Issue 154-3

SEPT. 17 – OCT. 1, 2021 | ISSUE 154-2 OCT 5 TO OCT 18, 2018 | ISSUE 151 - 03

Jan

ISS NORTH EST. 1868 NORTH AMERICA'S AMERICA'SOLDEST OLDESTCAMPUS CAMPUSNEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER EST. 1868

TANIA WILLARD, BASKET RESCUE OPERATION (TALKING TO PETER MORIN AND REMEMBERING DANA CLAXTON’S TALK FOR THE BCMA IN WHISTLER) FROM THE SERIES ONLY AVAILABLE LIGHT, 2016.

BIRCH BARK BASKET (RECLAIMED FROM ANTIQUE STORE), CEDAR ROOT, COPPER FOIL, LASER CUT TEXT.

Indigenous art exhibit changing the narrative #callresponse creates an interconnected conversation ALSO IN THIS ISSUE EDITOR'S LETTER 3

EVEN “DINGY” APARTMENTS ARE UNAFFORDABLE IN HALIFAX 5

WHAT’S IN THE DAL PHYSIO CLINIC? 19

Go vote!

IT’S TIME FOR STUDENTS TO USE THEIR VOICE. (DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION BY MORGANE EVANS)

IN THIS ISSUE

YOUR GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL ELECTION

INSIDE THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF DAL PROFESSOR AND PLAYWRIGHT SHAUNTAY GRANT

WHY THIS YEAR’S FOOTBALL SEASON IS FULL OF POTENTIAL

4

14

18

OCT 5

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Go vote Dear reader,

I don’t know about you, but it feels good to be back on campus.

The first week of classes reminded me that no other space on this planet can create the energy, creativity and inspiration that a university campus does. Watching University Avenue flood with students from the Dalhousie Gazette’s office window was an experience I wasn’t sure I'd ever have; now it’s something I’m sure I'll never forget.

Being able to actually see a student body for the first time in months also reminded me of the potential power we can have as students.

A reminder that is at the centre of my disappointment in Elections Canada and their decision to get rid of the Vote on Campus program for this year’s federal election. As you’ll learn in this issue, the last time this program ran in 2019, Dalhousie University had the highest voter turnout of any school in Canada. Now, many students will likely miss their chance to determine our future on Sept. 20.

Read more about the importance of that decision in this issue. But please don’t let the lack of poll booths on campus stop you from voting in this election. Take a look at our election guide, find the issues that matter to you and cast a ballot on them. It seems hard to say anything more cliché than ‘students are the future.’ But the passage of time reminds us it really is the truth. Have a say in that future and go vote.

Lane Harrison, Editor-in-chief

TO

OCT 18, 2018 | ISSUE 151 - 03

January 2

ISSUE 150 NORTH AMERICA'S OLDEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER EST. 1868

NORTH AMERICA'S OLDEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER, EST. 1868

Lane Harrison

Luke Dyment

Editor-in-Chief editor@dalgazette.com

Sports Editor sports@dalgazette.com

Adam Inniss

Carleigh MacKenzie

News Editor news@dalgazette.com

Copy Editor carleigh.mackenzie@dalgazette.com

TANIA WILLARD, BASKET RESCUE OPERATION (TALKING TO PETER MORIN AND REMEMBERING DANA CLAXTON’S TALK FOR THE BCMA IN WHISTLER) FROM THE SERIES ONLY AVAILABLE LIGHT, 2016.

BIRCH BARK BASKET (RECLAIMED FROM ANTIQUE STORE), CEDAR ROOT, COPPER FOIL, LASER CUT TEXT.

Indigenous art exhibit changing the narrative #callresponse creates an interconnected conversation

Elizabeth Foster ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Morgane Evans

VisualsWHAT’S Editor “DINGY” APARTMENTS ARE IN THE DAL Arts & Lifestyle Editor EVEN UNAFFORDABLE IN HALIFAX 5 PHYSIO CLINIC? 19 visuals@dalgazette.com arts@dalgazette.com

EDITOR'S LETTER 3

Alexandra Fox

Mandy King Opinions Editor opinions@dalgazette.com

Page Designer alexandra.fox@dalgazette.com

Contributing to this issue: Rachel Cooke, Sondos Elshafei, Gokce On, Alex Rincon, Thomas Scott.

ADVERTISING Allyson Hamilton Business Manager business@dalgazette.com

CONTACT US dalgazette.com The SUB, Room 345 6136 University Ave. Halifax, N.S., B3H 4J2

THE FINE PRINT The Gazette is the official written record of Dalhousie University since 1868. It is published every two weeks during the academic year by the Dalhousie Gazette Publishing Society. The Gazette is a student-run publication.

CORRECTION In issue 154-1, a sports article stated that Dalhousie University women’s soccer players Olivia MacIntyre, Breagh Bates, Haley Birrell and men’s player Ben Grondin will be playing for Dal in the 2021 fall season. These players will not play for Dal, as they have graduated. The Dalhousie Gazette has updated the article online and apologizes for this error.

Its primary purpose is to report fairly and objectively on issues of importance and interest to the students of Dalhousie University, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. Views expressed in the letters to the editor, in streeters and Opinions section are solely those of the contributing writers, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Gazette or its staff.

This publication is intended for readers 18 years of age or older. The views of our writers are not the explicit views of Dalhousie University. All students of Dalhousie University, as well as any interested parties on or offcampus, are invited to contribute to any section of the newspaper. Please contact the appropriate editor for submission guidelines, or drop by in for our weekly office hours in room 345 of the Dal SUB. The Gazette reserves the right to edit and reprint all submissions, and will not publish material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous. Opinions expressed in submitted letters are solely those of the authors. Editorials in the Gazette are signed and represent the opinions of the writer(s), not necessarily those of the Gazette staff, Editorial Board, publisher or Dalhousie University.

2 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

dalgazette.com

NEWS

Campus Check concerns DFA continues to push for greater safety measures for students, faculty and staff

BY LANE HARRISON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Two weeks after announcing that students, faculty and staf f at Dalhousie University would either have to provide proof of full vaccination or be tested twice-weekly to access campus, the university provided students with a way to do so.

Dalhousie’s online Campus Check program – – provided by Thrive Health, a Vancouver based healthcare software company – – was launched on Sept. 8. In the announcement, the university said students, faculty and staf f who do not provide proof of vaccination by Sept. 13 will begin to receive instructions for twice-weekly testing.

Verif ication of vaccine proof and negative tests will be handled by the university, not Thrive Health, the company CEO David Helliwell said in an interview with the Gazette.

When Dalhousie announced their vaccine mandate on Aug. 25, it came only days after both the Dalhousie Faculty Assocation ( DFA) and Dalhousie’s Health Law Institute wrote open letters to university President Deep Saini demanding a mandate.

At the time of the announcement, details regarding when and how Dal community members would provide proof of vaccination were absent. With those details now public, DFA President Tara Perrot said the full plan is “the best that can be done.”

Perrot said faculty remain concerned with the same detail they have been since August: the mandate of fers an alternative to full vaccination.

“The whole point here is that we’re trying, Dal is trying to keep everybody safe,” Perrot said. “The best way to do that is, you know, to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated.”

Dalhousie was unable to provide someone for the Dalhousie Gazette to interview for this story prior to the publication deadline.

Faculty concerned about unmasked and unvaccinated students At the time of writing, Nova Scotia is scheduled to move into phase f ive of its pandemic reopening plan on Sept. 15, meaning an end to the province-wide mask mandate. Dalhousie will be continuing dalgazette.com

what it calls a “mask directive” until Sept.

30, at which point it will be reconsidered, according to the university’s website.

This raises concerns, as professors will not have access to any of their class’s vaccination information, Perrot said. According to Dal’s Campus Check frequently asked questions page, only “a small number of individuals centrally assigned to monitor the system” will have access to students’ information.

This means that professors will be unaware if an unvaccinated and unmasked student is in their class. The DFA is pushing for Dalhousie to keep masking in place until the end of the year, Perrot said.

While this poses obvious concerns for the health and safety of vaccinated students, faculty and staf f, as well as their children under 12 who are unable to be vaccinated, Perrot said faculty also remain concerned about in-class outbreaks.

Dal has repeatedly told faculty that they will not be asked to teach a course both online and in-person if an outbreak occurs in a class and a substantial number of students are infected with COVID-19, Perrot said. Despite these assurances, Dal has failed to properly explain to faculty what will happen in the event of an outbreak, she said. This leaves cause for concern.

“The concern is that there’s an outbreak that takes out a good chunk of a class,” Perrot said. “Because there might be [university] pressure to accommodate that chunk of people by moving the class online, but still continuing with face-to-face with the rest of the class.”

Dal still won’t let DFA have a seat at the table When establishing the university’s reopening plan, Dalhousie formed a return to campus committee. The DFA were not represented in this committee and it had been disbanded over the summer, according to Perrot.

In the Gazette’s previous issue, Perrot told the Gazette that Dalhousie was planning to reconvene the committee and the DFA would be demanding a seat on it.

As of this writing, that hasn’t worked. Dal has reconvened the committee under a new name, it is now the academic transition ad-

ONCE AGAIN LEFT OUT OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS, THE DFA IS THINKING OF NEW WAYS TO LOBBY FOR INCREASED SAFETY. (PHOTO BY LANE HARRISON)

visory group, but the DFA has not been offered a seat, Perrot said.

