The Fulcrum - Vol 76 Issue 26

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In this week’s issue...

U of O hosts TPP debate P.7 Nobel winning economist weighs in on monumental trade deal The Weeknd cleans up at Juno’s P.10 Canadian talent on full display at starstudded awards show on Saturday Legalization or limbo P.12 When the smoke clears, what will become of Ottawa’s weed culture?

Hockey on the horizon P.14 Patrick Grandmaître shares his thoughts on the upcoming season

VICE journalist ordered to hand over info on ISIS fighter P.17 The lack of transparency at BOA and BOG meetings Tell us what you really think P.23 We take a stance on the SFUO debt problem

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR

Eric Davidson news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0061 @Eric_Davidson93

SFUO to reduce staff, services to stave off bankruptcy

Student fed says cuts caused by health plan, 2015-16 year deficit Eric Davidson & Jaclyn McRae-Sadik News Editor & Associate News Editor

T

he Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) has announced that it will be making significant cuts to its services and staff over the summer to avoid The announcement, which was posted to the SFUO website on March 31, stated that “due to a significant cash flow shortage, this service provision will be reduced throughout the summer months.”

The statement continues to say that one of the main changes will be in staffing, that the SFUO will be “temporarily laying off 24 staff, leaving 16 positions vacant, and reducing the hours in three positions.”

The release also says there will be a “reduction of events for the remainder of the 201516 academic year,” and “a particularly cautious budgeting

process when moving forward in the 2016-17 year.”

The cuts were discussed in more detail at the recent Board of Administration (BOA) meeting, which took place on March 23, in an in-camera (closed to the public) discussion.

One SFUO member who wishes to remain anonymous says most services will be shut down in the summer, except for the Student Rights Centre, the Bike Co-op—which will remain open with reduced staff—and the Food Bank.

The student says these cuts will come into effect as soon as April and continue throughout the summer, but that the current executive team hasn’t specified what will happen in the fall because these decisions will be left to the incoming executives.

The student also says that these financial issues have been building for several years and that, although there is an external audit annually, the auditor’s recommendations have been slow to be implemented or not implemented at all.

As it stands, three executives—Roméo Ahimakin, Vanessa Dorimain and Hadi Wess will all be returning as executives next year, as president, vice-president university affairs, and vice-president social, respectively.

Another student involved with the SFUO, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that if these summer cuts are not implemented, the SFUO will not be able to avoid bankruptcy.

This individual stated that the social, campaigns and clubs budgets could be open to cuts in the coming year, while the new health plan and U-Pass will not be.

One reason the SFUO gives for its financial situation is the health plan.

In the release, the SFUO states that it has been subsidizing the health-care plan, as the fees from students designated to cover it have not increased in over a decade. The SFUO did not state why the fees were not increased to adjust for inflation or rising health-care costs.

Another reason given is

The SFUO’s Board of Administration met to discuss the coming cuts on March 23.

the adoption of a deficit in the 2015-16 budget, approved in August 2015 by the SFUO’s BOA and Finance Committee.

With this “significant deficit” in the 2015-16 budget, the release states it is “further exacerbated by a cash flow issue due to the nature of the opera-

tions of the students’ union.”

The SFUO budget is on their website, though it has not been updated and may not totally reflect the current financial situation.

The release states that a “new budgeting process” will be instituted going forward to

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik

ensure more oversight.

It continues, “It’s our expectation that this short-term action, will allow us to restore operations in Fall 2016.”

The SFUO did not respond to the Fulcrum’s request for comment.

What the new federal budget could mean for U of O students

Former parliamentary budget officer weighs in on ‘innovation agenda’ Eric Davidson News Editor

The Liberal government released their first budget on March 22. It contained a variety of changes—more funding for Indigenous communities, childcare, employment insurance, along with a $30-billion deficit.

But it had important news for post-secondary students as well.

Kevin Page, chairholder of the Jean-Luc Pépin Research Chair on Canadian Government at the University of Ottawa, and former parliamentary budget officer, said that the new budget seems to be setting up an “innovation agenda” going forward.

“On the post-secondary side there’s money for research, there’s money for infrastruc-

thefulcrum.ca

ture, and there’s a commitment, which I think could be really important to try and set up the 2017 budget on an innovation agenda,” he said.

“You cannot build an innovation agenda without being connected to places of higher learning like the University of Ottawa,” he said.

He said that while this budget hinted at an innovation agenda, it could be indicating that innovation will be an even bigger part of future budgets.

“I think the next budget will be even bigger for universities,” said Page. “The child benefit program is probably the core element of Budget 2016, I think innovation will probably be their Budget 2017 primary initiative.”

“There are good initiatives in the budget too,” he said, “to

Photo: Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled his new budget. Photo: CC, US Embassy Canada

help students manage debt, get better access for students from lower income families it’s good, I think it also encourages opportunity in society.”

Page said that though the budget is out, it’s still going to go through parliament, and that’s when things will start

changing. Once this happens, it could mean good things for infrastructure at universities.

“You’ll have to pass appropriation acts to make this money available so we can let the University of Ottawa have a chance at some of that money to continue the devel-

opment of buildings here,” said Page.

The U of O is currently working on a number of infrastructure projects, including the construction of its new learning centre and the creation of a green space in front of the Faculty of Social Sciences building, and opening a new residence building in the fall.

At a recent meeting, the university’s Board of Governors agreed that in the wake of a larger-than-expected deficit, some construction projects would have to be stopped, though it did not say which ones.

The new government has said that improving the economy and growing the middle class are two of its goals, and Page said that funding postsecondary education and re-

search can help accomplish both of these goals.

“I think what they’re saying is productivity in the future and the knowledge economy is going to come through innovation,” said Page. “I think they know that they’re going to have to support research, science, universities, higher education in general.”

Page said he thinks that universities could take on an involved role in a future knowledge-based economy.

“I think the future is businesses developing ideas, working closely with universities,” said Page. “In a university you’ve got people including engineers, people in the sciences, math, health groups, people that we need to actually create the opportunities for the future, they’re all here.”

NEWS | 5

First chancellor’s debate tackles graduate job struggles

Commercializing research, liberal arts and ‘entitled’ Millennials jaclyn mcrae-sadik associate News Editor

Calin Rovinescu, CEO of Air Canada and new chancellor of the University of Ottawa, initiated the first ever Chancellor’s Debate, a series to be held twice a year that addresses contemporary issues affecting students.

The inaugural debate took place on March 31 at Tabaret Hall, and asked the question, “How are universities preparing graduates for the everchanging global job market?”

The four panelists included Rovinescu, U of O president Allan Rock, Alex Johnston, vice-president of strategy and public affairs at CBC, and Marie-Hélène Lafond, political and economic affairs specialist for the U.S. Consulate General.

Opening positions kicked off after introductions from debate moderator Nathalie Des Rosiers, dean of the faculty of common law.

The early consensus was that the role of preparing students wasn’t solely that of the university, with panelists pinpointing the four pivotal stakeholders: students, uni-

versities, the government and employers.

Rovinescu and Johnston both focused on the importance of disruption in the face of the changing working world, and Rovinescu identified the catalyst for the debate question itself—employers believe graduates are not ready for entry level positions, while educational institutions do.

Lafond succeeded him at the podium, praising her experiential learning when she was a co-op student and stressed an important message that was reiterated by the other panelists. “Do not underestimate liberal arts— we can accomplish a lot,” she said.

Rock agreed saying these undervalued programs are the very ones that prepare students for what employers are looking for—critical thinking.

He was firm on his position that universities do prepare graduates for the job market, but also that employers share the responsibility of investing in graduates like universities have.

“Universities exist first and foremost to contribute to the

personal development of our students,” said Rock, and that they weren’t “to serve as trade schools,” the latter remark being brought up throughout the debate.

Moving to question period, Des Rosiers said there was a disconnect between universities and employers about graduates’ work readiness, and asked if the problem was a misalignment of information or if each party was placing blame on the other.

Rock said there was a bit of both, but Johnston went further to say the stakeholders didn’t have a common vision and the private sector had to be the first to approach the universities and government to partner with them.

In response to Des Rosiers second question about a lack of innovation in Canada and who was responsible for it, Rock was quick to jump at the private sector, saying they don’t invest in research and development.

Lafond said although Canada has a history of innovation, it had failed to commercialize its research, which Johnston echoed and said, “To not embrace the private sector which

is building our economy in a truly meaningful way is a missed opportunity.”

Rovinescu said they needed to look at the successful models of relationships between universities and the private sector, like Google and Stanford University, where Google supports a number of technological and engineering projects.

After question period was opened to audience members,

Anita Shrier, who works at the university’s co-op office, asked how to address the overly high expectation she sees from students, prompting a topical discussion about millennials.

While responding to Shrier’s question, Rovinescu said she was being “politically correct” and was too polite to use the term “sense of entitlement”, a comment that elicited audible grumbling and laugh-

ter from the audience.

As the debate came to a close, the external panelists jumped to the defence of millennials, with Lafond saying they were ready to take the world, and Johnston making an informative point on the criticism of their “job hopping.”

“The label is entitlement, the reality seems to be contract work.”

New U of O chancellor Calin Rovinescu started the university’s first ever chancellor’s debate.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

Seven refugee students to study at the U of O in September

$200k donation from university will fund both grad and undergrads jaclyn mcrae-sadik associate News Editor

The referendum question to bring a third refugee student to the University of Ottawa was passed during the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) elections, but uncertainty as to whether this would actually happen arose at the most recent Board of Administration (BOA) meeting on Mar. 23.

Anne-Émilie Hébert, president of the SFUO, said while presenting a portion of the executive report that, after a review with the World University Service of Canada’s (WUSC) U of O local committee, WUSC uOttawa had spent over their budget and required a $5,000 advance to bring the third refugee student for the September semester.

“They don’t have that $5,000 to bring in the third refugee in September at this

6 | NEWS

The World University Service of Canada and the University of Ottawa will be sponsoring seven refugee students next fall.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

time, so what we’re talking about is, our solution was to ask the Ottawa WUSC branch to provide us that $5,000 until they get their levy later on,” said Hébert.

During the BOA question period, Lee Chitty, proxy for the faculty of common law and representative-elect for the upcoming academic year,

asked if there was an alternative way to meet the referendum task, suggesting using internal money, and that he didn’t want a temporary cash flow problem to prevent it.

Hébert reiterated that they would be asking the WUSC head office in Ottawa for the money and would pay it back once the $0.50 per semester

levy came in.

“Worst case scenario our plan B is that the student will definitely be here for January for the winter semester,” she said.

WUSC uOttawa, an SFUO club, already sponsors two refugee students to attend the university and Justin Whitaker, WUSC uOttawa’s senior

adviser, said it costs roughly $25,000 to support a student each year. Money for this funding is also taken from the student levy.

As part of that $25,000, $5,000 per student is required before their arrival as a form of confirmation that they can support the student, said Whitaker.

Just over a week after the BOA meeting, Whitaker confirmed the organization had come to an agreement with WUSC headquarters and they would be able to delay paying the $5,000 advance from April/May until they receive the levy in September, allowing the student to join the Fall intake.

