The Queen's Journal, Volume 146, Issue 11

2 •queensjournal.ca

News

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

Queen’s professor releases guide to pronouns Gender: Your Guide looks to navigate changing gender culture SUPPLIED BY AIRTON

Airton is an assistant professor at Queen’s.

Rachel Aiken Assistant News Editor On Tuesday, Queen’s professor Dr. Lee Airton released Gender: Your Guide to help navigate pronoun use in today’s evolving society.

Airton, an assistant professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education at Queen’s, has a background in beginner-oriented work and undergraduate teaching relating to sexual and gender diversity.

“All of my undergraduate teaching is with people who know they have some kind of responsibility towards students who don’t do gender like other students, but they don’t always know what to do,” Airton said in an interview with The Journal.

“When I started using they/them as my gender pronoun, there was nowhere I could send anybody. There’s a lot of places that offer excellent arguments for why

it’s important to use people’s you spend time, that isn’t just a good thing pronouns—the ‘why,’ but not really for people who are trans,” they said. the ‘how.’”

“Everyone, I like to say, is Since 2012, Airton has been working not quite who everybody on their blog, They Is My Pronoun, which else has in mind.” focuses on gender-neutral pronoun use.

The book has attracted attention since Included in the book are revised entries its release last Tuesday. Airton appeared from the blog, as well as stories and on the CTV Your Morning show and has exercises Airton has used while teaching. multiple other TV appearances lined up in Although the book draws on research, coming weeks.

Airton said it’s not an academic work—it’s To Airton, the book’s appeal to large written for everyone. outlets indicates the demand for this “It’s really a starting place for kind of resource. people to have more and more “I’ve been reflecting on getting ready for personalized conversations.” much more visibility because that is a very To Airton, the most important—and challenging thing about 2018,” they said. potentially challenging—element of the Airton’s also currently studying book is encouraging people to work to discrimination protection for gender make the concept of gender less rigid. They expression in Ontario schools. argue this is “equally relevant to people who “My main project right now is exploring are transgender and people who aren’t.” how Ontario public school boards, “Doing whatever you can to make Catholic and secular, are helping us to gender more elastic in the spaces where construct what gender expression actually

‘Medical hero’ Dr. Jacalyn Duffin to be given distinction next May Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor Dr. Jacalyn Duffin is skeptical of distinctions—even one calling her a medical hero.

When she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in September as one of six medical heroes to be distinguished next May, she was completely surprised.

“It’s not something you apply for and it’s certainly not something I ever personally aspired to,” Duffin told The Journal over a phone interview.

“It’s a huge honour to be recognized in this way.”

From 1988 to 2017, Duffin was the Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine at Queen’s. During this time, she taught a course on the history of the Nobel Prize, asking who won it, who didn’t, and why.

At the end of the course, students analyzed other distinctions, including inductions into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

“They learn that these things are pretty subjective and there’s lots of unsung heroes out there who don’t get recognized,” Duffin said. “The reason I laughed was I felt like I was somehow being punished for being a little bit irreverent about prizes in general.”

“I know that my former students—because I’ve been teaching that

Duffin will join the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame next May.

SUPPLIED BY JACALYN DUFFIN

Queen’s researcher to be inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame course for almost twenty years—were probably collapsing laughing when they heard about it.”

Duffin is known for bringing history and medicine together as an approach to modern medical practice, and was pleased to be recognized by medical leaders for a historic methodology.

Her research delves into how the historical research method parallels doctors and nurses’ treatment of patients.

On its website, the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame stated Duffin “has made enduring contributions to medical research and education that deepen our historical understanding and cause us to reflect on the origins of present-day health care.

[Duffin has] assured that thousands of physicians and nurses appreciate the broader cultural and social contexts of their professions.”

means,” Airton said.

They state while there are protections in Ontario from gender and identity-based discrimination, those are limited to transgender people—not allowing for people who don’t fit the definition to also be protected under the term.

“I’m very interested to see the ways in which [protections] are delimited to transgender people alone,” they said.

“If we allow the delimitation of those protections to transgender people alone then we’re also going to create a very static and rigid idea of what a transgender person is.”

As of now, there are no events on campus for the book’s launch. However, Airton hopes to plan something for the Kingston community soon.

Gender: Your Guide is available through the Queen’s Library Service. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

In her role as an educator, Duffin has two goals for medical students: To stress the utility of history’s potential contributions to medical practice; and to make students skeptical about everything they learn in medical school.

“This sits with the goals in medical education right now to make future doctors life-long learners, to make them willing to rethink what they believe to be right,” Duffin said. “As my late father-in-law used to say, half of what we are teaching you is going to be wrong, we just don’t know which half.”

Duffin’s also a trained haematologist, a specialist in the treatment and diagnoses of blood-related diseases.

She’s been involved in research about diagnostic technology, rural practice, drug development, disease concepts, health policy, and religious healing.

While her most famous research project included four trips to study medical miracles within the Vatican Archives from 2000 to 2009, Duffin told The Journal her favourite research project is always what she’s currently working on.

“Every time I work on a research project, I absolutely love what I’m doing,” she said. “I have great freedom to research whatever I want.”

Despite this freedom, Duffin remains committed to linking history to modern medical practice.

“I think the humanities in medicine have a terrible time being recognized and being included in medicine,” she said. “If anything, I hope this award will help encourage other medical schools to think about the importance of history and the other humanities.” journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

News

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca • 3

Queen’s to implement new free speech policy before January Policy will undergo a two-week public comment period in November

The Office of the Premier used the University of Chicago’s Statement on Principles of Free Expression as a model for the expected policies, which includes principles such as, “universities and colleges should be places for open discussion and free inquiry,” and “the university [or] college should not attempt to shield students Raechel Huizinga from ideas or opinions that they disagree Assistant News Editor with or find offensive.”

The statement also mandates that “while The University expects a new free members of the university [or] college speech policy by mid-December, are free to criticize and contest views weeks before the Ford government’s expressed on campus, they may not obstruct January 2019 deadline. or interfere with the freedom of others In a written statement to The Journal, to express their views” and “speech that the University stated Principal Daniel violates the law is not allowed.”

Woolf’s office is developing the new free In a statement to The Journal, the speech policy with a first draft to be University expressed that “free speech completed shortly. centers on the respectful and informed After Woolf finishes the initial draft, it exchange of ideas … Hate speech as will undergo a consultation and advisory defined by the Criminal Code of Canada is process, including input from the Senate prohibited on campus.” and Board of Trustees, followed by a The University will address any student two-week public comment period behaviours that conflict with the policy in mid-November. through things like the Student Code of The University also stated the process Conduct, Human Rights legislation, and would be completed by mid-December in an any other laws or structures already effort to provide it to the public before the existent at Queen’s.

January deadline.

Going forward, the University will also It added the policy will define free speech use other existing structures to address and other “paths of recourse.” occurences including protests—which its The Office of the Premier published a maintain are still allowed—barring acts news release on Aug. 30 stating new policies of vandalism. must “comply with a free speech policy that For example, the University will use the meets a minimum standard prescribed Interim Policy on the Booking, Use, and by the government and based on best Cancellation of Bookings in University practices from around the world.”

Space to scope out potential risks in The Ford government requires each certain events. policy to include a definition of freedom of When groups or individuals book events speech and all institutions to apply existing on campus, the University will use the student disciplinary measures to “students policy to determine what kind of safety whose actions are contrary to the policy.” conditions and requirements are necessary They cite “ongoing disruptive protesting for the event. that significantly interferes with the ability The University could also refuse access to of an event to proceed” as an example. those who don’t meet the requirements of Institutions must make student groups’ the policy. compliance with the policy a condition Over the past year, Queen’s experienced for continued financial support and tension around free speech on campus, recognition, and encourage student unions including the Jordan Peterson protests to adopt policies that align with the free and recent debates surrounding the speech policy. controversial Liberty Lecture series Colleges and universities will use existing featuring Conrad Black. structures to address complaints and ensure In an opinion piece published by The compliance, with any unresolved complaints Globe and Mail titled, “Why we invited directed to the Ontario Ombudsman.

Jordan Peterson to discuss compelled If any universities or colleges don’t speech,” Principal Wolfe argued for create a policy or fail to follow and report importance of free speech on campus. on policies after they’re implemented, “Freedom of speech and the goals the Ministry of Training, Colleges and of diversity and inclusion are entirely Universities may decrease their operating compatible and often mutually grant funding, depending on the severity strengthening,” he wrote. “Those who of the non-compliances. challenge, giving opponents the right Starting in September 2019, universities and a platform on which to speak, are and colleges must also publish annual conflating two different issues and setting a reports on the progress of the policies. dangerous precedent.”

Institutions have until Jan. 1 to comply with the province’s free speech policy.

WIKI COMMONS

Kandice Baptiste.

Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre.

PHOTO BY NICK PEARCE

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre doubles space

‘Home away from home,’ expands, meets Truth and Reconciliation goal Nick Pearce Editor in Chief A year after its announcement, Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre doubled its space on Monday afternoon.

The Centre has expanded from its original address at 146 Barrie St. to the neighbouring house at 144 Barrie St. The expansion and renovations feature a larger kitchen, more workspaces, and expanded areas for cultural programming.

The expansion was recommendation 13 in the Queen’s Truth and Reconciliation Task Force report released in April 2017.

The task force called for increased space and more staff, recognizing the Indigenous student hub was “at capacity” and needed additional resources to meet its mandate.

Indigenous-owned firm Two Row Architect, based in the Six Nations Ontario reserve, took on the renovations.

Director of Indigenous Initiatives and former Four Directions director Janice Hill consulted with the architects, helping to shape the buildings’ renovation. She announced the project last year and remarked the renovations were a step forward for the Centre.

“We were bursting at the seams there,” she said at the time. “To know that we’ve outgrown this space to the point where we’re doubling our size is amazing.”

In 144 Barrie St., the renovations include a replication of a Haudenosaunee longhouse. Entering the building, the hallway is lined with red elm to recreate a longhouse’s distinctive design.

The builders replicated the structure by stripping the bark off the tree and laying it against the walls of the entryway, with wooden supports as a frame.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the backsplash depicts the Dish With One Spoon Treaty, a treaty between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee that governed the territory the building sits on.

Finally, in 146 Barrie Street, the building’s designs emulate an Anishinaabe roundhouse for cultural teaching space.

“This was so long coming, for it to be here, it feels really amazing,” Four Directions Director Kandice Baptiste said.

“It’s something you talk about for a long time, or you see written down, but it’s [different] see it in real life.”

She said the new areas would allow the Centre to provide more programming space, in addition to providing studying space.

In the past, she said there would be drumming upstairs while students studied downstairs, which could sometimes be difficult.

“We have a growing Indigenous student community on campus and the space is meant to support them, but it’s open to all of the campus community,” she added.

Centre Advisor Vanessa McCourt estimated the Centre services between 100 and 150 students, depending on the programming. It can now accommodate the students even more, doing a “feast night on Wednesday, and a student meeting, or student studying [session]” that same evening, she said. “[It’s] a home away from home for Indigenous students,” McCourt added.

“We find that moving away from a home community, there is that void when they’re here. We want to provide a bit of that, that community feel, that safe-space for our students.”

“We heard from the students [saying], they walk around campus and don’t see themselves reflected. We wanted them to have this space.”

News

4 •queensjournal.ca

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Homecoming crowds numbered 10,000 this year.

