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Vol. 144, Issue 21
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Tricolour award winners announced Five to be honoured with highest tribute given to students
On Monday Jan. 30, the five students to receive the Tricolour award were announced. The Agnes Benidickson Tricolour award and induction into the Tricolour Society is the highest tribute that can be paid to a student throughout their time at Queen’s. A minimum of two students must nominate another student in order for it to be valid. A student can’t nominate themselves. There were 18 nominations this year from which a selection committee chose five individuals to receive the award.
The award goes to students who have serviced the University in non-athletic, extra-curricular activities. Tara McDonald, ArtSci ’17
“When I read my nomination package, which included letters of support from peers, alumni, staff, and instructors, the main thing that was emphasized was my commitment to working towards equity and social justice on campus,” McDonald said. McDonald spoke to how she advocated for social justice throughout her time here at Queen’s. She founded many projects
including Elephant in the Room Anti-Stigma campaign for mental health as well as Queen’s Equity Conference. “I also helped to draft an Anti-Racism Strategic Plan for a faculty society, collaborated on Equitable Queen’s lending library system, and facilitated truth and reconciliation community consultations at the faculty society level,” McDonald said. McDonald explained that she was reminded of how important her work was when she read the letters of support from the people who rallied around her. “It is easy to get discouraged and feel like there is no use in trying to fight systems of oppression, but
always remember that there is so much support surrounding you.” McDonald said she is most likely taking a year off after she graduates this spring. “Having a Queen’s education is an incredible privilege and I hope that I can use what this campus has taught me to help other people in the future.” Mike Blair, Eng ’17
Blair has held leadership positions with Queen’s First Aid Campus (QFA) Response Team, the Alma Mater Society, and the University as the 175th Anniversary Coordinator.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Former SGPS VP Asfar brings attention online to “hidden” CFS bank account
See Tricolour on page 2
Victoria Gibson News Editor A post to the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) Facebook page on Monday — from former Vice President (Professional) Mark Asfar — raised alarms about a “hidden” bank account of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) allegedly containing half a million dollars. The link Asfar posted came from student newspaper The Varsity. On Jan. 24, their student union released a scathing condemnation of the CFS to whom they pay tens of thousands of dollars per year, over the lack of accountability for the account. Members of the SGPS funnel approximately $60 thousand into the CFS annually, via a listed $16.06 student fee from each of the society’s approximately 4,000 members. Asfar, who served as the SGPS’ CFS representative last year, felt that bringing the issue to constituents’ attention was paramount. See CFS on page 4
Sports
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Account at separate bank contained half a million in student funds, according to audit
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Tricolour society welcomes new members Continued from front
“I made a point out of first year to pursue roles that would afford me the opportunity to contribute to the Queen’s community in unique ways,” Blair said. Blair explained that after joining QFA in first year, he began to see more opportunities where he could get involved. “I am so deeply honoured to have been invested to the Tricolour Society. It is humbling to be recognized by my peers for my service, and I hope that my story can motivate others to give back to our community in a way that is uniquely their own,” Blair said. Next year Blair will be returning to finish his degree, help with QFA and serve a one-year term on the AMS Board of Directors.
Claire Gummo, ArtSci ’16 Gummo has become a leader in the conversation of sexual violence and prevention on Queen’s campus throughout her time here. She spent time with the SHRC as both an executive and volunteer. “I’ve served as a student representative on three senior administration committees, developing Queen’s first sexual violence policy,” Gummo said. As well, in 2016 Gummo began Queen’s Bystander Intervention Program which has reached over 2,000 students this school year. “This award means the world to me. I was surprised and humbled to learn that I was nominated. I share it with my amazing team, colleagues and peers at the AMS, Bystander, the SHRC, and Student Affairs.”
Gummo hopes to continue to work with Queen’s long after her time has ended.
further solidifies my belief that I’ve been surrounded with inspiring and exceptional human beings and leaders consistently during my Mike Young, ArtSci ’16 time here.” Young explained that the award “I don’t think there are any belonged to more than just himself, accomplishments the committee but the people around him who will cite in their decision that he’s learned from and grown with. are my accomplishments alone,” “This award is an incredibly Young said. humbling reminder that the work Young explained that no matter helps people and makes lives what capacity he was working better in some way,” Young said. in, he was always striving to make Queen’s campus more Lauren Winkler, ArtSci ’17 “compassionate and empathetic” when it came to mental health, This year, Winkler was gender/sexual diversity, sexual President of the Queen’s Native violence and anti-oppression. Student Association as well This was especially important as Deputy Commissioner of in Young’s time at Queen’s, serving Indigenous Affairs under the a two-year term as the University’s Social Issues Commission. 34th Rector. “In these roles I act as an “Being named a recipient Indigenous student voice on
Senate Research Report details new research funding
New money for Queen’s projects broken down by the numbers
News in Brief Academic assistants reach tentative agreement with University
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Forbes names Queen’s as best Canadian Employer
On Feb. 2, late in the evening, Queen’s administration reached a tentative collective agreement with its academic assistants through United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010, Unit 01. The agreement, subject to a ratification process from both sides, took nine months to reach after beginning negotiations in June 2016. Details will remain confidential until ratification.
various committees such as the TRC Task Force, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response working group, and Aboriginal Council of Queen’s University,” Winkler said. Winkler also spoke to how she focuses on creating visibility and educating Queen’s staff, faculty, and students on Indigenous history, culture and current affairs. “I have worked very hard this year to work toward creating a more inclusive campus for Indigenous students and have worked on multiple projects that I feel very passionate about.” Winkler hopes that her work will help raise awareness for the opportunities that Indigenous students have on Queen’s campus and inspire them to get involved.
CORRECTIONS “Clark Hall Pub hosts independent bands for a night of live music,” published Feb. 7 2017 Bo Welland’s unleased song is called ‘Rampage’ not ‘Sellout Vacations.’ This wasn’t the second time The Dirty Nelsons have played at Clark Hall Pub, but at least their fourth. “Non-academic misconduct statistics published for 2016,” published Feb. 3 2017
A previous version of this article stated that the caseload was down 25 per cent from last year’s number at this point in the year, this is incorrect. The Journal regrets the errors.
— Victoria Gibson
University shoots up from 17th place in 2016 ranks Blake Canning Assistant News Editor On Feb. 8, Forbes published their annual rankings of Canada’s Best Employers. In a drastic climb from 17th last year, Queen’s topped the list at number one. The list, which included 300 of the country’s most favourable companies functioning in a range of sectors, factored in nearly 5,900 listed employees at Queen’s. Nav Canada placed second while Toronto Hydro, the provider for all the street light electricity and roughly one-fifth of Ontario’s total electricity consumption came third. Google, Ubisoft and Costco rounded out the top 10 in fourth, sixth and ninth place, respectively.
Queen’s was also the only if there were any Canadian employer from the education companies in their sector that they sector to break the top 10, with would, or wouldn’t, recommend to Western University at 12th place their peers. being the next runner up. Statista — a database In an email to The Journal, company — measured answers Forbes Leadership Editor through a direct score, based Frederick Allen wrote that “in on employees 1-to-10 rating collaboration with online statistics of likelihood to recommend provider Statista, Forbes asked their employer, and an indirect 8,000 Canadian employees — 81 score based on employees’ per cent full-timers — working willingness to recommend for large institutions to rate their others companies. willingness to recommend their According to the Forbes article, own companies on a scale of automotive company Mercedesone to 10.” Benz “plummeted” this year from “The employees who took part 11th to 67th place while other in the survey were consulted educational institutes like the not via their employers but University of Guelph dropped anonymously through several from sixth to 63rd and Sheridan online access panels.” Data was College in Toronto fell off the list recorded this past September. completely after placing as high as Employees were also asked 13th in 2016.
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Friday, February 10, 2017
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STUDENT ELECTIONS
Society of Graduate and Professional Students 2017-18 executive candidates All positions unopposed for upcoming academic year as campaigns begin
(From left) Russell Durward, Lauren Peacock, Adam Grotsky, Alexandru Sonoc and Stephanie McKnight. Tyler Morrison not pictured here.
Blake Canning, Victoria Gibson & Maureen O’Reilly Journal News Team
Alexandru Sonoc Senator Candidate
committees like the Bylaw Committee of PSAC Local 901, as well as outside endeavours like the curation of a graduate art exhibition in Mac-Corry. In the role of VP (Graduate), she hopes to address a lack of funding and travel grants available to students. “There definitely are resources available, but it’s very limited,” she said. “With the newest funding model, departments are struggling with giving funding to all their students to travel and go to conferences.” “International students are struggling the most ... their tuition is skyrocketing and they’re not eligible for the majority of the funding that domestic students have.”
