Queen's Journal, Volume 146, Issue 26

the journal

Queen’s University

Vol. 146, Issue 26

Since 1873

Friday, March 22, 2019

S T. PAT T Y ’S R E C A P

missed connections at queen ’ s :

Full story on page 3

St. Patrick’s Day Edition

FEATURES A brief history of recognizing land at Queen’s

The Journal helps students get lucky after St. Patty’s weekend

page 6

A lly M astantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor

EDITORIALS

If you spent St. Patrick’s

Canada’s university admissions process isn’t accessible

Day

milling

Aberdeen

around

Street

or

dancing your heart out

page 7

in a friend-of-a-friend’s backyard, chances are you met someone memorable.

Whether you actually found the nerve or had

OPINIONS

the composure—to ask

Being a minority at the Smith School of Business

for this person’s name or contact information is another story.

page 8

Page 14

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

Kingston police reported a more civil St. Patrick’s Day than previous years despite numerous incidents of “inappropriate behaviour.”

ARTS Student doc recounts Christian Parry’s creative process

page 9

LIFEST YLE Learning to care for my body through running

queen ’ s and the student voices on sexual violence survey

• Queen’s

ranked

fourth

out of 20 universities for

non-consensual sexual violence experiences • More

than

5,000

Queen’s

students reported experiencing sexual harassment

• 20,217

Queen’s

students

reported no knowledge of sexual violence support, services, and reporting procedures

Full story on page 2

page 15

queensjournal.ca

@queensjournal

@queensjournal

@queensjournal

@thequeensjournal

2 •queensjournal.ca

News

Friday, March 22, 2019

Queen’s ranks fourth for disclosures of non-consensual sexual violence in Ontario More than 5,000 Queen’s students report experiencing sexual harassment Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor This article discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some readers. The Journal uses “survivor” to refer to those who have experienced sexual assault. We acknowledge this term is not universal.

In a province-wide survey, 73,708 of 116,627 university students reported disclosing incidents of sexual harassment at their respective post-secondary institutions.

More than 5,000 of those students were from Queen’s.

These numbers make up 71.4 per cent of Queen’s 7,016 respondents, earning the second highest percentage of Ontario universities behind Western at 71.6 per cent.

“This is important data for us to have, and it’s data that’s quite sobering,” Sandy Welsh, leader of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) reference group on sexual violence, said in a media call Tuesday.

These numbers make up 71.4 per cent of Queen’s 7,016 respondents, earning the second highest percentage of Ontario universities, behind Western at 71.6 per cent.

Out of 20 universities and at 30.8 per cent, Queen’s had the fourth highest percentage of students who reported disclosures of non-consensual sexual violence.

The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities sent out the Student Voices on Sexual Violence Survey to post-secondary students in Ontario last winter.

The results were promised to institutions in the fall of 2018, but, citing privacy concerns, the Ministry only released some of the data this past Tuesday.

“There is certainly more data in the survey, and I know universities would be willing to work with and would appreciate whatever data the Ministry feels it can release,” Welsh said.

In a statement released on Mar. 19, the Ministry announced it would double its $3 million investment in the Women’s Campus Safety Grant “to assist colleges and universities in supporting the prevention of sexual violence.”

The funds will be spread out among Ontario’s 45 post-secondary institutions.

we get more detailed data, we’ll be able to respond in the most meaningful ways for our students,” Tierney wrote.

She added more data will allow the working group to find out which support services students need more information about.

“We will look to the students on the task force to help us figure out how to raise awareness,” she wrote.

Queen’s Board of Trustees received its first sexual violence report this month, which revealed from 2017-18, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office received only 82 students seeking help and filed 31 formal complaints of sexual violence.

There is no data available for 2016-17 because the Human Rights Office has not yet published an annual report for that year.

These numbers support the survey’s findings that thousands of Queen’s students aren’t aware of the supports available to them and don’t know how to file reports of sexual violence.

Queen’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Coordinator Barb Lotan is the person survivors at Queen’s can discuss their experiences with and choose whether to make a disclosure.

“Barb is, of course, fully involved in all work related to addressing sexual violence on campus. Since her arrival, her position has proven SURVEY SUMMARY REPORT Queen’s ranked second for sexual harassment. critically important,” Tierney wrote. “I am sure she could answer “We welcome that the province Prevention and Response compiles “several different kinds any questions you have.” is recognizing the need to provide Working Group (SVPRWG)—of of situations” and “it will be helpful The Journal was redirected to some additional supports for us which she’s a member—into a to get a more detailed breakdown Ann Tierney after reaching out to in terms of the work we’ve been taskforce. Tierney’s also a member of the data.”

Barb Lotan for an interview about doing and the work the results of the COU reference group on the survey’s results. clearly show that we need to sexual violence.

Despite the thousands of continue to do,” Welsh said.

“The group has an extensive students who report a lack Tierney also called The Ministry also announced it diverse membership that includes of knowledge about available will now require post-secondary several undergraduate and the high percentages support and how to report institutions to review their sexual graduate student government and of Queen’s students sexual violence, 61.6 per cent violence policies by this coming student group representatives, who reported sexual of 1,788 Queen’s respondents September, rather than the as well as staff, faculty and reported feeling satisfied with harassment and original deadline of Jan. 1, 2020. community organizations,” their institution’s response to Schools are also required to Tierney wrote in an email to The non-consensual sexual sexual violence. develop task forces made up of Journal. “Part of the task force’s violence “concerning.”

“Our campus is strongly “diverse student representatives” work will be reviewing the survey committed to continuing which will be “devoted to tackling summary results.” to address sexual violence,” sexual violence on campus.”

She added the SVPRWG will Tierney said.

The task forces will be required take on the responsibilities “We will want to bring in our In Tuesday’s media call, COU’s to report findings to both their outlined by the Minister in peer bystander intervention Welsh suggested improvement institutions and the Ministry. addition to its current work. She team to help us interpret the data measures such as “providing “Many universities have a wrote the transition can “take relating to bystander behaviours,” training to residence dons” and variety of advisory committees effect right away.” she wrote. other campus support staff. She and other committees that they Tierney also called the high Out of 580,472 university also pointed to survivor support. have brought together since the percentages of Queen’s students student respondents, 59.7 per cent “We understand the importance time that we’ve been talking about who reported sexual harassment reported having no knowledge of providing counseling to victims our sexual violence policies, so I and non-consensual sexual of available sexual violence of sexual violence on campus,” think this is an area that we are violence “concerning.” supports, services, and reporting she said. in agreement with the Minister,” “Clearly more work needs to be procedures at their schools.

The Journal asked if some Welsh said. done,” she wrote. “The findings are At 57.9 per cent, 20,217 of portion of the doubled Women’s Principal Daniel Woolf concerning in terms of awareness those students were from Queen’s. Safety Grant would be used to released a statement on Tuesday of our supports, services and Tierney also called this piece of increase counselling services announcing he’d commissioned reporting procedures, and the data concerning. available for survivors of Vice-Provost and Dean of Student incidences of experiences of “The summary data suggests sexual violence.

Affairs Ann Tierney to transition sexual violence.” that some students aren’t aware Welsh said it would be up to the the Queen’s Sexual Violence She added the summary of what’s available, so again, when institutions.

News

Friday, March 22, 2019

queensjournal.ca • 3

After ‘respectful’ St. Patrick’s Day, ticketing drops Queen’s, Kingston police say University District Safety Initiative controlled weekend crowds

Kingston police (left); students gathered on Aberdeen Street (right).

Claudia Rupnik Assistant News Editor The AMS, University, and Kingston Police all reported a more civil St. Patrick’s Day than previous years—citing the University District Safety Initiative (UDSI) as a factor in the decreased number of tickets issued over the weekend.

This year, Kingston Police and Kingston By-Law enforcement officers laid 79 Part I Summonses during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and reported fewer numbers of partiers in attendance at unsanctioned street parties.

According to Kingston Police, “a total of 118 Provincial Offence Notices were laid to address Liquor Licence Act violations and other offences” during the 2018 St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Street parties this year were contained to Aberdeen Street, which was closed to traffic for several hours on Sunday, allowing other streets throughout the University

District to remain accessible to emergency vehicles and the public.

This was the first St. Patrick’s Day weekend affected by the UDSI and the Nuisance Party By-Law. However, it’s uncertain whether these protocols had a direct influence on the number of tickets issued.

In a Media Release on Mar. 18, Kingston Police stated that “City of Kingston Nuisance Party Bylaw and University District Safety Initiative played a role in curbing St. Patrick’s Day partying.”

In accordance with the UDSI, individuals found violating the Liquor License Act and by-law offences were issued a summons to appear in court, as opposed to simply being issued a ticket that can be paid online.

The University echoed praise for the UDSI. “I’m pleased to say that the number of offense notices issued by Kingston Police are lower than last year before the UDSI was introduced,” Todd C. Zimmerman, director of campus security & emergency

Services, said in an email to The Journal.

Zimmerman pointed out there were still numerous incidents of “inappropriate behaviour,” including students sent to KGH and the Campus Observation Room on account of injuries and alcohol intoxication.

As well, there was “needless damage” in residence buildings, such as “broken exit signs and ceiling tiles,” and the misuse of Blue Light emergency phone activations, which takes “emergency responders away from actual emergencies.”

Zimmerman explained the UDSI has a three-pronged approach to increasing safety within the University District, describing the main areas as education, engineering, and enforcement.

Education encompasses health promotion, harm mitigation, good citizenship, and awareness of the “impacts and consequences of behaviours.”

“It’s an area all of our campus and community partners have taken a roll

Move closer to your degree.

Get Spring & Summer credits at Brock.

EXPERIENCE. SPRING & SUMMER AT BROCK.

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON AND CHRIS YAO

[sic] in,” Zimmerman said.

“There are too many factors to make a definitive correlation, but certainly the general sense is the UDSI and Nuisance Bylaw had a positive impact in encouraging safer behaviour.”

The AMS believes “this St. Patrick’s Day was more respectable than previous years.”

However, they were hesitant to make the connection between the UDSI and the number of tickets issued over the weekend.

“There has been a decrease in tickets issued as compared to last year. However, this number fluctuates year by year and we don’t want to make assumptions,” said Søren Christianson, municipal affairs commissioner for the AMS in an email to The Journal.

Students and community stakeholders will have the opportunity to evaluate the UDSI at the Community Development Summit, to be hosted by the AMS on April 6.

The AMS continues to encourage students to be “safe and respectful during large unsanctioned events.”

Online and in-class courses in a wide range of programs.

Find your course today.

brocku.ca/springsummer

News

4 •queensjournal.ca

Judge allows $20 million lawsuit against Queen’s to move forward Wajahat Khan alleges University enforced arbitrary penalties, breached a settlement agreement Iain Sherriff-Scott Staff Writer Last month, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled a $20 million lawsuit brought by former medical student, Wajahat Khan, could proceed against Queen’s in civil court.

On Feb. 6, Justice Graeme Mew tossed out a motion brought by Queen’s to have Khan’s claim arbitrated through judicial review, rather than civil action. This, in turn, allowed the suit to proceed.

None of the allegations against Queen’s have been proven in court and the University has yet to file a statement of defense against the action.

According to the ruling, Khan’s claim against the University originated from internal proceedings against him within Queen’s School of Medicine for alleged “lapses of professionalism.”