Homecoming draws crowd of 10,000, only 85 tickets Low number of infractions following University District Safety Initiative implementation Jasnit Pabla and Raechel Huizinga Journal Staff While a crowd of approximately 10,000 gathered in the University District on Homecoming, Kingston Police said they gave out a mere 85 tickets in a press release on Monday.

Last year, Queen’s Homecoming resulted in 330 charges, with just under 260 open alcohol charges, according the press release. There were also 14 charges under the Highway Traffic Act, down to only two this year.

The amount of arrests also decreased by more than 50 per cent this year, from 33 in 2017 down to 13 this year. All 13 arrests this year were due solely to public intoxication.

This year’s drop in ticketing follows two new enforcement initiatives: the University District Safety Initiative (UDSI) and the Nuisance Party By-Law. The UDSI came into effect this past move-in day as a joint effort between Queen’s and the City of Kingston to discourage dangerous behavior at large street parties

during Frosh Week, Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day. The initiative includes a court summons for breaches of the Liquor Licences Act. Meanwhile, the Nuisance Party By-Law—which addresses disruptive behavior incurred through large gatherings on private property or nuisance-related behavior—was responsible for three tickets on Saturday.

The bylaw controls large gatherings by instating a minimum fine of $500 for individuals who throw or attend a

and 1.64 per cent.

Meanwhile, in Sydenham, Peter Stroud was re-elected for his second term and won the district council seat with 64.57 per cent of votes. In the 2014 election, he was elected with 56.75 per cent of votes.

In his campaign, Stroud expressed support for new housing development and more student engagement.

Third-year Queen’s student

Dylan Chenier was Stroud’s closest rival, receiving 21.51 per cent of Sydenham’s votes.

With 50.98 per cent of the votes, incumbent Jim Neill was re-elected to the Williamsville District seat.

Neill committed to expanding and protecting green space and green transportation.

Rob Hutchison, also re-elected, won the King’s Town seat with 80.43 per cent of votes. Hutchison advocated for sustainability and

Health Sciences Centre capable of simultaneously studying 150 patients.

Ellis runs frequent allergy and immunology clinics out of the Hotel Dieu Hospital where she analyzes hayfever, asthma, food and drug allergy, stinging insect allergy, hives, eczema and other types of allergies.

Research, a clinical research institute at Queen’s.

Nickel’s research addresses inflammatory, benign prostate, and pain diseases of the urinary tract, and has worked with thousands of men and women suffering from chronic urogenital pain through studies and clinical trials.

Nickel has more than 550 publications and is currently the editor of the Urology Update series. In addition to being on the editorial board of seven other urology journals, he’s also the Tier One Canada Research Chair in Urology.

Along with being invited to speak at over 35 different universities in Canada and the United States, Nickel’s been invited to meetings and events in over 45 countries around the world.

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018 party that fits the description of a “nuisance party.”

Over the course of the weekend, Homecoming drew 74 charges related to open alcohol charges.

There were only three underage drinking charges—down from 19 last year—and 13 for public intoxication.

Kingston Police also reported seizing three kegs in the University District.

While Friday night was quiet, the crowds on Saturday “forced officers to change their focus from enforcement to crowd management for safety reasons,” Kingston Police’s press release said.

This resulted in the closures of Aberdeen and Johnson Streets between University Avenue and Division Street.

Using the Nuisance Party By-Law, officers were able to disperse the overwhelming crowds by 4 p.m. and, despite broken glass on the roads, vehicles were able to drive through cleared streets for the rest of the day.

Despite the overall decrease in tickets and arrests, Kingston Police maintained there’s “work still to be done.”

In an interview with The Journal, Media Relations Officer Constable Cam Mack said, “It’s different this year, as far as behavior and crowds were.”

He credited this to partygoers likely being aware of the possible consequences associated with the UDSI and Nuisance By-Law active during the weekend that non-compliance wasn’t an issue.

“Awareness of the bylaw seemed to improve behavior,”

Mack said. “So when our officers deemed it was safe to try and clear the streets, the crowd was generally compliant.”

In their press release, Kingston Police extended their gratitude towards “community partners, school organizations, and emergency and medical services for their support and involvement to ensure a safe Homecoming weekend.”

Those ticketed under the UDSI will appear in court on either Nov. 22 or Nov. 30 to settle their charges.

Kingston General Hospital reported that 53 visits during the Saturday of Homecoming were incurred by partygoers, of which 21 were the result of physical injury.

In an interview to The Journal, Mayor Bryan Paterson shared Mack’s sentiments.

“I think that people were generally respectful and well-behaved and I think obviously there were tickets that needed to be issued when city bylaws were broken,” he said. “That’s really the impetus behind the Nuisance Party Bylaw and the safety initiative.”

Paterson added the weekend was a learning experience for the City and law enforcement, working in collaboration with the University and, in extension, its students.

“My message to the student body continues to be, ‘we want you to enjoy yourselves, we want you to have fun, but also respect the bylaws and the rules the city has just like any other resident.”

community revitalization in his campaign.

A referendum question was also included on the ballot. Voters were asked if they were in favour of using a Ranked Ballot Voting system to elect municipal officials in the future.

For a candidate to win in the ranked system, they must receive over 50 per cent of the total vote—a simple majority. Voters are also given the ability to rank their preferences, including all

names or groups represented on the ballot.

Of the 32,803 voters who responded to the referendum, 62.93 per cent voted in favour.

Nonetheless, the results are non-binding—less than 50 per cent of eligible electors in Kingston voted on the referendum question. Council can still decide to implement Ranked Ballot Voting, using the referendum results as an advisory tool going forward.

journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

Mayor Paterson, Councillor Stroud re-elected

Continued from front ...

In 2014, Paterson won with 38.15 per cent of the vote. Four years later, he faced off against Schmolka, Rob Matheson, and Eric Lee for three months leading up to Monday.

At press time on Monday night, Schmolka received 7,545 votes and 21.97 per cent of the total; Matheson 2,529 votes and 7.36 per cent; and Lee 564 votes

News in Brief

Dr. Anne Ellis wins F. Estelle Simons research award Presented by the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Dr. Anne Ellis earned the F. Estelle Simons research award—as announced by the University on Oct. 15.

The distinction is awarded to scholars whose research is significant and beneficial to the study of allergies.

Ellis is the chair of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Queen’s.

Her primary focus is researching allergic rhinitis, or hayfever, and studying how umbilical cord blood can determine future allergies in infants.

She’s also the director of the Environmental Exposure Unit, a research facility in the Kingston

Dr. Curtis Nickel receives Mostafa Elhilali Award

Queen’s announced on Oct. 15 that Societé Internationale d’Urologie has awarded Dr. Curtis Nickel the Mostafa Elhilali Award for his work in the field of urologic pain.

Nickel has been a member of the Department of Urology at Queen’s since 1984 and became a professor in 1994. He directs the Center for Applied Urological

—Raechel Huizinga

Referendum News

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca • 5

AMS fall referendum

The Journal provides this free, unedited space for parties on the ballot CAMP OUTLOOK Camp Outlook is an all-volunteer, community-based charitable organization that serves the Queen’s and Kingston communities. Our mission is to encourage local youth to realize their worth as individuals, their abilities, and their potential to achieve. To work towards this goal, we provide young people between the ages of 13 and 17 with the opportunity to experience wilderness camping at no cost.

This environment allows them to respond to nature’s challenges in a team, while being supported by trained staff.

During the academic year, under our fall and winter programs, we offer weekend wilderness trips staffed by Queen’s students and the younger Kingston population.

During the summer we run longer canoe camping trips in Algonquin Park that range from 5-14 days. Camp Outlook was founded by a Queen’s University Medical Student in 1970 and has been running continuously since. Outlook helps youth experience the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, as well as assists volunteer staff to gain valuable experience working with children, and industry-standard certifications in outdoor education. There is no experience necessary for incoming staff. Queen’s students have been integral to Outlook, in its foundations, as well as its day-to-day operation.

FRIDAY FRIENDS

Friday Friends is an informal group mentorship program that seeks to facilitate the social and personal development of young adults with intellectual disabilities outside the usual settings of classrooms, and the home through interaction with students from the Queen’s community. Volunteers and participants meet on Friday evenings for a variety of social activities including movie nights, bowling, baking, crafts, board games, and sports. The mandate is to provide a positive social setting in which Queen’s students and young adults with disabilities can interact in an uplifting and inclusive environment.

QUEEN’S BACKING ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Queen’s Backing Action on Climate Change (QBACC) is an activist-based environmental campus club that mobilizes and organizes environmentally minded students at Queen’s University. QBACC has given students the opportunity to go to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, and even New York City for climate action—from conferences to Climate Marches. Recently we have undertaken the task of providing resources and education towards living a sustainable life on Queen’s campus through our cost-free Sustainable Living Workshop series. The workshops have included topics such as sustainable hygiene, up cycling and vegan cooking; providing tangible takeaways for every participant. In addition, we provide significant educational presentations for various groups on campus surrounding the intersectional nature of environmental issues. We also give students ample opportunity to engage with professionals in the field with a yearly sustainable networking night, which sees the attendance of a number of renowned professionals in the field of environmentalism. In addition to our work providing opportunities for students, we also work alongside the University administration to ensure that our campus continues to become more sustainable and environmentally conscious. Campaigns we have undertaken and continue to develop are the Divestment campaign, waste protocol refining and developing, and the

removal of plastics from services on campus.

We strive to keep challenging our campus to be more environmentally conscious and helping us create a sustainable planet well beyond our times at Queen’s.

QUEEN’S GENETICALLY ENGINEERED MACHINE

Queen’s Genetically Engineered Machine (QGEM) is an interdisciplinary, undergraduate design team, proud to represent Queen’s University at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. QGEM offers students from all programs a chance to learn beyond the textbook; we culture innovators and bacteria to re-engineer biology for new applications in medicine, the environment, and more. QGEM is a student-driven team, where through paid and volunteer positions we develop and execute a summer research project involving the laboratory, computation/modelling, and outreach. Past examples of projects include: designer antifreeze proteins for organ cryopreservation, an engineered biofilm for artic oil spill bioremediation, and a biosensor device for portable hormone measurement. In addition to research and laboratory skills, QGEM offers students valuable experience in leadership, project management, and critical thinking. QGEM has been awarded various medals at the iGEM competition since the team’s inception in 2009, notably receiving a gold medal at the 2017 competition.

The greater purpose of QGEM and iGEM is to promote education and advancements in synthetic biology. QGEM regularly discusses synthetic biology and the ethics surrounding it, participates in community events, and holds seminars for professors to share their research with students.

We are seeking a student fee to further contribute to the success of the Queen’s University team at the iGEM conference, the enrichment of undergraduate students from a variety of faculties, and community engagement in research and scientific inquiry.

To learn more, you can find us on Facebook and/or Twitter (@iGEMQueens) or visit us at queensigem.ca QUEEN’S HEALTH OUTREACH

Queen’s Health Outreach is an entirely student-run registered charity here on Queen’s Campus. We work to facilitate needs-based peer health education initiatives locally in Kingston, in four locations in Northern Canada, as well as internationally in Belize, Guyana, and Kenya.

QHO is committed to collaborating with local and international communities to work towards sustainable opportunities for youth engagement and leadership, as we strive to facilitate peer-to-peer discussions centering around physical, mental, sexual, and social aspects of health. Queen’s Health Outreach, formerly known as Queen’s Medical Outreach and Queen’s Medical Aid, was started in the fall of 1987 by a group of Queen’s Medical students. The first initiative ran in the summer of 1988, but QHO soon expanded, by adding initiatives in Kingston, Northern Canada, Belize, and finally Kenya.