After a disqualification from the race last year, Alexandru Sonoc, The Society of Graduate and a mechanical engineering PhD Professional Students (SGPS) student, is running uncontested for executive campaign period began the position of Graduate Student on Feb. 4 and runs until Feb. 15. Senator within the SGPS. The Journal spoke with Sonoc told The Journal that each candidate to discuss their his motivation for running came motivations for running and break jointly from his experience as a down their platforms and plans for part of the Senate Committee on the 2017-18 academic year. Below Academic Development this year, are condensed profiles, with full and from his experiences as a stories on our election site. graduate and professional student. Sonoc also served as the Adam Grotsky finance director for Sci ’44 Presidential Candidate co-operative housing for two years, and held departmental The SGPS President’s office space student representative positions is the worst one, Adam Grotsky while completing his Master’s in jokes, but it should be that way. chemical engineering at RMC, and Russell Durward “It keeps the president humble,” during his undergrad at U of T. Vice-President he insisted. He hopes to tackle problems he (Professional) Candidate Grotsky — who’s in his first year faced during his graduate courses of Queen’s Law — seems content in research. Joining a host of law students with the space he described as “When I started my research slated for uncontested roles in a “closet” as he makes his second I had no idea what I needed, the SGPS, Russell Durward, Law uncontested bid for presidency of a specifically what equipment I ’19, has put his name forward for student society. needed,” Sonoc said. He’s also Vice- President (Professional). Three years ago, Grotsky ran found that some graduate courses The VPP is responsible unopposed for the President of don’t receive the same amount for advocating for and the Arts and Science of attention as undergraduate representing the distinct need of Undergraduate Society (ASUS) at courses do. professional students, both Queen’s. Speaking to his lack of internally and on various opponents either time, Grotsky Stephanie McKnight University committees. shifted into a conversation on Vice-President Durward told The Journal on engagement with student politics, (Graduate) Candidate Monday that his current position and a promise to investigate the as Secretary-Treasurer for barriers to running. “Whether or not you’re voting yes the Law ’19 student council Grotsky’s SGPS platform or no, I would rather a ‘no’ than motivated him to run in the contains echoes of his bygone nothing,” Stephanie McKnight told SGPS election this year. He ASUS years. Both campaigns made The Journal. identified one of his main career prospects and networking McKnight is a first-year doctoral concerns as being the way a staple promise for the year student in cultural studies, and the professional students often isolate ahead. This time, though, Grotsky’s sole candidate for Vice-President themselves from the rest of “careers” pillar is joined by focuses (Graduate) for the SGPS. Queen’s students. on community and “wellness Over the past few years, “I see that there’s a big divide and access.” she’s been deeply embedded between undergrads and grads, in the society’s work, chairing and then even within the graduate
system between the professionals and graduates,” Durward said. He hopes to take steps to open up the professional schools to all other graduate schools, as well as to engage them with the Queen’s student body at-large to combat what he sees as an inherent divide within the SGPS.
SUPPLIED
program. It’s just tweaking them to make them the most beneficial for students.” Tyler Morrison Vice-President (Campaigns and Community Affairs) Candidate
For Tyler Morrison, the Vice-President (Campaigns and Lauren Peacock Community Affairs) role in the Vice-President (Finance and SGPS needs to focus on providing Services) Candidate extensive mental health and career development resources to Lauren Peacock, the sole candidate its constituents. for the SGPS Vice-President According to the SGPS (Finance and Services), is gunning website, the VPCCA takes a for the position with experience leadership role for lobby and under her belt. Peacock, who issue-based campaigns, graduated from Commerce at fosters relationships between McMaster, is now paying her own community partners and the SGPS way through Queen’s Law. membership, and is responsible “I have a Bachelor of Commerce, for representing the interests of so it just made sense to me,” the SGPS within bodies external to she said of the campaign. “My the University. experience was more geared Morrison explained that this towards commerce than position involves dealing both with the political part of being a bodies in the Kingston community professional [student].” and in the national university Peacock has also completed a community at large, liaising year-long internship at a hedge with groups like the Canadian fund which, she said, “sounds a lot Federation of Students. more interesting than it actually is.” “I wanted to do something that “Part of what I learned from was more than just the law school there is how important it is to have itself,” Morrison said. oversight, because you always He plans to utilize both external hear those horror stories about and internal resources to provide employees where money goes more varied and accessible mental missing because it’s just them and health resources to students. the bank account.” Morrison shared that he has She expressed her excitement personally struggled with his about the SGPS’ financial mental health since his third environment, which she feels year of undergraduate at Wilfrid has “pretty good controls in place” Laurier University, so he has been to avoid such situations, but there through the process of looking for are still areas left to work on. and using resources on campus, “The bursary program is and he identifies accessibility as a under-utilized,” she said. “I think major issue. it’s great to have all this money for bursaries, and I want to keep the For full profiles on SGPS Executive lump sum of it as a bursary/grant candidates, go to qjlongform.com
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News
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CFS “hidden” account undetected since 2010 Continued from front
“I wanted to raise it as a sort of ‘hey, this is happening, have any of you heard about this? I find this concerning, what do you think?’” he told The Journal on Tuesday. “There are a bunch of student unions saying ‘we believe the organization needs to be fixed’. There are a couple saying ‘we don’t think it can be fixed, and we want to leave.’ There’s a bunch more who are continuing to say ‘everything’s fine, let’s get to the bottom of this,’” he explained. “And we have no opinion at the SGPS. It’d be nice if we were a little engaged with this.” The bank account itself has been shrouded in questions. According to The Varsity, a Nov. 17-22 General Meeting voted to approve an audit of the account without access to the forensic audit report produced.
The CFS National Executive is currently has its accounts,” Veitch wrote. writing a report of their own, intended “Since winter 2014, the Federation has for their June General Meeting, in lieu of undergone significant staffing changes and providing members the full report from the personnel involved with the account are Grant Thornton LLP. no longer at the Federation.” The account itself was allegedly first Veitch added that the Grant Thornton discovered in 2014, after years of being LLP forensic review was shared with hidden from auditors of the group’s auditors from MNP LLP, who “applied activity, and its existence has never been additional scrutiny to the auditing of the fully explained. 2014 statements.” In an emailed statement to The Journal, “The auditor’s report for both 2014 and CFS National Treasurer Peyton Veitch wrote 2015 issued an unqualified opinion, the that the account was opened sometime highest level of assurance an auditor can in 2010, and closed after the Dec. 2014 provide that the statements fairly reflect discovery by a former Executive member. the financial position of the organization,” “The account remained undetected he concluded. because it was [sic] never reported to the Asfar, who sat on the CFS as a Federation’s auditors, or to members of representative, said the bank account the National Executive, and it existed at a was hardly outside the norm for the different bank than where the Federation CFS. “The CFS has been, I can comfortably say, controversial over the last few years,” he said. He mentioned instances where student unions have attempted to leave the CFS, citing improper spending of student money or internal structure problems, and the unions wound up sued and litigated by the CFS Executive for “leaving incorrectly.” “That’s left a bad taste in some people’s mouths ... especially for a group that advocates for not wasting students’ money and for anti-corporate pro-student issues,” Asfar said. The CFS is easier to enter as a student
union than it is to exit, he said. It only requires the support of 15 per cent of a university’s student body to join, while it takes 20 per cent support to leave. “That is a point we made regularly. I remember sitting in the CFS conference thinking, we should not look like the mob.” As a former SGPS executive himself, he said a large issue is the lack of engagement by graduate and professional students-at-large with SGPS issues like the CFS and national unions. “We pay our fees into [the CFS], and send members to the conferences, but they don’t have a super active presence for us,” he said. “CFS is very undergraduate-oriented, and from my experience at the conferences, graduate students are sort of a secondary concern.” Asfar believes that all graduate and professional students are crucial to the conversation about the CFS. “I don’t think it’s the position of the executive candidates to take a stance on this,” he said. “I think the exec are better suited to be listening.” He intends to raise the situation as a topic of discussion at the upcoming SGPS Annual General Meeting. “Just have a conversation,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a move to leave, but we should be asking if we need a concentrated strategy on how we engage the CFS.”
Friday, February 10, 2017
Features
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IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY
After the ‘glass ceiling’ breaks Experiences of female leaders on campus
There shouldn’t be a quota and we “ shouldn’t give ourselves a gold star every
time there’s a women leader ... But if we don’t see women in leadership, we can’t expect to see it back with the students, whether those leaders are in student government, looking at the deans or even local legislators.
”
— Jasmine Langudzija, ASUS president-elect
(Top) Safiah Chowdhury, AMS president in 2011-12 (centre) pictured at her AMS executive reveal party; (right) Jenn Li, AMS president-elect for 2017-18 (centre) at her AMS executive reveal party.
Shivani Gonzalez Features Editor “We still care, and that’s why it’s important to have women in power, or people of colour in power because representation goes a long way — I still stand for the belief that at the end of the day this is the best candidate for this position because of x, y, and z skills and characteristics and not necessarily about how they identify,” said Jenn Li, AMS president-elect. Next year, Li will be the first female AMS president in three years and the first female AMS president of Asian descent in at least the last 28 years. While having a woman president in the AMS is nothing new, this year’s election was unique for two reasons. For one, regardless of which team won, the AMS president would not only be a woman, but a woman of colour. Additionally, the unsuccessful team, MTW was made up of two women of colour — presidential candidate, Aniqah Mair and Julie Tran — and one man, Landon Wilcock. In the last 28 years of leadership in the AMS, nine presidents have been women and 19 have been men, making roughly 32 per cent of the last 28 presidents women. Once Li takes office it will be 35 per cent. When asked about whether she has experienced sexism during her run to the AMS executive, Li expressed some difficulty with deciding in situations whether people were disadvantaged because of the way they identify or if it had to do more with their qualities that didn’t match the needs of the position. “It’s a really fine line between recognizing what people had to overcome to get these positions and then the same amount of preparation has to go in no matter how you identify, whether you are
a woman, or LGBTQ2+, or male, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t take away from that.” Li continued, adding, “I like working with strong female leaders, but I’m just as excited to work with strong male leaders. It doesn’t make a difference, we all have the same goal of making Queen’s better.” One of the male leaders Li cited being excited to work with was her Vice-President OperationsElect, Brian Mackay. Her other Vice-President, Palmer Lockridge didn’t respond to a request for comment.
the last 28 years “ofInleadership in the
AMS, nine presidents have been women and nineteen have been men, making roughly 32 per cent of the last 28 presidents women. Once Li takes office it will be 35 per cent.
