The Queen's Journal, Volume 145, Issue 9 by The Queen's Journal

the journal Queen’s University

Vol. 145, Issue 9

Friday Oct 13, 2017

since 1873

Homecoming 2017 How the day has changed since its inception in 1926 Page 7

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTICE KING

NEWS

EDITORIALS

OPINIONS

SPORTS

Students and faculty discuss equity and reconciliation reports

Rescinding an honourary degree should send a message

The ignored meaning of athletes’ protest

Life-long Gaels fan Sue Bates will be decked in tricolour for Homecoming

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple during the summer

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News

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Students & staff respond to TRC & PICRDI reports Concerns arise over implementation of TRC report at Queen’s Jasnit Pabla Assistant News Editor After reviewing final reports released by two of the University’s most recently developed committees, the Queen’s community met on October 11 to share their thoughts on issues of equity, diversity and Indigenous inclusion on campus. Students, staff and faculty were invited to Mackintosh-Corry Hall as part of the Gender Speaker Series to discuss the continued prioritization of an equitable campus. Truth and Reconciliation Commission response Intended to serve as a Speakers engaged in discussion in Mac-Corry on Wednesday. guideline for the University to implement change, the Truth and the completed TRC report by Engineering at the University. Reconciliation Commission (TRC) highlighting some of the key “Sometimes it’s happened in the Task Force was originally created recommendations made. past — the recommendations just to form a response to the national Amongst them, Hill said it’s sit there,” Green said. commission’s calls to action. imperative for Queen’s to ensure He continued by indicating By April 2017, the training on ethical approaches that some parts of the report Commission released its own to Indigenous research as well could be implemented on a final report, producing 25 as increasing their number of smaller scale. Specifically, Green recommendations to implement Indigenous staff and faculty. gave the example of indigenizing the Canada TRC’s calls to action “I’ve always said, we’re in a curriculum within the subject through various collaborators, place where we’re training policy of Engineering in relation to including both Indigenous and makers and decision makers water quality. non-Indigenous faculty, staff, for this country and beyond,” “Talk to your curriculum students, administrators and Hill said. “And I think we do a committees and see how you can community members. disservice if the graduating class indigenize the curriculum,” Green Consultation for the TRC has no knowledge on the history said. “If you’re a student, talk to report included meetings with of Indigenous communities and your professor about what could the Queen’s Aboriginal Council, presence on the land here.” be relevant when indigenizing Native Student Association, the Hill indicated that the creation content in their courses.” Mohawk of the Bay of Quinte, of an implementation committee Following speakers’ remarks, United Chiefs and Councils of would be beneficial in ensuring a member of the audience asked Mnidoo Mnising, as well as several the recommendations were if any progress had been made in other university-based groups and carried out. regards to a course on Aboriginal external institutions. The subject of implementation Studies as a graduate requirement Newly appointed Director was further raised by Mark Green, that would be effective of Indigenous Initiatives member of the Mohawks of the University-wide. Kanonhsyonne (Janice Hill), Bay of Quinte and Professor in “What we recommended wasn’t expressed her thoughts on the Department of Structural a specific course, but that each

ComSoc booth in the Goodes Hall Atrium.

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

ComSoc celebrates 50 years Society reflects on five decades of achievements Michael Zhang Contributor The Commerce Society is celebrating its 50 year anniversary this week with activities and

giveaways in Goodes Hall and Facebook posts highlighting its historic moments by the decade since 1967. According to the historical posts on the Commerce Society’s

(ComSoc) Facebook page, the society was informally created in 1967, but was only granted independent status by the AMS in 1976. The Society has celebrated many achievements over its 50

previous reports regarding racism on campus. With multiple reports published at Queen’s since 1991, PICRDI was tasked with understanding why most recommendations from these reports had never been implemented. The committee was able to identify several barriers to implementation in a final report equating to over 100 pages released in April of this year. ASUS Equity Commissioner Laura Anderson told the group that all seven ASUS committees had undergone restructuring to ensure that equity remains a priority within the society. “Instead of talking about mental health in a bubble, we can talk about how marginalized PHOTO BY JASNIT PABLA students on campus have different experiences with that because of program had to identify how they complex identities,” Anderson said. would meet Indigenous learning Formerly known as the Red outcomes,” Green said in response. Room, ASUS will re-introduce “One way would be to have a course, the space in Kingston Hall as the but there may be other ways that Reflection Room in November. may be dispersed throughout Available through ASUS services, the curriculum.” the goal of the space will be to Green added that the choice integrate a place for conversation would be left up to faculties with an inviting atmosphere for to decide whether they students to feel safe in. would want to implement an Concerns of implementation Indigenous-focused course, as didn’t escape the PICRDI report the TRC hadn’t recommended it either, particularly in consideration explicitly. of past reports concerning similar topics. Student speaker Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy, ArtSci ‘18, expressed Principal’s Implementation a sense of being “hesitantly Committee on Racism, Diversity hopeful” upon reading the and Inclusion (PICRDI) entire report. response “It’s really great to have a list of actionable items,” she said. “But is PICRDI was established in it just going to be another report? 2016 following student outcry Is it going to just be one of those against incidents of racism on things where a few things happen, campus. Made up of six members, not even the majority? If so, then the committee was oriented what’s the point?” towards identifying barriers to recommendations made in years, including the creation of the Commerce 1974 Exchange Bursary, which is a grant provided to commerce students wishing to study abroad. ComSoc President Emlyn Folkes expressed his thoughts on the Society’s evolution over the years in an email to The Journal on Thursday. “Over the past 50 years, ComSoc has evolved from a small organization into a structure society overseeing 50 different conferences, committees, competitions, and businesses,” Folkes wrote. According to Folkes, ComSoc has undergone especially important changes in recent years, including increased efforts in diversity and inclusion. This has been done through initiatives like equitable hiring policy changes. “ComSoc’s mission is to enhance the commerce student experience by representing student interests and empowering students to pursue passions,” Folkes wrote. According to Folkes, ComSoc aims to celebrate its diverse student body and “ensure all of [its] members experience an enjoyable and developmental four years in the commerce program through involvement in [their] many student

engagement opportunities.” Folkes attested to ComSoc’s ability to help students in their career development by connecting them with alumni and other professionals from a variety of industries for mentorship. However, these opportunities aren’t exclusive to commerce students. Folkes said ComSoc opens its doors to all students to attend their events. “Additionally, many of our organizations contribute to various causes in the community, as well as on a global scale. For example, Oil Thigh Designs, a Commerce Society homed business, donates annually to Jack.Org, a mental health organization on campus,” Folkes wrote. For Folkes, ComSoc is always evolving, and the next 50 years of the Society will inevitably bring many more challenges and accomplishments. “We acknowledge our areas with opportunity for growth and dispensed efforts in these areas,” Folkes wrote. “[ComSoc] is constantly striving for improvement of not only itself and its members, but the entirety of the Queen’s community.”

