The Queen's Journal, Volume 145, Issue 18

the journal Vol. 145, Issue 18

Queen’s University

F r i d ay J a n u a r y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

since

1873

Bus-It program fee renewal presents expanded routes and improved service times PHOTO BY SARINA GREWAL

AMS Vice-President candidate Craig Draeger (left) stands beside presidential candidate Emily VanderHeyden at AMS Assembly on Thursday.

AMS Vice-President (Operations) candidate addresses past controversies Vice-President (Operations) candidate Craig Draeger, ArtSci ’18.

After the team had formed, The Journal received a link to the video from Draeger’s past, in which he’s depicted wearing brownface makeup and a sombrero, imitating Mexican stereotypes. The video appeared on a website titled “Demand Better than Racism!” created in 2013.

As of 3 p.m. on Thursday, the video has been removed from the webpage.

Draeger is no stranger to student politics — in 2013, he was running for the same position he’s running for today. In fact, the “Demand Better than Racism!” website was created in an effort to dissuade students from voting for his team, called Team PDA.

Craig Draeger speaks to brownface video MAUREEN O’REILLY News Editor In 2013, a handful of Queen’s students revealed a video online in which a then AMS Vice-Presidential candidate performed a racist depiction of Mexican culture. Five years later, the video is still online and the same candidate is running again for the same position.

On Jan. 16, AMS Chief Electoral Officer Matt Ierino announced the single team that will be running for the executive this year. Team ECN consists of Presidential candidate Emily VanderHeyden, ArtSci ’18, Vice-President (University Affairs) candidate Natasha Kornak, ArtSci ’19, and

2013: Team PDA

In early January 2013, three teams were running for AMS executive: Team BGP, Team

TNL and Team PDA. At the same time, Katie Conway, ArtSci ’13 MA ’15, was working as the AMS Social Issues Commissioner. She recalled the 2013 election that race as being “the most toxic election [she] ever saw at Queen’s.”

“There was a lot of animosity between PDA and one of the other teams,” Conway told The Journal on Wednesday. “And there were problematic things that came out of the PDA campaign.”

According to Draeger, the 2013 election did contain some “strong personalities,” but the animosity that stemmed on campus then was more so a reflection of student culture on campus at the time.

“I really feel like the AMS is downstream of the culture on campus,” Draeger said, explaining he feels the AMS is more affected by the culture of the student body than the

What’s Inside?

See Draeger on page 4

Proposed fee increase would allow for NorthSouth bus stops, late-night service in University District MAUREEN O’REILLY News Editor As referendum voting approaches, the AMS is requesting a fee increase for the Kingston Transit Bus-It program. If passed, this would allow for expanded routes and improved service times based on student need.

Beginning in 1974, this program is a partnership between the AMS and Kingston Transit that allows Queen’s students universal access to the city’s buses for a discounted price. Every three years, the fee is reviewed by the two organizations and changes are brought to the students for a referendum vote.

In 2015, a $20.75 fee increase was approved at referendum. This year, the AMS will be requesting a $23.75 increase to accommodate significant changes in the bus routes available to students.

According to AMS Director of Communications Craig Draeger, the AMS conducted an intensive online survey throughout August and September to hear

See Bus-It on page 4

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTICE KING

NEWS

FEATURE

EDITORIALS

SPORTS

Queen’s alumnus to blast off in March

Exchange isn’t what it’s

Marijuana legalization can’t sidestep

Road to recovery for gaels What I learned from being centre Mike Shoveller jumped at Queen’s

made out to be

LIFESTYLE

past convictions

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page 5 @queensjournal

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News

2 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 19, 2018

CLUBS

Bikes and Boards Club now open following dissolution of service

Former retail service dissolved by the AMS in August, reopened as a club Sarina Grewal Assistant News Editor

Shawn Brimley Journal staff photo in 1998-99

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Queen’s grads remember Shawn Brimley

Former Journal staff recall Brimley’s days before successful political career Maureen O’Reilly News Editor

On Jan. 9, friends, family and colleagues mourned the loss of 40-year-old Queen’s alumni Shawn Brimley — a senior Pentagon and White House official.

According to an obituary in The Washington Post, Brimley passed away in a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland due to complications from colon cancer.

Brimley was born in Mississauga in 1977, and served in the army for five years before coming to Queen’s, where he graduated in 2001. In 1998-99, Brimley worked at The Queen’s Journal as an Assistant News Editor.

The two co-Editors-in-Chief who hired Brimley, Keith Gerein and Tara Mansbridge, shared fond memories of Brimley in an email to The Journal.

“What comes to mind most easily when I think about Shawn was his sense of humour — slightly goofy, cheerful and self-deprecating all at the same time,” Gerein wrote. “That sense of humour was on full display when he came in for his first interview to join The Queen’s Journal staff.”

I did follow Shawn’s “career from afar. The heights he achieved in his life came as no surprise to me.

”

— Keith Gerein, former Journal Editor-in-Chief According to Gerein, Brimley’s place on staff wasn’t immediately clear — he wanted to work in the Arts and Entertainment section, which was full. However, the Editors-in-Chief “knew [they]

had to get him on staff somehow because having him around all year would be a blast.”

“It didn’t take long to convince Shawn to take a place with the news team, and I like to think that maybe helped set him on a course that led to his brilliant policy career,” Gerein wrote.

Indeed, Brimley’s career was brilliant — he served in multiple positions for the US government between 2009 and 2012. He worked as a Special Adviser at the Pentagon and a Director of Strategic Planning at the National Security Council. Most recently, he served as Vice-President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security.

According to the organization’s website, the Center for a New American Security is an “independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defence policies.” Brimley was mainly interested in preparing for robotic warfare, helping to develop the Pentagon’s “thirdoffset strategy” — a strategy that aimed to prepare the US military for conflict with countries such as Russia or China.

Years before all these accomplishments had been realized, Brimley displayed his great potential through his work at The Journal, Gerein wrote.

“As the year progressed, all of us learned that Shawn possessed a few other qualities beyond his sense of humour: a high level of intelligence and an enormous work ethic, a deep sensitivity to injustice and an unshakeable loyalty to his friends. He was often the motivational driving force behind many of the important projects and stories the news team accomplished that year,” Gerein wrote.

In August, the AMS faced heavy criticism from the student body when it moved to dissolve the Bikes and Boards retail service.

However, at the Nov. 2 AMS Assembly, Bikes and Boards was ratified as a club, which officially opened Jan. 8.

Bikes and Boards, formerly an AMS retail service, was dissolved this summer after the AMS Board of Directors projected a $40,274 deficit for the 2018 fiscal year, as well as an estimated $195,161 deficit by April 2021.

Due to its abrupt nature of dissolvement after being open for most of the summer, this decision was met with backlash from the student body. At the time, the AMS said the service would transition into an independently-run club and retain all inventory and tools.

According to AMS Vice President (University Affairs), Palmer Lockridge, the club went through the standard club ratification process in the first semester of this school year and have now retained their space in the JDUC. Despite being reopened, not everything promised in the summer has come to the new club executive. According to Bikes and Boards Club Treasurer Josh Chipman, the club only received $2000 of the promised $2500 grant from the AMS Board

of Directors. it to us, or whether they want to The transition hasn’t been easy sell it to someone else,” Kukucska for incoming executives. According explained. “I really hope they sell to Bikes and Boards Club President it to us because it would be a very Ben Kukucska, ArtSci ’19, access successful asset for us.” to previous Bikes and Boards Kukucska said he was emails was requested so the forwarded to various people new executive could understand by Myszko about regaining the the former service’s structure. sharpener, to no avail as of yet.

However, the emails only became Going forward, the executive available to the club in December. team aims to focus primarily on Kukucska also said the financial raising awareness of their club as documents they received about Bikes and Boards were unclear.

AMS Clubs Director Marnie They’re focusing on Myszko told The Journal she more of the learning recruited students to run the new aspect – teaching club last semester, with some students more about former members of the Longboard the bikes that they’re Club taking on the responsibility.

No former Bikes and Boards riding, the boards that service staff returned to run they’re using. the club.

Myszko noted the club has — Marnie Myszko, AMS Clubs adopted a more teaching-centric Director approach as opposed to being revenue-centric. a new entity on campus. After a “They’re focusing on more of minor rebrand, they’ve created the learning aspect — teaching a new Facebook page and plan students more about the bikes to continue to promote the club that they’re riding, the boards that this semester. they’re using,” Myszko said.

This semester will be one Despite the fact that Chair of of experimentation for the the Board of Directors Mike Blair volunteers — to see what works told The Journal in August they and what needs to be changed would retain all assets, the club — but Kukucska and his fellow never attained possession of the members are hopeful they’ll have skate sharpener. a successful semester.

“Last I heard they are still “We’re off to a good start,” sorting out whether they want to Kukucska said. give [the skate sharpener] to us for free, whether they want to sell

“

”

Bikes and Boards headquarters.

“I wish we had stayed in touch more in the last 20 years, but I did follow Shawn’s career from afar.

The heights he achieved in his life came as no surprise to me. It’s a tragedy that life, with so much more to give, had to end so quickly.”

Jocelyn Laporte Moodie, another former Journal staff member who worked with Brimley on the news team in 1998-99, also remembered her old

coworker fondly.

“He was such a wonderful person to be around,” Laporte Moodie wrote. “Full of both conviction and positivity. I remember he had a great laugh.

I have a distinct memory of him playing a guitar upstairs before a Journal editorial meeting and just strumming and laughing about whatever was being said.

He was a great team player and a

PHOTO BY SARINA GREWAL

good friend.”

Two of Brimley’s friends, Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine, started an online fundraiser to ensure his three children have adequate funds to go to college.

“Shawn has been an important part of so many of our lives,” the description reads. “Please be generous in helping us secure the future education of his children.”

Friday, January 19, 2018

Feustel gets suited up.

News

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY MEGAN SUMNER

Queen’s alumnus to blast off in March

Astronaut Drew Feustel prepares for six-month space mission Nick Pearce Arts Editor

astronaut is something every kid dreams of when they look at the stars. While this may ring true On March 15, Queen’s alum for Feustel, an experience while Drew Feustel will take off completing his PhD at Queen’s set from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur him on the path towards his first Cosmodrome aboard a Russian mission to space.

Soyuz spacecraft.

Back then, Feustel watched an Feustel will have a six-month episode of W5 that featured the mission on the International Space Canadian Astronaut Class of 1992.

Station, where he’ll first serve as Although he was waiting to begin flight engineer with expedition 55. his PhD in geological sciences at He’ll then return in August as the the time, the show’s focus on Chris commander of expedition 56.

Hadfield and Julie Payette sparked This isn’t the Queen’s grad’s first a young Feustel’s interest. time leaving earth. With previous The program had such an flights in 2009 and 2011, Feustel effect that when Feustel moved anticipates the moments before to Houston in 1997, he called takeoff on mission three will feel Hadfield to ask about his work. the same as they did in the past.

That call began a relationship “In my mind, I’m always a bit that helped him put together an fatalistic,” he said. “Because it’s my application to the space program third flight, I know what to expect, and eventually to be selected as an although the launch from the astronaut himself.

Soyuz is a little different from the In 2009, Feustel flew on the [American] shuttle.” space shuttle Atlantis for the Now on his third mission, final servicing mission of NASA’s Feustel said he doesn’t necessarily Hubble Space Telescope. He fear of the unknown like he did in returned to space in 2011 on the 2009. He knows what it’s like from shuttle Endeavor’s final mission. launch to orbit.

Feustel’s mission in March is “I’m also thinking if something slightly different than the past goes wrong, I am trained to two he took part in. Whereas in respond to those scenarios. But, those previous two missions he ultimately, there’s a possibility we mostly trained in the United States, might not recover the spacecraft Feustel will spend most of his time and might not make it into space,” training in Russia to fly on the he said. “For better or worse, Soyuz spacecraft this time. launch day is launch day and On top of taking Russian somebody’s going to decide to language classes on and off for send a rocket into space and you’re the past 17 years, he has spent going to be riding in it.” time communicating in broken The idea of becoming an English and Russian with the

Soyuz commander.

