Nathan
Suzy
Anya
Ben
Yvonne
Francesca
Rida
Angus
Yoli
Spencer
The Journal Year in Review
Shelby
Dharm
Aysha
Vol. 149
Alysha A.
Medhavi
Asbah
Anna
Sydney
Natara
Cassidy
Kirby
Mackenzie
Alysha M.
Curtis
Will
Vio
Julia
Leah
Clanny
Anne
Madeleine
Martin ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
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The Journal Year In Review —————————————————————— News
‘The Journal’ sits down with Chancellor-designate Murray Sinclair
Sydney Ko News Editor
JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
judge in Manitoba from 1988 to 2009, and was appointed to the Senate of Canada in “I have a hard time staying retired.” 2016. And he hasn’t stopped Q u e e n’ s C h a n c e l l o r - working yet. Designate Murray Sinclair has an “Why did I agree to this? accomplished career: he chaired Certainly not because I needed to the Truth and Reconciliation work. I have lots of other things Commission (TRC), served as a to do.”
Equity Grievance Service combats harassment & discrimination Sydney Ko News Editor “The Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) launched the Equity Grievance Service (EGS) consultation as a way for equity-deserving students to share their experiences of harassment or discrimination. The consultation is for any students who have experienced harassments or discrimination at Queen’s or have thoughts on the accessibility of equity resources on campus. ASUS hopes to receive at least 50 participants complete consultations by Nov. 26. Yara Hussein, ArtSci ’23, Equity Commissioner at ASUS, said EGS will be a student-run service through ASUS. She explained the consultation will inform a new advocacy initiative concerning harassment and discrimination reporting on campus. “The service will be provided to any equity-deserving and
marginalized students and will be managed by future trained volunteers,” Hussein said in an interview with The Journal. The consultations will operate one to two, with Hussein and Samara Lijiam, AMS Social Issues Commissioner, present for participants to share their thoughts on equity and advocacy resources on campus. All participants will be compensated $20 for their time. According to Hussein, this consultation was largely inspired by the Queen’s Campus Climate (QCC) 2021 snapshot report. “Some of the statistics in [the QCC report] showed how only 2 per cent of the survey takers, who experienced harassment, actually reported it through the official university reporting system,” she said. According to Hussein, the QCC 2021 report demonstrated that students are more comfortable disclosing such experiences with their peers or close friends rather than university officials.
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
Queen’s rallies for graduate students Asbah Ahmad Assistant News Editor “We are unstoppable! A better Queen’s is possible!” This was one of the slogans chanted by those attending the rally for Queen’s graduate student workers organized by PSAC 901 on Nov. 25. The rally started in front of Stauffer Library, where a group of about 100 students walked through campus before speeches were delivered in front of Richardson Hall. PSAC 901 works to represent graduate student workers on campus. “PSAC 901 is the union who represents all
teaching assistants, research assistants, and teaching fellows. We are the legal bodies[…] if they encounter any issues with their employer,” Astrid Hobill, president of PSAC 901, said in an interview with The Journal. Hobill said one of the issues graduate student workers face is being overworked during peak seasons in the semester. “We have been overworked. We are only supposed to work 10 hours a week. During midterms or exam season we’re working 50, 60, and sometimes I have heard 70 hours per week,” Hobill said. Queen’s affirms graduate students only work a maximum of 10 hours per week.
$400,000 donated by former Board of Trustees member Sydney Ko & Shelby Talbot News Editor & Editor
David Sharpe, Law ’95, resigned from Queen’s Board of Trustees and as
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
chair of the Queen’s Law Dean’s Council in 2021. Sharpe is currently under investigationby the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for fraud in relation to his company Bridging Finance. According to the OSC, Bridging Finance mismanaged funds and failed to disclose conflicts of interest. A court document obtained by The Journal shows Sharpe is alleged to have mismanaged a total of $20.2 million. In said court document, PWC, Bridging Finance’s court-appointed receiver, found a portion of the $9.3 million was “withdrawn in cash or used to make payment to third
parties”—part of these funds were given to Queen’s University. Sharpe gifted Queen’s Faculty of Law $150,000 to support Indigenous JD students between 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he donated $250,000 to the Faculty of Law to fund the Indigenous Knowledge Initiative. The Journal reached out to Melissa McKewn, Sharpe’s lawyer, for comment, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication. In an email sent to The Journal, Julie Brown, Queen’s media and relations officer, said the University follows all established philanthropic, governance, and reporting practices in accordance with Queen’s University’s Gift Acceptance Policy.
