Am I a bad vegan?
Andrea Sadowski
I have just learned — on a vegan Facebook group whose speciality is shaming all those who digress even just a hint from their plant-based, cruelty-free diet — that some foods like avocados, almonds, melon, kiwi, and squash are not considered vegan. The commercial farming of these products requires live honey bees to be transported from wherever they originate to farms to pollinate the plants — in other words, a form of indentured servitude and exploitation of bees. I already try to stay away from products like honey and beeswax because of reports I’ve read of how poorly bees are being treated in the large-scale commercial farming of these products. But are you now telling me that my sacred avocado toast is also harming these fierce little creatures that pollinate our entire earth? I love bees and the way they give each other directions by dancing and wiggling their little stinger butts around. Some researchers even believe that bees model a true democracy because of how much they talk to each other and agree on where the best places are to pollinate. When you think about it, the worms in our compost are also indentured servants because they create that precious soil needed to bed our produce. Honestly, where does it end with some vegans?
Something isn’t right in Stardew Valley
Kathleen Clingwall
The other night I was doing my ordinary late night routine which involved self-medicating with a weed edible (or two) and playing a little bit of Stardew Valley before I drifted off into my slumber. For those who don’t know what Stardew Valley is, it’s a very charming and soothing 16-bit farming game, available on almost all platforms. After I had been playing Stardew Valley for a half hour, I decided to take the high road and go to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up from a more than frightening nightmare, or what I’ve been calling it: the Stardew Valley nightmare. For a game so calming, I was surprised and a little sad I dreamed of it like that. I think the combination of a few edibles and the entirety of the winter season in Stardew Valley wasn’t the best mix. I have loved the game with all my heart — up until the winter. This season was just such a drag, from no crops to grow, to the super eerie Stranger Things type music — all of it is very melancholic.
I find myself having more nightmares than dreams when I’m sleeping, but this one was different. It felt like I really was in the game. I was deep in the mines, looking for minerals while I fended off an assortment of monsters. And then I found myself foraging some flowers in the snow. When I really think and try to remember more of the nightmare, it seems like it made me less scared and more sad. I think it’s because it reminded me of this past winter in real life, which felt like the longest and saddest winter ever. I mean, good on the creator of the game for capturing the true essence of winter; it made me feel chilly even though it’s not cold out. I guess one piece of advice I have is to not mix edibles and Stardew Valley in the winter
This is a snapshot
Carissa Wiens
This is a snapshot, the section of the paper where any student writer at UFV can share something on their mind to the readers. Coming up with at least 150 words seems like nothing compared to the 5000 word papers we all submitted last month. There’s so much to say and so little space to share it. But after doing this for several years it becomes increasingly harder to produce a paragraph that readers might find intriguing. Discuss #FreeBritney? Probably not. There’s nothing new to report. How about dissecting a tweet that was recently interesting? Nah, that just means I have to open my Twitter app for the first time in months and sort through my feed until there’s something worth reading. Maybe share with the readers about how your mom won’t let the doctors inject the COVID-19 vaccine in her but is more than pleased with her naturopath injecting Botox in her face? Well, I guess I just covered that one. Wow, before I could even think of a fascinating topic I’m already at 178 words. Easy.
Teaching kids that shootings have real world consequences
Steve Hartwig
The current spate of shootings around the Lower Mainland points to rampant gang violence reaching out of the shadows and into the light of our everyday lives. It also offers repeated examples of our need to become more aware of what is happening around us and how we must take a more proactive approach to our own safety. My kids and I follow the news and see shootings in public places, some of them in locations my kids shop or play sports at. This means I am teaching eight year olds about street smarts, situational awareness, sight lines, and how to safely run away from a shooter so they are not involved in any way, even as an observer. I’ve explained that the recent gun violence isn’t a video game or some virtual reality experience. The “fun” derived from online gaming doesn’t translate into a live shootout. This is real life. This is the evolution of the first person shooter video game into the real world, where active shooters have the same lack of concern for everyone’s safety — but there’s no respawn, only real-world consequences.
Images: Iryna Presley/The Cascade
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
Steve is a third-year BFA creative writing/visual arts student who’s been a contributing writer, staff writer and now an editor at The Cascade. He's always found stories and adventures but now has the joy of capturing and reporting them.