“We say it’s only hard to learn Russian language after the first 10 years,” he said. “I’m not going to say it hasn’t been tough.”

He described the astronaut’s role in the space station as primarily ensuring the safety of its crew and experiments.

“As astronauts, we become the hands, eyes and ears of the scientists on the ground and our job is to operate their [experiments], to recover data and ensure that data gets back to Earth,” he said.

But this time will be different — Feustel will be living in space rather than visiting. “I can’t wait to get up there,” he said.

Feustel added he looks forward to observing Earth from space and wants to form clearer memories of his experiences on this mission than the shorter ones before. This longer time span will also allow him to reach out to audiences through social media, educating them about the mission.

“I hope that the work we do makes a difference, does inspire people to do great things with their lives, does inspire us to think of travel off our planet and living off our planet to ensure the continued existence of the human species.”

“That sounds a little idealistic or grandiose, but I think it’s important.”

Follow Feustel on Twitter and Instagram with @astro_feustel

queensjournal.ca • 3

Kingston Area Taxi Commission inches closer towards Uber regulation Controversial bylaw has been in the works since 2015

Iain Sherriff-Scott Assistant News Editor The Kingston Area Taxi Commission met Wednesday at City Hall to continue the drafting process of a controversial bylaw that would regulate Uber’s operations in Kingston. The b ylaw has been in the works since 2015 when Uber first came to the city.

According to commissioners, the bylaw seeks to “create a level playing field” between the rules that govern taxis and Uber.

After the final meeting of 2017, the draft bylaw was posted publically on the Kingston Area Taxi Commission website. The release marks the first time the draft legislation has been available to the public.

“

The bylaw seeks to ‘create a level playing field’ between the rules that govern taxis and Uber.

”

Wednesday’s meeting was the first to see returning commissioner Karen Wisebaum in her newly-elected position of KATC Chair. Mark Greenwood, owner of Amey’s Taxi, along with other industry representatives, attended the meeting. Also in attendance was Chris Schafer, Uber Canada’s public policy manager.

Among the issues discussed at Wednesday’s meeting, driver tests and authentication for Transportation Networking Companies (TNCs) like Uber were the most debated between commissioners and industry members.

Testing drivers

Enforcement Officer Dave Kennedy responded and said, “it has to come down to whether the commission is going to require it or not. If this gets passed, we will have to look at bylaw No. 2 to see what we have there.”

“Right now, we test [taxi] drivers, if we’re not going to test the Uber people, then are we going to keep testing the taxi drivers?

If we’re going to ease what the TNC has to do, we have to ease what the taxis will have to do,” Kennedy explained.

Commissioner Draeger said he would “agree with that harmonization.” Commissioners will continue to debate the issue at next month’s meeting.

Authenticating drivers

Another area of the bylaw that commissioners are struggling to make consistent is the authentication of drivers on the road.

For taxis, the commission is able to request ID from drivers at any time. However, for TNCs, identification is done internally through the software application and then distributed to regulators.

Schafer explained in Ottawa, Uber collects all information about drivers on the road and their status and relays it to regulators “at a cadency of their choosing,” be it weekly, monthly or yearly. “No other city asks for paper identification; it’s redundant,” Schafer said.

Mark Greenwood said in response, “I think it comes down to whether Uber is going to be regulating themselves and rely on them for information or the commission is going to be regulating.”

KATC Chair Wisebaum said “for me the question is still outstanding on how we authenticate and I don’t have an answer.”

One of the most controversial provisions in the draft bylaw is the requirement for prospective Moving forward Uber drivers to complete a test about their knowledge of the city, Commissioners remain optimistic something that’s already required the bylaw will move forward in of taxi drivers. the coming months. However, At Wednesday’s meeting, new Wisebaum acknowledged it could and returning commissioners “take up to six months.” raised questions about driver When asked why the testing and how to achieve commission doesn’t use other consistency with bylaw No. 2, regulatory regimes as a model for which regulates taxis in Kingston.

Kingston, Wisebaum said, “we’re KATC Commissioner Craig not trying to reinvent the wheel.

Draeger said, “I question to some There are a lot of different reasons degree what the need for such a that have come up in past meetings test would be because the whole over the last two years.” concept of the business model is a She explained KATC is “a designated pick-up point and the creature of statute,” adding, GPS guides you to the designated “that is not true of a lot of drop-off point. I don’t know what taxi commissions across the is gained from having a written province. We are just here to do test of knowledge of the township the job we are mandated to do or the city.” under statute.”

KATC Taxi Inspector and

News

4 •queensjournal.ca

ELECTIONS

Draeger optimistic for second campaign Continued from front AMS can affect student culture.

However, Draeger believes this race will be different.

“I’m optimistic … I think we’re all a bit more willing to work together. Conflict can be inevitable in spaces with passionate people, but I think we need to recognize that even when we’re opponents ideologically, we’re not enemies,” Draeger said.

Conway — who has known Draeger since 2009 — said the video of Draeger sporting brownface makeup did cause a “fairly large reaction” at the time. However, she said there were larger concerns about the candidate that arose prior to the video’s circulation.

People were upset “about the video, but

those concerns were already there.

”

— Katie Conway, AMS Social Issues Commissioner 2012-13 “The concerns about PDA didn’t necessarily stem from the video or content that came about during the campaign, but that came out before,” Conway said. “People were upset about the video, but those concerns were already there.”

According to Conway, Draeger’s conservative political views “weren’t a secret” on campus, many of which AMS volunteers at the time — especially those in the Social Issues Commission — “didn’t necessarily agree with.”

Draeger’s views mainly came to light in 2012 when he campaigned against renewing a fee supporting the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), a grassroots student organization committed to social and environmental justice.

2012: OPIRG

“Obviously some students agreed with him on certain things, but students that I would see come to the SIC … [they felt] his stance on OPIRG was concerning for volunteers in the social justice community at Queen’s,” Conway said.

“He wouldn’t be the first AMS executive to be heavily involved in a political party, [but] there were concerns about Craig before that video came out based off what happened with OPIRG and his political affiliations.”

A 2012 Journal article reported on the “no” campaign against OPIRG’s fee — a campaign they dubbed “NOPIRG.” The four-dollar

opt-out fee started at Queen’s in 1992 and was up for its triennial review in 2012.

Draeger took a three-day leave of absence from his position as AMS Clubs Manager to participate in the NOPIRG campaign.

“If a member of the AMS wants to participate in any election or campaign throughout the referendum period, they have the right to, but they have to take an unpaid leave of absence,” Draeger explained to The Journal on Thursday.

“However, paid AMS employees at the time were breaking the rules and participating in that fee referendum. So I asked my supervisor at the time in response to that … if I could take an unpaid leave of absence to participate in the fee referendum process. And I was granted that enthusiastically, and I did exactly that,” he continued.

“The rules were followed and I returned to my job a week later. I treated [OPIRG] fairly and impartially going forward because that was my job.”

2008: The video

In February 2013, a Journal Assistant News Editor wrote a signed editorial about the video calling it “an act of racism,” but criticized it as being “misdirected by its extreme and accusatory nature.”

According to Draeger, the video originated from a summer business he began with a friend in the summer before he came to Queen’s. The business designed web-based ads for a variety of organizations and companies, one of which was a chain of restaurants called Moe’s Southwest Grill.

“I regret having done it, I’m ashamed of it, I take responsibility for it,” Draeger said of the video. “I’m not sorry for the fact that people take offense to it, but I am sorry if anyone has ever felt devalued as a result of it.”

“It’s not funny,” he continued. “I would say that it was a culturally insensitive and unacceptable thing to do. I deeply apologize to anyone who has felt lesser as a result of seeing it. I’m really trying to avoid defending it because I don’t think it should be defended, but I just want people to know that I’m sorry.”

When asked if his current teammates were aware of these past controversies, Draeger confirmed they indeed are in the know.

“I told them everything about myself going into this … [because] there have been times when I have been involved in controversy at Queen’s.”

Friday, January 19, 2018

WINTER REFERENDUM

Bus-It fee retains cheapest Ontario pricing despite increase Continued from front what students wanted from the transit deal. In an interview with The Journal, Commissioner of Municipal Affairs Stefano Hollands detailed the proposed changes based on the results from 537 survey respondents.

Through the acquisition of a second bus on the Q17 route — one that serves downtown, main campus and West campus areas — late-night service will increase from every 30 minutes to 15 minutes after 11 p.m.

Moreover, the updated program will add North-South bus stops for the first time ever in the University District. In the expanded Q17 route, bus stops will be placed along Alfred St. at Johnson St., Brock St. and Princess St. The Q17 route will also allow access to the Williamsville corridor on Princess St. — an area occupied by mid-to-highrise apartment buildings like 655 Princess St. — for the first time ever.

The route will extend from the Williamsville corridor to as far south as Kingston General Hospital.

With hundreds of Queen’s students living in 655 Princess St. and more developments on the way, Holland believes transit access to this area is imperative.

“The rationale for lobbying for this route is that you have an entire block at 655 Princess St., across the street you have a 10-storey development that’s being proposed and already at Nelson St. and Princess [Patry Inc. Developments] is developing another 5-storey building,” Hollands said. “[It’s] very important that we get that transit infrastructure in place to match

the demand that’s anticipated.”

With the improved route, students living at 655 Princess St. will be able to get to main campus in minutes. On top of this, students living north of Mack St. between University Ave. and Victoria St. will now only need to walk north to Princess St. to access the same buses. Moreover, Hollands said increasing service to this area promotes a safe late-night transportation option for students.

The updates will also affect the Q20 bus route, which currently loops around main campus and services the Isabel Bader Centre as well as West campus. According to Hollands, the City has been able to place express buses to service the Bader, while the re-routed Q20 service will now run along Union St. instead.

“As classes are expanding more on West Campus and Queen’s also bought St. Mary’s of the Lake [Hospital], this is really going to help service those areas,” Hollands said of the service.

While Hollands acknowledged the fee increase may “seem

We really want to “ make sure that students have a strong basis of information behind the campaign.

”

—Stefano Hollands, AMS Commissioner of Municipal Affairs

substantial at first,” Queen’s students will still retain the lowest transit fee among all Ontario universities. If passed, the annual fee will total $90, making Bus-It the only university transit

fee in Ontario to remain below $100 per year.

The fee is also 87 per cent less than Kingston adults pay for their yearly bus pass, which costs $678. On Jan. 22, the AMS will be launching an official informational website about the fee, which will include route maps, program highlights and a fee comparison breakdown.

“We really want to make sure that students have a strong basis of information behind the campaign,” Hollands said of the website. “The more students are able to learn, the more they can see that this is an amazing transit deal.”

Jeremy Dacosta, Manager of Kingston Transit, said he collaborated with the AMS on this project to “better understand what services students would like to see from their public transit.”

“Kingston Transit has a long-standing relationship with the AMS as it relates to

Transit has a “Kingston long-standing relationship with the AMS.

”

— Jeremy Dacosta, Manager of Kingston Transit the Bus-It program — we have what is, I believe, the longest running partnership of its kind in Canada,” Dacosta said. “We think its important for students to continue to support it so they have uninterrupted universal access to public transit 12 months of the year.”

The Bus-It fee will be included on the AMS referendum ballot, available for voting on Jan. 29 and 30.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Features

queensjournal.ca

•5

IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY

Invisible barriers to international exchange The ins and outs of enrollinng abroad Alex Palermo Features Editor As 10,678 Arts and Science students begin their semester in Kingston every year, around 600 of their classmates prepare to complete an international exchange at one of Queen’s partner universities from around the globe.

Considered both a rewarding and challenging experience, a vast majority of students don’t get to take part in exchange.

Although the Queen’s International Centre posted a blog post in 2015 that tried to dispel the “Six Silly Excuses for Choosing to Not Go On Exchange,” obstacles such as cost, curriculum, culture and circumstance still stand in the way of people’s decision to forgo this opportunity.

But for every positive story you hear about students who go on exchange, there are others who had a dreadful experience.

And that’s for those who even get to go.

