The Fulcrum - Volume 78, Issue 21

VOL. 78 ISSUE 21

Mar. 5, 2018

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This is a story of two South African mothers and best friends, Primrose Sonti and Thumeka Magwangqana, who together take on Lonmin PLC, the third largest platinumextractor in the world. They live in Nkaneng, Marikana, an informal settlement in rural South Africa that sprung up around the mine. Although the corporation has significant legal obligations to the community where the mine is located, it was not complying with its responsibilities, leading to increasing tensions. When police opened fire on miners protesting low wages on August 16, 2012, killing 34 people, the incident sent shock waves throughout the world.

These two dynamic women form a women’s organization, Sikhala Sonke (We Cry Together), and over time take different paths in their search for social and economic justice. The film follows their deeply personal journey as they take on a Goliath of high-powered enemies that appear to collude against the people of Marikana, and at the same time try to maintain a friendship that is threatening to break under the weight of this pressure. Out of dust and iron, the women of Marikana rise – Q & A to follow with Human Rights Watch Emergencies Division Researcher Jonathan Pedneault To purchase tickets ($5/ticket) from the Mayfair Theatre: Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis – cash only.

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In this week’s issue...

Police lay more charges against former UOHS doctor P. 5 Vincent Nadon charged for 10 incidents U of O students launch competitive gaming space P. 8 A look inside Ottawa’s eSports scene End of the road P. 11 All Gee-Gees teams have been eliminated from the playoffs Is university worth it?

P. 14 A path to a better life, or a waste of money?

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR Anchal Sharma

news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0061 @anchalsharma_

NEWS BRIEFS

Former UOHS doctor facing 10 additional sexual assault charges Police concerned there may be other victims Anchal Sharma News Editor

O

n Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit laid 10 new charges of sexual assault against former University of Ottawa Health Services (UOHS) doctor Vincent Nadon.

According to a media statement released by the Ottawa Police, “the charges relate to incidents involving ten female victims.”

These new charges come after Nadon was previously charged on a count of sexual assault and voyeurism in January of this year when a female patient alleged he was recording her during a physical examination without her knowledge or consent.

Ottawa Police are concerned that there may be other victims and ask that anyone with information on this subject contact their tip line at 613-236-1222, ext. 5760 or email mcm@ottawapolice.ca.

Photo: Dasser Kamran.

Former U of O student developing new social networking app

Hayle seeks to help students connect with like-minded individuals Ellie Sabourin Associate News Editor A new app called Hayle, developed by former University of Ottawa psychology student David Qiu, can now help students discover and build relationships in their community in a unique way.

It all started when Qiu was 16, after he and a group of 20 other high school students in Gatineau got together to work on a non profit to help alleviate homelessness.

However, their organization came to an end when everyone graduated and went on to pursue post-secondary education across the country.

Once at the U of O, Qiu found it difficult to find like-minded friends and struggled to rebuild his developing non profit organization.

“I had no use for mainstream social media apps because there was no way

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for me to find a specific partner near me amongst hundreds of online ‘friends,’” said Qiu. After growing tired of having little to no options for networking with other students and youth near him, he founded the idea that would eventually become Hayle.

Hayle, which is being developed for Android and iOS, will enable users to create a profile by adding their interests, and thus find like-minded individuals, join discussions, attend events, and discover different opportunities in their own city.

Now that Hayle is in the works, Qiu has left university to pursue the development of the app full-time.

Last year, Qiu expanded his team to include 11 members, most of whom are students at the U of O, Carleton University, and Algonquin College.

“We spend most of our time and resources in de-

signing, developing, and testing in order to perfect the app and introduce it to North Americans in 2018,” Qiu explained.

“We’ve found that people like to stay in their comfort zone and, making it harder to find people with similar interests,” said Qiu. “Many of us find it uncomfortable approaching strangers randomly and it isn’t very effective. In the world we live in today, it’s difficult to find friends that really understand you.”

He admits to some challenges, which largely have to do with exposure. Qiu notes that the more exposure they can get, the more successful their crowdfunding attempts will be, and that most of the staff with the exception of their software developer are volunteers, until they can generate more consistent profits.

“Our app finds individuals beyond age and gender,”

Photo: Courtesy of David Qiu.

Qiu shared. “It’s all about the mutual interests. The friends you make can last a lifetime, because it won’t just be any acquaintance you meet from school or work, It’s someone you can really bond with.”

Qiu hopes that the app will especially help students who may be strug-

gling to make connections as he was when he started university. He hopes to see Hayle ease transitions for students, whether that be finding new friends, new clubs, or communities.

According to Qiu, “Hayle would be an ideal app to make this process easier and would allow users to

have a more comfortable and enjoyable school experience.”

“Think of Hayle as a clean slate, meet new people and talk to people who will message you back.

We believe that the fundamental problem lies in the lack of focus on longlasting relationships.”

NEWS | 5

U of O researchers shine light on Canada’s domestic, global healthcare practices The Lancet’s Series on Canada hears from experts about equity in healthcare Anchal Sharma and Ellie Sabourin

News Editor and Associate News Editor The Lancet, an international weekly general medical journal, published its first Series on Canada on Saturday, Feb. 24, which includes contributions in two papers by University of Ottawa professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Public Health, Dr. Peter Tugwell, on Canada’s healthcare practices and priorities, including Indigenous healthcare.

The articles, “Canada’s universal health-care system: achieving its potential” and “Canada’s global health role: supporting equity and global citizenship as a middle power,” criticize the inconsistencies in Canada’s health care system between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, as well as look at Canada’s role in global health in the past and today.

Along with teaching at the U of O, Tugwell, who led research on the second article,

is also the senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital, cochair of the World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre at Bruyere Hospital Research Institute, and cochair of the Campbell and Cochrane Collaborations Equity Group.

Per the second article, Canada’s healthcare system, while built on diversity, has a ways to go in terms of reconciliation with its Indigenous communities in order to be seen as a global leader.

Marcelo Saavedra-Vargas, a U of O prof and expert on Indigenous studies explained that access to healthcare in Indigenous communities goes beyond policy.

“The way Indigenous communities perceive health… compared to the Western world (differs). The Western world is around the thesis, the Indigenous perception is around wellbeing,” he explained.

Along with highlighting the cultural gap, SaavedraVargas also discussed how

efforts of reconciliation can be achieved.

“When the process of reconciliation is attained, then mainstream society will have to look at Indigenous people as real human beings,” he said, referencing Canada’s history of injustice to Indigenous communities, as well as the Indian Act, which the Series on Canada references.

For Saavedra Vargas, “a very important aspect of coming together is that we come to understand what the process of reconciliation means, and we engage in it.”

“We have to recognize, and somehow we have to build bridges between Indigenous populations and mainstream cultures so we can form a new social order,” he said.

This ties in with the larger focus of the study, which looks at ways that Canada can improve its overall access to equitable healthcare on both a domestic and global stage. According to

Tugwell, Canada has done well so far, but has room to improve.

In a media release by the U of O, Tugwell explained that “one aspect that is made clear in this series is Canada’s long standing involvement in global health affairs and our exceptional human

Photo: via thelancet.com

capital exports into senior health positions internationally. That trend continues – with the next generation of Canadian health scholars committed to reducing global health-related inequities.”

“Unfortunately they have no clear career path in this country,” he added.

6 | NEWS

“One action I would like to see come out of this landmark Lancet Series on Canada is an expansion of training capacity here in Canada along with supporting career paths and two-way exchanges in partnership with appropriate developing country’s institutions.”

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NATIONAL NEWS

Talking #MeToo with The New York Times Rotman event hosts investigative reporters to discuss the challenges of reporting on sexual harassment Reut Cohen The Varsity

Jodi Kantor and Emily Steel, two investigative reporters from The New York Times who broke the allegations of sexual harassment against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, sat down for a discussion at the Rotman School of Management on Wednesday, February 21.

