VOL. 78 ISSUE 15
jan. 15, 2018
HALTING HOMELESSNESS? PG. 12
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In this week’s issue...
U of O warns of publishing in predatory journals P. 5 Predatory journals can damage a scholar’s reputation Where arts and engineering collide P. 8 Atelier CoFab looks to bring these different disciplines closer together Ending youth homelessness P. 12 What are the long-term solutions to the problem? Varsity catch-up P. 14 See how your sports teams are doing in the new year What’s the right syntax for a sin tax? P. 18 Should meat be taxed like alcohol and cigarettes? Navigating long-distance P. 20 How to handle a longdistance lover
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NEWS
NEWS EDITOR Anchal Sharma
news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0061 @anchalsharma_
December BOA meeting sees GA motions, elections scrutineer Other motions include a Dean’s List ceremony for Health Sciences Eric Davidson editor-in-chief
T
he Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO)’s Board of Administration (BOA) met on Dec. 3 for their last meeting of 2017 to discuss a range of motions.
The board reviewed motions brought forward by students at the Nov. 14 General Assembly (GA), which failed to meet quorum, meaning the motions were not voted on at the time. The first motion from the GA dealt with executive salaries. The motion resolved “that the salary for members of the SFUO executive be set an hourly rate of $15/h for a total of 20 hours per week,”
and “that all subsequent salary increases are required to be approved by the General Assembly.” Before voting on the motion, the first resolution was withdrawn by SFUO president Hadi Wess, who said it wasn’t legitimate. The rest of the motion was voted on, but defeated. The second motion from the GA had to do with course curricula. It had two parts, one which would encourage students to be allowed a more “democratic” say in their course syllabus, which professors would take into account, and one which would have the university implement a “mandatory course on the theme of colonialization.” The motion would have had the SFUO contact the university to discuss the issue, and submit a report at the next GA.
After some debate, the board struck down the motion. The board saw several other motions, firstly voting to ratify Tia Tom as chief scrutineer for the upcoming SFUO general election. The motion passed. Up next, the board saw a motion to lobby to create a Dean’s honour list ceremony for students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. According to the motion, such a ceremony would give students in the faculty recognition, as well as a strong addition to their CV. The motion resolved that the SFUO would provide support to the Faculty of Health Sciences in asking for a Dean’s honour list ceremony, as well as counsel on how to approach the situation. Board member Caroline Lu first moved to push the motion to the January BOA
The SFUO’s BOA held their last meeting of 2017 on Dec. 3.
meeting, but her amendment failed. Another amendment, proposed by Philippe Garcia, added that the SFUO would provide lobbying and logistical support as well. This amendment passed. In the end, the motion was
Photos: Eric Davidson.
passed as amended. Finally, the board saw a motion on World Aids Day. The motion was to modify the SFUO’s policy manual with a new section, which was to read “The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa will organize an
annual charitable basketball tournament titled ‘Ball for the Cure’ within the first week of the month of December.” The motion passed. The next BOA meeting will take place on Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. in Tabaret hall, room 083.
International predatory journals target Canadian universities
U of O releases statement warning against publishing research in fake databases
According to an article published by the Ottawa Citizen on Jan. 5, the University of Ottawa, along with many other Canadian post-secondary institutions, have been publishing in predatory journals. The news comes to light as one of the largest fake publishing groups, OMICS International of India, has an improved search engine for over 700 journals. The new search engine makes it easier to search and see how many Canadians have fallen prey to these types of journals. Predatory journals are a recent problem in academia, with the term coined in 2010 by librarian Jeffrey Beall to refer to exploitive open access publishing which provides no peer review. Predatory journals lack credibility because anyone can publish an article in them without the necessary peer-review. For example, in March 2017, the Ottawa Citizen submitted a fake research paper titled “The biome-
chanics of how pigs fly” to OMICS, to show how easy it is to get published in these types of journals, and found that it was accepted after paying a fee. Even with sound research, publishing in a predatory journal is often expensive and discredits the validity of the researcher’s work. Predatory journals are often used to provide people lacking qualifications with perceived research credentials. Several research papers coming out of the U of O and the U of O Heart Institute have been published in the OMICS journal. Other Canadian universities involved include the University of Toronto and McGill University. On Friday, Jan. 5, the U of O sent the Fulcrum a joint statement with the Ottawa Hospital stating, “We regularly provide training to help our researchers publish their work responsibly and avoid predatory journals. But no institution is immune to this problem and we continue to investigate new and better ways to address it.”
According to the U of O, “The Ottawa Hospital’s Centre for Journalology is dedicated to studying and promoting best practices in research publishing, and is the first centre of its kind in the world. The Centre has also linked to resources on their website, including a
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Ellie Sabourin
Associate News Editor
The new building comes complete with a suite of new learning tools, from conference rooms to virtual reality.
checklist to help researchers identify predatory journals, and has taken the lead on proposing solutions to the problem. The Centre also includes a full-time Publications Officer, who is an expert in predatory journals and takes the lead on training.”
Photo: CC, Tulane Public Relations.
Further, the U of O has said that if they learn of a researcher publishing in one of these predatory journals, they make them aware of the nature of the publication right away. They also advise them to remove any publications in predatory journals from their C.V.s.
NEWS | 5
Meet Canada’s first Inuk heart surgeon, Dr. Kimmaliardjuk
Donna May Kimmaliardjuk discusses working at U of O’s Heart Institute Ellie Sabourin
associate news editor Donna May Kimmaliardjuk knew that she wanted to be a surgeon from the age of six. Her parents always encouraged her, but warned her that she would have to work hard and face many challenges along the way. Now, Kimmaliardjuk, or Dr. K to her patients and colleagues, is Canada’s first Inuk heart surgeon, working at the University of Ottawa’s Heart Institute. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Ottawa, Kimmaliardjuk says that she has not forgotten her roots in Canada’s north. With extended family in Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet, her parents have always made it a priority for her and her brother to visit and talk about their Inuit culture.
“I have always identified strongly as Inuit,” Kimmaliardjuk explained. Her passion for medicine stemmed from a conversation she had with her father at the age of six. “I asked him why my grandfather died when my dad was very young,” she said. “I remember it making me really sad. I don’t want to lose my parents to illness and I don’t want any other children to. I want to help people.” Upon beginning her studies in medicine at the University of Calgary, Kimmaliardjuk says she knew she wanted to be a surgeon but was unsure of her specialty. “I fell in love with the heart,” Kimmaliardjuk said. “I loved learning about it, studying it, everything about it. It’s the powerhouse of the body.”
In a typical day as a resident, Kimmaliardjuk works 8-12 hours a day. “The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has been so welcoming. It feels like a second home. I really feel like I can be myself and joke around with the people there.” Being seen as a trailblazer for her community, according to Kimmaliardjuk, is “very flattering, but definitely an adjustment.” Although she admits that she didn’t think that she would ever get so much attention and media requests, she says that she is happy to be a voice for her community. “If I can shed a positive light for someone in this way, then I am happy to do it.” Kimmaliardjuk notes the pressure of the job, especially while still being
a trainee, but being a surgeon she tends to “thrive off of pressure and high intensity situations.” She is thankful that the attention she has garnered recently for being Canada’s first Inuk heart surgeon has not affected any of her relationships with her patients.“My patients care about if I can do their surgery or not. Being seen as the first is not important for me and it doesn’t affect how my patients see me.” Kimmaliardjuk’s advice for other young people, who may come from marginalized backgrounds is to “go after your goals and dreams.” “Even if you are intimidated, even if no one has done it before. You might face unfair or unique challenges, but use those to strengthen you and it will better prepare you.”
Kimmaliardjuk knew she wanted to be a surgeon from the age of six. Photo: Courtesy of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Learning Crossroads building to open within next eight weeks New campus building promises interdisciplinary space, reduced crowding Eric Davison
fulcrum freelancer Despite missing its planned Jan. 8 launch date, the construction behind Lamoureux Hall will soon conclude. In an email to the Fulcrum, representatives from the University of Ottawa’s Facilities Department described the building, officially designated as the “Learning Crossroads,” as a space to promote collaboration between student and faculties. Facilities also explained that the Crossroads is designed to incorporate non-traditional methods. The classic banks of silent study cubicles are still present, but the building also has numerous collaborative study rooms and a wealth of integrated technologies to promote active learning. In some cases these are incremental upgrades over what students have come to expect out of our facilities; dim projectors have been replaced with high definition video displays, and desks have been designed for laptop use with additional plugs and ports. Some other rooms are far more innovative, allowing col-
laboration through dozens of networked tablets and writable walls. According to the U of O’s library website, a virtual reality facility and 3D printing bay are also planned, which would allow students new ways to interact with their fields of study both visually and physically. Omar Jaitley, a third-year biology student, provided an example he used during an anatomy course. “I had this kind of mental block understanding all the parts (of the heart), and my roommate is talking about the makerspace he was at,” he explained. “I decided to have some fun with it, found this model of a heart online and printed it out. So I could sit there and play with this little plastic heart and disassemble it and see inside.” Jaitley hopes that the learning centre’s resources will encourage students to take advantage of some new study techniques. Jaitley continues, “you have all this new technology, but most courses are still just, sit down and take notes and read them over ... I hope having some of these tools more accessible means profs will use them more.” While some students wait
The new building comes complete with a suite of new learning tools, from conference rooms to virtual reality.
patiently for access to these interactive learning tools, for many the appeal of Crossroads is far more straightforward. “This campus is packed. You have so many students here without the campus to support them all. Just having some study space would be great,”
said Jacky Chen, a fourth-year computer engineering student. Chen continues, “It actually gets so bad that I sometimes go to study at Carleton, and half the people in the library are Gee-Gees because they can’t find space here.” According to the U of O fa-
6 | NEWS
Photo: Christine Wang.
cilities web page, while the date of completion has not yet been set, the Learning Crossroads will be available to students this semester, aiming to solve problems of overcrowding. The Learning Crossroads is expected to be open to the public for use within the next eight weeks.