Perrot said the reasoning from Dal on this decision has been “really unclear.”

She said it’s now time for the DFA to look at other ways they can inf luence Dalhousie’s decisions. Perrot said she couldn’t prov ide specif ic details on these new ways.

But the DFA will meet over the following weeks to f ig ure out the best way for ward, she said.

Thrive Health’s commitment to privacy According to Helliwell, students shouldn’t be concerned about sharing their information with Thrive Health software.

To operate as a health care software company in Canada, Thrive has already been rigorously evaluated on their data protection efforts, Helliwell said. “[Using Thrive] is going to be safer than arguably anything else that students do online,” he said.

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 3

NEWS

No on-campus voting for federal election

Students and local candidates upset by Elections Canada’s decision

BY ADAM INNISS, NEWS EDITOR

ELECTIONS CANADA CITES THE SNAP ELECTION AND PANDEMIC AS REASONS FOR PULLING THE PROGRAM. (PHOTO BY MORGANE EVANS)

On-campus voting will be more complicated for Dalhousie University students who don’t permanently reside in the Halifax riding this year. The Vote on Campus Program, which was started by Elections Canada in 2015, won’t be happening in 2021. The program allowed post-secondary students to vote in their home ridings from poll booths on their school’s campuses.

Dalhousie University’s Student Union Building (SUB) will host a voting booth on Sept. 20, but students who aren’t permanent residents of the Halifax riding won’t be able to use it without a piece of ID that states they live in Halifax, according to Dalhousie Student Union President Madeleine Stinson. But even with the proper identif ication, students will only be able to use this polling station to vote in the Hali4 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

fax riding, not those they consider home.

The full list of accepted ID can be found on the Elections Canada website.

In 2019, Dalhousie University had the highest turnout of the schools in this program with 2,236 ballots cast from campus, Elections Canada’s regional media advisor for the Atlantic Provinces, Francois Enguehard, said in an interview with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Despite the disappointment of students, Enguehard said Elections Canada has made their decision. “We understand students are frustrated, but planning an election during a minority government is a diff icult thing, and we’ve never planned an election in a pandemic.”

Students demand campus polls

Many students across the country are unhappy with this decision. At the time of writing, over 20,000 students have signed a petition on Change.org to open the special campus voting booths this September.

“I was appalled and frustrated to hear that the Vote on Campus program was being cancelled. Part of the reason I was so shocked is because the program was so successful in raising the youth vote in the last two elections,” the petition’s creator, second-year English student at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Esmé Decker, said in an interview with the Gazette.

The 2015 federal election, when the Vote on Campus program started, saw the largest increase in voters age 18 to 24 since data collection began in 2004, according to Elections Canada’s youth voting trends page.

Decker also worked at UBC’s campus polls during the last federal election. “I hope elections Canada sees how much the vote on campus means to us. They should always be prepared to open polls on campus for future elections if not this one,” he said.

President of the University of King’s College’s King’s Students’ Union (KSU) Nick Harris is also disappointed in the suspension of campus polls. “They basically scrapped it because it was too much work,” he said. “The job of Elections Canada is to turn out the vote, and not only that but to make voting as simple and eff icient as possible. At the end of the day, this is going to make sure less students are out there voting.

If there was a will to do it, it would be done,” he said.

Harris worked at the Dalhousie campus dalgazette.com

NEWS poll booths in 2019. Harris is a fourth-year student in the contemporary studies program at King’s, but it was a political science course at Dalhousie that inspired him to take the poll booth job.

“I learned how ef f icient and safe Canada’s election system is. We have one of the best election systems in the world. It really is ef f icient. L iterally anyone with the proper training can run an election,” said Harris.

Elections Canada’s explanation and student response The combination of the pandemic and the suddenness of the snap election is Elections Canada’s explanation for pulling the program, according to Enguehard. “The Vote on Campus program was f irst introduced in a majority government context with the goal of reducing the barriers faced by students. It has never been delivered in a minority government context, where no clear dates can be provided to campus administrators,” said Enguehard.

Decker takes issue with this explanation.

“In a way, I can understand that everyone has a hard time working under a time crunch. I worked for Elections Canada in 2019 so I saw a lot of the logistics. At the same time, it is very quick to train the poll workers, my training was only about three hours,” he said.

Decker also said there are some inconsistencies in Elections Canada’s planning, “In the pandemic, they’re able to run polling stations in long-term care facilities. It

should be easier to run booths on campus because in these care facilities there are even more safety concerns.

“It’s frustrating that they would take away this program when they know this demographic needs as much support as possible,” Decker said.

Politicians respond Lisa Roberts, the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for the Halifax riding, expressed concern about the lack of campus polls. “I actually feel like an election without student vote is deeply problematic for democracy,” said Roberts.

Roberts said the Liberal Party of Canada’s call for an election on such short notice may deter voting in general. “It feels to me like a very poor time for an election if we want widespread engagement by the voters,” Roberts said.

Andy Fillmore, the current Liberal MP for Halifax, is “disappointed” by the lack of campus polls, but defends the timing of the election. “It was the election being called on short notice, which, you know, happens.

More than half of Canadian elections are called in short notice.”

Green Party of Canada candidate JoAnne Roberts is also frustrated with the situation. “We just feel that that is an assault on our democracy. And students, I hope, will f ind a way to either vote by mail or vote in advance polls or tie up the system so that they don't let the powers let this happen,” she said. “You know, we talk a lot about voter suppression in the [ United States of America]. This is voter suppression.”

Is this voter suppression?

The suspension of the program is “suspicious,” Decker said.

“Some people have definitely said this is a kind of voter suppression, and it kind of is. It makes it harder for students to vote who already have very busy schedules,” said Decker.

“Youth voters tend to vote more progressively. Youth voting blocks tend to be more ethno-diverse. Elections Canada has this information. It is really disappointing and a little suspicious to see the youth vote is being made less of a priority than, once again, long-term care facilities,” he said. “Elderly people already vote way more than youth in Canada. Elections Canada knows youth are a demographic they should prioritize.”

Decker said Elections Canada isn’t entirely to blame, but the Liberals calling a snap election – – campaigning is taking place over a 36 day election period, the minimum length of a federal campaign under Canadian law – – keeps elections Canada from implementing every program.

Harris raised similar concerns. “Taking any steps that make it harder for someone to vote, that is inherently voter suppression,” he said.

“To me, Trudeau came into power in 2015 because of young people. I think in a large part young people turned out again in 2019.

Polls are suggesting there has been a f lip towards the New Democratic Party amongst young people,” said Harris.

Amongst voters 18 -34, the NDP poll ahead of all other parties according to 338 Canada, a poll analysis website.

“Young people don’t have the highest voter turnout, if this is actually a problem that

Canadian society wants to tackle they need to take steps to do that,” said Harris.

Where to vote now One of the barriers facing student voters is confusion surrounding ridings. Many students want to vote in ridings in their home provinces. The Vote on Campus program allowed them to do this from a booth. Now, students hoping to vote at home must vote by special ballot via mail.

Enguehard also said elections Canada encourages students to vote early. “Voting early by special ballot also preserves students’ ability to cast a ballot in the riding they consider home, even if they’re living outside that riding while they study.”

Voters must apply to vote by special ballot at advanced polls by Sept. 14, Elections Canada said there will be three advanced polling stations around Dalhousie – two within 500 meters and one at a distance of one kilometre.

Students can also vote in their university’s riding simply by showing two pieces of ID, one of which must contain their current address within the riding they are voting in.

Students can f ind their closest poll booths on the voter information page of Elections Canada’s website.

Harris said he and the KSU encourage everyone to get out and vote, early or not.

“There are issues at the table here that are going to affect young people for the rest of our lives, whether that’s climate change, whether that’s free and accessible post-secondary education, whether that’s tackling a pandemic in the best way possible so we can return to a new normal,” he said.

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November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 5

NEWS

Our guide to the 2021 Canadian election How to vote, where to vote and why to vote

BY ADAM INNISS, NEWS EDITOR Canadians will vote for a new federal government on Sept. 20. The election was called quickly and will happen fast. This means it might be complicated for students to navigate, especially first-time voters. So, we’ll try and help. This is your Dalhousie Gazette guide to the 2021 Canadian election.

Why an election now?

The last federal election was in 2019. Usually, Canada has a federal election every four years, so why are we having one only two years later?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he called the election because he wants a “new mandate” to govern, meaning he wants Canadians to give him permission to form a government again. Many things have changed in Canada in the past two years with the pandemic and other social issues, and Trudeau’s reason for this election is to give Canadians a chance to express how they feel the government should run after these changes.

Halifax Liberal MP Andy Fillmore stands behind this rational, “I think there's something honourable in the Prime Minister saying, ‘look, we've got really important work ahead of us to get back to whatever the new normal is going to be, we've got to get people healthy, we've got to keep the economy on track. We've got to have support for families and kids and seniors,’” he said in an interview with the Gazette. “‘So, Canadians, you choose. Here are the three or four platforms, here are the three or four recovery plans, you guys choose.’”

But others are skeptical of the Liberals’ reasoning. Many feel Trudeau called the election simply to win a majority government for his party. Currently, the Liberals have a minority government as a result of the 2019 election. That means they have to work more closely with other party leaders in parliament to get legislation passed.

New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for 6 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

the Halifax riding Lisa Roberts said the snap election is a “political calculation” by the Liberals.

“At this moment, [Liberals] think they could win a majority. I don't think that appears to be in the cards and I expect that they may be regretting their choice to push forward at this time, to push for an election.