News —————————————————————— The Journal Year In Review • 3
‘More than your grade 12 history textbook’: New Indigenous studies major to be launched in fall Asbah Ahmad Assistant News Editor
for many years, and there has been a shift, from people talking about us, to us talking about ourselves.” Queen’s will launch an Indigenous Brinklow added the major and medial Studies major and medial this fall. The program is unique because it combines program will be administered by the courses from different departments and department of Languages, Literatures and knowledge systems. Cultures (LLCU). “We don’t have a dedicated Indigenous “Two and a half years ago we started Studies department. As we were developing developing the major and the medial in the major and medial there was advocacy coordination with the working group of the work in other departments and faculties. Indigenous council and other stakeholders,” [...] Our goal is to show that traditional Professor Nathan Brinklow (Thanyehténhas), Indigenous knowledge is for everyone and interim head of Indigenous studies, said in about everything,” Brinklow said. an interview with The Journal. Along with the broad course offerings in The Indigenous Studies medial the Indigenous Studies program, the LLCU and major program will highlight and department is also developing collaborations elevate the voices of local Indigenous with other Indigenous programs on campus, communities while shedding light on such as the Indigenous teachers program the work of many elders and Indigenous administered by the Faculty of Educatio. trail blazers both nationally and locally, Since the Indigenous Studies program Brinklow said. has a language requirement, Queen’s “Indigenous people have always been and the LLCU department emphasized present at Queen’s, like when we look at the possibility of individualizing learning pioneers like Marlene Brant Castellano, experiences, Brinklow said. who came to Queen’s in the 50s,” Brinklow said. “Indigenous content has been at Queen’s
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
Queen’s Hospitality Services gears up for Ramadan Anne Fu Assistant News Editor
“From the very beginning, there was this town hall for food in residence,” Naqvi said in an interview with Ramadan, the Islamic month of prayer and The Journal. fasting, begins in early April this year and Naqvi said ResLife reached out to her and will last until early May. Meena to express their interest in supporting Zainab Naqvi and Meena Waseem, Muslim residents observing Ramadan. HealthSci ’23 and Comm ’23, have Queen’s has been collaborating with the been working with Queen’s Hospitality two students ever since. Leonard Hall, Jean Services and ResLife since February to Royce Hall, and the Late Night Barista will ensure Muslim students have adequate serve as options for the evening meal of iftar access to dining services throughout and will be open until 9 p.m., 8:30 p.m., and the month. 12 a.m. respectively during Ramadan.
‘Greater police enforcement is required’: Mayor discusses use of Queen’s $350,000 payment PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
Student starts petition to rescind Duncan Campbell Scott’s honorary degree
Asbah Ahmad Assistant News Editor
On Oct. 16, approximately 8,000 individuals congregated in unsanctioned Homecoming gatherings on Aberdeen Street. According to Kingston Police. 36 were arrested, and Asbah Ahmad Gossling said in an interview with ‘we don’t want to acknowledge approximately 186 violations of Assistant News Editor The Journal. this, and this isn’t our provincial law and Kingston Gossling first learned about problem—why does it matter?’” bylaws occurred over Late in 2021, Tayte Gossling, Scott in a gender studies course. Gossling said. Homecoming weekend. ArtSci ’22, started a petition “I gave him a super quick She felt “no one” in the Senate “I am strongly condemning the calling on Queen’s to rescind Wikipedia search, and I saw that had prior knowledge on the matter. continued aggressive, volatile, and Duncan Campbell Scott’s not only had he been a super “The fact that he still has the disrespectful behaviour that has honorary degree. integral part of the residential degree is disgusting.” been directed at our officers and Scott, a civil servant, was school system, but Queen’s also Gossling attempted to by-law partners. It is completely awarded an honorary LL.D by gave him an honorary degree.” speak at Senate, but later unacceptable,” Kingston Queen’s in 1939. He was also Gossling believed it was found the process inaccessible Police Chief Antje McNeely said in known for his role as the deputy her role to advocate against the and difficult to navigate a press release. superintendent of the Department awarding of this degree as a settler for students. Queen’s held a virtual of Indian Affairs in the early on Indigenous land. “What I can really take away homecoming over the weekend 20th century. One of Gossling’s professors from this experience is that of Oct. 15, citing public health, Gossling feels having Scott brought up the matter during Queen’s is super entrenched the City of Kingston, and police on the list of honorary degree a Senate meeting in November. in white supremacy, and are consultations as reasons not to recipients devalues such After reading the meeting very performative about the host Homecoming in-person an honour. minutes, Gossling felt there ways that they deal with it,” this year. “I think it’s really problematic was limited acknowledgment of she said. “As you may be aware, that an educational institution that the issue from other members of Homecoming celebrations is here for knowledge production the Senate. this year will take place would endorse genocide,” “The sentiment was more of virtually, Oct. 15-16, 2021. We
made the decision to go virtual due to ongoing concerns regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our community,” Principal Patrick Deane said in an email sent to Queen’s students on Oct. 14. In the days leading up to the Homecoming weekend, news broke that Queen’s paid the City of Kingston $350,000 to compensate extra costs taken on from enforcing COVID-19 restrictions in the student district. According to Deane, this amount was meant to cover the burden placed on municipal services by Queen’s students during Homecoming. “In discussion with the City, we felt our contribution this year of $350K recognized the University’s partnership with the City and city agencies, as well as the unusual draw on city resources due to the pandemic and the additional pressures on city services to ensure health and safety,” Deane said in an email to The Journal.
