The Queen's Journal, Volume 150, Issue 3

the Queen’s University

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journal

Vol. 150, Issue 3

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Monday, July 25, 2022

Since 1873

A imée L ook A ssistant N ews E ditor

Student expects move-in to be a ‘seamless process’ S kylar S oroka A ssistant N ews E ditor

‘The Journal’ sat down with an incoming first-year to discuss how they’re feeling.

regarding the updated SOLUS due to frustrations he’s heard from upperyear students about the “difficult to navigate” old SOLUS interface.

Elkind noted the Queen’s Dining website has a lot of information about the chefs, dishes, and dining hours the University offers, allowing him to gain knowledge he feels is needed to adjust.

Along with speaking about residence, Elkind spoke to what he thinks classes will be like.

“I believe teachers will be more innovative in the way they conduct their classes. Maybe they’ll use more online applications

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

to teach their courses which I’m comfortable with,” Elkind said.

Elkind added he’s not hesitant about new learning styles due to remote learning in high school during the pandemic, which has prepared him for a more hybrid approach to schooling.

“Having looked through the Commerce Society viewbook, I’m really excited to immerse myself in various clubs and committees.”

He said he’s very eager to start the next chapter of his life and has an overall positive attitude towards entering a post-secondary environment in September.

ASUS combatting sexual violence with SeQure app

Features

Opinions

Racial Diversity at Queen’s

Class of 2026: a glowing opportunity for clubs

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Arts

Sports

Kingston live music scene is thriving

Women’s Rugby crushes USA U20 and U23 teams

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GRAPHIC BY CURTIS HEINZL

queensjournal.ca

the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

First-year students will be introduced to the app’s new safety features during Orientation Week

Class of ’26 looks forward to first year at Queen’s

In a somewhat post-pandemic world, Queen’s incoming students are set to have a different experience than first-years in the past two years.

The classes of ’24 and ’25 entered Queen’s during the COVID-19 pandemic, with closures in residence buildings and online classes. Incoming first-year students spent the majority of high school in the shadow of the pandemic.

This year, Queen’s is coming back in full-swing, with residence at full capacity—minus the JDUC residence, due to renovations—and classes expected to run fully in-person, all year.

The Journal spoke to incoming first-year student Jack Elkind, Comm ’26, who shared his hesitations and excitement about the upcoming school year.

“I am looking forward to meeting new people and taking part in various in-person activities and clubs that could not run for the past two years, such as Orientation Week,” Elkind said.

“The past few years have been difficult for all of us to adjust to, so I’m excited to return to the familiar learning setting.”

Elkind said there’s a lot of information on the Queen’s residence and dining website, making it easy to navigate different aspects of residence life.

“Due to the vast amount of information I’ve been able to find online, I think moving in should be a seamless process,” Elkind said.

Elkind stated his excitement

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Situated on the traditional lands of

This article discusses consent and sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and support phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424. Some quotes by individuals in this article use the term “victim” when referring to those who have experienced sexual assault. The Journal uses “survivor” to refer to those who have experienced sexual assault. We acknowledge this term is not universal.

After evaluating an alternative sexual violence prevention app, ASUS opted to add safety features to Queen’s existing SeQure app.

ASUS considered launching the HAVEN app during Orientation.

Instead, first-year students will be introduced to the SecQure app’s new safety features surrounding sexual violence during Orientation Week.

The new safety features include emergency contact buttons, as well as education surrounding consent and steps to take if you feel unsafe.

“The app is ultimately just going to be used more for awareness, to encourage people to have conversations and be cautious of safety on campus,” ASUS President Yara Hussein said in an interview with The Journal.

According to 2021 Student Experiences Survey (SES), 30 per cent of the student body has received training or education on sexual violence and is aware of resources available.

“I think it’s been something that hasn’t been explored as much in-depth in previous years because it becomes taboo, and we don’t want to scare the [first-year] students,” Hussein said.

This year, ASUS hopes to “empower” students and create a safer campus, which includes educating incoming first-year students about consent culture.

Six per cent of students reported experiences of sexual violence in 2021, according to the 2021 SES. Hussein said instances of sexual assault go unreported frequently, and there is currently a lot of “mistrust” in the system.

Other universities, such as U of T, have also worked with apps to combat sexual violence on campus.

Nelson Lee and Ethan Hugh, U of T Computer Engineering students, launched the HAVEN app in Sept. 2021 after hearing a friend’s survivor account.

They developed the app—downloadable on iOS and Android—with funding and advice from U of T‘s Entrepreneurship Hatchery Program, Lee said in an interview with The Journal.

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Uncovering leaders: ‘Owen the Rector’ Aimée Look Assistant News Editor Owen Crawford-Lem, ArtSci ’23, was elected in March 2022 as Rector—one of the three highest officers of the University.

He is already known as “Owen the Rector” amongst some of his peers.

Along with checking in with the AMS and the SGPS, one of CrawfordLem’s main responsibilities is to ensure student concerns are listened to and adequately attended to, he said in an interview with The Journal.

In light of the recent report on Indigenous identity at Queen’s from the First People’s Group, Crawford-Lem spoke about his

responsibility to consult those students affected directly by issues of Indigenous identity and ask them about their thoughts and concerns.

“We need to make sure to communicate [student concerns] to the University, and the people who are making the policy and procedure decisions,” CrawfordLem said.

Street parties are one of the “hottest” topics of discussion and have amassed varying opinions from different stakeholder groups, according to Crawford-Lem. “It’s no question there certainly has been tension between Kingston and Queen’s,” he said.

With goals of making street parties both safe and enjoyable, Crawford-Lem consulted various

stakeholder groups, including students, Queen’s administration, and the Kingston community. “[We are] exploring how can we make [street parties] the safest experience possible for students while also maintaining the Queen’s experience, and what we know and love,” Crawford-Lem said.

“We have a lot of stakeholders, and I think the only way to get to the crux of the issue is if we involve everyone and make sure everyone has a voice in this process,” he said.

Crawford-Lem has partaken in various community engagements as Rector, specifically with United Way. Recently, he participated in the United Way Day of Caring, alongside the Principal’s Office, a few teams from the Smith School of Business, and

Monday, 25 July, 2022 other teams from around Queen’s.

The project involved building sheds and helping with upkeep for the Kingston Indigenous Languages Nest (KILN). “[Volunteering] provides tons of outside-of-class learning and means you connect to Kingston a little bit more than just having four years of university experience here,” Crawford-Lem said.

He encourages students to reach out, no matter the size of the issue, as he has many extra resources for students and can help with “pretty much anything and everything.”

“I’d be happy to either point you in the right direction or provide some advice and guidance and

NEWS

counseling because the university can be a very complicated place,” he said. “There’s a lot going on, an insane amount of resources for students, but the toughest part is just finding them.”

Crawford-Lem is excited for students to delve into the opportunities available at Queen’s, as Queen’s “bustles” back to life.

“There are so many things at Queen’s you can get involved with.

Find your little community because that’s wh a t Queen’s is all about.”

SGPS works to get representation for Indigenous graduate students

Society brings back Student Advisors program

The Rector says if you have an idea, there’s a place for it at Queen’s.

Sophia Coppolino Assistant News Editor The Queen’s Society of Graduate PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL and Professional Students (SGPS) The SGPS vice-president referenced resources is committed to finding an available for graduate students.

Indigenous Student Liaison before the start of the fall semester.

Of those students, 98 are Student advisors support The society is working to hire enrolled in graduate programs. graduate students with everything, new positions to support Equity, The SGPS has been accepting from navigating grade appeals Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity. applicants since May for the to answering questions about To support marginalized students, Indigenous Liaison position. It is a university policies. They can also the SGPS recently established an salaried position that will work to advise students who’ve faced Equity and Diversity Commissioner provide support and advocate for discrimination or harassment. and an International Student Indigenous graduate students.

“It can be daunting [for graduate Commissioner, both were hired “There’s comparatively a lower students] to know where to go in in 2021. number of Indigenous students [at the university to get the resources “The idea is [the commissioners] Queen’s],” Fowlie said. involved,” Fowlie added. “It can represent distinct groups of “It can be difficult to find be helpful to have someone to go students who need either someone who has the experiences back to if they have questions.” support or who want additional that will be able to relate to The Student Advisors program resources. They organize someone and help someone who is a long-standing SGPS initiative. events for those students. is Indigenous and help organize In recent years, it’s been known They can act as liaisons with events that are going to be as the Peer Academic Advisors community organizations but meaningful for the community.” program because a bulk of its largely it’s around building The SGPS has other work involves academic issues. activities and engagement,” Devin resources to support graduate “If anyone has been having Fowlie, SGPS vice-president students.

This summer, issues and they think an advisor (graduate), said in an interview they brought back hiring for might be someone who is with The Journal. its Student Advisors program, helpful, they should go ahead There are 583 self-identifying offering salaried positions for and reach out,” Fowlie said.

Indigenous students at Queen’s, graduate students.

“The earlier you reach out about according to the University’s latest “Student advisors help [your] questions the better.”

Enrollment Report. students engage in self-advocacy,” Fowlie said. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

In an interview with The Journal, the former SIC detailed a termination she believes wasn’t conducted equitably, with due process, or in consideration of her positionality. She described the investigation as “comically short.”

She said she’s the second Asbah Ahmad Black AMS manager to be fired Senior News Editor under the tenure of ETC, the current AMS executive.

The AMS terminated the 2022-23 “The AMS does this,” she said.

AMS Social Issues Commissioner “It’s a pattern, and yeah, it feels like (SIC) before Canada Day. there’s no hope because the one

Queen’s sees $2.6 million uptick in entrance scholarships Report points to COVID-19 grade freezing in Ontario secondary schools

In 2020-21, school boards across Canada introduced various policies to high school curriculums and delivery patterns.

The measures impacted students who started at Queen’s in 2020 and 2021.

Aimée Look Heather Campbell, director Assistant News Editor of education at the Rainy River District School Board, Queen’s has surpassed its told The Journal that schools budget for spending on had a “do no harm” approach to merit-based scholarships for the assessment after the switch to second year in a row. remote learning.

The University spent over “In other words, students could $8.5 million for the Principal and only increase their marks, not Excellence Scholarships in 2021- decrease them,” Campbell said.

22, according to the University Many students in the district Budget Report for 2022-23. could not take advantage This number was $2.6 million over of this policy due to device the projected yearly budget for the and connectivity challenges, two scholarships.

Campbell said.

