The Queen's Journal, Issue 37

Page 1

Features

dialogue

Arts

Sports

Postscript

Alumnus wins literary prize for book about his time at a chimpanzee sanctuary. Page 3

Weighing in on Kony 2012 criticism. Page 13

Second installment of the Charlie Brown theatre series. Page 14

A sit-down with veteran women’s basketball coach Dave Wilson. Page 21

Read the second place winner of Postscript’s short fiction contest. Page 27

F r i d ay , M a r c h 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 — I s s u e 3 7

j the ournal Queen’s University — Since 1873

Activism

Homeless for five days Group of Law students live outside to raise money for Kingston Youth Shelter with a goal of $7,000

Thirteen Law students camp out on campus to bring awareness to youth homelessness in Kingston. All proceeds will be going to the Kingston Youth Shelter.

B y K ate S hao Contributor Once youths turn 16, the government of Canada is no longer obliged to provide them with financial aid. It’s one reason why 13 Queen’s law students have chosen to live outside without

any resources to take part in the national campaign dubbed 5 Days for the Homeless. Twenty-four other Canadian universities are participating, including the University of Alberta and the University of Guelph. Since Sunday, students have camped outside of Stauffer Library,

living solely off of food donations. Participants hope the event will raise awareness about youth homelessness in Kingston. So far, the group has raised $2,700, with a goal of reaching $7,000 for the Kingston Youth Shelter. This money will go towards renovating bedrooms

and bathrooms. Jason Beaubiah, the director of the shelter, said the major challenge to combating youth homelessness in Kingston is the lack of affordable housing. There are no other youth shelters in Kingston, which means the shelter is busy, he said.

Photo By Justin Chin

“You have to go east of Ottawa to find one, or west to Whitby,” he said. The shelter provides emergency housing for youth aged 16 to 24, and offers support, counseling, life training skills and food in a safe environment. See Youth on page 11

Film

Renowned filmmaker visits lecture

David Cronenberg makes surprise appearance at behest of long-time friend and Queen’s professor B y J essica F ishbein Postscript Editor

illustrate things that are relevant to his courses … so he thought it would be interesting to have Sam Edwards had no idea that me interact with students directly,” when he went to class on Tuesday the Canadian director, screenwriter night, legendary director David and actor said. “I loved the idea Cronenberg would show up. of it.” “I was shaking in my chair,” Some of Cronenberg’s films Edwards, ArtSci ’12 said. “It’s include The Fly, The History of hard to think of a name that’d be Violence and most recently, A more interesting or compelling to Dangerous Method. hear speak.” Cronenberg’s visit was kept a David Cronenberg said his secret from students. longtime friend, Professor Donato “I think Donato was worried Santeramo, has been asking him to if word got out, there’d be a lot visit Queen’s for years. Santeramo of people coming to his class that teaches the Interdisciplinary weren’t his students,” he said. Studies department course 210, Art Cronenberg’s surprise and Society, along with Professor visit to the class came after a Gary Kibbins. recent screening of Naked “He often uses my films to Lunch — an early directorial effort

that catapulted him into stardom more than 20 years ago. The film raises questions about the relationship between art and

society, a topic featured heavily in Cronenberg’s hour-long question and answer session with students. Cronenberg received an English

degree from the University of Toronto in 1967. He said at the time, few educational courses in See Sequel on page 10

Activism

History reworks course value B y S avoula S tylianou Assistant News Editor The history department will implement curriculum changes this fall that will increase the weighting of upper-level history seminar classes. Half-year courses that are currently worth 3.0 units will

be worth 4.5 units and full-year courses that are currently worth 6.0 units will be worth 9.0 units. Undergraduate chair of the history department Rebecca Manley said this curriculum change came about after the Faculty of Arts and Science changed how course weighting was determined in September 2011.

“It used to be determined by contact hours and then they changed the way courses are weighted to reflect not only contact hours, but rather the work that students need to put into a class,” Manley said. “Contact hours is how many hours you sit in your class. Learning hours is based partly See No changes on page 11


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Friday, March 16, 2012

AWAreness

Islam Awareness Week aims to inform Queen’s professor says even educated people can be ignorant about Islam B y r osie h ales Staff Writer

are Muslim. Islam Awareness Week, organized by the Queen’s There’s a lack of Islamic studies on University Muslim Students Canadian campuses, according to a Association (QUMSA), is a series of displays and guest lectures Queen’s professor. Mehmet Karabela, a religious on campus. The theme for this year’s studies adjunct professor, said that while courses on Buddhism, four-day event, which launched on Christianity and Judaism are Wednesday, is love. Karabela said he hears stories popular on university campuses, of Islamaphobia which stem Islamic courses are less so. “When I first came to Canada in from ignorance. “Even some educated people are 2000, a friend at a school in New Brunswick mentioned that there ignorant,” Karabela said. “In the were no courses on Islam at that public context people are more university,” said Karabela, who is respectful. When it comes to their private life, their ideas are originally from Turkey. The annual four-day Islam more honest and about what they Awareness Week aims to educate really think.” Queen’s students about the religion. According to a Jan. 2011, article Students who don’t in the Daily Mail, approximately know about Islam will 700,000 people in Canada

INSIDE

hear about it from the movies, and there are misunderstandings that come from these views.

Pride WeeK Event challenges sexuality- and gender-based issues. Page 6

goodes BeHiNd Goodes Hall construction continues on after delay. Page 6

drug sMart PHarMacY oPeNs On-campus pharmacy opens today in the Queen’s Centre. Page 7

aNti-aBortioN oN caMPus Demonstration outside Stauffer on personal experiences with abortion. Page 7

slutWalK

— Amr Ewais, president of Queen’s University Muslim Students Association Queen’s currently offers a religious studies course with an introduction to Islam. There are also a limited number of special seminars. “These courses are very popular with students and we think that accurate scholarly knowledge about Islam is crucial in today’s world,” said Pamela Dickey, head of religious studies, adding that there are currently not enough funds to expand these offerings. In 2008, the musalla prayer room located in JDUC was broken into and vandalized and money in the room’s donation box was stolen. Islamophobia remains a problem on campus, QUMSA chair Amr Ewais said. The lectures arranged by QUMSA, which has 200 members, hope to create a forum for

Mohaimen Hyder, ArtSci ‘15, stands in front of one of the displays set up by the Queen’s University Muslim Student Association in the JDUC. The display discusses the history of Islam.

discussion, Ewais, PhD ’13, said. “Students who don’t know about Islam will hear about it from the movies, and there are misunderstandings that come from these views,” Ewais said. “We have to create a dialogue with the students and tell them that we are just normal people,” Ewais said. “We try to say that ‘we are Muslims, we are your friends and neighbours.” QUMSA also runs events and lectures throughout the year as a way to educate and combat prejudice, Ewais said. He added that even though he has never experienced any prejudice first-hand, starting to raise awareness and educate is now a precaution. “We don’t want to wait until something has happened to every one of us,” he said. “We can start now and try to eliminate it.”

Global protest comes to Kingston for the first time. Page 8

caMPus cliNic FuNdiNg New policy paper released on student health clinics. Page 9

BleNded learNiNg

For news on the go follow @QJnews on Twitter

New program reportedly brings in revenue for the Faculty. Page 10

c o r r e c t i o N More than 30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA which was formed in 1987. Incorrect information appeared in the March 9 issue of the Journal. The Journal regrets the errors.

Photo By AsAd Chishti


Friday, March 16, 2012

queensjournal.ca

Feature Andrew Westoll spent 10 weeks as a caregiver at Fauna Sanctuary in Quebec, feeding and interacting with rescued chimpanzees like Rachel (left).

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literature

Grad pens award-winning book Andrew Westoll received this year’s Charles Taylor Prize for his book on a chimpanzee sanctuary in Quebec B y J anina E nrile Assistant Features Editor Andrew Westoll still dreams about the chimpanzees. In 2009, the Queen’s alumnus spent 10 weeks at Fauna Foundation, a chimpanzee sanctuary located just south of Montreal. His time with the apes inspired him to pen this year’s Charles Taylor Prizewinner, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary. Westoll has yet to return to Fauna since his stint volunteering at the sanctuary for chimps rescued from laboratories and zoos. It currently houses 12 chimpanzees. “It’s been so long that I’m not sure who wants me to go back there more — is it for the chimps or just for me so I could see my old friends?” he said. “Part of the book is thinking why we all want to have these experiences with great apes, so I had to be really honest with myself and realize it’s probably just me who wants me to go back.” The award was founded by Noreen Taylor in 2000, in honour of her late husband, Canadian author and journalist Charles Taylor. The winner receives $25,000. Westoll’s win was announced last week, almost three years after he left the chimps of Fauna. His book details his time as the chimps’ caregiver and the relationships he formed with them. “They all have really distinct personalities and we’ve known this for a long time, ever since Jane Goodall started working with chimps,” Westoll, ArtSci ’00, said. Goodall, who visited Fauna earlier this year, is a famed primatologist who began working with chimpanzees in the 1960s. Her work was the first to reveal the chimps’ use of tools as well as their distinct personalities. “I knew this intellectually but I didn’t know it in my gut until I experienced it at Fauna,” Westoll said. “They are as different from each other as you and me.” As an observer, Westoll said he had a difficult time documenting the chimps’ experiences. “I was there as their biographer and I was there trying to write a story, but I was experiencing some of the emotional things,” he said. “Witnessing a bunch of unbelievably intelligent, emotional and sensitive creatures in captivity day after day can also be emotionally wearing.

“You can just imagine what their Guianan rainforest. life would have been like if they “When I was in Suriname, I fell had been born in the wild.” out of love with the idea of being a Westoll said one of the scientist,” he said. “I felt like I was chimpanzees, Rachel, had the missing out on a much grander greatest difficulty adjusting to the experience — that’s one way of sanctuary because of her traumatic looking at it. past. She lived in Florida as a “The other way of looking at it pet before being brought to New was that was that I was just too lazy York University’s Laboratory and maybe I was too lazy to be a for Experimental Medicine and good field scientist but just lazy Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). enough to be a good writer.” “When Rachel would have a meltdown [it] would be really I would have a awful to witness,” he said. “The breakthrough with a one that I witnessed most often chimp and one of them was her attacking her own fingers.” would invite me to According to Westoll, Rachel play with them. experienced phantom limb syndrome, a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. — Andrew Westoll, author and ArtSci ’00 Rachel, failing to recognize her own hands, would attack them. “She was screaming when she After receiving his MFA was doing it as if she was being in creative writing from the attacked, because she was attacking University of British Columbia herself,” he said. “It was really in 2004, Westoll returned upsetting to watch it.” to the Guianan rainforest to Despite the emotional toll, work — there he wrote his first Westoll said his time at the sanctuary book, The Riverbones. had its good moments. “After I wrote that book and “I would have a breakthrough it came out … I was looking for with a chimp and one of them another story,” he said, adding that would invite me to play with them, he had set his sights on Fauna. or I would see them getting along While writing, Westoll worked or just relaxing,” he said. as a freelancer. Westoll said he was interested in “I lived below the poverty line animal behaviour from a young age, for many years because I was doing but his passion grew significantly during his time studying biology at Queen’s. “One of the only textbooks when I was at Queen’s that I read The first thing I notice upon cover to cover was the animal walking into the Fauna chimphouse behaviour textbook,” he said. “I is not, as I’d expected, the smell, just loved it because it was filled a brooding stench of compost, with these intimate dramas of these urine, flatulence, and feces that animals — mating strategies and apparently makes some visitors their natural histories.” vomit. And it is not the sweltering Westoll got his start in writing humidity, an absurdity considering with the help of Carolyn Smart, our northern locale. a creative writing professor No, the first thing I notice is the at Queen’s. fear, which runs up my spine like a “Without her encouragement, silverfish as Gloria leads me down I’m not entirely sure I would a dark corridor. It is a familiar have continued on the track of feeling, reminding me how I felt becoming a writer,” he said. “She the first few times I walked alone kind of reached out to me which I in the jungles of Suriname, with think is what a young writer needs only a machete to protect myself more than anything else.” from the menagerie of rainforest After graduation, Westoll put his predators. But this is not Suriname, creative writing on hold. He was and despite the smell and the heat, offered work as a field assistant it is not a place where a bushmaster in Suriname, South America, or a jaguar might roam. So I begin and spent a year observing the to wonder: is this my fear, or is it wild capuchin monkeys of the

something I loved to do,” he said. Westoll wrote an article in Canadian magazine the Walrus about one of Fauna’s chimpanzees — catching the attention of the Fauna Foundation’s founder and director Gloria Grow. “[She] invited me to the sanctuary for 10 weeks to work as a voluntary caregiver and to essentially … tell the story of what they’d been through in the laboratories and [the chimpanzees’] incredible stories of recovery since their rescue,” he said. The sanctuary, opened in 1997, first welcomed 15 chimpanzees. They’d been smuggled out of LEMSIP upon its closing. Chimpanzees had been raised by human surrogate mothers in the laboratory’s nursery until they were 18 months to two years old. Westoll said this is when the scientific experiments would begin. The laboratory experimented on primates by injecting them with lethal human viruses like HIV and hepatitis. Scientists would also test surgical procedures like punch liver biopsies — where a needle is used to remove pieces of liver from the unconscious animal for testing. Westoll said he hopes winning the Charles Taylor Prize will call attention to the chimps and their past in the labs. “[Winning] was an amazing

moment,” he said. “It felt so good as a writer to receive that kind of encouragement, but it also felt good because it means I can talk to a lot more people about the chimps at Fauna now.” Stevie Cameron, a Charles Taylor Prize juror, said Westoll’s book is important because it will help people understand issues of animal cruelty. “I think it’s going to have a big effect,” she said, adding that Westoll’s book stands out among other primatologists’ stories. “This book brings it home,” Cameron, a Canadian author and journalist, said. “It’s about a sanctuary in Quebec — we’re not reading about a place in Africa or New York. “It’s right here.” Cameron was one of three jurors for the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize. They spent weeks reading around 115 books sent in by Canadian publishers or discovered by the jurors themselves. The jurors would convene over conference calls to discuss the nominations. Cameron said she was the first one to read Westoll’s book. “I phoned the others and said ‘You’ve gotta read this,’” she said.

