Voices of Black History Month - pages 13 and 16
the
Queen’s University
journal
Vol. 144, Issue 22
T h u r s day , F e b r ua ry 1 6 , 2 0 1 7
since
1873
SGPS Winter General Meeting recap Maureen O’Reilly Assistant News Editor The Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) held their Winter General Meeting in Mac-Corry this Wednesday evening, at which all six uncontested executive candidates running in the upcoming election had a chance to discuss their platforms.
Executive candidates debate, members vote on motions regarding accountability and accessibility
Motion to create Executive Oversight Committee
PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
SGPS Executive Candidates at the Winter General Meeting.
Less popular Fall Break option among students to be recommended by AMS AMS Assembly recap Feb. 15 Morgan Dodson Assistant News Editor On Feb. 15 members of AMS Assembly convened in Dunning Hall for a meeting with sparse discussion, beginning with the ratification of incoming commissioners and directors, later leading into a twist announcement regarding AMS’s changed advocacy stance on Fall Term Break. Ratification
Incoming Commissioner of Social Issues, Ramna Safeer (ArtSci ’18), Commissioner of Academic Affairs, Victoria Lewarne (ArtSci ’17), Commissioner of Campus Activities, Devon Laflamme (Nursing ’17), and Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, Stefano Hollands (ArtSci ’17) were each ratified during Assembly.
The incoming Director of Clubs, Emily Vassos (ArtSci ’17) was also ratified. Each incoming commissioner and director was given one minute to speak to their new role. Safeer said that she is excited to carry on current Commissioner of Social Issues, Lea Keren’s legacy. She explained that last semester’s racially-charged events left many students feeling isolated on campus. As the Commissioner of Social Issues Safeer’s goal is to establish a balance between administration and students as well as create physical spaces for discussion. “Some people are always left out. How can we include as many people as possible in that discussion?” Safeer said. Next, Lewarne spoke to how she would like apply her skills in policy making. Like Safeer, Lewarne committed to continuing the work of her predecessor, current Commissioner of Academic Affairs
Leah Brockie. Lewarne’s main goal, she explained, is to advocate on behalf of students in terms of financial accessibility, especially for textbooks. She hopes to advocate on behalf of students for student run activities and being involved in the Queen’s community. Hollands was questioned next, and explained how focus needs to be put on the Student Housing District as the collective home of the student community. His goals are to engage with city counsellors and stakeholders, build respectful relationships, and engage further with committees under the municipal affairs commission. Finally, Vassos spoke to Assembly, telling members and observers that students value clubs and can rely on them to be their Queen’s experience. See Working on page 4
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Arts
Former SGPS President Christopher Cochrane moved to create an Executive Oversight Committee of the SGPS. According to his proposal, the committee would be responsible for “providing a constructive review of the performance of elected Executive members of the SGPS, and for facilitating resolution of concerns about the functioning of the elected SGPS Executive.” Many members commended Cochrane’s attempt to address the SGPS’s accountability — an internal issue that many graduate and professional students identified as crucial. However, a debate ensued regarding the logistics of said committee. Many members raised questions about the committee’s proposed jurisdiction, disciplinary power, and relationship to the SGPS. Following a lengthy discussion of these details, members voted to defer the motion to be discussed and voted on at their March council meeting. Non-fee Referendum Questions
A second motion moved by Cochrane was passed to allow the SGPS to conduct referenda on any matter within the jurisdiction of the SGPS on their fall and winter election ballots. By cutting down on signatures required, which Cochrane said made it difficult to submit referendum questions to be included in the past, he hopes the SGPS will now have the opportunity to use referendum questions to collect constructive feedback and data regarding all graduate and professional departments. All Candidates Debate
The SGPS executive candidates formed a panel at the end of the Wednesday night meeting to introduce themselves and address questions from members. The candidates were asked about how they felt running uncontested and how they plan to account for the views of all graduate See Candidates on page 4
Sports
The apocalypse plays out on Isabel’s stage
Bronze for women’s fencing page 11
page 8
Roses are red, violets are blue
Which Gaels team will go farthest in the playoffs?
page 10
page 12
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Thursday, February 16, 2017
Volume 145 Editor in Chief elected Joseph Cattana elected Tuesday evening Maureen O’Reilly Assistant News Editor
Earth Centre staff made their case as a “revenue generating entity,” a claim which failed.
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
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Earth Centre calls on AMS Judicial Committee for constitutional interpretation JComm convenes to discuss Centre’s status as a revenue generating entity, reaches unanimous verdict siding with AMS Jenna Zucker & Blake Canning Journal Staff A version of this story appeared online on Feb. 14 2017. The AMS Judicial Committee gathered on Feb. 12 in the AMS Boardroom for a public hearing to bring the Earth Centre’s status to judicial review, by request of Earth Centre staff. In 2015, the Earth Centre was declared to be “primarily revenue generating” as a club, and therefore brought under the AMS Commission of Environmental Affairs (CEA) as a service. Since then, the Centre argues that their mandate hasn’t changed. In January, AMS Assembly voted to dissolve the CEA, which, according to the plan to redistribute the responsibilities of the CEA set out by AMS Vice-President (University Affairs) Carolyn Thompson, had the Earth Centre returning to its original club status. President Tyler Lively said in a subsequent meeting of Assembly that the 2015 changes to the Earth Centre’s status had “insufficient consultation.” The hearing, which was labelled a “constitutional interpretation,” sought to remedy listed concerns by the Earth Centre about future logistical complications and continued status as a revenue -generating entity. After introducing the Judicial Committee on Sunday evening, Chair Blair Wentworth allowed the managerial team of the Earth Centre — represented primarily by Operations Manager Amy O’Rourke, ArtSci ’17 — to state their argument. The Earth Centre team stated that they’re a storefront that offers supplementary services like free light bulbs, recycling bins and other products, in conjunction with at-cost sale of environmentally responsible products. The basis of their argument
referred back to Section 7.02.08 of the AMS Constitution, which states that “Clubs shall not be primarily revenue generating entities or have revenue generating activities through the sales of goods and services as a substantial part of their mandate excluding fundraising for third-party charitable organizations.”
“
We’re acting upon the assumption that the mandate of the Earth Centre will be the same.
”
— Tyler Lively, AMS President
“We’d like to emphasize that these services are supplemental and arose after the Earth Centre was established,” representatives of the managerial team argued. “We differ from Oxfam, as we have an allocated store space and Oxfam’s money goes towards charity.” Oxfam is a club, rather than a service, despite their retail space. Although they’re revenue generating, they highlighted that because they sell everything at-cost, the money is used to cover costs for the store. Therefore, while they’re revenue-generating, they’re not profit-generating.
Simply raising “revenue is not
enough to meet the standard of primarily revenue-generating.
”
— Blair Wentworth, Judicial Committee Chair
After concluding their argument, Thompson and Lively were given time to rebut as the listed respondents. Asking for an interpretation around the Earth Centre being
revenue generating was “a bit speculative,” Lively argued, as clubs shouldn’t be revenue generating. “To my knowledge no submission of the ratification of the Earth Centre has yet to be submitted, so we’re acting upon the assumption that the mandate of the Earth Centre will be the same,” he continued. Lively then emphasized the possibility of the Earth Centre changing their mandate through the ratification process for it to comply with the ruling of the Judicial Committee and the AMS constitution. The Earth Centre’s financial records for the fiscal year of 201617, excluding January, showed that they’d sold $320 worth of goods. Lively then noted that, with the revenue being so low in comparison to the expenditures, arguing for the centre to be revenue generating as a primary part of its mandate is an “aberration of the word primarily.” “I think it was put in there to make sure that we’re not ratifying stores,” he concluded. The Judicial Committee ruling was released on Wednesday. In a unanimous 5-0 decision, the committee ruled that the Earth Centre failed to meet the definition of a primarily revenue generating entity as contained in the AMS Constitution. While still generating some revenue from their storefront service, committee chair Wentworth wrote that “simply raising revenue is not enough to meet the standard of primarily revenue generating.” “Otherwise, any entity who earns any revenue at all could make the argument they primarily generate revenue.” Regarding the other services offered by the Earth Centre, Wentworth’s statement said that “this gives the Committee cause to make the determination that Fundraising/Event Expenses is a more primary function than revenue generating.”
At approximately 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, it was announced that Joseph Cattana had been successfully voted in as the incoming Editor in Chief for Volume 145 (2017-18) of The Queen’s Journal. Cattana, this year’s Sports Editor, ran against current News Editor Victoria Gibson. Cattana was elected with 41 votes, amounting to 66.1 per cent, while Gibson received 21 votes, totaling 33.9 per cent. Voter turnout for this election was significantly higher than recent years, with 62 of the 67 eligible voters — 92.5 per cent — taking part in the election. This year’s election was done electronically — as opposed to previous year’s paper ballots — using the AMS’s Simply Voting system. Prior to the election, the Journal Advisory Board named the AMS’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Michael Poirier, and Chief Returning Officer (CRO), Rebecca Warrian, as the CEO and CRO to oversee The Journal’s elections — that in previous years had been overseen by the current Editors in Chief. The voting began on Feb. 9 and was scheduled to end at 10 p.m. that evening, but was interrupted mid-way through when the elections team announced their decision to disqualify Gibson from the election due to ineligibility. After two appeals were filed over the weekend opposing the decision, polls were reopened and the election period was extended. According to AMS Secretariat Miguel Martinez, who was part of the election team tasked with overseeing election rulings, it was determined that Gibson hadn’t paid her AMS specific Student Interest fee, making her ineligible. “The CEO established that the only proper course of action was to disqualify Ms. Gibson. At that time Ms. Gibson filed an appeal to the Journal Advisory Board on the grounds that she was disqualified for factors outside of her knowledge and beyond her control,” Martinez wrote to The Journal on Wednesday. The Journal Advisory Board met on Feb. 10 and ruled to deny Gibson’s appeal, Martinez wrote. “Ms. Gibson then filed an appeal to the AMS Judicial Committee on grounds that there was a miscarriage based on the facts. The appeal was granted and it was mandated that Ms. Gibson be given the opportunity to run, pending her eligibility,” Martinez wrote. According to the Committee’s Feb. 13 report compiled by Blair Wentworth, AMS Judicial Committee Chair, the CEO was within his authority to apply the sanction of disqualification to Gibson in this case. However, they ruled that the decision did “not align itself with the principles of restorative justice, and as such, represents an injustice to not only Ms. Gibson, but also the Queen’s University community as
a whole.” Wentworth also noted that “the presence of a recused member of the Journal Board in the appeal deliberations” was a “major violation of Ms. Gibson’s due process, verging on negligence.” “The belief of the Journal Board that this would not create a bias, or reasonable perception of bias, is absurd,” Wentworth wrote. Polls re-opened on Monday and stayed open until Tuesday evening, giving those who hadn’t voted yet a chance to do so, but any votes that had been cast prior to Gibson’s original disqualification remained the same. “I couldn’t be happier with the democratic process that happened on Tuesday, but it’s important to remember that we had to fight for it to happen,” Gibson told The Journal on Wednesday. “The election process this year was a clear demonstration of how problematic AMS involvement in Journal elections can be.”
