November 2005
Whose show is it, anyway?
November 2, 2005
TRU's new Centre for the Study of Canada will present a panel discussion on the role of the small city in performance.
The panel will include members of TRU and Kamloops arts community Barbara Berger of the City of Kamloops, James Hoffman and Ginny Ratsoy (moderator) of TRU, Derek Rein from Project X Theatre, David Ross from Western Canada Theatre and Terri Runnalls of Saucy Fops Theatre.
Event organizer Ginny Ratsoy hopes to have lots of people from the community in the audience.
"This panel presentation brings together various theatre communities within Kamloops and an official representative from arts and culture in order to discuss and debate issues that are critical not only to all two groups, but to the residents of Kamloops," she said.
"Cities are more and more 'performing themselves,'" said panellist James Hoffman. "A small city like Kamloops is already a stage because of things like tourist promotion, refiguring of the community character, development and funding plans, and heritage sites."
Panellists will be asked to respond to the question of how performance groups can reflect and engage with Kamloops as a performed character on Wednesday, November 9th, from 1:30-3:30 pm in the Alumni Theatre in the TRU Clock Tower.
For information, please contact Ginny Ratsoy at 828-5238 or by email.
Service Learning "Out on the Town"
November 3, 2005
Jen Jones, a TRU Canadian Studies Service Learning student, is busy assisting in the organizing of the On the Town arts celebration to be held November 4th at TRU's Campus Activity Centre.
She got the job as a result of contacts made in her first stint in Service Learning in Winter, 2005, which found her on the organizing committee of the university's inaugural Teaching Practices Colloquium as well as working in various capacities for Western Canada Theatre.
"My work in Service Learning for Western Canada Theatre gave me great contacts in the arts community, and when the job with the KAG helping to organize On the Town came up, I heard about it and applied right away," she said.
First off, she dived into the archives of the Kamloops Art Gallery, Western Canada Theatre, and the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, looking for visuals for a slide show depicting 30 years of the arts in Kamloops she's created. The show will be presented in the Grand Hall as part of On the Town.
Next, she scoured the attics of friends and family and drummed up donations from second-hand clothing stores like Value Village for a '70s and '80s fashion show, to be presented at the beginning of the evening.
"It's not a very serious portion of the show," she explained. "It's there to set the context for traveling back through three decades. It's a lot of fun."
The bright, energetic student, whose experience so far in her 23 years hasn't included organizing and running a fashion show, enlisted the help of a friend, former Miss Kamloops Michele Mansus, now in the running for the Miss Canada title.
Jones is committed to the concept of Service Learning, so much so that she's also just been selected as the sole undergraduate student representative on the Founding Board of Directors for the Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning, and is preparing for a trip to Montreal in next Monday to participate in the inaugural national meeting and symposium of CACSL.
"Since I've been in Service Learning, my marks have gone way up," she said. "Service Learning gives you the chance to apply your knowledge, and to gain techniques you can't learn in the classroom. It really gives you an edge. I'm thrilled to be able to reciprocate by promoting it at the national level."
Now in the 4th-year of her degree program, Jones is also a member of a committee helping to organize a TRU student leadership program, and she plans to continue her studies in Service Learning by enrolling in SL 400 in Winter 2006. After graduation, she's not sure.
"I'm going to apply to the Bachelor of Education program here at TRU, or maybe teach English in Japan, or maybe my work with CACSL will lead to something else entirely different?maybe a Service Learning coordinator at a community college somewhere."
With the connections she's already made, and her enthusiasm, the world awaits Jen Jones.
For more information, please contact Jen Jones by email or Ginny Ratsoy at 828-5238 or email.
TRU Students Hold Rock Fundraiser
November 3, 2005
The Cariboo Student Society in conjunction with students from the Events and Conventions Management Program at Thompson Rivers University is putting on an alcohol-free, all-ages rock show at TRU next week.
The evening will feature four rock bands from the Kamloops area: Blinded, Hezzakya, A Thousand Year Plan and Dear Daedalus. The event will also feature henna rock tattoo artists.