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The Journal Year In Review ———————————————————— Features
How young journalists are tackling race reporting Aysha Tabassum Editor in Chief PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
The death of the paper textbook Kirby Harris Features Editor
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
The reality of being a woman in STEM Kirby Harris Features Editor
average of about 19 per cent. There are similar Women students have numbers in other STEM outnumbered their male programs at Queen’s. In classmates for years at 2015, about 35 per cent of Queen’s. For the past decade, undergraduate computing the percentage of women students at Queen’s were at Queen’s has remained women. The national relatively stable at around average percentage of 57 per cent of the student women in computing body. However, in STEM programs hovers at around classrooms—any subject 15 per cent. falling under science, The humanities, social technology, engineering, sciences, and education are and math—women are still just some programs that are a minority. usually far over 60 per cent In 2020, 28 per cent of women. Women in these undergraduate engineering programs study, learn, and students at Queen’s eventually work with plenty were women. While of other women. Women that number may seem who are studying STEM small, it’s significantly subjects don’t always have higher than the national the same luxury.
From the classroom to their careers, women in STEM are constantly working in male dominated spaces. Without proper intervention, this can lend to inequalities. In STEM classrooms, group work is defined by a gendered division of labour. Simone Markus, PhD candidate in Geological Engineering, is particularly aware of this phenomenon. As a teaching assistant (TA), Markus is sometimes responsible for overseeing group projects in class. She noticed patterns in how tasks are delegated between genders.
Textbooks have always been an expensive requirement of attending university, but prices have risen considerably in recent decades. According to the Canadian Federation of Students, (the cost of textbooks rose 2.44 times the rate of inflation between 2008 and 2015. From the 1980s to 2014, textbook costs overall have increased by over 800 per cent, more than double the rate of increase in housing prices. One reason textbook
Physical accessibility on Queen’s campus Shelby Talbot Editor in Chief
access to online labs or homework assignments—not to mention most students are expected to have personal devices capable of running all t his software According to Queen’s Student Awards Office, ArtSci students should budget approximately $800 per term for class materials. This number includes textbooks, lab kits, and any specialty software that may need to be purchased. The expected price goes up for different programs.
International student struggles with medical school tuition Anne Fu Assistant News Editor
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
publishers can keep raising costs is because students are “captive consumers.” If a new textbook is assigned for a course, students can be forced to purchase it as part of their course requirements, or may not be able to do well in their course without it. Today’s university students are also expected to buy extra materials that may not have been required just a decade ago. On shelves at campus bookstores, in addition to paper textbooks, you will find course-specific software and codes that give students
Gilmar Gutierrez, Meds ’22, first came to Canada from Ecuador to attend the University of British Columbia. After he graduated, he went on to attend medical school at Queen’s with hopes of becoming a psychiatrist in the future. When the pandemic hit, Gutierrez’s family back home found themselves unable to afford the $91,000 in tuition he needed to graduate with the rest of his class this year. “I was accepted to
Queen’s as pretty much the only international medical student in the program, and it is interesting because there actually has not been any other international students for at least ten or probably more years of the program,” Gutierrez said in an interview with The Journal. “Right now, because of that, there actually aren’t that many pathways or many specific programs to help students like me.” Without citizenship or a permanent residency, Gutierrez is unable to access resources like government financial assistance or lines
of credit, and his status as an international student limits his options for scholarships and bursaries. He also won’t be matched to a Canadian medical school to complete his residency after he graduates. When he first came to Queen’s, Gutierrez asked the University what supports were available for international students looking to achieve permanent residency or match into a residency program. The University told him they had none.
Photos ————————————————————— The Journal Year In Review • 5
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
Queen’s students and faculty rally against sexual violence.
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
Frosh in Focus Feature.
The state of Aberdeen St after the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
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The Journal Year In Review ——————————————————— Editorials
Cancellation of AMS Bus-It Program is unfair for students J ournal E ditorial B oard
The cancellation of the AMS Bus-It program is a point of frustration this fall. Considering the cost of public transportation and campus parking passes, the program is a needed lifeline for student mobility around the city, especially for students living off-campus.