Whitaker said they are currently in the process of reviewing the files of the three prospective students and, while he can’t reveal too much, he confirmed one of them would be Syrian.

“Part of our campaign was the fact that we wanted to

bring a Syrian student over,” said Whitaker.

As it turns out, not only will there be a third student supported by WUSC, Whitaker said the university administration pledged a donation to sponsor four additional Syrian refugees as well, which WUSC uOttawa will facilitate.

“It’s really great. So this fall 2016 we’re going to have seven students—three from our normal cohort and four from the $200,000 fund that was provided by the University of Ottawa administration,” he said.

Whitaker said the university’s fund will be used to bring two undergraduate students and two masters students. “(The U of O) dedicated $200,000 to our local committee since we have the firm base of already bringing students over, so with that we’re going to be bringing four Syrian students—guaranteed.”

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Nobel Prize winner joins U of O’s TPP discussion

Economist Joseph Stiglitz visits to talk about pending trade agreement Eric Davidson News Editor

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement between 12 pacific rim countries that was signed by Canada on Feb. 4, is the focus of a growing discussion on how the TPP will affect factors from job creation to patents on generic medicines. While the agreement has been signed, it has yet to be ratified by Canada, and thus hasn’t yet come into effect.

The discussion continued at an on-campus event focused on the TPP, which was hosted by the University of Ottawa’s School of International Development and Global Studies.

The event took place on April 1, but the guest list was no joke.

The event featured seven experts, including Dr. Ron Labonté, professor in the U of O’s Faculty of Medicine and the Canada research chair in

Globalization and Health Equity, who helped organize the event. Topping off the list was Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

In his talk, Stiglitz came down against the agreement.

“It benefits American corporations at the expense of American citizens and Canadian citizens,” he said. But also he said he was “enthusiastic about the fact that there is a beginning of discussion of TPP.” “We thought the TPP, which has a huge impact on Canada, is not getting a proper debate, especially in a democracy where it was negotiated in secret,” said Martin O’Hanlon, president of Communications Workers of America Canada, a media union, which was one of the event’s sponsors. “This is to inform the public, and then to put pressure on the government to do something and act.”

When asked why they wanted the event to be held at the U of O, O’Hanlon said

there was a wide variety of interested parties, from Labonté, who looked at the TPP’s health impacts, to Michael Geist, a law professor at the U of O and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, who has written prolifically on what the TPP would mean for patent law.

“You have two departments that are quite interested in the implications of the TPP,” said O’Hanlon. Geist also noted that the Faculty of Law had held an event about the TPP in the fall, which received a lot of interest and exceeded its seating capacity.

Geist also points out that while the TPP has already been signed by Canada, its fate hasn’t been determined.

“Signing and ratifying are two very different things,” he said, and noted that simply signing an agreement carries no legal weight. “The need to discuss the agreement is as important as ever,” he said.

“With the government

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz gave the keynote address at a U of O event discussing the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Photo: Eric Davidson.

wanting to consult the public, a more informed public is critical, and events like the one last week go a long way to

News Briefs Jessica Beraldin—Catholic school teacher and U of O grad— charged with sexual assault The Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) has suspended Jessica Beraldin, a 30-year-old teacher at Mother Theresa High School after she was charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

Beraldin, who has a bachelor of education from the University of Ottawa and a bachelor of arts from Carleton University, appeared in court on April 1.

“I truly regret that such conduct has allegedly occurred at one of our schools,” said a statement by Denise André, director of the OCSB. “We will continue to co-operate with the police

in their investigation of this matter. As a Catholic community we will pray for all the persons affected by this difficult situation.”

The charges go back to July 5, 2014. “Through the evidence that investigators found, she was on duty, so it was during her work that these incidents happened,” Const. Chuck Benoit told the Ottawa Citizen.

Beraldin was released on bail. According to the Citizen, the conditions ban her from being in a position of authority or trust, or from being close to public parks or pools.

achieving that,” said Geist.

The government of Canada has more information on the TPP on its site, and is soliciting

comments on the agreement to TPP-PTP.consultations@international.gc.ca.

Twenty One Pilots show leaves Landsdowne gymgoers stressed out

The GoodLife Fitness Centre, which is located under Landsdowne’s TD place, was forced to close after a concert held at the venue caused damage to the gym, where tiles fell from the ceiling.

The gym posted a note on its door stating that it would be closed until further notice. According to the CBC, no one was in the gym when the tiles fell.

Randy Burgess, vice-president of communications for Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), told the CBC that a Twenty One Pilots concert was the reason for the damage.

OSEG is currently suing contractors, including Cannon Design, who were responsible for preparing the space for the GoodLife, over negligence and broken contracts.

—Eric Davidson

—Eric Davidson

Photo: CC, Simon P.

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Photo: CC, Feliciano Guimaraes.

NEWS | 7

National News Ryerson meal plan cash will carry over, finally

University to transfer leftover funds for student use on printing, tuition, donation Sarah krichel The eyeopener

Toronto (CUP)—After Ryerson student Jonathan Dacosta started a Change.org petition, Ryerson Eats has reformed its options this April for students with leftover meal plan funds on their OneCards, said Janice Winton, vice president of administration and finance.

The issue was raised because students were losing money on meal cards not spent by the end of the year. These funds would go straight to food services in previous years.

As of April 1, Ryerson will instead give students four alternative options including carryovers and refunds.

“The first (option) is you do nothing; it just gets carried over into the next year,” Winton said. “So if you had $50 left in your meal plan at the end of April, it would show up next year on your meal card for the

same amount.”

“The second option is you can request a transfer of funds to go to your RAMSS (Ryerson’s Administrative Management Self Service) account,” Winton said.

There is a 20 per cent cap on the amount that can be reallocated to their RAMSS account, which can go toward any other payment they may owe, like tuition or residence, according to Winton. Anything over that 20 per cent goes into next year’s meal plan, she said.

The third option is to transfer the residual funds to your Campus Fund, also with the same 20 per cent cap, according to Winton. Students can use this fund toward photocopying, laser printing, campus store purchases, in vending machines and at food locations.

The fourth option allows students to donate their remaining balance towards emergency foods for students,

Winton said.

Previously, there was a misunderstanding between Ryerson and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regarding the legality of refunding student meal plan money to students in federal taxation law.

The CRA clarified there are no prohibitions against refunding students.

Winton said Ryerson looked into regulations, finding no conflicts with the new system and CRA laws.

Most Ontario universities have a rollover process of leftover funds available, said Winton. Ryerson’s new meal plan system has been updated to have the same cap system as other universities.

The University of Ottawa, however, does not apply this same rollover system to their meal plans, which are mandatory for first-year students living in most residences, as their meal plans are tax-exempt and

therefore governed by the CRA. Dacosta’s petition also addressed the costliness of even the cheapest meal plan. Pricing for meal plans has yet to be reviewed for next year, according to Winton.

“We listened, we heard what they asked, we looked into it,” said Melissa Yu, Ryerson Eats’ communication and administrative coordinator.

“So far the feedback has been very good. Most residents have been informed about it through their RA,” she said. “I think people are really pleased that there are several options for them.”

Ryerson interim president Mohamed Lachemi said he is happy to share the results of Ryerson putting the complaints into consideration.

“We took those concerns very seriously,” Lachemi said.

Winton said that there has been no discussion thus far re-

Residence meal plans used to have students totally cheesed.

garding the amount of places on campus that permit OneCard payments.

But there is a survey going out in a few weeks targeting students living in residence regarding food on campus, said Yu. “It’s a thing we try to do every few years,” she said.

“Feedback is an important part of our process and how we in-

Photo: Jake Scott.

form our operations year over year.”

The process will be available to students online. Students will decide where remaining funds will go between April 1 and May 15. After that, they’ll default to the first option of rolling over to next year’s meal plan.

Recent sexual assault leaves UBC with hopes that “campus comes together” Lack of communication around sexual assault continued in latest incident emma partridge The ubyssey

Vancouver (CUP)—Another sexual assault has taken place on the University of British Columbia campus, further emphasizing the administration’s lack of communication around on-campus sexual violence.

Around 10 p.m. on Friday, March 25, a woman was assaulted at the the 3200 block of Wesbrook Mall in south Wesbrook Village. The incident could have been related to a series of “late night prowler events where a male of similar description has been observed in the female residences at Vanier and Totem,” said an RCMP release.

Five of these events were reported since March 23, 2016, where a male, whose description matched that of the assailant, was seen lurking in female showers and residences.

After one such event occurred, residents were warned via mass email. According to Julia Burnham, a resident of

the all-female residence in Vanier, a post on the residences’ Facebook page accompanied the email. However, no meeting was held in her own residence of Ross House.

“You don’t want to scare people. But at the same time, it’s not like you’re a camp counsellor… we’re all university students and I feel like it’s a little bit insulting that they wouldn’t really include us in the conversation about what’s happening,” said Burnham, noting that she found it startling that, given it’s an all-female residence, the staff gave no indication that it could entail a threat of sexual violence.

The email to residents listed a number of ways to keep the building safe and also said, “The RCMP are continuing their investigation today and Student Housing and Hospitality Services is cooperating fully with their efforts.”

According to Global News, the perpetrator involved in this assault is a known sexual predator. While the RCMP said the individual is not a student nor

8 | NATIONAL NEWS

is related to the string of sexual assaults in 2013, he is known to police.

With regards to safety improvements done since the assault spade in 2013, and whether not enough was done afterwards to protect students, vice-president student life Louise Cowin said she believes “there’s been a great deal done since the last phase of sexual assaults on campus.”

Initiatives since 2013 to improve safety on campus include a better-lit campus, an ad-hoc safety group and additional blue phone installations. Campus security recently announced that 40 new blue phones are to be installed at strategic locations across campus, replacing the current 20.

However, the timing of this with the most recent assault is a coincidence, said Cowin.

While the new blue phones at the bus loop film 24/7 for surveillance, the others on campus are limited in their capacity to record for long periods of time.

To add to this, the latest assault occurred over a kilometre from

UBC is once more reeling from a sexual assault that took place on its campus.

the nearest blue phone. Part of the reason for this is because a consultant recommended that UBC focus their safety efforts on academic lands, which is within campus security’s jurisdiction. The neighbourhood lands, where the attack took

place, is considered RCMP territory and was less focused on.

Regardless, Cowin believes only one approach will work.

“It’s not about the number of cameras we install, it’s really about this campus coming together, looking out for each oth-

Photo: Carter Brundage.

er and really being concerned about each other’s well-being.

That’s going to be the messaging we’re going to push out in the coming hours and days,” she said.

Julia Burnham is also a staff writer for the Ubyssey.

thefulcrum.ca

A&C EDITOR Allegra Morgado arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE

(613) 695-0062 @allietate

Doc depicting plight of former prof screens on campus Film on Hassan Diab’s controversial extradition premieres April 9 Allegra Morgado arts & culture editor

I

n 2008, former University of Ottawa professor Hassan Diab was arrested for an alleged role in a 1980 bombing of a synagogue in Paris.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger, on request from France, requested Diab’s extradition in 2011, and Diab was officially ordered to be extradited by Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson four years ago this week, on April 4, 2012.