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U of O alumnus suing Anderson Cooper, CNN for defamation Cooper seeks documents from the U of O in relation to court case anchal sharma news editor
Media company CNN and host Anderson Cooper are subpoenaing documents from the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, and the Hospital for Sick Children in relation to a lawsuit filed against the media outlet by Dr. Michael Black. Black, who attended the U of O in 1987 for his medical residency following the completion of his studies at the University of Toronto in 1986, and was awarded Chief Administrative Surgical Resident, and worked at SickKids in Toronto, is now suing CNN and Cooper, along with co-host Elizabeth Cohen among others for defamation. The lawsuit comes following a report published by CNN in 2015 titled, “Secret Deaths: CNN Finds High Surgical Death Rate for Children at a Florida Hospital,” which outlines a
string of infant deaths post heart surgery, all of which were performed by Black at St. Mary’s Medical Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The story also appeared on CNN’s show “Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees.” According to the CNN report, “at least eight babies have died since the pediatric open heart surgery program at St. Mary’s Medical Center began in December 2011,” making the hospital’s death rate for pediatric open heart surgery between 2011 and 2013 three times higher than the national average. Further, the report reveals that the institution was hiding these death rates from the public. After the controversial story broke, Black, along with some of St. Mary’s administrative staff faced public backlash. According to an article from the Washington Post, St. Mary’s closed its pediatric cardiac surgery program, and the CEO of
the medical centre handed in his resignation. Black is alleging that CNN’s article, and the sources interviewed for it, have cost him his reputation and impacted his ability to work by implying he treated his infant patients as “sacrificial lambs,” according to the Post. The Washington Post article also states that CNN faced criticism for using Black’s death rate alone to write their generalized statement about the hospital, which compared it to that of the entire United States, as well as for their ambush style tactics to gather video footage. Such footage allegedly falsely portrayed an unwillingness from hospital staff to discuss these mortality rates after being sought out at their homes, as discussed by the Post. However, CNN maintains that their reporting is sound, and responded to
criticisms in another article, which they linked to in the original piece. Per the court case, CNN filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in 2016, which was denied. Cooper is now looking to build a defence to disprove Black’s claim that he is “impeccably credentialed,” according to an article published in the National Post. While Black’s resume boasts of his many accomplishments, CNN hopes to find holes that will prove useful in court. This is why Cooper is now attempting to gain access to files dating back to Black’s days as a student at the U of O and the U of T, and requesting performance reviews and complaints, as well as any awards that Black may have received. As per the National Post article, a hearing regarding the documents is scheduled to be held sometime this month in Toronto.
The article in question is available on the media outlet’s website. Photo: CC, dbking.
News Briefs Hospital smoking ban in effect as of this month Violators of Smoke-Free Ontario Act can be fined up to $305 Anchal Sharma news editor
As of Jan. 1, the surrounding grounds of Ontario hospitals, which includes the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, have been made 100 per cent smoke free, under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA). Per the SFOA, smoking in public has already decreased in Ontario due to previous regulations, making it more difficult to smoke cigarettes in places like parks, beaches, restaurants, and public school areas. While designated smoking areas have previously existed on both public and private property, including hospitals, this newly updated act bans smoking on any and all hospital grounds, making them effectively 100 per cent smoke free. According to the Dec. 12
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media release by the City of Ottawa, hospitals are taking extra precautions to ensure the law is upheld, by increasing counselling and quit-smoking services, such as nicotine replacement therapy for patients, staff, and visitors alike. Anyone caught smoking on hospital property will be charged a fine of $305. As of Jan. 1, the following hospitals in Ottawa are smoke free: Elisabeth Bruyère, Montfort, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Queensway-Carleton, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, St-Vincent, and the General, Riverside and Civic campuses of the Ottawa Hospital, along with the U of O Heart Institute. In an interview with the CBC, Dr. Andrew Pipe, former chief of the division of prevention and rehabilita-
tion at the Heart Institute, said that the care provided within medical facilities should be enough to help struggling smokers quit. “I would argue that in 2018, to see patients standing outside hospital doors smoking is in some ways indicative of substandard care.” In another article published by the CBC, patients and staff addressed their concerns at the difficulties these newer and stricter rules impose, with some patients being unable to walk the distance it takes to leave hospital grounds for a smoke break. However, Pipe explained that this was effectively what the updated rules were aiming for, and that he hopes they will encourage cigarette smokers to seek treatment for their “profound addiction.”
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is one of 10 hospitals affected by the ban in Ottawa.
Photo: CC, Trayana Heaton.
NEWS | 7
A&C EDITOR Ryan Pepper arts@thefulcrum.ca
ARTS&CULTURE Faculty of Arts introduces new entrepreneurship initiative (613) 695-0062 @pep_ryan
Option combines business, start-up courses with humanities Erica Endemann Fulcrumcontributor
T
his year, the University of Ottawa will be offering a new interdisciplinary program for students in the faculties of arts and business. Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Social Innovation is an 18-credit program that combines three existing business courses from the Telfer School of Management with three new Arts, Humanities, and Literature (AHL) courses.
According to Sylvie Lamoreux, Vice-Dean of Programs in the Faculty of Arts, many students in both facul-
ties are looking for new ways to apply their passion for various subject matters. “We’ve seen a lot of interest in our students, but also in our faculty, around issues of entrepreneurialism, questions of where creativity fits into that, and also questions of social innovation,” said Lamoreux. Currently, the program is only offered to arts and business students, but Lamoreux is hoping that there will be enough interest to eventually open the option to other faculties. She explained that she met an engineering student this past fall who said, “I want to meet arts students, where’s the best place? I need to meet arts students because I want to develop games but I need to know about myths, or meet a visual artist. How do I meet these people?”
The program is designed to cultivate team-building, look at different methods of inquiry, and explore entrepreneurship with creativity and reflexive thinking. Courses will include workshops, guest speakers, and will culminate in a 4000-level “innovation lab” where students will be able to conceptualize and develop a project that could turn into a start-up. Lamoureux described reflexive thinking as “the ability to identify not just knowledge but skills you have.” This is important, she said, because when students enter the workforce they will need to demonstrate their skills to an employer, not just their knowledge. “I can teach you knowledge, what’s sometimes harder to teach you are competencies and the ability to recognize that you can apply them,”
Lamoureux said. The program also aims to develop the leadership necessary for promoting the application of a new idea. “Change does not come from inertia” she said. A course on creativity can help to stimulate an understanding of how to develop the leadership to carry it out. Lamoureux is enthusiastic about the benefits that this new program will offer to students. “We live in a transdisciplinary world. It is exciting to have this space where we are more than the sum of our parts. There are beautiful collaborations happening everywhere, with business, with engineering, with arts, with social studies.” The opportunity to engage intellectually across disciplines is an exciting new form of education, especially with the added component of preparing to do so with an entrepreneurial,
Lamoureux is the vice-dean of programs for the Faculty of Arts. Photo: Mélanie Provencher.
start-up spirit, she said. “When the students come here we want to make sure that we provide them with the tools that they need to make what they can imagine possible,” Lamoureux said. “Or
at least identify the avenues they can go to further that sense of possibility.” Additional information about the program can be found on the U of O’s Faculty of Arts website.
New arts makerspace brings tech closer to artists Space provides opportunity for artists to create with new technology Eric Davison
fulcrum freelancer University of Ottawa students in the Faculty of Arts now have access to new cutting-edge technology, thanks to a recently opened makerspace in the Visual Arts Building on Laurier Ave. The project aims to grant artists new tools that were previously reserved for engineering purposes, including cutting-edge software, several 3D printers, and banks of electronics workstations. David Mcdougall, a parttime professor and sculpture technician in the department of fine arts, has spearheaded the project as part of a broader push to implement new technologies at the U of O. “The dean (Kevin Kee) was really interested in digital humanities, that’s been his speciality and he wanted to see a movement toward im-
plementing this technology into arts,” Mcdougall said. “So he wanted to create this space and spaces across campus to see how technologies can be used in new ways.” McDougall and his team then augmented the dean’s mandate with new and existing equipment from the Faculty. But the new space is only one small part of a proposed network of coworking hubs across campus, a physical development that reflects his plans for the arts programs as a whole. “There has always been technology in the arts—you have cameras and welders. This is about keeping abreast of all the new technologies and having a space within the arts to incorporate cutting-edge technologies as they happen, and merging them with some things more associated with engineering,” he said.