In Engineering — a faculty with 3,065 students for 2017-18 — only 40 to 50 of them go on exchange each year. Due to the rigid structure of their degree plans, most engineers aren’t afforded this opportunity.

For Daniel De Santis, Eng ’19, the idea of going on a third-year exchange seemed impossible after a guest speaker told his engineering chemistry class that no one in their program had ever done it.

“The main problem is this one third-year lab course,” De Santis said. “Other universities have differently combined chemistry components. So for us to go, we’d have to add an entire other year onto our degree.”

“I wanted to go on exchange. It would’ve been a great experience,” De Santis said of his third year. “I see everyone’s photos on Instagram and think, ‘that could’ve been me.’”

According to De Santis, rectifying the inaccessibility might be as simple as re-formatting the way lab courses are presented in full-year format, or searching for a partner university that has a similar third-year curriculum. None of the 31 partner universities listed on the Engineering exchange website offer an equivalent lab course to the one offered at Queen’s.

This inaccessibility isn’t only felt in

one faculty. A lot of students studying science face similar barriers to Engineering students. These obstacles are often based on long lists of required courses, some of which don’t have equivalents offered at any partner university.

The resource for Arts and Science students — the International Programs Office (IPO) — has a detailed website that outlines step-by-step instructions for the application and admissions process. They also include their own list of suggested partner universities based on people’s individual programs.

While some people do find their own perfect match through the IPO, others don’t have this luxury.

According to Maggie Newport, ArtSci ’17, the list provided by the IPO didn’t accurately set her up for a successful exchange experience. While she told The Journal going on exchange to the University of Leeds was the best year of her life, she said there were a number of communication issues within the system.

“There is no communication between Queen’s and the host university,” Newport said. “I had to do everything myself.”

Unknown to her, the biochemistry program at Leeds is shorter than the program offered at Queen’s. Due to this discrepancy, Leeds enrolled Newport in all final year courses — equivalent to fourth year Queen’s credits — when she was only in third year.

“In reality, [Leeds] wasn’t that compatible with my program. It was really misadvertised,” Newport said. “[The department] told me that the courses they put me in would be too hard,” Newport said. After she contacted Leeds herself to see if it could be changed, they said she wasn’t eligible to take any other courses. “It got to the point where [Queen’s] just told me to go, have a good time and we’d sort it out when I got back.”

According to Newport, she got full credit for electives but only one upper-year requirement was fulfilled instead of the full courseload she anticipated. As a result, Newport had to add a full semester onto her degree.

“In hindsight, I completely regret following [the department’s] advice,”

Newport said.

The process of selecting and applying to a host university isn’t always straightforward, and the guidelines put in place to help aren’t helpful for students coming from all programs.

“The IPO emphasizes the importance of student research in undertaking any mobility program,” Laura Esford, IPO manager, told The Journal via email. “[It] also retains a credit transfer bank which students are welcome to consult along with a document entitled ‘Where to Go by Degree Concentration’ which is continuously updated.”

In regards to students having to unexpectedly add time onto their degree, Esford said they don’t see this scenario very often.

Students in humanities-based programs also reported issues with both enrolment and communication between universities abroad.

Jaedie Sansom, ArtSci ’18, left for her exchange semester last winter and by the time she arrived at her host university, Glasgow, she wasn’t enrolled in a single course. When the first week of classes rolled around, her situation persisted, in spite of her constant efforts to contact her host university.

“The International Office [in Glasgow] couldn’t do anything about it. They’d contact different department heads and get no response, then some departments would be really responsive.”

Sansom’s major is drama, one of the main driving factors that led her to choose her host university in the UK. “When I actually got to enroll, they told me I wasn’t eligible to take drama courses there.”

Some host universities only allow exchange students to enroll in elective classes, some or most of which might be outside that student’s major.

“I understand that the host university’s priority is not exchange students. The problem is that they just don’t do anything,” Sansom said.

While she experienced some resistance when trying to enroll in courses abroad, Sansom said she can’t speak highly enough of the IPO. “They tell you when to contact your undergraduate chair, and when

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

to enroll in courses,” Sansom said, “The problem [for me] was that I had no courses when I left.”

According to the Universities Canada Internationalization Surveys, only 3.1 per cent of undergraduate students in Canada complete an international exchange. As of last year, Queen’s Faculty of Arts and Science is ahead of the national average, at 5.2 per cent of students completing an international exchange.

While certain programs have much higher exchange rates — 85 per cent of commerce students go on an exchange in their third year — this is due in part to the robust integration of the global perspective into the Bachelor of Commerce degree.

“In fact, many commerce students tell us that the exchange program was one of their reasons for choosing to come to Queen’s,” Alison Darling, associate director of international programs and projects at the Smith School of Business, said via email with The Journal.

Darling explained through their network of 120 partner institutions in 37 countries, they have the capacity to send every third-year student on an exchange. She also “passionately believes that exchange can be beneficial to all students, regardless of major, especially in today’s global world.”

While the experience is considered one of the most valuable additions to one’s education, the exchange experience remains inaccessible to many non-commerce students at Queen’s and poses significant program-related barriers.

Esford reiterated that the Faculty of Arts and Science has unique disciplinary diversity and students with wide range of curricular needs, making the exchange process more complicated.

“One of the many things the Smith School does well is ensuring that incoming Queen’s students are aware of the exchange opportunities from the very beginning of their time at Queen’s,” Esford wrote. “The Faculty of Art and Science is committed to likewise making sure students know about the educational and personal value of the these experiences.”

According to Esford, the Faculty of Arts and Science is committed to “increasing student participation in exchange programs” by 2023.

Referendum

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Friday, January 19, 2018

AMS winter referendum statements The Journal provides this free space for parties on the ballot.

All statements are unedited.

ARTS AND SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE SOCIETY Arts & Science Orientation Week is the largest Orientation Week at Queen’s University.

In the past, ASUS Orientation has run an annual fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis called Queen’s Shinerama. Created as a way to give back to the community, Queen’s Shinerama was a successful fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, raising about $100,000 annually. The Shinerama Fee, created in 1999, was a $0.75 opt-out fee used primarily to support the annual Shinerama campaign run by ASUS Orientation Week. The fee was used to fund memorable and impactful events part of ASUS Orientation Week, such as Sidewalk Sale, Tour of the Town, and Shine Day. This year, ASUS has opted to change our charity from Cystic Fibrosis Canada to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). ASUS is extremely excited to begin fundraising for a new cause, and is looking to remove our old fee and institute the new “ASUS Orientation Fundraising” opt-out fee to support the Canadian Cancer Society. The new fee will be of the same price, will support the same annual events, and will continue the highly successful fundraising portion of ASUS Orientation Week.

our bus services on January 29th and 30th to continue improving upon your public transit access for the next three years!

DECA QUEEN’S

DECA Queen’s is the Queen’s University chapter of the International organization DECA Inc. DECA Inc, has over 250,000 members world wide and has been recognized for its life changing and career transforming case competitions.

Here at Queen’s, we plan, organize and execute an Invitational Case Competition for students from across the province, with a specific focus on Queen’s University students.

Our mission is two-pronged.

First, we are the neutral body that plans and organizes this case competition. More importantly and second, we train and provide an opportunity for Queen’s students to become case competition experts, which is a necessary skill at many jobs.

FRIDAY FRIENDS

by Frontier College and the churches. The children spend about an hour and a half per week, either Monday or Thursday evening, at the program. Most of the children’s time is spent one-on-one with their tutors, but the evening also includes a group activity— such as a game—and a healthy snack organized by program supervisors. Tutors are Queen’s University students, and are all Frontier College volunteers.

Families are informed of their child’s tutor’s name, but the boundaries of the program prohibit the release of personal information of the tutors, or connection of the tutor and child on any social media networks.

When parents or guardians cannot bring their child to the program a school bus hired

by HTCOP or drivers from the congregations will pick them up and return them to their home.

Every week a volunteer phoner from one of the congregations contacts the family to make sure that the child can attend.

There is no charge to families for the program.

TRIPS BY TRANSIT

Trips by Transit is a nonprofit organization started Friday Friends is an out of Halifax, NS, that leads informal group mentorship local, free, environmentallyprogram that seeks to conscious wilderness trips all facilitate the social and accessible by public transit.

BUS-IT personal development Trips by Transit – Kingston of young adults with the first chapter outside of the The AMS needs your help to intellectual disabilities founding chapter in Halifax. continue providing affordable outside the usual settings We began leading trips in bus service for Queen’s students of classrooms and the home September 2017, and by the through the Bus-it Program. through interaction with time this is published we will Established in 1973, Bus-It has students from the Queen’s have led over 10 free trips to been providing students with community. Volunteers and local outdoors areas including convenient, safe, and affordable participants meet on Fridays LeMoine Point Conservation access to public transportation from 6 to 8PM for a variety Area, Marshlands Conservation in Kingston year-round, with of social activities including Area and many more.

Our goal is to encourage no service interruptions. Our movie nights, bowling, Bus-It agreement with Kingston baking, crafts, board games the Kingston community to Transit is up for triennial review, and sports. The mandate is get outside and appreciate so we have renegotiated our to provide a positive social the beauty of Kingston’s service contract. This new setting in which Queen’s wilderness areas. We are doing contract will guarantee and students and young adults so by bus to make these trips expand student-specific bus with disabilities can interact. as accessible as possible. Every Queen’s student has a bus pass routes like the Q17 (from main that allows us to explore the city, campus to west campus), Q18 THE HELEN TUFTS CHILD and we are taking advantage of (the bus terminal/train station that. circuit), and Q20 (which will OUTREACH We also want to encourage be a north-south route through the University District from The Helen Tufts Child the community to consider highly populated student areas Outreach Project (HTCOP) the environmental impact of like 665 Princess St. to campus). offers help and support to their actions. Many people We are seeking to continue and Kingston children aged six to gain a profound respect for expand these great services twelve, who may be having the environment by spending to accommodate student difficulty in school or who, time in the outdoors, which needs for the next three years, for various reasons, would is amazing, but unfortunately including an increase in the benefit from spending time often requires driving many frequency of pickups during with an older tutor once a hours to a distant wilderness peak times and late at night. week throughout the school location. We hope to instill this We are lucky to have the most year. Helping the children with respect for the environment affordable student bus pass basic math and reading skills in the Kingston community, program of any university in is an important part of the without the precursory Ontario at $90 per year, the program, but the approach is emissions.

Lastly, we want to build a next lowest being $115 per as enjoyable and stress-free as year, and many running as possible, with the emphasis on community. We want to bring together people who share a high as $400 per year. If we the idea that learning is fun. lost this partnership, students This all-volunteer program passion for the outdoors, at no would expect to pay $452 for has for many years been jointly cost. A place to meet people, get an 8-month bus pass or $678 sponsored by Sydenham Street exercise and enjoy Kingston’s for a 12-month pass. We want United Church and First Baptist natural beauty.

As we move forward with to ensure that all students have Church, although HTCOP is access to affordable public not a religious program. The this initiative, we hope to lead transit. Vote yes to expanding program is now jointly offered trips with free gear rentals

(snow shoes, skis, etc.) and diversify trips by occasionally hiring a bus for a larger trip to a further destination (eg. Rock dunder, Frontenac provincial park). All these trips will remain 100% free, and we are applying for funding to cover costs. Please vote yes for the establishment of an opt-out student fee for Trips by Transit – Kingston.

on basic sanitation, and provide legal resources and micro-enterprise consulting to communities. There are at least 500 chapters worldwide that have provided sustainable development solutions working towards an equal world to over 300,000 beneficiaries with the help of more than 10,000 annual volunteers.

