-to-ceiling windows. “It’s an open and welcoming space for everyone,” said Simon Wang, facilities manager for the faculty of kinesiology and recreation management.“We strategically placed the equipment to keep it open and welcoming. You don’t want to have the strength equipment right in your face when you first walk in.” The centre cost a total of $59 million. The federal and provincial government provided joint financial support of $20 million through the Provincial-Territorial Base fund, a federal initiative launched in 2007 under the Building Canada plan. The fund has $2.275 billion that “provides predictable funding to provinces and territories to address core infrastructure priorities” that include “cleaner environments” and “strong
initiatives in the area. The new ACCESS Fort Gary will be constructed as the sixth ACCESS centre in Winnipeg. This new primary care clinic will allow residents in the community to receive services from physicians, nurse practitioners, and primary care nurses, as well as utilizing community development spaces, including meeting rooms and a kitchen. Moreover, gym expansions at École St. Avilia and Fort Richmond Collegiate are set to occur. Memberships to the new facility will now be included in tuition under the sport and recreation fee, at $75 per term for full time students, prorated for the Winter 2015 term at $56.25. Students will be required to activate their memberships in order to access the facilities, both at Fort Gary and the Bannatyne campus.
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Career fair 2015
Annual event forges connections between students and employers Katy MacKinnon
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he University of Manitoba’s annual career fair is a convenient method for students to connect with prospective employers, practice interview techniques, and learn about the diversity of organizations recruiting in Manitoba.
Career fair prep
On Jan. 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. students can wander through the booths on the second floor of University Centre and meet with 94 employers, like GoodLife Fitness, Kumon Canada, and NYGÃRD International.
For further preparation, the U of M’s Career Services is holding a number of workshops throughout January. Pre-registration for career month events begins on Jan. 7 at 9:30 a.m. in University Centre, and refreshments are included.
Registration is required and attendance is free. Students will be provided maps of the booths so they can organize their route accordingly.
Penner said that the career fair is an “active” fair, and according to feedback from previous years, employers want to see resumes and want students to be able to have a conversation about prospective job opportunities.
First-time career fair attendees would benefit from the Career Prep workshop on Jan. 14, 15, and 16. This workshop will offer advice on personal presentation to employers while “It’s important that [students] get a sense of highlighting strengths. the employers in Winnipeg that are hiring,” Penner says it’s important for students to do said Sonya Penner, event coordinator. “It’s background research and think about why a wide variety of companies from different students want to work for specific companies industries; we have social sciences right to before speaking with them. engineering.” On Jan. 15, the workshop titled “Know According to Penner, the conversations Yourself, Know Your Career” will help between students and employers at the fair students organize their thoughts about are like “mini interviews,” since many of the potential career opportunities that would people working at the booths work in human match best with their personalities and resources. Students should dress well and strengths. make eye contact, as well as be prepared with As many careers require strong writing skills, multiple resume copies.
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the “Get an Edge” workshop on Jan. 15 will help students do just that. This workshop has an academic focus, with advice on developing a thesis and conducting research.
International students can learn about working in Canada at the “Canadian Workplace Culture” workshop on Jan. 20. This workshop helps to assess cultural For last-minute prep right before the event, differences in the workplace, and talks about the “Resume Blitz” workshop on Jan. 19 how to experience success with diversity. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will assist students with “I think a person at university is going to sharpening their resumes. Career consultants get a great education, a great degree,” said will help students tailor their resumes to best Penner. “[Companies] would be lucky to match prospective employers. have a graduate.” Workshops catered towards international Workshop times and locations can be found at: students will help to ease the transition to a www.umanitoba.ca/student/careerservices/ foreign workforce. Service Canada is on-site lte/index.html on Jan. 8 to issue social insurance numbers for international students with the correct documentation.
Get your research featured in the Gradzette Are you a graduate student eager to promote your research and provide exposure for your work in the master’s or doctoral program? The Gradzette is looking for individuals interested in participating in our ongoing “Researcher Profile” column, which seeks to showcase important and exciting U of M research for a larger audience. If you would like to be featured in an upcoming “Researcher Profile,” please contact editor@gradzette.com with details regarding your field of study, a short blurb about your current research, and any pertinent contact information for interview purposes.
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How do women in the international student community fare with health care in Canada? Ashley Wadhwani — The Omega (THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY) KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CUP) — A pilot study looking at the current health care accessibility and use by female international students is being conducted on Thompson Rivers (TRU) campus. The researchers, senior lecturer Florriann Fehr and co-investigators Kim Munich and Wendy McKenzie are collecting data through interviews with women on their experiences with Canada’s health care system. The interviews are focusing on the “specific cultural and religious influences [that] may influence unaddressed health care needs while attending Canadian post-secondary programs,” according to the description of the study currently being handed out to international student women interested in participating. “The little information we have has been largely on mental health,” said Allison Perry, fourth-year nursing student and assistant researcher in the study. Perry has always been interested in being culturally competent and culturally safe in health practices. This research allows her to pursue both her passions of anthropology and nursing. According to Fehr, the data is already showing insufficiencies in Canadian health care, particularly maternity care. For example, international students, specifically women from Saudi Arabia, are having babies in Kamloops, but where these women are getting post-pregnancy care from is unclear. “There’s this big disconnect. The nurses are saying ‘we don’t know where they’re going afterward,’ and public health is having issues contacting them, too” Fehr said. “As educators and ethical people, we think ‘well I hope that they’re getting the services they need because they’re here going through TRU.’” Fehr completed her PhD with a focus on students raising children while they’re in post-secondary programs. “My whole interest is making sure that this transition, of coming here on campus and having their academic life, is balanced with all the other stuff they need to have done outside of school. There’s this vulnerable group or unknown group of TRU international students, females in particular,” she said. The data is already revealing a misunderstanding on the insurance coverage that international students have, where
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some women students believe it’s cheaper to travel back to their home countries in order to have basic procedures, according to Fehr. “They miss all these facts[ . . . ] and we’ve had a couple that have gone home for something as simple as a yeast infection. [Here] it’s an over the counter [medication] or maybe they go through a doctor, but [it’s] not known how simple it is,” Fehr said. The data has also shown a disconnect between Western uses of certain medications and other cultural beliefs or practices. According to Fehr, some Chinese students bring an extra bag of luggage filled with traditional medicines from home such as teas and herbs. “They don’t have any trust with the Westernized system. There is no bridging between the kinds of [medications] we have offered here and their stuff [ . . . ] when they go and see a doctor, they’re worried that they’re going to be given medicine that isn’t safe,” Fehr said. “They have a different way of looking at medications and treatments and antibiotics, too.” Other cultural differences found in the data include the concept of 911. In mainland China they have several emergency numbers for specific emergencies, according to Fehr. “Some have phoned 911 not knowing what to expect on the other side and have panicked,” she said. Other misconceptions Fehr has noticed through the interviews have been the role a pharmacist plays in prescriptions, how breastfeeding clinics work and a struggle adjusting to Canadian food leading to skin and stomach issues. The group has mostly interviewed female students from China and India, but the pilot study is looking to expand to all groups on campus. “It’s very preliminary, just understanding the basic expectations and experiences these women have had thus far,” Perry said. Perry hopes this opens doors for more research. “At this point we’re just collecting data. We need more answers and we definitely need other cultures,” Fehr said.