Together, these five initiatives represent the current make-up of the organization. As QHO expanded, it changed its mandate from providing medical and clinical services, to the provision of health education. Moreover, QHO opened itself up to students of all faculties and programs. The organization officially changed its name from Queen’s Medical Outreach to Queen’s Health Outreach in 2006, in an effort to better reflect the true work of our organization.

Through QHO, Queen’s students have the opportunity to gain new perspective,

collaborate with new communities, build partnerships, and become active members of both the Queen’s and Kingston community. Acting as a peer educator truly is the experience of a lifetime. Acting as an intern or executive member with Queen’s Health Outreach is an equally incredible experience. Being given the opportunity to operate and further understand the inter-workings of a registered charitable organization is both rewarding and relevant to one’s future. Through QHO, students grow in their developmental consciousness, and gain valuable skills such as leadership, collaboration, and critical thinking.

QUEEN’SINSTITUTE OF HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT

Quality Improvement (QI) and patient safety (PS) are fundamental approaches within healthcare settings leading to decreased morbidity and mortality, more patient-centred care, and higher rates of satisfaction among patients and providers.

Unfortunately, there is a gap in undergraduate education in QI teaching, experiential training opportunities, and integration of QI and PS into healthcare practice. Queen’s Institute of Healthcare Improvement (QIHI) fills this gap by providing students with the necessary tools, information, and opportunities to develop competencies in QI and PS through education, networking, and practical experience.

QIHI was established in 2013, and is a chapter of the international Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) based in Cambridge, MA. IHI is an international not-for-profit organization that defines and disseminates best practices in improving healthcare quality and patient safety among healthcare professionals and health care organizations. IHI prioritizes innovation and engaging the next generation of healthcare professionals, and relies on local chapters to lead their campaigns and bring QI and PS to their local schools and hospitals.

Our chapter operates three main arms.

The first involves hosting events and campaigns to educate students about QI and PS and encourage participation in initiatives (e.g., Canadian Patient Safety Week). The chapter also publishes an online blog that allows interested individuals to explore key QI and PS issues in healthcare through interviews, literature reviews, and local coverage. The third component is the QI Practical Experience Program (QIPEP) that gives approximately 40-60 students every year an opportunity to work on projects led by physicians at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. Mandatory monthly workshops fill in knowledge gaps for participating students and are facilitated by leaders in the field.

This program has a very high impact and is extremely useful in translating QI knowledge into clinical practice.

QUEEN’S SPACE ENGINEERING TEAM

The Queen’s Space Engineering Team (QSET) is a group of over sixty exceptional and passionate students who share the desire to explore and compete in space related design competitions. Created in 2006, QSET has built stand-alone Mars rovers, as well as 3U CubeSat satellites which were used to compete in various international space competitions. The team is competitive, placing second in Canada and 12th in the world, while competing at the University Rover Challenge this past summer.

QSET’s main goal is to provide an environment to foster the growth of students, regardless of program or technical aptitude. Through this, proficiency in coding, computer-aided-design software, and project management skills is built in a

setting that provides flexibility for individual skill levels and schedules. Team members are given the freedom to create their own solutions to open-ended problems and the opportunity to see them implemented in real life. The team provides a place for students to apply and add to what they learn in class, which can be motivating and inspiring. QSET wants to give students a unique learning experience and an opportunity to represent Queen’s on an international level.

QUEEN’S LEGAL AID

Queen’s Legal Aid (“QLA”) provides free legal services to students of Queen’s University and to low-income residents in the Kingston area. We have been helping people in the Queen’s and Kingston community for over 45 years.

Those of you who have been to QLA will know that we provide free services in a number of different areas of the law.

Queen’s University students currently pay a mandatory $5.00 student fee to Queen’s Legal Aid. As a result of this fee, Queen’s University students qualify for our legal services without having to meet the financial criteria mandated by Legal Aid Ontario.

If you have a landlord who is trying to evict you, or refusing to do much-needed repairs, Queen’s Legal Aid may be able to help. We may be able to assist you if you’ve had too much fun one night, run into trouble with the police, and got charged with a minor criminal offence such as drug possession, assault, or shoplifting. We may be able to represent you at Small Claims Court if you have a housemate refusing to pay his fair share of the bills. We also provide Notary Public and Commissioner of Oaths services to certify documents and commission Statutory Declarations. A Queen’s University students who uses our services for just one notarization will save the significant cost of paying a private lawyer for that same service.

We hope that you never have to use our services for legal problems, but many have needed us and found us to be invaluable.

Your support for a $0.50 increase in the student fee (for a total of $5.50) will allow Queen’s Legal Aid to continue to provide the legal assistance to the many Queen’s University students who have turned to us for assistance.

We thank you for your support.

QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE SUSTAINABILITY TEAM

QUEST, the Queen’s University Experimental Sustainability Team, was founded in 2012. The goal of the team is to promote sustainable and self-sufficient living through various team initiatives and projects. QUEST’s mission is to give students who are passionate about sustainability the resources and professional environment to gain relevant experience by providing hands-on design projects that generate awareness, and improve the sustainability of the Queen’s community. QUEST provides an environment in which students may apply what they have learned to designing and creating sustainable projects. These projects are created to integrate sustainable engineering and design into everyday life.

The projects are the backbone by which our members advance their understanding of environmental design and promote sustainable living. The team also participates in conferences and tradeshows revolving around the subject of sustainability. This year we are harnessing kinetic energy from an exercise bike, submitting ideas to Shell 360 competition, developing a research project to convert coffee grinds to usable coffee cups, and running a sustainability themed speaker series.

6 • queensjournal.ca

Features

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY

Mature students’ second act in education Older peers share their on and off campus experiences

Mature students often balance schoolwork alongside working full-time jobs and raising children.

Samantha Fink Features Editor For many mature students, school days are filled with full-time jobs and mouths to feed at home.

The burdens younger students can face—including family care, work, and increased responsibility—can become more pronounced among some older students. However, their education is often a steppingstone to more autonomy and personal growth after a gap in their schooling.

The University defines mature students as students who’ve been out of school for some time, and apply to university later in life.

At Queen’s, there are 80 undergraduate students from ages 40 to 80. There are another 141 older than 30.

Some of these students are Interest Students, who take online courses purely for interest on a part-time basis. They may already have their university experience, but want to take a few classes without receiving a degree.

However, there are also many mature students who are registered full-time for degree plans, setting them up for graduate school and career paths similar to any other young student.

It’s a stark contrast to some younger students’ domestic responsibilities that can often be limited to taking out the garbage.

For one, when Nicole Thomson leaves her studies, she returns home to her 16-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter.

After dropping out of the University of Ottawa in her early 20s, Thomson moved to B.C. A couple of decades and two kids later, she’s back for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology and English, this time as a single mother.

Although she came into first year with more life experience under her belt than most students fresh from high school, the

transition was just as tough, but in different ways.

“Looking at a whole bunch of students that have their whole [lives] in front of them was initially emotionally and cognitively a bit of an adjustment,” Thomson said.

But education was meaningful for her. It meant continuing to learn, and to hopefully help in her pursuit of a career path.

She said it’s still tough to focus entirely schoolwork when her children need her.

“There are times when I sit here after the kids go to school and I wonder if I can make it to class,” Thomson said.

Melissa Stire, a mature student in her fourth year of a Sociology degree, also had doubts when she transitioned back to university.

After her first class four years ago, she returned home thinking, “I can’t do this. I haven’t been in school in so long—and these kids

“I can’t do this.

I haven’t been in school in so long—and these kids are so smart.”

—Melissa Stire

are so smart.”

Balancing heavy work hours, personal lives, and a full course load is far from easy, especially when other students can focus all their efforts on studying.

“A part time job that a student has isn’t [going to be sufficient for] what a mature student needs. Their needs are different,” Stire said.

She may not always be able to complete weekly assignments to the best of her ability, and others who don’t have the same responsibilities as her may not understand why.

Isolation is another factor—when Stire’s classmates meet up on campus to go over assignments and study notes together, she feels left alone to make sense of the material.

She sometimes finds classmates disregard her input because of her age.

When such concerns become a burden, both Thomson and Stire cite the Ban Righ Centre as their haven for emotional support and community.

The Centre provides financial services and counselling for mature female students.

Since many women like Thomson and Stire use it, it’s also a place where they connect with each other and make friends on campus.

“They help you with financial support, emotional support, everything. There’s always someone to talk to there that’s been through it,” Stire said.

With this support at their disposal, it makes the hurdles of coming back to school manageable.

“I don’t think I’d be able to complete my degree if it wasn’t for them,” Stire said.

Meanwhile, other mature students may approach their studies more leisurely, but classes can still be as meaningful as they were at age 20.

Jennifer Butchart has also been at Queen’s for a while now, but not always as a student.

Butchart is the Senior Development Officer for Queen’s Arts and Science. She’s been working at Queen’s for seven years, and recently decided to take up a BA in English Literature.

In high school, English was Butchart’s worst subject. When she went to college, she studied Business Administration; she never thought of English Literature until recently.

She now takes two courses per semester on top of her full-time job at Queen’s and being a mother to her 15-year-old son.

Despite her student experience being somewhat isolated, Butchart has slowly integrated into Queen’s culture through her use of social media. She’s even met other mature students who she’s connected with online.

Including mature part-time students in school initiatives, such as beginning to send out the Queen’s Reads book to them, has also made Butchart feel more at home as a student.

When she was in college, many steps in her life appeared to be a means to an end, going underappreciated. She couldn’t afford to accept her offer to Queen’s Commerce back then, but now, she says appreciates education more than when she was 20.

Although English literature isn’t directly related to her career in fundraising, she’s always finding new perspectives from her

“His friends asked, ‘Is there anything that you’ve ever wanted to do in your life?’”

courses that add to her career and life.’ One student, Paul Hogan, agrees. He’s been working towards his BA in Political Studies at Queen’s for 10 years.

When his wife passed away 11 years ago, he felt unfulfilled.

His friends encouraged him to find meaning again, asking him, ‘Is there anything that you’ve ever wanted to really do in your life?’

Hogan graduated from Grade 13 in 1973 thinking he knew everything there was to know.

Within two years of working at his family’s farm on Wolfe

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NOUR MAZLOUM

Island, he had already begun to regret his decision to skip university.

After encouragement from his friends and the realization that getting a university degree had been a goal he never accomplished, Hogan decided to make a change.

He approached the University Registrar, asking what he could do to get into Queen’s in his 50s.

Within a year, he was taking a couple courses each semester.

While his courses are mostly for interest, he puts in his best efforts in class, goes to see professors and TAs when concepts confuse him, and pushes himself to do well.

His grades may help him apply to graduate school someday. And if they don’t, they still matter to him as something to work towards in middle-aged life.

In the classroom, however, he finds other students may resist argument and debate with him because of his age.

“I purposely ask questions or make comments that are a little bit out of the norm in today’s society, just to get some reaction, and very seldom do I get much,” Hogan said. “The professor will typically challenge me but the kids don’t, and I don’t know whether that’s my age or respect for an elder.”

Even though they may not directly engage with him class, Hogan is surprised by the potential he sees in millennials.

“I’m just blown away by the intelligence of these kids,” he said.