I couldn’t be happier “with the democratic
process that happened on Tuesday, but it’s important to remember that we had to fight for it to happen.
”
— Victoria Gibson
“While The Journal’s former voting system could benefit from more checks and balances to avoid potential bias, shifting it into the hands of the AMS this year wasn’t the right decision and I put my faith in Joe to steer The Journal into autonomous waters next year. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and a good heart in his chest, and that’ll take him everywhere.”
The last few weeks “ were hectic, but I
wouldn’t change anything. I just want to thank everyone.
”
— Joe Cattana
Cattana told The Journal on Wednesday that he “couldn’t stop smiling” when he heard the results. “The last few weeks were hectic, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Cattana said. “I just want to thank everyone who took the time to meet with me, sit down, and talk about the future of The Journal.” Cattana says his campaign was “really focused on the people and the stories that have come to define this place” and that he looks forward to carrying on the great traditions of The Journal come May 1. Cattana’s platform centers on increasing training and education for Journal staff, focusing on staff members’ mental health, increasing engagement with the student body and prioritizing a stronger emphasis on web content.
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POLITICS
Queen’s Chancellor appointed Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Canada Infrastructure Bank Leech to advise on project that will attract private investments in Canada’s infrastructure Maureen O’Reilly Assistant News Editor This Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced the appointment of Queen’s Chancellor Jim Leech, MBA ’73, to the position of Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on the Canada Infrastructure Bank. “Mr. Leech brings with him immense knowledge and experience, and I am confident that he will help ensure a smooth and successful launch of the Canada Infrastructure Bank,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the announcement released on the Prime Minister’s website. “This is about making sure our public dollars go farther and are used smarter, as we make historic investments in infrastructure to create middle class jobs today and sustained economic growth for years to come.” In an interview with The Journal on Tuesday, Leech explained that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is a product of the Fall Economic Statement issued by the Finance Minister last fall, and is part of an effort by the federal government to stimulate growth within Canada’s economy and job market. As Special Advisor, Leech will be working pro bono to get the Bank off the ground and running. “The Canada Infrastructure Bank is a relatively innovative and unique concept,
and it is still just a concept — my job is to advise the Prime Minister on how best to set it up,” Leech said. The purpose of the Bank is to attract private capital to partner with government tax payer dollars to improve what Leech calls “the economic backbone” of Canada — its infrastructure. Leech explained that many private institutions today have a desire to invest in infrastructure, but don’t know how to go about handling the risks involved in building new bridges, airports, roads, etc. The government has a desire to start these new infrastructure projects, but requires capital to do so. This disconnect between the public and private sector is the problem the Canada Infrastructure Bank will attempt to resolve. The Bank’s purpose is to “help bridge that gap” because it “will absorb some of the risk” associated with launching new infrastructure projects that make private investors uneasy. “The idea is that we will have 35 billion dollars of tax payer money to use to ‘prime the pump’ in order to get three, four, or five times that amount from the private sector,” Leech said. “The 35 billion will give you more like
100 to 150 billion because we’re bringing in third parties.” Before starting in his position as Chancellor in 2014, Leech served as President and CEO of Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. According to Leech, his past experience at Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan revealed to him the fact that very little private capital has been invested into Canada’s infrastructure. “It frustrated me to no end — maybe even dismayed me — that we had very little invested in [Canada’s infrastructure], because Canada has not really embraced private investment into public infrastructure,” Leech said. Leech explained that Canada’s mantra has traditionally been that public infrastructure should be owned and paid for by the taxpayer — but it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way. Many other countries have been very successful having private institutions investing in infrastructure. This arrangement not only frees up government money for other priorities, like health care, but also allows for the private sector to run projects “much more efficiently and effectively,”
Law students support refugees in light of U.S. visa ban Over 100 signed letters sent to Minister of Immigration Morgan Dodson Assistant News Editor In the wake of the recent United States executive order on immigration, Queen’s Law Refugee Support Program (QLRSP) has penned over 100 letters to the Canadian government in support of taking action. QLRSP is a student run initiative that was started in 2015 through the Queen’s School of Law. The program started as a way to support the refugee community in Kingston through activities such as pot lucks and donation drives. However, this year the program took on more of an advocacy role in response to President Donald Trump’s platform. Alyssa Moses, Law ’18, spoke to The Journal
on Wednesday about what the program has accomplished, primarily for refugees affected by the recent order. The 100 letter campaign, she explained, is directed at Canadian Minister of Immigration Ahmed Hussen, and urges Hussen “to condemn President Trump’s immigration order.” The letters contained three prongs, beginning with the condemnation. Second, they ask to have the United States removed from the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, and for Hussen to consider taking in already-approved refugees from the American government who’ve now been barred. According to Moses, Hussen responded to the first and third
prong before the letters were sent. “They aren’t going to officially condemn it and they aren’t going to take in any more refugees that they have already stated that they will for this year,” she said. The second prong is something that many lawyers will be looking into though, she added and working on “behind the scenes.” “It was important for us to let him know that people still care regardless of what the government’s position is. It’s important for them to know what our position is,” Moses said. The program also held a “learn in” for both undergraduate and law students which helped to explain the implications of the act and how they could get involved. “Finally we had the
Leech explained. His most crucial task, he said, will be to attract the right people to help govern the Bank. According to Leech, a balance between third-party independents and government officials on the board of directors is crucial to ensuring that outside perspectives are met with accountability, and it’s important to ensure that each person involved is talented and experienced, since the project is so significant. “[The Bank] is going to be dealing with all the largest financial institutions in the world,” Leech said. Leech hopes that by year-end, the Canada Infrastructure Bank will be up and running. “It’s quite an honour that the Prime Minister would approach me to take on what could give Canada a real competitive advantage,” Leech said. Leech has also served as Special Advisor to the Ontario Minister of Finance, and currently chairs the MasterCard and Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundations. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2014 and was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his work with the True Patriot Love Foundation in 2012.
research-a-thon, which is a 24-hour initiative to help support the Canadian Council for Refugees,” Moses said. Twenty-one out of 22 law schools in Canada participated and 40 law students at Queen’s alone completed research in intervals of four hours. In terms of local support, QLRSP has recently began fundraising locally through Tilt to bring a new
VIA WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
family to Canada. QLRSP is hoping to use the money that they raise to privately sponsor more people within the community. “We are shocked by how quickly our own fundraising has snowballed,” Moses said. QLRSP hopes to start their own chapter within the Canadian Council of Refugees to further support research and advocacy for refugees.
Left to right: QLRSP Executives Alyssa Moses, Kali Larsen, Stephanie Bishop and Yamen Fadel.
SUPPLIED BY ALYSSA MOSES
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Thursday, February 16, 2017
COMMENCEMENT
Queen’s names 2017 honorary degree recipients Art MacDonald and Stephen J.R. Smith among listed notables Maureen O’Reilly Assistant News Editor In the 2017 slate of honorary Queen’s degree recipients released Tuesday, the University harks back to the successes of 2015 — naming Nobel Prize winner Arthur McDonald and Smith School of Business benefactor Stephen J.R. Smith among honourees. Members of the 16-person honour roll will be formally presented with their degrees during either spring or fall convocation events. May 20
The first honouree, Justice Kin Kee Pang, ArtSci ’70, is a member of Hong Kong’s senior judiciary. Pang has served as President of the Queen’s Alumni Association’s Hong Kong branch and a member of University Council. May 25
James Rutka is a Meds ’81 graduate and professor of surgery at University of Toronto. Rutka currently practices pediatric neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children, is an Officer of the Order of Canada and played as quarterback for Queen’s during their ’78 Vanier Cup victory. May 30
Stephen J.R. Smith, a Sci ’72 graduate, is set to be honoured for his contributions to information technology and financial structuring in the national mortgage field, as well as his $50 million donation to Queen’s business school — which is now named after him. May 31
Husband and wife Gurujai Deshpande, PhD ’79, and Jaishree Deshpande are set to be honoured for their contributions to the school on a financial level. The pair made a 2016 joint gift towards Queen’s innovation programming via the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre. June 2
Sir David Skegg is currently based in New Zealand, at the University of Otago, as an epidemiologist and public health physician. As Vice-Chancellor, he began discussions that led to the establishment of the Matariki Network of Universities — of which Queen’s is a founder. June 5
Baron John Alderdice is cited as
playing a significant role in the development of the Irish peace progress and negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. June 6
Society of Graduate and Professional Students Council members cast votes at the AGM.
PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
Candidates address issues with entirely unopposed executive ballot
connections with members of many faculties, which she will and professional students use to serve varied interests on a when four out of five executive daily basis. candidates are from the Faculty Vice-President (Finance and of Law. Services) Candidate Lauren Presidential Candidate Adam Peacock, Law ’19, explained her Grotsky explained that he doesn’t perspective as a law student like running uncontested, which will allow her to advocate for he did once before for ASUS many of the resources, which Presidency, because it robs are now exclusively available students of a certain aspect to law students, to be extended of democracy. to all graduate and professional However, he said that he’s students, especially in areas like worked hard to show he should career development. be voted for because he is a good When asked what he would candidate, not because he’s the do to address mental health only candidate. concerns among students, Grotsky All candidates expressed explained that his goal would be their uneasiness with running to expand health coverage and unopposed, but Vice-President work alongside the incoming AMS June 7 (Campaigns and Community executive to implement an online Affairs) Candidate Tyler Morrison, booking system with Student 2015 Nobel Prize winner Law ’19, also said that it has given Wellness Services. Arthur McDonald is a professor him the opportunity to put more Vice-President (Professional) emeritus in the Department of energy into researching for his Candidate Russell Durward, Law Physics, Engineering Physics and platform rather than campaigning. ’19, echoed Grotsky’s sentiment, Astronomy, probing into unknown The candidates also expressed and noted that wellness services parts of neutrinos and dark matter. their sincere dedication to currently seem to be focused on He also serves on the Board representing the interests of crisis management. Durward of Directors for the Perimeter all students through extensive hopes to shift this focus to Institute of Theoretical Physics. consultation with students, despite prioritize regular check ups and their lack of faculty diversity. consistent support. June 8 Vice-President (Graduate) Peacock explained that she Candidate Stephanie McKnight plans to work with their budget to Fredy Peccerelli is a founding explained that through her PhD put more money into SGPS mental member and executive director work in Cultural Studies, she has health resources. of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala, which applies forensic anthropological and archaeological techniques to discover the identity of victims of mass human rights abuses.