The sold-out event, titled “Journalism and the #MeToo Moment,” also featured the Times’ new gender editor, Jessica Bennett. Bennett is the first individual to hold this position, the goal of which is to improve coverage of women’s and gender issues across platforms.

The event was co-hosted by the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at Rotman, as well as the Times.

Jamison Steve, the Prosperity Institute’s Executive Director, opened the event by acknowledging the value of Rotman’s relationship with the Times; this is the third event that the outlet has hosted at U of T. Panelists discussed the cultural impact of #MeToo and the explosion of stories

regarding sexual harassment and misconduct that have emerged since Kantor and her colleague, Megan Twohey, broke the story on October 5, 2017 of Weinstein’s mistreatment of women over the course of three decades.

Ian Austen, who has reported on Canada for the Times for over a decade, thanked the paper’s subscribers for their support of quality journalism and briefly introduced the discussion’s moderator, Catherine Porter. Porter, a former columnist for the Toronto Star, has served as the Times’ Canada bureau chief since February 2017.

In her introduction of Kantor, Porter noted that Kantor’s reporting has not only focused on Weinstein as an individual actor, but also the “complicity machine” that enabled him to continue his behavior, even as it was something of an open secret in Hollywood. For their investigation, Kantor and Twohey spoke to more than 200 people over the course of four months.

In addition to her reporting on O’Reilly alongside fellow Times reporter Michael Schmidt, Steel has written about the culture of harass-

ment and inappropriate conduct at VICE News. Porter pointed out that Steel’s reporting has demonstrated how legacy media outlets are not the only ones with issues of sexual misconduct, but that newer and millennialoriented ones have problems as well.

Bennett began her tenure as gender editor on October 30, just weeks after the Weinstein story had broken. She said that it was “overwhelming” to see the widespread response to the story. “We’ve been staggered by the global reaction to this reporting,” added Kantor.

One audience member asked about the factors that had led to this public reckoning. “People always want to look for one moment,” said Steel, “but it really is a chorus of voices growing louder and louder over the years.”

The difficulties that journalists face while reporting on allegations of sexual misconduct were a recurring theme of the conversation.

Kantor and Twohey were writing under legal threat from Weinstein, and they were pushed by their editors to obtain as much documentation as possible to corroborate the women’s stories.

They were also trying to

From left: Catherine Porter, Emily Steel, Jodi Kantor, and Jessica Bennett.

speak directly to high-profile actresses without involving agents or managers. “How do you get Gwyneth Paltrow’s phone number?” asked Kantor, to laughter from the crowd.

Other stories, like Bennett’s reporting on allegations by nine women against the playwright Israel Horovitz, did not have the same type of paper trail available, and they relied more heavily on corroboration of each woman’s story.

All of the panelists were

vocal about how many of the high-profile figures accused of sexual harassment, such as Matt Lauer, Mark Halperin, and Charlie Rose, were “narrators and authors” of the culture, who often exerted significant influence through the media.

“These were people who were, in part, responsible for how we thought about ourselves,” said Kantor.

Kantor noted that there are often institutional obstacles to preventing sexual misconduct, which she

Photo: Steven Lee.

termed the “systems and machinery of harassment.”

Human resources departments may not be properly equipped to deal with allegations, or workplace sexual harassment training may be treated as a joke.

Still, Bennett seemed hopeful. “I do think there’s a lack of tolerance among young people for a lot of behaviour that has been normalized,” she said. “Young people are not going to put up with what our mothers’ generation did.”

A&C EDITOR Ryan Pepper arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE Balkan conflict explored in visceral U of O play (613) 695-0062 @pep_ryan

Production part of larger symposium on gender violence in war Ryan Pepper

Arts & Culture Editor

T

he Bosnian genocide will be explored on stage at the University of Ottawa in a visceral production of Cheers to Sarajevo that immerses the viewer in the front lines of ethnic conflict.

Cheers to Sarajevo, created in 2014 by playwright Aimeé Mica Mtuli, tells the story of a South African photojournalist who travels to Yugoslavia to photograph the conflict taking place there. What begins as a “safari of other people’s pain and suffering,” as Mtuli put it, turns into the photojournalist intensely following the illegal romance of two people separated by ethnic tension and nationalism.

“We follow the story of a Serbian man, Alexander, and

a Muslim woman, Mirela, who have been in a relationship for years and years, despite their ethnic differences,” Mtuli said.

“But now, all of a sudden, they have to decide what side of the fence they’re on. We just see how nationalism slowly splits this beautiful relationship apart.”

Although Mtuli is not Bosnian, she spent two years on exchange in Serbia where she lived with a Bosnian Muslim woman. Although she was young when she visited, the story of Yugoslavia later resonated with her own family history of trauma—her father’s parents were Holocaust survivors, her mother’s parents are refugees from Yemen, and she grew up in Israel.

“The best way to heal myself and to tell these people’s stories is through theatre,” Mtuli said.

The photojournalist was added because Mtuli knows a South African photojournalist who spent time in the Balkan conflict.

She thought it would be an interesting angle to give the story.

“Telling a story through the eyes of the media just seemed very important to me,” she explained.

The writing process wasn’t easy either, considering that one hour, Mtuli would be sitting with a war criminal who would be indicted for war crimes if his identity was revealed, and then the next hour would be spent with the victims of sexual violence and rape warfare.

“We went on quite a journey of research, speaking to former war criminals … we spoke to one or two women who had been in a rape camp somewhere in Bosnia, and we spoke to snipers,” Mtuli said. “We tried to get a full picture of what happened there.”

It was also difficult to get the actors into the right mindset, since none of them had grown up in a war zone.

The play has been performed a few times worldwide, but this is its first production in North America. Mtuli—who is also the lead actress—was invited to perform the piece on the open-

Cheers to Sarajevo opens March. 13 at Academic Hall.

ing night of the upcoming 21st Century Reflections on Sexual Violence in Wars, its Transgenerational and Transnational Impact symposium, hosted by the U of O’s Central and Eastern European Studies Research Group and the Studies in Migration Research Group.

“They were having a conference there anyways, about

rape warfare and gender-based violence, and Cheers to Sarajevo is completely so topical to that.

It just seemed like a very fitting environment to do Cheers in,” Mtuli explained.

The conference will also feature films from Bosnia-Herzegovina and panels on gender violence in WWII and the Balkan conflict, and the effects

Photo: Jesse Kramer.

across generations.

The production will also be done in memory of Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrov, a South African who worked in Bosnia during the conflict, who was killed two years ago in a car accident.

Cheers to Sarajevo premieres Tuesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Academic Hall with a pay-whatyou-can admission.

Click eSports brings new opportunities to growing industry

Gaming space brings sense of community, cooperation to burgeoning eSports Eric Davison

Fulcrum Freelancer The budding electronic sports community has taken another step forward this month, with the launch of Ottawa’s first dedicated competitive gaming space, with some involvement by a former University of Ottawa students. Based in Nepean, Click eSports is aiming to create a space where gamers of all skill levels can gather to discuss, watch, and play the world’s most popular competitive video games.

The first of its kind in the region, Click is only a small part of the broader movement to bring professional gaming into the mainstream. Although eSports have been a prominent part of pop culture in Korea since the late 1990s, they have only recently gained significant traction

Click eSports has plenty of space for gamers of all skill levels.

in North America. Click’s opening two weeks ago was the culmination of months of work by a small group of dedicated community members and gamers, including several University

8 | ARTS & CULTURE

of Ottawa alumni.

Hui Shen, one of Click’s cofounders and managers, and a U of O alum, explained that the centre provides a sense of community that modern internet gaming

Photo: Eric Davison.

has taken away from consumers. Although gaming started off as a social activity in arcades and basements, as connection speeds and home computer technology improved, people gradu-

ally moved into their homes and online. Now, eSports lounges across the world are bringing people together in an effort to revive that faceto-face interaction.