The report said “a sizable The modifications varied amount” of scholarship between school boards across funding comes from the Ontario, according to Mary Mancini, University’s Operating Budget, superintendent of education at and the rest comes in the form the Lambton Kent District School of philanthropic contributions Board (LKDSB). from alumni, donors, In LKDSB, students’ or “friends” of the University. final marks were based According to the report, the completely on semester work, “unprecedented increase” was rather than the typical model of 30 partly due to the policies Ontario per cent exam summative work person who is advocating for secondary schools introduced in and 70 per cent semester work. equity was fired for reasons that response to the academic impacts The change in evaluation feel very inequitable.” of the COVID-19 pandemic. breakdown was due to the “unique The former SIC entered After the shift to remote challenges” students and staff her role after three years of learning in March 2020, schools faced throughout the pandemic, involvement with equity-based informed students their grades Mancini said. organizations on campus. would not go down.

The Ontario government She described working with other “It is possible this single focus mandates minimum spending current commissioners and AMS approach resulted in strong on scholarships through senior managers on the service academic students excelling the Student Access Guarantee side as what made her job great. at an even higher level than (SAG) program. has occurred in previous years, ... CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 further driving up admission For news tips or to write: averages,” the report said. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

AMS terminates Social Issues Commissioner

‘It’s easier for them to exist in the patriarchal white supremacist society’

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News

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Maddie Hunt Senior Lifestyle Editor

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Queen’s professor discusses Canadian implications of Roe v. Wade

The implications of the recent overturn of U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade have become a hot topic of discussion, both in the U.S. and at Queen’s.

Nearly half of the U.S. states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion. Many states enacted trigger laws, which automatically banned abortion in the first and second trimesters of a pregnancy.

To examine the legal process behind the overturning, Queen’s Professor of Law, Nick Bala—an expert in Constitutional issues—spoke to The Journal about the U.S. Supreme Courts’ role in this decision.

He noted the changing composition of the Supreme Court was a key element in the decision.

“Now very conservative judges on the Supreme Court [are] appointed for life […] this changing composition of the American Supreme Court is very significant and will have an effect presumed for a very long time,” Bala said.

Due to their lifelong tenure,

the Supreme Court justices who made the decision to overturn Roe will sit on the Court until they die or retire, Bala said.

Bala also spoke to questions surrounding the intersection of abortion bans and individual liberty.

“Widely accepted among constitutional scholars, lawyers, and the public, [the right to abortion] would be included within the concept of liberty.” Bala said. “The Dobbs decision illustrates that what the constitution means is determined by the court.”

The majority of the U.S. Supreme Court’s justices use an “originalist” reading of the U.S. Constitution. According to Bala, they get to choose whether the Constitution’s definition of liberty includes abortion.

“If you had a court that had judges who had views—the views that the majority of the USA’s Supreme court has—they could say liberty doesn’t include abortion.”

... Continued from page 2 “I love all of them. I think they’re great at their jobs and we got along well and that made it easier to do my job because I felt supported by them.”

She said during her short tenure at the AMS, she was never approached by anybody about performance issues. She said her direct reports and supervisor, Callum Robertson, vice-president (university affairs) gave nothing but positive feedback.

“I was called into a run of the mill meeting with Callum, my direct supervisor.

He didn’t say anything about [possible termination]—it just seemed like a check-in meeting before the long weekend,” the former SIC said.

“As soon as I joined the meeting, [Robertson] said I was under investigation, and he was calling in Ian Trew who is the HR director. Chloë, who is the student HR Manager— also a woman of colour—knew nothing about this.”

The former SIC said she knew nothing about the investigation while it was happening.

According to her, she was asked during the meeting about a conversation she had with Eric Sikich, AMS president, about the de-naming of the Wallace Room in the new JDUC. “I just said, if we’re not able to de-name the [Wallace] room for whatever reason […] I’m going to go to The Journal and talk to them because it’s problematic,” she said. “They had an issue with me saying that, even though I wasn’t threatening him.”

The former SIC’s concerns surrounding an AMS staff member were also brought up in the meeting.

The former SIC said she spoke to the staff member about making a pride post for their organization, but they “[weren’t] the most receptive to it.”

After the meeting with Robertson and Trew, the former

SIC was told not to go to any task force meetings—including the Scarborough Charter meeting that discusses anti-Black racism.

“The next morning at 9 a.m., I came in, and Callum walked me into Lyn Parry’s [AMS General Manager] office where they fired me. When I asked for a reason why, they didn’t give me one. They said there were some concerns, and that it’s pretty much all confidential,” she said.

She said she advocated for herself during the meeting and brought up concerns with the way the situation was handled.

“I said, ‘Ian, Callum, and Lyn all have something in common, which is that they are white.’ I said, ‘Do you really think there was an advocate, a true advocate for me?’”

The former SIC said she had a good working relationship with Robertson and a friendship outside of work. She recalled Parry saying “[Roberston] can’t help you now,” when the commissioner looked at Robertson during the meeting.

“Lyn Parry just read off a script, which was very frustrating, to be honest […] The other thing Lyn said was that I wasn’t a ‘good fit’ which is the most vague statement.”

The former SIC said Lyn Parry told her to collect her things and asked for her keys, and then walked her out of the AMS office building, which “felt very demoralizing.”

She added Pary cut her off and pushed a paper towards her to sign before she was ready to go.

“She handed me a pen [...] I was still trying to advocate for myself, and [Lyn] cut me off.

She’s like, ‘you’re going in circles, you just need to sign the paper […] At that point it felt like there was nothing I could do but just sign it and leave, so I did.”

She advocated for herself

... Continued online www.queensjournal.ca

Bala explained constitutional law scholars and lawyers widely accept abortion is included within the concept of liberty.

Bala believes the decision shows how the court determines the Constitution’s level of flexibility.

Bala discussed the impact of the overturn for both Americans and Canadians.

He said in the United States, the ruling plays into a matter of state law—some states can choose to enact restrictive legislation while other states don’t.

“There is a lot of political dialogue and legislative action in some states to restrict access to abortion or guarantee access to abortion,” Bala said.

According to Bala, Americans in need of abortion will have to travel from conservative states with bans on abortion to more liberal states—or even Canada.

“It’s clear that women are coming into Canada. Michigan is a state with very restrictive abortion laws, so women are coming from

Detroit and going to Windsor [for abortion access],” Bala said.

Travelling comes with costs and time, which not all pregnant people have. Pregnant people who receive an illegal abortion—in some states—risk prosecution of themselves and providers of the service, according to Bala.

Bala remains hopeful that Canadians will not be impacted similarly.

“I can’t see us limiting access to abortion. The conservative party is in the process of having a leadership race, and the apparent lead in candidate is definitely conservative on many issues, but he has made [it] clear that abortion is not one of [them].”

Bala also said the United States is more polarized and politicized than Canada. He referred to the Trucker’s Convoy, which involved

a polarized discourse around COVID-19 and vaccine mandates.

“We largely resolved those issues peacefully in Canada, but it shows our society, democracy, is potentially fragile,” Bala said.

Bala provided contrast between Canada’s political culture and that of the United States.

“Our Supreme Court, our judicial process, is much less politicized than in the United States […] Canadian judges don’t vote in a block or see clear political agendas that we do in the United States.”

“We just have a different culture, and we don’t have l i fe t i m e appointments, and we have a much less politicized process of appointment of judges and probably a different view of the legal process—and we are very fortunate for that.”

COVID-19 results in significant impact at Bader College

Asbah Ahmad & Paige La Fraugh Journal Staff The Journal looked through the financial records of Bader College—of both the charity and the subsidiary company.

According to the most recent enrollment projections, Bader College’s enrollment remains at 155 students for 2022-23 and beyond. In 2021, the actual intake of students was 117 with no upper-year intake.

The planned upper year intake for the 2022 year is 40 students.

According to a Feb. 28 financial projections report to the Board of Trustees, Bader College was expecting a deficit of £100,000.

Originally the budgeted surplus was £500,000.

The University attributed the deficit to a loss in residence fees and an online term offered in the summer of 2021, along with the slightly lower enrollment during the school year.

Queen’s had to provide an additional £1.125 million in funding to Bader College to offset losses from the 2020-21 year. The University provided Bader College an additional $3.4 million in-year cash advance, of which $2.1 million was repaid as of March 31.

In the UK, Bader College runs as a registered charity and has separate operations in Herstmonceux Castle Enterprise Ltd. According to records, the company’s ultimate controlling party is Queen’s University.

According to UK government records, the company is classified as a private limited company and the nature of business is listed as “other amusement and recreation activities not elsewhere classified.”

In the 2021 accounts for Herstmonceux Castle

Many U.S. states are enacting stricter abortion laws. PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

Enterprise, a net operating loss total income with the difference of £168,807 was reported after between the two being over factoring in £331,077 worth £2.1 million. The largest source of administrative expense on of expenditure was classified as a £162,270 gross profit. “charitable activities” with £3.73 In the UK, intra-group million being spent. transactions between Bader In the 2021 financial College, Herstmonceux Castle year—amidst COVID-19 Enterprise, and Queen’s University lockdowns—gross income are not disclosed. was at a five year low of £1.85 Bader College’s listing under million. In the previous year—the the Charity Commission for record high—the gross income England and Wales includes data was £10.77 million. on expenditures and income.

The £10.77 high coincided with During the pandemic in a donation and legacy of £6.56 2021, expenditure outweighed million in the 2021 fiscal year.

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Monday, 25 July, 2022

Queen’s HanVoice supports North Korean defectors’ resettlement efforts in Canada

Museum portrays citizens’ resistance against North Korean regime Curtis Heinzl Senior Photo Editor

A pop-up museum in Toronto offered a snapshot of North Korean life beyond the country’s missile tests and strongman dictator.

HanVoice, a non-profit organization that resettles North Korean defectors in Canada, created the People’s Museum of North Korea pop-up. The exhibit was held in Toronto’s Stackt Market from July 3 to 24.

HanVoice has a specific chapter at Queen’s, which works to educate students on North Korean issues.

“This is as close as you can get to seeing what the lives of everyday North Korean people are like,” Adam El-Sherbini, HealthSci ’25 and co-president of HanVoice’s

Queen’s chapter, said in an interview with The Journal.

HanVoice collaborated with artists who escaped North Korea to reconstruct a quintessential living room from their home country, complete with various devices citizens use daily to resist the regime’s control—including radios, jailbroken smartphones, and rice cookers.

With floral couches on the ground and government propaganda on the walls, the People’s Museum intends to accurately portray North Korean lifestyle. “[The North Korean regime] is an extremely secretive government that focuses on the perception of its people,” El-Sherbini said. “It’s hard to understand their living situation because the government works so hard to not let that information get out.”

Canadians see the occasional news headline on the country—perhaps about a missile test or a provocative comment from leader Kim Jong-un—but that’s about it, El-Sherbini said.

El-Sherbini said North Korea

‘It’s great to see the strides that have already been made with relation to sexual violence’ Continued from front.....

Lee said they originally wanted to develop a pro bono legal clinic for survivors.