Graduate Senator Candidate Alexandru Sonoc explained that while Senate can do little in terms of curative solutions to mental health problems, there is “great deal they can do to prevent it.” Sonoc hopes to help graduate and professional students who struggle with the feeling that they haven’t accomplished anything over a long-term, open-ended research project by promoting project management skills. When asked about the biggest issues currently facing the SGPS, Grotsky indicated that he would like to “reconsider” the SGPS’s relationship with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). According to Grotsky, many students have come forward with concerns about how the CFS has been functioning lately, especially following the discovery of a hidden bank account. Durward hopes to address a “wall” currently separating the SGPS from the Queen’s student body at large, as well as the limited student engagement with the SGPS. Candidates identified mental health resources among students, the accountability of the SGPS, and decreases in research funding as being key issues they’d like to address during their term.
Donald Bayne holds three degrees from Queen’s and now practices criminal law for Bayne, Sellar, Boxall in Ottawa. According to The Gazette, Bayne has conducted trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of courts in Canada and at public inquiries around the world.
favourable option — with 4,152 students voting in favour of option one, versus 3,708 students for option two, working out to 52.8 per cent versus 47.2 per cent — there was no discussion or questions from Assembly on the change. Motions three through 10 all passed unanimously, including a late addition by Lively to strike a working group on AMS governance with membership consisting of AMS Assembly, AMS Board of Directors, students-at-large, the AMS General Manager, and AMS Information Officer in consultation with Presidents Caucus. Pending Board approval, the working group is to report to Assembly before year end with a review plan.
Otto Naumann, according to The Gazette, is “the leading name in Old Master paintings in the United States.” With a specialty in Dutch and Flemish art, Naumann is the only present-day art dealer to sell a painting by Vermeer and has handled more Rembrandts than any living person. On the same day, former Premier of New Brunswick Frank McKenna will be honoured. McKenna has served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States, Deputy Chair of TD Bank Group, Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management, and as a board member for Canadian Natural Resources.
June 9
Continued from front
Working group struck to assess AMS governance, draft review plan Continued from front
She explained that the biggest issue is the relationship between the Student Life Centre and the clubs. Her goal is to ratify new clubs and give more opportunities to clubs overall. All commissioners and directors were ratified successfully with one abstention from Vice President (Operations)-elect Brian MacKay. Reports
In the fall, Queen’s will also award honorary degrees to educator and social worker Debbie Docherty, jazz pianist Oliver Jones, businessman John Rae, and author and educator David Bouchard.
In the President’s report, Tyler Lively briefly explained that option two for Fall Term Break will be recommended by the University to Principal Daniel Woolf, contrary to the option selected by the majority of students in the AMS’s winter referendum plebiscite question. Lively briefly explained
that due to split opinions, the University decided that option two was better overall. Therefore, the AMS is electing to disregard the choice of students from the referendum. The newly-chosen option places move-in day on the Saturday before Labour Day. Residence Orientation would take place on the night of move-in day and Faculty Orientation would run from the Sunday before Labour Day until the following Wednesday. Classes would then start on Thursday, and additional Re s i d e n c e Orientation days would occur on the following Saturday and Sunday. This would allow for a two-day Fall Break on the Thursday and Friday before Thanksgiving weekend. Despite the winter referendum indicating that this was the less
Ramna Safeer is the current Editorials Editor at The Journal.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Features
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IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY
QUEEN’S HISTORY
From then to now Imagining Queen’s campus 175 years ago Shivani Gonzalez Features Editor
I
Summerhill in the early 1900s.
magine studying in Stauffer Library, sleeping in residence or dancing to ‘Stacey’s Mom’ on Thursday at The Underground. Not too hard to picture, right? Now close your eyes, really tight, and imagine all the buildings and all the people we find so familiar on campus disappearing. You’re sitting in a little house, surrounded by 14 other men and two Presbyterian ministers at 67 Colbourne Street. Are you picturing it? Now you’re experiencing what Queen’s first students experienced. That’s right, when Queen’s started classes for the first time on March 7, 1842, there were 15 male students enrolled and two professors, one of whom was the president of the University. Compared to the 22,630 students and over 90 buildings currently on main campus alone, it’s hard to imagine our humble beginnings. Royal beginnings
Queen’s first Principal Thomas Lidell.
67 Colbourne Street in 1842.
Queen’s was established after an Imperial Royal Charter was signed on October 16, 1841 by Queens Victoria, making Queen’s the second university in Ontario — Upper Canada at the time. The first was King’s College in Toronto. The schools were rivals due to the fact that King’s College was founded with Anglican values and Queen’s had a Presbyterian basis, one of the reasons why Queen’s was even established. When Queen’s was founded, Kingston was the newly-named capital of Canada and held the title from 1841 to 1844. Upper and Lower Canada had just merged because of orders from Parliament in Britain following rebellions in Montreal and Toronto. Because of the discontent Britain had towards the two cities, they named Kingston the capital of the United Province of Canada. This was in part due to the central location between the two former capitols of Lower and Upper Canada respectively and because at the time it was the second biggest city in Ontario.
was established “onQueen’s the basis of Presbyterian beliefs, ideas tied largely to Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment.
”
The Imperial Royal Charter of Queen’s.
Old Medical Building in the early 1900s. PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY QUEEN’S ARCHIVES
A hay bale throwing Ontarian student body
At the time of founding, Queen’s was considered a regional institution and to this day is known to have mostly Ontario students. After all, according to Queen’s Enrollment Reports, 90.7 per cent of students come from Canada, and the statistic for students from Ontario specifically is approximately 78 per cent. In 1842, all 15 students came from Eastern Ontario and were from middle-class families. According to Duncan McDowall, Queen’s historian, the measure
of whether students were well off was whether thier families could spare a son from working on the farm. Queen’s didn’t have the academic rigor associated with it that it does today. McDowall also cites the student’s farming backgrounds as a reason for the deep rooted football tradition. “They were big hulking boys who could throw a hay bale around,” he said. The first graduate of Queen’s was from Perth, Ontario. In 1854, Queen’s began slowly morphing into the campus we know today. The University bought Summerhill and began construction on what is now known as the Old Medical School Building. A university with a view
Have you ever gotten a coffee and slice of cake at Sipps or skated in Springer Market Square with the perfect view of City Hall by the lake? Well, minus all the surrounding coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques, a student in 1842 wouldn’t have had much of a different view than we have today. Due to the excitement locals had over the establishment of Queen’s and the new status of Kingston, city officials called for new construction of buildings, which included City Hall and the Frontenac Courthouse that stands behind the Biosciences Complex. A fire that broke out on the waterfront a few years prior had destroyed all the wooden buildings and therefore Kingston started working with limestone for all the buildings, hence why Kingston is now known as the Limestone City. The construction and optimism that was booming throughout the city is in part a result of Queen’s first year. Local Presbyterian clerks and business men in Kingston, including future prime minister Sir John A. MacDonald who’d lobbied for the Charter establishing Queen’s, had high hopes for Kingston to become the hub of Canada, according to McDowall. What the Scottish Enlightenment gave to Queen’s
Remember when you came to move into residence and there was somebody standing on the corner of University and Union playing bagpipes? Or when we all stand together and sing the Oil Thigh, which mostly contains words that no one knows how to pronounce or what they mean? That’s because of our Scottish and Presbyterian roots. Currently at Queen’s, it’d be easy to find access to any of the myriad of religious and cultural clubs catering to many different groups. It wouldn’t have been easy to find during Queen’s first year. Queen’s was established on the basis of Presbyterian beliefs, ideas tied largely to Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment. In the 18th century, Scotland experienced an Enlightenment. The Scottish Enlightenment produced many new ideas, most emphasizing the importance of reason and logic in intellectual pursuits, but one that bore the greatest impact for Queen’s was the concept that school shouldn’t just be for learning arts. The translated ideology held that students should also be taught concepts useful
in life. Because of this, Queen’s has always been known for it’s public and social VIA QUEEN’S services, which UNIVERSITY can be seen to this day through the over 270 clubs founded at Queen’s. Additionally, some of Queen’s institutions are borrowed directly from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Queen’s has a chancellor and rector, roles established and based off the idea that a successful government was an inclusive one and these positions were a way to maintain that. A majority of the first 15 students were studying at the School of Theology to become Presbyterian ministers. It wasn’t until 1912, when the Ontario government decided they wouldn’t provide funding for Queen’s unless it secularized, that the University began to widen its religious horizons.
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A majority of the first 15 students were studying at the School of Theology.
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Even with the secularization, the School of Theology still existed up until 2015 when it was closed. ‘To the taverns’
When we think of socializing at Queen’s today, many of us may think of meeting up with our friends, grabbing sangria and nachos at Queen’s Pub, or going to the different clubs and bars downtown. In Queen’s first year, it wasn’t all too different. “In some ways they were no different then students these days, they would go uptown to go to the taverns,” McDowall said. One of the first main established social conventions recorded in Queen’s history was the debating society. This wasn’t the type of debating club we might think of today, but was meant to bring students together for evening lectures and socializing. The debating society may in fact have contributed in large part to the sense of community on the tiny campus, a sense of community that continues to this day. This debating society was soon after named the Alma Mater Society, making it the oldest student government in Canada. A few years later, the society established yours truly, The Queen’s Journal, one of the oldest student-run newspapers in North America, founded the same year as The Harvard Crimson. The early establishment of the AMS is an example of the ideals of public service that Queen’s was in part founded on. Today when we’re running to class, meetings or spending 12 hours straight in the library, it’s easy to pass by the traditions around campus that were integral to the first year of Queen’s, 175 years ago. They remain important to our school to this day. Sometimes, if you hear the sound of bagpipes playing through a room in the JDUC or have a meeting in the AMS offices, you’re walking on ground shaped by those students who’ve come before.