The main attraction is undoubtedly the banks of high-end gaming hardware, ranging from PCs to modern consoles. Click’s charm, however, is not just in its computers, but in its lounge areas, featuring space to discuss and watch competitive gaming over bubble tea from the small onsite bar.

Shen explained that Click was never intended as just a place to rent out hardware, stating that several hardcore gamers likely have comparable equipment at home. The sense of community has always been the main draw of gaming lounges, and everything from the room to the payment model reflects that. Its open con-

cept environment promotes discussion and coordination while the business model encourages memberships over piecemeal purchases.

This encourages players to return frequently and build a more consistent and personal community.

Click isn’t the only evidence of the growing prominence of eSports in Canadian culture. Shen explained that Canada has traditionally been behind the curve for eSports adoption, but recent progress has been rapid and significant. The U of O now boasts its own competitive gaming teams in both Overwatch and League of Legends, matching a similar trend at Carleton University.

Click eSports is open seven days a week at 1665 Merivale Rd in Nepean. Memberships start at a one-time fee of $10.

More information can be found on their website.

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Godspell musical comes to Ottawa’s Centrepointe Theatre 1971 musical takes comedic approach to biblical parables Ryan Pepper

Arts & Culture Editor The trippiest, most colourful take on the story of Jesus is coming to Ottawa March 8–17 at Centrepointe Theatre.

Godspell is a 1971 musical based on the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, but this time, Jesus is the leader of a clown troupe who re-enact his parables in contemporary New York City.

“It’s telling a lot of the parables that Jesus told and promoting a strong sense of love and community,” said Troy Arsenian, a fifth-year theatre student at the University of Ottawa, and a member of the production.

According to Arsenian, who has previously performed with the 9th Hour Theatre Company, the setting is up to interpretation.

This version at the Centrepointe is set in Ottawa in 2018, in a church basement.

The costuming in this show is also not as outlandish as the original production, or the 1973 film version.

The music of Godspell is a major selling point, with a mix of traditional musical theatre, vaudeville, gospel music, and 70s-style pop and rock. The popular music makes the play more accessible for people who might find the idea of a ‘clown Jesus’ musical a bit too strange.

“It’s not very common to have very religious musicals,” Arsenian said. “But what sets Godspell apart is really the music. The original production, when they made their cast album, they marketed it as a pop album, and some of the songs made it to the top of the charts, like “Day by Day,” “All for the Best,” these are songs that everyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s know.”

The play is divided roughly into two parts—the first part is a collection of parables interspersed with musical numbers, while the second is a more linear tale dealing with Jesus’ crucifixion.

Arsenian explained that

Godspell runs March. 8–11 at Centrepointe Theatre.

the play isn’t explicitly Christian; rather, religion is used as a vehicle to get across messages of community and camaraderie.

“It’s not preachy,” Arsenian said. “It’s not trying to pull people in to Christianity, it’s just using the story of Jesus to emphasize that people need to just love each other

Photo: Courtesy of 9th Hour Theatre Company.

and care for each other.”

A pun on the etymology of gospel is also important in this version of the musical.

“Gospel” comes from the Old English for “good news,” and the newspaper plays a big role in this production.

“The concept of news is everywhere (in the play),” Arsenian said. “We use

headlines before the parables and after the songs. It’s headlines that are supposed to contrast what the parables are saying.”

If the rocking songs and newsy angle haven’t sold you yet, then perhaps what will is the rarity of the performance itself. It isn’t done too frequently, Arsenian

said, and when it is performed, it’s usually at the high school level.

“It’s a great show and you probably won’t have another opportunity for a long while to see it.”

Godspell is running March. 8–17 at Centrepointe Theatre. Tickets for students are $25.

Literature, the environment come together at U of O conference

English grad students critically analyze literature in age of ecological crisis Ryan Pepper

Arts & Culture Editor The English Graduate Student Association is gearing up for their annual international conference, taking place this year from March 9-11 on the topic of literary studies in an era of increasing environmental awareness and ecological crisis.

The theme for the conference, entitled Rethinking Nature: Literary Studies in an Age of Ecological Crisis, was inspired by the number of natural catastrophes last year, like the forest fires in British Columbia and Fort McMurray, and the warning signs—like bee populations— that many of us are ignoring or don’t know how to deal with, explained Paulo Castilho, a third-year PhD student in the University of Ottawa’s department of English, who is also a conference organizer.

“How do we, as scholars, deal with this topic of our relationship as humans with the non-human world? It came from things that we can

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observe today, but it is a concern that spreads for more than just this particular age, and it is something that has been written about for a very long time,” Castilho said.

“Environmental concerns, the warnings we’ve seen, the catastrophes, that made us think: maybe this is the time to for us to take this conversation again and maybe change the perspective a little.”

The conference is wideranging, but all topics deal, in some way, with our relationship to the natural world.

There are panels on animal theory and animal rights, co-existing with nature, consumer society, geographical spaces in literature, environmental activism, and a creative writing panel on how the current age of ecological crisis affects creative writing.

“I think those conversations together will form a really good debate on this entire topic,” Castilho said. “The conference will have something for everyone who’s interested in anything related to this. It will be a quite a broad discus-

sion.”

There are 32 presentations, with only four being from students in the U of O’s English department. The rest are from various departments across the university, and from other schools as far afield as Germany. Areas of study include education, anthropology, and philosophy, in addition to literature.

Conference organizers Castilho, Patrick Williams, and Patricia Gonçalves had a call-for-papers that reached as far as India, though the wide variety of conference paper submissions didn’t surprise them, as a diverse conference was their goal.

They listed quite a few topics to include as many voices as possible.

“We know this was a very broad theme, and we wanted it to be that way. We wanted to have as many conversations from as many perspectives as possible,” Castilho said.

The conference will feature keynote speaker Dr. Hillary Cunningham Scharper, an anthropologist

The conference runs March 9–11.

and creative writer whose work has been labelled “ecogothic” in the way it combines elements of gothic literature with environ-

Photo: Christine Wang.

mentalism and a critical approach to the Anthropocene.

The conference runs March 9–11 in Hamelin Hall room 509 and is open to the public, with

no fee or registration needed.

Anyone interested in attending can email uottawa.conference@gmail.ca for more information.

ARTS & CULTURE | 9

Ready, set, whoa 4.0 Iain Sellers

Staff contributor While many Canadian readers may have tuned into the Winter Olympics, drunk hot chocolate, or taken advantage of the snow this time of year, students in Ireland are coping with a very different kind of “weather.”

Since all seasons are mild in Ireland, and the warm temperatures of spring are starting to set in, many students must decide “whether” they want to spend their time watching or playing a sport, be it Gaelic football or hurling.

Gaelic football is sort of like a soccer-basketball mix with small teams on a huge field, whereas hurling is akin to playing lacrosse with minimal padding and using a baseball bat instead of a netted stick.

While I have simplified Irish sporting culture a little bit to make a point, the two sports do make up a huge part of Irish life and culture.

Both a part of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the two Irish sports first gained popularity in the early 1900s. At that time, Irish nationalism was beginning to take serious strides to set itself apart from British culture, and the island had begun to forge a distinctly “Irish” identity.

Along with plenty of Irish theatre, literature, and music, these Gaelic sports were codified and gained huge popularity throughout the 32 counties of Ireland in the first two decades of the new century and have consequently become ingrained in modern Irish culture.

I had a run-in with this overpowering support for the culture in the first few days of September, and the second week of my exchange, when County Galway was set to play against County Waterford in the Men’s All-Ireland senior hurling championship.

At the time, I had thought

12 | ARTS & CULTURE

that it would probably just be a fun day where a few locals might wear Galway’s county colours (maroon and white) and sit at local pubs to watch the game. What I hadn’t realized was that the Irish take the GAA championships as seriously as many Canadians take the NHL playoffs. This was the Stanley Cup game of hurling. So, I was wrong about the atmosphere. I was very, very wrong.