In-between brigades, GB has a full time team working to THE PEER SUPPORT CENTRE deliver solutions that perpetuate development works towards The Peer Support Centre is the ultimate goal of community a confidential, non-judgmental, partnerships and global health and safe space for any in the community, however, the undergraduate student on real catalyst for change are the campus. The PSC provides volunteers and students that students with empathetic help fund and implement the peer-based support, validation, development programs annually. reassurance, and resource referral when needed. Some Candidate Statements students may find it easier to connect with a person who is TEAM ECN at a similar life stage and who may be experiencing similar We are Team ECN, composed of life challenges. Although we Emily Vanderheyden for President, are not a replacement for Craig Draeger for Vice-President counselling services, we believe (Operations), and Natasha Kornak in the benefits that come for Vice-President (University from having an empathetic Affairs). We’re running for AMS and listening ear and a safe Executive because we believe that space to share emotions and students deserve an AMS that is thoughts. The Peer Support financially and socially accessible, Centre promotes a community that supports and includes all of support at Queen’s and helps students, and creates meaningful ensure students feel supported opportunities for them from firstthroughout the challenging year to the end of their Queen’s experiences at University. journey.

As Queen’s goes through a GLOBAL BRIGADES period of change, we are faced with both new challenges and QUEEN’S fresh opportunities. As student leaders, we are committed to Global Brigades Queen’s confronting these challenges with is a chapter of the world’s bold, innovative solutions that largest student-led global will build on our unparalleled health and sustainable Queen’s experience while seizing development organization. The opportunities to improve student mission of Global Brigades is life. the empower students and Emily has worked as a staff volunteers interested in helping member and manager in the communities abroad, as well as AMS for the past three years and under-resourced communities presently serves as Head Manager in Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, of Tricolour Outlet. She is running and Ghana to develop and for President because she believes implement health and economic all students deserve meaningful programs and goals. opportunities to participate in GBQ, is a relatively new club every aspect of student life and at Queen’s founded in 2016, leadership. that organizes a yearly service Craig has served as AMS trip that strives to improve the Clubs Manager, as a member quality of living in one of these of the Board of Directors, and less developed communities. most recently as Director of Global Brigades provides Communications. He wants to a unique experience for a be Vice-President (Operations) partnership to form between to work on increasing financial students and professionals accessibility so that no student in engaging in hands-on ever has to choose between their international development work. education and the necessities of This year, Queen’s students have life. the opportunity to travel to the Natasha has served on the Honduras to work alongside AMS Board of Directors and as and shadow physicians, dentists, a member of various campus pharmacists, and gynecologists clubs in addition to running an as part of a Medical and Dental organization working to combat Brigade in mobile medical clinics. sexual violence. She’s running Global Brigades helps to for Vice-President (University resolve global health and Affairs) to break down barriers to economic disparity through student engagement and to ensure Medical, Dental, Business, that everyone in the Queen’s Microfinance, Engineering, community feels supported and Environmental, Water, and included in student life.

Public Health programs within We’re Team ECN, passionate their brigades. These programs and experienced student leaders design large-scale clean water who are committed to moving projects, build eco-stoves and forward together. For more latrines, provide education information on who we are and

Friday, January 19, 2018 what we stand for, please visit our website at teamECN.com.

JAKE ROSEMAN FOR RECTOR

My name is Jake Roseman and I’m running for the Office of the Rector in the upcoming Queen’s election in January of 2018. I’m currently a third year drama student at the university. I first took an interest in student government two summers ago while doing pro bono internship work at a law firm. As part of my casework, I was tasked with reviewing complaints about inequitable law practices at an Ontario university and providing recommendations to create a more level playing field for all candidates seeking election in the student government. This work ignited my passion for student advocacy and encouraged me to run for Rector today.

I believe that now, more that ever, we need unity on campus. I want to see a Queen’s that is united across all faculties, upbringings, backgrounds, and beliefs. As a representative for all students at Queen’s (undergrad and graduate), I think that the Rector is uniquely positioned to ensure that all students at Queen’s feel included in the community.

queensjournal.ca

If I’m given the honour of holding this position, when I sit on the Board of Trustees, I will raise discussion regarding Queen’s tendency to focus more so on increasing the number of students that it can accept rather than accommodating for the students that have already been accepted. Over the past 6 years, Queen’s has fallen nearly 100 spots in international rankings.

As an educational institution, our external perception – which is partly driven by our international ranking – determines our jobs prospects. As such, I think it is vital that we work toward increasing our international ranking once again.

Finally, I believe that the Rector should be a voice of the people rather than an individual representative. As such, I would like to uphold the Rector’s motto “Be a leader and a servant.”

AFSHEEN CHOWDHURY FOR RECTOR

What is your passion, what is your story? The answers lead us through our journeys in life.

I am in my third year of Concurrent Education, doing a medial in Gender Studies and Math. In other words, I’m either

writing essays or equations, which is actually a beautiful balance. I am also a Queen’s Residence Don in Adelaide Hall, donning the same floor I lived in during my first year, which comes full circle. I am a student senator, helping to write policy for Queen’s Senate, the academic authority. I am a dancer, endeavoring to improve on my hip hop skills with Queen’s Flow Dance Club.

Finally, I am a leader.

A leader is someone who believes in the visions of others, serving and supporting innovators in fulfilling their passions. Passion is such an important part of our lives and it is only through trial and error do we come closer to the experiences which make our hearts pound faster, our minds move quicker and our bodies feel fuller.

As Rector, I want Queen’s to serve as a stepping stone for all students – so that when we graduate we feel confident and equipped with experiences to flourish beyond the borders of this institution. The three pillars of my platform are connected to my vision. First, I want students to share each other’s stories. Second, I want to progressively form solidarity through our unique stories. Lastly, I want to build strong alumni relations to better

map out future trajectories postgraduation.

As the adage goes, if your dreams do not scare you, then they’re not big enough. Do what makes you passionate and happy – I am doing myself, by running for Rector.

ALEXANDRA DA SILVA

FOR RECTOR

Hi there! My name is Alexandra da Silva and I’m running to be your 36th University Rector! As a way to represent your issues fully, my platform is divided into three categories. The Person, which is you, your individual wellness and needs that must be met in order to achieve your academic goals. The Place, which is our community, a welcoming and positive environment that allows students to familiarize themselves with professional settings and gain valuable experience in management positions. And finally, the Thing, which is your degree and why you are ultimately here as a student attending Queen’s University. My main goal as Rector is to help all Queen’s students leave here with employable degrees, making your academic experience as competitive and

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interactive as possible. I want to ensure that your degree from this fine institution sets you apart from everyone else, and allows you to continue on your path to success.

Greater attention needs to be paid to alumni relations, QUIP, research opportunities, and career services to help students lay the foundation for their futures. However, in order to ensure your academic success during your time here at Queen’s, many other facets come into play. If elected as your Rector, I want to put an emphasis on how big of a role student wellness and community play in allowing you to succeed. Strengthening our community and continuing to develop student resources is integral to providing you with the healthiest and happiest degree experience. Maintaining open lines of communication with clubs is also a priority of mine, so as to ensure their needs are met and their influence is significant.

Clubs play a large role in making Queen’s the community that it is while providing students with a supported space to truly be themselves, as such they deserve credit and support to reflect this

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Friday, January 19, 2017

EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

Pot possession amnesty needs a plan As we rapidly approach marijuana legalization, the government has yet to explain how they’ll tackle the organizational nightmare that comes with granting amnesty to those convicted of simple possession and other pot-related crimes.

Tens of thousands of Canadians have criminal records due to convictions for pot possession.

When legalization comes into effect, there will no longer be any reason to keep punishing those who were convicted of pot-related crimes in the years beforehand.

In an editorial in The Toronto Star, the editorial board makes a case for offering amnesty to those convicted of pot possession.

17,733 people were charged with possession of pot in 2016 alone, and those charges will follow them throughout their lives without a pardon.

Giving amnesty to those affected by marijuana laws before legalization makes sense. How and when that amnesty will come into effect is the more difficult part of the equation.

Not only is the pardon system backlogged — it can take up to five years after conviction to apply — but it’s expensive. With a hefty fee of over $600, this process is currently inaccessible. If tens of thousands of people’s cases are simply diverted into the existing system, those pardons won’t be granted any time soon.

There needs to be separate legislation in place to deal with the influx of amnesty-seekers after marijuana is legalized. The charge of simple possession of marijuana, for instance, should receive a blanket pardon. More complicated cases deserve longer thought, but when someone can be legally charged for possession of pot one day and not the

next, they deserve some sort of retribution.

Even if every person affected by the criminalization of marijuana were to receive a pardon, there would still be damage to deal with.

After a conviction — even a simple possession charge — people’s lives change. They lose many opportunities they might have had if they didn’t have the conviction on their records. Legalization is set to bring Canada a lot of revenue when the government starts selling recreational marijuana to citizens. If they don’t divert at least some of those funds into rehabilitative programs to provide support for those previously convicted, they won’t be doing their due diligence.

It would be unfair

THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL and irresponsible to make pot legalization a way of increasing national revenue without trying to reverse the damage the law has done to Canadian citizens. Before July 1 2018, the government needs to be prepared for a lot more than simply organizing who gets to sell what. Amnesty needs to be at the forefront of the legalization plan.

It can’t be put on the backburner until it’s no longer a hot button issue. It needs to be dealt with now, and it needs to be done right.

— Journal Editorial Board

Volume 145 Issue 18 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

Editorial Board

Joseph Cattana Meg Glover

Editor in Chief Managing Editor

Maureen O’Reilly

News Editor Assistant News Editors

Sarina Grewal Iain Sherriff-Scott Jasnit Pabla

Features Editors

Alex Palermo

Editorials Editor

Ashley Rhamey

Opinions Editor

Caleigh Castiglione

Brigid Goulem

Nick Pearce

Arts Editor Assistant Arts Editor

Clayton Tomlinson Sebastian Bron

Sports Editor

Matt Scace

Assistant Sports Editor

Shivani Gonzalez

Lifestyle Editor Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Josh granovsky

Julia Balakrishnan

Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor

Nicole Langfield

Video Editor

Max Silverberg

Assistant Video Editor

Amelia Rankine

Editorial Illustrator

Stephanie Jiang Rebecca Frost

Graphics Editor Copy Editors

Meredith Wilson-Smith Ejaz Thawer

Contributing Staff

Contributors

Andrew Deveaux Hannah Stafl

Staff Writers and Photographers Vishamayaa Jeyamoorthy Josh Malm Mikalya Wronko

Business Staff

Business Manager

Abby Choudhry

Head Sales Representative LeeAnn Sverko Sales Representatives Office Administrator

Robyn McMurdy Kiera Sitzer Faith Villanueva

Want to contribute?

ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY RHAMEY

Josh

G ranovsky

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Facebook’s political focus isn’t going anywhere

Despite changes to your Facebook timeline, don’t expect your politically-charged newsfeed to be replaced with a constant stream of dog photos just yet.

After concluding users are happier when using Facebook to connect with their social circle, people in the coming weeks will begin seeing fewer posts from news publishers, brands and businesses in their newsfeeds.

While Mark Zuckerberg might think this is great, it’s drawn some criticism.

In an opinion piece in The Toronto Star, Callum Borchers argues feeding users more content from friends will weed out the posts that challenge our ideological views. Borchers hypothesizes newsfeeds will consistently feed users a regurgitation of their own views.

This negative reaction to Facebook’s evolution isn’t uncommon. Similar updates to social media sites and apps are seldom met with enthusiasm.

Instagram’s dissolution of its chronological timeline caused

public outcry. Snapchat’s recent separation of friends’ stories and news content currently has everyone under 15 years old scrambling to keep up their streaks.

But as these past updates have shown us, social media users will adapt to any changes and continue cultivating their online presence as they always have.

While Borchers may not be wrong in arguing Facebook’s changes could make it easier for users to create a ‘filter bubble,’ his opinion doesn’t account for the realities of Facebook’s use in everyday life.

Though it’s true people attract like-minded friends in the real world, Facebook is a world unto itself — specifically, one in which the concept of ‘friend’ is much more loosely defined. A study by Oxford University’s Robin Dunbar revealed that while the average Facebook user has 150 friends, only four of those friends are considered ‘dependable’ and just 14 would express sympathy in an ‘emotional crisis.’

The concept of constructing

a vast-reaching online social circle where everyone gets along isn’t just unrealistic, it’s virtually impossible. Chances are some of your friends and family will still share news articles that contrast with your own views, especially since ultra-engaging fake news articles can still rise to the top of your feed by the new algorithm’s rules.

