The Carillon - Volume 64, Issue 24

the carillon the staff

editor-in-chief editor@carillonregina.com

holly funk

business manager business@carillonregina.com

jacob nelson

production manager production@carillonregina.com

morgan ortman

advertising manager advertising@carillonregina.com

ty cote

technical editor tech@carillonregina.com

shae sackman

multimedia/graphics editors multimedia@carillonregina.com graphics@carillonregina.com copy editor copyeditor@carillonregina.com

safal gangwani rooky jedege aurel dumont

news editor news@carillonregina.com

sara birrell

arts & culture editor aandc@carillonregina.com

hannah eiserman

sports & health editor sports@carillonregina.com

katherine mutschler

op-ed editor op-ed@carillonregina.com

sarah nakonechny

distribution manager distribution@carillonregina.com

chandra wassill

staff writer

hammad ali

staff writer

gillian massie

staff writer

anima salah

news writer

syd mcwilliams

arts & culture writer sports & health writer

jorah bright victoria baht

contributors morgan fleury, rayanne gwilliam, jack nestor, vineet sharma

vol. 64

board of directors holly funk, lindsay holitzki, joseph holoein,, dustin smith, jacob nelson and honourary members hammad ali, cassandra byblow, morgan ortman

the paper

227 Riddell Center University of Regina - 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, Canada S4S 0A2 www.carillonregina.com Ph: (306) 586 8867 Printed by Star Press Inc, Wainwright, AB The Carillon welcomes contributions.

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. land acknowledgement The Carillon is written on treaty four territory. As such, the staff recognize that we are living, working, and telling stories on and of Indigenous lands. We recognize that we are on the traditional homelands of the Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota peoples, along with the homeland of the Métis nation. The carillon understands that it is pointless to acknowledge the land on which we work without speaking to our commitment to telling stories and prioritizing voices that further the return of the land to its place sacred place in the cultures of those that live here. the manifesto 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 sixty 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

The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper Since 1962 April 1 - June 29, 2022 | Volume 64, Issue 24 | carillonregina.com

news

Along with our regular dash of piping hot news where we lay out the latest in campus and current events, in this last issue of Volume 64 some of our writers and editors had the pleasure of writing spoof conspiracy theory articles.

Whether you’re looking to keep up to date with legitimate URSU debacles or to peer over the most eligible young men in Praidiedise, we’ve undoubtedly wrapped up the year with a binge-worthy issue for you all.

Referendumb

news

p.4

If you think free legal support for students sounds too good to be true, you just might be right (at the U of R, anyway).

Hate crimes

arts

p.5

One more time for the people in the back: being less racist than the USA isn’t the accomplishment you think it is.

Oh, and we’re not.

op-ed

sports

True Dark

p.7

The power position of tattoo artists is something that can lead to abuse, but CJ Pannell of True Dark Tattoos combats that culture with community.

op-ed

Holly Funk Editor-in-Chief To view staff positions open for application or to nominate someone for next year’s Board of Directors, please visit our website: carillonregina.com

photos

cover.................................morgan ortman news..........................................jacey bells news........................................jason leung a&c............................................cj pannell sports..........................katherine mutschler op-ed.....................................engin akyurt op-ed.....................................mpca photos

Soup prep

p.12

In the final edition of Meal-prep March, Katherine Mutschler talks about why she began meal prepping and why soup is actually super dope.

Ugly truth

p.17

Staff Writer Amina Salah outlines racist themes in the manner that many have been speaking in support of the Ukraine.

Projects > Exams

p.18

While we’re all accustomed to the standard of final exams, there’s debate as to whether the exam environment really assesses how well you’ll do out in the field.

news

3

editor: sara birrell news@carillonregina.com the carillon | april 1 - june 29, 2022

Misinterpreted bylaws lead to three exec’s having applications disqualified

Union in the hot seat (again)

gillian massie staff writer Three members running in the URSU General Election have been disqualified due to misinterpreted bylaws and Election Committee Campaign mishaps.

Hannah Tait received an email from the Chief Returning Officer which said that her application for Business Director had not been accepted because of a bylaw that states employees must resign before the close of the nomination period. Tait was confused because she was not an employee, she was an executive member. The Chief Returning Officer gave Tait the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Board of Directors instead of resigning from her current position as President of URSU. In an emailed statement to the Carillon Tait explained, “I decided I would not resign, and if that first judgment was officially enforced, I would appeal and be able to explain my situation and the mitigations I wanted to undertake to prevent unfair advantages.

I would be able to explain how I would not use my current position to get an unfair advantage.”

Tait was flagged by the Chief Returning Officer with violating Article V: Officers of the Corporation/ Terms of Office of the URSU Constitution. Notion (6) states “In the case of an employee wishing to run for an elected position with the Students’ Union, that employee must first resign prior to being nominated. In the case of a Board Member wishing to seek and hold a position as an employee of the Students’ Union, that person shall first resign their position as a Board of Director.”

After a few days Tait was in-

URSU Logo manipulated by Jeremy Davis/Kate Thiessen

Burn, baby burn.

formed that the bylaw would be applied to her application, interpreting her as an employee, giving her only a few days to resign.

“If I had resigned I would not have been able to complete the very important cofounded bursary for international students, not been able to carry out the launch of ULead, not been able to address certain aspects of gender based violence on campus, not been able to carry out collaborative innovation projects, not been able to consult or give perspectives on Bill 61 being dis-

Vice-President of Student Affairs, Ziyang Zeo Li was disqualified on the same bylaw as Tait. VP of Student Affairs is an executive position. At first, Li was also given the opportunity to reappeal after his application was rejected. He was given the option to resign or be disqualified. Before he submitted his answer, he was disqualified.

“They gave me a reason why I was disqualified,” said Li, “but it is an unjustifiable reason because they say we violated a policy, but didn’t tell us how we violate the

application was disqualified because her application was submitted late. However, the Elections Committee originally marketed the end of the nomination period as March 8. It was moved to March 7 without formally notifying applicants.

To run in the General Election, applicants typically have to meet with the General Manager to properly inform and assess the commitments that they are making to their running position. Al-Mosallem was elected in the by-election only months ago

“

They gave me a reason why I was disqualified, but it is an unjustifiable reason because they say we violated a policy, but didn’t tell us how we violate the policy, or bylaw, or Constitution.

– Zeo Li

cussed in the current sitting, not been able to complete URSU awards and upcoming gala, not been able to support an exciting community event that has been in talks for months, not been able to create transition plans for next executives, not been able to continue being an ally in the URvoice matters campaigns, or not be able to finally visit some of our rural and remote campuses,” said Tait.

Tait’s application was fully disqualified soon after. Her disqualification did not state any specific violations for which her application was rejected, and ultimately she was told she could not appeal.

policy, or bylaw, or Constitution.”

Li explained that the reappealing process would have been difficult because the Board of Directors was involved in the rejection of his application in the first place. He said that the turn around period was too short.

Tait explains that URSU’s benefits program provides staff with Protected Leave that includes “nomination/ election and candidate/ public office leave” under Section 3.2 of Benefits in the URSU Employee Agreement.

“I should have been offered leave so I could campaign,” said Tait.

Vice President of External Affairs, Basmah Al-Mosallem’s

where she was already informed by the General Manager about her commitments.

When she approached the Chief Return Officer about being excused from the meeting with the General Manager, she was informed that “all of the qualified applicants were selected for the election.” Al-Mosallem said the only reason she was given for her disqualification was a statement that read “all of the qualifying candidates have been put forward.”

Al-Mosallem explains that there was miscommunication during her rejection, appeal, and disqualification process as well.

“They were contradicting themselves because they would say, ‘You can appeal’ on one day and then say ‘all the qualified candidates are confirmed’ the next,” said Al-Mosallem.

Tait explained that the Election advertising mix-up comes at the cost of the credibility of the campaign. “I didn’t receive a formal notification that the operation side had made a little mistake, and I had requested that we just do the 8th [as a deadline] because that’s what people think,” said Tait. “As a student union, with student members, we owe it to them to follow through on what we said, but we also want to make sure that as many people as possible can run in the election.

Within like, all sorts of fairness, but this year, I don’t think that that was a goal to make sure that everyone could run.” Li said that the request to resign was “unreasonable” and “unfair.”

“As an elected member, we have to fulfill our fiduciary duty throughout the term, which is definitely not good or beneficial to see an executive member resign earlier than usual,” said Li. “It used to be I finished my whole year term and I complete my duty there.”

None of the three Executives resigned from their positions, and will remain in chair till the end of their term. Tait said that she will be taking a “step back,” and using some of her earned days off and her holidays that she never took over her term.

The Chief Returning Officer did not return comment for the Carillon’s press inquiries.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 4

news

URSU referendum shows “serious disregard” for member interests Some say referendum violates bylaws, students are concerned

gillian massie staff writer The University of Regina Students’ Union referendum campaign has caused frustration with students, some of whom say the campaign has “shown serious disregard for its members’ interests.”

The referendum is proposing two new programs, The Saskatchewan Provincial Students Union (SPSU) and the Student Legal Advocacy Clinic (SLAC). Emily Lints, one of the organizers of the Speak Up and Vote No campaign against the referendum, said that there has not been enough research behind the programs. The anti-referendum campaign is encouraging students to “vote no” to implementing addition fees.

“I do want to say that we are not against free legal support for students,” said Lints. “We absolutely support that. It’s just how they’re going about it. In initially asking students to pay for it before they fully explored other avenues of payment, have partnerships with other legal clinics, getting commitments from the provincial and federal government, [or] getting grant commitments.”

The referendum requires a new $45 fee to put SLAC in place.

Co-organizer Tayef Ahmed said that at other universities across western Canada, costs for Student Legal Clinics cost anywhere from $0-$5 per student, per semester.

The University of Saskatchewan currently pays nothing for students to receive legal benefits.