While he may not be the typical student on Queen’s campus, after 10 years, Hogan’s never looked back on his life-changing decision.

Education is personal growth.

For some students, it’s a natural progression from high school, but for others, it represents a sense of autonomy. For mature students, it’s more a choice than an obligation.

“I feel younger being here,” Hogan said. “It’s really a great experience and I would highly recommend anyone who has the time and wants to do it to give it a shot.”

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca

EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

Nixing Violence Against Women program derails safety

THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL

Volume 146 Issue 11 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

Editorial Board

Editors in Chief

Production Manager

Digital Manager News Editor Assistant News Editors

Sebastian Bron Nick Pearce Julia Balakrishnan

Angus Merry Iain Sherriff-Scott Rachel Aiken Madison Bendall Raechel huizinga

Features Editors

Samantha Fink Hannah Stafl

Editorials Editor

Meredith Wilson-Smith

Rachel Aiken Universities have a responsibility to care for students’ mental health

ILLUSTRATION BY ZIER ZHOU

A provincial government that asserts its leadership by scrapping valuable social policies without any replacement endangers its population.

Last week, the Ontario Conservative government disbanded the Liberal-founded Roundtable on Violence Against Women without any replacement. Since 2015, the volunteer-run organization has advised the province on strategies to diminish violence against women—and its unexplained dissolution has drastic consequences.

Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod announced the termination on the heels of the Ontario government’s roll-back of most social-assistance changes implemented by the former Liberal government. Though the minister claims to reaffirm her government’s commitment to eliminating violence against women, its cancellation of the roundtable says otherwise.

Violence against women is a rampant issue. On average, one woman in Ontario is killed by femicide every 13 days. Gendered abuse is a fatal problem, and our provincial government shouldn’t wait for it to get worse before they establish a new solution.

Particularly in a mobilizing era that champions women’s voices, Ontario’s removal of a cost-effective and progressive social program is an example of the government’s inadequate provisions for women.

The Conservatives campaigned on “effective government,” or reduced public expenditure.

But the Roundtable on Violence Against Women was almost entirely volunteer-run, with only its co-chairs earning a small stipend. The cost of cutting this roundtable is greater than any financial savings attached—it’s far too great to be justified.

The non-partisan roundtable was led by specialists with experience advocating for Indigenous women,

racialized women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, older women, and sex workers. It gave valuable advice that protected groups impacted by systemic violence in Ontario.

The government’s roundtable scrap leaves women across the province unheard and indicates their issues aren’t at the forefront of this government’s concerns.

In the meantime, the responsibility to advocate for marginalized groups will fall upon already-burdened community leaders.

From university students to activists, mobilizing voices are impactful—but if their words fall upon deaf ears in the government, their power is limited.

As the Ford government continues to crusade indiscriminately against a glut of past Liberal programs, they bring on a social cost. Women’s safety is anything but an ideological battle—it’s the entire province’s safety.

It’s the government’s prerogative to recognize that and provide a safe place for all its citizens.

Adversarial change for the sake of change reduces our province’s ability to protect its people’s safety. As the new government strives to leave its mark, it enforces the idea that women’s wellbeing is political, and—more importantly—negotiable.

If the Progressive Conservative government wishes to live up to its progressive title and enforce pragmatic standards, it must recognize the value of past provincial governments’ programs. Policy-making can’t be cyclical—it needs to involve long-term and continuous strategy.

Disbanding an expert panel to end violence against women doesn’t just derail past progress—it sends a message to women across the province that their welfare doesn’t matter.

Universities have a responsibility to provide accessible, timely, and professional mental health care to students—but Queen’s misses the mark.

A university environment breeds poor mental health.

Academic and personal expectations, intertwined with a fast-paced schedule and a competitive atmosphere, intensify anxiety and depression.

A 2016 National College Health Assessment survey found that of 25,168 students from 20 post-secondary schools in Ontario, 89.2 per cent reported feeling overwhelmed in the last 12 months, 46.1 per cent felt so depressed it was hard to function, and 13.7 per cent seriously considered suicide.

Universities need to provide the infrastructure to deal with the consequences of the highly pressurized environments they create.

Queen’s doesn’t do so effectively.

Student Wellness Services (SWS) fails to accommodate the masses of students who seek yearly one-on-one counselling. Despite the service being overwhelmed for years, the university has yet to devote sufficient resources to manage the mental health crisis on campus.

My own experience with SWS wasn’t a positive one.

Following a family trauma last year—exacerbating my academic pressures—I reached out to counselling services. I called, clearly in crisis, and was told there was no appointment time for me and to call back after the weekend.

—Journal Editorial Board

Opinions Editor Arts Editor Assistant Arts Editor Sports Editor Assistant Sports Edito Lifestyle Editor Assistant Lifestyle Editor Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor Video Edit Assistant Video Editor Graphics Editor Editorial Illustrator Copy Editors Editorial Intern

Sophia Spencer

Chiara Gottheli Justine Miller Skylar Wang

Brigid Goulem Brittany Giliforte Matt Scace Maggie Gowland Josh Granovsky Ally Mastantuono Chris Yao Tessa Warburton Amelia Rankine Christian Siriano Nour Mazloum Zier Zhou Tegwyn Hughes Jasnit Pabla Lillian Gao

Contributing Staff Contributors

•7

Business Staff Business Manager

Morgan Dodson

Head Sales Representative

Aidan Chalmers

Sales Representative

Callum Nesbitt

Office Administrator

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.

I’ve had appointments cancelled within minutes of the session’s start time and had six-week long wait times for a return appointment.

However, the counsellors I saw at SWS were kind, professional, and as frustrated by the system as I was.

The neglect of students’ mental health isn’t perpetuated by the staff and counselors at SWS—but by the university itself.

In a 2012 Maclean’s article, Principal Daniel Woolf said the university is “not a treatment facility.” Although published six years ago, this statement is still representative of the university’s attitude regarding mental health.

This notion shouldn’t be tossed around lightly on campus. It places blame on students for being unable to cope with their mental health while removing all accountability from the university.

Not only is this detrimental to student-administration relations, it sends a negative message to students about managing academic stresses: Deal with it or get out.

Yes, post-secondary education should be challenging—but that doesn’t mean the university is absolved of its responsibility to students’ mental health. It should be an institution’s priority to supply students with the resources to meet a growing demand.

Mental health support on campus shouldn’t be considered a privilege, but a university’s responsibility to its students.

Rachel is one of The Journal’s Assistant News Editors. She’s a third-year English major.

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston.

Editorial opinions expressed in The Journal are the sole responsibility of The Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers.

190 University Ave., Kingston, ON, K7L 3P4 Editorial Office: 613-533-2800 Business Office: 613-533-6711 Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca Please address complaints and grievances to the Editors in Chief.

The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Contents © 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

8 • queensjournal.ca

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

OPINIONS

Heritage buildings on campus deserve more respect

Treatment and maintenance of older buildings on campus should be a growing, consistent concern Chiara Gottheil in front of a damaged window in Theological Hall.

Chiara Gottheil ArtSci ’20 Queen’s prides itself on legacy.

An integral component to this legacy is the historical significance of being one of the first academic institutions in Canada—something made clear by the beautiful limestone buildings around campus.

However, on the interior, these symbols of historical significance aren’t being maintained to the standard they deserve.

Our campus’ aesthetic is a major contributing factor to prospective students hoping to attend Queen’s, yet minimal effort is put into preserving these spaces for the students who use them.

As someone with a love for historical buildings, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring and studying in heritage buildings such as Theological Hall, Ontario Hall, Kingston Hall, Nicol Hall, and Kathleen Ryan Hall—to name a few.

The ambience of a study space has an impact on how much work I can complete.

Clean and aesthetically-pleasing spaces to learn and study in on campus are a basic necessity for everyone.

However, for Arts and Science students, this necessity is either nonexistent or often goes uncatered.

During my time at Queen’s, I’ve observed a disappointing lack of historical features inside the buildings that thousands of Arts and Science students use every day, as well as questionable standards of upkeep.

Queen’s not only disregards the historical significance of these buildings, but also the

needs of the students who use them.

Renovations in the 1950s and ’60s stripped away most historical features inside the university’s heritage buildings.

Exposed brick walls have been painted over in coats of white, and original floors have been replaced with dull speckled pieces of tile.

Wooden features, like classroom doors, have been covered with layers of paint over the years. Layout changes in heritage buildings have included installing distasteful cinderblock walls.

These types of changes have been made in most of the older buildings on campus. It gives them a homogenous interior—lacking the features which once made them significant.

These renovations negatively affect the buildings.

The unique historical and aesthetic aspects of Queen’s as an institution have been stripped from its interiors.

Furthermore, it’s clear heritage buildings, even after renovations, aren’t properly cared for or tended.

Chipped paint and dirty floors discourage students who enter their classes expecting clean and constructive places to learn.

The answer to why the heritage buildings retain none of their original interiors may lie in the fine line between preserving old buildings and repurposing them.

Older buildings must be adapted for newer technology, plumbing, and safety features. Sometimes they require renovation for new uses—like how Queen’s former central library in Theological Hall was

converted to the Rotunda Theatre.

Yet, still, the university has showed almost no sensitivity to maintaining historical integrity while doing so.

Standing as one of the oldest and most distinguished academic institutions in Canada, the so-called Harry Potter Reading Room shouldn’t be the only historical room remaining in Douglas Library.

Theological Hall is an important symbol of the university’s beginning as a small, religious college, yet the Morgan Memorial Chapel is the only untouched room within it.

Large faculty buildings that receive more donations such as the New Medical Building and Goodes Hall are spotless, and in perfect condition. Meanwhile, the heritage buildings—which house smaller programs like drama, religion, fine arts and languages—don’t receive such treatment.

This shows an interesting progression of values at Queen’s. The university evolved to seemingly favour faculties who receive greater funding.

At such an esteemed institution, students of all faculties should be met with the same standard for their learning environments.

There are ways the state of the heritage buildings at Queen’s can be improved. More funding and a greater effort to seek out alumni gifts could translate into cleaning and physical maintenance. As an incentive for donations toward these buildings, the university could offer to name some of the classrooms inside in honour of the individuals who have donated.

Ideally—and at the very least—the University could make efforts to undo some

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

of the damage heritage buildings. In the future, more care could be taken to avoid putting the historical features of older buildings on campus in peril.

Many people may not consider this an issue of importance, but I firmly believe that by improving the state of heritage buildings, it would generate a positive impact. Not only would Arts and Science students have better quality classrooms, but students from other faculties who use the facilities for studying or club meeting space would benefit as well.

Soon, changes in the university’s approach to maintaining heritage buildings might be too late. If infrastructure continues to be neglected, these buildings may reach a point where their interiors must be stripped entirely—leaving no way to commemorate the early beginnings of Queen’s.

Modern buildings don’t come with beautiful stained-glass windows and hand-carved woodwork.

Historical buildings each have an individual story to tell that relates to the foundation of Queen’s—and they should be treated like the works of art they are.

As an institution that prides itself on legacy, Queen's should maintain these symbols of historical significance accordingly.

Chiara Gottheil Life Science student.

is

a

third-year

Talking heads ... what are your midterm break plans?

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

“Meeting my family in Toronto.”

Georgia Lafrance, Sci ‘21

“Going home to Nova Scotia.”

Julie Mosher, Sci ‘21

“Going home to Toronto and seeing family.”

