The Queen's Journal, Volume 143, Issue 14

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the journal

Queen’s University

Vol. 143, Issue 14

F r i day , N ov e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 5

since

1873

AMS ASSEMBLY

Castle disrupted by staff cuts Fall

referendum nullified, AMS says V ictoria G ibson A nisa R awhani Journal Staff

SUPPLIED BY RACHEL SMITH

The BISC is housed in Herstmonceux Castle in Herstmonceux, England.

New curriculum at Bader International Study Centre results in resignations V ictoria G ibson Assistant News Editor For almost two years, a series of dismissals, resignations and curriculum changes have rocked the Queen’s Bader International Study Centre (BISC) with scant attention from main campus. After the centre’s executive director, Dr. Bruce Stanley was suddenly removed in 2014, Queen’s introduced a new amalgamated course curriculum at the castle. That new curriculum resulted in the removal of several professors and the courses they taught. Stanley — who has yet to be replaced — was originally appointed Executive Director of the castle program in February 2011. Stanley had been set to help Queen’s forge new international partnerships. He had previously worked as a country director for Amideast, a U.S. based non-for-profit in Jerusalem and Gaza. During a visit by Provost Alan Harrison in February 2014, however, the director was

abruptly removed from the BISC campus. According to an official release by Harrison, Stanley left due to “a result of differences with respect to the priorities of the [BISC]”. His departure was followed by the beginnings of a wave of resignations and “redundancies” — where professors are notified that they’re no longer needed at

Johanna Strong, ArtSci ’17, who was at the castle the day that Stanley left, said she remembers it “vividly”. Strong said stunned students were invited to a lunchtime meeting with Harrison, where the provost promised to explain the decision. “Many of us attended the session with a variety of questions, none of which, I recall, were answered directly.” While Strong said she understands that decisions are often made without notifying students, she said she was alarmed by the lack of transparency when Stanley was dismissed. “When events like this happen, Queen’s staff members fly into England — Johanna Strong, to give us the news, and ArtSci ’17 then fly out again and do the castle. not have to deal with the consequences,” The BISC wasn’t always the subject she said. of scandal and curriculum debates. In “When Bruce was dismissed, the Executive its 22-year history, the castle has steadily Director who understood life at the Castle, grown in the size of its student body and who engaged with students, and who was program offerings. working for our best interests was replaced But, since Stanley’s departure, students with an administration in Kingston who have raised questions about the direction didn’t understand.” and organization of the international centre. See Dismissals on page 3

“Queen’s staff members fly into England to give us the news, and then fly out again and do not have to deal with the consequences.”

and

AMS President Kanivanan Chinniah has confirmed that the fall referendum has been nullified after doubts arose surrounding the status of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). He made the announcement at AMS assembly on Nov. 19, 13 days after the referendum period ended on Friday, Nov. 6. Nine days before the announcement, the AMS assembly voted to nullify the referendum in closed session on Nov. 10, according to student clubs contacted by the AMS about the decision. The fees on the ballot for the fall referendum will instead be moved to the winter referendum, according to Chinniah’s statement. “On Monday, November 9, 2015, the Executive was notified by a participant in the Fall Referendum of concerns with regards to the status of the Chief Electoral Officer,” Chinniah stated in an AMS press release. The AMS’s (CEO) oversees elections and is the final authority on the interpretation of AMS elections policy and procedure. As part of the role, the CEO makes calls on whether something is or isn’t appropriate during campaign periods. “Upon consultation with the University Registrar, the AMS determined that the Chief Electoral Officer was ineligible to hold their position during the Fall Referendum Period,” Chinniah stated. Sarah Letersky, the current vice president (university affairs), dismissed the CEO, as she was the interim Commissioner of Internal Affairs at the time. According to the AMS press release, Letersky dismissed the CEO based on policies set out in Section 2.02 of the AMS Hiring & Appointments Policy & Procedures Manual. Chinniah didn’t state whatmade the CEO ineligible, although Leah Kelley, co-chair of Queen’s Backing Action on Climate Change (QBACC), said the AMS informed her that the officer had not paid their student fees. This would make the CEO technically not a member of the AMS. A Special Assembly was called on Nov. 10 under emergency provisions to notify assembly of the issue in closed session. “The decision to enter closed session was made given the discussion involved AMS personnel, which is a best practice to protect the individual,” Chinniah said during assembly. See AMS on page 5

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

NEWS

EDITORIALS

OPINIONS

SPORTS

LIFESTYLE

Queen’s students arrested for ecstacy trafficking charges

The Journal Roundtable discusses the attacks on Paris

Two perspectives on being an ally to Aboriginal peoples

Gaels win fourth consecutive OUA men’s rugby title

How to keep your nude photos off the web

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Friday, November 20, 2015

TECHNOLOGY

Alumni give hospital patients a CleanSlate Smartphone disinfector allows photographs in intensive care units V ictoria G ibson Assistant News Editor For newborn infants in hospitals, the smallest exposure to germs can be deadly. A new device, created by Queen’s graduates, ensures that smartphones are one less risk to an infant’s health. The device, called a CleanSlate, eradicates germs from a phone in 30 seconds using UV light — the time it takes to properly wash your hands. On Oct. 29, the device was awarded $657,000 in prize money from a business pitch competition in Buffalo, NY. The money will be used for further develop the business and to bring the invention into more hospitals across North America. The idea originated in CEO and Queen’s alumnus Taylor Mann in his fourth year after a conversation with friend who worked as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Kingston General Hospital (KGH). The nurse explained to Mann, ArtSci ’14, that mobile devices were banned in her unit, as they are a key carrier of superbugs — bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics. “The bacteria on cellphones can be harmful to such young, little babies in there,” Scott Mason, Chief of Business Development for the CleanSlate team, said. At Queen’s, Mason served as ASUS president and later campaigned to be AMS president. However, the ban restricted parents with seriously ill or underdeveloped babies — who, in a NICU, often have low chances of survival — from taking photographs and creating memories of their children. The nurse told Mann that many parents had recently been caught attempting to skirt the ban, which put her fellow nurses in a difficult situation. While the nurses understood the parents’ desire to photograph the children, they

smartphone usage. “Doctors are [now] using medical calculator apps or communication apps on their cellphones that help them to be a better doctor,” Mason said. The device was taken to the 43North competition in Buffalo. Out of nearly 11,000 applications, CleanSlate ranked second place. The 43North competition markets itself as the world’s largest business competition, allotting $5 million in prizes annually. Previous winners have included HemoGenyx, a biopharmaceutical company seeking to treat blood diseases like leukemia, and Energy Intelligence, which creates clean energy using the motion of vehicles. Having been tested at three Ontario hospitals so far, a CleanSlate machine SUPPLIED BY SCOTT MASON costs around $4,500 and is around the From left: Oleg Baranov, Taylor Mann, Scott Mason and Graeme Clark size of a microwave oven. Mann said pose with their 43North trophy for placing second. the device could be placed in hospital to do something that would have a entranceways, to be both convenient couldn’t put the babies at risk. and effective. After investigating further, Mann real-world application.” Canadian hospitals predominantly The team spent time at KGH speaking discovered that similar bans upon electronic devices had been placed in with nurses and doctors about the unique use disinfectant wipes, which contain other intensive care units, as along with needs of medical staff in a hospital setting bleach or hydrogen peroxide and can damage sensitive touch-screens specialized medical facilities, emergency while creating their concept. In a meeting with hospital executives, onsmartphones. AdownsideoftheCleanSlate and operating rooms. From there, Mann joined forces with the team asked if such a device would technology is that the UV radiation can cause four other Queen’s students — Oleg serve a purpose at KGH. After the hospital white or plastic casing to become prematurely Baranov, Sci ’15; Scott Mason, ArtSci ’14; gave the go-ahead, the CleanSlate team set yellow, according to a CBC article about the invention. Geoffrey Hoy, Sci ’14; and Serena Li, to work. Moving forward, Mason said the team According to Mason, the CleanSlate Comm ’16 — as well as working with the University’s Innovation Connector to get extends far beyond smartphones. It can plans to take their business across the also be applied to other medical border, as the abundant hospitals in the CleanSlate to market. “It’s the incubator run out of the school. devices, such as glucometers or digital United States are their target market. The newest version of the CleanSlate It’s a really amazing program. That’s thermometers, and sanitizes “fast enough how we all met,” Mason said. He added so that it wouldn’t interfere with a doctor’s has received pre-orders from hospitals and clinics in Ontario and New York, with hopes that the nurse who inspired the device was line of work”. “[It doesn’t] just kill your typical, to ship out early in 2016. also a part of the program. “We can get a higher and more effective Since then, Hoy and Li have left the run-of-the-mill cold virus,” he said. He team, while Western graduate Graeme said CleanSlate kills a multitude of kill rate, with better sanitization, for all Clark and Tyler Lypaczewski, Sci ’11, “dangerous hospital pathogens”, including these devices that are not being cleaned Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus effectively right now, and improve hospital have joined. occupational health and safety,” he said. “We wanted to do something that Aureus (MRSA). “And do it in 30 seconds, that’s He added that hospital patients weren’t was beneficial to the world. We didn’t want to build another app. We wanted the only demographic to benefit from the kicker.”

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: Renu Mandhane, ArtSci ’98, was appointed earlier this month as the Human Rights Commissioner for the province of Ontario. See full article online. (Supplied by Afroze Edwards) Queen’s Graduate Outfitters created a jacket for graduate students to boost school spirit among graduate students. (Supplied by Bowen Yang) Queen’s Nyantende Foundation has raised $5,420 of its goal of $20,000 for computers in Western Congo. See full article online. (Supplied by Nyantende Foundation) Queen’s students gather to mourn the victims of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks on the morning of Nov. 15. (Photo by Auston Chhor)


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FEATURE Firings and resignations grip Queen’s castle Continued from page 1

Strong added that while she had loved her time at the castle during the 2013-14 school year, she may not have chosen to go if she were applying for the current program. Since Stanley’s departure, the roles and responsibilities of Executive Director were split between Dr. Christian Lloyd, Caroline Harber, Claire Anderson and Peter Bowers. Anderson, however, has since left the BISC, leaving management to Lloyd, Harber and Bowers. In an email to The Journal, Alan Harrison stated that, “the leadership positions at the BISC report directly to myself, and other BISC personnel work closely with their counterparts on main campus.” This has been the case since February 2014. Harrison stated that the BISC leadership team meets regularly with himself, along with stakeholders on main campus, to discuss operational and strategic matters at the BISC. Under the direction of the Queen’s administration, Lloyd, Harber and Bowers have grappled with the introduction of new — and much-debated — BISC 100/101 curriculum. BISC100, “Thinking Locally”, and BISC101, “Acting Globally”, were designed to amalgamate several subjects into two single-semester courses. The courses, introduced during the 2014-15 school year, were

Provost Alan Harrison directs the BISC’s leadership positions.

intended to give students a larger breadth of options. By taking the two courses, a student can pursue up to seven different subjects at once before entering their second year. The subjects covered by the courses include History, Sociology, Drama, Geography and Film and Media Studies. “The goal was to use the course to help identify, develop and assess the academic and cultural skill sets that students will need for their success in studies and in future employment,” Harrison stated. However, the creation of those courses resulted in the elimination of several other full-year course offerings at the castle, including courses in History, Drama, and Philosophy. In doing so, several faculty members were made redundant and removed from the castle, including Dr. John Keefe in Drama, Dr. Eric Litwack in Philosophy, and Dr. Scott McLean in History. Although McLean was given a redundancy notice for History, Harrison told The Journal that the castle has two professors currently teaching History, “both of whom have PhDs in the discipline”. Other staff members left of their own volition, including Dr. Chris Taylor in Science and Mathematics, Academic Travel Manager Nina Lawrence and Assistant Student Services Manager Rachel Smith. Harrison was unable to speak on the departures.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

BISC’s future is unclear as management and curricula undergo restructuring.