Because it was not necessary, it certainly was not necessary at this moment,” Roberts said.

Whether the call for a snap election was necessary or not, who will form Canada’s next government is in the hands of voters.

So, let’s take a look at our options and how to choose.

How to vote The election is on Monday, Sept. 20. You can register to vote ahead of time on the voter registration page of Elections Canada’s website. You can also easily register to vote on the day of the election, simply bring two pieces of government-issued ID with you.

To find your nearest poll booth, enter your postal code into Elections Canada’s “where do I vote?” webpage. If you want to vote in your home riding out of province, but you are staying in Halifax, you must register to vote by special ballot. This can be done at the Elections Canada website.

Party breakdown When you step into a voting booth, you aren’t directly voting for Prime Minister.

You’re voting for an MP (Member of Parliament), who will sit in Ottawa and represent your riding, or area you vote in. Those candidates belong to political parties; those parties have leaders who have a shot at becoming Prime Minister if enough of their candidates win ridings.

The Gazette’s guide covers the major party candidates in the Halifax riding. If you’re voting outside of the peninsula, look up who’s running in your riding. You can find your electoral district on the voter information

services page of the Elections Canada website.

Let’s look at the candidates in Halifax and what they, and their parties, stand for and how their values relate to student issues.

Liberals The Liberal Party of Canada’s candidate in Halifax is Andy Fillmore. Fillmore is currently the MP for Halifax and is hoping for re-election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the leader of the Liberal party. The entire Liberal platform is available on their website, Liberal.ca The Gazette spoke to Fillmore and asked him about some of this election’s issues that concern students.

Student debt The average student with debt in Canada owes $28,000 upon graduating, according to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).

Because of the pandemic, the Liberals waived interest on the federal portion of student loans until 2023 and provided unemployed students with the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB).

“The best thing you can do for anybody who's facing debt is try to help them avoid getting into debt in the first place,” said Fillmore. The Liberal platform on students has a focus on creating more jobs for students.

They want to create 220,000 more placement opportunities in the Canada Student Jobs program (CSJ).

“That’s helping people to avoid the need for student loans entirely by working. By working good jobs over the course of the summer, while at the same time helping local businesses and organizations to get their work done,” said Fillmore.

The Liberals also want to increase the cap for when students have to start paying back their debt, so no one would have to pay back

any of their federal student loans until they're earning $50,000 a year.

Housing Young people who decide to leave home in Canada are moving into a difficult housing market. Rent in Halifax alone has gone up 20 per cent since last January, according to a national rent report by rentals.ca.

“It's impacting students directly. It's also impacting seniors. It's impacting single parents, it's impacting folks living with mental health challenges,” said Fillmore.

During the pandemic, the Liberals introduced the Rapid Housing Initiative, investing $2.5 billion to create at least 9,200 new units of affordable housing in Canada. $20 million of that money has come to Halifax and 50 of those units are under construction right now. “There are folks who are living on the street and in those parks that we've seen, that are going to have a roof over their head by the time the snow f lies this year,” said Fillmore.

If the Liberals win re-election, they plan on moving $600 million to convert empty retail space into for-profit, market-based housing units.

Going forward, the Liberals want to create a national rent-to-own program that would give landlords incentive to make rent-to-own deals with tenants, and in some cases, lower rent.

Climate change According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the consequences of climate change are expected to worsen. The IPPC report predicts the coming years to have more frequent and larger hurricanes, more heatwaves, droughts and rising sea levels. The IPPC said governments must limit global warming to 1.5°C to avoid worsening effects.

The Liberals want to cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, a target set by Steven dalgazette.com

NEWS Harper’s Conservatives back in 2015.

Much of the Liberals plan going forward involves grants to individuals and businesses for adopting greener habits. They want to give grants of up to $5,000 to households who either increase their energy efficiency or buy an electric vehicle.

“This is all kind of wrapped up in the need for a just transition. We can't transition to a low carbon economy without bringing every Canadian along with a way to participate in the low carbon economy,” said Fillmore.

Pandemic recovery Much of the pandemic planning is up to provinces.

Liberals plan on investing in provinces that create proof of vaccination requirements, as well as mandating proof of vaccination for interprovincial travel. Through these policies, as well as free booster shots for Canadians, the Liberals plan on “finishing the fight against COVID-19” according to their campaign.

NDP The New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for Halifax is Lisa Roberts. The leader of the NDP is MP Jagmeet Singh. Their party platform is available at ndp.ca.

The Gazette spoke to Roberts about why she thinks the NDP platform benefits students.

Student debt The NDP wants to see a permanent end to interest on federal student loans. They also want to forgive $20,000 in student debt for graduates, which they say will wipe out 20 per cent of student debt. According to their platform, they also want to “move away” from loans and towards federal grants for students, which they also intend to double.

“The NDP promise is to give students and young people hope for a better future. And part of that means not building towards your future saddled with unsustainable debt that really constrains your choices,” said Roberts.

Roberts said student life in general would be more affordable under NDP policy, “I think students are one of many groups that would benefit from NDP policy platforms, which are really about taking care of all of us better.

Pooling our resources to ensure that we're able to access essential medical services that include dental costs, mental health costs and pharmaceutical costs.”

One cost reduction that may interest students is that of cell phones and internet plans.

The NDP plan on creating price caps on cell phone plans and investing in affordable highspeed internet.

Housing The NDP wants to build at least 500,000 units of affordable housing in Canada by establishing “fast-start funds” for provinces and municipalities to build affordable housing. They also want to waive federal taxes on dalgazette.com

the construction of these housing projects.

“What we have seen across Canada that has led to this housing crisis we're in is that housing is widely being viewed as a financial asset as opposed to a human right. And when housing is viewed as a human right, an economic and social right, when it is viewed in that way, and treated in that way, that creates obligations for the government to ensure that people can access that right,” said Roberts.

Climate change According to their platform, the NDP wants to cut Canada’s carbon emissions in half by 2030. They plan to do this by establishing multi-year carbon budgets across the country. They also want to require more transparency from corporations about their carbon emissions, and they want to ensure that government-owned operations also follow these targets.

The NDP has been very critical of the Liberals climate policy for the last six years.

Roberts said there have been a lot of promises but little action by the Trudeau government to tackle climate change, “the liberals bought a pipeline, and then rationalize it by saying that they need profit from investment in fossil fuel infrastructure to pay for green technology. That does not make sense in the actual, physical, natural world that we live in.”

Roberts is referring to the Trans Mountain Pipeline bought in 2018 by the Liberals, a source for controversy for environmental reasons and issues of Indigenous sovereignty.

Pandemic The NDP sees pandemic recovery as an opportunity to establish a new, more progressive normal rather than return to the status quo of 2019, “we need to be looking at how we take this moment to build our recovery, which is aiming at mitigating climate change, and also investing in adaptation to climate change so that we're not just going back to normal, we're going to something more equitable and more sustainable for the future,” said Roberts.

This new recovery plan includes a reform of our health care system to cover prescription drugs for all Canadians. The NDP also want to provide everyone with a guaranteed liveable income to help with recovery and moving forward.

The NDP plan on funding this recovery by increasing taxes on the ultra-rich both by increasing the wealth tax and creating luxury goods taxes on things like “yachts and private jets” according to their platform.

CONSERVATIVE The Conservative candidate in Halifax is Cameron Ells. The Conservative party leader is Erin O’Toole.

Ells offered to answer questions over email, but said he was too busy to speak with the Gazette prior to the publication deadline.

The Conservative platform is available at conservative.ca.

Student debt

sponse very closely to learn how to avoid mistakes in the future when dealing with other variants, pandemics or even bioterrorism.

The Conservatives have no official platform policy on student debt or student loans.

GREEN

Housing

The Green candidate in Halifax is Jo-Ann Roberts, the party leader is Annamie Paul.

The Green party’s platform is available on their website, greenparty.ca.

The Conservatives want to deal with Canada’s housing crisis by increasing the supply of houses on the market, building one million new homes.

They also want to increase houses on the rental market by encouraging people to become landlords and invest in property. They want to do this by reducing taxes and cutting back on the bureaucracy currently involved when investing in a rental property, according to their party platform.

Climate change Climate change is a controversial issue amongst Conservatives. At the party's official policy convention in March, Conservative delegates voted down including the phrase “climate change is real” in their policy. Despite this, O’Toole is determined to include climate policy in the Conservative platform.

Like the Liberals –– whose climate change goals are based on previous Conservative targets –– the Conservatives also want to cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, according to their policy.

The Conservatives want to help Canadians lower their personal carbon footprints. They have proposed creating carbon savings accounts for every willing Canadian. This would operate like a points system, every time someone with this account buys gasoline they would get credit in their tax-free carbon savings account which can only go towards green personal investments like energy-efficient furnaces, bus passes, bicycles or even personal electric vehicles.

Pandemic The Conservative party’s main focus is a strong reopening of the economy. They hope to beat the virus by increasing vaccination and testing across the country so things can get back to normal. They want to secure Canadian-made supplies of vaccines, test kits and PPE in order to create jobs.

In terms of pandemic spending, they plan to “wind down emergency COVID-19 support programs in a responsible way as Canadians are vaccinated” according to their platform.

Most of their focus is on creating jobs so Canadians have a place to work as they return to a sense of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Toole wants to create one million jobs by investing in infrastructure and promoting Canadian investment into new businesses.

