issue 10// vol 46

What's the deal with comedy?

» DSU comedy club spotlight

Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief

hey say laughter is the best medicine,

so with finals arounwd the corner, there is no better way to destress than with the DSU comedy club.

The comedy club meets every Monday from 5 to 7 pm in room N4305 of the New Westminster campus and Thursdays at the same time in room 207 of the DSU building.

The club was created in 2017 by Carter Grenier, but has since moved on to a new president,

Michele Provenzano. In an interview with the Other Press, Provenzano explains the purpose of the club and how it came into fruition.

She mentions that it was organized because the former president and founder Grenier realized this was a | niche that needed to be filled. The club was made for people who love comedy and want to meet other like-minded individuals. It’s also a space that allows people to be comfortable while trying new things.

“The purpose of the club is to appreciate comedy, encourage people to get out of their comfort zone and try new things like improv and stand-up. A lot of people watch stand-up and really love it but are too scared to try it, so we try to bea really welcoming environment” she said. “We try to have a good time, make each other laugh, and goof around.”

Attendees of the club meetings can expect board and party games, watching stand-up and sketch comedy, improv—

| | Image via DSUCCL

news // no. 5

which Provenzano says tends to be people’s favourite part of the night. “We love improv at comedy club.” And of course, a comedy club meeting wouldn't be complete without lots of laughing.

As the new club president as of this year, Provenzano has a vision for the club to get people involved and to meet new people and have fun.

“I want it to be a place people can come and feel comfortable and feel like it’s a real community or a family. There’s a big group of regulars and it feels like a family to me and I'd like to see that expand and be a place where people feel welcome and destress.” Provenzano also | sympathizes with those who ! may be too shy to try out ; something like comedy but } encourages people who are | thinking of trying out the club to just check it out despite the initial anxiety. ! “T totally understand, I was really scared prior to going to my first meeting. I was overthinking everything but once I stepped into the room, I was like this is just a great group of people and I’m super comfortable. We really try to get everyone involved so if you're quieter we'll try to encourage you to join the conversation, but we won't force you.”

There are also some future events the comedy club is planning for students to look forward to. “What we do at the end of each semester is a stand-up comedy showcase which we do one of the lecture halls,” she said. “In the past it’s just been friends and family but this semester I’m hoping to get more student turnout. Show people what the comedy club can do.”

Presence of background noise makes brain try to filter 1t out, shows new study

» Research lead Joanna Scanlon says her study took subjects out of the lab

Seyitan Olaifa Via The Gateway (CUP)

Hs you ever wondered if there's

a difference between indoor or outdoor environments on the brain? Or, if background noise has any affect on brain waves?

A recently released pair of research studies at the University of Alberta explored the relationship between brain activity and outdoor background noise. Joanna Scanlon, research lead for the study, completed the work while being a graduate student in the psychology department.

In order to examine these questions, the scientists established a baseline for how our brains respond as we complete tasks in different environments by changing background noises. Experiments for the first study were completed outside the lab with an individual biking outdoors.

According to Scanlon, they found that any time there is background noise, our brain actively works to filter it out.

“We were able to change brain activity during a cognitive task in a noticeable and reproducible way, simply by playing outdoor sounds in the background,”

she said. “These findings show that our environment affects how we perceive

the world around us—and means that much of what we know about the brain is oversimplified since it has primarily been researched in a laboratory setting.”

The second study involved a participant using headphones with controlled and quieter background noise. The key points from the second study included understanding the different reactions of the brain in varying environments and understanding that the outdoors have the biggest effect on the brain.

While only beginning to explore these questions, the studies show a baseline for how our brains respond while we complete tasks in varying environments.

Referring to the various outcomes of study’s impact, Scanlon said, the findings can lead research into various directions. One direction the study could inform is neurotechnology. According to Scanlon, the technology is very useful

and accessible, however, it is only usually studied in a laboratory setting.

“You have to understand how the brain is reacting in the outdoors and the indoors,” she said.

In her view, the majority of experiments isolate people from their natural environment, making it hard for other studies to then use their findings for other environments.

“There are different mechanisms in different environment,” she added. “Don't be like ‘someone told me to study here’ even though the environment doesn’t work for you.”

For Scanlon, her study shows an important need for neuroscience research to examine subjects outside the lab so as to not isolate subjects from their day-to-day environment.

“Always be conscious about how you are isolating the subject from their environment,’ she said. “This can limit findings as lab settings can sometimes be unrealistic.”