8 | ARTS & CULTURE
While much of the equipment seen in the makerspace has been common in engineering circles for many years, it has often required a level of technical expertise that has curbed its use. With this new initiative, the Faculty is hoping to make these technologies accessible. “This is the kind of stuff that at one point was highly technical and has a great learning curve to use. Now you can come in and quickly understand the basics of 3D printing and digital modelling software,” Mcdougall continued. “So now we are reaching a point where a first-year fine arts student can do what it took a fourthyear engineering student to do 10 years ago.” McDougall explains that multiple learning methods will be available to get arts students up to speed using the new equipment and
The new Arts Makerspace at the U of O.
techniques. Through a series of workshops, integration into existing courses, onsite technicians, and community learning, he hopes to close the technical gap between the arts and engineering. His work mirrors what he sees as a greater movement
across the art world, to adopt new methods and stay relevant through the use of new technologies. “We want to work with the community. You have ArtEngine and SAW video as part of this movement— the maker movement, “Mc-
Photo: Kevin Vélez Guerrero.
dougall said. “Engineering is ahead of the game, but we want to get the arts to establish a presence in that ... it’s about that collaboration, cooperation and fabrication.” The Arts Makerspace is now partially open on the second floor of 100 Laurier Ave.
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UOMTS presents Legally Blonde Cast met with standing ovation on opening night Anchal Sharma News editor
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the University of Ottawa’s Musical Theatre Society (UOMTS) opened their first show of the 2017-18 season, Legally Blonde. The show ran from Jan. 10 to Jan. 14, and was nothing short of a success, with a full house on opening night. This was no theatre department performance, but a wonderful show by a campus club open to students of all faculties. The cast included 14 members, two of whom were dogs (omigod you guys!), and delivered a stellar performance that lived up to the musical’s Hollywood namesake. Starring the talented Keegan Carr as Elle Woods, the play followed the basic premise of the film—a UCLA fashion student finds herself at Harvard Law after being dumped by her boyfriend for not being ‘serious enough’ in an effort to win him back—with some quirky edits of its own, allowing the adaptation to truly stand out. The production’s entire vibe is best described by one of its own lines: “it looks like someone had
their morning coffee.” The performance was as lively and spirited as the main character herself, making it fun for audience members to lose themselves in the drama. Audible gasps, loud laughs, and cheering were not uncommon throughout the duration of Legally Blonde. The modern script and offbeat jokes (“she has a letter of recommendation from Melania Trump’s immigration attorney’’) kept the play fresh, and with a live orchestra providing the soundtrack, and well placed tableaus, it was easy to forget that audience members weren’t actually watching a movie. For a small scale production put on by a campus club, the musical was beyond impressive, and took advantage of its talented cast members by giving them well deserved solos. It was no wonder every scene was met with applause. The cast and crew also made excellent use of staging with minimal props to accommodate for the energetic and vibrant choreography. Aside from the main characters, the chorus also deserves praise, as their dream sequenc-
UOMTS performing Legally Blonde.
es, amusing accents, and commitment to their roles left little to be desired. It’s hard to tell that these students don’t all come from a drama background. Overall, Legally Blonde was as light and fun as you would expect it to be, providing a wholesome message of self acceptance
Photo: Parker Townes.
and well timed comedy. UOMTS is known for their feature length yearly productions, followed by smaller scale projects throughout the season, and this one started off on the right Prada-fitted foot. Legally Blonde, which was met with a standing ovation on opening
night, set the bar high for upcoming pieces like Assassins, and Dogfight, running in March and July of 2018 respectively. For more information about upcoming projects, or to find out how you can be a part of UOMTS, you can find them on Facebook or visit their website.
The Dead Centuries launch debut album, redefine metal
Band talks new directions in metal, growing Ottawa music scene Eric Davison
fulcrum freelancer Ottawa isn’t wellknown for its music scene, which is what makes the rise of The Dead Centuries intriguing. After an explosive launch in 2015, the group is set to propel the local scene forward by bringing something unique to the table. Made up of University of Ottawa alumni, the band’s first album is fun, daring, and an overall enjoyable listening experience. Titled Race Against Time, the instrumental metal album combines the sound of classic metal with high energy beats to create a sound that is both timeless and futuristic. The album captures the best parts of a retro video game fight soundtrack and supports them with the rich, complex backing
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that defined early metal. U of O alum Bryant McNamara is the band’s drummer and has been playing in The Dead Centuries since 2011. Originally classmates in the U of O’s department of communications, the trio formed the core of what would eventually become The Dead Centuries. “So, at that point, we were really a rock group— pretty soft with a lot of vocals. But we all had this interest in metal. So from 2011 to 2015, our music just progressively got heavier and heavier until we ended up parting ways with our vocalist and pulled in a new guitarist,” McNamara said. “So at that point, our interests had really coalesced and we decided we might as well just go for it and give instrumental metal
a shot.” Inspired by a slew of 1980s metal and classic jazz, the group took a risk and decided to scrap vocals altogether for a freeform experimental experience. “It’s catchy, it’s extremely upbeat, but it’s definitely got some heavier moments to it. Those looking for the heavier aspect will find it there for sure, but really it’s musicians’ music,” McNamara said. Race Against Time couldn’t be described better. Each track manages to be shockingly unique, and all of them blur the lines between traditional music genres. Rhythm and riffs combine to create a sense of excitement and mystery that is not often seen in metal. Its retrofuturistic tones conjure up images of flying cars,
The Dead Centuries.
neon lights, soaring skyscrapers, and noire detectives—it wouldn’t sound out of place backing an 80s cyberpunk movie. The Dead Centuries bring a jolt of life to Ottawa’s arts and culture community. Joining fel-
low local acts like Arms of the Girl and The 13th Floor, Bryant sees a lot of potential in a movement that has been driven forward by a dedicated collective of individuals. Their album launch is an inspiration to musicians
Photo: Adrienne Row-Smith.
to take a chance and set themselves apart with something truly unique. The band is poised to launch their debut instrumental metal album, Race Against Time, Jan. 26 with a launch event at Live! On Elgin.
ARTS & CULTURE | 9
Ottawa theatres find innovative ways to grow audience GCTC, U of O’s department of theatre aim for increased visibility Ryan Pepper
Arts & Culture Editor Starting in their 2018 season, the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) will be turning one of their plays into a podcast and releasing it to the public, free of charge, as a way to grow their audience— something that many theatres, including the University of Ottawa’s department of theatre, are attempting to do. The initiative was started several years before by Toronto’s Expect Theatre to put out productions from independent theatres, and has since expanded to several major theatres, including the GCTC. Expect Theatre is primarily a theatre company but has recently started expanding into multimedia, with the podcast series PlayMe being their flagship project. “What we loved about theatre was the ephemeral element of it, that you have to be at that place in that specific time to be able to catch that
piece or else it’s gone,” said Chris Tolley, co-artistic director of Expect Theatre. “That’s kind of magical, but that’s also kind of a drawback because it means people around the country miss some really amazing work that’s happening because you can’t get to it or you’re just not there when it’s available.” The podcast is the solution to this problem, giving people anywhere in the world access to independent—and now mainstream—Canadian theatre. “A lot of people listen to podcasts now. It brings and connects a young, tech-savvy, ondemand, and diverse audience to theatre,” Tolley said. Issues with public outreach are not limited to large companies. The U of O’s department of theatre is also seeking the same goal as the GCTC: to bring more people to its productions. The typical play’s audience is family and friends of the cast, and the department is working to bring in a wider range of students. Older models of outreach,
such as Facebook or press releases don’t work as well as they used to, explained Sylvain Schryburt, chair of the theatre department. No single outlet reaches all students, meaning that the department must spread its pubic outreach across multiple platforms, which can be hard without a devoted and consistent team. “We’re trying to get more collaborations with other departments,” Schryburt said. “And so, we are starting to do publicity exchanges.” What the school of music is doing, for instance, is advertised to theatre students, and vice versa. Master of Arts candidate and public outreach officer Louise Allaine identified other issues with the theatre’s image, explaining that students aren’t aware of what the theatre is doing. They either have preconceptions about old theatre and carry those with them, or make assumptions about contemporary theatre. Schryburt identified another issue at the core of theatre—peo-
ple are quick to judge, and carry those judgments with them. One bad theatre experience, Schryburt said, can turn someone off theatre for a long time. “When you see a movie, and you see an average movie, you will still go back to movies,” Schryburt said. ‘When you see an average piece of theatre, generally, you’re much harder on it, and you tend to apply it to every
piece of theatre. The reverse idea of that is that when you see an excellent piece of theatre, it exceeds your expectations.” The department is hoping to beat those preconceptions with the opening of LabO. The downtown, off-campus theatre will be a major boost for public visibility, Schryburt hopes, and will stage daring new productions featuring collaborations with local artists and authors.