Every pub in Galway was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Galwegians donning their county jerseys, cheering on the local lads, and waiting on bated breath to see who has going to win.

Since the game was between Irish counties, a few people claimed to have known the Galway players on the field, more knew of the area where they were from, and most of the rest would have shared their distinct accents and wanted them to win at all costs.

Ireland’s biggest sports are Gaelic football and hurling.

In the end, Galway did win and I’m sure that an aerial view of the city that day would have looked incredible—many of the grey paved streets would have seemed like they were painted maroon from the sky, since absolutely everyone seemed to

have been wearing a jersey to celebrate the win.

Even now, as I write this article on a sunny spring day in Ireland, I can see university students outside of my window wearing hurling jerseys and grabbing their sticks to go hit a ball around.

Illustration: Aline Wang.

I guess that, over the century since Irish independence, the country’s culture has remained pretty steadfast.

So, to get a real immersion, it might be time for me to trade in my hockey stick and cup of Timmies for a hurling bat and Guinness, eh?

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SPORTS

Daniel Birru SPORTS EDITOR sports@thefulcrum.ca @FulcrumSports

Gee-Gees swimming wrap-up at OUA, U-Sports championships Casarin, Champagne talk this year’s success, look to next year’s competition daniel birru sports editor

T

he University of Ottawa’s swimming team’s season is over, after completing one provincial and one national competition in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship at the University of Western Ontario and in the U-Sports championship at the University of Toronto in February.

Both competitions saw several medals awarded to the GeeGees, but no first-place finish for the team on the nation’s biggest stage.

On the second weekend of the month, the Gees travelled to London and swam to a third-

place finish in the Men’s competition, collecting 487 points, while the Women’s team ended fourth overall with 431 points.

They brought home a total of 14 medals at the tournament: four golds, six silvers, and four bronze. Moreover, Gee-Gee Davide Casarin won the OUA male swimmer award, along with his six medals from the championship. There is still work to do for Ottawa, however, to be able to beat the U of T Varsity Blues, as they celebrated a first-place victory in both Men’s and Women’s competition.

Two weeks later, the focus was on Toronto, host of this year’s U-Sports swimming championship. Ottawa ended 14th in Women’s swimming, while the Men settled with a 10th place finish. In Toronto, the Gee-Gees were able to take back one gold medal, three silvers, and three bronze in the three days of the competition.

Here, Casarin won a total of

The swim team had a strong performance at the national championship.

three medals, which was tied with his Gee-Gees teammate Montana Champagne. Overall, Ottawa won a total of 186 points in the Women’s team, while the Men earned 262. Ultimately, in this competition, it was the University of Brit-

ish Columbia who came out on top in both Men’s and Women’s play, as they collected over a thousand points in each, taking home a first-place finish for the second straight season.

Asked about their performance at the championships,

Photo: Parker Townes.

Casarin and Champagne said they “have been training for those events for months, particularly the national championship in Toronto.”

“It’s definitely an honour to be able to step on the podium for the Gee-Gees, given the

strengths other teams have. It’s good for us, good for the team, it will definitely bring some hype and energy to this team in future events,” Casarin said.

The pair, who swam together at several relay competitions for the Gee-Gees this season, said these games were a great opportunity for them to represent the Gee-Gees in Toronto and London and show what they are capable of, and they are already looking forward to performing again next season.

“The team we need to look out the most for moving forward are the (UBC) Thunderbirds, after they earned a lot of points and ended first overall.

They will definitely be on our radar for next year,” Champagne said.

The swimming season will resume next fall. The Gee-Gees don’t know who they will face in their first couple of competitions, or who will host next year’s U-Sports national championship.

Women’s Basketball team loses by one point, ending playoff run

With tough loss, all Gee-Gees teams have ended their post-seasons eric davidson editor-in-chief

After a close game, the University of Ottawa Women’s Basketball team lost 46-47 against the McMaster Marauders on Feb. 28, ending their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoff run at the semi finals.

It was a rough start for the Gee-Gees, with the team repeatedly turning the ball over in the opening minutes, and McMaster jumping out to a 7-0 lead early on.

It took some time, but the Gees started to settle things down. With just over two and a half minutes remaining in the first frame, Maia Timmons sunk a jump shot and got the Gees on the board, now trailing 7-2. The points started to trickle in for the Garnet and Grey, but they finished the first quarter down 9-5 to McMaster. There was

plenty of back and forth, and both teams combined for 13 turnovers in the quarter.

The U of O started the second quarter off strong, scoring seven unanswered points in the first two minutes to jump out to a 12-9 lead. McMaster would take a time out, but the strong play continued for the Gees, as they maintained their lead at 14-11 halfway through the second quarter.

Points by Brigitte LevebvreOkankwu and Jennifer Crowe kept the momentum going, and the team would finish strong, ending up with a 21-15 lead at the halfway point.

There was a lot on the line as the teams stepped on the court for the third quarter, and both ratched up the offence. McMaster would start things off, putting up points early to chip away at the Gee-Gees’ lead. They would draw within three, down 2320 just two minutes in.

Levebvre-Okankwu again responded for the Garnet and Grey, as the team fought to hold on to their lead, but the Marauders didn’t let up. A jump shot with 18 seconds to go in the frame would draw McMaster within two points of the U of O, who would emerge with a 35-33 lead, setting up a do-or-die scenario in the final quarter.

Despite much back and forth, neither team was able to strike quickly and get on the board. Finally, Gee-Gee Brooklynn Macalear-Fanus got the scoring started over two minutes into the quarter.

A jump shot by LevebvreOkankwu would push the Gees’ lead to 38-33.

But the Marauders kept up the pressure, adding points to push the score to 42-40 in favour of the GeeGees with under four minutes left in the game.

With less than two min-

The Women’s Basketball team has been eliminated from the playoffs.

utes left, a McMaster threepointer found the net, giving the Marauders the lead for the first time since the opening frame. After a Gee-Gees timeout, Macalear-Fanus scored to put the Garnet and

Grey ahead 44-43.

McMaster continued to push the pace, and the Garnet and Grey held a 46-45 lead with 40 seconds left in the game.

But the U of O couldn’t hold

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Photo: Brian Doherty.

on. After a foul called against the Gee-Gees with just eight seconds left on the clock, McMaster sunk two free throws to emerge with a 47-46 victory, eliminating the Gee-Gees from the OUA playoffs.

SPORTS | 13

THE BOXSCORE: SEASON END BASKETBALL(W) BASKETBALL(M) HOCKEY(W)

HOCKEY(M)

Wednes, FEB. 28, 2018

saturday FEB. 24, 2018

sunday, FEB. 25, 2018

sunday, feb. 25, 2018

Gee-Gees

Gee-Gees

Gee-Gees

Gee-Gees

46

at

47

McMASTER

vs

ryerson

End of Season

69 77

End of Season

AT

concordia

1 2

at

6

McGill

End of Season

3

End of Season

For detailed game coverage check out the Fulcrum’s website at www.thefulcrum.ca.

Early playoff exit ends basketball season for the Gee-Gees

Rams get the best out of Ottawa for second straight year daniel birru sports editor

A 77-69 defeat to the Ryerson Rams in the quarters on Feb. 24 put an end to the basketball season for the Gee-Gees, a team which at first glance looked promising. This came following the 34 points they amassed through the 23-game long season, and their second-place position in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) division, sitting just behind the undefeated Carleton Ravens.

In fact, back in October, Ottawa was trying to build off from a semi-final loss in last year’s OUA postseason, also to the Rams. The team had a great roster, featuring star players such as the 6-foot-8 forward Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles and 6-foot-5 guard Brandon Robinson. After a strong season on paper, they narrowly missed matching their previous year’s playoff run, coming up just short in the only postseason game they were able to play in.

