The Queen's Journal, Volume 147, Issue 19

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the

Queen’s University

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journal Volume 147, issue 19

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Friday, January 24, 2020

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Situated on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

since 1873

Two men arrested near campus after causing disturbance R aechel H uizinga News Editor

ILLUSTRATION BY AMELIA RANKINE

OUR ENDORSEMENT Senate will take up motion to extend fall term break pilot AMS president says motion “doesn’t reflect” recommendations of Society C arolyn S vonkin Assistant News Editor Senate will motion next week to extend the current iteration of the fall term break into a fourth year, extending its pilot past the three-year timeline and kicking a review of the policy down the road.

The motion, to be taken up at the Jan. 28 Senate meeting, would mandate a review of the current break by the Senate Committee on Academic Procedures (SCAP) beginning in fall 2020, a year after the pilot was supposed to be complete. The motion requests SCAP report its review to Senate no later than February 2021.

Opposition to the current break mounted last semester when the AMS released survey results from more than 1,800 students which found that a majority didn’t think the fall term break helped their mental health. In November, the Arts and Science Faculty Board rejected the 2021-22

academic year in opposition to the current break.

“There’s a problem [with the implications of the Senate motion],” AMS President Auston Pierce said in an interview with The Journal.

“The University is looking to extend the three-year pilot project to another year. We have data that says that’s not what we should be doing.”

Pierce pointed out that, if the review is pushed until next year, there will only be one cohort of students remaining who experienced the current format of the break and having no break.

“If we don’t have students who are able to properly evaluate their experiences, then the data is not going to be as useful as it could be,” Pierce said.

He believes rather than extending the pilot another year, the University needs to start collecting data about the break.

“Student groups such the AMS, ASUS and EngSoc have already collected information, but

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the University hasn’t,” he said. “We need to ensure that consultation is properly done.”

The AMS survey, now closed, garnered 1,845 responses. It received more responses from first and second years than any other AMS survey this year.

The survey results were reported to SCAP, but Pierce is disappointed with the conclusions he believes Senators have drawn from the report. “Their motion didn’t reflect our recommendation or our asks. The current motion doesn’t reflect any of the consultations the AMS has done with students.”

Pierce said the message the Society’s report sends is clear.

“The biggest [takeaway] is that the majority of students do not find that the fall term break helps their mental health or relieving any pressures or stresses from their academic lives.”

Another major issue with the current format is travel, according to Pierce. “A very large percentage of students feel that the fall term break is not a sufficient period of time for them to return home,” he said.

A majority of survey respondents wanted the two-day break to be attached to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

“Students strongly believe [this format] is the most logical alternative and would be much more conducive to the reduction of academic stress before midterms,” See fall term break on page 3

A dramatic scene unfolded Thursday afternoon as two men wearing offensive signs were arrested on the corner of University Ave. and Earl St. for making anti-women statements to students passing by.

The two men, identified in an April 2015 CBC report as Steven Ravbar and Matthew Carapella, held signs referencing Bible verses, including quotes like “The judgement of the great whore” and “She that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” On their backs, the two men wore signs that said “Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven” and “Remember Lot’s wife.”

As female students walked by, the two men asked if they were Christians or called them whores.

They suggested women should wear “long, loose-fitting” skirts or face eternal damnation.

The two men declined The Journal’s repeated requests for comment.

Campus Security arrived on the scene, but were unable to convince the men to leave. Campus Security wouldn’t provide a comment to

The Journal at the time, but stated they had called Kingston Police, adding that because the two men technically weren’t on University property, they were unable to escort them away from campus.

Three police vehicles arrived and the two men were arrested.

Ravbar and Carapella made names for themselves for their street preaching in London, Ontario, racking up more than 75 complaints over their time preaching there.

CBC, which followed the two men from 2015 to 2019, reported that Carapella was previously a Western University football star and Ravbar was his grade seven teacher.

The two men’s behaviour was condemned as gender discrimination by London Mayor Matt Brown in 2017. They were arrested for the first time a year later in the United States, but weren’t arrested in Canada until 2019.

London City Council amended its public nuisance bylaw to prohibit “abusive and insulting” language in 2018, giving police the jurisdiction to arrest the two men last March.

In April of 2019, the two men faced additional charges of criminal mischief. They went to court on April 15, 2019, for public nuisance charges, and again last May for criminal mischief.

The two men were taken into custody on Thursday.

PHOTOS BY JODIE GRIEVE

IN THIS ISSUE: Investigating athlete’s mental health, p. 7, One student’s past with Bell Let’s Talk p. 9, When Bader meets Broadway, p. 10, Ultimate guide to thrifting mom jeans, p. 15 queensjournal.ca

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Friday, January 24, 2020

ASUS Executive debate recap Candidates sound off on consulting students and shifting campus culture

Yuen’s concern and are planning to educate students on the program’s limitations, acknowledging that some students will not be able to take advantage of [it].

“We don’t think it takes away from the advantage it provides to all the other students,” he said.

Claudia Rupnik Staff Writer ASUS executive candidates faced off in an open debate on Thursday for their final discussion ahead of elections on Jan. 28 and 29.

Team David and Matt and Team Chris and Taylor had the opportunity to discuss their platforms and make their case to voters in the Lower Ceilidh of the JDUC on Jan. 23.

Team David and Matt consists of presidential candidate David Niddam-Dent, ArtSci ‘22, and vice-presidential candidate Matt D’Alessandro, ArtSci ‘22.

Team Chris and Taylor consists of presidential candidate Chris Yuen, ArtSci ‘21, and vice-presidential candidate Taylor Magee, ArtSci ‘21.

In the debate, candidates responded to a number of questions related to their platforms and campaigns, including leadership style, financial accessibility, equity, and student wellness.

Chown Hall

When asked about how they plan to change campus culture in the aftermath of the racist and homophobic Chown Hall incident last October, Magee called the incident “unfortunate” and said that as a queer student, it greatly impacted her.

“The best way to address these incidences is to start with a consultation to see how students are feeling, what they feel the best way to address these issues are,” she said.

Student Wellness and Academic Support

Team Chris and Taylor (left), Team David and Matt (right).

Team Chris and Taylor said they would use that information to create policies and events that promote inclusivity on campus, so that they can create “a safe and respectful environment for all students.”

“We want all students to be aware of their positionalities and their privileges,” Magee said.

D’Alessandro said that as a queer student at Queen’s, the incident “was really hard to see,” but he believes Team David and Matt’s platform is designed to support all students, including those from marginalized communities.

He mentioned their desire to create an Equity Director, which would operate within the Equity Commission to ensure that ASUS is an equitable society.

Niddam-Dent added the team wants to make equity and cultural sensitivity training available on campus in the same way that bystander training is currently available.

“We need a broader cultural change in order to stop that from happening [again],” Niddam-Dent said.

PHOTOS BY ANNIE BRENNAND

Financial Accessibility

When asked about their ability to manage the ASUS budget, approximately 1.2 million, both teams stressed the importance of financial accessibility.

“As someone who relies on OSAP, financial accessibility is important,” Magee said. Team Chris and Taylor proposed a non-mandatory $0.50 fee increase for ASUS, as well as shifting the budgets between different commissions.

D’Alessandro said Team David and Matt are going to advocate for a Worker’s Academic Credit to make Queen’s more financially accessible to students. This initiative will allow students who are working alongside their degrees to declare three credits per semester as pass or fail.

At this suggestion, Yuen asked whether Team David and Matt had considered the impact of this credit on students applying for master’s programs and professional schools, which might not accept those credits as valid.

Niddam-Dent said they understand

Both teams were asked to identify the biggest issues raised by students over the course of campaign week and explain their plan for addressing it.

For Team Chris and Taylor, Yuen said that students are concerned about the availability of academic support within ASUS. They want to streamline the student’s experience from the moment they are accepted to their last day here at Queen’s, identifying course selection and the process for graduation as some possible areas for improvement.

“We believe the information is out there, but it’s not presentable in the most simplistic way,” Yuen said.

Niddam-Dent said Team David and Matt identified a number of issues, including the fall term break and sexual violence prevention and response. However, he highlighted student wellness as one of the biggest issues on campus.

“The University has recognized this issue, but there’s still more work to be done,” he said. “We think it’s really important that, as a student government, we’re able to foster wellness within the Arts and Science community.”

Eligible voters for ASUS elections will cast their ballots on Jan. 28 to 29. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

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Friday, January 24, 2020

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After losing thousands, Food Bank student fee up for mandatory status 15 to 20 per cent increase in service’s use this year, manager says Raechel Huizinga News Editor The AMS Food Bank lost $6,000 this year following the implementation of the Student Choice Initiative—about a quarter of its overall budget. There’s also been an uptick in the service’s use

of about 15 to 20 per cent.

The Food Bank’s $2 student fee is up for mandatory status on the winter referendum ballot. If a majority of students vote in favour of making the fee mandatory, Food Bank manager Max Moloney told The Journal the service’s long-term viability could be secured.

“We’re basically just trying to ensure the sustainability of our service and increase the programming available to us,” he said.

He added that while the Food Bank is currently fully stocked, they’re close to lacking enough food for all of its patrons.

QLA gifted $200,000 from Toronto law firm Sydney Ko Assistant News Editor

reduction that was something in the neighborhood of about 15 per cent of our budget, Bogoroch & Associates approximately $100,000 LLP donated $200,000 to a year,” he added. “This Queen’s Legal Aid (QLA) donation by itself is going to on Wednesday for support after make up about half of the clinic suffered from that deficit.” funding cuts to Legal Aid According to Crew, the Ontario and the impact donation will be paid out of the Student Choice over five years, making the Initiative (SCI). payout $40,000 per year. “It’s In an interview with The greatly appreciated.

It Journal, QLA director Blair demonstrates a sense Crew said the contribution is of commitment to the the largest private donation ideals of social justice,” he said.

QLA has ever received. The QLA also offers paid summer clinic lost $22,000 as a result work for law students. Crew of the SCI and faced said the donations will allow additional cuts when QLA to continue offering the province reduced funding for this employment.

Legal Aid Ontario.

“So specifically, with respect to “We’re absolutely delighted the number of paid positions for to receive a donation of this law students during the summer, size,” Crew said. “It’s a very it means we’re going to be able to significant contribution.” sustain the same number, despite QLA provides a range of some cuts,” Crew said. legal services to low-income Crew added that Mr. Bogoroch, area residents and students the donor, hopes his action will of both Queen’s University and be an example-leading donation.

St. Lawrence College. Every “[Bogoroch] hopes that year, QLA provides free legal other people are going to assistance to around 900 hear about this and other clients and m a k e s people will want to continue to 1,400 referrals to individuals. support the same way that he The donation will make has,” Crew said. a significant difference to “His intent is very much the sustainability of QLA’s like a lightning rod and [he] operations going forward, hopes that it attracts and Crew said. inspires other people to “Between those two sources do the very same thing together, we were looking at a that he did.”

Food Bank fee pushing for mandatory status in referendum.

“In the past, we usually budget and order our food based on past numbers, so we are a bit burdened,” he said.

Moloney also said that while every person who uses the Food Bank is different, the Ford government’s cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) might be a contributing factor to that increase.

“We’re just trying to make

"We're basically just trying to ensure the sustainability of our service and increase the programming available to us."

—Max Moloney, Food Bank manager

sure that, going forward, especially given the OSAP cuts and everything that’s gone on with that, we’re going to be here for a while,” he said. “Making sure the fee is mandatory is an important piece of that.”

International student tuition has also increased this year, another concern for Moloney.