Khan alleged proceedings against him wound up enforcing penalties that he claimed were excessive and violated a settlement agreement with the University, delaying his graduation for several years.

As a result, Khan is seeking damages for loss of potential income, damage to reputation, and mental and emotional distress. He’s also seeking a court order for Queen’s to grant him his degree.

When reached for comment about the suit, both parties declined, as the matter is currently before the court.

According to the ruling, Khan’s alleged lapses of professionalism included an email sent to classmates containing “inappropriate language.” It’s also alleged he failed to respond to a page from a colleague who required his assistance with a patient in the operating room.

Khan, a practicing dentist in Kingston, wrote in his statement of claim that he’s completed “all of the academic requirements” of his medical degree. He also completed his medical clerkship and passed the Medical Council of Canada’s first qualifying exam.

As a result of the alleged lapses and internal proceedings that followed, Khan still hasn’t graduated from Queen’s School of Medicine or been able to begin medical residency training at the University of Toronto, where he was accepted in 2013.

Khan began his education at Queen’s in 2007. Since 2011, and the beginning of the internal proceedings against him, he’s been fighting to graduate.

According to the decision, in November of 2011, Khan was informed a review of his alleged unprofessional conduct was forwarded to Queen’s Progress and Promotions Committee (PPC), a body responsible for making decisions about promotions and remediation of students in the medical doctor program.

On Nov. 21, 2011, the PPC ruled Khan had to withdraw from the program altogether based on his conduct.

Khan appealed the PPC’s decision, and, after meeting with the Committee, it was amended. Instead of withdrawal, Khan would be required to complete a year-long professionalism remediation program before graduating.

After the PPC amended its decision, both parties entered into a settlement agreement and Khan agreed not to continue the appeal.

To complete his professionalism remediation program, the PPC asked Khan to participate in a Physician Workplace Support Program (PWSP), run by the Ontario Medical Association, to which he agreed. Khan also agreed to a preliminary assessment by the PWSP. The PWSP’s preliminary assessment report concluded Khan had “an extensive and chronic history of disruptive behaviour in multiple settings and workplaces.” The report recommended Khan complete a comprehensive assessment, including psychiatric and psychosocial evaluations and an interview with his wife.

The report also stated the PWSP couldn’t provide Khan with the formal academic remediation program in professionalism that he’d previously agreed to in the settlement agreement.

The PPC accepted the PWSP’s report and agreed Khan should complete the comprehensive assessment. The PPC said it would also require Khan to take additional courses at his expense.

Khan alleged that by forcing him to complete the comprehensive assessment—rather than the originally agreed upon professionalism remediation program—the PPC overextended its jurisdiction and breached its agreement with him.

Khan unsuccessfully fought the decision through two levels of internal university appeals, and by June 2015, had reached the end of his internal appeal options.

In his statement of claim, Khan alleges the University “never explained” why it now insists he complete the comprehensive assessment because Queen’s “never formally asserted that [Khan’s] alleged lapses of professionalism arise from psychological or psychiatric failings, disorders, or related issues.”

Khan also argues he never had to complete the PWSP preliminary assessment in the first place, given his agreement with the University stipulated only a year-long professionalism remediation program.

In his decision, Justice Mew wrote Khan’s argument against the University is essentially that it “moved the goalposts” on the requirements for his graduation and, therefore, breached its agreement.

Justice Mew also pointed out that if, after exhausting all his internal appeals efforts, Khan was still forced to complete the comprehensive assessment, “an obvious question is what other remedy does he have?”

“I cannot at this stage rule out the possibility that, based on the facts as pleaded, [a court] might find that following the amended decision of the PPC … a line was crossed,” Mew wrote. Justice Mew noted, however, “It would still be open to the court on a full record to conclude that judicial review is the appropriate remedy.”

The proceedings are set to move forward once Queen’s files a formal statement of defense.

Friday, March 22, 2019

Former Queen’s students sentenced to three years in prison for robbery Violent robbery took place near McBurney Park Jasnit Pabla News Editor On Feb. 18, 2018, two Queen’s students committed a violent robbery a block away from McBurney Park—changing the course of their careers as students.

Andras Orioli and Nicholas Kapogines entered the Kingston residence armed with a crowbar and pepper spray. Upon attacking one housemate with pepper spray, the two stole $250 worth of marijuana before escaping in a vehicle.

A neighbour was able to catch the licence plate of the vehicle, leading to their subsequent arrest by officers shortly after.

The two confessed to the robbery, but not to assaulting the victim.

At the time, both students were 19 and attended Queen’s. By the time their pleas were filed and in their preliminary stage, the two were suspended and moved to continue the semester at York University.

Before Justice Allan Letourneau this

Maria Haig (pictured left) at the bake sale.

month, the two were sentenced to three years equivalent in custody on a single count of robbery each.

During the hearing, Orioli’s lawyer, Anthony Paciocco, appealed to Orioli’s character in an attempt to justify the low sentence for the crime, referring to him as “quite the athlete.”

“He’s got a life plan,” Paciocco appealed.

“He’s got lofty ambitions, your honour.”

The victim statement, however, spoke to the ongoing impact of the assault that happened over a year ago. He mentioned sleepless nights, panic attacks, and ongoing self-consciousness produced by the “dense scars” on his head following the attack.

Letters were presented to the court in support of both Orioli and Kapogines. Justice Letourneau, following his reading of them, stated that Kapogines would be “an excellent candidate for early parole.”

Following pre-sentence credits, Kapogines will spend 1,093 days in a penitentiary and Orioli will serve 1,089.

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARURTON

Bake sale funds epilepsy support

AMS permanent staff member fundraises in memory of loved one Rachel Aiken Assistant News Editor On Wednesday, the ARC hosted a bake sale raising funds for Epilepsy South Eastern Ontario—a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with epilepsy through resources including education and group support.

The sale coincides with Epilepsy Aw a r e n e s s Month, when the colour purple is used in show of support. In addition to the bake sale, on Mar. 26, for Purple Day or International Epilepsy Day, City Hall will be lit with the colour.

Maria Haig, administrate and payroll assistant for the AMS, facilitated the bake sale to raise donation funds for the organization and to promote awareness about epilepsy, specifically Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

SUDEP is a complication of epilepsy where death occurs suddenly without trauma or toxicological or anatomical

catalysts, most commonly in young and middle-aged adults.

Haig’s son passed away at age 29 from SUDEP after being diagnosed with epilepsy at age 19. She told The Journal she organized the bake sale to raise awareness about the complication because her son’s doctors never informed him that epilepsy could result in death.

Haig’s been with Epilepsy South Eastern for approximately one year. She fundraises to support their events and monthly group support sessions.

She said that learning more about the condition and becoming more involved has been very fulfilling.

“It’s bittersweet, how I’m feeling—but I’m happy that some of the students are coming over and asking me questions,” Haig said.

She said the response to the bake sale was very encouraging.

“It’s a hard thing to talk about,” she said.

“But I want to help somebody.”

The bake sale raised $334.

“No matter whether you have epilepsy or not, it’s so important to be an advocate for yourself and to take good care of yourself.”

News

Friday, March 22, 2019

queensjournal.ca • 5

Queen’s secures $1 million in research

Kenneth Clark (pictured left), Aaron Vincent (pictured right).

Nine research projects across all disciplines receive grants

On Wednesday, the University announced it had been granted over $1 million in research funding.

The funding was secured through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund and seeks to support innovative research or technology in institutions across Canada. In doing so, Canadian institutions remain internationally competitive in promising fields.

Nine research projects at Queen’s have been promised funding.

Julia Brook and Colleen

Renihan from the Queen’s School of Drama and Music have received $40,800 to develop musical theatre activities with under-served populations such as those in rural communities.

In psychology, Jeremey Stewart is to receive $100,000 to support his research in identifying potential factors in the transition from suicidal ideation to suicide attempts. Identifying these factors would potentially aid suicide prevention.

Vahid Fallah in Mechanical and Materials Engineering will get $125,000 from the fund to improve the process of metal 3D printing. In Engineering Physics, Bhavin Shastri will be receiving $132,500 to support his work on photonic neuromorphic processors.

Madhuri Koti, recipient of $150,000, is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Her research

Ellis Hall break-in provokes Kingston Police investigation

Zimmerman added that at this time no specifics could be released concerning the investigation, but Queen’s community members are advised to keep valuables out of unmonitored areas on campus.

If any suspicious individuals are witnessed on campus, students, staff, and faculty are urged to call Campus Security at 613-533-6111.

Rachel Aiken Assistant News Editor

News in Brief

A theft this past weekend resulted in cash being stolen from a locker in Ellis Hall.

The amount stolen wasn’t disclosed and the event has since triggered a Kingston Police investigation.

“Unfortunately, Queen’s University and the people who attend and work here as well as the buildings on campus are equally targets of theft like anywhere else in the Kingston Community,” wrote Director of Campus Security & Emergency Services Todd Zimmerman to The Journal. “It is important to do our due diligence to secure valuables while understanding much of the university is open to the public.”

— Jasnit Pabla

Local teen faces bail hearings for terrorism charge A two-day bail hearing process began on Mar. 12 for a Kingston youth charged with facilitating terrorist activities this past January.

The hearings began in front of justice of the peace Herbert Kreling, with the next date scheduled for Mar. 29.

The 16-year-old youth, whose identity is protected by a publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 24.

A Youth Court judge’s order, effected at the youth’s Jan. 25 arraignment, disallows any publication of evidence taken at the youth’s bail hearings or

lab is in the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute.

Her lab research focuses on identifying the impacts of the immune system on tumour recurrence, progression, and response to treatment. She hopes the research will inform cancer surgeons and oncologists about the use of conventional chemotherapy and boosting the immune system of patients predicted to be poorly responsive.

“With this infrastructure funding support, we aim to establish a ‘Cancer Immune Monitoring Laboratory,’” Koti told The Journal in an email.

In addition, the funds will allow the lab to collaborate with other institutions and to train the next generation of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees.

Also in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Sheela Abraham was granted $162,500 to study cancer stem cells as they relate to chronic

myeloid leukaemia.

Joseph Bramante has been granted $49,970 to better understand dark matter’s origin and character.

Kenneth Clark, who has been involved in dark matter research for around 10 years, will be using $189,951 of funding to build a new style of dark matter detector.

“With this infrastructure funding support, we aim to establish a ‘Cancer Immune Monitoring Laboratory.’”

—Madhuri Koti

C l a rk is c u r re n t ly working on a project at SNOLAB, an underground lab near Sudbury which is searching for dark matter.

The SNOLAB project uses a bubble chamber to detect dark matter, while Clark’s experimental project submissions from his lawyer, will use a scintillator as as well as any reasons for the detector. Once built, the decision given by the Justice at its conclusion.

The ban will remain in effect until the case has been resolved by trial or discharge.

After police raided a house on the edge of the University District this past January, the youth was charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling another person to “discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device” in a public place with the intent to “cause death or serious bodily injury.”

Tipped off by the FBI, the RCMP National Security Enforcement Team had been investigating the youth. An explosive device was never planted, however, and police never identified a specific target location.

The youth’s defense team is made up of local lawyers Kate Mitchell, Simon Borys, and Sean Ellacott.

From the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the Crown prosecutors include Luc Boucher and Pierre Lapointe.

— Raechel Huizinga

SUPPLIED BY CLARK AND VINCENT

detector will be installed at SNOLAB. Aaron Vincent is also receiving $50,000 for his research in astroparticle physics.