6 • queensjournal.ca
Thursday, February 16, 2017
EDITORIALS
The Journal’s Perspective
Sometimes, an inactive statement is action too
ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT LIN
W
hile boycotting United learning and not use them as tools statement about where their States conferences in against discriminatory policies. values lie. reaction to Donald Trump’s Organizing a conference As people whose livelihoods immigration ban doesn’t take centered around the topic of depend on sharing their work action on the issue, it makes immigration policies or United in conference settings and a statement. States politics — where critical disseminating their research, An online petition calling for a discussion about the Trump ban boycotting these conferences is a boycott of academic conferences and its consequences is fostered large self-sacrifice — that, in itself, in the United States garnered over — is a more effective plan of action is also a statement of support and 6,000 signatures from scholars. than a boycott. solidarity with those affected. The boycott is in opposition to Also, so many scholars President Trump’s travel ban choosing to turn away on seven Muslim-majority As people whose livelihoods from major United States countries and in solidarity depend on sharing their work conferences puts a pressure with their colleagues from on American universities in conference settings and these countries who’re to play a bigger role in disseminating their research, advocating for those affected unable to attend. Ruth Hayhoe, a U of boycotting these conferences is a by Trump’s ban. It may not T professor, isn’t a fan large self-sacrifice — that, in itself, be an immediately tangible of the idea. In an article is also a statement of support and change, but it’s a shift beneath in University Affairs, she the surface. solidarity with those affected. expressed her understanding Making the personal and of the motivations behind individual choice to boycott the boycott but urged a conference is also a much the community not to isolate If the academic community is more accessible form of protest American academics, comparing committed to standing in solidarity than marching in the streets. the reaction to the withdrawal of with affected colleagues, they can Not everyone can risk being at a diplomatic and academic ties with work on drawing attention to physical protest, so acts like this China after Tiananmen Square. academic conferences in any of one are more accessible ways for On the one hand, action speaks the seven countries and raising them to take a stance and stand much louder than inaction, and a awareness about them. If the goal in solidarity. boycott is, paradoxically, an action is action against discriminatory Boycotting United States of refusing to do anything. policies, there’s more than just a conferences to stand against When it comes down to boycott that can be done. Trump’s immigration ban comes furthering discussion and But maybe action isn’t the down to whether we’re defining educated criticism about purpose, and neither is furthering effective protesting by action or Islamophobic immigration policies, education about the policy itself. withholding action. simply boycotting United States Maybe the purpose is to make a conferences isn’t the answer. strong political statement. — Journal Editorial Board A boycott asks academics to By choosing not to be present, turn away from communities of these academics make a clear
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Mikayla Wronko
THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL Volume 144 Issue 22 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873
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Julia Balakrishnan
‘Single’ doesn’t mean ‘waiting for a relationship’
T
he value of a young woman’s accomplishments is too easily overshadowed by the concept of an empty space that only a significant other can fill. While people acknowledge I have the right to make my own choices, they often struggle to believe me when I put them into words. I can say that I’m happy being single, but this is often interpreted as “I’m lying to myself about how unfulfilled I feel.” My resolve is seen as impermanent and my singlehood a problem to be fixed. The idea of marrying and having children has never appealed to me, nevertheless, I’m told constantly by my family members that’ll change when I “meet the right guy.” After 21 years with no hint of domesticity on the horizon, the “right guy” is going to have quite a job ahead of him in changing my whole worldview.
The value of a “young woman’s
accomplishments is too easily overshadowed by the concept of an empty space that only a significant other can fill.
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In my experience, people are often asked to defend their life choices, particularly in the relationship area, with the expectation that the right person is needed to put you on the typical life path. But that implies that our current lives are somehow atypical or strange if we aren’t in a conventional relationship heading towards the altar. Sales Representative
that implies that “ourButcurrent lives are somehow atypical or strange if we aren’t in a conventional relationship heading towards the altar.
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Lines like, “I forgot what it felt like to have people love you,” can make watching movies like The Proposal and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days exhausting. These depictions aren’t realistic. Women aren’t a monolith. They want different things out of their relationships and lives. Not believing them when they make these decisions can cause doubt and low self-esteem — it can push us to make choices for their lives that aren’t right for them. The comfortably single person shouldn’t be viewed a subject of pity, but as a person — a person who’s capable of going in their own direction and loving themselves first, before anyone else. Julia is one of The Journal’s Photo Editors. She’s a third-year English major.
Sebastian Jaramillo
Shayne Rebello Office Administrator
Women especially are expected to organize their careers, their aspirations and their life goals around finding someone, getting married and having children. Realistically, this isn’t the central priority of many young women navigating adulthood, and while those who do choose to pursue these routes should be respected, the same respect should be afforded to women who don’t. We’re constantly surrounded by media that tell us women don’t know what’s best for them. Almost every romantic movie is based on this assumption — the cold businesswoman simply doesn’t know what she’s missing or the perpetually single friend who’s often thrown a bone in the form of a supporting character at the end of the movie.
Anisha Jain
necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers. 190 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3P4
Want to contribute? For information visit: www.queensjournal.ca/contribute or email the Editors 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
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 © 2016 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
Thursday, February 16, 2017
queensjournal.ca
OPINIONS
•7
Your Perspective
Unpack voluntourism
ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT LIN
Volunteering experience shouldn’t double as a tourism opportunity Liam Bloomfield, ArtSci '18
5-minute walk from campus, and the theses problematic practices. a couple of NGOs or try their inexperienced Kingston General Hospital — almost on Some of these clubs include: Queens hands at building schools, than assisting The concept of volunteering for a few campus — accepts new volunteers each Global Village, MEDLIFE, Queen’s sustainable and knowledgeable causes. weeks in a remote destination may be school year. Health Outreach, Queen’s Project on There are more effective ways of doing more harm than good. If you’re looking for an impactful International Development (QPID), improving the conditions of the region While the country varies — India, experience, would like to travel and you Refresh Bolivia, Students Offering Support, such as supporting already existing local Tanzania, Bolivia, Malaysia, etc. — have the means to pay for it, then go for VIDA, and World Vision Queen’s — these projects with a proven track-record and the initiative may be different it. But the citizens of the country that are just the clubs I found after searching of success. — building schools, education, starting an you’re visiting aren’t the ones benefiting the AMS clubs directory for a few minutes. A 2009 article by Daniel Guttentag NGO — the concept is the same: it’s called from the “voluntour” experience: There are plenty more. Each year, these (The University of Waterloo) in the “voluntourism”. you are. organizations send multiple volunteers International Journal Of Tourism Research Voluntourism refers to a form of Rather then spending money on to their assigned destinations, but titled “The Possible Negative Impact volunteering that usually takes place in your accommodations, food and travel, with little oversight of whether they’re of Volunteer Tourism” highlights the a developing country and incorporates your money could fund one of countless accomplishing anything substantial to multiple concerns stemming from the aspects of tourism throughout initiatives already established with local assist these communities or whether voluntourism industry. the process. experts, with the skills, experience and these funds could’ve been better spent. Some of the concerns Guttentag There are definitely many benefits cultural understanding to improve the It’s possible that so many of these clubs mentions are: a neglect of locals’ desires, to volunteering. It can be a powerful, given situation. exist more so that students can pad their caused by a lack of local involvement; life changing experience that allows If you really care so passionately about resume for grad school. VIDA advertises a hindering of work progress and the you to apply your skills, and develop the issues that plague other countries, their club as one that offers “unparalleled completion of unsatisfactory work, new ones. You can make a positive support the initiatives that already exist volunteer experiences,” a description that caused by volunteers’ lack of skills; a difference in the lives of others, within them with fund raising and raising seems to prioritize the volunteers and decrease in employment opportunities and yourself. awareness for the cause. As discussed their learning over the citizens in the and a promotion of dependency, caused Many people are inspired by their in the New York Times article “The countries they’re travelling to. by the presence of volunteer labour experiences, and this can shape a Voluntourist’s Dilemma”, the construction Do we really need to send multiple — and the list goes on. life-long desire to do good and work that eager student volunteers do is students, from multiple organizations These feel-good, resume-padding help others. often so shoddy it’s ultimately all done to multiple countries to volunteer? clubs may only be contributing to these However, it’s entirely possible to have for nought. This is because keen students Wouldn’t an amalgamation of problems and, if so, need to go. Stop these meaningful experiences without aren’t carpenters. Local tradesmen resources and funding be more attempting to cover your summer getting on an airplane. Many Queen’s could’ve completed the same job for a effective? Ultimately, these vacation vacation with the veneer of calling it clubs do participate in local projects fraction of the cost, with greater efficiency -funding clubs require some much global development. If you truly care and might have a greater impact if they and effectiveness. -needed review. about international development or focused on these efforts. Look no further than our very own Often clubs also attempt to raise health outreach, then support an ongoing You don’t even need to leave the student government, the AMS, to find a funds for their projects through and organized effort consisting of University District to have a meaningful plethora of clubs that run voluntouristic direct canvassing to the student professionals and local leaders, but please volunteer experience. There are an initiatives. The AMS funnels funding to body, using GoFundme, or to Tilt their don’t start another club, Queen’s already abundance of local organizations these clubs from the AMS opt-out fees, ‘charity-kegger’. has more than enough. that would greatly appreciate your the ones you pay every year. But this I see far less value in giving money time. For example, the Kingston Youth funding could more appropriately be to other students to fund trips to exotic Liam Bloomfield is a third-year Shelter at 234 Brock St. is only a looked at as an unwitting donation to destinations, pad their resumes, checkout psychology major.
Talking heads ... around campus PHOTOS BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
What are your Reading Week plans?
“Heading to France to visit my boyfriend.” Jackie Ji, ArtSci ’17
“Seeing cousins in Waterloo and then going to Niagara.” Parnam Boparai, ArtSci ’19
“I’m spending the first weekend in New York.” Emily Beebe, ArtSci ’19
“Going home and sleeping.” Matt Cooper, Comm ’17
8 • queensjournal.ca
Arts
Thursday, February 16, 2017
REVIEW
It’s the end of the world as we know it
A new society comes to campus Clayton Tomlinson Staff Writer After the year of 2016, it may come as no surprise that a play about the end of the world is now playing at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. Written and directed by Kat Sandler, ArtSci ’08, The End of the World Club (TEWC) features an ensemble cast of students from the Dan School of Drama and Music. The piece was collaboratively written by Sandler and the 15 cast members, resulting in, what Sandler calls, something between The Breakfast Club, 12 Angry Men and The Stanford Prison Experiment. TEWC is set on the fictional campus of Aldridge University, modeled after Ontario schools like Queen’s. An Elon Musk-esque billionaire alumnus of the school sets up a ‘New World Challenge’ in which he puts 15 people in a room for three days in the hopes that they’ll be able to set up a new society, presumably without the failures and foibles of the one we’re blessed with now. The 15 characters have immediate difficulties in their new colony, including a death on the first night. As it progresses, rifts begins to form between different members of the group, as they fight for survival. The whole premise of the play, the creation of the new society, was a funny parody of today’s institutions that use ‘the youth’ to study and test their products. New Aldridge, as the students call it, begins much in the same way as I assume the colonies did. The room the students are in for three days is very sparse. There’s a mock-farm, enough desks for everyone, a chalkboard and a box that comes with supplies they requested. What caught my attention about this whole set up was how the organizers of the challenge made everyone wear a white t-shirt emblazoned with a specific societal role. Some read artist, one farmer, a lawyer, a leader, a priest — even a criminal. Early in the challenge, one character took on the role of a leader. He was giving good ideas, boosting morale, but then there came the turning point. Astonishingly, the characters in the play all take the ‘criminal’ t-shirt to heart and lock him up
BANDS
See Sandler’s on page 10
Performers in The End of the World Club at the Isabel Bader Centre.