Their opening production, for instance, will feature many new technologies and collaborations that the department has never attempted before. Both student and professional theatre groups are facing a declining audience, but are finding innovative ways to bring theatre back into the spotlight by making it more accessible for potential theatregoers.
rich history and culture of her homeland through anecdotes of her maternal grandmother and mother as they make a name from themselves in the patriarchal, traditional society of 20thcentury Syria. Malek gives her readers an understanding of the diverse society her country once was. She paints a rich picture of Syria through the generations, expertly weaving historical information into her narratives while balancing it with personal stories of the women who came before her. The memoir is easily read by someone with an interest in the Syrian revolution, but the book requires no more than basic knowledge of the country to be appreciated. If Malek accomplishes anything with her book, it is illustrating the complicated nature of revolution. There are few heroes or villains, just ordinary people trying to navigate a challenging world of political oppres-
sion and citizen suppression in order to survive. Born in Baltimore to Syrian immigrants, Malek discusses her return to Syria in 2011 where she worked as a journalist undercover, writing anonymously in a number of publications including the New York Times. The Home That Was Our Country is among the first books written about the Syrian revolution in English, for a North American audience, by a Syrian. As an American-Syrian a woman from a Christian family, who lived a middle-class life in America before returning to Syria as an adult, she breaks the stereotypes stuck in the American psyche of poor refugees on boats in the Mediterranean. The only flaw in Malek’s book is that she refrains from discussing the role of terrorism in the Syrian conflict. She recounts in detail the actions of the Assad regime and the Free Syrian Army, and in some parts she mentions al-Qaeda and a
terrorist attack attributed to them, but she never speaks about the Islamic State. For a group that has become a major player in the conflict—and a large part of the global consciousness—Malek is strangely silent about it. Despite this omission, Malek has managed to produce a brilliant book that deals with the grey areas of conflict. She acknowledges her own complicity in the regime’s actions, quoting the South African poet Breyten Breytenbach: “The two of you, violator and victim are linked, forever perhaps, by the obscenity of what has been revealed to you, by the sad knowledge of what people are capable of. We are all guilty.” Each day she walks past the secret police headquarters in her neighbourhood, turning her eyes and thoughts away from the people who are imprisoned and tortured in its haunting depths. Malek shows that a revolution and civil war are not black and
white—instead it is a nuanced and complex mixture of sectarianism, historical grievances, and hope for a better future. Malek has written a beautiful and heartbreaking memoir about a nation once diverse, tolerant, and peaceful,
but now facing an unknown future. In the ruins of a shattered country, she leaves us with a powerful question: “Who will remember the Syria that was, and who will be there to greet its new dawn and dream it a better future?”
The Great Canadian Theatre Company now offers podcasts of plays.
Photo: Tristain Pollard.
IT’S LIT IN THE LIBRARY: The Home That Was Our Country • Alia Malek Janoah Willsie
Fulcrum Contributor During the school year, when you feel like readings are piled up to your ears, reading for fun can seem like a ridiculous idea—but it shouldn’t. Reading is the fastest way for you to make an escape into the world of your choosing, and expand your vocabulary without even knowing it. The underappreciated world of literature offers endless benefits, so without further ado, check out this week’s read. A new memoir by Alia Malek traces the history of one matriarchal family through the long and complicated history of Syria in the twentieth century, as the lives and destinies of several women run parallel to that of the country itself. Malek sets out to create an accessible narrative in her memoir, The Home That Was Our Country, which explains the complex and
10 | ARTS & CULTURE
The Home That Was Our Country by Alia Malek.
Photo: Nation Books.
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ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN THE CAPITAL STARTS Eric davidson editor-in-chief WITH OTTAWA YOUTH
Illustration: Alina Wang.
Conversation around homelessness must extend beyond the latest cold snap The latest reports of frigid temperatures have thrown the issue of homelessness into the spotlight once again. One of the solutions recent articles have thrown into public view is the need for more emergency shelters in the cold Canadian winter. This is obviously the most pressing concern, however if we want to avoid being stuck repeating last-ditch measures every year in the future, we need to take time to consider the long-term options for reducing and ending homelessness in Canada. An important part of this discussion is looking at the root causes of homelessness, and the groups that are most prominently affected. And yes, this can include college and university, secondary, and younger students. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM There are several predictors to homelessness in Ottawa, and in Canada as a whole: income rates, discrimination, housing prices and policy, cooperation of different agencies, and prevention policy. It’s a lot to take on, but there are plenty of people working diligently to solve these problems. And there are a lot of problems. But before we get there, what are the major issues facing homeless people in Ottawa, and across the nation? Kaite Harris is project manager at Alliance to End Homelessness, A Way Home Ottawa. Unsurprisingly, she says that housing is one of the big issues facing homeless people. “Something we’re urging very much is leaders, federally, provincially, and municipally ... we need affordable housing so badly, this is such a supply and demand issue in many ways,” said Harris.
“Right now, we’re funded through different streams, it’s super complex, different people measure different things because different funders want them to measure differently, and as a result, it’s super convoluted for people to get the service they actually need quickly and efficiently,” said Harris. Joey Clavette is the founder of the Wrench newspaper, which looks at issues facing homeless people in Ottawa. “Life becomes too complicated,” he said. “A lot of these important structures that keep somebody’s life grounded kind of fall out.” According to Tim Aubry, a professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa and a senior researcher at the centre for research on educational and community service, a major factor is simply income. And this, he says, is often paired with other problems such as health issues, addictions, and social isolation. And before delving any deeper, what would “solving” homelessness really mean? “It would mean that if people find themselves out of housing, they would be helped immediately to get back,” said Aubry. “The key is if they do end up homeless, they get connected to the right services very quickly and they get back into housing very quickly.” Clavette says he finds it surprising that people aren’t more shocked by our current state of affairs. “We’ve accepted a status quo of homelessness … It should be seen as something very strange, especially in a country that’s so rich.” HOMELESSNESS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS Harris says that she has heard of instances where people enrolled in university experience homelessness as well, ranging from being forced to stay on friend’s couches to living in shelters.
“I know one guy in particular who was at the shelter, and he was managing to get his courses done, and moved through his work at Carleton, but was in a context where he had to check in at a shelter every night, which is super loud and chaotic and very tiring,” said Harris. One of the main ways to alleviate homelessness in the general population is to make a concerted effort to stave off homelessness among young people, Harris says. “If we’re ending youth homelessness we’re actually ending adult homelessness, and people who often become chronically homeless as adults.” “I definitely think there may be an element of homelessness that we really don’t see or
know about very much, for students, where they are just not able to pay rent for whatever reason.” YOUTH HOMELESSNESS There are several obvious reasons to focus on homelessness among young people. One important aspect is that youth homelessness is a leading indicator of homelessness throughout a person’s life. According to research by A Way Home, it can begin earlier than what you might think. Some children experienced homelessness for the first time at ages as young as 10 or 12. And once a young person is thrown into homelessness, it doesn’t take long for them to get stuck in the cycle. A Way Home also found that 40 per cent of young people who are homeless after the age of 16 had already experienced homelessness earlier in their lives. “We have about two months, the research says, before a young person ends up being entrenched in street life,” said Harris. “if they’ve spend two months living on the street they’ve probably experienced all kinds of victimization, violence, sexual violence, potential for trafficking, for human trafficking and for trafficking drugs, for getting involved in substance use, and mental health challenges.”
She added that stopping this process quickly is essential. “If we can get ahead of the curve, and make sure kids don’t end up, and that we divert them from ending up at that place, and provide the support that they need early, we can be a lot more successful at seeing long-term supports.” Aubry adds that even among youth, there are specific groups that are especially at risk of homelessness. LGBTQ+ youth, for example, are more likely to become homeless, as are Indigenous youth. He says that social marginalization is likely to be a factor in the higher risk for these groups. And it often happens that all the logistical issues that can come with homelessness are only magnified for young people. “When kids are homeless, maybe coming in from a case where they don’t have a lot of support around them, and it’s all brand new, they may not have the knowledge or access to the knowledge of all those pieces, and it’s easy to get taken advantage of,” said Harris. “Right now, it’s pretty complex, and a lot of young people talk about how difficult it is to navigate getting the services that they need to get the help they need.” According to Aubry, a big issue is transitioning youth from Child Services to living on their own, and he says this is where many young people fall through the cracks. “A lot of those kids come out of Children’s Aid, foster care, and they don’t have a family to fall back on,” he said. YOUTH SOLUTIONS One of the most effective ways to curb youth homelessness is to focus on schools, Harris said. “When you can intervene at the school level, it’s sooner than when people may be at such a crisis point that they’re fully homeless or they’re in the system,” she said. She added that proactively working with families to intervene in problematic situations before they lead to full-fledged homelessness. Aubry also emphasized working with youth leaving Child Services specifically. “I think we can do some important prevention work here,” he said, adding that they make up almost half of those experiencing youth homelessness. He adds that if a young person has left school, getting them back to school is an important piece of the puzzle. Aubry also notes that getting to people as young as possible is important. He advocat-
ed a strategy called “Housing First”, which looks to “get people some help on the financial side, combined with some support.” This could include rent supplements, for example, combine that with support, like a caseworker. He says it’s been a success so far. “That has had tremendous success at moving the majority of people who participate in those programs to housing.” Aubry notes that the Canadian Mental Health Association branch in Ottawa ran one such program, as did the Sandy Hill community centre, and the City of Ottawa. While he says the programs have been effective, he notes that there are still around 600 to 700 people who are chronically homeless in the city, and so we need to grow our housing first programs. “We know what can help, we just need to mobilize things and get the right resources in place,” he said. WHAT CAN THE REST OF US DO? Even if you’re not part of government or an NGO, you can still play a role in the process. “In so many ways, this is like a group project, where we’re all on the hook, and I mean that as community members and neighbors,” said Harris. She says that this can range from parents noticing when their kid’s friend is sleeping over a lot, to people advocating their governments to change the relevant policies. Homelessness can affect pretty much any category of person with low income: youth, adults, families, and yes, even university students. While homelessness in Ottawa and the rest of the country gets the most coverage when there are extremely pressing crises, whether related to cold snaps or the fentanyl crisis, to make a real mark on the problem we need to focus on long-term solutions as well. Depending on different groups who are more prone to homelessness, there are varying degrees of research. One trend that is clear, however, is that focusing on stopping homelessness among young people is an important part of eliminating homelessness. Aubry, for his part, remains optimistic. “We can end homelessness.” —With files from Savannah Awde.