News

Friday, oct 13, 2017

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BUDGET

Provost & VP Finance & Administration deliver public budget presentation Bacon and Janiec break down 2017-18 revenues, investments and financial barriers Maureen O’reilly News Editor In what he called “the spirit of transparency,” Provost Benoit-Antoine Bacon delivered a public presentation about the University’s 2017-18 operating budget alongside Vice-President (Finance and Administration) Donna Janiec on Wednesday. The October 11 presentation reviewed the operating budget, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in May. “I think this is a really important conversation,” Bacon told the crowd who gathered in the Kinesiology building auditorium. This year, the University saw a revenue increase of $32.4 million, which is a 6.2 per cent jump from 2016-17. As a result, the University’s total revenue now amounts to $555.2 million. This revenue is generated from a variety of categories, including tuition, government grants and other student fees. A significant portion of the 6.2 per cent

revenue increase seen this year On average over the past six came from growth of the student years, the University hired 22 new population following the increased faculty members per year, which number of first-year classes and Bacon says is relatively low. To international students. combat this with a renewal plan The budget also accounts for in place, the University will now the way the University invests hire 40 tenured stream faculty money within the institution itself. members per year for five years, The University’s total internal amounting to 200 new faculty investments have reached $139.8 members in total. million, which is a 5.7 per cent $36.6 million in revenues is set increase from 2016-17. aside for what Bacon called the Investment funds mainly “university fund” — $22 million of go towards the shared central which is pre-committed to paying services of the University, off various debts and payments. including the advancement The rest will be used for things office, the international office, the like deferred maintenance and athletics and recreation office infrastructure renewal. and more. This also goes towards This year, the University funding initiatives that focus on has set aside $1 million to be international, equity and sexual used for equity, diversity and violence prevention and response. inclusion efforts. Funds specifically allocated to Janiec followed Bacon’s the faculties and schools increased breakdown by explaining some by $20.3 million this year, which is a 6.5 per cent increase from 2016-17. Bacon and the faculty deans decided to use a significant portion of this money for faculty renewal.

of the financial risks and barriers “cap” on growth for institutions currently facing Queen’s. One like Queen’s. barrier she identified is in relation Since enrollment numbers to the second Strategic Mandate were already increased in 2015, Agreement (SMA2) signed with Bacon said the University isn’t the Ontario government. necessarily looking to grow on a According to Bacon, the large scale in the near future. provincial government has Other financial barriers include decided to become more hands-on the University’s pension plan in terms of enrollment to address deficit that continually needs the difficulty some Ontario to be paid off, infrastructure universities are facing with maintenance projects and meeting their enrollment targets. collective bargaining agreements In the SMA2, the government with various employee groups. has identified a mid-point One individual in attendance enrollment target for all Ontario pointed out that the budget universities and has said that if “disproportionately advantages an institution is within three per teaching over research” for faculty cent above or below this target, members. Bacon agreed, but their government funding won’t assured the crowd that he already be affected. begun addressing this issue for the While this serves as a protection 2018-19 budget, which is already for universities whose enrollment in the works. is dropping, it serves as a sort of

Contributors of the Month The Journal recognizes outstanding contributing writers for the month of September. Landon Wilcock Landon Wilcock’s contribution to The Journal took an immense amount of courage. His Opinion piece about sexual assault on campus was extremely powerful and communicated a critical message to students. Though it wasn’t an easy experience to write about, Landon was a pleasure to work with and The Journal appreciates his willingness to discuss such a prevalent and difficult subject. Pamoda Wijekoon Pamoda Wijekoon is a hard-working and reliable contributor. A talented writer, she’s proven her skills as an interviewer and written on everything from Jane Austen to local Kingston artists. Since starting with the Arts section this summer, Pamoda has met tough deadlines easily while delivering some of the section’s best stories. Her friendly attitude and openness to feedback have been major assets to our arts coverage and have made her a pleasure to work with over the pass few months. We’re all looking forward to seeing what Pamoda does next.

Zier Zhou Zier has been writing for Lifestyle since the very beginning. She’s passionate about her writing, pitches great ideas and always sends in the articles promptly. She writes extremely well and all the articles she writes get her point across effortlessly. Lifestyle is extremely lucky to have Zier write for the section with her diverse interests and commitment to the job. We’re so excited to see Zier continue to grow as the year progresses at The Journal. Madeline Heinke Even though Maddie has written for The Journal before, in her most recent article about her decision not to report her sexual assault, she outdid herself. We’re so in awe of Maddie’s bravery and strength for writing about such a personal issue. Maddie has written about mental health for The Journal in past years and we truly believe with those and her most current article, her candidness and willingness to talk about hard issues in the newspaper is going to help people around campus feel less alone in their struggles — and for that we are grateful.

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News

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Friday, oct 13, 2017

ComSoc booth in the Goodes Hall Atrium.

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

ComSoc celebrates 50 years Society reflects on five decades of achievements Michael Zhang Contributor The Commerce Society is celebrating its 50 year anniversary this week with activities and

giveaways in Goodes Hall and Facebook posts highlighting its historic moments by the decade since 1967. According to the historical posts on the Commerce Society’s

(ComSoc) Facebook page, the society was informally created in 1967, but was only granted independent status by the AMS in 1976. The Society has celebrated many achievements over its 50

News

Accessibility Queen’s hosts event to raise awareness against using “R-word” “Spread the Word to End the Word” event discourages hateful language sarina grewal Assistant News Editor Accessibility Queen’s tackled the use of the “r-word” in an event titled “Spread the Word to End the Word” held in the ARC on Wednesday. The event included an informational poster board and an opportunity for students to speak with Accessibility Queen’s club members about the negative impact of using the word “retard” in everyday conversation. As a symbolic gesture, students were also able to pledge against using the word to signify allyship with individuals with disabilities. Accessibility Queen’s aims to raise awareness about issues surrounding people with disabilities. This event is one of many events they host, including the annual Sexuality and Disability Summit. According to club co-chairs Clarabelle Lee and Odelle Ma, ArtSci ‘18, the decision to bring back this event was to raise awareness about use of the word. During

her time on campus, Ma said the word has been used to negatively refer to those who have disabilities. “I still hear the ‘r-word’ being used in everyday conversation, so we definitely wanted an initiative that drew attention to the problem,” Ma told The Journal.

By continuing to use the “ r-word, we perpetuate ideas

that further stigmatize people with disabilities and give power to the systems of oppression...that [they] must navigate every single day.

”

— Ramna Safeer, AMS Commissioner of Social Issues

AMS Commissioner of Social Issues Ramna Safeer shared her thoughts about the event and the use of the “r-word” with

Accessibility Queen’s booth in the ARC on Wednesday.

The Journal via email. “When a word that was historically used to refer to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities is used to describe things we find stupid or unpleasant, we’re conflating real people and their very real experiences with things that we find stupid and unpleasant,” Safeer wrote. “By continuing to use the r-word, we perpetuate ideas that further stigmatize people with disabilities and give power to the systems of oppression...that [they] must navigate every single day,” she continued. Accessibility Queen’s is also focused on

PHOTO BY SARINA GREWAL

the promotion of person-first language on campus, which involves referring to individuals as “living with a disability,” rather than as a “disabled person.” Ma and Lee also spoke to the importance of incorporating this style of speech into everyday conversation. They hope the End the Word event will encourage students to think proactively about the words they use. “There’s a dictionary full of words, so why choose one word that hurts a group of people?” Lee said.

City of Kingston launches Mayor’s Innovation Challenge Students to propose innovative solutions to city problems, winners receive paid internship sarina grewal Assistant News Editor Postsecondary students in Kingston now have the chance to implement their own project during a four-month paid internship with the city through the Mayor’s Innovation Challenge. The recently created Mayor’s Innovation Challenge is looking for students and recent graduates from Queen’s, Royal Military College and St. Lawrence College to submit applications. To be eligible, the team must suggest a solution to a problem affecting the Kingston area. Students can submit proposals related to one of three categories: cultivating creative public spaces, strengthening active transportation networks or enhancing local attraction for youth. Teams may include up to four students and must have at least 50 per cent of their members enrolled in a Kingston post-secondary institution. The winning team will be employed with the city as paid interns for the summer. In an interview with The Journal, Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson spoke about the city’s motivation for creating this challenge. It’s something he hopes will become an annual event. “We’ve been very interested at the city level for a while about how to better engage students in the community — how to give them opportunities to use the talent and creativity we know they have,” Paterson said. “We know there are emerging entrepreneurs across campus and [we] thought there might be an ability for a win-win: to give them an opportunity to apply their skills, but also help to solve real issues and problems that we’re facing as a city.”

