The Queen's Journal, Volume 150, Issue 9

Three-part concert takes the Mansion by storm

Graduate students struggling under strained budgets

Students report being hungry and unhoused

at SGPS student town hall

Sophia Coppolino Assistant News Editor

Graduate and professional students voiced concerns with Queen’s at the SGPS town hall on Oct 4.

The town hall is part of a series of meetings the SGPS is holding in Kingston Hall to hear students’ housing issues and concerns. At this one, students said the funding they’re receiving from Queen’s is insufficient to meet their basic needs.

“Students were very adamant at pointing out they’re not looking to make money; they just don’t want to starve to be a graduate student,” Emilia Ganslandt, SGPS vice-president (community) said in an interview with The Journal

Graduate PhD students taking a fifth-year due to COVID-19 related circumstances who were required to delay their fieldwork or research are not guaranteed funding, according to the SGPS.

A campaign over the pandemic to secure fifth-year students funding was denied by the University.

The cost of tuition for a PhD student at Queen’s is $7,185.77 annually. The minimum funding for a PhD student is $20,000 per year.

The SPGS is advocating for the University to increase minimum funding for students and to reduce students’ tuition after they’ve completed their comprehensive exam.

“People feel maybe they’ve been misrepresented exactly how far their money would be able to go,” Ganslandt said. “We had a lot of international students that were like ‘I didn’t know. Canadian dollars don’t mean anything to me, but I was under the impression that this would be sufficient for living.’”

Most graduate students depend on funding from the University to support themselves. Some graduate students do secure external funding, but that money is subject to the use of the department they work for.

“Even the big Tri Council Awards—there’s a petition now called Support Our Science that’s a national campaign to increase the Tri-Council Awards—haven’t increased since 2003 and the cost of living has gone up 48 per cent since 2003,” Ganslandt said.

According to Ganslandt, students have a “sense of unequalness” because their perception is funding flexibility, teaching assistant (TA) hours, and the conditions of funding differ across departments.

“Research isn’t supposed to be competitive in this way where some people get a lot more for it than others, it’s supposed to be collaborative. These sorts of discrepancies don’t promote collaborative working.”

Queen’s is not the only Canadian university up against rising costs. The Concordian reported TAs are struggling to make ends meet at Concordia due to low wages and a cap on working hours.

“There is an increase [in cost of living] among all universities. We are heading towards a recession and students are contemplating is getting an education worth it or is it better to get into the work market?” Ganslandt said.

The SGPS will be creating a formal report on graduate and PhD student funding from the discussions had at the town hall.

The report will include reports previously complied by the psychology, math, and mechanical engineering departments examining funding for graduate students.

“Students are talking about being starving and unhoused because of their lack of funding,” Ganslandt said. “That’s not a way to promote research.”

The next town hall meeting is taking place on Oct. 25.

Faculty society presidents seek Orientation summit

Capes and Techs call for more accessible training

Aimée

As students were welcomed into the Queen’s community this September, some Nursing

Orientation leaders faced challenges with accommodations for Orientation Week.

On Sept. 22, Crystal Sau, president of the Nursing Students Society (NSS), asked AMS Assembly for advice about nursing leaders—NOCs and Capes—who were not granted accommodation requests during Orientation Week.

Orientation Week was held over

two weekends this year, divided by the first week of classes, from Sept. 3 to 11. According to Sau, this was not ideal for student participants and leaders.

“Across all faculties, I have heard of copious reports about stress after the first week and students not wanting to continue attending Orientation. Attendance was noted to be significantly

lower in the second half of Orientation,” Sau said in a statement to The Journal Nursing students must do clinical rotations at the hospital for their program. The Orientation weekends conflicted with patient preparations done on Sundays which are necessary for Monday clinical days.

Four days before Orientation Week, those with Monday clinical days who requested accommodations from class were notified they would not be granted, Sau said at Assembly.

According to Sau, the Orientation Roundtable team (ORT) was “phenomenal,” but

Nursing leaders requested to have clinical placements on Wednesday or Friday, and the requests were rejected by the Associate Dean of Nursing, citing professionalism.

Some Nursing students led a day of Orientation on Sunday, went to the hospital that evening to prepare, and completed an eight to 12 hour clinical the next day.

“I would encourage the implementation of a formal accommodations process specific to faculties [...] It is my hope we can come together to do what is best for the students, the university, and Kingston at large,” Sau said.

PHOTO

CURTIS HEINZL

Incident prompting review takes place at KGH

Queen’s offering support to impacted students and staff

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

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

On Sept. 30 an incident took place at the Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site near Waldron Tower.

Police cordoned off a large section of George St. and adjacent roads due to a traumatic incident at the KGH site.

In a statement to The Journal, Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) did not disclose background information of the incident.

“KHSC can confirm that an incident occurred at our KGH site on the afternoon of [Sept.] 30 but will not be disclosing any details with regards to the nature of the incident,” KHSC said.

Counselling resources are being provided by KHSC to support any individuals who have been impacted directly.

“We will be conducting an incident review following our standard process. We will not be providing any further comment,” KHSC said.

The University alerts the appropriate individuals after a traumatic incident has occurred.

“The University takes the health and privacy of everyone in the Queen’s community very seriously [...] The appropriate staff are alerted to ensure any potentially impacted students or staff are contacted and offered immediate and appropriate support including access to a variety of counselling options and crisis support as needed,” the University said in a statement to The Journal.

The University said queries concerning off-campus incidents should be directed to Kingston Police, who declined to comment after a request from The Journal.

Queen’s student Meena

Meena Waseem, Comm ’24, is simultaneously taking classes at Smith School of Business and running for a trustee position on the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB).

Waseem’s campaign has been endorsed by the Waterloo Regional Labour Council, which represents 26,000 public and private sector workers, the Waterloo Region’s Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, and Kitchener’s MP Mike Morrice. The election starts on Oct. 12.

Waseem elected to run for the WRDSB because it’s a system that she knows. Having gone through the WRDSB herself, she understands the challenges schools are up against.

“It was really the community that made me. When I moved away, I told myself I want to

Waseem campaigns for school board trustee in Waterloo

make sure I pay it back one day,” Waseem said in an interview with The Journal. “I especially wanted to pay it forward to young people [in Waterloo].”

According to Waseem, WRDSB parents are concerned by the declining high-school graduation rate and reduced math literacy among students. Burnout rates are also on the rise in classrooms and households after the pandemic.

“Another key issue is safety. It’s not just about COVID safety, it’s also about safety about things like identity in classrooms. A lot of students who come from equity

seeking groups [parents’] feel they don’t know how to advocate for their students in the classroom, or when they do, parents feel like they aren’t being heard, they don’t know how to navigate these systems,” Waseem said.

Inclusivity hits close to home for Waseem, whose third language is English. Going door-to-door, Waseem has spoken to many immigrant families in hopes of representing them by engaging the WRDSB in issues affecting to entire Waterloo community.

“I remember being 11 years old and translating everything

from bank documents to field trip forms for my parents. I didn’t grow up the same way another student from an English-speaking household who went through the system,” Waseem said.

Waseem is not new to boardrooms—she has sat on boards for The Journal and was the youngest person on the board for The Sexual Assault Centre, Kingston during the pandemic.

In Waterloo, Waseem was involved in mental health advocacy, participating in the first data collection on

wellbeing for adolescents in the region.

When asked what advice she would offer young adults, Waseem encourages people to think about their community’s needs and how they can act to serve them.

“If you have something in you that is telling you, you are capable and that you should go for it, that is already a sign that your community needs your voice,” Waseem said.

“I have this life philosophy: courage is like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the stronger it’s going to get.”

Waseem wants to address concerns about reduced math literacy and declining high school graduation rate

Sophia Coppolino Assistant News Editor

Mayor and Queen’s Legal Aid director share thoughts on street parties

Aimée Look

Assistant News Editor

Students have received fines between $500 and $25,000 at unsanctioned gatherings in past years—specifically during Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day.

Queen’s University Task Force on Street Parties will release recommendations to address unsanctioned street gatherings this fall. The task force was established by the University and announced earlier this year by Principal Patrick Deane.

In a statement to The Journal, the University said the task force has 24 representatives—13 of which are community partner representatives. The University will release a report outlining the resulting recommendations following the group’s consultations.

Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson would like recommendations to serve students and neighboring residents, in accordance with city bylaws.

“We’re trying to sit down at the same table with all of the stakeholders, and have good discussions and hear perspectives, and come up with recommendations collaboratively,” Paterson said in an interview with The Journal.

Most of the senior officials in the City of Kingston are sitting on the main task force, according to Paterson. Community members, some from local district associations, are sitting in on discussions to provide resident perspectives.

“Listen, you’re welcome in Kingston, we’re happy to have you,” is the message Paterson has for students. “While you’re here, you should have all the same rights, but also the same responsibilities as any other Kingston resident.

University Street parties task force takes shape

We ask people to respect each other.”

In Paterson’s experience, he said most students are cooperative, but students obviously want to enjoy themselves—which he thinks is great. It’s a minority of students, he said, that gives everyone a “bad name.”

“It’s really important to me that not everybody is painted with the same brush.”

Unsafe behavior, such as climbing utility poles and partying on rooftops, are concerns for personal safety and disruptions, Paterson said.

“As a city, we’ve done everything that we can do from an enforcement side, so we’re referring to come to the table and help be part of solutions that we can come up with as a group.”

The Kingston Police and Bylaw officers are a part of the task force—from the City’s perspective, they are “always respectful” and careful when dealing with students, Paterson said.

“The job of Police and Bylaw is to keep everyone safe—not only students, but residents as well

in

Principal releases statement on Iran and seek re-appointment

Asbah Ahmad & Aimée Look Journal Staff

Principal Patrick Deane releases statement about Iran and Sharif University

In an email to the Queen’s community on Oct. 4, Principal Patrick Deane released a statement on the unfolding situation in Iran in response to the Mahsa Amini protests.

“The latest attacks by Iranian police on students protesting at Tehran’s Sharif University have brought this matter even closer to home,” Deane said in the statement.

Deane reaffirmed the protesters using their voice to criticise sexism, inequity, violence, and abuse. Deane spoke about the role of universities and

[...] I think [the Police force] has done that to the best of their ability.”

The University District Safety Initiative (UDSI) and Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) address unsanctioned gatherings and nuisance behaviors in Kingston.

The City established them to hold students accountable for behaviors prohibited by provincial or municipal laws, Blair Crew, director of Queen’s Legal Aid (QLA), said in an interview with The Journal.

UDSI Laws are implemented during times of the year nuisance parties are most likely to occur —namely the weeks surrounding and including Orientation Week, Homecoming, and St. Patrick’s Day.

