Celebration week allows students to let loose
Borat’s Davitian and JustinTrudeau present opposite speeches with equal success
JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF
The University of Manitoba was the setting of a huge celebration last week as students had a chance to sample wine, eat free pancakes and attend celebrity presentations in between classes. The reason for the festivities was UMSU’s annual Celebration Week: a week of lively events that allowed students to celebrate life and education, this year running from Jan. 22 to 26.
According to Amanda Jonson, UMSU’s vice-president (internal), the week is a long-time tradition for UMSU. “It’s been a great week, packed full of events,” she said, “Every single year, for the past 30 years and more we’ve been putting on Celebration Week.”
Two of the larger events provided by UMSU were presentations from keynote speakers, environmental activist Justin Trudeau, and actor Ken Davitian, from the 2006 movie Borat — a presentation that had more hype in Winnipeg’s mainstream media than any other event included in Celebration Week.
Davitian — who played the role of a Kazakhstanian producer sent to America to make a documentary with an unconventional reporter, Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen) — was convincingly still in character as he began his presentation on exclusive, behind-the-scenes information on the making of the movie, only breaking character after he showed a video clip on his interview for the part in the film.
His presentation, which took place on the last day of Celebration Week, took an unexpected turn during question and answer period when a Uzbekistanian student approached the microphone with a speech prepared for Davitian. Uzbekistan is ridiculed in Borat as the “bastard” neighbouring country to Kazakhstan.
The student was upset that the film made fun of Uzbekistan and repeatedly tried to ensure the audience that the two countries get along absolutely fine. His question to Davitian eventually came down to, “why would you do that?” Davitian’s response: “Act-or. Don’t know political answers.” Mentioning it was a satirical film, Davitian calmly explained to the student that it was all a joke; one he had not personally created.
In an exclusive interview with the Manitoban, Davitian joked about everything from Gwen Stefani to the frigid Winnipeg weather.
“I have no idea why I’m here,” he joked in a conversation of what Celebration Week was all about. “I wasn’t even coming here, and the plane landed, and [an UMSU member] was there. He had a sign with my name on it. I says, ‘OK, this is the guy for me.’”
Although, Davitian wasn’t sure about the purpose of Celebration Week, he did know one thing: “I know your tuition is too high,” he said, “they gave me a badge,” pointing to an UMSU button on his jacket promoting the National Day of Action.
If students weren’t interested in the goofy comedy of Davitian’s tales of Borat, Trudeau provided a much more serious presentation on problems concerning our environment, including how and why students should try and help.
“People talk about global warming, and particularly in places like Winnipeg, or Canada in general, global warming doesn’t always seem like such a bad thing,” he joked, but continued seriously, “What we are beginning to experience is rapid change in weather patterns overall,” he said, explaining the unpredictability of today’s climate poses a huge problem for the future of the world.
Also included in Trudeau’s presentations were illustrations of “friendly Canadians”
PHOTO: DAVID IAN LIPNOWSKI
During the question-and-answer period, the burning question of whether or not Trudeau will follow in his father’s footsteps finally arose.
“It’s not something I’ve ever felt ready for yet . . . I’m closer to it than I have been ever before but I still haven’t decided anything, as to where or when or ‘if’ even,” he stated.
“Some days it seems absolutely inevitable to me, others days it seems completely evitable.” Part of the reason he is so back and forth on the idea is because he feels politics aren’t necessarily seen as the noble cause that he sees them as.
“We don’t value the people who serve society, and just want to make things better,” he said. “Every single [politician] that I have ever met, and I’ve met a lot, went into politics because they wanted to change the world and make it a better place. Whatever happened to some, who knows? But there is always something noble about doing that and unfortunately it’s not always seen that way and it comes at a really big cost.”
Another successful event was the Wine Tasting Festival held in the multi-purpose room on Thursday afternoon. This was the first year UMSU held this event at the Fort Garry campus, and it seemed to be a success for all those who attended.
According to security guard Justin Bucklaschuk, well over 100 people, all who were ready to have a good time, had attended the event.
Although admission was free, sample tickets cost $.50 each, and samples ranged from one to three tickets each. All of the proceeds went directly to Winnipeg Harvest. A plethora of free food was also supplied by UMSU, from pizza and wraps to crackers and cheese.
Jaclyn Newman, an extended education student, even missed work to come in and celebrate her 25th birthday at the festival.
Newman claimed the event was a “spectacular idea” while her best friend Jill Hollosi, a commerce student, stated, “We thought it would be a nice afternoon to celebrate her birthday . . . I even skipped the gym for it.”
Other events throughout the week included a hypnotist, comedian Sugar Sammy, both anime and Asian film festivals and various musical performances throughout campus, including Steeple Chaser, Jodi King, and Platinum Black. Students also participated in karaoke at Degrees and were able to swing dance at a “Swing Your Stress Away” session.