“We are not supporters of an under researched program, and we are not supporting increasing tuition fees,” said Ahmed. “I believe in sustainability. I believe in a lot of things. So what we would do is direct conversation with the students and then actually assess how many students even need those services.”

Jacey Bells

Shine on, you crazy trash fire.

Ahmed was warned by a member of URSU that the information on the Speak Up and Vote No campaign was not approved.

Ahmed was warned that each item should be subject to approval before posting. Ahmed was not made aware of any false information or bylaws that the anti-referendum campaign was posting.

Lints explained that justification for SLAC was a demand for students across the UofR campuses. However, different campuses

“

support of the rest of the province anyways,” said Stenberg.

“No one signed up,” said Lints. “No other campus has said ‘yes, we’re going to come in and then work with you.’ The University of Regina students are going to be the only ones paying for it.”

In 2020, the U of R students gave clear direction for URSU to opt out of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) which collected approximately $150,000 per year for federal and provincial

campaign period. Stenberg went on to explain that the motion to start the referendum was moved

by President Tait on Dec. 21, 2021.

“Administration and the Board of Directors has had since December to put this together to let members know. In every single one of Hannah’s reports to the board, she mentions the referendums coming up,” said Stenberg.

“It’s not like, it’s not like the board didn’t know that this was coming

So we’re really thinking that they should have done that background research first. They should be able to come to us with a plan of how it’ll be funded, not asking students to pay well over what other students across the country are paying.

– Emily Lintz

that are affiliated with the UofR, such as the First Nations University and the Prince Albert Campus, already have a legal system available to students.

“I don’t think we should be voting on payment commitments,” said Lints. “I think we should be voting on the idea, then figuring out how to pay for it.

The SPSU is promoted through @advocacy.ursu “for one united voice to lower tuition fees across the province,” but URSU member-at-large Style Stenberg explains that they are “leery” that USASK will not accept the offer because they decided not to support the “Freeze the Fees” campaign.

“To me, it doesn’t make sense to add on more fees to students when we’re not going to have the

advocacy. Students are unsure if the process has begun to opt out of CFS fees or if we need to petition once again to be rid of them.

Stenberg said that the mismanagement of money and lack of accountability has resulted in Election bylaws being broken.

“I feel there’s a mismanagement of power going on between the Board of Administration,” said Stenberg. “I feel that the board of directors is being corralled, by administration, just simply because there’s such a lack of transparency and such a lack of accountability.”

The budget needs to be approved prior to the start of the campaigning period. However, Stenberg said that the referendum was not approved approximately four to six days into the

up or did not know that they had to make this decision.”

The postponement of the referendum violates bylaw 3.3.3: Referendum Funding, Expenses and Campaigning of the URSU Election and Referendum Bylaw second half, which states “all members of the URSU may campaign for or against the referendum question(s) but may not claim to represent URSU in doing so. URSU may allow students who wish to campaign on a referendum question to apply to the fund for reimbursement of campaign expenses. Such reimbursements must be approved by the Board of Directors.”

The URSU administrative page campaigned for the referendum on March 22 which was taken down soon after Stenberg

pointed out that it violated bylaw 3.3.3. The post encouraging students to “vote yes” to the referendum remains on the @advocacy. ursu social media platforms. The post does not mention anything on the surface about additional fees. Ahead of the referendum post is a Rally for the ‘Freeze the Fees’ tuition rally.

Ahmed and Lints both refer to the referendum and advocation to freeze tuition as “counter-intuitive.”

“They’re starting with asking students to pay for it, and then just hoping in the future that they can lower those fees once they find support,” said Lints. “So we’re really thinking that they should have done that background research first, they should be able to come to us with a plan of how it’ll be funded, not asking students to pay well over what other students across the country are paying.”

In comment from the URSU Board of Directors, they say that they did not approve of the promotional use of the referendum on the URSU administrative page, and this falls on the responsibility of the Elections Committee. The board also explains that they can advocate for or against the referendum, as long as they represent themselves as student members.

“The board is neutral, but directors can do what they wish as student members. The board and executive never passed a motion or gave direction for URSU to specifically be on the yes or no side. In section 3.4.1 and 3.4.2 of the Elections and Referendums by-law, it outlines that board members and executives should promote neutral participation in the referendum.”

Voting will commence on March 29-30.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 5

news

Hate crimes in Canada rise sharply during pandemic Violent country does violence

syd mcwilliams news writer There is a disturbing trend in Canada that goes against everything people typically associate with Canadians. According to a recent report from Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes have been on the rise, and in the first year of the pandemic, they went up by 37 per cent. The main offence has been an increase in race-related hate crimes which rose by 80 per cent from 2019 to 2020. According to the report, crimes against East

want to protect their privilege to continue down that path, but do it in more extreme ways. And the results of that might be more serious hate crimes against people based on their gender, or gender orientation, or ethnicity, or country of origin, or color,” said Gord Barnes, a field officer for Amnesty International Saskatchewan, which is an organization that promotes human rights for all.

After the release of the report, Canada organized a cross-country police task force aimed at targeting hate crimes in Canada.

The task force was started by the

been particularly targeted since the beginning of the pandemic.

Anti-Asian rhetoric and misinformation spread about COVID-19 have compounded the problem of hate crimes against Asian people as some racists began to blame Chinese people for the virus. The abuse hasn’t been specifically targeted towards Chinese people as there is a tendency for people in the West to lump Asian people together into one group, and people were targeted if they had East Asian characteristics.

March 16, 2022 was the oneyear anniversary of the Atlanta

of the railroad and the Chinse head tax of 1923.

Barnes continued “I think it is really important to create safe places for people to have frank and honest discussions about our history, and include issues around systemic racism in Canada. Many people have grown up not being aware of the history of residential schools in Canada and the consequences of the abuse that happened, and people are becoming more aware of that. It is important to have frank and honest discussions about the history and what it means, and another

it comes to crimes against people due to their religion. Crimes against Jewish people are one of the top reported hate crimes in the country, and anti-Semitism also spiked during pandemic months with anti-vaxxers co-opting the Star of David as their own political symbol. The incidents of reported hate crimes against sexual orientation actually dropped two per cent according to the latest report, but it was still the second-highest number since this data became available in 2009.

The staggering increase in hate crimes is shameful for a

“

There has been a long history of systemic racism within Canada, and there’s lots of different examples of it that have not been addressed for years. And what that does is then give an opportunity for people who want to protect their privilege to continue down that path, but do it in more extreme ways.

– Gord Barnes

and Southeast Asian people went up 301 per cent, crimes against Black people went up 92 per cent, crimes against Indigenous people went up 152 per cent, and crimes against South Asian people went up 47 per cent. The report says the highest increases in police-reported hate crimes were seen in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario.

“There has been a long history of systemic racism within Canada, and there’s lots of different examples of it that have not been addressed for years.

And what that does is then give an opportunity for people who

Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Chiefs of Police national roundtable, and will be co-chaired by the CRRF and the RCMP. The announcement was made at a national conference in Toronto. According to the press release for the announcement, the task force will focus on raising awareness of what constitutes a hate crime and the impact these crimes have on communities. The released statement also acknowledges that a lot of communities have little confidence in reporting hate crimes to police, and the hope is that this task force can help change that attitude.

People of Asian descent have

spa shootings where a gunman killed eight innocent people, six of which were Asian. The shooting came at a heightened time of violence where major cities were reporting hate crimes towards Asian people at six to seven hundred percent higher than the previous year. The sudden increase in violence towards people of Asian descent in the Americas may come as a surprise to some, but Canada and the United States have a long history of racism towards Asian people that is rooted in government policies and legislation. Prime examples would be the exploitation of Chinese labourers during the construction

example would be the Chinese people who came to Canada to build their railway and how they were treated and, and then issues around the head tax. When we look at it now and see the extent hate crimes that are happening against Asian people it’s really a concern. So we need to have these conversations about that history and have safe places for it to happen.”

While race and ethnicity are the worst-case numbers for hate crimes, there is also a high number of hate crimes related to religion, gender, and sexual identity.

Jewish and Muslim people are still the most targeted people when

country that claims to pride itself on inclusion and diversity. Even more shocking is that these numbers are probably much higher, since hate crimes often go unreported due to a lack of faith in the police, lack of faith charges will actually place, and because some hate crimes get reported as misdemeanors because they are easier to charge. In order to reach a state in a society where crimes like this are no longer an issue, it will require a lot of work on the part of governments, police services, organizations, and everyday people standing up for a just and equal world.

Jason Leung RbsmM191eVY via Unsplash

We’ve seen the signs – and done nothing – for far too long.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 6

news

Ukraine suspends 11 opposition parties Platform for Life holds 45 seats

syd mcwilliams news writer On Sunday, March 20, Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy released a video statement suspending 11 of Ukraine’s opposition parties. The majority of the suspended parties are quite small, but on the list was the opposition Platform for Life, who came in second in the last election and currently holds 45 of the 450 seats in the Ukrainian parliament. The rest of the parties include the Shariy Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, State, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialists Party, and Volodymyr Saldo Bloc. The reason given for suspending these parties was due to the fact that they are known for being “Pro-Russian.” In a video address last Sunday, Zelenskyy said “Given the full-scale war waged by the Russian Federation and the ties of some political structures with this state, any activity of a number of political parties during the martial law is suspended.”

The goal of Ukraine’s national security and defense council in suspending the operation of parties was to prevent them from creating division within the Ukraine or colluding against the Ukrainian government.

“It is not a ban on parties.

These political action groups are

tied to oligarchic ‘dark money,’ oligarchs who are trying to politically leverage local opinion by organizing so-called political parties to oppose the government as a way to secure influence. The only real political party that appears to be targeted is Medvedchuk’s opposition Platform for Life,” said Bohdan Kordan, a professor of political science whose research involves Ukrainian politics.