Craig Cardiff serenades Kingston love, hope and joy to anyone who’ll grant him the opportunity. His large discography — with a new release almost every year since 1997 — has generated a multitude of live, studio and collaborated hits recorded in different styles and disturbed on diverse platforms. Attending a live Craig Cardiff show resembles a relaxing catch up and jam session with an old friend. Warmth radiated throughout the dimly lit Musiikki Café last Friday as a scattered crowd, some even sitting on the stage, was suspended by every word Cardiff sang. The audience was transported to an atmosphere where kindness and hospitality were no strangers. Cardiff, as inviting as ever, sat casually cross-legged on the eye level of his audience and let his changeable voice, ranging from elated to rugged and melancholic, fill the room. Cardiff has been known to pass around SUPPLIED BY CRAIG CARDIFF a notebook during his shows, called the Zelia Bukhari ‘Book of Truths’ and ask audience members Staff Writer to share a truthful story about themselves. These entries inspired much of Love Is Louder For the past 20 years, Canadian folk (Than All This Noise) Part 1 & 2, an album he singer-songwriter Craig Cardiff has spread performed multiple songs from. The themes
throughout these difficult but captivating tales inspired a song I particularly enjoyed live, ‘Father Daughter Dance.’ “A guy came up to me after the show and said he hated men folk singers like me…but for some reason this song was the only one he’s ever cried to … he doesn’t even have a daughter but he was crying,” Cardiff said, introducing the track. Cardiff’s music exposes mindful listeners to how relentless this journey of life can be. The singer creates a safe space within the intimacy of his live shows, where the audience is able to relate to the awkward, confusing and rattling moments we all undergo when we chose to be vulnerable. During the show, Cardiff playfully chatted with the crowd, even picking a nearby couple to ask relationship questions. Once he had enough information and the laughter from the audience had died down, he improvised a song about the couple. The song incorporated moments of their relationship where the love was as strong as it could be, but also took a humorous spin by discussing their issues in a lightened way. It was sweet, kind and amusing to listen to. One audience member expressed his love
PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY TIM FORT
for music, and immediately was included in a couple of songs, to perform alongside Cardiff. There was no embarrassment, or judgment at Cardiff’s show, just a mutual appreciation along with the feelings of love. The word ‘captivating’ doesn’t even do Cardiff justice. I experienced an onslaught of emotions, prompted by the music as the crowd focused on Cardiff and the real life situations he belted out. Such attention and calmness was in itself extremely rare, but each song carried us through an adventure that encouraged empathy and compassion for what so many of us go through each day. Notably, Cardiff ended with ‘Love is Louder (Than All This Noise)’. Though it seems like a simple song, one that gives an overview of the feelings we have when we are in love, the song conjured various memories of different types of love. Cardiff strives to ensure every live performance is unique, affectionate and holds its own course. Though Cardiff had done a workshop earlier that day at an elementary school before his early Musiikki show, to only go to Clark Hall Pub directly after, nobody ever felt rushed. I caught up with Cardiff after the show, to ask about his music and performance. “The audience had a chaos and loveliness to it,” he said of his Musiikki show. “That’s what I get excited about, when I don’t know where the show is going to go.”
Arts
Thursday, February 16, 2017
queensjournal.ca
•9
LITERATURE
A walk through The Forest of Deen Queen’s student’s first novel misses mark Dana Mitchell Contributor Warning: this article contains spoilers.
never
In the end, the fawn runs away from the cruelty of the forest and into an indeterminate future. This cliché e n d i n g produces a lack of resolution
Liam Dowling’s debut novel, The Forest of Deen, is a compelling first effort that attempts to tackle large social issues, but ultimately fails to grasp the complexities behind these concepts. Dowling, ConEd ’18, has produced an engaging first novel critiquing societal oppression and prejudice. The story follows a community of woodland creatures who occupy the Forest of Deen — presumably based on the non-fictional Forest of Deen in England. With a crumbling religious system and laws against inter-species mating, it doesn’t take long to realize that the trials faced in the forest are reflections of similar issues in contemporary society. While this is an important and thoughtful parallel, Dowling, who’s also currently the Commissioner of Environmental Affairs in the AMS, oversimplifies these problems by using underdeveloped characters and a plot that lacks subtlety or a sense of direction. The protagonist of the novel is Smithson, a young, idealistic fawn who despite being the youngest character, seems to be the only one smart enough to ask relevant questions. While the other animals blindly accept the existence of their Creator and the validity of their social structure — which divides the forest into Roamers, Gliders and Treaders — Smithson conveniently questions these norms. PHOTO BY AUSTON CHHOR Throughout the course of the novel, Most of The Forest of Deen was written in one month. Smithson undergoes little to no character development. He continually asks questions develops the agency to begin answering these to the issues it presents at the beginning of about the morality of his society and yet questions or attempting to change them. the novel, many of which one can’t simply be
COMMUNITY
Dear Diary, today I read you to a live studio audience Julia Balakrishnan Assistant Photos Editor This article originally appeared online on Feb. 14. Nostalgia ran high at The Mansion on Saturday evening as brave souls approached the open mic, clutching their paperbound elementary school journals, their padlocked diaries and their angst-ridden teenage poetry as the audience nodded and laughed along to the universal memory of being young. “Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids” finally reached Kingston after starting in Toronto in 2007 and going on a long journey around Canada. In every location, local writers dust off their decades-old notebooks from their attics and garages and find entertainment value in what their childhood selves had felt important enough to write down.
The results were hilarious. “Today Chelsea called me a whole bunch of stupid names,” read Leanne Taylor, a Kingston local, from the diary she wrote between ages six and ten. “I called her dogmouth.” “Sunday is my dad’s birthday. I made a birthday rap for him,” noted organizer Dan Misener’s five-year-old self. “Happy birthday Daddio, you can sit on my patio …” Bad rhyming was a consistent theme, as was flawed grammar. The performers came from a wide range of backgrounds and varied in age, as did the audience, but the show was a charming reminder that a child in the 1960s was fundamentally the same as a child now in terms of concerns and clumsy, blunt expression. “Last night I gave a demonstration on how to use Tampax,” a twelve-year-old Wendy LeBlanc noted at camp in 1969. “No one else in the tent has started their period, but they were amazed!” Of top priority in many of the writings was romance, especially of the “Do you like me? Yes, No, Maybe” variety. Cliché couplets and fantasies of holding hands and kisses on the cheek evoked the sweet fickleness of young love. “Thinking about you is all I do, all I need,” Michael Williams, a St. Lawrence student, said in a touching recitation of a poem to his first love. “Together until the day I die, the apple of my eye.” “Her eyes were the colour of a Twix bar,” read Sarah Currie, a Queen’s student, from her first novel, “and her hair, which fell past her shoulders, was the colour of the nougat of a Twix bar.” Passions transcended into the bizarre, too. Taylor’s diary was mostly filled with declarations of love for the then-55-year-old Harrison Ford. Another girl revealed that she had stalked her “baby Jordan” from the New Kids on
run away from. While having no resolution may be a critique on society, it ultimately made the book feel unanchored. The conflict throughout the story also allowed it to address a wide variety of topics such as religious persecution and environmental destruction. I found it interesting to read about these problems through a fictional story, which has the potential to engage readers more than facts or studies could. But even though the novel is quick to break down various societal conventions, it still ends up reinforcing others. Smithson’s parents, John and Jane, act to suppress their son’s growing curiosities. John is represented as a brave and unfeeling warrior and Jane as an emotional housewife, which limits them within typical gender stereotypes. While I found the relationship between the family of deer one of the most endearing things about the novel, the oversimplification of their characters made them hard to relate to on a significant level. The Forest of Deen addresses many important issues in a way that’s easy to understand, however the simplification of these concepts seem to trivialize them more than anything else. The novel does have its moments of sincerity and humour, which briefly overshadow its flaws. I think that these subtle moments, when Dowling isn’t trying to make a statement, provide touching representations of humanity that give the story its heart. Despite some of the more unrealistic elements, the novel succeeds in creating a sense of hope for the future as we move away from the forest towards a new world.
the coolest, and the prettiest “ You are the smartest, teacher I’ve ever had. ”
— Al Babcock, reading from his childhood diary
the Block. People laughed until they cried at Queen’s employee, Al Babcock’s confession of love to his fifth-grade teacher. “You are the smartest, the coolest, and the prettiest teacher I’ve ever had,” he read, “although most of my other teachers have been men, so there’s not much competition.” But the sweet gave way to the bitter, too. A 16-year-old poem on experiencing bulimia brought tears to the eyes of the poet reliving it. To look back through one’s past isn’t always funny, sometimes it can be
painfully therapeutic. This was mostly what made the evening so great, that in reciting even moments of distress from their childhood, people laughed. Not being asked to a school dance could carry the same weight in a kid’s mind as the first moon landing. Realizing how your priorities have changed is a welcome sign that you’re officially a grown-up. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.
Arts
10 •queensjournal.ca
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Valentine’s Day Poetry Contest Winner: Valentine for a friend By: Amy Ge
there are rumours the boning under your skin was cut by lonely men who stripped rotting wood from a crippled oak and fashioned it into shelter you stand, a house, in your modest plot dreaming of bare feet
pattering along your floorboards at all hours of the day
PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY TIM FORT
Sandler’s latest play dazzles at the Isabel Continued from page 8
winter winds shrink your frame and whistle through your ribcage
characters in the play all take the ‘criminal’ t-shirt to heart and lock him up in an ad hoc prison. In the prison scene, Sandler nailed the sense of danger that pervades North America. The students distract themselves from building anything which might aid New Aldridge, instead opting for a prison — short-term protection now, at the cost of definite future benefits later. I could go on for days about everything Sandler managed to include in the play. The writing was a shock to the system, making you feel bad because you unconsciously yet assiduously malign the downtrodden around you for reasons which your great-great-grandfather was a little unsure of. One scene that stuck with me was the instance when the lawyer, the most vitriolic character in the play, attempts to force heterosexual liaisons for the sake of procreation. The plumber — who’s openly gay — argues with the lawyer, which eventually results in the latter’s suggestion of punishing those who don’t reproduce.
moonlight spills through crevices ex-lovers could not patch i hope the next one’s love extends to every inch of you even to the little crow nestled in the attic
Finalists: You’re Tops
Unfortunately, the play didn’t end well. By the conclusion, the character running the challenge announces to the two people left in the room, and in society, that this whole test was set up to fail. There are many things wrong with this ending, primarily it’s defeatism. It pretty much says that we are homophobic, racist, hateful and all the other awful characteristics which these characters displayed because of societal influence. Perhaps the ending was just a little too predetermined for me. Some may well find it perfectly suitable. The ending isn’t necessarily a judgment on human nature, so much as a realization of how cruel the world will probably be. What this play does well is ask you why you make the associations you do. Why do I react so shocked when a man tries to kiss me? Why is a person less worthy of a societal role just because they’ve committed a crime? At the end of the day in New Aldrige, the characters gather round the little fauxfire and play the guitar while the lights dim. They all sing, together, in harmony and nobodies t-shirt was readable. All that was noticeable was the music.
