The Queen's Journal, Volume 150, Issue 19

AMS EXECUTIVE CANDIDATE PROFILES

Team KMV wants to make first-year students aware of the AMS Event sanctioning transparency is an immediate concern for these executive candidates

S kylar S oroka

Assistant News Editor

This year’s three-way contested AMS executive election includes Team KMV, who emphasized making students aware of AMS services right from their first year at Queen’s.

Team KMV is composed of presidential candidate

Kate McCuaig, ArtSci ’23, vice-presidential candidate (operations), ArtSci ’23, Michelle Hudson, and vice-presidential candidate (university affairs)

Victoria Mills, ArtSci ’23. The election is happening on Feb. 6 and 7.

KMV has experience working

in student government, holding leadership roles in 2022 ASUS Orientation. McCuaig was Head Gael, Mills was the Operations Chair, and Hudson was the Community Awareness, Respect, and Engagement Chair.

KMV spoke about an AMS where all students are aware of student government, and that starts with building connections from the start.

“Through working on Arts and Science Orientation Week, you’ve seen me on campus, you talk to me, you tell me what’s going on. I hear these recurring issues and I feel like I could do more,” McCuaig said in an interview with The Journal Wanting to engage in advocacy in the overarching student government on campus is KMV’s goal.

First year involvement

Mills said it’s important to consider the best avenues of communication to reach certain groups, like first years. Residence outreach is one example they raised.

Upper-year students who live in residence, such as dons, are necessary in facilitating communication between the AMS and students who may not know of its existence, she added.

“This is important because these students have likely paid into either all or some kind of slate of fees to be a part of it. We would love to distribute the information to you.”

President

If elected, McCuaig hopes to increase advocacy efforts and listed various examples of the team’s plans.

“Something we’ve proposed with event sanctioning is the triage system. Right now, the [Campus Activities Commission (CAC)] is severely overworked, but they handle the event sanctioning process among many other amazing things on campus,” McCuaig said.

Team TBD is running to unify Queen’s students

me personally. I want to give back to the community that has given so much to me,” Crawford said.

S ophia C oppolino Assistant News Editor

The candidates making up team TBD are counting on passion, not experience, to win students’ votes in the upcoming AMS election.

TBD consists of Presidential candidate Thomas Crawford, ArtSci ’23, vice-presidential (operations) candidate Ben Bertin, ArtSci ’23, and vice-presidential candidate (university affairs)

Dante Caloia, ArtSci ’23.

In an interview with The Journal, Crawford said he’s running for AMS President because he appreciates the AMS’ role in enriching his experience at Queen’s.

“[The AMS] has done so much for students and done so much for

Crawford worked as the Judicial Affairs Manager for the AMS this past year and was first exposed to the AMS as a first-year intern. He is the most experienced member of Team TBD but is confident his team has a refreshing perspective to offer students.

“I think our perspective is unique—and especially different than those of the other two teams running,” Crawford said. “Our philosophy is we talk to [students], we don’t put up an image, we talk to you the way we talk to regular people, this is just it.”

Having been invested in running for AMS President since last year, Crawford recruited friends Caloia and Bertin to join him as the potential future AMS executives.

“I like to put things bluntly,” Caloia said. “I think that the AMS has a long way to go.”

Team ERA campaigns to provide value to students

Team ERA wants to “revitalize” the AMS through advocacy, financial accessibility, and student wellness.

Their platform was developed after consulting over 100 people, including students, club heads, members from each faculty society, and various university representatives.

Editor

Elisabeth McHarg, ArtSci ’23,

is running for vice-president (operations). From working on the AMS Orientation Roundtable to being a barista at Common Ground (CoGro), McHarg has held seven roles within ASUS and the AMS.

“I definitely found a passion for the AMS in my time at the AMS, and that inspired me wanting to run and continue to make a change and impact students’ lives,” she said in an interview with The Journal ERA’s presidential candidate Ryan Chen, Kin ’23, and current Physical Health Education

and Kinesiology Student Association (PHEKSA) president, said getting involved in student government helped him adjust to university.

Vice-president (university affairs) candidate Alicia Parker, ArtSci ’24, was a first-year intern at ASUS, class of 2024 representative, and current Academics Commissioner. She said student government has been a “highlight” of her time at Queen’s.

Accessibility, transparency, and advocacy—the current AMS executive’s platform—will

“permeate” through ERA’s pillars, according to McHarg.

They believe their pillars and shared passion for advocacy bring ERA together.

Revitalizing Community

The AMS provides students with various jobs, and ERA wants to ensure these roles are safe, pay well, and translate to the workforce by working with AMS permanent staff and Queen’s Career Services.

‘It all goes back to unity, bringing people together’: Team TBD talks upcoming campaign

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL Victoria Mills, Kate McCuaig, Michelle Hudson.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG Ben Bertin, Thomas Crawford, Dante Caloia.

‘We want to bring on a new ERA of student government’

Elizabeth McHarg, Ryan Chen, Alicia Parker. PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Skylar Soroka, Assistant News Editor

International Holocaust Remembrance Day took place on Jan. 27, with several Queen’s students and organizations helping to educate the student body.

The Journal sat down with Leora Tarshish, professional staff member at Queen’s Hillel, to discuss the significance of this day. Tarnish said this is the day we commemorate the losses of the people who died in the Holocaust.

“When we say the people, we don’t mean just us, because Jews have their own internal day for remembering the victims of what we would call in Hebrew, the Shoah,” she added.

Although it only takes place on one day, Tarshish said Hillel tries to build around the day.

“We say we’re going to create a whole week, a campaign of awareness, so that we can build up to the day. In that week, we focused on breaking down different aspects of it,” she said.

Tarshish said Hillel welcomed a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor to tell his story last Friday.

“This is really going to be one of his last engagements. He said that it’s really hard to retell the story. It’s really hard to live through that trauma, to share it publicly, to go through these motions, and he’s really tried his best to speak in so many spaces.”

Tarshish spoke to how non-Jewish community members can educate themselves.

“When [non-Jewish people] ask

Aimée Look, Assistant News Editor

To mark the sixth anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque massacre, Queen’s Muslim Societies Global Perspectives held a panel and discussion forum to discuss Islamophobia in Canada.

The panel opened at 6 p.m. at Mackintosh-Corry Hall on Jan 30, with sociology Professor Dr. Fauzia Husain sharing her experiences of Islamophobia at Queen’s and elsewhere.

“Make sure you don’t make Canada look bad,” Husain said her family told her before she came to the panel. “Make sure you don’t come off as angry. In other words, make sure you don’t confirm the stereotype.”

“I asked myself, will playing nice keep me safe? Will playing nice keep other Muslims safe?” Husain said.

Husain, who has only been at Queen’s for sixth months, said she experienced Islamophobia when she received her teaching evaluations. The evaluations were a typical distribution of

Students reflect on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

questions, and they want to know more, I think the first thing we say is to educate yourself. There’re so many resources out there. There are so many books, beautiful pieces written by people who have survived this.”

“There are survivors, testimonies that have been recorded, they’re worth listening to. If you show any interest in this, humble yourself by opening yourself up to more knowledge.”

She said we never want this genocide to happen to any groups of people ever again, and that means we need to share the message that genocide is possible to safeguard against it.

Arts and Science

Undergraduate Society (ASUS) Community Outreach Deputy (Volunteer Support & Appreciation) Sara Oshry, ArtSci ‘25, spoke to The Journal to talk about the significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Oshry grew up attending a Jewish school and was also very involved in her synagogue.

“Personally, I found I had no Holocaust education in elementary school. My knowledge of Holocaust education within high school was a worksheet that we did in grade 11 Social Studies,” she said.

Being from Alberta, most of Oshry’s friends had maybe a few days of covering Holocaust education, but it was very “basic and surface level.”

This day is about the six million Jews that were killed within concentration camps during the Second World War, raising awareness about a genocide that almost destroyed the Jewish population and about ways we can ensure that it never happens again, Oshry said.

“[However] I would not just consider Holocaust survivors to be just Jewish individuals who

were able to survive the camps, but I consider them people who were displaced [in] Europe and had to find ways to survive,”

Oshry added.

Especially in approximately the last 20 years, the definitions of Holocaust survival have really broadened to include a lot of Jewish people who lived in Europe, she explained.

Oshry spoke to the different places in the Kingston community that can offer support for Jewish students to talk about their grievances with this day.

“There are places like the Yellow House where Jewish students can go [for support]. In the last couple of months, when there was antisemitic graffiti found around Kingston, they held an event.”

There’s ASUS resources students can turn to as well, she added.

“On campus, there is Queen’s Hillel, which is a great

Islamophobia an ongoing issue in Canadian society

praise and suggestions—besides one comment.

The student’s comment called her “unimpressive” as a professor, and then what she considered a more serious charge, “biased.”

Seven out of the forty readings she assigned for the class in globalization dealt with Muslim topics. According to Husain, the student said she chose readings that show Canada in a negative light.

She said since she began teaching in 2010, she’s never been accused of bias for integrating content based on Islam into the curriculum.

Husain said there’s a racism and Islamophobia problem in Canada, referencing hate crimes targeting Muslims have increased by 253 per cent between 2012 and 2015. Muslims who have immigrated to Canada

are less likely to say they were discriminated against, Husain said.

“It happened to me, it happened in Canada, and it happened at Queen’s. It was painful, [but] it will not stop me from doing my job. Because playing nice will not keep me safe. I want my community safe,” Husain said. “Helping students to hold on to their rosetinted glasses is not my job.”

Diversifying Queen’s curricula can bring awareness to Islamophobia, Professor of Religion and History Adnan Husain said at the panel.

“Islamophobia, like many other forms of racial and religious bigotry and discrimination, are a global phenomenon. It requires coordination and solidarity,” Husain said in his opening remarks.

He explained how a recent study uncovered

place for students to go kind of with other like-minded Jewish students. There’s Chabad, which is off campus. There’s a lot of resources on campus for students, which is something I’m very appreciative of,” Oshry said.

As the years go on, the last of Holocaust survivors, Jewish and non-Jewish, are beginning to pass away, so it’s important to listen to the stories of survivors, she added.

“[Holocaust education] needs to be integrated at a younger age, so that people can understand the impacts,” she said.

“The most important thing we can do is document living history so that we ensure that it consistently stays within our historical demographic.”

Oshry explained not one of her family members in the Holocaust became a survivor.

“I did personally have family that died in the Holocaust. That has a huge impact on [the] kind of the way that you view the Holocaust. Knowing that my family died in the Holocaust is very impactful. It really made sure that my family […] shared values of being able to stand up to antisemitism.”

“Be proud of your Judaism.”

Islamophobia in the workplace.

Women wearing niqab or hijab—facial or head coverings— reported the largest amounts of Islamophobia at work, according to the study. This includes difficulties entering the workforce or being held back from advancement. Around 60 per cent of participants in the study did not report incidents.

“Islamophobia is not just a matter of bigoted sentiments or prejudiced ideas. It has material consequences and works its way through actual discrimination,” Husain said.

Husain and Ariel Salzmann, a history professor at Queen’s, formed the Queen’s University Muslim Inclusion Network, an employee resource group to share experiences and advocate for Muslim-specific concerns, in October 2022. It’s open to anyone

SUPPLIED BY LEORA TARSHISH

from staff, faculty, or graduate students serving as TAs and RAs.

“We hope we’ll be able to make some changes on the campus here at Queen’s,” he said.

Salzmann addressed the silence surrounding Islamophobia in Canada. She and Adnan Hussain have been speaking together on Islamophobia since arriving at Queen’s. In 2015 they developed a full-year course on Islamophobia, and it was only taught once thereafter.

