the carillon
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the staff editor-in-chief editor@carillonregina.com
The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper Since 1962 October 31 - November 6, 2019 | Volume 62, Issue 10 | carillonregina.com
john loeppky
executive director jacob nelson business@carillonregina.com
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production manager jeremy davis production@carillonregina.com advertising manager advertising@carillonregina.com
What spookier cover administrator is there than Dr. Vianne Timmons. The campus’ ghoulish behaviour aside, this week we have the school board being a trash heap, the Rams winning (too little too late), another great band interview, and a steadfast opinion on Postmedia’s frustrating decision to pseudo-endorse Andrew Scheer. Happy pumpkin party time.
ty cote
technical editor frank nordstrom carillontechnical@carillonregina.com multimedia/Graphics editors kate thiessen sarah carrier morgan ortman multimedia@carillonregina.com graphics@carillonregina.com copy editor hannah senicar copyeditor@carillonregina.com news editor news@carillonregina.com
sara birrell
photos
a&c editor ethan butterfield aandc@carillonregina.com
cover......................... morgan ortman page 2...................... morgan ortman news........... canada summer games a&c................................ tom via flickr sports............................. jeremy davis op-ed.............................. andre forget
sports editor tyler meadows sports@carillonregina.com taylor balfour
interim distro manager kyle anderson distribution@carillonregina.com staff writer staff writer
elisabeth sahlmueller marty grande - sherbert
news writer
ben schneider
a&c writer sports writer
news
op-ed editor op-ed@carillonregina.com
Zip
errata
holly worby brian palaschuk
RPSB
Page 4
Follow-up on the Regina Public School Board Trustees voting against Trustee Young’s Pride motion.
contributors
julia peterson, brooke bohn, olivia wiens and adeoluwa atayero
the paper
The Carillon welcomes contributions. Correspondence can be mailed, emailed, or dropped off in person. Please include your name, address, and telephone number on all letters to the editor. Only the author’s name, title/position (if applicable) and city will be published. Names may be withheld upon request at the discretion of the Carillon.
Page 9
Sterling productions has put together a live rendition of the beloved musical Rocky Horror Picture show. Holly Worby gives us the scoop.
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Letters should be no more than 350 words, and may be edited for space, clarity, accuracy, and vulgarity. The Carillon is a wholly autonomous organization with no afilliation with the University of Regina Students’ Union.
Dammit Janet
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THE CARILLON BOARD OF DIRECTORS Erickka Patmore, Lindsay Holitzki, Maddie Ouelette, Dustin Smith. John Loeppky, Jacob Nelson, and Ethan Butterfield
Opinions expressed in the pages of the Carillon are expressly those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. Opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in the Carillon are those of the advertisers, and not necessarily of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. or its staff.
The Carillon is published no less than 11 times each semester during the fall and winter semesters and periodically throughout the summer. The Carillon is published by the Carillon Newspaper Inc., a non-profit organization.
Rams win big
Page 12
Rams win over the Bisons 47 - 15.
the manifesto
op-ed
In keeping with our reckless, devil-may-care image, our office has absolutely no concrete information on the Carillon’s formative years readily available. What follows is the story that’s been passed down from editor to editor for over forty years. In the late 1950s, the University of Regina planned the construction of several new buildings on the campus grounds. One of these proposed buildlings was a beltower on the academic green. If you look out on the academic green today, the first thing you’ll notice is that it has absolutely nothing resembling a belltower. The University never got a belltower, but what it did get was the Carillon, a newspaper that serves as a symbolic bell tower on campus, a loud and clear voice belonging to each and every student.
The People’s Friend; the Tyrant’s Foe
Ethics in Media
Page 15
Carillon Editors Sara Birrell and Taylour Balfour call out Post Medias biased endorsement of Andrew Scheer.
in other news The tuition keeps going up and the reputation of our university just keeps going down.
news
3 Editor: sara birrell news@carillonregina.com the carillon | October 31 - November 6, 2019
Liberals hold on to power (but just barely)
Saskatchewan goes blue
ben schneider news writer Another federal election has come and gone after Justin Trudeau and the Liberals won a minority government on Monday, Oct. 21. The governing Liberals won a total of 157 seats, the Conservatives, returning as the official opposition, won 121, the Bloc Québécois claimed a triumphant 32 seats, the NDP managed to cling on to 24 seats and the Greens earned three. Former Liberal cabinet minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould won her riding of Vancouver Granville as the House of Common’s only independent. Yve s - Fr a n ç o i s B l a n c h e t helped to breathe new life into the Bloc, shaking up dynamics in the balance of power and contributing to the Liberals loss of seats. Québec has felt unrepresented in Ottawa and Blanchet represented the promise of giving Québec a stronger voice in Parliament. Jagmeet Singh’s campaign was slow to start but saw an inspiring surge in the two weeks leading up to election day. Polls on Sunday the 20th were showing the NDP at a seat count of 38,
Canada Summer Games
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which looked more like 18 in September. The end results were still less favourable than had been the party’s hope, but Singh was able to make a name for himself and left a lasting impression as a leader in voters’ minds. This was thought to be a critical election for the Greens, with climate change at the forefront for many. However, after only earning two additional seat this time around, it would appear that the majority of Canadians are not ready to view the Green Party as a multi-issue party. Rumours of May stepping down as a leader began to circulate after last Monday’s vote and, while May has expressed a desire to pass on the torch, she has no immediate plans to do so. Maxime Bernier lost his seat in Beauce, Québec to Tory Richard Lehoux, creating a bleak future for the new People’s Party of Canada (Editor’s note: good riddance). The Liberals lost 29 of the seats that they held previously, while their Conservative counterparts were able to elect an additional 23 seats to their existing 98. The NDP lost a staggering 18
seats, which were happily claimed by the resurgent Bloc who added 22 to their seat count. The Green party managed to pick up two seats from their 2015 results, one in New Brunswick and one in British Columbia. Ralph Goodale of Regina was one of the Liberals to lose his seat. Michael Kram of the Conservatives was elected as his successor, defeating Goodale by more than 7000 votes. Goodale had held his Regina Wascana seat for 26 consecutive years. Goodale has long been regarded as a popular, well-liked politician who dutifully serves his constituents. This fall, Goodale fell victim to a campaign sponsored by a third-party advertiser, Canada Growth Council. Billboards with the slogan, “Send Trudeau a message: Vote out Ralph Goodale,” sprang up across the city. One of Canada Growth Council’s three directors is University of Regina alumnus, Tyler Willox who was a recipient at this fall’s Alumni Crowning Achievement Awards. Willox received recognition for being an “outstanding young alumni leader, innovator, business leader, tireless volunteer.”
This was one of four Saskatchewan seats that went blue this election, creating a Conservative washout across the province. The NDP’s Sheri Benson of Saskatoon West and Georgina Jolibois of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River along with the expelled, Erin Weir, all lost their seats. The Liberals failed to elect a seat in either Saskatchewan or Alberta, leaving these provinces without representation in the governing party. In his election night speech, Justin Trudeau directed a comment to the people of Saskatchewan and Alberta, stating, “I’ve heard your frustration. I want to be there to support you.” Saskatchewan Premier, Scott Moe, was quick to comment and with characteristically vague language demanded a “new deal with Canada.” Moe went to on to detail that this deal should include the cancelling of the carbon tax, a restructuring of the equalization formula, and allow Saskatchewan and Alberta to get their products to market. Mikayla Koronkiewicz is in her third year at the University of Regina studying Politics,
Philosophy and Economics. Koronkiewicz points to growing sentiment of dissatisfaction in the West. “Conservatives usually recognize this idea of Western alienation, this idea that the West feels disconnected from the Federal government: they’re periphery, they’re the economic engine and Ottawa is using them. That’s always been an idea and Conservatives have always been advocates of such. What’s really come out of this election is this movement away from alienation to complete separatism.” “[The Liberals] have a lot of work to do in terms of uniting Canada, which has always been a problem because Canada is so diverse, but it’s really distinct right now with climate change.”
“What’s really come out of this election is this movement away from alienation to complete separatism.” – Mikayla Koronkiewicz
October 31 - November 6, 2019
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 4
news
Gagne doubles down
School board trustee shows partisanship in public role ben schneider news writer In the wake of the Regina Public School Board vote against Trustee Young’s Pride motion, Chairperson Katherine Gagne continues to be a central figure at the centre of this controversy. Two days after the motion was defeated, Kent Peterson took to Twitter, sharing a speech (more suitably, sermon) published on YouTube that Gagne delivered to the congregation of Harvest City Church in August of this year. The post, entitled, “Speak Up Speak Out” in as an exasperating forty minutes in length with Gagne urging her fellow Christians to play more active roles in their communities. Gagne preaches, “The one thing that rings like an alarm in my mind is the disconnection, too often, between the Church and [social programs and institutions]. Schools, hospitals, care homes, food banks . . . All of these services used to be provided by the Church. Somewhere, somehow, along the way, our place in society has changed. [Christians] are rarely seen anymore as the answer or the solution. [Christians] have been marginalized and, really, we have allowed ourselves to be marginalized.” And that’s only two minutes in, folks. Toward the video’s end, Gagne shares a touching anecdote of her daughter who recently accepted a position as a Floor Fellow (Residence Advisor) at McGill University. Gagne speaks of how it was essential for her daughter to strategically speak the language of “liberal secular theology” in order to be granted her position. “Isabel went to McGill three years ago with the absolute intent to make a difference and to bring Christ to that campus. So now she’s a Floor Fellow, that’s what they call it. But you and I both know that God’s positioned her as a pastor to 26 young people.” These public comments beg the question of Gagne’s fitness to chair a school board without religious affiliation. That’s not to say that one can’t practice religion in their personal life without it influencing areas of their professional life; however, Gagne’s comments delivered to the Harvest City congregation are a clear indication of a not-so covert Christian agenda. Eric Bell, an outspoken member of the community started a petition to have Gagne removed as chair. Bell also sees Gagne’s comments as presenting a conflict of interest. “I think it puts her de-
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nial of the Pride motion, in my opinion, into more context,” he says. “I think you can really see, in watching her preaching and her comments since the [vote], where this is coming from. I think [Gagne] is viewing education through a fundamentalist religious lens, which is not at all appropriate. This is a public school system. There are people from all sorts of different religious backgrounds, Christianity aside, that go to school in the public school system.” “There’s no problem with being a Christian and being the chair of the public school board, but you have to be able to separate that from your work and ensure that you’re working toward a safe and healthy, diverse school system for all. It really calls into question her ability to do that, I think.” Bell’s petition has received more than 4,800 signatures as of Sunday, easily surpassing the 2,935 votes that elected Gagne in 2016. The petition has garnered more support than he anticipated and Bell has yet to receive any oppositional comments. “If anything, I’ve had way more support than I thought I would. I’ve had a lot of teachers message me to tell me that they think the petition’s great and that Katherine Gagne, in her position as board chair, has done a lot of what teachers see as reputational damage to the school division.
