The Fulcrum - Volume 78, Issue 24

VOL. 78 ISSUE 24

Mar. 26, 2018

LIFE AFTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS P.14

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR BDS MOTION AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Dear Editor,

Tuesday I had the privilege of attending the SFUO General Assembly.

Like many people sitting in the room and standing outside, I was frustrated and hurt throughout the night. Sitting in the room I felt the tension as feet were tapped and glances exchanged.

The thought of “who’s side are you on?” seemed to flutter into everyone’s mind.

The motion in question was whether we (the University of Ottawa) should implement the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Israel (BDS) movement on our campus.

As we sat, we listened to each side speak their truth and feelings about the impending motion.One person spoke in favour of BDS, as they recounted their family history of being refugees andfleeing with little on their backs from Palestine. As another person spoke against BDS, theymentioned their recent experiences with antisemitism on campus and throughout Ottawa.

While my peers spoke on opposing sides of the debate, I couldn’t help but recognize thecommonalities that both of these peers experienced. I am Jewish.

My family, along with manyof my Jewish peers, have experienced the feeling of being refugees. Collectively, us Jews, wecan understand that experience. On the other side, my Jewish peer spoke of feeling discriminated against at the university and throughout the city. Unfortunately, this is not aunique experience to the Jewish community. Too many people know the feeling of being discriminated against across both sides of the aisle; just as too many people know the feeling of being displaced.

We share these common experiences and I do believe we have common goals for peace. It is from this understanding of one another and our commonalities that I struggle to reconcile with the BDS movement within an academic context.

The BDS movement fails to bring each side of the debate together in productive discourse. In fact, it greatly hinders this process. BDS calls for the boycott of all academic institutions. This translates to students not being able to study abroad in Israel, and Israeli students not being able to come to the university. Furthermore, academics and researchers could not apply for grants that bring or send people to Israel. It does not matter whether these researchers are pro-Palestine or pro-Israel or neutral. It is a blanket ban that refuses to bring researchers and students together to exchange ideas across these boundaries.

This additional barrier inhibits the ability to engage in productive discussion to truly find peaceful solutions for Israel and Palestine. Encouraging discussion can enable people to reconcile with each side of the debate and learn from one another. Speaking respectfully and starting from a place of understanding can promote peace and lead to productive movements towards solutions.

By not allowing academic exchanges of knowledge and research it greatly limits our ability to fully understand the complex issues happening between Israel and Palestine. This issue is not black and white. This issue is grey. This is complex.

It is doing an injustice to Israelis and Palestinians to pretend that BDS has a “right” versus a “wrong” side.

There is no “right” versus “wrong”.

There are policies that occur that must be discussed and debated. These policies are important to people here in Canada, but also to the lived experiences of Palestinians and Israelis. However, we must have the opportunities within an academic institution to fully discuss and explore these implications of policy.

This is why BDS won’t work. It will not work because it refuses to acknowledge the grey and to encourage productive and fruitful debate of policy. It further polarizes Palestinians and Israelis and their supporters. More importantly, academic institutions are the place to discuss policy and have debates. It is at university where we should learn to be uncomfortable and learn about issues that shake us and reform the ways in which we think in the future. That is what university is supposed to teach us; how to learn and think, and how to listen to beliefs with which we don’t always agree.

Choosing not to invest in Soda Streams or Sabra Hummus is a personal decision that is respectable and a way to express one’s stance. Unfortunately, shutting down shared research and debate is not productive, nor does it respect our communities.

Instead of encouraging BDS and letting the SFUO take a side on a complicated and extremely personal matter to many people, I encourage us to discuss our differences from a place of understanding.

A place where we can agree on basic fundamental experiences that we share—the feelings of being displaced or the feelings of being discriminated against. From acknowledging each other, we can engage in productive and respectful conversations that discuss policies and ways to move forward that respects both each another’s cultures and political stances.

—Gabrielle Richards

RE: SPORTS SERVICES ON MENTAL HEALTH

Dear Editor,

I wish to respond to two articles published this week in the Fulcrum, bringing into question the support provided by uOttawa’s Sports Services and its coaching staff to students facing mental health challenges. For privacy reasons, I will not comment on the allegations outlined in the Fulcrum articles. But make no mistake: the university cares deeply about the mental health of all its students.

First, there are many resources available on campus and uOttawa does its best to ensure that each student’s needs are addressed and that they are accompanied throughout the process.

Our system is not perfect but we strive to provide students access to the services they require, either through SASS or other resources.

Second, making sure that our student-athletes are fit to play and perform, both mentally and

physically, remains our utmost priority at Sports Services. Our coaching staff and employees all understand the pressure of competitive sport and that’s why they go the extra mile to support our Gee-Gees. Our high-performance philosophy is athlete-centered and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes are at the heart of every action we take. We have rigorous return to play protocols and every situation is assessed in the best interest of our players.

Lastly, I want to reiterate to all our studentathletes that coaches, teammates and all the staff at Sports Services care very much that they receive all the help they need. I will encourage all our student-athletes to share their concerns and challenges and that our coaches and members of Sports Services will do whatever is in our power to ensure you are supported and heard. That’s what friends and members of our big Gee-Gee family do for each other.

—Sue Hylland, Director, Sports Services

In this week’s issue...

The LRT and sustainable transport P.6 How freight over rail could work in Ottawa This art isn’t for the birds P.8 Empty Aviary exhibit looks at birds in many mediums Gee-Gee signs with Montreal Alouettes P.13 Ty Cranston is excited to start with his new team Canada needs to ban all ivory imports P.15 Current system still leaves much to be desired Put a ring on it? P.17 Di’s guide to clit piercings

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR Anchal Sharma

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

U of O student launches sustainability campaign on World Water Day H2Ottawa brings reusable water bottles to campus vending machines Anchal Sharma News Editor

T

his week, skip the can of Coke and buy an aluminum water bottle from the vending machine instead. For the same price you would pay for any other bottled drink, Celeste Digiovanni is bringing reusable water bottles to campus vending machines as a part of her thesis project.

A Toronto native, Digiovanni came to the University of Ottawa to complete her masters in sociology, and found it odd that nowhere on campus sold water.

After interviewing the U of O Office of Campus Sustainability for a project, she learned

that the sale of water was banned on campus in 2010, as the school’s sustainability measures take the stance that water is a human right and should not be sold.

This led her to team up with the sustainability office to launch H2Ottawa, a campaign seeking to educate and inform students about access to water in a practical way.

“The reason we got rid of bottled water in the first place is the university spends a lot of money to make sure our water fountains are in working order, the City of Ottawa spends a lot of money to make sure our water is potable, so ... we didn’t want to sell that resource back to students,” she said. “(H2Ottawa) just keeps those principles in mind but it gives students an access point.”

The bottles themselves are both 100 per cent recyclable and reusable but are only meant for water. Digiovanni

explained that the campaign launched on World Water Day to help promote conversation around some of the issues related to water.

“There’s microplastics being found in the bottles, they’re not the best for your health, they’re not the best for your pocket, so why don’t we do something like this to raise all of those issues and get people talking.”

Digiovanni says she got a lot of help from the university for the self-funded project, with support from various faculties, and funding from the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as branding for the bottles by the university’s marketing team, and having them printed at the Makerspace.

Gabriella Carrier, a fourthyear environmental economics and public policy student at the U of O also helped with the launch representing the Office of Campus Sustainability.

“Being environmentally

Gabriella Carrier and Celeste Digiovanni held the launch on World Water Day.

friendly or sustainability in general is sometimes seen as the less convenient option,” she said. “When people don’t see a water bottle in the vending machine, but they want water, they’ll maybe cave and get a pop just because they want the bottle. I think this is a great resource for people who actually

just want water.”

She encourages students to “try and be conscious of the packaging we use, from our food items, to the things we buy,” explaining, “if you can make an option that’s compostable or reusable, make a little extra effort because it pays off.”

Photo: Parker Townes.

The bottles are being sold in vending machines starting March 26 for three dollars, and are currently branded to represent the Faculties of Education, Law, Social Science, Engineering, and Telfer, as well as the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, and the Office of Campus Sustainability.

University of Ottawa Heart Institute opens new facilities

New attachments include emergency room, link to Ottawa Civic Hospital Ellie Sabourin

Associate news editor The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has just opened its “most significant expansion in 40 years,” according to CEO and President Dr. Thierry Mesana, with doctors set to treat patients in the new section as soon as April 3.

The newly-added critical care tower spans a total of 145,000 square feet and features a link with the Ottawa Civic Hospital.