Despite Nicholson’s decision, many Canadians believe that Diab is innocent and has been wrongly accused. A group of these Canadians have become so passionate about the case that they created an organiza-

tion called Justice for Hassan Diab, and have raised money through crowdfunding on Indiegogo to create a documentary to spread the word about Diab’s story.

Considering Diab’s connection to the school, the organization decided that there’s no better place to premiere the film than at the U of O itself. Cinema Academica, a U of O student film club, will be hosting the premiere of Rubber Stamped The Hassan Diab Story at 7 p.m. on April 9. and will feature Peter Gose, an anthropologist and founding member of the organization behind the film, as a speaker at the event.

Joey Clavette, a third-year philosophy and law student and club president of Cinema Academica, is elated to have the film premiere at the club’s event. Clavette attended a

talk by Diab at Octopus Books, while Diab was still in Canada, and became passionate about the case as soon as he learned of it.

“It’s been something that’s been upsetting me for a while, ever since I heard about it, so I was really glad to have the opportunity to do something about it,” says Clavette.

As a student studying law, Clavette feels that the case is a “huge breach of his civil rights.”

He feels that Diab was denied his right as a Canadian citizen to a free trial and his right to an appeal, and feels that our extradition law needs to be updated to provide citizens with a criminal trial in Canada prior to being extradited.

Clavette and those who are involved with Justice for Hassan Diab are far from the only people questioning Canada’s

decision in this case. In November 2015, Gerald Caplan, a scholar and former NDP national director, wrote a column for the Globe and Mail about the lack of evidence in the case and Canada’s responsibility to its citizens to “strongly demand a fair process from France.”

By screening the film at the school, Clavette is hoping that more U of O students learn about the case involving a former professor and it inspires them to “go and try to hold the courts and the government accountable for letting people slip through the cracks.”

“I don’t understand why it’s not a thing everybody knows about in Ottawa because it hits very close to home,” says Clavette, who believes the case goes against Canada’s free and liberal reputation. “I’m really hoping that it brings in some

Hassan Diab with his wife and child prior to being extradited.

Photo: Courtesy of Hassan Diab Support, via Youtube.

students who can hear about it more and creates more of fuss.”

Clavette says that although Cinema Academica is free and open to the public, they will be collecting donations for the Justice for Hassan Diab group

to help support the film and the campaign.

The film will be screened on April 9 at 7 p.m. in STE A0150.

For more information on the screening, check out the Facebook event page.

Full Catastrophe pleasantly disrupts tranquility

Cube Gallery remembers Ottawa artist with retrospective exhibit coming a new mother and all, and I was watching a few documentaries about these babies being abandoned and the infanticide in India,” says Chae. “I (also) just remembered about Pygmalion, the Greek mythical sculptor who fell in love with his own sculpture, so this strange relationship between the creator and creation, so the mother and the baby.”

Chae says that that these different events and subjects in her life combined to inspire what she describes as a “selfreflective” piece, and that she juxtaposed herself and her daughter with the Pygmalion while also reflecting on the heavy moral issues of child abandonment and infanticide.

She felt that the mix of themes in her piece went well with the catastrophic theme of the

Allegra morgado arts & culture editor

The Karsh-Masson Gallery is a quiet, calm place on a Saturday afternoon. Tucked away in Ottawa’s City Hall, it’s simply a single room off of the building’s main hallway—easy to miss, but fascinating once found. The tranquil nature of the gallery gives attendees a feeling of rest and serenity, an escape from the busy city that awaits one on the outside of the building’s doors.

The nature of this gallery makes its latest exhibit, Full Catastrophe, appear almost ironic. The pieces, all created

by University of Ottawa MFA candidates, disrupt the tranquility, leaving behind a catastrophe of sorts, reflecting the nature of the seven artists’ pieces featured in the exhibit.

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Sauvé’s piece depicted a smashed guitar and a looped video of it being destroyed, encompassing the catastrophic theme of the exhibit.

Photo: Allegra Morgado.

The exhibit is a mix of different mediums and subject matter, from Anthony Sauvé’s smashed guitar and looped video of said smashing, to Gillian King’s monochrome action paintings that combine acrylic paint, rainwater, and her dog’s ashes to make a large, striking works.

The first piece that grabs

your eye is a painting by Elle Chae, featured on the wall directly as you walk into the gallery. The painting has many elements and dimensions that pull you in, as you attempt to make sense of the many shapes and colours interacting with each other in the piece.

“I was going through a lot of emotional changes, me be-

exhibit.

Justine Skahan, one of the other artists featured in the exhibit, has three pieces in the gallery, two paintings and one sculpture, all three that are much calmer than Chae’s large, chaotic painting.

Skahan says that despite the title of the exhibit bringing to mind chaos and disorder, it actually derives from a line from the 1964 film Zorba the Greek and relates more to life and humanity being referred to as the “full catastrophe.”

Skahan’s work focuses on the way “natural elements and architecture co-exist, mostly in suburban landscapes.” The paintings featured in the exhibit show the awkward relationship between the two, working with the disordered theme of the exhibit.

Skahan says that some of

the pieces, such as Adrian Göllner’s “Cast Gunshots” series, which are sculptures made out of blocks of clay that have been shot with handguns and then had resin poured into the void, are more overtly catastrophic, but insists that all of the pieces have some element of catastrophe in them.

“There’s something mildly catastrophic about all of our work… we were choosing stuff that had more of a catastrophic feel to it,” says Skahan.

By visiting the Full Catastrophe exhibit, one can temporarily escape from the busy outside world while reflecting on the true catastrophe in life— the human experience itself.

Full Catastrophe runs until April 24th at the Karsh-Masson Gallery. Admission is free.

ARTS & Culture | 9

The Weeknd dominates Junos weekend

Canadian music awards represented genres across the board Madison mcsweeney staff contributor

In terms of Awards count, the 2016 Juno Awards in Calgary were clearly the Weeknd’s weekend. However, the broadcast was ruled by rockand-roll.

The Weeknd had already nabbed four awards—Artist, Songwriter, and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, handed out at Saturday’s Gala Dinner, as well as Single of the Year for “Can’t Feel My Face”—by the time he took the stage Sunday night, and would go on to take home the coveted Album of the Year trophy for Beauty Behind the Madness.

However, in a show dominated by soulful pop hits, the most memorable moments came from the classic rockers.

Singing “If I’m gonna go down, I’ll go down rockin” (which is as good a mantra as any), Bryan Adams brought some muchneeded bare-bones, no-nonsense rock-and-roll to the night.

The emotional centrepiece

of the ceremony was of course the induction of rock legend Burton Cummings into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Introduced by Nickelback, Cummings had to wait out a lengthy standing ovation before giving his own speech.

Visibly touched by the honour, the former Guess Who frontman gave thanks to his late mother, his wife, and his current band, pledging to “always try and honour the music.”

Cummings would later close the show with a rendition of “My Own Way to Rock” that was loud enough to rattle the media room, widely regarded as the highlight of the night.

That’s not to say the younger artists didn’t impress. Nineteenyear-old Alessia Cara gave an absolutely killer performance to kick off the broadcast. The Brampton singer-songwriter, who hit it big with her debut single “Here”, would later take home a much-deserved Breakout Artist of the Year award, opening her acceptance speech with the lyric-worthy couplet—

The Weeknd performing at the Junos where he cleaned up with five awards

Photo: Courtesy of JUNO Awards Media

“I’m just a regular girl who’s lived a normal life, and ever since I released a song I’ve never lived the same day twice.”

from Above 1979’s Rock Album of the Year victory over Canadian staples Nickelback, Bryan Adams, and The Sheepdogs for

While The Weeknd’s awards sweep shocked no one, there were a few surprises among the winners. Death

their album The Physical World, as well as Walk Off The Earth’s Group of the Year win were both unforeseen wins.

The above-mentioned winners also had some of the weekend’s best fashion moments.

Death From Above 1979’s Sebastien Grainger turned heads at the Gala, with his flamingopatterned pants, while Walk off The Earth frontwoman Sarah Blackwood’s blue lipstick got people talking. Quibble about the actual awards all you like—it was clearly the flamboyant rockers who won the fashion war. Although Reggae Recording of the Year winner Kafinal gets points for his dapper Gala attire.

Overall the 2016 Juno Awards was heartfelt and irreverent, quirky yet classy, polished but passionate. With a diverse slate of nominees and genre-spanning performances, the New York Times doesn’t need to tell us just how cool Canada’s music scene really is.

Ready, set, whoa: A Gee-Gee’s guide to England

Vienna: Visiting the UN and exploring international relations Following the UN was a stop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we sat in the great room where the minister would hold banquets and formal meetings with other diplomats and visiting leaders.

We then got a speech from a former ambassador for Austria, who shared his wisdom and experience with us before being called away. This stop was also one of the most interesting on the trip, as we got a special inside look on how countries appoint their ambassadors and inside knowledge on how to get jobs in the foreign ministries.

On another day of the trip, we visited the Diplomatic Academy, a prestigious school for those who wish to continue their studies in international relations at a Masters or Ph.D. level.

Overall, the trip was incredible, from sightseeing to eating delicious Austrian food, to gaining a wealth of knowledge from the organizations I had the opportunity to visit. In truth one of my favourite moments really was dinner time—having schnitzel every day and in ev-

anthony latka

fulcrum contributor When this Gee-Gee travels, only the finest greet him… and by finest I mean the finest cut out. While I may not have been greeted by the actual Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban ki-Moon while visiting Vienna a few weeks back, just a cardboard cut out, my colleagues and I did get the opportunity of a lifetime to visit and tour international institutions based out of Vienna.

Such institutions were the United Nations (UN) headquarters, the International Peace Institute, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Diplomatic Academy, and the Austrian Foreign Ministry—to name a few. As a member of the University of Sussex International Relations Society, we hold an annual trip to a wide range of international cities that are host to international organizations.

Now I know what you’re thinking—“wait a second An-

10 | ARTS & CULTURE

United Nations headquearters in Vienna

Photo: UK in Vienna

thony, aren’t you studying Law?” Yes, that is still the case, however my minor is in international relations, allowing me to go on this trip and hopefully work in the international relations industry when I graduate.

This trip even confirmed my choice of study, as I found out the majority of the academic backgrounds required for these jobs are law and political science—however, this doesn’t guarantee a job in the field. We did learn in one of our lectures on the trip that a benefit of the degree is that we don’t have to

become diplomats or ambassadors to other countries if that’s not our passion, but rather we can work in almost any field.

From HR to Atomic entry research, most fields need a relations manager or specialist on hand.

We began the tour by visiting the UN headquarters, where we had lectures from several agencies stationed in the building. My personal favourites were the Office of Disarmament Affairs and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ery form offered is something I’ll never forget.

But besides the schnitzel, the opportunities I had on this trip are in part due to the closeness of international hubs in Europe.

Studying in Sussex has allowed me to explore the world I want to one day work—by simply taking a short flight.

thefulcrum.ca

High school horror story hits the NAC

U of O students star in production of Concord Floral Anchal sharma staff contriibuter

If you thought your high school experience was a nightmare, this play might put things in perspective for you—Concord Floral is no High School Musical.