“Medvedchuk is an oligarch and the godfather of Putin’s daughter. Prior to the conflict he was regularly seen in Moscow and understood to be ‘Putin’s man’ in Ukraine. He owned an important TV channel whose broadcasts

called for compromise with Russia, which included recognition of the annexation of Crimea and now the DNR/LNR separatist-controlled regions,” said Kordan. “Effectively, he was advocating the dismemberment of Ukraine. He is now under house arrest and the TV channel has been shut down.

These current actions of the government are in keeping with the laws of the Ukraine, which prohibits activity affecting the security of the country in the context of war.

This is not ‘Zelenskyy,’ which implies that this is personal and politically motivated. Politics in Ukraine was and continues to be a murky business. The war increasingly has

exposed the fault lines. The key fault line centres around the survival of Ukraine as a nation-state and those, who for personal economic and political reasons, are inclined to see it suborned to Russia and Russian control.”

The decision has received harsh criticism from Russian officials who believe Zelenskyy is making a mistake, and that it will only continue to divide the country and push Ukraine closer to the West.

“Former Russian President [Dimitri] Medvedev, cynically, has described the Ukrainian government’s sanctioning of pro-Russian political movements in Ukraine as detrimental to Russia-Ukraine

Bruno via Unsplash

What does democracy look like?

relations and Ukraine’s interests.

This is not serious. The only political activity that I can see which is detrimental to Russia-Ukraine relations is Russia’s war against Ukraine and attacks on the civilian population,” continued Kordan.

“I might add that there are a few of pro-Russian anti-government activists not connected to the oligarchs but are formerly associated with the ‘progressive socialists,’ aka the Communist Party of Ukraine.

They are now being recruited by the Russian Intelligence Services (GRU) to establish ‘People’s governments’ in Kherson and Berdnyansk. In addition, some of these political representatives are functionaries from the DNR/LNR, who worked under the watch of the GRU. Meanwhile, former duly elected local officials who have now come under Russian occupation in Melitopol, Kherson, Berdnyask and Mariupol are being hunted, kidnapped and disappearing.”

At the same time this was announced, Zelenskyy also announced that they would be implementing a “unified information policy” which would involve combing all national TV channels into a single information platform of strategic communications called “United News.”

According to some analysts, the suspension of the parties will likely do little in terms of swaying the outcome of the war, but the censorship is a blow to democracy.

CP Rail and Teamsters agree to binding arbitration

Transportation crisis averted

hammad ali staff writer

It has been an eventful week for employees and stakeholders of the Canadian Pacific Railway, hopefully one that is nearing a mutually-satisfactory resolution over the next few days. On Wednesday, March 16, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) reported the results of a strike vote

by Canadian Pacific employees earlier in the month. The report revealed that over 96 per cent of union members voted in favour of a work stoppage, with a potential strike likely at any time with a 72hour notice from TCRC. TCRC and the company began negotiations last September, with the main issues being wages, pensions, and aspects of working conditions.

Customers of Canadian Pacific Railway expressed concerns about the potentially catastrophic consequences of a rail strike, par-

ticularly for many farmers, exporters and manufacturers, and to the already existing supply chain crisis.

David MacLean with the trade association Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said that about 15 per cent of Canada’s exports are transported by rail to various ports, carrying large quantities of grain, potash, and coal.

Also on Wednesday, CP Rail shared a statement to TCRC stating that they are planning to lock out almost 3000 employees if the union and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.

The two sides were at odds over more than 20 outstanding issues, including wages, benefits, and pensions.

On Thursday, 45 Canadian industry groups expressed concerns about disruptions to CP Rail operations, and the potential consequences for Canadian economy.

Some industry groups called for

the government to enact return-towork legislation similar to the one passed during the Canada Post strike of 2018, expressing concern that any work stoppage will hamper trade recovery from COVID restrictions and supply chain problems.

Early Sunday morning on March 20, thousands of CP Rail workers began the long-anticipated strike. The strike involved nearly 3000 engineers, conductors, and other train employees, and took effect 1:00 a.m. EST. TCRC issued a press release just before midnight saying a lockout was being initiated by management, and that TCRC members across the country are on strike with picketing underway at various locations. The office of the Federal Labour Minister issued a statement saying that while work stoppage had begun, both parties were still at the bargaining table with mediators, and are expected to work until an agreement can be

reached.

On Monday, March 21, Canada’s oil and natural gas producers said they are closely monitoring the ongoing shutdown, reiterating that prolonging work stoppage could limit Canada’s ability to get more oil to the market. Ben Brunnen, a vice-president with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said that the shortage of available pipeline capacity has meant that rail is an increasingly crucial mode of transportation for crude oil. Also at the House of Commons on Monday, the Labour Minister acknowledged the unfortunate timing of the work stoppage and said that ongoing negotiations are the best option to resolve the dispute. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters that back-towork legislation would undermine the right of workers to use the ability to strike to improve working conditions.

Finally, on Tuesday, March

22, CP Rail and TCRC jointly announced that they will be resuming operations, and have agreed to a final and binding arbitration in the interest of averting more pain to firms battling supply-chain disruptions. The agreement with TCRC ends the work stoppage that began Sunday, March 20. Union spokesperson Dave Fulton said that while a binding arbitration is not the preferred method, they have been able to negotiate terms and conditions that were in the best interests of the union. The Federal Labour Minister, who mediated the talks, said normal operations will continue during the arbitration period. Labour Relations experts have stated that the arbitration process could take several weeks. Meanwhile, business groups continue to advocate that rail be declared an essential service, saying that a permanent solution is needed to avoid future supply chain disruptions.

Prayitno via Wikimedia Commons

Back to work, Thomas.

arts & culture

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editor: hannah eiserman aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | april 1 - june 29, 2022

Supporting women in the tattoo industry Why it’s more important now that ever

hannah eiserman a&c editor It’s no secret that the tattoo industry is one that is deeply ingrained in misogyny. In a time that is often over-simplified as the “#MeToo era,” the media is beginning to hear a lot more about how that misogyny manifests – and too often, stories of sexual assault have come to the surface. Frequent call-outs on accounts like national Victims Voices social media pages or the long-terminated Survivors Stories Regina Instagram page have led to a lot of inappropriate behaviour coming to light all around, not just in tattoo spaces.

But in the fall of 2020, there were some major allegations tossed out in Regina.

In a popular Instagram post from April 5, 2021, artist Anna Gabrielle (@curlsjrtattos) writes: “A message to my young clients who are just starting to explore getting tattooed. Tattoo artists are not that fucking cool. We are all people, and we are all just like you… Please stop putting these people on a pedestal just because the long running idea has been that tattooers are somehow cooler than the average person. They’re not. Especially not these basic ass boys club White men who don’t care about you unless you’re a cute petite White girl they can mess with. Respect yourself, leave the minute you feel like the behaviour of your artist is unprofessional… You are a client, this is a service. A permanent service I might add.”

While one shouldn’t assume only young White girls are targets, Anna Gabrielle powerfully sums up something that seems to contribute to this culture, and that’s the power position tattoo artists are put in because of their social standing. But stories emerging of sexual assault in tattoo parlours isn’t just the abuse of artist-client power dynamics, but representative of a toxic culture within the industry at large. Many artists have also come forward with stories of harassment and assault from their male coworkers.

One awesome way to help adjust this culture of toxic masculinity and sexual violence, in addition to speaking up about it and calling out the behaviour as not acceptable, is to support women-owned tattoo businesses. More and more female artists are going into business by and for themselves and making their shops safe spaces for all. One of them is CJ Pannell, the owner of True Dark Tattoos here in Regina.

In full disclosure, Pannell has done two of my tattoos, but I wanted to talk to her about her work and the industry because I have always admired her vision for True Dark Tattoo as a “femme-centric” space. True Dark coincidentally emerged around a year and a half ago, during the heavy time when

CJ Pannell

Sneeze, I dare you.

many of these sexual assault allegations were brought forward and Pannell was one of the artists who offered to help victims cover up work done by abusers.

As far as I can tell – because it’s incredibly hard to track – True Dark is the only shop in Regina that is owned by a woman. Saskatoon has three women-owned

walls which are covered with art in gilded frames. Pannell wants to support as many non-men as possible, and that extends to the décor of her shop, featuring many artists from across Canada.

It also extends outside the realm of ink and skin. In opening True Dark, she partnered with Women Entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan

else. There wasn’t really any opportunity for that because we’re in such a small centre.”

“I feel like, in a way my hand was almost forced to produce the space that I needed for myself and was needed for a lot of others that I’ve spoken with,” she adds.

“I wanted to create an environment that was healthy and happy

“

So that’s one of the reasons for my space: to create a female or femme-centric space, where femmes can not feel like we constantly have to be on guard and listen for whether someone is making derogatory comments.

– CJ Pannell

spaces: Painfully Pretty Tattoos, Mama Tried, and Honey Bee Tattoo Collective. In Prince Albert, there’s Yokai Tattoos, owned

by Janie Rose and Skylar Ink. In Fort Qu’Appelle, there’s Obsidian Tattoos (formerly Custer’s tattoos), which Cindy Kenway took over her from father, Ken Kenway. Yet, as recently as 2015 (or, even right now), woman-owned tattoo shops are still news.

True Dark is a stellar little space tucked in the back of a building on Scarth Street, just outside of Cornwall Centre. It lives up to its name with black

(WESK). She found help from the organization with writing a business plan as well as finding financing, an accountant, a real estate agent, and an attorney. It’s been a hard road and a lot of work, but Pannell has had a solid community of support.

When asked what the decision was behind opening True Dark and going into business on her own, Pannell said that “if there was a shop in town that was up to [her] standards as far as personal values go, as well as that quality of art, [she] would have gladly worked under someone

and professional too.” As is evident, this isn’t the case in many shops.

