Volume 26 Issue 10: Instinct

s Departure PG. 9-11 Jule’

Inte rvi ew ing

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Su ns e

From Sta r to

G. 8 P nes o J a yn a h

The Undoing of TWU Chapel PG. 12

03 23 22

ISSUE 10

VOLUME 26

on llys .A Dr t:

Guide Me:

Mars Hill

MAKENA WARDLE Editor-in-Chief

CARTER SAWATZKY Managing Editor

RACHEL WEGNER Visual Editor

GILLIAN SCOTT Copy Editor

Dear Reader,

MARITHA LOUW News Editor

KYLE PENNER Opinions Editor

SOPHIE HOLLAND Arts & Culture Editor

SCOTT BOWERS Sports Editor

BRAEDON GROVER SUNNES Humour Editor

LEX DIERSCH Staff Writer

DIEGO BASCUR Staff Writer

ZACHARY SIMONYI-GINDELE Illustrator

Some of us have grown up feeling as if we cannot trust ourselves; that, as inherently sinful or fallen human beings, our inner-voice is tainted. We have dedicated countless hours and prayers to attempting to differentiate between God’s voice, the voice of “evil,” and our own.

As we get older, and life throws more challenging situations our way, it is important for us to learn to trust our instinct—to trust our gut. Learning to listen to your intuition and your body is a critical element of learning to find peace, combat anxiety, and figure out what is important to you individually. I personally had to learn through counselling that my own voice was not the voice of “evil,” and that I could trust it in tandem with the voice of God. When we were brainstorming themes for this semester a few months back, Rachel Wegner, our wonderful Visual Editor, suggested “Instinct.” The word seemed to resonate with all of us, and we added it to our list. It wasn’t until recently that she told me that this idea above was the inspiration behind the theme: learning to trust yourself.

MARS’ HILL

CATE TSO Layout Editor

MACKENNA WILSON Photographer & Social Media Manager

Mars’ Hill is a student publication of Trinity Western University located on the traditional ancestral territory of the Stó:lō people. Floated with funds raised by the Student Association, Mars’ Hill seeks to be a professional and relevant student publication, reflecting and challenging the TWU community, while intentionally addressing local, national, and international issues.

MISSION TO MARS

JARED KLASSEN Web Editor

The mission of Mars’ Hill, as the official student newspaper of Trinity Western University, is to inform and entertain its readers, cultivate awareness of issues concerning the TWU community, and provide a forum for purposeful, constructive discussion among its members in accordance with the Community Covenant, Statement of Faith, and Core Values of the University.

MEDIA ADVISOR: Loranne Brown

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Our staff and contributors have taken this idea of instinct and integrated it throughout their pieces in this issue. In our feature article, “Was It Something I Said?” Carter Sawatzky interviews former TWU Dean of Education, Dr. Allyson Jule, and investigates the reasoning behind her choice to leave the university.

Lex Diersch talks with Black Canadian storyteller and TWU alum, Shayna Jones, about her inner artistic process in the article “Guide Me.” And in “The Undoing of TWU Chapel,” Diego Bascur talks with three former and current Chapel leaders about their experiences, and searches for restoration within this key component of campus culture.

We at Mars’ Hill are thankful, once again, that you have decided to spend some time with us, while we learn what it means for each of us to trust our instincts.

Cheers,

EDITORIAL POLICY

Mars’ Hill encourages submissions and Letters to the Editor. Mars’ Hill reserves the right to edit submissions for style, brevity, and compatibility with the Mission, the Statement of Faith, the Student Handbook, and the Core Values of the University. Anonymous authorship of any material may be granted at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Opinions expressed in Mars’ Hill belong to the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, Trinity Western University, its officials or its Student Association.

CONTRIBUTORS

Amy Bebawi Analise Saavedra Syd Dvorak Andrew Bouchard Shayna Jones Seth Schouten Camilla Bjurling

Paul Fadeyi Sadie McDonald Olivia Heinen Bailey Froese Lorin Scaiano Alex Walker

DECLASSIFIEDS SUBMIT YOUR OWN AT MARSHILLNEWSPAPER.COM/DECLASSIFIEDS

Nicki Minaj please pay my tuition! I need food to survive but Sodexo wants my money…

WHY IS BC SO SLOW IN REMOVING VACCINE MANDATE????

the next twusa page that follows me I’m not voting for them.

Ooh ee ooh ah ah, ting tang walla walla bing bang

gonna start playing declassifieds bingo where egg is the free space and points are based on the entries around it that genuinely make me laugh

Foundations with Cal Townsend is an overpriced comedy show

To the people who live above me. I need not drink your tea.

Eat your soup. There will be a day in which I will steal your food How do I make new friends without seeming to infiltrate an already formed group? :( Is jesus old-fashioned or did he just live in an old-fashioned time?

Thank you for your article, Aliya Coy. Your empathy might have touched many of those who read your article The Bebawi’s have the most glorious hair on campus.

Hey housing? How do you expect ‘22 grads to move out, and find somewhere to stay during graduation weekend?

It’s so unnerving when the npcs around campus become conscious and decide to talk to you about the apparent five classes you share together WHEN THEY LITERALLY DID NOT EXIST THE DAY BEFORE

Whoever took the ping pong paddles from Jacobson last sem - I bought those paddles myself, can you pls return them :(

You can be straight with pink or blue hair. I know many straight people who have multi-colored hair. Imo dying hair in different colors is artistic

alert alert there’s a student wearing a gas mask in class. i REPEAT there’s a student wearing a LITERAL gas mask at school in class

Poached Egg > Egg

Do we still have to say bless you when anti-vaxxers sneeze?

“Wine is proof that God loves us” - Cal Townsend

All English majors are equal, but some English majors are more equal than others.

Professor Morrissey reminds me of Corey Olsen the Tolkien Professor!!!! They would make such great friends :) Overheard outside of Reimer: How was dinner? Not bad actually. Really? Yay!!

Josh Halladay is a CHAMP and a KING “Girls are harder to figure out than lego and I’m in a f------ lego magazine.” - my bf Line ‘em up... SEND IT!!!!

Kingdom Hearts sux FF7 > FF7 Remake

I’m frustrated with mask mandates but I feel like lifting them so soon and abolishing vaccine cards will result in disaster

We love Bing at the Rooted café!!

It is so sad that BC removes the mask mandate before the vaccine mandate. The discrimination is so wrong.

Notice how no one talks about their rights AND responsibilities to society? Stop being so self-centred and remember that living in a society means limits on our choices.

Oh by the way, if you’re graduating this spring you have to move out by the 28th even though we graduate April 30

I know they keep making movies about him, but I’m starting to get the feeling that Batman isn’t real :(

So um. According to the graduation info on the website, “a maximum of two guests per graduate are invited to attend the ceremony with you.” So... that’s it then? We can finally have in-person graduation but it doesn’t really matter because we’re only allowed a max of two guests?

I’ve never felt less like myself than I did in first year to the dude who submitted the declassified last issue about a girl who ‘wears overalls and has shortish hair in rels class’: yo gotta say which rels class tho...?

Is Mars’ Hill a leftist publication or are the conservatives just terrible writers, hence why they never get published?

To whoever was playing ‘Stupid Cupid’ at maximum volume outside Douglas––nicely done.

What does the bible say about carbonated water?

So um. Lower caf, could you please give me more rice in my poke bowl please?

Anybody else notice how many staff members were silenced for speaking against the mandates.

Thank you Alex Walker for Mama Mia’s sex journal Canada, why your shipping be this way????

To the alumni in the last issue who said being late isn’t a problem, that’s bull. I’m an alumni in the “real world” and lost a $5,000 commission for handing in something late. People get fired all the time for being late.

I’m fairly certain professors enforce late policies for your own good. The “real world” isn’t interested in holding your entitled hand. the grind never starts i came to university a christian, but i’m leaving a chicago manual of style evangelist whoever is named lexi in this school, YOU NEED TO MAKE A PLAY!!! Iykyk inferiority complex? No, it is simple. Opposite of superior HeLlO! It’s supposed to be Christ-centered Christianity not crotch-centered Christianity.

Stop focusing on ppls sexuality and virginity PLZ!!! why eat when elden ring

Thanks to no masks I can see your boogers now!

Now that masks have come off, it’s pretty obvious who was using the TWU snitch line from who’s left.

Those 8/9 up girls who go around kicking that post it note with the frog on it are so hot To the people I sprayed with water thinking they were someone else, I am truly sorry. It was just Gotcha, nothing personal.

But to the person who cried after, that was a bit much don’t you think?

Dear TWU sidewalk designer, Did you know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line...y’all making me late for class!

Sorry 4/5low for the aggression, gotcha does things to you… the guys that did the dad act at hootenanny need to be humbled Does Trinity compost?

I thought you said you were eating cedar. That’s NOT a tree, girl!

To the girl who absolutely slammed into the automatic door in the atrium while running from some guys trying to gotcha her,,,, alexa play “hope ur ok” by olivia rodrigo my pronouns are who/what/ when/where/why/how ywil? more like ywon’t Imagine applying for apartment rep just to get a dishwasher egg Can’t believe this is the last year we’re allowed to submit declassifieds :(

I just think it is so cute that I hyperfixate on pieces of media until everyone knows it is part of my personality for the next two weeks. who is Christmas gala girl Why doesn’t Mars’ Hill respond to declassifieds anymore? hi :) plant girls are the new horse girls Can u have a dyed streak and still be straight,,,? Asking for a friend the goils who geat, gate. and the goils that gont, goint Andrew B what were you doing in the TWUSA lounge at 12:30am?

I accidentally hit the emergency call button in the Jacobsen elevator and I ran away cause I was scared I’m so sorry Diarrhea is one of those words I will NEVER know how to spell.

I use autocorrect every. single. time. ^just used autocorrect. Thank u Steve Jobs If you think the gender ratio is bad at Trinity, how do you think they feel at the other TWU Cackling at every sexual innuendo joke at 11:07 is virgin behaviour To all the people who brought bikes to campus...why? I have never once seen you ride your bike.

PHYS 112 tells us the orange wave can either be the NDP party or Dutch heritage Hey mister, ever thought that you have too few moles?

We are all neurotic, just some are more than others.

To the disrespectful boys in Jacobson who very rudely told us to shut up before quiet hours had even started, you need to grow up and learn some basic manners please.

Gotcha is stupid in my opinion RIP Block Hall Clock

Mars’ Hill editors reserve the right to edit or reject submissions based on content and/or length. A printed submission does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of any kind, nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of Mars’ Hill staff, the student association, or that of the University.

AMY BEBAWI

CONTRIBUTOR OF THE ISSUE What is your major?

International Studies with a minor in Professional Writing

Where are you from?

Cairo, Egypt. (Yes, I’ve seen the pyramids. No, I don’t live in one).

What is something you’re passionate about and want to share with the world?

Well, I really like tea! But I can’t really share that with the world. So my deep answer is: intentionality. There’s something so impactful about taking the time to know and understand what matters to people, even if it’s just learning what their favourite chocolate bar is and getting them one!

It makes a huge difference when people can tell you care about them.

Who is your favourite (fictional) character and why?

I spent 10 minutes trying to think of a different answer because I didn’t want to sound too nerdy, but I have always loved Legolas from the Lord of the Rings. Anyone with a bow and arrow is already cool, but add on his smooth elephant trunk sliding skills and the fact that he’s an elf, and he just becomes that much cooler.

Why do you write for Mars’ Hill??

I think every person has a unique perspective on the way they see life and the world. I write for Mars’ Hill (and in general) because I enjoy exploring my own perspective and offering people a look into what may be important for other people that may see the world differently.

What is your favourite article of clothing?

I have a pretty green and orange scarf that my mom got me from Morocco. She has a matching one and I have had it for close to a decade. I will never get rid of it. Not only do I get endless compliments every time I wear it, but it holds sentimental value to me and it reminds me of my mom.

What is your favourite article you’ve written for Mars’ Hill and why is it important?

That’s a difficult question! I’ve only written two, and they’re both about African countries dealing with conflict. I like them both for the same reason: they draw attention to crises that may be misunderstood and overlooked in the West. We tend to view these conflicts as something that doesn’t directly affect us, so I have enjoyed writing them because they have reminded me (and hopefully others) that these conflicts do, in fact, matter.

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GREETINGS FROM YOUR NEXT TWUSA PRESIDENT ANDREW BOUCHARD, TWUSA PRESIDENT ELECT It’s that season again, with finals quickly approaching and the smell of summer in the distant periphery. Elections have officially concluded, and a new TWUSA team is now beginning the transition process. As your TWUSA President-Elect, I would like to thank you for taking part in the election process and exercising your voice in the selection of next year’s team.