”
MacKay has a lot of hope as well as confidence that diversity in the AMS will continue, and that the AMS mandate encourages the need for diversity in the role. “I’ve read a lot of books on diversity and organization and it’s an asset, it’s never a weakness to have a very diverse workforce, whether it be how they choose to identify their gender, their race, their financial status and it really is about getting diversity of opinions,” MacKay said. While MacKay and Li indicate advancements in recent years towards breaking the AMS’ glass ceiling, even with Li’s election and the relatively high rate of 35 per cent female presidents, it’s noticeably less than the 61 per cent of women that make up Queens’ undergraduate programs.
And as Li takes on the office this May, she’ll be joining the ranks of previous female presidents, not all of whom have faced the role without backlash. Safiah Chowdhury, AMS president in 2011, faced criticism during her run and time in office because of what she called the intersectionality of her core characteristics — she’s a woman and Muslim. “I would get pretty misogynistic text messages, to my personal cell phone, which Ben and Chris didn’t receive,” Chowdhury said, referring to her white, male co-executives, Ben Hartley and Chris Rudnicki. “They were never branded as irrational or aggressive. There was definitely a double standard, how they were treated.” Before running for AMS executive, Chowdhury was prominent on campus, working for a number of causes related to her positionality. “The reason people knew about me around campus was because of other work that I had done already about anti-oppression and equity and so being female was compounded on top of the way that I was already being typecasted at the university,” she said. The text messages were only one piece of the backlash she received, it started even before her role of president began. “The Journal at the time had a live blog of the debate and the commentary in the live blogs would often refer to me as angry, as yelling, as aggressive,” Chowdhury recalled. Another female representative who’ll be filling a traditionally male-held role next year expressed similar concerns to how
Chowdhury described the scrutiny of her behaviour and tone.
an asset, it’s never “ ...ait’sweakness to have a diverse workforce, whether it be how they choose to identify their ender, their race, their financial status and it really is about getting diversity of opinions.
”
— Brian MacKay, AMS vice president-elect
Jasmine Lagundzija, ASUS president-elect, will be the first female president of ASUS since Jillian Evans filled the role in 2009, the only female president out of the past eight years. “There shouldn’t be a quota and we shouldn’t give ourselves a gold star every time there’s a women leader,” Lagundzija said. “But if we don’t see women in leadership, we can’t expect to see it back with the students, whether those leaders are in student government, looking at the deans or even local legislators.” While Lagundzija successfully won the role of president-elect and said she didn’t feel any major concerns over her gender in the role, she noticed small things that cropped up due to her gender. “When taking the campaign pictures, I had to think a lot about it — I didn’t want to be too much of a prude, or too revealing.” For Lagundzija, it didn’t just come down to clothing, but like Chowdhury, comments regarding her personality.
JOURNAL FILE PHOTOS
“After the debate I got a lot of feedback and people said I was too aggressive and people said that Jenn [Li] was too passive and they want women to fit in a role that they’ve decided they need to go into. I got told to smile more in the campaign … you become a spokesperson for the lack of women in politics.” Aniqah Mair, CompSci ’18, ran against Li in the elections this year and is currently the president of the Computing Students’ Association. According to Mair, representation matters, but not necessarily for her. “I don’t feel like I need to see people who look like me up there, it’s more of a personality thing,” she said. “Obviously, a lot of people talk about the visual representation, so it’s obviously really important to have. Sometimes it can be hard to see yourself in that position, and it’s important to normalize that, the more you see it, it’s less of an anomaly.” In terms of the role of president itself, Mair echoed the difference in how men and women need to carry themselves in those position. “I find that I purposefully modify the way I speak, there are some things I do when communicating that are purposeful because I am a woman,” Mair reflected. “For instance, starting off with ‘this might be silly but...’ in order to make my opinions seem a bit more like suggestion and to make things more palatable, just downplaying my confidence in general so that people feel less challenged.”
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EDITORIALS
The Journal’s Perspective
You can’t quantify personality
THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL Volume 144 Issue 21 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873
Editorial Board Jacob Rosen
Editors in Chief
Jane Willsie Kayla Thomson
Production Manager
Victoria Gibson
News Editor
Blake Canning
Assistant News Editors
Morgan Dodson Maureen O’Reilly Shivani Gonzalez
Features Editor
Mikayla Wronko Editorials Editor
Ramna Safeer
Opinions Editor
Arththy Valluvan Erika Streisfield
Arts Editor
Alex Palermo
Assistant Arts Editor
Joseph Cattana
Sports Editor
Sarah O’Flaherty
Assistant Sports Editor
G
rading a test is a lot easier than grading someone’s personality. According to researchers at Western University, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores and grade point averages (GPA) are given too much weight over personality when considering which students should be offered admission to medical school. “You can be smart and write a hell of an exam, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do the job,” said Mitch Rothstein, one of the researchers. “But you add a personality equation, and it adds a little bit of predictability.” A single number isn’t indicative of who you are or how well you can interact with someone, but the emphasis on grades objective and quantifiable numbers — for medical school prospects is warranted. First of all, getting into medical school is already inaccessible to the average person. Studying for the MCAT, fine-tuning applications,
Living at home during my time at university, I’ve become accustomed to friends forgetting that it takes me 40 minutes by bus to get to campus. Meeting up with classmates for a group project has to be scheduled into my day because of the large amount of time needed to travel to campus. According to the Queen’s website, roughly 95 per cent of students come from outside of Kingston. Understandably, many members of the Queen’s community assume all people follow the same pattern, but the other five per cent of students shouldn’t have their experiences ignored. The Queen’s community is tailored towards an on-campus lifestyle with all Queen’s activities being located in or around campus.
and practising for interviews already makes for a tenuous process without having applicants showcase a winning personality on top of it all.
to their personality, regardless of academic standing. However, it should be a school’s objective to teach people how to be good doctors, not screen based
single number isn’t indicative of who you are “orAhow well you can interact with someone, but the emphasis on grades — objective and quantifiable numbers — for medical school prospects is warranted.
”
As well, MCAT scores and GPAs are a lot less arbitrary than simply numbers on a piece of paper. A book may not teach you everything you need to know about being a good doctor, but a doctor who can accurately diagnose a patient and knows everything about their specialization may be more important than one who completed medical school with a smile. The premise behind this research study also makes the assumption that some people are just inherently better doctors due
on the assumption that what you need to be a good doctor can’t be taught and is inherent. The job of medical school admissions offices is to choose the people most fit to learn how to be good doctors, including their bedside manner, not judge their favourite. The key is in the balance between the two. Personality matters, but so do the test scores and grades that medical school hopefuls break their backs to achieve. In fact, most medical school applications already include
ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT LIN
one or two rounds of in-person interviews, in which students are judged on their answers to both general and situational questions. But, standardizing assessments of applicants’ personalities any further, while still being fair to everyone, would be difficult for medical school admissions officers. If the people facilitating interviews are also meant to judge who has the best personality, there are cultural biases that can come into play. Standards of personality such as those quoted in the study, calmness, social confidence and tolerance for example, aren’t universal. International students may be qualified and willing to learn, but could face setbacks for how they behave in an interview. Balancing the two criteria makes sense, but it can only be done if schools realize that measuring someone’s personality is a lot different than grading a multiple-choice test. — Journal Editorial Board
Zachary Chisamore
everything they need for the day with them to campus, or others who need to find a way home after a late night. Other students don’t recognize these added inconveniences and in a campus culture that caters towards students who live near campus, students living at home can start to feel excluded. To cater to all students and not typecast what the student experience should look like, Queen’s needs more groups that include students living off campus. The First Years Not in Residence Orientation program helps students who don’t live on campus find a community during Orientation Week — more programs like this throughout the years could be beneficial. One way for Queen’s to bridge
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Anisha Jain
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The Queen’s experience works against off-campus students But those of us who live at the other end of Kingston need to either take a bus or a taxi to reach Queen’s, which, in winters like this one, isn’t always possible. For example, there have been several days during this winter when the University didn’t cancel classes despite dangerous conditions. While most students don’t need to deal with driving on the roads, there are many who don’t have that luxury — for us, getting to Queen’s is more than just a quick walk. This tailored attitude means that central Queen’s experiences such as Orientation Week and Homecoming become more difficult to participate in for students living at home. These activities aren’t exactly tailored for students who may need to bring
Jenna Zucker
Lifestyle Editor
the gap is to devise a bus system that doesn’t require students to transfer two or three buses to reach campus. By having shuttles that come to the areas of Kingston in which the buses don’t, we can give students expedited and safer travel to campus. By being more understanding of the difficulties students face while living off campus, we can create a more inclusive community that allows each student to have the post-secondary education that they came here for — not just the romanticized version with college housing and residence halls. Zachary is one of The Journal’s Copy Editors. He’s a second-year English major.