Instead of getting a typical provincial offence notice of around $85 for underage drinking or public intoxication, the UDSI requires all students to come to court for even simple offences— punishable by a fine up to $25,000.

The minimum fine,

a plea of guilty, is $500 for partiers and $2,000 for hosts.

“There’s still an awful lot of police discretion in, in what process they use, what charges they lay or AMPs they issue,” Crew said. “It’s never wise to get into a confrontational stance, with the person that has discretion over whether or not you’re about to be charged.”

AMPs were developed under the Municipal Act, giving the City the right to fine individuals on the spot for participating in a nuisance party or unsanctioned gathering—at any time during the year.

According to Crew, the laws lack sufficient publicity and may not be strong enough to deter students.

“The City doesn’t do a good enough job in publicizing that they’re going to be seeking a $500 fine,” Crew said. “It’s been a very, very negative relationship [between students and the City], in which each side shows a tendency to try to one up the other.”

Increasing measures against unsanctioned parties causes students to increase nuisance behaviors, he said.

A “superior” model, in Crew’s opinion, would be for the University to acknowledge their limits.

“There’s a natural tendency to want to celebrate the start of your Queen’s career, in the way that famously, you’ve heard that many people over the years have celebrated the start of their Queen’s career,” he said.

Finding a way for students to have large gatherings—at university sanctioned venues—is Crew’s solution.

“I think the notion that students are never going to party at all is—it’s just […] not going to come to be.”

Kingston Police did not respond to The Journal’s request for comment.

the creation of a safe space on campus in his statement.

“The spectacle of that space threatened, even terminated by brute force and intimidation demands a strong and unequivocal response from Queen’s and other universities worldwide,” he said.

Deane said the community’s initial priority should be the care of Iranian people, particularly those at Sharif University.

“We must condemn in the strongest terms any government that threatens to extinguish what is at the core of any university, free thought. And we must stand up for equity, justice, and an end to intolerance,” Deane said.

Deane asked for the community to lend their support to Iranian people. He mentioned supports exist for individuals who may be affected.

Asbah Ahmad,

News Editor

—With files from Asbah Ahmad

Large street parties take place during Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

AMS wishes to address student needs

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

The Printing & Copy Centre (P&CC) and StudioQ are undergoing a merger, and the AMS says it’s to serve students on campus.

The focus of P&CC is physically printed materials such as banners, posters, and stickers. StudioQ is the amalgamated service offering yearbook, graphic design, photo, and video services. The merger is scheduled to conclude within the next two years.

“We’re slowly moving out of the physical media age towards a focus on the digital. That doesn’t

mean print is completely phasing out,” Tina Hu, AMS vice-president (operations), said in an interview with The Journal.

“We’re not just getting rid of and phasing out P&CC; we’re merging them into one larger entity.”

Hu said the merger is working to meet the needs of the student body, while considering the financial interests of the AMS. As it stands, P&CC is a revenue-based service, while StudioQ runs on both revenue and student fees.

“While StudioQ sits in a surplus, P&CC sits in a deficit that matches that surplus. Together, they sit at a zero to zero,” Hu said.

Post-merger, Hu said the management structure at the service will match the current structure at services across the AMS.

“The head manager is where the

strategy plan comes out of, the budget, and overall management of staff and assistant managers,” Hu said.

Hu said the merger will involve the current managers and how they view their services currently. According to Hu, head managers and teams will look at where students and staff derive joy from the current operations of their service.

“Over the next two years, we’re introducing a project manager position in charge of the P&CC and StudioQ merger—sitting at the senior management level [...] Once the merger happens, all three management positions will be amalgamated into one head manager position,” she said.

Hu said the timeline for the merger follows the timeline for the JDUC redevelopment project. She

Queen’s organizations open doors to equity-deserving students

an opportunity to see the spaces where supports and programming for equity-deserving students are delivered,” Taryn McKenna, SEO student inclusion and engagement coordinator, said in a statement to The Journal.

overwhelming or intimidating,” McKenna said.

StudioQ and P&CC undergoing merger with two-year timeline

said the amalgamated P&CC and StudioQ service will likely move into the new JDUC as one service.

As it stands, Hu said the AMS is not looking to cut anything, but that remains a conversation over the next two years and the needs of the student body.

“CREO came in and did a very full external assessment of P&CC and StudioQ, assessing the value of those two services. I can’t say for certain; things are moving in a similar direction—I don’t see a huge pivot,” Hu said.

In-terms of service staff levels in the post-merger service, Hu said levels will be impacted due to the efficiency and operations of the services. She said StudioQ and P&CC currently offer a combined 60 opportunities for students including management, supervisors, and volunteer positions.

“As you move into the merger, I would expect number to go down because you’re streamlining processes—you don’t have two services, you now have one,” Hu said. “In the same vein, when we move back into the JDUC, we get The Brew back, and the pub services back. Both of those build out more student jobs and more management positions.”

As it stands, Hu explained P&CC is working to engage with

The students leading the Yellow House Queer Walking Tours worked at Yellow House during the summer, organizing activities for the academic year, like Solidarity Swim to provide non-cisgender students with a safer space to swim.

customers in the Kingston market diversifying their customer base. She said another challenge AMS services are facing is fighting the impacts of inflation and market costs.

“P&CC is also looking into a new revenue stream for poster sales which is very exciting. That’s in collaboration with StudioQ media,” she said.

Market research is a large part of the merger according to Hu, and AMS permanent staff members assist with this work, including the pricing structures at services like P&CC and StudioQ.

The main takeaway for Hu is the merger will bring benefits for students. She said a lot of thought has gone into the merger.

“I think there’s a lot of play and dynamic between the physical media that P&CC does, and the digital media that StudioQ does,” she said.

“I’m really looking forward to working closely with the project manager to work out what the strategy should be for the postmerger service. Because it’s going to be very exciting.”

Doors Open was held on Sept. 15 to help students get acquainted with the variety of support resources and service providers in the Queen’s community.

New and current students were invited to explore the campus and the different organizations serving equity-deserving communities, which hosted open houses all day long. The event was run by the Student Experience Office (SEO).

According to the event’s description, equity-deserving communities include individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, international students, students with a disability, students from minority religious or faith groups, and students of colour.

“Our hope with Doors Open was that it would provide students with

The Doors Open booth in front of Douglas Library distributed maps with participating offices, such as the Yellow House Student Centre for Equity and Inclusion, Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, Queen’s University International Centre, Faith & Spiritual Life, Athletics & Recreation, Student Wellness Services, and Queen’s Student Accessibility Services and Health Promotion, which held their own respective events.

During the pandemic, the SEO ran a virtual Equity Open House with various booths students could visit.

The event was designed to be nonsynchronous and have a distributed design for the events.

“We also felt that it allowed students to navigate the offices on their own terms rather than visiting several booths in one space. For some students, this ‘open house’ style event can be

Many students from equity-deserving communities were involved in planning and execution of the Doors Open booth and programming across campus.

“There are a wide range of volunteer and work opportunities for students, including equity-deserving students specifically, across campus,” McKenna said.

McKenna added there are many opportunities for students to get involved with equity work and organizations on campus. Students interested in employment opportunities can view them on MyCareer or visit a given organization’s site directly.

“Offices including the Yellow House, Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, and the Queen’s University International Centre, for example, all offer student

positions both in the summer and throughout the academic year,” McKenna added.

For students who couldn’t attend the open house, McKenna said there are many university and student-run events and initiatives for equity-deserving students every week.

She said students can visit the particular office of interest any time during the week and learn about services and events for the remainder of the year, or by visiting the EDII Student Events Calendar and filtering results by demographic.

Event allows students to explore at their own pace

Uroosa Imtiaz Contributor

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Skylar Soroka Assistant News Editor

Oct. 1 marked the start of Canada’s 16th Islamic History Month.

Taking place over October each year, this month creates the opportunity not only for Muslim students and faculty, but non-Muslim students, to learn about Islamic culture and support systems on campus.

Aumama Al-Naib, ConEd ’26, graphic design coordinator for Queen’s University Muslim Student Organization (QUMSA), spoke to The Journal about the upcoming month.

Al-Naib explained Islamic History Month is about “appreciating the old, but also the new.”

“It’s about valuing the contributions of people like Ibn al-Haytham, the father of optics, and Mariam al-Astrulabi, a brilliant inventor, who marked their names in history. It’s about recognizing the great roles Muslims have in societies today. It’s about standing closer together as a society that respects everyone,” Al-Naib said.

Al-Naib encouraged everyone to explore the past and look at the beautiful gardens of the golden age of Islam by consuming Muslim content, like the mini-film, 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets.

“I encourage you to get involved with QUMSA in the present and stand with us as we look towards the future together.”

Professor Adnan Husain, director of the School of Religion and Muslim Societies Global Perspectives Project (MSGP), and Mona Rahman, research awards officer, added their insight about what Islamic students and faculty can expect this month.

“The whole point of the month is to learn about the histories of Muslims in Canada,” Rahman said in an interview with The Journal.

“People typically think of Muslims being a new group in Canada, but we’ve been here for quite some time. The oldest recorded Muslim was here in the 1890s.”

Muslims are an integral part of the

Islamic history month takes off at Queen’s

Canadian population, and recognizing they are not a new group is essential to the meaning of the month, Rahman explained.

“This year the [national] theme of the month is Multicultural Flavours of Muslim Cuisine which celebrates the diversity, cultures, and cuisines of the Muslim community and how it’s used in terms of health, wellbeing, and spirituality,” Rahman said.

part of our activities in Islamic History Month by organizing a series of talks, events, cultural events, and so on.”

Husain said it’s important to combat and deal with Islamophobia to counter some of the perceptions, misunderstandings, and hostile representations of Muslim students on campus.

He added there were a series of major incidents of Islamophobic attacks, abuse, and even vandalism of the QUMSA

to try and build in a way that is useful to the curriculum, but also in support in services by making campus more inclusive through genuine education.”

At the start of Islamic History Month, Husain started a new employee resource group called Queen’s University Muslim Inclusion Network (QUMIN)—launched for Muslim faculty and graduate student employees.

“‘Employee’ is a broad category we’re using here and that also is meant to bring people together so that they can feel supported, but also advocate about accommodations that may be needed,” Husain explained.

“There’s really something for everybody, both who want to learn more about the Middle East Islamic world and Muslims, but also for Muslims themselves.”

Husain explained there are several events taking place during this month, run by both the City of Kingston and Queen’s.

“On Oct. 18 we’re going to watch two episodes of the Ms. Marvel series and have a panel discussion with myself and a few other scholars who study religion and popular culture of Muslims in North America,” Husain said.