I am passionate about the mission of TWUSA and am deeply excited about what we can accomplish next year. In my campaign I committed to making promises that, while potentially not being fundamentally captivating or spectacular, are grounded in reality.

Chrisaleen Ciro, in her Mars’ Hill article “Monarchic Tendencies” from February 2018,wrote that “the platforms of the candidates who have previously been on TWUSA are far less tantalizing… because they are uniquely aware of what is realistic and what is truly part of the purview of TWUSA.” I am aware of what we can realistically achieve, and am starting now. One aspect of TWUSA’s mission statement that resonates with me is “providing individuals with opportunities for involvement.” Typically, roles on TWUSA are somewhat exclusive due to the year-long time commitment; it requires the willingness to sacrifice time that could oth-

erwise be used for work, socializing, or academics. This can make it impossible for athletes, students with jobs, or individuals with academic commitments to serve on TWUSA. Not only does this contribute to the notion of TWUSA being a “friends club,” but also reduces the ability for TWUSA to truly represent the student body.

I would like to change what it means to be a TWUSA member. Current roles will remain the same, but a flexible volunteer program will be created to allow anyone the opportunity to be a part of TWUSA. Opportunities for involvement include the chance to run a lounge shift, sit in on a committee meeting, or help run a TWUSA event. The commitment could be a one-off, weekly recurrence, or anything in between.

Another initiative from my platform that I am starting now is updating TWUSA’s constitution. This will be the first update since 2009, and will be voted on by TWUSA’s Senate, TWUSA’s Representative Assembly, and the student body in the coming weeks.

I am honoured to have been elected your TWUSA president, and I look forward to serving you. Please reach out to me if you have any ideas about the future or would just like to talk––I would love to get to know you.

THE FORGOTTEN 40 YEAR REFUGEE CRISIS ANALISE SAAVEDRA

Like many minority groups in Myanmar, the Shan are deprived of many public services and health care by the government—although it was not always this way. Before and during British rule, minority groups like the Shan were allowed to self-govern. However, after decolonization, the 1948 Citizenship law led various ethnic groups who arrived in the territory now considered Myanmar after 1823 to lose their autonomy and citizenship. This laid the foundation for an armed conflict between minority groups and the Burmese military, thereby creating a significant refugee crisis in Thailand.

As a result of lasting prejudice since decolonization, armed groups emerged among various tribal peoples wanting to fight for their freedom. Although groups present after 1823 can acquire citizenship after three generations in Myanmar, this is not an accurate portrayal of reality. Due to ongoing discrimination by the government, the few who acquire legal status become second-class citizens, while those who are denied citizenship are subject to rape, human trafficking, and a lack of education and political representation.

Many are infuriated by the denial of their rights in a country they not only call home, but where they once possessed autonomy. Consequently, insecurity and militarization thrust militias into an armed insurgency against the government. The Chin, Kayah, Mon, Kayin, Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states are most affected by the violence, although the majority of armed confrontations take place in the latter three.

As a result of the instability and violence, a refugee crisis began on the border of Myanmar and Thailand. Since 1951, Thailand has refused to sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which has limited the rights of the 90,000 Burmese who reside in refugee camps. Despite Thai-

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land’s promises made to the U.S. of their provisions of humanitarian aid, Thailand is hesitant to follow through due to its maintenance of close ties with the Burmese government.

“Not only does Thailand refuse to move refugees further inland to shelter them from shelling by the Burmese military, it also denies them medical services and the right to work, making their integration into Thai society nearly impossible.”

Not only does Thailand refuse to move refugees further inland to shelter them from shelling by the Burmese military, it also denies them medical services and the right to work, making their integration into Thai society nearly impossible. Furthermore, Burmese refugees are con-

fined to closed camps where they are unable to leave and those who are unregistered are not allowed resettlement: on some occasions, refugees are sent back across the border or to other nearby countries through unofficial deportations.

Thailand has also adopted a “push back” policy to intercept ill-equipped boats of refugees that arrive by sea, sending them back to their place of origin. As a result of these harmful policies, refugees risk their lives crossing the border only to endure a different array of human rights abuses in Thailand than they suffered in Myanmar.

Therefore, both the Thai and Burmese governments are in need of significant reform in order to bring resolutions to these ethnic issues. For the Burmese government, it is necessary for it to engage transparently in a citizenship reform process whereby ethnicity is taken off the table for political and legal domains. Through the removal of ethnic classifications from identity cards, the government of Myanmar can begin to lay a groundwork for peace.

Not only will the Burmese people feel heard by their government by these changes, but they will also be united in their love for Myanmar rather than being divided through ethnicity.

In terms of the Thai response, the “push back” policy must be discontinued to prevent unofficial deportations.

To meet the international human rights standards, the Thai government must ensure Burmese asylum seekers are never in detention centres or shelters indefinitely, unless in exceptional circumstances. If these changes take place, perhaps ethnic minorities will be able to live at peace and receive a higher quality of life in Myanmar, thereby reducing the amount of refugees fleeing to Thailand and elsewhere.

FEMINIST NEWS AN ATTEMPT AT UNDERSTANDING THE CONFLICT IN ETHIOPIA: HAS ETHNICITY STRUCK AGAIN? AMY BEBAWI

Ethnicism seems to be a persistent monster that has popped its head up in a number of civil wars over the last few decades. It seems as if the worldwide trend has been civil wars fueled by ethnic tensions which are fed by a hunger for power and a determination to dominate. Ethiopia has not been lucky enough to escape these same themes.

Ethiopia is composed of three major ethnic groups: the Tigrayans, the Amhara, and the Oromo. Tigrayans only make up about six to seven percent of the population and have been historically marginalized by the government. Despite their relatively small population, they form one of the major “sides” of this conflict. They are also concentrated in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia where much of the fighting has taken place.

“After a year of this conflict, over 2 million Ethiopians have been displaced, thousands have been killed, and a lack of access to sufficient aid and food have plagued the country.”

Similar to many other ethnic conflicts, the situation in Ethiopia reaches further back than just these past months of war. In the 1970s, a group of Tigrayan militias created the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in response to the Marxist Derg regime that was founded in 1974. The Derg regime led Ethiopia to years of oppression and radical Marxist policies, including killing many well-educated Ethiopians and the nationalization of land and banks.

The TPLF rose as one of the many different rebel ethnic groups in opposition to the government. They created a coalition of anti-government groups called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which fought alongside the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). The EPLF fought the Derg with the hope of gaining independence for Eritrea, which was still a part of Ethiopia.

The EPRDF succeeded in overthrowing the Derg government and a Tigrayan man, Meles Zenawi, led the new Ethiopian government under the TPLF. Zenawi promised to create an Ethiopia that would honour the different ethnic groups of

the nation by providing each with some form of power, rather than having a single ethnic group dominating the government. This philosophy helped bring about the independence of Eritrea in 1993. However, the TPLF seemed to take more direct control over the affairs of the country after that. The TPLF held onto power until 2018. After a few years of civil discontentment, unrest, and conflict with its once-upon-a-time allies, the Eritreans, it became extremely unpopular. This unrest resulted in the election of Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister. He is the first Oromo to hold that position.

AT THE POLICE’S FRONT DOOR: LONDON MARCHES TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SYD DVORAK

Content Warning: rape, violence against women.

On March 5, hundreds of women marched through London in protest of male violence against women, chanting: “Women’s rights are human rights.”

The women marched to Scotland Yard, headquarters of London’s Metropolitan Police, where officers’ violently racist, homophobic, and misogynistic WhatsApp messages were exposed by a police watchdog in December, 2021. The WhatsApp group, called the A Team, included 41 police officers.

The coordinator of Million Women Rise, an annual women-only protest, and organizer of the march, Sabrina Qureshi, proclaimed, “We need change. From the disproportionate number of police officers who are offenders against women, to the clear back-slapping culture of hate evidenced from the locker room to social media.”

Abiy’s tenure started strong. His promise as he assumed power was to reconcile and restore relations with Eritrea. Abiy’s success in doing so won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. But meanwhile, Abiy was purging the government of any Tigrayans connected to the TPLF.

The issues raised by this demonstration include the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021. An ongoing Independent Office for Police Conduct review of how Couzens became a Met officer is underway, but, so far has revealed that he was nicknamed “the rapist” by several of his colleagues.

In the fall of 2020, the TPLF attacked a military base in Tigray, claiming that it was a preemptive attack against the federal military which was preparing to strike the TPLF. Abiy responded by attacking the Tigray region, leading to a drawn-out conflict that has escalated in the last few months.

Women at the march also invoked the case of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. The two sisters were brutally murdered in June, 2020. The two police officers guarding the crime scene, Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis, left their post and illegally took photos of the women’s bodies. In what their mother called a “sacrilegious act,” the officers shared these photos, along with degrading and dehumanizing statements about the women, to the A Team WhatsApp group as well as non-police individuals.

In November 2021, after the TPLF had gained back territory in northern Ethiopia, Abiy’s government called a state of emergency and captured thousands of Tigrayans, sending them to camps and detention centres. Abiy and the federal forces have also recently acquired drones given to them by the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran. The federal forces have been engaging in raids over the Tigray region, killing many people and greatly weakening the TPLF’s already limited military resources. The international community has since criticized Abiy, especially with the legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded.

After a year of this conflict, over 2 million Ethiopians have been displaced, thousands have been killed, and a lack of access to sufficient aid and food have plagued the country. Both belligerents in the conflict have been accused by the international community and each other of harming civilians, sexual violence, and the extreme use of violence in general. Many of those in Eritrean refugee camps in the Tigray region have been caught in the crossfires of the conflict and are among those with the least amount of access to food and aid.

Despite the complexity of this conflict’s origins, ethnicity plays a major role in determining the motives of each side. A person’s position in Ethiopia is largely dependent on their ethnicity. This loyalty to one’s own identity creates the potential to dehumanize anyone who is not on your side. Although inexcusable, it is more understandable how the heartbreaking death, displacement, rape, and famine take place when the country’s deep ethnic divisions are taken into account.

Trust has been broken between the police and the women of Britain. Because of the recent exposure of the violent ways in which British police officers had disrespected women, Qureshi said: “Whole sections of our communities know that we cannot rely on the police if we need to report domestic or sexual violence.”

“We demand a total overhaul and rethink of what and who police are for.”

There has been recent action on behalf of London’s Metropolitan Police to regain women’s trust. The Commander of the Metropolitan Police, Rachel Williams, said, “We absolutely hear loud and clear from our communities that trust has been eroded and we must do more.”

In November, they announced an initiative known as “Walk and Talk,” in which women can go on patrol with female police officers around parts of London where they feel most unsafe.

In response to Sarah Everard’s murder, the Met police have also introduced “Predatory Offenders Units,” and hundred of patrols are being deployed to areas of London where women have reported feeling the most unsafe.

These are all good initiatives on behalf of Scotland Yard to better ensure public safety. However, these reforms do not change the fact that the violence committed against Everard, Henry, and Smallman were all perpetrated by the very members of the police force who are meant to ensure their safety.

“We demand accountability,” Qureshi stated. “We demand a total overhaul and rethink of what and who police are for.”

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RETROSPECTIVE: ANDREI TARKOVSKY’S SOLARIS HITS FIFTY SETH SCHOUTEN

It seems impossible to examine the history of science fiction cinema without mentioning Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972), which turns fifty years old this year.

Adapted from Polish writer Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel of the same name, the film was born out of a time of intense creative and personal difficulty for Tarkovsky through the constant interference of the Soviet authorities on his creative work. Nevertheless, Tarkovsky managed to craft something extraordinary. It premiered at the 25th Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix award of 1972.

Solaris has remained a defining work of sci-fi filmmaking. It both captures the moment and context of its creation but with a unique craft and artistic merit that has allowed it to endure. It seems fitting with its encroaching anniversary to take stock of Solaris’ complicated history and what it means to the genre as a whole.

“It seems fitting with its encroaching anniversary to take stock of Solaris’ complicated history and what it means to the genre as a whole.”

Set in the distant future, Solaris is about humanity’s relationship to its first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence: the organic, sentient, but unknowable ocean covering the titular planet Solaris. However, decades after a space station was created to survey the planet, research on Solaris has proved futile. Dr. Kris Kelvin, a psychiatrist, is sent to the station to study the skeletal remaining crew members after reports of hallucinations and strange sightings. Soon enough, the power of Solaris begins to affect Kelvin when he is haunted by visions of his late wife. Tarkovsky’s work on Solaris began in 1968 both out of appreciation for Lem’s writings as well as necessity. Andrei Rublev (1966), his second feature film, was barred from release by the Soviet government and his screenplay for what would become Mirror (1975)—then titled A White Day or Confession, depending on the source—was rejected. Adapting the work of an author who had seen great commercial and critical success in the U.S.S.R. appeared to be a safe choice.