For information visit: www.queensjournal. ca/contribute or email the Editors in Chief at journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions. The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston. Editorial opinions expressed in The Journal are the sole responsibility of The Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers. 190 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3P4 Editorial Office: 613-533-2800 Business Office: 613-533-6711 Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Please address complaints and grievances to the Editors in Chief. The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Contents © 2016 by The Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of The Journal. Circulation 4,000
Friday, February 10, 2017
queensjournal.ca
OPINIONS
•7
Your Perspective
PHOTO BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
Kasey Caines argues that the hashtag #DressLikeAWoman has negative effects that contradict its intended purpose.
No real way to #DressLikeAWoman In redefining womanhood, we perpetuate the same problem we’re trying to solve
Kasey Caines, ArtSci ‘17 While the #DressLikeAWoman hashtag attempts to promote equality by showing that woman and their dress can’t be reduced to a single description, it doesn’t confront that defining women is in itself problematic. A recent article by CBC News discussed how the hashtag #DressLikeAWoman took over social media after it was recently revealed that American President Donald Trump holds his female staff to a strict dress code. It was reported by individuals working closely with Trump’s campaign that he expects his female staff to “dress like women”, a statement that’s highly problematic not only in its sexist connotation, but in supposing that there are certain characteristics that define womanhood at all. It implies possessing a set of traditionally feminine qualities, and in doing so distinguishes a certain sphere of society in which these qualities can be neatly placed. Stars such as Brie Larson have since stepped up, coining the “Dress Like a Woman” hashtag to advocate that a woman isn’t defined by a particular set of traits, and therefore can’t be confined to a particular code of dress. Upon reading this article my initial response was to ask, “if someone is expected to dress like a woman, then what does it mean to be a woman?” This question is seemingly answered in the various careers the article features women in, depicting them as astronauts, athletes and doctors, all positions that illustrate them as active
participants in the workplace. model of what it means to be a woman, and even surpass men in stereotypically A related Forbes article, titled “Working it fails to acknowledge that defining male-dominated spheres. Women Respond To White House Dress “womanhood” itself is problematic. Instead, it To be a woman in the 21st century is Code Report With #DressLikeAWoman seems to do little more than shift the view to shatter the traditional understanding of Campaign,” reported that, following Trump’s of what womanhood entails from that of a what it means to be a woman 100 years statement, “working women and their allies traditional woman to a working female. ago — a wife, a mother and a figure lacking across genders took to social media, both to This poses additional issues in a day influence in the social and political world. As balk at the notion that there’s any one way and age where gender restrictions are we see in these articles and Twitter coverage an entire sex should dress and to show off rapidly collapsing. A woman can no longer however, this means glossing over the their own professional attire, from surgery be defined by the physiological capacity women who choose to define themselves by scrubs to army fatigues.” to bear children, and is now a term that these more traditional standards. As in the CBC News article, it depicts encompasses a wide demographic in the Even companies such as Wildfang — a Twitter posts of women sporting the LGBTQ+ community where womanhood company that sells women’s work wear various forms of dress standard they are is embraced as a quality of being, not of — are jumping on board, covering their held to in their careers, none of which physical body. Instagram page with diverse, innovative depicting one specific way in which When people imagine what it means to women alongside the hashtag and captions they are expected to present themselves be a woman in the 21st century, the image like “Hey Donald, was this what you had at work. of strength and independence comes to in mind?” Featuring acclaimed women in this movement without a doubt contributes to Although the hashtag emerges from the good expanding the parameters that women are traditionally defined in, however redefining intention of eradicating a stand model of what it means womanhood — as this article does — isn’t to be a woman, it fails to acknowledge that defining enough: it’s simply shifting our definition “womanhood” itself is a problematic issue. while maintaining guidelines under which women are expected to fall. In doing so, a However, we can see in both articles mind. We picture women fighting for the large portion of women inevitably drift into that while the hashtag is being widely used same equality in modern society that men the limelight where their definition of who by females seeking to oppose Trump’s have always possessed, demonstrating their they are isn’t visibly acknowledged, which is sexist beliefs, these posts aren’t entirely unique, internal strength to close the gap exactly what the hashtag aims to reject. inclusive. It primarily promotes working between what it traditionally means to be a In order to reject restrictions of what it women who reject traditional gender roles man or woman. means to dress like a woman, it means we and strive for equality in the workforce, We imagine women like Game of Thrones have to reject defining what womanhood however in doing so it shifts the definition character Brienne of Tarth who blur the is at all, and in doing so reject the idea of womanhood rather than eradicating lines between male and female to show that there is a single way one gender it altogether. not only that a difference in reproductive should dress. Although the hashtag emerges from the system doesn’t mean a difference in good intention of eradicating a standard ability or skill, but that women can excel Kasey Caines is fourth-year English major.
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Talking heads ... around campus PHOTOS BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
Who is your ideal celebrity valentine?
“Beyoncé. You get three valentines for one.” Shreeya Thakar, ArtSci ’17
“Wow, so many pretty people...Chris Pratt.” Samantha Rivas, ArtSci ’20
“Seth Rogan or Snoop Dogg.” Tiffany Tsilker, ArtSci ’20
“It doesn’t even need to be romantic, but Ellen DeGeneres.” Kevin Laporte, ArtSci ’17
8 • queensjournal.ca
Arts
Friday, February 10, 2017
Queer film fest leaves our rev
“It’s time to get OUT!” screams the Reelout Queer Film Festival. In its 18th installment, the festival brought nothing short of groundbreaking films to the Kingston community last week. Originally established in 2000 by Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG). Reelout is a collective arts project that seeks to celebrate gender and sexual diversity in Kingston. This year’s lineup hosted a wide array of genres from comedy to romance, and filmmakers from a variety of backgrounds, giving the festival an in-depth and intersectional approach to diversity. We reviewed a couple of films and shorts from the festival, some of which made us laugh, while others made us cry. Nevertheless, the films left us with a unique perspective into LGBTQ+ communities. Girl Gets Girl (2015), Feature
De Chica en Chica, or Girl Gets Girl, directed by Sonia Sebastian, brings you abruptly into the world of Inés who, after nine years of slacking off and sleeping around in Miami, returns to Madrid on the day her ex-fiancée is throwing a ‘period party’ for her daughter. As Inés’ return comes nine years after leaving a pregnant Verónica at the altar, she doesn’t receive the fan-fair she was hoping for. All the friends and responsibilities she left behind come roaring back, including her lust for Verónica’s straight best friend, Lola. This film is fast-paced and hilarious as it moves quickly around Verónica’s beautiful Spanish home and backyard, delivering well-crafted jokes that had the whole theater laughing throughout the film. The group of
ARTIST PROFILE
Scenic sketching Cam Lawrence, student and sketcher Clayton Tomlinson Staff Writer Cameron Lawrence doesn’t just draw nature, his art comes from an attempt to internalize and come closer to the beauty of the Northern Ontario landscape he often encounters. While many students might argue that their notebook doodles approach the level of art, Lawrence’s sketches of scenes of nature are truly note-worthy. Most of Lawrence’s artwork consists of small pictures of trees, rocks and lakes, scenes he spends his time travelling through.
The Mathematics of a Lesbian Kiss by Canadian filmmakers Sabine Lebel and Alison Taylor is a series of blurry, intimate videos taken in San Jose, Costa Rica and shot entirely on the couple’s iPhones. The two women contrast their experiences decades ago in Toronto’s “dyke bar scene” with the closeted reality of going out in present day San Jose. The short feels intimate, aided by the familiar quality of a friend showing you videos on their phone as they narrate the scene. The short contrasts the couple’s happy memories of falling in love with the sad reminder that not everyone has the freedom to love so openly.
members as they navigate their identities, teenagehood and the direction of their lives. The film isn’t easy to watch as the gang members are constantly on edge and ready to fight their oppressors, giving the film an unsettling overtone of violence. The documentary felt personal and raw, as even though the members pride themselves on their fashion and makeup, they’re unable to conceal their emotions. Their overt anger at living in a world that perpetually marginalizes them, as well as the intimate love and affection that has formed between the gang members who’ve now become family, simultaneously brought me joy and sadness. In addition to identifying along the LGBTQ+ spectrum, all the gang members are black and from low-income households, with many having left home in their early teens and relying on prostitution to survive. While watching this film, it’s important to remember that the directors, Oppenheimer and Flor, are both white, cis adults, allowing them to tell this story from a distinct position of privilege. This film left me emotionally -stirred and angry at the world for the way it treats people who’re different, while overwhelmed by the love and friendship that can form within a group that’s intent to resist.