He’s currently investigating the nature of dark matter, which consists of examining the Sun, cosmic rays, and high-energy neutrinos for the traces of dark matter’s particle effects.

The funding will be used to purchase supercomputers to create those simulations, which will be housed at the Queen’s Centre for Advanced Computing.

“The work that I do involves simulating complex physical systems and comparing the results to large amounts of data to see if we can find clues about the origin of dark matter,” Vincent wrote to The Journal in an email.

“The funding means that I can delve deeper into models of dark matter and explore what the data are telling us much more rigorously.”

To date, Queen’s has received 440 CFI awards.

6 • queensjournal.ca

Features

Friday, March 22, 2019

IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY

Realizing the duty to acknowledge A brief history of recognizing land at Queen’s

Jasnit Pabla News Editor

Queen’s was established 58 years after the British Crown acquired present-day Kingston. But that happened centuries after it was first inhabited.

Early Europeans began to arrive in Kingston in the early 1600s. At the time, the land was occupied by several unique Indigenous groups—including the Huron-Wendat peoples and the Haudenosaunee peoples.

Among the groups also existed the Anishinaabek, or the “Original People,” notably the Mississauga and Algonquin peoples.

The Mississauga community was established in the early 1700s. They were at the forefront of ceding the land in a grand agreement called the Crawford Purchase, named for Captain William Redford Crawford of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, who facilitated the agreement.

It was settled in October of 1783, with no official treaty document or any records of meetings with the Mississauga and Onondaga chiefs present. All that’s survived since are letters to the Crown detailing the terms of the settlement.

In return for a broad yet vague claim to territory, the Crown made their payment in the form of blankets, clothing, guns, and ammunition.

The agreement is often termed as the “Gunshot Treaty.”

When deciding upon the span of the land claim, the Mississaugas recalled the terms were based on how far the sound of a gunshot carried. The survey resulted in the Crown acquiring land from the St. Lawrence River to the Bay of Quinte—over 30 miles of land.

Today, Kingston maintains a rich Indigenous community that continues to occupy the lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

In 2016, Queen’s celebrated 175 years of education and operation while, implicitly, marking 175 years of Indigenous land occupation.

The move to acknowledgement

In a 2011 article for educational journal Times Higher Education, Shelley King—head of the Queen’s English Department—wrote a powerful land acknowledgement.

Her article focused on the factors that surround attracting and retaining Indigenous students through higher education.

Specifically, King discussed the structures in place that pose barriers for Indigenous students and academics. This included a lack of serious engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural support, and the ongoing presence of colonial language.

“It was important—indeed necessary—to acknowledge that the very institutions that were so unprepared to support them were in fact located on their ancestors’

lands,” King wrote in an email to The Journal.

Her acknowledgement came at a time when Four Directions

“It was

important—indeed necessary—to acknowledge that the very institutions that were so unprepared to support them were in fact located on their ancestors’ land.”

—Shelley King, head of Queen’s

English Department

Indigenous Centre was also looking to spread the message.

For Indigenous members of the Queen’s community specifically, the message was impactful. It began a movement towards land acknowledgement that continues more than eight years later—recognizing a centuries-old history.

Associate Vice-Principal (Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation) Kanonhsyonne (Janice Hill) believes that King’s acknowledgement was the first instance of recognition she witnessed at Queen’s.

But the move to land acknowledgements was occurring all around the world—just not at home.

At the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in Australia in 2009, Kanonhsyonne recalls land acknowledgements were becoming “the norm” in academia.

The impact of acknowledging land, families, and ancestors begged an inquiry into why Queen’s was lacking the same progress.

“Everybody, not only the Indigenous people, but all of the people, settler people, acknowledge the land and relationships,” she told The Journal in an interview. With that knowledge, she returned hoping to begin a conversation on implementing a similar practice among the Queen’s community.

Slowly after King’s publication, Kanonhsyonne noted that the movement towards acknowledgement began to be piloted by new Indigenous faculty members who came from other institutions, where the practice was upheld.

Similarly, King began to notice an increased use of land acknowledgments from visiting speakers, job candidates, and during convocation ceremonies and other events on campus.

Today, the acknowledgement spans campus in several ways.

Email sign-offs, publications, and

A plinth between Ontario Hall and Kingston Hall honours the Indigenous communities on whose land Queen’s was built.

student societies continue to exercise land acknowledgements practices. In October of 2017, the University also contributed a plinth to the campus, including a history and acknowledgement of the traditional lands in English, French, Ojibway, and Mohawk.

The plinth and ongoing efforts to reconcile Canada’s history with the land’s Indigenous peoples is embodied in a report completed in April of 2017 by the University’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

It outlines recommendations, curated by staff, faculty, and students, for the University to pursue to maintain its own institutional commitment to recognizing unique Indigenous cultures and land on campus.

King’s article played a key role in moving efforts forward.

Immediately following publication of King’s article, Equity Advisor Heidi Penning told The Journal that she called King “to thank her for its use.” She made a commitment to add a land acknowledgement to her own signature line.

Shortly after, she watched as administration and the Principal began to incorporate it during official email sign-offs and business cards.

For Penning, acknowledging the land “is an act of reconciliation”—a way to practice allyship, and listen rather than talk.

“It means learning about the people Indigenous to wherever I am,” she said.

A meaningful or empty gesture?

While land acknowledgement is an important aspect of the relationship between the land and Queen’s, its meaning depends on intention and personal positioning.

For Kanonhsyonne, it’s more important for non-Indigenous people to hear and understand the acknowledgement. But for some, measuring the weight of the acknowledgement is the foremost concern.

“There’s a lot of, especially Indigenous people right now, who are concerned that [the acknowledgement] is empty,” she told The Journal.

For it to hold weight, she believes it’s integral to position oneself in relation to the land and speak to that meaningful relationship. This means asking what importance the land holds in the context of our lives and the history of its natural stewards.

“There’s a lot

of, especially Indigenous people right now, who are concerned that [the acknowledgement] is empty.”

— Kanonhsyonne (Janice Hill),

Associate Vice-Principal (Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation)

Fo r non-Indigenous people, specifically, it includes recognizing that the land on which we’re educated has been inhabited, in Kanonhsyonne’s words, “since time immemorial.” This must also include speaking to an individual commitment to the land and confronting the nature through which we’ve come to occupy it.

Penning shares a similar sentiment, warning the

PHOTO BY BRITTANY GILIFORTE

acknowledgement should not become a “token gesture,” scripted for every individual to claim.

“Each unique student, staff, and faculty member that forms our Queen’s community should acknowledge that we are all Treaty people and therefore have a responsibility in understanding the truth of our history,” she wrote to The Journal. “[…] [S]o that we can honour the past, be aware of the present, and make positive changes for the future.”

“[We all] have a

responsibility in understanding the truth of our history.”

—Heidi Penning,

Equity Advisor

An overdue acknowledgement Until this issue, The Journal has failed to appropriately acknowledge its occupation of traditional Indigenous lands.

However, in the issues and volumes to follow, The Queen’s Journal will maintain a land acknowledgement in the masthead of every print issue as follows: The Journal operates on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

The members of The Journal’s Editorial Board acknowledge that in this capacity and space, it’s able to produce one of Canada’s oldest continuously publishing student newspapers and pursue its mandate.

Friday, March 22, 2019

queensjournal.ca

EDITORIALS

•7

The Journal’s Perspective

U of T mental health crisis can’t wait another day This editorial mentions suicide and may be triggering for some readers.

It shouldn’t take another youth suicide to reform the Ontario university mental health care system.

Over the weekend, a University of Toronto student died in an “incident” at one of the school’s buildings. The university hasn’t openly called the death a suicide, instead offering what many have called empty platitudes ignoring mental health on campus.

In doing so, U of T is treating mental illness as a reputational liability—not as the life-or-death issue it is.

In July, the school approved a policy giving university administrators the ability to remove students struggling with mental illness from campus.

At the time, The Journal, along with other student newspapers and universities, condemned the decision for its denial of student safety.

But yet, no number of editorials or statements defending students’ health seems to make a difference.

These risks are partly the result of policies prioritizing university image over the lives of individuals paying to live on campus and receive support. No amount of Bell Let’s

Talk press releases can rectify the repeated suicides of students at a school sometimes referred to as “U of Tears.”

Granted, it’s not that universities directly cause suicides themselves. Mental health isn’t a one-and-done enterprise—it’s compounded by intersectional identities like sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status. And it’s often worsened by systemic discrimination in society. But when universities promise their students support services like counselling—leaving them with long wait times and brief

external pressure proves the failure of internal forces in forging progress.

U of T has acknowledged its persistent mental health crisis. But being aware of a problem and acting on it are two separate things.

This isn’t about promising to do better—it’s about mitigating the repeated loss of life.

For universities to take this seriously, they need to prioritize mental health like they do other facets of student life.

Many members of older generations running our society weren’t taught mental illness is a valid health concern.

They don’t disdain it—they simply don’t understand it.

However, as students keep dying, they’ll have to realize there’s no way around the issue except addressing it head-on.

ILLUSTRATION BY ZIER ZHOU There’s no easy solution to this appointments i n s t e a d — t h e y crossroads in mental health—but what’s leave vulnerable students to seek out abundantly clear is that it must be given their own support networks, which often serious consideration by Ontario schools spells a dead end. before it’s too late.

Schools can’t pitch themselves as a student’s entire community in —Journal Editorial Board good conscience if they’re not willing to provide sufficient services to safely Anyone in need of support is encouraged bolster that experience. to contact Student Wellness Services at Students at U of T are calling for (613)-533-6000 ext. 78264 and/or the the changes they wish to see, including University Chaplain Kate Johnson at (613)more health and wellness staff and 533-2186. After hours, students can contact shorter appointment wait times. This Campus Security at (613)-533-6733.

The average Instagram athlete curates their daily posts like a diet: they’re around 34 per cent training tips, 19 per cent lengthy motivational posts, 47 per cent healthy recipes, and they show no sign of anything resembling real life.

As social media’s healthy living community continues to grow, it sets a dangerous standard for those in search of accessible self-improvement strategies.

Their detailed training and eating logs are well-intentioned, but they ignore the core principle of healthy eating: one size doesn’t fit all.

For those tuning into athletes’ Instagram stories every day, influencers represent a

path to personal improvement. If taken the wrong way, that’s perhaps the most problematic part of their online presence.

These accounts are flawed when it comes to acknowledging reality. Only a handful of people can pair months of physical activity with consistently nutritious meals—it often takes a privileged life to do so because of the hours of commitment and financial stability necessary.

This creates a fertile ground for injuries. While going for a morning run might be realistic, assembling a nutritious breakfast before class might not, whether due to time constraints or limited grocery budgeting.