Solaris, a text deeply rooted within the time of its creation, is often mentioned in the same breath as Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), another sci-fi drama released only four years earlier.

Solaris is often referred to as, to quote film critic Phillip Lapote, a sort of “anti-2001,” two sci-fi epics made on opposing sides of the Cold War. Adding to the West-

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East divide between the films, Tarkovsky openly disliked 2001, calling it a “lifeless schema with only pretensions to truth.” Kubrick, however, had a great admiration for the Russian’s work. Lapote invites us to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the films, viewing them as “cousins” rather than “opposites.”

Filled with cutting-edge visual effects, gorgeous miseen-scène, and cryptic, mysterious narratives that offer themselves to many varied interpretations, Solaris and 2001 represent a distinctive turning point in the landscape of pre-Star Wars sci-fi filmmaking. By the 1960s, technology had finally progressed to the point where filmmakers could voyage beyond Earth with their stories. Sci-fi was no longer a slave to alien invasions of Earth and man-made horrors that dominated the B movies of the 50s, but it began to embody the boldness of the Space Race. It had been happening on television with Star Trek and was now creeping onto the silver screen. Not only that but 2001 and Solaris challenged the genre’s filmic manifestation to be more than light pulp entertainment. Kubrick and Tarkovsky push for the philosophical in their work. They use the exaggerated world of science fiction to explore complicated issues of meaning, humanity’s place in the universe, and our relationship to the divine.

Critic Roger Ebert refers to Solaris’ philosophy as “inward,” contrasting to 2001’s “outward” approach. 2001 is concerned with expansion, discovery, and finding the answers to the great mysteries of the universe. Solaris prefers the internal mechanisms of the human soul.

It is an exploration of grief, loss, and love through the relationship between Kelvin and the Solaris-produced manifestation of his wife. In step with Lem’s work, although Lem was not kind to Tarkovsky’s film, Solaris is a personal and humanistic philosophical pondering.

What Solaris and 2001 started in the 60s and 70s continues to the present. Christopher Nolan, perhaps the most famous of Tarkovsky’s successors, has taken Solaris to heart. Elements of its story appear in Inception (2010), and its themes resonate with the subject matter of Interstellar (2014). Interstellar could be seen, further, as the intellectual child of both 2001 and Solaris.

It filters highly personal stories about family and loss through the lens of exploration and discovery. As Interstellar voyages into the beyond searching for the beings higher than humanity, all it finds is our own weakness.

“We don’t want to conquer space at all,” says Dr. Snaut, one of Solaris’ principal characters. “We want to expand Earth endlessly. We don’t want other worlds; we want a mirror.” Tarkovsky extends the bounds of Earth into space. As we venture further into the unknown, Earth keeps calling back to us.

Tarkovsky’s work, Solaris most of all, is deeply empathetic to the human experience. This is often a strange concept for contemporary viewers because of how alienating Tarkovsky’s work can be. He specializes in

excruciatingly slow paces and shots that go on for minutes at a time. Stalker (1979) famously has fewer shots than there are minutes in the movie. To Tarkovsky, this is all intention. He calls his approach “sculpting in time,” using the very tangible passage of time to capture authentic experience. “Art, like science,” wrote Tarkovsky, “is a means of assimilating the world, an instrument for knowing it in the course of man’s journey towards what is called ‘absolute truth.’” Solaris is full of truth. It contains profound statements about love, life, and death as it questions what it means to be human. Tarkovsky, here, demonstrates his mastery of the cinematic form and command of emotional language.

“My discovery of Tarkovsky’s first film was like a miracle,” said Swedish master Ingmar Bergman, best known for Persona (1966) and Seventh Seal (1957). He continued, “Tarkovsky is for me the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.”

Following Solaris, Tarkovsky would only make four more films. His final two works, Nostalgia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986), were produced outside of his home country during his left-imposed exile from the Soviet Union.

He died in 1986 at the age of fifty-four. With just seven feature films, Tarkovsky managed to accomplish more than filmmakers with dozens of films to their name and left an unmistakable mark on the art of cinema. He was admired and idolized by his peers for his medium-defining work, and his legacy remains one of the most important in cinema.

“2001 is concerned with expansion, discovery, and finding the answers to the great mysteries of the universe.

Solaris prefers the internal mechanisms of the human soul.”

“Solaris is no ordinary [sci-fi] film,” wrote Akira Kurosawa, director of Seven Samurai (1954) and Ran (1985), on his experience visiting the set of Solaris. “It truly somehow provokes pure horror in our soul. And it is under the total grip of the deep insights of Tarkovsky...

It seems to me to be sweat and tears that in his heartbreaking agony he squeezed out of his whole being...

Every shot of Solaris bears witness to the almost dazzling talents inherent in Tarkovsky.”

SAN DIEGO: THE CITY OF VAN DWELLERS DIEGO BASCUR

The “hippie” is a dying breed—a figment of the past, slowly being fizzled out as a new age dawns. In the past, the hippie was a free-living nomad who went where the wind took them. Perhaps the world has become far too busy for this life. It seems the time of peace and love has become lost, the noise of responsibility has drowned out the somber strums of a long-haired dude’s ukulele. So, is the hippie life dead? Who has the ukulele been passed to? And is there anyone to carry on the life of sunshine and good vibes?

Yes there is, and they live in vans.

Those brave souls who have shaken off the tight grip of social norms and walked into the wild live among us. They lead lives of adventure and freedom. These “vanlifers” call many places home, although one place calls to them the loudest: Vanlife Central, San Diego.

Located in the southern part of California, this sunny oasis, known for its good waves and youthful energy, finds its way into the hearts of many vanlifers, as the van culture here is truly rich. Driving beside the ocean there, a sea of vans can be spotted. This community full of its own social circles and different dynamics shares in a very unique lifestyle, which brings forth a connection only felt by those living off the grid.

With San Diego being the vibrant city that it is, van culture there has intertwined with the culture of the city as a whole. Upon entering the city, the atmosphere

fills one with positive energy and artistic abundance.

The alternative life of van dwellers has produced colourful art galleries, an array of thrift stores, and some pretty sick coffee shops. The city has also left its mark on vanlifers, giving anyone with a board endless sets of tasty waves. San Diego has some of the best longboard waves in the world, which shows how surfing compliments van life so well.

“Van life is an escape, an escape from the busyness and conflict we find society entrapped in, to boldly turn away from the noise and seek a deeper freedom that life might offer.”

rich. It seems the hippie became generalized to fit a left-wing pacifist, pushing against the other side of the political spectrum and the conservative Christian lifestyle. The modern vanlifer has moved beyond this generalization and broken this stereotype. One vanlifer in San Diego, Casey Webster, commented on this diversity, explaining that there are many different outlooks on different political and social issues, and that not everyone has the same view on the world in the van community.

It is not easy, and it takes a lot of experience and gnarly lessons to successfully live in a van. However, I was gifted a small taste of the sweet freedom and it has left me wanting more. To those that say that vanlife is a desperate escape from responsibility and the real world, I would say go to San Diego, meet Casey, and others like him. See their bond, their positivity, and their off-grid living. Van life is an escape from the busyness and conflict we find society entrapped in. It means to boldly turn away from the noise and seek a deeper freedom that life might offer.

Though the torch has been passed, the vanlifer cannot be mistaken for the hippie. The common misconception that these terms are synonymous is far from the truth. As van-living has grown in popularity, the diversity of the community has become increasingly

SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND SLUT-SHAMING AT TWU CAMILLA BJURLING, TWU CLINICAL COUNSELLOR Content Warning: sexual assault, sexual harassment.

Sexual assault, harassment, and slut-shaming happens in university settings across the globe––even at Trinity Western University (TWU). A few years ago, I assisted in group therapy at TWU for women who have been the victims of sexual assault. It made me realize that topics such as consent, knowing if you have been assaulted, and what to do about it needed to be addressed.

Here are some definitions: • Sexual Assault––the Criminal Code defines sexual assault as: “any unwanted sexual act done by one person to another or sexual activity without one person’s consent or voluntary agreement” (Department of Justice, 2010). According to section 271, “sexual assault occurs if a person is touched in any way that interferes with their sexual integrity: this includes kissing, touching, intercourse and any other sexual activity without his/her consent.”

• Slut-shaming––the action or fact of stigmatizing a woman for engaging in behaviour judged to be promiscuous or sexually provocative by use of words such as “slut’”or “hoe.”

• Sexual Harassment––according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, this can include discriminatory comments, behaviour, and touching. It may take the form of jokes, threats, comments about sex, or discriminatory remarks about someone’s gender.

• Consent––according to the Law of Consent and Sexual Assault in Canada, only a clear “yes” means yes. Silence or passivity does not mean yes. The person pursuing the activity is the one who needs to ascertain that there is clear consent. If the individual first says yes and then says no, consent has been revoked and the activity must stop.

Women and other vulnerable populations are often the victims before the age of 25, but this information is for everyone. It is important for everyone to know what the boundaries are. According to the statistics from LegalJobs, there is often a disparate power dynamic: the perpetrators are often charismatic, friendly, and seen as trustworthy. Approximately 80 percent of victims know their perpetrator.

Why is this information important for a Christian university campus? We assume that because of our values, we are safe. Unfortunately, it is those values that can also put us in harm’s way.

As per the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network based in the US (RAINN), “Sexual violence on campus is pervasive.

• 13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).

• Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females and 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation • Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.

• 5.8% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.”

It is important to understand the laws around consent. In Canada, consent cannot be given if either party does not have the capacity to think clearly according to the Government of Canada website. If a “yes” is given and then a “no” or a “stop” is said, the “no” or “stop” is now the boundary. It is clear whatever action is being done needs to cease immediately.

If there is a power dynamic, i.e. the perpetrator in a leadership position, even student leadership, there is a power imbalance, and it is wrong to use that position to seduce, coerce, manipulate, or intimidate anyone into doing anything.

If you have been sexually assaulted, harassed, or shamed there is a reporting process at TWU on the TWU Website at “Bullying and Harassment Policy.” It is your decision whether or not you want to report.

You can also go directly to the police and report it.

When you are reporting to the police or to Student Life, take a trusted friend to be a witness to how you were treated, what you were told, and how your statements were used. The unfortunate truth, according to the Department of Justice, is that women do not report because they are likely to not be believed.

about it to anyone. Too often they are met with disdain, put in front of their perpetrators in some way, and revictimized by the system that is supposed to help them; instead, victims need to be understood and cared for. It is too often set up to protect the perpetrator.

“Victims of sexual assault are often so traumatized and ashamed that this happened to them, that they cannot speak about it to anyone. Too often they are met with disdain, put in front of their perpetrators in some way, and revictimized by the system that is supposed to help them” If you have been a victim of a sexual assault, sexual harassment or slut-shaming, there is a place for you to be heard and to find help. The TWU Wellness Centre’s counselling services are here for you. During the day you are able to access a crisis session. Go to the TWU website at “Mental Health Services,” or call 604 513 2100. All services are confidential.

If you have been a victim or a survivor, please get help. You are not alone.

The victim is often re-traumatized through the reporting process, which is why individuals who have experienced sexual violence are afraid to report because they know they will often not be protected. Victims of sexual assault are often so traumatized and ashamed that this happened to them, that they cannot speak

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AN INTERVIEW WITH SHAYNA JONES LEX DIERSCH

Shayna Jones is a Black Canadian storyteller and a graduate of Trinity Western University (TWU). She performs her stories all over the province, country, and even internationally. I sat down with Jones to find out about her journey from TWU to storytelling, the stories she tells, and why storytelling means so much to her.

Mars’ Hill: What did you study while you were attending TWU? Shayna Jones: I did theatre, but I officially graduated with a multidisciplinary degree in sociology.

MH: What did you do right after graduation?

SJ: I got a regular job, working as an administrative assistant at a nonprofit in Langley. But not long after beginning my job there, I began to work with Pacific Theatre in Vancouver as an artistic apprentice and acting apprentice. During that year of working there, I was getting increasingly inspired to pursue working in theatre, which I had gotten a really beautiful, strong dose of actually, even though I didn’t get a theatre degree. From working at Pacific Theatre, I auditioned for other professional companies and got a role in a major gig at the Stanley Theatre. That was a major step in continuing my passion for the performing arts and for theatre specifically.

MH: What drew you to theatre initially, and why did you pursue it?

SJ: A few things drew me to theatre, but I think at the heart of it––[actually] two hearts! One is that, to be a skillful actor, you have to suspend judgement on the character that you’re trying to portray. The very practice of being a skillful, embodied, rich theatre artist is to be someone who is seeking constantly to walk in the shoes of people who are totally different from yourself. You are constantly being asked as a theatre artist to have compassion, to have curiosity, to have a wild, joyful abandon in the lives of people who might be wildly different from you. And in that, in striving to encounter other characters and other people in that way, is the way I found that I couldn’t help but have my ordinary life transformed––my ordinary ways of seeing people transformed. And that just really drew me––that resonated. It is so beautiful, so deeply human, that I wanted to study theatre just to become a better human being.