SPORTS
SPORTS EDITOR sports@thefulcrum.ca @FulcrumSports
Welcome back recap Zack Goobie
Associate Sports Editor
T
he University of Ottawa Gee-Gees are right back in the swing of things in U Sports play. The teams rocking the Garnet and Grey welcomed back students with a successful first weekend. A big win for the Men’s basketball team against nationally 10th-ranked Ryerson University was the highest profile win amongst all Gee-Gees teams, but the U of O had to dispose of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues beforehand. However, coach Andy Sparks’ Women’s basketball team also had a perfect record.
MEN’S BASKETBALL The Gee-Gees finally received their favourite Christmas present, the return of Brody Maracle, who has been injured since Nov. 10. He torched the score sheet with 21 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Despite the large difference in placement for the Gees and the Varsity Blues in the standings, the Blues played hard out of the gate and the Gee-Gees were only up by one at the end of the first quarter. The Garnet and Grey started to pull away at half, but the U of T was still sticking around as they trailed 3628. The Blues were fueled by their three-point shooting in the first half and the Gees struggled in that statistic. Maracle pounded the paint and had 15 points in the first 20. The Gees pulled away in
the third as they doubled up the Varsity Blues 2412. The second half was highlighted by some great dunks by Chase Tynes, and Coach James Derouin used his bench, checking in 11 players. Toronto came back and outscored the Gees in the final quarter, but that was too little too late as the Gees won by a comfortable score of 83-65. Moving onto the game of the weekend, the Gees used Maracle again immensely as he played 37 minutes, leading the team in buckets with eight field goals and 18 points. The start of this game looked like it could have been an ugly one for the Gees as they started by trailing by 12 after the first quarter and by 14 at half. Coach James Derouin must have given a Mike Krzyzewski type of speech at half as his team came out rejuvenated. The Gees only allowed one three-pointer all second half after allowing six in the first 20. Sean Stoqua showed out in the second, scoring 10 points and five assists, which led him to a double double. The Gee-Gees’ defensive prowess in the third quarter, combined with an offensive explosion, ultimately gave them the win as they outscored their opponents 31-10 in the quarter. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The Women’s team also took to the hardwood against the Varsity Blues to start their second half of the season. Friday, Jan. 5 was Brigitte LefebvreOkankwu night at Montpetit hall—not only did she score a point per minute played (29 points in 29 minutes), she came only a rebound shy of a doubledouble. The Gees ended the first quarter up 17-11 and even-
tually led 31-16 at the end of 20. Toronto won the third quarter by the score of 18-12, but that would be the only quarter that they would do so, as the Gees cruised to a 61-44 win on Lefebvre-Okankwu’s amazing night. The GeeGees were powered by rookies as Maia Timmons was second on the team in points with 13. The Gee-Gees were in for a tough matchup against nationally 10thranked Ryerson, but just like the Men’s game the U of O came out on top in a tight affair. Young players were again the fuel to the fire for the Gees as Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu had 10 points, Maia Timmons had 11, and Amélie Hachey led the way with 14. The Gees came out of the gate strong with a slight two-point lead after the first quarter, but Ryerson showed why they are nationally ranked and brought the game to the Gees in the second quarter, outscoring them 18-9. The second half was a big for Amélie Hachey as she paced the Gee-Gees with 11 points. The Gees as a team had an offensive burst outscoring their opponents 40-28 in the second half, which gave them a tight 66-61 win. The two wins now brings their record to 7-5. MEN’S HOCKEY The University of Ottawa Men’s hockey team might have been suffering from a holiday break hangover as they dropped both tilts in Montréal. They started their double-header against the nationally fifth-ranked McGill Redmen. Unfortunately, the Gees could not build on their last victory against the same opponents, but despite being heavily outshot through-
Check out which Gee-Gees teams are already playing in the new year.
out the game, they continued to stick around. McGill opened the scoring midway through the first frame, but Patrick White quickly responded four minutes later. The Gees led going into the third thanks to Médric Mercier’s power-play marker at 5:57. The Redmen tied the score with just over 14 minutes left to play and continued to outshoot the Gees, with a final total of 43-23. The Gees saw their team morale drop when McGill scored with just over four minutes remaining to take the lead 3-2 and ultimately win the game. The Gee-Gees did not get a break in their second half of their weekend doubleheader as they faced the Concordia Stingers who were and still are ranked eighth in the country. Another goaltending battle ended with the Gees falling in a close game. The first period was filled with penalties as the Gees took five infractions, giving Concordia ample powerplay time, but they couldn’t convert. The rest of the game was penalty free, but the second period saw both teams play more conservatively,
with Concordia slightly outshooting the Garnet and Grey 7-4. The score stayed level at 0-0 going into the final frame. Despite outshooting the Stingers in the period and in the game, the Gees dropped this game in the third period as their hearts were broken for the second straight night as the Stinger converted with just less than four minutes to play. Despite two stellar games from Anthony Brodeur, the Gees dropped both their tilts in Québec. WOMEN’S HOCKEY The Women’s hockey team took on two Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). The first matchup was against their cross-town rivals, the Carleton Ravens. The game took place on Jan. 5, and it was Taylor McGaughey’s night as she tallied two goals 11 seconds apart in the first period, which would be the only scoring of the night. The Ravens had their best opportunity to score in the third period as they had an extended 5-on-3 in the final period. Carleton’s coach took a timeout to try to inspire his team, but the Ravens were unable to beat
14 | SPORTS
Photo: Parker Townes.
the Gee-Gees goaltender, Maude Levesque-Ryan, who was stellar throughout, especially in the final minutes of the third. After that final 5-on-3 penalty kill, the Gee-Gees sit at an unimaginable 97.2 penalty kill rate, the best in the country. The Gees outshot their opponents 28 to 20 and recorded their seventh win of the year. The McGill Martlets proved to be a tougher task, ousting the Garnet and Grey 2-1. This was a tough loss for the Gees as the Martlets sit behind them in RSEQ play and it would have been great to get a win to help their cause at dethroning l’Université de Montréal for first place in the conference. The U of O was badly outshot in the first period 14-3, but managed to come out of the first 20 with only a one-goal deficit. Despite out-shooting the Martlets in the second period 13-8, the Gees came out of the period trailing 2-0. Mélodie Bouchard scored her seventh of the season in the final frame with 6:08 left to play, but that was too little too late as the Martlets wound up taking a valuable two points away from the Gees.
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The Majors: What the U of O’s athletes are studying Find out more about your favorite varsity team, athletes Eric Davidson Editor-in-Chief
If you’re a Gee-Gees fan, you’re probably caught up with how your favorite teams are doing, and if your favorite player scored last week. But what else do you know about your University of Ottawa student athletes? For instance, what are they studying? Keep reading to find out the most common major among varsity athletes, what range of programs are covered, and how many of your Gees are doing their Master’s degrees and PhDs. All of the data has been taken from the roster pages of the most recent U of O varsity team in that sport. THE MAJORS Among the U of O’s varsity teams, no more than 67 different majors are accounted for by 373 students (those with double majors have been counted twice to make sure all programs are given fair values). There is a wide range of disciplines, from mathematics and physics, to music, to human kinetics. There are also varsity athletes doing their Master’s and PhDs, though the majority are in their undergrad, or are special students, a term which will be explained further on in this article. All in all, the most common major is criminology, in which 39 varsity athletes are enrolled. These athletes come mostly from Football, Swimming, and Women’s Hockey. A close second is human kinetics, where 35 varsity athletes are enrolled. Every single team has at least one student enrolled in human kinetics, with Track and Field/ Cross Country (which is grouped as one team on the Gee-Gees site), Rugby, and Football having the most. The third most commonly listed program is actually not a major at all, but what the Gee-Gees site terms “general studies.” According to Néomie Duval, media relations manager at the U of O, the term is synonymous with “special student,” someone who is enrolled at the university and takes classes but is not tied
to a specific program. There are 30 students with general studies listed as their program, most of whom are on the Football team. Some of the other common programs among varsity athletes include communications (22 students), general social sciences (21 students), psychology (16 students), and biomedical science (15). There are also 13 varsity athletes enrolled in Master’s programs across eight disciplines, including human kinetics, music, and chemistry. There is also one varsity athlete doing a PhD, one pursuing a Juris Doctor, and two in medical school.