According to the City of Kingston website, the competition allows for students to create innovative and feasible projects that will “impact the lives of 125,000 people.” The winning team — to be selected by the Mayor and senior staff — will work with a $10,000 budget to implement their project under the guidance of City mentors. According Paterson, the three categories were chosen because they address specific challenges that Kingston faces. “Not only are they issues we want to solve, but we really felt that our postsecondary students would have the ideas and the energy and the creativity to offer some really innovative solutions,” Paterson explained.

We really felt that our “post-secondary students

would have the ideas and the energy and the creativity to offer some really innovative solutions.

”

—Bryan Paterson, Kingston Mayor “We’re interested in a creative, costeffective solution to the problems we’ve laid out in the challenge,” he added. “We’re also interested in providing open doors for new talent to work for the city.” Proposals are due by January 22 of 2018, with invitations to the pitch competition sent by January 26. Following this, the actual pitch off will occur on February 9. According to the city’s website, the competition is being supported by Bell Canada, the Queen’s Centre for

Advanced Computing and the Queen’s Centre for Social Impact. Mayor Paterson hopes to see many students within the Kingston community submit proposals, as he knows the competition will be of great value to students.

“To be able to showcase that not only have I learned these skills in the classroom, but this is what I’ve been able to do with those skills and apply it to a real world situation ... that’s something that will be valuable,” Paterson said.

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Features

IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY

Homecoming: Looking back on a 91 year tradition A brief look at the most anticipated weekend of the year Brigid Goulem Features Editor While street parties and pancake keggers have now become a staple for Homecoming, the original ‘alumni weekend’ — as it was called until the 1950s — was a nostalgic reunion of friends and a passing-on of traditions to a younger generation. The Homecoming tradition at Queen’s emerged at a time of significant change across the continent. According to Queen’s historian Duncan McDowall, the dawn of the 20th century saw an unprecedented movement of people across the continent, thanks to the booming industrial revolution. At the time, Queen’s was attached to its Eastern-Ontario locality, but as greater opportunities emerged in growing cities, graduates began to move farther away. The question, for both administration and alumni, became one of how Queen’s would maintain a bond of loyalty with their alumni?

The question, for both administration and alumni, became one of how Queen’s would maintain a bond of loyalty with their alumni?

“

”

Although they started in the United States, Homecoming came informally to Queen’s at the beginning of the 20th century. Typically not extending beyond a group of friends, they used this time as an opportunity for people to reminisce about their days at the school and reconnect with their peers. According to McDowall, informal reunions were planned around a Queen’s annual football game against their rival at the time, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. On the advice of a Montreal fund-raising consultant, the alumni reunions were formalized in 1926. The day would change based on the Queen’s football schedule, but would always be close to October 16 — University Day — which commemorated the creation of the Queen’s Charter. The first ‘alumni weekend’ was held the third weekend of November in 1926. It attracted 870 graduates from the classes of 1874 to 1926. Following its initial success, McDowall said alumni weekend in the 1930s and 40s grew to include tea services, deans’ receptions, faculty talks and a Sunday church service. With very little alcohol present and a containment to campus, early alumni weekends were well-controlled. “From our modern sensibilities, I don’t think it could’ve been all that much fun,” McDowall said. “Sure there was a football game and this nice sense of nostalgia, but that’s what it was meant to be, an inter-generational passing of the Queen’s spirit.” In the 1970s, Homecoming changed with the addition of the alumni parade around Richardson Stadium, quickly becoming a highlight for many people. The parade served as an opportunity for alumni and current students to showcase their school spirit. Year floats in the parade gave students an opportunity to make some naughty jokes, but all was in good fun.

While Homecoming was a relatively controllable event up until the 1980s, things changed in the middle of the decade. Students began to lose interest in meeting with alumni and the event was slowly becoming a bigger and bigger student party. As the student population exploded,

While homecoming was a “relatively controllable event

up until the 1980’s, things changed in the middle of the decade.

”

student housing expanded into what’s now known as the University District. In 1985, spontaneous street parties started popping up in the evening on Aberdeen St. and University Ave. Furthermore, as more and more students participated, it became much more challenging for students and alumni to intermingle meaningfully. At the same time, the passing of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms made it clear that legally, students were just as much adults as the administration. This gave students an independence they didn’t really have before. According to McDowall, pre-Charter, the University was a parental figure for students, telling them what they could and couldn’t do. Post-Charter however, this was very different. It was finally acknowledged that “[Students] are citizens and what [they] do on Saturday nights is [their] business and it’s not the University’s in any direct way.” For many alumni, this was an alarming change. They came to Homecoming expecting to mingle with the younger students and increasingly, students couldn’t care less. For students, the weekend was a great opportunity to party, let off some steam before mid-terms and enjoy some time with their friends. From the mid-1980s to 1990, there

[Students] are citizens “and what [they] do on

Saturday night is [their] business and it’s not the University’s in any direct way.

”

— Duncan McDowall, University Historian

emerged two completely different Homecomings: one that was organized by the school for the alumni and one for the students which involved quite a bit more alcohol. McDowall argues that at this point, the central issue of Homecoming emerged — how do you reconnect the event with its initial purpose without becoming killjoys? In 2005, things changed for the worse.

How do you reconnect the “event with its initial purpose without becoming killjoys? ”

Described in a Journal article as a “celebrity riot,” approximately 7,000 people gathered on Aberdeen and cheered as a car was overturned and set on fire in the street. Not only was KGH emergency room packed with dangerously intoxicated students, but

Kingston Police distributed over 350 liquor offence charges and 18 criminal charges. The reaction to the incident was overwhelming. Not only did media outlets across the country take notice, but a Journal article reported the Aberdeen street party even “prompted some alumni to decrease their contributions to the University.” Despite the fact that many of the people directly involved in the incident had no direct connection to Queen’s, the 2005 Homecoming left a dark spot on Queen’s reputation. Over the next couple of years, efforts were made by the AMS and the administration to control the event. Police presence was increased, volunteers patrolled the student district and the principal openly appealed to students to show some restraint. After four years of attempts to rope in the students were deemed unsuccessful, Homecoming was cancelled in 2009. The hope was that if the event was cancelled for a few years, the cycle of students who had experienced these wild street parties would graduate and the fresh cohort wouldn’t repeat the incidents of the past. Homecoming was supposed to be reinstated in 2010, but Principal Woolf extended the ban for an additional three years.

Not only was KGH “ emergency room packed

with dangerously intoxicated students, but Kingston Police distributed over 350 liquor offence charges and 18 criminal charges.

”

Students and alumni were understandably outraged. In a Letter to the Editor published in The Journal, Haley Rose, ArtSci ’05, BEd ’06, wrote that students from other universities had no place at Queen’s Homecoming but that the tradition was important to the students that do attend Queen’s. “We work hard to get into Queen’s. We work hard when we get here. Homecoming is our reward for that, as well as the chance to revel in what it means to go to Queen’s University.” When Homecoming finally returned in 2013, it was spread over two weekends. Principal Woolf made the decision after thorough consultation with student leaders and administration, as well as support from the city. Then-City Councillor, Bill Glover, attributed the return of Homecoming to the significant improvement of town-gown relations since 2008. “There has been a sea of change in the University’s administration since Principal Hitchcock refused to acknowledge any ownership of the issue and that was a big contributor to the standoff,” Glover said in a 2013 Journal article. While the return of Homecoming was tentative, the tradition is slowly regaining its strength. Despite an incident last year that involved a girl slapping a police horse, the Kingston Police in a 2016 Journal article dubbed the event to be “busy, but not overly troublesome.” Homecoming is not what it once was, but as a new tradition emerges, students, alumni and administration alike are all learning to adapt.