The second heart is that I discovered that I love to perform, and I discovered that I love the energy of being in a story, abandoning yourself to a story, and bringing that story to life. So those two things together, I was just like moths to the flame––you just can’t keep away––and I’m still doing it to this day, 13 years after leaving Trinity Western.

“Story is the language of true feeling––we communicate truth most eloquently through story.”

MH: Could you go a bit deeper into what theatre and storytelling mean to you?

SJ: Storytelling is a window into another human person’s experience, into another community’s experience, into another nation’s experience. Story is a window. Story is a mirror. Story is the language of true feeling––we communicate truth most eloquently through story. Why would my sto-

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rytelling theatre be important to me? I think it’s because of that window, that mirror, that reflection. And because we need stories to survive. And I want to be a part of beautiful stories.

MH: You travel all over the place telling stories to children and adults and everyone in between. I’d love for you to tell me about the stories that you perform the most and the stories that you love to perform. Why did you pick them and why do you love them?

SJ: I tell specifically Afrocentric stories. So, stories that are from the African diaspora, Africa itself, all kinds of dark-skinned communities, blackskinned communities. I am drawn to those stories in honour of my own heritage. I really pay attention to the stories that end up in my life, the traditional folklore that ends up coming my way, whether it’s via books, or via other tellers, or whether it’s somebody on the street who hears that I’m a storyteller, and they know such and such a story from such and such place. Often they’re Afrocentric wisdom stories––those are the ones I’m inspired to tell. I really trust my heart and my gut and that really comes out in the way that I give a story set. I never write my storytelling shows down.

I want them to be alive and based in oral tradition.

MH: When we last spoke, you talked about this morning ritual that you have. Can you tell me about that?

SJ: Yeah, the times when I have been able to, when I’ve been compelled to get out of bed really early in the morning, hours before the sun has gotten up, I would walk out of the house under the pitch black, morning sky. I would walk through my little town, which at three in the morning would be totally empty, and make my way through the forest, just moonlight and shadows to guide me. I would make my way down to the riverside. I would always find the same stone to sit on. I would just feel the vibration, the force of the river, roaring past me.

The first couple of times I did this, I didn’t know what I was getting into.

I literally just found myself waking up with a desire to get myself to the river. The thing that drew me was that there was no other human soul around, and that it was deep, dark night, and that the sunlight was coming. Just to be alone, and feeling the force of the river, it would push all thoughts out of my mind. And that first time it was so intoxicating, that experience of just being overwhelmed by the force of the water that I found myself drawn to experiencing that as often as I could. I would wake up morning after morning, hours before my kids were awake, before the sun was up, and go down to the riverside.

It was like a cleanse for my body and my mind. I got to the point where I was dipping my hands in the water, sprinkling my head and washing my face and my hair in the icy cold water, looking up at the moon. I was just following an impulse in my heart and my body, and it just became such a foundational part of my life when I was most actively practising that. I have a whole performance set now that I perform and tour around that is derived from the intensity of that experience down by the river every morning. But how did it start? Something in my body needed the healing of the river.

You can discover more information about Jones and her stories at wearestoryfolk.com, and you can learn about her project, Black and Rural, at blackandrural.com, which seeks to uplift Black Canadian voices through theatre and storytelling.

HOW ONE OF TWU’S MOST DECORATED DEANS WENT FROM STAR TO SUNSET “It was a hard decision to leave, but for me, it became clear that there was a direction that the university wanted to go. And it wasn’t the direction that I was going…

There’s been a change in style of leadership. And I think that it’s time for me to go.”

Why would a well-loved, accomplished professor (and former Dean of Education) have the sudden instinct to leave Trinity Western University (TWU)?

Dr. Allyson Jule recalls her “happy memories” working at TWU. She started with sessional work for the English department in 1993 and continued with some part-time contracts for English and Communications and the TESOL certificate programme over the years (always part-time). Dr. Jule then moved to the U.K. in 1998 to complete her Ph.D. She worked in the U.K. until 2008, returning to the Lower Mainland where TWU hired her full-time in the School of Education.

In 2016, Dr. Jule was named one of Canada’s top 10 professors and was awarded the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship for excellence in teaching and leadership––the first TWU professor to win the honour.

On this award, Dr. Eve Stringham, then TWU’s Vice Provost of Research and Graduate Studies said in a TWU announcement, “Dr. Jule embodies everything we desire to see in a faculty member at TWU, including innovative teaching and exemplary scholarship. As a teacher, Dr. Jule’s dedication to her students is second to none. She is a credit to the School of Education, the Gender Studies Institute, and the university at large.”

In 2008, Dr. Jule co-founded the Gender Studies Institute along with other notable faculty including Dr. Robynne Healey (History), Dr. Holly Nelson (English), and Dr. Alma Barranco-Mendoza (Computer Science).

In 2011, Dr. Jule and the co-founders introduced the gender studies minor at TWU, and, in 2012, she introduced an innovative course on gender in education—the only undergraduate course of its kind in the country.

“NO ONE COULD HAVE FORESEEN WHAT WAS TO COME.” From being advertised on TWU’s social media for positive credibility during the Supreme Court Trials, to holding vibrant events and discussions on campus with varying points of view, no one could have foreseen what was to come.

NOVEMBER 2019 In interviewing Dr. Jule, it became clear that her November 2019 appearance at a UBC event, “Faith and Family: Navigating SOGI Inclusion in Schools,” was highly influential in shaping the circumstances she now finds herself in—leaving a place she deeply loves.

SOGI (pronounced so-jee) stands for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Despite the controversy in evangelical circles, SOGI-123 at its core is, according to the BC Ministry of Education, “a resource that supports educators in addressing [gender identity and sexual orientation] topics in the provincial curriculum.”

“I’ve moved quite quickly past what I would call a misunderstanding of what my comments were,” she said. At the conference, someone had roughly transcribed her comments “about the difficulties at Trinity regarding SOGI-123,” which Dr. Jule believes were fair given the public spotlight on TWU’s treatment of LGBTQIA2S+ students during its fight for a law school.

“THE THING THAT HAD CHANGED WASN’T ME. I HADN’T CHANGED. THE PRESIDENT HAD CHANGED.” Yet the university, Dr. Jule claims, interpreted her participation in the event and demarcating herself as an “ally” to LGBTQIA2S+ people as misrepresenting TWU’s position (against) same-sex marriage.

According to Dr. Jule, TWU administration was made aware of her comments after Kari Simpson, the founder of an anti-SOGI organization Culture Guard, sent letters to Christian schools and parents in the Langley area informing them of one Dean of Education’s “sex activist agenda” at TWU. Simpson also published an episode of her e-series “Culture Watch” on the matter shortly after. The episode has since been taken down from Vimeo, but Mars’ Hill was able to obtain a copy downloaded by a viewer at the time, concerned with the remarks about Dr. Jule.

Simpson continues to advocate on social media and right-wing media channels, in line with socially conservative values, against Provincial Health Orders and access to public spaces for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals (to name a few). More recently Simpson was part of a “freedom rally” that closed the Pacific Highway border crossing. In the same video where she criticized Dr. Jule, she referred to One TWU, a support group at TWU for queer students and alumni, as “sex activists.”

But perhaps most alarming was the way Simpson concluded her commentary: “I don’t think Trinity is going to have any remedy available to itself but to ensure Allyson Jule is put in a place where she can no longer affect the children, the students, and the future teachers of Trinity Western,” she said.

In an interview with Rebel News, for a September 17, 2021 story entitled “Unvaccinated university students risk losing everything in B.C.” commenting on TWU, Simpson echoed her sentiments: “There are some

CARTER SAWATZKY very good people on the Board of Governors. There are some really excellent teachers. But I also know that there are some very bad teachers. Some of the professors, some of the ideologies, that are infecting, and I’ll use that word because it’s like a bad disease.

[Those professors] need to be eradicated, surgically removed.”

Nevertheless, according to Dr. Jule, community members and some TWU donors had contacted President Husbands with the concerns raised by Simpson in “Culture Watch” shortly after her appearance at UBC was politicized.

Although Dr. Jule had spoken at the same conference the year prior, “without incident,” her comments in Fall 2019 provoked a strong reaction from senior leadership, with a newly-minted President Husbands and Board Chair Fred Fleming at the helm. “The thing that had changed wasn’t me. I hadn’t changed. The President had changed… He came with a more authoritative way.” To Dr. Jule, it was “his way or the highway.”

“I THOUGHT THE UNIVERSITY WOULD DEFEND ME SINCE I’VE BEEN AT TWU FOR YEARS AND THEY KNEW MY SCHOLARSHIP [IN GENDER] WELL AND HAD SUPPORTED ME AND MY SCHOLARSHIP IN THE PAST,” SHE SAID. “SO I WAS SURPRISED WHEN THAT WASN’T THE ATTITUDE.” Suffice to say, senior leadership was “a bit more disappointed” about her comments than Dr. Jule expected.

“It did feel like not everybody was supportive of gender studies. And the new leadership, in particular, was uncomfortable with it… I thought the university would defend me since I’ve been at TWU for years and they knew my scholarship [in gender] well and had supported me and my scholarship in the past,” she said.

“So I was surprised when that wasn’t the attitude.”

Looking back now, however, she said she “shouldn’t have been surprised.”

CONTINUED

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FROM STAR TO SUNSET / HOW ONE OF TWU’S MOST DECORATED DEANS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Dr. Jule recounts being called into a meeting with the Provost, Dr. Bob Wood, after her appearance at UBC and Simpson’s “Culture Watch” had gone live: “Culture Guard had made [the President’s Office] aware of the event… and had contacted them with some pretty inflammatory comments about a ‘gay agenda.’”

She claims that the Provost reviewed both the comments Culture Guard had made and, apparently, a significant number of comments, which were made to the President’s Office. In terms of the presentation she had given at UBC, Dr. Jule recalls the Provost saying (she paraphrases), “…You know, that was not the right thing to say or do and we don’t think it’s best for you to continue as Dean.”

She recounts: “I said, No, I wanted more conversation perhaps. And I didn’t want to leave the deanship over it.”

Dr. Jule did propose, however, to take the Spring 2020 semester off.

The reality is, it hadn’t.

“IT BECAME CLEARER AND CLEARER THAT THE LEADERSHIP AT TRINITY FELT THAT, TO QUOTE THEM, ‘…[MY] DESIRE TO SHOW CARE TO ALL PERSONS, INCLUDING LGBTQIA2S+ PERSONS, APPEARS TO MAKE IT DIFFICULT [FOR ME] TO MODEL AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE AS DEAN.’”

But something did not quite sit right with her about the exchange with Dr. Wood, a long-time friend and colleague. “It was so weird because to me, the Provost––the actual person, like Bob Wood himself––I have known him for years to be a very thoughtful, gentle person who seems to have encouraged me all along and seemed very affirming of how I was with the School of Education. So then there was this kind of awkward conversation with him that sort of seemed like he wasn’t him. I just had the feeling that he was representing, perhaps, someone else’s views.”

APRIL 2021 Fast forward to early 2021, and it was time for an end-of-term review, something that all Deans face when they are near five years into their terms.

Kari Simpson, in her episode of “Culture Watch,” admitted she hoped her views on Dr. Jule’s comments would be represented: “The good news is that TWU is under new leadership. And I guess this will be a test for the new president there… Mark Husbands, to see what transpires.”

Dr. Jule had received glowing reviews by her fellow faculty, within her department and beyond, and, as mentioned earlier, was recognized nationally for her pedagogical and relational skills in the classroom. However, this did not preclude the administration from raising some concerns.

“[DR. JULE’S] EMPLOYMENT LAWYER STATED THAT THE RESIGNATION PROPOSAL WAS AN “OVERREACH” OF LEADERSHIP AND “THERE WOULD BE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES THAT WOULD HAVE GIVEN A DIFFERENT RESPONSE.””

“In the process of renewing my term as Dean,” Dr. Jule said, “it became clearer and clearer that the leadership at Trinity felt that, to quote them, ‘… [my] desire to show care to all persons, including LGBTQIA2S+ persons, appears to make it difficult [for me] to model an institutional perspective as Dean.’ And the fact that this was a ‘problem,’ well that kind of, for me, changed everything.”

In her time off, Dr. Jule, still blindsided by the reaction, decided to secure an employment lawyer to review her experience because “it was a very odd conversation and it was going in a very strange direction.” Her employment lawyer stated that the resignation proposal was an “overreach” of leadership and “there would be employment policies that would have given a different response.” It was Dr. Jule’s understanding that there would need to be due process, certain procedures, and employment policies carried out before a Dean is told to return to a faculty position.