On the industry, Pannell says “it’s not just the individuals, obviously like with most things when we get into things like the patriarchy and misogyny, it’s a culture.

And as a male-dominated industry the culture is very misogynistic. And even like, as an individual, even if I didn’t endure things that were as severe as other women, I still had to put up with the culture and the attitude.”

Men in the industry are often “gatekeepers,” according to

Pannell. “If I wanted to succeed I kind of had to, you know, shut my mouth and take a lot of it, or just not speak up. And that gets exhausting,” she says with an exasperated laugh. “So that’s one of the reasons for my space: to create a female or femme-centric space, where femmes can not feel like we constantly have to be on guard and listen for whether someone is making derogatory comments.”

Feeling comfortable and safe in a tattoo space is, of course, going to enhance the experience for anyone. Beyond that, Pannell’s best advice for newcomers is “when selecting a tattoo, look for a shop and look for an artist that fits your vibe and then delve into the styles you want.” She acknowledges her work “might not be the best fit for everyone,” but the tattoo community, all the way across Canada is just that: a community. “I’m always happy to be able to direct people towards other artists I feel like share the same values as I do,” Pannell adds.

Pannell echoes the sentiments put forth earlier by Anna Gabrielle, to consider that your new tattoo “is something permanent.” This seems obvious, but it goes beyond the visual aspect of the actual piece. “You have to put a lot of thought into everything else that’s attached to that permanency,” Pannell says. “Your experience in a shop is just as important as the actual piece you walk out with.”

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

arts & culture

8

Saying goodbye to the McBass family Everyone’s favourite problematic family announces they’re leaving Youtube

jorah bright a&c writer Popular YouTube family channel “The McBass Fam” recently announced the end of their time on the platform. Over the past seven years, they have raked in 15 million subscribers and over two billion views. They are beloved by their fans, and not-so-loved by everyone else. Through those seven years, parents Chase and Kayla McBass have faced repeated controversies which they handled in different ways.

The McBass family consists of parents Chase and Kayla who met in 2013 after they began “allegedly” cheating on their partners with each other. Prior to marrying Chase in 2014, Kayla had a daughter, nine-year-old Luna, with her previous partner Daniel Johnson. Together, Chase and Kayla have four additional children: five-year-old twin girls Fable Mae and Poet Leigh, threeyear-old son Jupiter Mercury, and 14-month-old Kaerysel Opal. In one of their more recent videos, Kayla announced that she’s three months pregnant with her sixth child.

Kayla and Chase treat their children very differently and make choices about their children that seem like they’re mostly for views. The children are money-makers first, kids second. In an Instagram story video, Kayla admitted that Fable and Poet are behind in their schoolwork, saying “they’re supposed to be on level six by now and they’re only on level two, so their teacher sent me an email, and she’s like ‘um, your daughters are a little behind on their reading app.’ Shoot, I didn’t know they were going to notice.”

In addition, the twins have speech delays. Both have rarely acknowledged this or admitted that the girls should see a speech thera-

Herry Lawford

The extended McBass Fam. Aren’t they just picture perfect?

pist, instead opting to hope it’ll go away as they get older.

Jupiter is treated as the golden child for being the first boy in the family. Luna is put in almost every video thumbnail because she was young when the family started posting on YouTube and was a huge reason why the channel grew so quickly. Kaerysel is just kind of there. They give her way less attention compared to the other four, likely because she didn’t bring in as many views as their twins, first son, or the breadwinner stepdaughter.

Recently, Kayla took Fable, Poet, and Kaerysel on a trip to Disneyland for Kaerysel’s first

Chase are already busy enough with four young kids that they wouldn’t be able to give Luna a proper homeschool education or meet the standards of California state education. Kayla justifies this by saying that mornings will be easier for the family and Luna will be able to help with the kids and go to dance earlier. It is big Duggar energy to try to get your eldest child to parent your youngers.

A few years ago, Kayla and Chase got rid of their dog because they felt like they couldn’t handle having a dog and all their kids. This was right after Jupiter was born and Luna was six. They

they hadn’t properly repented for their sins, because of course the McBass family are evangelical Christians. Instead, the twins had to watch all their other siblings open presents, sit silently, and “contemplate their actions.”

Kayla chose to do this when pulling the twins out of kindergarten to clean the house ended up being fun for them instead of the punishment she wanted it to be.

She chose losing Christmas as a punishment, despite saying later on that “taking away Christmas presents is the worst thing possible for little kids.”

One of their worst moves was uploading a video last year called

“

Last Christmas, Kayla and Chase uploaded a video saying that Fable and Poet won’t receive Christmas gifts that year because of ‘their long patterns of egregious selfish behaviour.’ They were five.

– Jorah Bright

birthday, and then proceeded to only post pictures of Fable and Poet. There wasn’t even a dedicated ‘happy birthday’ post for Kaerysel and vlogs showed the twins telling Kaerysel that she wasn’t allowed on rides simply because they didn’t want her to.

With a sixth baby incoming, Kayla and Chase have already begun trying to parentify Luna. In a video called “We have to make a big decision about Luna...” Kayla talks about how busy Luna is between school and dance and how she wants Luna to be homeschooled. But Kayla and

posted a vlog including the moment of Kayla and Luna crying in the thumbnail but forgot to edit out part of the video where Kayla directs Luna on how to pose to look like she’s crying. Kayla then ignores her daughter when she says that she’s truly crying and instead tells her she wants her to “cry pretty.”

Last Christmas, Kayla and Chase uploaded a video saying that Fable and Poet won’t receive Christmas gifts that year because of “their long patterns of egregious selfish behaviour.” They were five. She told her kids that

“He was diagnosed with cancer....” and using a picture of the family as the thumbnail, which left fans wondering if two-yearold Jupiter had been diagnosed with cancer. But that wasn’t the case. Chase had convinced himself that his son had cancer, but after finding out that Jupiter didn’t have cancer, he decided to make a documentary about young kids with cancer. They exploited these young children battling cancer to make a profit off of their monetized YouTube video.

The McBass Family certainly love their clickbait, including “He

was diagnosed with cancer...”

Other intense clickbait titles include: “I am NOT Jupiter’s Father... (Truth Revealed),” ‘Luna is about to GIVE UP... (She needs Support),” “I got in a [sic] ACCIDENT *PRANK* on My Family (They Freaked Out),” “Our PUPPY Almost DROWNED,” “I DROPPED OUR BABY PRANK! (My Wife and Kids Freakout...),” and “Our last 24 hours with Luna, Fable, and Poet :(” They’ve also run several scams over the years. The most prominent being their attempt to make a McBass Family app, where for a monthly fee you could get extra McBass Family content.

Several people signed up for this only to realise that the content stopped after the first couple of weeks. There’s also been dozens of rumours over the years of Chase cheating on Kayla. There have been videos of him making out with other girls and several people have come forward saying that they had intimate relations with Chase, but Chase and Kayla vehemently deny these statements. And while they posted that they would be leaving YouTube, I can’t say I fully believe it. It’s their main source of income and there’s no way they won’t make a video about the new baby’s birth.

Instead, they’ve announced the McBass Festival, a one-day festival with theme park rides and music for their fans to attend.

Ticket prices have yet to be announced, but I imagine they will be very expensive. And it probably won’t be their only festival if it does well financially.

Until then, goodbye to the McBass family. Please stop exploiting your children.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

arts & culture

9

The Bachelorette: Bachelor in Prairiedise The world’s most beloved dating show announces a prairie series

jorah bright a&c writer Stay calm, Bachelor Nation.

There’s a brand-new season in a brand-new place on its way – and there’s brand-new love to be found! The Canadian prairies are getting their own Bachelor Franchise. Starting with the Bachelorette, get ready for a journey to love like no other.

Introducing Bachelorette Avery Walker! Avery is a 23-year-old hair stylist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Avery’s a hopeless romantic but has never been in love.

She can’t stand slow drivers, and she’s a Christmas fanatic. She’ll be

Kaleb, 27, from Regina, Saskatchewan Kaleb’s only personality trait is the Fast and the Furious franchise. He refuses to watch any other movies. His favourite hobby is spinning doughnuts in empty parking lots. It’s also his only hobby. He works as a car mechanic.

Aiden B., 28, from Edmonton, Alberta Aiden is a cool, down-to-earth guy, according to him. He doesn’t like when girls wear make-up, but if he catches you without any, he’ll make fun of how you look. And he hates when girls gossip. He wants a girl who’s fun and appreciates that Saturdays are for the boys.

but he refuses to go to any other grocery store. He’s racked up 14 speeding tickets in the last two months.

Aiden D., 24, from the Middle of Nowhere, Saskatchewan Aiden D. grew up on his family’s farm taking care of cattle. He learned how to drive a car from driving tractors, and he learned toxic masculinity from his dad. He doesn’t have any pictures of himself without a fish or a beer. He says he plays the guitar, but really only knows the five chords needed to play “Wonderwall.”

David B., from North Battleford, Saskatchewan

“

Avery’s a hopeless romantic but has never been in love. She can’t stand slow drivers, and she’s a Christmas fanatic.

– Jorah Bright

meeting 30 guys from across the prairies, all hoping to become Avery’s fiancé.

Avery knows exactly what she’s looking for in a man: someone who’s kind and supports her in her endeavours, but can handle her spontaneity. She’s not like other girls, and she wants a man who can appreciate that.

But now, it’s time to meet some of the guys.

Brian, 30, from Weyburn, Saskatchewan Math is Brian’s best friend.

Actually, math is Brian’s only friend, other than the few people who ask Brian to help them with math. Brian is currently a math teacher at the same high school he went to.

David L., 24, from Medicine Hat, Alberta David loves his mom. He calls his mom every single day. His mom will show up at his door if he doesn’t. His mom doesn’t like Avery because she’ll take her little boy away from her. David’s mom tried breaking into the Bachelor mansion to see her son. The director has a restraining order against David’s mom now. Will Avery like David’s mom?