GRAPHIC BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Friday, Oct 13, 2017

queensjournal.ca

EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

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THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL Volume 145 Issue 9 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

Editorial Board Joseph Cattana

Editor in Chief Managing Editor

Meg Glover

Production Manager

Justice king Lydia Noureldin

Digital Manager

Maureen O’Reilly

News Editor

Sarina Grewal

Assistant News Editors

Iain Sherriff-Scott Jasnit Pabla

Alex Palermo

Features Editors

Brigid Goulem Editorials Editor

Ashley Rhamey

Opinions Editor

Caleigh Castiglione Nick Pearce

Arts Editor Assistant Arts Editor

Clayton Tomlinson Sebastian Bron

Sports Editor

Matt Scace

Assistant Sports Editor

Shivani Gonzalez

Lifestyle Editor

Josh granovsky

Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Julia Balakrishnan

Photo Editor

ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE JIANG

Rescinding an honorary degree can send a message After Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s inaction on the persecution and displacement of the Rohingya people, many of her awards and honours have been revoked across the world. Despite her history advocating for democracy and human rights, there needs to be a line drawn between someone’s past achievements and present behavior when it comes to keeping an honorary degree. Currently, Suu Kyi still holds an honorary Doctorate of Law at Queen’s. Queen’s University has been giving out honorary degrees for more than 100 years and, in that

time, it has never rescinded one from a recipient. Whether deliberate or through a lack of policy, inaction still sends a message. Honorary degrees have always been symbolic. They send the message that the university believes the recipient is emblematic of their institution’s values. When they can be taken away, it sends the message that the university no longer condones certain behaviours. When asked about rescinding her degree, Principal Woolf’s official statement said the situation in Myanmar is still unfolding and as a result the decision can’t be

Matt Scace

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Sports are losing their humanity Sports will always be competitive at their core, but often its spiritual aspect is overlooked. The moment where winning becomes secondary and passion comes to the forefront is a human concept that everyone can feel — athletes included. The way competition can

push someone to their absolute physical and mental limits has never changed — it’s why we continuously see record-breaking performances. Even though people will always watch, it’s the emotion that’s produced from the achievement that allows people to

made lightly. Whether it rescinds the There’s something to be said for degree or not, Queen’s is making not rescinding a degree in the heat a political and social statement of the moment. either way. Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t If the degree is taken away likely concerned about the status in Suu Kyi’s case, it will be a of her honorary degree a half a first for Queen’s and will set a world away. precedent for the future. As a Although it doesn’t really result, deciding hastily before the impact her, it can influence others. facts are known could do more An honorary degree sends a harm than good. message internationally and to the That being said, the University Queen’s community about what should be able to rescind an we tolerate. honorary degree in enough The UN has recognized the time for that decision to have an current events in Myanmar as a impact. Waiting until the situation “textbook case of ethnic cleansing.” is no longer topical means Why can’t Queen’s? rescinding the degree won’t carry much weight. — Journal Editorial Board connect with the athletes they tune into seeing time and time again. In a documentary dubbed Breaking2, Nike collected the world’s fastest marathoners with the goal of breaking the two-hour marathon record, a nearly impossible endeavor. The documentary was based around Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who finished just 25 seconds short of completing the marathon in two hours. Albeit a great film, the most striking part of the footage of Kipchoge finishing the race wasn’t his speed. It was the ear-to-ear smile on his face. Before the run, Kipchoge said, “In life the idea is to be happy. So I believe in a calm, simple and low profile life. You live. You train hard. And you live an honest life. Then you are free.” With the pressure on athletes to reach the pinnacle of their sport, it was this spiritual essence that Kipchoge feels through running that moved me. In our society, it feels as if this feeling has drifted away as sports has become more of a lab experiment. The most visible shift that has occurred is the reduction of athletes to numbers. In Breaking2, scientists spent copious amounts of money on discovering the best

shoe, most efficient stride and smartest diet. The same thing has happened in fantasy sports, where athletes are valued based on their performance. Both instances omit one massive factor: emotion and human will. We need to recognize that sports are important because they have the power to inspire on a personal level. Reducing athletes to numbers takes the personal connection out of sports. When fans connect, they aren’t cheering for a team, they’re cheering for a story. Competition and passion are intertwined, but there needs to be a balance between the two. That requires a change in perspective from the sports world. This occurs through the active participation of the media and sports fans changing the way they judge athletes. With a stronger focus on seeing athletes as human beings instead of a group of statistics, the real personal connection athletics can offer to people is brought out. Without this shift, the spirit of sport will be lost.

Matt is The Journal’s Assistant Sports Editor. He’s a second-year English Major.

Assistant Photo Editor Video Editor

Nicole Langfield Max Silverberg

Assistant Video Editor

Amelia Rankine

Editorial Illustrator

Stephanie Jiang Rebecca Frost

Graphics Editor

Meredith Wilson-Smith Ejaz Thawer

Copy Editors

Contributing Staff Contributors Michael Zhang Max Samuels

Business Staff Business Manager Head Sales Representative

Abby Choudhury LeeAnn Sverko

Sales Representatives

Robyn McMurdy Kiera Sitzer

Office Administrator

Faith Villanueva

Want to contribute? For information visit: www.queensjournal.ca/contribute or email the Editor in Chief at journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca 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 Editor in Chief. The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Contents © 2017 by The Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of The Journal. Circulation 3,000

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Friday, Oct 13, 2017

OPINIONS

Your Perspective

The ignored meaning of athletes’ protests A look into and an explanation about the disapproval athletes feel towards their country

MAX SAMUELS, ARTSCI ’19

As it’s widely known by now, a majority of NFL athletes have decided to kneel in protest during the American national anthem. While some NHL and MLB players have joined their NFL counterparts, these protests have predominantly come from NFL athletes. In the most recent statement against these athletes, VP Mike Pence attended the Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers game and left because of the players’ continued protest. Following this, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that a player on his team that kneels during the anthem will be benched. In today’s society, it’s important to remember that there’s a message and a method in every protest. People seem to be so caught up in the aspect of these players ‘disrespecting’ the flag that they ignore the true message behind the actual protests. One thing is clear through all of this — the players’ intent actually isn’t to disrespect the flag. By kneeling, they’re emphasizing the racial inequalities that exist within America. Rather than focusing on which athletes actually choose to kneel and which don’t, it’s important that we pay more attention to their message. While somewhat self-explanatory, the critic’s problems are much smaller because if NFL players decide to stand for the anthem, their issue with the demonstration goes away. By being focused on who is standing rather than why they are, both sides have become further divided. From the player point of view, if they

stand for the anthem, not only does their problem not go away, but it comes silenced. Just because someone is in a high earning bracket doesn’t mean they should lose their political voice or their problems should be dismissed. Rather, they’re still an autonomous being that faces some of the country’s biggest issues.

In today’s society, it’s “important to remember

that there’s a message and a method in every protest.

”

It appears that as something is out of sight, it actually is out of mind. It’s understandable why some people get uncomfortable talking about a sensitive topic such as racial inequality. However, this doesn’t bestow the right to silence the dialect. While the NFL players may be the most recognized for their activism, this trend has only gained steam in other sporting leagues. When looking at other sports leagues, there hasn’t been uniform action taken across the athletic world. The NBA and NHL for example, have shown various responses.