“Victims continue to hold that burden, that responsibility, and that guilt. When we found out only around 5 per cent of victims in Canada actually report their cases to the police, we really wanted to switch it up—instead of creating something reactive, actually create something proactive,” Lee said.

Hugh and Lee worked closely with sexual assault prevention organizations, such as Toronto Victim Services, to validate their ideas and have “their bases covered” upon release.

The app’s interface prompts users to create a profile and share their location. It also asks users to add “Angels”: trusted contacts who will be alerted in the case of an emergency. When adopted by a specific university, the app connects the user to Campus Security and 911.

“It’s super simple, super fast, and […] has simple user interface and experience because we know that for students to actually want to use it, it needs to be appealing,” Lee said.

The HAVEN app has a “central hub” of resources for students to educate themselves about sexual assault safety and emergency supports. Lee said this two-pronged approach is important.

After considering the HAVEN app, ASUS instead decided

to work towards adding new features to the current SeQure App. According to Hussein, ASUS decided a new app would be difficult to implement with new students already having lots of information “thrown at” them.

“Although, we saw amazing value in the HAVEN app and recommended it to the AMS to see if it can succeed on a student body level rather than just ASUS,” Hussein said.

To inform how ASUS will continue to carry out sexual violence prevention awareness, the team will reconvene after Orientation Week by checking in with the Orientation Chairs and Coordinators.

“It’s great to see the strides that have already been made with relation to sexual violence, prevention, response work, and we’re in the learning stages,” Hussein said. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

repels all outside information.

Last November, a North Korean man was sentenced to death for distributing copies of the popular Netflix show Squid Game.

One teenage buyer received life imprisonment, while another allegedly eluded punishment by way of a $3,000 USD bribe.

“Illegal material” is smuggled into the country on foot when rivers between China and North Korea freeze over. In underground markets, thumb drives containing foreign media are sold alongside unlocked radios and smartphones, according to El-Sherbini.

“The purpose of the museum is to show the extent [North Koreans] have to go to be able to SUPPLIED BY PAT RYDER access everyday information that The exhibit mimics a North Korean living room. you or I would be able to see, hear, and talk about,” El-Sherbini said. million may be on the brink of that get imprisoned for speaking According to El-Sherbini, the another famine. against [the government], that frozen trade routes formed so “A lot of Canadians do not go to South Korea or China and necessities such as food could be understand the magnitude of the are unable to work or treated smuggled in after the collapse of situation,” El-Sherbini said. badly—the numbers are what the Soviet Union in the 90s.

Millions of people face the people don’t see.”

An ensuing famine caused the wrath of the North Korean regime, death of an estimated 10 per cent he continued. ... Continued online of the population between 1994 “The number of people that try www.queensjournal.ca/news and 1998. Now, the country of 26 to escape, that die at the border,

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

To comply with changing minimum wage legislation, the AMS is increasing pay for all waged and salaried AMS staff by 50 cents per hour.

For salaried staff, the yearly salary is determined through a base rate per hour. Each salaried position then has a stipulated hours of work per week in their employment contract.

The changes to the paygrid are expected to take effect on Oct. 1 of this year.

The new pay-grid was passed by the Board of Directors under team RTZ, Tina Hu, AMS vicepresident (operations), said in a statement to The Journal.

“As students are the most important resource and priority of the AMS, the linear wage increase reflects the employee compensation for the work they provide and is proportional to the distinct skillsets, responsibilities, and risks associated with different positions within the AMS,” Hu said.

Under the new pay-grid, the base rate per hour for the AMS executive will increase to $19.63 per hour from the previous rate of $19.13.

Student constables (StuCons) will remain the highest paid hourly-waged staff. The hourly rate for a StuCon supervisor will be $19.55, and first-year StuCons will be paid $16.55 per hour.

SeQure app will provide safety information.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

AMS changes pay-grid for service staff starting Oct. 1

The Journal requested redacted information on the honorarium rates for students across all AMS services and on the governance side in the 2021-22 year, as well as student salary information not publicly available on AMS Apply.

Many students work on a voluntary basis for the AMS, receiving honorariums as compensation. These positions can have weekly time commitments which range depending on the position.

“Due to the safety and privacy of the individuals at the company last year, we will not release individual salaries based on positions,” AMS Director of Communications

Cassie Luk said in a statement to The Journal.

“Our salaries and pay are available on AMS Apply so students can see how much they will be getting paid. Furthermore, all AMS student fee-funded salaries and budgets are publicly available and approved by the Assembly each September,” Luk said.

At the time of publication, only the rates for hourly waged employees and the pay of most salaried employees were available on AMS Apply.

No honorarium pay levels were available.

—With files from Skylar Soroka

Features

Monday, 25 July, 2022

FEATURES

queensjournal.ca • 5

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Though Queen’s has made progress, many students are still unsure about its reputation.

Incoming racialized students face uncertainty about September Students and staff discuss Queen’s efforts to diversify incoming class Anne Fu Features Editor

When Sam Zhang, graduating CÉGEP student, found out he was accepted to the Commerce program at Queen’s, he was thrilled.

In an interview with The Journal, Zhang, called the program “top notch in Canada.” Shortly after he was accepted, Zhang began planning out his housing situation in preparation for life in Kingston because he lives in Montreal.

Yet as time went on, Zhang became more and more uncertain about attending Queen’s. Multiple factors drew him to McGill University, where he’d also been accepted to their Commerce program: the lower cost of tuition, the benefits of going to school in his hometown, and his interest in potentially changing his degree to Computer Science.

And then, there was another element to consider: the nagging sense he might not belong at Queen’s.

“Growing up in Montréal, there’s a lot of people, a lot of different ethnicities. I’m aware this isn’t necessarily the case in Kingston on the ethnic population proportion,” Zhang said. “I was a bit worried about not fitting in.”

Although Zhang eventually decided to enroll at McGill—citing a number of personal, professional, and financial reasons—he’s hardly the only prospective student to express concerns about the campus culture racialized students will face at Queen’s.

Following the stories of campus discrimination Stolen by Smith shared in 2020 and a burgeoning nationwide interest in supporting equity and diversity in higher education, the University has taken steps to develop supports for equity-deserving students.

According to the Human Rights and Equity Office’s 2022 Student Applicant Census Report, the proportion of Indigenous and racialized students entering their first year of undergraduate studies at Queen’s has generally increased from 2019 to 2021.

Despite these statistics, hesitancy about Queen’s’ reputation still lingers among the

incoming class and prospective students.

Although 34.5 per cent of undergraduate program acceptances went to students of colour in 2021, only 23.1 per cent of those who eventually enrolled at Queen’s identified as racialized.

Alison*, HealthSci ’26, an incoming queer and racialized first-year student from Brampton, will be starting at Queen’s in the fall. Although the program was one of her top choices, the stories she heard from her peers made her question what life at Queen’s might look like beyond acceptance.

“When I was researching Queen’s—after receiving my offer—to get more info on the school, because I was pretty set on going, Stolen by Smith just popped up immediately.

It was obviously really concerning,” she said.

“My impression talking to other Queen’s students was that the overarching culture is overly white, which isn’t necessarily problematic. But I would appreciate diversity because I feel like feeling like a minority is not always pleasant, if you know what I mean,” she said. ***

Jiale Xie, HealthSci ’23, has been a member of the Dean’s Action Table on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Faculty of Health Sciences for the last year. Within the admissions working group, Xie researches the impacts of equitable admissions policies at Queen’s and provides recommendations for future action.

According to Xie, there’s broad support amongst university learners, faculty, and staff to diversify the admissions processes, and many institutions have begun to place an increasing emphasis on removing barriers to higher education for equity-deserving students.

However, stakeholders seem to have “mixed” opinions on whether these programs are equitable in their present form, Xie said.

Queen’s has implemented several strategies to improve the representation of equity-deserving groups in its incoming classes. There are special streams that prospective Indigenous and Black students can apply through, such as the Queen’s Accelerated Route to Medical School program and the Indigenous Admissions

Pathway. Awards like the Commitment Scholars scholarship and Promise Scholars bursary also offer financial support.

Additionally, faculty and staff members at Queen’s that sit on admissions panels all undergo mandatory equity training before reviewing applications to ensure they understand how to take a student’s positionality into context when making their decisions.

But Xie believes it’s essential that the University is not just recruiting, but also retaining equity-deserving students.

Although Queen’s may be implementing more equitable admissions strategies to accept an increasingly diverse class, the University must also continue to support those students throughout their studies, Xie said.

“Something important when we talk about admissions is to not think about it as just admitting people, and that’s because it really requires a longitudinal sort of support.

If you don’t have a good culture at your program, in your institution, nobody’s going to want to apply anyway,” Xie said in an interview with The Journal.

As an international student, it was the personal challenges Xie faced in her education that spurred her to get involved with admissions policy research at Queen’s.

“International students are not typically considered as an equity-deserving group, but I also face a lot of the same barriers as other groups, like first generation students,” she said.

“Being an international student really made me cognizant of how there’s a lot of barriers to someone wanting to pursue education that they want, which I think is devastating because education is something that I think everybody should be able to obtain if they want to.”

Alana Butler, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education and the faculty’s EDI coordinator, echoed Xie’s ideas. Butler studies the obstacles under-represented and low-income students face when accessing post-secondary education, with a particular focus on non-financial and cultural barriers.

“Some of those cultural barriers arise from being a member of an underrepresented group, where you’re the first in your family to go to university,

because you don’t have a lot of social and cultural capital,” she explained to The Journal.

“The other [barrier] is literally just feeling isolated, because if you’re a member of an underrepresented group, if you have the experience of being the only one in the classroom a lot of times, that can be challenging for you.”

Although Xie recognizes that institutional change at Queen’s will not happen overnight, she believes the University is moving in the right direction.

Last year, she worked as a teaching assistant for the Health Sciences program’s core first-year pharmacology course.

Walking into the classroom and seeing how diverse the freshman cohort was reminded Xie of just how much of an impact a more inclusive class can make.

“It’s such a great thing that there’s more and more people like me coming into the classroom and studying Health Sciences,” she said. ***

Gurdit Sood, HealthSci ’25, told The Journal he was “fundamentally a horrible student for most of [his] life.” By the time he entered a tutoring program in Grade 9 to save his struggling grades, he was told he would have to start his review all the way back with Grade 3 math.

Sood initially felt ashamed by this setback, but as he began to study, he kept returning to one saying from his faith: nirbhau, nirvair.

Nirbhau, nirvair is a Punjabi phrase and an aspect of Sikh scripture that means “without fear, without hate.” To Sood, it became a crucial part of his academic journey as he struggled to master mathematical concepts that had evaded him for most of his life.

As someone who grew up in a crimeheavy area of Surrey, B.C., and later moved to a highly competitive school in Mississauga, Sood said he didn’t get the chance to build up an impressive resume of extracurriculars like many of his peers.