Brett, 25, from Carlyle, Saskatchewan Brett drives a jacked-up Dodge. He only goes to church on holidays but says he goes every week. He doesn’t actually drink any water, only beer. He’s banned from four Wal-Marts for unsavoury language and behaviour,

David B. doesn’t have a job.

He likes to drink all day and doesn’t care about your Instagram post or your keto diet. David thinks PDA is the same thing as romance. He’ll call out any guy who says they’re here for the “right reasons.” His only redeeming quality is, um…

I’ll get back to you on that one.

Keegan, 23, from Regina, Saskatchewan Keegan didn’t respond to several requests for information for a bio. After two weeks, he responded with “here for a good time, not a long time” and a picture of him and a fish.

And that’s just a sneak peek at some of the men vying for Avery’s heart on the first season of The Bachelorette: Bachelor in Prairiedise.

Pixabay

Pixabay

A date in the Mud Slut could be Avery’s if only she chooses Brett from Carlyle. What more could a woman want?

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |10

news

Review: Bad Vegan

You don’t have to be vegan to get your heart broken by a sexy scammer

amina salah staff writer Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, Fugitives is a documentary directed by Chris Smith that premiered on Netflix on March 16. It shows the downfall of Sarma Melngailis, the owner of an upscale vegan fine dining restaurant named Pure Food and Wine located in New York City. Melngailis’ troubles began when she met a man who went by the name Anthony Strangis. He allegedly influenced her into stealing from her own restaurant and later going on the run. The two transferred over $1.5 million from the restaurant into their own personal banking accounts. As a result, the workers at Pure Food and Wine were unable to pay their bills and were left in the dark while Sarma was away with Anthony. At the end of the day, it is important to remember that the workers are also victims.

Viewers have been extremely divided on the documentary.

One side believes that Melngailis

Markus Spiske via Pixabay

Don’t be a bad vegan. Eat the veggie burger!

was in on the scam with Strangis because of the phone call at the end of the documentary where she was excitedly talking to him.

This begged the question; how could one possibly want to be on friendly terms with someone who

her, changing her name, yet still expect the audience to believe that she was unaware that her and Anthony were on the run.

People on the other side believe that she was a victim to a scammer’s mind games. Strangis

conclusion. Ultimately, anyone could be scammed. You can’t predict it, but there are always ways to protect yourself. It’s important to remember that it is okay to ask for help, to consult your friends and family. If you are surrounded

“

If you are surrounded by people who have your best interest at heart, they will be able to notice patterns and signs in a romantic partner that, perhaps, you might have missed.

– Amina Salah

did something that awful to them?

Melngailis was unable to answer some of the questions that the interviewer had, like how she could possibly be covering her tattoos and every identifiable aspect of

convinced Melngailis that he would be able to make both of them, along with their dog, immortal. As viewers, we will never know the truth, so there is no point trying to come up with the

by people who have your best interest at heart, they might be able to notice patterns and signs in a romantic partner that, perhaps, you might have missed.

The reality is that anyone

can be trapped by narcissistic manipulation; once you are, it’s very difficult to come out of it. Scam artists will love bomb you. They will shower you in expensive gifts.

More than that, they will pay attention to how you react to their grand gestures of love and affection. If they see that you are easily falling for these tricks, they will push further and further. This is merely a test to determine whether you are gullible and quick to let your guard down. The most important rule of self-preservation is to never be easily swayed by the tricks of someone who is interested in you. The world of dating has unfortunately turned into a game that has the legitimate possibility of costing you your life. It is important to always be cautious and on guard. Bad Vegan is a cautionary tale that every single person should learn from, because even though you think you’ll never fall for it, it’s nearly impossible to see these things coming.

Pixabay manipulated by Hannah Eiserman

sports & health

11

editor: katie mutschler sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | april 1 - june 29, 2022

Lets learn to dance in heels: an interview with Lisa Dawn Become your most fierce and confident self

victoria baht s&h writer

Do you remember what it was like to be a child in dance classes?

You got to wear the cool outfits, fancy shoes, and watch yourself in the big mirrors while dancing around with your friends. It was so much fun practicing on repeat until it was time for the recital.

Even though you are no longer a child, what if I told you that you have the chance to have the experience all over again?

You probably would not believe me. Well, there is a dance studio opening up in early April that is going to make this possible for adults. The studio is called Collective Studios, which is Regina’s adult dance centre. This studio was created by Jaimie Kopeck, and it is for adults (17+), no prior experience needed. The classes you can take are ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, salsa, batcha, and heels. The Carillon did an interview with Lisa Dawn, who will be teaching the heels class. Heels is a class that will make you feel confident walking in heels, and also make you feel sexy and fierce in them too! Let’s talk to the fierce Lisa and get to know her dancing experience.

Can you tell us about your past dance experience?

I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and my dancing life started at the Martin school of dance at the age of three years old. As I grew older, I danced in many competitions and traveled in both Canada and the U.S. After I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to make dancing my career so I jumped for it. After graduation, I moved to New York City when I was 19 years old. I was there on an international student visa program where I took dance at the Broadway center.

In this program you had to take a certain number of classes daily, though I took them all. This is where I found my love for heels. I got my first job in Vegas with a celebrity cruise line with a contract.

Then I started up with Princess and got a contract back in 2013, and I have been there ever since.

Contracts normally last six to nine months, and I have been so lucky to travel and dance everywhere! I am still with Princess to this day, although because of COVID-19, it has brought my performance to a slight pause, although I still have a huge passion for dance.

What is your favourite move or sequence?

My favourite move has got to be a body roll. This is where you start at the top of your head with your forehead back and your chin up. Then you lift your chest and roll through your spine. You then squat in your hips and a bend in your legs.

Can you explain some personal emotions you have while dancing in front of others?

Dancing in front of others to me is the best feeling! I feel like dance has become such a huge expression for myself. When I am dancing, I am my most authentic and most fun self. It is when I know that I am doing it for not only myself but also bringing joy to others. I have a way to express myself without saying any words.

What is your favourite part about dance?

Dance is a way to express yourself. When you are in a happy and joyful mood, this is when your dance is going to be on a high energy level. Compared to when you are maybe sad or in a slump your dance may be slow and not as expressive, and that is okay. Dancing is such a good way to get people together and create a community. You can dance all together and create a bond without even knowing it. You can build a sense of community and share so many things with others.

What is your favourite thing about teaching dance?

Seeing the growth in the students, kids or the adults. This is when I get the chance to see them grow and work hard towards a certain goal. When one is teaching that goal, I see them thrive with inner joy. I also get the chance to see others get out of their comfort zone and get people to recognize and take a moment to let go and be their confident selves. Plus, I am sharing something that brings me joy with others.

Can you explain what heels dancing is?

Heels dancing has many styles of dancing, and it is all based on the instructor. My style of heels that I will be teaching is along the lines of heels. This [dance is] beautiful looking and it is about showing your inner self, showing intersexuality, inner goddess, inner sassiness, and inner fierceness. You can bring out any emotion you have and bring it out all on the floor.

What is a good outfit to wear to a heels class?

My biggest thing if you are happy with your outfit, what you are wearing and feeling confident, then your class will go well!

What type of music accompanies this dance, and

Femme Spirit via Unsplash

Dancing in heels: it is basically Cross Fit.

songs are ‘Addicted’ by Jon Vinyl, ‘Sweating’ by Alewya, and ‘Antidote’ by Nao and Adekunle Gold.

Do you have any personal stories for our readers that

get a workout in, build a relationship, and create a community to rebuild a connection. Dance and have fun. You don’t have to worry about strict opportunities like re-

“

I know that I am doing it for not only myself but also bringing joy to others. I have a way to express myself without saying any words.

– Lisa Dawn

what are your go-to songs?

I sort of like older songs. Although heels often go towards an R&B, hip-hop, and you can slow it down to make it look classier and sexier. I normally go towards remixes of songs, and some go-to

would get them encouraged to try dancing?

The hardest thing is getting yourself there. You are worried about going by yourself, but everyone is here for the same reason: to get dancing, get moving,

citals or competitions. Just worry about getting there and having fun!

What is the pattern of how classes take place?

Heels classes start with alignment in upper body, standing

and walking in heels, isolating the body with movements, [and] head whips with stationary movements. Then we will move towards floor movements with some choreography.

Is the studio putting on any special deals during the opening month?

We will have a grand opening at the end of April where we will be giving out classes, passes, and deals, and then we also have promotions and sessions out right now. We are also planning on having additional events out soon like socials and workshops.

The Carillon wants to thank Lisa for all these beautiful answers and wants Jaimie and her team to know that we, and I am sure others, are looking forward to the studio and the community and dances it creates!

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |12

sports & health

Meal-prep March series: healing through food The one where Katherine talks about soup

katherine mutschler s&h editor People meal prep for different reasons. Some do it so they are less tempted to eat fast food. Others do it to save time for meals after work. For me, meal prep became a way to spiritually, physically, and emotionally heal from an eating disorder and an injury. I went from someone who couldn’t even

“

Katherine Mutschler

Girls, what’s my weakness? Soup!

During this time, I fell in love with baking shows, and the baker’s drive reminded me how I feel at the piano. When I could finally hold a knife, I found the cutting of vegetables and stirring of tofu helped my arm move freely, and by the time I finished a dish, my arm would stop hurting. Smooth motion while cooking can reduce

itative state. When I feel calm my injury hurts less, and then I can put my energy into healing and being relaxed.

My meal prepping also became a way to heal from my eating disorder. Cooking was a way for me to get to know the ingredients, get a connection to each one of them, learn how they could

Soup is the food I feel the happiest with; it has become a ritual for me. I always start with olive oil, garlic, and spices. I then put in my vegetables until they are transparent and smell amazing. After that, it is whatever protein and starch I please, plus a homemade broth. Soup was also a way for me to take care of myself when I got

to participate in the community.