“It’s not like it’s just a small minority among the mainstream of Canadians that doesn’t want to talk about Islamophobia. It’s a big chunk of the Canadian elites who don’t want to see that discussion,” Salzmann said.

She connected Islamophobia to Canada’s larger picture of racism and right-wing insurgency.

“It’s very important to have these events, both to commemorate, but to speak out, and to make sure everyone should feel comfortable in speaking out and defending their rights as citizens of this country—and citizens of the world.”

‘Be proud of your Judaism’

‘I want my community safe’

Queen’s Hillel commemorated the day with an awareness campaign.

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

The waiting game continues. Claire Dobbie, BFA ’23, and co-president of the Fine Arts DSC, said there’s a general feeling of tiredness and burnout for current BFA students who continue to advocate for the program to continue without suspension.

Consultations are being held with students to determine the next course of action for the program. Suspension of admissions is an option on the table to ensure the program meets the goals of the cyclical program review, according to the University.

A decision on suspension has not been made, and is expected around Feb. 17, as discussed at Senate on Jan. 31.

“We’re at the whim of Barbara Crow [Dean Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS)], and we can’t really do much anymore; we’re existing,” Dobbie said in an interview with The Journal.

For Dobbie, advocacy efforts have taken up a lot of time for her and her fellow co-president. She said consultations have taken up significant proportions of students’ time, and it feels their voices aren’t being heard.

The consultation, for many BFA students including Dobbie, has felt like FAS gathering evidence to support a predetermined conclusion.

“The whole consultation process has felt like looking for evidence of their vision of how the BFA should go. Which the language has been pausing admissions. They’re getting our opinions to support their own ideas of what we need,” Dobbie said.

“We’re asking for promises, resources, and written out guidelines of what we’re going to do. They’re not meeting us

BFA students feel program suspension imminent

on the matter. FAS provided a statement discussing the steps taken by the Undergraduate Admission and Recruitment office.

“A communication from Undergraduate Admission and Recruitment was sent to all applicants to the BFA. It provided information on the current process that considers the question of temporarily suspending admissions to the BFA,” Jenn Stephenson, associate dean (academic), said in the statement.

“[The communication] noted that no decision had been made yet and that a decision was expected in February. Undergraduate Admission and Recruitment also offered advising services to applicants.”

there—they’re taking this information in to seemingly support what their vision for the process is.”

In 2011, Queen’s suspended BFA program admissions citing concerns around the budget and retiring staff. This time, Dobbie said students along with faculty members are asking for alternatives to suspension, such as re-departmentalizing the Fine Arts under the Department of Art History.

Both Fine Arts DSC co-presidents signed a letter in conjunction with faculty in the Department of Art History urging Crow to not suspend the program and re-departmentalize it under the Department of Art History.

“I think the goal for everybody is for us to be re-departmentalized [...] We haven’t heard anything back from [Crow]. I don’t know where they see [the letter] as part of the process. Where we’re going,

feels as though it’s at the whim of [FAS],” Dobbie said.

Norman Vorano, head of the Department of Art History, agreed about the request to re-departmentalize and its backing from faculty and students.

“This joint letter was supported by an overwhelming majority of BFA/AHAC faculty, then endorsed by the DSC and GVCA, and expresses clearly where our respective units are heading,” Vorano told The Journal.

“I have subsequently sent the Dean a comprehensive re-departmentalization proposal, written with the BFA Chair after consultation with BFA faculty, that would allow us to avoid a program suspension.”

Suspending admissions to the BFA program sends a poor message about Queen’s support of the visual arts and arts-driven diversity and equity initiatives, according to Vorano. He said

a suspension would mean the greatest university art collection in Canada would have no fine arts students to study it.

“This year, the Koener Artist-in-Residence, a program organized by the BFA faculty and students, was the Sri Lankan-Canadian artist Ranji Perera. Before that, it was the Mi’kmaq artist Ursula Johnson,” Vorano said. “We are currently working with our BFA peers to bring Rosana Paulino, an important Afro-Brazilian artist, to Queen’s as a visiting artist.”

Dobbie said in-progress applications for the BFA and BFA/Con-ed program— numbering around 250 applications—are facing the possibility of a potential suspension. She said the Undergraduate Admission Office has been in contact.

The Journal reached out to the University for an interview with the FAS administration

A key issue in the process, according to Dobbie, has been the feeling of a lack of a “democratic process” and a lack of transparency.

“The core of why we’re all so distraught is because we don’t have access to the information of what’s going on,” she said.

Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) President Yara Hussein sent a statement on behalf of the Society to The Journal It outlined ASUS’s advocacy efforts to ensure transparency from the Dean’s office to students and faculty in the BFA.

“The fine arts play an integral role in [FAS], in the Queen’s Community, and more broadly to our greater society. We are committed to ensuring that the fine arts remain at Queen’s as an academically valued, justly funded, and structurally sought creative space that allows for the prosperity of students and faculty,” Hussein said. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

The air was electric in Clark Hall Pub on Feb. 1 as former, current, and incoming Engineering Society (EngSoc) executive members and fellow students gathered to watch the in-person announcement of EngSoc elections winners for the first time since 2019.

Three positions were vying for a vote of confidence and two ran contested. The president, vicepresident (student affairs) (VPSA), and vice-president (finance and administration) (VPFA) ran for a vote of confidence.

President-elect Aidan Shimizu, Sci ’23, earned the vote of confidence, while Sophia Thurston, Sci ’25 earned the vote of confidence for VPSA, and Monique Wun, Sci ’25, for the new VPFA role.

“I’m really excited for the year,” Shimizu said in an interview with The Journal.

Wun and Thurston both thanked voters, with Wun adding that she was looking forward to the year ahead.

Jacob Badali, Sci ’25, was the victor in the contested election between him and David Atchison, Sci ’25, for vice-president (operations) (VPOPS). The contested election between Lucas Balog, Sci ’26, and Bruce Cao,

Engineering Society results out Badali and Balog victorious in elections

Sci ’26, for Junior Senator saw Balog winning.

“I’d like to thank David for running a healthy competition and I’m optimistic for the year to come,” Badali said in an interview with The Journal.

All candidates were ecstatic to be elected, alongside Atichison and Cao who

responded after losing their races.

“I think either way this election went, it was going to be a good outcome,” Atchison said in an interview with The Journal.

“It was a great experience for me,” Cao said about participating in the election.

Both Atchison and Cao are looking to search for

other positions within EngSoc to stay involved.

The current EngSoc executive will be starting a transition period with the new round of executives, current President Danielle Rivard, VPOPS Evan Wray, and VPSA Ali Bekheet expressed excitement for passing on the executive roles.

The current executive said they’re excited to see the new VPFA role help manage the administrative tasks and strengthen EngSoc in the future.

“I think we’re handing it off to a beautiful group of four student leaders,” Wray said to The Journal.

Fine arts studios located in Ontario Hall.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

Bella Rose

Staff Writer

Team ATP elected next ASUS executive

Although the team was running uncontested, receiving the vote of confidence was still an unreal moment, Harrison said in an interview with The Journal.

Sofia Tosello Staff Writer

Amaiya Walters, Preston Harrison, and Therese De Rivera were announced as the new Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) executive team in Jan. 31.

Team ATP had 81.3 per cent votes in favour and 18.7 per cent voters against in a vote of confidence. Walters was elected president, Harrison was elected vice-president (society affairs), and De Rivera was elected vice-president (operations) for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.

“I’m so thrilled by the outcome of our election,” De Rivera wrote in a statement to The Journal. “ATP will continue to make improvements that are in [the] best interest of Queen’s students in any way we can.”

“With the strong foundation that Yara, Emma and Aloka [current ASUS executive] have set for us, I strongly believe we can only make significant, positive changes from here.”

Health and safety committee is a priority for candidate

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

The undergraduate trustee position is up for grabs this year, as Jaya Sharma, HealthSci ’24, and current trustee’s term comes to an end. The position will be elected along with the AMS executive on Feb. 6 and 7.

Reem Al-Rawi, HealthSci ’24, is the sole candidate vying for the position in this year’s election. She is running on a platform of clarification and two-way communication.

The undergraduate trustee is one of the few students who sit on the Board of Trustees, alongside the Rector and the Graduate

Aimée Look

Assistant News Editor

As Senate opened on Jan. 31, AMS president Eric Sikich asked questions via Zoom regarding the sessional dates surrounding Orientation Week and the University’s “competing priorities.”

“There is a general consensus of a desire to change the format that has been consistent over the previous years as the weekend model,” Sikich said.

He acknowledged it was “difficult” to change dates and asked how the University can

Walters told The Journal that, upon receiving the results, all the team’s efforts were worthwhile, and all their “plans and hopes” for the Society are “finally going to come to life.”

Getting different perspectives on the major problems facing the Arts and Science community was one of the challenges ATP had to overcome during the election process, Walters said. Going forward, the team plans to continue to have an “open door policy” with students.

The team is excited to tackle prevalent problems facing the ASUS community. Becoming more connected with first years, strengthening ASUS’s relationship with sibling societies, and better supporting students’ financial needs are some of the issues team ATP plans to tackle.

“As mentioned throughout our campaigning process, we will continue to set goals that tackle issues regarding equity, diversity and inclusion in the Queen’s community,” De Rivera said.

Trustee. Members of the Board of Trustees have a fiduciary duty towards the University.

“In the role, I’m really acting as a voice for students. For me, myself, I might have my own opinions, but that’s not really as important as what everyone else’s opinions are,” Al-Rawi said in an interview with The Journal.

Working with international students and students supporting AMS initiatives are a big part of Al-Rawi’s platform. She currently works in the AMS Marketing Office as a graphic design staff member.

According to her, her work experience from the AMS has inspired her to push for increased student government engagement and improve communication from student leaders to the Board of Trustees.

Collaboration with student leaders

“I really wanted to change and

support students if the dates of Orientation Week can’t be changed.

Ann Tierney, vice-provost and dean of student affairs, noted Orientation and residence move-in dates are not sessional dates and are set separately.

“I understand the connection you’re making [...] with the Senate orientation review committee, we have an opportunity there, as well with the Deans and Designates group,” Tierney said.

“There are a lot of complicating factors around residents’ preparedness for move-in. I think that [it’s] a really good idea to have these kinds of conversations.”

Al-Rawi runs for undergraduate trustee uncontested

increase the collaboration and lines of communication with these student leaders,” Al-Rawi said. “I know this will help allocate resources and create better action plans.”

Focus groups are an effective way of communicating with student leaders, Al-Rawi said. She wishes to use these groups as a pulse to inform her decision-making process and skills. Attending AMS Assemblies will be an important priority for Al-Rawi, as she can understand the concerns of student leaders.

While the role is estimated to be five hours per week, according to Al-Rawi, she emphasises the role is what someone makes out of it.

Anonymous online forums and advertising her contact information are essential to how Al-Rawi intends on communicating with all undergraduate constituent students.

Communication with undergraduate students and Board structure

A challenge in the role of undergraduate trustee Al-Rawi identified is the fact many aspects of the job are confidential, and information can’t readily be released to students.

She wishes to act as a liaison point for students, referring them to resources in the University system, if possible. Clarifying the structure of the position and the potential is important to Al-Rawi, as she believe it allows students to engage with the office to its fullest potential.

When asked about the

Sessional dates

Principal Patrick Deane spoke to the “sacred” and “universal” purpose of reading week—which is to ensure students have a rest period where they can direct take care of their mental health, catch up on work, and be free of assignments, he said.