Social media influencers set a dangerous precedent for healthy eating

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

M att S cace THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL

Contributing Staff

Staff Writers and Photographers

Volume 146 Issue 26 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

Editorial Board

Editors in Chief

Production Manager News Editor Assistant News Editors Features Editors

Editorials Editor Opinions Editor Arts Editor Assistant Arts Editor Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor Lifestyle Editor Assistant Lifestyle Editor Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor Video Editor Assistant Video Editor Editorial Illustrator Copy Editor

Sebastian Bron Nick Pearce Julia Balakrishnan Jasnit pabla Rachel Aiken Raechel huizinga Claudia Rupnik Samantha Fink Hannah Stafl Meredith Wilson-Smith Sophia Spencer Brigid Goulem Brittany Giliforte Matt Scace Maggie Gowland Josh Granovsky Ally Mastantuono Chris Yao Tessa Warburton Amelia Rankine Christian Siriano Zier Zhou Tegwyn Hughes

Luca Dannetta Sydney Ko Lauren Trossman Aleena Yusufszai

Contributors Ahrani Gnananayakan Ampai Thammachack Bobby Liang

Business Staff Business Manager Head Sales Representative Sales Representative Office Administrator

Morgan Dodson Aidan Chalmers Callum Nesbitt Liveny Krishnakumar

Want to contribute?

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

The Queen’s Journal is an editorially

autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston.

The Journal operates on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

The members of The Journal’s Editorial Board acknowledge that in this capacity and space, it’s able to produce one of Canada’s oldest continuously publishing student newspapers and pursue its mandate.

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: Business Office: Fax: Email:

613-533-2800 613-533-6711 613-533-6728 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 © 2018 by The Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of The Journal.

Circulation 3,000

If imbalanced training becomes a consistent habit, the statistics don’t bode well.

For women, poor eating habits coupled with intense training are widely known to create energy deficiencies, menstrual disturbances, and bone loss—all contributors to serious injuries. While men don’t exhibit identical symptoms, the results are often similar. Both show the importance of understanding your needs.

The responsibility to ensure dangerous habits aren’t adopted is something we’ve also had to consider at The Journal.

Earlier this winter, we acknowledged our influence as a media outlet before publishing a story on eating disorders in athletes.

We asked ourselves if we should detail the eating habits of those who’ve suffered from disordered eating. Considering those readers who may’ve seen these habits as a weight-loss method, we realized that including details could be damaging.

It’s this level of awareness that feels absent from social media influencer’s content, which harkens back to the idea that everyone’s needs are different.

It’s nobody’s fault Instagram has become a go-to cookbook when buying a book is costly and internet recipes are complicated to navigate. And for what it’s worth, it’s encouraging to see athletes undertake a form of social contribution.

However, social responsibility is still a responsibility. It’s critical for influencers to understand the stock people take in the information they spread.

When our attention is fixated on the world’s best, it’s up to us to understand our needs—not theirs—above anything else.

Matt is The Journal’s Sports Editor. He’s a third-year English major.

8 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

OPINIONS

Your Perspective

Bobby Liang says Queen’s commerce can marginalize new students.

Being a minority at the Smith School of Business A commerce student details his experience within the program Bobby Liang, Comm '22 Queen’s commerce’s roots as a traditionally white-dominated, expensive program has created many social pitfalls for its marginalized students.

These stereotypes have encouraged an elitist culture within Goodes Hall. As a current commerce student, I’ve observed first-hand the ways in which being the “wrong” gender, race, or socioeconomic status can adversely impact the student experience in the program.

According to the ComSoc Diversity and Inclusion office, approximately 90 per cent of Queen’s commerce students come from families that fall within the top 20 per cent of earned household income in Canada, with 30 per cent of those within that category being part of the top one per cent.

For a program that’s among one of the most expensive in Canada, lower income individuals are disproportionately affected when additional expenses such as textbooks, attending conferences, and going on exchange are taken into account.

It could be argued high tuition costs stem from the program’s abundance of resources, like alumni networking events, and

extra-curricular activities that connect students to their interests and future job opportunities.

However, many of these networking opportunities and club conferences happen outside of Goodes Hall—inaccessible to those who cannot afford the added price of transit and accommodation.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, these opportunities are supposedly open to everyone in the program, but a gendered under-representation still exists.

Women represent over 48 per cent of the commerce student population, but hold only 32 per cent of executive positions on finance clubs—representing only a small fraction of the prestigious membership compared to men.

Library because, “Asians swarm that floor.”

This represents the underlying issue that blindly racist and discriminatory ideals are still present on campus, and they’re as a result of privilege.

But these issues aren’t limited to casual social interaction. All Year Social—the commerce club which garnered national attention in 2016 for hosting a racist costume party—still remains a fully ratified member of ComSoc. While in class we’re taught that diversity is an important part of building a better business, although this presents a positive sentiment, the toxic culture remains the same.

Comments like these, intentionally discriminatory or

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY THE COMSOC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICE

Anecdotally speaking, in my first week at Queen’s, I heard comments like, “Queen’s really played the diversity card this year,” alluding to the greater representation of visible minorities in the class of 2022.

In another instance, I overheard my classmates talk about their dislike for the first floor of Stauffer

not, are made to marginalize and alienate students of colour.

They actively take away my sense of belonging and threaten my ability to learn comfortably.

I’m made to feel there’s a target on my back merely because of my race.

The commerce program’s administration needs to take on a greater role in ensuring that equity

and diversity be at the forefront of what it seeks to represent.

In the future, protocols for clubs like diversity panels and inclusion officers could provide a more productive stance on behalf of the administration in denouncing racist comments, actions, and incidents.

To future students looking to attend Queen’s commerce, the program represents the pinnacle of Canadian highsociety. The degree represents the ability for students like me—a second-generation Chinese Canadian—to seek upward social mobility through high-salaried jobs and greater career prospects.

But it’s these experiences and observations that have led a part of me to dread identifying myself with the program. It seems that social merit is rewarded only to those who meet the criteria of the traditional commerce student: someone who is white, privileged and male.

That being said, this isn’t an indictment on the merits of all commerce students, as I’ve experienced an incredible amount of privilege throughout my life.

My intent is solely to shed light on the many barriers students face when confronting the growing inequalities perpetuated by the stigma and racism experienced at Queen’s.

No student should feel robbed of the dream to attend Queen’s commerce simply because their gender, race or socioeconomic class differs from what’s been normalized.

Change will only come when we demand it. It’s time for commerce students to speak up.

Bobby Liang is a Commerce student.

first-year

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

Talking heads ....

What’s your favourite part of spring?

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

“The part where it becomes summer.”

Kayvon Mihan, Comm ’21

“Outdoor activities with friends. ” Michelle Kong, Comm ’21

“The first time you can sit on a patio.”

Sarah McCallum, Comm ’21

Like what you see? Hate what you see? Submit a letter to the editor to journal_letters@ams.queensu.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

queensjournal.ca

•9

Arts GALLERY REVIEW

Studio 22’s posthumous exhibition of a celebrated artist Three cropped images of Ingeborg Mohr’s Signs and Symbols of the Imperceptible.

Ingeborg Mohr’s personal collection on display downtown Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor

Studio 22’s March exhibit gives a glimpse into the past, revealing a lively local art scene.

The Studio’s launching its 2019 season this month with two exhibitions by vastly different artists. In one room, they display the works of L.W. Foden, a British Columbian painter and dear friend to studio owners Ally and Hersh Jacob. In the other room is the work of late artist, Ingeborg Mohr.

This is the first time Studio 22 is exhibiting the work of a late artist, but through the help of Mohr’s daughter, it’s been made possible.

The exhibition, Signs and Symbols of the Imperceptible, features works from Mohr’s personal collection.

Born in Austria in 1921, Mohr spent the last 23 years of her life on Howe Island in the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River—and made quite an

impact on the local art scene.

At the time, there was a widespread interest in buying original artwork with the hopes that it’d grow in value.

Mohr’s Kingston-based art shows attracted huge crowds from Toronto and she often had live bands play through the night for her guests. These events would last for whole weekends, never fully starting or ending on schedule.

It was a lively scene, one that starkly contrasted Mohr’s home life. She was a hard working painter and mother, raising three daughters while she wasn’t attending her art shows and entertaining massive crowds.

During her time living on Howe Island, Mohr established herself as a successful artist and mostly made works of abstract expressionism and collages.

The pieces in Signs and Symbols of the Imperceptible are similar in style, though

they vary in mediums and methods.

Studio owner Ally Jacob explained that they’re unlike traditional abstract pieces, they’re abstract expressionist.

They’re not modelled after real life objects or people, and Mohr doesn’t try to convey any message or meaning in her work.

She instead brings herself, her feelings, and her emotions to the canvas, Jacob said.

The pieces in the exhibition allow viewers to see what they want and interpret the pieces however they’re able, like Mohr did when painting.

The colour palette of Signs and Symbols of the Imperceptible is muted. A lot of the paintings are made in browns, greys, black, blues, and purples.

While some paintings have the occasional burst of warm tones, they’re mostly earthy.

Mohr used oil paints to make her pieces and her methods are clear when

Brigid Goulem Arts Editor

Christian Parry loves to sing in the shower.

Or at least that’s where most of the inspiration for the lyrics on his upcoming album Refined Fool came from.

The album—which features seven new songs from Queen’s own Parry, ArtSci ’19—will be released on March 22, followed in April with a documentary film by Brandon Royce, ArtSci ’19, exploring the making of the album.

For Parry, music has been a lifelong love. He is consistently inspired by the works of other artists and has found a way to incorporate music into his busy schedule as a student. Sometimes that means an unconventional approach.

“Honestly, I’m usually just in the shower and find like a catchy hook,” Parry said in an interview with The Journal.

It was this unconventional song writing process—and his jazzy, bluesy music—that got Parry’s song “Velvet” into the top-100 of CBC’s Searchlight competition. His newfound success inspired his friend, Brandon Royce, to film Parry for his Film and Media thesis project.

For Royce, a fourth-year Film and Media student, choosing Parry as his subject was a no-brainer.

“When I was thinking of doing my thesis, I thought, ‘What

PREVIEW

SUPPLIED BY CHRISTIAN PARRY

Student doc recounts album’s creative process In new film, Brandon Royce follows Christian Parry as he records new album haven’t I done yet?’ And I haven’t really done anything about music and immediately I thought of Christian,” Royce said in an interview with The Journal.

Parry was the first person

that Royce met when the two moved into residence together in first year. For Royce and Parry, working together brings their relationship full-circle.

SUPPLIED BY ALLY JACOB

looking closely.

The paint is piled thick on the canvas—looking smeared rather than intentional. Ridges and grooves in the dried paint are visible and add to the rough, layered texture.

Many of the paintings are collages. Mohr painted on pieces of paper and layered those with other distressed pieces.

This style gives the art more complexity than what’s revealed at first glance.

Mohr’s appeal is found in the way she layers her pieces—there are so many parts to look at and examine, it creates a literal depth.

Her work has a noticable presence in a room and draws the eye towards it.

None of her pieces blend into their surroundings, they pop.

The complete lack of subject matter leaves her work’s focus ambiguous, making for an intriguing viewing experience.

This created a curiosity surrounding her work during the ’80s and ’90s during her time on Howe Island and contributed to her success.

Jacob hopes that by displaying Mohr’s work posthumously, it’ll continue her legacy in the Kingston area and keep her name and work circulating for years to come.

“He’s actually the first person I met here at Queen’s,” Royce said.

Despite knowing each other for years, the driving force behind Royce’s film on Parry’s new album is their commitment to their art.

“The whole thesis is about never giving up on art. I have lots of friends who were musicians or photographers and they’ve sort of given it up,” Royce said.

Parry echoed this sentiment, saying that even though sometimes putting out music to little fanfare can feel defeating, that doesn’t take away from the joy of making it.

“When I work really hard on music, and I get really excited about it and I hope that this is going to be the album that will take off and it doesn’t, then I’m really down on myself. But I still really love making music and that’s what’s important in my life. I’d always make music because it makes me happy,” Parry said.