“International student tuition has gone up significantly as a

result of the cuts, and that is a large base of our patrons,” he said. "Making sure that we’re stocked is the primary concern.”

Despite some of the obstacles the Food Bank is facing this year, Moloney said starting in February it will be a host for the Good Food box program, a Kingston health initiative that provides affordable produce to community members.

“It’s a lot of fruits and vegetables for way cheaper than you can get them in the grocery store,” he said.

AMS Social Issues Commissioner Bunisha Samuels, however, stressed the problem of food insecurity on campus in an interview with The Journal.

“We’re seeing increasing rates of food insecurity on campus, large amounts,” she said.

Samuels added that if the Food Bank is going to be able to increase its self-advocacy and educational programming to combat growing food insecurity, the service will need more funding.

“With an increase in advocacy and educational programming, you need an increase in funding.”

The Student Choice Initiative was unanimously struck down by the Divisional Court of Appeal on Nov. 21. In December, the Province announced that it would appeal the decision, casting student unions and governments once again into a state of uncertainty.

Samuels wouldn’t comment on that uncertainty and what it means for the Food Bank, stating that it’s mostly in the hands of

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

the Food Bank and Society’s executive successors.

“It would have to do a lot with successors and what the new executives will decide in terms of their negotiations with the University and the provincial government,” she said.

"It would have to do a lot with successors amd what new executives will decide in terms of their negotiations with the University and the provincial government."

—Bunisha Samuels, AMS social issues commissioner

She agreed, however, that a successful appeal would be concerning.

“At that point, we would have to find alternate sources of funding. A lot of our contingency planning has been centered [on] the fact that the Student Choice Initiative no longer exists and trying to go back to some of our previous structures,” she said. “Obviously, it’s a 50/50 chance of whether or not the appeal will pass.”

Students the largest stakeholder in fall term break, AMS president says Continued from front...

the largest stakeholder on campus, that the right decision will be academic stress before midterms,” made.”

Pierce said.

Pierce is also concerned that He’s hopeful the motion will be the review of fall term break will debated, and perhaps altered, at have to include how it impacts Senate on Tuesday. “There are a lot Orientation Week. Pierce said of Senators who care passionately he’s heard from Orientation about this, both faculty, students, Week leaders, as well as and administrators,” he said. “I some students, who said think once they have the data in having two days of class amidst front of them and they see how Orientation Week is confusing clear this choice should be, and the and decreases engagement. importance of properly consulting “The University hasn’t done

any consultations. There needs to be a very robust, in-depth review of everything,” Pierce said.

“Students are the largest stakeholder in this, and if their voices aren’t considered, with the data we have now, which is very strong, it’s just not fair to students who the fall break is supposed to be helping,” he said. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

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News

Friday, January 24, 2020

University will review sexual violence policy feedback this month

AMS Winter Referenda

surrounding the policy that have taken place “Our consultative process needs to be this semester. “It’s been a very productive more robust from the University side,” dialogue,” he said.

Greene said. “I think students may not According to Greene, the Jan. 14 meeting have been aware that there was an online was to get a synopsis of the community’s submission version. A lot of students were feedback, a review of disclosure policies aware of the public forums, and the public across the province, and talk about the forums are very good. However, that online Carolyn Svonkin main issues. submission was important for students Assistant News Editor The task force is chaired by Ann Tierney, who either didn’t want to have those vice-provost and dean of Student Affairs, and conversations in public, or couldn’t make The University will begin to review the Stephanie Simpson, associate vice-principal it out.” community’s feedback on the controversial (Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion).

According to Greene, the task force sexual violence policy this month.

Greene said he’s not entirely sure what is reviewing sexual violence and duty to The controversy surrounds Section 8.8, the final policy will look like, but says disclose policies of approximately 10 other which mandates that Queen’s employees, there will be a change. “Whether it’s the Ontario universities. with the exception of health care providers, policy or the procedure around how it’s “Many of [the Ontario schools] have an must report any student who discloses done, it’s going to change,” he said. “It’s obligatory duty to disclose process, with experiencing sexual violence to the clear the community is not happy with different procedures for how it’s done.”

Sexual Violence Prevention and Response the current iteration of either the policy or Greene told The Journal the task force Coordinator, Barb Lotan. the procedure that goes on with the email has been consulting with various faculty This duty to disclose came under fire and the name. It’s not going to remain as it society presidents and the SGPS. They also from students and faculty alike throughout is now.” plan to consult with the Sexual Assault the fall, and was suspended on Oct. 10.

Greene recognized that there’s an Centre Kingston.

The Sexual Violence Prevention and argument for the importance of a duty to “This policy is one element, but I think Response Task Force had their first review disclose. “Many of the faculty may not have there’s a lot of room for growth in terms of meeting of the policy on Jan. 14. the proper training to deal with disclosures. looking at how we’re training our employees “The principal made the right decision in And it doesn’t give the University an idea of and how we’re educating our students about the fall on Section 8.8,” AMS Vice-President potential areas of concern in terms of faculty consent,” Greene said.

(University Affairs) Will Greene said in an or community members who are causing “What are we doing to get at the problem interview with The Journal. these offences.” underlying sexual violence?” Greene asked.

Since October, the University has The online submission form received “The policy and the procedure is one thing, undergone a review process that included 248 responses. Greene acknowledged but we need to actually do something about open community meetings and an email there’s work to be done to improve student the problem.” asking for feedback about the policy. engagement, especially on the topic of Greene has been present for discussions sexual violence. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

The Journal provides this free, unedited space for parties on the ballot

AMS vice-president says duty to disclose will be changed

EngSoc executive hopefuls respond to student concerns at debate Candidates tackle potential budget cuts and increasing student engagement Pamoda Wijekoon Assistant Arts Editor On Wednesday night in the ILC atrium, next year’s Engineering Society hopefuls fielded questions from the student body about managing heavy workloads and the potential return of the Student Choice Initiative.

Presidential candidate Spencer Lee opened the debate by emphasizing the importance transparency plays in increasing student engagement with the Society.

“I want every engineering student to understand what it is [the Engineering Society] does, so that [the Engineering Society] grows and so we can get more feedback from students,” Lee said.

Audience members asked how student consultation could be increased.

Lee responded by saying face-to-face communication between students and the executive would be encouraged. He expressed a wish to see more student involvement in Council, saying that putting a human face to feedback would allow for better mutual understanding than online forms and surveys.

He identified the most important part of the president’s role as being a strong advocate and public face for the Society. “[The president’s] responses will be seen by the public, and judged by them. You have

to be able to stand behind the decisions you make, and be able to support [them] with reasons,” he said.

Vice-President (Operations) candidate Ben Zarichny faced situational questions from the audience, and broke down his planned response to a disastrous day in the Society, ranging from broken printers to a manager quitting from one of the Engineering Society’s seven services.

Although occasionally faltering, Zarichny found solid footing when responding to questions pertaining to budget and

Although occasionally faltering, Zarichny found solid footing when responding to questions pertaining to budget and managing the Society's finances should the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) be reinstated.

managing the Society’s finances should the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) be reinstated.

He advocated for maintaining the previous executive’s 25 per cent contingency when creating the budget to proactively establish where savings could be found, referencing his experiences as the director of internal affairs for the Society.

This was the plan echoed among all the

candidates. Vice-President (Student Affairs) candidate, Alex Koch-Fitsialos, also noted that maintaining the frequent meetings between the executive and directors established by the current executive would be crucial in ensuring spending stays on track.

Vice-presidential candidates Zarichny and Koch-Fitsialos both placed heavy emphasis on the importance of open communication and teamwork within the Society.

“You are trusting [directors] with their own portfolios,” said Koch-Fitsialos. “You're making sure that you're there for them whenever they need it, but you're not doing their job.”

She focused on the vice-president (Student Affairs)’s role as a guide and mentor, rather than a manager.

“In the beginning, there should be a lot of guidance [between the executive and the directors],” she said. “But then you start learning in your position. It's making sure that you say, ‘Hey, l trust you, you can do this job because I hired you for a reason.’”

In response to questions about increasing student engagement with the Engineering Society, all candidates promoted utilizing marketing to show students what the Society does for them. They also supported an open flow of conversation with students to show them their voices are being listened to and that their ideas are being considered.

“There’s a lot of little things you can do [to engage students],” said Koch-Fitsialos.

“Making sure you understand their wants and needs is really important.” journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

CFRC CFRC 101.9 FM is Queen’s voice - YOUR voice- in the media! Broadcasting since 1922 and podcasting since 2018, CFRC is the space on campus where students share their voices, ideas, perspectives, creativity, research, initiatives and interests with a global community, make their marks, and jumpstart their careers. Our music and spoken word content broadcasts on 101.9 FM and Cogeco Cable 282, streams at cfrc. ca and our iTunes and Android apps, and podcasts through Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play feeds. 75% of CFRC pod/ broadcasters are Queen’s students or alumni who enjoy opportunities to engage with and shape their communities on campus, in Kingston, and around the world. Students are also members on our Board of Directors ensuring student vision and leadership steers your campus radio station. 100% of student fees go directly to the maintenance and operation of the station in Lower Carruthers Hall: maintaining the space and the one of the largest music collections in the region, keeping our equipment updated and in good repair, training broadcasters and podcasters, and paying staff wages (all CFRC staff are students or recent Queen’s graduates) including station administration and program coordination. Fees also support the creation of student employment opportunities through SWEP and Work Study Program and support the creation of news programming, public service announcements and our daily broadcasted events calendars that inform students about current issues, events and services of which they can take advantage. On and off the airwaves, students gain life-long career-building skills in research, audio production, writing, oral presentation, listening, interviewing, time-management, collaboration and team-building, outreach and event-planning, influencing others, customer orientation, strategic thinking, and leadership. For 97 years, CFRC has been proud to provide space for diverse students to share their voices, vision, and perspectives and to both engage and build their communities.

Queen’s Black Premedical Association

The Queen's Black Premedical Association (QBPA) seeks to encourage and support premedical students on their journey to becoming medical professionals and healthcare practitioners. Specifically, we look to encourage and aid black students– as well as other students who identify with underrepresented groups on campus and in the field – to display that a career in medicine is a viable option despite many preconceived barriers, such as finances and lack of opportunity. The club’s main objective is to be a forum to encourage and facilitate students of colour that aspire to a profession in medicine. The aim is to provide such students with resources and mentorship to pursue a career in medicine.

QBPA hosts a variety of annual initiatives, with new ones each year, some of which include, “The Complete Candidate” and the “Health Conference”. The Complete Candidate is an event geared towards informing students about the opportunities to become a stronger and more well-rounded medical school applicant. This event focuses on extracurricular activities, research, scholarships/

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Friday, January 24, 2020 bursaries and other opportunities to help distinguish attendees from other applicants during the medical school process. The Health Conference is QBPA’s largest event and is aimed towards exposing members to all facets of the healthcare field, as well as educating attendees to the challenges of being a minority in the field. Practicing doctors, pharmaceutical representatives, paramedics, and more will be in attendance and attendees will have the opportunity to network with them.

The Mental Health Awareness Committee (MHAC) is a student group dedicated to raising awareness about mental illness and reducing the stigma that has become ingrained in the discussion of mental health, primarily through contact-based education.

MHAC acts to provide information about resources both on and off campus to students and the Kingston community.