For students like Sood, Queen’s might have once been out of the picture. But for the 2020-21 application year, the University updated its admissions policy to the Commerce, Health Sciences, and Nursing

Features

6 • queensjournal.ca

programs so students no longer needed to list extracurricular activities in their Personal Statement of Experience, and instead only wrote two brief essays.

This ensured that low-income, first generation, and otherwise marginalized students who didn’t have the opportunity to get involved in extracurriculars were not disadvantaged in the application process.

So when it came time to apply to university, Sood wrote his Supplementary Essay for the Health Sciences program on the concept of nirbhau, nirvair, and the ways his faith had motivated him to take personal responsibility and persist in the face of academic hardship.

“I talked about that in my [Supplementary Essay] because that was something that really happened. I didn’t make anything up; that whole process and my religion has been sort of a cornerstone for me,” he said.

Changes like this gave applicants from atypical backgrounds like Sood the opportunity to incorporate aspects of their lived experience and positionality into their essays—and thus, a shot at a university like Queen’s. Zhang and Alison, who were accepted into programs that required a Supplementary Essay, also recounted writing about cultural experiences in their applications.

“Making [the Supplementary Essay] open-ended was beneficial to me, because I could reflect on the limited experiences I had due to the situations I was in,” Sood said.

As more and more racialized students enroll at Queen’s with the aid of new admissions processes, the University is continuing to look for ways to support students of colour after they’ve been accepted.

Karhinéhtha’ Cortney Clark, Indigenous access and recruitment coordinator for the Faculty of Health Sciences, is one of these resources. Clark provides Indigenous students with wrap-around support in every aspect of university life, including for academic, personal, and cultural conflicts.

According to her, events like the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report and the discovery of unmarked mass graves at Kamloops Residential School have raised public consciousness on the importance

of decolonialization across Canada, particularly in professional and educational fields.

“I understand how it is navigating an institution like Queen’s and being from an Indigenous community where protocols and values may not always line up with the academic rigor of the institution. I’m here to negotiate that space for Indigenous ideologies, and ways of being and knowing and doing, to actually flourish,” Clark said.

“It’s important to decolonize our institutions, and this is just a step to create those partnerships and propel reconciliation between the Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities that are the dominant voices amongst our institutions.”

Monday, 25 July, 2022

and inclusive Orientation. We want everybody to feel like Orientation is accessible, no matter whatever their personal circumstances are.” ***

As Alison prepares to arrive in Kingston in the fall, she acknowledges her experience at Queen’s may be imperfect. Without first-hand experience of the campus, it’ll be hard for her to determine whether she’ll be a good fit, and her choice is complicated by Queen’s historical reputation.

Still, Alison remains hopeful about

what awaits her—and after doing some more research about Queen’s, she’s excited.

“I am still a little nervous about cultural gaps and the associated social influences that come with Queen’s infamous white-dominant student population, but since accepting my offer, I think I have worked on having a more open mind,” she said. *Name changed for anonymity

***

For most members of the incoming class, Orientation Week is their first introduction to campus life. However, a history of unsafe alcohol use, hazing, and rape culture around Orientation has made some students hesitant to participate.

Katie Browne, Orientation Roundtable (ORT) Coordinator, told The Journal hosting a welcoming Orientation is a priority for her team this year. ORT has expanded its anti-oppressive training program, installed a new equity grant to fund Orientation events that promote inclusivity, assembled a carefully selected cohort of orientation leaders, and implemented more accessible events that cater to a variety of student interests and activity levels.

“I think one of the biggest obstacles might be that this incoming class really missed out on a lot of their time during high school, so we’re really trying to find a way to welcome them into like a community that might be really big and might seem really stressful and overwhelming to them,” she said.

After two years of online Orientation, Browne said ORT has a chance to reflect on what sort of experience they want to deliver moving forward. As a past Orientation leader herself, Browne saw gaps in training and accessibility she hopes to address this year and in the future.

“We’re truly striving for students of all backgrounds to have a safe

First -year students are contemplating racial diversity at Queen’s.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Editorials

EDITORIALS

queensjournal.ca

The Journal’s Perspective

Crime isn’t black and white—reporting shouldn’t be either

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We can’t always take crime reporting at face value.

Journal Editorial Board Over the past few months, various stories have circulated in the news about violent criminals being released after their sentences despite the potential risk of them reoffending.

In June, Kingston Police announced the release of convicted murderer Christopher Watts back into the community. They also put out a safety notice warning the community that he posed an elevated risk to young women, which, in a city with multiple higher education institutions, understandably sparked public outrage.

Watts, who was convicted of manslaughter and the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in 2003, completed his 12-year sentence in 2015.

This case, along with many others, has incited discourse on the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Many are questioning why violent criminals are released back into communities despite being deemed likely to reoffend and consistently defying parole conditions.

However, there’s more to these stories than pointing out the need to protect the public from violent ex-cons the system failed to rehabilitate. Crime stories often lay the foundation on which public opinion is built, yet easily mislead and fall prey to sensationalism.

As a society, we need to re-evaluate

how we report on crime and consume journalism about crime.

Reporting on crime, especially violent crime, warrants an emotional response—journalists are only human. It’s when these emotions and biases translate into work that sensationalizes begins.

While the emotional reactions are often understandable, they should be omitted from a reporter’s work. The one-dimensional perspective presented by a sensationalized story ignores the nuances of the situation, ultimately harming the victims and their families.

As with all forms of media, it’s important to read crime coverage with appropriate skepticism. Ideally, most crime stories won’t be taken at face value, rather unpacked and compared.

As media consumers, we must learn to recognize the characteristics of a sensationalized story by reading critically. Melodramatic language, poor contextualization, and vague or unexplained statistics are some of the tell-tale signs.

Reporters should also be asking themselves what crime coverage is worth putting out into the community.

Sensationalism in crime journalism often comes off as the author making light of a serious, usually sensitive topic, regardless of their intention.

Simply put, these situations aren’t simple.

The nuances must be acknowledged.

Queen’s students deserve paper and digital ballots Asbah believes in voting equality.

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor 11.5 per cent—that’s the proportion of students who decided the fate of a near $20 million budget.

It’s important to make this percentage feel real. Only 2273 of the total 19,801 eligible students voted in the AMS winter elections.

This is an undeniable problem.

Since 2009, AMS fee-paying students have cast their ballots online, with a switch to the SimplyVote platform in 2015. However, for accessibility purposes and to spark dialogue on campus, Queen’s student elections need a hybrid voting model that includes the paper ballot.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Voter apathy is a greater societal issue not limited to students; the most recent Ontario provincial election saw the lowest voter turnout in provincial history. In both the case of Queen’s and the province, it’s the constituent who suffers.

However, abstention is also a part of democracy. Marginalized communities are understandably less likely to participate in a student government that consistently lacks transparency and only offers reactive “sympathy” in response to traumatic situations.

When I was covering the AMS winter elections, it shocked me how many students didn’t know the election

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHARINE SUNG

Just as there are two criminal justice systems—the one white people experience and the one marginalized communities experience—there are also two versions of the press. Neither institution was designed to be equitable and fair; to report on crime without acknowledging systemic prejudice is to do the job poorly.

The discriminatory nature of the criminal justice system often leads to white offenders receiving shorter sentences than BIPOC individuals. It isn’t a journalist’s job to solve the problems with the criminal justice system, but they do have a responsibility to identify and challenge them.

For example, criticizing the carceral system’s role in perpetuating cycles of poverty without excusing theft. Crime journalism too often neglects relevant details relating to the bigger picture of criminal justice, including socioeconomic status and race.

Indigenous and racialized people are incarcerated disproportionately in Canada, but this disparity is relevant even in many pieces about white criminals. Criticism of discriminatory tendencies shouldn’t be exclusive to stories covering BIPOCperpetrated crimes.

The press has long worked to uphold inequalities built into the justice system. Until we see meaningful reform, crime journalism needs to be less black and white. was happening—or worse, looked confused when I mentioned the AMS. I don’t think Queen’s students are lazy or politically inactive. Hundreds of students lined up across three city blocks to vote in the 2021 federal election.

Picture this: you’re an unsuspecting student walking through the Queen’s Centre.

You see a line, Student Constables, and volunteers. You notice people voting, you ask some questions, and learn you have the option to vote online or in-person for your student government. You then cast your ballot in whatever format is most convenient to you.

Increasing opportunities to be physically present is essential to encourage dialogue and discussion. Considering the pandemic, people are craving physical presence but with hybrid options.

Evidence shows paper ballots help mobilize first-time voters, but digital voting is vital for students who may have disabilities or other concerns, making them invaluable to a fair, equitable election.

Studies on digital only voting offer mixed results regarding impact on voter turnout—some even show a negative yield compared to options that include physical voting.

Story continued online...

•7

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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.

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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.

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Opinions

OPINIONS

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Your Perspective

Clubs should improve communication to increase first-year engagement

Yang believes in transforming marketing strategies.

The class of 2026 is a glowing opportunity for clubs Leo Yang Contributor September will be a watershed moment for the Queen’s student experience. After three years of unsettledness, classes and clubs are finally moving back in person.

However, during these COVID years, engagement in student-run organizations such as the AMS, faculty societies, and clubs has decreased; the transition to virtual schooling has damaged previous links between groups.

Many student leaders across campus hope that returning to in-person events will improve student engagement, but that may not be enough. Targeting this year’s incoming first-year cohort could be the key to reviving the university’s club experience.

Poor communication is at the heart of the decline in student engagement.

If we want to revive the pre-pandemic student engagement levels, clubs must revise their communication strategies and increase collaboration. This includes prioritizing the quantity of followers they reach and transforming their internal and external communication strategies.

Clubs should focus on reaching the highest number of students by implementing different marketing strategies.

The problem clubs have been facing is not the decline in the quality of their services,

but rather their inability to quickly develop new strategies and maintain relationships with student cohorts during the transition to a virtual environment.

Therefore, club executives need to not only think of what new elements they can bring this year but also how they can rebuild connections with students.

Doing so can help student-run organizations be better prepared to welcome the class of 2026.

Graphic design expertise and other technical skills shouldn’t be limited to marketing positions. Rather, clubs should also value strong communication abilities when hiring for director-level roles.

Finding a target audience, reaching out to form alliances with related clubs, or using short and engaging videos are just some ideas marketing teams can utilize to improve efficiency and maximize student awareness of their clubs.

"The class of 2026 may be eager to take advantage of all the extracurriculars Queen's has to offer.

Clubs should also use persuasive language in event promotion and recruiting on social media. They should try putting themselves in other people's shoes when writing the content and captions of posts—rather than focusing solely on the aesthetics of the graphic, teams should put more

thought into how their posts can attract the broadest audience.