When I think back to those soup parties, I remember the cutting of the onions while my friends played duets on the piano. I remember all of us picking ingredients while the pianists would play with my dog.

I especially remember when we would decide to give up on piano for a bit and begin to play video

If I search for the cultural and spiritual meaning of food, I see it less as something to fear, and more as something I can experience and enjoy.

– Katherine Mutschler

close my hand around a knife due to the amount of pain to someone who looks forward to cooking every day. I will explain to you the benefits I have found for meal prepping in regards to my injury and mental health recovery.

I got badly injured at the piano in 2018 to the point that I couldn’t use both my arms.

pain as long as you don’t use too much pressure, and cooking became a pain reliever for me.

Along with the physical benefits of meal prep, the act of cooking must be done in a state of calmness. The scents of the spices, the sizzle of the pan, and the attempt to create the perfect blend of vegetables puts me into a med-

help me, and then work with what scared me. Even to this day, I use cooking as a way to check in with my fears. I can see what is overwhelming me and practice fighting off the thoughts. If I search for the cultural and spiritual meaning of food, I see it less as something to fear and more as something I can experience and enjoy.

ill with COVID-19 in January. I used ingredients full of vitamin C that I knew could help me heal faster.

Beethoven once said only the pure of heart can make a good soup, and I think of him whenever I nourish myself. My piano studio and I had soup parties before COVID-19, and it was a way

games in the basement before everyone got too tired and decided to go home. Through food I have built a relationship with my body, my mind, and most importantly, with my friends. It is only a matter of time until I find myself cutting onions while my friends play the piano one last time before we part ways for our next adventure.

Cala via Unsplash

april 1 - june 29, 2022

sports & health

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

13

Why the wrestling team really got cancelled What the university doesn’t want you to know

victoria baht s&h writer Did you know that the University of Regina used to have a wrestling team? Once upon a time we did, but not too long ago that was shut down. We are here with fresh breaking news from a little bird to tell you about the team and the real reason they were shut down.

One of the main reasons why you may not have heard of the wrestling team is because they were not known as being a Cougars or Rams team. No, the wrestlers used to be known as the Spiders of the University of Regina. Yes, you read that right!

Now, why did they call themselves the Spiders you may ask? Well, it is because a wrestler standing stance makes them look like a spider. They have their legs wide and their bodies close down to the ground. To make sure they get their opponent distracted, they swing side to side with their arms up to the side reaching as far as possible, moving up and down trying to distract their opponent.

The Spider wrestlers were something different. They were different compared to the other sports team, and for this team, being termed the Cougars or the Rams was not the vibe.

“

You know what else their vibe was not? Practicing in a normal gym with mats, mirrors, and equipment. No, your wrestlers of the University of Regina used to practice in the Adhum building.

Why that building in particular you may ask? Because this building was perfect to do lots and lots of stairs to train for the next meet.

Plus, this team cheered each other on like no other! This team cheered like they were wolves to be exact; they say loud and proud “ow ow ow ow owwwwwww!!!!”

As they cheered each other, the voices would just echo and raise up the Adhum building, and this was your professor’s favourite part of their day. As they are sitting in their office grading in the papers, they can just hear the howls coming down from below which wake them up just in time to assure you via email that you passed that midterm.

Now, the professors liked the wrestling team for many reasons.

The professors were assured that the wrestling team always kept their diet up to date. Now, what is a wrestler’s diet, you may ask?

A wrestler’s diet is something that you may know as the ‘Mean Girls Diet.’ Typically, wrestlers would be on an all-carb diet and eat a lot of Kälteen bars. These bars

Sandra Halank via Wikamedia

Snap, crackle, pop!

The wrestling team was shut down for one crazy reason that a lot of people did not hear about.

– Victoria Baht

Girl With Red Hat via Unsplash

were specifically good at making your body retain water weight, and were sent in secret shipments through the Engineering Department’s equipment deliveries.

So, Carillon readers, you know where the wrestling team used to practice, you know what they were known as, and you know their diet – so why were they shut down, you may ask? The wrestling team was shut down for one crazy reason that a lot of people did not hear about.

The reason why the wrestling team was shut down was because one professor wanted to be part of the wrestling team. They did not want to be a supporter, and they did not want to a be coach. They wanted to be an athlete. Because the wrestling team needed the supplies of the bars for their diet, they assisted in letting the professor try out for the team, although after seeing his skills they could not allow it. His stance was completely different, and his howl was not loud and obnoxious enough.

As those were two of the main standards of the team, the professor did not move past the try-out level. The continued on to hold a grudge and spread the word of their spurning, which caused other professors to stop supporting the team’s supply of Kälteen bars. Once that ship sailed, it was only a short matter of time until the end of the Spiders wrestling team at the University of Regina.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 14

sports & health

The gummy worm diet: “big vegetable” is controlling health news Doctors don’t want you to know this weight loss secret

katherine mutschler s&h editor As an esteemed writer at the Carillon, it is my responsibility to bring forward the truth whenever possible. When I found out that doctors and dietitians have been lying about fruits and vegetables being good for you, I was appalled. I quickly searched online and I found many Facebook groups bringing forward THE TRUTH. One such group is the Mummies for Gummies Facebook group. I will tell you the benefits of only eating gummy worms, and then explain why doctors have been lying to us for years.

After reading the “Mummies for Gummies” page, I came across many convincing reasons one should only eat gummy worms. I interviewed Amanda Lay, a mother of three and an essential oils enthusiast, to find out how gummy worms have helped her: “Every morning, I give my children a bowl of gummy worms. I am happy to announce that all they want to eat is gummy worms now, and this is good because it keeps them away from unhealthy foods like cake, cookies, and soda.” Lay explains that before she started her children on the worm diet, they ate too many sweets. This caused issues during their homeschooling time.

Clint Toris is a fitness enthusiast and promotes various scientifically-proven gummies, diet teas, and fat-blast workout gear. I

asked him why he promotes these gummies. Toris stated “I get all of these gains from these gummies, and nothing else. I really do eat them everyday, and if you heard I am taking any other substance, the rumors aren’t true.” Toris is very fit, so I want to have the gummies so I can look like him.

The final person I talked to was Harry Butz, a person who

need to track his food.

There are many reasons doctors lie to patients about fruits and vegetables. According to a study

by Anita Dyck posted on crystalmommy.ca, “big vegetable” funds various government programs, and as a result, the Government of Canada promotes vegetables as a way to fund the industry. Did you notice in 2019 that dairy and

it leads to not needing to track.

When I asked Mike Hunt about his supplementing, he said “Before I started the worm diet, I had to track every single macro, every calorie, and every carb. Now I know it is all sugar, and I don’t need to worry.”

R. Soul, the leading researcher of the diet, has been in the process of producing a new book

“

According to a study by Anita Dyck posted on crystalmommy.ca, ‘big vegetable’ funds various government programs, and as a result, the Government of Canada promotes vegetables as a way to fund the industry.

– Katherine Mutschler

has tried every diet craze and finally landed on this one: “I tried the frozen food diet, keto, and the egg and wine diet. None of them worked. Now I only eat gummy worms and I must have abs because my stomach always hurts. I can’t see the abs yet, but I know they are there from all the pain I feel.” Butz said some of the benefits for him are that he has more energy during the day, he doesn’t experience cravings because he can eat gummy worms whenever he wants, and he doesn’t feel the

wheat were moved down the tier list of important foods? This is a result of funding from vegetable corporations.

One of the benefits of only having gummy worms is that you don’t need to check labels on your food. According to a study written

by Lu Zerr, 75 per cent of Canadians do not know what they eat in a day, what ingredients are in their food, or the nutritional value of what they eat. With the gummy worm diet, you know exactly what you are eating in a day, and

called the Skinny Secret. He gave me exclusive access to his draft so I could promote it before it comes out. Soul claims that the gummy worm diet works because it is low fat. The body cannot metabolize fats and vitamins quickly, and this leads to gaining fat specifically in the stomach and the buttocks. This particularly affects men and women over 25. When eating gummy worms, there are no vitamins to worry about. Because the body is not processing vitamins, the metabolism gets

boosted, and there is a detox effect on the brain, liver, and lungs.

This makes you 20 per cent faster in your cardio, and the lack of protein makes sure you don’t gain any pesky muscle weight. “If you don’t gain any muscle weight,” Soul said, “then the scale doesn’t go up.”

Soul is currently in the process of creating a formula for skinny gummies. “You will lose 10 pounds in one week,” he claims.

Side effects may include going to the bathroom a lot and itchy teeth. Soul told me about his safe testing: “The rats I tested on have all seen great results. They now refuse to eat vegetables.” He noted that the effects of the skinny gummies are amplified if taken with lots of water and coffee: “the coffee makes your heart beat faster, and this speeds up how fast the calories are burned.” You can get Soul’s book from your nearest Rainforest warehouse next November.

After reading these articles, I am convinced that I need to start the gummy worm diet. The government is LYING to us, and we must not be sheep. Due to the results I see from anecdotal evidence online, reading the studies that prove the food charts funded by “big vegetable”, and reading Soul’s book, I am certain that the gummy worm diet is good for all people. You can get started on the gummy worm diet today and see results tomorrow.

Yes and Photo via Unsplash

Did no one tell you sour is its own food group?

op-ed

15

editor: sarah nakonechny op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | april 1 - june 29, 2022

We love to hate them

Who’s up for some piping hot takes?

Anyone who has known me for less than six months knows me as someone who speaks very mildly, hardly stating an opinion, and in general has a penchant for understatements. Anyone who knows me for substantially longer than that knows that that is all a farce and that I am one of the most opinionated and extroverted people around. I have an opinion on pretty much every topic under the sun. Once I am comfortable around someone, they will get to hear my opinion.