Whether you want to log on and learn about different worldviews or just want an animated address book, Facebook will remain a tool for people to utilize however they wish.

Despite the necessary fears that accompany any social media update, nothing can or will stop users from speaking their mind if they choose to do so. We will continue to instinctively share their views, comment on those they disagree with and seek out the same diverse — or not diverse — range of opinions as we previously had.

Josh is The Journal’s Assistant Lifestyle Editor. He’s a second-year Film and Media Major.

For information visit: www.queensjournal.ca/contribute or email the Editor in Chief at journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions.

The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston.

Editorial opinions expressed in The Journal are the sole responsibility of The Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers.

190 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3P4 Editorial Office: 613-533-2800 Business Office: 613-533-6711 Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Please address complaints and grievances to the Editor in Chief.

The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Contents © 2018 by The Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of The Journal.

Circulation 3,000

Friday, January 19, 2018

queensjournal.ca

Opinions

The value of a liberal arts degree

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Talking heads ... why might students not care about student government?

PHOTOS BY NICOLE LANGFIELD AND JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Contrary to public rhetoric, advantages do exist

“Not enough people are informed, I don’t know where to look.”

Cailin Mcneely ArtSci ’20

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Josh Malm speaks to the value of his experiences at Queen’s.

Josh Malm, ArtSci ’18

Although there’s increasing skepticism regarding the value of a liberal arts degree, my experience as a political studies major at Queen’s couldn’t be more contrary.

With the rise of social media, there has been an increasing number of websites, blog posts, news articles and Reddit threads dedicated to bashing the value of an arts degree. They often scold Bachelor of Arts recipients because they aren’t in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field. Increasingly, STEM is allotted a higher value than “soft” subjects found in a liberal arts education. They’ve effectively become the common currency in the labour market, whereas the usefulness of a B.A. has come under scrutiny.

year, I was intimidated because I thought their importance, your ability to be more Queen’s had a competitive environment filled than just an academic has its positives as well. with people more competent and intelligent Although I’ve incurred a credible than myself. As a result, my early years here amount of debt from my student loans, it’s were incredibly challenging and full of self- important to remember that a person’s late doubt. Since I was in politics, I constantly teens and early 20s are incredibly formative thought about the value of my degree and years. It’s a window with endless potential whether it would provide me with any and opportunities to try new things, make career opportunities. mistakes and learn. I’m grateful to have spent that time here, at Queen’s, in an environment that pushed me to be better.

“

Queen’s pit me against incredibly intelligent, talented and capable individuals.

”

At the time, I thought this was one of the most stressful and turbulent periods of my life. However, as I now enter my last As Russian dramatist Nikolai semester and have reflected on my time Gogol once said, university isn’t here, I’m grateful and happy that I chose to come to Queen’s. I can’t imagine my life, but rather “the preparation life otherwise. for life.

Over the course of my time here, I’ve noticed how my studies have impacted my daily decision-making. Political Studies Typically, people argue liberal arts may not land me a job in politics, but it’s degrees are “worthless” because they given me a cognitive framework that allows don’t immediately lead to high-paying me to better analyze the world around salaries. As a result, universities — me. My degree has made me okay with which I consider the domain of liberal being wrong, good at understanding, and arts — have been increasingly scrutinized for accepting other perspectives, becoming a not supplying students with adequate skills for nuanced thinker. the workforce.

You’re a product of your environment as But personally, I think the value of well as the people you spend your time around. post-secondary education isn’t only Queen’s pit me against incredibly intelligent, money-related. Achieving this type of degree talented and capable individuals. Although is primarily about building a foundation for initially disheartening, these comparisons yourself. A degree allows you to enhance made me demand better from myself to match your thinking abilities so you can make more my peers. informed decisions in the real world.

The most valuable aspect of attending As Russian dramatist Nikolai Gogol once Queen’s has been my extracurricular and said, university isn’t life, but rather “the employment experience. The two have preparation for life.” benefited me in the job market, given Looking back at the environment I grew me invaluable skills and have acted as a up in — a rural town and a high school constant source of life lessons. Attending a that left me woefully under-prepared for university isn’t only about going to lectures university — I’ve already witnessed the and doing readings. There are endless many benefits of my Bachelor of Arts degree. opportunities to get involved. While your When I arrived on campus in second grades and degree concentration do have

“

”

“I guess it’s a waste of time.”

Henry Yeuh ArtSci ’19

“

Studying at Queen’s has taught me the importance of pushing through self-limiting beliefs, to seek help when needed and have faith in my abilities to learn and change for the better.

”

I’m thankful for all the hardships I endured here. They forced me to seek answers, solutions and achieve more. If I didn’t go to Queen’s, I wouldn’t be the thoughtful, capable and healthy person I consider myself to be today.

This place has its issues — and improvements could definitely be made — but ultimately, Queen’s has been wonderful to me. I’m not entirely sure where my career will take me, but attending university, participating in extra-curriculars and getting a liberal arts degree makes me confident that I have the tools necessary to take on the vicissitudes of life.

Studying at Queen’s has taught me the importance of pushing through self-limiting beliefs, to seek help when needed and have faith in my abilities to learn and change for the better. Ultimately, the most important thing my degree has taught me is that life is like a university education: you get back what you put into it.

Josh Malm is a fifth year Politics student.

“They come into class, interrupt you and then leave. You don’t see what they do. ” Sarah Kelley ArtSci ‘18

“As a student it’s hard to see what parts of our lives are affected by the AMS.” Su Lim ArtSci ’19

10 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 19, 2018

Arts REVIEW

A completely uninformed tour of campus art

PHOTOS BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Journal staff attempt to decipher Kingston’s public art sculptures Julia Balakrishnan, Nick Pearce and Clayton Tomlinson Journal Staff

makes for an interactive piece with real-world applications — like being misunderstood by your peers.

C: I saw people handing out popcorn beside it one time and waited half an hour before I realized it was a sculpture and not a really extravagant fast-food stand.

Whether you’re just beginning your time at Queen’s or preparing to graduate, you’ve probably felt the collective sigh that’s our campus’ public art installations.

The Three Observed, 1992 You don’t know what they — William Vazan mean and frankly, neither do we.

However, next time you walk by, N: It’s like a really unambitious take a moment to admire these pieces scattered around Queen’s Stonehenge. Maybe future generations will wonder if aliens and the waterfront. put these rocks here and gave up halfway through university too.

Ground Outline, 1978 J: At first glance, I thought those — Peter Kolisnyk were snakes on those rocks. Is N: If I knew wearing a puka this a Biblical allegory for original shell necklace and saying, “you sin? Are the rocks symbolic for the know what deserves a frame entrance to Eden, also known as around it? Life, man” would get The Agnes?

Then I looked again and me immortalized, I wouldn’t have waited until fourth year to drop out.

J: I saw kids kicking soccer balls through this once, which Mikayla Wronko Staff Writer

Returning for its second run, Transference challenges the notion that rehearsal is necessary to put on a successful show.

Slotted across three performances with four different actors per show, the self-described experimental theatre project seems like a paradox: it’s a carefully controlled environment for spontaneity.

This experiment is created by randomizing what actor is given which specially prepared script submitted by anonymous writers. Without any time to rehearse or interact with the material beforehand, the selected unprepared actors are thrown on stage and the show begins.

Before the Wednesday show performance in a sleepy Kingston Hall room, the producers of Transference, Scott Forster, MA, and Andreea Ionescu, ConEd ’17, clarified their show was purposefully unscripted and unprofessional.

They were careful to explain the

suffered for nothing on the daily. a totally inscrutable mess anyway?

C: If the colour weren’t so bad, the sculpture would be cool. I keep Pollution, 1973 — Yvon Cozic finding more circles and lines and N: Say what you want about it, thought, maybe they’re just triangles every time I walk by. this is the only piece on this list that confusing Druid crosses — the lives up to its name. That’s a blight real question is what conspiracy Time, 1973 —Kosso Eloul on the eyes you can count on. theorist got to draw those squiggly J: Okay, so I thought these were lines on The Agnes.

N: It’s truly shocking a sculpture C: I honestly forget about these built between a smokestack and a paint cans. Now I hear it’s about every year until the snow melts, water purification plant can still be pollution, which ruins my grand and then I wonder why they sort of the waterfront’s biggest eyesore — theory of art representing itself.

Also, all the times I sat on the look like out-of-place nesting dolls 10 out of 10 for chutzpah. you buy in the airport.

J: This famous waterfront piece yellow part and shouted at my is called “Time,” which gives me a roommate, “I’m swimming in Pyramidal Structure better sense of it. One big rectangle mustard!” has changed from a light (Sakkarah), 1971 is the past; the other is the future. hearted memory to a constant The bench is the present, where reminder of pollution well into — Victor Tolgesy the past and future meet but the the future.

C: While I do applaud political N: When the orange isn’t sculpture never can.

C: Everyone remembers art, this is just confusing. At first, burning my retinas, I kind of like this one. It’s a comforting their first time seeing these I thought it was paint, and then it looked like ketchup and mustard sign that the two weeks you just jutting rectangles. spent navigating Mac-Corry are Then came the endless on top of mayo. Like certain Instagram pictures, the Snapchat relatives, I’m not sure if “gross now over.

J: I think it’s a sundial. filters, and I felt like I couldn’t sandwich mess” is as deep as it was Nonetheless, I insist the hideous escape it. But now “the rods,” as I in the ‘70s.

If anything, these pieces do orange has a deep significance for call them, seem okay. I still don’t the piece, otherwise my eyes have understand them, but isn’t life also draw us together as a campus, as we all try to draw some understanding and meaning REVIEW from them.

Transference and the art of randomized storytelling Theatre project brings out the authenticity of its performers

thought process behind their artistic decisions.

Forster took the audience through the audition process as well, as their decision on actors was based off their ability to be vulnerable. In addition, Forster noted the only instruction the playwrights were given was to write in their authentic voices — the length, subject matter and format was completely up to them.

Most importantly, the producers stressed no one except the playwrights had set eyes on the performed pieces prior to the show.

The experiment’s procedure had the show’s actors Cole Roe,

Remira Pryce, Jeff McGilton and Stacey Bondareva come up one at a time, break the ice by answering a personal question and select an envelope holding one of the secret scripts.

The atmosphere leading up to each piece was lighthearted, each actor unexpectedly having to describe their first kiss or recall an event that changed their lives before choosing their envelope.

In the style of a game show, Forster then announced, “your fate is sealed and the room is yours!”

With each new scene, the juxtaposition of the actor’s personality and of their newfound characters was overwhelming.

A handful of the scripts had seemingly confident actors fold into an insecure version of themselves voicing intensely private thoughts.

One of the more notable moments of the Transference experiment was that half of the playwrights had chosen to write their scripts in the first-person, forcing actors to directly take on the roles of their respective playwrights. While detailing highly personal and vulnerable thoughts, they also acknowledged the nature of the show and drew attention to its own creative process.

The pieces themselves ranged from an unflattering Yelp review re-telling of Jonah and the Whale

to intimate portraits of insecurity and self-doubt.

Despite the fact that the actors were performing a cold read, their small choices and quirks lent an authentic, dynamic theatrical experience. There were performances where actors began the piece assuming aspects of their character before evolving and changing their demeanor to fit the interpreted needs of the script.

Mannerisms like tight smiles, well-placed air quotes, paced nervous breathing and the stressing of certain words were used to inject the actor’s own personal touches and, most importantly, felt natural.

The actors’ differences in style and disposition and the varied content of the script and intimacy of the atmosphere yielded an engaging theatre experience that kept the audience on their toes.

That Transference’s core hypothesis is the elimination of inherited interpretation and direction of a material can spawn raw authenticity and a totally unique perspective — and its Wednesday show affirmed just that.

Arts

Friday, January 19, 2018

queensjournal.ca

• 11

ARTIST PROFILE

Eryn Mccarthy faces the art world Graduating portraitist describes her past and future as an artist Clayton Tomlinson Assistant Arts Editor

Eryn Mccarthy painting in her studio.

Eryn Mccarthy has been drawn to faces ever since she was young — it all started with painting friends and family members.

“There was something about having an emotional connection to them that made them easier to paint,” Mccarthy said.