“We’re going to talk about what this female superhero being an observant Muslim character means and how do we analyze it.”

On Oct. 4 a past Queen’s graduate of cultural studies and one of Husain’s supervisees gave a lecture regarding Islam and anarchism in their new book.

On Oct. 27, Larry Silvers, a medieval Islamic historian and Muslim creative writer is giving a lecture.

Silvers will be discussing her book, The Lover: A Sufi Mystery, and what it means to write historical detective murder mysteries for today’s audience and for contemporary Muslims.

Rahman and Husain further spoke about the MSGP.

“[The] MSGP is an initiative to organize non-curriculum based public programming and education about the Middle East, Islamic world, and Muslim diasporic communities in the west,” Husain said in an interview with The Journal.

“We have always participated as

They took issue with the accessibility

.... Continued from front

Other faculties associations, such as Computing Students Association (COMPSA), took issue with the accessibility of Orientation week for leaders.

All faculty Orientation committees are under the AMS and ORT, which connect the faculties with the University. The leaders of different societies are required to complete training provided by ORT.

Leader training was conducted in the ARC for the thousands of faculty leaders, Jagrit Rai, COMPSA president, said in an interview with The Journal.

Initially, Orientation leaders were told ORT was working to develop plans for those with extenuating circumstances—in the end, accommodations were not feasible.

Hard-to-read slides, poor audio quality, and incorrect captions made it difficult to understand the training, Rai said at Assembly. No asynchronous option was provided, which meant leaders who could not be present had to resign—he said the team was already “stretched thin.”

“We’ve been working with the AMS and with the coordinators to tackle this issue, and they’ve been very supportive in trying

to get to the root cause of these problems,” Rai said.

The AMS and ORT are receptive to feedback and being held accountable as student leaders, Callum Robertson, AMS vice-president (university affairs), said in an email to The Journal.

“Given, the return to an in-person Orientation was always going to present challenges,” he said. “We are glad to receive feedback to improve future Orientation Weeks.”

An Orientation Week Summit will be held at the beginning of November with faculty representatives, Orientation leaders, and other stakeholders to receive recommendations.

The feedback ORT and the AMS have received so far has prompted them to improve the accessibility of events and training, by planning in conjunction with faculty societies.

“A summit will be important to find new ways for our faculty societies to partner with each other and with the AMS, and more importantly, creating a united student voice in regards to what the student body wants for Orientation,” Robertson said.

offices at the JDUC several years ago.

“As part of the response [was] a few of us—myself, my colleague Dr. Ariel Salzmann—thought we should approach the administration about trying to bring more knowledge and understanding through scholarly expertise and public education.”

“We’ve been supported by the University

Rahman and Husain encouraged everybody to connect with MSGP.

“People can get involved, come to these events, and sign up on our mailing list. We also have Facebook, Twitter, and a podcast called The Majlis (available on Apple Music or Spotify),” Husain said.

.... Continued from Page 3

Queen’s community members will be able to weigh their views on the present and future of the university—as Principal and Vice-Chancellor Deane completes his five-year term.

Principal Deane wishes to be considered for reappointment in June 2024, according to a press release from the Queen’s Gazette. He was originally appointed as Queen’s 21st Principal on July 1, 2019.

Prior to his position at Queen’s, Principal Deane spent nine years as President and Vice-Chancellor of McMaster University, and prior to that was Academic Vice-Principal at Queen’s for five years.

A Joint Board and Senate Committee will review the principalship, led by Chancellor

Murray Sinclair and in accordance with the Principalship Review and Search Policy.

The Chancellor, University Secretary, Associate Vice-Principal (Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion), and Associate Vice-Principal (Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation), are all ex officio of the committee, meaning they are non-voting unless the decision results in a tie.

Voting members of the Committee include the trustees—Chair of the Board, the Rector, and four other Trustees—and the Senators.

Queen’s community members will input recommendations through confidential submission. After the Board and Senate committee meets, the Board of Trustees will receive final recommendations in March.

Principal Deane expresses interest in reappointment

‘Muslims are an integral part of the Canadian population’

Several events are taking place on campus this month.

SUPPLIED BY MONA RAHMAN

A critical look into Queen’s dining

Students speak to concerns about Queen’s Hospitality Services, Aramark

Suzy Leinster Features Editor

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, communities have pushed local food sourcing and systems in anticipation for any affairs that may cause another food shortage.

Local food is known to foster sustainable agriculture and bring greater satisfaction to its customers and producers in regards to nutrition and increased economy. Sustainable food is often seen in local food supply systems and short supply chains because it creates a shorter respiration time for food to expire.

This allows the food to be served of a higher quality due to shorter transportation times and helps build a sense of community, especially in a student central region like Kingston. This type of supply chain has also been prioritized by policy makers because it creates a system that is non-reliant on long-haul transportation.

When investigating the significance of local food sourcing, there’s a difference between local food systems and short supply chains. Local food systems speak to regional sourcing, while short supply chains encourage reduced contact with multiple economic developers.

Queen’s Hospitality Services spoke about its contract with its primary food service provider, Aramark Canada, in a statement to The Journal.

“[The contract] demonstrate[s] a commitment to sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through local food sourcing,” Hospitality Services wrote.

Under this contract, a minimum of 30 per cent of food purchases must come from within 500 km of campus, and 66 per cent of food purchases must come from within Canada.

Hospitality Services emphasized regional sourcing in an effort to be sustainable and boost their performance. This benefits students because local food sourcing can promote food safety and create a more

self-sufficient system for domestic product and economy.

During the most recent fiscal year—April 2021 to May 2022—42 per cent of university food purchases was sourced within 500 km, which is a 12 per cent increase from the minimum requirement 67 per cent was sourced within Canada, the University said.

Price changes on the global market can result in price spikes, which creates economic volatility when trying to secure food for a large institution such as Queen’s. Therefore, it’s important to emphasize food sourcing not simply for the sake of affordability in the short-term, but also in the long-term.

Hospitality Services mentioned their desire to increase food sourcing from hyperlocal producers within 100 km of campus. They pointed out the campus apiary near Richardson Stadium and their ability to harvest honey locally as an example of these efforts.

They also highlighted the importance of food rescuing and the reduction of waste in the community. In an effort to mitigate food waste locally they collect, package, and distribute untouched food and give it to Soul Food, PEACH Market, and Lionhearts.

These services are dedicated “to serving a vulnerable and growing population of people experiencing food insecurity,” Hospitality Services said.

Leilani Pearson, ArtSci ’24, spoke to her knowledge of PEACH and her friends’ volunteer experience with them.

PEACH stands for Providing Equal Access, Changing Hunger, and is run under the AMS Food Bank. It works in partnership with Student Affairs to help people with food insecurity on campus.

They list equality, inclusivity, dignity and sustainability as the key values to create an inclusive space on campus.

Pearson said she doesn’t think campus food is overly expensive, but it can remain unaffordable to some students who don’t have a job or need financial assistance.

PEACH works on a sliding scale, with a suggested price list to provide students with healthy food options without making them feel like they’re taking charity from others. On their website, they say the food is “packaged and sold at an accessible cost.”

“We’re heading in the right direction. Especially, if it was food that might end up going to waste anyway,” Pearson said.

She said initiatives like this are areas where on-campus dining can be accessible and affordable, because it can be tricky to budget and “survive each semester.”

Pearson said her favourite place to eat on campus is Common Ground (CoGro) because she enjoys the café environment and tends to study best with food. When school picks up and she isn’t being productive, she’s able to “splurge” five dollars on a coffee.

“But like definitely not an all the time thing,” she added.

The Journal also spoke to Amina Alieyski, Comm ’25, who said her favourite place to eat was CoGro.

She believes places like CoGro and the Tearoom are more appealing to students than the campus Starbucks because they’re run by students, with a greater understanding of student priorities. Both are separate from Hospitality Services; CoGro is run by the AMS, and the Tearoom is run by the Engineering Society (EngSoc).

The Tearoom specifically advertises sustainability, environmental responsibility, and education as its three pillars. Both cafés are located on campus and promote a zero-waste policy that states anything packaged or sold will be eaten or returned to the Earth, garbage free. They also encourage people to bring reusable cups and mugs to reduce the use of plastic cups.

Alieyski emphasized the milk alternatives, vegetarian options, and bagels as key reasons for why she prefers CoGro over the restaurants offered by Hospitality Services.

In an interview with The Journal, Robert Howden, MSc ’24, remarked on his frequent visits to CoGro and its ability to foster a good working environment. He also praised the bagels and how the space “just helps me study.”

Howden touched on his experience with campus dining since the beginning of his undergraduate studies in 2018.

When Howden first ate at a campus dining hall, Sodexo was Queen’s primary food provider. It was officially chosen in 2010, after out-competing three other applicants

Aramark replaced Sodexo in 2020, and has been in charge of dining for a little over two years. The contract with Aramark was a contentious topic due to charges against them concerning food production at private and public correctional facilities in the U.S. Michigan prisons were reportedly serving food infested with rats and maggots, condoning the lack of hygiene and sanitary handling of Aramark food.

On June 1, The Link, Concordia University’s newspaper, published an article titled “Concordia renews contract with notorious prison food provider,” which touched on their concerns with Aramark’s sanitary and hygiene conditions. There were photos of students with moldy bread, uncooked chicken, and hair in their food as examples of poor food quality and unsafe conditions.

The article also cited concerns on the sustainability of Aramark’s food coursing and their choice to pick cheaper low-grade products.

This reputation for unsafe food handling and lack of sustainability does not align with the statement Queen’s and Aramark provided The Journal and puts into the question the quality of the food.

When asked if they enjoyed both the dining hall and restaurants on campus, Howden, Pearson and Alieskyi gave differing opinions.

“A lot of the options can get quite repetitive after a while. Yeah, so just not a lot of variation,” Howden said.

He said Queen’s food options lack cultural diversity and recommended they try to expand towards other meal combinations.

“It’s very much like Western American Canadian style restaurants, which is fine. It’s what I would expect from a Canadian university. In terms of the dining hall experience it’s very much similar.”

“They’re trying to look for the best bang for your buck. And you’re not going to do that if you’re trying to have a super diverse experience.”

including Aramark, Brown’s Fine Foods, and Charwell’s.

PHOTO BY CHLOÉ RAINVILLE

Students cited a lack of variety in Queen’s foods.

AI isn’t an existential threat to human art

Jason Allen, a contestant in a recent digital art competition, sparked controversy by an using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called Midjourney to win. The competition’s rules didn’t explicitly declare AI-generated art ineligible, but that doesn’t mean Allen did the right thing.

Technology and art share a history. Much of human-made art depends on technology as digital art software is growing in popularity thanks to its convenience and sustainability.