It’s understandable “why some people get

A key controversy regarding these uncomfortable talking about protests is that players are at risk of a sensitive topic such as racial punishment for kneeling during the anthem. inequality. However, this This punishment seems to be based off the players’ method of communicating their doesn’t bestow the right to disapproval towards the nation. Whether silence the dialect. or not one agrees with the message being conveyed, people can’t argue that the method is undeniably peaceful. Because of this, kneeling shouldn’t end in suspension or For example, the Golden State Warriors a loss of pay. of the NBA have said they won’t be attending Keeping this in mind, it’s interesting to the White House visit. This meeting — for note how the Cowboys kneeled before the major professional sports — is a long-held anthem in a sign of unity and stood during tradition for a championship team. Despite the actual playing of the anthem yet they their decision to decline, NBA commissioner still faced backlash. This demonstrates the Adam Silver has noted that while players punishment being attributed to the method, won’t be allowed to kneel during the while no one mentions the message. anthem, he has preached togetherness Significantly as well, until 2009 NFL and unification. players used to be in the locker room during Perhaps Silver recognizes that the the national anthem. I find it far from likely controversy surrounding protesting the that most players were standing in the locker anthem has overwhelmed the message. room while the national anthem was playing. In the NHL, commissioner Gary Bettman,

”

Queen’s merchandise.” Sally Kim LifeSci’19

mentioned there will be no tolerance for players that kneel during the anthem. Players have instead opted to raise a closed fist, which is in some respects an ode to Colin Kaepernick — the man who started it all. The critics of the protests have managed to make the entire message of the players disappear and focus solely on the method through which they chose to convey their beliefs.

The critics of the protests “have managed to make the

entire message of the players disappear and focus solely on the method through which they chose to convey their beliefs.

”

If this provocation of sensitive dialogue can’t occur, the issue will never be solved. There has yet to be high profile cases of sponsorships backing out of deals with players who kneel. However, it is well recognized that NFL owners have been colluding to not sign Kaepernick. These protests have successfully kicked a well-deserving player out of the league. No protest, however, will be easy. After all, a man who kneels for nothing will fall for anything. Max Samuels Politics major.

third-year

Talking heads ... around campus

What are you most excited for about homecoming?

“Having an excuse to wear a bunch of

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

“My out of town friend’s coming to visit.” Calum Cook ArtSci’19

“Seeing everyone happy, I love seeing the alumni come back happy.” Natalie Williams LifeSci’20

PHOTOS BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

“In the semester everyone’s off doing their own thing, but homecoming brings us all together.” Nick Scholey LifeSci’20

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ARTS HOMECOMING PREVIEW

Serena Ryder to headline ReUnion Street Festival

Festival continues to be filled with Canadian talent in its fourth year JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

The stage at Division and Union.

Clayton tomlinson Assistant Arts Editor Despite Serena Ryder headlining, this year’s ReUnion Street Festival is more than just a concert. In its fourth year of operation since Queen’s Homecoming returned in 2013 the festival provides a controlled environment for students and alumni to connect. Situated on Union Street between Division and University, the annual festival has always had one main focal point — its artists. In the past, acts like Walk Off The Earth and the Arkells have performed. This year, the headliner is Canadian musician Serena Ryder. ReUnion Street Festival Coordinator Alexandra da Silva said Ryder was chosen because she was someone both alumni and students could enjoy. According to da Silva, the main theme of this year is connecting these two groups through the festival’s activities. She wants to make this idea of

interaction the focal point of the festival instead of having sole focus be on the event’s entertainment. This is a change in direction for the ReUnion festival because it’s never typically been considered by students as more than a concert close to campus. To work towards this, the fourth year of the festival will feature a games tent and a licensed drinking area along the stretch of Union Street for the first time. Not everything has changed, food trucks will continue to line the street. For the show’s first two hours, there will be performances by bands made up of students and

alumni on the stage. 4k Dharma is one such band featuring Queen’s alum that will make an appearance on Saturday. The lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the band Marc Lalonde spoke with The Journal about performing at his alma mater. Lalonde graduated in 1986 with a degree in Religious Studies and now works as a professor at Concordia. When Lalonde was a student at Queen’s, he and ‘The Dharma Bombs,’ as they were known then, played at many places on campus. Lalonde explained a Seattle punk band had taken the domain of the original band title and so they became 4k Dharma.

“We played all over campus and Kingston… it’s going to be a lot of fun coming back to Queen’s,” Lalonde said. “I began to write a lot of songs last year, so I got in touch [with] my old band mates to see if they wanted to play.” Members of 4k Dharma are split living between Kingston, Toronto and Montreal but they still come together in Kingston every eight weeks to play. On Saturday, they’ll be sharing a stage with The Kents, who will be rocking the crowd until Ryder takes the stage from 10:30pm to midnight. She’ll be followed by a DJ who will play for the remainder of the event.

maureen o’reilly News Editor After penning 30 best-selling books, one of Queen’s professor Antonio Nicaso’s crime books made its premier as a TV show called Bad Blood. Nicaso’s 2015 novel, Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War, was co-written with Toronto Star journalist Peter Edwards after 20 years of research. It chronicles the final years in the life of Canada’s top mafia boss, Vito Rizzuto. The novel, and now the TV show, depicts Rizzuto’s bloody struggle to avenge the murders of his family members and his attempt to regain control of the North American drug trade following his stint in prison. “If there ever was a truly Canadian mobster, it was Vito Rizzuto,” Nicaso said. Although known as a prolific writer, Nicaso also teaches two courses at Queen’s about mafia culture and regularly serves as a consultant to government and law enforcement bodies internationally about organized crime. “I was born in a town dominated by the mafia, and I remember

SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE

A screenshot from the television show.

ART NEWS

Queen’s professor’s crime book adapted for TV Mafia culture expert Antonio Nicaso’s Bad Blood premiered this week, two more shows in the works+ the fear,” Nicaso said about his upbringing in Calabria, Italy. Nicaso recalls the time a family member of a schoolmate was killed because he refused to buy construction materials from the boss who controlled their area. It was at this point that he started asking questions about murders happening in his town. 30 books later, Nicaso

decided to try something new by sending out proposals to production companies for TV shows. One of the three proposals he submitted was Bad Blood, with two others still in the works. One of the other two shows is based on a book Nicaso published in Italy in 2013 called Acqua Santissima, which covers the connection between the mafia and

the church. The third show still in the making is an “international thriller, inspired by true events but fiction,” Nicaso said. “I will have three TV shows pretty soon on air, and I’m very excited because [in TV] you don’t have the same restrictions you do when you’re working on a true crime story.” Nicaso says he’s enjoyed toying

“I want to make sure people know that the festival will be going all the way till 2am,” da Silva said. She explained her concern with many people in previous years assuming the festival concludes once the headliner performance is over. She and her team have made the festival come alive with more than just music by using the whole space allotted to them. “The licensed area, outside of Douglas Library and Gordon Hall… is marketed towards alumni and older students,” she said. “It’s just a relaxed, chill place outside of the crowd that helps facilitate interactions between alumni and students.” The ReUnion Street Festival is expanding to accommodate these connections, da Silva said. “A big thing for a lot of alumni is the ability to chat with current students and to see what their experience at Queen’s is like…I think the festival will do that.” with the psychological aspects of characters in Bad Blood, an opportunity the novel format didn’t allow him. The goal of Bad Blood was to stray away from romanticized depictions of the mafia, like in The Godfather, Nicaso said. “The mafia on the screen — The Godfather — is not the real mafia. The real mafia is something that has to do with the economy and the legal loopholes of our judicial system.” When asked what he hopes his audience will gain from watching the show, Nicaso said he hopes viewers “start thinking about organized crime as a Canadian problem […] and not any more as an ethnic problem.” Nicaso says viewers of the show have already contacted him to voice their disbelief that these mafia crimes truly occurred in Canada. Indeed, the events of the show may hit closer to home than many viewers may expect. “The mafia is a power system capable to build a connection to everyone,” Nicaso said. “Without the network of trust, without the connection with our upper class, they would never achieve anything.” The show airs on City TV at 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Arts