MHAC strives to be anti-oppressive and nonjudgemental and works to educate around the intersection of mental illness and mental Queen’s Concrete Toboggan Team health with other facets of oppression and identity. The Mental Health Queen’s Concrete Toboggan is a multi- Awareness Committee consists of eight disciplinary engineering design team that subcommittees, each focusing on various competes annually at The Great Northern facets and intersections of mental health Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR), the and mental illnesses. Our committee largest and longest running Canadian consists of three outreach subcommittees undergraduate Engineering Competition. (Residence, Campus, and Community), all The Team enters each design year with the aiming to provide mental health education, goal of providing engineering students at workshops and activities across different Queen’s University with an opportunity to sectors and populations. Our fourth apply classroom theory in a unique and fun subcommittee Speaker Series offers events way through the design and construction on campus involving speakers with lived of a five-person toboggan with concrete experiences or experts in the field of interest. running surfaces. Queen’s participation in The Athletics & Wellness subcommittee the GNCTR allows students to utilize skills focuses on the connection between physical gained from their engineering education in activity and wellness and works closely with a design capacity and test their problem- Varsity Teams in the community. Our fifth solving skills. Furthermore, the design subcommittee of Intersectionality carries process allows members to develop their out events and initiatives based on the teamwork skills through collaborative work intersection of various identities and mental and technical report writing with colleagues health. Intersectionality has previously done from a variety of disciplines work and events on the discussions of gender identity, Indigenous populations, spirituality EngiQueers and substance use/misuse. Social Media and Promotions provides content through our Queen’s EngiQueers runs meaningful, various social media channels, develop and informative, charitable, and/or career- distribute exam care packages and work enhancing events and initiatives to on collaborations and initiatives campus cultivate a positive, accepting, inclusive, and wide. Our final subcommittee Logistics & accessible environment for queer-identified Sponsorship work on the administration students and their allies in engineering. of the committee and aiding with gaining As Queer people are often marginalized sponsors and managing relations. The and underrepresented in professional Mental Health Awareness Committee engineering, our aim is to empower these has the current goal of addressing and students and give them the tools they need expanding the knowledge of resources, not to succeed. Queen’s EngiQueers is also part solely pertaining to mental health, within of a national not-for-profit organization, the Queen’s community and in Kingston EngiQueers Canada, which allows us as well. to expand our members’ networks and provide them with access to more resources.

Oxfam Friends of MSF

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors without Borders) is an international humanitarian organization that provides rapid emergency medical relief to areas with little or no medical infrastructure, operating independently from political, economic, and religious influences. Friends of MSF: Queen’s Chapter provides students with the opportunity to engage with global health issues by raising awareness and support for the lifesaving work of MSF. Each year, this club raises funds and awareness for MSF’s global health initiatives by orchestrating events such as Queen's Global Health Summit, Queen’s Walk without Borders, charity concerts, speakers series, and awareness campaigns. The objectives of this club align with Queen’s values of internationalism and social responsibility.

Friends of MSF: Queen’s Chapter provides its members with information regarding the nature of national and overseas volunteer work in hopes that they will consider volunteering with MSF later in their professional careers. In addition, this club aspires to strengthen relationships between the various faculties at Queen’s.

MSF’s missions are accomplished through the combined efforts of a wide range of professionals including doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, laboratory specialists, nutritionists, administrators, and project coordinators. Friends of MSF: Queen’s Chapter strives mirror this diversity by recruiting members from all faculties.

For more information, please contact us at msf.friends.queens@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/queensfmsf/ MHAC

Oxfam at Queen’s is a branch of Oxfam International and Oxfam Canada, which focuses on alleviating global poverty and fighting against injustice and inequality.

Oxfam is a nonprofit organization, and at Queen’s, all money raised is donated to charities, choosing global and local causes to support. A main purpose of donating the money is to help the effectiveness of charities and organizations in eliminating the structural barriers of poverty to create a more sustainable living. At Queen’s, Oxfam has a nonprofit, fair trade snack bar where we sell fair trade products at cost from farmers in developing countries to promote fair trade and ethical standards. In additon, Oxfam holds multiple events throughout the year. Our two most popular events are Oxjam and the Oxfam Banquet, which are nonprofit events where all money raised is given back to the local and global community.

In the 2018-2019 year, the money raised at Oxjam went to the Rohingya Crisis and money raised at the Oxfam Banquet went towards local homeless youth shelters in Kingston.

QFLIP

Queens Female Leadership in politics conference (QFLIP) is the premier undergraduate conference focused on the intersectional empowerment of women in leadership positions, with a specific emphasis on political leadership. We host a three day conference at the end of January that consists of speakers, panelists, workshops and more to give delegates the skills and knowledge to succeed today and in the future. QFLIP’S mandate is to empower young women to pursue meaningful careers in leadership positions and give men the skills needed to be allies

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in pursuit of the goal of equal representation.

While QFLIP has grown in incredible ways in the five years we have been a club, there is still a long way to go in accomplishing QFLIP’S goals and sharing the important message QFLIP offers. The student fee that our club receives is integral to putting on a conference where young women can feel inspired about a bright and successful future ahead.

QIAA

represent our university with enthusiasm and pride. From your first tour of campus to your convocation to your 50th class reunion, whether it’s an Oil Thigh after a touchdown at a football game or an Oil Thigh at your Tamming Ceremony during Orientation Week, Queen’s Bands has and always will be there with you every step of the way.

Cha Gheill!

Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare

The Queen’s International Affairs The mission of CUCOH is to develop a Association, or QIAA (pronounced KEY-AH), conference that informs undergraduate is one of the largest and oldest clubs at students of the current state of Canadian Queen’s University! Founded in 1907, QIAA healthcare and engages them in discussions operates as an umbrella organization for with other students and professionals to many different initiatives across Queen's develop leadership, inspiration, and an campus. One of our largest initiatives is our understanding of the interdisciplinary competitive Model United Nations team. nature of healthcare in Canada.

With roughly 100 students, our team travels Our Objectives Include: Presenting a across North America from Harvard to McGill, cohesive overview of the current state of competing and engaging in diplomatic Canadian healthcare and explore specific discussions with fellow university students. areas of future change, especially those In addition to our Model UN team, we host relevant over the ten years. Increasing two conferences here on Queen’s Campus the exchange of knowledge between to engage other students in Model United professionals and students from across Nations debate. The Queen’s Model United Canada by facilitating interdisciplinary Nations Invitational (QMUNi) is held every discussion and debate. Encouraging November and sees over 300 delegates student research (at the undergraduate from other universities in attendance, while and graduate levels) in the sciences through the Queen’s National Model United Nations a poster competition. Presenting a broad Conference (QNMUN) is a new initiative that perspective of the Canadian medical engages Ontario high school students. Both sector by introducing a range of topics that of these conferences have seen fantastic highlights the diversity of health-related turnouts, and we hope to continue seeing professions. Initiating a well-informed and growth into the future. proactive generation of leaders by providing Aside from Model United Nations, QIAA early involvement in diverse health-related also has a variety of initiatives aimed at professions which will shape the future of engaging the Queen’s student and faculty Canadian healthcare. bodies in international relation discussions.

The Observer is our quarterly publication Queen’s Debating Union that is designed, written, and printed by students. With our reach continuing to "Established in 1843, the QDU is the expand to French articles, other universities, oldest student organization on campus, and and even international bodies, The Observer one of the oldest in North America. The is a hallmark of QIAA. In addition to our QDU represents Queen’s at National, North publication, we also have a podcast in American, and World Championships. The conjunction with CFRC called Right of Reply. club is open to all students and members On this show, we host professors, students, of the Kingston community interested in and community members to engage in a debate; no prior experience necessary” variety of international topics. QIAA also organizes International Development Queen’s Events Project Week in February, where students from a variety of on and off campus organizations Wouldn’t it be cool if all the upcoming build programs based on a yearly theme. events at Queen’s and downtown were listed Additionally, our organization hosts a in one convenient location? QueensEvents. variety of keynote speakers to give students ca aims to help you make the most out of connections beyond campus borders.

Queen’s experience by going to unique, local events! Discover what interests you at a Queen’s Bands film screening or speaker series, dance the night away at a concert, learn something Since 1905, Queen’s Bands has new at a workshop or conference, de-stress represented the spirit and traditions at yoga or an art class, cheer on your Gaels of Queen’s University. Queen’s Bands is at a home game, quiz your friends at trivia, Canada’s largest and oldest university and support local charities at a bake sale marching band, with a current membership or games night! There’s something for of 100 students. We are no experience everyone on QueensEvents.ca, and we also necessary and should a student wish to run a blog with date ideas and pro tips for learn a new skill we offer various workshops living in Kingston year-round. to teach them these skills. The Bands is If you want to be the first to hear about comprised of six sections: Colour Guard, new events and stop missing out, you should Bagpipes, Drum Corps, Highland Dancers, follow us on Instagram @queensevents, Brass Band, and Cheerleaders. We represent Facebook @queensevents and Twitter @ the university locally, provincially, nationally, eventsqueens. There’s so much more to and internationally. Queen’s Bands life than keggers – let us show you! Since performs at home and away football games, most students don’t have cars, we promote other varsity events, Orientation Week, what’s happening within walking distance University Open Houses, holiday parades, of campus, from the Kingston Centre to Fort alumni events, and community gatherings. Henry and from the Memorial Centre to the Additionally, the Bands assists in many Tett Centre! The main costs of this project fundraising initiatives in the Queen’s and are in marketing/promotion and website Kingston communities each year. All Bands development. The student fee offsets these members pay substantial membership fees costs so that it is free for all event organizers and cover many costs individually. However, to add their events to the calendar. This these membership fees are not sufficient makes it easier for organizations to get enough to cover all costs associated with their events on the radar of people living our numerous performances, such as those nearby who are already looking for things listed above. Queen’s Bands is requesting to do. Nearly a quarter of our annual budget a continuation of the current fee of $4.15 is dedicated to ticket giveaways, so we per student to help cover our operational can send students to amazing events they expenses. AMS Student Fees are used to wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. cover many costs, including transportation, accommodation, uniform and instrument Queen’s Health and Human purchase and repair, sheet music, and Rights Conference police escorts for community parades. With your vote, Queen’s Bands can continue to The Queen’s Health and Human Rights

6 • queensjournal.ca Conference (HHRC) is an annual event that continues a 19-year tradition of providing students, academics, and community members from a variety of backgrounds the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary conversation about health through a human rights lens. The organizing committee of the HHRC is composed of Queen’s students from various faculties including students from professional programs, undergraduates and graduate students. In addition to increasing delegates knowledge about health in a variety of contexts, the conference aims to provide other practical means of actively engaging in this field and networking amongst interdisciplinary students. In order to provide this experience, this conference includes a diverse repertoire of events.

These include a keynote address from a professional within the realm of healthcare and human rights, small group workshops lead by other interdisciplinary professionals in this field, the initiatives fair, and breakout session workshops. As a wholly studentrun conference, it is unique in Canada, and thus also attracts students from various other Canadian universities and promotes Queen’s reputation as an institution that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, critical inquiry, and student initiative.

Queen’s Helping Haiti

Queen’s Helping Haiti was established in 2014 to support the larger Kingston-based organization, Helping Haiti. Helping Haiti was founded by Tammy Aristilde, and aims to raise funds and awareness to support Cite Soleil. Tammy works with local members of the community to carry out projects, such as the building of a water tower and medical clinic, as well as run programs such as first aid training and self-defence. Helping Haiti is particularly focused on reducing the amount of gang violence that is so prevalent in that region. It does so by bringing members of the community together in safe environments to build healthy relationships.