From The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary perhaps someone else’s? As we walk, an eerie sound rises, like something large and hollow being dragged across the floor. Gloria turns to face me. “Rules,” she says. “First: take your jacket off. The bigger you look, the more threatening you are. Second: you’re tall, so I need you to crouch. Third: do not stand too close to me. They don’t interpret it properly. They can’t control it. It’s threatening. Four: respect the red lines on the floor. They’re there for a reason. Inside the red, believe me, they will try to get you.” “What’s that sound?” “The welcoming committee.” Gloria smiles. “They already know you’re here.” We walk on. The dragging grows louder. Then a terrible

boom detonates up ahead. It echoes throughout the building, a crash of something extremely dense slamming into a wall of steel. I stop dead. The crash is followed by eerie silence; I hear birds chirping. But a few seconds later an identical blast goes off, followed by another and another, and I decide no, this fear may have started out as someone else’s but now it’s entirely mine. The building fills with the booms. The cement walls seem to shake with the noise. “Full-moon week,” says Gloria between the blasts. “Everyone’s in such a good mood.” © 2011 by Andrew Westoll, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.


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News

Friday, March 16, 2012


news

Friday, March 16, 2012

CAMPUS CALENDAR Friday, March 16

Wednesday, March 21

The veil in contemporary art — Muslim Societies lecture Dunning Hall, room 12 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Financial Planner Betty-Ann Howard: What does Iceland have that we don’t have? Ban Righ Centre Noon to 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 17 St. Patio Ritual Clark Hall Pub Noon to 6 p.m. Monday, March 19 Krysta Williams: Indigenous-Made Media Dunning Hall, room 11 6:30 to 8 p.m. Free Michelle Berry reading Grad Club 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more information contact smartc@queensu.ca Tuesday, March 20 Workshop: Writing for a Broader Audience Gordon Hall, room 325A 4 to 5:30 p.m. Free Winter-term exchange networking night JDUC 5 to 7 p.m. 2011 Excellence in Research public lectures Chernoff Hall Auditorium 7 to 8 p.m.

Ralph Nader Public Lecture Grant Hall 6:30 to 10 p.m. Chinese film night Kingston Hall, room 200 7:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday, March 22 Speaker’s Corner: Relationships Stauffer Library 2 to 4 p.m. The new job search: to academic and beyond in industry, government and business Gordon Hall, room 325A 4 to 5:30 p.m. Free QUIC English conversation group JDUC 5 to 6:30 p.m. Abel launch party for Volume 1 and 2 130 Johnson St., Wilson Room 6 to 9 p.m. Queen’s Dance Club presents: Just Dance 2012 7 to 10 p.m. Duncan McArthur Auditorium $14 to $20

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Want to be the informant? Email journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Activism

Pride Week targets prejudice Organizers make it known that the week is for everyone B y J oanna P lucinska Contributor Pride Week started Monday, revising past events like drag and fat activism workshops. “We didn’t want to have just speakers because everyone goes to lecture every day,” co-ordinator Amanda Djurickovic said. She added that the background, sexual identity or gender of students shouldn’t stop them from partaking. “I think everyone can learn something from the week,” Djurickovic, PheKin ’14, said. “There are just so many different topics and workshops, regardless of who you are.” Fourteen Pride Week events included a film screening of For the Bible Tells Me So — a 2007 documentary about the intersection

of homosexuality and religion in the U.S. On March 12, Beckham Ronaghan was the recipient of the Positive Space Award at a Pride Week event. The award is given to a Queen’s student who demonstrates leadership in promoting sexual and gender diversity on campus. While there were seven nominees, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) and the Human Rights Office awarded Ronaghan with a plaque and $500 cheque, donated by OPIRG. Ronaghan said through his work he hopes to extend dialogue on gender- and sexuality-based issues. “The dialogue is keeping people aware of the issues,” Ronaghan said. Ronaghan was recognized specifically for his role as the

director of Down There, a revamped version of the theatre productions Vagina Monologues and Revulvalutions. He also founded ThinQ, a workshop run in residence to educate first years on issues of sexual and gender diversity. “To me, sexual and gender diversity is not making the assumption that everyone is either gay or straight, male or female,” he said. “It’s recognizing that gender and sexuality is a spectrum.” Ronaghan said despite being presented with this award, his work is not done. “I do it because I’m frustrated when I, as a trans-identified person, am discriminated against or when I see other queer-trans people discriminated against,” Beckham Ronaghan, ArtSci ‘12, was the recipient of this Photo by Asad Chishti Ronaghan said. year’s Positive Space Award during the first event of Pride Week on campus.

Goodes Hall

Further delays for expansion project Local union representative wants Queen’s to use unionized workers on Goodes project B y C atherine O wsik Assistant News Editor Goodes Hall construction is now set to finish on July 27, marking two years of construction at the site. The $40-million addition to Goodes Hall broke ground in July 2010 and the additional space will be used for classes. Due to the delay, the current graduating class will not be able to take advantage of the new west wing. The project was scheduled to be completed last December, in time for the 2012 winter term, but Vice-Principal of Finance and Administration Caroline Davis said this wasn’t feasible for a variety of reasons. “The building’s complicated design required additional resources to co-ordinate the staged implementation of the activities required to erect the structure,”

Davis told the Journal via email. weather. Work continued on the “The intricate work of installing interior of the building during the tunnel under Union Street was this time.” She added that the project is further complicated by water, sewer on budget. and electrical considerations.” At this time workers need to The underground tunnel will join the Goodes Hall and Tindall finish the interior of the building as well as stonework, glazing and Field parking lots. Last July, construction of the skylights on the exterior, she said. Joe O’Shea, a Kingston 60-foot tunnel also encountered problems when workers found a representative of the International Union of Painters and Allied deteriorating pipe. The University had to attain Trades (IUPAT), said Queen’s City permits, including ones for didn’t fairly decide on which tree placement and the foundation. workers to hire for the Goodes This was a factor in why the Hall project. Employees typically construction process is past its work 36 to 40 hours a week at the construction site. deadline, Davis said. O’Shea said the general If this past winter had seen a severe snowfall then the contractor, which was hired by the deadline could have been pushed University in a public tendering process, hired some sub-trade back further. “The work has been ongoing during the winter,” Davis wrote. “Some activities … were postponed ams Assembly periodically due to inclement

workers that aren’t unionized. Sub-trade workers, such as painters, conduct certain tasks as dictated by the general contractor. O’Shea contacted University officials and had a meeting scheduled with the Associate Vice-Principal of Facilities Ann Browne for Thursday. “I’m not sure if anything will change. Hopefully in the future they’ll look at where they’re getting their work from,” O’Shea said. “I would hope that Queen’s would change their policy when it comes to hiring general contractors.” Davis responded to O’Shea’s request saying the University’s hiring process is fair and transparent. “The general contractor hires sub-trades as required,” Davis

said. “Queen’s is not signatory to the unions, our obligation is to obtain fair and competitive bids without prejudice.” Mykola Neustroyev is a glass sub-contractor who is currently working on site at Goodes Hall. He said he’s not part of a union. “I was hired by a sub-contractor in Toronto,” Neustroyev said. “I’d say about half of the workers [are unionized].” He said he has about two to three months of work left to install glass in the building. In regards to the entire project, he said, there’s still a fair amount to do. “There’s lots to do. We’re just three quarters done the last floor,” he said.

Voting process questioned AMS Assembly discussion point seeks to change referendum ballots

Weber, a member of the Queen’s Trivia Club, said he’s been working on bringing this to AMS Assembly since the club’s fee failed during the The AMS referendum process was February referendum. The Trivia Club’s $0.15 called into question at the March 8 opt-outable fee was up for renewal AMS Assembly. Fourth-year student James but failed with 52 per cent of votes Weber brought his concerns to against. Weber said he didn’t bring the floor, stating that the club the discussion point to Assembly funding process doesn’t encourage on behalf of the club. club diversity. “It’s not because I want to get my “You’re taking every club, no money back,” he said. “It’s about matter how small they will be, and the issue.” Weber said one suggestion putting it to a popularity contest,” Weber, ArtSci ’12, said. “Some would be to remove the voting of these minority clubs end up process entirely and give control not getting funding from the of club fees to the Commission of student body.” Internal Affairs, which oversees the Currently to approve a fee, finances of all AMS-ratified clubs. clubs must receive a majority “Give it to someone who is either vote on the referendum ballot. hired or elected and whose job it is Club fees are renewed every to make sure clubs have sufficient three years. oversight,” he said. B y K atherine Fernandez -B lance News Editor

The Goodes Hall construction project will now be completed by July 27.

Photo by Corey Lablans

Weber said there was minimal discussion on the issue, which left him unsatisfied. “The general feeling I got was that the complexities of the issue was kind of lost,” he said. “Most people were just focused on the democracy of it.” Weber said he currently has no plans to see the matter out. AMS Commissioner of Internal Affairs Mark Preston said there are no plans to change the current policy. “It’s one of those things where the student body gets to decide,” Preston, ArtSci ’11, said. “In terms of it being biased, I’m not sure if that’s accurate.”


News

Friday, March 16, 2012

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Queen’s Centre

Campus pharmacy opens today Drug Smart will carry prescription medication and over the counter medicine at a competitive rate, says partner B y C lare C lancy Editor in Chief

counter-medications and feminine hygiene products. Kerr will be one of the After a two-week delay, Drug pharmacists working in Drug Smart. Smart Pharmacy will open today Drug Smart Pharmacy is a chain of family-owned businesses that started in the Queen’s Centre. It’s one of two new retailers in 1980. “I’ve always thought Queen’s to occupy Queen’s Centre space — Grocery Checkout Fresh should have a pharmacy,” Kerr said, adding that it was an AMS Market opened on Feb. 14. Suzanne Kerr is a partner in the initiative. “It was visionary really. “We’re going to be very new pharmacy, which originally competitively priced. We’re aware planned to launch on March 1. “One of our biggest delays was of what the stores in the area are the dispensary; there was a delay and we’re not more expensive.” Kerr said the pharmacy will in shipping,” Kerr, ConEd ’97, said. Following the initial delay, be involved with health outreach the 2,500-square foot space was on campus. “Particularly in September when scheduled to open yesterday. But the pharmacy stock arrived late. the new Queen’s students come “Basically, half of our stock was in. We’re open to holding health Photo by Alexandra Petre on the trucks, this stuff happens,” clinics or talks either here or in Drug Smart pharmacy was originally slated to open on March 1, but a delay in stock she said. “It’s too bad, we had an auditorium.” delivery postponed it until today. She added that Drug Smart everything else ready.” The pharmacy will carry health is using Facebook and Twitter to you can go for free medical advice,” pharmacy technicians, the staff will other behind-the-counter items, supplements, a variety of sports keep in touch with students. Kerr she said, adding that pharmacists include 10 student cashiers, who Kerr said. “I’m just looking forward to aids and braces, vitamin and started a blog where she plans to act as a link between physicians have already been hired. Today Drug Smart will offer a opening the doors.” nutritional supplements, condoms talk about health issues. and patients. “[They] refer you if 10 per cent discount for everything and other family planning products, “A pharmacy is a place where you you need something more.” Along with pharmacists and excluding prescriptions and prescription medications, over-the- can go to get things you need but

News in brief Incident at the Spot

PHEKSA presidential candidate runs unopposed

Police were called to the Spot nightclub at 12:23 a.m. yesterday morning after receiving complaints For the sole presidential hopeful about a 26-year-old male forcing of the Physical and Health his way into the club. Education and Kinesiology Student Kingston Police media Association (PHEKSA), keeping relations officer, Constable Steven Camp Day going will remain a Koopman, said bouncers denied focus if elected. Andrew Barber entrance because Steven Gillies, PheKin ’13, is he was previously banned for running uncontested this year. aggressive behaviour. Last semester, Gillies sat on the Allegedly, Barber tried to enter Camp Day fundraising committee. into the front entrance of the Spot, Camp Day is a half-credit course but staff members removed him. which takes Physical and Health Barber proceeded to pull Education students on a weekout a knife and started shouting long trip during Frosh Week to death threats to staff members of Camp Oconto. the Spot. The program for first“Then he smashed through one year students in the faculty has of the side windows facing out faced budget cuts in the past onto Princess Street,” Koopman and has survived solely on said, adding that there were no two-year fundraising. injuries sustained. Gillies said if elected he will also “There were three victims focus on ensuring that Camp Day of a threat to cause death, but doesn’t face the same struggles it no reported injuries,” he said. has in past years. “Otherwise, he’d be looking at “As long as we keep the voice assault charges.” strong and unified, everyone will The three victims were Spot recognize how much [Camp Day] staff members. Koopman said. means and we should be able to “He fled the scene right away,”he keep it running,” he said. said. “Officers were dispatched All positions — president, at 12:23 a.m. and three of them vice-president of operations arrived on the scene at 12:25, but and vice-president of university he was gone.” affairs — within PHEKSA are Barber turned himself in elected individually. two hours later to the Kingston Gillies was both a first- and Police Station, Koopman said. second- year representative within He is charged with three counts the council. He said he decided of uttering threats to cause death, to run for president to ensure carrying a concealed weapon, that all students are given the best mischief under $5,000 and experience possible in his faculty. carrying a dangerous weapon. “Things have been run very well in the past and everything — Savoula Stylianou has worked out in a way that is benefiting the students,” he said. Election results will be announced tonight. — Emily Hayes

Anti-abortion demonstration An anti-abortion demonstration drew small crowds in front of Stauffer Library on Wednesday. Two women from the Christian organization Silent no More spoke about their personal experiences with abortion and why they regretted them. The event was organized by pro-life group Queen’s Alive. Angelina Steenstra, the national co-ordinator of Silent no More was one of the speakers at the event. “I had an abortion when I was 15 years old, 40 years ago,” Steenstra told the Journal. “Today I continue to regret that experience … because it took the life of my first child and it caused all sorts of side effects in my life that I never expected.” Steenstra said the group isn’t politically or legally motivated. “It’s reaching out to people who are hurting,” she said. “I believe that we need to hear from people who have experienced abortions.” Steenstra said the event wasn’t meant to stir the abortion debate. Zuza Kurzawa, one of the organizers of the event and president of Queen’s Alive said the response to the demonstration has been fairly positive. “This at the very least is a way to discuss the issue in a very personal way, but also in a very truthful way,” Kurzawa, ArtSci ’13, said. — Katherine Fernandez-Blance

Students race for prizes Three Queen’s students took home $900 in cash last night and a fourth won a year’s worth of free textbooks at the Oohlala Campus Games competition. The three-day event began on Tuesday and was run through

Members of Silent No More protest outside Stauffer Library.

student-created mobile game company Oohlala. It’s so far taken place on two other campuses and students only compete against their own classmates. Participants that downloaded the free Campus Games app on their iPhone or Android phone chased a virtual treasure chest through campus using the app’s GPS. The student who had the virtual treasure at 5 p.m. each day won $300 in cash. The game allows for participants within a close range of each other to steal the virtual treasure chest from another participant. The student who holds onto the virtual treasure chest the longest wins a year of free textbooks, with a maximum value of $500. Danial Jameel, a fourth-year student at the University of Toronto is one of the co-founders of the app, which launched in September.