The bond she shared with loved ones gave her the confidence to represent them through art. When the results were good, she was encouraged to continue.

Moreover, Mccarthy was surrounded by a family of artists when she grew up. Everywhere she looked, there was something creative happening.

“I grew up watching my brother draw and wanting to copy it,” she said. Although her parents and brother don’t work in the arts, they

always supported her pursuit in the field.

She said her parents always told her she had amazing skill. “That’s something you love, that’s something you should pursue,” is what they told her.

So, she decided to attend university to study her passion.

Four years later, she’s about to complete the fine arts program at Queen’s.

Her education follows in the footsteps of her uncle and former Sheridan College professor Michael Mccarthy.

“He was always Uncle Mike to me, not Michael Mccarthy the painter,” she said.

Her uncle passed away recently as Mccarthy finished the plans

COMMENTARY

for a trip to visit his house in Saint-Victor-la-Coste, France.

While there, they planned to spend a week painting and talking.

Her brother made a similar trip after he graduated high school and told his sister it was an amazing experience.

Her uncle wasn’t an artistic presence in Mccarthy’s work, but he did tell her to vary her portfolio.

“He said there were a lot of faces,” she laughed.

Perhaps, on some level this resonated with her, though she said she had never even thought about a connection between this and her end-of-year paintings.

Her final project at Queen’s is a mix of self-portraits and landscapes. Both are new additions to her artistic repertoire.

Why #MeToo matters for Canadian theatre

Audiences need to re-evaluate who they want to support Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy Staff Writer It’s the age of reckoning for sexual predators in the arts.

When the first few accusations came out, I was stunned. As more and more women stepped forward, I became resigned. Then one of my favourite artists was accused of being a sexual predator and I was crushed.

My immediate — and shameful — response was to hope it wasn’t true. Could my favourite artist really be an abuser?

The #MeToo movement has swept through Hollywood, and women are finally being heard as they speak out about the long history of abuse in the film and television industry. As more and more A-list celebrities step forward with their stories, we’re finally seeing the conversation and action so many survivors have wished for.

This has led to many more women to step forward as well.

Earlier this month, four women in Canadian theatre — Patricia Fagan, Kristin Booth, Diana Bentley and Hannah Miller — all

Director Albert Schultz faces four civil suits alleging sexual assaulr.

filed separate lawsuits seeking damages from Albert Schultz for allegedly sexually harassing and assaulting them.

Schultz was the artistic director of Toronto-based theatre company Soulpepper. juSchultz was one of 12 co-founders of the company in 1998; the suits filed against him list instances of abusive behaviour from him from as early as 2000.

The allegations against Schultz shook the Canadian theatre scene as deeply as the allegations against Harvey Weinstein shook Hollywood.

SUPPLED BY WIKICOMMONS

PHOTO BY NICOLE LANGFIELD

“I can’t see a better way to finish off my time at Queen’s than painting my experiences, my four years living here,” she said.

“I’m going to go around Kingston taking pictures of things that’ve been impactful to my time here … they’re all going to be memories with me painted into them,” she said. Mccarthy mentioned the pictures would be of bars she liked and places she’d eaten and lived but wasn’t sure what she’d choose yet.

And though this project is still in its infancy, her most recent works show how talented Mccarthy is.

Three of them were in Mccarthy’s studio as she discussed her artistic endeavors.

The biggest of these is a painting called ‘the falling.’

The rectangular frame shows three figures falling against a blue-grey background. Cubes line the upper left corner of the painting, but they disappear behind the figures.

While all these subjects are beautifully rendered, a woman in the middle of the painting, wearing a bright yellow outfit with green heeled boots stands out.

“I just kind of paint whatever I

feel looks good to me,” Mccarthy said, studying the painting.

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes this painting worth studying, but it’s breathtaking anyways because of the expression on the woman’s face against the odd, geometric bleakness behind her.

The other two paintings, still on their easels, continue this theme of geometric backgrounds with a strikingly juxtaposed woman in the foreground.

A quick look on her Instagram will show these pieces and many more, creating a timeline of Mccarthy’s artistic development.

Kind of like her art, Mccarthy is in progress and shows a lot of talent. But, as someone applying to grad school and facing the end of a chapter in her life, that’s far from unusual.

She said she would love to work in animation after getting a degree in graphic design if all goes well once she leaves Ontario Hall one last time.

“I would love to work at a place like Pixar where I could spend all day drawing, making art…it would give me fulfillment.”

The timing of these allegations against Schultz is too coincidental not to be tied to the fact that across the border, the same thing is happening.

All of this is to say that when Hollywood started going after its predators, women in other industries, especially arts industries, felt they could do the same thing.

Here’s why that’s important.

When survivors on the Hollywood A-list come out against their abusers, it’s easier for others with less privilege to do the same.

When the women from Soulpepper stepped forward, students at George Brown Theatre School — one of the leading theatre schools in the country — similarly came forward with allegations against one of the school’s acting teachers.

This then led to conversations about sexual assault at other theatre schools, which ties into the greater conversation of sexual assault on Canadian campuses.

If this conversation continues to gain momentum, it will lead to action. That will eventually lead to a full societal shift for all people, regardless of industry.

However, the movement can’t be truly successful without the support of audiences as well. If

the average audience member says that they only watch plays and films by directors who aren’t sexual abusers, that will become a huge step towards creating that societal shift.

By taking into account the character and integrity of the artists and actors we choose to support, we signal that, as viewers, we’ll no longer accept the separation of artists from their art. We all need to examine our own reactions to the accusations that are being levelled against our favourite artists if we want to act in support of the survivors that are stepping forward.

It can be heartbreaking to find out someone who has been an inspiration to you for so long is actually a predator.

But after that first instance of hope for your favourite artist, you need to consider the message you’re sending when you continue to endorse them. Are you still advocating for an artist because you truly believe they’re innocent, or because it’s uncomfortable to believe they’re an abuser? Or are you just unwilling to give up the art they’ve produced?

Would you rather support an alleged abuser or the survivor who made the allegation in the first place?

12 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 19, 2018

Sports

PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Mike Shoveller is third in the OUA this season in blocks with 32.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tying it together Mike Shoveller recalls road to recovery from ACL tear Sebastian Bron Sports Editor It was August of 2016 — in the thick of his fourth training camp — when Mike Shoveller hit the deck hard. As his 6’11 frame thumped against the hardwood of the ARC, Shoveller let out a sharp scream that echoed throughout the gym.

He knew something was wrong.

“I kind of just blacked out,” Shoveller told The Journal. He noted his memory of the fall was hazy and immediate specifics were lost in the shuffle of the moment.

“I was in shock.”

Shoveller said everything leading to his fall was routine — he’d played one-on-one basketball thousands of times. Dribbling from half court, he made a move and planted his foot to shift his angle toward the basket.

“

I felt like I kind of figured out how to use my skillset and physical attributes to my advantage.

”

—Mike Shoveller

“[A]nd then I heard it,” Shoveller recalled, mimicking a pop sound with a snap of his fingers.

What he knew first hand was that he’d buckled his knee and experienced an abnormal sensation of pain. Unknown to himself or those around him at the time was that he’d suffered considerable damage to his anterior crucial ligament (ACL).

Teammates and trainers helped prop him up, but Shoveller — who

was cautiously hopeful — managed to walk off on his own weight. The idea of a heavy injury — and the weeks or months of recovery that would likely ensue — lingered in Shoveller’s mind.

“It was a tough pill to swallow,” Shoveller said of facing what seemed like an inevitable reality.

“I walked off [the court] thinking, ‘O.K., I can put a little weight on [my knee] … it’s not as bad as I think.’”

In the trainer’s room, Shoveller received good news — or news that on its surface appeared optimistic.

The doctor characterized his injury as a sprained ACL. He was told it would take two weeks to recover.

But as stability in his knee continued to deteriorate, so too did his optimism wane and waver.

“I’d rehab for two-weeks, come back for a practice, hurt it again, and then do the same,” Shoveller said, explaining his recovery mirrored a recurrent trend. Slight progress was met by a series of dead-ends. Shoveller was crippled by a sense of false hope.

“It was [a] mental thing,” Shoveller said. He said for every two week interval his knee was reassessed by Queen’s doctors, early expectations of a swift return to the court dwindled. “It was like, ‘I’ll be back [and] if I’m not back for the start of the season, then I’ll be back by Christmas.’”

Shoveller had two appointments booked in the fall of 2016, both scheduled for the same day — one in the morning, another in the afternoon. A meeting with an orthopedic specialist followed by an MRI exam confirm what he feared was already true.

“I kept having to push my

expectations back a little bit because I knew,” Shoveller said of his feelings prior to meeting with his orthopedic specialist. “I just could feel something wasn’t right.”

Shoveller remembered that the specialist was direct. He asked him what happened and whether he could describe the first semblance of pain in his knee.

“Like a pop or a clock,” Shoveller told him. He recalled the specialist instructing him to relax and lay flat on his back for a pivot shift examination, an orthopedic procedure which tests for stability of the knee. “’Did it feel like this—’” Shoveller recalled the specialist asking, his knee fully extended and his hip flexed, “—and I immediately thought, ‘That’s exactly what it felt like.’”

“I felt like I kind of figured out how to use my skillset and physical attributes to my advantage,” he said.

Men’s basketball head coach Steph Barrie recalled being encouraged by Shoveller’s development over his three years with the program. As a player who came in with a lot of potential, Barrie said the coaching staff “started to see what we knew he was capable of but hadn’t shown up to that point.”

best players. We knew [it] was going to be a big year for him.

“He was, if not our best player, one of our two best players,” Barrie said of his optimism regarding Shoveller’s senior season. “We knew [it] was gonna be a big year for him.”

Barrie lamented the timing of the injury, adding that Shoveller “was just starting to get to the point that he worked for.”

But despite the timing of his ACL tear — and the uncertainty surrounding its proper diagnosis — Shoveller kept his optimism riding a high. Recovery for his Nov. 25 knee operation was set at 6 to 12 months. He only cared about one number.

“I’m thinking six,” Shoveller recalled, “that was the only thing on my mind.”

The rehabilitation process

He was, if not our best “player, one of our two

”

—Steph Barrie

Despite going to the MRI exam, the specialist already confirmed the worst. Shoveller had a torn ACL. “He said, ‘Your season’s done …

You need to start figuring out your next step.’ And I was kind of, like, in shock.”

Prior to his injury, Shoveller was playing some of the best basketball of his post-secondary career. He started 16 of the Gaels’ 19 games in 2015-16 and in the process garnered more trust from his coaches.

It was a tough pill to “swallow.

I walked off [the court] thinking, O.K., I can put a little weight on [my knee] ... it’s not as bad as I think.

”

—Mike Shoveller

was strenuous. And there were tough days, Shoveller said, but he “didn’t have any time to feel sorry for myself.”

“It’s not gonna help me,” he added, “it’s not gonna help my team, so I kind of jumped into the mindset of, ‘How can I still help?’”

Shoveller found solace in a bench role alongside Barrie and assistant coach Jermaine Smalls, acting as a player-mentor to his teammates. It was a silver lining to his injury he hadn’t realized — to develop his game off the court.

More than a year removed from his surgery, there’s a sense of easiness to Shoveller.

He looked cool and calm sitting in the ARC’s alumni lounge earlier this week. But perhaps that’s just a case of his being in a groove where he feels most comfortable — on the court.

And labelling it a groove may be selling his play short. Shoveller has posted 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, all the while stroking it at 59 per cent from the field and 45 per cent from beyond the arc.

“This is the same game I’ve been playing since I was seven years old,” the fifth-year centre said. “It’s just about confidence.”

The only difficult part of returning from injury is knowing what hard work really mean — and if anybody knows, it’s Mike Shoveller.

“I was pretty worried when I got hurt that it’d be hard — and it was hard — but it showed me what hard work really is.”

Sports

Friday, January 19, 2018

queensjournal.ca

• 13

ALUMNI PROFILE

Carmichael expanding Queen’s reach

Ex-Gael set to lead new initiative to motivate under-represented communities to apply to Queen’s Matt Scace Assistant Sports Editor Ever since Curtis Carmichael left social housing and came to Queen’s, his desire to improve the lives of those who share a similar story to his has been unmatched.