The AMS Clubs Commission, and other external student-run organizations such as Res-Soc, Faculty Societies, and Summer Orientation to Academics and Resources (SOAR), can also host more club-based events throughout the year to target first-year students and foster connections.

Centralizing clubs through shared interests not only encourages club-to-club alliances and dialogue, but also creates an organized and accessible resource for incoming students to seek out extracurriculars that align with their interests.

"Rather, they will see how clubs provide opportunities to learn valuable skills and form life-long friendships.

Effective communication does not only mean reaching out to external groups and students but also improving communication within an organization’s internal structure.

According to a survey conducted

by Tower Watson, organizations with effective internal communication produce a 47 per cent higher return rate than the ones with poor communication.

To increase efficiency and foster internal collaboration, a club's executive team should first make sure team members have

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

a solid understanding of both the club structure and other colleagues’ portfolios.

This can be accomplished through having them visualize the information, either by a creating a job brochure, writing a detailed description in the "about" section of the official website, or reaching each position holder directly for inquiries.

It's also important to strengthen the connections between club members by hosting regular social events, creating short-term collaboration projects between teams, and encouraging centralized information and idea sharing.

It is club leaders' duty to put thought into improving internal communication to increase their team’s productivity and their student engagement.

After having much high school time disrupted by the pandemic, the class of 2026 may be eager to take advantage of all the extracurriculars Queen's has to offer. They could be the vigorous and engaged audience that clubs so desperately need.

With effective communication and the right marketing, first years will no longer avoid clubs. Rather, they will see how clubs provide opportunities to learn valuable skills and form life-long friendships.

Here’s hoping the class of 2026 can rekindle this passion.

Leo Yang is a second-year politics, philosophy, and economics student.

Arts

Monday, 25 July, 2022

ARTS

queensjournal.ca • 9

Smokii Sumac talks poetry, identity, and Queen’s Writer’s Residency

Winner of the 2019 Indigenous Voices Award reflects on time at Queen’s Rida Chaudhry Senior Arts Editor Tucked away in Elgin, Ontario, Smokii Sumac spent two weeks at Queen’s Biological Station (QUBS)—the university’s wildlife research centre—in the company of two well-established Canadian authors.

On July 6, the writers gathered with the Queen’s English Department, the QUBS student and staff, and local poetry enthusiasts for an evening of beautiful readings.

Sumac writes about identity, generational trauma, Indigenous culture, queerness, hope, and fear in his all-encompassing poetry collection You are enough: Love poems for the end of the world.

“I think to be a writer, we have to be a little bit narcissistic, we have to be a little bit obsessed with ourselves,” Sumac told The Journal. “We also have to be completely self-deprecating, and also kind of hate ourselves too—there’s a fluctuation between all of that.”

Sumac says his work is about his world and his experiences as an adoptee, a trans person, a two-spirit person, a recovering addict, and someone who has lived through grief and trauma.

“A lot of my work centres on the idea of coming home,” Sumac said.

“For a long time, I thought of that as coming home as an adoptee and an Indigenous person. Now, I think of home in the body as a trans person and in my journey recovering from addiction, coming home to a sober and clear state.”

Sumac has experience with spoken word poetry; his poems are performances that grab your attention and refuse to let go. His intimate and deeply personal readings at QUBS clearly resonated with the attendees—both his and Stinzi’s novels sold out at the event.

Sumac explained how he often thinks of spoken word performances as sucking the air out of the room. While not all poets release this air back to the audience, he makes sure to do so because his content is often heavy and personal.

“I got to really hold space in that room with a group of people and my poetry, I think there’s something magical about that connection between the audience and poet that we don’t get on the page,” Sumac said.

Writers often use words as a creative outlet to understand the world around them, and to find comfort in the chaos and peace in the uncontrollable.

Sumac paraphrased a quote from Timothy Findley to describe this feeling: “We write because we are compelled, we have to.”

He felt this became especially true during the pandemic, when many claimed that

Smokii Sumac read poetry alongside John Elizabeth Stinzi at the Queen’s Biological Station on July 6.

writers should thrive during the stay-at-home era.

“I had a conversation about this at QUBS with the other two writers, [but] we need life to be happening, we need to be interacting, we need the relationship.”

Writers rely on the world around them to inform their creations, and in isolation, the ability to do this is extremely limited. The residency, hosted by the English Department, offered a chance for contemplation and creation between the three writers.

Sumac took time to reflect on the Indigenous lands the site resides on, the conservation efforts of the staff and students at the centre, and the shared emotions between the two parties.

As an Indigenous person, Sumac believes all his work is inherently political despite intertwining with his personal experiences.

“It’s super interesting to me because as much as I can be critical of colonialism, I can also recognize that the relationship scientists

SUPPLIED BY JOHN ELIZABETH STINZI

have to the land, and the grief they have when seeing the impacts of climate change is connected to [the Indigenous community’s] grief as well.”

Studying English in his undergraduate studies, Sumac’s early university career centralized Shakespeare until his second and third year of university when he was finally exposed to indigenous literature and it “opened his world.”

Sumac’s academic career subsequently turned to and focused on Indigenous studies and literature; he’s currently a PhD candidate at Trent University for this subject.

“I work on stories of coming home, I work with representation—I essentially believe that when we share our stories, we can reach out of the pages and connect with each other to make one another feel less alone in our experiences.” Sumac said.

“For Indigenous students and trans students and queer students, keep going.

Find your people. And keep writing, it’s medicine.”

Kingston’s best places to catch live music

A brief guide to the local music scene

downstairs, where you can grab a coffee and do a bit of studying.

When you’re done, you can grab a drink and head upstairs for intimate performances from local artists.

If you’re looking for non-stop live music, Musiikki’s got you covered—they run shows from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily. For a full list of their lineup, head over to Musiikki’s Instagram page.

Sam Goodale Assistant Arts Editor Whether you’re a seasoned Kingston veteran or an incoming first-year student, knowing the top venues to catch live music is key to having a great time in the Limestone City.

From country to punk, Kingston is sure to have something up your music alley, so we’ve compiled a list of venues sure to be popping throughout the year.

The Toucan

The Mansion

The Mansion’s name is appropriate: it’s a big old house on Princess Street. Don’t let its exterior fool you, though—inside is a bustling bar that is a favourite among students.

Just a short walk up the stairs, you’ll find The Mansion’s live music venue which hosts new artists every weekend. They regularly host weekend-long events chock full of up-and-coming artists from across the country, such as their Spring Reverb event and punk rock weekend.

Not to mention, karaoke lovers will find a place for them at the

Kingston is home to a diverse range of venues.

Mansion every Wednesday where they can count on a fun-loving crowd to sing along with them.

In September, The Mansion will host its Music Festival. The bar has loads to offer avid live-music fans and rookies alike, making it a mustvisit for all Queen’s students.

The Grad Club

The Grad Club is an entirely student-run venue right on campus.

Contrary to the name, The Grad Club welcomes both graduate and undergraduate students and is a vital point of connection between Queen’s and the broader Kingston community.

The Grad Club serves up a plethora of musical performers and events. Most recently, the venue has hosted Elliott BROOD, an alternative country group based out of Toronto.

Beyond performances, The Grad Club offers trivia nights and karaoke if you’d like to try your hand at

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

creating some live music yourself.

It also has an ongoing partnership with Union Gallery, which showcases works from Queen’s artists.

Overall, the Grad Club is a great place to immerse yourself in the Kingston arts scene.

Musiikki Café

Musiikki is tucked in a corner on Brock Street, but the action inside is unmissable.

It’s got a cute and cozy

If you’re looking for live music and good Irish craic, then your next stop is The Toucan.

Named after your favourite toucan (no, not Toucan Sam), this bar serves more than Guinness and sports games. There’s live music every Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Toucan offers more than just Irish fiddle tunes. July events included Relatively Minor, a jazz-funk outfit, and Sweet Pete & The Heat, a collection of local musicians playing an array of funky blues music. Check out their live music page for more information.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the live music venues available for your perusal in Kingston. Feel free to explore and experiment—there’s sure to be something you love.

Arts

10 • queensjournal.ca

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Suits and bananas: the Gentleminion phenomenon Latest Minions film challenges how we consume art and why Sam Goodale Assistant Arts Editor People are going bananas for the latest Minions movie.

Minions: The Rise of Gru is hardly a masterclass in film production. Despite the animation popping with colour, the movie itself is a largely harmless, slightly forgettable romp packed with visual gags involving the titular yellow blobs and fart jokes.

The film follows Minions mainstays Kevin, Stuart, and Bob as they track an 11-year-old Gru’s rise to villainhood.

The wonderfully animated minions here are cute and funny.

Newcomer Otto also proves to be a standout.

Although there are heavy references throughout the film to the Chinese Zodiac, a Kung Fu training montage, and a dragon fight scene, none of its focus on Chinese mythology seems to bear any thematic relevance.

The film was, however, not wholly thematically barren.

It’s a cute story of loyalty, dedication, and friendship. It’s not profound, but it is fun. Maybe it’s silly to talk about thematic relevance when discussing Minions, as the

main theme of the film seems to be bananas.

Nonetheless, the film will undoubtedly remain in the public imagination for years to come, not necessarily because of the Minions, but because of its audience.

If you have a pulse and an internet connection, it’s been near impossible to avoid the “Gentleminions” trend in which Gen-Z boys dress up in suits to see the movie in theatres. The focus has shifted away from the movie and onto its audience.

In a way, movie-goers have become the spectacle, with the Minions becoming their stage assistants. It’s a perplexing phenomenon, one ultimately rooted in meme-culture, but the entire Gentleminions trend provides profound insights into how we consume art.

Of course, the whole trend is funny. It’s ridiculous to go see Minions, a movie for children, in business attire.

It would be like wearing a goth outfit to go knit with your grandma—it’s ironic, topically inappropriate, and hilarious.

Perhaps it’s absurd to define

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Minions: The Rise of Gru has been overshadowed by its cult-like following

what’s appropriate in specific settings. A goth outfit is necessary if you’re going to a My Chemical Romance concert, for example.

Regardless, the Gentleminions trend has inadvertently shown the most common costume associated with corporate capitalism—a suit—is no less absurd than all-black Doc Martens and emo makeup.

Everything has the potential to be utterly ridiculous.

Within the Gentleminions

trend, the audience becomes a sort of artistic response to the film.

It exposes how absurd Minions are, but also how ridiculous we are.

It’s a witticism, a subtle piece of intra-communal comedy that pokes and prods at the personas we assume and when we assume them.

Ultimately, the success of Minions: The Rise of Gru is rooted in our own absurdity as consumers. It’s also just funny.

Movies, and all art, are at their

best when they make us feel involved and allow us to connect with others and ourselves. Minions: The Rise of Gru accomplishes this, fart jokes and all.