Photo by Corey Lablans

“The idea was … the government is hiking tuition fees everywhere, so how can we give back,” he said. Funding for the prizes comes through either money the company has won at business competitions or sponsorship. Ted Lee, ArtSci’ 12, won the grand prize of free textbooks for a year. — Katherine Fernandez-Blance


8 •queensjournal.ca

news

slutWAlK

Global protest comes to Kingston SlutWalk participants march through city in attempt to challenge the culture of blaming victims of sexual assault B y c aitlin M c K ay Staff Writer

Sinclair said. that nobody is okay with that kind “What people are missing is that of treatment. We want to advance there are so many messages in as humanity, not as genders.” Sean McDonald is a St. In Kingston’s first-ever SlutWalk, SlutWalk,” she said. “If people do 100 women and men marched in not feel like they identify with that Lawrence College student in an effort to combat sexual assault word then in the future it might be police foundations, a program that provides training for a career a good idea to change the name.” and a culture of victim-blaming. Though SlutWalk aims to raise as an officer. He marched in the “The word ‘slut’ has been used to take away our power, to take awareness about violence against Kingston SlutWalk and said the away our liberty, to take away women in particular, men are lack of police officers at the protest was disappointing. respect from others, to take away encouraged to participate as well. “[The SlutWalk is] a good thing “This march isn’t about hating respect from ourselves … to attach negativity and liability where they men but it’s about joining together that they should be part of,” he said. McDonald said he wanted do not belong,” co-organizer with men,” she said. “Men are our allies and there is a difference protesters and bystanders to Jessica Sinclair told the crowd. recognize that comments made by On March 9, participants between men and rapists.” There was a small but vocal officer Sanguinetti last year were walked around Barrie, Princess and Clergy Streets and back to group of about five men at the a reflection of the individual and protest. Angus McCutcheon, don’t represent police as a whole. City Park. “I’m taught that no matter what The SlutWalk movement was ArtSci ’14, was one of them. “Nobody takes it seriously if a power you have to never show a sparked after comments were made by Toronto police officer Michael woman sexually assaults a man bias,” McDonald said. “That police Sanguinetti at York University on because he is supposed to like it,” officer was totally out of line. he said. “This movement means Jan. 24, 2011. According to a Feb. 17 story in the Toronto Sun last year, the officer reportedly said that female students shouldn’t dress like ‘sluts’ to avoid sexual assault. SlutWalks are a protest against this mentality and have occurred all over the world since last year. Participants are encouraged to dress however they want, often choosing to wear high-heels, tube tops and shorts. The cold weather on March 9 meant most participants were bundled up. The group chanted in unison as they marched, “Hey hey, ho ho, rape culture has to go.” Sinclair told the Journal that SlutWalk Kingston was a collaborative effort between the Education on Queer Issues Project (EQuIP), Education on Gender Issues (EGI) and the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society Women’s Empowerment Committee. The name SlutWalk has been controversial. Critics are uncomfortable with the word Over 100 protesters marched from City Park last Friday Photo By Corey LABLAns ‘slut’ as a term of empowerment, in Kingston’s first SlutWalk event.

EVOLUTION OF THE SLUTWALK Jan. 24, 2011: At a safety information session at York University, Constable Michael Sanguinetti said “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” Feb. 2011: Manitoban Judge Robert Dewar hands out minimal sentence for sexual assault case offender, stating that the way the victim was dressed gave the impression that she was willing to have sex. Protesters march outside the court house. April 3, 2011: In response to Constable Sanguinetti’s comments, Heather Jarvis, a University of Guelph student, starts the first SlutWalk in Toronto. May 7, 2011: SlutWalk Boston is held. June 4, 2011: SlutWalk expands to London, England. May 29, 2011: SlutWalk arrives in Montreal following four assaults on women in the McGill student ghetto during April. Sept. 17, 2011: SlutWalk Halifax takes place. According to the Halifax Regional Police, Nova Scotia has the highest rate of sexual assaults in Canada, with an average of eight per day. March 9, 2012: Queen’s hosts its first SlutWalk event. — Savoula Stylianou

Friday, March 16, 2012


Friday, March 16, 2012

news

queensjournal.ca

•9

student HeAltH

Campus clinics face funding barriers Students disadvantaged from a health-care perspective, Queen’s medical director says B y c hloË G rande Contributor Students are unfairly tasked with funding on-campus health care, says Undergraduate Student Trustee Lauren Long. A policy paper regarding student health was approved at last weekend’s Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance’s (OUSA) spring General Assembly. The research-based policy, presented to the student lobbying group, covers a broad variety of health-related topics, including funding issues for on-campus clinics, like Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS). One of the concerns that the policy highlights is student fees. “There is the concern that students are taking on the responsibility of funding … and there’s not enough government funding,” Long, ArtSci ’13, said. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario post-secondary students usually pay a health services fee ranging from $20 to $196, depending on the institution. Undergraduates currently pay $54.91 to health services at Queen’s. “One of the biggest problems right now is ... no one’s really taking ownership of these campus clinics because they’re kind of at the intersection of education and health,” Long said. “The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MCTU) say that this is the Ministry of Health’s problem to deal with, whereas the Ministry of Health says that these clinics are on campus, therefore the MCTU should deal with it.” Since this policy paper will become an official lobbying stance of OUSA, the document carries a great deal of political influence, Long said. “Now that we have a document that’s been approved by all these institutions, it has more weight,” Long said. “The recommendations and concerns [of the paper] will be carried into conversations with different politicians.” Long said this is the first paper on student health that OUSA has published. “[It’s] a big step because it has been a hot topic over the last couple of years,”

Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS) is located at the LaSalle Building on Stuart Street. The HCDS medical director, Dr. Suzanne Billing, says Queen’s health services doesn’t receive the same funding as family health teams.

Long said. Besides outlining major concerns, the paper includes recommendations to government and institutions. One of the recommendations is to change the current funding model of post-secondary health services. Unlike community clinics, university health clinics don’t receive funding based on how many patients a physician sees. “Basically the recommendation is to change the fee-per-service model for campus physicians and to have actual community health centres and family health teams on campus,” Long said. Dr. Suzanne Billing, medical director of HCDS, said family health teams receive funding for having nurse practitioners, psychologists, diabetic teachers and foot care. “They have all kinds of extra funding to

cover services to patients like physiotherapy,” she said. “They get money for all different things, none of which we get.” Billing sees it as a problem of fairness and equity that needs to be addressed by the government. “I’ve always seen it as students are somewhat disadvantaged from a health-

JournAL FiLe Photo

care perspective,” she said. “Young people are the future of our province, our country, our planet. Not giving them the same kind of access to care … is not a reasonable approach.”


news

10 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 16, 2012

AcAdemics

Blended learning to draw more revenue New online components mean increased enrolment for first-year courses B y vincent M ataK Staff Writer University representatives and local government officials met last Friday to discuss the finances of Queen’s blended-learning system. MP for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu said increasing student enrolment in blended-learning courses will bring in additional revenue without the University having to spend money on accommodating more students. “You essentially get more money for the same infrastructure,” Hsu said in a question and answer session during the event. Aimed at large first-year courses, the program emphasizes online readings and assignments in conjunction with decreasing the number of lectures and the number of hired faculty needed to teach courses. First-year psychology and geography courses were the first to implement blended learning in the

fall of 2011. First-year courses in sociology, gender studies, calculus and a large second-year classics class will follow suit in September. Jill Atkinson, undergraduate chair for the department of psychology, said that because of increased enrolment, blended-learning classes increase revenue for the Faculty of Arts and Science. She couldn’t provide a dollar amount. “Taking more students is a way to make more money and not having to build new buildings,” Atkinson said. “It’s great if we can use our existing smaller spaces better.” Students are expected to discuss online activities in tutorialstyle learning labs facilitated by fourth-year undergraduate Teaching Assistants. Atkinson said that hiring fourth-year TAs to facilitate learning labs will incur costs for the Faculty. “We’re spending tens of

thousands of dollars in terms of paying these undergraduate TAs, plus having to offer the course for the facilitators in education so they develop expertise to facilitate students,” she said. According to Brenda Ravenscroft, associate dean of Arts and Science, the full-year course PSYC 100 saw enrolment jump from 1,600 to 1,800 because it’s no longer limited by space. Course lecture time has decreased from three times a week to only once per week and four faculty members teach the course, compared to six in the non-blended format. Ravenscroft said financial benefits weren’t considered when Queen’s first talked about blended learning in 2009. “We didn’t know the details of the cost or financial benefits when we started out,” she said. “We started by asking how to engage students in large classrooms.” In an email to the Journal, Ravenscroft said that the results

Sequel in the making

David Cronenberg came to campus as a surprise visit for IDIS 210 students on Tuesday evening. Continued from page 1

film were offered. According to Cronenberg, a film degree isn’t necessary for aspiring filmmakers. “Watching films of course is the best way to learn the way movies are made,” he told the Journal in an interview on Wednesday. Film is a demanding art form, he said, and it’s necessary to understand economics, psychology and technology and have a deep cultural background to be successful in the field. “Perhaps there’s some super film school that gives you all that, but I doubt it,” he said. Despite his modest beginnings, Cronenberg’s films have gone on to achieve commercial and critical success. His film Cosmopolis, based on the novel by Don Delillo, is in post-production. It stars Robert Pattinson as a Manhattan millionaire. The film was shot in Toronto, a favourite shooting location of Cronenberg’s. “I’ve never shot a foot of film in the U.S., even though a lot of my movies are set there,” he said. Toronto also provided a refuge for Pattinson’s international celebrity, he said. “When we were shooting on the streets, [Pattinson] had a lot of fans

suPPLied

In Hollywood, a movie’s crowding around, but he could go to bars and clubs in his street budget often determines its content, clothes and people didn’t recognize Cronenberg said. “It would be naive to do a him,” he said. Cronenberg said Pattinson $200-million film and expect to has a deep knowledge of cinema be an extreme, radical filmmaker,” with a talent that stretches beyond he said. “You just know you’re what is shown in the Twilight going to have to be much more conservative because you need that Saga franchise. “He’s a very serious actor. He huge audience … which is why I wants to be great and takes the continue to make indie films.” Many filmmakers are swayed to trouble to try and be great,” he said. “What he does in [Cosmopolis] will make their art appeal to the masses, lay that question to rest, which a at the expense of its quality, he said. “As an artist you have to try and lot of people who are skeptical of ignore the outside pressures, not Twilight are asking.” Pattinson wouldn’t be the first just in terms of violence, but with actor to be recognized for his talent sex or anything that’s taboo,” he said. “If you’re distributing your in a Cronenberg film. William Hurt and Viggo movie all over the world … the Mortensen were nominated fears of one country aren’t at all the for Academy Awards for their fears of another country.” Violence and sexually-explicit respective roles in 2005’s A History of Violence and 2007’s content are prevalent throughout Cronenberg’s films, but he insists Eastern Promises. But winning an Oscar isn’t one all his movies feature deliberate of Cronenberg’s personal goals, comedic moments. “I don’t think I need to do he said. “You’ll kill yourself if you do that. something that’s classified as a In Hollywood, the Oscar is like a comedy, but I wouldn’t do anything religious icon — it’s like the Holy that didn’t have some humour.” The first sequel of Cronenberg’s Grail,” he said. “The Weinstein’s are famous for spending millions of career could be on the horizons. “We’re trying to get Eastern dollars to get that Oscar … but that Promises 2 made,” he said. isn’t the game I’m playing.” The Weinstein Company is a U.S. “We’ve got a good script, Viggo film studio founded by Bob and is committed and so is Vincent Harvey Weinstein, who previously Cassel … It’s not a sure thing, but its a possibility.” founded Miramax studios.

obtained through a student survey will be analyzed and studied to prove the effectiveness of blended learning for students at Queen’s. “Data is being collected about student engagement, student

learning and student satisfaction. The data will be analyzed and reported on, and will guide further developments in the future,” she wrote.


News

Friday, March 16, 2012

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Youth shelters limited in Kingston Continued from page 1

Having worked with the shelter for the past eight years, Beaubiah has noticed homelessness steadily increase. “The main challenge is finding a place that is affordable,” Beaubiah said. “Kingston has the lowest vacancy rate than any other place in Ontario with the average bachelor going for $550.” The root cause of youth homelessness is growing up in unstable homes, he said, adding that after Children’s Aid intervenes at 16, teenagers often don’t know where to go. Beaubiah said that youth require a stable place to live in order to

address other important issues affecting them. “There are so many issues that the youth are facing — sometimes it’s addiction,” he said. “Until they have a stable place to be, they can’t deal with these issues.” Hayley Pitcher, one of the event participants, said a troubled family life is one of the main causes of youth homelessness. “They’re running away from a hard family life,” Pitcher, JD ’14, said. “I couldn’t imagine having to choose between being homeless or living in a horrible family situation.” She said it’s important to donate to a shelter, as shelter staff are the ones who understand the issues and have programs to

provide support. Youth often want to remain hidden due to prejudice, Pitcher said. “There’s a lot of judgment from people that aren’t homeless,” she said. “I think that it’s a big issue and we should all be compassionate and understanding.” She said she believes this campaign will be good for the whole campus and will hopefully invoke empathy in students. “Queen’s is a very affluent school and we’re all very privileged to go here,” Pitcher said. “It’s important to get an understanding of what the homeless youth go through. “

Photo by Justin chin

Deepa Negandhi, JD ‘14 (left), and Penelope Ma, JD ‘13, outside of Stauffer Library for the 5 Days for the Homeless campaign.