We should hesitate to be anti-tech, as technology and art often have a symbiotic relationship. However, using AI to create art to be judged against people-made art is insulting to artists and what art means to people. When it comes to art, Allen’s attitude is dismissive of its value and of those who have honed their skills and talents to create it.

AI-generated art is interesting and valuable as a technology, but its value is different from art created by people. More than aesthetics, the humanity behind art is what makes it valuable.

However, with digital art exploding worldwide, the fine line between “art” and “not art” is blurrier than ever. The descriptive words Allen typed into the software to produce the winning piece are arguably art, as effective word choice is considered an artistic skill in other contexts.

Unlike in some fields, objectivity is impossible when assessing art. The value we place on a piece isn’t always proportional to the effort taken to create it, further complicating the AI question.

There is a place for AI-generated art, but it should remain separate from human art.

As questionable as Allen’s actions are, they forced us to acknowledge how AI is threatening to turn the art world upside down. Rather than outright excluding it from future art competitions, we should consider ways to regulate it as the technology evolves.

Whether what Allen instructed the AI to create is art will depend on who you ask. Either way, our parameters for ‘art’ will have to accommodate AI’s growing prevalence.

A lot of the backlash prompted by Allen’s win stems from our frustration that AI can create art better than a human—at least according to the contest judges.

The last bastion of human supremacy is the idea that computers can’t make art. Now that they’re coming close, we’re uncomfortable.

Art and other highly creative fields had been assumed safe from the AI takeover

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHARINE SUNG

that’s transformed some industries, but that may no longer the case. No one likes feeling useless, and that’s why effective art-generating programs like Midjourney are so disturbing.

The arts are already gravely undervalued in society compared to STEM fields. If AI can produce art that’s cheap, fast, and effective, human artists may soon be forced to compete with AI for jobs.

However, AI doesn’t eliminate the need for artists in society—human creativity and our capacity to translate emotions into art is unique. The whole basis of Midjourney and other AI art-generating systems is preexisting artwork. The AI can’t do what it does without human art.

Regardless of how good AI gets, human art will always exist. We need to approach the use of AI in the art world cautiously and with respect for creative labour.

Pointless stereotypes don’t belong in film

Max, played by Austin Abrams, reflects how religion is wrongfully portrayed in Do Revenge through harmful Jewish stereotypes.

Max wears a Star of David necklace at several points in the movie, and even says the Yiddish word “kvell” in conversation. Yet, his religion isn’t relevant to the plot.

Max is the popular golden boy of high school, acting as a Senior Class President, who is praised by the school as he claims to oppose the patriarchy and support women’s rights. Throughout the film, we learn he comes from an extremely wealthy family and is a greedy, cheating womanizer.

Skylar Soroka

When it comes to content that could offend people with certain religious or ethnocultural identities, directors need to consider whether their choices serve a purpose or just perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

While religious imagery can strengthen a film’s story or message, many directors don’t realize how their thoughtlessness makes their work falls short.

Take the 2020 movie Yes, God, Yes directed by Karen Maine.

According to the IMDb synopsis, this film explores what happens after a civil internet conversation with a stranger turns risqué. Alice, played by Natalia Dyer, is a cross-wearing Catholic teenager battling to control her new sexual urges in the face of everlasting damnation.

Alice learns about herself during her sexual awakening and reflects on how her sexuality fits into her Catholic upbringing.

Maine emphasizes the commitment that many Catholics make to waiting for marriage to have intercourse.

Yes, God, Yes is an example of an appropriate use of religion and religious symbols in film. The use of a cross necklace makes sense and serves a purpose: to respectfully establish Dyer’s character through Alice’s religion.

Do Revenge, a recent Netflix original film, misses the mark.

In the film, directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, high school girls Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke) seek revenge on those who have wronged them. The film’s premise reads like a straightforward, typical high school movie.

There are no religious plot points at all. It’s a standard teen drama, centered on betrayal and retribution, yet its creators chose to unnecessarily insert harmful religious stereotypes.

The depiction of Mendes’ boyfriend

We can’t know if there were malicious, antisemitic undertones involved in the writing and portrayal of Max’s character. Nonetheless, his character needlessly feeds into stereotypes of Jewish people being greedy. His Jewishness in no way serves the story.

This film is a prime example of a director failing to take responsibility for their decisions and make the intentions of their work clear.

Robinson could have saved everyone the trouble and not have made the Star of David part of Max’s wardrobe. It, when combined with his characterization, further exacerbates the criticism Judaism already receives as a religion. We need to hold directors accountable.

Religion is sensitive and should be handled delicately—especially in film.

Skylar is a second-year politics student and one of The Journal’s Assistant News Editors.

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OPINIONS Your Perspective

Big tech corporations have an obligation to help in humanitarian recovery

Talking Heads...

Sam McKnight Contributor

This article discusses the atrocities committed in Residential Schools and may be triggering for some readers. Those seeking support may contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation or Four Directions. For immediate assistance, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-866-925-4419.

When a massacre is over and the guns go quiet, the killers are left with a logistical nightmare of hiding their victims’ remains.

How to deal with the bodies of men with bound hands, mothers with torn skirts and children with cracked skulls. How to hide the victims where they can’t be seen or smelt. Where they can be forgotten, where pesky United Nations forensic investigators will struggle to find them.

The answer repeated throughout history is the ground.

Lucky for efforts to uncover war crimes, the disturbance of soil when digging a mass grave gives us the single biggest bloody fingerprint in forensic science.

Soil strata exist in a careful physical and chemical balance, and disturbances tend to be obvious. However, as any disrupted environment struggles to go back to its former state, nature works hard to remove the open wound.

Soft tissue is consumed by fungi and bacteria, recalcitrant keratin is broken down by specialized enzymes, and over time, even the hard mineral matrix of bones is ground down or dissolved back into the soil. Above

ground, the mound of heaped earth—a tell-tale a sign of displacement—gradually sinks to baseline as vegetation reforms.

These processes leave barely a scar to mark the resting place of hundreds. This critical period, between inhumation and neutralization, represents our best chance of visually identifying the grave.

Powerful private companies have a moral and social responsibility to aid humanitarian causes. Many already do through carefully crafted public relations campaigns that make them look good with minimal effort, but it’s not enough.

Thousands of active artificial satellites in low Earth orbit currently wiz around the planet. As this number only increases every year, so does the equally large number of supposedly inactive satellites. Together, they cover roughly 510 million square km of the Earth.

Satellites tell us where we are in the world and connect us to other people. They transfer our money, beam us our TV, and give us the 14-day weather forecast.

They also photograph everything—sometimes in such detail that you can even observe North Korean guards in an apparently ingenuous game of volleyball.

Whilst the US government is apparently is in possession of spy satellites with a resolution of 0.10-0.05m/pixel—enough to see a post-it note from space—commercial satellites are officially limited to around 0.3m/pixel in applications such as Synthetic Aperture Radar or Google Maps imagery, which is purchased from companies like Maxar and Airbus.

These companies, along with others such as Planet and Capella Space, represent a sizable public resource collective.

They own and operate vast networks or ‘constellations’ of satellites.

Their business model is essentially to sell archived satellite imagery or to allow a client to commandeer a satellite to take fresh images of a specified area. It’s an expensive business whose clientele is comprised of researchers, mining companies, and government agencies.

High-resolution data of the world’s surface is more accessible than ever. But to whom?

Humanitarian missions with little-to-no profit margins are priced out of this data. While, yes, companies like Maxar are there to make a profit, even a tiny fraction of their time and resources could have incalculable effects.

Where government resources are tied up in endless Kafkaesque red tape and security concerns, the efficiency and adaptability of big companies positions them as an incredibly valuable tool.

In 2010, George Clooney and the Enough Project teamed up to create the Sentinel Project to utilize satellite imagery to deter a build-up of tensions along the borders of northern and southern Sudan, and to document crimes against civilians. Now disbanded, the project was one example of how humanitarian missions and private enterprises work together to make a difference.

Careful selection and analysis of imagery could flag suspect areas in Ukraine to assist in the conflict against Russian invaders. By the time the Ukrainians come in postfight, they could be prepared and ready to disinter the remains, performing identification and repatriation back to surviving family whilst collating evidence for the historical record.

In Ethiopia, the government claimed the mass graves it hastily destroyed in April were created by the rebel Tigray People's

Liberation Front group. Locating the areas of soil disturbances and creating a chronology could prove the government complicit.

On Sept. 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Canada soberly reflected on its past.

The day sought to acknowledge the attempted cultural wipeout of Indigenous peoples and examine its enduring legacy on the social fabric and mindset of modern Canada.

The recent discovery of the hundreds to thousands of unmarked graves on previous Residential School grounds was traumatizing. The soil had already reclaimed its balance, and the identities of the children were lost forever.

It doesn’t need to be this way for every individual who dies a tortured death. Too many people around the world lie commingled and undiscovered, their stories untold, resting next to the evidence that could help prosecute their killers.

The search for mass graves represents one of humanity’s great races against time.

A race to find the bodies before they can no longer be identified. A race to find the evidence before it disappears into the soil.

It also goes beyond identifying mass grave sites. Big tech corporations could provide vital aid in the refugee crisis, food shortages, and natural disaster relief. Though many companies already donate, too often is their aid surface-level, tackling current, trendy hot-topic causes that give them maximum positive publicity.

If these companies opened up their resources and listened to humanitarian missions, maybe together we could make a difference. A real, tangible impact.

Sam McKnight is a third-year archaeology student on exchange at Queen’s from Scotland.

Companies have the capacity to bring relief to grieving families

Sam believes in harnessing satellite tech to identify mass grave sites.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

Lie about your reading week plans in 15 seconds

"Going to Alaska to hunt wolverines with my great uncle."

Caroline Abouchar ArtSci '24

"Definitely studying."

Skye De Guzman Nurs '24

Kai Soini & Matthew Ligh

Rob Bogle Nurs '24

Sami Georgiou ArtSci '24

"Get hammered, recover, start studying."

"Go to Hawaii, tan all day, and study for none of the midterms I don't have."

"Studying. Studying."

Three-part concert takes the Mansion by storm

lovers ought to keep an eye out for their next show.

Ending the show with a bang—and confetti, literally—was New Friends.

The London-based indie-pop band made the most of their set time by engaging with the audience and making sure they will be remembered.

They began shooting a video for their unreleased song “Waste my Time,” had beach balls being thrown, and lead singer Stephan Boulineau and guitar/ keyboard player Conrad Galecki made their way into the crowd twice during their set.