“The emergencies are right there. The people that need heart surgeries or are having heart attacks can come through right here now,” said Mesana on the new link.

The Heart Institute hopes to save time for patients by having an accessible link to the emergency room at the hospital, as well as a drop off bay for ambulances in

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front of the new critical care tower.

Mesana expressed that the staff of the Heart Institute are excited to work in the new facilities. “When they first saw it, they were like kids in front of Christmas trees.”

The new facilities feature four new electrophysiology laboratories, which will serve approximately one patient each per day, and four new catheterization laboratories, which can service between 10 and 12 patients each per day.

Mesana said that electrophysiology labs were a top priority for the Heart Institute, as “this is the fastestgrowing problem in cardiovascular health today. We added labs to accommodate for this need.”

The $230 million renovation began to be drafted over 12 years ago, with construction breaking ground

four years ago.

“It was a long process, but we had absolutely zero delays and no additional costs.”

The new wing also hosts the Da Vinci surgical system, a robot controlled by a surgeon who is away from the operating table. This type of technology allows surgeons to work with very small incisions on patients.

Although the new expansion officially opens after the long weekend, the Heart Institute already has a plan in motion to keep expanding. In the new tower, there are several unfinished rooms which can be easily converted into additional laboratories and operating rooms for when the demand becomes high enough.

Moreover, there is an entire floor of the tower that will currently not be in use. The plan is to turn

The Heart Institute’s new facility will open on April 3.

this floor into beds for long term care patients in the next few years.

This plan was put in place in order to be able to reno-

vate in the future without closing down any functioning parts of the Institute.

“We have kept this space to relieve other

Photo: Ellie Sabourin.

hospitals from cardiac patients who need our help when the demand is there,” said Mesana. “We are very, very proud.”

NEWS | 5

U of O prof explores freight on transit’s effect on greenhouse gases

Study explores relationship between public transport and pollution, looks to other cities for guidelines Ellie Sabourin

associate news editor With light-rail transit (LRT) infrastructure construction and planning in the City of Ottawa well underway, Dr. Onur Ozturk, assistant professor at the Telfer School of Management says that it’s time to start thinking about what else, other than commuters, the City can transport on the tracks.

While it’s still early, Ozturk believes that with a feasibility study, researchers in Ottawa would be able to determine if the O-Train and LRT lines could work to transport freight.

“There is a huge potential that we could benefit from this in Ottawa, not only in Ottawa but Canada,” he said. “The lines are close to the malls, so I assume that we will have existing stations to the demand points.”

Ozturk’s teaching relates to business analytics, and his expertises are using

mathematical solutions to solve problems in society.

Ozturk’s recent study, “An optimization model for freight transport using urban rail transit,” published in the European Journal of Operations Research examines how freight on transit (FOT), the practice of transporting freights using the public transit network, could be optimized in countries in order to eliminate greenhouse gases.

There are examples of this process around the world. New York City currently uses its subway system to transport garbage, while Paris uses its subway lines to carry merchandise for one of its major department stores. Paris has employed FOT for over 10 years.

According to Ozturk, the aim is to use the existing infrastructure without employing extra trucks into the downtown area of a city.

According to one study, it’s estimated that the number of trucks in Paris has decreased by 10,000 per year, eliminating 280 tons in CO2 and 19 tons in Nitrogen oxide per year.

“It’s huge, it’s enormous,” said Ozturk. “I know that it’s premature (in Ottawa) right now, but it’s also very exciting. I think that it’s not only interesting, but revolutionary.”

So far, one of the challenges that Ozturk predicts Ottawa may have to implement FOT is the number of stations. “There will only be about 13 stations on our transit line,” he said. “I would propose that we actually increase the number of stations in order to meet demands and not interrupt passenger traffic.”

Ozturk stresses that the main priority of FOT is to not disrupt passenger traffic. “One of the main parts of my research is to use mathematical equations to

Ozturk hopes to see FOT implemented in the future.

determine when the best time to run trains carrying freight would be,” he said.

“You want to make sure that it does not interrupt traffic, or commuters, but

also serves the businesses correctly.”

Although premature, Ozturk hopes that Ottawa will implement freight on trains in the future.

Photo: Jean-Luc Ducamp.

“(It’s) better for nature, less traffic, less noise pollution, and maybe, if everything goes right, then it would be an economical benefit for everyone.”

U of O student creates mobile app with Matchups

Resonator allows users to discover their compatibility with friends Marissa Phul staff Contributor Prince Nimoh, a firstyear electrical engineering and physics student at the University of Ottawa, believes that the best way to learn is to make something—at least, that’s what he has to say about his new app, Resonator.

The app’s premise is simple: Android users complete “Matchups,” which are image-based preferential multiple-choice questions, or quizzes. The app then computes how many of the completed Matchups a user has in common with other users, and presents it as a percentage.

Current features include a ranked list of all other users in the system, comparison of your choices to other users, a percentage of how much you have in common with all other users, and the option to create your own Matchups.

Nimoh has additional fea-

tures in mind, but for now is focused on building his user base.

Instead of producing perfect matches like many applications currently on the market, Resonator uses a unique algorithm to calculate the percentage of similarity, or what Nimoh likes to call resonance.

“There isn’t a match per say, it’s not like Tinder. You have a percentage match rate which is a calculation, of what I like to call resonance, for all other users in the system, which are then ranked in decreasing order,” he explained.

Nimoh started as a curious programmer, diving into web development and programming languages like PHP. His experience gave him the idea of doing a text-based preference question website, but soon realized images would make it more engaging and the mobile market was a better fit.

He moved to Android

and used his idea as a way to learn the environment.

Development truly took off when Nimoh thought, “if I’m going to do this, I might as well do it well.”

Four months later, Resonator was completed.

As of now, Resonator does not host an integrated messaging system, however users can link their Facebook profile to the app. Nimoh’s reasoning for excluding such a feature is a desire for sincere connections. “I want people to value the communication; with all the other apps and sites, it’s so easy to message someone it doesn’t make it meaningful,” he said.

As for future plans for the app, Nimoh says the focus right now is not money.

“I just want people to use it first and foremost, eventually if user base grows but right now, the money is not the goal.”

The app is currently available to download at the Google Play store.

The app is currently available on Android devices.

6 | NEWS

Photo: Courtesy of Prince Nimoh.

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Loblaws launches cricket flour in sustainability effort

U of O prof talks micro-livestock as agent for environmental change Eric Davison videographer Earlier this month, Loblaws began a nationwide rollout of cricket flour, bringing the niche health food into the commercial and political mainstream. Largescale cricket farming as a source of alternative protein has been touted as an environmentally sound solution to global food insecurity for decades but has failed to achieve significant traction in the western world.

Despite the widespread consumption of bugs in hundreds of cultures in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, their use as food has faced centuries of resistance from others. Powdering crickets into a fine “flour” is a relatively recent innovation by western businesses, which hope that reluctant consumers might be more willing to eat bug-based products after heavier processing.

It is often marketed as a protein-rich superfood and incorporated into a variety of baked goods, where its nutty taste and unique texture are almost completely masked.

Crickets are just one part of the growing micro-livestock movement.

However limited its commercial success, eastern Ontario and southern Quebec have become hotspots for cricket farming and cricket proteinbased products. Entomo Farms of Norwood, Ontario has quickly become the largest producer of bug protein in the western world, while Montreal-based Naak now retails their bug-based protein

bars across Eastern Canada.

Proponents of farmed bug protein —also known as micro-livestock— often claim it is a catchall solution to the environmental damage caused by industrial agriculture, citing dramatically reduced greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and low overhead cost.But questions remain about how

Photo: CC, Naveen Mathew.

practical and viable it is as a long-term solution to global food shortages and the extent of its environmental damage.

Ryan Katz-Rosene, an interdisciplinary professor at the University of Ottawa, explains that while industrial farming has significant environmental impacts, the myths surrounding modern agricultural practices

have caused people to ignore much more significant ecological problems to target exaggerated issues.

“In 2008 there was a report called livestock’s long shadow, that claimed that the livestock sector produces 18 percent of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to the transport sector,”

said Katz-Rosene. “That one report has done so much damage and that notion—that it’s the same as transport—is so disingenuous. Because if you think about the role that large livestock play in an ecological context and in a farm ecosystem ... they are essential to our environment.”

Katz-Rosene also explained that the manipulation of statistics has unfairly targeted livestock farming while ignoring the damage caused by irresponsible crop farming techniques.