No plans for changes in other departments affect tuition rates, Manley said. “Students will still need 60 units on the amount of time you spent in for their history major, and the cost class, but also the amount of time of these 60 units will not change as you have to spend on the class a result of the reweighting.” outside of class hours.” The one seminar that history Manley said the history students are required to take in department saw this change as an second year won’t be reweighted, opportunity to take stock of how Manley said. many learning hours there were in “The reading load is lighter,” history courses. she said. “Generally, the guideline is that a Manley said the changes won’t 3.0 unit course was determined to affect students who are completing be 120 hours, that’s the guidelines their degrees over the summer. that the faculty came up with,” She added that the reweighting she said. “But we determined that of how many units seminars are a half-year history course was worth is an attempt to make the actually 180 learning hours.” workload fair. “Our seminars are substantially These curriculum changes won’t cost the department anything or more work than our lecture classes,” Continued from page 1

she said, adding that lectures and seminars are currently weighted the same. In an email to the Journal Hugh Horton, the associate dean of studies for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said all departments are now required to use learning hours as part of the course syllabus. “Starting next year, this information will be published in the Arts and Science’s calendar, and on SOLUS, so students know the general expectations of workload in a particular course,” he said. Horton said he wasn’t aware of any large scale reweighting of courses being considered by other departments at this time. He added that the changes are being made to

the history curriculum because of how strenuous the workload for a seminar is. “Indeed, the history department has had to legislate limits on the number of readings instructors are permitted to give students in these courses,” he wrote. In the new school year, more spaces will become available in second-year history courses, Horton said. “The department is expanding its second-year offerings at the same time, and opening up more places to students in other departments who want to take second-year courses as electives.” Third-year politics major Daniel Bodirsky said he thinks it’s unfair

that only history seminars are being reweighted. “This is the first I’ve heard of it to be honest. I think it’s pretty unfair,” he said. Bodirsky said he spends a lot of time on work for his seminar courses as well and added that space is becoming limited in politics courses. “We had a meeting yesterday where we had to give our top five choices for fall/winter semester courses to make sure that students got into one or two of the courses they wanted.”


12 •queensjournal.ca About The Journal

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Editorials The Journal’s Perspective

““

Attention paid to mental health issues may have dwindled, but support for everything ebbs and flows.

Mental health still a priority A

mental health forum held on March 7 in the JDUC had a low turnout, with only 30 people in attendance. The poor showing prompted concerns that mental health issues are no longer a priority for students. The empty seats were a frustrating gesture from the student body, the Journal’s Ed Board included. Attention paid to mental health issues may have dwindled, but support for everything ebbs and flows. The forum was organized by the Principal’s Commission on Mental Health, launched in September 2011 following a string of student death. The commission plans to submit a report to Principal Woolf in April outlining the state of mental health on campus. Holding forums on mental health is an important avenue for gauging student opinion, but the poor turnout for the event points

to a breakdown on both sides of the issue. The forum could have been better marketed by the University. Queen’s administrators continue to struggle in engaging students online. They should have made a Facebook page to advertise. The mental health forum was an empowering event, one where students got to have their say and impact the commission’s report. It should have been marketed as an empowering event, and not just another town hall meeting others. It’s also concerning that the commission has been functioning all year and still has yet to draft a report. It’s due next month. There should be a draft circulating so that criticisms can be solicited. Gathering opinions and information is the first step to making prescriptions for mental health services on campus. That said, students also have the

agency to engage in the process. Student leaders including those in the AMS should have been in attendance, and marketed the forum to their constituents. Concerns for mental health may have receded for the moment in the place of other issues, like the recent Kony 2012 phenomenon, but it’s a discussion that will always reappear. Awareness campaigns like Queen’s Wears Green, which happened last October, aren’t practical to run year-long but mental health is always on students’ minds. Students know all too well how important mental health issues are on this campus. Mental health may be out of the spotlight, but it hasn’t been forgotten. Let’s hope the Principal’s commission holds another forum, and this time more than 30 people show up.

Jessica Munshaw Terence Wong

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Friday, March 16, 2012 • Issue 37 • Volume 139 The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston. Editorial opinions expressed in the Journal are the sole responsibility of the Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers. Contents © 2012 by the Queen’s Journal; all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the Journal. The Queen’s Journal is printed on a Goss Community press by Performance Group of Companies in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions. Subscriptions are available for $120.00 per year (plus applicable taxes). Please address complaints and grievances to the Editors in Chief. Please direct editorial, advertising and circulation enquiries to: 190 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3P4 Telephone : 613-533-2800 (editorial) 613-533-6711 (advertising) Fax: 613-533-6728 Email: journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca The Journal Online: www.queensjournal.ca Circulation 6,000 Issue 38 of Volume 139 will be published on Friday, March 23, 2012.

Student Life

Justin Chin Asad Chishti

Copy Editors

Friday, March 16, 2012

Co-curricular records

Decision needed more feedback W

A simple survey could have been potential problems. Collecting hen the Journal’s Editorial Board voted on whether or administered to students, allowing the information of every club not co-curricular records should be greater numbers to have a say on and deciding what activities are introduced at Queen’s, the votes the issue. Student leaders failed legitimate to place on a transcript were evenly split and four people to solicit input from the students would necessitate a large investment of time and money. they represent. were undecided. Co-curricular records could Given that resume-padding is a It speaks to how varied the perspectives on co-curricular common tactic, the co-curricular also inspire people to superficially record could add a level of engage with activities, doing transcripts are. Queen’s Student Affairs decided legitimacy to campus involvement. just enough to qualify for against the introduction of the new Academics need to be the their transcript, but not really record that is separate from an primary focus of the University, getting involved. Because the co-curricular record academic transcript. A co-curricular but experience matters as much is a new concept, it remains to be record is a University-verified as grades. Clubs and other campus seen whether or not employers and document of extracurricular involvement on campus — which involvement provide valuable graduate study programs would has gained popularity it has become learning experiences that aren’t place value in it. It’s possible that introducing a popular supplementary record at available in the classroom. Queen’s Ontario universities, including York, is a school where students are the program wouldn’t have any heavily involved, and having real benefits. Wilfrid Laurier and Carleton. The record is a concept that Student Affairs axed the a record of activities would has pros and cons on each side. possibility of implementing the be helpful. Adopting the co-curricular The decision of whether or not to records after received mixed feedback from AMS Assembly, record indicates that the University implement co-curricular transcripts SGPS Council and a number of values more than just academics, is one that will affect students either faculty society representatives. and gives employers a legitimate way. It’s unfortunate that students were handed a verdict instead of But, this fails to give an accurate record of involvement. But the co-curricular record being part of the discussion. cross-section of the student body also carries with it a host of as a whole.

Terence Wong

Vroom vroom

T

he automobile is under attack and one of the victims is the Chevrolet Volt. Two weeks ago Detroit Free Press reported that General Motors temporarily laid off 1,300 employees who built the Chevrolet Volt, an electric plug-in hybrid. The decision was made to “align production with demand.” To put it simply, they aren’t selling enough to justify making more. The Volt uses an electric engine that runs 40 to 80 kilometres using no gas and switches into a regular gas-powered engine when the battery is depleted. The concept was announced in 2007 and sales began in late 2010. Manufactured by a company that faced financial ruin and bankruptcy in 2008 and 2009, the Volt’s short life has been filled with controversy. Considering the U.S. government owns about one quarter of General Motors and there are various other incentives to promote greener cars, an analyst in 2011 calculated that an individual Volt was heavily subsidized — costing taxpayers up to $250,000 per car. There was also a matter of badly-tested Volts that burst into flame weeks after their crash tests due to the battery pack. A federal investigation cleared the Volt as safe but there is political fighting, with claims that the government was lenient due to its stake in General Motors. The automobile is undergoing an identity crisis due to all the political wrangling of the past few years. Environmental and financial concerns have clashed with the idea and concept of the automobile. The word ‘automobile’ comes from the Greek word ‘auto’ (self) and ‘mobile’ from the French ‘movable.’ Cars were invented to make it easier for people to move from point A to B faster and more conveniently than on public transit. It was, and is, a symbol of independence, but times are changing. Improving the automobile to be leaner, faster and more efficient is fantastic. Building cars that use less or no gas while retaining one’s sense of independence is key to preserving the idea of the automobile. The Volt is an example of something more along the lines of public transit than a car, with too many people involved, too many people with a stake in it. Right now, it’s a culture about numbers and politics. Not a culture of driving cars to fulfill a need or desire. No longer about a quick grocery run through the suburbs or a midnight cruise along the highway. It’s just numbers and politics. What a shame.


Friday, March 16, 2012

queensjournal.ca

DIALOGUE

• 13

Talking heads ... around campus

Perspectives from the Queen’s community

Photos By Justin Chin

Supplied

Kony 2012

What are you doing for St. Patrick’s Day?

Don’t listen to Kony campaign critics Campaign to stop Ugandan war criminal has faced a viral backlash, but critics themselves often make false assumptions and spread misinformation

A arondeep S ingh B ains , JD ’14

“Tweet to save the Invisible Children of Uganda! Make Joseph Kony famous!” You’ve likely seen similar statements splashed on your Facebook or Twitter feeds over the last 10 days. In fact, the 30-minute Kony 2012 video, a documentary intended to raise awareness about Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony, has been viewed over 79 million times on YouTube since March 5. It’s a campaign that has received nearly as much backlash as support since it was launched by Invisible Children Inc. earlier this month. Among those who question the campaign is Foreign Policy blogger Michael Wilkerson, who wrote on March 7 that “Invisible Children has made virtually no effort to inform.” But while Wilkerson is one of countless individuals who oppose the Kony campaign, the onslaught of critique is so great it’s fair to question its impact and negative result. I’d like to confront three of the most common critiques I’ve read. First, let’s address the notion that Invisible Children aims to arm the Ugandan army and advocates primarily for direct military intervention in Uganda. It’s a critique that was spawned after Vice magazine posted a

photograph showing several Invisible Children founders posing with guns alongside members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The picture featured the caption, “Should I Donate Money to Kony 2012 or Not?” The idea that a global rights-oriented organization with charitable elements and a lobbying focus is arming the Ugandan army is absurd. Numerous arms embargoes exist preventing outright military aid of that sort. Invisible Children is certainly not trading arms, nor is it a paramilitary-style security firm like those operating in Iraq and other diplomatically dangerous zones. Another criticism stems from racial remarks made about Invisible Children’s management. A March 8 article in the Washington Post quoted Yale political science professor Chris Blattman, who said that Invisible Children’s campaign “hints uncomfortably of the White Man’s Burden … the savior attitude.” Unfortunately, this argument highly demeans the individuals who are trying to make a difference and is an implicit attempt at blurring aid with racial overtones. Using arguments like Blattman’s, one could simply target all Western-driven aid and put an end to any aid program whether medical, economical or militaristic in focus. A third criticism is that Invisible Children is manipulating its audience through falsely advertising itself as a charity. In fact, Invisible Children never states that it’s a charity, or that

charitable efforts are the focal point of its campaign or organization. According to their website, Invisible Children’s mission is to “[use] film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s rebel war.” Even after watching the film, one should be able to realize that this organization is more like a lobby group with a charitable element than a charity outright. That said, it’s impossible to learn everything about an organization and its structure simply from watching a 30-minute film.

It’s time we approached the claims of some of the Kony critics with as much scrutiny as the campaign itself has received. It’s up to students and all individuals to research an organization for themselves. While we shouldn’t put lobbies and charities up against commercial enterprises, the logic of skepticism isn’t a bad thing. We question what we drink, what we eat and how we travel to work. Why shouldn’t we put some thought into lobby and charitable work as well? It’s obvious that true awareness campaigns often come from large grassroots movements. But it’s also evident that the problems faced by many nations require foreign aid efforts in certain cases. Fortunately, developed Western nations are capable of providing

foreign aid when needed — and we’re often the only nations capable of providing the technology, experience and financial capacity to carry out foreign aid efforts. The fact that these nations are predominantly white is in my opinion without consequence and, quite frankly, unrelated. These critiques, in various forms, have permeated the media and online communities in recent days. Critiques, too, can become viral and here this has been the case. But what is a critique worth if its only result is further critique? There’s a great difference between critique to aid a problem and find a solution and a mere jab at the latest foreign aid effort. It’s easy to criticize the Kony campaign. If you don’t agree with their cause, you have the right to voice your opinion. But to condemn them for spreading awareness about a known war criminal seems counter-productive. It’s time we approached the claims of some of the Kony critics with as much scrutiny as the campaign itself has received. This campaign demonstrates the enormous effect videos and social networking can have on the lives of others. When we’re looking at viral campaigns like Kony 2012, the priority should be to learn from them — whether its through a critical perspective or because you believe in it.

“Selling pancakes for Queen’s Health Outreach Belize.” Emma Chin, ConEd ’15

“I am going to the Queen’s Pub to celebrate all day.” Tristan Lee, ArtSci ’12

“Eating lots of green pancakes and searching for a pot of gold.” Joanne Sadler, ArtSci ’12

“Running around in green attire.” Lauren Tattrie, ArtSci ’12

Letters to the editor Fees deserved fair shot at AMS Annual General Meeting Dear Editors, The decision at last week’s AMS Assembly to reject a motion put forth by three groups hoping to instate opt-outable student fees, while adherent to AMS policy, stifled debate surrounding the proposals and should likely have been approached with more flexibility. Assembly rejected all three fees based on a policy requirement that all fees going forward to the ballot at next week’s AMS Annual General Meeting (AGM) be approved by an AMS Assembly vote at least two weeks prior to the AGM. Unfortunately, last week’s Assembly occurred just 12 days before the AGM. It seems somewhat misleading to have a policy requiring students to come to Assembly with a motion for approval a full two weeks in

advance of the AGM when the wasn’t Assembly interested in AMS Assembly meeting directly letting it happen? We don’t believe preceding the AGM falls just 12 that members of Assembly had days before this meeting. a conscious intention to silence We hope to bring a motion student voices at last Thursday’s forward to next week’s AMS meeting, but unfortunately that Assembly to amend this specific was the message that was received. policy to change the deadline from Policy is important, but we two weeks before the AGM to the think there may be legitimate cases AMS Assembly meeting directly where some degree of flexibility preceding AGM. in its application, at Assembly’s A motion at Assembly to add discretion, is warranted. If a motion to the agenda — in this weren’t the case, Assembly this case the fee questions — is a wouldn’t have the power to strict yes/no vote with no debate. overrule policy. There’s no reason why Assembly Last Thursday, given that couldn’t have ended up deciding it was a very arbitrary two days to uphold policy had they decided that put these groups against to put these motions on the agenda policy, may well have been a for consideration. case where some flexibility was Had Assembly considered the needed. But the crucial issue motion, they would have at least is that the Assembly didn’t allowed for debate and discussion have the chance to make a about these specific cases. A vote fully-informed decision. could have then occurred, at which AMS policy should exist point the fees could have still been to serve the Queen’s students. rejected if the required two-thirds Why is it being used to silence majority was not reached. student voices? Going forward, we hope that This is how democratic debate is supposed to work. So why two things will happen. First, we

hope that Assembly will consider the small change we propose to this specific section of AMS policy in order to prevent needless incidents like last Thursday’s occurring in the future. But more importantly, we hope that in the future AMS Assembly will think seriously before making decisions that limit the ability of students to have a voice at their society’s representative body.

position on the co-curricular record project. The University supports student engagement in co-curricular activities on and off campus. We have received some mixed feedback from students about the possibility of introducing a co-curricular record. Further to our discussions with students we are exploring additional options and ways to support student involvement outside of the classroom, including a searchable Michael Scott, ArtSci ’13, and database of co-curricular Faria Jafri, ArtSci ’14, opportunities. We will continue to ASUS representatives to the AMS consider all of these options.