After a good exhibition season against mostly Québec-

based teams, the Gee-Gees kicked off their regular season schedule by winning their first two games of the season, and three of their first four. After a loss in their fifth game to the cross-town arch-rivals, the Carleton Ravens, the Garnet and Grey went on to win their next eight games, some of them by very convincing scores: 111-55 against the Algoma Thunderbirds, 87-44 against the York Lions, and 94-59 versus the Lakehead Thunderwolves, notably.

The season followed by ups and downs, losing another game to the Ravens in the Capital Hoops Classic, and subsequently concluded the 2017-18 campaign with four Ws in the final four games for a total of 17 wins and six losses, putting the team in second place.

The Rams ended in third place in that same division, collecting the exact same record as the Gee-Gees, and both teams ultimately met up in the quarterfinals. Ryerson and Ottawa split their regularseason matchups with wins at home, as the Gees took the first meeting 81-73, while Ryerson

earned a 95-92 victory when they received the Gee-Gees.

The two teams had rather even and similar seasons, Ottawa having a slight advantage with a higher points differential than their opponents. In a hard fought, single-game elimination quarterfinal, the Rams turned out to have the edge for the second year in a row against the Gees as they came out victorious and advanced to the semi-finals, squaring off against the Brock Badgers. After winning that game as well, they faced the Ravens in the Wilson Cup final last Saturday.

The team’s leading scorer Brandon Robinson, who ended with 275 points, said the Gees were confident going into the season. “We had some new players on the team, new additions, and there was a lot of chemistry we had to do to get prepared for the season.”

“Unfortunately, we lost Sean (Stoqua), our starting point guard, and other players went down with injuries, we just had to step up and fill in for them, and I think as a team we did a pretty good job in doing

The Men’s Basketball team has been eliminated from the playoffs.

that during the season,” said Robinson. “For me, personally, I think I had a good season, probably could’ve done a bit more to prepare, but now I know what I need to do to train during the offseason.”

Robinson believes that the

Ravens remain the team to look out for moving forward.

Indeed, Carleton is coming off a perfect 23-0 season, and has won the past seven U-Sports championships since 2011, and a total of 13 times since 2003.

“They have one of the most

12 | SPORTS

Photo: Greg Mason.

mentally-tough team in the country,” said Robinson.

The season is over for the Gee-Gees, so they will now start to look forward to the offseason and make the best out of it to get ready for the 2018-19 year.

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Gees come back to force a close series against Stingers

Gees’ first win in playoff series since 2008-09 season Zack Goobie

Associate Sports Editor The University of Ottawa Women’s Hockey team went into another year in the Réseau du Sport étudiant du Québec (RSÉQ) with stiff competition. Université de Montreal and Concordia University were staples in the top 10 in the nation, finishing fourth and seventh respectively.

In a low-scoring league, Mélodie Bouchard led the Gees with 16 points in 18 games, which was good enough for seventh in the league. This was her third straight year leading the Gees in the points category. Despite their goaltender Maude Levesque-Ryan sporting a 2.10 goals against average and a .933 save percentage, she only managed a 10-9 record, a testament to the Garnet and Grey’s lack of offence.

The Gees’ offensive attack was their biggest weakness in the regular season, scoring only 44 goals in 20 games, which only put them ahead of the lonely Carleton Ravens, who won three games all year,

and putting up five in a game only once.

Despite their offensive struggles, the Gees stormed out to a 5-2-1 record with two wins facing Concordia. However, their struggles against Montreal were just beginning, as the Gees lost all five matchups throughout the year. This stopped Ottawa from gathering any serious momentum throughout the year, and they never won more than three games in a row.

A mediocre season did not mean the Gees had no chance against Concordia in the first round of their playoffs—far from it, actually. The Garnet and Grey finished with a 3-11 record against the Stingers, eventually losing their final matchup of the regular season to their future first round rivals 3-2 in an extra period.

Alyssa MacMillan talked about her team’s expectations going into the series. “We beat them in our series throughout the season, in our five games against them we came out of top. We were going in knowing that it was going to be a

tough fight.”

The tight last regular season game did not reflect the GeeGees’ first game of the playoffs, as it started and ended poorly for the U of O. The Stingers connected with the back of the net 11 seconds into the game as they were awarded a penalty shot. Offensive struggles hurt the Gees in the regular season, but never to this extent, they were outshot by an incredible 40-14, and the Stingers chased Levesque-Ryan from the net.

Following the big loss, the Gee-Gees came out completely rejuvenated and showed why they won the season series.

Levesque-Ryan came back with a great performance, stopping all 28 shots and Meagan McGaughey and Melina Roy provided all the offence necessary. The shots were slightly in favour of the Stingers, as they held the advantage 28-27.

“Our 5-0 loss was a pretty big hit to take, but we were missing a couple girls,” said MacMillan. “We knew it was do or die for that second game, and we came out hard.”

The Women’s Hockey team struggled offensively but had a good season.

The final game of the threegame series went down to the wire, and resembled a more usual matchup that happened throughout the season. The first period both teams went back and forth, the shots were even at seven, but the Gees missed three powerplay opportunities, and went

0-6 on the man advantage in the game. The second period was ultimately the Gee-Gees’ downfall, giving up both of the Stingers’ goals with one coming on the power-play.

The only goal recorded for the Gees was in the start of the third period by McCaughey.

Ultimately, the lack of an of-

Photo: Parker Townes.

fensive attack resulted in the end of the Gee-Gees’ season.

They were only able to record 19 shots on goal despite having six power-play opportunities.

With a very young team, the Gees will need to address a prevalent lack of offence if they wish to win a playoff series down the road.

A step in the right direction with Gees’ first series win since re-establishment

Nationally fourth ranked McGill too much for the Gees down the stretch Zack Goobie

Associate sports editor After finishing with a remarkable 15-8-5 record in their first season back from a two year hiatus, the GeeGees Men’s Hockey team had much bigger expectations this year as their young freshmen now had a year under their belt. However, a much tougher schedule in 2017-18 as they were set to play more games against McGill, Concordia, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and Carleton, would lead to a slightly better record at 16-8-4.

“The fact that we did a little better than last year in a tougher division, with tougher matchups, is something that we are really proud of,” said assistant coach Christian Gaudet on the Gees’ regular season.

Despite only losing one graduating player, the Gees did well to improve their team, adding their captain Eric Locke, who was the most productive Gee-Gee in points per game, with 22 points in 19 games.

The Men’s Hockey team had a strong season.

Gaudet, a former captain at the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) level and the U Sports level, touched on what he saw from Locke. “He did a good job by leading by example, doing the right things in practice and the game.”

With new weapons added

to the arsenal, head coach Patrick Grandmaître looked to start his second season at the helm with a win against cross-town rivals, the Carleton Ravens, but they eventually fell 6-5 in overtime in what was an exciting game, to say the very least. The Gees would have to wait to

Photo: Parker Townes.

get their redemption against the Ravens, but they would indeed succeed.

One of the Gee-Gees’ two four-game losing streaks happened before Christmas, and in a short season of 28 games, you can’t have too many of those. At the break the GeeGees held a 8-5-2 record. De-

spite this, they had big wins against McGill at home and Carleton on the road at the Colonel By Classic.

The best string of the Garnet and Grey’s season happened at the tail end, with five straight winning games, two of which were against perennial members of the U Sports top 10 rankings, Queen’s and Concordia.

With five straight wins for the Gees down the stretch, they showed promise for a potential long playoff run.

“I think it’s just really good for the program, just because they’re a well-respected team in the community and in the league,” said Gaudet on the first round series win.

“Playing them and beating them in the first-round, I think, will really help our program.”

Despite bringing in an incredible amount of momentum into the first round against the Ravens, the Gees couldn’t neglect their poor 1-2-1 record. The first game went down to the wire, with the Gees ultimately losing 3-2 in an extra period. But they responded incredibly,

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with 30 saves by Anthony Brodeur and two goals and an assist for their leading point-getter in the regular season, Cody Drover.