Her actions have painted Regina Public Schools with a homophobic brush and it makes [teachers] look bad.” “If you google Regina Public Schools now, what is the first thing that’s going to come up? It makes the school division look bad, it makes the province look bad. I’ve seen comments on social media from people across Canada – education professors saying ‘it’s a dark day in Regina,’ so it’s on the radar for a lot of people.” When asked about steps to take place after the petition, Bell shared that he plans to present the signatures to the board. “I think a lot of what happens next is up to [the board] and if they decide to act in any sort of meaningful way. If they don’t, then it would be time to think about what to do next.” Gagne and the board have not commented on the petition. Following the vote, Gagne took to Facebook to defend her choice to vote against the motion. Her post also attests to a lack of understanding of basic grammatical rules, but it’s possible that this latter attribute was unintended. In her post, Gagne attempts to explain that, “We can’t have one school thinking a drag queen story time to kindergarten students is acceptable or a teacher telling a grade 3 student that they don’t need to choose their gender yet is acceptable.” Perhaps the Carillon will run a separate story unpacking
The Pride flag in black and white just doesn’t seem right
everything that’s wrong with the previous statement (there’s a lot), but what we can discern is that – Gagne’s understanding of queer culture? – not great. Bringing light to what became a rather interesting scandal, Kent Peterson shared photos to his Twitter (the same day as the aforementioned tweet) of an email that reads the following: “Please send (from your personal email) an email to each of the Regina Public School Board trustees asking them to vote NO. Please craft your email with the following in mind. -Do not say you have any affiliation with Regina Christian School or Harvest City Academy. -Do not even say you are a Christian. -Talk about diversity and respect for all, not elevating one group of people above another. -It’s good to talk about cultural differences but not faith. We can address this from a common sense perspective and be effective.” “For most of the board members, the minute they see a letter is from [a] Christian, it will be discounted. Praise God, we have three strong Christian women on the board but the others will need a lot of convincing to vote against this.” CBC investigated and reported that the email was sent to Regina Victory Church’s distribution list. Pastor Terry Murphy claims that he blindly passed the email
on to the church’s members and was unaware of its contents. Surprisingly, it turns out Murphy uses homophobic and transphobic lanugage and is quoted by CBC as having stated “We read about stuff all across North America about transvestites reading in public libraries . . . These things are very disturbing to us and they are very concerning to us.” A humbling reminder for queer folks that there are still populations who would rather they didn’t exist – in case anyone was feeling too comfortable. In the after-gloom of the Pride motion’s defeat, many schools chose to hold impromptu Pride celebrations with the goal of instilling a sense of security and love in those students who have been overlooked by their school division. Staff from Dr. Hanna School dressed in their finest rainbow colours when posing for this year’s school photo. The clear, overarching message is that Regina Public School Board’s failure to acknowledge the importance of Pride is not representative of the people it employs – compassionate, welcoming and understanding individuals who are there to support their students above all else. Gagne was unavailable for comment.
“There’s no problem with being a Christian and being the chair of the public school board, but you have to be able to separate that from your work and ensure that you’re working toward a safe and healthy, diverse school system for all.” – Eric Bell
October 31 - November 6, 2019
news
URSU holds Annual General Meeting
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 5
AGM gives student their voice
Jeremy Davis
john loeppky editor-in-chief On Oct. 24 URSU hosted every campus organization’s favourite practice in non-profit bureaucracy, their annual general meeting (AGM). Unlike the five-hour odyssey that was the last AGM, not to mention February’s special general meeting that included a lot of sparring between then URSU politicians Shawn Wiskar and Jermain McKenzie, last Thursday’s edition lasted a paltry 47 minutes. The quick pace was in large part due to a new rule that, while giving student clubs financial incentives to attend the meeting, also required them to have two members attend in order for their club status to be maintained. The change in policy meant a line reaching all the way to College West. Apparently, the wrath of a student club’s members is a bigger push than pizza. All of the special business motions presented at the AGM were put forward by URSU president Victor Oriola. The first, aimed at creating a stabilizing force at URSU’s executive table that a
Robert’s Rules must have been exciting this year
certain newspaper has viewed as sorely needed in previous years, read like an adult being called in to clean up the children’s messes. “WHEREAS the General Manager provides information, context, insight, perspective and advice and may also follow up on administrative tasks, and coordinate logistics for the URSU executives and serves as an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee according to Section 3.1.1.3 of URSU’s Committee Policy; BE IT RESOLVED THAT Article V Section 3 of the Constitution be amended to: ‘The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Vice-President Student Affairs, the Vice-President of Operations and Finance and the Vice-President of External Affairs. The General Manager shall act as an ex-officio member with limited voting privileges as defined in URSU’s relevant policies.’” In practice, this means that URSU GM Carl Flis will have the (limited) ability to influence the work of the student executives and limit the damage they can do to the long-term well-being of the organization. The motion
passed, with fellow executive Usman Khan acting as the seconder. The second motion, also passed, means that the URSU executive can name a temporary replacement for the URSU President should they be unavailable for more than two weeks rather than the previous solution, which was for the VP Student Affairs to automatically assume the position. It’s almost as if URSU has had leadership issues in the last few years. The third motion dealt with the chronic absenteeism that has plagued URSU’s board for the last few years. “WHEREAS elected directors have a fiduciary responsibility to URSU and its members; and, WHEREAS directors are expected to attend Board meetings as scheduled; and, WHEREAS chronic absenteeism by a director demonstrates a lack of commitment and that the Boards activities can be hampered or limited by such absenteeism; BE IT RESOLVED THAT Article VI Section 9.1.1 be amended to; (9.1.1) If a Board member misses three consecutive meetings without sending their regrets to the
Board Chair, that Board member will be automatically declared an ‘absentee’ and as such will cease being a Director of URSU and be relieved of their duties and responsibilities.” The fourth motion aimed to avoid last year’s situation when Heather O’Watch’s fall resignation left the organization without a vice president external for the entire school year as her choice to leave meant that no by-election was available in order to find a replacement. Or, in non-profit verbage: “(1.1) At its discretion, the Board of Directors, subject to a ⅔ majority, may at any time, call a special by-election to fill a vacant Executive position.” The fifth and final motion had to do with the non-profit governance of the student centres, forcing them to be more up front about their financials (including, according to a source, the Women’s Centre) since they have been less than forthcoming about their financial position. “BE IT RESOLVED THAT a Section 5 be added to Article XII as follows; (5) Any student centre that is supported by a
member established levy must make its annual financial statements and governing documents publicly available at all times. Such documents can be posted on the student centre’s web site or be able to immediately provide hard copies on demand. URSU has the authority to withhold payment to any student centre of all or a portion of any applicable levies until such time that the student centre is in full compliance.” Important to note is that this does not mean URSU can automatically withhold student fees if they don’t like what they see, just that student centres can’t withhold their financial statements and governing documents.