“It would not be appropriate for the university to comment on individual arrivals and departures of BISC employees,” he wrote. When The Journal contacted McLean, he said he couldn’t speak to the matter, as he had been legally prohibited from discussing the circumstances of his departure. However, Kate Skelton, ArtSci ’17, who worked under McLean, said the professor was asked to both leave his position and the house on-campus that his family had inhabited for over a decade. Skelton added that McLean’s departure came a year into a three-year, $200,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant held jointly by McLean and Dr. Steven Bednarski from the University of Waterloo. She’s says she’s unsure where the remaining funds will go without a specific program for either subject in operation at the BISC. Professor Richard Greenfield, a current professor and former chair of the History Department, has his own concerns about the removal of McLean. “One of the understandings [with the new BISC 100/101 courses] was that there would continue to be somebody at the castle who was appointed by [the History Department], and so this was Dr. McLean,” he said. “With the loss of Dr. McLean, this is a major blow to History and to the Classics Department too.” Greenfield, along with Professor Adnan Husain, had been designing a field school focusing on Medieval Mediterranean studies. Despite being deep into the planning process, the pair put off their plans in January 2014 due to concerns about the “lack of practical support we were getting at a relatively late stage,”

Greenfield said. He said communication had become difficult due to unclear circumstances, and they didn’t believe they could meet their deadlines to run the program that summer. But, Greenfield said, there was still a “clear understanding” that the program would likely run in the summer of 2015. A few hours after Greenfield and Husain informed the administration that they intended to delay the program, Dr. Stanley — who supported the program — was removed from the castle. “Nobody has ever been in touch with us again,” Greenfield said. In response to Harrison’s reasoning for Stanley’s removal, Greenfield said he acknowledges the administration’s authority, but wants a coherent plan. “You have these difference of opinions, and you have clashes, and if permissible legally you can get rid of somebody, but you need to have a clear plan in place to justify that sort of action,” he said. “Since [Dr. Stanley’s departure], I’ve seen nothing about a clear plan at all.” From a student standpoint, he said BISC 100/101 have been met with positive feedback from students. “A number of students who took the program last year have since commented on how well the course prepared them for their second year studies at Queen’s,” Harrison said. Madilyn Darrach, ArtSci ’18, disagrees. She said she’s seen student concerns about the courses across the board. Darrach attended the BISC in 2014-15 and served as her year’s Academic Representative. She worked alongside Dr. Christian Lloyd regularly on academic affairs.

SUPPLIED BY RACHEL SMITH

“Christian was very confused about what to do with the castle. Nobody seemed to have an idea about what to do,” Darrach told The Journal via email. “They don’t actually know what they’re trying to achieve anymore. They did [BISC100 and BISC101], now they’ve added science, and gotten rid of all the courses that are best experienced and learned in a 15th century castle in England.” She said Provost Harrison was always visible to students in her year and recalls him flying to England to discuss students’ academic concerns. But she said there was rarely any action taken. “We did respond and make our voices heard, but then the information would go into meetings and never be talked about again,” she said. Harrison disagreed, stating that Queen’s has made a point to “[gather] feedback from students, and have this year made adjustments to the course structure and evaluation in response to the feedback.” Darrach said she believes the program can be figured out, but doing so may require the BISC to close temporarily. “I think they need to shut it down for a couple of years. Figure it out. Figure out the funding, what their mission should be, who they should serve, [and] create [physical] accessibility,” she said. She’s unsure, however, whether or not Queen’s will be willing to make the necessary sacrifices required to fix the program. “They’re gonna need time and money to do it. It’s gonna cost a lot in manpower and brainpower. “My question is: will Queen’s sacrifice these things in the short term to create what could possibly be very beneficial in the long term?”


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SENATE

AMS NAD sees only three cases from May 1 to Oct. 5 Annual reports from each NAD system released at last Senate J acob R osen News Editor While the AMS’s non-academic discipline (NAD) system handled 29 cases between May and October last year, only three have been processed during that same period this year. This discrepancy between cases was the largest of any NAD system at the university, according to the committee on non-academic discipline’s (SONAD) 201415 annual reports. SONAD released reports from each of its four systems — AMS, Athletics and Recreation, Residence and SGPS — at the most recent meeting of Senate on Nov. 3. Senate is one of the University’s three governing bodies. The entire NAD system is currently under review by a Board of Trustees committee chaired by Principal Woolf. While the review is underway, an interim protocol has been established to deal with non-academic discipline. The four reports allow the university to compare this year’s results under the current interim protocol to last year’s numbers under the previous system. “It is an abnormally low number,” Albert Kwan, the AMS judicial affairs director, said of the number of cases handled by the AMS.

According to Kwan, the the past year to have been a decrease was caused by the new relatively standard year. “The system has been very interim protocol, which refers cases — such as the failure to effective over time where recidivism comply with campus authorities has remained very low,” he said. and incidents involving alcohol Recidivism refers to a person’s — to the Provost’s Office by relapse into criminal behaviour. “One factor in that low classifying them as “university level recidivism rate, or probably the non-academic misconduct”. The new interim protocol main factor, actually is the fact implemented earlier this year has that its students administering a central intake body that receives the system.” Kwan added that two all complaints and then distributes cases to the appropriate system. In numbers increased from previous previous years, complaints would years — the use of educational probation over the 2014come directly from bodies such sanctions and trigger bonds. $325 dollar fine. “The sanctions reflect the severity 15 season, while the third as Campus Security or Student Trigger bonds refer to a fine that constables to the individual NAD is only triggered if the accused of that case, and I think we tried completed their probation in the our best to decide on sanctions that 2015-16 season. systems. If they deemed it a student reoffends. SGPS only recorded one “Besides that, it’s been very would prevent from further harm university level offence, they would incident between May 1, 2014 pass it along to the provost’s office. consistent in that the system has to the person in question.” The case has now been closed, and Oct. 5, 2015. The case ended “It is a marked change this been very effective in dealing with but Kwan said that there’s more in a tri-pub ban for the SGPS year, where there are a number these complaints.” Most of the cases — 58 to think about following the final member involved. of cases that we no longer handle As for Residence, 2,670 students that are handled exclusively by the per cent of the 78 total for the result of the case. “There are some other practices of the 4,210 in residence last year AMS — were received by Campus provost’s office,” Kwan said. In 2014-15, incidents involving Security, as is typical from that we might need to look at were never found responsible of in terms of how best to enforce any misconduct. 21 per cent of alcohol misuse made up the highest previous years. Kwan said there was also an our sanctions, and how to best students were found responsible of percentage (25 per cent) of cases for the AMS, followed by trespassing unusual increase in the number ensure that they are as effective only one incident, and 16 per cent of more than one. (24 per cent), failure to comply of trespassing cases this past as possible.” “If there’s one thing that comes The other systems reported with university alcohol regulations year — which made up 24 per cent (13 per cent) and non-compliance of cases in 2014-15 and has been similarly standard stats as out of this report, and I guess with university officials (12 per as low as 2 per cent in the past previous years. Athletics and reports in [the] past, it’s that our five years — but said trends like Recreation reported only three system has been effective, and again cent), according to the report. In terms of the total number these tend to fluctuate from year ongoing cases during 2014-15 it stems from student authority in which varsity teams violated in deciding what sanctions are and severity of cases handled, to year. guidelines. included,” Kwan said. “It’s difficult to say whether the student-athlete however, Kwan said he considers increased numbers is representative Two teams completed their of any particular trend in terms of what’s actually happening, maybe they’re just being identified more effectively.” A major case reported last year was the assault of a Lazy Scholar staff member by a student. Initial sanctions — $150 bond, a three-page essay, 30-month ban from the Lazy Scholar and an HCDS Alcohol Workshop — weren’t completed GRAPHICS BY ASHLEY QUAN by the accused, which resulted in a

CRIME

Drug bust in the University District Two arrested made after search at Earl and Division Streets V ictoria G ibson Assistant News Editor After an undercover police investigation, two current or former Queen’s students have been arrested with charges related to trafficking ecstasy and marijuana in the University District. At approximately 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 13, Kingston Police (KP) and the Emergency Response Unit executed a search warrant for a small undercover drug operation in the University District. The bust, which took place at

Earl and Division Streets, resulted in the seizure of MDMA/ecstasy and marijuana, as well as $1,715 in Canadian currency and other illicit drugs. Two individuals, Paul Barry and Justin Cha, were arrested in connection to the operation. Both Barry and Cha’s Facebook profiles indicate they study at Queen’s, although The Journal could not confirm whether they still attend the university. Barry faces five counts of Trafficking in Controlled Substances, two counts of

Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking in Controlled Substances and one count of Possession of Proceeds of Crime. Cha faces slightly lesser charges, with two counts of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking in Controlled Substances and one count of Possession of Proceeds of Crime. According to Steve Koopman, Media Relations Officer for KP, the investigation began after a community complaint was lodged to the police. See Barry on page 5

SGPS General Meeting

No v e m be r 24, 2 0 15 - 5: 3 0 p m

Wallace Hall: JDUC Refreshments will be served at the meeting.

All SGPS Members have voting rights at the General Meeting. If you are not able to make it, you can assign a proxy vote. Contact the SGPS Speaker for more details (speaker@sgps.ca). Please bring your validated student card.

SGPS www.sgps.ca Society of Graduate & Professional Students


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Friday, November 20, 2015

Barry and Cha face possession and trafficking charges Continued from page 4

Following the complaint, an officer from the street crimes unit began an undercover investigation. “The officer then approached and spoke to the individual or individuals and made multiple buys over different days, both in terms of what drugs were being offered and quantities,” he said. The officer in question purchased $1,500 worth of drugs over several meetings with the individuals. “The reason we do that, quite often, is to assist in proving the facts, if it’s an issue of trafficking actually occurring. It’s not like ‘oh, I happen to have a little bit of spare marijuana on me, I’ll sell it to you just this one time,’” Koopman said. “It helps prove the fact that this individual is more than willing to sell illicit drugs on multiple occasions and on multiple dates.”

Once the officer had gathered enough information, they filed an Information to Obtain a Search Warrant under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. According to Koopman, the police involved the emergency response unit — KP’s tactical team — in the case due to the potential for danger to the community. Koopman added that because ecstasy was involved — rather than solely marijuana — this raised the severity of the situation. “Marijuana is considered by some to be a bit of a soft drug. Ecstasy obviously amps things up a bit. We’re not dealing with crystal methamphetamine, cocaine or heroine, but at the same time, people have obviously died from molly or MDMA,” Koopman said. “We want to send the message that we will take these individual community complaints, we will investigate, and people

who are selling drugs illicitly can expect that undercover officers can start in contact with you.” Barry and Cha have since attended a bail hearing. Koopman said he’s unsure what the result of the hearing was, but noted that 2012’s Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, ensures a mandatory 2-year jail sentence for the trafficking of MDMA in the proximity of a school. It will be up to the judge to determine whether the Earl and Division area qualifies. Alan Harrison, provost and vice-principal (academic), said it would be “inappropriate to comment” on the arrests, as the matter is before the courts. However, he noted that under the Queen’s interim protocol for non-academic discipline, the University will normally defer any disciplinary procedures until

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criminal or civil proceedings have concluded. “In the interim, the University may impose terms and conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances to ensure the safety of the campus community,” he said in an email to The Journal. In October 2005, a similar search conducted in a residence in the University District resulted in the trial of a student for drug trafficking. That incident didn’t involve MDMA, but police found a quarter pound of marijuana packaged in various weights as well as $3,000 in currency, according to Constable Craig Sharpe of the KP Intelligence Unit. In May 2006, another residence raid on Albert St. resulted in the seizure of 1,847.6 grams of marijuana, 87 grams of magic mushrooms, morphine pills, digital scales and a marijuana grinder, along with $925 in cash. According to 2015 data from the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse, youth between 15 and 24 years of age are the most frequent users of MDMA, with 1.4 per cent of the population having used the drug. — With files from Jacob Rosen

AMS delays announcement due to legal issues Continued from front page

“Assembly expressed that a different Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) could have made different rulings which might have substantially affected the results of the referendum process.” Three options were considered: affirm the referendum results, nullify the results of fee questions where the vote outcome was decided within a small margin or nullify the results of the fall referendum altogether. To protect “the integrity of an election

where the Chief Electoral Officer did not hold AMS membership”, the Assembly passed a motion to nullify the results of the 2015 fall referendum, and allow the questions to be placed on the 2016 winter referendum. AMS executive members didn’t vote on the motion, according to the AMS. Chinniah said the decision was made in closed session due to potential legal concerns. “Throughout the course of notifying the fee groups, we were notified by a group which had participated in the fall referendum process was By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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considering legal action against the AMS,” Chinniah stated. “Therefore… we delayed the publication of the announcement in order to seek legal advice as to the authority of the Assembly to make this decision.” Jon Wiseman, commissioner of internal affairs, notified clubs of the decision. Those who could not be informed by phone were sent an email, and all parties were asked to keep the information confidential, Chinniah said. Kelley — the QBACC co-chair who learned about the decision through a

phone call from Wiseman — said she’s disappointed with the lack of transparency in the decision process. “In a closed session, there is no record of what conversation took place, and that leaves a lot of speculation obviously that can be made about what happened,” she said. “They would have been the primary source of information for the entirety of the discussion, with no external bodies present to provide a varying perspective to encourage a discussion.”