Deane recommended an amendment to the reading week break, as some programs have different break times in the academic calendar than the “typical” Arts and Science dates.

“We want to allow for that flexibility for other programs with

specifics of the Board of Trustees structure and committee system, Al-Rawi said she would wait for student feedback.

“I haven’t quite exactly decided which committee—the specific ones—that I want to sit on yet, because I know there’s so many. I think I really am able to make that decision, once I kind of get more feedback from students,” Al-Rawi said.

The Board of Trustees has six standing committees, one of which the undergraduate trustee traditionally sits on: the Audit and Risk Committee. The Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee, however, has the power to review committee placements each year.

In a follow-up statement to The Journal sent after the initial interview, Al-Rawi clarified she would evaluate the effectiveness of the University-wide risk management framework, while ensuring the interests of undergraduate students are considered.

Policy interests

With respect to specific policies under the purview of the Board of Trustees, Al-Rawi couldn’t mention specific policies of interest in the interview. She brought up a review of the Non-Academic Misconduct (NAM) system, saying she wishes for greater student oversight and to investigative power over category two cases.

“Peer conflict resolution is a valuable tool which allows students to work together to reach a mutually agreed upon solution. This method can be

more effective than traditional methods as students feel more comfortable discussing issues with their peers,” Al-Rawi said in a clarifying statement.

Background on the NAM system wasn’t elaborated on in the interview. In a clarifying statement after the interview, Al-Rawi expressed interest in working on the Health and Safety policy.

“One of the specific policies that the Board of Trustees oversees is the Health and Safety Policy which strives to prevent illness and injury at Queen’s University,” Al-Rawi said.

Her interest in this policy stems from her experience serving on a former workplace’s health and safety committee.

When discussing the triennial review of the Sexual Violence policy—which Al-Rawi said she would have to research more—she emphasized sensitive language for survivors and working with the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response (SVPR) office.

Maya Morcos, HealthSci ’24, and Tiffany Li Wu, ArtSci ’23, both said they have the utmost faith in Al-Rawi if elected as the undergraduate trustee.

In an interview with The Journal, Wu brought up Al-Rawi’s compassion, and the specific example of consulting her on matters related to international students.

Both Morcos and Wu are confident student interests will be put first.

journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

Senate Report

different session dates to still allow for periods of resting and catching up,” Deane said.

The committee aims to find a solution aligned with the needs of “western academic standards” for next September, Deane said.

Senate passed a motion for classes to be canceled on Oct. 2, 2023, in accordance with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Faculty modifications

Senate approved the introduction of three combined Master’s programs with the Bachelor of Health Sciences.

The three programs include a Bachelor of Health Sciences with a Master of Science in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences and a Bachelor of Health Sciences with Master of Science in Pathology.

Continued online queensjournal.ca/news

Uncontested team earns 81.3 per cent of vote

Reem Al-Rawi looks to work for students at the Board.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Battle of the bands: Unpacking Kingston-born bands

“This summer, I feel like we’re almost just starting out as a band. Now that we have the members that we have, it almost feels like this is our beginning,” said when glancing back at his musical journey of the past four years.

During the unplanned time off in the summer of 2020 right after the pandemic hit, the band wasn’t actively playing at big venues or meeting up to talk about music. Instead, Elliot spent his pandemic days writing songs in snowy Kingston, thinking of new sounds to build a fresh start.

2019 was a momentous year for The Codas, releasing their first EP, “Chasing Sun” featuring songs “Anomaly,” “The Idea of You,” “Andromeda,” and “A Refrain About Love.”

city for beginners—where lots of musicians get their start.

Imagine, it’s the early 2000s, exposed hips in low-rise jeans are dancing to Beverly Hills by Weezer, and Demorest is transported to her first live band.

Suzy Leinster

Features Editor

There’s a classic pub on Princess St., around the corner from the late-night 7-Eleven. You might know it: The Mansion.

It’s the kind of place you find bright, young musicians looking to book their first big show to a crowd of over a hundred people.

It’s also a place where Kingston-born bands like The Codas, The Empties, Kasador, and Kings of Queens performed, while singing songs about youth and fools in the sweat-induced scene of Indie-rock, blues rock, punk, funk, jazz, and fusion rock to animated schooner-loving audiences.

Bands are born in Kingston and leave it a child, to one day make it big in the world. However, no matter how many sleepless nights and frenzied shows occur, every band has a hometown somewhere.

“Music is a huge piece of the city’s identity and there’s a little hometown pride Kingston has in that,” Moira Demorest, ArtSci ’05, music commissioner with Tourism Kingston, said in an interview with The Journal, looking back at the Golden Age of Kingston music.

When she entered the music scene in her first year of Queen’s in 2005, punk and metal pulsed through clunky speakers. She reminisced about the legacy of The Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer, and The Headstones, who dominated the 90s music scene.

“Some of them are still creating music, they’re still doing amazing things and still touring.”

Her enthusiasm for local bands and entertainment continues today. She considers Kingston a

“I look fondly on moments when I was starting a band and being part of a scene. All these things were happening, and it was a really exciting time.”

Reflecting on the past is a key part of Kingston music culture.

“I think every generation and every genre and probably every venue in Kingston has its own golden time. The best is yet to come and we as a city are beginning to talk about music and its importance within a cultural and social context.”

Demorest believed the new

crop of singers and songwriters are doing “really cool things,” specifically referencing to Kasador and The Empties.

“I think they’re just on the cusp of breaking out.”

The Codas

Drinking foamy cappuccinos with the smell of ground coffee beans lingering in the air of Balzac’s, The Codas explained the creative experience of starting a band just before COVID-19. The band initially formed in 2019, but the pandemic stalled their progress.

Braden Elliot, lead vocalist and guitarist; Angus Fay, drummer; and Taylor Adams, bass; talked of lyrics as sculptures, punk rock Ottawa clubs, and the capacity to transform themselves as a band and as artists.

However, 2022 was in some ways more meaningful than their debut, Elliot said. It brought new beginnings for the band to reject their old music and gave them time to create a new focus on a diverse set of genres.

After deleting old songs from Spotify and Apple Music, and shedding old bandmates, The Codas experimented with different chords, keys, and tones to find their new home.

While dabbling in rock and soul, R&B, and raw cinematic pieces, they came across a rhythm founded in rock, where putting sounds together became a cohesive piece. Despite removing previous songs that no longer represented their band, Elliot still couldn’t decide his favourite song.

“I feel like it’s tough to choose from. You treat them as you babies, so favorites, I don’t know.”

Similar to babies, their songs

have individual personalities, shining and performing their best in different environments under the bright lights on stage. Elliot said, before he gets on stage, he has an idea of where the performance will go, but the second he has the guitar in his hands and the lights blaring down, the stage becomes its own show.

“It almost doesn’t feel like you’re performing, but you’re just playing. Just making music.”

Elliot quoted the “legendary producer Rick Rubin” from an interview where Rubin said, “don’t make art with anyone else in mind.” These words influenced his philosophy as a musician.

Following these words while he strums his guitar, Elliot makes the effort to never compromise his integrity. Elliot knows how to follow his own advice and continues to pursue his music with authenticity.

Taylor Adams, their newest member, entered the band as an avid fan, watching from the sidelines of their shows. Now, he’s their newest bass player. He joined The Codas at the beginning of the summer and Eliot described this instant chemistry between him and Adams.

“It was kind of one of those situations where it’s like right in front of your face. We just need a bass player so bad, and Taylor is kind of there jumping up and down waving his hands.”

Despite making lighthearted jokes about a band resembling a marriage—and 50 per cent of marriages ending in divorce —there was something natural about working together that went beyond musical talent.

How The Codas, The Empties, Kasador, and Kings of Queen’s conquered Kingston

Kingston bands are back to playing original songs for live crowds.

Lots of bands were born in Kingston.

SUPPLIED BY THE CODAS

Adams performed live for the first time with the band at a Queen’s classic—Clark Hall Pub.

After two years of marking sheets of paper with black inked lyrics in silent rooms, Elliot knew, “it was go time now.”

Kingston is a scene where The Codas are ready to share their music with people and engage with their audience in live performance again.

The Empties

The Empties are ready to move to a world of subways and streetcars, while performing live at Toronto music festivals.

While sipping boiling chai tea and sugary orange juice, the band told The Journal about their stage presence in front of a new crowd while slowly showing original singles.

Zeke Wilson, lead vocals; Ethan Flanagan, lead guitar and vocals; Ben Hagedoorn, rhythm guitar and vocals; Nic Pagé, bass guitar, Liam Moore, keys; and Noah Cummings, drums went from amateur band to professional players.

Anxiety-induced performances and perfectionist tendencies are less of a concern after countless shows and the performance becomes something of a dynamic spectacle, Flanagan eagerly said.

Dynamics mean anything different to engage the crowd and “curate” new shows for the audience to watch.

“Let’s force the crowd into an acoustic period after a rock song, and maybe it’ll be slightly uncomfortable. And, maybe that’s not what people’s bodies want to do in that moment. But it’s sort of captivating,” Flanagan said.

Repetition is a thing of the past and alongside music composition, the band enjoys creating an individual experience for each audience. Artists in their craft they compose songs like “Fool’s Gold” and “Quicksand” to express alike ideas in different ways.

Despite “Leave Me Be” and “Fool’s Gold” convincing you “to make a fool out of dreams,” they both symbolize a different kind of deception.

“‘Fool’s Gold’ is saying, checking in and lying to yourself can come back to bite you, but the fool in ‘Leave Me Be’ is the idea of going for something ridiculous and making dreams of something everyone says is silly,” Wilson said.

Of their three released singles, Moore praised “Quicksand” as his favourite single because it’s a great opener and a “really neat groove.”

“I also get to rent a solo halfway through, which is great.”

After Noah Cummings, drummer of the band, let his Kingston mates crash on his cozy couch in Oakville, the boys got ready to perform for the masses.

The band agreed their best performance was at Cork Town Pub in Hamilton. With half the band being Queen’s or McMaster students, half the band embraced the endless energy of the familiarly unfamiliar crowd.

While belting unreleased original singles under the hazy lights of an old student pub, they felt an outpouring of positivity from the fans.

“There’s a great young art scene here, and it’s grown for sure but at the same time it’s very comfortable for us. You that feeling of uncomfortableness, I crave it for our band, and we are very comfortable here,” Flanagan said in response to future plans for the band.

Though Kingston will always be a place of home for The Empties they’re ready to move out and find their passion in a new unknown city.

If you want to see the band perform for a live audience drive down to Toronto on June 5 to 10 for the Canadian Music Week Festival.

Kasador

From practicing in a small room on Division St. with the Queen’s

Music Club, to performing in lively Toronto music halls, to finally coming back to their home base in Kingston, Kasador explained their evolution as a band and the significance of their new single, “Youth.”

Cameron Wyatt, ArtSci ’15, vocalist and guitar; Boris Baker, Kin ’16 and MSc ’18, bass; and Stephen Adubofuor, drums; explained the turbulent years of a rotating rhythm where everything changes from song to song.

“We always felt the need to rebrand, and I think the type of music now is vastly different but lives in a slightly different sub-genre,” Baker said in an interview with The Journal.

During this period of experimentation and graduation Wyatt and Baker set off by themselves in different directions before coming back to Kingston.

Wyatt, a former Queen’s student, moved back to his hometown of Ottawa after graduation, while Baker wrapped up his Master at Queen’s and moved to Toronto for a brief period. Eventually, the two of them ended up in Toronto.

Oversaturated with music, the city was not as approachable to them in the way Kingston was.