Zach Freedman, CompSci ‘20

“My mom is coming from Vancouver to spend it with me.”

Eva Tychsen, ArtSci ‘21

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca

REVIEW

Arts

A nostalgic upper-year’s review of Sam Roberts at Homecoming

Sam Roberts Band performing at ReUnion Street Festival.

Indie rockers play ReUnion Street Festival for students and alumni Brigid Goulem Arts Editor This year’s Homecoming concert wasn’t about the music.

As the Sam Roberts Band rolled into campus on Saturday evening to play ReUnion Street Festival, I was overcome with nostalgia for my last Homecoming as an undergrad and the student life I’m about to leave behind.

•9

Like every other milestone this year, I’m always struck by how much I’ll miss the student family I’ve built around myself these past four years.

It was a lucky coincidence the Sam Roberts Band played my last Homecoming.

Like many of the bands that frequented campus over the past four years—the Arkells, Lights, Serena Ryder—the Canadian band has been a staple of my various playlists over the years.

Their various hits have been playing through my speakers while I studied for midterms, cried about my grades, friendships, boys, and other mishaps.

While the music was playing in the background, I’ve formed some of the most important relationships in my life—laying in bed on a Saturday morning listening to my

COMMENTARY

friends, complain, conspire, gossip, and plot.

These moments have been just as important to me as any exam or lecture.

As my friends and I walked up to the concert that evening, recovering from our mid-afternoon nap, we remembered these moments.

During all the times we’ve shared in our lives together—from breakups and mice infestations, to first kisses, and good jokes—the band has been instrumental in helping me navigate adulthood and university.

With an overload of nostalgia, we danced along to some of the songs that have been with us along the way. Lights blaring, and Sam Roberts rocking out on the cool October night we get to experience once a year.

As “If You Want It” blared

through campus, my friends and I sang along to the band’s most popular song. I was overwhelmed by the sense of finality. This was it: the last one.

Our last Homecoming and last year as a small, student family.

That wasn’t quite true.

Everywhere, old friends were dancing around to the indie-rock sounds of the Sam Roberts Band.

Together, they were returning to the place they had called home for four—or more—years.

It was different. They were older, some looked married, or like they hadn’t seen each other in years.

But they still had these memories

PHOTO BY SKYLAR WANG

to return to, and a chance to make new ones.

I was glad to see that there’s hope after graduation. It can feel like life ends in May of 2019 and Homecoming is an annual reminder that a world exists beyond Queen’s—a world with friends, family, and a fulfilling life.

A wave of nostalgia hit me hard on Saturday night as my final Homecoming wrapped up.

My night was not about the music. It was about friends and memories, but the Sam Roberts Band was there again, as the soundtrack for another great moment in my life.

Script falls short in The Mouse House Community theatre’s underwhelming take on psychological thriller Brigid Goulem Arts Editor

T

he Domino Theatre’s production of The Mouse House proves community theatre is alive, but not always good.

From Oct. 18 to Nov. 3, in The Davies Foundation Auditorium, Domino Theatre presented Robert Ainsworth’s psychological thriller, which won Best Production in the Eastern Ontario Drama League Full-Length Play Festival.

After its initial premiere in Peterborough in 2012, the play has been produced in Ottawa and Toronto, before the current showing in Kingston.

Despite its successes, the play is far from perfect, with its characters failing to compensate for a poorly written script.

The beginning seemed promising. When Sandy Turcotte walked onstage to begin her performance she gave a confident, commanding performance that grabbed the audience’s attention within a few a minutes as she

mothered the lead character, Carson, a best-selling author, As Bobby, Turcotte plays his over-protective literary agent.

In the show’s opening, she drops Carson off for a solitary stay at his family cottage, where he plans to finish his next book. He’s been unable to write anything for months, leaving him desperate for isolation and inspiration, but Bobby is worried about leaving him alone.

She insists on leaving him a phone but Carson refuses.

Turcotte delivered a convincing performance, and in the short amount of time she was onstage, the audience believed she was truly concerned about leaving Carson behind. She pesters him to check in with her every day, conveying her worry with each insistent request.

Her performance was proof small characters can have a huge impact—especially since she’s onstage for only ten minutes out of the 90-minute play.

After Turcotte’s exit, the plot’s many twists and turns were awkward and uncomfortable,

leading to otherwise competent actors struggling to save a stilted script.

In the first twist, after Carson is left alone, Troy—played by first-time actor, Tom Abram—breaks into his cottage. The startled author knocks him unconscious, chaining Troy to a bed in a panic.

However, the following dialogue between the two characters is too unnatural to maintain the tension.

Troy yells and swears at Carson, but before long, begins sharing details from his childhood. He recounts how his sister nursed him through a heroin detox, and how his mother used to tell him he talked too much, saying he has fish lips because they’re always opening and closing.

It doesn’t logically fit into the captor and captive narrative the script already established. Troy should be horrified to chained to a stranger’s bed. He shouldn’t immediately be chatting with Carson while the two form an unlikely friendship.

The Mouse House set.

Likewise, Carson should be more anxious that he’s kidnapped someone. He could at least be productive enough to use it as inspiration for his book.

The relationship between the two is simply awkward and confusing. One moment of the play, Carson will help Troy overcome a heroin withdrawal and then the next minute turn around and hold a gun to his head while Troy attempts to escape.

They’re caricatures. Troy is

PHOTOS BY BRIGID GOULEM

an angry, misbehaving young criminal with no redeeming qualities—making him hard to empathize with despite being a kidnapping victim.

In contrast, Carson, is an unremarkable character whose decision to hold Troy captive isn’t at all explained by his backstory or his character traits.

These shallow characters don’t have the background to uphold the unbelievable twists and turns The Mouse House presents.

Arts

10 •queensjournal.ca

wednesday,

Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor Art and protest—for Aruna D’Souza, the two are key to understanding today’s culture.

D’Souza sat down with Arts Editor Merray Gerges in the Agnes Etherington Art Centre on Tuesday to talk about her new book, Whitewalling: Art, Race and Protest in Three Acts.

At the event, D’Souza, a fulltime writer and columnist for art magazine 4Columns, spoke about how contemporary art history prompted her to start this book. In it, she covers three protests—in 2017, 1979, and 1969—against white artists and the galleries that supported them.

D’Souza’s work explores the ways art galleries privilege white artists. In her research, she found history of institutional racism that protected white artists’ work when complaints were raised against them. Meanwhile, Black artists often had their work removed under similar pushback.

While writing about these protests, she refutes claims of censorship white artists levied against criticism of their use of Black culture. The book is an engaging exploration of power imbalances recreated in contemporary art galleries.

“Part of it is journalism, and part of it is history. Mapping out who said what, where the arguments were being made, what the arguments were, and what underlay them,” D’Souza told The Journal in an interview.

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

D’Souza (left) said protest has played a key role in contemorary art.

REVIEW

Aruna D’Souza talks art and protest Writer visits campus to discuss racial politics of galleries In each situation outlined in the book, white artists benefited from portraying Black experiences and struggles. In her book, she

COMMENTARY

argues white artists often defend claim preventing the incorporation themselves, saying they’re of Black experiences limits entitled to freedom of expression. their creativity.

According to D’Souza, these artists D’Souza argues it isn’t a matter of censorship, but of providing a platform. Galleries have the power to determine who can use their space as a platform for their work and subsequent message.

“The book is really about the ways in which art institutions, despite their

Albert Schultz’s return a loss for Canadian theatre Soulpepper co-founder shouldn’t be welcomed back to arts community Brigid Goulem Arts Editor In January of 2018, Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente proclaimed Albert Schultz will “never work in this town again—or, for that matter, in any theatre anywhere in Canada.”

Wente’s prediction has been proven false: former Soulpepper co-founder Schultz and his wife, Leslie Lester, mark their return to theatre at the Cameco Capitol Arts Centre in Port Hope, Ont., an hour and a half outside Kingston.

Earlier this year, several actresses came forward with allegations that Schultz had sexually harassed them on multiple occasions.

Leah McLaren’s Toronto Life article published in July describes a culture fraught with sexual harassment. Two actresses at Soulpepper, Patricia Fagan and Kristin Booth, recounted their experiences with Schultz. They included him kissing them on the lips and commenting on how soft and full they were.

In one particularly disturbing instance during a rehearsal, Schultz asked Fagan and Booth to list every male member of the company they wanted to sleep with to demonstrate what desire looks like.

The two eventually falsely told

Schultz they were attracted to him while he judged whether their admission was believable.

Fagan and Booth told McLaren they felt “demoralised and powerless” because of a man who was supposed to be their mentor.

McLaren writes that the two never came forward “because they just assumed that was what theatre is like.”

Schultz’s sexual misconduct, like a litany of other examples, is intertwined with the workplace.

The women he was harassing were dependent on him for their careers.

His downfall was the first in the Canadian theatre world—and his return is also the first.

Schultz and his wife are working informally for the Cameco Capitol Arts Centre in Port Hope, Ont. The 380-seat theatre isn’t small either. It has a growing base with people coming from Ottawa and Toronto to enjoy its productions and increased its annual income from about $1 million to $2 million.

In response to its growth, the theatre is taking on a new creative direction.

This development is where Schultz and Lester have been offering informal consultations.

Company President Olga Swieck stated in the Globe and Mail that Schultz hasn’t applied for any

full-time, salaried work at the Capitol theatre. In the article, Swieck describes the Capitol theatre as “lucky” to be able to work with “Port Hope’s favourite son.”

This hospitable return to the world of theatre is problematic.

People who abuse their power shouldn’t be given more of it.

Sexual abuse in any form is, at its core, an abuse of power.

Sexual abusers and those who support them should lose their privilege to power.

Schultz is one of many men who’ve been allowed to bounce back from allegations of sexual misconduct.

Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari have returned to the comedy stage, while Jian Ghomeshi recently published an alarmingly tone-deaf article in the New York Review of Books.

Patrick Brown was recently elected Mayor of Brampton

Schultz returned to theatre in Port Hope.

Oct 24, 2018

best intentions and the best intentions of the people who work there, often end up circling around whiteness and the protection of whiteness; and the authority of the white artist or the white curator,” D’Souza said.

She analyzes the artists and the protestors at the heart of each scandal, offering a more complete view of the racism in the art world. In the case of the 2017 protest profiled in the book, an artist repainted a photo of a 14-year-old that was killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman.

The artist claimed she could relate with the boy’s mother who supplied the photo to media, but not as a Black woman.

Protestors argued her painting was still exploitative.

D’Souza’s book analyzes how events like this speak to the broader art world.

“How are the systems that are allowing for what’s going on out there produced in my little world, whatever that world is,” D’Souza said. “How do I put my efforts to work in a way that actually serves a larger purpose of getting people to recognize the ways in which race and racism permeate?”

For her, the issue isn’t only that white artists can benefit from misfortune and underrepresentation of non-white artists. It’s that galleries allow it.

“All museums are, by their nature, gatekeepers. They’re telling you what’s going to go on the wall and what’s not going on the wall,” she said.

“A lot of these protests really brought to light that artistic freedom is something people can claim once they’ve already been let through the gates.” only months after being kicked out of the Provincial PC party fo l l ow i n g re p o r t s of s exu a l assault wh i l e an MP. Men aren’t suffering any consequences for their actions.

In the entire year since the #MeToo movement began, Bill Cosby is the only man to be convicted of a crime. Many others are continuing to advance in their careers and profit off their fame.