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EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

Journal Roundtable: Paris Attacks WE ARE WHAT WE READ: THE BEIRUT RESPONSE

Anastasiya Boika The disparity between discussion on the Beirut and Paris attacks in the media tells the world that Arab lives matter less. On Nov. 13, the world watched in horror as information on the attacks in Paris poured in from numerous media outlets. Within hours, Facebook activated its ‘Safety Check’ feature, allowing those in Paris to let loved ones know they were safe, and provided people with the option to superimpose the French flag on their profile pictures in support, which many did. However, while Paris was receiving outpourings of solidarity, the world seemed to have forgotten a similar spate of suicide bombings had taken place in Beirut less than a day prior, claiming 43 lives and leaving hundreds injured. As hashtags like #prayforparis and images of the Eiffel Tower peace sign took over Facebook and Twitter, support for Beirut was glaringly missing. Beirut’s numerous victims, one of whom, Adel Tormos, sacrificed his life tackling a suicide bomber to save hundreds of others, seemed to warrant few mentions. It was only days later that the discussion on social media began to question why Beirut was being ignored, with the blame squarely placed on a lack of coverage. However, the discrepancy in support for the victims of Beirut also falls on the readership. The last time a bombing in Beirut resulted in so many casualties was from a car explosion in 1985.

While numerous articles appeared on the Beirut attacks, people wrongfully assumed violence of such magnitude is ever-present in Lebanon, which caused stories on France to immediately get pushed to the forefront. By focusing solely on Paris, and coming back to Beirut only once the dust had settled, readers are continuing to promote an imbalance by showing the world that we attribute more value to Western lives than those in the Middle East. Until we make a concerted effort to encourage news outlets and social media users to bridge the gap that’s continuing to widen between the Western world and the Middle East, I fear that the situation will only grow worse. Anastasiya is one of The Journal’s Copy Editors. She’s doing her PhD in environmental history.

ANTI-ISLAM ONLY LEADS TO MORE VIOLENCE

Ramna Safeer In light of the recent horrific terrorist attacks on French soil, global sympathy for Paris hasn’t been the only response. Some have chosen to violently fight extremism with hatred against Muslims — isolating hundreds at a time when grieving should be a collective effort. After the tragic Paris attacks that shook the world last Friday, I received a Facebook message by a girl I hadn’t spoken to in years. “You’re Muslim,” it read. “Explain to me what Islam means. I don’t get why people would kill innocent people in the name of Islam.”

GRAPHIC BY ASHLEY QUAN

Suddenly, it felt like any ground the Muslim IT’S CANADIAN TO ACCEPT REFUGEES community gained with Canada’s Liberal victory, based on promises Meanwhile, many U.S. to backtrack on anti-Islamic governors have announced that rhetoric, had been lost. On Friday, my family was glued their state will not be accepting any to the television screen, hoping the Syrian refugees. There’s no reason to fear number of civilian deaths would militants hiding within the ranks stop rising. Like the rest of the of refugees. It’s actually easier to Kendra Pierroz access Canada as a short-term international visitor or business minimize the possibility of letting In light of the attacks in Paris, the person than a heavily-assessed and in radicals. only correct and responsible interviewed refugee. It may be difficult to accept decision for Canada as a Any extremists wanting to cause refugees into Canada, and many peacekeeping nation is to continue destruction on Canadian soil are would argue that it will pose a strain its plan to provide refuge for 25,000 probably already here. on our resources. But Canada has Syrians from Jordan, Lebanon Those worried about the a necessary obligation to provide and Turkey. potential risk of radicals hiding foreign aid to those who need it. Among others, Saskatchewan within the refugees should Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Premier Brad Wall asked Prime be comforted by the security says it best: “Our focus must be Minister Justin Trudeau to delay measures of the Canadian Council on stopping the people responsible his Syrian refugee plan, saying the for Refugees. for the terror, and continuing government’s strict adherence to The identities, health, religious to fight hate by embracing deadlines and quotas “may affect affiliations and intentions of Canadian values.” the safety of our citizens and the refugees coming to Canada are Mistrust and acts of hatred are security of our country.” known by officials, which helps not Canadian behaviour.

world, my Muslim family prayed for Paris. But not long after — less than 48 hours later, in fact — a different kind of news started trickling in and the fear started to settle. A video on CityNews showed a young, bearded Muslim teen responding to a yard sign in his neighborhood that urged all Muslims to apologize for the Paris attacks. A man attempted to push a Muslim woman onto the train tracks of the London Underground. The only mosque in Peterborough — which also happens to be the riding of newly elected MP and sole Muslim cabinet member Maryam Monsef — was set on fire Saturday night. A Muslim woman in Toronto was picking her son from school when she was approached by two men who called her a “terrorist” and told her to “go back to her country”. The men proceeded to tear off her hijab, rob her and punch her. The list goes on. Somewhere in the larger framework of our society, Muslims are being blamed for the actions of a few, and many times are consequently insulted, if not violently attacked. But people seem to forget that the largest percentage of ISIS victims thus far has been in Muslim countries. The Paris attacks deserve the attention they received. They were brutal attacks by people who don’t understand religion or morality, but are perpetrators of senseless violence. The lives lost in Paris deserve to be mourned and remembered, worldwide. What scares me is what didn’t garner the world’s sympathy — the increasing numbers of attacks on Muslims across the world and here at home. In the same breath of mourning the Paris attacks, many politicians and members of society have, instead of combatting hate, become hateful themselves. And as the rising tide of assaults against Muslims has shown, this can only lead to more violence. Ramna is The Journal’s Arts Editor. She’s a second-year English major.

To me, Canadians don’t act out in hate, but welcome those taking refuge and help support newcomers once safe on our soil. We set an international example for others to follow. Fearing the unknown is natural, but even cautiously opening our doors to fellow humans in need is imperative in times of crisis if we’re to continue to uphold our Canadian values. Kendra is one of The Journal’s Photo Editors. She’s a fourth-year ArtSci student.

THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL Volume 143 Issue 14 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

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Want to contribute? For information visit: www.queensjournal.ca/contribute Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions. The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston. Editorial opinions expressed in The Journal are the sole responsibility of The Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers. 190 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3P4 Editorial Office: 613-533-2800 Business Office: 613-533-6711 Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Please address complaints and grievances to the Editors in Chief. The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Contents © 2015 by The Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of The Journal. Circulation 4,000


Editorials

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EDUCATION

Political correctness is a two-way street Fear of saying the wrong thing shouldn’t stop us from saying anything at all. The Toronto Harris Institute recently took a stand against political correctness by threatening probation or dismissal of any student, staff or faculty member found to have “shouted down an opposing view”. Meanwhile, an editorial in the National Post sporting the headline “I’m too privileged to be a liberal” argued that the author’s fellow university students too often “seek to silence oppositional voices rather than come to a resolution with them.” The debate over political correctness arises from a recognition that there are some things you simply can’t say. As a society, we acknowledge that there are harmful attitudes that have no place in discourse and shouldn’t

ACADEMICS

Student feedback leads to dreamier courses The Principal’s Dream Courses program gets full marks for initiative, but might fall short on application. Through the program, the

be expressed. And sometimes people cite political correctness as oppressing them, when in reality they just want to say distasteful things. But silence can aid oppression. And when political correctness evolves into vindictive protectionism it can become itself a form of undue censorship. Political correctness stems from a realization that we, as a society, condemn certain points of view as bigoted, prejudiced or racist. But it’s a highly nebulous term and in some cases, is used to censure not only attitudes that are discriminatory, but any opinions that someone might find disagreeable. This is especially problematic for students, since classroom discussions often revolve around highly sensitive topics. Conversations in classrooms thrive on argument and critical opinions. In an academic world that’s widening its concept of diversity, our viewpoints become increasingly diverse as well. If we’re really going to have an open discussion about difficult topics, people will inevitably disagree, because we don’t all come from the same backgrounds, have

the same worldviews or experience the same amount of privilege. The parameters we set on a conversation should be in an effort to understand each other, not end the argument before its even begun. For example, trigger warnings in classrooms are an effort to prepare students and professors to bring up difficult topics — not to stop discussions from happening at all. In personal conversations, those parameters depend on you and what you’re willing to discuss. But in an educational setting, limitations are established with the intent to create a space where someone is free to say what they think without fear of personal attack. This doesn’t mean a free-for-all where you can be racist, sexist, homophobic or any other discriminatory attitude. But it does mean a space where you might be disagreed with or corrected. Along with the ability to speak your mind comes the responsibility to listen when others do the same. What is or isn’t politically correct is changing all the time, so it’s not enough to say “you can’t say that,” or the equally unreceptive, “you can’t say that I can’t say that.”

Instead of quibbling over the abstract concept of political correctness, we should be concerned with our seeming inability to agree on what is and isn’t okay to say.

And maybe to find that line it’s, necessary to cross it sometimes.

Principal’s Office will provide up to $13,000 to fund a maximum of three proposals to redesign courses. These courses must incorporate creative and innovative teaching methods, as well as focus on at least one of three themes: sustainability indigenous identities and Queen’s 175th anniversary. Experimental courses can be great. Handing the reins to a group

of smart and creative professors can lead to cutting edge programs and courses. By granting freedom to talented teaching staff, this initiative also has the potential to expand the range of teaching techniques to include multiple learning styles and outcomes. But we must plead caution. Experimental courses always sound good in theory, but

sometimes fail to live up to their potential for students’ learning experience. New courses must be considered on the basis of their realistic merit to students, not just for how they provide an opportunity to use the word “innovative” in a press release or to promote the university’s history. Redesigned courses will only be effective if they incorporate

student feedback throughout the process, and look critically at how the use of different technologies impact student learning styles. All courses at Queen’s require an effective and accountable process for student feedback to be heard. This is especially true for courses that experiment with students’ education.

ILLUSTRATION BY KIA KORTELAINEN

— Journal Editorial Board

— Journal Editorial Board

Until Dec. 2, you can drop off non-perishables at the Journal office at 190 University Ave. All proceeds will go to the AMS Food Bank, a non-profit campus organization that provides food to members of the Queen’s community in need.

Please bring non-perishables and hygiene items only.

To read more about the Food Bank, visit: amsfoodbank.com

Drop-off hours: Monday -- 2:30 to 5:00 PM Tuesday -- 2:00 to 7:00 PM Wednesday -- 1:30 to 5:00 PM Thursday -- 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM


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Friday, November 20, 2015

OPINIONS

Your Perspective

Talking heads ... around campus

PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS

What would your dream course be?