"The main purpose for the concert is to raise funds and product for the "Students Feeding Students" Food Bank," said co-organizer Ryan Bangma. "With the loss of the food bank's main sponsor this year this event will be one of the main opportunities to raise donations for the food bank." The rock show, which starts at 8:00 pm November 8th, will be held in the Independent Centre, located in TRU's Campus Activity Centre. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $8 in advance, or $10 at the door. Guests will receive $2 off tickets at the door if they bring a non-perishable food item to donate. Tickets are available at Play Entertainment, The Kamloops Rock and Smoke Shop, Oronge, and the CSS booth at Thompson Rivers University. For more information, please contact Ryan Bangma at 250-819-6878 or email.
Carrying the Ball for the 'Pack
November 8, 2005
In a couple of weeks, a group of dedicated 'Pack-backers will take off their TRU WolfPack sweat-shirts and put on the dry-cleanables for the annual TRU Sports Task Force Gala Dinner and Dance.
An annual fundraiser, the Gala is a project of the TRU Sports Task Force, a group of sports-minded Kamloops business and community members. In the 26 years the task force has been around, it has raised over $1 million in much-needed funding for away-game expenses, home tournaments and equipment.
A portion of funding also goes for athletic scholarships, handed out to deserving athletes like Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, Shannon Enns, playing with her soccer team in the national finals this week, and Male Athlete of the Year Sean Garvey, who helped his team to a national championship last year, and is playing this year as the WolfPack enters the university league for the first time.
Expansion into the CIS means the task force has even more fundraising to do, said TRU Athletics Director Ken Olynyk, explaining that the task force is actively recruiting new members to meet the challenge of membership in the country's university league.
"Coming to the gala gives people an enjoyable way to help out the WolfPack and meet task force members and others from our community who support scholar-athletes and the TRU WolfPack," he said.
This year's gala, which includes a gourmet dinner, entertainment, a silent auction, and dancing to a live band, will be held Friday, November 25 starting at 6:00 pm at TRU's Grand Hall.
Tickets are available from Sports Task Force members, at the TRU Campus Activity Centre office, from TRU Athletics, or by calling 828-5273, for $230 per couple or $115 per person, with gala 'Pack-backers receiving a tax receipt for a portion of the cost.
Those wishing to donate items for the silent auction may call Ted Erickson at 579-2383 or Colin Day at 376-9658.
For more information call Ken Olynyk at 828-5273.
Memory and Illusion in the Court House
November 15, 2005
A number of TRU faculty will join an international group of artists and scholars in a public event at Kamloops' former Court House (Hostel) next week.
The artists' projects, together with a series of associated presentations and discussions, constitute a hybrid mix of artistic and academic cultures entitled, simply, Court House.
Participating artists Panya Clark Espinal of Toronto, David Hoffos of Lethbridge, and local artist-scholars Ernie Kroeger and Donald Lawrence will each create a temporary installation in one of the former Court House's rooms (most recently dorms for Hostelling International), using water as a thematic link between the four projects, which have emerged in response to the group's discussions surrounding ways in which memory comes into play in art-making; aspects of display and illusion; and where the personal meets the public in "vernacular modes of artistic enquiry."
Court House will open at 7:30 pm on Friday, November 25th, with a presentation by Celeste Olalguiaga, a Paris-based writer and cultural theorist who is the author of The Artificial Kingdom: A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience beginning at 8:00 pm.
Walter K. Lew, a Los Angeles-based writer and poet, will provide a short response to Olalquiaga's presentation, to be followed by a general reception.
The following day will feature a public forum beginning at 2:00 pm with the four artists in dialogue with writer and philosopher Bruce Baugh and writer and visual arts critic Will Garrett-Petts of Kamloops, along with writer and editor Glen Lowry of Vancouver, and writer and cultural theorist Celeste Olalquiaga of Paris.
In addition to the presentation schedule, the venue will be open for public viewing of the Court House exhibits Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm. A short essay by Bruce Baugh will be available as a pamphlet prior to the event, which is supported through a Research/Creation grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
For more information, please contact Donald Lawrence at 250-828-5189 or by email.