It looks like Albert Schultz will be no different.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018 Jasnit Pabla Copy Editor When men’s hockey head coach Brett Gibson first joined the Gaels’ hockey program in 2006, he admits he was a kid. With several program records, a nationally-ranked team, and now 150 regular-season wins under his belt—he knows he’s a man.

“I really was a kid. Now I’m a man, a father of two, and married now for 14 years. It’s crazy how quickly life goes.”

Gibson sat down with The Journal to reflect on his 150-win milestone and career with Queen’s on Friday afternoon, as Homecoming celebrations overcame campus. His team wouldn’t play for another five hours at the Memorial Centre that night, but he’d been seated at his desk focused on two different laptop screens for almost an hour.

The Gaels were gearing up to play just their fifth game of the season, but Gibson had already begun recruiting players for next season.

“That’s the interesting part about this level,” he said.

“You’re trying to develop your team that’s in front of you, and you’re also trying to get your ducks in a row for the following season.”

“This isn’t a six-month-ayear job.”

On Oct. 10, in a 4-0 victory over the RMC Paladins on home ice, Gibson claimed his 150th regular-season win with the Gaels without even knowing it.

He was approached after the game by one of his players, veteran and captain Spencer Abraham, who brought him his 150-win puck and the chance to reflect on his success as Gaels head coach.

“When you’re in the moment, you don’t even know,” Gibson said.

“When I got home that night it was nice to reflect on that for sure.”

Gibson’s spent 14 years with the men’s hockey program—his first as an assistant and the following 13 as head coach.

He got the call before the 2005-06 season from Kirk Muller, retired NHL Stanley Cup champion and Kingston local, who’d been signed on as the Gaels’ head coach for that season.

Muller exited the program a year

FOOTBALL

queensjournal.ca

• 11

Sports

MEN’S HOCKEY

Brett Gibson claims 150 wins as head coach

Veteran bench boss talks personal growth and Queen’s career Brett Gibson has redeveloped the men’s hockey team into a perennial contender in the OUA and U Sports.

later after being named assistant coach of the Montreal Canadiens, leaving Gibson at the helm of a team who wasn’t performing at the same level as the league’s best. “[The program] was nowhere near where it needed to be, from an institutional standpoint and a hockey standpoint,” Gibson recalled.

He knew he had to change the culture of hockey at Queen’s.

After having played four years of university hockey at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and four OHL seasons, he’d become familiar with what the program needed to win—not just compete. “[The culture] was a reflection of the idea that winning wasn’t important. To me, winning

Gibson’s guidance.

Gibson admitted that when he began coaching, he “pushed [his players]—probably too hard.” During his first couple years behind the bench, he wasn’t more than a couple years older than many of his players, but he pushed them to surpass the team’s previous level of competition.

“I talk to a lot of the alumni now who have kids and I’ve been invited back to their weddings—it’s a lot of fun—but I was probably only three or four years older than those guys,” he said of his start with the Gaels.

One of the biggest developments for the men’s

him nervous.

That season, the Gaels grabbed five more regular-season wins than the previous season and Gibson took home OUA Coach of the Year honours.

The program’s success was growing, and the Gaels would continue onto their next season untouched by Athletics’ upper-level reform.

Following that 2007-08 season, Gibson’s success at Queen’s has been continuous.

He’s earned another OUA Coach of the Year distinction and the U Sports Coach of the Year Father George Kehoe Memorial Award, both during the 2013-14 season.

He’s also coached nationally several times—most recently,

is everything,” he said.

Since Gibson’s promotion, the Gaels have seen their regular-season wins climb from an 8-15-5 record in 2006-07 to breaking the program record and finishing the 2017-18 season with 19 wins. The Gaels also made their eleventh playoff appearance in 12 seasons under

hockey program came in 2007, when Athletics and Recreation hired their new executive director, Leslie Dal Cin. It wasn’t long before Dal Cin began cutting varsity programs at the university that weren’t performing, which both impressed Gibson and made

being named to the under-17 Canadian Team for the upcoming World under-17 Hockey Challenge.

“When [Dal Cin] came in, I wasn’t her hire,” Gibson told The Journal. “She showed faith in a young coach [and] now we’re considered a hockey

GRAPHIC BY NOUR MAZLOUM

PHOTO BY JASNIT PABLA

program that’s at the top of the national rankings.”

Outside of the rink, Gibson’s proud to say that his family life and personal growth have come from within the program, adding both his current assistant coaches have been on his staff since the births of his eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.

“ When I got this job people told me, ‘What’re you doing?

You can’t win at Queen’s.’”

“I’ve got a really supportive wife,” Gibson said. “You’ll see my little guy on the ice with us.

That’s the proudest thing. When you’re the head of the program, you can do those little things for your kids.”

The Gaels now head into another hopeful season, with Gibson’s goal of a championship looming over him and his team.

He’s confident with his new roster and ready to tackle the future of the program.

“I’ll never forget when I got this job, people told me, ‘What’re you doing? You can’t win at Queen’s,’” Gibson said.

“I guess I’m stubborn—we put Queen’s on the map.”

Gaels miss playoffs after Homecoming loss to UOttawa Football finishes season with 3-5 record Matt Scace Sports Editor Before the football team (3-5) took the field on Saturday against the UOttawa Gee-Gee’s (6-2), their chances at making a playoff run looked bleak. Needing a win against the OUA’s second-best team, along with three separate

results to go their way in OUA action—some of which appearing entirely unlikely—their season looked doomed.

On Homecoming Saturday their foremost goal—a win against Ottawa—fell short as the team’s season came to an end in a 27-22 loss.

Second-year receiver Sakhia Kwemo said the Gaels went into the game with an exclusive focus on winning, despite being aware of having the odds stacked against them.

“We knew our chances of making the playoffs,” he said. “For a

UOttawa dashed Queen’s hopes of making the playoffs on Homecoming.

lot of seniors it was their last year so it was just about balling out. It was a way to finish with a bang.”

Despite falling into a 14-0 hole after the first quarter, Queen’s fought to bring the score to 17-15 towards the end of the third quarter. UOttawa would pull ahead 27-15 shortly after, and

while a Chris Osei-Kusi touchdown would cut the Gee-Gee’s lead to five points, the Gaels ran out of time.

Quarterback Nate Hobbs said the team’s offensive struggles were the pitfall in Saturday’s game. The Gaels turned the ball over four times in the game from a

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

fumble and three interceptions.

“When there’s a margin of five points and the offence gives up 10, you can’t really blame the defence,” Hobbs said.

Continued on page 13

Sports

12 •queensjournal.ca

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Queen’s finishes OUA season with silver medal

Second-year Sophie de Goede was named OUA MVP last week.

Gaels drop provincial championship to Guelph, prepare for nationals Maggie Gowland Assistant Sports Editor This year’s women’s rugby OUA championship felt like déjà vu.

Last Saturday, Queen’s fell to the undefeated Guelph Gryphons 39-14 for a second straight year—capping their season with another silver medal.

Having earned their way to the provincial finals, both teams secured spots in the U Sports National Championships set for early November.

After giving up a try 10 minutes into the game, the Gaels were unable to find their footing throughout. Queen’s head coach

Dan Valley said the match wasn’t what his team had planned or hoped for, adding they didn’t do the job they were set out to do.

“I think the better team on the day definitely won, and got the outcome they deserved,” Valley told The Journal in an interview.

“We were technically good in spots and tactically good in spots, and then there were some substantial portions of the game where we were average.”

“We’re not at a place yet with our program where we can show up and be average.”

Second-year back row Sophie de Goede was removed from play early in the game after suffering a substantial cut to her head. She was stitched up on the sidelines before she returned

to close the match, and tacked on a try in the dying minutes.

Earlier last week, de Goede was named the OUA Shiels Division Player of the Year—and Valley doesn’t think it’ll be the only time she receives the honour.

“She is obviously innately talented, she works hard to refine her craft, and to see her get rewarded for the work that she puts in … I’m really proud,” he said.

Regardless of the loss against Guelph, the Gaels are guaranteed at least two more games at the coming national championships, hosted by Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., from Nov. 1 to 4.

They’ll be looking to improve

on their result from last year’s tournament, where they finished fifth after a first round loss to the University of Calgary Dinos and a consolation round win over Acadia.

This year, despite their provincial finals loss, Valley said he still likes his team’s chances of playing for a U Sports medal.

“It sounds crazy coming off of a performance like this weekend,” Valley said of his team’s prospects at nationals.

“The way the results sort of came together, our mistakes were very straightforward.”

The focus for the championships will be “tightening up,” Valley added, with a specific goal of cutting down on their shortcomings

Matt Scace Sports Editor

Women’s lacrosse finishes undefeated season with OUA Gold

Winning their first OUA gold medal in nearly two decades, the women’s lacrosse team (14-0-1) capped off an undefeated season with a convincing OUA Championship run on the weekend.

Second-year attack and 2017-18 Queen’s varsity clubs

against Guelph.

Over the fall term break, the Gaels will have some well-earned rest. Valley hopes this will leave his team with some extra spring in their step come tournament time.

“I think it will go a long way for us in the sense that we have a crew that is fully recharged and fully refreshed,” he said.

Based off the recent national rankings, Valley predicts that the Gaels will play St. Francis Xavier (6-0) in the first round of the tournament based off the recent U Sports rankings. Before playoffs began, the Gaels were matched up with St. FX for two exhibition games. They were victorious in both (30-0, 28-22).

Headed i n to their second consecutive national championships, Valley’s optimistic about any matchup his team face.

“This tournament is a little different than last year’s in the sense that there’s not a team that we can’t beat, where[as] last year there were a couple that we couldn’t,” he said. “There’s a real possibility that it’s a U Sports gold medal game that we’re in.” record despite earning their way to OUA Bronze.

Sophie De Goede named OUA MVP Ahead of Saturday’s provincial finals, the OUA announced their individual achievement awards.

Second-year women’s rugby and basketball player Sophie De Goede was among the biggest names after being awarded OUA Shiels Division Player of the Year. She was also named an All-Star, joining teammates Rachel Hickson and Nadia Popov.

In her sophomore season, De Goede was also named team captain after claiming U Sports Rookie of the Year last season.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

Men’s rugby completes undefeated season

GRAPHIC BY NOUR MAZLOUM

Queen’s baseball finished their regular season with an 11-7.

ATHLETICS

Sports in brief The Journal’s sports editor breaks down the latest athletics news on campus Rookie of the Year, Kiah Shanks, led the charge for the Gaels, scoring two goals in the championship game against the Laurier Golden Hawks. After trouncing McMaster 15-2 in the quarterfinals, Shanks earned game MVP honours for their 10-2 win over the University of Toronto in the semi-finals.

In the gold medal game, Queen’s handily won 11-4 over Laurier, earning them their first OUA gold medal

since 1999. Shanks was named tournament MVP. Baseball goes 1-2 at OUA Championships

After going 11-7 on the season, the baseball team capped off its season in Ajax this weekend at the OUA Championships.

On Friday, the fourth-ranked Gaels lost their first game to the fifth-ranked Guelph Gryphons

6-4, but would go on to beat the eighth-ranked Ryerson Rams 5-4 later that day. On Saturday, their season would officially end in a 4-0 loss to the eventual OUA champion Laurier Golden Hawks.

With a 1-2 record, the Gaels would fail to exit the round robin format of the tournament with a spot in the semi-finals.