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niCk PearCe Arts Editor According to the new documentary Long Time Running, Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie had two options when diagnosed with terminal brain cancer last year. “What would you prefer: living without being able to speak, or have [reduced] new memories, but have more time with your family,” neurosurgeon DJ Cook asked Downie. “Or should we limit things and ultimately give you less time on Earth, but have a higher quality [of living]?” Downie chose the latter — brain surgery and a “best case scenario” of five more years of life. Long Time Running chronicles the aftermath of Downie’s decision, one last country-wide farewell tour to conclude a career that ran over three decades, 14 studio albums and 16 Juno awards. Documentary filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier offer a touchingly personal profile of the band’s final months. In the film, we watch Downie struggle to remember lyrics, relying on teleprompters as he tackles the massive task of remembering a career’s worth of music after his surgery. Even though Downie repeats the line “My Music at Work,” 18 times, he still must ask a crew member, “What’s that line called?” as he wrote down the lyric. Likewise, we hear the band’s childhood origins and roots in Kingston as they come to terms with the sum of their careers. Drummer Johnny Fay remembers graduating high school and leaving to go play an early Tragically Hip show. “When it’s over, it’s done. And what then?” Guitarist Rob Baker asks as the band reflected on the band’s nearly life-long presence in their lives. This sentimentality carries the film, humanizing the musicians in the wake of national attention the tour received. But it can also make scenes drag as the camera lingers at times and the film stretches to meet its feature-length

Elan Mastai.

REVIEW

Long Time Running hits The Tragically Hip’s final notes

pays tribute t o

Documentary chronicles band’s cross-country farewell tour SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE

The Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie live in concert.

running time. Long Time Running is at its strongest when the film reveals the human side of an increasingly mythologized band. The moments where Gord Downie sheepishly admits to loving the Bee-Gees or the camera follows exhausted band mates hugging in a change room hit harder than any statement on the band’s role shaping national cultural identity. Despite its expectedly heavy featuring of the band members themselves, Long Time Running is also a story about the band’s fans. The film spends a lot of its time profiling the sold-out crowds that accompanied every tour date. It’s an acknowledgement of the music’s reserved place at campfires and the sense of recognition small-town fans feel hearing songs like “Bobcaygeon.” These smaller stories, including one in which the tour’s costume designer reveals she stitches her favourite lyrics in each of Downie’s hats, help sell the band’s impact

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY DAVID LEYES

to non-fans. It becomes less of a rock documentary, or a comment on Canadian culture and more of a portrait of music’s role in our lives — and how to say goodbye to it. Thankfully, it’s a good one. Guitarist Rob Baker shares a letter from a fan in Philadelphia

explaining that very few artists can choose how to leave their fans. There’s very rarely any control over a band’s final days. The film’s closing coverage of the band’s final Kingston show and viewing parties across the country revealed The Hip as the exception. The extra-long finale of the film

artists ending their defining work on their own terms like Downie. And it’s extremely powerful. According to Baker, most of the members of the band “had each other” on stage but Downie’s final performances were unique — “the audience was his family.”

ALUMNI PROFILE

Elan Mastai, the man behind The F Word Award winning novelist and screenwriter on making art a career Julia Balakrishnan Photo Editor For Elan Mastai, ArtSci ’97, inspiration strikes a little differently than for most. This time it’s in an 18th century schoolhouse “in the middle of nowhere.” The Queen’s alum novelist and screenwriter is isolating himself for the week to convert his first novel, All Our Wrong Todays, into a script for a film adaptation. “Imagine just taking the book and smashing your face against it over and over again until you hallucinate,” he said of this unique process. But adaptation isn’t the only thing that requires creativity. For most, finding inspiration involves a willingness to step out of their comfort zone. It doesn’t, however, have to be found in an 18th century schoolhouse, laughed Mastai. Being involved in the screen writing business since he was 25, Mastai is very familiar with adapting books into scripts. The only difference is that it used to be the books of others. For Mastai, it’s all about “finding out what makes it tick, the basics of the character, the ultimate themes and then making decisions about what you can keep and what you have to reinvent.” His standout work, the 2013 film The F Word, was the first time Mastai worked on a screenplay entirely of his own vision without

commercial considerations. The result was a uniquely down-to-earth romantic comedy with witty dialogue and playful chemistry. The plot centres around the lead character Wallace, played by Daniel Radcliffe, as he tries to navigate his complicated friendship with Chantry, the woman he’s in love with, played by Zoe Kazan. The plotline features well tread ground for a rom-com, Mastai admitted. It was one that he felt could be explored in a more empathetic and authentic way. “I like romantic comedies, but most of them are just so phony,” he said. “People don’t behave the way people really behave; our romantic lives are already full of comedy and drama just by us behaving like normal people.” The F Word received critical acclaim and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards. Ironically, Mastai’s biggest passion project ended up being what broke him into Hollywood. “In the early stages of my career — and I think this happens to a lot of writers when they’re starting out — I felt like, to succeed, I had to erase my personality,” he said. “But when you find your voice as a writer, you attract more talented people — people who don’t want to subsume your voice, but work it into a harmony.” Creative freedom has taken Mastai many places exploring

many genres — he’s not only written scripts for romance films, but also action, horror, familyfriendly and more. Meanwhile, All Our Wrong Todays is sci-fi realism. When asked his methods on bouncing between genres, Mastai replied, “I’m often writing the same thing. I think of genre as a cracked mirror, and each one is a way for me to explore the themes that fascinate me from a different angle.” While on the surface, The F Word and Mastai’s 2012 crime thriller Fury seem nothing alike, the films share motifs of honesty, deception and emotional connection between strangers. A lot has changed since then, thankfully. “If my work is going to stay vital, I can’t keep writing about stuff that happened to me when I was twenty,” he noted. But what about when you’re twenty? “I know that for other film students — or any of the arts, really — it’s very daunting thinking about how the hell you’re going to make a living doing the thing you love,” Mastai said. However, community can often make the difference. “What’s hard to understand is that the people you meet at Queen’s are the people you’re going to enter the world with. And it’s going to be hard to find your place, but those relationships will be incredibly valuable and fruitful and productive in your career.”

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Sometimes people are going to upset you. It happens — that’s life. But when it does happen, the worst thing you can do is hold a grudge. People mess up, they’ll say the wrong thing and sometimes tasks won’t get done the way you want them to. If you’ve talked to them about it, they’ve acknowledged their mistake and apologized, and you’ve worked together to remedy the problem, make like Elsa and let it go. Grudges don’t do anyone any good, and fixating on everyday problems will only make you miserable. Act based on the present, and draw the line

PHOTOS BY NICOLE LANGFIELD

BUSINESS AND PLEASURE

The Journal guide to navigating being friends and working together Balancing the dynamics of working with your friends, classmates and significant others Sarina Grewal Assistant News Editor It’s often said that when it comes to your workplace, you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. But when that workplace is at your university and your boss and coworkers are oftentimes your friends, classmates or significant other, a student’s work and personal life inevitably mixes. That can make for a complicated dynamic — how do you balance taking instructions from your boss one minute, and going out with them later that night? It’s not always easy, but it’s

absolutely possible to manage. And at Queen`s — where everything from campus jobs and clubs to government is run by students — it’s also unavoidable. As someone who’s had to navigate this dynamic for a few years now, I’ve wracked my brain for every useful tidbit I could think of: here’s what I came up with. Communicate, communicate, communicate As typical as it sounds, communication is important in any relationship. When you’re trying to navigate multiple kinds

of relationships with one person, it becomes even more important. If you’re friends with your boss or coworker, tensions in your work relationship can easily affect your friendship and vice versa. It’s a common situation, so the best way to avoid this — or at least prevent any lasting negative feelings — is to ensure that you’re openly talking with the other person. If they haven’t done a task properly, speak up. If you think they did a fabulous job, tell them. And most of all, hold yourself accountable to your mistakes: if you messed up, say sorry.