Discussions not over on co-curricular project Re: “Admin won’t add extracurriculars to student transcripts” (Mar. 8, 2012) Dear Editors, I’d like to clarify the University’s

Arig Girgrah, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

Have your say. Comment at queensjournal.ca


14 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, March 16, 2012

A review of the fantasticks

page 17

Arts Charlie brown theatre series

• Actor profile

• Director profile

• Stage crew profile

‘I was not expecting to get in’ Mariah Horner auditioned to play Snoopy, but instead landed the piano playing Schroeder in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown B y C aitlin C hoi Assistant Arts Editor It’s not easy channelling a six-year-old boy who’s obsessed with Beethoven. Try being an 18-year-old girl and doing it. First-year student Mariah Horner sings, dances and acts as the Peanuts character Schroeder in the upcoming production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The former HBO actor — she played Kate Unger in two seasons of the television series Living in Your Car — snagged the role of the piano-playing youngster at Blue Canoe’s auditions in December. “It’s funny because in almost every production, they always cast a gospel-y man [to play Schroeder],” said Horner. “Like in the Broadway cast, it’s this big black guy with this beautiful voice and I’m like, ‘What the heck? I can’t do that!’” After auditioning with director Alysha Bernstein and her team, Horner was sure she didn’t get the part. Her first-round audition went well — she sang “I Know It’s Today” from the musical Shrek — but during the call back, she was asked to read for the role of Snoopy, which didn’t quite fit.

challenges of taking on a male role have been made easy by the way that Bernstein interpreted the script. “Probably the songs is the hardest part about playing a guy, but otherwise we’re supposed to be little girls playing boys,” she said. “Like you don’t have to lower your voice or anything like that, so it’s not so forced.” Bernstein wisely encouraged the all-female cast members to develop a six-year-old girl character to incorporate into their performances — shifting in and out of their male personas as they interact casually between scenes. Embracing the fact that they’re females rather than hiding it allows the audience to forget that half are pretending to be boys. See Ample on page 19

photo by corey lablans

fashion

Vogue’s fashionable fight This year’s Vogue has an edge, with a theme of V.S. — What’s Your Fight? B y C aitlin C hoi Assistant Arts Editor

I’m pretty sure my audition was terrible ... I was not expecting to get in at all.

— Mariah Horner “The monologue they gave me, it was like ‘pretend you’re an airplane and run around the stage for a minute and half,’” she said, admitting she was nervous going into it. “There were no other first years in the room, I don’t know any of these people and I’m like ‘oh no, why’d you have to give me this one.’ So I’m pretty sure my audition was terrible … I was not expecting to get in at all.” Luckily they ended up letting her read for Schroeder. She’s been studying the part ever since. “My Schroeder character, I keep him pretty much to the comic, like he’s a very eyebrows-down kind of guy,” Horner said, scrunching her forehead into a scowl. “I think out of all of them, he is probably the hardest one to pull from the comics, just because he’s always staring at his piano.” Horner had to re-arrange the original “gospel-y” score to suit her voice. But she says the various

Mariah Horner plays Schroeder, the blonde Peanuts character famous for playing his piano and loving classical music.

photo by justin chin

Jackie Paré in Vogue’s opening number models an independent design. For a photo gallery see queensjournal.ca.

It’s Vogue against the world at the Grand Theatre this week. At the opening of the 16th annual Vogue Charity Fashion Show on Wednesday night, a cast of 130 students took on dance, dress and design with the theme: V.S. — What’s Your Fight? “We fight to get to class on time, we fight to get along,” said Jacob Channen, Vogue’s vice-president. “And we definitely … fight SOLUS.” Nabbing the stiletto on the heel, so to speak, Channen set the tone for the rest of the show. From beginning to end, this year’s Vogue sparkled most when models and dancers found the fun in interpreting their fight. This year, the club aims to raise over $30,000 for Home Base Housing in Kingston, an organization that supports individuals who are homeless or at risk of poor living conditions. While the cause is their collective battle, each designer presents a different brawl in the show’s eight collections. Designer Hemani Kamdar is the first on the runway with her series

Tearing Me Apart at the Seams, featuring some chiffon-layered pieces among tight tops and leather shorts — definitely a fight with some edge. In contrast, designer Erin Meiklejohn shows off a flirtier collection with a young-and-fresh feel. Her Dear Past, … Love the Future showcases a high-waisted, cutout bathing suit and white, wide-legged pants that are particularly memorable. Designers Bekah Brown and Beck Lloyd incorporate one of the ballet dancers into their scene, tracing the story of a young girl throughout the collection. Elizabeth Doney took a completely different turn in her Clash of Canadiana, where the models seem to be channelling animals and hunters in her fur-trimmed ensembles. The dancing is at times more literal with the theme V.S., with moving contemporary choreography and Mad Men-inspired breakdancing — Queen’s dance crew KinetiQ performed a dramatic breakdance sequence, wearing 60s-style suits and acting out gang fights. But the talented group also gets creative, with all kinds of

dance from an all-male bout of hilarity — choreographed by Lauren Paterson to a mashup featuring Destiny’s Child “Bootylicious” — and tap dancing to hip hop music. “I really like the dancing, it made it a lot more aesthetically pleasing,” said Heather McMillan, one of the youth from Home Base Housing who came to see Vogue on opening night. McMillan said she’s interested in pursuing a career in fashion and was impressed by the number of unique designs that walked the stage. She appreciated the playful energy brought out by many of the models. “I’ve seen a lot of YouTube videos that are like ‘I’m tall and serious and scary,’ but I really liked this, it’s a lot more exciting than I thought it would be,” she said. Though there were missteps along the way — sequined bras and spandex in one of the dance scenes was definitely distracting and not in a good way — the overall show was entertaining from SOLUS to finish. Vogue is a show best performed for students, by students. But no one leaves without a good feeling as the curtains close to none other than Madonna’s “Vogue.”


Arts

Friday, March 16, 2012

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art

Inspiration in the arbitrary Anya Mielniczek’s exhibit uses an assortment of materials including beer bottle caps B y J eSSiCa F iShBein Postscript Editor In the hustle and bustle of student life, we rarely pause to think about where we can encounter art. But for Anya Mielniczek, the artist behind Union Gallery’s exhibit In the Grain, art can be found in the arbitrary. “Be it mark making, layering or the history in a scrap candy wrapper or worn beer bottle cap, I like the character, touch, feel or

soul history may give an inanimate object,” Mielniczek, BFA ’12, wrote in her artist statement for the show. In the Grain is currently being showcased in the Project Room of Union Gallery and features six groups of longboard decks, which Mielniczek made herself. Mielniczek’s work illustrates how regular, mundane objects can be made beautiful, and the longboards are more than they initially appear. Far from simple, on closer examination the longboards’

How Harry Met Sally features pen and marker designs in bright colours, evoking the feel of a tropical island.

photo by Gina elder

Anya Mielniczek’s In the Grain displays six groups of longboards she built herself.

varying designs are impressively intricate and resonate in your mind. The shapes of the longboards vary — some have rounded edges, while others have sharper points. The designs on the boards also range from simple lines and shapes to a more abstract mixture of blended forms and colour. Mielniczek makes use of a wide array of materials, including spray paint, marker, crayon, graphite and even beer bottle caps. One of the groupings of boards No Logo was made from burning the simple anchor, leaf and triangle designs into the longboards. Queens, on the other hand, utilizes gold spray paint for a similarly simplistic feel, but nonetheless absorbing visual effect. Brain Child is a work of mixed media and perhaps the most

unique of Mielniczek’s sets. Along with graphite and varnish lines, beer bottle caps are sprinkled throughout the boards. When glancing at the longboards in the piece, the graphite and varnish form the shapes of several eyes staring back at you, with mouths sneering as well. Albeit a tad disturbing, the design’s allure cannot be denied — it’s difficult to look away. How Harry Met Sally may simply rely on pen and marker, but has extensively detailed orange, turquoise and purple designs, evoking an island feel. Mielniczek doesn’t shy away from colour in Aftermath either, with yellow, blue and green lines illustrated with acrylic, crayon and marker. Critically Endangered Tiger, Gorilla, Leopard uses graphite and marker, with bursts of orange,

photo by Gina elder

brown and yellow. Mielniczek’s artwork doesn’t just aesthetically appeal, though. While the presence of six groups of longboards might be interpreted as a tad arbitrary, Mielniczek uses longboards as a way of creating earth-conscious art. Through recycling all her materials, she aims to raise debate beyond the artwork. “I’m interested in addressing issues concerning the environment and our relationship with it and through this, aim to provide a critical context to examine commentary on consumerism and sustainability,” she said in her artist statement. In the Grain is at Union Gallery until March 20.


Arts

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Friday, March 16, 2012

interview

Musical back story Rock quintet the Reason appreciate loyal fans who know the history of the band B y Vincent M atak Staff Writer Despite a decade-long career that includes three albums and numerous appearances at high-profile festivals, the Reason’s lead singer Adam White says he prefers to play on the floor in the corner of a small, crowded pub. “It’s good to be able to play whatever you want, as long you want, as short as you want, and just interact with the crowd and know that everybody is there for you,” he said. “Most people [at festivals] just know that one popular song, they don’t know the story of our band.” It’s probably for this reason that the Reason is booked at the Mansion this weekend, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in a city White calls “pretty epic.” The seasoned frontman praised Kingston for its atmosphere and loyal fans — fans who aren’t only looking forward to hearing the band play live, but anxious to reaffirm an emotional connection with the songs. Connecting with people emotionally is what made White want to become a musician.

“The thought of touching someone else’s life that you don’t know as a person — when someone gets something out of your songs — you can’t get that doing anything else,” he said. “During the recording process it’s amazing to think that one song that means so much to me can touch someone else and mean a lot to them.” Honest, working-class rock ‘n’ roll is what the Reason is all about. Hailing from Hamilton, Ont., a fiery punk-like angst dominated the band’s musical style in 2003, when they first started out as a post-hardcore/emo quintent. White said the band’s style has grown over the years, by letting the hard-edge and passion of rock ‘n’ roll infiltrate their writing. More recently, he said, they’ve featured catchier hooks and up-beat tempos. “From 2003 to 2008 we were trying to find ourselves, going through different members and growing up,” White said. “But recently, it’s just honest rock music. We’re just trying to honestly create something, you know, there’s no gimmicks.” He said the band always aims to produce an authentic sound when recording, shying

Aboriginal awareness week

Art for awareness As a part of Aboriginal Awareness Week, two Aboriginal artists will speak at Union Gallery B y C arolyn F lanagan Assistant Blogs Editor Next week, Queen’s will play host to two internationally-celebrated artists. Adrian Stimson and Terrance Houle will give performances individually as well as together as part of the upcoming Aboriginal Awareness Week — marking the first time the artists have performed together since 2007. Though performance art may be an unfamiliar medium for most students, Sarah Murray, who’s helping organize the visiting artist series, hopes that the venue will provide a comfortable space for viewers to take in the artwork and treat it as a learning experience. “The fact that it’s at Union Gallery, on campus, it’s a comfortable space where you can walk in, walk out. The artist talk is also a familiar forum at the university,” Murray, MA ’13, said. Stimson and Houle will bring their unique brand of performance art — involving alternate personas and multimedia mixed with comedy — to engage the Queen’s community on topics including Aboriginal issues, identity, gender and sexuality. They will also give an artist talk on Wednesday as part of the Cultural Studies Speaks Series. Adrian Stimson of the Siksika First Nation will give a performance of Buffalo Boy’s Born Again, as Buffalo Boy, one of his alter egos. Through Buffalo Boy, Stimson exposes issues of gender and sexuality at an intersection with race. “He is a figure that plays with the viewer’s assumptions of Aboriginal Peoples,” said Erin Sutherland, MA ’12 and curator of the week’s performances and artist talk. “He deals with serious issues in campy, humorous ways. He disarms you with humour.” Stimson also deals with ideas about genocide and residential schools, having been in one himself. He has also worked as a counsellor and has experience teaching at the University of Saskatchewan.

Terrance Houle, who is Blood and Ojibway and a member of the Blood First Nation, employs performance, video, photography, installation and multi-media in his work. Houle deals with indigenous ideas and identity through humour as well. “He engages with stereotypes. He makes them so obvious, they become ridiculous,” said Sutherland. Houle’s work explores how people come to form ideas about Aboriginal Peoples and how they come to see themselves. Together, Stimson and Houle will revisit their performance of Buckskin Mounting, last performed at Grunt Gallery in 2007. Sutherland said the embodied nature of performance art makes the message the artists are trying to send much more tangible. “The audience feels the presence of emotion directly,” she said. “They are incorporated into the struggle.” Sutherland, a member of the Native Student Association at Queen’s, said she hopes the events of Aboriginal Awareness Week will draw attention to the contributions of Aboriginal Peoples at Queen’s. Lara Fullenwieder, first-year PhD student and Aboriginal Awareness Week Committee Member, said these artists’ use of performance makes for a more interactive and engaging experience for the viewer. “It takes up space here, invites more thought and more change. It challenges their comfort zone,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to engage with knowledge as it’s being produced.” Stimson and Houle will give an artist talk on Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Dunning Hall, room 12. Individual performances will be that evening from 7 to 9 p.m. at Union Gallery. Corridor Culture will host the performance of Buckskin Mounting on Thursday in the Renaissance Room at 285 Queen St.