The season was arguably an improvement for the Gaels, who ended last season with a 2-2-7

The men’s rugby team (8-0) completed their second consecutive undefeated season on Saturday, beating the McMaster Marauders 83-0.

Having clinched first place in the OUA the week before, the Gaels extended their winning streak to 18 games, their last loss dating back to the 2016-17 OUA Finals against Guelph. They’ll look to extend their streak entering enter the OUA playoffs. Queen’s will have home field advantage throughout the postseason.

While their first round opponent has yet to be determined, the Gaels have their sights set on their second straight Turner Trophy. The Guelph Gryphons (7-1) have been on a streak since Queen’s dominated them 40-13 in September, winning 41-10 over the Laurier Golden Hawks (6-2) this past weekend.

Queen’s first playoff game will take place at Nixon Field on Saturday.

Sports

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca

Matt Scace Sports Editor

that … be a bit for us.”

The men’s and women’s cross country teams will be in action this weekend at the OUA Championships at Western University. The former will try to place first for the second consecutive year and the latter hopes to move one spot up the podium.

‘We couldn’t get it done’

Continued from page 11 ...

It was a season that could hardly be measured by wins and losses. But perhaps the most critical loss came

OUA’s should of a formality

Men’s cross country

personal commitments. While Sills will be in the lineup for the U Sports Championships on Nov. 10 at Queen’s, Boyd said it may disrupt the team’s plans of finishing first at the event.

“It’s going to be tougher,” Boyd said. He added the team is using the championships as a warm-up for nationals, where he believes they have a chance to land first place as a team.

“We won last year really decisively and didn’t put it together for U Sports,” he said, citing last season’s second-place finish.

“If anything we’re trying to change

At the beginning of the season, Boyd believed his men’s team could pull ahead one spot in the OUA rankings, overtaking McMaster for second place.

This weekend, they’ll try to do it when they hit the course in London. “[I] think we have the strongest men’s team since I’ve been here,” Boyd told The Journal on Tuesday.

In their three major races thus far, the Gaels have put their best foot forward. After winning the Queen’s Invitational on home turf, they followed up with a bronze medal at the Western Invitational and first place at the annual Lehigh Invitational.

The Gaels are currently dealing with minor injury issues, as frontrunner Mitch De Lange is managing an injury but is expected to run on Saturday. Boyd said it’s a minor setback for a team who’s shown immense depth in their top five runners.

Regardless of their result this weekend, the team will be competing at the U Sports Championships when the country descends upon Kingston for nationals. It’s where Boyd believes the men’s team will run their strongest race.

“We were originally looking at breaking through at OUA’s, but we’re deferring that now to U Sports,” Boyd said. “It may end up being a blessing in disguise.”

against McMaster two and a half weeks ago, where a win would’ve given Queen’s a 4-3 record and a chance to play for a first-round playoff bye on Homecoming.

“It was exciting,” Hobbs said.

“Going into the [McMaster] game—we win that game, we’re second place in the conference.

Now we lose that game and we’re struggling for our playoff lives.”

“At the end of the [UOttawa] game we couldn’t get it done, and that’s why we’re sitting at home now.”

Saturday’s game was Hobbs’ final in a Queen’s jersey. He’s joined by receivers Matteo Del Brocco and Chris Osei-Kusi, alongside running back Jake Puskas and 14 other seniors who will be graduating this year.

Hobbs acknowledged the team had a number of questions about their ability after numerous key players graduated last year. In spite of their disappointing finish, Hobbs held his head high in his evaluation of the Gaels’ season.

“There were a lot of questions surrounding us. Although the result wasn’t as we hoped, I’m incredibly proud of this team and

how guys stepped up this season,” Hobbs said. “It was my most fun and exciting year of football.”

The loss marked the final note on the football team’s 2018-19 season, a campaign defined by comebacks, blown leads, and five of their last games being decided by five points or less.

Queen’s won just one of those games against Guelph 33-32.

Women’s cross country

Having ranked first in the country for the entire 2018-19 season thus far, the women’s cross country team is looking to earn their title as the province’s strongest team.

They’ll get their chance to win their second consecutive OUA banner on Saturday, and it’ll be the first time sister duo Branna and Brogan MacDougall will be racing together at Queen’s.

While Brogan, the team’s top rookie, swiftly won both the Queen’s and Lehigh Invitationals this fall, Branna has watched from the sidelines due to a nagging knee injury. This weekend’s championships will be her first race of the season.

Despite this, head coach Steve Boyd said he expects to see the sisters round out the competition’s top two places. “[They’re] on fire right now,” Boyd said. “They’re going to be pretty much untouchable.”

Over the weekend, the women will be missing fifth-year Taylor Sills, their third to fourth best runner due to

• 13

Mitch De Lange (24) has led the men’s team throughout the season.

CROSS COUNTRY

PHOTO BY MATT SCACE

Men and women head to OUA Championships cautiously optimistic

Women looking to win back-to-back banners, men hoping to improve on last season’s bronze medal

14 • queensjournal.ca

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

Lifestyle Julia Balakrishnan Production Manager There are endless reasons why Halloween is objectively the most iconic holiday to celebrate.

It’s not just a night—it’s a month-long culture. If you aren’t excited for Halloween two weeks in advance, then you simply aren’t taking advantage of the season.

The world is different in the weeks leading up to All Hallows Eve. Christmas lights on neighbours’ houses can’t compare to the fake tombstones on every lawn and plastic witches that cackle when you walk by.

Pumpkins show up on each doorstep and every single event has to have “spooky” somewhere in its title.

Hundreds of years ago, our ancestors agreed that in the transition between October and November, the link between our world and the spirit world weakens, allowing the dead to walk the Earth once more.

To prevent themselves from being harmed by these spirits, our predecessors disguised themselves as ghosts and skeletons to hide their being human.

What’s great about living in the 21st century is that costumes come ready-made and the dress-up possibilities are endless.

You’ll definitely scare away those demons by dressing up as Josh Granovsky Lifestyle Editor

One of the most underrated benefits of Halloween is the opportunity to show off your proficiency in pop culture.

Luckily, this year provided a treasure trove of ridiculous celebrity moments to turn into jaw-dropping costumes.

The Journal compiled three costume ideas guaranteed to garner some praise at your ability to translate cultural moments into prize-worthy getups. At the very least, you can rest easy knowing you won’t be one of the thousand Justin Trudeaus roaming the streets this year.

And please, refrain from dressing up as Eleven from Stranger Things again this year. The girl deserves some rest.

Jughead from Riverdale demons.

Or a block of cheese. Or a sexy nurse. Trust me, the spirits are quaking.

Making your own ridiculous costume is so much fun because you’re spending a week of your adulthood doing socially acceptable arts and crafts. If your Halloween plans include a group costume, you can show everyone the close bond you have with your friends—with the added benefit they can’t abandon you at the club this time.

Once you’ve hot-glued your butterfly wings onto your shirt from Value Village, you get to see everyone else in their costumes.

Substances aren’t necessary— seeing SpiderMan drunkenly argue with Tinker Bell outside of Stages is a trip in itself. It’s also the one time of year you get to dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and do

CULTURAL COMMENTARY

Why Halloween is the best holiday The spookiest season deserves more credit than it gets the Monster Mash in public.

But partying isn’t all there is to Halloween.

Personally, the quieter Halloween activities are my favourite way to spend October.

Bring on the blankets, spiced hot chocolate, and poorly-scripted Family Channel movies—and make sure you’re with a friend who doesn’t tell everybody that you cried at the end of Casper.

GRAPHIC BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

LIFE HACKS

Halloween is a magical time when bad movies become brilliant. If children’s movies aren’t your thing, there’s no end to cheap horror movies. The best ones have actors from the ‘80s you’ve never heard of and blood obviously made of corn syrup.

There’s always that one friend who wants to watch movies like The Ring that will actually scare them. Now you know which friend to be wary of in the future.

While sitting on the couch to marathon masterpieces such as Twitches Too, bulk candy is a must. Superfoods and clean eating are all the rage now, but you know who breaks their diet on Halloween?

Three Halloween costumes that prove you know 2018 pop culture How to avoid dressing up as the kids from Stranger Things—again Hormone Monster or Monstress from Big Mouth When Big Mouth premiered on Netflix last year, it immediately launched the Hormone Monster and Monstress into the animated characters’ Hall of Fame. The two crude creatures are easily the most recognizable faces from the show, which released its second season last month.

To pull off this costume, all you need is a light brown shirt, dark brown pants, and some furry brown socks to wear on

Costumes like Drake or the Hormone Monster are sure to impress friends.

your arms and legs. Stick on some yellow horns and fake ears to complete the look—you can also give tweens terrible sex advice all night long if you really want to sell the character.

Yanny vs. Laurel

Remember when earlier this year—yes, somehow it was only this year—a meme asking if a recording said “Yanny” or “Laurel” spread like wildfire? And the Internet exploded in a cloud of confusion and anger because that’s the only thing the Internet knows how to do? Well, this infuriating debate may hold the key to

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

impressing all your friends at costume parties.

All you need for people to understand who you are is a printed version of the Instagram story poll that brought the Yanny vs. Laurel debate global attention. This idea would also work well for a two-person costume, with both people wearing one poll option.

Bonus points if you also dress up as whatever you imagine Yanny or Laurel would look like in real life—I personally think of Yanny as a German foreign exchange student and Laurel as Carly from iCarly.

Drake and his secret son

Drake shocked the world this summer when he announced he was a father to a nearly year-old son. The specifics of how music’s most high-profile rapper managed to keep this news under wraps for so long is still a mystery. While the world may never know the answer, the possible strategy Drake may have used to conceal

Absolutely everyone. (Pro tip: eating 20 mini Coffee Crisps will still feel like less calories than one regular-sized Coffee Crisp.)

Of course, if you’re spending your Halloween in a more residential area, you have the blessing of handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. This is the perfect opportunity to watch the world’s cutest fashion show and encourage the next generation of Halloween enthusiasts.

Reward the more creative children with one extra pack of gummy worms—it teaches them work ethic. The parade of six-year-old witches and Batmans will never stop being charming.

Halloween is the one time of year everyone agrees magic exists. If you’re a Halloween Scrooge, go dig out that one orange sweater you have at the back of your closet and go to a pumpkin patch right now. Everyone on Instagram will love the aesthetic.

Or, if you want a more low-key evening, turn on a spooky party playlist as you do the dishes.

I urge everyone to cherish the spooky season while it’s here. After Halloween comes November, and all you’ll be left with is discount candy and precious memories. his fatherhood makes for a great Halloween costume.

Start off with a standard Drake look: a well-maintained beard, Timberland boots, and a large OVO sweater or jacket—taping the brand logo onto other clothes works, too. Once you’ve mastered this step, find yourself a baby doll or wrap anything oval-shaped in a blanket. Conceal your child in the inside pocket of your OVO swag and pretend it’s business as usual.

Next, head on down to the Halloween festivity of your choice and ceremoniously remove the baby from your clothes periodically throughout the night.

Each time you reveal your son to the world, tell everyone around you to “shhhh” and swiftly place the baby back inside your costume.

With this foolproof scheme, Drake’s secret will be safe and your costume will be a hit.

Lifestyle

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

queensjournal.ca

Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor Thanks to terrifying costumes and an increased presence of spirits, Halloween is known as the scariest time of the year. However, there’s nothing spookier than realizing you’ve outgrown your favourite holiday.

At one point in my life, October was the crowning glory of my entire year. Nothing could compete with autumn-themed cookies, carving pumpkins, and watching a slew of family-friendly Halloween movies.