That’s why this trend has been so popular: Minions allows us to be ridiculous while connecting us with the people we care about. Let’s all eat a banana and bask in our absurdity.

A snapshot of Queen’s photographers Photographers discuss their styles and the role of photography in the modern age

Asbah Ahmad and Curtis Heinzl Senior News Editor and Senior Photo Editor

McHale said despite his potential educational goals, he often consumes critical media in the form of a photobook by Edward Burtynsky, a celebrated Canadian photographer known for his depictions of humans’ industrial footprint.

“The images [Burtynsky] makes are very beautiful. They’re also depicting—depending on what you think—not such a beautiful practice,” McHale said.

“Cottonopolis” is McHale’s favourite collection of photos in his portfolio. The series covers changes to his home city and the evolution of landscapes.

“You have pristine fibreglass and steel, and what I would call swanky apartments in quite rundown areas. You have the canals, which in some cases are under the city,” he said.

Ingrained in McHale’s photos—and at the forefront of his Cottonopolis series—is the tranquility within a dynamic world. The title is a nod towards Manchester’s days as a “capitalist centre of the world” in the 19th century as a cotton market hub.

Meanwhile, Charlebois curates the Do It For The Grain zine, which is a film

Photographs are a foundational part of the modern human experience. The media allows for cross-generational sharing of common experiences and worldly perceptions.

In interviews with The Journal, two photographers at Queen’s discussed storytelling and their personal interest in photography.

Kenneth Charlebois, M.PL. ’24, and Sean McHale, PhD ’24, have gone back to the medium’s roots by shooting on analog cameras.

With 36—or fewer—exposures per roll of film, McHale and Charlebois use their photos as a means of expressing their personal interests.

For Charlebois, his undergraduate studies in Industrial Design have informed his eye on composition. He credits his education for developing his problem-solving skills.

“I’m kind of just a walkaround photographer,” Charlebois said. “I’m mostly focused on photos of the built environment and our interaction with the natural environment.”

For McHale, taking an undergraduate Archeology course got him thinking about the role of photos in material culture in his locale of Manchester.

“I was studying petroleum geology and [...] oil was something that I was really amazed with at Film rolls push photographers to be dedecisive. that time,” McHale said.

photography publication designed to be welcoming and inclusive.

The zine relies on submissions from community members, receiving close to 200 per month.

The zine’s submission form allows people to self-identify as part of a “priority group,” including BIPOC and LGBTQIA. “With that, we try to create a vibe at the same time,” he explained.

“The images have to flow; it is still a curated thing. We think of it as a mini exhibition of sorts.”

“Do It For The Grain” is a pun on the expression “do it for the gram,” referring to the grainy nature of photographic film.

PHOTOS BY KENNETH BLOUIN AND SEAN MCHALE

However, Charlebois was initially hesitant about uploading inherently physical photographs online.

“The internet just didn’t feel appropriate for sharing physical images,” he said.

So, rather than posting them to Instagram, he chose to expose local photographers’ work through a concrete medium.

McHale noted how Instagram feeds are often “highly curated”—the dozens of photos that don’t make the cut typically remain unseen.

However, the beginning of McHale’s photography journey was the opposite of this: the finite number of frames on his roll of film taught him to shoot selectively.

Charlebois also said shooting on film has taught him to be more selective in his digital photography.

He prefers waiting for the right moment—Henri Cartier-Bresson would approve.

“Every time you take a photo, you’re sacrificing a dollar on film and development,” Charlebois said.

For that reason, Do It For The Grain sets prices of its workshops and zine subscription as pay-what-you-can. Scarcity is not his only concern.

“You’re also sacrificing that moment in time in order to capture it. If you’re just hanging out with friends, you’re interrupting that moment to take the photo.”

Sports

12 • queensjournal.ca

SPORTS Victories promise to set the tone for the season ahead Chad Russell Assistant Sports Editor

The Queen’s Gaels Women’s Rugby team took to the pitch in Ottawa on July 17 and 19 to take on the United States U20 and U23 teams.

The team was victorious in each contest, winning by scores of 76-0 and 26-5, respectively.

For head coach Dan Valley, the Garnet & Gold Classic is only the beginning of a season with high expectations. Coming off a season in which the Gaels were crowned U Sports National Champions, the team has no plans to go into rebuilding mode.

“The calibre of play, I think, is going to be as high, if not better this year,” Valley said in an interview with The Journal.

The Gaels have 17 returning players. The Garnet & Gold Classic gave an early look into how that group will mix in with the incoming group of first-year athletes.

“Not only do they have those first two games under their belt;

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Women’s Rugby dominated in Garnet & Gold Classic Tournament

they’ve got two games against US representative sides,” Valley said.

The defending champion Gaels believed it was important to face some high-quality competition early on the calendar.

“It gave us something to train [for] and look forward to in the summer,” Valley said.

After a 76-0 rout of the American U20 side, the Gaels turned their attention to the U23 squad, who posed a tougher physical test to the tricolour. After getting on the scoreboard early, the Americans held the Gaels out of the end zone for much of the first half.

Despite this, the Gaels dictated the pace and direction of play.

“We were dominating possession and we were dominating territory in the early part of the game,” Valley said.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when a Jaden Walker try broke the game open two minutes into the second half.

Maggie Banks found a gap in the middle of the field, drove the ball straight through the teeth of the American defence, and pitched it to a wide-open Walker.

The conversion made it 19-0 which all but sealed the game.

The scoreboard outcomes were the result of a Gaels side that

Coach Dan Valley is excited for the upcoming season.

delivered on the priorities it set for itself going into the series: they aggressively defended on the oppenents’ side of the gain line, they were effective on scrums and lineouts, they were dominant in transition, and their attacking pressure was relentless.

These goals were designed to put the team in situations

Looking ahead to sports this fall

to use its athletic advantage.

“We thrive in the chaos,” Valley said. “We thrive in those messy parts of the game.”

The team will look to build on this success when the regular season begins.

This experience was extremely valuable, providing them a tactical head start.

“We have always approached

Here’s what to expect from Gaels come September Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

Sports are almost back in full swing.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Professional tennis deserves more love In a crowded landscape, tennis goes unnoticed Chad Russell Assistant Sports Editor If you want some strange looks to come your way around the dinner table or at a party, confess that your favourite professional sport to follow is tennis. Diehard tennis fans appear to be few and far between, despite all the perks of following the sport.

Being a tennis fan means having a sport to follow for 11 months of the year, from the Australian Open in January to the Tour Finals and international team competitions in November.

While steering clear of an off-season lull, tennis also avoids the monotony of other sports by having different tournaments almost every week.

One doesn’t have to watch a team—who may be miles out of a playoff spot with a month to go—sleepwalk through the end of the season. In tennis, every match is meaningful.

Along with every tournament being a clean slate for the players, their individual

character—especially the many classic and beautiful venues—always provides something fresh. The venues being spread across the globe gives the sport an international flavour.

Wimbledon, played in London, is best described as regal: grass courts, the allwhite dress code, strawberries and cream, the military-trained ball boys and girls, the royal family connection.

Meanwhile, the US Open, played in New York, is gritty: hard courts; pop, rock, and dance music blaring during changeovers; matches that go to all hours of the night; raucous crowds.

The Davis Cup, tennis’ premier international men’s team competition, has its tradition rooted in national teams playing in front of home crowds. With matchups usually taking place in one of the competing countries, fans show up with their flags and face paint. Matches are usually played in indoor stadiums that add to the atmosphere.

Story continued online...

This fall, it’s time for students to fill the stands.

Gaels are expecting stadiums of energetic fans, fields lined with tricolour, and off-tune renditions of the oil thigh. Let’s deliver on those expectations.

To kick off their season, Queen’s Football will continue their historic rivalry against the McGill Redbirds on Aug. 20. Since 1898, this game has been a yearly tradition, although the game hasn’t been held at home on Richardson Stadium like this since 2017.

“Embracing a traditional rivalry is something we love to do here, and playing an additional football game is a major bonus for any OUA Team,” coach Steve Snyder said in a press release.

The football regular season will officially start a week later on Aug. 27.

The Gael soccer season is next on the docket as both the men’s and women’s teams are set for a home opener on Sept. 2 against the Carleton Ravens.

From there, men’s and women’s rugby, field hockey, fastpitch, and men’s and women’s hockey all have home their openers scheduled in September and October.

Women’s rugby will continue to dominate

The sport has a lot going for it.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY GREG KOLZ

this as a first step in our 2022 campaign,” Valley said.

“We are miles ahead.”

The team will now head its separate ways before training camp opens on Aug. 20.

Everyone will be gearing for the team’s OUA opener on Sept. 3 against the York Lions, which will serve as the first step in the Gaels hopeful U Sports title defence.

at their home opener on Sept. 10 against Brock. Men’s Rugby will have their first home game about a week later on Sept. 18.

Field hockey will get to it on Sept. 17 with their first home game of the season taking place at Tindall Field against U of T. Women’s fastpitch will take on the uOttawa Gee Gees at Garrigan Park on Oct. 8.

Men’s and Women’s Hockey are both up next with opening days on Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, respectively. The men’s team will face off against the uOttawa Gee Gees while the women’s team will take on the Guelph Gryphons.

There’s a game out there for every type of fan. With a student ID in hand, a jersey from the Q Shop, and a friend who knows a little bit about the sport of interest, students will be all set for a night of riveting sports entertainment.

Basketball and volleyball are both coming in a little later with their home openers scheduled for early November. These seasons promise to be worth the wait.

Queen’s has many titles to defend this year—perhaps most notable is the Women’s Rugby 2021 U Sports Championship.

It’s going to be an intense season.

Also be sure to keep an eye out for the ultimate, cross-country, golf, baseball, fencing, rowing, sailing, and wrestling seasons starting this fall.

The Journal hopes you’ll join us in the stands.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

Sports

Monday, 25 July, 2022

queensjournal.ca • 13

‘This year could be pretty special’ What A&R has planned for the year ahead Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor Due to COVID-19, the past few years have seen limited capacity and reduced Athletics and Recreation (A&R) programming.

Come fall, however, A&R will hit the ground running.

This year, the incoming class won’t be the only ones being introduced to the world of Queen’s A&R. This year will be new to the thousands of upper-year students who have had their university careers impacted by the pandemic, too.

It’s important that students understand A&R is more than just the ARC, fitness programming, and Richardson Stadium.

It occupies two realms: Athletics and Recreation.

The former is based in athletics and home to the Queen’s basketball, football, rugby, hockey, rowing, soccer, volleyball, and cross-country varsity teams. Queen’s Athletics also supports over 20 varsity club sports ranging from ultimate to fencing, and from curling to squash.

These sports are practiced at an extremely competitive level, sending players to participate both provincially and nationally at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and

Athletics and Recreation hopes to increase engagement.

fitness programming, and Queen’s facilities.