“Apparently, the wrath of a student club’s members is a bigger push than pizza.” – John Leoppky
October 31 - November 6, 2019
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 6
news
An impeachment primer Will 45 get 86’d? julia peterson contributor What is going on south of the border? Ever since President Donald Trump announced his campaign in June of 2015 to run in the Republican Party’s primary and become the President of the United States, American political news has been moving incredibly fast. Recently, discussions of impeachment have been dominating journalistic coverage and social media and seem as though they are going to continue to do so for a while. But what is impeachment, really? Is Donald Trump going to be impeached? And what might it mean for the country? Well, let’s get into it. Simply put, impeachment is the formal process by which a legislative body, like the House of Representatives in the United States, brings charges against a government official. It’s comparable to any citizen being indicted in a criminal court – essentially, it means that you are officially accused of having committed a crime. Impeaching a president of the United States happens in a three-step process. First, Congress opens an investigation to determine whether they should move forward with trying to impeach. Then, the House of Representatives votes by simple majority on whether to pass articles of impeachment. If the vote succeeds, then the defendant – in this case, Trump – has been impeached. However, just being impeached does not necessarily mean that the President is guilty of the things that they have been accused of doing, or that they must leave office – just like how a person charged with a crime in criminal court is still innocent until proven guilty. Once articles of impeachment have been passed, the process moves to the Senate. Unlike in Canada, where the Senate is an appointed body, all American senators are elected and serve sixyear terms. Currently, the American House of Representatives is controlled by the Democratic party, while the Senate is controlled by Republicans. When the articles of impeachment are brought to the Senate, the Chief Justice of the United States – currently, Justice John Roberts – presides over a trial to determine whether to acquit or convict the President on the charges approved by the House. If the President is convicted, they are removed from office. Although pundits and politicians have been talking about im-
peaching Donald Trump for the better part of the last four years, the official impeachment inquiry – the first formal step in the process – only began last month, on Sept.24, in response to an anonymous but well-corroborated whistleblower allegation. According to the first whistleblower accusation, Trump and other senior government officials pressured the Ukrainian President to open an investigation into one of Trump’s political rivals. A second anonymous whistleblower came forward in early October to corroborate the first account. We now know that on a phone call with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, during a period of time where the United States had placed a hold on military aid to Ukraine, Trump responded to Zelensky’s interest in obtaining more U.S. missiles by saying “I would like you to do us a favor though.” He then asked the Ukrainian government to investigate current Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, as well as his son Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company. A partial transcript of this phone call was declassified by the White House and made public on Sept. 25. Biden is one of the front-runners in the democratic primary and is a likely opponent for Trump in the upcoming 2020 general election, and there is no evidence to suggest that either Biden was engaging in any sort of criminal behavior in Ukraine. In the Constitution of the United States, the grounds for impeaching a President are limited to “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” This might seem clear-cut, but the actual meaning of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is not spelled out within the constitution, so there is some room for interpretation. “The actions taken to date by the President have seriously violated the Constitution, especially when the President says ‘Article II [of the U.S. Constitution, which discusses how Presidents are elected and sworn into office] says I can do whatever I want,’” said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in her address to the nation on Sept. 24. “Therefore today, I’m announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry [. . .] The President must be held accountable. No one is above the law.” President Trump, in response, has called the inquiry a
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“scam,” said that Democrats are liars and cheats, equated being under investigation to a lynching, and suggested on Twitter that the Democratic Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee – one of the committees responsible for the impeachment inquiry – should be arrested for treason. The poll analysis website FiveThirtyEight has found that public support for impeachment is rising in the States. By mid-October, a few weeks after the whistleblower report was made public, polls were showing that just over 50 per cent of Americans supported impeachment, and that number has stayed fairly constant since. On one hand, these polls only mean so much in terms of predicting what will happen, since
impeachment is decided in the houses of government rather than by national popular vote. However, voters can pressure their elected representatives to vote to impeach and, if the charges make it to the Senate, to convict. The last president to be successfully impeached was Bill Clinton in 1999. He was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice after denying under oath that he had sex with one of his interns while he was in office. President Clinton was acquitted by the Senate and served out the remainder of his second term. Prior to him, Richard Nixon resigned rather than face probable impeachment and removal from office after the Watergate scandal and its coverup.
Lock him up
If Donald Trump were to be impeached by the House, convicted in the Senate, and removed from office, the presidency would go to current Vice President Mike Pence, who would serve out the remainder of the term. Pence, a former governor of Indiana, is staunchly anti-environmental, pro-gun, and anti-abortion, with a long history of associating with groups that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people and signing laws that would enable more legal discrimination in his home state of Indiana.
“The actions taken to date by the President have seriously violated the Constitution, especially when the President says, ‘I can do whatever I want.’” – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
October 31 - November 6, 2019
news
A lack of pharmacare is making Canada sick
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 7
Canadians forgoing food and heat
eilzabeth sahlmueller staff writer In this past federal election, the idea of a pharmacare system – which would extend Canada’s existing national health care in order to cover the cost of individual prescription drugs – was emphasized by the NDP as a major component of their political platform and something they promised to implement within a year of being elected. Even though the NDP didn’t win the election, they brought a significant deal of attention towards the fact that major issues with the Canadian healthcare system need to be addressed. There is still a possibility that pharmacare will be implemented, because not only is it well supported by Canadians, health workers and organizations and political parties, but it also offers major benefits and is seen as realistic way to improve Canada’s problematic health care system. According to University of Regina Economics professor and former Deputy Minister of Public Health and member of the Advisory Council for the Implementation of Pharmacare (APCIP), John Wright, some of the major problems impacting Canada’s healthcare system are in regards to “access, safety, quality, the la-
Sarah Carrier
Putting meds in medicare
bour force, the lack of essential components, like dental, eye and pharmaceutical coverage and the high cost of pharmaceuticals.” Even though some companies and businesses provide medical and healthcare insurance for their employees, “20 per cent of Canadians are still either under-insured, or have no coverage.” This lack of coverage is a major problem because it causes stress, worry and anxiety for many Canadians, especially those already struggling financially, since it forces them to choose between spending their money on expensive prescription drugs, or other important life priorities, like food and shelter. In some cases individuals “forgo food and heat” to pay for their prescription drugs. On the other hand, other individuals opt for other necessities and don’t buy the prescription drugs they require because they simply can’t afford them. As Wright further explains, this is even more of an issue for individuals who fall between “the ages of 19-25 because many individuals in this age category are under-insured, or not insured at all.” As a result, this creates a strain on our country’s healthcare system. Individuals who don’t buy their prescription drugs often end up with worse health conditions,
requiring not only major healthcare treatment, but in some cases hospitalization, which leads to more money being spent by both the individual and our national healthcare system. The worst part is that many of these instances are unnecessary and could have easily been avoided if the medicine had been affordable. Despite this negative healthcare situation, there is a solution with the development of pharmacare because this would extend health care coverage for individual’s pharmaceuticals, giving all Canadians access to the medicine they need with their health card, rather than their credit card. While Wright believes that the development of pharmacare is necessary and important, he also acknowledges that this “is only one aspect of the healthcare system, “ and that there are many other areas that also need to be addressed in order to fix all the problems that currently exist with Medicare. However, implementing pharmacare would be “a major first step in terms of [potential] further improvements, especially because it would address issues like fairness, equity, efficiency and pricing.” Although pharmacare was eliminated from Tommy Doug-
las’ initial proposal for a universal National Public Health Care system in order for his proposal to pass, there was always the expectation that these elements would be installed later. However, it has been 51 years and this has not happened, despite the various commissions and research studies that have proven that a universal Health Care system that covers pharmaceuticals would be extremely beneficial. This delay in establishing pharmacare is based on multiple factors, including two main ones. Firstly, implementing Pharmacare is expensive, ranging from $1billion up to $15 billion per year according to what was recommended by the ACIP and depending on how advanced the system is. Secondly, healthcare is a provincial matter and extending the current healthcare system would mean that the federal government is intruding upon provincial government jurisdiction, which may be problematic and not accepted. However, despite these potential concerns and worries, the benefits that pharmacare would provide would be worth it. As Wright pointed out “buying pharmaceuticals in bulk [can ensure] lower prices for drugs.”
Currently, pharmaceuticals in Canada are the third most expensive in the world. This high cost is largely because each of the 100,000 different Canadian healthcare insurance plans have to negotiate separately with pharmaceutical companies. Having only one plan would allow better and more efficient negotiation, as well as lower price tag. Additionally, covering prescription drugs would decrease the cost of hospital care because fewer people would need expensive emergency care. Canadian families would save roughly $500 year, which would amount to a national savings amount of around $4.2 billion. Unfortunately, believing pharmacare could be implemented within a year is an overly optimistic ambition. Wright argues that a year is an unrealistic time frame because it would actually take a lot longer to fully establish pharmacare, since there is a lot involved with implementing such a system. For example, according to the NACIP, it might take a year of negotiation between the federal and provincial before an agreement is reached and a detailed plan is formed.
“20 per cent of Canadians are still either under-insured, or have no coverage.” – Dr. John Wright
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8 Editor: ethan butterfield aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | October 31 - November 6, 2019
Monstrous class part of course catalogue
RLST 201 takes a look at the ghoulish side of academics marty grande-sherbert staff writer We’ve just dragged ourselves through midterm season, and if you’re like me, you’re already thinking about what classes you’re going to sign up for next semester as you reconsider your course load. I’ve recommended RLST 201 (Ghosts, Monsters and Demons) in the Carillon before, but I think that the Halloween issue is a great place for me to lay out what’s so special about it – or rather, what it represents. This course is cutting-edge and exciting to have at the U of R, because it’s one of the first in Canada to seriously dip a slimy, clawed toe into the emerging field of “monster studies.” Such a topic is perfect for this time of year, and for this writer’s own very heartfelt interests – to be honest, the whole subject makes my little heart grow three sizes. The study of monsters is not an officially recognized field of research in academia – yet – but I genuinely suspect that as time goes on it will only become more and more popular among both faculty and students in universities everywhere. The textbook for RLST 201 is Stephen T. Asma’s On Monsters, one of the first comprehensive looks at the intellectual theories we can use to consider monsters as a serious cultural phenomenon. The function and status of monsters is examined from a variety of angles by Asma, but the one I will highlight in this article is the idea that monsters breach our categorical conception of reality. Dr. Bill Arnal, who co-teaches RLST 201 with Dr. Kevin Bond, says that this is the angle he has become most attached to when teaching to his students. Human beings, say theorists such as Asma (and this is the extremely short and simple version), tend to like organizing things into categories, to the point that it may be inherent to the way our brains process information. After all, from an evolutionary perspective, we need to be able to sort out in our minds which wild animals are cute and fluffy and which are out to eat us if we are to survive longterm. Monsters are the things that arise when we come across creatures (or even just ideas of creatures) that do not fit neatly into one category or the other. Asma calls them “liminal beings,” liminal meaning they are on a limit,
tom via flickr
or straddle a boundary. The more fundamental that boundary is to our sense of reality, the more horrific it is to imagine a monster defying it. Take, for instance, the border between life and death, one that marks the beginning and end of human existence on earth . . . or does it? The presence of ghosts, zombies, and other undead beings make us confront the possibility of things that are neither alive nor dead. The idea that the distinction between a living person and a corpse might not be so rigid is unnerving – it brings us closer to the taboo and innate fear of death. It’s also interesting, though, and presents us with new possibilities and opportunities. This means we might be able to interact with the dead, or that life and death might have some overlap. Media depictions of the undead and the afterlife will likely never end, because those uncertainties will never stop mattering to us as long as humans live and die. Consider also borders between humans and animals, male and female, good and evil; borders that are themselves constructed
or imagined by us – monsters, or sometimes, regular human beings who are called monsters because they are seen as too strange for society. This is just one of the things that makes Shrek (I say this both genuinely and as a meme) a very important film: it takes a monster, or an ogre, and reveals him as what all monsters really are: outcasts who are ostracized to emphasize who the dominant groups in society are. If ogres are monsters, human beings with non-green skin and fewer layers than an onion are “normal.” RLST 201 covers a delightful variety of monsters across mythologies from around the world, examining what kind of boundaries are being broken and for what purpose. The second part of the course that Dr. Arnal emphasizes is that monsters, like religious structures and ideas, have a social purpose – they do some kind of work. Yes, we acknowledge that ghosts are scary, but what’s the point of having people be afraid of them? What lesson is being reinforced every time we tell a ghost story, and why does that lesson need to be taught in its
cultural context? Is it a warning, an enforcement of conformity, a political statement? These questions are a lot more important than many give them credit for, and while there is always an element of advertising to offering new courses at a university, I don’t think it’s just a superficial fad to want to explore them. A trend of horror-related classes at the U of R still exists that reflects a serious scholarly interest; the English department’s Horror Fiction, Horror Film in the Film department, and the class on the witch hunts, for example. I myself am something of an aspiring “monsterologist.” My current honours research in Religious Studies focuses on the systems of organizing yokai creatures of Japan – a very broad spectrum of beings ranging from animal beasts to animated objects to ghosts and even gods and demons. Not all of them are what I would consider “monsters,” but these definitions are still murky. It was during RLST 201, in any case, that I realized I cared enough about yokai to study them seriously. I also had the chance
Ghouls, graves, and … grades?