TRU student to intern in Hanoi
November 15, 2005
TRU Social Work student Maija Lewis has been selected for a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) three-month internship to Hanoi, Vietnam starting January 2006.
Lewiss internship, which comes with a $5,000 contribution from WUSC, will centre around the development of a university field school.
During the internship Lewis will assist the WUSC Director in Vietnam responsible for the development of the field school, including potential themes and promotional materials for marketing the program to Canadian university students. Lewis will also assist in the development of a program for a ten-day Canadian university program development mission to Vietnam.
TRU Study Abroad Manager, Geoff Wilmshurst, was very pleased that WUSC had chosen TRU for this internship project.
"Maija Lewis is an outstanding candidate for this program and will be a wonderful representative of TRU."
He also noted that WUSC had specifically requested TRU to source a student intern for this project. It is expected that TRU will develop additional joint education projects in Vietnam in collaboration with WUSC, which has had an office in the country since 1996.
Ms. Lewis has just left for a meeting in Senegal, West Africa, called the Globalization of Solidarity, sponsored by WUSC and Quebec-based NGO, CECI.
For more information, please contact Geoff Wilmshurst at (250) 371-5888 or by email.
Lotus Blossom Special
November 15, 2005
TRU Writer-in-Residence David Bateman will explore the complex intersection between race and gender in his presentation Lotus Blossom Special at Arnica Gallery next week.
Comic and at times poignant, Bateman's 45-minute monologue explores gender and racial issues through the use of autobiographical storytelling, country music, and poetic drama.
A 45-minute comical monologue broken into three 15-minute sections, Lotus Blossom Special focuses upon a particular south-central Ontarian experience of growing up in the 1950s in a culture marked by racist assumptions around the identity of Asian Canadians; in order to draw attention to aspects of gender, Bateman parodies and critiques the original text of Puccini's Madame Butterfly using different forms of drag.
A one-time production, the show runs Saturday November 26th at 8:00 pm at the Arnica Gallery located at 232 Victoria Street. Admission is by donation.
David Bateman, who has written and performed many solo performance works, received his PhD in English Literature with a specialization in Creative writing from the University of Calgary. His teaching and research interests are in gender theory (feminist, gay, queer theory), gender in performance and contemporary women playwrights. He will be writer-in-residence at TRU until August 2006.
For more information, please contact David Bateman at 250- 371-5975 or by email. or call Elaine Sedgman of Arnica Gallery at 250-372-0717.
TRU Chorus fall concert
November 15, 2005
The city's first snow has fallen, and the TRU Chorus is hoping to help people get into the holiday spirit with a winter-themed fall production.
Entitled "L'hiver Francais - music of winter from early France," the TRU Chorus's fall concert offers an evening of French music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
The feature piece is the "Messe de Minuit pour Noel" (Midnight Mass for Christmas) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a French composer from the Baroque era.
Special guests "The Early Music Band," a small ensemble of period instruments including the lute and recorders, will accompany the Chorus and perform instrumental selections.
The Chorus will present L'hiver Francais on Saturday, November 26th at 7:00 pm at St. Andrew's Church, located at 6th and Douglas.
Tickets are $10, available at the Kamloops Museum, from members or at the door.
For information, please contact TRU Chorus conductor John Churchley at 371-5947 or by email.
TRU singled out for praise
November 18, 2005
He's visited over 300 campuses (about 25 of them in Canada), and Thompson Rivers University stayed in his mind.
So much so, that he specifically mentioned the campus's beauty in an interview published in this week's Maclean's magazine, "Big Man on Campuses" (Nov 14/05 p. 122).
Steve Lake, who visited the campus when he came through Kamloops on a Rocky Mountaineer tour, visits universities as a hobby.
"We stopped in Kamloops, and I said, 'do you have a university here? They said yes, so I hopped in a cab and came up to take a look around," he said.
"Unfortunately, it was about 6 o'clock at night, so I wasn't able to try out your cafeteria, but the campus was very beautiful."