THE TEAMS So, what about the teams? Do you know what most of the players on your favorite teams are studying? For Women’s Basketball, the most common major is biomedical science, followed by criminology. On the Men’s team, general social sciences is the most common, with criminology and communications in second. On the Football team, general studies and criminology are by far the most common, at 19 and 18 students apiece, which together make up just over a third of the student athletes on the team. For Women’s Hockey, the most common major is criminology, followed by health sciences and education. For Men’s Hockey, the most common majors are economics and general studies. Varsity athletes on the U of O Rugby team are most likely to study human kinetics, followed by psychology. Human kinetics is also the most common major on the varsity Soccer team, along with psychology. The Volleyball team is more widely distributed, but psychology is the most common major. Track and Field/ Cross Country’s most common program is human kinetics, and the most common program for the Swim team is biomedical science, followed by communications.
U of O varsity athletes run the gamut of academic programs.
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Photo: Parker Townes.
SPORTS | 15
THE BOXSCORE: BACK IN BUSINESS BASKETBALL(W) BASKETBALL(M) HOCKEY(M) FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018
FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018
FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018
Gee-Gees
Gee-Gees
Gee-Gees
AT
york
57 53
AT
York
87 44
at
4
2
Nipissing
HOCKEY(W) FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018
Gee-Gees AT
MonTreal
1
2
Friday, Jan. 19, 2018
Friday, Jan. 19, 2018
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018
Gee-Gees
Gee-Gees
Gee-Gees
Gee-Gees
VS
Nipissing
TBD TBD
vs
Nipissing
TBD
TBD
AT
McGill
TBD TBD
vs
McGill
TBD TBD
For detailed game coverage check out the Fulcrum’s website at www.thefulcrum.ca.
FulcFit food series
A smooth start to the new year With the start of a new year, many of us are looking for ways to eat right and get in shape. But adjusting to a new diet can be challenging, especially for those who aren’t sure where to start. Making a sudden and dramatic shift to what you eat isn’t the smartest idea, even though some may think that it’s the only route— a complete overhaul of the contents in your pantry and fridge could cause you to crash and revert back to your old eating habits. Steadily and gradually incorporating healthy meals into your diet will help you love what you’re eating and get you closer to your goal of a new year, new you. So, where do you begin? Well, as students, we tend to have busy schedules and don’t always have time to cook healthy meals. A solution to this problem for me is a smoothie. I mean, really, what’s easier and quicker than throwing a bunch of ingredients in a blender and turning it on? All you really need is a maximum of 10 minutes, and you’ve got a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack that you can take with you on your way to class, the gym, the library, or more. Here are three of my favourite smoothie recipes that are sure to leave you satiated and energized for the day!
Graham Robertson Managing Editor
A Berry Good Choice
Ingredients • One cup of mixed berries (fresh or frozen) • One cup of water • One teaspoon of chia seeds • A handful of pitted dates (four or five) • One tablespoon of protein powder (optional, I usually add this if I’m going to the gym; any vegan or plant-based powder works) Goin’ Bananas
Ingredients • One banana • One cup of non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk) • One tablespoon of peanut butter • One teaspoon of cinnamon powder • Two or three ice cubes
During the school year, it’s all too easy to let your eating habits slip. To get you back on track, the Fulcrum has some essential recipes so you stay full and fit all year long.
Green Goodness
Ingredients • One large handful of mixed spring greens, kale, or spinach • One and a half cups of fresh pineapple cubes • One teaspoon of chia seeds • One teaspoon of ginger (fresh or bottled) • Two teaspoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed • One cup of water • Two or three ice cubes Simply blend and enjoy! Smoothies are a fast, easy, and delicious way to get in plenty of vital nutrients. Photos: Graham Robertson.
14 | SPORTS
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OPINIONS
OPINIONS EDITOR David Campion-Smith
opinions@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @davidcs96
Dishwashers shouldn’t be cut out of tip pools
Everyone relies on the dishwasher, so don’t short change them Connor Chase
staff contributor
T
he effects of the minimum wage hike, good and bad, are now starting to show themselves across Ontario. Most of these effects were predictable, but some are a bit more surprising. Because of the minimum wage hike, many restaurants are extending tips to the kitchen. Increasing minimum wage has led some restaurants to reexamine their tip out policy, with back-of-house employees receiving a larger portion of tips. Left out of this recent development, however, are the dishwashers—those upon whom the entire food service industry depends.
An Ottawa restaurant owner justified leaving dishwashers out of this new benefit by noting that, because of the minimum wage hike, their wages are already increasing. This was followed by laments that labour costs are the primary expense in the labour industry, and that dishwashing tends to be the first job of inexperienced and unskilled high school students. Implicit in this statement is a judgement that most people would probably agree with; dishwashing simply isn’t a complicated job. The days of scrubbing dishes and cutlery with a soapy cloth are gone. Dishwashing in many restaurants today involves loading up a tray, shoving it into an obnoxiously loud machine that washes and dries everything in one to two minutes, and then dispersing the dining ware wherever it needs to go in the kitchen. It’s a job that doesn’t involve the meticulous attention required to
cook a medium-rare peppercorn steak, or the constant and exhausting friendly demeanour of a server. However, it does come with its own drawbacks. While the cooks and server staff get to talk and laugh and socialize together, the dishwasher is almost always isolated, sent away to the back corner of the kitchen to do the monotonous job alone. This geographic exclusion is now being amplified by dishwasher’s tip pool exclusion. More significantly, in every kitchen dishwashers are often the last to leave. It’s common for the dishwasher to have to stay about an hour after even the cooks hang up their aprons, as all of the cooking equipment itself has to be washed. It doesn’t take much contemplation to notice that if a kitchen worker gets 15 dollars in tips, they would be making the exact same as the dishwasher who had to work an hour longer than them. Once again, all of this self
Dishwashers work as hard as other kitchen employees.
pity is not to say that dishwashing is a tremendously difficult job, but that it comes with its own drawbacks that, unless you have worked in a kitchen yourself, you might not anticipate. The dishwasher is at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak. It’s easy to notice the
work of the server and cook, but the only time you notice the work of the dishwasher is when they aren’t doing their job. It’s a good analogy that the food rests upon the plate, because fundamentally everything is dependent upon the dishwasher. It doesn’t matter how well the
Photo: CC,Christopher K. Hwang.
food is cooked if there are not enough clean plates to serve it on. So unless you’re okay with literally eating from the dirty plates of strangers whenever you go out, you should hope that dishwashers get the same treatment, and pay, as everyone else in the kitchen.
I got racist heckled on Tinder: So that’s how my life’s going Anchal Sharma News Editor
In fair Brantford where we lay our scene, I got racist heckled on Tinder. I don’t know quite how else to put it. There I was, home for the holidays and bored out of my mind, casually scrolling through the app, looking for validation, when I stumbled upon Noah. “He seems normal,” I probably thought of the averagelooking white guy with no bio before swiping right. And would you look at that, it was a match! I continued swiping, not expecting much since it was pretty late at night, but he sent me a message. Now I wasn’t expecting to find my soulmate on this app, but I also didn’t expect what came next. Rather than a cringey pick up line or boring conversation starter, Noah wrote, “I’m not a fan of your skin colour.” My first thought was, “this isn’t a great pick up line,” so, I cleverly responded “Um. What.” Feeling a need to explain, he continued:
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“your skin colour...It’s gross. Reminds of shit,” ending it off with a “sorry,” like a true gentleman. While this isn’t the first time that race played a part in conversations I’d had on the platform—with my race often being something that people exoticised and used to quite ignorantly ‘hit on’ me—it’s certainly the one that stands out the most. Let’s break it down. For context, I’m a second generation Canadian of Indian descent, so yeah, I have brown skin. But I’ve never felt uncomfortable in it before. I was born and raised in Markham, a city within the Greater Toronto Area that boasts of diversity and multiculturalism. I’m barely used to being a minority, much less experiencing racism. Apparently I’m spoiled. Now logically, I know this doesn’t reflect on me or my worth as a human being in any way, but I’m a sensitive person, and the thought that my existence somehow offends Noah from Brantford still makes me uncomfortable.
And then there was the self doubt. Am I overreacting? I mean, this wasn’t like a hate crime or anything. Who cares about this dude’s opinion? But for some reason I did. I’ve had longer conversations with telemarketers but somehow I was going through the five stages of grief for this guy. What got to me the most was that he wasted no time in swiping right just to tell me unprovoked that my skin colour offended him. That was his only goal. He just as easily could have swiped left. I just as easily could have swiped left. He had no way of knowing we would match and yet he went out of his way to ruin my night. And I mean, yeah I reported the guy, but the incident put me off from the app to the point where, after a little deliberation, I just deleted my account. Not only did I give up on my quest for true love, but this one seemingly insignificant interaction coloured my perspective of the whole city. My parents just recently moved
to Brantford, so I don’t know anyone there apart from my family. Although this interaction took place online, it made me paranoid every time I left my house. If someone looked at me too long, my rapid conclusion was that they must be racist. Even worse, I found myself feeling grateful to people, store clerks, anyone, when they would return a smile and not actively harass me for not being white. Racism on dating apps like Tinder isn’t new and frankly, it’s barely shocking, but some follow up on reported accounts from the app would be a nice form of closure after incidences like this. A better solution would be to screen for hateful comments before they get sent, something in a similar vein to Soothe. Regardless, I probably would have rested easier that night if I had known that some real action was being taken against this guy, instead of wondering if anyone aside from my two loyal twitter followers would even care.