through the course’s assignments to write about another kind of monster that interested me – the monstrous killer robot or evil AI present in movies like The Terminator. This paper was the longest I’ve ever written for any class, and ended up going so well that I later presented it at an academic conference. In other words, the intellectual freedom I gained from thinking about monsters, once I was given permission, led me to make new and exciting academic connections. If you’ve ever given a ghost story or a scary movie more than a second thought, take that interest seriously and consider flexing some of your scholarly muscles in a spookier frame of mind. You might be surprised how quickly you’ll find it to be true that monsters live – and take classes – among us.
“This course is cutting-edge and exciting to have at the U of R, because it’s one of the first in Canada to seriously dip a slimy, clawed toe into the emerging field of ‘monster studies.’” –Marty Grande-Sherbert.
October 31 - November 6, 2019
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 9
a&c
Hot-button Halloween costumes Keeping up with the age-old conversation holly worby a&c writer This week on “Yes, We’re Still Having This Conversation” − when do Halloween costumes cross the line from cute and funny to degrading and appropriating? Some believe that a costume is simply just that – an outfit – and cannot be offensive because clothing isn’t offensive in and of itself. Others say that if it’s just an outfit for one night it shouldn’t matter because it’s not like they’re dressed in that manner daily. Some reach so low as to say it’s all the stores were selling. The fact is there are some outfits that should not be used as costumes, regardless of popular opinions or what’s been done in the past. Let’s address that last point first. Stores supplying costumes normally have their stock based on the demand they’ve observed in the past. Remove the demand, and there will no longer be any money in filling it, so the supply will dwindle. Continue to show that there’s interest in a specific costume, and it will continue to be supplied because that’s where the money is, regardless of how inappropriate the costume may be. A simple Google search
shows millions of DIY-costumes you can make in less than an hour, or if you’re really in a rough spot you can dress up as Tobias Funke from Arrested Development with some blue paint and jean shorts. Laziness is the root of the “I couldn’t think of anything else,” excuse and in 2019, with this much inspiration at your fingertips, it is a pretty shoddy copout. A great way to figure out if your costume is appropriate is to ask yourself to explain why it’s okay. If you had to scramble a bit to find an answer, or if your reason is composed of points like “well it doesn’t offend me,” then it’s safe to say there’s a line being crossed. Here’s a simple rule of thumb: cultures and races are not costumes. It’s almost cherry-picking in a sense; you’re taking what you like from that group or what’s convenient for you without understanding the full implications or going through the daily discrimination that those groups face. White people dressing up as other cultures is a perfect display of white privilege because they get to dress up at their leisure and mock the stereotypes, then at the end of the night they get to shed that identity and not face the discrimination, whereas the people
West Point Grey Academy
Ghosts of a Prime Minister’s past
from those cultures go through it their entire lives. If your costume is based on the stereotypes of a minority, you’re showing a gross amount of ignorance at the very least. Finally, if your costume is an outfit that the people groups themselves have been persecuted for wearing, that’s appropriation. If you’re basing your costume
off a culture that the English invaded, attempted to destroy, and colonized, you’re crossing a line. As a closing analogy, here’s the dialogue from a recent Facebook post by Joe CrowShoe that puts it quite succinctly: “Tell Indigenous people they can’t dress in their traditional clothing for hundreds of years and nobody bats an eye. Tell white people they can’t dress
in Indigenous traditional clothing for one night and they all lose their minds.”
Rocky Horror comes to Conexus Sterling Productions does the timewarp again holly worby a&c writer Sterling Productions began in 2014 with their first production of The Rocky Horror Show. Over the past five years they’ve put on a variety of shows but have stayed loyal to their roots by putting on unique versions of Rocky Horror each fall. This year they spiced it up with a rave theme that was pulled off beautifully by both cast and crew. The show opened with the oh-so-charming Narrator, Zak Neilson, masterfully drawing both cheers and heckles in rapid succession. The Narrator’s task in the Rocky Horror Show is to prepare the audience for the many interactive aspects the live show is built around. Whether that be yelling “Asshole!” at the mention of Brad’s name, spraying water during a scene with stormy weather, or shouting well-timed heckles, the narrator-led audience participation is vital to the success of the show. I had the pleasure of attending the Oct. 25 show, and am proud to say the crowd’s involvement was passionate both verbally and choreographically with many individuals littering the isles to dance “The Time Warp” right alongside the cast
Sterling Productions Website
The best film starring Meatloaf.
members. One of my favourite aspects of Sterling Productions’ performance was the live band they had playing each song. They were hidden tastefully within the stage and could be spotted between the performers during the musical numbers. Scott Peters, the musical director, popped their head out from the pit mid-show during one of Neilson’s monologues for some playful banter, showing clearly how comfortable and natural the relationships between directors and performers were in this show. Despite the choice to use a rave-theme, Sterling Productions stayed true to the original score musically, and used costumes as a way to communicate the theme.
There was the perfect amount of costume variety without it being too busy or having the theme lost. All chorus members were decked out in contrasting black and neon, with makeup and hair done to match the specific neon colour of each member’s garb in a monochromatic style that built to a beautiful rainbow on stage. The leads were also dressed in rave-style costumes: everything from sequins to holographic patterns, tutus to garters, and leather to feathers. The leads in this show positively blew me away. The chemistry between Brad (Joshua Stewart) and Janet (Amy Couzens) was wonderfully composed, and the way their naivety slowly gave
way to corruption was beautifully shown. Trixie (Dian Dela Santa) stood out as well, belting out “Science Fiction Double Feature” with such power I’m sure even the bar workers in the foyer could hear every word. Frank ‘N’ Furter (Ryan Ramsay) gave a performance for the books, mixing a Jafar-like deviance with a Wonka-like whimsy. Ramsay hit every note without missing a beat, pranced in heels higher than the notes they hit, and artfully embodied beauty and grace in a way that had everyone questioning their sexualities. The highlight of the show for many, myself included, was the performance given by Riff Raff (Nathan Labatt) and Ma-
genta (Chloe Flota). The moment Labatt started singing was the moment I really sat up and gave the show my full attention – that sweetheart has pipes! Their companionship and scheming back and forth was so genuine, and even when the scene’s focus wasn’t on them they never once dropped character. Sterling Productions undoubtedly wowed with this year’s performance of The Rocky Horror Show, and I cannot wait to see what show-stopping ideas they’ll pull from their sleeves in the years to come.
October 31 - November 6, 2019
a&c
carillonregina.com | The Carillon |
10
Myles Kennedy talks new Alter Bridge album Florida band release sixth record
ethan butterfield a&c editor The hard rock world has been blessed once more with the recent release of Alter Bridge’s newest album, Walk the Sky. Alter Bridge , are a supergroup that originates from Orlando, Florida. Made up of the former members of Creed (Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall) and fronted by amazing vocalist Myles Kennedy, it didn’t take long before the group hit all the right notes and set the stage for rock ‘n’ roll today. I was fortunate enough to gain an interview with Myles, where we discussed the new album, looking back at old projects, and what the future held: So how does it feel to release Walk the Sky, which I believe is the band’s sixth studio album? “Yep, sixth one. It’s been great; we’ve been pretty blown away with the reception of the record so far. Anytime you put a lot of effort into something that the fans gravitate towards, it’s always
Sven Mandel
rewarding. So, yeah, everyone’s pretty ecstatic right now.” Now, I know a few albums from Alter Bridge have had anniversaries lately: Blackbird, AB III, Last Hero – what’s it like looking back at those albums and their success? “It’s just incredible to know that after 15 years, we’re still doing it. We were just talking about that the other day, that with each record you always wonder if it’ll be the last. We’ve had those talks, you know, ‘cause I really don’t take anything for granted. This is the music business, and oftentimes shelf lives of bands expire rather quickly after a few records, so, the fact that we’re into our sixth record now and we’ve built up a pretty loyal fanbase that continues to be all about these records is something that we’re definitely very grateful for. So, looking back on all those records, just reminds you how lucky you are to be this deep into your career.” So, having those experiences and putting everything
together, you and the band, what’s that feeling like? “It’s pretty good for us at this point. We’ve done it for so long, we kind of have a system in place. It works well for us, understanding everybody’s goals, what everybody’s strengths are. So, we utilize that and it helps make the process run smooth. I think that after 15 years of making records and writing songs together, I feel like we got it pretty dialed in so far.” And with that connection, is there anything about the latest album that stood out to you? “To me, there are very crystalized arrangements and we veered away from doing as many of the epics as we’ve done in the past, and that’s definitely a hallmark of the band, which we started on Blackbird. We wanted to try making the record the way that we used to, the songs are shorter and get to the point. That’s one of the elements of the record I think that separates it . . . with that being said it’s still very much a guitar heavy album – that’s
what we do. I think the other thing was how we choose to write it where Mark and I wrote a lot of the songs separately this time as opposed to coming together, just because of our schedules. So, it was a bit of an experiment in that sense, but we feel like it worked out really well.” What’s the focus for the band moving forward with the release of this new album? Just touring? “Yeah, touring for the next year. That’s the plan, is just to get to as many places as we can worldwide and continue to establish our presence. That’s the thing, as a rock band you got to get out there and hit as many places as you can just to build your base. So, that’s what we’re going to do.” So, looking back at everything you’ve done, whether it’s collaborating with Slash or releasing a new album with Alter Bridge, do you feel that you’ve set the level, or do you still want to do more as an artist? I think that there’s always going to be things that I’m going
Live rocking
to want to try, things I want to do musically. I think a lot of artists have those itches that need to be scratched but I’m also very aware of not over-satiating people with just too much material and so I’ve got to be very aware of that, and know when to kind of step back for awhile and make it so that there’s not too much Myles out there. So, it’s a delicate balance that I’ve managed to skate by for the last ten years, but I got to figure out moving forward, how I intend to continue to tour and make records? And if it’s going to be as intense as it’s been for the last decade? So, like I said, it’s a delicate dance I manage to make work. On top of the new album, Alter Bridge will be kicking off a 2019 European Tour on Nov. 12th. For more details on the album, the tour, and everything in between, you can visit their website at alterbridge.com.