“We are producing a lot of corn, a lot of canola, a lot of wheat and it’s all done on this absolutely massive scale that uses large quantities of synthetic fertilizer that essentially kills the natural soil biota.

It’s an incredibly violent approach to agriculture ... if you are ever driving down the highway and you see a field that is just tilled dirt, that’s basically a massive carbon source.”

While he believes that sustainable agriculture is possible, Katz-Rosene does not think it will be achieved by any one technique, however micro-livestock is one way to go.

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NEWS | 7

A&C EDITOR Ryan Pepper arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE Art isn’t just for the birds at new Gallery 115 exhibit (613) 695-0062 @pep_ryan

Empty Aviary focuses on avian life, relationship with humans alex Szigeti

staff Contributor

F

ollowing a wideranging call for art submissions about the avian world, five artists are now featured in Empty Aviary, an exhibit curated by the University of Ottawa’s Art History Students Association hosted in Gallery 115 until March 29.

What makes this exhibit unique within the visual arts department is that that artists are not exclusively students from the U of O. “In the show there is work by both a professor and an MFA student represented, as well as external artists with no affiliation

to the university,” said Talia Golland, a fifth-year history and theory of art student.

“So I think that it really bridges a lot of different artistic communities, both within and outside of the university.”

According to Golland, “It was developed through an open call to submissions that we sent out to the visual arts community within the university, but also outside it, in Ottawa, Montreal, the surrounding artists networks. We picked five artists to participate from these submissions we received.”

Phoebe Sampey, a fourthyear history and theory of art student and president of the Art History Student Association, spoke to how the theme of the exhibit was created.

“We wanted to have a loose enough theme that we

could build from. Our initial idea was birds, so then we just kind of built off of there, and through our submissions we were able to pick a cohesive group of artists that would work well together thematically, and also visually.”

“It is important, (when curating an exhibit with) submissions that we hadn’t seen yet, to have a theme that could potentially sort of encompass a variety of different technically but also theoretical approaches from potential participating artists,” Golland elaborated.

Because of the looseness of the theme, it allowed Empty Aviary to showcase a wide range of pieces across diverse mediums, including oil painting, ceramics, video, and sculpture. The interpretations of “avian” ranged from life-like ceramic owls

Empty Aviary runs until March 29.

to performance pieces about Twitter. The works were created by François Combe, Martin Golland, Svetlana Swinimer, Marko Tonich from Université Laval, and

Photo: Parker Townes.

Sharon VanStarkenberg.

Their program defined the works of art as “varied evocations (that) draw upon a range of coexisting symbologies which find their

corporeal embodiment in the diverse array of avian forms.”

Empty Aviary runs from March 19-29 in Gallery 115, free of charge.

Revitalizing a language, one speaker at a time

How one researcher is bringing back the Tuscarora language Eric Davidson editor-in-chief

How can you bring back a language from the brink of extinction? What do you do if there’s only one truly fluent speaker of a language left on the planet—and he’s 93 years old?

These are the questions that Monty Hill, a member of the Tuscarora nation and PhD candidate at the University of Buffalo, works to solve every day.

And he’s making more progress than you might think.

On Tuesday, March 20, Hill gave a talk at the University of Ottawa, organized by the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, the Aboriginal Resource Centre, the Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies, and the U of O. The talk, called “Life and Death of Languages,” looked in extreme detail at how Hill and his team are working to revitalize the Tuscarora language, which has only one truly flu-

Monty Hill talks about his linguistic research.

ent speaker remaining.

In an interview with the Fulcrum, Hill noted that he had never planned on breathing new life into languages, or even pursuing linguistics.

“I grew up on the Tuscarora Nation Indian reservation, and for a while I didn’t realize that

8 | ARTS & CULTURE

we were the only Tuscarora speaking community,” he said.

“It just didn’t really click that you get to learn knowledge of this language that maybe only five people, twenty people in the entire world actually know.”

He said that when he started

Photo: Parker Townes.

university, he was in an entirely different field, computer science.

“I happened to get mandated to take a course on what you call cultural perspectives, and it all just sort of came together,” he said. “It was like ‘whoa, I’m in a really unique situation and

position, and for some reason it just never occurred to me that I was.”

After that, he adjusted course, and started studying the Tuscarora language. Even though there’s only one fully fluent speaker remaining, Hill said he had a lot of other resources to work with.

“Our languages were languages of commerce during the formation of the United States and Canada, so a lot of people were fluent in our languages,” he said. Hill added that all kinds of records of the language exist, from dictionaries and word lists to recordings of people speaking.

As he and his team continue reviving the language, Hill said he’s interested to see how it will be adopted.

“We have a lot of tradesmen and union people, and ironworkers, plumbers, electricians, and so on, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they will start talking about their

particular trade in the language.”

Hill stressed that he doesn’t want to force anyone to use it, only give them the choice.

“We can’t control what people are going to do with their language, but one of the things that’s affecting our people nowadays is this loss of identity, because of the boarding schools and all of this other trauma that they’ve had to deal with.”

“And so what we’d like to do is use this language as an opportunity to heal. And you know not necessarily everyone is ready to heal, and not necessarily everyone sees language as a way to heal,” he said. “But they might go and participate in some of our singing groups, or they might participate in some hunting groups, or some other traditional practices that will come along as we start doing the language more and we put more resources into reacquiring the language.”

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U of O prof growing Irish language in Ottawa

Language’s rich history makes it integral to Irish-Ottawa community Ryan Pepper

Arts & Culture Editor A University of Ottawa professor is working to grow the Irish language in Ottawa, one learner at a time.

Sheila Scott, a linguistics professor with the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute at the U of O, hosts Irish teaching sessions and helps organize monthly ceilis, or traditional dance parties, in the city. She is also one of the founders of the only Gaeltacht in North America, just outside Kingston, where Irish enthusiasts can play and listen to music, dance, and enter writing competitions, all in the Irish language.

Scott’s parents emigrated from Ireland in 1957, and both had some knowledge of Irish, having studied it in Ireland like school-kids in English Canada study French.

“My dad had done all his primary school through Irish, so Dad had far more Irish than my mom. He grew up on the west coast, in Kerry, where there’s a lot more Irish spoken.

My mom grew up on the east coast, so Irish was a subject, an obligatory subject,” said Scott.

“You had to pass Irish or you didn’t even graduate.”

Scott was enamored by the language, particularly its unusual grammar and sentence structure. She ended up doing her PhD in Irish syntax and morphology, and she hopes to instill a love of the language in Ottawans today, and not just those with Irish heritage.

“They don’t all have names like Kelly and O’Connor. There are people in these classes who have Chinese backgrounds, or Vietnamese background, or East Indian background,” she said of her classes. “Some of them come because they are interested in linguistics, some are interested in the history, the evolution of what goes on in Europe.”

Scott has noticed that people come to Irish culture for different reasons. Irish music and dance are popular, she noted, and so she tries to work the Irish language into dance or music classes.

Although Irish is growing

in popularity now, the language suffered for a long time under harsh English rule. People could be hanged for speaking Irish, Scott said. So, when Ireland gained its independence, Irish became a symbol of pride, something it still is to today’s learners.

“Many (learners) are going back three or four, sometimes five, generations,” said Scott.

“The culture is so rich, and even if you didn’t speak the language you were always proud of your Irish culture, and I think there’s an awareness now of how endangered the language is. And so, people who are celebrating their Irish culture are saying, well maybe my next step should be contributing towards keeping the language going.”

In addition to Scott’s own work and the work of groups like Ottawa Irish Arts, the U of O has a close-knit Celtic studies department and a visiting PhD student with the Ireland Canada University Foundation. The department plays a role in promoting Irish culture in an academic set-

Sheila Scott is an Irish-language teacher and linguistics professor.

ting, and is a good entry-point for students into the Irish community.

Scott has a vision for the Irish studies in Ottawa, particularly in the university.

“One thing is to encourage

the chairs of Celtic Studies in all the different universities here, to make sure that language is always part of the curriculum … if we can make language part of curriculum for all those chairs, that would

Photo: Ryan Pepper.

be really cool,” she said.

Anyone wanting to get involved in Irish music, sports, dance, or languagelearning is encouraged to email Sheila Scott at sheila. scott@uottawa.ca.

A Streetcar Named Desire now on at Ottawa Little Theatre

Hearn’s production makes unlikeable character more complex, multifaceted Connor Chase

Staff Contributor Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, like all pieces of classic literature, covers a variety of topics. It’s about the old replacing the new. It’s about class and the lives of those who belong to either side. It’s about repression and the struggle for personal identity. And it’s a text that will change every time you engage with it. If you studied the play in high school, a second read now will open your eyes to many new aspects.