It also includes intramurals—one of A&R’s most prized programs—which features a robust number of leagues across different levels of competition.

However, intramurals cannot possibly cover every sport, which is why rec clubs are there to fill the gaps. Rec clubs are niche teams built around specific interests and are available to students without a tryout or audition.

Rec clubs create environments that transcend simple competition to build community and promote learning opportunities. Some notables include the Queen’s Dance Club—which is the largest

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

recreational club at Queens—the equestrian club, and the Esports club.

For the first time in years, these programs and facilities will finally be available to students without restrictions. Ben Fisher, A&R communications coordinator, met with The Journal to discuss how things should play out during the 2022-23 school year.

“It is a better offering [of programming] come fall,” Fisher said.

Part of this means bringing back the fitness equipment that was removed during the pandemic to facilitate COVID-appropriate social distancing. Another element is having stadiums at full capacity. Fisher is hopeful to

have games where students can show up with nothing more than a student card. “[We want] to get our student population as engaged as it used to be,” Fisher said.

“There are some third and fourth years who haven’t had the full university experience. Better late than never.”

Regular season home games are free to Queen’s students, and Gaels are looking forward to competing in stadiums roaring with fans.

Although in-person events are back, many virtual elements that were invented during the pandemic will stick around. One example is the virtual learn to weightlift program that uses YouTube videos to teach interested but unfamiliar students the weightlifting basics.

“It’s pretty awesome when all the facilities are at your fingertips and that’s what we strive to do,” Fisher explained.

However, with these changes and a new school year come many anxieties.

Fisher recognizes the gym is often a place of nerves and apprehension.

“There’s people there that are happy to help and happy to make it feel a little bit more like a community. So many of the ARC staff members are students, and they’ve kinda had that feeling in first year as well, so they are happy to help and lend their expertise.”

All things considered, A&R is ready for students to return with full force.

“I do think this year could be pretty special,” Fisher concluded. “It’s a pretty cool building to be in and to learn in, and our sports teams are a lot of fun to watch.”

What happens to graduated Gaels?

It’s a hard transition out of university sport Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor When athletes graduate from Queen’s, they’re not only leaving Kingston, but also leaving behind an integral part of their identity.

This past spring, Patrick Sanvido, BEd ’22, transitioned out of his position as captain of the Men’s Hockey team. He will now split his time as both a substitute teacher for the Limestone Public Schoolboard and an assistant coach for the Queen’s Men’s Hockey team.

“It’s easily summed up as the greatest decision I’ve ever made, to be a member of the Queen’s community as an athlete, specifically as a hockey player,” Sanvido told The Journal.

Men’s Hockey, and specifically head coach Brett Gibson, have built a special culture focused on maintaining community that’s hard to leave.

“If I could’ve done more school, I would’ve come back and done more school to play on this team,” Sanvido said.

“I’m almost 26 years old and I’ve been Patrick the hockey player for 22, 23 years,” Sanvido said.

“My life has literally revolved around hockey for 12 months of the year for, let’s say, 22 years.”

This is the experience of most student athletes. When playing

Even graduation can’t break the connection between an athlete and their team.

for your school, life becomes so impacted by sport that the two are not easily separated.

In many ways this interconnectedness is a good thing.

Sports teach players determination, how to set goals, life lessons, and communication skills—all valuable skills that are transferrable to other facets of life later in life. They don’t help make the transition any easier, though.

“It’s made me who I am, not just on the ice, it’s made me who I am off the ice too,” Sanvido explained.

In navigating this identity crisis, however, Sanvido has grounded himself in two elements of the Men’s Hockey Team: alumni and coaching.

“Whether you played here in the ‘80s or if you played here last year, if you were to run into any alumni

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY ROBIN KASEM

we both played on the Queen’s hockey teams, it’s like an automatic common understanding between us that is super special, and I don’t know if you would get that anywhere else,” Sanvido explained.

“It’s the culture that Gibby has fostered over his 18 or 19 years, but it’s also the alumni.”

Men’s Hockey alumni have fed off the culture created by coach Gibson and maintained an incredible relationship with each new generation of players.

This culture means that despite graduation, Sanvido can stay connected to the team for generations to come.

Sanvido is also fortunate to have an assistant coaching position with the team in the fall.

“It was kind of a best of all worlds situation. It’s a great

transition, you’re not just going cold turkey.”

He hopes to pursue coaching quite seriously in the future, and this new position will help kickstart that dream.

“For me it’s kinda keeping that door open of potentially a coaching career,” Sanvido said. “I do consider myself very lucky to be able to jump in at this level.”

While not all graduated athletes may pursue coaching, they can all fall back on what they’ve learned during their time at Queen’s.

“For it to be gone pretty much like that is hard, but you learn so much along the way that I’m sure I’ll never lose,” Sanvido said. “The experiences I’ve had through hockey and the people I’ve met through hockey will last a lifetime.”

14 • queensjournal.ca

LIFESTYLE

Lifestyle

Monday, 25 July, 2022

The misconceptions of first year Debunking myths about residence, dining halls, and social life

Santiago Gomez Angulo Contributor Without a doubt, leaving the family nest and venturing out on your own can be intimidating and exhilarating. New friends, new bed, new coursework, new stress—there’s a lot to think about.

Although you’ve probably done your fair share of TikTok research, there are a lot of common misconceptions floating around about first year at Queen’s. A few contain truth, but most are filled with unnecessary pressure and generate a whole lot of anxiety.

So, without further ado, here are some common myths debunked that will help you relax upon your arrival to Kingston.

“I got a late residence selection time; I’m going to have a bad social life” Getting screwed with a late selection time to pick your residence feels awful, but it’s not the end of the world. Trust me, I’ve been there.

There seems to be a campuswide idea that only single-plus

residences and Victoria Hall offer the best social hubs. The opposite is true. Regardless of what residence you’re in, a community exists, and you shouldn’t feel defined by your new place of living. Fun is found everywhere on campus; it just takes an open mind and some vulnerability.

Be open to floor activities, get to know your neighbours, and form relationships with people on other floors. Trust me, you’ll be surprised by the amount of cool people that you’ll meet along the way.

And if you think you’ll be worst off on West Campus, you’re wrong.

I’ve heard only the best things from tight-knit friend groups that were formed there.

“Cafeteria food sucks, so expect to eat a lot of pizza and ramen” Maybe this misconception does have a bit of truth in it. Leonard, Ban Righ, and Jean Royce Hall truly develop some interesting palates. Nonetheless, there are a ton of awesome ways to eat well in residence.

To be honest, the food isn’t horrible. Some days, it can even be super good. You can’t go wrong with making your own sandwich and or a nice plate of pasta. Never hesitate to ask for a bigger serving—the staff are super understanding.

The nice thing about Queen’s is

Self-advocacy is important, and resources exist to meet student needs.

All the validation you need and some helpful tips Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor This article discusses disordered eating and may be triggering for some readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213.

Moving away from home means navigating the world on your own, and that’s exciting, but extremely petrifying.

A big part of moving away is navigating food. It can be easy to forget, but dietary

restrictions—which can be diverse—can be hard to deal with when you leave home and enter new communities.

I know this firsthand. I have a religious dietary restriction, and I’m quite proud of it. Learning to navigate dining on-campus and away from home was critical to maintaining normalcy and my identity.

Here are some tips to make life easier while navigating on-campus dining with dietary accommodations.

Explain your restrictions Sometimes the biggest struggle is ensuring those around you are receptive to your dietary restrictions and understand what they mean to you.

I always use religious dietary

Sometimes what you hear isn’t always what you get.

outsourcing a midnight snack or getting tired of your meal plan are avoidable. The retail locations on campus, including Location 21 and the Lazy Scholar, are reliable spots to change things up. You’ll get to know the TAM and Flex dollar systems really well.

“Orientation Week friend groups are forever” Don’t get me wrong, Orientation Week is an awesome time to make a bunch of new friends. Everyone is feeling the same nervousness to fit in, all resting at the bottom of the social food chain.

But don’t worry if you don’t make a solid set of friends during the first week. Forming friendships at university takes time for everyone. It’s rare to find your people instantly. Honestly, you probably won’t even remember half the people you met during Orientation Week.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

accommodations as an example, since I strictly restrict myself to Halal meals. It’s important to remember specific religious practices around food differ among religions. No religious group is a monolith.

Most Muslim people, for example, will not consume any pork products. However, consumption of beef and chicken that has been blessed is the norm for some, but not all, Muslims.

Similarly, for many Jewish folks, Kosher laws have different levels of adherence based on the individual.

For anyone with allergies, intolerances, or other restrictions, it’s important to recognize you know with what your body is okay with. It doesn’t matter how “strict” or “relaxed” you’re with

GRAPHIC BY AIMEE LOOK

Once you head to class and the adrenaline dies down, you’ll start noticing closer friend groups forming. Don’t worry if you aren’t a part of one immediately.

Take the time to listen to people’s stories, join one of the hundreds of extra-curricular opportunities available, and be yourself.

You truly will find your people—it just might take a bit longer than the first week of your entire four-year experience.

I promise you’ll find the people with whom you truly enjoy spending time with.

“Everyone has their life figured out” The idea that your peers have somehow got the golden ticket to life is totally false. Listening to friends give you a detailed description of how they will meticulously accomplish all their

goals through a 10-year plan can make you feel poorly about your own ambitions.

Remember the future is completely unpredictable and comparing yourself to your peers are a waste of time.

Don’t limit yourself to a set plan— be open to new opportunities.

A program doesn’t define you either, so don’t feel locked into a specific major. It’s totally normal to try things out. …

It’s natural to look for information anywhere you can when challenged with something as unfamiliar and uncharted as university. Nevertheless, you won’t really know what it’s like until you start.

Make the most of your time at Queen’s. Keep an open mind. Have fun. It goes by fast.

any restrictions—you’re valid and you have every right to make those choices.

Make sure you let those around you know of your personal boundaries when it comes to food.

It removes the guessing and, in my experience, openly sharing your restrictions is usually welcomed.

By sharing your dietary needs with your friends, you’ll notice solidarity when it comes to ensuring you comply with your nutritional requirements. Once, a friend recognized something I ordered as non-Halal, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Another unintended, yet lovely side effect of talking about my dietary needs is I’ve become prouder of my heritage and identity. I’m less insecure about being ‘different’ from the norm and am more understanding of the fact I don’t need to present a different version of myself to others.

Reach out to the sources My first point makes me sound like your mom, but it’s important to remember. I can’t state enough the importance of reaching out to chefs, kitchen staff, and supervisors in dining halls and retail locations.

Whenever I’ve reached out to staff at Queen’s, I’ve always been met with empathy and kindness. In my experience, the staff have gone

out of their way to make sure my needs were accommodated.