On March 13, the band tweeted they have “an album’s worth of new songs, and we’re lookin to share about 2-3 with yas on this run. Been too long!”

away from an “overproduced” quality that can prevent listeners from delving into the emotions of a song and the raw intensity behind the music-making process. “We try and record our songs to get that sort of feel and live element,” White said. “Our live show is more what we are and we just hope to emulate that.” White said the Reason’s more mature music style mirrors his own personal growth. “We’ve always made honest music, but our songs in our earlier days were just a lot heavier,” he said. “We were coming out of punk-rock bands and full of angst and really jaded and had a lot of shit to say about a lot of stuff and a lot of it was negative. Going through your twenties you tend to grow up and figure out who you are as a person and who you are as a musician and a songwriter.” Experience and time have given the singer a more introspective take on the world, the ability to empathize with other’s problems and emotions serves as the inspiration for

supplied

his writing. “I try to put myself in other’s position and what they go through and I go ‘fuck, there’s some lyrics.’” The Reason recently recorded 10 songs that will be included in a series of EPs which the band hopes to release in the upcoming months, all produced by different producers. White said the band opted to release a series of EPs instead of recording a full-length album to give fans new material more often. “Every three or four months we want to come out with a full batch of new songs with a different feel for each EP based on the fact that it’s a different guy producing it,” he said. “You’re getting fresh music out every four months as opposed to every two years. The songs [we’ve recorded] are fucking great, we’ll be playing three or four of them this weekend.” The Reason plays the Mansion tomorrow at 9 p.m.


Arts

Friday, March 16, 2012

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theatre review

Love over the wall Dalliance Theatre’s new production The Fantasticks is a Romeo and Juliet tale, but with a fake feud B y B rittany J ohnSton Staff Writer It’s a familiar tale of two lovers. But instead of a typical happy ending, the love dwindles. The Fantasticks is a 1960s musical, where two fathers fake a feud to make their children feel they’re fated to be together. Matt and Luisa, played by Sean McCabe and Aimee Bouchard, live next to each other, but are separated by a wall their fathers built. Despite the barrier — or maybe because of it — they fall in love. But when the wall that keeps them apart is removed, and they can finally be, the spark between them fizzles. Daniela Cerrone, ArtSci ’15, who plays the elderly Shakespearean actor Henry Albertson, said she loves how the story starts off as if Matt and Luisa got their happy ending, but then all is complicated by reality. Cerrone said the play tells a life lesson. “It’s important to be realistic while still appreciating the beauty of [life].” As for the music of The Fantasticks, originally composed by Harvey Schmidt, the actress was pleasantly surprised. Pianist Nathaniel Zoulalian, ArtSci ’14, and harpist Scott Hughes deliver phenomenal performances.

In particular, the musical score added to the choreography of the fight scenes and the overall dynamics of the show. The cast — if I may use the pun — is truly fantastic. Dalliance Theatre Company has once again attracted strong talent, both new and experienced. First-year Sia Badie, who plays Henry Albertson’s sidekick Mortimer, will have your sides splitting from his hilarious antics. Lead actress Bouchard, ArtSci ’13, delivers an impassioned performance as Luisa.

important to “beIt’srealistic while appreciating the beauty of [life]. ” — Daniela Cerrone, on life lessons in the play Bouchard couldn’t sing or speak due to a recent case of laryngitis. But even while lip-synching the lines she doesn’t allow this impediment to impair her performance. “She has such a beautiful voice,” said director Alexsandra Marzocca, ArtSci ’12, who recited Bouchard’s speaking lines during the performance. The use of meta-theatre is a unique element in The Fantasticks. Marzocca explains that

meta-theatre is when elements of the staging are made obvious, such as changing pieces of the set design during a scene. These changes are made by actress Adrienne Miller, ArtSci ’15, whose character is a mute ballerina. She’s a chameleon, taking on different roles throughout — including the wall and a bricklayer. Her character is present in many of the scenes, interpreting the emotions of the scenes through ballet. Another interesting character and arguably the most complex is the mysterious vagabond, El Gallo played by Jackson Tse, Sci ’12. Tse describes El Gallo as a trickster type who complicates the story, but at the same time knows what is best for the lovers more than they do themselves. Once you are introduced to Dalliance Theatre it becomes more than a flirtatious affair. I fell for the company at their debut production Black Comedy. The Fantasticks is only their second, and you won’t be disappointed. The Fantasticks plays from March 14 to 17 at the Baby Grand Theatre at 8 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday.

From left to right: Aimee Bouchard, Adrienne Miller and Sean McCabe.

photo by Gina elder


Arts

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interview

‘Need to feel good’ Eric Solomon aims to create music that provides an experience for fans B y M egan C Ui Staff Writer Canadian electro-pop artist Eric Solomon is the kind of person you can fall into conversation with, just like that. If your first impression of the man is like mine, it’ll be an accurate reflection of his music. “I have always found inspiration in Prince,” Solomon said, “because he’s a spectacle and charisma just oozes from the man.” For the Vancouver-based singer, entertaining people with electrifying dance beats is his personal mission. “I obviously have a lot to say, but for now I want to focus on making music for those people who need to feel good,” he explains. “The last thing people want to hear about is my worries about the world, people hear it all the time. I love music that’s energetic and makes people party and get stupid. “I want people to leave my shows with an experience, so I have a prayer before a performance — let me connect with every single person in this room tonight.” Solomon’s Twitter and Facebook accounts are constantly updated by the artist himself, letting fans in on his hectic touring life or odd musings. “I don’t have people who run my social media or tweets or

anything like that,” Solomon said. “Fans are smart, they can always tell if it’s really you behind the keyboard and I love being able to reach out to my fans so I’m always going to make sure I’m personally involved.” Fame and fandom, however, were never on the radar for Solomon when he embarked on a musical career as an independent artist three years ago. “I’ve always loved music as a private sort of dream,” he said, “but as I started playing more shows and fans started coming in, I developed such a loving relationship with people who love my music, it’s just the most beautiful thing.” Solomon has even been known to send “Happy Birthday” numbers and other special messages to his fans. “Oh you know, some one says to you, ‘my mom won’t let me come to the show’ and you just want to do something special to appreciate those people who take the time to listen to your music. “But man, do I hate that ‘Happy Birthday’ song,” he said. “I don’t know what happens, but as soon as people sing it they become these sing-along drones. I’m going to make it my life goal to rewrite that song.” Though audiences know him for his party anthems and happy-go-lucky attitude,

Solomon’s childhood was unexpectedly tumultuous. “Basically I was raised in the African Congo until I was a little boy and civil war suddenly broke out, and I got pulled away from my family and was put on the last seat of the plane leaving for Montreal,” Solomon said. “I stayed with my mom’s family here in Canada for the rest of my upbringing and I couldn’t even talk to anyone at first … but I think that’s where music really came to me for the

Friday, March 16, 2012 first time, it was like my first language here.” Solomon then left Montreal to travel across Asia for five years, playing covers in live venues but not yet his original songs. “One day, I just decided to quit that and go to Vancouver where I could build my career as an independent artist more easily than anywhere else in the world,” he said. “But I think I’ve definitely picked up a broad palette for different musical tastes from my

experiences travelling around the world … so I can see that later in my career, I will experiment with mixing sounds that don’t really go together. “I think I can incorporate banjo into dance music, that’d be really cool,” Solomon said, only half-joking. Eric Solomon plays Ale House on March 21 at 8 p.m.

Jason Paradis, BFA ’95, belonged to the graduating class that voted in the name for Union Gallery.

photo by justin chin

art review

Stringing past and present Queen’s alumnus Jason Paradis’ new exhibit is inspired by Deadman’s Bay in Kingston B y C aitlin C hoi Assistant Arts Editor New York-based artist and Queen’s alumnus Jason Paradis returned to Kingston on Wednesday to install his new time-twister of a show. Combining works of art from

his past and present, Dead Man’s Bay, opening at Modern Fuel, promises to be a sophisticated time machine of art. Since graduating from the BFA program in 1995, Paradis received his MFA from Stony Brook University, and remained

in Long Island, N.Y., to continue his work. His exhibition at the contemporary downtown Kingston gallery marks his first time back since he was a Gael. Dead Man’s Bay — originally See Loosening on page 20


Friday, March 16, 2012

Arts

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• 19

Ample artistic licence Continued from page 14

Instead, during a “stumble through” at Sunday’s rehearsal, the ease with which all six actors played their parts helped highlight the light humour and musical talents. They play characters like Charlie, Linus, Schroeder and Snoopy, without covering their hair or changing their tone. “[Bernstein] said, ‘You seem like a girl who could probably eat bugs,’” Horner said, adding that she named her girl persona Agnes. “[Agnes] is a weirdo, like when she breaks into ‘Beethoven Day’ and ‘Book Report’ — running around like Robin Hood — she’s really weird and doesn’t care what other people think. “I haven’t even passed DRAM 100 yet, so working with both characters is difficult but it’s a lot of fun, a totally new experience.” On top of classes, the cast spends around 15 hours per week in rehearsal for Charlie Brown and at least five hours practicing on their own time, Horner said. “I spend a lot of time running lines even though I consistently mess them up and I have the least in the show,” she said, laughing. “I’m in Chown Hall this year and we have a great basement. I’m pretty sure I’m angering almost everyone on the first floor just by singing.” Several numbers in the show have six-part harmonies. With just a six-person cast, the demanding vocal set inevitably required practice. “There’s always singing on top of each other, like ‘Book Report,’ at the end of it is just like a chaotic, beautiful mess. So we worked a lot with chorus work first and then we did a little bit with our solos,” Horner said. “[Vocal director Lauren Del Rio] kind of let us do what we want, like with ‘Beethoven Day,’ [which features Schroeder] it’s kind of hard to sing with the track because we’ve

kind of completely redone it. She’s like ‘Do whatever you want, figure it out yourself.’ It’s so awesome.” Because Horner is comfortable with singing and acting, choreography takes the most work. “The dancing, I’m a terrible dancer,” she said. “We just got [musical actor] Mitch Munroe, he’s coming in to help us choreograph one of our songs and I already Horner works hard on her choreography and says she’s a “terrible dancer.” feel like I’m going to get hives.” Despite this, she believes they’ve all benefitted from Bernstein giving them ample artistic licence. “With almost all of the songs she said, ‘you’re starting here, you’re ending here, go ahead.’ … A lot of running, a lot of jumping, that’s what makes it so fun and so easy.” The playful nature of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts and the natural chemistry of the Charlie Brown team forms the essence of the production — it’s obvious from just a minute in the rehearsal room with the cast. For Horner, it was one of the main reasons she chose the show as her first stage venture at Queen’s. “You probably can notice, that we all really enjoy acting like children,” she joked. I did and admit I was a bit jealous. “It’s a really easy show to be a part of, like the script is really light, the script is really fun. All the rehearsals, we just run around and play, you know what I mean, it’s not so intense. That’s really why I chose Charlie Brown.” After it all — daunting auditions, months of rehearsal and dance practice — she admits she’ll probably still get a little nervous before the show. “With [the Journal] here as our first audience, I was a little bit nervous. But it’s kind of cute with this show, you know what I mean, you’re aloud to get nervous,” she said. “We’re playing six-year-olds. Six-year-olds would be nervous. So yeah, I get a little nervous, but I’m really just excited.”

photo by corey lablans


20 •queensjournal.ca

Arts

Loosening aesthetic Continued from page 18

inspired by the landscape at Deadman’s Bay, just east of Kingston — is a reflection on the work Paradis did as a student, in relation to what he’s doing now. In the title piece, he literally connects his past and present — stringing together a painting he made during his third year at Queen’s to one that he finished on Monday night. “This one here, to this one here,” he said, pointing to two starkly different images. “This’ll be connected with strings.” On the one wall, a large wood-framed canvas depicts a fairly traditional painting of a landscape, — based on a photograph he took in his third year at Queen’s. The second half of the installation is hung across the room and shows a more distinct style than the first. Paradis said that as a student, you start by pulling inspiration from other artists. Though thematically his works are very similar, he feels he has developed a stronger grasp on his own aesthetic. He said he always starts with a template, something technical to build from. In the second canvas of Dead Man’s Bay, Paradis used a website called Your Sky to recreate the night sky as it appeared 18 years ago on the night that he painted at Deadman’s Bay. Each star will connect to one of the strings strung from the original painting. Those familiar with Paradis’ work will recognize the use of string from several of his other installations. As well, his fascination with the passage of time — toying with the intersection between his past, present and future — is consistent throughout his art. “I don’t try to predict the future at all, I just try to sort of link my past to my present, hoping that will kind of forward the future,” he said, adding that though his artwork may look futuristic to some, it’s not necessarily

intended that way. “It always starts from the past.” Arriving in Kingston Thursday morning, he didn’t waste any time before re-rooting himself in the city. “I’m still adjusting,” he said, and no wonder after landing at 1 a.m. “But it’s good, nostalgia is kicking in — Phase 2 is still there and A-One, and I just went to the Brewing Company for lunch.” Perhaps in his most wistful flashback, Paradis went to revisit Deadman’s Bay. It was a professor at Queen’s who prompted him to explore the environment, which would continue to greatly influence his work. “I was in my third year,” he said. “And I’m not sure if [professor] Jan Winton remembers this, but she actually said that I was too tight as a student, that I was working too tightly and that I needed to loosen up. “It’s kind of a bizarre thing to do, but she sent me, she said, ‘don’t come back until you’ve loosened up … go out, go do whatever you need to do, but come back when you’re ready.’” The canvas from the dual piece is the only painting left from the trip that will be exhibited at Modern Fuel. The exhibit features a total of seven pieces from his time as a Queen’s student. When finished, the main space at the gallery will be decorated sparsely with large rocks and branches. Borrowed on his revisit to the site, it’ll hopefully help set the scene from Deadman’s Bay. “What really intrigued me by [Deadman’s Bay] was that there were a number of people who died inside those ships that capsized,” he said, referring to the shipwrecks in the bay. “It’s supposed to be one of the big haunted spot in North America. “On a clear day you can see the mast of the boat over the ice.” Dead Man’s Bay is at Modern Fuel from March 17 to April 14.