Moreover, Streetcar is a text that exists now in three different mediums. To just sit down and read the script is entirely different from watching the classic film adaptation with Marlon Brando, which is itself entirely different from watching it performed before your very eyes in a theatre.

The director of the Ottawa production, Sarah Hearns, is more familiar with comedies and mysteries than period piece dramas. Her previous directing credits include Goodbye Piccadilly, Drama at

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Inish, and the Torch Song Trilogy, for which she won Best Director at the Capital Critics Circle. Hearns said that the Ottawa Little Theatre had been looking at Streetcar over the years, but that it was performed this year because it “really spoke” to her.

“We’ve been reading this periodically over the years, and it never got into the season for one reason or another. I think the first time and second time I read it I thought, ‘I’m not ready to direct it.’ It’s massive and iconic and I don’t have enough under belt my yet,” she said.

Hearns said the difference between a play and a movie is that plays need to make the audience suspend their disbelief. Theatre is limited to a set, so a play has to take into account what the audience can and cannot see.

“It’s about audience engagement. The actors and the audience,” said Hearns. “Together they make the show.

You’ve got a real live living person up there on the stage showing you emotions with their whole body.”

The play itself deals with some dark themes, and its characters are complicated and flawed. They are often contradictory and always conflictual.

Stanley Kowalski, one of the play’s three main characters, is at once both riveting and unredeemable, as he beats his wife and engages in even grosser acts throughout the play.

In today’s social climate, remarkably different from the late 40s in which the play is set, approaching a character like Kowalski can be difficult, but by playing this out on stage instead of in reality, the audience is able to grapple with a man like Kowalski in a low-stakes environment. As noted by Hearns, he drinks too much, has a temper, and is extremely violent. Considering these personality traits and his tyrannical treatment of his wife, it’s difficult to present Stanley as character we can empathize with. Yet Hearns pointed out that these personality traits are common symptoms in people with posttraumatic stress disorder. This is the puzzle piece Hearns has

A Streetcar Named Desire is on now at Ottawa Little Theatre.

realized that helps the audience, if not empathize with, at least understand Stanley better. It’s mentioned in the play that Stanley was in the military, and that he specifically fought at the bloody battle of Salerno in Italy. Thus, by placing greater emphasis on this possible mental illness, Hearns

is able to modernize a play that is ultimately timeless.

The themes of Streetcar are broad and universal, but when it was written we collectively had a more limited understanding of mental illness and its impacts upon all aspects of our lives. Hearn’s production is hoping to meet this head-on—

Photo: Maria Vartanova.

not to glorify Kowalski and others like him, but to reveal another complex in an already complex play.

A Streetcar Named Desire is running at Ottawa Little Theatre (400 King Edward Ave) from March 21 to April 7.

Information and tickets can be found on their website.

ARTS & CULTURE | 9

New U of O club committed to cruelty-free lifestyle on campus

Sea of Life film screening raises awareness of problems with commercial fishing Ryan Pepper

Arts & Culture Editor A new club on campus, the University of Ottawa Animal Rights Association, is raising awareness of the impact of eating animal products, through documentary screenings and other means of disseminating information.

The club held a screening of Sea of Life on Thursday, March 22, which discussed the impacts of commercial fishing on ocean life, hoping to raise awareness about the commercial fishing industry and its effects on our planet.

“What we aim to do is to educate the student body and faculty that animals aren’t ours to use in fashion, entertainment, agriculture, or for research purposes, so that’s the mandate of our club. We believe that animals aren’t ours to be used in any of those industries,” said club founder and president Autumn Jordan, a third-year biology student. “We want to educate the student body and faculty about that, and

help them transition to a cruelty-free lifestyle.”

Jordan said the group isn’t looking to confront people on their eating habits, or shame anyone—they are simply promoting an alternative way of living. “I really like having events where I’m talking to students to get what they think and answer any of their questions,” Jordan said.

“One of my favourite events, we did a Valentine’s Day event, so obviously about the dairy industry, and everyone was like, oh my god you can make chocolate without dairy in it, what’s in it, and so it’s fun to say, ‘well of course you can.’”

The group is also working to dispel some of the common myths about veganism, namely that it is expensive, elitist, or can lead to health problems.

“We want students to realize that it can be accessible.

Obviously, we’re all students in the club, and most of us are vegetarian or vegan, so it can be done,” Jordan said. “I think it’s a really good point

The U of O Animal Rights Club had a screening of Sea of Life.

to drive across that it can be affordable.”

The club has a few longterm goals they want to achieve. Jordan is hoping to see more vegan options in the dining hall, which she said have slowly disappeared over time.

“When I came to campus, it was the first year of the new dining hall, and they promised a vegetarian and vegan station, and over the course of my first year, slowly all the vegan and vegetarian options are getting taken away and replaced with meat,” she

Photo: Oceanic Productions.

said. “I want to sit down with the dining hall and be like, hey this is important, it’s not hard to instate vegan options in the caf and students want this.”

Jordan is also hoping to challenge the mandatory dissection policy in the biology

department, making dissections optional, so that students can refuse to do them for personal reasons.

For more information and to find ways to get involved, check out the University of Ottawa Animal Rights Association Facebook page.

ALBUM REVIEW: Kendrick Lamar • Black Panther: The Album—Music from and Inspired By | 8.5/10

Perushka Gopalkista Fulcrum Contributor

After the major release of Marvel’s Black Panther, rapper and producer Kendrick Lamar released Black Panther: The Album—Music from and Inspired By, which reached an international audience because of its diverse collaborations and eclectic sounds.

The album features American artists such as five-time Grammy nominated artist SZA, as well as internationally acclaimed musicians Yugen Blakrok and Babes Wodumo. This is Kendrick’s eighth studio album, following the release of his 2017 album, DAMN. The album opens with the track titled “Black Panther” that has Lamar rapping over a solemn piano backdrop from the mindset of the lead heroic character in the film, T’Challa, opening with the lines “King of my city/king of my country/king of my homeland.”

Tracks such as “All The Stars” feature R&B star SZA and the track “X” features rappers 2

Chainz and Saudi from South Africa. These massive collaborations give the album a tremendous level of variety as well as diversity of artistry.

The album also sees a great deal of South African music integrated into the hip-hop soundtrack, more than is usual for most North American audiences. The upbeat track “Opps” features American rapper Vince Staples alongside Johannesburg native Yugen Blakrok who quickly raps the lines “What you standing on the side for/ Roar like a lioness/punch like a cyborg”.

After the first five energized tracks, the album dives into the alternative R&B-inspired “I Am,” sung by UK artist Jorja Smith, where she sings over a sombre beat, “When you know what you got/Sacrifice ain’t that hard.”

Kendrick’s signature hip hop style shines through the track “King’s Dead” with the accompaniment of several artists such as Jay Rock, Future and James Blake.

The house music inspired

8 | ARTS & CULTURE

track “Redemption” features more South African artists such as Babes Wodumo and Zacari, who effortlessly lend their vocals to the backdrop of illustrious rhythms and tones.

The track then transitions into the R&B tune “Seasons,” featuring Soweto artist Sjava who raps the first verse in the Zulu language, one of the 13 official languages of South Africa.

On the last two tracks, titled “Big Shot” and “Pray for Me,” Lamar collaborates with major North American artists Travis Scott and The Weeknd.

“Pray For Me” pays homage to the main heroic characters of the film—T’Challa and Jabari— recognizing the fact that loneliness is a major factor when it comes time to defeat the enemy, rapping “Who gon’ pray for me/Take my pain for me?”

As a result of fusing African house and rap coupled with Lamar’s distinctive hip hop style, this album is able to connect to an international fan base by shining light upon international artists. Although

Kendrick Lamar produced Black Panther: The Album.

the album is filled with a collection of sounds ranging from South African house

to alternative R&B, Lamar doesn’t seem to be striding away from his natural style

Photo: Interscope Records.

and always lets hip hop fans know that he is constantly at the top of his game.

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SPORTS

Daniel Birru SPORTS EDITOR sports@thefulcrum.ca @FulcrumSports

Montreal Alouettes sign Cranston to three-year deal

Last year’s seventh round pick ready to make jump to big league Daniel Birru Sports Editor

O

n March 14, University of Ottawa football defensive back Ty Cranston signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes for the upcoming Canadian Football League (CFL) season.