It will not be an understated opinion, coated in euphemisms and diplomatic language. No thank you. I am going to go on a long rant, punctuated by a few moments of silence, and always followed by another rant. I can go on forever, much like the winters in Saskatchewan. So, today, I figured I would give you a list of the things I love to rant about. Some of these I love, others I hate so much that I have helped a co-worker form on a pitch list fueled by pure rage.

Lastly, some are things I have had to change my stance about. Here we go.

I love my Kindle. Before I ever owned a kindle, packing for travel used to give me anxiety. Sure, I picked 10 books for a fiveday trip. But what if I do not enjoy any of them after the first few pages? What if I am left with nothing to read, and must – gasp – go outside or speak to someone? Now, I can download a thousand books for my twohour flight. Even if I do not like the first 999, I am still left with one. Not to mention that people cannot try to start a conversation based on the book cover, and best of all, no one can come for a visit, pick up my favourite books, and ask if they can “borrow” them. No thank you, Mark Twain. I “borrowed” those from some other gullible soul myself. I have seen this episode before!

I love winters. Before you lynch me for saying this just as the weather is beginning to get a tad bit warmer, think about it, will

you? Think about the hottest day in August. Is there anything you can do to feel better, short of blasting an air conditioner and dooming the planet? Is there any food or drink that helps? Maybe a cold drink helps you cool down, but I can assure you it does not help me. Now think about the coldest day, sometime between November and February. You could have some soup, you could make tea or hot chocolate, you can put on another layer. Personally, I love some beef stew on cold winter days. Given a choice between +40 and -40, I would always take the latter.

I love fountain pens. When I first got one, three years ago, I thought it would be a lot of work. To be fair, it is a lot of

is hard to overcome the temptation of free three-day shipping especially when my headphones break and I need new ones, or when I can sign up for a recurring delivery of cleaning supplies, never again finding myself with a hamper full of clothes and no laundry detergent. Amazon Prime has made life easier, more so in the last two years.

Moving on to things that enrage me, the first item is a person; a famous person that many seem to idolize: Elon Musk. I have no reason to suspect that my intelligence is below average, and I just do not get the Musk hype! All he has done is invest in some very commendable businesses.

However, he runs those businesses in a way

“

It will not be an understated opinion, coated in euphemisms and diplomatic language.

– Hammad Ali

work compared to using a ballpoint – but the writing is so much smoother with so little effort! A good fountain pen costs a fair bit, but it lasts a lifetime if you take care of it. Perhaps this is rationalizing my own obsession with fountain pens, but I also wonder how many single use ballpoints I would have gone through in the last three years and have concluded that a reusable fountain pen seems a lot better for the environment, too.

This last one is a bit of guilty pleasure.

I love Amazon Prime. Everything I know about how Amazon treats its workers and business rivals tells me I should not, but it

that borders on being abusive to his staff.

Yes, he did go to Stanford for a while, but a part of me thinks that getting into Stanford becomes a lot easier when your grandfather owns an emerald mine in South Africa. Not to mention his inane tweets that keep talking about things that are neither his domain nor his business. I would like Musk better if all he did was his work on his own projects and delete his Twitter.

I do not eat bacon, and I hate how there is bacon in everything. I see a pizza I would love, except it comes with bacon.

Sure, I can customize it to leave out the bacon, except now I am paying the same

price! Sometimes, when with a friend, I have been able to ask for the bacon on the side so my friend can enjoy it. Yes, as you may suspect, I love getting my money’s worth. However, I would much rather just not have bacon on everything!

Speaking of getting my money’s worth, you know how sometimes supermarkets will have a sale with some odd condition?

Buy groups of three for $2, but otherwise it is $2.95? Why? I live by myself and do not need three or six or 90 cups of soup.

Maybe I just want to try out this brand, see if I like it, and do not want to be stuck with two cups of soup of the kind I barely could finish one of ! If you want it all to sell faster, figure out some other way to do that. Do not make me enter a months-long commitment to soup.

I could have sworn I hate more things, but it seems I am out of things to hate already. I guess that is good news. I will leave with one last thing though. Something I used to hate but then grew on me: pineapple on pizza. I used to hate it, mostly because the internet told me to. But then one day, I had wings in mango sauce. Unrelated, but it made me appreciate the contrast in taste, and I went back to give pineapple on pizza another shot. I am glad I did, because I am now firmly in the camp of taste contrasts, be it pineapple on pizza, wings in mango or coconut sauce, or sweet and sour chicken!

I guess, looking back, there are more things I love, or have come to love, than things that enrage me. I am not sure how I feel about this, being firmly in the camp of “the world is a mess, and we are right to be angry.” Perhaps I am aging and mellowing out after all...

hammad ali staff writer

Christian Wiediger via Unsplash

Prime or it’s not worth the time.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |16

op-ed

Voting no to more fees and less action URSU has proposed two new fees that your voice needs to be heard about On March 29 and 30, students at the University of Regina will be asked two questions. First, “Do you support the creation of and membership in the Saskatchewan Provincial Students Union [SPSU], to advocate for the interest of students at the provincial level, for $2.5 per semester indexed to CPI?” Second, “Do you support a $1.5 dollar (sic) per credit per semester fee indexed to CPI to provided (sic) Legal Advocacy and Advocacy services to students through the funding of the Regina Student Legal Advocacy Centre [SLAC]?” To these questions, students at the University of Regina should answer “no.”

My reasoning should be prefaced with a commendation. The University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) chose to send these decisions to an open vote and gave advance notice of the referendum. This allows voters to contemplate the consequences and form an opinion on whether a “yes” vote would be in their interests. What follows is exactly that.

Regarding the “creation of and membership in the Saskatchewan Provincial Students Union,” voting in favour would be a betrayal of our legacy as a university and a contravention of our present interests. Professor Emeritus of History James Pitsula has documented the events that culminated with the independence of the University of Saskatchewan Regina Campus as the University of Regina. Participants in the Student Representative Council (SRC), contributors to the Carillon, and activist students figured prominently into this process.

The concerns of these organizations and individuals grew out of an identity defined in relation to the main campus of the University of Saskatchewan. While the campus in Saskatoon cultivated an environment of professionals, the Regina cam-

pus became a hotbed for liberal arts radicals and activists. It is not by accident that Fred Hampton spoke at Regina instead of Saskatoon. The student body of the Regina campus resisted the hegemony of the University of Saskatchewan under the activism of a robust SRC. The SRC, along with the Carillon, succeeded in gaining student control over the student paper and union. This SRC also succeeded, under the leadership of President Ralph Smith, in protecting the interests of its charges

I could not be more in support of this initiative. A perfect opportunity to do so would be to assume the mantle from Ralph Smith by advocating on behalf of the student body independently. It would also be prudent for URSU to come to appreciate the value of student fees to the same level that the SRC of Regina Campus did.

Should URSU accomplish this, they would understand the undue burden that $37.50 a semester places on a student already paying more than $3,800 in total fees. In effect,

“

While the campus in Saskatoon cultivated an environment of professionals, the Regina campus became a hotbed for liberal arts radicals and activists.

– Jack Nestor

against attempts to restrict academic freedom by Ross Thatcher.

URSU has argued that SPSU would be able to advocate for the interests of its student bodies with the provincial government. Yet, how can the student body at the University of Regina be certain that our interests will not be subordinated to the interests of the much larger student body at the University of Saskatchewan? If such a process does occur – and since the terms of this union have not been delineated, we have no good reason to believe it will not – the legacy of our forebearers will be betrayed. URSU has further declared that it desires to revive the tradition of student activism that has defined the University of Regina.

entry into SPSU could force many students into a more precarious financial situation – and for what, the betrayal of their identity and the subordination of their interests?

A majority of “yes” votes for the creation of SLAC would further aggravate the financial pressure of students – even if it is a sound idea in theory. In addition to financial strain, students should be wary of whether SLAC would be an effective use of their money. Let us consider the purpose of SLAC and the funding scheme proposed

by URSU. In its informational package on SLAC, URSU argues that SLAC will aid students with “tenant issues, work issues, immigration and permit issues, and in terms of academic advocacy.” It should be safe to assume that students taking advan-

tage of SLAC are in a financial situation that prevents them from acquiring legal aid independently.

The funding scheme for URSU proposes a fee of $1.50 per semester adjusted to CPI. Students paying the highest fee would be those taking 15 credit hours in a fall or winter semester; an additional $22.50 which becomes $60.00 if SPSU is created. There may be two types of students in this predicament: those who are financially stable enough to secure legal aid independently, for whom SLAC would become a body which would serve as a drain on their resources with no benefit, and those who are under financial pressure to take 15 credit hours to earn their degree in a reasonable amount of time, for whom SLAC would make meeting tuition payment dates even more difficult while only marginally improving their access to legal aid. Even if SLAC were to provide legal aid to this lattermost group at the cost of making independent legal aid impossible, we must vote “no.” Solutions that perpetuate the issues which they are meant to solve are not solutions at all.

At the risk of alienating my readership who may oppose the politics of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, I find it helpful to recall his words in Federalism and the French Canadians: “Men do not exist for states: states are created to make it easier for men to attain some of their common objectives.”

For our purposes, we need only to substitute “men” with “students” and “states” with “students’ unions,” and consider whether SPSU and SLAC uphold such an ideal. If the answer is “no,” we should vote accordingly on March 29 and 30.

jack nestor contributor URSU manipulated by Jeremy Davis/Kate Thiessen

Their logo might have gotten an update, but their approach doesn’t seem to have caught up.

april 1 - june 29, 2022

op-ed

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

The ugly truth behind media coverage

17

Framing populations as deserving the horrors they experience is extremely harmful

Engin Akyurt via Unsplash

You don’t need to be fashionable to be a part of the paparazzi.