Queen’s Helping Haiti has teamed up with Tammy and her organization to help support the ongoing costs of running the Helping Haiti medical clinic, which includes the wages of three local hired nurses and two nursing assistants. A quarter of the patients seen each week are infants, while about a third seek emergency first aid. The clinic is one of the only free health care facilities in the region which is run by local staff members, and is able to remain open during times of political unrest. In addition to the medical clinic, Queen’s Helping Haiti is also working to support the building of a newly designed community centre, which will feature sheltered playing surfaces for community members. In addition, we are hoping to install a community library where community members may come to learn and practice reading. The centre will be surrounded by security walls so as to ensure the safety of the individuals inside.

Queen’s Helping Haiti hopes to run events on campus to raise awareness about the violence and poverty in Cite Soleil, as well as raise funds to help its mother organization carry out projects for the betterment of the community.

Queen’s Lyme Disease Coalition, Madoc’s Chapter

Lyme disease is a life-altering disease spread through a bacteria found in ticks.

As climates change, ticks have become able to thrive in Kingston and to cause a Lyme disease outbreak. Lyme disease is a debilitating disease, and if not caught early can have devastating impact on one’s life. It affects both humans and animals, and ticks can be found all across Southern Ontario in tall grasses and forests. Queen’s Lyme Disease Coalition, Madoc’s Chapter has three main goals, and those are i) to fundraise for the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation to provide financial support to cutting-edge research and literature reviews to ensure that Lyme disease knowledge is accurate and up to date, to support Lyme

News victims and provide advocacy for them, and to host outreach campaigns to educate the general public; ii) to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of Lyme disease to make a more inclusive world and ensure that those afflicted feel less isolated; and iii) to promote the knowledge of early warning signs/ preventative measures for Lyme disease to improve public health and increase the amount of Lyme victims that catch it early, as a result improving their prognosis. We have three main pillars through which we do this, fundraising, marketing, and outreach. Our outreach pillar is especially essential, as through this we host an annual speaker series where we host experts in Lyme disease to come speak to us about their research. It is this event that we are hoping to upgrade into a fun, barrier-free, inclusive conference that highlights the revolutionary medical research, treatments, ecological research and humanitarian perspectives that all need to be considered when addressing Lyme disease.

Friday, January 24, 2020

innovation and inspiration. QWIL continually teams throughout the season. In addition provides a forum for enthusiastic discussion, to the athletic skills we strive to teach our an environment for exploration, and an players, Students 4 Special Olympics hopes opportunity to empower and mentor some to teach our athletes communication and of Canada's brightest future leaders. At social skills, teamwork and the importance QWIL, we strive to bring together a diverse of healthy lifestyles. set of top-tier female talent and connect Every year our programming reaches organizations with the next generation of many children in Kingston with physical and female leaders. Our goal is to work with intellectual disabilities. Our program fills a organizations to create an invaluable gap in other Special Olympics’ programming conference and event experience that as it is a completely free program. maximizes partner’s return on investment. Additionally, our program is open to siblings QWIL began over a decade ago as "Women and friends of our special athletes with the in Finance", hosting only 31 delegates. The hopes of creating an even more inclusive continued success of the event allowed the and welcoming sense of community. conference to expand into "Queen's Women Executive positions give Queen’s students in Leadership", bringing together students, leadership and organizational opportunities sponsors, and speakers for a weekend of within the Queen’s and greater Kingston innovation and inspiration. The conference community. Our coaching staff get the has come to encompass young individuals opportunity to experience working with from all fields, allowing them to share their children with and without special needs and experiences and celebrate their successes. the chance to become a part of the greater QWIL attracts delegates from diverse Kingston community. By providing both the faculties, universities, and backgrounds. Kingston and Queen’s communities with Each year, QWIL builds on its past success incredible opportunities while promoting a Queen’s Musical Theatre by providing learning opportunities from healthy lifestyle, sportsmanship, teamwork various seminars, speakers, and networking and inclusivity, Students 4 Special Olympics Queen’s Musical Theatre is a student- sessions. We aim to empower young women hopes to teach all the positive impacts that run organization which stages two to pursue success through bringing together sport plays in our mental, physical and social. musical productions per year along with like-minded students and business leaders holding events such as cabaret nights and from across the country. The conference The Tea Room training sessions. In addition to striving has evolved to feature engaging speakers for professionalism, we aim to provide panels, a fast-paced case competition, and Choosing the Tea Room, means choosing an environment at Queen’s conducive to a variety of industry workshops in different zero consumer waste, 100% compostable, positive learning for students within the fields, all of which allow our delegates to carbon neutral, Fair Trade certified, bullfrog framework of a working theatre company. shape their conference experience to their powered, and more! The Tea Room is a QMT invites students from all faculties at unique aspirations. sustainable food establishment located Queen’s to get involved. at the corner of Union Ave and Division The club was formed in 1969 when the Scinapse Street. Fully student-run, this organization is Queen’s Glee Club, which was established spearheaded by passionate individuals with in 1883, made significant changes to its Scinapse Queen’s provides students an interest in proving that a sustainable mandate. With the 1969 production of with an opportunity to develop their business model is possible and attainable.

The Boyfriend, QMT started producing own research ideas and compete against We take stewardship very seriously and Broadway musicals but still dabbles their peers within Queen’s and in other have taken on two large projects this year in the more traditional Gilbert and universities, giving them valuable experience to further reduce the ecological impact Sullivan operettas. in innovative thinking and effectively of our business: carbon audit and goal communicating their ideas. Our club gives setting with Green Economy Kingston and Queen’s Soul Food undergraduate students an opportunity to a waste flow assessment with the Queen’s gain experience in the first step of research Sustainability Office.

Queen’s Soul Food is a needs-based, through writing, pitching and defending The Tea Room was established by a student-driven organization that aims to scientific proposals. We encourage and group of engineering students in 2006, support the local communities of its chapters. facilitate student participation in a province spearheaded by Michele Romanow, the The organization strives to find creative wide case competition (the Scinapse youngest Dragon on Dragon's Den. The solutions to, and promote awareness of Undergraduate Science Case Competition). business model is founded on three pillars: local, national and international problems This competition involves groups of 2-4 Environmental Responsibility, Community of poverty and food security. With the undergraduates, divided into upper- and Education, and Fiscal Sustainability. help of a team of about 70 volunteers, our lower-year categories, and consists of Through our ten years of operations, the main activity is to pick up un-served food two rounds. The first round, which is business has worked to continuously refine from Queen’s cafeterias, and any other administered by our club, is university-wide its environmental performance and has affiliated vendor, and to deliver it to various and involves writing a research proposal introduced a series of eco-projects and shelters in the Kingston area on a daily on a topic that the provincial club chapter campaigns. Some of our milestones include: basis. Through awareness and fundraising provides. We provide support for this introduction of the TR Environmental events that we hold throughout the year, we through events such as a topic talk and Education Library (2007), joining as a strive to foster and build relationships with writing workshop. The top 10% of teams, Bullfrog Power member (2008), reaching Queen’s clubs that share similar values, to as judged by faculty and graduate students zero- consumer waste status (2011), promote responsible food consumption, to we approach, move on to a provincial round, reaching carbon neutral status (2014), build bridges between Queen’s University currently held in Ottawa. There, they pitch and launching a Green Economy Kingston and the Kingston community, and to their proposal to a panel of judges with membership to reaffirm relationships with raise awareness about individuals living a poster. Top teams win prizes and may Kingston and the municipal government in poverty in Kingston and in Canada as be funded and/or published. We also run and launch carbon measurement and target a whole.

Queen’s events that encourage and provide setting programs (2016). The organization’s the resources for undergraduate research success is the product of student efforts, Queen’s Undergraduate Women and Law in general, as well as inform science institutional support, and community buy-in. students on their future career options.

Queens Undergraduate Women and Law Our overarching mandate is to promote Queen’s VEX U Robotics Team is a club that looks to empower women to undergraduate research at Queen’s. be the leaders of tomorrow. QUWAL aims Queen's VEX U Robotics team is a to bring women together by providing Students 4 Special Olympics relatively new group on campus, consisting resources and support for undergraduates of over 30 students, the majority of whom who want to pursue careers in law. The Students 4 Special Olympics is a not- come from the Faculty of Engineering and goal is to provide speakers, law school for-profit student run program that Applied Science. We compete in the VEX U information, skills for the legal field, test organizes extracurricular opportunities for Robotics Competition, an interdisciplinary prep and materials, and general support for children and youth with intellectual and robotics-based international challenge women interested in this field. We want to physical disabilities. All funds raised by our run by VEX Robotics Inc and the Robotics give women equal opportunities to flourish executive through community and campus Education and Competition Foundation in a field that is often dominated my their outreach events go directly to running our (RECF). The highest tier of the VEX male counterparts. programming. In partnership with Special Competitions, it requires students to design, Olympics Ontario, Students 4 Special build and program multiple robots for a Queen's Women In Leadership Olympics runs a variety of sport sessions challenge that involves precise manipulation for youth from the Kingston community. Our of objects, autonomous motion and Queen’s Women in Leadership (QWIL) sessions are both planned and executed by navigation, assistance and feedback for organizes Canada's leading undergraduate Queen's student volunteers with the goal human drivers, and interaction with other conference for women who aim to of teaching athlete’s soccer skills as well as robots. For more information about our inspire, connect, and empower. QWIL has fostering a safe, inclusive and welcoming team, please see our website at https:// hosted inspirational keynote and workshop environment for the athletes and their qvex.ca/ , or feel free to contact us at qvex@ speakers from various fields, including families. We run weekly soccer skills camps clubs.queensu.ca . Sincerely, Queen's VEX U business, politics, law, entertainment, in preparation for local special Olympics Robotics Team (Nicholas Mertin, President) athletics, and journalism for a weekend of tournaments which we attend with our

Friday, January 24, 2020

Features

queensjournal.ca

•7

“I want help”: Queen’s student athletes call for more support

Culture in athletics makes accessing mental health resources difficult Jack Rabb Sports Editor Student-athletes are immensely privileged—they have access to cutting-edge training equipment and techniques, advanced sports medicine, tutors, and alumni networks. But while the ‘student’ and the ‘athlete’ are accounted for, the person can often be forgotten.

The Journal spoke with current and former male and female student-athletes across several varsity sports and clubs about the intersection between their athletics and their mental health. According to those students, there’s a common misconception that student-athletes have it so good in so many respects that they can’t suffer from mental illness. They say that’s not how mental illness works.

The student-athletes interviewed— whose identities have been protected so they can speak freely—shared stories about the startling extent to which they felt affected by the stigma around mental health. ***

“I am f—cking struggling. I need resources right now.”

That was Guy*, a former male varsity athlete. He had reached out to his coach to ask him for help: a psychologist, or anybody who could provide assistance.

His coach nodded through his request, and never followed up.

“I’m not saying this for an excuse. I’m not looking for pity, I’m not looking for sympathy, I don’t want your attention, I want help.”

“I think the coaches have to be the ones who set the tone for how we treat mental health in the future,” Guy said. “And a lot of it also comes from vets. As a rookie, there’s no way a rookie is coming out and saying that he’s depressed […] He’s a rookie, he’s scared shitless.”

According to student-athletes interviewed by The Journal, some Queen’s teams harbour poor attitudes about mental health—they related stories about being afraid of falling down the depth chart or being ostracized for revealing their mental health struggles.

As a result, athletes aren’t likely to make admissions about the true state of their mental health. ***

The importance of improving the culture around mental health in athletics lies in how closely mental health and athletics are linked.

“I had really gone out of my way to speak with some of the vets and explain that I [was] having a tough time,” Guy said, “and it was held against me in the following years. It almost became this punchline for a joke more than anything else.”