Their plan also mentions preventing future pandemics. They plan on launching an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and examining the Liberal government’s re-

Student debt The Green party wants to cancel all federal student debt, reintroduce CESB until the pandemic ends and, in the long run, abolish postsecondary tuition fees.

They say they can finance much of this with the saved cost of administering the student loans. “If we want a well-educated and well equipped workforce and future generation in this country, then we have to make it possible,” said Jo-Anne.

Housing The Green party want to declare the housing crisis a national emergency. They also want to create rent control rules at the federal level and establish a longer moratorium on evictions.

Jo-Anne said she has seen how rising rent prices affect young people, “I have a niece who just found an apartment... a young person who's just started in the workforce. And she's going to be paying $1600 for 600 square feet.

I mean, that's a press.”

Climate change Greens want to get Canada off oil and gas, quickly. They want to cancel all pipeline projects, end oil drilling and exploration, and even ban the sale of gas-powered passengervehicles.

Through these measures they want to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2030.

They also want to transition oil workers into green jobs through retraining programs, wage insurance and a guaranteed liveable income.

“It is the general cohort of students today that are going to have to live with the consequences [of climate change]. And so, I think it is the overall largest issue that is facing students today,” said Jo-Anne.

Pandemic recovery Like the NDP, the Green want to use this recovery as a chance to change Canada’s health care system. They want to include pharmacare and long-term care in Canada’s social medicine. They also want to extend emergency programs started by the Liberals to help small businesses.

Like the Conservatives, they also want to launch inquiries into the government response to COVID-19 and take measures to prevent future pandemics. These measures include things like increasing production of Canadian-made PPE. Continued on next page November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 7

Party breakdown, at a glance Party Promises

LIBERAL

STUDENT DEBT

NEWS HOUSING CRISIS

-“Help people avoid loans by working.”

-Build more market-based Halifax Candidate: -Create more student housing units MP Andy Fillmore summer jobs -Build 9,200 Party Leader: -Raise cap so you affordable Prime Minister don’t start paying housing units Justin Trudeau back debt until your yearly salary is $50,000

NDP

-End interest on student loans

Halifax Candidate: -Wipe out 20 per cent Lisa Roberts of student debt Party Leader: -Move away from Jagmeet Singh loans and towards grants

PC Halifax Candidate: Cameron Ells -No official platform policy on student Party Leader: debt Erin O'Toole

GREEN Halifax Candidate: -Abolish tuition fees Jo-Anne Roberts -Cancel all federal Party Leader: student debt Annamie Paul

-Build 500,000 affordable housing units -Waive construction tax on affordable housing units -Introduce liveable basic income

CLIMATE CHANGE

-Cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030

PANDEMIC RECOVERY

-Invest $1 billion in provinces that require proof of vaccination

-Give grants to households and businesses who -Free booster shots invest in greener for all Canadians technology (electric cars, solar panels) -Cut Carbon Emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 -Demand more corporate transparency regarding emissions

-Reform Canada’s healthcare system to pay for pharmacare -Extend emergency benefits -Introduce liveable basic income -Focus on economy

-Build more market-based homes

-Cut Carbon Emissions by 30 per cent by 2030

-Encourage property investment through tax cuts

-Create Carbon Savings Accounts for Canadians to encourage investment in green tech

-Decrease emergency support as vaccine rates rise

-Cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2030

-Socialize longterm care

-Build 300,000 affordable housing units

-Establish national -End pipeline standards for rent construction, stop control oil exploration, ban combustion -Longer vehicles moratorium on evictions

-Recover one million jobs

-Investigate cause of COVID-19

-Extend emergency benefits for small businesses -Investigate government response to COVID-19

The Gazette encourages all students to go out and vote on Sept. 20.

8 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

dalgazette.com

OPINIONS

The pumpkin spice phenomenon Let people love it!

BY MANDY KING, OPINIONS EDITOR I’m not opposed to the pumpkin spice phenomenon. I think finding something that makes you happy is great, no matter the season.

Halifax lattes to lagers and beyond

THE ANNUAL CONTROVERSY OVER PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES IS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER TO LET PEOPLE ENJOY THINGS. (PHOTO

BY MORGANE EVANS)

The first hint of pumpkin spice in the air is sure to bring one of two opinions: delight or annoyance. But in a world where bad news is constant, I wonder what the harm is in letting people enjoy their guilty pleasures, even if you think it’s a little too early for a pumpkin spice latte.

As August came to an end, memes began pop-

ping up on social media lobbying against early signs of fall. One meme exclaimed, “Summer isn't over until Sept. 22, so sit your pumpkin spice asses down! I'm not finished with my margarita yet!” It had 34,000 shares on Facebook.

While I am shocked every September when I see the Christmas trimmings appear in stores,

Halifax isn’t immune to the pumpkin spice fanaticism. Even the Downtown Halifax Business Commission has jumped on board with a list of local pumpkin spice hot spots. The full list can be found at downtownhalifax.ca/pumpkinspice. As the list demonstrates, lattes aren’t the only way to get your nutmeg fix this fall.

Propeller Brewery, the oldest microbrewery in Nova Scotia offers a pumpkin ale through October until supplies run dry.

Breton Brewing, based out of Cape Breton also released their Spiced Up Pumpkin Ale on Aug. 30.

Cheesecakery, Sweet Hereafter on Quinpool Road, offers a custom order pumpkin spice latte cheesecake.

As the official fall season nears, there are sure to be other local businesses with pumpkin on the menu as well.

What’s the deal with pumpkin spice?

While fall doesn’t officially begin until Sept.

22, Starbucks released their beloved signature pumpkin spice latte on Aug. 24. This makes me wonder, what is it that makes the beverage so

darn lovable?

According to a report by CNN Health that examined why people crave pumpkin spice, the spicy ingredients conjure feelings of nostalgia.

Common ingredients in pumpkin spice include ground ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. These are scents and tastes which remind us of special times, sweet flavours and comfort. They are often associated with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

There’s also the chemical makeup of a pumpkin spice latte to consider. At Starbucks, a grande, or 16oz pumpkin spice latte includes nine grams of saturated fat, 50 grams of sugar and 230 milligrams of salt. This gives a standard pumpkin spice latte all the makings of a dessert in a cup, combining ingredients North Americans crave.

Let them eat cake or drink latte I’ve never been much of a summer person. I love camping, beach days and barbecues as much as the next, but I’ll take sweater weather over sweaty weather any day.

Despite my personal feelings about summer, I see the joy it brings people and I’m happy for them. Why can’t we get excited over a cup of fall themed steamed milk without having to defend our choices?

I say to each their own. What’s the harm in inviting a little nutmeg into our lives before October? Besides, I’m more of a gingerbread latte gal myself anyway.

Dal Gazette seeks artistic students for our editorial cartoons!

Create a topical illustration expressing your opinion on something relevant to fellow Dal students and email it to opinions@dalgazette.com ARTWORK BY MANDY KING

dalgazette.com

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 9

OPINIONS

Where are all our language options?

The more languages taught at a school, the better for everyone

BY SONDOS ELSHAFEI and become disconnected and may become set for failure” when teachers don’t show interest in any linguistic knowledge they may have already had in other languages.

The article also expressed that learning different languages doesn’t only teach us how to speak differently, it helps us understand those cultures and their traditions.

Building positivity through language

AN INCREASE IN LANGUAGE COURSE OPTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY WOULD HELP STUDENTS BECOME MORE MARKETABLE AND BRIDGE CULTURAL DIVIDES. (PHOTO BY MORGANE EVANS)

A variety of cultures and identities are growing Mandarin, German, French, Italian, Spanish and within Nova Scotia, however, the option of learning Russian. St. Mary’s University offers Japanese, languages outside of English or French remains lim- Mandarin, Irish, French, German and Spanish. ited in universities. This should change to provide Mount Saint Vincent University offers only Manmore inclusive and explorative educational oppor- darin, French and Spanish. tunities.

Where are all the options? According to a 2016 Offering more language options in post-secondary report by the Finance and Treasury Board of Nova schools allow us to accept and embrace the diversity Scotia, the most commonly spoken languages in of Nova Scotians. It creates Nova Scotia outside of ties of communication beofficial languages were tween the cultures and idenArabic, Mandarin and tities in our province.

Mi'kmaq, with others Offering more Growing up in private speaking Tagalog, Gerlanguage options in schools in Halifax and Onman and Spanish. post-secondary tario, I’ve spent a lot of time The Nova Scotia schools allows us to with international students.

Health Authority also I came to notice that stureports approximately accept and embrace dents who witnessed a lack 58,000 deaf people in the diversity of Nova of interest in their mother Nova Scotia. Where are Scotians. tongue felt their cultures the classes for Ameriwere undervalued by not can Sign Language, only the school but also Mi'kmaq and Tagalog? their peers. This created a sense of alienation for In the past, I studied Spanish as an elective and many students, to the point where they began de- found it opened many career opportunities I valuing their own cultures and identities as well. hadn’t considered. Learning Spanish also taught me about Spanish culture. This helped me better Language in Halifax appreciate and understand Latin America and This year Dalhousie is offering courses in Arabic, provided access to opportunities for co-op job op10 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

portunities outside of Canada.

With a possible surge of refugees and immigrants from Afghanistan coming to Halifax in the near future, there are opportunities for new jobs to be held and businesses created by people who don't primarily speak English.