Their new single “Doomed” stood out for its ability to get the crowd jumping along with the performers. The crowd clearly fell in love with the show, demanding an encore at the end of their set. New Friends happily complied, singing their first hit and coincidentally first song together, “Purple Candy.”

Stage presence is something the band prides themselves on. In an earlier interview with The Journal, Boulinaeu shouted out a recent show in Peterborough.

New Friends headlines event

Rida Chaudhry Senior Sports Editor

Live performances cultivate a connection between audience and performer like no other. In small venues like The Mansion, there are avenues for communication that create intimacy and personality.

At last Thursday’s show on Sept. 29, The Codas, The Astros, and New Friends performed in a three-part concert well worth the commitment.

The Codas opened the show with their mix of rock and soul sounds, drawing the crowd’s attention with an intimate performance and a comforting energy. Their newest song, “Anomaly,” brought a sultry and sweet sentiment the audience couldn’t resist.

Up next and drastically changing the pace of the night, The Astros brought the

energy in pastel jumpsuits and a bassist with hair for days.

The cosmic rock band had an infectious energy and stage presence that entranced those watching into bobbing their heads to the music. Off the Rails proved to be a fan favourite—their sound is as if the Wallows and the Smiths had an equally quirky offspring.

The four-man Kingston band is releasing a new record next month; live music

“There wasn’t a bunch of people there, a good amount but not as much as other shows,” Boulinaeu said. “We turned it into this big party and every single person in that venue was vibing with us so hard.”

As for what’s next, New Friends are headed to new horizons in New York City.

The Mansion’s live music presence is soaring with concerts almost every weekend. Live music in Kingston is only getting better—it’s worth checking out!

Surrealism walks the runway International Fashion Week pushes boundaries

Rida Chaudhry Senior Sports Editor

From real-life pixelation to the spray-on dress, the international fashion world is undoubtedly embracing the surreal.

Surrealism has closely tied itself to fashion since Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali intertwined the two in the 1920s, an era marked by civil unrest and distrust toward authoritative institutions.

The other-worldly phenomenon erupted as a reactionary response to World War I as surrealists believed rationalist ideologies were guiding European culture and politics into an increasingly militarized state of mind.

The dip into fantasy came in a time when reality was increasingly difficult to stomach. All these years later, it seems the political unrest and anxiety of contemporary society catalyzed by a global pandemic has re-ignited society’s desire to explore the surreal.

Nearly a century later, the design movement that once fostered unmeasurable creativity and innovation was back in full force at this fall’s international fashion weeks.

The traditionally haute-couture House of Schiaparelli toed the line between surrealism and wearability in its first ever ready-to-wear collection.

Knighted the “mother of strange fashion,” the bridge between wearability and the signature of the fashion house is quite large. However, creative director Daniel Roseberry designed a collection that is as beautiful as it is tastefully bizarre.

The collection umbrellaed itself under gold accents, from accessorized facial features to striking silhouettes painted on

the clothing themselves. Roseberry focused on the accentuation of the human body throughout to facilitate fantasy.

Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director, stunned the show’s audience 68 times by sending 68 sets of twins down the runway. The Milan show explored the beauty of twinship in a display that can best be described as dream-like—each piece of the collection looked even more stunning when walking alongside its mirrored pair.

Spanish luxury fashion company Loewe explored the cross between the Metaverse and reality through a surrealist pixelated outfit, fully wearable sweater, and pant combinations that emulated the digital world. The double-takes were well-earned.

The rest of the collection ranged

from flora and fauna to playful proportions.

Hyper baby doll silhouettes and what appeared to be a curved Bristol board under a grey Hanes tee shirt were featured on the runway, the latter proving that there’s such a thing as too much irony when it comes to surrealist design.

Anthurium flowers were scattered across the collection as explorations of nature accompanied that of the Metaverse, leading critics to question the lack of unity. However, it couldn’t be deemed as any more surrealist than the completely paradoxical themes dominating the show.

Meanwhile, GCDS created a SpongeBob collection that somehow lacked camp and came out the other side into surrealism. The effort poured into a profusely ironic yet

beautiful collection that glorifies the famous sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

Perhaps the most infamous look of the week was Bella Hadid walking onto the Coperni finale in nothing but a thong before having her dress sprayed-on.

The designer duo, Arnaud Vaillant and Sebastian Meyer, have previously committed the brand to bridging the gap between scientific innovation and pushing the boundaries of fashion—the result is nothing if not accurate to their mission.

There’s no question fashion has grown tiresome of the real, the ordinary, and the inconsequential. This fall’s international fashion weeks prove it.

Now, we can only wait and see what comes next.

A century later, surrealism reigns again.

GRAPHIC

The Mansion holds live concerts every weekend.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

Stitching together art and grief: A community project to heal and honour

Deborah Young leads initiative to honour residential school victims

Rida Chaudhry Senior Arts Editor

This article discusses the atrocities committed in residential schools and may be triggering for some readers. Those seeking support may contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation or Four Directions. For immediate assistance, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-866-925-4419.

When news broke in mainstream media regarding the discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools last May, Deborah Young was not surprised.

The Cree PhD candidate at Carleton School of Social work is the child of two residential school survivors and related to countless others who endured the system.

The lives lost through the brutality of the system have been memorialized by Indigenous communities for decades—Young had heard the stories of the unmarked graves long before the disturbing findings reached the rest of Canada.

In an interview with The Journal, Young discussed how her grief for the children and their

families motivated her to spearhead a community art project.

“Once I discovered the power of art to engage people in really difficult conversations, I was hooked,” Young said.

Vamps are the tongue of the moccasin shoe, donned by Indigenous peoples for centuries, according to Young. Their decoration is an art form the communities have engaged in long before beads were available to them.

“When settlers came to our country is when glass beads were introduced into our cultures and societies. Prior to that we had our different ways of decorating through berries and porcupine quills,” Young explained.

Inspired by the efforts of a First Nations woman living in Yukon’s call-out for vamps to be collected in honour of the children’s lost lives,

Young made a vamp herself, but held on to it in case a call happened in Ottawa.

“I thought [if that happened] I would submit my vamp there because I really believe that it’s important to have these difficult conversations about residential schools and colonial violence in all cities and towns across Canada.”

Young held her breath, but the call never came.

When Young approached the Director of the School of Social Work to ask if they would accept a donation in the form of an exhibited collection of vamps, the response was one of unwavering support.

Community members across Ottawa, most notably Ottawa Beading Supplies, poured their efforts into encouraging and facilitating conversations and vamp creations for the project.

“When I went in to by the beads

MUSE hosts Tiny Desk concert

[for the project] the staff asked me what I was making,” Young said.

“I explained the project, and the next day I got a phone call from the owner saying they’d like to reimburse me for the amount of money spent in store and donate their time and supplies to the project.”

Carleton’s Indigenous Student Centre, faculty of Architecture, School of Social Work and Ottawa School of Art all lent time, effort, and attentive ears to the project that quickly garnered over 300 vamps to be displayed.

“I may have put the call out but there’s so many people that made it happen and turned it into a reality,” Young said. “For that I am extremely, extremely grateful.”

Young describes herself as someone lacking artistic ability, noting the irony in her leading a community art project.

This had emotions high in the hours leading up to the event.

“A lot of the artists that we had on stage and performing haven’t performed live for a long time, or it was their first time ever performing in front of a live audience,” Warhaft said.

“I just had this like really like warm and fuzzy feeling for all of the artists that finally got to go perform their amazing talents in front of a group of supportive people.”

Seven acts performed throughout the night, each giving off their own unique vibe.

The night began with a solo performance from Adam Ben David that can only be described as some version of intergalactic-Kanye.

Nonetheless, she finds art’s ability to bring people together special.

“What really drove the beginning of the project was dealing with my own sorrow and grief for the children who never came home, their parents and their communities.”

Despite the call being put out in the height of the pandemic, Young and the Indigenous Students Centre at Carleton gathered over 500 attendees at an event for the 2021 Day for National Truth and Reconciliation.

Attendees listened to panelists explain the history of Canada’s settler history while beading and creating together.

“I was very pleased to see a lot of students come in and sit and learn about residential schools,” Young said.

“People are becoming more aware of it, but there’s still a lot of ignorance out there when it comes to awareness. In this space, I find people are more willing to use their ears and listen and engage in conversations they may not otherwise engage in.”

The first installation of the exhibit will be up at the Ottawa School of Art from Nov. 16 to Nov. 30, before moving to the Carleton library in the new year. Eventually, it will find a permanent home on the fifth floor of the School of Social Work’s building, Denton tower.

Team brings NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series to Queen’s

Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

On Oct. 1, MUSE hosted their first ever Tiny Desk Concert at Clark Hall Pub and the turnout was remarkable.

The concert modelled itself after NPR’s famous Tiny Desk series in which musicians hold small

concerts at a desk and record them for release on YouTube and the NPR website.

MUSE hoped to replicate this intimate musical experience on Queen’s campus. With almost 20 artists set to perform, about 130 students bought tickets to the unique event—the first to held at Clark Hall in over three years, due to pandemic restrictions.

MUSE head of Music Pasia Warhaft, Comm ’23, lead the planning for this event and also performed at the show.

“My role this year was kind of going beyond articles and starting

to plan events and bigger initiatives for the music team,” Warhaft said in an interview with The Journal.

They started planning in early September, with members all across MUSE’s sectors stepping up to contribute. The music team planned, scouted, and performed while the creative team were on décor and the tiny desk itself. The marketing team took to socials to get the word out.

According to Warhaft, once word got out to the Queen’s music community there was quick interest.

Next, Warhaft followed with a solo of her own before being joined by a small band. The energy she brought to the stage invited audience members to get up and dance with the performers.

Clovehitch and CloseKnit were up next. Their set included three alternative songs that took influence from folk, R&B, bedroom pop, and hyper-pop.

Kyra Johnson played next, her angelic voice filling the pub as the audience couldn’t help but be captivated by her performance.

Foster and James followed and had no problem holding the audience’s attention. After them, Kings of Queen’s

matched the vibe and kept things going.

However, when Bike Stu got on stage, the whole vibe changed: things became less intimate and soft, turning into more of a mosh.

Bike Stu spilled beer on the tiny desk, brought unique energy, and created a club-like atmosphere. Still, they maintained the integrity of a Tiny Desk Concert. It was an energetic and meaningful experience—despite their songs about Aberdeen and walks of shame.

By the end of the night, people filed out of Clark Hall Pub excited by the music culture Queen’s has to offer and the unique event used to showcase it.

“People were buzzing afterwards; it was amazing,” Warhaft said.

It’s important to Warhaft that students know there are creative and welcoming spaces for students who want to let that side of themselves out.