“I have a personality where I can laugh things off, but at the end of the day, I didn’t reach out to [them] because I’m attention-seeking. I’m desperately reaching out. This is my team. [They’re] the only people I really have in my life.”

Student-athletes spend most of their days with their team. According to Carl*, the experience of struggling with his mental health while not feeling comfortable talking about it with his team was isolating.

“I’m not saying this for an excuse. I’m not looking for pity, I’m not looking for sympathy, I don’t want your attention, I want help.”

—*Guy, former varsity athlete

Carl is a male athlete who retired from his sport last year. He had an excellent junior career, and through his freshman year, he excelled with a reduced course load.

In his second year, with a heavier school schedule, the wheels fell off.

He stopped going to class almost entirely.

“Suddenly, it’s almost time for exams and you realize you’ve barely been to campus once all semester,” Carl said. He spent days in bed. He missed midterms.

“Both of my roommates are on [my former] team […] I didn’t want to talk to them about my problems because I was struggling to balance [sports] and school, and they both do a great job of it,” he said. “It was easier to keep it all to myself.”

It wasn’t laziness—Carl was truly burnt out, and at times it was all he could do to bring himself to make it to his sporting commitments.

Carl had fallen behind in school, then he got incredibly anxious about the missed work, self-medicated, got further behind, and found himself unable to see out of a hole that had only been getting deeper by the day.

“It’s easy to self-medicate when you come to Queen’s. All of a sudden, you’re in an environment where it’s socially acceptable to drink every day of the week. It’s easy to hide your struggles that way, nobody’s really going to question you on that because it’s Queen’s.”

He left his sport, and he’s doing well,

Features focusing on his academics. But his story is emblematic of how precarious mental health can be, and how easily it can go into a tailspin. ***

Student-athletes reported that Queen’s addresses some mental health determinants very well.

Academically and medically, Queen’s athletes are conscientiously provided for, and these are areas that, if under-served, can seriously disrupt mental health.

Drew*, a male club athlete, got his second serious concussion last season. A symptom of being concussed can be severe depression. Lethargy became the norm for Drew throughout his recovery, and it sapped the happiness out of his life.

“What I really appreciated about the way that Queen’s supports its athletes is that I had this excellent resource in the sports medicine clinic. They’re just experts there, including Ryan Bennett,” Drew said.

Drew applauded how the medical staff carefully monitored both his mental and physical health.

When the doctors cleared him to play, his team was in the playoffs. He wanted desperately to get back into the game, but his better judgement held him back. He still wasn’t feeling 100 per cent.

He spoke with his coaches, and they completely backed his decision. He explained to his teammates, and they were sympathetic.

Judy*, a female club athlete, experienced the same thing.

When she was experiencing episodes of anxiety or depression, she asked her coach for some time off to recover.

“He said, ‘Okay, I know that you know what’s best for you and I care about you a lot and I need to make sure that you’re doing okay.’ That was amazingly helpful for me,” said Judy.

She was also able to lean on her teammates when things weren’t going well. She said they were dealing with mental health issues as well, and sharing their experiences amongst themselves was very helpful.

“You’re able to build such a strong community within your team […] I would say it’s a huge plus to be on a team at Queen’s.”

Certain teams on campus have developed an open and accepting culture around mental health and the overall health of players like Judy and Drew have benefitted as a result.

ILLUSTRATION BY AMELIA RANKINE

Some of the student-athletes interviewed

by The Journal for this article were stars and captains of their teams—athletes on big scholarships. Others had quit prominent team roles because of their struggles with mental health.

And although these interviews represent some of the most serious situations, student-athletes said that these experiences are also not completely uncommon.

“If you look at Athletics in general, there are so many athletes that struggle with mental health, it’s ridiculous,” said Guy. In an email statement to The Journal, Leslie Dal Cin, executive director of Athletics and Recreation, wrote that the program is “committed” to, among other things, “educating our student-athletes on mental health awareness and the range of support resources that are available on our campus to promote and support mental health.”

However, students report that these sentiments aren’t always adopted by coaches. A student-athlete interviewed for this article reported nearly being cut after asking for time away from his team following the death of a close friend.

Student-athletes mentioned a number of ways that mental health culture on their teams could be improved—a redoubling of efforts by A&R to communicate the mental health resources available was requested, as well as reducing the barriers to accessing them.

Most of the athletes interviewed didn’t know what resources they had at their disposal, or how they could access them. Several of them mentioned vaguely remembering a brief presentation at the beginning of the year.

“Maybe [the coaches] should all have to do mandatory mental health training,” said Mark*, a male varsity athlete. “It’s a thing for teachers, and that’s what coaches are.”

“If [a positive emphasis on mental health] was happening on other teams, if there were full coaching staffs constantly talking about this stuff, or even just periodically speaking about this stuff, I’d be f—cking [envious].”

In an environment that can encourage silence, student-athletes say it’s crucial to saturate them with the information that allows them to get help for their mental health. According to student-athletes interviewed by The Journal, the stigma around accessing resources is a barrier—and normalizing it would help student-athletes help themselves. journal_feature@ams.queensu.ca

8 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 24, 2020

EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL

For Team AJA, an uncontested race doesn’t equal an endorsement Our Process: The endorsement is the result of a vote by The Journal Editorial Board. The Editorial Board considers prior interviews, debates, platforms, and a private questioning period with the teams before making a decision.

Although the upcoming AMS executive election is uncontested, students must demand the same commitment, integrity, and diligence from candidates as they would expect in a contested race. They don’t need to settle for less.

In a 15-2 vote with one abstention, The Journal Editorial Board voted to not endorse Team AJA for the 2020-21 AMS executive.

A vote of non-confidence is not a decision the Board makes lightly. This is only the second vote of non-confidence in three years, and the second non-confidence vote in The Journal’s history. But AMS executive office is a significant responsibility, and the team, comprised of Alexia Henriques, Jared den Otter, and Alex Samoyloff, were unable to assure the Board that they were up to task.

As of the time of the Jan. 21 endorsement board, Team AJA had yet to release their full platform, despite being two days into the election campaign period.

This isn’t typical. Traditionally, The Journal’s Editorial Board has sufficient opportunity to examine a team’s full platform prior to the endorsement board.

Without a full platform to review, left instead with an initial platform representing a bullet-point list, it was difficult for the Board to evaluate the full scope of Team AJA’s goals and commitments. It’s unclear what they hope to accomplish on a specific, day-to-day basis in their potential tenure.

The Journal can’t be asked in good conscience to stand behind a team whose vision remains undefined based on a lack of consideration of student perspectives.

Team AJA hadn’t begun any formal consultations prior to the campaign period, despite their commitment to making student voices heard.

Without sufficient consultation with student stakeholders, Team AJA’s initial platform is based on what Henriques explained were “offline, o f f - t h e - r e c o r d conversations with, for example, housemates and friends and

coworkers that do work in various student-run services”—and the team’s personal experiences on campus.

This lack of formal consultation didn’t convince the Board of the team’s authenticity.

Team AJA’s initial platform includes policy proposals affecting Indigenous students, though no Indigenous students were consulted prior to the platform’s release.

When questioned by the Board, Samoyloff said the team would amend the policy if it didn’t suit those Indigenous students after consultation.

The Board can’t accept the sincerity of the team’s current commitments, given their failure to responsibly consult the students they plan to represent before crafting their initial platform, along with their apparent willingness to backtrack on what little proposed policy they’ve made public.

This is the third consecutive uncontested executive election. When asked what they might have done differently in a contested election, Team AJA responded that they would have considered rolling out their platform throughout the campaign period to keep students updated on their ideas as they completed their consultations, as opposed to their actions in reality: releasing an incomplete platform without consultations before their final platform’s release five days into the seven-day campaign period.

This slapdash response demonstrates a lack of commitment to the election process. Contested or not, students deserve transparency and dedication from all prospective teams in enough time before the election to inform their votes, regardless of whether or not they’re contested. Team AJA’s answer indicates they didn’t put their best effort into their current campaign due to

their lack of competition.

Beyond issues relating to their platform and consultation, the candidates struggled to present themselves as a cohesive unit.

Individually, Henriques and Samoyloff have sufficient experience to convince the Board of their ability to succeed in their prospective positions. However, as a whole, Team AJA often appeared to be on different pages on key issues.

When asked about the team’s response to the Student Choice Initiative (SCI), den Otter, presidential candidate, said he was “glad [the SCI] happened, because it let [Queen’s] students actually think, wait, we actually should be having more of a say in the money we're spending [on fees].” After follow-up questions from the Board, Jared walked back that answer, saying he spoke “purely from [his] perspective,” and he recognized that the SCI was detrimental to many student-run initiatives across the province.

This was symptomatic of the team’s dynamic throughout the endorsement board: they responded to prompts based on their personal experiences rather than one cohesive vision, and frequently retracted statements when questioned.

The team’s inconsistent responses led the Board to believe AJA’s lack of platform extended to a lack of time and effort devoted to creating an informed plan to lead the student government.

Clearly, Team AJA’s campaign has suffered from the uncontested nature of this year’s election.

While they’re individually competent, as a unit, AJA lacks the cohesion and preparedness to present themselves as strong AMS executive candidates.

Although they have good intentions, without a much-needed push from competing teams, the candidateshaven’tsteppedupto present themselves to The Journal as a conscientious team our board can endorse with confidence.

Unfortunately, an uncontested election doesn’t equate automatic trust in a team’s abilities—which Team AJA’s endorsement board made all too clear.

—Journal Editorial Board

Volume 147 Issue 19 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal Publishing since 1873

Editorial Board Editor in Chief Managing Editor Production Manager News Editor Assistant News Editors Features Editors

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Editorials Editor

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Opinions Editor

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

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

The Journal’s Editorial Board acknowledges the traditional territories our newspaper is situated on have allowed us to pursue our mandate. We recognize our responsibility to understand the truth of our history.

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.

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ILLUSTRATION BY AMELIA RANKINE

Friday, January 24, 2020

queensjournal.ca

OPINIONS

Your Perspective

PHOTO BY JODIE GRIEVE

Why Bell Let’s Talk has the power to bind us together I know it’s a cold time out there for many of you, but for many others, it’s a time where the pressures of life can be overwhelming, to say the least. I say this because I know that, today, many students are willing to speak openly about their internal and external struggles in an era of shifting stigmas—myself included.

It’s undeniable that the effects of mental health awareness campaigns, such as Bell Let’s Talk, have made a positive impact on Canadians and their perspectives on mental health.

In a survey conducted this year, 84 per cent of Canadians said they were comfortable talking about their mental health, compared to only about 42 per cent in 2012. This is a massive shift in perspective in a relatively short amount of time. This is, in large part, due to Bell Let’s Talk.

I’m sure many of you are aware of what the campaign is at some level, but I want to bring attention to the incredible initiative and the breadth of its impact on mental health services.

Bell Let’s Talk (or in French, Bell Cause pour La Cause) is the largest corporate mental health initiative in Canada, with more than $100 million in donations committed

by Bell to supporting mental health services since 2010. These donations are built up from $0.05 being donated on Bell Let’s Talk

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For example, the Strongest Families This was a process that moulded me Institute this year will receive $500,000 into the man that I am today, but it was a from Bell Let’s Talk, Northwestel, and one-sided process that had its flaws and the Government of the Northwest caused me challenges.