Transparency in your workplace is the best way to ensure that there’s no residual awkwardness when you leave work and transition into friend mode. Whether it’s good or bad, keep them updated on anything they need to know — and since you’re friends, they’d probably take it better than an acquaintance would anyway. Don’t hold onto things

One of the most important things to remember is that when you’ve got a multifaceted relationship with your friend, significant other or classmate, you need to engage with them in the context of the situation. That’s my convoluted way of saying: if you’re at work, remember to maintain professionalism. If you’re out partying, treat your friend like you would any other friend. These different dynamics will overlap — when you’re close friends with someone, there’s no need to pretend like you’re not when you’re working together. But remember the line: being friends with your boss doesn’t mean you can act without their approval if it’s needed, and dating a coworker doesn’t mean it’s okay for extensive PDA in the office. Set ground rules if you need to. Learning to separate the different relationships you have with the people in your personal life is key to ensuring no upsetting situations arise. It will also prevent your workplace and your nights out from becoming incredibly awkward.

How Riverdale became an overnight phenomenon Keeping up with the Archie Comics gang is our favorite part of fall

Pop’s Diner, the main hangout spot in Riverdale.

Shivani Gonzalez Lifestyle Editor Although the four months of summer 2017 were great — no school, warm days, patio drinks — let’s be honest, we weren’t fully living it up for one simple reason: Riverdale was on hiatus. Returning for its season two premiere on October 11, we finally get the chance to find out if Fred Andrews is dead, whether Veronica and Archie are together or not and if that Southside Serpents leather jacket gets

in the way of Betty and Jughead’s relationship. Riverdale is so popular that we have to ask ourselves how a series like this became such a phenomenon. Considering it’s a show about the lives of high school students, the popularity its garnered amongst the university demographic makes me wonder. I mean, last year my friends and I would leave the club early to watch it when it came out on Netflix each Thursday at midnight. Even my Facebook is currently flooded with people tagging each

SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE

other in posts about Riverdale coming back. Needless to say, it’s officially a TV phenomenon. Some of the criticism I heard about the show when it came out was that it was way too “high school.” Yes, the characters embodied the annoying, immature attitudes we were all too familiar with when we were that age. But the thing is, I think that’s what gives it its strength as a show. As university students, we’re made to face the stresses of the real world — cooking meals, submitting assignments and getting into sticky situations with

relationships. Sometimes, it’s nice to relive those simple high school days and escape into a world of teenagers — specifically a world many of us are already familiar with from our childhood obsession with Archie Comics. Part of us always wanted to be the stylish, sought-after Cheryl Blossom or have a fling with the music/football-torn hottie Archie Andrews. It’s fun to get lost in a world where kids have to deal with manipulative, nosy parents, problems in high school and house parties. Another reason this show is so popular is because it combines lovable, familiar characters and a genre that’s very much present in television today — murder mysteries. It’s almost as if Pretty Little Liars was made up of

characters we already know and love but is also more relatable because of their diversity. The weird combination of so many different elements is what makes it as good as it is. In the space of one episode, characters move from accosting gang members in a sketchy bar on the other side of town to performing at Riverdale High’s talent show. This best-of-both-worlds mix and our love for simple high school drama is what makes it so addicting to watch. With the season two premier, the gang’s back together, so grab your grey beanie, Riverdale High letterman jacket, highest ponytail and iconic pearls and order a cheeseburger. We can’t wait to see what these murder solving teens are going to do next.

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HEALTH

Friday, Oct 13, 2017

My invisible friend Ed Navigating eating disorder recovery at Queen’s This article talks about eating disorders and may be triggering for some readers. Let’s get one thing straight — eating disorders aren’t diets. The pervasiveness of conversations surrounding food and body image at Queen’s encourages an ignorance that has very serious repercussions for those who struggle clinically with those very things. The normalization of body-hatred and choose-your-own-adventure-dieting has blurred the line between what we can identify as being diet culture and, in my case at least, anorexia nervosa. Eating disorders are a serious disease, with more people dying of eating disorders than any other mental illness. They’re a biopsychosocial mental illness. They aren’t your typical bad body-image day you have after watching Bachelor in Paradise. I’m talking about an incredibly complex psychological disturbance that even I, as a self-proclaimed feminist who’s committed to battling diet culture, improving media representation and encouraging the revolutionary act of self-acceptance, suffer from. Eating disorders have fallen into this category of mental illnesses that are still

not socially acceptable to talk about. Every time I mention “Ed” — my eating disorder — it feels like I’ve told someone that I’ve seen them naked. They become quiet and visibly uncomfortable. Often, revealing this truth about me has resulted in people whispering behind my back or constantly feeling like they need to watch what I’m eating. People stopped looking at me like the person I am and suddenly I became “anorexia”. This caused a lot of internalized guilt, embarrassment and secrecy for me. What does an eating disorder look and feel like? I certainly can’t speak for everyone. First of all, eating disorders aren’t just a “first-world problem.” People of all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds; all weights, genders, sexualities, classes, ages, (did I say weights?) can suffer from an eating disorder. People fight eating disorders every second of every day. In my experience, I have a voice in my head who sometimes tells me I’m so anxious, fat, useless and unlovable that I can’t possibly put that thing in my mouth. Ed depends on scales, calories and miles for validation. Ed wants me go to the gym to purge, not as part of a healthy lifestyle routine. There’s no goal weight; Ed

LIFE HACKS

Three suitable alternatives to Netflix in Canada I’m not suggesting a break-up, but maybe we should explore the streaming pond JoSh GranovSky Assistant Lifestyle Editor I’m about to write something that you’ll probably instinctively dismiss. You may read it, you may even process it, but the chances of you taking it seriously are slim. Netflix isn’t the only streaming site. I know, it’s tough to process. Many of us think of Netflix as the golden standard for streaming sites. Even more of us think of Netflix as the only viable way to watch our favourite shows and movies. However, as anyone who’s travelled to the United States has witnessed, Netflix’s Canadian selection is rather limited, to put it politely (so Canadian, I know). When you’ve grown up with Netflix, as many of us have been fortunate enough to, its selection can grow stale faster than they can pump out new seasons of Orange is the New Black. As a result, a surprisingly large number of viewers will turn to re-watching their favourite Netflix selections over and over again until they can recite the end credits by memory. I mean, how many times can one person re-watch all 10 seasons of Friends? Okay, yeah, you’re right, Friends is timeless. But if you ever want to go on a break and explore the streaming options Canada has to offer, here’s a quick guide to set you on your path. CraveTV Netflix’s biggest direct competition in Canada comes from Bell’s stand-alone service CraveTV. CraveTV is stacked with critically acclaimed shows like Twin Peaks, Curb Your Enthusiasm and recent Emmy-winner The Handmaid’s Tale. If you’re looking to catch up on those cable shows you heard were good but couldn’t find anywhere, CraveTV is

probably the place for you. What it lacks in movies — a quick search showed that the only one available is the Blade Runner — it makes up in hidden gems and being a dollar cheaper than Netflix per month. TMN GO If you’ve heard of TMN GO, you’re in a very exclusive club. Taking advantage of The Movie Network’s vast library, TMN GO has an impressive array of movies and shows that includes La La Land, Deadpool, Big Little Lies and — brace yourselves — Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, TMN GO is only accessible if your television package has The Movie Network or TMN Encore channels. Fortunately, if you or your family already has this channel, you have this service.

ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE JIANG

wants me to stop eating so that I become essentially weightless. Ed has been the center of all my thoughts, which makes it difficult to think about things like school, work, friends or the trauma that I would numb through my relationship with Ed. Ed is a bully and a parasite. For all these reasons and more, I sometimes compare Ed to my abusive ex. My sexual assault had a life-changing impact on my perceptions of my body, which is why it’s not surprising to me that disordered eating is a common coping mechanism used by survivors and victims to manage overwhelming feelings and emotions. I have yet to talk to a doctor at Queen’s without a vail of stigma, often making my illness feel illegitimate. Anytime I’ve mentioned anxiety, depression or suicidality, I often get lectured about how a good helping of exercise mixed with a serving of eating right is a guaranteed recipe for good mental health. Rather than being helpful, what I’ve

been told is reductionist, invalidating and incredibly unappetizing. Through everything, I’ve been privileged to be able to afford the limited patchwork of care available in the surrounding Kingston community. The process of breaking up with Ed has been a long, uncomfortable and painful one ,and there’s no perfect path to recovery. I have found spaces where I can speak about this honestly and I write this article in hopes to pluck away at the stigma, myths and misconceptions of eating disorders. I want to remind people that everyone has a story, with the words we use and the narratives we perpetuate all having a way of affecting the people around us. That every time we reduce our worthiness down to the calories in versus the calories out or our morality to the foods we eat, we are contributing to a toxic society. Amongst all the diet talk and food obsession on campus, there are people suffering from real illnesses. My hope is that if I say all of this out loud, one less person will suffer in silence.

Queen’s community: Have an idea? Innovation? Special project? Queen’s University Alumni Association can help fund you.

Receive up to $2,000 for your Queen’s project

Queen’s groups have gained funding for conferences, festivals, community outreach programs, summer day camps and more!

Prime Video The newest of the pack, Amazon launched the Prime Video service under a year ago and well, it shows. Prime Video has some moderate draws, like Transparent, American Gods and Mr. Robot. The rest of its selection — which you can only view with a Prime or Prime Student membership — would be best described as eclectic. In other words, it has everything that Netflix, CraveTV and TMN Go don’t cover, which really isn’t much. But hey, it has Les Mis, so that’s something, right? I sincerely hope one of these three services have piqued your interest. But, if they didn’t, I want to remind you that even in your darkest moments, know you should never have to resort to your old, virus-ridden, illegal streaming sites. I’m looking at you, Project Free TV.

Applications available at: Alumni Relations Summerhill or http://bit.ly/2ybZzYV

Deadline: October 31, 2017

Contact: Nikki Remillard nikki.remillard@queensu.ca 1.800.267.7837 or 613.533.2060 ext. 78691

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POSTSCRIPT

Finding the silver lining in a tumultuous world What I learned from facing my fears and moving to New York City Shivani Gonzalez Lifestyle Editor Is facing your fears actually worth the pay off? That’s what I found myself wondering as I sat on the train with all my belongings moving to what I now consider the greatest city in the world just five months ago. But first, let me back up a bit. After going through somewhat of a rough time during my third year at Queen’s, I decided I needed to do something different and out of my comfort zone in the summer. Even though I was 20 years old, I was still feeling that teenage angsty “I need a change” mood. After lots of time spent on e-mail and Indeed.com, I landed myself two internships in the place I’d dreamed of living since before I can remember — New York City. Even though I knew I should be thrilled to be living out my dream, there was something that felt off to me. Ever since the US election, New York and America in general has felt a little bit less like home. This is coming from a girl who has a New York State flag hanging in her bedroom and always wears a necklace that has on it ‘New York’ written in cursive.

Columbus Circle.

I had always loved my cute little Starshollow-esque town in Upstate New York but following early November, I couldn’t stop thinking about the 72 per cent of my county that had voted for Donald Trump. I thought about the anti New York Safe Act signs everywhere, protesting a bill passed by Andrew Cuomo to regulate gun control. When I was home, I was always conscious about the fact that gun laws in the United States were already so unruly and combined with a Republican, pro-Second Amendment President being in power, reducing the possibility of gun law reforms even more. It’s not even that I’m against the allowance of gun ownership — but knowing that people with bad intentions can own and access guns so easily in my home country terrified me. There’s a sense of comfort and ease I feel when I’m in Canada that vanished when I went back to the United States. Even though New York City is overwhelmingly democratic, it was the concept of having people in the country with this sort of social norm that really gave me anxiety. In the last 1,735 days, there have been 1,516 mass shootings in the US. That means over nearly five years, there have been

PHOTO BY SHIVANI GONZALEZ

Shivani and the Statue of Liberty.

just over 200 days where there wasn’t a mass shooting. I’ve always been very conscious of these statistics — as a curious person and a politics major — and have always been sure I was making every possible conscious effort to stay safe, even in some over-the-top ways. I haven’t been to a movie in the US in over two years because of my fear of a shooter in the theater. Whenever I’m in a public place, I’m mostly focused on the people around me and what they’re doing. I tense up every time I see someone with their hand in their pocket. While I had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder earlier in the summer, my fears weren’t entirely out of line. If people innocently enjoying a night out in a club, walking to school or heading to the airport have been shot dead then what’s stopping it from happening to me? Going to New York and living by myself meant opening myself up completely and forced me to let my guard down. New York City is arguably one of the centres of the United States — if there was another mass shooting, it’s likely that it could occur somewhere in Manhattan. Living in the city, I was going to be seeing iconic things every day — which is obviously great in a sense — but also terrifying given the fact that I could see the headlines for the next day. “30 shot dead at Penn Station” or “Mass shootings cost lives of 50 at Columbus Circle.” Despite this, I knew I had no control over what was going to happen and while that can be really scary, it also gave me a sense of freedom. I boarded the Empire Service train from Albany to New York Penn Station and forced myself into a whole other adventure — one that terrified me. Looking back at it now, my summer in New York City was the best it could possibly have been. I was constantly going on crazy adventures and living like the characters in all my favorite TV shows set in New York like How I Met Your Mother and Friends. While there were moments I was much more anxious than others about my

PHOTO BY AMANDA HENNESSY

surroundings and my safety, I was given a renewed sense of faith in humanity with each day in NYC. If you knew me, you’d know this sort of cheesy sentiment isn’t what usually comes from my mouth but in New York City I was able to experience that sort of positivity every single day. Whether it was someone helping me grab my suitcase on the subway, someone offering me a dollar when I didn’t have change at a cash-only bodega, or life chats with an Uber driver about my career in journalism, there was such an obvious presence of love that surrounded me. When 9/11 happened, New York City came together to deal with the time of tragedy and I think that mentality has stuck — this is a city that takes care of it’s own people. Having spent the summer there was an important experience to me because it reminded me of something that’s so easy to forget — the majority of people are inherently good. When I hear about mass shootings on the news — most recently happening in Vegas on October 1 — I find myself feeling sad about the state of the world. It’s hard to comprehend that someone so awful could exist and do that to other people with families, loved ones and full lives. But the thing is, while those people definitely do exist, the majority of people are good people. New York City isn’t the only example of this — think about all the people who lined up to donate blood after the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting or drove each other to the hospital after the Vegas concert shooting. In times that are so tumultuous, it’s easy to lose faith in humanity but it’s important to remember those times people have united together. For me, it took moving to New York City to be able to figure this out but that doesn’t have to be the case. In times of such turmoil and hopelessness, it’s important to look out for the positives and remember we live in a world of general good.

Friday, Oct 13, 2017

LIFESTYLE

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