While Parry admits he can sometimes get down on himself for his music distribution, he’s sad to be done with this album.

“It’s kind of weird when music comes out, because I’ve been working on it for so long that I know every little part of it. Exciting but it’s kind of sad because I feel like, that’s what kind of makes me excited about wa k i n g up—I get to keep working on my album—but I guess I get to start the next one now,” Parry said.

Arts

10 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor When crimes against women are sensationalized in pop culture, viewers need to step back and reassess.

As an artform, TV and film are more frequently viewed than any other, and when a common theme permeates every genre, it speaks to the interests and values of the viewer.

In a Feb. 11 Frieze article, journalist Marsha Tupitsyn claimed there’s a correlation between the backlash against feminism and the focus on serial killers in pop culture.

In TV show Mindhunter, Tupitsyn observes that the male-dominated field of forensic science focuses on building up a language for the psychology of serial murdering but fail to shed a light on the misogynistic social systems that raises these killers.

Both in television and in various societal institutions, these responses to misogynistic practices are passed off as decent and sufficient work, without corresponding prevention.

For example, on university campuses such as Queen’s, a handful of resources are offered to students for safety purposes.

These resources, however, fail to combat the danger that makes them necessary in the first place.

Tupitsyn argues there’s a subconscious male sociopathy that breeds an interest in female victimization at the forefront of popular entertainment.

This argument applies to

COMMENTARY

Serial Killers in television reflect a hostile society Feminism spurs male aggression

Pop Culture reflects a society that undervalues female safety.

the way society’s systems are structured as well. There’s a presumption that men will attack and harm women.

This is what campus safety measures are for.

University campuses offer a handful of resources for student safety, but fail to properly penalize sexual assaulters, contributing to an environment that allows crimes against women.

With services like WalkHome, the blue lights, and campus security, students are told repeatedly that they have access to resources that will ensure their safety.

Though that’s not exactly

what these services are. These implemented “safety” features on campus—like the blue lights—aren’t preventative, they’re consequential.

The blue lights on campus tell students: someone might try to follow you home one night or even attack you, Press this button to call for help.

While safety features offer a sense of security, they’re only helpful if something bad happens. Rather than implementing cautionary resources on campus, a better step would be to evaluate the culture that continues to produce assaulters.

GRAPHIC BY ZIER ZHOU

It isn’t surprising that the same culture that produces these assaulters also has an intense fascination with them in their forms of entertainment.

In shows and movies like Mindhunter, The Ted Bundy Tapes, and The House That Jack Built, the serial killer presents a shocking and unfamiliar lifestyle to viewers.

They live outside of society’s laws and behave in a way that goes against acceptability.

This is arguably the source of intrigue: one could project their fantasy of a rule-free life on a character.

When societal norms change—like they have in the past during the first, second, and

t h i rd wave fe m i n i s t movements—it unsettles those who benefit from traditionally oppressive systems.

This explains why a lifestyle free of boundaries and restrictions—like that of the serial killer character—might seem appealing.

Though extreme, the serial killer presents a solution to the “problem” of feminism: kill all the women.

This isn’t to say that all men want to kill women, but rather there’s a subconscious attraction to the fantasy of living completely free and not having to be accountable for one’s actions.

The lack of accountability is something that’s pervasive on university campuses in relation to sexual assault issues.

For Queen’s students, sexual violence concerns are at a high, and while the Ford government has expressed support for existing rape crisis centres, they have withheld funds and dissolved the Roundtable on Violence Against Women, established under the Liberal government.

This is a perfect example of a societal system failing to provide support for victims of violence.

TV isn’t to blame for crimes against women, but it reflects a society that considers violence against them to be a legitimate and satisfying response to internal frustrations.

Just like the men in Mindhunter who deal only with the aftermath of murder, safety measures on campus and in communities offer solutions to crimes they assume will inevitably happen.

They don’t do anything to prevent them in the first place.

BOOK REVIEW

Considering forgiveness with Canada Reads’ Suzanne Suzanne is a Canada Reads Finalist.

Claudia Rupnik Assistant News Editor

Writing about family is difficult, but forgiving family for past wrongs is even more so—and that’s how Suzanne by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette succeeds.

Translated into English by Rhonda Mullins, Suzanne follows the life of Barbeau-Lavalette’s maternal grandmother, Suzanne Meloche, over the course of 85 years.

The story briefly details every stage of her existence, from her childhood in the Great Depression through her teenage years during the Second World War through to her adulthood as an artist within the anti-establishment Automatist movement in Quebec and across the globe.

Originally published in French under the title La

femme qui fuit, the story begins when Barbeau-Lavalette, a director and screenwriter from Quebec, discovers a collection of photographs, letters, and personal documents in her grandmother’s apartment fo l l o w i n g her death in 2009.

The remainder of the novel is a narrative retelling of Barbeau-Lavalette’s investigation into her grandmother’s past—a task undertaken to understand who Suzanne was as a person, outside of her role as a mother.

In 1952, Suzanne abandoned her husband and two young children, leaving without explanation and only reaching out sporadically throughout the remainder of her life.

This defining moment bleeds throughout the story and forms the basis of the author’s

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

relationship with Suzanne.

However, despite a strained relationship with the character, the author’s astute descriptions paint her as a vastly more nuanced and interesting person than simply a bad parent.

Written from a second person perspective, Barbeau-Lavalette tells the story through her own voice as a granddaughter directly addressing her grandmother.

However, she approaches the story with a delicacy that balances her own passionate, emotional connection to the character with a critically objective, narrative tone.

As such, the character re m a i n s difficult to sympathize with, but the lack of judgmental tone throughout the writing allows the character to reflect the complex woman she represents.

While family relations are central to the story, Suzanne isn’t a love letter Suzanne is written as a series of short chapters composed of short paragraphs with short sentences—a fast-paced writing style that permits Barbeau-Lavalette to convey the idea of Suzanne as a woman that didn’t linger in any one place for long.

Every moment of the story, from her first trip to Montreal to the birth of her children is only briefly mentioned before the story carries on.

It’s difficult to see family members as whole human beings with personalities who make mistakes and face challenges, as opposed to simply holding them within the confines of the familial

roles they hold.

Barbeau-Lavalette initially presents Suzanne as the mother who selfishly abandoned her family half a century earlier, but the story proceeds to acknowledge that decision as having been just one part of her complex life as a woman chasing freedom.

While forgiveness is a central theme in the novel, Suzanne is not a love letter from Barbeau-Lavalette to her grandmother.

She never truly gives Suzanne complete redemption for her mistakes—but, she still tells a brilliant story with a remarkable, complicated character at its core.

Friday, March 22, 2019

CROSS COUNTRY

Becoming a world-class athlete in six races

queensjournal.ca

• 11

Sports

Makenna Fitzgerald to represent Canada at World Championships next week in just her sixth race ever Matt Scace Sports Editor Makenna Fitzgerald looked around, trying not to let the imposter syndrome take over—“What am I doing here?” she thought to herself.

She took in Trinidad and Tobago’s landscape—it was the first time she’d ever been outside North America. Around her were six of Canada’s best senior female cross country runners, including two past Olympians, alongside six of the country’s strongest under-20 runners.

Soon, the under-20 racers would be called to the start line for the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships.

With six career cross country races to her name, Fitzgerald was one of them.

Fitzgerald, ArtSci ’21, finished the race in third place. Next Saturday, she’ll represent the Canadian under-20 team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, the biggest cross country race in the world.

But seven months ago, the reality of making the travel squad, seemed like a pipe dream for Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald entered Queen’s

MEN’S HOCKEY

in fall of 2017 with little athletic direction. After spending her entire childhood playing Single A hockey in her hometown of Kamloops, B.C., she tried joining the cycling club before she came across Cross Country Assistant Coach Brant Stachel’s development group after a few months into her first year.

Her initial approach to running was fairly relaxed, considering it was her first time maintaining a consistent training schedule.

Running was just something to do, she told The Journal. But as her enthusiasm for the sport picked up, she began setting goals.

In the summer of 2018, Fitzgerald signed up for a half marathon in Kamloops—securing a time under an hour and 30 minutes would secure her a spot on Queen’s varsity team.

She ran it in 1:26:26.

“I was trying to control my excitement, but I wasn’t sure [if I made it],” she recalled following the race. Fitzgerald called Stachel from the finish line—he congratulated her on making the team.

The next few months were a whirlwind. In August, Queen’s cross country Head Coach Steve Boyd sent her the summer training schedule—it included seven days of running a week, with two-a-days sprinkled in.

“I’m not going to be able to do this,” she remembered thinking.

Running more volume than she’d ever posted, her season began at the Queen’s Invitational in mid-September.

The results poured in.

In the fall at the Queen’s and Western Invitationals, she finished in third place. At the OUA Championships—the fourth race of her career—she finished fourth, helping Queen’s to its second straight provincial banner.

“It was definitely surprising,” Fitzgerald said. “I knew a couple of the other girls I was racing against, but I wasn’t sure what I was going up against—I didn’t have a lot of data to go off of.”

Had it not been for fellow rookie Brogan MacDougall’s first-place finish, Fitzgerald would’ve been the top-ranked rookie in the province by a near two-minute margin.

Weeks later at the U Sports Championships, Fitzgerald placed 13th, with Queen’s finishing second overall.

Defeat in U Sports quarterfinals ends Queen’s postseason run Loss against St. FX sends Gaels home Angus Merry Digital Manager The men’s hockey team suffered a tough season-ending loss last Friday night, ending their postseason campaign just six days after hoisting their first OUA title in 38 years.

Facing off against the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in Lethbridge, Alta., the Gaels lost 5-3 after an empty-net shot with 42 seconds left in the third period sealed the tricolour’s fate.

Much to the disappointment

of Head Coach Brett Gibson and his team, Queen’s was unable to recover after giving up five goals.

“It’s part of a process. You can’t win a University Cup without going through failure,” Gibson said in an interview with The Journal. “And now, [with] going to nationals, our expectations are going to change moving forward.”

Against St. FX, the Gaels came out of the gate with intensity and rhythm.

Posting a goal just six minutes after puck-drop, fourth-year Luke Edwards put Queen’s on the board with a tip off defenseman Nevin Guy’s point shot. To the excitement of the team, Edwards snuck in a second goal just four minutes later, bringing it to 2-0.

After an additional goal by third-year Francesco Vilardi later

in the frame, the Gaels seated themselves into a commanding 3-0 lead over the opposition with less than two minutes left in the period.

But, after the X-Men put up a goal before the end of the first, the tide of the game began to turn.

Cutting the lead to 3-2 after the second period, St. FX went on a three-goal unanswered tear in the third to sink the Gaels 5-3 for the game.

Despite being unable to hold their lead and extend their national championship run further into the weekend, Gibson remained pleased in his team’s level of play.

“I think my guys gave everything they had. We had a great start with getting up 3-0, but discipline is a factor when you get into a one-and-done

Top: Fitzgerald (middle) at U Sports Championships; Bottom: Fitzgerald (left) at NACAC.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTOS

Finally, in late November, Fitzgerald capped her 2018 season with a fifth-place finish at the under-20 Canadian National Championships—securing a spot on Canada’s under-20 team.