Territories with the aims of providing Bell Let’s Talk will be taking place on Jan. mental health services throughout the 29 this year. As it approaches, I implore you Northwest Territories. to spread awareness by using a tool I know One of the core goals of Bell Let’s Talk you all already love: social media. is to ensure that all Canadians, no matter Watch as many YouTube videos, take where they are in Canada or what economic as many Snapchat pictures, and slide into background they’re from, will have access to as many DMs as you can on Bell Let’s Talk day for every call and text made by those on a the tools to better their mental health. day to help make a difference in favour of Bell phone plan, and for every Snapchat filter, Bell Let’s Talk, at its heart, is an event that positive change for mental health.

Instagram or YouTube view, Facebook photo brings people together. Strangers become And please know the following: although frame, and Twitter hashtag used, regardless friends, family bonds become stronger, and the future’s challenges may be terrifying and of which device or plan it’s made with.

Canadians become better Canadians. daunting, you never have to walk that road Through this, Bell has developed 657 Bell Let’s Talk is doing something that on your own. People are here to help walk community fund grants, with 1.45 million not many people understand is hard to do. you down that road, because Queen’s isn’t trained staff and volunteers overall reaching Mental health isn’t like resetting a broken just a place where we earn our degrees: it’s an estimated 3,409,680 Canadians between limb or fighting a degenerating disease. It’s a community and home.

2010 and 2020—nearly one-tenth of the uniquely difficult to deal with, because there A quote from Gladys Hunt’s book Child’s Canadian population. will never be one single catch-all cure for Heart sums up what I mean about Queen’s Essentially, Bell has developed a system mental illness. being home, and how Bell Let’s Talk where anybody and everybody can make Mental wellness is a constant and represents the best of what our community a difference just by going about their day. ongoing process that will continue to affect has to offer to one another.

Whether it’s calling your family, sending someone for their entire lives. It’s a long, “What is home? My favorite definition is a message on Instagram, or watching a difficult, and frustratingly challenging road ‘a safe place,’ a place where one is free from YouTube video, you’re making a difference that will always need to be faced in one’s attack, a place where one experiences secure toward “awareness, acceptance and action” lifetime at some level. For many of us, it’s an relationships and affirmation. It's a place on Bell Let’s Talk day. exhausting experience. where people share and understand each While it’s clear how Bell structures the The most terrifying thing that I've ever other. Its relationships are nurturing. The donations, their wide impact is made through had to deal with while coping with my people in it do not need to be perfect; instead, the company’s allocation of donations. This own mental health is being afraid that my they need to be honest, loving, supportive, year, Bell’s biggest partners are the Canadian issues would be belittled, made light of, and recognizing a common humanity that makes Mental Health Association, the Canadian ultimately ignored by those I love. all of us vulnerable.”

Red Cross, Foundry, Jack.org, Kids Help In my own experience with Asperger’s This is what Queen’s means to me, and I Phone, Revive, St. John’s Ambulance, and the Syndrome and performing in high-level hope that by participating in Bell Let’s Talk, Strongest Families Institute. sports, I felt pressured to disregard my we can all transform it into a place where all These are all reputable platforms in mental wellbeing in favour of achieving high students feel the same way—even as they their own right, but Bell takes on added results. This stunted my own road to mental experience issues which have historically accountability by remaining completely maturity by making me feel like my own been neglected and stigmatized. transparent about how much money will go issues were irrelevant in comparison with to which place and why. achieving higher goals.

Austin Wild is a fifth-year History student.

Talking heads

... students around campus

PHOTOS BY JODIE GRIEVE

Would you rather live in Jean Royce or Harkness?

“I feel like […] Harkness.”

Rachel Cantor Kin '23

“Harkness. Just 'cause it’s closer.”

Tabassum Pasha Comm '21

“I’d never go to West. The other one.”

Chris Went

Nursing AST '21

10 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 24, 2020

Sports

Friday, January 24, 2020

Hooker Jared Agustin was one of three Queen's players named.

PHOTO BY MATT FUNK

Three Gaels set to compete for Canada in U20 tour Three men’s rugby players will compete in the Under-20 competition Alina Yusufzai Assistant Sports Editor The Canada Men’s Under-20 15s program is set to compete against Portugal’s national side in Lisbon, Portugal on Feb. 17 and 20 in a pair of exhibition games.

Rugby Canada announced their roster on Jan. 20, and it features three Queen’s men’s rugby players.

Freshman William Matthews and sophomores Jared Augustine and Liam Casey all made the cut.

The U20 roster is constituted of athletes from across Canada who currently play in leagues in Canada, France, Australia, Ireland, and England.

“I was really excited to hear the news of being on the list. The main reason for this is because it's always exciting to wear the maple leaf on your jersey, as well as an honour,” Matthews told The Journal.

“Additionally, I know the quality of rugby will be exceptional as well as challenging.”

The only Canadian university with more athletes selected for this team is the defending

Canadian University Men’s Rugby Champion, UBC, with four.

Canada’s junior program finished fifth at last July’s World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament. Portugal finished second after losing to Japan last year.

“I am both excited and nervous, because I know Portugal will be an extremely strong side and will bring a lot to the table,” Matthews said.

Despite the pressure, Matthews is staying confident about the games to come. “I would say I am more filled with excitement than nerves, but these two are almost interchangeable.”

“I think the strength of the Canadian side is very high this year.”

With the tour less than a month away, Matthews was pragmatic when speaking about how much preparation he could squeeze in.

“As of now, the only thing to do is make sure I'm fit for the fight, meaning staying physically fit as well as healthy. As well, I'll make sure to get as many touches on a rugby ball prior to the games.”

Matthews is taking his training seriously in the run-up to the matches, but he’s not losing sight of the bigger picture.

“I think it's a huge deal to represent the leaf, because you are not only representing yourself but an entire nation.” journal_sports@ams.queensu.ca

Queen's PHE/KIN teams have traditionally dominated at BEWICs.

PHOTO BY BRITTANY MCLAREN

Intramurals take over the ARC Inside the world of BEWICs Alex Gittens Contributor

This past weekend marked Queen’s annual BEWIC Sports Days. Casually referred to as BEWICs, the sporting marathon is one of the most highly anticipated parts of the Queen’s intramural calendar.

Held from Jan. 17 to 18, the longstanding BEWICs (nobody is actually sure what it stands for anymore) transformed the ARC into a battleground as faculties duked it out

queensjournal.ca

Lincoln Drake, a four-year-old battling cancer, had his name chanted.

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PHOTO BY JACKIE LI

Cure Cancer Classic raises $183,000 Engineering takes down Commerce for second year in a row Max Bradshaw Contributor The Queen's Commerce vs. Engineering Cure Cancer Classic was played at the Leon’s Centre last Thursday.

It was the fourth instalment of this rivalry game, and the Queen’s community came together to raise $183,000, which was donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Fans for both sides showed up early to line the glass with signs and to cheer on their faculty as they took warm-ups.

When the players took to the ice come game time, the arena was rocking. Ryan Dale, a fourth-year civil engineering student and defenceman for the Engineering team, described the full-capacity crowd as “absolutely electric.”

Prior to puck drop, the cheque for $183,000 was presented to the Canadian Cancer Society. Then, Lincoln Drake, a child battling cancer, was brought out to conduct the ceremonial puck drop.

He was met with deafening cheers from the crowd as everyone at the game showed their support.

In an interview with The Journal, Dale described the pre-game ceremony from the players’ perspective: “On their way into the arena, everybody was given a little sign with a marker, and [the sign] says, ‘I'm fighting for…’ Everyone writes down the name of someone they know […] and everybody holds up their signs.”

“The thought that every single person there can hold up a sign at one time just goes to show how many people cancer affects. It's not a crazy fluke thing to happen, it happens to real in a wide range of unique sports.

Typically, Queen’s intramurals feature classic sports like basketball, hockey, and volleyball. BEWICs drops these in favour of giving students the opportunity to get together with their peers and compete in offbeat events they couldn’t participate in on a regular basis.

With events like rugby basketball, floorball, inner-tube water polo, and water volleyball filling up the docket, participants unwind and have summer camp-esque fun with their classmates.

“It’s a lot of fun, you see all types of people,” said BEWICs referee Deshane Richards in an interview with The Journal. “There are first years that are still getting to know the campus, all the way up to 30-year-old medical school students battling it out in these games.”

Some of the games aren’t very intuitive.

Even Richards has a hard time keeping

people everywhere.”

The game was fast-paced right from the puck drop. The Commerce team was motivated, looking to avenge last year’s 3-2 overtime loss.

Both teams had their chances in the first, highlighted by a great chance by Commerce’s Marcus Dorsey that rang off the post.

There were three members of the Queen's men’s hockey team taking part in this event.

Liam Dunda and Stephen Gibson played for Commerce, while Caleb Warren suited up for the Engineering team.

Dunda thought he’d scored in the dying seconds of the first period, but the puck crossed the goal line after time expired, resulting in a scoreless first.

Engineering broke the deadlock at 9:16 into the second on a goal by Jarrett Roantree. Warren hit the post towards the end of the second as well and Engineering went into the third period up 1-0.

The engineers padded their lead midway through the third with a goal by Travis Cossarini.

Although Dunda responded for Commerce to make it a one-goal game with 7:10 left, Cossarini’s goal would prove to be the winner as Engineering held on to win for the second year in a row.

The game was highly competitive, but the purpose of the event wasn’t lost on the players. “It’s a pretty easy game to play because everybody knows the cause [...] When you're fighting against something as serious as cancer, any sort of on-ice mistake isn't really significant at all,” said Dale.

“You’re enemies for those 45 minutes when the puck is flying around […] But you shake hands at the end and recognize the great cause that it's for.”

The event as a whole was a great success, and it’s safe to say that Engineering will enjoy the bragging rights they get to keep for another year. them straight at times: “I’m big into rugby basketball, being a guy that played both for such a long part of my life […] I find myself having to draw on my knowledge from both to figure out the game sometimes.”

While BEWICs is supposed to be all about fun, it wouldn’t be a Queen’s-hosted event without some interfaculty rivalry.

Unsurprisingly, the classic rivalry is between the law and medical school teams.

The kinesiology department is a perennial powerhouse that always has plenty of teams competing to honour the tradition of the faculty. The reigning champions, runner-ups, and third-place winners all came from this department.

This year’s tournament was more of the same: Phe-nal Countdown took home bragging rights as the champions, followed

by SKHS Grads in second place, while the Squadriceps took home bronze.

Arts

12 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 24, 2020

Jennica Harper.

Bounce House grapples with grief and motherly love

Author Jennica Harper talks latest collection of poetry Brittany Giliforte Arts Editor

Jennica Harper’s Bounce House explores the highs and lows of mother and daughter relationships with sensitivity and focus.

“The mother who is gone and the daughter who is here: those are the people it’s dedicated to,” Harper said in an interview with The Journal.

Harper wrote this poetry about her mother before she died. This book shows the writer grappling with how their relationship has

changed since her passing, and how she continues to navigate her grief.

“One of the motifs that runs throughout the book is this idea of jumping and bouncing and trying to leave the earth, but being tethered back to it,” Harper said.

“Once I realized that was one of the key feelings—images—running throughout the book, I started thinking about trampolines and other images that do appear in the book.”

Another motif that runs throughout the book is the idea of the earth being flat. Harper played with the idea of jumping and leaving the earth in various forms.

Visualizing the earth as flat allowed Harper to manipulate traditional concepts and ideologies.

This also relates to the effect grief can have on a person’s perception of the world around them. It can make

Dan School of Drama and Music presents first 2020 Faculty Artist Series show Queen’s presents a night of music and theatre to show off faculty’s talent Pamoda Wijekoon, Brittany Giliforte Journal Staff The Dan School of Drama and Music will present From Bader Lane to Broadway this weekend at the Isabel Bader Centre. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the production of opera, operetta, and musical

theatre numbers will feature a selection of the faculty’s composers, lyricists, and poets as part of the Faculty Artist Series.