Accommodations can be made for a wide variety of food-related concerns, including religious needs and allergies. You just need to ask!

Besides, your dietary restrictions make for good conversation, and are a way for you to connect with the staff—dear Lazy Scholar night staff, I love you.

Additionally, Queen’s has a dietician who can assist with anything from planning around meal accommodations to working with students who have eating disorders.

Final notes To those who don’t have dietary accommodations: remember, no one owes you an explanation of their beliefs or why they have a specific restriction. Your only job is to respect them.

To those with dietary accommodations: find like-minded people on campus, take up space, and never be ashamed. You have every right to exist; don’t let anyone invalidate that. You need to be your own advocate, and that’s an important part of growing up.

In the end, I know you’ll turn the Queen’s community into a home. After all, food transcends many man-made social barriers.

Navigating campus dining with dietary restrictions

Lifestyle

Monday, 25 July, 2022

queensjournal.ca • 15

A summer vibes to school grind transition manual

It takes time to get back into the academic mindset

The perfect how-to guide for getting back into the school grind Maddie Hunt Senior Lifestyle Editor August truly is the Sunday of the summer. It’s filled with reminiscing on the good times with friends, summer nights, and lack of school commitments. Not only is it sad to see this all come to an end, but it’s

difficult going from such a relaxed state of mind to jumping headfirst into the university grind.

Here’s the perfect how-to guide for going from summer fun to a successful study mindset.

Compromise

The best advice I can offer to soothe this transition is to compromise. No one can go from tanning on the beach every day to sitting down and studying for a finance exam without struggle.

Compromise is the best way

The what-not-to-do’s of first year.

GRAPHIC BY AIMEE LOOK

to get the best of both worlds. So, give yourself something enjoyable while doing the work. Work outside while the weather is still nice. That way, you get your dose of summer heat while still getting some work done.

Or, walk along the water and you’ll find some benches in the sun where you can set up your work while still getting an awesome tan.

Reward yourself for working

“Work hard, play hard” is truly the best advice I can give. University

GRAPHIC BY CURTIS HEINZL

What upper-year students wish they knew in first year Maddie Hunt Senior Lifestyle Editor After a couple of years at Queen’s, you may look back with regret on your first year, wishing you had known this or that. We thought we’d save you that trouble and share some advice early on.

Here are a couple pieces of advice for incoming first years, told by third-year students, to save you from the mistakes we may or may not have made. …

As I write this, “If I Could Turn Back Time”

by Cher is living in my head rent-free.

First year was strange because of the pandemic, and the fully online year desensitized me to school—something from which I’m still recovering. I think learning to be kind to yourself is vital. It gives you room and space to grow and learn from the inevitable mistakes you’ll make.

Another thing I wished I knew: the importance of naps! You likely live on or near campus and I think taking naps between classes is amazing, though not a substitute for a good night’s sleep.

Making sure you prioritize your wellness throughout the semester is essential to combating burnout come exam season.

isn’t all about the schoolwork—it’s about the connections and interests you find along the way.

I know it can be tempting to ditch that huge paper you have to write so you can go out with your friends, but don’t that. Instead, I propose a system that will ensure you can do both.

Let me introduce you to the Pomodoro Technique: you work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. Repeat that 4 times and you’ll be surprised at how much work you get done.

After getting your work done and having that awesome feeling of accomplishment, do something you enjoy. Watch an episode of your favourite show, go to the pier with your friends, play spike ball on Tindall—whatever your heart desires!

Buckle down in the first week

It’s super easy to fall behind in the first week of school. Social events are at an all-time high, and pretty much any street you walk down has about 10 parties going on. This is great in terms of meeting people and making connections, but not so much when it comes to schoolwork.

Falling behind in the first

The best tip I can share is university is what you make out of it.

In first year, I was given many different opportunities to participate that I didn’t take, and I regret it. Take advantage of trying new things and going outside of your comfort zone, whether it’s within or outside of the classroom.

If you have a hobby or are looking to try something new, check out the AMS’s club directory and find people who share the same interest as you. If you hate it, then you learned something new about yourself, and if you loved it, then you found something new and exciting to experience.

—Jessie Cuthbert, ArtSci ’24 With first year comes a sense of power in being on your own—you’re away from home and living without anyone telling you what to do. For me, my newfound

Finally, the Lazy substation reigns supreme, make note of this and visit often.

—Asbah Ahmad, Senior News Editor

sense of independence came with the dangers of spending a lot of money.

The best advice I can give to incoming students is to handle your money smartly. For one, you do not need brand new textbooks.

Look into buying hand-me-down books from upper-years instead. I promise you, spending $120 on a textbook you will use for 4 months is not worth it.

Also, take advantage of your TradeA-Meals (TAMs). If you feel like treating yourself to something other than dining hall food for a night, rather than spending money on Uber Eats or eating out, use the meals you can get as a TAM at places like Pita Pit or Starbucks.

Trust me, in the long run, you’ll be happy to have saved some money.

— Maddie Hunt, Senior Lifestyle Editor

RENTALS

I wished I had known to be open to anyone you meet and to take initiative—there are so many people out there that you can connect with if you take that jump.

Going into my first year, I was living with a bunch of guys with whom I went to high school. It would’ve been easy to just stick within that friend group, but as university progressed, I began making so many new friends and connections. While it feels scary at first, everybody is looking to make new friends and there are people waiting out there that you’ll love.

Now, a lot of my closest friends are people I met at Queen’s. There are so many different people you can connect with. My advice: be vulnerable, be brave, and be yourself. If you keep an open mind, you really can meet some life-long new friends.

—Jack McMillan, Comm ’24 Many graduates refer to university as the “best time of their lives,” whereas others say they just wanted to get through to graduation.

week seems like no big deal. You may even say to yourself, “I’ll just catch up during reading week,” right? Wrong. You’ll go home for reading week and it’ll feel like a vacation. The last thing you’re going to want to do is schoolwork.

Then that first reading you missed—and told yourself you’d catch up on—will turn into a second, third, and fourth, and in no time, it’ll be exam time and you’ll have half a textbook to read. Trust me, that’s not a fun game to play.

My humble advice: buckle down in the first week. If you commit early on, that commitment will turn into a habit, and you’ll get into the groove of what you need to get done every week. Before you know it, reading six chapters a week will be a breeze. …

While the summer feels amazing, Queen’s comes alive in September. Don’t confine yourself to strictly academics. Enjoy the time you have at Queen’s, but make sure you’re responsible, too.

As I said, work hard, play hard.

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Lifestyle

16 • queensjournal.ca

Monday, 25 July, 2022

Lessons from first year: growth isn’t achieved inside your comfort zone Learning that dimming my own light doesnt benefit anyone

Alexa believes change is imperative for growth.

Alexa Bartels Staff Writer As the only woman in my family to attend University in a double degree program, I spent a long time idealizing the experience.

Little did I know, that my first year would bring its own set of uncomfortable challenges and lessons I could have never seen coming, but for which I could not be more grateful.

I came to Queen’s looking for a fresh start after experiencing a series of romantic and friendship betrayals in high school. And, though I was optimistic and ambitious at the beginning of the year, I struggled to be myself.

I found myself perplexed by fears of letting people get too close to me, while also desiring deeper and more intimate connections.

I closed myself off from making friends and wasn’t open to others with my emotions.

to suppress “whatI began I now consider to be my strongest traits.

I convinced myself that remaining mysterious and secretive about my care for others was a good thing. I thought it was easiest to avoid showing others I could empathize with them.

I began to suppress what I now consider to be my strongest traits: my passion, free-spiritedness, generosity, extroversion, and sense of independence. I thought I would be criticized for my analytical and leadership qualities.

I completely ignored my initial impulses; I stopped being someone who connected with others.

stopped standing “ Istrong in fear of negative reactions.

My social circle was not as positive as it once was, and I quickly found myself acting out of character. Even after earning myself a nickname for being a loud extrovert, I was still selling myself short for the sake of making others comfortable.

Some of my friends knew about my trauma history and while I had truly loving and genuine feelings towards them, things weren’t the same. And I went along with it thinking that deep down they might care about me.

Given my past of poor friendship and relationship experiences, I stopped standing strong in fear of negative reactions. In first year, I received threads of aggressive text messages from my friends, especially when I was standing strong in myself.

After such a troubling time, I finally decided I had to take action towards my future first, and if disconnecting from my friend group meant that I would be alone, then I was ready to take that solo journey.

Despite the hurt this caused, I learned heartbreak can have some positive side effects—one being that not every loss is negative.

While, in my opinion, losing friends is one of the worst types of suffering, it was the catalyst for change and self-growth.

I often found myself prioritizing the worries of others over my own needs and experiencing guilt and powerlessness when I couldn’t help them. I felt offended when I was offered help because it made me feel like other people didn’t believe in my strength.

Before I knew it, I began to ignore others. I discovered a sense of relief in my ability to take charge of my life when I was on my own. I fantasized about wanting better relationships for myself. I was determined to build a positive future.

The sense of time became stagnant the more I isolated myself from social endeavours. I felt alone, but I thought it was better than being with people who treated me poorly. There’s a difference between being alone and feeling alone.

Singlehood didn’t bother me

much because I was comfortable on my own, but I dreamed about having just one strong friendship with another person—and, I thought, what if I could have more?

Once I accepted that everyone handles their emotions differently and that others’ experiences may vary greatly from my own, I finally opened myself to the possibility of talking romantically again, after a few years.

When I stopped “ tolerating mistreatment, I learned to embrace my self-worth.

While it wasn’t a completely smooth path back to healthy relationship habits, I continued to be patient with others and work on my path to growth. I had to accept a change in mindset and decide I deserved good people and things in my life, despite my past.

When I stopped tolerating mistreatment, I learned to embrace my self-worth. I felt empowered and comfortable in my own decisiveness by choosing to let go of friendships that weren’t serving my growth, even if I wished them best from a distance.

I learned how to forgive others, and myself, for my suffering.

I felt deep regret towards my

GRAPHIC BY CURTIS HEINZL

first year at Queen’s, because I wished I listened to my intuition. I wished I cut things off as soon as I felt something wasn’t right.

the pain “intoI [...]a turned chance to learn.

To combat this sense of regret, I needed to take accountability for jumping headfirst into opportunities while being impulsive.

I also had to use my empathic skills in an uncomfortable way. I had to realize not everyone approaches life or emotions in the same way I do, and not everyone is willing to reconcile differences. And that’s okay!

The moral of the story is I learned to embrace conflict and turned the pain into a chance to learn. Now, I’m thankful for the opportunity to have found amazing friends and professors who believe in my success.

Finding gratitude for the spontaneity of life and letting go is hard, but it’s beneficial in the long-term. It’s so incredibly important to take the opportunities presented to you as a chance to grow.