“It’s more affordable and easier to get around, it feels comfortable to be here […] It’s very vibrant because there’s so many schools, there’s injections of youth and new life that you don’t always get at more insular cities,” Baker said.

Once their short time in Toronto came to an end, they returned to their Kingston roots to become a band again.

After years of building both a student and professional network, they created a community where they can ask someone like Brett Emmons of The Glorious Sons—also Kingston-born—to see if he wants to do a writing session.

They bump into people who can open doors to the type of industry and music they’re looking to make their mark in.

Similar to The Codas, Kasador

expressed the difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone feels like they lost a few years of their life. And so, I think it’s like the loss of time or even youthfulness you may have had before felt like it was taken away from you and you were only able to experience that at a certain point in your life.”

Wyatt reflected on the melancholy of passing youth isolated in empty rooms and said this experience is different for everyone.

He connected the themes of youth slipping through your fingers with wasting time in haughty cities—which inspired the band’s new single “Youth,” now streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

“There are a lot of people that love a city, but the city won’t ever love you back and instead of serving a city, Kingston definitely serves bands,” Wyatt said as a last piece of advice.

Kings of Queens

Energetic, edgy, and new to the Kingston music scene, student band Kings of Queens expressed their desire to bring an effervescent individuality to the Kingston Alternative Rock scene and hopefully release their own EP.

Cramped in a Stauffer study room meant for four, Lachlan Pope, ArtSci ’23 and lead guitar; Coleman Campbell, ArtSci ’23, and keys; Sean Pollen, Sci ’23, and drummer; Nico Paré, Sci ’25, bass and vocalist; and Stephen Swim, ArtSci ’23, lead vocalist and guitar talked about serendipitous barbeques and beer- filled guitars.

The band explained how they came together to form Kings of Queens.

Swim said their music has a fluidity that’s both cohesive as a unit, but without a defined form. Their interests blend into an array of genres all originating from the five-piece band’s musical backgrounds.

Campbell’s gospel music merges into Swims Country roads, which gives way to Paré’s ’60s invasion rock, then settles into Pollen’s folk rock to end in Lachlan’s metal shred.

Meeting up in makeshift writing sessions, they write original lyrics and melodies from their personal experiences and observations.

Cold feet and almost moments show the consequences of complacency in band’s original song “Crystal Ball.” Swim acted as the central lyricist to the song and said the speaker “should have trusted the crystal ball.”

“They don’t know what’s happening and they don’t do anything about it, so the main verse goes ‘show me why you got cold feet,’” he said.

With their loyal fans mainly coming from the Queen’s student house party population, Swim wants them to come out and listen to music from bands like The Stokes and The Tragically Hip in a high-energy setting.

“We want people to feel like it’s a party, and just have fun,” Swim said.

Kings of Queens said they learned many lessons playing as a band in Kingston and feel Queen’s is the thing that brought them together. Through all these experiences they learned to absorb the advice from others in order to thrive in such a vast industry.

While studying the piano at a program in Boston at Berklee, soft-spoken and classically trained Campbell learned to shatter his knowledge systems to enter the creative industry.

“He basically convinced me to drop everything I knew about music theory and relearn music to get rid of the structure because I learned classical music theory, which is really structured with not much room for creativity,” Campbell said of one of his teachers.

Pope learned to listen to his audience and connect with what they want to hear, while Swim learned to play music honestly because, he said, that’s where the artistry comes out.

Kings of Queens, the youngest of all the bands The Journal interviewed, reflects the heady whirlwind of starting a new band in the Kingston music community.

Prone to performing sweat- drenched and with perfect pitch bars, Kings of Queens will be seen again on Feb. 9 at the Mansion.

Kings of Queens basking in the heady Mansion.

SUPPLIED BY KINGS OF QUEENS

Kingston is a city for bands. SUPPLIED BY KASADOR

Investing in faculty is money well spent

in addressing QUFA’s concerns highlights this institution’s hypocrisy. Queen’s likes its prestige, but doesn’t want to invest in maintaining it.

When tenured professors are disproportionately white while most BIPOC instructors are on temporary contracts without the same job security and benefits, Queen’s is exploiting BIPOC labour. Contracts end, people move on, and that’s how we end up with the wrong instructors for certain courses.

A good learning environment isn’t all in the PR. Queen’s needs BIPOC faculty more than they need us. It’s time to act like we value their lived experience instead of just saying so.

Queen’s should stop shortchanging faculty or risk further damaging its reputation.

After months of negotiations with the University, the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA) is serious about striking at the end of the month if talks don’t yield results by then.

The Association feels Queen’s has taken a hostile approach to negotiations, with reasonable requests rejected outright.

For example, in response to a QUFA-proposed “working group” focused on retaining BIPOC faculty, the University’s Chief Negotiator denied Queen’s has retention issues and called the suggestion that Kingston’s lack of diversity is a deterrent offensive.

The University’s attitude is concerning. We can’t expect Queen’s to become a more inclusive community if we refuse to acknowledge our shortcomings. The University shouldn’t hesitate to admit attracting and retaining BIPOC faculty is a unique challenge in a predominantly white city with deep colonial roots.

Queen’s claims it wants to attract a diverse group of students and faculty, but won’t address how Kingston can be a hostile environment for BIPOC individuals. Touting diversity without investing in it isn’t working—it’s okay to admit that and change direction.

It’s not personal. Let’s not meet constructive criticism with hostility.

Students should want to attend an institution that offers competitive compensation and benefits to attract—and retain—the best instructors.

Job security and good benefits aren’t huge asks, especially considering the time and money faculty members invest into research and honing their expertise. The value they bring to our university community is not properly recognized by the Queen’s administration.

When a program has a core of tenured profs, they act as pillars to support the program and foster academic engagement.

Unfortunately, the University’s attitude

The University frequently circulates surveys asking how to improve campus inclusivity, then shuts down proposals like QUFA’s “working group” when they don’t like the answer.

It’s easy for QUFA issues to stay off the average student’s radar, and even if students know about the negotiation challenges between the Faculty Association and the University, few are aware of the implications or what they can do about it.

The University should be more transparent on this issue—and others—that could affect students. Likewise, students should seek out information available to them, and ask for answers when important information such as this is withheld.

If a QUFA strike is what it takes to see action on BIPOC faculty retention and other important issues the University has chronically neglected, students should stand behind it.

Journal Editorial Board

Sports can change campus for the better

Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

Welcome to the era of Queen’s OUA and U SPORTS dominance.

This year, the Gaels have captured four provincial first place titles—Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Softball, Men’s Baseball, and Women’s Rugby—and it’s only February. The football team just competed at the Yates Cup for the second year in a row. The men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams are all currently ranked in the U SPORTS Top Ten.

But Queen’s students wouldn’t even know—Gaels have been dominating in empty stadiums.

Queen’s is known for its academics, its rivalry with Western, and its drinking culture. It’s not known as a campus anchored in athletics, but that should change.

What if varsity teams were a tool for cultural change on campus? What if attending sports games and cheering on the Gaels as they brought home these titles was as celebrated as getting black-out drunk at Stages?

Could Queen’s shift from a university plagued with aggressive, unfulfilling drinking and partying habits to a university full of vibrant and involved university sports fans?

Sports play a pivotal role in society. They unite communities, foster friendly competition, keep people active, and are a ton of fun. When students go to university, however, they often lose access to these important elements of sport because they stop playing them.

Not everyone can be a varsity athlete,

but supporting varsity athletics is a way for everyone to access the benefits of sports while at university. Sitting at the ARC, winning a free t-shirt, and eating two-dollar popcorn while watching Cole Syllas dunk is an incredible alternative to standing in line for dollar beers when it’s 30 degrees below freezing.

Supporting the Gaels is free and won’t induce a Sunday hangover. Watching and caring about Queen’s sports also has a positive impact on athletes. In every post-game interview with The Journal this year, the Gaels athletes have commented on how fans contribute to the environment and their chances of winning.

This past weekend, Women’s Basketball played the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa and suffered their first loss of the season. During that devastating game, the announcer talked about how the energy in the Ravens’ home

gym acted as a sixth player on the court and contributed to the win.

It’s time we brought a sixth player to the Queen’s basketball court. For this to happen, students need to attend games, talk about players, and track the Gaels’ success.

Such a campus culture shift seems daunting, but the athletes are already doing their part. Right now, it’s easy to get excited about Queen’s teams because they’re dominating in an impressive and unprecedented way. Now’s the perfect time for fans to show up and support in an impressive and unprecedented way, too.

The Gaels are playing volleyball and basketball this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the ARC. Go check them out.

Sarah is a fourth-year English student and The Journal’s Senior Sports Editor.

Editor Herbert Wang

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Business Staff

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ILLUSTRATION BY KATHARINE SUNG

PHOTO BY MAIA MCCANN

Conferences are the key to re-sparking a love for clubs

OPINIONS Your Perspective Talking Heads...

You have 11 days to find a valentine or the world ends. What do you do?

Kate believes there's a generation of students who’ve lost their connection to clubs.

Kate Burke Pellizzari Contributor

Clubs are in their era of revitalization.

Throughout the past several months, clubs across campus have been working tirelessly to reignite student engagement. Despite most clubs resuming in-person activities during the fall of 2022, many are unfortunately not seeing the return of pre-pandemic levels of participation.

For example, Queen’s Model Parliament (QMP) is a club where students interested in politics can work with a group to develop satirical or serious bills which they debate in the House of Commons. In January 2023, QMP hosted its first in-person conference in Ottawa since before COVID-19.

In a typical year pre-COVID-19, hundreds of people attended the QMP conference. It was one of the most highly anticipated conferences among the student body. When COVID-19 hit and everything moved online, like many other clubs, QMP saw a sharp decrease in its members. During the 2020-21 school year, club enrolment was around 45 people. Now that the club is operating in-person once again, these numbers have doubled.

themselves in new experiences and make memories that will last a lifetime. Similarly, when students are involved in a club that hosts or attends conferences outside of Kingston, members are given the unique opportunity to explore a new place with their peers.

Attending a conference with your peers helps build a sense of social cohesion. In a classroom setting, it can be hard to feel connected to a community, especially in first year when you have lectures with hundreds of people.

"I'd see if my friends have any desperate friends who would date anyone."

It's evident clubs are still working to recover from the adverse effects COVID-19 had on student engagement. The current generation of students seems to have forgotten the value of clubs or perhaps never experienced it first-hand. There's something genuinely special about being involved in a club or extracurricular, and big in-person events are the key to re-establishing their value with students.

Not only does engaging in these activities give you a much-needed break from school and connect you with like-minded individuals, but they also provide opportunities that are formative for your future.

QMP gives members the opportunity to improve their public-speaking skills in a supportive and engaging environment. The fact the club revolves almost entirely around members being silly makes it perfect for people looking for a light-hearted and low-commitment activity.

"Be it in Ottawa with QMP or elsewhere, conferences are often the highlight of students’ undergraduate experience.

Furthermore, attending conferences allows individuals the opportunity to network with people they may not have otherwise ever met. Especially as an upper-year student, establishing network connections can be vital for your future job search.

Be it in Ottawa with QMP or elsewhere, conferences are often the highlight of students’ undergraduate experience. To revitalize club engagements, new and existing students need to see more conferences or events and work to make them happen.

Clubs must continue to make themselves known through events like conferences to remind students there is at least one club out there that suits their interest.

Having open communication with upper-year students or executive members in the club can give disconnected students the courage to try it for themselves—sometimes hearing someone else’s excitement and seeing their positive experience at a conference is all you need.

University is all about trying new things and meeting new people, which is why we must collectively continue to re-foster student engagement with clubs.