Recently, Queen’s announced the ex-wide receiver will be the school’s first Greater Toronto Area (GTA) based undergraduate recruitment representative.

In his role, Carmichael will attempt to reach out to youth living in under-represented communities.

The program is based on the newly-introduced First-Generation Student Admission Pathway, which offers an additional admission pathway to Pathways to Education students, Crown Wards and members of the Boys and Girls Club. Admission to the program further includes students who are the first in their family to go to university.

While Queen’s upholds the normal academic standards for program applicants, benefits and financial aid are offered to students upon their transition to university.

Ann Tierney, vice-provost and dean of student affairs, explained this is another one of Queen’s efforts to attract under-represented populations at the University. The initiative follows many similarities to the Aboriginal Students Admissions Pathway — which was introduced in 2010 — with aims to attract and assist Aboriginal students in their efforts to feel comfortable to apply and ultimately attend Queen’s.

“We’re always looking at ways to reach out to increase and diversify the student population,” Tierney said.

“Curtis will be gearing students to get them ready for post-secondary [education] and building relationships.”

Students from upper years will serve as mentors for incoming students, in particular supporting them with financial advice and integrating them into student life at Queen’s, Tierney added.

After growing up in social housing and being faced with barriers to academic success, this position comes with plenty of emotional connection for Carmichael.

“When I look back on my childhood, I faced a lot of institutional racism, I faced a lot of systemic barriers because I came from that community,” Carmichael said. “I realized I was being treated differently.

Carmichael — whose advocacy for social justice has taken him on a bike ride across Canada to spread a message of racial equity — explained the most difficult barrier to overcome is the mindset that going to university isn’t a realistic possibility.

“Thinking about school …an easy barrier that’s pretty common is thinking that education at Queen’s isn’t accessible. It’s just a mindset,” Carmichael said. He explained that oftentimes the leaders in these communities — largely parents and teachers — stigmatize postsecondary education.

“Kids kind of mimic their leadership so they think, ‘Oh, it’s not possible to go to Queen’s.’ The goal is to show them that it’s not only accessible but equitable,” Carmichael said. He added once these kids realize that university is a possibility, other barriers can be addressed such as financial aid.

Ex-Gaels football player Curtis Carmichael.

But if the students continue to be told that university isn’t a possibility, “You can be crippled by it,” Carmichael said.

This is precisely what he hopes to mitigate.

“I think that’s the key ... finding someone to help you in the process, otherwise you won’t go down that road,” Carmichael said, alluding to the role he will play in encouraging these communities to think more deeply about university.

Though Carmichael is labelled as a recruitment representative with the goal of motivating students to apply to Queen’s, his hope is to be a mentor to these students.

“I let them understand that this is how the world works, but

SUPPLIED BY CURTIS CARMICHAEL

now they have to realize they have a decision to make,” Carmichael said. “I tell them, ‘This is how it works, and this is how you can get out of it.’”

While Carmichael is currently on a two-year contract to work with Queen’s, his long-term goal is to make the idea of university accessible for any students from less fortunate backgrounds.

“I really hope we can get off the ground and start improving things,” Carmichael said.

“I just want to keep on moving in the right direction so Queen’s is truly equitable, diverse and inclusive for a whole bunch of communities.”

MEN’S HOCKEY

The Gaels have won eight of their last 11.

Matt Scace Assistant Sports Editor The men’s hockey team has faced obstacles at nearly every turn during the 2017-18 season.

But despite facing an unforgiving early-season schedule, a head coach with commitments to both Queen’s and Canada’s junior hockey program, as well as countless injuries to their star players, the Gaels have remained one of the OUA’s top teams.

After a winless weekend against McGill and Concordia — both teams are nationally ranked — Queen’s convincingly beat the RMC Paladins 5-2 on Wednesday night. The win was their eighth in their last 11, propelling them to a tie for fourth place in the

OUA East with Carleton.

“I think the guys responded real well and put a great effort together,” head coach Brett Gibson said following the game.

Wednesday’s win was a rare weekday game for the Gaels, who will have played five games in eight days by the end of this weekend. Despite having such tight turnaround between contests, Gibson noted it was good for raising team morale after two demoralizing back-to-back losses in Montreal.

“The problem with our schedule sometimes is you can have a bad weekend and a full week to practice. That’s a lot of time,” Gibson said. The Wednesday win prevented them from dwelling on a poor performance last week, bringing a positive vibe back to the locker room. “They responded and

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

we can get back to feeling good about ourselves.”

The Gaels, Gibson added, are looking to preserve this feeling as they hit the home stretch to close out their season. Queen’s hopes to take advantage of a relatively light schedule in the coming weeks — a luxury that’s lacked for much of the year. Six of the team’s last seven games are scheduled against opponents below them in the standings.

“If you had told me our record at the start of the year I thought we’d be right up there, but all the teams are winning,” Gibson said.

Now in his 13 year as Queen’s head coach, Gibson knows a strong end to the season is needed for the Gaels to secure a playoff spot.

“We’re on a good little run here so we’ve just got to keep on

Gaels making final push for postseason Men’s hockey looking to take advantage of lighter schedule with seven games to go

winning,” Gibson said.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle the Gaels have had to clear this season has been the sheer number of injuries to the roster. Currently, the Gaels’ injured reserve includes Nathan Bilitier, Damian Bourne, Alex Row, Eric Margo and Nevin Guy. With a small chance of their return before the end of the season, Gibson has been impressed with his team’s response to the battered roster.

“It’s one of those times where guys are really stepping up,” Gibson said, highlighting the depth of the Gaels’ roster. “That’s

the credit to these guys coming in — there hasn’t been much drop-off.”

With opportunity for improvement going into the final stretch of the regular season, Gibson has full confidence his team can make a deep run in the OUA playoffs.

“Do I love our record? No,” Gibson said bluntly. “But I like our team.”

Queen’s will hope to relish on their home ice advantage this weekend, where they welcome Nipissing and Laurentian to the Memorial Centre on Friday and Saturday night.

14 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 19, 2018

Lifestyle A collage of Martin Luther King Jr., CNN reporting on Trump and protests in Charlottesville.

CULTURAL COMMENTARY

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

Why Martin Luther King Jr. Day is different in 2018 Racial equality in the face of the Trump administration Shivani Gonzalez Lifestyle Editor Every year, the United States takes

a moment to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s influence and achievements on what is known as MLK day.

But after a year that presented so much racial tension and turmoil, does the day still stand for what it used to?

When I was growing up, celebrating MLK day meant setting aside a day to recognize the progress we’ve made on equality since MLK fought

for it.

The US has had a very complicated past with racial inequalities. Starting with issues of slavery and perpetuated through George H.W. Bush’s “war on drugs,” African Americans have continued to be oppressed in US culture.

In 2008, we were able to celebrate the first African American President, giving hope we may be finally moving

POINT-COUNTERPOINT

away from such a complicated and problematic history of racial inequality.

But this year, things are different.

Without a doubt, we can say that there’s a lack of progress being made in terms of racial equality. In fact, there’s a very visible regression.

In the last year, there was a white supremacist march in Charlottesville that left one person

dead, police brutality against African American men has risen in the past couple years and most recently, President Trump referred to African American majority countries as “shitholes.”

All of these events haven’t gone unnoticed and protests against this sort of racism have been prominent as well. This includes “taking a knee” during NFL games, Charlottesville protests and protests at lots of international airports like JFK following Trump’s “muslim ban.”

This doesn’t take away from the fact that this sort of racism is still occurring on a regular basis.

All this is evident regression from strides being taken towards racial equality.

Additionally, MLK Day this year fell during a time when Republican lawmakers are deciding whether or not to allow DREAMers to be guaranteed citizenship.

All of these events make this past week’s MLK Day much more significant than that of past years.

It’s now time to focus on what we can do to continue progression for racial inequality.

From all the people who have spoken out against racism, it’s evident that many people want a change in the treatment of African American people in North America. With lawmakers in power who aren’t as interested in creating those sorts of changes, it’s hard to foresee change in the future.

All we can do is continue to have our voices heard and stand in solidarity, speaking up for what we believe is right. We can move forward and make 2018 the year that we have a direct focus on equality.

Oprah for President?

The Journal’s lifestyle editors discuss whether Oprah should be taken seriously as a candidate Shivani Gonzalez and Josh Granovsky Lifestyle Editors

NO

As an American citizen and a politics major, my eyes rolled to the back of my head when I heard Oprah was being considered as a legitimate presidential candidate for 2020.

After an inspiring speech at the Golden Globes and some past stirring about a potential candidacy, news outlets like CNN and The New York Times have started addressing the rumours.

Even President Trump was asked about it at a press conference.

Maybe I’m naïve or a politics purist but is it really too much to ask to have someone in office who actually has some politics expertise?

When Trump announced his bid for presidency in 2016, I already knew it would mean lots of other celebrities coming out of the woodwork to talk about a potential 2020 candidacy. Right off the bat, that included Kanye West and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson claiming they wanted to run.

Let’s be honest; the job is no easy feat. Being able to know the ins and outs of the system of politics is only going to make the job easier.

Oprah, despite all of her strengths, lacks the political knowledge necessary for the position, which would only make her time in office more complicated.

We’re at a time in politics where there’s a lot of damage that can be done. The environment is continuing to be endangered, tension between the US and North Korea is at an all-time high and healthcare is still heavily under debate.

While I have no doubt Oprah’s opinions on all these issues would line up with those of the Democratic party, the problem comes with implementation. If she was to become President, I doubt she’d have the knowledge and tools to successfully navigate these issues when it was time to enact bills to create laws.

I understand Oprah’s intersectionality could be an asset to the government but there are many other women or people of colour who have dedicated their lives to politics that would do a much better in office.

Oprah’s a great person, but at

the end of the day, what we need is someone who actually has an idea of what’s going on in our political sphere.

— Shivani Gonzalez

YES

Before anyone angrily calls me out in the comments section, I’d like to get a few things out in the open. I don’t know much about politics, I can’t vote in the United States and I’m honestly not even overly familiar with Oprah.

Aside from her omnipresence in popular culture, my only experiences with her have been through YouTube clips, articles and her speech at the Golden Globes that led Twitter users to get #Oprah2020 trending.

What a glorious speech it was.

When I started reading reactions in the news about Oprah’s possible presidential bid, I was surprised to see so many people immediately shutting down the idea. A large part of the media gave a collective groan at the thought of another celebrity inhabiting the Oval Office. While I admittedly am not well-versed in ideal presidential candidate

qualities, I see a lot of potential in the idea of President Oprah.

For starters, Oprah’s not just a uniting force. She is the uniting force. Her story of rising from poverty to billionaire status has universal appeal. Her massive philanthropic efforts aim to bring equal education opportunities to all. Her talk show and other television ventures invite everyone to create a safe space with her, once commanding 25 million daily viewers.

Essentially, Oprah is everything Trump isn’t. She’s an African-American woman who wants to peacefully bring people together, as opposed to a white man who wants to literally build a wall to keep people apart.

Oprah’s election would serve as a welcome contrast to the current administration’s divisiveness.

But in my amateur opinion, I don’t just trust Oprah to lead a country through a message of unity. I trust her to lead a country because I believe she has the potential to bring together and inspire the best change-makers out there.

Oprah’s self-made success is comprised of constantly smart decisions and most of those come

from the teams she assembles to get the job done.

When Oprah wanted to create a safe space for TV viewers, she found now-TV-mainstays Dr. Phil and Iyanla Vanzant. When Oprah wanted to expand her productions into a company, she recruited veteran TV and radio executive Erik Logan.

President Trump said earlier this week, “what I approve is going to be very much reliant on what the people in [the Oval Office] come up with.”

If so much of the country’s decision-making is based on a large group of advisors, I can’t imagine anyone turning down an invitation from Oprah to help run the country.