Check It (2016), Feature
Josh (2015), Short
Check It, Toby Oppenheimer and Dana Flor, gives a rare glimpse into the day-to-day reality for members of America’s first-documented LGBTQ+ gang. The documentary follows key
Directed by Canadian filmmaker Miles McCraw, Josh follows a young Amish boy, who discovers the lively LGBTQ+ community in the city. Joshua trades in rural life for an
friends truly embody a dysfunctional family as yelling and accusations, directed primarily at Inés, quickly melt into forgiveness. The film is primarily light-hearted with a few genuinely tender moments between Inés and her could-have-been-daughter, Candela, that keep the film grounded and show there’s more to Inés than her reputation allows. Girl Gets Girl is a wonderfully funny portrayal of a homecoming to friends that feel like family. — AJ Lockhard
The Mathematics of a Lesbian Kiss (2015), Short
— AJ Lockhard
According to Lawrence, Sci ’17, with the development of cameras, his art is less concerned with capturing a view and more with how it makes him feel. Originally from Toronto, Lawrence spends his summers at his cottage in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, canoe tripping and planting trees. He’s also a student in mechanical engineering, with no formal training in any art form. “If I’m travelling light, backpacking or something, I like sketching with pens and watercolor because it’s super light and portable … I do really enjoy doing acrylic paintings though,” Lawrence said in an interview via Facebook Messenger. He also mentioned that his sketchbook is a travelogue of sorts, which shows all the places he’s been. With the subject matter he focuses on, Lawrence said that he’s inspired by the Group of Seven mainly through what they chose to paint, but he doesn’t feel he produces similar work in terms of style. Another influence of his are his fellow artists who share their work on Instagram because it has shown him the importance of trying a myriad of styles. The Group of Seven are important in understanding what Lawrence is trying
— AJ Lockhard
urban romance, hoping to meet his love -interest, Austin, in this new town. But, when Josh finally sees Austin and has his first sexual encounter, he’s suddenly scared off by this vibrant community he has tried so hard to fit into — missing the comfort and safety of home. Tony Babcock, in the role of Joshua, delivers an emotional and yet awkward performance as he so perfectly captures the innocence and thrill of breaking Amish. The film in its entirety was shot in a surprising span of four days, nevertheless, it featured complex and emotionally-stirring cinematography as well as acting. — Erika Streisfield
A Little Lust (2015), Feature
A little lust and a lot of laughter. Directed and produced by Italian filmmaker Veronica Pivetti, A Little Lust or Ne Giulietta, ne Romeo, is set in Rome and follows 16-year-old Rocco as he tries to get laid and see his favourite pop star in concert. When an incident happens at school, Rocco is forced to come out as gay to his parents, who aren’t accepting of his new lifestyle. As a result, Rocco runs away with his two best friends, pilgrimaging across Italy to see his favourite singer, who is notably gay. Together, Rocco’s neurotic mother and hip grandmother follow after them, encountering exciting incidents that add some much-needed comic relief in the heat of this coming-out tale. While the movie tackles themes associated with the LGBTQ+ community, such as coming out and heteronormativity, it does so in a humorous and entertaining light that had the audience laughing from beginning to end.
to do by sketching whatever scene he encouraged his son in his sketches, which feels compelled to depict. Talking about Lawrence has been doing as long as he can their influence on him, Lawrence said he’s remember. “inspired by their approach to art, as a vessel to take them deep into the backcountry into seldom explored areas.” “I’m mostly inspired by being outdoors and getting the opportunity to spend time in the beautiful places that I feel compelled to capture” he said. Lawrence often posts pictures of sketches over the places they represent on Instagram, images that have the effect of seeing the world through his eyes. His pursuits extend into digital media as well but he still connects it back to his roots. “I’m doing the graphics work for the commerce and engineering environmental conference … pretty excited to see where that takes me,” Lawrence said. In terms of his future, he joked that it’s pretty up in the air at the moment. He has applied to a Building Sciences Master’s program which he hopes will allow him to combine his background in engineering with creating sustainable design. Although a talented artist, he said that he doesn’t want to just be a painter after school, a path his father before him went down. The SUPPLIED BY CAM LAWRENCE elder Lawrence, an artist and an architect,
Arts
Friday, February 10, 2017
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eviewers ‘reeling’ From Rocco’s friends, to his neurotic mother and crazy grandmother, the audience could find themselves identifying with one of the characters as they embodied the friends and family in our everyday lives. While the film is in Italian with English subtitles, I felt myself enraptured in the heartwarming tale with vibrant characters and action-packed cinematography — I even caught on to an Italian word or two, especially since they were cracking ‘pene’ (penis) jokes the whole film. — Erika Streisfield
Dawn (2016), Short
While the sun comes up, two virtual strangers share more than just a bench while they wait for the bus to arrive. This romantic film by British director Jake Graf leaves little to the imagination — except the main character’s face as she conceals her appearance for the entire 13-minute short. There are inklings of a romance as the two strangers chat, and the overall feeling was quite uplifting as you get the sense neither of them has connected with someone in a while. However, the mood shifts when the woman reveals her face and she sports a mysterious black eye. Through interspersed flashbacks that immediately fill in the blanks, the viewer begins to see the duo as truly powerless. The strangers talk for a mere 10 minutes, but they share more than either is comfortable sharing with people they know personally. Although the theme was romantic, the gestures were predictable. When they part ways, she grabbed his hand and scribbled her
number on his arm in a display of interest, despite the man previously revealing he’s blind. They vow to see each other again, as the rising sun backlights the countryside and the viewer is left wondering about both of their pasts and what brought them to this moment. — Alex Palermo
Arianna (2015), Feature
Italian filmmaker Carlo Lavagna captures the confusion of 19-year-old Arianna as she discovers a missing piece of her past one summer at her parent’s home on the shores of Lake Bolsena. Arianna struggles with her body image, unable to see any parallels between her and her developed and sexually experienced cousin, Celeste. She struggles to feel feminine and ‘normal,’ as she has repeated flashbacks to her early life which she barely remembers.The opening shot shows Arianna in all her nude glory, lying face up in a flowing river. Throughout the film, laidback European attitudes about nudity were highlighted, leading to some particularly graphic sex scenes which brought life to this coming-of-age story. The continual suggestion throughout the film that Arianna wasn’t born female, made me wonder how she herself couldn’t know. Her innocence evokes sympathy as a viewer, and her parent’s dishonesty about her past seem to only accentuate the difficulty of her transition. As the film progresses, Arianna reconnects with her cousin, makes new friends and together they explore their sexuality, unsupervised. The stunning visuals this film offered complemented
THEATRE
Transference transforms Queen’s drama A new experimental show to premier on campus Erika Streisfield Arts Editor A performer walks into a performance — unrehearsed and with no source of direction — is handed a script in front of an audience, and told to perform it to the best of their ability. Produced by Scott Forster, ArtSci ’16, and Andreea Ionesca, ConEd ’17, Transference is an experimental show that explores the inherent personal characteristics a performer brings to the stage. Forster spearheaded the project in 2015 as part of an ongoing thesis analyzing the convoluted relationship between the
audience, performer and writer. “This capstone project, Transference, has become ‘can we get the actors to do the playwrights work justice with bringing just themselves, in the rawest form,’” Forster said. No stranger to the Queen’s drama scene, Forster has worked in multiple productions and is the current president of the Queen’s Students on Broadway production company. He’s watched countless students bring to life characters on stage and enact new personas. But, what if you scratch all the rehearsals and direction away? A brilliant and unique experience. According to Forster, performers are told to do nothing but perform. There will be no
Arianna’s discovery of the truth about her body, and why it seems to be betraying her.
— Alex Palermo
Genderize (2016), Short
Canadian filmmaker Chase Joynt follows a young family’s perception of what gender is over the course of four years in this documentary short. The film begins with three siblings, Benton (12), Madeleine (10) and Dexter (6), on a swingset being interviewed by Joynt. He asks them about gender identity, and what it’s like to be going through puberty. Their candid answers breathe life into the introduction of the film and their wisdom appears to reach far beyond their years. Highlights were Benton describing puberty as “really bad” and Madeleine saying she often feels like “punching anyone in the face.” Four years later, Joynt checks in again with a similar round of questions, which garner deeper and more meaningful responses. In an interesting twist, the camera ends up flipping around and the trio of siblings — still in their pyjamas — become the ones asking the questions about feminism and masculinity. The 15-minute saga was heartening, as you seem to watch the trio grow up over the course of its four-year timeline. The obvious candor made Genderize stand out in terms of comedy and without definite plot, it was whatever the interviewees wanted it to be.