The alter-ego of Canadian ‘freedom’ has stained our flag C urtis H einzl Assistant Photo Editor
The previous AMS executive stated the cancellation of the program was based on a lack of confidence in operations resuming in-person on campus in the fall. The decision should’ve prevented students from paying mandatory bus fees for a potentially remote semester.
The highway connecting Kingston and Toronto typically promises an uneventful drive. Fortunately, this time the occasional overpass brought enough entertainment to carry me over—groups of passionate citizens waved
Canadian flags to the cars speeding by below. While they bore no other symbols, I was pretty damn certain they weren’t praising Justin Trudeau’s recently shaved beard. The Canadian flag has always represented freedom: freedom of expression, religion, peaceful assembly, and so on.
Queen’s community must unite to encourage confidence in personal cultural identity J ournal E ditorial B oard
Families house cultural roots, passed on from parents to children for generations. Moving away from home can make it difficult to continue these traditions and to preserve one’s personal cultural identity.
Think of it this way: coming to Queen’s, your new community will differ from what you’re used to. After the initial culture shock, it’s natural to mimic the accepted behaviours around you. When you return home, you may feel a disconnect with the culture you grew up with.
ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
The City of Kingston’s stance against Bill 21 is admirable—if they stay committed to the cause
Gatekeeping in the trans community is baseless & harmful M artin H ayes Copy Editor The internet allows the LGBTQ+ community to connect more easily than ever before—but not all spaces are as safe as they may seem. I’ve noticed a wave of users on online platforms, such as
J ournal E ditorial B oard
Tumblr and Reddit, supporting the “transtrender” idea. Apparently, some people aren’t really trans—they’re just pretending to be for attention. Transmedicalists, subscribers to this belief, generally claim a person must experience gender dysphoria and express their gender identity in a certain way.
In challenging Quebec’s Bill 21, the City of Kingston is making positive progress in acknowledging and supporting the fight against religious discrimination in Canada. The next step is to lead the same battle within the local community. On Feb. 2, the Kingston City ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
Black History Month isn’t a token for performativity—it’s a call for change J ournal E ditorial B oard
Black allyship shouldn’t be confined to just Black History Month (BHM)—consumers and corporations alike should be working year-round towards equity. It can be inspiring to see the
It’s up to all of us to stop online bullying K irby H arris Features Editor Cyberbullying is on the rise. More parentsacross the world are reporting their children being cyberbullied. At first glance, you may assume this behaviour is an unfortunate consequence of a generation raised online. But it’s not other children setting
the standard for modern cyberbullying. Instead, it’s set by adult influencers who profit off “cringe culture.” TikTok and YouTube have thousands of videos of adults going viral for laughing at content posted by children. The insults hurled at kids online would be identifiedasseverebullyingifsaidon school grounds.
Council committed to a donation of $10,000 to the legal fight against Bill 21. This is the first monetary commitment among Ontarian communities that have condemned Bill 21. Beyond this donation, Kingston is looking to adopt the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ municipal recommendations.
whirlwind of content released every February in recognition of BHM. From YouTube’s specially designed logo and their #YouTubeBlack platform to Amazon Music’s “Black Culture Is…” initiative, companies put forth content meant to signal their Black allyship each year.
Thank you, Editorials team Thank you to all the staff who shared their opinions in the Editorials section this year. It takes courage to publish your thoughts on important issues—we appreciate all of your hard work. Thank you to Clanny, the Editorials Illustrator, for your superb illustrations this year. You are an unparalled talent.
Clanny’s work was nominated for a JHM Award. Finally, thank you to Anna, our Editorials Editor. You have dedicated so much time, energy, and hand strength to the Editorials section, and it’s been a pleasure to watch you grow and develop as an argumentative writer this volume. Cheers.
Illustrations —————————————————— The Journal Year In Review • 7 Thank you to everyone who contributred to The Journal’s visuals this year—because of you, Vol. 149 was a special, beautiful issue. To all those on staff who went out of their way to contribute illustrations outside of their positions, we appreciate your additional dedication so much. We want to extend a special thanks to Dharm, the Graphics Editor, for consitently
creating dynamic, quality photo illustrations for the team this year. You put in so much work every week, and we simply couldn’t have pieced together this volume without you. Vio, you have been a tremendously talented and thorough Production Manager. You’ve overseen the aesthetic of this paper flawlessly.