Friday, March 16, 2012


Friday, March 16, 2012

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SPORTS WoMen’s BasketBaLL

In it for the long haul Women’s basketball coach Dave Wilson discusses his coaching career at Queen’s since 1981 B y G ilBert C oyle J erry Z HeNG Journal Staff

AND

Dave Wilson just wrapped up his 30th season as the women’s basketball team’s head coach — quite an accomplishment, considering he almost lost the job after his first year. Wilson — who signed a one-year contract in 1981 while he was still an undergraduate student — took the Gaels to the playoffs in his first season at the helm. But when he asked Queen’s Athletics for an extension during the summer, they wouldn’t give it to him. They said they had someone else lined up. “They wanted to hire somebody that would be more stable and committed to the program … that sounds odd 30 years later,” Wilson said with a laugh. Wilson waited around while Queen’s pursued their target. But after weeks without an official signing, Wilson gave Athletics an ultimatum. “One Friday afternoon, I walked in and said, ‘You hire me today or I’m no longer on the table,’” Wilson said. “They said ‘OK you’re hired, because we haven’t been able to hear back from the other guy.’” But only three days later, Athletics called Wilson to tell him they were taking back the offer — their target wanted the position. “I said ‘No way, you already gave me the job,’” Wilson said. Athletics compromised and offered Wilson a position as co-coach. When he refused that arrangement, Athletics offered to make him head coach and keep the target around as his assistant. Wilson reluctantly agreed. “But he ended up getting a job teaching in Ottawa and never showed up,” Wilson said. Aside from 1984-85 — when he acted as an assistant coach — Wilson has been head coach ever since. On Tuesday, the Journal sat down with Wilson to discuss his career with the Gaels. Your overall record is 266-264. Are you content with that? Absolutely not. Is that my record? I’m not content with it by any means. Am I proud that we have 100 per cent graduation rate? Yes, absolutely. Would I trade a few more wins for a few people failing out of school? No, I don’t think so. But do I think we could still do both? Yeah. But getting that right combination of players at an institution like Queen’s that has a significant number of [academic] restrictions in terms of who can get in here is a challenge. How did you get started coaching at Queen’s?

I had been playing on the men’s team, and the reason I had turned the job down the first time was because I still wanted to play. But I had back troubles, and a couple weeks into that season, I basically couldn’t get out of bed other than to practice. Eventually, I couldn’t keep doing that, so that’s when I took the job coaching, as an undergrad student. What type of player were you? Headstrong and arrogant. I was a good defender and a very good shooter, but not a great passer. To me, that was my downfall in playing. I wasn’t a great passer. When you took the coaching position in 1981, did you ever think that you’d be doing it for the next 30 years? It didn’t take very long when I started coaching — I’m talking about a matter of weeks — before I figured out this is what I wanted to do. It was one of those things that once you get started at it, or at least once I got started at it, you get kind of hooked. I’m still trying to figure out how to do the job properly so when I get it right maybe I’ll retire … I really enjoy what I’m doing.

coaching girls]? I actually drove out to [the Athletics director’s house in Gananoque]. I said, ‘You’re going to sign this because this is going to kill my career.’ How many more years do you think you’ll still be hanging around? One of things I get concerned about as I get older is making sure that I’m still relevant and still connecting with the players. Partly why I have [former player and assistant coach] Sarah Barnes in our program and [former player] Claire Meadows joining this fall is to keep that link going. I have no desire to stop coaching … I suppose I have to retire at some point but I don’t see it in the next little while.

specific things and not have to worry about the bigger picture. I was very keen on gathering things that would help me here — that’s when I started the video program at Canada basketball … one of the most successful things we run [at Queen’s] is taken from film clips that I grabbed off [team] Spain.

some being slashers, others being just total all-around scoring. We’ve had other players that scored in different ways but could still be a significant presence.

Have you coached a player like Brittany Moore?

Work ethic, without a doubt. If you wanted someone to lead by example, that would be Britt. She competed hard. Why is Britt the best shooter on the team? It’s because she works the most at shooting. How does she lift the most? She works at it. For the longest time she bench-pressed more than anybody else on our team and this is a kid that’s 5’7. She puts in the time and effort. Lots of people put the time in, but they’re not pushing at that time. Britt puts time in with effort, you put those things together and good things happen.

Yes. Claire Meadows was a heck of a player. There were a number of them, but each player brings different characteristics. I’ve had some great athletes come to mind in terms of scoring prowess … some scoring i n s i d e , some being three-point shooters,

Besides her scoring prowess, what will you miss the most about Brittany Moore?

See Coach on page 26

What are your experiences with the Canadian national team like? I’ve been involved with the

Are there challenges to being a male coach for a women’s team? No question. In the early days, I was surprisingly attuned to the fact that I was a 21-year-old male coaching players on my team that were older than me, and the sensitivity and potential problems that could create. So I wore a suit and tie, I was very prim and proper, I didn’t want to do anything that anyone could label as inappropriate. Now, I don’t think that. I’ve got enough years behind me. I remember my first year coaching, like I still do today, I squatted down to players during timeouts. You can’t even imagine it now, but once I tapped a player on her knee and she blushed. That was an ‘OK’ moment. I had to be careful for the first little while in coaching. [When Athletics wanted to bring in a replacement in 1982], I was livid. I actually drafted a letter [explaining the decision] because I was so concerned that I coached girls for one year as a male at my age, was successful, and wasn’t going to be rehired. What’s the first impression people would get [about a young male

national team for 12 years now. I discovered that I really like being an assistant coach — a little less pressure and I can focus on

INSIDE

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PAGE 24

Queen’s students rarely attend Kingston Frontenacs games.

The Journal looks at pro football’s recent bounty scandal.

Fifth-year Michael Nishiyama ran his last race as a Gael last weekend.


Sports

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Friday, March 16, 2012

kingston frontenacs

Local hockey team can’t draw students Team officials look to address disconnect between Kingston Frontenacs and Queen’s community B y G ilbert C oyle Sports Editor On Jan. 27, over 100 loud and drunken Queen’s Sports Industry Conference delegates filled up a corner of the K-Rock Centre, cheering on the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs and taunting the visiting Oshawa Generals. By the second period, students had spread out across the crowd to start a wave around the stadium. “Our season ticket holders loved it,” Jeff Stilwell, Frontenacs director of marketing and communications, said. “Queen’s students made so much noise and made it so much fun.” But it was a rare occurrence. On most nights, only 15 to 20 Queen’s students show up to games. “We’ve done a number of things to market ourselves to Queen’s students, but it hasn’t clicked,” Stilwell said. “We do get bigger groups [like the conference delegates], but we don’t have students who just come to watch games.”

People are upset that this “team, which should be a beacon for what’s really been a good hockey town, isn’t competitive.

— Chris Lund, Queen’s Athletics sports information intern

The Frontenacs will close out the OHL regular season on Sunday, having already clinched last place in the Eastern Conference. In 32 home games so far, they’ve averaged 2,546 fans — but Stilwell said the organization wants higher turnouts, and more Queen’s students would be one way to do it. “This fall, we’re going to try some new things,” he said. “We have to put together a more dynamic way of attracting fans.” For the past few years, Frontenacs representatives have shown up at the Frosh Week sidewalk sale and have advertised in campus publications. But Stilwell said the club is planning to be more aggressive in pursuing students next year. “Among other things, we’re looking at creating a Queen’s ambassador, somebody right on campus for ticket sales,” he said. But Stilwell admits that Frontenacs games are still pricey for university students. A student ticket costs $17 — after a few beers and some food, a night at the K-Rock Centre costs almost $50. “The hardest part is that a case of beer is about the same price as a Frontenacs [game],” Stilwell said. Another problem is that most students

don’t have any serious ties to Kingston hockey, because students often come to town with allegiances to other teams and other cities. “If you’re from Vancouver, you’ve never heard of the Frontenacs,” Stilwell said. “Maybe you’ve heard of them if the Canucks drafted a player.” Nick Alton, ArtSci ’11, said he’s been to four Frontenacs games since he came to Queen’s, but mostly to see NHL prospects. “In my second year, I went to see the Windsor Spitfires play when they had [current NHLer] Taylor Hall,” he said. “The next season I went to see [current NHLers] John Tavares and Nazem Kadri.” Alton was part of the Sports Industry Conference delegation in January 2011 — he said the crowd had a different vibe when he went to games with his friends. “It’s a pretty strong local crowd, but it’s a lot different,” Alton said. “[The conference] brought a lot of energy to the building … it was more upbeat and enthusiastic.” As a competitive youth hockey player and fan of the pro game, Alton said OHL games offer high-quality hockey, but he rarely thinks about going to Frontenac games. “The Frontenacs are just not really on the radar [for Queen’s students],” he said. “It’s good quality, but for me there’s no real connection to the product.” The Frontenacs have missed the playoffs for three of the past five seasons. Alton said those results aren’t good enough to attract fans. “It would help if they had a good young player or a hot team … they need to find something to market,” he said. “If I was coming into first year and they could sell me on that, maybe they could build something.” Queen’s Athletics sports information intern Chris Lund worked part-time for the Frontenacs this season, writing press releases and game reports. He said the team’s recent poor results have even hurt local attendance. The Frontenacs are 19-40-7 so far this season. “People are upset that this team, which should be a beacon for what’s really been a good hockey town, isn’t competitive,” he said. “It’s been a real struggle [to attract fans], but it’s a reflection of the state the team’s in right now.” Despite poor attendance from Queen’s students, Lund thinks the Frontenacs can still find a niche on campus. “Queen’s students are willing to go out and see live sporting events … the numbers at the Carr-Harris Cup reflect that,” Lund said, also pointing to high attendance figures when Gaels teams make long playoff runs. “As far as high-profile sports in this city, Frontenacs hockey is as close as you get,” he said. “I do think a big name would be huge … if teams have a couple good players, they can still get people out to the rink.”

Vote for your favourite Gaels moments of the season at gogaelsgo.com

Forward Cody Alcock (left) and the Kingston Frontenacs are last place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.

supplied by justin tang

The Kingston Frontenacs are planning to make a bigger advertising push to attract Queen’s students next season.

photo by corey lablans


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PLaYer BoUnties

No bounties in CIS, Queen’s coach says According to football head coach Pat Sheahan, players aren’t looking to hurt opponents B y B eNJAMiN D eANS Assistant Sports Editor Football coach Pat Sheahan remembers a time when there wasn’t a rule against tackling receivers who were about to catch a ball. “You’d get these guys completely exposed, hit in the midsection,” he said. “It looked marvelous from the stands — a guy does a 360 and lands on his head — but how ethical was it?” The game has changed a lot since Sheahan started coaching high school football about 35 years ago. “The whole concussion discussion has mushroomed in a big way over the last couple of years,” he said. “There just seems to be more of them.”

said. “Fairly unscrupulous coaching ... I don’t think we’re ethically perfect in Canada, on a number of levels, but I don’t believe there are coaches out there willfully trying to hurt or injure people. “We’re breeding a culture of football player where — even at the NFL — that’s happening less and less … When guys are deemed to be defenceless, they’re given the benefit of the doubt by their opponent and they’re not being knocked into the middle of next week.” Sheahan has overheard his defensive players talking about roughing up opponents,

but he said he’s certain they’re not serious. impact on the team’s success,” Sheahan said. “Even if they use what I would consider “You can’t whine about that when it happens to be defamatory language like ‘Okay, I’m to you because there’s undoubtedly been going to knock that guy out,’ they don’t times when you’ve benefitted.” really mean that,” he said. Former Western Mustangs quarterback This season, quarterback Billy McPhee Mike Faulds suffered a leg injury when injured his rib in the last game of the Queen’s beat the Mustangs in the 2009 Yates regular season and sat out playoff games Cup. Sheahan said Faulds’ injury may have against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks had an impact on the game. and the McMaster Marauders. Sheahan said “It probably comes out even, the number McPhee’s case was a prime example of how of times you having a guy injured hurt an injury to an important player can hurt you and somebody else having an injury a team. helped you.” “When the quarterback gets hurt, it has an

guys are deemed to “beWhen defenceless, they’re given the benefit of the doubt by their opponent and they’re not being knocked into the middle of next week.

— Pat Sheahan, football head coach “It’s a rough, tough game, but everybody should walk off the field at the end of the day.” The NFL announced two weeks ago that the New Orleans Saints operated a bounty system since 2009 that paid players for injuring opponents. Sheahan said he hadn’t come across any bounty systems like the Saints’ in the CIS. “In a collision sport like football, somebody gets hurt and to know that some guy got a $100 bonus for taking a shot at him,” he

The Queen’s football team had to go through last fall’s OUA playoffs with injuries to key players like quarterback BIlly McPhee and linebacker Sam Sabourin.

PLaYer BoUnties

Thuggery taints football Recent bounty scandal shows sport can’t shake link with violence

B y B eNJAMiN D eANS Assistant Sports Editor Pro football is plagued by contradictions right now. The recent New Orleans Saints bounty scandal shows that the sport really isn’t that different from boxing. On March 2, the NFL announced that since 2009 — the year New Orleans won its first-ever Super Bowl — the Saints have operated a bounty system that paid players to injure opponents.