The Winnipeg native just finished his fifth season with the team, having been a part of it since 2013. Following his fourth year with the Gee-Gees, he was selected in the seventh round, 56th overall by the Alouettes, the only Gee selected in the draft that year. He attended the

team’s training camp last June, then came back to Ottawa to be part of his last season with the team.

“It’s very exciting for me, a lot of hard work put into it over the past few years.

I am very fortunate that Montreal gives me this chance to play for them,” said Cranston.

The 6’3”, 205 lb player ended his season with 35 tackles and 10 assists for his team this year. It was his goal to get signed by a CFL team.

“I knew Montreal held my rights after they drafted me, and as long as I had a good year, there was this opportunity,” said Cranston “I’ve always had in mind to help my team succeed, to try to help it win a championship, but it was definitely a goal I had set to

myself a few years ago, so when I was drafted, I knew it was coming.”

“During my university career, I’ve had to play a whole lot of different positions with the team, I wasn’t just limited to one.

I’ve had to play several roles in terms of leadership, I got to see how the team worked in terms of organizational standpoint, at times,” he added.

Cranston, a communications student at the U of O, will be back in Montreal for this year’s training camp.

“For now, I graduated and I finished my five years in Ottawa. I will attend a training camp with Montreal in May and try to make the team.

If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be released and become a free agent, and then I’ll be eligible to re-sign with any other

Ty Cranston just finished off his last season with the Gee-Gees.

CFL team.”

Meanwhile, the GeeGees finished fourth in the Ontario University

Athletics (OUA), but lost in the quarter-finals to the Guelph Gryphons.

Their season will renew

Photo: Courtesy of Ty Cranston.

this September, with the schedule yet to be announced, playing home games at Gee-Gees field.

Deaudelin awarded big honours at national level First-year defenceman named among best in U Sports after standout season Daniel Birru Sports Editor

On March 14, University of Ottawa Women’s Hockey player Christine Deaudelin was named to the U Sports All-Rookie team in her inaugural season with the Gee-Gees.

The defenceman recorded three goals and nine points in 20 contests with her team this year, leading all players of the same position and good for third among all players. In addition, the Réseau du Sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) selected her in the second AllStars Team, as well as in their All-Rookie Team.

“I was surprised to be named on such a high stage,” Deaudelin said.

“For young rookies like me, I surely have my eyes

on that at the beginning of the year, but once everything starts, I stopped thinking about it and concentrated on my game. It’s always great to see that my hard work paid off.”

According to Deaudelin, “I think I worked hard all year long, scored a lot of points for a defenceman and to me, my passes were very nice. My teammates assisted me a great deal of time in the adaptation to this new university, notably in many aspects of my game.”

With the team’s coach Yannick Evola saying of Deaudelin she is a leader for the team, she felt like she was one, in part. “I’m not someone that speaks a lot, but I think I can be a leader in the actions I put to the team on and off the ice. I had a great group

of girls surrounding me, that really helped me as I was able to make myself models to look up to for years to come.”

The Beloeil, QC native, currently studying Criminology at the U of O, has intentions to come back to the hockey team next year. “We will need to work together to be able to make it farther,” she said. “Good communication between players is always an asset. This season, we missed out on a couple details of team play, but overall, I would say we had a good performance this year,” she added.

The Gee-Gees Women’s Hockey team finished third in the RSEQ this season, qualifying for the playoffs. They came across the Concor-

Christine Deaudelin finished up her first season with the team with nine points in 20 games. Photo: Courtesy of Christine Deaudelin..

dia Stingers in the first round, a series they lost two games to one.

Christine Deaudelin and the Gee-Gees will be back in action this

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October, playing home games at the Minto Sports complex.

SPORTS | 13

Gee-Gees novice synchro team wins national championship

An in-depth look at a competitive club’s path to the podium zack goobie

Associate sports editor The University of Ottawa novice synchronized swim team won the national championship at Brock University, competing in a series of events from Feb. 16-18. The competitive club hasn’t looked back.

Inter-university meets fall under the Canadian University Synchronized Swimming League (CUSSL). This year, the club had 29 members and three teams.

The club is divided between competitive and novice, for the most part; the competitive swimmers have been swimming for more than five years, and the novice club usually has less experience in the pool.

A member of the novice team, Meighan Kerr, explained their routine, saying, “It’s a twominute routine, we’ve been training all year for it, starting in September, the only thing you do is you train and choreograph the routine, and you swim it over and over again until it’s perfected.”

The combination of art and sport together makes this event quite unique. For the

novice team this can be a bit tougher with less experience in the sport. “We rely a lot on our coach to do the choreography,” said Kerr.

According to Kerr, there are also certain elements that the league wishes to see in the choreography to get ranked better. “The artistic side is more of the use of your arms, how you interpret the music with your choreography, so ours was a Pirates of the Caribbean theme,” she explained.

This is all combined with holding your breath underwater while you try to perform a certain figure. A big part of this sport is the process of progressing from the start of the year to the end result. “It is really cool because you create this together, it is my definition of a team sport because if one of us couldn’t swim then the routine wouldn’t be the same.”

The club has seen success, but faces some challenges; namely, the fact that because they aren’t a varsity team, they don’t receive funding from the U of O. This year, the novice team

The Gee-Gees earned big honors in synchronized swimming at Brock U.

won Nationals after finishing first at the Eastern Championship in Sudbury. Kerr admits that the team was surprised because of past results that did not live up to this years’ finish.

However, all teams who par-

ticipate in the Eastern championship quality for nationals.

“It was really special to win nationals this year because for a lot of the girls this will be their last year swimming,” said Kerr. “Four out of the six

Photo: CC, Pierre-Yves Beaudouin.

members on our team were in their last year, so their last competition and including our coach as well.”

The upcoming year will definitely be a transition for the squad. This year they did

not receive varsity club status through the university, but they will be hoping to receive funding in the future, winning a national championship has no choice but to help their cause.

U of O holds talk on student-athlete life after university

Sports services holds meeting to discuss this topic furthermore with students Daniel Birru Sports Editor

On Wednesday, March 21, the University of Ottawa sports services hosted a meeting for graduating student-athletes aiming to establish a plan for life after university athletics.

Panelists Katie Laurie, Brendan Gillanders, Kristen Brouse, and Tunch Akkaya, all former Gee-Gees, shared the experience they went through as studentathletes, specifically balancing study, work and sports.

Laurie, who graduated from the U of O in 2009, was a member of the GeeGees basketball team from 2004-09. She earned a degree in criminology, arts, and education, and is currently teaching in the Ottawa Catholic District School Board.

Gillanders plays professional football for the Ot-

tawa Redblacks. He was on the Gee-Gees football team from 2009-13, having studied health sciences at the U of O. Brouse is employed at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, working as a program manager. During her university years, from 2004-08 and from 2010-11, she was involved in women’s volleyball, first as a player and then as an assistant coach. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and a master’s in international development and globalization.

Akkaya was a teammate of Gillanders for two years, part of the Gee-Gees football roster for four years, from 2011-15. He studied engineering during that time, earning a masters in the field. He is currently the CEO and the owner of GameStrat, a sports software company.

They shared that as stu-

Panelists share their life experience with sports and school to students.

dent-athletes, it’s necessary to put as much effort into all of these areas, especially for those Gees who don’t plan on playing at the professional level.

The panelists said that it was important to attribute a lot of effort in school, since it will remain a back-

up option for those who won’t make a sports career.

They also said to keep in mind the habit of sports life, to keep on working out, not to give up, and to make the best out of themselves.

“It can get a bit challenging at this time of the year, with the exams coming up.

Photo: Parker Townes.

Just remember to divide your time and put priorities where they should go,” said Brouse.

Each of them also made the student-athletes realize they need to establish a parallel between the content of their studies and the sport they per-

12 | SPORTS

form. Katie Laurie explained with the degree she earned in arts and education, she was able to become an elementary school teacher, and with the basketball experience she had as a Gee-Gee, she was able to teach physical education. “Everything I did during my University life served me in what I do today,” she explained.

All the panelists have kept on playing organized sports after university, which they greatly encouraged their audience to do.

“Manage your time, establish your priorities by making yourself a schedule—and be sure to follow it,” Brendan Gillanders said during the meeting.

“You guys have the opportunity to do excel in what you accomplish—you’re all young and full of energy, it’s the moment to do that, to determine what you’re the best in.”