With the steady rate in which people are getting involved this year, and with some encouragement, clubs will once again see the high levels of involvement that they used to in the next few years. We aren’t there yet, though.

Clubs must continue to plan memorable conferences, utilize social media marketing, and promote recruitment at in-person events like Queen’s in the Park or the Clubs Fair.

When you look back on your university experience, you won’t remember the everyday stresses of being a student like running from class to class or staying up late to finish a reading. You’ll remember your extracurriculars and friends you made through them.

"Oh god, Tinder or Bumble, one of those two. That's so bleak."

Having clubs like QMP that host conferences or other in-person events gives students the chance to immerse

It can be intimidating to venture outside your comfort zone, but the joy you can receive from joining a club makes it well worth it.

Revitalizing this passion for clubs is worth fighting for.

Kate is a fourth-year Political Studies and Psychology student.

"If we didn't both have boyfriends, we'd go out with each other."

"I have a potential partner, but she goes to Western, and I would have to drive four and a half hours."

"Tinder. Swipe right on everyone."

journal_letters@ams.queensu.ca

Kris Sanchez, HealthSci '24

Emily Poltorac, ArtSci '24

Rebecca Reed, Sci '25 Severn Keen, ArtSci '25

Danny Bae, HealthSci '24

Eric Jin, CompSci '24

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

"There is something genuinely special about being involved in a club or extracurricular, and big in-person events are the key to re-establishing their value with students.

"In a classroom setting, it can be hard to feel connected to a community, especially in first year when you have lectures with hundreds of people.

Clubs are in their revitalization era

ARTS

Rida Chaudhry Senior Arts Editor

Food is our sustenance. We consume to nourish ourselves, but the enjoyment we derive from the right flavour profiles hitting our taste buds keeps us coming back for certain cuisines. Like the albums we can’t stop listening to or the movies that hold a special place in our hearts, food is an art for our senses.

For this week’s column of deciphering the excitement people draw from various artistic mediums, The Journal caught up with Tango Nuevo Chef Eric Lavryssen and Fadel Mugizil, the owner of Ali Baba Kabab. These two men specialize in vastly different cuisines and atmospheres yet find parallels in their love for delicious food.

“I started my culinary journey rather young; my dad worked long hours and my mom wasn’t very connected to food which left me to often cook for myself and them,” Lavryssen said.

Lavryssen went to university to study kinesiology and psychology, but realized post-grad he had more creative aspirations for his career, leading him to getting a job at the keg ten years ago.

“My list of role models is ever evolving and extensive at times,” Lavryssen told The Journal, though he narrowed it down to a few he feels most inspired by today.

Richmond Station’s owner Carl Heinrich, and Chef Hayden Johnson come to mind from his time living and working in Toronto. Zach Keeshig, an Ojibwe

What’s your medium?

Sharing food is a form of both love and art

out and receiving feedback a priority for Mugizil.

“I’m very cautious that not everything I like is something my customers may like so I make myself present and available to listen to customers and hear their feedback so we can always improve.”

The front counter of Ali Baba’s Kabab is lined with pastries—baklavas of different shapes, sizes, and colours sure to entice you as soon as you walk in. Mugizil explained the process they went through before finding the perfect supplier for this renowned delicacy.

“These come from Turkey and then we bake them here. We tried them from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, but we found Turkish baklava’s richness in pistachio to be the most pleasing to look at and eat.”

chef who has opened a pop-up restaurant in Owen Sound, is another person who excites Lavryssen in the culinary world. Keeshig is leading the way with his style of progressive aboriginal cuisine.

“The possibilities to create are endless when it comes to cooking, and the possibility to learn is everpresent,” Lavryssen said.

“Food builds community. Whether you see it as a form of sustenance as I did growing up or are a self-proclaimed foodie who enjoys experimenting with their palettes, food acts as a bridge between people.”

Though Lavryssen is not vegetarian, he’s found his most recent niche through

experimenting with the flavour profiles of fruits and vegetables.

“I think vegetables should be treated with as much respect, if not more than other products in the kitchen. Protein is often the star of the show, however I do think a more plant-based future is on the horizon.”

Of his own creations, Lavryssen’s current favourite is a braised venison cooked in an Earth oven he helped dig last winter. His favourite eating experience has been khai soi he had while in Thailand.

For Mugizil, the path looked quite different. In 2001, he immigrated from Saudi Arabia to Canada and began cooking to self-nourish.

“I started learning about food—picking recipes and burning them half the time—and soon enough it just became a passion.”

Seven years down the line and a whole lot of culinary experience later, Mugizil’s older brother encouraged him to take his skill to the next level.

“It was my brother who suggested that food is part of our art and it’s something we could perfect,” he told The Journal. “Since we’ve opened, I live by the rule: if I wouldn’t feed [a dish] to my family, I’m never going to feed it to anybody else.”

Opening a Middle Eastern restaurant in Kingston, where diversity levels have notoriously been low, made testing his dishes

The community built by a reputable source of great food creates loyalties across people and friendships that cannot be replaced. For Mugizil, seeing people come back to his restaurant time and time is what drives him as a cook and a businessman.

When asked what his favourite dish he serves is, Mugizil couldn’t pick just one.

“I’ve eaten almost every item I have in the restaurant—to check quality but also when I’m hungry—[so] I see every dish that leaves the restaurant as a piece of art and something I love.”

To eat the food of others is an experience of connection and community, though it may not seem so at first glance. Next time you are set to eat out with a loved one, consider trying the delicacies of Tango Nuevo or the delicious comfort food of Ali Baba’s Kabab.

It’s time to diversify your weekend music

Dante Caloia

Contributor

My first-time hearing ABBA was at my grandmother’s house, mixed into her oldie’s playlist with artists like Madonna, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Michael Jackson. Dancing along with it and loving their music was easy: the soft voices, the synth-y beats, the catchy choruses.

Fast forward to today, and the Swedish band has lost its appeal. As a matter of fact, for the sake of Queen’s, it would have been better if their band had never existed at all.

Now, this is admittedly a bit of an exaggeration, but not far off from the truth. Club and partygoers on campus know most set lists always have ABBA’s two most popular hits on standby because students will sing along as if it’s the best thing to ever hit their ears.

If that isn’t a form of Stockholm Syndrome, nothing is. ABBA once a year? What a throwback! So catchy! ABBA once a month? Great song, although it’s getting a bit repetitive. ABBA once a week? Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! some earplugs.

ABBA every Thursday at Stages, Every Friday at Ale, and every Tuesday and Saturday at Trin is contemporary musical torture. Knowing the existence of tracks with more merit leaves music lovers to, opposite to the Pavlovian dog, cringe instead of salivate.

The larger underlying problem here is how many Queen’s students are extremely close-minded when it comes to clubbing

music. Many see a night out on the town as an opportunity to go to the same bar, listen to the same music as last weekend, and drink the same watered-down vodka crans simply because it’s the status quo.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand how so many people are comfortable residing in this bubble instead of enjoying the full capacity of what clubbing music can encompass. Having open-minded individuals at sets who will dance to anything makes the night of a DJ so much better.

Vintage house, afrobeat, UK rap, drum and bass, and even classic rock are all

genres that make people move differently than the typical jump-up-and-down Stages dance, but this doesn’t make them any less viable for clubbing. These genres need to be given just as much attention as what’s in the playlists currently monopolizing Kingston.

In Montreal, dope music like this is quite prevalent. House music is a huge phenomenon in clubs out there. The mainstreams clubs in Kingston have been shooting themselves in the foot time and time again by staying within people’s comfort zone.

The time has come to be open minded toward what music you hear while you’re out instead of jumping on aux to play the same old party playlist. Instead of looking around the room to check how many people are dancing, think about whether a song makes you move.

Too many people get stuck in the mob mentality while they’re clubbing and close themselves off to learning about so many different genres that are just as danceable than radio hits.

And please, for the love of God, stop requesting ABBA.

‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Gimme Gimme! Gimme!’ have overstayed their welcome

SUPPLIED BY FADEL MUGIZIL Mugizil imports Turkish Baklava.

Rida Chaudhry

Senior Arts Editor

Last week was an exciting one for Charlie Houston, ArtSci’23, who got to perform with and play for her friends at The Mansion, the beloved live music venue.

The Toronto-based artist has received plenty of recognition

for her indie-house melodies in recent years. Having debuted a series of EPs and her first album in October 2022, the soon-to-be graduate is more excited than ever to focus solely on her music in a few months.

“I’ve been playing guitar since I was a kid. My dad taught me a lot of classic rock songs that

The Mansion hosts Charlie Houston

Singer performs with Kings of Queens and MUSE

music, though she didn’t know what pursuing a career in it would entail. Though her parents have always been supportive, going to university was not to be debated.

“I started my undergrad at the Clive Davis Institute at NYU for music production, but I ended up having to leave after first year,” Houston said, thinking back to her time back at home before reapplying the next fall to Canadian schools.

we’d play together, but I was never really into the idea of covering songs,” Houston told The Journal “I was immediately very interested and amazed by the idea of being able to play to my own music.”

Nothing else has ever excited Houston nearly as much as

“[While in Toronto] I continued making music myself, not really knowing what I was doing or the direction I was going. I found a good group of people making music in the city—specifically my current main producer, Chris Young.”

Soon after working with Young to release their work, Houston’s songs were published by Arts and Crafts, an independent label in Toronto that signed her after her first year at Queen’s.

Music serves as a source of expression for Houston, and her choice to major in

philosophy came from a desire to have the existential and anxious questions she had answered.

“I did not [have those questions answered] but in my newer style of writing I am trying to be more intentional in what I put in my songs. I do notice some things I learned in my undergrad seeping their way into my songwriting which may just be like bigger words because I’m reading a lot more,” Houston joked.

When asked how she would describe her sound, she told The Journal she never really knows what to say when asked that.

“I feel like a lot of artists are currently saying that genres are becoming less and less meaningful and defined.”

As for what’s next for Houston, she’ll be turning her attention to an album she’s been in the process of working on once graduates this year.

“I’m really excited to flesh out the ideas I’ve been chipping away at.”

Vogue Charity Fashion Show set to strut into the Grand Theatre

“It’s a great escape from what your degree can be, and just another way to express yourself.”

Sam Goodale Assistant Arts Editor

Last week was an exciting one for Vogue Charity Fashion Show (VCFS) who will walk the runway in the Grand Theatre next month.

The student-run fashion show, which is being held on March 9, 10, and 11, combines music, dancing, and eye-catching outfits to raise money for a Kingston-based charity. All proceeds raised this year will be donated to Pathways to Education Kingston.

With 124 students involved in last year’s event, VCFS is Canada’s largest student-run fashion show. The club is an inclusive space for students from all backgrounds and programs.

Although a science student, Avery Mooring, ArtSci ’23, VCFS co-president, said her involvement with the club has provided an additional outlet to engage with students and the Queen’s community, untethered by her academic program.

“[VCFS] is really open to anyone in any degree,” Mooring said in an interview with The Journal.

Mooring, who has been a part of VCFS since her first year, is excited for the fashion show to return, free from COVID-19 restrictions. Although last year’s event was a great comeback after being held online the year before, some restrictions were still in place.

“This [year], we’re showcasing what Vogue can do without any of those restrictions,”

Mooring said. “Like how much we can really fundraise with this many people, what kind of production we can put on in this time frame with so many people being dedicated to it.”

Amongst the glitz of the fashion show, VCFS is committed to making a positive change in the Kingston community, with nearly $700,000 donated to charities since its inception. Mooring is eager to

support and donate to the charity for this year’s event.

“They’re such a great group of people at Pathways to Education, and I’m just so excited for them to see how much money we’re going to be able to donate.”