Originally created by Jordan Tannahill, Erin Brubacher, and Cara Spooner, and written for a Toronto setting, the play was adapted for Ottawa with a new local cast featuring two University of Ottawa students, and opened at the National Arts Centre (NAC) on March 31 to a full house.

The play is a psychological thriller, bordering on supernatural realism, revolving around the lives of ten teenagers who make all the wrong choices. Partly inspired by and often referencing The Decameron, a 14th century collection of novellas about ten people hiding from the plague, the play is broken into ten parts.

Concord Floral is a modern take on the historical piece, centering around the theme of guilt, maintaining the use of technology, slang, and sarcasm characteristically attributed to a younger audience.

The story follows the teens and their various experiences an abandoned warehouse called Concord Floral.

The first part of the play introduces the characters and setting, and follows two girls in their quest for a joint to smoke in the greenhouse.

The plot thickens when they instead find a dead body, making way for suspense, drama, and an exhilarating sound and lighting experience. Unlike most productions that feature teenage characters, Concord Floral’s cast is made up entirely of actual teenagers, giving a more authentic feeling to the production.

Franco Pang, a second-year psychology and theatre student at the U of O plays the character of John Cabot in the play. Pang says his character is written authentically, along with the other characters, helping the actors lend themselves to the roles.

“We were encouraged to put part of ourselves in our characters and I actually enjoy the character of John Cabot the most,” Pang says.

“John Cabot is a very smart sort of individual and he’s not really tied down by the cliques of the cast… He’s not afraid to say what he wants,

(and) he has a passion and he’s not afraid to show it, which I think is really good.”

Not only were the teens given a voice, but the greenhouse, played by Stefanie Velichkin, a second-year theatre student at the U of O, was a character in itself. Velichkin says that she enjoys working with a teenage cast and hopes

that audience members take away more than just the fictional message of the play.

“The greenhouse has a couple of lines about how parents talk about kids and look down on them, and I want the opposite to happen when people watch this play,” she says. “I want people to look up to us, to be proud of us and to know

Photo: Courtesy of NAC New Media

that we can do stuff (of this calibre).”

The ensemble piece did a great job dealing with problems like substance abuse, sexuality, bullying, friendship, and remorse in a mature and respectful manner, as dark themes were punctuated with sporadic comic relief.

The impressive performance

on opening night deserved its standing ovation, and the talented cast and expert direction made the play a delight to watch despite its darker themes.

Concord Floral is currently running until April 9 at the NAC. For more information please visit their website.

#FULCRUMFOODREVIEW: Best of both worlds with Fadi’s Fabulous Foods’ General Tao Poutine

Poutine festival features diverse spins on Canadian comfort food

Julia miraflores staff contributor

If you ask a University of Ottawa student what their favourite event of the year is, some may reply with Capital Hoops, whereas others will reminisce on the outdoor concerts held in early September while the weather was still warm. Nothing, however, holds a place in most students’ hearts quite like the annual Poutine Festival.

The 2016 edition of the comfort food fest was co-hosted by the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa from March 29–April 1 and had a variety of different food trucks from around the city showing off their own creative creations. Although the rain did put a damper on the festival, students’ stomachs were

thefulcrum.ca

warmed up by the delicious, cheesy goodness that is poutine.

As I browsed the festival, the Fadi’s Fabulous Foods menu caught my eye, and when I noticed the General Tao Poutine I finally understood what Hannah Montana meant when she sang about the “best of both worlds”. This dish had the perfect balance of two of my favourite foods—poutine, a Canadian staple, and General Tao chicken, my favourite Chinese food.

On top of its perfect gravy to cheese curds ratio, the poutine was topped with Fadi’s spin of General Tao sauce, sautéed sweet red peppers, onions, and of course the quintessential fried chicken. I got a small, priced at $5, rather than the $10 large meal. Although the retail

price might be a tad too high for a small poutine, I felt it was absolutely worth it for what you got.

Most trucks offered poutines ranging from $5–10, but the speciality poutines were often only available in the larger, and therefore more expensive, size, so it was on the cheaper end of the spectrum for the event.

The General Tao sauce didn’t overpower the classic poutine flavour, allowing the taste of the cheese curds, gravy, peppers, onions, and golden fries to still shine through. The only drawback I could find was that it had more sauce than the chicken could soak up.

Other than that, it was perfect—the sauce was tangy without being sour, and had a nice spicy kick to it. For those sensitive to spice, don’t fear.

As someone who has the lowest tolerance for spice, I had no trouble enjoying the poutine, as the mild spice added more of a flavour kick than heat.

Overall, I am glad with my choice at this year’s Poutine Festival. I definitely encourage fellow Gee-Gees and poutine enthusiasts to try the dish, and

Photo: Julia Miraflores.

I’m crossing my fingers it returns to next year’s festival.

ARTS & Culture | 11

Pot culture in the nation’s capital Is the legitimate buying and selling of marijuana in the Ottawa area about to break into the mainstream?

Although it's open today, the Buzz On vapour lounge was shut down in May due to "building code

Anchal Sharma & Kyle Darbyson Fulcrum Staff & Features Editor Despite the newly elected Liberal government’s favourable attitude towards legalization, the general atmosphere in Ottawa seems to suggest that its citizens are still hesitant to accept weed culture in its entirety.

Outside of the legions of pot aficionados who storm Parliament Hill every year on April 20 to promote their love of the Mary Jane, Canada’s capital seems to lag far behind cities like Vancouver and Toronto in terms of their willingness to openly embrace cannabis in a social and fiscal context.

In places like Vancouver, they have pot themed magazines, tourism, and dispensaries by the hundreds, which means that the community is willing to invest a lot of its money and resources towards a substance that is still technically illegal.

Instead of acting as the poster child for impending legalization, businesses in the nation’s capital that profit from this subculture are bogged down in legal grey areas and social stigmas that prevent any greater sense of larger societal acceptance.

Vapour lounges like Smoke Signalz on Rideau street and Buzz On in Vanier are still some of the most high-profile pro-cannabis pillars in the Ottawa community, offering locals a safe space to light up in a recreational capacity.

Ottawa even welcomed its first walk-in medical pot shop into the fold in November, which has accumulated over 500 members so far.

Unfortunately, these establishments are few and far between, and their relative newness means that it’s an uphill battle to build up a loyal customer base and citywide acceptance amongst the public.

But can Ottawa break out of this cycle and stop shying away from a burgeoning “counter culture” that fellow Canadian cities have already embraced?

Cultivating a scene Over the last year, much of the discussion surrounding Ottawa’s local weed culture has pivoted around the previously mentioned Buzz On lounge.

When news broke that Buzz On was going to be the first high-profile vapour lounge to open in Ottawa, some did not take kindly to the concept, including Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

“I’m not impressed with it at all. I think it’s the last thing this city needs,” Watson said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen a year ago. “I want to see areas like Vanier develop with legitimate, exciting new businesses, not something that is clearly illegal.”

Watson went even further than simple moral condemnation, stating that law enforcement should take direct action: “If laws are being broken, if people are consuming and smoking and exchanging illegal products, then police should lay charges.”

These sentiments of mistrust and suspicion began to take shape when Buzz On opened last April, as the business was shut down within its first six weeks due to building code violations, something that owner Wayne Robillard feels scared the public away.

“It was not the nature of the business. It was all just the zoning (laws), but I think that confused a lot of people,” he said.

Others feel that it was done as an implicit warning to those like Robillard who want to start a similar business.

“It was for other reasons,” said Alex Cross, a Buzz On employee. “They wouldn’t have looked into the building code violations if it wasn’t a vapour lounge.”

Regardless of the mayor’s opinions, Robillard is operating within the law, since he

does not sell marijuana on the premises. Instead, Robillard merely provides an environment where his patrons can smoke their own weed, while also indulging in snacks, drinks, and video games.

With about 30 clients a day, and with events like UFC nights, comedy nights, and live DJ performances taking place on a semi-regular basis, Robillard and his employees have established a fairly solid social scene after re-opening their doors in November.

However, Cross admits that although they do get a good show of people for events, it’s almost never a full house on a regular day.

Robillard is looking to change this and hopes to see more vapour lounges pop up in the Ottawa region in the future.

“We should have more lounges. We should have those places to gather,” he said.

“It’s a totally different culture than alcohol.”

Where do we draw the line?

Despite the baby steps that the city seems to be taking towards accepting weed as being part of the mainstream, Robillard still believes there’s a long way to go.

“It’s very underground here,” he said. “Cocaine is probably more prolific in the public eye than cannabis.”

Eugene Oscapella—a professor in the department of Criminology at University of Ottawa—explains that the cultural acceptance of cannabis does in fact vary from city to city, but not for the reasons you might think.

“It’s not so much the culture, it’s the degree of enforcement,” he said.

“That’s one of the problems we have is inconsistency of enforcement.

If you live in one city the police will bust you, and if you live in another one they will not, and that’s not fair.”

This is particularly true for many municipalities in the province of Ontario, where city officials are stuck in a bizarre legal circumstance where they can regulate legal substances, but are unable to rigorously regulate illegal drug use.

Watson admits as much in the previously mentioned interview with the Citizen, saying: “We can regulate tobacco products, but we can’t regulate marijuana as a city

Local pro-marijuana protesters gather at Parliament Hill on April 20, 2012.

Photo: Dustin O’Donnell.

bylaw. It would have to come from the province—it would have to amend the Smoke Free Ontario Act.” This legal grey area complicates matters for store owners like Nick Dumond as well, who runs a medical dispensary called Weed, Glass, and Gifts a couple doors down from Buzz On. Although the distribution of medical marijuana is protected under Canadian law, the selling of bongs and other weed-related paraphernalia is not, which can lead to tense situations for someone like Dumond, especially since he is not an officially licensed producer.

Dumond, whose store is built like a bank with its security features, has already experienced his own run-in with the law when a police officer came in after he accidentally pressed the panic button. The interaction went without incident, but a the lingering sense of uncertainty remains for Dumond and countless store owners like him.

As such, while Dumond says he’s all for opening more dispensaries in the Ottawa area, he states that business owners should proceed with caution and act diligently and responsibly.

“If we’re acting like a bunch of yahoos then we’re not going to get the stigma lifted,” he said. “Being in the capital of Canada, I’m hoping that they’ll look at me and say ‘Look, let’s use this as a template.’”

won’t someone think of the children?

Another angle that has certain members of the community feeling uneasy is its “corrupting” influence on the youth of the nation.

This is particularly true for university campuses, which is known for being a haven for young people to experiment with a variety of controlled substances with close to zero supervision.

Robillard knew as much, as posters advertising Buzz On were plastered all over the U of O campus in the months after its grand re-opening.

“When I look at my students, the vast majority of them have at some point in their lives tried cannabis… so I don’t think that (legalization) will change that much,” Oscapella shares. “What it will change is that they won’t get criminal records, and that’s significant.”

Oscapella believes that people who want to use drugs will find a way to do so regardless of the law, which means, in his mind, that proper legal regulation is a much better way to go than straight up prohibition.

“Prohibition is the easy solution… but it’s totally ineffective and actually counterproductive. Intelligent regulation is much more complex… but I think it will bring about a much better result for society in the end.”