ABORGINAL-SETTLER RELATIONS

Two sides of allyship Kathleen Houlahan Chayer, ArtSci ’16 From promises of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women, to the Truth and Reconciliation report, Indigenous people have been in the news a lot lately. It’s one of those things where the more you pay attention, the more you realize how much work needs to be done. As settler Canadians, we have a responsibility to pay attention, but how exactly you go about being an ally to Indigenous people can be tricky to determine. I’m non-Indigenous, also known as a settler, who comes from almost 400 years of colonial legacy. I go to school here at Queen’s just like many of you, on the traditional territory of both the Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee people. I’m trying to learn to be a good guest on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations, but I often struggle with how to be an ally. A common first experience when you start to really examine Canada’s colonial past is guilt. Huge, tremendous guilt. My French-Canadian background means that my ancestors systematically oppressed Indigenous people in Canada. Even if that isn’t something I’ve done personally, I benefit from it, while Indigenous people continue to face marginalization. But wallowing in that guilt isn’t especially helpful to anyone. Acknowledging our history is certainly important, but it requires action. The first thing we need to do is more listening. Listen. Show up to events where Indigenous people are discussing their experiences. Read the news. Learn about the Indigenous people who live where you do. Ask questions if you don’t understand something — but do so politely, and understand that no one owes you their time to explain. Also be aware of how much space you take up, in both physical space if you’re at an Indigenous event or in conversation. Make sure you aren’t unknowingly dominating the dicussion. It’s very easy to fall into

“checklist syndrome” — thinking that by simply including a few tokenisms in our lives, we can call ourselves allies to Indigenous people: Write an article in The Journal about allyship starting with a land acknowledgement, include Indigenous people in your discussion, and end with the Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee words for thank you and BOOM you think you’ve reached allyship. But true allyship is striving for decolonization — questioning and breaking down normative and formal power structures — which needs to permeate your life. It can’t be reduced to a list. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Henry Lickers from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne speak about reconciliation. He explained how the Haudenosaunee language is largely verb based. His example was treaties using the word “peace”. In English, we tend to think of peace as a passive state, but the Haudenosaunee understanding of peace isn’t as an outcome, but as an action — you practice peace daily. The same concept should be applied to allyship. You aren’t an ally, you’re constantly striving to be an ally. Miigwetch. Niá:wen. Kathleen Houlahan Chayer is a fourth-year Environmental Science major. If you’re hoping to work on your listening skills and allyship in practice, Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre is holding a teach-in this Monday, Nov. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Robert Sutherland Room (in the JDUC) on the subject of Solidarity and Alliance with Indigenous Peoples as a part of an event called Building Good Relations.

Gillian Pegg, Phe ’16

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS

Houlahan Chayer (left) and Combs (right) share a Métis sash.

Allyship more than a checklist

“Rugby 101.”

More to Aboriginal peoples than you think Leah Combs, ArtSci ’16 Allyship has the potential to be a very important and useful tool in the struggle against colonialism. However, modern allyship has a tendency to become flawed. Aboriginal peoples across this land have been grateful for support and understanding from our settler friends and allies. Overcoming the discomfort of having privilege while standing in solidarity is difficult, and many of us appreciate the will to remain an active ally despite this. However, I’ve found that many who hope to act as allies have the false impression that Aboriginal people are a single, monolithic entity. The most important component to being an effective ally is an awareness that Aboriginal peoples are diverse and have diverse histories, cultures and needs. Settlers have occupied these vast “Canadian” lands for more than 400 years. The nature of relationships between settler groups and the Indigenous have varied over time and between geographic regions, and thus the Indigenous experience has been and continues to be inconsistent. We’ve seen the intermixing of settlers and Indigenous peoples, immigrants and Indigenous peoples and historically separated Indigenous groups. Modern Aboriginal peoples have no catch-all physical traits and it’s counterproductive for settlers to assume this is the case. Aboriginal people can’t be defined by copper skin or dark features; we’re as diverse as settlers are. It’s important for allies to understand this, so that our histories aren’t taken from us just because we don’t fit a predetermined notion of what we should look like. Some of us live on reserves, some of us live in the city.

Some of us have been raised to understand our ancestors’ ways and, for many reasons, some of us have no understanding beyond modern stereotypes. Classifying Aboriginal people as a monolithic group takes away our stories, our struggles and our intentions. If allyship is to be effective, it will have to consider the diverse struggles and even privileges that varying Aboriginal individuals and groups have. It’s important to understand that in many cases, this is something to work toward and isn’t necessarily possible to ever fully comprehend. There’s no one way to be an ally, and even understanding Aboriginal peoples are diverse doesn’t earn anyone a gold star in allyship. If we truly understand that Aboriginal peoples are diverse, we must be aware that some Aboriginal persons don’t wish to share allyship with settlers — and this must be respected. Appreciate that because of the diverse nature of Aboriginal peoples there’s no one way to achieve perfect allyship. However, it’s still important to make the effort. In a country defined by historic and contemporary colonialism, truly listening to the words of our Aboriginal friends and neighbours and supporting them in their pursuits is key to dismantling Indigenous oppression. With modern climate and social pressures, remaining allies to Aboriginal peoples and moving toward a more sustainable and equitable world requires all of our best efforts. Leah Combs is a fourth-year Environmental Science major with vibrant Métis heritage, hailing from Kamloops, British Columbia

“Indigenous” is used here to define individuals living with a symbiotic relationship to land and natural environments, and often describes historical Peoples. “Aboriginal” is used in reference to the descendants of the first inhabitants of “Canada”, contemporarily defined as Inuit, Métis, and First Nations groups.

“Food Testing 227.” Conor Redmond, ArtSci ’18

“Netflix 305.” Jordyn Stem, ArtSci ’16

“Naptime 101.” David Armesse, ArtSci ’18 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Re: In her shoes Dear Journal editing staff, While I appreciate the inclusion of stories about the experiences of sexual harassment on and around campus, I was disappointed with this article by Josh Malm. It is worth examining why we privilege the voices of men who experience incidents of this while in Halloween drag over the voices of those subjected to countless daily experiences of sexual harassment. Malm mentions he had heard his peers had been subjected to this, but it didn’t sink in until he had been through (a diluted) version of such himself. What will it take to engage in the necessary empathy required to simply believe and give attention those less privileged voices when they speak about this? Katrina Brown BAH ’09, B.Ed ’15, M.Ed ’17


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ARTS PHOTO BY KENDRA PIERROZ

Actors Keli Jay (left) and Sydney Kowal at a dress rehearsal for Queen’s Students on Broadway’s fall show Sex, Drugs, and a Proper Education.

THEATRE

Fall show falls short

Queen’s Students on Broadway’s show had its moments, yet ultimately disappointed N ina R icciarelli Contributor Cliché, awkward and stagnant would have been a more fitting title for Queen’s Students on Broadway’s fall show Sex, Drugs, and a Proper Education. The show, written and directed by Scott Forster, ArtSci ’16, tells the story of five students moving into a university residence for their first year, and the social dynamics that emerge. The cast of characters include Don, the residence don, a fourth year English major who feels sad about dwindling time at university; Beth, a student struggling with manic depression; Emma, a highly sexual “mean girl” who struggles with rejection; Meredith, a high-strung student who’s

suppressed by her mother’s high expectations of her; Logan, a laid-back stoner; and Andrew, the closeted engineering student and rugby player. The show attempts to deal with hard-hitting topics such as academic stress, pressures to succeed, marijuana usage, drinking, sex, mental health and sexual orientation. For example, Emma and Andrew deal with unrequited love, while Meredith tries to balance being the good student with her wish to have friends and enjoy her life. Beth handles mental illness while juggling academics and a social life, while Logan mostly smokes pot and tries to convince Andrew, his roommate, to come out of the closet.

While these are valid and noble topics for a musical revue, the show lacked depth and often glossed over significant social issues with cliché lines and awkward jokes. The show opens with an unmemorable rendition of Rent’s “Seasons of Love”. It then moves onto “Home” from Beauty and the Beast. Both numbers fell short in vocal strength, and sounded as if the performers had difficulty staying within the key of the song and supporting their vocals. Even with body microphones, it was hard to hear their breathy voices over the sound of the live band. This quality persisted in almost every musical number in the show. It was even more frustrating when the characters burst into songs that weren’t effectively

DOCUMENTARY

Agnes focuses on portraits Gallery screens Patron Saint as part of ArtDocs initiative M adeleine L e Contributor Selfies, grad portraits, insta-snaps — it seems that portraits are everywhere, and the Agnes Centre is capitalizing on this rising interest in portraiture and its role in the art world. The Agnes Etherington Art Centre has captured this interest in portraits through their film screening of Patron Saint, as part of their ArtDocs series. This ArtDocs screening was tied into the Agnes’ current exhibition The First Five: Portraits from The Kingston Prize and the upcoming exhibition Singular Figures: Portraits and

Character Studies in Northern Baroque Painting. The Agnes hosted a screening of Patron Saint, a documentary about the prolific portraiture collection of art collector and artist Janusz Dukszta, to accompany The First Five exhibition. The film, directed by Michael Kainer, explores the development of Dukszta’s obsession with portraiture, his relationship with burgeoning young artists and his contribution as a generous benefactor of the arts. Kainer’s film presents a view of Dukszta’s life from his days in Poland to his early interest in portraiture. The film also examines

introduced by the script. Songs like “Ring of Keys” were randomly placed throughout the production, and the script often introduced them in a way that made them seem out of place. Romantic numbers — such as “Falling Slowly” and “The Word of Your Body” — the latter of which is about sex — proved awkward and lacked in chemistry. “The Word of Your Body”, in particular, made for five uncomfortable minutes of watching two actors perform choreography that didn’t match the sexual nature of the song. Some moments of the show, however, proved surprisingly good. The acapella arrangement of The Rembrandts song “I’ll be There for You”— the infamous title song of Friends — was beautiful and easily the highlight of the show. Keli Jay, who played Beth, gave by far the strongest vocal performance. In the larger picture, however, moments of true connection with the audience were outnumbered by moments that felt forced

and misplaced. The show’s characters were living versions of stereotypes, with no other qualities to distinguish them as three-dimensional individuals that the audience should care about. Most of the cast was lit in coloured washes that made them look like they were stuck in a Technicolor monotone, if they were lit at all. Inconsistent lighting was one of the most frustrating aspects of the show — actors on one side of the stage were often in the dark, while others were lit by the intense stage lights to the point it felt like looking at the midday sun. Although Sex, Drugs, and a Proper Education is a welcome change from the concert shows Queen’s Students on Broadway produced in the past, it lacked the vocal stamina and heart of the club’s 2014-15 season. Overall, Sex, Drugs, and a Proper Education was mostly frustrating for the viewer, and the pockets of good performance weren’t enough to salvage the awkwardness of the entire production.

the relationships between Dukszta and the artists who worked with individual interviews. Dukszta’s role as a patron of art and these relationships were represented in an exhibition of Dukszta’s extensive portraiture collection at the University of Toronto Art Centre, titled Portrait of a Patron. The Agnes’ ArtDocs series of documentary screenings takes place Thursday evenings throughout the year and was developed in 2006 along with the Agnes’ Thursday late nights. The Agnes’ public programs manager, Patricia Sullivan, hopes to reach a wide audience through these Marcia Perkins’ self-portrait, one of the paintings in See Controversies on page 11

the exhibition The First Five.