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Evans brings home another U Sports medal for Gee-Gees

Great progress in second stint at nationals winning silver zack goobie

Associate sports editor The University of Ottawa now has seven U Sports medals to boast in the 2017-18 season across three sports. Stephen Evans, of the Gee-Gees track team, provided a great performance to finish off this athletics season for the Garnet and Grey, with a great come-from-behind run to finish just off the top of the podium.

This has not been a lifelong project of Evans, when high-school hockey was his focus, but in grade 12 he performed well at the Ontario Federation of School Athletics Associations (OFSAA) and was recruited by the Noah Holton of the U of O. He had not planned to pursue track any further as

Stephen Evans shines for the Gee-Gees at the U Sports championship.

hockey had always been his focus.

In his second year at the U of O Evans committed fully to track. This year is his second at nationals and he won

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his first medal. He did a lot of training coming into this year, leading up to Ontario University Athletics (OUA)’s and the U Sports Nationals. Evans talked about the

Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Evans.

training process he went through this year and how he excelled at OUA’s and the U Sports competition. “Your times get faster because you set yourself up in training

to run faster at the bigger meets,” he said. “I always knew I could do this, even in third and second year I knew I could do this, but I knew it would be a process.”

Evans also has the GeeGees record at the LouisRiel Dome, with a 1:18.3 time that beat Mike Robertson, one of his biggest track mentors. He explained his mindset going into races, if he’s just trying to put down a good time or beat the guy in front of him. “For a championship, (time) doesn’t matter to me. I could run 1:21, but if I’m getting a gold medal that’s what matters.”

In a great come-from-behind performance for the U Sports silver medal, which he finished in a blisteringly fast 1:19.50, Evans said, “There is certainty a sense of finality when you’re get-

ting ready, when you’re lining up.”

“I started off that race a little further behind, I was fifth at one point, but I was able to stay composed, and I thought time doesn’t matter, as long as I get up in front.”

Before a race, preparation is big for high performance athletes like Evans.

He stressed confidence and how he needs to keep reminding himself of his capabilities. In a race with the best in Canada, he makes sure to be confident and that there is a reason why he is in the position that he is.

Evans plans to continue running with the U of O and wants to keep his two feet atop the podium at OUA’s and the U Sports championships.

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SPORTS | 13

OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR David Campion-Smith

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

Dear Doug Ford: Sex ed shouldn’t be political

Curriculum gives key facts on sexuality, consent, gender identity Allegra Morgado Fulcrum Alumna

S

ince winning the Ontario PC leadership race, Doug Ford has begun to make some promises. One of the most troubling is his plan to scrap the sexual education curriculum introduced by the Ontario Liberal party in 2015.

This curriculum has received much criticism, mostly from right-wing parents and religious organizations, since its introduction. This criticism, however, is mostly biased and unfounded.

The new sex-ed curriculum was a significant improvement of the former program

administered to public school students in Ontario. In fact, it was the first update to sexual education in Ontario in almost two decades, and introduced concepts relating to anatomy and puberty at earlier grade levels than before. It also included updates on topics like sexuality, gender identity, consent, mental health, and online harassment.

This curriculum is not attempting to indoctrinate students into going against their parents’ religious beliefs and becoming queer or sexually active. It’s simply trying to create more educated, progressive students in a country where same-gender marriage has been legal for almost 15 years, and teen pregnancy was on the rise only five years ago.

Simply put, Ford would be doing a disservice to the stu-

Doug Ford, leader of the Ontario Conservative party.

dents of Ontario by changing the curriculum. Students with different sexual identities and gender identities deserve to feel safe and respected in their classrooms, and with Ford giving into the religious right and changing the cur-

Photo: CC, HiMY SYeD.

riculum he is risking the lives of these children.

Ford has made claims that parents were not properly consulted during the creation of this program; however, according to a Toronto Star article, not only were parents

consulted, but so were medical professionals, educators, and even the police especially concerning the ages that different topics were taught.

There are also statistics that show that comprehensive sex-ed works. According to Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization and advocacy group based out of Washington, D.C., research on comprehensive sexual education programs demonstrate that these programs decrease sexual activity and increase use of condoms and contraceptives. We know that the more educated students are, the more informed decisions they will make.

This curriculum could also improve the mental health of students with transgender and non-heterosexual identities, who already face higher rates of disorders such as de-

pression and anxiety, and who are 14 times more likely to attempt suicide in comparison to their heterosexual peers, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

By improving the curriculum, all the Liberal party has done is better educate students on topics they may already be curious about, and ensure they are receiving the correct information. Students today have more access to the internet than ever before, and as a result are at risk of learning incorrect information if they are not taught otherwise within their schools.

So instead of scrapping the curriculum, maybe it’s time for Doug Ford to educate himself on queer identities, and the issues facing LGBTQ+ youth. Being against this curriculum, it’s pretty obvious he needs it.

Ottawa Citizen piece gives abortion protestor positive image

Story downplays Winter’s graphic images, negative impact on civilians David Campion-Smith Opinions Editor

Last weekend, the Ottawa Citizen ran a story about a man who spent much of his time protesting outside the Morgentaler Clinic on Bank Street. The piece is somewhat framed as an obituary for the man who recently died of cardiac arrest, and shows far too much grace to a man who spent much of his life terrorizing women and people seeking abortions.

The article by Kelly Egan paints Cyril Winter as a man who passionately defended his views, and spends very little time discussing what those views were: that women shouldn’t have the right to control their bodies. Egan describes Winter as “a kind person,” and “a rebel.” However, his protesting on Bank Street is reflective of the fact that he really was not a kind

14 | OPINIONS

Cyril Winter spent much of his time protesting outside the Bank Street abortion clinic.

person, and displaying the graphic images that he did, such as those portraying fetuses, is beyond rebellion and the average protest.

Abortion became legal in Canada in certain cases in 1969, and was fully legal-

ized in 1988. There is limited political support for repealing abortion laws, and even federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has said his party doesn’t want to reopen political debate on the issue. There is little po-

Photo: Parker Townes.

litical support for the ideas that Winter supported, and frankly no amount of support can justify the methods he employed while protesting.

This story isn’t about protesting abortion, but the fact

is that the Citizen shouldn’t have run a supportive obituary of this man. The article would have readers suspend their personal opinions to see Winter as someone who stood by his beliefs, no matter how harmful these beliefs were.

The story even presents Winter as someone who should, in a roundabout way, be thanked, since his constant protesting helped usher in the “bubble zone” law, that forces protesters to stay 50 metres away from the doors to abortion clinics.

Winter’s potential role in enacting any type of legislation around abortion protesting is not a cause of celebration or commemoration. His role was not positive, and his presence outside the clinic was a source of distress for many. That an old man believed he had any business so aggressively protesting an issue that didn’t affect him should be

a source of frustration or exasperation, not lead to a generous exploration of the man’s private life.

The Citizen’s story spends less than three paragraphs describing Winter’s views and his protesting method, not even bothering to directly quote the director of the clinic. The remainder of the story contains quotes from his brother, another protester on Bank, and the director of an anti-abortion organization, hardly an even portrayal of the man.

What the Ottawa Citizen did when running this piece was reward this type of behaviour and support it. They are telling their readership that if you spend your free time standing outside a clinic holding up graphic images portraying fetuses, you too can get your own glowing obit. We as a city deserve better from our largest daily paper, don’t we?

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Contacting a source isn’t a form of harassment

Journalists should be expected to reach out to sources Connor Chase

staff contributor A journalist was recently arrested for being a journalist.

Is that a hyperbolic oversimplification of a nuanced and complicated Radio-Canada case? Yes and no.

The case is at once both a catalyst for important legal questions, and an example of an arrest that was completely unnecessary.

Radio-Canada reporter Antoine Trepanier was arrested for allegedly ‘harassing’ Yvonne Dube, after investigating the allegation that Dube had been illegally practicing law. After reaching out to her via email two times and calling her once, Dube notified the police that she felt her safety was threatened and that Trepanier was harassing her. Trepanier was subsequently arrested.

If you look at these facts of the case, it seems like a journalist was arrested for simply being a journalist. Though no charges have yet been filed, the arrest itself is questionable.

On the one hand, we have to expect police to take harassment allegations seriously. The police

cannot conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if every single allegation is reasonable. If that was the standard, then many concerns for safety would go unheeded. However, this is clearly a case where the arrest shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

It’s easy to point out the absurdity of the arrest after the meager amount of attempts at communication by the journalist. But the key there is hindsight. When an allegation is made, police don’t have this same hindsight. All they know is that Person A says they are scared of and being harassed by Person B. Given those conditions, the police are justified in acting immediately.