The same faces stepped up for the University of Ottawa in their 4-2 series clinching win, Drover with two goals and an assist, and Brodeur with 38 saves. Brodeur’s stellar play throughout the series was a huge factor as he outplayed his counterpart from the Ravens.

After a huge series win, the Gees prepared to face the nationally fourth ranked McGill Redmen. The Garnet and Grey came away with a thrilling 3-2 win on the road to open the season; even after starter Brodeur came down with an injury, backup Graham Hunt came in with a stellar game to showcase their depth. Unfortunately, the following game did not go as planned for the Gees as they lost by a combined score of 10-4.

The Gees took another step in the right direction, and losing to a well-established McGill program is not something to be ashamed of.

SPORTS | 13

OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR David Campion-Smith

opinions@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @davidcs96

Point/Counterpoint: Is university worth it?

UNIVERSITY IS NOT WORTH IT

POINT

COUNTERPOINT

Our education system is broken, outdated, ineffective, inefficient, and expensive. It was developed during the early 20th century, when industry boomed, and people flocked to factories for work. The system was designed to transform curious children into efficient factory line workers. Education prioritized learning how to do repetitive tasks, memorize information, and work in solitude—all the things that put employees in danger of becoming obsolete in the Information Age. Humans are social beings and our world revolves around communication.

These nuanced and necessary skills of communication are sought-after in all industries. Yet, there are few mandatory courses on effective communication, persuasion, or presenting. Therefore, when many students arrive at university, they are unable to articulate their ideas, properly formulate a question in class, or succeed in a job interview. This effect is seen in almost every group project in all disciplines. Based on personal experience, groups are often poor at allocating tasks, mediating problems that arise during the process, staying on schedule, and producing a high-level submission. The world is one big collaborative experience, but university isolates us from each other so much so that when a group project does come up, we are virtually ineffective at succeeding.

The majority of university education consists of rote memorization; from history to the sciences, exams are a regurgitation of memorized formulas, facts, and systems. This exercise is detrimental to conceptual thinking. Students tend to cram for exams and then immediately erase the information from their minds, so they can clear space for new facts for the next exam. The issue here is that memorization is not equivalent to actually understanding the material. The world does not throw textbook problems at you. Problems are variations with unforeseen angles. Memorization does not teach students how to adapt what they learn in the classroom to real life.

Passive learning continues to be problematic. It’s currently halfway through second semester and my lectures are half empty. Those who bother to show up at all are scrolling through Facebook on their laptops. And who can blame them?

We are talked at for an hour and a half with little to engage or challenge us.

Many students, myself included, look for outside sources when studying, as they prove more engaging and allow us to learn at our own pace. In most cases, professors have no formal training because they are researchers with their own separate work. The business of educating teachers does such a poor job that students are left to pick up the slack and learn for ourselves.

After struggling through four years, or more, we are left predominantly underemployed or unemployed. We have all seen the headlines and heard the statistics. University graduates are out of work. And it’s not just arts students; engineers struggle to find jobs in their field as well. It is estimated that one in three university graduates aged 25-29 are employed in a low-skilled job. The new wave of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will only increase that number.

The popular belief is that artificial intelligence will come for low paying, lowskilled jobs first. This is a misconception. Jobs such as construction and cleaning require great dexterity and movement, far more than a desk job. Many of us may have seen the video of the Boston Dynamic robot jumping on boxes. Imagine it bending down or climbing a ladder to fix plumping, grabbing tools from its belt to do electrical work. In most cases, a robot is too slow and bulky to outpace humans. However the same cannot be said for higher paying jobs, which university provides us with the tools for. Algorithms can play the stock market, fill out legal paperwork, build and analyse databases, and monitor information systems. So, while many of us forgo college in the belief that it’s a less prestigious path, it is in fact far more future proof then the ivy-lined walls of universities. Especially when electricians, plumbers, and sustainability technicians are mak- ing far more out of college than we will.

We tend to wonder, “is university worth it?” That’s the wrong question to ask.

Let’s rephrase it. Is it worth it to spend four years sitting in lecture halls for a class you will not remember just to start your life $25,000 in debt, without the right tools to succeed in a fast-paced, ever-changing, unpredictable world, with advanced AI on the horizon? I would have to go with no.

UNIVERSITY IS WORTH IT In contemporary Canada, university degrees are almost unbelievably common. But in recent years the costs of acquiring a degree have skyrocketed. This has called the validity of a university education into question for many people. Most people now see university as offering meager job opportunities in return for impressive student loan debt and a fancy piece of paper to frame. In spite of this, however, university is worth defending and still deserves our admiration.

When it comes to a career, if you’re going to be doing something for the rest of your life it’s important that you enjoy it. Disliking your job has severe health consequences, and is a leading factor contributing to depression. A sense of meaning is crucial to making life worth living. Though meaning can be derived from family or friends or passions, it is undeniable that whatever you spend 40 plus hours a week doing is going to have a significant impact on your psychological health and overall wellbeing. If obtaining an expensive university degree in order to acquire a low-paying job is considered a cost, then neglecting university in favor of a more fruitful but less desirable occupation should be regarded in the same light. After all, satisfaction in life is something we all seek, and it reveals itself to everybody in unique, yet archetypal ways.

All of this is not to say that you shouldn’t consider the return on your investment. I’m acutely aware that everything I’ve said seems incredibly detached from reality if you’re working a minimum wage job trying to pay off student loan debts for an education that offered little to no occupational availability. What I am trying to say is that that return on investment should be broadened beyond mere cash value. If a degree offers intellectual fulfillment and a sense of meaning that transcends material value, then that deserves to be part of the conversation as well.

Moreover, as with anything, university is ultimately what you make of it. If you get involved in the school or in the community and cultivate friendships with a wide array of people and are able to open your mind based on new and diverse experiences then these factors indeed contribute to the value of attending university.

Lastly, when people are skeptical of the utility of a university degree, their skepticism can generally be narrowed down to a select pathway. After all, no one is denying the monetary utility of an engineering, nursing, or economics degree. These pathways, though expensive, generally offer fruitful and well-paying job opportunities at a certain point after graduation. Upon examination, most distrust of the university pathway is leveled upon the arts, which is just a single pathway amongst a plurality offered by the school. The arts get a bad rep because of their relatively low contact hours and job opportunities. But there is great sociological utility in understanding politics and power relationships, or history and hegemony. The ancient Greek word idiot meant someone who was politically uninvolved; being politically ignorant was the most contemptuous form of ignorance. Though our society has broadened the use of idiot, there is still a significant sociological problem if a large percentage of the population has an insufficient understanding of how their society runs, or who runs it. Even if this short defence of the arts is unconvincing, anyone who argues that the university as a whole isn’t worth the investment is bearing the heavy burden of also arguing the disutility of the STEM fields and so on..

— Marissa Phul, Staff Contributor.

14 | OPINIONS

—Connor Chase, Staff Contributor.

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English and French need to be equally easy to find

Bilingualism means making information as accessible as possible David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

Let’s talk about bilingualism, everyone’s favourite topic. If you haven’t been able to tell by this point in your degree, the University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution and it’s is proud of that fact. Bilingualism is a good thing, and it’s crucial to living in a city and a country that use both official languages so frequently. But recognizing how that bilingualism takes shape and is implemented in daily life is important, and something we need to evaluate here at the U of O. A bilingual campus has a responsibility to serve both French and English speakers in the most effective way possible, and give speakers the freedom to use the language of their choice at any given time.

Rather than switching

One example of the university’s bilingual nature.

languages mid sentence, or using one language to explain important aspects of meetings, there needs to be a middle ground so that everyone who speaks English and French can understand the range of is-

sues at the U of O. Having vital information available to speakers of both languages is important to ensuring constructive debate on campus, on topics ranging from tuition costs to courses.

Photo: Parker Townes.