TRU's Culinary Arts Centre cafeteria, the only campus cafeteria listed in the Where to Eat in Canada restaurant guide, features entrees prepared by Culinary Arts students, but is only open for breakfast and lunch.
Accolades, the restaurant and bistro operated by Culinary Arts is open Tuesday through Friday, usually from the middle of September until Christmas and from the middle of January until May. Reservations are requred; please call after 3:00 P.M. (250) 828-5354 on the above opening days.
Lake intends to combine travel with visits to university campuses with a goal of visiting 500 campuses.
For more information, please contact Steve Lake at 702-876-6972 or email.
Student Theatre at TRU
November 21, 2005
The TRUDAT student theatre club presents "An Afterschool Special" this Friday in TRU's Alumni Theatre, located in the Clock Tower building.
"Basically, the show is 22 fun sketches written by seven writers on a variety of Subjects, all funny, of course," explained TRUDAT member Kaitlynn Dewhirst.
"There are weddings, drugs (not real), Starbuck's workers, and much, much, much, more," she said.
The sketches, performed by 15 cast members supported by a technical crew of two, were written by TRU students Brandon Reid (1), Chris Cooley (1 1/2), Dusan Magdolen (3 1/2), Melissa Thomas (7), Stu Cawood (6), Devon McBride (1) and Tara Zannella (2).
Dress rehearsals are Monday and Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the Actors Workshop Theatre for the one-time-only performance at 8:00 pm Friday.
Admission is $5 advance with food bank donation or $6 at the door.
For info call Kaitlynn at 574-3472 by email.
Dr. Scheffel's European Tour
November 23, 2005
$850 plus airfare plus meals nets 10-day guided tour of 'divided societies 10 years after'
Eastern & Central European specialist Dr. David Scheffel, known worldwide for his work with the impoverished Roma of Slovakia, will be conducting a 10-day tour across former Yugoslavia this May under the banner 'divided societies ten years after.'
Part of TRU's Spring 2006 Anthropology 403 program: Field School in East/Central Europe, the excursion is designed to allow students and other tour participants to witness the transformation resulting from the civil war and the 1995 Dayton Agreement.
"The emphasis will be on borders, divisions and their consequences for everyday life," said Scheffel. "I can accommodate a handful of non-student participants interested in this part of the program. The $850 tour cost includes transportation and accommodation."
Dr. David Scheffel, who has conducted the university's study tour and field school in East/Central Europe since 1993, will provide a unique view of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania.
"We'll be experiencing a part of Europe seen by very few outsiders, places well off the beaten track," he said. "It's an adventure, no question about that."
"We?ll be visiting symbolic sites in all the countries, including a former WWII concentration camp, and a number of sites related to the 1991-93 civil war."
The expected route through the former Yugoslavia from May 15th to 24th includes:
15.5. Presov (Slovakia) - Budapest - Virovitica (just past the Hungarian - Croat border) 16.5. Virovitica - Daruvar - Jasenovac - Banja Luka (Bosnia - Hercegovina) 17.5. Banja Luka - Jajce - Mostar - Dubrovnik (Croatia) 18.5. Dubrovnik 19.5. Dubrovnik - Montenegro coast 20.5. Montenegro coast 21.5. Montenegro coast 22.5. Coast - Podgorica - Visegrad - Sarajevo (Bosnia - Hercegovina) 23.5. Sarajevo 24.5. Sarajevo - Tuzla - Vukovar - Moh'cs - Budapest - Presov (Slovakia) "The itinerary will allow us to visit a number of sites that symbolize the unresolved tensions which the Yugoslav society was built upon," explained Scheffel. "For instance, travelling the Montenegro coast, we will probably end up in Ulcinj, the former Yugoslavia's southernmost outpost and coastal gateway to Albania. Much of the local population is Muslim, and it will be interesting to see how this element is dealt with in a self-consciously Christian Orthodox country."
On the lighter side, Scheffel said, ?The scenery in Montenegro is spectacular, and we"ll also be visiting a somewhat imaginary state-Republika Srpska-which is sort of a de facto state, carved out of Bosnia and Hercegovina. It's recognized only by Serbia and Montenegro."