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Fair Haven (2016), Feature
Fair Haven, directed by Kerstin Karlhuber and written by Jack Bryant, follows the story of James, played by Michael Grant, a 19-year-old high school graduate fresh from Christian conversion therapy. In the wake of his mother’s death, James has to learn to cope with his sexuality in a small Vermont town that rejects homosexuality in the name of God. James’ grieving father is increasingly concerned with his interest in music, men and his indifference to girls. Interspersed flashbacks to his therapy sessions highlight the irony of the church’s harmful message, as James falls in love for the second time. The warm, rolling hills of his family’s apple orchard makes the perfect backdrop for the romance that ensues. Although the film was set and released in 2016, the rural setting gave it a 1990s feel as hardly any of the characters used electronics, which turned out to be a refreshing touch. Given the gravity of the subject matter you would think there wouldn’t be much room for comedy but Fair Haven still delivered on a more subtle type of humour. James’s love affair quickly gets him in hot water and when he finally fails to conceal it, all bets are off. The duo learn the ropes of what it means to love against the odds, and the value of proving oneself to those who are meant to love us unconditionally. — Alex Palermo
— Alex Palermo
rehearsal process or direction. The motto of the production is “go for it.” In other words, take the bull by the horns and run with it. “Essentially, the audience is watching them do an audition,” Ionesca said about the performers. In addition to the brave actors, a team of four writers have been contracted to draw up scripts in secrecy, only to be revealed and read for the first time on show night. Not even Forster or Ionesca will have a hand in the writing process. Forster and Ionesca call their production a “network of secrecy,” really pushing to bring raw un-interrupted talent to Queen’s theatre. Together with Ionesca, Forster hopes to break down the fourth wall and understand how the writer, actor and audience are receptive to a piece of theatre. “[Students can] expect to see something very different than anything they’ve ever seen at Queen’s before,” Forster said. “Every single night will be different, and, on top of that, every person will take it differently. So you could see the show three times and never see the same script, read by maybe three different people, and every night that would be drastically different
based off of whatever that actors basic instinct is,” Ionesca added. “It’s the kind of show that you would want to come to every show as opposed to you just come and see it once — you want to be there at all of them” Forster said. The show runs from February 30 to March 2.
The show features actors performing on the spot.
VIA UNSPLASH
10 •queensjournal.ca
Friday, February 10, 2017
SQUASH
Sports
Women’s squash wins OUA gold Women’s program on the rise, Richmond named OUA MVP Matt Scace Staff Writer Over the last three years, the women’s squash team has ascended to the top of Ontario university squash. On the weekend, the Gaels went a perfect 40-0 at the OUA championships in Waterloo to complete the “three-peat” — their third OUA championship in as many years. The sweetness of victory didn’t end after the medals were handed out to the women, as top-ranked Ali Richmond captured the OUA female MVP award while Alysha Anzik joined Richmond in being nominated as OUA All-Stars. The men competed in the championships as well, finishing just short of the podium, ending the season fifth in the OUA. Going into the championships, the Gaels hadn’t lost a match all season and though the final score line made it appear to be smooth sailing, the team felt the pressure of such an important event. “I think there was definitely pressure for us to maintain that result but we were also feeling pretty confident because of our pre-season results,” Richmond said, reflecting on the tournament just a few days after its conclusion. According to Richmond, there were also lots of unknowns going into the championships, but that made the championship even sweeter. “Every year the competition has gotten harder and harder so I think that each year we can pull out a win is definitely more meaningful than the last,” she said. Richmond conceded in a very humble manner that the weekend was very exciting and “a great showing from us.”
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It definitely meant a lot seeing how there are a lot of good players playing in the OUA. I definitely have my team to thank because they’ve been pushing me all season so that definitely helps.
Over five years, Sukhpreet Singh has amassed 1,345 points.
PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN SMITH
Breaking a Queen’s record: a long journey for Singh
After tearing both his hip labrums, Sukhpreet Singh reaches 1,345 career points Sebastian Bron Staff Writer While Sukhpreet Singh would’ve told you that Sunday’s away matchup against U of T was just another game of the season, he had something personal on the line. In the third quarter, trailing by nine, Singh came off a screen in the offensive end to get the ball in the corner. He squared up to basket, pump faked and drove to the lane, going for a lay-up with a double-clutch in midair. Off his release, the ball kissed the glass and fell through the hoop. “And there it is!” said the announcer as the ball rattled through the mesh. “Sukhpreet Singh has become the all-time leading scorer for the Queen’s Gaels in their history!” There it was, just how the announcer put it: Queen’s all-time scoring champ with 1,345 points and counting. But three years ago, holding the Queen’s all-time record for points almost didn’t seem possible. During his second year at Queen’s, Singh averaged 12 points per game, providing instant offense for a team that lacked a spark. But during that season, his hip started to hurt — something he attributed to a common case of wear and tear of playing
Sweeping ” towards the podium
every day as long as he could remember. After an MRI, Singh found that it was more than that. He had a torn hip labrum — the rim of cartilage that holds the thighbone within the hip socket — and the season was just about halfway through. The injury required surgery and six months of rehabilitation, with a six-month wait for the operation. *** Sometimes stories write themselves, but Singh wrote this one with a bum hip and a will to press on. “Sukh was about 160 lbs [in first year] and I remember the first thing that came to mind when looking at him was, ‘How in the heck is this guy so good at basketball?’” said Ryall Stroud, a then-Gael teammate, on his initial impressions of the fifth-year guard. The duo were part of head coach Stephan Barrie’s first recruiting haul in 2012, where he brought in a nine-man class in hopes of turning around a program desperate for a change in both culture and play. Of those nine, three started in over 14 games of the team’s 20-game season. Fittingly, Singh was one of them. “Sukh flat out produced when he was on the court,” said Stroud. “He made us better and we started winning. And in turn
it forced the coaching staff to trust him and play him a lot.” Barrie concurred, adding that Singh, the first recruit to sign for his program, rightly earned time on the floor. “It wasn’t given to him,” he said, “as is the case with everyone. But his competitive level has been the best of any player that we’ve had here at the Queen’s.” A product of the perennial powerhouse Martingrove Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Singh was named his team’s most valuable player his senior year — and for good reason. “He was always a competitor,” said his former high school coach Shawn Gray. “I appreciated having him on the team — our defensive stopper, we called him.” During his time at Martingrove, the 6’2” shifty playmaker won three city championships, as well as an OFSAA “AAA” championship in 2011. Yet throughout all of this, Singh wasn’t highly recruited. Barrie recalls having a former assistant coach, Madhav Trivedi, take a trip out to Toronto. “There’s a player,” Trevedi told Barrie, “and you’ve got to see him.” “I just knew, from the first time I saw him, that he had a lot of potential. I was See You on page 11
— Ali Richmond
Anzik and Richmond, both in their third year at Queen’s, have now seen three seasons of successful squash with the team and took some time to reflect. “As a team overall we’re very close. We’re very lucky that we all support each other and that off the court, we’re very good friends,” Anzik said, emphasizing the importance of the team’s tight-knit environment, despite squash being an individual sport. Richmond agreed with Anzik, saying, “it really helps that we all really support each other outside of the sport as well.” Now the reigning OUA MVP, Richmond reflected on her personal achievement “It definitely meant a lot seeing how there are a lot of good players playing in the OUA. I definitely have my team to thank because they’ve been pushing me all season, so that definitely helps.”
Men’s and women’s curling teams prepare for OUA Championships Spencer Belyea Staff Writer
For the average person, their exposure to curling is rather limited. Often it’s glossed over on TSN, only highlighted during the Olympics. But while curling diehards may cringe at the layman’s knowledge coming from the TV guide, this casual exposure is actually what drew the skip of the Gaels’ men’s team to the sport. “The first time I ever saw curling was during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002,” said Wes Forget, who’s in his fifth See Building on page 12 year on the team. “My mom had it on the TV
Curling at the 2016 OUA Championship.
and Kevin Martin was curling for Canada, and he hit a quadruple takeout — I had no idea at the time [what that] was — and was just expressionless. It seemed like a sport for a modest and shy individual, which I was at the time.” TV exposure aside, curling is a family sport, passed down through generations. This is how Gaels’ women’s skip Courtney Auld, a first-year kinesiology student, got into the sport. Her mother and other
SUPPLIED BY SHAWN MACDONALD
relatives are competitive curlers, so she was naturally drawn to it as well. Both Auld and Forget started curling at a young age, something that coach Beth Calwell notes is standard for competitive curlers. She also describes junior curling as a “small world” where everyone is interconnected, a trait that feeds into making the composition of a university curling team unique. See Upcoming on page 12
Sports
Friday, February 10, 2017
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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Veteran leadership leads undefeated Gaels Emily Hazlett and Robyn Pearson discuss their time as Varsity Gaels Eric Gallo-Miscevich Staff Writer Often in sports, the strength of a group is defined by the strength of their leaders. For the women’s basketball team, it’s no different. During the women’s basketball team’s historic 16-0 run to start the season, the Gaels have been led by fifth-year veterans Emily Hazlett and Robyn Pearson. To discuss their unprecedented streak and the program’s highest ever national ranking, third in Canada, The Journal sat down with Hazlett, Pearson and head coach David Wilson. For Wilson, both players have developed throughout their time at Queen’s. While Hazlett’s tenacity on both ends of the court lifts the spirit of the Gaels, Pearson’s rebounding creates opportunities for the team. Wilson went on to explain Pearson’s improved emotional maturity, talking about how she developed more confidence in her abilities and learned how to remain calm. Wilson spoke similarly about Hazlett, who has served Queen’s with her gritty and never-give-up style of play. “The biggest growth in Haz’s game has been her emotional maturity as well,” he said. “Earlier in her career she played minute by minute, and not looking at a bigger picture, but she is now able to see more of a bigger picture and remain calm when the pressure comes on.” Hazlett agreed with her coach. “I used to be a very emotional player … I would get down on myself and the coaches have done a good job at helping me out with
that,” said Hazlett. “I’m now able for the younger players and like a group of friends. “We’ve been fortunate enough to let things go … and not dwell on increasing player chemistry. “I think we’ve just developed to go on team trips,” Pearson said. them throughout the game.” Hazlett’s tenacity has been part into a little duo of knowing what “In my first year, Emily and I got of her character since day one. Her the other is going to do and how the opportunity to go to Puerto Rico in December and then a few competitive edge extends to the the other will react,” Hazlett said. years ago we went to rest of the team as well Vancouver as a team. — they want to win. “I’ve always been I actually went quite a distance away The next year after that a very competitive from the rocks out on Peggy’s Cove just we went to Barcelona Spain and played person … we’ve set because I wanted to be at a distance to just in there for eight or such high expectations watch their interactions. They’re a very nine days.” for our team this tight group, and Robyn and Hazlett are a “We’re a team that year that I don’t think just likes to spend there’s anyone that big part of that. time together.” goes out on the floor The Gaels played that would be okay — Dave Wilson, head coach in Halifax this past with a loss.” Throughout their five years Central to this relationship Christmas break and Wilson at Queen’s, Hazlett and Pearson between the Gaels’ point guard commented on the team have learned to read each other’s and their post player is building environment while on the trip. “I actually went quite a distance movements and tendencies on team comradery, which has been the hardwood. They’ve grown accomplished in part through trips away from the rocks out on accustomed to leading by example that have made the team feel more Peggy’s Cove just because I wanted
to be at a distance to just watch their interactions. They’re a very tight group, and Robyn and Hazlett are a big part of that,” Wilson said. Hazlett and Pearson have taken it upon themselves over the years to lead and teach the younger players the strokes of Gaels basketball. “What we’ve always stressed on our team is two-way communication,” Pearson said. “It’s never veterans talking down on rookies. It’s always been an open form of communication and it’s very much mentoring. The younger players do very well to listen and we [veterans] do well to listen to them and answer their questions.” In addition to this communicative factor behind the Gaels’ success and team building, Hazlett understands the importance of leading by example. “Being a point guard and in fifth year you have to be [calm],” said Hazlett. “Especially during the big games, so that everyone else sees what your energy level is and sees that you’re calm, cool and collected and that helps the younger players take a step back and take a deep breath.” With regards to moving forward and looking past graduation, Wilson sees each player leaving a legacy on the team. “Those two in particular have helped elevate our program to where it is now,” he said. “Robyn [is] the all-time leading rebounder in Queen’s history and has moved up in the OUA top-ten … and Hazlett has done much the same with her energy, from her defensive skills and quickness to her competitiveness and refusal-to-lose-type attitude.”