Yet, despite the police’s actions being abstractly justified, the facts of this case reveal its absurdity. After all, Dube’s ‘evidence’ of criminal harassment include two emails and a phone call.

But this raises only yet another question.

In the aftermath of the arrest we have the relevant facts of the case which enable us to conclude that the arrest was unwarranted.

Given the unwarranted arrest, intuition would dictate that the ar-

rest shouldn’t have happened in the first place. But clearly, there are many concerns for safety where the ‘aftermath’ is something that we can’t wait for.

Instead of villainizing Dube and the overzealous police department, we have to ask ourselves if Trepanier’s behaviour was reasonable.

Obviously, it was.

Firstly, a journalist has to reach out to the relevant parties in a story. So the idea that a journalist was arrested for attempting to communicate with someone he was reporting on is troublesome.

Moreover, Trepanier isn’t some rogue vigilante. He is a credible journalist who works for a credible institution. But does that exonerate Trepanier from harassment allegations? Should there be a different harassment standard for reporters?

It seems ridiculous, but it is also thought-provoking. The absurd facts of the case reveal the insufficient means that we have to deal with harassment allegations.

Clearly, Trepanier’s arrest was unwarranted. But if an allegation isn’t enough to warrant police intervention, then what is?

A source is alleging harassment by a Radio-Canada journalist.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

Canada must ban all ivory imports

Elephant populations too low to not ban their ivory imports david campion-smith opinions editor

Canada currently has no ban on all ivory imports; instead, legislation bans ivory from elephants killed after 1990. Simply put, this is not good enough, and so Canada needs to work towards banning all ivory.

Ivory comes from several animals, but the most common and well documented source of ivory comes from elephants. The illegal ivory trade is the root cause of the deaths of the 20,000 elephants that are killed each year by poachers around the world. Since 1980, the population of African elephants has fallen from 1.3 million to 415,000.

The trade in illegal animal products is huge; it’s the fourth-largest category of illegal activity in terms of money generated. This trade is vast and it doesn’t

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appear to be slowing down, with a 2016 white paper arguing that poaching and smuggling will now rise annually at a rate of five to seven per cent. This comes at a time when elephant populations are expected to decrease annually by over eight per cent.

One of the reasons Canada cites for not banning all ivory is concerns about our legal trade in narwhal and walrus ivory from populations in Canada’s north.

However this ivory trade is much different than the trade in elephant sourced ivory, and is not considered a threat to the continued existence of the narwhal population.

Furthermore this trade has long-standing cultural roots in both Greenland and the Canadian Arctic.

Narwhal ivory is a weak excuse. There are ways to differentiate between types

of ivory, many of which are so simple that even someone with no scientific background can understand (it’s me, the author). Rather than holding onto our weak excuse for not banning elephant ivory we should invest in detection services and inspections to ensure that ivory imported into Canada comes from more sustainable sources and species that aren’t threatened.

All of this tells us that there is no strong reason to not ban the import of elephant ivory. Banning elephant ivory is a matter of environmental conservation, preserving vulnerable populations of elephants.

Implementing a ban would also help to reduce the power and wealth of international crime groups that traffic in the smuggling and poaching of ivory. Are we so committed to ivory that we can’t see these benefits?

Poaching kills thousands of elephants a year.

Photo CC, Yathin S Krishnappa.

OPINIONS | 15

Canadians split on “seventh-happiest nation” designation Ranking attributed to coffee, giant nickels, actual societal issues

eric Davidson Tomato-in-Chief

Canada was recently named the seventh-happiest nation in the world, and the federal government has been quick to put a positive spin on the news.

“We’ve been named the seventhhappiest country in the world, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau continued to emphasize just how important this news is. “This is the kind of statistic we need to be using to govern our country,” he said.

“Forget looking at demographic trends and economic data, I can’t think of a more worthwhile statistic to pay attention to than being ranked ‘seventh happiest nation.’”

Buoyed by the country’s, er, success, the government believes they can push even further.

“We’re not going to stop here,” he said. “I strongly believe that with a lot of hard work and determination, we can become at least the fourth-happiest country in North America.”

Many citizens aren’t surprised Canada landed in the

Canada has been named the world’s seventh happiest country.

top 10 happiest countries.

“I mean, it’s really hard to think of any reasons Canadians might be unhappy,” said Damien Daniels, an Ottawa local, on a -30 degree day in March.

Photo: CC, 95C. Edits: Christine Wang.

“Of course this should be the happiest country on earth, Canada doesn’t really have any strikes against it, right?” said Samantha Stewart, a “Canada 150” hat seller. “I mean, un-

less you count ecological concerns over the tar sands, conditions facing many Indigenous people, toxic workplace cultures in places like the RCMP and CSIS, and whatever the

hell Doug Ford is going to do.”

Some, who think Canadians are becoming less happy, think the ranking is highly correlated to random Canadian stereotypes.

“I think the recent scandals related to Tim Hortons really knocked us down a few pegs,” said Tor Thomson, a semi-professional racquetball player.

“If anything happens to that giant nickel in Sudbury, God help us all.”

“I mean I wonder how we ranked so high with so much happiness in the rest of the world,” said Bertrand Davis, assistant to the regional manager at Staples. “I mean look at Ameri… or Rus… actually yeah I can see it now.”

“It’s all rigged, everyone knows the Scandinavian countries are doping,” said Harry Herman, a professional cyclist.

The prime minister was asked how he would respond to the serious issues in the country and aim to improve Canada’s happiness ranking going forward. “Easy,” said Trudeau. “More socks with smiley faces on them.”

“But seriously though,” he continued, “We’re just gonna wait until marijuana is legal.”

U of O graduates burning diplomas for energy Reduced energy costs mean lower tuition for future students Veronique Therrien tomato contributor

The City of Ottawa is always looking for new ways to be more environmentally friendly.

One of its most recent initiatives involves burning canine feces to provide energy to the city. Many residents, including students at the University of Ottawa, have applauded the endeavour, and are using it as inspiration to find other alternative fuel sources.

Students have now discovered that they have no use for their diplomas following graduation, so they have decided to burn them, providing the university with a seemingly sustainable

16 | THE TOMATO

source of energy.

This act has been seen as selfless, allowing recent graduates to create a better environment for future generations of students. “We didn’t want new students to be affected financially by the university’s energy costs, so hopefully burning our diplomas can help lower their tuition,” said U of O alum Juan Chasteen.

According to the university administration, alumni who donate their diplomas will have their names on display on a plaque in the University Centre, for all students to admire. “I think this is an amazing use for our pointless diplomas, instead of just letting them sit in our houses collect-

ing dust,” said Faculty of Sciences valedictorian Bernie Ellumie. “Now they can be put to use, fueling the university for the new students to come; besides, what would we do with them anyway?”

This novel solution to the school’s energy needs has opened up the possibility of even more ways to fuel the university. Students are now offering up their course syllabi, old assignments, awards, essays, and other documents provided by the university to be used as energy. The university has announced they will soon be hosting weekly events where they collect all the papers and documents from the students

Students are burning all their university documents.

who wish to contribute to this new fuel plan.

This new source of energy is evidently creating a better environ-

Photo: CC,maciej326, 472301. Edits:Christine Wang.

ment for U of O students, and so all students are encouraged to donate whatever they can to contribute to the cause.

Students may drop off any documents to academic offices on campus if they wish to contribute to the new system.

THEFULCRUM.CA

DISTRACTIONS DEAR DI Dishing with Di: Endometri-don’t!

Recently, celebrities like Jaime King and Lena Dunham have opened up about their struggle with endometriosis. This disorder, which involves uterine lining growing outside the uterus, can be extremely painful and take years to diagnose. Turns out, doctors have a long history of not being able to recognize the cause associated with this pain.

Physicians throughout history have used leeches, straightjackets, bloodletting, chemical douches, and genital mutilation to supposedly treat female pelvic pain.

Horny Homework: Bottoms Up Get down on hands and knees, then slowly move your weight to your forearms (use a pillow if you need), moving your butt higher and higher into the air. Your partner then grabs your ankles from behind you until you’re almost completely upside down.

Keep your knees bent and rest them on your partner so you don’t have too much pressure on your forearms, then have your partner enter you from behind. Cheers!

FEATURES EDITOR Savannah Awde

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

Dear Di,

I heard that having your clit pierced can give you really intense orgasms, so I’m considering getting it done. However, my girlfriend is a little freaked out that by the idea, she thinks I’ll get an infection. Should I be worried?