“When I first came to Queen’s, especially being in Commerce, I felt disconnected from my creative side,” Warhaft said.

“In the past two years, being part of MUSE especially has helped me find a creative outlet and ways to foster a creative community within Queen’s which has been really special to me.”

SUPPLIED BY DEBORAH YOUNG

Art’s power to heal and connect across communities is immeasurable.

MUSE’s event was complete with its very own Tiny Desk.

PHOTO BY RIDA CHAUDHRY

York struggled to advance the ball.

Queen’s offense continues ‘freezing defenses’

Gaels maul Lions without their starting quarterback Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

On Saturday, Queen’s Football met York at Richardson Stadium where tons of students and alumni watched the Gaels bring in another victory.

Queen’s beat York 61-2 without their starting quarterback James Keenan, who was out with an injury sustained against Guelph last week. Alex Vreeken stepped up for his first ever start.

“I think at times when you have a player, like a healthy player like James, go down people can falter. But I think it kind of shows the brotherhood of our team that we kind of just all embrace each other,” Vreeken said in an interview with The Journal

Ever since Keenan got hurt, the whole team took on this mindset.

“Against Guelph when James went down, I was a little like, okay here we go, and immediately guys like Richard, guys like Walt, immediately just came over and were like with me from the start,” Vreeken said.

“[They were] in my ear just giving me advice and calming me down so that was really good […] This whole week I’ve just felt like kind of loved by the team.”

Announced by the Queen’s Bands and the spirit squads, Queen’s entered the

stadium ready to see what this quarterback could do. The game started slowly with Queen’s conceding a safety to York for the

Vreeken finding Richard Burton in the endzone.

After the Gaels recovered from the slow start, their receiving corps

first start, he did a tremendous job.”

In the second half, Queen’s continued to put up points. They started off the third quarter

interview with The Journal.

In the fourth, Queen’s took advantage of their lead and put in rookie quarterback Russell Weir to

feeling really good,” Soles said in an

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

PHOTO BY ERIK MAGNUSSON

Queen’s is preparing for the season

Women’s Volleyball hosts at the ARC

Gael’s went 2-1 at the Queen’s Invitational Volleyball Tournament Lilly Coote Assistant Sports Editor

Queen’s Women’s Volleyball hosted McGill, Nipissing, and Toronto-Metropolitan University this weekend at the ARC for the Queen’s Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The Gaels finished with an overall score of 2-1 and are heading to a volleyball showcase later this month in Langley, BC.

In the first exhibition game on Friday, Sept. 30, the Queen’s Gaels defeated the McGill Martlets with a final score of 4-0.

The Gaels won the first set 25-16, the second set 25-12, the third set 25-21, and the fourth set 25-21. Shea Baker, a setter, had 22 assists during the game, leading the Gaels to a victory.

The Gaels scored a total of 51 kills during the match, doubling that of McGill’s. One standout player, Hannah Duchesneau, had an impressive 15 kills of her own. The match was tight throughout, but the Martlets struggled to match the Gaels intensity.

Duchesneau was a key player for the Gaels last season. In 2021, she played with Team Canada in the Pan Am Cup tournament. She’s an outside player; Head Coach Ryan Ratushniak has said top-tier performances from this crucial position will make the Gaels successful.

“The outside position is going to be the strength of our team,” Ratushniak said in a press release. “We have a lot of strong outside hitters and a lot of depth in that position, which is nice.”

On Saturday, the tournament’s second day, the Gaels challenged the Nipissing Lakers.

Queen’s barely lost the first two sets—25-22 and 25-23, respectively—then rallied to win their last three sets. They won the third 25-22, the fourth set at 26-24, and fifth 15-12. In the last nine years, the Gaels have only suffered one loss to the Lakers.

The women’s volleyball team worked together to achieve this win. The Lakers had powerful serves, scoring 18 aces on the Gaels, but Queen’s kept fighting.

Queen’s stands out because they aren’t focused on individual success. Instead, the team does an incredible job of working together.

The Gaels had 59 assists, an impressive total that exemplifies the passes they completed throughout the game. On the defensive side, Lauren Mellon, Amanda Siksna, and Mary Stewart were solid in blocking ten Laker’s spikes.

After every point, win or lose, you can find the players on the court high fiving and encouraging each other. These teammates clearly care about each other.

Unfortunately, the final exhibition game was unsuccessful for the Gaels.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, Toronto Metropolitan beat Queen’s with a final score of 25-21 in each set.

Although the Gaels put up a good fight, Toronto scored more kills and digs. The Rams maintained tenacious consistence during each set.

Even though this loss was not what the Gaels were hoping for, Ratushniak considers each defeat as a learning opportunity.

“Every time we run onto the court, we have the opportunity to get better. That’s what we’re trying to do,” he said in a press release.

In 2017, Ryan Ratushniak became the Head Coach of the Women’s Volleyball team.

He has an impressive resume, including a five-year playing career at the University of Manitoba and an assistant coaching role for the Canadian women’s and men’s national volleyball teams.

After going 2-1 this weekend, the Gaels have an overall record of 5-4 this season.

Their next games will be in Langley, BC on Oct. 15 where they will challenge the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, the Mount Royal Cougars, and Trinity Western.

Sports in brief

A rundown of how Queen’s fared last weekend

Sarah Maat Senior Sports Editor

Varsity Sports Soccer

Women’s Soccer met the Varsity Blues at the University of Toronto on Saturday. The Gaels defeated the Blues 4-1 and improved their record this season to 5-0-2.

After the game, Seema Sakran sits atop the OUA points table with eight goals and three assists so far this season. Queen’s remains the only undefeated team in the OUA. Their display this past weekend earned them the No. 3 ranked spot in the U Sports Top Ten.

Men’s Soccer took a loss against the University of Toronto. The Varsity Blues beat them 3-0 even though the Gaels had 12 more shots on net. Queen’s will return to Toronto next weekend to play Toronto Metropolitan University.

Rugby Women’s Rugby continued their slaughter of OUA teams with a 45-18 win over Guelph. Despite this being their closest game yet, Queen’s remains the only undefeated team in the OUA and the top ranked team in the country.

Men’s Rugby is 3-0 after last weekend’s win over MacMaster. The Gaels came out strong and put up 80 points to the Marauders’ seven. They currently lead the OUA standings.

Rowing

Queen’s rowing competed this weekend at the Head of the Trent regatta.

Queen’s finished first in the Men’s Single, Men’s Double, Men’s Lightweight Double, Men’s Four, Women’s Double, Women’s University Four, and Women’s Eight. Queen’s also earned two silvers and a bronze medal finish.

Cross Country

Both the men’s and women’s teams competed in the Capital XC Challenge in Ottawa this weekend.

The women’s team finished first overall and blew the other teams out of the water. They had a 31-point lead on McGill who finished second, and a 41-point lead on uOttawa who finished third. The men’s team placed second overall, just one point behind top finisher McGill.

Varsity Clubs

Field Hockey Queen’s fell to York twice this weekend, once at home and once away. They lost the

first game 3-0, then were defeated 6-0 on the road.

Lacrosse

Men’s Lacrosse lost their first game of the weekend to McGill 12-5 on Friday. However, they played again on Sunday in North Bay against Nipissing and secured a 11-6 win.

Sailing Queen’s competed in Toronto on Saturday at the National Yacht club in the University of Toronto Invitational Regatta. After the first day of racing, Queen’s was in second place, where they ultimately finished at the end of the tournament.

Ultimate Women’s Ultimate finished the Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships (CEUUC) with four wins and two losses. Unfortunately, they were unable to win a bid to Nationals at this tournament.

Men’s Ultimate secured their second tournament win of the season this weekend at CEUUC after dominating Western, Algonquin, uOttawa, and Waterloo. They look set to compete at the National Championships on Oct. 15 to 16.

Fastpitch Queen’s earned two victories this weekend in their doubleheader against uOttawa. They won the first game 17-10 and the second 15-14.

The Gaels were supposed to play another doubleheader against Carleton, but the Ravens forfeited, adding two more wins to Queen’s record.

Baseball Queen’s Baseball played two doubleheaders this weekend.

The first was against the McGill Redbirds. In this matchup, the Gaels beat the Redbirds in the first game, but McGill bounced back to win the second. Their second matchup against the Concordia Stingers also ended with each team winning a game.

Water Polo

Men’s Water Polo went 4-0 this weekend. They played both the Mustangs and the Marauders from the OUA division, as well as two American teams from Cleveland and Annapolis.

Women’s Water Polo also played four games this weekend. They fell to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, but recovered with a win over McMaster on Sunday. They lost their other two games.

PHOTO BY ERIK MAGNUSSON

Gaels take to the pitch, water, field, and diamond.

Queen’s got spirit

tremendous amount of school pride.

“Cheer is something I didn’t know existed for guys when I came to university,” Dallas said in an interview with The Journal “I joined the team, and it ended up being a really positive environment. Everyone is always excited to be here.”

Queen’s Pom, meanwhile, is a rec club devoted to cheering on various Queen’s teams.

The team has performed at the rugby championship and varsity basketball games. Most recently, they performed at the TriColour Classic Basketball game.

Like the cheer team, the Pom Squad also competes in Canadian Cheer competitions during the winter and spring.

“We love supporting the Gaels, and being a part of the Kingston community,” Megan Parson, ConEd ’25, said in an interview with The Journal

The first requires participants to perform a routine to the traditional song “Old Queen’s Sweater.” The second portion is a personal interview—ultimately, the team looks to recruit members based on their personalities.

“We interview you for your energy,” Captain Devon Sweeney, ArtSci ’23, said in an interview with The Journal. “We just want to see if you’re really easy to work with, someone who supports other people on the team, and if you have a good spirit.”

This extra step in the recruitment process helps cultivate an environment of positivity and support within the team, which is especially important for when the Gaels aren’t playing their best.

What’s it like on the Gael cheer teams?

Lilly Coote Assistant Sports Editor

If you’ve attended a football game this season, you’ve seen all three of the Gaels spirit squads cheering on the sidelines.

Queen’s has a Varsity Cheer Squad, the Pom Squad, and the Queen’s Band Cheer. Although these groups have the same goal of promoting school spirit and cheering on the Gaels, some differences distinguish them from each other.

During the football games, you can find the Cheer Squad

on the field doing various stunt routines and cheers in front of the student section.

After doing back handsprings to celebrate a touchdown, they’ll line up and sing the “Oil Thigh” with the students in the stands. Then, after seeing the updated scoreboard, they will get down and do one pushup for every point the Gaels have scored. Afterward, with their faces glowing red from sweat and fatigue, they shout, “and more and more and more!” encouraging the Gaels to score again.