Now, the month is still scary, but not in a fun way: it marks the beginning of midterm season, essay-writing, and library hibernation—not to mention there’s a lot less time for Halloween revelry.

To rekindle my romance with Halloween, I set out to revisit and rank three holiday classics I used to love as a kid: Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

While it was hard not to watch these flicks through overly-charitable glasses of nostalgia, I made sure to base my judgements on the quality of their plots, levels of spooky content, and overall Halloween spirit. #1: Hocus Pocus

Perhaps the most widely-beloved movie of the bunch, re-watching Hocus Pocus showed me it’s deserving of its Halloween hype.

The film follows Salem skeptic Max Dennison, who accidently resurrects three soul-sucking witches known as the Sanderson sisters. Given until dawn to save the town’s children and his own sister, Max teams up with his crush, a zombie, and a talking black cat to take down the broom-riding hags.

Ally revisits some of her favourite Halloween movies from her childhood.

NOSTALGIA

Reviewing childhood Halloween movies as an adult

Revisiting Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown and more While Hocus Pocus ticks all the right boxes, the movie ultimately shines because of its well-executed plot.

Inspired by the Salem witch trials of

FESTIVITIES

Guide to 2018 Halloween events in Kingston The spookiest events around town

Lillian Gao Editorial Intern It’s hard to believe Halloween is almost here. Whether you’re looking to spend your Halloweekend getting your pants scared off or taking it easy, there’s something for everyone in Kingston.

From haunted houses to costume parties, here are six ways to get in the spooky spirit in Kingston this year.

Escape from a Nightmare at Fort Fright (before Oct. 31)

Do you have what it takes to escape from your worst phobia? At $16 a ticket, head over to Fort Henry and enter the underworld to face your fears. Walk through the six PhobiArenas that target the most common phobias, including death, decay, clowns, and more. Bring some friends—you won’t want to enter alone.

Kingston Ghost and Mystery Trolley Tour (before Oct. 31)

For those that prefer horror stories, take a tour through Kingston’s haunting history.

This tour walks you through the horrors of Kingston Penitentiary, Bellevue House, and the robbed gravesites at Skeleton Park. You can sign up for the 90-minute mysterious tour on the Kingston Trolley Tours website.

HARS Halloween Bash (Oct. 26 at 9 p.m.)

Head over to Kingston’s Renaissance Event Venue for an evening of spooky

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

spirit. This party will include a costume contest with prizes and music by DJ Crazy Alex for only $10. Arrive in costume and immerse yourself in the Halloween spirit of downtown Kingston.

Costume Fashion Show (Oct. 31 at 9 p.m.)

Hosted by Queen’s Amnesty International, come out to the McLaughlin room in the JDUC sporting your spookiest costume. Attendants whose costumes are deemed crowd favourites on the runway have a chance to win a special prize.

Tickets are only $5 at the door, so gather your friends and get creative with your costumes.

Spooky Trivia (Nov. 1 at 4 p.m.)

Join the English Department’s Student Council at The Grad Club in the Henderson Lounge for a night of trivia, board games, and other Halloween themed activities. If you weren’t already sold, there will be free pizza—and the best costume of the night wins an additional prize.

Kingston is a Ghost Town (Book a time)

Bring a group of friends to Improbable Escapes at 303 Bagot St. in downtown to attempt an escape room. This experience requires some serious problem-solving, since you and your group will have to work together, under the pressure of a timer, to escape from a locked room by solving all sorts of puzzles and riddles.

the 17th century, the fantasy film is both grounded in reality and unapologetically absurd. Its larger-than-life villains are diabolical and ridiculous, stealing the show with their hammy hijinks and iconic rendition of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” The film is also chock-full of all things spooky, including eerie graveyards and a spell book covered in human skin.

If you choose to revisit this bewitching classic, you may find yourself laughing at jokes you totally missed as a child. #2: Halloweentown

It’s hard not to agree with Halloweentown’s main character, Marnie, when she sassily declares: “Halloween is cool.” In fact, it’s so cool that a Disney film about a Halloween-themed dimension is still considered a well-known classic.

• 15

Halloweentown is the first installment of a popular four-part series about a magical place for warlocks, monsters, and misfits.

Viewers follow Marnie, a teenage witch, who discovers her supernatural heritage just in time to reconnect with her grandmother to help save the titular town.

Although the movie’s main villain still gives me the creeps, this flick remains thoroughly lighthearted. The corny dialogue, silly costumes, and upbeat score give it a hokey charm that’s hard to find elsewhere.

What’s more special is the emphasis placed on the film’s central family, who function both as a support system and magical backup. While the film’s admittedly more heartwarming than spooky, the Halloween spirit is through the roof.

Overall, Halloweentown is the equivalent of a really good pumpkin spice latte: insanely sweet, festive, and an October staple. #3: The Nightmare Before Christmas

If there’s one thing I can say about The Nightmare Before Christmas, it’s that the spooky spirit is alive and well.

Tim Burton’s cult classic revolves around Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who’s grown tired of his town’s signature holiday—Halloween. His melancholy leads him to Christmas Town, where he discovers the joys of snow and presents, and decides to make Christmas his own. Little does he know the two holidays don’t mix and mayhem ensues.

Although the film’s Claymation is visually enticing and its soundtrack is perfectly eerie, The Nightmare Before Christmas’ plot is a little slow. While it’s fun to hear monsters belt out the film’s signature song, “This is Halloween,” the film drags at some points.

Viewers are inclined to feel bad for Jack, but long songs about existential crises can be dull if you’re not sold on the film’s story.

That said, the film is clever and as stylistically odd as it gets. Whether you love or hate it, there’s something strangely appealing about Burton’s gothic, macabre imagery.

Lifestyle

16 •queensjournal.ca

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2018

Rooming with spirits How I discovered I had 23 more roommates than I believed

UM LO AZ

”

Emily would often wake up in the middle of the night screaming for help, convinced she saw a figure in front of her.

One night while I was lying in bed, I heard a noise coming from my window like someone running nails up and down my wooden blinds.

After too many sleepless nights, we decided to hire a medium.

We showed the medium around our home and told her what happened. Although we didn’t tell her where we felt the dark spirit, she was able to identify the exact spots we felt their presence most.

When the medium described the characteristics of the spirit

To read more Queen’s students’ real-life horror stories, go to queensjournal. ca/lifestyle

RM

saw dark shadows in the corners of our rooms and suffered from horrible nightmares.

OU

We all felt as though we “were being watched—we

YN

”

We were suspicious of the sounds but quick to brush them off and continue with our lives.

That was until the evening of Oct. 25.

While all six of us were sitting around the dinner table, a pan on the stove began to rock back and forth on its own. We tried to play it off as normal, but nothing could explain the shaking.

We decided we’d had enough.

We had to get to the bottom of these strange occurrences.

Ten minutes later, we’d lit candles and set up a

CB

heard inexplicable sounds throughout the house.

she sensed, it was exactly the type of presence I’d felt. We all agreed the spirit was an adult male in his late 20s or early 30s.

He was a bit of a loner. Was this Adysot?

She helped us remove the presence by lighting sage and encouraging him to go towards the light. We truly felt better afterwards—I no longer saw dark shadows in the corners of my room, and stopped feeling like I was being watched at night. We thought this spirit listened to us, complied with the medium’s instructions and left.

About a week later, when dropping off the payment for the sessions, the medium told us something that stays with me today: the spirit she’d helped us get rid of was now following her.

Although this happened almost a year ago, there’s still rarely a day that goes by where I don’t think about these events in one way or another.

Realizing that ghosts could be real felt like discovering magic wasn’t limited to the movies. I now often find myself wondering what else there is about this world I haven’t considered.

Despite having a terrifying experience, not a single part of me would take it back. I feel more aware than ever that this world is nothing like we think it is.

HI

Shortly after settling “ in, my housemates and I

We put Nudu’s answer to the test by asking personal questions about Emily only she’d know.

“How many concussions has Emily had?”

I asked. The planchette made its way over to the number “4.” We looked over at Emily, who had a look of horror on her face. Nudu was right.

While Nudu answered the rest of our questions correctly, we couldn’t rule out the fact Emily’s hand was on the planchette.

Maybe she was purposely or subconsciously guiding it in a certain direction.

We told Emily to take her hand off the board but stay where she was. Then we asked: “What is Emily’s brother’s girlfriend’s last name?” None of us knew the answer.

The board replied. We looked over at Emily and she confirmed that it was the right name. We were all in disbelief.

A few of my housemates decided they were done playing and lifted their fingers off the board. Without even asking a question, the planchette moved to the corner of the board. With only three remaining fingers on the edges of the shot glass planchette, we never could’ve made that happen on our own.

Although that was the last time we ever played Ouija, the story doesn’t end there.

The following weeks were bad. My housemates and I were constantly uneasy in our home, and got especially nervous at night. We all felt as though we were being watched—we saw dark shadows in the corners of our rooms and suffered from horrible nightmares.

AP

In 2017, five of my friends and I moved into our new house to find we weren’t the only ones living there.

We’d been looking forward to moving in for almost a year.

Second year meant no more cafeteria food, dons, or public bathrooms—only six friends living together.

We quickly made the house our home, decorating the walls and hosting a few too many housewarming parties.

We felt safe, happy, and comfortable in our new place.

Shortly after settling in, my housemates and I heard inexplicable sounds throughout the house. We’d hear the shower’s sliding door move on its own, footsteps sound from upstairs, and the front door open and close.

homemade Ouija board in the middle of our table.

To use a Ouija board, each player lightly places one finger on the planchette—a wooden triangle used for these ceremonies—and questions the room’s spirits. If one is contacted successfully, the planchette moves itself around the board and spells out words or numbers to answer the questions.

“Is there anyone here?” we asked the board. No response. We asked again and again, but still, no response.

After a couple more tries, the planchette dragged itself to the word “yes” written on a piece of paper.

Once we were sure there was someone there, we continued to ask questions to find out who exactly we were talking to.

“What’s your name?” we asked.

Slowly but surely, the planchette moved to the letters “A,” “D,” and “Y,” until it spelt out “Adysot.”

My housemates and I continued to communicate with him for a few minutes, until we felt we were no longer speaking to Adysot. We asked if there was another presence with us, and it turns out there was.

This time, the spirit’s name was “Pam,” a three-year-old good spirit, according to her.

Realizing there was more than one spirit with us, we asked the board how many there were in our presence. The planchette slid to number “8.”

With news of our eight additional roommates in mind, we decided that was enough for one night and stopped the game.

After looking up the standard conditions of using Ouija boards, my housemates and I discovered we’d broken some of rules with our first try. Ouija boards are supposed to open the connection to the spirit world, attracting and inviting spirits from all over.

They shouldn’t be played at home. If you play where you live and connect with a malevolent spirit, it can stay in your house.

Spirits can’t be trusted.

A spirit can take possession of players and gain access to their mind.

The next night, we decided to break out the Ouija board and play again. This time, when we asked how many spirits were with us, the answer was 27.

After asking who was with us a few times, we compiled a list of names: Nudu, Vird, Lucuv, Mat, and Kory, to name a few.

When asking whether or not they had good intentions, Nudu was one of the few that replied, “No.” I suggested asking Nudu if he’d taken possession of any of us. He answered “no” until it got to my housemate, Emily, and the planchette quickly swiveled over to “yes.”

GR

Justine Miller Contributor