Romantic Disdain By: KJ Leahy
By: Caela Fenton
I like to watch you bend.
I climbed your stares many a month but never reached
your rules, your back,
two I’s for lashes make poor handholds and my grip slips on your tears
the tears in my ropes aggravated by salt and my arms are my ropes my dear
In spite of my vacant body and twisted mind.
I want to push your buttons and get under your skin in all the ways that there are. But don’t blame your vanity you can blame proximity for why you’re so angry— For why you’re so thirsty.
The actors wore their roles on their tees.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
queensjournal.ca
• 11
Sports FENCING
Women’s fencing team wins bronze on home court
Lily Jiang takes home individual gold
SUPPLIED BY IAN MACALPINE
The women’s fencing team placed third at the OUA Championships in the ARC this past weekend.
Joshua Finkelstein Staff Writer This past weekend, with crowds watching in the ARC, Queen’s locked swords with the province’s best at the OUA Women’s Fencing Championships. Often an underappreciated sport in North America, the Gaels, along with other talented squads of fencers from across Ontario, demonstrated that highly-skilled and competitive bouts aren’t hard to find in Canadian schools. The Western Mustangs ended up with the overall gold banner, combining scores from individual rounds on Saturday and the team events the following day. Queen’s picked up the bronze medal, backed by a range of strong individual performances on Day One. Local rival RMC joined the teams on the podium, claiming second place. The Gaels were led by fourth-year Lily Jiang, who won the individual sabre division. Fencers are divided into three divisions based on their weapon — sabre, foil and épée. In 2015,
Jiang captured an individual bronze, with the team winning gold in the sabre division. Last year, Jiang placed second in sabre, with the team also winning a silver medal in the division. Speaking about the achievement, Jiang said, “recapturing the gold medal for the individual event was a testament to all the years of hard work I have dedicated to my sport.” Describing her gold medal bout against familiar opponent Rebecca Jeffrey of U of T, Jiang said she changed her strategy after a break during the round, which ultimately helped her overcome the strong opposition. “I decided to take more risks by trying different tactics, which made me less predictable … I managed to get a lead, and it was a mental game from there.” Jiang also spoke of how she may regret some of her moves in her matches on Day Two of the tournament in the team event. Three fencers per team in each discipline play to 45 points, longer than an individual bout that’s first to 15. But on the whole, she was incredibly proud of the entire team’s performance. “My
teammates fought for every bout,” she said. “They’ve exemplified the true qualities of sportsmanship and I wouldn’t trade those in for a different tint of medal.” The hometown buzz around the tournament was also a positive factor throughout the weekend. The fencing season is based on a tournament schedule, where every team competes at the same school on a given weekend. Competing at home is more rare, and as Jiang noted, lends extra motivation when competing. “Being on home turf contributed to the energy and excitement of the atmosphere,” she said. “After everything Queen’s has done for us as athletes, we really wanted to do our school proud and perform our best.” Lia Piekarski, who was Queen’s highest finisher in eighth place of the épée division, also commented on the home-field advantage. She appreciated the “extra support, having so many more people there than when travelling.” The team will be faced with a tall task next season trying to return to the podium or even reclaim the
Gearing up for the playoffs
Men’s hockey have their best regular season of all time with 18 wins Matt Scace Contributor By every standard, it’s been a legendary season for the men’s hockey team. On Saturday, after beating the Carleton Ravens in overtime, the Gaels clinched a third seed playoff spot and a new program record for wins in a season with 18. But that was the regular season. As every player, coach, and fan knows, the playoffs are a whole other beast in comparison to the regular season. Now, Queen’s is getting set to face off against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in first round OUA playoff action,
with their first game at home last night. After a back and forth affair, Queen’s was victorious in double overtime, winning 3-2. Dylan Anderson scored the deciding goal with three-minutes left to play. Before last night’s game, head coach Brett Gibson took the time to reflect on the season the team has had. “When you break the school record for wins, you know, they’re going to go down in history, but this group of kids should really sit back at the end of the year and reflect on the success they had.” First year forward Ted Hunt is embracing the success of this season. “Especially with the tradition of Queen’s hockey, having a hockey program for so long — to beat the win record — that’s pretty special.” Without a doubt, Gibson and the Gaels aren’t sitting back. “In terms of me, my success is determined during the playoffs,” Gibson said.
“That’s what I’m focused on and I’m real excited about this group moving forward into the playoffs.” It’s clear that the team is just as focused. Despite having a quick turnaround with three games in six days, the Gaels are just as ready to go as ever and have high spirits. Prior to their final game against Carleton, Gibson and players Kevin Bailie, Slater Doggett, Eric Ming and Spencer Abraham returned from Kazakhstan, where they won bronze at the FISU games. “Coming back and getting the win against Carleton, the morale you could see just go up,” Gibson said Hunt agreed, saying, “everyone’s really excited, we think this could be a long playoff run and all the guys really like coming to the rink and playing hockey so it’s fun going into the final string of playoffs.” Additionally, with the tight schedule, the Gaels’ still appear to be in mid-season form physically.
overall banner without Jiang at the head of the sabre team. However, Piekarski noted that the captain of the épée team, Sharleen Fisher, will be back and strong high school fencers are expected to join the program next year. She also added how many members of the team only began fencing in university, and will continue to improve with the help of their strong group of coaches, gratitude which Jiang echoed.
In the foil division, Jessie Pollett won silver for the Gaels in the individual event, while also leading that discipline to a fifth place finish in the team event. Queen’s, led by Jiang, took bronze in the team sabre, while Fisher’s épée squad finished fourth. The men’s team is hoping to follow up on the women’s success this weekend in St. Catharines at their OUA Championships at Brock.
Queen’s lost to RMC 3-2 in the Carr-Harris cup.
“We have no injuries right now. Everyone’s in the lineup, no one’s hurt. Practices have been really competitive. I don’t think we’ve really missed a step at all,” Hunt said. With their minds and bodies in check, the Gaels are putting all their brainpower into taking down the Gee-Gees. The Ottawa team is in their first season back from a program suspension in March 2014 following allegations that players had been involved in a sexual assault while on a team trip to Thunder Bay. The new Ottawa team has an extremely young squad, led by head coach Patrick Grandmaitre, who was hired in 2015 and tasked with rebuilding the program. “They’re probably the dark horse of the OUA this year, you know coming in they’re a hard working team that’s had a huge amount of success. The key of it is we can’t get outworked. We know coming in that they don’t have as
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much skill as us but they work extremely hard. So if we match our work ethic we should have a lot of success against them,” Gibson said. “We’ve prepped real hard for Ottawa U, we know what they’re going to bring. The guys will be ready today after our video session and it’s up to them to execute,” Gibson said on Tuesday. Hunt has high praise for the extremely young Ottawa team, but ultimately believes they will be able to overcome the Gee Gee’s. “We have a pretty good idea of what we’ll see. They’re a very hard working team but overall I think we’ll just have to exceed their work ethic and we’ll be fine,” said Hunt, echoing many of coach Gibson’s sentiments. The teams split their regular season series one game apiece, with the Gaels taking the first matchup 4-2 while the Gee Gee’s took the second by a score of 6-3.
Sports
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POINT COUNTER POINT
Which varsity team will go farthest in the playoffs? The Journal’s sports editors argue which Gaels team will go deep in the OUA playoffs ATHLETE EXPERIENCE
Harsh conditions make for good Quidditch Emma Ritcey on offense.
Joseph Cattana Sports Editor When you win 16 games in a row, you must be doing something right. Currently, the women’s basketball team is one of the most well-rounded teams in the OUA, scoring 73.6 points per game — good for second in the league. While the team might have one of the most potent offensives in the league, it’s a team effort. Marianne Alaire — the team’s leading scorer — is 29th in the OUA with 10.8 points per game. This balanced attack is the reason why the team is currently 17-1. Against McMaster, Carleton, Windsor and Ryerson — four of the top ten teams in U Sports — Queen’s is 4-1. To make it far in the playoffs, the Gaels will need to beat at least one of these teams. Beating teams in both close and tight games, Queen’s has proven they can play in any type of game. From a defensive standpoint, Dave Wilson has one of his strongest teams throughout his tenure at Queen’s. This year, the Gaels lead the league with 11.9 steals per game, also ranking in the top-five in blocks. This isn’t the only reason why the women’s basketball team will go deeper than anyone else — it’s due to efficency. Currently, Queen’s is shooting 40.1 per cent from the field, tied for the best in the OUA. Also, they’re second in the OUA for rebounding, giving their team more opportunities to score while limiting their opposition. Also, from an experience standpoint, Queen’s has veteran players who’ve seen it all. Both Robyn Pearson and Emily Hazlett have spent five years in the program, experiencing it all as Gaels. In their first year, the team went 8-14, and throughout every year the team has improved. In the playoffs, where games are much slower and tighter down the stretch, the Gaels will rely on their veteran leadership. All of these elements combined with their 16 game winning streak, will see the women’s basketball team go deep into March.