“It’s interesting how my goals have shifted throughout the year,” Fitzgerald said, adding that making the national team was out of the question when she began running for Queen’s in the fall. “[Stachel] told me the whole way through: ‘You can make [the national] team. You can. You just gotta run.’”

Fitzgerald’s success could be tied to any one reason—proper development, strong cross training, among others. Her childhood career in hockey, however, is something she credits for having immense impact.

“In hockey, I found I played a

lot better under pressure,” she said. “My team mentality definitely carried over. When I go for a run today, it’s not just affecting me—it’s affecting the team in competition.”

When Fitzgerald jets off for Aarhus next Wednesday for the World Championships, it’ll be her first time in Europe, and her first lining up against the world’s best.

But it won’t be the first time she’s left the odds in the dust.

Recently, Fitzgerald read an interview with Brogan MacDougall.

With World Championships and another big season with Queen’s on the horizon, she’s putting a hold on setting goals—and taking a bit of her teammate’s advice. “[MacDougall] said, ‘Enjoying the process and being in the moment is the key to enjoying the sport,’” Fitzgerald said. “[That] really resonated with me.”

situation,” he said. “In a tournament like the University Cup, you have to get adjusted to the refereeing.

Unfortunately, we didn’t adjust, and [St. FX] capitalized on that and their power plays.”

Gibson noted how the prospect of a national title felt for him and the rest of the team, adding after a string of successful season, the Gaels feel they belong with the best Canada has to offer.

“We’re getting more comfortable there. We’re proving to U Sports that we deserve to be mentioned as one of the top-eight programs in the country, and that adds to everything,” he said. “It adds to my recruiting strategies, it adds to my game-planning, and it adds experience to our group.”

Knowing how hard the team

worked over the course of the season, Gibson held no doubt that the Gaels deserved to be at the national tournament. He believed the loss will only inspire them to reach the same position next year.

Looking forward, the Gaels are hoping to come back just as strong in the coming season despite losing some key veterans—including the team’s captain, Spencer Abraham, and leading scorer, Slater Doggett.

In light of the Gaels’ outstanding regular and postseason performance, Gibson believes the 10 first-year players currently on his roster will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and continue making a name for the men’s hockey program.

“They have big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will,” he said.

Sports

12 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

ATHLETICS

Sports in Brief The Journal’s sport editor breaks down the latest athletics news on campus Matt Scace Sports Editor Women’s curling finishes fourth at U Sports Championships

Queen’s beat McMaster in for the third time this season at the U Sports Championship.

PHOTO BY MATT SCACE

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Queen’s finishes fifth at U Sports Championships Gaels lose to tournament hosts, win two matches at nationals to cap off banner season Maggie Gowland Assistant Sports Editor With the taste of OUA gold lingering, men’s volleyball fell short of a podium finish at the U Sports National Championships last weekend.

Mirroring the Gaels’ recent hosting of the OUA Championship, the Laval Rouge et Or used their home court advantage last Friday to take Queen’s to five sets and win 3-2.

After losing their first match to the tournament hosts—and eventual bronze medalists—in front of 3,081 fans, Queen’s went on to win their next two against McMaster and Mount Royal, securing a fifth-place finish.

Head Coach Gabe DeGroot told The Journal in an interview that it was a “tough first match” against Laval, but his team did well going up against the undefeated Rouge et Or. “Playing in front of [several thousand] is a little different than playing in the ARC when the crowds on our side,” he said, “but they did really well, [and] it was a lot of fun.”

This year improved on the Gaels’ seventh-place finish from last season, and was inches away from the program’s best ever fourth-place finish in 2011-12.

Despite losing their first match to Laval, there was some solace in knowing their opponents went on to win bronze. According to DeGroot, the player he anticipated to be a problem—fifth-year outside hitter Vicente Villlalbos—and first-year setter Ludovic Martin, who had a “wicked spin serve,” were more than his side could handle.

“We don’t necessarily see a lot of [those serves] in the league at that speed,” he said of Martin. “I think it kind of set us off.”

“It feels a little better every time, beating [McMaster].”

—Gabe DeGroot

While the Gaels have plenty of experience with fifth sets—they went 7-2 in deciding sets this season—Laval simply got the better of them, winning 15-12 in the fifth.

In the consolation semi-final, the Gaels had a rematch of the OUA Championship against the McMaster Marauders.

Both of their earlier meetings this season went down to the wire in five sets. This time, however, they swept the Marauders 3-0. “It feels a little better every time, beating [McMaster],” DeGroot said.

Compared to their first meetings, DeGroot said his players figured their opponents out.

“The guys over and over again stuck to a game-plan and kept executing at a super high level,” he said. “The fact that we just kind of figured them out by the end of the year and they didn’t have anything to come back at us with—that was really cool.”

“We knew what they were doing, and I don’t think they made the adjustments to us all year long.”

After handily defeating McMaster, Queen’s secured a fifth-place finish after taking down the Mount Royal Cougars 3-0—a

After reigning victorious at the OUA Championships for the first time since 1994, the women’s curling team followed up with a fourth-place finish at the U Sports National Championships this week.

Led by OUA first team All-Star skip Mary Fay and third-year Calli Barclay, the Gaels came out of round robin play with a 5-2 record, giving them the second seed going into the semi-finals.

Slated against the Brock Badgers, Queen’s narrowly fell 6-5.

They’d beat the Badgers earlier, but failed to repeat in the biggest match of the season.

On Tuesday, the Gaels took on the Dalhousie Tigers in the bronze medal match, and once again fell 6-5, leaving the tournament fourth in the country.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Head Coach Scott Davey was named U Sports Coach of the Year, while Fay received the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.

B a rc l ay wa s named a first-team

All-Canadian.

CFL National Combine. Osei-Kusi’s results will play a large role in his placing at the CFL Draft, which takes place on May 2.

The national combine will feature 41 other athletes from across Canada and various parts of Europe and the United States.

This season, Osei-Kusi logged 563 yards from 34 receptions, scoring one touchdown over eight games. In his time with Queen’s he totalled 1,862 yards, eight touchdowns—seven of which came in the 2017-18 season—and averaged 66.5 receiving yards a game.

On Thursday, fellow Gaels Ejaz Causer and Marquis Richards represented Queen’s at the Ontario regional combine. Causer placed ninth overall in the shuttle run.

Last year, former Gaels Nelkas Kwemo, Mike Moore, and Jake Firlotte were drafted to the CFL after having none picked in the 2017 draft.

Doggett, Grossinger named second team All-Canadians

Both attending the U Sports Championships last weekend, the men’s hockey and men’s volleyball teams had various players given national distinctions.

For the men’s hockey team, graduating forward Slater Doggett was named second-team All-Canadian. This season, Doggett logged 21 goals in 25 games for Queen’s despite missing a chunk of the season due to injury.

His 34 points gave him a 1.36 points-per-game average.

Earlier this month, he was named OUA East MVP and given the Randy Gregg Award for his off-ice community contributions as a student athlete.

Meanwhile, men’s volleyball’s Zane Grossinger was named second-team All-Canadian.

In the Gaels Forsyth Cup-winning season, he contributed an OUA-best 718 assists, alongside 114 digs. His numbers improved upon his 2017-18 rookie season, for which he was named OUA Rookie of the Year.

team that entered the tournament ranked fourth.

“Beating the number three Canada West team is huge for our program,” DeGroot said.

“Regardless of that first loss, [we] stepped up to the occasion and did really well.”

When asked about season highlights, DeGroot had more than enough to choose from.

Laughing, he mentioned the team’s five-set quarter-final Osei Kusi at CFL National win game against over his alma Combine this weekend mater, the Guelph Gryphons. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that This weekend, Queen’s PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS

BY MATT SCACE one,“ he said. football’s Chris Osei-Kusi will “We were pretty much show scouts his athleticism at the done—the last three weeks wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for those wild saves at the end of the fifth set.”

But the biggest was his team’s OUA championship win.

“I don’t think any of our guys are ever going to forget that,” he said. “To have finished that and won that on home court was pretty special.”

Now, the Gaels will reflect and reset before summer training begins. So far, they’ve secured four top-notch recruits to add to their roster.

Though hopeful for what new talent can bring to his already formidable lineup, DeGroot knows success comes when teams take queensu.ca/sexualviolencesupport one season at a time.

“If we just kind of rely on Sexual Violence Prevention and Support what happened this year and don’t reset […] I think we can get Coordinator, Barb Lotan ahead of ourselves,” he said. “But bjl7@queensu.ca [we’re] obviously building on experience again, which will be a big piece.”

“We’re going to have to reset our goals and just get back to square one.”

INFORMATION FOR ALL STUDENTS IMPACTED

BY SEXUAL VIOLENCE GET HELP, GIVE HELP

Friday, March 22, 2019

queensjournal.ca

• 13

Lifestyle Josh Granovsky Lifestyle Editor Queen’s prides itself on attracting the most qualified professors from across the world to impart their knowledge on students.

Even though our university’s faculty includes members at the top of their fields, many of them still come across students whose creativity and intelligence exceed their wildest expectations.

The Journal asked Queen’s profs to share moments they’ve been most impressed with their students. As the academic year comes to a close, we hope these stories remind you of the incredible heights every student is capable of reaching and the lasting impact your work can have on others.

These responses were edited for length and clarity. ***

“At my students’ final performance projects last year, I encountered weird, wonderful experiments all over a building on campus—from giant puppets in the theatre, to a show in a

basement bathtub.

In one example, a group staged a performance in my own office. They had audience members enter the darkened space, put on headphones, close their eyes, and ‘just enjoy the music.’

As a spectator, I became restless and opened my eyes.

The student performers had, in the meantime, climbed onto my desk and were silently acting out a bizarre piece of physical theatre in which the desk was a rowboat. Only those audience members who ‘disobeyed’ the instructions and opened their eyes had any idea it was even happening.

In its exploration of witnessing and disobedience it was bold, creative, and risky—all qualities I want to encourage in students.

I would say, though, that I’m consistently most impressed by students who come to me and ask for help.

Whether they’re working through mental health issues, trying to balance family responsibilities, or just struggling adjusting to university, it takes guts to ask for help—but there’s real strength

STUDENT START-UPS

in doing so.”

—Assistant Professor Kelsey Jacobson, Dan School of Drama and Music “This is hard to answer because I’m impressed every week by something that someone says in my class, which is why I love to teach.

But perhaps the most memorable assignment I received was in my class on literary theory on the topic of the work of Luce Irigaray, a French feminist philosopher.

Irigaray says we need to ‘jam the theoretical machinery.’ One student of mine handed in a jar of strawberry jam, containing his essay in fragments wrapped inside foil. I had to fish around in the jam, open the pieces of foil and stick them together (which wasn’t hard, except that they also stuck to me).

It made a brilliant, if messy, point.

After that, I introduced a creative assignment into the theory class. The student in question is now a criminal defense lawyer.”

—Professor Maggie Berg, Department of English “Recently, when going through

Bel Ami Vintage is making sustainability trendy Two Queen’s students provide an alternative to fast fashion

Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor Best friends Orlaith Croke-Martin, MA ’20, and Melissa Chapin, ArtSci ’18, have recently turned their passion for thrifting into an up-and-coming business.

Through the launch of their clothing resale start-up, Bel Ami Vintage, the duo is committed to providing fellow Queen’s students and Kingstonians with a sustainable, affordable way to stay trendy.