“Looking back on all those records, just reminds you how lucky you are to be this deep into your career.” – Myles Kennedy
October 31 - November 6, 2019
carillonregina.com | The Carillon |
a&c
11
Looking into Netflix’s The Politican Murphy’s madness shines in Netflix series, The Politician
adeoluwa atayero contributor Anyone familiar with Ryan Murphy and his work has definitely noticed his signature style when it comes to creating content for television. From the writers he collaborates with, the archetypes he employs, his ability to incorporate Broadway ballads into almost any scenario (and I mean any scenario) and his storytelling mechanics when it comes to camera work and aesthetics – the list is exhaustive. What is most impressive, however, about Mr. Murphy and his formulaic approach to making television series is how he is able to take these elements and tell a refreshing tale each and every time. Whether it’s taking us inside the campy life of surgeons in FX’s Nip/Tuck, giving us a good scare and retelling history in FX’s American Horror Story and American Crime Story, and giving us no choice but to root for the underdogs in Fox’s Glee and HBO’s Pose, there is clearly a method to Murphy’s madness and it shines through in his latest Netflix series, The Politician. Worthy of mention is the fact that we are to expect more Murphy Netflix flicks in the near future as the screenwriter has recently signed a landmark sweetheart $300 million deal with the streaming giant. Coming up from
Stock Catalogue (Flicker)
Netflix and death; the two constants
Murphy’s stables is a ten-episode adaptation of A Chorus Line, an Andy Warhol docuseries, a Marlene Dietrich collaboration project with Jessica Lange, and a series about Halston. Additionally, Murphy will be simultaneously working on new seasons of Pose, American Horror Story, and American Crime Story. Booked and busy is simply an understatement. In the midst of this project galore, Murphy has still been able to create what Time calls “the ‘Ryan Murphiest Show’ Ryan Murphy has ever made” and sixty seconds into The Politician it’s not hard to see why. For fans of Murphy’s hit highschool comedy-drama musical show, Glee, there is definitely something familiar about the tone of the show. Apart from the obvious comparisons (highschool drama, young love, comedy, one-liners, musicals, queerness, unlikely villains and deliberately exaggerated fashion), there is something at the core of The Politician which resonates and tugs at heartstrings much like its predecessor. That being said, that is where the Glee comparisons end. The series follows Payton Hurbert, played by Broadway sensation Ben Platt, who we find at the beginning of the season vying for the office of student body president at his very rich and very
white high school, Saint Sebastian High School. The opening sequence, which shows Ben Platt’s character as a wooden mannequin built out of particles and elements of what people have come to see as an ideal president, is also instructive. In short, Payton is just that – an object of everyone’s projection. He is not an actual person with substance but more of an overambitious human robot that only sees a goal and ways he can achieve it. Payton’s character and much of the antics he finds himself engineering is an apparent satire of the spectator mudslinging sport which politics has become in the year of our Lord 2019. Emily Todd VanDerWerff of Vox said it best when she said that “The Politician is a story about everybody else in America banding together to get some empty-suit white guy through the day.” By doing this, Murphy is able to zero in on a truth which translates hilariously in the over the top way it is presented in the show and is also sadly reflective of the world that we all, especially Americans, live in today. Although the show does seem to ridicule everything wrong with the American political system and the damaging effects it has on the consciousness of the public, the show is mainly about the strug-
gles of the marginalized people with which Payton is surrounded. This is the real genius of The Politician. Having the main character of the show be one as overtly ambitious and significantly colourless as Payton makes understanding the lives and struggles of the rest of the show’s ensemble easier and fun. It is a delicate dance but Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennan came out swinging by displaying his – disabled, coloured, female – co-stars in a perfectly poised position to pique our interests where Payton’s anodyne archetype consistently leaves it. Throughout the show, after a series of very drastic and sharp encounters, Payton’s character does evolve. Whether it is watching his best friend commit suicide in front of him, losing his inheritance and regaining it, or forfeiting his acceptance to Harvard University, Payton’s character goes through a constant self re-evaluation to his essence and relevance. It is through this dimension of Payton’s journey that it becomes apparent that Payton’s vapidity itself is a theme. Vapidity and isolation, in the face of great promise and ambition, is a theme that feels oddly universal and a story Murphy and co have mastered telling. The Politician is a sideshow which features a lot of “wait . . . what?”
subplots and extreme scenarios but at its heart, it tells the story of us all through the unfamiliar lives of people we might not consider to be one of us. Our craving for validation and the extents we might go to attain it is told through Payton’s character; our need to hold on to love that we think we deserve at all costs is told through Alice’s character (Julia Schlaepfer); our inclination to be overshadowed by innate darkness when we seem to be leading perfect lives is told through River (David Corenswet) and our inner struggle to fight for the ones we love at the peril of our happiness is told through the character of Georgia (Gwyneth Paltrow). Much like a majority of Murphy’s best work, The Politician is to be watched with humour in one glass and an occasional bite of consciousness in the other. The only thing crazier than some of the show’s plots are those magical moments when, in the midst of all that theatricality, you see someone familiar staring back at you with new eyes. If you squint just a little more, you’ll find that someone is you.
“. . .The Politician, is to be watched with humor in one glass and an occasional bite of consciousness in the other.” – Adeoluwa Atayero
sports
12 Editor: tyler meadows sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | October 31 - November 6, 2019
Rams demolish Visiting Bisons on Senior Night at Leibel Field Fifth-year Kyle Moortgat led the way with a career-best game for the Rams brian palaschuk sports writer The Regina Rams ended their season with senior night at Leibel field on Friday Oct. 25. The game is a career celebration for the fifth-year players, who were able to end their varsity football careers with a big win. The Rams dominated the University of Manitoba Bisons in all facets of the game. They put up season bests in rushing yards with 234, and points with 47 to the Bisons’ 14. Josh Donnelley was also excellent to finish his season with a career-best four passing touchdowns. For Coach Bryce, the game was a great way to end the season. “It’s a great way to end the season, but unfortunately we are ending the season. We have a great young group of football players and they battled. We made some mistakes early in the season and we got in our own way a bit, but this is a great young team and we have great things ahead of us.” During fifth-year night, the seniors came out in full force. Kyle Moortgat finished his Rams journey with a career best in receiving yards, 182. Fellow graduate Ryan Schienbein pitched in another 50, and they had a touchdown apiece. Running back Sam Varao also had a tremendous last game, rushing for 120 yards. Another fifth-year, Colin Stumborg added 52 yards of his own. Jack of all trades Daniel Scraper pitched in with three field goals. On defense, lineman Erik Wicijowski contributed four tackles with three for loss, and senior Cord Delinte added one more. Also dressing for the seniors were Theren Churchill and Braedy Will. Brandon Brooks, Odun Ogidan, Roe Borgmann, and Liam Lerat did not dress due to injury. Coach Bryce had high praise for his graduating students. “I am really proud of them; they are really good guys. They’ve helped me so much to put this team together, these fifth-year players are great leaders.” Some of the fifth-years made strides in the Cougar career record books. Ryan Schienbein finishes his career second all-time in career receptions and receiving yards with 184 and 2,461, respectively. Daniel Scraper moves up to fourth all time in total points scored after his three field goals
Jeremy Davis
One of three field goals, so no they didn’t miss them all
with 161. Defensive lineman Erik Wicijowski also ends his career top-ten in the record books in both sacks and tackles for loss. The team also acknowledged the academic achievements of All-Canadians Daniel Scraper, Liam Lerat, Ryan Schienbein, and Kyle Moortgat. For Kyle Moortgat, the game was a great way to cap a career that he wouldn’t trade for anything. “It really shows that our team is a very good team and we could have gone a lot further. It’s very memorable, I’ll remember this for a long time.” In his Rams career, Moortgat has been around for five different iterations of the Rams, from the rebuild seasons at the beginning of his career, to the Hardy cup contenders of 2018 who had to heartbreakingly forfeit most of their season. Moortgat developed tremendously in his five years as a Ram, to the point where he led the receiving core offensively in his final season, finishing with a
team high in receptions and receiving yards. “[It has] been a journey for sure, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs. [I have] never had to go through so much adversity before. I think that makes us a stronger team and myself a stronger person for going through that. “ For Moortgat, even though he won’t be playing next year, to him the young Rams roster has a lot of potential to improve going forward. “I think that coming off of this season knowing how close we were to making a run its going to be fuel for the fire to excel next year and go for it all.” Coach Bryce agreed that while this season didn’t go as planned, the future is looking bright. “We are building a foundation here. We have been trying to build a program, it’s not a one and done thing. We have two really good successful, talented recruiting classes coming in and that group will be good for years
to come. We will be ready to go the distance if we do this right.” The stats back this assessment up. Rookie QB Josh Donnelley has been fantastic all year and finishes his first career as a starter with 280.7 yards per game and a 60.3 percent completion ratio, good for third in Canada West. He also led the league with a low of 7 interceptions, and QB efficiency rating of 156.1. Second-year receivers Riley Boersma and Bennet Stusek helped him out and finish 7th and 8th in Canada West for receiving yards. Donnelley has exceptional chemistry with Boersma, who together average 20 yards per completion. Defensively, another duo of second years have came into their own in 2019. Linebackers Ryder Varga and Josh White have combined to lead the team in tackles and in sacks. DB Jaxon Ford has also pitched in big time, and veteran Robbie Lowes will return for his fifth year in 2020. Their 3-5 record also comes despite two losses by only a single
point, and only six games with starting quarterback Donnelly healthy. If the team can avoid injury and continue to improve their consistency, this team could absolutely be Hardy Cup contenders. The Rams finish their season fifth in Canada West, behind the 4-4 Bisons whom they bested on Friday. The playoffs will begin Nov.2 with the University of Calgary Dinos versus the Bisons and the University of Alberta Golden Bears versus the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. The winners will play for the Canada West Championship and then face the eastern winner in the Vanier Cup.