For more information, can contact Dr. Scheffel at 250-828-5182 or email.
NRS Grad Excels at US Grad School
November 23, 2005
TRU Natural Resource Sciences degree grad Kevin France has won a prestigious award at Oregon State University, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management.
Oregon State's release follows:
By Carol Savonen, 541-737-3380 SOURCE: John Buckhouse, 541-737-1629
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Kevin France, an Oregon State University graduate student from Vernon, British Columbia, has received the 2005 Savery Outstanding Master's Student Award in OSU's Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management within the College of Agricultural Sciences.
The award recognizes outstanding master's students whose research benefits Oregon's agriculture and natural resources. Candidates also are evaluated on academic achievement, public service, evidence of leadership ability and research capability, previous awards and work experience.
France received $800 and a plaque. The son of Robert and Linda France, he obtained his bachelor's degree in natural resource science from the University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops, British Columbia.
At OSU, France's research has focused on the influence of cattle grazing on the nesting habitat of sage grouse. He looked at management strategies to sustainably provide for both livestock and sage grouse habitat needs. France presented his findings at the annual meetings of the Society for Range Management.
For more information, please contact John Karakatsoulis at 828-5462 or email.
Global A-Z visits TRU next week
November 25, 2005
They're from Argentina , Bangladesh and Colombia, Singapore, Turkey and Vietnam . . .
Next week, 46 educational representatives from 20 countries will bus up the Coquihalla from the Canadian Education Center Conference and Agent Fair in Vancouver to check out post-secondary possibilities in Kamloops.
Arriving on the evening of November 27th, the reps will overnight at Sun Peaks, then after a morning tour on the 28th, arrive at campus for an afternoon of presentations and a tour of Sa-Hali Secondary.
The following day will find the group touring the TRU campus and the Sprott-Shaw International Language College, returning to Vancouver that afternoon.
"TRU World, with some co-sponsorship from School District #73 and Sprott Shaw, has taken the opportunity to invite these educational representatives to Kamloops to learn more about the educational opportunities for international students to study in Kamloops," explained TRU World Associate VP Cyndi McLeod.
"We are tremendously excited to have had such a positive, overwhelming response from the educational representatives when we invited them to visit TRU and Kamloops," she added.
In addition to its core group of TRU international recruitment and marketing staffers, the university has more than 300 offshore representatives around the world that help promote TRU and its programs. These educational consultants advise students worldwide on their best options for study abroad.
"As well as educational representatives from our stable markets such as Korea, China, Mexico, Brazil, the university has had recent strong success in new markets such as Russia, Mauritius, Kenya, Singapore, Venezuela and an overwhelming response from Turkey," said McLeod. "Our new university status has heightened interest in many new world markets."
"We're excited that we're able to give the educational representatives first-hand experience of what TRU has to offer in terms of programs and services for students and families from abroad. This is also excellent opportunity to promote Kamloops as an education destination and as a university city," she added.
Photo/media opportunities:
Monday, November 28:
12:30-1:45 pm: Lunch at Panorama Room, TRU International Building 2:30 - 4:30 pm: Presentations in International Building Lecture Theatre (Room 1020) Tuesday, November 29:
10:30 am: TRU Campus and student housing tour (tour start: Upper College Heights) 12:30 -2:00 pm: Lunch at TRU Accolades Dining Room (Culinary Arts Centre)
For more information, please contact Cyndi McLeod at 250-318-1883 or 250-828-5162
TRU Foundation Hands Out Donor Awards
November 24, 2005
This evening, 408 TRU students joined 229 donors at the TRU Annual Awards Ceremony, held at 5:00 pm in the Grand Hall.
At the ceremony, donors met the student recipients, who, in turn, had the chance to thank their benefactors for contributing to the $291,000 handed out at the ceremony.
This figure, a portion of the grand total of $1,131,000 to be awarded to TRU from all sources this year, represents an increase of $94,000 over last year's total and is the largest amount given out in the history of the Foundation.