OPINIONS | 17
Food for thought: a sin tax on meat isn’t a bad idea
Finding new ways to improve our health and environmental impact David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor
The idea of a “sin tax” on meat has been discussed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and leapt upon by Canadian press. Essentially, such a tax would increase the price of meat because of its negative health impacts, similar to taxes on tobacco and alcohol. As unpopular as it may be, this tax is a good idea and this opportunity should be taken to bring the price of factory farmed meat in line with the higher costs of more ethically produced meat. There are already additional taxes on products like tobacco and alcohol, which have been proven to be bad for our health. Meat certainly isn’t healthy, and that’s not even new information. We’ve accepted that it’s okay for some products to be taxed more because of their negative health impacts, so there isn’t a good reason to be more attached to meat than those
other products. Meat may hold a more prominent place than vegetables and legumes in the cuisines of various cultures around the world, but this tax isn’t an outright ban. No one is advocating for the elimination of the consumption of meat, just a higher tax on it. In fact, if our overall consumption of meat was reduced, we might respect it a bit more. Meat is not a necessary component to our diets, as some writers seem to believe. There are many other ways to get the nutrients provided by meat, and in most instances these are healthier options. The environmental impact of producing meat is significant, with studies linking between 14.5 and 18 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions to the production of meat. When society is looking at ways to lower emissions and reduce our environmental impact, doesn’t it make sense to try and lower our meat
Higher taxes could bring cost of factory farming up to ethical levels.
production? Meat that is produced in more ethical ways can cost up to three times more than the lower grade meat. One effect of sin taxes is to change the buying habits
Photo: CC, Gunnar Richter.
of consumers, which is exactly what a meat sin tax could do—make consumers find more sustainable methods of bringing protein into their diet, and reward those who are producing meat in
ethical, environmentally sustainable ways. On a more emotional level, producing meat in more ethical ways means a better life for animals than one spent entirely inside factory farms.
There can be a lot of debate around sin taxes, especially around issues like gambling. However there are no questions around the health impacts of alcohol, tobacco, and meat.
Lottery system shouldn’t used for immigration
Immigration policy should be based on merit, not luck Erica Endemann Fulcrum Contributor
Many Canadians believe the principle of first come, first served is fair. However, in December 2016, the federal government announced it was introducing a lottery system as part of their immigration policy. New Canadians wishing to sponsor their parents or grandparents to reunite their families would be selected by lottery. However, a lottery system process is too random and unfair to be the method by which we decide who can become Canadian citizens. When the new system took effect in January 2017 it sparked outrage from existing applicants, and petitions were launched against the program. Despite this backlash, the government reopened applications the lottery system earlier this month for 2018. It’s easy and justifiable to identify with anger over this, as a system that used
18 | OPINIONS
to take hard work is now closer to luck of the draw. The Liberals were elected in 2015 on a platform that included increasing immigration, family reunification, and reducing application backlogs. They promised to make the process more transparent, more accessible and more fair, but a lottery system certainly isn’t any of this. By contrast, the previous Conservative government discouraged family-reunification. In 2011, the Harper government froze reunification applications to handle the high levels of applications already in the system. They introduced the “super visa,” allowing applicants to apply to live with their families for up to two years, and after that return for several six month entries for the remaining time. Meanwhile in Canada, their families were responsible for health care and other expenses. Under the Liberal’s lottery system, the number of applications to sponsor parents and
grandparents doubled to 10,000. The new policy also continued to offer the super-visa option. That meant that 20,000 parents and grandparents entered Canada in 2016 and 2017. The old paper system was replaced with an online system in an effort to halve the waiting time to one year. It’s hard to criticize these improvements. The Liberals voiced a message of acceptance to the world and this policy is consistent with that message. Yet, the pain of separation has not been relieved with this new policy. Applicants, privileged or not, face the reality that they still have only a 10 per cent chance every year of being considered. They could spend years hoping and never be considered. Just as a reunification policy shouldn’t favour the wealthiest, it shouldn’t create a system of further uncertainty where applications hang in limbo. Surely, we can do better. This isn’t Lotto 649, these are people’s lives.
Immigration minister Ahmed Hussen relaunched the lottery program. Photo: CC, CabuuwaaqWanaag.
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communities unite over indifference to Tim Hortons boycott
Canadians surprised by Tim Hortons boycott, say they never go there anyway Ryan Pepper and Anchal Sharma Arts & Culture Editor and News Editor
With hundreds of citizens across the province refusing to visit Tim Hortons franchises across Ontario to boycott the company’s response to new the minimum wage hike, many people are left asking “Well, what’s so different?” It appears the Canadian stereotype of Tim Hortons chugging, polar bear riding, igloo dwelling folk, is now only partially accurate in Ontario. It is an honoured tradition of Ontarians—nay, Canadians of all stripes—to walk past any and all Timmies on their morning commute in order to find the nearest Starbucks, independent coffee store, even a Second Cup if there happens to be
one within easy walking distance. “I haven’t been near a Tim Hortons since my last road trip to northern Quebec,” said Ottawa local Joel Lamoureux, who prefers frequenting Bridgehead Coffee. “Nothing about my day-to-day life is any different. Except I have to dodge even more people on Rideau Street now.” Of course, some people are saying this is a classic case of millennials—as per usual—only thinking of themselves, refusing to think of how their indifference to the boycott is affecting others in the community. The senior citizen crew is now running dangerously short on breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night meeting places. “Do these millennials expect me to go to Starbucks?
Lord love a duck, how do I even pronounce frap?” exclaimed one elderly woman, who chooses only to go by Gran. Her geriatric comrades nodded in support, or in their sleep (Tomato reporters had difficulty identifying the reason for the nodding). “I didn’t make it to 65 by trying new things and broadening my mind!” said Gran. This drastic change in meeting places isn’t just inconvenient, but may even be cause for alarm. “Drastic changes at that age are hard to deal with,” said Davidoff Champion, a professor of sociology at the University of Ottawa. “While the younger generation can adapt, a disruption to routine, especially such an integral routine, will be very hard for our elderly community.”
Ontarians are united in their Tim Hortons indifference.
With the focus on urban areas like Toronto and Ottawa, rural Ontario has—as per usual—been left out the debate. However it seems that just this once, they’re on the same page as everyone else—that is,
equally undisturbed about the boycott. “Who is Tim Horton again?” asked Anna Savant, a Mount Albert local. “I’m not sure I’d buy coffee from somewhere named after a person I didn’t
Photo: CC, Stu pendousmat.
know.” So while Canadians may be up in arms online around Tim Hortons’ response to the minimum wage hike, their response in person has been less than caffeinated.
UPlan of deemed O invests all its money in Bitcoin to boost revenue most logical option to increase university funds Eric Davidson Editor-in-Chief The University of Ottawa has finally found a way to shed its financial woes. “Bitcoin!” shouted U of O president Jacques Frémont to a passing student. “It’s the future!” The move to invest heavily in the confusing cryptocurrency comes after the university’s Board of Governors began examining new revenue streams for the institution. “We looked at a variety of options—more fundraising, mutual funds, asset reallocation,” said the university’s new head of resources Satoshi Nakamoto. “But in the end it was clear that Bitcoin was the only sensible choice.” Nakamoto added that the university did consider investing in DogeCoin in-
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stead, but ultimately decided against it. “I’m more of a cat person anyway,” he said. According to Frémont, the U of O was so pleased with the idea of buying Bitcoin that it would be investing every dollar it has into the cryptocurrency. When pressed on the underlying volatility of the digital currency, he responded, “We’re putting all our eggs in one basket, just like you’re supposed to!” Despite the aggressive financial move, some students remain nonplussed. “It’s not that crazy,” said Bertrand Dill, a third-year history student. “Let’s be honest, volatile cryptocurrencies have a higher chance of paying off than my U of O degree.” One student, however, was very disappointed in the move.
The U of O is going all in on Bitcoin.
“This investment is lame,” said first-year general arts student Travis Dude, rather calmly. “The university could make way more money selling marijuana when
Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik, CC Bitboy. Edits: Christine Wang.
it becomes legal,” he opined, before drifting off to scavenge for Cool Ranch Doritos. Despite the lethargic criticism, the university’s president held fast in his decision.
“Investing in Bitcoin is a perfect fit for the U of O and our stated principles,” said Frémont. “What could defy the conventional more than investing in the same thing
as everyone else?” When asked what the university would do if investing in Bitcoin doesn’t work out, Frémont seemed shocked. “There’s no need for skepticism, we just put all of our money into a risky asset with no physical value tethering it to the real world,” he said. “We’re not idiots.” Nakamoto jumped in, adding that the university had plenty of plans waiting in the wings, just in case. “We’re actually working on a line of scented candles called ‘Serenity by Jacques,’” he said. “Not to mention our ‘build your own living wall’ kits.” When asked if the projected influx of funds will mean lower tuition rates for students, Frémont responded, “I don’t think that would be financially responsible.”