“It’s a great way to end the season, but unfortunately we are ending the season. We have a great young group of football players and they battled. We made some mistakes early in the season and we got in our own way a bit, but this is a great young team and we have great things ahead of us.” – Head Coach Steve Bryce
October 31 - November 6, 2019
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sports
U of R Soccer comes up short in Edmonton
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U of R Soccer ends season in the Canada West playoffs brian palaschuk sports writer The Cougars played a tremendously hard-fought game against the University of Victoria Vikes in last weekend’s playoffs. The teams went scoreless through a grueling 120 minutes of play. Weather was a huge factor for both teams, with winds of 25 kilometers an hour and near-zero temperatures buffeting the players. The season decider ultimately went to penalty kicks, which went as bitterly close as the rest of the game; only being decided in the fifth round. Unfortunately, the nail biter went the Vikes way, with keeper Puck Louwes getting the win for her team. Her opposition Kylie Bolton was also outstanding, stopping seven shots through regulation for the Cougars to keep them in contention. For Coach Bob Maltman, although the result wasn’t what they wanted, the team showed great resilience. “We are very proud of the efforts that every player who took the pitch showed in the match. The fighting spirit, commitment to our game plan, team organiza-
tion and desire to be a threat to the opponent over 120 minutes of regular play and extra time was fantastic. Our coaching staff commend each and every one of our players for their ability to play under adverse weather conditions throughout the match.” It was also the last time fifthyear athletes will take to the pitch for the Cougars, namely Lauren Petras, Brooke Schlossarek, Savannah Williams, Kirsten FInley, Cassie Longmuir, Jet Davies, Sydney Langen, and Brigit Sinaga. Maltman noted that these seniors were all instrumental in the team’s successful season. “For our senior women who played their final game as a Cougar student-athlete, they can certainly hold their heads up high. Not only have they invested in our program, but they have shown to our high number of younger players within our squad the drive, passion, resilience, and commitment needed to make an impact.” The team also made tremendous improvements statistically, despite only a slight improvement in the standings. They scored 17 goals this season, almost double the nine that they scored in 2018. Additionally, while the team went
Nathan McCarville
Cougars lose in PKs
3-8-3 in regular season, they showed an ability to play with the best of teams. 64% of their games were played to ties or one goal margins. Should they be able to get on the winning side of those close matchups in 2020, they will be set for a dominant season. Coach Maltman also sees a winning future for his young group, despite a high number of graduations.
“We wanted to win more matches, generate more quality chances and score more goals over the course of season. While we did achieve all of these aims, as a squad we certainly feel that we could have saw a few more wins this season by being more clinical in finishing in some matches. The number of players who contributed to our team’s performances over the season was
very encouraging and bodes well for our future.” This future will include a number of high impact rookies, including Olivia Gables, who was named to the Canada West Rookie All-Star team. Heading into their second seasons they will look to continue the trend of improvement and go for a deeper playoff run in 2020.
Ron MacLean leads Cougars cross-country at Can West Championship Canada West Rookie of the Year helps men to a fifth-place finish brian palaschuk sports writer University of Regina’s cross-country team was in action Saturday, Oct, 26 at the first annual Canada West Championships for cross country. This is the first year in history that the sport has held a Canada West championship separate from U Sports, so teams were out to enter the record books in Calgary, Alberta. The Cougars fielded men’s and women’s teams at the competition, who finished fifth and eighth, respectively. The hometown Dinos won the men’s competition, while the UBC women took the inaugural title. Top finisher for the men was rookie Ron Maclean. Maclean came into his Cougar career as a 18 and under national champion in cross-country, so expectations were high for his debut, and he delivered. MacLean earned Canada West Rookie of the Year honours. He was joined in scoring by teammates Brayden Mytopher, Kaelan Kolb, Matthew Johnson, and Jacob Smith. Kaila Neigum and Kaylee Tymo led the women, coming in at 30th and 32nd, respectively. Sarah Novakowski, Darbi Edwards, and Tiana Dodds rounded out the women’s team. For Edwards, the team’s performance was a positive sign heading towards the indoor season. “I think our overall performance [was] really good, the weather wasn’t the best, so I think we did well despite [it] being cold and windy. Everyone went out and gave their all for one last
Santeri Viinamaki via Wikipedia Commons)
Indoor track, outdoor track, people are running
race.” The conditions were indeed less than ideal, with a low of -3oC and winds upwards of 30 kilometers per hour. These conditions were a first for Edwards, who found the conditions to be challenging but manageable. “The snow wasn’t super heavy, but I found the wind worse than the snow.” Another challenge for the
team was the roster size. The Cougars fielded near the minimum roster size of 10, sending only 11 athletes to Calgary. Other teams such as the hosting Dinos fielded upwards of 20 runners. For Edwards, that was just another part of the challenge. “It’s a little intimidating obviously going against the larger teams, but you just need to be confident with your abilities and
get your team pumped up even if you are smaller than the other teams.” Edwards also spoke to rookie Ron Maclean’s great performance, one that buoyed the rest of the Cougars through the competition. “Ron ran a great race. He went out there and had fun, he gave it his all for sure. He’s had a really good season in cross-coun-
try and I am looking forward to seeing what he does on the track as well. The track is the next stop for most of the Cougars cross-country team, except for the select few who will head to Kingston for the U SPORTS championship, a decision that will be made prior to the meet. The U SPORTS Championships run on Nov. 9.
October 31 - November 6, 2019
sports
carillonregina.com | The Carillon |
Dietary supplements prove important talking point for Cougar athletes
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Athletes reminded of what they should and shouldn’t put in their bodies elisabeth sahlmueller staff writer Throughout the past two months numerous health, nutrition, sport and exercise experts have come to the University of Regina to give presentations in their field of expertise, as part of the department of Kinesiology Health and Studies annual Research Seminar Series. According to U of R kinesiology professor, Dr. Candow, this series began from a motivation “to highlight our diverse research portfolios [and encourage] greater development… knowledge translation, and community involvement.” Additionally, Dr. Candow pointed out that these seminars are a great benefit to kinesiology students’ education because “they increase awareness, interest, and understanding about the research programs of the Kinesiology and Health studies faculty and (other) researchers in related areas.” Although this series is aimed mainly toward students studying in these areas, students from all faculties who are interested in the presentation topics are greatly encouraged to attend any of the presentations. One of the most recent presenters was Dr. Eric Rawson, who presented two weeks ago, on the top five dietary supplements. Currently a professor at Messiah College for health, nutrition, and exercise science, Dr. Rawsson is regarded as a world-renowned sport nutrition and exercise specialist, as well as one of the “leading (authorities) on dietary supplements, specifically creatine supplementation.” In addition to dietary supplements, Dr. Rawson’s interest and most of his research also focuses on nutrition, exercise, muscle aging, and resistance training. He has given over 100 presentations and has independently and cooperatively written various academic publications. Most recently, Dr. Rawson was a member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) dietary supplement expert panel in Bern, Switzerland, where he helped formulate a consensus on the approved dietary supplement consumption of Olympic athletes. Dr. Rawson’s presentation began with an informative and brief background to dietary supplements. As part of his introduction, Dr. Rawson emphasized how the consumption and usage of dietary supplements, not just by professional athletes, but also by ordinary individuals has become much more common in the past couple of decades. This
is evident by the wide selection of dietary supplements, around 29,000, which are currently on the market. However, the unfortunate reality is that only a small handful are actually certified. For many of these dietary supplement companies, quality control is a major issue. This is especially true for instances where the product has been contaminated by substances like metal, or lead, which can have an extremely harmful effect on the individual who has consumed it. Another major problem for many dietary supplements is that the label of specific products don’t always accurately match its actual content. For example, in one study that Dr. Rawson described, products from 30 different dietary supplement companies were tested and 21 of these failed to fall within 10% of its label claims; demonstrating a wide content range from what was actually written on the product’s label. Additionally, many people who do use some form of dietary supplements not only lack the proper education and knowledge regarding how it should properly be used, but also lie to their doctor about using and consuming dietary supplements. As a result, this can lead to various problems such as: ineffective usage; extreme misuse; unintentionally damaging an athlete’s career; serious harm to an individual’s health, especially if the wrong amount is consumed; or the supplement can contain harmful substances. Despite the various problems which can arise from the usage and consumption of dietary supplements, Dr. Rawson doesn’t want to discourage people from using them, especially since there are some, including protein, nitrates, buffers, creatine and caffeine, which can be extremely effective, not only for improving athletic performance, but also aiding in injury recovery as well. For example, protein, buffers, and nitrates were all brought up as items that can greatly improve athletic performance. However, it should be noted that this improvement is most noticeably beneficial for a high-intensity and short-term sporting events, or activities like sprinting and weightlifting. Using beta-alanine as a supplement has been shown to have a 2% increase in athletic performance within a 30 second to 10 minute span of activity. While this is not very noticeable for recreational athletes, it can make quite a significant difference for a professional. Additionally, while protein is considered a good nutrient to
Brett Jordan Via Flickr Manipulated by Morgan Ortman
consume because it helps build and strengthen muscles, it should be acknowledged that protein alone doesn’t strengthen muscles. Instead, if you are looking to strengthen your muscles, you should eat protein (the recommended amount being 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg of your body weight per day), in conjunction with regular weight training. Dietary supplements can also be beneficial for an individual’s health, in terms of injury recovery. As Dr. Rawson mentioned, some research studies have shown that the consumption of creatine can significantly impact an individual’s cognitive skills and abilities. As a result, creatine may be helpful in an individual’s injury recovery, especially in regards to concussions. However, since this is a new area of thought, there is still major research and testing be done to determine the accuracy and possibility of using creatine for this purpose. One of the most interesting parts of this presentation was the information Dr. Rawson spoke about in regard to caffeine. While I previously knew that caffeine is a major stimulant, especially for
an individual’s nervous system, I honestly never knew that it has also been proven to improve an individual’s performance in both long term endurance and short term intense activities. Even though Dr. Rawson would encourage the natural consumption of these components, he does acknowledge that this is not always convenient, or possible. Consuming food high in nitrates, like beets, or spinach can increase oxygen concentration, resulting in more efficient muscles and performance improvement. However, it’s not always possible to consume enough of a natural source. For example, 0.5 litres of beet juice contains an appropriate amount of nitrates, but consuming this much beet juice the night before a sporting event, or competition would not be good for your body. In these types of cases, taking a synthetic supplement may be a better alternative. At the same time, Dr. Rawson suggested that if you are going to use some type of dietary supplement, be knowledgeable. Firstly, know what you were using, how to properly use it and
what its benefits are. Secondly don’t experiment the night before an event. These supplements should be used as a part of a regular training routine. Some of these supplements have side effects, which would be good to know about ahead of time. Lastly, don’t lie to your doctor about what you are consuming. These dietary supplements can be beneficial for an individual’s athletic performance and success, but at the end of the day, nothing is more important than overall health and well-being.