ILLUSTRATION BY VIOLETTA ZEITLINGER FONTANA
ILLUSTRATION BY VIOLETTA ZEITLINGER FONTANA
ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
ILLUSTRATION BY SHELBY TALBOT ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
ILLUSTRATION BY SHELBY TALBOT ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
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The Journal Year In Review ———————————————————— Opinions
Queen’s must address the lack of mental health supports for graduate student workers PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
Rohit Revi
Queen’s Homecoming is a problem to be managed, not solved Ariel Aguilar Gonzalez
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DHARMAYU DESAI
Men need to be more involved in combatting sexual violence Matt D’Alessandro
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
QSAS’s new accommodations don’t effectively accommodate students Jubilee Lambie
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
Classrooms leave no room for creativity in arts education Paige La Fraugh
PHOTO BY SPENCER HENDRICKSON
Arts —————————————————————— The Journal Year In Review • 9
How a semester-long practicum turned into Queer Muslim Resistance Aysha Tabassum Editor in Chief “As a queer Muslim, we’re often faced with this idea of impossibility—like it’s impossible to be queer and Muslim. And that’s coming from all sides.” Maha,* MA, started a practicum project under Professor Burcu Baba in Sept. 2020 that has since evolved into the Queer Muslim Resistance podcast—she now produces it with the help of dedicated team of volunteers and partners, and partial funding from OPIRG Kingston. just not in the way I thought Akkad got the position. He later “That [impossibility] is coming it would be,” El Akkad said in returned to The Journal as the an interview. Production Manager, then as El Akkad majored in computer Editor in Chief. These experiences science—something he claimed to paved the way for his ten-year have known very little about at the tenure at The Globe and Mail. time of his studies. He struggled After selling his debut novel, and admitted to skipping class but American War, El Akkad quit explained how stumbling upon an his journalism gig to focus on opportunity at The Journal helped writing novels full time—a turn things around. decision that has undoubtedly “I thought, ‘Well, the only thing panned out. I’m halfway good at is writing, “That was the moment where maybe these people will let me I had to decide. [I told myself,] ‘If write?’ So I went and interviewed you’re not going to jump off the for the job [of Assistant News cliff and hope there’s water at the Editor],” El Akkad said. bottom under these conditions, Despite being in “bad shape” then you’re never going after eating too many chicken to do it.’” wings before the interview, El
Omar El Akkad reflects on his writing journey Ben Wrixon Arts Editor In November 2021, Queen’s graduate Omar El Akkad took home the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel What Strange Paradise. It’s been a long journey for El Akkad, ArtSci ’05, born in Egypt and moved to Canada at sixteen. He fondly looks back on the time he spent at Queen’s—most of which he spent working at The Journal and honing his skills in Carolyn Smart’s creative writing classes. “Queen’s was probably the defining stretch of my life leading up to the work I do now,
Newly-formed collective highlights hidden artists
Mackenzie Loveys Assistant Arts Editor
Local artist proving ‘Kingston isn’t boring anymore’ Rida Chaudhry Assistant News Editor
Video games are art, too Ben Wrixon Arts Editor For far too long, video games have been critiqued differently than movies and TV shows despite having more similarities than differences—and it’s time we embrace them as art. The argument against video games is firmly rooted in the past. Before consoles blessed our living rooms, people went to arcades for pixelated entertainment that was one step up from carnival games. These games were designed as a fun gimmick. Few would make the case for them being considered art. Nintendo changed everything with the 1985 North American release of their Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
from mainstream queer communities, where secularity and whiteness predominate,” she said in an interview with The Journal. “And there’s also the unfortunate existence of anti-queer sentiment in mainstream Muslim communities which, of course, comes from legacies of colonialism and the spread of Wahhabism.” The project was only supposed to last one semester, but after her practicum Maha knew she wasn’t done.
Bringing these arcade games into people’s homes birthed an industry that’s since grown bigger than anyone could have imagined. Now, in the era of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch, video games have reached unforeseen levels of immersion and interactivity. Elitists and gatekeepers are running out of reasons to exclude them from artistic spheres and conversations. Consider the plot of this story—after the brutal murder of her beloved guardian in a post-apocalyptic world, a teenager’s quest for ruthless revenge becomes an exercise in circumstance, teaching her the value of love, hate, honesty, and loyalty. If this were the pitch for a new Martin Scorsese movie, critics
would be foaming at the mouth to award it an Oscar. In reality, it’s the plot of The Last of Us Part II one of 2020’s best games that took a wrecking ball to any misguided notions about the medium. This game checks all the artistic boxes. It uses stunning visuals to tell an emotional story with mature, sophisticated characters. Players are left questioning their journey and what it all means by the time the credits roll—it’s art in every sense of the word. Video game narratives keep getting better and better. From 2018’s heart-wrenching God of War to The Witcher series, these aren’t your parents’ video games. It’s no coincidence Hollywood keeps trying to turn video games into big-screen flicks and TV shows.