Since the start of the year, we have been watching news coverage of the tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Today, a war has emerged from the situation. This has affected the lives of millions of people. As an African, I have always been aware of the cruelty of war because it is something that my parents have experienced. War separates people. It separates families, it destabilizes communities, it leads to intergenerational trauma, it affects how people view the world, and it affects the recovery of a country. Understanding the impact of war and politics is important.

Many have heard statements such as

istan, that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European – I must choose those words carefully, too – city, where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen.”

I guess it is okay to utter disrespectful statements if you say, “with all due respect.”

David Sakvarelidze, the former deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine, explained that it was difficult for him to see “European people with blue eyes and blond hair being killed.”

Another former Conservative member of the European Parliament known as Daniel Hannan wrote “…they seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking.

empathize with anyone who is fleeing from war, regardless of the colour of their skin.

Lucy Watson, ITV News correspondent, stated “this is not a developing third-world nation, this is Europe.” The selective empathy that has been oozing from journalists has been interesting to watch.

Ukrainians who are fleeing from war are referred to as refugees while Afghan refugees were referred to as migrants by French media. As Ukrainians fled to Poland, they were welcomed with open arms by the same country that left Iraqi, Syrian, and Afghan refugees to freeze to death at the border. Polish authorities refused to accept the asylum seeker applications of

for every single person who has ever known war.

I don’t want to live in a world where people are genuinely flabbergasted that war can happen to anyone, not just Brown and Black people. The type of racism we have seen in the hypocritical media coverage is not necessarily in your face. It is subtle, casual, and laced with microaggressions. Referring to one region as civilized and another as uncivilized hurts people in the global South. It is a painful reality that these individuals will always be left to stand on their own after the West destabilizes them. The day that President Joe Biden called Russia a bully was the same day that

“

The day that President Joe Biden called Russia a bully was the same day that America bombed my country, Somalia. The hypocrisy of America calling Russia a bully when they have been undermining and destroying countries in the global South is a phenomenon that will be studied by historians for years to come.

– Amina Salah

“they seem like us,” “these are people who look like us and drive cars like ours,” “this is not happening in Afghanistan or Syria,” and “this is Europe.” There is the belief that war is happening for the first time in humanity, to civilized Europeans – the same Europe that has been at the heart of a multitude of wars and genocides. This is the same Europe that started the transatlantic slave trade. For starters, the same regions that journalists are implying to be uncivilized are the regions where civilization started.

These are all statements that have come from war journalists who pretend to be allies of the global South.

Charlie D’Agata, a senior foreign correspondent at CBS stated “Ukraine isn’t, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghan-

War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations. It can happen to anyone.” For some powerful leaders, the fact that there is war occurring in Ukraine is shocking because, quite frankly, how could such a civilized country go through something so painful?

That begs the question, how could Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Palestine go through the same thing?

These statements imply that some groups deserve war whilst other don’t.

Nobody deserves war. Nobody deserves to have their livelihoods flipped upside down.

The most difficult thing to do is to have to leave your country as a result of war to foreign lands. Hannan’s statements highlight the lack of empathy for the global South.

The fact of the matter is that we should

some refugees. There is the implication that one side has refugees who are wellread, well-educated, smart, and talented, while the other does not. This is an assumption that emphasizes that only a specific type of refugee is welcome. Many people who come to the West as refugees from the global South are people who used to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, and students in their respective countries.

The reality is that some of the war coverage from Ukraine is rooted in racism, colonialism, and otherism. The remnants of colonialism make up a world where conflict in one region is normalized but the same cannot be said for countries in the West.

Humanity has become so desensitized that we are only able to feel pain for people who might look like us when we should feel pain

America bombed my country, Somalia.

The hypocrisy of America calling Russia a bully when they have been undermining and destroying countries in the global South is a phenomenon that will be studied by historians for years to come.

The situation in Ukraine has only highlighted dark secrets of our world that many minorities are already aware of. None of this is news to many of us. These are beliefs that have been ingrained into the minds of many people, even those who claim to be progressive allies of the global South.

amina salah staff writer

april 1 - june 29, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

op-ed

18

Colouring book misfits

You might think that my tattoos are a disgrace, but at least I’m artistically disgraceful

Pile O Bones Tattoo Convention via Facebook

How does it feel attending a convention as old as some freshmen undergrads?

We’re rough, we’re tough, and we’re ready to challenge anyone who questions us.

Who are we, you might ask? Obviously, we’re anyone who has the audacity to alter our body with permanent ink. Who else would go to such great lengths to alter the way they look to the outside world? You know, besides people who colour their hair or get their ears pierced or shave any part of their body or have had braces. But you know, the effort put in to alter their physical presentation is acceptable, of course.

Those of us with tattoos are the ones that have been in biker gangs since they were 14 years old and are one step away from serving time behind bars. Naturally, the giraffe on my arm screams “warrant out for her arrest” louder than anything else. We have no sense of self-respect or any idea about self-care even though we put hundreds if not thousands of dollars into our artwork, are meticulous in ensuring that it heals properly, and many are very diligent about wearing sunscreen and applying lotion for years afterwards to ensure that their art doesn’t fade as quickly as it otherwise would.

How could I forget? These random lines that permanently scar our bodies don’t mean a single thing to us. We only have them to annoy our parents and to ensure that we are less employable compared to the rest of the world. Isn’t that what all the family pieces I have scream? “Does not care about anything, avoid working with at all costs.” Silly me how could I forget that?

There are entire conventions like the Pile of Bones tattoo convention that took place in March 2022 that aim to promote this lifestyle. It allows us to celebrate the colouring book misfits of the world without fear of ridicule for those who feel the need to fear and shame us. We are believed to be irresponsible with our money and to not value the body that we were born with as

we insist on permanently altering its presentation. There are still countless individuals who don’t understand this as being an acceptable form of self-expression and will steer their loved ones away from our detailed linework as quickly as possible.

Deciding that we are the misfits of the world could not be further from the truth. If we didn’t care for our bodies, why would we spend so much time and money designing items to go onto our bodies for the rest of our lives? Honestly, the commitment that we make to our bodies and creations that we put on ourselves are an accurate representation for how seriously we take the process and the outcomes of these products. I forgot; we just endure all the pain from going under the needle to spite others. It has nothing to do with our own desires.

Knowing that this art form is slowly becoming more popular and less frowned upon is a breath of fresh air for many of us. However, there is still the task of making it through the professional world where many people still consider tattoos to be unprofessional or undignified. Again, I would like to know what makes little flowers or a quote in calligraphy unprofessional? Are the colours too pretty and distracting for the office?

I, like many others, pride myself on being considered the equivalent of a walking art gallery. Having various pieces that describe the things that we find important or enjoy for not only our own personal enjoyment but for the enjoyment of others is truly beautiful. You can learn a lot about a person by what they choose to place on their skin – you just need to take a look.

sarah nakonechny op-ed editor

Final projects over final exams

“We’ve always done it this way” isn’t a good enough reason to continue doing things that way There may be some people who agree with what I’m going to say already, and some may not. For the people who don’t, I’m going to ask that you keep an open mind to the points I’m about to make, because you might change your mind by the end of this.

Personally, I feel that final projects are better than final exams in a class for several reasons, one of those reasons being that a lot of people struggle with test anxiety.

I’m not one of those people, however I can empathize with how difficult that could be. Even when you’re not dealing with something like that which often impacts your concentration, you can still blank on a question or two. But it’s going to be much more difficult not to if you struggle with that. Yes, there are coping strategies and there’s help that student can get from the university itself at the testing centre, and that’s great. However, it’s still an extra stress for students to deal with that arguably isn’t necessary.

I realize that’s a bold statement, but it’s important to consider that final projects are more realistic in terms of the expectations that we will later encounter when in the workplace. If we’re getting a degree, diploma, or certificate in anything, the end goal is employment in that field. Realistically, once you’re employed somewhere, they’re not going to have you taking minutes at a business meeting and expecting you to have them memorized with the ability to recite all the information. They aren’t going to be concerned whether you to know the definition and examples of a concept, but rather

if you know how to apply the procedures associated with it. Formal tests are much more about a student’s ability to memorize information and recall it. However, due to the fact they often have multiple finals and are only going to put their energy in the decidedly important information, it’s likely a lot of it may be forgotten shortly after the test ends. In the long run, though the ability to memorize and recall is a good thing, it’s not going to stack up against the ability to take the information and apply it to the

skills needed with a job.

Here lies a crucial difference between final exams and final projects. Final projects allow the student access to all the information, as well as a practical example of how the information will be utilized to complete a task. It minimizes the stress of needing to have everything memorized, as well as having a less reasonable deadline of only a couple of hours to showcase everything you may have learned in a course. It also minimizes or removes the test anxiety

MPCA Photos via Flickr

Why is it always the loudest people who have access to the megaphones?

for students, which often reflects in their grade. Even if a student is doing well all year and has a high average, if they’re a bad test taker they could have a significant drop in their grade. If a final project is done, on the other hand, they may retain or even boost their final grade.

I understand the appeal of final exams in that they’re controlled environments, take less time to grade and complete, etc.

However, one could argue that the preparation of the test itself and the studying involved equalizes that second benefit. There may also be some fields where the benefits of skills used in a final exam are just as important as the ones that come from doing final projects, and that’s understandable.

Often in those cases, many large projects are used to build those applied skills. This is simply just a conversation that should be had regarding the universal standard testing practices within education. While I don’t mean to question the authenticity or knowledge of those involved, I do believe continuous evaluation and innovation is important. It is a fair request to review and implement other options, such as openbook tests, final projects, and final exams, to get the most skill building and utilization out of a course and our educational institution.

rayanne gwilliam contributor

graphics

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editors: safal gangwani, rooky jegede graphics@carillonregina.com the carillon | april 1 - june 29, 2022

april 1 - june 29, 2022

graphics

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