First-year athlete recounts Quidditch tournament in Kingston Darby Huk Contributor Snow, ice, and below zero temperatures. These were the weather conditions for the Quidditch tournament held on Saturday, Feb. 11, hosted by the Queen’s Quidditch Club. That morning while I sat with my first-year teammates in Leonard Hall for breakfast, we looked out the window at the falling snow and debated how difficult this tournament would be. We walked through the cold to the tournament at City Park and began trudging across the snow-covered field. We weren’t even halfway across when Lydia, a first-year chaser, slipped and fell on the ice. It became clear to us that today’s toughest opponent might not be the other teams, but the weather. As this was not an official tournament, the only teams participating were Queen’s, McGill, and Valhalla — Canada’s first community Quidditch team. Quidditch Canada’s national rankings currently show that Valhalla, McGill, and Queen’s are ranked third, sixth and ninth, respectively. While some players helped
to set up the quidditch hoops I chose to mingle with my teammates, huddling together to try to keep ourselves warm despite the -7 degree temperature. When teams began jogging around the field and stretching out their muscles, it became clear that “warming up” in this temperature might prove impossible. Our first game of the day against McGill gave many of our less-experienced players a chance to test their skills against one of the top teams in Canada. Despite the fact that many of us couldn’t feel our hands or feet, we made many successful plays and won the game. Kyle Ross, our team’s captain, made the victorious snitch catch but injured his knee in the process, forcing him to sit out for the rest of the tournament. During our second game against Valhalla, it was clear that even though this was an unofficial tournament, players from both teams were still taking the game seriously. One crowning moment of the game came from our Team President, Samantha McCaul, who managed to maintain control of the ball while a Valhalla beater wrestled her for it in the snow for more than 20 seconds. Upsettingly, the Valhalla seeker caught the snitch first, winning them the game. The silver lining was that the 40 minute lunch break that followed gave us all a chance to gather in the ARC to grab hot chocolate and attempt to thaw
our frozen bodies. As the day continued the temperature dropped, but the good company of teammates kept everyone in good spirits. The cold, however, was a force to be reckoned with. By our third game, I abandoned the hope of keeping a good grip on the ball and opted to wear my mittens to keep my fingers from falling off. Eventually, we mastered the ability to avoid patches of ice, and even if you did happen to slip and fall, your legs were so numb you wouldn’t even feel it. Our last game ended with McGill catching the snitch, but considering the circumstances of the rough weather conditions and team injuries, no one was disappointed in how we played. After the game, Kyle limped over on his injured knee to join the team together in one final group huddle. Circled up together, some of the senior members of the team reflected on how even though we didn’t win, we held our own against two of the top teams in Canada and that’s something to be proud of. Quidditch is a game that we all love, but there’s something about playing it in the snow that doubles the fun despite the painfully cold conditions. Though we sometimes couldn’t feel our fingers, and though running was made nearly impossible, when we’re holding onto each other for a team huddle, it’s easy to ignore the freezing cold.
Lydia Reid, Mohnish Mistry, and Matt Rogers attempt to block a shot from a McGill Chaser
PHOTO BY DARBY HUK
Francessco Vilardi.
JOURNAL FILE PHOTOS
Sarah O’Flaherty Assistant Sports Editor
The men’s hockey team is having one of the best seasons they’ve had in recent memory — thanks largely to the leadership of their talented veteran players. The team currently holds an 18-7-3 record and are ranked 10th in the country and third in the OUA East. While they’ve had a difficult few games recently without some of their key players, the team is back in one piece and looking to capture gold at the OUA Championships. The team’s offensive efforts are led by the deadly combination of forwards Slater Doggett and Eric Ming, who dominate the Gaels attack. Doggett and Ming currently have 13 goals each under their belts and 20 and 15 assists, respectively. They’re effective players on their own but lethal when they work as a duo — a third of the team’s overall goal scoring this season has come at the hands of these players. Capable and hardworking forwards like Darcy Greenaway and Dylan Anderson, who currently have a combined 10 goals and 15 assists, round out the team’s offensive efforts. From a defensive standpoint, the Gaels are led by Spencer Abraham and Patrick Downe. Downe and Abraham’s presence from the backline has helped to ignite the team’s offense, as they have 13 and nine assists each and three goals apiece. As the coaching staff has admitted, the team has struggled with the lack of depth in their roster. While their top four players — Doggett, Ming, goalie Kevin Bailie and defenseman Spencer Abraham — were in Kazakhstan playing on an all-star U Sports team, the team struggled to produce the same caliber of games as when they are led by these players. While they had some results from players like Greenaway, they were clearly hurting without the leadership of their top four — losing to RMC in the Carr-Harris Cup. However, these players are back in theirr tricolour jerseys to lead the team in the OUA playoffs, which began last night. With Gibson and his four star players back in Kingston, there’s nothing stopping the men’s hockey team from reaching the pinnacle of the OUA.
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Lifestyle BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Unveiling history Delving into Canada’s first all-black battalion
The No. 2 Construction battalion was the first and only all-Black Canadian army unit in World War I. Kyle Gonci Contributor This Black History Month is particularly special for me as it’s the first time I’ve explored the wonders of Black history on my own. Throughout my high school experience, I always felt there was a severe lack of Black history being taught to students, so I made it a personal goal of mine to learn more African-Canadian history. Since coming to Queen’s, I’ve grown more passionate in my study of Black history and applied my passion to class assignments. For one assignment, I spent many hours in Stauffer, eventually coming across the fascinating story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion (No. 2 CB), Canada’s first all-Black battalion to serve during World War I. The first thing I noticed about the No. 2
VOICES
CB was the limited information available, having encountered only a single book by Calvin Ruck, a former Senator of Nova Scotia. I quickly came to realize that Senator Ruck’s book would be a gem among Stauffer’s giant collection. For that very reason, I felt it my obligation to share my findings on the No. 2 CB with a larger audience. At the beginning of World War I, there was a vast wave of patriotism felt across Canada and like everyone else, many African-Canadians felt it was their obligation to fight for Canada and the British Empire. Canada wasn’t secretive about its discrimination towards African-Canadians and often times outright rejected those who wanted to volunteer for the war. With the exception of a few volunteers who enlisted into select units, the vast majority of African-Canadians weren’t accepted into the Canadian military. Because
During Black History Month, other communities of colour can join in solidarity
of this, there were protests started by both Blacks and whites, with the earliest form of these protests beginning with a man named Arthur Alexander who wrote to Ottawa in 1914, demanding that Black men be allowed to enlist. George Morton, a resident of Hamilton, continued these protests and was better able to capture the attention of public and military officials. It was eventually revealed by these officials that there were many problems with letting African-Canadians join in the fighting. It was only agreed upon later in the war that a segregated unit would be made on the condition that enough African-Canadians filled the entirety of its ranks. This led to the making of the No. 2 CB, which was officially established on July 5, 1916 in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Official numbers are unclear, but it’s suggested that just over 600 men were recruited from across Canada, the United States and parts of the West Indies to make up the battalion. After the battalion received its training, it was moved overseas on March 28, 1917 to join up with the Canadian Forestry
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Corps. For the remaining years of the war, the battalion worked primarily as a labour unit that handled jobs such as building and maintaining roads, bridges and trenches, cutting trees, doing mill work, maintaining water supplies, transporting supplies and managing heavy equipment. After the war’s conclusion, the battalion returned home in 1919 and was disbanded on September 15 that same year. I started my research knowing nothing about the No. 2 CB and enjoyed every moment I uncovered something new. In general, this is only a snippet of the historic undertakings the No. 2 CB underwent, but even knowing this much does these soldiers a service. This Black History Month, I encourage everyone to learn and share in the history of African-Canadians and carry on the legacy of the No. 2 CB. Even beyond that, I encourage everyone to explore subjects that they’re unfamiliar with. Perhaps then, each and every one of us could learn something new and eventually we could all find subjects that drive us towards our passions.
Ending racism between all communities of colour requires recognizing it exists Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy Staff Writer Every person of colour is affected by systems of racism and oppression, but not all of us are affected by racism in the same way. Black History Month is a time to reflect on the history of slavery, segregation, Black heritage and culture and more. But for other communities of colour, it should also be a time to reflect on how Black communities are affected by our own anti-Black racism — racism that is targeted specifically towards Black folk. Anti-Black racism has recently come to the forefront of our attention — it’s why the Black Lives Matters movement exists. According to its founders, Black Lives Matter “is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society,” but it doesn’t focus on just white-on-black racism — racism perpetrated by white communities. The movement is about creating a world
where Black people aren’t systematically targeted because of their Blackness. Communities of colour can do their part in making that happen by making sure they aren’t part of the problem. The most important thing that people and communities of colour need to understand about anti-Black racism is that it’s possible for people of colour to be racist as well. Racism is a system of oppression that manifests itself in many ways, including in stereotypes and cultural perceptions. It can be subtle, but it’s still very much real. In my own community, I’ve heard elders criticise other minority groups for taking welfare checks, when they themselves have also benefitted from social security programs. The idea of a hierarchy between minority groups is perpetuated in communities of colour because of these hypocritical sentiments and that’s exactly what we should be fighting against. As people of colour, we have to acknowledge the ways in which we’re
marginalized but also the ways in which we’re privileged. This includes acknowledging how different people suffer from racism in different ways. Another example is how Asian communities face the “model minority” myth — the idea that all Asian people are more successful than other minority groups — more often than Black communities do. Other communities experience their own kinds of racism, for example, the number of incarcerated Black and Indigenous Canadians is growing at high rates.
PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
Oppression isn’t a contest. There are ways to stand in solidarity with the Black community that don’t diminish the struggles your own community faces. This February, as we celebrate Black History Month, turn to your community and ask how you can help movements like Black Lives Matter, and listen when you’re told you can help by not contributing to systems of oppression already in place.
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Thursday, February 16, 2017
REVIEW
Abstract: The Art of Design is your next soothe-binge Josh Granovsky Staff Writer I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes TV can stress me out. I get nervous about who’ll come out on top in Scandal, or who’ll get solitary confinement on Orange Is the New Black, or who’ll survive Game of Thrones — just kidding, no one survives. Abstract: The Art of Design is the remedy to that nervousness. Netflix’s latest original documentary series follows a different type of designer in each of its eight episodes, and takes us through their career and creative process. It’s Chef’s Table and Planet Earth, but with designers. The show features illustrators, shoemakers, stage designers and more. But the show doesn’t just showcase your run-of-the-mill designers. It gives you THE designers. I’m talking about the guy who draws The New Yorker covers, the man behind Air Jordans and the woman who designs Kanye West’s concerts. Each designer has revolutionized their field in some way or another. Even if you don’t want to go into design, there are endless lessons of hard work and innovation to extract from the eight trailblazers featured. The show also has an underlying storyline throughout its eight seemingly different episodes: societal implications on the art of design. While this may not sound particularly interesting on paper, hearing about how all design has been tailored to essentially fit into a square — that square being Instagram — is sure to calmly blow your mind just a little bit. As stage designer Es Devlin put it, the world of design rests so heavily on social media that it
could be completely disrupted by “Instagram suddenly becoming a triangle.” Mind. Quietly. Blown. The show describes the more mundane aspects of design with the same enthusiasm, allowing the audience to understand the medium in an accessible way and still be armed with fun facts to impress friends. While I love the show for its teaching abilities, Abstract’s greatest asset is its visuals. I can’t begin to describe how aesthetically beautiful this show is. Each episode is styled around the designer in focus, leading to eight distinctly stunning episodes. You’ll be amazed at the work you’re shown, no matter what your interests are. I can guarantee you’ll have a new appreciation for all eight types of design after this show, and you’ll also probably follow a bunch of the
designers on Instagram because their feeds are BOMB. One of the other positives of this visual perfection is that the show allows you to set your brain on its lowest setting and let your senses do the work. It’s probably the closest TV there is to a nap in the sense that I come out of each episode recharged. I believe this rejuvenating sensation stems from the absence of stakes. It feels indescribably good not to have to worry about my favourite character dying or ruining their life. Watching someone calmly
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explain architecture with breathtaking visuals gives me the gust of wind I need to sit through another nail-biting episode of How to Get Away with Murder. If you have an hour here and there over the next few weeks, try to squeeze in Abstract. The show asks very little of you energy-wise, and still repays you with inspirational testimonies and artwork. It almost makes up for Netflix’s steadily-increasing monthly free.