“Protein, nitrates, buffers, creatine and caffeine can be extremely effective, not only for improving athletic performance, but also with aiding injury recovery as well.” – Elisabeth Sahmueller
op-ed
15 Editor: taylor balfor op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | October 24 - October 30, 2019
Post Media shouldn’t be endorsing Scheer Days before the toss-up federal election of 2019, the National Post chose to broadcast endorsements for Andrew Scheer across the front pages of their blank affiliate papers. This was relatively unsurprising – Post Media has always had a conservative slant, as well as a history of Conservative endorsements. In 2015, one of Post’s most prominent editors, Andrew Coyne, resigned after the media group refused to print his endorsement of one of then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s political opponents. And since President and CEO Andrew MacLeod took over in early 2019, writers and editors at the conglomerate’s flagship National Post have reported receiving orders to move the paper further to the right. It was a given that the paper would endorse the Conservatives. The move, to be frank, is appalling. As a media outlet that should be, by all accounts, unbiased, taking an endorsement for a political leader is horrifying to say the least. The media’s job isn’t to pick sides, to provide selective reporting, or attempt to sway the public into voting a specific way in an election. It is to report facts. Period. That’s it. But it is also shocking. Free and independent media has many roles in a democratic society. They are meant to hold a nation’s power players to account. To ensure that the people are informed of things that might otherwise be concealed. They also provide important context, drawing on historical and contemporary parallels to the situations they report on and attempting to make sense of where we are and predict where we may be headed. They also offer opinions, and this is something we accept and even encourage. You are reading an opinion piece right now. But an opinion is different than an endorsement, and a columnist is different from a massive cross-country media giant. An opinion is a point of view. An endorsement verges on being an advertisement – and advertising is fundamentally at odds with the honesty and integrity demanded of the free press. A columnist is another individual, someone whose name and politics are known to us. Columnists provide their opinions, and we can choose whether to believe them. But when a corporation – and Post Media Group is, above all, a corporation – offers an endorsement as though it is a person, as though its best interests could possibly be the best interests of you and I and our families and our neighbours, that is a gross distortion of what the media is here to do. Post Media Group used its near-monopolistic control of Canadian print media to endorse a candidate they knew would cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy on the back of the worker while pretending that they were speaking for everyday Canadians “struggling to make ends meet.” The truth of the matter is that journalism is called to be unbiased, despite the ever growing movement of news media
Andre Forget (Wikipediacommons)
becoming anything but. By accepting endorsements, especially from political candidates during an election cycle, journalistic integrity is called into question. If all it takes is cash for reporting to be skewed, it’s no wonder that trust in mainstream media is at an all time low. By that logic, anyone can have truths about them distorted or muffled. It could be argued that more than called to be unbiased, journalism is required to be unbiased. It’s the very reason that journalism should exist: to report, not to sway. To give information, not to distort it. To be transparent when corporations, individuals, and groups want anything but, because that’s what we need. The media, whether individuals con-
suming it choose to believe it or not, is to provide us with facts and information for our consumption. When the information they are providing us becomes distorted, and when they accept money to filter what they do and don’t say, that is when we cross a very stark line. Post Media’s endorsement of Andrew Scheer demonstrated a brazen disregard, even contempt, for the principles and values of a free and independent media. They held hostage newspapers across the nation, forcing them to print an endorsement, regardless of whether the candidate could or would operate in the best interests of the communities those newspapers serve. They crudely violated the trust that needs to exist between the people and the media in order
“That is a gross distortion of what the media is here to do.” – Sara Birrell
for the press to serve its purpose. It is well past time for Post Media to be broken up. It is well past time for a working-class revolution in Canadian media.
sara birrell new editor & taylor balfour op-ed editor
October 31 - November 6, 2019
op-ed
carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 16
For 2SLGBTQ+ youth, pride in schools is life or death “By supporting [the decision of the Regina Public School board to not recognize Pride],” says Andy Trussler, a previous op-ed editor of the Carillon, in a personal statement, “you support the death of [2SLGBTQ+] children.” Andy’s response, however bold it may seem to some, comes from a place of experience with great pain. It is the product of what I recognize in myself as the sensitivity you develop from being queer and/or trans as a young person in the public school system. If you were out in school in the early 2000s, you may very well know what I mean; whether you existed, or whether you deserved to exist without meeting violence, was a frequent topic of heated debate. As someone who came out at 15, I experienced this first-hand, making shame and self-hatred an integral part of my adolescence. I spent time in a psychiatric ward before my graduation because of a depression largely informed by the reality of the hatred directed at me. I want to stress that those experiences of mine are not uncommon and, in fact, in many ways I was lucky and privileged. I want straight, cisgender people to understand this before they approach any conversation about young 2SLGBTQ+ people: trauma is the rule of our coming-of-age, not the exception. There is no separating “emotion” (that is, the facts of traumatic homophobia and transphobia) from this issue. Although I’m now graduated from high school – I don’t know the particulars of how social perceptions have changed since then – I know that this cycle of hatred is still alive and well. I know that the only thing that can really give relief to young people suffering the isolation of the closet or of homophobia/transphobia is community; community with people who truly see us and will not fight us on the right to exist. My arts and culture article on SPACE was an effort to let students know where this community can be found right now. I think such an effort was particularly necessary this week because of the star event of this paper’s issue, the Regina Public School (RPS) board Pride motion. As Ben Schneider expands on in the news section, the school board trustees voted down this motion: “Be it resolved that RPS recognize and support the celebration of Pride and fly the rainbow flag at our facilities each June.” Those defending their “no” vote cite confusion with why the motion was needed, as well as confusion about wording and what exactly the motion meant. In response to this, Jacq Brasseur, director of UR Pride and (I would say based on experience) an enthusiastic expert at board meetings and how they work, slyly tweeted a link to “Robert’s Rules for Amending a Motion, For Dummies.” Indeed, amending the motion for clearer wording, or simply knowing what was actually covered in the meeting beforehand, would have resolved a lot of these concerns. They seem suspiciously easy to resolve, leading most of us to think something else was going on. CBC confirmed in a report that there had been an email campaign within the population of Regina Victory Church, a congregation which often speaks up on what it considers contentious city policies,
Pixabay
leading up to the vote. The concerns from the church were that “morality” was going to be taught in public schools. Board chair Katherine Gagne says parents’ concerns were about “religious freedoms, parental roles and age-appropriateness,” according to CJME. Gagne also posted on Facebook that the vote amounted to “a shotgun every man (school) for themselves approach” where schools are having drag queens read to kindergarteners and telling third graders they don’t have to choose their gender yet. Well, you know what? That all sounds extremely familiar to me, and to every 2SLGBTQ young person who was at that meeting and heard about that vote. Opponents of this motion are only saying exactly what we already hear. They make the same accusations, even in the subtlest ways, that tormented me as a young person: I am immoral, I go against some vague concept of “religious order,” and even when I was literally a child I wasn’t “age-appropriate.” Those are old, tired talking points, and I have heard every single one of them before. We all have. The school board vote was meant to protect the right of Regina Public Schools to celebrate Pride, exactly because this kind of opposition to it exists. To claim that it is attempting to impose any kind of “values” onto the school board is pure homophobic, transphobic fearmongering. When I asked Andy to send me a personal statement, as both a friend and a colleague, I knew I was asking a lot – just as I asked a lot of myself when I decided to go back to high school in my mind. Nearly every 2SLGBTQ person I know on so-
cial media has sent a message of heartfelt disappointment about this decision, and I think it’s fair to say we’re all feeling a little naked, a little tired. To not even recognize Pride effectively made a statement that 2SLGBTQ+ identity and culture are not part of any healthy child’s environment, and when we look at the facts of how 2SLGBTQ youth are in danger, that is the very opposite of the truth. Andy says this of their experience at Campbell Collegiate, where I also attended, and I recognize their story immediately: “Being a lesbian in Regina Public Schools was hell. I lost friends almost immediately [after coming out] . . . they were “afraid of me.” When I was 15, I was more depressed than I thought was humanly possible . . . a group of eight boys [regularly] threw things at me, spat at me, and yelled my name. I couldn’t exit a certain back door without my friends.” I remember looking at [my other gay friends’] vandalized garages, looking at them being leered at in the halls . . . The school did nothing. As president of our Gay Straight Alliance in my senior year, I was brought down to the office. My name was read over the speakers . . . I was asked, personally, by the principal to remove our posters discussing transphobia. She said kids were uncomfortable, and I had to think of the greater population. I obviously did not come out as trans until after I graduated. I managed to stay alive [in high school], but not without effort.” I would invite RPS parents to ask themselves if their vague notions of “age-appropriate values” (which I would
like to hear them clearly lay out) are more important than a motion which could formally improve the support network of students whose actual lives are at risk. Many people seem to think that calling Pride a life-or-death issue is an exaggeration; unfortunately, it is not, and we know that from far too much experience. I am here in post-secondary education today because of the few affirming resources I had as a teenager in school. That mostly meant friends who reacted positively to my coming out, and the GSA at my school. That was all I had, and because of that, it breaks my heart that many kids like me didn’t make it. We can do more to make sure that more kids make it, and to halt that progress – even to not understand why that progress is necessary – it feels a little heartless.