This year’s fashion show will bring Hollywood to Kingston, complete with a red carpet and photo shoot on the way into the Grand Theatre.

Inside, though, VCFS will be transformed into a

whimsical dreamscape with limitless possibilities. With this year’s theme, “I Saw You in a Dream,” the show promises to be as expansive and imaginative as your most fanciful nighttime vision.

“There’s huge numbers this year,” Kallista Jones, ArtSci ’23, VCFS co-president, said.

“Our dance numbers have grown in size; we have seven musical performances throughout; there’s seven different collections in the show which people get to see, and there’s a lot of emphasis on the theatrical aspect this year with the lighting and the scenes. It’s one big creative show.”

With VCFS heading into its 26th year at Queen’s, the club has clearly resonated with generations of students. Jones said the inclusivity of VCFS and the opportunities it provides students have contributed to its special place in the Queen’s community.

“There’s a spot for so many different people on the team, it’s not just dance, it’s not just musicians […] there’s all these different groups where everyone can find a place.”

Tickets for the fashion are available now and can be found on VCFS’s website. Those interested can donate directly to Pathways to Education through VCFS’s fundraiser.

Houston talks music career alongside undergrad.

SUPPLIED BY OLIVIA SMITH

Men’s Basketball still ranked fourth in the country

Gaels split doubleheader against Ravens and Gee Gees

Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

Queen’s Men’s Basketball took one loss and one win in Ottawa this weekend.

The Gaels played the Ravens first on Friday and struggled to hit their stride. Going into that game, Carleton sat just above Queen’s at third in the country—the team prepared themselves for an inevitable four-quarter battle.

The game started off slow for Queen’s as the Ravens quickly took a seven to zero lead.

After a couple missed shots, Connor Keefe started the scoring and Cameron Bett subbed on.

All game, Queen’s had one mission: deactivate Carleton’s Aidan Warnholtz.

This season, Worenholtz has been the Raven’s not-so-secret weapon. With him dropping six three-pointers and 28 total points in the game, it’s safe to say Gael deactivation efforts were unsuccessful.

At the end of the first half, Queen’s was down 52-49. With such a close first half of the game, the team looked for ways to step it up and they found Bett.

Bett had his best game all season on Friday. He came off the bench and hit a season high 35-points for the Gaels, but he didn’t stop there. He played a career-high 38 minutes and became an all-around thorn in the Raven’s side, sinking 13 of 14 free-throws.

Bett’s efforts, however, weren’t enough to secure a win. Even a double-double from Cole Syllas didn’t swing the game for Queen’s.

Bett tied it at 77 for Queen’s with just over seven minutes of play left in the game, but the Ravens wanted it more. Worenholtz went on a three-pointer rampage and hit two for Carleton in the last minute and a half of play to give the Ravens a 103-89 victory.

However, the Gael’s weekend in Ottawa wasn’t over. On Sunday night, the Gaels met the Gee Gees for the first time this season, who were ranked first in the country prior to tipoff.

The Gaels started off strong and gave Bett his first start of the season. They got out to an early lead, but the Gee Gees recovered and finished the quarter up by four points.

All season, the men’s team has done an excellent job of staging mid-game comebacks and Sunday was no exception. Some exceptional teamwork from Cole Syllas and Michael Kelvin II in the second sent Queen’s on a seven-point run. By the end of

the first half, Queen’s was leading the game 43-31.

This matchup of two of the league’s most powerful teams ultimately came down to who shot more efficiently near the rim. The Gaels controlled the second half on route to a 76-62 win thanks to 32 points in the paint—the Gee Gees made a measly 10.

Queen’s now sits at the top of the OUA East standing with the best record of any team in the OUA.

The Gaels will take on Guelph this Friday before playing the Gee Gees again on Sunday in Kingston.

queensjournal.ca/sports/

Women’s Basketball splits weekend in Ottawa

Ravens break Gaels’ winning streak and hearts

Sarah Maat

Senior Sports Editor

Queen’s Women’s Basketball conceded their first loss last Friday against the Carleton Ravens, but Queen’s recovered with a win over uOttawa on Sunday to not go home empty-handed.

Friday’s game was devastating right from tip-off. The Raven’s Nest was alive with student support and the team took advantage of it. Meanwhile, Queen’s started the game with a missed three pointer, missed lay-up, and a missed jumper.

Carleton opened the scoring with a three from Dorcas Buisa and didn’t look back. The Gaels, however, continued to struggle with another missed lay-up and jump shot before finally getting one to drop.

Queen’s trailed 22-8 at the end of the first.

Their string of bad luck and shots that would not drop continued as they ended the first half in a 18-point deficit. The Ravens successfully stopped the undefeated Gaels because they made a plan—stop Julia Chadwick—and

stuck to it without getting frustrated.

Queen’s, on the other hand, struggled to adjust when Chadwick was double-teamed in the paint, and when their offense started to fall apart, so did their composure.

Chadwick was visibly frustrated with the pressure and referee calls, and it hurt the Gaels on their way to a brutal 64-32 defeat.

Queen’s missed 11 lay-ups over the course of the game because

they struggled under Raven pressure and couldn’t regain their composure. Had they made these easy buckets their deficit could’ve been reduced from 32 points to 10. Carleton simply played better basketball: they had more second chance points, more help from their bench, more points off turnovers, and more points in the paint.

Friday night was heartbreaking, and no one was sure how the Gaels would bounce back after a

loss—they’d yet to be in such a position all season. Fortunately, Sunday was a chance for redemption and the Gaels took it.

Queen’s double-header in Ottawa—in which they had to play both of their biggest OUA competitors in less than 72 hours—was just brutal scheduling luck. The Gaels, however, don’t succumb to luck—good or bad.

The Gaels took the floor Sunday night with a new energy and desire to win. Although

uOttawa was statistically the tougher team, Queen’s took charge of the game immediately. At the end of the first, the Gaels were up 24-12.

The rest of the night in Ottawa followed in typical Women’s Basketball fashion: they shared the ball, set up strong offensive plays, and executed excellent defensive stops.

Chadwick finished with a double-double on Sunday after scoring 17-points and securing 17 rebounds. She also had a season high of four blocks.

From Friday to Sunday, the Gaels also drastically improved their free-throw percentage from 57.1 to 83.3 per cent. Small improvements like this help demonstrate what Queen’s can do when they play a strong mental game.

By the end of the fourth the Gaels had 12-points on the Gee Gees and ended the game 70-58.

Although they lost their perfect streak, Queen’s performance on Sunday was enough to keep them at the top of the OUA East ranking. The Gaels still have the best record in the country with 15 wins and a singular loss.

Players from left to right: Bridget Mulholland, Isabella Belvedere, Michael Kelvin II, and Cameron Bett.

SUPPLIED BY JAMES PADDLE-GRANT

Hannah VanLeeuwen Contributor

Queen’s Men’s Volleyball faced off against the Nipissing Lakers this weekend in a doubleheader at the ARC. Queen’s took Friday’s game in five sets, and Saturday’s game in four.

On Friday, both the Gaels and Lakers struggled to pull ahead as each of the sets finished with the teams within three points of each other. In Saturday’s game, however, the Gaels pulled out all the stops to take down a nationally-ranked Nipissing team.

The Gaels began their second game strong; their offense had the Lakers scrambling. They lead in points for the whole set and took it 25-17.

The Lakers responded by starting the next set off with a long serving run, forcing the Gaels to call a timeout which successfully stopped the Laker run.

The Gaels trailed in points the whole set, and despite big hits from outside Erik Siksna and middle Cole Duncanson, the Gaels couldn’t pull it together and lost the set 25-18.

The third set had intense back and forth play. Right as the Lakers were starting to get a lead, Reed Venning—a first year middle—subbed in to serve as Head Coach Gabriel deGroot made a change to flip the game in the Gaels’ favour.

“My team need[ed] me,” Venning said in a post game interview with The Journal. “Being a first year if I get put in, I got to do my job so that was my mindset. Just stay calm; just do what I usually do.”

He did exactly that; his three successful serves turned the set for Queen’s.

He followed his first run with another one on his next serve rotation—this time he went for seven. According to Venning, he’d been off his serving game during the past week.

Queen’s Men’s Volleyball ranked seventh in Canada

Doubleheader victory over Nipissing shuffles national standings

“Funnily enough, my serves have not been great this week, so it was kind of surprising that I popped off a bit,” he said. However, if this is how he serves on an off

week, fans better stay tuned for when he’s dialled in. He credited his improved serve to working with DeGroot.

“I changed my approach. Working with

coach Gabe has been amazing, so it’s been a long time coming that that happened,” Venning said.

In the end, Venning finished with a gamehigh five serving aces as the Gaels won the third set 25-22.

Cole Duncanson—the Gael’s star middle who finished with seven kills—reflected on the team’s comeback after the game.

“I think we did a really good job coming together after we lost that second set […] we did a really good job of rallying together and staying tight as a unit.”

Heading into the fourth set, it was clear the energy in the ARC had shifted.

Despite some back and forth, the Gaels held a consistent lead and ended the game 25-19 with a kill from Derek Chiang. He led the team in digs, with even more than the libero.

Coming out of this double header, the Men’s Volleyball team is on a five-game win streak despite some struggles earlier in the season.

According to Duncanson, a strong team leader on and off the court, this win streak can be attributed to a change in the team chemistry.

“In the last couple of weeks, we felt like we needed a change, so we came together as a team, had some good talks, and we decided on some new team standards and team rules.”

“So far it seems to be paying off so hopefully that trajectory continues.”

The bench enthusiasm played a huge role in boosting the team’s spirit. First years Lazar Paroski and Nikola Mitrovic enthusiastically led eccentric cheers after every single Gael point.

The Gaels play their final home game of the season against the Western Mustangs on Feb. 3 at the ARC. Tickets are free for all Queen’s students.

Gaels crush Lakers in Women’s Volleyball

Queen’s Gaels take both in doubleheader against Nipissing

Hannah Romkema Staff Writer

The Nipissing Lakers travelled down to Kingston last weekend for two games against Queen’s Women’s Volleyball, both of which ended in exhilarating wins for the Gaels. On Friday, the Gaels won all three sets before claiming victory in four on Saturday.

The energy in the ARC this weekend was unmatched

as the Gaels worked together as a team. Lots of excellent communication from Queen’s united them on the court and contributed to their win while the fans matched their energy and brought encouragement to the gym.

“I think that our mental toughness has gotten a lot better, and we’ve been really trying to focus on being a unit on and off the court,” outside hitter Mary Stewart said in a post-game interview with The Journal.

Saturday’s game was filled with highlight moments. The first set featured incredible block and hit combos from Queen’s to help secure the win.

In the second set, Stewart went on a streak of seven beautiful serves which resulted in a nine-

point lead of 22-13 for Queen’s. Nipissing responded by serving into the net before sending the next ball out of bounds. Vivian Zanutel ended the set with a killer hit to give the Gaels their second win.

The third set was immediately off to a slower start as the Lakers went up 5-0. However, this didn’t last as Stewart secured a pivotal tip that broke the losing streak for Queen’s.

Throughout this set, Lauren Mellon and Hannah Duchesneau worked well together to execute several blocks; they prevented four points from Nipissing in this set alone. Unfortunately, the set ended with a score of 25-18 for the Lakers to send the game to a fourth set.

In the final set, Stewart’s serves were phenomenal yet again, and Duchesneau displayed several amazing hits. This set ended 25-14 for Queen’s, winning them the game.