There are several organizations on campus that need to improve their bilingualism policies to be more accessible to all students. For instance, meeting notes of the Student Federation of the Univer-

sity of Ottawa (SFUO) are easier to navigate to in English, though they are available in French, leaving Francophones having to do more to find information on important issues within our student governance. This balance needs to exist, not just within the SFUO but at the university administrative level as well.

At present, minutes from the U of O’s Board of Governors meetings are available in both languages, but with a caveat, as motions are “reported in the language in which they were made.” This means that if a motion is made in French, it is written in French, and the same thing for English.

This method of reporting isn’t accessible to unilingual individuals, and with a university with so many bilingual speakers, there should be someone who is responsible for trans-

lating all presented motions into both languages for the purposes of record keeping. By having these documents only available in one language the university is limiting the number of people that can take part in crucial administrative discussions on campus.

Asking for these documents, and for meetings, to be accessible in both languages is not a critique of bilingualism. This is a call to make bilingualism more productive and more effective across the board. Having two official languages, and using them daily, is a skill, a resource that I believe makes our country and institutions stronger by being more open and accessible to all. However, this system only works if we put in the time and effort to consistently and effectively use both languages.

The strange public discussion around Patrick Brown’s resignation

We need to get rid of common errors, lose the oversensationalization Eric Davidson Editor-in-Chief

Patrick Brown has, once again, dropped out of contention for leadership of the Ontario Conservative party.

Brown initially stepped down as party leader after allegations of sexual assault were leveled against him by two women in January, including one of his former staffers.

After deciding to run in the leadership race to replace himself, Brown ultimately left the race on Feb. 26.

This isn’t just a story about why it’s important that Brown stay out of the race this time, but about some of the strange and problematic things that came out of his decision to run.

The resulting conversation shows that we as a society need do better

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in how people in a public forum discuss cases surrounding sexual assault.

We might as well start with the long, angry Facebook post. In mid-February, Brown lashed out at CTV News, who broke the story of his alleged sexual assault, after they amended their story to say that some elements of an accuser’s story had changed.

However, there is one nuanced, but extremely relevant piece of information that often doesn’t make it into these public discussions. We have to keep in mind that when it comes to specific details around an accuser’s story, like who drove them on a specific night, the brain may not remember the way we expect.

According to public educator Julie Lalonde,

the brain may not retain such details as expected after a traumatic event, but to assume that this means the whole story is a fabrication is wrong.

The way people define “disproving” allegations of sexual assault definitely needs to change, to reflect how the brain is really working in these situations.

And this is only one facet of the public discussion of Brown’s recent political departures. Despite the serious nature of the allegations against Brown, some commentators have attempted to spin the situation into some kind of positive message.

For example, a story published on the MacLean’s website on Feb. 28 is titled “There’s value in Patrick Brown’s

delusional yet incredible self-confidence.” It goes on to assert that “there’s something inspiring about his oversized sense of self.”

Further, in a story published on CTV’s website, Kevin O’Leary said he was glad that Brown ran in the leadership race, and said he was “generating interest” in the political race.

Yes, the strange saga of Patrick Brown’s leadership hopes seems to be over. However, the resulting public discussion showed some flaws in how we approach public figures and their accusers. It’s a topic that, unfortunately, isn’t going away anytime soon, so removing common issues in public discussion, like misunderstandings about the neurological effects of trauma on memory, is a must.

Patrick Brown, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Photo: CC, Paprerfire.

OPINIONS | 15

University taking measures to increase length of students’ commutes

Removing walking paths on campus is first step to improving student health Veronique Therrien tomato contributor

The University of Ottawa has been making strides in recent years to become more environmentally conscious, with everything from plastic water bottle bans to debates on divestment from fossil fuels. However, new research finds that while the university has been reducing its carbon footprint, the students’ own footprints have been decreasing in recent years. Students have been found spending the majority of their time on campus sitting, whether in the library, study rooms, or the dining hall, with their nose buried in textbooks. This has led to the U of O administration looking to take new measures to get the student body active and moving again, especially as the warmer weather rolls around.

A recent meeting of the uni-

versity’s Board of Governors has brought about the solution—designing ways to increase the walking distance between buildings on campus. According to U of O president Jacques Frémont, “forcing the students to spend more time walking to class will increase the amount of exercise they do as well.”

After noticing how much the new roundabout behind the Faculty of Social Science building is helping the students on their path to fitness, the university has decided to expand on the concept. The university has now prevented the students from taking “shortcuts” through buildings, by getting rid of many entrances to buildings, and removing indoor passageways connecting buildings. New construction plans propose only one door to get into every building, now located at the opposite end of the

building as the original door.

Some students have found the proposed construction plans a refreshing and welcome change, noting that they will allow for more time spent moving, and less time sitting. “Even though it is incredibly hard to fit thousands of students into one door, I really do feel myself getting more fit with the added distance!” said Nodor Heer, a second-year English student.

With the positive reaction from students to this new decision, the university has announced several more design changes to come in the future.

A spokesperson for campus facilities noted a decision to close off all of the walking pathways in between buildings on campus, which would result in students only being able to walk on the streets. Campus facilities also plans to remove the crossing lights in the mid-

Just one phase of the university’s plans to promote more walking.

dle of Laurier Ave. in front of Tabaret Hall to force the students to walk to Cumberland St. The university hopes that by implementing these new

changes, students will get their recommended amount of daily exercise to improve their quality of health.

Frémont wrote in an email

Photo: CC, pxhere.

that the U of O hopes to continue to develop new strategies to make campus more conducive to students’ health, and so they are seeking input from students.

Students find creative new ways to survive flu season

Solutions include flamethrowers, giant bubbles, hand sanitizer baths

David Campion-Smith Tomato editor

Students at the University of Ottawa can finally breathe easy as flu season draws to a close, and sat down to share some of the creative solutions they’ve been using to stay healthy and survive the season.

Third-year biology student Allegra Claritin says that spent her flu season living in a giant plastic bubble. “I know it seems excessive but I really cannot afford to get sick right now. I have three essays due next week and if spending four months encased in plastic is what it takes to stay healthy then I’ll do it.”

While Claritin’s approach may seem excessive to some—after all, where does someone even get a giant plastic

16 | THE TOMATO

bubble—other students have taken even more extreme measures to avoid spending the winter months in bed all day with chicken soup or at the hospital.

“I spent my winter bathing twice a day in gallons of hand sanitizer to keep myself healthy and germ-free,” declared second-year accounting student Ryan Gervais.

Gervais admits that had to cancel the practice after Costco stopped selling sanitizer in industrial size containers.

“Throwing entire shelves of Purell into a grocery cart became a little too expensive, and the smell of alcohol coming off me was making other shoppers uncomfortable,” he admitted.

Beyond bathing in alcohol and living in a plas-

tic bubble, other students noted fighting the flu with fire. “I burned all my clothing all winter long, just to avoid the possibility of bringing any bacteria into my home,” said fourth-year economics student Andrew Shepard. “The gas for my flamethrower was expensive, but it did help cut down on my heating bill!”

These measures might sound excessive, but they are certainly more impressive than just getting a flu shot. “I could think ahead but I’d much rather spend a few months in a bubble, I guess I’m quirky like that,” said Claritin.

So however you decide to stay healthy next flu season, don’t forget that there are other plenty of fun and outlandish options beyond your ordinary flu shot.

A giant bubble is just one student’s method of avoiding illness.

Photo: CC, Alex Proimos.

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DISTRACTIONS

DEAR DI

Dishing with Di: The old pornographers

The Victorian era was known as a particularly prudish time in Western history. Despite the strait-laced code of conduct, many individuals broke the rules under the radar. Pretty much as soon as photography was developed in the late 19th century, pornography also quickly flourished. According to Dr Kate Lister of Whores of Yore fame, “there’s a real sense in the Victorian-era images of experimentation.” Basically if you can think of it, there’s a 19th century image of it.