Learning languages other than English and French has helped me make a more attractive resumé. Knowing language improves employability, I wonder if having a broader selection of languages would inspire a wider range of job opportunities.

There is also a language benefit to our tourism industry. According to Discover Halifax, the tourism industry brings in 5.3 million overnight stays in the region each year.

Encouraging students to study different languages supports foreign citizens and visitors of Nova Scotia and helps them feel welcomed and valued.

Learning new languages promotes understanding The importance of including multiple languages in the lives of students is emphasized by Ria Angelo, a University of Bath doctor of education candidate, in her article about the need for more language options in Canadian schools, published in the Conversation.

Angelo is also a middle school teacher in Toronto.

A survey in the piece showed students “lose interest

As students learn new languages in school, they also learn to be more understanding of the differences between cultures.

In a study by American researchers, Hanh Thi Nguyen and Guy Kellogg in the Modern Language Journal, students were encouraged to learn new languages to break stereotypes of said language’s associated cultures. The researchers showed that learning languages has a positive impact on the way people think and act.

Providing access to language learning (outside of English and French) in Nova Scotia universities could offer a similarly positive impact.

The student opinion In a list of reasons to study foreign languages created by Auburn University, it was cited that university grads often say foreign language studies are among the “most valuable courses in college because of the communication skills developed in the process.”

The same list suggests knowing a foreign language in combination with a degree offers a greater number of job opportunities in fields like “government, business, medicine, law, technology, military, industry, marketing and more.”

The difficult aspect of including more languages in school curriculum is deciding which to include.

With a growth of multicultural communities in Nova Scotia, there are many languages which deserve to be spotlighted by local education.

Despite the challenges of selecting the appropriate languages to teach in universities, we should be helping to ensure our fellow Nova Scotians aren’t deprived of services or knowledge because of language barriers.

Obtaining more language options for universities begins with university students like us. It’s important that we speak up for the rights of our own and other cultures. dalgazette.com

OPINIONS

From big screen to digital The uncertain new state of cinema

BY ALEX RINCON larger screens and louder sound or seats that vibrate with a film’s action.

Where did original filmmaking go?

MAYBE COEXISTENCE IS POSSIBLE, AFTER ALL. (PHOTO BY MORGANE EVANS)

With many new films releasing directly to about new films going straight to streaming or streaming sites, the issue facing cinema in 2021 video on demand, I would have ranted about isn't whether viewers will return to theatres af- the superior quality of the theatre experience. ter COVID-19 protocols relax. The issue is However, as many studios and independent whether there will be production companies any movies worth seewere forced to trade ing. theatre releases for As a film student, gostreaming premiers, I It’s not just a ing to the cinema has realized going to the pandemic thing. The always been a special, theatre may never be film industry has been weirdly ritualistic expewhat it used to be and changing for quite rience. It's one of the the pandemic isn’t to things I missed most blame. some time. last year when COVID-19 forced theatre The franchise closures across the rat race province. Watching films at home, even with With theatre doors open again, some wonder the shades drawn and volume blasting to imiwhether this shift towards streaming is here to tate a theatre environment, never felt the same. stay.

Will the theatre experience we once knew If you had asked me last year what I thought dalgazette.com

ever be the same?

Filmmakers and fans have been asking this question for a few years. It’s not just a pandemic thing. The film industry has been changing for quite some time, refocusing from original content to reboots and sequels.

Why bother going to the theatres if most of what you find is formulaic superhero movies or Disney remakes of films you’ve already seen?

By contrast, the appeal of streaming is easy to understand. You can stay at home and enjoy a wider variety of content than the cinema offers.

And if you watch multiple films, streaming is cheaper.

The current rate for a Netflix membership in Canada starts at $9.99 per month, while a ticket to a regular admission movie at a Halifax Cineplex is $11.75, with prices climbing for UltraAVX 3D and DBox – special viewing experiences to enhance a person’s viewing through

An increasing number of original and independent films seem to have found homes on streaming platforms. There, it’s possible they find larger audiences than found during theatrical releases.

This is because even when an independent film does get a theatrical run, it is often limited to select theatres. Not all of them make it to Halifax screens.

Here, our cinematic viewing options are increasingly limited. Cineplex’s programming often skips independent movies altogether, leaving indie films to screen almost nowhere in Halifax. Film fans in Halifax used to have the Oxford Theatre on Quinpool Road, which showed these indie films until it closed in 2017.

Carbon Arc Cinema now stands as Halifax’s only independent cinema, though it doesn’t have its own venue. The cinema screened films weekly at the Museum of Natural History prior to the pandemic. It has been screening films virtually since March 2020.

But streaming services are not without their own flaws. It is a quantity-based industry.

Streaming services churn out new content every few days. In an environment where so many films are produced and released, it’s easy for good ones to get buried.

So, how do we find the balance between quality and quantity of content?

This is something viewers and streaming services are still working out. In the meantime, big blockbuster films will continue dominating while the box office sees financial results.

My verdict is in I’m not mourning the death of the cinema just yet, but this pandemic made it clear that there are alternatives to traditional theatre releases.

If the industry cares to support the release system it was built on, studios and independent producers need to maintain the appeal of going to a big screen theatre with original and exciting movies. If they accomplish this and release them in theatres before streaming services, they may have a fighting chance at rebuilding.

All in all, going to the occasional theatrical release is still a fun experience. And watching films that you can’t see on the big screen through streaming sites is its own reward.

Perhaps coexistence is not such an outrageous thought after all.

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 11

OPINIONS

The Walking Dead walk no more I’m not sad about it

BY MANDY KING, OPINIONS EDITOR

THE SHOW MAY BE ENDING THIS YEAR, BUT IT LOST MY VIEWERSHIP EARLY ON. (PHOTO BY MORGANE EVANS)

The Walking Dead has spawned a best before date and it’s coming in 2023. While many fans of the show will be sad to see it go, I won’t be among them.

AMC announced in 2020 that season 11 would be the final season of the series, offering 24 new episodes, which started airing on Aug. 15. While I would never hope for the end of something others love, I’m not sad to see the series go.

A strong beginning When the first season of The Walking Dead aired, I was thrilled. A horror fanatic to my core, I desperately hoped for something akin to a George A. Romero classic. Unlike Night of the Living Dead or The Crazies, however, I felt that The Walking Dead grew to resemble a gory soap opera rather than a horror show.

Season one, episode one started strong, with more than five million viewers. It sucked me in with serious 28 Days Later vibes. Right down to the lead character Rick Grimes waking up in an abandoned post-apocalyptic hospital, which is the same way the film begins.

As the show ebbed into season two it began taking the shape of a traditional television drama. Grimes’ 12 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

wife became pregnant. Having trysted with her manity might be like in an eat or be eaten existence. husband’s partner from the King County Sheriff's I get it. I just don’t like it.

Department, the baby news sparks animosity, overWhen I watch zombies, I want to see hordes of shadowed by a barn full of zombies. them climbing each other at high speeds to get over Early in season three the drama continues, but a protective wall in Jerusalem. I want to see homesuddenly it’s less Maury Povich and more Sophie’s made tanks with chainsaws pushing through slatChoice. Grimes’ son is forced to kill his own mother ted boards to ward off undead clingers. I want to after she performs an see forced quarantines in emergency caesarean seczombie infested aparttion on herself and starts ment buildings with seUnlike Night of the turning into a zombie. crets lurking on the top Living Dead and The This was the last season of level.

The Walking Dead I I don’t want to stress Crazies, however, I felt watched as a fan. over paternity results, that The Walking Dead watch young boys get grew to resemble a The human their eye shot out or cry gory soap opera rather over baseball bat wielding condition weirdos murdering main than a horror show.

Whenever I raise these characters. points in conversation In short, if a zombie feawith true Walking Dead ture makes me cry more than cringe, it’s not for me. fans, the reasoning I get for all the drama is “the human condition.”

Source material I understand the show is trying to encapsulate I have plenty to say about my distaste for the more than gratuitous gore and jump scares. It harshow’s dramatic style, but I also have a great admibors on reality and fantasy, showing us what hu-

ration for the source material. The Walking Dead is based off a graphic novel series of the same name and while the books are similarly devastating, it’s nice to see literature and art birth such a following.

Something I find interesting about the books and show is that some of the most popular areas of the program had nothing to do with the source material. Daryl Dixon, for example, is a widely celebrated character who was designed specifically for the AMC television program.

Other inconsistencies included character expiration dates. The character Carol outlived her literary counterpart, while Carl died in the show, but lived to the end of the comic series as a hero.

To be continued I may not be a fan of the show, but I can respect the following it’s created. The Walking Dead has notched itself firmly into the realm of cult classics and pop culture alike.

Fortunately for The Walking Dead fans, my opinion means very little to AMC. You’ll be happy to hear a spin-off featuring Daryl and Carol will premiere in 2023 as the main series ends.

Ah well, can’t win ‘em all. Not without Daryl’s crossbow anyway. dalgazette.com

OPINIONS

Dispatch from England: Walking through Chawton House

Experience the palace of peace where Jane Austen changed English literature

BY RACHEL COOKE At the end of a long street lined with cottages, each of them with overflowing flower boxes and sprawling ivy, charmingly neglected, sits Jane Austen’s home.

A quiet home There is a tearoom across the narrow lane, and next to that, the lopsided entrance to a pub. The road is quiet, although the thatched roofed homes have cars in the drive and a few people are wandering about. The fields stretching beyond the lonely village street are stippled with sheep, and peering over the edge of the massive oaks, a church steeple reaches into the air.