His theory is reinforced by the success of establishments like Buzz On in the Vanier region.

Whereas in pubs there is heavy security and police monitoring the area, Robillard says that he has no such concerns since marijuana, scientifically speaking, is much less destructive than alcohol.

Cross affirms this by saying that “(It’s) way more of a calm environment, everyone’s mellow… they haven’t had one problem since we’ve been here and that’s pretty rare for this neighbourhood,” adding that before they opened it was not uncommon to find needles in the alley ways behind buildings.

Leigh Meghan, a first-year psychology student at the U of O is similarly skeptical of any kind of drug prohibition, saying that “If people want to smoke pot, they will, whether it’s legal or not.”

Meghan goes onto say that she would consider making the switch from a bar to a vapour lounge when the drug becomes legal, even though the overall presence of weed in Ottawa pales in comparison to what is available to her in her home city of Toronto.

“I don’t see a lot of people smoking here,” she said. “I would notice it more (in) Toronto, and you could even smell it in the streets... it got to a point where you wouldn’t know if someone was smoking a joint or a cigarette.”

Government on the grind While the groundwork exists for the legalization of marijuana to become a possibility in the near future, our current government is stuck in a bit of a “will they, won’t they” relationship on the issue.

“We’re in a transition period now. We have this government that says we will legalize, and they’re right to take their time,” said Line Beauchesne, a U of O professor who specializes in community policing and the impact of drug policies on treatment and prevention.

“But at the same time you have all those people waiting for years to be free to use cannabis as they want. And you have the police who don’t know if they should make a move because it will be legalized in a few years’ time, and you have cities who (don’t know what to do).”

Robillard in contrast, is sick of waiting for the government to make up its mind.

“It’s a waste of resources.” he said referring to current Canadian criminal legislation that is responsible for putting away more than 40,000 Canadians each year for possession of marijuana. “That’s my take on legality. It should be as simple as saying ‘Look it’s legal, here’s the minimums that you can carry.

Here’s where you’re breaking the law.’”

But things may be looking up in the future, especially in the National Capital Region.

Canada is currently one of the countries who has signed multiple treaties with the United Nations on drug prevention, which means that we might get our answer to whether or not we can move forward with the legalization process when the UN General Assembly Special Session wraps up later this month.

Big name Canadian institutions like the LCBO and Shoppers Drug Mart have also brought some legitimacy to this movement, as representatives from both parties have expressed interest in distributing medical marijuana.

And let’s not forget about local staples like Robillard and Dumond, who are helping to lessen the stigma around medical users by attempting to run safe and legitimate businesses.

However, Dumond believes that in order for Ottawans to fully embrace this new fiscal, social movement, they will have to get over the overwhelming ‘chill factor’ that has defined the city for so long.

“They’re afraid to lose their jobs,” he said, echoing the strong government job market in the city. “It’s like they don’t wanna say anything because they’re afraid of people going on the Internet and (typing in their name).”

But at the end of the day, even though the

Photos: Kyle Darbyson. Illustration: Reine Tejares.

Weed Glass & Gifts is one of the many outlets in Vanier that sells weed related paraphernalia, even though such a thing is illegal.

city has a reputation for being full of squares and stuffed shirts, much of this legalization movement will have to be carried on Ottawa’s back.

After all, being the nation’s capital, Ottawa is expected to lead by example when it comes to enforcing government-sanctioned legislation, something that’s apparent whenever the issue of bilingualism is brought up in casual conversation.

So if the Liberal government makes good on its promise to legalize and delivers, the city should be primed and ready to take that groovy responsibility head on.

SPORTS

SPORTS EDITOR Spencer Murdock sports@thefulcrum.ca

@SpencerMurdock @FulcrumSports

Gee-Gees men’s hockey gears up for awaited return

Head coach Patrick Grandmaître pieces together team in preparation for fall debut Spencer Murdock Sports Editor

A

fter a turbulent two years without a GeeGees men’s hockey team, new head coach and program manager Patrick Grandmaître is gearing up to put a new team on the ice this fall.

A key for the team going forward is forging a new identity that leaves the past behind, and begins rebuilding a competitive and successful squad.

Since Grandmaître’s hiring, the Gees have started their rebuild and, despite the expectation of a new team struggling in their first year back, things are looking pretty good for the Garnet and Grey so far.

“I’m naturally conservative, so I’m expecting it to be very hard,” said Grandmaître about exceeding expectations. “Even though we are starting to get some good players, it’s going to be very hard to adjust… I’m more focused on rebuilding

the way we want to play and act, and if the winning happens, then it will happen, but I’m not focused on that right now.”

In January, the team announced their first recruit for 2016 season, defenceman Matt Dunlop of the Markham Royals.

Dunlop had his best career year with the Royals this season, scoring six goals and picking up an impressive 32 assists in his 52 games.

Shortly after announcing the addition of Dunlop, the Gees followed up with the recruit of what could be one of the team’s stars going forward.

Photo: Marta Kierkus.

Forward Brendan Jacome of the Georgetown Raiders committed to the U of O after an astonishing season.

Jacome has lit the Ontario Junior Hockey League on fire with 44 goals and 38 assists between the regular season and playoffs up to this point.

These astounding totals have

all come along with him only spending six total minutes in the penalty box all season.

With a pickup of Jacome’s calibre, the Gee-Gees have given themselves a proven scorer to lead their first line.

“Every guy has a different reason why he’s coming here,” said Grandmaître.

“We’re an interesting option for some guys, it could be for the City of Ottawa, it could be for our university, it could be for the opportunity to play whereas if they go to an established team they may have to fight for ice time.”

In late February and early March, the Gees made more than significant additions to their on-ice roster, as well as their roster behind the bench.

Of the seven new recruits announced in March, the headliner is forward Antoine Pouliot coming to the U of O from the Sainte-Agathe Montagnards.

Pouliot scored 54 goals in 52 games this season, showing that in combination with Jacomb, the Gee-Gees could be a

high scoring bunch.

On the coaching side, the Gees added a youthful and excited team that all hold the numerous years of hockey experience necessary to advance the upstart squad.

Grandmaître is enthusiastic about the future with both the players and coaches he has brought aboard.

“You can’t go to any other university in Canada right now and say 20 years down the road that ‘I helped rebuild that team’, we’re the only option here. You’re creating something by coming here.”

Putting away all of the difficulties of the past two years and focusing on a new start is breathing life into the campus’ athletics community.

For Grandmaître, the end of the summer can’t come fast enough as the return of GeeGees men’s hockey looms on the horizon.

“I think it’s a reflection of life, you have to seize your opportunity at some point, and some people are really seeing this as an opportunity.”

Gee-Gees quidditch wins national championship Snitches aren’t the only gold the team captured at nationals Spencer Murdock Sports editor

After qualifying for the tournament in February, the Gee-Gees quidditch team has proven their dominance and been crowned national champions.

During the two-day tournament in Kingston, Ont., the top-ranked team faced a slew of worthy competitors as they forged their path to the national title.

On the first day, the team participated in pool play where they went a perfect 4-0 before advancing to the quarterfinals on April 4.

In the quarters, the age-old rivalry with the Carleton Ravens was renewed on a different field, as the Gee-Gees came out on top with a 120-60 win

14 | SPORTS

over their cross-city foes.

Following the win, the team had little time to prepare to face one of their biggest tests of the season in the semifinals against Waterloo.

The Gees’ hopes were in doubt for a short time before they captured the snitch and scraped by with the hardfought 80-50 win to send them to the finals.

Knowing their season came down to a final game, the GeeGees rallied together to down McGill, a team they were fresh of blowing out in the semifinals of the Eastern Regional.

The 110-50 win secured the team’s first national championship in their five-year history, and their player-coach Michael Howard is incredibly proud of the accomplishment.

“We were so happy to be

able to go out and represent our school,” said Howard. “We are

so happy to be able to use the Gee-Gees logo and win a na-

Photo: Ben Holland.

tional championship and bring that back for us, and hopefully

it will increase support on campus so more people are interested in joining in future years.”

This year, the team went 23-1 in official games and 5-0 in exhibition play, proving that the University of Ottawa is now the Canadian quidditch powerhouse.

“Overall I’m really proud of the team… we were all able to band together and continue to work hard to achieve our goals,” said Howard.

The team will celebrate their win over the final weeks of the semester and the summer before returning to competition, and defending their title come September.

Find updates on trying out for Gee-Gees quidditch next season on Twitter @uo_quidditch.

thefulcrum.ca

Gee-Gees football and their mystery recruits

Why there’s been no officially announced recruits for the 2016 season spencer murdock sports editor

The University of Ottawa has fielded a football team since 1881, and in the ensuing 135 years there has been an illustrious history for the gridiron Garnet and Grey.

Recruiting is a key facet of all collegiate sports and can be incredibly exciting, but in football, it’s a whole different level. Fundamentally speaking, the next great Gee-Gees team all depends on solid recruiting.

Every late winter and spring, fans on both sides of the border fixate on recruiting announcements, in hopes of seeing what new talent has been injected into their favourite team for the coming season.

Many schools publish write ups and hold press conferences to drum up excitement, feeding their fans all the information they need on their new addition. For Gee-Gees fans, it has been radio silence

for not only this recruiting year, but for many years past.

One of the reasons behind the quiet football recruiting is the concurrent basketball season that demands attention.

“Our basketball teams have been so good that we get into that mode in January and February when we’re really focusing on basketball and trying to pump them up and that’s really the time that a lot of these recruits are coming through,” said Jen Elliott, the University of Ottawa’s Sports Information Officer.

This season alone, the GeeGees have had a number of big name recruits that have not been announced by the university.

Headlining this year’s crop of new players is arguably the top quarterback recruit in the nation in Michael Arruda.

The Gatineau native elected to stay close to home and try his hand at becoming the next elite quarterback at the U of O. In the case of Arruda, the

announcement of his recruitment has hit a wall that Sports Services places before going public on all recruits—the athlete needs to be accepted to the school first.

“With all recruits, we always wait until they’ve been

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accepted into school,” said Elliott.

“With Mike (Arruda), he wasn’t in school yet. Jamie (Barresi) gave me the heads up that it was coming and was excited about it, but from Mike’s point of view, he didn’t want to say anything about it until he was in school for sure.”

A number of other highlevel recruits have been announced by Canadian football blogs, or just simply the athletes themselves.

For example, Joshua Bailey, a quarterback that will likely be converted into a receiver is a solid athletic recruit coming out of Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ont. The Montreal native impressed in prep school and landed a place on the Gee-Gees going forward after throwing for 16 touchdowns and running for 14 in a nine game season.

Another significant recruit the Gee-Gees have landed is Parker Bolton, a 6’5” 255 lb. defensive lineman returning to Canada after cutting his teeth for two years at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.

Bolton was redshirted on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II squad, and took to Instagram to announce his new opportunity with the Gees.

Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi likes to play his cards close, because nothing is certain with incoming recruits.

SUR LA VOIE Canadian university football as a whole deals with issues in retaining players year-to-year. The Gees have particularly struggled retain-

ing players on their roster thanks to some shaky recent history.