With that legal advice in hand, she returned––countering the suggestion that she should resign be-

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cause of Culture Guard (and others’) reaction to her comments––and continued as Dean. “And then by the time I came off, came back, it was COVID. So it was like, the story had just come and gone.”

When asked if the TWU administration was reprimanding her because she is an [LGBTQIA2S+] ally, she said, “Well, that’s yeah, I think that that’s a worry.”

She describes how the comments made by members of TWU’s Executive Leadership Team indicated a “lingering issue of doubt in my Christian commitment” because of her inclusive attitude towards LGBTQIA2S+ persons. As to whether the Provost, Dr. Wood, was suggesting she would resign (again) from her role as Dean, Dr. Jule said it was communicated that she could return to a faculty position, but that senior leadership in the university remained uncomfortable with her continuing as Dean, especially in her area of study—in some ways, fulfilling Kari Simpson’s prophecy.

NOW WHAT? In speaking with Dr. Jule, it became clear that she is not the only recent departure of a high profile female faculty member of the university. Dr. Adrienne Castellon, Dr. Kimberly Franklin, and Dr. Eve Stringham have also left TWU. Wondering if there were implications for the working environment at TWU, Mars’ Hill reached out to the Office of the Provost for comment on how senior leadership views this predicament.

“As a senior administrator,” Dr. Sonya Grypma, Vice Provost, responded, “I grieve the departure of anyone who I’ve come to admire and respect, who I enjoy working with, and whose contributions to TWU are meaningful and impactful… including the four you’ve mentioned. The opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder towards a common purpose, and the relationships (and deep friendships) that are built out of collaborative problem-solving is, in my view, part of what attracts, and keeps, women academics at TWU.” The Provost, Dr. Bob Wood added, “It is of course discouraging when gifted female leaders move on from their roles at TWU, regardless of the reason.”

On how TWU seeks to fairly treat faculty of diverse views, Dr. Wood commented: “An important foundation for achieving better representation of women and minority groups in the University is the personal and organizational awareness of biases and structures that create barriers.”

Dr. Wood said he was “privileged to be part of a group of six individuals who facilitated the conversation on hospitality several years ago that ultimately led to the establishment of the Practicing Christian Hospitality Core Value.”

Dr. Grypma calls TWU’s hospitality statement “a beautiful expression of one of TWU’s core values. In the context of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), it calls us to receptive humility, reflective commitment, and imaginative empathy… Practicing Christian hospitality is required of everyone. The expression of hospitality is not gendered––it should not be practiced only or mainly by women. Men in our community are also expected to genuinely include and consistently care for all individuals––including (and certainly not only) individuals who identify as gender and sexual minorities.”

Additionally, Dr. Wood said he is encouraged by “the commitment of President Husbands to advance these initiatives” by creating the role of VP Inclusive Excellence, hiring Jennifer Adkins, and “providing a deep theological framework for the work of faith-informed inclusivity.”

“SHE SAID THE LEADERSHIP HAS GONE A BIT MORE “AUTOCRATIC,” AND HAS “MOVED INTO MORE COMPETITION THAN RELATIONSHIP–– AND THAT, I THINK, IS TOO BAD.”” These values, however, did not translate to Dr. Jule’s own experience. When asked what was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in her decision to depart the place she loved, she responded, “I was just very disappointed and I felt unsupported.

In who I am, who I have been, and the kind of relationship I’ve had with Trinity and the administration in my own role as leader here.”

She said the leadership has gone a bit more “autocratic,” and has “moved into more competition than relationship––and that, I think, is too bad.”

S WENT FROM STAR TO SUNSET / HOW ONE OF TWU’S MOST DECORATED Feeling her position of leadership was undermined, Dr. Jule was “not going to continue as Dean” especially if TWU had expressed doubts in her position because of her allyship. “I felt like I was flourishing–– for many years I was flourishing at Trinity––and then the mood kind of changed,” she said.

“I went into my own process of discernment. You know, ‘Is it time for me to move on?’ Which is what I decided to do. And so it was time for me to go.”

Even before the last two years, Dr. Jule admits she saw something emerging within evangelical Christianity itself. The “deep theological framework,” one of Dr. Husbands’ initiatives, is something she factored into her decision to leave.

“I [NOTICED] A REAL DIVISION AND A PRIVILEGING OF THE RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVE VIEW ON SOCIAL ISSUES AT THE EXPENSE OF MORE PROGRESSIVE VIEWS.” “I [noticed] a real division and a privileging of the right-wing conservative view on social issues at the expense of more progressive views,” she said. “And that seems to be going on in Christianity, in North America, everywhere––not just at Trinity.” She believes the President and the Chairman of the Board were more concerned with “certainty and clarity” against queer-affirming views rather than “a university culture of inquiry.”

“I think there’s a discomfort in general within the evangelical Christian community about gender issues. Full stop,” she said. “Women in positions of leadership, sexuality, egalitarian versus complementarian, marriages, purity and chastity, and LGBTQIA2S+ issues. And I think there’s a discomfort in evangelical Christianity on those social issues anyway.”

Dr. Eve Stringham, the former Vice Provost of Research and Graduate Studies, agrees. When asked about the variety of gender issues in evangelical communities and the privileging of the right-wing conservative view on social issues at the expense of more progressive views at TWU, she said, “Unfortunately I think Dr. Jule is correct.”

“One of the things I liked about TWU,” Dr. Stringham said, “was that––unlike some other Christian colleges––TWU employs an open enrolment system. Students don’t have to be Christian to attend.

To me, this meant that TWU had a vibrant intellectual culture for a faith-based institution.”

“When I started at TWU back in 1996, creation vs. evolution was the big issue facing evangelical Christians. I held a theistic evolutionist perspective while other colleagues held different views,” she continued. “At times there was external pressure to conform to a particular view but somehow as an institution we managed to defend academic freedom within a faith-based context. Now it would seem to be the LGBTQIA2S+ issue that is causing problems for the evangelical churches.”

“There is no consensus among Christians on this subject,” Dr. Stringham said. “I’m an Anglican and… within the worldwide Anglican communion, there are differences of opinion with respect to samesex marriage. It’s allowed in the Anglican Church of

Canada but not in England, for example. So given that there are differences of opinion within a single denomination, why would we expect a Christian university with faculty, staff, and students from a variety of Christian denominations to hold exactly the same view? Goodness, if you can’t have healthy conversations about these matters at TWU, where can you?”

“The academic freedom policy should ensure that people at TWU can have varying opinions and discuss these things with collegiality, without it [being] treated as a faith test,” she continued.

Regarding the climate at TWU towards women faculty who support feminist perspectives, and gender and sexual minorities, she said, “In my last year at TWU (2019-20) it was clear that President Husbands was reverting to a tokenism and hand picking approach to appointments instead of adopting best practices regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).”

Dr. Robynne Healey, Professor of History and Co-director of the Gender Studies Institute, also spoke to Dr. Jule’s concern. “There’s a lot of backlash against those who interrogate issues of gender that some evangelicals find uncomfortable,” she said. “Christian scholars experience this. Historians Kristin Kobes Du Mez at Calvin University and Beth Allison Barr at Baylor University have been vilified on social media by evangelicals who dislike the conclusions presented in their recent books Jesus and John Wayne and The Making of Biblical Womanhood. In some cases, Du Mez and Barr have been purposefully misrepresented to generate further backlash and attacks against them.”

“GIVEN THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION WITHIN A SINGLE DENOMINATION, WHY WOULD WE EXPECT A CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY WITH FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS FROM A VARIETY OF CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS TO HOLD EXACTLY THE SAME VIEW? GOODNESS, IF YOU CAN’T HAVE HEALTHY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE MATTERS AT TWU, WHERE CAN YOU?”

NEXT Despite these discouragements, in her famously generous tone, Dr. Jule still believes “Trinity has a lot to offer.”

Following her career at TWU, Dr. Jule will assume the role of Dean for the Faculty of Education, Community, and Human Development at University of the Fraser Valley, effective July 1, 2022. “I’ve had a wonderful time at Trinity and I’m moving to the next chapter and that’s the story… There’s been more pain and disappointment than it needed to have.”

“DESPITE THESE DISCOURAGEMENTS, IN HER FAMOUSLY GENEROUS TONE, DR. JULE STILL BELIEVES “TRINITY HAS A LOT TO OFFER.”” Amidst everything, Dr. Jule maintains the students have been the “biggest blessings” of her life and the “students never let me down” throughout her time at the university.

“The students at Trinity are exceptional,” she said, “and many of them I remain in touch with over the years. I hope that their experiences at Trinity are very affirming and that they sense a real joy and enthusiasm about their lives and what they have to offer the world. I feel incredibly privileged to have been part of that for years and years.”

During the interview, it was clear Dr. Jule felt torn between sharing her experience and the possibility for it to implicate the wider TWU community.

Ultimately, she believes her mistreatment centers on a handful of individuals––including the “change of leadership in both the President and the Board Chair” and the criticisms leveled in the Provost’s Dean review. Dr. Jule concluded that “the hospitality many [faculty] were encouraging was being silenced.”

“You know, maybe this story is just my story,” she said. “And this was my own journey. And these are the moments that happened to me on my journey.

But do they represent the larger story?”

Only time will tell.

“Most recently,” Dr. Healey said, “in the Canadian context, we are just learning that an independent investigation found evidence of sexual misconduct

by Bruxy Cavey, lead pastor of the Toronto megachurch The Meeting House. Danielle Strickland, another pastor in the church, has resigned in solidarity with the victim. Issues of power are at play in all of these cases. As Christian scholars, we must engage in these conversations. Shying away from them perpetuates a culture where the abuse of power goes unchecked.”

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THE OF TWU CHAPEL:

THE SEARCH FOR RESTORATION IN 3 STUDENTS’ VOICES DIEGO BASCUR

Chapel has been and always will be an integral part of faith here on campus: the worship and fellowship it brings invites all of us to share in Jesus––yet Chapel at Trinity Western University (TWU) has fallen short in the last year. This disappointment echoes through the voices of various students involved in Chapel leadership.

With Chapel numbers dwindling, both in attendance and staff, we must look to the reasons this decay is occurring. It is this disappointment in TWU leadership’s mishandling of Chapel which I feel is a responsibility of mine to voice. However, this responsibility is also one which is placed on all students to keep this essential part of the community alive, and thriving. With the hopes of restoration, these three students have shared their thoughts on Chapel and worship as a whole.

For the protection of their privacy and positions in campus leadership, they will remain anonymous.

Student #1:

Student #2:

Student #3:

“I have been singing for as long as I can remember. And I took voice lessons, joined every choir and took every opportunity to sing on the worship team at my church. I didn’t necessarily care about the worship aspect, I just loved singing. As I got older and made my faith my own I realized I actually wanted to worship. I was able to lead other people and bring them to the same place that I was at with worship, and looking out and seeing that you’re helping people feel the Holy Spirit is an amazing feeling. I slowly matured into a spot where worship was a good outlet for me to connect to God.

I’d say worship is the expression of my love for God. Worship is my expression of gratitude for everything he’s done in my life using my gifts, because I believe God’s gift to me is music. And I’ve worked hard to develop that gift.

And I love every moment I’m doing it. It’s the way I connect most with Christ.

“I love worship and I think part of the reason for my ability to contribute is for God to work through me, to be a witness for everyone. I’m just such a small piece in such a big overall picture, and I’m happy to be such a small piece. Chapel is a place where people can come together under a common ground and just simply worship God. Anyone can come together under one simple common factor––you can’t really say that about anything else.

I decided to join Chapel this year because I really do enjoy leading worship and I wanted more of an opportunity to do it, and I think it helps me grow in a different way because I’m very comfortable at my church, but I’m not as comfortable here just because I haven’t been here as long.

One of the biggest reasons I stepped down from Chapel is because I didn’t grow spiritually. It became a performance for me, something that I did because I had to do––it didn’t feel like worship anymore.

My experience so far in Chapel has been okay. I feel sometimes it’s being run more like a business, and there’s less emphasis on leading people and seeing how people are doing [spiritually]. It feels like we’re discouraged from giving feedback to leadership, and when we do, we face the consequences. And that’s what I feel like happened with some of the people who left the team. It does not feel like a very safe environment where you can say what you feel. I would say they need to have more actual student input and be okay with disagreeing points. There needs to be more opportunity for students to lead instead of putting their own agenda on things. The leadership also needs to make more of an effort of actually getting to know the students, and be more approachable.

I joined Chapel because I heard great things about it. I had seen videos of Chapel and the gym packed with people just worshiping God, and was able to experience it firsthand. I was really excited to be a part of that. Now, I feel that the culture of the Chapel has shifted.