“In this game, our serving was lights out. I think both days our serves were amazing, and our middles did a great job of staying active and blocking the tough shots,” Gael setter Shea Baker—who was named Varsity Student Athlete of the Week—said in a post-game interview with The Journal.

Baker also spoke of the work the team has put in since the break.

“We’ve been working really hard

since we got back from Christmas break and our main goal right now is to get to nationals,” she said.

“We’re just trying to get into a good spot for playoffs, and I think we’ve been doing a really great job gelling as a team. Our connection is growing between all the players, especially with a lot of players leaving and a lot of new ones coming in. We have definitely developed a new energy this year.”

After the game, Stewart spoke about how the hard work her

team is putting in off the court has translated to their recent success on the court.

“I feel like we can beat any team if everyone’s firing and we remain focused and I’m just really excited for what’s to come and excited for the challenge,” Stewart said.

Catch their next game on Friday against the Western Mustangs at 6 p.m. at the ARC.

Gaels sync a block.

PHOTO BY MAX YI

Gaels make a pass.

PHOTO BY MAX YI

PHOTO BY MAX YI

Winter Adapted Games foster connection through sport

Students and Kingstonians with disabilities connect for a day at the ARC

Lilly Coote Assistant Sports Editor

On Saturday Jan. 28, Queen’s hosted the Winter Adapted Games (WAG). The event paired student volunteers with members of the Kingston community who have identified disabilities for a fun-filled day of non-competitive sports and activities.

WAG is an annual event organized by Queen’s students in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy.

The event first began in 1991, but was put online due to COVID-19 in recent years. 2023 marked the first in-person WAG since 2020, much to the excitement of co-chair Eunice Pang.

“I personally have a sister with a disability, and I know events like these really mean a lot to her,” Pang said in an interview with The Journal.

Pang was a volunteer buddy during her first year, and later joined the executive team as an event and activity coordinator. Now, as one of the co-chairs, she said seeing the event come to life is more fulfilling.

“The best part, I think, is just being able to offer adaptive sports and games and activities to people with disabilities that unfortunately aren’t able to get that opportunity most of the time because of the barriers in place for accessibility and inclusivity.”

something for everyone. There’s a lot of different positions you can get paired up with participants, you can run events, you can lead teams. It’s a really great experience that I urge everyone to be part of.”

WAG also incorporates different

Each of the event’s 80 participants were partnered with a volunteer buddy. Buddy positions are open to any student in any faculty at Queen’s, and over 100 students participated in the event.

“Everything’s on a volunteer basis,” Alex Worden, a public relations representative for WAG, said in an interview with The Journal.

“For all the participants, obviously it’s all free. We’ve gotten donations and everything, and fundraised to be able to give them t-shirts, food, and stuff like that.”

Similarly to Pang, Worden also began volunteering as a buddy during her first-year at Queen’s, then returned the following year to join the executive team.

WAG held different fundraising events this year, including a coat check at the Kinesiology Semi-Formal, clothing drives, and a sticker sale. Worden said raising money throughout the year took a lot of hard work, but seeing the event come to life made it all worth it.

Pang pointed out that one common misconception about WAG is students must be in the School of Kinesiology to join.

“You don’t have to be a Kin student to get involved and you don’t necessarily have to like sports to get involved. There’s really

Gaels beat Lancers 5-1

Lilly Coote Assistant Sports Editor

On Friday Jan. 27, the Queen’s Women’s Hockey team shut down the Windsor Lancers 5-1 at the Memorial Centre.

Head Coach Mark Hollberg told The Journal he’d made some strategic changes to include a more high-powered offense, which the team showcased beautifully in their match up against the Lancers.

In the first period, Emma McKnight sliced through the Lancers’ defense on a breakaway and opened the game with a perfect shorthanded goal.

Scout Watkins Southward returned to the Memorial Centre ice for the first time this weekend since helping Canada win gold at the FISU Games, and scored on a deflected

shot minutes later to give the Gaels an early 2-0 lead.

Less than a minute later, the Lancers scored to cut the Gaels lead to 2-1. However, assists from Quinn Johnston and Sarah Campbell to Rebecca Thompson early in the second period allowed the Gaels to pull ahead by another point.

Gaels kept up their momentum and scored on a power play when Sophie Hudson found the back of the net in the third period. The Gaels sat comfortably at 4-1. Then Alyson Reeves deked the Windsor goalie for Queen’s fifth and final goal for good measure.

The Gaels dominated on the ice, and goalie Lexi Giorgi was steady in net with 29 saves.

Quinn Johnston is a key forward for the Gaels and averages almost one point per

student clubs into their event, including a performance from Queen’s POM Team and a local student acapella group. Other events during the day included karate, crafts, sleigh rides, swimming, cookie decorating and yoga.

game. She recently did a podcast episode with former player Jaclyn Hawkins, where she said she’s feeling optimistic about the second half of the season.

“We know that our best is yet to come,” Johnston said on the Women’s Hockey Life Podcast.

“We’ve been doing a new system [with] our group this year, which has been really fun and a good challenge, and I think we’re really starting to own it.”

Despite the new offensive strategy implemented in the 2023 season, the Gaels are still struggling with consistency.

The team has a 10-12 record, frequently alternating wins and losses. The team watched their three-game win streak slip through their fingers immediately following their Lancer victory on Saturday Jan. 28 with a tough 6-1 loss to Waterloo.

The Warriors have been a tough matchup for the Gaels this season; six goals are the most goalie Vanessa Campeau and the Gaels

“Seeing all of us work together almost every week and knowing how much each individual person is putting in, and then just seeing it all come together as one is kind of amazing.”

To find out more information about the event, or to find out how to get involved, visit the Winter Adapted Games website.

have allowed all season. Earlier in the season, Campeau, who has been strong all year, made 55 impressive saves against Brock.

Head Coach Mark Holmberg told The Journal earlier this season his main priority every season is to “work on and cultivate a championship culture.”

With less than a handful of games left before the OUA playoffs later this month, Holmberg and the Gaels are fighting for a spot at the McCaw Cup in mid-March.

In addition to playing hard on the ice, the Women’s Hockey team has been participating in charity games to support different organizations in the Kingston area. In light of Bell Lets Talk day and Queen’s Mental Health Promotion Week, the team partnered with The Maddie Project for their Friday game against Windsor.

The Gaels are looking to bounce back in back-to-back games against the York Lions this upcoming weekend.

A particpant poses with student volunteers in the pool. SUPPLIED BY JULIA EBISUZAKI-MACKAY

Music can change your life

Three songs that mark pivotal moments

Emily Parkinson Contributor

Music has always played a big part in my life and certain songs often mark pivotal moments for me. My memories are the most vivid when I can associate them with a particular song. Here are three songs that changed my life and why.

“A Year Without Rain” by Selena Gomez

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Selena Gomez standing in the desert, her long dress blowing in the wind. I stood in front of the TV in awe of her beauty. That’s when I decided that “A Year Without Rain” was my new favourite song.

It was around eight at the time, and up until then, the only music I really listened to was what my parents played in the car—which consisted of a lot of screamo and Sarah McLaughlin. “A Year Without Rain” was the first song I got to

make up my own mind about. I got to go around and show it to other people, instead of it being the other way around.

“Waltz #2” by Elliott Smith

I first listened to Elliott Smith’s music at some point in high school and discovered that a lot of his songs were in my favourite movies. His song “Miss Misery” was famously in Good Will Hunting, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1998. Similarly, “Son of Sam” was played in the Love, Rosie soundtrack—a movie so heartwarming you can’t help but appreciate the music accompanying it. I’m sure there were more, but those were significant to me at the time.

“Waltz #2” caught my attention with Elliott’s lyrics, which are always the perfect amount of emo. This song was hugely significant for me because it made me realize this was the kind of music I liked.

This song came to me in the peak of my angsty teenager days and spoke to me more deeply and personally than any song I’d heard before. I think Smith’s music has a life-changing power for a lot of people and that’s why he is so beloved.

“Blindsided” by Hovvdy

“Blindsided” appeared on some Spotify-generated mix of mine this past summer. It was one of those moments where you’re tuned out of the music and your brain is on autopilot, and then you tune back in at the perfect time.

Something in my brain clicked when I heard the lyrics “could’ve really used you in my life.” It was a beautiful yet heartbreaking lyric that I kept thinking about even after the song had stopped playing. True Love, the album “Blindsided” is on, is equally as vulnerable and nostalgic.

Hovvdy’s songs walk the line between euphoric and depressing, which was perfect for the way I felt this summer. I would give anything to get to experience their songs again for the first time. ***

What makes music special isn’t always the songs themselves, but rather the situation or mood you’re in when you’re listening to them. These songs are obviously very significant to me, but a lot of that has to do with when I was introduced to them and how I felt when that happened. My mood had a lot to do with how I interpreted these songs and why they affected me so much.

Though they may not be as life-changing for you as they were for me, I hope you’ll give these songs a listen.

Skinny shouldn’t be the goal—healthy should be

our modern beauty standards as young adults

Clanny Mugabe Assistant Lifestyle Editor

This article discusses disordered eating and body image and may be triggering for some readers. The Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Line can be reached at 1-800-875-6213.

Trends come and trends go, and that truth is best seen in the shifting fashion and beauty standards in our society. Celebrity culture acts like a magnifying glass to our society, as these figures dictate and mimic what’s trendy in our everyday lives.

“ There’s a thin line between having a healthy diet and falling into disordered eating patterns.

This is best seen with celebrities who have careers that span multiple decades—what Ashley Tisdale wore on the red carpet in 2005 is vastly different from what she would wear today.

Fashion isn’t the only thing that trends; bodies do, too. The body type that was in Vogue for the past few years was the ‘slim-thick’ body type, which came in tandem with the proliferation of more body-positive messages as a body positivity movement rose.

It was a rocky road to get there, but with fashion companies embracing plus-sized models and retailers offering a more diverse range of sizes, what was deemed

acceptable and beautiful expanded to be more inclusive.

Then Kim Kardashian and co. shed the ‘slim, thick’ body type and we saw a rise in ultra-skinny bodies being seen as ultra-fashionable again. This begs the question: was thinness ever not fashionable?

The idea that the body positivity movement was 100 per cent positive and effective is flawed.

‘Skinniness’ is still tied to the image of attractiveness; that’s why ultra thin and ultra-tall models still dominate the runways, and why certain fashion retailers actively discriminate against plus-sized people. Abercrombie and Fitch is infamously known to be hostile

to plus-sized shoppers, with its former CEO Mike Jeffries making it difficult for diverse body types to buy their clothing.

Just because ‘slim-thick’ was the body type of the decade doesn’t mean thinness wasn’t prioritized. It’s important to remember that ‘slim’ is the modifier to ‘thick,’ so a certain type of skinniness is expected to be acceptable.

Due to these expectations, diet culture is still promoted in our society, dressed up in ‘healthfocused’ language. We’re easily fooled by juice cleanses, restrictive dieting, and various other techniques for losing weight.

The problem here is this

standard is unattainable and unhealthy for many. ‘Heroin-chic,’ the ultra-thin ideal that proliferated the early 2000s and dominated the media of our childhood, is called that because it’s associated with weight loss from heavy drug use.

Celebrities profit from these toxic messages by being images of what we should attain. To fit into Marilyn Monroe’s dress, Kim Kardashian glamourized crash dieting on television—in Disney+’s The Kardashians—to rapidly lose weight in an unsustainable and unhealthy manner.

Among young people, this incredibly narrow beauty standards often leads to body

dysmorphia and disordered eating habits and behaviours. The more celebrities engage in this behaviour, the more risky and unhealthy actions impressionable fans might engage in because they think it could alleviate their body image issues.