Michelle Marquez, ArtSci ’23, and Spencer Dallas, Computing ’23, are the Queen’s Varsity Cheer team captains. Their team cheers at the home football games, but also participates in competitions against other universities on national

and provincial levels throughout the year.

Queen’s success this season has meant a tiring bunch of home games for the Varsity Cheer Squad. Although the pushups and crazy stunt routines can be exhausting, Co-Captain Marquez told The Journal the stadium’s atmosphere gives the team energy.

“The crowd is generally what keeps us going. We want to keep them entertained.”

Auditions for the varsity cheer squad are held in the fall, and the team practices three times a week throughout the school year.

Both captains described how the team feels like a family; they talked about how being a part of a spirit squad gives them a

The team is well known for their halftime dance routine, which they perform at home football games. The captains said it took about a week to master the performance, as the addition of new members necessitated quite a few adjustments.

During home football games, the Pom Squad performs at halftime but stays on the field while the game is happening. The Cheer Squad performs throughout the entire game and does a showcase after the first and third quarters.

Queen’s has one more spirit squad on its roster: Queen’s Bands Cheer.

Where the Pom and Varsity Cheer squads can be found on the sidelines, the Queen’s Band Cheer squad is found in the stands. They stand in front of their bandmates and cheer along while the instruments behind them play.

Their audition process is broken down into two segments.

“No matter how the game is going, we’re cheerleaders so we stick with our team no matter what,” Sweeney said. “We believe in them no matter what. At the end of the day, win or lose, we are proud of them no matter what.”

Sweeney said the band plays an essential role in keeping the crowd, and the players hyped up throughout the game. Football Head Coach Steve Snyder agreed.

“The band is the heartbeat [of the game]. We’re just really glad to have you guys back and we can feel that in the energy,” he said in a press release.

Although each spirit squad has its differences, the three teams contribute to the electric atmosphere that exists in Richardson Stadium on game day. All three of these squads build school spirit and help continue long-standing traditions.

“Come to the games!” Sweeney said. “The games were such a big deal; my mom went to Queen’s back in like the 80s and the football games were where it was at. Just go to the game; it’s good spirit!”

Canada’s soccer skills better make up for their fashion

Canada is the only World Cup qualifier without a new kit

Dharmayu Desai Production Manager

Canada qualified for the first time in 36 years, but might be the only country without fresh uniforms for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In 2018, Canada Soccer cut ties with Umbro as their kit supplier and signed a deal with Nike. Since then, it’s been downhill.

Nike released their first Canadian kits in 2019 for the men’s and women’s teams, both of which were quite similar and based on a template design. Template designs are jerseys designed based on pre-existing base models—Nike simply slapped the colour red and the Canada logo onto one of their soccer training shirts and doubled the price from $50 to $100.

In 2021, they released another template-based design for the men’s team heading into the World Cup Qualifiers. Meanwhile, the women received a unique update with a modern maple leaf design for their latest jerseys.

Historically, Canada’s women’s

team has performed significantly better than the men, consistently ranking in the top 10 for the past five years while their counterparts have never broken into the top 30.

From 2018 when John Herdman took over as the manager of the Canadian men’s national team to February 2022, the men’s Canadian soccer team jumped from 94th to 33rd in the world. This jump in ranking was the culmination of their World Cup qualifying campaign and John Herdman taking over as manager of the team.

However, this leap, along with Canada’s second ever World Cup qualification, apparently did not warrant a new kit design.

Not only is Canada the only country without a unique design from Nike for the World Cup, it might be the only one with absurd pricing.

For reference, the template shirt that the Canadian kit is based on costs about $50 while the prices at Canada’s official store start at roughly $125 and range up to $250 depending on if fans want their favourite player’s name and number on the shirt.

Fans were excited to see Canada beat all odds and qualify

for the World Cup,, but the lack of new jerseys combined with price gouging and a lack of stock is massively disappointing for Canadian soccer fans.

The lack of effort from Nike and Canada Soccer is evident and players on the team are also not impressed. Canadian striker Jonathan David, covered the Nike logo in protest after scoring in a friendly match against Austria.

Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe voiced a similar sentiment to The Athletic, “I just feel like every team should get a new kit for the World Cup because it’s a symbolic event,” he said. “I don’t hate it, but I would have liked to have gotten a new kit, just because it’s something to cherish.”

Canada soccer general secretary, Earl Cochrane, also shared important insight regarding new jerseys with The Athletic.

“The requirement to make those types of changes is a multiyear process,” he said.

Despite all the practical timelines, design procedures, and marketing Nike may have to go through, this oversight is still difficult to accept.

Nike should be able to expedite the process for such a huge tournament on a global scale. The lack of creativity in the men’s kits blunts their rapid ascent to the world stage.

This oversight is disrespectful to our ascending squads.

GRAPHIC BY DHARMAYU DESAI

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

LIFESTYLE

The future is friendlier than you think

Vonara Kalahe Pathirana Contributor

Wandering the unknown has always been an intimidating, frightening concept. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life when I was in grade 12—my whole ten-year plan laid out in a binder. Life seemed so easy, and success was in my reach. What they don’t teach you in school is that to fail is to succeed.

Two months ago, I threw that entire career path out the window because I knew it wasn’t what I was passionate about. I want to help people, but after three years of undergrad, I learned there are a thousand careers out there that yield similar fulfillment.

When I first discarded my original plan, I felt lost, but more than that, I felt embarrassed. I felt like I had let down those who thought I was smart enough to succeed. I was shy at first, but eventually I opened up to

friends, teachers, neighbours, and even strangers, only to find almost all of us don’t know what we’re doing yet, and I wasn’t alone.

It’s okay to not have all the answers at age 18 or 22—or any age, really.

For those of you who are uncertain about what your future holds, I find it helps to think about what fulfills you and in what field you want to seek that fulfillment.

For example, if you love helping people but you also have a passion for graphic design or marketing, you could create graphics for companies that help people, so you help them reach a bigger audience with graphics that are more accessible.

If you value education and have a passion for rebuilding the education system, you could work for a faculty at Queen’s so you can build new programs,

courses, initiatives or improve preexisting ones.

I recommend having conversations with people in those positions or even interning there if possible, so you have a deeper understanding of what those jobs entail.

You could also consider where you may want to live; this could help narrow down the possibilities too.

If you don’t have all the answers, that’s not your fault either. Our education system fails to teach us

and expose us to all the possible career options out there. There are so many people within any given organization that help make the wheels turn and get paid well for doing it.

There should be more resources and networking opportunities so students can learn about new jobs and what they entail, as well as hear more about their stories and how they got to those positions.

Some people spend their whole lives planning to be a lawyer, only to wake up and find

that they have a knack for marketing and suddenly they’re switching careers in their 40s. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s okay to be uncertain about your future. Everyone’s life changes and alters at different time periods; there’s not one set course. Be patient, take your time, and be proud of yourself for where you are in your life now. Trust the process and yourself, and you’ll end up where you need to be.

The future is friendlier than you think.

Six reasons to give thanks this year

A list of things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving

be active outside with family and friends.

4. Guilt-free naps

Let’s face it: for university students naps are inevitable. Nothing feels worse than the feeling of waking up from a nap during a busy school week, knowing you should’ve been productive instead of escaping your stress by diving into your bed.

Not only are Thanksgiving foods a blessing, but so are the leftovers. It’s one thing to have delicious meals cooked for us during our time at home, but it’s another to have good food to bring back with us to Kingston.

Leftovers or less nights to cook for? It all sounds the same to me.

6. A break from school

Hannah Romkema Contributor

With the start of October upon us, we’re nearing the holiday season. This weekend is Thanksgiving, which is a good time for us to reflect on the past year and what we have to be grateful for.

As university students, midterm season can be a very overwhelming time of year, so it’s super important to remind ourselves to take a break and remember there are things to be grateful for. Specifically for students, there are a particular set of blessings that come with this time of year.

Here are what I would consider the top six to be.

1.

the past two years has looked a little bit different due to the pandemic, and the holidays are no exception.

With COVID restrictions, many of us have been unable to have large family gatherings on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this year is different. Being thankful for no restrictions in gathering limits or mask mandates is essential this holiday season.

We can finally get back to celebrating the holidays the way we used to with the people we love—exactly how it should be.

2. Reconnecting with family

While living on our own gives us a sense of individuality, being alone and away from our families for over a month can feel isolating at times. During the holidays, we can

be thankful for the opportunity to spend time with our families again.

Those who live in the area and are headed home should be especially grateful—some students don’t get the opportunity to go home for the holidays.

3. Warmer weather

Typically, when October rolls around, people start to pull out their boots and jackets to compliment the chilly weather.

This year, however, has been surprisingly warm, especially during the afternoons. While that may be attributed to climate change—something we should really be paying more attention to—we can look to the positives and be grateful for the opportunity to spend time outside, go for walks, or

During fall break, however, you can take an afternoon nap with no consequence, no stress, and no obligations. You have the entire week with no work to fully appreciate the superiority of naps.

5. Home-cooked meals & leftovers

Say goodbye to dining hall food or self-prepared student meals, because going home means home cooked meals! There’s absolutely nothing better than being able to go home and eat a delicious meal prepared by someone other than yourself.

Also, typically Thanksgiving dinner consists of many different courses and a delicious dessert, which is not the typical dining experience for university students—especially first years.

Last but not least, with Thanksgiving comes a break from classes. Yes, there will be lots of other work being done, but having a mental and physical break from learning new content is always great. If a full disconnect isn’t for you, you can use the time to catch up on readings and/or assignments.

***

It’s imperative to remember to count our blessings each season of the year, but even more so at Thanksgiving; after all, it’s the season of reflecting on our blessings. If this year has been especially difficult for you and you’re struggling to come up with things to be grateful for, hopefully you can relate to something on this list.

For me, I’m thankful for anyone taking the time to read this article.

It’s okay to be uncertain about your future—everyone is

Plans can change, and that’s okay.

PHOTO BY CURTIS HEINZL

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Costume ideas for the gals since Tik Tok isn’t creative

How to save money and have a stand-out outfit

Maddie Hunt Senior Lifestyle Editor

The pressure is on. Halloween is right around the corner and Tik Tok has said if you don’t have your costume planned out yet, you’re behind.

Halloween is a massive event for university students everywhere—mostly because some girls dress in outfits their parents never would’ve allowed and everyone pretends their no-jacket-outfit is enough to keep them warm a day out from November.

So, if you still haven’t found your costume and you’re sick of seeing TikTok suggest a fairy for the three millionth time, this list is for you.

Sexy simplicity

One of the main struggles in Halloween costume hunting is students don’t want to put in much effort. We want to look our best while doing the bare minimum, which is fair enough.