There aren’t a lot of people that go anymore.

I feel like there’s more people in the line for the caf than there are at Chapel, which is sad to think about. I’ll be honest, I think it’s at the point where it needs to start over. The culture is what really has to change. There needs to be just a drastic shift in the way Chapel is approached because right now it feels like this small club that a small number of people go to.

Students need a place to grow and have fellowship with one another, and that place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday can be Chapel, but unfortunately it’s not because it has just gone downhill. For me, I just want Chapel to become what it was, three, four, or five years ago and be this space for spiritual growth, reformation and just really embrace the culture of what Trinity wants to be as a Christian institution.”

Right now, I want to make sure that it’s not a show, but rather a way for everyone to simply worship God. I think community in Chapel is really important. And I wouldn’t necessarily say that that’s been established just because of the way that things have been run.

The people that are running it are very strong in what they believe, and believe that they are right.

I think whether or not you show up to practice, whether or not it is a performance for you, you should go into this and understand that you’re not doing it for you, you’re not doing it for the audience, but you’re doing it for God. I do think their purpose and focus is overall good. They do want the betterment of the Chapel team. They do want to see individuals find God. But I think there’s a lot of gray area in the sincerity of this leadership’s intentions, which brings a lot of confusion. Because it all stemmed from last year’s Chapel [team], and people not being allowed in this year’s Chapel [team].

I’m hoping that as the years go by––because I do want to do Chapel again––I can have my own voice and be more a part of the decisions and the way that it’s run. I think that Chapel is and always will be a great place for people to come to, of all types to worship God. No matter the way that it’s led, it still comes down to that same idea.

However, the impact that us as Chapel leaders or volunteers can make on people listening depends on the unity and the agreement within the team.”

We cannot hope to better the different aspects of our community through silence. It is through passivity that we allow for irresponsibility to seep and spread into our lives.

These Chapel leaders and volunteers voiced their opinions not to add to the disarray but to hopefully bring about growth and restoration.

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TOO MUCH OF A GOD THING SADIE MCDONALD

Sometimes I wonder if there is truly too much of a good thing. I mean, the extraordinary in excess cannot be that bad, right? Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that even genuinely good things can even be too much, or at least too much at a time.

I can only eat pancakes every day for a week before I get sick of them. There are only so many times I can listen to the same song in a row until I hit shuffle. But what about the good good things?

What about God, who my family, church, and now university all profess to be the only true good thing, my one desire, and ultimate purpose?

As my second semester at Trinity Western University (TWU) is well underway, I must be honest.

There is, of course, too much of a good thing. But there is also too much of a “God thing.”

I have spent my entire education prior to my post-secondary studies in the public school system, and I do not regret it nor wish I had attended a private school. Nevertheless, when it came time to commit to a university, TWU’s Christian curriculum was not the largest factor in my decision, in fact, it almost slightly deterred me because I had grown up in schools separated from the Church.

I eventually accepted my admission with excitement and turned down other offers with certainty, but on the first day of class, I was still slightly surprised when my professor opened in prayer.

And as I sat there with my eyes closed listening to familiar words of worship to the God I know––and have spent my life being told about––I felt comforted. Yet, I also felt uneasy. Was a Christian university supposed to feel like a church camp instead of a school?

I appreciated the prayer, nonetheless. Having been in classes which range from opening with a devotional to almost never mentioning religion, I have come to welcome time spent with God more than ever. Out of the many ways I believe one can connect with God, prayer has always been my first preference. As the prayer ended with a sincere amen, which I whispered under my breath, I could not help but think that would not have happened at my high school.

“Ultimately, the beliefs I entered university with have remained the same, but being exposed to the environment of a Christian liberal arts university created the feeling that it was “too much of a God thing.”

God was never mentioned, unless His name was spoken in vain, or as a mandatory mention in a social studies class. For the most part, while many people knew of my faith, it was not something I shared, although the bolder part in me sometimes could not keep her mouth shut––much to the dismay of my grade 12 English class.

At TWU, God is spoken of everywhere. He is mentioned in each of the novels I have studied. My religious studies classes are devoted to understanding Yahweh God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. Now, this is not to speak poorly of Christianity, Christians, or TWU. I think that TWU is a great university and do not regret my decision to attend. I am Christian, and my grandfather was a pastor for 40 years. I have attended church and church groups my entire life, taught preschoolers Sunday school for six years, and so on. But when religion became ritualistic instead of relationship-building, and the Bible as literal instead of literature, I felt a disconnect. It was too much and began to cling to me, so naturally I wanted to pull away and push back.

TWU has not strengthened my Christian beliefs, but it has reinforced a critical thinking about my beliefs. Ultimately, the beliefs I entered university with have remained the same, yet being exposed to the environment of a Christian liberal arts university created the feeling that it was “too much of a God thing.”

When every assignment somehow pointed to the Divine and it was known that faith was something coveted, seeing religion in everything made me want less of it. When I think about God, I know that He is not too much of a good thing because He is more good than I can ever imagine or comprehend. Perhaps it is also good that I can acknowledge feeling the sense of “too much of a God thing,” because if I did not, I fear that I might take Him and His goodness for granted.

APOLOGETICS: HEROIC ENDEAVOUR OR HARMFUL COERCION? KYLE PENNER

Like so many kids who grew up Christian, I eventually came to the point where it all stopped making sense to me. Call it loss of faith; call it deconstruction; call it whatever you want: it happened to me.

In the face of all of the evil in the world, the loving Christian God began to seem feebler than His depiction in scripture.

ogetic project seems like an unfettered good; what could be the problem with defending one’s Christian faith? Defending the faith seems more like a responsibility than something to be avoided.

I suggest that, in most circumstances, apologetics is counter-productive.

Science, I thought, made some of the metaphysical claims in the Bible seem unlikely; and if science can explain so much of the way the world works anyway, what need have we for God? Of course, “evil in the world” was code for my inability to reconcile my own personal suffering with my expectation that God would somehow alleviate it. This is perhaps an unfair expectation to put on God. I have met some who say so; I have met others who are sympathetic to that plight. Who is to say.

“I am reminded of the Kierkegaard quote that labels the one who came up with the idea of defending Christianity “de facto Judas No. 2.”

The time since graduating highschool, when I first began to question the beliefs of my youth, has brought numerous fluctuations in my faith. At times a passionate hands-in-the-air worshipper of Jesus and at times one of those atheists (you know what I mean; the edgy ones), my relationship to God and Christianity was/is constantly changing.

Essentially though, I have never left Christianity completely behind. Why? The answer is complicated, as deeply personal journeys tend to be. I can tell you one thing, though, it has nothing to do with apologetics.

Apologetics is, in this context, a systematic defence of the truth of Christian doctrine. The apol-

You could, perhaps, convince me that simply defending one’s faith, in the face of those who are actively adversarial towards you, could be acceptable. What truly irks me is the way that the apologetic attitude attaches itself to the evangelical one. The best defence is a good offence. The best course of action according to this logic is to aggressively argue the truth of Christianity to those who are unconvinced. I have had apologetics taught to me with just this attitude in mind: we ought to attempt to argue people into believing in God.

This attitude is misguided. I am reminded of the Kierkegaard quote that labels the one who came up with the idea of defending Christianity “de facto Judas No. 2.” I am not sure I would go that far, but his point is salient. From my own experience, I can say that very rarely are people “argued” into any position. And the more important and personal the position is, the less likely that a simple argument will do the trick. When I am struggling with personal tragedy and someone confronts me with an argument that explains that, “actually, God allowing evil is really justified because…” I shut down. Arguments in those scenarios push people away; they have the opposite of their intended effect.

The reason that I still take seriously the ideas of Christianity has nothing to do with well-reasoned arguments. It has everything to do with the witness of the truly Christlike people in my life. My father, for one, is one of the few people I believe when they say that they love Jesus. He loves me too, luckily. His only form of pressuring me to live a Christian life is to gently speak Christian truth to me and to encourage me, and to tell me, “The truth of Christ is real, I have lived it, you can experience it too; taste and see.” This strikes me as the Christlike approach to witness. In Matthew, when Jesus calls the disciples, his call is simple: “come, follow me.” No argument there.

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A SEMI-COUNTRY MUSIC ENTHUSIAST MAKES A CASE FOR COWBOY CULTURE MAKENA WARDLE

As a casual country fan, I was disheartened—but not surprised—to read “An Anti-Country Music Enthusiast Reacts to Cowboy Culture” by Maritha Louw in the “Ritual” issue of Mars’ Hill Newspaper.

Aversion to country music is not new, and much of the hatred it receives seems to stem from a groupthink hostility towards the genre, rather than personal distaste. Yet, Louw’s article did seem to focus predominantly on country music from a moral and political standpoint.

I will not attempt to refute all of what the author argued, as she brought up some legitimate concerns about what country music often celebrates.

Even though the article did mention a few artists who defy some of the genres’ norms, it notably left out many of the voices of country music that help redeem some of its potentially problematic qualities.

The first artist of note is none other than the living legend, Dolly Parton. Though she may need no introduction, it is important to keep in mind that Parton is no small-time country musician. The powerhouse has had 25 #1 songs on the Billboard country charts, received 11 Grammy awards, created 44 Top 10 country albums, and has many more musical accomplishments under her bedazzled belt.

All of these accomplishments often overshadow the nearly unmatched charitable instinct that Parton has had since the beginning of her career.

The Dollywood Foundation, founded in 1988, was started to provide school funding for students in their hometown, and encourage kids to graduate highschool by promising them $500 upon completion. According to its website, the program helped lower “the dropout rate... from 35% to 6%.”

But this was just the beginning of her philanthropic work. In 1995, she started the Imagination Library which sends one book per year to each child in Server-Country until they start elementary school.

In 2017, the artist donated $1 million to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. And, more recently, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University to help research COVID-19––which ended up funding the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. This is just to name a few of her charitable donations.

14

According to Billboard, on top of all this, Parton is open about her “support for the Black and LGBTQ+ communities, [and makes] generous donations to the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Save the Music Foundation, the Boot Campaign and more.”

Another artist who defies much of the country music critiques is six-time Grammy winner, and seven-time Country Music Association Awards winner, Kacey Musgraves. Musgraves is also a fan of Dolly Parton, telling Billboard that she admires Parton for making “no apologies for who she is, [she was an] LGBTQ advocate long before it was even a thing or trendy or whatever… She’s fearless and I admire her spirit a lot and she’s very kind.”

“Even though the article did mention a few artists who defy some of the genres’ norms, the article notably left out many of the voices of country music that help redeem some of its potentially problematic qualities.”

But Musgraves herself is also known by many for her advocacy and acceptance. Though the author of “An Anti-Country Music Enthusiast Reacts to Cowboy Culture,” touched on Musgraves as an outlier of the more conservative genre, they failed to mention how much of a positive impact Musgraves has truly made.

From early on in her career, Musgraves made herself known as an ally to all with her song “Follow Your Arrow” off her 2013 album, Same Trailer Different Park. The song touches on many polarizing themes, such as religion and chastity, and offers a “damned if you do / damned if you don’t” attitude

as a response. The chorus tells us to “follow your arrow / wherever it points.” The song also touches on the LGBTQ+ community, giving you the goahead to “kiss lots of boys / or kiss lots of girls if that’s something you’re into.”

Further, Musgraves more openly advocated for inclusion within the genre in 2018 at the New Yorker Festival. The artist said, “It’s crazy that a certain kind of a person could feel excluded from a genre that’s so real—or supposed to be so real… That has always really pissed me off. Because I love the genre so much, I felt, ‘Well fine, maybe I’ll just have an all-gay audience.’”

On top of this, Musgraves openly and passionately took to Twitter in 2020 to respond after the murder of George Floyd. After expressing her outrage, the singer wrote: “I will do whatever I can to help break the DISGUSTING, damaging cycle racism and systemic privilege causes. I will not be a bystander.”

These two icons are among many other country artists who are breaking the mold of what it means to be a musician within the genre; Brothers Osborne, Jason Isbell, Thomas Rhett, and Dan and Shay all spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Even some of the more well known legends, who you may assume to be just “good ol’ country boys” like Garth Brooks and Tim Mcgraw, are open about their support of the LGBTQ+ community, the latter even speaking to a middle school on the topic.

The traditional values that the author argues are at the core of the genre, such as “courage, honour, decency” and “familial ties” are not inherently bad themselves. Rather, it is when these values are used to exclude others that they become problematic. And when there are so many artists actively working to challenge negative country music stereotypes, it feels unfair to diminish the genre to being “stuck south of Nebraska’s border” and “celebrating only a very specific way of life.”

“When we’re free to love anyone we choose / When this world’s big enough for all different views / When we all can worship from our own kind of pew / Then we shall be free,” Garth Brooks.