From Bader Lane to Broadway is a celebration of the Dan School’s combined talent in both music and theatre. Aiming to showcase the faculty’s talent, the school chose musical theatre as their vehicle to give the diverse range of artists a chance to share their skills on stage.

“This concert demonstrates the intersection of drama and music, which often happens with music theatre in its broadest

familiar territory seem unfamiliar.

“I thought that was a good way to reflect that idea […] of the home and the house. Do you ever really leave it?”

This collection of poetry, Harper explained, can be thought of as one long piece of poetry that’s broken into smaller poems.

“They’re exploring one idea through a variety of different goals and perspectives, but they really are a whole thought,” Harper said.

“In my dream world, […] somebody might sit down for an hour and read the whole thing.”

From start to finish, the writing process took a year. Harper didn’t work on it constantly throughout the year. Because it began with so much grief, she wrote an initial draft, then set it aside before returning to it later.

She wasn’t even sure she wanted

to publish it for the world to read.

When she finished the book, Harper commissioned artist Andrea Bennett to illustrate the cover and some pictures for the poems within.

When it came to her poetry’s form, Harper tried to scale her emotions down into packages, saying, “These huge feelings, these impossible feelings that I’m trying to reckon with, I’m trying to fit them in boxes. I tried to make simple, neat little boxes on each page that were not over flowing and messy and full of extraneous constrictions.”

The poet said she asked herself, “Can you put your grief in a neat little box?” Then, she forced herself to do exactly that, though she didn’t want to let all her emotions reveal themselves. She wanted to show that grief can’t be restrained, even when restraints are imposed.

The Dan Schol of Drama and Music will present From Bader Lane to Broadway.

sense,” composer John Burges said in an interview with The Journal.

The Dan School has been trying to host at least one concert a year, allowing the drama and music departments to collaborate with each other. This concert has been a long time in the making.

“Where The Bader Lane to Broadway comes from is, we have a number of composers and writers, lyricists, libretto-writers, who have been working right now on the concert stage. So having our

performers perform classes and standards that our audience may not have heard is a really nice way of putting a program together.”

The music of Leslie Arden, the Dan School of Drama and Music’s 2019 composer-in-residence and a prominent Canadian musical theatre composer, is at the heart of the show.

Best known for her award-winning musical The House of Martin Guerre, Arden has written over a dozen musicals and scores, and will lend her soprano voice

PHOTO BY PARDEEP SINGH

Whether it’s from friends, family, or co-workers, external pressures to stop grieving can make someone feel like they’re supposed to get back to normal life—but grief doesn’t work that way.

This form isn’t one she sticks to in all of her poetry writing.

She’s experimented with more formal styles, writing villanelles and sonnets, but this exercise was perfect for what she was exploring in Bounce House.

Harper’s main job is writing for television shows. Currently she’s working on Jann, a show about Canadian singer and songwriter Jann Arden.

Working in television allows Harper to maintain her love of writing poetry. It’s more of a hobby—one she only turns to when inspiration strikes.

“The poetry I write, I need something to make itself known to me, that there’s something I need to start writing about. Otherwise, I don’t make a habit of trying to write poetry whether it’s coming or not. I just wait.”

“I just want to do it if I believe in it,” Harper said. “It remains personal to me.”

SUPPLIED BY JOHN BURGES

as well as her original music to the show.

“Leslie Arden and her music [are] being given a really strong focus on this concert,” Burges said. “We’ve involved her in this concert, and so she has more music being performed than any other composer in this concert, simply because we really want to highlight her music. She writes great music.”

The show has been in development for over a year. In addition to music from Arden,

Arts

Friday, January 24, 2020 Queen’s artists and composers will be performing musical theatre standards.

The show will also feature poets Daniel David Moses and Richard Sanger. Faculty performers include Melissa Morris (soprano), Bruce Kelly (baritone), and a violin performance from Gisele Dalbec-Szczesniak, among others.

Coming Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., the Faculty Artist Series will present another show as well. This time around, the Dan School’s own Isabel Quartet, joined by Joseph Johnson, a prominent cellist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will perform Franz Schubert’s Cello Quintet.

Formed in 2016, the Quartet opened the Faculty Artist Series that year and have been regular performers at the University ever since, drawing in a myriad of visiting artists from the Canadian classical music world.

They recently added new members Caitlin Boyle and Julia McFarlane in October of 2019.

On Sunday, Mar. 1 at 7:30 p.m.,

Brittany Giliforte Arts Editor

Québécois country music singing Matt Lang gives Nashville a run for its money.

After winning the SiriusXM’s Top of the Country competition in 2019, Lang is setting out with country singer Tebey on his The Good Ones tour.

On Jan. 30, he’ll come to Kingston for the first time to open for Tebey at the Ale House.

Lang comes from Maniwaki, Québec—which isn’t exactly a country music hub.

He remembers finding country music early in life despite this, even performing Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” for his first show ever.

“I was really, really nervous,” he said. Although he says that feeling has gone away over time, it’s still difficult at times.

“It’s always challenging because it’s a show and it’s something that’s always stressful.”

He’s come a long way since then, proving his ability and performing skills on the SiriusXM Top of the Country competition.

Jill Snell, Lang’s manager, sent him to audition for the competition. After making it into the top eight, the public was

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the Greg Runions Jazz Septet presents Something Old, Something New. Along with the established Canadian septet, the ensemble presents a night of classic jazz.

Runions is an adjunct associate professor in Brass and Percussion at the Dan School.

A Kingston local, Runions attended Queen’s in his youth and has been teaching with the School of Music since 1985.

The concert will feature original music from the septet, as well as jazz standards.

From Bader Lane to Broadway is the fourth-last concert of the Faculty Artist Series this year.

Queen’s University students can access discounted $10 tickets to the performance online using their student numbers, and students who subscribe to three or more Dan School Faculty Artist Series concerts will gain an additional 25 per cent discount.

Students will still have three more opportunities to see the Dan School faculty’s talent over the course of the semester, with a concert each month.

Matt Lang shows Québec’s take on country music SiriusXM’s Top of the Country winner talks songwriting

queensjournal.ca

invited to vote online for the top three. Then he moved on to compete against the other two musicians in Calgary, where he won.

He won $25,000 and a songwriting trip to Nashville.

On the trip, he wrote with Tebey and Kelly Archer, his friends and fellow performers.

“It’s really cool, it’s my first Canadian competition. It’s really big for me. That year it was a really big year […] It’s really intense,” Lang said in an interview with The Journal.

When it comes to lyric-writing, Lang says it can be a challenge. English is his second language, which poses a major barrier. Writing music, on the other hand, comes easily to him.

He started writing music when he was just 16 years old. Now, at 29, he’s established his sound and he knows what works for him.

“When I have something in my head, I just put all that on the paper […] [My inspiration comes] from my life and from other people’s too.”

Lang’s most recently-released song, “Water Down the Whiskey,” is based on his life philosophy.

He sings, “You don’t gotta water down the whiskey, c’mon, girl, just give it to me straight,” going on to advise, “Don’t twist the truth, just twist the top.”

In a classic country music take on life, he boils this request down into fun-loving, upbeat, twangy terms.

Another song of Lang’s, “My Final Pour,” takes on a more serious issue: the story of an

Matt Lang will perform at Ale House on Jan. 30.

alcoholic man contemplating giving up drinking to fight for his love. He sings, “’Cause her love’s worth fighting for.”

The man in the song alternates between sharing his memories of treating the woman poorly, and his resolve to stop drinking.

These two songs take very different views of drinking, but that’s because they tell the stories of two very different people.

Lang’s music is inspired by stories he hears, his own life, and storytelling.

Mostly, they have to do with love. Ultimately, Lang’s love for writing music comes from a deep appreciation for country music as a genre.

“I like the guitar sounds in the old country stuff,” Lang said.

“When you’re on a road trip, you can just put country music on, and you feel so good when you hear that kind of music.”

SUPPLIED BY RUCHAMA SHAINHOUSE

SUPPLIED BY RUCHAMA SHAINHOUSE

LIFESTYLE

14 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, January 24, 2020

TRAVEL

A guide to travelling over Reading Week Tips to make the most of your upcoming vacation Jodie Grieve Assistant Photo Editor When winter semester rolls around at Queen’s, things tend to feel a little dreadful. Firstsemester burnout is never fully cured over the holiday break, and the temperature keeps dropping lower and lower. It’s no wonder so many people are scrambling to migrate somewhere warm this Reading Week— and, three weeks into the term, are already dreaming about doing so.

For a lot of students, Reading Week is one of the first opportunities to travel without parents. First-time solo travel can be liberating, but having to get from one country to another, or even hopping provinces for the first time, is never without its problems.

If you have travel plans for Reading Week or are in the midst of making them, here are a few tips to help you make the most of your vacation.

Research your destination Travel is all about discovery, so pick a few hotspots to visit in the country, city, or town you’re travelling to, but also allot time to wander around and see where you end up.

Although our professors have told us a million times that Wikipedia isn’t a good i n fo r m a t i o n s o u r c e , reading the Wiki page for the city or town you’re visiting is a great way to learn what they’re known for, including popular destinations and local cuisine.

Over this holiday break, I went to Finland to visit a friend. Before I left, I did a lot of research on places to check out while I was in her town. Wikipedia was the last place I looked, but it was there that I easily found the best local museums, information about the transport system, and the average temperatures for when I would be there.

TV REVIEW

Season 2 of Sex Education is as unique as ever Even with a different episode structure, the show remains a joy to watch Alexa Margorian Contributor My sister and her friend came over for dinner just as my housemates and I were finishing the last 15 minutes of the newly-released second season of Netflix’s Sex Education.

Watching this season’s climax take place during an erotic space opera version of Romeo and Juliet on a stage literally shaped like a penis, I attempted to give our dinner guests some context to make sense of what was onscreen.

As I began my explanation, the lyrics of “Once in a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads played in my head, specifically the line: “You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” The show that began as a raunchy comedy series about a teenage sex therapist has somehow evolved into one of the most complex and unique shows currently streaming.

Last season, each episode was built using the same structure, centered around a different sexual dilemma faced by members of the Moordale student body. Protagonist and amateur sex therapist Otis Milburn would be enlisted to help, with sub-plots meticulously woven throughout.

But with Otis no longer needed for advice, the series chooses to give more importance to the characters themselves, rather than their issues. Now, the problems the students face are more mundane—practicing safe sex, communicating with your significant other, and anal douching are only a couple of examples. They're less outrageous and lack the pure shock factor some episodes had last season. As a result, the secondary cast are no longer puppets used to propel the plot. We see them as real people, rather than mere problems to be solved.

This season opens with Moordale Secondary School in the midst of a chlamydia outbreak. The outbreak was quickly debunked as a case of STI hysteria by Otis’ mom, real sex therapist Dr. Milburn.

After a parents’ assembly, she is contracted by the school board to review its sexual education curriculum and begins giving both

isolating. I know it’s important to not rely on technology and to be one with nature and all that jazz, but being lost in a foreign city is not something I recommend.

Being able to keep in contact with family and friends at home is also an added safety net in case there’s an emergency.

This trip lifesaver is worth splurging on if you aren’t just staying on a resort with WiFi and are planning to explore a new city. Canada has one of the highest phone plan costs in comparison to other countries, so don’t worry about breaking the bank with this tip.