“What really spoke to me about this cause, [since] I’ve always really liked art and felt very passionate it, As Kingston’s housing crisis was the fact that these people are becomes increasingly severe, in such disadvantaged situations Kingston Hidden Artist Collective and they’re still producing art,” (KHAC) was formed to support Chaudhary said. “It means that local artists who are unhoused or much to them, and they prioritize in disadvantaged situations. [making art].” The Journal spoke with KHAC The collective was founded last founder Ali Sheikh, Eng ‘20, August after Sheikh experienced Mara Fraser, head of operations, downtown Kingston’s unhoused and graphic designer Arhum population in a new way. Chaudhary, Eng ‘21.
‘History is Rarely Black or White’ deconstructs the cotton industry Ben Wrixon Arts Editor
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The Journal Year In Review ————————————————————— Sports
Queen’s to participate in new bursary for Black & Indigenous student-athletes A ngus M erry Senior Sports Editor
Athletics (OUA) as a two-year pilot project intended to provide financial aid to collegiate Queen’s University announced student-athletes who identify it will participate in a new financial as Black or Indigenous and need program supporting Black and monetary support. Indigenous student-athletes. Coming into effect for the The program, the Black or 2021-22 school year, participating Indigenous Heritage Student- u n i v e r s i t i e s — i n c l u d i n g Athlete (BIHS) Bursary, was recently Queen’s—will have $50,000 announced by Ontario University total to give out to individuals
who meet the BIHS bursary’s criteria. Up to $2,000 can be given to individual athletes, whose eligibility for other bursaries offered by the university will not be affected by their reception of the BIHS bursary.
Queen’s Golf wins big at OUA Championship N atara N g Assistant Sports Editor
Wilfred Laurier, the second-place finishers. The women’s team finished in fourth with a score of The Queen’s Golf team was +46, 22 strokes behind Western, triumphant on the green at the the first-place finishers. OUA Championships held Friday, ZacharyGreigenberger,ArtSci’21, Oct. 15 at Cherry Downs Golf Club finished second overall with a round in Pickering. of 70 (-1), just two strokes behind The Queen’s men won the top-finisher Thomas Demarco tournament with a team score from Windsor (-3). of +3, nine strokes ahead of
Gaels fall to the Mustangs in 113th Yates Cup J ack B urnham Staff Writer
thought we still had a great chance to win […] we wanted to start fast and take a lead, we didn’t want to The Queen’s Gaels were defeated play from behind early,” Head coach by the Western Mustangs 29-0 in Steve Snyder told The Journal in an the 113th Yates Cup on Saturday. interview following the game. With that loss—their first of the “I thought that our youth showed, year—the Gaels head into the off- our youth and our inexperience season with a 7-1 overall record for because we just played ‘beattheir 2021 campaign. yourself’ football […] we played a “We felt good going into it […] I ton of it during that first quarter.”
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
Women’s soccer wins OUA Championship Gaels eliminate No. 1 ranked in London Ravens in Men’s Basketball N atara N g Assistant Sports Editor After 120 minutes of scoreless play and eight rounds of penalty shootouts, the Gaels defeated the Western Mustangs in a nail-biting OUA Final on Friday, Nov. 12. During regulation, the match was on a razor’s edge, with the
Gaels and the Mustangs coming was attributed to stellar shut- A ngus M erry away with several chances to down performances by the Senior Sports Editor score. Western did an exceptional center-backs on both sides of the job shutting down the Queen’s field. Gaels’ own Maddy Moran The Queen’s Men’s Basketball steep offense, however—a and Jenna Leslie were solid, team managed the upset of the year triumvirate headed by third-year consistently neutralizing on Wednesday night, eliminating Cecilia Way and flanked by fifth- the Mustang’s attacks to the reigning U Sports Champions year Christie Gray and third-year eventually bring the game to a Carleton Ravens from the OUA Jenna Matsukubo. penalty shootout. playoffs, 86-80. The scoreless outcome at the Handing the Ravens their end of regulation and overtime first—and last—defeat of the
2021-22 season, the Gaels will head to the OUA finals on Saturday, where they’ll play the Brock Badgers for the Wilson Cup. In defeating Carleton, the Gaels also qualified for their first-ever U Sports national championship, which will take place at the University of Alberta from Mar. 31 to April 3.
Queen’s Women’s Rugby wins 2021 U Sports Championship A ngus M erry Senior Sports Editor
“We’ve had this on our bulletin board for two years,” head coach Dan Valley said in an interview Befitting its name, Queen’s with The Journal following now inhabits a monarchical Sunday’s contest. position over Canada’s varsity “I think it’s really special that women’s rugby. we were able to put this incredibly That is, they do after last Sunday, lofty ambition at the top of our when they beat the uOttawa Gee- bulletin board.” Gees 28-16 to win the U Sports National Championship.
PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL
OUA anti-racism report shows disproportionate representation in coaches & administrators S ydney K o Senior News Editor This week, the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and the Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity and Anti-racism (IDEA) in Sport Research Lab released their Anti-Racism Report to address racism in varsity sports. Largely inspired by the
experiences and recommendations of the conference’s Black, Biracial, and Indigenous (BBI) Task Force, the OUA Anti-Racism Project was intended to create and raise awareness about the demographics and experiences of student-athletes, coaches, and sport administrators across the conference. “This project was unique
as it’s the only research I have done that examined a singular institution—provincial athletic conference—from the perspectives of a wider range of stakeholders, including administrators, coaches, and student-athletes,” Janelle Joseph, founder and director of IDEAS Lab stated in a press release.
OUA pens open letter calling on Ontario Government to provide equal financial support to women student-athletes N atara N g Assistant Sports Editor The Ontario University Athletics (OUA) association penned an open letter to the provincial government on Mar. 18. regarding equal funding for women student-athletes. The letter comes as a response to the province’s recent $3 million investment in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Scholarship Program.
In the letter, the OUA called on the government to provide financial support to women studentathletes equal to what was provided to OHL students, who are men. “An investment in women student-athletes is a springboard for continued and even greater success moving forward,” the letter read.
Lifestyle ——————————————————— The Journal Year In Review • 11
Gua sha is more than a TikTok trend L arissa Z hong Contributor Gua sha has taken over TikTok and Western beauty industries in a frenzy of rose quartz and green jade, promising sculpted jawlines and glowing skin in a matter of days. As Western corporations
adopt practices from the Eastern health and wellness sphere, it’s important to note where they come from—because they didn’t start with TikTok. Despite its recent rise to fame in the Western beauty sphere, gua sha isn’t something new. Its earliest recognizable form dates back to Paleolithic-age China.
Column: Reclaiming The Word
It’s not middle school, I have body hair A lysha M ohamed Senior Lifestyle Editor
I have two eyebrows instead of one. However, my genetics also As a brown girl, I was blessed translate into hair on the rest of with naturally thick, healthy, my body. wavy brown hair. I have the I’ve been going to my waxing bushy-brow look that’s been lady, Valentina, since the tender age in style for the last few years— of thirteen. even though I pluck them every two weeks to make sure
Confessions of a Black girl: Abandoning stereotypes & redefining my identity E rica J ohnson Contributor
the few—if not the only—person of colour in my classes. Even outside of classrooms, a I would describe the first few lot of the spaces I found myself in decades of my life as a 21 year- were predominantly white. Existing long identity crisis. in these spaces where there was no Most of my childhood was spent one who looked like me, or had any in predominantly white spaces. I of my shared experience severely grew accustomed to being one of affected my self-perception. ILLUSTRATION BY SHELBY TALBOT
Dev Patel is conventionally attractive—he’s just not white P ravieena G nanakumar Contributor
In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, even Mindy Kaling, who’s well known for Sometimes, I look at a man only casting white men as her and wonder if he’s actually love interests in her show, The attractive or if I’m just jumping Mindy Project, praises Patel’s on the bandwagon. But Dev attractiveness. Kaling justified Patel isn’t one of those people— her choice by saying, “I mean did Dev Patel is objectively and you see him at the Oscars? Hello, incredibly hot. Dev Patel.”
Column: ‘Degrassi’ Headcanons
‘You’ season three is a portrait of white mediocracy S helby T albot Editor in Chief
expect viewers to turn on the bookstore manager-turnedclerk-turned-librarian and his In the latest season of You, new equally violent counterpart. parents Joe and Love Quinn- Given the number of thirstGoldberg are as hot and murderous Tweets, however, that’s far from as ever. the case. Spoilers ahead—obviously. Where Joe is calculated and As the show progresses and exploitative, Love is impulsive the bodies pile up, one might and rash.
Exercise-tracking smartwatches are detrimental to a healthy body image M adeleine M c C ormick Assistant Lifestyle Editor In the summer of eighth grade, I learned what it meant to be obsessive over my health and body weight. It started with a flimsy purple Fitbit knockoff. The simple reminder of how many steps I had ILLUSTRATION BY SHELBY TALBOT
Abhishek, ‘Love is Blind,’ & when misogyny meets internalized racism A ysha T abassum Editor in Chief This season of Love is Blind comes with considerably more racial diversity than the last. It’s fun to see women of colour on reality television, living out lighthearted narratives that don’t explicitly exploit their trauma. This diversity also means we see more men of colour.
I know I’ll get some angry brown guys in my inbox for saying this, but season two of Love is Blind is a reminder that South Asian men continue to be the weakest link. No one proves this more than Abhishek—a man who has never dated a brown woman before and insists you know he’s not like other Indians.