The 2012 season was demoralizing for the team, and resulted in a number of players deciding to not return to the team as Barresi took over for 2013.

Another contributing factor that adds to the hesitation of announcing and parading new recruits has been the recent decommitting of top players.

Just prior to the start of Barresi’s tenure, a landmark quarterback recruit in Theo Deezar committed to the U

Photo: Spencer Murdock

decommitting, timing with basketball, and our unwritten rule of making sure those guys are actually in school before we announce anything,” said Elliott.

With all of these factors at work and the present issue that the football team is currently without a recruiting coordinator, some may look at the Gees and see them falling behind other schools.

According to CanadaFootballChat.com, the Gees have under 15 committed recruits for next year—meanwhile most other schools have over 20.

“I think we’ve been burned recently with big recruits decommitting, timing with basketball, and our unwritten rule of making sure those guys are actually in school before we announce anything.”— Jen Elliott. of O and then shortly after decommitted in favour of the University of Manitoba.

A similar situation unfolded with one of Barresi’s first blue chip recruits, the team promoted their recruitment of Vincent Alarie-Tardif, a top running back and CEGEP Division 1 MVP. Alarie-Tardif instead decommitted to join defending national champion Laval, leaving the Gees scorned and embarrassed for a second time.

“I think we’ve been burned recently with big recruits

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Although there may be a recruiting coordinator hired in the coming weeks, it won’t likely affect this year’s class.

While the Gee-Gees are still capable of being one of the best teams in the nation, their peculiar style of recruiting still baffles many.

In the end, it all comes down to what the players do once they hit the field, the hype fades and the true player is there for all to see—that is, if we actually know who they are.

Sports | 15

L.A. Lakers video scandal illuminates ‘locker room code’

Russell’s prying recording shows there’s still wool over everyone’s eyes david agbaire proofreader

In the past week there’s been a media firestorm surrounding the actions of Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, and his relation to a viral video.

The controversy involving the 20-year-old rookie began when a video Russell recorded of his teammate Nick Young talking about alleged infidelity surfaced online.

The video depicts Russell prodding Young about his relationship with a 19-year old woman, followed by asking the 30-year-old his age. It ends with Russell asking if Young has attempted talking to celebrity Amber Rose, to which Young explains he hasn’t because her and his ‘girl’ are friends.

The video exploded on social media due to the fact that Young’s fiancée is popstar Iggy Azalea.

After the news broke, Russell and the Lakers suffered their worst loss in franchise history, only further amplifying the issue.

Russell has since apologized and the rest of his teammates have sported their best public relations faces in attempt to smother the story.

Despite these attempts, the media outcry following these events have pulled back the

Young (left) and Russell (right) are forced to play out the season despite the media distraction.

curtains on a rarely breached wall between athletes and the media, giving insight to the mysterious social dynamics behind the scenes in sports.

It’s fairly evident there is a code surrounding the locker room and team activities. The philosophy is simple: what

happens in the locker room or with the team stays within that group.

For the most part, this is to protect the inner workings of the team from being exposed to the scrutinizing eye of the public and potential opposition. It also allows

“...the media outcry following these events have pulled back the curtains on a rarely breached wall between athletes and the media...”

Photo: CC, Keith Allison.

the team members to form a stronger bond with each other, enabling them to get to know eachother better without prying eyes. A violation of this trust has such serious consequences that it’s difficult to compare the Russell-Young situation to any in recent history.

The last time there was a team rift that went public on this level it was also with the Lakers between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. However, the specifics of that incident were

in more of a legal context, and some would argue the information was acquired somewhat surreptitiously.

Nevertheless, it’s more likely that athletes will fall to form in situations where an incident involving one of their teammates is investigated.

An example closer to home is here at the University of Ottawa. Its athletes are all subject to varying degrees of ‘media training’, and by and large the media is kept at an arm’s length from real team issues.

In the well-publicized al-

leged sexual assault within the men’s hockey team in 2014, the team members’ unwillingness to divulge intimate team information was clear—despite the severity of the allegations.

The culture ran so deep that former head coach Réal Paiement was fired, in large part because he tried to handle the issue internally, something that ultimately backfired.

Going back to the Russell issue, it’s interesting that the outcry was not over what he revealed, but the fact he revealed it at all.

In the end, two people’s very real relationships were laid out as a public spectacle.

Perhaps, herein lies the whole point of the locker room code.

We as the public often expect athletes to be faultless role models, so much so that we sometimes forget they are humans and also make mistakes.

The question of when this code should be broken remains a contentious one.

Should players remain silent when they are aware of something possibly damaging to others? The answer to this question is still unclear, and just like the inner workings of the team—maybe we’ll never know.

FIFTH-YEAR FILE: Irene Patrinos David agbaire Proofreader

After a stellar year for the Gee-Gees women’s rugby team that resulted in a national bronze medal, they will say goodbye to one of their most influential players in recent years.

Irene Patrinos has steadily established herself as one of the most important senior members of a fledgling GeeGees team, and her calming influence from dead-ball situations will be sorely missed.

For Patrinos, who has been with the Gees since the 2011 season, 2015 was by all means a career year for the star fullback. With her veteran leadership, she helped the women’s rugby team to an undefeated regular season in which they scored 421 points

16 | SPORTS

Patrinos’ leadership and championship pedigree will be missed for the future of Gee-Gees women’s rugby.

and allowed just 48 all year.

The Mississauga, Ont. native, currently finishing her Science degree, elevated her game to a level which is turning heads nationwide. Her production on the pitch made

her one of the Gees’ most powerful weapons, as the team utilized her stellar defence and precise kicking to wear down their opponents.

Patrinos was also the Player of the Game in the Gee-Gees’

bronze medal drubbing of Concordia, converting five extra point attempts and scoring three tries of her own.

This season saw Patrinos’ contributions to the game get acknowledged with a slew of

Photos: Marta Kierkus.

personal accolades.

She was a first-team AllCanadian, and featured on both the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championship and Réseau du Sport Etudiant du Québec all-star teams.

In her final season with the Gees, she undoubtedly capped off an immense career with a landmark year to be remembered by.

After the season, Patrinos was given the opportunity to represent her country as she was selected to the Maple Leafs 15s team and traveled to England to participate in tournament against other national squads.

This may not be the last time the Gees star will wear the red and whites, as she was named on the long list of players to vie for a spot on the women’s national team.

Given Patrinos’ contributions since 2011, it will be hard to replace a monumental player like her, but the Gees must find a way if they want to replicate their last season’s record-breaking success.

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OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR David Campion-Smith

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

Vice should hand over conversations with ISIS fighter

Journalists’ rights not absolute, particularly in face of terrorism Dylan yegendorf Staff contributer

J

ustice Ian MacDonnell of the Ontario Superior Court recently upheld an RCMP order that Vice News hand over all its communications between reporter Ben Makuch and Canadian citizenturned ISIS fighter, Farah Shirdon. While Makuch argued that this ruling could make sources reluctant to come forward in the future.

Following his interview with Vice, Shirdon left Canada to fight with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. He is still at large and faces six terrorism related charges—the RCMP has issued a red notice for his capture and return to Canada to face trial.

As the court has determined, Shirdon’s social media messages with the Vice re-

porter are “important evidence in relation to very serious allegations” and are “highly reliable”—in other words, they could be key evidence needed for a conviction.

However, Ben Makuch has refused to hand over those messages with the ISIS fighter, alluding to the harmful precedents that such confidentiality violations would have on journalism—that it would discourage sources from speaking to journalists. Vice’s lawyers went even further, and called it a violation of press freedoms.

The fact is, production orders such as this are allowed under the Criminal Code of Canada. They can and have been used to seize a media outlet’s source material, under probable cause of course.

Furthermore, in neither Canada nor the United States do reporters have any absolute right to keep their sources or source material confidential.

This does not fall under the

constitutional right of free expression or free press.

Still, the application of certain laws have recognized a reporter’s right to protect anonymous sources and their material when—and only when—a compelling reason to override that right hasn’t been provided by the court.

For example, in 2004, the Ontario Court of Appeals overruled a production order served to a Hamilton Spectator reporter that involved revealing a source in a civil trial.

In this case, the courts found the reason for violating the source’s anonymity to be insufficient.

An anonymous source pertaining to a civil suit is a far less serious matter than potential evidence against a terrorist at large, as in the Vice reporter’s case.

Yes, the production order may be unfortunate for Vice News, considering the possible negative precedent and

Vice news reporter Ben Makuch

“chilling effect” it could have on journalism—an effect one can empathize with. However, we must realize that nothing is absolute and the courts exist for that very reason—and they have affirmed their right to override the protection of a source or source material on a case-by-case basis.

What’s more, even if it were

a right protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—which it’s not— Vice’s self-righteous concern for protecting its sources, in as grave a circumstance as this, seems frivolous in light of the far greater concerns at hand: those pertaining to terrorism and national security.

It doesn’t take an alarmist

Photo: Courtesy of VICE, Youtube.com.

to consider a home-grown ISIS terrorist at large as a threat.

Vice News and its reporter ought to comply with the production order and hand over their messages with ISIS fighter Farah Shirdon, either for the sake of the RCMP’s investigation or, at the very least, for the sake of respecting the court system.

Stop tiptoeing around free higher education

Recent changes in government support point to need for full action David Campion-smith opinions editor

Good news for Ontario university students has been rolling in over the last few months. The Ontario government announced its decision to eliminate tuition fees for students from lower income families, while the federal government increased the size of grants available to all students in their new budget. With all of these changes being put in place, it’s a good chance to seriously re-examine the idea of free higher education for all.

Ontario’s already taken the first steps toward this goal with their Ontario Student Grant, which covers the cost of tuition for students from families making less than $50,000 a year. These students still have to pay $3,000 towards their tuition. This came after Newfoundland and Labrador’s decision to change their student financial aid to grants instead

The new federal budget cut the textbook tax credit .

of loans. This policy revision would mean that recipients wouldn’t pay back any of the money they receive.

If the federal government ensured that all of the over two million Canadians aged 1519 would receive $7,000 a year towards university education,

that would cost $14.6 billion.

For comparison, the 2016 federal budget earmarked $120 billion for infrastructure investment over the next 10 years.

That $7,000 wouldn’t cover everything, as any University of Ottawa student could attest.

Photo: Kim Wiens.

But it does serve as a good indicator for the amount of money that could be spent by government. That plan also doesn’t take into account any of the current provincial, or federal, grant and loan programs available for students.

Building a new program

like this won’t be easy, and it wouldn’t happen overnight.

There would be questions of how much money the provinces should offer, or if the program would be run by the federal government or given to provinces and territories to handle on their own.

However, it’s clear that a federally managed program would be most effective, since provinces could then offer more money on top of that to attract more students to their universities and colleges.

Whenever the topic of free higher education is brought up, there is usually a chorus of voices arguing against paying tuition for thousands of unemployed twenty somethings, who have nothing to show for it but their liberal arts degrees.

This argument ignores the fact that people can still study whichever degree they want, and free money won’t just suddenly change the interests of Canadian students. It will,

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however, make the opportunity to pursue those interests much more accessible.

That argument also fails to appreciate the nuances of a university education. We all too often view degrees solely as the path by which we land a job. There is some truth to that, as multiple university degrees are expected by employers.