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DISTRACTIONS
DEAR DI
DI IS CURRENTLY CHANGING FOR A NEW 2018 LOOK
Horny Homework: Burn, baby, burn While working out more might have been one of your New Year’s resolutions, getting your workout at home can be a lot more fun than trekking to the nearest gym. Instead, find a friend and get into missionary. However, instead of immediate penetration, have them rub their penis, fingers, or tongue around your vulva or anus—dealer’s choice. This will keep them going a long time, guaranteeing you two work up a sweat. Finally, have your partner penetrate you and watch in ecstasy as they cross the finish line.
Dishing with Di: Masters in the lab and the bedroom Dr. William Masters and Dr. Virginia Johnson are among the pioneering researchers in sexology. Their claim to fame was developing the four-prong model of human sexual response in the late 1950s, a time when movies were still heavily censored to remove all sexual content. They conducted their research by observing couples having sex and measuring different sets of physiological response. While their work has been criticized since then, particularly regarding their involvement in conversion therapy for gay men, Masters and Johnson remain extremely influential.
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FEATURES EDITOR Savannah Awde
features@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @s_awde7
Dear Di, My boyfriend and I are in a long-distance relationship. Often I’ll go out here in Ottawa without him, so for the outside observer I would appear single. My boyfriend and I have discussed any reservations we have about going out and dancing with other people (we are generally OK with it, so long as we don’t spend the night with one person). I have had people buy me drinks, but I feel damned if I do accept (on principle since I am in a relationship) and damned if I don’t (since the gesture isn’t necessarily poorly intentioned). Is it a bad thing that I’ve liked the idea of talking to other guys, knowing that I won’t take it any further than that night?
—Flirty and a little Dirty Dear FLD First off, you need to get down to the bottom of why you’re feeling guilty. From what you told me, you haven’t betrayed your boyfriend’s trust in any way. It’s also great that you two have already discussed what you’re comfortable with the other doing. One option you have is to simply discuss in further detail what you’re feeling with your boyfriend. Tell him that you feel conflicted about accepting drinks that people buy for you. Honesty has a way of unloading any negative feelings between a couple. You should also know that it’s OK to like a little attention from prospective suitors, even if you know you’re not planning to take it further. Often times what happens is that people get a little complacent when they pair up, and settle into a not-so-sexy routine. Maybe you’re reacting to the attention from other men in bars because it’s reminding you that you’re young, and hot, with red blood gushing through your veins—something you might not be getting very often from your boyfriend because of the distance. There isn’t a problem with this, again, as long as you don’t feel like you’re betraying your boyfriend’s trust in any way. Also I don’t know what kind of bars you frequent, but drinks are usually insanely overpriced, so don’t feel too bad about gaming the system! On another note, you should also evaluate your relationship with your boyfriend to see if the long distance is hurting the quality of your relationship. Does long distance mean you two have become a little boring and routine? If so, I’ve written before about the best way to heat things up between longdistance lovers. Does your boyfriend make you feel sexy and desired? Asking these types of questions can help you narrow down why you’ve been liking attention from other guys.
Love, Di
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JAN. 15-JAN. 21, 2018
THRYLLABUS
MUSIC EATS SPORTS FUN THINKING ARTS
Monday Jan. 15 Muggy Mondays, free coffee for whoever brings a reusable mug, Faculty of Social Sciences building 2nd floor landing—8:30 a.m. Movement in Meditation, National Arts Centre—7:30 a.m.
meal, hosted by the People’s Republic of Delicious, Deja Vu kitchen (between Thompson and Morisset)—9 a.m. Archery Tag, Montpetit Hall Gym—1:15 p.m.
Thursday Jan. 18 Loving Vincent, free screening Tuesday Jan. 16 at Algonquin Re”image”ining Commons Indigenous Gang Theatre—2 p.m. Involvement in Divergences and Canada, Australia convergences of and New Zealand, gender values in Faculty of Social Taiwan and China Sciences building, room 4004—12 p.m. with Professor Yan Wan-Ying, Faculty Welcome Back of Social Sciences Toonies, 1848—9 Building, room p.m. 5028—2:30 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 17 Friday Jan. 19 Free home-cooked, 90s or Bust Dance healthy, and vegan
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Party, Babylon Nightclub—10:30 p.m. Darkest Hour (Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill), ByTowne Cinema—7:30 p.m. Saturday Jan. 20 Women’s March on Ottawa - Because it is 2018!, meet at Parliament Hill—12 p.m. Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadian Tire Centre—7 p.m. Sunday Jan. 21 Avenged Sevenfold with Breaking Benjamin, the Canadian Tire Centre—6:25 p.m. The Warriors, ByTowne Cinema—9 p.m.
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22 | DISTRACTIONS
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EDITORIAL Volume 78, Issue 15, Jan. 15, 2018 Singing and dancing since 1942. Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this paper or we’ll cast you in our musical. Eric “Rent” Davidson Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Chicago” McRae-Sadik Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Graham “Les Miserables” Robertson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Anchal “Wicked” Sharma News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Ryan “Jesus Christ Superstar” Pepper Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Savannah “Come From Away” Awde Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca David “Spamalot” Campion-Smith Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Christine “Hamilton” Wang Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Dmitri “Guys and Dolls” Bakker Social Media Manager social@thefulcrum.ca
NEW YEAR NEW UNI
Ah, the start of a brand new year. I can’t help but notice a lot more people have flocked to the Minto gym, and my friends are eating much healthier than usual. And why not, it’s time to get started on those New Year’s resolutions. But why hog all the fun? Why don’t we make a few resolutions for the powers that be on campus, to make this year better than the last one? Let’s start with the university. 2017 was a busy year, and there’s a lot to improve on as we toss out our old calendars. The Fulcrum’s first outgoing New Year’s resolution is for the U of O administration. We recommend resolving to improve the university’s accessibility policy in the coming year. For example, looking into why certain buildings have no elevators, and finding ways to make campus a more accessible space for students and
staff with a variety of physical and mental abilities, including those which aren’t so visible. This means ongoing consultation with groups such as the Centre for Students with Disabilities, and providing training materials to professors to better adapt to the diverse needs of their students Our second recommended resolution for the university is to make it easier for students to access crucial services on campus. This means revamping our mental health services and fixing problems like long wait times. A Jan. 9 policy paper by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) report highlights the importance of implementing a more effective system for dispensing mental health services and advocates for more action on the issue. It cites deeply troubling statistics from National College Health Association, that “44.4 per cent of surveyed students re-
ported that at some point in the previous twelve months they felt ‘so depressed it was difficult to function’” and that “13 per cent had seriously considered suicide.” Easier access to services also includes more academic services like academic advisors, and online course tools. Students and teachers on the university’s Board of Governors are already saying the status quo is unacceptable, and it’s time for a change. While we’re at it, we also have some resolutions for the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO). The first resolution is to release the most recent version of their constitution to the public. The SFUO has actually done a good job lately of making their meetings more accessible by livestreaming them, so why not seize on that momentum this year? The most recent version of the SFUO constitution posted to their
website was last updated in 2016. Not only were there some mistakes that exist in that document that will be fixed in the new one, but a lot of motions have passed in the SFUO’s Board of Administration in the past two years, many of which were constitutional changes, and it’s important to have them reflected in a way the student body can see. It seems a bit audacious to assign resolutions to other people, but the fact is that the university administration and SFUO have real power to solve problems that have been plaguing students for years. What better time than the fresh slate of a new year to get the ball rolling? Hopefully, long after the Minto gym crowds have thinned out, and my friends have caved and started eating junk food with me, we will still be working hard on these necessary policy resolutions at the U of O.
Ellie “Oklahoma!” Sabourin Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca Nadia “Moulin Rouge” Drissi ElBouzaidi Associate Features Editor Zack “Annie” Goobie Associate Sports Editor associate.sports@thefulcrum.ca Parker “Carousel” Townes Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Videographer videographer@thefulcrum.ca Chafik “Show Boat” Kassis Head Web Architect webmaster@thefulcrum.ca Lucas “My Fair Lady” Ghosn General Manager manager@thefulcrum.ca Kaylum “Ragtime” Bobal Advertising Representative ads@thefulcrum.ca
Contributors
Connor “She Loves Me” Chase Erica “Follies” Endemann Kevin “Kiss Me, Kate” Vélez Guerrero Tristain “The King and I” Pollard Eric “Into the Woods” Davison Alina “Hair” Wang Janoah Victoria “Hello, Dolly!” Willsie
Board of Directors
Raghad “Lady in the Dark“ Sheikh-Khalil Katelyn “Dreamgirls” Murray Jonathan “Avenue Q” Rausseo Fadi “The Book of Mornmon” Azzi Spencer “Brigadoon” Murdock Kim “Hairspray” Wiens Marguerite “Sweet Charity” Gollish Cover Credits: Christine Wang.
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Photo: Christine Wang.
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