A firefighter is a perfect costume for simplicity. Ladies, there are fireman plastic hats at the Dollar Store. All you need is a pair of black shorts paired with black or red fishnet leggings (you can grab this

from any party city/Halloween store near you), a black long-sleeve (low cut if you’re trying to catch a cold) and a greenish yellow strapped equipment vest.

Another simple outfit is Cupid. This is a personal favourite of mine—I’ve even done it myself. All you need is a red or white top paired with a red skirt. Or, if you’re okay with freezing, a red dress works great.

Amazon has cute pairs of red heart glasses, or you can draw some red hearts on your cheeks with makeup if you want to save some money.

I recommend investing in a cheap, plastic bow and arrow. With this, you can make a heart out of cardboard and tape it to the end of the arrow. If this is too much effort, no problem—the bow, and arrow aren’t crucial.

However, the wings are essential. Run to your nearest Party City and buy a pair of white wings. Once those are on, your costume is set, and your friends will expect a wing woman all night.

She shoots, She(go) scores.

Brunettes who love childhood nostalgia are going to live for this one: Shego from Kim Possible.

That girl truly had the best villain outfit set ever.

This one is a bit more difficult, but if you can pull it off, then you’ll have the best costume. You can either invest in a full-blown cosplay costume—which no one is going to do but I thought I’d offer it—or you can grab a cheap dark green top and black shorts.

I recommend a short sleeve top so you can wear elbow-length black silk gloves, and pair the shorts with black combat boots. Then, head to the Dollar Store and grab some green ribbon. You can tie that around your legs and/or waist to combat the black and add that pop of colour you need.

Lastly, let your hair down and apply black lipstick to your top lip. You officially have the most unique costume.

Copy + Paste Characters

If you’re really abiding by the bare minimum standard, then

Easy A’s Olive Penderghast is the costume for you. In her iconic walking-down-the-hallway scene, she wears a black, strapless corset top with a red, velvet A sown into the top and black sunglasses.

She looks absolutely bomb, and this costume is recognizable to everyone while being incredibly simple to replicate. It might be too much effort for y’all, but curling your hair is a great option for this costume to really match Olive’s energy.

Jennifer from Jennifer’s Body is a great costume as well. A white top under a pink hearted sweater and dark blue skinny jeans pretty much make up the costume. If you really want to purchase something to match the character better, you can also order her iconic cheerleader costume online.

Barbie is another super simple costume. Similarly to Cupid, throw on a pink top and a white skirt, or vice versa. All you need to do after is print out a Barbie logo and

wear it on your shirt all night. Pair with a very—and I mean very—giddy-go-lucky attitude and you’re Barbie.

And, last but not least, Tinker Bell: a green dress, hair in a high bun, and a pair of wings. It’s really that simple.

Please, don’t

I am begging all the blondes: please do not wear a blue dress and say you’re Margot Robbie from The Wolf of Wall Street. Your blonde hair does not constitute an entire costume. No one knows you’re Margot.

***

Now that I’ve provided various affordable and above-average costume ideas, I’m hoping I don’t see too many playboy bunnies, angels, or devil costumes walking the streets of Kingston. Happy trick or treating!

Three must-see festive episodes for this fall holiday

Halloween and Thanksgiving themed episodes worth the watch

Boy Meets World, season five episode 17: “And Then There Was Shawn”

When I first tried to get through Boy Meets World, I genuinely thought this was the designated fall holiday episode, and if you saw it, you would know why.

I would sing the praises of Gravity Falls up and down until my face turned blue. Any episode fits well in a Halloween setting; even though it’s a kids cartoon, the creators and animation team have never been afraid of hitting the screen with some genuinely horrifying visuals.

Clanny Mugabe Assistant Lifestyle Editor

It’s October, the home of two prominent holidays when people get together and celebrate the good things in life: friends, family, and the things that make us jump out of our skin.

I’ve never really been the biggest fan of October; I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and I haven’t found anything fun to do for Halloween. But, like most people, when the leaves turn brown and start to fall down, I get sucked into the mood, and there’s no denying the enjoyment in all the ways the media likes to celebrate leaving summer behind.

So, here’s a list of a few TV episodes I like to watch to get into the October mood.

Gossip Girl, season three episode 11: “The Treasure of Serena Madre”

As promised, I’m not leaving Thanksgiving behind with this episode list. I’m honouring it by mentioning the funniest episode from the best—while also the worst—show I’ve ever seen: Gossip Girl. If you’re a Gossip Girl fan, then you already know exactly why I chose this episode.

Gossip Girl has its own home-grown Thanksgiving tradition: they take all the drama

that’s been building up throughout the season and lay it all out on the Thanksgiving table for us to feast on.

While nearly every season of Gossip Girl has a Thanksgiving episode, by far my favourite is season three. Accompanied by Jason Derulo’s hit song “Whatcha Say,” we see all the main characters forced together at the dinner table dishing out secret acts and feelings, making for awkward dinner conversation with all families combined.

Gossip Girl, as always, stays true to the oldest Thanksgiving tradition in the book: arguing with your family.

In a show that balances humour and deep topics, this episode hits the comedy genre most of the time. It parodies slasher movies that had come out recently back then, like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who was cast in I Know What You Did Last Summer, also guest stars in this episode, tying the horror movie parody together.

I don’t have much attachment to this show, but this episode stands out for its great gags and fun mystery. Even though it originally aired in February, this horror movie montage is the perfect thing to get into the spooky mood this Halloween.

Gravity Falls, season one episode 12: “Summerween”

The Halloween episode, “Summerween,” is no exception. Even though the show takes place over one summer, the creators found the perfect excuse to craft their own Halloween episode in giving the fictional town of Gravity Falls a second Halloween in the summer. “Summerween” is filled with all the same October antics but modified for the summer season; they have watermelon jack-o-lanterns and their own set of Halloween folklore.

This episode is perfect to get into the Halloween mood while reminiscing about your childhood, because chances are, if you’re like me, watching this show was a huge part of growing up.

These ideas are a step up from the basic playboy bunny costumes.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Boy Meets World, Gravity Falls, and Gossip Girl episodes are essential.

GRAPHIC BY AMNA RAFIQ

Learning to choose self-assurance over self-depriciation

Understanding that being proud of your skills isn’t conceited

Caitlin Elrick Contributor

The unfortunate reality of society today is the most relatable and common mindset is one of self-deprecation and self-loathing.

For as long as I can remember, for many of my peers, having low self-esteem was the norm, and the jokes in which you hated on yourself got the most laughs. It’s the result of consuming years of social media and television ads that constantly give us new things to be insecure about, new trends to keep up with, and new celebrities to emulate.

I’m fortunate enough to have been raised by parents who always told me I could do anything I set my mind to. Not only did they always say it, but their actions always showed it.

“It’s never cocky to believe in yourself to the point where you know you can achieve something.

I was encouraged to step outside my comfort zone whenever possible and to act as if any aspirations of mine were already true.

For example, Queen’s was my dream school and throughout high school I acted like it was already my reality. It was never ‘if I get in,’ but rather ‘when I get in.’ I’m sure this already comes across as

cocky and conceited, but that’s the point I’m trying to make: it’s never cocky to believe in yourself to the point where you know you can achieve something.

I’m not cocky—I’m confident in my own ability.

things we hate about ourselves before we could say five things we love, and that’s not okay.

Since then, I’ve approached everything with the same mindset, even though sometimes it can be more challenging. It’s tough to enter intimidating experiences with such self-assurance.

However, I try to keep in mind that we only get one life to live, so we may as well be loud and proud about ourselves. It’s now or never.

strengths, it leaves room for us to build up the people around us. If our boat is rising, we can lift up the boats of our friends, family, and peers. Cheering others on comes so much more naturally when you’re cheering yourself on, too.

Our society is obsessed with humbling people at every chance it gets, and frankly, I don’t see how that’s beneficial or productive.

None of our greatest achievements as a species have ever been the result of someone who second-guessed everything they did because they were told their loudness was too loud, or that being proud of being good at something was arrogant.

Think about your favourite song: If the artist was so plagued by self-deprecation they couldn’t admit they make good music, then it likely wouldn’t exist.

Or those times when your best friend is saying something negative about themself and you want to scream in their face because, to you, they’re absolutely perfect.

We can think those things about others, so why is it so hard to say them about ourselves?

I can say with almost certainty that most of us could name ten

Praising our achievements is seen as being ‘cocky’ and ‘arrogant.’ People who are able to confidently share how good they are at something or how much they know about something are deemed conceited and narcissistic. This doesn’t make any sense.

Why are we engaging in a culture that critiques us for being proud of our own abilities?

It took me about sixteen years to recognize the way self-assurance can change your perspective. I have always been an anxious person and still am to this day, but I realized in high school that, somehow, my anxiousness never seemed to bleed into the things I knew I was objectively good at or knew a lot about. I never made my anxiousness go away by being negative toward myself or hiding the things I thought were my strengths. In fact, it only made it worse.

I began to understand how powerful your mindset is at changing outcomes. When my mindset changed, I succeeded wherever I was confident enough to be ‘arrogant.’

I think our society would benefit from encouraging people to be louder about what they know and who they are instead of silencing them for their accomplishments.

Why should you be silent about something at which you’re brilliant? Why wouldn’t you show off something at which you’re skilled? You don’t have to make a self-deprecating joke about your outfit if you know it’s cute just so you don’t seem ‘conceited’—whatever that even means.

Obviously, we all have days when we’re feeling a bit down on ourselves, but I can’t stress enough how powerful it is to consistently believe in yourself and to be your own number-one fan.

We are all human beings with inherent worth who deserve to feel happy and proud of ourselves out loud.

Gaining confidence through recognizing your self-worth and strengths also forces you to only accept the best from others. Since adopting this mindset, I’ve been able to be a lot more selective of what kind of energy and behaviour I tolerate from those around me, because I’ve internalized my own value.

As my mom has always said to me, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

If we allow ourselves to adopt a growth mindset and vocalize our

I know it goes against everything society’s taught us, but I challenge you to make a list of ten things you genuinely love about yourself and ten things you’re good at. They may be the smallest things, but I promise, if you internalize that list, it will change your perspective on everything.

Caitlin believes we should be confident in our accomplishments.

SUPPLIED BY CAITLIN ELRICK

“None of our greatest achievements as a species have ever been the result of someone who second-guessed everything they did [...]

“Why are we engaging in a culture that critiques us for being proud of our own abilities?

“We are all human beings with inherent worth who deserve to feel happy and proud of ourselves out loud.

“Gaining confidence through recognizing your self-worth and strengths also forces you to only accept the best from others.