SUPPLIED BY THE AGNES


Arts

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Friday, November 20, 2015

GALLERY

A showcase of female artistry Kingston’s female artists take over the Tett Centre E lissa B ozhkov Contributor Kingston’s all-female artist organization is showcasing their biggest exhibition yet at the Tett Centre. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 25, the Organization of Kingston Women’s Artists (OKWA) will be presenting an open exhibition at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning to share their artwork with community members and art lovers. OKWA, a non-profit group comprised of 57 female professional artists, provides a network for female artists in the Kingston community to exchange ideas. Artwork is accepted by juried application only. The large, open space of the gallery allows OKWA to showcase a variety of different art mediums, ranging from acrylic and oil on canvas to sculptures and photography. “We support each other in art-making — it’s a regular forum

for artists to be able to share their work,” OKWA member Mary O’Brien said. In her acrylic and collage on canvas piece “Gibara Bound”, O’Brien mixes photography with painting and blurs the line between them. “I’m currently working with mixed media on canvas, more specifically photography inspired by the places I’ve traveled to. On a past trip to Cuba I noticed a wall of a train station as I was passing by — it was something that no one gave a second thought, yet I saw the life in the dead, skeleton building,” O’Brien said. “I’m inspired by ordinary things that have a modest beauty to them.” The artist looks to unexpected places for inspiration and highlights the importance of appreciating beauty within everyday life. JT Winik, another member of OKWA, delves into the raw emotion surrounding the political conflicts in the Middle East. In her

Artwork from the OKWA art exhibition at the Tett Centre.

piece “Orphan”, she examines the ugly tragedy of war. “As I often use children metaphorically in my work, “Orphan” burgeoned as an emotional response, representing the death of innocence,” Winik stated in an email to The Journal. Winik also stated that her involvement in OKWA has made her feel connected to her home. “I’ve spent a lot of time working in Europe, mostly Amsterdam and also around Guadalajara, Mexico. Being away for lengthy periods over many years, I was eventually feeling disconnected here,” Winik said. “Working in a foreign country

is inspiring for many reasons, but working at home is too.” Since its conception 26 years ago, OKWA continually has provided a sense of community and a forum for support for local female artists, something that some artists felt had been missing amongst previous communities of women artists in Kingston. Winik says OKWA has made her feel much more integrated into the artist community. “As an organization of women artists from this area, we are committed to mutual encouragement and challenges,” she said. Artist Michéle LaRose takes

PHOTO BY ANNA MARIA LI

a more abstract approach in her piece “Marsden Meets Julie”, an oil painting on canvas. “My intention is always to create works with lots of energy and points of contact that can allow viewers to see or imagine many different things and allow for a sustained and repeated engagement with my work,” LaRose said. O’Brien says OKWA plans to return to the Tett next year and run workshops with the exhibition, so visitors can learn to make their own art. “We just want to get people involved in creating,” O’Brien said.

STUDENT ARTIST PROFILE

Slam poet hopes to write “great Canadian novel” Olivia Dumas considers each of her poems a labour of love I sabella K resin Contributor

The colourful student poet Olivia Dumas.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS

With words as vibrant as her red hair, student poet Olivia Dumas, ArtSci ’18, has had a lifelong devotion to verse. The second-year student says she’s passionate about Gender Studies, feminism and petting stray cats. But it’s poetry that has offered her the most possibilities for self-expression. Growing up, the deepest-rooted abstractions of her mind could be found scrawled on the back of concert tickets and postcards. Dumas said Queen’s Poetry Slam has been supportive of her quest for performance. “There is a sense of solidarity no matter what background you’re coming from, no matter what you’re sharing. Whether it be a really intimate portrayal of a relationship gone wrong or some rant about how your bisexuality isn’t taken seriously,” she said. “No matter what you’re talking about there’s this sense that people in the room are going to get something you’re putting out.” It’s an uplifting environment that welcomes the controversial and unusual, she said. For her, Queen’s has encouraged empathy and vulnerability, allowing her emotional contemplations and reverie to come to life. The Journal sat down with Dumas and spoke about her poems, her identity as a poet and the art of performance poetry.

Why is poetry your choice of art? Dumas: Because I’ve always been a bit of an exhibitionist. I’ve always been pretty confessional and open about my feelings, and poetry acts as a mode for that to operate. It’s how I can convey my vulnerabilities and my thoughts and my feelings and experiences in a way that can resonate with other people … Poetry, because it offers such an eclectic way to convey what you’re thinking and what you’re feeling in a way that nothing else does. How does performing your poetry make you feel? Dumas: The slam poetry community at Queen’s is incredibly open and allows you to fuck up and say things that are controversial, or just things that … things that you can really only tell your psychiatrist. My psychiatrist is on vacation and that’s why I’m a poet. It’s adrenaline. I always like seeing how my performance is different from what I imagined when I was writing the piece. Every piece has some sort of inspiration, or multiple inspirations. And I like to see what happens when I perform that and the kinds of reactions I get from the audience. Slam poetry is especially interesting for that, because as you’re saying the words, as you’re delivering the lines you’ve thought about so meticulously, you get a response. Whether that’s See Student on page 11


Arts

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PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIK

The five paintings in the exhibition The First Five, the winners of the Kingston Prize.

Controversies of a renowned art collector Continued from page 9

film screenings. “By being open late on Thursday evenings, we hope to reach working adults who can’t visit the Agnes during the day and have little time on weekends,” she said. “I think ArtDocs reaches a wide audience — those interested in art, those interested in film, students, members of the Kingston community.” Sullivan is responsible for carefully choosing a topical film for each screening. “I start with our exhibition line-up, studying the content of the art and thinking of related themes. “Then I research new documentaries, by consulting the websites of distributors like Mongrel Media, or checking out the programs at important events like Canadian Art’s Reel Artists Film Festival, held each winter in Toronto,” Sullivan said. “I also read reviews of documentaries. I try to align the films with our current exhibitions,

or with an aspect of our broad collection.” Patron Saint, for instance, was chosen for its connection to The First Five, an exhibition in the Atrium of the Agnes until December that highlights the first five winners of the Kingston Prize, a biennial Canada wide portrait competition that began in 2005. Kainer, the film’s director and former Toronto lawyer, met Dukszta through his work in the Parkdale neighborhood of Toronto. At the time, Dukszta was both a well-known psychiatrist in Parkdale and an elected NDP Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Parkdale riding. Dukszta began his portrait collection in 1953 with a simple profile sketch, and went on to commission over 90 portraits from a variety of mainly young, non-established artists. The sheer size of Dukszta’s collection and his hands-off approach resulted in a collection that goes beyond his life, and becomes a small representation of the history of contemporary

portraiture through the variety of styles, artists and themes in the collection. Some of Dukszta’s commissions have invited criticism, however. The collector has been criticized for commissioning both a piece that depicted him as the great artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpting the “Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” and a portrait depicting him as a viewer in a biblical scene, which some commentators found egotistical . Patron Saint explores depictions of Dukszta through a discussion with Phil Richards, a Toronto-based artist from whom Dukszta commissioned several of his most well-known portraits. Richards said Dukszta has been misrepresented as egotistical, as the portrait commissions weren’t only about representing the art collector. They are also a precedent for discussion with interesting individuals, he said, and the portraiture collection is a way for Dukszta to maintain an engaging presence and involvement in art. In addition to the relationships

Student poet currently writing a fake memoir Continued from page 10

laughter, whether that’s, you know, gratuitous snapping — it’s very validating. Where do you hope poetry takes you in the future? Dumas: I hope to expand my poetry. I make zines. And I’m in the process of publishing a couple of my zines and a couple of my pieces. Right now, I feel like my poetry is very unofficial and a very personal thing. I’m trying to translate that into actual work. I’m reluctant to call my poetry “work”; you know “my work focuses on trauma, identity, all of these things.” I’m reluctant to call it that, but it is in a way. It’s a labour of love. Who inspires you? Dumas: There’s this English poet, Warsan Shire. She produces some incredible, visceral work about identity and loss and love, she conveys it in a way that’s so new and so refreshing. She is a

major inspiration. Warsan Shire.

Definitely

What do you hope for yourself in the future? What are you striving towards? Dumas: I am striving towards becoming better. Expanding my interests. Expanding what I’m doing. I would like to get into journalism after school, which is a little different than poetry. Maybe start a punk band. Maybe move to Dawson City, Yukon, we’ll see what happens. Right now, I’m really fixated on moving to the Canadian wilderness and publishing the great Canadian novel. I’ve also gotten really into this movement of fake memoirs. Because people get famous for writing about shit that didn’t happen to them. And that’s exactly what I’m into. I just started writing one and it starts off with me waking up in the back of a U-Haul in Manitoba. Never happened to me, gonna get famous for it!

established through his portrait commissions, Dukszta has established a reputation as a patron of art. Kainer insists throughout his documentary that Dukszta should be admired as a patron of art for his support of young, burgeoning artists. His prolific portraiture collection has maintained the importance of fine art in Canada and has kept portraiture relevant in a contemporary discussion of art, Kainer argues. Sullivan said these ArtDocs

screenings help engage a wide audience of students and working individuals through an entertaining medium. “I think ArtDocs is important because good documentaries offer illuminating perspectives,” she said. “A documentary can provide social and historical context that enriches our understanding of an artist, an art movement or an issue in the area of art and museums. Film is another medium for learning.”

One of the paintings in the exhibition in The First Five.


12 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 20, 2015

SPORTS

Glory in Guelph

Queen’s ekes out 24-23 win for fourth straight OUA men’s rugby title After being down 15-7 at half, Queen’s responded with a strong final 40 minutes in the win.

A dam L askaris Sports Editor With only a 24-23 lead against the Guelph Gryphons, the men’s rugby team gathered around their goalposts in the final moments of the OUA final, their season on the line. In the waning moments of the contest, the Gryphons registered a try, knocking down the Gaels’ lead to one point. If the Gryphons were successful in their conversion kick it would flip the script, putting the Gaels down 25-24. “It was pretty quiet in that huddle,” Queen’s flanker Alex Colborne said. After Guelph’s attempt missed wide right, the Gaels held on for the remaining moments to capture their fourth OUA title in a row. “You can only control so much of the game,” Colborne said. “You can prepare as much as you like, and the season comes down to that one play.” Colborne had nine points on the day for the Gaels. Kai Lloyd led the team in scoring with 10 points via two tries, while OUA MVP Lucas Rumball picked up a try of his own. Down 15-7 at halftime, Colborne praised his team’s attempts to control the game.

“We did a really good job of forcing and confidence in our athletes.” Though they came into the year with [Guelph] to make mistakes,” he said. “You give everything you can to the team and you three straight titles, a large portion of the just hope the other 23 guys around you are team was made up of first-time starters, making this year’s title a special one. doing the same.” “We lost a lot of vets last year and The Gaels finished the season with nine straight victories, after losing on the same needed to work hard to find the right athlete pitch by a 35-28 in their opening game of to fit the roles that would best help our the year. Despite intense preparation, the team grow.” Gilks added that the tight-knit nature of coaching staff knew it was up to the players the club helped them come out on top. to avenge their earlier loss and win the title. “The athletes really built a team “They told us the fate’s in our hands,” Colborne said. “They’re not the ones on attitude, and this was critical when facing endless pressure the pitch.” situations in the Head coach “You can prepare as much as final game.” “Our Gary Gilks said the initial defeat you like, and the season comes coaching staff was incredible all motivated the down to that one play.” year, constantly players to come being innovative back and change and intelligently the results this — Alex Colborne adapting to many time around. on the game’s ending hurdles on and off “Losing our the field,” he said. first regular “We started building the foundation season game to Guelph really helped set the tone for the rest of the season,” Gilks in August,” he said. “With each week said. “The journey to the playoffs would that passed we added another layer be a difficult one, and each week we took until we had the structure that we positive steps forward, building momentum were confident would perform well

With the win, the Gaels earned their 22nd men’s rugby title, a record among OUA teams.

PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY KARYN STEPIEN

under pressure.” Mixed in with all the drama, Gilks lauded his team again for their ability to stay calm under extreme physical pressure. “Not many people can understand the intense physicality of a rugby final,” he said. “Every one of them played through so much pain, exhausted physically, but never once backing down from the challenge to defend the title.” Despite multiple championships, Gilks hasn’t lost the joy of winning a title. “These are the years you remember the most because all of us grew together to create something special that will last a lifetime.” “It was a make-or-break year for us,” the third-year captain Rumball said. “We came in knowing every point counted, every play counted, every hit counted.” The past three titles were decided by nine, 11, and 30 points, but the single-point victory was a unique experience for the Gaels. “It was really hard fought,” Rumball said. “The last few years we had always been in control heading into the final moments, but this year, it went right down to the end. It was surreal.”