But degrees are also a chance to gain knowledge, and enrich our understanding of the world—is that really an opportunity we don’t want extended to as many Canadians as possible?

Instead of working slowly and piecemeal towards the end goal of free higher education, let’s just skip right to it and give more Canadians the chance to sharpen their minds. In the end, it will be more than worth it for our nation.

OPINIONS | 17

How to properly mourn a celebrity

After Rob Ford’s death focus on the positives, not the scandals Zainab al-mehdar Staff Contributor

Rob Ford was Mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014, and was a personality with many contradictions. His recent death on March 22 provides a time for our society to reflect on the way we treat scandalous celebrities after their death. Although he had some rough patches along the way, those aspects don’t necessarily constitute a full picture of Rob Ford.

During his time as mayor, Ford did a lot for the city of Toronto, focusing on subway expansion and even giving out his home phone number so that citizens could reach him whenever they needed.

However there were some negative aspects of his tenure.

Ford faced complaints about his alleged mistreatment of the high school football team he coached.

However in 2013, Rob Ford was involved in a major scandal that lead police officers to investigate him, after reports of a video that showed him smoking crack cocaine. It

wasn’t until the footage was in police possession that he came forth and confronted the media and apologized for his actions, insisting he was not an addict. Ford became a celebrity for reasons no one wants, as he was ridiculed and mocked on talk shows across the world.

When a person is in a respected position, society tends to scrutinize their every move, with the media waiting for a small mistake to amplify across headlines. Smoking crack might not qualify as a small mistake and one of the other men in the video is dead and others, including the one recording it, were arrested by police.

A Toronto police investigation into Rob Ford never charged him, despite having video proof. Society is also less forgiving to celebrities facing a scandal, and the media often chooses to emphasize the negative aspects while neglecting the positive sides of a person, painting a very one-dimensional picture.

Regardless of how you feel about Rob Ford, it can’t be

denied that these one-dimensional views spread across news outlets are dehumanizing, as they fail to recognize anything valuable Ford has done professionally or personally. Would that really increase their readership, in comparison to repeatedly alleging the mayor is incompetent?

Digging up the past after someone has passed away is also unjust to his family and loved ones who are mourning someone they cared about deeply.

Rob Ford shouldn’t be remembered for the scandals nor the negative statements.

Nonetheless it’s important to also acknowledge that he has said socially unacceptable things and in many situations also been caught on tape acting in a manner not fit for a mayor. Video emerged of Ford using racial slurs, an act for which he later apologized.

However it is common courtesy to respect the mourning family by not bombarding them with the negative acts of his past immediately.

In many occasions they

Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford

can not speak for him or his actions therefore to speak ill of Rob Ford one must wait

Photo: CC, West Annex News.

a respectable about of time and if need be put the record straight and call him out on

his actions.

Let the man rest in peace.

Building bike lanes can start larger downtown rejuvenation Pedestrian-friendly options in Ottawa will add economic benefits david campion-smith opinions editor

Downtown Ottawa doesn’t exactly scream pedestrian friendly, does it? Between small sidewalks and drivers who think stop signs are just warnings, downtown is a place firmly built for cars.

New bike lanes are the beginning of changing that, and with similar efforts invested in alternative forms of transportation, downtown Ottawa can become a better place for all, while reducing the City’s carbon footprint and increasing the revenues of businesses close to these developments.

The City will receive $325,000 to develop new bike lanes along Mackenzie Avenue, the street along Major’s Hill Park and the American embassy. These bike lanes are more than just painted on lines, as they will use concrete

18 | OPINIONS

pillars to create a physically separate space for cyclists to travel in.

Bike lanes have been proven to increase revenue for businesses on streets with the lanes in cities like New York.

These separated bike lanes can also increase a business’ base of potential customers, as people feel more confident about riding their bikes through busy streets.

Ottawa has already firmly committed itself to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project to provide another way of bringing commuters into downtown while reducing cars on the road, and this is another step in the right direction.

Making downtown easier to manage for cyclists and others who don’t commute by car makes it easier for more people to come into and enjoy downtown. This means more money being spent by

Photo: CC, , Dylan Passmore

Ottawa consumers, which allows businesses to grow and become better, in turn provid-

ing more incentives for people to come downtown.

Ottawa should also seri-

ously consider closing parts of the ByWard Market to cars either permanently or for small

periods of time on a trial basis.

Cities around the world have seen great success from closing all or some of their streets to car travel.

Along with the cycling lanes car-free days are another idea that should be considered to make downtown more pedestrian friendly.

Car-free days are increasingly popular in major cities, and provide not only a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also serve as a chance to reconnect citizens with other travel methods.

From Bogotá to Paris these ‘Car-Free Days’ are becoming more and more common—it’s time for Ottawa to join in.

Through these efforts Ottawa, and other cities can change their downtown to become a space shared and enjoyed by more residents.

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Paid blood donations will address Canada’s chronic shortage Regulated payment system would create stable supply

Martyn Dahal Staff contibutor

Canadian Blood Services (CBS) make several appearances each year on campus at 90U residence, collecting voluntary blood donations, like it does with the rest of its donations. But the CBS always faces the uncertainty of running out.

Currently, the CBS relies on people’s generosity to donate blood—but they’d ensure a stable supply if they paid donors.

The CBS breaks the whole blood it collects into components: red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate.

Blood is a precious but perishable resource, currently held for 42 days by CBS before being disposed of, making it all the more important to maintain a steady supply. That expiration date was called into question last year by a study from U of O professor Dean Fergusson, although it is still adhered to by CBS.

But if blood is held in such high esteem, why does the CBS risk shortages so often?

The CBS released multiple appeals for blood donors from June-October in 2013, and hit a six year supply low in September 2014, before advancements in the use of red blood cells in medicine allowed the CBS to reduce overall collection targets in 2015. Instead of bouncing between oversupply and frantic calls for donations, why not simply pay donors for their blood to maintain a steady supply?

The strict rules around blood donation in Canada stem from the Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1970s. Faced with a blood shortage, the Canadian Government purchased surplus blood from the United States. The blood came from a high risk prison population, and the federal government failed to use a new test for Hepatitis C meant that the tainted blood infected thousands of

Canadians with HIV and Hepatitis. The CBS was created to redistribute collected blood in response to the tragedy.

Despite their best efforts and a taxpayer-funded budget of approximately $1 billion, the CBS counts 412,000 active blood donors, a donation rate in line with the developed world. However, the CBS fails to meet the Canadian demand for plasma-derived products and purchases as much as 70 per cent of their plasma stock from other countries who pay donors for blood donations. By compensating people for their blood as these other nations do, we can provide an incentive to donate more often.

A common point against blood compensation is that it will drain the voluntary donor base. However, a John Hopkins University study has found that a $5 to $10 gift card increases the likelihood of donating by 26 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, and

Photo: CC, Fort Bragg.

even increased rates of voluntary donations. Who cares if voluntary blood donations decrease? The purpose of the CBS is to maintain a safe blood supply for Canadians, not to ensure people donate for moral reasons.

Other arguments claim that payment for blood will allow collection agencies to coerce

marginalized people into selling their blood. As a government mandated agency, the CBS can regulate the system to make sure this doesn’t happen.

The CBS has taken a hard line against compensating donors, despite its many clear benefits.

Academics, professionals and even Health Canada have

found no evidence that compensating blood donors produces negative effects. With so much at stake, perhaps it is time to revisit this debate to create a long-term sustainable blood supply for Canadians from Canadians. After all, I could always use $20 in my pocket!

sfuo announces cost cutting measures Pivik cuts inventory, chat bot handles administrative duties David Campion-Smith nounced Opinions Editor After the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) declared that they are cutting multiple positions to stave off bankruptcy, numerous reports began to surface about the warning signs that the executives should have seen.

“In hindsight, I should have realized something was wrong when the vault under the University Centre where we keep all our funds was empty.

When your floor to ceiling vault of loonies is empty, something’s usually wrong,” said SFUO finance director Janet Hilroy.

In further attempts to reduce costs, the SFUO an-

that inventory at Pivik, an SFUO-run business, will be severely limited to just three packs of ramen and two pitas until September. “I totally understand having to cut costs through Pivik, as long as it means we don’t lose something that’s really important like the Bike Co-op,” said second year business student Jack Links.

“You never know when you’re going to need an emergency tune-up.”

Sources within the SFUO claim that the organization will use a modified version of Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence chat bot to handle administrative duties throughout the summer, and save money for the organization. In a further attempt to keep costs low the chat bot will keep call-

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ers on hold until they hang up, thus saving the fees that would come from actually having to solve a problem.

When asked by the Tomato about the deficit third-year economics student Kate Kessler said “I completely understand why the execs don’t want to deal with this now even though three of them are coming back next year. I’ve got three essays due next week, but I’ll worry about it then, that’s not current Kate’s problem.”

Some possible schemes to raise more money for the SFUO’s next budget were apparently brought forward at the last exec meeting, according to an anonymous source.

The source told the Tomato that proposed ideas ran from

Photo: Marta Kierkus.

the plausible, like setting off a fireworks display from the top of the Desmarais building and charging ticket fees, to the truly ridiculous, such as ensuring

that SFUO fees are adjusted for annual inflation.

“Rest assured we laughed them out of the room for suggesting that idea. I mean come

on, adjusting for inflation.

Who would think of doing that?”

THE TOMATo | 19

DISTRACTIONS Dear Di,

Dear Di

FEATURES EDITOR Kyle Darbyson

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

Dear Di,

I’m a woman and I love having sex. But sometimes I find it’s hard to admit that fact to other people, because I’m afraid they’ll think I’m a slut. Why is it okay for men to proclaim their love of sex, but not for women?

After a driving accident a few months ago I’ve been saddled with a serious spinal cord injury. Now I’ve been confined to a wheelchair and have no feeling in my lower body. Will I still be able to engage in sex? How will my sex life change?

-My Fair Lady

-Poppa Wheelie Dear PW,

Dear MFL, I hear you, Lady! Unfortunately, we live in a society that puts a heavy emphasis on how “good girls” should behave. This usually doesn’t include deriving pleasure from sex, but rather giving pleasure to a partner.

Growing up girls are taught to fear the consequences of sex and that if we don’t act like proper ladies men will use us, get us pregnant, and our peers will ostracize us as a result.

This mentality becomes rather damaging to younger girls’ sexual development. We learn to push sexual desire away and feel ashamed when we’re the ones who want to get down and dirty. And as we grow older, we continue to deny ourselves pleasure and settle for mediocre sex because we’re unable to express our own desires out of fear of sounding “improper”.

The thing is Lady, you’re definitely not alone. A lot of women love sex but are similarly hesitant to vocalize it.

In fact, a study from Ohio State University found that women’s sexual patterns are more similar to men’s than we thought.

Despite these results, women tended to answer surveys dishonestly in order to portray themselves as being more socially desirable.

For example, women who believed that their answers might be published reported an average of only 2.6 sexual partners in a lifetime. However, the number jumped to an average of 4.4 partners when the thought they were attached to a lie detector test.