It’s not difficult to imagine how Austen came here, made a home within the peaceful stillness of the countryside, in a village that seems accessible only through secret passageway or portal to reach it, and was filled with inspiration.

Upon entering Austen’s home, the first thing that is made apparent is the respect of the visitors.

Each person is walking slowly around the collection of timeless objects; Austen’s muslin shawl still draped in her bedroom; the first edition of Pride and Prejudice preserved in a glass case; Austen’s dark cherry writing table, her blue and white beaded bracelet, her china, paintings, books, furniture, letters and décor, all still perfectly intact, having strongly weathered the test of time. There is an unspoken rule to whisper as though in church –– to gaze upon the writing quills and first editions as though upon an altar.

A revolutionary career While living in Chawton, Jane Austen drafted all six of her major novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Despite the roomy family home, generously gifted by her brother who owned the nearby Chawton Estate, Austen and her family did not intermingle with the neighbouring gentry or entertain many guests. In tranquil seclusion, a happy interim from the world, Austen deepened her talent for introspection and her intelligence for perceiving and comprehending the emotional realm.

Jane Austen revolutionized English literature for many reasons, but one of the lasting impressions she created on the medium was pivoting from action-centered novels to narrative driven novels with internal developments and thoughtful observations on society. Essentially, her work focused on the minds and hearts of individuals. Though the plots and settings of her novels are not shocking or unusual, Austen’s aim was not to create a dalgazette.com

A SIGN (LEFT) WELCOMING VISITORS INTO JANE AUSTEN’S HOME IN CHAWTON, ENGLAND. SIX OF HER MOST BELOVED BOOKS WERE WRITTEN HERE AT HER DESK (RIGHT).

(PHOTOS BY RACHEL COOKE)

dramatic effect or detail a hero’s journey. Instead, Austen described in some of the most beautiful prose of her time and of our own, the intricacies of the human life and mind. This was a drastic turn from the style of other literary figures of the time.

These points in history are marvellous –– when things change, seemingly spontaneously, as if something new materializes out of thin air, as if inspiration strikes from a realm beyond our reach.

However, the setting of Jane Austen’s home in Chawton gives a hint into Austen’s real creative inspiration.

The charm of Chawton Chawton is a place of peace, of windy tree-lined

streets edged in crumbling brick walls, of overflowing flower boxes and misty rain, of an ancient chapel juxtaposed with a bustling café. From what is known of Austen’s time in Chawton, the author kept to herself, minded her own business, and rarely mingled with society. Many would say this becomes evident in her novels through the satirical and sarcastic way she discusses the rituals and routines of class society. However, upon attending Austen’s home in Chawton, it is clear the influence penetrated her work in another, more transformative way. Austen’s time in Chawton allowed her mind the serenity and space to sink deeper in her work, to better understand the mental realms of other people and therefore, her characters. Austen

was in no rush here. She simply relaxed, let her mind wander and found a talent waiting there for her.

Visiting the home of Jane Austen is a surreal experience. With any academic hero, any figure who came into the world with a torch burning, ready to light up the path to new places, there is an element of glory and respect afforded them. To be able to sit where a great mind sat and wander along the paths that inspired her is an experience unparalleled. Upon the first turn of the corner into Chawton, and the first step over the threshold of Austen’s home, a dawning takes place, I realized: This is where incredible things happened that left the world never the same.

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 13

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

The first year on your own Dalhousie and King’s students reflect on navigating their first year living off-campus

BY NATALIA TOLA While September has brought with it a return to in-person classes at Dalhousie University, the return to campus also means this month is many students’ f irst time living alone. The Dalhousie Gazette spoke to students from Dal and the University of King’s College to learn their tips for students f inding themselves in a new living space.

Know what you’re signing up for Anastasia Kutulska, a third-year biochemistry student at Dalhousie, addresses the importance of focusing on contractual details that may initially appear unimportant after f inding the perfect university home.

“If you don’t have utilities included in the winter, the bills for heat can be a thousand dollars. And that’s not fun, so it’s better to have all included,” Kutulska said.

Simon Hansen, a fourth-year arts student at King’s, speaks of a similar experience in their process of f inding living arrangements.

“The most surprising aspect from living independently from campus or home is the power which landlords hold over people in the city,” Hansen said. Halifax is a city without permanent rent control, meaning “your cost of living could be dramatically changed year to year depending on the whims of your landlord,” he says.

Nova Scotia currently has a two per cent cap on rent increases in place due to the pandemic, but this will end in February 2022 or when the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted in the province.

Have backups in place To address such concerns, Dalhousie has a housing advisor who is available to all students at King’s or Dal for questions about leases, rent and paperwork. Students can reach them at housingsupport@dal.ca.

Ashalen McCulloch is a second-year arts student from King’s. In an email to the Gazette, she says that one of the most important things to do after moving out of residence is having numerous alternatives in case one falls through.

“I learned that having multiple backup plans is really good – – checking renting sites daily, getting started early and being able to be f lexible with your needs – – while staying within budget is paramount,” McCulloch says.

14 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

WHILE IT MAY SEEM DIFFICULT AT FIRST, ESPECIALLY IN HALIFAX, LIVING ALONE CAN BE A REWARDING EXPERIENCE. (PHOTO BY MICHAL BALOG ON UNSPLASH)

campus also provides opportunities for perThroughout this time, self-care is essensonal growth. tial. One must validate all needs and conLiving alone provides students with potencerns that arise throughout the process of tial for food options outside cheesy dining house hunting, McCulloch says. hall pizzas and greasy “You have to try burgers. While meal your best to be sure plans in residence you’re safe and well “The most surprising guarantee full plates taken care of in your aspect from living at any given hour, new home for what hand picking one’s inyou have to pay,” she independently from gredients and seasonsays. “It’s super hard, campus or home is the ings prompts better but try your best to power which nutrition. By visiting keep your head up and Dalhousie’s student stay safe.” landlords hold over food bank or using the people in the city.”

10 per cent student Culinary discount offered to opportunities students on Tuesdays at a local Sobeys or While seeking an affordable living accomAtlantic Superstore, students can create an modation can appear to be a frustrating economic meal plan while directly catering journey of trial an error, living outside to one’s cravings and needs.

When living off-campus, students do not have to rely on the university’s ability to consider food restrictions.

“I didn’t always enjoy the meal hall food as a lot of times (most of the time) they didn’t have any halal options,” Ramisa Jamil, a third-year engineering student at Dalhousie says in an email to the Gazette. In fact, Jamil discovered a new passion for cooking after having to prepare meals every day.

“I learned how to cook good food. I was never a person who spent much time cooking, but I now know how to cook delectable dishes like biriyani, pav bhaji, different curries.”

For her, this was not only learning a new skill but reconnecting to her culture by preparing meals from her hometown.

dalgazette.com

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

Creativity, personality and community On the work of Dal professor Shauntay Grant

BY GOKCE ON tionships. It got me thinking more about how people become comfortable with these divisions or try to mend them by creating bridges.”

She was especially inspired by the juxtaposition in Edward James’ character, who had at different points at his life both rejected and embraced secular music.

"These two sides of him—the guitar-playing blues man and the Baptist preacher—informed the two main characters in The Bridge who are brothers in conflict with one another,” Grant says.

She also has other playwriting projects, she reports the latest one being about the 2018 removal of the controversial statue of Edward Cornwallis in downtown Halifax.

Challenges and growth

SHAUNTAY GRANT’S AWARD-WINNING PLAY, THE BRIDGE, RAN AT NEPTUNE THEATRE IN 2019. (PHOTO BY SHYRONN SMARDON, COURTESY OF SHAUNTAY GRANT)

Shauntay Grant is a Canadian author, poet, playwright and professor at Dalhousie University.

Her work is “mainly rooted in local stories and local histories,” Grant says in an email to the Dalhousie Gazette. All of her current and published projects are “inspired by local stories.”

This includes Africville, The City Speaks In Drums and Up Home, which are all set in communities around the Halifax Regional Municipality. The Bridge is set in a fictional Black Nova Scotian community, and “rooted in local Black vernacular language, culture, and customs,” she says.

“I remember being read to a lot as a child,” dalgazette.com

Grant says, recalling her first memories about getting acquainted with language. “After bedtime books with my mom, my dad and I would rap together. So, from a young age I knew that words held rhythm and music. That stories weren't just found in books, but in spoken word and songs.”

The Bridge The Bridge is the latest of Grant’s plays to have been produced on stage. Set in a rural Black Nova Scotian community, the play explores the complex relationship between two brothers who have become strangers to each other over

the years. Secrets are revealed as the play goes on, and the audience becomes very aware that things are much more complicated than assumed in the beginning.

Grant says that her inspirations for this story was the The Song of Solomon from the King James Version of the Bible and an old gospel-blues cover of Edward James’ "John the Revelator".

“The opening verse of "John the Revelator" paints an image of Adam in the Garden of Eden refusing to answer a call from God out of shame around his actions,” Grant says. "I was struck by this story of how one’s actions and choices create deep, impassable gorges in rela-

While seeing projects come to life is very exciting, Grant says that her favourite part of the creative process is the beginning of a project, or “when the work is still trying to figure itself out and every idea has weight.”

Grant admits she likes the uncertainty, “when the story isn't completely set and there are multiple story-roads to take.”

“It's perhaps the most challenging part as well,” she says. “Trying to figure the way that the story will go.” For her, it’s also the most thrilling part.