but, as with most procedures, full recovery is certainly not guaranteed. Singh told The Journal in a 2015 article that the first week fresh off his operation could be aptly characterized as “rough.” “I couldn’t even move my leg without my mom or a friend coming down and helping me,” he said at the time. The months preceding his return to the hardwood were crippling but imperative for recovery. First off were crutches. Again, albeit mentally draining, a necessity. Slow and steady wins the race back to the court, he thought. Once comfortable, Singh skipped ahead to basic movements: lunges, extensions, core work and the like. When Christmas rolled around in late 2014, he was poised to make his return — nimble and ready to roll, for the most part. Rust considered, Singh dodged the dreaded slump many athletes endure after taking an extended leave. He scored a modest 16 points in his first game and levied a buzzer-beating winner over rivals Western in his second. He was back. But nearly a month later, it happened again. He’d torn his opposite hip labrum.
“It was brutal,” he said. Having been through the rehabilitation process before, he knew what to expect: crutches, followed by steady, methodical movements — “basically teaching yourself how to walk again,” Singh said — and then quicker exercises. Singh and his hips had anything but a binding relationship, though it wasn’t all too bad. He’d find a way like he always did. During both injuries, Singh remembered what was most difficult. “Seeing your teammates work every day without you … it’s grueling.” *** Singh’s play for the Tricolour has been nothing short of remarkable, and the record proves it. But the points don’t tell the story — his character does. “It’s a testament to the type of guy he is,” said Stroud, of Singh’s record. “After injuries like that, a lot of players may have been demoralized … not Sukh.” “Just to come back from injury — period — was a turning point,” Barrie added. Singh is respected for all the right reasons, and the reverence held for the player will leave an indelible mark on Queens’ history. “It shows that if you put your mind to something, you can do anything,” Singh said.
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Sukhpreet Singh scored 21 points in a game against U of T in December.
‘You can do anything’ Continued from page 10
kind of surprised and shocked that no one else was recruiting him,” Barrie said. Singh wasn’t necessarily the program’s crown jewel, but he was their diamond in the rough, a talent that hovered under the radar. “It was almost, like, let’s just
JOURNAL FILE PHOTOS
Robyn Pearson (left) and Emily Hazlett (right) on the court.
keep him as quiet as possible and hopefully no one figures out that this kid is going to be as good as he’s going to be,” Barrie said. Fast forward a calendar year later and Singh was headlining the OUA’s All-Rookie Team and, after ranking third amongst freshmen in scoring, he was awarded OUA co-Rookie of the Year.
PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN SMITH
“I feel forever in debt to them,” Singh said about his coaches Barrie and Madhav. *** Back in July 2014, roughly six months following the diagnosis of his torn hip labrum, Singh finished playing his season, and headed into surgery. Operative arthroscopy has often been met with significant success,
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Upcoming provincial championship Continued from page 10
“Most of the time, you choose who you curl with,” Calwell said, with Forget describing the process of forming a team based on your strengths and personal bonds with people you meet on the circuit. But the team at Queen’s is obviously different — with Calwell picking the players, five for each team, the players have no choice in how their rink is formed. While this seems like it could pose a challenge, with chemistry being so important and the team being so small, neither the coach nor the skips have found any issues. “I’ve known everyone on the team since before I came to Queen’s, having met them through my competitive team from back home,” said Auld, who compared
the experience to high school, where she won the OFSAA title last year. Curling is a unique sport at Queen’s, not only because of its small size, but also because of its competition schedule and structure. The team practices twice a week starting in the mid-fall, and the season goes to March if they qualify for the U Sports Championships. During the fall term, things are complicated by the fact that players have commitments with their club teams back home most weekends, leading to them being away from the Gaels. While this situation wouldn’t be tenable in most other sports, it works for curling because Queen’s only participates in one competition before the OUA finals. Even when the players are curling elsewhere, they’re still
Men’s curling at the 2016 OUA Championship.
getting valuable practice and experience — often in high pressure situations. In 2016, Auld won the Ontario Junior Championship, while Forget won the Travelers Club Championship in the same year with his rink from the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club here in Kingston, where the team practices and plays in local leagues. For this season, Calwell hopes both teams can improve on their finishes last season — men’s and women’s finished fourth and fifth in the OUA respectively, and the Women’s squash won their third national championships are seen straight OUA title this weekend. as a realistic goal, with the top three in the province qualifying. The OUA Championships are February 16-20th, with the U Sports Championship on March Continued from page 10 19-22nd.
SUPPLIED BY SHAWN MACDONALD
Building a tradition
SUPPLIED BY SHAWN MACDONALD
Though the team is still basking in the glory of their latest installment of dominance, the Gaels are looking forward to the next season with optimism. Only three veterans will be graduating in the spring, leaving spots open for a young crop of talent coming in. “Hopefully we can expect that the new rookies can gain some confidence and play in those upper spots where we’re going to need them next year and hopefully continue our success with four OUAs,” Anzik said. Richmond remains confident in the team’s group of players regardless of any additions, boldly stating that if they keep on the same track they’ve been
on for the past three years “we can definitely pull out another title.” Head Coach Lisa Coates is also looking to the future of the team, however, with a much broader lens on the significance these championships for the Queen’s squash program as a whole. “I think once you sort of develop a reputation as a place to study and a place to play squash, and if they know there’s a good group of women to train with, that makes it all the more enticing to come here,” Coates said. Coates says she’s already receiving emails from players despite not actively recruiting any athletes.
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Lifestyle Sims taking selfies.