marty grande-sherbert staff writer
“I want straight, cisgender people to understand this before they approach any conversation about young 2SLGBTQ+ people; trauma is the rule of our coming-of-age, not the exception.” – Marty Grande-Sherbert
October 31 - November 6, 2019
op-ed
Yes, the rainforests are still burning
carillonregina.com | The Carillon |
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Justin Raycraft (Flickr)
Remember the Amazon rainforests? And how it was severely burning in August? But then our digital society perfectly demonstrated our extremely short attention spans by forgetting about those fires within a week? Yup, those ones. They’re still burning! But since we’ve been preoccupied with political scandals, destructive hurricanes, mass shootings, and all of that other wonderful stuff, we’ve put this environmental crisis on the back-burner. So let me catch you up on how the Amazon rainforest has been doing these past couple of months. In late August, more than 40,000 fires were reported in the Amazon, many of which were caused by deforestation. While the initial news about these fires quickly spread (pun very much intended) throughout the internet, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, whose pro-business ideals essentially diminished deforestation laws, continued to deny the severity of the issue well into September. However, with pressure from, well, everyone, Bolsonaro quickly realized that, despite his personal beliefs, action was required. Since then, he has issued 43,000 troops to help fight the fires, as well as created a 60-day fire ban. Approximately 5,000 Bolivian troops have also been sent to help extinguish the fires.
Despite these efforts, almost 20,000 new fires formed in the month of September, and Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported that there has been a 41 per cent increase in fires over the entirety of 2019 compared to the previous year. Fortunately, the fires dissipated by 35 per cent in September, but there are still thousands of fires that need to be put out. Now, like I alluded to previously, as a digital society, we tend to have the attention spans of goldfish. We hear about a serious, worldly issue through social media and it spikes our attention. We continue to see these posts pop up on our timelines, talking about how dire our situation is, but as time goes on, these posts become less and less frequent. Inevitably, our dire situation doesn’t seem so dire anymore, but that’s only because it’s not flashing on our phones for us to effortlessly see. When was the last time you saw a post regarding the state of the rainforest? Personally, I can’t remember the last time I scrolled through one. Since most people, including myself, don’t actively look for updates or news articles, as soon as the information isn’t shoved in our faces, we tend to lose interest in the issue. Furthermore, we’ve all seen the posts on Instagram with the caption “we will donate one dollar for every repost we get!”
or something of the like. And, of course, we repost it. Why not? Any contribution is a good contribution, right? However, and I am equally guilty of this, that repost is where the contribution stops. It’s unfortunate that people feel validated by sharing a picture from an account that states they are allegedly going to donate one dollar for every repost they receive. As those awareness posts dwindle, so does our involvement. Maybe we aren’t meant to fixate on issues too much. We are told it’s unhealthy, which is true, but are these the kinds of issues that we are meant to quickly move on from? Are worldly issues like the fires in the rainforest and Hurricane Dorian meant to be social media trends? Here this week, gone the next. Maybe we feel powerless as individuals, so we contribute the one dollar that wasn’t even ours to give, and then ignore what we cannot help. We move on. Scroll down to the next meme. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t have to be like this. Just because our eyes stray away from the fires doesn’t mean they aren’t still burning. Of course, we’re not expected to strain our eyes against the blazing flames for two months straight, but what if we kept them in our peripheral? Instead of completely turning our backs to them, we could simply keep the state of the fires and how they are be-
ing combated in our line of vision. Read updates, follow credible news accounts, stay updated on what our world is going through. If you are able, donate to charities that are fighting to save the rainforest, such as Amazon Watch, Amazon Conservation Team, or Survival International, all of which are working with Indigenous communities to help restore the forest. Although it is easy to feel small and insignificant when discussing this massive issue, we are only insignificant if we are unaware of what we can do. Ignorance is our greatest enemy when it comes to making a difference in this world, so educate yourself on what can be done. Make yourself significant. Only then will you truly make an impact on this planet.
olivia wiens Contributor
“Inevitably, our dire situation doesn’t seem so dire anymore, but that’s only because it’s not flashing on our phones for us to effortlessly see.” – Olivia Wiens
October 31 - November 6, 2019
op-ed
carillonregina.com | The Carillon |18
The problematic adoration of serial killers
A few weeks ago, I went to a writing camp just outside of Jasper, Alberta. The small ranch we were staying in was nestled in the midst of mountains and, I thought, was going to be the perfect place to get writing work done, attend workshops, and communicate with other writers. I was right, to a certain extent. It was during one of the workshops where one of the women attending began detailing the current project she was working on: a serial killer’s coming of age story, attempting to understand how people turn to a life of violence and crime. It was after she explained this, and after she read us a scene for our workshop, that one of the other women in the room spoke up. She began talking about how violence is what “empowers” serial killers, and claimed that, while she didn’t agree with their violence, she understood them. She even went as far as referencing some of her “favourite serial killers” while engaging in this discussion – while discussing why this woman’s novel would be such an interesting read. I remember feeling uncomfortable while this situation was going on. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of watching true crime videos or podcasts as much as the next morbid university student, but I wouldn’t necessarily refer to these criminals as favourites, and I don’t even think I would go as far as saying that I enjoy reading about true crime, because to be frank, I don’t. What I do enjoy is being able to understand. To try to wrap my head around how these people – people like you and me – can somehow turn to a life of such brutality and see it as normal. How someone can grow up and view taking a human life as insignificant as buying groceries at the local Safeway has always terrified and disturbed me. So, by learning about true crime, by learning about these criminals, and about learning how we got here, I find a sense of understanding. It feels as though I can understand the unexplainable. However, I also believe that this is part of the problem. There is an ongoing movement, specifically in the United States in relation to gun violence culture that revolves around hiding the names of those who enact violence. There’s even an organization called Don’t Name Them whose goal is exactly that. They claim that by withholding the names of criminals (as long as they’d been caught and are in custody or are deceased), it may decrease incentive for copycat crimes in the future. Don’t Name Them states that “some suspects are motivated by a desire for fame, notoriety, and/or recognition” and that by focusing on the perpetrator, we are actively avoiding the victims and heroes who deserve more media air time. This is why I find myself feeling uncomfortable when it comes to people discussing their “favourite serial killers,” such as Ted Bundy or Charles Manson. What’s even more horrifying is that many of these “famous” serial killers have active fanbases online. Bundy and Manson in specific have hoards of fan blogs and fan accounts dedicated to them on websites like Tumblr and Twitter. The notoriety and fame we attach to criminals, and specifically serial killers and
Wikipedia Commons
mass shooters, is alarming. Even more alarming is how it is a factor in creating copy-cat shooter and criminals, wanting to make a name for themselves in the same way others have. The Hill reported that since the Columbine shooting in 1999, it has inspired “more than 100 copycat plots and attacks have happened in the nearly 20 years since the Columbine shooting.” One of these occurred earlier this year, April 2019, when a woman who was planning a copy-cat strike in the Colorado area abandoned her plans and instead committed suicide. Before her body had been discovered, and during the time she was seen as a threat, “Denver-area schools closed as a precaution, with classes and extracurricular activities canceled for a half-million stu-
dents” according to the Chicago Tribune. There is no denying that glorifying serial killers and mass shooters is only causing a rise in these crimes, and yet still, we do it. But why? Why do so many, myself included, find true crime as interesting as we do? Maybe it’s for the same reasons I do: an attempt to understand a thought process that’s so foreign to my own, one that takes human life and sees it as disposable as garbage. Maybe there will never be an answer for why so many people are fascinated by the true crime community, and maybe there isn’t anything wrong with being fascinated by true crime. What is wrong, however, is taking real criminals and idolizing them. Picking your “favourites” and making them famous by
spreading their name and sharing their pictures. As soon as we can understand that making these criminals famous is only going to smart more violence, maybe we’ll start making some progress.
taylor balfour op-ed editor
“I want straight, cisgender people to understand this before they approach any conversation about young 2SLGBTQ+ people; trauma is the rule of our coming-of-age, not the exception.” – Marty Grande-Sherbert
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carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 19 Editors: sarah carrier, kate thiessen and morgan ortman graphics@carillonregina.com the carillon | October 31 - November 6, 2019
October 31 - November 6, 2019
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carillonregina.com | The Carillon |20
Morgan Ortman