Sports

Friday, November 20, 2015

queensjournal.ca

• 13

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Rollercoaster season finishes on high note Gaels earn fifth place at CIS National Championships J oshua F inkelstein Staff Writer Women’s soccer fifth-place finish in the CIS National Championships marks the end of a highly successful, up-and-down season. With their first-place standing in the OUA Final Four the previous weekend, the Gaels were one of two Ontario teams to qualify for the eight-team Canada-wide playoff tournament. Queen’s met the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, the Quebec conference runners-up, for a rain-soaked first-round knockout game. Brittany Almeida opened the scoring for the Gaels in the 59th minute of the close contest, only to see Sherbrooke net an equalizer less than two minutes later. The game stayed tied throughout regulation and overtime, bringing the Gaels to what would be the first of three

shootouts they would contest throughout the tournament. Queen’s goalkeeper Madison Tyrell had a strong shootout once again, stopping two of the six shots she faced. However, unlike their victory in the OUA, the Gaels could only score three of their six kicks, and were handed their first loss in over seven weeks. The loss relegated the Gaels to the four-team consolation bracket, with fifth seed the highest possible prize for the victor. In the consolation semi-finals, Queen’s met the Calgary Dinos, who had been beaten by hosts UBC 1-0 the previous night. Neither team could manage a goal throughout regulation, so the Gaels were faced with their second shootout in as many days (overtime wasn’t played in the consolation bracket). Madison Tyrell once again

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made a key save for the team, while Tara Bartram, Laura Callender, Jessie de Boer and Kyra Steer found the back of the net in the 4-2 shootout victory. The Gaels next faced the Cape Breton Capers, with the consolation title of fifth place on the line. The Capers went ahead early, JOURNAL FILE PHOTO putting a goal past a disorganized The Gaels won the OUA title earlier this season. Queen’s back line after a rare moment of defensive frailty. The time, propelling them to the OUA parts of the field in our play, and game remained 1-0 until the 88th championships and the subsequent things just started meshing.” The Gaels carried an minute, when Jessie de Boer put CIS tournament. Along with Bradau, the team eight-game undefeated streak into a shot past the Capers keeper and had many new players, which made the playoffs after finding their top sent the game to a shootout. As had come to be expected, developing a connection important form following a tougher opening month. The momentum the team Tyrell made two saves, and all from the start of the season. “Our first few games in carried, Bradau mentioned, was four Queen’s shooters once again scored for another 4-2 shootout preseason were all about building a key factor in the success the victory and fifth place in the CIS chemistry with each other, and team had. “[We had] a couple really strong seeing where all of the different National Championships. First-year Lidia Bradau, who pieces fit in together on the field,” weeks before we started playoffs. scored in the shootout against Bradau said. “I think once we got [We realized] collectively as a team Cape Breton, the team grew over that together, we started connecting we have the ability to beat any team the season and peaked at the right way more passes and involving all when we’re on our game.”

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

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Both opponents taken to final set on away trip J oseph C attana Assistant Sports Editor

After going down to the wire in their final set on Friday, the women’s volleyball team pulled through on Saturday on the road. In their first match-up, the Gaels • Set Your Own Rates (3-4) headed down the 401 west to face the Windsor Lancers (2-3). • Set Your Schedule In a back and forth first two Now! sets, the Gaels were outdone by Set Your Own Rates Set YourApply Schedule the home Go to: MovingHelper.com Lancers, falling down Powered By 2-0 early. Powered by For head coach Michael Ling, the problem was internal. Apply Now! to: MovingHelper.com “It took us a while to get going Go to: MovingHelper.com in that match,” Ling said. “We were fighting ourselves a bit, but Powered By we showed some good resilience to fight.” From there, the Gaels’ outlook would change completely. Led by Shannon Neville’s 19 kills and 17 digs, the Gaels won the next two sets 25-22 and 25-20. Libero Becky Wilson was key to a strong defensive night, totaling 20 digs over the five games. In the fifth set, the Gaels would be in tough. Unfortunately, the momentum would shift against them, dropping the final set 15-13. Ling believes the Lancers game was a great teaching point for his team. “We got a lot of learning out of that battle,” Ling said. “We now know we need to start off a little bit better in each match we play.” The next night against Western (4-1), the Gaels had the opportunity to put that learning into action. Falling 2-0 early again, Ling knew his team would respond. “I knew it was only a matter of time before we push through in that match,” Ling said. “It

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was a good showing on offence. We didn’t make as many mistakes and good serving put Western in trouble.” Led by Shannon Neville for the second consecutive night, the Gaels found their footing, evening up the match-up at 2-2. Outside hitter Victoria Wensley racked up 16 kills and two aces, proving to be key to the Gaels 15-8 final set win. For Ling, things were night and day from the previous match. “It was a much better performance overall on Sunday.” Having pushed their record back to 3-4 from 0-3, Ling believes the Gaels’ first three games against Ryerson, Ottawa, and Toronto helped to shape the team’s character and allowed them to bounce back. “When you play the top three teams from last year to start the

season, it’s always a tough test,” Ling said. “But I wouldn’t have wanted to start it any other way. I don’t like the matches that are too easy, it gives a false sense of security. We need to be pushed to get better.” Looking forward to the weekend, the Gaels only have one game against Guelph. Currently, the Gryphons sit at 3-3 and fourth in the OUA West. Having a lone game will provide the Gaels with more time of preparation, but Ling knows his team will have a challenge ahead of them. “According to the records they are about the same as us, but I feel that they are a very skilled team,” Ling said. “They are going to be fighters, and we are going to have our hands full.”

The Gaels forced game five against both Nipissing and Laurentian, winning one of two matches.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS


Sports

14 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 20, 2015

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

High-intensity win Victory moves team into tie for first place A dam L askaris Sports Editor

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Amber Sealey (#9) registered one assist in the Gaels 5-1 thrashing of UOIT.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Defence key to victory

Gaels extend winning streak to three with road wins J oseph C attana Assistant Sports Editor Last weekend, men’s basketball continued their dominating play, taking down the Nipissing Lakers (0-4) and Laurentian Voyageurs (0-2) on the road. In their first match-up, the Gaels (3-0) travelled to Sudbury to face off against a struggling Laurentian squad. After some defensive miscues, the team was down 19-13. Led by fourth-year players Sukhpreet Singh and Ryall Stroud, the Gaels pushed back offensively, putting up 26 points in the second quarter alone to lead 39-36 at the half. “The first quarter was rough for us. We got off to a slow start defensively,” Singh said. However, an improved effort level pushed the Gaels to victory. “Guys started to want to play defence and that really made the difference.” In the third quarter, the Gaels extended their lead to 10. Fourth-year guard Patrick Street scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, proving a constant thorn in the Voyageurs’ side. Defence was vital in the second half, as the Gaels held Laurentian to 32 per cent from the field, and only 18 per cent from behind the three-point line. Despite their strong effort, five

second-half turnovers were the Gaels’ Achilles heel. Down the stretch, with the game tied at 68 with little time left, Singh was able to get into the lane and draw a foul, shooting two free throws to win the game. “[Laurentian has] die-hard fans that really get in your ear,” Singh said. “You want to be in a position to make those kinds of shots as a player. It’s pretty nerve racking, but you know you have got to hit a shot and not let your teammates down.” After hitting one of two, the Gaels would win 69-68 in the tough Laurentian environment. The next night, the team faced off against the Nipissing Lakers. Starting slow out of the gate again, going down 23-18, the Gaels knew they had to change their approach. “We really cracked down defensively after that first quarter,” Singh said. Strong physical play held the Lakers at only 30 per cent from the field the rest of the game. The Gaels were sparked offensively by fourth-year guard Mark Paclibar, who scored a game high of 16 points. His efforts were matched by second-year forward Tanner Graham, who scored 11 points in his 23 minutes of action. Through three games, it’s clear

the Gaels are gifted offensively. But to win games and be successful in the OUA, Singh knows that defence will be key. “We know we can score the ball, so it’s all about holding the other teams in check.” Starting 3-0 has the team confident at the moment, and Singh has been a key player in the team’s early season success. Through the team’s three games, he has 19 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assist and 2.3 steals. For Singh, confidence in himself has allowed him to get off to a red hot start. “I know I have the potential to score, rebound, and make guys on our team better [finding them for open shots]. If I’m not on the floor, I’m always there for the guys on the bench.” This weekend, the Gaels will be tested by two of the top teams in the country — the #8 McMaster Mauraders on Friday night, followed by the #4 Brock Badgers. Singh knows that while his team is not favoured to win, they will put up a fight. “We are just looking to get this upset,” Singh said. “We are going in as the underdogs, we have nothing to lose while they have everything to lose.”

After a weekend off, women’s hockey returned to victory. With a 5-1 road win over UOIT on Saturday. The success places the Gaels’ record at 7-1-1, tying them for first in the OUA standings. “It was probably our most complete 60 minutes of the year so far,” head coach Matt Holmberg said. “We’ve played some good games and came close, but right from the first puck drop to the last whistle we played with a slightly higher intensity, another level of passion and we were able to maintain that throughout the 60 minutes.” Katrina Manoukarakis scored a pair of goals to lead Queen’s, while Michele Knecht, Kyla Crouse and Nadia Larocca registered the other markers in the win. Queen’s scored the game’s first four goals, which Holmberg attributed to solid two-way play. “We’ve been strong defensively all year long,” he said. “That’s been great, and we don’t want to lose sight of that. But in the last couple of weeks, we’ve deliberately practiced more offensive plays, getting the puck to the net with more urgency, more purpose.” The season’s scheduling has been unusual to say the least, as the Gaels played this lone game in the stretch from Nov. 2 to 19. Holmberg said this break may have contributed to his team’s ability to

put in one of their strongest efforts of the season. “We hope that we’re in physical condition that we can play two games in a high tempo every weekend,” he said. “But knowing that it was our only game of the weekend, I’m sure it allowed us to empty the tanks.” At the OUA level, women’s hockey had a new system implemented this season that awards three points for a regulation victory and two for an overtime win, compared to the traditional two points for a win regardless of when it occurs. Holmberg says the new system has pushed his team to look to take over games earlier, rather than looking to force an extra period. “It puts a premium on winning in the first 60 minutes as opposed to hanging on for overtime,” Holmberg said. “So far, I’m a fan.” This weekend, Queen’s returns home for a pair of match-ups against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs. “If we can come out with six points we’ll be thrilled,” Holmberg said. “Windsor’s not having the season they’d like, but on paper they’ve got a fair amount of firepower.” Holmberg also didn’t downplay the stature of Western. “There’s a huge rivalry there. They’re the defending CIS champions. We’ll be looking to get pucks to the net and bury those chances when we get them.”

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Sukhpreet Singh has had a strong opening to the season, leading the team with 19 points per game.