Bel Ami Vintage is an online destination for thrifted and vintage second-hand clothing, based in Kingston and the Greater Toronto Area. The business currently runs on three platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and the start-up’s brand-new website. On the site, users can easily scroll through and purchase available clothing pieces, each of which was handpicked by Croke-Martin and Chapin from thrift and vintage stores in Kingston, Toronto, and other destinations they’ve visited.

“Our main tenets are affordable clothing with a sustainable source for people who like to

my aging files, I was puzzled to find a handwritten essay from Doug M., a student in the first-year English course for which I was a teaching assistant 40 years ago at Western. We had no computers but plenty of ink then.

My concluding comment on Doug’s essay revived my memories. ‘This is a remarkable paper,’ I said, ‘[with] few comments on it because I have no complaint with anything in it.’

The paper, titled ‘The Ending of King Lear and the Tragic View of Life,’ remains brilliant. What surprises me is the mark of 95, almost unheard of at that time.

I’d taken the paper to the instructor, Ninian Mellamphy.

Because he specialized in Renaissance drama, I feared I might be chastised for my uncritical reading. Instead he said that the only problem with giving it a mere 90 was that the student would have to maintain that mark throughout the course to receive a final grade of A plus.

Why not give the paper a higher mark to reflect its unusual merit?

We did that, since Mellamphy had the experience to appreciate Doug M.’s exceptional achievement.”

—Professor Tracy Ware, Department of English “Every so often a student comes along that amazes me with how committed they are to academia in the face of significant adversity. donate or recycle them.

“I really do believe in having less stuff and [having] stuff that brings you joy,” Croke-Martin said.

“But another good aspect of this rising thrifting movement is that it reminds people that there are places to bring their clothes when they’re done with them.”

The team is also striving to create a brand that is as inclusive as possible. Aware that they’re privileged by their body types, Croke-Martin and Chapin have begun collaborating with friends and customers to offer items that appeal to a variety of styles and people. “[We found that] from the previous thrift stores we’ve seen, it has just always been kind of mainstream girls repping the clothes,” Chapin said. “So we really want to cater to diverse populations.”

stand out and have pieces they Important to Chapin specifically know are really unique to them,” is that Bel Ami Vintage will Croke-Martin told The Journal in serve as an alternative to fast an interview. fashion, an industry which she The inspiration behind Bel says has detrimental effects Ami Vintage came from the pair’s on the planet. She hopes that longtime love for thrifting and by encouraging people to turn Chapin’s concern with living to vintage and sustainable sustainably. Noticing how many clothing in lieu of buying Queen’s students shop online, from retail giants, Bel Ami the duo felt they could use their can be part of the growing hobby to deliver a similar movement to take better care of shopping experience while the earth. also promoting the benefits of Although the team admires purchasing second-hand goods. trends like minimalism—which Drawing on their similar encourages cutting down on the fashion sense and business products you buy and use—they ideals, Croke-Martin and Chapin want to stress took advantage of the revival of that instead fashion trends from the ’90s and of throwing early 2000s. They created Bel away old Ami Vintage to offer customers goods, we trendy clothing at a fraction should of regular clothing costs and ecological guilt.

“We saw a lot of these kind of online stores popping up and decided that [we should start our own],” Croke-Martin said. “We’re best friends, our styles are kind of complimentary, and we love thrifting together. So it just ended up working out.”

Croke-Martin and Chapin want to make sustainability common with Bel Ami.

Several years ago, a student said that she’d miss a few classes for medical reasons. She didn’t say anything else, so I assumed it was a routine health matter. She promised me she would send summaries of the readings—though I didn’t ask for them—that way I knew she was keeping up with the classwork.

Her ‘few’ absences turned into several weeks, but the reading summaries kept coming, along with apologies for not being in class. The only hint I had that it was perhaps more serious was that in one email she said, almost defiantly, that she was committed to finishing the term.

She asked if she could write an essay in lieu of her final exam, as her recovery kept her from being in Kingston. I suggested she discuss the paper with me by phone.

It was only when her housemate delivered the essay that I learned she’d called me from the hospital and that she was being treated for brain cancer.

When I saw her the next term, I said I was impressed with her paper but that it paled in comparison to how impressed I was with her character.

She was a bit misty eyed when she replied, ‘Thank you, but I really wanted to do well in your course.’”

—Professor Jonathan Rose, Department of Political Studies Although only a few weeks old, Bel Ami Vintage has grown substantially thanks to the help of the duo’s friends, Queen’s, and the broader Kingston community. Recently, the start-up has partnered with Tommy’s Kingston to host a giveaway that runs until Mar. 30. The winner will nab a Tommy Hilfiger sweater, a $25 Tommy’s gift card, and a bonus gift.

Moving forward, the team plans to continue building their website and experimenting with pop-up stores, giving customers the chance to buy in-person.

Croke-Martin and Chapin also hope to be as welcoming and supportive to their community as it has been to them.

“There’s so much creative energy [here],” Croke-Martin said. “I really love that about Kingston. It’s a great place to foster a startup and that creativity. There’s a lot of support out there for it.”

SUPPLIED BY ORLAITH CROKE-MARTIN

Lifestyle

14 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

STUDENT LIFE

Queen’s students share Saint Patrick’s Day missed connections On St. Patty’s, you’re bound to meet someone.

Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor Continued from the front ...

If you think you’re the special someone mentioned in one of these anonymous stories and want to contact the writer, email journal_lifestyle@ams.queensu.ca. ***

I was frolicking down Aberdeen with my friends around 11 a.m. or 12 p.m., having a wonderful, boozy St. Patty’s. Somewhere near the intersection, there was a group of boys yelling, “Who wants face paint?” Of course, I started screaming, “I do!” and stumbled into their group, eagerly awaiting to be drawn on.

Now I’m not sure what I

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

expected, but I guess I was waiting for some cute green stripes on my cheeks. Instead, I got an artistic rendition of a phallus on my forehead, which I proudly wore for the rest of the day. I actually refused to wash it off and tried to stamp it onto my friends too.

My memory of the boys’ appearances, however, is rather vague—lots of green beads, sunglasses, a hat maybe, and lots more green apparel.

Regardless, it was a highlight of my day. Not sure who you guys are, but I’d love to grab drinks some time! ***

I wasn’t drinking for St. Patty’s because I worked that night for Walkhome, but I decided to make the trek to McDonald’s for

TV REVIEW

The Journal helps students get lucky after St. Patty’s weekend a seasonal Shamrock Shake. I entered the establishment only to see a mirror image of Aberdeen: too many students in too small a space.

I made my way to the self-serve station and ordered my drink.

During this process, a man poked his head in between the machine and the window, staring at me. I asked how he was doing and he immediately asked if I wanted to make out with him.

I asked how he was doing and he immediately asked if I wanted to make out with him.

I politely declined, as I was clearly not on this man’s intoxication level. But we made a pact that if we saw each other later in the day we’d indeed make out

Aidy Bryant’s Shrill is the self-love narrative viewers need

Why the SNL alum’s Hulu hit deserves recognition

Tegwyn Hughes Copy Editor Hulu’s Shrill has accomplished more productive dialogue about the modern young woman’s experience in its first season than Girls did in its entire series.

In the pilot episode of Shrill, Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant’s new show, her character Annie gets an abortion, publishes her first article as a journalist, and comes to terms with her insecurities about feeling attractive.

Instead of forcing viewers to watch as its protagonist take seasons of screen time to reconcile her anxieties—looking at you, Lena Dunham—Shrill drops us into Annie’s epiphany and lets us revel in the aftermath.

The web series—which is based on the 2016 book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West—follows Annie from her busy journalist job, to her lazy boyfriend’s house, to her parents’ home where her father battles cancer.

The most striking aspect of the show is that Annie’s fat—a word she uses to describe herself—without hating that she’s fat.

The fact that this impressed me is sad, but it did nonetheless. While parts of the show naturally revolve around Annie being in a world designed for people who aren’t her

size and reacting to others who discriminate against her and her body, it’s not the central focus.

Other parts of the narrative take centre stage, and Annie’s fatness exists in the story only because it’s how she looks. Instead, viewers look past the character’s weight and focus on her life.

That isn’t to say that Annie’s weight becomes an afterthought.

It’s a part of the character, alongside her brightly-coloured dresses and awkward sense of humour. She calls herself fat throughout the series, not because of self-hate but because that’s simply the word that best describes her.

The show has been compared to other realistic female-centric shows, especially Girls, but I think it stands out. Where characters in Girls reached for realness by being rude and uncaring people, Shrill gives its characters enough realism to be fleshed out while continuing to make their stories appealing.

Annie lashes out at her mom after a tough day at work and goes back to her immature boyfriend time after time, but watching her push forward in a world pitted against her makes the plot less about her flaws and more about her successes.

In one episode, Annie goes to her first pool party for fat women wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She sits poolside and contemplates drinking a sugary, likely calorific drink. Over the course of the

episode, we get to watch Annie’s confidence transform when she watches other fat women dancing, swimming, and being loud with abandon.

When I saw Annie strip to her bathing suit and cannonball into the water, I couldn’t get the grin off my face.

Shrill’s comedic moments

with each other.

I went to work that night realizing I probably wouldn’t see him to make right our pinky promise.

I write this quite saddened—a missed opportunity and a milkshake that was drank with no companion to share it with. I’d like to think that if I’d been drinking, I would’ve made out with him in the middle of a McDonald’s on St. Patty’s without considering the consequences. But, alas. ***

I was at Ale House this past Sunday

Shrill premiered on Mar 15.

aren’t lost on viewers, either.

When Annie takes a pregnancy test in a pharmacy bathroom and gets a positive result, she goes back to the register holding the freshly-taken test and demands a refund.

Viewers also get to roll their eyes at Annie’s boyfriend Ryan (Luka Jones), whose mom comes over to do his laundry and who has a podcast about Alcatraz called “Talkin’ Traz”. He provides laugh-worthy—if not misguided—comedic relief.

A particularly funny moment

night having a good time dancing.

All of a sudden, a tall guy with dark hair came up to me and started dancing behind me for a minute before spinning me around to introduce himself.

I think he said his name is Jace, but it might be Chase or something similar. I couldn’t hear well at all.

To read more Queen’s missed connections, visit queensjournal.ca/ lifestyle

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALLY MASTANTUONO

occurs when he invites his two housemates to his first date with Annie, shoving two tables together and almost immediately getting into a verbal fight with one of his friends while Annie sits there in shock.

To read the rest of this review, visit queensjournal.ca/ lifestyle

Course materials leaving you broke?

OPEN LIBRARY At eCampusOntario’s new Open Library, you’ll find high quality resources in key subject areas that you can use or adapt for free. Print a copy or save on your device to read on-the-go!

Browse the open library now at openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca

Lifestyle

Friday, March 22, 2019

Running towards recovery

A non news article

How running helped me navigate my struggle with disordered eating

Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor

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

I started running as a requirement for my 10th grade Phys-Ed class. Initially, I dreaded every time my gym teacher forced us outside to jog around the neighbourhood, but I was hitting the pavement independently by the end of semester.

While the physical and psychological benefits of running are widespread, one underlying truth pushed me to lace up my shoes: if I wanted to run, I needed to eat.

By the time I started running, I was a few years into a struggle with disordered eating.

On the outside, my life seemed normal.

I excelled in school, swam for a competitive team, and maintained a close group of friends. In reality, I’d been “dieting” since the summer before eighth grade, a process that involved skipping meals and using my spare time to workout.