But, at the end of the day, who cares. Ladies, let’s embrace our love of sex, masturbation, and all things freaky, and create a world where women don’t need to feel ashamed of what feels good.

Leave the disapproving looks and judgmental stares to the local knitting circle.

Love, Di Got chronic back pain, ladies? Here are some tips to help you work that to your advantage.

1.Get on your elbows when engaging in doggy style. This will keep your back in a neutral position while allowing for some forward flexion.

2.Stay on a steady diet of missionary. It may sound like a yawn, but it’s great for your back!

3.Avoid spooning after sex, as it studies show that it is worse for your back.

20 | DISTRACTIONS

I’m sorry to hear about your accident. To answer your question, you will most definitely be able to engage in sex! Remember that intimacy involves so much more than just vaginal or anal intercourse.

It comes down to re-exploring your body and finding new and exciting ways to engage in sexual activity. Many people report feeling elevated levels of sensitivity just at the point where they lose sensation. For example, other parts of your body such as your lips, neck, earlobes, and nipples may have become more sensitive to sexual pleasure in the absence of any sensation down below.

When it comes to getting into bed, your partner can assist you, or you can even ask a third party (either a friend or a sex therapist) to help you step up the logistics of your next lovemaking session.

There is nothing wrong with a lack of spontaneity since sex, regardless of disability, should involve a high level of communication and planning.

I feel a little hesitant to comment on the best way to use your equipment, since some men with spinal cord injuries will continue to have erections while others don’t (the same varying range of sensations applies to paraplegic women as well).

But suffice it to say even if an erection is not possible in your current state there is still fun to be had, since oral sex can also be extremely pleasurable for both men and women with a disability.

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t make a difference if you’re in a wheelchair—communicating with our partners, understanding our own expectations, and dealing with any anxieties that may arise during sex are all important components of making our sexual activities more pleasurable in general.

Love, Di

To get all your sexy and saucy questions answered, email Di at deardi@thefulcrum.ca ;)

thefulcrum.ca

April 8 to april 14, 2016

THRYLLABUS

MUSIC arts Sports FUN Thinking

Friday, April 8

Ottawa Geek Market (shopping, masquerade, writing contest, cosplay zone), opening day, Nepean Sportsplex—4 p.m.

Saturday, April 9

The Dandy Warhols, Bronson Centre—7 p.m.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Gladstone theatre—7:30 p.m.

The Cardboard Crowns, Mavericks—8 p.m.

Sunday, March 20

Sir John A. Macdonald—Rare and Intriguing Treasures from the Vaults of Library and Archives Canada, last day for exhibit, Canadian Museum of History—9:30 a.m.

Human Scale (giant life-like sculptures), last day for exhibit, National Gallery of Canada—10 a.m.

Ottawa Vintage

Clothing Show, the city’s largest sale of vintage fashion, Shaw Centre—10 a.m.

Ottawa Farmers’ Market (Winter Market), TD Place—10 a.m.

Harlem Globetrotters, 90th Anniversary World Tour, Canadian Tire Centre—3 p.m.

Monday, March 21

Free Yoga, refocus and raise your energy level during exams, University Centre Terminus—12 p.m.

Universtiy of Ottawa Pop Orchestra: Music of the 20th Century, in collaboration with the U of O Choral Ensemble, St. Joseph’s Parish—8 p.m.

Macbeth (2015), Shakespeare 400, Bytowne Cinema—8:50 p.m.

The Sword, Ritual Nightclub—9 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22

How to Pitch a TV Show Idea (with community TV producer Steve Gingras), Dovercourt Recreation Centre—6:30 p.m.

The Sound of Music (directed by threetime Tony Awardwinning director Jack O’Brien), National Arts Centre—8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23 Calendar Girls (stage adaptation), Ottawa Little Theatre—7:30 p.m.

WWE legend “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan live, Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club—8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 24

Ottawa International Writers Festivals (spring edition), opening day, Christ Church Cathedral—6:30 p.m.

Ottawa Improv Festival, opening night, Arts Court Theatre—6:30 p.m.

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DISTRACTIONS | 21

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Re: The $7.6 million question Dear Editor,

I would like to address the comments made by Lee Chitty in his letter published in the March 24th edition of The Fulcrum. In that letter, he claims that the questions that I asked regarding the lack of advertisement for the GA on social media and regarding the disconnect between the SFUO and the students were bad questions. Following four straight failed GAs and perilously low voter turnout, it is my belief that those were reasonable questions.

The SFUO spends millions of dollars of students’ money each year, of which hundreds of thousands of dollars go towards marketing and promotions. We should expect the SFUO to spending our money wisely and effectively.

When the SFUO is fail-

ing to properly use all means of communication to engage with students, it is reasonable to ask why.

Furthermore, the SFUO already does a lot of important advocacy work. The SFUO fights tuition hikes, the widespread racism still present in society, mandatory meal plans and more.

Not to mention cheap bus passes for students, affordable health insurance, a more climate friendly campus, etc.

Yet, despite this abundance of worthwhile causes, the effectiveness of the SFUO’s campaigns leaves a lot to be desired.

For instance, tuition fees continue to rise. It is reasonable to ask why.

As well, student engagement is incredibly low. In fact, many students are suspicious and disenchanted with the SFUO. This stops us from effectively fighting for our needs. When the

SFUO can’t even got 200 students to a GA, why should the university administration take us seriously? It’s not enough to have good causes, we need to be a lot more proactive in reaching out to students and getting them involved.

When other student unions are proving to be much more effective at engaging students, such as at Carleton, where voter turnout is over 30 per cent, it is reasonable to ask why.

Most of all, when the main decision-making body of our federation is non-functional because of this disconnect between the federation and the students, it is reasonable to ask why there is a disconnect and why it isn’t being addressed.

—Nick Robinson, Science Representative-elect on the BOA

22 | LETTERS

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EDITORIAL Volume 76, Issue 23, mar. 17, 2016 Snatching up the snitch since 1942.

Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this paper or we’ll send a bludger after you.

Nadia “Evanesco” Drissi ElBouzaidi Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Kim “Finite Incantatem” Wiens Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Savannah “Expelliarmus” Awde Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Eric “Expectopatronum” Davidson News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Allegra “Riddikulus” Morgado Arts & Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Spencer “Stupefy” Murdock Sports Editor/Rap Correspondent sports@thefulcrum.ca Kyle “Silencio” Darbyson Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca David “Confundo” Campion-Smith Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Reine “Felix Felicis” Tejares Webmaster online@thefulcrum.ca Marta “Specialis Revelio” Kierkus Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Wingardium Leviosa” McRae-Sadik Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca

The SFUO’s almost bankrupt, and there’s no guarantee it will be

T

he Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) is on thin ice, as they revealed in a press release last week. As a result, 24 staff will be laid off , while 16 other positions will be left vacant over the summer months in order to cut expenses. Of the 12 services, only two, the Student Rights’ Centre and the Food Bank, will remain open completely, while the Bike Co-op will be open with reduced staff.

These drastic measures are worrisome at best, and while explanations have been given, the entire debacle remains shrouded in secrecy. The “cash flow shortage”, as the SFUO has put it, will not be resolved until the SFUO adopts measures that enforce accountability and transparency.

The SFUO cited the lack of adjustment to inflation of the health plan as well as a deficit in the 2015-16 year as the reason for the cutbacks. Students voted in a referendum to raise health plan costs and adjust to inflation

in February, but that won’t be enough.

The student federation has consistently supplemented the health plan with funds from the general fund over the years, according to the release, instead of taking action earlier. In addition, they haven’t specified why exactly they budgeted for a deficit, or how large that deficit really is.

Finally, the SFUO hasn’t discussed who is going to be held accountable and how this will be prevented in the future. They said in their statement that the decisions will be left for the future executive. However, three current execs will be among them, including next year’s president.

No matter what decisions are made after the new execs begin their terms on May 1, the SFUO hasn’t made one concrete gesture to earn the trust of the students back. Because after the years of abysmal voter turnout, and four failed General Assemblies, that is exactly what needs to happen.

They have not explained who made the decisions that have led

them into this unstable economic situation. There has been no explanation of why they took these particular measures, why those specific services were left open, nor any other information about why their course of action is the best course of action. Instead, the SFUO, as of this publication, has refused to comment entirely.

Why should students pay their fees come September? Why exactly should any of us hand over that money without the guarantee that it will be wisely and efficiently spent?

We are by no means advocating that we disband the SFUO or limit its mandate. In fact, we are writing this editorial because the SFUO’s mandate is extremely important and are afraid that, now because of unexplained financial mismanagement, it will go unfulfilled.

Young women will go without the resources they need during the summer, LGBTQ+ youth will have to do without support, and students who are worried about getting home safely will have to take the risk, among many

other potential repercussions.

The reasons why all these services exist is because at one point or another students voted to pay for their creation. Thus they believed it was something that was indispensable.

The final consequence of the SFUO’s financial turmoil is the erosion of their credibility, and U of O students in addition, when it comes to negotiating with key stakeholders like the City or the university administration.

Why should the Board of Governors listen to our student representatives as they protest the tuition fees, which will surely show up in the next budget in one month’s time, when this organization doesn’t seem to know how to manage its own finances?

There is a way that the SFUO can work to restore its image, and it’s by showing students that it can, and will, be held accountable.

Come May 1 the new SFUO executive needs to show that it’s serious about regaining its legitimacy, or we will see the erosion of many important features of U of O student life.

Zach “Episkey” Verret Multimedia Coordinator multimedia@thefulcrum.ca Nicole “Peter Pan” Rutkowski Associate Features Editor associate.features@thefulcrum.ca David “Accio” Agbaire Proofreader Dayne “Delitrius” Moyer General Manager & Advertising Rep manager@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Anthony “Aguamenti” Latka Zainab “Impedimenta” Al-Mehdar Rémi “Homenum Revelio” Yuan Julia “Glisseo” Miraflores Anchal “Alohomora” Sharma Dylan “Geminio” Yegendorf Martyn “Veritisereum” Dahal

Board of Directors

Mackenzie “Incendio” Gray President board@thefulcrum.ca Simon “Cave Inimicum” Gollish Vice-President Katelyn “Capacious Extremis” Murray Chief of Staff Jonathan “Levicorpus” Rausseo University Rep Benjamin “Bat-Bogey Hex” Miller Student Rep Carolyn “Legilimens” Mutis Student Rep William “Aparecium” Hume Student Rep Cover Credits: Kim Wiens

SFUO will cut back on many services starting this month to avoid bankruptcy.

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Photo: Marta Kierkus.

EDITORIAL | 23

The Student Federation wishes you the best of luck on your exams and final projects. Exams can be tough but you’ll make the grade!

Get your oral presentation critiqued or edit your paper one on one peer editing session with the Peer Help Centre! PEERHELP.SFUO.CA

Visit our website to find out about exam regulations and deferrals, as well as grade reviews. RIGHTS.SFUO.CA The Peer Help Centre and Student Rights Centre are both student run services of the SFUO.

BEST OF LUCK, AN D SEE YOU NEXT YEA R!

www.sfuo.ca info@sfuo.ca 613-562-5966 85 rue Université, pièce UCU 07, Ottawa, ON, K1N 8Z4