QJ POLITICS
Lacing up for the Conservative race Young conservatives should pay attention to the future of their party
Ryan Little Contributor Ever since Stephen Harper’s defeat in the 2015 federal election, the question of who’ll be the most the effective leader for the Conservative Party in the Trudeau era has been on the minds of Canadians on all ends of the political spectrum. During Harper’s tenure as Prime Minister, he was by far the largest power broker within the party, as well as its public face. However, by 2015 a majority of Canadians and even many within his own party were ready for change. Now, conservatives are faced with the daunting question: who’ll replace Harper? Leadership in our political system is particularly important in dictating the policy direction a party will take, which is why these next few months are particularly relevant for young Conservatives in Canada. If they’re to be effectively represented by the most right-wing party in our country, the next leader is crucial in moving the Conservative party in the right direction. This is without even thinking about how the Conservative part can serve as an effective opposition to the majority Liberal government. The party is currently in a precarious place. With a vast range of candidates running, there are several places the party can go. But, although there are far-right candidates, such as Kellie Leitch or Brad Trost, I don’t believe this is where the future of the party lies. Conservatives have choices such as Maxime Bernier, Lisa Raitt or Michael Chong who’re more moderate than past conservatives we’ve seen in Canada and
whose views much better represent the changing face of Canada. These candidates are more socially liberal than Harper was, being in favour of such things as marijuana legalization and a revenue neutral carbon tax. I spoke with Brendan Dowd, communications director for the Queen’s Campus Conservatives, about his opinions on the upcoming leadership race. Dowd believes that the future of the party lies in its ability to attract a larger cohort of voters, especially young voters, by focusing on personal liberty and freedom. “Moving forward the party needs to take an inclusive approach that focuses on expanding the base of the party. In my opinion, the best way to do that is moving in a direction that focuses on being fiscally responsible, but socially liberal,” Dowd said. See The future on page 15
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LIFESTYLE
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The future of the Conservative party Continued from page 14
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
CULTURE COMMENTARY
Reviewing the nominees A critical look at this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture
Kayla Thomson Production Manager To conclude my Best Picture journey, I watched the remaining four films, all seemingly on separate ends of the Hollywood spectrum: Hell or High Water, Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight. Hidden Figures
Another incredible true story, Hidden Figures takes an intersectional approach that’s very often ignored in movies: racial minorities and female characters. It won best ensemble at the SAG awards, and I couldn’t agree more with this decision. The three leading women, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, come together effortlessly to tell the story of three African-American female NASA mathematicians in the early 1960s. It reminded me a lot of The Help, another film that looked at the experiences of individual Black women and held a number of individual perspectives, but was most striking in the collaborative moments between the actresses. It felt good to watch Hidden Figures, not just because the women were inspiring, but because I was cheering them on. Much like Lion, however, the incredible plot requires the entire film’s attention. The small moments within the character’s emotions aren’t the most important part of the movie, and therefore doesn’t make it a knock out for Best Picture.
Hell or High Water
This is the only Western film in the Best Picture nomination category this year. It isn’t atypical — the last time a Western won was in 2007 for No Country for Old Men. The Western genre, although comprised of some great films, can be very restrictive in its content and even redundant from film to film. Hell or High Water doesn’t break out of this mold. It has great cinematography, the acting is strong and the plot deals with current themes. However, I honestly struggled to stay awake. The movie follows two brothers, Toby and Tanner, as they rob a number of banks to save their mother’s ranch. Although the film is well timed, the character development ends at the film’s half way mark and the plot left something to be desired. Essentially, I was bored. When I compared this film to the others, I was surprised it was even nominated. Jeff Bridges may win his Supporting Actor nomination, but I’ll be shocked if Hell or High Water beats the unique masterpieces that it’s up against. Hacksaw Ridge
As a cinefile, this was one of my favourites in the bunch. As a responsible film commentator, the grotesque violence distracts from the incredible story. Hacksaw Ridge is a true story about Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector and the only WWII soldier to fight on the front lines without a weapon. It’s undoubtedly a story that needed
to be told, however, Mel Gibson’s direction often took away from the characters and the unfolding of the plot. In the first few minutes of the film, Desmond as a little boy beats his brother with a brick while ‘playing’. Although intrinsic to his character development, this only started an increasingly violent film. Andrew Garfield leads the majority of the film, and it would’ve been a much more likely contender for Best Picture if it took a step back from the violence and allowed Garfield’s acting to be the main feature on the screen.
By making this change, the Conservative Party would be much more attractive to young voters who were unable to get past Harper era policies they see as backward. This includes policies like a hard-line stance on immigration, the controversial cyber spying bill C-51 or even the passage of tougher drug laws with mandatory minimums. Young conservatives are statistically much less likely to support classically conservative social policy. This includes issues like refugee entry into Canada, which exemplfified the difference between Harper and Trudeau’s governments. Having said this, Dowd highlighted the need to take what could be learned from the Harper government to try and capitalize on the gains it made for conservatives in Canada. “I generally think that most young conservatives would agree with that. Harper was really the only Conservative leader we’ve really known, but now it’s time to move in a different direction, while not abandoning what made the Conservatives successful,” Dowd continued. Before Harper, the Canadian
Conservative movement was fragmented and weak after being broken in 1993 following Brian Mulroney’s defeat. Harper was able to effectively bridge the gaps in Canadian conservatism and unify it under a single party. It wouldn’t be nearly as large or all encompassing without the contributions he made to unify the party and the strong years of leadership that followed. However, it’s clear that young onservatives desire a change from the brand of conservatism that Harper espoused. This means if the party is going to evolve into an effective opposition to the Liberals they will need to change with the times into something sleeker and more modern. When asked about the future of his party after their defeat in the last election, Dowd was optimistic. “I have a lot of respect for Stephen Harper and what he did for the Conservative movement in Canada. But as we saw, the country was ready for a change. I think Brian Mulroney said it best when he said, ‘When I ran in ‘84... I won because I wasn’t Pierre Trudeau, and then Jean Chrétien 10 years later won because he wasn’t Brian Mulroney. So it’s part of a desire for change, which is normal’.”
THIS WEEK’S PUZZLE
Moonlight
In my past reviews, I’ve consistently come back to the idea that truth in storytelling is what makes great films: Moonlight exemplifies this. Moonlight tells the story of a black man struggling with his sexuality in three parts: as a young child, in high school, and as an adult. There isn’t anything flashy about the plot, other than the unique perspective that hasn’t really made its way into Hollywood films. The film focuses intently on the characters and their motivations. So much so that the storytelling is actually the film’s standout part. Of course the acting is incredible, but the characters are so effortless, it seems lifelike. I kept having to catch myself because of how difficult it was to watch. There were moments when I needed to look away because it became too raw. There isn’t an ounce of insincerity in this movie, and I can only be amazed that the Academy is recognizing a brutally truthful representation of an often silenced perspective.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
LIFESTYLE
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PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Being under the magnifying glass Reflections on Black History Month at Queen’s as a visible minority Elizabeth Ononiwu Contributor I think Black History Month has always been a semi-awkward time for me. Having gone to predominantly white schools for the majority of my life, I’m used to being the only Black girl in most of my classes. So, when February rolls around there’s always this ominous cloud of pressure, and “responsibility” hanging ever so softly over my head, which I believe started in elementary school. The teacher, who is usually always white, brings up Harriet Tubman, or Rosa Parks while telling the aged narrative of the injustices Black people faced in America — because Black people were loved in Canada at that time of course — and during those little talks I would always feel eyes on me. Yes, you know exactly what I mean. It’s that moment when you do a quick side-eye at the Black kid in class to see how they’re reacting to all of this. That famous side-eye phenomenon has followed me through every Black History Month presentation in school. Yet, the thing is, I don’t think the stares were what really bothered me. The stares I could always understand, and sum it up to just plain curiosity and human nature. What I think really shook me all these years, is the fact that it made it blaringly
apparent that I’m Black, which makes me a minority, and that for the better part of the last four centuries my skin has been seen and in many places, is still seen, as inferior. See, the truth is that most times I don’t remember, or rather, I’m not constantly aware of it. A perfect example of this was just this weekend. I went to go see The End of the World Club at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday night and it was there that I had one of those reminders. I was sitting in the audience and a line about how Google created a baby robot that people could interact with through social media came up. The actor said that in three days the baby robot had tweeted out “we need to put all the niggers in concentration camps,” and then she said how scary it was that we had taught a robot how to hate in three days.
I immediately felt the ““side-eyes” and looking
around, I realized that I was the only Black person in that entire room.
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After that line, obviously, the whole room gasped and tensed up. It was in that moment that the reminder hit. I immediately felt the “side-eyes” and looking around, I realized
that I was the only Black person in that entire room. My blackness became glaringly evident. Up to that moment it wasn’t even something I’d noted. I obviously wasn’t offended by the line in the play, but I think what it did was remind me of the fact that that line was most likely not able to make anyone as hyper-aware of their skin as it made me. That hyper-awareness is felt during Black History Month as I’m conscious of the fact that I’m surrounded by people who look nothing like me. As if that hyper-awareness isn’t enough, we’re then given a mic — a chance to voice our opinions as people of color and teach some of our history, while editing our words so as not to make white people uncomfortable. Yet the thing is, I’ve had a great experience as a Black student at Queen’s. Of course there’s the annoying microaggression here and there, or the odd stares when I wear my natural hair out, which as a Black kid you just learn to grow a tough skin to, but for the most part I’ve had amazing experiences. I’ve had a plethora of great opportunities, made some pretty awesome friends, and have encountered open minded and cool professors. Though, with that I think it’s dangerous to let just one voice “represent” the Black community because honestly, I’ve been lucky. I’ve heard some truly unbelievably unfortunate experiences from
Black students whether it be in their classes, their department, with friends, or even when they go out.
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So, when I say that I’m lucky enough to not always recognize that I’m Black, I’m super cognisant of my luck because not everyone else on campus has the luxury of feeling like they blend in.
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So, when I say that I’m lucky enough to not always recognize that I’m Black, I’m super cognisant of my luck because not everyone else on campus has the luxury of feeling like they blend in. I guess in some way that’s part of the point of Black History Month. To take a step back from your point of privilege, whatever privilege looks like for you, and pause to listen to other perspectives. To open dialogue that isn’t aimed at placing blame or targeting, or automatically feeling like we’re accusing you by saying you are privileged, but rather focus on just talking, sharing and figuring out some small ways to make things a little bit better for everyone in any way we can. Happy Black History Month.
Visit qjlongform.com for QJ’s Black History Month coverage