The increase is due to new annual awards and endowment funds established by donors.
"Thanks to the generosity of Foundation donors, TRU's outstanding students and students with financial need can gain monetary awards to help them with the cost of tuition, student fees, books, supplies and other educational expenses," said TRU President and Vice Chancellor Roger Barnsley.
Students won't have to wait long for the rest of the million plus to be handed out.
On November 29th, the Foundation will hold its "unrestricted ceremony" where Foundation Board and Society members give out $179,000 to approximately 266 students.
At various times throughout the 2005/06 academic year, the TRU Board of Governors will award $450,000 in bursaries and entrance scholarships in the 2005/06 academic year.
The Foundation's slogan is 'Building our Future,' and we are making a difference by providing financial assistance to over 1,000 students each year so they can achieve their potential to become leaders in our community and throughout the country," said Foundation Annual Campaign Chair Paul Wright.
"Each year we receive hundreds of thank-you cards from students who have benefited from receiving a financial award through donors to the TRU Foundation, and we get great satisfaction in knowing we have an impact by helping students realize their dreams.
"Our goal is to leave no student behind. We want to be able to help every worthy student. The TRU Foundation is an important part of the university and our donors play an important role in the success of Thompson Rivers University," he said.
The TRU Foundation's Board of 16 directors and the volunteer society made up of an additional 55 community leaders, work diligently to raise over $1 million per year for student awards, program needs and special projects at TRU.
To make a donation to the TRU Foundation, to find out more about creating a student award fund or to establish a planned gift or legacy to TRU, please call 828-5264.
Opportunities for interviews with award donors, student winners, and the campaign chair will be available after the ceremony. Please contact Karen Gamracy (371-5715 or by email.
Outstanding TRU students receive awards
November 25, 2005
Among those who received more than a much-appreciated cheque to help them further their studies when 408 students received scholarships and bursaries at yesterday's annual awards ceremony at TRU, were Jasmin Wright of Sicamous and Greg Hibbert of Kamloops.
Wright was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor's Silver Medal, given to a student in a one-year program at a post-secondary institution who has demonstrated academic excellence and community involvement, while fellow student Greg Hibbert, a recent graduate of TRU's Computer Automated Systems Technician program, was named 2004/05 Co-operative Education Student of the Year.
"Over the past 35 years, our students and graduates have been contributing to the well-being of our society. Some have been recognized while still students, others have received accolades after graduation for research, humanitarian work and other activities. Many deserving alumni make their contributions quietly, with no public honours to mark the important work they do," said TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Roger Barnsley.
"It thus gives the university great pleasure when the achievements of students like Jasmin and Greg are recognized to such an extent."
Wright, originally from Sicamous, achieved a 3.86 grade-point average in the Social Service Worker certificate program last year and has since "laddered into" TRU's Bachelor of Social Work degree program. Her community and campus activities include volunteer positions on the board of directors of the Kamloops Women's Resource Centre, the 53% Coalition, the TRU Student Social Justice Committee, the Kamloops Brain Injury Association, the TRU Status of Women Committee and Big Brothers and Sisters, where she is a Big Sister.
Hibbert represented Canada at the World Skills Competition held in Finland last spring after he won gold at the national finals in the Fall of 2004. An active co-operative education student, he volunteered with the TRU Electronics Department throughout the summer of 2004 and completed a manufacturing robot prototype project for Pollard-Banknote in his Winter 2005 co-op work term.
"I'd like to thank the Foundation, TRU, and the contributions from the faculty and staff of the co-op department for their much-appreciated, generous support," said Hibbert. "I'd also like to thank all the instructors of the CAST program. They were terrific. I'd especially like to thank Al Green for coaching me through the Skills competition.
"CAST is a great program. It's very hands-one compared to other programs I checked out. Now I'm looking forward to getting out and putting my skills to use and finding local employment opportunities in automation and electronics. It's very exciting," he added.
For more information, please contact: Jasmin Wright: 250-572-1821 Greg Hibbert at 250-578-8533