—Putting a Ring on It

Dear PRI, You’re right, clit piercings can give you more intense orgasms. But on the other hand, if not correctly taken care of, your girlfriend is right to warn that you can get an infection. Like any piercing, if you don’t clean it properly and regularly, it can get infected.

If you’ve had your ears, nose, or any other body part pierced first, you’re already a step ahead being acquainted with the procedure and the after care process.

Make sure to find a well-reviewed place to get your piercing, and book a consultation ahead of time. With 8,000 super-sensitive nerve endings found in the clitoris, you don’t want to go bargain hunting. When it comes to getting any genitalia pierced, the procedure itself will be painful, but fleeting.

Most people opt to pierce their clitoral hood (the flap of skin above the clitoris) as opposed to the clitoris itself. Due to the extensive nerve supply to the clitoris there’s a lot more risk of damage, and even losing sensation in your clitoris, so most places refuse to carry it out.

In terms of style, do a little research to find out what you like. You can opt for a horizontal or vertical piercing and your choice of rings, straight or curved bars.

When you get a clit piercing, it takes up to eight weeks to heal so get ready for a little discomfort. You might find it uncomfortable to wear pads, tampons, or menstrual cups during this time. You must also have to cut back on any sexy times or use a condom if hooking up with someone with a penis while your clit heals, as contact with bodily fluids such as semen and saliva can lead to infection.

To get back to your point, clit piercings can increase stimulation, sending you to orgasmic heaven. Every. Damn. Time. Most individuals find the vertical clitoral hood piercing renders the best sexual side-effects.

The best part of clit piercings is that you can introduce a lot more variety into your sex life. While most of us have a preferred position for climax, the increased stimulation of your clit piercing can help you find pleasure every which way, and multiple times.

Marilyn was right, diamonds really are a girl’s best friend.

Love, Di

THEFULCRUM.CA

DISTRACTIONS | 17

MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2018

THRYLLABUS

MUSIC EATS SPORTS & WELLNESS FUN THINKING ARTS

18 | DISTRACTIONS |

Monday March 26 Muggy Mondays, free coffee for whoever brings a reusable mug, Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) building 2nd floor landing—8:30 a.m.

Free yoga, 90 University, room 140—5:30 p.m.

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

Free Guided Meditation, 90 University—5 p.m.

Thursday March 29 DIY Candle Workshop, $10 fee to attend Tuesday March 27 workshop, Marion Basement—5:30 Government in a p.m.

Digital Age, DH@ uOttawa speaker Global Health series, Perez Hall, Network Seminar room 302—1 p.m.

Series, Primary care: the weakest link in Nihilism and Technology, lecture by tuberculosis control, 600 Peter Morand, Dr Nolen Gertz, FSS building, room 4004— room 103—12 p.m.

12 p.m.

Friday March 30 Wednesday March 28 Come To Learn The Basics of Brazilian Free home-cooked, Jiu Jitsu, Montpetit healthy, and vegan Hall—7:15 p.m. meal, hosted by the People’s Republic Friday I’m in Love:

Indie Pop dance party, $5 entry, the 27 Club—10 p.m.

Saturday March 31 Easter at the Farm, meet newborn animals, $12 for students presenting their student card, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum—9:30 a.m.

Drake Night: God’s Plan, Babylon Nightclub—11 p.m.

Sunday April 1 The Effens// Deathsticks//Empty Nesters, $5 cover, message Facebook page for location—8 p.m.

Rivalled Envy/Prom Nite/Torpor, $10 cover, Black Squirrel Books & Espresso Bar—9 p.m.

THEFULCRUM.CA

EDITORIAL Volume 78, Issue 24, Mar. 26, 2018 Reviving language since 1942.

Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this paper or we’ll endanger your language.

Eric “Magar” Davidson Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Mahasui” McRae-Sadik Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Graham “Handuri” Robertson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Anchal “Aramaic” Sharma News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Ryan “Guernésiais” Pepper Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Savannah “Odawa” Awde Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Daniel “Micmac” Birru Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca David “Jebero” Campion-Smith Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Christine “Aivilingmiutut” Wang Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Ellie “Udmurt” Sabourin Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca

SETTING A PRECEDENT FOR THE SFUO PRESIDENT

There was a Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) scandal recently. Unfortunately, this is a sentence you’ve heard a lot over the past few years.

Recently, it was when the federation’s executive coordinator Vanessa Dorimain took away students’ voting cards at the Winter General Assembly. In past years it was the U-Pass, or the federation’s near bankruptcy.

How can the SFUO reduce such issues going forward, and even respond to them in a more positive way? The answer is the president.

You don’t always see them in focus during such crises, but making sure they’re a part of the process is important for everyone involved.

When there have been SFUO scandals, there have often been completely different people in focus, or just “the SFUO” in general. In some cases, people don’t even think of the president, which is simply counter productive.

Earlier in the school year, the SFUO’s Board of Administration (BOA) passed a comprehensive motion to clarify and reorganize the roles of the executive positions, and the president position saw a lot of changes.

For example, many of the duties of promoting the federation by interacting with students and media were moved from the vice-president communications (which will be called vice-president internal) over to the president.

The rationale was simple: The president is supposed to be the face of the SFUO, and as such they should be the one who deals with major news related to the federation, and interacts more with media and students.

But while the SFUO is rolling out their new executive roles, they need to focus on more than just having the president do sound bites as part of their public-facing role.

One reason having the president take a more public-facing role, espe-

cially during SFUO scandals, is accountability within the federation.

There have also been reports of a toxic work environment in parts of the federation. If the president, who is the elected leader of the entire federation, knows that they are going to get scrutiny, they have more incentive to create a positive work environment.

Also, having the president be a person students see as someone they can approach might actually allow for better communication. When the point of contact is just “The SFUO,” or communications reach the president in a more indirect way, it’s harder for students to empathize, or even connect in the first place.

And actually, the federation did do this early on in the year, with positive results. After a CBC story about how frosh guides at 101 week weren’t allowed to carry naloxone, the SFUO initially started receiving bad press. But president Hadi Wess actually started to go out and talk

to a lot of media about the issue and what the SFUO was doing to work on it, and it improved public perception of the SFUO on the issue.

If the SFUO can make this a regular thing, it might make the students feel less cut off from the process, and, conversely make the SFUO more accountable to students.

In order to help out with this expanded presence for the president, one tool the SFUO can use is public consultations like town halls. The idea has been bandied about for a while, but following through with it could really help facilitate communication with the president.

Now, this shouldn’t be done in a way where the president gets no support, or where they are allowed to be personally attacked. That doesn’t benefit anybody.

When the SFUO and the BOA follow through with restructuring executive positions, they need to make sure that the president is right at the centre of the issue.

Nadia “Mapuche” Drissi El-Bouzaidi Associate Features Editor Zack “Logudorese” Goobie Associate Sports Editor associate.sports@thefulcrum.ca Parker “Mingrelian” Townes Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Eric “Gurung” Davison Videographer videographer@thefulcrum.ca Chafik “Buryat” Kassis Head Web Architect webmaster@thefulcrum.ca Dorian “Kurru” Ghosn General Manager manager@thefulcrum.ca Kaylum “Kuvi” Bobal Advertising Representative ads@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Connor “Limbu” Chase Allegra “Plautdietsch” Morgado Alex “Pontic Greek” Szigeti Marissa “Quichua” Phul Verionque “Oyrat” Therrien Perushka “Gascon” Gopalkista Jean-Luc “Brteon” Ducamp Rowan “Nafusi” Markovich Alina “Malto” Wang

Board of Directors

Raghad “Suret” Sheikh-Khalil Katelyn “Komi” Murray Jonathan “Gallo” Rausseo Fadi “Gagauz” Azzi Spencer “Kului” Murdock Marguerite “Kodagu” Gollish

Cover Credits: Christine Wang.

THEFULCRUM.CA

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

EDITORIAL | 19

Thursday, April 19

Natural Resources Canada Talent and Networking Fair Shaw Centre, 55 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

We offers diverse employment opportunities. Our culture encourages collaboration, creativity and innovation. We invest in you by supporting training, learning and development.

Discover your next adventure!

Centre Shaw, 55, promenade Colonel-By, Ottawa, de 9 h – 18 h On vous offre diverses possibilités d’emploi. Notre culture d’entreprise encourage la collaboration, la créativité et l’innovation, en vous donnant toutes les ressources de formation, d’apprentissage et de perfectionnement nécessaires.

Venez découvrir votre prochaine aventure!

talent.nrcan.talent@canada.ca

jeudi le 19 avril

Foire des talents et de réseautage de Resources naturelles Canada