Another stimulating side of Grant’s creative process is the way she grows with her work. She says she can’t pick a single project that didn’t affect her as person. She feels like every project has to challenge her to hold her interest.

As much as her work is personal to her, Grant says there is still beauty in “how a work can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on the audience.”

“If there are specific messages or moments that I want to communicate through my art, I just try to be as clear as possible,” she says. “And that usually involves writing and rewriting, and taking the work through various stages of development. It's often a long and gruelling process, but one that I enjoy very much.”

She also expresses her excitement about the coincidental nature of this revision, she was especially excited about finding her old poems and seeing commonalities between them.

“Realizing that they may have a relationship to one another. That they could exist together as a whole,” she says.

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 15

SPORTS

Tigers basketballer represents Germany at FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League Lia Kentzler hopes the international experience will help take down Dal opponents this season

BY THOMAS SCOTT Anton Berry, the Tiger’s interim women’s basketball coach, said Kentzler’s defensive versatility will be valuable.

“The defensive schemes that we're going to employ for her to be able to guard, pretty much one through five, that there is a luxury for us,” Berry said. One through five meaning each position on the floor.

In the half-court of 3x3, centres are relied upon for their size and physicality to rise over players close to the basket. When her team needs points, Kentzler will have improved her ability to provide them over opponents’ heads after her practice in the half-court this offseason.

“Her length and touch around the basket is a pretty good skill set that she has,” Berry said. “If we

“I feel like I've improved my decision-making because in 3x3, you have to make quicker decisions and there aren’t really positions, so you have to be able to shoot the ball, drive and guard every position.”

LIA KENTZLER CHARGES TO THE BASKET IN A 3X3 BASKETBALL GAME OVER THE SUMMER. (PHOTO COURTESY OF LIA KENTZLER)

The Dalhousie University Tigers received some unique representation on the world basketball stage over the summer.

Lia Kentzler from the women’s basketball team suited up for Germany in the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League in July and August. The Gottingen, Germany native’s team played in the Europe 1 conference this summer, which was played across six different stops –– separate locations where a portion of the season’s games are played –– over two months.

Kentzler joined the team in time for the second stop on July 7, helping them place second at stops two and five. The Germans finished fourth overall in the conference.

Playing for her country was an honour, Kentzler said, one which will help her in the 2021-2022 season.

16 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

“It was really a great experience to play with top players from my country and obviously against top players from other nations,” she said.

3x3 versus regular basketball The FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League began in 2017, with seasons taking place every year since then besides 2020 due to COVID-19.

A 3x3 (pronounced three-ex-three) game differs from a regular one. There are only three players per team on the court at once, instead of five. Other rule changes include playing in just one half of the court with one net, and games last until one team scores 21 points or until ten minutes have been played. As for scoring, shots made from inside the three-point arc count as one point and shots from outside are worth two points.

A change of rules like this brings out distinct skills from players. A 12-second shot clock forces players to find a shot quicker and the pace of play is different due to the smaller court.

“I feel like I've improved my decision-making because in 3x3, you have to make quicker decisions and there aren’t really positions, so you have to be able to shoot the ball, drive and guard every position,” Kentzler said. “I feel like this could definitely help this upcoming season.”

Applying 3x3 skills in the AUS Guarding is an asset for the six-foot-one centre.

With the ability to guard multiple positions, she can switch onto other attackers. In the centre position, it’s important to be able to switch when other teams run their set offensive plays like the pick and roll.

can get her running to the rim early in transition to get some easy buckets I think that she can help us out that way.”

There are no stoppages in play during the FIBA 3x3 games, which means coaches cannot intervene as much. This aspect adds a level of decision-making and independence for players. With help from Berry and his staff, Kentzler will be well-equipped to make the right decisions on the floor.

Having played in multiple 3x3 tournaments in Belgium and Germany, along with in the 3x3 Nations League, Kentzler played several games a day this summer. These tournaments, she said, allowed her to prepare for the upcoming Atlantic University Sport (AUS) season and stay in shape.

“The entire summer I was playing games, tournaments and had practiced so I think I really worked on my game,” she said. “I hope I can help my team to win a lot of games here.”

dalgazette.com

Rediscovering a hometown Born in Halifax but raised in England, Jack Ellis is set to become the third member of his family to don a Tigers uniform in soccer

BY LUKE DYMENT, SPORTS EDITOR

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND’S JACK ELLIS WILL DEBUT FOR DAL’S MEN’S SOCCER TEAM THIS SEASON (PHOTO BY LUKE DYMENT)

While gazing across the Dalhousie University campus, Tigers men’s soccer team player Jack Ellis feels like he’s been here before.

And he has, kind of.

Ellis was born in Halifax to Mark and Carla Ellis, but moved to England when he was two years old. He grew up in Liverpool, England, a city with a wet, maritime climate much like Nova Scotia. The Dalhousie Gazette asked if he agreed with those similarities.

“Yeah. The weather, less so. It’s normally torrential rain at home.”

He came back for one visit to Halifax while still a child, not returning again until making the decision to study at Dal and joining men’s soccer training camp in mid-August.

Despite never really living in Halifax, the city and the university feel like home.

A family history at Dal You might recognize the names of Jack’s parents, especially if you’ve followed Dal soccer closely since the 1990s. Mark Ellis played for the very team Jack competes with now, a key cog in Dal’s Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU, now U SPORTS) championship effort dalgazette.com

in 1995, followed by a bronze in 1997. He was also the team MVP in 1996 and 1997.

Carla Ellis (neé Perry) led the women’s squad to a CIAU championship the season prior to the men’s title, after finishing second place in 1993. She also won two team MVPs, topped with three first-team All-Canadian selections from the national body.

Clearly, Jack is already well-connected to Dal soccer “Mom and dad speak so highly of the university. Without them, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

“Dal was pretty well a no-brainer after I spoke to Alan [ Jazic, his coach]. When Dal was on the table, [mom and dad] were really excited because they know what it’s like to play at Dal. You don’t get that anywhere else, that homeaway-from-home kind of feeling.”

Carla and Mark know exactly what their son means. From their years at Dal, they said the well-rounded experience on campus is what makes the experience memorable two and a half decades after donning the black and gold.

“It was a great experience at Dal, being able to get your degree and combine it with playing soccer,” Carla said to the Gazette via phone call from Liverpool. “The girls that were my lifelong friends that I played club soccer with were part of the Dal team, so they are really great memories.”

“Initially, you remember the games, winning and stuff like that. But I think the things important to me now are the friendships I got from then that I still have now,” Mark said, also on a call from across the Atlantic Ocean.

in late August to help him settle in. “[The stay] joy the experience. Even though it’s a bit of a difwent all too quickly, I’m afraid.” ferent game in Canada, there’s still a ball and 11 For Carla, a Cole Harbour native, it was her players on the field,” Carla said. “The type of first time in the province in 14 years. player he is, he can adjust no problem.”

“It was a bit surreal. We’re super proud of him Mark, who’s coached Jack since he was four, and we know he will enjoy it. It felt like we were knows what he’s capable of too. going back in time there “He’s a highly competifor a bit,” she said. tive lad. If he relaxes “Them showing me there and enjoys it, you’ll “I want to hit those around was so helpful, see the real player in heights with all the especially coming from him,” Mark said. “He lads on the team and so far away,” Jack said. doesn’t need to do any“Having those family thing more than that.” go as far as possible roots here really helped Jack said he knows his over the next few me as it is difficult movmission is to write his years.” ing away.” own chapter in the Ellis family history at Dal. At Advice from the the same time, he said his parents’ experiences can be used to his advantage. folks “It’s brilliant how mom and dad accomplished Early in the season as a rookie, there are lots of so many things here. Sometimes, having some of thoughts and emotions to absorb. Thankfully that pressure helps you get to that next level,” for Jack, his parents are at his disposal for adJack said. “I want to hit those heights with all the vice, having gone through the same thing. lads on the team and go as far as possible over “There’s no pressure on him, he’s there to enthe next few years.”

Returning to his roots Jack always thought about studying in Canada. He said he knew what opportunities lay ahead for him in Canada academically, like the management program he’s now enrolled in at Dal. But it was Jack’s initial discussion with Jazic that had him sold on the Tigers.

“Dal was always in the back of my mind,” Jack said. “I knew if I would go to Canada, [Dal] would be a good place. And I always wanted to come back to Halifax since I don’t come here often. So when I do come here, it’s kind of for a special occasion.”

As excited as they were to see Jack take up his interest in Dal, Mark and Carla said they, understandably, had mixed emotions seeing him move so far away.

“It’s a little bizarre. He always had a sense that was something he wanted, but actually seeing it happen is bizarre but wonderful,” Mark said.

Carla and he travelled to Nova Scotia with Jack

CARLA ELLIS (IN WHITE) ON THE FRONT COVER OF THE DALHOUSIE GAZETTE IN SEPTEMBER, 1993.

(PHOTO LOCATED BY CARLA ELLIS, VIA THE DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES)

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 17

SPORTS

New passion, new season, same goal Large training camp turnout, recruitment and motivation after lost season make for a Dal football season full of potential

BY LUKE DYMENT, SPORTS EDITOR

TIGERS HEAD COACH MARK HAGGETT (CENTRE, HOLDING MULTIPLE FOOTBALLS) FEELS THE TEAM IS ON A WHOLE NEW MISSION THIS SEASON. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK HAYS)

“Tomorrow and Friday will be days of f,” Dalhousie University Tigers football coach Mark Haggett’s voice echoed across Wickwire Field.