GAMING
The Sims and stress relief
“Can’t afford pizza? Sell the window”
QJ POLITICS
Ashley Rhamey Assistant Lifestyle Editor
VIA YOUTUBE
If you were a computer-room-dwelling kid during the early 2000s, you likely ran into some incarnation of The Sims franchise. The game series is one of the most successful simulated reality franchises ever made, winning accolades from every avenue possible. Why are they so beloved? In my experience, playing Sims is downright therapeutic. Sitting down with my mom, I asked her if she remembered how often I would play Sims as a child. She answered “daily,” which was honestly a pretty fair assessment. “You were in your own little world when you were playing. Not a day went by. You were obsessed. It was weird.” Again, a fair assessment. If you’ve never played, it’s not easy to understand the appeal of a life simulator sandbox game, which is essentially a game in which you get to map out a life for yourself with no consequences and no real rules as to how you’re supposed to play. There are no defined goals or way to ‘win’ Sims,
Broken promises: the dream of Canadian electoral reform is over
Trudeau government owes it to youth to make good on promise Ryan Little Contributor Last Wednesday, a spokesman from the Trudeau government announced they’d be rescinding a major campaign promise to reform Canada’s election system into something more representative to all Canadians. Look, I’m a reasonable guy. There will always be a certain degree of change in a party’s platform after their election. That’s politics. What I can’t accept, however, is changing the fundamental nature of that platform. Election reform is an issue at the core of Justin Trudeau’s promises of change in Canada, as well as an issue that’s especially relevant to the political representation of youth in Canada. There are some major issues with our voting system. We’re under what’s called a “first-past-the-post” voting system, which we’ve inherited from the British parliament. Common criticisms of first-past-the-post include the high prevalence of tactical voting and gerrymandering — the act of
redistricting ridings to more heavily favour certain parties based on the demographics of a riding. It even helps prop-up establishment parties, making it much harder for new or smaller parties to gain footing in a legislature. An obvious example of this is the lack of success of the Green Party, who consistently receive four per cent of the vote and rarely receive more than one seat, compared to Canada’s established parties who receive most parliamentary seats while often receiving less than a third of the vote in any given riding. This is especially damaging to people living in smaller, more rural or demographically-older ridings. These lean Conservative, even though often large portions of their population don’t identify with Conservative policy. Due to demographic and geographic factors, in many of these ridings, Conservative candidates hold the plurality vote — they receive more votes than any other candidate — without necessarily holding a majority opinion within the riding. And the reverse is true for Conservatives living in ridings See The on page 15
it’s there for you to unleash your imagination on. You can focus on keeping your Sims alive by doing all the mundane things people have to do, like eating, sleeping, using the toilet etc. If you let them go too long without attending to their needs, they’ll pass out, wet themselves, eat garbage or starve to death, perhaps in that order. Essentially, it’s like having virtual children with minimal free will and no self-preservation. Having your Sims survive all of those, along with their uncanny ability to be abducted by aliens, get hit by falling satellites, and burst into flames, is a feat in itself. There are many creative ways your Sim could tragically, randomly die, some of whom are taken advantage of by particularly sadistic players. In my opinion, no one who has consistently played is not guilty of intentionally killing one or two. When I find myself wound up and in need of a distraction, the immersive nature of the game makes for an easy, and sometimes all-consuming escape. These days, it also becomes a tool for exploring a doubt plaguing many soon-to-be university graduates. One of the Sims creators, Will Wright,
found inspiration for the game when his house was destroyed in a fire. He had to rebuild his whole life, which gave him an idea of what it’s like to feel rootless and undecided. At a junction in life when I’m asked to make real-life decisions about what I want for my future and how I want to literally build my life, coming up with a concrete answer is really tough. Part of what makes the game so enticing is that it provides you with an avenue to explore those options, on a simplified and metaphorical level. There are really two sides to the game. The surface focus, “live-mode,” which is the life-simulating gameplay that gives you control over the lives of the ‘Sims’ you create and the “build-and-buy mode,” where you create the houses and environments that your Sims inhabit. Both parts offer a creative outlet unlike any other: to design an ideal environment and to essentially play god and manipulate the people you create. There’s merit in creating your own space to explore and interact with. It provides a sense of control that can be comforting when the stress of real life feels overwhelming.
Valentine’s Day fudge
Whether you’re flying solo on Valentine’s Day or looking to impress a date, we’ve got you covered Kiera Liblik Staff Writer This fudge is also easy to customize. Use green melting chocolate for St. Patty’s Day or go Tricolour on Homecoming. Most importantly, if you’re making these for someone else, make a double batch — you’ll want some extra for yourself. These also make a great date activity because they’re quick to make and fun to decorate! Ingredients: • 1 cup condensed milk • 1 ½ cups of white chocolate chips • Candy to decorate • Tiny cupcake wrappers Instructions: 1. Heat condensed milk and chocolate on medium low heat 2. Stir until it forms a smooth mixture 3. Spoon into cupcake wrappers 4. Decorate! 5. Let cool in fridge for two hours or leave them overnight at room temperature
GRAPHICS BY RACHEL LIU
LIFESTYLE
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Friday, February 10, 2017
Reviewing the nominees: Arrival, Manchester by the Sea and Lion A critical look at this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture
Kayla Thomson Production Manager For week two of my Oscar nomination tour, I watched three very different films: Arrival, Manchester by the Sea, and Lion. Let’s dive in. Arrival
Although I really enjoyed watching this film, it didn’t exceed my high hopes for an out-of-character Oscar nomination. I wanted more from Arrival than the typical overly-indulgent emotions stemming from an inexplicable and unexplained scientific phenomenon that characterizes big sci-fi movies. And I was disappointed. I can confidently say that Arrival is one of the best science-fiction movies that I’ve seen. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are excellent as the leads, the film is shot in a lush landscape and the non-linear plot brings in the perfect element of mystery. However, the movie relies too heavily on the audience being able to relate to a character who’s inexplicably able to communicate with aliens. And of course there’s a plot twist, but I saw it a mile away. Arrival begins as large, rock-like alien ships descend onto Earth. They hover above the ground, leaving no environmental impact and are placed randomly around the globe. Adams’ character is tasked with finding a way to communicate with the aliens, who
remain in the ship behind a foggy glass wall. The plot develops in a realistic way — if in fact these ships landed on our planet — and creates an engrossing film. However, it didn’t surpass my expectations of a good science-fiction film. Will I watch it again? Yes. Will it win Best Picture? I doubt it. Manchester by the Sea
This is the first Oscar nominated film of the year that made me cry. Much like Fences, it’s raw, honest and gut-grippingly emotional
to watch. Manchester by the Sea follows Lee Chandler as he returns to small-town Manchester-by-the-sea following his brother’s sudden death and is promptly given custody of his teenage nephew Patrick. The film is a comedy … until it isn’t. Through a series of flashbacks surrounding Lee and his brother, the heaviness of the plot is continually brought to the front. However, the dark centre of the story is surrounded by a number of quirky characters, bringing the film back down to earth. This contrast may give some viewers whiplash, but for me, I felt it made the film more true to life.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN
Manchester by the Sea is honest and unforgiving. The characters break down and are built back up before your eyes, and it’s beautiful to watch. It’s a serious contender for the Oscar win. Lion
Based on a true story, Lion is another incredibly emotional Oscar nominee. However, I think it lacks the legs to compete with the fictitious films that, ironically, come off as more true to life. Lion is about a young Indian Boy, Saroo, who finds himself locked in an empty train car and travels far from his village and family, both of which he doesn’t know the correct names of. He finally gets off the train thousands of miles away from his home and is eventually adopted by a Tasmanian couple. As an adult, Saroo searches on Google Maps to find his village and, more importantly, his biological family. This is an incredible true story, however it comes off as nearly fantastical on film. The acting is strong and doesn’t take away from the story, yet it seems too far-fetched to truly relay strong emotions of honesty and sadness, like the other films do. In other words, the plot is so grand that it distracts from the human emotions behind the film. Lion is a heart warming and enjoyable film, but it doesn’t let the emotions speak for themselves, unlike other strong contenders in this category.
LIFESTYLE
Friday, February 10, 2017
queensjournal.ca
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
VIA WIKIPEDIA
Prime Minister Trudeau.
The honeymoon period is over between Prime Minister Trudeau and Canada’s youth Continued from page 13
that are overwhelmingly Liberal. The first-past-the-post voting system institutionalizes this kind of underrepresentation. We, living in the Queen’s community, are lucky to be a largely-consolidated voting block within the Kingston and the Islands riding. This means that even though there may be large degree of difference in political ideology between students at Queen’s and the rest of the riding, we represent a large enough percentage of the population that we have the ability to sway the vote one way or the other. Many ridings don’t have the luxury of a politically-organized youth that represents such a large portion of the population. This means that many of the issues we as students care deeply about aren’t often represented in such ridings. A more equitable voting system would be able to address the concerns of larger portions of each riding, not simply picking a single
representative that receives a plurality of votes, and this opinion is reflected by students all around campus who I’ve spoken to. Sara Karma, ArtSci ’18, is a political analyst for CFRC and one of the students I spoke with who’s disappointed with Trudeau’s decision. “The way I see it, the promise of electoral reform, and particularly the idea of proportional representation, was a big reason many were swayed to vote Liberal instead of smaller parties,” she said. “For the Liberals to abandon this, especially considering they got the majority, seems like they were just making promises to get the power they wanted. It shows a lack of respect for voters and a lack of ambition towards progress.” Like many other students, I voted for Justin Trudeau in November 2015 on promises of representation and a change of pace from the Conservative policies of Stephen Harper. It saddens me to see the party that I’m myself a part of exhibit such a brazen betrayal of the values that
they campaigned on. You’ve all heard it. When someone mentions Trudeau there’s almost always a flurry of compliments and affirmation of approval. However, this most recent action highlights the need for supporters to be able to honestly criticize their party if they’re going to hold them accountable for policy that isn’t in their best interests. Prime Minister Trudeau, you campaigned on change in Canada. You won by such large margins because you were able to mobilize the youth to vote for you. I’m ready to support the Liberal Party, and Justin Trudeau, but if they expect to see the same results in 2019 as they did in 2015, they need to respect the promises they made that put them in power. This includes not expecting to receive the same support from young Canadians if we aren’t seeing the change promised to us. The ball in is your court, Prime Minister.
THE LIFE OF BRYAN:
When you have to call for the pizza
ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN CUYPERS
THIS WEEK’S PUZZLE
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LIFESTYLE
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POSTSCRIPT
In the face of a frosty wind
On a winter day down by Lake Ontario, the cold breeze provided just enough lift for local kite fliers, while some even let their kite pull them across the ice. Auston Chhor Photos Editor