ssues & ideas EDITOR VANESSA SZPURKO THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014 7 Na zdorovye: 2014 Sochi Olympics! EDRICK DUDANG photo Inna Mikhailov, owner of the store Russian World at 1003 Main St., with a collection of matryoshka or nesting dolls. Mikhailov sees the Olympics as a chance to “make friends.” Russian Vancouverites turn eyes homeward Members of the Eastern European nation have the chance to see their culture on display By EDRICK DUDANG ussian-Canadians are getting ready to celebrate as the Winter Olympics open in their home country on Feb. 7 in Sochi. Inna Mikhailov is a Russian-Canadi- an who has lived in Vancouver for 17 years. She said the upcoming Olympics give Russians an opportunity to show- case their love of athletics. “In the period of the Soviet Union, sports [were] important. “It was very cheap for the parents to get their kids into sports,” said Mikhailov, owner of Russian World, a shop on Main Street that sells Russian goods including books. “In that period, Russians had a lot of gold medals because children started to play sports young.” Nataliya Yakovenko, a Russian lan- guage instructor at Langara, said sports are not only important to Rus- sians physically, but philosophically as well. “Russians like sports and competi- tion,” she said. “They believe that a healthy body is a good home for a healthy spirit and they respect people who practice ath- letic culture and a healthy body.” Yakovenko also said the Olympics appeal to Russians because it gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their hospitality. “By opening doors for visitors and sportsmen from different countries, Russians believe they can strengthen friendship, and partnership in over- coming people’s problems.” As for the controversies surround- ing Russian politics, Mikhailov believes people should avoid the disputes about Olympics and just have fun. “This is an opportunity to see each other’s country. To introduce each oth- er, and make friends,” she said. “[These are] friendly Olympic games. This is the chance to get togeth- er and just play sports.” Even though she is _ Russian, Mikhailov says she will cheer for both Canada and Russia as she did during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. know It has cost Russia around $50 billion dollars to prepare for the Olympics, the most expensive Games ever. Moscow, Russia's capital city, hosted the Summer Olympics in 1980. Students won't boycott By ERIN BOE chi, some students believe it’s time for the athletes to shine. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a law banning “pro- paganda of nontraditional sexual rela- tions,” there have been worldwide pro- tests by many who see the law as a condemnation of the LGTBQ commu- nity. Photo imaging student Jesse Yuen said while he’s opposed to the law, he will still watch the Games to support the athletes. “They’re doing their job,” he said. Photo imaging students Melanie Al- lard and Tim Nguyen agreed. “They’ve worked for it for years,” said Allard. “They’ve earned their spot,” added Nguyen. Aboriginal studies student Sarah Ra- ven felt differently about boycotting, although she doesn’t watch the Olym- pics. “T would be less likely to support [the Games] if I did [usually watch them] knowing that it is homophobic,” she said. LSU media rep Ed Hensley provided The Voice with an official statement: “The current LSU council has not discussed the treatment of the LGBTQ community during the Sochi Olympic games, and therefore has taken no of- ficial position on the matter at this time.” D:::: the controversy around So- Faculty photographer flying to the Games to see mind blowing emotion’ With more than 25 years of experience, Christopher Morris teaches photography at Langara and will be shooting his third consecutive Olympic Games while in Sochi By MADELYN FORSYTH Christopher Morris hopped on a plane to Sochi on Feb. 3 to photo- graph the world’s best athletes. While security in Sochi is a hot topic, Morris was more concerned about go- Los photography instructor MELANIE ALLARD ‘ ‘ ‘ Photo imaging ing overweight on his checked bags. student “T just think that Sochi will be the safest place, if not [just] in Russia, then in the world during the Olympics,” r4 4 Morris said. A native of Montreal, he was origi- [ The nally enrolled at Carleton University to become a lawyer. athletes He left after finishing his second have] year of a history in political science de- worked for gree and worked as an assistant in a . friend’s photography studio. it for years He found his passion in photojour- nalism after watching the 1983 movie Under Fire starring Nick Nolte. “T saw that movie and I realized that not only did I want to be a photogra- pher, I wanted to be a photojournalist.” he said. Early in his career Morris worked for The Canadian Press in Montreal under photo editor and chief photogra- pher Bill Grimshaw. According to Grimshaw, Morris’ work ethic at the time was nothing spe- cial. “He was lazy ... Il guess he just need- ed to be pushed out of the nest because I saw him two years later and his stuff was really good,” Grimshaw said. Morris worked his first Olympic Games in Vancouver with the visual media licencing company Corbis in 2010. They were impressed with his work so when Morris asked to cover the Olympics in London, they agreed. Cor- bis is now sending him to his third Olympic Games in Sochi. Even more than 25 years of photog- raphy experience and two Olympic Games under his belt, Morris is still awed by his surroundings Heading to Sochi is an expansion of what he lives to do, he said. “One of the hardest things for a pho- tographer to capture is emotion and after every final there’s just phenome- nal, incredible, mind-blowing emo- tion.” MADELYN FORSYTH photo Christopher Morris shows his class where he'll be while shooting Sochi.