What is your major, year, and hometown?

I am a second year Biology major, and my family is originally from Nigeria, but I was born and raised in Cork, Ireland.

When did you first get involved in music, and why?

I come from a very musically oriented family. I’ve always been surrounded by the angelic voices of my mother and my two older sisters, and growing up I was a part of my church choir. I truly believe these two factors greatly contributed to the desire I have to make music of my own someday.

It was not until about a year and a half ago that I decided to commit to the idea of materializing that vision and passion I have for music.

What genres do you gravitate towards, and why do they appeal to you?

I gravitate towards genres such as rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel. I’ve always resonated with these genres primarily because of how they make me feel when I listen to them. For example, with rhythm and blues, there is a song for every emotion, each song bringing a sense of relatability. R&B/soul gives me the opportunity to also connect with a rich culture as well as the history that comes with it, and gospel gives me the opportunity to grow closer to God. What inspires you to create?

I genuinely enjoy the whole process of creating from start to finish, and music has always been an outlet for me to express my emotions. In some ways, at times,

the songs I create act as a journal for my thoughts—a place to organize them. I feel as though music is a way for me to have others see things from my point of view, and I truly believe a difference in perspective can sometimes bring amazing things, and it inspires me to know that I can also bring a sense of relatability to my friends and family and whoever listens.

What messages or themes do you want people to get from your work?

There isn’t just one message or theme that can summarize my work, but my main goal is to more so provide a consistent perspective on the various emotions and experiences of life that each human is bound to encounter––whether that’s heartbreak, love, happiness, anger––and I hope there is something for each listener to take away.

Is this something you’d like to pursue professionally? How do you plan to use your talents after you graduate?

I am open to doing music professionally if it does ever get to that point, but as of now, I am mainly prioritizing my studies and plan to complete my degree. Thereafter, I hope to contribute to society in as many ways as I can.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I would love y’all to give my music a listen.

I hope it can be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me.

To listen to Paul’s music, you can follow him on Instagram @p.expresso1.

How did you first get involved in volleyball?

My sister played volleyball as I was growing up, and she’s quite a bit older than me, so I saw her playing from a young age and I just wanted to be like her. Growing up, I was there on all of the away trips, all of the games, and even taking stats for her on the bench. That was like the first real person that sparked my interest with volleyball. I started playing around grade three, and it was actually one of my good friends’ moms who was my coach. She continued to be my coach all the way through high school, so that close connection really allowed me to fall in love with the game too.

How did you decide on coming to TWU? I actually started my post-secondary career at UFV. I was pretty late into the recruiting process, so I wasn’t talking with a crazy amount of schools or anything; I really just went with the flow of it.

It was kind of expected of me to just go and play post-secondary. I was never against it, though, it always just felt like this is the next thing to do.

There was never really a whole lot of stress involved with it. I never had this super big expectation to play at a really high level, just to go do my best and see where it could take me.

When the opportunity to actually come to TWU came along it was pretty surreal. Being a local kid, I grew up always going to the games, and dreaming about it a little bit, but never really like letting myself actually think that it would become reality. So getting that message from Ryan [Hofer], it was like a dream come true, even though I know that sounds cliche to say. I was most excited seeing the kind of community and environment the team had compared to my last school. The team situation was a perfect fit in more ways than just volleyball. I met so many people who are now my closest friends. I was going to school close to home, so I could be

close to my family, which I really love. And then also the Christian aspect was really great for me to be back in a community that felt a lot like what I had in high school.

Tell us about your favourite volleyball moment.

I would probably say my whole grade 12 year, it was a really good group of girls to be around and compete with. I went to a really small school (Langley Christian) so there was really good school spirit and excitement around our team.

Even though we lost in the provincial final, we really did a lot of good things that year and it was so fun playing with a lot of my best friends at that time.

At TWU, one of my favourite memories was the Canada West Finals in my third year when we won the championship at home. I wasn’t a starter at that time and I really only played a little bit, but it was really fun to get to do it with that awesome group. We all worked really hard that year, and even though I wasn’t on the court the whole time, it really felt like it was a whole team win.

That’s something that our team did really well that year making everybody feel like they were valued and needed. So that was a really, really good experience.

What are you most looking forward to for the rest of this year?

Personally, I am really excited to experience something new. I’m really excited to play the big games with the girls. We have a really special group this year and often the best part of the game is looking around the circle and seeing a strong group of women smiling back at you.

That comes with a lot of emotions and expectations, but it’s going to be really fun to step on the court and play those games. We’ve played only B.C. teams this whole season so we haven’t been challenged as much as we know we will be yet. I’m really excited to feel that challenge and feel that pressure again when we’re on the court.

I think at the end it will make it that much sweeter if we actually are able to come away with any championships again.

SPARTAN SPOTLIGHT

OLIVIA HEINEN What is your year, major, and sport?

I’m in my fourth year of eligibility, I play on the Women’s Volleyball team as a setter, and I’m a psychology major with a human services certificate.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

PAUL FADEYI

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WELL THAT DIDN’T LAST VERY LONG, TOM SCOTT BOWERS

On Sunday, March 13, 40 days on from what seemed like the end of arguably the greatest NFL Quarterback’s career, Tom Brady made a shock announcement on Twitter stating…

expressing that Brady was not done, had this to say on Twitter: “He made us do 18 ‘we will miss you Tom Brady one hour specials’. I ain’t doing that junk next year. Just run it back y’all.”

“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa.

Unfinished business LFG”

Next, many like NFL linebacker Will Compton were quick to ask what “Unfinished business” Brady really has left, saying… “Dude has played 22 seasons, won 7 Super Bowls, has 5 Super Bowl MVPs, 3 NFL MVPs, made 15 Pro Bowls and said “Unfinished Business”…Man what?!”

Many could not believe that it was happening, but many others saw it coming from a mile away. Over his short retirement stint, there were always small hints that he may not be done. In countless interviews, he said things like, “You never know,” and, “We will see.” For some, this was the competitor in Brady still speaking out, but others knew that it really seemed like he wasn’t done.

“Whatever his reasoning is, we now know one thing for certain.

TB12 is back. And that makes the Buccaneers instant contenders again.”

Even though his time away from football did not last long, it was long enough for all of the sports media companies to jump all over the opportunities to run all the Tom Brady farewell content they could. This is where the internet reaction started to go wild.

First, ESPN analyst and former NFL player Ryan Clark, who has a very well documented record of

DIEGO BASCUR This just in: the Lakers suck. Maybe that is a bit harsh, but between the dynamic duo of Westbrook and a missed shot, the elusive Anthony Davis, and the second tier pool of role players––the Lakers are just straight up bad.

Just two years from their 2020 bubble championship, and with high hopes heading into this season, everything pointed towards a deep playoff run for the Lakers. Now here we are, just over three-quarters through the season and Los Angeles sits out of a playoff spot, with low chances of making any sort of legitimate come-back. So what the heck is going on and why can’t this team put it together?

From there, the memes went at how much Brady must have hated being home. One Twitter user said, “Tom Brady spent two months with his children and decided he’d rather be hit by 300 pound

Comedian Carlos HaHa Davis chimed in saying, “Tom Brady Got In One Argument With His Wife And Said Im Going Back To Work.”

Whatever his reasoning is, we now know one thing for certain. TB12 is back. And that makes the Buccaneers instant contenders again.

The bookies seem to believe this too, as the day after the announcement was made the Buccaneers Super Bowl odds jumped from +2000 to just +800.

It remains to be seen what type of form we will get from Brady next year, but it is undeniable that he was still playing at an extremely high level to end last year. He led the whole league in passing yards and touchdowns in 2021, so there is no real indicator that his play will fall off.

We all must not forget that since 2013 every time his team has lost a playoff game, he has gone on to win the Super Bowl the next year. It would surprise no one if he did it again.

LAKERS’ EDITION season, but Russell Westbrook has sorely underachieved, and has fallen well below expectations. On these two points alone, the Lakers have enough trouble. With two high-end contract players basically absent, the weight has been placed on the back of a 37-year-old Lebron James.

coach Bear Bryant said, “defense wins championships.” For the Lakers, defense is losing them their season. This lack of urgency mixed with the issue of simply putting the ball through the net is another big reason why the Lakers have been unable to put it together this year.

No one knows what keeps Lebron going. Some say he eats magic mushrooms before going to bed. Others say he is some kind of Benjamin Button, aging in reverse. Whatever it is, he just can’t seem to stop from dominating the league year after year.

“With two high-end contract players basically absent, the weight has been placed on the back of a 37-year-old Lebron James”

“For the Lakers, defense is losing them their season”

Over the last few months, Lebron James has put up multiple 50-point games, which is unheard of from anyone past their mid 30s in the NBA. If there is a silver-lining to this Lakers’ cloud, it would be the potential MVP season from basketball’s Benjamin Button. The man is a last hope to a playoff run from this Lakers’ team.

Looking back to the beginning of the season, certain predictions were made from certain sports writers, talking of a new and improved Anthony Davis coming out of an injury-riddled 2021 playoffs, and the exciting acquisition of Russell Westbrook. These are points that I couldn’t agree more with. Unfortunately, not only did Anthony Davis’ injury-riddled playoffs turn into an injury-riddled

With all that Lebron brings to the table, the team still sits well below .500 and struggles to compete with any top team. Watching the Lakers go up and down the court seems to illustrate something you would see at a pickup game in a local gym. Laziness defines the culture of Lakers’ basketball at the moment. This lackadaisical attitude feeds right into the heart of their defense, and as the great

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linemen, and I think that tells me everything I need to know about having kids.”

But, you know, I could be wrong. Maybe Westbrook will start shooting lights out, and Anthony Davis will become more than a seat on the bench.

Probably not, but maybe. Believe it or not, I actually like the Lakers and want nothing more than to see them make the playoffs. It is just increasingly harder to see with each demoralizing loss. Lakers fans can only hope that Lebron somehow finds another gear, and starts putting up 60-point games. With all that said, I’m just glad I didn’t pick the Lakers to win the championship in my NBA predictions.

MLB LOCKOUT FOR DUMMIES KYLE PENNER

The MLB Lockout finally came to an end on March 10 in the nick of time. The regular season of the MLB will begin on April 7, a week later than originally planned; all 162 games will be played. The lockout was enacted by the MLB owners when the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the MLB and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) came to an end on December 2. Running for 99 days, it brought with it the second-longest work stoppage in MLB history.

The CBA is an agreement between players and the league that governs the terms and conditions of employment. This agreement delineates the relationship between players and the league, and it dictates the rules around salaries, travel protocols, free agency, and contractual structure, among other things; basically, it is a big deal for both players and owners.

The general consensus has been that the players have been getting the short end of the deal for the past decade or so. League revenue has been rising while player salaries have stagnated; other aspects of the CBA favoured owners as well, allowing teams to tank strategically, and preventing players from re-negotiating salaries or entering free agency on what they considered a reasonable timeline.

Teams being allowed to tank––that is, save money by not paying for a competitive team––is bad for players because it can leave competitive players without a team willing to pay them what they are worth. As it stood, most players were not allowed to renegotiate their salary until after their third season, and were not eligible to free agency until after their sixth. This left players with little control over what they were paid for much of their early career. Compare this to many oth-

er top sports where an athlete’s first major pay day arrives in their early twenties; in baseball players often don’t start making their ‘real’ money until around thirty. This, on top of the fact that players’ salaries were not rising in accordance with rising revenues, has left the players disgruntled.

Thus, when it came time to renegotiate the CBA, the owners imposed a lockout as a tactic to motivate a quick resolution. During a lockout, no work is allowed to proceed; teams cannot practice, trades cannot be made, games cannot be played, and most important of all: no one gets paid. Despite this, the lockout dragged on into February and March with little reason to think that a resolution was imminent. Spring training was postponed and originally some regular season games were as well. Then, a deal was struck, a start-date for the regular season was announced, and the cancelled regular season games were rescheduled.

This was a surprise to many. It seems that the players ended up getting much of what they were searching for, though, not without some concessions of their own. Without going into too many of the gritty details here is what happened: firstly, the minimum salary was increased to $700,000 and set to increase yearly over the course of the CBA. The penalties for teams over-spending have been increased as well, which helps to keep the league competitive. One of the key concessions made by the players was allowing the MLB to change certain rules, critically, the addition of a pitch clock that will regulate the time a pitcher is allowed to take between pitches. This keeps the game moving but players (especially pitchers) do not like this change. The play-off structure has also been

altered to allow more teams to play: more teams equals more games equals more money, a change that the owners pushed very hard for.

“League revenue has been rising while player salaries have stagnated; other aspects of the CBA favoured owners as well, allowing teams to tank strategically, and preventing players from re-negotiating salaries or entering free agency on what they considered a reasonable timeline.”