Lifestyle ILLUSTRATION

BY AMELIA RANKINE

backpack where you always store your passport on your trip is an easy way to avoid the panic of misplacing it.

Try to pack light (just a carry-on)

Always have your passport on hand When I was a kid, I always wanted to hold my own passport while at the airport with my family.

It was like turning on the car lights at night while your parents were driving: the forbidden fruit. But now I realize why they safeguarded it so much while we were on international trips.

Your passport is one of the only things that you should not—and really can’t—go anywhere without. Having a special pocket in your coat or

Unless the airline you’re flying with has free luggage check-in, prices to check bulky suitcases can put a dent in your bank account.

Pack only the essentials when you travel—trust me when I say that you won’t need four swimsuits and five pairs of shoes.

Plus, having to wait at baggage claim after a long flight is up there on my list of the most boring activities known to man.

Get a phone plan with data

Buying a prepaid phone card while on vacation can make leaving home feel a little less

Sex Education continues to be a success.

students and staff alike sex advice for free.

Dr. Milburn’s introduction into the Moordale ecosystem becomes a problem for Otis, who used to charge his peers money for his amateur advice. It’s through this drastic change in circumstances that Sex Education breaks out of its formulaic mould and morphs into something more mature and focused.

That said, the series veers towards being too didactic when presenting central themes to the audience this season. There are instances where the show’s instructive nature is welcome, like when Ola and Adam discuss the definition of pansexuality.

However, in episode seven, there’s

a clear teachable moment where the central female characters bond over the fact that they’ve all been victims of predatory behaviour or sexual assault.

Although their accounts are horrific, culminating this storyline in a didactic, feminist “girl power” moment felt too staged for a show whose main draw is its hyper-realism. On the other hand, the fact that I perceived this scene as such only reinforces what the girls are discussing, because as a 20-year-old woman, I’m well aware of the dangers women face on a daily basis. “Two-thirds of girls experience unwanted sexual tension or contact in public spaces before the age of 21,” one of the characters reminds us. Reciting

Acknowledge the privilege you have to travel

When you and your group of friends pack for a week-long resort vacation this Reading Week, take a minute to appreciate what a privilege it is that you have the opportunity to travel. The expenses of travel really add up and, more often than not, those expenses just aren’t possible for everyone.

So try not to come back and tell everyone that they simply must go to Hawaii or that they haven’t lived until they’ve seen Europe.

While travel is life-changing, it’s not an accessible activity for all Queen’s students. ***

Travelling can be stressful, but make sure to relax and enjoy the break. The second semester will be back in full swing before we know it, and you’ll wish you had stopped to smell the roses for a little longer.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ROWAN LACROIX

the statistic seems tired only because it’s a fact that I'm already accustomed to, and maybe that’s the terrifying point they’re trying to make.

It’s during moments like these, when Sex Education examines raw and grounded experiences that I find the show at its most rewarding. It’s a joy to watch, even when it’s dealing with emotionally fraught subjects. The show treats the universal discomfort of growing up with the empathy you’d expect from a parent, setting an example for what we should expect from teen shows.

If we can learn anything from Sex Education, it is that if you treat teens with the same respect as you treat adults, they’ll listen.

LIFESTYLE

Friday, January 24, 2020

LIFE HACKS

Not your mother’s pants: Thrifting the perfect pair of mom jeans How to take part in this long-lasting denim trend Tegwyn Hughes Assistant Lifestyle Editor Mom jeans: the elusive denim trend that’s captivated our Pinterest boards for years is still going strong. Even though mainstream fast-fashion brands have caught on and started manufacturing dupes of these high-waisted denim pants, nothing beats the feel and look of a thrifted pair of mom jeans, especially if you can find vintage (pre-1980s) denim.

Unfortunately, finding thrifted jeans involves thrift-shopping, which can be a daunting task. If you don’t know where to start, don’t fear: I’ve got all the tips you need to find your perfect match.

Before you go

When it comes to thrifting mom jeans, the most important measurement to know is your waist size. Grab a tape measure

to see exactly which pant size to shop for. Start at the top of your hip bone, then bring the tape measure all the way around your body, at the same level as your belly button.

Make sure it's not too tight—no holding your breath. The number you see when your stomach is relaxed is your waist size, and that will be the size range you need to keep an eye out for at the thrift store.

Wearing comfortable clothes to go thrifting is a must, because you’re going to be changing in and out of clothes multiple times.

When it comes to shopping for mom jeans, wear a top that isn’t too loose or baggy so that you get an idea of what your jeans will look like in a finished outfit.

My go-to thrifting outfit is a pair of leggings and a cropped tank top, so I can easily slip out of my clothes in the change room.

Let’s get thrifty

The men’s section, believe it or not, is the only place I look for high-waisted jeans. The cut and

fit of most men’s jeans are usually perfect for a high-waisted look on women. The front fly is longer, and the jeans are tight around the hips and loose on the legs. However, most thrift stores only carry men’s sizes starting at 28 inches for waist size, so if you measure less than that, I recommend starting with the women’s section.

Despite my earlier recommendation to know your waist size, I still browse the sizes directly above and below mine, because each brand might size their products differently. Vintage jeans especially are prone to shifty sizes, because brands’ size labelling could have changed over time. You never know where you’ll discover the perfect fit.

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Friday, January 24, 2020

POSTSCRIPT

Addressing the persistence and foundations of South Asian anti-blackness

Aysha has grappled with the ways race and power intersect between racialized groups.

Shaming the experiences of other minority groups won't lift you higher Aysha Tabassum Opinions Editor

A cruel and unaddressed racist rhetoric in South Asian communities means that we might just take the trophy for self-righteous anti-blackness.

I grew up in Toronto, one of the most diverse cities in North America, and one that’s wrongly viewed as having evolved beyond daily racism. This is predicated upon the assumption that, when we interact regularly with people of all colours, we become more tolerant of different cultures, but this perspective doesn’t take into account what happens when we have those interactions without a sense of accountability.

The whole reason that diversity can reduce bigotry is because it forces us to confront our personal biases and internalized racism.

Without giving them too much credit, white Canadians are gradually being pushed to consider their privilege and, hopefully, diminish the ways in which they contribute to institutional racism.

Conversely, South Asians, who view themselves as a model minority—a representation of all the ideals that marginalized people should meet to find success in mainstream society—face no such accountability.

The effect this has on the South Asian community and how we view Black Canadians is substantial. Our hateful words are uttered behind closed doors, but the rhetoric we perpetuate is carried with us in everything that we do.

I’ve heard it all.

I’ve heard brown kids who have the audacity to claim that Black youth are asking for police brutality. I’ve heard them boast about how themselves and their parents “did it right,” and that if Black kids wanted to, they could just prove white people wrong in their racist assumptions. I’ve heard them place themselves on a pedestal, taking pride in their status here in Canada, without acknowledging that our community stigmatizes mental health, normalizes child abuse, and publicly shames young women.

They don’t factor these elements into their definition of success.

I’ve felt many different ways about this, but I’m primarily disappointed and frustrated that we’re so ignorant of Canadian history and politics—particularly the plight of Black Canadians, and how their civil rights movement became the foundation for most resistance against institutional racism. But lately, maybe because attending one of Canada’s whitest universities has given me a break from brown people, I’m just angry that we fall for false ideologies that only serve to uphold white supremacy.

We fall for false “ ideologies that only

serve to uphold white supremacy.

”

Our anti-Blackness shows that we lack basic human decency and empathy. South Asians in Canada face isolation, Islamophobia, employment and housing discrimination, and countless other issues as a result of persistent institutionalized racism. Despite this, we somehow can’t seem to muster up sympathy for another community of racialized peoples who have had it much worse than us in Canada for much longer.

In all of this horror, we always

forget one important point: we owe Black Canadians our right to exist in Canada as people of colour.

Both the Ontario Racial Discrimination Act of 1944 and the immigration reforms that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s form our legal right to be in this country as South Asians. These historic moments were driven by the Black civil rights movement.

However long we decide to compete in the oppression Olympics for our own gratification, the fact remains that Black Canadians have always been on the front lines fighting for human rights in Canada, and we simply haven’t been around long enough in this country to say the same of ourselves.

Things seem to have only gotten worse now that we are around, because every day we’re choosing not to fight with them, or for them.

This past summer, participants in the Hamilton Pride parade were attacked by religious extremists.

Not only did police take far too long to respond, but they brutalized many counter-protesters when they did respond (largely supporters of #BlackLivesMatter).

I’m unsure of how many South Asians were at that event, and I can’t assume which side of the protests they were on—because I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the wrong one. However, I do know that when the story broke, every brown person I knew in Toronto sided with the police. They turned up their noses and asked why those who were brutalized were complaining. They asked why you would risk going to a protest and then be surprised when the people who are supposed to protect you dehumanize you in the most unnecessary way possible.

That’s where we stand as a community on this movement, and most anti-racism movements led by Black people: on the wrong side of history.

But neither our silence or hatred regarding these movements stops us from profiting off anti-Black racism. Some of the most famous South Asian celebrities and influencers, including those who have formed their image around their wokeness, are either anti-Black or constantly appropriating Black culture.

“

That's where we stand as a community [...] on the wrong side of history.

”

Before she changed her viewpoint in a desperate attempt to fit into the Hollywood market, I grew up watching Priyanka Chopra endorse every fairness cream on the market. She can apologize all she wants, but she had a distinct choice in the matter.

Chopra might be able to hide here in North America, but there’s no way she can make me believe that she, as a member of one of the most powerful families in India, had no choice but to promote products that bleach your skin.

And even though he’s slowly redeeming himself through Patriot Act, comedian Hasan Minhaj’s brown f—kboy vibe is based in a subculture that appropriates Black fashion and language. It’s probably time he grew out of it.

(There’s also that time he found the weirdest excuse on Earth to say the n-word in his special, Homecoming King, spewing the slur “sand n-word” that was used against him at one point.)

Finally, let’s not forget all those who subtly perpetuate anti-blackness without ever actually touching Black issues.

Let’s talk about how Mindy Kaling produced the whitest sitcom on TV, The Mindy Project, and how the select few Black women featured in the show all fit into neat racial stereotypes.

Let’s talk about how, somehow, Lilly Singh, a brown girl from

PHOTO BY JODIE GRIEVE

Mississauga—a Canadian area known for its residents’ frequent appropriation of Black culture—is the first woman of colour to get her own late-night talk show, before any Black woman in Hollywood. This is particularly significant when considering how, in my opinion, Lilly Singh has only ever been excruciatingly unfunny since she got her start on YouTube.

I can’t speak to what it feels like for a Black Canadian to live in a landscape where other people of colour treat you terribly. I can’t even conclusively say that brown peoples’ anti-Blackness is on the radar of many Black Canadians.

But, selfishly, as a South Asian Canadian, I can speak to how I view all of it.

I’ve thought for a long time about what drives our ignorance and our undeserved pride. This past winter break, it crystallized when, at a dinner party, a family friend asked me why us South Asians have succeeded on an “equal playing field” while our Black peers in Scarborough are “still where they started.”

As I looked around my living room at all the false lashes and Burch bags, that’s when it clicked.

In a cloud of university acceptances and our invasion of white neighborhoods, somehow, brown Canadians have started seeing themselves as white. They’ve started to think they have the same privilege as white people, or worse—that the concept of privilege has lost its relevance now that they’re succeeding. All of that started with one notion, which our immigrant parents drilled into our heads, fulfilling every stupid stereotype in the book: that if we talk white and act white, and say all the same racist things white people have been saying forever, that one day we’ll actually have their privilege and power.

And I’m tired of it.