FEATURES EDITOR Savannah Awde

features@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @s_awde7

Dear Di, I’ve been dating this guy for the past few months, and everything is perfect except for one thing. Every time he swings Thor’s hammer it’s pretty painful for me. We’re pretty careful, but it still hurts. Help! Is my vagina broken?

—Penetration Hesitation Dear PH, Luckily, your vagina doesn’t have any bones, so it can’t be broken, however it does require some maintenance! First off, there are a few things you can do to make sex a lot more pleasurable. For starters, take your time getting things warmed up. Use a lot of lube in and around your genitals, and make sure you’re very aroused before he penetrates you.

Another potential issue is allergies. If you’re using condoms you may be allergic to latex. But fear not, there are a lot of great non-latex brands that’ll make things much more fun for you.

If you’re also someone who indulges in a lot of landscaping, external pain during sex could be the after effects of waxing or shaving the area around your vulva. An easy fix is going natural for a few weeks, and letting any rashes or irritation heal up.

If everything is warmed up and it’s still hurting, you could be dealing with an infection. Anything from yeast infections to gonorrhea can cause painful sex, so if you suspect something’s up you should definitely talk to your doctor. If it ends up being a sexually transmitted infection, be sure to talk to your partner as they may also be a carrier.

Pain during sex can also be a result of endometriosis or vaginismus. The former is a condition where your uterine lining grows outside of your uterus making for hella painful periods and/or sex.

On the other hand, vaginismus is a condition where an individual experiences unconscious spasms and clenching of the muscles in and around the vagina. This condition makes inserting tampons or menstrual cups painful as well. There’s a variety of ways to treat vaginismus so it’s important to talk your doctor to find what’s right for you.

Having a sex-negative upbringing or being a survivor of any type of sexual trauma are among the most common causes of vaginismus..

The bright side is that all of these conditions are treatable. Again, if you’re worried, don’t hesitate to talk to a healthcare professional.

Love, Di

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DISTRACTIONS | 17

MARCH 4-11, 2018

THRYLLABUS

MUSIC EATS SPORTS & WELLNESS FUN THINKING ARTS

18 | DISTRACTIONS |

Monday March 5 Muggy Mondays, free coffee for whoever brings a reusable mug, Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) building 2nd floor landing—8:30 a.m.

Self-care Mondays, Women’s Resource Centre—11 a.m.

People’s Republic of Delicious, Deja Vu kitchen (between Thompson and Morisset)—9 a.m.

Sciences Career Fair, Biosciences building—10 a.m.

Scholar at Risk Hosted at uOttawa, Fauteux Hall, room 570—11:30 a.m.

Pet therapy, 90 University residence, room 152—11 a.m.

Saturday March 10 Thursday March 8 Quantum: The The Job Interview, Exhibition, a workshop to Canada Science prepare international and Technology Tuesday March 6 students to make Museum—9 a.m. the transition to the The Mining Mess Eastern European Canadian labour in Mindanao, Bloc Party Winter market, Fauteux free screening, 2018, University Hall, room 135—2:30 Lamoureux Hall, Centre, 1848—9 p.m. room 219—7 p.m. p.m.

Long Night Against Black Femmes group up, a space for women Procrastination, Sunday March 11 study pointers with of colour to meet, free pizza dinner Learn the basics of Women’s Resource and pet therapy, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Centre—1 p.m.

Academic Writing Montpetit Hall—9 Help Centre—8 p.m. a.m.

Wednesday March 7 Cheap Sundays at Free home-cooked, the 27 Club, the 27 Friday March 9 healthy, and vegan Club—11 p.m.

Meet Rahim Surkhi, meal, hosted by the

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EDITORIAL Volume 78, Issue 21, Mar. 5, 2018 Parkouring since 1942.

Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this paper or we’ll exclude you from our parkour.

Eric “Table Tennis” Davidson Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Climbing” McRae-Sadik Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Graham “Beer Pong” Robertson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Anchal “Archery” Sharma News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Ryan “Racquetball” Pepper Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Savannah “Urban Gymnastics” Awde Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Daniel “Curling” Birru Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca David “Grappling” Campion-Smith Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Christine “Axe Throwing” Wang Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Ellie “Biathlon” Sabourin Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca Nadia “Golf” Drissi El-Bouzaidi Associate Features Editor

CANADA’S HEALTH SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED

Over the past year, Canadians have doubtless seen headlines about how dysfunctional the American healthcare system is, or how bad it could become. You may have heard of the family who paid over $600 for a BandAid at a hospital, or the wildly fluctuating prices of MRIs, which often end up costing patients much more than they would in other countries.

What we don’t hear about as often, however, are the failings of our own system.

In many cases, Canada’s healthcare system is held up as great, or at least greater than most of the alternatives, especially in comparison with that of our neighbours down south. But the fact is, there are some very specific problems that we need to address to ensure our healthcare really is as effective and “universal” as we want it to be.

One thing Canadians like to say about our healthcare is that, as just mentioned, it’s universal. You don’t hear stories about people who can’t get the medical

attention they require. But is this really the case?

As some papers in a recent Lancet series point out, the Canadian healthcare system can at times be a jumble of jurisdictions and practices leading to confusion, inefficiency, and inequality in levels of care.

This point on inefficiency has also been raised many times in Canada in response to the long wait times that Canadians experience while trying to receive care, and these wait times show no signs of slowing down.

Whatever the solution may be, we can’t accept the way things are going now—more efficiency in terms of how healthcare is allocated and consumed needs to be part of the public discussion.

Another piece in the Lancet series talks about “profound health inequities” experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as other marginalized and minority groups. The paper explains that we need to pay more attention to the social determinants of health in Canada to be-

gin to correct these problems.

A third piece talks broadly about issues in Canadian healthcare on both a national and international stage, citing issues such as “limited funding, and the unaddressed legacy of Canada’s colonisation of Indigenous peoples.” More than just organization, Canada needs to develop its social policies, along with supply money to support those policies.

There’s also the issue of prescription drugs. While many developed nations in the world have universal healthcare systems, Canada is the only one that doesn’t cover essential medications.

As such, the Parliamentary Budget Office found that, as you might expect, cost is a limiting factor for many Canadians who need necessary prescription drugs. It found that between seven and 17 per cent of Canadians don’t adhere to prescriptions because of the cost. Obviously, this affects low-income Canadians the most, only adding to issues of inequality in healthcare.

While Ontario is now covering prescription drugs for people up to age 25, and Quebec has its own public prescription drug insurance, we don’t have a comprehensive national strategy.

If so many other developed countries with universal health care systems have managed to cover prescription drugs comprehensively, why can’t Canada?

Public opinion both within Canada and outside the country may be that we have a strong healthcare system, which is a good thing. However, comparing our system to that of the United States, for example, isn’t enough.

We need to be honest about and address the problems and inequalities that exist in our system right now, like how social status affects health, and the effects of high prescription drug costs, and work harder to fix them. While our system may not face the same issues as the American one, it should still be a continued part of the national discussion as we move forward to find solutions.

Zack “Handball” Goobie Associate Sports Editor associate.sports@thefulcrum.ca Parker “Baton Twirling” Townes Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Videographer videographer@thefulcrum.ca Chafik “Sailing” Kassis Head Web Architect webmaster@thefulcrum.ca Dorian “Stacking” Ghosn General Macnager manager@thefulcrum.ca Kaylum “Running” Bobal Advertising Representative ads@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Connor “Canoeing” Chase ​Jean-Luc “Rowing” Duchamp Marissa “Kayaking” Phul Veronique “Diving” Therrien Iain “Lacrosse” Sellers

Board of Directors

Raghad “Soccer” Sheikh-Khalil Katelyn “Football” Murray Jonathan “Basketball” Rausseo Fadi “Fencing” Azzi Spencer “Cricket” Murdock Marguerite “Winter Pentathlon” Gollish

Cover Credits: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik. Edits: Christine Wang.

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Photo: CC, qimono.

EDITORIAL | 19