PHOTO BY KENDRA PIERROZ


Sports

Friday, November 20, 2015

queensjournal.ca

• 15

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Northern success Gaels sweep Nipissing, Laurentian E ric G allo -M iscevich Staff Writer Women’s basketball went on a northern Ontario road trip this past weekend, winning both Friday and Saturday’s games against Laurentian and Nipissing. These wins set the Gaels off to a good start for the season, having a clean 3-0 record. While the Gaels defeated Laurentian 61-51 on Friday, the game wasn’t the same scale of victory as was the final outcome. About halfway through the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 47 — a score that surprised head coach Dave Wilson. “We are one of the top teams in the league and in the country,” Wilson said. “That tie in the fourth quarter, that was quite a let down for us. We would like to think that we had been able to create a better separation in that game.” The Gaels’ poor shooting on the night was a worry that Wilson was well aware of. “We’ve struggled just getting the ball to fall through,” he said. “When you’re not scoring, it does statistically provide a better opportunity for the opposition to score.” However, the Gaels bounced back, going on a 12-point run to win the game. A major factor for this turnaround was the Gaels’ ability to hit shots. On this run, the team shot 5 for 8 to close out

the game. “We’d like to have more of those runs,” Wilson added. On Saturday, the Gaels produced a landslide victory against Nipissing, winning 71-42. The game involved a steady performance from the Gaels’ bench, and was certainly helped by Nipissing’s 30 turnovers. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 17. However, with a 36-27 lead going into the half, the Gaels ran away with the win, with only 15 points against in the second half. “That’s where the majority of the turnovers came,” Wilson said. “We turned up the pressure in the second half considerably.” Building off of lessons from last week’s game, the Gaels are converting off of their turnovers much better. “We’re top three in the country in steals, but our conversion as a result of that has been lacking a little bit,” Wilson said. A main catalyst to this conversion was guard Emily Hazlett, who picked the ball clean, giving her the opportunity for multiple breakaway layups. The Gaels’ bench outscored Nipissings 31-3. Wilson was pleased with his backups’ performance, praising its depth. “It’s a long season and grinding, but ultimately any team in the league can put together a pretty good starting five,” he said. “Then

After this weekend’s games, the Gaels are 3-0, good for first in the OUA East.

it’s a question of what your second unit can do against their second unit, or a fresh second unit against their tired first unit.” Another important aspect of a deep bench is versatility in the roster. With different players, there’s availability to assign each player to a certain role, and this certainly came to play with Robyn Pearson’s 18 rebounds against Laurentian and 18 points and 12 rebounds against Nipissing. “That’s Robyn,” exclaimed

Wilson. “She prides herself on being one of the best rebounders in the league.” There are challenges when playing away from home, but at Laurentian these challenges take a turn for the bizarre, as some Voyageur fans smash kitchen pots together behind the opposing teams’ bench. “We have expected the pot-bangers to be on site,” Wilson said. “There have been times when we need to take timeouts at

PHOTO BY EMIMA SEWELL

centre court, just to get away from the noise.” To prepare for dealing with the pot-bangers, coach Wilson devised strategies to help his players avoid getting distracted by the rowdy fans. Luckily for the Gaels, the pot-bangers didn’t show up. This weekend, the Gaels host the McMaster Marauders (3-2) on Friday and the Brock Badgers (1-1) on Saturday, in the first match-ups of the year against these two teams.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Confidence sky-high Fifth-straight win pushes Gaels to second in the OUA C ameron N ewell Contributor

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Men’s volleyball continued their winning ways this past weekend, taking down both the Windsor Lancers (1-5) and Western Mustangs (4-2) in a convincing fashion. The Gaels (6-1) were riding a three-game wining streak into the weekend, and extended it two more games, pulling them within two points of the McMaster Marauders for first place in the OUA. Queen’s first match of the weekend came against a weaker Windsor team who had lost their first four matches of the season. The Gaels added to the losing streak, taking down the Lancers in four sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 25-21. One standout from the game was rookie Zac Hutcheson, who tied Matt Golas to lead the Gaels with 13 kills each. This was Hutcheson’s first action of the season as a Gael, and he was happy to get the first game under his belt. “My first experience as a Gael was great,” he said. “It felt good to go out and just play like I know I can and contribute to the team.” While Queen’s won the first two sets by identical scores of 25-21, they weren’t able to put away the Lancers in the third set, falling 25-27 before taking the final set and the match. Hutcheson says

when facing weaker teams, it all comes down to focus. “In that game it was a mixture of us losing some focus, not executing and not being able to limit our errors in the third set,” he said. “We came out strong in the fourth with the focus and execution we needed to finish the game off.” The Gaels’ second match of the weekend was against a stronger opponent in the Western Mustangs (4-2), but just as Windsor did, Western fell to the Gaels in straight sets, 25-19, 26-24, 25-18. The match was closely contested throughout, but Queen’s was able to push strong to the finish and the Mustangs weren’t able to keep up. In the first set, the Gaels and Mustangs went back and forth, trading points with no team having a lead of more than three points until Queen’s was able to pull away late and take the set 25-19. The second set was equally well contested, with Queen’s picking up the two-point victory following a Chris Brunet kill and Western attacking error. The Mustangs took their foot off the gas in the third set and the Gaels made them pay for it, finishing the match with a service ace by Dylan Hunt to secure a convincing straight set victory. The Mustangs had no answer for Marko Dakic, who continued his strong season with a team-leading 16 kills. Dakic is now leading the OUA in kills per set as

well as hitting percentage, and is third in total kills. He said the team was feeling good coming out of the weekend. “It was a really good weekend for us. We played as a cohesive unit and our level of execution was really high,” he said. “I think everyone was really happy to have performed so well in consideration of the long road trip we had.” The Gaels are now on a fivegame winning streak, and have only dropped four sets over that stretch. Even more impressive is the Gaels’ 5-0 road record, by far the best in the OUA. Dakic credits this to the teams overall depth and adaptability. “Our team depth has helped us sustain through injuries, and the guys do a great job of adapting to new roles and confronting pressure,” he said. “But to improve, we need to begin to go on more serving runs to extend our lead in each game,” he said. The Gaels will come home and play the remainder of their games this semester at the ARC, starting this Saturday, Nov. 21, against the Guelph Gryphons. Guelph (1-5) is sitting near the bottom of the OUA standings with a two-game losing streak. The Gaels will look to use this game as a tune up before a showdown with the No. 1 nationally ranked McMaster Marauders (7-0) on Nov. 27.


16 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 20, 2015

LIFESTYLE STUDENT LIFE

Living with boys a blessing in disguise A lex P alermo Contributor While it may be 2015, people still find it shocking to hear that young women are living with guys — platonically speaking. Granted, in my house there are also other girls (to balance out the testosterone), but the truth about living with boys is that it’s not as complicated as people make it out to be. I resent the popular opinion that a house full of girls is always full of drama, that when too many girls live together they form cliques, they’re mean and there’s always some sort of fight going on. Public Service Announcement: The amount of drama in your life depends mainly on you. There also seems to be an idea that a house full of boys is a filthy nightmare. Yet my house is a mess and there are at least three girls sleeping here on average. The reason I decided to live in a multi-sex household boils down to the fact that I love these people and we cohabitate peacefully. Our house consists of three science majors, one arts and one engineering physicist, all of whom I’ve known for at least six years. The main thing you need to know about my household is that we have four whoopee cushions, Living in a mixed-gender household can present some interesting dilemmas. an elaborate wall-mounted pizza to convince me that I don’t “need living with boys is essentially ranking system and no vacuum. Even though I can’t even eat a to be doing work right now.” They eavesdropping on them. Some of salad without being critiqued for function as a collective window these conversations shed light on my vegetarianism, this house is my into the male psyche. They can life’s greatest mysteries. One in home, and these people are my reach the pans on the top shelf. particular happens almost daily: best friends. Our most agreeable They barely use toilet paper. They The I’m-stuck-on-the-toilet-and-I feature is our sense of humour, also offer comic relief, usually -need-help conversation. “Clayton.” which seems to carry us through by accident or when you least “Yeah?” everything and provide us with all expect it. Radio Silence. Our house has very thin around good times. Somehow by telepathy, Clayton With that in mind, there are walls, which can be a blessing or many pros to living with guys from a curse, depending on how you just knows that Dan needs toilet a girl’s perspective. They never fail look at it. My favourite part about paper (“You need TP, don’t you?”)

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS

and brings it to him. Don’t ask me how the hand-off works, because our door opens right up onto the toilet. The reality of living in a house with four other people is that not every moment we share together is joyful. During our first week living together, there were a series of what can only be described as unfortunate events, such as the casual or not so casual walk-in.

My housemate Heather once walked in on Clayton in the bath. I’m not actually sure who screamed louder. Another time, I walked down into the communal kitchen with a giant gaping hole in the back of my pyjamas, which was kindly pointed out to me by Dan, who barely looked up from his bowl of cereal for the rest of the morning. Once, Julie left a full load of underwear in the dryer and found it awkwardly folded in a pile outside her bedroom door. We never discovered which one of the guys this was, and we’re not sure we want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’ll leave you with a story I originally planned to take to the grave, which perfectly sums up my living situation. It was around 3 a.m. and I got up to go to the bathroom. The door was open and the light was off, so I walked into the darkness. I pulled down my pants and attempted to sit on the toilet. Instead I sat on Graeme, who was asleep on the throne. What felt like the worst moment of my life actually turned into a great story — and if I weren’t a sucker for that, what would I even be doing in this house? Living with the opposite sex can be full of embarrassing moments like these. While I’d love to take my sweet time shaving in the bathroom without having a conversation about “why it takes girls so long to get ready”, I wouldn’t trade this experience or people for anything else. We take the bad with the good, and we’ve since learned to lock the door. It wouldn’t be this fun living in an all-girl house. I feel like I’m kept on my toes everyday. For that I am eternally grateful.

DINING

Campus food hacks for vegetarians V ishmayaa J eyamoorthy Copy Editor

(hello, freshman 15) and I was in desperate need of some vegetables. Eventually, I got sick of eating pasta Being vegetarian in first year means and ventured into new territory: resigning yourself to eating way the vegetarian station. too much stir-fry. My biggest problem with the I’ve been vegetarian for 11 years vegetarian station was that it was now, so I’ve gotten pretty good bland. Having grown up in a Sri at finding things to eat even in Lankan family where each meal the most meat-filled places. But had a vibrant flavour palate, I eating on campus was a whole new wasn’t satisfied with the boiled ball game. vegetables and noodles they had My first experience with the audacity to call stir-fry. Queen’s food was at Leonard Hall I did what every first-year in first year, where I fell in love student (vegetarian or otherwise) with the pasta station. The cream eventually does. I turned to sauce was consistently meat-free, meal equivalencies, where I ran which was exactly what I liked. into another problem: meal However, like many, I fell into equivalencies need to include the trap of eating pasta every day a protein.

I figured out how to use my meal equivalencies to pack in core items while still avoiding the meat options that I would end up throwing out. Starbucks Craving a latte, but don’t want to pay for it using Flex? At Starbucks, bagels and oatmeal count as core items; you don’t need to buy one of the breakfast sandwiches. You can also ask for dry oatmeal to store in your room for those mornings you don’t have time for breakfast. There are quite a few vegetarian-friendly food See Navigating on page 18 options on campus.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO


LIFESTYLE

Friday, November 20, 2015

queensjournal.ca

• 17

SUPPLIED BY KENDRA PIERROZ

Naughty photos can be fun and add spice to a relationship, as long as they’re sent in a safe and secure environment.

SURVEILLANCE

How to send nude photos safely K yle C urlew Contributor

However, many of these arguments are centered on underage teens. So let’s say that we’re all of age: what are some strategies that will make sexting safer?

well as the particular device, is all embedded into the image. Research methods to remove that metadata (it’s easier than you think) so you can add another layer of anonymity.

We live in a (cyber)world where just about everyone has a camera phone. This means a lot of fun Communicate consent Obscure personal features and games for couples, including sexting and sending explicit photos. However, with all of this new One important dimension is It’s important to consider not technology, there are also a ton consent. Trust and communication including your face in the photo, of hackers with a keen interest in is essential to safe sexting. Be sure as well as any identifying features, to consider that you may not be such as tattoos and other personal obtaining these photos. Only a Google search away with your partner forever. It’s effects. The goal here is to take or are thousands of stored and important to communicate how edit the photo in such a way that it leaked nudes of celebrities and the sexts will be stored and what can’t be traced back to you. Sociologist Danah Boyd calls everyday women. Furthermore, will happen to them if you split up. Internet media a “mediated public”, post-Snowden, it’s common which requires consideration of Delete metadata knowledge that state-sponsored particular characteristics before dragnet surveillance captures and profiles the intimate photos and Metadata can link your personal posting anything. Information information to your photos. This hangs around. It can be searched, pornography habits of all users. Sexting, the sending and means that your photo can be it can be copied and it can be receiving of sexually explicit tracked back to you. The date, seen by an unknowable amount messages or photos, is typically time and location of the photo, as of strangers. done on cell phones through many different applications. These include texting, Tinder, Facebook and Snapchat. Student counselling & coaching There has been a recent moral when you need it most-at night! panic over the ethics and privacy issues of sexting. Let’s wade Hey Queen’s Students, through some of the controversy. An article published in the Exams coming up and assignments due but… Washington Post raises some serious points about privacy risks: first, your nudie can be infinitely copied, and second, in most cases it can be traced back to your identity. This can have significant impact Procrastination, anxiety, perfectionism, poor on people’s lives, particularly concentration, etc. rear their ugly heads in the in their social groups and wee hours when you NEED to get work done. career opportunities. However, according to a study from Drexel University’s As an experienced student counsellor, I can help. Psychology Department, sexting is incredibly common, with almost Available 8 pm to 2 am daily except Wednesday. 88 per cent of respondents having Super reasonable rates. sexted at least once in their lives. The reality here is that people are doing it. So how do we For more info and appointments contact Barb at: approach this safely? skypebynightcounselling@gmail.com It’s easy to get caught up in the dizzying array of warnings about facebook.com/skypebynightcounselling the dangers of sexting and nudies.