In the context of football, the idea of trying to hurt another person makes sense because some players aren’t replaceable. Five days later, former Canadian Football League lineman Adriano Belli said bounties are also common in Canadian football. The revelation comes at a pivotal moment for the NFL, which is facing concussion lawsuits from former players and a struggling against a growing body of research linking

brain diseases to violent head hits. The NFL has responded by changing the rules of the game to make it safer by expanding the definition of an illegal hit. But the Saints’ bounty system reaffirms the fundamental connection between violence and football. In the context of football, the idea of trying to hurt another person makes sense because some players aren’t replaceable. One of the most memorable moments of the Saints’ 2009 playoff run happened when New Orleans defensive end Bobby McCray hit Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner — the Cardinals didn’t score any points for the rest of the game. McCray’s hit wasn’t illegal, but even if it was, no penalty or ejection could offset the advantage that the Saints gained from the hit on Warner. It’s undeniable that targeted violence produces results in football. There will always be teams that break the rules. It’s the classic if-you-aren’t-cheatingthen-you-aren’t-trying mentality. So where does football go from here? Violence is its main appeal, but gruesome injuries are its flaw. Even though it’s one of the most important parts of North American culture, the dangers and risks of football break too many taboos. If football doesn’t make significant changes, it’s facing a slow death at the lawsuits and brain research.

journal File photo


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Friday, March 2, 2012

track anD fieLD

Track captain ends career

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Michael Nishiyama places sixth in solo race before finishing ninth with the relay team at nationals in Winnipeg

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B y S AVoUlA S tyliANoU Assistant News Editor

finished ahead of the second-place Nishiyama still said he didn’t Victoria Vikes and the third-place expect to do so well against tough Guelph Gryphons. competition in Winnipeg. Nishiyama fared better in the “Coming in sixth was a little After five seasons with the track and field team, co-captain 1,000-metre event — although he bit of a surprise,” Nishiyama said. Michael Nishiyama is hanging up was seeded 10th going into the “But at the same time the guys who weekend, he grabbed sixth place were in the race were all ranked his sneakers. really closely together, so anyone He was one of five Queen’s with a time of 2:26.86. could have won or lost.” athletes who travelled to the Guelph’s Tommy Lecours University of Manitoba to compete I’m back again next won the race, breaking a at nationals last weekend, racing year to finish up my 13-year-old Canadian in the 1,000-metre race before master’s degree. I’m Interuniversity Sport record by running the 4x800-metre relay going to be talking almost a full second with his time of with teammates Josh Potvin, with Steve, hopefully 2:22.09. The Laval Rouge et Or’s Alex Hutton and last-minute Jean-Samuel Lapointe and Charles replacement Jeff Mountjoy. he’ll be coaching me Philibert-Thibou won silver and The Gaels placed ninth in the on the side. bronze, respectively. relay with a time of seven minutes, Overall, the Mustangs won 46 seconds and 55 milliseconds, — Michael Nishiyama, track and field co-captain but Nishiyama said they wanted to their first-ever national men’s title, while the Windsor Lancers do better. their fourth-straight Mountjoy, who filled in after “My time was my second best for won Michael Bentley came down with the season,” he said. “I was pretty women’s championship. The CIS championship was the flu the previous day, posted happy with it.” a personal best of 1:57.04 in his His best time, 2:26.27, came Nishiyama’s last time running portion of the race. at Boston University’s Valentine for Queen’s, ending a career The Western Mustangs Invitational on Feb. 11th. But that included winning MVP of the men’s track and field team last season. “It’s been a long five years, but it’s been a great experience,” he said, adding that he’ll particularly miss his teammates. “A lot of the people I train with are incredibly talented guys and I’ve always looked up to them,” he said. “Getting to know the team has been the best part about it.” Even though he’s used up all his eligibility, Nishiyama said he still has plans to race with head coach Steve Boyd’s local Kingston club next year. “I’m back again next year to finish up my Master’s degree,” he said. “I’m going to be talking with Steve, hopefully he’ll be coaching me on the side.”

Fifth-year captain Michael Nishiyama wrapped up his Queen’s career last weekend at nationals.

photo by saVoula stylianou


Friday, March 16, 2012

Sports

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Friday, March 16, 2012

SPORTS IN BRIEF football team signs two recruits The Queen’s football team has announced two new recruits in the past month — Doug Corby from Burlington, Ont.’s Nelson High School committed to the team on Feb. 17 while Montreal native Jordan Comtois signed on March 12. Corby is a 6’2, 175-lb receiver while Comtois is a 6’2, 200-lb defensive back. Comtois — who spent the past three seasons playing in the Quebec college league — will turn 20 later this year. Head coach Pat Sheahan said it’s too early to say if either recruit would start next season. “I don’t make promises to guys over the phone,” Sheahan said. “[They’re] coming here to compete like all the others.” Along with offensive lineman

Daniel Hayes, the Gaels have announced three recruits so far in 2012. “The three guys that are now in the fold, they’re top prospects,” Sheahan said. — Benjamin Deans

Men’s hockey coach signs extension Men’s hockey coach Brett Gibson has signed a five-year contract extension with Queen’s Athletics. “[Queen’s Athletics Director Leslie Dal Cin] and I had to make a decision whether I was going to move forward as the coach or not and we both came to terms we wanted,” Gibson told the Journal after signing the contract on Thursday. Gibson has coached the team

for the last six years, posting a 75-86-18 record and making the playoffs five times, but he hasn’t progressed past the first round. Gibson said his contracts had always been year-to-year up until now. “It’s the first time I’ve signed a long-term contract with the school,” he said. “It’s a sign that they like the product that I’ve produced here.” Gibson said the contract is for three years with a two-year option — after three years, Gibson can choose to opt in or out of the remaining two years. The contract won’t be full-time, so Gibson will continue to work with his family business in Gananoque. Gibson wouldn’t reveal his salary, but said his pay would be in line with other OUA coach salaries. — Benjamin Deans

Women’s basketball coach Dave Wilson played for the Queen’s men’s team before becoming a coach in 1981.

journal File photo

Coach has no plans to leave Continued from page 21

It’s been five seasons without a playoff win, is there any pressure to get better results? To be honest, I haven’t considered it too much until Britt started weighing in a little bit — we haven’t had a playoff win in Britt’s time. That’s a tad annoying, and that’s got to change. But we’re going to be better next year and hopefully that will provide us with that opportunity that we’ll go by … the core of our team is first- and second-year. Has your job ever come under threat? I honestly don’t know ... I think we need to be better. We have to get back to where we were in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We’ve started to do the right things to bring us back up. This year, we were over 20 wins [including exhibition games] this season, the first time since 2003. I think we’ll go higher than that again next year. Which team do you think was a championship contender but kind of fell short of your expectations? What I learned over the years is that the teams you have is not so much the calibre of the team overall as it is about playing your

best basketball at the right time. The team that won the provincials and finished fourth in the country did not have a single All-Canadian on it. But 2004-05 was personally [disappointing] because … I just thought we had a better team than we showed that year. I didn’t adapt our systems to our players. I misjudged what I thought would work best for that group of players. I really regretted that afterwards. What are some of your ‘rookie blunders’? I’ve blundered every year that I’ve coached. Luckily, I have a great memory for forgetting things that weren’t good. I probably [misjudged] players that went to other programs, where I didn’t recognize how good they were going to be. I still do that. I’ve forgotten to put people in a game — I’ve had it happen where a kid plays great in the first half and I’ve forgotten to put her back in the second half. Now I don’t even do substitutions anymore, I’ve made that problem somebody else’s job. I’ve forgotten clothes on a road trip — I didn’t bring any pants and had to go buy dress pants. Who’s your core team going forward now? We have actually 14 of our 15 returning. You don’t replace Britt with one person; you do it as

a group. [Guard] Liz Boag and [wing] Jenny Wright will blossom a lot this summer. Gemma Bullard [who missed this season with an injury] was our second-leading scorer as a rookie in terms of points per game. Her scoring will pick up a bunch of the slack. We’ll miss Britt, but we’ll be fine. We’ll improve our size … if we could get more inside scoring with our size, it will make our outside shooters even better, because they’ll be less contested when they take those shots. Do you see Jenny Wright being the centre of the program for the next few years? I think she has that potential. She has the right combination of size, athleticism, and the skill package. I think she could be an all-Canadian, if her health stays with her. What do you think you will be doing when you do retire? I have a place in Florida — I don’t like winter. That’s why basketball was perfect for me, because it gave me something to do through the months that I really didn’t care for. The ideal setup would be golf in the morning, I’m an assistant coach for a high school team in the afternoon and I’m on my patio in the evening. The above interview has been edited and condensed.

across 1 Balaam’s beast 4 Practice boxing 8 Nitwit 12 Make pigeon noises 13 — Alto 14 Pressing need? 15 Attention-getting, and much more 17 Progeny 18 Boorish types 19 Sanders’ franchise 21 Firmament 22 X-rated 26 Busy places 29 Pigs’ digs 30 Literary collection 31 Wading bird 32 More, to Manuel 33 Item on stage 34 Lair 35 Car wash option 36 South American plain 37 Strikingly unusual 39 One-name R&B artist 40 Zeta follower 41 Chronicles 45 Con game 48 Foolishly impractical 50 Novelist Ferber 51 Magazine founder Eric 52 Eggs 53 Clothing store section 54 Dines 55 Buddhist sect DoWn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 16 20 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 32 33 35 36 38 39 42 43 44 45 46 47 49

Fever’ genre Raw rock “Ulalume” writer Conclusion What attendance takers count Saute ‘GWTW’ plantation Aware of Mob boss Stash Mountain goat In — veritas Lisa Simpson’s instrument Rhesus monkey City north of Dallas Humor Bobcats’ kin 33-Down’s state Upkeep (Abbr.) The gamut Not pretaped Read cursorily Height of fashion? Praise in verse Massachusetts cape Actress Hagen

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS

In need of a massage Protein bean Last year’s frosh Ghosts Sucker Foreman foe Pyrotechnician’s supply — Saturday Night

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FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012

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POSTSCRIPT SHORT

FICTION CONTEST: SECOND PLACE WINNER

GRAPHIC BY JANGHAN HONG

Characters and Dialogue

B Y D EVIN C LANCY ArtSci ‘13

innocent life was on the line.” “Well at least no one was hurt.” “Of course no one was hurt, it The main character of this story didn’t happen.” “So what are you drinking there?” stepped outside into the zero “London fog.” degree weather and pulled out “You’re drinking a trench coat?” a Belmont cigarette. His fingers “Shut up and sit down, you’re trembled in the cold, causing them to tense up and squeeze the filter making me nervous.” The main character sat down slightly harder than usual. The cigarette now bent to an oval as he and ordered a black coffee. When touched it to his lips before setting it arrived he pealed open the it ablaze to appease his blackened thin plastic lid of creamer and lungs. And now that the business squeezed its contents into the of addiction subsided he began coffee. The coffee was made from Robusta beans grown in Vietnam walking to his destination. The sidewalk was icy and the and the cream was from a cow main character’s footing was in Burlington. The other character of this complicated by a paperback book he had stuffed in the back pocket story spoke, “So, how is that book of his pants. He had no intention coming along?” “Great, I finished it on Tuesday of reading the book while out but thought it would look cool, like in like five hours. In fact I’ve got it he was some sort of romantic. He right here in my back pocket.” “Why do you have it in your wasn’t a romantic, but liked to think of himself as one. And that’s why back pocket if you’ve already he had this book obstructing his finished it?” “You know …” ability to traverse the Kanadian ice. “No, I don’t know, why?” Thankfully he never fell, because if “… So have you heard this new he did he would be embarrassed and turn beet red, which is actually band called Squeeze Bucket?” “Can’t say I have.” more of a purple. This would have “Yeah I made that name up, but ruined his romantic façade. He opened the door of his sounds like it could be one of those destination to a *chring* and looked weird bands nowadays.” “Sure? Well, speaking of bands, I around for the other character of this story. He was sitting in the really like that new song by Feist?” “You do? Huh, it doesn’t do it back of the café and raised his head at the sound of the *chring.* for me.” “Why not?” This allowed both characters to “Not enough rhymes.” make eye contact, which is the The secondary character beginning of the charisma you are about to experience between these laughed and replied, “Not enough rhymes? What is that supposed two characters. “Hey man, sorry I’m late there to mean?” “You know, cat, fat. Rat, was a car accident on the road and I wanted to see if anyone was hurt.” hat. Rhymes.” “Yes I know what rhymes are, “No there wasn’t, you’re lying. And of all the excuses for being late but how can a song not have you lied about a car accident where enough rhymes?”

“You know what just forget it, drink your damn trench coat.” Both characters stirred their drinks as they looked around at the décor of the café. There was an art deco poster that spelt coffee ‘koffie’ which is Dutch. I like using a k for the hard ‘ca’ sound, that’s why I spelt it Kanadian earlier. The main character spoke again, “Hey, do you ever get the feeling you’ve impregnated someone?” “What the fuck?” “Never mind, forget I said anything.” The two glanced around at the other patrons sipping their respective drinks. Eventually their eyes focused back in on their own table, and they each raised their cups to sip. “So you’re still smoking?” “How did you know?” “Your digits are yellow.” “Bullshit.” “Yeah, I’m just kidding. The other character of this story that is only mentioned in this sentence and the next one told me you took it up again.” “Fuck, I hate that character. Always telling you my nasty habits.” “Well, when are you going to quit again?” “Never, that gum is disgusting.” “What about the patches, I hear they’re quite the ride.” “What’s this now, you a patch junkie?” “Full blown, I go through a pack a day. I’ve had the coolest dreams.” “Like what?” “Well, this one time I was on a weird football team and we we’re practicing in my house, but it wasn’t really my house, and our job was to smash cucumbers against the kitchen table.” “You know what that means, right? The cucumbers represent

your childhood. Was there a coach for your football team?” “Yeah.” “Right, and he’s adulthood ordering you to dispose of your childish ways.” “I thought it just meant I wanted to have sex with my mother.” “Or that.” At this moment the main character received a text message, which made a loud noise in his pocket. He had forgotten to turn down the volume after his alarm woke him up. In fact, when the alarm woke him up he turned it off and fell back to sleep, which made him late. “Sorry, I’m so popular.” “Oh it’s okay it’s not like I mean anything to you.” “Ha.” “Who was it?” “I can’t tell you.” “What do you mean you can’t tell me?” “If I told you I’d have to kill you.” “Wow, original, what’s this dialogue from? Some 1980s b-movie?” “I’ll have you know I take offence to that.” “Oh come on, it was a joke.” At this moment the secondary character felt a sharp pain in his neck. “Ouch!” The main character laughed, because the author of this story holds his future. “That really hurt,” the secondary character said as he rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, his right holding open the newest copy of National Geographic. In 30 years time this magazine will be donated to a public high school library where it will be disembodied, made soggy with white glue and slathered onto a

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Bristol board art project. It will then rest in the basement of the artist’s parents for 15 years until it’s finally thrown out, resulting in a total of 45 unread years. Defeating its original purpose. “So are you ready for the rapture?” said the main character as he squinted his eyes to see the other character’s reaction. “I think so, why do you bring it up?” “There’s a sale on at the store for Campbell’s Soup?” This was important because canned goods can outlive human beings. “I’ve got all I need now, thanks.” “Dude, what’s your problem? I’m just trying to help.” “You know what, it’s fine. Just enjoy your soup sale.” “You’re just jealous aren’t you? That’s what this is all about ain’t it?” “What are you talking about?” The secondary character put down his magazine and raised his head to meet the eyes of the main character. “You’re just jealous that I’m the main character of this story and you’re second.” “Oh please.” “No, no, just say what you want to say. I know you’re thinking it.” “It just makes no sense, we play practically the same part and to purposely distinguish between the two of us is rude. He knows it bothers me yet he wrote it anyways! What does that say about this asshole?” “Ha! You’re something else you know that, I’ll have you know I had my own very extensive introduction at the beginning of this story, so yeah it does make sense that I’m the main character.” “You know what? Enjoy your damn story — I’m through with this crap.” “Geez, get over yourself man.” At this moment the purposefully secondary character rose up out of his chair grabbed his National Geographic and left the café. *Chring*. The main character chuckled to himself and sipped his beverage. Burlington and Vietnam made a good combination.


28 •QUEENSJOURNAL.CA

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012


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