A roar of approval from his players rippled through the chilly air in response.

The football team was wrapping up their sixth straight day of training camp. This f inal session of the near week-long run wrapped up around 11 p.m., with the surrounding campus dead-quiet. Most students have yet to move into residences.

Eighty-f ive players reported to camp on day one, Aug. 27. The coaches are tasked with trimming that roster down to between 50 and 60 students before the season opener on Sept. 18 against the University of New Brunswick-Saint John Seawolves. The players have worked tirelessly over six days to catch the coaching staf f ’s attention.

This break is well deserved. They’re ex18 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

hausted, yet their chant was alive with energ y.

Itching to get back That energ y has likely built up over the nearly two years since the team last played, a semif inal loss to the Holland College Hurricanes on Oct. 26, 2019.

We haven’t heard much from the team since then, until they began revealing most of their new class of recruits on the teams’ Facebook page in the spring.

Fourth-year student and quarterback Chris Duplisea said he missed being out on the f ield with his squad. Having spent most of the of f-year training independently, it means a lot for the 2019 Atlantic Football League (A FL) of fensive player of the year to be back out again.

“The part I missed most was being out playing with the guys I’ve been playing

with over the past few years and having fun out on the f ield. Especially being out and hanging with my friends while playing football,” Duplisea said. The team chose to forgo any training together in 2020, citing the large number of players on football teams.

Now that they’ve returned and are in larger numbers, the level of competitiveness touches the black sky above Wickwire Field. As the coaches debate how to shape the roster for game one, Haggett said this type of competition, between players in training camp for roster spots, is an advantage Dal has to set itself apart from other teams.

“You want your highest level of competition to be internal,” he said. “You’d want your second team to play a [ league] game for you and win it. I think the competition we have internally here is going to pay

of f.”

Dal’s new dynamic duo The 2019 semi-f inal loss to Holland ended Dal’s bid for back-to-back championships.

In 2018 , they beat the Hurricanes in the f inal. Holland would fall in the 2019 Moosehead Cup f inal to the University of New Brunswick-Fredericton Red Bombers.

The Red Bombers took the title convincingly to cap of f an undefeated season, led

by A FL M VP Dylan Waugh – – now a Dal Tiger.

The running back represents Dal’s most intriguing of f-season addition. Waugh joined the Tigers after enrolling in Dal’s master of science program for occupational therapy following his UNB graduation.

“I have two more years of eligibility and school. I’m going to go for it and play while dalgazette.com

ARTS & LIFESTYLE I can,” Waugh said, excited to jump back into the competition he missed out on last year. “[ When you’re] able to go out there on the f ield and give it your all, there are not many other opportunities in life where you can do that.”

Waugh is not only looking forward to being back in a football program but to be joining forces with Duplisea behind the offensive line – perhaps the scariest duo in the league. Both league all-stars and award winners have spoken frequently through camp so far.

“I’m really excited about it. Chris is a really good player and a really good guy,” Waugh said. “It will def initely be a bit different of a dynamic because Chris is such a good passer and he can run. I think it will open stuf f up for me as well. We can really help each other that way.”

“He’s a great addition to the team,” Duplisea said about Waugh. “As everyone saw in previous seasons, he’s a very, very talented running back. He adds that extra piece into our of fence. He’s a huge addition and a very good guy.”

“You want your highest level of competition to be internal.”

QUARTERBACK CHRIS DUPLISEA (CENTRE, HOLDING FOOTBALL) MISSED BEING WITH THE GUYS ON THE TEAM MOST IN THE YEAR OFF FROM COMPETITION. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK KAYS)

The ‘buy-in’ factor With Duplisea and Waugh expected to be among the leaders on the squad this year, Haggett said there’s something about this year’s team that will make this season in particular exciting and successful.

“This is the best group of young men we’ve had out here for attitude and buy-in.

After six days of camp, the buy-in of this team is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” said Haggett, who’s been on the coaching staf f since 2014. “Compared to 2019, we have a lot more character around and along with our [ player] numbers, it raises the competition.”

Duplisea has seen the same thing from his team.

“We have a lot of numbers out there, but the biggest change I’ve noticed is the attitude,” he said. “Everyone has a good attitude and they want to be out there. Practice is competitive.”

The attitude is obvious watching a training session. The cheers erupting after any play is f inished during practice, big or small, shows the team is soaking in every minute they have back on the f ield.

“The guys have missed being around the team as a whole and having that family atmosphere,” Haggett said. “That’s what was taken away from them the most. It wasn’t the games themselves, but these moments in practice.”

dalgazette.com

DYLAN WAUGH PUT TOGETHER AN IMPRESSIVE CAREER WITH THE UNB FREDERICTION RED BOMBERS, INCLUDING MULTIPLE AFL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND A LEAGUE MVP. NOW HE'S DECIDED TO TAKE HIS TALENTS TO THE TIGERS. (PHOTO COURTESY OF DYLAN WAUGH)

November September29, 17, 2019 2021 | 19

The best of 2019-2020

Prepare for the new season by revisiting the top Tigers moments of the last full year of sports

BY LUKE DYMENT, SPORTS EDITOR out more, read Dynamic Duo Brings Home Gold on dalgazette.com.

Sprinter Matt Coolen finished the year as the talk of the conference, though. In his final season of an accomplished university career, he dominated at the conference level before winning the national event in the 60-meter hurdles. This marked his third U SPORTS gold and fourth medal overall in the event.

Number two: Volleyball Tigers endure ups and downs in unforgettable season

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TAKE A TRIP WAY BACK TO 2019 FOR THESE TOP TIGERS MOMENTS (PHOTO BY CHRIS STOODLEY)

With Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and other league competition returning this month, it’s time to get ready for the roller-coaster ride a full season of university sport presents us.

What better way to prepare for the season to come than by revisiting some of the most exciting, inspiring and overall fantastic moments from Dalhousie University Tigers players, teams and more in the last full season of 2019-2020?

If you can remember that far back, anyway. But a verbal queue or two will hopefully ring a bell and remind you how memorable the most recent Tigers season was.

Number five: U SPORTS Top 100 basketballers list features Dal alumni In February 2020, U SPORTS unveiled its picks for the top 100 women’s basketball players in the past 100 years. Two Tigers alumni, Kathy Spurr and Anna Stammberger, were selected.

Both followed similar paths to stardom at Dal. Stammberger watched from the bench in her 20 | September November 29, 17, 2021 2019

rookie season of 1978-1979, before working her way to two Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championships in 1980 and 1982, along with numerous school and conference allocations, plus an Olympics appearance in 1984.

The Tigers originally recruited Spurr for swimming in 1985, but her talent and work ethic on the court couldn’t be denied. She captured multiple honours, including an AUS championship of her own in 1986.

ter freestyle event and won bronze in the 50-meter freestyle at the U SPORTS championships. No one from the women’s team had medaled nationally since 2017 until that point.

Christian Payne also broke personal best times in the 50-meter backstroke at nationals as the highlight on the men’s side, capping off successful seasons, especially against powerhouse programs from the University of Toronto and other Western Canadian schools.

Number four: Impressive season in the water

Number three: Dal continues to dominate track & field

In 2019-2020, the men’s swimming team saw an impressive two-decade run of AUS titles end at the hands of a strong Acadia University Axemen team, despite championship-worthy performances at the AUS finals. But the women’s squad looked stronger than ever, extending a 20-year title streak of their own another year with exciting races both in the AUS and nationally.

Particularly, Isabel Sarty won multiple AUS golds, broke her own AUS record in the 100-me-

There’s plenty to take from the Tigers’ AUS championship seasons (and successful U SPORTS championships) in 2019-2020. Let’s begin with the women’s Tigers ludicrous 31st consecutive AUS title, backed by record-setting performances from sprinter Maya Reynolds and combined athlete Lorena Heubach. There were plenty of feelgood stories, like the touch of teamwork used between brothers Hudson and Harmon Grimshaw-Surette to capture one race. To find

The women’s volleyball team captured an eighth consecutive AUS title in 2019-2020. They won in one of their most difficult seasons in their nearly decade-long dynasty.

Not only were they sent home on the eve of the U SPORTS nationals (supposed to run from March 13-15, 2020) due to COVID-19, where they were heavily favoured to medal in a nearly undefeated season.

The team rallied around team veteran, Victoria Haworth, whose father and avid Tigers supporter Brad fought cancer during the season, sadly passing the following April.

The performances of Haworth and three-time AUS MVP Courtney Baker were for the ages, topping statistical leaderboards and capturing honours all season. Many of Dal’s standouts in 2019-2020 will be back this fall, with the experience of multiple AUS championships on their side.

Number one: Men’s basketball makes a statement The men’s basketball Tigers accomplished what no other Dal team ever has in March 2020 – they played in the U SPORTS Final 8 basketball championship. It was a year they’ll never forget.

From losing just twice all year, to Alex Carson officially becoming “Mr. Three-Pointer” at Dal by breaking the all-time program record for threepoint shots made and Keevan Veinot putting up a memorable MVP campaign, Dal officially established themselves as a force on the national stage.

Having led late in the final, Dal finished the game without the result they wanted. However, players and coach Rick Plato have stressed 20192020’s only a sign of things to come. Given the team culture Plato and his group have worked to establish in the off-year, the Tigers will likely be the team to beat again this year. dalgazette.com