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Sexting is a popular and fun way of sharing intimate moments. However, it’s important to protect yourself in the ambiguous expanses of cyberspace. It’s also of critical importance to consider

that whether or not you believe sending nudes is ethical, their use is increasing in our society. This means that we need to develop safe ways to practice sexting.


LIFESTYLE

18 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 20, 2015

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIJHUIS

FASHION

Sweater weather The come-back of the turtleneck

K ayla T homson Digital Manager Ever since “Hotline Bling”, many memes have come out of Drake’s fabulous dad-dancing moves. But let’s be real: the true star of that video is his turtleneck. After their first appearance on several fall and winter runways, fashion tastemakers are making a call — the turtleneck is back in style for this coming season. And you’ll be hard pressed to find someone more excited than me. The general opinion on turtlenecks is divided between love and hate, so let me give you some background on the style. “Radicals” in the arts scene have used the turtleneck to rebel against the status quo. Think Steve Jobs sitting next to Bill Gates: two comparable men, but more importantly, two very different sweaters. Nowadays, the turtleneck is used both for practicality and fashion.

If Drake hasn’t gotten you on the turtleneck train, or you’re afraid to wrap your neck in the warm embrace of cotton, let this be your guide to the best trend of the winter season. Fabric Some styles of turtlenecks can be tight around the neck, so I recommend trying them on before you buy to make sure the material doesn’t bother you. In general, stay away from synthetic materials if you have sensitive skin. The investment in nicer quality fabrics, like wool or cashmere, will also be worth it in the cold Kingston winters. Pay attention to the washing instructions on your sweater too. I can’t tell you how many I’ve ruined by putting them in the dryer.

The Lazy Scholar The four piece is a classic, but Lazy’s grilled cheese is pretty good too, and it counts as a core item. You can also order a single egg for

AT&T

For a more fashion-forward look, pair your sweater with patterned bottoms with a small design, a textured vest or a midi skirt and some killer boots.

Style

The great thing about turtlenecks is that they require minimal styling. The neckline is a statement in itself, so everything else should be toned down. Colour For an everyday look, a thick turtleneck with slim jeans If this is your first turtleneck, balances your figure and gives

Navigating Queen’s veggie alternatives Continued from page 16

or you’re investing in a high- the impression you put a lot of quality piece, I suggest sticking effort into your look. For men, the with black, white and earth thick sweater can be overpowering tones like grey, forest green or on wider shoulders, so try out a oatmeal. You’ll never regret a thinner turtleneck for everyday. classic-coloured sweater. But if you’re looking for more of a statement, a jewel-toned purple or a deep blue are both stunning options for the fall/ winter season. I’m also a big fan of mustard and cranberry sweaters for the holidays. As always, make sure you try them on before buying. Turtlenecks are usually right below your face, and can sometimes wash you out.

$1.35, leaving you with $7.40 to get whatever vegetarian goodies you want. Don’t want to eat an egg? Just ask to be charged for an egg even if you don’t get one to fulfill the core items requirement.

Canadian Grilling Company Another great place to cash in a meal or simply enjoy some good food is the Canadian Grilling Company, otherwise known as the CGC. While this on-campus restaurant may be devoted to meat-lovers, it also carries vegetarian patties and salads that are both delicious and filling. Pizza Pizza My favourite (and unhealthiest,

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As delicious as fresh produce is, sometimes you have to make compromises.

but oh well) meal equivalency hack works at Pizza Pizza. If you’re planning on spending all day in Stauffer, a meal equivalency at Pizza Pizza will get you four slices — enough to tide you over for the rest of the day, meaning you can sit in Stauffer for hours without leaving your seat for food. If all of this sounds unappealing to my fellow vegetarians, rejoice in the fact that in second year, you

PHOTO BY VISHMAYAA JEYAMOORTHY

have complete control over your diet. Grocery shopping is a lot cheaper when you don’t have to buy a $10 chicken breast, and you can flavour your food however you want. It’s so much easier to control how healthy your diet is because it’s all up to you. But if you end up eating frozen pizza and CoGro bagels every night anyway, that’s okay too.


LIFESTYLE

Friday, November 20, 2015

11/19/2015

queensjournal.ca

• 19

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ACROSS 1 Smell 5 U.K. fliers 8 Teen’s skin woe 12 One of the Three Bears 13 Conclusion 14 TV’s Dr. McGraw 15 Mideast port 16 Wrestling hold 18 Tetanus 20 Lassoes 21 High tennis shot 22 Jewel 23 Jaunty topper 26 Samson’s weapon against the Philistines 30 Altar affirmative 31 London forecast 32 Hive dweller 33 Arid 36 Playwright Henrik 38 Noon, in a way 39 High card 40 Squabble 43 Plaster fiberboard mix

47 Home entertainment piece 49 Vicinity 50 Oodles 51 Billboards 52 One-named supermodel 53 Some evergreens 54 Lad 55 Harp’s cousin DOWN 1 October birthstone 2 Pedestal part 3 Oil cartel 4 Irritate 5 Betty Ford Center program 6 From the start 7 Govt. Rx watchdog 8 Self-assurance 9 Hew 10 Pleasant 11 BPOE members 17 Sketched

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19 Make marginalia 22 Choke 23 Lobster eater’s aid 24 Tokyo’s old name 25 Director Howard 26 Cohort of Whoopi and Sherri 27 Outdated, as a wd. 28 Born 29 Hallow ender 31 Calendar abbr. 34 Rejoices 35 God, in Grenoble 36 Aloof 37 Lament 39 Pretentious 40 Vacationing 41 Bronchial sound 42 Radiate 43 Prank 44 Host 45 Mad king of literature 46 Highway division 48 Arrest


20 •queensjournal.ca

LIFESTYLE

Friday, November 20, 2015

PHOTO BY AUSTON CHHOR

POSTSCRIPT

The shadow of social anxiety Experiencing social anxiety on campus can be particularly difficult for students A nastasiya B oika Copy Editor

social events. Even the thought of experiencing an anxiety attack in public is too much to bear. What’s worse is that my University is a time to study hard as well as meet new people, go out experience isn’t unusual. According to a May article and have fun. Unfortunately, for those of us in The New York Times ‘Well’ who experience social anxiety, blog, anxiety has now surpassed venturing outside our houses with depression as the most common lots of people can be more stressful mental health diagnosis among college students. than coursework. To get a better sense of how Social anxiety is “a persistent fear of one or more social or prevalent social anxiety is on campus, performance situations in which I reached out to Ashley Vanstone, the person is exposed to unfamiliar the graduate student counsellor people or to possible scrutiny available through the School of by others,” according to the Graduate Studies (SGS). Last year, latest version of the Diagnostic I saw Vanstone on a regular basis. and Statistical Manual of Mental The need for counselling services is unfortunately not unusual amongst Disorders (DSM-5). While I’m not clinically those of us in graduate studies. “Having some level of social diagnosed with social anxiety, the DSM-5 criteria hits close to home. anxiety is fairly common for I’m able to function normally university students,” Vanstone in my duties as a PhD in the wrote over email. “I would guess History Department, at The that most students interact on a Journal and in my part-time job. regular basis with other students Instead I experience the brunt who are quite socially anxious, even of my social anxiety in contexts if it’s not evident in the interaction.” While experiencing some level where I’m less likely to have of social anxiety isn’t unusual, one-on-one interactions. Pub nights, functions through there’s a wide variation in how it the department, even sometimes affects students’ everyday lives. For some, it just means sweaty crowded buses can cause my throat to feel constricted, my hands to palms before a presentation. start shaking and bring on the For others like myself, it means generally choosing not to attend feeling of being unable to breathe. In April, I experienced my social events due to both physical first panic attack since I was in and mental discomfort, as well as elementary school, which led to struggling in class settings. As you can imagine, finding a period of time where I couldn’t even get through a grocery someone who has social anxiety to checkout without feeling like I interview isn’t exactly an easy feat. One graduate student, who was about to pass out. The only thing that helped me get through has asked to remain anonymous, it was the unending support of my said his social anxiety means that “walking down Princess St. parents and significant other. While I haven’t had a can cause anything from mild to full-fledged panic attack since the moderate discomfort.” Depending on how he’s feeling spring, the fear of them further restricts me from attending most on a particular day, he said that even

an everyday activity like getting breakers with a bunch of strangers or embarrassing,” he wrote. “We can be trying for anyone, let alone need to be sensitive and realize that groceries can be overwhelming. something completely innocuous “Things like parties or those experiencing social anxiety. While class and orientation to you could be terrifying to your get-togethers, faculty events or orientation meetings are structure is likely to remain fairly friend, and that you have fears too, enormously stressful to me, and as static for the time being, there and that being afraid is painful.” One problem I’ve encountered a result I just do not attend these are changes being implemented unless I’m absolutely required to,” to accommodate the needs both in my undergraduate and of students experiencing both graduate careers was when I chose he said in his email. In those cases, he said he’s social anxiety and other mental to stay in instead of go out with people I’d just met. They would usually nervous to such an extent health issues. invite me out a couple that he’s distracted for of times and then at least a of couple days leading up to the event. “We need to be sensitive and realize that the invitations would out. It’s one thing to something completely innocuous to you peter It wasn’t that I struggle with these kinds of issues when you’re in could be terrifying to your friend ... and didn’t want to get to that being afraid is painful.” know them. It was that the workforce, there you the way they wanted can generally keep to yourself and choose who — Ashley Vanstone, to interact didn’t you interact with. It’s a on-site counsellor for graduate students leave me very much room to maneuver. All whole other can of worms the invitations were when it comes to the A part of this has been the to either go to pubs or attend university setting. When asked what his main growth in mental health awareness house parties with large groups issues were in university, the on campus, both in and outside of people, neither of which I was comfortable with. graduate student pointed to class the classroom. What was more isolating, “It has been gratifying to see the participation as a core requirement. “Obviously at the graduate level growth in awareness about mental however, was that because I was discussion is a necessary element of health on campus, and along with unable to attend these functions, the educative process, but I would that has come more consciousness I was then excluded from any strongly caution instructors against about the role that academic kind of socialization, even when I incorporating mandatory class accommodations play in ensuring suggested one-on-one alternatives. If there’s one thing people participation or group work into equal access to post-secondary should keep in mind when it their courses unless it is absolutely education,” Vanstone said. He added that students can comes to social anxiety it’s that essential,” he wrote. “They need to understand that for some students, make arrangement through just because someone struggles in these are insurmountable obstacles.” Queen’s Student Accessibility social situations, it doesn’t mean “Mandatory orientation events, Services, as well as gain access they don’t want to make friends. mandatory meet-and-greets, while to health and counselling staff on They just need to be given the being well-intentioned, can be campus through Student Wellness opportunity to do so in their (formerly HCDS). own way. horribly stressful for people with Services The student interviewed for this However, outside of academic and social phobia,” he said. As someone who avoided the counselling settings, Vanstone says article put it best. “We need to be given the space majority of orientation events and there are a few important things to and time to move out of our tended to keep their opinions keep in mind. “First, know that social anxiety comfort zone on our own terms, to themselves during seminars, I wholeheartedly agree. Having exists. And that maybe your friend and in manageable ways. So I guess an entire class stare at you while is having a tough time because of what I’m trying to say is ‘invite, you’re trying to formulate a it, but also that it’s often difficult don’t compel’.” thought or participating in ice to bring up things we find painful


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