Column: Seasonal Fashion
taken launched me into a body image catastrophe. Fitbits and Apple Watches glamorize exercise and fitness with reminders that you haven’t stood in 30 minutes or that you haven’t achieved your calorie benchmark. Apple, I’m in Stauff studying—I simply cannot drop into a plank.
Ranking places I’ve cried on Queen’s campus A lysha M ohamed Senior Lifestyle Editor For the past few weeks, I’ve felt the existential dread of graduation creeping up my spine. I’m an overachiever who has never not had a plan—and for the first time in my life, I feel completely and utterly lost. My newfound anxiety had led me to
a few embarrassing breakdowns on Queen’s campus. And, because I won’t stop listening to “20 Something” by SZA and “Nothing New” by Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, I know more tears are coming. Here’s my comprehensive list, from best to worst, of places I’ve cried on campus.
12 •
The Journal Year In Review ———————————————————— Postscript
Abortions, apathy, & forcing empowerment
Finding a language I can call my own Becoming bilingual helped shape my worldview
A ysha T abassum Editor in Chief On Feb. 1, I took a pregnancy test in a campus bathroom. As I stared at the positive result, I was still in a relationship with the father. I also knew I would do anything for him, but I seriously doubted he would do the same—for me or this hypothetical baby that definitely couldn’t sit in my backpack while I went to class. That didn’t feel wrong. I grew up in a house where the women doted after the men while receiving nothing in return. I’m also pro-choice. It was clear to me I was getting an abortion, and I shouldn’t stress my boyfriend out with details—including the fact that I was pregnant. Twenty-four hours later, when he was breaking up with
A nna F ouks Editorials Editors
me over the phone, I still had no desire or impulse to let him know. This was a man who, like most of the men in my life, took a while to trust me when it came to my own body. Telling him another ex had raped me was a slow process with a lot of questions about how I could have let it happen. Telling him about my OCD diagnosis and how it impacted my daily life involved assuring him he wouldn’t have to worry about accommodating me. I didn’t think it would bring me any peace to say we’d finally had the worst kind of accident while he was telling me he didn’t have room in his life for a relationship. I didn’t want him to accuse me of making it up for attention.
ILLUSTRATION BY SHELBY TALBOT
Not a girl: Exploring my gender identity
Starting to fall in love with my Blackness
There isn’t one way to be genderqueer, nonbinary, or trans
Finding a group of fellow Black people was only the start of my self-acceptance
M ichelle Z eng Contributor
C lanny M ugabe Editorials Illustrator
ILLUSTRATION BY CLANNY MUGABE
Parting with my roots is more difficult than I expected C assidy M c M ackon Opinions Editor
PHOTO BY CAT ROSE
An exploration of Queerness, creativity, & mental health at Queen’s C at R ose Contributor I’ve always grappled with my identity and how to express it. Before Queen’s, I understood my mental health, gender, and sexuality as complex aspects of myself that I wanted to unpack, but growing up in a rural conservative community denied me the affirming space needed to do it. Instead, I tried to push it
all out of my mind as much as possible. In high school, I put all my creative efforts into my classes and community advocacy, but the shame I attached to my identity and my reliance on external validation kept me deep in the closet. I felt uncomfortable in so many spaces where I was supposed to feel at
home, and I couldn’t acknowledge my identity through creative mediums. For a long time, exploring my identity on my own terms through art and through creative expression seemed completely off the table. I couldn’t self-reflect or connect with other LGBTQ2S+ students, and the thought of engaging in LGBTQ2S+ activism terrified me.
In April of 2019, I moved back to Prince Edward County for the final time. That summer, I settled into the spare bedroom of my aunt’s apartment, which was filled with nothing but a mattress on the floor, a suitcase full of clothing I had yet to put into a closet, and a fake Christmas tree that was meant to supplement the lack of overhead lighting in the room. The next day, I was ready to settle back into my typical County routine of working two serving jobs before heading back to Queen’s at the end of the summer. By the time August finally rolled around, I was tired and ready to say my final goodbyes. Returning home for the summer has always been lucrative for me, but this time I was met with the undue stress of navigating
some very strained family relationships. The familiar space I inhibited was associated with the turbulence of my home life, which had long tainted my view of my hometown. On the day I left, I took a wordless car-ride with my mom before she dropped me off on the porch of my new house. I was holding the same bags I brought with me just months earlier. I waited to unlock the front door until I knew she had gone; I wanted this new space to be free of any tension between us. Upon turning the key in the lock, I made a conscious decision to not look back. I needed to cut the ties of toxic relationships, and in doing so, I elected to simultaneously say goodbye to the place I felt them the most. However, two years later, I find myself yearning to be in better touch with my hometown roots.