The physical changes were subtle at first, but quickly became distinct. I lost my period, fainted in class, and dropped 30 lbs. off a frame that couldn’t afford to lose that much weight. For years, I skirted questions about why I wasn’t eating lunch and developed blanket answers to explain why clothes didn’t fit right, always spinning the story to make my situation seem reasonable. When my coach started asking why my swimsuit looked baggy on my shrinking frame, I quit the team.

For years, I skirted questions about why I wasn’t eating lunch and developed blanket answers to explain why clothes didn’t fit right.

My eating habits had been inconsistent for a few years when I committed to running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon in the fall of 12th grade. Suddenly, I was held accountable to a goal that tested my body’s physical capabilities, instead of my physical appearance.

In the process of training, I re-learned how to nourish my body because my desire to become a better runner pushed me to allow myself to eat.

Naturally, recovery isn’t straightforward.

There were days I skipped meals and didn’t have the energy to make it past the first kilometre in my training route. There were stretches when I only made it to the end of my street before I sat on the curb and cried. Over the course of six months, the relationship between food and the functionality of my body slowly, painfully, became clear, until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. When I crossed the finish line of my first half-marathon, I did so with the knowledge that recovery was possible.

In the final kilometre of the race, every step was an acknowledgement of the progress I’d made and a commitment to the

improved their relationship with food through running. One individual said: “I found out pretty quick that I actually had to feed myself because if I didn’t there was no way I’d be able to manage running 13 miles […] [Running] helped me figure out how I am supposed to take care of myself, even with the basic act of feeding myself.”

For me, it took self-reflection, honest discussions with my family, and the commitment to running a half-marathon to change my attitude towards food. Through all of my athletic struggles—shin splints, sore muscles, chafing—I knew I couldn’t quit training because it was going to save me.

I knew I couldn’t quit training because it was going to save me.

Recovery is a difficult task that can never truly be crossed off the mental health to-do list, but in my stubborn refusal to give up the one thing I was passionate about, I stuck with my goal. My body made it clear: if I didn’t eat, I couldn’t run—and I loved running because it gave me glimpse of all I could accomplish if I simply believed in myself.

OP R SE TOP

Through running, Claudia re-learned how to nourish her body.

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON

FEATURING CANADA’S LEADING MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER

EDDIE LEMOINE “Bring About What You Think About”

OP R SE TOP FRIDAY APRIL 12 | 7am Four Points by Sheraton $75/person | $525/table of 8

MORE INFO & TICKETS

sakrevent.ca

613.985.7815

FUNDRAISING BREAKFAST TO THE

suddenly decided they wanted to take back their two-hour interview I already transcribed. No one asked me to break journalistic ethics and change what they said because they “don’t like the way” they sounded.

This article’s preparation process didn’t require me going to a three-hour AMS Assembly. I also didn’t get any the free pizza Assembly provides, though, so that kind of sucks. Those AMS people and all their f—cking pizza—but please, dear God, don’t get rid of the pizza.

Crucially, talking about how grateful I am to write something other than a news article means I didn’t have to talk to anyone. I was able to write this entire piece lying on my couch in sweatpants, drinking wine.

I wasn’t bound to a single topic and could just randomly switch subjects to hot dog stands if I wanted to. I think hot dog stands are wonderful, and the sight of one on a summer day fills me with joy. Then I can jump right back into the main topic of my article, no questions asked.

The nature of this non-news article means I can be as descriptive as I want.

I can say this article is beautiful, lugubrious, unique, scintillating, saturnine, adroit, garrulous. Yes, I had to Google fancy English words since the restrictive word count of news articles have beaten them out of me.

This article has no scandals, tragedies, or depressing news about the school losing all its money. I can even make stuff up if I want to; Daniel Woolf lives in a mansion on Mars!

Above all, though, I’m thankful for the opportunity to let students know what’s happening every week. The Journal keeps both the student government and University accountable, and I’m honoured to be part of that process every single week.

Claudia Rupnik Assistant News Editor

journey that remained ahead.

I don’t typically talk about my experience with disordered eating because it’s not a part of my identity I want emphasized in the way I’m perceived by other people. However, I’m learning there’s value in sharing my experience.

Unhealthy eating habits are common and largely unidentified, as people have become desensitized towards negative relationships with food through the normalization of diet culture. My own struggle was prolonged because I couldn’t see that restricting my food consumption was something out of the ordinary, and my peers often conflated my eating habits with the rules of a healthy-active lifestyle.

In analyzing my own relationship with food, I began to notice the frequency of other people grappling with body insecurities, societal pressures, and disordered eating habits. From business students to varsity athletes, regardless of gender or age, these issues were present everywhere I looked. As someone who’d been in that position before, I saw my chance to start a discussion about the symptoms of disordered eating. My story could help someone else in their own journey to recovery.

On Jan. 16, Buzzfeed published an article about exercise as a means of transforming lives, featuring stories from people who

TO THE

A meta send-up to breaking article protocol

I can do anything I want with this article. I can tell a joke, though I don’t actually know any jokes.

• 15

STUDENT STORIES

THANK YOU LETTER

The news section at The Queen’s Journal owns my soul. As an Assistant News Editor, every week I write anything from two to five articles. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I’m also thankful for this opportunity not to write a news article.

For this article, I didn’t have to interview anyone or spend one hour transcribing a twenty-minute conversation. I didn’t spend three days begging the AMS to provide me with a one-sentence comment and nobody drunkenly came up to me to scream about how much The Journal sucks.

I can do anything I want with this article. I can tell a joke, though I don’t actually know any jokes. Good thing I’m not writing for Golden Words.

In preparation for this article, nobody

queensjournal.ca

Seniors Association Kingston Region SPONSORS

Lifestyle

16 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 22, 2019

POSTSCRIPT

Overcoming adversity to become a leader Growing from a difficult childhood and mental illness

Ampai decided to turn the negatives in her life into something positive.

Ampai Thammachack Contributor

I spent the 14-hour drive from my home in Bedford, Nova Scotia, to my first day at Queen’s shaking. My mind raced with dreams of someday becoming a ‘Queen of Queen’s’ and finding my footing in a new environment. But I also knew that I was anything but the typical Queen’s student.

My father is a first-generation refugee who arrived in Canada after fleeing the Vietnam War for 15 years. My mother grew up in a low-income area of Florida after her father was sent to prison before she could complete college.

Coming to Queen’s, a school known for being largely rich and white, was intimidating since I was nowhere near rich and am most certainly not white.

I’d hoped my arrival would mark a new chapter of self-improvement right off the bat. However, looking back on my first two years here, my mental health was a mess and the school’s support systems were not—and still aren’t—what I hoped they’d be.

One of the hardest parts of my upbringing in Nova Scotia was being bi-racial in a place where I was the only person I knew with brown skin. From the ages of seven to 12, I’d pray every night to become someone else because I thought it was my only chance at succeeding in life.

When I turned 12, my beloved dad lost everything he worked so hard to earn, and my parents went through a very ugly and abusive divorce. My father ended up going back to Laos for a year and my family fell apart. My mother spent my college fund to prevent us from losing our home.

For the next four years, my mom said she didn’t know how to live anymore and suffered every day from extremely poor mental health and a lack of self-worth.

She started working a job while under the poverty line to support us, and my dad tried his best to get back on his feet.

These circumstances meant my family life differed from most of the kids I knew. At Christmas, my family couldn’t afford a tree so my mom would drag one in from the ditch and wrap old toys—or anything she could find—to put underneath it.

As the oldest sibling, I tried to assume head of household duties to alleviate my parents’ responsibilities.

Since I was so focused on my mother’s struggles, it was hard to realize that I was struggling as well. I’d never heard of ‘mental health’ growing up, and though I had friends, I kept all my problems to myself because I assumed none of them would be able to understand what I was going through.

During this time, my community became a support system for my family, with neighbours coming by our house to drop off food or give hugs. I witnessed firsthand how important it is to help those around you, even if it doesn’t directly benefit you.

Once I turned 15, I got into a relationship that resulted in me losing any self-worth I had left. I eventually reached a breaking point and told my guidance counsellor that I didn’t want to live anymore. After, I finally got the sporadic yet impactful help from social workers and mental health professionals in

my community I needed.

After these experiences, at 17, I wanted to flip the script and turn the negatives in my life into something that could increase positivity. I founded Step Above Stigma to raise funds and awareness for mental health, and the Glass Slipper Organization to give underprivileged young women prom dresses for free to reaffirm that their community has

these experiences, “After at 17, I wanted to flip the script and turn the negatives in my life into something that could increase positivity.

”

their back.

Founding these organizations as a 17-year-old girl was intimidating, but I discovered that anything was possible with motivation and a team who shared my vision.

The process made every bad thing that happened to me feel worth it and enabled other young people to be leaders too. It’s amazing to see the change both organizations continue to make in Nova Scotia, Kingston, and across Canada, by destigmatizing mental health and raising funds to overcome systemic barriers to care.

Even after starting my organizations, getting mental health treatment, and receiving a $100,000 scholarship to attend Queen’s, I still had lots of self-doubt and coming to Kingston presented a whole new set of challenges.

In my very first year at Queen’s, I was called a n— and refused service at a restaurant on Princess Street. In my second year,

I dealt with sexual harassment and violation.

I struggled to keep a positive attitude through these difficult experiences. My experiences with racism and sexual assault made me feel like I had very little value, exacerbated by both perpetrators seeing no consequences for their actions. I was hurt by the notion that the people trying to hurt me weren’t even viewing me as a human, let alone their equal.

After a while, I developed practices to help me work through my hardest times that involved diving into the supportive communities around me. Joining clubs on campus like jack.org allowed me to reach out for help when I needed it. Using resources like Good To Talk, the free 24-hour counselling hotline, also helped me maintain an optimistic outlook.

It’s because of resources like those, as well as the support of my family and friends, that I was able to accomplish some work that I’m truly proud of and receive honours beyond my wildest dreams.

This year, I’ll become an inductee into Queen’s Tricolour Society as a Tricolour Award recipient. I’ve also had the opportunity to be the Speaker of the House of Commons in Canadian Parliament for four days, received the Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Impact award for being an executive team member of the African Caribbean Student Association, and was selected as a keynote speaker for the Indigo Girls Conference and the Canadian University Boards Association Conference on mental health.

To top it all off, I was named one of the Top 22 Under 22 Most

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

Inspirational College Women in the world by Her Campus in 2018.

Some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from my experiences include how community is everything, and it’s vital to find a niche where you feel supported.

No matter what, there will always be someone out there willing to support me and listen.

Even if I’m too terrified to tell anyone about my problems or doubts, I now know I’m strong enough to support myself until I feel comfortable enough to reach out.

I’ve also learned that if you do not stand up, fight for what you want and maintain your strategic vison, things will never change.

While mental health resources like the ones I’ve received and created are great, there’s still so much work that has to be done to create an environment where every student can thrive.

Along with creating the social, institutional and financial infrastructure that can support this vital support movement, donating time and energy to improving mental health care is essential. With persistent advocacy and collaboration with University administration and the Canadian government, we have the potential to save and improve so many lives.

I’m sure that many people reading this have gone through worse situations than what I’ve been through. Whatever your circumstances, I want you to know that if I could make it out of some seriously dark times to become a strong and truly happy leader, who’s learned to never give up on her dreams, you can too.