I’m not asking anyone to donate to the Winfrey 2020 campaign or anything. I just want people to seriously consider Oprah’s strengths as a leader before blaming the idea on Trump lowering the criteria to become president. From where I stand, we live in a seriously upside-down society if the most popular and positively influential woman in the world doesn’t qualify as presidential material.

— Josh Granovsky

Lifestyle

Friday, January 19, 2018

queensjournal.ca

• 15

TV

Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix return is a nostalgic tap on the shoulder Seinfeld’s new stand-up specials will take you back to the 90s Jasnit Pabla Assistant News Editor The 90s were often characterized by sitcom stars embodying the human experience of mediocrity.

However, it was a certain nasal-voiced stand-up comedian starring in the infamous “show about nothing” that truly stole the genre.

Seinfeld has been named by Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone as the most influential sitcom of the generation. The show still remains a highly-watched and rated series that produced nine timeless seasons in its run from 1989-98.

Post-Seinfeld, the presence of creator and star Jerry Seinfeld was generally restricted to live

stand-up and the web-series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

In 2017, however, Netflix put forward $100 million for a Seinfeld stand-up special and bought the right to distribute the web-series, allowing the comedian to make an official mainstream return on today’s most popular platform for media consumption.

The stand-up special, titled Jerry Before Seinfeld, is a return to Seinfeld’s roots. This hour-long event puts the comedian back in the comedy club that started it all for him in the 70s, The Comic Strip. He combines classic jokes from his early stand-up routines with some new material, adding video-paired anecdotes to tell the story of his rise through the comedy scene.

Jerry Seinfeld and former President Barack Obama.

What becomes apparent all too quickly is that for a Seinfeld fan, this won’t compete with his funniest performances, nor will you be hearing anything all that new.

Rather, the familiarity of certain jokes, even before the punchline is said, grants a smile and a chuckle here and there.

It’s almost as if Seinfeld knows he isn’t cracking up the at-home audience. He readily adds a “you’ve heard this one before” and “that was one of my favorite jokes to use on an audience.”

But, of course, the live audience seems to be having a great time — almost making you want to laugh along with them. For the unfamiliar Seinfeld fan, the

references to the late comedy show and inside jokes may be intimidating and force unintended laughter. This reason alone keeps me from recommending it to newer Seinfeld fans.

However, for the avid old-time viewer, Seinfeld’s second special comes as a pleasant surprise.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee was originally a web-series distributed by Sony’s video streaming network Crackle, but its Netflix debut came on Jan. 5 of this year.

With nine seasons averaging six to 10 episodes each, Seinfeld combines classy cars, lovable friends and a plain cup of coffee to create an engaging foundation for witty and

SUPPLIED BY WIKIPEDIA

interesting conversation.

Guests include other comedians like Tina Fey, Chris Rock and Kevin Hart, talk-show hosts Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah, and even former United States President Barack Obama, who was still in office during the taping.

The series has been active since 2012, with its first guest Larry David setting the stage for a show with a strong yet comforting concept.

As a viewer, it can sometimes feel as though you’re present at the breakfast table with the stars — possibly enjoying your first cup of the day too. But when Kevin Hart and Seinfeld go sneaker shopping later, you’re gently nudged back into reality.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a hit for Seinfeld fans, as is his stand-up special. The show succeeds at reaching a further demographic of talk-show lovers by capturing the effortlessness of late-night television hosts, but within the context of a pleasant coffee date or peaceful dinner-and-a-show. its horizons through other means.

The company has launched several charitable ventures that arguably might not have occurred under Jobs’ reign. Most notable was Apple’s $3-billion acquisition of Beats by Dre in 2014, though it has since been allowed to run as an independent subsidiary.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook.

CULTURAL COMMENTARY

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

Seven years later: Apple after Steve Jobs A look at how the tech company has changed since the loss of its founder Sarina Grewal Assistant News Editor Since its establishment on Apr. 1, 1976, Apple has seen an exceptional rise. As one of the most prominent technological powerhouses of the past few decades, the company is recognizable across the globe, with consumers on every continent and in every kind of community.

The corporation’s most recognizable founder is Steve Jobs, who passed away from cancer on Oct. 5, 2011. An

innovator and incredibly revered figurehead, Jobs was known for taking a hands-on approach to the company — oftentimes, corporate decisions were made as a result of his personal stances on the subject at hand.

Apple lacked acquisitions and mergers largely due to Jobs’ disinterest in doing so, and the company’s closing of its charitable organization in 1997 was largely driven by him. With his acclaimed black turtleneck and glasses, Jobs was a staple part of major company meetings and presentations

regarding new merchandise and often took it upon himself to facilitate the creation of innovative new products.

Since his death, the company has turned to a new leader in the form of current CEO Tim Cook. Cook previously served as Apple’s COO, and maintained a close relationship with Jobs during his time at the forefront of the corporation.

Cook has been criticized for lacking the same kind of technological vision and design knowledge of his predecessor.

Apple, in turn, has suffered from a creative stagnancy that has led to fewer new product categories in comparison to the Jobs era of the company’s history.

Cook instead focuses on the long-term operational side of the company and has passed the creative lead to Jony Ive, a leading design expert at Apple.

The result of this leadership structure was the 2015 release of the Apple Watch, the most significant new venture since Jobs’ absence.

Apple has instead expanded

Apple, in turn, has “ suffered from a creative stagnancy that has led to fewer new product categories in comparison to the Jobs era of the company’s history.

”

Apple’s products throughout this decade have since primarily undergone upgrades rather than the introduction of any new product designs. These updates have been met with both positive and critical responses, with some accusing Apple of intentionally pushing updates that force users to buy new phones.

All in all, Apple has indeed seen a decrease in momentum since the loss of their founder and chief creative visionary. Despite this, their popularity has only increased; whether they pick up the pace in the future is a question that remains to be answered.

Lifestyle

16 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 19, 2018

PHOTO BY NICOLE LANGFIELD

POSTSCRIPT

Getting jumped at Queen’s for being Asian What I learned from a scary situation “You better start walking faster, you ‘chink gook’.”

These were the words of the shadowed men lurking outside of the Little Caesar’s on Princess Street. I shouldn’t have looked back; I should’ve kept going.

It was the Friday night before Queen’s Homecoming and I was heading home from Ale after a night out, talking on the phone with my girlfriend.

In my drunken stupor, I unintentionally followed the aroma of baked cheese and dough and fell victim to the $5.99 HOT-N-READY Little Caesar’s deal. As soon as the door opened, my mouth watered for a warm cheesy slice.

The sight was typical: regular students and locals waiting patiently for their guilty late-night pleasures. The entire sequence was routine and soon I was headed out the door, armed with a fresh pizza, blissfully unaware of the remark I was about to receive.

“Nice Jackie Chan costume. You better start walking faster, you ‘chink gook’.”

Puzzled, shocked and curious, I turned around to be surprised by two 20-something year old men following me. Still on my phone, I thought out loud, “that didn’t just happen.”

Hoping their comment was in poor-humor, I walked away to avoid giving them any more attention. A few steps later, I found myself nearing the intersection of Alfred and Princess and to my surprise, one of the two men was on my right, staring me down.

“I’m going to sleep you.”

Translation: he wanted to beat me until I was unconscious.

“Bro, I’m literally just going home with a pizza and I’m on the phone with my girlfriend, you’re not going to sleep me,” I responded,

still puzzled.

“I’m not your bro, and I’m going to sleep you.”

That’s when the first punch landed on my right eye, still on the phone with one hand and holding a pizza with the other, completely uninterested and unprepared to fight back. Hoping to escape the situation, I made my way to the middle of the intersection to hopefully intercept the attention of oncoming drivers.

To my horror, there wasn’t a taxi or vehicle in sight. Immediately, I directed my attention to people walking by.

“Are these guys serious? Did anyone just see that? This guy just punched me, is anyone going to help?”

I peered into the faces of a group of students who continued to walk away despite my cry for help.

The two men who originally taunted me proceeded to chase after me up Princess St. as I fled home, my pizza still intact in one hand and a concerned girlfriend on the phone in the other.

My escape attempt was in vain as they caught up after a few steps, having torn my hamstring two days prior.

Suddenly, a hot and sharp pain shot up my leg, bringing me to a limping halt in front of Domino’s Pizza. I limped around my pursuers and tried to reason.

“Why are you guys doing this?”

No response.

“I’m literally not fighting back?”

The only response was another swing at my eye, but this time I was ready and dodged. My reflexes weren’t all I thought they were, as one of the men got his hands on me and my favourite shirt, wrestling me to the ground, tearing my shirt in the process.

I’d finally lost my temper and

needed a plan. Never having fought more than a single person at a time, I decided it would go poorly if I chose to engage both perpetrators simultaneously.

Instead, I opted to pump as many shots to the head as I could on one of the men with the hard edges of my phone. His swings stopped connecting as more imprints of my phone case started to appear on his face. Soon, the second man stopped punching me from behind and tried to pull me off his partner.

But I wasn’t done exacting my vengeance. Instead, I continued to chip away at the $129 I would have to pay to have Apple Care fix my phone, and proceeded to contour his face with my phone edge.

When I’d almost had my fill, they cried out to me: “Man, the police are coming!!”

The sound of police sirens began to fill the void and I stood there with my jaw nearly unhinged from disbelief at what had happened.

With a ripped shirt, bloody face and bloody knuckles, I felt like an idiot.

I looked down at my phone screen to see my girlfriend had been connected the entire time.

She heard everything and had started running to me as soon as she’d heard the first punch.

She arrived with tremendous speed, almost there when I had stood up to assess the damages.

The cops arrived shortly after and moseyed their way over to me. I instantly knew I was about to waste my time listing off the events that occurred with zero expectations of any kind of resolution.

I knew my attackers were going to get away with it and as a student, I was far too busy to try and figure any of it out during the

school year anyways. All I wanted was a new shirt and a fresh pizza.

I won’t even bother trying to think of why these people might hate Asians or me personally enough to assault a defenseless man trying to get home.

The point of this isn’t to get sympathy or even support, which is why I chose to remain anonymous.

I wrote this article to bring attention to how racism contributes to the life of a visibly Asian person living here on campus and in Canada, and reach out to the people who it affects.

It’s easy to say that people don’t judge you for being Asian. But how are you supposed to believe that when on Halloween I’m asked if I’m supposed to be Goku from Dragon Ball when I have matching whiskers and a coloured-in nose to match my cat girlfriend? Or when I’m asked if I’m supposed to be Jackie Chan when I’m dressed as a pirate.

It’s also easy to say people should be able to take a joke in good humour and wear our insecurities like armour. But how am I supposed to feel when a friend tells me, “don’t worry, you’re the best looking Asian here,” to allegedly strengthen my confidence, yet all I can do is focus on why he had to point out my race in the first place.

I personally never took racism seriously growing up, as being called a ‘chink’ was always followed with laughter and didn’t seem to be a problem back then. That was until I started understanding the classification of racism against Asians as funny. We’re the butt of jokes, ranging from stereotypes of acing tests, eating pets, lacking proper English skills and never-ending small penis jokes.

But my reaction towards

this constant racism has slowly transformed into the dissociation with my own appearance. This view’s even caused me to limit the number of Asian friends I had to nullify my association with other Asians.

All in all, I was embarrassed to be Asian.

I’ve never blamed people for being inherently racist. The way I see it, racism is just a part of culture and in a multi-cultural society you can’t please everybody all the time. It’s a tough and unresolved reality but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a manageable issue.

It’s manageable because we as individuals retain sovereignty over how we choose to interpret the world.

Education is the only solution to ignorance, but an advocate can’t and shouldn’t attempt to shove knowledge down the throats of the uneducated. Societies that support racism will continue to exist and will only be overturned once there’s a demand for it to do so.

People won’t be held down forever.

I chose to allow myself to overcome this hiccup and use it as an opportunity to understand myself better, as well as bring awareness of the realities of racism on campus to my fellow students.

I recognize everyone won’t be able to use humor to overcome these moments in life. However, I believe we’ll always overcome adversity — it’s only a matter of time and how we choose to channel our energy.

Be it through the unleashing of an expression of art or music and by continuing to tell our stories, we can use moments like these to grow from the inside out for the better and affect positive change.