There’s a thin line between having a healthy diet and falling into disordered eating patterns. Due to the structure of beauty standards and social media, that line gets blurred as unhealthy dieting habits become normalized in the pursuit of conventional attractiveness.

It’s true that adapting a healthier lifestyle, like increasing the amount of exercise you do and having a better diet, can lead to weight loss, but there are hundreds of other things that factor into our appearance: genetics, environment, hormones, and even pure, random chance.

In a perfect world where everyone were able to achieve perfect nutrition and be perfectly athletic, there would still be a wide range of body types in the world.

The truth is, as they stand, diet culture and beauty standards do more harm than good. There are billion-dollar industries that rely on our insecurities to maintain their profit margins. They gain from eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

It’s important for us to uncouple our desire to be healthy from our desire to be skinny, so that we can truly pursue the healthiest and happiest life that we can achieve.

Songs by Selena Gomez, Elliott Smith, and Hovvdy changed my outlook on life.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Celebrities’ bodies can be the result of unhealthy habits.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Maddie Hunt Senior Lifestyle Editor

The freezing cold, uneven slush on the sidewalks that makes you look silly walking home, chilly winds, and the sun setting at 5 p.m.— these are only a few of the awful things accompanying the Kingston winter weather. Though dare I say, worst of all, is the feeling of coming home after a long day and your skin feeling like it’s never once been moisturized.

Wintertime weather brings cold temperatures, harsh winds, and low humidity levels, all of which pull moisture from your skin and leave it feeling dry.

Luckily, I’ve provided the perfect routine and products to keeping your skin feeling hydrated and happy during the cool winter months.

I would like to preface I’m not a skin care guru, nor do I know much about skin care routines. With a bit of research and personal testing, I’ve adapted a variation of my own that works great for me as someone with naturally dry skin. It may not work for everyone, so I highly recommended making a trip to your local drug store or Sephora for a consultation on products that will work best for your skin.

I start with a moisturizing and hydrating cleanser. Applying hydrating cleaners retrieves the natural oils that maintain moisture in your skin. Cleansing your skin strips its barrier of all excess makeup or dirt—I know, gross— thus opening your skin to be rehydrated. I use Hourglass’s Equilibrium Rebalancing Cream Cleanser. This should be

How to get happy and hydrated skin care

Products that will hydrate your skin in the winter weather

massaging it on my face, I lightly pat it into my skin to really soak it in.

Once your toner is on, you go in with your go-to serum. I use the Hyaluronic Acid two per cent + B5 by The Ordinary. When your skin is dry, it appears dull. The main function of hyaluronic acid is to retain the moisture in your skin, keeping it hydrated, as well as tightening your skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Serums also soothe the sensitivity that accompanies dry skin, and your skin tissues will be able to hold the water in your skin much better. Trust me, your face will be happy after this.

The last—and most important—step of this routine is the moisturizer. If you’re a makeup user, this moisturizer also works as a primer for your skin. In choosing a moisturizer, my goal was to not only better hydrate my skin but to have my makeup fit the ‘cold girl’ aesthetic which is best known for its glowy appearance, and this hydrator does just that.

Sephora’s All-Day Hydrator is my all-time favourite moisturizer. It hydrates your skin like no other, pulling in all the other products and really holding them in place. Not to mention, after foundation or concealer is applied, a beautiful glow will still shine through. Without a doubt, this was worth the purchase.

massaged into wet to damp skin and rinsed with warm water.

Once your cleanser is off, use a toner. For more naturally dry skin, you should be aiming for a toner with lower alcohol concentrations.

If you have naturally hydrated skin, a higher concentration is okay. Toner acts as a ‘final check’ for the cleansing job. It also helps in tightening your pores and providing a glowing look—which

is all the rage right now, by the way. I recommend Innisfree’s Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Acid

Toner. This facial toner focuses on hydration and glow and truly feels amazing. After

Repeat this routine once in the morning and once before bed. Over the next few weeks, you’ll notice a real difference in your skin: a more hydrated, happy, and healthy appearance and feeling.

Unpacking queer culture’s impact in the mainstream

Knowing the roots of the culture we take for granted

AAVE (African American vernacular English).

Clanny Mugabe Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Mainstream culture has always been affected by the voices and style of marginalized communities. North American pop culture, especially, is in a unique position, since the US and Canada are home to so many diverse communities all struggling to be heard.

Things have gotten better; once upon a time it was illegal to be queer, but we live in more accepting times, which means it’s easier to see the effects of queer culture on the mainstream.

Since the ’80s, queer culture has shaped pop culture as many gay and trans artist entered the entertainment industry, or the industry took inspiration from what they saw on the ground.

Look at Madonna and the music video for “Vogue.”

It’s a known fact that voguing came from the ballroom scene in New York. In the ’80s and ’90s, Black and latinx queer communities danced together in balls, competing in fashion, dance, and drag pageants. Eventually, Madonna caught wind of the dance style, propelling vogueing and drag into the public consciousness.

Fast forward a few decades and we end up with the media landscape we’re so intimately familiar with. We see the different ways queer culture affects music, fashion and more.

Nowadays, we see voguing on our screens and at our clubs. This style of performance has evolved to the point that one of the most popular shows on

television right now is all about drag. Where would we be without RuPaul’s Drag Race? Drag Race is a more mainstream demonstration of queer culture—a sanitized televised version of drag. Its cultural impact can’t be understated, though, because shows like it continue to launch aspects of queer culture into the mainstream. Slang is another domain where queer culture moves into the mainstream. The words and phrases we use from day to day, like “slay” or “spilling the tea,” get popularized through things like RuPaul’s Drag Race More often than not, slang has origins in queer BIPOC communities, especially the Black community, as it encompasses words that started as a part of

Aside from TV and language, queer culture has had a massive impact on music and fashion. The Met Gala pulled from queer history and queer fashion in 2019 with the theme Camp: Notes on Fashion. While the term ‘camp’ has a complicated history, there’s long been a tie between extravagance and queer culture, which is also tied to drag.

Finally, the effect of queer culture in the mainstream can be seen in Beyonce’s latest album, Renaissance. Beyonce has been a fixture in pop culture for well over a decade, and her long career comes from her adaptability; she has her finger on the pulse of culture.

Renaissance is a glorious house album with smooth transitions and songs fit for a drag performance. Beyonce took heavy inspiration from queer musicians

and featured many of them in her album, including Ts Madison, Honey Dijon, and Syd.

Acknowledging queer culture’s impact on the main steam is essential to understanding the way mainstream pop culture benefits from diversity and, in tandem, exploits marginalized people.

In some cases, like Renaissance, the influence of queer culture is a demonstration of appreciation. In other cases, like how slang gets taken and used out of context, we veer into appropriation.

Overall, these examples show the great impacts of a community that has and continues to struggle for acknowledgement and safety. The queer community has contributed a lot to our culture, and shaped the world we live in through subversive and challenging art.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

Products that will hydrate your skin in the winter weather.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Learning to ride a bike—and to accept I don’t know everything yet

There should be no time limit on learning new things

Suzy Leinster

Features Editor

While feeling the burn in my thighs and the wind streaking through my hair as twenty-year-old me biked in circles around the same roundabout for the fifth time, I understood it’s normal to learn things on your own time.

I’ve fallen off my bike many times. It’s been so many times I’ve lost count of the way my plastic tires skidded and my knees kissed the pavement, leaving a bloody smear on the gravel.

“ Despite all the successes I had in painting, sculpture, and swimming, conquering the bike alluded me until I was twenty.

Looking back, I see certain milestones my mother expected me to achieve in the years of swimming lessons, Kumon, and watercolor classes. She wanted me to foster a sense of creativity and feel free to explore my curiosities, while learning how to commit to a trade and master a skill.

Despite all the successes I had in painting, sculpture,

and swimming, conquering the bike alluded me until I was twenty.

My cousin Chris is eight years older than me. Athletic, driven, and extremely patient, he chased me around my grandparent’s small neighborhood on the bluffs of Scarborough in an effort to show me the freedom of riding a bike. He held the fake leather seat as I peddled as fast as I could, but the second he let go, gravity expelled me to the ground. I got tired of the ceaseless falling.

“ When spring came around, the bike come out of retirement from my grandparent’s garage and I jumped in the saddle all over again.

I was too afraid to tear my eyes from the road in front of me, but unable to lift my head more than a few feet to see the cars ahead.

I felt the heavy weight of the metal jerk beneath me, the gears grinding as I squeezed the break in breathless desperation to slow down—for a moment.

The momentum scared me. The speed of the bike, too fast to control, made the world blur into watercolor images and induced of nausea in my stomach.

When spring came around, the bike came out of retirement from my grandparents’ garage and I jumped in the saddle all over again.

As the story goes, I never

learned. I became a spectacle for the masses—my family—and couldn’t escape the continuous failure of never learning how to travel more than two feet on my own.

However, two summers ago, I entered Walmart with intention. Fueled with the drive to ride a bike and escape the COVID-19 prison that trapped me in my small Toronto apartment, I looked at the turquoise, metal, frilly baskets and heavy-duty locks until I came across a red BMX bike for young boys. Sadly, passing on a limited edition Frozen bike, featuring Elsa in all her winter glory, I gravitated towards the small size and nimble wheels of the cheap BMX one.

The embarrassment of having my family watch me bruise my arms and legs every summer made me want to teach myself how to conquer this skill. It took me two summers to get my stride.

I stayed in Kingston this past summer, giving tours and walking for hours in the glaring sun. Despite the physical fatigue, I was overwhelmed by mental exhaustion and leaned on teaching myself how to bike as a getaway car from all my little problems.

cruised down Mack Street, pretending I was fifteen again and playing the lead in a teen romance novel. The skinny white wires of my earphones dangled above my sweaty black uniform as “Little Lies” by Fleetwood Mac blasted through the speakers. The glorious sun setting behind me put the world in a hazy orange, as the leaves whistled in the humid air above.

This image, and the time I spent on myself, will remain a cherished part of my only summer in Kingston. I felt proud to have learned something new, despite the age at which I did.

These kinds of lessons are important to acknowledge because they remind you there’s no age at which we should know things.

I don’t know when pretending to know things and really knowing things became the same.

Instead of admitting I didn’t have any knowledge on a topic beyond the cursory view, I faked it to make myself seem more experienced. I pretended I knew subjects or life skills I hadn’t heard of or made the effort to know.

“ Growing up, I romanticized notions of adult life and assumed I needed to know everything all at once. I too believed you should know everything by twenty. You should have your life together, your future planned, your career started, your relationship ready for marriage—every step just a movement in the right direction towards that cookie cutter life.

I set up the brake, put my hands on the handlebars, and

At some point in my time as a university student, I felt a need to prove I was not only book smart, but street smart—that I can live on my own, pay my bills, and be a responsible adult who settles their taxes on time. However, I still don’t know how to file my taxes on my own, navigate Kingston, or make a U-turn on my bike.

I’m 21 now, and I’ve suddenly approached this age where telling people you don’t know how to ride a bike or drive a car is not only weird but embarrassing.

Growing up, I romanticized notions of adult life and assumed I needed to know everything all at once. The truth is, I won’t ever know everything, just because I’m a fourth year, or just because I live on my own, or because of any other future milestone I reach.

I’m learning to go back and slow down. It’s okay to pace yourself and admit when you don’t know things today so you can learn them tomorrow.

Most people learn how to ride a bike when they’re seven. I learned when I was 20, and I’m okay with that.

Suzy learned to ride a bike when she was twenty.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

“ I felt proud to have learned something new, despite having the age at which I did.

“ I don’t know when pretending to know things and really knowing things became the same.