On the whole, I think things worked out as well as we could have hoped; the players came out mostly on top even if they did not get everything they were hoping for. I’m just happy to be able to watch baseball again.

WHO OWNS YOUR FAVOURITE SOCCER CLUB? SCOTT BOWERS

The rapid professionalization of the sporting world over the last 50 years has drastically changed the concept of making a living through playing a game.

Where in the mid-20th century players could earn good money to support themselves, the 21st century has brought an astronomical amount of wealth into the sports world, where players can make hundreds of millions of dollars over a career: the type of money to set their families up for generations to come. This is true even in big American sports where leagues have salary caps and agreed upon revere shares.

When we look at the world of soccer, it is like the wild, wild west. No salary caps, no spending limits, the teams with the biggest budgets can get the best players and eventually buy their way to the top.

In 1975, the world’s first million euro to pound transfer fee was paid for Italian soccer player Giuseppe Savoldi when he joined Napoli for a reported 1.2 million. Fast forward to the current world record transfer fee, which is an astounding 200 million euros that was paid for Brazilian forward Neymar in 2017 by Paris Saint-Germain. This exponential growth of money in the sport shows no sign of slowing down either.

The blunt fact about this kind of money being the new norm for world soccer’s largest clubs is that there are very few people that can afford to own these teams and fund these transfers. This often means it is some of the world’s richest people who are in charge of the biggest clubs. However, there is often a lot of concern around the origins of the wealth of these people.

One example of this is current Chelsea F.C. owner, Roman Abramovich. The Russian billionaire purchased the club in 2003 as the previous owner was falling in mass amounts of debts unable to keep up payments. Instantly, Abramovich poured massive amounts of his personal wealth into the club. Over his first nine years in charge, Chelsea did not turn a profit in its fiscal books. However, that same period brought unmatched success on the field for the club.

In the almost 19 years Abramovich has owned the club, Chelsea has won 18 major trophies including five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and most significantly, two UEFA Champions Leagues.

Abramovich has become well known in the sporting world as one of these billionaire super-owners willing to spend exorbitant amounts to win. Many others have followed suit in recent years, snapping up clubs and flooding them with money for a plethora of reasons. However, the most common reason is to soften their political image in the western world.

“When we look at the world of soccer, it is like the wild, wild west. No salary caps, no spending limits, the teams with the biggest budgets can get the best players and eventually buy their way to the top.”

Abramovich, who reportedly made his money through the privatization of Russian state oil assets during the fall of the Soviet Union, has been previously flagged by the U.K. government as a Russian oligarch with deep ties to Putin. With the recent invasion of the Ukraine, Abramovich is among the many Russians around the world to have their assets frozen.

This includes Chelsea F.C. who, at the time of writing, is unable to sign new players or re-sign current players, sell club merchandise, and even sell new tickets for upcoming matches. Abramovich, who has now publicly stated his intention to sell the club, will only be allowed to do so with special permission from the government.

The severity of the situation with Chelsea should really scare fans and owners of other major clubs alike.

That even though you may be allowed to own a club

if you have some potentially shady ties to your money, it still could all come crashing down.

Before this Chelsea situation, the most recent set of owners with shady dealings to be all over the news was the new owners of Newcastle United. In April, 2020 there were rumblings that a partnership group led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) had begun the process of buying the club. Up until October, 2021 when the deal finally went through, the Premier League and the U.K. government had been going back and forth on the legitimacy of the ownership group, along with worries of human rights violations. The official position of the league was that they were satisfied with the background checks on the owners, however, many critics of the new ownership point to the conclusion of a television rights dispute in Saudi Arabia as what really finally let the deal through.

The allowance of this deal has enraged many both inside and out of the soccer community, especially with growing human rights violation concerns in the country. The website Human Rights Watch states that “Saudi Arabia faced unprecedented international criticism in 2019 for its human rights record, including the failure to provide full accountability for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in October 2018, as well as the country’s dismal treatment of Saudi dissidents and human rights activists.”

Similar concerns have been brought up in the past over the owners of many other European giants like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The reality is, with the amount of money now circulating in modern soccer, we are going to continue to have these questions around the owners who fund the teams. To purchase and run any of the major clubs in the world would take someone with the deepest pockets in the world. The unfortunate trend that we continue to see is that the richer the owners, the shadier the money.

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A ST. PATRICK’S DAY MAD LIB (BY A PROUD IRISH DESCENDANT) SOPHIE HOLLAND

Saint Patrick’s Day was last week, and man, was it ever a crazy day. Normally I don’t celebrate the holiday too intensely, as it is known to be the one holiday of the year where you don’t really get to ______________ (verb) anything. However, this year, I decided that maybe I should celebrate more.

The day brought some ______________ (adjective) surprises, and exciting ______________ (plural noun).

It all began when I woke up and realized I had nothing green in my wardrobe. Wanting to still participate in the tradition, I searched around for something to wear, and ultimately had to settle on borrowing my friend’s crocodile green ______________ (unusual article of clothing). It looked pretty ______________ (adjective) to me, but if it meant avoiding an unsolicited ______________ (action), I supposed it would have to do.

In the afternoon, my friends and I decided to go for a walk at ______________ (bizarre location, proper noun). As we turned the corner, we noticed a peculiar creature ______________ (verb ending in -ing) across the path. After a closer look, we were ______________ (adjective) to notice it was a real-life, ______________ (adjective) leprechaun! Instead of the stereotypical green ______________ (noun) and curly ginger hair, this leprechaun rather resembled an eight-inch-tall ______________ (male celebrity). My friends insisted that we had to take a photo of him, but when I got my camera out, the flash frightened the wee little guy away. He ran and hid in the ______________ (location).

That evening, my friend ______________ (another person’s name) asked me to join them as they went downtown to a pub called ______________ (traditionally Irish last name), where, in addition to their usual drink menu, they were serving special ______________ (your favourite snack food) and beer. I was a little ______________ (adjective), as I’d never tasted Guinness before.

When we arrived, there was live music, including a brilliant artist playing the fiddle, accompanied by a magnificent ______________ (musical instrument) player, and another musician creatively playing the ______________ (unusual object).

What shocked us the most, however, was when the patrons of the bar got up and began to dance, and one of them turned out to be none other than ______________ (TWU faculty). I was stunned. I never knew ______________ (same TWU faculty) could Irish step dance!

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FOAMING AT THE MOUTH LORIN SCAIANO

Humans are logical creatures, but regardless, we have a variety of impulses and instincts. In psychology these are often referred to as the five F’s: Fighting, Fleeing, Feeding, Mating, and lastly, the fifth and most neglected—Foam.

Now, these have been hotly contested. “Surely fighting isn’t natural!” says the pacifist. “I’ll never flee!” says the egotist. “The masses don’t need feeding,” says the uber-rich. “Don’t mate, abstinence is key!” says the church. But it’s well known, psychologist or not, that eating the foam out of couch cushions is an instinct everyone innately has. So why do the people continue to hide that part of themselves?

“The glares,” says an interviewed foam enthusiast. “The glares I get as I do nothing but consume my measly little chunks of foam are mortifying. Why would someone wish such ill will on a soul like me?

Have you no empathy?”

This is an eye-opening look into a great deal of things wrong with our world. Our interviewees shared similar thoughts, that their fears around foam-eating were based on judgement, of not being accepted. And yet we continue to eat the foam.

The reasons other than instinct that we indulge are many. “I love how satisfying the foam feels when you bite it,” expressed one foam aficionado, “It’s wonderful.”

Another avid consumer of the mouth-watering delectability put it simply, “that good squanchy feeling,” and I have to agree. There are few ways to better explain the joys of foam-eating than squanch.

As usable as the word Squanch is to describe it, it isn’t always fitting.

That particular enthusiast falls into a rare niche that the vast majority of foam eaters cannot afford: the foam strip inside heavy-duty respiration masks.

There are numerous different foam variants, but this is one of untold exquisitivity. It’s so beloved that it has earned its own title as the Polyisocyanate Ambrosia. It’s the caviar of the foam palette. Rare and expen-

sive, with a heavenly taste and light texture. One would have to assume everyone defaults to it. Regardless, that’s not always the case.

Couch cushions are a common favorite, being more affordable and available. The compression from being sat on so often makes them an easier meal, and they’re better than car seats in almost every way.

Car seats taste terrible in comparison, and the majority say they hurt on the way out.

“Our interviewees shared similar thoughts, that their fears around foam-eating were based on judgement, of not being accepted.”

Expanding on that, the niches are more than just the source of foam.

Many care about the manufacturer, composition, and method of preparation. The most common of these niches are wet, dry, organic, and synthetic. But with even the slightest dive deeper, we find much more abstract and unusual niches. Calcified foam. Sautéed foam.

Foam soaked in orange juice, hot sauce, or even as an ingredient in a delicious stew.

Many reject any variations that aren’t their cup of tea. To quote one passionate foam fanatic, “Wet foam is a travesty only consumed by the most wretched blasphemers cursed upon this earth.” While we can’t explicitly agree, we understand where they’re coming from.

But despite disagreements, we all agree on one thing: Foam-eating brings us joy. We shouldn’t have to hide our foam feasting fantasies.

Foam was meant to be eaten, and eat it we will.

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE MEN OF 3L: A POEM

ALEX WALKER Eleven p.m. The table. We are all gathered ‘round.

One man. Six dudes. Egg sandwiches abound.

An unusual request is made of this one man.

“Rank the homies, as you would a female band.”

The one man sweats, but begins his crusade.

He contemplates and considers, so their dignity doesn’t fade.

He turns to the first: “Too skinny!” he cried.

If only in the gym you had harder tried.

The next victim stared, aware of his physique.

The previous accusation at him wouldn’t critique.

The man scrutinizes, then gestures, looking below the eyes.

“Acne scars prevent you from winning the top prize.”

A slight transition to a poofy-haired yankee.

This victim lacks muscle, but his smile could make ye Fill with joy and delight, but not to the man.

“A hooked nose prohibits me from being your fan.”

The fourth victim judged only on his clothes, Sighs in relief for his handsomeness he knows.

The fifth gets roasted for unkempt hair, “You stopped trying a while,” the man proudly declared.

The final victim accused of being a chad, But letting himself go for the bod of a dad.

The man settles, knowing the damage he’s caused.

But makes sure they know that the truth isn’t lost.

“I am the lowest, the least of ye.

I know your flaws because you’re my key.

How I measure myself, I look to your tone, But this matters not, as beauty makes not a home.”

10 THINGS YOU ARE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO DO NOW THAT THE MASK MANDATE IS GONE BAILEY FROESE 1.

Take a gratuitous whiff of that campus aroma, complete with lawn clippings, Fraser’s rotting infrastructure, and notes of fresh goose turd.

2. Savour the abundant grease of the bookstore cafe’s sandwiches anywhere you want.

3. Get insulted when no one comments on how beautiful the lower half of your face is after not seeing it for two years.

4. Suck your thumb in public.

5. Kiss your friends.

6. Kiss your professors.

7. Kiss the toilet seat.

8. Lick the toilet seat.

9. Gently nibble on your roommate’s neck while they’re asleep and see how long it takes them to wake up—my personal best score is two hours and twenty-seven minutes.

10. Finally stop bothering others with your rants about how wearing a tiny piece of fabric on your face is robbing you of all of your individual rights and freedoms. Find something else to protest about, such as racism, poverty, or the restraining order your English professor just gave you (I said to kiss them before you licked the toilet seat, not after).

DEAR MORAL KOALA...

Dear Moral Koala, The other day, as I was on my sunset prayer walk through the Back Forty, I came across a group of (what I can only assume to be) humanities majors sharing a pack of cigarettes. Watching them pass those rad little cancer sticks between one another made me want to throw on a black toque, get a stick-n-poke tattoo, and join them. This left me wondering: how bad is it to inhale a little tobacco every once in a while with your homies, specifically if you’re doing it in a cool, James Dean sort of way?

Sincerely, Lil Ciggy Sinner

Dear Lil Ciggy Sinner, I have felt the need to tackle this discussion with multiple verses, due to the lack of reference to “tobaccy” of any kind in The Book. First, I go to the beginning for wisdom through God’s perfect creation: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things” (Genesis 9:3). Here we see He declares the importance of consumption of anything that moves (I’m looking at you vegetarians), and the allowance of all usage of His provision. Next, however, Biggie G rebuttals himself by saying, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man” (Matthew 15:11). I have no idea what defileth means, but sure doesn’t sound good. But there you have it! Feel free to join these rap scallions and pirates in their sinful escapades. But don’t dare let one puff of smoke escapeth from thy mouth! Hold it in, swallow it, eat the butts of each cig if you must!

With equivocal virtue, Moral Koala Do you have your own questions for Moral Koala? Submit them in the declassifieds!

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